Today’s great joy!

 

A Follow up on Dr. Egger’s Presentation

At Making the Case Conference. Someone asked if accepting the creation account as history entails accepting Bishop Usher’s dating schema. It struck me again how poor Usher gets the blame. Actually, if you go back in time to the Kalends read in the Office on Christmas Morning, you used to hear (I’ll just give the English):

In the year from the creation of the world, when God in the beginning created heaven and earth, five thousand one hundred and ninety-nine:

From the flood, the year two thousand nine hundred and fifty-seven:

From the birth of Abraham, two thousand and fifteen:

From Moses and the going out of the people of Israel from Egypt, one thousand five hundred and ten:

From the anointing of David as king, one thousand and thirty-two:

In the sixty-fifth week according to the prophecy of Daniel:

In the one hundred and ninety-fourth Olympiad:

From the foundation of the city of Rome, the seven hundred and fifty-second year:

In the forty-second year of the reign of Octavian Augustus,

The whole world being in peace,

In the sixth age of the world,

Jesus Christ, the eternal God and Son of the eternal Father,

willing to consecrate the world by his most loving coming,

having been conceived of the Holy Spirit, and having passed nine months since his conception,

is born in Bethlehem of Judah of the Virgin Mary, being made man…

Would you care to take a guess at how it reads now in the Roman Communion? Hmm???

when ages beyond number had run their course

from the creation of the world,

when God in the beginning created heaven and earth,

and formed man in his own likeness;*

when century upon century had passed

since the Almighty set his bow in the clouds after the Great Flood,

as a sign of covenant and peace;

in the twenty-first century since Abraham, our father in faith,

came out of Ur of the Chaldees;

in the thirteenth century since the people of Israel were led by Moses

in the Exodus from Egypt;

around the thousandth year since David was anointed king;

in the sixty-fifth week of the prophecy of Daniel;

in the one hundred and ninety-fourth Olympiad;

in the year seven hundred and fifty-two since the foundation of the City of Rome;

in the forty-second year of the reign of Caesar Octavian Augustus,

the whole world being at peace,

Jesus Christ, eternal God and Son of the eternal Father,

desiring to sanctify the world by his most merciful coming,

was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

and when nine months had passed since his conception,

was born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem of Judah, and was made man:

I hardly need to comment that Scripture hasn’t changed a whit. You tell me, please, who is representing the old faith in this current world better? Would someone like Pope St. Gregory the Great even understand how the Kalends of Christmas now read? What about Robert Bellarmine? 

After hearing Dr. Eggert lay out the Biblical case for reading six days as, well, six days, I was reminded of something written by St. Basil the Great: 

Now twenty-four hours fill up the space of one day—we mean of a day and of a night; and if, at the time of the solstices, they have not both an equal length, the time marked by Scripture does not the less circumscribe their duration. It is as though it said: twenty-four hours measure the space of a day—St. Basil the Great, Hexameron, Homily 2, par. 8. 

The modern Orthodox have tended to abandon Basil on this; Rome has certainly abandoned its old faith. And there we stubborn LCMS Lutherans sit. STILL holding to the faith of our fathers. May He keep us firm in it forevermore!

And that’s another Making the Case in the books…

We got a pic with newish Lutherans who came into communion with us after hearing the Whitman (Ten Minute Bible Hour) interviews:

If you missed the conference, you FOR SURE want to ask someone to tell you about Hans Fiene’s wonderful presentation, especially his own “parable” that filled our hearts with such joyful consolation.

And a pic of the final procession as we headed out singing “Go, My Children”. We had quite a number of folks stay through the closing Eucharist:

And the whole enchilada…

And It IS Here: “I Remember: A Life of Mary”

You can order your copy right here. 

And it’s almost here!

Check it out at AdCrucem! 

Remembering Jimmy

My earliest memories of Jimmy was as our mailman. He actually lived right across the street from us (in a home my brother Joe would later live in). I remember looking forward to his visit every day when he dropped off our mail. He’d take time out for a word or two. And I do mean a word or two. Jimmy was generally a most quiet man. Oh, you could get him to talk, but it took some doing and I hadn’t mastered the art yet.

