Zen Lutheran

How do you know?

2011-02-23T08:15:00.000-08:00

How do you know if God loves you?

Look to the cross. If you see there a man who is God in the flesh dying for your sins,

then you may be assured that God loves you.

Irony

2011-01-29T19:38:00.000-08:00

How ironic that I gave up my 'Christian' name when I was ordained. I am now known as "Pastor."

Diverse

2011-01-19T18:00:00.000-08:00

If James, Paul and Peter could unify, it is an embarrassment to the rest of us who can't.

So what is it? Lovelessness? Laziness?

Church of the Nativity, Jerusalem

2011-01-07T09:10:00.000-08:00

I don't remember where I heard this, so it's legendary -

The reformers approached the eastern Christians with their ideas for Reform of The Church, with an eye toward unity. The eastern Christians replied with great interest, indicating that the reformers should get back to them once the Reform was accomplished.

Still waiting.

The tragedy of the Reformation is in its misnomer, for we have truly failed to reform. Even if we could claim to have reformed our part of the Church, such reform has come at the cost of schism, which is a price too high. We have not reformed The Church.

We genuinely wish that Rome had not used excommunication on the reform movement, but had instead, perhaps, allowed continued debate in unity. Would that their response had been similar to that given to Galileo, which went something like this: Those are interesting ideas, but the church and world are not ready for them yet. Let's discuss them further before teaching them as fact.

Similarly, we genuinely wish the reform movement had stronger desire for unity. Luther's hard-headed responses were not helpful. The result is that it is all too easy to form another "Church" at a moment's notice. Simply excommunicate everyone else, and the job's done.

One Exception

2010-10-26T15:29:00.000-07:00

Maybe this is an exception to the above, or maybe the Priest/Prophet distinction doesn't work quite perfectly. Or maybe this is a function of priesthood after all. But in one case, we all may speak to each other with the voice of God -

notably -

"In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I absolve you of all your sin."

One guess: what makes absolution a function of priesthood and not prophethood is that forgiveness is not permission.

Maybe Not So Pious

2010-10-25T08:27:00.000-07:00

Because it was one of the most useful distinctions I learned in seminary, it is also one of the most memorable. A priest speaks to God with the voice of the people; a prophet speaks to the people with the voice of God.

Unfortunately, because of our addiction to, and abuse of, the doctrine called the Priesthood of All Believers (which my friend already calls a "pious myth"), we have accidentally committed ourselves to the Prophethood of All Believers, and the Theologianhood of All Believers. It doesn't matter what you believe or even what you do about it, as long as you don't learn it from someone else.

Originally, the Priesthood of All Believers was put forward as a way to allow princes to act as emergency bishops. That's all. See how much we have overplayed this gift, that now, when a theological issue is placed before us, we consider that everyone's theological opinion is just as good as everyone else's theological opinion; and the best way to decide an issue is to vote on it.

There are two excellent ways to wreck a church, and one is to turn it into a democracy.

The best way to understand the Priesthood of All Believers doctrine for us is to remember its limitations. It is correct when it simply means that anyone can approach God in prayer without intermediary other than Christ, that is, to speak to God with the voice of the people. Any more is too much, and leads in the direction of Delusion.

Thank you, Rodger

2010-10-22T07:23:00.000-07:00

My friend is consistent in naming Incurvatus In Se, which is one of the better definitions of Sin, and is very Lutheran. As noted earlier, false humility becomes a form of pride in that it too focuses on the self.

Have you ever noticed how falsely humble people never do look outside themselves for what they presumably lack?

Three Chief Symbols

2010-10-17T09:37:00.000-07:00

The Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian creeds were developed by the whole church over the course of centuries, their content and exact wording debated and settled by church leaders to be accurate statements of the Christian faith for all time and every place. All Christians at all times have confessed these things.

Now it may be that we need to translate, refine, or further interpret our universal statements of faith. But I am at a loss as to how someone randomly situated can be self-sufficient to knock off a new creed in an afternoon. Contemporary worship or not, the creeds hold us together. Anything else is the Delusion.

"This Church"

2010-10-11T11:37:00.000-07:00

Therefore, to name one corporate gathering of Christians a "church" is to succumb to The Delusion. Likewise is any attempt to secede from such a corporation in order to become a purer "church."

There is no "This Church," as if it can be distinguished from a "That Church." There is The Church; all else is Not Church.

Deluge of Delusion

2010-10-09T11:26:00.000-07:00

As we noted in earlier discussions, most notably on the garden of Eden story, Sin is self-engineered separation from God, a rejection of God's authority and seizing control of one's own life, choices, etc. What follows is the Delusion of Self-Sufficiency, hereafter, The Delusion. Augustine, Luther, C. S. Lewis, and many others have named this Delusion: Pride. So it is.

