The Loose Cannon in Ninety-Three by Victor Hugo

from illustrations@clergy.net for Mark 4:35-41 – Calming of the Tempest

Victor Hugo, who is famous for his novel the Hunchback of Notre Dame, also wrote a story called "Ninety-Three." It tells of a ship caught in a dangerous storm on the high seas. At the height of the storm, the frightened sailors heard a terrible crashing noise below the deck. They knew at once that this new noise came from a cannon, part of the ship's cargo, that had broken loose. It was moving back and forth with the swaying of the ship, crashing into the side of the ship with terrible impact. Knowing that it could cause the ship to sink, two brave sailors volunteered to make the dangerous attempt to retie the loose cannon. They knew the danger of a shipwreck from the cannon was greater than the fury of the storm.

That is like human life. Storms of life may blow about us, but it is not these exterior storms that pose the gravest danger. It is the terrible corruption that can exist within us which can overwhelm us. The furious storm outside may be overwhelming but what is going on inside can pose the greater threat to our lives. Our only hope lies in conquering that wild enemy.

Unfortunately storms that rage within us cannot be cured by ourselves. It takes the power of God's love, as revealed in Jesus Christ. He is our only hope of stilling the tempest that can harm our souls and cripple our lives.

from http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A223048

While the modern English-speaking world is perhaps most aware of the first two through several movies and musicals based on the works, several critics[2] believe his final novel, Ninety-Three, to be his best.

During the years 1872 and 1873, Hugo wrote his final novel using a routine some might consider slightly eccentric. Every morning, on the roof of his house on Guernsey in the Channel Islands, Hugo would stand ... and pour a bucket of cold water over his head. He would then enter a glass cage he referred to as his 'lookout' and write while standing at a lectern.

The greatness of Ninety-Three perhaps lies in Hugo's family upbringing. His father was an important general in Napoleon's army in Spain. His mother was a member of a conspiracy to depose Napoleon. Hugo was able, through his upbringing, to write a novel on perhaps the most crucial event in French history at that time - the French Revolution - from as close to an unbiased point of view as possible. Different readers have come away from the novel identifying with and siding with different characters. Even one of the primary villains of the novel, Cimourdain, a nightmarish ex-priest, has had at least one defender.[3].
[2] Eg Robert Louis Stevenson and André Maurois.
[3] Admittedly, this defender was Dzhugashvili, who later changed his name to Stalin.

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Hugo

His last novel, Quatrevingt-treize (Ninety-Three), published in 1874, dealt with a subject that Hugo had previously avoided: the Reign of Terror that followed the French Revolution. Though Hugo’s popularity was on the decline at the time of its publication, many now consider Ninety-Three to be a powerful work on par with Hugo’s more well known novels.

Patiently Doing Good

"For [God] will repay according to each one’s deeds:
to those who by patiently doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;
while for those who are self-seeking and who obey not the truth but wickedness, there will be wrath and fury.
There will be anguish and distress for everyone who does evil, the Jew
first and also the Greek,
but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.
For God shows no partiality.

~Romans 1:6-11, NRSV

Refreshed by current reference to the actual content of scripture

"In Israel one must also take into account that the land is tenanted by a number of 'ancient' Christian churches ... that are highly oriented to religious tradition that is not necessarily refreshed by current reference to the actual content of scripture." ...
"The ancient Christian bodies in Israel enjoy God's grace with everyone else, and can be expected to show their true colors as the time of Messiah's appearing draws near."

