Aphorism of the Day, December 2025

Aphorism of the Day, December 9, 2025

One can conceive of a Realm of all Collective Positivity from which particular and context specific positive events of language use and the inherent structuration by language derives.

Aphorism of the Day, December 8, 2025

Often people of faith are people who seem to be proud of or privilege what cannot be known or said while people with more pragmatic leanings privilege the value of what can be known or said in the manipulation of the things and people of their environments for goals in history and time, and not for some unknown eternal or everlasting future of personal or communal continuity.  But surely the incarnation belief assumes that the material world is to be cherished, valued, and stewarded for those higher purposes of love, justice, and all virtues?

Aphorism of the Day, December 7, 2025

People of faith and of religious perspectives are asking that their language games which pertain to how they believe they have accessed the Sublime be accepted in the world many discourses which pertain to human language endeavors.  The modern problem for people of faith is that they pit discourse again the statistically probable discourse of science in ways which create perhaps the unnecessary situation of implying that one cannot be a poet and scientist at the same time.  If we as multi-discursive being know how to stay within our discursive lanes with truths appropriate to each discourse, then we will affirm a fully human art of living which allows us to be poets and scientists at the same time without contradiction.

Aphorism of the Day, December 6, 2025

Human life is the language dance around what is not language in the continual compulsion to create language products which identify us mainly as language users with language as the prior assumption in anything being known or coming to consciousness including the reflexive use of language about itself as explaining it role in the continual dance around what is unknowable except through language.

Aphorism of the Day, December 5, 2025

Does one ever escape the language loop, that is, having to use words to say the "Real" while claiming the Real to be unsayable?  By naming God as apophatic, is not apophatic already in the positive realm in naming it?  Rather than calling the Real a negation why not call the Real an omni-Positive?  Rather than saying God is not anything that we can say, we can mean God is not any one particular thing that we can say, but the divine could be the community of an all-inclusive One.  Wouldn't it be truer to our linguistic being to say that what is Real or Divine is everything that has been, is and will be all at once?   Would not this most positive view be a more adequate representation of fullness than the subtraction to complete negation?  Negation is still relevant in the denial of an idolatrous identification of the divine with any one single isolate thing or word for a thing.

Aphorism of the Day, December 4, 2025

Most Bible readers are caught in the rut of their interpretative traditions which precode how they must read the Scriptures.  They read with prior theological commitments which preclude them being a "neutral" reader.  Following Barthes, we are all writerly readers of the text.  A text "says" what is says according to our interpretive grid.

Aphorism of the Day, December 3, 2025

Something that we don't know and can't say with complete fullness seems to accompany everything that know in having come to language or to "feeling," but we still project upon this "anti-anything" endless words.

Aphorism of the Day, December 2, 2025

Fasting is a choice and action of intentional self control when one interdicts a regular habit of consumption by refraining for specific purposes like sobriety, redirection of resource use, and perhaps solidarity with some social cause or personal protest.

Aphorism of the Day, December 1, 2025

The paucity of information about Gospel figures means that we should read them a parables for community instruction for the listener/reader to project themselves upon for insights regarding being formed within the community's values.

Quiz of the Day, December 2025

Quiz of the Day, December 6, 2025

What humble man from Turkey may be the most popular worldwide saint?

a. Nicholas of Myra

b. John of Ephesus

c. Saul of Taursus

d. George of Cappadocia

Quiz of the Day, December 5, 2025

What New Testament book makes a reference to a prophecy of Enoch which is not found in the canonical Hebrew Scriptures?

a. Revelations

b. Hebrews

c. 2 Peter

d. Jude

Quiz of the Day, December 4, 2025

Which of the following parables is found in more than one Gospel?

