A couple of things have been going on. I read the AAR article “Dianomy: Understanding Religious Women’s Moral Agency as Creative Conformity” by Elizabeth M. Bucar – liked it!
I also read the Christian Century article “Double Belonging” about people who consider themselves in two faith communities at once (Buddhist/Christians, Jewish/Christian, Islam/Christian). Don’t like it. The article is fine, but the idea of trying to be completely in both camps at the same time is weak at best. Just because you are bi-spiritual (or in an “open relationship” with your God) does not mean that you can sleep with two at once.
What I wanted to write was about language and rhetoric and spiritual images. Yup, once more on language. I was in Shawnee Kansas at Central Baptist Seminary last week spending a lot of time doing basically nothing with 25 other “Adaptive” leaders, when one person stood up in the back of the room and said:
“The Holy Spirit has moved me to ask for prayer.”
This was a fascinating statement that brought into question power and discourse. If this person just said, “I think we should pray” then it is just that person making the suggestion. We can understand that the individual is trying to persuade everyone else that prayer at this time would be good. It is a basic request that is easy to understand. But when someone says, “The Holy Spirit has moved me to ask for prayer,” the request changes in a big way because there is a depth of meaning in the phrase, “Holy Spirit.” We now have to try to understand what the person means by “Holy Spirit.” The difficulty with such a phrase is that many people will hear this term in many different ways with different theological level of authority. So when someone says, “the Holy Spirit led me to ask for prayer,” does that mean we have to stop everything and pray, or does that mean we need to talk about prayer, or does that mean we should pray but only in one specific way. The use of the term is vague and difficult to grasp. This becomes especially problematic when the individual is using the term with a sense of power and authority. In this case the individual was trying to gain control of the meeting, but the facilitator would not relent.
So what is the take-away? If nothing else, we in the religious world, need to be very careful with our terms. So often we use religious language (it says in the Bible, God’s plan, Jesus told me, etc…) with a sense of authority, but we are not sure if the person we are talking to understands the term in the same way that we do. It is one thing to throw such terms around willy-nilly but don’t expect others to understand what you mean.
If you don’t like this post, take it up with God. God told me to write every word here…
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
RIP Gibran - You Will Be Missed
It is an odd thing to write a eulogy of sorts about a family pet. I am sure that some will scoff, but a family member is a family member, and grief is grief. So I am going to offer her a tribute because she deserves is.
I cannot count the amount of times someone looked at Gibran (our dog) and saw wisdom and spirituality in her eyes. There was something knowing about her. I’ll never forget the day when we brought Anthony (our first born) home. Gibran was curious, but never threatened or threatening. She seemed to know instinctive the difference between her toys and Anthony’s toys. There really isn’t a big difference between dog toys and baby toys. This was how she was with each child that came home. She sniffed the baby and then went back to her own life. As the kids got older, Gibran knew that when she played with them she needed to be gentle and careful. She had a tender soul.
When the kids went outside I did not worry if Gibran was there. She would let us know if someone was around. When I went for hikes with Gibran I never put her on a leash because I knew she would not leave me, and she never did. I may not have been able to see her, but she could always see me. She kept squirrels out of the yard and protected our garden from rodents. She loved to go for walks and to play with me. Rebekah gave Gibran the love and attention, she would pet Gibran, but we had an attachment. I would walk her and it was good. I would feed her, and I would be with her when she would die. She wasn’t a puppy or even a pet but a companion to me. We did not need to speak much, we did not need to be cute together, we just seemed to understand each other.
To find someone who understands you, who is your companion but never says a word is a rear thing. To find someone whose quiet presence is comforting is a rear thing. Gibran was that comforting presence. She love to be doted on, she loved to be pet, but with me she would sit at my feet under the dinner table and I would enjoy her warmth on top of my toes.
I know that it will be a while before I truly miss her. It will be a while before I notice that I am no longer going on walks, that I no longer can watch her chase away the squirrels. It will be a while before I truly feel the absence. I will grieve now, but this is an immediate grief. The deep grief will come as I notice the ways my life has changed, the absence of her in my life.
For a pet, a companion, a friend I could not ask anything more from her. She was greatly loved in this family and she will be greatly missed.
This is something that my oldest son, Anthony, wrote:
Friday January 21, 2011,
Gibran is going to die today. She is 11 years old. Born in 1999 to 2010. It is hard to let go of her but it’s the right thing to do.
God, bring Gibran to heaven, and protect her there please. Amen.
Good bye Gibran. From Anthony Joseph Malone
Monday, January 17, 2011
A Pie in the Sky
Here are my thoughts for this Sunday's sermon. The text is Isaiah 9:1-4.
MAIN IDEA – It is difficult to preach about hope in a real way to people who are suffering. How does one suggest that things will get better when things are in a state of crap? How does one suggest that things will get better when in your own life things are difficult and seemingly lost? Again and again we find words of hope, but what does it offer that is real? I don’t want to start reading signs and stars and say that when someone dropped a dollar in front of me that is God helping me. That is shallow. Or that the prayer someone says for me is God helping me. How does that make a difference when my children are starving?
If I leave my comfortable, Western, middle class life, I have to look at the very real fact that people in this world assume that some of their children will not live to adulthood. There are people who assume that they will be bombed or ravaged by war and violence. There are people who struggle to live just because who they are. There are people who struggle and I’m supposed to preach about hope? It seems empty and shallow at best, cruel at worst.
Even now, making the turn to hope is a difficult thing when being honest. I’m expected to make the turn, but I don’t know if I can with authenticity. My desire is that I can hope in the promise and trust of God. My desire is to believe, Lord help my unbelief.
You said that people who walked in darkness have and will see a great light. Are you going to let the rest of the world see that light?
THEOLOGICAL IDEA – this evokes the hope of the resurrection. In every case, the worst that can happen is death. A child struggles, but hope is held to until the child dies and then it is assumed that all is lost. The crucifixion and the resurrection show us the way that the yoke has been broken. When we embrace the hope of the resurrection (a hope that goes beyond any sense of substitutionary atonement) then we can read the passage of Isaiah with the promise of God ringing in our hearts?
MAIN IDEA – It is difficult to preach about hope in a real way to people who are suffering. How does one suggest that things will get better when things are in a state of crap? How does one suggest that things will get better when in your own life things are difficult and seemingly lost? Again and again we find words of hope, but what does it offer that is real? I don’t want to start reading signs and stars and say that when someone dropped a dollar in front of me that is God helping me. That is shallow. Or that the prayer someone says for me is God helping me. How does that make a difference when my children are starving?
If I leave my comfortable, Western, middle class life, I have to look at the very real fact that people in this world assume that some of their children will not live to adulthood. There are people who assume that they will be bombed or ravaged by war and violence. There are people who struggle to live just because who they are. There are people who struggle and I’m supposed to preach about hope? It seems empty and shallow at best, cruel at worst.
Even now, making the turn to hope is a difficult thing when being honest. I’m expected to make the turn, but I don’t know if I can with authenticity. My desire is that I can hope in the promise and trust of God. My desire is to believe, Lord help my unbelief.
You said that people who walked in darkness have and will see a great light. Are you going to let the rest of the world see that light?
THEOLOGICAL IDEA – this evokes the hope of the resurrection. In every case, the worst that can happen is death. A child struggles, but hope is held to until the child dies and then it is assumed that all is lost. The crucifixion and the resurrection show us the way that the yoke has been broken. When we embrace the hope of the resurrection (a hope that goes beyond any sense of substitutionary atonement) then we can read the passage of Isaiah with the promise of God ringing in our hearts?
