2021 Books: Tales by H.P. Lovecraft

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Well, consider me... whelmed.

I know Lovecraft is a huge influence on Stephen King and many other folks. I can see what so many of them have come to love - when he was on his game, he was fantastic, particularly for his time. But perhaps I should have just stuck with a smaller compendium with At the Mountains of Madness and some of the best short stories, because by the end I was checking out every single time I read the following words: "the mad Arab, Abdul Alhazred..."

High points: The Call of Cthulhu, definitely. At the Mountains of Madness and The Case of Charles Dexter Ward were both very good, and I'd never even heard of the latter. It was the longest of the stories, incorporating several different generations and an interesting, very sympathetic main character. The Dunwich Horror, The Colour Out of Space, and The Thing on the Doorstep were also new to me, and I'm very much looking forward to watching the movie version of The Colour Out of Space when I've got some free time. But page after page of 1st person narratives s-l-o-w-l-y developing from odd suspicions into full-on terror just starts to sound the same after a while.

It could be that if I actually owned this volume, I could pick it up every now and again to try a story on its own as some sort of palate cleanser, but trying to read it straight through turned into quite a slog before all was said and done.

My recommendation: look for a "best of" version or read Lovecraft one story at a time. Don't be a shoggoth and try to devour it whole - there may be unpleasant consequences for those who do.

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Book Review: Persepolis Rising by James S.A. Corey

Persepolis Rising by James S.A. Corey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Extra time for reading in these days of pandemic lockdown has found me galloping through The Expanse, the excellent sci-fi series from James S.A. Corey. If you haven't read the series but you think it sounds familiar, you may be thinking of the also-excellent television series based on the novels, originally aired by SyFy but picked up by Amazon a few years ago. This is one of those few instances where the book and the movie/show are both excellent and worthy of all the time you can invest in either or (preferably) both.

Persepolis Rising moves the story considerably into the future of the Expanse universe. The crew of the Rocinante are dealing with aging bodies and a desire for changed lives, but as is often the case in this series, circumstances disrupt these plans and the final act of the larger narrative begins in earnest. To say anything more detailed would involve all kinds of spoilers, so I'll just leave the synopsis there and advise you to start all the way back at Leviathan's Wake so you can truly appreciate the story when you get to Persepolis Rising.

What I genuinely appreciate about The Expanse as a whole is the way its authors (James S.A. Corey is the nom de plume for Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham) are determined to build a world in which the science isn't actually fictional. There are no wings on the Rocinante- it flies with a theoretically possible fusion drive and maneuvering thrusters. In space, no one can walk on the floor of a ship without thrust or spin gravity. Speed is governed by how many G forces the human body can endure, not by hyperdrives or warp speeds. I love Star Trek, Star Wars, and all kinds of other space operas, but The Expanse universe is filled with plausible science AND compelling narrative AND deeply developed characters you come to love and despise and pity and cherish. There's so much here that even on this third time reading this novel, I'm discovering new plot points and being delighted by stuff I've forgotten is in there.

The plan is for this series to end after 9 books, and I'm somewhat dreading that final page turn, because I haven't enjoyed a series this much in years - it might rank right up there with The Lord of the Rings in terms of holding the excellence all the way to the end (looking at you, Wheel of Time & A Song of Ice and Fire). Embarking on this series is a big undertaking, but trust me - the journey will be worth it in the end.


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Daily Online Chapel - Powers

Once Midland University made the move to remote classes, I started doing a series of Daily Online Chapel services. Here's today's version:

Living with Grace in Anxious Times

While scrolling through social media recently, I saw a colleague I really respect get blasted by someone in their community. Publicly. That's just one example of some alarming abuse that's been happening lately. Here are some others:

• A pastor receives the agenda for an upcoming Council meeting and "Accomodating Pastor's children in worship" is an agenda item. 
• Online video worship services being critiqued for not being professional enough.
• Pastors observing recommended social distancing & strict visitation policies at local hospitals being criticized for not visiting members in person in the midst of a pandemic.
• Furloughed ministers being asked to continue providing pastoral care for the communities which are no longer paying for that care. 

These are times of high anxiety, fear, and grief. Anxious, scared, and grieving people are rarely capable of exhibiting their best behavior. Even when accounting for the current environment, however, it's disturbing to hear these stories of abuse from colleagues I know are doing everything they can to provide pastoral care to the communities to which God has called them.

In this time of uncertainty, change, and fear, we can present a counter-narrative of faith, endurance, and love. In fact, we already are. The situations I described above are all true, but they are the unfortunate exceptions. I've seen congregations shift to video worship services and graciously laugh about our lack of sophistication & polish. Several congregations have scheduled parades of members, driving past the houses where their ministers live and honking, waving, singing, doing something fun to tell their pastors and deacons they are loved and appreciated. Phone trees have been set up so that every member of a congregation gets a call from a fellow member at least once a week. How many of us have hosted a Zoom Bible Study or caught up with friends at a distance?

Learning one new skill requires a period of trial and error, of failing a little bit less each time until we build up the competency desired. Most of us will never be Tour de France-level bicyclists, but almost all of us learned to ride a bike at some point in our childhood, right? We learned how to ride by falling down until we didn't, until that crazy balance clicked in our minds and bodies. We developed that competency over time, usually in private, and eventually we were able to not even think about how to ride a bike - we just hopped on the seat and took off.

