Thursday, June 26, 2008
Teaching in the past tense
Why are grammarians nostaligic? Because the future's tense and the past is perfect.
I've been struck recently by the amount of my mental, spiritual, and emotional energy that went into my teaching job. Now that it is over it's amazing the excess mental energy I have. I've been writing poetry and what not, non-stop. On drives {B} can't shut me up. I can only imagine how all this energy will be focused in seminary.
I've been struck recently by the amount of my mental, spiritual, and emotional energy that went into my teaching job. Now that it is over it's amazing the excess mental energy I have. I've been writing poetry and what not, non-stop. On drives {B} can't shut me up. I can only imagine how all this energy will be focused in seminary.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
My Fathers' Day Sermon
Here's a rough draft of my sermon for June 15, 2008. Here are the readings for the day.
Good morning. Happy Fathers’ Day. Hmm…a challenge, proclaim the gospel or give a nod to Fathers’ Day? I imagine this is something priests have to deal with often, dealing with cultural expectations but preaching the culture shredding good news. Well, today I’ll stick to the good news and maybe even work in the good news about Father’s Day.
When I was in college, we had a weekly, Wednesday morning chapel service. At my first visit to chapel the question was asked: what is the most important verse in the Bible? Now, a little back story, I was raised as a Baptist in America, like many here today. So you can imagine what was my initial response to that question, what is the most important verse in the Bible? John 3:16. Of course that is what I reactively thought. Any football fan would say John 3:16. I think even non-Christians would say John 3:16. But then those around me began to shout out, “Love each other as I’ve loved you,” “I came that they may have life and have it more abundantly,” And from today’s Epistle “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us,” not one “For God so loved the world… “What gives?
Unbeknownst to me at the time, this was my first encounter with the Mystery of Christ. The Mystery of Christ was new notion to me. And it wasn’t until I had joined the Episcopal Church that I really began to wrap my head and heart around this mystery. The Mystery of Christ describes the bearing of God, the whole divine milieu. The Mystery of Christ describes the manner in which God relates to creation.
Turns out God has called us fully and completely to be reconciled with him. I don’t think this is a point many Christians would argue: God wants to be with us, fully. But then we start thinking about it. Ruminating, you see. This thinking that we do is called theology. God has given us a gift of absolute grace: why, how, to whom, to what degree, when? All these are valid questions. The great and entertaining philosopher Alan Watts once boiled down all theological questions to five: Who started it? Are we going to make it? Where are we going to put it? Who’s going to clean it up? And finally, Is it serious? I look forward to bringing those questions to Sewanee. But we start to question, in an inquiring way, why and how God would reconcile himself to us, this is theology.
The most culturally ascendant thinking about God’s gift to us probably has a name, likely a long name that was formed in the 1600’s. But the best term I’ve come across is transactionalism. I give this, to get that. Transactionalism states that if we believe in Jesus then we will be saved. John 3:16 seems to say this outright. But I think our first understanding of this passage is a little off in its sense of time.
In today’s Epistle, Paul writes “while we were still weak…Christ died for us.” And “while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” The point being, that before we knew him, Christ died for us, once and for all. For me, transactionalism gets it wrong because it treats our faith like a special variety of work. If we will take the action of believing then God’s gift of reconciliation will enter our lives. As if our faith was the cause of the gift.
But Jesus, not to mention Paul, says otherwise. Jesus proclaims the truth that has been hidden “from the foundation of the world.” Paul even goes further to say that the Mystery of Christ, this universal grace, was present before the foundation of the world. So with this understanding that God set up this intimate relationship with us before the forming of the world, we can look at John 3:16 again: Yes, God did love the world so that he did indeed send his only son that whoever should believe in Him would not perish but have eternal life. All that happened, God laid all of it out before we came on the scene. So our faith is not a mediating factor in our relationship with God but something else.
Since God’s gift came to us before there was an us we need to reconsider our notion of faith. God’s gift is present to all at all times, so our faith then becomes a kind of knowing. Faith is belief but it is not a ticket into something, faith is a recognizing of God’s gift. The theologian and priest Robert Farrar Capon describes the Mystery of Christ like this: stadium, all invited, free, t-shirt day for all, free food and drink. Faith is the believing, the understanding, that you are in the stadium, you’re there! Unfaith, is that a word (?), is just non-belief, not seeing, that you’re in the stadium; it’s like saying “well, I hear you about the free entry and all, but who would do such a thing?” The theologizing begins.
Most theology wants to set up ticket booths in front of God’s stadium, and the ticket price is works, or that special kind of work: faith. Others want to say, the tickets don’t cost anything but you do need a ticket, only this one kind of ticket. But the mystery of Christ, as informed by Paul and the Parables of Jesus says, there are no ticket booths, just come on in! Even more, we’ve been sitting in box seats the whole time, just open your eyes to the gift!
So we have God’s gift of reconciliation open to all from before the foundation of the world and “while we were still sinners.” God’s gift was finally and fully incarnated in the person of Jesus who said the kingdom of God is within you, here, now. For our part we can choose to have faith that we are already reconciled to God, then we begin to share the reconciliation around in the world.
