Saint Matthew's

I’ve tried to be a good Yankees fan. My “fan arrogance” has been kept in check for a long, long time. I have always believed that being a Yankees fan didn’t require arrogance. We don’t need to rub dirt in the eyes of Mets fans who long to feel the breezes of October and watch their team play in meaningful games.

Yes, there are many current Yankees fans who jumped on the bandwagon when the Yankees started winning. They were probably rooting for the Mets way back in the 1980s when they were playing good ball. We let them join our little fellowship because they will purchase lots of tickets and buy YES Network subscriptions to help the Steinbrenners pay Alex Rodriguez $27 Million a year. Why should just true Yankees fans bear the entire financial burden?

The Yankees, who make the playoffs as often as the sun rises in the east, aren’t having the greatest season in memory, but yet they only reside 5.5 games out of first place. With half the season to go, Yankees fans are just sitting back and being patient.

We aren’t laughing at Mets fans who just can’t figure out why their team is playing sub-.500 ball. Oh, they are playing that kind of ball not just this season, but for more than a year (remember, 2007, the Year of the Choke). We true Yankees fans aren’t reminding the Mets loyalists that if the Yankees and Mets were in the same division, it would be the Yankees who would be in first place over the Mets by a comfortable margin. No, we true Yankees fans are sitting back listening TO THE UTTER SHEER ARROGANCE OF METS FANS WHO ARE JUMPING AROUND THIS MORNING LIKE THEY WON SOMETHING!!

This weekend, the Mets finished out the latest rendition of the Subway Series: 2008 Edition, by defeating the Yankees 4 games to 2. Yesterday, Mets starting pitcher Oliver Perez, who pretends to be Cy Young when he faces the Yankees but is just a batting practice pitcher against the rest of the league, shut down the Yankees and allowed the Mets to score the rare, in-season games win.

While Yankees fans are more worried about the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays (oh, that hurts to write), Mets fans are so gleeful today, they are literaly wetting their pants with excitement.

Yesterday and this morning, I have received a dozen messages from people I know proclaiming either Mets’ superiority or some kind of rip on the Yankees. One of the messages read:

“Choke-Rod does it again. The Stinkees go down. Now its the Mets time!”

Please. Yes, A-Rod didn’t get it done every game. Oh, my breaking heart. But all is forgotten when he slams a 400 foot shot to dead center field in Yankee Stadium, which, by the way could come tonight against the Texas Rangers.

And the name “Stinkees?” It goes along with a text message I received where my friend lovingly called the Bronx Bombers the “Spankees.”

But my favorite came from a fellow pastor:

“The Yankees losing to the Mets makes Jesus happy.”

My dear Mets fans, get over it. Your team is playing just below .500. They are decent one day, horrendous the next. Your GM put together a team that has no leaders (and I know many Mets fans long in their hearts for a player and a leader like 4-time World Series winner Derek Jeter to come along in their farm system, but they gave away their system to pick up a not-as-hot-as-everyone-thought-he was Johann Santana).

Your team is in a bad division and is clinging to 3rd place. If the Red Sox were in the NL East, the Mets would already be planning for next year. (Good Lord, what did I just write? Something nice about the Sawx?)

Joel Sherman at the Post had the best line about this year’s Mets team, a collection of good to OK ballplayers who just seem to lack focus.

“This is Team ADD…”

Today is a landmark day in the history of American Lutheranism as the most popular daily Lutheran radio program, “Issues, Etc.,” returns to the airwaves via Lutheran Public Radio.

Back in March, “Issues, Etc.” aired on KFUO-AM out of Saint Louis, a radio station owned and operated by our Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. During Holy Week, the show was summarily canned by our Synod for what they claim were financial reasons.

*cough, bull*

The firings apparently had more to do with the conservative doctrinal nature of the show and the political leanings of some of the Synod’s leaders who aren’t so doctrinal and didn’t want a radio show highlighting people and issues that would go against the current Synodical leadership.

As you know, I was ticked when the show was cancelled.

But today, I rejoice. “Issues, Etc.” returns.

There is just one way to describe today’s European Championship between Spain and Germany — Spain outplayed Germany in a huge way. They were quick to the ball, made crisp passes, and never allowed the Germans to really set up any kind of offense. Spain won the match 1-0, not very exciting by American standards, that’s for sure.

Germany looked, well, old (not a rip on their 38-year old net minder). They didn’t pass effectively. Any free kick they had, they really strained to make anything of them, which of course, they didn’t. They played nearly the entire second half in their own end. Spain pressed and pressed and pressed, but German had no answer. In typical soccer/football manner, even with a lot of chances, Spain never converted in the second half. Just the nature of the football beast.

Spain is the European Champion.

However, I was never able to see the championship trophy – the beautiful and new Delaunay trophy, that is – being handed to the Spanish team. Right as the players were walking up the aisle to get their medals and the trophy, a thunderstorm hit New Milford. I have DirecTV … and I lost the satellite picture.

Aaaaarrggghhh!!!

