See the Wounds

During the season of Easter, we scramble to find the risen Christ.  It was no easier for the disciples 2,000 years ago.  For although they had Jesus with them bodily (both before and after the cross), they found it difficult to see Jesus.

Like the disciples, on Easter Day we went to the tomb expecting to find Jesus there, and we were told: "He is not here."  Taken down from the Cross, Jesus is no longer affixed there.  He is not in the tomb where we laid him.  He is not parading into Jerusalem to take his throne, like we expected after Palm Sunday.  So where is Jesus?  Where do we find Jesus--how do we find him?

It all depends on what we see when we look.  Look at what?  When we look at anything.  To be more specific, it depends on the evidence for which we are looking.  Are we looking for evidence of what is seen, or evidence of what is unseen?

One of the ultimate Christian paradoxes is that God uses what is seen to reveal--to show--what cannot be seen.  God, who is always hidden, is revealed in mystery.  The traces of God are teased out through the contradictions of life.  And the indescribable truths are understood through experience, even if they remain indescribable.

As you go through life, what evidence of God are you looking for?

Jesus proved God's presence and power by showing the disciples his wounds.  The bright light and glorious angel-messengers on Easter only served to scare the disciples and stop them from sharing the gospel.  But when Jesus finally appeared after being raised, he met them quietly.  And the proof of his identity was not lightening or voices from heaven, the evidence he brought were wounds.

What do you see when you see wounds?

What do you see when you visit someone who is sick in the hospital?  What do you see in the person who is losing their mind and personality in dementia?  What do you see in the soldier who has lost limb, or even life, in the course of service?  What do you see in the patient in traction because of a car accident?  What do you see in the stroke victim?  What do you see when a child skins his or her knee?  What do you see as you sit beside a loved one's deathbed?

If we cannot find Jesus in these things, we cannot find Jesus anywhere.

Jesus' presence is in the hurt.  Jesus' power is in the healing.  God's love and power is strongest in the midst of wounds and death.

Because of Christ, there is only one illness or injury that is fatal.  "Really?"--you may be asking.  "People seem to die of many things."  That may be what we see, but it is not what is going on unseen.

If the illness is slight, Jesus is the one who empowers our bodies or minds to heal.  If the wound is great, it is the Holy Spirit who calls forth medicine and causes it to be an effective intervention.  And if the illness or injury leads to death, our Father is the one who imparts life anyway.  None of these results in ultimate death.  There is no sickness that is unto death.

Once, Jesus' friend Lazarus got really sick.  When Jesus heard of Lazarus' illness, he did not rush to heal him, but told his disciples that, "this sickness is not unto death" (John 11:4).  After suffering for days, Lazarus finally died.  Jesus wept when he heard the news, and yet he proclaimed that the sickness was not unto death, and told Martha, "Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live" (John 11:25).  Death was not unto death.  But the disciples did not see, did not understand what Jesus meant by this paradox, by this mystery.  Jesus raised Lazarus from the grave.  He did it to reveal the power of God.  But even when the crowd saw Jesus do it, and heard him repeat over and over again that he was doing it to reveal the unseen (John 11: 4, 15, 42), even then the crowd assumed that Lazarus was just unconscious, that he was never really dead.  They could not even believe when Jesus made it seen.

Soren Kierkegaard wrote a whole book trying to fuss out the unseen in that story about the death of Lazarus (the title of the book: The Sickness Unto Death).  And taking Jesus words as truth, Kierkegaard came to the conclusion that the only sickness unto death is despair.  In faith, Jesus' power is proven in injury, sickness, and death.  In despair, it is impossible to trust in what is unseen, and our lives are then consumed by what is only seen.

Jesus was wounded to indicate where Jesus is when we are wounded.  Jesus died so that we might be able to trust God's presence even in death.  Jesus was raised up so that we would be able to see what is going to happen to us when we die.  Jesus is the evidence of God at work.  Jesus makes seen what was formerly unseeable.  But even when we see the unseen, it is difficult to trust, and it is still so easy to despair!  When you see wounds and sickness and death, what do you see?  Do you believe?

