Above:  Trinity College, Cambridge, England, Between 1890 and 1900

Image Source = Library of Congress

Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-ppmsc-08091

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

WILLIAM COOKE (BAPTIZED MARCH 17, 1821-DIED NOVEMBER 23, 1894)

Anglican Priest, Hymn Writer, and Translator of Hymns

collaborator with

BENJAMIN WEBB (NOVEMBER 28, 1819-NOVEMBER 27, 1885)

Anglican Priest and Translator of Hymns

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

William Cooke and Benjamin Webb, co-editors of The Hymnary:  A Book of Church Song (1872), were priests, liturgists, and scholars.

Cooke, born at Pendlebury, near Manchester, England, in 1821 and baptized early that year, attended Trinity College, Cambridge, graduating with his A.B. degree in 1843 and his A.M. degree in 1847.  He, ordained deacon in 1844 and priest the following year, held various posts in the Church of England until 1849, when he became the Examining Chaplain to the Bishop of Chester.  He remained in that position for about eight years, until 1857.  In 1850 Cooke became the Select Preacher to the University of Cambridge.  Four years later he became Honorary Canon of Chester.  In 1868 he became a Fellow to the Society of Antiquaries of London.

Cooke left a theological and literary legacy.  He and William Denton co-edited The Church Hymnal (1853), which contained a fine translation of an eleventh-century Latin text.  Cooke also wrote The Power of the Priesthood in Absolution (1863); Worship of Men and Angels Through the Incarnate Word (1865); and Of Ceremonies, Light and Custom (1868).  Furthermore, late in life he donated his library to the new Selwyn College, Cambridge.

Benjamin Webb (1819-1885), born in London, England, attended St. Paul’s School then Trinity College, Cambridge.  He graduated with his A.B. degree in 1842 and his A.M. degree three years later.  Webb, who took Anglican Holy Orders in 1843, co-founded the Cambridge Ecclesiastical Society with his friend, John Mason Neale.  They collaborated on The Symbolism of Churches and Church Ornaments:  A Translation of the First Book of the Rationale Divinorum Officiorum (1843) of William Durandus, a theologian who lived from circa 1270 to 1322.  Webb also edited The Ecclesiologist from 1842 to 1868 and edited Neale’s The Hymnal Noted (1852).  Apart from Neale Webb wrote Continental Ecclesiology (1847) and co-edited other volumes.

Webb found geographical stability in 1851, when, after a string of short-lived assignments, he became the Perpetual Curate of Sheen, Staffordshire.  After about eleven years he transferred to St. Andrew’s Church, Wells Street, London, becoming the Vicar there.  He remained in that post until November 27, 1885, when he died.  At the time he had been, since 1881, the Prebend of Portpool at St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, also.

Webb valued good church music.  During his tenure at St. Andrew’s the church it became famous for the quality of its music.  The fact that Joseph Barnby was the organist and choir director had much to do with that reality.  Under Barnby’s leadership the choir earned a reputation as the best church choir in the city.  Webb also translated hymn texts.  His translation, “A Hymn of Glory Let Us Sing” dated to 1854.  Also from that year came “O Love, How Deep, How High, How Broad” and “Sing We Triumphant Hymns of Praise.”

The legacies of William Cooke and Benjamin Webb survive, fortunately.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

OCTOBER 16, 2014 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF ALL CHRISTIAN MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS

THE FEAST OF FRANCIS POTT, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER AND TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF HUGH LATIMER, NICHOLAS RIDLEY, AND THOMAS CRANMER, ANGLICAN MARTYRS

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Dear God of beauty,

you have granted literary ability and spiritual sensitivity to

William Cooke, Benjamin Webb, and others, who have composed hymn texts.

May we, as you guide us,

find worthy hymn texts to be icons,

through which we see you.

