Going On

Journal of Lutheran Ethics

The visibility of stars on a cold winter night is one of the added benefits of the upper Midwest in February. If you head out on a run, as I did, with snowshoes on, and get out in the middle of a brightly moonlit field, the snow crisp and virgin under your tracks, remembering the blizzard you drove through on the way home now cleared away by the swift change in temperatures, you get both the sense of brutal nature and vast distances, but then the warm cloying closeness of sweat under jacket and misty breathe that beads and freezes under the facemask. You're cozy in the midst of something palpably other. I wonder if astronauts also feel this in their spacesuits as they float in a vacuum.

Madison also affords long, scenic views across wind-swept lakes, the biggest being just down the hill from our apartment complex. So the view of the stars is not only long and high but also expansive.

Last weekend was my ordination. Anyone needing the full text necessary to print an ordination worship bulletin, I'm inserting here my stab at it. Unfortunately, I can't host it here as an actual file, so if you like it and need it, simply e-mail and I'll send it as a Word document. For those interested, followed the basic pattern as printed in the occasional services, used the LBW setting for the remainder of the service, picked some of my favorite hymns (wish more congregations sang these hymns on a regular basis). Had the organist play a Bach Fugue at the end which was especially nice and calm and quiet prior to going out to the reception. Thanks to all who helped and attended.

Liturgy at the Ordination
of Clint Schnekloth
February 9th, 2003

The Word

Prelude Praise to the Lord, the Almighty C. Phillips
Welcome
Opening Hymn LBW #230: Lord, Keep Us Steadfast
Apostolic Greeting LBW, p. 57
Kyrie
Prayer of the Day
First Reading: Romans 11:25-32
Psalm 95 (sung responsively, cantor begins) LBW, p. 260
Gospel: John 21:15-17
Sermon Pastor Andris Sedlins
Apostle's Creed LBW, p. 65
Hymn of the Day LBW #396: O God, O Lord

The Ordination

P: I present for ordination to the holy ministry of Word and Sacrament Clint Allan Schnekloth, who has been prepared, examined, and certified for this ministry and who has been called by the Church to the office of pastor.
C: Thanks be to God.

Sit
P1: According to apostolic usage you are now to be set apart to the office of Word and Sacrament in one holy catholic Church by the laying on of hands and by prayer.
C: Thanks be to God.
The peace of the Lord be with you always.
C: And also with you.

Sharing of the Peace
Sit

The Lord's Supper

Offering Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ J.S. Bach

All offerings at this service will be donated to
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services

Stand

Offertory hymn, Let the Vineyards LBW, p.67
Prayer Merciful Father...
The Great Thanksgiving
Words of Institution
The Lord?s Prayer LBW, p. 71

Sit

Distribution of the Lord's Supper
Prayer
Blessing & Benediction
Dismissal
Postlude ?Fugue in G Major? J.S. Bach
You are invited to remain seated for the postlude
---
Please join us in the C ommons for coffee, cake & ice cream following the liturgy.

and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matt. 11:28-30)

Ministers Address the Newly Ordained

B: The God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in you that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory forever and ever.
C: Amen.

Ministers and newly ordained face the congregation
B: Will you, assembled as the people of God and speaking for the whole Church, receive Clint as a messenger of Jesus Christ sent to serve God's people with the Gospel of hope and salvation? Will you regard him as a servant of Christ?
C: We will.

B: Will you pray for him, help and honor him for his work's sake, and in all things strive to live together in the peace and unity of Christ?
C: We will.

B: Let it be acclaimed that Clint is ordained a minister in the Church of Christ. He has Christ's authority to preach the Word and administer the Sacraments, serving God's people.
C: Amen. Thanks be to God.

P2: Our Lord Jesus Christ says: "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you. Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." (John 20:21-23)

P2: And again: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age. (Matt. 28:18-20)

P3: St. Paul writes: I receive from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new testament in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. (1 Cor. 11:23-26)

B: Before almighty God, to whom you must give account, and in the presence of this congregation, I ask: Will you assume this office, believing that the Church's call is God's call to the ministry of Word and Sacrament?
O: I will, and I ask God to help me.
B: The Church in which you are to be ordained confesses that the Holy Scriptures are the Word of God and are the norm of its faith and life. We accept, teach, and confess
the Apostles', the Nicene, and the Athanasian Creeds. We also acknowledge the Lutheran Confessions as true witnesses and faithful expositions of Holy Scriptures. Will you therefore preach and teach in accordance with the Holy Scriptures and these creeds and confessions?
O: I will, and I ask God to help me.

B: Will you be diligent in your study of the Holy Scriptures and in your use of the means of grace? Will you pray for God's people, nourish them with the Word and Holy Sacraments, and lead them by your own example in faithful service and holy living?
O: I will, and I ask God to help me.

B: Will you give faithful witness in the world, that God's love may be known in all that you do?
O: I will, and I ask God to help me.

B: Almighty God, who has given you the will to do these things, graciously give you the strength and compassion to perform them.

Stand
Prayers of the Church
B: ... Lord, in your mercy,
C: Hear our prayer.

Hymn Veni Creator Spiritus LBW #473
Ordinand kneels
B: The Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
B: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C: It is right to give him thanks and praise.

B: Holy God, mighty Lord, gracious Father, we bless you for your infinite love in Christ our Lord, in whom we have redemption and forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace. We thank you that by his death your Son has overcome death and, having been raised by your mighty power, has ascended far above all heavens, that he might fill all things. We praise you that Christ has poured out his gifts abundantly on the Church, making some apostles, some prophets, some pastors and teachers, to equip your people for their work of ministry for building up the body of Christ.

B: Eternal God, through your Son, Jesus Christ, pour out your Holy Spirit upon Clint and fill him with the gifts of grace for the ministry of Word and Sacrament.

B: Bless his proclamation of your Word and administration of your Sacraments, O Lord, so that your church may be gathered for praise and strengthened for service. Make him a faithful pastor, a patient teacher, and a wise counselor. Grant that in all things he may serve without reproach, that your people may be renewed and your name be glorified in the Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever.
O: Amen.

Stole is placed over shoulders of ordinand
P1: Receive this stole as a sign of your work, and walk in obedience to the Lord Jesus, serving his people and remembering his promise: ?Come to me all who labor

A heartfelt thank you to everyone present here today. Some of you traveled many miles to be here, and that gift alone makes it a special day. Thank you to Pastors Peter Marty, Ron Huber, and Jennifer Henry for hosting and assisting; to Pastor Andris Sedlins, our preacher; to Bishop George Carlson of the South Central Wisconsin Synod, our ordinator; to Melanie Moll, our organist; to Hans Schnekloth and Dave Holtz, our offering collectors; to Harris Schneekloth for setting up the reception space; to Karin Hanson and Jana Moss, as well as the Ruth Circle, who graciously volunteered to help with the reception; to the members of St. Paul Lutheran Church who have continued to support me in preparation for ordained ministry in the Church of Christ; to the members of St. John?s Lutheran Church who have called me into the ministry; and finally, to my family, John & Cynthia Schnekloth, who gave the beautiful gift of a red stole symbolizing Pentecost and used at ordinations, Mildred Schnekloth who helped in many ways with the reception, and Amanda Grell, for input and constant support. Much more could be said here by way of thanks. ?The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit? (Philipians 4:23).

Kites on Ice

After a morning of worship leadership (Now the Feast and celebration) and an incredibly expeditious congregational meeting (finished in one hour flat, unanimous votes), Amanda and I hopped in our 1993 Ford Taurus (it's still green and has only a bit of rust on the driver side door) and rumbled over to Kites on Ice

What is kites on ice, you ask? It's something the Twin Cities should have thought of first, but then you realize Madison needs something with which to trump the Twins. The Twins do have Winter Carnival, after all. In fact, they build gorgeous ice sculptures, run half marathons, and do all in their power to stave off winter blues. So, cheers to the Twin Cities.

But Madison has Kites on Ice, and this makes all the difference. Lake Monona is completely frozen over here in early February, seems like probably five feet of solid ice, and so Madisonians (Madisonites) gather at the Monona Terrace, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, Wisconsin native, and they set up a large flying grounds for kites out on the ice. People ski or skate while being pulled by kites. Others put up large art kites that are simply staked into the ice and fly all day. Others fly the equivalent of kite blimps, Genies and animals. Others fly kites that explore the science of kites, large 30 foot tall spinning wheels. And then there are the stunt kiters, of which I had been aware but not too aware. Apparently there are now four string kites that can be controlled with the precision of a model car, stop and turn and twist at a moments flick of the wrist. Unlike other kites, that, when aiming towards the ground, must swoop out of the dive in an arc and therefore avoid earth much like a plane would, these four string kites stop "on a dime". They can dive and instantly stop, and then hover, inches above the ground (or in this case ice).