This global pandemic has stripped away most of our former competencies and left us all juggling job and family requirements that were unthinkable less than six months ago. In a sense, we've all been told we can no longer walk, or even ride a bike: everything is on a unicycle now, everyone has to do it, and it all has to be done where everyone can see. We're building new competencies in every aspect of our life and work, all at once. We are falling down - regularly, often, and publicly. It's a painful time to be a person.

This is a time for grace if ever the was one. This should be our primary language in the church, but we've adapted so well to the cultural language of performance and production that grace is an unfamiliar dialect - it sounds familiar, but it'll take some time to be fluent in it again. This is a time for grace with ourselves. This is a time for grace with the limitations imposed on us by this pandemic we cannot control. This is a time for grace with our families and housemates who grow every more wearying and annoying with each passing interminable day of social distancing. This is a time for grace with co-workers who still don't know how to mute video conference calls or don't have a private spot where kids or spouses won't pop into the background. This is a time for grace with Council members who are insensitive or even absent because they're worried about losing their jobs. This is a time for grace with all of this and more. 

We once believed grace was easy, right? Here in the American midwest we are particularly good at the sort of grace that left room for grudges while presenting an outwardly peaceful countenance - the sort of thing Dietrich Bonhoeffer called 'cheap grace.' Now we're discovering how difficult the actual practice of grace can be, and also how essential it will be moving forward in a world which will long remember how we responded in this hour of pandemic. Faith, endurance, and love - this is how we live with grace in anxious times. May God's Holy Spirit fill you with this grace, and may it flow through you into the world around you, now and always.

Book Review: The Last Wish by Andrew Sapkowski

I came to The Witcher from the Netflix series, and in researching the books online the PCGamer website recommended starting with The Last Wish as it establishes Geralt of Rivia and does a fair amount of establishing the universe of these stories.

On the one hand, I really enjoyed this collection of short stories. This book is basically half of the first season of the Netflix series, and from what I've learned, I expect Sword of Destiny to fill out the rest of that season.

If you liked the Netflix series, you'll like this book. It's obvious the series creators wanted to strike the same tone of moral ambiguity in their show that they found in the books. If anything, the showrunners amped up that ambiguity - Sapkowski paints a kinder picture of Geralt and the world he inhabits.

On the other hand, it's odd beginning a series with a collection of short stories, particularly one which is framed as something like a flashback episode. The framing story involves characters who haven't appeared in the series as of yet, but you get dropped into the story with very little exposition all the same. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to connect with the story if you began with this book having not seen the series.

I think I'll try the first published novel, Blood of Elves, next, rather than follow PCGamer's advice and continue with the next story collection. Perhaps that will seat me in the story a bit more firmly.

On the whole, if you enjoyed any of A Song of Ice and Fire you'll enjoy The Witcher, particularly if you're more a fan of fantasy than you are of political intrigue.

Book Review: Dear Church by Lenny Duncan

"Christianity at its core is subversive. But radical evil wants complacency, not subversion...Radical evil wants walls up around our hearts, around our congregation's life, and around this country. Division is how evil operates. We have all become intractable... 

To walk away from a theological commitment to the least of these is to leave Christ on the cross and ignore what happens three days later. To pretend that this isn't our time to stand up and speak a good word over this world is gross misconduct. If I don't accept this call now, I should be defrocked. If the church doesn't accept this call now, it deserves to die."

Book Review: From a Certain Point of View

From a Certain Point of View by Elizabeth Schaefer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a fun idea: collect a bunch of authors and have them write a tribute album of sorts to Star Wars: A New Hope wherein the stories are told via the eyes of non-central characters. Like most of these volumes, the results are mixed. Some of the stories are daring, original, and well-told. Some, well, aren't. Of particular note for me was Glen Weldon's story of the mouse droid who encountered Chewbacca in the hallways of the Death Star, as much because I enjoy Weldon on NPR's "Pop Culture Happy Hour" podcast as the story itself.

It was certainly a quick, entertaining read during vacation, which is great because no one wants to be laboring away at tough reading on vacation, right?


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Distinguishing Despair and Depression

Hi. Been a while.

Had an interesting moment after the sermon this morning. I feel pretty good about the sermon - on point, wouldn't take back anything that I wrote or said. But sometimes you get done and you realize that while your first and main point in a sermon is sound and on target, there's the potential for extrapolations from what you've said to lead down some roads you never intended it to take. So I thought I'd take a minute tonight to expand a bit on what I said for the sake of understanding a crucial distinction that wasn't on anyone's radar 500 years ago.

June Newsletter Article - Church Members and Cattle Prods

“Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” - Hebrews 10:24-25

May Newsletter Article - Worship Matters

Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Beloved in Christ, in this time of celebration I want to say a word of thanks to all of you. As I reflect on our time together this past Lenten season, I am grateful for the time and attention many of you gave to breaking bread together and gathering in worship. Lent has always had a special place in my heart because it is a time when the Holy Spirit can bring about change and growth in all of us through the extra time and attention we give to the gospel and to receiving it together.

As we move into the celebratory season of Easter I want to draw your attention to a series of workshops held at St. Petri in upcoming months for those of you involved in worship leadership at St. Petri. Worship Matters workshops will help all of us learn more about the different roles we have in worship, where those roles originated, and how to carry them out with great effectiveness and joy. We’ll meet & pray, learn a bit about each of the different elements of worship leadership in our congregation, spend some time considering the “how-to” aspects of those elements, and I’ll do my best to answer any questions or concerns that might arise during each session. We’ll rotate through the different parts of worship leadership as many times as we feel is necessary, so those of you who miss a session will have chances to attend when we work around to it again.

