December 5, 2020
Good Morning, God and All! Save thy people and bless thine inheritance; feed them also, and lift them up forever! --Psalm 28:9 (KJV)
By The Numbers:
It’s the 340th day of the year, with 26 days remaining.
Days ‘til Nickmas: 1
Days ‘til Hanyulfestimazaaox: 6/16/18/19/20/20
Days until the Electoral College gathers to fulfill their constitutional duty: 9
Days ‘til Super Bowl LV is scheduled to play: 64
Start Your Day With A Song:
Prepare Ye and Save the People from “Godspell” (1971) Stephen Schwartz; 2011 Broadway Revival Cast
Saint Nicholas, Pray For Us!
Now more than ever, we need our beloved Santa Claus! But more than that, we need the iconic 4th Century bishop and saint from whom the Jolly One evolved! And we might also beg his intercession that the Lord have mercy on us for commercial culture appropriation. From the red suit (similar to the traditional garb of a bishop) to candy canes (shaped like a shepherd’s staff and the bishop’s crozier), even to the use of his name (Santa Claus is the anglicized rendering of the Dutch Sinterklaas, a derivation of Saint Nicholas).
Saint Nicholas, a Roman Catholic bishop of the 4th Century in Asia Minor (present day Turkey), was benevolent toward those in need; but he was also a fierce defender of the faith. He would drop small sacks of coins down chimneys to provide poor girls dowries so they could marry. During the Council of Nicaea in 325, Nicholas argued fiercely against the Arian heresy - legends state that at one point the good bishop lost his temper and slapped the heretic Arius in the face (still others say Nicholas punched him), for which he was imprisoned “for love of” Jesus and Mary, who then released him.
Nicholas (270 - 343) is the patron saint of children, barrel makers, sailors, fishermen, merchants, broadcasters, the falsely accused, repentant thieves, brewers, pharmacists, archers, and pawnbrokers. (Post archives)
I Have My ‘Kicks’ on Year Sixty-Six (the Message):
Some thoughts as I start my 67th turn on the merry-go-round of life…
1) At my age, it either spins too fast or not at all.
2) I recall my musings of a year ago, about being joy. I made a point of saying I was going to do my best not to lose that sense of joy in the year now ending. Then, I had no way to know or even anticipate what has happened in these last twelve months. I wasn’t figuring on having to move. I was pretty sure that being an election year, there would be a bitter campaign and claims of fraud from whoever didn’t win. I wouldn’t be surprised if the lame-duck occupant of the White House is going to be bodily evicted and escorted by armed guards next month.
3) I sure didn’t expect the development of the novel coronavirus now known as COVID-19. I don’t think anyone expected how fast it spread, how indiscriminate it has been, the growing number of lives lost, and its impact on everything. How it became yet another polarizing political issue in America; and while I’m at it, how foolishly we behave. And I daresay we didn’t need the President’s behavior as an example. We’ve exhibited that sort of behavior before 2016. Lives mattered before 2020, and some seem not to have mattered as much as others - but the level to which we have exposed our nation’s lack of conscience should never have become as socially or morally acceptable as it appears now.
4) The Church is not immune from making questionable decisions, either. It seemed the whole nation shut down in March - except for Walmart - and it immediately included anything held in a large indoor facility, including public worship. Out of an abundance of caution, most houses of worship - and all Catholic churches in America - closed their doors. Lent had just begun. To paraphrase Monty Python, Easter and Pentecost took a pass and we jumped all the way to late June. Those places already tech savvy began to stream services online. More came online in the ensuing weeks. Most are still doing so now, as the pandemic brought surges in new cases after each major American holiday. Religious denominations were initially considered non-essential. This managed to change under constitutional grounds, but there are still occupancy caps in place. How long this will go on is anybody’s guess. I expect it will get worse before it gets better, as the newly elected leadership in America bears the paradox of free practice of religion as long as it stays within the walls of the church building; and a president who is Catholic in name only.