God's most glorious appearance in the world is the Cross.  And if the resurrection had any glory in it, it was only because the Cross happened.  And so the heavy crosses you bear are not occasions of despair, they are indications of all that is yet unseen.

This short prayer was the epigraph of Kierkegaard's book, The Sickness unto Death.  It sets up the true theme of the book, and yet Kierkegaard doesn't use "seen" or "unseen" or "sight" at any other part of the book itself:

"Lord, give us weak eyes for things of little worth, and eyes clear-sighted in all of your truth."

What is seen does give us cause for despair.  But if we despair, we die spiritually and ultimately.
What is unseen in the midst of what is seen, gives us hope and cause for thanksgiving---if we believe what is unseen.  The gospel, or rather Jesus, gives evidence for the unseen.  Therefore, faith is possible.

In faith, everything is ours... all that is, seen and unseen.

THANKS BE.
 

Last Meal

Recently, on FaceBook, I saw a link to an artist's series of photographs of the last meals ordered by notorious criminals before they were executed by the state for their crimes.

You can take a look, too: http://www.buzzfeed.com/alanwhite/12-pictures-of-death-row-prisoners-last-meals#.mt1edMPoVz

I can't help but think that this tradition of the death row last meal is linked to Jesus' story, the story of Holy Week.  We remember on Maundy Thursday that on the night of Jesus' betrayal and incarceration--the night before he was executed--he shared a final meal with his disciples.  Perhaps our Western culture adopted last meal from the Christian scriptures in a desire to show some small mercy, some final small sign of grace, to condemned prisoners.  I don't know if such a link or etiology is true, and so I speak on it now without authority.

An inmate's last supper is not simply a courtesy, but a reminder of and link to Christ.  As the scripture says, "But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved..." (Ephesians 2:4-5).  Though it seems such a small gesture, the last meal can be a powerful reminder that Jesus has given sinners and criminals his own body and blood to eat and drink.  The last free choice a death row inmate makes is what to have for a last meal.  And one meal is all they get for their death.  It feels paltry and can even perhaps be felt as an insult or a joke.  Yet, though the kindness is small, God's work in it is potentially great.  For the last meal echoes the Last Supper and we hear the reverberations: "Then he took a cup...saying, 'Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:28) and again, "...'Do this...in remembrance of me.'  For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" (1 Corinthians 11:25b-26).

But just as with so many of our powerful symbols, the last meal pales in comparison with the truth.  The point of Jesus' last meal was not just the food, but what the food did and what the food--the meal--was doing even in that moment and continues to do across time whenever we remember or do likewise.  The point was Communion, and it was, indeed, and continues to be holy.  That is what the death row inmate is denied: eating the meal with their closest friends and family.

Before his trial and death, Jesus sat with the disciples.  They ate; they drank; they shared life; they talked and laughed; they worried and mourned; they remembered the successes and defeats of their ancestors; they remarked on God's presence and work among them.  Whatever tomorrow would bring, these people bonded in a community that night.  Then, miraculously, Jesus--in that very meal--took a human community and made it a holy communion.  Through Jesus, they would bond in the breaking of the bread, and they would be caught up in the pouring out of wine.  From that day forward they would eat not just bread alone, but the Son of God.  And in the eating, they would be unified with God and each other in bonds invisible and unbreakable.

We see the death-row inmate eat alone.  But this is false.  Jesus is always present at the last supper, whether it is eaten by the righteous or the sinner.   And if Jesus is present, then the whole Church must be as well.  Because you don't get to choose the communion, Jesus does.

This Gospel poses a problem and a scandal.  I despise the idea that Jesus would condescend, would lower himself, by sitting with an abuser or murderer or rapist.  How much more offensive to think that he eats with them, let alone forgives them or loves them!  I struggle with the thought that he died for them.  And yet the Innocent One died for the sins of humanity, we are told.  What use would a savior be if he or she only wiped clean the white lies or merely things like grand theft?  We require a more powerful savior than that, I think.  But what a two edged sword this more powerful savior is!  How painful when the Savior cuts away our sin, our sensibilities are sliced and our ability to forgive is dissected for inspection.  But having a God who is unchangeable means that no matter what happens, no matter what we do, our relationship with God need not change.  The Cross is proof that the steadfast love of God endures forever.

