conjectural navel gazing; jesus in lint form

vague pondering...

Thinking about the sermon for tomorrow. I have Hauerwas open before me. And some stuff about the lectionary and political action. Oh, and then there is the essay that follows in the extended link. Grenfield is peeved. What is one to do?

I am interested in telling the story.

That's me.

Yep.

Where's my coffee?

Thinking Theologically
About the Common Good
Reflections on theology, scripture, and public life
from the Rev. Larry Greenfield.
"Need"

Glenn Tilton makes me feel like a chump.

Two years ago I thought the CEO of financially troubled United Airlines was one of us - "us" here referring to those heads organizations, institutions, and companies who, for the good of the enterprises we lead, refuse a pay raise or insist on taking a cut in our compensation.

Back then (December of 2004) Mr. Tilton led the way at UAL by taking an eleven percent reduction in annual compensation to only $605,625. Trying to work the company's way out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection by saving $725 million in salaries and benefits, seven other executives who reported to Tilton took the same percentage hit, while other officers accepted an eight percent reduction and managers took a six percent cut. Non-union salaried employees experienced only a four percent decrease.

The pain was, to be sure, shared with employees who were members of unions. Pilots, for example, had to agree to an 11.8 % reduction, which produced a savings of $180 million; flight attendants took a 9.5 % cut in order to shave off another $131 million; and mechanics took a 9.8 % hit, but only after losing a court fight on the matter.

It all worked. United freed itself from bankruptcy last year.

What UAL workers and the public didn't know until last Monday is that just weeks after leaving bankruptcy behind, Mr. Tilton received a package worth $38 million in restricted shares and options. And then there was the $839,028 bonus that he was paid at that time, which works out to 122% of his salary.

And the pilots, flight attendants, and mechanics what was their reward for participating in the resurrection of UAL?

You guessed it: not a dime.

The company told the union members that their compensation packages were locked in until at least 2009.

Jean Medina, a UAL spokesperson, put it all in the best possible sound bite for the company: "We regularly work with our unions to address issues important to them. We worked cooperatively with our unions to reach these consensual agreements, and we look forward to doing so again at their amendable dates." (Chicago Tribune, 3/28/07)

The unions, in turn, have formed a five-member coalition to push for some shared reaping of United's recent successes. It's a simple matter of justice, they contend.

But airline executives try to justify their exclusive bonanza by arguing that they aren't being paid anywhere near what their equivalents in other industries receive. So these airline leaders have their own read on justice.

An industry analyst, Darryl Jenkins, comments: "It's a very contentious issue, and CEOs need to be very, very cautious about approving themselves bonuses when their workers have conceded so much. These [issues] have the potential to come back and really hurt your company, kill you at a later time.

* * * * *

It seems we've got the same problem on a much larger scale in this nation and the world community.

Professor Emmanuel Saez of the University of California at Berkeley states:

If the economy is growing but only a few are enjoying the benefits, it goes to our sense of fairness. It can have important political consequences.

He was reacting to a recently released data from the Internal Revenue Service, which he and Professor Thomas Piketty of the Paris School of Economics have analyzed.

This is how The New York Times reported their findings (3/29/07, C1), under the headline of "Income Gap Is Widening, Data Shows."

Income inequality grew significantly in 2005, with the top 1 percent of Americans - those with incomes that year of more than $348,000 - receiving their largest share of national income since 1928, analysis of newly released tax data shows.

The top 10 percent, roughly those earning more than $100,000, also reached a level of income share not seen since before the Depression.

While total reported income in the United States increased almost 9 percent in 2005, the most recent year for which such data is available, average incomes for those in the bottom 90 percent dipped slightly compared with the year before, dropping $172, or 0.6 percent.

The gains went largely to the top 1 percent, whose incomes rose to an average of more than $1.1 million each, an increase of more than $139,000, or about 14 percent.

The new data also shows that the top 300,000 Americans collectively enjoyed almost as much income as the bottom 150 million Americans. Per person, the top group received 440 times as much as the average person in the bottom half earned, nearly doubling the gap from 1980.

It was noted that, for a number of reasons, the gap may actually be larger than what appears upon a first reading.

* * * * *

Surely, some will justify these outcomes of tax and economic policies with some principle of justice or other, just as others will positively and negatively weigh the political and social consequences of the widening gap in income and wealth.

But the practical results cannot be overlooked -- such as what happens to the souls of those who accumulate so much while others are diminished in their possessions; such as what happens to people here in the United States, and even more in other parts of the world, when they have to struggle to survive on less and less?

* * * * *

On his way to Jerusalem, CEO Jesus instructs two of his senior executives to proceed ahead to make transportation arrangements:

Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, "Why are you untying it?" just say this, "The Lord needs it."

No limo. No carriage. No chariot. Just a colt.

The VPs carry out the instructions and, sure enough, just as they are untying the colt, the colt owner sees them and asks why they are untying the animal. According to script, the disciples tell the owner that the Lord needs it.

That's it. No other questions asked or objections raised.

Why take the colt? Because someone - the Lord it turns out - needs it.

The distribution of resources is based not on rank, or title, or position, or wealth, or anything else.

Just need.

And he needs the colt, as it turns out, not so he can serve himself but in order to meet the needs of others; not to accumulate more for himself and his senior staff but to give away himself so that everyone else, together, will have more.

Jesus rides that colt into Jerusalem to usher in God's new social domain of justice based on mutual love. It is a beloved community that he invites us to live in, a community in which interpersonal, racial, social, economic, and political justice becomes the mutual sharing of God's abundant wealth based on what each and everyone needs in order to flourish.

For that new social reality, with a radically different understanding of justice based on mutual love, he gives up all that he has.

What a loser.

What a chump.

wondrous

I have been telling people about this song for a few months. When the local radio station I listen to plays it, the DJs always say something like "If all Christians were so authentic, I might just be one myself." Brother Cash was something else...That is for certain.

Interesting.

Welcome to self conviction.

Props to Justin. And prayers for him, and his family.

the thesis

I met with my thesis adviser the other day for lunch. All in all it was a good meeting, a beneficial meeting. But I have to start over. Yeah, that's the short of it. Typical for me, what I have written is all interesting but only ten of the pages (A rough guess) actually relate to and support my thesis. The rest is background or tangent. Perhaps that stuff will make for a good article one day, but they are not what should be part of this thesis.

So, it is very good to know that my adviser is still interested in slogging through this stuff with me and my Adult-ADD brain. But it is frustrating to have to start over when I thought that I was 2/3 of the way there. Ah well.

Then there is the whole confidence issue. The bulk of my thesis, not surprisingly, is analysis of Calvin's use of Chrysostom, engaging other scholars' arguments either as supportive of my own or as an interesting alternative to my own...or to simply say that Anthony Lane is wrong. Yeah. It's that last one that terrifies me. I simply wonder if I am bright enough to participate in this conversation. I know I am smart enough to sit in the stands and applaud. But, like football, I am not sure I am strong or fast enough to participate.

I guess I'll find out.

spud set this up...

What Be Your Nerd Type? Your Result: Musician   Doo doo de doo waaaa doo de doo! (<-- That's you playing something.) Everyone appreciates the band/orchestra geeks and the pretty voices. Whether you sing in the choir, participate in a school/local band, or sit at home writing music, you contribute a joy to society that everyone can agree on. Yay! Welcome to actually doing something for poor, pathetic human souls. (Just kidding.)
Social Nerd
Literature Nerd
Gamer/Computer Nerd
Drama Nerd
Science/Math Nerd
Artistic Nerd
Anime Nerd
What Be Your Nerd Type? Quizzes for MySpace

(belated) wednesday linkage

Good morning. I hope you are all well rested. I had another busy day. I am behind in important phone calls and e-mail. Holy Week is indeed the busiest time of the year...and we are gearing up for it.

Nonetheless, here are some links worth your time.

Rich is talking about Fred Thompson.
So is Cliff. A caution. A recommendation?
Ref+ preached.
The Sacristan did as well.
Oh, and here's AKMA's moving homily from yesterday's SWTS Eucharist.
Larry eulogizes a friend.
RLP has some art for us to enjoy.
Megan posted our 19th Sabbath reading. Her thoughts are excellent.

Okay, well, I am off to do more things. This is a week of things...all leading up to a three day service that begins (at Community Church at least) with the procession of the Palms on Sunday morning, meets at the Lord's table on Thursday, and will culminate on Easter Sunday morning. All are welcome.

