conjectural navel gazing; jesus in lint form

sermon mumblings: the great escape

Has anyone else given thought to this Sunday's readings? I'm preaching the Ascension text and the Seventh Sunday of Easter gospel. It should be interesting. I have been trying to plan ahead a bit. So, I've had a working title for a couple of weeks now: The Great Escape. I am hoping to enfold a little Miche Quoist in there somewhere. His poetry is unreal.

THE SUBWAY

The last ones squeeze in.
The door rolls shut.
The subway rumbles off.
I can't move;
I am no longer an individual but a crowd,
A crowd that moves in one piece like jellied soup in its can.

A nameless and indifferent crowd, probably far from you, Lord.
I am one with the crowd, and I see why it's sometimes hard for
me to rise higher.
The crowd is heavy - leaden soles on my feet, my slow feet - a
crowd too large for my overburdened skiff.
Yet, Lord, I have no right to overlook these people; they are
my brothers,
And I cannot save myself, alone.

Lord, since you wish it, I shall head for heaven "in the subway."

- from Prayers by Michel Quoist

enchanted april: a review

My mother is flying in to town today to stay with us for a few days. It will be good to see her. I'm looking forward to the visit. One of the plans is to go to see Trish's show, Enchanted April, this evening. I didn't review it for you all when I saw it last week. So, let me give it a shot now.

Enchanted April is a Post-World War I comedy about four British ladies who rent an Italian castle for the month of April. Lottie and Rose are the two middle class house wives. Lady Caroline is the younger socialite. And Mrs. Graves is the walking epitome of Victorian England. Thee four characters make up the foundation of what is a delightful comedy of manners.

Now, I assume that you all understand my strong bias toward my wife. It's only natural. But I'm also one of her worst critics. We do this for one another. Trish is great in the show. Truly, the cast comes together so very well. And it's necessary. There's really no room for one person to shine in particular. They are dependent upon one another to make the play work.

The first act is all about banter. And the night that I saw the show, the cast was up on its toes hitting every mark perfectly. Very seldom does one character carry a joke alone. So, to let "the funny" happen, everyone has to be engaged. They did a great job.

Yes, the play is set in England. Yes, you will hear English accents. No, I did not find them distracting. That's good news. That means that the accents we done relatively well. No complaints there.

The second act reveals the ingenuity of the set. We go from a dowdy English flat in act one to a splendid Italian country estate in act two. Bob Knuth, the Director and Set Guru, did a great job. So too did the costumer. Holy cow, is this a pretty show.

In the second act, the play shifts gears. The comedy of manners is still present, but now more of a background effect. This act finds the audience witnessing the "translation" of the four ladies and their relations. It is a more introspective and emotional ride than the first act. And, British humor, I find, treads the tightrope of sentimentality and schlock quite well. This show is no exception.

All in all, it's a great play. All members of the cast are tremendous. There's plenty of humor and just enough endearing transformation to make you want to book a flight to Italy. Paradiso.

CircleTheatre presents
7300 W Madison • Forest Park, IL 708.771.0700

A show that leaves you positively glowing!
–nytheatre.com

A comical, restorative journey of discovery...from
darkness to light, from inhibition to unrestrained joy.
Beautiful and theatrically rewarding.
–Daily Variety

Enchanted April
A Romantic Comedy by Matthew Barber
From the novel by Elizabeth Von Arnim

1/2 Priced Previews: April 25, 26 & 29 at 8pm
MAY 1-JUNE 8
Thurs, Fri & Sat @ 8 pm; Sun @ 3 pm
Student/SRs: $24 • Adults: $26

LIMITED SEATING: Reservations Recommended.
708-771-0700

Director/Scenic & Lighting Designer: Bob Knuth
Assistant Director: Monica Wilson
Costume Designer: Suzanne Mann
Sound Designer: Peter J. Storms
Stage Manager: kClare Kemock

Featuring:
Patricia Austin, Derek Czaplewski,
Michael Gonring, Terri Lopez,
Darci Nalepa, Brian Rabinowitz,
Mary Redmon, Michelle Weissgerber

me too

I thought wow, a Baptist who brought a contemplative approach to his teaching.
- G. Travis Norvell

Another one of us "high church Baptists" posted recently on a book by E. Glenn Hinson entitled Spiritual Preparation for Christian Ministry. I'll have to pick up a copy. I too encountered E at BTSR. Travis' journey of Baptist Monasticism is so very familiar to me. I enjoy his blog. Give it a read if you have a chance.

I'm going to get a copy of this book. Knowing Dr. Hinson, I know that he'll hold on to that Baptist charism, but he'll push us, too. He said in class once that we all have the ability (perhaps even responsibility) to travel back up the streams of our own traditions to encounter the larger rivers from which we stem. We should be encouraged to look back and not just downstream. Explore the spirit of the church, travel back upstream. Seek reconciliation with God with the tools that have been offered us since the time of Christ.

I have lived by these words. In retrospect they have been some of the most influential words spoken in my general direction.

Lovely.

Thanks for the reminder, Travis.

monday videoblog: sermon length with banjo

monday videoblog: sermon length with banjo

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sermon: who are god's children?

Sermon The Sixth Sunday of Easter
The Community Church of Wilmette
April 27, 2008

Acts 17:22-31
John 14:15-21

Who Are God's Children?

A little more than a week ago I attended the National Workshop on Christian Unity. We spoke about our work together as denominations. We learned about the theological accords and debates that are still ongoing. And Michael Kinnemon, the General Secretary of the National Council of Churches, in his keynote address challenged us to recall that any real unity will come through God’s work and not by our own efforts. We cannot make idols of our agreements our Councils or even our shared charitable work. Unity is in God. It was in incredible indictment and the statement rang true to most in attendance.

The passage from Acts this morning challenges me to find ways to embody this kind of ecumenism in my personal faith life and in our shared faith life. What of our personal faith traditions have become idols? What of our traditions is of God?

Sometimes people read this passage as a proof for the "spiritual but not religious" approach to faithfulness. It’s more accurate, however, to say that this passage is about being "faithful but not idolatrous." Paul is trying to undo idolatry, not religion.

The Ecumenical Movement at its best shares this task with Paul. It can be, when lived fully, a forum for uncovering idolatry, shared and denominational. It can challenge us to be honest with ourselves and with one another. When uncovering idolatry is our shared task then unity is born. God’s presence is revealed.

In the news this weekend we heard that Mayor Daley is backing a proposal to arm police officers with assault rifles. This is supposed to make our streets safer, to keep our police officers from being outgunned. Such sentiment is an indictment against us in the light of scripture. We are simply crafting another idol, no different from a gold statue.

If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

We are judged when we fail to Love. We are all God’s children. To live otherwise is to be under the Judgment of God.

I believe that God is the answer to our deepest longings. Our communities fall apart when we begin to substitute other things for God. This is what it means to create an idol. This is all we accomplish as we meet violence with violence. Violence cannot save us. It does not unify. Only God can do that.

I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live.

Amen.

huh...

Or not.

No one showed but my ride. The course is open, but, people weren't finishing the first hole.

So, I will save my rain check and go again in a couple of weeks.

go ahead

Look up the weather for Wilmette, IL today. And then ask yourself..."Why is Tripp playing golf?"