Do not mistake me--or the Gospel.  I am not saying let all the prisoners go free and free of consequence.  I am not even saying that the death penalty should be abolished--that message doesn't help the one having their last meal this very day.  No.  There are consequences in this world.  When I refuse to put on my jacket when my mother tells me to, I will suffer the cold.  My mother will eventually forgive me for not doing what she said, but that won't change the fact that I will be cold.  If I commit adultery, my wife may forgive me, but that doesn't mean that our marriage will survive, or if it does survive it certainly will be forever changed because of my actions.  When we sin in this world, we must face the worldly consequences.  But with God, forgiveness is pardon.  The consequences of our sins have become the Cross...and someone else took on those consequences so that we wouldn't lose our inheritance.  And as hard as it is, Jesus died on the cross taking up all the sins of the world.  Not just my little, forgivable sins, but also the enemy's major and unforgivable ones.  I don't like it, but marvel at the power of such a Savior.

We say that Jesus died for the sinner, that Jesus (who knew no sin) took on the sins of others and died for it.  We say that on the Cross, Jesus destroyed sin and death.  But how many believe what is said?  Until we can see the Last Supper in the last meal....  No.  Until we can see Jesus in and through the guilty inmate sentenced to die, we haven't fully appreciated the gift we have all been give.  Until we can bear to image God present on death row or in the injection chamber, we do not know the power of God--we do not appreciate the lengths God with go for love.  Until we feel the profound unity that comes with Holy Communion, we cannot appreciate the Resurrection.

Each of us is walking a row that leads to death.  At any time, our daily bread may turn out to be our last supper.  Yet every bite and every sip stand as a reminder of the Holy Meal, the Holy One who brings life.  And Holy Communion brings us Jesus Christ, who unites us together with our immortal and all-mighty God.

Today, we pray for the imprisoned, and for those facing execution, whether they are innocent or guilty---because Jesus was imprisoned and faced execution.  And because Jesus lived and died for the ones who live it.  Today, we pray for those who are ordering their last supper, that Jesus be present at that table and drink of the same cup.  For by Jesus' presence sin is turned to righteousness and death is turned to life.

On the Cross, Jesus gathers ALL people to himself.  And through his body and blood he makes ALL people one.  And in Holy Communion, we all get a new "life on the outside."

What blessed joy is ours in such grace.

The Real Halloween

I love scary stories, including scary movies.  I enjoy the catharsis that comes from fear that has a bottom--that is, fear I can lose myself in to the degree I choose because I know that through it all I am safe and that the things that scare me are fictional.  Fear of this kind is so much better than the fear created around world events in the news, and I am certain it is healthier.  Practicing fear can even empower us by teaching us how to control our fear.  For fear, like worry, is merely something within us that we ultimately create from within.

Halloween is a time when we can openly play at fear to practice facing and overcoming it.  And that is why one of my favorite holy days is Halloween.

But Halloween is only safe, the things that scare us are rendered toothless only because of the day that follows: All Saint's Day.

"Though hordes of devils fill the land
and threaten to devour us,
we tremble not, we trust God's will:
they cannot overpow'r us.
Though Satan rant and rage,
in fiercest war engage,
this tyrant's doomed to fail;
God's judgment must prevail!
One little word shall triumph."
- A Mighty Fortress, Verse 3

All Saint's Eve was a night on which it was thought that hordes of devils filled the land.  People began donning scary costumes as protection.  If you were dressed as a demon you could move around the world incognito.  You wouldn't be possessed or abducted by a demon because you were one of them.  Through this trickery, people protected themselves from evil spirits.

But why were demons thought to be so active on All Saint's Eve--on All Hallow's Eve or Halloween?  Because of the day after.  You see, when the sun comes up on November 1st, the light of all the saints breaks into the world of darkness and fear.  On the day of saints, no evil can survive.  It was thought that the demons knew--could feel--what was coming, that they were doomed.  And so in a last-ditch effort, they would become hyperactive while the darkness lasted.  To no avail.

