conjectural navel gazing; jesus in lint form

icons

Hey there. I put some new icons above. I like icons. Met an icon painter this weekend. He is a spiritual director and a Covenant pastor...and paints traditional icons. I love this world. There are people who love and people who paint icons. They are not all within or aspiring to be within the EOC. Who knew!?

So, from left to right...
Gabriel (Behold, I bear great tidings)
Jesus (for humility)
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
Magdalen (For Laura, Trish, Jane, Susie and myriad other women)
Chrysostom
Jerome (for Micah)
Cecelia (for me and other musically inclined folk out there)
Michael (because he helps keep me in line)

There you go. Like any good Baptist, I have an icon wall in my house as well.

wow - this is st. george?

Go here for more like this.

fosdick speaks

CHRISTIANITY AND WAR HARRY EMERSON FOSDICK, D.D. of PARK AVENUE BAPTIST CHURCH, NEW YORK CITY

He preached this sermon in Calvin's pulpit in Geneva. Wow. I am enjoying learning about him. My grandfather has several of his books. I'll receive them this summer. It is quite a gift. A gift from preacher to preacher to preacher...there is a geneology for you.

Enjoy this quote.

This conflict of loyalties creates your difficult problems here in Geneva. You know how tenacious the adhesions of nationalism are, how difficult to entwine the thoughts and affections of men around new ideals and new methods of world peace. But this inner struggle between two loyalties goes deeper than the realm of statesmanship; it runs far down into the souls of men where the destinies of religion lie. How can a man be a follower of Jesus Christ and still be a belligerent nationalist, when once this better hope of a world organized for peace has dawned upon his view? Whatever else Christianity may believe in, it must believe in God, Father of all men; it must believe in men of every tribe, tongue, people, and nation, as God�s children; it must believe in the Kingdom of God on earth. The spirit of Christianity is not narrowly nationalistic, but universally inclusive. When the world, therefore, organizes itself on the basis of belligerent nationalism the very genius of the Christian Gospel is at stake. Once more we can have our old war systems with their appalling modern developments, or we can have Christianity, but we cannot permanently have both. They worship irreconcilable gods.

I need not, and I must not, press the analysis further. Two generations ago one of our great statesmen, Charles Sumner, said, �Not that I love country less, but Humanity more, do I now and here plead the cause of a higher and truer patriotism. I cannot forget that we are men by a more sacred bond than we are citizens�that we are children of a common Father more than we are Americans.� Shall not each one of us here pray for his own country, as I pray earnestly for mine, that that spirit may come into the ascendency? Christianity essentially involves it.

He continues.

The first Christians saw this. �The early Christian Church,� says a recent writer, �was the first peace society.� Then came Christianity�s growing power�the days when Christians, no longer outcast, were stronger than their adversaries, until at last the imperial household of Constantine himself accepted Christianity. Then Christianity, joined with the state, forgot its earlier attitudes, bowed to the necessities of imperial action, became sponsor for war, blesser of war, cause of war, fighter of war. Since then the Church has come down through history too often trying to carry the cross of Jesus in one hand and a dripping sword in the other, until now when Christians look out upon the consequence of it all, this abysmal disgrace of Christendom making mockery of the Gospel, the conviction rises that we would better go back to our first traditions, our early purity, and see whether those first disciples of the Lord were not nearer right than we have been.

'Nuff said.

small miracles

Yesterday someone brought me the reserve sacrament. I asked for it. Being cooped up has taken its toll. When we read through the Eucharistic prayer, I was reminded that yesterday was the feast day of George Herbert.

LOVE (III)
by George Herbert

Love bade me welcome, yet my soul drew back,
Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-ey'd Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning
If I lack'd anything.

"A guest," I answer'd, "worthy to be here";
Love said, "You shall be he."
"I, the unkind, the ungrateful? ah my dear,
I cannot look on thee."
Love took my hand and smiling did reply,
"Who made the eyes but I?"

"Truth, Lord, but I have marr'd them; let my shame
Go where it doth deserve."
"And know you not," says Love, "who bore the blame?"
"My dear, then I will serve."
"You must sit down," says Love, "and taste my meat."
So I did sit and eat.

How's that for a eucharistic theology?

This same minister brough books a couple of days ago. Here is the list:

St Anslem: Proslogium; Monologium; An Appendix in Behalf of The Fool by Gaunilon; and Cur Deus Homo trans. by, Sidney Norton Deane, B.A.
The Theology of H. Richard Niebur by, L.A.Hoedemaker
The Courage to Be by, Paul Tillich
Political Expectation by, Paul Tillich
Lectures on Philosophical Theology by, Immanuel Kant trans. Allen W. Wood and Gertrude M. Clark
The Theology of William Porcher DuBose: Life Movement and Being by, Robert Boak Slocum
Verbum: Word and Idea in Aquinas by, Bernard J. Lonergan S.J.

And, finally, this precious little volume suggested by a man with an interesting sense of what I would like...

Differenz des Fichte'schen und Schelling'schen Systems der Philosophie by, G.W.F. Hegel. Um...no translation. Oh. How cool is that?!

Cliff has broken his Lenten digital fast to ask for prayers for Delane, Wilbur and Joe. Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy.

[Editor's note: TODAY, 2-27, is the Feast Day for George Herbert. Oops. So, let us honor the brother priest.]

just say no to creeds?

Here is the teaser: Baptists are a confessional people, not a creedal people. And they have not taken this distinction lightly.

"So, what is the difference?" you may wonder. Well, let me tell you. The authors of this pamphlet have a succinct definition or two. This is interesting because they have to walk a serious tightrope. Do they do it well? You tell me.

[A] confession of faith is a summary of Christian doctrine believed at a particular time by those who are willing to subscribe to it. It may pass into disuse or be forgotten, or, if remembered, be regarded as little more than as an hisorical relic. It may be superceded by another confession of faith.

A connfession of faith, whenever it was written, was never imposed upon believers as a test of orthodoxy. It was a statement of what a person or persons believed, rather than what they must believe.[italics: the authors']

A creed, on the other hand, is a binding summary to which legal status is assigned and to which conformity is required on the part of an individual within an organization. Creeds are regarded as permanently binding and can only be altered officially by those at the top of the organization, which is a very difficult and painful process.

So, for my creedal brothers and sisters out there, is this how you understand your creeds? What about some of my friends in the ECUSA who have changed the language of the creeds to demonstrate gender inclusiveness or simply omit phrases of the Apostolic or Nicene creeds to better suit their sensibilities? Is this deviation from "orthodoxy" punishable in some way? Is there a pastoral prosess that could even end in excommunication? How much room do creedal communities give for intellectual assent within belief? What if a believer simply does not agree with some part of the creed? This is interesting to me.

The Baptist Faith and Message states the following:Baptists are a people who profess a living faith. This faith is rooted and grounded in Jesus Christ who is "the same yesterday, and today, and for ever." Therefore, the sole authority for faith and practice among Baptists is Jesus Christ whose will is revealed in the Holy Scriptures.

A living faith must experience a growing understanding of truth and must be continually interpreted and related to the needs of each new generation. Throughout their history Baptist bodies, both large and small, have issued statements of faith which comprise a consensus of their beliefs. Such statements have never been regarded as complete, infallible statements of faith, nor as official creeds carrying mandatory authority.

This was adopted in 1963 and, arguably, overturned 25 years later by the SBC.

Here are five reasons why Baptists oppose the use of creeds according to the pamphlet.