http://www.templemount.org/TMXNS.html

Refuse to Lose

Refuse to Lose

The Laws of the Public Policy Process

The Laws of the Public Policy Process
by Morton C. Blackwell

1. Never give a bureaucrat a chance to say no.
2. Don't fire all your ammunition at once.
3. Don't get mad except on purpose.
4. Effort is admirable. Achievement is valuable.
5. Make the steal more expensive than it's worth.
6. Give 'em a title and get 'em involved.
7. Expand the leadership.
8. You can't beat a plan with no plan.
9. Political technology determines political success.
10. Sound doctrine is sound politics.
11. In politics, you have your word and your friends; go back on either and you're dead.
12. Keep your eye on the main chance and don't stop to kick every barking dog.
13. Don't make the perfect the enemy of the good.
14. Remember the other side has troubles too.
15. Don't treat good guys like you treat bad guys.
16. A well-run movement takes care of its own.
17. Hire at least as many to the right o f you as to the left of you.
18. You can't save the world if you can't pay the rent.
19. All gains are incremental; some increments aren't gains.
20. A stable movement requires a healthy, reciprocal I.O.U. flow among its participants. Don't keep a careful tally.
21. An ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness.
22. Never miss a political meeting if you think there's the slightest chance you'll wish you'd been there.
23. In volunteer politics, a builder can build faster than a destroyer can destroy.
24. Actions have consequences.
25. The mind can absorb no more than the seat can endure.
26. Personnel is policy.
27. Remember it's a long ball game.
28. The test of moral ideas is moral results.
29. You can't beat somebody with nobody.
30. Better a snake in the grass than a viper in your bosom.
31. Don't fully trust anyone until he has stuck with a good cause which he saw was losing.
32. A prompt, generous letter of thanks can seal a commitment which otherwise might disappear when the going gets rough.
33. Governing is campaigning by different means.
34. You cannot make friends of your enemies by making enemies of your friends.
35. Choose your enemies as carefully as you choose your friends.
36. Keep a secure home base.
37. Don't rely on being given anything you don't ask for.
38. In politics, nothing moves unless pushed.
39. Winners aren't perfect. They made fewer mistakes than their rivals.
40. One big reason is better than many little reasons.
41. In moments of crisis, the initiative passes to those who are best prepared.
42. Politics is of the heart as well as of the mind. Many people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.
43. Promptly report your action to the one who requested it.
44. Moral outrage is the most powerful motivating force in politics.
45. Pray as if it all depended on God; work as if it all depended on you.

Morton C. Blackwell, President
Leadership Institute

http://www.leadershipinstitute.org/resources/resourcesmain.cfm?section=speeches&s=11

The Joy of Their Hearts

This is what I have seen to be good: it is fitting to eat and
drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of the life God gives us; for this is our lot.
Likewise all to whom God gives wealth and possessions and whom
he enables to enjoy them, and to accept their lot and find enjoyment in their toil--this is the gift of God.
For they will scarcely brood over the days of their lives, because God keeps them occupied with the joy of their hearts.

~ Ecclesiastes 5:18-20

Can I Lead a Good Life Without Christ?

quote from C.S. Lewis:

The question before each of us is not 'Can someone lead a good life without Christianity?' The question is, 'Can I?' We all know there have been good men who were not Christians; men like Socrates and Confucius who had never heard of it, or men like J.S. Mill who quite honestly couldn't believe it. Supposing Christianity to be true, these men were in a state of honest ignorance or honest error...

But the man who asks me, 'Can't I lead a good life without believing in Christianity?' is clearly not in the same position. If he hadn't heard of Christianity he would not be asking this question. If, having heard of it, and having seriously considered it, he had decided that it was untrue, then once more he would not be asking this question.

The man who asks this question has heard of Christianity and is by no means certain that it may not be true. He is really asking, 'Need I bother about it?' May not I just evade the issue, just let sleeping dogs lie, and get on with being 'good?' Aren't good intentions enough to keep me safe and blameless without knocking at that dreadful door and making sure whether there is, or isn't someone inside?' ...

He is deliberately trying not to know whether Christianity is true or false, because he foresees endless trouble if it should turn out to be true. He is like the man who deliberately 'forgets' to look at the notice board because, if he did, he might find his name down for some unpleasant duty. He is like the man who won't look at this bank account because he's afraid of what he might find there. He is like the man who won't go to the doctor when he first feels a mysterious pain, because he is afraid of what the doctor may tell him.

The man who remains an unbeliever for such reasons is not in a state of honest error. He is in a state of dishonest error, and that dishonesty will spread through all his thoughts and actions: a certain shiftiness, a vague worry in the background, a blunting of his whole mental edge, will result. He has lost his intellectual virginity.

