conjectural navel gazing; jesus in lint form

two quick distractions

Tim Sean blogged about the "non-anxious dissident" Jesus. This is what caught my attention.

This kindness is in of itself a dissident way of thinking. No longer an eye for and eye, but mercy, kindness, grace, even when we know better. It doesn't compute, but under the best scenarios it forces the kind of revolution that God perhaps prefers, one of a person's own choosing.

Kim Fabricius posted her Christmas Eve sermon. Here's the blurb:

As for me, today I bring you good news about the God disclosed in this child, who happens to be the Word made flesh, the “little Word,” as St. Bernard called him. He has no time for religious fuss, he gives no points for moral rectitude, he is oblivious to all our other divisive cultural constructions, and he would not know theological correctness if it pulled down his nappy and smacked him on the bum. All – all – are welcome at the manger.

sermon mumblings

On a recent episode of Iron Chef, host Alton Brown closed with the following words: "And remember, it's not food until somebody eats it." Tolkein said this about the "blessed sacrament."

Out of the darkness of my life, so much frustrated, I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament - there you will find romance, glory, honor, fidelity, and the true way of all your loves upon earth, and more than that: death: by the divine paradox, that which ends life, and demands the surrender of all, and yet by the taste (or foretaste) of which alone can what you seek in your earthly relationships (love, faithfulness, joy) be maintained or take on that complexion of reality, of eternal endurance, that [everyone's] heart desires.

What is it about participation that matters? We talk about belief and feeling, being moved to do something, a need to feel something during worship, and even being convinced ala debate halls in Boston, but do we talk about participation? Is it possible that by participating in communion, by eating what begins as simple bread and wine (or juice at CCW), we enter into life with the Word that became flesh?

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

(John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’”) From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

Preaching this text is proving challenging. Letting the poetry do what it wills is tricky...especially for a Baptist. Heh. Alton Brown holds the key to getting my mind around this passage. It's about our willing participation in ritual, in charity, in faith, that makes the leap for us, that allows us to be in the Word of God...to be recipients of grace and to know Christ.

not the same

I would like to welcome another Tripp into the world. Bristol Palin has given birth to a bouncing baby boy. Congratulations, Bristol! Now, can we talk about the name? I wish God's blessings upon the whole Palin/Johnson family and especially young Tripp. But, I am gonna get some serious flack here. I just wanted to let that be known.

Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston? Wow.

There's a certain difference, however, that I would like to highlight...My name is a nickname. That's really how you get to be called Tripp where I am from. Any other method is, well, frowned upon no matter what the political leaning.

My given name is George Vincent Hudgins, III. I received the nickname "Tripp" because I am the third to hold the family name. Tripp's and Trey's are historically thirds of something. Tripp does not appear on my birth certificate. But it is all I have ever been called. I just want to clarify that.

So, in all joy, I welcome Tripp to the planet. It's not a bad place to be. And moose tastes great! But to those of you out there who want to know...Our names are not the same. Derivation matters here. I'm just sayin'.

And, yes, this is all about me.

Heh.

the sixth day of christmas

Do you ever wake up on the morning spinning...You know, where your mind is going in a thousand directions at once? Some of those directions are anxious. Some of them are exciting. Often it's a little of both. That's kind of where I am right now. I am thinking through some things that have to happen at church this week (and there are many though the office is closed). I'm pondering the popularity of Twitter and the steady demise of the practice of the art of the essay. I am wishing I were a better writer. And, finally, I am thinking about sorting the recycling. This is not an all encompassing list of what is rattling around in my head, but it will suffice.

So, I am on Twitter. I don't know why, really. I don't use it well. Some people see it as a good way to network. Perhaps it helps if you own a Blackberry, but I'm simply not there yet. I'm still on a laptop as my principal networking tool. Learning to post news, information in the third person, and general entertaining blibs and bloops about oneself is intriguing. I'll admit that. But I am still unclear how it is a good networking tool.

to do
1. take spouse to the train
2. sort some stuff at the church office
3. make a few phone calls
4. sort recycling
5. schlep someone's Christmas tree to the curb

sermon links
Ref+
Chuck

the first sunday of christmas

Most of the snow is gone. All told, we had more than a foot of snow in the backyard. Now it's gone. Sad. I like the look of it. But at least now I can bring the grill in. I had neglected to do so before the weather hit. The temperature has fluctuated more than 60 degrees in the last ten days. Incredible.

It's been good to have my mother in town for the last sever days. I've missed her. She leaves for the east tomorrow. Tonight we'll have dinner with some friends and try to take it easy. Shared leftovers can make for a very nice meal where no one has to work particularly hard.

The sermon is ready. A friend suggested that I try to incorporate the words "citrus" and "pepperoni" into it. I'll see what I can do. They don't really fit, but that's never stopped me before. Heh.

How have your holidays been? Christmas? Chanukah? Trish made latkes yesterday for a cast party. She's in a Christmas show and the Jewish member of the cast has been out in the cold. So, the cast decided a little menorah moment would be appropriate. The potato pancake is a wonderful thing. Trish always includes a little grated onion in hers. Mmm.

I hope your holidays have been good. There are still quite a few days left in Christmas. We actually have two Sundays in Christmas this year. I love that.

Be well. Merry Christmas. Travel safely if you have to travel.

a sermon for the first sunday of christmas

The sermon tomorrow morning is posted here. Follow the extended link. It's ready, I think. Here's a quotation:

The difference between Tolkien and Luke is this: Luke is telling us a true story that redefines all of creation. Tolkien, no matter how much Christianity he may or may not include in his story, is not telling us something real. It is an escape. It is entertainment. No matter how much of human endeavor may be illustrated, Tolkien’s Middle Earth is a place where we can go to hide from the world. Luke offers no such escape. This is not a story we relate to. It is a story that changes us.

The First Sunday of Christmas, 2008

Has anyone else here seen The Lord of the Rings films? I hope so. They are great movies.

I have seen the third movie now two times. I assume I will see it again and probably in the theatre, too. Who knows how many times I will watch it on video or DVD. I am already looking forward to the extended version. I have seen the two preceding films several times each. I have even read and reread the books over the last twenty years. I love these stories. They are epic in scope. They speak of hope and despair. They are tales of overcoming impossible odds to defeat an evil threatening to destroy everything.

I don’t know about you guys, but I love this stuff.

What makes these films so popular? What is it about these stories that draw people? Is it simply a very astute marketing scheme? I am sure that has something to do with it, but this story has been popular in America for almost 50 years. There is something to this story of hobbits, elves, the Nazgul (undead kings of ages long past), dragons, orcs and talking trees. I have been struggling to figure out what it is.

Is it the drama?
Is it the fantastic creatures?
Is it that Tolkein simply spins a good yarn and I am drawn to that?

