Prayer for the Third Sunday after Epiphany

Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the good News of his salvation, that we and all the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Myopia

Tonight I was finishing up some studying at Starbucks (I'm such a yuppie, I know) for my teaching tomorrow night when I was confronted with my impatience and sin. When I arrived and sat down there were two high school girls sitting near me. As the night went on, four of their male friends arrived and shortly there after, four more arrived. If that weren't enough, three more showed. All, of course, crowed into the small area where I was sitting and proceeded to grow more and more obnoxious, both in content and volume. I was quite perturbed. I'm trying to study God's Word. I'm trying to be spiritual. I'm trying... and then it hit me. Oh, yeah. I'm something of a youth pastor. These obnoxious, loud students are exactly the ones for whom I am to be studying. These students are the ones whom I am to be serving and with whom I am to be sharing the Gospel. Lord, forgive my impatience and shortsightedness.

Cultural Sacraments

Something else I wrote a while back.

My wife and I were watching the "Behind 'The Apprentice'" this evening and its producer (Mark Burnett--He has produced the likes of "Survivor", "The Apprentice", "The Restaraunt" and "Eco-Challenge") said something so profound, yet I don't think he had any idea. He was talking about what has made his TV shows so popular; what is the draw? His answer: Ritual. Ritual is that something that keeps us coming back. We can't wait to hear "The tribe has spoken" or "You're fired." It is that which each week confirms our interest, and incorporates us into the show as well as uniting us as viewers (how often do you talk of Survivor on Friday or get together on Thursday to watch to see who is voted off?!). There seems to be something within us which cries out for ritul despite its being poo-pooed by modernism (for more on that see Peter Leithart's "Against Christianity"). We desperately need that one something to which we can look which ties all of life together. In a word, we might call these moments of solidarity "Cultural Sacraments". Mark Burnett in his own way (I don't know if he's a believer) has expressed what all of humanity feels and longs for. Having created us with such a need, God didn't leave it unfulfilled; He also instantiated rituals for the Church: the Sacraments. Each week (or once a month, but hopefully weekly soon) Christ calls us to His Table to be confirmed as His people. To show that we are His and He is ours and we, in Him, are one as His people. To reorient us to His kingdom. Each week we can come back to Him where we, instead of being dismissed (fired or voted off), we are promised life and acceptance. So in some mysteriously ironic way, these shows offer a pop culture's desire for sacraments.

Rumination on an Immunization

Here is something I wrote a while back. The name of the writing has no relation to the name of this blog.

Today, my son, Aiden, received his first round of immunizations; and the problem of pain (as CS Lewis calls it) came to a more robust meaning than ever before. Aiden had no idea what was going to happen to him; nor did he understand when it was happening. He hasn't the capacities necessary for understanding why something hurts the way it does. It is almost too much to bear to watch your son who is smiling and "talking" with his mom and within an instant screaming in pain--a scream not yet heard before. It is truly heartbreaking. What gives a dad hope, however, is that this is the best for my son--in the long-run. And that is what I must keep in mind--the long run. At 11:52am life sucked. My son was in pain and I couldn't tell him why. He couldn't understand. But my love for him compelled me to do what I did. My love for him was bigger than that instant of pain. My ability to understand far outweighs the heart wrenching cries of an infant. And I couldn't help but remember the words of the writer to the Hebrews, "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful..." (12:11). Christ loves us too much to leave us where we are (and hear I'm borrowing liberally from CS Lewis in Chapter 3 of "The Problem of Pain"). He knows that we are sick (pardon the word "sick" all of you Reformed folks and stay with the analogy--I know we're more than sick; we're dead) and that we are only to get sicker unless something happens to prevent that and sometimes that prevention involves pain and sometimes lots of it (of course, this presupposes that something is wrong with us which needs fixing). And most of the time it seems, we have no idea why in the world what is happening is happening. What we must do is trust. Trust that our Father (Who is infinitely more wise and more powerful than this fallible and feeble one) knows what He is doing. Knows what will happen if he leaves to ourselves. It's paradoxical, I know, but true loves often causes rather than prevents pain (consider the Westminster Confession at V.5!). Why did I allow that stranger to stick my son thrice causing him pain? Because I love him.

Giving in to (percieved) Peer Pressure

Well, I did it. I went and got a blog. Some close friends and my sister-in-law started one and I thought, "Well if everyone else has one then I should get one too. And I should always do what everyone else is doing." So...here is the result of not resisting peer pressure. A blog.