A Baby Boomers Nightmare - Again?

Not a Game Console 

  The device you see above is something that was never used for the reason it was manufactured for. This control panel is the launch control panel for a Titan missile that had on top of it a reentry vehicle that held three independently targeted nine-megaton nuclear bombs.  To call this a control panel is somewhat misleading.  In reality, there were only two things that were controlled by the officer who sat before this console.  First, in the upper left -hand corner there are three lights. Directly above the button that is glowing (target 2) is a key hole.  He could if ordered, change the target of his missile from target two to either target one or target three. To the commander, it was of little import because he did not know the destinations programmed for his missile.  The second thing he could do is to insert his key into the keyhole to the right next to that innocuous row of lights, hold it for five seconds, and launch his missile. Of course seven feet or so to his left was the deputy commander who had to insert and turn his key and hold it for five seconds as well.  Once started there was no turning back. There was no way to stop the missile from launching and there was no way to abort or destroy it.  Thirty to thirty-five minutes after the key was turned, target two, some six thousand miles away would be no more.  

I lived the majority of my life protected by missiles being manned 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, by dedicated professionals.  Today we are protected with the Minute Man III and Minute Man Peacekeeper missile system by men no less dedicated than the ones that tended the Titans and Atlas missiles before.   The payload, a euphemism for the bombs being carried on just one Minuteman surpasses the tonnage of bombs dropped in world war two including the two atomic bombs that were deployed.  

Why is this loon, I hear you asking, bringing up this nonsense on a blog that normally deals with religious thought?  Well, to be honest, I am afraid we are being played very skillfully by Vladimir Putin.  He is biding his time, playing Vlad the Magnanimous as opposed to Obama the Destroyer.  In the meantime, Vlad is pouring billions into refurbishing his nuclear arsenal, including a nineteen-eighties rail car silo system that constantly runs back and forth over the country.  This former head of the KGB is just waiting for the Donald to take office because then it is off to the races.  Vlad will use smoke and mirrors to distract Donald Trump while he builds unanswerable weapons systems and catches the United States with our pants down!  

The Cold War Mark II is on the way.  Unfortunately, we will have a man with a big ego in the highest office in the land.  Trump has already said that he is not interested in the daily intelligence briefing which indicates that he is going to rely on his gut feelings.  We've elected a man who will attempt to govern this country using the same methods that he used to govern his corporations.  The difference this time is that if he makes a mistake, the bankruptcy court cannot save him (or us.)  If Vladimir Putin can get the drop on us you can bet your life that the smiling, forgiving, uncle Vlad will turn into his namesake Vlad the Impaler, also known as Dracula. 

The Russians are in the stronger position right now because of the personalities involved.  The iron curtain may be rusty and falling into ruins but if it can be rebuilt, Vladimir Putin is the man that can do it.  

Pray for the United States of America.  Pray that we come together as a people, strong and united.  Pray that God spares us from the worst of the worst mistakes that Donald Trump will make and for heaven's sake, see if you can find those plans for a backyard fallout shelter.  You may need them.   

Silent Night No More

Christmas Eve is often memorialized by the song that every Christian loves, "Silent Night."  We romanticize the heck out of the birth of Jesus but let's be honest here, it was not a silent night.  It was not a night where all was calm and bright.  As a matter of fact, the world was in turmoil. People from all over the known world were on the move because the emperor had decided that he needed to make sure that everyone was paying their taxes.  There is nothing worse than to be a despot without having the money to throw wild parties or to send your army to conquer lands that are not yet in your control.  So everyone who did not happen to already be in the town their ancestors came from had to drop what they were doing and go there.  This caused a great deal of inconvenience to the people, not that the emperor cared.  So both Joseph and Mary found themselves on their way to Bethlehem to be counted.  Mary was ready to give birth, but that was not the emperor's problem either.  So the couple set out for  Bethlehem, the town of  David, the king.  Its name meant "House of Bread."   We know what happened next.  They arrived at the town and there was no room for them to stay at any of the places where traveler's rested.  They ended up in a stable, a cave really, and there Jesus was born.  The silence of the night was then broken and the world would never be the same again. 

