Sunday, September 30, 2007

 

The Fall of Rome and America's Future?

First, Rome really didn't fall, as such; or at least not the way generally thought, or when generally thought. Certainly there were times when the barbarians were literally at the gates, so to speak. But there was never a time when a Roman citizen of southern Gaul, for example, would stop and say, "My, haven't things been crappy since Rome fell."

But by the time Rome "fell," it had already been superseded (and eclipsed) by the New Rome (Constantinople). These Romans of the East thought of themselves as exactly that, the "Romaioi." They would have been puzzled if anyone had addressed them as a Byzantine. And not only that, but this New Rome -- for centuries, the marvel of civilization-continued on until 1453. So, even if one were to buy into the whole America = Rome theory, the date used for comparison is about 1,000 years shy of the final fall.

Read it all (by John) at NotesFromACommonPlaceBook.

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Saturday, September 29, 2007

 

One Thousand Six Hundred ... and still going!

"The font will not suffice to save us unless after coming from it, we display a life worthy of the Gift."

-- St John Chrysostom, Homily 13 on Romans

"For he who feels the tooth of slander, gives by his vexation a proof that he is conscious of the truth of what is said. But he who smiles at it, by this very thing acquits himself of all suspicion with those who are present...flee from the abyss of a little mind."

-- St John Chrysostom, HOMILY 13 on Romans

One thousand six hundred years after his death, St John Chrysostom remains one of Orthodoxy’s most venerated church fathers, theologians, moralists, and liturgists. Fr Josiah Trenham sheds light on this great Saint in an hour long interview with the Illumined Heart Podcast on Ancient Faith Radio.

It's well worth your time.

Go HERE and scroll to September 23rd's Podcast.

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Friday, September 28, 2007

 

Nothing New Under the Moon

Jeffrey Steenson, [this week] explained to the US bishops why he is to be received into the Roman Catholic Church. He leaves an Episcopal Church in disarray, led no longer by a 'house' but by a 'community' of bishops, with a songbook of praise to Mother Earth, Sister Moon and Brother Sun.

Here's the story (thanks to an e-tip from tmatt).

In an earlier letter to the bishops, the 55-year-old Bishop Steenson, who has headed the diocese based in Albuquerque, N.M., since January 2005, said his "conscience is deeply troubled about where the Episcopal Church is heading, and this has become a crisis for me because of my ordination vow to uphold its doctrine, discipline and worship." Source

For the life of me, other than the big buck salaries, high media profile, and fabu pension plan ...

Wait. Hmmm. Well, okay then. When put that way I guess I can understand how these men are still found hanging out in the morass that passes as Anglicanism in this country.

The General Convention of 1991 in Phoenix was my one and only foray into Pagan worship. Oh sure, I'd read New Age stuff when I was in college -- and who's not attracted to a bit of wackiness from time to time?

But the Convention in '91 opened with American Indians "blessing" the altar in full traditional dress and ritual (feathers, moccasins, whooping, etc). They did this by invoking Father Sky and Mother Earth.

I kid you not.

No offense to the Native Americans! Hey, they were just doing their thing (an unofficial Episcopalian slogan commandment).

But, really.

And, adding insult to injury heresy, there was even a "Cafe Style Eucharist" held later in the week. I skipped out -- thanks God! -- on that one. This was where there was a main celebrant of the Mass down on the stage in the round ... and worshippers attendees were seated around tables scattered throughout the convention center. There were multiple clergy at each table when suddenly, like a Jack-n-the-Box, up would pop a surprise Celebrant for each table (male or female, believer or not-so-much) and "zap" the gifts (the pottery chalice of wine and the bread) found on each table -- from which those around that particular table would commune.

Again, I kid you not.

So while I commend the good bishop for taking a stand, and can only wish him well in Rome, I do scratch my head and ofttimes wonder ...

After so many moons have passed ...

Why now?

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Thursday, September 27, 2007

 

Orthodox Convert Furniture

My wife likes to say that she knew we were becoming Orthodox when she came home one day to a recording of Byzantine chant playing, and a censer smoking on the hearth next to a couple of icons. I remember very clear what she did that afternoon--she gestured to the couch and asked, "Do we need to remove the pews, too?"