In the Name of God:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 44:1-3a, 5-15

Psalm 147

Revelation 5:11-14

Luke 2:8-20

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 20, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS AMATOR OF AUXERRE AND GERMANUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS; SAINT MAMERTINUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT; AND SAINT MARCIAN OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK

THE FEAST OF JOHANNES BUGENHAGEN, GERMAN LUTHERAN PASTOR

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARCELLINUS OF EMBRUN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF OLAVUS AND LAURENTIUS PETRI, RENEWERS OF THE CHURCH

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Above:  Ruin of of the Sassanid Royal Palace at Ctestiphon (in Contemporary Iraq), 1864

Image in the Public Domain

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

SAINT JOHN INTERCISUS (DIED CIRCA 421)

Martyr

How much would you sacrifice for your faith?

King Yezdagerd I (reigned 399-420) of the (Persian) Sassanid Empire, was initially disposed toward toleration of Christianity.  Yet the actions (notably the destruction of a Zoroastrian temple at the capital city, Ctestiphon) of some overzealous Christians persuaded Yezdagerd I to commence persecution of Christianity.  One of the royal courtiers was James, a Christian.  He chose to abandon his faith in the face of the persecution.  Members of his family, however did not, and they influenced him to revert to Christianity.

Meanwhile, Yazdegerd I died, probably due to an assassination.  His son, Bahram V Gor (“the Wild Ass,” for his pursuit of women and his love of hunting) succeeded to the throne.  James confessed his faith to King Bahram, who ordered the courtier arrested, tortured, and executed.  The king’s men cut James into twenty-eight pieces, prolonging his pain and killing him only by decapitating him.  From this manner of martyrdom comes the saint’s posthumous surname, Intercisus, or “cut into pieces.”

King Bahram, after a war (421-422) with the (Eastern) Roman Empire, granted religious freedom to the Christians of his realm.

St. James Intercisus is the patron of lost vocations and torture victims.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 15, 2011 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT ALBERT THE GREAT, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF REGENSBURG

THE FEAST OF MARGARET MEAD, ANTHROPOLOGIST

THE FEAST OF PHILIP WILLIAM OTTERBEIN, COFOUNDER OF THE CHURCH OF THE UNITED BRETHREN IN CHRIST

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The collect and lections for a martyr, from Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), the hymnal and worship book of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:

Gracious God, in every age you have sent men and women who have given their lives in witness to your love and truth.  Inspire us with the memory of Saint James Intercisus, whose faithfulness led to the way of the cross, and give us courage to bear full witness with our lives to your Son’s victory over sin and death, for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Ezekiel 20:40-42

Psalm 5

Revelation 6:9-11

Mark 8:34-38

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Two Related Prayers:

A Prayer for Those Who Are Tortured:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/05/28/a-prayer-for-those-who-are-tortured/

A Prayer for Those Who Inflict Torture:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/05/28/a-prayer-for-those-who-inflict-torture/

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Topaz

Image Source = Didier Descouens

1 (ALL SAINTS)

2 (ALL SOULS/COMMEMORATION OF ALL FAITHFUL DEPARTED)

3 (Richard Hooker, Anglican Priest and Theologian)

• Daniel Payne, African Methodist Episcopal Bishop
• John Worthington, British Moravian Minister and Composer; John Antes, U.S. Moravian Instrument Maker, Composer, and Missionary; Benjamin Henry LaTrobe, Sr., British Moravian Bishop and Hymn Writer; Christian Ignatius LaTrobe, British Moravian Composer; Peter LaTrobe, British Moravian Bishop and Composer; Johann Christopher Pyrlaeus, Moravian Missionary and Musician; and Augustus Gottlieb Spangenberg, Moravian Bishop and Hymn Writer
• Pierre-François Néron, French Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr in Vietnam, 1860

4 (Ludolph Ernst Schlicht, Moravian Minister, Musician, and Hymn Writer; John Gambold, Sr., British Moravian Bishop, Hymn Writer, and Translator of Hymns; and John Gambold, Jr., Moravian Composer)

