No Sleep Till Brooklyn

Ok the title of the post is pretty worldly, coming from the rap/hip hop group Beastie Boys' album "Licensed to Ill."  But call this a formal announcement of sorts even though I've been leaking it like horrible plumbing the last couple of weeks:

On Sunday St. John the Evangelist Lutheran Church in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg voted on and approved my taking on a role as an intern this summer for 8 plus weeks half of June, all of July, and half of August.  

To me this is nothing short of a thrill.  As I prepare to graduate from Valparaiso University in under 7 seven weeks and prepare to enter Concordia Seminary (official decision from committee coming down Monday 4/6), to have an opportunity like this roll around is fantastic.  My internship will consist of me getting acclimated in a culturally diverse neighborhood and working not only with the great parish of St. John's but also with other area Brooklyn Lutheran Churches of the Atlantic District, LCMS, including the opportunity to work with a close friend as she takes on a role of sorts at another Brooklyn parish.  

Urban ministry is something I really feel "called" to.  Which is why I am taking this position.  It also helped as my Dad and I were discussing possible summer employment opportunities in early February that Dr. Benke, President/Bishop of the Atlantic District, happened to send me an email initially alerting me to this position.  Some call that coincidence, others call it lunacy, I call it God.

One thing I will be missing out on this summer is being a part of nearly the day to day activity that goes on at Trinity Lutheran Church in Islip.  I'll still be around plenty, but responsibilities with the youth ministry which include being on the summer staff and teaching 6th grade at VBS are now off the table.  To say I won't miss that is false.  I am forever indebted to TLC, as we affectionally call it, and to all who call it home.  My ministry in Brooklyn and beyond as I go through pastoral formation and eventually onto my own parish is also their ministry.  I was nurtured by that congregation and they deserve to know that everyone, young and old, have helped me along to where I am today.

Although I have great experiences and can bring those to St. John's to help them, I recognize my place as a servant to them first and foremost.  Because as St. Paul so eloquently put it, "But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.⁸Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." Philippians 3:7-8

Job

Job was a righteous man.  And one day, as the narrative goes, Satan came to God and said something to the effect of, "No kidding he's righteous, he has nothing to complain about..."  God accepted the wager made that Job would still call upon Yahweh for every help and in every trouble against the devil's saying he wouldn't.  

Job would trip up, but he came back and repented, and thereby received forgiveness, which is what God's people do.  Somewhere in the middle of all this however, Job made a statement that speaks high volumes, especially concerning to Christians.  Job was probably written at the time of the patriarchs, so this is some old school literature.  And right there in the midst of it all Job proclaims,

^"25For I know that my Redeemer lives,
   and at the last he will stand upon the earth.
²⁶And after my skin has been thus destroyed,
   yet in my flesh I shall see God,"

Right there, in Job 19:25-26 Job exclaims that he knows his Redeemer lives and even after his skin has been destroyed (death) at the last he in his own flesh will see God.  There's some resurrection theology for ya way back in the day!  This Lent we ought to be reminded that even though we're carrying our crosses and being reminded that Jesus carried His, that in the end in our own flesh we will see God.

Crazy Love

It's something the world doesn't quite get, and furthermore it is something I don't quite get.  But that stuff Jesus talked about, be in the world but not of it? Yeah, that.  How does THAT work?  

Being in the world but not of it makes for some interesting issues.  You're essentially a counter culture type without being a "culture warrior" cat whose sole goal in life is to make sure everyones doing the right thing.  No no, being counter culture is literally about the world looking at you, scratching its head, and saying, "What the heck is that?"  Yet, it isn't a repulsive "what the heck is that?"  It's an attractive and mysterious "what the heck is that?" 

It's a beautiful and mysterious thing that has been lost in todays church.  The earliest Christians were an absolute puzzle to Roman authorities because of their loving and caring behavior.  Whether it was their joy in being fed to lions at Roman Circuses or the way Christians pooled resources together to make sure one of their own would not go without an essential, it completely miffed Roman officials.  In an age where many people disavow religion, Church, and  Christianity it is important to reflect the Spirit's love that transforms hearts and minds and not give a bastardized version of the thing that has been running around under the moniker of "evangelical" in recent decades.  

