Caveat: I watched "Fight Club" this week--twice I think. Consequently, my psyche is a bit tortured so take what follows for what it's worth...
Yesterday I struggled to preach a sermon dealing with humanity, and especially masculinity. I likened it to trying to create an ice sculpture with a chain saw. I sort of had in mind what I wanted to get across but it was pretty chunky work--like trying to make delicate cuts without lopping off entire limbs.
We are animals at some level. Our physicality and drives are central to who we are as men and women. Indeed, it would appear that God made us this way. At the same time, this is not a license to run roughshod about the planet. As believers, or even as conscientious people, we want to be mindful and respectful of the larger world.
So what do we do with all that stuff--the thoughts, the passions, the hormones... Where's the line between appropriate expressions of manhood or womanhood and vain self-indulgence? I suspect the question is harder to answer than we realize. Some of us err on one side--overly prudish and suspicious of all forms of sexuality and worldly interest. Others of us err on the opposite side--driven entirely by one base desire or another.
It's safe to say that it's a matter of finding a balance that we can live with but the "we" here refers not only to the self but to the community around it. As we embrace our nature, we need to do so within the context of others--other people, other creature and the otherness of God. Of course, this was the part of the sermon that I was hoping would not break off as I was chiseling away at the carnal side of things. I suspect that the Church needs to hear that it is o.k. to be male or be female. And I want to be someone who is willing to say so. I just don't want to say it so loudly that people lose their minds... or their patience with me.
We are for sure earthly creatures. But there are better and worse ways to be in this world. As believers, we understand that enthusiasm is a good thing. It just needs to be appropriately applied.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
Quality and Convenience
This morning I have been on the Internet looking at albs. An alb is the basic vestment worn by clergy and others during worship. I have two albs. One is a wheat colored, wool-blend that I purchased right after I received my first appointment as a pastor back in 1989. The other is a white polyester garment that I bought with some money that my mother had given me for my birthday about five years ago. There is a marked difference in the quality between the two.
The wheat alb has held up beyond my expectations. Of course, it is worn and that is partly the reason that I am looking for a new one. But the fact that this garment has served me for twenty years now, I couldn't be more impressed. I honestly hate to replace it.
On the other hand, my white alb has been a great disappointment. I purchased it because it looked great in the catalog. Embroidered bands in the sleeves and at the bottom making make the robe look very stylish. When it arrived, it looked as good as it did in the picture. It was about twice as heavy as the wool-blend so I expected that it would hold up well. It has not. The hems are breaking down. The cloth is fraying badly. The polyester is much heavier than the wool and it breathes very poorly so the beautiful white color is now stained with rings of sweat.
By all measure the older, thinner fabric has outperformed the newer, fancier garment. As I look to purchase my next alb, I see that I am going to have to spend some money. The natural fabric costs about a third more even though it looks like it should cost less.
I suppose it is a lesson that we have to learn more than once. It is always tempting to go with the picture on the box... Besides that, it's getting harder to find the quality. Even brands that were once reputable and reliable are not necessarily producing that same stuff they were a few years back... [The difference in Ralph Lauren chinos is subtle but definitely there.] Of course, the consumer is supposedly the one with the power. Theoretically, if we don't buy the junk, sooner or later they will have to stop making it.
The wheat alb has held up beyond my expectations. Of course, it is worn and that is partly the reason that I am looking for a new one. But the fact that this garment has served me for twenty years now, I couldn't be more impressed. I honestly hate to replace it.
On the other hand, my white alb has been a great disappointment. I purchased it because it looked great in the catalog. Embroidered bands in the sleeves and at the bottom making make the robe look very stylish. When it arrived, it looked as good as it did in the picture. It was about twice as heavy as the wool-blend so I expected that it would hold up well. It has not. The hems are breaking down. The cloth is fraying badly. The polyester is much heavier than the wool and it breathes very poorly so the beautiful white color is now stained with rings of sweat.
By all measure the older, thinner fabric has outperformed the newer, fancier garment. As I look to purchase my next alb, I see that I am going to have to spend some money. The natural fabric costs about a third more even though it looks like it should cost less.
I suppose it is a lesson that we have to learn more than once. It is always tempting to go with the picture on the box... Besides that, it's getting harder to find the quality. Even brands that were once reputable and reliable are not necessarily producing that same stuff they were a few years back... [The difference in Ralph Lauren chinos is subtle but definitely there.] Of course, the consumer is supposedly the one with the power. Theoretically, if we don't buy the junk, sooner or later they will have to stop making it.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Enthusiasm and Discipline
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, “One does not live by bread alone.” ’ (Luke 4:1-4)
It seems that we are living in a languishing age. While the earth's population is growing rapidly and resource demands are being pressed to an all time high, little has changed in terms of the way that we live. This is particularly true when it comes to understanding and utilizing energy. Oil leads a cast of familiar suspects with which we have an increasing problematic relationship. For four decades we have been hearing about "breaking free" from our dependence upon fossil fuels but the truth is our addiction has only gotten worse.
Human history is closely related to our capacity to identify and employ various forms of energy. Almost without exception this has meant burning one or another source of carbon. From the wheat metabolizing in our bodies to the wood burning in our stoves to the gasoline driving the engines in our cars, human civilization has benefited and advanced largely because of that curious atom that bonds so readily in our world.
It is a true Catch-22. We have this great thing going; and yet, we sense that we are really starting to try the relationship... Reluctantly, many of us are starting to believe that it is time to do something else--something besides burning up carbon. But few of us have even the slightest idea of where to begin.
