Category: Cultural Marxism

Dear MAGA: 20190428 Open Topic

This very special ORTHODOX EASTER SUNDAY
open thread is VERY OPEN – a place for everybody
to post whatever they feel they would like
to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA world.

Say what you want, comment on what other people said,
comment on people’s comments.
Keep it civil.  Treehouse rules, but expect lots of QAnon.

See the January 1st daily thread for the rules of the road,
which are few but important.

Remember – your greatest gift to President Trump is FIVE WORDS:
I AM PRAYING FOR YOU

2019-TRUMP-at-easter-egg-roll-event.jpg

He Is Risen!

orthodox-icon-resurrection

Orthodoxy and Calendars

We are here to rejoice in solidarity with our Orthodox brothers and sisters as they celebrate the resurrection of our Savior today. But first, let’s spend a moment thinking about why calendars were so important that two of the oldest sects of Christianity are unable to pick the same date for Easter?

While the issue is somewhat complicated, it may be summarized in the two factors at work that cause this conflict in dates:
1) The issue of the calendar; and
2) the adherence by the Orthodox to the early practices of the Christian Church.

— Why is Orthodox Christian Easter later than the Catholic one?

For the last week I’ve been pondering this. I’m not an expert on anything, but it seems that it has to do with the character of each stream of the faith. I’m thinking about that in the context of the God’s gifts to the Church.

And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, or building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,to the extent of the full stature of Christ…  Ephesians 4:11-13

The early Fathers of the Church that stood their ground against every heresy. Those following in their footsteps would be expected to default to standing their ground against suggested changes to the traditions. This is a good thing. It could be seen as the role of the Prophet in the Church. I’m seeing the Orthodox church as more strongly inclined to resist change. (Of course, there could be geopolitical reasons too.)

But consider if they have been gifted to stand like the prophets of old. Those who were willing to stand by the truth–from God–against every attempt to change it no matter what. If this is true, it would not surprise us that traditional methods for determining where Resurrection Sunday falls on the Calendar each year continue to be strictly followed in the Orthodox tradition. Also, the reasoning makes a lot of sense. The resurrection necessarily follows AFTER the Passover which is the foreshadowing of the sacrifice of God’s own Son to redeem us all from sin and death.

Most divisions between Orthodox and Roman Catholic are not emphasized in our day, but the calendar issues are the ones that seem to create the most visible separation.

While I might be understanding of how the Gregorian calendar came about, I also have a great deal of respect for the Orthodox Christian’s devotion to tradition and honor for the early practices of the Christian Church.

T*3
Eastern-Orthodox-calendar-of-Saints

What Is Eastern Orthodox Easter?

Customs, greetings, and foods by Mary Fairchild from LearnReligions.com

Easter season is the most significant and sacred time of the Orthodox Church calendar. Orthodox Easter consists of a series of celebrations or movable feasts commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Orthodox-Easter-lighting-of-candles

Observances of Eastern Orthodox Easter

In Eastern Orthodox Christianity, the spiritual preparations begin with Great Lent, 40 days of self-examination and fasting (including Sundays), which starts on Clean Monday and culminates on Lazarus Saturday.

Clean Monday falls seven weeks before Easter Sunday. The term “Clean Monday” refers to cleansing from sinful attitudes through the Lenten fast. Lazarus Saturday occurs eight days before Easter Sunday and signifies the end of Great Lent.
Next comes Palm Sunday, one week before Easter, commemorating the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, followed by Holy Week, which ends on Easter Sunday, or Pascha.
Fasting continues throughout Holy Week. Many Orthodox churches observe a Paschal Vigil which ends just before midnight on Holy Saturday (or Great Saturday), the last day of Holy Week on the evening before Easter. Immediately following the vigil, Easter festivities begin with Paschal Matins, Paschal Hours, and the Paschal Divine Liturgy.
Paschal Matins is an early morning prayer service or part of an all-night prayer vigil. Paschal Hours is a brief, chanted prayer service, reflecting the joy of Easter. And Paschal Divine Liturgy is a communion or Eucharist service. These are the first celebrations of Christ’s resurrection and are considered the most important services of the ecclesiastical year.

After the Eucharist service, the fast is broken, and the feasting begins.

Orthodox-Easter-Bulgaria-Cover

Orthodox Easter Traditions and Greetings

It is customary among Orthodox Christians to greet one another during the Easter season with the Paschal greeting. The salutation begins with the phrase, “Christ ​is Risen!” The response is “Truly; He is Risen!” The phrase “Christos Anesti” (Greek for “Christ is Risen”) is also the title of a traditional Orthodox Easter hymn sung during Easter services in celebration of Jesus Christ’s resurrection.

