It's already been a great couple days since landing in Boston. We are staying with our wonderful friends who are housemaster's at MIT; I'm hoping just by being here that some of the brain power will rub off on me. Seeing them and other friends at church and for lunch has been nice.
Also, we've had two great--all-time favorite--dishes since being here, Pho and Jombong. I've greatly missed these so I'm still savoring them in my belly. Sigh.
3.23.2008
3.18.2008
Stuck on a Toilet
It's been a while since I last posted. Been busy proofreading a commentary on 2 Peter and Jude, writing curriculum for the 8th graders, and studying German. Fun stuff.
Anyhow, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to link to this story appearing in the local Columbia Tribune. It's about a woman in Kansas--next door to Missouri, for you Northeasterners--who was found stuck to a toilet. Enjoy.
Anyhow, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to link to this story appearing in the local Columbia Tribune. It's about a woman in Kansas--next door to Missouri, for you Northeasterners--who was found stuck to a toilet. Enjoy.
3.04.2008
More Buechner
"Almighty and everlasting God,
Only speak to us that we may hear thee. Then speak to us and yet again so that when in our hearts we answer thee by saying No, we may at least know well to whom we say it, and what it costs us to say it, and what it costs our brothers, and what it costs thee.
And when at those moments that we can never foretell we say Yes to thee, forgive our healfheartedness, accept us as we are, work thy miracle within us, and of thy grace give us strength to follow wherever love may lead.
We bless thee for him who shows us the way and is the way and who will be, we pray, at the end of all our ways. Grant that even on stumbling feet we may follow him into the terrible needs of the human heart. Remember us. Remember us. For thy mercy's sake.
Amen."
Only speak to us that we may hear thee. Then speak to us and yet again so that when in our hearts we answer thee by saying No, we may at least know well to whom we say it, and what it costs us to say it, and what it costs our brothers, and what it costs thee.
And when at those moments that we can never foretell we say Yes to thee, forgive our healfheartedness, accept us as we are, work thy miracle within us, and of thy grace give us strength to follow wherever love may lead.
We bless thee for him who shows us the way and is the way and who will be, we pray, at the end of all our ways. Grant that even on stumbling feet we may follow him into the terrible needs of the human heart. Remember us. Remember us. For thy mercy's sake.
Amen."
3.03.2008
Life's Presents
Here are some penetrating words from Frederick Buechner's "The Sign by the Highway":
But one by one, as we open the presents, no matter how rich and wondrous they are, we discover that no one of them by itself, nor even all of them taken together, is the one of our deepest desiring--that ultimately, although her face is beautiful and draws us to her, life by herself does not have that final present to give. And to know that is the pain of it as again and again we reach out our hands to life for what we need most deeply, only to have it seized in the terrible grasp."
"The old saying is that where there is life, there is hope, and I think that the hope that there is, the hope that if not tomorrow or the next day, then some fine day, somehow, life will finally give us the present which, when we open it, will turn out to be the one that we have waited for so long, which is the one that will fill the empty place, which is the peace that passeth all understanding, which is the truth, salvation, whatever we want to call it.
But one by one, as we open the presents, no matter how rich and wondrous they are, we discover that no one of them by itself, nor even all of them taken together, is the one of our deepest desiring--that ultimately, although her face is beautiful and draws us to her, life by herself does not have that final present to give. And to know that is the pain of it as again and again we reach out our hands to life for what we need most deeply, only to have it seized in the terrible grasp."
3.02.2008
Philippians 1:12-18, Part 4
So the situation that faces Paul is proclamation of Christ for very different reasons. The implied question, then, is what does he think of the fact that some people may be engaging in preaching activities for such base reasons (“What then?” v. 18a). His response reveals his single concern: As long as “Christ is proclaimed . . . I rejoice” (v. 18b). What is especially interesting about this section (vv. 12-18) as compared with the former one (vv. 3-11) is that here Paul seems to take a pragmatic approach in focusing on the end result—the announcement of the news about Christ—whereas there Paul was very much interested in the internal lives of the Christians.
We could draw the wrong conclusion from this observation and say that Paul is simply a pragmatist, intent on Christianizing. However, what this observation really points up is the fact of God’s sovereignty evident in his working through less-than ideal circumstances. Above it had been Paul's imprisonment and the hostility of the palace guards; here it is the twisted motives of some of the insiders, fellow Christians. And Paul’s response is key here as well, for he determines, first, to recognize God’s working, and, second, to rejoice in it, even when as now it means a level of discomfort for himself.
Earlier I mentioned that Paul holds himself out as a model and that is part of the reason why he shifts from concern for the Philippians to excursus on his own circumstances, and then back to matters involving his recipients in 1.27. In this context it is notable that Paul resolves to rejoice in every circumstance here (1.18) and later states his desire to remain in the flesh for the “progress and joy in the faith” (1.25b) of the Philippians.
Essentially, Paul wants this group of Christians to reach the same state of being able to find their wholeness of meaning and fulfillment in glorify of Christ that he himself enjoys. He is not merely stroking his ego and singing his own praises, but is showing his young converts how to orient themselves in the midst of adverse circumstances. The repetition of “I will rejoice” in verse 18b is a bridge that allows Paul to draw a theological conclusion to his experiences above as well as to begin a brief new section (vv. 19-26/30?) that links the apostle and his experiences to his church at Philippi.
We could draw the wrong conclusion from this observation and say that Paul is simply a pragmatist, intent on Christianizing. However, what this observation really points up is the fact of God’s sovereignty evident in his working through less-than ideal circumstances. Above it had been Paul's imprisonment and the hostility of the palace guards; here it is the twisted motives of some of the insiders, fellow Christians. And Paul’s response is key here as well, for he determines, first, to recognize God’s working, and, second, to rejoice in it, even when as now it means a level of discomfort for himself.
Earlier I mentioned that Paul holds himself out as a model and that is part of the reason why he shifts from concern for the Philippians to excursus on his own circumstances, and then back to matters involving his recipients in 1.27. In this context it is notable that Paul resolves to rejoice in every circumstance here (1.18) and later states his desire to remain in the flesh for the “progress and joy in the faith” (1.25b) of the Philippians.
Essentially, Paul wants this group of Christians to reach the same state of being able to find their wholeness of meaning and fulfillment in glorify of Christ that he himself enjoys. He is not merely stroking his ego and singing his own praises, but is showing his young converts how to orient themselves in the midst of adverse circumstances. The repetition of “I will rejoice” in verse 18b is a bridge that allows Paul to draw a theological conclusion to his experiences above as well as to begin a brief new section (vv. 19-26/30?) that links the apostle and his experiences to his church at Philippi.
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