a. Good Samaritan

b. The Lost Coin

c. The Pearl of Great Price

d. The Sower

Quiz of the Day, December 3, 2025

John of Damascus

a. was an iconoclast

b. painted icons

c. collected icons

d. defended icons

Quiz of the Day, December 2, 2025

Francis Xavier did not make it to

a. Japan

b. Malaysia

c. Portugal

d. Spain

e. Mainland China

f. India

Quiz of the Day, December 1, 2025

Who of the following disciples was not a fisherman?

a. Peter

b. Andrew

c. James

d. John

e. Philip

f.  Matthew

John the Baptist, the Saint of Advent

2 Advent A December 7, 2025
Is. 11:1-10 Ps.72
Rom. 15:4-13 Matt. 3:1-12

Lectionary Link

We might call John the Baptist, the Advent saint, because he dominates the lectionary readings from the Gospels for Advent.  He is even more prominent than the apocalyptic lectionary portions for Advent, and John coupled with the apocalyptic helps to teach the dual comings observed in the Advent liturgies, namely, the first coming of Jesus in the birth of Jesus, and the second coming of Christ in some future event.

John the Baptist as an desert dwelling ascetic who was under the vow of the nazirite, was aloof from society, in contrast with Jesus who was very much interactive with people even to be called a glutton and drunkard because he ate with sinners and interacted with harlots.  John the Baptist made people come to him and they came and he verbally dressed them down for their behaviors and demanded that they amend their lives and undergo the ritual of baptism, as if, implying they needed to be re-converted into an awareness of their standing with God.

John proclaimed a new community of people in that his baptism made all newly baptized proselytes of this new faith perspective; it did not matter whether they were religious leaders or adherents to Jewish ritual requirements.  His message, even if delivered like a drill sergeant, was persuasive and effective.  It was effective enough to get him killed for his popularity, according to Josephus, even while the Gospel says it was because he offended Herod's new wife.

He was cause for the religious leaders to feel threatened regarding their own authentic religious practice.  He was also like other prophets of the time, one who had a following and thereby considered as a potential Messiah, a potential political threat to the local authorities who administered the province for the Caesar of Rome.

As for knowledge about John the Baptist outside of the Bible, the famous historian of the era, Josephus wrote more about John the Baptist than about Jesus, even information which contradicts the Gospels.  In Josephus,  John the Baptist died for political reasons of his popularity and not for rebuking Herod about his marriage.  In Josephus we find that the famed girl dancer who was tricked to ask for John's severed head is named, Salome.

One could logically assume that if John the Baptist has more written about him than Jesus in the history written by Josephus, it could mean that John and his community were a formidable social movement.  And with all the mostly favorable writing about John the Baptist in the Gospels, one can assume that the Gospel writers were making an appeal to the community of John the Baptist to move on to Jesus as perhaps the logical successor leader for the community of John.  The officiant at the baptism of Jesus was John the Baptist at the insistence of Jesus.    This might be an indication that John had been a mentor of Jesus in his pre-ministry days.  At least, these are conclusions one could draw from the presentation their relationship in the Gospels.

They were both apocalyptic preachers, preacher of the hope of a great intervention on behalf of the oppressed.  In this sense, they were both realistic about the Roman Empire and its grip, not only on Palestine, but also on the entire world.  They were realistic in that they only thought that some great cosmic event would upset the power of the Roman Empire, or any Empire.  As expectant prophets, they had messages of hope, which included a, "great things can happen message; so hang in there."  Just like floods and earthquakes can happen, cosmic things can happen.  This great event might be understood in various ways since Christianity is built on the reappearance comings of Christ in encounters with some of his followers.  Again his departure is written about but he continued to appear to many in many unique ways, as he did to Paul, and as he did through the experience of the indwelling Holy Spirit giving people a sense that Christ had come to them and given them a new identity with Him.  So Advent is about the alway future coming of Christ to the people of this world.

But John the Baptist is also linked to the first coming of Jesus.  Jesus had a miraculous birth story; John had a marvelous birth story.  In the meeting between two expectant mothers, Mary and Elizabeth, the story indicates that the gestational John leaped in his mother's womb as if we was recognizing Christ child before either of them were born.  One realizes how the Gospel writers told the story of John the Baptist as the one who would prepare the way for Jesus Christ.