So, what’s all this talk of God’s mysterious gift giving without condition have to do with Fathers’ Day? Everything.
Good morning. Happy Fathers’ Day. Hmm…a challenge, proclaim the gospel or give a nod to Fathers’ Day? I imagine this is something priests have to deal with often, dealing with cultural expectations but preaching the culture shredding good news. Well, today I’ll stick to the good news and maybe even work in the good news about Father’s Day.
When I was in college, we had a weekly, Wednesday morning chapel service. At my first visit to chapel the question was asked: what is the most important verse in the Bible? Now, a little back story, I was raised as a Baptist in America, like many here today. So you can imagine what was my initial response to that question, what is the most important verse in the Bible? John 3:16. Of course that is what I reactively thought. Any football fan would say John 3:16. I think even non-Christians would say John 3:16. But then those around me began to shout out, “Love each other as I’ve loved you,” “I came that they may have life and have it more abundantly,” And from today’s Epistle “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us,” not one “For God so loved the world… “What gives?
Unbeknownst to me at the time, this was my first encounter with the Mystery of Christ. The Mystery of Christ was new notion to me. And it wasn’t until I had joined the Episcopal Church that I really began to wrap my head and heart around this mystery. The Mystery of Christ describes the bearing of God, the whole divine milieu. The Mystery of Christ describes the manner in which God relates to creation.
Turns out God has called us fully and completely to be reconciled with him. I don’t think this is a point many Christians would argue: God wants to be with us, fully. But then we start thinking about it. Ruminating, you see. This thinking that we do is called theology. God has given us a gift of absolute grace: why, how, to whom, to what degree, when? All these are valid questions. The great and entertaining philosopher Alan Watts once boiled down all theological questions to five: Who started it? Are we going to make it? Where are we going to put it? Who’s going to clean it up? And finally, Is it serious? I look forward to bringing those questions to Sewanee. But we start to question, in an inquiring way, why and how God would reconcile himself to us, this is theology.
The most culturally ascendant thinking about God’s gift to us probably has a name, likely a long name that was formed in the 1600’s. But the best term I’ve come across is transactionalism. I give this, to get that. Transactionalism states that if we believe in Jesus then we will be saved. John 3:16 seems to say this outright. But I think our first understanding of this passage is a little off in its sense of time.
In today’s Epistle, Paul writes “while we were still weak…Christ died for us.” And “while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” The point being, that before we knew him, Christ died for us, once and for all. For me, transactionalism gets it wrong because it treats our faith like a special variety of work. If we will take the action of believing then God’s gift of reconciliation will enter our lives. As if our faith was the cause of the gift.
But Jesus, not to mention Paul, says otherwise. Jesus proclaims the truth that has been hidden “from the foundation of the world.” Paul even goes further to say that the Mystery of Christ, this universal grace, was present before the foundation of the world. So with this understanding that God set up this intimate relationship with us before the forming of the world, we can look at John 3:16 again: Yes, God did love the world so that he did indeed send his only son that whoever should believe in Him would not perish but have eternal life. All that happened, God laid all of it out before we came on the scene. So our faith is not a mediating factor in our relationship with God but something else.
Since God’s gift came to us before there was an us we need to reconsider our notion of faith. God’s gift is present to all at all times, so our faith then becomes a kind of knowing. Faith is belief but it is not a ticket into something, faith is a recognizing of God’s gift. The theologian and priest Robert Farrar Capon describes the Mystery of Christ like this: stadium, all invited, free, t-shirt day for all, free food and drink. Faith is the believing, the understanding, that you are in the stadium, you’re there! Unfaith, is that a word (?), is just non-belief, not seeing, that you’re in the stadium; it’s like saying “well, I hear you about the free entry and all, but who would do such a thing?” The theologizing begins.
Most theology wants to set up ticket booths in front of God’s stadium, and the ticket price is works, or that special kind of work: faith. Others want to say, the tickets don’t cost anything but you do need a ticket, only this one kind of ticket. But the mystery of Christ, as informed by Paul and the Parables of Jesus says, there are no ticket booths, just come on in! Even more, we’ve been sitting in box seats the whole time, just open your eyes to the gift!
So we have God’s gift of reconciliation open to all from before the foundation of the world and “while we were still sinners.” God’s gift was finally and fully incarnated in the person of Jesus who said the kingdom of God is within you, here, now. For our part we can choose to have faith that we are already reconciled to God, then we begin to share the reconciliation around in the world.
So, what’s all this talk of God’s mysterious gift giving without condition have to do with Fathers’ Day? Everything.
Friday, June 13, 2008
A house!
We've finally been assigned a house! We were actually given a choice between 3 houses, this one was the biggest (3B, 2b) and unfortunately the most expensive but we're hoping for financial aid to come through. We really have no idea right now how much money to expect. It's just a tad bit stressful on top of the stress of trying to sell our current house.