Friday, January 14, 2011
Afterthought to Words and Power
The clergy group in EG is putting together a statement on rhetoric. Here is the bit that I offered:
Words and images have meaning and power. It is very easy to forget this and to be seduced by rhetoric that is hateful, violent, and dehumanizing without realizing what it is that we are hearing. While I cannot state that one person or another is directly responsible for the tragedy in Arizona, the current national and political conversation about awakens us to the power of words and images. Violent images, words that creates those who disagree into “others” without human value or worth, and apocalyptic images evoking fear, are all dangerous and I believe abhorrent to God. We have a tradition of respect and understanding of the other. Let us recall, not only did Roger Williams feel it was important that everyone had the freedom to follow God as he or she was led, but that everyone be seen as a child of God regardless what path he or she took. Not only was Williams tolerant, but respectful with charity.
We follow a God of love who calls us to consider each person as precious no matter what he or she believes or does. We follow a God who values peace and mercy. The polemical tone that is such a part of the political discourse has no place in any faith community for it is antithetical to the nature of God.
I urge you to be vigilant of words and images that objectify others, that evoke violence, and that suggests hatred as the only response one can take.. Not only do I urge you to reject such discourse, but to call others away from it as well. Our God does not ask us to get our way no matter what, nor does our God call us to see every political issue as a dire moral moment for our country that justifies hatred. Instead we are all called to take a radical stand against those who embrace images and words of violence and show the profound love of God. Let us embrace and live the call of the prophet Micah in our own speech, rhetoric, and images: “…and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
Words and images have meaning and power. It is very easy to forget this and to be seduced by rhetoric that is hateful, violent, and dehumanizing without realizing what it is that we are hearing. While I cannot state that one person or another is directly responsible for the tragedy in Arizona, the current national and political conversation about awakens us to the power of words and images. Violent images, words that creates those who disagree into “others” without human value or worth, and apocalyptic images evoking fear, are all dangerous and I believe abhorrent to God. We have a tradition of respect and understanding of the other. Let us recall, not only did Roger Williams feel it was important that everyone had the freedom to follow God as he or she was led, but that everyone be seen as a child of God regardless what path he or she took. Not only was Williams tolerant, but respectful with charity.
We follow a God of love who calls us to consider each person as precious no matter what he or she believes or does. We follow a God who values peace and mercy. The polemical tone that is such a part of the political discourse has no place in any faith community for it is antithetical to the nature of God.
I urge you to be vigilant of words and images that objectify others, that evoke violence, and that suggests hatred as the only response one can take.. Not only do I urge you to reject such discourse, but to call others away from it as well. Our God does not ask us to get our way no matter what, nor does our God call us to see every political issue as a dire moral moment for our country that justifies hatred. Instead we are all called to take a radical stand against those who embrace images and words of violence and show the profound love of God. Let us embrace and live the call of the prophet Micah in our own speech, rhetoric, and images: “…and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Words, Rhetoric, and Fancy Pictures Have Meaning
Yesterday I read an article in the very popular American Academy of Religion about Hate Speech. For those of you who don’t believe anything that I write, the article is “Curses Left and Right: hate Speech and Biblical Tradition,” by Brian M. Britt. (AAR, v. 78, no. 3). Yes, that is not the proper way to cite a source, but this isn’t a publication that calls for that kind of criticism, so back off Kate Turibian.
Anyway, Britt was claiming that Hate Speech actually has power and can affect people. Despite the protection of the 1st Amendment (that pesky part of the Constitution that allows Yellow Journalism to happen i.e. Fox News, that allows commies to gather and that will not allow our children to recite brainwashing pseudo-Christian prayers in school), Britt is claiming that Hate Speech is not just a string of words but is an action in itself that holds power. He is using Austin which is good, but neglects Wittgenstein, which is bad, but that is a critique of his larger argument. Perhaps that will be for another time.
For the most part I like what Britt is claiming and I thought about this when I read the current criticism of Sarah Palin’s crossfire website picture and the Tuscan shootings. I am not going to say that Sarah Palin is directly responsible for the shooting, but I would say that the rhetoric has become a reality.
Despite the wussy and wimpy back peddling (that must be the Mama Grizzly way) that camp Sarah has been stating (it wasn’t meant to represent a target or suggest a gun; reload meant eat an energy bar, blah, blah, blah) the polemic, violent rhetoric has power and meaning. I don’t think anyone can claim that placing an individual in a crossfire is a benign statement – it is an act that suggests violence, that suggests a sense of desperation, and that justifies a vilification of the other. This is powerful speech.
I’m not saying Sarah Palin, and the many other right wing hyper-conservative folks are guilty of hate speech, whatever that may be. I am accusing them of being at the least disingenuous about their actions. I would love it if someone from camp Palin said something like, “we now recognize that the tone and tenor of our messages have had violent undertones and we recognize that we need to take responsibility for those messages. We implore our colleagues to take more time to consider the possible repercussions of our rhetoric and consider sending the same message with a more honest and life-affirming tone.”
Yet we all know that will never happen, to many big words, to much soul-searching, and to long to write on the side of a bus.
Anyway, Britt was claiming that Hate Speech actually has power and can affect people. Despite the protection of the 1st Amendment (that pesky part of the Constitution that allows Yellow Journalism to happen i.e. Fox News, that allows commies to gather and that will not allow our children to recite brainwashing pseudo-Christian prayers in school), Britt is claiming that Hate Speech is not just a string of words but is an action in itself that holds power. He is using Austin which is good, but neglects Wittgenstein, which is bad, but that is a critique of his larger argument. Perhaps that will be for another time.
For the most part I like what Britt is claiming and I thought about this when I read the current criticism of Sarah Palin’s crossfire website picture and the Tuscan shootings. I am not going to say that Sarah Palin is directly responsible for the shooting, but I would say that the rhetoric has become a reality.
Despite the wussy and wimpy back peddling (that must be the Mama Grizzly way) that camp Sarah has been stating (it wasn’t meant to represent a target or suggest a gun; reload meant eat an energy bar, blah, blah, blah) the polemic, violent rhetoric has power and meaning. I don’t think anyone can claim that placing an individual in a crossfire is a benign statement – it is an act that suggests violence, that suggests a sense of desperation, and that justifies a vilification of the other. This is powerful speech.
I’m not saying Sarah Palin, and the many other right wing hyper-conservative folks are guilty of hate speech, whatever that may be. I am accusing them of being at the least disingenuous about their actions. I would love it if someone from camp Palin said something like, “we now recognize that the tone and tenor of our messages have had violent undertones and we recognize that we need to take responsibility for those messages. We implore our colleagues to take more time to consider the possible repercussions of our rhetoric and consider sending the same message with a more honest and life-affirming tone.”
Yet we all know that will never happen, to many big words, to much soul-searching, and to long to write on the side of a bus.
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
I Only Listen to Music Written and Performed by People With no Morals
Happy New Year. It is an arbitrary thing, but for whatever it is worth, happy new year.
Should we judge the author or the work itself?
I have recently downloaded Kanye West’s newest album “My beautiful Dark Twisted fantasy,” and have gotten a little bit of flack for it. I don’t have a lot of Kanye’s other stuff but have heard other tunes and have liked them. In addition I have heard from the music critic on Fresh Air, and the folks on All Songs Considered that this is a really good album. So, on a lark and with a gift card I purchased the song.
So far I have to say I enjoy it. I haven’t listened enough to give it a full critique, but I like it so far. Yet I have heard some people say they wouldn’t buy it because of who Kanye is. I don’t know everything he has done so I am not sure what exactly he represents or is being held accountable, so I am not one to judge or condemn him, but his music – I like it.
Here is the thing, just because a bastard writes it does that make it bad? Think of Die Walkure, or Lohengrin, or Das Rheingold. Are these operas bad because Wagner, an Anti-Semite, wrote them. Or what about all of the writings of Martin Luther? He also was fairly Anti-Semitic, so should we discount all of his writings. Augustine was a philander who begat a bastard child and did not help his mistress. Should we throw out the confessions? Martin Luther King Jr. had many affairs. Should we stop learning and listening to the “I have a Dream” speech? Beethoven originally supported Napoleon and intended to dedicate his third symphony to him. Should we stop singing Ode to Joy?