We have inherited this story tradition of John who is interpreted as being an important opening act and supporting actor for the main star of the New Testament communities.  And we would not be over-reaching to suggest that the community of John the Baptist might be regarded as a pre-existing proto-church to the eventual communities of the Jesus Movement.  The followers of Jesus would most likely have been highly motivated to persuade followers of John to become followers of Jesus, just as some of the prominent disciples of Jesus had done.

Where does that leave us today in our appropriation of John the Baptist, the saint of Advent?  Since like Lent, Advent is a penitential season, John the Baptist functions as a sort of liturgical police in reminding us not to hurry to the excess of the season of Christmas.  John stands to us as the model of a life built on fasting from any excess so that perpetual devotion to God might be practiced in intentional ways.  John's message of repentance is not a negative message of "you can't and you shouldn't do this or that."  It really is the positive message about human perfectibility in being able to surpass ourselves in excellence each day.  John's message is this:  Because God made you perfectible; you should walk on the path of perfectibility.

It is no secret that the early church believed that people could have an event and continual events of transformation which might be called a new birth or being born again.  As the Christmas story encodes the new birth mystery for each person, during the Advent season, we invoke the memory of John the Baptist to remind ourselves of our perpetual preparation for the birthing process in knowing ourselves to be children of God.  The Advent liturgies which include a recitation of the life of John the Baptist are annual rememberings of our spiritual journey of continual renewal, and we prepare to be renewed again at Christmas, even as we gather to inculcate and perpetuate these Advent values once again in our community.

Before we hasten to the excesses which often characterize our Christmastide, let us ponder the soul of St. John the Baptist, who lived just on enough, so that he could devote himself to higher values of living.  Let us learn from John the Baptist to be fasting people, so that all might have enough, and so that all might know that they can be on the path of perfectibility.  Amen

Sunday School, December 7, 2025 2 Advent, Year A

Sunday School, December 7, 2025    2 Advent, Year A

Sunday School Theme

A shoot shall come out of the Stump of Jesse

Is a stump dead or alive?

If it is alive why is it still alive?

Answer:  Because of the hidden and underground root system.

Imagine God as the underground and hidden root system of life.  You can’t see God but you know God gives life to everything.

Roots grow plants and trees.  Plants and trees have life cycles.  People are like trees that have grown from God’s creation.  We have life cycles too.  Sometimes what we do is big and beautiful like a marvelous oak tree but fall comes and the leaves change.  People and what we do often change.  God inspired people to do some wonderful things.  Patriarchs like Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Leaders and Law Givers like Moses, Joshua, Deborah and Samuel.  Kings like David and Solomon.  Prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Elijah and Elisha.  As God’s people faced new things in their lives, their lives changed.  Sometimes their lives changed so much they seemed to be just like a stump leftover after a tree was cut down because of being used for lumber or because of drought or plant disease.  But new life could always come out of the stump again because of the roots.  God is the hidden roots of life; the appearance of the tree can change and the tree can even be chopped down but a branch or shoot can still grow from the stump because of the roots.  Many bad things happened to the people of Israel.  They were conquered by foreign armies.  They were made slaves and taken to another country.  Jerusalem was destroyed and so was the Temple in Jerusalem.  So, at times it seemed as though the tree of Israel was cut down and it seemed as though only a stump remained.  But the prophets knew that the hidden roots of God’s presence remained even if there seem to be only a stump left.

Out of the Stump of Jesse, Zachariah and Elizabeth came, Mary and Joseph came, and they gave birth to two special sons, John the Baptist and Jesus.  There two special sons gave new life to the “stump of Jesse.”  From Jesus, the church became a new tree out of the stump of Jesse. 

We need to remember today that no matter how much things change on the outside, even when things look like a dead stump, the Invisible Root of God in life can make new things to happen in our human lives, in our personal lives, in our families, in our parish, in our city, in our country and in our world.

