https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdN7vC2q9Mc 'Wake Awake, For Night is Flying,' arranged by F. Melius Christiansen (St. Olaf College Choir). "Wake, awake! for night is flying,"The watchmen on the heights are crying;"Awake, Jerusalem, arise!"-- Philip Nicolai (Hymnary.org) A couple of weeks ago, I attended a planning workshop at my parish church that took an unexpected turn. The workshop was … Continue reading ‘Awake, for night is flying’: An armchair theologian’s mission statement for Advent and the new year (1 of _?)
Hospital journal 1: A merry romp through abstract theology, Christology, rabbit holes and a lovely prayer for good courage
Creation of Adam, Michelangelo (Wikimedia Commons). Sunday, Jan. 19. First, the good news: I'm getting lots of reading done. I've even finished three or four chapters of Ilia Delio's "Christ in Evolution" (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2008), and I've had plenty of time to read slowly and think about what I'm reading. Which means I'm beginning to understand … Continue reading Hospital journal 1: A merry romp through abstract theology, Christology, rabbit holes and a lovely prayer for good courage
Hospital journal (1 of 3): Stories
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A72MAMTVnQo George Burns, in character, answers John Denver's questions in 'Oh, God!' (1977). Editor's (admin's) note: First of three journals based on spiritual and theological reading while I was in HSHS St. John's Hospital in January. I did a lot of reading, in my usual slapdash manner, and I pulled together some disparate ideas -- connected … Continue reading Hospital journal (1 of 3): Stories
In the beginning was the metaphor, and it was good: Reading John and Genesis together in a Christmas candlelight service
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMafneugQAs&t=4145s Candle lighting ceremony, with reading from Genesis and John, begins at 1:06:24. Sometimes the moment and the liturgy come together so perfectly, I feel like there's nothing I can say that would add to it or subtract from it. The last two or three years, I've had one of those moments during the Christmas … Continue reading In the beginning was the metaphor, and it was good: Reading John and Genesis together in a Christmas candlelight service
Luther and the indwelling ‘Christ present in faith’ — Finnish theologians, Irish Jesuit offer a way of coping with a scary diagnosis
Matthias Stom, St. Peter at Prayer, ca. 1633-40 (Wikimedia Commons) One thing about getting a cancer diagnosis -- it tends to focus your mind, especially if you've been working on your prayer life already. Increasingly since I was diagnosed toward the end of October, I've been falling back on what's sometimes called the Prayer of … Continue reading Luther and the indwelling ‘Christ present in faith’ — Finnish theologians, Irish Jesuit offer a way of coping with a scary diagnosis
Finns re-examine Luther on justification by faith, the indwelling of Christ and other theological headaches
Luther, second from right in back row, and theologians, 1557 woodcut (Wikimedia) A couple of weeks ago, I noticed an item on the Patheos website by Ted Peters, emeritus professor of systematic theology and ethics at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. I like to check him out from time to … Continue reading Finns re-examine Luther on justification by faith, the indwelling of Christ and other theological headaches
Who am I in Christ? Who are the people of God? A surprising answer from Ireland that brings the abstractions down to earth
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkLzIeztC3c Shuan Davey, "The Deer's Cry" [St. Patrick's Breastplate]. [...] Christ with me, Christ before me,Christ behind me, Christ in me,Christ beneath me, Christ above me,Christ on my right, Christ on my left,Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,Christ when I arise, Christ to shield meChrist in the heart of everyone who … Continue reading Who am I in Christ? Who are the people of God? A surprising answer from Ireland that brings the abstractions down to earth
Praying St. Ignatius’ colloquy with a story from the Talmud about Hillel the Elder and a corny Latin pun by Martin Luther
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APMu32sC2nM There Is No White Jesus | Famalam | BBC Three | April 12, 2017 Editor's (admin's) note. Second of two posts in which I try to imagine an Ignatian Colloquy, a one-on-one conversation with Jesus, on a series of Zoom calls. It's a prayer technique adapted from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola. I’ve … Continue reading Praying St. Ignatius’ colloquy with a story from the Talmud about Hillel the Elder and a corny Latin pun by Martin Luther