-- Richard in the Comments

Reminds me of an old Top Ten list where the number one sign that you might be an Orthodox Fundamentalist is:

1) There are no chairs in your home; you haven't sat in years!

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Tuesday, September 25, 2007

 

Dawn @ App



Oops! Wrong picture ...




D'oh!

Everyone knows that story!


Here we go:




My ol' e-buddy, Dawn, was recently at my alma mater, Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina.


(I'm sure it took her at least a thousand words to explain that picture! Click the link above.)

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Monday, September 24, 2007

 

HOUSTON: Two Years Ago

The following is a re-post from September 24, 2005.

Route to Rita

At first, my son wasn't excited about moving to Houston. He'd heard they had hurricanes. Fr John Salem, the priest at St George, encouraged me to tell him that it had been a long, long time since a hurricane hit Houston. Not to worry.

That, I did. I also found a house with a pool. The latter was enough to pump the boy up. Hurricane, pool. Pool, hurricane. The pool easily won.

We spent the night in the new digs on the floor, sleeping bags. There wasn't a hotel room in the vicinity thanks to the infamous Katrina. By Tuesday morning folks were already talking about approaching weather. I had a serious parental talk with my children, especially Basil. Sometimes hurricanes do hit Houston. But, we'll get through it.

On Wednesday the truck with most of our stuff arrived. By then preparations were underway all around us for the storm.

Silly me, I'd let them pack the coffee maker on the truck. Therefore, Mickie D's made my coffee on Tuesday & Wednesday morning. It was on Wednesday that I heard, really heard, about the hurricane on the radio. They were going over a preparedness checklist. Dang.

So, just hours away from the arrival of all our worldly goods, the wife and I went to a grocery store at 6:40 am. It didn't open till 7 ... there was a line. So, we waited. Folks joked. The store manager opened the door with the announcement: "We have no water! I'm still waiting on a truck. There are a few batteries left by the check-out counters." About half the people that had been waiting in line left.

We'd gotten a few things but, needing more, I came home while Elizabeth and my oldest daughter went hunting (normally called "shopping"). I told my wife, given that we have lots of camping gear -- Coleman stoves, lanterns and such -- to try to get lots of small propane tanks.

Just as the moving van arrived, the gals returned. Lots of water and propane. Yeah! Thing is, as it turned out, all of our camping gear missed this van and won't be delivered until next week. (We did find a One Burner which, thank God, would be a blessing if needed.)

We were moving in. Neighbors were heading out of town. Jokes were made. That's just what comes natural in the face of possible disaster.

One neighbor came over and asked if she could have a few of our mattress boxes. Sure. Why? She said to tape cardboard over the windows to prevent glass and debris from blowing into the house should the windows break. Oh, and, "Welcome to the neighborhood." Something like that.

The people in Houston have been great. Never having considered Texas a part of the South (sorry, cultural bias), I have been pleasantly surprised at just how Southern it seems. Southern etiquette and conservative views prevail. Maybe it's justification, but I'm presently mentally arranging my Southern geography to include East Texas.

The truck left Wednesday afternoon and, like an addiction, we set about unpacking boxes. The pool, we discovered, is a great babysitter.

Thursday found us taping up windows, using lots and lots of cardboard, and getting ready for what was being called an historic storm of catastrophic proportions.

Phones rang. Family, friends, and former parishioners. Praying.

It's been wild.

Did I mention love bugs?

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BIBLE: Look Ma! No Hand!

A. J. Jacobs' recent book writing trick: Live a whole year following all the rules of the Bible.

Unless your religion is similar to a Weird Al Yankovic video, or your Bible's missing a whole section called the "New Testament," reading this story about his adventure is frustrating to say the least.

Jacobs spent the year carrying around a stapled list of the more than 700 rules and prohibitions identified in the Good Book, and also consulted with religious leaders and spent time with the Amish, Hassidic Jews and Jehovah’s Witnesses.

See what I mean? It makes sense, of course, when you're reminded that his purpose was to, let's be real, poke fun at the Bible.

Also, during the experiment I wore a lot of white clothes, because Ecclesiastes says let your garments always be white, and I loved it, so I look like Tom Wolfe now.