A Stump and the Tree are the same because the hidden roots are the source for both.

Let us have faith to remember that God is the hidden root of our lives.  Let us remember that Jesus made the cross a tree of life for us to learn how we can allow God’s life within us to grow and make us a beautiful tree for God.

Sermon on the Jesse Tree

Do you know what a family tree is?  Have you ever made a family tree for a school assignment?  What do you try to do with a family tree?  You try to list everyone who has been in your family in the past.  So, a family looks like an upside down pyramid.  First there is you, your mom and dad, then your grand parents, and your great grand parents, and your great great grand parents, and then you just have to keep adding the greats….and on the side branches of your family tree you have brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles and cousins.  Why do we make a family tree?  We want to know something about the people who came before us in our family because we think that we can understand ourselves better if we understand our past family.  We want to be able to tell our story better so we learn about our family of the past.  During the season of Advent, we study our Christian family tree.  Only we call it a Jesse Tree.  Jesse was the father of King David.  And the writer of the book of Isaiah said a famous person would come from the Stump of Jesse or the Tree of Jesse.  And who was that famous person?  It was Jesus Christ.

  So you can make a Jesse tree.  And what do you put on a Jesse Tree?  You put pictures of famous events and people that were written about in the Bible.  So  you might want to makes some stars and put on your tree to remember that God created the heavens and the earth.  You might want to put an apple on your tree, to remember Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.  You might want to make a picture of a famous boat?  What is the famous boat called?  Noah’s ark.  And there was also a famous ladder in the Bible.  There was a famous man who had a dream about a ladder between heaven and earth.  Who was this famous dreamer?   And there was a man who ran away from Egypt but God called him back to Egypt and God used a burning bush to talk to this man.  Who was this man?   And in our Jesse Tree, we would want to include the most famous laws that were given to Moses.  What are those laws?  The Ten Commandments.  And you might want to put a crown on your tree to remember the most famous King in the Bible.  King David.  And you might want to put a picture of Stable.  Why?  Who was born in a stable.  And you might want to put a picture of Mary and the baby Jesus on your Jesse tree.

  So you can make a Jesse tree with symbols and pictures of all of stories in the Bible.  And why do we want to know the stories about people in the Bible?  Because we want to know where we came from.  And we want to be able to tell our story about how God loves us.  And we want to be able to tell others about God’s love too.  If you want to do a project at home.  Make a Jesse tree.  And ask your parents to read you some Bible stories.  And you will learn to tell the story of Christ. 

Intergenerational Holy Eucharist

December 7, 2025: The Second Sunday of Advent

Gathering Songs: We Light the Advent Candles, I’ve Got Peace Like a River, Jesus, Name Above All Names, Awesome God

Liturgist: Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

People: And blessed be God’s kingdom, now and forever.  Amen.

Liturgist:  Oh God, Our hearts are open to you.

And you know us and we can hide nothing from you.

Prepare our hearts and our minds to love you and worship you.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Song:  We Light the Advent Candles (While lighting the first two purple candles)

We light the Advent candles against the winter night, to welcome our Lord Jesus who is the world’s True Light, to welcome our Lord Jesus who is the World’s True Light.

We light the Second candle, and hear God’s holy Word, it tells us, cling to Jesus, prepare to meet your Lord, it tells us, cling to Jesus, prepare to meet your Lord.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Litany of Praise: Alleluia

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

O God, you have made yourself known to us!  Alleluia

O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!  Alleluia

O God, you have given us a Christian family!  Alleluia

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia

O God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead!  Alleluia

A reading from the Prophet Isaiah

A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.  His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 72

Give the King your justice, O God, * and your righteousness to the King's Son;

That he may rule your people righteously * and the poor with justice;

That the mountains may bring prosperity to the people, * and the little hills bring righteousness.

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God!

Litanist:

For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to God!

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks be to God!

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!

