Happy New Year to All SCE Readers!
Well, 2009 has arrived in Australia, and I guess by the time the rest of the world reads this, it will have arrived where you are too.
As we slowly march on into the third millenium AD, let us remind ourselves that this could be the year of the Lord's return. I know it is so easy to live as if the eschaton is eons away - and indeed I chuckle when I remember Fr Neuhaus's quip that we may be (for all we know) still in "the early church" - but our Lord did say that he is "coming soon", and it has ever been the character of the Christian faith to look for his return. "And what I say to you I say to all: Watch.” (Mark 13:36)
Father Time is not eternal. There was a "first year" and there will be the last. Time may seem "an ever rolling stream" to us, but it is not a so much a running river as a road leading from somewhere and going to somewhere.
I pray that 2009 - if it is NOT the "last year" - may at least lead you forwards along your journey, and not backwards or off on some tangent or up some garden path. My simple word of advice along your journey is this: "Sentire Cum Ecclesia".
posted by Schütz @ 10:11 am
10 Comments
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10 Comments:
It's still 2008 here (Omaha), 1732 hours to be exact, or 532pm if you're not used to telling time right. Not only that, here in the US Central time zone, you get New Year's twice -- once when the ball falls in New York City, the unofficial capitol of everything but it's in the Eastern time zone (as is the official capitol) which is 2300 hours here, or 11pm, and once when they rerun it for Central when it's actually midnight here.
Happy New Year, Feliz Ano Nuevo, Glueckliche neues Jahr regardless, even if it isn't new year in your calendar.
As to your advice for the year, I agree -- as long as you don't get confused about who and what "ecclesia" is!
Happy New Year, PE! I look forward to continuing the dialogue (rant) with you in 2009!
The time zone thing is funny here too. New South Wales and Victoria had new year half an hour before South Australia; Queensland, on the same longitude as Vic and NSW had it an hour later; Northern Territory (same longitude as SA) had it an hour later than South Australia (hour and half behind Vic and NSW), and Western Australia was two hours after that.
Which made it fun to watch the Edinburgh Military Tattoo (a New Year's tradition here in Oz). We had satelitte TV, and got home from church half way through the program. We watched it to the end and then switched to WA TV where we watched it from the beginning! Then came Midnight fireworks. We could watch them over and over again on all the different channels. Funny thing is that South Australia TV was showing the countdown and fireworks from Melbourne (Victoria) delayed by half an hour. That was weird...
And as to your comment on my advice for the year, I'm still waiting for you to instruct us in the truth "about who and what ecclesia is" so I can think with her!
King GeorgeIV in one of his messages to the then British Empire,and which was also quoted at the end of the film MORTAL STORM, this sentence that is appropriate for a New Year:
I said to the man who stood at the gate ,give me a light that i may go out into the unknown.He said take hold of the Hand of God for that is safer than lighter and better than any known way"
Judas H Priest at Greenwich, you know Father Time is moving on when NYE telecasts were Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians at the Waldorf Astoria then they cut away to the ball in Times Square (at 11pm for me), then this kid Dick Clark started New Year's Rocking Eve on another network.
Now Lombardo is the stuff of reruns on the dreaded "educational" channels, Dick Clark is an old man, TV is 24/7/365 anyway on all the cable you can stand.
But at least that's brought with it the opportunity to watch in Spanish on Univision which simulcasts from NYC, the capitol of the world, and Miami, where I'd be if I had any sense except if I were in San Juan, and Latins loving a good time, go to San Antonio for Central time, then Mexico City, then LA for Pacific!
I like the quote, matthias. And we went all over the church stuff with the bleeding bridge series!
Anybody speak Spanish in OZ?
Anybody speak Spanish in OZ?
Yep. My Mum.
Happy New Year, David et al!
Good point Schutz re the Return of Christ,without any of the Hal Lindsey,La Haye dispensationalism.This ditty use to be on the signboard of Oakleigh Baptist Church
Live as if Christ died yesterday
Rose again today and
Is coming back tomorrow
Happy New Year from a Lutheran in Sunnyvale, CA.
Henry
Here in the US the news, especially cable like CNN, likes to show clips of the Aussie New Year's fireworks from Sydney or Melbourne because those are usually the first big ones after the date line where we are among the last.
Looks like my long lost relation back in Mother England did it up right in London too!
Hey Louise, where is your mother from that she speaks Spanish? Did you learn it too?
Pace Matthias, I think it was George VI, not George IV, who uttered that "I said to the man who stood at the gate" passage.
where is your mother from that she speaks Spanish?
She just decided to learn it, PE. She also learned French years ago.
Sadly, I am good-for-nothing with foreign languages, although I did learn some Ancient Greek at uni - that was fun!
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