Easter/Sunday

On this day:

1242
During a battle on the ice of Lake Peipus, Russian forces, led by Alexander Nevsky, rebuff an invasion attempt by the Teutonic Knights.
1862
American Civil War: The Battle of Yorktown begins.
1900
Archaeologists in Knossos, Crete, discover a large cache of clay tablets with hieroglyphic writing in a script they call Linear B.

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“The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for.” — Fyodor Dostoyevsky

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According to AI, Pilots can experience G-forces ranging from 12 to 20 Gs during ejection.

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Obama's presidential campaign promised "fundamental change" in the country. What did he mean by that?

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"Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F—n’ Strait, you crazy 

b—--ds, or you’ll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP”

This is a tweet from the President of the United States.

Is having thoughtful, intelligent, patriotic, reflective leadership in this country too much to ask for?

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Alexander Nevsky was a prince of a Russian city-state in a period when Russia was caught between Western Catholic crusaders seeking religious and territorial expansion, and Eastern Mongol invaders (the Golden Horde) enforcing brutal domination over the region. He is famous for his defeat of the Swedes at the river Neva (giving him his name) and "the Battle on the Ice" where he defeated the Germanic Teutonic Knights. He also negotiated--to his own advantage--with the Mongols.
He was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1547.


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Easter/Sunday

Easter is the essential Christian event. Every aspect of the Christian church hinges on Christ's resurrection.

The gospel is filled with little particulars (the woman hesitant to enter the tomb, Peter being outrun to the tomb, the meticulous arrangement of the burial cloths, the assumption that the body was stolen--after the assumption by the Pharisees that the apostles would steal it)--all giving misdirection and specificity to what becomes the philosophical earthquake of all time. And, of course, another biblical irony: The first to arrive, the women, could not be legal witnesses.

Yet how does this all hinge? Hearsay? The interpretation of a sacred book? Amulets and magic rites? No. Amazingly, it hinges on us.

By the time Christ rises, we know all the players. We even have some insights about them. They are not revolutionaries, not mystics and, while seemingly sincere, they are not special. They are relatively normal working folks with responsibilities and, probably, annoyed families. As seen by their behavior during the Passion, they are not fully aware of what is happening. Nor are they particularly brave. Yet, after this crisis where their leader is tortured and killed, they somehow emerge as philosophers and martyrs. They all, to a man, experience a mind-changing, life-changing event. Scattered and leaderless they raise a religious movement that challenges everything in its time and, eventually, forces mighty Rome to adapt.

Christ performed the great, unarguable miracle. It was the behavior of men, people, who confirmed and developed it. No leap of faith was necessary. They were convinced and changed. Then they convinced and changed the world.