If you want something a bit more liturgical, Reconciler (myspace), St. Elias, and Immanuel are all joining forces for the Three Days...Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil. Come one. Come all!

an easter letter

This is the Easter letter I am publishing in the Community Church newsletter. What do you all think?

*************************************************

I know this may seem strange to many, but at Easter I always think of Christmas. In my mind, they are easy bookends to Jesus' life and ministry. He was born! We celebrate. He is arisen! We celebrate. As someone who was not raised in the church, however, I must confess that Christmas has always been the bigger celebration, the more profound experience. It is a holiday that does not simply belong to the church any longer. So, I have always celebrated Christmas. Easter was an afterthought. I often struggle with Easter. Sure, there were chocolate bunnies and pretty baskets, but it was never the profound holiday that Christmas was. It was not the huge family event. There were fewer television specials! So every year I grapple with Easter.

Is it that Christmas is easier to believe? A virgin birth. A star in the east. Wise men. Honestly, it is no more existentially believable than Jesus rising from the dead. But somehow I manage to grasp the spiritual import of Christmas more easily. They are both implausible form a purely experiential standpoint. But Christmas is friendlier, more lovely. Christmas meets me where I am. Easter, on the other hand, asks me to go somewhere I have never been...through death and into new life. That, brothers and sisters, is a challenging spiritual journey.

I believe that we sometimes undercut our own faith when we linger too long in our doubts about the Resurrection. It is not the doubt that is the problem. It is the assumption that the doubts mean a lack of faith, or a lesser identity as a Christian in some way. Faith is a journey. We are on a pilgrimage. Doubts are part of the landscape, even doubts about the Resurrection. Such faith, faith to believe the unbelievable, is something we grow into. The story of God's Resurrection is a gift to us. It is God's gift. It reveals to us, as we grow in faith, truths about humanity and the rest of God's creation. The Resurrection is a moment in time, and a lens through which all creation can be viewed, past, present and future.

So, at Easter do you have visions of Peter Cottontail like I do? Perhaps that is where you are in your journey. I still wonder if I should be buying more seersucker at Easter (Don't we all go out and buy a new Easter outfit?). Or do you have visions of the risen Lord? It is such a difficult thing to imagine. But then, maybe it should be.

Maybe the difficulty in even imagining the Resurrection is half the point. It is a place of growth for us. It is a place where our faith is challenged...and compelled to stretch. It is meant to be difficult. The Apostles had difficulty in recognizing the Risen Jesus (Luke 24:18). Who are we to expect something different? We are two thousand years removed from an event that was obtuse in the moment. It was an event that confused those who knew Jesus best of all...even his mother.

God is good. And God loves us. God will wait for us, dine with us, speak with us even when we do not recognize Him. God is patient in this way. I rest in this truth. I rest in the moments of the story where the Apostles do not recognize Jesus and instead think they are speaking to the gardener (John 20:15). There is grace in this freedom.

So, for today, I'll think about Christmas. I'll remember a baby boy and then I'll look at the tulips rising from the earth and try on an idea or two. What if this is that baby boy again? What if my neighbor's garden is the manger? What if Wilmette is the manger and at Easter the babe is being reborn here in our midst? Well, then I might be on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13) after all.

Alleluia! The Lord is risen!
The Lord is risen, indeed! Alleluia!

Peace and All Good Things to you.

bonhoeffer and food

Tonight at Community Church, we are having a little get together to watch the Bonhoeffer documentary that came out a few years ago and to eat dinner. I am cooking. It should be an interesting night. Give the church a call if you want to come by. The meal begins at 6pm. The movie begins at 6:30.

This morning I am enjoying a little fritatta and some hash browns I whipped up. I love food. It will surely be the end of me. But until that day, I say bring on the butter!

Sadly, no butter was used in my meal this morning. And that is a shame. I have this really nice Devonshire butter here at the house, too.

very disturbing

Death threats are never funny. This is horrible. AKMA posted about this...it is terrifying. It is always sad to see the worst of us slither around the internet...or anywhere else for that matter.

Trevor and Bontie

This is late...But I want to wish my pal, Trevor, a very happy 40th birthday! This is a great photo of Trev and his wife, Bontie. They have a baby girl now. I'll get a photo of her up soon. Trevor is a fabulous musician and the owner of Space2burn. If you are thinking of developing your website or simply hosting your blog somewhere, he is your man.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

god is so good

This blog post comes to you from the back porch. Ooo...I know that this is a false spring. I know that the weather will cool off again and we'll see forty degrees with rain. I know this. I have seen it every spring in my ten years in Chicago. And yet...I still want to give in. The birds are singing. The cats are lounging. The sun is slowly rising through the trees. It is sixty-one degrees. Even Trish is up early and is making smoothies. Pineapple and banana. God is good.

Well, it looks like I will not get day off until after Jesus shows up on Easter morning. I may get to slow down next Monday. But it is that time of year. I am taking my vitamins. I am going to bed early when I can. Thankfully, most of my congregations' committee meetings are already past. My evenings are not so tight. This is okay. That week after Easter, however, will be a slow week. I will do little. Jesus is here. I can take a break.

Heh.

In other news, I am approaching my tenth anniversary of my arrival to Chicago. I think that's right. How do I know? Well, not by the usual means. Oh no. I am not bright enough for that. I had to be reminded by the Archdiocese. Yep. I received an e-mail from the ecumenical office of the Chicago Archdiocese announcing the tenth anniversary of the cardinal's arrival. "Right!" I thought to myself. "I sang at the installation service. I saw the old cardinal's hat lifted into the rafters. We sang Proulx and other almost a-tonal choral stuff. Lovely." It was my first gig here in Chicago. I want to send the man a letter. Would you all be willing to help me compose it? I'm serious. Ten years ago I was here as a singer and temp. I sang at the Cathedral. That was my first gig here. Now, ten years later, I am a professional heretic working with the ecumenical office chatting with the Cardinal's representatives. It's an interesting circle of sorts. And I sincerely interested in sending him a letter to congratulate him in his ten years of ministry here. His health has suffered. And he's had to deal with some serious issues like abusive clergy. I don't know if one could say he's a good Cardinal. I really don't know. But for some reason, probably a narcissistic one, I want to send the guy a letter.

Let's begin...

His Eminence, Francis Cardinal George,

a little down time...

I have been home since just after three...taking a little time to myself. The funeral service and graveside went well. I guess. What does it mean that a funeral "goes well." I tried to share the good news...the Gospel. I guess that's all.

It was the first funeral that I have presided over at Community Church. That was something. I was nervous. And the organ needs tuning. Heh. Oh, and the sounds system needs some help. But otherwise it was lovely.

Yeah. It's impossible to talk about a funeral.

Memory eternal...

not so much sabbath

Usually on Mondays I try to avoid the computer a little and take some Sabbath time. Today is an exception. I am presiding over a funeral today. It begins in a matter of hours and I have a sermon to finish up for it. The length is Seabury-esq, 3 minutes. It is not a Eulogy. It is a sermon about the resurrection. Here we are approaching Holy Week, and the person whose life we celebrate passed on the first day of spring. I think that's all the sermon fodder I need.

God loves the world. This is why, again and again, God resurrects God's self in our hearts. Resurrection is ongoing. It is not an event in the future. It is not some passage we hold our breaths for. It is now. Spring is now. Hope is now.

Anyway, I needed a pick-me-up. I've officated two funerals and traveld for another in a brief timeframe. I will need a nap this afternoon. The picture below was taken when Trish and I went out to Virginia and Earl's funeral. I have been meaning to grab a photo of this sign for years. It makes me chuckle every time I drive by it. I think O'Hare Airport could use this idea. The mayor is always talking about expansion. Bah! It's the 21st Century. It is all about multitasking. LOL.

sermon: what fast will you make?

What Fast Will You Make?

During our Tuesday Bible study, we focused on the 126^th psalm. When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. You may remember it from just a moment ago. Where we found ourselves lingering on Tuesday was in two places. First we focused upon the very evident joy. You cannot miss it in this psalm.

The LORD has done great things for us, and we rejoiced.…

May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy.

In this psalm, joy is the response to those whose relationship with God has been restored. The promises of God have been fulfilled. The oppressor has been toppled. Israel's estrangement from God has come to an end.

Joy.

The other thing we noticed was in this verse…Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying the sheaves.