All Saint's Day commemorates just that: all the saints.  Before the Reformation, that meant only those of the faithful who were beatified and canonized as "Saint."  After the Reformation, the Church began to understand that the category "saint" was a bit more expansive.  Luther said that all the faithful are saints (and at the same time sinners, lest we forget).  Today in the Church, we particularly consider those who have died to be saints.  And according to the book of Hebrews, the saints who have died are a "great cloud of witnesses" to Jesus, who surround us always.  On All Saint's Day, the power of that communion is overwhelming.  

On the Day of All Saints, many churches remember, and speak the names of, those who have died in the past year.  This morning, I have been reflecting on those who have died in my life.  Friends, those of the Beloved Community here in Toluca and back home, and countless Beloved Strangers around the world.  And even as I remember them, each one, and I grieve, that sorrow gives way to joy.  Why?  Many imagine death to be cold and dark.  This is why it is so comforting to hear stories of near-death experiences in which people see a bright light.  Remembering the saints, we remember the good news--that death is actually warm and bright.  How is cold, dark death changed into the warmth of day, into the brightness of a new morning?

"But now a champion comes to fight,
whom God himself elected.
You ask who this may be?
Christ Jesus, it is he,
the Lord of hosts by name,
No other God we claim!
He holds the field victorious."
- A Mighty Fortress,  Verse 2

Jesus.
Just as in the stories of vampires and exorcisms, the Cross of Christ is our most powerful weapon against all that we fear.  The cross was a turning point, the turning point from night to day.  The field Jesus held was the hill at Calvary.  And on that field, at the foot of the Cross, sin is turned to righteousness, despair is turned to faith, suffering is turned to comfort, sorrow is turned to joy, crying is turned to dancing, and death is turned to life.  Yes, all of that--and more.  The Cross is our ending and our beginning.  The Cross is Jesus' defeat and Christ's victory.  The Cross makes the communion of saints possible.  More precisely, the One who breaks the darkness is the one who vanquishes the hordes of devils and establishes the great cloud of witnesses.

We find God and his Christ in suffering and death.  Not causing these things, but striving against them.  "[F]or God himself fights by our side" (A Mighty Fortress, Verse 4).  And so all those devils cavorting on Halloween, trying to get in their last bit of mischief and evil, are sorely mistaken.  They are not left to their own devices on the Eve of All Saint's.  Evil is not its most powerful on Halloween, as the pagans would like to believe.  No.  Just as Jesus was most present and active on the Cross--in suffering and death, so Jesus is most present and active in the darkest night, in the midst of the most dreadful evil.  The dread of Halloween can only give way to the new, bright Day of Saints because of Jesus.  Therefore, Jesus works hardest and his presence is most evident in the night of Halloween.  The same is true in your life.  When you endure hardship or sorrow or suffering or evil of any kind, that is precisely when Jesus is the strongest within and around you.

And so, as the man said, "Do not be afraid."

"Were they to take our house,
goods, honor, child or spouse,
though life be wrenched away,
they cannot win the day.
The Kingdom's ours forever!"
- A Mighty Fortress, Verse 4

Jesus makes this true.
Thanks be to God for that.  Amen.

Walking Dead: Community

A couple years ago, I got into the show The Walking Dead.  It is an AMC show I found on Netflix, and recently the newest season became available on that site.  I am a sucker for supernatural horror and post-apocalyptic stories--especially ones with zombies.  George Romero's entire series of zombie movies were not only genre-creating, but also dealt with a lot of existential issues.  The Walking Dead is no less profound...and entertaining.

The Walking Dead, based on a series of graphic novels of the same name, chronicles the experiences of a band of humans striving to survive after an unknown event causes masses of people to turn into flesh-eating, reanimated corpses.  If a "walker" bites you, you turn into one yourself.  When you die, however you die, you turn into a walker--there is no escape.  Walkers are only subdued by fatally injuring the brain.  But walkers are not the only threat in this fallen society.  Other humans, also trying to survive, are also as easily the enemy as the walkers are.  You don't know if someone you meet will steal your food, water or shelter, or if they will leave you alone, or if they will work with you to survive.

