Rev. Cwirla's Blogosphere

Blessed Reformation Day

Rev. William M. Cwirla — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 09:32:35 -0400

Christ Builds His Church

Rev. William M. Cwirla — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:39:17 -0400

This is a great excerpt from Dietrich Bonhoeffer (No Rusty Swords) as quoted in the Treasury of Daily Prayer for October 23:

"It is not we who build. Christ builds the church. No man builds the church but Christ alone. Whoever is minded to build the church is surely well on the way to destroying it; for he will build a temple to idols without wishing or knowing it. We must confess — he builds. We must proclaim — he builds. We must pray to him — that he may build."

"We do not know his plan. We cannot see whether he is building or pulling down. It may be that the times which by human standards are times of collapse are for him the great times of construction. It may be that the times which from a human point of view are great times for the church are times when it is pulled down."

"It is a great comfort which Christ gives to his church: you confess, preach, bear witness to me and I alone will build where it pleases me. Do not meddle in what is my province. Do what is given to you to do well and you have done enough. But do it well. Pay not heed to views and opinions. Don't ask for judgments. Don't always be calculating what will happen. Don't always be on the lookout for another refuge! Church, stay a church! But church: confess, confess, confess! Christ alone is your Lord; from his grace alone can you live as you are. Christ builds."

— Dietrich Bonhoeffer, as quoted in Treasury of Daily Prayer (October 23) p. 841.

A Tale of Two Kitchens

Rev. William M. Cwirla — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 16:01:59 -0400

Those who know me, know that I’m a foodie. That’s different from being an eater. An eater eats to live; I live to eat. An eater eats until he is full and then some; I always save a little room for the next thing, whatever it may be. I look forward to my next taste, which hopefully involves chocolate. My motto in life comes from the Italian food classic Big Night (1996): "To eat good food is to be close to God."

I saw the movie Julie & Julia this week. If you’re an eater, you probably won’t get it. If you don’t know you’re way around the kitchen, you won’t even be interested. This is for foodies. The movie is about Julia Child, who brought French cooking to American kitchens and pioneered cooking on television. Almost single-handedly, she laid the foundation for what would later blossom into the Food Network with all its celebrity cooks. Before Alice Waters and Giada de Laurentiis and Mario Batali, there was Julia Child.

The movie depicts the 2002 attempt of Julie Powell, a writer and office worker who lives in Queens, to cook her way through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking in one year and blog about it on salon.com. 365 days and 536 recipes. The plot parallels Julie in her “crappy outer borough kitchen” with Julia at the Cordon Bleu in Paris in the 1950’s against the backdrop of McCarthy-era politics.

Meryl Streep has a singular genius for accents and mimicry and can push a character to almost dizzying heights. She plays a caricaturized version of Julia Child, enhanced by high heels and wedged shoes, that fills the screen with exuberance. As always, Amy Adams is her crushingly adorable self as a sanitized version of the real Julie Powell, who seemed to drop F-bombs about every third sentence in her blog, causing Julia Child ultimately to dismiss it. Julia Child’s husband Paul is played by actor and writer Stanley Tucci, who played Secundo in Big Night (1996), and is marvelously understated as the adoring husband of his effervescent Julia.

The plot runs thin and choppy at times, switching back and forth between Julie and Julia. The food styling is superb, intentionally designed to look as though an amateur cook had prepared it. I would have liked to see more of it, however. We’re talking Julia Child, 536 recipes and we get boeuf bourguignon twice? Also, I hate to be a snob, but red wine with fish and white wine with duck? Come on. Someone, please call in a wine consultant before my taste buds explode.

Flaws aside, this is a gem of a movie about life, love, and food and how they are inextricably bound together. Food is not about calories, fat grams, carbs, and nutrition, but about living and loving and celebrating with our senses the joy of being human. God didn’t join taste and smell together for nothing. I especially appreciated the tender depictions of marital love in this movie. People who are passionate about food tend to be passionate about life and love, reminding me that we all need to spend much more time at the table together. As foodie-theologian Robert Farrar Capon notes, married life is all about bed and board.

