Many years ago I learned that my family’s origin goes back to one of the families of Scotland – the Home/Hume family (Please note that in Scotland the name “Home” is always pronounced “Hume,” which is what led some of the family to change the spelling to match the pronunciation).  The Home/Hume family is considered a family and not a clan since they inhabited the lowland and border regions next to England, whereas the clans of Scotland are all found in the highlands.

In my research, I have discovered the family tartan, it’s crest and the fact that there is a Hume Castle.  Some of my discoveries are below:

I don’t know if this is of interest to anyone but me, but here it is nevertheless.

"The Ancestry of the Humes Family" was published on July 7th, 2008 and is listed in Family.

The following quote is taken from Paul Tillich’s book “The Shaking of the Foundations,” and it is specifically from Chapter 11: The Yoke of Religion, which can be read in it’s entirety here.  In this chapter, Tillich is reflecting on Matthew 11:25-30, which is also part of the appointed readings for this coming Sunday.

We would turn down [Jesus’] call with hatred if He called us to the Christian religion or to the Christian doctrines or to the Christian morals. We would not accept His claim to be meek and humble and to give rest to our souls, if He gave us new commands for thinking and acting. Jesus is not the creator of another religion, but the victor over religion; He is not the maker of another law, but the conqueror of law. We, the ministers and teachers of Christianity, do not call you to Christianity but rather to the New Being to which Christianity should be a witness and nothing else, not confusing itself with that New Being. Forget all Christian doctrines; forget your own certainties and your own doubts, when you hear the call of Jesus. Forget all Christian morals, your achievements and your failures, when you come to Him. Nothing is demanded of you, no idea of God, and no goodness in yourselves, not your being religious, not your being Christian, not your being wise, and not your being moral. But what is demanded is only your being open and willing to accept what is given to you, the New Being, the being of love and justice and truth, as it is manifest in Him Whose yoke is easy and Whose burden is light.

Let me close, as I began, with a personal word. Believe me, you who are religious and Christian. It would not be worthwhile to teach Christianity, if it were for the sake of Christianity. And believe me, you who are estranged from religion and far away from Christianity, it is not our purpose to make you religious and Christian when we interpret the call of Jesus for our time. We call Jesus the Christ not because He brought a new religion, but because He is the end of religion, above religion and irreligion, above Christianity and non-Christianity. We spread His call because it is the call to every man in every period to receive the New Being, that hidden saving power in our existence, which takes from us labor and burden, and gives rest to our souls.

Is it really possible for the Church to proclaim such a “gospel” to the world?  Can the followers of Jesus actually believe and live this out?  If so, then why don’t we hear or see these in world, the Church, and Christians around us?

"Him Whose Yoke Is Easy and Whose Burden Is Light – A Quote from Paul Tillich" was published on July 5th, 2008 and is listed in faith, quote, religion.

Thanks to Zalm for posting this first.

"Happy Fourth of July!" was published on July 4th, 2008 and is listed in Video, funny, politics.

I have just posted my full sermon for Sunday on Word and Table, my preaching and worship blog.  Below are a few introductory paragraphs.  To read the full sermon, click here. This sermon is based on the following Scripture readings:

Matthew 10:34-39
Matthew 11:16-19
Matthew 11:25-30
Romans 7:15-25a

Any comments or suggestions for improvement would be greatly appreciated.

———-

Today I come to you with two questions for us to consider.
The first is this: 
Is Christianity war or peace?
The second, and related question:
Is Christianity hard or easy?
Now both of these questions seem to have different answers to them depending upon the passage of scripture you read from in the Bible.

For instance, on the one hand Jesus promises to his disciples that he will give them peace,
a peace, he says, that the world cannot give,
a peace that that the world cannot take away.
A peace, in other words, that passes understanding.
In passage after passage we see this promise made or alluded to
I Corinthians 7:15 says that God has called us to peace.
Galatians 5:22 tells us that peace is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit working in our lives.
Ephesians 2:14 states that Christ himself is our peace,
and time and again God or Christ is referred to as the Lord of Peace.
With all the peace being mentioned in scripture,
one would think that the Christian life would be a rather peaceful endeavor.

