Record Scratch

Why yes, I was a DJ in seminary... 

In seminary one of my greatest joys was being a disk jockey. That’s right, I was a DJ. Along with my friend CJ Meaders, I spun digital records at visitors’ weekends, seminary prom (yes, that is a thing), and even casual dinner parties with friends. My greatest aim was not unlike what the clergy, organist, choirmaster, and choir try to do on Sunday mornings. Namely, picking the right song for the right moment. To do this though is often more difficult than one might think.

Finding the right music for the right moment in a party, in a church service, or anywhere else for that matter takes some skill. CJ (aka DJ Perichoresis) and I (aka DJ Ex Nihilo) prided ourselves on getting people out on the dance floor and then keeping them there. Occasionally though, we would miss the mark. Sometimes we would choose the wrong song for the moment. Perhaps it was a slow song when everyone wanted to jump around. Maybe it was too many high-paced dance songs when the audience wanted a breather. In those moments when we made a bad musical decision, it was as if someone pulled the needle off the record making that stop everything scratching noise. In much the same way, when I first read this coming Sunday's Gospel lesson it felt like the framers of our Lectionary had made a record scratching choice.

On the Second Sunday of Easter (this past Sunday) we always hear the story of Thomas. Really, it is a story of Jesus visiting the ten other disciples and Thomas not being there. But, we most often associate the story with Thomas and his desire to see the Risen Christ. This coming Sunday (the Third Sunday of Easter) we hear a very similar story from Luke’s Gospel account. It almost feels like playing the same song by two different artists right in a row at a party—not necessarily a crowd pleasing move. So, this week I am left wondering, “Why did the people putting together the Lectionary choose this story?” Let us take a moment to compare and contrast the two tales.

The Lukan passage begins in much the same way as John’s story from this past Sunday. Jesus comes and stands among the disciples saying, “Peace be with you.” Also similarly to John’s story, the theme of doubt exists in this bit from Luke, even if Thomas is not singled out for his curiosity. The disciples are also charged to go out into the world in both stories. There are some differences between the stories as well.

Unlike in John’s story in Luke’s account Jesus dispelled that he is a ghost, opened up scripture to the disciples, and sent them out without the Holy Spirit (for the moment). Jesus does not make a peaceful refrain throughout this narrative. And, these disciples seem to need it more than the ones shown in John’s story. Why? Because they think Jesus is a ghost.

The disciples here in Luke believed Jesus was a ghost. We may find this odd, but they knew that Jesus had died, for him to be walking among them now was preposterous! So, the Risen Christ had to dispel this belief by doing something ghosts cannot do—eat something.

Next, Jesus opened up the Hebrew Scripture to his followers pointing to his identity as the suffering Messiah. This Messiah had come to enhance a movement of repentance and forgiveness of sins, which does connect to John’s story. But in John's account the coming of the Holy Spirit happened in that Easter evening moment. Also peculiar to Luke was the origin of Jerusalem as the genesis of the Jesus movement. But, it was some time before the Holy Spirit came in Luke’s story, thus the disciples had to sit around in Jerusalem for some time waiting. Luke’s community also authored the Acts of the Apostles, and so this anticipatory moment of this disciples pausing in Jerusalem for God’s Holy Spirit almost seems like a promo for the sequel book. So, there are similarities and differences in these two stories, but again I wonder why choose this story this week? Why did the Lectionary framers do this?

For most of Holy Week we find ourselves in John’s Gospel account. For most of Year B (the Lectionary year we are currently in) we find ourselves in Mark’s Gospel account. How about another story from one of those? It feels like a stop the record moment for us to all of a sudden jump to Luke. Why would the framers of the Lectionary do this? Well, Mark's authentic story does not have any post-Resurrection stories. And, we will be back in John's Gospel account for the rest of the Easter season and the Day of Pentecost. So, while I cannot be positive, I tend to think that those who created the Lectionary wanted another voice telling a Resurrection story to be heard. Even if the stories are similar we are called to hear what the disciples experienced in those moments, days, and weeks right after Jesus was raised from the dead.

We might find it odd that three weeks after Easter we are still hanging out on that most holy day, but actually it makes sense. Something so profound as Resurrection destroying death requires some time to digest. Two thousand years later we still cannot understand it. Instead, we are called to dwell in the beautiful glow of the Risen Christ hearing these stories over and over and over again.