The most frustrating part of the article stems, for me, from the fact that he never mentions the New Testament or Jesus. Therefore, it leads me to believe that he didn't actually follow the whole Bible ... just the ol' rules and regs part.

Two kinds of rules were hard. Avoiding sins we commit every day like lying, gossiping and coveting was hard, and then there were the rules that were hard to do in modern life, like stoning adulterers.

See what I mean?

Well, but, come to think of it, Jacobs might now be missing an eye or a hand had he followed, literally, some of the sayings of Christ.

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Saturday, September 22, 2007

 

Help! There's an iconostasis in my living room!

Back when I was an Episcopalian -- and “on my way” (as the say) to Orthodoxy -- I really weirded out the Missuz. Oh sure, she was ready to move on from where we were, but she was not 100% on fire for Eastern Orthodoxy!

For some reason, Orthodoxy’s funny that way, guys & gals …

I’d had a Prayer Desk -- a prie deux -- commissioned in seminary, which was downstairs in my study …

Well, one day, while my wife was out shopping, I spirited the Prayer Desk upstairs and placed it in the living room with an icon above it … and some prayer ropes and books around it. It was way too “churchy” for the rest of the furniture … but, I thought: “Boy, will she be surprised!”

Unh-hunh.

Ladies, you can imagine her reaction!

Then, as we moved closer to our jump to Orthodoxy, we used to gather with a couple friends from our current Episcopal church community and -– under closed blinds and behind locked doors -- are you ready for this?

We would ...


Listen to the Orthodixie Podcast on Ancient Faith Radio (for the rest of the story).

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Thursday, September 20, 2007

 

Appalachian State versus ... Iran?


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Wednesday, September 19, 2007

 

Nicholson, Hanks, Stiller & Huneycutt?

Ladies and Gentlemen, as you may know, I have Hollywood connections. I participated in Sony's interactive media campaign when they launched the Da Vinci Dialogue to promote Tom Hanks in the screen version of Dan Brown's blockbuster. (Updated audio version of that piece here.) And, as a recent blog commenter noted, I -- ahem -- borrowed from the title of an earlier work (starring Jack Nicholson on the screen) when I wrote One Flew Over the Onion Dome.

So it was no surprise to me when I received a call from none-other-than funny man Ben Stiller -- who is pitching the movie version of One Flew to a major Tinsel Town interest.

Seems that Stiller wants to star in the film version of One Flew Over the Onion Dome ... he wants to play the naive seeker who is trying to get into the Orthodox Church.

Jack Nicholson has been tagged to play the crotchety old Orthodox Priest (nationality yet to be determined, maybe Greek) ... and Tom Hanks is set to play the well-meaning but bumbling Convert (Retread) Priest.

At first I was dubious, but then Stiller sent me some pages from the script (which, at the moment, uses the actor's real names).

This scene takes place at a wedding rehearsal gathering with multiple clergy of various jurisdictions present:

FR TOM: "Yeah, I learned early on: When you go to a Convert's house to do a house blessing -- they have so many icons on the walls, all the walls, that you have to ask, 'Where is the icon corner?'"

SEEKER STILLER: (Laughs)

FR JACK: (In those famous gravelly Nicholson tones) "Oh yeah, funny guy? Well what do you encounter when you go to bless a Greek's house?

FR TOM: "Oh! That's easy! You have to take your own icon!"

SEEKER STILLER: (Falls out of his chair laughing!)

FR JACK: (Without smiling or blinking.) "Oh, that used to be true. But not any more ..."

FR TOM: "Oh really? You people got icons now?"

FR JACK: "Yeah ... we try to stay abreast of the latest trends."

-- 0 --

He promised to send more later. I told him other script ideas might be found in the Comments.

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Tuesday, September 18, 2007

 

3rd Thursdays @ St George, Houston

The St George Orthodox Church monthly Mediterranean Luncheon kicks off on September 20th!

This monthly luncheon is a new way to encourage our parish and the community to come and enjoy our delicious foods and have fellowship.

The menu for the September 20th Luncheon:

Tender beef kabobs

Mediterranean green beans in savory tomato sauce

served on a bed of Vermicelli and rice,

Mediterranean salad and hummus

Come join us as we kick off the St George Mediterranean Monthly Luncheons – and tell your friends and co-workers too!