I remember not long before he and Sissy got married, the two of them were waiting for me across from Glenmont Elementary School to walk me home (unbelievably there is a video of that day with me walking out of the classroom in the FB Glenmont Elementary School group). 

And while they were dating and after they got married, they would take me with them quite often: I first visited both the Chesapeake Bay and Ocean City with them. I remember Jimmy had a red convertible that was a blast to ride in. 

At first, after they were married, Sis and Jimmy continued to live across the street in his mother’s home (and his mom, Mrs. Cooke, introduced me to the vice of cheese puffs. I loved to go visit her and help her empty the bag). They eventually bought a house out in a new (back then!) subdivision known as Aspen Hill. It even had a built in garage and a driveway of all things! There their family grew, and honestly my three nephews and my niece always seemed more like brothers and sister than anything else. I loved (and still love) their company. Whenever mom landed in the hospital, daddy would drop me off with them and I was happy as could be. Especially once I discovered the wonders of their Encyclopedia Britannica! Jimmy let his wife’s little brother freeload with them quite a bit. I even got to take swimming lessons at their neighborhood pool.

Jimmy didn’t stay with the post office. He held several jobs across the years, including doing a stint with NSA and finally working with the FBI (where his wife also landed and where his daughter still works), and I believe after he retired he continued doing contract work for them.. He never talked much about what he did, but I got the impression he worked on their gadgets. In his later years, he was always playing with the surveillance system he’d installed in their home.. I remember him announcing once when he was visiting us; “Side door just opened. Hannah’s (his granddaughter) home.” And though he was always reticent about what he actually did, I know he had huge respect there at the Bureau. If I ever asked him to spill the beans on what really was going on, he’d always chuckle and say: “Bill, trust me on this, you just really don’t want to know. You just don’t want to know.” 

When my dad died, he graciously allowed us to blend households: Sis and Jimmy and family moved back to Richardsville, and mom added onto Butch’s old home, and then mom and I moved in with them. I was already in my third year of college, so I was mostly only there for holidays and summer break. Still, I am grateful for them doing that especially for the way Jimmy and Sis and their family took care of mom in her declining years. 

I remember one time when I was serving my vicarage in Garfield, New Jersey (right across from Manhattan), Jimmy drove up and spent the night with us. He had an FBI meeting to attend in the city. I think he talked more that visit than at any time previous! Cindi had to rush off to her job in the morning, but Jimmy and I lingered over breakfast and coffee, chatting. 

We frequently would stop at Cracker Barrel with Sis and Jimmy, though last time we got together I think we all ate at a steak house. I would never have guessed it would be our last visit. My sister has had a number of health issues over the years, but Jimmy always seemed to be healthy as a horse. Alas in the last month or month and a half, he ended up hospitalized, home for a bit, hospitalized again, then rehab and back to the hospital for a final time with trouble breathing.

I know I’m going to miss him big time. I can’t even imagine how awful it is going to be for my sister, his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. You see, he always pretended to be gruff while he spoiled them rotten (yes, my sister too) - I remember telling him, half jokingly, once that he needed to adopt me! His famous chuckle (okay, more of snort): “No.” 

He was truly more like a brother than a brother-in-law since I have no memory of life without him in it. Rest eternal grant him, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon him!

And the day…

…my brother Maup died, my sister wasn’t feeling up to talking to anyone. So when I called her to find out what had happened, it was my brother-in-law Jimmy that gave me the whole story. Sissy was actually in bed with a horrible migraine. He was always a solid rock for our family. I honestly don’t know how we’ll make it without him. Here’a a picture from the last time he and sis visited us in Hamel:

James Spurgeon Cooke +

I found out that my brother-in-law died. He’d not been doing well. I honestly don’t remember him not being a part of my life. When I was very little, he was our mail man, then he married my sister. And he always opened up his home to his strange little brother-in-law. I will be eternally grateful. He was such a kind and gentle man. Rest eternal grant him, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon him! 

For Lucille…Cousin love!

 

What joy yesterday!

Such a joyous day yesterday, to see 17 youngsters confirmed in the holy faith! May the Lord Jesus fulfill the good work He has begun in them, keeping them faithful to the day of His appearing! And before you comment on my sour look, I was just a little tired; trust me I was beaming inside!

 

From the Chief Service on Good Friday