Rod White's Blog, page 59

Coming from the "holy island"

This is St. Aidan's day. He came from his comfortable, focused community on the island of Iona to Lindisfarne in 635 and had a long, productive ministry of church planting in Northumbria. He is a good example for us, since we are an island, ourselves, offering an alternative to the people of our age. I saw his name on the wall, first on the list, on the roll of bishops in the old island church, last summer.

As a result of the infighting of the royal families in Northumbria, Prince Oswald had been

Posers

Foolish people should not be proud

And rulers should not be liars! (Proverbs 17:7, International Children's Bible)

Paul told me, the other night during a marathon and often-hilarious Coordinators meeting, that Peter Weir imported Croatian fishermen to be the ship's crew when he filmed Master and Commander because Americans cannot look natural on film. The Croations would actually ignore being filmed and look like actual people, whereas the Americans are always aware of the camera and visbily chan

Novi Sad Psalm

Gwen and I are back from the Croatia-Bosnia/Hercegovina-Serbia trip. Wow. Here is a psalmish reflection after a few days in Serbia.

The city of the plain burnishes its image.

It shines with its self-deceptions.

Its glittering river piles up banks of sand

Where the beautiful bask in presumed superiority.

The city of the crags remembers its past,

Living in the shadows of its victimization.

Its fetid river delivers refuse downstream

Where even poorer people search it for survival.

You be the judge, Lo

Sarajevo psalm

Slava! Haleluja!

(Glory! Hallelujah!)

Tad moja dusa sretno slavite: Silno boze!

(Then sings my soul, my Savior, God, to Thee. How great Thou art!)

Among the Baptists, struggling for a foothold,

Silno boze!

Alongside the next generation looking for a way,

Silno boze!

Along the bullet-scarred path to the crumbling highrises

Silno boze!

Amidst the moslem, peacemaking partners creating a new day,

Silno boze!

In the morning, as the sun rises over the good and the evil,

Silno, boze!

May your Son rise in

Croatia psalm

I am enjoying Croatia. Gwen and I have taken to writing psalms, day by day. Here is one from today.

I was invited into your courts to rest

and you gave me rest.

I was invited to rest in Croatia

and the weather began to change.

I was invited to rest in the crook of her arm

and her arm fell asleep.

I was invited to rest in the convictions of my youth

and the world moved on.

I was invited to rest in my relationships

and I moved on.

Strangely enough, you moved with me:
through the sea, over the 40 days,

Ask

And Caleb said, "I will give my daughter Acsah in marriage to the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher." Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's brother, took it; so Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to him in marriage.
      One day when she came to Othniel, she urged him to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, "What can I do for you?"
       She replied, "Do me a special favor. Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me also springs of water." So Caleb gave

Do You Get Harry Potter?

As of today Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince has grossed $461,318,990 worldwide. Gwen and I contributed to that last week at the over-priced Bridge Deluxe near Penn (but now nice to walk to the theatre!). Do you get what is going on here? Just what is selling all these tickets? I have not been able to get into the books and I have been caught looking at my watch during the movies. What is the attraction?     

There is something going on. A bazillion people are concerned that another youngst

Simplicity — 2

[I wrote a blog post called "Simplicity" a few weeks ago. Someone wrote an interesting response to it so I went back to it. When I read it over, I thought it sounded like I did not appreciate the people with whom I had spent some time (and they might somehow read it and think so!). So I took it down. But the subject still interests me and the comment from an anonymous person (that I also took down) got to the central argument I was making. So I want to try it again.:]

I continue to reflect on two

What Holds this Church Together?

I've come to love the "how" questions. But for whole segments of the population, I answer them rather poorly. The other night at "rabbi time" one of my favorite people (Jeff not only thinks and sings well, he plays the accordion!) asked one of my favorite questions about the church. "How does it hold together?" I didn't get all of the back story, but I think he's seen a few places fall apart. It took him a while to join in, since he was skeptical about Circle of Hope's staying power! It does not

Limitations

I want to share two good pieces of inspiration that came my way this morning.

            Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!"

             "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."

            As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. – Luke19:39-42 

I make this definite practical pr