Anyway, this house is exciting and makes it all more real. We love the stone, mined from the mountain, and we are excited about the yard and the roll-out windows. We don't yet have a floor plan or an idea of what's inside although if you look at the back you can see a peek of a screened in porch. Fun!
Friday, February 22, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Lectio, free association for sermon
Old Testament:"invoked the name of the Lord" reminds me of Ava who says, "I want to say God." How do we bless the Lord? Is a blessing an approval? Is a blessing a relenting of some kind? For Abram, soon to be Abraham, he wasn't calling upon years of tradition when he invoked the name of God. "The name" of God explicitly tells us that he was a monotheist, new territory for him and this part of the world.
Timeline: Obiedience, God blesses Abram, Abram becomes a blessing to those around him, and then as people bless Abram, they in turn will be blessed.
Psalm:
the first part of the psalm is about God's power: chosen, look down, fashions, great strength,
then we get into the vocabulary of obidience:fear (awe), waits, help, trust.
recognize our place before God. Not to be subservient, but maybe to actually get rid of that tired old illusion, that we are in control.
Epistle:
Gospel:
Timeline: Obiedience, God blesses Abram, Abram becomes a blessing to those around him, and then as people bless Abram, they in turn will be blessed.
Psalm:
the first part of the psalm is about God's power: chosen, look down, fashions, great strength,
then we get into the vocabulary of obidience:fear (awe), waits, help, trust.
recognize our place before God. Not to be subservient, but maybe to actually get rid of that tired old illusion, that we are in control.
Epistle:
Gospel:
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Updates and why I do this.
Rita asked me to preach next week. Here are the readings.More to follow.
It's official, I'm a postulate, meaning, the Diocese is taking me seriously.
I started therapy,as recommended. Much more to follow.
Why I do this blog. It helps me stay organized. Helps me to be clear in some of my thoughts. I think blogs, youtube, and all things web2.0 are going to be the future of communication for most leaders and especially useful for priests; so I want the practice.
It's official, I'm a postulate, meaning, the Diocese is taking me seriously.
I started therapy,as recommended. Much more to follow.
Why I do this blog. It helps me stay organized. Helps me to be clear in some of my thoughts. I think blogs, youtube, and all things web2.0 are going to be the future of communication for most leaders and especially useful for priests; so I want the practice.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
My atheistic chums, or I want to say God
So, my two best friends J and E, both recently let me know that they are essentially atheists. They both came to me cautiosly, gingerly, so as to what? Not hurt my feelings or fragile beliefs?
Both of these men, among the smartest and most thoughtful (the two don't always go together) I've ever met, have each gained a certain amount of clarity in their lives, and they want to share it. Evangalists for... Well that's just it. While I disagree with my mates on their conclusions, I wholeheartedly agree and advocate their commitment to truth as they see it.
These conversations that I'm having with the guys sort of put me in the place of apologist. They aren't putting me there I know, E even said he go to my church someday, but that is the place I find myself. I've neevr really had, as an Episcopalian, had to defend my beliefs. I think it comes down to my firmly believing (even typing that word is hard because of the current connotations surrounding that word) that the Universe is biased towards wholeness (God). That wholeness wants to be intimately, personally, involved with us (Jesus Christ, not Jesus. Jesus Christ) And that we have an access to that wholeness on a personal and even global level (the Holy Spirit).
Maybe all this won't add up under the logical scrutiny of Richard Dawkins, who I really like, but it works for me. How freaking liberal!
In summary, I will quote my daughter. Last night when she was going to bed she told the lovely wife, "I want to say God." Meaning she wanted to pray...look there, I'm already putting limits on her spiritual experience. But she wanted to do something about God. She wanted a response to God. There is no thought about this, but an urging, a sense of being impelled. So I guess I want to just say God.
Both of these men, among the smartest and most thoughtful (the two don't always go together) I've ever met, have each gained a certain amount of clarity in their lives, and they want to share it. Evangalists for... Well that's just it. While I disagree with my mates on their conclusions, I wholeheartedly agree and advocate their commitment to truth as they see it.
These conversations that I'm having with the guys sort of put me in the place of apologist. They aren't putting me there I know, E even said he go to my church someday, but that is the place I find myself. I've neevr really had, as an Episcopalian, had to defend my beliefs. I think it comes down to my firmly believing (even typing that word is hard because of the current connotations surrounding that word) that the Universe is biased towards wholeness (God). That wholeness wants to be intimately, personally, involved with us (Jesus Christ, not Jesus. Jesus Christ) And that we have an access to that wholeness on a personal and even global level (the Holy Spirit).
Maybe all this won't add up under the logical scrutiny of Richard Dawkins, who I really like, but it works for me. How freaking liberal!
In summary, I will quote my daughter. Last night when she was going to bed she told the lovely wife, "I want to say God." Meaning she wanted to pray...look there, I'm already putting limits on her spiritual experience. But she wanted to do something about God. She wanted a response to God. There is no thought about this, but an urging, a sense of being impelled. So I guess I want to just say God.
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