January 2009

January 5

Hi, Christian here!  I had a wonderful Christmas.  I got a fire truck.  I got a dragon that talks and eats letters.  I got a baseball mitt and ball.  The only bad thing was my little brother Connor wanting to play with my toys.  I said, “No, Connor; mine!  NO, CONNOR; MINE!”  He did not listen.  I had to take my toys out of his hands.

I am Connor and I want to say something.  I got a big ball for Christmas.  It’s as big as I am and it is fun.  But Christian played with MY ball!  He took it away from me.  I got even.  Christmas morning Christian was eating a roll.  I toddled up.  Christian said, “No, Connor; mine!”  But I reached in and broke off a big piece of his roll and I ate it.  No tantrum.  Just got even.  So there!

Opa’s turn to speak.  Diane and I loved our time with the two grandsons.  Adults recognize that the above incident happens with children all the time but do we recognize when we adults do it?  Or do we rationalize our selfishness?  “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9)

January 6

If grief is a feeling of loss, then December 26^th is a day when I feel grief.  The few radio stations that carried quality Christmas music the 25^th drop it the 26^th.  TV shows Christmas trees going to recycling stations and shoppers reverting to their consumer addiction.  It’s the world pressuring me, “Get on with it; get over the Baby!”

So this day, Epiphany, helps me deal with the grief.  In eastern Christianity January 6^th is the day Christ’s coming is celebrated.  For western traditions today recalls the story of the Magi (Matthew 2:1-12) and reminds us that Christ not only came for Jews but also for Gentiles, which includes me and probably you.   But that’s not why I value Epiphany.  As a kid I was impressed that our church left its two huge Christmas trees up several weeks into January.  The reason was…and still is…that Epiphany is more than a day; it’s a season designed to continue Christmas.  Through Scripture and hymns the Epiphany season plays out the ramifications of the Savior’s coming for our lives.  So I protest our culture telling me to get over the Baby.   Our tree and decorations are defiantly still up. 

“Now, though daily Earth’s deep sadness may perplex us and distress us, yet with heavenly joy You bless us!”  (Philiipp Nicolai)

January 7

Monday most automakers reported 30% drops in sales during December, with Hyundai off 48% and Chrysler 51%.  Oil is going back up and a gallon of gas may soon be back at $2.  We’re poorer than we used to be.

It’s easy to overlook the obvious.  When Jesus said, “Blessed are you who are poor,” He was speaking to His disciples, not to the general population (Luke 6:20).  Yes, God loves all people but Jesus doesn’t say “Blessed” to all Americans in this recession but only to His followers.  How’s that?

Because His followers are reminded what we’ve professed all along, that ultimately we have zilch, nada, nichts, nothing.  America is like the prodigal son, broke after a spending spree, wallowing in recession.  But the prodigal “came to his senses” and said, “I will set out and go back to my father” (Luke 15:17-18).  A Christian identifies with that.  Getting poorer is reminding us that we have nothing of our own, no hidden accounts that permit us not to need God.  That means that wondering when the economy will come back is off the mark, at least faith-wise.  “Deliver us from the pursuit of passing things that we may seek the kingdom of Your Son and trust in His righteousness and so find blessedness….”  (Lutheran Service Book, p. 311)

January 8

January 9 

Police cars in one suburb of St. Louis have small cameras on the roof connected to a computer system that “looks for plates registered to people with outstanding warrants, for cars believed to have been used in crimes or for vehicles criminals have been known to drive.”  “The technology has helped solve child abductions, track down sex offenders and find stolen cars.  Some municipalities have even used it to collect unpaid property taxes.”  (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 7; A1, 5)

Christians know we are being watched. “Scripture says, ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’  So if you call God your Father, live your time as temporary residents on earth in fear.  He is the God who judges all people by what they have done, and He doesn’t play favorites.”  (1 Peter 4:14-17)   Although reports of the divine surveillance make Christians think twice, the final report on God watching you is Good News. “O Lord, You have searched me and You know me.  You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar.  You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways.”  (Psalm 139:1-3).  “Do not be afraid, for I am with you” (Isaiah 43:5).  Jesus says, “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:19).  Saving surveillance!

January 12

Hi, Christian here!  I am becoming very verbal.  I make little sentences.  I speak my mind.  Last Sunday in church I was restless.  So I hopped off the pew, stepped into the aisle, and said to Daddy, Mommy and Connor, “See you later, guys.”  Opa will tell you this is true.  I am not making this up.  Well, I didn’t see anything wrong with leaving church but Mommy grabbed me and plopped me back in the pew.  A plop in a pew is a hard thing, especially when you don’t want to be there.

