Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Lent 14: The Newsletter Article I Wish I Could Have Written

My dear friend Jason wrote a truly beautiful article for his congregational newsletter for the month of April, and I would be a sad, selfish sack if I were not to share it with as many people as possible. I may also steal (with attribution) some of these ideas for an Easter sermon or some such time. I assure everyone that my own April newsletter article will not be as lovely as this. Thanks, Pastor Jason.

Lent 13: On Trying to Catch Up

So my goal of 40 blog posts during lent remains daunting. Don't tell me how many days behind I am, with my 13th post in what feels like about the middle of the Lent season. I have been posting more than I had before, but not so much that I am likely to meet my goal without total junk posts like this one, where I faux-reflect on the fact that I'm behind. I guess I could whine about how last week got a bit out of hand in terms of unique adventures, but ultimately I just need to work hard and keep up. Thanks for holding me accountable to meeting my goals.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Lent 12: On a More Personal Note

Personal, indeed, but still quite churchy. A typical Friday night: hanging out with pastors around the baptismal font.



Thursday, March 24, 2011

Lent 11: It Gets Better, part 3

I expect to move on to the myriad other concerns of the church soon, but before I stop this business about the church's relationship to gay kids, I did want to link to an excellent blog post from Lutherans Concerned/North America that better explains the ELCA's situation with regard to LGBT folk than any other single resource I've found. It highlights and corrects some misunderstandings of the ELCA's actions in 2009, and clarifies where the church is and is not. The point is a gracious welcome of all people, including gay folks, and that for such a welcome to be real it must be public. I'll save my own stories of the need for public, visible support for another day. For now, let it be enough to know that resources exist for churches looking to stand publicly on the side of the gay teens whose plight launched the It Gets Better project.

Also, has anyone yet bought Lutheran Church of the Savior a copy of this book?

Lent 10: It Gets Better, cont'd

It turns out that just as I was writing my It Gets Better blog post, NPR was coming out with a lengthy interview / story with Dan Savage that does a fine job of further explaining the project. In an excerpt from the It Gets Better book, Savage makes a very important point about the role of straight people:
By giving ourselves permission to speak directly to LGBT youth, Terry and I gave permission to all LGBT adults everywhere to speak to LGBT youth. It forced straight people — politicians, teachers, preachers, and parents — to decide whose side they were on. Were they going to come to the defense of bullied LGBT teenagers? Or were they going to remain silent and, by so doing, give aid and comfort to the young anti-gay bullies who attack LGBT children in schools and the adult anti-gay bullies at conservative "family" organizations who attack LGBT people for a living?
 In the sermon I preached in October, I said that for too long the church has stood silent, and thereby on the side of the bullies. It is this silence, this complicity, and at times overt bullying by the church and its leaders, that still haunts me as a Christian. It occurs to me that the It Gets Better book needs to be available not only in high schools, but in churches. Churches also must decide whose side they are on, and to remain silent is to side with the bullies, against scared and even terrorized young people.


13Then little children were being brought to him in order that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples spoke sternly to those who brought them; 14but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” 15And he laid his hands on them and went on his way. - Matthew 19:13-15

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Lent 9: It Gets Better

Related to my last post about Gustavus, I am proud to see that my old school has produced a video for Dan Savage's It Gets Better Project. Responding to the rash of publicized gay teen suicides in the US last fall, Savage and his partner Terry made a video telling young victims of anti-gay bullying that it gets better. Savage is, among other things, America's foremost sex advice columnist, and his broad audience quickly made It Gets Better a nationwide campaign against the bullying that affects so many young people, whether or not they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered.

I preached about this topic in October of 2010, in honor of National Coming Out Day. I was nervous, being a relatively new pastor and daring to preach about supporting LGBT teens when so many Christian communities (particularly ELCA congregations) have been experiencing extreme tension in their relationship with gay folks. I tried to emphasize that, irrespective of one's political or theological opinions about gay people, we can all unite around the common goal of making the world safe for struggling teenagers. Only the most heartless, cruel "Christian" would want to stand by while young people commit suicide because of bullying, and clearly God's call that we love one another is stronger than any condemnation found in the Bible or anywhere else.

Lent 8: Ordination

So it came to pass on Monday that I found myself back at Gustavus Adolphus College for the ordination of Jason Lukis to the ministry of word and sacrament in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Though the driving there and back was slightly more complicated than usual, the event itself was a wonderful way to spend an evening, worshiping and celebrating and catching up with old friends.