Beautiful. Now imagine hundreds of these kites hovering in the sky, and a thousand or so people milling around out on the ice, that is, standing on top of the lake itself. That is a picture.

A New Job and the Peace March in Washington

The first week of new work at St. John's quickly coming to a close. Started on Tuesday with a full day in the office, orientation in the morning, unboxing and shelving of books in the afternoon, council meeting in the evening. This kind of a day at work at a church is not overwhelming- there's a kind of flow to it that allows moments to discover books in boxes you didn't know you own, this a familiar experience for anyone who is a mildly compulsive book collector.

The second day met approximately 140 people in an eight hour time span, and I learned maybe 40 names, at best, which isn't bad, all things considering, but by the time we broke out into confirmation small groups and I had just four young people in the room with me, I couldn't get those four names straight because I had all the other ones rambling around in my head from prior conversations. There's only so much one can do- and then keep studying the names and faces.

I'm really quite thankful for this congregation and this job. In the words of a pastor who wrote recently in reference to my upcomign ordination, ""I extend to you my sincere best wishes as you look toward your Ordination and service to Christ and the church as a pastor. Unfortunately I will be unable to attend. However, I do hope that there will be many pastors and people to surround you as you speak your vows of faithfulness to the Scriptures as the pure Word of God and the Lutheran Confessions as the true exposition of the Word. May both you and the church be blessed accordingly!" The blessings bestowed upon the church come through the preaching of God's Word, not my own giftedness, so I pray I might be the voice and vehicle for God's word.

But I've also been meaning to write about the march in Washington. We gathered at the UW Memorial Union on Friday afternoon, and the signs acttually seemed to arrive before the people, stuck through slats of benches and propped against trees. Then a mix of colorfully and normally clothed people began to trickle in, congregations of local news crews, a guy holding a "thank you" sign who couldn't attend the rally personally but wanted to thank those of us who were going.

When the buses arrived the organizer still wasn't present, and, it being cold, we all boarded the buses. Only to then cause mass confusion when the organizer actually arrived and announced that there were assigned buses to accomodate those riding back on Saturday or Sunday respectively, etc. 1.5 hours later, we were on the road.

Amanda is writing a fairly substantial piece on this trip as well, including descriptions of the people who rode the bus with us, so I will post that later. For now, some more political observations. First, this was a grass roots movement, it represented a broad cross section of the Wisconsin population, and it should not have been ignored so blithely by our dictator, George the 2nd. These are not terrorists, these are not treasonous people, these are people expressing their disagreement with a preemptive unilateral war in Iraq. They are U.S. citizens and immigrants and resident aliens participating in -what the White House representative stated in a cold and distant fashion- a time honoured American tradition. They are also protesting the horrendous effects of the U.N. sanctions on the people of Iraq. The entire world has dealt with Iraq in a most shameful fashion.

Second, the effects of a bus rally to Washington are farther reaching than I had originally imagined. My original concept was something like- "I will add one more physical body to this mass of protestors in D.C., and this will make a statement." My understanding of the rally is now much more nuanced than that. First were the conversations on the bus, long and careful ones, where we learned how to articulate our sense of the wrongness of the so-called war with Iraq. Also the sense of community, the now-knowing-each-other, other protestors and organizers in the Madison area, which couldn't and wouldn't have happened in the same way through brief lunchtime meetings of the local Madpeace or International A.N.S.W.E.R. groups. Finally, the fact that now, when we tell friends and neighbors and families about the trip, their curiosity and questions allows for further public discourse, and the fact that we attended shows our commitment at a level above simple rantings and ravings round the dinner table. We didn't engage in civil disobedience (and so far, I believe we shouldn't), but disobedience wasn't necessary. Legal commitment of putting yourself on a bus and losing your weekend, that's enough to commit, at least at one level, to the cause.

One curious pre-trip apprehension. Amanda and I have slowly been trying to make our food consumption habits more just. I emphasize slowly, because Amanda is much better at doing this than me. I am still tempted, at times, by the Yellow Arches and the simplicity of warm food ready-to-hand. So I was nervous about the drive out to D.C. because I knew we would be stopping at places with fast food, I knew lots of the folks riding the bus would be vegetarians or at least anti-corporate buying, and I wondered if I gave in to the guilty pleasure of a BK Broiler if I would be judged. This was a funny thought. a) It should have helped me keep up my end of my own ethical commitments, and be a better buyer of just goods, b) I needn't have felt guilty or ashamed, because the people on the bus were non-judgmental and friendly to a fault, and c) I thank God for this helpful (read non-militant) push towards just purchasing, most of which is an internal dialogue in any event.

Other possible topics for future reflection: Civil disobedience? Do we have a democracy? Christian faith and partisan politics?

Vote No War on the People's Referendum to Stop the War on Iraq Submit a referendum... go to DC if you can!

And this, a brief quote from a recent Christmas letter:

"The Son of God comes, and like any child, is a much less romantic gift than we make him out to be. At first adorable, but then voracious and demanding and helpless as any child is, it's a strange thing to realize God puts Himself into the arms of Mary and feeds at her breast. This baby demands something of us, for like any child, it is our responsibility to keep it alive. It is the last example of the law ending in Christ, for we fail in even this demand, to keep this child alive. Mary, helpless before the authorities and the willfullness of her own son (who are my mother and father?), sees him die. The risen Christ is a different Christ, no longer present as this demand of a living one expecting our responsibility to "not kill". He is beyond death, resurrected. The distinction could not be more sharp. And yet he carries the marks of his death in his resurrection body. So too Mary can see, like all mothers can, that little baby now present in the adult body. Out of the corner of her eye, here he comes (this, the way the icons are done indeed).

Below I've posted a brief e-mail I wrote recently examining the fair trade movement. There's a number of links here on this blog to Fair Trade organizations. Our family has increased the number of products we try to purchase that are "fair trade", and we also work to buy locally and from companies that handle their products and employees justly. We don't accomplish this always, but we try as often as possible to do so. This could be taken as a 21st century kind of pietism, I guess. Or it could be construed as simple consciensciousness, being "mindful", if you will, if how things are made and who makes them...

"As for defense of the free market versus fair trade, here are my main thoughts. First, free markets preference the "corporation" as a "person" over individuals. Even if you leave aside such things as worker's rights, you're still dealing with an economic system that works because of the existence of (potentially) eternal selves, corporate bodies, and the free market exists to provide successful contexts for these bodies. Some people argue that what is good for the worker is also good for the corporation, but when push comes to shove, the survival of the company must come first. This seems to me a false and dangerously secularized "corporeality" that disregards the members of the one body.

Fair trade, on the other hand, posits knowledge of the other at the other end of an economic exchange. At it's best, I actually know and greet the person who has produced what I consume. Even in the case of coffee, where the markets are in vastly different geographic locales, often the growers send photos, have visitors from the buying country, etc. Thus, the economic system becomes a human and humane one as well.

Third, fair trade recognizes that there is something more at work in any economy than simply "the bottom line". We already know that the most cheaply and most quickly produced product is not necessarily the best. Read Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser, for example, for an examination of where that philosophy leads. The "free" market economy doesn't care about places, people, or history. It cares only about productivity, and an abstract one at that.

Fourth, free market systems first rely on, and then come to demand, consumption qua consumption. Thus, for example, our current crisis where the American economy is dependent on people buying large amounts of things they don't need simply to buoy the economy. A free market ends up being anything but free. It is a slave economy, pure and simple.

Finally, free markets remove values from the equation. Or maybe better, they are purely teleological, the ends justify the means. I can go to a supermarket and see the plastic wrapped and odorless beef, and not concern myself with how the end product came to be the way it is. At it's worst, in my daily purchases I am freed up to commit crimes at third or fourth hand.

I do agree that there are some pluses to a competitive, free market. Creativity, good hard and often quality work come out of it. Fair trade, though, is actually a marriage of a values based economic choice and a free market. It's socialism on a micro-scale, similar to the highly successful kibutzes in Israel.

Just outside of Madison is a small town called Cross Plains. Like a lot of other small towns surrounding Madison, there's a mix of communities. Some are small town old time Wisconsinites, therefore of German ancestory and rural demeanour. Others are "bedroom community" folks. Seems in almost every town outside of Madison, there's both the older small town homes and the newer suburban development complexes.

