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June 2010
June 2 How sad, the separation of Al and Tipper Gore after 40 years and 4 children. Speaking generally…excluding divorce because of infidelity or desertion or abuse…no separation or divorce results in good. Imagine yourself in the generation after the Baby Boomers. They’ve seen their parents separate and divorce. They know they could have been aborted. They’ve seen Boomers consume and spend like it was going out of style and now they’re going to be left with the debt. Social Security? It won’t be there for them. Time and again they’ve seen an older generation regularly break its promises. No wonder many of them think that the American Dream is a joke. C.S. Lewis: “Ceasing to be ‘in love’ need not mean ceasing to love. Love in this second sense—love as distinct from ‘being in love’ is not merely a feeling. It is a deep unity, maintained by the will and deliberately strengthened by habit; reinforced by the grace which both parents ask, and receive, from God. ‘Being in love’ first moved them to promise fidelity: this quieter love enables them to keep the promise.” (From Mere Christianity, quoted in For All the Saints I, 271f.) For their sake and for our own, we hope the Gore’s separation will end in reunion. June 3 Memorial Day flags have largely been put away and the sound of patriotic speeches and 21 gun salutes have faded. No doubt there were many reasons why the fallen made the ultimate sacrifice. Some were willing to do so to protect the ideals of this land of freedom. Others were motivated to serve because of their faith. As Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) Certainly some served because they were drafted and had to. Whatever the precise motivation, there was something external that resulted in service above self. Over the weekend I read the following from some philosopher named Laclau: “Humankind, having always bowed to external forces -- God, Nature, the necessary laws of History -- can now, at the threshold of postmodernity, consider itself for the first time the creator and constructor of its own history.” (in “Postmodern Politics and the Battle for the Future,” by Steven Best and Douglas Kellner). In other words, we can create whatever we will judge to be good, right and noble. It’s not revealed by God or natural law; it’s our creation. And if you read on the subject, you discover that more and more people are coming to believe this. Maybe the sights and sounds of traditional Memorial Day aren’t the only thing passing. June 4 No minute June 7 Hi, Christian here! Daddy and Mommy teach me that Jesus lives in my heart. So far, so good. Then I said Santa Claus lives in my heart too. “No, Christian,” they said. “Santa doesn’t live in your heart.” Hmmm… In our family we take Jesus questions to Opa. “Opa, why can’t Santa live in my heart too?” Opa was stumped but since Opa only works one day a week, he had time to think about it. “Christian,” he finally said, “Jesus came into your heart when you were baptized. It’s a mystery but the Bible says, ‘Baptism saves you’” (1 Peter 3:21). Then he said, “It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20) Not good enough, Opa. My heart is a big place. Why can’t I have room in my heart for Jesus and Santa and anything else I want? Opa thought and said, “Christian, you’re right. You can have all sorts of things in your heart. But if you do, there won’t be room for Jesus. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” (Deuteronomy 6:5) Now I wonder. Do you big people give all your heart to Jesus? Or is Jesus crowded out? June 8 Many years ago, when Diane and I were putting a roof over our daughter’s head, giving her food, buying her clothes, driving her to school, and all the other things parents do, she once got so upset with us that she exploded, “Do you want to live my life?” It didn’t take too long to answer. “Well, yes, we do!” Sunday I had the privilege of speaking to over 500 young people who were participating in “ScoutQuest 100,” a regional gathering celebrating the 100th anniversary of scouting. The theme, “Celebrating the Adventure, Continuing the Journey,” gave me an opportunity to share with the scouts what I’ve learned. We can’t live your lives for you, though sometimes we try. We can’t continue your journey; you have to, but if you do it with the faith, hope and love of Jesus Christ, your journey will be an adventure that you’ll finish celebrating. There aren’t many things our older generation can assuredly pass on to the next, but we can share how the journey has been for us. If we tell how God’s been part of our journey, good times and bad, the Spirit will be present for their good. “Each age its solemn task may claim but once. Make each one nobler, stronger than the last.” Thanks, Scouts! June 9 Public servants are supposed