If anyone knows anything at all about farming, they know that there is an aspect of chance in the vocation. Even with all the technological advances available to us, it is still possible that a crop will not yield. The rain may not fall. Insects may abound. Fires can rage. There are no promises in farming. You never really know how things are going to turn out. Yet, this is the metaphor chosen by the author of the psalm to speak of joy and God's promises. Joy and risk.

The same dynamic is true with anything we do. Musicians never know how a concert will turn out, no matter how much we practice. A teacher knows this risk as well. Standing in front of a classroom is an interesting place to sow seeds…where little to nothing is promised. A lawyer, too, may discover all kinds of surprises once negotiations truly begin. Those of you who are parents know this risk all too well…

Each one of us encounters surprises in life, these places of uncertainty where we sow seeds and have to wait to see what fruit our labors will produce.

In this empty place, this place of uncertainty…This is the place where God will visit us. This is the place where God will work for our redemption, our wholeness, and our joy. Such a space, such moments in our lives where the unknown and the mysterious reside can demonstrate to us our own dependence upon God's grace.

We can plow and till and water and plan and weed…and well we should…but in the end, it is God's grace that makes things grow.

Fasting is the spiritual discipline that reminds us of this space in our lives, the space where seeds are sown. The discipline of fasting makes room; it provides a physical space within us. We encounter a real emptiness. We may experience discomfort and frustration...simple hunger.

And we may desire to have that space filled and discover that…
with that desire is a certain lack of discernment.
We want the space filled and we don't particularly care what fills it.

Fruit?

Cookies?

Bar-b-que potato chips?

Fasting creates a certain emptiness.

We often experience empty places in our life. Lonliness. Misfortune. Anxiety. Grief. But as the psalm suggests, these empty places can be, may be, the areas of our life that God can transform. These empty places can be the "God-shaped" holes. These may very well be the places where we experience grace. May those who sow with tears reap with shouts of joy.

God may enter these spaces through community or prayer or art or nature...or even through spiritual disciplines like fasting. This is what a spiritual discipline can teach us...God is ready and willing to transform us. We only need to make the room.

If the body goes without food and drink for even a day,...it immediately weeps and lets out a roar, and there is a great rush to bring it help. But the soul fasts for whole weeks from its food, or languishes under wounds received, or even lies dead, and not one takes care of it or shows it pity. Therefore, visit your soul more and more often…

– Cardinal Robert Bellarmine

This past Wednesday evening some of us gathered around a table in the Guthridge Lounge for dinner and conversation. The topic of conversation was our fifth Christian discipline, and the discipline that gets the most attention during Lent: fasting.

Prayer,
waiting, steadfastness,
celebration, and now fasting.

The quotation from Robert Bellarmine reminds us of an important truth that we rediscover through a discipline like fasting. We are reminded again and again that our lives are not simply physical nor are they primarily spiritual. We are beings of flesh and faith. Often, for more reasons than we can count, the physical gets almost all the attention and our souls are ignored. We can fall into the trap of thinking that focusing on our souls is a luxury or perhaps a clever hobby. Putting food on the table, we say, is a matter of survival. It trumps everything. Fasting or prayer or celebration is unnecessary.

Fasting is an amazing discipline because it hits us right where we live. There is no more essential physical need than food…except perhaps physical contact with another person. And yet in fasting we are asked to step away from that need for a moment, perhaps only a single day. What we might discover is tremendous.

We discovered Wednesday evening that fasting is not just about abstaining from food. One may need a context, a community, to support the discipline.

We may begin to understand that consumption is about more than food. Once we stop consuming something so basic as food, we may find that there is very little that we actually need and consumption itself becomes suspect. We may gravitate toward simplicity.

We may experience solidarity with the poor. Our brief hunger calls to mind the real starvation and deprivation that exists in the world.

We may simply wrangle with our own limitations.

There is so much to the discipline...the spiritual fruit that it may produce.

12:1 Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.

John tells this story a little differently than the other writers. There are no alabaster jars in this story. And perhaps John is more interested in Judas' character than the other writers. 12:6 (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.)

John foreshadows Jesus' death more clearly than the others. 12:7 Jesus said, "Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. Is that even foreshadowing? It is so blatant.

This is such a strange gathering. Lazarus is present, the man whom Jesus had just raised from the dead. Martha is bustling about. And Mary is preparing Jesus for death. As a simply moment in literature, this is a very strange picture. But it does highlight the places where God's grace is at work. This anointing at Bethany is a pivot point in John's narrative. John shows us where there is emptiness…

In this way, John allows us to see Judas' emptiness (greed), Mary's emptiness (grief), and even the emptiness of Lazarus (death) one more time. Some of that emptiness has been filled by God...Lazarus' resurrection and Mary's gratitude and gift to Christ reflect this. Restoration...reconciliation.

Judas' unredeemed need is also clear to the Gospel writer. Judas' emptiness has been filled with things that have festered and gone to rot. Judas has put other things in the place where grace is to reside. And there sits Christ, Emmanuel, God with us before his very eyes. We are scandalized by this…and perhaps because we relate to Judas. I relate to Judas. I pity him because he reminds me of me.

And Jesus speaks to his own need in this moment. This need will be answered with resurrection at Easter. But that is Easter. We have to fast from the resurrection for another couple or weeks.

This, at least in my wild extrapolation of the Gospel, is the context and fruit of fasting, of spiritual discipline. God is clearly active in the lives of all the people in these scripture readings. Transformation occurs. Emptiness is met with God's love, rebirth, resurrection. And the incredible pain of God's apparent absence in Judas' life is witnessed as well. Participation in God's work has real and tangible effects.

Who we are is physical and spiritual. We cannot escape this truth. Fasting can show us this. Fasting can underscore for us our need for God's grace. Fasting can make room for grace. It can remind us of those desert places. It can remind us of our own need and the needs of the world.

So, what fast will you make? Where will you make room in your life for God's grace? For surely it pours out upon us all like rain. Can you simply take a day and let something go? Do you have the courage to take the discipline beyond the confines of Lent?

May God's grace fill you.
May God's own peace be upon you.
Sisters and brothers, may the fast that we make honor God and bring us hope.
Amen.

corners

It seems that major corners of the internet are slow...Google, NY Times, Food Network. Others are tripping along quite nicely. Ideas anyone?

more musings...the work continues...

Where do you experience hunger when you fast? I get headaches sometimes. And there is that grumbling in my gutt. I also find myself getting reacquainted with old wounds, hurts. I don't know if the very mild suffering of hunger reminds me of other suffering or what happens there. But it is good to know that the physical and the spiritual suffering are connected. Well they should be. Spiritual suffering has physical symptoms. Physical suffering has spiritual symptoms. This is not rocket science.

Psalm 126

126:1 When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.

126:2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then it was said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them."

126:3 The LORD has done great things for us, and we rejoiced.

126:4 Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like the watercourses in the Negeb.

126:5 May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy.

126:6 Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves.

Weeping and laughter are signs of our spiritual state. Our relationship with God is physical and spiritual. The ancient Israelites interpreted their political relationships through the lens of this truth. They understood God's favor in this way. We might take a moment to see our own political life through the lens of spiritual health and "favor." We might find ourselves asking very different questions about how we live our political lives on both the local and national stage.

John 12:1-8

12:1 Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.

12:2 There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him.

12:3 Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

12:4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said,

12:5 "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?"

12:6 (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.)

12:7 Jesus said, "Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial.

12:8 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me."

John tells this story a little differently from the other writers. He is more interested in Judas' character than the others perhaps. He foreshadows Jesus' death more clearly than the others. In this way, John allows us to see Judas' emptiness (greed), Jesus' emptiness (death), Mary's emptiness (grief), and even the emptiness of Lazarous (death) one more time. Some of that emptiness has been filled by God...Lazarous' resurrection and Mary's gratitude may reflect this. Restoration...reconciliation. Judas' unredeemed need is clear to the Gospel writer. And Jesus speaks to his own need...which will be answered with resurrection. We have to wait for Easter to get that full on.

This, at least in my wild extrapolation, is the context and fruit of fasting, of discipline. God is clealry active in the lives of all the people in these scripture readings. Transformation occurs. Emptiness is met with God's love, rebirth, resurrection. And the incredible pain of God' absence in Judas' life is witnessed as well. Participation in God's work has real and tangible effects.

Who knew?

saturday musings...sermon and other

The readings for tomorrow can be found here. Sarah will eventually post her usual misings. And I took a peek at the Christian Century (the Isaiah passage). There are a few things floating the net that have been helpful. But the most helpful source has been the conversation we had Wednesday evening.