In the Orthodox tradition, eggs are a symbol of new life. Early Christians used eggs to symbolize the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the regeneration of believers. At Easter, eggs are dyed red to represent the blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross for the redemption of all men.

greek-orthodox-easter

Eastern Orthodox Easter Foods

Greek Orthodox Christians traditionally break the Lenten fast after the midnight Resurrection Service. Customary foods are a lamb and Tsoureki Paschalino, a sweet Easter dessert bread.

Serbian Orthodox families traditionally begin the feasting after Easter Sunday services. They enjoy appetizers of smoked meats and cheeses, boiled eggs and red wine. The meal consists of chicken noodle or lamb vegetable soup followed by spit-roasted lamb.

Holy Saturday is a day of strict fasting for Russian Orthodox Christians, while families stay busy making preparations for the Easter meal. Usually, the Lenten fast is broken after the midnight mass with traditional Paskha Easter bread cake.

Orthodox-Easter-church-service

 

Dear MAGA: 20190425 Open Topic

This Thunberg Threatler Youth (a.k.a. SHILLDREN) Thursday open thread is VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA world.

SHILLDREN ARE NOW A THING.

You can say what you want, comment on what other people said, and so on.

Free Speech is practiced here. ENJOY IT. Use it or lose it.

Keep it SOMEWHAT civil. They tried to FORCE fake Orwellian civility on us. In response, we CHOOSE true civility to defend our precious FREEDOM from THEM.

Our rules began with the civility of the Old Treehouse, later to become the Wolverinian Empire, and one might say that we have RESTORED THE OLD REPUBLIC – the early high-interaction model of the Treehouse – except of course that Q discussion is not only allowed but encouraged, and speech is considerably freer in other ways. Please feel free to argue and disagree with the board owner, as nicely as possible.

Please also consider the Important Guidelines, outlined here in the January 1st open thread. Let’s not give the odious Internet Censors a reason to shut down this precious haven.

Remember to KEEP PRESIDENT TRUMP IN PRAYER.

WE ARE PRAYING FOR HIM

U.S. President Donald Trump prays during the National Prayer Breakfast event in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 2, 2017. Photo courtesy of Retuers/Carlos Barria

Our movement

Is about replacing

A failed

And CORRUPT

Political establishment

With a new government controlled

By you, the American People.

Candidate Donald J. Trump

Also consider Wheatie’s Rules:

  1. No food fights.
  2. No running with scissors.
  3. If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.

Now – back to our story….

….about the….

SHILLDREN

Where have we seen these kids before…….?

https://twitter.com/SamWhiteTky/status/1120702928019263488

….OH YEAH THAT’S RIGHT….

…..which reminded me of MY YOUTH….

….and a bit more recently….

….which seems to be linked to this….

….who is also linked to this….

….and this….

….so if THIS GUY….

….can be arrested as being “in some ways like a state actor”, then why not THIS GUY….

??????????????

W

The Ukraine Meddled in the Presidential Election of 2016.