The facts are this: people are NOT going to church and there is a generation coming up that will never have even stepped inside a church.  Are we to be alarmed?  Should this scare us?  NO!  It should invigorate us that we get to share God's LOVE with people who have otherwise never heard it or have become so disillusioned by it.  It is about showing a crazy love that will stop the world right in its tracks to question, "What the heck is that?"  

Don't worry though, just as Jesus said the world will continue to hate you.  But not because you're a law banger, because you accurately reflect what it means to be a follower of The Way.  Part of the world will hate you when even after you've been feeding the hungry and dressing the homeless you call them to repentance.  And the other part will hate you when even though you call sinners to repentance you refuse to elevate homosexuality and abortion to levels of utmost important sins that need our every ounce of strength in the "Culture War."  News flash:  There's been a culture war going on for quite some time now.  It's a war that deals with the reality that brothers and sisters lay in their own filth day after day without real help and friendship.  It's a war that has people wallowing in their own sins and choosing the path of destruction instead of yearning for the Light.  It's a war alright, and all the distractions the Slanderer throws our way work.  Be it becoming obsessed with a particular sin or thinking everything is A-Ok.  

Crazy love will make the world stop and think.  Because only a crazy love can call sinners to repentance and offer the joyous gift of salvation won by the One called Jesus on that lonely tree on Mount Calvary.  Crazy love is Jesus telling a thief he will be with him in paradise, because the thief recognized his sin and his need for a savior.  It's that crazy love that will transform this world and many of those in it.  Political grandstanding on either side will do no good.  It's that crazy love that only empowers us because Jesus took a grand stand at Golgotha.  

All of creation groans, are you ready?

Were You There?

Were You There

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?
Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?

Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?
Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?

Were you there when God raised him from the tomb?
Were you there when God raised him from the tomb?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when God raised him from the tomb?

Sang this hymn in Lenten worship tonight at church, figured I'd share it here.  Youtube it to feel the power of the song!

My evangelical catholicity (small c)

Some have inquired on my Facebook page regarding my religious views where they state quite simply, "evangelical catholic."  My Lutheran friends seem to be confused by this as though I have rejected the beautiful doctrine of "Justification through faith alone," or at the very least (or most) they are giving me a good natured ribbing.  I actually suspect it is more of the latter, but because of multiple inquiries I felt I should explain just what I mean by referring to myself as an evangelical catholic.  Allow me then to take you all down the path as to why I consider myself an evangelical catholic.

First and foremost it has nothing to do with rejecting the key tenets of Lutheranism.  For me, to be an evangelical catholic is at the same exact time to be Lutheran.  One minor reason for taking on this name is because Martin Luther himself had no desire for the movement he started to bear his name.  But due to the confusion that occurred with several protestant sects following the 16th century reformation, Luther's followers began to carry the moniker "Lutherans."  It is still an important distinction to make and by way of individually calling myself an evangelical catholic I do not suggest that we go around to every Lutheran Church tearing down the name "Lutheran."  It is still an important name to carry as a way to identify ourselves.  

Also, the term evangelical catholic has little to do with the Roman Catholic Church.  In the title, and in my subsequent writing, I purposely use catholic in a "small c" fashion as not to identify myself with the Roman Catholic Church.  Small c catholic comes from the ancient Greek which means "universal."  There is an "Evangelical Catholic" movement in the Roman Church as well, as a way to be more evangelical in their witness to their faith within the Catholic (large C, but looking to capture small c) tradition.  The movement "evangelical catholic" in the Lutheran Church is wrapped up in the theme of the reformation.

