"Luther on Vocation"

Wingren's book isn't what I expected.  Loads of people had recommended it as a fabulous book about vocation.  There are definitely good parts, but overall I'm not as impressed as I thought I'd be. 

From the title, I'd expected the book to be virtually all Luther.  It's not.  It's Gustaf Wingren, and he is explaining his take on Luther's take on vocation.  He also disputes other authors' take on Luther's take on vocation.



I also noticed the use of the word "vocation."  There is some disagreement among us about whether vocation is law or gospel or both or whatever.  And as I've been reading Wingren, I think part of the reason for this disagreement can be attributed to his book.  He keeps using the word vocation and "interpreting Luther" as it were ... but he substitutes the word vocation when Luther's word in that particular quote was station or office.

Vocation is from the Latin for "calling."  As in, "The Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, ...."   Vocation is the call to live by faith in whatever station or office God has placed you.  Yeah, so, when Wingren flip-flops "vocation" and "station" (and when we then do the same thing) discussions are muddied and convoluted. 


And then there's the section on prayer.  Wingren points out that we shouldn't be praying for things God has promised through means.  In other words, I can't sit on the couch and eat bonbons and watch Oprah, and then complain at 7:00 because God didn't give us supper.  God gave me a grocery store and money, and a garden and a knife and an oven, and that is how He gives us supper.  But then Wingren goes on to suggest that God will be hacked off at us if we pray for things and haven't done everything in our power to bring Whatever-We-Prayed-For into being.  According to that, I guess I'd never pray because I could never do enough to provide for myself.  Furthermore, he makes it sound like prayer is a last resort: when there's nothing left for you to do to solve the situation, that's when you can pray for help.  I just have to keep reminding myself that Wingren is trying to argue against prayer-as-a-magic-wand.

Good aspects of the book coming up in another post...

But They're WRONG

Jews have no dealing with Samaritans (John 4). 
The Samaritan (yeah, you know, the good Samaritan, the one in the parable) was somebody the beaten-up Jew considered an enemy (Luke 10). 

But let's think about it:  It was not okay for the Samaritans to worship someplace besides Jerusalem.  It was wrong for Jereboam (that long-ago king) to have set up a church that wasn't the temple in Jerusalem.  So the Jews were right to insist that worship belonged only where God had instituted it.

What was wrong was hating the errant Samaritans for their error.  "They screwed up.  FINE.  Just leave them to their badness.  FINE."

Nope.  Not fine.


"... Love to the loveless shown
that they might lovely be."

Serendipitously, this same topic

 came up on another blog this week.

The Lawyer's Version of Law

When the lawyer wanted to trap Jesus in His words (prior to the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10), Jesus asked, "What is written in the law?  What is your reading of it?"

Of course, the lawyer answered with a synopsis of the Rules.  And sure enough, that is in the law.

But what else is in "the law," the Torah? 

What if Jesus asked, "What is written in the law?  What is your reading of it?" and the answer was something like, "The Lord shall provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering" (Gen 22)?  Or "Stand still, and see the salvation which the Lord your God will accomplish for you this day" (Ex 14)?

The Good Samaritan

We self-righteous humans are prone to thinking the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10) is all about what we should DO. 

I find it interesting that the very next verses in Luke are the story of Mary and Martha.  Martha is fretting because there's too much to DO, and Mary isn't DOing.  She's sitting there, soaking up Jesus' preaching. 

I'm supposin' that these are not two disconnected stories.  The events at Lazarus's house shed more light on the parable. 

Yup.

Patient Angels

The angels must have been affected by our sin.

I never thought of it before.

They're created beings.  The whole creation groans, awaiting the redemption of the sons of God.  The angels fight in the spiritual dimension ("wield God's word, a weapon glorious...") to guard us from demonic forces.

Angels too, like the bunnies and the rocks and trees, will rejoice when Jesus returns and makes a new heaven and a new earth, and man is freed, and sin's effects are no more.