Fasting is not just about abstaining from food. One may need a context to support the discipline. Perhaps a community would be helpful. We may begin to understand that consumption is about more than food and abstain from buying more than food and other necessary things for 40 days. We may experience solidarity with the poor. We may simply wrangle with our own limitations. There is so much to the discipline...the spiritual fruit that it may produce.

That is what I think that the psalm for Sunday highlights for me. Those who go out weeping, shouldering the sheaves...

Fasting creates a certain emptiness. We often experience empty places in our life. Lonliness. Misfortune. Anxiety. Grief. These empty places are the areas of our life that God can transform. These are the "God-shaped" holes. God may enter through community or prayer or creativity...even through disciplines like fasting. Who knew? And this is what a discipline can teach us...God is ready and willing to transform us. We only need to make the room.

***

I am getting ready to leave to speak about the funeral liturgy for Monday. Trish is due home from her Saturday morning stuff. I'll take the car and go to meet with the family. The kind pastors at North Shore have loaned me a great book, the Abingdon Funeal Manual. I have been poking around at Amazon to find my own copy. But there has not been an update to the series in about fifteen years. So, it is rare.

what fast will you make?

Well, I have been busy with everything else but sermon preparation. Wow. It's been a full week. I have been thinking about the subject for the last few weeks, and that is a plus. Tomorrow will be a sermonating day to be certain.

So, the sermon title is something I chose a while ago: What Fast Will You Make? There are so many ways to understand the import of the discipline of fasting. I have included some quotations if you are interested. Follow the extended link. Some of them are quite challenging and get us away from simple denial for denial's sake. Christian denial always has an end in mind...a telos...the sanctification of the believer and the world.

All right Christian discipline is this.

I have a funeral to preside over on Monday morning. There is a Bible study and a sermon between now and then. It will be a full weekend...and Monday. May God grant peace to the departed and solace to the living. May we all, at our end, find such grace as God's own love.

The classical Disciplines of the spiritual life call us to move beyond surface living into the depths. They invite us to explore the inner caverns of the spiritual realm. They urge us to be the answer to a hollow world. - Richard J. Foster * Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? -Isaiah 58:6-7 * If the body goes without food and drink for even a day,...it immediately weeps and lets out a roar, and there is a great rush to bring it help. But the soul fasts for whole weeks from its food, or languishes under wounds received, or even lies dead, and not one takes care of it or shows it pity. Therefore, visit your soul more and more often... - The Mind's Assent to God, Cardinal Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) * Virtually anything can be processed into a consumable to satisfy our appetite for pleasure or entertainment. 'Have it your way' is the mantra of the marketplace. Can we have it our way without the risk of forgetting God's way? Can we hunger for Christ, the Bread of Life, when we are full of dishes enticingly served up on the steam table of a prosperous consumer culture? From what do we need to fast today so that we may develop strength of soul tomorrow? - John Mogabgab * [Fasting] isn't only about reduction. It can be understood to be about learning to give oneself ample space and time to focus.

and...

Anyone who empties enough to truly experience that they are loved is filled to the brim. Then we can move readily into voluntary simplicity. We can begin to give back. We can slowly become more conscious of where we overuse resources or under use the gifts we have been given to share. Every act of voluntary simplicity is a paradox and a mystery. It is a fast that limits in order to free. Ultimately it is a courtesy we can offer our communities, our families, and the planet. - Gunilla Norris

*


Jesus began his public ministry with a long fast in the desert where he confronted the human ambition to gain control, importance, and power. From his reflective silence and hunger he went out among ordinary people to offer healing, hope, and sustenance. - Elizabeth J. Canham

*

[Fasting is] voluntary abstinence from available satisfactions for the sake of spiritual awareness that affirms the priority of love and obedience over satisfying the appetites. - Marilyn Chandler McEntire

england and iran

---Britain's Ministry of Defense confirms to CNN that Iranian naval vessels have seized 15 British Navy personnel on patrol in the Persian Gulf. www.cnn.com

an anniversary and an introduction

I simply would like to say that I am blogging from my back porch. There have been warmer mornings this week, but I finally have a second to enjoy the back porch of the house. The birds are singing. The bunnies are munching. The little space heater has taken just enough of the chill out of the air. I know it's not Martinique, but it's what I have and I am tired of the in-of-doors. I need the ouut-of-doors!

I am planning the English garden, the herb garden, and envisioning my frustration as the bunnies eat everything. It should be a grand summer. Speaking of summer, I am having to plan through August now. It's March. Right? And I am planning through August? This is an impossible situation. Trish and I barely know enough about our lives to plan through April much less August. My, it is an interesting time at Chateau Ouilmette.

On this day in 1775...

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace-- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!
- Patrick Henry

And by contrast...or not...

Justin posted that video on his blog. It made me laugh. To think, FOX aired that. Good on 'em. Does anyone have the Hillary 84 video? It's interesting to me that the guy who produced it lost his job. Now I am wondering if it was his job to put it out there or if he really was a rogue employee of the Obama marketing campaign peeps. Interesting. Still, as many news commentators have suggested, it is more interesting to know how many people can be reached so very cheaply. You. $500. And You Tube. A million viewers and political opinions are swayed. It's a grandiose expectation, but ideas do fly about the internet with great speed. Be ye warned therefore.

All you blog is public. Very public.

bong hits 4 jesus

Christians, ACLU join forces in favor of 'Bong Hits 4 Jesus'
By Robert Marus Published March 20, 2007

The Christian groups who side with Frederick warn that such a broad ruling could have unintended consequences. The Texas-based Liberty Legal Institute told justices it is "gravely concerned that the religious freedom of students in public schools will be damaged" should they accept the school's and government's argument.

Many of the briefs asked whether a student who expressed an unpopular religious-based viewpoint -- like opposition to homosexuality -- in a school-related setting could be disciplined for speaking against district policies that include sexual orientation in their non-discrimination clauses.

instrumentation

Peter was sick of being a pop star, the guitar god, and so he decided to teach himself other instruments. Among the instruments that he picked up was the mandolin.

- Michael Stipe

A friend of mine is coming over for breakfast. So, I am cleaning the kitchen. The aroma of the coffee is wonderful. I have a new bag of beans from Alchemy. Zimbabue AAA. I have no idea what this means...other than the coffee smells like chocolate.

Last night several of us met at Community Church to talk about fasting and discipline. I think it went well enough. It's good just to gather over some lentil soup to speak with one another about God. I will always wonder if meetings like this can be more...I don't know...focused? Educational? I am not sure that I even know what I am asking. That may be the first step.

Anyway, one of the disciplines I shared about is playing the mandolin. I do not get to practice as often as I would like. Playing the mandolin is meditative for me. There is something primal about that little fretted beast. The strings are tuned in open fifths. That relationship encourages playing everything in a pentatonic scale or some mode...anything but a western scale. It resonates more fully when the 4th and 7th are ignored...or used rarely.

This may just be me.
Can you listen to this?

some more musing...

I am looking through my calendar...trying to remember to make time to pray. It's not that I don't like prayer or question its worthiness. It's that I simply forget to pray. This is likely worse. We have a noon prayer service today. I'll pray. I may even sing. Who knows. And tonight we will have a lentil soup dinner with some church members. It will be a good time to talk about prayer and fasting. But, yeah, a bit of a desert in the prayer category for me of late.

wednesday linkage: hot coffee edition

I like my coffee like I like my women. In a plastic cup.
- Eddie Izzard

Let me begin by saying that I have no idea what Eddie is talking about. But then one rarely does. This is the absolute genius of his comedy. All hail the Executive Transvestite! Now, moving on...I have several links for you this morning that I believe are worth your time. So, knowing how much you love your work and esteem the good opinion of your co-workers, spend as much time on the internet as you can today. I know I will.

Cliff is blogging about war news from Iraq.
The Young Fogey blogged about the anniversary. So did Noz.
Sermons: Ref+, The Sacristan
Geoff wanted to be Gen X. But, alas, he is Y.
Rich is thinking about the GOP presidential candidates. Scroll down. Avuncular, indeed.
JoHo talks to and about Mary Wong re: human rights and copyrights.
Mike wants to know if pastors can be prophets.

Well, there you go, ladies and gents. These are some of the goings on at the UofB-SC. Go ye therefore and impress your boss with your knowledge of internet culture.

I am going to take the garbage out. It's raining.

urggle

Well, that was a full day...much done, much more to do. Golly.