Sure, for those faithful ones who were at church on low Sunday (yesterday) this might feel like a repeat story; however, it is not like playing the same song two times in a row. In fact, it appears like something else, another analogy. 

When my favorite teams pull off amazing touchdowns or goals I tend to watch the highlights of those plays many times over. I want to see greatness from as many different angles as I can. As we witness these post-resurrection stories, I think it is the same way. We as the Church want to view Resurrection from as many different vantage points as possible. This week may we see the Risen Lord again and may we be challenged once more to take God’s Good News of forgiveness and repentance of sins out into the world!

Triangles

Do Triangles scare you? They should!

“Don’t be a square” is a time-honored phrase warning against the dangers of being boring or otherwise uncool; however, I am far more concerned with triangles than squares. When I was in seminary I (mistakenly) thought that one of the most unnecessary classes was Pastoral Theology (apologies to the Rev. Dr. Kathleen Russell). “How can someone teach me to care?” I pondered. Fortunately, a summer of working as a hospital chaplain shook me of my notion that I was an expert on caring. In higher level classes on the art of caring for others as a pastor I learned the dangers of becoming part of a triangle.

When most people hear about a dangerous triangle they might think of the one in Bermuda or perhaps some torrid love triangle, but any interpersonal relationship can beget unhealthy triangulation. When a couple fights over the dishes one partner sits at one point on the triangle, the other partner sits at a second point, and those pesky dishes (and let’s face it, it’s not really about the dishes, but that’s the flash point at the moment) sit as the third point that separates the other two points. Sometimes the problem is not dishes, but a mother-in-law. Other times it’s not spouses bickering, but brothers fighting over money that creates a tempting triangle, like in this coming Sunday’s Gospel lesson (Luke 12:13-21). Now later this week, I will focus on the parable Jesus tells, but today I wanted to start with how Jesus responded to being thrown into a triangle by one of the brothers.

A man appeared from the crowd and said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” Now, we might expect Jesus to spout off some compassionate response about giving all the money to the poor, but immediately the teacher broke up any triangulation that the one brother attempted to enact. Jesus said, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” Essentially, Jesus did not want to be put in the middle of the fight between these two brothers. How often in our lives do we follow Jesus’ example given here?

Life presents tempting offers to jump in the middle of one conflict after another. Jesus shows us here a simple way to respond that is as useful today as it was in those days. Instead of siding with one side of a conflict or another we would do well to say, “I am no judge. Figure this out on your own.” Often this can feel trickier when it is something that hooks us emotionally or when the issue is not the dishes, but how one treats one’s mother-in-law.

The Rev. Dr. Russell had a fantastic way of weaving pastoral themes into her sermons and weaving sermons into her classroom teachings. One lesson that she taught in both was a simple question that continues to guide me in interpersonal relationships, “Would you rather be kind or be right?” Breaking up the triangles that put issues between us and loved ones, friends, and neighbors requires a good bit of diligence. Jesus was wise enough to burst this brother’s bubble early in their conversation, “I’m not a judge,” or put alternatively I will not get between you and your brother. If we remember to respond with kindness instead of trying to figure out the right side on which to be many of the problems we take on in life will disappear. To learn the lesson of this week’s Good News first we must vanquish triangulation and respond with kindness to those who sit on different points than ourselves.

The Days Are Coming

Album art from My Morning Jacket's Circuital 

During seminary my friend CJ Meaders kept on raving about this band My Morning Jacket (MMJ). I could not for the life of me get into them. Often CJ's recommendations quickly became new favorite bands, but as hard as I tried I could not get into MMJ. I listened to their albums, watched old concerts, and even read positive reviews, but none of this did the trick. I had to experience a concert in person.

In the fall of 2011, I went to hear MMJ perform at the Austin City Limits (ACL) Music Festival at Zilker Park in ATX. Standing among many thousands of people and actually being in the presence of these performers made all the difference in the world. Their music sprang to life in a new way. They brought up the Preservation Hall Jazz Band from New Orleans to help with a few numbers. I left the concert a convert. Soon I was playing MMJ's sixth album "Circuital" on repeat.