My tentative schedule for upcoming months is as follows:

• April 27 - Assisting Ministers
• May 25 - Lectors
• June 29 - Audio/Video Tech
• July 27 - No meeting (I have a prior commitment)
• August 31 - Ushers/Greeters
• September 28 - Altar Guild
• October 26 - Acolytes

If we identify other things we’d like to be doing in worship leadership, they can be added to the schedule as needed. Otherwise, I’ll begin the schedule again in November or December with Communion Ministers, since the first of the Worship Matters workshops was held in March with them.

If you’d like more information about any of these worship leadership roles, please let me know. One thing I do want to make clear is that these sessions are for those who want to be added to the roster of worship leaders and for those who are already actively leading in these roles. We can all learn more about leading worship - even a seasoned pro like myself needs to do some continuing education to grow and learn!

I look forward to seeing you at these workshops this year. For all the difficulties of modern schedules and activities, our weekly worship services are still the time when the largest percentage of members and guests gather in one place to receive the proclamation of the gospel. Worship still matters, in other words, and so we pay attention to Worship Matters (see what I did there?).

May the joy of the risen Christ sustain your own joy this Easter season.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Scott

Text Study - Notes for Lent 2C

Prayer of the Day
God of the covenant, in the mystery of the cross you promise everlasting life to the world. gather all peoples into your arms, and shelter us with your mercy, that we may rejoice in the life we share in your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. 
Amen.

Gospel Reading: Luke 13:1-13, 31-35
1At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2He asked them, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? 3No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. 4Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them — do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did." 

6Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. 7So he said to the gardener, 'See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?' 8He replied, 'Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. 9If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'" 

31At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, "Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you." 32He said to them, "Go and tell that fox for me, 'Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. 33Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.' 34Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 35See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’"
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TEXT NOTES

• Glossary Items
• “Blood mixed with sacrifices”: no other ancient source mentions a specific instance like what Jesus describes here, but “such bloodshed was not uncommon: Pilate’s troops killed a group of Samaritans climbing Mt. Gerizim; Pilate introduced Roman effigies into Jerusalem, causing a riot and a march on Caesarea; Pilate seized Temple treasury funds in order to build an aqueduct.”
• Siloam: whatever this disaster was, it is only mentioned in the gospel of Luke. There is no mention of a Tower of Siloam anywhere in the Old Testament.
• Are there other terms/characters/words you don’t understand?

• The Lutheran “Both/And”
• Lutherans tend to view theological matters from a place of tension between two viewpoints that can be understood to be mutually exclusive. This story indicates one such tension in Jesus’ ministry:
• On the one hand, Jesus preached an urgent need for personal repentance/reconciliation because of judgment being imminent (v. 1-5 here).
• On the other hand, Jesus clearly regarded his own ministry as a postponement of this judgment, a sign of God’s mercy allowing further time for repentance (v. 6-9 here).
• When Bad Things Happen To Good People
• The title of Rabbi Kushner’s famous book above shows a central belief that was common in Jesus’ time: calamity was a sign of sin or some sort of unfaithfulness, while success was a sign of righteousness and purity.
• Jesus doesn’t explicitly name Job as a resource, but his argument appears based on the same point made by the book of Job: life is uncertain, and success and misfortune cannot be reliably assigned to sin or righteousness.
• “Such a theology is always better in theory than it is in dealing with the tragedies and calamities of life. Nevertheless, these deaths serve as a graphic warning of the coming judgment. Just as these Galileans and Jerusalemites had perished suddenly, so also all of those who heard Jesus would also perish if they did not repent.”
• The Fig Tree
• Agricultural imagery was common in the Old Testament - one example was the care expended on the vineyard in Isaiah 5:1-2.
• Leviticus 19:23-25 gives each newly planted tree three years in which its fruit is not to be eaten, and the 4th year is to be left completely to the Lord.
• Helpful Pharisees?
• There are 2 schools of thought as to the motives of the Pharisees in v. 31-35:
• Herod was afraid that Jesus was a religious troublemaker who would destabilize Herod’s kingdom, and this was a threat designed to get him out of Galilee. Herod wouldn’t have actually harmed Jesus because of his growing popularity.
• The Pharisees were actually trying to protect Jesus from Herod, who had already executed John the Baptist. In the gospel of Luke, Jesus has some other encounters with Pharisees that are not as antagonistic as we expect.
• Herod the “Fox”
• In Hebrew, ‘fox’ has a wider range of meaning than in Greek or English. The craftiness of the fox is a shared definition, but a second common use in Hebrew was the inferiority of the fox to a lion or a larger predator. By calling Herod a “fox” Jesus was saying his work was more important than worrying about an inferior predator.
• The Hen
• A curious image for protection: the hen can do nothing against a predator but use her body as a shield, even against a fox.
• “If you have ever loved someone you could not protect, then you understand the depth of Jesus’ lament. All you can do is open your arms. You cannot make anyone walk into them. Meanwhile, this is the most vulnerable posture in the world - wings spread, breast exposed - but if you mean what you say, then this is how you stand…She has no fangs, no claws, no rippling muscles. All she has is her willingness to shield her babies with her own body.” Barbara Brown Taylor, in The Christian Century

• Questions to Ponder
• The 24-hour news cycle often tells us of tragedies around the world as they are happening. Does this make tragedy less or more tragic? Less or more anxiety-causing?
• If you had ‘one more year’ like the fig tree to produce ‘fruit’, would you do anything differently?
• What other questions do you have?

