Oak Grove Abbey News

Tonight we celebrate Saints Cosmas and Damian, brothers from Arabia. Being skilled in the science of medicine, they joyfully cared for the sick, refusing any compensation. When Diocletian began persecuting Christians, they were marked men. Eventually they were apprehended and tortured around 283. Today is their feast day.

Their ministry is especially poignant to me today because of our recent medical happenings. With both boys needing "well checks" and me with my face pains, we've been in and out of way too many doctor's offices lately. Camden's 2-month-well-visit was billed to our insurance company at a whopping $818. My visit to the ENT was billed at a staggering $772. Connor's well check cost $742. I could go on . . . but you get the idea. I know that providing medical care is not cheap. And I know that doctors spend years studying their respective fields. The notion that health care, health insurance, and pharmaceuticals has become big business, where "suits" look at the bottom line, profit margins, and shareholders is truly distasteful. These brothers certainly challenge the current obsession with money and provide a beautiful picture of operating out of one's giftedness to the benefit of a community.

Posted by Jolie at 2:34 PM | Permalink |

In case you weren't in the know, the Abbey contains a handful of incredibly skilled musicians. In the past month, por exemplo, Evan toured the West coast with the Polyphonic Spree, sat in with Okkervil River at ACL and continues to gig with David Chenu and Tacks the Boy Disaster. Andy is playing at Stubb's tonight with Wide Awake, the band who recorded the Live Strong theme song (Andy plays string pads on it), and then gets on a tour bus at midnight to play keys for Chris Tomlin for the next couple of months supporting his new album. Last night, Tucker Roundtree was in town and played at the Elephant Room (the local jazz venue). Jason and Andy played with him and Evan sat in on a song. Roscoe Beck played bass (he has his own Fender signature electric bass). Eric Johnson showed up and had a "guitar wanking" session with Tucker for a couple of tunes! For an aging picker like myself that's some serious *#%!

Posted by gdwill at 10:11 PM | Permalink |

As a side dish to my mother's lasagne recipe, I served up Philippians 4:6.

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication,
with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God."

I pray amidst the loudness of the world we will all be able to quiet our hearts and present our needs before God.

Posted by Angelic at 10:06 PM | Permalink |

Wednesday marked the feast day for Cyprian, another fascinating example of what becomes the best and worst theology for the Western Church. In reading his story, though, I became even more intrigued by the antagonist, Emperor Decius. Here is a quote from Gonzalez's The Story of Christianity:

In 249, Decius took the purple robe. Although Christian historians have depicted him as a cruel person, the truth is that Decius was simply a Roman of the old style, whose main goal was to restore Rome to her ancient glory. There were several factors contributing to the eclipse of that glory. The barbarians beyond the borders were increasingly restless, and their incursions into the Empire were growing more and more daring. There was a serious economic crisis. And the ancient traditions associated with the classical times of Roman civilization were generally forgotten.
...Therefore, if Rome's ancient glory was to be restored, it was necessary to restore also its ancient religion.

So, Decius decides to torture Christians who refused to give complete allegiance to the Empire, rather than killling them outright. I find a lot of potential and ironical (hint) history lessons to be alerted to here. Sincerity and traditional conservatism aren't necessarily a beneficial combination in and of themselves. I pray that we who profess Christ would remember what it is like to be on the short end of the Empire-stick, and that we would take our cue from the ancients who refused to let patriotism be an idol.

Posted by gdwill at 10:26 AM | Permalink |

On Labor Day, over a casual table of bison burgers and American Amber, we briefly spoke of three persons who are given feasts on September 4th. The Orthodox commemorate the Holy Martyr Babylas and an obscure Old Testament figure named Moses (sarcasm). But the Episcopal calendar mentions a Paul Jones. Jones' apparent honor is that he was outspoken in his pacifist views during World War One, something which was so isolated and unpopular that it resulted in his resignation as a bishop! Does it ever disturb anyone else that the "Church" so often throughout history has eagerly demonized the voice of peace in his or her own time, but then, when the challenge of the situation is long over, made these same people into saints and heroes? Can 't we find the courage to affirm peacemakers precisely when such a view is risky and subversive?

Posted by gdwill at 6:59 PM | Permalink |

But Jesus said, "Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these." And who could resist those tie-dyed t-shirts, anyway?!

Posted by Jolie at 6:39 PM | Permalink |

It's been almost 10 years since the death of Mother Teresa and 3 years since her beatification. Tonight we will have a simple meal, in the spirit of Blessed Teresa, and discuss her inspiring life and works.

