My Wife is So Smart!

Since before Nativity, my wife has been studying for the "Professional in Human Resources" exam. (Offered by the Society for Human Resource Management). It took her three hours to take the test today. She passed. Now the only question is this: On her business cards, after her name does she put "M.P.A., PHR", or does she put "PHR, M.P.A."?

Happy Theophany

I hope everyone is having a happy Theophany (unless you are old calendar, in which case, Merry Christmas!). Went to church this morning and got our bottles filled. Question: Theologically, Theophany is as important as the Nativity, and it is a Biblical feast, but (most) Evangelical Protestants do not celebrate it. Why? Its not like you have to believe in Holy Water to celebrate the feast. I know plenty of people who deny the Virgin Birth who still celebrate Christmas. Anyway, there is a neat article I came across. Happy Feast Day!

What do Converts Want?

Isn't that a strange question? I had never even thought about it. I knew what I was looking for when I stumbled across Holy Orthodoxy, but it never occurred to me until a few minutes ago that there might be people thinking about "what converts want". In case you are wondering I wanted real worship, the Body and Blood of Jesus, Apostolic Succession, and New Testament ecclesiology. Below is the essay that brings up this subject. I have no idea if it is copyrighted or not. Terry, if you read this and want it taken down, just let me know. I'll send you an email, too.

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What do the Converts Want (adapted from an address at the 2006 Orthodox Christian Laity conference)
By Terry Mattingly

It doesn't take a Ph.D. in Liturgical Studies to tell the difference between a Southern Baptist church and an Orthodox church. You can get some pretty good clues just by walking in the door and looking around. But there are some similarities between the two that might be a little trickier to spot. For instance, let me tell you about what life is like on Sunday nights in a Southern Baptist congregation.

Baptists worship at several different times during the week -- at least they did in the old days when I was growing up as a Southern Baptist pastor's son. One of those times is on Sunday nights. Back in the early 1980s, I was active in a church in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, in which the typical Sunday morning crowd would be about 200 to 300 people, which is rather small for a Baptist church, but fairly normal for an Orthodox parish. Then the crowd on Sunday night would be from 40 to 45 people.

You can read the whole address here and I highly recommend it.

Grand Duke Henri Says No To Legalized Murder

Every student of philosophy or political science remembers Plato's 6 forms of governemnt:

Good forms/Bad Forms
1. Democratic/Democratic (It depends on the morality of the people)
2. Republican/Oligarchical
3. Monarchical/Despotic

The Grand Duke of Luxembourg has said no to a law that would allow the killing of the sick. This is proof that a monarchy is better than an oligarchy and even a democracy, when the people are evil. Now his wicked subject are trying to overthrow him.


Update: Locum Tenans of the Russian Orthodox Church lends support to Grand Duke Henri

Leah had a clip of Fr. Moses on her blog, and I went ahead and watched several more. I really like this one. It makes me miss my uncles.

Icon Corner

Here is a shot of our Icon Corner. The table is a semi circular hall table with a small drawer in the front. The drawer is handy for incense, wicks, matches, prayer books, etc. We do always have the Icon of the Nativity where it is in this picture. It serves as our main Icon of the Theotokos.

Time Just Rockets On

Time just rockets on and every day and every night is filled with whirling activity. I hardly know what day it is. I know it is New Years Day/Circumcision of Jesus/St. Basils Day. But don't ask me if it is Tuesday or Thursday i have no idea.

I think it was the 30th I took Anselm Samuel ice-skating and to his favorite restaurant, the Original Joe's. We sit at the counter and watch the waiters and the cooks do their work.

Yesterday I had planned on going to vespers but was pushed back by electrical problems. So, Anselm and i sat up to welcome the new year. We watched the 1951 version of A Christmas Carol staring Alastair Sim. But the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come scared him and he went to bed just 15 minutes before midnight.

Today I woke up very sick. Cough hack cough hack. Went back to bed at 10 and slept another 90 minutes. I still don't have a voice.

This afternoon we made a big meal for the feast.

Menu
Salad of toasted walnuts, feta cheese, and red leaf lettuce, with a raspberry dressing
Smoked trout dip on whole wheat crackers
Roast beef infused with onion, rosemary, sage, and bacon
Steamed artichokes with mayonnaise
Roasted fennel bulbs, fingerling and new potatoes
A magnum of Anchor Brewing's "Our Special Ale 2008"
A bottle of Martinelli's sparkling apple cider
Vasilopita

It was my first Vasilopita. Both boys helped me make it. When it came time to eat it we prayed for St. Basil to bless the person who found the coin. Basil Wenceslas found the coin.