But a look at other passages of scripture might convince us otherwise.
The best passage to examine in order to get an opposing viewpoint is found in today’s reading from Romans.
Here Paul is describing a struggle that is,
on the one hand,
an intensely personal battle.
On the other hand though,
Paul would seem to be speaking for all Christians who struggle with good and evil,
with the decisions they make,
and the actions they carry out.
Basically Paul in writing these words is saying,
I don’t have a clue why I do some of the things I do.
On fact, I even end up doing some of the very things I hate most.
The good that I want to do, I don’t.
And the evil that I want to avoid doing, I do.

To put this in more personal language,
and to use a phrase I’ve already used several times,
On the one hand, I want to do what is right,
but on the other hand,
I often end up doing the exact opposite.
I am miserable,
and I am powerless to overcome this dilemma,
this problem on my own.

If there is a better description of Christian life as a type of warfare,
I don’t know about it.

———-

To finish reading this sermon, click here.

"On the One Hand . . . An Excerpt of My Sermon for Proper 9A, Ordinary 14A, and Pentecost+8A" was published on July 4th, 2008 and is listed in Sermon.

The idea that anyone would think that God told them to kick a man who has colon cancer is actually beyond stupid, and yet hundreds and thousands of people involved in the “revival” taking place at the Lakeland Church in Florida seem to have no problem with this idea at all.  In fact, they have bought into Todd Bentley’s twisted presentation of the gospel hook, line and sinker (as my dad is fond of saying back home in Kentucky).  This perversion of the gospel is nauseating to me, and I am ashamed that there are Christians who hang on Bentley’s every word and action.  I would say something like, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,” but I am afraid that many of them, especially Mr. Bentley, know exactly what it is that they are doing and approving of.  So instead, I will will only say, “Lord, have mercy.

To read other responses to this “revival” and Todd Bentley, I encourage you to read Dave Warnock, who writes about this video in his post Reflecting on cancer healing - Todd Bentley style.  There are also links in that post to other articles Warnock has written on the subject.  You might also want to check out what Bene Diction Blog has to say, a response from Richard Hall at his connexions blog, and you can read what my blogging friend Henry Neufeld has written about this on his own blog by clicking here, though Henry is more kindly to Bentley and the Lakeland revival than I am.

"People Are Stupid – Part 3: Todd Bentley and the Lakeland Church Revival" was published on July 1st, 2008 and is listed in Praying to the Porcelain God, Sad, so very, very Sad, Stupid Is As Stupid Does, Video.

"An Ink Blog Post" was published on June 27th, 2008 and is listed in blog babble.

What can I say, I just like this guy and his music.  A simple video:  “For The Widows In Paradise, For The Fatherless In Ypsilanti”

To listen to another song:

“Sister Winter” Songs For Christmas (Download)

"A Sufjan Stevens Video" was published on June 25th, 2008 and is listed in MP3, Music, Video.

Note:  If you haven’t already done so, you may want to read the first post in this series:

The Akedah - The Binding of Isaac

———-

Over the next few days, I will post some further reflections of mine and of others on the story of Isaac’s binding, otherwise known as the Akedah.  Perhaps the most famous of reflections on this passage of scripture comes from Soren Kierkegaard in his book “Fear and Trembling.”  After an introduction, four “retellings” of the story are given, each with it’s own emphasis and peculiarities.  At the end of of each vignette, Kierkegaard also includes a short description of how the story ties to a mother weaning her child.  Today, I post Kierkegaard’s introduction and his first reflection.

Once upon a time there was a man who as a child had heard that beautiful story of how God tested Abraham and of how Abraham withstood the testing, kept the faith, and contrary to expectation, got a son a second time. When he grew older, he read the same story with even greater admiration, for life had fractured what had been united in the pious simplicity of the child.  The older he became, the more often his thoughts turned to that story;  his enthusiasm for it became greater and greater, and yet he could not understand the story less and less.  Finally, he forgot everything else because of it; his soul had but one wish: to see Abraham; but one longing: to have witnessed the event. . .

