Hello all,
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Forget not Fairy Tales
Today, while I was in the library, I set down St. Anselm's Cur Deus Homo, and went to the children's literature section- a tiny portion of a small division of a single bookshelf. I was contemplating whether I wanted to check out The Hobbit or look into The Tale of Despereaux, when a girl walked up to the same section with a copy of The Hobbit to return the bookshelf.
Posted by Jonathan at 11:03 PM 1 comments
Labels: Biola, Chance Encounters, Fairy Tales, Hemingway, Libraries, Tolkien
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Praise be to God
Terry Jones has cancelled his plans to burn a Koran on September 11.
Posted by Jonathan at 6:41 PM 0 comments
Monday, September 6, 2010
Our Daily Bread
When I woke up this morning, Roy was in our room, giving Gabriel money with which to purchase a loaf of sourdough. Seeing I was awake, Gabriel asked me if I waned to go with him to Panera bread. I told him I would go to the caf. Then I started thinking about Broccoli Cheddar soup. So I told him I would meet him there.
I went through Biola’s back gate and traipsed about the slight inclines and valleys of the La Mirada neighborhoods to the La Mirada town center. It was already 12:30- I had slept in, given that the night before had been prolonged by discussion of theology and film.
When I got to Panera, Gabriel was sitting right next to the door. I set down my satchel and went to order. When I returned, I noticed that Gabriel’s plate and bowl of soup were empty and pushed aside, and he was munching a piece of sourdough bread.
“I paid for a third of it.” He said, by way of explanation. I nodded. Son enough, I was preoccupied with half a Bacon Turkey Bravo sandwich and a bowl of Broccoli Cheddar soup.
After a few hours of studying, Gabriel suggested we migrate to Dr. Yeh’s house, where there was an open invitation for the day to come and study, with coffee and tea provided by the great Allen Yeh himself.
Shortly, we arrived there, and after a cursory tour of Dr. Yeh’s very smart new residence, we settled in at the kitchen table with books in hand, cookies on a plate, and a pot of coffee bubbling nearby. Somehow, the loaf of bread had made it’s way out of Gabriel’s backpack and onto the table. I reached for a slice. Panera makes good bread.
I spent some time reading Romans for class- I listened to some lectures this summer by Dr. Knox Chamblin of the Reformed Theological Seminary- he referred to Saint Paul as “a Christ-intoxicated person”. Indeed he is. I used to think I didn’t like Paul. I can only assume this was a grievous consequence of a willingness to be told about Paul without an equal willingness to read him. I love Paul’s epistles. I shall be glad to spend more time in them in the coming semester. Already, Thessalonians has changed my view of Eschatology from a vague, discontented negation of “Left-Behind-esque thought” into a joyful affirmation of the hope we have in awaiting Christ’s return- even if I still feel uncomfortable attempting to solidify any details other than what is explicit in scripture.
When we left Dr. Yeh’s house, we realized that we had successfully eaten most of Roy’s bread. Gabriel needed to get to his parents’ house, so I just had him drop me off at Panera to get another loaf for Roy and simply walk back to Biola.
When I went to purchase the bread, however, the cashier informed me that there was no more sourdough. I decided to get Roy a thin loaf of Asiago cheese bread. When I got back to the room, I gave the loaf to Roy.
Several hours later, Roy walked into the room with a large loaf of Tomato Basil bread and a small block of cheddar cheese. Gabriel had just returned from his parents’, and Sam had been studying in the room. Roy offered us bread, and we partook together. It was very good.
I think the Church is beautiful; even in this fumbling of college students buying bread, there is an echo of the love of the apostles, sharing among themselves. Today, our comical failure to fetch bread for Roy turned into a running demonstration of Christian charity and generosity, taking joy in the benefit of others. Today, I partook of the communion of saints.
It was a good day.
Posted by Jonathan at 11:41 PM 1 comments
Labels: A Terrible Pun, Bread, Choo, Panera Bread, Saint Paul, Sam, The Communion of Saints
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Some Poetry
Two unrelated poems. Feedback?
If these dark hills were all the world, the world would not be small.
This infinite and endless sky, the lengths that light must fall,
The lamps that hang outside men’s doors, and fill the hills with stars,
The symphony of sweeping winds, the noise of passing cars.
At times we must recall ourselves, by journeying to see
Things not ourselves, things we could never even hope to be
“This then thou art, this neither then thou art” is well and good
But surely thou art not the wind, and thou art not the wood;
The length and span of human heart cannot the world contain,
And none can hold themselves sans martyrdom and pain.
If I am everything, the stars from sullen skies will fall
When I am all the world I see, the world indeed is small
*****
Let’s light the beacons on the hills,
The lanterns on the windowsills
Impelling roving sons return-
The time has come, at last, to learn,
The things most easily ignored.
Diminished things, at last restored
The King returns from Avalon
To sing a hymn in Albion,
And we, the children of the day
Will be made whole, as prophets say
And walk upon a windswept shore
Divine, but discontent no more.
Posted by Jonathan at 11:47 PM 0 comments
Labels: G.K. Chesterton, King Arthur, Mountains, Poetry
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Handbook for the Sellout chapter 1
Posted by Jonathan at 10:53 PM 0 comments
Labels: Aaron Sprinkle, Anberlin, Dark is the Way, Light is a Place