Yes, Lewis was an Anglican, but of the most Lutheran persuasion possible.

Following this line, it is clear that Individualism is contrary to all things Christian. This is why the "Me and Jesus" stuff bothers you so much.

Father Augustine

2010-10-08T08:11:00.000-07:00

It should be no surprise that Lutherans find such an affinity with the thought of St. Augustine. Exact connections are and will continue to be interesting.

So we hold Augustine to be a Lutheran before his time. The Zen bit we establish later.

For now, here's a good bit to ponder:
Augustine taught that the delusion of self-sufficiency is Pride; and that Pride is the root of all other sins. (Thank you, Professor Thomas Williams of the University of South Florida.)

Elsewhere, this Zen Lutheran has described the root of all sin as Usurpation of the Divine. Same thing.

Z L of the month, July

2010-07-27T08:21:00.001-07:00

"Why do strong arms fatigue themselves with frivolous dumbbells? To dig a vineyard is worthier exercise for men."
--Marcus Valerius Martial

"Who you callin' a frivolous dumbbell?"
--Zen Lutheran

There ought to be clowns

2010-05-06T07:11:00.000-07:00

I'm all for a big tent and everything, but let's just remember:

The bigger the tent, the bigger the circus.

In the trenches

2010-04-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

"It is the duty both of preachers and of hearers first of all and above all things to see to it that they have a clear and sure evidence that their doctrine is really the true word of God, revealed from heaven to the holy, original fathers, the prophets and apostles, and confirmed and commanded to be taught by Christ himself. For we should by no means ever let doctrine be manhandled according to the pleasure and fancy of the individual who adapts it to human reason and understanding. Nor should we let men toy with Scripture, juggle the Word of God, and make it submit to being explained, twisted, stretched, and revised to suit people or to achieve peace and union; for then there could be no secure or stable foundation on which consciences might rely."

--Martin Luther

Wait a minute. Did he say "and hearers?"

It is sad that the people in the pews have now been forced to become theologians and Bible scholars themselves. The sheep must find their own green pastures because their shepherds are off contemplating the rocks. Yet it has always been this way; which is why Lutherans have placed such a high value on Christian education of the laity. What they need is the clear, pure Word of God, useful and understandable.

Titanic problem

2010-04-16T17:35:00.000-07:00

Our good ship has hit an iceberg. The captain says that this has all been the fault of the back of the ship, and if we only plow into the iceberg a couple more times the back will fall off and we will sail on much more smoothly.

Speak Up

2010-01-20T18:43:00.000-08:00

History repeats itself.

History always repeats itself.

History has to repeat itself, because nobody listens the first time.

Given to answer a friend's question

2009-11-23T08:52:00.000-08:00

Which commandments allow for changes as how we live them now that we are in the year 2009?

The answer is “none.” But the answer is also “all.”

Where the Creator gave us commandments to last for all time, He also gave us a world that changes. In this, the commandments are meant to be flexible. When Luther recognized it to be so, he wrote out simple explanations to the commandments, which he called the Small Catechism. His work makes it a little easier to translate God’s desires into specific action.

So now, many years later, with issues confronting us that could not even have been imagined (by humans) when the commandments were newly carved, we may apply the ancient word of God to the modern world.

Here are some principles for reading the commandments, following Luther and the scripture itself:

1. Be kind and forgiving of your neighbor; assume the best. The purpose of the commandments is not to give us ways to accuse, blame or condemn others, even though it’s fun and makes us feel good about ourselves. (Matthew 7:1-5)

2. In contrast, be as strict as possible with yourself. When a question arises in your heart about whether a commandment forbids you doing something, assume it does. Likewise, the question, “Do I really have to . . . ?” should get a yes, by default. Exceptions to this principle are few. (Matthew 18:21-22)

3. Remember that the law does not justify. Too many of us think that God gave the commandments so that we could make ourselves righteous by obeying them. Then we fall into the trap of reading the Bible like an instruction book on how to live, and not a proclamation of God’s love. Did they really think that, if they understood the commandments clearly, they could keep themselves from sinning? (Luke 17:10)

4. We are saved by grace. Sin is less about the things we do than about our radical disconnect (uprootedness) from God, which we chose: rather than let God be God, and let Him do the commandment writing and the justifying, we humans would prefer to be our own gods. (Genesis 3:5) We broke it, and can’t fix it. Only grace can rectify this situation.