Forget about Russia. It all started in The Ukraine. Paul Manafort worked for the Party of Regions and their candidate, Yanukovych, who won. The other side was Timoshenko, Rick Davis (Manafort’s old partner), McCain, CIA, State Dept, DOJ, George Soros, and a new player, Hunter Biden.
Follow the bouncing ball, with me, for a Reader’s Digest version of the fake Russia Hoax, and very real, horrifically damaging, Ukrainian interference.
  1. The Ukraine Crisis Media Center was founded by Soros in March 2014. This organization is the Ukraine’s version of Media Matters.
  2. Serhiy Leshchenko was a Ukraine Member of Parliament.
  3. NABU, The Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Bureau is formed and the Exec director is Artem Sytnyk.
  4. Another NGO was founded by Soros called the AntAC (Anti-Corruption Action Centre). They received 1.7 million in funding, about 1 million from USA Depts of State and DOJ, and 290K from Soros’ International Renaissance Foundation. THIS is the org that the Obama Admin worked through.
  5. NABU and the Obama government were working closely with Soros NGO Anti-Corruption Action Centre (AntAC) in Ukraine, as John Solomon reports on The Hill. When Ukrainian prosecutors investigated AntAC over a missing $4.4 million in U.S. funding, they were told to stand down by Obama officials. —- this is the missing money for Joe Biden’s son. Biden’s son was coordinating activity in The Ukraine for the Obama Admin.
  6. AntAC (Obama administration and George Soros) pushed a Ukrainian investigation into then-Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort’s business activities in Ukraine – WITH HELP FROM THE FBI, according to John Solomon from The Hill.
  7. On March 21, 2017, Leschenko and Sytnyk, hold a press conference at the Ukraine Crisis Media Center, alleging Manafort took 12.7 million in illegal payments from Ukrainians and made a claim of a “black cashbox ledger”.
  8. Leschenko gave the info to Alexandra Chalupa, a DNC operative who worked with Hillary. Both Chalupa and Arepovitch, the CEO of Crowdstrike, are connected to a hard left authoritarian fascist group in The Ukraine.
  9. April 28, 2016 – Chalupa and Isikoff, a Yahoo Reporter who was deeply involved with Christopher Steele, etc, held a press conference in Washington, DC, and invited 68 Ukrainian journalists and distribute the dirt on Manafort. The program was called Open World Leadership Center, held at the Library of Congress, and again, connected to George Soros.
  10. NABU and the Obama Admin worked closely with Soros NGO AntAC. When Ukrainian prosecutors investigated AntAC over a missing $4.4 million in U.S. funding, they were told to stand down by Obama officials. Again, this is all tied to Hunter Biden and the missing 3 million dollars from Burisma holdings. “When the new prosecutor general Yuri Lutsenko went to meet Obama Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, he says he was stunned when the ambassador “gave me a list of people whom we should not prosecute.”
11) Chalupa received detailing of the payments from Leschenko. Payment detail from 2007-2012 lists advertising, computers, polling, consultant fees, etc. NONE OF THE PAYMENTS OR Manafort’s signatures WERE EVER CONFIRMED.
12) Chalupa also passed the Black Ledger info on to Glenn Simpson at Fusion GPS, who passed them on to staffer Nellie Ohr. Ohr passed the info on to her husband Bruce Ohr, Epoch Times reports.  On May 30, 2016, Nellie Ohr sent an email to Bruce Ohr and Justice Department staffers under the subject line “Reported Trove of Documents on Ukrainian Party of Regions’ ‘Black Cashbox.’”— which means they were investigating Paul Manafort prior to the July 31, 2016, inception of “Crossfire Hurricane”.
13) Isikoff broke the story on Yahoo on Aug. 18, 2016, one of the first public mentions of purported “collusion with Russia” by the Trump team. Manafort had to step down as Trump’s campaign manager the next day.
14) In addition, Leshchenko served as a direct source of information for Fusion GPS—and their hired researcher—former CIA contractor Nellie Ohr. Yes, Nellie received info from Ukrainians, directly or via Fusion GPS, to influence a Presidential election. 
15) “Ohr told congressional investigators on Oct. 19, 2018… When pressed, Nellie said she recalled them “mentioning someone named Serhiy Leshchenko, a Ukrainian.” She later admitted she knew of Leshchenko prior to her time at Fusion as he was a “very well-known, Ukrainian, anti-corruption activist”……. Leshchenko had adopted a strong anti-Trump stance (because Trump wanted to pursue a more friendly relationship with Russia). And remember, Putin is a nemesis to George Soros.
16) Remember when Manafort was charged with witness tampering, by the Mueller Special Counsel? Well, Manafort’s daughter’s phone was hacked and a text message was discovered. “….. it was reported by Politico in late February 2017 that a hack of the phone belonging to one of Manafort’s daughters revealed a text containing a blackmail threat that Manafort has attributed to Leshchenko. It’s not known with any certainty who actually sent the text, which contains an attachment that references “the Yanukovych accounting book” and lists an email address for Leshchenko.” Hmmmm…. “not known with any certainty” but Manafort received additional charges because of the text.
17) Leschenko and Sytnyk are found guilty. “…. December 2018, a Kyiv court ruled that Leshchenko, along with NABU Director Artem Sytnyk “acted illegally when they revealed that Manafort’s surname and signature were found in the so-called “black ledger” of ousted President Viktor Yanukovych’s Party of Regions,” the Kyiv Post reported on Dec. 12, 2018.”
18) Leschenko and Sytnyk interfered in an American election. ” The court noted the material was part of a pre-trial investigation and its release “led to interference in the electoral processes of the United States in 2016 and harmed the interests of Ukraine as a state.”
THERE’s your interference!
Leschenko and Sytnyk —->>>to Alexandra Chalupa —->>>>David Isikoff at Yahoo AND Glen Simpson at Fusion GPS —–>>>> Bruce Ohr —>>> FBI
A little more on Chalupa, because what she did was so brazen, given what we know now, about Russian meddling.
” Just days prior to Manafort’s hiring, on March 24, 2016, Chalupa spoke with the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States, Valeriy Chaly, and told him of concerns she had regarding Manafort. “
What????
She talked directly to the Ukrainian Ambassador?
Are you kidding me?
That would be like Jared meeting Kislyak at the Russian Embassy or calling Lazarov, the Russian foreign minister.
” According to Politico, the day after Manafort’s hiring, Chalupa provided a briefing on “Manafort, Trump and their ties to Russia” to the DNC’s communications staff. Notably, “with the DNC’s encouragement,” Chalupa asked the Ukrainian Embassy staff to attempt to arrange an interview with Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko and have him discuss Manafort’s ties to former Ukrainian President Yanukovych. “
Are you kidding me? That would be just like Manafort/Bannon/Jared/Don Jr. requesting a meeting with PUTIN – DIRECTLY.
” The Ukrainian Embassy reportedly declined the request….” because it would have been illegal and considered meddling in a foreign election for the Presidency of the USA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BUT Chalupa did begin to work with reporters who were researching Trump AND various staff members at the Ukrainian Embassy.
” Andrii Telizhenko, who worked in the Ukrainian Embassy under one of Chaly’s top aides, Oksana Shulyar, has repeatedly stated that Chalupa was working closely with the Ukrainian Embassy to obtain information on Trump”
There’s our proof.
Chalupa worked directly with Ukrainians, received something of value, illegally, which meddled in an American election for the Presidency of the USA.
________________
Three backup source articles for reference if the reader chooses to explore further the deception of the Clinton Campaign of 2016.
Jeff Carlson, who also writes for Epoch Times: https://themarketswork.com/2019/04/11/ties-to-ukrainian-national-a-unifying-theme-in-early-attacks-on-trump/
Again, Jeff Carlson: https://www.theepochtimes.com/ties-to-ukrainian-national-a-unifying-theme-in-early-attacks-on-trump_2872609.html
Jim Hoft, of Gateway Pundit, has also done several interviews with Ukrainians on the subject: https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/04/stunning-european-reporter-reveals-trump-russia-collusion-hoax-has-its-origins-with-soros-funded-ukrainian-activist-group/

