News from the Tundra

2005-04-03T13:55:00.000-07:00

Here is my quixotic friend Eugene. We were hanging out downtown NYC.

2005-04-03T13:54:00.000-07:00

I went home for Easter. Here I am with my brother Tim. Tim likes to sing.

2005-03-18T13:53:00.000-08:00

Yes, folks, this is Mid-March in Minnesota, when we when snowing on a wonderful Friday night.

2005-02-27T20:30:00.000-08:00

This is Emily and I dancing. Okay, well, posing at the Medina Ball Room, where we have danced. Emily loves dancing and even gets me, who hates dancing, into it.

2005-02-27T20:28:00.000-08:00

This is Emily and I the day after Valentine's day with the flowers my cousin helped me pick out for Emily.

2005-02-18T16:42:00.000-08:00

My friends Ben, Brandy, Emily and Kristina, and my closest friend of all, the world map.

2005-02-18T16:40:00.000-08:00

My friend Noah learns how to juggle. He is a great guy, although tragically, like most other people in this state, he is Vikings fan.

2005-02-12T12:30:00.000-08:00

Here are two of my running buddies, Jen and Ben. I beat Ben by 7 seconds. Jen ran her first race since knee surgery. She beat the ground solidly.

2005-02-12T12:29:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of one of my running buddies, Jen with another Future Pastor of American, Jon Yurk, the Youth Director at River of Life, my congregation here.

30 degrees is perfect for a run

2005-02-12T12:21:00.000-08:00

It is an odd thing when 30 degrees becomes a perfect temperature for 5K run. A couple of us ran in the St. Valentine's 5K around lake Harriet (number MNL#4,563). Perfect day - two layers of shirts was all I needed...and a couple of friends to encourage me along the way...

Bishop Bouman

2005-02-05T18:32:00.000-08:00

The Bishop of the New York Metro Synod, Steve Bouman, spoke with us today. He was a very caring man who shared with us stories of ministry in New York City - stories of prayer and faith and ministry in the wake of 9/11. Quite touching. But he also shared many other stories of life in the poor areas of the city long before 9/11 and even then his thoughts were inspiring about what happens when we listen to the Holy Spirit and listen to the people of God. A tremendous message from a bishop - no tales of structure or social issues - rather an encouraging sermon on the purpose and joys of ministry. I think he made me think quite intensely about minsitry in New York!

Rick Warren's Youth Pastor...

2005-02-05T13:08:00.000-08:00

Last night the director of Youth Minitries at Saddleback Church spoke to us. I was ready for some theology I disagreed with and instead I heard a marvelous biblical message about the challenges of Youth Ministry. He, Doug, chose to speak on the challenges because he worried that people often walked away from Youth Minsitry events dissappointed with their own youth ministry and grow more discouraged. He said comparision, need for affection, numbers and "staying fresh" were his biggest challenges. I will continue more later...

DisneyLand

2005-02-04T18:41:00.000-08:00

Disney Land rocks. It was so much fun. As an adult I really appreciate the creativity. Post-res, I still look at the whole affair as very artifical and perhaps even superfluous...I am curious how long that experience will color my viewing of things. But the sun and the rides and the company - WOW. Also, Southern Cal continues to dissappoint me - they need mass transit!

Back safe and sound

2005-01-28T13:59:00.000-08:00

The Twin Cities are a wonderful backdrop for a sunrise - we drove through the night to get back to Campus. What a trip. Its been odd to be back because everyone wants to know how it is. I want to share with them more than just the alcohol and poverty and the bad history. I want to share with them the beauty. I want to share with them the good things in their spirituality: the community, the totality of it and the willingness to led the Holy Spirit move them. I need to not think about it for a few days for now though. Wow.

2005-01-28T13:56:00.000-08:00

Here some of the group serve meals in White Clay, NE. The needs of the community are overwhelming: 80 percent unemployment!

2005-01-28T13:55:00.000-08:00

My friend Steve at one of the top 5 sporting events ever in my lifetime: The Eagles beat the Falcons to go to the Super Bowl!

Su Anne Big Crow; a fiting finale

2005-01-27T17:56:00.000-08:00

Su Anne Big Crow was a high school basketball star here, whose skill took her across the world. Sadly, her life ended before she could go to college due to a car accident. However, she is a larger than life person here. Not only was she beyond good in basketball, but she used her stardom to speak out against alcohol and drugs, even making a video against such use. She said the reservation would be a Happy Town if a generation went alcohol free. A story of her fearlessness. In a game against an opposing white team, who lives in an area contested by the Indians (ie, really really hostile turf), the opposing (and home) fans were mocking the Indian war chants and yelling loudly before a game such that the other teammates did not want to even go out for Pine Ridge. Su Anne, the youngest player at the time, took control and walked out first. As they started to mock chant, she took off her warmup jacket and began to do the actual shawl dance...an in doing so, more than silenced the crowd, but got them cheering for her. She shows us that, indeed, even a child shall lead them. She also stands as a testiment to Lakota pride and hope for the future!

The Historian

2005-01-26T21:24:00.000-08:00

"White people need something written in order to believe it" waxed Leonard, a historian in the tribe who develops resources for children at an Elementary School. He was a mystic, someone wise and spiritual, someone who sees beautiful connections where others see logical gaps, but is smart enough to make you believe. He talked today us today about the Lakota before whites arrived and gave a picture of a very complex society, far more engaged in extensive commerce (even with the Aztecs) and agriculture than the simple Buffalo hunter image would offer. He also offered us a long discussion on identity, native spirituality, and the Black Hills. Perhaps the saddest thing he shared is that the Lakota custom of leaving dead bodies on scaffolds to wither had to be stopped because white people took the bodies for science. The most hopeful thing he shared was simply his attitude. In a lot of other poor communities, the hope is escape. Here the hope is in the past. Many people chose not to leave, but to better their people. That is indeed admirable.

The Turtle and the Cross

2005-01-25T21:02:00.000-08:00

Will Peters in English; Teacher of the Red Way in Lakota. Currently, a member of tribal council and formerly a teacher, I will let his words speak for himself. On Columbus: "I mean who gets a day named after him for discovering what was already discovered." On White weddings: "What kind of question is: Who gives this woman...women are not property!" On Welfare for Indians: "It destroys the family because it is better for the couple to separate to get more money and the man's job of providing is taken over by welfare." On Rap music: "People get caught up in profanity, that they lose sight of the profound." On his enemies: "People don't realize I pray for them, even when they yell at me." On Jesus: "People need to let him out of the box." On the fact he attends both Sun Dances and Church: "I am the most prayed for person in the world. The Sun Dancers pray for me when I go to Church - I am going all "white" they worry. The Christians pray for me when I go to the Sun Dance - I am going all "native" they worry." On the Black Hills: "Some say we came from a land bridge from Asia, but I believe we came from there; from space, it is shaped like a human heart; it is the heart of the world." On Jesus again: "What do Christians ask to be put in their heart - Jesus. When people come against you, be like the turtle and go there, where Jesus is."

The Law and The Hoop

2005-01-25T16:21:00.000-08:00

This morning we heard from an elder who has actaully taken a case against the government (US vs Big Crow) and won. He discussed a wide variety of policy problems, from the small (if a person starts taking classes at the college, they lose their unemployment money) to the large (the land in the Black Hills belongs to the Indians). He articulated, in my mind, an outdated view that looked at money as a fixed quantity and that the fight was not for money creation, but money division. (Side note: Larry, the pastor here, pointed out that even the different Souix tribes in SD have to fight for resources from the state). A certain cynicism filtered his thoughts; but then again, he was falsely accused of embezzlement by the Government. Perhaps the most humbling comment he made was when he talked about filing for unemployment and his need for signatures to show he was looking for a job. He quickly pointed out how few places offered employment on this reservation: schools, the hospital, government offices and a handful of businesses.

This afternoon we saw a hoop dancer at the local elemenary school. A hoop danced dances with leatherly hola-hoops. It was pretty good dancing and some pretty good acrobatics. He also had taught the kids some of the dances and that was neat to see. However, most interesting was his teaching of Indian culture. He asked the kids if they had done their assignment: to show their friends the circle on the horizon, the line where father sky meets mother earth. He offered that we needed both the masculine and feminine energy. At one point he told the kids to get into a half-moon (as opposed to a half-circle). He later commented during a game with the kids that people had abused mother earth, polluting her and mistreating her children, but that, during this game, if they stayed very close to her, they would be safe. It was odd to hear such talk because this was not some tree-hugger or naturalist or romantist, but someone articulating the beliefs of their culture.

Wounded Knee and Christianity revisited

2005-01-24T20:29:00.000-08:00

Today we visited the "battle" site of Wounded Knee. Nothing but tragedy. The saddest thing is not simply this one historical butchering, but the fact that the US Government has been so slow to claim the evil that occured here. The sign finally reads "massacre", but the word massacre simply covers the word "battle." There is no exhibit saying, look, we were really really bad people here. There is no massive apology from the South Dakota Senate. Nothing. Just a sign, which although the name is changed, still reads history from the very same white perspective that called this a battle. Wounded Knee empitomizes, but does not nearly encapsulate, the suffering and destruction of a people. While History cannot be changed, it can be ignored and I believe, without any public acknowledgement on site of the destruction, we do this. I must admit, this last week has left me with serious questions about God and evil and prayer.

Tonight we heard from a minister and elder in the community. He believed that some of the difficulties of the Church here do not simply stem from Christian antipathy, but reflect the challenges felt across the nation in rural areas. Money shortages and secular distractions exist today all across the plains, not just Pine Ridge County!

IHS: Indian Health Services

2005-01-23T19:48:00.000-08:00

Tonight we got a tour of the Hospital. It is a wonderfully modern building...which is underwhelmingly understaffed. They have a great ICU area...but no ICU doctors work on staff currently. The bizarre thing about the Hospital is that they deal with very "modern" problems like meth-babies and STDs, but they also face very "old" problems, like TB and Whooping cough (and not just in small quantities). The infant mortality rate here is the worst in the country. It was interesting to see how Lakota culture impacted the provision of healthcare; they had phone numbers for pastors and medicine man; the mission statement involved the key Indian symbol (a cross and circle); medicine men can ask for scapels for sun dances. However, the overwhelming impact of being on a rez was the reality of the situation: diabetes, younger pregnancies (although teen pregnancies are going down), a rural population in need of distributed health services. The nurse here indicated that often people who come for help there will grow uncontrollably angry at the staff due to the slowness in getting help; the anger expressed is not simply a reflection of the particular situation, but manifestation of years of anger at white America. However, the nurse loved her job. I think the people that chose to work here see obvious meaning in their professions.