1. Fear that a creed will usurp the place of the Bible. "The Bible belongs in the center of any expression of the Christian witness, and the Holy Spirit enables Christians to interpret it."

2. Creeds are of human authorship. Thus they are incomplete. They are too brief to be comprehensive. They are not inspired as the scriptures are. They can only point to the scriptures.

3. "Traditional creeds are derrived from ancient and often unknown authors and do not necessarily reflect the experience and terminology of contemporary believers."

4. A variety of interpretations accompany creeds. Thus, they defeat their own purpose. "Baptists affirm that believers should depend upon the Holy Spirit to express doctrinal unity in an atmosphere of freedom."

5. "Creeds tend to concentrate authority in themselves rather than the scriptures." Again, the focus here is on scripture as authoritative...it is not a question about whether or not creeds are scripturally founded.

What then about the Bible? It cannot be used as one big creed. Using a literal approach to scripture as a lithmus test is inappropriate for Baptists. Interpretation of the scriptures, any kind of interpretation, cannot in itself be a creed.

There are one or two good books about this. One is Shurden's Four Fragile Freedoms. We used it for a book study at NSBC. If you are interested in further reading, this is a good place to start. Get 'em while they are hot!

campus news

This is what is going on around UofBSC today.

AKMA is talking about research and pedagogy in an online era. It should lead to some good conversation. I am interested since I am going to do the vast majority of my thesis research from this here bed. Yay.

Trevor suggests that there is something out there that is even more compelling than That Movie Mel Made. Mae suggests that suffering, something that is putting people off about the film and Mel, may be important for Christians.

Jane Ellen has been driving her Hoosier bootie off running between home and school. But she sings while she does it...and she brings books when she visits. I am more grateful than she can know.

Todd, our athletic director, and Jeremy, our political pundit, are both wrestling with the question of gay marriage. They are both wanting to clear up some things before we decide if gay marriage is right or wrong. It seems that developing a good argument and supporting it may be essential to being President of the United States. Who knew?

Geoff, one of our post-modern gurus, is thinking about community. I would be remiss not to point you in his direction. He is drawing an interesting dialectic: community and worship, as opposed to community and individual which is a more classic dialectic. He suggests that in Christianity, the individual is impossible. Who's been reading Bonhoeffer?

Adieu!

wedding stuff...

Who is getting hitched?

Trish and I are!

But you knew that.

Check out the site. Trish has been working on it for the most part. I tweaked it. If you want to get to the details and it asks you for a password, my apologies. I wanted to post stuff without running the risk of unknown surfers crashing the festivities. I hope this does not offend. Email me for the password.

I included a "button" to the left in the links menu so you can ask me for th epassword as well. That will be there until the Big Day.

no more foolin around

That's it. were pullin out the big guns.

Go away, cold. Have at thee!

still sick

but there was this great horoscope today.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): At no time in the week ahead will you be struck by lightning, squeezed by a giant python, or blindsided by an old nemesis. I do predict that an unexpected force will hit you upside your attitude, but it will be the kind that's good for you. Here are some examples of what form this intervention might take. You could be splashed with a squirt gun by a friend who wants to break down an awkwardness or formality that has undermined your closeness; you could be hit with rolled-up socks thrown by a child who has something important to tell you; or you may be hugged with surprising ferocity by a person who is suddenly sorry to have been taking you for granted.

Trish is being a great fiancee. I am in bed with a temperature...and my computer, Harry Potter and the Prisoner from Azkaban, The Hobbit, tea and Advil. I would try to read Calvin but IM is a challenge right now. Harry Potter may be too challenging.

fret fret fret

This sickness thing could not come at a worse time.

I was supposed to use this week to write 25-30 pages of my thesis.
I am supposed to sing two services tomorrow. Right now I sorta croak.
And then I was supposed to meet with Jane Ellen, Dave and Jen to talk about a church plant in the south loop. That ain't happenin' either.

I am just trying to get off the couch. Urf.

i be illin

This will cure what ails you. I am a great fan of the ginger ale. Trevor also is similarly biased. He has a particular patriotism that comes through when ginger ale is at stake. How he feels about "Tahitian Treat" I am uncertain. Though, it makes one wonder what Canadians know about Tahiti. Is this where Canadians vacation in droves? There is also a Canada Dry "Cactus Cooler." Excuse my ignorance, but where are the cactus in Canada?

What I also want to know is how I got sick. I have been taking care of myself. I have been sleeping...some. I eat well. I dunno. Half of the cast of Trish's show has been wrestling with some form of congestion (and I do not mean the Chicago traffic). Susie and Micah have been ill as well. Hmm...I am surrounded by dear, sweet and yet sick friends. There has to be someone to blame. Dammit Micah!

In other health related news, some of you know this, some of you do not care, I used to ride my bike quite a bit...a lot, really. Those days seem lost to the shades of Hades. But lately the subject of cycling has come up...three times in three days. Uh oh. First Tom, a guy in Trish's cast...and a founding member of the Irish Band, One of the Girls. Then Ted, Jennifer's cool husband and I talked. He is quite avid, certainly more so that I am, but it was a cool reminder. And now Trevor posts this. Congratulations, George Bechtel!

He has a great name, by the way.

Who wants to buy a recumbent cycle?

random silliness

Someone whom I respect suggested that there is not enough follery on blogs these days. Here is a little.

This comes from GQ. Yes, GQ. It is a magazine I get. You all need to hush your mouths right now.

This made me laugh. The Aramaic translation is by Laura Lieber.

Have you seen The Passion of Christ?
Ha-hazeita yat Mityasrei di Mashiha?

I thought it was quite good.
Sivreit ana di sirta d'na havah sagi tav.

Jesus Christ, this movie is bad!
Scheiss, sirta s'na hu b'ish ve-mitmall'ei dreck!

Mel Gibson should have called it a day after What Women Want.
Levay di la mafsiq MEl Gibson leme'bad sirtin aharei Ra'avata di Nashayya

You have a position at the the university of blogaria sjlbvdnzv campus

Or do you?

Huzzah!

It is done. It is finished. Well sorts. The satellite campus is up and running. Yay! Hooray. Now, let us enjoy our combined foolery in an effort to help the world think...or something like that.

If I have managed to neglect someone, or several someones, please let me know. It would be an unintentional oversight on my part. Please let me know what can be done to remedy the situation.

Pax and goooooo Puffins!

Oh, and we need a mission statement. Who wants to write that?

the word is alive

Baptists, as a community of faith, have stood and continue to stand as a "people of the Book." The Bible - God's written Word for us - has a ministry that opens our hearts and enables the Spirit to bring us to faith in the Living Word, Jesus Christ, God's unique Son and our only Savior.

Foundational to all Baptist teaching is that the Bible is the supreme norm for faith and practice for the Christian life. The New Testament is clear that this principle was basic for the early church. The reading of the scriptures in the synagogues was a jewish practice. Young converts to Christianity made the Old Testament and the new apostolic writings, as were in circulation, objects of careful study.

At NSBC right now there is a class about the canon and its formation. It is an interesting conversation to say the least. There are bright people, people who have been Christian for a good long time, in the class who are just begining to think about these issues. The pamphlet tries to address the issues surrounding Biblical authorship and the intent behind the formation of the canon. Because of its brevity, it again must make claims that are difficult to support. I am, of course, sympathetic, but there is a little more caution this time.