*yawn*

*stretch*

Off to get foodstuffs with a friend. See y'all around!

sabbath 18: the gospel of consumption

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain'd,
To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come round right.
- Simple Gifts, Elder Joseph Brackett

This week's reading from Wayne Muller is a good one. I will agree with Cristopher that it takes him till the end of his chapter to get to the sabbath piece of his thinking. The entirety of the chapter is spent in economic nostalgia. He remembers for us a bygone era before the "Gospel of Consumption" arose in the minds of economists and industrialists in the United States. I am tempted to pick nits with Wayne this week, but I am not sure that would be productive. Megan has some good thoughts about his preconceptions and the exercise. Cristopher challenges him, but, and I think Cristopher is missing the point of the chapter. The chapter is not an attempt to belittle wealth, or more accurately, the lack of poverty. No. Though Wayne does not say it explicitly, he is speaking of Simplicity. Through the Gospel of Consumption, we are tempted to abandon simplicity, tempted to so conflate want and need as to no longer be able to distinguish the difference.

I freely admit that I may be mistaken. I may simply be bringing my own thoughts into this chapter. Today is the first day of spring and I have Copland's Apalachian Spring running through my mind. It is one of my favorite pieces of music and I play it on this day every year. Copland employs the tune to the Shaker hymn liberally. It's lovely. So, I have the word "simplicity" running through my head. And so I imagine Wayne does as well. He's not saying that having access to things is mistaken. I think that he is trying to get us to understand that we are not to wrap up our identities with what we have, by our ability to have things.

I was speaking to a friend once about Sweden or Denmark or one of those nifty Scandinavian countries. I don't know how we got on the topic, perhaps there was an NPR interview or something. Anyway, we were talking about all the vacation time and the shorter work week. I was pining for the fjords. He was expressing his utter lack of respect for the practices. He suggested very strongly that they were a sign of laziness and explained why America was a much better country to live in. The GNP (GDP) is a moral measure as much as it is an economic one. I was utterly blown away. It was a great conversation, but I must confess that I had never heard the attitude expressed before. Now, after reading Wayne's rant, I wonder if it is not more common. If it exists so strongly outside the walls of the Fed Funds trading floor.

Cristopher is right. To mistake poverty for virtue is a mistake. Holy Poverty and economic poverty/hardship are entirely different things. One imprisons us. The other frees us. One brings abject suffering, starvation and death. The other brings life, opportunities for Sabbath, and may well be the fruit of charity. Wayne is speaking about simplicity and holy poverty. He is not saying "We all need to live in Cabrini Green."

And he is right. If we were to make some denial of consumption a part of our Sabbath practice, we will likely learn something about ourselves and see our market economy differently. Leisure, free time, and an intentional lack of productivity may or may not be economic anathema in our country. But they make good Sabbath.

last night's fun: part deux

The night before the morning after..."they're playing 'Last Night's Fun' again. Or maybe it is we who are playing it, the night before the morning after, before we left to spend the early hours and see the dawn in Ballyweird."

--Ciaran Carson, Last Night's Fun, p.2

Well, that was one heck of a weekend. The shows went well. The sermons went well. I'll try to post the sermons as best as I can. I used outlines. If I can, I'll see about turning our cassette recording from Community Church into an mp3. More on that later.

Suffice it to say that there is a discipline for Christians called celebration. Yep. That's right. Celebration. The parable of the prodigal son is a great example of the importance of that discipline. And so was St. Patrick's Day at the Town Hall Pub and then at Duke's last night. Last Night's Fun, indeed.

Here are a couple of mp3 offerings for you if you would like them. As I bellowed from the stage, everyone should cry at least once on St. Patrick's Day.Fields of Athenry is a great song, a rebel song and a good cry in your beer song. Bring on the weeping.

Britches Full of Stitches is a little mandolin tune that I love to play. The band plays along with me in concerts, but yesterday at church I played the tune solo. This is a recording of my playing. I'm no Sam Bush, but it's a nice little piece. Enjoy.

Peace to you this day. I am going to sit on my butt and relax. I had a very full week. Oy. Veh.

the feast of st patrick

The historical Patrick is much more attractive than the Patrick of
legend. It is unclear exactly where Patricius Magonus Sucatus (Patrick)
was born--somewhere in the west between the mouth of the Severn and the
Clyde--but this most popular Irish saint was probably born in Scotland
of British origin, perhaps in a village called "Bannavem Taberniae."
(Other possibilities are in Gaul or at Kilpatrick near Dumbarton,
Scotland.) His father, Calpurnius, was a deacon and a civil official, a
town councillor, and his grandfather was a Christian priest...

About 405, when Patrick was in his teens (14-16), he was captured by
Irish raiders and became a slave in Ireland. There in Ballymena (or
Slemish) in Antrim (or Mayo), Patrick first learned to pray intensely
while tending his master's sheep in contrast with his early years in
Britain when he "knew not the true God" and did not heed clerical
"admonitions for our salvation." After six years, he was told in a
dream that he should be ready for a courageous effort that would take
him back to his homeland.

He ran away from his owner and travelled 200 miles to the coast. His
initial request for free passage on a ship was turned down, but he
prayed, and the sailors called him back. The ship on which he escaped
was taking dogs to Gaul (France). At some point he returned to his
family in Britain, then seems to have studied at the monastery of Lerins
on the Cote d'Azur from 412 to 415.

He received some kind of training for the priesthood in either Britain
or Gaul, possibly in Auxerre, including study of the Latin
Bible, but his learning was not of a high standard, and he was to regret
this always. He spent the next 15 years at Auxerre were he became a
disciple of Saint Germanus (f.d. July 31) and was possibly ordained
about 417. Germanus is also said to have consecrated him bishop. [This
is incorrect - Patrick was consecrated bishop by St Maxim of Turin
during the time he was returning from Rome to Auxerre].

Heric of Auxerre wrote in the 5th century:

"Since the glory of the father shines in the training of
the children, of the many sons in Christ whom St. Germain
is believed to have had as disciples in religion, let it suffice
to make mention here, very briefly, of one most famous,
Patrick, the special Apostle of the Irish nation, as the record
of his work proves. Subject to that most holy discipleship for
18 years, he drank in no little knowledge in Holy Scripture
from the stream of so great a well-spring. Germain sent him,
accompanied by Segetius, his priest, to Celestine, Pope of Rome,
approved of by whose judgement, supported by whose
authority, and strengthened by whose blessing, he went
on his way to Ireland."

Follow the extended link to read the rest of this history of St. Patrick from the Celtic Saints Yahoo group. My day is a full one. We are interviewing candidates for the admin position at Community Church all day, and then I have gigs all night. It should be fun. I have the sermon pretty much ready. I'll noodle a little on the mandolin, but the brighter part is the discipline of celebration that Foster suggests is essential to Christian life and what that tells me about the parable of the Prodigal Son. There's some lovely stuff there. I am up early to get it all in order.

The cultus of Patrick began in France, long before Sucat received the noble title of Patricius, which was immediately before his departure for Ireland about 431. The centre of this cultus is a few miles west of Tours, on the Loire, around the town of Saint- Patrice, which is named after him. The strong, persistent legend is that Patrick not only spent the twenty years after his escape from slavery there, but that it was his home. The local people firmly believe that Patrick was the nephew of Saint Martin of Tours (f.d. November 11) and that he became a monk in his uncle's great Marmoutier Abbey.

Patrick's cultus there reverts to the writing, Les Fleurs de
Saint-Patrice, which relates that Patrick was sent from the abbey to
preach the Gospel in the area of Brehemont-sur-Loire. He went fishing
one day and had a tremendous catch. The local fishermen were upset and
forced him to flee. He reached a shelter on the north bank where he
slept under a blackthorn bush. When he awoke the bush was covered with
flowers. Because this was Christmas day, the incident was considered a
miracle, which recurred each Christmas until the bush was destroyed in
World War I. The phenomenon was evaluated many times and verified by
various observers, including official organisations. He is now the
patron of the fishermen on the Loire and, according to a modern French
scholar, the patron of almost every other occupation in the
neighbourhood. There is a grotto dedicated to him at Marmoutier, which
contains a stone bed, alleged to have been his.

It is said that in visions he heard voices in the wood of Focault or
that he dreamed of Ireland and determined to return to the land of his
slavery as a missionary in the footsteps of Saint Palladius (f.d. July
7). In that dream or vision he heard a cry from many people together
"come back and walk once more among us," and he read a writing in which
this cry was named 'the voice of the Irish.'