I might not have made the whirlwind trip (I was in MN for less than 20 hours, and even four or five of those were driving) had Jason not asked me to preach at his ordination, an honor I could not possibly have turned down. Ordinations are rare, and each is unique - no one else ever gets to preach at Jason's ordination sometime in the future - and it's always amusingly intimidating to preach in front of a group that includes a number of pastors, a bishop, and plenty of other theologically educated folk.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Lent 7: What I'm Not Preaching About Tomorrow

It's Saturday evening, and tomorrow's sermon looms as it always does. The Revised Common Lectionary this week gives preachers an embarrassment of riches, from God's promise to Abraham in Genesis 12 to Psalm 121 (solidly in the rotation of psalms that may be my favorite on a given day) to some of Paul's finest theological musing on justification in Romans 4 to the story of Jesus and Nicodemus in John 3 that includes the most famous passage in Christian Scripture. Each of these texts deserves to stand alone in a place of honor, perhaps on display in a museum where awed throngs pause in silent wonder at God's revelation set forth for all to see.

Six years ago I first preached on this set of lessons in the midst of my second year of Divinity school, at Resurrection Lutheran Church in New Haven as part of my part-time internship. Flush with theological education and Lutheran language, how could I not preach on Romans, where this very text struggles with such central concerns as justification and righteousness, faith and law and promise? This week I have chosen not to look back at that old sermon; either it will be embarrassingly crude or naive, or it will hold together well and I will wonder whether I've learned anything in the past six years. A lose/lose situation, by all means.

Tomorrow I will preach on God's promise to Abraham, absolutely one of the most essential and exciting turning points in all of Scripture, in which God tries a new thing and the course of history is forever altered... OK, you don't get to read the whole thing here. Suffice to say these few simple verses are among my favorite in all the Bible, and I can only pray that my sermon hints at its importance. 

Which brings us, of course, to Jesus' encounter with Nicodemus.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Lent 6: On Making Meaning

I'm not a parent, but even so I found this reflection by Ta-Nehisi Coates to be powerful. Coates, a writer for The Atlantic, had again gone off to write in a place he calls The Woods, but was called back by his own expectations of what it means to be a father whose legacy to his son has been greater than he intended. Coates may not be a religious man, but he is a master of the ambiguous art of making meaning out of one's experiences and the relationship of those experiences to the wider world. Many days, I find my own faith pursuing that same project: trying to make sense of the complex, messy, beautiful life I've been given, and knowing that sense will ultimately not present itself to me in isolation. Instead I will only find meaning, make sense, discern my values - the three phrases may be synonymous - when my experiences run into those different from mine, when the limits of my worldview become painfully clear.

The Japan earthquake / tsunami / impending nuclear disaster has been one such boundary for me. I grew up on the prairie in Minnesota, and to this day have never been entirely comfortable with any body of water of which I could not see the opposite shore. Watching video or seeing images of the destruction just makes me feel powerless and small, and gives perspective to my daily concerns of when the dishes will get done or how the bills will be paid.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Lent 5: A Most Excellent Encounter between Philosopher-Poets

My dear friend and Divinity School classmate Dianne Bilyak recently interviewed all-arts star James Franco for the Massachusetts Review, and the results are not to be missed. She also interviewed poet Spencer Reece, whose poem "A Clerk's Tale" became the foundation for one of Franco's recent short films (disclosure: I have not yet read the Reece interview, but may have done so and edited this post before some folks get around to reading it). You can listen to audio or read text of the interviews.  Bilyak, a connoisseur of the blurry space between that which we call "secular" and that which we call "sacred," draws out the spiritual and theological themes of Franco's work as only she can. There's something to be said about the connection between faith and spirituality and theology and art, and these are some of the people I'd most want saying it.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Lent 4: The Daily Dish

I am not alone when I assert that my favorite blog is Andrew Sullivan's The Daily Dish, currently hosted at The Atlantic and about to move to The Daily Beast in the coming month. I don't think anyone could agree with Sullivan all the time on every topic; even his own staff frequently disagrees with him on a variety of topics. Sullivan airs dissent as well as anyone, and is always up for a discussion, an argument, a thoughtful conversation, or some more typical internet silliness. The reason I bring him up today is to note that on Sundays his blog always addresses concerns of a spiritual nature, and as a faithful Christian I very much appreciate the range of views set forth.