• Augustus Montague Toplady, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer
• Léon Bloy, French Roman Catholic Novelist and Social Critic; his godson, Jacques Maritain, French Roman Catholic Philosopher; and his wife, Raïssa Maritain, French Roman Catholic Contemplative
• Theodore Weld, U.S. Congregationalist then Quaker Abolitionist and Educator; his wife, Angelina Grimké, U.S. Presbyterian then Quaker Abolitionist, Educator, and Feminist; her sister, Sarah Grimké, U.S. Episcopalian then Quaker Abolitionist and Feminist; her nephew, Francis Grimké, African-American Presbyterian Minister and Civil Rights Activist; and his wife, Charlotte Grimké, African-American Abolitionist and Educator

5 (Bernard Lichtenberg, German Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1943)

• Guido Maria Conforti, Founder of the Xavierian Missionaries
• Hryhorii Lakota, Ukrainian Greek Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1950

6 (Christian Gregor, Father of Moravian Church Music)

• Arthur Tappan and Lewis Tappan, U.S. Congregationalist Businessmen and Abolitionists; colleagues and financial backers of Samuel Eli Cornish and Theodore S. Wright, African-American Ministers and Abolitionists
• Giovanni Gabrieli and Hans Leo Hassler, Composers and Organists; and Claudio Monteverdi and Heinrich Schutz, Composers and Musicians
• Halford E. Luccock, U.S. Methodist Minister and Biblical Scholar
• Magdeleine of Jesus, Founder of the Little Sisters of Jesus

7 (Willibrord, Apostle to the Frisians; and Boniface of Mainz, Apostle to the Germans)

• Benedict Joseph Flaget, Roman Catholic Bishop of Bardstown then of Louisville, Kentucky
• Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of the United States, and Civil Rights Activist
• Eugene Carson Blake, U.S. Presbyterian Minister, Ecumenist, and Moral Critic
• John Cawood, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer
• John Christian Frederick Heyer, Lutheran Missionary in the United States and India; Bartholomeaus Ziegenbalg, Jr., Lutheran Minister to the Tamils; and Ludwig Nommensen, Lutheran Missionary to Sumatra and Apostle to the Batak

8 (John Duns Scotus, Scottish Roman Catholic Priest and Theologian)

• Elizabeth of the Trinity, French Roman Catholic Nun, Mystic, and Religious Writer
• Johann von Staupitz, Martin Luther’s Spiritual Mentor
• John Caspar Mattes, U.S. Lutheran Minister and Liturgist
• Pambo of Nitria, Ammonius of Skete, Palladius of Galatia, Macarius of Egypt, Macarius of Alexandria, and Pishoy, Desert Fathers; Evagrius of Pontus, Monk and Scholar; Melania the Elder, Desert Mother; Rufinus of Aquileia, Monk and Theologian; Didymus the Blind, Biblical Scholar; John II, Bishop of Jerusalem; Melania the Younger, Desert Mother; and her husband, Pinian, Monk

9 (Martin Chemnitz, German Lutheran Theologian, and the “Second Martin”)

• Andreas Peter Berggreen, Danish Lutheran Musicologist, Organist, Music Educator, and Composer
• Elijah P. Lovejoy, U.S. Journalist, Abolitionist, Presbyterian Minister, and Martyr, 1837; his brother, Owen Lovejoy, U.S. Abolitionist, Lawmaker, and Congregationalist Minister; and William Wells Brown, African-American Abolitionist, Novelist, Historian, and Physician
• Johann(es) Matthaus Meyfart, German Lutheran Educator and Devotional Writer
• Margery Kempe, English Roman Catholic Mystic and Pilgrim
• William Croswell, Episcopal Priest and Hymn Writer

10 (Leo I “the Great,” Bishop of Rome)

• Lott Cary, African-American Baptist Minister and Missionary to Liberia; and Melville B. Cox, U.S. Methodist Minister and Missionary to Liberia
• Odette Prévost, French Roman Catholic Nun, and Martyr in Algeria, 1995

11 (Anne Steele, First Important English Female Hymn Writer)

