Athanasian in the News

A gentleman in my congregation suffered a massive heart attack some three (or maybe it was four!) weeks ago. It's been a long road to recovery, but he is doing much better now. I mention it because his story was featured on the local news tonight - the officer that helped save him was given an award. Click here to watch the story. It's nice to get good news sometimes.  :-)

Family

So, yesterday was St. Patrick's Day, yes, but it was also my father's 91st birthday! So happy birthday Dad! Here's a picture taken by my daughter with her new camera, of him with his cake (chocolate with chocolate icing!):

On Monday I also went ice skating with my (younger) daughter. She's been taking lessons and wanted some rink time to practice what she's been learning. It was fun and I am glad I did so, even though I continue to wrestle with doing things like this. I guess because it's fun I think that instead of spending some time on a Monday having fun, I should be working. But I need to remember that I need to give my time to my family as much as I give my time to others. And my family makes many sacrifices for me and for me to spend time with others. So it was good. I just need to remind myself of that!

So a good day, Monday was. :-)

Rome v. Luther Today

A day or so ago I listen to Cardinal Timothy Dolan's sermon from this past Sunday. He used the reading from Exodus 20 as his text - the Ten Commandments. If you want to listen to it, click here. But let me just briefly tell you what he said: Law. All law. Nothing but law. It was "happy law" to be sure! He made it sound really good and that yup, you can do it!

Compare that to this following reading from Luther, based upon what Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 1: "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief."

Luther: Ponder on this text and diligently arm yourself so that you will be prudent at all times - not only if your conscience is clear (apart from the struggle with your conscience), but also and particularly, when you have to contend with death and you are confronted with the greatest perils and dangers. This is when your conscience will be reminding you of the sins you have committed and it will be in a state of horror. Satan will appear before you as a mighty power and his intention will be to overwhelm you with the great burden of your sins flooding into your mind like a huge deluge. Satan will try to scare you away from Christ and will also try to chase you away from Him so that you will end up in despair. I say: "Remember that Christ did not offer Himself up for invented or exaggerated sins but for real sins - not for small insignificant sins but for great and coarse sins, and not just for a couple of sins here and there, but for all the sins of the world, not for sins that have been overcome and eliminated, but for scarlet and powerful sins that have still not been dispensed with."

Quite a difference!

I Need Someone in St. Louis . . .

. . . to contact the GM of the St. Louis Rams and tell him to go to confession, 'cause he just stole a quarterback from the Eagles. If he needs suggestions of a church to go to, tell him to contact me - I can give him the names of a few . . .

Did Noah Eat Bacon?

So I was thinking the other day . . . when reading the story of Noah in Genesis, after the flood when Noah and all the animals get off the ark, God says to Noah: "Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything" (Genesis 9:3). So while a distinction was made between clean and unclean animals when Noah got into the ark, no such distinction is made here when giving Noah meat to eat as food. It is only then much later - when God establishes Israel as a nation and gives them the Tabernacle as they live amidst people with false gods and false worship - is the prohibition against eating some kinds of meats established. Now, we know that when Jesus came all of these civil and ceremonial laws were fulfilled and no longer in force - but doesn't this give extra foundation for this? That (apparently? possibly?) all the people of God between Noah and when the people of Israel came up out of Egypt ate anything and everything? Including bacon? Hmmm . . .