Male & Female

This very special MALE & FEMALE thread
celebrates Heaven’s original blueprint for
both the male and the female genders.

Adam-and-Eve-eat-the-fruit

An African Cardinal Speaks

I believe this Cardinal, Robert Sarah, brings a beautiful moral clarity to many of the topics discussed here at Wolf’s Q Treehouse, but let’s to focus on the gender issue for a moment.

Cardinal Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, says that the spiritual crisis that currently blights “the whole world” has its roots in Europe, because Europe has rejected God:

“Western people are convinced that receiving is contrary to the dignity of human persons. But civilised man is fundamentally an heir, he receives a history, a culture, a language, a name, a family. This is what distinguishes him from the barbarian. To refuse to be inscribed within a network of dependence, heritage, and filiation condemns us to go back naked into the jungle of a competitive economy left to its own devices. Because he refuses to acknowledge himself as an heir, man is condemned to the hell of liberal globalisation.”

Cardinal Sarah links this idea of the rejection of humanity’s inheritance to another that he says is at the root of current malaise: the rejection, in the West, of the idea of fatherhood.

The two rejections, he explains, are intimately bound up with our rejection of God.

“From Him we receive our nature as man and woman. This is intolerable to modern minds. Gender ideology is a Luciferian refusal to receive a sexual nature from God. Thus some rebel against God and pointlessly mutilate themselves in order to change their sex. But in reality they do not fundamentally change anything of their structure as man or woman. The West refuses to receive, and will accept only what it constructs for itself.”

He continues: “Because it is a gift from God, human nature itself becomes unbearable for western man… This revolt is spiritual at root. It is the revolt of Satan against the gift of grace.”

— Excerpt, Interview of Cardinal Robert Sarah, The Tablet

Adam-and-Eve-silouette.jpg

We ignore the gift of grace found in gender differences to our great loss.

However, I’d like to redirect our attention to something else about the Divine blueprint. There are two versions of the creation story in the book of Genesis. The first is more like a requirements specification, the second is more like an elaboration process.

So God created human beings in his own image.
In the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.

— Genesis 1:27

woman-out-of-man

18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” 19 So the Lord God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one. 20 He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him.
21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man.
23 “At last!” the man exclaimed.

“This one is bone from my bone,
and flesh from my flesh!
She will be called ‘woman,’
because she was taken from ‘man.’”

 

24 This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.

25 Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame.
— Genesis 2:18-25

Have you ever considered that Wolf’s famous BOTH logic applies to God? In the first reference the term human beings (Hebrew ’ādām) is the generic term for humankind and does not imply gender. In the blueprint, humankind is created in the image of God, BOTH male and female. To truly defend and honor gender, we must first respect this reality. There is the biology AND the spirituality.

John Eldredge’s writing have captured the power of celebrating the qualities of gender for the most recent generation. And recently a theologian has pointed out that section in that corresponds to the governmental portion of the Mosaic law in the Ten Commandments is, “honor your father AND your mother.” Talk about revolutionary. There have been patriarchal cultures and matriarchal cultures, but a culture of honor for BOTH???

What if we’ve been duped into looking at the wrong thing (again). What if true leadership and authority and inner peace flow out of embracing the partnership of two very powerful and very different genders, BOTH made in the image of God?

