1112 Reflection -- Amos 5:18-24

Sunday 12 November 2017

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Amos 5:18-24 (NRSV)

Alas for you who desire the day of the Lord! Why do you want the day of the Lord? It is darkness, not light; as if someone fled from a lion, and was met by a bear; or went into the house and rested a hand against the wall, and was bitten by a snake. Is not the day of the Lord darkness, not light, and gloom with no brightness in it? I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon. Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

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The message of Amos is basically this: "Be careful for what you ask." He is calling the people to see that they are not ready for the Day of the Lord, for that day will reveal them as frauds before God. They have gone their own way, and have believed that their sinfulness is in fact righteousness. Amos calls them to set aside their own ways and to return to God, in order that when the day comes, they will be found with God and not in opposition to God.

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                                          Fr. Timothy Alleman

1112 Reflection -- Wisdom 6:12-16

Sunday 12 November 2017

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Wisdom of Solomon 6:12-16 (NRSV)

Wisdom is radiant and unfading, and she is easily discerned by those who love her, and is found by those who seek her. She hastens to make herself known to those who desire her. One who rises early to seek her will have no difficulty, for she will be found sitting at the gate. To fix one’s thought on her is perfect understanding, and one who is vigilant on her account will soon be free from care, because she goes about seeking those worthy of her, and she graciously appears to them in their paths, and meets them in every thought.

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This reading focuses on the gift of Wisdom. It comes from the apocryphal book of the Wisdom of Solomon, King of Israel. But note here that it is not Solomon's Wisdom that is commended to us. Remember after all, in spite of the great wisdom of the King, that in his later years Solomon turned away from the Wisdom that is commended to us in this book and in the Book of Proverbs, works attributed to the King. What is commended to us is the Wisdom of God to know what is right and then to walk in God's path of righteousness. When we remember that, and apply it, we do well, for we are being faithful to God.

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                                          Fr. Timothy Alleman

1029 Reflection -- Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18

Sunday 29 October 2017

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Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18 (NRSV)

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbor. You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not profit by the blood of your neighbor: I am the Lord. You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

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This sounds so easy. But who are our neighbors, and who are our people, our kin? It is the timeless question of those who wish to be justified in their actions before God in both what is seen as right as well as what is fair or deserved. As of yet I have not looked to see what Gospel this is paired with in the lectionary. I am aware though that this is from the thematic track of readings that reflect the theme of the Gospel. And so what is going through my mind is that moment when Jesus is asked: "But who is my neighbor?" Jesus shows that even the Samaritans are the neighbors of the Jews. Thus even our enemies are our neighbor, our people and kin. And thus when God tells us to love others and not take advantage of them or treat them harshly, God is referring even to our enemies. We don't have the option of justifying ourselves and choosing for whom this Word from God applies. That right is always exclusively that of God alone.

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                                          Fr. Timothy Alleman

1022 Reflection -- Isaiah 45:1-7

Sunday 22 October 2017

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Isaiah 45:1-7 (NRSV)

Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him and strip kings of their robes, to open doors before him—and the gates shall not be closed: “I will go before you and level the mountains, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, I will give you the treasures of darkness and riches hidden in secret places, so that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I surname you, though you do not know me. I am the Lord, and there is no other; besides me there is no god. I arm you, though you do not know me, so that they may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is no one besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe; I the Lord do all these things.”

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Cyrus, the servant of God? That must have stung when the people heard this! Cyrus is a foreign king of a people who for some time have been the enemies of the people of God. Cyrus is likely the last person imagineable to be described as the servant of God. To call him such would be comparable to calling Lenin and Stalin champions of democracy or Hitler the friend of Jews. And yet God uses Cyrus for the good of the people, and makes of an enemy a blessing. Perhaps what we can take from this reading is the amazing truth that God is indeed capable of doing all things, even those that exceed our imagination or comprehending of what our God can do in our midst.

