Saint Matthew's

Received an email this afternoon from someone who reads this thing. The email dealt with my over indulgence of red wine earlier this week.

Pastor:

Read about your drunken state. Red wine goes right to my head. I know how that red wine hangover feels. There are a number of ways to get rid of hangovers in general.

1. Drink a lot of water. Keep drinking it. It washes away the alcohol in your blood rather quickly.

2. Eat a cayenne pepper. I am not kidding.  Something in the pepper kills the hangover headache. Better than Tylenol.

Next time, get drunk on whiskey. That is the best mourning drink.

CL

Cayenne pepper and water. That alone makes me feel sick.

Happy Reformation Day!!

Today is the day on the church calendar when we celebrate the start of the Reformation. We celebrate by handing out candy to little children who dress up in various costumes and probably mouth what Martin Luther said to the Pope on this day 490 years ago when Marty nailed his 95 Thesis to the door of the Wittenburg Church: “Trick or treat.”

OK. The pastor is a little crazy this morning. Yes, it is Reformation Day, but it is also Halloween.

And this morning, at ten minutes before 8, there was a knock on the door. I go and open the front door and see three little kids with their moms standing behind them. “Trick or treat,” said the children. Stunned, I went to the kitchen and reached for the candy that I put in the refrigerator last night.

These were school-aged little children. They have to go to school. I asked why they were banging so early and one of the moms gave the best answer: “Well, the kids have dance class after school.”

I guess if Martin Luther could start the Reformation of the church and end its abuses on this day, I guess moms and dads can challenge the annual tradition of afternoon and evening trick or treating.

Happy Reformation Day!!

Today was a rather quiet and peaceful day. Visits (limited to 4) went well today, even though one was to a fan of the New York Mets baseball squad, a gentleman who just doesn’t like anything to do with the Yankees, including their fans. I was kind to him.

But the day was quiet. The telephone didn’t ring off the hook. My cell phone didn’t ring at all – a rare day, to say the least. No text messages. A few emails came in that required thoughtful responses.

The only real blemish to the day was that my wireless router went down. After working with it for a while, and not knowing exactly what I did, it started to work again.

I did work with the new Mac OS X Leopard this morning. What an operating system! Microsoft should take some hints from Apple on how to do these OS things. People I know who upgraded earlier this year to Microsoft’s Vista operating system are cursing up a storm. It is way too buggy and requires hundreds upon hundreds of dollars of computer upgrades. And the cost  -  over $300 for the so-called premium package with all the buggy bells and whistles.

Here in Leopard, everything just seems to work. What I really like about this Mac OS X upgrade – Spaces. This is a terrific addition. It allows for separate work “spaces” on your computer whereby the programs that use for particular tasks are open and ready to go. For example, I have set up a space where the programs I use in church all week are all there. Word processing, database management, presentations, and music (yes, I listen to music) are all open in a particular ‘space.’ Another space I set up is where all my communication applications are moving. Apple Mail, iChat, Google Reader (though, I don’t know for how long since Apple Mail’s latest upgrade has an RSS reader in it), and Google Talk (the windowed version) are set up together. I switch from space to space seamlessly.

Apple just does things right.

Well, it is after 5:00pm. I’m going to work on the blog later on this evening – want to put up some more blog links on the right side. Otherwise, it is going to be – God willing – a peaceful and quiet night here on Grand Street.

On Thursday, we Lutherans will celebrate All Saint’s Day. OK, it is not a day in which you will be barreling down to Saint Matthew’s to join me at Morning Prayer to celebrate. But we do observe this blessed day at our regularly scheduled weekend services. We will remember those who have passed on from this life to the eternal life to come. And as we do so, our hearts will be sad.

But I am here today to tell you not to be sad!!

Our observance of All Saints is a day in which we should celebrate the victory those of our loved ones and friends are experiencing now that they are with their Lord and Savior. While we are down and saddened that they are not with us any more, our hearts should be focused on those things of the Kingdom that are prepared for all believers from the beginning of time. You know those words I say during our Service of the Sacrament during our Divine Service: “…the marriage feast of the Lamb in His Kingdom, which has no end.”

I don’t know.

