Moral Awakening

It is the Monday of Holy Week.  Preparations are in full swing to get ready for the greatest festival of the entire church year:  The day Christians celebrate what sets them apart from every other religion on the face of the earth - namely that God accomplishes what we cannot.  Every other religion places the act of "salvation" (call it 'life after death' or whatever you wish) firmly in the hands of the individual - it's all based on "what you do."  Let's face it - the world is most definitely NOT a fine place, no matter what Ernest Hemingway might have claimed.  Islam especially believes that its salvation can come through, of all things, the death and destruction of other unbelievers, once again placing the burden of any notion of salvation upon the individual.  Christianity stands alone in that the burden - and gift - of salvation is accomplished on our behalf by God (or more specifically the Son of God) simply because Christians recognize the sinful, and dare I say it - evil - state of humanity.  We simply do not have the power, the authority, or the means to save ourselves because of it.

Recent events in Indiana have only shown the insanity and hatred that is coming from, of all groups, those who claim to be the most tolerant.  As the "National Review" headlined, the "intolerance" in this debate is coming from those who seek to destroy anyone with a differing opinion.  Personally, I do not care what side that one might fall on the issue.  What I am deeply concerned about is that those who claim to be so tolerant of different views (without even knowing who I am or what my thoughts are on the matter) labeled me as a pig, suffering from a cognitive deficiency, hateful, a bigot, and a handful of other words.  This only demonstrates yet again that in this world, no matter how much good we might think we are bringing about, in the end we are only bringing about more sin, more death, and more destruction.

On the global scene, it could be far worse.  I give thanks to God that 21 Egyptian Christians, along with countless others, while having all died brutally at the hands of Isis, did so without denying their faith in Christ and knowing that their salvation is coming purely as God's gift because of their faith in Him.

I had an epiphany of sorts the other day.  As I see the world and our society crumbling down around us, I began to wonder if the rampant evils - the hatred and destruction that is so commonplace - will finally bring about a new moral and spiritual awakening in America.  It is long overdue.  It is one thing to stand firm in your beliefs, but it is something totally different when such firmness either garners the venom and hatred of those who might disagree, or worse cause bodily harm all because of those beliefs.  It seems any more that when someone seeks to be allowed to hold deeply religious or spiritual beliefs, it garners extreme hatred and prejudice along with threats of retribution.

This is the very thing Jesus came to save us from.  And from our lesson on Sunday (Philippians 2:5-11)  it becomes clear that either people willingly bow before Christ now, or will be forced to one day when the end of the world is ushered in.  Some believe that day may be soon upon us.  It could very well be.  Rather, until that time, I ponder on whether the hatred that is shown toward everyone and the absolute evil of terrorism worldwide will finally get folks to stand up and notice.  This is my prayer.  And this is what I, and we, must work for:  A new spiritual and moral awakening in this country as we recognize that evil does in fact exist, and that the standard for our mindset is to be measured by the standard Christ set for us.

Moral Clarity

We believe that we are morally superior to the rest of the world, when in fact we are morally bankrupt.  The spate of new laws and "recommendations" from efforts to undo the second amendment, to the government wanting banks to alert them when someone withdraws more than $5000, to the fraud of Ferguson and Michael Brown (and the complete silence regarding a victim who DID plead for his life) suggests that our world is completely upside down.  As Dr. Gracia Grindal said many years ago: there was a point in time where nothing was permitted and everything was forgiven.  Today, everything is permitted and nothing is forgiven.  How true.  And how telling of the moral crisis in America.

We have come to the point in this nation's history where somehow we seem to think that we can regulate morality and ethics.  The problem is that both must begin from within.  The prophet Joel said "Rend your heart and not your garments.  Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love..."  No amount of regulation or legislation will stem the tide of moral bankruptcy here in America.  A change in the hearts and attitudes of everyone is the only thing that can accomplish this.  And that change must necessarily come about because of another spiritual awakening here in America.

The other day I was listening to the news on the way to Kearney.  A group of people were in a town hall meeting of sorts with the President.  He was asked what he would have done differently in his first 6 years of office, and the response was "I should have closed Guantanamo Bay on day 1" which was met with light, glib applause.  This only further illuminates the moral confusion and relativity that exists in this country, if that is the "worst mistake" he thinks he's made as president.  Until we collectively come to terms with the concepts of good and evil, this moral crisis will continue to grow.

Martin Luther, around the time of the Reformation (1517 AD), wrote this:  "A theologian of glory calls evil good and good evil.  A theologian of the cross calls the thing what it actually is." (LW 31:39)  While Luther's "Heidelburg Disputation" was concerned more about abuses among theologians regarding the Word of God, it certainly speaks to the moral ambiguity that exists today, in that anything goes.  It was in 1988 that a fellow through hiker on the Pacific Crest Trail commented that "if you can do it, then it is natural order, and therefore acceptable."  The implications of that statement are then that such things as murder would be a part of a naturally accepted order simply because we have the capacity as humans to carry it out.  Society has always viewed murder as a crime.