For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and parish family.

   Thanks be to God!

Liturgist:         The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke then he said, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness; `Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.'" Now John wore clothing of camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, `We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  "I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

Children’s Creed

We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father is the maker of the world.

Since God is so great and we are so small,

We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary.

We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the life, death and

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy Spirit.

We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church where everyone is

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.

And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve us forever.  Amen.

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy.

For fighting and war to cease in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.

For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.

For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have mercy.

For the good health of those we know to be ill. Christ, have mercy.

For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have mercy.

For the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christ, have mercy.

Youth Liturgist:          The Peace of the Lord be always with you.

People:                        And also with you.

Song during the preparation of the Altar and the receiving of an offering

Song: I’ve Got Peace Like a River (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 122)

1-I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river in my soul.  I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river.  I’ve got peace like a river in my soul..

2-I’ve got love….  3-I’ve got joy……

Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below.

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Prologue to the Eucharist

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong the kingdom of God.”

All become members of a family by birth or adoption.

Baptism is a celebration of birth into the family of God.

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

It is very good and right to give thanks, because God made us, Jesus redeemed us and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts.  Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all of the world that we see and don’t see, we forever sing this hymn of praise:

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might.  Heav’n and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. 

Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

(All may gather around the altar)

Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;

You have made us in your image

And you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to live by faith:

Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachael.

And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph

And he called us to be sons and daughters of God.

Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this Holy Meal so that when we eat the bread and drink the wine, we can know that the Presence of Christ is as near to us as this food and drink that becomes a part of us.

And so, Father, we bring you these gifts of bread and wine. Bless and sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Bless and sanctify us by your Holy Spirit so that we may love God and our neighbor.

On the night when Jesus was betrayed he took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to his friends, and said, "Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me."

After supper, Jesus took the cup of wine, gave thanks, and said, "Drink this, all of you. This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me."

Father, we now celebrate the memorial of your Son. When we eat this holy Meal of Bread and Wine, we are telling the entire world about the life, death and resurrection of Christ and that his presence will be with us in our future.

Let this holy meal keep us together as friends who share a special relationship because of your Son Jesus Christ.  May we forever live with praise to God to whom we belong as sons and daughters.

By Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.

And now as our Savior Christ has taught us, we now sing,

Our Father: (Renew # 180, West Indian Lord’s Prayer)

Our Father who art in heaven:  Hallowed be thy name.

Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done: Hallowed be thy name.

Done on earth as it is in heaven: Hallowed be thy name.

Give us this day our daily bread: Hallowed be thy name.

And forgive us all our debts: Hallowed be thy name.

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.

Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory: Hallowed be thy name.

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Breaking of the Bread

Celebrant:       Alleluia, Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  Alleluia.

Words of Administration

Communion Song:  Jesus Name above all Names (Renew! # 26)

Jesus, name above all names, beautiful Savior, glorious Lord.  Emmanuel, God is with us, blessed Redeemer, Living Word.

Post-Communion Prayer

Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;

We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and the wine.

And His Presence has been known to us.

We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God and brothers

    and sisters in Christ.

Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that the blessing in the

     bread and wine spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,

As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Closing Song: Awesome God (Renew!, # 245)

Our God is an awesome God, he reigns from heaven above with wisdom, power and love, our God is an awesome God.  (Sing three times)

Dismissal:   

Liturgist: Let us go forth in the Name of Christ.

People: Thanks be to God! 

 

Aphorism of the Day, November 2025

Aphorism of the Day, November 30, 2025

The study of religions, their adherents, their holy books, their histories, their commonalities, their borrowings, their differences, and their provenance, can make the religion of the student of religion, the religious phenomenon itself and religious discourses found within language users.  When the student has the exposure to the language products of all religions, the basis for choosing one becomes serendipitous to one's location within one's own experiential settings.

Aphorism of the Day, November 29, 2025

The Bible is not mainly a book of empirical facts but collections of writing generated to promote community identity in the many settings where the writers wrote.