Honest rejection of Christ, however mistaken, will be forgiven and healed - 'Whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him' [Luke - chapter 12 verse 10]. But to evade the Son of Man, to look the other way, to pretend you haven't noticed, to become suddenly absorbed in something on the other side of the street, to leave the receiver off the telephone because it might be He who was ringing up, to leave unopened certain letters in a strange handwriting because they might be from Him - this is a different matter. You may not be certain yet whether you ought to be a Christian; but you do know you ought to be a Man, not an ostrich, hiding its head in the sand.

~ C.S. Lewis

A Holy Priesthood of All Believers

Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
For it stands in scripture: "See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame."

To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe, "The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner," and "A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them fall." They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

~ 1 Peter 2:4-10

You Still Stand With Me

A wife stayed attentive to her husband's every need as he slipped in and out of consciousness. During one of those last "aware" moments, the man motioned for her to lean down: "You know, you've been with me through thick and thin. When I was fired, you were there. When the business flopped, you were there. When I was in the car accident and bills piled up for months, you were there. When the mortgage company foreclosed on our house, you were there. And now, as my health fails, you still stand with me. You know what?"

"What, dear?"

"I think you bring me bad luck."

~ author unknown

Be Kind to One Another

Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.

~ Ephesians 4:31-32

The Four Ages of Man - Yeats

The Four Ages of Man

He with body waged a fight,
But body won; it walks upright.

Then he struggled with the heart;
Innocence and peace depart.

Then he struggled with the mind;
His proud heart he left behind.

Now his wars on God begin;
At stroke of midnight God shall win.

~ W. B. Yeats

The Secret of a Good Sermon

The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending, then having the two as close together as possible.

~ George Burns

Christianity outside the Church

Christianity outside the Church

D.L. Moody once called on a leading citizen in Chicago to persuade him to accept Christ. They were seated in the man’s parlor. It was winter and coal was burning in the fireplace. The man objected that he could be just as good a Christian outside the church as in it. Moody said nothing, but stepped to the fireplace, took the tongs, picked a blazing coal from the fire and set it off by itself. In silence the two watched it smolder and go out. “I see,” said the man.

~ The Interpreter’s Bible

The Irresistible Influence of the Holy Spirit

The Irresistible Influence of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit warms us and melts our cold, cold hearts. Recently I ran across a parable that makes the point: Once upon a time there was a piece of iron, which was very strong and very hard. Many attempts had been made to break it, but all had failed.

“I’ll master it,” said the axe… and his blows fell heavily upon the piece of iron, but every blow only made the axe’s edge more blunt, until it finally ceased to strike and gave up in frustration.

“Leave it to me,” said the saw… and it worked back and forth on the iron’s surface until its jagged teeth were all worn and broken. Then in despair, the saw quit trying and fell to the side.

“Ah!” said the hammer, “I knew you two wouldn’t succeed. I’ll show you how to do this!” But at the first fierce blow, off flew its head and the piece of iron remained just as before, proud and hard and unchanged.

“Shall I try?” asked the small soft flame. “Forget it,” everyone else said. “What can you do? You’re too small and you have no strength.” But the small soft flame curled around the piece of iron, embraced it… and never left it until it melted under its warm irresistible influence.

There’s a sermon there somewhere. Perhaps it means that God’s way is not the way of force but love. God’s way is not to break hearts but to melt them. Perhaps it means that that is our calling – to melt hearts… under the irresistible warmth of God’s gracious love.

~ James W. Moore, What Do You Do With Such A Gift?

Shaken from Our Sanctuaries

Shaken from Our Sanctuaries

A few years ago, AT&T had a major snafu in New York City. They had an agreement with the city that, when electrical demand peaked, AT&T would switch to their backup generators. One day they did that, and something went wrong. When they switched over, the resulting power surge blew a number of rectifiers. Not only did that knock out phone service in the area, it also disrupted communications for air controllers at Kennedy, LaGuardia, and Newark airports. Over a thousand flights were affected.

