Writing

Saturday, March 13, 2010 Reading for the Day John 5-6 and Hebrews 8-10 Focus on John 6:1-15

Jesus performed many miracles, or as John preferred to call them “signs and wonders” during His life and ministry on earth.  Only one of those miracles is recorded in all four gospels:  the feeding of the five thousand.  Each of the accounts has slightly differing details, as one would expect when reading four different authors’ viewpoints on a particular event.  What I have always loved about John’s account of the feeding of the five thousand is that we’re told the source of the five loaves of bread and two fish that Jesus prayed over and multiplied so that they fed 5,000 people was a “lad” or a “boy.”  I’ve always thought about the impact the event must have had on that boy for the future.  After all, for the rest of his life, the boy would    Have been able to tell anyone who would have listened, “I gave Jesus five loaves of bread and two fish and He turned it into enough food to feed 5,000 men PLUS all the women and children who were with them."  Can’t you see folks rolling their eyes or shouting, “No way!”?  But the boy saw what he saw, and he had participated in a miracle of God.  He provided the “seed” for the great “harvest” made available to the crowd by Jesus.  I once read, “God can do a lot with a little if He has it all.”  The feeding of the 5,000 may be the best example of that adage recorded in the four gospels.  The boy didn’t have much.  In fact, that’s what Andrew said when he brought the boy to Jesus:  “He has five barley loaves and two fish but what is that among so many?”   What, indeed!  May we have the attitude of that lad who gave all he had, little as it was, and saw a miracle as a result!  What miracles are waiting to happen in our lives individually, and as a congregation, until someone steps forward and says, “It isn’t much, but I’ll give it all to You, Jesus!”?  May each of us live out that attitude, because as we do, we can be sure that miracles are on the horizon!

Heavenly Father, Thank You so much for Your faithfulness!  Thank You for taking the little we offer You and multiplying it.  I pray You will take all of me, little as that is, and multiply my effectiveness in offering Your salvation to my family, friends, and all I meet. This I pray in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

The Allegheny College Art Galleries’ “The Art of Persuasion,” an exhibition exploring attempts to sway public opinion through visual culture closes next week on March 16.  The exhibition, part of Allegheny’s Year of Social Change, features the college’s permanent collection of World War I and World War II posters, serigraphs from Puerto Rico’s Division of Community Education, photographs from the Farm Security Administration, and contemporary work by illustrator and political cartoonist Ward Sutton.

Gallery goers are greeted as the enter the show with one of the most iconic propaganda posters, Fred Strothman’s “Beat Back the Hun” from 1918. Publicity campaigns for the Treasury Department's Liberty Loan bonds produced some of the war's most compelling - and gruesome - posters. The Liberty Bond posters were inflammatory, but highly effective.  Many posters promoted German hatred, such as this one, showing a blood-thirsty Hun looking over war-torn Europe and across the Atlantic Ocean to America. The bayonet drips blood and the “Hun's” face is grey, dead, inhuman.

There’s a large cognitive jump from the Liberty Bond posters to the Serigraphs from Puerto Rico’s Division of Community Education. The origins of the Division of Community Education (DIVEDCO) are closely tied to Puerto Rico’s complicated relationship with the United States. DIVEDCO had strong connections to President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. Its early organizers — Edwin Rosskam, Jack Delano and Irene Delano — all had experience in the Farm Security Administration. While sharing the form of New Deal projects, however, the work and substance of DIVEDCO reflected the particularities of Puerto Rico and broader trends within Latin American art and politics.

Huracan (1958) by Jose Manuel Figueroa appeals to the woodcut WPA style.  It’s a poster promoting a PSA style film about hurricane awareness. More importantly, its design shows the progression of the persuasive poster form as it begins drawing on the popular aesthetics of movie posters. A personal favorite was 5 cuentos de miedo by Lorenzo Homar (1955) promoting a booklet about the benefits of using science rather than superstition – here woodcut style figures are paired with a vibrant red background.

By 1965, that style had been replaced by posters that use more of David Klein’s TWA travel posters – bright flat colors and blocky figures and architecture. It’s a more abstract vision of progress much different from the classical figures that start the show.

