THE REARVIEW MIRROR: 5/21-5/29

A holiday weekend is always a welcome addition to a regular week!

It was another busy week. I made three trips to the airport, was sick in my stomach three different (nonconsecutive) days, had a graduation party, spent time with both families, saw Antonina graduate, had a really tough day at work, and went camping!

As I reflect on the events of this week it amazes me at the shear height of the joyous occasions, and the utter depth of the difficulties. How can they be all in one week?

I am so proud to see Antonina accomplish so much! In the last four years she has been a full-time teacher, teaching summer school, teaching Sunday School, paid off all her undergrad loans, earned her Masters, and still managed to be the best wife ever! She truly is the most phenominal person I know. Additionally, we had a great time Monday night with many of the seminarians who also attend NTS. It was great fun! Thanks, Aimee & Devin, Michael & Amy, Ron & Kristen, Paul & Sara, Joseph & Kimberlee: it was so much fun to share our stories together. That is what community is all about!

And all the while, the stress of my situation is litterally making me sick. I will try to divert my attention from my issues (like I usually do) with a humerous story to close.

Wednesday I was at Antonina's graduation. We ate BBQ for dinner (you can't come to KC and not have BBQ!), and when we got to the graduation I had to run to the restroom. I had to go bad! I got there and there was only one other person there. You guessed it...he was in the stall. But, he was only doing #1...with two empty urinals! So as I am waiting, another guy comes in. Just as he is coming in, Mr #1 in the stall is coming out, and they know each other. They start talking in the door to the stall...my path is blocked. Their conversation is thankfully short, but then the other guy cuts in front of me to use the stall...still 2 urinals open mind you. I try to be compassionate thinking maybe he has to go worse than me. But what does he do? He unzips, stands there and takes a squirt! After waiting for two people to use the stall, with the necessary urinals available, I finally made it into the stall. What is the deal? USE THE URINAL!

RIVERSIDE REFLECTIONS: apartment fire

When I got home yesterday afternoon, I turned on the TV to relax for a minute. The news cut in with a late breaking story. "Great, another non-story interrupting a good show." But the images captured me. It was an apartment fully ingulfed in flames. It was not just any apartment; it looked like one of the units in the complex Antonina and I used to live in. Wait...it looks like THE unit we lived in. The same tree out front, the same shrub at the corner, the same fence and playground in the back. "Surely it can't be!" My mind immediately went to our neighbors who still live there. We were close friends and Seminary brothers. Then his wife came on the TV...they had to drop their two little girls from the balcony! Everyone was OK, but the building we lived in just over a year ago was a total loss. I thank God for everyone's safety!

RIVERSIDE REFLECTIONS: The DaVinci Code

Antonina and I have now read the book and seen the movie. Neither are anything less than spectacular! Too many evangelicals are having this knee-jerk reaction against anything that might be slightly unconventional. I just want to make one disclaimer before continuing: IT IS FICTION!

Yes, it is based on very real historical theory. Most of us call them conspiracy theories because we know they are not likely to be true. At the very least, there is little evidence that they could be true. There are two problems with Dan Brown's work from a theological point of view of which Christians should take note. One of problematic areas have to do with history of the church, formation of the Canon, legalization of Christianity, etc. The other has to do with the implications he draws from the theory of Jesus being married to Mary and having a child. The implication that if this were true would make Jesus not divine is absurd. Further, the implication that it makes Mary in any way divine is also absurd. The logical implecations he tries to draw connecting thie theory with the idea of the divine feminine just does not hold water in my opinion.

It is odd becuase no one cares about these truly problematic areas. Most are simply concerned with the "heresy" that Jesus could have been married. Let me ask this question: If Jesus were married to Mary Magdalene, and they had a child, how would that change what we confess to be true of Christ? I would welcome discussion at this point.

Lastly, I have heard many complain that the movie is trying to "destroy" Christianity. It is my opinion, after enjoying both the book and the movie, that the movie is much more sympathetic to the church than is the book. It seems Ron Howard was going out of his way to tell a great story and to be as careful as he could in handling some very controversial subjects. In the movie, for instance, Langdon (Hanks) argues with Tebing in support of the tradition of the church. This is not in the book to my recollection. Further, at the end of the movie, Langdon seems much more open to Christianity than he was at the beginning. This, too, I do not recall being in the book.

All this said, I must give the move 5 STARS! I encourage you all to see it and to think critically about it. Do some reading, not just from the plethora of "debunking the myth" books, but by reputable historians and theologians. And remember: IT IS FICTION!

THE REARVIEW MIRROR: 5/14-5/20

This was quite an eventful week:

- Graduation on Sunday...ever try finding a nice restaraunt on Mother's Day where you can get seated, eat, and leave in under 2 hours?

- Monday: no school responsibilities! What do I do with myself?..O yea, Church Board Meeting

- Wednesday: I love Wednesdays...they are usually a 12 hour work day, but Wednesday nights are awesome. I usually leave horse, but I guess that's the cost of preaching without a mic!

- Thursday: Our good friend Katie's grandma died. She and Antonina had plans for Friday night, but now they are off. Our prayers are with Katie and her family.

- Friday: Antonina and I went to se The DaVinci Code. Great movie...GO SEE IT, or better yet, READ THE BOOK!

- Saturday: Had great seats for the Cardinals v Royals. It was the one good game of the series. Thanks Todd!