When you think about it there are a whole lot of creeps, low-lifes, bastards, and morally bankrupt people who seem to have contributed many good things to our society by way of the arts, sciences, politics, and more. In the U.S. many of our colleges, libraries, and foundations are funded by dollars earned on the back of works who were poorly paid, taken advantage of, and cheated. Yet we have not condemned the “robber barons” of our nation.
When someone perfect, without any sin, mar, failing, and fault offers something that is good and fulfilling (and not some boring “Christian” crap that holds little artistic value) then I will listen and endorse it. In the meantime, I will be aware of the author, but overall I will look to the merits of the work itself. Let Kanye play. Just not to loud, to many obscenities.
PostscriptJust in case you feel the need to be nerdy, I think this falls into the category of “author’s intent.” Feel free to ready Stanley Fish (early or late) or other Post-modern literary critics. Basically we can never know the author’s intent, all we have is the text, or song, or art itself and our reaction. That is the only thing that is real.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Are You Really Excited for Christmas?
Below are my thoughts for my Christmas Eve sermon. The text that I am using is Psalm 96 - enjoy!
MAIN IDEA – Christmas Eve is one of those services when one is supposed to bring out the “big gun,” have the multi-brass choir, the live animals, the angelic children’s choir, and every other gimmick that you can put your hand on. On the one hand I see this as a gimmick and have a deal of disdain towards such an approach, on the other hand, there is a level of truth to the praise. Yet why do we praise? I don’t think I’m just being cynical when I say that we offer the upbeat, powerful service because people expect us to do so, and we want people to be pleased. We do it because we hope that maybe one of those C and E Christians will be inspired to start to attend our church on a regular basis – we do it because we are desperate.
So I have always had a certain amount of skepticism towards such manufactured joy on high holy days (Easter is included in this). Yet on the other hand, this is an amazing part of the Christian story, the salvation story that I embrace. There is a level of necessary praise that calls to be embraced when I am authentic and honest not only about what Christ’s birth means for Christianity but what Christ’s birth means to me.
The Psalm offers a form to follow in praise. It almost authentic the praise that I want to embrace without becoming fake. I hope I can embrace the steadfast trust and faith that the Psalm proclaims (v. 10 – “Say among the nations, ‘The Lord is King! The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved.’”). I also hope that I can embrace the promise that the Psalm proclaims (v. 13 “…he is coming, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with his truth.”).
Free me, Lord, from the expectations of others and allow me to embrace my own joy, to incarnate my celebration in my life as this Psalm is driving me to do. May my worship be honest and true to you.
Amen
THEOLOGICAL IDEA – There seems to be a couple of things going on here. One, we are called to praise with all creation. This speaks to a kind of theological anthropology and natural theology – perhaps suggest that all are drawn towards to goodness and grace of God, even creation itself.
We are given the idea that God is in control, but not in a predestination kind of way. It seems that God’s control is in how God reacts to and is involved with the people. God will judge with righteousness and equity. When we are moved to distrust of the powers, principalities, and systems, we are drawn to trust in God.
Finally the idea of salvation as a now and a not yet. God is coming even as God has come into the world through the birth of Christ. The celebration of Christmas is never fully over until Christ returns.
MAIN IDEA – Christmas Eve is one of those services when one is supposed to bring out the “big gun,” have the multi-brass choir, the live animals, the angelic children’s choir, and every other gimmick that you can put your hand on. On the one hand I see this as a gimmick and have a deal of disdain towards such an approach, on the other hand, there is a level of truth to the praise. Yet why do we praise? I don’t think I’m just being cynical when I say that we offer the upbeat, powerful service because people expect us to do so, and we want people to be pleased. We do it because we hope that maybe one of those C and E Christians will be inspired to start to attend our church on a regular basis – we do it because we are desperate.
So I have always had a certain amount of skepticism towards such manufactured joy on high holy days (Easter is included in this). Yet on the other hand, this is an amazing part of the Christian story, the salvation story that I embrace. There is a level of necessary praise that calls to be embraced when I am authentic and honest not only about what Christ’s birth means for Christianity but what Christ’s birth means to me.
The Psalm offers a form to follow in praise. It almost authentic the praise that I want to embrace without becoming fake. I hope I can embrace the steadfast trust and faith that the Psalm proclaims (v. 10 – “Say among the nations, ‘The Lord is King! The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved.’”). I also hope that I can embrace the promise that the Psalm proclaims (v. 13 “…he is coming, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with his truth.”).
Free me, Lord, from the expectations of others and allow me to embrace my own joy, to incarnate my celebration in my life as this Psalm is driving me to do. May my worship be honest and true to you.
Amen
THEOLOGICAL IDEA – There seems to be a couple of things going on here. One, we are called to praise with all creation. This speaks to a kind of theological anthropology and natural theology – perhaps suggest that all are drawn towards to goodness and grace of God, even creation itself.
We are given the idea that God is in control, but not in a predestination kind of way. It seems that God’s control is in how God reacts to and is involved with the people. God will judge with righteousness and equity. When we are moved to distrust of the powers, principalities, and systems, we are drawn to trust in God.
Finally the idea of salvation as a now and a not yet. God is coming even as God has come into the world through the birth of Christ. The celebration of Christmas is never fully over until Christ returns.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Christmas Overload!
Here are my thoughts on the sermon for this week (12/19). The scripture passages are Isaiah 7:10-16 and Romans 1:1-7
MAIN IDEA – The signs of Christmas are overwhelming. They
suffocate, they fall upon you without your asking and demand to be seen. I’m not thrilled with the signs of Christmas, I would say the commercial ones specifically, but when I saw a Santa Claus kneeling at the manger I realized that there was no longer any difference between secular and sacred signs of Christmas. You will find snowmen and crosses all on the same lawn. Wise men will carry gifts with a sleigh. These are the signs of Christmas that we have come to expect and that have become saccharin and empty in my mind.
Yet there is one sign that I still look to and that is the worship service anticipating the birth of Christ and celebrating that birth. In this time of year we sing certain songs, we have an advent candle, we decorate the church (although in a kind of secular way), and I preach about preparing for the coming and the birth of Christ. This is a sign of Christmas, but it is a sign that is not often named and claimed. It may partly be because it is difficult to put a worship service on one’s lawn with lights, and partly because it is something that is hard to sell.
We try. We try to make the worship service a performance with the best music possible, with live animals, with living nativity scenes, and every other bit of craziness that we can think of. There are people who go to one specific service every year because of the x, not because of the celebration and the sign of Christ.
It is my hope that I can find, celebrate, and experience the sign of Christ in worship these last few days before the season is over.
Close my eyes to the flashing lights, the presence, the songs, and all other baubles of Christmas. Open my eyes and my heart to the prayers, the singing, and the worship looking forward to your presence in our lives and in the world.
Amen
THEOLOGICAL IDEA – Most glaringly this seems to speak to the sacramental nature of worship. As a Baptist this is not an easy thing to acknowledge, but I believe it speaks to an experiential reality. In our prayers, preaching, and singing we anticipate the coming and the presence of God. When we do this as a community we embody the hope spoken of in Isaiah, and the faith that Paul lifts up.
A theology of incarnation is a big part of this expectation. During Advent we notice the absence of Christ in our lives and in the world. This close to Christmas, we begin to grasp the power and the profundity of the incarnation. God is made flesh in the world. The birth, the hope, the salvation is a reality.