Do you big people ever walk away from church and say, “See you later, guys?”  Big people can get away with that.  Do you like having the time do to what you want to do?  Do you make your life simpler by not listening to God?  Do you ever come back to church?  When I grow up, I wonder if I’ll say to church, “See you later, guys.”

Well, after my hard landing on the pew, it came time for the children’s message.  I went to the front.  Pastor John told me about Jesus.  I was glad I was there.  If I had still been away from church, I would have missed something good.

January 13

This morning President Bush holds his last Cabinet meeting and this afternoon will award Presidential Medals of Freedom for the last time.  Last Saturday he took his final trip on Air Force One for the dedication of a new aircraft carrier, named after his father who said the ceremony was “the last big thing in my life.” 

How do you accept the endings in your life?  God can make you gracious whenever an ending comes.  Because we are saved by His undeserved kindness, not by our works, our leaving something familiar should remind us that God continues to be God and we are only temporary stewards of that work we’re leaving and we’re only passing reflections of His love to people around us.

Finally comes death, an end and a beginning.  St. Paul wrote, “The time has come for my departure.  I have the good fight; I have finished the race.  I have kept the faith.  Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me but to all who have longed for His appearing.”  (2 Timothy 4:6-8) 

Back to more mundane endings, I wonder what the real reason is that 82-year-old Coach Paterno of Penn State won’t retire.

January 14

Henry Ford’s first assembly line went into production on this date in 1914.  Detroit hasn’t been the same since.  Lawrence Ulrich quotes the New York Times from 1927.  “Detroiters,” it said, are “the most prosperous slice of average humanity that now exists or has ever existed.”  Sunday Ulrich wrote, “Whether the Big Three survive or not, Detroiters must know it’s time to punch out.  The sooner the city gets used to the idea, the brighter its prospects.  For Detroit to have a future, it has to imagine what the future might look like without cars.”  (January 11; Y9).

After 586 B.C. the Israelites, exiled to Babylon, were longing for the good old days.  Deal with it, said the prophet.  “Seek the peace and prosperity of the city into which I have carried you into exile.  Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”  (Jeremiah 29:7)

Whether a big city with its manufacturing plants or small towns set amidst family farms, there were forces that made community life what it used to be.  Today new forces are giving us rust belts and rural slums.  Heavenly-minded Christians may complain but it’s in vain.  Jeremiah’s divine verse tells us get into our communities to do something to “Seek the peace and prosperity of the city.”  

January 15

In the bitter cold days of January, 1776, George Washington fretted over the desperate situation of his ragtag Continental Army.  He wrote, “The reflection on my situation and that of this army produces many an unhappy hour when all around me are wrapped in sleep.”  (David McCullough, “John Adams,” p. 27)

Last month at the grandkids’ house, I was fretting inwardly about the impact of the recession on Concordia Seminary while outwardly I held little Connor standing on my lap.  Suddenly Connor leaned forward, put his head on my shoulder and went straight to sleep.  Unlike General Washington, my worries about the recession didn’t continue “an unhappy hour” while Connor slept.  Instead it was a sweet insight into service to others.

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2)  We adults find ourselves in various positions of responsibility that impact others, who like sleeping Connor may have no clue they’re being held.  That’s what Jesus does, carry us with our sins and brokenness, and that’s what our service is about.  “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you and example that you should follow in His steps.”  (1 Peter 2:21)  “He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart.”  (Isaiah 40:11) 

January 16

“The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore” (Psalm 121:8).

"What if?" That's the favorite question of worriers.

January 26

Careful about how you spend your money?  Add this to your financial concerns: As of last Friday, you began paying for abortions.

In 1984 President Reagan issued an order that “U.S. funds for contraception and other family-planning services could not go to organizations that advocate, counsel or offer abortion.”  (Wall Street Journal, January 23; A4).  The first President Bush continued that policy but President Clinton set it aside in 1993.  President George W. Bush restored the prohibition in 2001 but last Friday, President Obama went back to the Clinton practice.  Now American dollars will be used to encourage abortion around the world.

We’re tempted not to bother.  Those are, after all, pathetically poor people far, far away.  What did the religious people do in Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan?  They “passed by on the other side.”  (Luke 10:30-37)

President Obama appealed to us in his inaugural address “to choose our better history.”  When he does not, the blessing of this democracy is that we can use our freedoms of speech and press and religion to try to persuade the majority to something better.  Because we remain sinners and sin is an alienating force, there never will be post-partisan politics.  So we must be involved in the politics of this country.  America’s “better history” is the protection of unborn life. 