Anyway, on a winding road (Enchanted Valley) about 2 miles out of Cross Plains, as a holiday treat we stayed at an inexpensive B&B. Almost all roads of any type in Wisconsin are asphalt. I don't know why, but unlike Iowa country roads, which are primarily graveled, Wisconsin lays down asphalt. So this small, inconspicuous home in a cluster of trees in a valley of rolling hills outside of Cross Plains is the location of a B&B. A new age B&B. We didn't know it when we made the reservations, but our hostess is into wholeness, had a Feng Shui designer out to remodel the house, has learned Raiki massage techniques, and provides a host of accoutrements that are designed to promote health and a sense of well-being.

Well, I'm more than a bit skeptical of New Age and homeopathic treatments. In fact, as our hostess said, "We might find these things a bit hokey." Nevertheless, as forms of hospitality they are outstanding. We had originally made the reservations because this was one of the few B&Bs in the Madison area that provide a sauna. That was the selling point for us. But it was very nice and kind of her to also provide natural soaps, homeopathic lotions, and the like. Not because of what they will accomplish but because of the attentiveness and thoughtfulness of it all.

Which is not to say that I'm any more approving of New Age gimmicks than I ever have been. At their best they are aesthetically pleasing. At their worst they are idolatrous. Normally, they are just part of the American product consumption machine. They fool people into false forms of comfort and happiness. But when given or spent on another, they are also a form of care, which makes them interesting.

If you head out the door of this B&B with running shoes on, as I did, you get to know Wisconsin in winter. First of all, it isn't as cold as Minnesota. In fact, it seems downright balmy. Second, it's much more hilly and rolling. You really get a hills workout in this part of Wisconsin. It's so hilly that when you get to the top of one mound, the top of the next mound is indeed miles away. I ran from our B&B to Martinsville, where, if one gazes across the enchanted valley, one can spot St. Martin's Parish on the way. In between, there are a ton of farms that are owned by the "Foremost Farms Corporation". Someone more savvy than me in current agricultural economic practice will have to explain the difference between cooperatives and farms that are all owned by a parent corporation, but what you see while running on the street are many well-kept farms with the names of families of German descent in the undersigned position. There are many cows; so much cheese is produced in Wisconsin. It is a "cottage" industry :)

Martinsville is a bunch of houses, the church, and a pub. We've seen similar small towns in Madison. The pub and church are usually kitty corner. Which doesn't top Germany, where pubs and churches are sometimes attached. nevertheless, picturesque.

A sauna. I would go back for another sauna.

It's official. I received the official letter of call on December 31, 2002, which means that 2003 marks the year in which I finally begin, for the first time (sort of) a full-time job. Amanda and I spent three years working as "full-time" teachers in Slovakia, so I guess that should count, but in my mind that time doubles also as time away from, a break from, seminary. The rest of the past 30 years have been spent in school, or engaged in part-time jobs. 2002 included work at the Global Mission Institute, interim pastoral ministry in rural Minnesota, a fellowship trip to Germany, and currently part-time work with the educational ministries at Good Shepherd Lutheran. So, effectively four jobs in one year. Not bad.

But this blog is going to be in praise of part-time work. I'm quite happy to be starting a full-time call at St. John's, happy to do good and necessary work, happy to be in the church, happy to have a salary and benefits. No doubt there are many goods that come from working full-time. Nevertheless...

The benefits of part-time:
1. Responsibility without stress- there's nothing like having a job where what you do is needed, but it doesn't swallow your life and thoughts when you leave work
2. Varied schedule- sometimes I go into work at 1:30. Sometimes I leave at 2. It makes me wonder how people who work a day job fit in all the other living they need to do
3. Freedom to move on- like a diversified portfolio, you end up working in, and therefore knowing, often quite disparate communities, businesses, worlds
4. Never fully "in" the system- you're always something of an outsider, therefore free to think creatively within the system
5. Never duped into thinking things will fall apart without you- 'nuff said
6. Enough time to make your own life a full-time job- Amen. If anyone would ever hire me to simply be myself and do what I do, I'd be elated! :)
7. You can choose your own health and pension plan- I currently spend $80/month for health insurance. I think my new plan will cost about 8x that much.
8. It causes other people confusion- it interrupts an otherwise pat conversation when people ask, "What do you do?", and you respond, "Well, not much of anything right now," or "I'm helping out part-time with the confirmation ministries at..." When I hear people give this similar answer, I always think to myself, "How is he getting away with that?" Like the guy who just died this year at Harvard who took it up as his one day a week job to check all the clocks on the campus. That's all he did. Where'd he get the money to live? Why didn't he do more? These are the enigmas of our lives.

Somewhere deep inside, I'm still afraid that to "not" work is somehow a bit immoral. If you're healthy and an adult with a sound body and mind, you relaly should be doing something. Even better if you do something "worthwhile" or "beneficial", but in any event, you should be working. Even when I was going to school, I never really considered "not" working. Work benefits the neighbor, provides a service in the community, earns your keep, teaches good habits, etc etc Nevertheless, I'm glad for this freedom of having made it to 30 without really working "full-time". A new page in 2003, and soon, I'll be able to compare.

End of the year book reviews, part III

Robert Fitzgerald's translation of the Aeneid surpasses anything else I've read that he has translated. I was forced to purchase and read his translation of the Odyssey the summer prior to my first year at Luther College. Ask any graduate of Luther in the past 10-15 years, and they will tell you the same. By and large, we come to the enterprise unprepared, a bit confused, and befuddled. It's hard to make sense of the classics when you haven't had a classical education, but you can't have a classical education without exposure to the classics, and since modern pedagogy has repudiated the idea of a "classical" education in any event (via a Foucaultian critique of knowledge as power), well, you end up with a bunch of high school grads who know THAT there's a Homer but haven't read him.

Of course, the summer before you go to college, the last thing you really want to do is start your homework early. But then you're also a bit curious, because the book assigned is a marker, a small clue as to what is coming, the mystery of college and life away from home. So I forced my way through the text, failed to understand large patches because I got bored of reading what seemed like a prose narrative composed in meter. Also failed to take notes.

About four or five years ago, I actually started to value what at that time I found somewhat burdensome and strange. I would be lying if I said that I'm always reading "classics" (whatever classics are), but I do try and read back into the history of the traditions in which I have interest. Theology, philosophy, literature. So in 1998 I started this tradition of reading a piece from the classical repertoire (meaning dead Greek or Latin writers) as a way of entering the New Year. Thus buy the book in December, start to work, and try and finish before heading out for New Year's festivities December 31.

1998 was the Iliad. Read it mostly on the train between Kosice and Berlin. Fagles translation. Fagles was brilliant in reiterating Homer's set phrases in captivating phrases, like "after they had put aside desire for food and drink" as the line to start story-telling and argumentation, or "his bowels gushed out and as he fell the life dimmed from his eyes" (this second a very oft repeated phrase in the Iliad).

1999 was Heaney's translation of Beowulf (I know, this is a violation of the dead Greek or Latin writer rule). It's of course great and quite readable, but the best part is that the poem begins "So." Just like an English speaker would tell a story.

2001 was Purgatorio. Oops, once again violating the Latin Greek rule. But since Dante was so deeply into the classic tradition, it seemed not so much of a leap. By this time I had been learning that one of the important tricks to reading classics and actually appreciating the process was to choose excellent translators. I'd read the Inferno in an inferior translation, but Merwin translated the Purgatorio in this year, and brought it back to the English speaking public.

Which brings me back around to the Aeneid, because Virgil is Dante's guide through the underworld, and after you've read Dante, you end up wondering what it is about Virgil that made Dante put him in this prominent place. And the Aeneid is just as fun and fascinating as the Odyssey and Iliad, and it is simply amazing that Virgil could try to, and succeed at, making his book a "third" in the series that begins with the Odyssey. What a work. and now I realize as I'm going through the process of writing this, I feel somewhat silly and commonplace, because to simply praise those things which have been praised seems a little disingenuous and flat. And yet there it is, just like a beautiful red sky in the evening, no matter how many times you see it, it's as genuinely worth gazing at as the last time. So too the Aeneid. No other comment necessary.

It's always harder to say positively what the alternative is to the dominant paradigm than it is to launch a critique of the same. Here are some quotes from Levinas in Ethics and Infinity that are "on the way" to a constructive alternative to virtue ethics.

"Ethics occurs as an an-archy, the compassion of being. Its priority is affirmed without recourse to principles, without vision, in the irrecuperable shock of being-for-the-other-person before being-for-oneself, or being-with-others, or being-in-the-world, to name some of th econtemporary philosophical formulas of post-metaphysical thought" (10)

Here quoting Kafka- "It is an extremely painful thing to be ruled by laws that one does not know" 15)

This one particularly enigmatic- "The incarnation of human subjectivity guarantees its spirituality (I do not see what angels could give one another or how they could help one another). Dia-chrony before all dialogue... the other man, his face, the expressive in the Other (and the whole human body is in this sense more or less face), were what ordains me to serve him... the face orders and ordains me" (97).

