Archive for February, 2006
Alan Hartung over at A Different Perspective has written a good article on objective vs subjective. I was going to write a comment there, but it got too long, so I decided to post it here instead.
The one I focused on today was Mark 2:21-22, which speak of not putting new cloth onto a tear in an old garment, and not putting new wine into old wineskins. I’m familiar with these passage, of course. I’ve always seen it as a rejection of the “old” (the pharasees, etc) in favor of the new. Today, though, I had this gut feeling that I was missing something. These two verses seemed so out of place.
Since I’ve been on something of a quest to be more “in touch” with myself, I decided to do one of these pop personality inventories. I don’t know how much faith I put in it, but it might be interesting.
It’s caled a “Johari Window,” and I need your help to complete it. The more people who get involved, the more complete and accurate the picture. At least, that’s the theory. So go ahead and enter your perceptions of my personality.
(I found the page a bit confusing at first. You just click on the words that you think best describe me, and then type in some sort of label at the bottom to identify yourself).
Some of you know me personally, while others only know me from my blog. But I think that’s OK. Nobody ever has a perfect, unfiltered view of another.
Once you’re done, you can see the results here.
The Steep Price of Grace, Sojourners Magazine/February 2006
Larry Rasmussen wrote this article at Sojourners in honor of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Deiterich Bonhoeffer. (You may need to register to read the article. It’s free) It may seem strange that I, rather than Wendy, should be posting this. I guess I was lucky enough to find the article first.
Anybody who’s spent any time at all reading the posts here will know that I am no fan of the current administration. My default reaction on hearing any news related to Bush or Cheney is one of mistrust.
Having said that, however, I think that liberals do themselve a disservice by going after Cheney like attack dogs. In doing so, they appear to be no better than the republicans who went on the witch-hunt against Clinton when he was president, over the Lewinski incident. It was wrong then, and it’s wrong now. Nobody, as far as I know, has said that this was anything but an accident. Gleefully jumping on the fact that Cheney didn’t have some obscure $7.00 addendum to his hunting license is not helping anyone. Questioning the timeline of how things happened is more reasonable, but, in my opinion, the effectiveness of this has been blunted by these earlier attempts to find anything even vaguely off to pounce on.
One little phrase jumped out at me today. “… like signets …” The stones on Aaron’s shoulders, and the diadem Aaron wore, were engraved with the names of the sons of Israel, “like signets” and the phrase “Holy to the LORD” respectively. Before the days of digital encryption and SSL browsers, signets, stamped into hot wax, were the way a person could be sure that a message came from the right person, and hadn’t been tampered with. I guess these vestments were God’s “stamp” on the “hot wax” of the Israelites.
“… say to my soul, ‘I am your salvation.”‘ Throughout the rest of this Psalm, David seems to be asking for “external” signs of God’s favor. This little verse he seems to me to be the heart of what he’s asking. Victory over David’s enemies would be wonderful, but I think what he really wants is reassurance to quell the doubts in his own heart. Which is certainly where I find myself.
As Wendy mentioned on her blog, Kyle has announced the cast list for “Sordid Lives” at BLT. I think it’s going to be a really good show. I’ve worked with some of these people before (I’ve directed both Cathy McMillan and Dawn Daily before, so I know they’re capable of good things.) And I’ve seen several others give good performances. A couple people I haven’t had the opportunity to work with or see before, but, based on auditions, I have no worries about them, either.
I was given something of a “bit part,” but I’m happy about that. I get to be involved with the show, without the pressure of a major role. So maybe I won’t be “burned out” by the time “Mr. Roberts” comes along.
In memory of a broken trust
It didn’t seem like much.
Just a small bit of plastic, really.
It took only a small effort to shatter it.
So satisfying to see the
pieces fly about the room
In the wake of the violence,
shards are all that remain
Large chunks, easy to recognize,
small bits, lurking in a corner
All sharp edged, all broken,
beyond repair
It seemed so insignificant,
this bit of plastic
It can probably be replaced.
It can never be restored.
It is broken.
I broke it.
I clean up the shattered parts,
except the small bits that escape my gaze,
waiting to be found later,
perhaps to prick or to cut,
or be ground up,
becoming part of the fabric of our home.
It is broken, and it’s broken-ness
will be with us always
I cannot fix the broken pieces
I can only try to protect, to prevent
further injury
Dwayne Bailey
February 12, 2006
To my incredible wife:
We can’t be together this Valentine’s day, but I want you to know that you’re in my thoughts and my heart.
I chose this picture because it reminds me of the yellow roses from our wedding. Given the chance, I would do it all over again.
One Year Bible Blog: February 13th readings
The only thing I an say is “Wow!” The people were so grateful for what God had done for them, that they offered up far more than was needed for God’s purposes, so the leaders told them to stop giving! Wouldn’t that be a nice problem to have in our churches today? But then, would we have the integrity of Moses and the artisans to tell the people, “Stop. We have enough.”
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