It is probably all three. Listen to this passage from the book The Return of the King. p. 125

In rode the Lord of the Nazgul. A great black shape against the fires beyond he loomed up, grown to a vast menace of despair. In rode the Lord of the Nazgul, under the archway that no enemy ever yet passed, and all fled before his face. All save one. There waiting, silent and still in the space before the Gate, sat Gandalf upon Shadowfax: Shadowfax who alone among the free horses of the earth endured the terror, unmoving, steadfast as a graven image in Rath D’nen. “You cannot enter here,” said Gandalf, and the huge shadow halted. “Go back to the abyss prepared for you! Go back! Fall into the nothingness that awaits you and your Master. Go!” The black rider flung back his hood, and behold! He had a kingly crown; and yet upon no head visible was it set. The red fires shone between it and the mantled shoulders vast and dark. From a mouth unseen there came a deadly laughter. “Old fool!” he said. “Old fool! This is my hour. Do you not know Death when you see it? Die now and curse in vain!” And with that he lifted high his sword and flames ran down the blade. Gandalf did not move. And in that very moment, away behind in some courtyard of the City, a cock crowed. Shrill and clear he crowed, recking nothing of wizardry or war, welcoming only the morning that in the sky far above the shadows of death was coming with the dawn. And as if in answer there came from far away another note. Horns, horns, horns. In dark Mindolluin’s sides they dimly echoed. Great horns of the North wildly blowing. Rohan had come at last.

Wow.

This is amazing. I do not know how many of you have seen the films or read the books, but this moment is one of my favorites. When things are at their darkest, there is always the miraculous.

Tolkien was not afraid of miracles. He was not afraid to grab the reigns of his own tale and allow the impossible to happen. The story is full of moments like these. The movie adaptations are no different in this respect. Every time you think that the good guys are down for the count a miracle happens. There would be elven archers - scores of them coming to the aid of a doomed army. In the passage I read to you we have a cavalry of thousands of the fiercest horsemen in all of Middle Earth appearing at the last minute to stem the tide of battle. There is a living forest that moves from one part of the countryside to another just to help out in the Battle of Helms Deep. Tolkien even employs giant eagles that appear just in the nick of time to turn the tide of another battle.

As implausible as this seems, Tolkien makes it all work. I find that he so quickly draws me into the story that I accept all of it. Sure! Why not? Giant eagles? That’s great! Wahoo! Where can I get one? With all the bargains after Christmas there must be at least one place selling giant eagles at a reasonable price. I just love it.

Now, a lot of people want to say that the Lord of the Rings trilogy is a Christian allegory. There is even a book on the Theology of Tolkien. I can see where they are coming from. I can see the ideas of death and resurrection. Hope is a consistent theme. Again, in the passage I read, he employs a cock crowing to signal hope. In scripture, it may signal Peter’s defeat, but we know it signals Christ’s victory in death as well. The devil will be cast down. What appears foolish is, in reality, the deepest truth.

I think, however, that Tolkien was not writing such an allegory. He was a scholar of lore who was trying to create another mythical world simply in order to create the elvish language, a language that has never existed. They are great stories, but they are not necessarily Christian allegory.

Nevertheless, it is an interesting idea. Tolkien was Christian. He and C.S. Lewis were close friends. They debated theology and shared their stories and a love of lore and myth. However, Tolkein was shaped by his Christian beliefs and I think that we may need to pay attention to what he is showing us about ourselves through his tales.

We are often more readily drawn to the fantastic than to the ordinary. Some of us would rather read about the slaying of thousands of orcs at the hands of mythical knights, rooting them on all the way then to deal with the issues that plague our own world. We would rather escape. We would rather hear a tale where evil is something plain to discern and good triumphs in the end. I think Tolkien knew this. I do not think that he held it against us. It is human nature to seek solace. It is human nature to want a break from all that plagues us. It is normal to want the good guys to win.

But, brothers and sisters, this is Christmas, the days when we celebrate the Birth of God and hear the stories of his childhood. Today we hear of the fruition of prophesy. I think that the author of Luke shares this story with us for several reasons. One is that he knows that human beings are drawn to the epic tale. This is a part of the life of Christ that evokes the epic.

Yet, Luke is not spinning a tale to entertain us. Luke wants to tell us something about Christ and what it means to be Christian. What draws us in? Is it a star? Is it a prophesy? This may be what initially grabs our attention. But where we lay their gifts, where we bow and kneel is before a baby boy in swaddling clothes. This is a cooing, crying baby boy who hungers for his mother’s breast. This is God. There is no greater miracle. There are no number of giant eagles that can equal this miracle, for this child is the salvation of all creation. There is no greater epic. The Lord of the Rings pales in comparison. Luke wants us to know that this child is God.

All divinity and all humanity are enshrouded in this: all joy and all pain.

So, what I want to know is this: does this epic, this incarnation grab our attention in the way that Tolkien’s epic does? Should it?

Certainly slick marketing is successful at getting the attention of the masses. Maybe we should try that. We have all the elements of an epic story. We have wizards, prophecies and an evil empire. We have a child in danger, a young mother and her brave husband. There is war and terror. To be completely honest, I get frustrated sometimes because I perceive that we are more excited by tales like Tolkien’s than the Gospels. But the Gospels and Tolkien are not telling the same type of story, are they? I am not certain that it is right to even compare the two. Perhaps Luke’s tale should not attract us in the way that Tolkien’s does.

The difference between Tolkien and Luke is this: Luke is telling us a true story that redefines all of creation. Tolkien, no matter how much Christianity he may or may not include in his story, is not telling us something real. It is an escape. It is entertainment. No matter how much of human endeavor may be illustrated, Tolkien’s Middle Earth is a place where we can go to hide from the world. Luke offers no such escape. This is not a story we relate to. It is a story that changes us.

Luke and the other Gospel writers bring God into the world. They bring God to us and not the other way around. This is the truth about Christ. This is Emmanuel. This is how God is with us. He is born in the same manner as the rest of us. There is doubt, mystery and suffering all around. There is love, joy and complete self-giving.

When we read about the Christ child, we should also be thinking about Jesus’ baptism, the last supper and his resurrection. This birth foreshadows all of the ministry of Jesus. Every encounter that Jesus has with the people of Israel, with the poor, the ill, the sinner and the powerful, whether miraculous or ordinary, is wrapped up in the child Christ. Every encounter with God lies with Christ in swaddling clothes. We in our identity with Christ, through our encounters with him, lie with Christ in swaddling clothes.

This is why we cannot sell Luke’s story like we sell a movie because scripture takes us into the world. It leaves us as vulnerable as the infant Christ. It is no escape from the world. It is meeting the world head on.

