Hidden references

[captainsblog]

I was again asked to be the liturgist for this morning's service; it's likely it will become a regular first-Sunday routine, only an hour later by the time October's rolls around.

Of all the verses in all the chapters in all the books used in the Common Lectionary, what wound up as part of Rich's morning's gospel reading but this:

"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won't you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, 'This person began to build and wasn't able to finish.' "

Take the word "tower" out of that, and you pretty much get to the main issue in the trial I spent almost all of the first two days of this past week working on. Maybe they should've taken their dispute to Sunday School instead of court.

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Rich's sermon focused more on the Jeremiah piece that I'd read from earlier, one that uses the metaphor of the potter molding clay as symbolic of the need for us to change the way we live. (Quick aside for nonspecific, cafemusique, and any others who may get asked to pick hymns: the song immediately following this sermon today, based largely on that Scripture, is one from our newer hymnal which, to my remembering, we'd never done before. Man, though, did it kick some serious Christian ass: it's called "God the Sculptor of the Mountains," and, after much searching about- my, it's easier to find Eminem lyrics on the Internet than sacred music- I tracked down the lyrics to the second page of this .pdf and a sampling of the musical setting to this Youtube.)

Okay, that WASN'T such a quick aside. Anyway, Rich's point was that change is much more effective when it comes from within, not from the outside- and one example he offered, not without criticism of the source, was our beloved local candidate for New York governor, Carl Paladino, who is portraying himself as the outside-Albany agent of change.

Point taken, but I don't think it's coincidence that our minister referred to Paladino as trying to "harness" change for the people of New York. And we all know what type of animal is typically associated with harnesses, right?

Horses, of course. And occasionally, asses. (Warning: the link within that entry to the left is just as NSFW as it was before.)

(Rich also gave last weekend's Beckapalooza a good beatdown, but hell, ANYONE with a brain can do that. He also called for prayers for our Muslim brethren as their calendar, however coincidentally, is mixing a sacred time in their theology with a difficult and emotional time in our secular one. I joined those prayers then, and ask you to do so now, as well.) 

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Pressies are packed for the four of you who are expecting them. They'll be in slightly recycled (and subtly altered) Netflix mailers, so don't get confused and mail them back to Rochester, k?

Comments

[bill_sheehan.livejournal.com]

Oy! This is what I get for not going to church - it completely escaped my attention that Eid el-Fitr is September 10th this year.

I can hear the right-wing demagogues now: "See! They're celebrating their jihadist victory over us!:"

[nonspecific.livejournal.com]

Might be a little conservative for our neck of the woods, but I'll admit it sounds like a good one!