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Saturday, January 30, 2021

Saturday Haiku: Cardinal

cardinal virtues
are sometimes borne on the wing
in the morning light





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Photo by Charles Kinnaird



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Monday, January 25, 2021

Monday Music: Weeping in the Promised Land (John Fogerty)

John Fogerty talks to CBS This Morning about his new song for our time and finds hope in our current struggle.

 


And here is the song, "Weeping in the Promised Land"

 

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Saturday, January 23, 2021

Saturday Haiku: Pastel Clouds


pastel clouds above

paint a mountainous image
as ocean waves break



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Photo by Charles Kinnaird
Orange Beach, Alabama



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Friday, January 22, 2021

Friday Funnies: Here's Bernie

I am enjoying seeing Bernie Sanders everywhere I turn this week. Here are some of my favorite memes.

He's one of Edward Hopper's Nighthawks


He's found in Raphael's fresco of the School of Athens 



He's at my alma mater, Samford University 



And he's in a fine chorus singing a rousing sea shanty




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Tuesday, January 19, 2021

Our Nation Divided

 Coming to terms with America’s original sin of genocide and slavery


Why is our nation so divided, split in half, as it were? Some cannot understand why almost half the country cannot see the evils of racism and bigotry. Others cannot understand why some people don’t have the common sense to keep things the way they are. Why don’t those people want to live up to our ideals? Why are these people tearing at the fabric of our society? 

The problem may be intrinsic to our system. Our founding fathers were white men of European descent who said, “Let’s build a great country based upon the noble ideals of justice, liberty, freedom, and democracy. All we need to do is to displace the native population and use the labors of enslaved black people of African descent to build our shining city set upon a hill. And God be with us.” 

They didn’t hear the cries of “God help us,” from the brown people being driven from their native lands. They didn’t listen to the pleas of “Have mercy” on the lips of the black people under the whip of progress. Today, we are living in a time of increased political polarization. We are faced with our own cries of God help us and Lord, have mercy.

Did the nation’s conflicted beginnings bring us to our current dilemma? We need not forsake our truly noble ideals, but we must acknowledge the evil fires that forged our nation. While privileged school children have been taught about "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," and about how "we the people" came together "to form a more perfect union," black, brown, and Native American children have been systematically excluded from that grand vision.     

Is it any wonder that we find ourselves facing such conflict? We have promoted democratic ideals and humanitarian values while standing upon a legacy of genocide and slavery. Given such a tangled history, pat answers and motivational speeches will probably not get us through. Facing the questions, along with some difficult work, may help us to move forward. 



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Image: "Washington as Statesman at the Constitutional Convention" at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Artist: Junius Brutus Sterns
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: 1856



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Monday, January 18, 2021

Monday Music: Let Justice Roll Down

A song by Aileen Vance, recorded by singer/songwriter, Lea Morris. Sharing today in commemoration of Martin Luther King Day.

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Saturday, January 16, 2021

Saturday Haiku: Reset







 nighttime cricket sounds
and morning chatter of birds
resetting soul time












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Photo by Charles Kinnaird
"Hearts-a-bustin'" (Euonymus americanus)
 Also known as strawberry bush 
Taken at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens



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Monday, January 11, 2021

Monday Music: Ferry 'Cross the Mersey (Gerry and the Pacemakers)

Last week we lost Gerry Marsden who died at the age of 78. Gerry and the Pacemakers were contemporaries of The Beatles and part of "the British Invasion" that influenced the music of the 1960s. One of Masrden's signature hits was "Ferry 'Cross the Mersey." 

 


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Saturday, January 9, 2021

Saturday Haiku: Cardinal in Winter



some find their way by
migration and some live by
steadfast endurance

 







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Photo: Male Cardinal in Winter 
Credit: Sherry Leikin
Courtesy of Pixabay



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Friday, January 8, 2021

Friday Funnies: Signposts

 We often find what we are looking for, and that could be the problem.





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Thursday, January 7, 2021

At the End of the Day

The Waning Days of a Mob Boss President

(Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

Protestors Breach Capitol Building (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

“At the end of the day…” How often have we heard that phrase? At the end of the day, justice will be served. At the end of the day, truth will prevail. Yesterday, we saw that at the end of the day, Joe Biden was certified as President-elect and will become the nation’s 46th President.

Today we see in the waning days of America’s mob boss president that at the end of the day, Mulvaney and other White House officials have resigned, no longer able to serve such a boss. At the end of the day, Attorney General William Barr has finally denounced the actions of our mob boss president (aka Individual Number One in the legal case against his personal shady attorney, Michael Cohen). In some cases, it seems more like rats leaving the ship than conscience prevailing. 

We can take heart that at the end of the day, we saw treasonous mob action resolved and our Congress reconvened to carry out the certification of the will of the people in a free, fair, and lawful election. So often, preserving our republic comes down to the end of the day. For our republic to thrive, however, we long for that bright new day. We must not grow weary, because at the end of the day, it is a bright new day that gives us hope.


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Wednesday, January 6, 2021

Rest on the Flight into Egypt

Epiphany commemorates the arrival of the Magi in Bethlehem bringing gifts to the Christ child. According to the Gospel of Matthew, soon after the visit from the Magi, Joseph was warned that he and his family should flee their homeland and go to Egypt to seek refuge from King Herod's attempt to kill their infant son.

On this Feast of Epiphany, I am re-posting a poem inspired by the French artist Luc Olivier Merson.




Rest on the Flight into Egypt

How still the air must be this night –
A wisp of smoke
Moves straight to the sky
As the fugitive fire 
Slowly dies.

How still the night
As the light of heaven
Rests in Egypt’s ancient arms.

How still the night
As donkey grazes and
Joseph sleeps
While beyond the distant river
Some petty tyrant
Fashions weapons of war.

And a newly blessed mother
Slumbers in the protective Sabbath
Of a watchful Sphinx.

                                                 ~ CK


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Image: Rest on the Flight into Egypt, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Artist: Luc Olivier Merson (French, 1846–1920)
Medium: Oil on canvas
Date: 1879



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Saturday, January 2, 2021

Saturday Haiku: Sparrows

 

sometimes sparrows
in their plain brown plumage
 brighten darkest days



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Photo by Charles Kinnaird



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Friday, January 1, 2021

A New Year's Practice

 


Practice awe. Practice wonder.

It’s good for your heart. It’s good for your soul.

                                           ~ Malcolm Marler

 

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Photo by Malcolm Marler

In today's post, both the photo and the words are by my friend and colleague, Malcolm Marler, who serves as Director of Pastoral Care at UAB Hospital. This month, the chaplains have begun visiting COVID patients in their rooms, wearing protective PPE.

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