Ash Wednesday: Bring Your Kid

I originally wrote this piece four years ago, but it seemed worth revisiting this year.

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday.  For Christians, the Ash Wednesday service marks the beginning of the season of Lent, a penitential period in which we fast, discipline ourselves, and reflect on the life and love of our Lord Jesus Christ.  It is a holy time of anticipation and purpose, and for many it is our "favorite" season of the church.

But Ash Wednesday begins with a stark reminder of our mortality.  Ministers dip their thumbs in a bowl of ashes made from the palm branches waved to honor Jesus on Palm Sunday and mark a cross on the foreheads of all participants, while pronouncing a death sentence on us all:  "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return."

Lectionary Bible Study - Transfiguration Sunday - Luke 9:28-36

Gospel Reading: Luke 9.28-45

²⁸ Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. ²⁹And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. ³⁰Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. 31They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. ³²Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. ³³Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah’—not knowing what he said. ³⁴While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. ³⁵Then from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!’ ³⁶When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.

³⁷ On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. ³⁸Just then a man from the crowd shouted, ‘Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child. ³⁹Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he shrieks. It throws him into convulsions until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely leave him. ⁴⁰I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.’ ⁴¹Jesus answered, ‘You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.’ ⁴²While he was coming, the demon dashed him to the ground in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. ⁴³And all were astounded at the greatness of God.

While everyone was amazed at all that he was doing, he said to his disciples, ⁴⁴‘Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands.’ ⁴⁵But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was concealed from them, so that they could not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying.

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TEXT NOTES

• This text marks the close of the Epiphany season. Between Jesus’ birth and crucifixion, there is arguably no more astonishing epiphany (from the Greek epi phanos meaning “shining upon/through” or “revelation”) than the Transfiguration - an event that graphically reveals who Jesus is and gives a glorious glimpse of who he will be. Yet for all its drama and power, this transfiguring event appears to play a very limited role in the rest of Jesus’ ministry or in the disciples’ immediate perceptions of Jesus. 

• Transfiguration has a definite connection with Jesus’ baptism - they are the only times that the “voice of God” is heard audibly in the gospel of Luke.
• The Transfiguration also draws a connection to the epiphany experienced by Moses on Mt. Sinai, the Old Testament reading appointed for the day. When Moses descended from Sinai after his long time with God, “the skin of his face was shining” and he had to wear a veil to cover the brightness of his features. 
• Moses and Elijah represent the great Jewish traditions of the Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah). Luke is the only gospel to reveal the content of their discussion: Jesus’ impending departure (“exodus”?) from Earth.

• In addition, the verses preceding this story in the gospel of Luke are about Jesus’ identity. When Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up the mountain, Peter has just confessed that Jesus is “the Messiah.” Identity is crucial in all that follows: Jesus is redefining who God is and what it means to be Messiah (“anointed of God”).

• Peter’s astonished babbling tells the reader that Moses and Elijah were actually there - no hallucination. His offer of shelter is congruent from the tradition of offering hospitality (usually food and drink) to the traveling stranger, evoking not just the Jews in the wilderness but also Abraham and Sarah and their descendants encountering God as sojourners in Genesis.

• “Why do the disciples not rush down the mountain and share with everyone what they have witnessed? 
• Hans Conzelmann suggested that secrecy about Jesus’ identity ensures that Jesus will fulfill his divine purpose; if the people knew without a doubt that Jesus was the Messiah, they would actively save him from the cross, interrupting the divine plan. This also would explain Jesus’ repeated commands during his public ministry to stay silent about his identity (as he does following Peter’s confession in Luke 9:22).


• Another explanation would be that secrecy about Jesus’ identity allows for a well-paced fulfillment of an important theme: proclaiming salvation to the “ends of the earth.” Jesus begins as a relatively obscure hometown figure, but then becomes a powerful preacher and healer whose fame spreads rapidly into a wide range of social circles. Not only does Jesus’-news reach greater numbers of people -- Jews and Gentiles alike -- but it also reaches all socioeconomic levels of society, from social outcasts to elite rulers (shepherds in Luke 2.17-18, John the Baptist in prison in Luke 7.18, tax collectors and sinners in Luke 15.1). Higher up on the social pyramid, a centurion requests Jesus’ help (Luke 7:3), and news even reaches the royal court, as Herod hears “about it all” (Luke 9:7-9)” (Michal Beth Dinkler. http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3005)

Questions to Ponder

• In the gospel of Luke, prayer is involved whenever something significant happens. After his baptism, Jesus was praying when the divine voice spoke. Jesus prayed before appointing his twelve apostles. In this story, Jesus was praying when the divine voice spoke. What does this tell us about how Luke thinks about prayer?

• The disciples were overwhelmed by what they experienced, so they said nothing to anyone about what they had seen. Jesus still talks about suffering and death while in his transfigured glory. What kind of a messiah is this, anyway? 

• Peter’s well-known impulse to build 3 chapels on the peak is usually derided by scholars, theologians, and preachers. “We mustn’t linger on the peaks, but return to the valley of service.” “One can’t live in the rarified atmosphere of a mountaintop; we’re meant to live in the valleys of human experience and suffering.” Is this a fair critique? Why or why not?

• Think about one of your “transfiguration” experiences. How did it change the way you view God? Yourself? Your life?