To be honest, I’m just scratching the surface of what feels like an intense and very deep reality here. I don’t think I’m even close to where we need to be on this. There is something here that we must understand in order to prevail in the culture/spiritual war we are dealing with. But it seems this needs to be put out there for discussion.

Wonder Woman - 2017

Dear MAGA: 20190421 Open Topic

This very special SPECTACULAR SUNDAY
open thread is VERY OPEN – a place for everybody
to post whatever they feel they would like
to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA world.

Say what you want, comment on what other people said,
comment on people’s comments.
Keep it civil.  Treehouse rules, but expect lots of QAnon.

See the January 1st daily thread for the rules of the road,
which are few but important.

Remember – your greatest gift to President Trump is FIVE WORDS:
I AM PRAYING FOR YOU

tweet-trump-game-ove

He-is-alive-cross-with-light-behind

Spectacular Sunday

On this one day let this sink in…

1-2 Friends, let me go over the Message with you one final time— this Message that I proclaimed and that you made your own; this Message on which you took your stand and by which your life has been saved. (I’m assuming, now, that your belief was the real thing and not a passing fancy, that you’re in this for good and holding fast.)

3-9 The first thing I did was place before you what was placed so emphatically before me: that the Messiah died for our sins, exactly as Scripture tells it; that he was buried; that he was raised from death on the third day, again exactly as Scripture says; that he presented himself alive to Peter, then to his closest followers, and later to more than five hundred of his followers all at the same time, most of them still around (although a few have since died); that he then spent time with James and the rest of those he commissioned to represent him; and that he finally presented himself alive to me. It was fitting that I bring up the rear. I don’t deserve to be included in that inner circle, as you well know, having spent all those early years trying my best to stamp God’s church right out of existence.

 — 1 Corinthians 15:1-9
Jesus-risen-from-tomb
Christ is Risen! … He is Risen Indeed!

10-11 But because God was so gracious, so very generous, here I am. And I’m not about to let his grace go to waste.Haven’t I worked hard trying to do more than any of the others? Even then, my work didn’t amount to all that much. It was God giving me the work to do, God giving me the energy to do it. So whether you heard it from me or from those others, it’s all the same: We spoke God’s truth and you entrusted your lives.
12-15 Now, let me ask you something profound yet troubling. If you became believers because you trusted the proclamation that Christ is alive, risen from the dead, how can you let people say that there is no such thing as a resurrection? If there’s no resurrection, there’s no living Christ.And face it—if there’s no resurrection for Christ, everything we’ve told you is smoke and mirrors, and everything you’ve staked your life on is smoke and mirrors. Not only that, but we would be guilty of telling a string of barefaced lies about God, all these affidavits we passed on to you verifying that God raised up Christ—sheer fabrications, if there’s no resurrection.
16-20 If corpses can’t be raised, then Christ wasn’t, because he was indeed dead. And if Christ weren’t raised, then all you’re doing is wandering about in the dark, as lost as ever. It’s even worse for those who died hoping in Christ and resurrection, because they’re already in their graves. If all we get out of Christ is a little inspiration for a few short years, we’re a pretty sorry lot. But the truth is that Christ has been raised up, the first in a long legacy of those who are going to leave the cemeteries.

 — 1 Corinthians 15:10-20

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Q-glorious_Wolf.jpg

Despair & Disillusionment

This very special DESPAIR & DISILLUSIONMENT thread
commemorates the greatest psy-op ever
attempted against Heaven’s beloved, mankind.

holy-saturday-grief

Think’s Thoughts

Imagine being Peter, seeing the miracles, the honor given to his teacher, the wild popularity with the people, and then, Jesus explains all of this is going to change.

31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.
32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Mark 8:31-33

Peter feels he must help his teacher out. Jesus must be tired and have made a mistake. It’s hard to imagine the intensity of the sting of that rebuke from Jesus. Peter, soon to be the rock of the church, had been the mouthpiece of satan? Ouch.

But Jesus then pivots and turns this into a teaching moment Peter would never forget.

The Way of the Cross

34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.
36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

Mark 8:34-38

And then the ministry starts to get really busy. I wonder if Peter forgot those words in the whirlwind of activity, or did he in quiet moments would revisit that stinging encounter and try to make sense of it all?

Later on, Jesus would tell the parable of the tenants.

“A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 2 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. 5 He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.

6 “He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
7 “But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

Mark 12:1b-8

Would that story haunt Peter’s dreams?

Then, in Bethany, a woman pours a very expensive perfume on Jesus’ head, scandalizing all present, excepting Jesus. Again Jesus patiently explains what is coming.

6 “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me.
8 She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. 9 Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
Mark 14:6-9

This is when Judas snapped. He’d been following a madman. How could the Son of God be talking of defeat and death this way?

