I don't mind picking up homeless hitchhikers on the side of the road and I wasn't in a hurry to get somewhere, so as soon as I knew he was looking for a ride and not just walking, I stopped to pick him up.
He didn't smell and he wasn't looking for money. He did, however, want to go in the opposite direction; but he told me that before he got in, so that was okay. I didn't mind going back to Rock Rapids, like I say, I wasn't in a hurry.
But I didn't want to tell him I was a pastor. I wanted him to think I was an average person helping him in the name of Jesus. Pastors have to help because it's their job. Anyway, that's what everybody thinks and I wanted him think well of Christian laypeople.
Plus, pastors have to do more than laypeople would, and I wanted to keep the option to say 'no' open.
"So, are you clergy?"
I cannot tell a lie. "Yes, I am."
"I saw your cross." (Very observant. It's a little dashboard cross, but I don't keep it on the dashboard because it goes flying whenever I make a turn. I keep it in a little catch-all ashtray thing.)
Jesus had given me away.
So I took him into town and we looked for another church connection to be the next link in his life. It was a Monday, so there weren't any pastors around. Pastors and barbers take Mondays off. I suppose if we had wanted to get him a haircut, we couldn't do that either.
Eventually he thanked me and we parted. I think he figured I was not being much help, which was true, and he'd be better off looking by himself. He didn't ask, but I offered him a Jackson, which he accepted.
I waved and drove away.
Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Fit the Fourth
Number 20 appears by itself because it is patently false -
20. Tolerance will fill pews and offering plates; forgiveness will not.
20. Tolerance will fill pews and offering plates; forgiveness will not.
Friday, October 24, 2008
He Loves Us Anyway
So how much can I sin and still go to heaven?
A charming young daughter once came to her parents and said, "Mom, Dad, I have a question.
"See, I'm planning to run away from home and live in the most dangerous part of the city. There I will accumulate for myself the most abusive 'friends' I can find. I will become addicted to alcohol, heroin, crack, and a lot of other drugs I haven't even heard of yet. I have a strong sense that I will become anorexic and possibly also bulimic because I will come to hate myself so much. To pay for my drug habit I plan to steal and to sell my body. Perhaps I will get a job feeding carob pods to pigs, but I'm not sure what that means. Eventually, I imagine, my new lifestyle will lead to my death somewhere in an alley all alone.
"Oh, no, don't misunderstand me! I'm not asking for permission to do all these things. I've already decided.
"What I need to know is, when I do all these things, will you still love me?"
Her parents resisted the urge to scream, "HELL NO!" because they knew it wasn't the truth.
A charming young daughter once came to her parents and said, "Mom, Dad, I have a question.
"See, I'm planning to run away from home and live in the most dangerous part of the city. There I will accumulate for myself the most abusive 'friends' I can find. I will become addicted to alcohol, heroin, crack, and a lot of other drugs I haven't even heard of yet. I have a strong sense that I will become anorexic and possibly also bulimic because I will come to hate myself so much. To pay for my drug habit I plan to steal and to sell my body. Perhaps I will get a job feeding carob pods to pigs, but I'm not sure what that means. Eventually, I imagine, my new lifestyle will lead to my death somewhere in an alley all alone.
"Oh, no, don't misunderstand me! I'm not asking for permission to do all these things. I've already decided.
"What I need to know is, when I do all these things, will you still love me?"
Her parents resisted the urge to scream, "HELL NO!" because they knew it wasn't the truth.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Fit the Third
I repeat #14; it's sort of transitionary.
14. “Tolerance” is a milk-and-water virtue unfit for the kingdom of God.
15. Tolerance will never be enough for God’s kingdom, because one can tolerate another person from a distance. Living together in a community of faith requires forgiveness.
16. Forgiving is not the same as forgetting, excusing or ignoring.
17. Forgiveness happens when the sinned-against says to the sinner, “What you did genuinely hurt me; but I am not willing to let that hurt destroy our relationship.”
