Today we thank you, O God, for the cantor chanting the call to prayer at the little mosque near me yesterday. He clearly was not into it that day, and it made me double over in laughter. May I fill others with as much joy on my off days. Amen.
Author: Aaron
On Abortion
I saw this post on Facebook yesterday, sharing the letter from ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton on the abortion controversy going on in the American Southeast just now. I immediately clicked the “Share” button. Within two minutes, it occurred to me that sharing it to my friends on the same day as the birth of my new nephew was probably in pretty poor taste. But on further thought… Continue reading
Today we thank you, O God, for catchy Disney songs that get stuck in my head. Haha J/K please let me have my brain back. Amen.
Part 4: Things I Have Learned in Singapore
- It is too hot.
- Life is more fun if you get out of the tourist zone.
- Screaming children in public places don’t bother me that much.
- Public places with air conditioning help because it is too hot.
- When you wander by the Anglican cathedral, glance at all the signs. It is fun to discover that Evensong with Eucharist starts in fifteen minutes. It is less fun to discover, half an hour later, that it was canceled because of the diocesan assembly.
- It is worth walking to another cathedral even if it’s a few blocks in the wrong direction. And Roman Catholic priests do, in fact, preach the gospel as well as Protestants. (Okay, I knew this one before.)
- Also, standing space only in the cathedral at Mass isn’t too bad when you are in front of the air conditioner and it is too hot.
- Spending a very small amount of money on a hotel “capsule” is a smart idea. If nothing else, it will force you to leave the hotel and explore the city.
- Spending a somewhat large amount of money on a meal is also a smart idea when it turns out to be truly high-class, gourmet cooking at a casino buffet where you can eat as much as you want, especially with a coupon in hand.
- The city is not as much fun to explore when it is too hot.
- “He was paying attention to a game on his phone instead of walking” is a totally justifiable motive for murder.
- Restauranteurs shouting at you and shoving food samples in your face should be a justifiable motive for murder, but I think it’s just cultural, because everybody seems to do it.
- You start finding lots of justifiable reasons for murder when it is too hot.
- Spending time in a room with thirteen cats makes everything better.
- So does a good, local coffee shop.
- And a clean, efficient, comfortable, easy-to-navigate mass transit system.
- Even at midnight, Singapore is too hot.
4ª Parte — Cosas que he aprendido en Singapur
- Hace demasiado calor.
- La vida es más divertida si sales de la zona turística.
- Los niños que gritan en los lugares públicos no me molestan tanto.
- Los lugares públicos con aire acondicionado ayudan porque hace demasiado calor.
- Cuando pases por la catedral anglicana, mira todos los carteles. Es divertido descubrir que el Evensong con la Eucaristía empieza en quince minutos. Es menos divertido descubrir, media hora después, que se ha cancelado debido a la asamblea diocesana.
- Merece la pena ir a otra catedral aunque esté a unas cuantas manzanas en dirección contraria. Y los sacerdotes católicos romanos, de hecho, predican el evangelio tan bien como los protestantes. (Vale, esto ya lo sabía).
- Además, estar de pie en la catedral durante la misa no está tan mal cuando estás delante del aire acondicionado y hace mucho calor.
- Gastar una pequeña cantidad de dinero en una “cápsula” de hotel es una idea inteligente. Al menos, te obligará a salir del hotel y explorar la ciudad.
- Gastar una cantidad de dinero algo grande en una comida también es una idea inteligente cuando resulta que se trata de una cocina verdaderamente de clase alta y gourmet en un bufé de un casino en el que puedes comer todo lo que quieras, especialmente con un cupón en la mano.
- La ciudad no es tan divertida de explorar cuando hace demasiado calor.
- “Estaba prestando atención a un juego en su teléfono en lugar de caminar” es un motivo totalmente justificable para el asesinato.
- Que los restauradores te griten y te pongan muestras de comida en la cara debería ser un motivo justificable de asesinato, pero creo que es algo cultural, porque todo el mundo parece hacerlo.
- Empiezas a encontrar muchos motivos justificables para el asesinato cuando hace demasiado calor.
- Pasar tiempo en una habitación con trece gatos lo mejora todo.
- También lo hace una buena cafetería local.
- Y un sistema de transporte público limpio, eficiente, cómodo y fácil de navegar.
- Incluso a medianoche, en Singapur hace demasiado calor.
Today we thank you, O God, for the waiter yesterday who asked, “Are you from Peru?” when I ordered a burrito off the menu. They had a special Tex-Mex menu and everyone in the restaurant was eating burritos. I have no idea how his logic worked, but it was hilarious. Amen.
Who Are We?
There are many things about the Church here in Southeast Asia that are surprising to me, and quite different from my Northeast United States of American context back home. I expected that. I did not expect what those things would be.
Today we thank you, O God, for the gift of electrical fuses. As you know, I was awakened by the sound of one breaking in my CPAP machine’s power supply. I suspect it will be a week of miserable sleep as I wait for a replacement to arrive. But better to lose sleep than to be in the middle of an electrical fire. So thanks for that. Amen.
Ordinary Days After Easter
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
[He is risen indeed! Alleluia!]
Good. Now that’s over with. I mean, sure. It’s still the Easter season, and it’s Good News, sure. But it is worth taking a moment to notice that Easter isn’t always full of joy for everyone. Alleluia, we say. Christ is risen, we say. And so he is. But not everybody feels like resurrection.
Continue readingToday we thank you, O God, that the generic brand at the grocery store seems to think it is appropriate to put “smooth milk chocolate curls” in with my “honey nut clusters” breakfast cereal. Because seriously, the only thing better than having dessert for breakfast is pretending, with some legitimacy, that it’s not dessert. Amen.