In this way we will be doing much the same together. Your solidarity is much appreciated. I simply will be adding the frustration of the back nine to the mix. Wow.

More seriously, God's blessings be upon the Orthodox as they are nearing Easter. Soon the green blade riseth.

I am away. Fore!

friday readiness

This morning I am joining a parishoner for pancakes. This afternoon I will visit some people who are ill. Between the two I will swing by Seabury to pick up the thesis draft. I am told that it's good. All I need to do is fix some typos and the like. There is one passage I would like to flesh out a little now that I've taken some time away. And...finally, I would like to spend a little time on my sermon. It needs work.

Tonight I will go to see a preview of Trish's show, Enchanted April. We have a spare ticket if anyone would like to join me.

and it continues...

Pray for Seabury.

The Trustees of Seabury-Western Theological Seminary today declared that the Episcopal Seminary “is in (a state of) financial crisis that threatens survival of the institution” and has given notice to all faculty that employment will end on June 30, 2009. The school also eliminated nine staff positions. The final date of employment for most of these staff will be May 23 – a week after graduation and the school’s 150th anniversary celebrations.

I'm going to go online and order a tippet...and wear my Seabury cross for a while...Solidarity, my friends. Solidarity.

sermon mumblings

I am preaching a sermon entitled "Who Are God's Children?" One of the things that struck me at the National Workshop was the ever present reconciling tone. I wasn't surprised by it, per se. One might assume that such a tone would be present at a Workshop on Christian Unity. A you-and-the-horse-you-rode-in-on attitude typically does little to promote unity. But the proclamations of reconciliation, the desire to come together in shared expressions of Christianity, were so sincere. I was expecting perfunctory expressions. Instead I witnessed real desire and passion for unity.

I drank the kool-ade of the ecumenical movement a long time ago. It was nice to be in the midst of similar insanity.

The passage from Acts for this Sunday challenges me to find way sto embody ecumenism in my personal work and in the congregational work at Community Church. What of our individual traditions have become idols? What of our traditions is of God?

Sometimes people read this passage as a proof for the "spiritual but not religious" approach to faithfulness. Actually, I think its more accurate to say that this passage is about being "faithful but not idolatrous." The cartoon is cute. It suggests the kind of idolatry that may exist these days. But what is more important is that it speaks to what truly had Paul's attention. He is trying to undo idolatry, not religion.

The Ecumenical Movement at its best shares this task with Paul. It can be, when lived fully, a forum for uncovering idolatry, shared and denominational. It can challenge us to be honest with ourselves and with one another. And when uncovering idolatry is our shared task, then reconciliation can occur.

God is the answer to our deepest longings.

roger williams is blue like jazz: part, the second

"Actually," I told him reluctantly, "I have always agreed with the idea that we have a sin nature. I don't think it looks exactly like the fundamentalists say it does, 'cause I know so many people who do great things, but I do buy the idea that we are flawed, that there is something in us that is broken."
- Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz (p. 17)

Miller was raised in a more conservative evangelicalism than I currently practice. Heh. That's not too hard. I know. He's obligated somehow to figure out the place of sin in his how journey. And, honestly, I think it is a worthwhile thing for all of us. Though it is often assumed that liberal protestants have no sense of sin, nothing could be further from the truth. There is sin. No question. It's just that the doctrines so long held don't necessarily speak to people...all people.

I think we need to speak about sin. And I think we need to call it sin. But we need to do so without slipping in to some vague moralism. This, to me is what Miller is after. Moralism does not introduce us to God. It only punishes or rewards. And that does not grow a Christian. A Christian is someone who is in a relationship with God s revealed in the ministry of Jesus Christ. It is, first and foremost, a relationship with a loving and living God. It is not moralism.

Ben Campbell said this about Original Sin.

Original sin is corporate and contextual, not individual. Therein, probably, lies our greatest difficulty in understanding it in the Western world. Here in the world's West we neither have a good sense of what is corporate, nor a good sense of history. Original sin is not some native ugliness or predisposition to evil in the innocent infant which accounts for what we are describing. It is, rather, that there is no place to be born except a certain household in a certain place in a certain society at a certain time.

No place, no society, and no time is innocent. It may be that other cultures understand this better than the American culture, -- but it may not: the capacity in any culture for denial is obvious to all but the citizens of the culture itself.(pdf link)

This is a helpful way to begin understanding how we sin, how we slip up and hurt one another whether we mean to or not. Follow the link to read the whole article. It was published in a recent newsletter from Richmond Hill.

We need to look at systems (familial, ecclesial, political, economic) and see how we hurt one another, how we have been hurt. Sin is a wound. Sin is connected to our decisions. And the cure for sin (if there is such a thing) is our relationship with God. A societal hand slap is not the same thing...It may help with the symptom of sin (violence, theft, etc), but it only treats the symptom.

Okay...This is huge. I'm circling the airport. I'm looking forward to the session in a couple of Sundays.

roger williams is blue like jazz: part, the first

I love to give charity, but I don't want to be charity. This is why I have so much truouble with grace.
- Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz (p. 84)

We are slowly wrapping up the year at l'eglise du Ouilmette (Hey, did I get that right?). The Adult study group, The Roger Williams Class, will go on hiatus for the summer after Memorial Day weekend. But between now and then, I am hopeful that we can do one or two cool things. This Sunday, an educator from Protestants for the Common Good will join us. On May 18, an educator from a north shore based housing justice group will join us. On the three remaining Sundays, however, we will be reading through Blue Like Jazz.

I am trying not to get too far ahead. I find myself devouring the book again. It's not the first time I have read it, and I still find myself enjoying Miller's wit and apparent honesty about his Christian faith walk.

Miller is essentially moving from a traditional American evangelical point of view to something else. What that is is hard to explain. Some might call it "emergent" or "post-modern." Heck, he's even been accused of being a liberal. But none of the labels really matter. It's the honesty he brings as he discusses how odd Christian faith can be that I enjoy so very much.

If you don't love somebody, it gets annoying when they tell you what to do or what to feel. When you love them you get pleasure from their pleasure, and it makes it easy to serve. I didn't love God because I didn't know God. (p. 14)

Miller begins with this kind of confession...about how he went to church as a child and somehow did not encounter God. He reminds us, as other also do, that attendance on Sunday morning is no guarantee of faithfulness. And yet the expectations are so high, so impossible. "You go to church! Of course you love God." Not always, sometime you go to church and never once meet God. This is the beginning of Miller's journey. It's a familiar story told with humor and sensitivity.

I'm looking forward to reading through this book with people from l'eglise. It should be fun. I'll post from time to time as I read ahead. If you have read the book or would like to read along, please do. I'll share some of my thoughts here. And, who knows, maybe someone from the church will stop by as well.

pansies, anyone?

The world is overcome not through destruction, but through reconciliation. Not ideals, nor programs, nor conscience, nor duty, nor responsibility, nor virtue, but only God's perfect love can encounter reality and overcome it. Nor is it some universal idea of love, but rather the love of God in Jesus Christ, a love genuinely lived, that does this.
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer Meditations on the Cross

My administrator(trix?), Jenn, has left for her own denomination's Big Meeting. She will be gone for ten days. She has done a great job of getting everything in order before leaving. We have people filling in for her. That too is a great thing. It should go smoothly. In saying that, however, I may have tempted fate* just a bit. We'll see. At any rate, I am looking forward to focusing on some of the less concrete aspects to my work as pastor.

