Thursday Thinking

First things first: this picture makes me feel very happy:

Yeah, that's right: Pelini is BACK, and this time, he's in charge of the whole damn thing. I'm REALLY excited for this fall!

I was supposed to drive north to Cedar Falls, IA to meet one of my Iowa Lutheran campus ministry colleagues today. But it has snowed a couple of inches and the roads are a mess, so I elected to stay home and stay safe. Bummer, though: I was really looking forward to lunch with my colleague, and also the alone time in the car, which I dearly love. But I'll have all the alone time I could want next week traveling to Nashville for the national campus ministry gathering, so I'm going to be okay.

Since I'm staying home, I'm going to try to write this week's sermon this afternoon - I'm sitting at the coffee house as we speak, getting ready to start writing. But I wanted to share this post from Dan Clendenin on this week's gospel and the fifth anniversary of the beginning of our war against Iraq. I'll admit I was in favor of the war when it started: I believed the Bush administration's claims regarding the risk of WMD, and I had always thought that not invading Baghdad in 1991 was a huge mistake. Today, I'm horrified by the lies and half-truths used by the Bush administration to justify this unjust war, and I'm sickened to think of the damage we have inflicted upon the people of Iraq, even though I do believe the driving intent behind this war was beneficial. But most of all, I'm convinced that we are never going to change as a nation until concerned people take upon themselves the burden of opposing those who would shoot first and ensure civilian, non-combatant safety later. As Clendenin asks,

"What might our world look like today if the United States, in a preemptive and unilateral decision, purely from motives of self-interest and international security, had invested $500 billion in the Muslim world for health care and hospitals, schools and electricity, micro-enterprise and cultural institutions? Or spent the money on our own citizens to help those with no health insurance, fund social security, develop new sources of renewable energy, invest in schools and education, or retrain workers displaced by a fiercely competitive global economy?"

I'm aware that some of you will disagree - that's your right and I wouldn't take it from you. I'm also aware that, now that we're there, we do have a responsibility to the people of Iraq to continue working toward building a secure, just replacement to the regime we so recklessly toppled. And in no way, shape or form do I want to denigrate the men and women whose lives are on the line, for their sacrifice is indeed noble and should never, ever be slighted. But we cannot allow the men and women who were so wrong about this misguided campaign to lead us down this path again: there must be a better way, and next time we must invest the time and energy to find it, peacefully, before the shooting starts.

Here's one paragraph of my sermon I've already completed:

When Jesus breathed on his disciples and said to them, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.", he did so with a body that still bore the scars of the crucifixion, a body that will always bear the scars of the crucifixion. Even after the resurrection, the scars still remain. To be sent as a Christian is to know that the world will not be kind to those who insist upon the way of peace, forgiveness and service to one's neighbor - and you are being sent in that way this morning. Never, ever think that your faith allows you the luxury of safety in this world - Jesus called his disciples to follow him to death, and he calls you to the same. But within that call is great mercy, for the Father who knows the danger we face also raised Jesus to show us who has the final word, and guess what? The final word does not belong to the powers of war, violence and death, but to the Creator, the Word through which it Created, and the Spirit which has now been given to you through the resurrection of Christ. The scars still remain, but they are healed and a thing of the past - so will be war, violence and death in the day of Christ that will one day come.

Peace be with you all.
From snowy Ames,
Scott