In the end, when the credits roll, this is a fun, light-hearted foodie film worth seeing after dinner, though I would not number it among the greats such as Babbette’s Feast (1987). I still laughed uncontrollably at Dan Ackroyd’s classic Saturday Night Live spoof of Jullia Child, which easily ranks in the top ten of SNL skits of all time. I left with a smile on my face, a bit of passion in my heart, and an intense desire for a piece of dark chocolate cake with a cup of good, strong French-roast coffee.

Bon appetit!.

A Kinder, Gentler Atheism

Rev. William M. Cwirla — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 18:04:42 -0400

Michael "internet Monk" has an intriguing interview with Dr. Valerie Tarico, a former Evangelical Christian, psychologist and author of The Dark Side, a "moral and rational critique" of Evangelical teaching. She’s a “non-theist” of the “spiritual but not religious” variety, and seems to be someone with whom you wouldn’t mind having an afternoon conversation over coffee.

Dr. Talico's final fall from faith came when confronted with suffering in a Seattle children's hospital while on a psychology internship. She has recently reengaged her conversation with Evangelical Christianity when she concluded "Biblical teachings were dictating social policy - and killing people." The evidence for the Evangelical blood bath is missing in action from her interview, so I must presume it’s in her book. Sam Harris could use the footnote.

Dr. Talico stopped believing in an interventionist God whose actions, or lack of them, could no longer be justified. She writes, "As I listened to the explanations offered by people who believed in an all powerful, loving, perfectly good interventionist God, it seemed to me these “justifications” were comforting, but they didn’t make things just." Interventionist is the key word. That’s the problem with “theodicies.” They just dig a bigger hole into which to fall.

Job had it right. “The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord.” Then he shut up until his three friends started shoveling a load of glory that would turn anyone into a non-theist. Face it. If the only Christianity I had is what you see on TV and read about in your average "Christian bookstore" I'd probably be an atheist too. And given my personality, I would be the not-so-nice kind.

If you want to make any “sense” of suffering, you need to confront the Sufferer on the cross who asks, “Why have you forsaken me?” and gets no answer. That’s not an explanation or a justification. But then, you can’t say, “God didn’t do anything.” He did and “it is finished.” We call it the “theology of the cross.”

Like all mothers, Talico worries that her daughters won’t follow in the unfaith for their mother and actually grow up to believe something objective and absolute. Sigh. You never know with kids today, do you? Tarico believes that kids are primed to be moral, to love animals, and do nice things for people. We believe this to be “the Law written in our hearts,” a kind of moral code hardwired into our motherboard by the Maker, which explains why we do the right thing even when no one is looking and there is no evolutionary advantage to our set of genes. Don't ever say that atheists can't be "moral" or "ethical" unless you want to deny this hardwiring. They just have no objective measure of morality. There's a difference. Of course, there’s also that nasty, oft-overlooked problem of Sin that turns a playground of gentle animal-loving, innocent children into Lord of the Flies.

One thing that stands out in this interview is the lack of any concrete Jesus-talk. Lots of God-talk, morality-talk, and so forth, but not a mention of the Name above every name. Oh, I can anticipate a non-theist’s inner anxiety about not knowing the “true, historic Jesus” thanks to corrupted texts and all, but can't we leave Bart Ehrman in his “religious studies” department for once and reread the Gospels at face value as written by sane men telling the truth?

I sincerely hope Dr. Tarico turns back again to the merciful Father who is always turned to her in His Son Jesus. The Father longs to welcome His prodigal children home again from far away lands. By all means, ditch the interventionist micromanaging God for the crucified One; ditch the theology of glory for a theology of the cross; ditch fundamentalism for a sober hermeneutic that allows for some firing of the synapses. But don't ditch Jesus. Resurrections don't come along more than once in a creation. It would be a waste of an all-embracing death on a Friday afternoon for anyone to miss the party because their small view of God got trashed by things as they really are.

I’m planning to give The Dark Side a quick read over a cappucino to see what Dr. Tarico has to say . She seems like a nice person. After a summer of Dawkins, Hitchins and Harris, a pleasant conversation with a non-theist at Starbucks might be just the thing for a lazy August day.