Hand-Me-Down Treasures

Once upon a time, I felt greedy and guilty when people would hand over STUFF when we happened to mention we needed something like it.  Our parents were not the only culprits, but were the most frequent givers.  "Wait, I wasn't asking for yours!  I was just noticing that it's something I need to obtain somewhere."  And yet, "No, it's fine.  Here, take it.  Really!" 

But now I'm there.  I want stuff out of the house.  The kids see it on the pile headed to the flea market, and ask if I'd mind if they took it.  MIND?   No.  No no no.  Please take it and enjoy!

I almost feel guilty for inflicting STUFF on them.

Almost.  But not quite.

Music Appreciation

A lot of us middle-aged people learned about classical music more from Bugs Bunny than we did from school.   Even without formal and systematic instruction, though, the simple exposure to music made those pieces seem comfortingly familiar when we bumped into them again.  (Of course, we may imagine Elmer Fudd or Wile E Coyote when we hear certain pieces of music, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.)

I love what the headmaster of our church's school is doing with the kids.  Simple simple simple.  But an idea I wish I'd known about earlier.   She has an assortment of great music pieces.  I forget how many -- maybe 100 to 200?  One piece per week.  Play it every day. 

That's it.  There isn't necessarily any study of the composer's life, or his other music, or anything.  There could be.  But the point is simply for the kids to HEAR these pieces over and over.  So it takes 3-5 minutes a day.  It requires little prep from the teacher.  But it does a lot to expose the kids to all sorts of important pieces of music. 

And the kids seem to enjoy it even without Bugs and the Taz.

Purge Mode

Too.  Much.  Stuff.

Although there are plenty of more pressing tasks on the to-do list, I am distracted by my desire to de-clutter.  The yard needs to be simplified so there's less weeding and work out there.  But mostly I want to thin what's in cupboards, bookshelves, closets, and storage areas.  Flea market at church is in six weeks; hopefully I'll have a good pile for Maggie to hawk while I'm at work that day.

So it was timely to read an article on what clutter does to the mind.  [Hat tip: Cheryl.]  It helps me recognize why it's so hard to declutter; there is a neurological response in the brain which registers pain when getting rid of an object to which you are attached.  The article also shows that there really is stress and problems-with-focus from having too much clutter; it's not just silly me feeling overwhelmed.

I think this also explains one of the reasons vacation can be so relaxing.  If you're away from home there is usually less clutter.  The place you're staying probably has less stuff in the kitchen; you have fewer clothes to choose from; while you're away, housekeeping projects are not piled up demanding your attention.  For me, the escape-from-clutter is probably the most relaxing part of any vacation trip.

Conundrum of the month:  it's so much work to de-clutter.  And it clutters the brain to make de-cluttering decisions.  Uh ... no pain, no gain???

Skits in Church

So I don't like skits during church.  But is that just my preference, whereas somebody else has a different preference?

I figured it out.  It's not just me and my old-fashioned hang-ups.

Skits are pretending.

They're not real.  People are acting.  Actors pretend to be who they're not.  They say lines written for them instead of engaging in real-life, from-the-heart conversation.

What happens during church must be REAL.  It must be true and honest and live dialogue between God and man.

No show.
No pretend.
Genuine speech.  Speech that accomplishes a transaction.

Business-World Apologies

You've heard non-apology "apologies":  "If anyone was offended by what happened, then I want you all to know that was never the intention, and this has been over-exaggerated." 

Somehow, being in the Church, I always figured that apologizing meant that a person was taking the blame: "My fault, my own fault, my own most grievous fault."

And then you get out in the world.

Something came through at work recently.  We weren't exactly told to read it.  But it was made available, just like other materials, and proposed as suggested reading that would help us deal with customers.  The title was "Help Your Employees Learn to Apologize."  I was stunned.  An apology is NOT "accepting blame."  An apology IS "acknowledging the client's feelings."

So when I'm in a store and they're apologizing to me, it's not my imagination that I sense they're not really apologizing.

