Nerd Out - New Interpreter's Bible

I just want to share with all my loyal readers that today I was able to purchase (with a gift card, no less) the final volume of my 12-volume collection of the New Interpreter's Bible. Basically, what encyclopedias used to be to grade schoolers writing reports is what the New Interpreter's Bible is to preachers. Yahoo!

PS I preached this Sunday - you can read the sermon on my sermon blog. It's about baptism.

Appearances

I wore some lipstick and mascara on Friday, which is an unusual event for me. But it was a big event for work, so I thought it would be worth a little extra sprucing up. What's funny is that wearing makeup tends me make me look older, rather than younger. This is something the teenagers are going for, I know, but I think I might almost be to the age where I want to look younger, rather than older.

At any rate, it brings up an interesting idea about appearances. At first glance (so to speak), appearances shouldn't matter. There is a story about God choosing David to be the next king of Israel, and in the process he chastises the prophet Samuel, saying, "I look at the heart, not the outward appearance." The spiritual is internal, not external, and obsession with clothes, hair, makeup, and all that, becomes a kind of prop for the inner self - a way of finding worth without developing character and an attitude of service.

On the other hand, appearances give us an opportunity to show care. As Ann Lamott put it in her most recent book (I forget the name, but it was good!), you can care for the insides of thing by paying attention to the surfaces. A made bed, a straightened living room, clean dishes, a neat yard, all speak to care and love for self and other.

Jesus came to earth in a body, not as a mist or a ghost. This is an affirmation to me of the goodness of the earth, of bodies, and of appearances. Attention to the outside should not overwhelm attention to our faithfulness, kindness, and contributions to others, but care for our bodies can be a part of caring for our hearts.

Over it

I know there are lots of people getting worked up about AIG bonuses, and all the money going to those bankers who made the very mistakes that got us to where we are today. And I am glad that there will be consequences for those mistakes - public opinion and politics are catching up to accountability, a few billion dollars later.

What I wonder about, though, is how much of this is really just a spotlight landing on a symbolic target? It wouldn't surprise me if there are other wealthy bankers out there who are drawing the same salary and bonuses as ever and anon, in spite of getting caught up in the flood of easy credit. Still, I agree it looks bad to be getting hundreds of thousands in bonuses when people making significantly less than $100,000 a year are losing their jobs.

So, all that being said, I'm about ready to be over the recession. People who have good credit and a 20% down payment can get a house. People with not-quite-as-good credit can, too, they just have to pay a higher interest rate. Inflation is inching up, ever so slightly. There are utility crews all over the roads, fixing things up. Stuff is working, slowly, and we're just not in the same situation as the Great Depression.

This isn't to say that people who have been laid off aren't in trouble, or that it's easy to get a job now, just that some of the trends are slowly reversing. The one thing that's very difficult, though, is health care. Hospitals are laying off nurses because their work is dropping off. Not only are people putting off surgeries, but uninsured people are leaving easily treatable conditions untreated until they become deadly. This is how it has been with our health insurance system, but with the recession, things intensify.

Maybe I shouldn't say "over it," just "ready for it to be over."

That Truth Thing

So, I was talking to a friend about the two creation stories in Genesis, (See Genesis 1-3) and how both of them are true, in spite of being contradictory. But then the conversation moved elsewhere. The basic answer to that is: each of them is telling a story about the way God is, or the way the world is, or the way people are. It's not a scientific or historical account.

This beginning of a conversation got me thinking, though, about what it's like to try to live into what Jesus called the kingdom or the reign of God. In his teaching, this is like another dimension directly mapped onto our own. It's a different way of life, a strange and peaceful revolution, and there are signs of it around us. The thing is, though, we have to look for them. Which raises the question of confirmation bias, as in, I see the things I am looking for. On the other hand, if you are NOT looking for something, you are also biased in favor of not seeing it.

I know in my head that faith, in terms of belief about intellectual propositions, etc., is a gift from God, and not something I can manufacture in myself. Still, I think it's easy to fall back into the modern project for Christians: believing things that are hard to believe through effort of will, and then counting that as the work that saves us. In some ways, that kind of trust is easier to manufacture than living in trust of God. The second kind of trust requires taking more risks, for one thing.

Losing Your Life

In reading about the upcoming text in this week's lectionary, which is about Jesus telling his disciples that he's destined to die on a cross, I had one of those moments where I was remembering or realizing something I'd already known. Jesus says: "those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it."

We talked some about how people can view things like serious illness, or difficulties with relatives as their cross to bear. But those sufferings don't necessarily mean losing your life for the sake of the gospel. To me, what that means is suffering that comes about in the course of following God's call to build a new way of life - suffering that happens because we forgive, trust, show mercy - suffering that comes from love.

Is all suffering redemptive? I would say no - the vast majority of it is not. But some suffering is done for a greater good. Maybe that's one of the meanings of this particular thought-puzzle by Jesus.

Death and Emptiness

Wednesday was Ash Wednesday, and I was on retreat with the people I serve in my job, who are spending a year in service. I led a service in which I reminded the volunteers about their impending deaths. "You will not be able to accomplish everything you want to accomplish," I told these bright and dedicated young people. "Some of your labors may bear no fruit." And then, I rubbed these old, grimy ashes between my fingers, and smeared them on foreheads, one at a time, whispering, "You are dust, and to dust you will return."

In some ways, religion is all about preparing for death. It gives us the tools to live a good life, and hope for something more on the other side of the veil. At the same time, it is stunning to be the one doing the marking, making black crosses on the faces of people who are almost all younger than I am. These too, will pass away, and so will you. But the strength of the Lord will endure forever. What a stark reality to confront.

It's nice

It's nice, in this era of economic uncertainty, to have a certain amount of stability. No matter what the situation is, Republicans in Congress seem hard-pressed to have any response besides "we can't spend more money." Here's the latest article with said typical responses.

There are a few dependable exceptions, of course: tax cuts for people in the top income brackets, wars, and other times when they're in power.

In some ways, I think the Republicans are doing a very good job as a party of opposition - it's nice that the stimulus bill got some trimming. On the other hand, I'm very glad they're not the ones in charge of the basic approach. We did tax cuts and deregulation for 8 years, and here is where we ended up!

/end rant