Adolescent Subculture

Rev. William M. Cwirla — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:10:59 -0400

I have long maintained, most recently in an interview with Michael "internet Monk" Spencer, that adolescence as a state of being should not be coddled or encouraged. Rather, we adults need to run the race side by side with these young emerging adults and invite them to run in the adult world. John Stonestreet over at Breakpoint agrees. He notes that prior to 1941 or so, there really was no such thing as a "teenager." The whole concept of adolescence as a subculture appears to be the product of the post-world war nucleated family, the alienated father, and mass marketing that target teenagers.

Even worse, adolescence has become the pinnacle of human existence, rather than an apprenticeship that must be endured on the way to something greater. How many adults do you know who are stuck at senior prom? "Forever Eighteen."

Stonestreet cites six characteristic of a culture gone adolescent. These make me think:

1. Demand of instant gratification leading to lack of commitment (marriage, church, whatever)

2. Absence of long-term thinking (What do you want to do when you grow up, if ever?)

3. Motivated by feeling rather than truth. (It feels right to me.)

4. Wanting grown up things without being grown up. (Sex, shacking up, BMWs)

5. Expecting bailouts rather than accepting consequences. (Hmmm. Sound familiar?)

6. Focusing on appearance rather than depth. (Can you say boob job?)

Stonestreet's antidote? Challenge young adults. Educate them in worldview and apologetics. Teach them as Christians what we are for, not just what we are against. Confront them with the major cultural issues rather than isolate them. I couldn't agree more. Judging by the packed sessions at the HT Sola conferences that dealt with atheism, abortion, and hot button cultural issues, our youth are agreeing. Raise the bar high and they will rise to the challenge. Lower the bar, and they will sink.

The last thing we need is another generation of Forever Eighteens.

Read it all for yourself: Our Adolescent Culture

Major HT: Sandra Ostapowich.

Higher Ws

Rev. William M. Cwirla — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:35:26 -0400

Nice blog post from ~~The~~ Rev. Rich Heinz on the "Three Ws" of Higher Things: Worship, Word, Fun.

Check it out: http://higherthings.org/myht/articles/current_events/solapowered.html

Sola Coda

Rev. William M. Cwirla — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:40:42 -0400

Here's a terrific post-Sola article by The ~~Rev~~. Reverend Mark Buetow written as a follow up to our two great youth conferences this year. He shows how a Higher Things youth conference leads back to the local congregation, not away from it. Plus, he's really got the three W's nailed down on this one: Worship, Word, Fun.

Read it yourself here: http://higherthings.org/myht/articles/current_events/postconferenceblues.html

Higher Things Worship

Rev. William M. Cwirla — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:07:13 -0400

We Lutherans do not use the words "high church" or "low church" to describe worship. Those are Anglican terms. In Anglicanism being "high" or "low" indicates which side of the Anglican "middle way" you are leaning, whether to Rome or to Geneva. Since Lutherans don't lean, or at least they shouldn't, and Lutheranism is not a middle way, at least when it's running on all its cylinders, "high" and "low" don't do justice to Lutheran worship. You might say that Lutheran worship is always "high" in the sense that it has a profound recognition of the majesty and awe that befit heavenly Jerusalem, and yet it is always "low" in the sense that we don't reach up to God with our ceremonies but God reaches down to us in Christ through the proclaimed Word and the Sacrament.

With five years of Higher Things youth conferences under my belt, and having just returned from this year's two Sola conferences in San Antonio and Grand Rapids, worship is foremost on my mind at the moment. I share a few reflections here.

Worship is something best done and not debated; experienced and not exegeted. The profound majesty, the relaxed dignity, the soaring hymnody, the caring and pastoral preaching, the intimacy of the Sacrament - words simply fail to describe. These things must be experienced - heard, smelled, touched. To read and debate about worship makes as much sense as arguing about food and wine away from the table. And at the table, who has the time or the inclination to argue?