• Alijca Maria Jadwiga Kotowska, Polish Roman Catholic Nun and Martyr, 1939
• Edwin Hatch, Anglican Priest, Scholar, and Hymn Writer
• Martha Coffin Pelham Wright; her sister, Lucretia Coffin Mott; her husband, James Mott; his sister, Abigail Lydia Mott Moore; and her husband, Lindley Murray Moore; U.S. Quaker Abolitionists and Feminists
• Peter Taylor Forsyth, Scottish Congregationalist Minister and Theologian

12 (Josaphat Kuntsevych, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Polotsk, and Martyr, 1623)

• John Tavener, English Presbyterian then Orthodox Composer
• Juana Inés de la Cruz, Mexican Roman Catholic Nun, Composer, Writer, Philosopher, Feminist, and Alleged Heretic
• Ray Palmer, U.S. Congregationalist Minister and Hymn Writer
• William Arthur Dunkerley, British Novelist, Poet, and Hymn Writer

13 (Henry Martyn Dexter, U.S. Congregationalist Minister and Historian)

• Abbo of Fleury, Roman Catholic Abbot
• Brice of Tours, Roman Catholic Bishop
• Frances Xavier Cabrini, Founder of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart
• William Romanis, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer

14 (Samuel Seabury, Episcopal Bishop of Connecticut, and Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church)

• Maria Luiza Merkert, Co-Founder of the Sisters of Saint Elizabeth
• Nicholas Tavelic and His Companions, Roman Catholic Martyrs, 1391
• Peter Wolle, U.S. Moravian Bishop, Organist, and Composer; Theodore Francis Wolle, U.S. Moravian Organist and Composer; and John Frederick “J. Fred” Wolle, U.S. Moravian Organist, Composer, and Choir Director

15 (John Amos Comenius, Father of Modern Education)

• Gustaf Aulén and his protégé and colleague, Anders Nygren, Swedish Lutheran Bishops and Theologians
• Jane Montgomery Campbell, Anglican Hymn Translator and Music Educator
• Johann Gottlob Klemm, Instrument Maker; David Tannenberg, Sr., German-American Moravian Organ Builder; Johann Philip Bachmann, German-American Moravian Instrument Maker; Joseph Ferdinand Bulitschek, Bohemian-American Organ Builder; and Tobias Friedrich, German Moravian Composer and Musician
• Johannes Kepler, German Lutheran Astronomer and Mathematician
• Joseph Pignatelli, Restorer of the Jesuits

16 (Margaret of Scotland, Queen, Humanitarian, and Ecclesiastical Reformer)

• Giuseppe Moscati, Italian Roman Catholic Physician
• Ignacio Ellacuria and His Companions, Martyrs in El Salvador, November 15, 1989
• Jesuit Martyrs of Paraguay, 1628

17 (Henriette DeLille, Founder of the Sisters of the Holy Family)

• Hugh of Lincoln, Roman Catholic Bishop and Abbot

18 (Hilda of Whitby, Roman Catholic Abbess)

• Arthur Tozer Russell, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer
• Isabel Alice Hartley Crawford, Baptist Missionary to the Kiowa Nation
• Jane Eliza(beth) Leeson, English Hymn Writer

19 (Elizabeth of Hungary, Princess of Hungary, and Humanitarian)

• Alice Nevin, U.S. German Reformed Liturgist and Composer of Hymn Texts
• Arthur Henry Mann, Anglican Organist, Choir Director, Hymnodist, and Hymn Tune Composer
• Johann Christian Till, U.S. Moravian Organist, Composer, and Piano Builder; and his son, Jacob Christian Till, U.S. Moravian Piano Builder
• Johann Hermann Schein, German Lutheran Composer
• Samuel John Stone, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer

20 (F. Bland Tucker, Episcopal Priest and Hymnodist; “The Dean of American Hymn Writers”)

• Henry Francis Lyte, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer
• Priscilla Lydia Sellon, a Restorer of Religious Life in The Church of England
• Richard Watson Gilder, U.S. Poet, Journalist, and Social Reformer
• Theodore Claudius Pease, U.S. Congregationalist Minister and Hymn Writer

21 (Thomas Tallis and his student and colleague, William Byrd, English Composers and Organists; and John Merbecke, English Composer, Organist, and Theologian)