MAIN IDEA – The signs of Christmas are overwhelming. They
suffocate, they fall upon you without your asking and demand to be seen. I’m not thrilled with the signs of Christmas, I would say the commercial ones specifically, but when I saw a Santa Claus kneeling at the manger I realized that there was no longer any difference between secular and sacred signs of Christmas. You will find snowmen and crosses all on the same lawn. Wise men will carry gifts with a sleigh. These are the signs of Christmas that we have come to expect and that have become saccharin and empty in my mind.
Yet there is one sign that I still look to and that is the worship service anticipating the birth of Christ and celebrating that birth. In this time of year we sing certain songs, we have an advent candle, we decorate the church (although in a kind of secular way), and I preach about preparing for the coming and the birth of Christ. This is a sign of Christmas, but it is a sign that is not often named and claimed. It may partly be because it is difficult to put a worship service on one’s lawn with lights, and partly because it is something that is hard to sell.
We try. We try to make the worship service a performance with the best music possible, with live animals, with living nativity scenes, and every other bit of craziness that we can think of. There are people who go to one specific service every year because of the x, not because of the celebration and the sign of Christ.
It is my hope that I can find, celebrate, and experience the sign of Christ in worship these last few days before the season is over.
Close my eyes to the flashing lights, the presence, the songs, and all other baubles of Christmas. Open my eyes and my heart to the prayers, the singing, and the worship looking forward to your presence in our lives and in the world.
Amen
THEOLOGICAL IDEA – Most glaringly this seems to speak to the sacramental nature of worship. As a Baptist this is not an easy thing to acknowledge, but I believe it speaks to an experiential reality. In our prayers, preaching, and singing we anticipate the coming and the presence of God. When we do this as a community we embody the hope spoken of in Isaiah, and the faith that Paul lifts up.
A theology of incarnation is a big part of this expectation. During Advent we notice the absence of Christ in our lives and in the world. This close to Christmas, we begin to grasp the power and the profundity of the incarnation. God is made flesh in the world. The birth, the hope, the salvation is a reality.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Violence of Biblical Proportions
Currently I’m reading through Joshua which is not easy. It would make a great action movie with a very high death count, but hard to find myself in the story. Most likely I would be one of the kings who would hide in the cave and wait all the violence out.
I’m having a difficult time because I’m taking scripture seriously. This partly means I wont do what the pansy liberals (sorry, “progressives”) do and just read the sections that make us happy like the Beatitudes, the Sermon on the Mount, Micah, and Isaiah. I really do believe that the entire canon of scripture needs to be taken seriously or we cannot take any of it seriously – we are picking and choosing.
Nor do I want to read it in the same way as the stuck-in-the-mud conservatives who also like to pick and choose, but tend to go to Romans, Titus, Leviticus, and other hard-nosed, damning texts. I bet the progressives would look at Joshua and say, “well, we just don’t take that section of the Bible seriously,” and the conservatives would say, “well, that is a part of who God is, so get right with God or get ready to go to hell with fire!”
I like to take a narrative approach to the scriptures where I try to find myself in the passage. It is easy with the psalms and with the Gospels and with the prophets, but Joshua (along with other parts of the Bible) is tricky. God tells Joshua to wipe out whole nations – it is genocide. And while much of this has been shown to be historically inaccurate
It could be an embrace of identity – we are God’s people. It could be a sense of righteousness – we are chosen by God over these other, pagan nations. It could be justification for nationalism and war. I don’t have a good answer. All I know is that it is a bloody book and it is in the canon. I can offer suggestions but I cannot offer anything that I am comfortable with.
Hmmm…. Perhaps this is a lesson in itself. There are times when we should not feel comfortable with our faith (please don’t state the trite bit that Jesus came to comfort the afflicted and came to afflict the comfortable, it isn’t clever, it just isn’t).
There are times when we might even want things to be different than they are. If I could, I would rewrite Joshua with a much more peaceful approach, but I can’t. So I will remain off balance as I read through Joshua knowing that I may never get to a place where I can make sense of what it is that I am reading.
Saturday, December 04, 2010
A Bleak Prespective
I have recently read the entirety of Charles Dickens’ masterpiece, Bleak House. My first reaction – good glory that is a long book!
I haven’t read Dickens since High School, and I was young a foolish then, missing many of the subtle jabs and undertones in his writing. Now that I am ancient and wise (that deriding laughter you hear in the background is my wife). I would like to think that I have a mature perspective on the book.
Of course I need to offer the disclaimer that I am not a literary critic, or an English professor, or any other person qualified to give a full critique of Dickens’ work. I’m just a humble Baptist theologian who is trying to make sense of a classic.
Dickens seems to get the disparaging separation of classes and does not hold back in mocking the rich and showing the honest difficulty of the poor. He does not make the poor heroes, but portrays them in an honest way. It is a reading of society that could be applied to today. This is something that I enjoyed.
The most puzzling aspect of the book is the title itself: Bleak House. I cannot count the number of times someone said to me, “Gosh, that must be Bleak, ha, ha,” showing a complete lack of knowledge of the work. Yet there is something about the title of the book and the house that cannot be ignored. Esther Summerson, the main character, becomes the caretaker of Bleak House. Esther is an ideal picture of grace, goodness, perspective, and just a ray of sunshine in everyone’s life. In the end of the book (Spoiler Alert – as if anyone is going to make it to the end) Esther and her husband are given a house that is given the name Bleak House where they raise two daughters and live happily ever after.
Maybe the name is just one of those English oddities that can be easily overlooked, but consider. With Esther’s presence, the house is not bleak. She make something of the home, she continues to give it life and hope. Consider life itself. Life is Bleak. We are born, we live, we die, and that is it. Yet we do not have to be confined to the projected idea of life (bleak) that many may embrace. We can find hope and offer a sense of joy into our lives and the lives of others.
This isn’t an optimism/pessimism distinction, but a taking what you have and living through it with grace. Esther loses much and continues to see good in life, perhaps this is a lesson for us all. This isn’t a pie-in-the-sky future hope, nor is it an optimistic belief that things will someday get better. This is an approach where you find the good in the worst and avoid any sense of self-pity. This where I look to religion for hope more than just doing your best. It is the idea that God can lead you to work with the biggest pile of crap that you have. There is a lot of theological implications in such a statement, but that will be an entry for another time.
I should talk about the Jarndyce case and the obvious metaphor for holding onto something that is not realistic, but this has been long enough. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket and don’t count on an inheritance to cover all of your debts.
Is Dickens bleak? Yes. Is Dickens hopeless? No. Kinda like this blog post – bleak but not hopeless (although it may be pointless).
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
This Is My Favorite Time of Year (sarcasm!)
Here are the thoughts for my Advent 1 sermon. The text is Isaiah 2:1-5 and Romans 13:11-14
MAIN IDEA – The holiday, “Christmas” season is a difficult time for me. Part of it is because I have been soured by playing to many music performances and I grew to hate Christmas music. Another part of it is because I have tended to in the past take the aspect and meaning of Advent as a penitential time, and I have had a difficult time getting into the “spirit of the time.” I had a spiritual director who once suggested that a great deal of my difficulty came from my sense that something is indeed missing in this time. There is something missing in my life and in the world. In my life I am missing the fullness of the grace of Jesus Christ and the glory I find with Christ. In the world there is a notable lack of the love and mercy that I find in Christ. So it is hard for me to be happy and upbeat in this time when I realize how much things are missing and needed.
Yet there is a longing and a desiring that is addressed in the scriptures. There is a longing for peace that is promised. There is a return of Christ that is promised. A challenge is embracing that longing and that promise and living them in an anticipatory way in the here and now. Then Advent becomes not only a time of recognizing what is missing but celebrating what is promised. Can I live with this hope and not let the excitement of the world usurp the hope of my faith?