One of the themes of the show is the power of the graphic images, not only in the posters themselves, but also in the media they advertise. Carlos Osorio’s Juan sin Seso – advertises a film depicting the story of a rural man’s confusion and loss of critical thinking abilities caused by modern advertising. Here in the poster, an advertising collage shows through the light robin egg blue of the poster’s background suggesting an ever present hum of consumerism existing just beneath the surface of consciousness, diverting and distorting. And yet there’s a meta argument here as well, as the posters and photos and comic included in the exhibit are using the same technique but for the “right” reasons.

The exhibit also includes FSA photos ranging from the abstract photos of Jack Delores model airplanes decorating Chicago’s Union Station ceiling

to more iconic ones like Walker Evans’ portrait of Bud Fields’ family in Hale County Alabama and washstand with oil lamp both featured in Let Us Now Praise Famous Men:

The FSA selection also includes four Dorthea Lange images including selections that highlight Lange’s skill at using cropping to bring out ironic realities of American Life such as “Next Time, Try the Train, Relax” 

Finally, ending the exhibit are World War II propaganda posters include the still shocking, “This Happens Every Three Minutes Stay on the Job and Get it Over ”  depicting a dead GI where he fell, Thompson submachine gun just out of the reach of his hands, clothes splattered with blood, face hidden by the angle of his fall, but his rough hands and torn fingernails still visible; his ammunition and pack flung about him. How unlike our own wartime reality with the dissonant dichotomy of embedded reports and soldiers connected home though the internet umbilical cord, and the still recent controversy over the depiction of flag draped coffins.

Like Juan we are carefully cocooned fom the death directed towards us and sponsored by us. Over 50 years , it seems we are no more savvy, but have an easier time creating our own reality. Sutton’s cartoons at the beginning of the show would be better realized at the end of show – suggesting how we far we have come.  today, we use our time to debate the persuasiveness of campaign designs and the aesthetics of campaign posters.  We are too polite, too sensitive to allow the brute persuasiveness of the early 20th century posters into our sphere.  How would we react to a contemporary posters declaiming “Beat Back the Hajji with Liberty Bonds”? How  uncomfortable have we become with animalistic, tribal nature inside of us and how we itch when it’s prickly nature punctures our created life and values?

The Art of Persuasion,” an exhibition exploring attempts to sway public opinion through visual culture until March 16. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday, 12:30-5 p.m.; Saturday, 1:30-5 p.m.; and Sunday, 2-4 p.m.

The Art Galleries are wheelchair accessible and located in Doane Hall of Art, east of North Main Street between College and John Streets.

For more information, call (814) 332-4365 or visit www.allegheny.edu/artgalleries.

Friday, March 12, 2010 Reading for the Day John 3-4 and Hebrews 5-7 Focus on Hebrews 6:1-2

Several years ago my good friend, Pastor John Nuzzo, was talking about the “elementary teachings of our faith.”  I interrupted him and asked, “What ARE the elementary teachings of our faith.” He quickly responded, “Repentance from dead works, faith toward God, baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.”  I asked, “Where did you get those?”  He said, “Hebrews 6:1-2.”  I tucked that away in my mind and when I went home I looked up Hebrews 6:1-2. Sure enough, there they were:  1Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. Hebrews 6:1-2 NKJV  Those six elementary teachings of our faith provide a good handle for us to grab hold of when we want to consider what’s really important to believe and do as Jesus’ followers.  As you look at the six, you may be surprised by a couple of them.  For example baptisms is plural not singular, as one might think at first glance.  The reality is there are TWO baptisms documented in the New Testament:  baptism in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit to demonstrate that we have trusted Jesus as our Savior and Lord, and The baptism of the Holy Spirit, which both John the Baptist and Jesus talked about and which we have examples of throughout the Book of Acts.  The others surprise for me was “the laying on of hands.”  While I believe that we ought to lay hands on babies when we dedicate them, people when we baptize them, and leaders when we ordain or license them, I never thought of it as one of the “big six,” as the author of the Hebrews obviously did.  As you think of the remaining four teachings they do provide the basis of our faith.  Until we repent from sin, we cannot live in faith toward God. Unless we believe in the resurrection of the dead, then there’s no real power in our lives as Jesus’ followers.  Understanding that all of us will stand before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ reminds us that eternal judgment is for ETERNITY, and we will either live that eternity with God in heaven or separated from Him in hell.  Those elementary teachings help us focus on what’s truly important and to live in the power of the Holy Spirit!