In his "Confessio" Patrick writes: "It was not my grace, but God who
overcometh in me, so that I came to the heathen Irish to preach the
Gospel . . . to a people newly come to belief which the Lord took from
the ends of the earth." Saint Germanus consecrated him bishop about
432, and sent him to Ireland to succeed Saint Palladius (f.d. July 7),
the first bishop, who had died earlier that year. There was some
opposition to Patrick's appointment, probably from Britain, but Patrick
made his way to Ireland about 435.

He set up his see at Armagh about 444 and organised the church into
territorial sees, as elsewhere in the West and East. While Patrick
encouraged the Irish to become monks and nuns, it is not certain that he
was a monk himself; it is even less likely that in his time the
monastery became the principal unit of the Irish Church, although it was
in later periods. The choice of Armagh may have been determined by the
presence of a powerful king. There Patrick had a school and presumably
a small "familia" in residence; from this base he made his missionary
journeys. There seems to have been little contact with the Palladian
Christianity of the southeast.

There is no reliable account of his work in Ireland, where he had been a
captive. Legends include the stories that he drove snakes from Ireland,
and that he described the mystery of the Trinity to Laoghaire, high king
of Ireland, by referring to the shamrock, and that he singlehandedly--an
impossible task--converted Ireland. Nevertheless, Saint Patrick
established the Church throughout Ireland on lasting foundations: he
travelled throughout the country preaching, teaching, building churches,
opening schools and monasteries, converting chiefs and bards, and
everywhere supporting his preaching with miracles.

At Tara in Meath he is said to have confronted King Laoghaire on the
Celtic Feast of Tara which coincided with Easter Eve. On that day the
fires were quenched throughout the country. The penalty for infringing
the superstitious custom by kindling a fire was death. Nevertheless,
Patrick kindled the light of the Paschal fire on the hill of Slane (the
fire of Christ never to be extinguished in Ireland). When Laoghaire and
his men went to apprehend the violator of their sacred night, they were
treated to a sermon that confounded the Druids into silence, and gained
a hearing for Patrick as a man of power. During the course of the
sermon, Patrick picked up a shamrock to use it as a symbol of the triune
God.

Patrick converted the king's daughters Saints Ethenea and Fidelmia (f.d.
January 11). He threw down the idol of Crom Cruach in Leitrim. Patrick
wrote that he daily expected to be violently killed or enslaved again.

He gathered many followers, including Saint Benignus (f.d. November 9),
who would become his successor. That was one of his chief concerns, as
it always is for the missionary Church: the raising up of native
clergy.

He wrote: "It was most needful that we should spread our nets, so that
a great multitude and a throng should be taken for God. . . . Most
needful that everywhere there should be clergy to baptize and exhort a
people poor and needy, as the Lord in the Gospel warns and teaches,
saying: Go ye therefore now, and teach all nations. And again: Go ye
therefore into the whole world and preach the Gospel to every creature.
And again: This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in the whole
world for a testimony to all nations."

In his writings and preaching, Patrick revealed a scale of values. He
was chiefly concerned with abolishing paganism, idolatry, and
sun-worship. He made no distinction of classes in his preaching and was
himself ready for imprisonment or death for following Christ. In his
use of Scripture and eschatological expectations, he was typical of the
5th-century bishop. One of the traits which he retained as an old man
was a consciousness of his being an unlearned exile and former slave and
fugitive, who learned to trust God completely.

There was some contact with the pope. He visited Rome in 442 and 444.
As the first real organiser of the Irish Church, Patrick is called the
Apostle of Ireland. According to the Annals of Ulster, the Cathedral
Church of Armagh was founded in 444, and the see became a centre of
education and administration. Patrick organised the Church into
territorial sees, raised the standard of scholarship (encouraging the
teaching of Latin), and worked to bring Ireland into a closer
relationship with the Western Church.

His writings show what solid doctrine he must have taught his listeners.
His "Confessio" (his autobiography, perhaps written as
an apology against his detractors), the "Lorica" (or "Breastplate"), and
the "Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus," protesting British slave
trading and the slaughter of a group of Irish Christians by Coroticus's
raiding Christian Welshmen, are the first surely identified literature
of the British or Celtic Church.

What stands out in his writings is Patrick's sense of being called by
God to the work he had undertaken, and his determination and modesty in
carrying it out: "I, Patrick, a sinner, am the most ignorant and of
least account among the faithful, despised by many. . . . I owe it to
God's grace that so many people should through me be born again to him."

"The Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland" by the Four Masters state that by
the year 438 Christianity had made such progress in Ireland that the
laws were changed to agree with the Gospel. That means that in 6 years
a 60 year old man was able to so change the country that even the laws
were amended. St. Patrick had no printing press, no finances, few
helpers and Ireland had no Roman roads to travel on. See
http://www.ireland-now.com/heritage/myths/histofpatrick.html

There are many places in Ireland associated with S. Patrick but none
more than Croagh Patrick in County Mayo where he spent the forty days of
Lent in 441 and saw devils as flocks of black birds and was sustained by
the angels of God appearing as white birds filling the sky. On the last
Sunday in July the age-long annual pilgrimage draws thousands to scale
the mountain.

The National Museum at Dublin has his bell and tooth, presumably from
the shrine at Downpatrick, where he was originally entombed with Saints
Brigid and Columba. St Patrick's Church in Belfast claims to possess an
enshrined arm.

The high veneration in which the Irish hold Patrick is evidenced by the
common salutation, "May God, Mary, and Patrick bless you." His name
occurs widely in prayers and blessings throughout Ireland. Among the
oldest devotions of Ireland is the prayer used by travellers invoking
Patrick's protection, "An Mhairbhne Phaidriac" or "The Elegy of
Patrick." He is alleged to have promised prosperity to those who seek
his intercession on his feast day, which marks the end of winter. A
particularly lovely legend is that the Peace of Christ will reign over
all Ireland when the Palm and the Shamrock meet, which means when St.
Patrick's Day fall on Palm Sunday.

We are told that often Patrick baptized hundreds on a single day. He
would come to a place, a crowd would gather, and when he told them about
the true God, the people would cry out from all sides that they wanted
to become Christians. Then they would move to the nearest water to be
baptized.

On such a day Aengus, a prince of Munster, was baptized. When Patrick
had finished preaching, Aengus was longing with all his heart to become
a Christian. The crowd surrounded the two because Aengus was such an
important person. Patrick got out his book and began to look for the
place of the baptismal rite but his crosier got in the way.

As you know, the bishop's crosier often has a spike at the bottom end,
probably to allow the bishop to set it into the ground to free his
hands. So, when Patrick fumbled searching for the right spot in the
book so that he could baptize Aengus, he absent-mindedly stuck his
crosier into the ground just beside him--and accidentally through the
foot of poor Aengus!

Patrick, concentrating on the sacrament, never noticed what he had done
and proceeded with the baptism. The prince never cried out, nor moaned;
he simply went very white. When Patrick turned to take up his crosier
and was horrified to find that he had driven it through the prince's
foot!

"But why didn't you say something? Your foot is bleeding and you'll be
lame. . . ." Poor Patrick was very unhappy
to have hurt another.

Then Aengus said in a low voice that he thought having a spike driven
through his foot was part of the ceremony. He added
something that must have brought joy to the whole court of heaven and
blessings on Ireland:

"Christ," he said slowly, "shed His blood for me, and I am glad to
suffer a little pain at baptism to be like Our Lord" (Curtayne).

In art, Saint Patrick is represented as a bishop driving snakes before
him or trampling upon them. At times he may be shown (1) preaching with
a serpent around the foot of his pastoral staff; (2) holding a shamrock;
(3) with a fire before him; or (4) with a pen and book, devils at his
feet, and seraphim above him (Roeder, White). He is patron of Ireland
and especially venerated at Lerins (Roeder, White).

whew!

You know the Bible 100%!

 

Wow! You are awesome! You are a true Biblical scholar, not just a hearer but a personal reader! The books, the characters, the events, the verses - you know it all! You are fantastic!

Ultimate Bible Quiz
Create MySpace Quizzes

Thanks, Ref+!

your church programs

Megan sent me this link.

As members of faith communities (and having practiced in a couple of different traditions, I don't limit "faith communities" solely to Christian congregations) and as members of an individualistic, materialistic, and consumeristic society, we tend to think of ourselves first and foremost. Our responsibilities to our churches or communities tend to come a distant second, and only reluctantly do we consider our relationship to the wider world. According to Brian McLaren, faith communities often reinforce this unhealthy perspective by chasing after prospective adherents, waving the multiple benefits of membership like a person waves doggie treats to entice a runaway pet back home. This church offers a better sound system, that one offers day care, this other one won't give you a hard time for driving to Sunday services in a Hummer. McClaren regards this emphasis on meeting members' needs, as opposed to an emphasis on the beliefs and practices that define a faith, as problematic.