But Jesus did indeed suffer humiliation, torture, and death. Afterwards his closest disciples are ashamed at their lack of courage and in deep grief. His betrayer, Judas, hangs himself in despair.

The disciples of Jesus have taken a gut punch. The women following Jesus have proven to have much more courage than the men. What embarrassment! The only leadership shown was by Joseph of Arimathea, not in the inner circle at all,  who boldly goes to Pilate and asks for the body of Jesus and gave some dignity to him in his death.

The disillusionment stung. The grief nearly unbearable. Such a dark fog of evil swirling around them, that they can’t even remember the promise he gave to rise on the third day.

While Christ is plundering hell, his disciples grieve.

christ-holy-saturday-jail-break

Passover Reflections

This very special PASSOVER REFLECTIONS thread
honors the ancient tradition
of commemorating the deliverance of the Jewish people
from slavery in Egypt.

Pesach (Passover) is April 19 – April 27, 2019

Passover Seder Plate

Passover Reflections

21-22 Moses assembled all the elders of Israel. He said, “Select a lamb for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the bowl of blood and smear it on the lintel and on the two doorposts. No one is to leave the house until morning. God will pass through to strike Egypt down.

23 When he sees the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts, God will pass over the doorway; he won’t let the destroyer enter your house to strike you down with ruin.

24-27 “Keep this word. It’s the law for you and your children, forever. When you enter the land which God will give you as he promised, keep doing this. And when your children say to you, ‘Why are we doing this?’ tell them: ‘It’s the Passover-sacrifice to God who passed over the homes of the Israelites in Egypt when he hit Egypt with death but rescued us.’”

The people bowed and worshiped.

Exodus 12:21-27

unleavened-bread-and-wine

28 The Israelites then went and did what God had commanded Moses and Aaron. They did it all.

29 At midnight God struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sits on his throne, right down to the firstborn of the prisoner locked up in jail. Also the firstborn of the animals.

30 Pharaoh got up that night, he and all his servants and everyone else in Egypt—what wild wailing and lament in Egypt! There wasn’t a house in which someone wasn’t dead.

31-32 Pharaoh called in Moses and Aaron that very night and said, “Get out of here and be done with you—you and your Israelites! Go worship God on your own terms. And yes, take your sheep and cattle as you’ve insisted, but go. And bless me.”

33 The Egyptians couldn’t wait to get rid of them; they pushed them to hurry up, saying, “We’re all as good as dead.”

34-36 The people grabbed their bread dough before it had risen, bundled their bread bowls in their cloaks and threw them over their shoulders. The Israelites had already done what Moses had told them; they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold things and clothing. God saw to it that the Egyptians liked the people and so readily gave them what they asked for. Oh yes! They picked those Egyptians clean.

37-39 The Israelites moved on from Rameses to Succoth, about 600,000 on foot, besides their dependents. There was also a crowd of riffraff tagging along, not to mention the large flocks and herds of livestock. They baked unraised cakes with the bread dough they had brought out of Egypt; it hadn’t raised—they’d been rushed out of Egypt and hadn’t time to fix food for the journey.

Exodus 12:28-39

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Think’s Thoughts

Here’s my quick sum-up of the Pesach (Passover) event, also called the Festival of Liberation…

The descendants of Abraham had been in slavery for a long time, but lately it had become over the top oppressive. The current Pharaoh of Egypt was on a power trip and wanted to crush them. God gives Moses a plan that nobody liked, including Moses. But they somehow find the grace to obediently follow the plan. When they do, God moves against the many dark powers of Egypt, crushes the will of the Pharaoh and the Egyptians, AND THEN has these former slaves PLUNDER the Egyptian households for all their valuables before walking out of their prison camp situation.

Now that is festival-worthy liberation! Moses is instructed to have the Israelites celebrate their remembrance of this glorious deliverance every year, on the 10th day of their first month, down through the generations.

Think*3

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23 Then Israel entered Egypt;
    Jacob resided as a foreigner in the land of Ham.
24 The Lord made his people very fruitful;
    he made them too numerous for their foes,
25 whose hearts he turned to hate his people,
    to conspire against his servants.
26 He sent Moses his servant,
    and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
27 They performed his signs among them,
    his wonders in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness and made the land dark—
    for had they not rebelled against his words?
29 He turned their waters into blood,
    causing their fish to die.
30 Their land teemed with frogs,
    which went up into the bedrooms of their rulers.
31 He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,
    and gnats throughout their country.
32 He turned their rain into hail,
    with lightning throughout their land;
33 he struck down their vines and fig trees
    and shattered the trees of their country.
34 He spoke, and the locusts came,
    grasshoppers without number;
35 they ate up every green thing in their land,
    ate up the produce of their soil.
36 Then he struck down all the firstborn in their land,
    the firstfruits of all their manhood.
37 He brought out Israel, laden with silver and gold,
    and from among their tribes no one faltered.
38 Egypt was glad when they left,
    because dread of Israel had fallen on them.
-- Psalm 105:23-38

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Dear MAGA: 20190419 Open Topic

This very special TURNING POINT FRIDAY
open thread is VERY OPEN – a place for everybody
to post whatever they feel they would like
to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA world.