Christian life is no escape. Tolkien’s story, no matter how much I may love it, and I do love it, is not the truth. As we observe these days of Christmas, as we pray and think upon the shepherds, the maiden, the husband, the magi, let that story enter us. Let us allow it to transform our lives so that we, like Christ Jesus, may embrace the world in vulnerable love.

Amen.

christmas eve sermon

crazy christmas cracker crown

This is my friend, Dave. I wonder if the Good King Wenceslaus ever looked so keen in his kingly crown.

trish is enthusiastic

So, Christmas is upon us. We're in the third day, as the tradition goes. I would rather not eat a french hen. I'm still recovering from the first two days of the season. Wuh.

My friend Dave took this photo yesterday. He spent the afternoon of the 25th with us and then stayed overnight. Dave is great fun and a good friend. The 26th was a day of lounging on the floor. This photo is but one example of such floor lounging. I was jumped.

I need to work on my sermon today. I am hopeful that it'll turn out okay. I preached on Christmas Eve about the power of story. I'm going to be exploring that a little more this season...We have two Sundays in Christmas and then there is the Epiphany. This story that we began on Christmas Eve is hardly over yet.

I love to tell the story...

merry christmas

The tree is laden with gifts for a friend's four year old daughter. They are staying with us this season. Then there are all the gifts that have filtered in since Thanksgiving from Virginia. Santa has come with such enthusiasm this year! Nog is in the fridge. I'm up. It's not quite four. Santa needed me to pitch in on one or two things and now I cannot sleep. You know, something in my head thinks I am still working. I just checked my work e-mail. Of course there was nothing for me there, but I simply had to check. I must be broken.

The Christmas Eve Lessons and Carols went well. I love that service. I think it is my favorite all year. Ours runs about 70 minutes including the short children's pageant in the middle. I assisted one of our members with "Nothing But A Child" by Steve Earle. It's a lovely tune. I'm going to have to learn to actually play it as opposed to simply get through it.

This is the first year that I've stayed home at the holiday without scheduling a guest preacher for the Sunday following. Hmm. Interesting.

The cats are passed out on the couch. I should try to go back to sleep. The temperature outside is in the single digits and is expected to fluctuate 40 degrees in the next two days. It's fine weather for a long winter's nap.

Have a Merry Christmas, all. Be well.

a quotation

Lovely.

"Writing an occasional poem has to attend to the moment itself, but what you hope for, as an artist, is to create something that has integrity and life that goes beyond the moment."

- Elizabeth Alexander, asked by President-elect Barack Obama to compose and read a poem for his inauguration, explaining how she sees her objective. Source: (The New York Times)

Yeah...Just like sermons...You hope it is speaking from the Holy Spirit, a word for today and tomorrow...

mothers at christmas

My mother arrived safely last night. She was supposed to arrive at about 1:30. Instead she arrived at about 8:00 in the sleet and snow. Given the weather, I am very glad were not more inconvenienced. She told a story about how there were only two runways available at O'Hare. The pilot wanted the longer of the two. The tower wanted the shorter. There's an implied physics question about time and mass. Trying to squeeze an overstuffed jetliner into an already crowded schedule takes skill, smarts, and just a little lunacy. Add snow, the holidays, and what must certainly be a long day and laws of physics get challenged. Mom said that there was a debate between the pilot and the tower. The pilot won. Longer runways make for better landings when a plane is overfilled with Christmas cookies, stocking stuffers and people visiting those they love. I'm very glad that my mother his home with us for Christmas.

Today I need to finish the sermon for tonight. It should be fine. I'm still noodling with it. Story. What's in a story? I have a parallel sermon running for Sunday. Again, a story...this time an epic. I'll let you know how it goes...likely post it later today. It'll be short.

Have a blessed Christmas Eve. Advent ends today. No more waiting.

mary, don't you weep

My mother arrives from Virginia today. She's flying in, hopefully, before all the new snow hits the area. She'll be staying with me and my wife for the holidays. So, those of you who wish to see her, come on by Chateau Ouilmette to visit. I know she will be glad to see you all.

I was sick this weekend. I woke up Saturday feeling just a little off kilter but nothing horrible. So, I went to my meeting, but by the end of the meeting I was really far gone. And by the end of the day I was running a 102 fever. That was great. So, no Mary for me this year. My stellar music minister led a carol sing and preached an impromptu homily on love and risk. That's a Mary homily. God bless her.

So, today: pick up Mom from ORD, buy yet another wee small gifty for the holiday, finalize orders of worship, eat a large meal with meatloaf as the centerpiece. Mmm.

What's on your docket?

mary, mary...why you buggin?

Coffee is ready. The cookies still need packing up, but they too are ready. The sermon, well, it is elusive this week. Mary is a tricksy hobbit, don't you know, and I just cannot seem to pen her in this time. That's probably for the best. It's not good to try to pin down or pen in a prophet. They just get cranky and the next thing you know you are living in Babylon. Ah, yes. Sometimes God too is a tricksy hobbit.

Today is a full day. I serve (sporadically) on a regional Baptist governance committee. It's no big thing. We have a to-do list given to us by the local congregations and try our best to facilitate what they try to do together. I have missed the last two meetings (thus, "sporadically") and need to attend this morning's meeting. It'll be fine.

Then I need to work on the sermon. I have an outline and one or two illustrations. The difficulty this week is that I have chosen a dissertation topic and not a sermon topic. I need to whittle it down a great deal. This too will be fine.

Tomorrow at church we will host Quest and they will perform "Blue Nativity." This has become a bit of a tradition at Community Church and I am glad they're coming back. Swing on by if you like. The show begins at 12:30. Oh, and if you are feeling particularly brave, come to church at 11:30 where I will present a paper on the nature of humanity as understood through a Marian prophetic lens.

Peace!

game on!

Go, Spiders! Munch on a big ol' bear! My congregation doesn't want that thar incense!

Um...The Mighty Spiders are up 14 - 0...
Make that 21 to 0.
24 to 7 with 2:00 left in the game. Mmm...bear steaks.
Final! That's more than fifteen minutes, Ref+. Think about a good twenty to thirty minute teaching sermon. Preach 'em into the kingdom, brother priest!

So, now how will I find an excuse to get a thurible?

Go, Spiders!!!

a snowy magnificat

The church office is closed today. I will whine about the snow but seldom close the office. Today, however, the local schools closed. Thus, the church is closed. I think that's a good rule of thumb. The local schools seldom close since all the students can get to school fairly easily. People live close to the schools here in Wilmette. Anyway...

So, I dropped Trish off at the train station. The roads are horrible. And I went by the office to check on our poor/homeless population...just in case. Today is the day we usually give out gift cards to the local grocery store. There they were...standing in the sleet an hour before the office usually opens waiting for a $30 gift card. "Wait for the Lord." takes on new meaning. I stopped and handed out cards. It's frightening to think that they would stand there in the sleet for so little. But it is not little. We all know this. $30 is a lot of money. How much Ramen could you buy with $30? Spam? Generic pasta? If you had to, you could feed yourself for a good long while on $30.

