Gave a professor a ride last night. It was nice to hang with Trevor knowing that I did not have an assignment overdue for one of his classes. Not that it is ever unpleasant to see Trevor, but you know...
He reminded me that there is a conference today on Christian Ethics. How I wish that I could be there. And yet, my not being there is probably a more profound lesson in Christian Ethics and pastoral responsibility. I am going to the hospital to be with a man (40-ish) that has undergone radical surgery. A full colostomy is no small thing. He and his wife have been telling their children, "Daddy is having a faucet put in." This family is surrounded by friends, family and the church. "Andy" has been going to this hospital for a while now and the staff knows him well. They too have been incredibly supportive. This, though certainly not limited to a church community, is what Christian ethics can look like. It is the gathering of community to support one another at all times, not just in times fo struggle and challenge. This is an Incarnated Love.
Come, lovely Lord, outdazzle day;
come clear our clouded sight to see
your coming deep in every deed,
in labor's love, eternity!Come nurture what your hand has made;
come bring to term what you have sown.
In all creation Christ be seen:
The seed and sum of all we own.Come, Sov'reign, in your simple gifts,
come seal us with integrity.
Your birth in flesh once wedded earth:
come now in new nativity! Amen.(from Hymns for Morning and Evening Prayer by, Aelred-Seton Shanley)
Here is Fosdick's quote for the day:
When we give up an immediate pleasure for character's sake, we are impressed with how much we have sacrificed. Jesus was impressed with how much [we] have gained. Consider what you have gained by any sacrifice you ever made for character: The approval of God through conscience, the satisfaction of overcoming your mortal enemy, the greater power to conquer next time, the approbation of those who care most about you, increased power of usefulness to others. How much more you gained than you sacrificed! Ought not all such sacrifice be mae with joy? Nobody ever found any real, solid and permanent satisfaction in doing wrong. - The Manhood of the Master p.8
Here is someting in a similar vein from Trevor.
This is really what our work in the church should be about. It's good to think about things and its great to find some clarity and definition about our lives as Christians. But our first job should always be to praise God. We should always be about lifting things up. Theology is more like a prism than words etched in stone.
Brothers and sisters, no matter what strife may afflict us, joy is a posture of the Christian. It undergirds our suffering. It undergirds our thinking. All is praise fo God. This is the opposite of denial and rationalization. This is realization of the truth in the Gospel. God so loved the world...do not worry for your life.
Posted by tripp at January 9, 2004 10:36 AM