The "so-called" liberal ideology is what calls for all these regulations.  It goes by various names:  Liberation theology, Feminist theology, Social Justice, Restorative Justice, and so on.  They are needed, we are told, to ensure the collective good.  However, that is a lie.  It always has been.  There is nothing wrong, mind you, with seeking to bring about things that work for the collective good of society.  But in the end, we find all too often that such efforts are nothing more than selfish ambition.  Few people truly care about others.  They only seek to serve the good of those who are advocating such social changes.  With power comes great responsibility and that responsibility is usually squandered.  Instead, we find that it is true that "absolute power corrupts absolutely."

The prophet Joel was right:  humility in the face of God comes from the heart, and so must a collective moral responsibility.  As long as we act from our own self-interests, we will continue to see the world increasingly in crisis, and spiraling further downward toward self-destruction.

I will continue next week with a more in-depth look at history as we attempt to gain a better moral clarity for the world.

This Has All Happened Before...

What is it about the glut of apocalyptic-end-of-the-world and/or zombie shows that all depict a remnant of humanity struggling to survive lately?  I believe that it says something profound about humanity itself.  I believe they are a sub-conscious reaction to just how serious the human plight has become.  Many of them, I've only made it through just a few minutes' worth before turning off because of just how vile and graphic they were.  Accordingly, I will use one that I felt portrayed a rather accurate sense of reality when it comes to the human condition:  A four year remake of the 80's TV show "Battlestar Galactica" which aired in the mid 2000's.

Simply put, the "12 colonies" of humanity are destroyed by a race of conscious "machines" (the Cylons) that they created.   A recurring theme is in the moral depravity of mankind, the futility and lip-service-only of their polytheistic religion, but above all, that in their "Scriptures" there is a passage which states "This has all happened before and it will all happen again."  The interesting twist comes in the "Cylon" religion, which is monotheistic, and eventually leads to a "sort of" expression of God's love for humanity, rather than vengeance.  It would appear that within the show, indeed history has repeated itself many times, with the conclusion coming to 21st century earth, perhaps leaving the viewer with the question:  "What are you going to do to prevent history from repeating itself once more?"  It was Winston Churchill (likely paraphrasing Spanish philosopher Santayana) who said in essence that 'those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it.'

The Book of Ecclesiastes also says something of the sort.  As the teacher ponders the meaning of life and the purpose of humanity, he states "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun."  (1:9)  It seems that roughly 3000 years ago, he too recognized that indeed:  those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it.  And what was one of the underlying causes of Israel's downfall in the Old Testament?  Moral relativism, which led toward the nation being apathetic toward God.

Recently on a Lutheran online forum, a discussion was begun over an op-ed piece from the New York Times by David Brooks.  In that discussion, the author was criticized by some, and regardless of what you may or may not think of him, his point is spot on:  America needs to reassert a strong sense of morality - before its too late.  It would seem that history is indeed repeating itself once again, and if we have failed to learn anything from it, we are about to repeat it.  In other words, as the moral fabric of this country crumbles (and granted it has needed several "correctives" already in its history), the country itself crumbles as well.

In the end, the message of the remade "Battlestar Galactica" is a critical one for us:  history is about to repeat itself once again, and are we doomed to let it do so?  Or are we going to learn from our own past and recapture our moral and spiritual compass of days gone by?   It was the French observer Alexis de Toqueville who famously observed "Upon my arrival in the United States the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention; and the longer I stayed there, the more I perceived the great political consequences resulting from this new state of things. In France I had almost always seen the spirit of religion and the spirit of freedom marching in opposite directions. But in America I found they were intimately united and that they reigned in common over the same country."  (Democracy in America, 1831)

We are indeed at a crossroad.  It is equally true that there is nothing new under the sun.  So we will either have another moral and spiritual awakening and renewal, or the world will plunge into a darkness not seen since the middle ages.  Where will we go from here?

Building (Disciples)

Today, being Friday, is one of those "hurry up" days where it seems there's never a shortage of things to do and to complete.  The usual assortment of things such as having lunch with our daughter at school (a Friday "tradition" of sorts), getting the bulletin ready for Sunday (proofing and adding, as Kristi Kreuscher ably does the layout and the copy), and of course the message and theme for Sunday need to be firmly nailed down, if not already done.

There has been for several months now, the added dimension of the church building going up just outside of the city limits of Gothenburg - out among the corn and bean fields of Nebraska.  This building has been in process since I arrived here nearly 3 years ago now, and is nearing completion. This building has come with a whole new set of challenges.  While certainly if money were no object, anything and everything we could anticipate would be added and included in the build itself.  Rather, while we have had excellent representation and input from our builders (Brown Church Development out of Kearney), there have still been many things we've needed to anticipate simply out of necessity to our situation and so on.  Take yesterday for example:  Brent Block and I over lunch installed several one inch "sleeves" or tubes above all the doors of the classrooms and leading into the utility room.  These sleeves are below the sheetrocked "lid" and above what will eventually be a grid type suspended ceiling.  Their purpose is simply to allow all the data wire to be pulled (a job we are doing ourselves as a cost saving measure) without the need to run any wire in the attic spaces above the various parts of the building.