His craving was to go along on the three day journey when Abraham rode with sorrow before him and Isaac beside him.  His wish was to be present in that hour when Abraham raised his eyes and saw Mount Moriah in the distance, the hour when he left the donkeys behind and went up the mountain alone with Isaac – for what occupied him was not the beautiful tapestry of imagination but the shudder of the idea.

This man was not a thinker.  He did not feel any need to go beyond faith . . .   Neither was he a biblical scholar.  He did not know Hebrew; if he had known Hebrew, perhaps he would have more easily understood the story and Abraham.

“And God tested Abraham and said unto him, ‘Take Isaac, thine only son, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering upon the mountain which I will show thee.’ “

I.

It was early in the morning when Abraham arose, had the donkeys saddled, and left his tent, taking Isaac with him.  Sarah watched them from the window as they went down the valley – until she could see them no longer.

They rode in silence for three days. On the morning of the fourth day Abraham said not a word, but he raised his eyes and saw Mount Moriah in the distance. He left the servants behind, and taking Isaac’s hand, went up the mountain alone. But Abraham said to himself, “I will not hide from Isaac where this journey is taking him.” He stood still, he laid his hand upon the head of Isaac in benediction, and Isaac bowed to receive the blessing.  And Abraham’s face epitomized fatherliness: his gaze was mild, his speech encouraging.

But Isaac was unable to understand him, his soul could not be uplifted. He grasped Abraham’s knees, he pleaded at his feet, he begged for his young life, and for the fair hope of his future, He called to mind the joy in Abraham’s house, and he called to mind the sorrow and the solitude. Then Abraham lifted the boy up and walked on, holding his hand, and his words were full of comfort and exhortation. But Isaac could not understand him. Abraham climbed Mount Moriah, but Isaac understood him not.

Then for a moment Abraham turned away from his son, and when Isaac saw his father’s face again, it was changed, his gaze was wild, his whole being was sheer terror.  Abraham seized Isaac by the throat, threw him to the ground, and said, “Stupid boy, do you think I am your father? I am an idolater. Do you think that this is God’s desire? No, it is what I want!”

Then Isaac trembled and cried out in his anguish, “0 God in heaven, have mercy on me. God of Abraham, have mercy on me. If I have no father on earth, then you be my father!” But Abraham said softly to himself, “0 Lord in heaven, I thank you. After all it is better for him to believe that I am a monster than he should lose faith in you.”

———-

When the child is to be weaned, the mother blackens her breast. It would be hard to have the breast look inviting when the child must not have it. So the child believes that the breast has changed, but the mother – she is still the same, her glance is as loving and tender as ever. How fortunate the one who did not need more terrible means to wean the child!

In this story  Kierkegaard seeks to show Abraham as being protective of God and God’s image to his son Isaac.  Isaac is shown begging for his life, imploring his father not to kill him.  “He begged for his young life, and for the fair hope of his future.”  Isaac does not, cannot understand how his father could do such a a terrible thing, and Abraham is unwilling to place the blame for his actions on the God who has commanded them. “Stupid boy, do you think I am your father? I am an idolater. Do you think that this is God’s desire? No, it is what I want!”  

Isaac’s terror in this short story is palpable, and he begs for mercy not only from his father, but also from his father’s God. The later brings a quiet response to Abraham’s lips, “0 Lord in heaven, I thank you. After all it is better for him to believe that I am a monster than he should lose faith in you.”  Abraham would rather Isaac think him a monster than Isaac think God is one.  He seeks to hide from his son the terrible thing that God has asked him to do.  And it is a terrible, an horrendous thing which God asks of Abraham.  Let no one argue otherwise.