Earlier in the week, the world went dark during the Germany-Turkey semifinal game earlier in the week. A thunderstorm with 87 MPH winds hit the area of the stadium and the entire world lost the signal. Here in the US, we missed Germany pulling ahead and winning.

This past week has been very effectual for me personally.

For the first time, in the course of a week, I baptized a 5 year-old, buried a blessed woman in Christ, and married a couple. The baptism-funeral-wedding trifecta is fairly rare, but this week, I had a chance to experience it.

Oh, it was stressful. Worrying about each piece of that Christian trifecta gets to me. I fear that I will miss something or really fumble the ball, which — thanks be to God — didn’t occur this week.

Throw on top of it today’s picnic and outdoor worship at church, and the fear that the skies could open up at any moment, my nerves were frazzled.

Thankfully, we got through our worship service and picnic in one piece.

I need to rest … but I haven’t so far. I watched the Spain-German European Champioinship soccer/football match this afternoon. I will write more about this abominable game in my next post.

The coming week looks less stressful, with only the start of our Summer Camp commencing tomorrow morning at 8:30 on my mind.

No rest for the weary.

Who would have thunk it?

Today is the third anniversary of my ordination.

It is also the day we remember the Presentation of the Augsburg Confession.

But I think the Augsburg Confession is relatively more important in the whole scheme of things than my little ordination.

Sometimes, I can’t hold it in.

The Supreme Court ruled today that people who rape children are not eligible for the death penalty.

This Court has lost all touch with reality.

Now, as a clergy man, being in favor of the death penalty may not put me in the vein with other clergy people. I don’t care.

It is not for vengence that I support the death penalty.

But sometimes a crime is so revolting, so sickening, society as a whole must show it’s revulsion by taking the life of those who commit such crimes.

When someone rapes a child, that person should face the loss of his or her life. They show themselves unable to live among the rest of society. It’s a child. Whether or not a jury or a judge imposes that sentence, they should be given that option.

I know, it doesn’t sound so good to favor putting someone to death for their crime, especially someone who is in the “forgiveness” business.

But where talking about someone raping a child.

I have loved Brad Paisley’s music for a while, but his latest single, “I’m Still A Guy,” is just hilarious. Click over to read the lyrics.

Just terrific.

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If you don’t already know, I have been a fan of R.E.M. for years. When I was in high school, they became one of those favorites that most of my other friends didn’t like. Some of their older albums hold a special place in my heart. For example, “Fables of Reconstruction” is a great album and has two of my all-time R.E.M. favorites on it – “Driver 8″ and “Kohoutek.” It think it came out in either 1984 or ‘85. I only remember playing this album over and over again. Every song hit me in a good way and very fast this album became a favorite.

And since I don’t have the album anymore, I may just download it from iTunes.

Two Saturdays ago, I had the opportunity to see R.E.M. in Jones Beach. Ugh, the weather … heavy rain, flooding, thunder and lightning … but I won’t trade that concert for anything. A super concert by a great group.

Then this past Thursday, I attended their concert at Madison Square Garden with a friend who is absolutely a huge R.E.M. fan. She was so happy with the musical set — when they played “Rockville” or “Driver 8,” her eyes lit up. It was a pleasure to attend a concert with someone who cared about the music. The concert paid tribute to a lot of their older music, as well as their current album. Most people seemingly weren’t happy with the concert since they sat on their hands for most of it.

But it was a wonderful musical experience and was a week I will not forget.

That is all that I needed last week — a little bit more time.

There have just been too many little things to get done over the past week. I am not talking major issues that needed addressing, just little ones, lots of them. Sometimes the little things take more time than some big issues.

Thankfully, most of those “little things” are now done and I can get back to somewhat normal.

It is going to be a busy Monday on my end.

I am playing “Mr. Pick Up” — first, at JFK, then second, at Newark Penn Station.

One, I am picking up a friend returning home from a little vacation out in Las Vegas. Two, a friend is coming in from Indiana (northwest, near Chicago) and is spending a few days in town.

And before I do that, I have to figure out my checkbook, get gas, clean up, and somehow get dry. Ugh. I am still feeling damp from Saturday’s soaking R.E.M. concert at Jones Beach. One good thing, however — my feet don’t look like prunes anymore.

With more thunderstorms expected today, I guess feeling completely dry is out of the question.

When I posted last night from the R.E.M. concert at Jones Beach (for some reason, the post went up a couple hours after I wrote it), I knew it was going to be an experience.

It was.

There was just something about watching and listening to R.E.M. after a terrible thunderstorm filled with flash flooding rains and lots of lightning. When the theater got hit by lightning, I feared that they would cancel the program, but thankfully they didn’t.

When R.E.M. took the stage after the long rain/lightning/flooding delay, their first song was perfect: “Have You Ever Seen the Rain.” The place went nuts. Surprisingly, not that many people left — and I would hate to be those people this morning because the music experience at Jones Beach last night was incredible. The concert would have been excellent without the rain, but there was just something about being completely soaked to the bone and seeing this band just bring it. There were thousands of us just drenched, many singing along. The entire rain-lightning event just brought the crowd together, and it showed during and after the concert.