5. Finally, forgiveness is not permission, still less sanction. (John 8:11)

Devotions, given in front of a Bishop

2009-11-20T08:22:00.001-08:00

God’s grace and peace are yours through Jesus Christ
Isaiah 43
surely the times call for a new thing to be done; society changing, churches changing - even new churches are emerging
God does not disappoint, but does the new thing that is needed
I said needed, not expected, nor perhaps what we have desired
new thing is not what we may wish to claim; and such claims proliferate. Such that the Holy Spirit is invoked and claimed to be the driving force behind cultural changes, VBS materials the color of candles
I find it to be a greedy arrogance, the claim that God’s new thing has only been done among Lutherans of North America; and not even all of those
Yet God does not lie. He does the new thing; but the newness of the thing is not a chronologically new thing. It is an ontologically new thing
Behold he is doing a new thing. Do you not perceive it? It is the same new thing he has always done
The new thing is forever new, always different, and so is always a surprise to the world.
The world would want the new thing to be a new toy; a new tolerance or intolerance; a new victory or new defeat a new treasure or power
Instead God surprises the world with this new thing: God is saving his people. And in that he is making all things new, as he has from the beginning. It is called redemption, the making new of something that had been corrupted, corroded, and no longer as it had been created. But behold, he does a new thing; he makes the thing new.
Here is a new thing. The Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, and sanctified and kept me in true faith.
In the same way he does the same new thing in church, calls gathers enlightens sanctifies the WHOLE Christian church on earth, and keeps it UNITED with Jesus Christ in the one true faith
There can be no other new Christian. As there can be no new church. Those are absurdities. The only new Christian, the only new church, is the one that is new because God made it new in the gospel of Jesus Christ
The only new church is the one that is, the one that has always been the steward of his gospel, and steward of so many more gifts, from bread and wine to time and talent, to well-drilling equipment and schools for girls
The only new church is the one that is, the one that has always been the evangelist, proclaiming the pure gospel in this world
And the world is still surprised. God keeps doing the same old new thing, to the shock, wonder, horror, amazement and joy of this world
Behold, he is doing a new thing. Do you not perceive it?

Emergency Exit Only

2009-08-31T11:34:00.000-07:00

Usually you see them at the door, big muscles and dark shades, deciding who can come in to the party and who can't. They must be very good at this, because you hardly ever see them change their minds later on. Only once have I seen a bouncer actually bounce.

We were in a sports bar in Bloomington, Indiana, where we had gone to see the Indiana-Kentucky game (not only was it an away game, but we were too broke to buy tickets or travel). Indiana won, so we all had happy faces as we turned to go home. This wasn't enough for one fan, however. In a beer-strengthened fit of celebration, he grabbed one of the hefty bar tables and flipped it on its side. Just like that, a bouncer came up behind him, took him by belt and collar, and extruded him out the nearest door. This was an emergency exit, so there was no handle on the other side to let the guy back in. I'm sure the expulsion took less than a second, total. When a bouncer gets a real chance to bounce, it's a sight to behold.

Lutherans are the reason that heaven has bouncers. The Baptists will never have a little too much to drink and the Episcopalians will never use their shrimp forks to pick up a piece of cheese that fell on the floor. But you gotta worry about those Lutherans.

The only way a Lutheran will get into this party is on a pass. What's more, the honest Lutherans know they're getting in on a pass. Sola Gratia.

Jesus says, "Aw, Dad; can't they come to the party? They're my friends. I promise they won't break anything."

And so Our Father decided to let even the Lutherans into heaven. But then He hired bouncers.

Coming Down

2009-08-24T08:21:00.000-07:00

As Moses came down from the mountaintop, he heard the people of Israel singing. This was good. The tune, St. Catherine, was one he liked, though he still found it difficult to tap toe while carrying two large stone tablets.

(In a weird bit of coincidence, the monastery founded on that spot several centuries later is named St. Catherine's.)

The trouble started when he rounded the corner and noticed not a well ordered worship space with congregants standing in neat pew-like rows, but dancing (and not the liturgical dance kind either) around an enormous golden calf.

He soon regretted his decision to listen to the words of their hymn:

Cow of our fathers (Holy Cow!)
We will be true to you - for now.

Incurvatus

2009-08-17T08:26:00.000-07:00

This pair of sins, Pride and False Humility, have this in common: that both are turned in on the self, and hence make a god out of the self.

Pride looks at the gifts of God found within and observes, "My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this." (Deuteronomy 8:17)

False Humility looks at the same and observes, "'I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground.'" (Matthew 25:25)

The only option for the faithful is to turn outward. True Humility takes what God has given and moves it outside of the self.

Even in this

2009-08-11T09:52:00.000-07:00

"Do not squander your afflictions."
--Fred Jordan

"Thank God for trials."
--Dan Deardoff

I'm pretty sure neither of these people I quoted were original to these ideas, but they are my source, anyway. So I thank God for them.

The Tree of Knowing Better

2009-08-05T09:27:00.000-07:00

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the LORD God had made. Not that it needed to be.