Until then, ponder these words from Blessed Teresa:

Make us worthy, Lord, to serve those people throughout the world who live and die in poverty and hunger.
Give them through our hands, this day, their daily bread, and by our understanding love, give them peace and joy.

When a poor person dies of hunger, it has not happened because God did not take care of him or her. It has happened because neither you nor I wanted to give that person what he or she needed.

Posted by Jolie at 11:41 AM | Permalink |

August 31st Feast Day for Saint Aidan

During the seventh century Northumbria, comprising the kingdoms of Bernicia and Deira, was a battleground in which the fate of rival kings determined whether the Celtic or the Roman Church should be the prevailing missionary influence. In 616, when King Ethelfrith of Northumbria was defeated in battle and slain, his son Oswald took refuge in Scotland and was converted to Christianity at Iona. Edwin, the new king, also became a Christian, but under the influence of Saint Paulinus, bishop of York, whose allegiance was to Rome. After Edwin's death in 633, Paulinus abandoned his work in northern England. Oswald returned from exile and eventually became king, whereupon he sent to Iona for a bishop who would preach the gospel in Northumbria.

The first Celtic bishop, Corman, soon returned to Iona, where he declared that the Angles of Northumbria were too stubborn and intractable. The historian Bede writes that, at a meeting to discuss the problem, an Irish monk called Aidan suggested that Corman had been unreasonably harsh with his unlearned listeners, and "did not first, as the Apostle has told us, offer them the milk of less solid doctrine". It was immediately resolved to send Aidan to Northumbria as bishop.

Little is known of the saint's early life, save that he may have studied under Saint Senan on Scattery Island, Co. Clare. He arrived in Northumbria c. 635, and with Oswald's consent made his headquarters on the offshore island of Lindisfarne, close to Oswald's castle at Bamburgh. It was a fruitful partnership, with Oswald having on occasion to interpret the words of Aidan, who lacked fluency in the English language.

When Oswald was killed in battle in 642, Aidan worked equally well with Oswin, king of Deira. Aidan preached widely throughout Northumbria, travelling on foot, so that he could readily talk to everyone he met. When Oswin gave him a horse for use in difficult terrain, Aidan quixotically gave it to a beggar soliciting alms. Oswin was angry until, as Bede recounts, Aidan asked if the son of a mare was more precious to the king than a son of God. Oswin sought Aidan's pardon, and promised never again to question or regret any of his wealth being given away to children of God. Both Oswald and Oswin are venerated in England as saints and martyrs.

Scores of Scottish and Irish monks assisted Aidan in his missionary work, building churches and spreading Celtic Christian influence to a degree that Lindisfarne became the virtual capital of Christian England. The saint also recruited classes of Anglo-Saxon youths to be educated at Lindisfarne. Among them was Saint Eata, abbot of Melrose and later of Lindisfarne. In time, Eata's pupil, Saint Cuthbert, also became bishop of Lindisfarne.

Aidan lived a frugal life, and encouraged the laity to fast and study the scriptures. He himself fasted on Wednesdays and Fridays, and seldom ate at the royal table. When a feast was set before him he would give the food away to the hungry. The presents he received were given to the poor or used to buy the freedom of slaves, some of whom entered the priesthood. During Lent Aidan would retire to the small island of Farne for prayer and penance. While there in 651, he saw smoke rising from Bamburgh, which was then under attack by the pagan King Penda of Mercia. He prayed for the wind to change, and many of the besiegers were destroyed by fire.

When Oswin was killed in 651 by his treacherous cousin Oswy, king of Bernicia, Aidan was grief-stricken. The saint outlived Oswin by a mere twelve days, dying in a shelter he had erected against the wall of his church in Bamburgh.

Posted by gdwill at 12:15 PM | Permalink |

Some of us have decided to chip in together and subscribe to a handful of magazines. Potential candidates are Mother Jones, Newsweek, Sojourners, Christian Century, Orion, Adbusters. Any suggestions for something we may not know about?

In related news, Tacks the Boy Disaster got a large write up as a recommended show again yesterday in the Austin Chronicle. Big show tonight at the Parish!

I am featured in a one-page snippet in the latest issue of Relevant magazine. The article [9 People Out to Change the World] is pretty basic information (not available online), but it's a teaser for their new book, called The Relevant Nation. I have a 3-4 page insert in the book that is more comprehensive. I'll avoid the temptation here to be sarcastic about the "relevance" of myself and the Abbey, and simply say "thanks" to Chris Troutman for thinking that the Abbey would be worthy of some attention.

Posted by gdwill at 7:17 AM | Permalink |