Up In Smoke

Two postings in one day! It must be the end of the week. Tonight I went on an adventure to high-church-land. Heather organized an incense training at St. Luke's for anyone at Seabury. We learned how to do incense both as thurifer and celebrant. While I'm not a big fan of incense, I figured it would be a good plan to learn something about it while I could. So I hopped in the car and went to the workshop, and I actually kind of enjoyed it! Paul, the guy showing us around, was really great and funny, and was very clear about what incense is and isn't for. The only major downside is that my clothes smell really strongly of incense now. But, I didn't set anyone or anything on fire. Not bad for my first time!

Cynicism – A Posting for Ethics I

On Tuesday, Jeff led our Ethics class in a discussion of Church as Parable by Harry Huebener and David Schroeder. (He did a great job by the way - see Jane’s comments on it from Tuesday.) We talked a lot about individualism, and what that means for the Church – I feel like that discussion is never-ending, as witnessed on our little blogging community! Anyway, my concern in the discussion was this. While we were talking about the politicizing of morality (one of the points Huebner makes in chapter 2) we started to get very cynical about the Church. Someone raised a concern that General Convention votes certain ways for political popularity rather than moral conscience or theological reasons – whether it’s the “conservatives” focusing on the sinful nature of humanity or “liberals” trying to do God’s work in our way. (This is Huebner’s breakdown of the liberal/conservative divide… and he clearly doesn’t think highly of either. See pg. 45 if you’re interested.) This judgement may be true, or it may not. I choose to believe that the majority of folks are truly and honestly trying to struggle with the Gospels and the reality of the Risen Christ in a broken world. Regardless, that is not my point. My point is this: our ability to sit in our classroom and judge the intentions of others is rooted in the same individualism that narrative-ethics is arguing against in the first place. The kind of accountability called for in this community means that we do not have the luxury of saying “those folk over there, “us” and “them”. We are all that community. This kind of accountability to the Christian community means that we do not have the luxury of throwing up our hands and walking out, of not showing up, or just not caring once our eyes have been opened to problems in our midst. Cynicism may have its place – it can open our eyes to where our community is not living up to the example set by Jesus. But this narrative ethic does not allow us to check out, ever. This ethic means that we are all in it for the long haul, and that we are in it together for the long haul.

Alleluia!

Triduum services are over, and Easter is here! Although you may not know it from the damp, gray weather Spring is here and the Lord is risen indeed. Our Easter Vigil sunrise service went pretty well, even in spite of some last-minute changes due to an impending thunderstorm. After the service and a wonderful brunch, I went back to bed for a long time. In the afternoon, Luke & I went with our friend at family-letter to the Chicago Botanical Gardens, which was wonderful. Ruth Meyers has preached a good sermon on noticing spring coming forth around us, and noticing Resurrection in a world where its easier to see the death and sadness. (Thats a pretty basic summary, but it fits my point here.) To hear that sermon, and then go see the beginnings of spring in action was just a perfect Easter devotion. And now as I sit at my computer, I'm noticing that the tree outside my window has tiny little green leaves out too. One of my favorite Easter hymns is "Now The Green Blade Riseth". Especially if you have lived in rainy, gray, Midwestern springs your whole life, the joy of Easter is simply magnified by the whole earth.

Now the green blade riseth from the buried grain
wheat that in dark earth many days has lain
love lives againg, that with the dead has been
Love is come again like wheat that springeth green

Triduum

My first Holy Week at Seabury is under way, and choir rehearsal for Maundy Thursday in in two hours. Already, this Holy Week has seemed odd - the weather was gorgeous and perfect for two days, and I felt like it should be Easter season already. The week started off with my appointment as Worship Chair for next year, which I'm very excited about and a bit in shock about. Then, to be doing seminary classes in the midst of Holy Week preparations seemed disconnected for me. Also, I've only been away from family and my home church a couple of times ever for Easter, and not since I was much younger. So far this year, I've done relatively well with the "thats not how we do worship at my home" syndrome, but Holy Week is really just making me a bit homesick. The best remedy has been singing - having eighty million choir practices and services to sing makes it bit more like home!
In the midst of this, I've been trying to put together a thesis for my ethics paper. I wanted to write on parenting somehow (another outlet for my crazy baby fever!) but I don't want to write on ethics of reproductive technology. In the book I reviewed for the class, there was a chapter on John Chrysostom and the ethics of family. Basically, the idea was that the family is like a little church - so I'm using that as a springboard for my paper. I"m already a bit frustrated with trying to find sources, but Trevor was helpful.
Other interesting conversations this week have included thoughts on reconciliation, our Pastoral Care class discussion on the role(s) of priests in congregations, and a discussion on a new list-serve on being under 30 at seminary (or in the clergy), and finding God in the ordinary. In spite of the busy-ness, I'm glad for such an eventful Holy Week and the constant reminders of God's presence in all sorts of ways.

The Long-Awaited Ethics Posting

Our Ethics class up to this point has basically consisted of a sweeping history of Western philosophy and theology from Aristotle to Hegel. On some points it been a nice review, on others a good introduction. Nevertheless, Im glad to be moving on from there. We’re reading Truth Is Stranger Than It Used To Be by J. Richard Middleton & Brian J. Walsh, and so far, it is utterly depressing. I really enjoyed the first chapter - it explained how modernism and the myth of progress are illusory and needed to come to an end. The authors described modernism as a three-story building, but What is it that lies beneath the ground floor? Nothing but our own strong shoulders. (p. 21) Modernism has gotten us so excited about the abilities of the individual that there isn’t a need for community, let alone the Church, let alone God. So, I was all ready to jump on the post-modern bandwagon (granted, I was sort of running that direction anyway) when the authors decide to spend the next three chapters taking post-modernism apart as well. At the ends of chapters 3 and 4 respectively, we are left with these uplifting quotes: As… a postmodern era begins we find ourselves again at sea. But this time we have no navigational assistance and no direction. We are alone, adrift in a postmodern world. (p. 62) And The problem… is rooted ultimately in the violence of the human heart and thus requires a remedy considerably more radical than that suggested by post-modernity.(p. 79) The light at the end of this tunnel is that we are now turning to the Biblical narrative for guidance, which leaves me hopeful about the book and the world. That, and these authors like to quote from Indigo Girls songs, so I’m pretty much a happy camper no matter what they say.