…than read my blog.
Go vote!
That is all.
Cartoons of Isaac: Number 1
So I have some students who can draw. And frequently they draw pictures of me. So now and then I’ll post some of the ones I like best. This one is titled “Isaac being ‘cool’”
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Will your Leg wait for you?
We had a really interesting conversation in the high school class last Sunday morning. It went like this. One of the teachers heard a Bart Simpson quote that went something like, “If you’re a really good person, but you have to have your leg amputated, will your leg be waiting for you in Heaven after you die?”
Most of the class hadn’t thought about the idea that the Creeds specify a “resurrection of the body” not just some ghostly existence with God after death. So we debated that one for a little while. Then we got into the idea of what a “perfected” body would look like. The group agreed that you, in Heaven, receive the body God has always wanted you to have. But we weren’t sure what that would look like. Would it mean a perfectly sculpted, fit, thin, American-beautiful body? Would it mean the body you have now, but free of whatever you don’t like about it? Or would it mean something totally different?
We didn’t follow our lesson plan at all, but the people there really sank their teeth into this discussion, and reminded us all of the value of having a day when we find out what’s on our minds.
Blog post on “the gluttony of Jesus”
Karl sent over this link and I’ll now be checking out this blog fairly frequently, as it’s an interesting and challenging take on one of our images of Jesus.
Everything I’ve been reading about atonement has gone to great lengths to take into account Christ’s suffering — even though they mostly avoid directly valorizing suffering (with the exception of a few conservatives or naive traditionally-oriented liberals), it still makes up an irreducible part of the Christian experience.
The weird thing here is that everyone supposedly agrees that we need to take into account Christ’s entire life, and yet no one notices that Christ’s life was not characterized by suffering. He was obviously dirt poor, but he lived a life of singular abundance — his critics called him a glutton. He achieved this abundance not by stockpiling wealth, but by enticing people to share with him, and he recommended a similar strategy to his disciples (the 12 and the 72). From another direction: His first miracle is making some really great wine. One of his most famous is multiplying meager provisions to feed everyone, with baskets leftover. Yet the picture of Jesus we’re often presented with seems to indicate that he would tell the wedding guests that they should go without and would tell the crowds that it’s good to learn patience through suffering hunger.
I haven’t decided what to do about this idea yet, still letting “the birds fly over my head,” as Luther said, “without permitting them to build a nest in my hair.”
If you want something done…
…ask a busy person, goes the old saying!
It’s been a big week, which is why I’ve been away from the blog for a couple of days. But here are some reflections.
On Wednesday at Bible study, we were talking about the section of First Corinthians that talks about believers taking each other to court, and what a poor example it set that the church of the time was letting unbelievers settle arguments instead of working them out internally. My guys ended up talking about how to deal with people at school who act out to get attention without tearing them down, starting rumors or just agreeing with them and letting them keep their inflated opinions of themselves. We found out that giving someone the loving attention that will help him think about himself in a sober and realistic manner takes time, which is why people usually just make fun or avoid those people, rather than trying to get to know them and find out what they need that makes them act out. I love it when my guys come up with the topics they need to talk about, and when we’re able to match them to the night’s Bible study topic.
Today I have, near-literally, nothing to do at work. Next week is empty of events except for Bible study, and so I’ll be using it to organize my calendar, write my sermon for Sunday the 9th, start prepping for retreats, get a little ahead with Bible study prep and, of course, go see my kids once school lets out for the day. But it’s nice to have a quiet day today; I’m in the office briefly and then headed to Starbucks to visit my middle schoolers and their friends.
Yesterday was the first day of my fourth year here in Saint Louis.
National Novel Writing Month begins tonight at midnight and, since the first full day is a Saturday and all I need to do tomorrow is get a haircut and go to a middle school football game, I’m planning to write 10,000 words and get a HUGE head start on the month. (For those of you who don’t know, NaNoWriMo is an international writers’ crazy time when, in 30 days, each author tries to write 50,000 words. It’s a rush. I’m also writing a sermon and a research paper during the same month.
It’s going to be a good day.
Scarily accurate cartoon
This actually happened to me the other day; a student walked into my office, started flipping through my iPod playlist and a few seconds later put it down and insisted I didn’t have anything good. I felt old.
Credit: http://toothpastefordinner.com
Great Blog: Students Say the Darndest Things
Funny, quick read I found through More Than Dodgeball. The new blog is called “Students Say the Darndest Things” and it’s full of quotes and one-liners from youth ministers. (I sent one in, hope they use it!)
My favorite so far:
“Are we taking the bus or the vans to Africa?”
and
“Satan isn’t a nerd. Satan is the Devil!”