"There is prophetism and inspiration in the man who answers for the Other, paradoxically, even before knowing what is concretely required of himself. This responsibility prior to the Law is God's revelation. There is a text of the prophet Amos that says: "God has spoken, who would not prophecy?"

The language of practices takes no account of this primacy of the face, of the neighbor. It replaces what in Luther's language speaks of the perfectly free lord of all, perfectly save, subject to all, with a system of abstract rules and systems. Instead of the urgent and necessary encounter with the neighbor as the primary ethical category, it develops "systems of behavior" that take place over time and train one in righteousness.

There is probably no clearer biblical text that contradicts virtue ethics than the good samaritan neighbor narrative. Here, two pass by the one robbed on the road, at least in part because of having learned certain habits and virtues. The one who stops to help humbles and dirties himself, violates all kinds of customs and habits, and simply helps the face, the whole body, the neighbor in need. At their worst, virtues and practices actually hinder the Christian in being a Christian-before-the-neighbor. And one can't tell if the rule that applies is virtues as the sine qua non.

End of the year book reviews, part II

The ELCA has started a campaign on "discipleship" trying to address issues of ethics and spiritual practices in congregations. It is called, variously, teach the faith, growing in discipleship, living faith, or fanning the flames of discipleship. No matter what you call it, the basic idea is to encourage a third facet of congregational life.

Growing in Discipleship and/or Teach the Faith

Church's generally don't forget the first facet, worship, and they usually spend lots of time on the second, that is, daily vocation (although they may not carefully relate the two), but the discipleship movement works to instill a third component, spiritual "practices" or "marks" of discipleship. These practices, of which the ELCA has listed seven, 1) pray, 2) study, 3) worship, 4) invite, 5) encourage, 6) serve, and 7) give, are all designed to round out congregational discipleship, make it more three dimensional.

The list is great, as far as it goes. Nobody would really want to argue against service, giving, studying, prayer, inviting, etc. The problem for Lutheran ethics is that the model of "practices" arises out of an ethical framework that doesn't jive with Lutheran theology. There's considerable conversation these days, both in Roman Catholic communities and Protestant ones, about what basically can be called "virtue ethics". On the Catholic side, you have Pope John Paul II's encyclical, Veritatis Splendor, which defines prudence, the basis of virtue ethics, in this way: "Prudence, working through the moral virtues, disposes a person to good actions... it is the heart converted to the Lord and to the love of what is good which is really the source of true judgments of conscience... knowledge of God's law in general is certainly necessary, but it is not sufficient; what is essential is a sort of 'connaturality' between man and the true good" (this quote from Servais Pinckaers The Sources of Christian Ethics). In other words, for the living of the Christian life, more is needed than knowledge of the law... grace brings about a "connaturality" of man and the true good- this is the basis for understanding ethics as grounded in virtues.

So, lots of books have come out of this thought. You've got a lot of evangelical Protestants, especially based out of Fuller Theological Seminary, appropriating the writings of Wittgenstein and MacIntyre (MacIntyre's After Virtue is seminal) to come up with their own Protestant version of virtue ethics based a) in Wittgenstein's philosophy of language as it relates to speaking one's way into "going on" as such, and b) MacIntyre's thesis that practices are those things which, well, he's got this really long and clumsily formulated sentence that practices produce a greater ability to practice the virtues. These Fuller theologians, especially Brad Kallenberg in his Grammar as Ethics, spell out a program for understanding congregations as "language communities" that speak their way into new forms of living, and this grammatically formed practicing community becomes itself virtuous in and through these practices.

The arguments are much more nuanced than this, if anyone has another take or critique, feel free to respond.

There are also, on the other coast, such theologians as Hauerwas, who argue that the Christian community needs to be itself a "parable of the kingdom". This is to get beyond the social gospelers focus on bringing about the kingdom of God through particular works and the transformation of society, but is instead the definition of church as an alternative society that is itself a sign of God's coming kingdom living in (and thus speaking to) the world. So Hauerwas also argues in some way or another for "practices" as part of the Christian life. I must confess that this particular approach holds some appeal for me.

What both of these have in common is the proposal of a new law, the law of love, new laws and guidelines for how one is to practice the faith. Although these two traditions have a strong history and influence in Christian thinking, it is my contention that they are wrong-headed, and inasmuch as Lutherans themselves begin to appropriate them and adopt them as models, we have our own distinctive voice stifled.

So, just some preliminary notes. First, Lutherans believe that they have in the law already given by God everything we need to know about how to live in the world, as well as knowledge of our inability to live up to these laws. This contra the Popes saying we need something more than this "natural" law. Second, to set forth practices as such as norms for Christian living go against two distinct pieces of our theology. First, an understanding of Christian freedom, and second, our constant life in sin and life in salvation simultaneously. Against Christian freedom, because the Christian believes that once they have been called by the gospel, they have been set free from all compulsions, thus a radical critique of all "practices"; against simul iustus, because our continuing life "in the flesh" means even practices cannot drive out the devil. Only our new life in Christ assures that.

So, what are some better sources for Lutheran ethics. In the next post, I'll work with Luther's work on Christian freedom, and explore some of the writings of Levinas and his primary ethical category of "the face of the neighbor".

TOMPAINE.com - On The Justification Of Civil Disobedience

End of the year book reviews, part I

The official numbers are in, and the U.S. processed approximately 26,000 refugees in 2002. This is about 40,000 short of what George W. Bush had stated at the beginning of the year as our commitment (for more detailed info, click on the LIRS link on the right side of this page). This makes two years in a row where we processed far fewer refugees than we were committed to admitting [the numbers fell after 9-11, even though refugees go through an extensive screening process and are never actually suspected of terrorism]. In real terms, this means thousands of people around the world who are in danger and poverty have to remain where they are. The INS is now going to be restructured under the new Homeland Security Act, and this is potentially a good thing (for example, new laws regarding the handling of unaccompanied minors), but our government and presidential leadership is proving again and again that we are committed to our own safety and security without any understanding that a) the world's security and safety and sense thereof has an impact on our own, that is, we will be more secure if we act as a good neighbor, and b) that we have a responsibility as citizens to take care of the oppressed, the foreigners in our midst or those who request asylum. Our history as a nation is a history of welcoming the stranger and the refugee. The current administration's failure to recognize this proves that they are the ones who are unpatriotic.

Two things seem most troubling. First is the inability of our leadership to admit failure, to ask for forgiveness, to confess to wrong-doing. We simply leap right up and start labeling everybody evil. Certainly, Hussein is a harsh and terrible despot. Nobody questions that. What I question is our complicity in many of the evil systems in the world. We need to admit, confess, ask forgiveness, if we are actually going to work for healthy change. If we refuse to do this, then we ourselves end up with a president who is a harsh and terrible despot.

The second is even more troubling. Seems the current administration will not allow critique. Anyone who criticizes the government is unpatriotic. Worse, they might themselves be a terrorist. Never mind that our entire system of government is grounded on checks and balances and the freedom of citizens to speak their minds, including minds that find fault with the government. Freedom of the press, freedom of expression, etc.

Ok, so all of this as preparation for recommending two books. The first, Mary Pipher's The Middle of Everywhere, an account of her experience working in Lincoln, Nebraska with refugee families. She shares the story of their struggles to adapt, interviews with them and the officials who help them get to the U.S. The new work and life and stress issues that arise when they arrive. And she shares the very specific ways that she works as a "cultural broker", helping them to adjust and learning much in the process. One of her most impressive insights- that although the average refugee arrives in the U.S. with enough terrible experiences to warrant post-traumatic stress syndrome, they normally become self-sufficient economically within three months of their arrival in country!

The second book, Ann Fadiman's The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, is also a narrative of refugees, this time sharing the story of one Hmong family and their epileptic daughter. Here she illustrates the difficulty of negotiating between traditional Hmong thinking and Western medical practices. In fact, it is more like a collision than a negotiation. Fadiman's book is reporting, like Pipher's, but less sociological and more literary. She writes well, and it reads quickly. Read the two in tandem, and you learn a little bit of how to perceive your own homeland from a stranger in a strange land's perspective. Always a worthwhile endeavour.

Reflecting on Vestments

A somewhat distant relative of ours refuses to attend churches where the pastor wears a robe. Actually, I think the relative in question called the robes "skirts". On the flip side, last night in a conversation with a friend, I heard dismay in his voice when I mentioned that in a Lutheran congregation I know, the pastors don't wear vestments; in fact they don't even wear clerics (the special shirt with white colars). Clothes may or may not "make the man", but at least in a number of instances lately, the clothes do or don't make the worship and make the pastor.