Questions to Ponder

2019 Books: The Battle for Bonhoeffer by Stephen R. Haynes

"I developed a scholarly interest in the churches' role during the Nazi era in part so I could help ensure that Christians would never repeat the mistakes they made under Hitler. Similarly, Dietrich Bonhoeffer is one of my heroes in part because he was able to resist eh wave of Hitler worship that swept up many German Protestants."

So writes Stephen Haynes in the postscript of The Battle for Bonhoeffer: Debating Discipleship in the Age of Trump. This is a sentiment which I share wholeheartedly with Dr. Haynes. I, too, became fascinated with the story of Bonhoeffer and the Church Struggle of the Nazi era, first as a college student beginning to explore the content and questions of my Lutheran faith as a young adult, then later as a seminarian pondering the deeper questions of the Church, faith, the state/government, and personal responsibility and action in circumstances not easily interpreted into categories such as right/wrong or good/evil. I was just beginning a one year seminary internship in Florida when planes were used as weapons of mass destruction on 11 September 2001; from that moment to today, Bonhoeffer has been one of my constant interpretive companions in navigating an age which does not appear to have a peaceful ending in sight. I am one of many who has been comforted, challenged, and confounded by Bonhoeffer in these years. Haynes makes one point abundantly clear: however wide we think the application of Bonhoeffer has been, our estimations haven't been wide enough to encompass the breadth of the political and religious appropriation of Bonhoeffer, justified or not.

While Bonhoeffer is the main subject of the book, Haynes has divided his text into two main sections: Bonhoeffer before Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, the 2010 biography written by Eric Metaxas, and Bonhoeffer after. True, the official table of contents lists three parts, but Metaxas is the prime meridian here, and deservedly so. 

Haynes does a serviceable job examining the Bonhoeffer legacy prior to Metaxas. However, those who are unfamiliar with Bonhoeffer's story and the ongoing devotion surrounding him might not appreciate the entire picture if Haynes is their first exposure to the topic. Any Bonhoeffer text which only mentions Eberhard Bethge four times is counting on readers already being familiar with Bonhoeffer and knowing the importance of Bethge and other particulars such as the Barmen Declaration, Finkenwalde, and the Abwehr. This is not a biography, nor does it need to be; omitting these particulars leaves Haynes with more room to discuss his main topic, which he does particularly well.

For the majority of the book, Haynes provides a sharp analysis of Bonhoeffer appropriation, particularly in the post-9/11 years and in the rise of electronic media. This is an exhaustively researched book, though the presentation doesn't belabor points or get lost in what I'm certain are some incredibly deep internet rabbit holes. 

Once the Metaxas biography arrives on the scene, however, some of the gloves come off. Haynes addresses some of the numerous inaccuracies, misquotes, and problematic interpretations in Metaxas' book, and reviews from reliable Bonhoeffer scholars which pointed out these issues, with a good balance of economy and clarity to prove his point while keeping the text manageable (I can assure you, the list of problems with Metaxas' appropriation of Bonhoeffer could be very long, indeed). In the last chapters, Haynes paints himself as something of an outsider even among Bonhoeffer scholars,  acknowledging that he often advocated for conversation with Metaxas among Bonhoeffer scholars prior to the 2016 presidential election. That election, however, was the straw which broke Haynes' willingness to suffer Metaxas gladly.

The last two chapters really dig into misappropriations of Bonhoeffer, particularly for evangelicals who joined Metaxas in ascribing support for Donald Trump as something Bonhoeffer would have wholeheartedly endorsed. This argument receives the evisceration it deserves, but Haynes also offers a countering warning to those who misappropriate Bonhoeffer to align themselves against an imagined parallel between Trump and Adolf Hitler. There are similarities, Haynes acknowledges, but our times and contexts do not allow us to simplistically (and lazily) call Trump a Nazi and be done. Perhaps the best argument he presents is a quote from an article written by Victoria J. Barnett in the Washington Post:

"If we can understand Bonhoeffer outside the box - not as saint, not as mythological hero, but as someone who reflected poignantly on evil's consequences for the human conscience and spirit, for an entire culture and country, we may begin to uncover the person behind the mythology: a man who tried to face the darkness of his times. In the process, we may discover someone who can speak more directly to the darknesses and failures of our own."

I wish I could leave this review here. However, a postscript is appended in which Haynes writes a letter to "Christians who Love Bonhoeffer but (Still) Support Trump." I didn't find anything disagreeable in the open letter itself, but it seemed an odd bit of editorializing added on to a book which, to this point, had done an admirable job of avoiding it. Perhaps my discomfort arises from my being largely opposed to most of the Trump agenda, because I'm certainly not the intended audience for such a letter. However, I'm not sure anyone who still supports Trump would have picked up Haynes' book in the first place, and I'm fairly certain anyone who did would have abandoned it long before reaching the postscript Haynes apparently really wanted them to read. But there it is, putting a confusing coda at the end of a good discussion. It doesn't ruin the book, not by any means, but it doesn't measure up to the rest of it, either, and that's a shame. On the whole this is a worthy interpretation of the title: the "battle for Bonhoeffer" is ongoing and needs interpreters like Haynes to help the rest of us navigate a landscape we can't always see clearly.