18. Forgiveness, therefore, requires love.
19. Forgiveness and love are Christian virtues.
14. “Tolerance” is a milk-and-water virtue unfit for the kingdom of God.
15. Tolerance will never be enough for God’s kingdom, because one can tolerate another person from a distance. Living together in a community of faith requires forgiveness.
16. Forgiving is not the same as forgetting, excusing or ignoring.
17. Forgiveness happens when the sinned-against says to the sinner, “What you did genuinely hurt me; but I am not willing to let that hurt destroy our relationship.”
18. Forgiveness, therefore, requires love.
19. Forgiveness and love are Christian virtues.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Coram Deo
I turn you to a well-written article in the October 2008 issue of the ALPB Forum Letter, by its editor, Richard Johnson. Drawing out Luther's interpretation of the Canaanite woman, Pastor Johnson reminds us that we are all the Canaanite: we are all so far from God (in sin) that we have no right to stand before him. Again, we have no inclination to stand before him that does not come from the Holy Spirit.
The best line in the whole essay (my opinion) is this: "If I do not understand how far I am from God, how little I am compared to God, how unworthy I am even to come into God's presence, then nothing else about Christianity can make sense."
Grace is not grace if it does not forgive sin. Thus Christianity can not be about justice (although it may result in Christians being nice to other people), because justice implies the accessibility of human righteousness.
Read the whole article. alpb.org
The best line in the whole essay (my opinion) is this: "If I do not understand how far I am from God, how little I am compared to God, how unworthy I am even to come into God's presence, then nothing else about Christianity can make sense."
Grace is not grace if it does not forgive sin. Thus Christianity can not be about justice (although it may result in Christians being nice to other people), because justice implies the accessibility of human righteousness.
Read the whole article. alpb.org
Monday, October 20, 2008
Reverend Spock
Luther famously said that he could be convinced of a theological tenet by Scripture and plain reason. Scripture I know. What did he mean by "plain reason?"
From the way Luther used scripture, it seems his plain reason is what a philosophy student would call logic. Logic is the tool of philosophy in a way similar to math as the tool of science.
Exemplum gratia:
1. Saturn is an extrasolar planet
2. If Saturn is an extrasolar planet, then all the grass in my front yard is pink.
3. If all the grass in my front yard is pink, then either Barack Obama is a democrat or John McCain is a democrat.
4. Barack Obama is not a democrat.
5. Therefore, John McCain is a democrat.
The reader will notice immediately that all five of the above statements are false. However, as any first year philosophy student can tell you, the logic of the argument is quite solid. That means that if statements 1-4 were true, then because of the structure of the argument, statement five would also have to be true. As blatantly false as this argument is, the problem is with the assumptions, not the logic.
Luther used scripture to supply his assumptions. Plain reason sorted out what the scripture said, so that scripture could interpret itself, and saints of any time and place could use it as their rule and norm.
I have a friend who is making a certain theological argument. It's one of those "God is doing something new" theologies. The Holy Spirit is moving, God continually makes all things new. You know the drill. She has the logic thing down. She makes a very good argument. But where is scripture?
She could probably think of a good proof text for her point - I just came up with a couple myself. But foundational scripture is lacking.
When people like me complain that scripture is losing its authority, this is what we mean. It's easy to make a sound logical argument for just about anything, but only if the assumptions are weak.
From the way Luther used scripture, it seems his plain reason is what a philosophy student would call logic. Logic is the tool of philosophy in a way similar to math as the tool of science.
Exemplum gratia:
1. Saturn is an extrasolar planet
2. If Saturn is an extrasolar planet, then all the grass in my front yard is pink.
3. If all the grass in my front yard is pink, then either Barack Obama is a democrat or John McCain is a democrat.
4. Barack Obama is not a democrat.
5. Therefore, John McCain is a democrat.
The reader will notice immediately that all five of the above statements are false. However, as any first year philosophy student can tell you, the logic of the argument is quite solid. That means that if statements 1-4 were true, then because of the structure of the argument, statement five would also have to be true. As blatantly false as this argument is, the problem is with the assumptions, not the logic.