to put the well-being of others ahead of their own self-interest. So when President Obama meets today with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the topic will not be personal gain but efforts toward peace for the good of all. How about you, service to others or advancing your own self interest? “Watch against yourself, my soul, lest with grace you trifle; let not self your thoughts control nor God’s mercy stifle. Pride and sin lurk within, all your hopes to shatter; heed not when they flatter.” (Lutheran Service Book, 663, 3) Our American understanding of the individual has developed over time. “Where in premodern communities, you knew exactly what your place was in the clan, modern societies began to offer a wider range of social roles. You start to worry about who you really are and what you should be doing with your life. In place of the earnest modernist search for the deep, authentic self, we (now in postmodernism) have a recognition, and sometimes a celebration, of disintegration, fragmented desires, superficiality, and identity as something you shop for. The self is…without substance, but fashion statements, shopping and lifestyle choices have pushed authenticity out of the equation.” (Glenn Ward in “Concordia Journal,” spring, 94) “Let not self your thoughts control.” Something to think about…
June 10
My deep respect goes out to every man and woman whose whole being is caught up
in a struggle against alcoholism. Dr. Robert Smith and William Wilson founded Alcoholics Anonymous
on this date, June 10, in 1935. Four years later Dr. Bob wrote, "It was
really a horrible nightmare, this earning money, getting liquor, smuggling it
home, getting drunk, morning jitters, taking large doses of sedatives to make it
possible for me to earn more money, and so on ad nauseam." Truly a nightmare. You can read about it, as I did, in the
book Alcoholics Anonymous. Is the nightmare affecting you or a loved one?
Dr. Bob wrote, "If you really and truly want to quit drinking liquor for
good...and sincerely feel that you must have some help, we know that we have an
answer for you. It never fails, if you go about it with one half the zeal
you have been in the habit of showing when you were getting another drink." Dr. Bob closes with this: "Your Heavenly Father will never let
you down!" (pp. 177, 181) Someone in the Corinthian church had done something wrong, we don’t know what, and so church members were swinging the club of guilt. It’s a very useful thing, that club of guilt. Whenever you feel the need, you can clobber the sinner and send the strong message you’re in control of the relationship, you with your untarnished halo. Paul had some wise counsel. “Punishment by the majority is enough,” he wrote, “so that you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.” Think about it. A person can only live with so much guilt. The sorry sinner has guilt enough without you continuing to swing the club of guilt. Paul continues, “Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive.” If someone in the church has confessed to wrong and been forgiven, who are you not to back up that forgiveness with your own? Finally, “What I have forgiven…has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.” (2 Corinthians 2:5-11) Forgiving, just as Christ has forgiven you, keeps the devil at bay. The wily foe is smart enough to use unforgiveness to destroy your spiritual peace. Disarm Satan. Put the club of guilt down! June 14 “In the very midst of life snares of death surround us.” Martin Luther wrote that almost 500 years ago, long ago when people were aware that death was always close. We tend not to think that way anymore, science and medicine have blessed us in so many ways, but the camping tragedy in western Arkansas shocks us into reality. As of Friday night the death toll was 16. Today it’s probably higher. Give a preacher this kind of news and he might well use it to scare the blank out of you. Jonathon Edwards’ famously compared sinners to God holding a spider over the flames of hell and could at His whimsy destroy the poor creature. That’s somewhat true but St. Paul braces us against death with an eternal perspective that is more welcoming. “We fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen. If the earthly tent (body) we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in the heavens. Therefore we are always confident…” (from 2 Corinthians 4-5) A compassionate Savior was where Luther ended up as well. “In the midst of death’s dark vale powers of hell o’ertake us. Who will help when they assail, who secure will make us? Thou only, Lord, Thou only!” (Lutheran Service Book 755) June 15 Greetings from Princeton Theological Seminary! I’m here attending a “cross-cultural seminar for non-Hispanic faculty and administrators.” Our seminar is called “Through Hispanic Eyes.”