The Bible is best understood in the context of the redeemed people of God, the church. The Bible supports the main purposes for which the church exists: To glorify God by winning the lost and developing (discipling/disciplining) the saved. Bible study is a major way of achieving these purposes. Therefore, Bible reading and study, by individuals, families, groups, are essential.

...

Throughout our history, there has been much agreement about the Bible's divine origin and role. A variety of interpretation theories have emerged over time; but Baptists, for the most part, have avoided extreme position of interpretation. This has enabled them to focus upon the major tasks of evangelism and missions. Baptists have stressed that the Bible is divinely inspired, but most do not insist upon a single theory of interpretation. Historically, Baptists have been cautious about allowing any human theory of interpretation to assume the Holy Spirit's role in interpreting Scripture with each believer.

The Baptist Faith and Message

[Adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention May 9, 1963]

I. The Scriptures

The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is the record of God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. It reveals the principles by which God judges us; and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union,
and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. The criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted is Jesus Christ.

Ex. 24:4; Deut. 4:1-2; 17:19; Josh. 8:34; Psalm 19:7-10; 119:11, 89, 105, 140; Isa. 34:16; 40:8; Jer. 15:16; 36; Matt. 5:17-18; 22:29; Luke 21:33; 24:44-46; John 5:39; 16:13-15; 17:17; Acts 2:16 ff.; 17:11; Rom. 15:4; 16:25-26; 2 Tim.
3:15-17; Heb. 1:1-2; 4:12; 1 Peter 1:25; 2 Peter 1:19-21

We must be aware that it is wrong to worship the Bible rather than God of the Bible. We must reject those who neglect both God's salvation and God's judgment. We must not become captives of our culture.

We cannot condone the substitution of a proposition of the Bible, however true it might be, for the Bible itself. We must resist the misuse of the Bible to support personal aims, such as secular political agendas, even if those views may be worthy.

My brothers and sisters in Virginia were struggling. That is for certain. They end this little entry with the Apostle's Creed...slightly modified. They were looking for solace, that much is certain.

They will proclaim God's Word as the unerring pointer to the One..."who came from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14), was crucified (Luke 23:23), suffered (Luke 24:26), died (Romans 5:8), and was buried (Luke 23:53). On the third day, He rose again in fulfillment of the scriptures (Luke 24:46, Acts 10:40). He ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9) and is seated at the right hand of the Father (Hebrews 12:2). He will come again in glory (II Thessalonians 1:10) to judge the living and the dead (Acts 10:42), and his Kingdom will have no end (Luke 1:33)."

The pain and frustration during this period in VA Baptist history runs deep. There is still conversation. How does scripture hold authority without being "Inerrant?" "Unerring" is an interesting choice of words in this case. The difficulty about "innerrancy" is that it allowed for no movement/freedom of interpretation. The oligarchy of conservative voices decided for the rest of the SBC what the Bible was saying. One must remember that the autonomy of the believer and the congregation are paramount in Baptist history/tradition/heritage. What makes the current SBC so interesting is that they seem to do away with this distinction. I am not sure that I understand it entirely, but that is the general impression.

monday and rain

*Editors Note: It would seem that typing before 6am is too challenging for this blogger. Sincere apologies to all maligned by my inability to get my fingers working rightly in the early a.m.

Good morning, all. I hope this finds you well.

Last night was a good one in spite of my inpossible chattiness. I was having a day and getting me to shut up was hard. Nevertheless, it was a good night. Jane and Bruce, Jennifer and Ted and I went to see Trish's show, Phaedra (Still playing!). She did a good job. I am proud of her. I just am.

Meeting Jennifer again was good. We did not get into too much theology since we had innocent bystanders about. Her husband, Ted, seems like a cool guy. He has that Northern Indiana thing going for him. Jane and Bruce grooved on that. I found out that he plays guitar and is into cycling. These are two things I enjoy greatly. Now, if I had the time and the cash to really play into the hobbies. Ah well.

In other, unrelated news, I am still getting people looking for lint + religion in searches coming to my site. I do love this time of year.

Upyernoz has brought an interesting piece of political information to my attention. Check it out. Kuwait may not like us right now.

Raed is trying to grow a beard. I think that the conflict is taking a toll.

And Jerome's Librarian pointed this out to me. There is no where else to go!

freedom of religion

Central to the principle of religious freedom is the understanding that responsibility rests upon freedom of choice.

This is the fourth entry from On These Truths We Stand. You can find the other three in the archives or here: 1, 2, 3. This entry is particularly difficult because the form of the pamphlet is limiting. What we have are sweeping statements. One of my favourites is this one:

Religious freedom is not confined to belief in sound doctrine or the practice of "true faith." Religious freedom protects the thought and actions of those whose beliefs and practices do not conform to some prescribed standard of orthodoxy or practice - so long as such external acts do not violate the rights or safety of other people. Religious freedom is also the freedom to choose not to believe and not to practice religion.

The article will go on to say that all "baptist distinctives" rest upon this notion. Believer's Baptist, priesthood of the believer, free church in a free state, local church autonomy are the four they name in the article that depend on the notion.

Read on for more from the article in the pamphlet.

Baptists find religious freedom written into the witness of scripture: Give to Ceasar what is Ceasar's and to God what is God's." (Mt. 22:21)

First century Christians were ordered by religious authorities to refrain from teaching about Jesus. They replied that they must obey God and not men in these matters. "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free" (Gal 5:1), says Apostle Paul. And John wrote, "You will know the truth and the truth will set you free" (Jn 8:32).

The centrailty of religious freedom derives, for baptists, not only from their reading of scripture, but also from the hard lessons of their own history.

The first Baptists emerged in lands with established churches and began as dissenters from the standing orders. Fined, jailed and whipped for non-conformity to religious practices in which they would not consent, and taxed to support churches they did not frequent, they learned a valuable lesson. That lesson was that conscience and compulsion do not mix.

As Roger Williams was to explain, the two things that external force could produce in matters of conscience or religion were martyrs and hypocrites, but not saving faith or sincere Christian conviction.

Central to the principle of religious freedom is the understanding that the responsibility rests upon the freedom of choice. Where a person is not given freedom to choose diliberately and freely without compulsion one cannot rightly be held to be morally responsible for the choices made under duress.

Thus, for Baptists, religious freedom, however precious, is not so much an end in itself, but the necessary condition inreligious matters for valid commitments and decisions.

My, that is a lot to just say, but there it is. And, I have to say that this is consistant with how I have heard of this concept being spoken of in churches over the years. I will see what I can find that goes into greater depth, but this is certainly a place to start.

oh no

Trish, my fiancee, took the book quiz. Here are her results. Somehow I am not comforted by this knowledge.

You're Mrs. Dalloway!
by Virginia Woolf
Your life seems utterly bland and normal to the casual observer, but inside you are churning with a million tensions and worries. The company you surround yourself with may be shallow, but their effects upon your reality are tremendously deep. To stay above water, you must try to act like nothing's wrong, but you know that the truth is catching up with you. You're not crazy, you're just a little unwell. But no doctor can help you now.
Take the Book Quiz at the Blue Pyramid.

saturday post

Here is what is of interest in Blogaria this morning.

The Sacristan finally posted. As always it was interesting and inspiring.

Heather Voss is rambling again. This time it is about the Da Vinci Code. Unlike some other posts about this book, Heather actually leads us to ask some good questions. Thanks, Rev Voss.

Scandalofparticularity is begining yet another reformation. When will it stop, people? When?!