September 20 from 11- 2:00pm ~ $8.00 per plate

St George is located at 5311 Mercer (at Bissonnet), across the street from Cleburne's Cafeteria, catty-corner from Channel 13 (between Edloe and Buffalo Speedway).

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Monday, September 17, 2007

 

A Question for Ya ...

I have read your blog a number of times. I have also read other Orthodox blogs. A strange question has occurred to me. Perhaps you can offer insight. Why is it that it is (generally) recent converts to Orthodox Christianity who blog?

I received the above note from a "Cradle" Orthodox Christian. I'd never really thought of it -- appropriate Comments welcome!

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Sunday, September 16, 2007

 

The Function of Icons



Neither God nor the saints, of course, need the honor which we offer them, be it by means of icons, or by means of hymns and music. But it is only proper for us to do so, as the adoration of God and the admiration of saints are expressions of a soul that sees and loves the beauty of holiness, of spiritual perfection, and feels grateful to the Deity and to holy men for their many benefactions to mankind. Such a response is not merely something proper for us, but is also conductive to our salvation. The following remark of John Damascene calls attention to this point, and at the same time has a bearing on several of the functions served by icons: "I enter the common place-of-therapy of souls, the church, choked as it were by the thorns of worldly thoughts. The bloom of painting attracts me, it delights my sight like a meadow, and secretly evokes in my soul the desire to glorify God. I behold the fortitude of the martyr, the crowns awarded, and my zeal is aroused like fire; I fall down and worship God through the martyr, and receive salvation."

-- Dr. Constantine Cavarnos

Go HERE for the whole article.

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Saturday, September 15, 2007

 

Moses Needs Come Down From Dat Mtn

"I guess hell froze over," said Griffin, whose show overtook ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. "A lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus.”

Holding up her statuette, Griffin topped off her off-script speech by saying, "**** **, Jesus. This award is my god now."

FWIW, here's the story.

HT THUNDERSTRUCK

UPDATE: Asked about her speech backstage a short time later, an unrepentant Griffin added, "I hope I offended some people. I didn't want to win the Emmy for nothing."

Griffin's reaction to the imbroglio, according to a statement issued by her publicist: "Am I the only Catholic left with a sense of humour?"

"It is a sure bet that if Griffin had said, '**** **, Muhammad,' there would have been a very different reaction," Catholic league president Bill Donohue said in a statement posted on the group's website.

Comic Kathy Griffin's "offensive" remarks about Jesus at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards will be cut from a pre-taped telecast of the show, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences said.

Source

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Druids & Devils, Daughters & Dads and ... Dentists?

Those who know me know I ain't much on Halloween. I never was much on Halloween, even as a kid. It seemed a bit odd to me that perfectly normal devil-hating church folks would go all out, once a year, to root for the other side.

As I popped in to Kroger the other day my eyes were accosted with the images of bogey-ness. Goblins, the living dead, spider webs, and ghoulishness everywhere.

Did I mention brightly wrapped massive amounts of chocolate?

Then I received the following email from a young girl:

Dear Fr Joseph,

My parents don't allow me to go to Halloween because they think that I will be killed or vampires might come out. My church doesn't allow it at all – and my parents say it's all about Satan. What should I do?

I was tempted to reply: “Yes, Charlotte, there is a Bogey Man …"

Scary, it'nit.

I mean, the scary part is the amount of money Americans WASTE on this occasion and, even more so, the fact that in most public school districts this religious “feast” – Halloween – is the only one sanctioned and celebrated.

Ah … but did you know that there was actually a school in Seattle that canceled Halloween festivities a few years ago?

Listen to the Orthodixie Podcast on Ancient Faith Radio.

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Friday, September 14, 2007

 

IOCC - Giving in the Workplace


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Wednesday, September 12, 2007

 

Whew! I didn't want to say anything ...

Please forgive our messy reconstruction. Our current appearance is only temporary. We are glad you have visited Antiochian.org today. We are working hard to improve the site. In fact we have just put a new team together to address some major needed fixes, so we can really use your comments right now.

Our current appearance is only temporary. The current design is just the scaffolding on which we will build our improvements.