January 27

When it comes to home improvement, I have trouble finishing projects.

President John Adams finished some projects before he left office.  One was to appoint a new chief justice of the Supreme Court.  On this date in 1801 John Marshall was confirmed as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  Back then the judiciary was not a co-equal branch of government, but Adam’s appointment of Marshall changed that.  Today our republic is stronger because President Adams finished his work.  (“What Kind of Nation,” p. 132-133; 138)

Well-begun may be half done but credit goes to the person who sees tasks through to completion.  That’s true in the spiritual realm as well.  People often tell me about the religious training and experiences of their childhood.  That’s nice, but are you finishing the task?  Believing that you’ve been saved by grace doesn’t justify spiritual sloth.  Quite the opposite.  “Let any one who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).  One of the saddest verses in the Bible comes from Paul.  “Demas, because he loved this world, has forsaken me” (2 Timothy 4:10)

So work toward completion.  “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10)

January 28

Whether it’s fast food, check out aisles or toll booths, I often find myself in the wrong line.  At least I get to choose.  These days over 2 ½ million Americans have been forced to stand in the unemployment line.  Numbers to be released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics show 7.2% of the workforce is out of work, and some analysts think the number could approach 10% before this recession is over. 

One of the most haunting experiences I’ve had came from a late night visit to the Roosevelt Memorial in Washington D.C.  Standing beside a line of life-size statues, each man downcast, shuffling along in the food line, I thought, what could I say?

In Greek antiquity honor was equated with wealth.  Over the years the understanding of honor expanded but not being able to provide for yourself and family can rob the person standing in line of honor.  I still happen to be employed.  What can I say to those forced into the line?

Disciples “have an irresistible love for the lowly, the sick, for those who are in misery…for everyone in pain and anxiety.”  (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “Discipleship,” p. 107)  Most of my words would probably be unheard, like talking to statues, but Jesus wants us to forget ourselves and stand with them in that wrong line.

January 29

“What are you reading, Opa?”  “Well, Christian, I’m reading about Baby Boomers who don’t want to be called ‘Grandpa’ and ‘Grandma.’  They’re teaching their grandchildren to call them something else.”

“Like Opa and Oma?”  “Sort of."  That was your Mommy’s idea, but we like it.  ‘Opa’ and ‘Oma’ are German nicknames for ‘Grossvater’ and ‘Grossmutter.’”

“Opa, what other names are people choosing?”  “It says here that one 56-year-old woman wants to be called ‘Glamma’ because she doesn’t want to give up glamour.  Other names are Coco, Sheriff, and Papa Doc.”  (Wall Street Journal, January 23; A1)

“Opa, you guys are old.  Face it!”  “Christian, we don’t want to.  We Baby Boomers have trouble with the facts.  I was reading a magazine from my insurance company.  It says, “‘Boomers tend to have a lack of financial education and have been somewhat irresponsible with their finances.’”  We’re in denial about a lot of things.”  (“Thrivent,” Winter, 2009; p. 30)

“Opa, you need to face it.”  “Christian, try calling Oma ‘Glamma.’  Maybe we can go back to our 30’s!”

“Teach us to number our days.” (Psalm 90:12)

January 30

In the first chapters of “The Defining Moment,” Jonathon Alter describes the home in which Franklin Delano Roosevelt was raised.  He was born on this date in 1882.  Father James was from “the old-money stability and impeccable standing” Roosevelt family and mother Sara was from “the entrepreneurial success of the Delano’s.”  Alder describes that successful financial lineage as “a double-bolted door of invulnerability, reinforced by the unusually strong love and attention of his parents.”  (p. 13)

We’ve seen the photo of FDR in the back seat of an open car, cigarette holder pointing up, big smile, jaunty and confident.  It wasn’t simply the money, for we’ve all known ne’er do wells.  It was his parents’ devotion.  Father James often took young Franklin to sports and civic events and mother Sara “was a walking advertisement for the benefits of ceaseless, even suffocating devotion – the only source of consistent affection in her son’s life, a rock not just of financial security but of deep maternal love so central to instilling genuine self-confidence.”  (p. 16)

I suspect many young parents are surprised, sometime resentful, how children dominate their lives.  That God commands children to honor their parents presumes that parents will devote themselves to the task of raising His children.  It’s not just about Mother’s Day and Father’s Day but about every day, about today.