I suspect that sometime in the not too distant future we will figure this out. We will unlock some new secret in the universe that will allow us to identify a new energy source. Odds are, it will have something to do with hydrogen--perhaps an efficient harvest of solar energy or a practical application of fusion. Of course, I don't know the details and I really have no foundation for making such a prediction--except that it seems that we are just sort of due for such a breakthrough.
And when it comes, it will come swiftly. Once practical, it only took a hundred years for the internal combustion engine to make its way across the entire planet. And the world today is vastly smaller than it was a in the 19th century.
With the change, there will come a great enthusiasm, and rightfully so. After all, we have been imprisoned by the limitations of oil for a long time now. We are addicts who have only just begun to realize that we are suffering. So the deliverance from all this can not help but come as a salvific event. We will want to be careful here. Energy is a great and glorious thing. As we have witnessed, it is something that can be easy to worship. We will want to be careful about this.
It seems that we are living in a languishing age. While the earth's population is growing rapidly and resource demands are being pressed to an all time high, little has changed in terms of the way that we live. This is particularly true when it comes to understanding and utilizing energy. Oil leads a cast of familiar suspects with which we have an increasing problematic relationship. For four decades we have been hearing about "breaking free" from our dependence upon fossil fuels but the truth is our addiction has only gotten worse.
Human history is closely related to our capacity to identify and employ various forms of energy. Almost without exception this has meant burning one or another source of carbon. From the wheat metabolizing in our bodies to the wood burning in our stoves to the gasoline driving the engines in our cars, human civilization has benefited and advanced largely because of that curious atom that bonds so readily in our world.
It is a true Catch-22. We have this great thing going; and yet, we sense that we are really starting to try the relationship... Reluctantly, many of us are starting to believe that it is time to do something else--something besides burning up carbon. But few of us have even the slightest idea of where to begin.
I suspect that sometime in the not too distant future we will figure this out. We will unlock some new secret in the universe that will allow us to identify a new energy source. Odds are, it will have something to do with hydrogen--perhaps an efficient harvest of solar energy or a practical application of fusion. Of course, I don't know the details and I really have no foundation for making such a prediction--except that it seems that we are just sort of due for such a breakthrough.
And when it comes, it will come swiftly. Once practical, it only took a hundred years for the internal combustion engine to make its way across the entire planet. And the world today is vastly smaller than it was a in the 19th century.
With the change, there will come a great enthusiasm, and rightfully so. After all, we have been imprisoned by the limitations of oil for a long time now. We are addicts who have only just begun to realize that we are suffering. So the deliverance from all this can not help but come as a salvific event. We will want to be careful here. Energy is a great and glorious thing. As we have witnessed, it is something that can be easy to worship. We will want to be careful about this.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Nagging Doubts
My sister, Angie, had her tonsils out over a week ago. Remember when this used to be a common procedure? Children everywhere lined up for their introduction to the center of modern medicine--surgery...
Turns out that something is off here or something has changed or something...Angie is just now getting better. She has been miserable for ten straight days. The only reprieve is that she has a great sense of humor so I have been able to give her a few laughs via a few timely texts about filling in for Axl Rose and Brian Johnson.
Of course, this is really nothing to laugh about. Angie told me this morning that she was working in her yard yesterday when her neighbor (an attorney) came over and said, “Now this is mostly over, I can tell you…I have been involved in two separate cases in which women died after having their tonsils taken out….Both adult women with children who bled-out while they were sleeping…”
Those who know me well have probably heard an occasional barb about hospitals, insurance or modern medicine. I can’t really say where it comes from but I have forever had this nagging suspicion about the way that our age considers and addresses health. At the very least, it strikes me as the proverbial little man behind a curtain pulling levers that produce a lot of smoke and noise. I am afraid to admit, even to myself, how I really feel about it.
You’d think that by now we would have figured out something a bit more creative than surgery. I always think of one of the middle Star Trek films in which Bones McCoy refers to our era of doctors as “butchers.” Of course, he would then just get out some kind of magic wand that he simply waved over the patient. Science Fiction...but still... Can we not come up with something a bit less invasive than the presumption and practice that has dominated medicine for the last hundred years?
Angie, sorry about your throat. Next time, you might want to just go with the vitamins.
Turns out that something is off here or something has changed or something...Angie is just now getting better. She has been miserable for ten straight days. The only reprieve is that she has a great sense of humor so I have been able to give her a few laughs via a few timely texts about filling in for Axl Rose and Brian Johnson.
Of course, this is really nothing to laugh about. Angie told me this morning that she was working in her yard yesterday when her neighbor (an attorney) came over and said, “Now this is mostly over, I can tell you…I have been involved in two separate cases in which women died after having their tonsils taken out….Both adult women with children who bled-out while they were sleeping…”
Those who know me well have probably heard an occasional barb about hospitals, insurance or modern medicine. I can’t really say where it comes from but I have forever had this nagging suspicion about the way that our age considers and addresses health. At the very least, it strikes me as the proverbial little man behind a curtain pulling levers that produce a lot of smoke and noise. I am afraid to admit, even to myself, how I really feel about it.
You’d think that by now we would have figured out something a bit more creative than surgery. I always think of one of the middle Star Trek films in which Bones McCoy refers to our era of doctors as “butchers.” Of course, he would then just get out some kind of magic wand that he simply waved over the patient. Science Fiction...but still... Can we not come up with something a bit less invasive than the presumption and practice that has dominated medicine for the last hundred years?
Angie, sorry about your throat. Next time, you might want to just go with the vitamins.
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