Please use our comments form to tell us about any broken pages, suggestions, or anything else about our website.

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Making a List, Checking it Twice ...

For if the wickedness be great and the wicked have not been requited, it is absolutely necessary that they should be requited. For if men do not overlook these things, how should God make an oversight?

It is not right to trust in faith only. For it is deeds also into which that tribunal will enquire.

-- St John Chrysostom

Thanks to FWD from Fr Josiah Trenham.

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Tuesday, September 11, 2007

 

Partying Like It's 1999!

In the Millennium Bazaar, a series of market stalls just behind Meskel Square in the centre of Addis Ababa, everything is stamped "2000". From plastic bowls and key rings to packets of crisps and vases of plastic flowers, all are marketed as millennium specials.

Elsewhere in the world today it is 11 September 2007. But in Ethiopia, which runs on a unique Coptic calendar more than seven years behind the Gregorian calendar, it is a far more auspicious day: New Year's Eve, 1999.

More.


Hmmm ... I wonder if they've stocked up on water, batteries, canned food, ammo, wind-up radios and -- oh wait.

Nevermind.

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6 YRS: A Long, Long Time Ago ...

TODAY, September 11th, is the Sixth Anniversary of those infamous acts of terrorism against our nation known simply and collectively as "9/11." Please remember in your divine services today the innocent victims of terrorism whose lives were lost that day, their surviving family members, the injured, the first responders, and our men and women in the Armed Forces who are engaged in the ongoing war against terrorism.

Taken from the Clergy Brotherhood email of the Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America.

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Sunday, September 09, 2007

 

Saints Joachim and Anna

Be glad, O barren one;
Be glad, O aged Anna.
You will conceive and give birth
To a wondrous child, a chosen one –

As once did the aged Sarah,
And the mother of Samson,
And the mother of Samuel,
And the mother of John –

Yet you will be more glorious than all,
For you will give birth from the womb
To the wonderful Virgin, the only
Wonderful Mother of the Most-high King.

Be glad, O Joachim,
Father of the unprecedented mother,
Of whom the Creator desires
To be clothed with glory.

The Law loses its power
When God wills, and where He wills.
Who can gainsay God?
Can there be any dispute with God?

Not by disputation, but by love
Does God change His laws.
Before love, all laws
Are as if nonexistent.

When men hunger, the Lord
Makes the dry field fertile;
And because of the spiritual hunger of the world,
He makes the barren one fertile.

For the salvation of men, the Lord
Arranges all for the best.
That is why all the Church of the saints
Cries out to Him: Glory! Glory!

-- St Nikolai Velimirovic

Taken from the Prologue of Ohrid ("HYMN OF PRAISE: Saints Joachim and Anna" - September 9th).

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Only in America: Fish Chases Dollar



Thanks to FWD from Jean-Michel.

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Saturday, September 08, 2007

 

He Built This City, But He Didn't Write the Song!

A friend of mine is a priest in a special Greek Church named after Mother and Son Saints: Helen and Constantine.

When I say this is a special Greek Church, I don’t mean just a big temple, parking lot, annual festival and gymnasium.

Of course they have all that …

But, I mean they’ve got something really special … way down in the basement. I never would have believed it had I not seen it with my own eyes …

Y’all …

They have a Time Machine!

That’s right, an honest to goodness Time Machine that will transport you to any destination you wish. Well, almost. That is, you can go anywhere within the so-called “Christian Era” … BUT, your destination must be connected with a Saint.

Being one for new adventures, I said, “Sure, I’m game! How ‘bout we just try the Great Emperor Constantine?!”

So I pulled the lever and WOOSH! I was really taken aback … being hurled through the ages at lightening speed! Head swimming, colossal noises, (well you get the picture) …

Next thing I knew I was hurled down into a ramshackle house -- a bit of a hovel -- and people kept calling me Bernie. (For some reason, I dunno, “Bernie” is obviously my Time Travel Name.)

Anyway …

There came a loud knock at the door and I opened it to see three frazzled and haggard faces – hippie types -- come rushing into my house and say:

“Bernie! You’re not going to believe what happened!”

I said -- “Where am I?”

They looked at me curiously and said, “Bernie, you’re in Rome … it’s the year 313 … and you’re always babbling about that silly thing you call a Time Machine; now sit down and listen!”