I'm home now trying to work on my sermon. I am thawing a pork loin that will make for several meals this weekend. No, I am not struggling with "white guilt" or even "money guilt." I am aware that things are not equal, that we don't always get to choose, and that I am wasteful. There is guilt, and I would like to think that it is sincere guilt that will continue to motivate me to live simply, to share daily, and to welcome God into my world.

I'm working from home. Feel free to e-mail me or to comment. I'll post again as I continue to flesh out this sermon...The Prophet's Will...What was Mary's will?

early thursday sermon fretting

As the song moves outward, it also unfolds a density of symbolism. One cannot avoid the sense that Mary is here made the representative if not the personification of "Israel."
- Luke Timothy Johnson

It is that time of the Advent and Christmas seasons when I start to freak out just a little bit. The home obligations increase as do the homiletical obligations at church. I have a lighter load than many of my pastoral colleagues. I realize this, but I fret nonetheless. These are the "visitor sermons." More people visit from out of town this time of year than any other...more people who come to church but rarely during the year...I know that there are many philosophies about how one welcomes, prepares etc for this time of the year. Mine seems to be centered on fretting.

The sermon this Sunday is entitled "The Prophet's Will." I'm taking another look at the Magnificat and this time with a more feminist edge than I have in the past (here or here). The quotation from Luke Timothy Johnson has caught my attention. Mary is a community, a people, who give birth to the Christ Child, a people who give birth to Immanuel, God is with us. Why did Luke (the Gospel writer) choose a communal image for such a proclamation? That's a question I cannot readily answer, but I can certainly enjoy the implications. She is the personification of the Beatitudes (blessed, you know) and the personification of God's people, the vine onto which the Church is grafted. Ah...the images are lovely. Now, is there a sermon in here? We'll see.

I'm interested in what it means to be human, I guess. That's what I think Luke and Luke Timothy Johnson (with a little help from Tickle's The Great Emergence) is inspiring in me. There's also this little essay by Mary Aquin O'Neil entitled "Being Human Together." It's a feminist perspective on the Genesis story that actually ties in with Johnson's read of the Magnificat. We are human together and not separately. We are created in the image of God...communally not individually. That there is gender differentiation is her clue there. Male and female together are the image of God. Community is the image of God. Mary the Mother of God is who shows us what the fruition of this might be: The Birthing of Christ in the world.

We all are blessed (potentially?)...and this is not a redistribution of some spiritual wealth, but a shift in the relationship to one another in community as a reflection of sharing in the image of God...It is not that you are the image of God or that I am the image of God. It is that we together are the image of God. We.

Christmas Eve I'll focus on story...I try to be a little poetic on Christmas Eve. We'll see how it goes. Then the Sunday after Christmas I have to pull something together. I'm sure that it'll be fine, but I fret anyway. That's what I do.

Okay. So today I write. I meet with a graphics designer. I gather with a student to talk about his end-of-term papers. It should be a good time. It's supposed to snow a bit tonight. We'll see just how much. The winter storm advisory begins at 3:00pm. I hope to be home shortly thereafter. I never give too much credit to the forecasts, but they are saying we could see up to a foot of snow. That would be something else! I love it.

Okay...That means the bulletin needs to be completed today. Right.

never to understand

Say what you will. And I know you will. I know you will say "Wuss" or "lightweight" or perhaps you'll be inclined to call me a "southerner" as if it were a bad thing. All I am saying is that it's taking every fiber of my being to deny my desire to go home and turn in for the night. It's snowing. It's a nice little snow. We might see six inches. That'd be great. It's significant without being debilitating. I just wanna go home and bake something, sit in my pj's on the couch and read. That's all. Instead, I'm going to a meeting now, a presentation tonight, and will get home just in time to go to bed and do it all again in the morning.

Bah! What a waste of a perfectly good snow.

an early morning prayer

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. - Thomas Merton

monday videopost: bouzouki noodling

ecclesial gambling

Ah...The Ref+ has done it now. The Montana Grizzlies and the Richmond Spiders will square off in some gridiron action. He has challenged me to a little wager and I accept the terms...with a slight tweak. I'll swing that incense on Christmas Eve if you'll preach for at least 15 minutes (I would rather you use grape juice at the Eucharist, but I am not sure your career would survive it.), my priesty friend.

Are we on?

sermon: the prophet's light

Sermon: The Third Sunday of Advent, Year B 2008
The Community Church of Wilmette
December 14, 2008

The Prophet's Light

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.
He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.

I'm not sure how to talk to you about Light.
How do you talk about something that is both a wave and a particle?

They say that religions are about institutionalizing mystery! Talk to the Physics department at the University of Chicago. They make a living discovering things they cannot explain. Beautiful.

How do you talk about something that has a constant speed...or doesn't depending on which mathematical genius you are talking to? Einstein said some important stuff about Light. And he loved to remind us that he knew almost nothing about Light...only that he knew he did not know.

Praise God that I've no such illusions as mathematical genius!

Some days all I seem to know about Light is that there simply isn't enough of it go go around.

I'm simply too aware of the darkness. I'm too aware of what creeps in under my none-too-vigilant watch. I think I am doing the right things and then...click, someone turns off the light and I am standing in the darkness with no clue as to how I got there.

As a wise friend once said to me, “Some days just be like that.”

Some days just seem dark and there's no way around them. We simply have to get through them somehow. We have to stand up in the darkness with our eyes wide open and move onward, or forward...or something. Heck, it might be in circles. We simply have to walk in the hope that the darkness will give way to light and that we will be able to see again. We know we aren't blind. We just can't see. It's a tough spot to be in.

I always feel just a little stupid, like somehow I had something to do with the darkness, like if I had just been more, I don't know, aware or something then perhaps the light would have never gone out. Somehow I am still convinced that I keep the lights on in my little universe. I am convinced that all the darkness must be of my own doing...I am the lowest common denominator in all the equations that make up my life after all. It must be me. Right? It has to be me. I can control this. I can fix this.

Maybe I should just stay away from mathematical metaphors. They just get me in trouble. But I have one more to offer up to you. It's a story really.

Several years ago I was attending a lecture at the Lutheran seminary in Hyde Park. The Zygon Center for Faith and Science had brought in some Nobel Laureate in Astrophysics to talk about Red Shift Theory and an Old Testament Scholar to talk about Genesis. We were going to witness a conversation about the creation or beginning of the universe and the age of the universe.

This kind of conversation brings some interesting people out of the woodwork. Incredible. I mean, there were more geeks in this room than you can imagine...geeks of all stripes: math geeks, science geeks, church geeks, Hebrew language geeks, Lutheran geeks, Baptist geeks, and even a couple of music geeks who must have come for the free food.

