Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Where there’s fire, hose it down! Then again, if the smoke is coming from a fireplace, let it burn. And if the smoke is coming from a refinery, it may be incinerating toxins (good!) or it may be releasing them (evacuate!). Then again, what appears to be fire may actually be steam, which could be good (a power plant) or bad (a radiator).
Where there’s smoke, who knows what to do?
Inherent in our suffering is a transforming power that can either humanize or demonize us. As we listen to another’s suffering, we can encourage and empower each other, for in dying we learn to live. Isn’t this journey from crucifixion to resurrection, from despair to hope, an eternal path sought by pilgrims everywhere? The tragedy of 9/11 announces louder than ever that we are living in an interconnected world of sufferers.
What might it mean to consider a season of war in light of the authority of Christ? Fundamentally, for Christians to regard Jesus’ authority means that we spell it with a capital "A." Jesus is the Authoritative One who stands alon, above all our other notions of authority. Self-interest, community affiliation, ethnic identity and patriotism are all put in context, reinterpreted and often critiqued by our larger commitment to Christ.
With time running out for a peaceful solution to the threatened conflict in Iraq as this column is written, it is important that Presbyterian officers (and pastors) take their responsibility as peacemakers with utmost seriousness. When Jesus teaches us that the peacemakers are blessed, the Greek expression used in Matthew 5:9 (eirenopoioi) makes it clear that we are called to more than peace praying, peace talking, peace thinking or peace hoping: we are commanded to peace doing. Peacemaking demands real work, active effort and engagement in processes that will really change things.*
A few years ago on a neighborhood stroll, I chanced upon a friend who was walking her dog. Knowing that she was active in her church and devoted to it, I asked her what she was giving up for Lent
Her answer was quick and tinged with her usual humor. Said she: "I am not giving up anything. I am giving up giving up, however."
I quickly agreed that giving up giving up was a good idea.
A speech given on March 20 during a "day after" protest.
Today is a sad day — a day that will long be remembered as a day of infamy.
Like many of you, I'm sure, I don't know whether to scream or weep.
The most famous, the most influential, and, arguably, the most effective Presbyterian minister in America died Feb. 27. And the response of the American people was overwhelming.
The death of Fred Rogers, better known as Mr. Rogers, was front-page news in the New York Times and a prominent story on most network newscasts. Even this past Sunday’s New York Times arts section, almost two weeks after the fact, included a wonderful article headlined "What Mr. Rogers Could Have Taught Michael Jackson."
In a recent book review there was a distinction drawn between being ideological and being existential. The reviewer, Adam Schatz, was commenting on a biography of the jazz musician, Miles Davis. His point was that Miles Davis was more existential than ideological in his approach to racial issues.
I am a Presbyterian who cherishes our heritage. The Reformed understanding of our faith and of Scripture is for me a rich source of nourishment spiritually, emotionally and communally. So what I propose below comes as the conclusion of a long lament on my part.
If the Presbyterian church is going to thrive in the 21st century, what we desperately need are fewer members.
Without a doubt, the term "member" has a solid basis in the Scriptures. The apostle Paul invites Christians to view themselves as members of Christ’s body, with each member performing a different function, yet all working together for a common goal.
"Shall the Fundamentalists Win?" When Harry Emerson Fosdick preached a sermon by that name in 1922, he galvanized the modernist-liberal movement that carries on to this day.
"Can the Fundamentalists Win America?" When Harold John Ockenga preached a sermon by that name in 1947, he galvanized the neo-evangelical movement (a label he would later coin) that also carries on to this day.
With the double exception of Adam and Eve, every single human being possesses a navel. This is because we are born connected to our mother by an umbilical cord that is severed after birth and then dries up. The purpose of cutting the cord is to enable you to sleep in your own bed, although the child is later reattached to the mother by apron strings.
Whether the United States will actually go to war against Iraq is still unclear at the present time. What is clear is that preparations for the war are proceeding apace. The preparations have been both ideological and military. On the ideological front, the Bush administration has been readying the American public for a "pre-emptive" attack on Iraq ever since Sept. 12, 2001 – a media blitz that continues right down to the present day.