Friends, I didn’t know what else to do but to sit down. Then they related their harried tale of woe ...

“Bernie, it was Saturday and we were worshipping in the community worship center, you know -- wearin’ jeans, banging tambourines, strumming our guitars and singing the ancient hymn …”

I said, “Kumbaya?”

“No! You know …

Listen to the Orthodixie Podcast on Ancient Faith Radio.

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Friday, September 07, 2007

 

Wise Kid on WiseCrack

My youngest is now in Kindergarten. This morning, as she sat at table finishing her breakfast, she said: "I've got a secret ... I've got a secret and I can't tell you!"

Her mother said: "You've got a secret? Is this something happening at school?"

The 5-year old daughter said, "Yes, everybody's doing it. But they told us not to tell!"

I asked: "Is it smoking Crack?"

She laughed and said, "Dad! No! It's way more fun than that!"

:)

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Wednesday, September 05, 2007

 

Evangelical-Orthodox Novus Ordo

The new "Liturgical Service," as they call it, has become the most popular service even among young people. After the "standard" evangelical service at 9:30 a.m., workers decorate the platform with candles, non-specific iconography and other religious-looking items. Fitzgerald wears generic vestments and adopts a more somber manner. He reads from a liturgical book and the congregation responds by reading words on the screens.

"I like the reverence and the mood," says one girl, 16. "It feels more spiritual."

"I like the candles," her friend chimes in.

The effort seems to be working to keep church members from straying elsewhere. In St. Paul, Minn., Family Life Center recently created a liturgical service and says some families have opted to stay rather than try out other churches. Jessica Onstead, 38, was dissatisfied enough last year with the "fluffiness" of evangelical church services that she visited an Orthodox service and liked parts of it. But she was uncomfortable with the "kissing of strangers, genuflecting and standing for an hour during the sermon."

She ended up back at her non-denominational church which had by then added an Orthodox-style service. She now attends ...

Read it ALL.

And a reaction.

Thanks to FWD from tmatt.

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The Feast of the Righteous Elizabeth

St Elizabeth was from the lineage of Aaron and was the sister of St Anna, the mother of the Most Holy Theotokos. She and her husband Zachariah, walking in all the commandments of the Lord (Luke 1:6), suffered barrenness, which in those times was considered a punishment from God.

When Elizabeth gave birth to a son, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit she announced that his name would be John, although no one in their family had this name. They asked Zachariah, who had been rendered mute because of his disbelief when an angel (traditionally the Archangel Gabriel) informed him that his wife would soon bear a child, what the child's name was, and he wrote the name John down on a tablet. Immediately the gift of speech returned to him, and inspired by the Holy Spirit, he began to prophesy about his son as the Forerunner of the Lord.

When King Herod heard from the Magi about the birth of the Messiah, he decided to kill all the infants up to two years old at Bethlehem and the surrounding area, hoping that the newborn Messiah would be among them. The king knew about John's unusual birth and wanted to kill him, fearing that John was the foretold King of the Jews. But Elizabeth hid herself and the infant in the hills. The murderers searched everywhere for John. Elizabeth, when she saw her pursuers, began to implore God for their safety, and immediately the hill opened up and concealed her and the infant from their pursuers.

In these tragic days St Zachariah was taking his turn at the services in the Temple. Soldiers sent by Herod tried in vain to learn from Zachariah the whereabouts of his son. Then, by command of Herod, they murdered this holy prophet Zachariah, having stabbed him between the temple and the altar (Matthew 23: 35). Elizabeth died forty days after her husband, and St John, preserved by the Lord, dwelt in the wilderness until the day of his appearance to the nation of Israel.

Stolen from Orthodox Wiki.

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Tuesday, September 04, 2007

 

Hayseeds, Mustard Seeds, Wolverines & Philistines

The University of Michigan Wolverines learned a valuable lesson on September 1, 2007: "No matter your future expectations, today ya gotta play the game."

As an Appalachian Alum, I am obviously biased. Actually that should read: "As an App Alum, I am naturally optimistic." Look. There ain't many spoilt rich kids at ASU. And those that think they are, compared to places like UM, just think they are.