Read the titles to get a new story. Sorted Books by Nina Katchadourian (via)

“So far, March = thaw.” snow - woolgathering

Thursday, March 11, 2010 Reading for the Day John 1-2 and Hebrews 3-4 Focus on John 1:1

Jehovah’s Witnesses focus on John 1:1 as a verse in Scripture that shows Jesus wasn’t THE God, but that Jesus is "a god".  They make this statement based on their reading of the original Greek text of John 1:1.  In English we typically read:  In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.  The Jehovah’s Witnesses “translate” it: In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was a god.  They translate it this way because the word God in the Greek doesn’t have a definite article—a “the” in front of it, as it frequently does in the New Testament.  The problem with their translation is that we find many other places in the New Testament where the word God appears without a definite article and there is absolutely no doubt that those verses refer to the one, true and living God.  We can’t simply pick and choose when the word means God and when it means a god for the sake of our opinions.   The founder of the Jehovah’s Witnesses couldn’t even read Greek, and yet he provided an English “translation” from it.  As followers of Jesus we don’t have to learn Greek in order to understand the Bible, but what we must do as we read God’s word in English is recognize that EVERY English translation is a commentary.  It shows the assumptions and sometimes the theology of the translators.  I like to compare several English translations when I'm reading the Bible, because then I get a fuller understanding of a text.  Since, I can read Greek, I’ll get out the Greek Bible when I have questions and see if the original language sheds any light.  Thankfully, the original language does NOT confirm the Jehovah’s Witnesses assumption that Jesus is merely a god instead of THE God.  As followers of Jesus, who believe that Jesus IS fully God and fully human, it’s important for us to understand the strong case that John chapter one makes for that truth!

Heavenly Father, Thank You for sending Jesus as the Word who became flesh and lived among us! Thank You for revealing Yourself to us in such a clear and helpful way.  Fill me with Your Holy Spirit that I may, also reveal You to others through Your love and grace in me.  This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

OK Go leaves EMI, forms own record label. (via )

Will Paracadute (pah-rah-cah-DU-tay) be the next Apple Corps?

andreadisaster:

nicopolitan:

“If knowing is half the battle, the other half must be Googling.”

Truth.

Wed., March 10, 2010 Reading for the Day Luke 24 and Hebrews 1-2 Focus on Luke 24:1-12

I have always loved the angels’ question in Luke 24:5, “Why are you looking in a tomb for someone who is alive?”  Or as the NIV puts it, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?”  How often does that describe us?  We say God’s in charge of our lives, and yet we get in a tough situation and forget to call out to Him for help.  We think we’re all alone.  We worry about so many things in life, when Jesus told us NOT to worry.   We find ourselves looking in the tomb for a dead Jesus, when He’s ALIVE!  We can fault the women for not remembering that Jesus told them He was going to rise from the dead, but then we’d have to fault ourselves, too, for forgetting so often the promises Jesus has made to us.  What’s happening in your life right now that needs God’s attention?  Is it a relationship?  Your finances?  A situation at school or work?  Have you gone to Jesus FIRST?  The longer I live, the more I realize how seldom my FIRST response is Jesus.  Yes, there are times when I turn to Him before trying to solve a problem myself, and those times are more frequent than they used to be, but they’re still not consistent.  As we go about this day, let’s remember the angels’ message to the women---He isn’t here among the dead.  He’s alive!  When you encounter your first challenge today – turn to the living Lord before looking around in the tomb.  Deal?