Open my eyes to the real needs of the world and of my life. Let me see the way in which I need to be redeemed. May I see the wounds and the scars of the world even as many try to cover them up, and may I then work to offer the real hope, a promised hope, and a here and now hope of Christ.
Amen
THEOLOGICAL IDEA – Paul often speaks in terms of “already/not yet.” This is a reality of the Christian life that we are already saved but not yet living into our salvation. I am led to think of David Tracy’s reference to such an awareness with his illustration of an analogical imagination. In worship, in specific moments of worship we are already in the presence of God, and yet we understand and realize the way in which we are in a very real way not yet fully living in God’s glory.
Isaiah offers a future hope and Paul calls us to future living. Two very different but very important ways to live. It is a combination of Multmann and a realized eschatology (in a way).
Whenever we are speaking of the here and now we must be aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit. In our actions of love (as Paul calls us to live) we are led and guided and lifted up by the Holy Spirit.
MAIN IDEA – The holiday, “Christmas” season is a difficult time for me. Part of it is because I have been soured by playing to many music performances and I grew to hate Christmas music. Another part of it is because I have tended to in the past take the aspect and meaning of Advent as a penitential time, and I have had a difficult time getting into the “spirit of the time.” I had a spiritual director who once suggested that a great deal of my difficulty came from my sense that something is indeed missing in this time. There is something missing in my life and in the world. In my life I am missing the fullness of the grace of Jesus Christ and the glory I find with Christ. In the world there is a notable lack of the love and mercy that I find in Christ. So it is hard for me to be happy and upbeat in this time when I realize how much things are missing and needed.
Yet there is a longing and a desiring that is addressed in the scriptures. There is a longing for peace that is promised. There is a return of Christ that is promised. A challenge is embracing that longing and that promise and living them in an anticipatory way in the here and now. Then Advent becomes not only a time of recognizing what is missing but celebrating what is promised. Can I live with this hope and not let the excitement of the world usurp the hope of my faith?
Open my eyes to the real needs of the world and of my life. Let me see the way in which I need to be redeemed. May I see the wounds and the scars of the world even as many try to cover them up, and may I then work to offer the real hope, a promised hope, and a here and now hope of Christ.
Amen
THEOLOGICAL IDEA – Paul often speaks in terms of “already/not yet.” This is a reality of the Christian life that we are already saved but not yet living into our salvation. I am led to think of David Tracy’s reference to such an awareness with his illustration of an analogical imagination. In worship, in specific moments of worship we are already in the presence of God, and yet we understand and realize the way in which we are in a very real way not yet fully living in God’s glory.
Isaiah offers a future hope and Paul calls us to future living. Two very different but very important ways to live. It is a combination of Multmann and a realized eschatology (in a way).
Whenever we are speaking of the here and now we must be aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit. In our actions of love (as Paul calls us to live) we are led and guided and lifted up by the Holy Spirit.
Friday, November 19, 2010
A Practice in Absurdity
I am currently attending meetings of bureaucratic purgatory for the American Baptist Churches, USA (ABC-USA). Through a comedy of events I have managed to be elected on the General Board of the denomination which is very basically the governing board of the denomination. It really does seem to be a practice in absurdity.
I’m going to reflect a little bit on some of the events of today (which is only half over), and maybe in another post speak about the so-far one positive meeting event that I have been a part of.
This morning was a meeting of procedure, minutia, and nit-picking over small things and things of little nature. In the same meeting we discussed a change to the by-laws of the denomination with the full realization that we will very likely not have any impact on the changes regardless if we are happy or not with the proposed changes.
So I am left thinking, “what is the point?”
I believe in the church, especially as it is manifested through the American Baptists yet the movement of the institution seems to be further away from the ideals and distinctive of the Baptist movement. Yet I do not feel as if I have any voice in the process (see a previous post for the first time the by-laws were presentedr).
What is the point?
There seems to be a growing disconnect between the denomination on the national level and local churches. The denomination seems to be focused on self-perseveration. Churches seem to be focused on self-preservation. Both seem to be looking past each other. So it is no wonder why the by-law changes do not reflect the aspect of the Baptist movement as it is practiced among the churches. On the other hand, it is no wonder why churches are not concerned with the denomination and its work.
The denomination needs to move out of the self-perseveration work and into the work of supporting and working with the churches. I doubt anything will happen.
Yet I will still sit in the meeting, half-listen and do other things at the same time (like write a blog post) and continue to practice in the absurdity.
I’m going to reflect a little bit on some of the events of today (which is only half over), and maybe in another post speak about the so-far one positive meeting event that I have been a part of.
This morning was a meeting of procedure, minutia, and nit-picking over small things and things of little nature. In the same meeting we discussed a change to the by-laws of the denomination with the full realization that we will very likely not have any impact on the changes regardless if we are happy or not with the proposed changes.
So I am left thinking, “what is the point?”
I believe in the church, especially as it is manifested through the American Baptists yet the movement of the institution seems to be further away from the ideals and distinctive of the Baptist movement. Yet I do not feel as if I have any voice in the process (see a previous post for the first time the by-laws were presentedr).
What is the point?
There seems to be a growing disconnect between the denomination on the national level and local churches. The denomination seems to be focused on self-perseveration. Churches seem to be focused on self-preservation. Both seem to be looking past each other. So it is no wonder why the by-law changes do not reflect the aspect of the Baptist movement as it is practiced among the churches. On the other hand, it is no wonder why churches are not concerned with the denomination and its work.
The denomination needs to move out of the self-perseveration work and into the work of supporting and working with the churches. I doubt anything will happen.
Yet I will still sit in the meeting, half-listen and do other things at the same time (like write a blog post) and continue to practice in the absurdity.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Put Your Arms Down
Kelvin Mutize wrote:
worship is all about glorifying god.its bringing honour and praise to him. On my blog i write about the reasons and origins of worship. Read it www.theworshipofgod.blogspot.com
It doesn’t take much to make me happy. When someone posts a comment on my blog I do a little dance around my room (or coffee shop), shake my bootie, and have small, short, exaltations of joy (which usually sound like flatulence). So when Kelvin Mutize posted the above comment to my post on worship, there was much dancing, shaking, and exalting.
Then I read Mutize’s comment. I have to say, I am very grateful for his time and energy to offer his thoughts, but I disagree with his comment, and even more so with his blog.
I have heard people say that we are created to praise God, and that makes me depressed – no dancing. Is the point of worship to gather around some unseen deity, and throw our hands in the air saying again and again, “you are awesome, you are awesome, you are awesome?” Does God have such a low self-esteem that we need to prop ‘him/her’ up with our praise? This seems like a weak reason to worship.
What about the individual who just had a bad day? I mean a really bad day. The kind of day when you find out that you have cancer, and then you hear that your child has been arrested for possession, and you loose your job, and then you are reminded that you are supposed to bring the brownies to the PTA meeting tonight. Are you going to go to church before hand and say, “oh God, you are just so awesome, and greater than anything I can imagine. I’m just so darn lucky to be able to praise you?” Probably not. Instead, you will probably say something like, “what the f----, God. I’ve been good, I’ve gone to church, I’ve done what I am supposed to do, and yet I’ve found myself drowning in a pile of sh—that you call life! This sucks, amen.”
Try saying that with your arms in the air to an up-beat song.
What about the church built in an urban or rural area, surrounded by poverty? Is the purpose of worship still to praise God? Shouldn’t we be praying for the poor and asking for the gumption to go out and help the poor?
I think I’ve made my point, Mr. Mutize, your approach to worship is shallow at best. Plus, just because you find single, individual verses in the Bible that supports your argument, and you print it in nice, colorful letters, doesn’t make it true (see his blog to get what I am talking about).