• Guy Ignatius Chabrat, Roman Catholic Bishop Coadjutor of Bardstown then of Louisville, Kentucky; and his cousin, Peter Joseph Lavialle, Roman Catholic Bishop of Louisville, Kentucky
• Henry Purcell and his brother, Daniel Purcell, English Composers
• Maria Franciszka Siedliska, Founder of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth

22 (Robert Seagrave, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer)

• Anna Kolesárová, Slovak Roman Catholic Martyr, 1944
• Ditlef Georgson Ristad, Norwegian-American Lutheran Minister, Hymn Translator, Liturgist, and Educator

23 (Clement I, Bishop of Rome)

• Caspar Friedrich Nachtenhofer, German Lutheran Minister, Liturgist, and Hymn Writer
• Columban, Roman Catholic Monk, Abbot, and Missionary
• Enrichetta Alfieri, Italian Roman Catholic Nun and “Angel of San Vittore”
• John Kenneth Pfohl, Sr., U.S. Moravian Bishop; his wife, Harriet Elizabeth “Bessie” Whittington Pfohl, U.S. Moravian Musician; and their son, James Christian Pfohl, Sr., U.S. Moravian Musician

24 (Andrew Dung-Lac and Peter Thi, Roman Catholic Priests and Martyrs in Vietnam, 1839)

• Lucy Menzies, Scottish Presbyterian then Anglican Scholar and Mystic
• Theophane Venard, Roman Catholic Priest, Missionary, and Martyr in Vietnam, 1861
• Vincent Liem, Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr in Vietnam, 1773

25 (William Hiley Bathurst, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer)

• Isaac Watts, English Congregationalist Minister and Hymn Writer
• James Otis Sargent Huntington, Founder of the Order of the Holy Cross
• John LaFarge, Jr., U.S. Roman Catholic Priest and Renewer of Society
• Petrus Nigidius, German Lutheran Educator and Composer; and Georg Nigidius, German Lutheran Composer and Hymn Writer

26 (Siricius, Bishop of Rome)

• H. Baxter Liebler, Episcopal Priest and Missionary to the Navajo Nation
• John Berchmans, Roman Catholic Seminarian
• Sojourner Truth, U.S. Abolitionist, Mystic, and Feminist
• Theodore P. Ferris, Episcopal Priest and Author

27 (James Intercisus, Roman Catholic Martyr)

• William Cooke and Benjamin Webb, Anglican Priests and Translators of Hymns

28 (Stephen the Younger, Defender of Icons)

• Albert George Butzer, Sr., U.S. Presbyterian Minister and Educator
• Kamehameha IV and Emma Rooke, King and Queen of Hawai’i
• James Mills Thoburn, Isabella Thoburn, and Clara Swain, U.S. Methodist Missionaries to India
• Joseph Hofer and Michael Hofer, U.S. Hutterite Conscientious Objectors and Martyrs, 1918

29 (Day of Intercession and Thanksgiving for the Missionary Work of the Church)

• Frederick Cook Atkinson, Anglican Church Organist and Composer
• Jennette Threlfall, English Hymn Writer

30 (ANDREW THE APOSTLE, MARTYR)

Floating

• Thanksgiving Day

Lowercase boldface on a date with two or more commemorations indicates a primary feast.

Above:  The Swords into Plowshares Statue at the United Nations

Image Source = Melesse

God With Us

NOVEMBER 27, 2022

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Isaiah 2:1-5 (New Revised Standard Version):

The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

In days to come

the mountain of the LORD’s house

shall be established as the highest of the mountains,

and shall be raised above the hills;

all the nations shall stream to it.

Many people shall come and say,

Come let us go up tot he mountain of the LORD,

to the house of the God of Jacob;

that he may teach us his paths.

For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,

and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

He shall judge between the nations,

and shall arbitrate for many peoples;

they shall beat their swords into plowshares,

and their spears into pruning hooks;

nation shall not lift up sword against nation,

neither shall they learn war any more.

O house of Jacob,

come, let us walk

in the light of the LORD!

