Pastor Tom's Journal

"A mortal, born of woman, few of days and full of trouble, comes up like a flower and withers, flees like a shadow and does not last" -Job 12:1 The vacuum is created by the absence of the reality that fills it. The story of Job, recounted in the the book by his name, is one of the oldest of the Bible's stories in form, context, and telling. Long before prophets hinted at the possibility of an afterlife, Job longs for it, wonders about it, and mulls the possibility that humans were made for eternity. In the longing is the seed of truth that what we deeply gravitate toward is intrinsic to the reality of what is. The vacuum is created by the absence of the reality that fills it.

I am a man of cheese, Three hundred and sixty degrees, Cheese. No mater whoever disagrees, Please, don't sneeze on my love of cheese. Up to my knees in cheese, Happy as the bees. I seize every opportunity for cheese. I'd swallow flees to get to my cheese. I'd freeze in the winter to have some melted cheese. I'd tease a lion to find some more cheese. Where are the keys to the closet and When did you last deposit cheese? I am at ease with cheese. I'll pay the fees. I'll climb trees. Oh geeze, I love cheese. I'm a geezer and a cheeser. I heard that Keezer Wlihelm went down for lack of cheese. Elieezer Johnson was a cheeser too, A cheesier cheeser than most ever knew. Forgotten by history, his life was a mystery To appease these who marginalize cheese. It makes me queasy to be so cheesy. I even think about cheese when I'm catching my "zeees" Snoring would be boring without Nocturnal outpouring of cheese. Maybe it is a dis...

General Gabriel Prosser  (1775-1800) On August 30,  1800, Gabriel Prosser intended to lead a rebellion and become the king of Richmond and several surrounding counties. An enslaved man, Gabriel was "owned" by Thomas Henry Prosser of Brookfield plantation near Richmond, Virginia. He was most likely born on the plantation where he lived. He was married and he was a skilled blacksmith, He believed that his people were being unjustly enslaved and wanted to do something about it Out of that, he organized a major slave uprising.  It was the boldest plan of its kind to be conceived of in the history of slavery in the Southern states. It may have succeeded. However, it was literally rained out. There was a sudden and severe downpour.  Also, some of the  slaves  of Mosby Shepherd told their master of the plot and it was thwarted. After this attempted uprising, new laws went into effect limiting the mobility, literacy, and relative freedom of enslaved peoples. Did he...

Trois myopic rodents Trois myopic rodents Observe how they traverse Observe how they traverse They all pursued the agronomist's spouse Who severed their appendages with a culinary implement Have you ever observed such a startling phenomenon As trois myopic rodents   Lest you stop there, note that many of the nursery rhymes, fairy tales, and fable are encrypted and politically charged messages understood best in context. For instance, the "three blind mice" were said to be Protestant loyalists who, in 1555 were accused of a plot against Queen Mary I. They were who were burned at the stake for their "blindness," namely their Protestant beliefs. The farmer's wife in this scenario, is Mary. The words have changed and become more innocent over the years In 1609 when the first written version of the song was published by Thomas Ravenscroft in “Deuteromelia” or “The Seconde part of Musicks melodie”. Today, it is just. "Three Blind Mice." Three blind mice....

  Isaiah 61:10-11 I  will  greatly rejoice in the  Lord , my whole being shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.  For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord  God  will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.

Black Madonna of Czestocho Mother Mary, Theotokos Saint Mary’s memory is honored in many Christian churches today. Mary was flesh and blood and Jesus was her son, flesh, blood, and connected with her people. All of us, called to be saints, have special days. For most of us, it is our birthday. For Mary, the mother of Jesus, it is a day designated by the church hundreds of years ago. We can celebrate it because we are always free to celebrate those lives through which God has expressed himself in the world. We think very highly of Mary through the window of sacred history, but others saw the designation of Jesus as her son to be a justification for derision. It was not her reputation for having conceived Him out of wedlock at this point that framed their curses. That would come up at some point, but this was subtler. They accused Him of being common and familiar. They knew Him and His brothers and their familiarity bred contempt. He was common and He was uncommon. As the son of Mary, He...