5) I was relieved when I was offered the opportunity to take part in streaming services. I was even happier when music was reintroduced, even though limited, into the ‘live’ services. Only recently have I been troubled by a temptation that what we do in front of a camera isn’t real - like the conspiracy theories that abound saying that the lunar landing fifty years ago was faked in some studio backlot. As my mind continues to sift through all this, I’m feeling besieged with thoughts - temptations that leave me wondering what, if anything, of all that I am, do, and aspire to be - is real.
6) I grew up with a sense that the holy men and women who are recognized as saints were wholly devoted to God. Our patron for Advent - St. John the Baptist, the last of the Bible’s prophets and the only one of the New Testament - is described as wearing coarse garments of camel’s hair, and his diet consisted of locusts and wild honey. He indeed was wholly devoted to his ministry. He called upon everyone to live simply and honestly, to prepare for the Lord’s coming. Have I done that? Am I balancing my commitments as minister, musician, and father fairly? Is what I do God-serving or self-serving?
And while there is always some joyous anxiety surrounding the coming of Christmas, there is the call to continue to live in quiet, humble, patient…darkness, and wait, wait…don’t tell me…for the brilliant light to illuminate everything, everywhere.
Memorable Moments:
63 BC – Cicero gives the fourth and final of the Catiline Orations.
1492 – Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to set foot on the island of Hispaniola (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic).
1775 – At Fort Ticonderoga, Henry Knox begins his historic transport of artillery to Cambridge, Massachusetts.
1776 – Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest academic honor society in the U.S., holds its first meeting at the College of William & Mary.[1]
1831 – Former U.S. President John Quincy Adams takes his seat in the House of Representatives.
1847 – Jefferson Davis is elected to the U.S. Senate.
1848 – California Gold Rush: In a message to the United States Congress, U.S. President James K. Polk confirms that large amounts of gold had been discovered in California.
1931 – Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow was destroyed on orders from Joseph Stalin.
1933 – The Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution , ending Pohibition, is ratified.
1952 – Beginning of the Great Smog in London. A cold fog combines with air pollution and brings the city to a standstill for four days. Later, a Ministry of Health report estimates 4,000 fatalities as a result of it.
1955 – The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merge and form the AFL–CIO.
1955 – E. D. Nixon and Rosa Parks lead the Montgomery bus boycott.
2007 – Westroads Mall shooting: Nineteen-year-old Robert A. Hawkins kills eight people, including himself, with a WASR-10 at a Von Maur department store in Omaha, Nebraska.
Happy Birthday!!!
1666 – Francesco Scarlatti, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1741)
1687 – Francesco Geminiani, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1762)
1697 – Giuseppe de Majo, Italian organist and composer (d. 1771)
1782 – Martin Van Buren, American lawyer and politician, 8th President of the United States (d. 1862)
1839 – George Armstrong Custer, American general (d. 1876)
1886 – Rose Wilder Lane, American journalist and author (d. 1968)
1901 – Walt Disney, American animator, director, producer, and screenwriter, co-founded The Walt Disney Company (d. 1966)
1932 – Little Richard, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor (d. 2020)
1946 – Andy Kim, Canadian pop singer-songwriter
1947 – Jim Messina, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1963 – Doctor Dré, American television and radio host
1969 – Morgan J. Freeman, American director, producer, and screenwriter
We Remember:
1791 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian composer and musician (b. 1756)
1870 – Alexandre Dumas, French novelist and playwright (b. 1802)
1931 – Vachel Lindsay, American poet (b. 1879)
1951 – Shoeless Joe Jackson, American baseball player and manager (b. 1887)
2002 – Roone Arledge, American sportscaster and producer (b. 1931)
2010 – Don Meredith, American football player, sportscaster, and actor (b. 1938)
2012 – Dave Brubeck, American pianist and composer (b. 1920)
2015 – Chuck Williams, American businessman and author, founded Williams Sonoma (b. 1915)
Parting Words:
“Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” -Walt Disney
Emphasis mine. Indeed, we must do so and refrain from looking back or longing for a past that is no longer possible; the path to God is always before us. Thanks, Walt, for the reminder that no matter how your heart is grieving, if you go on believing, the dreams that you wish will come true.
Until we meet again, stay safe, keep the faith, may God be with you…and may God have mercy on us all…
+the Phoenix
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