Aphorism of the Day, November 28, 2025

The exterior language product environment into which we are born enters us and activates or infects a receptive inner environment and slowly takes over our interior life as its most dominant "parasite."  And whatever happens involves the co-extensive presence of language because even as we say there is more than language, we have to use it to do so.

Aphorism of the Day, November 27, 2025 (Thanksgiving Day, USA)

Is gratitude as natural as hope?  Hope seems to be the automatic rider of time and there always being a future.  Is gratitude totally relative to one's conditions or is consciousness itself a naturally grateful state?  Probably not the latter, which means that as much as we have the ability we should endeavor to be gratitude conditions makers for others.

Aphorism of the Day, November 26, 2025

The Bible should be read in literary way, not a literal way because there is not a one to one correspondence of ancient cultural practices and understandings with how we understand and practice our lives today.  Because we judge the ancient practice of slavery in biblical times and cultures as unjust and cruel does not mean we can arrogate to ourselves on total moral superiority while we truly have developed the methods of mass destruction unknown in ancient times.  Within the human sphere of communities of interaction and the extension of empathy to people in the way that they struggle to know dignity for themselves, the universal notions of love and justice have to be updated to how people who practice no desire to harm each other (for those who who criticize this as anything goes mentality) can be affirmed in having dignity in their social settings.

 Aphorism of the Day, November 25, 2025

The Bible is a language product and language is common and therefore it is relevant to all language users.  But not all of the writing is always already cosmically or even locally applicable to any given reader at any given time since it was written in many actual human situations.  Every human situation has the potential for becoming like what someone in the future might experience.  The Bible is a voted main textbook of human experience to be a settled catalogue on the types of experiences people can have vis a vis their relationships to the divine and each other.

Aphorism of the Day, November 24, 2025

Can apocalyptic thinking be selfish thinking?  One might understand the function of comfort of apocalyptic thinking for oppressed people in hopeless situations, even while oppression forces upon us a kind of self regard about our worth in thinking that "this should not be happening to us."  We can be nobly selfish if it about escape from or being comforted in the conditions of suffering.  When one's group is suffering and definitely feeling singled out, it can seem natural to assume that the entire cosmic system of justice should stop the entire world to end the suffering to one's group because it is such a violation.  But what kind of thinking it is to posit the end of the entire world for the divine to intervene on behalf of one group of people in certain geographical locations; what about all of the other people on earth who are not part of the situation where the drama of suffering is being lived out?  And what about people who are now on the side of the empires of the world who can oppress and in their ease and freedom from pain still hold out for a apocalyptic ending of the world so that their religious point of view might be proved to be superior?  Indeed apocalyptic thinking can be very selfish thinking in such situations.

Aphorism of the Day, November 23, 2025

The Greeks had a notion of "fiction" often called the "noble lie," which involved the accepted rhetorical practice of creative imagination coming to language about the unknowable past of origins.  It was noble to establish something of current relevant grandeur with a fantastic origin grandeur.  Modern history as the sole criteria of "truth" has become scientific way to say that myth is not validly true.

Aphorism of the Day, November 22, 2025

Karma or the "law" of reaping what one sows seems to be the application of probability theory of a subsequent event influence by a previous chosen events, and the Bible and religious writers try to pin one to one correspondence between all specific deeds and future outcomes.  But even Bible writers have doubts about this when they mourn about why evil people seem to proper over good people.

Aphorism of the Day, November 21, 2025 (An Our Father paraphrase)

Seeming generative Being parallel to the life we know and say but who resists being limited by the names we give you; let your mysterious energies and emanations be filtered in directing best world outcomes, including enough daily food for all people and your forgiving tolerance for our imperfections even as we access that same forgiveness for others.  Save us within the world of the freedom of probabilities where good and bad things and occur and help us avoid evil happenings.  For your Realm is comprehensive and powerfully and awesomely creative, now and forever.  Amen.