The weather here has improved. Spring seems to have finally taken residence and I have started walking whenever I can again. Monday I walked in Andersonville. And to get home, I took the train to Ouilmette and walked from the station to l'chateau. I think it might be a three mile walk. It was lovely. Daffodils and tulips are blooming as are some of the flowering trees. White, purple, pink and that vibrant daffodil yellow are simply stunning after all the gray of winter.

I think of these walks as a procession of sorts. Though I am the one walking, the flowers (seasons?) are the ones in procession. They appear in our midst bearing promises...and proclamations as we do when we process into the sanctuary on Sunday morning. I find the change in the season uplifting. I can understand the desire to craft a theology from such a transition. Rebirth. Vibrancy. I find myself wanting to find time to soak it in, to take notice of the world around me. So, I walk. Changes in seasons pass quickly and I wish to take time to notice.

Taking notice allows me time to center myself on what is important, upon the relationships and habits that uphold me. Friends. Feasting. Prayer. Music. I have not had a mandolin lesson since before Easter. It's time I get back to it. I also feel like I have left discipleship off my list of "important things and habits to notice/do/ruminate. Bonhoeffer makes an appearance as I chew on these things.

Reconciliation belongs to all creation. As people learn to reconcile with one another we are participating in reconciliation that God has already worked in all creation. As people learn to love selflessly, we are participating in the Love Christ brought to fruition on the cross. I must learn to live in this constant Spring, live remembering all life is forever in bloom...Resurrected with Jesus. I too arose at Easter.

*Some of my seminary professors would remind me that for the Christian, there is no such possibility. - The AngloBaptist

circle versus square

monday videoblog: pink tuesdays

monday videoblog: pink tuesdays

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national workshop, the panel discussion

From their different locations and traditions all are called in Christ to share in the unity of the family of God's children... Jesus destroys the walls of division and creates unity in a new and unsurpassed way through our sharing in his mystery. This unity is so deep that the Church can say with Saint Paul: ‘You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are saints and members of the household of God' (Eph 2:19)”.
- Pope John Paul, II

The panel was moderated by CBS Executive Producer (Cultural and Religious Broadcasts) John R. Blessington. The panel's topic was "The Local Churches and the Global Church." Dr. Margaret O'Gara, Professor of Theology at the University of St. Michaels College, Toronto, Dr. Joseph D. Small, Director, Theology, Worship and Education for the Presbyterian Church, USA and the Very Rev. Leonid Kishkovsky, Director of External Affairs and Interchurch Relations, Orthodox Church in America spoke to the topic. These are the notes that I took. I have very few quotations to offer you, only paraphrases. So, take the following as an interpretive effort and not a journalistic record. One thing I thought was interesting was how each speaker used resources from one another's traditions to make their points. This, I assume, is pretty typical theological rhetoric within the ecumenical debate.

Dr. Small was the first to speak. It must be an incredible challenge to present the entirety of Reformed Protestant polity and ecclesiology in a single statement. Still, he did a pretty good job. "The church is a community where the center is the Word (proclamation) and Sacrament (eucharist and baptism)." This is the most general definition that the Reformed tradition can offer. From here there might be incredible diversity theologically and functionally.

Dr. Small employed a little Calvin to speak about how the church might then be ordered. Essentially, the congregation is the foundational unit of the church.

Congregation - - > Universal/Global Church
not
Universal/Global Church - - > Congregation
He spoke of the congregation as Communion. It is the Body of Christ broken for the world. He also reminded folk that Calvin had no trouble with Bishops as a concept. The issue has more to do with the purpose of bishops. Are they representatives, pastors, and shepherds? Or are they ecclesial princes? The address was not simply an opportunity to extol the virtue of the Reformed tradition and take pot shots at the Papacy (though both happened); there was self critique as well. Many in the Reformed tradition have forgotten the sacramental entirely. And they have forgotten the centrality of the Word (Read the prologue to John's Gospel) Proclaimed. It is not mere exhortation, but the very presence of the Resurrected Christ.

The Very Rev. Leonid Kishkovsky was next to speak. He offered this quotation as a definition of the church. "The one who believes is in a community of faith. The one who prays is in a community of prayer. The one who loves is in a community of love. The church is a community of faith, prayer and love." But, he suggested, order and authority are a sticky wicket. There is a tension that is always implied when one realizes a local and a global Church.

The DECLARATION "DOMINUS IESUS" ON THE UNICITY AND SALVIFIC UNIVERSALITY OF JESUS CHRIST AND THE CHURCH was brought to the fore of his remarks. He reminded people that this was a difficult document to swallow for many of the Protestant tradition, but not so for the Orthodox. Though, he suggested, the Protestant were disappointed, the Orthodox position was less reactive. At least now we all know where the Roman church is. Such self-articulation helps dialogue. It does not hinder it. The Orthodox, however, do not agree with the declaration.

The Catholic/Orthodox dialogue is complicated. If there were unity, then the Bishop of Rome would hold primacy. The substance and content of "primacy" holds some challenges, however, and remains an unsettled issue. So, where then is the location of authority for the Church?

The Catholic position is that authority is found in the Bishop of Rome. The Protestant position is that authority is found in the scriptures. For the Orthodox, authority is found in the Holy Spirit. How does the Holy Spirit order the church? It is non-systematic and "a strange sight." There is to be no idol of scripture, of primacy, or of tradition. The church, instead, is historical and eschatological in nature and its structures are intended reflect this. Success may vary.

Dr. O'Mara was the last to speak. As the other two speakers all took shots at Dominus Iesus, I assume that this was the planned order all along. Dr. O'Mara said that the Church begins at baptism, a local rite and sacrament that affords membership in the Universal/Global church which exists back in time to the beginning of Creation and forward in time to the eschaton. It is a "communion of communions." The fullness of the church reveals itself in the local church as it is connected to the universal.

She then moved into some of the Catholic in-house struggles around collegiality for bishops. There is much intended, but little successfully implemented. Bishops are frustrated as they are not pastors, but are instead "plant managers to the local church." They have become administrators only. Since Vatican II there have been scattered attempts to assist in this issue and to, in turn, lessen the centrality of the Papacy. The Pope is to be Peter, the shepherd of God's sheep (Will you feed my sheep?). But this has been less and less the reality across time.

She spoke of "the gift of the Papacy" (People let loose some good natured laughter here.). Can we see authority as a gift? A gift to the whole church? And can we understand how giving and receiving such a gift might be very difficult as such a process invariably changes the gift? Some don't wish to share the gift. Some don't wish to receive it. The gift, however, is in need of repair. Dr. O'Mara suggested that in a spirit of imagination, faithfulness and perseverance, the gift of the Papacy may enrich the Universal/Global Church. We will need all Christians to help in the repair and renewal of the Papacy.