So, the scripture stuff I had heard before. There's more than one creation story found in Genesis. It's not really science. One should try very hard not to approach it with a scientific expectation. In terms of literary structure or style it's more like poetry or mythic language. It's talking about true things, but it is not presenting factual information. It's an important nuance to understand. Truth and fact are not the same thing. We asked the scholar what we hoped were insightful questions and then the Astophysicist spoke.

To his credit he tried to explain Red Shift Theory to a bunch of people who likely never successfully completed a basic Calculus course in High School. Truly, this guy is a Nobel Laureate. I don't remember his name, but I do remember that. And I guess it's all that mattered to me in the moment. You see, the more he tried to explain this thing called Red Shift Theory which involves measuring the movement of the stars and planets by tracing the red end of the light spectrum...One can guess at the age of the universe through several complicated mathematical computations...the darker my mind became, the greater my awareness of my own ignorance grew. Oh, it became very dark. When he was done with his 30 minute explanation and history of the development of the theory, he looked up at us and smiled. “Any questions?” He asked.

I am not ashamed to tell you that many of us laughed at that moment. Questions? You have got to be kidding. So some intrepid scripture geek asked “So, do you think this theory is true?”

“Do you mean do I think it's right? Well, I don't know. I'm pretty smart and I work with some pretty smart people, but we're still not sure we know what we're talking about.” He then waxed poetic and mythical about how little we know and all that people like him ever discover is that we know less and less all the time and not more and more. But (and this is what struck me as the most profound thing that was said all night) he still seeks Light and tries to understand the universe by virtue of the qualities of Light. As little as we know, as little as we understand, we still seek Light, we still seek God.

We still seek Light.
We still seek God.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.

We still seek Light.
We still seek God.

From this point on in the scriptures, the Gospel writer tries to tell us something about John the Baptist and what John had to say about Jesus. Who was he? In the end, after telling us who he was not, he simply tells us that he is one proclaiming in the wilderness, “crying out” as we heard last week. He stands in the darkness of wilderness and cries out “Here is Light!”

Here is Light. Here is salvation. Here is hope. Here is your Salvation, a Messiah. His name is Jesus.

And he stands in the darkness to do it. He stands in the wilderness. It's the civilized mind that speaks of wilderness as darkness. I think of Joseph Conrad and his book The Heart of Darkness. The wilderness for us is uncivilized and dangerous. There are crocodiles and head hunters in the wilderness. Yet the scripture writers like our gospel writer today want us to understand something about the wilderness: The wilderness always leads to the Light. It is way out of slavery, the way out of Exile. It is the path to freedom for all God's people.

I know that Christmas is not an easy time for everyone. I know it is not all happiness and joy punctuated by colorful decorations and spiced cider. Last year I confessed some of my own struggles with the holidays. This year is no different than any other. Some of us struggle with our griefs new and old, some of which seem heavier this year than any other year. We mourn and we may not even know why.

We'll take on the burden...convincing ourselves that the darkness is of our own making, something we can control... in order to convince ourselves that the darkness is not real. But it is real. It is. That's the problem with trying to deny the wilderness or the darkness. That the trouble with trying to own it all ourselves. We create an illusion.

Darkness is bigger than that.

This is why John the Baptist stands in the wilderness to proclaim the Light. This is why John calls all to participate in a ritual calling people to Holy Honesty: Baptism. Jesus, too, will be Baptized in this Holy Honesty.

This year is like any other year. There is Darkness in the heart of a season of Light. Some of us are in the wilderness while others of us are celebrating the light. There are those of us who need to hear about the darkness, to be told it's real, and to be offered Light...a little salvation, a hand to hold, a shoulder to cry upon, and friendship.

We are all called to be Baptists, Light-proclaiming prophets who will stand in the wilderness, the heart of darkness.

John the Baptist is actually present for us in such moments. I know that must surprise many. He stands in our wilderness and proclaims Jesus. The darkness is real. And so is the light. He stands in darkness and says “No. Here there is light!” It's a place of servitude and humility. We have to look to the example of people like Einstein and the Nobel Laureate of my story.

I am present in the Darkness.
I will stand in the wilderness with you. I will join you in the darkness.
And I will say, “There is Light.”

God is Light and desires us, loves us, and wanders with us in the darkness...in circles if need be.
God suffers no illusions...no illusions about the darkness and our culpability, real or imagined.
God knows the truth about our darkness...the truth about the wilderness.
And God wants you to know about the Light.
God wants you to know about the one who comes to save us in the midst of the wilderness...
...He knows the way through, the way out.

Light-proclaiming prophets...all of us Baptists.

The more I learn the less I know. But I do know that there is Light. I don't always know what it is, but I know what it isn't. In such a prophetic message is hope and joy for all creation.

Thanks be to God.

satreday morning pages

The sermon is done...as done as they ever are. Writing a sermon is an ephemeral craft. I used to think otherwise, but now...nope. It's like bottling the wind. But there you go. Sermon.

I'll spend the day with Trish and some folk from the church as well as a few others down in the city at Hansel and Gretel. Follow the link and you can watch a video of Trish as the witch. She's an excellent witch! I'm trying not to worry.

Be well. Have a good day. I'll post the sermon in the morning.

astrophysics as homiletical semiotics

Now that would make for a sermon title to bring 'em into the pews. Oy. I am looking at Red Shift Theory this week. I don't know much about Red Shift Theory, but somehow it ended up in my sermon as a story. Interesting. It's almost complete. I need to take some more time with it this afternoon. I'm taking a good hard look at the light/dark thing in John's Gospel and running Red Shift Theory through it. At a lunch meeting yesterday, my friend said that she would like a sermon on the nature of light and the nature of Christ - Wave/Particle and Human/Divine. Anyone want to have a crack at it?

I'm looking at the schedule for the next couple of weeks at church and wondering how we'll get our ducks in a row. There's nothing wrong, it's just that We loose a lot of office time between December 24 and January 5. I'll be around, but the office guru will be out of town. We'll work it out, but I'm starting to get a little nervous. Anxiety is the close cousin to Waiting in Advent. I must learn to breathe.

This morning I am meeting with one of the students who has been providing ASL interpretation at our church. It's time for her end of term evaluation. I am fairly certain she does not read the blog, but I'll withhold saying anything here other than it was great fun working with her. I learned a lot. I hope that she did as well. Teaching is an honor.

In January we'll pick up another student for the Spring Semester. I'll team teach a J-Term course in ASL Interpretation in Religious Contexts. That should be a good challenge and great fun as well.