During the delay, people huddled under the bleachers to try and keep from not getting hit by lightning. I met a group of people from Washington D.C. who drove up to Long Island to catch the show last night. They missed the D.C. show last week and got tickets for last night’s concert on Stub Hub. But what made that group fun, they were all recently graduated doctors getting ready for their internships all around the country. They were all giddy (no, they were not drunk or high). But they planned this to be their “last” group event before “getting out in the real world.”

They were a good group…who couldn’t believe I was a Lutheran pastor. Even when I showed them my driver’s license, they thought it was fake.

I figured it would take me until 3am to get home, and I wasn’t too far off. I probably could have gotten home in an hour and half, but the flooding all over Long Island and Queens made traveling a little bit more difficult. When I got home, I peeled off my wet clothes praying that I wouldn’t get sicker. As I type this morning, after only a couple of hours of sleep, I still feel damp.

But after seeing that concert last night, as I wrote before, those who left missed a real rock experience.

I’ve never been to a concert where I had to be evacuated. Until tonight.

As everyone is aware, terrible thunderstorms crossed through our region tonight. Heavy rains, incredible lightning, and flooding came with tonight’s storms.

Well, at the Jones Beach Theater where R.E.M. was scheduled to play, lightning struck the stage of the amphitheater. Modest Mouse, a warm-up band, scattered like flies. We were told to get out, which is probably a good thing. Then the flooding came – rain so heavy, it was incredible. Inches of rain fell very fast … all of which flooded a good chunk the lower seating area. And it doesn’t help that amphitheater is right on an inlet near the ocean.

Throw the traffic of people fleeing the Jones Beach area, it is just really hideous.

I think I will get home by 3am. Maybe.

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Sent from my iPhone

LCMS President, Rev. Jerry Kieschnick, in this month’s “Lutheran Witness,” reminds us that even though the state of our national affairs may bring worry to our hearts, we have to put our minds on God.

Personally, I would also throw the worries many people feel for our Synod in President Kieschnick’s list.

Earlier this week, I was in Borders at the Garden State Plaza and I picked up a new book entitled, “Original Sin: A Cultural History,” written by Alan Jacobs.This morning in the Wall Street Journal, there is a rather positive review of this tome, a review that provides me with a little confidence that when I complete it, the doctrine of original sin will be explained fully and rationally.

As of this writing, I haven’t gotten very far in the book. I can’t concentrate when I am coughing all the time.

But it got me thinking about this understanding of what sin is.

Do you need to be told that from your conception, you were a sinner?

Do you need to be told that sin started with Adam and Eve?

Do you need to be told that sin is ingrained into our very being and that the only way it can be cleansed is through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ?

Lutherans hold these statements, asked by me in question form, as central to our understanding of who we are to God and why God had to save us.

There is nothing within our being that can stop us from sinning. Oh, we can try, but sin will always win out because it is part of us.

Roman Catholic churches teach that our inborn inclination to sin is not sin at all. The reason they express sin in this way is to bolster their doctrine that we need to cooperate with God’s grace in order to receive salvation (showing acts of love, better known as good works). If original sin is not so sinful, then it would be possible for us to somehow cooperate with God to show our love for Him in good works.

Us Lutherans say that is wrong. Period.

(Edited 11:35am – original paragraph too confusing) We are sinners down to our very core. As such, we cling to the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. We receive God’s grace not because we are so good, but because of our faith in Christ who suffered and died and paid our sin debt to Our Father on our behalf. We are forgiven of our sins not because of our works in cooperation with God, but because of faith in Christ’s work at the cross.

I look forward to reading “Original Sin” and letting you know what I thought of it.

For the past couple of days, I have been suffering under the hideousness called a summertime chest cold. These are the most annoying and disturbing colds because no matter what is tried to eleviate the effects of the illness, nothing really works.

Hot tea … tastes good, but does zip to make one feel better.

Vicks vapor rub … all it does it stink up clothes and bed sheets.

NyQuil … knocks you out and makes you forget you’re sick, but in terms of ‘medicine’ to help get rid of the cold, NyQuil isn’t it.

So here I sit in my living room trying to get work done without coming in contact with anyone. I can’t visit nursing homes or hospitals — they specifically tell visiting clergy not to come by if we’re feeling even the slightest icky. I won’t visit anyone at home — spreading these germs isn’t high on my list.

Therefore, I sit.

And I hate this.

I’ve already read through the Record, the New York Post, and the Wall Street Journal. I completed the crossword in the Record, the Su-doku in the Post, and looked at the crossword in the Journal. Right now, I am listening to Sirius Satellite Radio, New Country. Earlier this morning, I watched a half hour of the local news on Channel 2 (since they re-run the same stories every half hour in basically the same order, 30 minutes is all I can take).

This “staying home, do nothing, keep others from getting your cold” is driving me nuts.

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