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Inter-Religious Emergers?

Some very interesting conversation going on in regards to this release from Emergent-US.  Basically, emergent Christian leaders meeting with post-modern Jewish leaders in an attempt to talk about building sacred communities in our cultural context.

You can read some of the debate here and here.

The main area of concern seems to be that McClaren's words may indicate that Jewish-Christian cooperation will advance the Kingdom of God. 

Hmmm.  What does this mean?

Strength and Weakness in Harmony

Just finished reading The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy, an interesting set of essays.  Sort of on the level of "philosophy for dummies," it's a fun read, but not exactly challenging.  One of the essays, though, sparked some interesting speculation for me.  It's an attempt to compare and contrast Tolkein with Zen and Taoist ideas.  Now, they're not claiming Tolkein is Taoist or anything nutty like that.  But it does raise some fruiful questions, particularly when looking at the Taoist idea of yin and yang.  The author comes up short, I think, but provided an interesting departure point for some theological reflection on power, weakness, force, sacrifice, and the theological concepts of Law and Gospel.

Too Sweet - i(Pod)Ncarnation

This is just great:

Thanks to Cult of Mac blog.   Side note: first use of an image in a blog post for me.

Picking Nits, Justified

I just started reading Lynne Truss' Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, which is an absolute hoot. Punctuation matters! Without it, writing becomes increasingly difficult to decipher, meaning becomes lost, and communication can grind to a halt.

The theologian in me is taking great delight in Ms Truss' book. Picking nits can be a good thing!

Why Fixed?

"Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus..." (Heb 3:1)

I'm just not pleased with my previous post on these words. I think the reason is that I missed a key rule in reading the Bible: always ask, "What's the 'therefore' there for?"

In other words, why should we fix our thoughts on Jesus? Why, particularly, in our distraction-drenched world, with thoughts careening past us from every direction, should we fix our thoughts on this one person?

Fixation

"Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus..." (Hebrews 3:1)

Where do you fix your thoughts? As Alanis Morissette once asked, "Why are you so petrified of silence/ Here can you handle this?/ Did you think about your bills, you ex, your deadlines/ Or when you think you're gonna die/ Or did you long for the next distraction?" What captures your attention, demands your energy?

My father-in-law, Joe, is a Harley Davidson rider. He knows about the matter of focus and fixation. And it's something worth considering.

A New Way to Be Human

"'Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done...' And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground" (Luke 22:43-44)

I've been wanting to post about this since Holy Week, but of course, that's not exactly when pastors are burdened with an excess of free time! What I'd like to say has to do with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, and what this scene means for how Jesus' followers live out our humanity. It is indebted to Robert Louis Wilken's analysis of Maximus Confessor and his understanding of Jesus' will. Think that sounds irrelevant and abstract? I contend it has everything to do with our day-to-day existence, and the very concrete and realistic question of how we are human.

Everything is Different

Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

And now, everything is different. The grave has been robbed of its finality. Sin has been proven powerless to overcome the grace and power of the God who creates everything out of nothing and brings life out of death. The devil's pretense has been shown to be nothing but raging pomp and empty, poisonous lies.

For Jesus has literally gone to hell, indeed gone through hell, and burst its gates with the joyous fury of an all-consuming triumph. Oh, don't get me wrong. That ancient dragon still fumes, his claws still tear, his jaws still grasp.

But he lost. He'd been trying to displace the Son since God first spoke radiance into the chaos, and he took his best shot through Pilate, Herod, a bunch of religious folks, and a particularly nasty form of execution. But, really. Nails? Scourging? Name-calling? A stone over a tomb? Against the Light of Light? A few hours of darkness against the Dayspring from on high?

What Do You Bring to the Family?

"Both the one who makes holy and those who are made holy are of the same family" (Hebrews 2:11).

I remember a remark my father-in-law made on the occassion of my marriage to his daughter. Paige and I are blessed with great "in law relations" all around, and Joe, my F.I.L., was commenting on this. "And we even get a bonus grandma in the family now, too!" he said, referring to my grandmother (who turns 90 this month, by the way!).

I always laugh when I think of this. What did I bring into the family? A "bonus grandma." Not a bad thing to bring! Of course, that was hardly the point of the marriage. But if, as Hebrews claims, Jesus and those who believe in him are "of the same family," what does he bring into the family? And might that not be the point of it all?

The Core

Youth Specialties' great one-day training event.

Wow.

Here's a couple of un-digested thoughts.