So that when the woman saw that the fruit looked good and smelled delicious; and that it was trans-fat and cholesterol free; and she was convinced that by eating of it she would not violate The Commandment, that is, "As Long As You Are Not Hurting Anyone Else;" and when she perceived that God, when He said no, was messing with her freedom and imposing His idea of morality on her when He couldn't possibly know what it was like to be her; and anyway God always loves us the way we are (He created us with curiosity and desire and never makes mistakes) and will always forgive us no matter what; when she saw that she had to do what she felt was best for her and her family; and what was the big deal anyway -

in short, when she could no longer think of any reason not to -

she took of the fruit and ate.

She also gave some to her husband, who apparently needed even less convincing than she did. In the space of half a verse, he ate too.

And so they became as God. If you believe the advertising.

And for August; Zen Lutheran of the Month

2009-08-03T19:48:00.000-07:00

"When people stop believing in God, they don't believe in nothing -- they believe in anything."
--G. K. Chesterton

Zen Lutheran of the month for July

2009-07-27T20:39:00.000-07:00

"The only alternative to tradition is bad tradition."
--Jaroslav Pelikan (who really was a Lutheran, at least most of the time)

Church Wrecking

2009-07-07T18:19:00.000-07:00

There are two ways to wreck a church. One is to turn it into a business; the other is to turn it into a democracy. Although Democratic Capitalism works nicely for countries, it's hell on church.

The Crux

2009-06-09T18:52:00.000-07:00

To be in the world and not of it is to be on a cross.

Zen Lutheran of the Month

2009-06-05T08:16:00.000-07:00

Hey, don't you know it's a waste of your day
Caught up in endless solutions
That have no meaning, just another hunch
Based upon jumping conclusions
Caught up in endless solutions
Backed up against a wall of confusion
Living a life of illusion

--Joe Walsh

More on Pain

2009-05-18T11:10:00.000-07:00

I feel I should say more about my recent healing.

(No, my knee has not begun hurting again.)

Perhaps we're tempted to ask why - why would God give me a miracle? I did not ask for healing, and it really was a rather minor problem for me. There are so many others with deeper needs.

One of two things is true:

1) God wanted my attention at that time and place. He got it, and continues to have it. I'll keep telling people about this until further notice. Also will keep praising.

2) The Spirit blows where it will, and no one knows the movement of it. I'm thinking that none of the Pentecost people prayed for the gift of speaking in tongues either. BAM! YOU get a spiritual gift, and YOU get a spiritual gift, and YOU . . .

There in God's Garden

2009-04-10T16:18:00.000-07:00

The One who made me came in the flesh and died so that I may be reconciled to him. I had uprooted myself from his garden; I was not what I had been created to be. I was deemed unfit. But now through Christ I am re-created and re-deemed.

My healing

2009-04-07T18:11:00.000-07:00

For those of you who wanted to know, here's the story of my miracle.
I have (had) a bad knee. My left knee was numb on one side and the rest of it hurt most of the time. If I strained it on a given day, it would hurt A LOT all day until I slept. In the morning it would most often feel better, but not great. Then, if it didn't feel better in the morning, it would hurt all day that day also. Maybe the next morning it would be better, and so on.

I was in Omaha on an Urban Plunge (Try it!), and we spent about four hours pushing heavy shopping carts for food pantry clients, after which my knee was in great pain. I was hoping the pain would go away by morning, but I really didn't believe it would. Sure enough, the next morning it still hurt - just as much as the day before.

After half a morning's activities, including a church service, I was still hurting. Then we went to another church (Salem Baptist) for their service. I remember limping on my way in.

The church was alive with praise. The Holy Spirit was most certainly in attendance.

After an indeterminate time of music and praise, the Pastor began to read from Ephesians 2. When he got to the words "But God . . . !!!!, I noticed my knee did not hurt. It was not numb, in fact, the "normal" numbness was also gone.

IT SHOULD HAVE HURT. I should have been in agony, having been on my feet for a couple of hours by then. But it felt great. In fact, it does not hurt now, two and a half weeks later.

Now I know Lutherans are not supposed to believe in miraculous healings. Well, maybe in principle; but each specific case can be explained away as something naturalistic. "Lutheran faith healing" is oxymoronic. I certainly never would have believed in healing miracles, except in the broadest possible sense.

Until today.

Shoulda written this five days ago

2009-04-06T11:24:00.000-07:00

I've decided to become a postitmodernist. I believe nothing that can't be written on a 2x2 piece of paper. And you can't use the back cuz that's where the sticky stuff is.

What comes after postmodern?

2009-04-03T07:56:00.000-07:00

A comment on my last post pointed out that aiming at postmodernism is problematic because there isn't a specific target. Exactly true. Nevertheless, I tilt at windmills.