But to do this story justice, I have to step back a number of years. I grew up in a congregation where "vesting" for worship was simply the thing that was done. I didn't really wonder at it at all. We wore gowns if our youth choir sang from the front of the sanctuary, there was a complete collection of robes back in the sacristy for the acolytes, worship assistants, and pastors to wear, and all of this white linen seemed completely natural. I don't remember paying a huge amount of attention to the stoles and other colorful things that the pastors wore, although I do remember them matching the liturgical seasons.

It wasn't until some time in college that I learned that someone might consider leading worship without these vestments. And it was a mind-blowing experience the first day I actually heard somebody say they were OPPOSED to wearing vestments in worship. Apparently, they were of the opinion that the pastor should wear a shirt & tie so as not to appear flowery, or fake, or Catholic, or old fashioned, or, well, I can't really remember the reason.

I went through a rather long period of not caring too much about what worship leaders wear in worship. I've since attended worship in enough places to have seen almost everything (or at least to expand my imagination of what "everything" is or might be). I've seen jeans, cowboy boots, and a frilly shirt. I've seen the classic black cassock and white frill collar of the German and Slovak churches. I've seen the pageantry of the cardinals and pope in Rome. I've seen church leaders from Africa, as well as the high church African-American Methodist Episcopals with their cross between high church Episcopalian and traditional early 20th century American. I watched a pastor in San Antonio texas change clothes three times for three morning services, the first in alb and stole, the second in clerical colar and jacket, the third in t-shirt and jeans. And I've seen all kinds of earthy, evangelical services where the worship leaders came in the same clothes they would wear to a coffee shop or Applebee's.

I think my not caring too much had something to do with an idealist anti-materialism, I didn't want to seem to care too much about clothes, it seemed too surfacey- to care too much about clothes in worship was to get away from the essentials of worship, and it was somehow anti-thetical to the "spiritual" nature of worship. Worship isn't about clothes, it's about God, right?!

But I had two conversations in Germany that began to alter my thinking somewhat, the first with a pastor in Braunschweig who wears vestments similar to those in traditional American Lutheran contexts, Alb and stole. They maintain the liturgy as it was translated by Luther in 1526, and as a way of maintaining that tradition, they also stick to the vestments the Catholic church would use for similar services, alb and stole, with an additional chasuble for presiding at the Lord's Supper, and a few other pieces for high feast days, etc. Then, I learned from another much less liturgical pastor down in the Rhine valley that the traditional black cassock that the pastor's where in the Protestant churches in Germany has connections to old Prussia. In other words, the black cassock is secular, not churchly, garb, or at least has it's origins in secular institutions.

Which is also true of the suit and tie, which came about in 19th century bourgeoise England. Or jeans and a t-shirt, which came out of the casual culture of mid-20th century America. Or the spectacular vestments that the Eastern Rite Catholics wore at their creation as cardinals in Rome. Or name any other article of clothing, and the same rule applies. Clothes have a history, and they mean something, everywhere and always. It's why, when special occasions come up, we concern ourselves with what we are wearing, even when the thing we choose to wear is chosen specifically to make it look like we weren't concerned about what we were to wear.

As I've been examining worship more and more from an aesthetic as well as a dogmatic and ethical standpoint, I'm coming to the increasingly firm conclusion that a church should be careful about what it has the pastor wear when they lead worship. There are the traditional arguments, that the alb allows for the pastor to be in and signify the office they are filling, rather than wearing clothes that accentuate their individuality. That the alb has a tradition and history behind it from and for the church. That it helps set the tone and space for worship.

But the more convincing arguments have to do with aesthetics. In worship we work with symbols, we communicate things, and one of the ways the church has always communicated has been visually. At a very early stage in the churches life, in fact, we called it a heresy to REJECT images. Iconoclasm is not a virtue. It is a heresy. We do have art in worship, from the cross to the altar frontal to the stain-glassed windows. And everything visual in worship contributes to the liturgy, makes the space for it. Thus it is important how one constructs a sanctuary. It is important what one puts on the walls.

It is extremely important NOT to hang an American flag in the sanctuary.

And so on and so forth. Table and baptismal font to remind us of the sacraments. Word placed in a prominent place. Incense and candles burning to make the smell of the space also worshipful. All of this is important for the worship space, because it works together with the music, the readings, and the sermon, to communicate the gospel.

Therefore, the vestments, the clothes of the presiding minister, do matter. They should communicate something of the gospel themselves. They should be beautiful, so as to give glory to God. They can and should be pictorial, like the cross that graces so many chasubles, or the pictures and colors that decorate stoles. All so that, when you kneal at the communion rail to receive communion, and you look up at the pastor who is handing you Christ's body, you don't see a golf tie hanging there from their chest, or a t-shirt with U2 pictured on the front, but instead the cross of Christ, the presence of the sublime.

Not all churches will be able to afford fancy vestments, and probably churches should be careful not to go too far in lavishing large amounts of money on them. Today at Luther Memorial where we currently worship, the congregation had received spectacular, beautiful Advent vestments as a gift, so that the pastor, altar, pulpit, and assisting ministers could all be dressed in similar material, and although this was incredibly beautiful, the combination of the beauty, the note in the bulletin, and the conversation we ended up having on it, ended up being almost too much the other way. The simplicity of the clerical shirt and collar may be sufficient in many cases. It still serves much the same purpose as the alb. It signifies an office.

I remember a particularly beautiful scene from O.E. Rolvaag's Peder Victorious. The community that has begun to grow up around Beret hasn't seen a pastor for many years. Many people have common law marriages, some people pray and read the Bible in their homes, but no pastor has yet to arrive. Then, one day, an itinerant Lutheran pastor arrives on horseback. The community is over-joyed. Common law married folk run up and ask to have the blessings of the church. Others want to confess sin, to have children baptized. It's a touching scene. But the first thing the pastor does is announce that they will hold worship with preaching and communion in one of the largest barns on a farmstead. He carefully removes a large bag from his horse and goes into the home at which he has arrived to lay out and smooth out his vestments. Later, when all have gathered to worship in this barn, these clothes, quite worn but still beautiful, change the whole space so that it becomes a church. Really, the clothes don't do anything at all, it's Christ present in His word and sacrament. But swaddling clothes do matter, and that small touch, that the pastor thought enough to bring along clothes fitting for the occasion, communicated something both in the novel and to those people, that couldn't be said only with words.

Today I witnessed something amazing. Amanda is working on a project for one of her library science courses. In this particular case, she had to classify our kitchen. It started weeks ago when she opted for the project, continued last weekend when she went through every single cupboard counting what was there, and has come to a sort-of conclusion this weekend as she designs the classification system for the project. In this case, it includes organizing the contents of our kitchen according to some kind of logic, then ordering things within various systems according to even more intricate systems of logic- danger during use, likelihood of use, tastiness, spiciness, I'm not even sure what all. Today she discovered that our Mac has an incredible number of fonts, some of which are symbols rather than letters, so these were put to use to provide the "classification system", not exactly like Dewey decimal or Eric, rather symbolic and playful and sometimes surprising.

But none of this counts as surprising. The surprising thing was the energy invested in the enterprise, the number of hours spent on a free Friday, and how all of this is done in a kind of voluntary fashion. We have all these neighbors up in Eagle Heights who are also grad students. They wake up each morning heading out for projects for which they are not paid; in fact, projects for which they are often paying, they are assigned these tasks by faculty who may or may not review intently that which they produce, and nevertheless, almost to a fault, they work super hard and invest hundreds and thousands of human hours. that's the surprising part. My wife invests this same kind of time.

Speaking of which, I spent the morning reading some theology written in 2002 on evangelism, tried to get up to date on the news and some modern fiction in the afternoon, and continued that work into late in the evening on Heidegger, all with no job, not actual use to which I might put these things, all in the mood of inquiry, interest, insight. What is this that drives us forward, often in spite of ourselves, to invest ourselves in something that lends meaning, funds our imagination, makes us part of something bigger? The works that humans engage in to do things that have nothing to do with subsistence are constantly surprising. Self-justification? Compulsion? Neighborliness? Civility? Habit? Innate goodness? Self-preservation? Often, I have no idea. But it helps us all go on, doesn't it?

The title for the blog has changed, as has the format, but the intent will be the same. A public journal, reflections on life, recipes (i've actually never thought to post recipes here, but it's as good an idea as any), and now, a links section!