July Newsletter Article - Riverside Lutheran Bible Camp

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Summer is here, and that means it’s camp season! Riverside Lutheran Bible Camp is yet another of the important ministries we support with our benevolences at St. Petri, both as a congregation and as individuals. July is a great time to talk about the wonderful ministry we support just up the road to the north of Story City.
Riverside has been a camping presence in the Story City community for 75 years. “Riverside was established in 1943 thanks to the extraordinary vision of Pastor A.J. Bringle. Ever since then, Riverside has been a place of worship, rest, community, experiencing the Holy Spirit, and growing in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Tens of thousands of people have been impacted by the ministry here, along the banks of the Skunk River…” In 2017, Riverside welcomed over 2,500 campers, including local kids at day camps throughout the state, and approximately 7,500 people participated in some sort of event, retreat, or camp program hosted by or connected to Riverside throughout the year.
Riverside offers a variety of opportunities for people of all ages and abilities. There will also be a large shift in leadership in 2018 as longtime executive and equestrian directors Dave & Jan McDermott have announced their retirement, effective in October 2018. Riverside has already found its next executive director - Chris Dahl, current program coordinator, will step into that role this fall. Many of you know the years of dedicated service the McDermotts have given to Riverside and the Story City area - I’m sure an extra gift to Riverside in their honor would be appreciated.
As a longtime camper & staff veteran myself, I know firsthand how important camping ministries can be to the life of faith. There is something special about places set apart, like Riverside, where we can be invited to step out of our “boats” and into a new way of thinking or living the faith God has given us. I’m grateful that St. Petri supports Riverside Lutheran Bible Camp, and I look forward to a vibrant future for both our congregation and the camp just outside of town.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Scott

April 2018 Newsletter Article

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

Alleluia! Christ is risen! Christ is risen, indeed! Alleluia! So goes the shout of the church in this Easter season. With Christ arisen, we, too, live again in the hope of resurrection and in life that extends far beyond the grave. The question before us, now that death no longer holds us captive, addresses a new hope for the future:  how shall we live? 

One of the marks of Christian life after Easter has always been generosity. In the days of the early church, believers often gathered together for communal meals, and some communities actually created a sort of communal society, where all goods were held in common and all shared freely from what God had entrusted to them. Two millennia later, we Christians of the 21st century still practice this generous sharing of what God has entrusted to us. Here at St. Petri, we share a beautiful, historic congregation with its own building and local ministries. We also share as a congregation to support ministries beyond our local community. Over the next few months, I’m going to share the stories of these ministries with you, so that you will be better informed about what happens to every dollar you return to God in thanksgiving for what God has given to you. 

The largest portion of our giving goes to the Northeastern Iowa Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. In a newsletter article a few years ago, Pastor Mark Anderson of the NEIA Synod Staff shared a brief glimpse of the many ways the Synod partners with our congregation in the ministry of our church:

This is too short a space to review all the synodical ministries or narrate the budget, but here is a summary of what I think readers will care about the most.

Sharing Jesus and Supporting Congregations

Evangelism

• Use a strong social media presence to proclaim the Word, call the church to prayer, and lift up and encourage congregations’ witness.
• Consult with congregations who request assistance in renewal, stewardship, and evangelism.
• Accompany our new worshiping communities in Farley and Parkersburg.

Passing on the Faith from Our Generation to the Next

Youth, Family, & Young Adult Ministry

• Provide help for parents to teach the faith to their children.
• Support youth workers and youth ministry.
• Offer Christian leadership training for high school students.
• Support campus ministry.

Raising & Supporting Pastoral Leadership for Congregations

Leadership

• Walk with candidates through the process of becoming pastors and other rostered leaders.
• Secure funding to support Seminary Education.
• Train and coach new pastors.
• Guide congregations through the call process.
• Provide continuing education opportunities for rostered leaders.
• Help church leaders to prepare to retire.

Sharing Daily Bread & Working for Opportunity

Poverty & Justice

• Domestic Hunger Grants fund community and church gardens to grow food for food shelves, food banks and community meals.
• Barnabas Uplift provides job training for the unemployed.
• Provide funding to Lutheran Services in Iowa for the care of children, families, the elderly, and people with special needs.

In addition to undesignated “mission support,” (offerings received from congregations) the members of the Northeastern Iowa Synod last year gave:

• $177,000 to ELCA World Hunger
• $55,000 to support Lutheran World Relief
• $49,000 to support missionaries
• $48,000 to the ELCA Malaria Campaign
• $15,500 to Domestic Disaster Response

We give thanks for all those people and congregations who give to support the wider church and for all the ministries these gifts make possible.

This is just a snapshot of the many ways we congregations of the Northeastern Iowa Synod provide support to one another through the offerings we pass on in mission support. Individual congregations could not do this on their own, but together we support and encourage one another, and the sum of what we can do together is much larger than the parts each individual church offers. I join Pastor Anderson in thanking you for your generous support of our ministries, and I encourage you to grow in that generosity in 2018!

Yours in Christ, 

Pastor Scott

Pop Culture Monday: Living Biblically

Beloved is a fan of a lot of CBS shows: NCIS, Madam Secretary, and Hawaii Five-O being her big favorites. I've trended recently more toward the sci-fi/horror genre since there's been a ton of quality offerings over the past few years: The Walking Dead, The Expanse, Taboo, Into the Badlands, Game of Thrones, American Gods, etc. So we haven't been watching a lot of television together over the past few years. Recently this changed because of two shows: Star Trek: Discovery and Living Biblically. I'm not going to do a review of ST:D until the 2nd season drops, but given that Living Biblically is a recent addition, this seemed a good opportunity to critique something with which I'm familiar: a show about religion.

February 2018 Newsletter Article

The new year has come and gone and most of us, for better or for worse, have discovered which resolutions we’ll keep and which ones were just wishful thinking (almost all of mine fall in the latter category every year). I’d like to invite you to add a resolution to your list that should be a lot easier to keep than a gym schedule. I invite you to reshape the way you think about the ministry of St. Petri Lutheran Church. Give me a minute to explain what I’m proposing.