A postmodernist is one who throws out the baby with the bath water, because space is needed to give the baby a bath.

Even though, as a postmodernist would point out, it would be easier, more thorough, quicker, and more permanent to burn my house to the ground, I persist in taking out the trash every Monday.

How to Fly

2009-03-31T17:05:00.000-07:00

I threw myself at Existentialism and missed. So now I'm a Lutheran.

I'm taking aim at postmodernism. I have a bad feeling about this.

Big Purple Dinosaur

2009-03-30T18:44:00.000-07:00

There's a guy who sits down front at the early service, and you know it when he's there. People usually react to him in one of two ways - they laugh or groan.

He sings loud; and off key; and off tempo. Especially when he gets to one of those old favorite hymns, he really lets loose, and sings it the way he always has, the way he has always liked to sing it. It's the way nobody else likes.

But I say that if everybody sang with as much heart as he does, we would have heavenly worship.

How he sings is not about you.

Epidemic

2009-03-11T12:24:00.000-07:00

Doctor Jesus was puzzled that so many of his patients were dying. After all, he had diagnosed them correctly and sent them off to the pharmacy with proper prescriptions.

Clearly, the pharmacy was the place to begin investigating.

"Didn't my patients come here to have their prescriptions filled?"

"Well, yes, they did."

"And did you give them their medicine?"

"No, actually, I didn't."

"Why in the world not? Don't you know how sick they are?"

"See, that's just it. I personally don't believe in illness."

"Come again?"

"As far as I'm concerned, everybody is OK. It's really not for me to judge who's sick. Besides, if I keep telling people they're sick, they'll get mad at me. And then they won't come to my pharmacy anymore."

From then on, Jesus told his patients not to go to that pharmacy.

Eyes to See

2009-02-24T07:08:00.000-08:00

I have happened upon an anthology of short stories, presently up to two volumes, which carries the title "Eyes to See," and is collected by Bret Lott.
Mr. Lott has collected some wonderful stories by Christian authors. Stuff worth reading. Not the mindless entertainment that seems so popular, but authentically good writing by the likes of Chesterton, Updike, O'Connor, Endo, and many others.
Highly recommended.

She was right

2009-02-16T08:58:00.000-08:00

The woman at the Global Mission Event told us that northerners were not free from guilt regarding slavery; nor were people whose ancestors came over after the 13-15th amendments. I qualified for innocence on both counts, but that wasn't good enough for her.
Then I said something about there not being any gospel in it, which in retrospect was a weak attempt at self-justification (aren't they all?).
She was right. She was calling me to repentance; that is always right.
How about this definition - repentance is the rejection of self-justification.

Seven Eleven

2009-02-01T18:16:00.001-08:00

Jesus has a new job.

He works at the convenience store.

He hates it.

Preoccupied

2009-01-19T07:40:00.001-08:00

For somebody who's totally irrelevant, I sure am busy.

Worship

2008-12-13T18:57:00.000-08:00

I have an idea.

Why don't we start treating worship as something God calls together, and not a place where we have to feel entertained; or fulfilled; or 'fed,' whatever that means?

It may come as a shock to quite a few people, that we are not here to meet their needs.

Finally, a Fitting Fit to Finish

2008-11-25T09:58:00.000-08:00

24. When proclaimed in its purity, the gospel of Jesus Christ comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable.

25. There are many easy and false ways to comfort the afflicted. “The gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction.”

26. Society at large is in denial about its sinfulness. Outside of the church, the concept of sin has no meaning.

27. Afflicting the comfortable is always difficult and never well received.

28. The task of evangelism includes the naming of sin.

29. Only those who have been afflicted by the word of God can be properly comforted by it.

30. The task of evangelism includes the pronouncement of forgiveness, not tolerance.

Trying to fix #20

2008-11-18T18:34:00.000-08:00

After encouragement, maybe I find this thing salvageable.

So here:

20. When one is concerned about filling pews and offering plates, one is tempted to adopt a position of tolerance.

Okay?

Grace Inflation

2008-11-10T07:15:00.000-08:00

One pastor said that Jesus died and rose as proof of God's justice. Jesus was a member of an oppressed people who was crucified because he threatened the power structure, nothing more. So God (sic) had to (sic) raise him from the dead because to leave him dead would be unjust. I took issue with that because I thought it watered down the gospel. If the gospel is only about justice then I am most certainly on the losing side, and I am of all people most pathetic (1 Corinthians 15:19).

That's not so bad, really. I do need reminding that I am called as a disciple of Jesus to act justly and seek justice. I just thought that was a pre-gospel conviction and a post-gospel response, not the sum total content of the gospel.

