Venerable Bede

Heavenly Father, you called your servant Bede, while still a child, to devote his life to your service in the disciplines of religion and scholarship: Grant that as he labored in the Spirit to bring the riches of your truth to his generation, so we, in our various vocations, may strive to make you known in all the world; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(Lesser Feasts and Fasts, May 25)

Jackson Kemper, First Missionary Bishop

Lord God, in whose providence Jackson Kemper was chosen first missionary bishop in this land, that by his arduous labor and travel congregations might be established in scattered settlements of the West: Grant that the Church may always be faithful to its mission, and have the vision, courage, and perseverance to make known to all peoples the Good News of Jesus Christ; who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever.

Jackson Kemper biographical information from Biographical Sketches of Memorable Christians of the Past:

Jackson Kemper was born 24 December 1789 in Pleasant Valley, New York, attended Columbia College, and was ordained a priest in 1814. In 1835, the Episcopal Church undertook to consecrate missionary bishops to preach the Gospel west of the settled areas, and Kemper was the first to be chosen. He promptly headed west. Having found that clergy who had lived all their lives in the settled East were slow to respond to his call to join him on the frontier, he determined to recruit priests from among men who were already in the West, and established a college in St. Louis, Missouri, for that purpose. He went on to found Nashotah House and Racine College in Wisconsin. He constantly urged a more extensive outreach to the Indian peoples, and translations of the Scriptures and the services of the Church into Indian languages. From 1859 till his death in 1870, he was bishop of Wisconsin, but the effect of his labors covered a far wider area

(Lesser Feasts and Fasts for May 24)

These three remain…but the greatest of these is change…

I don’t want to say much on this right now. It is a mailing that Obama sent to voters in Kentucky. Obviously he is trying to win over the “evangelical Christian” voting block. Two items of note. First, in the top part (or front of the ad) I find the “Faith. Hope. Change.” an odd reference to 1 Corinthians 13; “But the greatest of these is change…” Second, if you look over his shoulder in the bottom part (or back of the ad) you notice that the figure in the stained glass window, which I am only assuming is Jesus, is African American; whether this is just a coincidence or a reference to black/liberation theology is anyone’s guess.  I note it only because if find it interesting.

I will withhold judgment right now.

What do you think?

Unconscious Bias and Race

“There is nothing more painful to me at this stage in my life,” Jesse Jackson once told an audience, “than to walk down the street and hear footsteps and start thinking about robbery—then look around and see somebody white and feel relieved.”

Why Stanley Hauerwas Thinks You Might Not be a Christian

Recently at the Princeton Forum on Youth Ministry theologian Stanley Hauerwas told a group of current and future Youth Pastors that their salvation must be in doubt.  Here is one of the most provocative parts of the speech – said in a way that only Hauerwas can.

I assume most of you are here because you think you are Christians, but it is not all clear to me that the Christianity that has made you Christians is Christianity.  For example:

How many of you worship in a church with an American flag?  I am sorry to tell you that your salvation is in doubt.

How many of you worship in a church in which the fourth of July is celebrated?  I am sorry to tell you that your salvation is in doubt.

How many of you worship in a church that recognizes Thanksgiving?  I am sorry to tell you that your salvation is in doubt.

How many of you worship in a church that celebrates January 1 as the “New Year”?  I am sorry to tell you that your salvation is in doubt.

How many of you worship in a church that recognizes “Mother’s Day”?  I am sorry to tell you that your salvation is in doubt

This is especially interesting to me for a number of reasons.  First, I have just finished up my ThM at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School where I did one of my major capstone projects on the relationship between the nation-state and the church (as well as the flag and the cross) in which I followed Cavanaugh claiming that the nation-state is a simulacrum of the Body of Christ, and thus these issues have been on my mind a lot lately.  Second, especially today which is both Pentecost and Mother’s Day, at least in the West.  It is always interesting to me when the Church calendar and the Hallmark calendar overlap, and often the Hallmark calendar wins.  I would be interested to look at sermons today and see which one takes precedence in churches.  I can only hope that Pentecost will be the focus, but I have been in Church long enough to know that will not be the case; that many Churches might not even know that it is Pentecost and will instead preach on “How to be a good Mom.”  Maybe Hauerwas has a point.

I have more thoughts but I must head out for worship.  I would be interested in your comments on what Hauerwas has said – you inevitably have some. 

My favorite posts from this academic year

I have tried to keep up with blogging a little better this school year. Below are some of my favorite posts from August 2007-May 2008.

Thanks to my 2 readers

iPod Worship and an End to the Worship Wars

Ever After Happily Ever After

Thoughts on Love

Indecision and Self-Love

Pondering God’s Faithfulness

The Darkest Time of the Year

Prayer of Peace for those who do not know what lies ahead

On Being Homeless

10 Reasons Why “10 Reasons Why Men Should Not be Ordained” Doesn’t Apply to Me

Summer Reading List (hopefully)

Here are some of the books I hope to read this summer for those people who are interested:

The Master and Margarita (Makhail Bulgakov)
Silence (Shusaku Endo)
Ascension and Ecclesia (Douglas Farrow)
The Brothers K (David James Duncan)
The Beauty of the Infinite (David Bentley Hart)
Ancient-Future Worship (Robert Webber)
Diary of a Bad Year (J.M. Coetzee)

I am always reading something of Thomas Merton and will most likely continue to do so. I also hope to write some stuff this summer both for myself and for the blog.

If I have time I might read Anna Karenina, and/or re-read The Brothers Karamazov.

The Eucharistic Meal of the Nation-State

What is the meal by which we remember the martyrs, sacrificial victims, and saviors of the nation-state?  What is the meal by which we Americans are made one people?

If I could be as bold to offer some suggestions I would propose that all one needs to do is glance at the menu of any of the great feast days of the American republic.  In this sense the Eucharist of the nation-state might be bar-b-que, hamburgers and hot dogs, potato chips, cole slaw, and Coca-Cola; or it could be turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie.

We eat to remember – in the Church and in the nation-state.  The state like the church has ritual meals and holy days.  Sadly, for many Christians these days supplant the holy days of the church.  All Christians know when Independence Day is (and when it means), and it is the same for Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, and other “sacred” days on the American calendar.  Fewer Christians know when Ascension or Pentecost are (much less what they mean).

For many the church calendar has been replaced by the calendars of the Federal government and Hallmark.