In the fields there were shepherds watching their flocks of lambs at night, keeping them safe.  It was not cool to be a shepherd as your duties kept you from the temple and you were considered to be unclean.  So the silence of that Silent Night was broken by the sound of angels proclaiming that God had come to earth, that a savior had been born.  The good news was first revealed to those who had no say in the world, shepherds of all people.   They were a simple people, they believed what they had heard and went to see the Child.  

The silence was broken and the world was forever changed because of this Silent Night.  The old world would pass away and this birth of Jesus would usher in a New Way.  We would be taught by God Himself as to how we would live.  The old rules would soon no longer apply.  The silence of the olden days would be broken forever as God fulfilled His promise to send a savior.  

It would be thirty years before Jesus would begin to preach. This time he used to give us an example.  He worked beside his step-father, Joseph., and learned to earn his bread by the sweat of his brow.  Here is another fact.  The job of a carpenter was also looked down upon because there was a lack of wood in Judea because it was a desert community.  So, Jesus worked humbly and quietly at his trade.  

Since the Saviour's birth, there can be no more silent nights.  We have to make a choice.  Either He is the Son of God as He says He is or he is a pious fake.  Some people say that he was not the son of God, but he was a good man and a good teacher.  This is not right. Jesus is who he says he is or he is an evil madman.  There can be no other choice.  

So, who do you say Jesus is?  Or will you remain silent?

The Christmas Truce - The Power of the Holy Name

The Christmas Truce 1914

In 1914 something happened along the western front in the no man's land between the British and German lines.  Peace or at least a temporary and very unofficial truce broke out on Christmas 1914. British and German soldiers wandered into that death zone and exchanged the joy of the season with each other.  They traded tobacco, Christmas carols were sung and a soccer (football) match broke out. (it is not recorded who won the game)  For a while, there was peace on the western front.  Such is the power of the events that took place in a little-regarded town in Judea almost two thousand years previously. The very thought that God came to earth was able to, at least temporarily stop the wheels of that terrible, bloody war that was fought using industrial methods that never were seen on the field of battle before.  The leadership of both sides in this war were attempting to fight the war using outmoded tactics suitable for the nineteenth century but not for this "War to End All Wars."  As a result of this outdated old fogey thinking from the field grade officers millions of men, Germans and Allies alike went to their deaths in a war where one side was trying to "bleed the other side white." 

Jesus is the Son of God.  The very thought of His birth that holy night stopped the bloodshed. What it took on both sides was simply a recognition that the other side was populated with people no different than those that were under arms on your side. Christmas Carols and a bit of bravery on both sides caused the slaughter to cease. 

Today we face an enemy that targets us because of our beliefs, one that has no respect for the Name that is above all other names.  As a matter of fact, they are targeting us because of the Name of Jesus. Their publications are calling for Christmas to become a celebration of blood.  They call for their followers to make their presence felt at our places of worship.  We know that they have no respect for Christian things and a basic "live and let live" policy is not part of their plan.  

What do we do?  Can there be a Christmas truce between them and us?  Unfortunately, no truce is possible for it is not within our power to create. The enemy has chosen to entrench themselves deeply in their beliefs that reward them for creating chaos and bloodshed.  So we cannot do anything on our own to cause a truce to happen.  

What we must do is to remember that the there is power in the name of Jesus.  We must trust in His name, we must trust in His power.  The name of Jesus is the antidote to hatred and discord.  We must call on the name and trust in his reply.  Our example in trusting in His name will baffle and confuse our enemies.  I have written about this example once before but it bears repeating in the present context.  Isis had lined up a group of Christians and one other non-Christian person, in order to execute them.  The Christians were on their knees and they kept praying and repeating the name of Jesus.  The non-Christian, also on his knees waiting for the knife, observed all of this.  His captors approached him and told him that if he declared himself to be Muslim that his life would be spared.  The man looked at the Christians, saw the joy on their faces and their brave countenance and he heard them repeating the Holy Name and he told his captors; "Their God is my God." 