As a congregation, we are really, really good at special offerings, and that’s something to celebrate. When our youth are raising funds to pay for their mission trips, they don’t have to beg and plead. When the Council decided it was time to finally replace that worn out carpet in the Fellowship Hall, the committee in charge of overseeing the project had what we needed in just a few weeks. Even when you determined it was time for a major renovation of the parsonage, a project which required a significant investment of time and resources by a lot of St. Petri members, it was done in plenty of time for us to move in and feel cherished by this congregation (which we do - we’ve told churches around the synod that St. Petri is a model congregation when it comes to maintaining and managing a parsonage). 

At the same time, our general operating budget at St. Petri has consistently been a source of concern for the Council over these past five years. In 2017, we’ve been in a deficit at the end of every month, even though our actual spending as a congregation has been below budget, finishing the year just over 96% of what we projected at the annual meeting last January. Financially, St. Petri runs a very tight ship which is well-managed and properly overseen by our Council and through an annual Audit Committee. For 2018, the Property and Trustees Committee is proposing a general budget which is actually lower than 2017, but includes salary raises for staff which are in line with the minimum guidelines established by the Northeastern Iowa Synod every year. 

My proposal in relation to all this is quite simple: everything is special. It’s wonderful to be able to see our special gifts installing new carpet in the Fellowship Hall, but the Bible Study which meets in that Fellowship Hall is also special, right? How about the electricity which allows us to run the lights for social hour after worship every Sunday morning? The heat which keeps the building warm in the winter? The piano tuner who keeps our instruments sounding good all year round? The cleaning supplies our custodians use to keep the building looking nice every week? The copier which prints the weekly bulletin? The internet connection that helps us stay connected in a digital age? All these things are indeed a special part of the ministry of St. Petri Evangelical Lutheran Church, and without your support of the general operating fund, those special parts of who we are and what we do will be limited. Sure, fixing a toilet or making sure all the light fixtures have bulbs that work might not feel as special as sending a kid to Puerto Rico for a mission trip or building a new sign out front of the building, but if it’s part of what we do as a church, you know it’s special and it’s critical that we support it with our prayers and our offerings. 

So that’s my proposal for a new resolution for you, members of St. Petri Lutheran Church: everything is special. I’m asking you to support the special work our church is doing in the Story City area with the sort of generosity you’ve given the other special offerings in the past. I’m asking you to help us move forward as a congregation in 2018 and unleash a bit more of the special potential this congregation has to be a force for God’s kingdom this year. I hope to do more of it myself, and I invite you to join me on that journey. God bless you all in this new year. 

Yours in Christ,
Pastor Scott

Text Study for November 19 - A Child is Born

Prayer of the Day

God of light, there can be overwhelming obscurity in this world. But you shine your light and increase joy, and for your brilliance we are grateful. Let the light of your grace, which shone through Isaiah's prophecy, shine through us also, that we might radiate your joy in a darkening world. This we pray in the name of Jesus, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and forever.  Amen.

Reading: Isaiah 9:1-7

The prophet Isaiah brought a message of hope to the people of Israel and Judah in a time of great suffering and sorrow. After the fall of Israel in 722 B.C., many of the people of the northern kingdom were taken into exile in the Assyrian Empire. Isaiah prophesied that the tribal territories conquered by Assyria would one day be rebuilt by the power of God.

A reading from Isaiah.

¹ But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
 ² The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
 those who lived in a land of deep darkness — on them light has shined.
 ³You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy;
 they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder.
 ⁴For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor,
 you have broken as on the day of Midian.
 ⁵For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire.
 ⁶For a child has been born for us, a son given to us;
 authority rests upon his shoulders;
 and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
 ⁷His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore.
 The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