Some of the songs on that album like "Victory Dance" and "First Light," pushed me beyond the point of liking MMJ's music and into a place in which I wondered, "Is this band writing prophetic rock music for the 21st Century?" There is a fancy word that gets thrown around in seminary to talk about God's return and our ultimate fulfillment in that moment, and that word is eschatology. If I had to classify MMJ, I might categorize them as an Eschatalogical Rock Band.

"The Day is Coming" the second track on the aforementioned album links so fittingly with Jeremiah 31:31-34 that I have a hard time not hearing it when I start reading, "The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah." We all have different ways of approaching that day when all things will be fulfilled. My hope as a Christian stems from my belief that Jesus initiated this new covenant and that we get to take part in it not teaching one another to "Know the Lord," but that we already know God.

What will the end look like? What music will be playing? Can we know any of this ahead of time? I am not so sure. We can certainly have hope in the all encompassing love and redemption of God through Christ. Yet, I think that it is like a really good band that you cannot quite get into by just listening online or reading reviews. To truly know the fulfilling of all things we have to experience it. The days are coming, but rest assured in the New Covenant the law is written on our hearts and we are God's people!

God's Multiplication

From left to right: Dean Cynthia Kittredge, Clay Towles, Seth Olson (me), James Franklin, Jared Houze, Michael Carriccino, CJ Meaders, and Jeremiah Griffin

Yesterday I had the distinct pleasure of substituting for one of the regulars at our Banks-Caddell Homework Helpers program. If you have not had an opportunity to volunteer in that ministry, I highly recommend it. For most of the hour and a half I worked with four boys who were doing their math homework.

I quickly remembered some aspects of elementary mathematics. My multiplication table easily popped back into my mind (thank you Mrs. Albritton), but I struggled to distinguish between the distributive property and the communicative property. Do not even ask me what chunking is, for I still do not understand that demonic art! Yet what struck me more than my inability to remember mathematics was the spirit of the boys with whom I worked.

They were chipper and happy with just a pinch of rebelliousness. As I worked through their math worksheets with them I could see through some of their mischief, as one child in particular attempted to trick me into doing all of his work for him. After I convinced him that he should do his own work we worked together on a question asking another way of writing 8x5. The answer was clearly 5+5+5+5+5+5+5+5, but when I asked how he would write out 8x5 the boy answered, “50,000! NO! 50 thousand, hundred!” Maybe he was happy to get his homework completed, or perhaps it was working with friends, or even it might have been an adult sitting with him, but this child’s shear positivity overcame both his horrendous math skills and his inability to choose one of the four choices on the page. While I corrected him, I could not help but feel that his positive energy was hinting at a larger truth about God.

Sometimes in our world we can believe that the answer to our problems is one of four multiple choice answers. We might believe that we only have a few possible solutions to our challenges:

A. Make more money
B. Buy more things
C. Go it alone
D. Ignore the problem altogether

Yet, what this child of God reminded me is that God’s ability to multiply our time, talent, and treasure, our gifts, our prayers, and our lives themselves cannot easily be understood. 5x8 might as well be 50 thousand, hundred when God is at work! However, life soon challenged my new understanding of God’s greatness.

When I arrived home last night I discovered that Clay Towles, one of my best friends from seminary, had tragically died. The good feelings from Banks-Caddell melted away and I began struggling with all of the questions swirling around in my mind: Why did this happen? What could I have done to prevent his death? How could the church let one of its leaders suffer all alone? Why did Clay not reach out to others?

I fought hard all night with these questions desperately and irrationally hoping that by answering them Clay would return. He sadly will not. Instead I am left in a numb, heartbroken, and enraged mess. Somewhere buried in the tomb alongside our Savior Jesus Christ rests every bit of my grief, guilt, pain, fear, doubt, shame, anger, and confusion in the face of Clay’s death. Clay too is buried within that tomb.I do not know when or how or where it will happen, but Christ will raise all that is buried with him. One day the tomb, Clay’s tomb, will be empty. One day all those who believe will be resurrected to new life. One day all that we give over to God will be transformed in the mystery of God’s love. This is how God multiplies our lives: the pain of the Cross and death is transformed into the joy of the Resurrection.