One Life Saved, the World Entire Saved: Schindler’s List & the Passing of a Survivor of WWII

This Article was originally published at www.thebeardedtrio.com

All of us who find or search for this page have something in common: a love of great movies, the joy they bring us and an admiration for the people who have brought amazing ideas to life.  I am a Star Wars enthusiast, and will watch anything by Spielberg when it is available.  Goonies, ET, everything Indy, everything Marty.  All of these fantasies fueled the emerging hopes of my childhood.

The fanciful and wonderful movies of my youth that led me to look for the great mysteries of this world.  And then I found a great mystery confronting my sensibilities, my stomach and my own relationship to the world around me.  When I was 18, I came across Schindler’s List.  It was only three weeks after my grandmother died, the matriarch of the family.  I often refer to her as St Granny because of the place her love has had in my life – even after her repose in the Lord.  I don’t remember the occasion, but a lot of the family was gathered together and watched the movie, which was aired without commercial interruption.  Drama of this sort was not something we generally did as a family.  We were into comedies, stand-up comedians, and family stories.  This was a special evening.  Read More

Life and Death of a Simple Leaf

I just watched a single leaf fall from a tree outside.  It is autumn, we saw temperatures in the 30s last night, it was beautifully brisk.  That leaf has done its job since late spring.  The bud showed itself sometime as the last icy patches were receding.  The yearly tiny glaciers that give rise to a new short age.  The shoot pushed out of the branch, arcing toward the sunshine, toward the source of the light.  Soon after Pascha, the full young leaf revealed its inherent splendor. Still smaller than its potential. I have heard in many nature documentaries that the deer love young leaves the most.  So being young was risky, but necessary.  As we all tumbled through the end of the school year, or to the early days of outdoor life reawakened, that leaf reached its full stature.  Broad, green, its lines placed there by the finger of God Himself.  We didn’t notice.  That leaf became one of thousands on one tree in a stand of thousands of trees in a town that is more green than anything else. It offered shade to the world below, it fed us the air we breathe.  It worked in concert with its elevated neighbors in a fragile yet powerful system.  The canopy above us, that is the sky, is unreachable by our tiny selves.  So the Lord put the canopy a little lower so that we might know that His loving care is also reachable, and condescends to meet us and provide in our need.  The leaf was a part of that plan.

Tauntauns are Awesome

The third storm is hitting us in the Northeast.  They say that it is the third storm, but it feels like it has been snowing since Thanksgiving - or maybe even Labor Day.  I go outside, and I am hit with subzero temperatures and snow deeper than my boots.  But that is how it goes here in the Finger Lakes.  We knew what we signed up for when we moved here.  But I could use some help going about my daily business. 

Luke Skywalker: From Farmboy to Student to Hero of the Rebel Alliance, Part II

            In Empire Strikes Back, we find our heroes on the run.  Having found a base on Hoth, they are now living solely for the opportunity to survive and spread their message.  Luke receives the message that he needs to leave his friends for a little while to receive training in the Jedi arts.  After the evacuation of Hoth, he leaves for Dagobah without any reservation.  It is there that he is given knowledge that he never even knew to ask for before.  He is illuminated with a knowledge that was kept safe from all harm.  It is a knowledge of the deeper mysteries of the universe.  For the Church, " Only in the state of illumination does divine grace makes possible the contemplation of the divine light. The hidden truths of Holy Scripture are not revealed to everyone, since illumination comes through the special divine gift of revelation. For this reason in the early Church, the holy Bible was read only in the Church and only by a charismatic person. In the Orthodox Church, we have never experienced "bibliolatry" or "worship of the Book," as in some sects. The Church holds fast to the unadulterated spirit of the Bible as it was delivered to the Saints, and through them, to us (An Introduction to Orthodox Spirituality at www.goarch.com)."

Luke Skywalker: From Farmboy to Student to Hero of the Rebel Alliance, Part I

This post has to be written in the next 499 days, in order for it to make sense (assuming the saga of Luke will continue in Episode VIII).  In the life of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, we see a growth from farmboy to hero; from innocent child to mature adult.  The unspoken thing in each of those phrases is the path in between.  Luke went from moisture farmer to student to hero pilot.  He went from his innocence, through an awakening of cause which resulted in a mature Jedi.  This progression is a good way for us to talk about the Christian teaching of theosis. 

Good Morning! Nice of You to Drop By!

Some things have an odor from the outside - and you find out that the stink even more on the inside.  Every relationship has ups and downs.  If you think that any relationship - marriage, family or friendships - is all fun and games, you are kidding yourself.  True and lasting relationships are built on hard work and the willingness to stick with the other through the worst of times.  Through this, the best of times are even better.