Fr. Bryan Owen

Episcopal priest. Orthodox Anglican. Prayer Book Catholic. Creedal Christian. Low Anthropology. High Christology. Romans 3:23. John 1:1-18.

[Fr. Bryan Owen @FrBryanOwen]

Leaders come and go. Institutions wax and wane. Nations rise and fall. But Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. #Hope

[Fr. Bryan Owen @FrBryanOwen]

@JonahDispatch The Ban

[Fr. Bryan Owen @FrBryanOwen]

@AThinksAloud Powerful!

[James Lindsay, anti-Communist @ConceptualJames]

You've probably heard this before, but it's always worth repeating. Something extremely cool about the "Star-spangled Banner," the American national anthem, is that it asks a question, and it's the question at the heart of everything in the American worldview.

"Oh, say, can you see
By the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed
At the twilight's last gleaming..."

So the anthem begins with a question and a scene. One man, a patriot, is asking another man, another patriot, "can you see it?" at sunrise after a long, dangerous night.

The "it" in question is going to be revealed to be the flag, our "star-spangled banner," which they had last fully recognized and honored as the sun set, daylight failed, and night crept over them the evening before.

Can you see it? Say! Can you see it?!

IS IT STILL THERE?!

"Whose broad stripes and bright stars
Through the perilous fight
O'er the ramparts we watched
Were so gallantly streaming..."

Here we find that the "it" is in fact the flag, our star-spangled banner, and we learn why the question is being asked.

The flag is described as having flown and streamed gallantly over ramparts of war through a perilous fight. All could have been lost. The flag, and even the fledgling country for which it stands, one nation under God and indivisible.

Say! Can you see it? Now that the light is back?

IS IT STILL THERE?!

"--And the rockets' red glare,
The bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night
That our flag was still there!--"

They could see it through the battle in the light of the rockets and bombs that threatened them, here and there in quick glimpses. But it was still there throughout! But now? At dawn?

Say! Can you see?

IS IT STILL THERE?!

"Oh, say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free
And the home of the brave?"

The urgency is palpable with every refrain. They have to know. It's the first thing they must know as the sun begins to light the sky, even before it rises.

IS IT STILL THERE?!

Say! Say!! Can you see? Can you see it?!

At the heart of every American beats the fundamental truth and reality that what we have here is precious, that it's worth fighting for, to the death if necessary, and that it's fragile. That at any moment it can be lost. That we have to remember to look for it because last night might have been the night in which it failed.

Every day, every year, every generation.

The American fight for freedom, to live in self-governance within ordered liberty, is ongoing and never-ending. The price of the land of the free is that it must be the home of the brave. We have to defend it, defend it, and defend it again, against all enemies foreign and domestic, because what we have is amazing, rare, fragile, and worth every cent of treasure, every drop of blood, and every risk to our sacred honor to protect it.

Our anthem is not a declaration. It is not a proclamation. It is not a statement.

It is a question.

Every time we sing our wholly unique national anthem, we as American ask the question again. IS IT STILL THERE?! Are we still America? Does that star-spangled banner yet wave?

Because it's a question, the answer is not known. It is not a guarantee. It cannot be taken for granted and isn't. And what an honor to ask and take up our part in the story, in the American Experiment, in the greatest country the world has ever known.

For tonight, the last night of our first 250 years, as the sun gave way to twilight's last gleaming and darkness overtook our land once again, the answer was still yes. We can see it even tonight in the red glare of rockets, with small bombs bursting in air, fill the sky with the noble tribute of fireworks once again.

And we all ask ourselves, will it still be flying at dawn?

This is what it means to be an American.

Happy 250th, America! Now for many happy returns!
🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[Fr. Bryan Owen @FrBryanOwen]

@AThinksAloud Amen!

[Fr. Bryan Owen @FrBryanOwen]

💔

[Rolling Stone @RollingStone]

Bob Weir, the singer, songwriter, guitarist and co-founder of the Grateful Dead who for decades was one of the driving forces behind the revered band and their legacy, has died at age 78 https://t.co/L5KscguzMd

[Fr. Bryan Owen @FrBryanOwen]

Join us at @StLukesBR as we celebrate the birth of our Savior! #ChristmasEve

[Fr. Bryan Owen @FrBryanOwen]

#NewProfilePic

[The Biblical Man @Biblicalman]

The man who died next to Jesus had nothing.