It's a long post, but it is well worth the read. I am struggling with some of the same issues. In speaking with some other pastors, many with decades of time in the pastoral trenches, programmatic ministry seldom brings about faithful growth/deepening discipleship. Some pastors have said to me that their programs bring about no growth at all. What is bringing about growth and vitality in congregations is a sincere engagement with the soul, with the boundaries, and particularities of a given faith tradition and the related spiritual disciplines. People can go anywhere for a daycare. And will often use your church's daycare without stepping foot in the sanctuary. But offer them something that feeds their souls, well, then you might be on to faithfulness.

Remember, the people came to hear Jesus preach. The feeding of the five thousand came about only because people had gathered and needed lunch. It was not the other way around.

"Church model" or "growth model" language is limited, sure. That's a given. But it's a good conversation to have. I want to spend some real time blogging about this. I am learning a ton pastoring both a re-vitalizing congregation in the suburbs and a church start in the city. I am not quite sure where I have landed in all this yet, but I have spent a lot of time thinking about it. I want to try, try I say, to write something coherent. Be ye warned therefore.

homosexuality gene?

Well, it had to happen eventually. Follow the extended link for more.

Mohler: Christians should support
genetic 'fix' for homosexuality

By Robert Marus and Greg Warner

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABP) -- Even if a genetic cause for homosexuality is found, gay behavior would still be "sin," and Christians should support a genetic cure for it too, said Southern Baptist seminary president Albert Mohler.

Comments by Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., in a March 2 column on his personal website are prompting strong reactions from the left and right. His column -- titled "Is Your Baby Gay? What if You Could Know? What if You Could Do Something About It?" -- appeared on www.albertmohler.com.

The scientific evidence is mounting that human sexual orientation may be fixed by genetic and biological factors, wrote Mohler, contradicting what many conservative evangelical leaders have asserted for decades.

"The discovery of a biological factor would not change the Bible's moral verdict on homosexual behavior," Mohler insisted.

Rather than excusing homosexual behavior, such a genetic discovery could lead to pre-natal ways to eliminate homosexual orientation, Mohler said, and Christians should support such a development.

"If a biological basis is found, and if a prenatal test is then developed, and if a successful treatment to reverse the sexual orientation to heterosexual is ever developed, we would support its use as we should unapologetically support the use of any appropriate means to avoid sexual temptation and the inevitable effects of sin," Mohler wrote.

Mohler's blog prompted national news articles in Associated Press and Religion News Service, as well as numerous blog responses.

Mohler also noted that the discovery of a biological basis for homosexuality would be "of great pastoral significance, allowing for a greater understanding of why certain persons struggle with these particular sexual temptations."

He continued, "For the sake of clarity, we must insist at all times that all persons -- whether identified as heterosexual, homosexual, lesbian, transsexual, transgendered, bisexual, or whatever -- are equally made in the image of God."

However, gay-rights supporters and at least one biologist said Mohler's assertions were misguided, at best.

"He's willing to play God," said Harry Knox, a United Methodist minister who directs religious outreach for the gay-rights group Human Rights Campaign. "He's more than willing to let homophobia take over and be the determinant of how he responds to this issue, in spite of everything else he believes about not tinkering with the unborn."

A University of Minnesota biologist, meanwhile, posted a blog entry March 10 that said Mohler's suggestion was both naïve and potentially dangerous.

The discovery of a specific "gay gene" is highly unlikely, wrote P.Z. Myers on his Pharyngula blog (scienceblogs.com/pharyngula). In fact, he said, several factors -- genetic, hormonal, environmental and psychological -- may contribute to the formation of any person's sexual orientation or gender identity.

"I will confidently state that it both will and will not be shown to be genetic," he said, in a March 15 e-mail to Associated Baptist Press. "There will be factors that predispose one towards homosexuality, but they will also be important in affecting other behaviors, and their expression will be contingent on the environment. It's not going to be simple."

In his blog, Myers also noted that the research to discover any potential in vitro "cure" for homosexuality would likely lead to the very kinds of embryonic research Mohler opposes. "It would take years of experimental work on human and non-human embryos -- embryos that would not survive the experiments -- to build up that repertoire of reliable expertise," he wrote.

Myers also faulted Mohler -- who, he notes, is a creationist who believes God created the universe just a few thousand years ago -- for attempting to delve into complex bioethical discourse. "Does anyone else find it incredibly jarring when these guys talk about scientific research and then suddenly switch gears and start telling us what a god tells them is his personal opinion? You do not know 'God's moral verdict,' Albert Mohler. You're making it up as you go along."

last night's fun, part one

Be the eye of God dwelling with you,
The foot of Christ in guidance with you,
The shower of the Spirit pouring on you,
Richly and generously.
God's peace be to you,
Jesus' peace be to you,
Spirit's peace be to you
And to your children,
Oh to you and to your children,
Each day and night
Of your portion in the world.

One of the Girls had a gig last night. It was at the SmallBar in Wicker Park. Good times. We've been singing around a big condencer mic lately and that did not really serve the space well at all. It was hard to hear ourselves...and the sound did not fill the room. We always seem to struggle with this issue. We are not a rock band that needs to amplify all the instruments. Yet, if we do not, many of the venues that would like to host us are too large, or have a poor acoustic for us to play around a big microphone. Even my mandolin could not cut through the conversation last night. Ah well. Live and learn.

The coffee is ready.

Here is the set list from last Sunday:

Britches full of Stitches (instr.)
Reiley's Daughter
Irish Rover
Johnny Jump Up
Badly Bent
Jug o'Punch
Soldier's Joy
Grandpa's Rules
God Save Ireland
I Wanna Be Sedated (Yes, that one.)
You are My Sunshine
Finnegan's Wake
Wild Rover
Foggey Dew
Parting Glass

We have two more public gigs this week. Saturday evening at the Town Hall Pub and then Sunday at Duke's. Go to the website for more information.

just say "thank you:" sabbath 17

"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”

-William Arthur Ward

We are back from Virginia. The trip was stressful and lovely and wondrous and hard. Yes, all of the above. I'll post more about it another time. For now, I just want to catch up tp Megan and Cristopher and the Sabbath blog group. As usual, they do a good job of summarizing the chapter. I wrote my entry on the plane from Pittsburgh to Chicago. Here is the entry:

Pittsburgh to Chicago 3/14/2007 Sabbath 17: Just Say "Thank You"

Somewhere along the line...about six or seven years ago I found myself in therapy. Suddenly, there I was! It was strange because everything was going so well. Job, girlfriend, new car, nice apartment. Check, check, check 'em all off "the list." Excellent.

And I was miserable. At the time I knew enough to know to call a doctor, a psy-chol-o-gist. When things are going well and I am not doing well, it's time for a check up. Lots of things happened in quick succession after I started therapy. And there are countless reasons. I won't go into them all here. One of the reasons why so much changed for me, so much improved, was because I started saying thank you. Silly? Stupid?

Nope.

My doctor suggested I make a gratitude list. It could be as long or as short as it happened to be. It didn't matter. Just write something.

So I did.

I don't recall the first list. I don't remember what I wrote at all, if it was long or short, if I said anything that was true or if it was simply blowing smoke. But I know what began to happen. The gratitude lists(s) helped me to sort things out. It helped me to discover my curses as well as my blessings. Things that I thought were blessings that were actually curses were uncovered. Things that I thought were curses but were in reality blessings were shown in their true light. Much of my life was turned around...upside down.

How strange to think that such a simple thing as a gratitude list could have a profound impact. But it did. I recognize that there were myriad contributing factors. The exercise alone is pretty basic. But in retrospect, I know that it taught me a great deal.

Learning how to be grateful is a necessary part of being human. And it does not come easily for everyone.

Wayne Muller suggests that gratitude is part of Sabbath. It shows us what it means to have enough. This is true happiness...and it keeps us from gluttony...desire for things that do not sustain us. Desire, in this case, and happiness are not the same. That's what I discovered.

There is no picture of happiness.
Happiness is being grateful for the living.