Anselm Samuel and I delivered 8th Day of Christmas presents to some nephews and nieces. Read the Christmas portion of The Wind in the Willows.

I just read read something and thought you might like to read it. Click HERE to go to the article.

New year/Circumcision of Christ/St. Basil's Day

Well, not too much to report. Had to do electrical repairs ("hmmm. Where does the white wire go?") around the townhouses on the 31st. That set us back and we missed Great Vespers. Bummed by that. But it turned out okay. Athanasia made ham and lentil soup. (The ham we procured on Christmas Eve has now made more than 30 meals, and there is now soup in the freezer!) We played games. Athanasia and Basil went to bed about 9:45, while Anselm and I stayed up to meet the new year. We played backgammon and Rock'em Sock'em Robots. We drank eggnog (alas not my home made egnogg, but a very good commercially produced eggnog from Strauss Family Creamery. It only has cream, eggs, and spices in it.). We watched the 1951 "A Christmas Carol" staring Alastair Sim on DVD. About 11:45 Anselm popped the cork on the Chandon Blanc de Noirs for me. It shot 1/2 way across the street. Then as we approached the appearance of thet of Christmas Yet to Come anselm became afraid and ran upstairs to bed. It's funny, he has seen two other versions of this story and is not afraid of them, but this one frightens him. It is a very powerful telling of the story. It is the only one that makes me weep, as I did tonight. When the housekeeper says, "A Christmas present? For me?" I just fall apart. Well, happy new year everyone. If you are at St. Basil's Church in San Jose (just few blocks from where I live) for liturgy today you might see me and my family. Good night and happy new year.

Woops! I Guess I'm A Little Late

Looking around at the Orthoblogs I noice that many have posted the video you will find below. Sorry I'm late. I guess I never got the memo. Anyway, better late than never.

Translation:

Angels Sing

Spoken intro: no matter what you are doing, spin threads for heaven!

the night so grand and placid,
a star shining over the cave,
the mother sleeping in the cave,
where the angel of Jesus hast been.
the angels are singing,
the sheperds are fluting,
the angels are singing,
the wise bring it forth:
what the nations awaited,
what the prophets had said,
here and now it is announced,
it is announced and brought forth:
Christ, our Redeemer is born!
for the Salvation of us all.

hallelujah, hallelujah,
Lord, have mercy!

Joy, Soul, Passion, Honor, Jesus, Faith, Hope, Salvation, Peace, Repentance, the Lord, Calmness, Love, Charity, Harmony…

God’s peace! Christ is born! Truly, He is born!… let’s renew ourselves, let’s lift up the pillars!

The Shack: A Review

My sister gave me a copy of The Shack on Saturday. I finished it a few minutes ago and this is my impression of it.

Have you ever seen a musical in which the songs just flow out of the story, or are even necessary for the story? I have in mind, Fiddler on the Roof. It is an amazing experience which leaves one feeling like the whole play is one beautiful dramatic and unified song. Another kind of musical is Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. The songs are nice enough but they do not flow naturally from the story. The story is merely an excuse for performing the songs.

Like musicals the Shack has a story and there are, not songs, but theological vignettes. Unfortunately, this book shares nothing, except the English language, with Fiddler on the Roof. The vignettes, are not only ugly but have nothing to do with the story. It is obvious that the vignettes are preconceived and strung together like wooden pickets stapled to chicken wire; like the songs in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers; like the speeches in an Ayn Rand novel.

And then there are the vignettes and the theology they attempt to portray. Beginning with God the Father appearing as Oprah Winfrey in The Color Purple it only goes down hill. Jesus seems more like a New Age Jewish Grizzly Adams than the person revealed in the Bible. The Holy Ghost is shown as an Asian woman, I suppose, because Asian women are mysterious.

Perhaps the most flabbergasting thing in the book is when the persons of the Trinity have family devotions, during which Jesus tells The Father/Oprah that he loves him/her; as though the Son's eternal self-sacrifice is insufficient. But even aside from that, the hubris of the author's speculation regarding the inner life of the Holy Trinity is utterly astounding.