Maybe you’re like me, white, Anglo, and a conservative Bible believing Christian. For much of our lives, we’ve had a privileged place in American society. Dominant ethnicity, more access to the benefits of American life…have we thought we’re smarter and superior? Through what eyes do you see minorities?
We were asked to read “Salsa y Adobo: Latino/Latina Contributions to Theological Education.” In it Marina Herrera tells how Jesus treated a minority despised by Jews, the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4). “There was no need to argue about the well, who could get the water, or his lack of etiquette in speaking to a woman in public. These realities were mundane and held little promise in the way of getting to the deeper things of life. After establishing a minimal level of equality…the conversation could proceed with…fruitful results….”
Two weeks ago the Concordia faculty heard Philip Jenkins, a noted church historian, predict that in 2050 the United States will be the most populous Christian nation…but…those Christians will be ethnic converts, not what Jenkins called, “old stock.” Look around your church. Listen to what church-goers are saying. Through whose eyes are we looking at today’s world?
June 16 For a
long time seminaries have divided theology into four branches: Bible,
doctrine, history, and pastoral practice. The division is rooted in our
culture, using our heads to analyze, to have a place for everything and
everything in its place. The problem is the heart can get short-changed.
For example, I sometimes sit through seminary chapel sermons and think,
“This is great for my head” but, “Honestly, I don’t care because it’s not
speaking to my heart.”
Latinos haven’t been shaped by western culture the way Anglos have been.
When a Hispanic student told a professor, “I feel that…,” he corrected her.
“You should say, ‘I think that….’” She pushed back and told the professor
that heart and mind are not divided in Hispanic culture the way they’ve been
divided in Anglo, western culture. Latino
theologian Oscar Romero: “Let’s not meditate on a word that is disincarnated
from reality. It’s very easy to preach a gospel that’s the same here in El
Salvador as it would be in Guatemala, or in Africa. Of course, it’s the
same gospel, just as it’s the same sun that brightens the whole world. But
just as sunlight turns into flowers or fruits according to the needs of the
nature that receives it, so God’s word has to be incarnated into reality.” June 17 Keyword: Tears The ancient rabbis said that God felt so sorry for Adam and Eve when they trudged out of paradise that He gave them help to cope in their new, now sinful world. He gave them the gift of tears. Times of tears call for the sweetest religion. So much religious talk focuses upon what God's people should be doing. Fine, the Bible is filled with many commands and exhortations. Tears, however, remind us that this world is still broken, despite our Christian good works. "Put my tears into Your bottle" (Psalm 56:8). God has, always will. "Come unto Me," invites His Son, offering unconditional forgiveness and hope, love and encouragement. Fill your soul with those graces during good times and then, when tears come, as they must, they'll glisten with the comfort God alone can give. Jesus, be my comfort and refuge until the day God wipes every tear from our eyes (Revelation 7:17). Amen June 18 Rev. Kenneth Young was pastor of Ebenezer Lutheran Church from 1957 to 1968. Located in a tough part of Chicago, 13th and South Harding, ministry at Ebenezer posed James’ famous question, “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds?” (2:14) Rev. Young: “There were two taverns…within our precinct. A number of men always loitered about on the sidewalk outside. Broken bottles littered the sidewalk. Drunkenness was common. Most women were afraid to walk past that corner. It dragged our block down.” A lawyer discovered an old law that a precinct could ban liquor sales. So Rev. Young and others got a ban on the ballot and it passed 283 to 45. No good deed goes unpunished. “I had no idea of the power of money in that situation and what can happen when right and wrong collide.” A lawsuit was filed and when the case dragged on the frustrated judge asked Rev. Young, “Can’t we be reasonable about this?” Rev. Young said, “No!” The judge then ruled in favor of the liquor ban. Fatherhood is more than barbequing outside. In whatever way, fatherhood is also about being out for the good of families in your neighborhood. “I will show you my faith by what I do.” (James 2:18) June 21 Article VII of the United States Constitution says “The ratification of the conventions of nine states shall be sufficient for the establishment of this constitution….” On this date in 1788 New Hampshire became that ninth state to ratify and the new constitution went into effect. The Constitution is a marvelous document but has weaknesses. Its