Perseus Digital Library

What a great interview! Of course, this is the way things always are, I'm finally getting good at the language (German) and can conduct interviews relatively productively, and now I'm leaving (have left) Germany. In any event, it was great to visit with somebody on a theological faculty of a German university. Quite a different perspective on issues from the pastors I have questioned over the past few weeks, the concerns raised were more properly the responses I expect from Christians engaged in theological education at the graduate level.

To recap, the two basic interview questions are always, in some form or another a) what do you think of first when you think about the church in Germany, and b) what relationship do you see between the Reformation and the modern German church?

To question one, the faculty member responded that she thinks about the church's irrelevance. She finds the average worship service boring and of no interest to visitors, and the content of the service (particularly preaching) not centered sufficiently on the gospel. Instead, the church runs off and tries to be political or modernistic. We talked at length about the struggle the German church has to actually participate in the contemporary world, to actually be missionary. It's a common refrain/lament, and a worthwhile one. It's a bit of a paradox. Good pastors and theologians often say something similar, that the church cannot itself be focused in one political method or ideology, and yet the gospel must address the political world. It is, as always, the Christ and culture issue that crops up. So, for example, if you go to www.ekd.de, you can see the German Lutheran church's current advertising campaign. The question is, in trying to be a church that addresses "modern" questions, does the church end up saying anything at all of real value? Or does it instead produce dated fluff?

Of course, the irony here is that both of us were able to find many critiques, but not nearly as many solutions. Simply goes to show that the proper task of the Christian is not complaint but prayer.

To the 2nd question had a very clear response. Sees the Reformation functioning in today's church as fodder for Protestants to continually re-hash old arguments with the Catholics. This becomes problematic, because to freeze a conflict 500 years previous and then bring it directly into the present without translation immediately causes confusion and continuing strife. It also has the ironic function of turning Luther and his writing (or some idealized Reformation) into an interpretive tool/tradition that can be used in Protestant circles in a way similar to the Catholic churches relating of Scripture and tradition. Sola Scriptura, sola Luthera, or something like that.

She sees this playing itself out primarily with regards to curricular decisions (they read many more Protestant theologians than Catholic ones, and the center of the church history curriculum is the Reformation, not some other period like the Patristic). In this way, the evangelical faculty in Tubingen is quite similar to the Luther Seminary curriculum. Very heavy on a particular voice within protestantism.

Mentioned also a Schliermacher renaissance occuring in modern Germany that is already quite influential in the faculties, and may or may not be influential on the preaching of German pastors. Good question for those reading this: has phenomenology ever played out as a preached theology?

Like Marburg, Tubingen has a sincerely fairytale atmosphere to it, with steep hills, narrow cobbled streets, and the Neckar running through with students punts lined up for Saturday races. What an amazing town at which to attend university. Had a great evening the first night here eating sushi with a group of international students invited by Mari, my host. It was the week prior to the beginning of class, that is, the second week of October(!), but the campus was already alive with students. Still can't get used to how late classes start here. October 15. But then, they also continue classes into late June or early July, so...

The theological library at Tubingen is large, circular, and well-layed out. It also was quite full of students. Doctoral research has no seasons, only an endless and heavy progression until finally, a dissertation emerges, so the library was full of these bookish types with small bookstands and piles of manuscripts and texts. Enjoyed perusing the theological journals section, then wandered across the street to the cemetary. Wonder if the students at the theological faculty also wander over here and ponder their proximity to this collection of the saints, the cemetary next to the library, buried and remembered, shelved and read. The gardeners were hard at work sprucing up the cemetary for fall and wintering, plus the coming of All Saints day. Freshly cut pine branches to cover the grave site, flowers to bedeck the stone. I think if I was wise, I would study in a place like this and keep the dead buried here ever in mind. I thought of my grandfathers, for example, from whom I learned as much, more, than from all my store of books. There is a living conversation still present in my mind from these men different from my conversations with authors. Certainly, I appear to pursue the writers more, the ones who put their words down in texts bound to be read, but somewhere deeper inside of who I am, I know my grandfathers, who sleep now and are remembered by us daily and visited sometimes, are witnesses, they are members of the communion of saints, they are spoken of in our creed, between "the holy catholic church" and "the forgiveness of sins", and when I wander this cemetary in Tubingen this strikes me more deeply than the journals I read over lunch. Thanks be to God for all the saints in Christ throughout time, but especially as I think here and walk, for those buried here, and those I remember, my grandfathers.

Possibly one of the most intriguing responses I got to interviews while visiting congregations was to the Reformation/modern church question as put in Heilbronn. The pastor there responded that when he thought of the home of the Reformation, he thought, not of Germany and Luther, but rather of the Huguenots in France. These are his genealogical roots, many Huguenots fled to places like Swabia and Potsdam during the persecutions in France, and so are still in Germany today. This was something of a shock, for I was normally prepared to hear either the response, "No, I don't think of the connection at all," or, "Yes, I think about the connection, but we live in different times," but not, "The Reformation is really centered elsewhere." Of course, there is a progression of Reformations in Europe, the earliest probably being in Prague with Jan Hus, then the 2nd with Wycliffe and others in England, then third chronologically, the Reformation centered in Wittenberg, and finally, the Calvinists in Geneva who had their influence also in France. So it is correct to think of multiple centers of Reformation. Nevertheless, it was de-centering for me, having just come from Wittenberg, to have this reminder set forth so plainly.

What is particularly interesting in this formulation is this further point. Although the Reformation occured in Germany, the French Revolution occured, well, in France. And it would be quite easy to argue, with much sincerity, that the French Revolution had a greater practical and religious impact on our modern lives than the Reformation itself. Concepts such as religious freedom for the individual, some kind of democratic rule of the people, etc., all of this comes out of the French Revolution, and we have incorporated these ideas and beliefs wholesale into our modern church practices. Germany, at best in its time came up with the cuius regio, eius religio, to each region, its own religion (and before those of you with considerable historical astuteness jump on this point and argue that this was a compromise only, made in Augsburg, and not really central to the reformation itself or its central tenets of faith, I say I agree, but nevertheless, the practical ramifications still play themselves out differently than the ideal). The radicality of the revolution in France was its move to "to each man, his religion."

Our conversations then turned to the dividing line between Catholics and Protestants and the continuing divide between the protestant claim for justification as that which makes for the catholicity of the church, and the Catholic move to authority. Although we disagreed on some of our formulations of faith, we did agree that the two churches remain ships passing in the night and not really hearing each other.

I'm jumping over a couple of blogs in order to let my "readership" know the following:

1) I'm no longer in Germany
2) the trip home to Madison was safe, uneventful, but happy, because I'm now back with my spouse
3) those of you who feel reading the blog was worth a subscription price can certainly pay a freewill subscription fee! :)

I'll be posting some remaining notes here in the next week or so. Lots happened between departing Wittenberg and getting on the plane, a very satisfying last week in Germany. Weird too how once you fly across the Atlantic, experiences, people, etc., feel distant not only in miles but also minutes, hours, time.

Currently visiting a friend from Japan who is a student in Tübingen. Funny, but it turned out to be a Japanese fellow student who made me feel most like a missionary in my time here. We spent a number of hours back in Wittenberg talking about the church and the Reformation, and I had invited her one Sunday to a worship service. She had mentioned a couple times in passing that she didnt have a religious community. So, she loved the music of worship, and when she came down to Tubingen, she immediately hooked up with a local congregation. She has a chart of her classes hanging on the wall of her dorm room, and she has blocked out time especially for Sunday morning worship, Wednesday evening organ music, and Tuesday choir. She also helps the congregation by assisting elderly members with hymnbooks, getting around in the church, etc. It is remarkable, namely, worth remarking, that the same thing couldnt happen, or would happen rarely, with a German that I would meet. Theres an oppenness to talking about and entertaining participation in the faith of the church from the Asian side that I just never see when speaking with agnostic Europeans. Most of the time they are either completely skeptical, outright hostile, or patently indifferent. And the preceding list of adjectives does a good job of describing the frustration that would be involved with being a missionary in contemporary Germany.

The local congregation near my host families house in Wittenberg has a worship service once a month presided by a retired pastor. I was able to catch one of these prior to leaving Wittenberg, and it was a beautiful, simple affair. There were about 20 of us, the organist was sick so we sang all the hymns ourselves. It was St. Michael and All Angels Sunday, so the pastor preached on the role and function of angels in Gods work of salvation. The service was splendidly clear on this point, angels as speakers and servants through whom God works creative and redemptive work, but not allowing angels to somehow supplant the function of God and make Jesus or the Trinity surpufluous. This is always an important question in Christian theology, because we must distinguish at all times between how and what God uses for Gods purposes, and the things themselves as in the hands of God but not gods. Very nicely done, and Im at work on a translation of a Reformation era hymn on this theme(Melanchthon), hopefully to be posted next week.

