faithasawayoflife

In His Dying, Avery Dulles Teaches About the Good of Infirmity

The Roman Catholic theologian and cardinal Avery Dulles is dead. I learned from Mary Hess' blog post, confirmed by the NYT.   He was ninety.  He was the son of John Foster Dulles, Secretary of State under President Eisenhower and Presbyterian who became Roman Catholic. 

Remarkable for his life, he also showed great grace and faith in his dying.  Stricken with Polio as a child and again as a young adult, his last decade was hampered by the long shadow of this disease.  Unable to speak last spring when he delivered his farewell address at Fordham University, his academic home for the past twenty years, the University's former president delivered the address for him.  Among other things, he spoke movingly about the relation of his faith to increasing infirmity. 

"Suffering and diminishment are not the greatest of evils but are normal ingredients in life, especially in old age. They are to be expected as elements of a full human existence. Well into my 90th year I have been able to work productively. As I become increasingly paralyzed and unable to speak, I can identify with the many paralytics and mute persons in the Gospels, grateful for the loving and skillful care I receive and for the hope of everlasting life in Christ. If the Lord now calls me to a period of weakness, I know well that his power can be made perfect in infirmity. “Blessed be the name of the Lord!"

To often today infirmity --and even aging in general-- are viewed as in principle humiliating and to be avoided.  Surely the movement towards physician-assisted suicide is part of this culture of youth and vitality.  What is missed, then, is not only the full scope of human life but also the gift, if one might call it that, and I think Dulles did, of finding oneself grateful for dependence on others, and weak and needy.  That is, in fact, what we claim our place is before God even in moments of our greatest strength in a worldly sense.  But we can so easily be distracted by our own powers and think that our need is not so great in the end.  So we avoid the end in order to avoid facing our own diminisment and ultimate dependance.  God meets us there, claiming our weakness as strenth, and through our giving over of ourselves to the process of death witness to trust in the God of life whose promise endures.

On failing automakers and the new green-collar economy

With the collapse of the hoped-for congressional bailout of the automakers my mind turns to what is to come in terms of economic prospects for those who we've termed 'blue collar' and whose lives will be most damaged by the crisis of the auto industry and its huge network of manufacturing dependents.  Here is a basic orientation to the vision for a new green economy and what President Elect Obama and others are calling the new green-collar work force.  It is hopeful and realistic, something I've expected from Obama for a long time given his deep affinity with what I might in a friendly way describe as a Lutheran theological sensibility: pessimistic optimism.  (Since leaving Trinity UCC, Obama has attended Lutheran churches on numerous occasions.  Rumours abound.)
peace,
Chris

Rowan Williams on Waiting and Advent

Rowan Williams is one of the most important church leaders today. Faithful, creative, deeply intelligent, savvy.  Here he is reflecting on waiting and advent.

Advent three: alt worship ideas from the UK

Jonny Baker has been a leader in creative worship for so long--decades now.  Here is his blog this year gathering creative ideas for advent.   The picture below is the ad for the Christmas services at Grace, London.  Very provocative.

Blagojevich and the Vocation of Politics

Why did Martin Luther, the German Catholic Monk turned Evangelical Reformer, who developed an understanding of Christians living out their faith in and through worldly callings, argue that, after the ministry, the brightest and most faithful young people should go into politics?  Because he knew 1) how much power and influence for good or ill people in with political power wield and 2) he knew that there were lots of people already in power willing to use that power to their own benefit rather than for the benefit of the people they served through their office.

Can you even believe what Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has said he was willing to do to assure person gain from the power to appoint a successor to the U. S. Senate seat vacated by President Elect Barack Obama? It is really unbelievable.

"I've got this thing and it's [expletive] golden, and uh, uh, I'm just not giving it up for [expletive] nothing"

Oh, and there is much more in the transcripts of his phone calls.  Read it and weep.   It makes me want to tell young bright students coming to seminary: Have you considered a career serving the Lord in politics?  We need you there, too!  FYI for those who don't know, Lutherans do not think we are a "Christian" nation and that we need to have "Christian" laws to shove down others throats.  Luther said he'd rather be ruled by a just and wise Turk than a corrupt Christian.  Rather, knowing that God loves me, forgives me, and sends me out into the world to do God's work, I can serve in Goverment to see that the neighbor is cared for, feed, clothed, educated, provided healthcare, etc.  For an example of another Illinois politician who whose career embodies these themes of vocation in service of the needs of others, read about former Senator Paul Simon.

Good thing it is advent--I'm already crying out "open the heavens and come down, O Lord" because of the yawning gap between the now of this world and the not yet of God's promised future already begun in Jesus.