The premise of the show, as well as the "rules" of the world to which it transports us, are not very different from those of Romero's ground-breaking movies.  What makes The Walking Dead unique and enthralling is that it is an extended immersion into the post-apocalyptic world of zombies.  One common major theme of both, which I would like to explore a bit here, is the theme of unity.

In the show, no one can survive alone.  People need each other.  Survival requires working together toward common goals--acquiring food & water, protection, etc.  Community is the key, cooperation.

And yet, in the show we find two different types of unity.  The good, life-saving and life-giving community created by our heroes is held in sharp relief by the ever-present background of the mindless zombie mob.  Yes, the zombies symbolize community as well, a unity of a very different, and horrifying kind.

Now, the zombies don't have a social structure, and they do not cooperate, per se.  However, just as with human survivors, the zombies' strength is in numbers.  When a walker is caught alone, it is easily dispatched, relatively speaking.  Meanwhile, when they are in groups, particularly large groups, as they often are found, then they are an unstoppable force.  The press of the undead overwhelms all defenses, intrudes upon all sanctuaries, renders ineffectual all attempted offenses.  When alone, the zombie's sole motivation is to consume--consume you!  And when a group of zombies gather, they are united in that one, selfish goal--to consume.  Therein lies their community.  One unifying goal.  True, each individual zombie is motivated only to feed itself, yet that one goal unites them.  Mindless and accidental as it may be, this behavior does constitute a community of sorts.

At our worst, we are a zombie culture.
We are consumers in a consumer society.  The average American (one person) produces 4.4 pounds of garbage a day, according to the EPA.  This does not include the industrial and commercial waste created to create the stuff we buy, or the waste produced by the efforts to get that stuff from the industrial site to our homes.  On black Friday, our culture's high holy festival, which boasts the highest worship attendance of any other single day of the year, is marked by mobs pressing against merchant doors, flooding into every nook and cranny of commercial space.  In 2013, Black Friday sales averaged $13,293,981 per minute...over 13 million dollars PER MINUTE.  Our mediums of communication, art, and entertainment cannot exist apart from commercials.  When we face economic hardship as a nation, we are exhorted to buy more in order to solve the problem...and that probably is the only solution because it is a consumer culture.  We are attracted to the motion of a new product, like the next smartphone, and we drop everything to pursue that new brain we sense.  I am not immune to this, no one is.

We are a culture of individualism.  Our quest is for the self.  We look to our own interests.  Our laws are based upon property rights--ownership.  I protect what is mine.  What is mine cannot be claimed by another.  Yet, just as with zombies, we cannot break away from interdependence.  At some level, we realize that my interests are furthered by having others around me.  We do not look after our neighbors' interests, but we do not go off and live lives of solitude, either.  We keep them around because their presence makes it more likely that I will succeed in fulfilling my own desires.  Just so, zombies are not repulsed by other zombies, do not choose the solitary life, but will remain in groups and travel together.  If proximity to other zombies decreased their chances of feeding, then they would not remain together.  We remain together, tolerating each other, because we realize the benefit to the self.  Community is for the individual, a tool for the fulfillment of self.  Nearness to others is not about communication, but gratification.

We are a culture of mindlessness.  A study was recently done, in which an actor outside of a pharmacy pretended to have a leg injury.  The actor asked one set of passersby to go and ask the pharmacist for an ace bandage to wrap the injury.  Another set of passersby were asked to go ask the pharmacist for something--anything--that would be helpful.  The pharmacist was instructed to tell the ace bandage Good Samaritans that they were out of bandages.  None of the passersby with the specific ace bandage request asked the pharmacist for some other option, they simply went back to the actor and told them there were no ace bandages to be had.  Not one person thought outside of the specific request, not one person made the short, common sense leap to ask for pain medication or some other remedy.  Those with the more general request, however, brought something helpful back to the actor.  We live our lives mindlessly in this way.  We are very task oriented, and our viewpoint about the world can easily become narrow, even myopic.  In the same way, zombies do not consider anything beyond their immediate task...eating your brain.

