A clarification of pastoral letter #44.

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Saint Thomas the Divine on Obedience to Parents and Godly Christian
Authority

Back in 1992, WABC'S World News Tonight reported on how some people
got together in Portugal to rebuild exact replicas of the Nina, the
Pinta, and the Santa Maria in celebration of the 500th anniversary of
the founding of the Americas. They showed pictures of the finished
ships sailing majestically across a peacefull, pristine ocean, the
bright sun glistening off the waves on the surface of the water as the
boats glided silently and dreamlike onward into the lengthening
horizon.

The above tableau filled me with absolute awe; it was truly one of the
most peaceful scenes I had ever seen. I said to myself after seeing
this: Thank God there are still some people on earth that have the
good sense to obey the rules. Imagine, that after five hundred years,
the very descen-dants of the original builders of those vessels were
able to do the exact same thing. The ships certainly weren't anything
special from a technological point of view of course; even the how of
the replication isn't really important; it's the fact that men were
able to do it after all this time that was awe inspiring. It's
something that revealed to me part of the difference between the
madness of folly and the sublime genius and common sense of tradition,
even of Jewish Tradition. The trouble is that some traditions just
don't work; you have to be sure to establish just the right ones if
you want to have a fantastic progression as opposed to entropy and
anomie - a general breaking down instead of building up of things.

These days many people forsake obedience to parents, especially in
America, and many have the nerve to challenge well establish order and
authority in general. Most people are looking to get rich and do not
honor folk that don't have much. But, I submit to you, that if the
above observa-tions make sense to you, beware of choosing your own
ways over that of godly, well-established, Christian authority
understanding that such authority is always Jewish in all the ancient
ways; the little you might gain by doing so will not compare favorably
with what you lose; remember Saint Peter and to establish right
tradition.

Building a good ship or anything else that really works is lot like
building men; there is a right way to do things and a wrong way to do
things; and only the Holy God of creation actually knows how to raise
a man or a woman, especially the kind that are of any use to
themselves- that can do all things; obey the Torah and the Gospels;
have faith in God, do as you are told and stop breaking faith with one
another! Notwithstanding parents, never honor anyone over and above
Jesus and Moses, respectively, for this is the whole duty of man.

Happy Easter and Passover!

April 8, 2007
Brooklyn, New York