So, there you have it. Those are my (lacking) summaries of the addresses. Again, if I have misrepresented, it is not intentional. The organizers of the National Workshop are going to try to post the addresses on the website. That will be very helpful. I found the entire exercise to be remarkable. Though, there was no free church representation (likely for obvious reasons), and that frustrated me. I'll likely post my own thought soon enough.

Follow the extended link for the Question and Answer portion of the discussion.

Q: (from a Catholic priest) Would a fuller expression of the sacraments help in the articulation of the desire to share the gift of Papal authority?

A: (Dr. O'Mara) Vatican II suggested just such a posture, but implementation has been a struggle. The Catholic Church does not turn on a dime (my paraphrase).

Q: Does authority really lie in a book? In scripture?

A: (Dr. Small) No. And this is the struggle in what spoken of earlier. Authority is in preaching, the Word proclaimed and heard in Christian community.

Q: On repairing the Papicy, How do we navigate such an authority? How do we change it without watering it down so that the Pope becomes merely a figurehead?

A: (Dr. O'Mara) Pope John Paul II invited dialogue to help envision how the Papacy would serve unity. A greater de-centralization of authority is necessary (ala Orthodoxy). The church has need of a Spokesperson, just not as it has been employed in the last century or so.

(Very Rev. Kishkovsky) I confess that the current ecumenical patriarchate is also broken. It does not actually bring unity to the Orthodox churches.

Q: Would a more helpful model of the Papacy be to speak of "Petrine Ministry" instead?

A: (Very Rev. Kishkovsky) I'm not sure this is helpful. All Christians are called to Pauline and Petrine ministries. To locate all of Petrine Ministry in the office of the Bishop of Rome is our current problem and not a sollution.

Q: (Emergent church representative) About the gift of the Papacy...Can the use of the gift be dictated by the one receiving it? Cannot it be received and used at the pleasure of the recipient? Issues in copyright law may be helpful in parsing this out. A coffee cup, for example, can be used in multiple ways as desired by the recipient. We don't dictate "only coffee!" when we give them.

A: (Dr. O'Mara) There is a ministry of unity. And it has, over the years, taken many forms. Think back to the time when the Pope would coronate kings. The expressions of unity change over the years, but unity remains central. Can this be dictated by the local church? Exercised? This is a conversation for everyone, Catholics and the rest of us.

Q: How does the sociological context play into understanding the episcopal ministry? Where does theology happen here? And can we strike a balance?

A: (Dr. Small) The tension is in the relationship between congregation and region. Connectivity is the key. The Local church and the Universal/Global church are simultaneous expressions of Christ. Theology happens in this tension.

national workshop, day four

We are called to submit to the cry of the culture around us...
- Dwight Friesen

Day four of the National Workshop was perhaps my favorite. I was able to attend two of the seminars (at least in part) and found the closing panel discussion about Christian unity and the tensions between local and universal church fascinating. I'll post now about the two seminars I attended and then post about the panel discussion separately.

The Edgewater Community Religious Association offered a seminar to share what they are doing. Edgewater is a neighborhood in Chicago that wrestles with and enjoys incredible diversity. And the local religious association reflects that. Various religions attempt to serve the neighborhood and maintain their distinct voices in a spirit of mutual respect and care. Only a few people attended, but conversation was lively. Pastors and lay people alike are struggling to navigate an increasingly complicated American religious landscape and ministries in places like Edgewater can serve as a guide. Edgewater has been religiously diverse for decades. Communities in, say, more rural areas where immigration is a less dramatic occurrence, are now beginning to ask questions and seek mutual ministries. So, Edgewater can serve as a guide and inspiration. It was a good seminar.

The second seminar was about the Emergent movement and how it fits within the ecumenical conversation. Dwight Friesen was the presenter and he did a fine job presenting a (very) abridged history of the movement and how he understands it. There were several people in attendance and they all had questions. Some of the questions were along the line of the how-is-this-different-from-1967 variety. Others wanted to know a little about post-whateverism. But most were interested in finding ways to participate with the Emergent of inviting the Emergent into their own contexts.

Dwight said that "Emergent" is an impossible moniker to live with. It's unfortunate because the whole of the church should be emerging...with the help of the Holy Spirit, of course. This statement opened up an entire line of conversation where pastors and others expressed frustration in navigating denominational structures that now seem outdated.

According to Friesen, the Emergent movement is about an "ecology of spirituality." He claims that ideally the movement is not culturally driven. The whole of the movement is hoping to answer the questions: Where is mutual transformation occurring? Where is the church changing to meet the real needs of people? Where is the culture changing in response to the movement of God? This is the part of the conversation where the above quotation comes from. We are not to duplicate the culture around us. We are to critique it in the light of the Gospel (thus some of the anti-capitalism stances of Emergent folk) and with a spirit of Mission, offer alternatives.

Again, it was a great day. I'll post about the panel later on.

News!: Krister Stendahl has died.

national workshop, day three

Here is an image from the worship service on Monday evening.

The workshop offers morning classes or, well, workshops. I attended two on the third day of the workshop. To do so, I had to leave the first one half of the way through.

The first workshop was a sharing and conversation about an Illinois Council of Churches study of baptismal practices and theologies. The hope, it would seem, was to help navigate the confusing denominational landscape. People drift from denomination to denomination. How do we understand one another's practices and perhaps even share our baptismal records? The concern is not as administrative as I make it sound. The issue is this: one is not baptized a Baptist. One is baptized a Christian. Denominations are subsets. Even the Catholics in the room nodded. So, how do we teach this? How do we show that baptism is a profound rite shared by almost all Christians? Shall several local clergy or representatives be present on baptismal holidays like Easter? It was an interesting conversation with several tales of sharing the sacrament/ordinance.

The second workshop was entitled "New Horizons." Three young people sat on the panel. They were in their early 30s, represented three Christian perspectives (Catholic, African Methodist Episcopal, and Energent/Methodist), and each took their turn to talk about what Gen X or Gen Y (Millennials) might be able to offer the ecumenical conversation. I have a few notes to share, but if you want a good sense of where they are coming from, read this post from Larry. Strangely, he did not attend this particular gathering, but his post hits on one of the sessions points. "Ecclesial malleability" is the hope, and not necessarily as an act of rebellion. Many in the conversation (Emergent, primarily) are unchurched and are actually starting with a clean slate. They want some way to express the distinct perspectives they possess. Thus, the so-called cafeteria style worship where people choose what they want. The trouble is no one denomination can give the new folk latitude to express their faith, their (mostly, usually, perhaps entirely) orthodox faith.

People are not interested in being Baptist, for example. They want to be Christian and now, unlike in previous generations, they have access to an entire compendium of traditions. Someone used the example of a club DJ who mixes without attribution of source. As denominational walls crumble or become transparent, people feel more free to borrow.

Right...well, there you go. I need to get ready. I'll see you all later.

national workshop, day two

Michael Kiinamen spoke of the tension between Faith and Order and the search for Justice and Human Rights. He called upon us to recognize and maintain the balance of these two callings.

- NWCU website

Michael Kinnamon offerd up a keynote address that I hope will find itself online soon. It was quite remarkable. He is the Executive for the National Council of Churches. Kinnamon is an ecumenism scholar, former seminary dean and all around good guy. He's very bright and his address/sermon was inspiring.