And, finally, there is news about why the chattablogs system has been problematic of late. Well, at least we will have it all fixed after a time. Huzzah!

And I discovered something. That if you use "lint +religion" in a google search, I come up on the first page. If you are learning about the season of Lent and have always heard it pronounced "Lint," you are likely to find my site.

example 1
example 2
example 3

This makes me very happy somehow.

How Unlucky Generation Am I
by James D., 02-06-04

We always cry for help, But we don't apprise the world,
And yet there will be a time when God answer us.

--- How unlucky generation Am I.
I brainstorming to manipulate my life,
But I do not commit juvenile delinquence things,
Of course I like elders appealing.

--- How unlucky generation Am I.
God himself will assist us, Everything has its own ends.
This suffering of ours is really purgatory
the hostility of this condition make us to
divert behavior and cause patricide.
And we look brutal throughout.

--- How unlucky generation Am I.
The eradication of our land will not be constant
but we should endure the bad condition through God,
Avoid profanity to our God.
How unlucky generation Am I.

holy poverty

You know, Christianity's relationship with poverty is a mess. It just is.

Blessed are the poor.
Blessed are the poor in spirit.
Woe to the rich...
The poor will always be with you.

I think of St. Francis and his holy poverty...il poverello. I am staring at this little Taize ostinato. It refers to 2 Corinthians 8:9: "Remember how generous the Lord Jesus was; he was rich, be he became poor for your sake, to make you rich out of his poverty." Typical of Taize tunes, it is a simple phrase to be repeated again and again. "O poverty, source of riches: Jesus, Son of God, born in Bethlehem."

I love the idea of holy poverty. I love the idea of spiritual simplicity. I do. I read Kierkegaard's The Gospel of Suffering:

To be dependent on our own wealth, that is dependence and heavy bondage; to be dependent on God, absolutely dependent, that is independence...Dependence upon God is the only independence, for God has no heaviness; only the earthly and especially the earthly treasure has that.

I spoke with my homeless friend today. He is so angry and frustrated. He does not trust that the people who are actually working to help him are actually working toward that purpose. He perceives their wealth and his poverty. He screams injustice and pain. He is unable to see how they have helped. He is unable to control his rage at the system. "George Bush is a rich man and he's killing people. He's the President! George Ryan is a crook and lives in a mansion. What about me? I've done nothing wrong. Doesn't anyone want to help me? No. No one cares about me."

Holy poverty...prophetic poverty...painful poverty...it is simply never as simple as I would like.

blogstickers.com

Have any of you been to blogstickers.com? I have to say I find it good simple entertainment.

You will see some more work on this over the weekend. The blogroll will shrink in the process. If you care to be on faculty or staff, let me know. Give me some ideas. If you want to remain anonymous, let me know.

In unrelated news, I will be embarking on a potentially interesting project at church. For Holy Week, we will have morning prayers. I know, some of you think "so what?" Well, I tell you, no one knows if NSBC has ever done this. The occasional businessmen's prayer group perhaps, but never daily prayer for a week.

My hope is that with Godspell providing some attention to what is going on at the church, our sandwich board which stands on a heavily travelled pedestrian way, and the season, etc that perhaps there will be three or four people who will attend. I am setting my sites low. It would be nice to have the opportunity to pray during that week. 7:30 for 15 minutes. That is all. I will have to watch the time so that those who have to go to work do not have to rush away. There will be time for silence, intercessions etc. I will look at the BCP and the New Zealand Prayer Book, but will probably have to run with an IONA or Taize liturgy. If you have success with this, let me know what worked for you.

Also, there is some talk that this will be a bilingual service. We have a large Hispanic population in the neighborhood and in the church. If there is interest, we could pray in two languages. We shall see.

autonomy of the local church

Baptist understanding of autonomy of the local congregation is almost exactly like that of the priesthood of the believer. The autonomy of the believer is always the focus. This is not to the exception of Christ's Lordship, however. There is such a thing as "Lordship."

Autonomy of the local church has its roots in the basic belief that the church is a community of autonomous individuals under the Lordship of Christ, held together by a common faith.

Our Lord relates to believers through his revealed word and through his Spirit. Believers have direct and free access to Him. Our relationship with our Lord is personal and individual. The Lordship of Christ is basic to Baptists. As the scripture clearly states in Matthew 28:18, "Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me'" and again in Revelation 19:16, "On His robe and on His thigh He has the name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS."

Our Lord invites every individual to choose to come under the Lordship of Christ. Perhaps the most familiar New Testament passage of this invitation is John 3:16-17, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him."

Therefore the first and finest expression of Christ's Lordship over the individual believer is the gift of autonomy. This is a paradox: the Lordship of Christ and the autonomy of believers. The paradox is resolved in that the individual believer chooses to come under the Lordship of Christ.

Sometimes it is clear to me that this pamphlet is thrown together rather quickly. There is a paragraph that is before all this that may be better placed afterward.

A local Baptist church is under the control of no human person or persons. It is under the absolute control of the person of Jesus Christ. Therefore it follows that Baptist autonomy is not license for a church to do as it pleases. Just as personal freedom needs always to be coupled with personal responsibility, church freedom needs always to be coupled with church responsibility, church freedom finds its counterpart with church responsibility.

i know, another crappy test

You're Ulysses!
by James Joyce
Most people are convinced that you don't make any sense, but compared to what else you could say, what you're saying now makes tons of sense. What people do understand about you is your vulgarity, which has convinced people that you are at once brilliant and repugnant. Meanwhile you are content to wander around aimlessly, taking in the sights and sounds of the city. What you see is vast, almost limitless, and brings you additional fame. When no one is looking, you dream of being a Greek folk hero.
Take the Book Quiz at the Blue Pyramid.

north shore�s lenten series: facing our fears

Holy Fear. Fear of the LORD. Fear not. Be not afraid. As Christians, we have many ways of speaking about fear and how it is to build our faith. Moses hides his face in fear of seeing God. A saint of the Church, Theophan the Recluse, said, �We should always hold fast to the fear of God. It is the root of all spiritual knowledge and all right action.� Julian of Norwich says this: �There is no fear that fully pleases God in us but reverent fear. It is soft, because the more we have it, the less we feel it because of the sweetness of love.� For Moses, Theophan and Julian, fear, wisdom and love are the same.

As much as this is true, we also know that for many of us, speaking of the fear of God is experienced as cruel or punishing. Don�t the angels say to the shepherds �Do not be afraid; for see � I am bringing you good news of a great joy for all the people?� This is often the word from the messengers of God for the faithful. �Do not be afraid.� Emmanuel, God with us, meets us in our own places of fear. Does God even want us to fear? Perhaps, nevertheless, we know that awe and fear of God have a place, the Spirit has a wildness to it, and Jesus� teaching challenges us to our very limits. How then, as Christians, are we to understand fear?

This Lent, in the English-speaking Congregation, we will have a preaching series about Facing Our Fears. We will explore how God transforms our fears. We will explore internal and external sources of fear. We will explore how we too are transformed by our fear and awe of God and God�s great mystery. Each Sunday will have a different focus, each asking us all to search our selves and our relationships with one another.