Also partook of what was probably my last Eucharist service in Germany, as the southern part of Germany, at least in the evangelical church, has been informed by the Reformed tradition and only conducts the Lords Supper occasionally, rather than as an integral part of the weekly worship life of a congregation.

Didnt realize how interesting and beautiful the Neckar wine valley in SW Germany is, but now I know. Of course, the Black Forest is world renowned, but the whole valley down the Neckar is amazing. Many of the grape growing vineyards stand on such steep hills that the vines run parallel to rather than up and down the hills. Theyre so steep that parallel vines still receive equal light, whereas often grapes are grown on rows ascending a hill in order to catch more light. And these vines blanket virtually every hill thrughout the whole valley. Its quite different here in western southern Germany. Around Munich everything is completely flat. Here you really feel like youre in this environmental wonderland. Rode the train between Heilbronn and Tubingen today, and didnt get much reading done because I was gawking out the window the whole time. Ive tasted the wine now, and disagree with Mark Twains description that the wine is indestinguishable from vinegar. Also disagree with his assessment of German newspapers. The Suddeutsch Zeitung is a wonderful paper, read it on both of my train trips down into this area. Course, cant be too hard on Twain. He described papers published 120 years ago.

This reminds me that Germany needs to be described Bundesland by Bundesland in order to provide a correct picture of what is actually a very diverse country.

This past weekend was the equivalent of Thanksigiving in Germany. Literal translation would be the harvest thanks festival. Like many harvest festivals in churches int he states, they gather a lot of produce together and display it in front of the altar. In the case of the congregation I visited, they also brought in a fleet of cute kindergarten children to sing songs and do miniature skits. Normally, on any given Sunday, the church (I think most churches) has about 50 people in attendance, max, most of them older. This particular Sunday is the Easter or Christmas of Germany, with lots of adults coming to see their children, nieces, and nephews sing. It was so interesting to observe this, because at least a couple of itmes Ive worked in congregations where it was the norm for half of the congregation to be children, but Ive never seen anything like this in Germany. What was weird, and I think this was true of my feelings as well as the pastors, was that by the end of hte service, you kind of yearn for the quiet and peace of the smaller service, and wonder why the children have to be so noisy all the time. Which goes to show how much the missionary impulse can be quelled by weaks of getting used to small numbers in the building.

After the service, attended a very nice one year celebration of the installation of new church bells. More on this to come, but the basics can be uttered now, because they are so interesting. Last year the whole congregation gathered to see the smelting and production of the new church bells, four in all. Then they gathered a few weeks later to see them lifted up and installed in the steeple. The largest of the bells weighs approximately 6000 pounds! The first bell is called the Dominican bell, the second is the prayer bell, the third is the cross bell, and the fourth is the baptism bell. Each is decorated with appropriate insignias and art. Gorgeous. These are the bells that ring every fifteen minutes in teh village, and for ten minutes prior to each worship service in teh church. Altogether, the bells cost $230,000 dollars, not including installation! But bells are an essential part of the architectural life of virtually any community in Germany, so...

We watched a video of last years celebration and installation, drank coffee and new wine, had a wonderful time. I interviewed the pastor on Saturday and Sunday, and answers to both of my primary questions were fascinating. More to come.

that one of my first, Gestalt clarifying German experiences came before I got on the plane. Luther Seminary hired a professor of missions this past spring, and I was present for his open-to-the-public trial lecture. Luther usually brings in a fleet of faculty possibilities for a given professorship, and then has them lecture publicly. They also get grilled later by the faculty. Anyway, said German prof stands up and delivers an in-depth, thoughtful, and very dry account of German missions in Nigeria. I learned a lot, the analysis was first-rate, but one could fall asleep given the style of presentation and tone of voice. But this is not yet what made it German. In fact, the presentation style was understandable, given that he was presenting in a foreign language, was seeking to be reserved in order to be respectful to his audience, etc.

After the lecture, the questions came. We have another prof at Luther Seminary, Craig Van Gelder, who is a leading North American missions theologian and publicist. He, along with most American missions theologians, constantly asks the question, "How does this hit the road?" The American mind always wants to take an abstract concept, an historical datum, anything, and apply it, make it "work". The German theologian, on the other hand, wants to make sure the historical claim was made correctly and truthfully in and of itself for the sake of historical inquiry, and the German theologian only sometimes concerns himself with how the rubber hits the road. Karl Barth even famously said that, to paraphrase, that the theologian shouldn't concern him or herself with how the general public will understand the theology, but rather, should be concerned with the theological centerpoint itself, which is inquiry into theos, that is, God. You don't expect a TV repairman to be able to explain in great detail how a vacuum tube works to a layman. You only expect that he understands it and knows how to fix it. So too a theologian who prepares tools for preachers and other theologians for the sake of the discipline itself (like every other academic discipline), not immediately for the sake of the masses. Should we tell quantum physicists to stop doing their research just because most of us don't have a clue what they're doing?

So, getting back to the point. Craig Van Gelder asked our visiting German professor, "How do you see your analysis of German missions in Nigeria informing the missiological situation in North America? What practical suggestions do you have?" With great sincerity and warmth, said German professor began to respond- "Well, last Sunday I attended worship here in St. Anthony park, and they have a wonderful thing that they do. They have small cards in the pews, and if you wish, you can fill these cards out with your name and address, and put them in the offering plate, and if you say you would like to be contacted, then the pastor or somebody in the church will contact you in the coming week. I think this is a great idea!" He actually elaborated even more than this, but you get the point. So, and this is why the story is exemplary (hopefully it is already self-evident how this story is exemplary/problematic), it is just a given to the average American church goer that there are such a thing as pew cards. Not so to the German. And herein lies a huge difference between our churches, a cultural rift so deep that it is almost hard to fathom. And it can be explained very simply by speaking of pew cards.

Started reading last night a portion of Mark Twain´s "A Tramp Abroad" which takes place, at least in part, in Germany, first of all in Heidelberg. Twain really is liberating to read. He just flows from thing to thing. A Tramp Abroad is an example of a blog that somebody, namely Samuel Clemens, was actually paid to publish. Funny. Anyway, the first two chapters of Tramp arent even about Germany. Instead, Twain´s walk in a forest outside Heidelberg becomes a segue, through the squawking of ravens, into a long a humorous story about a California man of the woods who learned the language of animals and then reports a weird story about bluejays arguing about a hole in a roof.

So you sit down to read a travel narrative about Germany, and you get stories from California for eight straight pages. And you love every minute of it.

Which re-confirms a theory I´ve long had that part of the joy of reading and writing is out of placeness. We read to be somewhere else, and we travel to be home. We travel to learn about our home, and we read to learn about somewhere else... for example, here in Germany I have learned...

Book recommendation:

Joseph Stiglitz, Globalization and It's Discontents

Attended a fascinating conference this past week on the issue of "Just War, Just Peace." Schorlemmer, a rather famous German theologian, was the convener, and had invited a variety of very interesting presenters. The central topic of the conference, aside from the theme, was the life and times and thought of Willy Brandt. Unfortunately, not enough time right now to post all my notes on the subject. But briefly, as a foretaste, know that the Germans are really struggling with the U.S. actions, or potential actions, in Iraq. They have too much experience with quotations like "the party is always right," which rings so close to George W.'s quote, "Whoever isn't with us, is against us." I wonder if GW knows he sounds like Communist party leaders of 20 or 30 years ago.

Have, ever since my first visit to Europe, been fascinated by the travelers' obsession with old buildings. Why does international travel always include, or even emphasize, the visiting of castles and palaces? I'm sure Twain has something clever to say on the subject, so I'll look there after I look into my own brain. Was in Potsdam two weekends ago for a language course visit. Potsdam is remarkable for the diversity and number of interesting buildings it contains all within walking distance of the Altstadt. The palaces built by Frederick II are ironic because they are examples of royalty, fascinated by buildings in another land, building buildings that look like buildings from another land, all so that tourists years later can visit buildings built by kings fascinated by buildings built by kings in a foreign land. Frederick II never got to travel to Italy as he so much desired to do, so instead he built castles, complete with Roman ruins so that he would have an idealized landscape to gaze out upon from his garden villa.

He was also a rather open-minded nobleman, and so welcomed a strange amalgamation of foreigners into Potsdam. French Huegenots fleeing the oppression of the counter-Reformation, Dutch dike builders, Russians who came and built beautiful wooden homes in the Russian quarter, and a quaint Orthodox church in the middle of woods. The first mosque in Germany was also built here in Potsdam.