Essentially he was attempting to remind all of us of the place of faith (including doctrine and liturgy) and works (including justice and activism) in Christian life and how it plays out within the ecumenical context. There is an increasing sense that the two poles are pulling away from one another. Kinnamon wants us to remember that the Church is the manifestation of both poles, all are expressions of God's Love and Reconciling work in the world.

He also reminded us as we work for unity, that Unity is a gift of God that we have already received through Christ and is born by the Holy Spirit. Thus, a spirit of ecumenism would necessarily be one of humility and obedience to God. Such a spirit is found in prayer and contemplation. This is the only road to Unity.

Yeah, not bad for a fellow Prot. I was impressed...not surprising given the centrality of prayer. And I would like his job in about 20 years. But that's another post.

The folk from Reconciler, St. Elias, and Immanuel Lutheran presented a workshop. Only a handful of people were there, but the conversation was lively. It was good to see how the relationships between the three congregations sharing Immanuel's space are getting along. The relationships and the connections seem to have deepened. As many said, the Holy Spirit seems to be up to something good there...and currently people are listening.

Oh, here is the link to the sermon (pdf) from the opening worship service. I'm off to another day of workshops and such. It should be lovely.

Finally...I saw my thesis adviser at the workshop. She was there to speak on Baptismal theology. I asked her if there were any news about my thesis. She said "Yes, it broke the copy machine."

Well...there you have it. I'll see you all on the morrow.

national workshop, day one

There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual conversation with God.

- Brother Lawrence

Yesterday was good. Registration continues apace at the Workshop. Today the classes begin. Some folk from Reconciler and Immanuel Lutheran will present what they are doing. That's exciting. Bishop Demetrios will also present a workshop on ecumenism and the global AIDS crisis. Have a gander at the National Workshop website to see what else is going on.

The worship service last night was incredible. I was able to serve as the ABC representative in the procession. So, I had the honor of hobknobbing with Bishop Demetrios (Greek Orthodox), Bishop Paprocki (Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago) as well as other notables. When I have a moment, I'll list them all. It was something. I list the two in particular because of the liturgy. We cannot celebrate communion (the Lord's Supper) together, but we can remember our Baptismal vows together. So, we prayed together. Bishop Demetrios led us in reaffirming the vows, and Bishop Paprocki blessed the water. Both processed around the place with the "sprinklers." It was really quite moving for me. I'll take some time later to explore that.

Have a great day.

monday videoblog: christian unity in shorts

monday videoblog: christian unity in shorts



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the sermon: now with notes!

"He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.
- 1 Peter 2:22-23

Good grief but this is a hard passage to preach. So, I keep asking myself why I cannot leave it alone. I keep asking myself, pleading with myself to talk about the Good Shepherd and to let the epistles to the experts. But I am a fool. I cannot let it alone. Or, more accurately to how I feel, this passage won't let me alone.

There is no full manuscript this morning. I hope that does not disappoint anyone overly. I will be preaching from an outline this morning. I know I run the risk of rambling, but I am hoping that the more "conversational" style will help moderate/mediate the difficulty of the 1 Peter passage. Not that there is a shortage of confidence in my congregation, I think that the pulpit sometimes gives a sermon an air of "the last word" that I want to be certain to avoid this morning.

So, I will wear the "wireless" microphone this morning (Have you noticed how many wires dangle from a wireless microphone?) and come down from the pulpit to talk with people. When I talk about suffering, I balk at making "The Grand Proclamation!" Choreography matters. Anyway, here is the outline as of 5:30-ish this morning. Click on the extended link. I've been awake since 4:00am musing over this in bed. So, I just got up.

Christian Disciplines
- trading cards
- sports page

Naming living and current disciplines
- discipline of being family
- discipline of being friends
- these things point not to us, but to God.

Creative work is not a selfish act or a bid for attention on the part of the actor. It is a gift to the world and every being in it. Don't cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you've got. - Steven Pressfield

1 Peter (dating: 65-70 A.D.)
- about family (family slave oiketai)
- "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.
- not about martyrdom, but about "milder" persecutions
- we are burdened by various interpretations of this passage that suggest we should stay in situations that are dangerous to us.

Conversations with others in the congregation
- the struggle for perfection in our relationships
- the fear and shame of failure in our family life
- the fear and expectation of inadequacy in caring for one another
- we are good in caring for others (agencies, not-for-profits), but caring for one another in the congregation...That might be more intimidating.
- Do we talk ourselves out of Christ-like action?
- Perhaps there is wisdom in 1 Peter and in John's Gospel for us: We show Christ, not ourselves, when we care for one another, when we struggle together, when we bear together the burdens of imperfections in our families.
- Christ is present in our attempts to love one another.

The Injunction to reveal "The Good Shepherd"
- other passages? (i.e. "I no longer call you servants..." or "brothers and sisters in Christ")

Yeah...ending this will be the problem. Maybe I can name once again that what we currently admire in ourselves is the discipline, the vocation we are being called to. We just need to remind ourselves that it is a discipline that shows forth God.

How about...

Creative work is not a selfish act or a bid for attention on the part of the actor. It is a gift to the world and every being in it. Don't cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you've got. - Steven Pressfield

You've got the Good Shepherd.

still working

Much violence is based on the illusion that life is a property to be defended and not to be shared.
- Henri Nouwen

I am still plugging away at the sermon. Trish and I were up very late getting things organized for our visit with the tax accountant tomorrow. And there was a meeting at the church. So, I did not work on the sermon. It'll have to happen today. But that too will be a challenge.

One of my parishoners is in the hospital. So, I'll be going out that way this morning after I drop Trish off at the train station. And we have a wedding rehearsal this evening. I'm presiding. It's a great honor. The wedding is tomorrow evening. So, I've much to do in the next 36 hours.

The sermon will come together. I have an outline. And I have a sense of what is making me nervous. Often, at least for me, if there is something making me nervous in the scriptures, I'm on the right track. I am hopeful that this is one of those times.

I am more and more convinced that good preaching is essential to the growth of a church. Now, it's no guarantee. And it certainly cannot edify a community all on its lonesome. But it is an important facet.

This is why I want to give my sermons so much time. I try to pray and sit with the scriptures. I share my thinking with my friends. Sometimes I just whine on i-chat. That helps, too. I read and study. I open my heart. Some weeks, however, simply ask much more of me than I have if I want to give my sermons this much time. This may be one of those weeks. Heh.

Okay...I'm going to get ready for work. I'll see you all around. Oh...the quotation? I just think it's cool.

The Friday Five:

1. How many times have you moved? When was the last time?

Dear God...um...I have moved 18 times in 38 years. The last move was here to the parsonage in Wilmette almost two years ago now. It will be two years in June. Some of the last few moves have been within the same neighborhood in Chicago. Moving is a hobby for some people in Chicago. We swap apartments.

2. What do you love and hate about moving?

I love going somewhere new. I hate going somewhere new. I love unpacking boxes. I hate packing boxes.

3. Do you do it yourself or hire movers?

This last time we hired movers. And as we have a piano, we may always do so now. But otherwise (except during my childhood moves), I have moved myself with the help of kind friends.

4. Advice for surviving and thriving during a move?

Pizza. A favorite beverage of your choosing. A good therapist.