Say what you want, comment on what other people said,
comment on people’s comments.
Keep it civil.  Treehouse rules, but expect lots of QAnon.

See the January 1st daily thread for the rules of the road,
which are few but important.

Remember – your greatest gift to President Trump is FIVE WORDS:
I AM PRAYING FOR YOU

president-trump-outside-whitehouse
God bless our President, Donald J Trump

Turning Point Friday

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,” — 1 Corinthians 15:3

For Christians, Good Friday is a crucial day of the year because it celebrates what we believe to be the most momentous weekend in the history of the world. Ever since Jesus died and was raised, Christians have proclaimed the cross and resurrection of Jesus to be the decisive turning point for all creation. Paul considered it to be “of first importance” that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and was raised to life on the third day, all in accordance with what God had promised all along in the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3).

On Good Friday we remember the day Jesus willingly suffered and died by crucifixion as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins (1 John 1:10). It is followed by Easter, the glorious celebration of the day Jesus was raised from the dead, heralding his victory over sin and death and pointing ahead to a future resurrection for all who are united to him by faith (Romans 6:5).

Still, why call the day of Jesus’ death “Good Friday” instead of “Bad Friday” or something similar? Some Christian traditions do take this approach: in German, for example, the day is called Karfreitag, or “Sorrowful Friday.” In English, in fact, the origin of the term “Good” is debated: some believe it developed from an older name, “God’s Friday.” Regardless of the origin, the name Good Friday is entirely appropriate because the suffering and death of Jesus, as terrible as it was, marked the dramatic culmination of God’s plan to save his people from their sins.

In order for the good news of the gospel to have meaning for us, we first have to understand the bad news of our condition as sinful people under condemnation. The good news of deliverance only makes sense once we see how we are enslaved. Another way of saying this is that it is important to understand and distinguish between law and gospel in Scripture. We need the law first to show us how hopeless our condition is; then the gospel of Jesus’ grace comes and brings us relief and salvation.

In the same way, Good Friday is “good” because as terrible as that day was, it had to happen for us to receive the joy of Easter. The wrath of God against sin had to be poured out on Jesus, the perfect sacrificial substitute, in order for forgiveness and salvation to be poured out to the nations. Without that awful day of suffering, sorrow, and shed blood at the cross, God could not be both “just and the justifier” of those who trust in Jesus (Romans 3:26). Paradoxically, the day that seemed to be the greatest triumph of evil was actually the deathblow in God’s gloriously good plan to redeem the world from bondage.

The cross is where we see the convergence of great suffering and God’s forgiveness. Psalms 85:10 sings of a day when “righteousness and peace” will “kiss each other.” The cross of Jesus is where that occurred, where God’s demands, his righteousness, coincided with his mercy. We receive divine forgiveness, mercy, and peace because Jesus willingly took our divine punishment, the result of God’s righteousness against sin. “For the joy set before him” (Hebrews 12:2) Jesus endured the cross on Good Friday, knowing it led to his resurrection, our salvation, and the beginning of God’s reign of righteousness and peace.

Good Friday marks the day when wrath and mercy met at the cross. That’s why Good Friday is so dark and so Good.

Christianity.com

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Holy Thursday

This very special HOLY THURSDAY thread
honors the tradition of the church to reflect on the day
when Jesus gave a new commandment to love one another,
washed the feet of his disciples, gave us the Eucharist,
laid down his will in prayer in the garden of Gethsemane,
was betrayed by a kiss, arrested and put on trial.

Holy Thursday

Deplorable Patriot,
And so we arrive at Holy Thursday. The music that says “we have arrived” to me is actually the Pange Lingua Gloriosi chant. It’s six verses of text written by St. Thomas Aquinas, OP, and we sing it as the Ciborium is carried from the high altar to the altar of repose for the night. Unfortunately, the current pastor thinks it should be in English. The choir and congregation disagree, but 70s priests don’t care about that.
The other text that is used at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper specifically, is for the washing of the feet. It’s been years since I’ve heard anything other than Ubi Caritas. Translation:

Where charity and love are, God is there.
Christ’s love has gathered us into one.
Let us rejoice and be pleased in Him.
Let us fear, and let us love the living God.
And may we love each other with a sincere heart.
Where charity and love are, God is there.
As we are gathered into one body,
Beware, lest we be divided in mind.
Let evil impulses stop, let controversy cease,
And may Christ our God be in our midst.
Where charity and love are, God is there.
And may we with the saints also,
See Thy face in glory, O Christ our God:
The joy that is immense and good,
Unto the ages through infinite ages. Amen.