Usually, technicians would fix that kind of blackout quickly. However, they didn't respond quickly on that particular occasion. While alarm bells rang unheard, the technicians were--believe it or not--attending a training session on how to handle an emergency.

I worry that something like that often happens in the church. Christ has called us to serve the world for which he died. Worship is that time when we strengthen our spirits for service to the world. When worship becomes an end in itself, we are not being what Christ has called us to be. We need to be shaken from our sanctuaries and into the streets.

~ King Duncan, Collected Works, www.Sermons.com, 2006

What Is Your Other Plan?

What Is Your Other Plan?

Erasmus, the famous Renaissance scholar, once told a classic story which was designed to emphasize how important it is that we take up the torch of Christ’s ministry with great commitment. In the story, Jesus returns to heaven after His time on earth. The angels gather around Him to learn what all happened during His days on earth. Jesus tells them of the miracles, His teachings, His death on the cross, and His resurrection.

When He finishes his story, Michael the Archangel asks Jesus, “But what happens now?”
Jesus answers, “I have left behind eleven faithful disciples and a handful of men and women who have faithfully followed me. They will declare My message and express My love. These faithful people will build My church.”
“But,” responds Michael, “What if these people fail? What then is Your other plan?”
And Jesus answers, “I have no other plan!”

Jesus is counting on you and you and you and me. But the good news is, we are not alone. The Holy Spirit is here to melt us, mold us, fill us, and use us.

~ James W. Moore, Sermon: What Do You Do With Such A Gift?

The Train of Life

TRAIN OF LIFE

Some folks ride the train of life
Looking out the rear,
Watching miles of life roll by,
And marking every year.

They sit in sad remembrance,
Of wasted days gone by,
And curse their life for what it was,
And hang their head and cry.

But I don't concern myself with that,
I took a different vent,
I look forward to what life holds,
And not what has been spent.

So strap me to the engine,
As securely as I can be,
I want to be out on the front,
To see what I can see.

I want to feel the winds of change,
Blowing in my face,
I want to see what life unfolds,
As I move from place to place.

I want to see what's coming up,
Not looking at the past,
Life's too short for yesterdays,
It moves along too fast.

So if the ride gets bumpy,
While you are looking back,
Go up front, and you may find,
Your life has jumped the track.

It's all right to remember,
That's part of history,
But up front's where it's happening,
There's so much mystery.

The enjoyment of living,
Is not where we have been,
It's looking ever forward,
To another year and ten.

It's searching all the byways,
Never should you refrain,
For if you want to live your life,
You gotta drive the train!

~ Author Unknown

The First Step to Peace

Remember:
A Smile is the first step to Peace.

The Importance of the Father's Faith

If your kids see you putting other things ahead of God, they will become discouraged and disillusioned, like a young Jewish boy who once lived in Germany.

His father was a successful merchant, and the family practiced their Jewish faith. But then they moved to another German city, and the boy's father announced that they would no longer attend synagogue. They were going to join the Lutheran church.

The boy was very surprised and asked his father why the family was joining the Lutheran church. His father's answer was something like, "For business reasons. There are so many Lutherans in this town that I can make good business contacts at the Lutheran church. It will be good for business."

That boy, who had a deep interest in religion, became so disillusioned with his father that something died within him. He said to himself, 'My father has no real convictions." The incident helped to turn him against religion with a vengeance.

That young boy later moved to England and began to write. His name was Karl Marx. As the father of communism he wrote the "Communist Manifesto," in which he called religion "the opiate of the masses."

Futility - Mark Twain

A myriad of men are born; they labor and sweat and struggle;...they squabble and scold and fight; they scramble for little mean advantages over each other; age creeps upon them; infirmities follow;
... those they love are taken from them, and the joy of life is turned to aching grief.
It (the release) comes at last--the only unpoisoned gift earth ever had for them--and they vanish from a world where they were of no consequence, ... a world which will lament them a day and forget them forever.

~ Mark Twain shortly before his death

(Jesus: "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." ~ John 10:10)