2/22 Facing Our Fears
2/29 Facing Our Fears: Death and Dying
3/7 Facing Our Fears: Skeletons in the Closet
3/14 Facing Our Fears: Terrorism and War
3/21 Facing Our Fears: Constant Change
3/28 Facing Our Fears: Financial Insecurity
4/4 (Palm Sunday) Facing Our Fears: Failure and Disgrace
4/11 (Easter) FEAR NOT

For centuries, the Church has used Lent as a time of fasting and prayer. It is a time to recall the ministry of Christ and his journey to the cross and his atoning sacrifice. It is a time to recall our own place within that journey as recipients of grace and healing. It is a time to stand in awe, in fear, of this incredible gift of salvation. This Lent, let us pray for one another, that our worldly fears may not overcome us, that instead we may be transformed by a reverent fear of God. �The fear of God is a fountain of life.� (Proverbs 14:27)

h. dean's letter to supporters

You can read it here.

I am very proud of all of you and very grateful to all of you for your
extraordinary hard work.

I announced today that I am no longer actively pursuing the presidency.

I am so thankful for all of you who traveled around the country, showed
up at our office, worked around the clock, because you believed in what
we were doing - to you, thousands of Americans who have given generously
of your time, in your states, because you believed in our cause.

I want to thank the 300,000 small donors that decided that they wanted
their country back.

I want to thank all the people in every state who heard our message and
supported us.

We have led this party back to considering what its heart and soul is.
Although there is a lot of work left to do, I am very proud of all of
you and very grateful to all of you for your extraordinary hard work.

As the fight moves forward, I have some things that I specifically want
to ask of you.

First, keep active in the primary. We are still on the ballots. Sending
delegates to the convention only continues to energize our party. Fight
on in the caucuses. Use your network to send progressive delegates to
the convention in Boston. We are not going away. We are staying
together, unified -- all of us.

Secondly, we will convert Dean for America into a new grassroots
organization, and I hope you stay involved. We are determined to keep
this entire organization vibrant. There are a lot of ways to make
change. We are leaving one track, but we are going on another track that
will take back America for ordinary people again.

Third, there have been a lot of people who have decided to run for
office locally as a result of this campaign. I encourage you to run for
office and support candidates like you who run for office. We will use
this enormous organization to support you as you run -- we will change
the face of democracy so that it represents ordinary Americans once
again.

We must beat George W. Bush in November. I will support the nominee of
our party and do everything I can to beat George W. Bush and I urge you
to do the same. But we will not be above letting our nominee know that
we expect them to adhere to the standards that this organization has set
for decency, honesty, integrity and standing up for ordinary American
working people.

One of the things that I realized a long time ago is that change is very
difficult. There is enormous institutional resistance to change in this
country. You cannot expect people with great privileges taken at the
expense of ordinary working people to surrender them lightly.

Change is hard work. Change does not happen simply because you go to a
rally and simply because you make phone calls -- and I know how hard
everybody has worked. But change is a process that you can never give up
on.

Change is the state of America and change is the state of humankind. The
history of humanity is that determined people overcome obstacles. It is
natural for people to resist, but it is also inevitable that we will
win.

So we will continue to fight. This is the end of phase one of this
fight, but the fight will go on, and we will be in it together. We will
continue to bring our message of hope and change to the American people.

Thank you very much for everything that you have done.

Governor Howard Dean, M.D.

Stay connected at http://www.blogforamerica.com

Contribute at http://www.deanforamerica.com/contribute

priesthood of all believers

...In short, the biblically-centered doctrine of the priesthood of all believers affirms: (1) every person have the privilege of approaching God himself or herself without the need of a human intermediary, and (2) every person has equal access to the Bible. This access gives every person the right to interpretation led by the Holy Spirit. And therefore, no authority can force or presume to compel submission to his or her interpretation or belief by another believer.

There seems to be a limit to this.

Growing out of the priesthood of the believer doctrine is the matter of individual responsibility. Freedom always brings responsibility.

We are not free to interpret scripture based on wild tangents or our own preconceived ideas. A proper understanding of the priesthood of all believers demands that believers interpret the Bible in the context of fellowship to which they are related and the leadership and the Holy Spirit.

Indeed, the priesthood of all believers doctrine is not license to be anything, to say anything, or to do anything. It is the essense to being responsible to God and God alone.

The writers of this pamphlet were actively fighting a very conservative element in Southern Baptist polity. A group of more fundamentalist believers had set up a committee to decide what it was Baptists would believe and just who could then represent Baptists in the pulpit, mission field and the class room. "Individual competency under God in all matters of religion" did not seem to be what they were after. So, the more moderate believers in states like Virginia issued statements like this one.

What is interesting to me is the tightrope they are walking. I do like the point that community enters into interpretation. This is not something that we do alone. To me that is essential. However, the final word on interpretation is still between God and the believer. Thus, we argue, we disagree, we squabble...and we split off forming new congregations and denominations. Sometimes this is horribly painful. Nevertheless, it is part of the interpretive process. Sin abounds. No one believer is ever perfect or "wholly right." No creed can truly stand as authority. Only the community, the congregation has authority, under God and with the intercession of the Holy Spirit, to iterpret scripture in the face of history and tradition.

let the whining begin

*whine*

Sometimes interviews do not go as well as you would have hoped. That is all I know. Then there was the thesis that will never be written. Oh, did I mention that my cats do not like one another? Right, and then there is this continuing sleep deprivation thing. They say sleep is for the weak. Well, dernit, I is w.e.a.k. weak. *sigh*

So, does anyone know if I have homework for tomorrow?

room 209 strikes again

Poem: If I saw an Angel

If I saw an Angel
my heart would shine.
If I saw an Angel
a rose and a rainbow would shine.
If I saw an Angel
a rose would bloom in the tip of my
eye's and the sun would shine in the very,very blue sky.
-A.G.

Go here for more.

centrality of christ

The The Baptist Fiath and Message clearly states that "the criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted is Jesus Christ." Our main task then is not to proclaim the infallibility of our Church, our written sources or our human capabilities. It is to tell the "good news" about what Christ has done for the world and what He has done for us personally.

Throughout history there have been those who have sought to alter our Christ centered faith and take Jesus out of His primary place in our witness.

To try to replace the centrality of Christ with anything else is to twist and to alter the intentions of our Lord and in a word, is heresy!

There is a little something to play with today. Keep in mind that On These Truths We Stand can be somewhat vitriolic and that is directly aimed at other Baptists. This is a great historical resource, however, and it is serving to remind me of just how painful the whole split was. Struggling for identity seems to be the general problem for all of us these days as well. Are there warnings from our past that can help us sort this stuff out?

Emerging Church
Orthodox conversions
Baptist polities...we just gotta scrap with one annother
ECUSA and human sexuality

The list could go on.

Here is the scripture used to undergird the above.

Hebrews 1:2-3
Philippians 2:9-11
Acts 2:36

happy tuesday dance

Today is the anniversary of when Trish and I had our first date.

Four years. Cool.

morning postage

This weekend I finally brought my two footlockers up from the basement. One was full of musical scores and the like. I had forgotten that I have this great book on percussion. Maybe I'll begin studying the bodhran again. I dunno. Maybe I'll finish my thesis before I start banging on the drum all day (I don't wanna work. I just wanna bang on the drum all day...).

Oh! Here is a quick aside. I am now in a band. This is a good thing. Yes, a band. It is called (for the moment) One of the Girls. We play Irish music. Right now it is mostly Makem and Clancy covers, but we will add more provided the band survives past St. Patrick's Day. We have a gig then. Huzzah! Yes, I am playing in an Irish band in Chicago on St. Patrick's Day. Everyone is invited to The Handlebar (North and Oakley approx...details to follow) on The Feast of St Patrick. We go on at 9:00. The Handlebar is part bar part vegetarian restaurant. Good food. Reasonable prices. So, come one and come all. Prepare to sing along. Prepare to be amazed at the audacity. This is a dream come true for me. Very fun.