5. Are you in the middle of any inner moves, if not outer ones?

I have been calling it my "second conversion." I dunno...being a pastor is changing the way I am faithful. It's an interior move with exterior implications. This is still unfolding. To play with the metaphor, I think I am just about done packing boxes.

Bonus: Share a piece of music/poetry/film/book that expresses something about what moving means to you.

maybe its me

Okay...not at all...But here is some interesting news from Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, the first seminary I attended so very long ago.

Faced with “worrisome” financial challenges, Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond will downsize its faculty and staff, the school’s president announced April 8.

sermon grumblings

Gaa!
- Me

What is up with 1 Peter?! Why won't the thing leave me alone? Stupid scripture passage...all niggly and relentless. Bugger.

more sermon musings

Creative work is not a selfish act or a bid for attention on the part of the actor. It is a gift for the world and every being in it. Don't cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you've got.
- Steven Pressfield, The War of Art

The pairing of the 1 Peter passage with the Acts passage is interesting. Just because the early church shared all things in common, did good things for people, and were (arguably) kind to their neighbors, does not mean they were treated well. No, sometimes endurance will be called for.

Endurance not camouflage.

sermon preparation

They take the paper and they read the headlines, so they've heard of unemployment and they've heard of bread lines, and they philanthropically cure them all by getting up a costume charity ball.

- Ogden Nash

I have coffee. It's good to me. I usually drink it black these days, but this morning I have a little cream in my jo. I don't know why.

Thursdays are my sermon days. I try to have a draft completed by noon. I've been pretty good about it lately, too. If the sermon is completed by Friday morning, then I can play during the weekend. This is a particularly busy weekend. I'm presiding at a wedding. So, we have a rehearsal on Friday evening and then the wedding the following night. I also have an appointment with my tax accountant on Saturday morning. Yay. So, I need to get something significant completed today.

Here are the suggested readings from the lectionary for this Sunday. I'm thinking that I won't be reading the Acts passage. It's tempting, but I think I'm going to leave it alone this week. So, to give you some reflection upon the passage...enjoy the sheep.

I'm thinking of focusing on the 1 Peter reading with the Gospel. This is a "good shepherd" Sunday of sorts. And that's a great thing. That there is also this thread from Acts and Peter relating to life in the early church is also important. Is this what life looks like if one is a member of the flock? Maybe. I'm going to chew on this for a while. The shared reflections at CCW's weekly Bible study was powerful. We spoke of the difficulties of life and how, in the end, forgiveness is a miraculous act, not responding in hatred is a miraculous act, leaving judgment to God is almost impossible. It takes God. "By [Christ's] wounds we are healed." Our healing comes though Christ. It cannot come by our own willfulness. It was a powerful afternoon.

more mumbling

We are so obsessed with doing that we have no time and no imagination left for being. As a result, [people] are valued not for what they are but for what they do or what they have - for their usefulness.

- Thomas Merton

The weather continues to be of the "April showers..." variety. We'll see a lot of rain and cloudiness this month. That's just how it goes. So, as I write this, the sky is gray and my coffee is warm. It's not a bad combination, but I'm really sick of the gray weather. Still, it makes for good reading weather. I'm going in to work late this morning since I was at the church a little later than usual last night.

So, what is it about usefulness? Is usefulness a bad thing? I wonder if Merton was much of a fan of utilitarian philosophies. It would seem from the quotation that the mystic in him was not. I imagine he would say that the true value of a human being is found in their "createdness"...their being a creation of God. Thus being and not usefulness. Right.

Prayer is the foundation for any right action. Only by being in the presence of God can we begin to understand what we are to do.

So, here we go again with the innovation thing again. Certainly usefulness has it's place in the life of the faithful. There are bills to pay, a physical life to manage somehow. These things are important. Certainly. But in the end, the Church (the community of the faithful both local and universal) is founded upon faith and not upon...stained glass. Don't get me wrong, I love stained glass. Love it. But that is not the foundation of the church. It's an expression of being.

An expression of being is worth pursuing as a line of thought in relation to innovation ala Google. Is the innovation an expression of being in the presence of God? As was stated in the comments, innovation for innovation's sake is problematic. But I wonder if innovation as an improvement works as well. Is the innovation useful or is it an expression of being in the presence of God? That's an interesting distinction to think through.

It can take us out of the "be relevant" temptation. Instead if we seek God first, seek God's presence and God's desire (will) for us individually and collectively, perhaps then we will find what it is that we are to do, the innovation we are to propose. Sometimes this innovation might be an improvement, a progressive step in a certain direction. But it also might be a clarification, a reiteration of what has always been held as essential to the Church.

"Sanctification" comes to mind. We are to become more like God. This happens only as God works in our lives. Our doing in response is simply that, a response.

So, ecclesial innovation is response to God and not to the market.

Maybe. Still pondering.

processing

Today we live in a culture of brokenness and fragmentation. Images of individualism and autonomy are far more compelling to us than visions of unity, and the fabric of relatedness seems dangerously threadbare and frayed.

- Parker Palmer, WEAVINGS, Vol. III, # 4, p. 2

Megan rightly pointed out that my previous entry was "fragmented." And I just want you all to know that this entry will likely be just as fragmented if not more so. I'm just giving you fair warning. There's a lot running through my mind.

The Young Fogey offers this from Fr. Methodius:

When presented with a choice between doing good and feeling good, the west almost always chooses the latter because it costs less. (more)

Yeah. Sometimes I think that what these guys say is true about us. Some days I don't. Today I'm just sort of lolling around in my sense of the church on the margins. Once again the idea of what is relevant is popping around in my mind. Individualism, what is relevant, choosing what feels good over what is good. Somehow these things can all slide together from time to time. They don't have to. One does not necessarily breed the next, but the connections are real somehow. Those thoughts are rambling through the clutter in my head...along side the experience of our prayer this evening.

Yes, we prayed tonight. I put together a brief liturgy...a way to begin understanding sharing our burdens. There were candles and prayers and singing. It was a nice service. I could tweak it in about seventeen different ways, but overall it went well. But my head is spinning somehow. It's spinning about multiple things, but not critically, not negatively.

I was the only male attendee. What would Mary Douglas have to say about that? There were only seven of us. It lasted thirty minutes. People offered up lots of various burdens. There were a couple moments of silent contemplation. I need to read John Climacus.

Here's something from Mary Douglas (from Purity and Danger):

It follows that when purity is not a symbol but something lived, it must be poor and barren. It is part of our condition that the purity for which we strive and sacrifice so much turns out to be hard and dead as a stone when we get it. It is all very well for the poet to praise winter.... It is another thing to try and make over our existence into an unchanging lapidary form. Purity is the enemy of change, of ambiguity and compromise. Most of us indeed would feel safer if our experience could be hard-set and fixed in form.

And that takes us all the way back to innovation. Which is the purer form of human community? The community in constant flux? The community in stasis? Is one to be preferred over another?

innovative churches

Innovation is super fragile. It's very easy to kill. We need a stubborn, rebellious attitude.