failure to abolish slavery is ugly. Because the Articles of Confederation were ineffective, a new constitution was desperately needed. Abolition had been talked about but it would have been a deal breaker. So the Constitution passed but with Article I permitting states to import slaves for 20 more years. Furthermore, slaves, who could not vote, were partially counted, thereby giving slave states disproportionate power in the House of Representatives. And Article IV required free states to return escaped slaves to their owners. A more recent event highlights the ugliness of this inequality. On this date in 1964 civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney were released from jail in Philadelphia and disappeared. Six weeks later their bodies were found buried in an earthen dam. Writing to Philemon about the slave Onesimus, Paul described how Christians should…how you and I should…view disadvantaged people, “No longer as a slave but better than a slave, as a dear brother.” (Philemon 16) June 22 I preached Sunday in Hoffman, Illinois. Hoffman is a small rural town, population under 1000 I guess. We shouldn’t romanticize about small town living. Big city media reaches into the minds of people. Farming and farm related services are big business, often worrisome business. Many towns are losing population and in decline. Still, Sunday was for me a step back in time. The church service for Father’s Day was held in the town park. There was a time when Sundays were different in America. On Saturday night churches used to ring their bells to remind people to prepare to go to God’s house the next morning. Businesses used to shut down so that you could go to church and spend time with family. Now the American way is to be busy 24/7/365. Now the American way is to always be in touch with your cell phones, tweets and computers. We’ve let ourselves get so busy that Americans now look at church as just one option for what you do on Sunday mornings. Sunday is still a special time but it’s special in a different way. Sunday can be whatever you want it to be. I obsess about the question, Why go to church? My pleasant visit to Hoffman suggests I’m asking too narrow a question. More tomorrow. June 23 Because I’m at the meeting of the Association of Theological Schools, I’ve prepared my Minutes ahead of time. My theme is that pesky question, Why go to church? As I said yesterday, the question leads us to focus too narrowly. Diane and I are from the Chicago area. When we got to our first church in southern Illinois we were flabbergasted by all the stars in the sky. No light pollution in rural America. Sunday is not just about being in church any more than the Old Testament Sabbath was only about studying and hearing the Torah. Sunday should also be about rest and renewal in the great cathedral of creation. It’s in the cathedral of creation that you realize that God is both great and mysterious. Nature shows His greatness. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.” (Psalm 19:1) The outdoor cathedral also confronts us with the silent mystery. We haven’t seen God. God hasn’t talked to me the way He talked to Abraham and Moses. Who is God, really? Modern American life has us so addicted to staying in touch that we easily think we and our contacts are the measure of all things. Sundays in the cathedral detoxifies us. “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10) June 24 Many Americans aren’t into looking up. We look ahead while we talk on cell phones or text or fixate on the monitor. Constant communication cheapens words and conditions us to think that church talk is cheap, just blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah. If looking up in the cathedral of creation delights us with wonder at the greatness and mystery of God, then worship in a church building give words to help us evaluate all other words. The old-fashioned way of keeping Sunday, businesses closed, socially acceptable to go to church, assumed something unique happens in that building. The great cathedral of creation isn’t personal but in the church building the mysterious Creator comes to us in a personal way as our Redeemer. It’s high touch. Through Jesus Christ God gives precious promises. He promises all our sins have been forgiven by the Savior’s death and resurrection. He promises He will always be a source of unconditional love. He promises that when we shed this earthly tent we will be clothed with a glorious, eternal body in heaven (2 Corinthians 5). Those high touch words are qualitatively different than all the others we hear. “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.” (Ecclesiastes 5:1) June 25 Sunday is about three sanctuaries: Nature, church, and your home and family. The old-fashioned way of keeping Sunday gives us an opportunity to love our family members while they are still with us. I would hate to know how many families have broken up because dad or mom