Third Sunday of Lent – Adoration of the Holy Cross

The Epistle for the Third Sunday of Lent is Hebrews 4:14-5:6 (WEB):

Hebrews 4:

¹⁴Having then a great high priest, who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold tightly to our confession. ¹⁵For we don't have a high priest who can't be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but one who has been in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶Let us therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace for help in time of need.

Hebrews 5:

¹For every high priest, being taken from among men, is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. ²The high priest can deal gently with those who are ignorant and going astray, because he himself is also surrounded with weakness. ³Because of this, he must offer sacrifices for sins for the people, as well as for himself. ⁴Nobody takes this honor on himself, but he is called by God, just like Aaron was. ⁵So also Christ didn't glorify himself to be made a high priest, but it was he who said to him,

"You are my Son.

Today I have become your father."*

⁶As he says also in another place,

"You are a priest forever,

after the order of Melchizedek."*

Hebrews 5:5:

The quote is from Psalm 2:7:

⁷I will tell of the decree. 

Yahweh said to me, "You are my son. 

Today I have become your father.

Hebrews 5:6:

The quote is from Psalm 109(110):4:

Yahweh has sworn, and will not change his mind: 

"You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek."

Genesis 14:18-20:

¹⁸Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine: and he was priest of God Most High. ¹⁹He blessed him, and said, "Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth: ²⁰and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand."

Abram gave him a tenth of all.

Second Sunday of Lent

The Epistle for the Second Sunday of Lent is Hebrews 1:10-2:3 (WEB):

Hebrews 1:

¹⁰And,

"You, Lord, in the beginning, laid the foundation of the earth.

The heavens are the works of your hands.

¹¹They will perish, but you continue.

They all will grow old like a garment does.

¹²As a mantle, you will roll them up,

and they will be changed;

but you are the same.

Your years will not fail."*

¹³But which of the angels has he told at any time,

"Sit at my right hand,

until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet?"*

¹⁴Aren't they all serving spirits, sent out to do service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?

Hebrews 2:

¹Therefore we ought to pay greater attention to the things that were heard, lest perhaps we drift away. ²For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense; ³how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation--which at the first having been spoken through the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard;

Notes:

Hebrews 1:

¹⁰And,

"You, Lord, in the beginning, laid the foundation of the earth.

The heavens are the works of your hands.

¹¹They will perish, but you continue.

They all will grow old like a garment does.

¹²As a mantle, you will roll them up,

and they will be changed;

but you are the same.

Your years will not fail."*

This is a quote from Psalm 101(102):25-27:

(Ps 101(102)) ²⁵Of old, you laid the foundation of the earth.

The heavens are the work of your hands.

²⁶They will perish, but you will endure.

Yes, all of them will wear out like a garment.

You will change them like a cloak, and they will be changed.

²⁷But you are the same.

Your years will have no end.

Hebrews 1:10 And,

"You, Lord, in the beginning, laid the foundation of the earth.

The heavens are the works of your hands.

(Ge 1:1) ¹In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

(Ep 4:10) ¹⁰He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.

Hebrews 1:11 They will perish, but you continue.

They all will grow old like a garment does.

(2Pe 3:13) ¹³But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

(Rev 20:11) ¹¹I saw a great white throne, and him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. There was found no place for them.

(Rev 21:1) ¹I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth have passed away, and the sea is no more.

Hebrews 1:12 As a mantle, you will roll them up,

and they will be changed;

but you are the same.

Your years will not fail.

(Isa 34:4) ⁴All of the army of the sky will be dissolved.

The sky will be rolled up like a scroll,

and all its armies will fade away,

as a leaf fades from off a vine or a fig tree.

(Rev 6:14) ¹⁴The sky was removed like a scroll when it is rolled up. Every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

Hebrews 1:13 But which of the angels has he told at any time,

"Sit at my right hand,

until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet?"*

This is a quote from Psalm 109(110):1:

(Ps 109(110)) ¹Yahweh says to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand,

until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet."

This recalls a passage from Joshua:

(Jos 10:24-25) ²⁴It happened, when they brought forth those kings to Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to the chiefs of the men of war who went with him, Come near, put your feet on the necks of these kings. They came near, and put their feet on the necks of them. ²⁵Joshua said to them, Don't be afraid, nor be dismayed; be strong and of good courage: for thus shall Yahweh do to all your enemies against whom you fight.

Hebrews 1:14 Aren't they all serving spirits, sent out to do service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?