I hope you all have a good Friday. Leave early this afternoon. Have a cup of cocoa.

semiotics

There are few words that throw me. The last time I had to look something up in the dictionary was the first year of seminary: "quotidian." I laughed when I read the definition. Once again I have stumbled upon a word I don't fully comprehend: "semiotics." Sign study...the study of sign and symbol and often used in terms of interpretation and translation. Semiotics.

Right. A lot is made of this word in our current PoMo context. I get why. Symbols are language. We engage symbols differently now (or so I'm told.). So, let's talk about meaning and symbols...signs and signification.

And yet, in spite of all that I'm not sure I understand what the hell the word is supposed to mean.

thursday sermon bumblings

Have you been thinking about prophets? I know I have. The sermons for this Advent have all be titled "The Prophet's [Something]." Last week was "Comfort." This week is "Light." Next week is "Will." We get to talk about Mary then. That'll be cool. She's a lot of fun to preach about. We'll fold the Magnificat in there somewhere.

This week I'm going to focus on John the Baptist. He's a truckload of trouble and I'll have to muster up some courage to embody that message in the pulpit. I'm thinking in terms of light and dark...and how we understand these ideas in comparison to how John seems to understand these ideas. John proclaims light from the wilderness, a place of darkness to the civilized, but a place of salvation for God's people. Are we to be uncivilized? I spoke about this in part in the last sermon. Perhaps we are called to shed some of what makes us "civilized," what keeps us at a distance from one another, from darkness, from the wilderness, and with John the Baptist, proclaim the Light who is Christ Jesus.

lauds at the sink

If we are truly listening, we will see prayer not as a control mechanism or a duty we fulfill so we won't be sent to hell. If we are too proud, bored, or numb to pray, we are already in hell.
- Kathleen Norris, Acedia & Me

I may have made a terrible mistake. I am drinking very good coffee with a little eggnog in it. I think this may be some kind of purity thing, I just cannot say. I won't be repeating this. Nope. So, how is your morning? I'm reading some more of Norris' book. I took a break during our visit to Virginia for Thanksgiving and am just now getting back to it. Acedia and I have been wrestling. That is for certain.

In the brief section I read this morning, Norris talks about the little mysteries. She's speaking of the willingness (perhaps ability) to find God in the quotidian. Though prayer, mystical moments, can come in the midst of the extreme or the exceptional (Christmas may be an exceptional time, for example, as could hiking in the Great Smokey Mountains.), it is in the daily that Acedia strikes telling us that we must create meaningful experiences, we must fashion spiritual moments full of ceremony or emotion for ourselves in order to encounter God. Acedia compels us to limit God to these moments. Acedia will eventually strip the holiness from all life if we do not rise to its challenge and face down such things as spiritual pride or boredom.

She mentions the monastic hours and how she finds that at home lauds is often prayed while washing the dishes. She suggests that, for her, such a practice helps remind her of the holiness of the daily. Washing dishes is something I do in the evening and in the morning.

Some dishes go in the dish washer. Some are washed by hand. I enjoy the feeling of warm water and soap suds. The bubbles are playful. The water is comforting. God's presence can be playful and comforting. And what I do is one way to care for those I love. To clean the kitchen, to make certain that the dishes are ready so that we may enjoy a meal together is a way to "prepare the way of the Lord." It may sound a little melodramatic, but I am increasingly convinced that such intentionality is needed if I am to live a life of sacred holiness. God is in all things. God is in the washing of dishes. Lauds, the morning service of the monastics, is found in my kitchen every morning.

your tuesday is my monday

It is raining here. That'll turn to snow. But right now we have the slushy remains of last week's snow on the ground and it's getting soggier by the second. I'm looking forward to the ice that is to come.

My day consists of breakfast with the church Treasurer, a noon prayer service, and planning worship for the Second Third Sunday of Advent. What are you up to?

an aside
Take a listen to this: Economic Downturn Provides Time for Reflection

Current economic woes have some folks adjusting their personal spending habits and others trying to come up with a plan to get all of us out of this mess. But some people think the “downtimes” are a good time to re-think our economic system. Should the market really be free, or do we need government oversight and stronger consumer protections? And what are our core values in a time of need? Do we prize wealth and accumulation above all else? Or should helping our fellow citizens be a higher priority as in the song “Brother Can You Spare a Dime?” Eight Forty Eight's Alison Cuddy recently turned to William Schweiker for some answers. He's the Edward L. Ryerson Distinguished Service Professor of Theological Ethics in the Divinity School at the University of Chicago.

sermon: the prophet's comfort

Sermon: The Second Sunday of Advent, year B
The Community Church of Wilmette
December 7, 2008

The Prophet's Comfort

Have you heard about the poor man that was trampled to death as he was working at a Walmart on "Black Friday?" It's a horrifying tale. He was a temporary worker there to do some minor repairs. The customers waiting in line (some since Thanksgiving evening) were so worked up that they stampeded the store when the doors opened at 5am to get the best deals. What would the prophets of old have to say about this? Do you think that Jesus might be turning over a table or two in a big box store? Who can say?

Perhaps we can. Perhaps we have to.

It's an incredible temptation for many preachers to take such a moment to jump up and down and scream. A judicious and perhaps even righteous use of profanity comes to mind. You know, when you have John the Baptist and Isaiah show up in the lectionary, it encourages such so-called uncivilized or unprofessional behavior in the pulpit.

I want to jump and shout.
I want to scream at the top of my lungs, “Stop! For God's sake and for the sake of innocent people everywhere, stop!”

This is where the profanity comes into play as well.

Uncivilized.
Unprofessional.

What is more uncivilized in this moment...my desire to use profanity or the fact that American consumerism has claimed another victim?

I'm angry. And I am sorry for that.

Maybe some of us are saying to ourselves, “It's just one man. It's collateral damage. I never knew him.” For the Christian, dismissive statements that begin with the words “It's just one man...” should be very carefully considered.

A voice says, "Cry out!" And I said, "What shall I cry?" All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the LORD blows upon it; surely the people are grass.

Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, "Here is your God!"

What shall we cry? What do we say to a world such as ours in a time such as this?

The voice in Isaiah's vision suggests we say “Here is your God!”

I don't know about you, but that feels a little weak. And that's perhaps the most devastatingly sad question anyone can ask in a pulpit. Weak? Is this weak?

I just don't know.

Isaiah is preaching to an exiled Jerusalem. The elite of the country have been in exile in Babylon. And these are the words he chooses. Are they week?

No. It's prophetic. They are words of comfort. The prophetic is not simply an admonition, but also a word of comfort. We are to shout “Stop!” To cry out and suggest an alternative “Here is your God!”

As people kneel around a dying man in a Walmart: “Here is your God!”
As people share the memories of a departed friend: “Here is your God!”
As people around our nation suffer during uncertain economic times: “Here is your God!”
As we gather as family and share love during the holidays: “Here is your God!”
As we take time, give time, share time: “Here is your God!”