Church

2005-01-23T19:41:00.000-08:00

Today we went to a Presbyterian Church...and doubled the number of people there. This 8 person a sunday attendance, however, is not uncommon to the churches I have seen on the reservation, whether conservative or liberal or fundamentalist or low-church or whatever. Perhaps the Churches here are feeling the backlash against the association of Christianity with Western (White American) thought. As I reflected on the service today, I realized that little was Indian outside of two hymns we sang in Lakota. The translations, the "liturgy", and the other hymns were not "Lakotan." At the same time, the people (across the reservation) remain intensely spiritually and sun-dances are booming in popularity.

Playing God is not fun

2005-01-23T07:50:00.000-08:00

No sooner than we had gotten out of the car from Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse (see previous blog), then we had a mendicant artisan wanting to sell us his wares. The man claimed that he was out of propane and that he needed money for the gas for his three children. He looked sober. His stuff was pretty decent quality. None of us had any desire to spend more money on trinkets (we've done plenty of that this week) and none of us had ever met the man. Should have we given him the money? The problem is that so many people here need money and food and gas. I could easily go out and buy 200 worth of groceries and just walk around and give it to people who would need it. I really do not want to play God - deciding who is honest, whose need is greatest, whether charity today would be better spent on investments? In fact, at this point, the idea of justice seems strange to me. I do not know what Lakota culture in the 21st century should or could look like. I know that what I saw this morning as I went running - trash all along the highway - does not belong, but the more I stay here, the more I long to see change, but the more I wonder, what could and should be done?

Crazy Horse and Mount Rushmore

2005-01-22T20:32:00.000-08:00

Today our group visited the Black Hills, home to bunch of national forests, parks, state parks and monuments. Mount Rushmore was very majestic. There is a great amount of info at the park about America and how we realized our manifest destiny. It was a bit difficult, after seeing the "losers" in the Westward Expansion, to read such a one-sided and positive description of American expansion. However, I do not want to look totally negatively upon a rather visionary project and the lives of four visionary Presidents. The Indians, in response to Mount Rushmore, have private funded the construction of a monument to Crazy Horse, the Indian Chief at Little Bighorn. The monument, also to be carved out of stone, if ever completed, will probably be one of the wonders of the world. The thing is massive, intended to be over 500 ft high...progress goes slow. After 50 years, they have completed the face...they still plan for a torso, extended arm, front half of his horse. Not only this, but they want a huge heritage museum for Indians. The sculptor, not an Indian, refused to take federal funds, a policy that continues after his death. All-in-all a beautiful day in one of the truly beautiful parts of the country--complete with Buffalo on the side of the roads!

The Casino

2005-01-22T06:36:00.000-08:00

Most Indian Reservations receive money from the Casino's allowed on their reservations. So last night we went to the Pine Ridge Casino. I had heard this place was small, which made sense because there are no major roads or cities nearby. I was completely underwhelmed. 5 card tables and maybe 500-600 slot machines. No craps, no video poker, nothing but those handful of card tables and slots. There is no way this casino is paying for people across the reservation, but it does provide some good jobs. I ended up making some money at Poker, where the women running the table (women run everything here) was so helpful and friendly. Other Casinos would not have taught me how to play and instructed me when to bet!

Afterwards we went to this bar where I met a few near-reservation whites. Not that they said anything specifically racist, but based on their comments it was pretty clear that the reservation was not the object of their compassion...indeed, he criticized the progress of construction of the Crazy Horse monument, which is privately funded, instead of commenting on how the government or someone should be giving more. "I am not impressed" The feeling is mutual; the dude had his 11 year-old girl there in the lounge the entire time as people drank and sang.

Public Boarding School

2005-01-21T17:01:00.000-08:00

On the reservation, they actually have public boarding schools. The dorms, coed, house kids from elementary on up, with most of the boarders being high schoolers. The kids could go home on the weekends, but as we found out, most do not want to go home. For most of these kids, home is world of alcohol and poverty; school is a world of clean and attention. Apparently, the calendar here evolves around the 1st of the month, when welfare checks are handed out. At this time, kids get excited about new possibilities with their parents and often return unsatisfied and angry. Also, drug and alcohol abuse are rampent in the dorms. However, I did not leave this school on a discouraging note. Lakota as a language is being taught again. The staff seemed affectionate and optimistic. The leadership is quality. Last night I heard about another program designed to help youth stay off drugs and alcohol. Again, a program where the leadership is quality; however, the government has not renewed the funding for this program. Tonight...the women's basketball team...

Pow-Wow

2005-01-21T16:55:00.000-08:00

The last 24 hours were full of song and dance, amazingly pride-filled and beautiful. Last night a drummer came to us and taught us some basic dances. It was really neat to hear him, with such pride, explain the dances and more about Lakota history. He recalled Custard's Last Stand from the Lakota perspective. The Lakota people claim that no one wanted to kill him, because he was so evil and no one wanted his spirit to enter their own; indeed, they could have killed him before but let him live until that battle.

Today I saw a Pow-Wow. The Drumming and outfits were amazing. The drummers were only males and all the dance competitions were by sexes. The colors were really overwhelming. I got the sense that, even though some kids were not paying attention, this was something they were not just doing to please an older generation. It was quite different from ethnic festivals I have seen in ethic enclaves on the East Coast, where dying elder generations want a younger generation to carry on something. I really got the sense that the kids were into it and this was important to them (even if they could not keep quiet and focused for 4 hours...)

Today the most I ever heard was 8 to 10 drummers. To hear 60 would be overwhelming, even transcendent.

The Darkness did not overcome it?

2005-01-20T16:03:00.000-08:00

Okay, I have seen alcohol destory the lives of friends and families, but now I see how alcohol destroys a people. Today we traveled to a border town in Nebraska that sells alcohol to the Indians, who, by law, cannot buy or sell alcohol on the reservation. 11,000 cans of beer are sold a day between three stores. The population of the reservation is 35,000, but really, the population of the nearest parts on the reservation are closer to 17 to 18,000. So I went into one of these three stores today and it was like McBeer. There were no isles for perusing. A white man behind a counter with the all the types of beers laid out. The price chart was made from those number/letters you see on Fastfood places. This was no a liquor store. This was beer, fast-food style. 11,000 cans...18,000 people...every day and night. 50 percent of the population is under 19. When I was in this circle of ministers in the area they were talking about al-anon programs for teenagers. Teenagers. Indeed, the woman behind the counter told us how her 17 year old daughter had already been through substance abuse programs.

So we served food today outside of a Christian thrift store (where I got a cool shirt and Trivia Pursuit) and nearly everyone who came reaked of alcohol. A couple of guys at one point walked out of the alcohol store and swore at me. Being a tale white male isn't the hit of the party around here. I feel like today, as I saw the alcohol machine, I encountered the forces of evil described in Ephesians as "Kosmokrators" - cosmic powers. The evil of alcohol in this community is not simply one that leads one individual to waste a life, but one that brings down an entire nation. Many in the community and even in that dark town are hopeful that indeed, the light will overcome the darkness. Indeed, hopeful people are everywhere and I do hear a new Song, declaring the salvation of the Lakota people out of their misery. But today the full plight hit me.

A run down Poverty Lane

2005-01-20T07:37:00.000-08:00

As I went running this morning, I found myself in a pretty rundown area. I have no idea about its relative poverty, but it was pretty overwhelming. At first it was not disturbing because it looked like a place where people used to live - houses with boards in their windows, burnedout cars, unchained dogs. Return to the houses - they were small. I mean as small as my room in New York City small, with some windows not even boarded up. And then it hit me, as a car or two started, that people actually lived here. People, in America, live in aggregations of concrete huts that make trailor parks look like luxury developments. And then, at the top of the hill, was a development built with the help of government aid. Here there were no extra burned out cars. The streets were paved (unlike before). There were even sidewalks and fire hydrants. The cars even looked like decent cars. It was like I had left the Indian Ghetto and had traveled to 1950. It was bizarre. I am not sure how peolpe get in that neighborhood, but what a difference!

Also on the college yesterday, the woman made the point that "our elders" sanctioned and encouraged the advancement of the college. She also made the point that they now have their first female elder. The more things change, the more things stay the same....

Not that different after all...

2005-01-19T16:48:00.000-08:00

So today I am playing blocks with one of the Indian boys and we decide to build animals out of the blocks. I expect him to want to build animals like: Buffalo or Elk or Coyote. Instead, he was like: Giraffe, Elephant, etc. There were two things "Indian" about him: His longer hair and his shirt that said "Indian Pride." But in terms of mannerisms or language, I noticed nothing else. Some others said that the girls in the group were more passive, especially toward the boys, but I wonder 5-10 white kids in Suburbia if the same gender patterns would exist. A few boys were a "handful" but I think that exists in every culture...

OLC and Wounded Knee

2005-01-19T13:04:00.000-08:00

OLC stands for Oglala Lakota college. The reservation's college is fascinating for a couple of reasons. First, most of the learning is distance learning. These courses are done over TVs instead of email though. The college has a technogenius who has set this all up. The primary intent of setting this up is to minimize the cost, in terms of money and time for the students, many of whom (especially early on) women with children. Second, it is great how the college serves the needs of the community. One, the majority of the teachers and nurses on the reservation are Lakota as opposed to only a handful a generation ago. Two, the science research that I saw focused a lot on land/agricultural use, specifically that of the reservation, obviously helpful to the people on the reservation. I wonder if the focus on land use comes from an Indian concern for the land or is more practical at this point? Three, the key department, it seems, is the Lakota history. The Indian woman giving us the tour said that she remembered growing up watching Westerns, clapping when the 7th Calvary was coming to save the white people in the wagons. This department reminds people of the richness of their heritage as well as the reality of the past. The other good thing I could see was how the college becomes a way for money to come on the reservation. NASA gave a grant and it was neat to see all of these little kids learning/playing in this super hightech lab/playstation. While money spent does not necessarily produce educational outcomes, its obvious that such an investment does expand the horizons of young kids!