Well, there you go, airline musings. Check out Megan and Cristopher's posts. Good suff there as well. I have much to catch up on. What was supposed to be a week of music and preachifying has been altered a bit. Come and hear One of the Girls tonight at SmallBar if you are in town!

sermon: stand fast

Follow the extended link for the sermon for this morning.

Sermon, Third Sunday of Lent
March 11, 2007
Community Church of Wilmette

Stand Fast

This sermon is the third in our series on Christian practices and virtues. On the first Sunday of Lent we prayed together, if you recall Augustine’s words: “Those who sing well, pray twice.” And last week we waited for the Lord. She is all Wisdom and Grace.

This week we are presented with a curious tale from Luke’s Gospel. Luke seemed to have a soft spot for odd tales about Jesus. Then again, most tales of Jesus seem a little odd upon first glance.

In our lesson this morning people approach Jesus with a simple question: Why do people suffer so? Pilate has killed those worshiping in the Temple. This is just one example of the atrocities that Pilate has committed in the name of the state. In my reading of this passage, I wonder if the other atrocities mentioned are in the minds of the crowd as they speak of the incident in the Temple.

Horrible things seem to happen for no reason at all. There are accidents and calamities. “Help us to make sense of this, Jesus.”

These are constant questions for humanity.

Jesus gives a two-fold response:

He addresses a popularly held notion that how we die is a reflection of the righteousness of our life. This is the first century version of the “you get what you deserve” school of thought. We still hear this kind of logic today…People equate death with judgment.

A friend of mine often says: Bad theology hurts people.

Jesus suggests very strongly that this kind of thinking about God and death and judgment is faulty because none of us measure up in the way the people in the lesson this morning suggest. If we all were to perish in ways that suggested our worthiness, says Jesus, then we would all die horribly.

This is an unpleasant message at first glance. But this is Jesus’ way of turning the logic back upon those who hold it. This shows the falseness of the logic. For Jesus, only God can be perfect, only God is truly righteous. None of us can measure up. Sometimes Luke’s Jesus has a heavy hand.

But he is not yet done speaking to those gathered around him.

Jesus tells an odd parable:

‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. 7So he said to the gardener, “See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?” 8He replied, “Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig round it and put manure on it. 9If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.” ’

With this parable, Jesus undoes the theology of retribution and death that the crowd seems to hold.

If you were a pious farmer from 2,000 years ago you would know something about growing fig trees. Sarah Breuer writes:

A pious Israelite who planted a fig tree would let it grow for three years to get it to a point where it was capable of bearing fruit, then would allow it to go unharvested for three years before coming back for three more years to harvest fruit and to assess its potential fruitfulness. In other words, the wealthy absentee landlord of the parable (not a particularly sympathetic figure in Jesus' parables, and especially not in Luke) is actually being more than reasonable in saying, "this tree had its chance for nine years, and it's fruitless."

The landowner is at the end of the third step in this agricultural practice and has found the tree wanting. His attitude is not cruel. It’s practical He’s just doing what you do when you grow fig trees.

But then there is the gardener.
This guy clearly knows nothing about fig trees.
Or does he?
His hope and faith are extravagant.

His desire to see something good come from the fig tree is so strong that he is willing to forgo good common sense and labor at the root of the tree.

This is Jesus’ answer to those who struggle to make sense out of how and why we die. To those who want to attach judgment to death, Jesus says, “Don’t.”

Though Jesus surely thinks that there is judgment from God, he believes that it has a certain character to it.

God is the gardener. Jesus, in response to the questions about death and worthiness and what God must be doing has said: God has nothing to do with the deaths you have seen. Pilate did that. Not God. Death will come to each of us. We know this. It is not news. God does have a place in this part of our lives, but not in the way that the crowd seems to understand.

God is the one who stands by you
even when everything seems lost,
when good common sense says
there is no reason to go on…

God is steadfast. God stands fast.

In the midst of conflict, frustration, heartbreak and yes, even death, God abides with us.

Glenn Hinson, a Baptist theologian, suggests that steadfastness or forbearance is a key discipline in the crafting of Christian community. It is partnered with patience and forgiveness. When faced with conflict, disagreement, relational disputes, forbearance is a Christian response.

It is not that relationships cannot come to an end. They do. And some times the best way to love someone is to let them go.

But the discipline of forbearance, of standing fast with one another is the color of our first response to all conflict and difficulty in community. Disagreements will come. Debate will arise. People will become angry with one another. Our first response is to stand fast with them…even when it hurts. We are to stand fast even when it makes no sense at all.

This is a discipline, a practical approach to being together in Christian community. When the world says “Flee at the first sign of difficulty,” God says, “Stay and love. Grow something.”

For example:

Yesterday’s retreat…

• A good turnout
• Christopher Miller led us beautifully
• We discussed debated and stood with one another
• And at the end of every stage we asked for commitment.
• We have a list…a healthy and long list of things to get done…most of them by June…
• We have agreed to stand fast with one another for the sake of community, for the sake of ministry, for the sake of God’s love.

Like God, we are called to be nonsensical gardeners. As someone said yesterday, our garden will ramble out into the streets. It is no manicured primrose path, but an extravagant overflowing of the Kingdom of God.

And what will seem like foolishness to those who have good common sense will, in the end, be the basis for all hope, love, and kindness. And, as our Gospel suggests, this is no mere societal habit.

It is a proclamation about the nature of life and death itself. It is the proclamation of the Resurrection. As absurd as it sounds to human ears, death is not the last word.

As absurd as it sounds, when the going gets tough, we stand fast. We dig at the roots. We nurture. We hold one another closer. We dream and pray and hope for the future. We make room for God and our neighbor.

It will seem foolish to the world.
Have no doubt.
But this is the nature of Christian virtue.

May God stand with us this day.
May we always be so foolish as to proclaim a God who will stand in the midst of conflict, confusion and even death and, with God, proclaim hope and love and life.

Amen.

funerals and standing fast

Today I will officiate the first memorial service of my career. Monday morning Trish and I will get on a plane and fly to Virginia for the funeral of her grandfather who passed away yesterday.

God is the gardener who stands fast in the face of death and says, "No. I am not done yet. Life still has its say." May God bless the soul of Raymond Earl Austin. And on that "great gettin' up mornin'" may we see you face to face.

I will not be blogging for a few days as we'll be travelling. See you soon. And my God always be blessing you.

holy benediction, batman!

"Adoration means entering the depths of our hearts in communion with the Lord, who makes Himself bodily present in the Eucharist. In the monstrance, He always entrusts Himself to us and asks us to be united with His Presence, with his risen Body."

­ Pope Benedict XVI Address to Roman Clergy - March 2, 2006

I belong to a yahoo group for alternative/emergent discussion. Most of the people involved are in the UK. Typically, the content is useful and we work out some hinkiness in our liturgical theology together. It's a good group. This morning, however, this appeared:

How about a blessed sacrament chapel? Instead of the reserved sacrament perhaps a rota of other things that mark the physical prescence of God ( photos of children, newspapers, plants, a good cup of coffee ?) Perhaps even constructing some kind of wire monstrance to hold them in.

As for re-ordering a church around a central stage area, one of my favorite buildings has always been the Catholic Cathedral in Liverpool, very egalitarian and communal, with some fantastic modern art. Theres a nice virtual tour on www.liverpoolmetrocathedral.org.uk

Now, a monstrance for my coffee...even a Baptist can get behind that. LOL! Wow. Um, let's go back to the drawing board. Shall we?

Sorry gang, with all due respect, no monstrance for me unless it's a pancake (long story). Wow. I sputtered.

capt. america is dead

It's true.

Comic book fans are mourning the death of the Marvel Comics' icon, who was gunned down by an assassin in "Captain America Vol. 5, No. 25." The "Sentinel of Liberty" was perhaps at his lowest point — he had become an outlaw while fighting and ultimately losing a war against his fellow superheroes to protect the civil liberties of all Americans. At the time of his death, he was facing a life sentence in prison.

Kudos to Noz.

mandodoxy: practicing confession

Send forth your strength, O God,
Establish what you have wrought in us.
Uphold all those who fall
And raise up those who are bowed down.
Open the eyes of the blind
And set the prisoners free.
Sustain the orphan and widow
And give food to those who hunger.
Grant them the joy of your help again
And sustain them with your Spirit.
O Lord, judge the peoples
And take all nations for your own.
Grant, O Lord,
that as your Son Jesus Christ prayed for his enemies on the cross, so we may have grace to forgive those who wrongfully or scornfully use us, that we ourselves may be able to receive your forgiveness;through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and re