Heavenly Father, thank You so much for raising Jesus from the dead and showing us once and for all that nothing is too hard for You!  Fill me with Your Holy Spirit so that I may honor you in every situation and in every relationship of my life.  This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010 Reading for the Day Luke 23 and Philemon 1 Focus on Luke 23:39-43

As Jesus was dying on the cross, the thieves who were crucified on either side of Him started joining those who were mocking Jesus.  Actually, one of them started mocking Jesus, while the other stood up for Him.  The thief who stood up for Jesus understood the reality that sin has consequences.  He reminded the other thief that they were hanging on crosses because they deserved it for their “evil deeds.” Then he pointed out that Jesus was innocent.  We don’t know how the thief beside Jesus knew this.  Perhaps it was the way Jesus handled the whole crucifixion event.  Jesus had asked God to forgive those who crucified Him.  That’s not the act of a criminal!  Jesus had made sure that His mother would be care for after His death—while He hung on the cross.  When the crowds insulted Him, He didn’t say a word.  Jesus’ attitude even while hanging on the cross was that of a servant. The thief recognized that Jesus was, indeed, the Messiah, and he asked for forgiveness.  Jesus gave it!  The thief’s reconciliation with God just moments or hours before his death shows us that it’s never too late—as long as we’re still breathing—to repent of our sin and turn to God.  God has given me the opportunity to offer the gift of salvation to a number of folks who were on their “death beds,” and some of them have responded.  One time in particular, it seemed so sad to me that a man came to know Jesus just two days before he died.  He really “got it” when he was saved.  He realized how he had wasted his life in the pursuit of things instead of the pursuit of God.  His wife was a believer and he had basically forbidden her from attending church, because Sundays were the best days for pursuing the things he sought in life.  I thought the wife would be upset that when her husband finally trusted Jesus, and they could have had Jesus in common, that he was gone.  Instead, she said that God had been so gracious to her husband, keeping him alive just long enough that he would spend eternity with God, instead of separated from Him!  Do you know anyone who doesn’t know Jesus, who’s getting close to that time when life here will end?  Actually, that could be any of us at any moment, but the odds are not in favor of some because they are at the age when they will be seeing Jesus soon.  What will you do to help ensure that when that person sees Jesus it will be as a friend instead of as an enemy?

Heavenly Father, Thank You so much for giving me the opportunity to know Jesus as my Savior and Lord!  I pray for those who don’t know Him, and especially for those who like the thief on the cross, may only have moments or hours.  Let them turn to Jesus.  Let them trust in Him!  This I pray in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Nom. (Not for vegetarians.)

Monday, March 8  Read Luke 22, Titus 1-3  Focus on Luke 22:19-20

Yesterday in worship we celebrated the Lord’s Supper.  I pointed out that when Jesus gave the disciples the bread, He said, “This is my body GIVEN for you,” not “This is my body BROKEN for you,” as many liturgies of the Lord’s Supper say.  Here is the actual account from Luke 22:19-20:  19Then he took a loaf of bread; and when he had thanked God for it, he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This wine is the token of God’s new covenant to save you—an agreement sealed with the blood I will pour out for you.”  You may ask, “What’s the difference?”  The difference is significant.  One of the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah was that not a single bone of His body would be broken.  That means if Jesus’ body was literally “broken” for us, He could not have been the Messiah.  In fact, Jesus body was beaten, battered, and nearly mutilated through the whipping He received before the crucifixion and the crucifixion itself, but not a bone was broken.  When the two thieves crucified next to Jesus had their legs broken to ensure their death at the end of the crucifixion, Jesus’ legs were NOT broken, because He was already dead.  The point of all this is that even when it came to the most minute detail of prophecy concerning the Messiah, Jesus fulfilled it.  When we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, and hear the words of institution, “This is My body, given for you…” let us remember both that Jesus gave His body freely in exchange for ours on the cross, and that the giving rather than breaking of Jesus’ body fulfilled prophecy and deepened our assurance that Jesus is, indeed, the Messiah, and our Savior and Lord!

Heavenly Father, Thank You for giving Jesus to us, and for Jesus’ great sacrifice on our behalf.  Fill me with Your Holy Spirit this day that I may live boldly and confidently in You, knowing that my salvation is sure in Him!  This I pray in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau | Maximum Fun