Returning to the 7th Calvary...Wounded Knee was not a battle. They disarmed the Indians and then ended up killing 300 people, 3/4 of which were women and children. Not only were the Indians killed, but the soliders mutliated the bodies of the people. While Wounded Knee is a tragedy, as I reflected on the history, Wounded Knee is a drop in a bucket compared to the legacy of destruction. At one point the government was slaughtering Buffalo for no other reason that depriving the Indians of their food. Land treaty after treaty was broken. Obviously the history I heard today was pretty one-sided, but I still cannot help but remark on the tragedy. Moreover, the Souix (Lakota) are one of many Indian tribes which suffered and died (guns, germs...and alcohol) at the hands of Americans. I think I knew all of this before, but the reality of it was overwhelming today.

Christianity and Indian Culture

2005-01-18T19:48:00.000-08:00

Today we went to a Jesuit school, had kids over for playtime and heard two Indian Christians talk about Christianity. I found it fascinating that at the Jesuit School, there was a cemetery in which Red Cloud was buried. Red Cloud had signed a treaty with the white people which the white people ignored and broke. I find it quite interesting that he would be buried at a Jesuit cemetary. There was no one there I could talk with about why this was. Unfortunately, I am sick today.

Also, the Indian kids were a lot of fun. I did not play with them, but from my bed I heard their playful laughs.

The Indians that came tonight were fascinating because they made the point that the most successful missionaries were those that lived in the community and tried to make room for Indian culture within Christianity. But, various levels of tolerance were employed; I would need to get more info on different missionary practies.

Cars: The New Buffalo

2005-01-18T07:45:00.000-08:00

Driving by fairly small houses one sees a collection of old cars. One person read that the Indians here are coming to treat cars as they had buffalo: They use every part of it. The old cars are kept around as dog houses (I have seen a lot of dogs) and as collection of old parts.

Reading about the Buffalo in two books I am quite amazed at the role the Buffalo played in their culture. The Buffalo were killed, but the Indians never sought to extinguish them. In some ways, they were not just Buffalo eaters, but Buffalo farmers. They believed in a mystic communion of sorts with the Buffalo.

Which makes me think: Given the property lines that are drawn and the need for Buffalo to roam, what do the Indians here do to replace the spiritual and communal role the Buffaloes in the community?

Furthermore, I was thinking about how different Indian Spirituality is. I was thinking, what can I learn, what can I encorporate, and now I realize how difficult it would have been (would be) for an Indian to adapt Christianity within their context. Apparently, 20 years ago, there was a strong division between Christian and non-Christian Indians. At this time, such division is not as strong. I am curious to see how this amalgam looks like. Perhaps a concrete example of how Indian Spirituality and Christian Spirituality differ -- and not just in terms of theology about Jesus or God: Indians did not gather for weekly services, they came together when they felt the Spirit calling them and then would stay together for a few days.

Jesus Loves Me Revisited

2005-01-17T20:44:00.000-08:00

Tonight we sang Jesus Loves Me from a Lakota Hymnal...In English the lyrics are pretty simple: Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so...Yes, Jesus Loves Me (repeat). In Lakota, the idea of singing Jesus Loves me in front of other peolpe would actually be embarrassing because it ignores the fact that Jesus loves the other people. There sense of community is much stronger than ours! So instead its Jesus is love and therefore also loves me. However, the words "Jesus Loves Me" are also problematic because men and women use different vocabulary in general, but also for love, so the lyrics are what a man would say, but not what a woman would say.

More on the Badlands: We are not fully there, but we drove near them. The rock structures are caynon like and look like cylindrical step pyramids.

More on Pine Ridge: The counties where I am at are two of the poorest in the nation. The poverty has not overwhelmed me yet, but I think when I see the schools tomorrow and the villages, it will be more striking. The thing that is tough is that the prices at the grocery store are still normal, so that low income really means low income.

More on the paper: On the editoral page, the comic was critical of the handout mentality of Indians, the main editorial was a hardline Christian article about transformation...Yet the front page was an article about statistics of crime on the reservation and how this is really the result of the historical robbing of the hand. The point here is that I think everyone is aware of problems; people have different views on their sources and solutions.

More on problems: I need to put away my academic eye that searches for problems and just see what is and what is good!

Initial Impressions and the Long Drive

2005-01-17T17:02:00.000-08:00

South Dakota really is flat. The Bad Lands are anything but bad. They were really amazingly pretty. I did a lot of reading on the ride out about Indian Culture. It is really amazing. I think we learned all of this stuff as a kid, but because the Indians were so far removed, I did not emotionally process it. It was so upsetting to read the Newspaper today. It seemed all the articles involved litigation regarding reparations of some sort or depressing news from the Reservation about alcohol or history or identity. One of the stories was about some kids who were running a race that their ancestors ran, breaking out of jail...only to be killed. What a bizarre celebration of the past. The Greek's run a Marathon to victory. The Souix (Lakota) run a race to celebrate Mayrtrdom. I find the alcohol here intimidating. I also see, for the first time, how being a Pastor is being a representative of Christendom. It does not have to be, but I can see how this could be seen that way; nobody alluded to this, I just see how this could be. I look forward to seeing some of the beauty, not just of then, but of today. I also do not want to romanticize a warrior-culture past. Much to consider, much to love, much to learn. For now, I want to sleep!

Dakota Directions

2005-01-16T14:13:00.000-08:00

So tomorrow I am going to drive for 10 hours to the Rerservation. Here are my directions:

Take I-35W south to I-90. Go south on #73 at Kadoka until it runs into #18 east of Martin. From there head west on #18 to Pine Ridge. The Retreat Center is three blocks past the first stop light on the right hand side of the street (across from Taco John's).

10 hours and 5 roads. Are we there yet?

-10 is really not as cold as you'd think

2005-01-14T09:42:00.000-08:00

It is absurd how much heat the body loses when the temperature of the air is -10. You feel cold so fast. Yesterday I went skiing at it was about -2. That was actually quite painful at first. I felt like I was skiing for my life because if I stopped I just got cold right away. I actually looked forward to the hills because I knew going up I would get warm! It all comes down to the wind though. The air here is so dry that your skin does not feel it right away, but when the wind blows...but seriously, no wind, -10 is doable.

15 below

2005-01-13T10:00:00.000-08:00

So when I was in high school, my friend Steve would joke around when playing football. "15 below" he would shout and then handoff a football to me...well, today the wind chill is 17 below. This is actually not a lot of fun and it quite cold. Like you walk 100 yards and your skin is particularly unfortable...but I may still try to go skiing this afternoon.

Rob

2005-01-12T15:05:00.000-08:00

What we do for fun at Luther Seminary: Make snow castles!

Holy Organs batman!

2005-01-12T09:01:00.000-08:00

Today in chapel the organist improvised an intro to a song based on Handel's Messiah (not the Hallelujah Chorus either) Well, the temperature today finally cracked 32...although its supposed to get to 13 below on Friday...

When winter finally arrives?!?

2005-01-11T13:34:00.000-08:00

So last night, we finally got our first inch of real snow here. So this guy in the Cafeteria today (the temperature today is 20; its not been over 32 since Jan 1) says: Yeah, winter cannot decide if it is here or not. ...20 degrees and snow is not yet really winter!!

Orchestra

2005-01-10T22:10:00.000-08:00

On Saturday night I went to the Orchestra. They played a Haydn symphony as well as two harp pieces in the first half. The harp pieces were so relaxing. I almost wished I had fallen asleep because my dreams would have been heavenly. It closed with two pieces by Respighi , Pines of Rome and Fountains of Rome. All in all, the Orchestra played some pretty easy pieces and I was not overwhelmed by the quality of the soloists. However, the atmosphere and energy have no substitute and I look forward to going back. My blood pressure definitely is lower because of it.

Third time is a charm

2005-01-10T22:04:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my third time cross country skiing. I waxed for the first time. Man, that made it such a better experience. My friend Dawn, a fellow Seminarian, who grew up on a dairy farm, is pretty much a pro and took me to school...although I did beat her in 15 foot race at one point. The great thing about skiing is that in spite of the fact that it is 12 degrees outside I sweat like crazy and then I can eat whatever I want!

My friend Jen

2005-01-10T15:00:00.000-08:00

Here my friend Jen smilingly relaxes. Hailing from Erie, PA Jen is wonderful gift to us Seminarians, ever faithful in life and prayer.

So far this winter

2005-01-08T08:55:00.000-08:00

Cross-country skiis have been picked up. Will use them at Elm Creek State Park. This year, there is so little snow that even in Minnesota they have to make it! Yesterday the Mercury skyrocketd to 21, the high for the year so far.

Off to ski!

2005-01-08T07:52:00.001-08:00

Myers Family Christmas dressed in Festive Red. My parents stand between me and my brother.

2005-01-08T07:12:00.000-08:00

My best friend Charlie and I enjoy a nice walk in scenic downtown St. Paul

Thomas Anslem Essay

2004-12-17T13:39:00.000-08:00

CHAPTER I
THE NATURE OF THIS ESSAY

B. How is your essay on Anselm progressing?
R. Rather slowly, I must admit. Anselm is a man of great insight. As I read his work, I want to comment on his work itself, say, his ontological proof.
B. And your professor denied you the chance to attack and defend one of the great thoughts of Western Philosophical History? Scholastism’s equivalent of Zeno’s paradox?
R. Alas he did. Instead we have to address the “relationship of faith to theology according to Anselm.”

CHAPTER II
HOW ANSLEM RELATES TO HIS BROADER CONTEXT

B. I thought for survey History courses you had to place authors within their context.
R. In some ways, I do have to understand Anslem’s historical context. As a Scholastic theologian, he looks to scripture, tradition and fathers as authorities. His reverence for tradition is evident when he prefaces his essay with, “although the holy fathers have really said enough on the subject (101).”
B. I recall that Aquinas wrestled with the tension between the various voices in the tradition and scripture. Does Anselm also do this?
R. Both Aquinas and Anslem see contradictions as problematic, but not ultimate. For example, in the Proslogion, Anslem quotes Psalm 13, “The fool hath said in his heart ‘There is No God’ (73)” and then later comments that this same fool can be convinced of the self-evidence of God existence. In Why God Became Man, Anslem’s debating partner, Boso cites numerous scripture verses and then asserts, “Christ seems to have endured death more by force of obedience than by the free decision of his own will (111).” Anslem will then argue the contrary, namely, that Christ endured death voluntarily. In both cases, Anslem will offer another interpretation rather than refutation. Aquinas, it contrast, will more directly admit and address the contradictions in scripture. B. That is a pretty strong generalization for someone who has read as little as you.
R. Yeah, I would agree, especially to a professor who has studied in depth both authors.
B. That point notwithstanding, did not Aquinas appeal to the same Psalm 13 quote as a basis for why the existence of God is not self-evident?
R. Indeed. Both actually also cite Ecclesiasticus 3:22 as a warning against doing theology, but continue anyway, with joy in fact!