Literally. Those words. Not some convenient and inoffensive paraphrase.

Cry out, “Here is your God!”

These are words of comfort. This is the core of what is being commanded by the heavenly voices in Isaiah's vision...Comfort, O comfort my people. Say to them “Here is your God!” They are so laden down by distraction and every imaginable kind of exile. They are oppressed. They are confused. They are lost....they are lost standing in line at a Walmart and have need of a word from God, a word only you can give them.

The world is in need of people who will say such a thing, and not just from a pulpit (This is easy. This is so easy!)...not just on Sundays or even during Advent and Christmas. God calls out to all of us living at this moment to comfort, to comfort God's people.

Herald good tidings.
Lift up your voices.
(swear if you have to)
Do not fear.
Say to all...

...Here is your God!

i believe in father christmas

Here's the original.

more sermon mumblings

Have you heard about the poor man that was trampled to death as he was working at a Walmart on "Black Friday?" Here's the story if you are interested. It's a sad tale. The people waiting in line were so worked up that they stampeded the store to get the best deals. What would the prophets of old have to say about this? Do you think that Jesus might be turning over a table or two in a big box store? Who can say?

Perhaps we can. Perhaps we have to.

sermon mumblings

The title for the sermon is "The Prophet's Comfort." I'll focus on the Isaiah passage. "Comfort, O comfort my people." You know, I think this should be read as a command from God. This is what is being asked of the prophet. It's not God saying "be comforted, my people." It is a prophetic demand. All prophets are to bring with them a word of comfort along with the admonition to fix whatever it is God is peeved about.

As this is a Communion Sunday, I am going to try to keep things brief. The service will be long enough as it is. We'll also remember Arnie Goodwin whose funeral was last night. Overall, in Advent, all three sermons will be about the role of the prophet in scripture. This week I am going to focus on the role of the prophet to comfort God's people, to help the people to recall God's love for them and God's desire for their joy and not their pain and suffering. God weeps with those who weep. God suffers along with God's people when they suffer...even when the suffering is the result of God's so-called punishment.

Can we proclaim peace in the midst of violence?
Can we proclaim charity in the midst of greed?
Can we proclaim (a redistribution of?) riches in the midst of poverty?

There's a whole "holy poverty" riff here that may or may not work.

How do we proclaim comfort to God's people?

This is the direction I am going to try to go...We'll see what happens.

grief

Trish and I went to a funeral last night. It was the service for Arnie Goodwin. He died on Sunday. It was a wonderful gathering of his friends and family. The room in the funeral home was far too small for the number of people who arrived to pay their respects, and to remember together. Arnie was a member of CCW and is beloved of many there. I never really got to know him...but I managed to learn more about members of my church last night as they gathered to comfort one another, and to uphold the memory of a dear friend. "Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God."

visitors

A good friend from seminary, Spud+, is staying with us for a couple of nights. I returned home late last night after a church council meeting to find my wife and my friend (both of whom are not quite five feet tall) passed out on the couch with cats and laptops. It was a truly sweet scene. They had their feet propped up on the coffee table (We use a bench for such a purpose) and had nodded off during some detective drama that was playing on the TV. I think I'll hold that moment in my memory for some time.

This morning Spud+ and I will go out for pancakes. Then I have some work to do. I need to make sure that Advent is up and running on Sunday mornings at CCW. Oh...Anyone out there want to come out and light the Advent wreath this Sunday? It's the Second Sunday of Advent and I could use the help.

sermon redux

Before the Thanksgiving break, I posted a sermon about empire and Jesus. I posted a rough draft. If you would like to read the completed draft, here is your chance. Follow the extended link.

Title: Subversive Walks of Faith

This day in the church calendar is called "Christ the King Sunday." It has been for a while...at least by those traditions who routinely follow the lectionary. Ralph Klein, a Lutheran theologian, reminds us that "Christ the King Sunday first emerged...as an attempt to counter the outlandish claims of some European dictators in the twentieth century. The real ruler of this age is Christ!"

This historical context is important to recall. We have to look back to the days of the Great War and then World War II...We have to try to imagine (or remember) what it was like and why prophets might emerge during such a time in history.

In response to such violence as a global conflict we encountered Baptist preachers like Harry Emerson Fodsdick who would proclaim the failure of the Christian nation in Geneva Switzerland at the end of WWII. His voice would eventually give way to voices like that of William Sloan Coffin who would rail against the powers of violence and Empire, against selfishness and corporatism...Dorothy Day and others from the Catholic Worker Movement would also speak...and act...such preachers are people who proclaim a different ruler of the world and deny any movement to the contrary. Such a proclamation is bold. It gets people in trouble. It's not necessarily popular.

Instead, such a proclamation is subversive.  It states the desire to undo what is totalitarian, dictatorial, or based in the power of Empire.  Commercialism, consumerism, workaholism...anything that places achievement of the self above service to others...These are all the virtues of Empire...of selfishness or fanatical nationalism, of any notion that attempts to usurp God's place in Creation.

Of course there are deep historical roots to this kind of difficulty in the world. It's not like the Twentieth Century in America was the only time in history that saw such struggle. In Christian history we could look a little earlier. We could look all the way back to the Edict of Milan in 313...Through this legislation, the Roman emperor Constantine gave Christianity a legal place in the Roman Empire. It would no longer be subject to the mass purgings of the past. But was it all good news? Professor AKM Adam states “From this time on, the church was a publicly accountable movement. Thus begins the 'bourgeoisification' of Christianity. "

It's both good and bad news. It means the beginning to the end of Christian persecution in the Roman Empire, and admire the martyrs as you may, knowing that you can practice your faith in freedom is good news. They will even make Constantine a saint...an act of Thanksgiving to God for ending the oppression.

To some it was even better news. What if this was God's answer to prayer? What if this was the New Jerusalem? What if the Empire could indeed become God's Kingdom on Earth! Now that's good news, no? Perhaps. Perhaps not.

In some ways, the Church in the fourth century became Empire.  It adopted the trappings of The Roman Empire. Eventually, to own property, one had to be Christian. To hold public office, one had to be Christian. Can we now safely say that this was not what Jesus was after as he proclaimed God's coming? Is Christian belief or practice to be a prerequisite for someone to be perceived as a full human being?

The subversive proclamation of Jesus is lost in the attempt to proclaim the faith as status quo.  It's an interesting and ironic truth to Christianity. Institutionalizing it can kill it. A Christian Empire is an oxymoron. We legitimize the powers that be in the process of our own adoption of Empire. Simply put, people confuse their own power for God's.

History, of course, repeats itself. We can count on that.