That is how powerful the very name of Jesus is. Carry His Name in your heart, and have His words upon your lips and you will be safe in all circumstances because he will be at your side. 

A Christmas Story

I am sorry, it just could not be done, not even in a bastion of learning such as Saint Joseph and Saint Ann School in Chicago was back in the 1960's.  

How could a young boy or girl hope to master number lines, adding negative numbers or even diagramming sentences when Christmas was so near.  How could we be expected to remember the seven cardinal acts of mercy or the spiritual acts of mercy?  No, at this time of year the excitement of bright lights and wrapped packages and the looming Christmas break held every child’s attention.  While the good sisters taught us about the Advent season our eyes were focused on homemade cookies, tinsel, and those mysteriously wrapped packages now appearing underneath the Christmas tree.  And the tree itself filled the home with the rich scent of pine unless of course, your family had an aluminum tree because then you had to imagine the pine scent as the colored light changed and caused the tree to change color. No child, not even the teacher’s pets had much interest in reading, writing, or arithmetic as the nights grew longer and the time to Christmas came closer.  All of our eyes were turned to the sky not waiting for the Christmas Star, oh no, we were waiting for that mystical and magical ingredient of the season – called snow.  Because every kid had some way to propel themselves down a neighborhood hill.  For some it was a sled, for others, it might be the top of a garbage can, a hunk of cardboard or a plastic saucer.  It didn’t matter what vehicle you had or what hill you went to, you just wanted to experience the wind in your face as you slid down your favorite high spot. And who could concentrate on school work when in the afternoon you knew that the work would cease and that cupcake feast and present exchange called the Class Christmas party put all academic pursuits on hold until that time that seemed so far away called “after the New Year.”  Then finally the bell cheerfully chimes it permission to leave and donning scarves, coats, hats and boots we would leave the school, and soon the school would be silent and abandoned and as the echo of the kids excited voices faded the only thing that could be heard at SJSA was the sound of desks being moved so that the janitor could buff the floors to a lustrous shine to greet the returning revelers at the end of Christmas break.  .   Those days before Christmas at SJSA were very magical ones.  The sisters were released from their perpetual vow of not smiling and the crankiest among them adopted a Christmas countenance.  Meanwhile, in our homes things were made ready for visiting relatives. Children coming in from the slopes were warmed with hot cocoa and depending on their likes and dislikes perhaps a marshmallow or maybe some whipped cream would dot the surface of the chill chaser.    Yes, when we were young the Christmas season lasted a long time.  There was the anticipation of what was to come and that was for a child is what put the joy into the season. On Christmas eve, as the sky began to darken, excitement stirred in our hearts.  In our house there was ritual that was carefully followed every year. We would be allowed to open one of the beautifully wrapped packages before we went to bed. Every year we wondered what treasure would we behold once we opened that package.  Would it be the toy we had asked Santa Claus for?  No, no, it wouldn't.  Every year we would open that package and the contents would always be pajamas.  By the time I was eigh I got the idea but always hoped for something else.  Wearing our new pajamas we would cluster at the kitchen table where we were given hot chocolate made with real milk and whipped cream.  I suspect there may have been a sleeping pill in it too because no sooner would we be done with the treat than our eyes would start to feel very heavy and without being told, on this one day of the year, we went off to bed to dream of the treasures that would be ours the next day.  Chrismas Eve was a night filled with joy. It was the joy of innocence  Today I challenge each of you to become joyful as a child as you prepare yourself for Christmas. Let your heart anticipate the joy of Christmas day as we remember that the joy of giving to others will fill us with the same feeling for the Christmas season as we had when we were young.