CHAPTER III
HOW FAITH PROCEEDS UNDERSTANDING AND NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND

B. So, the question you were asked it about the relationship of theology to faith.
R. You have changed the question. The wording here, I believe is important.
B. How so?
R. The relationship is “faith to theology.” In Anselm’s mind, faith comes first.
B. I thought that theology thought us what to believe and that the very reasonableness of our theology would inspire in us faith.
R. Anselm actually asserts in regards to his proofs that those who ask for his proofs “do not expect to come to faith through reason (101).”
B. He could have written that because the people he wrote for already had faith.
R. Consider though how he begins his preface to his ontological proof, “Make a little time for God, and rest for a while in him…speak now, O my whole heart, speak now to God: ‘ I seek thy face; thy face, Lord, do I desire (70).”
B. That sounds more like a prayer than an intro to a theological argument.
R. Exactly. While St. Francis found God in the birds, Anselm found God in doing theological reflection. Theological reflection began with awakening the heart of faith. Consider his declaration, “I desire in some measure to understand thy truth which my heart believes and loves (73).”
B. Clearly Anslem had a faith seeking understanding.

CHAPTER IV
WHETHER FAITH IS NECESSARY FOR THEOLOGY

B. That makes me wonder. Does Anslem believe that faith is necessary for theology?
R. Anselm says both, “unless I believe, I shall not understand” and later makes the claim that God “givest understanding to faith (73).”
B. That is fine, but understanding is something entirely different theology. Plenty of people who haven’t the least bit of faith can construct a thought about God, such as “God is omnipotent” and construct an argument, even quoting scripture.
R. Anselm does not aim to describe God for the sake of description or argument, rather he seeks understanding. As Boso says, “you should remember what happens when we talk over some question. You know how God often makes clear what was concealed before (102).” Theology does not come to God, but God comes to us through theology.
B. Fair enough. So Anselm maintains that if a person does not believe, even if he articulates theological statements, he does not understand them?
R. I would lean towards yes. As Anselm posits, “For no one who understands what God is can think that God does not exist, even though he says these words in his heart – perhaps without any meaning, perhaps with some quite extraneous meaning (75).” Therefore, if you really understood, you would believe. So if you are not believing, you must not be understanding. A theology that truly understands God requires faith.
B. So, in order to understand, one must first believe.

CHAPTER V
THE USEFULNESS OF THEOLOGY TO UNBELIEVERS

B. However, could understanding serve as a means to faith, as I suggested earlier?
R. Anselm was aware of academic disdain toward Christianity, even in his time. He writes, “the question at issue is habitually presented as an objection by unbelievers, who scoff at Christian simplicity as absurd (101).”
B. Wow. Christians encountered unbelievers then?
R. Yes, indeed. Anselm even quotes 1 Peter, that Christians should be “ready always to satisfy every one that asketh” them “a reason of that hope which is in them (101).”
B. Did Anslem think theology could address their concerns?
R. Definitely. He criticizes poor theology writing, “When we present unbelievers with these harmonies you speak of…they think that this belief of ours is a fiction.” He concludes that “the rational soundness of the truth – that is, the necessity which proves that it was fitting and possible for God to condescend to the things which we proclaim – must first be shown (105).”
B. So then, Anslem saw that even though good theology would not inspire faith, bad theology could prevent faith.

Leviticus and Homosexaulity

2004-12-06T14:52:00.001-08:00

Leviticus 18:22 22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.

Leviticus 20:13 13 If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death; their blood is upon them.

These words seem about as black and white as it gets. My question: Is there anything in Leviticus 18 through 20 that militates against a continued literal interpretation and implementation of these two lines? As I examine the evidence, I believe these chapters present little evidence for a movement away from a stringent prohibition against homosexual sex. However, in obvious ways our society changes or ignores the laws in this section. How we apply “translate” these laws seems informed well-beyond the text in Leviticus. After pondering the issue, I think the Leviticus offers little insight into this issue on its own, but can only be used within .
The text’s language does not militate against a strict interpretation. On the contrary, the word “abomination” indicates that this action is a serious offense. The word abomination is only used twice in Leviticus and only three other times in the entire Pentateuch (note: My professor corrected me on this; the particular form of the word here is only used twice in Leviticus). The uniqueness of this word in this book points to the singular disgust the text has toward homosexual sex.
The placement of these verses within in their respective chapters does not provide a basis for a less strict interpretation. Chapter 20 adds punishments to the sins of chapter 18 and reorganizes them by their magnitude. Three things point toward such a reorganization. First, those sins punishable by death come before those that do not. Second, the first sins listed in chapter 20 relate directly to the Ten Commandments: idolatry (20.2-6), cursing mother and father (20.9), adultery (20.10). Finally, the types of incest listed move from most intimate and genetically linked family members (mother, v. 11) to distant relatives (brother’s wife, v. 21). Thus, homosexual sex’s position can be understood to reflect its relative “sinfulness.” Homosexual sex is included among the sins punishable by death and is considered worse than sleeping with your aunt, your sister, or an animal.
The placement of the laws after chapter 19 does not give grounds for reducing the seriousness of the prohibition in chapter 20. Chapter 19 lays out many guidelines in society that are clearly impossible to uphold. For example, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself (19.18)” and “with justice you shall judge your neighbor (19.15).” Thus, one could perhaps argue that chapter 20 should be viewed similarly, as a list of “good” but not necessary or even possible commands. However, chapter 20 serves a different purpose than chapter 19. Chapter 19 presents broad laws, almost principles, and ascribe punishments. Chapter 20 carefully delineates sexual boundaries and then lays out punishments. Chapter 20 is not helpful instruction, but crime and punishment.
Furthermore, the text suggests that these laws are not subject to the standard or even hope of external reasonableness. Deuteronomy offers that the law has an outside reasonableness: “for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people.’(4.6)” However, these chapters argue against such an understanding of themselves. They end with, “Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, for by all these practices the nations I am casting out before you have defiled themselves. (18.24) and “You shall not follow the practices of the nation that I am driving out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them (20.23).” The text cries out against an appeal to objective, or external reasonableness, to evaluate these particular laws.
There seems nothing in the text that suggests it is permissible to move away from a strict interpretation of such a text. However, in obvious ways, we do not follow the laws in chapter 20 anymore. Depending on the law, we have altered the specifics of the sin, altered the punishment, and even discarded the sin entirely.
At least once we have altered the specifics of the law, but kept the underlying principle of the law. Chapter 20, verses 2 through 5, addresses worshipping Molech by offering child sacrifices. While no one talks about Molech anymore, Christians are still concerned with infanticide as well as idolatry. The culture changed and Christians implicitly updated the law to reflect their culture.
With most of the laws in chapter 20, we have kept the sin, but modified the punishment. No one any longer kills those who commit adultery. For both rational (pervasiveness of the sin, concerns about effectiveness and extent of governmental authority) and theological (woman at the well, e.g.) reasons this move has been made. We must realize this move has its genesis outside of the text.
Third, at least one of the laws we have disregarded entirely. We ignore the command concerning menstrual cycle. In Israel society, women in menstruation were considered unclean. No longer do we consider such behavior unclean. I would agree with Nelson that our society still has clean/unclean boxes, but what goes in those boxes is very different from Israeli society 400 BC. We implicitly acknowledge this as we ignore this command.
So, can we keep some sort of underlying concern in the homosexual prohibition (lust, perhaps) and change the specifics of the law? Can we keep the sin, but not the punishment (I think we do already.)? Can we ignore it altogether like the command to not have sex during menstruation? These questions demand more than the text in Leviticus 18 and 20 provides. At some level, I do think they require an understanding of the culture at the time. I think moreover, it comes down to an understanding of the role of sex in relationships since the sexual revolution and women’s rights. I think scripture can inform this, but I see very little help that Leviticus can provide. However, as we consider “translating” Leviticus 20.13 into modern culture, we cannot forget the seriousness of the offense. A strong argument must be made as to what the underlying concern was that offended God so greatly beyond simply two men having sex.

My call story, Prophetic style

2004-12-03T07:28:00.000-08:00

In the seventh year of Ronald Reagan’s reign, the word of the Lord came out of my mouth, but it was echoes echoes echoes of my father’s words at the altar.
It is indeed right and salutary that at all times and in all places that we offer thanks and praise and join their unending hymn:
Holy! Holy! Holy!
I wanted to reach a people, but I had none. I was but a child.

In the fourth year of Bill Clinton’s reign, the word of the Lord came before my eyes, and it was good good good for me to hear.
I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.
My life flashed before my eyes and I saw you, God, there at all points watching me, holding me and loving me. I wanted to reach a people, but I had none. I was but an outsider.

In the seventh year of Bill Clinton’s reign, the word of Lord came before my eyes, but it was beneath, beneath, beneath layers of anger at the destruction of the European Church.
But this time it was my own words:
Woe to you who proclaimed justice without God’s kingdom!
Woe to you who stopped feeding people the bread of life!
Woe to you who tore down the Scriptures!
Woe to you who stopped telling the story of good news!
I wanted to reach a people, but they were not my own. I was but a foreigner.

In the fifth year of George Bush’s reign, the word of the Lord came upon me, and it was stirring stirring stirring my heart, my mind and soul
Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.
I sang out to God:
I love to tell the story for those who know it best
And the Word of the Lord again came upon me
It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.
I want to reach people, but not just family and friends. The ends of the earth means children, outsiders and foreigners, all of whom I have been and will be.
I asked God: What shall I say.
And the Word of the Lord again came upon me
Whatever is given you at that time, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.