What is the purpose of worship? You don’t expect me to answer that question after this long rant. I’ll just offer this – perhaps worship is a time to connect with God, wherever we are, and to connect with our brothers and sisters in Christ, wherever we are. It is a time for weeping, and for laughing…
Take us out, Pete Seeger (he put the words to music after all)
worship is all about glorifying god.its bringing honour and praise to him. On my blog i write about the reasons and origins of worship. Read it www.theworshipofgod.blogspot.com
It doesn’t take much to make me happy. When someone posts a comment on my blog I do a little dance around my room (or coffee shop), shake my bootie, and have small, short, exaltations of joy (which usually sound like flatulence). So when Kelvin Mutize posted the above comment to my post on worship, there was much dancing, shaking, and exalting.
Then I read Mutize’s comment. I have to say, I am very grateful for his time and energy to offer his thoughts, but I disagree with his comment, and even more so with his blog.
I have heard people say that we are created to praise God, and that makes me depressed – no dancing. Is the point of worship to gather around some unseen deity, and throw our hands in the air saying again and again, “you are awesome, you are awesome, you are awesome?” Does God have such a low self-esteem that we need to prop ‘him/her’ up with our praise? This seems like a weak reason to worship.
What about the individual who just had a bad day? I mean a really bad day. The kind of day when you find out that you have cancer, and then you hear that your child has been arrested for possession, and you loose your job, and then you are reminded that you are supposed to bring the brownies to the PTA meeting tonight. Are you going to go to church before hand and say, “oh God, you are just so awesome, and greater than anything I can imagine. I’m just so darn lucky to be able to praise you?” Probably not. Instead, you will probably say something like, “what the f----, God. I’ve been good, I’ve gone to church, I’ve done what I am supposed to do, and yet I’ve found myself drowning in a pile of sh—that you call life! This sucks, amen.”
Try saying that with your arms in the air to an up-beat song.
What about the church built in an urban or rural area, surrounded by poverty? Is the purpose of worship still to praise God? Shouldn’t we be praying for the poor and asking for the gumption to go out and help the poor?
I think I’ve made my point, Mr. Mutize, your approach to worship is shallow at best. Plus, just because you find single, individual verses in the Bible that supports your argument, and you print it in nice, colorful letters, doesn’t make it true (see his blog to get what I am talking about).
What is the purpose of worship? You don’t expect me to answer that question after this long rant. I’ll just offer this – perhaps worship is a time to connect with God, wherever we are, and to connect with our brothers and sisters in Christ, wherever we are. It is a time for weeping, and for laughing…
Take us out, Pete Seeger (he put the words to music after all)
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Doing Worship, Doing Service
These are the ideas for my sermon on Isaiah 58:6-9a. Chew on them and then spit them out and move on.
MAIN IDEA – I often find myself asking, “what is the purpose of worship?” I remember a conversation I had with a worship guru who kept saying that the purpose of worship was to worship. That is an answer that tells nothing. Yet so many feel that as long as they wave their arms and express an excessive amount of joy then they have done their religious duty. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to be in a place that just focuses on the down and the depressed, but I don’t want to be in a contrived, false joy either. I want a worship that is fulfilling, that is meaningful, and that is challenging. Perhaps, most importantly, I want a worship where I feel as if I have had an encounter with God.
As a pastor this is not so easy for me to achieve, but it is something that I strive to coordinate and conduct with my actions in worship. Recognizing that in the end I cannot control the movement of God or the hearts of people, I still can help guide people to be closer to Christ. Perhaps that is why the emphasis on service, for it is in doing that we find Christ. It is in action that we connect with God.
At the same time I know many folks who would argue that worship isn’t the most important, but that doing is. I know folks that would argue that precious resources and time is lost on worship and worship space. They would agree that in doing one finds Christ and thus we should turn off the organ and do the work of the Lord. Yet I feel as if a spiritual depth is missing in such a response. I feel as if we need to be deliberate in connecting with God.
So I struggle with the purpose of worship. I want to be engaged in worship that is active and challenging and moving. I want to be involved in a worship service that actually feeds the hungry, clothes the naked, and so on. I want it to be a time when it is clear that the Holy Spirit is present and active in the whole process.
So what is the purpose of worship? To be honest, I’m not sure there is one singular purpose. Yet I know I want to pull from worship a sense, a conviction of action and service.
THEOLOGICAL IDEA – George Lindbeck suggests that doctrine should not tell us so much what to believe, but how to believe. In worship we actively engage with the doctrine, the beliefs of our faith. That is if we are indeed active in our faith.
Brueggemann reminds us that the prophet cuts into the stupor, the kingly religion of our lives and calls us back to the cry of the Lord. The Latin phrase, Lex Orandi, Lex Crendi (in the work of the people is the rule or belief of the people) holds a lot of power and truth with worship.
Finally, there is a sacramental awareness that I feel is important to lift up. The difference between service the poor and service the poor in worship is that awareness of the presence of Christ in all that we are doing.
MAIN IDEA – I often find myself asking, “what is the purpose of worship?” I remember a conversation I had with a worship guru who kept saying that the purpose of worship was to worship. That is an answer that tells nothing. Yet so many feel that as long as they wave their arms and express an excessive amount of joy then they have done their religious duty. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to be in a place that just focuses on the down and the depressed, but I don’t want to be in a contrived, false joy either. I want a worship that is fulfilling, that is meaningful, and that is challenging. Perhaps, most importantly, I want a worship where I feel as if I have had an encounter with God.
As a pastor this is not so easy for me to achieve, but it is something that I strive to coordinate and conduct with my actions in worship. Recognizing that in the end I cannot control the movement of God or the hearts of people, I still can help guide people to be closer to Christ. Perhaps that is why the emphasis on service, for it is in doing that we find Christ. It is in action that we connect with God.
At the same time I know many folks who would argue that worship isn’t the most important, but that doing is. I know folks that would argue that precious resources and time is lost on worship and worship space. They would agree that in doing one finds Christ and thus we should turn off the organ and do the work of the Lord. Yet I feel as if a spiritual depth is missing in such a response. I feel as if we need to be deliberate in connecting with God.
So I struggle with the purpose of worship. I want to be engaged in worship that is active and challenging and moving. I want to be involved in a worship service that actually feeds the hungry, clothes the naked, and so on. I want it to be a time when it is clear that the Holy Spirit is present and active in the whole process.
So what is the purpose of worship? To be honest, I’m not sure there is one singular purpose. Yet I know I want to pull from worship a sense, a conviction of action and service.
THEOLOGICAL IDEA – George Lindbeck suggests that doctrine should not tell us so much what to believe, but how to believe. In worship we actively engage with the doctrine, the beliefs of our faith. That is if we are indeed active in our faith.
Brueggemann reminds us that the prophet cuts into the stupor, the kingly religion of our lives and calls us back to the cry of the Lord. The Latin phrase, Lex Orandi, Lex Crendi (in the work of the people is the rule or belief of the people) holds a lot of power and truth with worship.
Finally, there is a sacramental awareness that I feel is important to lift up. The difference between service the poor and service the poor in worship is that awareness of the presence of Christ in all that we are doing.
Tuesday, November 09, 2010
Hell is Always Changing
I’m continuing to slog thought Foucault and finding him more and more fascinating. Yesterday I read his selection from Discipline and Punish, “The Body Condemned.” In this work Foucault is looking at the forms and types of penal and judicial punishment in Western civilization throughout the centuries. In doing so he makes the point that, “different systems of punishment … (occur) with the systems of production within which they operate” (Reader, 172). He also states that, “the systems of punishment are to be situated in a certain ‘political economy’ of the body…” As I understand it, Foucault is stating that the punishment of the day fit the political economy of the day, for example in a mercantile economy a prison factory and forced labor was the punishment.
This is all very interesting, but what has it to do with the church or anything else? Consider this from a theological perspective – does the punishment that Christianity suggests align or is influenced by the political economy or the socio-historical context of the day?