Then yesterday I read that Jesus died to free us from traditional gender roles. Referencing Galatians, the author wrote that she was freed in Christ not to clean the house. For years I have been the one in our house to do the laundry. Now I know why - cuz Jesus died to make it happen.

Looks like grace is getting cheaper all the time. If we keep minting new graces at the present pace, what will become of our justification?

Judas

2008-11-07T17:32:00.000-08:00

Luke 9:1-6, 10.
You gain a whole new perspective on this mission when you remember that one of those twelve was Judas. He too was chosen, commissioned and sent out. He too healed, cast out demons and proclaimed the good news.
What happened to him? I have a friend who is writing a book about Judas - with a positive slant. Perhaps he was not evil and insidious from the start. Maybe he was a man of faith. Maybe Dante was wrong.
This could have implications for you as well. You, too, might be redeemed.

Fit the Fifth (three times fast)

2008-11-01T12:53:00.000-07:00

We repeat #20, with the reminder that it is false.

20. Tolerance will fill pews and offering plates; forgiveness will not.

21. The filling of pews and offering plates is not the task of evangelism.

22. Lutherans, and all Christians, evangelize because we are called to do so by Christ himself.

23. The guiding principle of evangelism is love. We love people enough to bring them the gospel.

Jesus Gave Me Away

2008-10-31T07:17:00.000-07:00

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.

Fit the Fourth

2008-10-25T07:31:00.000-07:00

Number 20 appears by itself because it is patently false -

20. Tolerance will fill pews and offering plates; forgiveness will not.

He Loves Us Anyway

2008-10-24T10:25:00.000-07:00

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.

Fit the Third

2008-10-22T06:22:00.000-07:00

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.

Coram Deo

2008-10-21T07:03:00.000-07:00

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

Reverend Spock

2008-10-20T07:01:00.000-07:00

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.

Fear and Trembling re: fear and trembling

2008-10-08T08:24:00.000-07:00

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."

Fit the Second

2008-10-06T11:03:00.001-07:00

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.

Oh Foolish Generation

2008-09-30T08:43:00.000-07:00

Every generation considers itself to be the pinnacle of human achievement.

Those who have gone before are unsophisticated, bigoted and superstitious. I suppose we can't really blame them for not coming up to our level of wisdom.

In the opposite direction, we have the youth, whose self-absorption is unbelievable. When are they going to wise up and listen? We have such good advice to give, based on years of experience!

Yesterday at the book display of my church's publisher, I noticed a trend. There were a few books from Luther; one Bonhoeffer; one Julian of Norwich. All the other books were by living authors. So much for the wisdom of generations.

I think sometimes that my church is trying to reinvent Christianity.

Somewhat fewer than 95; Fit the First

2008-09-25T15:48:00.000-07:00

I wrote these a while back, when I was inspired by an article in First Things by Philip Turner. Here are the first six -

1. Every Christian denomination has a gift with which it may bless the whole Church of God.

2. Other Christian denominations do a better job of presenting certain aspects of our common faith than Lutherans do. In some loci it is their gift to lead and ours to follow.

3. The proper approach to the gift God has given us is not to deny or downplay it in a false sense of humility,

4. nor to hold it as private property,

5. nor to revere it as the only good and true gift of God, as if our brothers and sisters with other gifts had nothing.

6. The Lutheran gift to the Church is theological depth.

Ancestor Worship

2008-09-24T16:23:00.000-07:00

AMERICAN: So, tell me about the religious life of the Japanese people.

JAPANESE: Our traditional religion is called Shinto. We worship our ancestors.

AMERICAN: Oh, we Americans have the same thing. We call it perpetual care.

The Cross

2008-09-19T13:17:00.000-07:00

"When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, 'Repent' [Matt. 4:17], he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance." - Martin Luther
"When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The Rich Young Ruler

2008-09-17T08:42:00.000-07:00

One day, a RYR approached Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what must I do to be in solidarity with the poor and oppressed?"
Jesus answered, "What does your church, mosque, synagogue, or other benevolent association teach you?"
The RYR said, "I must read newspapers, write letters, and only buy cappuccinos at certified fair trade shops."
Then Jesus said, "Um . . . okay."
In joy the RYR cried, "All these I have done!"
And Jesus looked at the RYR in love and said, "Just one more thing."
"Yes?"
"You got a car?"

Accept none!

2008-09-09T20:01:00.000-07:00

Solidarity is no substitute for repentance.
Tolerance is no substitute for forgiveness.
Justice is no substitute for redemption.
Scholarship is no substitute for theology.

