The Third Station; Jesus falls the first time

The cross is heavy and the road is long, Jesus falls to the ground and the soldiers drag him to his feet again.  The world is filled with people who have fallen and are trying desperately to get up.  People released from prison, the persecuted, a student struggling in school or with peer pressure, a breadwinner losing a job, or someone being told they have cancer.

While driving in downtown Amsterdam, I stopped at a light and noticed a homeless man with a long scar across his face, like a map to a life of pain and strife.  He was picking through the trash scattered along the road looking for discarded cans and bottles.  This down and out man depended upon the waste and squander of other people in order to survive.  I can’t imagine what happened to this man which brought him to such low estate.

It doesn’t take long for Jesus to fall from the weight of the cross.  When he falls the first time, can we imagine his head hitting the pavement or the crown of thorns pushing down and embedding into his head or the welts beginning to rise on the body of Christ?  Are we like spectators at an accident, looking for gore and missing the meaning and the call?

When we fall to the ground under the weight of our crosses, the temptation is to stay down low.  When someone else falls, the temptations is to stare, mock, look the other way, not get involved, or to think that it’s not any of our business.  

When we take the time to notice that we are all on our knees in some way or another, we might see some of the broken pieces of our lives scattered on the ground and how brightly they can shine in the eyes of another when their courage swells.  Dorothy Day once kissed the countenance of a cancerous faced woman.  She said, "When we kiss the face of someone who has fallen, we kiss the face of Christ."    Do we see the face of Christ revealed in every person standing by our side?

Jesus, the cross you have been carrying is very heavy. You are becoming weak and almost ready to faint, and you fall down. Nobody seems to want to help you.  Sometimes we put things off. Sometimes we give up too easily, and don’t do our work or give other people a chance.  Help us to do our work as well as we can and to finish what we have started. When we fall, help us get up again and keep going.

Amazing Grace

The Second Station: Jesus Takes Up His Cross, by Nat.

A heavy cross is thrust into Jesus’ arms and he is ordered to carry it.  Jesus accepts it.  We are burdened by so many crosses in life.  Crosses of fear, loneliness, hunger, poverty, persecution, relationships.  We scarcely notice people who are also carrying crosses: students struggling in school, a grandmother who is nearing the end of life, people who are afraid or lonely, someone in a relationship of unrequited love, the loss of job, homelessness, hunger, a diagnosis of cancer.  Sometimes we feel like we’re not appreciated. Sometimes we feel as if we accept more responsibility than we need to. We can feel sorry for ourselves, even though the crosses others carry are much larger than our own. In our self-pity, we may not reach out to help.

While serving my country in the army during World War Two, my platoon was ambushed by enemy fire.  A shell went off nearby and shrapnel flew everywhere.  Several pieces hit me and I was overcome with pain as the searing metal fragments sliced into the bone and muscle of my foot and ankle.  As enemy fire flashed around us, I knew that we had to retreat to a more safe location.  Despite the pain, I rose to my knees and noticed that the other men were severely injured.  Just as Jesus took up his cross, I too had to do what was required of me.  Practically paralyzed with pain, one by one, on my backside I dragged my brothers to safety, lifting each of them over a stone wall, away from enemy fire, to life.

As the macabre crucifixion scene plays out, Jesus labors to be upright and impervious to the jeers of some in the crowd.  Yet, there is an oasis within, a place where psalms still flourish.  Just as Jesus lumbered forward, I too did what was the right thing to do, choosing life with each labored pull and step. 

Almighty God, whose beloved Son willingly endured the agony and shame of the cross for our redemption: Give us courage to take up our cross and follow him; who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

*Nat received a Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart for his heroism on that day.

Ulloa's Rings and the Transfiguration

Mark 9:2 And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them. And his raiment became shining, white as snow.

We began our hike of the Adirondack Mountains around 4 AM with the lofty goal to ascend six of the high peaks in one day (we succeeded, BTW). The sun rose early and the sky was clear and blue, however there were still clouds of fog surrounding the higher elevations of the mountainous peaks.  We reached the summit of Phelps mountain in no time where I witnessed a meteorological illusion of white luminous rings surrounding a tree which was off in the distance.  It was haunting and beautiful.

When we reached the summit of Mount Marcy we encountered the summit steward and told her about the apparition we saw. She said it was Ulloa’s ring, named after a Spanish naval officer, Ulloa. The rings are very rare. When conditions are just right and where there is a certain amount of moisture in the air,  sunlight, and the position between the object and the viewer are are at certain angles, the rings appear.

From "An Introduction to Meteorological Optics," - His name is also recalled as the meteorological term Ulloa's halo (also known as Bouguer's halo), which an observer may see infrequently in fog when sun breaks through (for example, on a mountain) — effectively a "fog-bow" (as opposed to a "rain-bow"). A fog-bow is defined as "an infrequently observed meteorological phenomenon; a faint white, circular arc or complete ring of light that has a radius of 39 degrees and is centered on the antisolar point. When observed, it is usually in the form of a separate outer ring around an anticorona."

After doing a little research I learned  that this phenomenon has been seen all over the world, usually in mountainous regions and it has had many names:  Ulloa’s ring, Ulloa’s halo, Bouguer’s halo, glories, white rainbow, fogbow and Spectre of the Brocken; among dozens of scientific terms.

Several years ago on Transfiguration Sunday I told my story to Leonard, the priest at my church, and he became incensed, refusing to hear my testimony. He said that he won't listen to anything which tries to explain or diminish the mystical or holiness of Jesus. I told him that this was not an attempt to diminish what happened on the mountain that day with Peter, James, and John, but to show that the testimony found in Scripture about the sudden emanation of radiance surrounding Jesus was true, accurate, and possible.  He would have none of it.

So, whether you believe in Jesus or not, whether you believe that science and religion can exist together, whether you think that the transfiguration story is based upon fact or magic, believe this - a person can glow dazzlingly white early in the morning on a mountain top.  Meet me at four a.m.

-Malcolm Kogut.

The Toast Blues

Malcolm Kogut playing the blues with singing chef, Byron Nilsson.

Theme from Phantom

Happy Valentine's Day

A sampler compilation of wedding music from the group Polkstra.  From their "I Do" album.