- Douglas Merrill, CIO, Google

Every now and again I pick up a copy of Fast Company magazine. I actually like some of the stuff they publish about up and coming companies especially their creative solutions to problems. The March issue is about innovation. It's interesting. Truly. And it is fun to see what can be translated into church life. Sometimes the ideas simply won't translate. Often corporations are after something that churches are not (financial profit, market share, etc.) and their methods don't wash with the Gospel. But every now and again the general attitudes are helpful.

On the cover is this quotation from Douglas Merrill. In some ways he's simply stating what we all already know. People don't like change. Change is worrisome. It raises anxiety. Some even suggest that it lessens loyalty. Too much innovation or change, can unhinge a community. So, people shy away from innovation. People will kill it. Thus, it is fragile. Merrill tries to protect innovation, to hold it up as a virtue. If a company does not innovate, the market will change around it and the corporation will be left out in the cold.

Merrill's notions about a corporation suggest a couple of things to me. This is pure speculation on my part, but I extrapolate some interesting notions about churches from his thinking...

1. Corporations can innovate more readily than churches because corporations are not communities. Though there may be a population working at the corporation, it is not a community. Every person is replaceable. Easily. Churches hold on to what burdens them. They "care for the widow and orphan." Will we feed God's sheep? That's the question. In this way, churches are not "fresh and relevant."

2. Innovation is fragile. It's true. People dislike it. Corporations and churches suffer because of this reality. Change and innovation go hand in hand. It's unavoidable. Innovation, what I understand as "doing something new or different" brings change. Human systems resist change. Innovation brings change. Oy. So, how do churches innovate? Should they even try?

3. Churches are communities of rebellion. One of the things I like about the church is that it (sometimes, when it's healthy) stands before the world and cries "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor." (Luke 4:18-19). We rebel against the world, and proclaim a Kingdom. This requires constant innovation because the world is also in the church. Unless we keep our eyes open, shifting and changing as necessary, we will find ourselves unable to answer this vocation, this Christ-like responsibility.

Innovation can be almost anything, really. It can be a rock and roll band in your morning service. It can be a Benedictine prayer group. Any innovation that helps the church know when it has become staid and incapable of meeting it's Christ-like vocation is helpful. Innovation for the church is not about appearing fresh and relevant. It's about finding ways to be the presence of Christ in the world.

Okay, that was a mess...Sorry for the rambling. The coffee is only just doing it's work. More later.

monday videoblog: not handy

monday videoblog: not handy

sermon: food and creative love

Follow the extended link for tomorrow's sermon.

Sermon: The Third Sunday of Easter, Year A
The Community Church of Wilmette
April 6, 2008

Luke 24:13-35

Food and Creative Love

Alleluia, the Lord is Risen!
The Lord is Risen, Indeed! Alleluia!

Big hand came and struck me down,
Blood started to flow, blood started to flow.
Big hand, well, here he comes again
I wanna heal, yeah , yeah, yeah,
I wanna heal, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Leap from the wounds
Leap from the wounds
Leap from the wounds of your fears
Leap from the wounds
Leap from the wounds
Leap from the wounds of your fears,
I said All I want is food and creative love,
All I want is food and creative love,
All I want is food and creative love,
All I want is food and creative love.

-Rusted Root, Food and Creative Love

I love the band Rusted Root. They sing and move and drum and virtually chortle their way through their songs. There’s such a joyful drive to even the most sour lyric. The constant repetition builds to a fervent cry.

"All I want is food and creative love!"

If only I could escape my fears, the wounds that they represent...pretend that all is well, that no wrong will come - that no pain will surprise me. I love this song because it expresses that desire so clearly. All I want is food and creative love. No more. No less. It’s a profound desire. And the song encompasses that for me. It shouts it to the hills. "All I want is food and creative love!"

I hear this song to be an Easter proclamation. It’s a Communion proclamation, a Eucharistic hope.

Food and Creative Love will have the last say.

Leap from the wounds of your fears.

Anthony Bourdain speaks of this idea of Food and Creative Love in another way. Anthony Bourdain is a chef, author and television personality. He travel around the world and eats what is given to him. He proclaims the virtues of culinary courage and kitchen piracy. I love this guy.

One of his books is entitled "The Nasty Bits: Collected Varietal Cuts, Usable Trim, Scraps and Bones." It was loaned to me recently and I have been enjoying it greatly. It is a collection of articles and essays Bourdain has written that cover the gamut of his opinions and experiences. Its a motley mess. So, of course, I love it.

Bourdain is famous for statements like, "The best cooks are ex-dishwashers." and, "Understand, when you eat meat, that something did die. You have an obligation to value it - not just the sirloin but also all those wonderful tough little bits." This is how Bourdain appears to live as well.

He wants to know people who have lived in the dirt. He wants to work with people who know how to endure. Life is not just the sirloin. It is also the wonderful nasty little bits...and sometimes the wonderful nasty big bits. He wants to taste all of it.

Bourdain wants us to have courage. He wants us to honor the entirety of what sustains us, and not simply the pieces we would prefer to honor. Let’s honor the whole cow and not just the prime cuts. This is generosity and thanksgiving. Name what has been given to us. Let that naming lead to the transformation of something unsightly like bone and marrow. Let it be transformed into a feast.

The two disciples were on the way to Emmaus. They were walking and wondering about what the previous days had brought to them. They were stuck in the midst of their fears. Their friend had been executed. The one they hoped would be the Messiah...was gone. There were strange stories about an empty tomb and Jesus appearing to the other disciples. And they simply did not know what to believe.

They met a stranger on their journey. And the stranger told them of the promises of scripture and the stranger blessed bread and wine. Then in the blessing and in the naming, as if a curtain is lifted,

They Recognized Christ.

The story of this meal is the way that the early church begins the tradition of the Last Supper. This is the first time the disciples gather with the Risen Christ and share a meal. And it marks a long tradition that we honor today.

The Lord’s Supper is a mark of Food and Creative Love. It is also in the redemption of the "nasty bits." "On the night that he was betrayed" begins Paul. The Lord’s Supper does not deny the betrayal. Instead it provides the context for Judas’ betrayal, saying that in the end the last word belongs to a Risen Lord. Food and Creative love will have the last word. The nasty bits are real. And they won’t go away. But they can be transformed. Last week, if you recall, the Risen Jesus still bore the wounds of his crucifixion as he appeared to Thomas. And at the site of those wounds, Thomas praises God.

In some way, these are the "nasty bits" that Bourdain would have us remember and honor somehow. They cannot be forgotten. To do so is to lose the whole of the Creature that sustains us, to misunderstand the nature of the Gift that is Life. Christ comes to us Wounded and accepts us in the same way. But in his appearance in our lives, in our own Emmaus Walks, he reminds us that the wounds do not have the last word. They are present. They are not to be forgotten. The past is not erased. Instead it is given a new context, the context of God’s grace and healing.

Once upon a time I thought that forgiving meant forgetting,
and that forgetting was the same thing as forgiving.
Once upon a time I thought that making peace with my enemy erased the past.
Once upon a time I thought I could live behind the walls of some convent
and all my pain would go away.

Today I know differently.
Today I know that making amends is the beginning to forgiveness but not its fruition.
Today I know that forgetting the past might actually be a dishonor to the people who lived it.