Paul calls the Christian away from this type of society and culture.  "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God--what is good and acceptable and perfect."  (Romans 12:2).  Faith calls us to be mindful of the whole creation as it unfolds around us, at least as mindful as we can bear to stretch ourselves.  Faith calls us to be concerned with the needs of others, as much as or more than we are concerned for our own needs.  Faith reminds us that we are stewards of the earth and its resources, and not merely consumers, that it is both our responsibility and ability to preserve and conserve according to the amount we consume.

To the Christian, conformation to this world is death.  If we simply conform, we might as well be zombies, the dead walking.  But in Christ, we are transformed.  Our minds are renewed, and we can see more options--a more beautiful world and way--than what is right in front of our nose.

Christian unity does not destroy individuality; neither is our unity just a mob of individuals; our community is a tension between the two.  By the power of the Holy Spirit, we receive the mind of Christ.  The Spirit empowers us and gathers us.  And it is through the practice of spiritual disciplines, under the guidance and support of the church, that we are able to renew our minds.  We must practice mindfulness through prayer, meditation, study, devotions and praise.  We must practice loving-kindess, focusing on the needs of others through mission.  We must practice stewardship through the act of giving generously and receiving gratefully.  It is impossible to do these things by oneself.  And so the Spirit gathers us.

Shall we be pilgrims, or just walkers?
Shall we be the beloved community, or the mindless mob?
Shall we be transformed, or merely conform?

Don't eat brains.  Renew your mind.

Reclaiming Good

While in the middle of creating, God looked upon what was unfinished and saw that it was good.

Words matter.  Both the words we use with others, and the words we use with ourselves matter a great deal.  Words frame and build the story of who we are...of who I am.  We must be mindful of the words we use, therefore.  Recently, I have been startled with the use of the word "good" in our culture today.

A couple of weeks ago, I was talking to a fellow clergyman, a colleague and friend.  He was sharing his struggle to find the energy to keep up ministry in the church.  He is nearing retirement age, he mused.  And he just didn't have the stamina and endurance he had when he was young.  His fear was was not doing an adequate job in his role as pastor.  This is not how he phrased it to himself, though.  He said, "I just want to be sure that I am doing an exceptional job, especially for these people at my congregation."  And in the very next breath he reiterated, "I don't want to be a piss-poor leader."  I understood exactly what he meant.  Right away, in my mind, I agreed with him.  I thought to myself, 'What a noble desire resides in the heart of this man, my friend!'  At first, I thought that that attitude was the one to have.  After all, we want to avoid laziness and mediocrity.  Then I thought again.

I noticed the words he used: "exceptional" and "piss-poor."
Then I noticed the words he didn't use.

The way he talked, it was clear to me that my friend saw nothing--no oasis or rest stop or ledge to fall on--between exceptional and piss-poor.  If you were not the former, you were the latter, just like that.

I shared with my friend the chasm I noticed between the words he used to describe himself and his work.  I pointed out that there are points between exceptional and piss-poor, and not all of those points are bad.  I said, "What's wrong with being good?"

Last week, in confirmation class with seven 7th-graders, we were hearing again the story of creation found in Genesis 1.  We talked about how, again and again while God was creating, God paused and remarked, "And it was good."  I asked the class: "What does 'good' mean?  If a teacher or a coach tells you that what you did was good, how would you feel?"  Here were the answers:

"Good means you did your very best, but you could have done better."
"Good means you didn't do it perfect."
"Good means you tried."
"Good means you should do better next time."

All of the responses were like this.  And my heart broke.
Then, I got angry at the injustice we have perpetrated upon our young people by teaching them a distorted and evil conception of the good.

In our culture, good is not good enough.  We are not satisfied with good, as God was satisfied with what God saw in creation--what God saw even in the first days of creation.  In fact, for us, today, good is bad.  How messed up is that?  And yet we teach this trash to our children.  And the problem is so advanced, the truth so distorted, that even when God says, "It is very good," their first reaction is, "...ah, well, maybe next time."