The new Archbishop of Canterbury, His Grace Rowan Williams, is a highly intelligent man. In his most recent book , Lost Icons he discusses the function of "play" in Western society. "Games," he writes, "are unproductive." By this he means that the purpose of a game is not to manufacture a product. Its goal is not "competition for limited goods."
Having a poor visual memory is a source of considerable regret to me. Art historians stir a profound awe in me because they need to know everything that any expert knows and in addition apply it to what they have seen. On the three occasions in my life when I was in some danger of committing the sin of pride, I picked up Charles Cuttler's great book, Northern Painting from Pucelle to Bruegel and committed the sin of envy instead.
What do you do with the tinsel on the Christmas tree after Christmas? Save it for next year? Decorate birthday gifts? Throw it away?
I still have the handmade Santa Claus that I fashioned out of poster board, and then colored with red crayon (Santa’s suit), with black crayon (Santa’s belt and one boot) and with brown crayon (Santa’s other boot) plus a clump of fluffy cotton glued on for his straggly beard. Santa has hung around on the family Yule tree every year since I was in the first grade.
Once again we approach Christmas. Yet particularly this year, people all over the world are struggling with fear and anxiety: fear of a possible war in the Middle East and its unpredictable consequences far beyond the region; fear of deadly terrorist attacks like those that occurred in Bali or in Moscow recently; fear of loss of livelihood and destitution, as in Argentina; fear of a long-drawn-out illness and death among those living with AIDS, especially in sub-Saharan Africa;
Being a keen observer of the human condition, and a sometimes participant in it, I think it is fair to say that most new mothers love their new babies. When our first child arrived, Margaret exclaimed in wonderment to the attending physician, "I thought all newborns were ugly; my daughter is beautiful!" Nature knows that a baby without a mother's love is in for big trouble. Even government knows.
The 214th General Assembly (2002) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) approved 13 amendments to the Book of Order and recommended them to the presbyteries for their affirmative or negative votes.
A majority of the 173 presbyteries must approve an amendment for it to pass. The votes are to be reported to the 215th General Assembly (2003), and all those approved will take effect at that time.
Amendment 02-A has five components, each of which seeks to strengthen educational ministry within the PC(USA) by requiring a new competency level from those who answer calls as pastors and associate pastors serving in the role of educator. The first three amendments in this group are attempts to raise standards of educational ministry in the church for persons who feel called to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament with a specialty in education.
Even in the midst of an impassioned discussion regarding our understanding of the nature and practice of ministry, the Presbyterian Church, U.S. A. can be grateful that God is calling us to wrestle seriously with such issues. The question of how to vote on Amendment A challenges each of us to probe deeply our assumptions and expectations of roles and titles commonly used in our denomination. My own prayerful - and difficult - probing of the issues surrounding this amendment and my attitudes regarding those issues, has led me to speak in favor of the proposal set before us.
As one of the members of the Task Force on the Educational Design for the Ordination of Certified Christian Educators, I must take exception to some of the interpretations of the effect of the overtures, and to some of the arguments, offered in the front-page assessment article by Bill Lancaster (Jan. 13-20). Allow me to be specific:
The summaries and responses below are in rebuttal to the con positions presented in the "Assessing the Amendments To the Constitution" article from the Jan. 13-20, 2003 Presbyterian Outlook.
Together the amendments of 02-A.1-5 and 02-C.1-5 provide both theological and institutional clarity on Christian educators in our church today.
If passed by a majority of presbyteries, Amendment A will create a pathway for certified directors of Christian education (DCE) to become associate pastors (AP) of the Word and Sacrament, and in specified situations to continue to function in their present locations. The following points are lodged against the approval of this amendment.
Advent/Christmas means nothing if it does not mean the real presence of the triune God with and for God’s people and the world. Incarnation, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, is real presence. The church of Jesus throughout the world, past, present, future, is the real presence of the body of Christ in God’s created order. The Holy Spirit, the awesome personal power of God in us and in all that God has made, is the real presence.
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