was so busy pursuing the American dream that parents and children grew apart. I would hate to know how many families no longer eat their meals together. Diane and I can tell you from experience, eating meals together is the best way for one generation to pass on its values to the next. Home and family is a sanctuary from God that needs the nurture of leisurely Sundays. “God sets the lonely in families.” (Psalm 68:6) And this sanctuary is passing. American life is so here-and-now, so obsessed with the present, that we lose our perspective. We won’t always have our family members. “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12) Last Sunday in Hoffman, Illinois, convinced me that going to church is just part of a bigger question. What life style can keep us sane? What life style can give us perspective about day-to-day stuff and about eternity? Keeping Sunday the old-fashioned way is, I think, the answer. June 28 Every Sunday the business section of the New York Times interviews a successful CEO. A recurring question is, How do you go about hiring? Most admit they’ve hired people who didn’t work out. Elena Kagan has a job interview today, the “job” being a justice of the Supreme Court. Is she qualified? She has never served as a judge but neither had John Marshall when President Adams nominated him in 1801 to be Chief Justice. A Senator Dayton said the nomination “was contrary to the hopes and expectations of us all.” But founder Elias Boudinot praised the choice, saying Marshall is “in the full vigor of middle age” and “the science (of the law) is fresh in his head.” Today’s hearing offers another historical continuity. “Elena Kagan may well be a supporting player in a drama featuring two men not even there; President Obama and Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.” (New York Times, June 27; A1) Those two don’t agree on the role of the courts but neither did Chief Justice Marshall and presidents Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson. (Jean Edward Smith, “John Marshall,” 530) There’s something comforting that we continue to debate the role of judges. John Marshall served well for 35 years. Let’s pray that Elena Kagan turns out to be a good “hire.” June 29 For several weeks now our neighborhood has been fascinated with owls. A baby owl has settled on our street, and so every dawn and dusk Diane and I keep our eyes looking up to see this maturing, strong majestic bird. Last evening as the owl was on his bough, I in my chair, both staring at each other, I was reminded of ancient Greek mythology. The owl was especially associated with the Greek goddess Athena, the goddess of culture, arts and war. It’s long been pointed out that most religions are based in nature but that the world religions that trace their roots to Abraham, like Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, base their beliefs on revelation. Starring at owls and the rest of nature could never tell me about God’s love in Christ revealed in the pages of Scripture. That’s an important distinction but it shouldn’t diminish nature. Churches that have taken creation for granted and ignored our responsibilities to be good stewards are beginning to wake up to the fullness of God’s revelation, in creation as well as in the special revelation about redemption. Athena and the owl became personifications of wisdom but I’ve read that geese, crows and ravens are actually smarter. Where’s true wisdom? “Jesus Christ (is) the power of God and the wisdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:24) June 30 The Partnership for a Drug-Free America reports that 2/3 of teen girls use drugs to deal with problems at home. The Partnership’s study also shows that both girls and boys are using drugs and marijuana in increasing numbers. Calvina Fay of the Drug Free America Foundation says, “We’ve become a society that basically says, ‘If things aren’t perfect in your life, take a pill.’” (USA Today, June 28; 6D) Last week Brigham Young University released a study on teenage binge drinking. Peer pressure is the greatest cause of binge drinking but sociologist Stephen Bahr said, “even if their friends drink, parenting style does make a difference.” The study identified four parenting styles – indulgent, when parents let their kids do anything; authoritarian, parents are demanding but lack warmth; neglectful or indifferent, when parents just don’t care; and authoritative. The authoritative style best helps teens cope with peer pressure. This style of parenting balances support with control and knows where their children are and whom they’re with. (Globe and Mail, June 25; A3) F. Bland Tucker wrote this fitting prayer, “Our Father, by whose name all fatherhood is known, who dost in love proclaim each family Thine own, Bless Thou all parents guarding well, with constant love as sentinel, the homes in which Thy people dwell.”
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