Back to our regularly schedule program...

I found "On These Truths We Stand" in one of the footlockers. It is a flier prepared in 1989 during the SBC denominational crisis. For thise who do not know, there was a huge split in the SBC 15 years ago. The isssues were around the ordination of women, homosexuality and chuch autonomy. The first two issues received the most press, as they tend to sell newspapers. The last was the real issue within the denomination. What a mess.

At any rate, the pamphlet is what the Baptist General Association of Virginia had to say about it. They may have well have said "Okay, SBC, you have ticked us off now. We are going to form our own denomination." Their articulation of Baptist theology, especially polity, was counter to what the powers in the SBC were running with. Now we have the CBF (Cooperative Baptist Fellowship). It is a relatively new denomination. Very interesting. Not everyone likes what it is up to.

I am going to spend a little time this week sharing what the CBF has to say about being Baptist. It is very close to the ABC, so much so that many ABC churches are calling CBF pastors and ABC pastors are going to CBF churches. There has been much talk of a formal aligning, but that is kinda impossible given the ABC's governing structure. There is nothing formal enough to join with. And since it is not unusual for individual congregations to be affiliated with several Baptist denominations at once, there may be no need for such an alliance. Well, here is a quick quote from "On These Truths."

Baptist thinkers have always recognized that the essential rights of others cannot be violated in the name of one's own conscience or religious convictions."

Chew on that for a bit.

distractable

And a poor speller to boot.

There is something going on at Frank's. He is blogging about blogging. Is this the beginning of something new? Just how private are blogs? I think it sure does not matter.

Trevor is posting about narrative ethics. I think this is interesting. Is there an ontology behind this? I mean, do we only choose our narratives or are we, as Christians, simply within the narrative? Does this extend to all of creation as Paul would have us believe? Is this a narratvie we are simply created into or is that "divine image" simply creative language to explain some kind of naturalist synergy?

sermon text

Here is the epistle reading for my sermon in class tomorrow.

Somehow judgment equals grace. How does that work?

1 Cor 10:1-13

I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.

Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not become idolaters as some of them did; as it is written, �The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.� We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents. And do not complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come. So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.

Lets talk about addiction and tests.

internet happiness

I am standing here in the kitchen as I type this. We are now wireless in the apartment. This is a wonderful thing indeed! I am more happy than I can say without comepletely outting myself for being an ubergeek.

So, huzzah and thanks to Leo, the upstairs neighbor and former roomie who did the labor. This is a great thing. Now, all I need to do is write that check to AKMA for the wireless card.

Leo the Great
St. Greg of Shererville
Rev Dr AKM Adam, H.O.B.S. (Holy Order of Blogging Scholars)

yet another post on what we eat or drink: give me jesus

This is a great article.

Away with these docetic diets and natural-food fetishes! Before we Big-Mac and TV-dinner ourselves to death, give us bread: large, hearty loaves of it that taste like �the bread of life.� Give us wine: dark, blood-red cups of it so that our sagging hearts are gladdened and the gospel feast can continue. Only as Christians are nourished, sustained, kneaded and fermented will we be able to rise to the needs of a hungry world whose spiritual and physical hungers require something more than fried chicken from the Colonel.

Or there is this article.

Jesus drank fermented wine and gave it to others. To suggest as some do, that this was unfermented "new wine" is contrary to biblical scholarship. Nonetheless, I have often wondered what our Lord would have done had one of his disciples been unable to partake. Suppose that man, on the night of the Last Supper, took Jesus aside and said, "Look, Master, I want very much to eat the feast with you, but -- you know -- every time I drink wine I end up getting drunk. So would you be offended if I sat this one out? And look, please don�t say anything to the others. I don�t want them to think badly of me."

upheld by the hand of the lord

You know, there are some things I hope to be able to say when I am old.

"I cannot remember how old I was when I was baptised. I know that I have been Christian for 84 years. I just can't remember how old I was when I was baptised."

or this...

"The Lord has had his hand on me for fifteen years. I have not had one evil thought in fifteen years. There is no one higher than God, so I asked Him to take it away. I am so glad He did."

Well, let's talk about preaching to the preacher during hospital visits. Woah.

st gregory of shereville

Did I get the town right? Hmm...

Our church has been setting up its LAN for what seems like an eternity. Now, thanks to a guy named Greg, we are all up and running. I finally have a dsl connection in my wee office. This is a beautiful thing.

But does this mea that he is worthy of sainthood? Perhaps.

See, I asked him about a wireless card I have. It one with no driver...well, none that I could find. He asked to see it. "Hey. I have a driver for this on my laptop. You want it?" he inquired. I replied "Um, you mean like keepsies?" Laughing he said "Yeah. Hold on."

So he burned me a copy. I will try it out at Seabury soon. I may be wireless at school soon. Oh. No. There goes the g.p.a. But I am forever grateful for his tech savvy generosity. All praise St Greg of Shereville.

can you 'fix' someone with prayer?

I know. This is an awful thought, but I have been wondering it lately. There is a man who comes to our church for assisstance. This is a good thing. He has certain boundary issues, however, and expects a lot out of us. The frustration is that he can be rude, inappropriate and demanding. He is also right when he decries the incredible lack of fairness in the world. He is hurting and will happily tell you about it. I want to pray for him. I want to pray that his situation improves. I want him to have an apartment. These are all good things to pray for. I also want him to be easier to deal with. I pray that he will develop healthier boundaries. I pray that he will not be such a pain in my arse or the collective arse of this community.

But the poor will always be with us. He will always be poor. And there is only one way to treat him. I have to love him. I have to forgive him. And even when he just does not "get it" I have to let that go. Forgive your brother seventy times seven times.

Idealism sucks sometimes.

In other news, welcome Dave to the blogging sphere.

Dave likes to eat good food with his friends. I miss this pastime with Dave.

midday prayer

This is from Fitzgerald's A Contemporary Celtic Prayer Book.

Raphael, guardian of teh journey and angel of God, my guardian dear, bless my health and give me also a safe journey to my loved ones.

Scripture Reading

Rapheal answered, "I will go with him; do not fear. We shall leave in good health and return to you in good health, because the way is safe." Tobit 5:16

Silence
Relax for a few moments and let go of the morning. Close your eyes and tak eseveral deep breaths until you feel your body relaxing.

Blessing of self...

Lunch Blessing
Bless my Thursday with a grateful heart.
Bless the tired feet of waiters and waitresses.
Bless all dishwashers and cleaners.
Bless all who wash the feet of disciples.
Bless all who share bread with the hungry poor.
Bless those who gather.
Bless the breaking of bread.
Blessed be! Blessed be! Blessed be!
Christ at every table,
Christ beside me,
Christ behind me,
Christ around me,
In the breaking of the bread.

thirdsdey post

I am collecting some Taize stuff to get me through Lent. This should be good. I am also thinking of proposing a morning prayer service every day during Holy Week. I wonder who might be interested in such a thing. We would have to advertise it, I think. I would do it in a Taize style. That would be nice.