At least there are some places that

consider an apology something more 

than mere empathy.

Post-Modernism

[Yawn ...]
Folks talk about post-modernism, and I tune out.  Despite hearing people talk about it ad nauseum and what it means for society and for the Church, I just do not understand.  I tend to hear "blah blah blah" when I should be listening.

So when Jonathan Fisk was presenting at the CCA symposium last month, I was shocked to hear a brief explanation that even A Bear Of Very Little Brain can understand. 

First, Pastor Fisk explained that post-modernism is post [that is, after] the age of Reason.  "Modern man" used reason and intellect and thinking.  Post-modernism poo-poos reason.

And here's what that means: 
1.  What I feel and what I experience is what matters.
2.  Therefore, there is no certainty, no objective truth, and no absolutes.


Now that I know this, I'm not completely lost!  And "blah blah blah" actually contains a few words and sentences now that I can grasp!

Rainbow

Driving home from a visit to Mom, we watched the storms passing behind us or to the south of us. Certainly an interesting weather lesson! But the coolest thing was the rainbow -- the most vibrant one I'd seen in my life. And the fattest.

(after it had already faded quite a bit)

The evening before I'd been reading "Heaven Is for Real," and (whether it's true or not) I thought it was interesting to have read about all the colors in heaven and then to see this glorious rainbow.

Nosy Phone Calls

Maggie answers the phone, knows she can't handle whatever-it-is the stranger is saying, and passes the phone off to Mom.  I pick up the receiver and say hello.

"Have I reached you today on a land line or on a cell phone?"

A confused look pops out on my face.  "Why do you want to know?"

"It's the first question on our survey today."

Me: "I won't be answering that question today."


She responded firmly: "Are you on a land line or on a cell phone?  It's the first question I have for you on our survey today about vaccinations in your community."


"I won't be answering that question today."

Caller: "How many children between the ages of 2 and 59 months do you have in your household?"

Me (in partial shock and partial laughter):  "I won't be answering that question today."

Well, I must have sounded more snippy than I intended because her irritated response was, "You don't have to be so hostile about this."

Putting on my best effort at a pleasant voice: "I'm not being hostile.  I'm just telling you that I won't be answering your questions today."

"WHY do you have to be so difficult about this?!  Now, how many children between the ages of ..."

"Excuse me.  I won't be answering your questions today.  I'm going to hang up now.  Buh-bye."



Wow.

Mnemonic Device for the Gospel Responses

"Praise to You, O Lord"?
"Glory be to Thee, O .... Christ???  Lord???  What IS the word?"

When I was little, I could never keep it straight.  And I've noticed there are lots of people who have the same problem.

The S goes in the same response.  "Praise" goes with "Christ."
Praise be to Thee, O Christ.

The OR goes in the same response.  "Glory" goes with "Lord."
Glory to You, O Lord. 

Interior Decorating

I admit it up-front: I don't have a sense for decorating.  I would like a prettier house, but I don't want it enough to figure out what to do and then make it happen.

So on a slow day at work I was flipping through Midwest Living.  I was amazed by some of the nifty, cool, stylish, up-to-date ideas for decorating.  My jaw actually dropped.  And I still can't figure it out.

So it's stylish to have a beat-up old table?  People spend lots of money buying furniture and decorative items that are "distressed." There are methods to paint a decent piece of furniture to make it appear "distressed."   Why can this look fabulous in somebody else's house?  If I had something like that in my house, it would not tout STYLE.  It would look unkempt.

For a delectably romantic table setting, one suggestion was to use a length of burlap as a tablecloth.  Burlap.  As in, the burlap that we used in the 60's to make banners for church.  Or the burlap we would use for sack-races in grade school. 

One magazine article will tell you how a house needs COLOR .  White or eggshell walls?  Out out out.  And yet, another article will extol the virtues of various whites all throughout the house.