COMMENTARY & QUESTIONS

1. What questions do you have about these readings?
2. “…Zebulun and Naphtali” (9.1)
1. Zebulun and Naphtali were two of the original 12 tribes of Israel, alloted lands north and east of the Sea of Galilee (see map). The territories roughly correspond to areas that were taken by Assyrian king Tilgath-pileser III in 732 B.C. Isaiah’s prophesy of redeemed hope and light for these lands would have been heard as the work of God, since they had already been lost to Assyria at the time of Isaiah’s writings here. 
3. “…as on the day of Midian.” (9.4)
1. A direct reference to the victory of Gideon over the gigantic Midianite and Amalekite armies recounted in Judges 7: “…all the people…lay along the valley as thick as locusts; and their camels were without number, countless as the sand on the seashore.” Despite these overwhelming odds, the Lord sent only 300 Israelites with Gideon against them, so that the Lord alone could claim the victory.
2. “The comparison would have been evoked by the similarly long odds of Judah surviving the mighty Neo-Assyrian empire.”  (Christopher Hays. http://bit.ly/2ANBauZ)
4. “Particularly in the light of the history of the interpretation of this text, it is important to clarify the tenses in the poem. Verses 2-5 clearly speak of past events…the verbs in v. 6 are perfects and consecutive imperfects, the normal narrative tense in Hebrew. They must be read as reporting past action or, in view of the passives, possibly as present: ‘A child has been born to us…authority rests upon his shoulders.’…The implications of this analysis are quite clear: the reasons for celebration - release from an oppressor, destruction of battle gear, and the birth of the ‘Prince of Peace’ - are not in the future but in the past. These events form the basis for confidence in the future.” (Gene M. Tucker, The New Interpreter’s Bible, v. 6: Isaiah 1-39. © 1996 Abingdon Press. p. 122. Emphasis mine.)
5. The titles listed in v. 6 would have been a common element for the birth proclamation of a crown prince in the Ancient Near East. Egyptian Pharaohs were particularly well-known for the descriptive titles attached to the names of their children who would one day ascend to the throne. 
1. Keeping in mind this is the past tense proclamation of the birth of a prince, these would not be earned descriptors but a kind of hortatory title - the sort of thing one wishes to be, not what one has already demonstrated. Think more along the lines of "Daenerys of the House Targaryen, the First of Her Name, The Unburnt, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Queen of Meereen, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Protector of the Realm, Lady Regnant of the Seven Kingdoms, Breaker of Chains and Mother of Dragons” (though some of these titles from the series A Song of Ice and Fire are earned honorifics) and less “Vlad the Impaler.”
6. A few questions to ponder:
1. “…he (God) brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and Naphtali…” Does it disturb you to think of God bringing down the fortunes of a kingdom or a people? Does it delight you? What do you imagine this word must do to the people who are presently suffering? 
2. Most Christians see this passage as a prophetic announcement of the coming of Jesus over 700 years after the earliest time this passage could have been written. However, Biblical scholars are almost unanimous in stating this was not Isaiah’s intent at the time it was written - any messianic connections to Jesus are a later addition to the scriptural tradition. Does this sort of historic analysis of scripture challenge your understanding of the Old Testament? Are you comforted or disturbed by the idea that Isaiah was not talking about Jesus, that it is our interpretation and not his original intent? 
3. Can you hear this text without thinking of the Michael W. Smith/Amy Grant Christmas recordings based on it? (Confession: your pastor cannot. 😀 )
4. What brings you hope from this reading? What would you love to see fulfilled, even if it isn’t a direct prophetic utterance predicting a certain future?

Text Study for November 12 - Let Justice Roll Down

Prayer of the Day

God of all people, you are justice itself, and in you righteousness flows over all of creation. Create justice and righteousness in us, that all may rejoice in your blessings and live in your kingdom of peace and lovingkindness. Amen.

Reading: Amos 1:1-2; 5:14-15, 21-24

King Jereboam II of Israel and Uzziah of Judah ruled during a long period of relative peace and prosperity for both kingdoms during the 7th century B.C. It appears that the tribal systems of land ownership broke down in those days, and a new wealthy class emerged at the top of Israelite society, at the expense of many commoners and laborers. Into this environment, a shepherd named Amos was called from the southern kingdom of Judah to proclaim the word of God in Israel.  

A reading from Amos.

¹The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of King Uzziah of Judah and in the days of King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake. ²And he said:

The LORD roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem;
 the pastures of the shepherds wither, and the top of Carmel dries up.

 ¹⁴Seek good and not evil, that you may live;
 and so the LORD, the God of hosts, will be with you, just as you have said.
 ¹⁵Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate;
 it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
 ²¹I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
 ²²Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon. ²³Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
 ²⁴But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

COMMENTARY & QUESTIONS

1. What questions do you have about these readings?
2. “…two years before the earthquake.” (v. 1:1)
1. There is evidence of a large earthquake in Hazor, between the Sea of Galilee and Lake Huleh, dating to c. 760 B.C. This earthquake is also mentioned in Zechariah 14:5, which was written hundreds of years after Amos, so it seems likely it is a historic event by which we can reliably date most of Amos to roughly the years 760-750 B.C. This would match the time of the kings mentioned in the introduction (Amos 1:1).
3. “…justice in the gate.” (v. 5:15)
1. In Amos’ Israel, ‘the gate’ most likely meant the entrance to the courts or chambers of local magistrates. The judge’s seat would be put in the shade of the gate and people would bring their cases to him. There was no guarantee of counsel, good or bad, in the laws of the time, so as you can imagine, the lower classes often found the courts stacked against them by sheer ignorance of the law, to say nothing of bribes and other injustices the wealthy and well-connected might employ to their advantage. 
4. It’s worth a minute to consider the setting and context of Amos’ words. 
1. “Consider any of the small nations of the world today, and imagine being a citizen of a neighboring country and going to that small nation to inform its people that soon they would no longer exist as a nation. Worse yet, imagine trying to convince them that this was the will of their god. How could such destruction and death be the will of any god? That is the theological problem Amos and the other pre-exilic prophets created for their people, and the problem remains for us.”

5. “All of the 8th century prophets (Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and Micah) link social justice with proper worship of the one true God. Life and worship are a balance like a fair, properly-weighted scale. Worship of other gods and oppression of the poor and the weak are the immoral acts that are most criticized by Amos. Unfaithfulness to YHWH is all the same. It breaks the communion with covenantal partners both human and divine.”

1. Looking back a few weeks, do you remember why the house of Eli lost its ancestral claim to the priesthood in the days of Samuel? 
2. In what ways are worship and justice connected? Why, in your words, would missing the mark in one make for problems in the other?
1. “Amos does not intend to replace ritual with social action. Rather, what goes on in society must correspond to what is said and done in worship. Amos tells us God does not accept the worship of those who show no interest in justice in their daily lives.”
1. Is the problem in Amos’ world worship, or worshipers? 
2. What about today? How would our worship be affected by injustice locally? Nationally? Globally?

Quotations pulled from The New Interpreters' Bible and the Lutheran Study Bible.