  Aphorism of the Day, November 20, 2025

For many years the Bible became the most used and accessible language event for people.  Since it is written in diverse literary forms it had to be presented in abbreviated forms and re-purposed for instruction, theology, liturgy, as well as its use for community identity building.  Every word in it could not and cannot have equal use value within the many communities and for myriad individuals who read it for devotional insights.  The narratives within the Bible do not lend themselves to easy or obvious theology or doctrine or Creed or dogma.  The fact that no writing is "self interpreting," the Bible is both unifying for communities and divisive for communities depending upon the various interpretations and uses of it.  To say that the Bible is an easy document to read or interpret is drastically simplistic.

Aphorism of the Day, November 19, 2025

The Psalmist writes often as one who is experiencing situations of believing that many people are "out to get him" in many different ways.  I guess it's not poetic paranoia if people are really trying to harm you.  Since such "personal" laments are public liturgy, the hymns serve as a reminder of what can happen personally and communally to people in the range of probable human experience.

Aphorism of the Day, November 18, 2025

The Psalms have so much human experiential diversity that it is very difficult to categorize them with precise consistency.  When one thinks a theme has been established, suddenly a meandering flow of consciousness in words arises with poetic confounding.

Aphorism of Day, November 17, 2025

People who hold to messianic beliefs need to consider whether such beliefs implies any earthly empire which coerces such beliefs upon the world populace.  Any notion of theocracy must include whether those who do not find the realm's notion of the divine to be irresistibly valid and relevant.  If one views one's view of God to be superior and singular then the fault must lie with those who can't see in the same way.

Aphorism of the Day, November 16, 2025

The inner world of dreams can produce images with a plastic nature to blend and do the sort of thing which AI deep fakes and CGI does now.  Long before CGI the inner world create figures like the goat-man.  The Bible is full of such plastic figures in the various visionary states of the prophets as well as the writer of Revelations.

Aphorism of the Day, November 15, 2025

The number of "word" events inside all the people of this world could never be known or tallied but what is the neural energy effected of everything unpublished and unsaid?  How does thought life, day dream life, dream life actually effect our bodily life especially when it is in stark disagreement?

Aphorism of the Day, November 14, 2025

If we're honest, most read the Twenty Third Psalm as, "The Lord is my pet owner," not the "Lord is my shepherd," because we know what happens to sheep even if their shepherd is a good temporary caretaker.  The Lord as the very best pet owner means that the metaphor of a caring God is to our end and there is no commercial exploitive aspect of the relationship at all because the shepherd-sheep aspect of the metaphor limits our current notions of unconditional care.

Aphorism of the Day, November 13, 2025

Modern historical method in being honest about only having ancient texts without certain of how the specific locations of composition tries to do essential a "linguistic archeology" and because the modern era assumes the reign of empirical verification, it is retroactively applied to accounts of what could have actually happened in ancient times, and material which does not comport to empirical verification gets assigned an appropriate non-literal genre.

Aphorism of the Day, November 12, 2025

In many ways, the Hebrew Scriptures are explanatory writings about why things happened to the people of Israel in the way that they did.  The simple answer is this: Israel was successful when they were most Torah compliant, and they were given suffering and oppression when and because they weren't significantly Torah compliant.

Aphorism of the Day, November 11, 2025 (Veterans Day in the U.S.A.)

Since we have never known ourselves to live in the Garden of Eden Paradise, except as the innocent but clueless state of infancy, the warrior as a class of human occupation has been constant, because groups of people have found themselves needing to be protected from other groups of people with competing interests in life resources.  War and fighting is the ultimate failure of charity among people who are unable to find equitable distributions of land and its resources for all populace.  While we mourn the necessity for our warriors, and pray for their safety and their perpetual honor in the eyes of those they defend, we pray for conditions which make fighting unnecessary and we would hope that future armies could be organized to deal with the catastrophic events of nature which can threaten any society, rather than situation of people against people.