Mark 5,1-20: A Lesson in Cross-Cultural Story-Telling

2004-12-02T07:25:00.000-08:00

For the first time in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus ventures into Gentile territory. He is immediately confronted by a man with unclean spirits, whom Jesus exorcises into unclean animals, pigs. Eric Wefald argues that such imagery allows Mark to proclaim to the Jewish reader that Jesus has begun his mission to the unclean people, the Gentiles. Given though that the author of Mark was likely Gentile, it seems more fitting that Mark would have in mind not only a Jewish, but also a Gentile audience. , Indeed, throughout his telling of the Demoniac story, Mark cleverly offers evidence to both Jews and Gentiles that Jesus is their savior. However, like all stories in Mark, the matter is left unsettled, urging the read to keep reading.
The Jewish reader would realize within the first two sentences that Jesus is no longer in “clean” territory. In the first sentence, Mark tells us that Jesus has crossed the Sea of Galilee into the land of the Gerasene. Although there is some debate about the exact location and town of this story, the NET Bible Commentary includes the helpful citation: “Irrespective of how one settles this issue, for the [second and] Third Evangelist the chief concern is that Jesus has crossed over into Gentile territory, ‘opposite Galilee’.” As soon as Jesus gets out of the boat, the reader learns a man is coming to Jesus from the tombs. Leviticus 21 makes it clear that dead bodies are unclean and that contact with them defiles the person who does so. Thus, anyone living around the tombs would be unclean, someone to avoid. Furthermore, the man has unclean, “avkaqa,rtwn,” spirits. This Greek word is the word used throughout Leviticus (72 times in LXX!) to describe things that are unclean. avkaqa,rtwn, even if translated “evil,” would have ceremonial and religious connotations for the Jewish reader.
The modern “Gentile” reader can easily miss the significance of the “unclean.” As Eric Wefald writes, “these Jewish ways of thinking are very concerned with who is within and who is outside the people of God, with distinctions between Jew and Gentile.” Pheme Perkins concurs, “Jewish ritual practice separates the world into categories of clean and unclean. When heard within that context, the elements of impurity in this story are piled one upon another: unclean spirit, dwelling among tombs, and a large herd of swine.” In terms of plot development, Mark prepares the Jewish reader for a battle of Jesus against the unclean.
As Mark develops this battle scene for his Jewish readers, he concurrently sets the stage for a battle that will interest his Gentile audience. Mark does this through his detailed commentary on the demoniac. His description evokes curiosity and fear, for the man howls and bruises himself, even breaking the chains they tried to place on him. To help create trepidation and discomfort in the reader, Mark uses the word “tombs” three times in four verses. The claim is even made: “No one had the strength to subdue him.” One need not be a Jew to be aghast. As Perkins comments, “The demons have stripped this man of every shred of humanity,” and even Gentile readers would realize this. While Mark has sets up a battle of purity for the Jewish audience, he also sets up one of power for the Gentile audience.
As the battle unfolds, Mark provides his Jewish audience with more evidence that Jesus is fighting in unclean territory. After a dialogue with the demons, self-identified as “Legion,” Jesus sends the roughly 2,000 into a swineherd. The swine proceed to drive themselves off a cliff. The significance of the “swine” is emphasized by Mark using the word four times. Pigs were unclean – even today practicing Jews do not eat pork! As Wefald comments, “since Jews neither near nor herd swine, this is a blatant signal to the reader that they are on the non-Jewish, eastern shore of the Sea.”
Mark’s use of the pigs may serve as more than a geographical reminder for his Jewish audience. Wefald argues that “Jews associated the category of ‘demons’ with gods of the unclean heathen Gentiles…the gods of the heathen are demons.” In his view, Jesus does not simply defeat the demons in the demoniac, but the gods of the Gentiles. Wefald concludes, “from a Jewish perspective, the incident in the country of the Gerasenes represents a triumph wrought by Yahweh, the God of Israel, for the Jewish people over the heathen.”
The “gods” of the unclean were not only demons, however, but also soldiers. Mark may also have political overtones to his connection of a legion with swine. As Perkins offers,
“The tenth legion, which used the boar as a symbol on its standard, had been stationed there since 6 CE...the local populace, faced with powers it could not resist, had a very different perception, regarding imperial power as oppressive.”

Furthermore, “Jewish sources as old as 1 Enoch 89:12 identify the boar with Esau, who became a symbol of Rome. The narrative thus reflects the connection between Roman imperialism and what Frantz Fanon called the 'colonization of the mind' of subjugated peoples.” Regardless of whether one takes a more spiritual or political interpretation, Mark’s connection of the swine and the legion strongly suggests that even if Jesus is in Gentile land, Jesus is on the side of the Jews, fighting against the unclean, the heathen.
Mark simultaneously provides his Gentile, “unclean” listeners, a compelling scene of Jesus’ power.
“Mark unfolds an intense battle scene. Although it lasts only a few verses in the text, the tense of the verbs indicate the severity of the battle. Jesus calls the demon out. Mark uses the imperfect, which indicates repeated or continuous action, evidently because these please are unsuccessful and therefore repeated.”

Although such repeated action might stress the weakness of Jesus, it also serves to highlight the severity of the battle. A full-strength legion had “6,000 infantry, 120 cavalry, and associated auxiliaries.” Jesus is facing an entire hoard by himself.
Jesus not only can battle the demons, but he has authority over them. He does not suggest or beg that they go into the swine, but rather, evpe,treyen auvtoi/j. BDAG offers the definition of evpitre,pw as “allow,” and Liddell and Scott even offer, among other translations, “command.” Moreover, Mark only uses this verb one other time, to describe Moses “allowing” a law to be written (10.4). Given Moses’ authority over the law, Mark’s use of this word shows he is ascribing a great deal of authority to Jesus in relation to the demons. Thus, even the non-Jewish person listening to this story would be struck by the power and authority of Jesus. Jesus here shows that he can heal the sick and fight the mighty of the Gentile world.
The story ends as dramatically as it began, with the healed man begging Jesus to accompany Jesus, and Jesus telling him to stay and proclaim what the Lord has done. This ending is highly unusual for Mark, where Jesus normally concludes his miracles with a command of silence. In addition, Jesus uses the verb, “khru,ssw,” which indicates more than simply “say” or “tell.” According to BDAG this denotes “the official activity of a herald.”
Both Perkins and Wefald interpret this “appointment” as signaling the inclusion of Gentiles in the ministry of Jesus. Perkins writes that “this episode has been expanded to provide Jesus with his first Gentile missionary.” Wefald concurs, arguing that “two distinct missions are emerging, the first prepared on Jewish territory by John the baptizer, whose actions are paralleled by the Gerasene demoniac on Gentile territory. Moreover, both authors conclude that healing of the Demoniac heals the rift between Jew and Gentile in Jesus’ ministry. Perkins concludes “the Sea, which might have been a barrier between the two ways of life, will hereafter be crossed repeatedly.” Wefald asserts this even more strongly, maintaining that in “Mk 5.1-20 the barrier of the Gentiles’ uncleanness has been removed.”
Such a conclusive interpretation, especially the claim, that the “Gentile’s uncleanness has been removed” removes from Mark the element of mystery. Mark’s narrative teems with suspense; indeed, even Mark’s ending in chapter 16 leaves the reader full of questions. Moreover, in the previous chapter, Jesus began teaching parables, telling the disciples, “to you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables (4.11).” To conclude that any secrets have been fully disclosed by Mark 5 seems unnecessarily premature.
Indeed, Mark 5 leaves many questions unanswered. Why is it that the demoniac, when told to proclaim what “o` ku,rio,j” has done, tells people what Jesus has done? Will Jesus battle “real” legions, fulfilling Jewish dreams of a Jewish king? Will Jesus fight demons again, or was this victory final? Although Werner Kelber wrote about Mark 4, his claim that the “passage furnishes a good example of both unlocking and creating secrecy” certainly holds true for Mark 5 as well.
The genius of Mark, however, is that just has he presented Jesus as Savior to both Jewish and Gentile audiences, Mark leaves the question of ministry to the Gentiles unanswered. Both communities likely have the same question as Jesus gets in the boat: Will Jesus cross the Sea again?
In all likelihood, to the Jewish-Christian reader this whole trip is a disaster, an affirmation of his or her suspicions. Everything is unclean and the people reject Jesus. There is no teaching, no law-giving and no circumcision after conversion. The implied silence of the disciples likely reflects the best Jewish response at this point. One can almost imagine a sigh of relief from the disciples (and Jewish readers) when Jesus tells the Demoniac he cannot travel with them.
On the other hand, to the Gentile-Christian reader, the trip is probably both uplifting and frightening. Finally, Jesus is leaving his Jewish enclave and venturing into the “real” world. He defeats the powers of evil and gives healing. The people reject him, but Jesus still commands the message to be proclaimed. One can almost imagine a sigh of relief from the Gentile readers when Jesus tells the Demoniac he cannot travel with him, but must stay and proclaim the good news.
As Mark’s story progresses, the reader learns that Jesus does cross the sea again, and that Jesus’ ministry is for both Jews and Gentiles. However, Mark knows that even if Jesus is Savior for Jew and Gentile, his contemporary Jews and Gentiles have a “Sea” between them. His understanding of both groups allows him to weave together a narrative that simultaneously speaks to both audiences. The convincing portrayal of Jesus’ power and the awakened questions about Jesus’ Gentile ministry speak to Jews and Gentiles, thus showing Mark’s cross-cultural narrative ability.

Green, J.B. The Gospel of Luke. New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdman’s, 1997.
Kelber, Werner H. “Narrative and disclosure: mechanisms of concealing, revealing, and reveiling.” Semeia 43 (1988), p 1-20.
Liddell H. G., R. Scott, and H. S. Jones. A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996.
Marcus, Joel. Mark 1-8. Anchor Bible. New York: Doubleday, 2000.
NET Bible Commentary, Bible Works 6.
Nestle-Aland, 27th Edition, Bible Works 6.
NRSV, Bible Works 6.
Perkins, Pheme. The Gospel of Mark: Introduction, Commentary, and Reflections. New Interpreter’s Bible VIII. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1995.
Powell, Mark Allan. The Gospels. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1998.
Robbins, Vernon K. Jesus the Teacher: A Socio-Rhetorical Interpretation of Mark. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984.
Wefald, Eric K. “The Separate Gentile Mission in Mark: A Narrative Explanation of Markan Geography, the Two Feeding Accounts and Exorcisms.” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 60 (1995), 1-16.