But after watching a number of NY Rangers games this year, I’ve come to only one conclusion: they’re playing boring hockey. Tonight’s game, a victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning, is just one example.

Oh, it is not just that they aren’t scoring consistently. They just look like they are a bit slow in nearly ever aspect of the game. There is no jump in their game. They’re playing boring hockey.

Maybe they need a caffeine boost.

Well, I am going to admit something here that I don’t think any of you ever expected to hear (or read) from your pastor: I drank too much last night. Oh, did I consume way too much red wine. My brain is teaching me a vital lesson today. Ugh.

Months ago, a friend of mine turned me onto a wine called Sebastiani out of California. What a terrific, full-bodied wine. I’ve been buying it ever since. Last night when I learned that my friend, Charlie, had died, I drank a glass. And then sometime later, I realized that I refilled that wine glass WAY TOO MANY TIMES. No matter, I watched the Red Sox win the World Series (boo!!) and heard that A-Rod is opting out of the Yankees contract (Yay!!).

I woke up this morning with a splitting headache. Pound, pound, pound. I did go over to church for Morning Prayer and got through the service. But I came home, took some aspirin, drank more coffee, and have been vegging out since. I went out for a walk a couple of times to clear the fog out of my head, but the pounding is still there.

For some reason, after the UPS guy left (he dropped off my Amazon shipment of the new Mac OS X Leopard today) I cooked. I made tomato sauce with sausage and meatballs. You know I’m a little slow when I over cook the garlic a tiny bit. I was worried about the garlic, but the sauce smells good. In the end, everything seems to be cooking and marinating well. I made plenty – stop by.

Oh, if you want wine, I will not be partaking in the fruit of the vine.

It will cook until around 6:30pm, right before the Rangers’ game. Hopefully the Rangers will score and not embarrass themselves.

I realized something over the weekend – I have not been writing about hockey. Hmmm. I need to change that. As you know, I am a Rangers fan who hates the Long Islanders (yes, the hatred is very similar to that of the Red Sox). The Devils? I don’t hate them. I’ve always admired them and wished that Lou Lamoriello was running the Rangers shop all those years before Glen Sather.

Actually, we as a church have to consider something — going as a group to a Devils’ game this year. Talk to me at church this weekend.

A couple of minutes ago, I received a telephone call from my friend Charlie’s wife. Earlier this afternoon, Charlie died.

On Friday night, he got violently sick and was rushed to the hospital. The doctor’s couldn’t do anything except give him morphine. He struggled to say good-bye to his family on Saturday morning and then he fell into a coma until he died this afternoon around noon.

Since learning of that Charlie was terminal, I got to thinking about him and our friendship. Out of all the people I went to school with in Yonkers, Charlie was the only one with whom I remained friends. Others, well, we just went in different directions in life. From college to graduate school to real life, we just didn’t stay in close contact over time. Slowly we forgot one another. Christmas cards were returned because the post office only forwards mail for so long after a move.

But Charlie and I remained friends. I’ll never understand why. We didn’t really have a lot in common. I loved sports like baseball, football, and hockey. He liked European "football." I loved reading mystery novels and penning long stories that never had a chance to be published. He hated to read anything longer than a story in the New York Times. I was as politically conservative as you can find someone. He was as liberal as you can find someone.

However, we stayed friends. Even through my dark period (as I call it) in the 1990s, he kept kicking me in the pants to stay on the right track.

On Friday, he sent me an email. He asked me about my health problems. I went to the doctors last Monday and after a series of not-so-fun tests, the doctors believe they now have an answer to my issues. What got me – with all of his issues, he was actually worried about me.

Now he’s with His Lord.

Tonight, I’ll have a drink in his honor. Well, not the drink he liked – vodka and cranberry. Tonight, it’ll be a glass of cabernet.

Rest in peace. my friend.

UPDATE: In true Charlie fashion, sometime before he died, he wrote an email that he wanted to send to people he knew.  He wrote the following:

Howdy, everyone!

If you are reading this, then I have passed on. Don’t be sad. Cancer is a disease I won’t wish on my worst enemy. I just thank God I am now at peace.

