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Christmas and Easter Christians

 Alan Jacobs has a truthful and helpful essay in Dispatch Faith on "C & E Christians" (not to be confused with C of E - Church of England - Christians). I think he may be a little tongue in cheek, but he reminds us not to judge them since we all are in need of grace. Here is the link:  https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/dispatch-faith/christianity-easter/ I think you'll get a free read.  I want to add to it that maybe those C & E Christians are kept from attending for valid reasons. Many people have to work Sundays. Many are caregivers. Many can't get regular transportation. I know this is not the case for most people who only show up on Christmas and Easter. I'm not sure I would call all of them Christians. In the South, they might be showing up for "Momma" or "Grandma" before the big holiday meal and not have too much interest in the practice of worship the other 363 days per year.  But then again . . .  This morning I sat next to a y...
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As Good Friday closes

 From Jonah Goldberg: I didn’t intend to write anything tied to Passover and Easter, but it occurs to me that both are celebrations of triumph over despair. Both start in darkness, the Crucifixion for Christians and the bondage of slavery for Jews. Both are wholly justifiable causes for despair. Jesus has been tortured and slain. The Jews, enslaved for generations, are on the brink of erasure as a people. But Christ rises, and the Jews rise up. Death is not final. The despair of slavery is not eternal. The Powers That Be, whether Roman or Egyptian, are not immutable, unconquerable forces foreclosing the possibility of hope. There is good work to be done, and the doing of it is a reward unto itself.

Addition for Lent

  Love bade me welcome: yet my soul drew back,             Guilty of dust and sin. But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack             From my first entrance in, Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning             If I lacked anything. "A guest," I answered, "worthy to be here":             Love said, "You shall be he." "I, the unkind, ungrateful? Ah, my dear,             I cannot look on thee." Love took my hand, and smiling did reply,             "Who made the eyes but I?" "Truth, Lord; but I have marred them; let my shame             Go where it doth deserve." "And know you not," says Love, "who b...

Lenten Observations, April 2, 2026 - Fifth Day of Holy Week, Maundy Thursday

 Maundy sounds like "mundane" or a word that sounds like something sad, depressing, morose, lamenting.  But it relates to the command to love as shown in the washing of each other's feet.  How? The Latin word for commandment is "mandatum." Over time in French and Middle Engilsh, the vowel took on a different sound.  "A new commandment I give you, that you love one another," is the core. Some of the last words to his disciples!

Lenten Observations, Wednesday, April 1, 2026 - Judas?

 The Dispatch Faith website contains an essay "The Betrayal of Judas," which deserves reading.  https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/dispatch-faith/palm-sunday-judas-jesus/ A few excerpts: After seeing Jesus condemned, Judas had a change of heart. Blood money in hand, he went to the temple and confessed his sin to the religious authorities charged with mediating mercy. “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood,”  he told them . Their response was as chilling as it was brief: “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” In short, “Not our problem. Good luck with that!” Those same religious leaders would later debate what to do with the silver Judas threw down and returned, scrupulous about its moral contamination. In seeking to avoid implicating themselves by taking back the blood money, they were legally precise, but pastorally indifferent.  For Judas, the combined weight of these two betrayals proved unbearable, so he hanged himself. ..... English writer Julian Barnes g...