Besides these very cool historic ethnic quarters, there are the various palaces, including Cecilia Schloss, where the Potsdam Conference of 1945 was held. By the time I had visited all the obligatory sites, I was both repelled by having spent a whole day in such an egrigriously touristy manner, but then also interested, as we slipped on large cotton footcovers and slid our way through the Neues Palais, listening all the while to a historical account of the life of the nobility in this building and their fascination with Roccocco design.

So what exactly is this fascination with buildings. Why does the Parthenon stand today still in Athens, white and bleached by the sun, and why do we keep rebuilding it, and maintaining it, and visiting it? Why would Athens not be Athens without it, in a sense? There are of course hundreds of possible responses, including a) vestigial class ressentiment, b) the false eternalness of great buildings, c) the ease and confidence with which one can visit buildings as opposed to more transient, ephemeral events in the life of a culture, etc. Or is it in fact the very It-ness of buildings, that they are available for us to stare at, and talk at, gook at and laugh at, and they will never make us feel the least uncomfortable, never talk back to us or scare us in any way, and so we walk in and over and through them, all the while confident that we are safely engaging a foreign land, snapping pictures, in order to say we have been there, all the while knowing secretly in our hearts, "You didn't learn a blessed thing because really, you could have been anywhere, and the building was just a disguise for the semblance of having been somewhere. It did not change you, because it can't, and you wouldn't let it even if it could." That, I think, is why we visit buildings. Or that's the dark, radical side of the coin.

This blog starts a while back when I stopped at a fish restaurant for lunch in Hamburg, ordered a wonderful plate of fresh north sea fish, and then sat down at the table of two men, students a few years younger than me, who were in town for the street festival. One dressed like your average German male, jeans and worn collared shirt, the other looked to be of Rastafarian extraction, dreadlocks tucked up but not successfully contained by a large and colorful hat. About 10 minutes into my meal, they struck up a conversation with me, of course first asking where I came from, what I was doing in Hamburg, then I reversing the question, to learn that one was a veterinarian student in Vienna and the other a law student in Munich. But they both hailed from Schleswig Holstein originally.

After some initial pleasantries, we wandered off on a variety of subjects, the most substantial being the future of Germany. Anyone who studies history knows that Germany has played a considerable role, for good or for ill, in this centuries historical landscape. Anyone who studies philosophy, theology, and a variety of other disciples, know the extent to which Germans (and German speakers) have been stunningly influential in the thought-world, the weltgeist, of the west. Just start dropping names at random. Einstein, Goethe, Kant, Hegel, Heidegger, Bach, Beethoven, Schliermacher, Bonhoeffer, Freud, Barth, Bultmann, Hesse, Solle, Mann, Klee, and so on. But, and this is the critical issue, it is more difficult today to say that Germany holds the same kind of sway and influence that it did in the past. The German educational (Bildungs) system is reportedly in disarray, and has descended into the lower ranks of the world's educational systems. One has difficulty idenitifying particular ways in which Germany influences world politics, culture, etc.

I mentioned this, in a halting way, in German, and the young men agreed that this was a dominant leitmotif for conversation in contemporary Germany. Then, we got into it really, discussing the mood of the youth culture in Germany, particularly as it relates to expectations, work ethic, etc. More to come, but for the moment, think Alvin Toffler.

Had intended, at least once or twice in this visit, to get out into the mountains and wild preserves of Germany, but unfortunately the combination of time constraints, flooding, and money, kept me fro the goal. Mostly. Did get out for some damp and fecund runs on trails in the Thuringian forest, outside Eisenach, and how this past weekend I gathered a group of classmates for a Sunday day trip to the Harz mountains. Actually, just a tiny SE section of the Harz mountains, but well-known and beautiful nonetheless. We visited Thale, a popular DDR tour destination due to its pagan historical sites (not that the DDR was pagan, but rather, the mountains are in Saxen-Anhalt, part of the DDR, and thus available for travel). Hexentanzplatz (witch dancing place) on a hill overlooking Thale, is accesible by a kabinet bahn, that is, a cross between a gondola and chicken eggs. Hex. is about as kitsch a tourist destination as I have seen. The actual sites to see are virtually nil, but the legend is attractive (witches gather every year for a pagan festival), so there are plenty of tourist stands selling bratwurst, beer, witch dolls, bumper stickers, etc. If you are emboldened enough, you can stand beside, or even do strange things to, the Sysiphian witch pushing a stone into position to build the dance arena. Then, following this obligatory visit, you can proceed to enjoy the great outdoors, a descent into the Rose Valley, cross a thunderous mountain stream, then reascend to Rosetrappe, a small indentation in a stone on the top of a cliff supposedly made by the cloven hoof of the devil.

Stopped back in Thale and had drinks and food at the bar of a Turkish restaurant, the bartender really chatted us up, and gave us extra bonus shots of Raki (turkish anis liquer). You can travel a whole day in Germany with five people for 28 euros if you are willing to take slow trains, so we took the slow train back to Wittenberg, napping and joking. Ah, to be a student again! :)

Notes on an altar piece

The altar piece in the front of the Stadtkirche in Wittenberg is incredibly famous. It depicts the four "sacraments" of the Lutheran church. For those of you who did confirmation, you might think we have only two sacraments in the Lutheran tradition, but Cranach's altar frontal begs to differ (as does, to a certain extent, the confessional writings of the Lutherans themselves).

So, some clarification. The left section of the tryptych depicts baptism, of course, the first sacrament of the Christian life. It is situated on the left because it comes first, and just as we would read a book, we look to the left and see Melanchthon baptizing an infant. Melanchthon?! An infant?! Yes, that's right, it emphasizes and teaches in pictorial form the baptism of infants, and the baptizer is none other than Melancthon, who was never ordained as a pastor. Still havent figured out exactly why good ol Mel stands in as baptizer, but it certainly teaches that baptism is not a special work of the priest, but can be done by every person, as God through Christ has sent us into all the world to baptize.

2nd comes the Lord's supper, logically following on baptism, and situated in the middle, just as the table of the altar is situated in teh middle of the worship space. There's a circular rather than a long straight table. The disciples are all there, but dressed in the garb of the typical Wittenberg Burger of his day. There's also a roasted animal in the center of the table. Anyone know why Lord's Supper depictions of this period include not just bread and wine but also meat at the table?

The office of the keys, or confession and absolution, stands on the right portion of the tryptych. Although this seems out of place in a sense, thus coming after rather than before communion in the left to right pattern, actually functions to flank the Lord's Supper with baptism, and thus pairs confession with baptism, reminding us that the Christian life is one of constant repentance and turning back to our baptism. Bugenhagen, the parish pastor in Wittenberg, holds the keys above the heads of parishioners, and some are loosed from the bonds of their sins, and some are bound.

The fourth painting depicts the fourth sacrament in the Lutheran tradition, namely, the sermon. It thus provides the ground, the basis, and the connecting point, between the altar and the other three sacraments. There's a way in which this is actually the primary sacrament, for it is in the Word that Lutherans find their center, and the sermon is the place where the Word of God is preached to the congregation. In this case, Cranach has painted Luther preaching to his congregation. In between the pulpit and the pews is the crucified Jesus on the cross. Luther points only to Jesus. His sermon points only to Jesus. Thus Jesus in his crucifixion forms the very center of the tryptych from and through which all the other sacraments arise.

I'm playing a bit with the term sacrament here, but it is clear from this painting and our confessional writings that we are called to expand a bit our understanding of sacrament a bit, to loosen it up from the Augustinian definition of the word combined with a physical element. In this case, we must understnad the word itself as a physical thing that flys empowered by the Holy Spirit into the ears of the hearers and actually accomplishes the faith that it promises. The Word of God does not return empty. In the sermon, the congregation truly receives Christ. In the office of the keys, the penitent truly receives God's forgiveness. This we are to believe and hold fast to. Thanks, Cranach!

Going On

Friday, March 19, 2004

Wednesday, February 19, 2003

Saturday, February 15, 2003

Sunday, February 02, 2003

Saturday, January 25, 2003

Thursday, January 09, 2003

Wednesday, January 08, 2003

Monday, January 06, 2003

Wednesday, January 01, 2003

Thursday, December 19, 2002

Tuesday, December 17, 2002

Saturday, December 14, 2002

Friday, December 13, 2002

Sunday, December 08, 2002

Friday, December 06, 2002

Thursday, October 17, 2002

Monday, October 14, 2002

Sunday, October 13, 2002

Tuesday, October 08, 2002

Monday, October 07, 2002

Friday, October 04, 2002

Tuesday, October 01, 2002

Monday, September 30, 2002

Friday, September 27, 2002

Thursday, September 26, 2002

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