unsung heroes

For all those men and women working with students — thanks for your incredible commitment.  We need more like you.

a little more Shakespeare

One of my favorite peices of Shakespearean literature comes out of Henry V. Just prior to the battle of Agincourt [in Northern France on Friday 25th of October 1415, St. Crispins day] – when outnumbered by French forces, King Henry calls his generals together and issues this famous inspiring call to battle and potential sacrifice…

He which hath no stomach to this fight, Let him depart; his passport shall be made, And crowns for convoy put into his purse;
We would not die in that man’s company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is call’d the feast of Crispian.
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam’d,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say ‘To-morrow is Saint Crispian.’
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say ‘These wounds I had on Crispian’s day.’
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he’ll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day. Familiar in his mouth as household words-
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispian shall ne’er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he today that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispian’s day.

BYW – the English won that day in Agincourt.

mayhaps be fun but not easy

Today is official “Talk Like Shakespeare Day” in Chicago. Although the effort kindly intends to commemorate William’s 446th birthday, I had no idea Shakespeare was so important to our windy city. Apparently he is and there will be Shakespeare impersonators roaming the streets to prove it.

446 today!

The rule for all city dwellers and visitors today is to speak as Shakespeare wouldth…
*Say “thou” instead of “you” and “ye” instead of “y’all” or “you guys.”
*Call all your friends “cousin.”
*Add “eth” to end of all verbs.
*Give your opinions extra weight by prefacing them with “methinks,” “mayhaps, “in sooth” and “wherefore.”

Honestly, I’m not great with those types of linguistics – so “Methinks I stay in the burbs this day, thank ye very mucheth cousin.” 

But in honor of the old but famous bard I offer these words to consider…

To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
[Macbeth Act 5, scene 5, 19–28]

Parkview Church’s all church event

Sorry if you missed it!

Thanks Brian McDonald for all your work.

faces of art

I had a discussion this week with my wife and son about art…we were sharing ideas on what exactly makes art – Art? How does one define it? There is no way I can relay the depth and content of our dialogue — how did I get such a bright family? Clearly, art comes in many mediums. Sand [other than what’s done with it on NJ beaches] would not have been on my radar had it not been for my son telling me about Kseniya Simonova who won the Ukrainian version of American Idol. In this video, she uses her ‘sand painting’ to interpret Germany’s invasion and occupation of Ukraine during WWII. If you have a couple minutes…this is amazing….

a delivish interview

Ok, so I’m not exactly sure how I feel about it … but one thing is for sure, if you can get beyond the silly red silk suit, horns, tail and pitchfork, the guy offers some insightful comments about the Church. BTW – the interviewer is pastor Craig Groeschel pastor of Life Church.

stuck?

I’m reading this book by Anneli Rufus – STUCK: Why we can’t [or won’t] move on.  She writes,  “I’m stuck. We say it in despair. In desperation. In denial. It becomes a punch line, an excuse. Well, hey: I’m stuck. We say it when we can’t move on. Or won’t. Or simply don’t. We say it about our jobs and relationships, our families and our habits and our homes. We call our stuckness by a thousand words, exquisite metaphors. I’m frozen. Paralyzed. Marooned. Trapped. Enslaved. We say: the world is passing me by. I’m stuck. We say so sadly. Angrily. Resentfully, Regretfully. In shame.”

As I was reading this I’m thinking – hey Rufus is on to something. A lot of people get stuck in life and either can’t, won’t or just don’t move on. The same thing can happen to churches. Churches get stuck – unable [unwilling] to move and grow forward. And the reality is this – either we’re moving or we are not. Either advancing or stuck.  So far…a fascinating read.

Baseball is here!

Hey Chicago…this is baseball at its best…GO SOX!!!

 

easter – spiritual or ritual?

“There is a stage in a child’s life at which it cannot separate the religious from the merely festal character of Christmas or Easter. I have been told of a very small and very devout boy who was heard murmuring to himself on Easter morning a poem of his own composition which began ‘Chocolate eggs and Jesus risen.’ This seems to me, for his age, both admirable poetry and admirable piety. But of course the time will soon come when such a child can no longer effortlessly and spontaneously enjoy that unity. He will become able to distinguish the spiritual from the ritual and festal aspect of Easter; chocolate eggs will no longer seem sacramental. And once he has distinguished he must put one or the other first. If he puts the spiritual first he can still taste something of Easter in the chocolate eggs; if he puts the eggs first they will soon be no more than any other sweetmeat. They will have taken on an independent, and therefore a soon withering, life.”

-C.S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms

good friday

Filipino devotees had themselves nailed to crosses on Friday to remember Jesus’ suffering and death — an annual rite rejected by church leaders in the predominantly Roman Catholic country. Apparently, 23 people participated in the yearly event in front of a crowd estimated at around 10,000.

2010 Crucifixion

While on some level I can appreciate a person’s zealous desire to remember the crucifixion [an event that changed the course of human history], when the New Testament Scriptures call Christians to “be imitators of God” I’m quite certain this is not what the author had in mind. Even if it were so, the imitation ultimately fails because these contemporary cross sufferers survive the experience – Jesus did not – at least not on Friday.