A Christmas message

Monday, December 25, 2006 12:01 a.m. EST

This editorial was written in 1949 by the late Vermont Royster and has been published annually since.

When Saul of Tarsus set out on his journey to Damascus the whole of the known world lay in bondage. There was one state, and it was Rome. There was one master for it all, and he was Tiberius Caesar.

Everywhere there was civil order, for the arm of the Roman law was long. Everywhere there was stability, in government and in society, for the centurions saw that it was so.

But everywhere there was something else, too. There was oppression--for those who were not the friends of Tiberius Caesar. There was the tax gatherer to take the grain from the fields and the flax from the spindle to feed the legions or to fill the hungry treasury from which divine Caesar gave largess to the people. There was the impressor to find recruits for the circuses. There were executioners to quiet those whom the Emperor proscribed. What was a man for but to serve Caesar?

There was the persecution of men who dared think differently, who heard strange voices or read strange manuscripts. There was enslavement of men whose tribes came not from Rome, disdain for those who did not have the familiar visage. And most of all, there was everywhere a contempt for human life. What, to the strong, was one man more or less in a crowded world?

Then, of a sudden, there was a light in the world, and a man from Galilee saying, Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's.

And the voice from Galilee, which would defy Caesar, offered a new Kingdom in which each man could walk upright and bow to none but his God. Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. And he sent this gospel of the Kingdom of Man into the uttermost ends of the earth.

So the light came into the world and the men who lived in darkness were afraid, and they tried to lower a curtain so that man would still believe salvation lay with the leaders.

But it came to pass for a while in divers places that the truth did set man free, although the men of darkness were offended and they tried to put out the light. The voice said, Haste ye. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come upon you, for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.

Along the road to Damascus the light shone brightly. But afterward Paul of Tarsus, too, was sore afraid. He feared that other Caesars, other prophets, might one day persuade men that man was nothing save a servant unto them, that men might yield up their birthright from God for pottage and walk no more in freedom.

Then might it come to pass that darkness would settle again over the lands and there would be a burning of books and men would think only of what they should eat and what they should wear, and would give heed only to new Caesars and to false prophets. Then might it come to pass that men would not look upward to see even a winter's star in the East, and once more, there would be no light at all in the darkness.

And so Paul, the apostle of the Son of Man, spoke to his brethren, the Galatians, the words he would have us remember afterward in each of the years of his Lord:

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Time takes time you know...

Random thoughts after a busy, work filled first weekend back:

• I think I could simply just watch people all day. I love just watching how people act in different situations, like Christmas shppoing time. I think I love people too much to be a misanthrope.
  
• I always knew I enjoyed the soundtrack to the movie Friday Night Lights, but now that I know the band that did it I am living in bliss. Explosions in the Sky has been a welcome addition to the Ipod and their songs like Your Hand in Mine are rapidly climbing up the Top 25 Most Played Playlist.
• There's no way I am not going to see Rocky Balboa this Wednesday night. The hounds of hellcouldnt keep me away from saying goodbye to the Italian Stallion the right way. And mark my words, I want to have this down before it comes out: I predict Rocky Balboa to be a HUGe hit. Number one at the box office and maybe close to 100 Mil.
• Its been two days away and I already miss my ACU bubble.
• Good win for the Cowboys yesterday, it was nice to see us stiffen up when the Falcons caqme out with everything they have. Props to TO too, although the spitting incident is ridiculous I found out today that the past few weeks he has been playing with a torn tendon in his finger, an injury that normally would require season ending surgery. Just thought that should be thrown in along with the constant negative press.
• I was pretty impressed with the creativity of U2's new music video for the song they stuck on their newest greatest hits album.#2 Tv Show you should be watching: South Park
  

Ill be the first to admit... I was ridiculously late jumping on the South PArk train, I always saw people going crazy for it and I decided I would try to be cool and be a contrarian who just didn't watch it. Boy was I an idiot. This semester South Park entered the pantheon for me... just a fantastic show I never tire of. I think my favorite part of South Park has to be that its a show that often actually has something important to say. It takes guts to take a stand the way this show does sometimes, as its easier to just make toliet humor with nothing behind it. And don't get me wrong, South Park has plenty of that. But the priceless moments are when SP digs a little deeper and gives us some arresting social commentary. And nothing is off limits, whether it be gay marriage, Wal-Mart, or even Mormons. So set the Tivo and start catching up on reruns. Right now.

Meeting up with an old friend

Coming home for the holidays means diffferent things for everyone. For some, it means seeing friends, or getting away from the stress of school and the social circus.
For me, however, it means one thing.
An attempt to restart my blog.
A tradition possibly as old as Kwanzaa, mason's annual restart of the blog is the surest sign the holidays are here. So look for a few posts a week from here on out, at least until the end of the holidays. I'm gonna try and keep it going during school, but with Sing Song and a daunting 18 hour schedule ahead... there are no guarantees.

So whats this first post going to be about? Hmm, how about my magnificent obsession: The altar of television. I think I am going to start a 5 part series today... look for a new installment with every new post. I present to you 5 TV Shows Worth Your Time, and Why.


Today's choice
1. Friday Night Lights
Did you expect something different? If you have been around me for 30 minutes youve probably heard me ramble on about the greatness of this not quite true story of a small town Texas high school football team. I don't throw this around lightly, but this is quite simply my choice for the best show on tv. Really? you ask, but its not on HBO. Or Showtime. Or FX for heaven's sake. I know broadcast Tv has let us all down recently, but I swear if you give this show a chance your faith shall be rewarded. No other show on television wraps me up in its characters and makes me care about them so much.
One of the reasons I think I enjoy it so much is the dynamic of centering a show around high schoolers. Not often do we have prime time network dramas with the guts to center a show on teenagers who's biggest worry is who to take to the prom, but here it just works. The heartbreak of watching these kids act out what will probably end up being the best years of their lives turns out to be mesmerizing. And Kyle Chandler as the embattered coach turns in an Emmy worhty performance, as the coach we all wish we could have had.
I promise you, you will see yourself in the characters in this show. You will see those times you had undeserved expectations thrown on you. You will see the times you made a wrong decision and had to face the consequences at school. And then you'll see those times when we all had to grow up a little bit. NBC made the bold decision to order a full slate of episodes, even though the ratings have been less than stellar. I just hope the people reward them for this most wise decision.

Wow I'll get off my soapbox now... gotta save it up, ill be writing alot now.
I'll leave you with my youtube clip of the day:

Blame Canada, Robin Williams style: