My only experience with caissons is in the logistics of death. I’ve walked behind caissons at Arlington Cemetery, as the body rolls to its resting place. These committals have taps, and guns, and an officer with a folded flag. Other burials have just a few people, grieving alone while the madding crowd continues its frenzy, oblivious to their doom.
It’s there, at the graveyard, where you really wonder what’s true….
Read MoreThat term scapegoat, it comes from the Day of Atonement. On Sunday, we talked about the two bulls, one for the High Priest, the other for the people. There were also two goats. One goat was killed, and like the bulls, the blood of this goat was brought into the Holy Place.
After the blood had been sprinkled on the altar, then the other goat, still living, is brought to the High Priest. The instructions for this are …
Read MoreChurches with dramatic claims to antiquity or authority sometimes beckon. The ancient churches of Rome and Constantinople greatly appeal to some. Why? In many churches the worship is unstable, changing with every new hit song. Doctrines change as the culture shifts. Voting becomes the highest sacrament. In such an environment, people crave stability, order, tradition.
But the cure is worse than the disease. For both Rome and the East, it’s the continuity of the institution that ultimately matters. When you break it down, these churches are defined by their bureaucracy and their geography.
But the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church is not founded upon a pope….
Read MoreLady Gaga tweeted on Friday, “Fame is prison.” I believe her.
“We … have never been enslaved” said the Jews to Jesus. I don’t believe them.
Our appetites enslave. Death imprisons.
Perhaps you’ve struggled with an addiction. Alcohol. Video games. Porn. Social media. Gazing into the electronic abyss, fondling your phone.
Maybe you’re mired in what seems an inescapable situation. A job; a marriage; a mental construct that tyrannizes your mind and desolates your soul.
For Luther, he saw he was imprisoned by his sin. He knew God demanded righteousness. And Luther knew he was not good, no matter how hard he tried…
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