In other news, the satellite campus is going to happen I think. Some of you have responded via email, some on the blog. I think it will be a good time. Well, at least I will have fun.
I saw part of Justin's (nominated for the David Mamet Chair of Astute Profanity) rehearsal last night. Our church is producing Godspell. Each evening the show is performed, the proceeds benefit a local social service agency. This will be a good thing. Hold Justin and the cast in your prayers. There is a lot of work to be done in a short time.

campus news

Greetings all.

I was wondering if any of you regular readers would be interested in forming the faculty/staff of The University of Blogaria, Sjlbvdnzv Campus. Why am I creating this thing? Well, firstly, it is a silly idea that I think merits attention by virtue of its silliness alone. Secondly, it is a way to suggest that perhaps, once in a great while, any of us may have something worth saying/reading/writing. We may actually contribute to something beyond ourselves and our little corner of the internet.

Anyone interested?

You may suggest to me your department, endowed chair, a pseudonym if you prefer to be somewhat anonymous or whatever else you think important. I will eventually get around to changing my links to represent these titles.

Feel free to email me if you want.

the theatre!

Hey...who wants to go see some Greek tragedy?

"I like the work of Director Frank Merle- sometimes it's good to bet on the director and in this case it was a sure thing...I was extremely impressed with all eight ensemble members ...powerfully emotional and dramatically tragic."
"At $20 for both shows, it's a bargain!"
Tom Williams, ChicagoCritic.com

"You can't help but cheer the ambition of mounting two tumultuous five-act Jean Racine tragedies in rolling repertory with the same eight person cast. And pairing the plays, newly translated by Barbara Carlisle, is an astute choice."
Justin Hayford, Chicago Reader

Keyhole Theatre Company presents Jean Racine's two greatest masterpieces PHEDRE and ANDROMACHE Translated and Adapted by Barbara Carlisle Directed by Frank Merle Stage Manager: Melissa Albertario Featuring: Patricia Austin, John Dooley, Donald A. Johnson, Bethany Jorgensen, Sabrina Lloyd, Mary Bliss Mather, Tom Schorsch & Dominica Wasilewska (Sheila Regan, 2/14 and 2/15) Now through March 14th at the Josephinum, 1501 N. Oakley, near North Ave. and Oakley in Wicker Park. Fridays at 8PM: PHEDRE Saturdays at 8PM: ANDROMACHE Sundays at 5PM: PHEDRE Sundays at 8PM: ANDROMACHE Admission: $12 for either show Flex Pass: $20 for both shows- any two performances Group rates also available

something about love

Welcome Connor Wright into the world. Megan's sister Colleen gave birth yesterday. Congratulations to the Wrights and the Monaghans. This is good news indeed! Huzzah! Hooray!

"Some day after we have mastered the winds, the waves and gravity, we
will harness for God the energies of love; and then for a second time in the
history of the world, humans will have discovered fire."

-Teilhard de Chardin

"Love is life. All, everything that I understand, I understand only because
I love. Everything is, everything exists, only because I love."

-Leo Tolstoy

anniversary

Today is my three year aniversary.

Wow.

links of note...

Limature is at it again. Let's talk ethics, people. It is a tough conversation rife with what I perceive to be a modified postmodern spin. Skandalon suggested that it is about narrative, or out narrating one another that defines community or self. Meaning...there is a specific Christian narrative at work in my life. The prominance I grant that narrative defines how I interact with a variety of communities and their ethical standards/narratives. Thus, a narrative is a filter of sorts. Limature seems to be getting at the same thing and is suggesting that this is a fluid use of a filter. The filter is subjest to filters ad nauseum.

For example, "sex is about procreation" may be an ethical standard. But is sex only about procreation? No. There are multiple standards at work that engage at a variety of times and levels of intensity. It is simply "more complicated than that."

But this unearths a problem in choosing a single narrative or deciding that a particular narrative has only one specific (dare I say utilitarian) response to a given situation. Due to the complexities of most situations, no one narrative will do. Will it? Does Christianity, for example, have only one thing to say about sex? Does it have only one thing to say about money? Home ownership? Chocolate?

This is where the relativism inherent in post-modern thought comes to the fore. There are always and everywhere choices, even within single/monolithic narrative systems. So, somehow there is room for deviation or at the very least, plurality. There has to be plurality.

pray without ceasing

Almighty God, you called those who work in the entertainment industry to produce shows that lighten our hearts and enlighten our minds: Grant that these men and women will use their gifts in life-giving ways, to the benefit of all humanity; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.

The Library loves to publish this stuff...partially because the librarian knows I am a sucker. Everyone pray for West Wing! Oh! No! Pray for any of those so-called reality shows. Man, they's hurtin'!

Did anyone know about the gay penguin running for president?

monday madness: the joy of free advertising

There seems to be some interesting activity about Blogaria today.

Let's return to the University days...Welcome all to The University of Blogaria, Sjlbvdnzv Campus. This is a commuter school to be certain, but the masters level home economics courses rock the Casbah!

In the Library you may find Elvis preaching. Is this a way to attract new students or an initiative to combine the Music Dept. with the Theology Dept. in order to save a few blogbucks?

Our Random Chaos School for Leadership Studies is at it again. Is this brilliance? Who can say. No one will come to the staff meetings.

Standing on the Corner is a preacher. He looks a little like Bono. If it is Bono, will someone ask the man in for tea? I would appreciate it. Maybe he can head up our Agrometrics Department?

Our Von Balthazar School of Postmodern Foolery is also up and running. It is a spin off from our Theology School. We have no right nor permission to equate Von Balthazar with postmodernism, but Schmemann was taken by the Track and Field team as their mascot. Using him did not seem right somehow.

Our resident Athiest Jew (every University needs one) has some interesting views on Evangelical Christianity and the movies. I am not sure if A.J. wants to start a Cinema Studies program or Leftist Political Ramblings program. It is all so confusing, especiall the way he almost defends the Catholics. Whew!

And that is all from UofBSC. Go Puffins!!

sunday sermon

Here is what I preached today. In general there were positive reviews. It was not my best, but it was not bad either. The cool thing is that Doug and Carol are away, so the entire service was mine. Robyn, one of our members, did the call to worship and prayer of confession. That was great.

Ps. 138
Is. 6:1-13
Luke 5:1-11

A Simple Trust

How many of us are amazed over how the story from Luke describes the willingness of the disciples to follow Jesus? They make it look so easy, don�t they? I don�t know how many times I have heard people say something like �How did they do it? How did they simply leave everything and follow him?� I agree. This is a strange way to think about making such a momentous decision.

Listen again to Luke:

�11When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.�

We hear the same thing in the other Gospels. Words like �immediately� are used. Immediately they left their nets. These guys just drop everything and follow Jesus. What would compel such a response?

I am often left wondering about their families. How did they feel? You can picture Zebedee now can�t you? �Now where did those boys run off to? I hope it was not with Joseph�s son. That young man is always up to no good.� But this only makes the suddenness of their decision that much more disturbing.

Occasionally, I am left wondering if these men actually knew Jesus for some time before this moment transpires and they are compelled to leave all and follow. That would make some sense, would it not? I mean, if there was some emotional investment already, then leaving all of a sudden is not really �all of a sudden� after all is it?

But I am not entirely convinced that this is the way we are to read this passage. Yes, this passage tells us about how certain people came to follow Jesus. More than that, however, it tells us about who Jesus is.