Lutherans can and will be lumped into the grand category of "protestants" (note "protest") of those who came forth from the reformation, but Lutherans can not and should not ever be categorized as "reformed."  The reformed movement of the calvinists and subsequent groups is different from the Lutheran Church.  And thus also Lutherans should never be seen as a group of Christians who are arminian (to learn more about these terms do a simple google search!).  Lutherans, by nature, are sinful and unclean (ha ha), no but really, we are catholic in the sense of the small c and being universal.  We can call ourselves catholic because as the confessions state, "in doctrine and ceremonies nothing has been received on our part against Scripture or the Catholic Church." This is to mean that we did not seek to separate ourselves from Rome but looked to reform Rome from within.  Rome gave us the boot, and here we are.  So with us we took the very pure and scriptural practices of church tradition and thereby the church catholic (small c).  In addition to that the confessions cite how the reformers (not the reformeD) were accused of abolishing the Mass, to this they replied, "Falsely are our churches accused of abolishing the Mass; for the Mass is retained among us, and celebrated with the highest reverence."  You can read all of this fun stuff here at the Book of Concord online.  

We believe in confession/absolution, the office of the keys, that Baptism brings regeneration, and that Christ is truly present in with and under the bread and the wine.  Where Lutherans have tripped up is on the evangelical end.  In America when one hears the word "evangelical" they likely cringe or reach for a vomit bag.  So called evangelicals have done immense damage to the image of Christianity, but the good news is the same community is reacting against itself now and is looking to rectify their past mistakes by replacing them with more catholic (small c) practices that look and sound awfully Lutheran (go figure).  The book unChristian is actually a book that with its theological concepts sounds very much Lutheran.  And I have had that confirmed by the author whose father once studied to be an LCMS Pastor and whose grandparents were life long members of the LCMS.  

Lutherans have long had an issue with being the one bringing the Good News or the evangel to the world.  The word evangelical comes from the Greek word Euangellion, which means Good News or Gospel.  We are to be the ones bearing the Gospel and we have not done a stellar job by any means.  So to be an "evangelical catholic" means to capture the idea that we remain true to catholic church traditions developed because of scripture and the early church (hence the divine service or the Mass as we see it, and the practices and doctrines that come with it) but at the same time being evangelical in our approach that we engage the world with the Gospel of Hope that transforms.  It is in this approach that I carry myself and it is the very reason why I identify myself as an "evangelical catholic (small c)."  

Too much information?  Perhaps.  But I had a few minutes to kill before class and wanted to address this.  Please comment or contact me for further information if need be!!

Out of the darkness and into the Light

The dark night of the soul or La noche oscura del alma is a concept developed by Spanish Roman Catholic mystic Saint John of the Cross.  It references a time in a religious persons life where there is considerable doubt, loneliness and desolation.  It is bleak, it is dark, it is scary.  For most people it lasts a long time, for example: Saint Paul of the Cross lasted 45 years in the 18th century, but he reportedly recovered.  The most notable person to have suffered with it was Mother Theresa, lasting from 1948 to nearly her death in 1997.  Scary!  

This is something most Christians go through and will go through.  For the vast majority it will not last 5 decades, it could be weeks, it could be months, it could be a few years.  But ultimately Christians get to rest in the comfort of knowing that even in their darkest periods the Light of Christ shines brighter and burns longer than the duration of time spent in the darkness.  It is no secret that Satan seeks to reek havoc upon God's people.  So whether you're a Mother Theresa or a Joe Nobody in the local town congregation Satan is out to get you.  "Oh but that sounds so middle ages and nonsensical, how could you believe in such a bogey man?"  Call me old fashioned, but I take scripture serious.  And in scripture it says our battle is not with humans but with spirits, it is a spiritual warfare (Romans 7, Galatians 5, Ephesians 6).

Satan is still prowling around like a lion looking to devour and on the one hand this terrifies us. But we should know and we should rejoice that those who belong to Christ Jesus in their baptism have no need for worrying about Satan because he is rendered powerless in the face off the cross.  The cross is what defeats Satan, and the cross is what has defeated sin, death, and the devil.  Come out of the darkness and into the Light where Jesus our Savior is waiting.  That is the Christian message, that His light shine on throughout, even in the darkest of moments that we may encounter.