Celtic Odyssey

Revelation 21.10; 22-22.5 (CEB; adapted): 10 He took me in a Spirit-inspired trance to a great, high mountain, and he showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. … 22 I didn’t see a temple in the city, because its temple is the Lord God All-loving and the Lamb. 23 The city doesn’t need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because God’s glory is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. 25 Its gates will never be shut by day, and there will be no night there. 26 They’ll bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. 27 Nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what’s vile and deceitful, but only those who are registered in the Lamb’s scroll of life. 22.1 Then the angel showed me the river of life-giving water, shining like crystal, flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb 2 through the middle of the city’s main street. On each side of the...

Revelation 21.1-6 (CEB; adapted): 21.1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 I heard a loud voice from the throne say, “Look! God’s dwelling is here with humankind. God will dwell with them, and they will all be God’s peoples. God will be with them as their God. 4 God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more. There will be no mourning, crying, or pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 Then the one seated on the throne said, “Look! I’m making all things new.” He also said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 Then he said to me, “All is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will freely give water from the life-giving spring. Other readings: Acts 11....

I don’t know if you’re a comic book movie fan or not, but I recently watched Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame . If you plan on seeing it, I’m going to spoil one part of it. So I’d quit reading now. Again … SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS At one point in the movie, Thor goes back in time to the day his Mother, Frigga, dies. He tries to avoid seeing her because the knowledge of her death is almost too much for him to bear. But Frigga confronts him and, as Mom’s do, she sees right through his defenses and he unloads his soul to her. He explains the events of Infinity War and how he failed, how he hasn’t lived up to what he’s supposed to be. She comforts him like only a Mother can. As Thor starts to leave, he tries something — he holds out his hand to summon Mjolnir from somewhere in Asgard. But it doesn’t arrive. Frigga turns to Thor’s companion, “Sometimes it take a moment,” she says with a gleam in her eye. And then, suddenly, Mjolnir flies into Thor’s...

For those of us who are more technically inclined, this post is for us. For those of us who are here for the Lectionary Reflections, those are still continuing but you might want to skip this post (though I think some of us might find it insightful). I’ve recently been following Jason Evangelho on Twitter. Jason writes for Forbes about Linux and hardware and has been looking at different Linux Operating Systems (OS) — Deepin , elementaryOS , Manjaro , Ubuntu , etc. — and the user experience they offer. This morning I saw the following tweet: 2019 may mark the beginning of Linux for the PC masses … just not on actual Linux machines. #Chromebook #WSL2 It prompted my response: I’ve used a #chromebook as my daily driver since 2015 and I’ve been in IT for 20 years. One of the best tech decisions I’ve ever made. It convinced me that most people (90% +) could do everything they need with one. When I sent a link about my experience with Chromebooks, I realized I only had two pos...

Revelation 7:9-17 (CEB): 9 After this I looked, and there was a great crowd that no one could number. They were from every nation, tribe, people, and language. They were standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They wore white robes and held palm branches in their hands. 10 They cried out with a loud voice: “Victory belongs to our God        who sits on the throne,            and to the Lamb.” 11 All the angels stood in a circle around the throne, and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell facedown before the throne and worshipped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory        and wisdom and thanksgiving        and honor and power and might            be to our God forever and always. Amen.” 13 Then one of the elders sa...

John 21:1-19 (CEB; adapted): 21.1 Later, Jesus himself appeared again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. This is how it happened: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two other disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter told them, “I’m going fishing.” They said, “We’ll go with you.” They set out in a boat, but throughout the night they caught nothing. 4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples didn’t realize it was him. 5 Jesus called to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” They answered him, “No.” 6 He said, “Cast your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” So they did, and there were so many fish that they couldn’t haul in the net. 7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard it was the Lord, he wrapped his coat around himself (for he was naked) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples followed in the...