But this email is more of a request. All of you who receive this email are to do a couple of things on the day I am buried. First, you are all to go out and pick up a bottle of Pravda Vodka. Why Pravda? It is the only vodka worth buying. Most of you probably drink those grainy, tasteless vodkas that they have to spruce up with flavors. Bleck!! Vodka should be smooth and refreshing that when you add some kind of fruit juice, it brings out the subtleness of the vodka.

That means no Smirnoff or Absolut, two of the more icky drinks out there. Spend a few more bucks and get a Pravda.

Second, get a decent sized glass and fill it with ice. Pour the vodka in the glass. Raise it above your head and say a toast to God. He’s saved me from suffering. Give props to the big guy.

If I have my way, I will be buried out in Flagstaff. If you’re getting this email in the New York area, do not even think about coming out here for the funeral. Stay home and drink. If you are thinking about crying, stop! If you are thinking about my wife and family, say a prayer for them.

One of my long time friends is Anthony. He’s a pastor and a man of God. Think about it? A priest as a buddy. Guess that helps getting into heaven if you’re friends with a guy who knows Jesus. When I told him about my illness, we talked a while about death and how death in this life is just the beginning of eternity. He told me about the bible story where a seed is nothing unless it dies. When it is planted in the ground, then it bears fruit. We all have to die, but we won’t be dead for long. When our God calls us from our graves, we will bear the fruit of eternal life.

That is where I am right now. In eternity. I’m not in pain. I am happy.

Don’t forget to raise the glass to God.

We’ll see each other again. Until then, drink up!

To some of you, the question that titles this post is an easy one to answer.

That answer is, “Yes.”

Twenty million times YES.

I think I have to discuss the real difference between Yankees fans and those who jump on the bandwagon when times are good. For true Yankees fans, those of us who suffered through dark and dismal periods, know in their baseball souls that good times do end. I have more say after the jump.

(more…)

OK. I’m a few hours behind. But I didn’t forget.

If you’ve never understood the relationship between God’s law and us, then Romans 7 is for you. Saint Paul clearly explains the law and sinfulness as we humans battle it everyday.

He raises the question of the role of the law in our lives. As Lutherans, we cheerfully say that because of Christ and faith in Him, our attachment – our slavery – to the law is broken. Our sins are forgiven because of the work of Christ at Calvary. The law does not have mastery over us.

But if we fail to recognize that even though Christ won the victory over sin for us, the law is still in place. It is still there right before our eyes. It is in our lives every single day. Failing to recognize this saliant point weakens our understanding of Christ’s victory for us.

Oh, don’t think so?

Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

Without the law, we don’t know sin. Understanding the complete horrific nature that sin has over us is essential to understanding the incredible sweetness and love of God. For without a proper understanding of the law, we can easily fall into the mistaken belief that we can do whatever we want in life – God’s going to forgive us anyway.

That, my friends, weakens our understanding of why Jesus humbled Himself to become a man in the first place.

Just because we are forgiven of our sins, it doesn’t mean we can do any sinful behavior at will. On the contrary, because we have been forgiven and are children of the Most High, our lives are lived in the Spirit and we should do everything to fight back against that sin that pulls us to do bad things.

We don’t get drunk and sleep around on Saturday night because on Sunday morning we’ll be forgiven of our terrible behavior the night before. Instead, we fight the sinful urges to do those things God rejects.

As Christians, we don’t sin because we think we can. No, we fight the good fight and battle those sinful prods and pokes inside of us.

That is the good thing to do.

After days of just being busy at night, this evening is nice.

On Monday evening, I had a doctor’s appointment that lasted until 8:00pm. On Tuesday, I had dinner and a few drinks across the Hudson (don’t ask). Wednesday night was bible class at Gloria Dei. And tonight …. nothing.

Finally, I can just rest; something that has not come easy the past several weeks. Whether it was worrying about my health, to feeling empty over an illness to a friend, or even work that has just piled up, to finally have a night to do absolutely nothing and not have to worry about anything … it’s a blessing.

In other things:

Tonight, the Rangers are hosting the Devils. As I type this, a miracle has occurred: the Rangers scored a goal.