A comparion: Mark, Luke and Matthew

2004-12-01T14:10:00.000-08:00

Stories: Jesus’ baptism, temptation, and healing of two women

I find the relationship between the three gospels quite striking. The fact that so much action, even specific language, is shared, provides strong evidence that the three authors obviously drew upon common sources beyond simply the oral tradition. However, the very similarity between the gospels allows the reader to discern more clearly the theological perspective and literary style of the three authors. In the scenes of Jesus’ baptism, temptation and healing of two women, each author’s choice of words as well as actions show clearly that each author has a different emphasis.

Mark’s language adds a certain rawness to his narrative. For example, in his baptismal account, Mark uses the word [schism] instead of a milder “open” that Luke and Matthew use. Furthermore, Mark uses the words [it happened, and, immediately] throughout his narrative and thus avoids giving as much background information. In his temptation story, Mark uses the word [desert/wilderness] twice, mentions wild animals (which neither Luke nor Mathew use) and then uses the word [expel] (again in contrast with Luke and Matthew) to describe the Spirit’s actions on Jesus. Lastly, Jesus even speaks in Aramaic in Mark, which in my opinion adds to the rawness.

Matthew’s language, I believe, more fully develops the ties of between Judaism and Jesus. In Matthew’s baptismal account, Jesus discusses with John that these actions must be done to fulfill “righteousness,” an important Jewish concept not addressed in the other authors’ version of the story. In his temptation account, Matthew adds the words “forty nights” to the forty days, which give this passage stronger resonance with the Exodus story. Matthew also has Jesus complete the Scripture verse, “but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” In Matthew’s account of the healings, Jesus does not call the bleeding woman my daughter, but simply calls her daughter. This small change from Mark and Luke allows Matthew to put distance between Jesus and this ritually unclean woman. Lastly, perhaps this is mostly conjecture, but I find it interesting that Matthew calls attention at the end of his healing story to the fact that the fame spread through out the land, as opposed to the people. I think this connection to a particular land would emphasize a Jewish, as opposed to Hellenist outlook of his Gospel.

Specific words of Luke in these stories reflect not only his perspective on Jesus, but also on the community of believers. Before Jesus is baptized, he is praying, something unique in Luke’s account. Furthermore, Luke is concerned with the [people] a word he uses in his baptismal account and healing stories (3.21, 8.47). In addition, Luke uses the word “holy” or “spirit” in all three accounts where Mark and Matthew do not (8.55, 3.22, 4.1). Lastly, Luke uniquely uses the words [save] and [heal](8.44, 8.50). I think if we rework these words, we see some key elements of the theology of Luke and Acts. Jesus is a Savior who brings healing. Jesus creates a people of God, empowered by the Holy Spirit, who constantly receive their strength from prayer.

The actions in Mark’s narrative portray a distant, but yet very human Jesus. Unlike Matthew, Jesus has no dialogue with John. Instead, he comes alone and is baptized without discussion. The healing stories in Mark begin with Jesus removed from the people, off in a boat. In Matthew and Luke, he is already walking among the people. However, this same distant, almost aloof figure, is not omniscient. In Mark’s account, Jesus has no idea who touched him and even after he looks around, he cannot see her. He is almost too aloof to even be aware of his surroundings. Ultimately, this distance, this being withdrawn and being alone makes Jesus vulnerable.

Matthew, one could almost argue, cleans up Mark to protect Jesus. As previously mentioned, Matthew includes the account of Jesus justifying his baptism, as if to address the argument, why would Jesus be baptized? In my mind, Matthew’s expansion of the temptation account testifies to Jesus strength. Jesus is able, in spite of his hunger, to argue with the devil. In the healing accounts, Matthew ignores Mark’s claim of Jesus ignorance. Instead, he immediately has Jesus offer the woman words of compassion. Furthermore, Matthew also has the story end with triumph and praise, without the imperative for silence found in Mark and Luke.

Luke’s narrative not only varies in his details regarding Jesus, but also his details regarding the other characters in the story. Although John is not mentioned in his Baptism account, John has already played a large role in the narrative. In his temptation account, the devil is given a voice beyond Mark, beyond Matthew and even beyond Scripture. Furthermore, Luke offers names in his healing account – Peter and Jarius. Moreover, the reader learns that Jarius only has one daughter. Even though Mark also details the hemorrhaging woman’s sufferings, it is important to note that Luke also mentions these. I think that Luke’s details create a more personal narrative, a strong contrast to the distance of Mark. Indeed, at the end of the healing narrative, Luke has the family first feed the child and then tells them to keep silent; Mark reverses the order. I think Luke’s order shows the child is Jesus’ first priority.

Mark, Luke and Matthew all share various elements of their stories. However, each author utilizes a different vocabulary and stresses various events in their stories. I shy away from making strong assertions about the overall tendencies of each author after such a short exercise. However, Mark seems rough, Luke seems personable, and Matthew seems neat and Jewish.

“Do Justice” Easily said, difficultly done!

2004-12-01T07:27:00.000-08:00

Micah 6,8 is as good as it gets. However, after the prophet’s call to social justice fades into a mere echo, I am left wondering: How do we create a just society? Micah’s vision of a just society includes more than a simple condemnation of specific practices or even social classes. Micah calls for just relationships on many levels. While in a prophetic vision, these can come together beautifully, my brief time on the Indian Reservation this January helped me see how complex creating a just society truly is because brokenness exists at the various levels that Micah describes. (Connection to Joel?)
Micah condemns dishonest wealth. In chapter 6 he mentions people cheating and lying in the market place, “Can I tolerate wicked scales and a bag of dishonest weights? Your wealthy are full of violence; your inhabitants speak lies, with tongues of deceit in their mouths (6.11-12)” In chapter 3 Micah specifically attacks people using their religious positions to acquire money, “Its rulers give judgment for a bribe, its priests teach for a piece, its prophets give oracles for money? (3.11).” And in verse 2 he flat out attacks the greed of the powerful, “They covet fields, and seize them; house, and take them away; they oppress householder and house, people and their inheritance (2.2).”
That the Lakota people have been victim to all sorts of dishonesty is without question. However, the question is, how do we address this? The people that took the land away from the Indians have been dead for a century. Do we take the land away from the whites who now live there? Furthermore, the oppression can be seen as the lack of funding given to Indians or the oppression can be seen in the creation and perpetuation of a handout society. Both opinions were expressed by people on the reservation.
Micah also talks about justice in terms of relationships between individuals in society. Micah’s concern clearly extends beyond only poor or only social classes. For he writes, “For the son treats the father with contempt, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; your enemies are members of your own household (7.6).”
On the Indian Reservation, there are enormous family structure problems. Many housing programs divided up old family units and neighborhoods are collections of formerly feuding clans. Divorce and alcohol abuse run rampant. While such problems arise from historical abuse, they have taken on a life beyond their historical genesis. Although only 19,000 people in the reservation, three border stores in Nebraska sell 11,000 cans of beer every day. Having a just society requires that individuals can take responsibility of themselves and care for those in their family.
Furthermore, Micah calls the people to a right relationship with God. For Micah, a society of equal idol worshippers is unacceptable. He writes, “And I will cut off your images and your pillars from among you, and you shall bow down no more to the work of your hands (5.13).” He also attacks their current religious practices that are not aimed at the LORD, “The seers shall be disgraced and the diviners put to shame (3.7).” (Seers?)
For the Indians, questions of just worship are also complex. For years, sun dances were prohibited. Now they can do them. However, many on the reservation are wary of Christianity as well as nativist religion. Many view the other as enemy. For their society, having a right relationship with their God is not possible unless people are willing take on the Gods of another people, the very thing that Micah rallies against. Yet, as Micah promises us in chapter 4, many peoples, not just the ones who believed in God before, will come to worship God.
Lastly, Micah talks about harmony between the nations. A just society is one that is in harmony with its neighbors. In the ELCA’s 3rd most cited verse: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more (M 4.3)” (Eph 2:6 used to be big, but its too exclusive.) Micah’s ultimate vision has peace.
For the Indians, serious questions remain. Do they live in peace with their neighbors who oppressed them. Or do they, as Joel commands, “Prepare war, stir up the warriors (3.10).”
As I walk away from Micah I am reaffirmed in my sense that justice is amazingly complex and includes many levels of society. Yet, reflecting on my time on the reservation leads me to conclude that such analysis leads to the same conclusion: Doing justice is difficult…

Cheap Grace?

2004-10-12T14:50:00.000-07:00

I think Fryer makes a insightful connection between gift and call when she writes,
“One of them had done the unthinkable and turned Jesus over to be killed. And all the rest of them had run away. They knew the fact that Jesus was even still talking to them was a gift. There was no way they deserved his call to mission. It was a gift. But it was also a call. They had been called into a great adventure."
The gift here is more than future salvation, but present adventure. The call to follow Jesus here does not consist of moral imperatives but missionary opportunities. In some ways, this conception blurs the distinction between grace and law: the law (what Jesus asks us to do) is grace, given to us by him, as a gift, for our joy, our adventure.

However, I think Fryer reverts back to standard language on gift and grace when she writes, “Christians today aren't always quite as good at making this connection between the gift of grace and the call to act.” This is grace separate from the law, not grace found in doing the law. This is the grace that frees the sin-sick soul. It is also the grace which blankets us with forgiveness, allowing us to be content with a minimal response to God's call to action. This is the grace which can become cheap. As Fryer
quotes Bonhoffer,
“Cheap grace is preaching forgiveness without repentance; it is baptism without the discipline of community; it is the Lord's Supper without confession of sin; it is absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without the living, incarnate Jesus Christ.”

Fryer then points out, “Bonhoeffer challenged the church to reconnect grace and discipleship, to recognize that the gift we are given in Jesus Christ is also a call to follow him.” However, I question Bonhoeffer's reconnection. Bonhoeffer writes, “Jesus summons men to follow him not as a teacher or a pattern of the good life, but as Christ, the Son of God (Cpt 2).” To Bonhoeffer, this means that a partial response to Jesus is not
acceptable. Indeed, “[t]here is no road to faith or discipleship, no other road -only obedience to the call of Jesus (Cpt 2).” The only people in Bonhoeffer's eyes who can begin to accept grace in their lives are those like Luther, who “one whose attempts to follow Christ had taught him that he can never becomes sinless, who in his fear of sin despairs of the grace of God (Cpt 1).” I fear that in this framework, the gift aspect is lost. As Bonhoeffer writes, “Not a word of praise is given to the disciple for his decision for Christ (Cpt 2).”