Another major problem with the book is the absence of the Church, which most Christians think of as the primary mode of God's self-revelation. In the protagonist's encounters with God in the Shack he is alone. The Church is not with him, he is not shown as being part of the Church. It is the same mindset that produced the song, "I Come to the Garden Alone", which of course is not true. The only thing anyone does alone is go to Hell. Furthermore, when the Church is discussed (in the chapter 12) it is completely wrong and ahistorical; seemingly ignorant of the New Testament text and the teachings of Ignatius of Antioch and Irenaeus of Lyons. If the author understood what the Church does he might have written the family devotion part differently, for the Church, which really is the Body of Christ continually offers worship to the Father.

Regarding Jesus, specifically, the author writes as though the Ascension never happened, as though Jesus is limited by his Incarnation and not the Lord and Master of all, as though the Father has not given him all power in Heaven and on Earth.

This is not to say the book is a total waste of trees. What it says about living in the present is true. What it says about willful independence is true. What it says about several things is true. But there are better books where that truth can be found; books that won't poison a person against the Church, which is Jesus Body and the Ark of Salvation.

Second and Third Days of Christmas

Yesterday my Sister and Brother-in-Law came over for dinner. It was a great good time. Today we had a bunch of kids and their parents over to make gingerbread men. Another great good time. But now, at the end of the third day of the feast it is meet to reflect...

"There are many alluring secular images associated with Christmas - snow, Dickensian stagecoaches, holly and mistletoe, lavish eating, drinking and good cheer. All of these are legitimate parts of the tradition too, provided they are subordinated to the essential theme, the birth of our Saviour. For the placid vignette of the infant in the manger conceals the reality that those tiny hands will one day be pierced with nails, for our redemption." - Gerald Warner(If you want, you can read the whole article here.)

Today, and over the next few days the Church commemorates many thousands of Holy Martyrs: Those who suffered to the end with Jesus. Today is, in the Orthodox Church the Feast of St. Stephen, the first to give his life for the Gospel. We sing to him...

Because of all you have endured for Christ our God, you have been given a royal crown, O First and Holy Martyr Stephen! You have put your persecutors to shame and have seen your Savior enthroned at the right hand of the Father. Do not cease to intercede for the salvation of our souls. (Troparion, tone 4)

So, let us rejoice in the Nativity of Jesus for by it God became one of us and lifts us up to Him, but let our rejoicing be in conducted in the effulgence of the Holy Cross. and in the invitation to partake in that Cross.

The Eve and the Feast

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

It has been a flurry of activity and I am sure I am forgetting much of it. But Wednesday Basil and I went shopping for a Christmas Present for his Mommy. We live in an area where there is a high concentration of interior designers and furniture stores, and on Wednesday they allput their Christmas decorations on sale. So Basil picked out three new Christmas tree ornaments for his Athanasia: An angel playing a lute, a nativity scene made of copper and porcelain, and a red glass bauble. I know other things happened that day but I really can't remember them except for ... Oh! We stopped by my brother's house on the way to San Francisco. I gave him some books and panatone to give to his grandchildren, who he would be seeing later in the day. (Although he is the youngest of my siblings he is nine years older than me.) He gave me a bottle of Mama Lucia, which is like Kahlua, except that it is made with a tequila base. I don't think it can be bought in the U.S. I'm looking forward to opening it sometime soon. Hmmm. Maybe I'll save till Pentecost and share it with Bishop Benjamin and Patria... whoops! I mean Metropolitan Jonah.

We got to San Franciso just 10 minutes before the butcher shop closed. We always buy our Christmas ham (whole, bone-in, smoked) from Bryan's on California Street in Laurel Village. We were very worried we were going to be late. But we made it with ten minutes to spare. Then from Bryans we went to a little burritoria on Divisadero, where we had our last veggie burritos for a while. Then Zoomed to church for the Festal Vigil.

Matushka Naomi took Basil from us and let us relax in the chanting. Then she did something totally unexpected. She let go of him and let him walk around, even run a coupe of times in the nave. Well, I guess if she lets him do that then it must be okay.

The service of course was great. Basil Wenceslas loves getting the oil on his head. Anselm Samuel likes the bread dipped in wine.

When we got home we put a candle in the window for Jesus, the Theotokos, and St. Joseph. We unlocked the front door for the Magi. We went to bed. Late during the night I put the boys stocking in bed with them.

When they woke up this morning they were very surprised. Anslem said, "Wait, I thought Santa Clause wasn't real. Did The St. Nicholas bring this? This isn't his day. Did the wise men come? They only visit one house each Christmas. Why'd they come to our house? Did Mommy put the stocking in bed with us? I don't understand." It was funny.