Appalachian State University is a special place, first and foremost -- hideous promo video aside -- because of its location in the breathtaking Blue Ridge Mountains. But, more than that, it is home to the sons and daughters of predominantly working class folks from the Foothills and Piedmont of North Carolina. Oh heck, let me just come out and say it: That's Ya Hoo without a Dot Com. But when you mix Hayseeds with Mustard Seeds, or sump'm like at, you can move mountains all the way to Michigan.

My wife and I, both ASU Grads ('83 & '87), caught Saturday's game on the computer -- a station broadcasting from Michigan I'd googled online. We were doing yard work outside on a surprisingly pleasant fall-like Houston day. As ASU led for most of the game, it was even more to our liking. We were not greatly surprised ... Hey. App Alums will believe anything about their Alma Mater.

Then, when things turned sour with 4 minutes left to play, the Missuz pouted and went back to using the leaf blower. Man that I am, I remained glued to the computer. Then, chugga-chugga-choo-choo!, Chugga-Chugga-Choo-Choo! -- when the Little Engine That Could started doin' its thang, I whined ... "Come on in Hun, they're gettin' ready to kick a field goal to go ahead." Long story short, they did: And how.

When you're 46, whether you're a Mountaineer or not, jumping up and down and screaming at the top of your lungs -- high-fivin' and acting a fool takes a toll. But, hey. Ya gotta do whatchya gotta do. They did; we did. Yahoo!

Un. Be. Lievable.

I say that not because, as a Mountaineer, we didn't believe. I say it because of the reaction of the nation to the Big Game. It's been fun to follow. Then again, for Michigan fans, not so much. It's a bitter (capital B with an Echo) pill to swallow for a cocky powerhouse with hopes of a National Title and a Heisman candidate. But for ASU, it was Game Day ... away. And all they had to lose was their 15-game winning streak. 'Sawright. Good experience and great exposure for the Mountaineers.

ASU's head coach, Jerry Moore, undoubtedly like many of his players, is a faithful Christian -- a Baptist. He's in his 19th season in Boone, North Carolina. (University of Texas head, Mack Brown, only lasted a year at ASU.) Moore reads Psalms and Proverbs each morning and has taught his players a wonderful lesson over the years: “Let the first moments of the day when the heart is fresh be given to God. Never see the face of man till you have seen the King.” Source

True, in cases such as this, Faith is paramount. But also ...

[T]he Mountaineers kept telling themselves that while Michigan might be the winningest program in major college history, the Wolverines were just college kids like them. The past is the past. This was about the future.

"Their players are like us," running back Kevin Richardson told the Detroit News before the game. "They have feet, put on shoes and strap on the pads just like we do." Source

Besides, in the end, even Wolverine fans (if they dig deep enough) gotta admit: Though that big ol' Philistine could have should have beaten that little shepherd boy ...

That story just won't preach.

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Saturday, September 01, 2007

 

Appalachian 34 ... Michigan 32

That's

What

I'm

Talkin'

Bout

!

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Letters! We Get Letters! (American Orthodoxy on AFR)


Dear Fr Joseph,

Last week I finally decided to visit an Orthodox Church. You know what? I couldn’t understand A WORD they were saying. What gives?

-- Confused in Carolina


Dear Confused ...

Tune in to the Orthodixie Podcast on AFR.


Dear Fr Joseph,

I’m thinking of joining the Orthodox Church … which Jurisdiction should I join?

Sincerely seeking,

Jan.


Dear Jan ...

Tune in to the Orthodixie Podcast on AFR.


Fr Joseph,

Ever since my husband heard your Podcast about St Elvis - he’s been tormenting our family with his singing, shaking, and snarling. He’s also demanding fried PB&J sandwiches on Fast Days.

Can you help me?

Susie in Alabama
PS – Some say I look like Ann-Margret. Is there hope for me, too?


Dear Susie ...

Tune in to the Orthodixie Podcast on AFR.


Father Bless,

I understand there’s a rule against Priests dancing – and a rule against Priests swimming in public. It would help me greatly if you could point me to a rule forbidding Priests singing in the shower …

Sincerely,

Matushka Xenobia


Dear Matushka,

Tune in to the Orthodixie Podcast on Ancient Faith Radio.

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