How ‘holy envy’ enhances religious pluralism and guards against spiritual shoplifting or appropriation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdXAGm5xm9M Palm Sunday, 2016, Saint John's Orthodox Church, Warren, Ohio. I've been thinking lately about the concept of "holy envy" and the Swedish academic who coined the term. That's partly because I worry that the whole idea of pluralism -- both religious and secular -- is under sustained attack now at home and abroad. I … Continue reading How ‘holy envy’ enhances religious pluralism and guards against spiritual shoplifting or appropriation
A Franciscan take on the presence of God in all of God’s creation — including brother wolf … and all of us
Second of two posts looking ahead to the new liturgical year and making new (church) year's resolutions. For the earlier post, link HERE. Mural of St. Francis, Creative Commons Prayer. Photo Jim McIntosh (CC BY 2.0) Fr. Richard Rohr's daily meditation for Friday poses a theological question I want to work on in the coming … Continue reading A Franciscan take on the presence of God in all of God’s creation — including brother wolf … and all of us
‘Letting grace renew us’ — a little book by a Swedish dean of Harvard Divinity and the transformative power of the Holy Spirit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QviA2iOsOo Gott ist gegenwärtig [God himself is present]. Heilig-Geist-Kirche, Menden, Germany When we got our mail out of quarantine earlier this week, a little volume by Krister Stendahl titled Energy for Life: Reflections on the Theme "Come Holy Spirit -- Renew the Whole Creation" tumbled out. Perhaps I should explain. The mail wasn't directed to … Continue reading ‘Letting grace renew us’ — a little book by a Swedish dean of Harvard Divinity and the transformative power of the Holy Spirit
Working on a Swedish-American history paper and reading Luther in a global pandemic: Spiritual direction journal, July
Copy of an email sent tonight (Saturday) to my spiritual director. Lightly edited in the interest of making sense and removing obvious illiteracies. Hi Sister -- Just a quick note -- quicker than usual this month -- to confirm that unless I hear otherwise from you, I'll be calling you Monday at 2:30 p.m. for our … Continue reading Working on a Swedish-American history paper and reading Luther in a global pandemic: Spiritual direction journal, July
An unfinished outline on a Finnish theologian: Mannermaa, theosis and Lutheran-Russian Orthodox dialog
NOTE: This is something about Luther's concept of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that I was working on last month, before I learned my proposal had been accepted for the Illinois History Conference sponsored by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum -- and my priorities changed! Now I have to crash my paper, … Continue reading An unfinished outline on a Finnish theologian: Mannermaa, theosis and Lutheran-Russian Orthodox dialog
Phillip Cary on Luther — sola scriptura with a twist of performance anxiety
Now here's a guy who's on my wavelength ... Phillip Cary, who teaches philosophy at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pa., has a book out with the somewhat daunting title The Meaning of Protestant Theology: Luther, Augustine, and the Gospel That Gives Us Christ. I hadn't heard of him before, but I saw a review … Continue reading Phillip Cary on Luther — sola scriptura with a twist of performance anxiety
Was Luther a mystic? Hard to say. But an offhand Latin pun and a Lutheran T-shirt offer a new way of thinking about it
Volunteers from First Lutheran Church, Rock Island, Illinois, serving at smörgåsbord. Augustana Founders' Day Reunion, 155th anniversary, Andover, Illinois, April 25, 2015 I have begun to preach and lecture once more; in fact, yesterday I preached in your place. ... Christ lives; and we are Christs -- with and without the apostrophe (Christi sumus in … Continue reading Was Luther a mystic? Hard to say. But an offhand Latin pun and a Lutheran T-shirt offer a new way of thinking about it
A Bonhoeffer moment and a barstool conversation between Luther, Bonhoeffer and a Finnish theologian — links and quotes for future reference
This article in Sojourners magazine -- "Is Today a Bonhoeffer Moment?" -- appeared last year in February, but I never got around to reading it. Then it popped up today on my Facebook timeline. I'm excerpting it and parking here for future reference. (Something I may want to keep in mind, also for future reference: … Continue reading A Bonhoeffer moment and a barstool conversation between Luther, Bonhoeffer and a Finnish theologian — links and quotes for future reference
Spiritual formation, October
Email sent last night to my spiritual director. Copied here because these "heads-up" emails force me to think about my progress -- or lack thereof -- and because I can refer back to it so important things don't slip between the cracks. Hi Sister -- How did it get to be November already? Here's the … Continue reading Spiritual formation, October
Ordinary Time 