As we consider how to use this conversation to further the mission of Christ, we must not only look at Bonhoeffer's theology, but the practical reality that “cheap” grace destroys the institution of the Church. See Europe. Furthermore, “costly” grace promotes the Church. A community that demands much from their members engenders a deeper sense of common identity. Such a community also has greater resources, financial, emotional and spiritual to help its own members.

However, "costly" grace always verges on legalism and often is sold on fear. Furthermore, basic Lutheran confessional approach to scripture abhors this idea, especially the extreme form of Bonhoeffer. We also acknowledge in our own lives and in scripture the reality of a road to faith. We confess our bondage to sin, recorded in First John. Thus, the question becomes, how can we remain missional when our confessional heritage draws us toward "cheap" grace?

In the Book of Acts, people spread the Good News by telling what God had done
for them in Christ, not telling people how God therefore demands they respond. I think this is what Fryer is getting at in her first link between the gift and call. Our call is like that of the Gerasene demoniac healed in Mark 5 to ‘Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you (5.19)." The call is the narrative imperative.

How though, do we treat the moral imperative? I think we admit that a life of obedience does bear fruit. Even if our place in heaven is secured by grace apart from our actions, trying to follow God's law is helpful for us. As we preach salvation by grace, we should not shy away from reminding people of the blessings that come from following Christ, not just at the end of the day when we humbly confess our sins, but in the morning when we rise knowing that God will be there to guide us.

Reflections on Mission

2004-10-12T14:47:00.000-07:00

We all have a mission: But is it common – not with the Episcopalians, but with ourselves?

President David Tiede’s summary of Luther Seminary’s strategic plan uses the word “mission” over twenty times. Yet my time at Luther has reaffirmed my long standing thought about the ELCA: The term “mission” entails something dramatically different for various people and churches in the ELCA. This lack of coherent, unifying mission results in numerous disagreements: How we engage in ecumenical agreements, how we approach homosexuality, how we “renew” worship and even how we attract new members. At one point, I thought these disagreements resulted from poor leadership and communication, but as I reflect more, I realize there are just fundamental disagreements about the mission of the Lutheran Church in America at this time. I believe this tension reduces the strength of the Church’s witness. However, I do not call for a schism of the Church. There is too much we have in common, theologically and institutionally.
The ELCA has no coherent, unified definition of mission. Searching on the ELCA’s website for a mission statement, I instead found a column “Who we are.” The first two bullets under this heading read: Congregational Organization and History. That probably reflects much of what most ELCA churches share in common with each other: an ecclesiastical structure and an quasi-related ethnic heritage. This lack of an expressed missions statement does not, in my mind, simply reflect poor leadership in Chicago, but fundamental differences in the members of the ELCA.
The rift over homosexuality demonstrates this clearly. We do not agree on this issue as a Church. Although this issue revolves around specific practices in the Church and even specific texts in Scripture, I believe it relates to a more dramatic tension, which George Hunsberg described as the “polarization between Christian action for social justice and Christian action for personal morality.” As one Pastor from my home synod, who strongly supports more progressive GLBT positions, put it nicely, “Many people out there are waiting for someone from the Church to stand up and say, ‘It’s not about the rules.’” Yet I also know many Lutherans who feel the Church has become a doormat, far too quiet in its call to discipleship. These are often the same people who want the Church to maintain its current teaching on the matter.
Even if this current polarization did not exist, the mission contexts our congregations find themselves in are quite different. Rural, suburban, and urban represent one axis of differentiation. The broader religious (and Lutheran) environment is another, e.g., Oregon is much more secular than Oklahoma. While sociologists who write about missionology love broad themes, what do most ELCA congregations share in their sense of the church, the gospel and the culture? What does resurrection mean to a dying farm community versus a growing suburban enclave? What does social justice mean in the Wisconsin Bible Belt versus New York City?
I suggest that this lack of coherent mission hurts church growth. Kenneth Inskeep and Jeffery Drake did a worship survey for the ELCA which found that “the single most important factor associated with a change in average worship attendance is a clear sense of mission or purpose.” Logic suggests this is true on a more macro level. The competing senses of mission mean the Church cannot put forward policies and materials that help Churches carry out their local mission. For example, if a church in San Francisco wanted to marry a gay couple and thus, carry out their witness to the local community, namely that we are a Church (radically) involved in peace, justice and equality, they could not currently do so without risking censure. Or if a Church wanted a collection of contemporary music with lyrics that rose above emotional epithets, they would find that the ELCA’s current musical development straddles the line between the contemporary and traditional in way that may not fit their needs.
Yet, I believe there are obvious reasons to remain a united Church. First, there is more than one division. While I still maintain that the homosexuality divide illustrates deeper divisions, the members of the ELCA do not easily line up in two camps. For example, two people may firmly agree on homosexuality, but may differ on mission outreach, worship style, or even institutional authority. There are probably three, if not closer to five or six camps in the Church. Furthermore, individual churches host members of these camps as well. Ultimately, if a major divide did happen, churches, not just the church, would be split.
Second, benefits from scope exist. Financially a split would be inefficient because even if the Church bodies became leaner, duplication would be inevitable. Take, for example, church building. Having two departments of research and two Mission Investment Funds would serve no one. A larger pool of Lutheran youth also facilitates sustaining numbers at Lutheran camps, school and Seminaries. It also allows for keeping more churches in contact with each other for opportunities to connect with Lutheran around the rest of the world. Seminary education seems the most obvious benefit of size. Our education exposes us to various ways of thinking and more narrowly defining our education would weaken it. Furthermore, so many pieces of the puzzle, from Greek to Church History to Confessions would be shared across various Lutheran sub-denominations.
I think the solution is a weak confederation. In some ways, this already exists, with more and more Churches aligning themselves with like-minded Churches in the ELCA (Word Alone, Dorado Convention, RIC etc). The call for a “regional” sexuality policy further attests to the reality of a diminished union between us that resembles a confederation rather than a split. I humbly admit that I have not yet figured out exactly what this will look like. However, I think we need to spend less time trying to find a non-existent middle ground between our senses of mission and figure out a way to maintain a connection with each other such that we can still benefit from what we do have in common.

Rise of Christianity

2004-10-12T14:45:00.000-07:00

Luke establishes the secular backdrop to his first three Gospel stories by listing the names and dates of rulers. These details offer the reader not only chronological information, but also point to the kairos of the age. The words “Herod, King of Judea” in chapter 1 and “Ceasar Augustus” in chapter 2 remind the reader of the tensions in the Jewish world but also the peace in the Roman world. Indeed, the Pax Romana ushered in by Augustus did more than stop internal military conflicts; it allowed for the flourishing of trade and the mind, both of which benefited Christianity. However, Luke’s Gospel also indicates that Jesus was born far off the beaten path. This is also the story of Christianity within the Roman world. In a time dominated by not only the reality of but the desire for order and reason, the humble lifestyle and irrational faith claims of Christianity proved incompatible with acceptable conduct and thought in the Roman world. While certain characteristics of the Augustan Age afforded Christianity an environment in which it could flourish, the movement was ultimately “a superstition” in the eyes of Roman establishment.
The trade and resulting wealth that arose during the Pax Romana created an environment in which Christianity could flourish. Augustus and later emperors built roads and secured shipping routes which extended from Spain to Turkey to Gaul to Libya. Even Christians without apostolic zeal would have an opportunity to spread the Gospel, as trade and military duties often caused people to travel throughout the empire. As Stark writes, “Anyone could cross the empire from one end to the other in a summer, and travel was common (135).” The rise of urban centers enabled the early Church to “assemble a ‘critical mass’ needed to form a deviant subculture. (Stark 134).” The concurrent rise of the merchant class gave Christianity an audience with time and education for religious and philosophical speculation. The adherence to Stoicism and Epicureanism as well as the revival of platonic thought evidence the means and desire for philosophical questioning that this merchant class possessed.
The existence as well as the desire for stability, wealth and loyalty to the Emperor in the Pax Romana shaped its view on proper religion, pieta. Pieta was religion that supplied the people with a means call on the Gods to fulfill their wishes and desires. It did not make radical faith claims or upset the given social order, but rather, “[i]ts rites were age-old and traditional … conducted by the normal leaders of the community (Walker 7).” The aim of religion was success for humanity, whether that be the nation, the family or the individual. Walker attests that it “used divination, dream, and oracle to seek the will of the powers; it used prayer and sacrifice to gain their alliance (7).” Pieta was also pluralistic. One could have numerous gods to cover one’s bets. This attitude manifests itself in the tolerance Roman authorities used with local religious groups, as long as the local group paid homage to the cult of the emperor.
The treatment of the Jews shows the functional nature of Roman Pieta. Julius Ceaser granted the Jews the status of religio licto in exchange for military loyalty. “Roman law protected the communities of Jewish farmers, craftsmen, and traders throughout the empire. (Walker 18).” The Jewish exclusive claims on faith, focus on God and adherence to monotheism all stood in contrast with the respected norms of Pieta. Ceasar’s move shows that religion served the state, not the state the religion. Although the later destruction of the temple involved the desecration of a religious symbol, the Rome did this to suppress political rebellion, not religious zeal.
Superstition stood in contrast with Pieta. A superstition was “an anti-social belief grounded in the primitive fear of the Gods and leading to extreme behavior.” The Romans viewed such extreme behavior with suspicion. Indeed, the basic tenant of Epicurean philosophy, practiced by Emperor Marcus Aurielus, was that a fear of the gods was a primary cause of human suffering.
When Pliny calls Christianity a superstition, he speaks not only for himself, but for Roman sensibilities. Jesus proclamation of Good News to the poor and stood in stark contrast to the Roman aims of stability and wealth. Further, in contrast with the pluralism of Roman Peita, the Christian community believed that Jesus was the only salvation. The Didache puts it more plainly, “There are two ways, one of life and one of death (Richardson 171).” Christians called on the fear of God to promote extreme behavior, the opposite of what a materialistic philosophy such as Epicurean would espouse. Polycarp even evokes fear as he writes, “Therefore, grid your loins, serve God in fear (131).” A refusal to renounce one’s faith in the face of mortal persecution epitomizes extreme behavior, and Christians did exactly this. Perhaps the most Roman saying in the early Church belongs to Ignatius: “The greatness of Christianity lies it its being hated by the world, not in its being convincing to it (104).” Christianity promoted an anti-social belief, the fear of God and extreme behavior.
The Roman Empire offered Christianity the secular stability necessary for its growth. However, this same Empire maintained a view on religion, Pieta, which conflicted on many levels with Christianity. This led the Empire to persecute Christianity. Its unsuccessful attempt to eradicate Christian faith echoes Luke’s Gospel, where Herod unsuccessfully tries to kill Jesus once he begins to perceive a threat.

