My son is chilling at the airport in Chicago trying to get back to California for a week long visit. It took three tries to get out of Charleston. He has a connector flight to Aspen of all places, in a few hours, to switch planes there for the final leg into LAX. It’s his first trip by himself. He’s 17 now, so I finally gave in and let him go.
Thanks for this well reasoned work, Ed. Finally getting to it on 12-27-22.
Christmas. Funny how culture perceives the Holiday. Equally entertaining are the various manners of religious orders engagement, in marking the event, which fulfilled at least 27 Messianic prophecies.
I got to spend much of Christmas alone, which since it is also my birthday, is something which I was very grateful for. Nattering around the kitchen making dinner for Donna and Sunshine, who were out surfing most of the day, gave me a lot of time to reflect on the miracles we cherish, in the remarkable account of the coming of the Son of God into this realm.
Isaiah 53: Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
4 Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression[a] and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.[b]
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes[c] his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
11 After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life[d] and be satisfied[e];
by his knowledge[f] my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,[g]
Thank you, Ed. I loved this. Will read again. Opens up new questions.
"Now, what would it look like if the Spectacle event was a direct experience with reality?"
This resonates for me. Direct experiences that don't require mediation stand out, because, well, they can be so rare, so when they happen (transcending even interpretation) one realizes they live most of the time in a very different relationship to the world. They offer a glimpse of what is possible, every present yet elusive. They also seem to penetrate past personal identity, not just expanding us from inside out, but eliminating previous boundaries of in and out, or self vs world.
Awesome read for a Christmas morning! Stayed up late watching the engrossing, well done Bible series on the History Channel.
Merry Christmas to you, Ed.
Thank you, Al. Look forward to seeing you in the new year.
Yes, also looking forward to it.
My son is chilling at the airport in Chicago trying to get back to California for a week long visit. It took three tries to get out of Charleston. He has a connector flight to Aspen of all places, in a few hours, to switch planes there for the final leg into LAX. It’s his first trip by himself. He’s 17 now, so I finally gave in and let him go.
They grow up pretty fast, don’t they?
Yes, they do.
Thanks for this well reasoned work, Ed. Finally getting to it on 12-27-22.
Christmas. Funny how culture perceives the Holiday. Equally entertaining are the various manners of religious orders engagement, in marking the event, which fulfilled at least 27 Messianic prophecies.
I got to spend much of Christmas alone, which since it is also my birthday, is something which I was very grateful for. Nattering around the kitchen making dinner for Donna and Sunshine, who were out surfing most of the day, gave me a lot of time to reflect on the miracles we cherish, in the remarkable account of the coming of the Son of God into this realm.
Isaiah 53: Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
4 Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression[a] and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.[b]
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes[c] his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
11 After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life[d] and be satisfied[e];
by his knowledge[f] my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,[g]
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,[h]
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
Thanks, Dave
A good and timely example of what you are teaching us about. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Ed.
Thank you very much.
A blessed to you and yours.
Thank you, Ed. I loved this. Will read again. Opens up new questions.
"Now, what would it look like if the Spectacle event was a direct experience with reality?"
This resonates for me. Direct experiences that don't require mediation stand out, because, well, they can be so rare, so when they happen (transcending even interpretation) one realizes they live most of the time in a very different relationship to the world. They offer a glimpse of what is possible, every present yet elusive. They also seem to penetrate past personal identity, not just expanding us from inside out, but eliminating previous boundaries of in and out, or self vs world.
Best.