At the feast

2008-09-08T16:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I celebrated Communion in my parish. As I was distributing the Body of Christ along the rail I came upon a woman, a rock-ribbed Republican if ever there was one. "The Body of Christ, given for you." Immediately next to her was a man, one of the most liberal Democrats in the county. The Body of Christ was given for him, too.
As they got up from the rail, he helped her. She smiled at him.
We had a meeting after services to discuss the frequency of Holy Communion. They voted to have it only twice a month because if you have it too often, it isn't special.

Naturally,

2008-09-05T08:16:00.000-07:00

Before you read this one, do keep in mind what I said about being wrong in helpful ways. I really don't know Buddhism very much at all. As you see, that won't stop me from discussing it with a certain amount of pigheadedness. Criticism I can take, but no nitpicking. I will delete you.
Buddhism is the highest level of thought attainable by natural theology. If you look at the world around you and notice all the tragedy and pain and injustice; then give up on the world as a horrible place, to be left as soon as possible; then you are an existentialist and you gave up too early.
A Buddhist will look at the same world with some hope. Things are this way. Perhaps they are supposed to be this way. Everything happens for a reason. Must be Bad Karma. Keep trying the best you can. If things don't get better in this life, perhaps there will be another and you can try again.
So the source of hope is mostly conjecture. Maybe there is some Holy Spirit movement here, bringing about some of the hope. There's also quite a bit of static interfering with the signal.
More hope is available. Much more.
The only way to move beyond natural theology is by revelation. For this, there is no substitute for the Holy Spirit.

Junkyard Jesus

2008-09-01T11:42:00.000-07:00

"I don't like it here, Jesus," Peter said. "Why bring us to this old junkyard, anyway?"
"Look at it, Peter," Jesus encouraged. "What do you see?"
"Nothing. Just a bunch of old cars. Rusty, dead, worthless old cars."
Jesus called Nathanael over. "Look - isn't that a '66 Mustang?"
Nathanael liked to work on cars. He was instantly excited.
"Yeah. That's a classic!"
"Could you fix it up?"
"I don't know. It's pretty far gone. Would take a lot of work." But Nathanael knew it would be worth it. His eyes showed that every moment he would spend working on that old car would be sheer pleasure. The grease stains, even the unavoidable cuts on his hands would be worn as badges of honor.
"Now," Jesus spoke to the whole group, "somebody tell me what junk is." He didn't have to look directly at Philip when he asked. But Philip was always ready with the complete, technically correct definition.
"Junk is part or all of a mechanical contrivance which is somehow separated from its original intent," the disciple answered. These cars are junk because, although they were once used for the transportation of one or more individuals, they are no longer suitable for that purpose."
"Perfect," James grunted.
"However," Philip continued, "while the cars are junk, they are far from worthless. Junk is not the same as trash, because it is conceivable that junk may be recovered. In the right hands, such as those of our friend Nathanael here, junk cars can be restored."
Then Jesus began to teach them, saying, "Truly I tell you, you are junk. I found you here, in this junkyard of a world, not living up to your intended purpose. I could have left you to rust into trash. But I love you. So I have come into this world to recover you, and to restore you to your original purpose."
Judas had a vague feeling he'd just been insulted. The others only looked at Jesus blankly. Finally Peter's hand shot up.
"Yes?"
"Jesus, could we go now? These junkyards just aren't safe."

The Z L Canon

2008-08-08T08:12:00.000-07:00

I confess an inordinate like for the book of Ecclesiastes. Other than chapter 3, this one doesn't have a lot of fans; and even the fans want to delete "a time to hate." The one time I was asked to preach a baccalaureate, my text was chapter 5.
Proverbs is very popular, at least in my sub-world. I don't get much out of it, though. Too many answers.
Job is great; it can be a life in itself - but only if you read the middle chapters too, not just chs. 1 and 42.
Lutherans never trusted James, because of all that works stuff. See? Distrust of action.
Which brings us to Acts. We've always liked the witness to God's work in the world. When Acts comes up in the lectionary, we say things like, "See how the Holy Spirit is always one step ahead of the apostles!" Then we say the book should not be called the Acts of the Apostles, and there are no more apostles in our day, and other stuff to explain why the book ended.
We also like the gospel of John and the first letter of John and other books we can read, mark, learn and inwardly digest. We like anything we can meditate on indefinitely.

There's really no excuse for this. Scripture is Scripture, and the parts we don't favor are all the more the stuff we need. Struggle with it - struggle physically, not just mentally.

In And Not Of

2008-08-01T13:35:00.000-07:00

The constant struggle of the Zen Lutheran, from what I can see, is to be in the world and not of it. Comfort lies on either side: either by going along with the world or by seceding from it. I believe I mentioned how comfortable denial is.
But staying on the fence is painful, cuz it's got those pointy things on top. Here, they're cross-shaped.