(Ps 102(103):20-21) ²⁰Praise Yahweh, you angels of his,

who are mighty in strength, who fulfill his word,

obeying the voice of his word.

²¹Praise Yahweh, all you armies of his,

you servants of his, who do his pleasure.

Hebrews 2:1-3 Therefore we ought to pay greater attention to the things that were heard, lest perhaps we drift away. ²For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense; ³how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation—which at the first having been spoken through the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard;

Dumb and Dumber

Earlier in the week, I read that the movie "Dumb and Dumber" would be removed from Netflix today.  I had never seen the movie, an iconic comedy, so I decided to watch it. I am glad I have seen it now, but I have no desire to see it again. It was okay, with a few really funny scenes, but I found it more dumb than funny. I gave it 3 stars out of 5, but I debated myself about that third star.

I started thinking about the title, though, and how it applies to real life.  I asked myself, "Who is dumber, the person who knows he is dumb, and, therefore, avoids making decisions that he knows will be dumb, or the person who is dumb but thinks he is smart, and, therefore, is constantly making  dumb decisions and doing dumb things?"  (Note that I am not taking the Politically Correct approach and using "he/she" -- I am taking the traditional approach and using "he" for a person of unknown sex (not gender -- don't get me started on that!). If you want to take a more Politically Incorrect approach, as an exercise, you can rewrite this to be a post about Dumb and Dumber Blondes.  For example, rewrite my question as, "Who is dumber, the dumb blond who knows she is dumb, and, therefore, avoids making decisions that she knows will be dumb, or the dumb blond who is dumb but thinks she is smart, and, therefore, is constantly making  dumb decisions and doing dumb things?")

It took about 20 milliseconds for me to conclude that the dumb person who realizes he is dumb is much smarter than the dumb person who thinks he is smart. Therefore, the dumb person who knows he is dumb is just dumb, while the dumb person who thinks he is smart is the dumber of the two.  And not only dumber, but more dangerous, as as he is constantly making dumb decisions and doing dumb things.

The Sunday of Orthodoxy

The Epistle for the Sunday of Orthodoxy is Hebrews 11:24-28, 32-12:2 (WEB):

²⁴By faith, Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, ²⁵choosing rather to share ill treatment with God's people, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a time; ²⁶accounting the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he looked to the reward. ²⁷By faith, he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. ²⁸By faith, he kept the Passover, and the sprinkling of the blood, that the destroyer of the firstborn should not touch them. ... ³²What more shall I say? For the time would fail me if I told of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets; ³³who, through faith subdued kingdoms, worked out righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,* ³⁴quenched the power of fire,* escaped the edge of the sword,* from weakness were made strong, grew mighty in war, and caused foreign armies to flee. ³⁵Women received their dead by resurrection.* Others were tortured, not accepting their deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. ³⁶Others were tried by mocking and scourging, yes, moreover by bonds and imprisonment. ³⁷They were stoned.* They were sawn apart. They were tempted. They were slain with the sword.* They went around in sheep skins and in goat skins; being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated ³⁸(of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts, mountains, caves, and the holes of the earth. ³⁹These all, having had testimony given to them through their faith, didn't receive the promise, ⁴⁰God having provided some better thing concerning us, so that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

¹Therefore let us also, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, ²looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Shooting from the Hip

"Shooting from the hip" can mean, literally, shooting a handgun from near the hip, presumably after it is drawn from a holster, without taking time to properly grasp the handgun with both hands and aim it at the target.  While it is quicker than the proper technique, it is also wildly inaccurate, which leads to the metaphorical use of the term, where it means, "taking action without proper thought or preparation."

As the title of this blog states, "i am an engineer."  A fundamental process taught to all engineers is problem solving.  Of course, this process is not limited to engineers; it is useful in all walks of life, whether at home or at work.  There are many variations on the problem solving theme, with differing numbers of steps, but they can all be summarized in the following three steps:

1. Indentify and define the problem.
2. Determine the "root cause(s)" of the problem.
3. Develop and implement the solution -- one or more correct actions -- to resolve the "root cause(s)."

Of course, in step 3, you should ensure that the solution adequately resolves the "root cause(s)" and does not introduce other problems.

Sadly, step 2 is often omitted; this is justified on the basis of saving time and effort.  However, the "solution" developed frequently does not actually solve the problem; instead, it may make the problem worse.  In this case, the time and effort needed to revisit and actually solve the problem will far exceed that "saved" in the initial attempt.

Anyone who skips step 2 of the problem solving process is just "shooting from the hip."