No baptism.
No communion.
No confirmation.
No speaking in tongues.
No mission trip.
No volunteering.
No financial gifts.
No church clothes.

He couldn't even bend his knees to pray.

Nails through his wrists meant no folded hands.
No sinner's prayer crossed his lips.
No altar call for a dying criminal.

He was naked.
Bleeding.
Worthy of death under the law.

Jesus didn't remove his pain.
Didn't heal his broken body.
Didn't silence the crowd mocking them both.
Didn't bring him down from that cross.

The thief had no testimony to share.
No before-and-after transformation story.
No time to prove his faith was real.
No chance to clean up his life.

Just a dying breath used to say:
"Lord, remember me."

And Jesus blood running down His face

Turned to this worthless criminal and promised:
"Today shalt thou be with me in paradise."

No theologian's spin needed.
No brilliant sermon required.
No worship team or mood lighting.
No haze machines or hip pastor.
No coffee bar in the lobby.
No small group sign-ups.

Just a naked man dying on wood.
Unable to move.
Unable to serve.
Unable to give.
Unable to perform.
Unable to impress.
Unable to earn.

All he could do was believe.

Believe that the bloodied man next to him
Was who He claimed to be.
That was it.
That was everything.

He entered paradise the same hour as Christ.
Not because of what he did.
Because of who Jesus is.

This criminal understood in his final moments
What religious men spend lifetimes missing:

Salvation isn't in your performance.
It's in His promise.

"For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish,
but have everlasting life."

A thief.
A cross.
A Savior.
A promise.

THAT IS ENOUGH.

[Fr. Bryan Owen @FrBryanOwen]

After 18 years, we said farewell to Beanie today. Cuddled in my lap, the last we heard together before going to the vet were songs from @hammockmusic. Such a beautiful way to process the grief. Thank you Marc & Andrew for the gift of your music.

[Joy Division @joydivision]

On this day 45 years ago, Love Will Tear Us Apart was released. In 2002, @NME named the song as the greatest single of all time, while @RollingStone named it one of the 500 greatest songs ever in 2004, 2010, and 2021.

[Fr. Bryan Owen @FrBryanOwen]

More: https://t.co/wY6kMCHpm2

[Fr. Bryan Owen @FrBryanOwen]

The opening track of @hammockmusic's album "Nevertheless" (to be released on July 11, 2025) dropped yesterday. Hammock never fails to deliver hauntingly gorgeous music that touches the depths of the heart and soul.
https://t.co/C7xGrGp75R

[Fr. Bryan Owen @FrBryanOwen]

@hammockmusic Stunningly beautiful. I can’t wait for the whole album to be released!

[Fr. Bryan Owen @FrBryanOwen]

George Inness, "The Triumph at #Calvary (circa 1874) #GoodFriday

[Fr. Bryan Owen @FrBryanOwen]

If I say, "Surely the darkness will cover me,
and the light around me turn to night,"
Darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day;
darkness and light to you are both alike.
- Psalm 139:10-11

@hammockmusic
https://t.co/02RnOAlyYt

[Fr. Bryan Owen @FrBryanOwen]

Another gem from @hammockmusic. Perfect for the south Louisiana #snowpocalypse.

https://t.co/wUh1JLEqay

[Fr. Bryan Owen @FrBryanOwen]

Happy Thanksgiving!

[Fr. Bryan Owen @FrBryanOwen]

https://t.co/06XUPEVEMx

"God heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds." Psalm 147:3

@hammockmusic

[Fr. Bryan Owen @FrBryanOwen]

“Christ, whose glory fills the skies …”

@StLukesBR

[Fr. Bryan Owen @FrBryanOwen]

@StLukesBR working to get to other side of tragic fire. @theadvocatebr

https://t.co/BerUJqbTqS