One thing I greatly appreciate about worship at the Higher Things conferences is how it can span austere simplicity and cathedral majesty without being forced. Like a well-worn shoe, it always seems to fit. From the little group Compline services chanted a capella in the dorms to the wondrous Divine Service with its grand intonations, the experience is one of Lutheranism in the fullness of its liturgical freedom. Constrained to our common hymnal and restrained by the boundaries of the liturgy, we are yet free within those boundaries to rejoice in the manifold gifts of God's grace as God's free children.

I'm impressed with the simplicity of Matins and Vespers - psalms, readings, hymn, prayer. If one left out the closing hymn, a service like this could easily be done by any group of school children in 20 minutes. I loved the incense at Evening Prayer. "Let my prayer rise before You as incense." The prayers of God's children rise up as a cloud before the Throne. Some folks have a hard time with the sneezies, but I've found that pure rock frankincense has very little allergic reaction. Unless you are predisposed. Some services had enough clergy to constitute a pastors conference or at least a Winkel; other services had but a single pastor. Some pastors wore albs; others wore cassock and surplice. Each brought the stoles and vestments of his home congregation.

Perhaps the most wonderful thing is that nothing that went on (except maybe that pinch of Evening Prayer incense) couldn't go on at any given Lutheran congregation on any given Sunday were we so inclined. My youth group encountered nothing out of the ordinary for them. Yes, it was louder and bigger. There were lots of us there, and we're Lutherans, we like to sing. All fifteen stanzas. Yes, the organist was a little more "assertive" than the nice lady who plays the organ tenderly and softly at home. But hey, sometimes you have to blow the dust off some of the hymns and take them off road.

As a pastor, preacher, and presider, I return from these youth conferences renewed in our Lutheran liturgical tradition. We have a great treasure; I hope someone's taking inventory. I pay a little more attention to the details that so often slip in the casual comforts of home. I listen more attentively, sing more intently, preside with greater dignity. Those hymns that sounded so majestic with 900 young voices, sound just as good with 100 creaky voices or the dozen that come out for Evening Prayer on Wednesdays to sing a capella. A joyful noise to the Lord is always joyful, no matter how great or small, all thanks to Jesus.

Higher Music

Rev. William M. Cwirla — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 11:56:53 -0400

For a little sampling of the amazing worship and hymnody at Higher Things Sola - Grand Rapids, click here. You'll find a great live recording of By Grace I'm Saved (LSB #566). Nine hundred young people singing of grace in Christ; Chris Loemker at the organ bench. Grace abounds!

http://higherthings.org/conferences/sola2009.html

Foolish Contradictions

Rev. William M. Cwirla — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 02:33:38 -0400

When someone says to me, "The Bible is full of contradictions," I like to say back, "Name three." Nine times out of ten, they can't because they haven't read the Bible well enough, or at all, to know a contradiction when they see one.

Usually so-called "contradictions" run in one of three categories: 1) Law and Gospel, which are certainly contradictory when you see them in stark contrast side by side. 2) Point of view or perspective, such as the various descriptions of the tomb at Jesus' resurrection. 3) Apparent contradictions due to lack of information.

I like to point out that the guys who wrote and edited the Scriptures were certainly smart enough to figure out they had a contradiction on their hands. Matthew, Mark and Luke, who obviously copied from each other or from something, should at least have gotten their notes straight. And John, who wrote well after the others, should have made his story fit theirs like a glove. But then, the skeptics wouldn't trust them because their stories fit too cleanly, like rehearsed witnesses. Either way, you can't please a skeptic.

I sometimes offer this biblical couplet for free:

Prov. 26:4 Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself.

Prov. 26:5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.

So what are you supposed to do? Answer a fool according to his folly or not? This leads us to a fourth kind of contradiction - Intentional. Here you need to get into the Hebraic mindset, where one learns by contrast and contradiction. The point? When dealing with a fool, it's always a lose/lose situation. Either you will join the fool in his foolishness, or you will make him think he's wise in his own eyes. The only way to avoid the dilemma is not to deal with a fool at all.

Sage advice indeed. And the author wrote this before the internet was invented.