For some time hell was the soup de jour. If you weren’t a Christian and especially the right kind of Christian you would end up in the terrors and pain and torture of hell. The horror, the horror. As society progressed, or at least plodded along hell continued to be in the mix but other ideas emerged. The existentialists suggested that the end may be nothing and that would be the hell. The warm and friendly liberals suggested that everyone would go to heaven and there would be no hell. Others would say that there is a hell but no one is going there. The focus on punishment shifted.
If you have time to kill and want to see a great contrast, read Dante’s Divine Comedy and then read C.S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce. Both deal with the same topic. Lewis is deeply influenced by Dante, yet the terror is very different. Gone is the man eating the brains of another man. Gone are the skins of people hanging on trees. Gone are the traitors being eternally chewed in the very bottom of hell. Instead people are in a hell which is very much like life, a Purgatory which is like a bus stop, and heaven, which is finding one’s true life.
Some may say that Lewis is just modernizing Dante’s work, but considering Foucault’s theory, perhaps Lewis is influenced by the socio-historical, political, and economic context of the day.
In the end the lesson is still, be good or go to hell. Hell may not be that bad or it may be awful or it may just be a room with two other people and there is no exit. Sure, we may make it up, but it still sucks.
This is all very interesting, but what has it to do with the church or anything else? Consider this from a theological perspective – does the punishment that Christianity suggests align or is influenced by the political economy or the socio-historical context of the day?
For some time hell was the soup de jour. If you weren’t a Christian and especially the right kind of Christian you would end up in the terrors and pain and torture of hell. The horror, the horror. As society progressed, or at least plodded along hell continued to be in the mix but other ideas emerged. The existentialists suggested that the end may be nothing and that would be the hell. The warm and friendly liberals suggested that everyone would go to heaven and there would be no hell. Others would say that there is a hell but no one is going there. The focus on punishment shifted.
If you have time to kill and want to see a great contrast, read Dante’s Divine Comedy and then read C.S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce. Both deal with the same topic. Lewis is deeply influenced by Dante, yet the terror is very different. Gone is the man eating the brains of another man. Gone are the skins of people hanging on trees. Gone are the traitors being eternally chewed in the very bottom of hell. Instead people are in a hell which is very much like life, a Purgatory which is like a bus stop, and heaven, which is finding one’s true life.
Some may say that Lewis is just modernizing Dante’s work, but considering Foucault’s theory, perhaps Lewis is influenced by the socio-historical, political, and economic context of the day.
In the end the lesson is still, be good or go to hell. Hell may not be that bad or it may be awful or it may just be a room with two other people and there is no exit. Sure, we may make it up, but it still sucks.
Sunday, November 07, 2010
What Now?
Now that I have pretty much finished the doctoral stuff, I am left wondering what to do. I don’t want to become one of those people who never does any research again, but on the other hand I don’t want to have my life ruled by something in such a way. I want to live, damnit, can’t you let me live!
So I am trying to figure out what to do with my time. I am still reading Foucault with a friend of mine, but I feel I could do more, or at least be a little more focused. I do have a lot of books to read, which is good, but that isn’t focused either.
My fear is that I will end up being pulled in many directions, that I will find my time full but without any focus or direction. I want to continue to work, just give me some direction.
So I am trying to figure out what to do with my time. I am still reading Foucault with a friend of mine, but I feel I could do more, or at least be a little more focused. I do have a lot of books to read, which is good, but that isn’t focused either.
My fear is that I will end up being pulled in many directions, that I will find my time full but without any focus or direction. I want to continue to work, just give me some direction.
Wednesday, November 03, 2010
Elections aren't Real
Finally, elections are over and I can return to thinking and worrying about myself and not getting angry about ads, lies, and corruption. Back to the church.
I have been thinking about the elections, rhetoric, and how the whole process is in some very real ways a construct but not a reality (chew on that for a moment). I have recently read two essays by Michel Foucault from his work Madness and Civilization in The Foucault Reader – "The Great Confinement" and "Birth of the Asylum." In these essays, as best as I can understand them, Foucault describes the ways in which ideas of “madness” were construed based on the desires and priorities of society and in which the ideas of healing was construed based on the set norms and standards of society.
Madness was being idle, not working. Healing was agreeing with the terms and standards set by those in control. Granted, this is a very, very gross simplification of Foucault’s ideas and writings but it will serve my purpose. Think about the rhetoric of politicians in this whole process. “If you vote this way then you believe X” “If you vote for me then you are casting a vote for X” With these statements the terms of a vote are being created and we are pulled into making a decision not for a candidate based on his or her values and abilities, but for ideals.
This goes even farther when we are told what values we are supposed to have. The often used phrase, “Take our Country Back,” is loaded with implications. Our country has gone astray and we need to either vote to take it back, or vote to further lead it away.
Powerful rhetoric is nothing new in the process; in fact the whole thing is nothing new. Yet I think Foucault’s ideas offer a point of view of the role of power in the discourse. In this whole process the terms are set, the ideals are set, and the stakes are set. We (the people) do not have a choice to change for if we do we are “mad.” When we cast a vote we are relinquishing power. When we, out of disgust, abstain from voting we are relinquishing power. We are told that we exercise our power when we vote, yet I think that the whole thing is about the populous losing power and the leading class maintaining it.
Sad news – there is most likely no way out. Because I care so much about the consciousness and mental health of my readers I want to leave you on a happy note. Follow this link to one of the many inane videos of a cat doing something on YouTube.
I have been thinking about the elections, rhetoric, and how the whole process is in some very real ways a construct but not a reality (chew on that for a moment). I have recently read two essays by Michel Foucault from his work Madness and Civilization in The Foucault Reader – "The Great Confinement" and "Birth of the Asylum." In these essays, as best as I can understand them, Foucault describes the ways in which ideas of “madness” were construed based on the desires and priorities of society and in which the ideas of healing was construed based on the set norms and standards of society.
Madness was being idle, not working. Healing was agreeing with the terms and standards set by those in control. Granted, this is a very, very gross simplification of Foucault’s ideas and writings but it will serve my purpose. Think about the rhetoric of politicians in this whole process. “If you vote this way then you believe X” “If you vote for me then you are casting a vote for X” With these statements the terms of a vote are being created and we are pulled into making a decision not for a candidate based on his or her values and abilities, but for ideals.
This goes even farther when we are told what values we are supposed to have. The often used phrase, “Take our Country Back,” is loaded with implications. Our country has gone astray and we need to either vote to take it back, or vote to further lead it away.
Powerful rhetoric is nothing new in the process; in fact the whole thing is nothing new. Yet I think Foucault’s ideas offer a point of view of the role of power in the discourse. In this whole process the terms are set, the ideals are set, and the stakes are set. We (the people) do not have a choice to change for if we do we are “mad.” When we cast a vote we are relinquishing power. When we, out of disgust, abstain from voting we are relinquishing power. We are told that we exercise our power when we vote, yet I think that the whole thing is about the populous losing power and the leading class maintaining it.
Sad news – there is most likely no way out. Because I care so much about the consciousness and mental health of my readers I want to leave you on a happy note. Follow this link to one of the many inane videos of a cat doing something on YouTube.
Outcasts!
Thoughts for Matthew 25:34-36 focusing on the sick and those in prison.
MAIN IDEA – Labels are very useful to cast people out, to proclaim who the “other” is. Some are placed with malice, but others are subconsciously projected with blame, shame, and judgment. I am constantly visiting people who are sick and I go because I feel they need to be connected with the family of Christ and the presence of Christ. Yet I describe them as sick. I label them, and with those labels separate myself from them. I wonder to what degree I place myself above those who are sick. I wonder to what degree I see myself as better in one way or another because I am not in that same situation. I go, I pray, and then I leave. Yet to I ever really imagine what it might be like to be in that situation? This is not just for the sick, but for the grieving, the hurting, and the lost. People living with unemployment, divorce, death, and many other issues of life.