After many weeks, I have finally finished off a six-pack of Sam Adam’s Oktoberfest beer. Yes, as you could probably guess, I don’t drink a lot of beer. If I had a choice, I would pour a glass of wine first. But tonight, I didn’t have a bottle white wine chilled, so I reached for a Sam Adams. I made a chicken and vegetable dish with Trader Joe’s wild rice. I put too much garlic in the dish, but the beer washed it down.

Now Sam Adams makes a terrific, terrific beer. I like their dark lager. Even their light beer is excellent. It is just that I don’t drink a lot of beer. And yes, this sounds very anti-Lutheran. A pastor in the church started by Martin Luther doesn’t love beer as much as Marty? Yeah.

I hope to get some quality sleep tonight.

Don’t laugh.

When I think of a birthday gift, I really don’t think of a person’s wisdom tooth dipped in gold hanging from a chain.

But then again, I am sane.

Scarlett Johansson gave boyfriend Ryan Reynolds her wisdom tooth for his birthday.

The ‘Smokin Aces’ star turned 31 on Tuesday but Scarlett held an early celebration for him at Los Angeles’ Chateau Marmont hotel last week where she presented him with her tooth, which had been dipped in gold and made into a necklace.

A source told E!, “She’d just had her wisdom teeth removed, so she had one dipped in gold and strung on a necklace for him.”

I love Christmas music. From the traditional to the goof-ball, Christmas music opens my eyes to the blessings of what that season brings. Oh, I’m not talking about the gifts; I’m talking about the blessings of Jesus Christ, our Lord. (What would you think I would say?)

WLTW here in the New Jersey/New York area begins to play all Christmas music at Thanksgiving. They go through Christmas Day and then turn the switch off for a year. Some people complain that playing just Christmas music from Thanksgiving Day to Christmas Day just beats a good thing into the ground. I don’t think so. It is terrific music that lightens the mood and excites the heart.

Satellite radio is a God send when it comes to Christmas music. XM has numerous Christmas channels to choose from – traditional, contemporary, goof-ball comedy, classical. It is an excellent selection that I look forward to every year.

But this year, XM is doing something different. Their traditional Christmas channel – aptly named “Holly” – is coming back starting on November 1st and they will be open until New Year’s!!

And how did I find out about it? “Holly” has a MySpace page.

Ugh.

The Sawx beat up on the Rox last night in Game 1 of the World Series.

13-1.

No matter what that traitor, Rudy Giuliani, says, true Yankees fans still pull for the Rockies.

In our Morning Prayer service today, we read through Romans 7. Besides offering a wonderful word structure that could tangle anyone’s tongue, the chapter provides a critical outline of the human nature.

Everyone needs to take a moment to read through this magnificent chapter.

I’ll write about it later today. Until then, get to reading.

Just got home from our bible class at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church. It was a great time tonight as we talked about the differences between the LCMS and the ELCA when it comes to interpretive methods of Scripture. Of course, as a pastor, this stuff is exciting.

When I got home, I checked email and learned something – I may have sent multiple emails to people today by accident.

See, Gmail started offering IMAP for email access. In a nutshell, IMAP means "Internet Message Access Protocol." This has to get a little technical for me to explain it. Most email companies offer what is called POP mail that allows people to download and send email in specialized programs like Microsoft’s Outlook or us Mac people in Apple Mail. Even though we can send and receive email, the email still needs to be cleared off in our individual accounts on the hosting servers of our email companies.

Say, for example, you get an email and then respond to it in Microsoft Outlook, on the server that hosts your email account, the email still needs to be read. It is like you never acted on the email. Essentially, while you have access to the email, the server isn’t connected to your email program.

IMAP changes all that. What this provides is direct email access to the email servers. This means that when you receive and respond to an email in an email program like Outlook or on your iPhone, it is tied directly into your email’s server. So if you open an email, it is open on your server. You don’t have to log into your email account to clear it. IMAP does the work for you.

Well, today when Gmail kicked this off, I was writing a bunch of emails this morning and for some reason, every several minutes Gmail would send a copy of my draft email to whomever I was in writing. Some of you may have received 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 emails from me.

I think the problem has been fixed. Sorry for the goof.