One photo display showed an old wooden ladder propped up in a dining room, the rungs serving as a way to display the woman's collection of antique dish towels.  And I'm thinking, "Oh, that I had enough space in the house to even understand how it's possible to have a display like that!"

These homes are put together intentionally and carefully.  People shop and shop and shop for Just The Right Item to fit the theme of the house.


Me?

I have books.
And piles of Stuff We're In The Middle Of.
And kiddos' drawings on the refrigerator.
And evidence of projects: a bag of grass seed to plant, a blender and a toaster and a mixer on the counter at all times instead of in an "appliance garage," newspaper on the table, schoolbooks on the coffee table, a sewing project scattered across the basement, etc.

Maybe we could pretend my house was decorated with a theme of Practicality and Self Reliance?  Sure.  That's it.  Totally.  It was all planned!

Surely He Won't Go to Hell? (part 2)

"So my friend is gay.  He's a really nice guy, and he goes to church and reads his Bible and everything.  Surely God won't send him to hell just because he's a homosexual?"

No.

Somebody said this was a hard question to answer.  Doesn't seem hard to me.  The answer is "no."

Do we or do we not believe that the blood of Jesus, shed on the cross, forgives the sins of the whole world?

God "sends people to hell" because they refuse to have Him.  He forgives.  He loves.  He reaches out to rescue people.  But some people refuse it. 

It's got nothing to do with "how bad they are" or whether they're pretty good people overall.  

"On my own I am worthy of all sorts of trouble in this life and eventual damnation.  There is nothing nothing nothing I can offer God to make Him like me or approve of me."  "Jesus is my righteousness, my hope, my life, my sanctification, my salvation.  Everything He is, He gives to me, and I am pure and holy in Him."

Heaven or hell?  It's not about the kind of sins or the quantity of sins you commit.  It's about whether you are in Christ.  Repentant faith clings to Him.

That said, it is true that those who are

in Christ will not "continue in sin that

grace may abound."  And God's word

does say something about homosexuality.

Surely He Won't Go to Hell? (part 1)

"So my friend is gay.  He's a really nice guy, and he goes to church and reads his Bible and everything.  Surely God won't send him to hell just because he's a homosexual?"

Forget the friend for a minute.  What does this question show about the one who's asking?

"Just because" he's a homosexual?  "Just because" she sassed her mom and wouldn't pick up her toys when she was a toddler?  "Just because" they committed acts of aggression against Europe and the whole world, resulting in the death of millions of soldiers, and exterminated six million Jews?

Big sins or little sins ... any sin is still sin.  Any imperfection -- no matter how slight -- is Not Being Perfect.  And God requires complete and total and utter perfection for those entering His heaven. 

Movies

After several friends suggested "Mirror Mirror" (a Snow White story) we watched it and fell in love with the movie.  Adventure, laughs, and romance.  One of the best we've seen in a long time!  And Maggie and I weren't even watching it with kids.

We also watched "Temple Grandin," a movie about a woman with autism, and how she (and her family) built on her strengths.  She ended up working with butchers and slaughterhouses; it may sound weird when you first hear it, but she cared about making the slaughtering more humane.  I don't know how the story will strike you if you don't know anyone on-the-spectrum, but for me it was an engaging story on so many levels!

Both are good enough to watch again and again.

DAILY Bread? Not Monthly? Or Yearly Bread?

Any person who does not know what insecurity is

does not know what faith is.

Wingren, Luther on Vocation, page 36

referring to Luther WA 6, 8

Please Be Petty About the Pennies

If you're honest, you point out to the clerk* or the bank teller when you've been given too much change.  But some of us don't want to appear greedy by complaining if we were shorted a dime or a dollar.   Go ahead -- be "greedy" about such things: the bank tellers will be appreciative that you helped them avoid the mistake which would have their drawer out-of-balance at the end of the day.




*  Footnote: I doubt it is as strict for clerks as it is for bank tellers.  When I worked in stores or restaurants, it wasn't exactly okay but wasn't a humongous deal if your cash register was off by a quarter or a dollar.