Today, a typical Sunday: links and articles on:
- The distinction between religion and faith
- Slowing down for Lent, and a new take on the age-old spiritual discipline of solitude
- Drinks used in religious rituals
- An argument about cohabitation before marriage
- Continuation of a discussion on visual images of Jesus
- An exploration of how we deal with belief structures using the word "random"

All of which is simply to say that you need not be surprised to find links and references to Sullivan's work (and to articles I first encountered at the Dish), especially on Sundays.

UPDATE: predictably, later in the day there was a better Sunday post on religion than any of the others cited above.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Lent 3: On Reading the Bible Together

As we dive into our strong focus on the Bible, with Sunday morning and Wednesday evening education activities for adults, and our usual Sunday School and Children's Messages for children, I think this review of a book by Timothy Beal comparing Christian and Jewish reading of the Bible is quite helpful as an introduction to some of the ways people think about the Bible.

Compare these two statements on the Bible, quoted from Beal in the review:

"The Bible was 'God’s book of answers, which if opened and read rightly would speak directly to me with concrete, divinely authored advice about my life and how to live it.'"

"The Bible 'hosts the human quest for meaning without predestining a specific conclusion.'"

In the coming months at Lutheran Church of the Savior we will explore the Bible together, finding our shared perspectives on our Holy Scriptures, and likely finding where our individual perspectives deviate from those of our brothers and sisters in this community.

Compare the above statements to one of Martin Luther's most famous descriptions of the Bible from his Preface to the Old Testament.  
"[In the Bible] you will find the swaddling cloths and the manger in which Christ lies, and to which the angel points the shepherds [Luke 2:12]. Simple and lowly are these swaddling cloths, but dear is the treasure, Christ, who lies in them." 
(quoted from p. 1524-1525 of Lutheran Study Bible, which a number of LCS members have purchased recently)

How does Luther's view of the Bible compare with the two Beal posits above?

One more view of the Bible, this time from Lutheran Study Bible's article "Lutheran Insights that Open the Bible:"
"So, the Bible is actually more than a book that says what God wants to say; it is also a book that does what God wants to do: a book that affects us, that transforms us.

Best of all, the Bible reveals Christ to us. It draw us into a living relationship with Jesus Christ, who is risen from the dead. Through the Bible, we come to know Jesus and love Jesus and to experience his love for us.

The Bible opens the very heart of God to us. It shows us what God has done for us - what God still does for us - what God always will do for us. 

That's the first and the last thing we Lutherans want to say about the Bible: the Bible is the Word of God."

These views, from Beal to Luther and beyond, are not mutually exclusive, and we will need to think and pray deeply to find how we relate to each. I am excited to explore the Bible together in the coming months, to see what it means for us that this is our Book of Faith, and to find together God's love for us in these sacred pages.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Lent 2: Ash Wednesday Reflection

I suppose it is fortunate that I did not find this excellent meditation on Ash Wednesday and giving up until after the day was over. I would've needed to struggle mightily against the impulse to just read the whole thing in place of a proper sermon. For helpful highlights from the same meditation, see Sullivan.

Also, I love the images in those posts - the campy covers of "The Disembodied" and Bowie's epic "Ashes to Ashes" somehow ground the deep reflection on human nature in the actual world I recognize (and I have a hilarious and mildly tragic story with that Bowie tune as the punchline, for what it's worth).

Even the punk-haired ash-marked head that adorns Sullivan's post beautifully illustrates the vastness and closeness of our shared human experience. We're all individuals, distinct and as different as night and day, each facing our mortality, and yet in this together, people. It makes the mystery of the Trinity not seem so terribly complicated, somehow: I'm me, and you are you, and yet I would not be me if not for my relationship with you. Yes, you.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

40 Days of Blogging

Lent is upon us, and this year I'll try something completely new for a Lenten discipline: I aspire to make this blog a more regular part of my life. My plan is to post 40 times during Lent, sometimes with reflections on my Lenten journey, other times with lengthy diatribes or links to interesting corners of the internet, and probably at some point I'll post just to fill in numbers toward reaching my goal. At any rate, I hope that blogging here will encourage mindfulness and reflection and prayer, rather than just be one more thing I have to do in a day. We'll see.

If you have yet to come up with something, consider using this Carbon Free Lent Calendar from Michigan Interfaith Power & Light. You can also use this calendar if you have already come up with another Lenten discipline, but just want to stay mindful of our relationship to God's earth. We at Lutheran Church of the Savior will be celebrating Earth Day again this year, though because Earth Day falls on Good Friday, we will put off our celebration until after Easter, on Sunday May 1st. We have again invited our neighbor Sr. Ginny Jones, CSJ, to preach on that occasion. Following the calendar above would be a great way to build up to the new life we celebrate and share at Easter, followed only a week later by this Earth Day celebration.