In another reflection on this passage of scripture, Dan Clendenin, on his website journeywithjesus.net writes:

Abraham faced at least four inter-related challenges to believing the command of God and then acting upon that belief. First, he would have been entirely reasonable to conclude that he was being deceived by malign influences—sickness, demons, hallucinations, infirmities of his old age, etc., and that the visions and voices that he heard originated not with a loving God but from a temptation of the worst, evil sort. If that was the case, he would have “obeyed” by dismissing the voices as delusions. Similarly, we can imagine praising Abraham if he concluded that he somehow deceived himself through religious zealotry couched in pious platitudes. Today we invoke this rationale to condemn in the harshest terms suicide bombers in Israel and Iraq, or Christians who bomb abortion clinics, all who claim that God told them to commit some atrocity. Third, at a simple, rational level, the command of God challenged Abraham to embrace the absurd, the irrational, or the unintelligible. What sense does it make to murder the son of promise through whom God had promised to bless all the earth? Fourth, Abraham had to transcend normal ethical expectations. Good parents love and nourish their children, they do not murder them in religiously-inspired violence and claim that “God told me to do it.”

Clendenin goes on to give voice to some of the questions the story raises:

• What are we to make of a God who commands child sacrifice? Might God ask me to do something similar today?
• How would we respond to a believer who invoked this passage to abort her baby as an act of obedience to what she heard as God’s command?
• Does the Bible sanction religious violence?
• What about the divine bait-and-switch in this passage, where God asks Abraham to do the incomprehensible, and then at the last minute provides an alternative (which smacks of psychic torture)?
• How could Abraham possibly have known whether Isaac would be spared (as it so happened), whether he might kill Isaac only to have God raise him from the dead (the interpretation of Hebrews 11:17–19), or whether God might have him murder Isaac only to provide him with yet a third son of promise after Ishmael and Isaac?

And as many others have asked, I too ask the following:  How do we worship and serve a God who asks everything, absolutely everything and anything, of us?

"The Akedah - Kierkegaard and Protecting God" was published on June 23rd, 2008 and is listed in Bible Study, Reflections on the Lectionary, faith.

Every three years these verse come up in the lectionary, and every time they do, I am feel drawn to them.  The power of this passage cannot be denied, and I am sure that it has occupied and troubled the minds of those who heard it ever since it was first told around campfires at night, well before anyone took pen to paper and wrote it down.  Over the next week I hope to reflect these verses as a part of my sermon preparation.  I will quote extensively from others who have reflected on the meaning of these scriptures, including Kierkegaard, Martin Luther and his wife Katy, and various rabbis through the ages.  But before doing that, I’d like to present my own paraphrase of the verses, which you can read below.  There are also some questions for reflection at the end which I encourage you to answer, as best you can, in the comment section of this post.

Genesis 22:1-19

And it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham and said to him, `Abraham!’ And he answered, `Here I am.’ He said, `Please take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love (your heart’s delight), and travel to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I will show you.’

So Abraham rose early the next morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his servants with him, and his son Isaac.  He split the wood for the burnt offering, and set out and went to the place that God had shown him. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place from afar. Then Abraham said to his servants, `Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go up there; we will worship, and then we will return to you.’

Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac. He himself carried the fire and the knife; and the two of them walked on together. Then Isaac said to his father Abraham, `Father!’ And he answered, `Here I am, my son.’  Isaac said, `Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?’ Abraham said, `God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.’  And the two of them walked on together.

When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid out the wood; he bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.  But an angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, and said, `Abraham, Abraham!’ And he said, `Here I am.’ He said, `Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him;  for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only beloved son  from me.’ And when Abraham looked up, he saw a ram behind him, caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering in the place of his son. And Abraham named the place Yahweh-yired (The LORD will provide); as it is said to this day, `On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.’

The angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, `By Myself I swear, says the LORD: Because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son, whom you love, I will indeed bless you, and I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and the sands on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.  And through your descendants, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.’  Abraham then returned to his servants, and they departed together for Beer-sheba; and Abraham lived at Beer-sheba.

Questions for Reflection

The following questions are taken from the article “The Akedah:  Abraham, Issac, and the Struggling Father,” found in the Fall 2002 issue of “Achim Magazine.”

Begin by re-reading the text of the Akedah, Genesis 22:1-19, and with the text in mind, reflect on the following questions.
    1. Why does God test humans?
    2. Can Isaac forgive his father and God?
    3. Does God desire that we sacrifice what we love most?