We are to name our wounds. We are to uphold them in prayer. They are proofs of the Resurrection for people like Tomas – for each of us. They can be the vehicles to compassion. Because in the end, the wounds and the fears do not have the last word.

God has the last word.

God’s love and grace has the last word. We pass the peace after the Lord’s Supper in proclamation that God’s grace sustains us. And though we bear scars and wounds and memories locked away in secret places in our hearts, God’s peace wins out. God’s Love sustains.

We have Food...and Creative Love.

Alleluia! The Lord is Risen!
The Lord is Risen, Indeed! Alleluia!

a memorial service

Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life:
Such a way as gives us breath;
Such a truth as ends all strife,
Such a life as killeth death.

Come, my Light, my Feast, my Strength:
Such a light as shows a feast,
Such a feast as mends in length,
Such a strength as makes his guest.

Come, my Joy, my Love, my Heart:
Such a joy as none can move,
Such a love as none can part,
Such a heart as joys in love.

- George Herbert

Last night people gathered at Community Church to celebrate the life of John W. Burke. It was a remarkable evening. Musicians from all over the area and beyond came in to pay their respects, to share stories, to sing and to grieve with one another. For those of you who have led a memorial service or two, I hope you understand what I say. I simply unlocked the door and the service happened all around me. I think of it as a ministry of getting out of the way.

There was little if anything for me to do, really. And that's a great help. But it was miraculous...the music, the eulogies (many words were said), the love and support expressed for Winifred, our music director...It was all so lovely. She will miss John deeply...as will we all. So many musicians...so many singers. The singing of "Joyful Joyful" just blew me out of the water. And then the ad hoc choir that gathered (myself included) at the end of the service to sing Randall Thompson's Alleluia was unbelievable. CSO members, Lyric Opera Choir members and many other gifted singers...about 50 people came forward to honor John with our voices.

Being a pastor is a strange gig. I never got to know John, not the person that was remembered last night. I only knew him while he was sick. And yet by virtue of office and by virtue of the kindness of people like Winifred, I was invited in to the deep end of the pool. Remarkable. Truly.

A baritone, whose name escapes me for the moment, from the Met in New York came out and sang "The Call." It's George Herbert's poetry set to Vaughn Williams' music. I so love this piece. I asked that a member of the choir sing it as the introit/invocation at my installation service at Community Church. It's an important piece to me for many reasons. And I am gladdened all the more to have this memory attached to it now.

The Memorial Service began at 6:30. The concert in support of Winifred began about 8:45(ish). We locked up at 11:30. What a night.

Peace and all Good Things be to Winifred and all who love her.
And may memory eternal be with John.

I have a meeting in a couple of hours. We're looking for a new youth minister. If you know anyone...Let me know.

looking back always a mistake?

fewer and fewer evangelical Christians will be attracted to the mood of angry nostalgia for a lost golden Christian America that has so often characterized the evangelical public voice[…].
- David Gushee

Religion Dispatches has posted a summary of a panel discussion with scholar David Gushee on the shifting political landscape of evangelical America. It's worth a read if you are interested. The bloggist, Robert P. Jones, offers several interesting notions of his own.

Essentially, party loyalty is fading as people are willingly step away from the rhetoric of the power mongers and express the nuances of their own thinking. The priorities may not be what many expect. The question is, of course, how this will show itself in the coming presidential election. Should be interesting.

I pulled the one quotation out because I think it serves as a warning to mainline protestant denominations pining for some halcyon days of yore. I think that pretty much anyone could get turned of by such rhetoric. Upholding the glories of the past in stead of a profound hope for the future is likely a mistake. "We used to be so cool! What happened?"

The Religious Right made it work only because they found people to blame: anyone who bought into Modernism. The made themselves the victim. Thus, they garnered power. It works. But it may not last and does not necessarily improve anything. Gushee and others speculate that the necessary extremism to such a movement burns itself out.

It's a good warning to those of us in the Mainline traditions who also sometimes bemoan the loss of what we imagine once was. It might be wiser to look beyond the past landscape to something more nuanced...more complicated and not less. There's something about wine skins that could be said here.

Okay...the day calls. Peace!

the nasty bits

Understand, when you eat meat, that something did die. You have an obligation to value it - not just the sirloin but also all those wonderful tough little bits.
- Anthony Bourdain

The sermon calls to me this morning. The lectionary reading is about having dinner with Jesus. There are about a million ways that I can run with this idea. And that is not a good thing. I must focus (grasshopper). So, I am thinking about the nasty bits about a meal. Anthony Bourdain has published a collection of articles into a book entitled "The Nasty Bits." The quotation is something I picked up somewhere else, but it gets to the premise of the book...and the title (and content) is simply a play on the notion. The essays are all over the place...racism, food, kitchens, immigration, impregnation, quiche...Yeah. It's my kind of book. What is this word "focus?"

So, one of the essays that intrigued me is about how the dishwasher eventually makes the best cook. Why? Well, they know the kitchen from the ground up. They know hard work. They "know how to endure." Bourdain cannot stand the prissy artiste who looses his or her mind when the cod isn't available from the local fish monger. Sure, a CIA education is extremely valuable, but if the classically trained Chef cannot endure the life, what's the point? The dishwasher often makes the best cook.

What is it about endurance and dirt? How does this speak to intimacy? What is it about life that makes this statement ring so true to me? And what is it about the time following the crucifixion that speaks to endurance and food? Why food? Why does Jesus come at meal time?

Jesus seeks to aid us, to help us endure.

Rusted Root has a song entitled "All I Want Is Food and Creative Love." Somehow it'll appear in the sermon...likely just as the title. It's not a particularly narrative lyric. But the sentiment speaks to how I understand endurance. Food and creative love...love that creates and the things that sustain us.

What are you thinking about today?

wow...done

And it's done. The Thesis has been sent in to the Proper Authorities. I am sure there will be minor (please, God only minor) corrections and clarifications that I will have to make. That's fine. But I can breathe now. It's done.

Thank you for your well-wishing, the good karma, and the prayers.

Wow.

Damn.

charisma feet

Yeah. There they are. Um. Yeah. Enjoy?

what? there's more?

With this in mind, let us raise our hearts and minds on high, where Jesus Christ is, in the glory of his Father, and from whence we look for him at our redemption. Let us not be bemused by these earthly and corruptible elements which we see with the eye, and touch with the hand, in order to seek him there, as if he were enclosed in the bread or wine.
- 1542 Geneva Reformed Liturgy

John Calvin has yet to appear in any of my dreams. This is likely a sign of health. And yet I'm surprised. I'm used to my obsessions appearing in my dreams. Ah well. The thesis has made appearances, and that's interesting on some level. Maybe I'm more obsessed about the thesis than I am John Calvin. Who can say?

John Calvin is not a popular figure among those of us on the left edge of Christianity. He's not a pacifist. He does not believe in the separation of the church and state. In fact, he crafted a theocracy in Geneva. He's caustic in tone and almost fundamentalist in his approach to scripture. So, what is the attraction for me? Calvin is a first generation Humanist. Almost everything that underscores his theology can be put in a Humanist framework. It's really quite remarkable.

Some day I will write an article on that aspect of his thinking. Sadly, it has no place in my thesis. It's just to tangential to what I am exploring. Ah well.

Almost there.