resurrection window

yesterday's post of a pic of the altar @ ascension and st. agnes got me to thinking about beauty in church architecture. that, in turn, made me think about my home parish, christ church of hamilton & wenham, massachusetts, and its breathtaking "resurrection window." an apt photo for the day after easter.

(a couple more pix from christ church are tagged on my flickr page)

let no one fear death, for the death of our savior has set us free. he has destroyed it by enduring it. he destroyed hell when he descended into it. he put it into an uproar even as it tasted of His flesh.

isaiah foretold this when he said, "you, o hell, have been troubled by encountering him below." hell was in an uproar because it was done away with. it was in an uproar because it is mocked.
it was in an uproar, for it is destroyed.
it is in an uproar, for it is annihilated.
it is in an uproar, for it is now made captive.

hell took a body, and discovered god.
it took earth, and encountered heaven.
it took what it saw, and was overcome by what it did not see.

o death, where is thy sting?
o Hell, where is thy victory?

christ is risen, and you, o death, are annihilated!
christ is risen, and the evil ones are cast down!
christ is risen, and the angels rejoice!
christ is risen, and life is liberated!

christ is risen, and the tomb is emptied of its dead;
for christ having risen from the dead,
is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

to him be glory and power forever and ever. amen!
(text from st. john chrysostom's easter sermon; photo of high altar @ church of the ascension & st. agnes, washington d.c.)

metamorphosis

before . . . amidst . . . after.





i now both look and feel weird.

tim keller's hand gestures

i have no idea what this means, but b/c dr. keller is my favorite preacher, i couldn't resist posting the link.

(ht: knightopia)

is culture neutral?

discuss.

(i'll let you know when i figure it out)

does god exist?

in my systematic theology class this semester (which i took as an elective and now regret, but we won't get into that), we spent some time looking @ the classical arguments for god's existence (anselm's ontological argument, arguments from design, motion, eminence, what have you). so i was delighted to see that some atheists from california have compiled a list of 300+ arguments for the existence of god. if you know me, you won't be surprised to learn that i'm particularly taken w/ #s 17 (possibly my favorite), 26, 34, 46, 92, 97, 121, 255 (i once saw a bumper sticker that read "stop defenestration"; i think that's sublime), 256, 280, and, b/c i'm anglican, 345. i also like #33, but don't tell my mom.

grups

i have absolutely no idea how to feel about this grup thing. yet it seems to ring true: i do have t-shirts from 1981 (i only wear them on special occasions, like the first snow day of the year), i hate suits (there was a time when i felt all smarty to wear one, but that got old quick), i think there's just something about the killers, and i am, indeed, making adulthood up as i go.

so i have to process all this. am i succumbing to our culture's fascination w/ creating whatever identity we want whenever we want it? maybe. maybe.

but one thing's telling for me: i hate, hate, hate reggae rap or rapsta or whatever it is (w/ the possible exception of matisyahu).

so i may finally be getting old after all.