Rabbi Norman Cohen attempts to bring the events of the Akedah into our modern context. He writes:
“We are all like Abraham; so involved in our outside world – our careers, interests, or principles– that we do not or cannot see that it is our child, or spouse or parent that is bound on the alter. We are so adept at sacrificing that which is truly important to us on the altars we have erected that we may ask whether we are capable of hearing the cry of the angel before it’s too late.”  – Rabbi Norman Cohen, Self,Struggle, and Change (1995)

Having read the quote, think carefully about the following questions
    1. How does my own faith in God compare to Abraham’s faith?
    2. Can I hear the cry of those who are bound upon my altars?
    3. For what reason might you be willing to sacrifice those who you love most?

Do you have other questions or thoughts about this passage that you would like to share?

"The Akedah - The Binding of Isaac" was published on June 22nd, 2008 and is listed in Paraphrase, Reflections on the Lectionary, faith.

One of the things the Humes family used to love to do on Saturdays was to sit down on Saturdays and watch Mystery Science Theatre 3000 on the SciFi channel.  We loved to watch Joel and the robots rip apart bad movies with their witty repartee.  When MST3000 left the air, it left a void in our lives that has yet to be filled . . . until now that is.  Enter Cinematic Titanic.

Cinematic Titanic is a feature length movie riffing show and is an artist owned and operated venture created by Joel Hodgson, the creator of the Peabody award-winning Mystery Science Theatre 3000. Cinematic Titanic features the original cast and writers of MST3K, . . . [and it's]  focus is to riff on the movies we love, which are ‘the unfathomable’, ‘the horribly great’, and the just plain ‘cheesy’ movies from the past.

Their first feature length DVD Cinematic Titanic’s “The Oozing Skull” is available for purchase at EZtakes.com. As described by their site:

This 1971, non-classic, non-hit thriller – perfect fodder for the sidesplitting commentary fans have come to expect from a movie-riffing system. The film has everything B-movie fans crave – an evil doctor, a duplicitous blonde bombshell, a mutant zombie and a brain that just wants a new skull to call home. Throw in some international intrigue and a touch of romance and you’ve got a movie that’s guaranteed to deliver delicious disappointment throughout! Perfect!

Here is a preview of the DVD, and a more complete movie synopsis follows it.

The Oozing Skull:  In the far-off land of Kalid, President Amir lies on his deathbed. If this revered head-of-state dies, the brutal dictatorship that he has so lovingly cultivated will fall into a dark age of uncertainty and chaos. And so, in this moment of crisis, his loyal staff are left with no alternative but to choose the only logical and sensible course of action - to transfer Amir’s brain into a younger, healthier, and most importantly, living body.

Enter Doctor Robert Trenton, a mad scientist of the traditional “they all laughed at me and now I’ll show them” school. He, along with his assistant, Dorro, a little man with a big appetite for evil, and Tracy, a conniving beauty with a heart that’s harder than her leathery, over-tanned skin, concoct a deliriously diabolical plan involving murder, body-napping, skullduggery,and oozy, gooey brains.

As if this wasn’t enough, the team has also released their second DVD.  The plot of “Doomsday Machine” is as follows:

American spies discover the Chinese have built a weapon capable of destroying planet Earth, a “doomsday machine” if you will, and that they plan to use it within a matter of days. Immediately, Project Astra, a manned U.S. space mission to Venus, is taken over by the military and half of its all-male crew is replaced by women just hours before launch. The reason for this becomes apparent when, shortly after Astra leaves Earth’s orbit, said planet is completely destroyed (in a cataclysm of stock footage).

Here is a promo for their second movie “Doomsday Machine.”

If you were a fan of MST3000, you just might want to visit their site and buy their DVDs for $14.95 or download them to your computer for only $9.95.  I know I will be doing so (as soon as come up with the cash, that is).

"If You Once Loved MST3000, You’re Gonna Love Cinematic Titanic" was published on June 19th, 2008 and is listed in Links to Visit, Video, funny.