I woke up with a stuffy head and a sore throat.

The Nativity Liturgy was a hierarchical liturgy with Bishop Benjamin presiding. Anselm served and got to do lots of cool things. This time he held the silver bowl for Bishop Benjamin and carried prophora. (He has carried the prosphora many times but it only dawned on me tonight that he didn't know what it was. So tonight I told him about the angel in heaven who carries prayers to God (Rev. 8:4) and explained that when he carries the prosphora to the altar he is carrying the prayers of God's people. He was pretty amazed by that. He had thought it was just bread with Greek writing on it.)

With basil we followed Matushka Naomi's example and, for the most part, let Basil wander around in the nave during the liturgy. but he was sick and tired and cranky and hungry so the tactic wasn't quite as successful as it was last night. But for the most part, it worked. Several times he strode across the nave from the south wall to the north wall, or from the north wall to the south wall, RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE AMBO. Once right when Bishop Benjamin was blessing the people with the dikiri and trikiri.

I was almost mortified. After the service Bishop Benjamin walked up to us, and said, "That was really cute how Basil tip toed across the room right in front of me". I said, "Your Grace didn't mind?" To which he replied "Are you kidding? I'm just happy he's here. Merry Christmas." Bishop Benjamin baptized basil three years ago. It is my hope that in another 10 or 12 he will tonsure Basil a Reader.

Cyndi and I passed out all the cranberry orange bread, several choir members gave my boys stuffed animals, an other woman in the parish, who never had children of her own gave presents to every child in the parish, one of the subdeacons had presents of fine chocolate for all the acolytes.

After we got home I cooked the Christmas Sausage while presents under the tree were opened. I have to admit that I was a little bit worried as I watched the pile of presents growing under there the last few days. I am not opposed to Christmas presents, of course, but I am opposed to my kids thinking of Christmas as the day the get lots of new toys. My concern was completely misplaced. My wife is very wise and almost every present under the tree was a replacement for some article of clothing the boys had outgrown. I have the best wife.

Oh, but I should tell you what she gave me: Six bottles of gin (Gilby's, Seagram's, Bombay, Beefeater, and Hendricks), a bottle of vermouth, jar of olives, and a cocktail glass. Now I am sure you are thinking "where is the wisdom in that present?" Well, the bottles of gin were those little miniature bottles they sell for a dollar each!

After sausage my illness intensified and at about 3 o'clock I had to lay down for a while. I got up at 5:30 still not feeling great but doing okay. Stomach is still upset.

We watched "Irving Berlin's White Christmas" staring Bing Crosby and Rosemary Cloony. Athanasia had cooked ham while I was recumbent. I had a little but not much. My stomach just feels a little topsy turvey. I don't think it was the sausage, though, since Basil, Anselm, and Athanasia seem unaffected by stomach symptoms. While watching the movie Basil and I played with play-dough. Athanasia made him 10 lbs of the stuff for Christmas.

After Athanasia and Basil went to bed, Anselm read one of his new books, "The Very Hungry Caterpiller " to me. Of course, I used the occasion to talk about the resurrection from the dead. And then I read to him "Strangers and other Angels" from one of our many Christmas books.

Now it is time to go to bed. Second Day of Christmas starts in just few minutes.

Your Nativity, O Christ our God,
Has shone to the world the Light of wisdom!
For by it, those who worshipped the stars,
Were taught by a Star to adore You,
The Sun of Righteousness,
And to know You, the Orient from on High.
O Lord, glory to You!

A nice evening

Anselm Samuel and I just got home from Royal Hours. This is one of my favorite services. He served in the Altar. He was pretty excited because tonight he got to carry the 4 foot candle and the censer. He had been telling me only this morning how he wished he could carry that big candle. He did a good job. He is in bed now. Bishop Benjamin was there but sang in the choir instead of presiding.

Before your Nativity, Lord, the heavenly hosts looked with trembling on the mystery and were struck with wonder; for you were well pleased to be born as a babe, you who adorned the vault of heaven with stars; and you have been laid in a manger of dumb beasts, you who hold all the ends of the earth in the hollow of your hand; for by such a dispensation your compassion and great mercy have been made known. O Christ, glory to you! Idiomel (Tone 8)

Things I need to do today

1. Finish decorating the house
2. Grocery shopping
3. Make Aunt Nettie's fruited molasses balls (Sorry Mark. I can't make her persimmon cookies. I don't have enough persimmons.)
4. clean the kitchen so my wife can make
5. 60 loaves of cranberry orange bread
7. Take Anselm to doctor (he's been coughing since before thanksgiving.)
8. Take Basil to the Park

Well, it is almost 1. I'd better get to bed.