Aphorism of the Day, November 10, 2025

Biblical writers often present images of the end, the death transitional state, both personally (death) and communally (apocalypticism) while they are writing in their "now" with functional meanings for maintaining their communities through comfort or motivating current actions of excellence.

Aphorism of the Day, November 9, 2025

Modern historians can note that social movements are successful for irrational and mysterious and unknowable reasons because of so many complex social variables, even while their highly rational methodology would imply that they could not be involved in such movements.

Aphorism of the Day, November 8, 2025

What's the difference between the Gospel generating situations and the D.C. Comics era of Superman?  Modern science.  Modern science demythologized the accounts of the "uncanny" violations of natural laws and removed the sense of the sacred connected with narrative.  In the modern era of science, the uncanny violations of natural laws have moved to the realm of popular entertainment.  Modern science is responsible in part for dividing up the realm of what can come to language into more diverse genres.

Aphorism of the Day, November 7, 2025

With sociological analysis one can try to state the success of any "movement" whether Christian, Islam, or any sect or denominations within the same.  One can seek to find the recipe for the success of political movements, even the so called MAGA phenomenon.  And since the dynamics are so multi-faceted, one cannot be sure of why they are successful, and so one plays the ultimate card, calling it "spirit," the sort of collective effervescence which fuels the growth.  Since the success is a mystery, how can and should one appraise any movement.  The American system sought to provide an extra-sectarian mode of appraisal, namely, equal justice for all even those who do not subscribe to the tenets of a sectarian or cult-like political movement.  The American system based on justice for all is an attempt to mediate between sectarian parties providing rules of public behavior that allow a mode of living together while agreeing to disagree on many personal and social issues.  

Aphorism of the Day, November 6, 2025

We live and move and have our being and becoming within language in passively coded ways as well as active use.  And we live and move and have our becoming in all that language refers to but are limited to using language to say that IT is there.

Aphorism of the Day, November 5, 2025

Resurrection of the varieties that are presented in Hebrew Scriptures and the apocalyptic writings, which may have derived from the exiles in Persia, seem to be  about how people living in pain and oppression can still uphold the notion of divine justice, by delaying it to an afterlife where tables are turned and places are traded.

Aphorism of the Day, November 4, 2025

Nietzsche wrote, "The thought of suicide has gotten me through many a night."  It seems a bit unhealthy even though the thought of it is not the actual action of doing it, perhaps meaning he was trying to achieve a parallel post-life place to comfort his current distressed state of mind.  One can find the seeming obsession of New Testament writers with the afterlife personally and the afterlife socially in the apocalyptic imagery as diagnostic of distressed people seeking a parallel state of comfort while not actually trying to harm themselves to end it all or attempting catastrophic damage of the world.

Aphorism of the Day, November 3, 2025

The phrase "God of the living" is attributed to Jesus to support the preserving nature of the Divine and could mean that the latest outcome preserves within itself the cumulative evidence of everything before the latest.

Aphorism of the Day, November 2, 2025

Existence itself is tolerant and sustaining of everything that happens.  When one considers all the destructive and genuinely cruel things that occur in specific places we often like to assume the whole should apocalyptically punish the whole for the cruelty in one place to one person or significant groups of people.  Yet existence itself goes on with sustaining tolerance of the probable conditions of freedom.  Since language is personal because it derives in people who cannot but live anthropomorphically, the naming of existence with divine names give existence a personality, an omni-benevolent one if one assumes that existence supports all within it and not just local favorites as certain times.

 Aphorism of the Day, November 1, 2025. (All Saints Day)

Dead People linger in the lives of the living in unavoidable ways.  The living have tried to channel the lingering in a variety of ways to deal with how the departed linger in our lives.  Outright "seeing" of the departed by the serendipitously gifted for such sightings is seen in the entire social phenomenon of ghosts and the entertainment sector embracing the traditions of ghosts is perhaps symptomatic of the continuum of processing the lives of the departed from horror to humor.