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                                          Fr. Timothy Alleman

1015 Reflection -- Isaiah 25:1-9

Sunday 15 October 2017

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Isaiah 25:1-9 (NRSV)

O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you, I will praise your name; for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure. For you have made the city a heap, the fortified city a ruin; the palace of aliens is a city no more, it will never be rebuilt. Therefore strong peoples will glorify you; cities of ruthless nations will fear you. For you have been a refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in their distress, a shelter from the rainstorm and a shade from the heat. When the blast of the ruthless was like a winter rainstorm, the noise of aliens like heat in a dry place, you subdued the heat with the shade of clouds; the song of the ruthless was stilled. On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

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This is a fairly well known reading. In both my present environment as an Episcopalian and my former environment as a Lutheran, this is a faily common Old Testament funeral reading. That said, it is worth noting that the funeral reading tends to begin with what God will do, and thus the reading tends to focus on hope. Here this reading is a Sunday reading, and it begins with a different focus. The first emotion is joy and thanksgiving, and these are expressed because of what God has already done. From this, then, hope springs forth with roots. This hope is that will do what God has already done, and even more. And what God has already done gives us the assurance that God can do far more than we can desire or imagine.

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                                          Fr. Timothy Alleman

Opening Day Playoff Predictions

Predictions on 2018 Playoffs...

FIRST ROUND

Atlantic 2/3: Montreal vs Tampa Bay
Metro 2/3: Washington vs NY Rangers
Central 2/3: St. Louis vs Nashville
Pacific 2/3: Anaheim vs San Jose

Atlantic 1/4: Toronto vs Ottawa
Metro 1/4: Pittsburgh vs Philadelphia
C1 v WC1: Chicago vs Minnesota
P1 v WC2: Edmonton vs Dallas

SECOND ROUND
Atlantic: Toronto vs Tampa Bay
Metro: Pittsburgh vs Washington
Central: Chicago vs Nashville
Pacific: Edmonton vs Anaheim

THIRD ROUND
East: Washington vs Toronto
West: Edmonton vs Nashville

STANLEY CUP FINALS
Edmonton Oilers vs Toronto Maple Leafs

CHAMPIONS
Edmonton Oilers

NHL Starts TONIGHT!

The 2017-18 NHL season begins tonight!

Here is a recap of how the divisional races ended last season.  The teams with the stars beside them made the playoffs last season.

Eastern -- Atlantic
☆103 Canadiens
☆ 98 Senators
☆ 95 Bruins
☆ 95 Maple Leafs
94 Lightning
81 Panthers
79 Red Wings
78 Sabres

This is the division I have the hardest time looking objectively as my Buffalo Sabres are in this division.  The team that did not make the playoffs that I think will improve the most is Detroit, though it will not make them a playoff team.  If Tampa stays healthy, they are the ones with the best chance to unseat a playoff team.  My guess is that Boston is the most vulnerable for being removed from playoff rank.

Eastern -- Metropolitan
☆118 Capitals
☆111 Penguins
☆108 Blue Jackets
☆102 Rangers
94 Islanders
88 Flyers
87 Hurricanes
70 Devils

This division is absolute mayhem.  Some would say it's the strongest division in the NHL.  The Central would object, and have good cause for their objection.  The bottom four could improve, but I'm not sure that any of them can unseat a playoff team.  Washington and Pittsburgh are locks for playoff runs.  The Blue Shirts of Manhattan are close to that.  I'm not sure I'm so confident in Columbus.  So if one of the 4 playoff teams gets booted, my guess is the Blue Jackets get the boot.  And Philadelphia is my guess as to who is capable of giving that boot to a playoff team.

Western -- Central
☆109 Blackhawks
☆106 Wild
☆ 99 Blues
☆ 94 Predators
87 Jets
79 Stars
48 Avalanche

This division is crazy good.  Colorado was not in contention last season, and they were the only team in the division that had no chance.  I don't think any of the four playoff teams get the boot.  I can't imagine which of them could.  Improvements in goalie play could cause Dallas to be best in line to get into the playoffs.  Even then, I think the Stars best shot is to play for the opportunity to steal the second wild card away from the Pacific.

Western -- Pacific
☆105 Ducks
☆103 Oilers
☆ 99 Sharks
☆ 94 Flames
86 Kings
70 Coyotes
69 Canucks
Knights

This division has improved greatly.  The key to success likely will once more be survival in the "California Triangle."  Add to that now that once more the Province of Alberta has become unfriendly territory for foes entering therein.  There will be some very exciting hockey in this division.  It will be interesting to see how Vegas does and what impact their inaugural season has on the division and the league.  Those in playoff contention had better be attentive to the Central seeking to steal both wild cards while these teams pummel one another.  I think Calgary feels the sting of this and becomes the one team in this division to not return in the playoffs while the rest of the division sees a Central Division team grab their wild card.