Why the Pittsburgh Post Gazette is an embarrassment at best

“Death of a President” is a film that opens today at a couple of theaters in Pittsburgh. It won’t play at our local Cinemark or many other theaters whose corporate owners refuse to run it. What makes “DOAP” controversial and why some theater chains have decided not to show it is that it is “a sober fakeumentary from Britain’s Channel 4 that imagines the assassination of the current President Bush in Chicago on October 19, 2007.” (Time Magazine).

The film imagines what might happen in the aftermath of such a tragedy and shows an over-reactive government and populace “rushing to judgment” as the first person suspected of being the lone assassin is a Syrian man with rumored al-Qaeda sympathies. Suspicions prove wrong, but the damage is done. (more…)

Sunday is Reformation Sunday among the Protestant churches (wear plaid). The day is set in commemoration of All Saint’s Eve (October 31) 1517, when the young German monk, Martin Luther, tacked a list of 95 grievances against the medieval church on the door of the chapel at Wittenberg. The date is often sited as the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, though the winds of change had been blowing across the church for more than a century.

The great watchwords of the Reformation were “scripture alone, grace alone, faith alone.” Luther and the Reformers insisted that the sole authority for the life of faith, right belief and the ordering of the church was the Bible. And from the pages of scripture they heard a clear and unequivocal message that our justification – our ability to come into a right relationship with God and to “enjoy him forever” – was “by faith through grace.” Salvation is a gift of God received by faith, and that faith itself is a free gift of God to all who believe.

Reformation Sunday is more than a commemorative event, however. We celebrate not just the past, but the reality of our justification before God; God’s gift of faith through grace to us.

So, put on some plaid, but more than that, put on thanks for the great gift of God!

What Are Friends For?

I recently received a piece of junk email from someone named Mark who was just looking out for me: “Mark” wrote:

This is not meant to be an insult or anything, but people at work are talking about your weight. I thought you should know. I knew it would upset you if you knew, but I know some friends here and outside work who have used a program that worked within weeks. I’m not pushing anything on your, but thought it wouldn’t hurt if you looked into it. I also think that I am doing you a favor as it’s always nice when people talk about how much better you look than how much you’ve been putting on. I hope I am not intruding, just trying to help out. My cousin and friend Alex used this and it helped a lot. Here’s the page I know they got it from direct: zzzzz.com.Again, I’m just trying to help out. Thanks for listening. – Mark

What would I do without friends like Mark looking out for me? And, of course, he’s right: it’s always nice when people talk about how much better you look rather than how much you have been putting on. Thank goodness for friends like Mark. (more…)

The Sacrament of Tree Planting

On Saturday Becky and I will be in South Bend, Indiana, visiting Christopher, otherwise I’d be at the church to help plant the dogwood trees. I think there is something almost sacramental about the planting of trees.

The Prophet Jeremiah lived at one of the lowest times in the history of Judan and Israel. The people had long been disobedient to God’s call to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with their God. Punishment had befallen them and God’s wrath was poured out on them by the hand of the Babylonian invaders. Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, was called by God to pronounce divine judgment against the people and suffered greatly for his obedience. In the midst of those devastating times, Jeremiah was given the opportunity to redeem a relative’s field – to buy some land, to plant an orchard and invest in the future. At the time it seemed like a crazy investment, a foolish idea. But God assured Jeremiah that his faithfulness would not fail, that the day would come when peace would prevail and fruit would be harvested. (more…)

In this E-psitle:

Marking the Amish
What and Why We Sing

The Apostle Paul advises the Philippians to mark those whose lives serve as example of Kingdom living (Philippians 3:17).

There’s been a lot written this week in the aftermath of the shooting at the Amish School in Lancaster County. National news reports have tended to focus on three aspects of the story. First is the context: the Amish and their way of life that eschews so much of modernity and technology. Second is the amazing forgiveness that marked the Amish response to the tragedy. The third part of the story has been the life of the murderer, a man, who among other things “hated God.” (more…)