Luther used scripture to supply his assumptions. Plain reason sorted out what the scripture said, so that scripture could interpret itself, and saints of any time and place could use it as their rule and norm.
I have a friend who is making a certain theological argument. It's one of those "God is doing something new" theologies. The Holy Spirit is moving, God continually makes all things new. You know the drill. She has the logic thing down. She makes a very good argument. But where is scripture?
She could probably think of a good proof text for her point - I just came up with a couple myself. But foundational scripture is lacking.
When people like me complain that scripture is losing its authority, this is what we mean. It's easy to make a sound logical argument for just about anything, but only if the assumptions are weak.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Fear and Trembling re: fear and trembling
It bothers me that I seem to have lost my sense of dread. Or something. I am not supposed to be so right with God that I have lost my fear and trembling. When I step into the pulpit, I am supposed to be shaking in my boots that the Word I am about to speak applies every bit as much to me as to the least of these. I don't have that - not much.
It must be that I have become comfortable with the message. Not the message of the Word, certainly, but the message I have been drawing from the Word. I-Knew-I-Was-Right-All-Along stuff is easy to preach. Only; I wasn't.
I long for the Word to convict me. The gospel is at stake here, because if I am not convicted by the law, then there is no grace for me.
This Sunday there's that guy at the wedding banquet. He gets kicked out for not wearing a wedding robe. He just might convict me, because he just might be me. But then, if I read enough commentaries on who he really is, I might find out he isn't me; then I'd be safe again.
A wise seminary professor once said, "Read the Bible. It will shed a lot of light on the commentaries."
It must be that I have become comfortable with the message. Not the message of the Word, certainly, but the message I have been drawing from the Word. I-Knew-I-Was-Right-All-Along stuff is easy to preach. Only; I wasn't.
I long for the Word to convict me. The gospel is at stake here, because if I am not convicted by the law, then there is no grace for me.
This Sunday there's that guy at the wedding banquet. He gets kicked out for not wearing a wedding robe. He just might convict me, because he just might be me. But then, if I read enough commentaries on who he really is, I might find out he isn't me; then I'd be safe again.
A wise seminary professor once said, "Read the Bible. It will shed a lot of light on the commentaries."
Monday, October 6, 2008
Fit the Second
7. Where other denominations define themselves by polity or tradition or by manner of living, Lutherans define themselves theologically. Ask a Lutheran what it means to be a Lutheran and the answer should be, “We believe, teach and confess . . .”
8. Lutherans should cease calling themselves a “mainstream” denomination.
9. There’s a lot of water in the Mainstream. In order for the Lutheran Church to call itself a Mainstream denomination, we will need to water down our theology considerably.
10. Lutherans do good theology when they ask the question, “Why did Jesus have to die?”
10a. The strength of God’s grace lies in the sinners it redeems, not in the sin it denies.
11. A strong theology of original sin is necessary for a strong theology of grace.
12. Lutherans have a strong theology of original sin.
13. If Lutherans were to water down or temper their theology of original sin, and therefore also their theology of grace, they would be denying their distinctive gift of theological depth.
14. “Tolerance” is a milk-and-water virtue unfit for the kingdom of God.
8. Lutherans should cease calling themselves a “mainstream” denomination.
9. There’s a lot of water in the Mainstream. In order for the Lutheran Church to call itself a Mainstream denomination, we will need to water down our theology considerably.
10. Lutherans do good theology when they ask the question, “Why did Jesus have to die?”
10a. The strength of God’s grace lies in the sinners it redeems, not in the sin it denies.
11. A strong theology of original sin is necessary for a strong theology of grace.
12. Lutherans have a strong theology of original sin.
13. If Lutherans were to water down or temper their theology of original sin, and therefore also their theology of grace, they would be denying their distinctive gift of theological depth.
14. “Tolerance” is a milk-and-water virtue unfit for the kingdom of God.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)