I think I am being to hard on myself, I do try to imagine what it might be like, but I still protect myself. The separation is more evident when I think of those in prison. These are people who made bad choices. These are people who should be in prison, but am I so different? I am fortunate because I have been born a white male, because I have good parents, and have grown up in a good environment. How responsible am I for my blessings? How responsible are others for their curses?
It is a small step to end up living a life of despair. It is a small moment that places a person in a place of sickness unto death. I may place myself apart and above, but it is not so great of a divide from those in the prison of the hospital bed or of the jail. Thus I visit not only to bring Christ but to experience Christ with a brother or sister who is in a situation that I very well could be in.
Lord, help me to humble my views of others. Help me to be honest with my blessings and my failings. When I visit others, may I see myself and offer thanks. When I visit others may I see you and live in your love.
Amen
THEOLOGICAL IDEA – Lucan writes about relationality that is important – a relationality that is reflected in the trinity. We also need to be honest about the human condition, that we all are fallen in one way or another, that we all could be sick or in prison no matter how good we think we are. We don’t grant forgiveness, but we do offer compassion.
Finally, interestingly, Michel Foucault seems to offer some insight on being in prison or in the hospital. While he is speaking about the Asylum, there is a sense that applies to sick or in prison. We, society, dictates the terms and conditions upon which others may live, and if they do not meet those terms, we label them as different and as others.
MAIN IDEA – Labels are very useful to cast people out, to proclaim who the “other” is. Some are placed with malice, but others are subconsciously projected with blame, shame, and judgment. I am constantly visiting people who are sick and I go because I feel they need to be connected with the family of Christ and the presence of Christ. Yet I describe them as sick. I label them, and with those labels separate myself from them. I wonder to what degree I place myself above those who are sick. I wonder to what degree I see myself as better in one way or another because I am not in that same situation. I go, I pray, and then I leave. Yet to I ever really imagine what it might be like to be in that situation? This is not just for the sick, but for the grieving, the hurting, and the lost. People living with unemployment, divorce, death, and many other issues of life.
I think I am being to hard on myself, I do try to imagine what it might be like, but I still protect myself. The separation is more evident when I think of those in prison. These are people who made bad choices. These are people who should be in prison, but am I so different? I am fortunate because I have been born a white male, because I have good parents, and have grown up in a good environment. How responsible am I for my blessings? How responsible are others for their curses?
It is a small step to end up living a life of despair. It is a small moment that places a person in a place of sickness unto death. I may place myself apart and above, but it is not so great of a divide from those in the prison of the hospital bed or of the jail. Thus I visit not only to bring Christ but to experience Christ with a brother or sister who is in a situation that I very well could be in.
Lord, help me to humble my views of others. Help me to be honest with my blessings and my failings. When I visit others, may I see myself and offer thanks. When I visit others may I see you and live in your love.
Amen
THEOLOGICAL IDEA – Lucan writes about relationality that is important – a relationality that is reflected in the trinity. We also need to be honest about the human condition, that we all are fallen in one way or another, that we all could be sick or in prison no matter how good we think we are. We don’t grant forgiveness, but we do offer compassion.
Finally, interestingly, Michel Foucault seems to offer some insight on being in prison or in the hospital. While he is speaking about the Asylum, there is a sense that applies to sick or in prison. We, society, dictates the terms and conditions upon which others may live, and if they do not meet those terms, we label them as different and as others.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
The End is Near?
This Sunday I am preaching from Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18. It is a fun and scary text. Here are some thoughts that I have as I work on the sermon
MAIN IDEA – I have to be honest, I don’t think about the end, i.e. the final coming of Christ. I would rather think about my children growing old, about my own dreams and successes. It is probably out of a sense of fear that I don’t consider the end. If I embrace the idea that Jesus is coming any time, then shouldn’t I live life much differently? I suppose that depends how I view the end. If it is something that we should be working towards, then I need to get more involved in the world and do what I can to prepare the world for the coming of Christ. If it is something that we just need to wait for, that I should be working to strengthen my faith and the faith of my family. It is something that I think about, regardless of my approach or theological understanding, it is something that affects the way I live out my faith.
Yet I need to have the idea of the return of Christ; it is important and essential to my faith. I need to know that some day things will get better. Actually I need to know that some day things will be the way that God intends, that things will reach perfection. This is because there are days when I struggle and struggle and look for something to claim as a source of hope. I need to believe that some day there will be a return of Christ.
I think it is something that I need to consider more often. It is something that I should take more seriously because it does challenge the way I live my faith. It may not always be easy, but it is the support that I need and the grace that I can receive.
I want to believe that some day things will change. I do believe that some day things will change. I know this can convict me of my laziness in my faith, but it also can inspire me in living out my faith. Let that truth of Christ’s return stir on my heart so that I may follow those who lived out this faith and find that glory land. Amen
THEOLOGICAL IDEA – Eschatology, eschatology, eschatology. There are two approaches that I am considering in this sermon: dispensational premillennialism – the idea that the millennial kingdom will be ushered in by divine manifestation at the second coming which will happen when the conditions of life have reached their greatest tribulation; postmillennialism – the idea that the last things are being extended in the world through preaching, works, and the like, and that Christ will return at the end of a long period of righteousness and peace.
I lean towards a realized eschatology, which in some ways is similar to postmillennialism except for the belief that our good works can usher the Kingdom of God. Our good works can usher in an experience of the Kingdom in the here and now, but will not hasten or slow down the second coming of Christ. We do not know the time or the place, so we do what we can now for the now. The saints that have gone before us, I believe, have embraced this approach to living out their faith.
MAIN IDEA – I have to be honest, I don’t think about the end, i.e. the final coming of Christ. I would rather think about my children growing old, about my own dreams and successes. It is probably out of a sense of fear that I don’t consider the end. If I embrace the idea that Jesus is coming any time, then shouldn’t I live life much differently? I suppose that depends how I view the end. If it is something that we should be working towards, then I need to get more involved in the world and do what I can to prepare the world for the coming of Christ. If it is something that we just need to wait for, that I should be working to strengthen my faith and the faith of my family. It is something that I think about, regardless of my approach or theological understanding, it is something that affects the way I live out my faith.
Yet I need to have the idea of the return of Christ; it is important and essential to my faith. I need to know that some day things will get better. Actually I need to know that some day things will be the way that God intends, that things will reach perfection. This is because there are days when I struggle and struggle and look for something to claim as a source of hope. I need to believe that some day there will be a return of Christ.
I think it is something that I need to consider more often. It is something that I should take more seriously because it does challenge the way I live my faith. It may not always be easy, but it is the support that I need and the grace that I can receive.
I want to believe that some day things will change. I do believe that some day things will change. I know this can convict me of my laziness in my faith, but it also can inspire me in living out my faith. Let that truth of Christ’s return stir on my heart so that I may follow those who lived out this faith and find that glory land. Amen
THEOLOGICAL IDEA – Eschatology, eschatology, eschatology. There are two approaches that I am considering in this sermon: dispensational premillennialism – the idea that the millennial kingdom will be ushered in by divine manifestation at the second coming which will happen when the conditions of life have reached their greatest tribulation; postmillennialism – the idea that the last things are being extended in the world through preaching, works, and the like, and that Christ will return at the end of a long period of righteousness and peace.
I lean towards a realized eschatology, which in some ways is similar to postmillennialism except for the belief that our good works can usher the Kingdom of God. Our good works can usher in an experience of the Kingdom in the here and now, but will not hasten or slow down the second coming of Christ. We do not know the time or the place, so we do what we can now for the now. The saints that have gone before us, I believe, have embraced this approach to living out their faith.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
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