This setting is an adaptation of the chant. It is from the 1960s.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1BTWCpEFRQ?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&autohide=2&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent]

This is another modern setting we use that conveys the meaning of the text quite well.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xp3IHBSyZKY?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&autohide=2&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent]

Deplorable Patriot,
…
This setting of In Monti Oliveti I learned earlier this year. It’s MUCH nicer than the hymn setting a certain BIG NAME music director had us sing.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V1ItRPLBwY?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&autohide=2&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent]

And I forgot the Gradual for the day.
Christ became obedient for us unto death,
even to the death, death on the cross.
Therefore God exalted Him and gave Him a name
which is above all names.
This is the Bruckner (1884) setting which is not for the faint of heart.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6fAT3iGRWc?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&autohide=2&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent]
And Then … A Very Long Night Leading Into Good Friday (T*3)

Jesus-Christ-trial-and-beatings.jpg

Some may say a certain person or a certain people group tried, condemned, tortured and killed the Son of God. The greater reality to embrace is that he willingly entered this battle space to obtain the prize, the redemption of his beloved. His love for us held him to the cross. Nothing less could hold him there.

Jesus-Christ-determined-to-redeem-our-race

Dear MAGA: 20190418 Open Topic

This very special WYSIWYG THURSDAY
open thread is VERY OPEN – a place for everybody
to post whatever they feel they would like
to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA world.

Say what you want, comment on what other people said,
comment on people’s comments.
Keep it civil.  Treehouse rules, but expect lots of QAnon.

See the January 1st daily thread for the rules of the road,
which are few but important.

Remember – your greatest gift to President Trump is FIVE WORDS:
I AM PRAYING FOR YOU

melania_and_trump_walking-down-sidewalk-smiling

WYSIWYG

(What You See Is What You Get)

Ok, I’m a mystic at heart and I love the liturgy of the church, but this story is just begging to be told. If you want to think more about Maundy Thursday, please try here and here.
A long time ago, a musician named Larry Norman had his world rocked so much that he spent his music royalties starting a halfway house and buying clothes and food for people that he shared the gospel with on and around Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. He longed to see other musicians of his day find a better life too. (see video)

He was a WYSIWYG kind of a guy.
During the 60’s a whole lot of young people explored what they thought was freedom only to discover heartbreak, disease and disillusionment. The Sex, Drugs, Rock N’ Roll lifestyle was NOT a WYSIWYG kind of life.
Some believe that it was as mothers and grandmothers raised up a cry to God for their wayward children, that He sent an answer in the form of something called The Jesus Movement. God did not cause these wild flower children to suddenly long for suits, ties, and church pews. Instead they filled streets and beaches with their own expressions of faith.
They hated hypocrisy with a passion. They wanted to be WYSIWYG people. And these are the kind of people most of us are drawn to. If you ask anyone why they love President Donald J Trump, they are likely to say something about his WYSIWYG style of living.
The salt of the earth people can recognize and want to be around other salt of the earth people. Like attracts like. Or something like that.
The Jesus Movement wasn’t the first innovative move of God birthed out of Los Angeles. The Azuza Street Revival exploded out of prayer meetings in 1906 and had an impact world-wide. We would be wise to keep our eye on California. It may birth some things that appear to be diabolically inspired, but God was there first and He will have the last word.
Just short of two decades ago I happened upon this old gravelly voice guy from New York and instantly knew he was of the WYSIWYG breed. I didn’t care if he seemed over-the-top intense or that when he got going he started to rock like those guys with top-hats and long black beards at the wailing wall in Jerusalem. Back then he was just beginning to get a vision for a movement of young people fasting and praying for a new Jesus Movement to come and fill the earth. Just recently he’s shifted gears, but he’s still got his passion to see this come to pass.
Some of you will have the time and inclination to watch the following video, please do. It’s rare to see a man at his age still burning with real passion. For the rest of us, I’ve queued the video to 37:43 where he is telling about dreaming of the impossibility of turning America back to God, and then he was given encouragement to believe it was possible.
If you are able to watch just those few minutes, you may get the jist of his WYSIWYG reality. (The dwarves reference is to Lord of the Rings when Bilbo’s comfortable life is interrupted and an adventure begins.)

Here is a guy that “saw” something bigger than himself and he chose to believe it was possible. And he may just live to see it come to pass. And so we have the second meaning for WYSISYG. Will our vision dictate to some degree what we will get?
Our VSG Lion of a President does this all the time.He gives us vision for a #MAGA future and is using his vision to lead us into it! What are you seeing? Where will it take you?
Think*3

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