How to keep from sinning

2008-07-31T18:52:00.000-07:00

Since one of our first needs as humans is to be thought blameless, here are two ways to keep sin at bay.

If you are a conservative, I would suggest putting your focus on individual sins. Rank them. Make sure you hold the worst sins in absolute disdain. Naturally, these will be the sins you would never think to commit yourself, and, helpfully, you have no trouble avoiding. If you can keep away from them, why can't everyone else?
Now that you have identified the worst sins, and these are clear to all, whatever sin you had disappears. After all, you are not a murderer, are you? Compared to them, you're blameless. Tada! Sin's gone!

If you are a liberal, you might try the ills of society route. Put all sins in the context of 'we.' Our society does a lot of really bad stuff, like wars, oppression, and so on. Don't forget the ones that were committed centuries ago. Then place yourself above all that. "We" always means other people. Since you identified the problem, and you are the prophetic voice against it, once again, you cannot be blamed.

Isn't denial wonderful? So simple, it's just a matter of pointing out the sins of others.

If neither of these routes suits you, then go into your room and shut the door; kneel down and pray like this: "Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner."
The only alternative to self-justification is divine mercy.

Jesus at the P.O.

2008-07-30T17:49:00.000-07:00

I never expected to see Jesus there at the Post Office. In fact, I didn't really want to. I just came to see if my package had arrived.

See, I ordered a bunch of stuff from JesusOnLine; but who knew he would deliver it personally?

Looking over the catalog carefully, I chose the Eternal Salvation (family four-pack), the inner peace, the cosmology set and the personal justification. I even made room in a closet to store all that stuff, you know, so it wouldn't get in the way and I would trip over it on my way to Real Life.

So I was all set to pick up my stuff and leave quietly. I went to the P.O. at a slow time, even, when not many people were there. I opened the door casually, so as not to arouse suspicion. I looked in my box, and sure enough, there was a yellow card. That's what they put in your P.O. box if you have something too big to fit in there, so you have to come over to the window and claim it.

I knew it had to be my stuff from Jesus. So I went to the window, all excited. But there he was. He was the one at the window giving people their stuff.

I didn't know it, but there's apparently some sort of policy that you can't just order stuff from Jesus. You have to take him, too.

So now I have a house guest. And he's always hanging around.

Mr. Marty Existence

2008-07-23T07:03:00.000-07:00

The way Luther put it sounds pretty existential. "I believe I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in the Lord or come to him." It's like that picture that's been around - the one of the famous philosopher (not famous enough for me to remember who) standing on a floating piece of ice with his hat and cane, like he's waiting for the bus or something. But the bus never comes. The bus sank in four miles of ocean. He's probably still on that ice, waiting.
Or the play, Waiting for Godot.
What makes it all Lutheran is that we do not recapture our essence. Rescue comes by, of all things, a man dying on a cross.

You reading assignment for next time is Shusaku Endo's Silence. If there is a next time.

All Grace

2008-07-22T20:26:00.001-07:00

Where Lutherans are Most Zen: distrust of action. Works Righteousness is the label we stick on stuff we don't like when we want to shut down all discussion on the topic. Lutherans recoil at the thought of their actions counting for something.
The way Kant said it, actions cannot be ethical in themselves. Only intentions can be judged good or bad.

(I'm not really sure I'm doing justice to Kant here. You should get used to having me misinterpret philosophers. If you write a comment on this like, "Kant never said . . . " followed by lots of yadas, you missed the point. Maybe Kant never said it or meant it, but he should have. Or somebody should have. We need people to be wrong in helpful ways.)

Oh, and by the way: Intentions are always bad.

So that kind of sets us back. People like to think they can do the right thing; but it seems pretty obvious to the Zen Lutheran that they don't. If the only hope for humanity is more humanity, well, that's where hope gets flushed.

This is going to end up being quite existential. You do remember Kierkegaard was Lutheran, right? I'll get around to misinterpreting him later. For now just remember the father of existentialism was a Danish Lutheran.

Zen Lutherans are failed romantics. A romantic is someone who dreams that things can be better. When they don't get better, they come to us.

But don't look here for pessimism, cynicism or despair. Just look for grace.

Zen? Lutheran?

2008-07-21T16:45:00.000-07:00

There is some stuff in Zen that seems like the exact opposite of Lutheran stuff, so maybe you're asking how in the world these two go together. Zen/Buddhist:Lutheran/Christian, for one thing most obvious. So maybe this can't be done. Then again, maybe this is your first koan.
Zen is the practice of reaching within oneself for wisdom. And given the Lutheran aversion for all things incurvatus in se, we see an obvious pitfall. But what if we take seriously the promise of the Holy Spirit, calling, gathering, enlightening and sanctifying? It is the Spirit in us that brings us to faith.