RIVERSIDE REFLECTIONS: the greatest game on earth

I went to watch the Royals and the Cardinals game. We were behind homeplate in row S. Thanks to Todd for the tix, and to the McGuff family who sat behind us. It was cool to be around such a storied family. Anyway, as I watched the Cardinals, I was reminded of why baseball really is the greatest game on earth. It is poetry. It is beauty. It is strengeth, agility, teamwork. It is the greatest game on earth. Its just too bad we, who live in KC, have to watch the Royal defile the greatest game on earth. Last night alone, we watched the "major leaguers" make little league mistakes...Costa can't judge a fly ball to save his life, Gruz sits and waits for Costa to make the play, and basrunners blatantly ignor the base coach costing their team the game in a moment seeking personal glory. Last night was fun. Thanks to all involved. It was so interesting to see the oil and water, the best and worst, on the same field playing a competitive and FUN game!

THE PULPIT: Seeing Is Believing

True or False, “seeing is believing”?

I know I tend to be a “seeing is believing” kind of guy. This is true of me especially if it is something highly unlikely. David Blaine was on TV the other night. He was trying to hold his breath underwater for 9 minutes. If you would have told me someone was trying to hold their breath that long underwater, strapped to the bottom of a giant goldfish bowl, I would think they are silly for trying, and you are silly for believing them. What if I told you people have gone over Niagara Falls in a barrel and survived uninjured? What if I told you someone has gotten on a motorcycle and ramped across the Grand Canyon? Most likely, none of us would believe it if we had not seen it.

John 20 (NLT)
24One of the disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin[c]), was not with the others when Jesus came. 25They told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he replied, "I won't believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side."
26Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. He said, "Peace be with you." 27Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don't be faithless any longer. Believe!"
28"My Lord and my God!" Thomas exclaimed.
29Then Jesus told him, "You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who haven't seen me and believe anyway."

The setting is the same as it was last week, only one week later. The same group is gathered, only this week Thomas has joined them. Between last week and this, they had been talking with Thomas. They told him of the Lord. They told him about the resurrection, but Thomas did not believe. “There is no way I’m going to fall for that! Unless I see and touch the wounds, I don’t believe you.” Thus, the scene is set, they are all together in a room, with the doors shut and locked.

Out of nowhere, Jesus appears! It was just like last time. He greets them all with the Peace, and then turns directly to Thomas. “See my hand? Take your finger and put it in my hand. See my side? Take your hand and put it in my side.” But Thomas does not need to all that. He knows his Lord, because his Lord knows him. Thomas is a hero, right?

Jesus response is a little surprising. We are not sure exactly how to take it. Jesus pronounces a blessing on those who believe without seeing. Does this mean that Thomas is not blessed? Is his skepticism is a problem? I sometimes think that Thomas gets a bum rap. He had to see in order to believe. Mary had to see to believe. The others in last weeks story had to see to believe. If anything, it seems to me that Thomas believed more easily than he thought he would. He said he would have to see and touch, but just the sight of Christ and hearing His words was enough.

Jesus said, “Blessed are they who did not see, yet believed” even though his closest disciples saw and believed. This story is not about our failure though, it is about the grace of God! In the ideal world we would all believe without seeing, but unfortunately this does not happen often. Jesus’ closest friends needed to see to believe. Jesus was willing to do whatever it took to help them to believe.

I believe this story shows us how others will come to believe. First, they will see His body. Sure, Jesus is not present with us physically. He has ascended to heaven where He sits at the right hand of the Father. However, He has left His church. There is a very long tradition of understanding that the church is Christ’s body. The tradition goes all the way back to St. Paul. The church is the presence of Christ in this world, and through it, others can and will see Him. Second, they will hear His Word. Sure, Jesus is not present with us physically, but He has left us the Bible, the written Word of God to reveal God to the world.

So we have our answer…through the church, the world is able to see Christ. Through the Bible, the world is able to hear the word of God. Through the church’s faithful proclamation of the Word, the world is able to believe.

Where do you fit in to this whole thing? Let’s explore the nature of the church. The church is those gathered and sent by God who share their common belief. John tells us that Christ is the Word. So while the church is to faithfully proclaim the word of God corporately in its worship, if you are one of the believers that makes up the church, then you are to be faithful proclaiming Christ in all you do. Others will believe if they see Christ in you. The question really is, what are you faithfully proclaiming: selfishness or love, Christ or yourself. What message are you proclaiming?

How This Is Going To Work

OK...I've been giving this alot of thought. I am blogging for a couple reasons: 1) to keep all our friends updated about what is going on in life; 2) to keep my writing sharp and hopefully get good feedback; 3) just to have a place to reflect sometimes.

So, there will be three regular "columns." The first will be entitled "The Rear View Mirror." It will be more or less a summary of our week. The second will be "The Pulpit." It will be my weekly youth sermon manuscript (the manuscript will differ some from the preaching). Last will be "Riverside Reflections." Here I will just ponder life as I experience it. Your comments are always welcome, and thanks for chekcing in from time to time.

SDG, Eric

Ends and Beginnings

Graduation...how exciting! Sally Morgenthaler talks about every end as another beginning. It is easy to be excited about an end when there is an obvious beginning. But Antonina and I are not sure what is the new beginning. It is easy to get discouraged, but when I think back about the journey so far, how can I be discouraged? In Mt. Vernon, God provided the perfect house (functionally!) just in time. Now that dilapidated old duplex seems like the place where the seeds of a Church were planted! And then there is Kansas City. We moved with nothing more than an apartment and a few dollars in a savings account to pay the rent. Just when money was running out, God gave Antonina a part time teaching job that just a few days later turned into a full time teaching job that she has loved for four years now. My life is full of miracles if only I will look for them. God has never failed me, so why should I be discouraged? God alone is Holy! To God alone goes all the glory!

SDG, Eric