Genesis 32 Essay

2004-10-12T14:42:00.000-07:00

Jacob’s Journey: Our Own Faith Ladder?

When God declares that Jacob will be called Israel, the name of the tribe whose tale the Pentateuch chronicles, the narrator challenges the reader to reflect on the universality of Jacob’s story. Uplifting, even comparing Jacob’s story to the average person’s seems almost offensive however, given the text’s portrayal of man who cheats his way to blessing and wealth. So: Can we use Jacob’s journey of faith to represent our own? I say yes. I believe Jacob’s encounters with God in chapters 28, 32, and 35 describe the faith journey of many people.
In both his introduction to God and his initial response, Jacob’s story reminds me of many others’ nascent faith. After hearing the litany of promises from God, Jacob makes a conditional vow:
“If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, and this stone which I have stet up for a pillar shall be God’s house (28.20-22).”

Jacob creates a substantial list of expectations for God, even adding to the original blessings God promised him (food and clothing). In doing so, Jacob makes his worship conditional, almost demanding that God prove himself. While it may be easy to criticize Jacob here, he has neither seen nor experienced God before. Indeed, God must introduce himself in reference to Jacob’s ancestors, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac (28.13).” In this way, Jacob’s faith tale opens like many of ours: Introduced to God by reference to our parents, we nonetheless want proof that this God is our God, not just theirs.
Jacob’s second meeting with God describes our faith as we come to terms with life and God in times of crisis. As Jacob is contemplating his impending meeting with his brother, “a man wrestled with him until daybreak (32.23).” The text does not immediately suggest this person is God. Bruggemann asserts, “[Jacob] could not discern whether the adversary is God or Esau (267).” Mann further suggests that, “the interlacing of these passages prevents us from reading each of Jacob’s encounters [with God and Esau] separately (60).” The text does not suggest this confusion results from a lack of faith in God by Jacob, for in the stories leading up to this encounter, Jacob swears by God (31.53) and prays to God (32.9-12). Thus, in Jacob, we meet a man at the crossroads of faith and frustration. In this time, his inability to separate his anger at God and the world echoes our own.
Jacob’s second meeting also reveals an awareness of the need for God that characterizes a maturing faith. As he wrestles, Jacob again makes demands on God, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me (32.26).” Although his demand in chapter 28 was for proof in God’s power, this demand is for help from a proven God. Indeed, in his declaration to Laban in chapter 31, Jacob acknowledges that God has met his request from chapter 28 to “be with me”:
“If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been on my side, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night (31.42).”

In his humility, Jacob knows he needs the blessing from this proven God, and at some point, every person of faith needs to come terms with their dependence on God.
Jacob’s desire for control, which ultimately subsumes his humility, reflects this consistent temptation on our faith journey. God knows Jacob’s hunger for God’s protection has become a desire to control God when Jacob presses ahead and dares ask God, “What is your name (32.27)?” In times of chaos, our need for God as well as control of life, and therefore God, often collide.
In the third encounter between God and Jacob, we see a person mature in faith. God needs no ancestral appeals or midnight struggles to introduce himself. He simply states, “Your name is Jacob (34.9).” Thus, when God asserts his power, “I am God almighty (34.11),” Jacob neither requires proof of it nor security that God will act on Jacob’s behalf. He simply acknowledges this power and gives thanks. As the text indicates, “Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with hum, a pillar of stone; and he poured out a drink offering on it, and pour oil on it (34.14).”
Mann offers that “Of ‘Israel’ means that Jacob “has struggled with God and with humans and prevailed,” it also means, “God rules (63).” I do not think Jacob fully realizes this until the end, until he has climbed the ladder of life in faith. Thus, in Jacob we see a man who matures and grows in faith over time. This growth is not linear and reflects the ups and downs of our lives. It offers hope in showing us that in our struggles, God is willing to wrestle with us and still bless us.

Sermon: Peace Be With You, As My Father Sent Me, so I Send You.

2004-02-01T13:57:00.000-08:00

Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."

Each week at this church we say part of these very words to another. We walk around and greet each with “Peace be with you” or “Peace of the Lord.” Because of that familiarity, I want to slow down and consider the events leading up to these words, “Peace be with you.” The disciples, in the past few days, have been very poor friends and followers of Jesus. The night after he washes their feet and gives them wine and bread, the disciples fall asleep on him then they run away from him and then they hide. Jesus, regardless of his disciples, has been through everything: Arrest, trial, beatings, a crown of thorns, and crucified, died, and was buried. And after all this, Jesus went to hell. And there he defeated death and the devil. And then Jesus came back to earth. Finally, Jesus returns to these same disciples and finds them locked up in a room.

At this point, the full majesty and power of Christ is revealed. He does what none of us could do. He does not return to them in anger or rebuke. He does not ask them “What are you doing here?” or “Why did you not believe?” Instead, he says, “Peace be with you.” This is not some friendly gesture or every day greeting. This is not some casual greeting as if to say, “I hope things are okay with you” or a move to please the media, “Peace, Yo!” This is the I’ve been to hell and back greeting. Peace. The war is over. You don’t have to die anymore. You don’t have to go to fear the cross. You are going with me to heaven. The battle, the biggest battle of humanity, that against sin and death, is over. Peace, my disciples. Your sins are forgiven! Your abandonment and your unbelief are forgiven. Peace. Yes, these are some mighty big words that we say to each other each week in Church. Indeed, when I hear these words, I think of the images of peace after World War II when the people crowded the streets and the air was filled with shouts of joy. This is the kind of reaction we should have when we hear these words. When we say “Peace be with you” we are telling someone, the ultimate peace in the universe, true communion with God, is now possible for you and may you dwell in that peace. And this is a peace which no army can go back against. This is the world’s only permanent peace treaty. And that is the Good News.

But Jesus isn’t finished yet. He keeps going with his greeting. He says, “As the father sent me, so I am sending you.” These too are powerful words that demand closer attention. Who is Jesus sending first of all? Jesus is sending people locked in a room, locked in their fears. By sending these disciples, the same ones that abandoned him, the same ones that are locked up in a room because of their fears, Jesus is telling us today, that we, yes, we, in spite of our own imperfections and fears, are supposed to go out into this world share this message of ultimate peace.

And how are we supposed to do that? Well, how does Jesus send the disciples out? With the Holy Spirit. Jesus does not give them 3 years of Seminary education. He does not give them a test of their knowledge of the Bible. He does not give them a thorough examination of their character. He does not give them witty catch phrases or fancy marketing materials. He does not give them money or secular power. He gives them instead the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit gives each person gifts for spreading the gift of peace and forgiveness. Some of you can teach, some of you can lead, some of you can sing, some of you can heal, some of your can pray, and some of you can listen. My point is that whatever circumstance we find ourselves in, the Holy Spirit is always empowering us to spread the message. I want to go over two examples and reflect on how the Holy Spirit can work to empower us in both these cases.

Many life long Christians only know other Christians. It might be easy, in such a circumstance to say, well, everyone I know already knows who Jesus is, so I don’t have much a role to play in being sent out by the Holy Spirit. However, such people make great prayers, especially for young people who so need prayers for their faith as they mature. Such people make great listeners and mentors. In my life, my mentor played an important role. The faith my grandmother shared, even though I already believed, helped me see even more deeply how much God loved us. Furthermore, many people, even if they are life-long Christians, still need to hear that message of ultimate peace and forgiveness. So just because we only know Christians does not mean that Jesus is not sending us. On, no. We’ve got plenty of people to pray for and listen to and to tell what Jesus has done and is doing in our lives.

On the other extreme, many of us also find ourselves in complex work situations with people of various faiths ranging from Muslim to atheism. Modern rules of etiquette tell us to not talk about our faith at our job. So, how can the Holy Spirit really be empowering us there? The secular boundaries of the work world and of the modern metropolitan world are ultimately no match for the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has been breaking down boundaries for 2,000 years and will keep going. Discussions about the news, about books or TV shows, about health and family, all provide opportunities to listen to people and find out what rooms they are locked in. They also provide opportunities to offer them words of Jesus’ peace, to invite them to Church, and to tell them you are praying for them.

This may seem like a lot of work and you may ask, why is Jesus sending them into the world? Because Jesus wants every person, all six-billion beating hearts, to know this ultimate peace. This message of peace and forgiveness is not one for some elite or for one culture, but for everyone. If Jesus is in heaven and Jesus wants every person in the entire world to believe in him, there is a problem. How is Jesus going to get into the heart of every person? You and me.

So, where does “doubting Thomas” fit into all of this? Well, Jesus sends the disciples out. The first person they tell is Thomas, who raises objections and articulates why he does not believe. I think the disciples’ encounter with Thomas was probably pretty typical for early Christianity. When early Christians went out and said, “Hey, there was this man named Jesus who was also God, who was killed and now has come back and by believing in him you can have eternal life” most people probably clung to their old gods and were skeptical. However, Jesus shows up to Thomas. This is great news. When we go out and spread this message of peace, we cannot expect that each person we talk with will understand or appreciate every word we say. We cannot control how the person will react. Furthermore, we cannot control how Jesus will be involved in their lives. But we do know that if we go out and start spreading the news, that Jesus will show up in that person’s life. We don’t have to bring them to Jesus. Jesus will come to them, like he came to the original disciples, like he came to Thomas. All we have to do is tell people about this ultimate peace.

“Peace be with you. As my father sent me, so I send you.”