Just can't wait any longer

We are in the Forefeast of the Nativity now. We've been waiting for almost 40 days and almost can't wait any longer. Sure we can do with out certain foods for a few more days but the joy of the Nativity is so near we can taste it. We have to sing the song of salvation.

Rejoice, O Bethlehem!
Prepare yourself, O Ephratha!
The Lamb is on her way to give birth to the Chief Shepherd
she carries in her womb.
The God-bearing forefathers will rejoice,
beholding Him,
And with shepherds, they will glorify
the Virgin nursing Him.

Kontakion of the Forefeast of the Nativity of Christ
Sunday of the Forefathers

Enemy of Democracy

* Prop. 8 received 2,150,000 MORE votes than did Arnold Schwarzenegger when he was reelected in 2006

* Prop. 8 received nearly 2 million MORE votes than Dianne Feinstein did when she was reelected to the US Senate in 2006

* Prop. 8 received 250,000 MORE votes than did John Kerry when he carried California in 2004

* Prop. 8 received 45,000 MORE votes than did Barbara Boxer in her landslide reelection to the U.S. Senate in 2004

* Prop. 8 passed with approximately the same percentage of the vote that Barack Obama received nationally

The Attorney General of California has decided to fight the will of the people. That is he has filed an argument with the Supreme Court of Californa urging it to overturn Propostion 8. He is saying that it doesn't matter if the people of California vote. He is saying that because we are stupid the unelected judges and legal experts should make our laws. I say that idea is treasonous. Where is the petition to recall Jerry Brown? Put the pen in my hand and let me sign it.

How Much Do You Have To Hate Someone To Not Tell Them How To Gain Eternal Life?

I have heard people say that Orthodoxy is non-proselytizing. I say, tell that to St. Herman, St. Nina, and St. Paul. Love demands proselytizing.

Saturday Soundtrack: Boom Boom Boom

It is a strange thing how certain sounds and smells evoke memories. For example, there isn't a rainy morning that doesn't make me think of an M-16. Why? Because almost every time I went to the range to for my semi-annual qualification it was raining. (the one time it wasn't raining it was snowing.) Another gun memory I have is brought to the fore every time I hear John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom Boon".

John Lee Hooker was not a good man by any stretch of the imagination, but back in the mid-1990s, because I used to work at SF Weekly, his doorman used to let me in to his "Boom Boom Room" in the Fillmore without paying. Back then I never went out at night without I was always wearing a double breasted jacket with peak lapels and Star model S .380 ACP. I didn't feel invincible, but several people told me I looked scary. I think 11 years, 20 lbs of (more) fat, and hair on my head makes me look much nicer than I looked then. Sometimes a woman would feel the gun and ask if I was a cop. I would, of course, say no, but I didn't volunteer that I was an advertising salesman, either.

I only drew that pistol one time, when a crazy man tried to hit me with a cane. (this was about 3 a.m. on Eddy street in the Tenderloin.) I didn't even have to take the safety off or point it at him. As soon as he saw the pistol he fell all over himself to get away.

Anyway, here is the song. I still hear it in my head every time I walk in the Fillmore or the Tenderloin.

For my wife, who likes both cooking and body music.

Snow, Doughnuts, and Cub Scouts

This morning after dropping Anselm Samuel off at school Basil Wenceslas and I went up the hill to the snow. We found a meadow - I'd like to say alpine meadow but i don't know what that means - with a goodly amount of snow. It was ankle, so I guess that was three inches. The sun was out so there was lots of steam. Snow in the trees was beautiful. I made a bunch of snow balls for Basil and he enjoyed throwing them at me. When his hands got cold we came home and I bought him 6 doughnut holes at the doughnut shop around the corner from our townhouse. It has been a nice morning. I think we will take a nap now.

Last night at the Cub Scout Pack meeting Anselm Samuel was awarded the Ice Skating Belt Loop and the Outdoor Activity patch. He also won a prize for selling a lot of Christmas wreaths. Pinewood Derby is the next big event. He got his car kit last night. NowI get to teach him how to use the power tools.