To understand this, let�s look at the Isaiah passage again. Isaiah has a vision of the throne room of God. He sees seraphim and cherubim. There is thunder and smoke. The train from God�s robes fills the room. This is a powerful vision. �Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts,� sing the angelic choir. Isaiah is in awe. He proclaims that he is unworthy, he is afraid of being struck down where he stands. He has intruded in upon the sacred. Remember that people of ancient times believed that they would be struck dead if they actually saw God. One is never worthy enough.
It is when he proclaims his unworthiness that one of the seraphim touches his lips with a hot coal and Isaiah is made clean. He is purified.
Then God asks if there is one who will proclaim God�s message to the people. It is only then that Isaiah says, �Here I am, LORD. Send me.� It is only then that Isaiah is given a very difficult message to preach.

In Luke, Jesus is preaching. People are crowding around to hear the Word of God proclaimed, perhaps hoping to see yet another miracle. And they get their wish. This is perhaps one of the most famous fishing stories of all time. They catch so many fish that the boats almost sink from the weight. Imagine the amazement. Imagine the thrill for some people who were hoping to see Jesus do that next amazing thing! This is great. Even I am excited reading about this. I love to fish, brothers and sisters. And I love a good fishing story. This is one of the best.

Then Simon Peter stops me in my revelry and amazement.

Simon Peter falls to his knees. �Go away from me LORD, for I am a sinful man!� Like the others gathered, he was amazed, but his amazement caused him to see something that perhaps others did not see. He is the only one in the account who bows low. He falls down. He does not even kneel. This is because Peter finally gets it.
We do not know if the others there understand what has really happened. Maybe James and John get it. They too will decide to follow Jesus. But they are not driven to their knees. They do not fall down. It is Peter who is struck. Peter does not see a miracle worker or prophet any longer. He does not see a healer or preacher any longer. Instead, he sees God. Even more, in the presence of God he perceives his own weakness and his own frailty.

Then Jesus said to Simon Peter, �Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.�

Jesus says this to Simon, to Peter. He does not say it to anyone else, not even James or John, the sons of Zebedee.

*pause*

The temptation here, perhaps, is to try to make something special out of Peter. This is not a bad idea. We know from other Gospel accounts that Jesus singles out Peter frequently. �On this rock I will build my church.� Peter is singled out because he recognizes Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God, the very presence of the divine in the midst of humanity. But what is amazing is that he also recognizes his own weakness in the same moments.

We know that Peter will deny Christ three times by the time the rooster crows. He will be singled out for this as well. He will be singled out for his weakness.

That is the key.

What sets Peter apart from everyone else in this story is that he recognizes his own weakness in the presence of God. Like Isaiah, before anything else happens he must confess his weakness. �Go away from me LORD, for I am a sinful man!� says Peter.

In Isaiah:

�Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!� says Isaiah. Only after this confession does the seraph purify Isaiah. This sealing makes Isaiah safe in the presence of God.

If these stories parallel one another, how is Peter purified? How is he made safe in the presence of God? There have been all these great parallels, up to this point. Peter finds himself in the presence of the divine. He realizes his own weakness. He confesses it. Now, where is Peter�s purification? What will keep him safe from God?

It is at this point when we can realize the most significant difference between our passage from Luke and our passage from Isaiah. In this moment, purification is not the issue. What is astounding is this: For Peter is in no throne room. Peter does to go to God. Peter does not accidentally stumble upon the divine. It is Jesus who has revealed himself to Peter in the midst of Peter�s life and in the midst of Peter�s weakness. This is Emmanuel. This is �God With Us.� This is the Kingdom that needs proclaiming. This is God. God is here. God is here at this very moment in Peter�s life. There is no purification that will save him. In fact, there is no safe place. So, what then is God�s response to Peter�s confession of weakness?

�Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.�

Do not be afraid. Follow me. Trust me.

Trust. Me.

Listen again to the words from our Psalm:

8 The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
your steadfast love, O LORD, endures for ever.
Do not forsake the work of your hands.

Or maybe we should hear it like this.

I will fulfill my purpose for you, says the LORD.
My steadfast love endures forever.
I will not forsake the work of my hands.

This is an outpouring of love. This is what the incarnation is. God�s becoming flesh is about God�s love for God�s creation.

So, why does Peter see it and no one else? This is the $10,000 question, is it not? Why is it that Peter is moved and no one else is? Does Peter have some special quality that we do not? Perhaps. It may be more simple than that, however.
It may be that Peter simply knew his own weakness. He knows his faults. He confessed them. He did not hide them. When we read about Peter elsewhere in scripture, he seems almost incapable of hiding his faults. This guy makes all the mistakes.

And this is what hits home for me. When there are those times when the Kingdom does not feel so near, when God seems absent, when I perceive myself unworthy of grace and pull away from God�s love�these are the times when it may be best for me to confess my own weakness. These are the times when I realize that I am hiding from God, when I am seeking safety from God and not in God. This is when I have stopped trusting God. If I realize it when it is happening, I will often stop and confess my weakness to God. But usually, it sneaks up on me. And usually I am a stubborn man who never admits to weakness.

�God, I cannot do this alone. I cannot find you on my own. Help me to trust you.�

But this thinking brings me back around full circle. Why is it so astounding that these disciples just up and go with Jesus? Don�t these guys know how dangerous it all is? I mean, we know the ending don�t we. We know what happens to Jesus. He gets nailed to a tree. These disciples will be killed as well. Beginning with Steven and ending with Paul. Even Peter is hung upside down on a cross.
These guys must be nuts to want that for themselves. We know how dangerous it all is.

But, see, if this is how I think about these stories, then it only shows that I have missed the point of them in the first place. Peter James and John do not know how it will turn out for them. They do not know the ending as we do.
It is not that they followed Jesus. It is that Jesus came to them. In their weakness Jesus revealed himself in Love to them. He continues to reveal himself to us in our weakness this very day through the Holy Spirit and our love for one another. Jesus is as present now as he was then.

God�s love is a besieging love, one that pounds against us like waves on a shore. To follow God is to accept God�s love for us to confess our weakness in the face of that love and to allow it to transform our lives, our relationships and our communities. Douglas Steere sums it up this way: following Christ is �a life of attention to and abandonment to the besieging love of God.�

I will fulfill my purpose for you, says the LORD.
My steadfast love endures forever.
I will not forsake the work of my hands.

What are you waiting for? Drop your nets. Follow God.

closing prayer

Peace between neighbors,
Peace between kindred,
Peace between lovers,
In love of the King of life.

Peace between person and person,
Peace between wife and husband,
Peace between woman and children,
The peace of Christ above all Peace.

Bless, O Christ, my face
Let my face bless every thing;
Bless, O Christ, mine eye,
Let mine eye bless all it sees.

- Alexander Carmichael

luke 5:1-11

Ah, fishing.

Begin with the psalm (Ps. 138) first.

I have been wrestling with Sunday's sermon. It is not going so well. I have had good conversations with Justin, Susie and Micah about it. But I am stumped looking for an illustration and all that. Well, Susie sent this my way. She is always so helpful.

You know, the story about the fish and the nets and the work of the apostles is a good one. I get lost in it. Now that we understand the fish as singing fish, I know now what was once only dimly lit.

And Justin may yet post our IM conversation about how the fire from the coal in Isaiah is the same thing that purifies as Jesus' love ("Do not be afraid") purifies Peter in Luke's Gospel. It is both the compulsion to follow and the knowledge of how Peter and Isaiah are unworthy that ties this together for me. There is response and desire on the behalf of God and of humanity. It is interesting.

God's love is a purifying fire, people. It is not about p