AND

Psalm 122 (New Revised Standard Version):

I was glad when they said to me,

Let us go to the house of the LORD!

Our feet are standing

within your gates, O Jerusalem.

Jerusalem–built as a city

that is bound firmly together.

To it the tribes go up,

the tribes of the LORD,

as was decreed for Israel,

to give thanks for the name of the LORD.

For there the thrones of judgment were set up,

the thrones of the house of David.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:

May they prosper who love you.

Peace be within your walls,

and security within your towers.

For the sake of my relatives and friends

I will say,

Peace be within you.

For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,

I will seek your good.

AND

Romans 13:11-14 (New Revised Standard Version):

You know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

AND

Matthew 24:36-44 (New Revised Standard Version):

Jesus said to the disciples,

But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

The Collect:

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Happy New Year!  The First Sunday of Advent opens the Western Christian Year.  (The Eastern Orthodox churches keep a different schedule.)  About four weeks from the First Sunday of Advent falls Christmas day.  So, in Western Christian sacred time, this is a time to begin preparing for Christmas, much as Lent is a time of preparation for Easter.  I encourage you, O reader, to give Advent its full due attention, not rushing to Christmas Day.  In fact, I prefer to hold off on “Merry Christmas” greetings until about December 24.  The rest of the time I wish people a “Holy Advent.”

The name “Emmanuel” means “God with us.”  This summarizes the readings for this day.  They speak of the God who is present with us, what this deity will do at some unspecified time, and the responsibilities the faithful must execute in this context.  These lessons tell us that God loves us, expects us to behave ourselves, and will establish justice on the earth in the future.

No mere mortal can predict the future with perfect accuracy.  Science fiction scenarios look dated with the passage of time.  Think about the computer technology in 2001:  A Space Odyssey (1968), for example.  The computers are SO BIG compared to what they were in 2001, much less 2010.  And since shortly after the time Jesus walked the earth people have predicted his return many times, often with specific dates.  One of my favorite thrift store finds is a small paperback book, Christ Returns by 1988:  101 Reasons Why, by Colin Hoyle Deal.  I feel safe in claiming that 1988 came and went without Jesus returning.

Let us not become so preoccupied with reading the news in hopes of identifying the Antichrist or other apocalyptic indicators that we give short shrift to or ignore signs of God’s actual  activity around us.  Alleged Antichrists have come and gone; they are ranged from Adolf Hitler to Joseph Stalin to Ronald Wilson Reagan–the latter for having three names, each with six letters–666.  All politics aside, I propose that to become caught up prophesy is a fool’s errand, and that we Christians need to focus on the present constructively.  God is active all around us; do we not see it.  If we look with spiritual eyes we will see Jesus in friends, strangers, and even in those we dislike.  We will witness divine activity in places we expect the least or do anticipate at all.  So we will know more deeply that God is with us and will remain with us, and that this fact makes certain demands upon us.

As for the rest, the details will be what they will be.  And any of us could be wrong about our predictions.  Sometimes a belief that Jesus’ Second Coming is near has become a reason not to seek social justice or not to conserve part of the natural world.  Yet we humans have a mandate to care for creation and to seek social justice.  So let us live faithfully in the present tense, leaving the future to God.

KRT

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

P.S.: The Episcopal Church has adopted an Advent lectionary.  My practice regarding Advent is as follows:  I use the designated Year A readings, according to the Revised Common Lectionary and the lessons which are part of the Episcopal lectionary for Advent.  This lectionary designates Monday-Saturday lessons for the first two weeks of Advent, Monday-Friday readings for the Third Week of Advent, and dated lessons for December 24.  I will provide devotions for all of these, including Friday in the Third Week, which will fall on December 17 in 2010 and December 19, which will double as the Fourth Sunday of Advent this year.  My intention is that these devotions will roll over from year to year, adding Year B Sundays next year and Year C Sundays the year after that, and changing dates on blog posts as necessary each year.

So I invite you to accompany me on this faith journey.

Pax vobiscum,

KRT

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/05/20/week-of-proper-27-friday-year-1/