What other plans do you have for Lent this year?

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

March Newsletter Article

Reposted from our March newsletter:


Oh, teach us, Lord, that we may teach
the precious truths which you impart;
and wing our words, that they may reach
the hidden depths of many a heart.

Frances R. Havergal, "Lord Speak to Us That We May Speak" ELW 676, verse 3

In my first year of Divinity School, I took a class called Introduction to Ministry. Co-taught by professors of preaching, liturgy, and ecclesiology, this course was meant to introduce future pastors to the very basic foundations of our life together in Christ: what makes the church the church? Why do we gather, and how do we do so? What is the Word of God, and how do we share it? I’ll never forget how on the first day Professor David Bartlett stated the school policy that no student would be allowed to take a preaching course until they had first completed a year of coursework in study of the Bible. “We don’t let you preach until you might have a chance to know what you’re talking about,” he joked, but his humorous explanation did not obscure the wisdom behind this policy. Before sending us forth to share the Word, it makes sense to teach us how to read and understand our story as found in the Bible.

As a part of 2011 being our Year of Communication here at Lutheran Church of the Savior, a related insight will help guide us as we go forth to share our faith with our neighbors. As such, our Faith Formation committee has scheduled a number of new and very exciting educational opportunities for people of all ages here at LCS, and many of them begin this month. We will begin with two opportunities to dig into the Bible. On Sunday mornings from March 6th through the Spring, Joe Gleesing and Kerry Thurn will be leading a Bible study through Lutheran scholar Mark Allan Powell’s Fortress Introduction to the Gospels, an excellent way to dive into the primary stories of Jesus’ life and teachings in the words and worlds of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. I hope to read along and participate in this class as I am able, and hope you will be able to join us.

Next, on Wednesday evenings during Lent (beginning March 16th) we will again be gathering for a simple meal, education and evening worship in a Celtic tradition. Our education time on these Wednesdays will feature a study of how Lutherans approach and understand the Bible, in the form of a book called Opening the Book of Faith. This tremendously helpful resource offers and introduction to the Bible and to historical and current Lutheran perspectives on our Scriptures. Our Faith Formation committee is so excited about this opportunity that we hope to provide copies of the book for everyone who is able to attend our Wednesday Lenten gatherings, so you can read along and see for yourself how we can again fall in love with the book of our faith, the Bible.

For our younger members, on Sunday March 20th in place of our regular Sunday School we will offer an introduction to Holy Communion. For some time here we have offered the bread and wine of this sacrament to believers of any age, and we want to give our young people an opportunity to begin to understand this great mystery of our life together. In addition to a basic introduction, we will also be learning how to bake the communion bread that we share every Sunday. This event is open to members of all ages, and is particularly designed for children and their families to learn together about God’s love in Jesus Christ that we experience in this meal. Bring your friends. We plan to make communion education a regular part of our life together in the coming years, and these sessions are meant to take the place of more traditional First Communion instruction.

Finally, as is mentioned elsewhere in this Newsletter, this month I get to work with our Faith-Based Wellness Partners to offer education around end-of-life concerns. After worship on Sunday March 6th, your FBWP will lead a session on medical decision-making at the end of life. The following Sunday after worship, I will lead a session on spiritual concerns and funerals. Each of us will die one day, and our faith tells us that death is not the end for us, that God in the resurrection of Jesus Christ has taken away the finality of death and offered us life in and with Christ beyond this world. Even so, death is confusing and frightening and tragic and terribly sad. Our Year of Communication includes opportunities to talk honestly and compassionately about the most serious and scary times in our lives.

By planning ahead you can ease some of the burden on your family members at the end of your life, allowing them to focus on grieving and remembering rather than focusing so much on the complicated business of medical decisions, funeral arrangements, and more. We hope these gatherings can help make difficult conversations easier for you and your family, and to help our entire congregation support one another in our most difficult times. These meetings begin at Noon on March 6th and 13th and are open to friends, family, and the general public.  

I believe the church must be a community in which we can be honest with ourselves and one another about the important things in our lives. In looking at the Gospels, the Bible, Holy Communion and medical and spiritual realities at the end of life, we have a chance to deepen our relationships, to ask difficult questions, and receive support in making choices and to strengthen our life together as a church community. Please join us for as many of these opportunities as you can, bring your friends and family, and contact me if you have questions about any of these events.