Perhaps America was attempting the same thing 300 years ago.  We were colonized as a city on a hill, a new Jerusalem...176 years after the country's founding the pledge of allegiance was amended to read "One nation. Under God."  There's a precarious balance being attempted in coupling this statement with a separation of Church and State.  It may be a wise discipline for us to ask again and again “Has the Church in America adopted the pattern of Empire?” Does it assume its own existence? Is there a kind of institutional entitlement at work?

Today, many of our contemporaries say yes. Many say that we have mistaken our own wealth, political clout, and influence for the message of God. We have substituted our own voices for that of Christ's in the world. We have attempted to silence the subversive message of a carpenter from Galilee who asked us to care for the poor, to teach peace, to put ourselves last, and to make room for all of God's children.

And now many point out that the church, specifically the Mainline Protestant Church, as an institution is crumbling.

It is like the .com bubble or perhaps the mortgage lending crisis. What if what we are seeing in the declining rolls in many congregations of the Church is not actually a loss of faithfulness or a denial of God? As I've said before, plenty of people claim to have faith. Research makes that clear. We can thank the kind people at Gallup for that information. But the institutional church in many parts of the country struggles. What if it's the natural correction of Church as Empire falling apart?  Simply put, maybe the bubble has burst. Maybe we have to embrace that reality and rejoin the subversive movement that led many of us into the life of this congregation in the first place.

As painful as this shift may be, perhaps it is for the best. We have to ask hard questions. That's what is happening in this morning's scripture passage. We have some hard questions being asked.

'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?'

As I said last week, this is the culmination of a string of parables that Matthew uses to tell us something about Christ. This week's passage tells us just as much about ourselves. This parable is about how the world will be judged...the nations of the world...will be judged on how they treat the “least of these.” In this case the “least of these” are the followers of Christ...the subversives who live out the beatitudes.

The judgment itself is also subversive. It's not founded in an institution. God is Judge. Not the Church.

This Judgment is not about knowing Christ.
What kind of faith is this asking of “the nations”? Unconscious?  Blind? None at all?
As a walk of faith it is simultaneously individual and communal.

It is all subversive.

Jesus' judgment subverts even the institutional structures of the church. It holds the nations, the powers that be, accountable, for their willingness to live lives of mercy, for their ability to step away from oppression and selfishness...and for how they treat the subversives who live lives faithful to the Beatitudes.

Christian Faith is subversive, denying the legitimacy of anything that claims to have power over or outside of God. Matthew wants us to know this. He believed that Jesus wanted us to know this.

We are encouraged by Matthew to recognize that Jesus is asking us to join in his subversive walk of faith. He's asking the whole world to do so.

Here are some example of the kind of faithfulness that is being asked of us.

Bread for the World is an organization trying to put an end to hunger. Right now there are members of that organization in Managua, Nicaragua. They are sharing their stories on-line, trying to help raise awareness and get help for people who live in incredible poverty. There are children who live at landfills. Some of the young girls there trade sex for recyclable goods. Bread for the World is trying to subvert the systems that would allow for this kind of poverty not simply to exist but to flourish!

Here is another example: The Christian Peacemaker Teams have volunteers stationed all over the globe attempting to teach peaceful non-violent responses to the incredible violence that exists in places like the Middle East or Sudan. They do this in a spirit of reconciliation and in the name of Jesus.

Churches on the South Side of Chicago are organizing in attempt to end the senseless gun violence in their neighborhoods.

The Boy Scouts leaders in our own building are attempting to teach the Scouts in their charge the virtues of tolerance, listening, and kindness.

Jesus is present in such places. Jesus calls us to such places. Jesus does not call us to support the status quo. A walk of faith takes us out of the status quo to landfills in Nicaragua...and to the mission field of our own basement.

The world is in need of a Church that assumes God's existence and not its own. This is subversive. This is life giving. This helps us step outside ourselves and into the world...undoing the powers of Empire.

Can we see that The Faith was always subversive?  That it was/is designed for it?

Can we make the leap see that our tithing, what we call our “Walk of Faith,” is "a way to act outside the economy, the system that runs the world. It frees us and allows us to act out the truth, that we can give because we have first received all things from God—it is an act of worship."

It's a challenge.  We still live in the shadow of our own structures, of the structures of Empire.  I wear a collar.  I dress in robes.  We are part of a congregation that came into existence at least in part because there were simply enough Baptists in Wilmette to start their own church.  We have to remain realistic.

We live in the shadow of the past, but our future is ours to determine.

This is the road we have chosen to travel.  The is our walk of faith, it's geography, its history and our best intentions rolled into one. Can we begin to make the change?  Let's re-enter a subversive movement. Let's re-purpose the buildings, the trappings, the robes and the collars, the organ and the choir, the whole of who we are.  

And let us shed what no longer serves.  
Let us walk God's subversive walk.  
It is a walk of faith.

Thanks be to God.

barna chimes in

The Barna folk have chimed in on the economy and how it is effecting churches.

Barna encouraged church leaders to embrace a new mindset for their financial projections. "With a large share of congregants expecting the nation’s economic woes to drag on for several years, it would be wise for churches and non-profits to reconfigure their financial models and plan to spend more cautiously over the coming two or three quarters," he explained. "Even if a congregation continues to grow numerically, this is not a good time to use dated financial projections and models. People’s attitudes about generosity have been altered, as shown by their immediate donation behavior. We anticipate that a greater percentage of church-goers will decrease both their giving levels and frequency over the next year or so. This is a time for church leaders to demonstrate restraint and wisdom in their financial decisions."

adventish stuff

A novice master once responded when asked about a life lived in Christian authenticity, said that to be a Christian was not to know the answers but to begin to live in the part of the self where the question is born.…He was speaking of an attitude of listening, of awareness of presence, of an openness to mystery.
- Wendy M. Wright

I am slowly pulling some thoughts together about Advent. I have five or six sermons to get together. We'll see how it goes. Last Sunday I did not preach. Joe McInnis from St John's Lutheran preached on a need for such proclamation as Advent provides during such trouble economic times. It was a good message. I will likely focus on the prophetic texts during the season.

Frank Yamada is teaching a three week series on Prophetic Literature at CCW. He actually opened the series up this week at the joint service. I think he did a great job. I am biased, of course. We're talking about the nature of prophesy in Israel, how the prophets were political advisors, theologians, and the voice of the social conscience during their day. Frank suggests that preachers have this job now. To keep with the theme he's bringing to the fore, I will focus on the Hebrew scriptures, I think. We'll See. This Sunday is Isaiah. Next I will probably talk about John the Baptist as prophet...Then on the 21st we have Mary. I like to preach on Mary when given an opportunity.

It's going to be a very full week. Council meeting tonight. Funeral on Wednesday. Looking at the schedule, I think that Thursday night may be the only night all week that Trish and I are both home. Wow.

Okay...

monday videopost: let's keep christmas