When it comes to our calling as Christian disciples, we are built in much the same way.  It is one thing to know the Gospel, and to see God's truth in Jesus Christ.  (or even just to come to that point of Romans 1:20 - to recognize the reality of God in the universe itself:  its complexity, beauty, and the forces that continue to shape it).  It is another thing entirely to begin to truly comprehend the nature of that ultimate truth, and to know just how many "details" we are called into greater awareness of when it comes to following Jesus.  On the one hand, getting lost in the many "little details" can be overwhelming - much the way it is in trying to anticipate all of the little things that we need to add to the physical building we are erecting now.  On the other hand, when one truly comes to the place of following Jesus no matter what - the details and the many facets that it might entail for us don't seem to matter.  In fact, as we trust and rely on God more and more, those details are added without even a second thought, as our reliance on the grace and mercy of God gains greater traction in our lives.

Placed in the slab leading into the front doors of our building is a Bible.  It is sealed as a sort of "time capsule," and completely encapsulated in the concrete slab.  It is not a fancy one, but included in it are 3 things besides the Bible.  There are two bookmarks that outline a 90 day reading plan undertaken in the past two years on two separate occasions here, and there is an icon of the Holy Trinity - our church's namesake.  The note included in this encapsulated Bible says:

How can a young person keep their way pure?  By guarding it according to your Word.  

(Psalm 119:9)

The Bible in this foundation is placed as an eternal reminder that all who enter should hear nothing else than the Word of God, and all who leave this place should do nothing else than live by it.  

“Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” 

(Psalm 119:105)

In the end, that is the only truth, the only detail, and the only real thing that we need:  To hear God's Word and to live by it.  All the other details of life will fall in place if this eternal truth of God is life's foundation.

Pacific Crest Nostalgia

I completed typing my entire hiking journal (on the Pacific Crest Trail) this evening, including both the bulk of it in 1988, a second attempt at reaching Canada in 1995, and the intervening years with some short hikes and climbs in and around Yosemite National Park.  It has been a blast reliving all the events of that journey of discovery from 26 years ago - both the good AND the bad.  Now at 50, I believe I’m too old to be much of a hiker, though I long for those days of nearly limitless vistas and a myriad of conditions.  However, I also think of Johnnie Olley, 74 years old at the time, who hiked a significant portion of the trail, and am longing to, once again, attempt to hike the remaining two sections.

While I have become very nostalgic about the trail and have an intense desire to just “drop it all” and go hiking, because the “mountains are calling,” reality sets in on a multitude of fronts.  I have a family to take care of.  I battle rheumatoid arthritis that, though the medication is loosely keeping it in check, strenuous activity causes it to flare.  I have a mission that far outweighs the self discovery of yesteryear, namely to name the name of Christ - publicly, now as the pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church.  And while I intend to have my family join me in a “short” (nearly 16 mile round trip!) Hike to monument 78 from the Canadian side this summer (at least to say that I have been at both ends of the trail), I really wonder and ponder if there is a way to take longer time, do shorter days, and still have the strength, the stamina, and the presence of mind to finish those approximately 187 miles.  Now, unlike in the foolishness of my youth, that seems like a daunting task.  It may well be a task I also may need to pursue on vacation sometime.  Perhaps it can become a family sort of outing as well.  Or perhaps it will forever be nothing more than a continued desire in life.

I have no doubt that there would be many who would argue that it would simply be a foolhardy venture at best.  And in some ways, the PCT has become a freeway now, thanks to Cheryl Strayed’s book where she purportedly “finds herself” (stopping far short of truly making any substantial self-discovery in my opinion) and thus creating a glut of wannabes who all want to “hike the PCT.”  I recall how before I began, I was gung ho, and knew there was nothing that would stop my from making the entire journey.  Then as I stood at the Mexican border and the temporary PCT, I looked north and all I thought of was that first step of millions (3,437,280 to be more accurate) that was about to begin.  And soon thereafter I discovered that I could either enjoy the trip, or get to Canada, but not both.  Not for me.  And now with the glut of hikers all clamoring for the crown jewel of the national trails system, I find myself drawn toward the Continental Divide trail as a possibility for our family as it is a short day’s drive from here in Wyoming.

So while my ventures on the PCT that were written down over the years are now fully entered into the computer from the original logs, I suspect that this journal is not over.  Not yet.  Not as long as there is breath and the desire in me to continue.  Despite hiking in Montana and damaging a nerve in my low back.  Despite the attack on my joints from RA.  AND... despite the advancing age and generally poor physical condition I now find myself in.

In a way, perhaps it is appropriate that the final day's journal entry re-attempting Stevens Pass to the trail’s end was never completed.  Who knows if literally I might one day sooner than later complete that portion of the journey?  Or more appropriately, it serves as a metaphor for life itself and the lessons that need to be relearned from the PCT over and over - that those lessons are never fully learned until my last breath is drawn.

One of those lessons was in my persistent prayer in those days of 1988 - our daughter that my beautiful wife and I have turns 8 tomorrow!  Though it took 16 years after for that “right one” to come along, it was my wish then and is my joy now.  Newer and better things...  Newer and better things!  All through the power of prayer and the belief in God who saves us through the redemption in Christ Jesus.

For since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.  - Romans 1:20