Peace,
Chris

law and gospel for the automakers

It was so refreshing to pick up the papers and hear that on "Meet the Press" last Sunday President Elect Barack Obama strongly argued for a bridge loan to the automakers to help keep them solvent, but at the same time to ask for significant concessions on changes that should have been made "20 or 30" years ago. 
Auto industry executives, from left, General Motors CEO Richard Wagoner; Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli; Ford CEO Alan Mulally; and Ron Gettelfinger, president of the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, testify on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008. (AP / Gerald Herbert)

This in effect sums the larger idea I think holds such merit--what many including John Broder of the New York Times are calling "The 'Green' New Deal" that uses federal spending to put the nation back to work by focusing on building a new 'green' economy. (more on this language here)  The auto makers are a key part of this and could have been making fuel efficient cars long ago. In fact one strategy of Ford is to simply build here in the US those fuel efficient cars they've been building for decades in Europe.  I'm enough of a student of Durkheim and Bellah to know that we need a president who can also play prophet at times (a la Lincoln) and not just priest (a la Reagan).  (Robert Bellah, who served on Berkeley's sociology faculty for 30 years, pictured below-Peg Skorpinski photo)  We're at a juncture where we need a president that asks us to die to our sinful ways before offering us the chance at redemption. 
We need a President who, in secular terms mind you, can offer honest judement of our fault alongside real hope for the future.  That would offer more than hollow optimism that 'our best days are still ahead of us' as politicians like to say.  That would offer real hope based on honest and self-searching judgement and real imagination regarding a new day.   And for the sake of the earth, that new day needs to be now even if gas prices have come back down to 1.57 a gallon!

peace,

Chris                                               

Singing Our Lives: Don Saliers in our worship class today

Don Saliers is visiting our worship class today. He was a teacher and mentor for both Dirk Lange, my colleague and partner in teaching worship at Luther Seminary, when we were doing our doctoral studies at Emory University in Atlanta.  He is an amazing man, both a leading liturgical musician and composer as well as leading liturgical theologian.  This comes together in one of his recent books, co-written with his lovely dauther Emily (famously of the Indigo Girls) is called A Song to Sing, A Life To Live: Music as a Spiritual Practice. On the basis of the book they did a series of talks called "Saturday Night Meets Sunday Morning".  You can watch a video of one of those amazing presentations here. I'm so delighted to welcome him to class. More on how it goes tomorrow.
peace,
chris

Ayers speaks, finally, and is worth a read (NB: He did not "pal around" with Obama)

You might recall that in the heat of October's presidential campaign, Vice Presidential candidate and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, speaking in Colorado, accused now President-Elect Barack Obama of some supposedly worrisome associations:

“This is not a man who sees America as you see it and how I see America. We see America as the greatest force for good in this world. If we can be that beacon of light and hope for others who seek freedom and democracy and can live in a country that would allow intolerance in the equal rights that again our military men and women fight for and die for for all of us. Our opponent though, is someone who sees America it seems as being so imperfect that he’s palling around with terrorists who would target their own country?”

See the rest of the story here.

Governor Palin was speaking, of course, of Dr. William Ayers, Professor of Education at the Univeristy of Illinois, Chicago and a 1960s anti-war activist and founder of the Weather Underground, a group that went to extreme measures to press for their anti-war beliefs including bombing empy offices in Washington.  Wisely, he did not respond during the election. He stayed on the sidelines despite the remarkable demonization of him by many in this nation. 

He has written a thoughtful and challenging response in the New York Times.  Read it.  I found myself giving thanks that the politics of stupidity and meanness did not win this time.  Agree with him or not on his anti-war past or education prescriptions today, smearing Obama (and Ayers, for that matter) was an example of the worst of our political system.

Ayers writes, among other things: "Demonization, guilt by association, and the politics of fear did not triumph, not this time. Let’s hope they never will again. And let’s hope we might now assert that in our wildly diverse society, talking and listening to the widest range of people is not a sin, but a virtue."

It is, in fact, something Jesus would do--not simply talking to the true believers but pressing out to the margins bringing healing, wholness and peace to all who would recieve him.  Not that Ayers is Jesus.  Don't misunderstand me that way.  Yet the politics of division, of accusation, of character assination, must not be condoned by those who wish to folow Jesus.  We who have met the man from Nazareth die to all that and are sent to live a new life with "the widest range of people" ALL of whom are created by, held accountable to, and ultimately are deeply loved by God.

Peace,

Chris

Advent 2: Comfort, My People

Wisdom Cries, and what shall she cry?
"Comfort, Comfort, my people."

What is more comforting in these dark days of winter in the Northern Hemisphere than our language and ritual of lighting candles week by week to claim the deep truth of Christ as the light shining in the darkness of this world? 

We often are in the debt of creative Cathedrals who have resources and reason to find ways to make full use of the Church's liturgical resources in planning powerful services.  Here is a picture of  the hugely popular Advent Procession From Darkness to Light at Salisbury Cathedral.

The service begins in total darkness and silence as the great Advent Candle is lit at the West End of the Cathedral. By the end the Cathedral is illuminated by almost 1300 candles

The service is a mix of music and readings from the Old and the New Testament telling the story of Christ’s coming, during which two great processions involving about one hundred people – including clergy, choirs and taperers - move around the entire building.

Cool. 

Come, Emanuel. 

Chris

St. Nicholas and the true meaning of Christmas

The kids and I began to make cookies for our family celebration of St. Nicholas Day last night (St. Nick's feast day is today).  We have a big bin of cookie cutters so I asked Isaiah and Grace to get the box and pick out all the ones related to Christmas, especially looking for our big St. Nick cutter.  They jumped at the task and soon were loudly sorting, clanking cutters and laughing.  Suddenly, Isaiah shouted at me: Dad, I've got the perfect one to really say what Christmas is all about!  I turned to see what he'd found, and to my great surprise it was a dollar sign!  Okay, he's got it.  Irony exposing early criticism of The American Way.  We made some of the cookies in the dollar sign to make the point we got the joke and ate it, too.
Peace, and Happy St. Nick's day.
Chris