But good is good--great even.
There is nothing wrong with good.  Good is not bad.  Good is wonderful, in fact.  Good IS something to be proud of.  Good means, "Well Done."  Good is, and should be, satisfying.  Good is enough...more than enough.

Yes, we can always be 'better.'  And striving to improve is good.  So, how can we be satisfied with what we do and who we are, without becoming contented--for contented means that we do not seek anything more, that we stop trying.  Surely acknowledging the good does not entail such a slip into lethargy.  Can't "good" also encourage us to more when we recognize it as such?

How can we reclaim the concept of "Good"?  How can we develop a fuller (and more helpful) spectrum of (self-) assessment?  I believe we need to start teaching our children that there are more options than "exceptional" and "piss-poor."  Our productivity, our fruitfulness, depends upon it...and so does our joy.

For God, creation was not just good, not merely good.
God saw that it was good.
What's so wrong with that?

Top 7 Podcasts

Inspired by my last blogpost, I would like to share some of the top Podcasts that have my attention right now.  There are so many podcasts out there, professional and amateur, that it is hard to sift through them.  I would like to share some with you that will be worth a listen, in my estimation.  Though I have tried many more, these 7 are the ones to which I continually return.

MORE IMPORTANTLY: I am looking for more good Podcasts to follow.  My hope is that as you read this list, you will say--"Ryan just has to listen to ______.  He will love it."  Please share the podcasts that you are into.  I would love to check them out!

I listen to Podcasts when I exercise and just around the house.  The following 7 are all engaging.  Some are just for entertainment.  I have chosen all of them to learn more about the world, and to expand my own horizons.

7.  60-Second Space; 6. 60-Second Science; 5. 60-Second Mind 
I lump these together to keep this blogpost brief.  Scientific American sponsors and creates these podcasts.  They are all about 1 minute long and they give condensed information about recent discoveries in scientific research.  Though it sounds esoteric, the topics are chosen to be interesting, engaging and practical.  There is a whole series of these 60-Second podcasts.  My three favorite are above, and each deals with science and technologies relating to the topic in the title.  There is also an earth science podcast and a technology podcast, and there may be others.  Want to learn something?  Do you lead a really busy life?  Take 60 seconds out of your day and lend an ear.  We live in amazing times.  Average Duration of Each Episode: 60 seconds

4. This American Life
National Public Radio produces this podcast.  Each week, the writers, reporters and staff of This American Life choose a theme and then bring stories that explore that theme to listeners.  I would label this a "human interest" podcast.  Ranging from art, literature, history, biography, fiction, comedy, journalism and so much more...contributors share all sorts of perspectives on life---particularly life in America.  The podcast is entertaining and educational.  Every episode has something you will relate to, or at least something you will feel passionately about.  Average Duration of Episode: 1 hour

3. The Partially Examined Life
I was a philosophy major.  I love philosophy still.  After trying out several philosophy podcasts, this is the one that I listen to all the time.  Each episode is a discussion of a particular philosopher's or thinker's works (usually a selection, not the whole body of work).  The participants of the discussion are all amateur philosophers (with day-jobs), but they are all very well educated and bright.  Normally, there are three or four guys who discuss the ideas, although sometimes they have guests on--every now and again the actual thinker they are discussing (unless they are discussing the work of a dead person, of course).  Although I sometimes disagree with comments made by the panelists, I learn tons.  In fact, I enjoy the podcast more for how I am challenged by some of the comments, reactions and ideas of the panelists.  This is a very engaging podcast.  It is like sitting down in a comfortable chair and discussing important ideas with a group of friends.  Average Duration of an Episode: 1 to 2 hours  (it is worth every minute of it).

2. On Being
Also from National Public Radio, On Being is hosted by Krista Tippet out of Minneapolis, Minnesota.  This podcast is about faith and life.  Each episode Krista has a conversation (much fuller than a mere interview!) with an important figure in the world.  It could be an author, a poet, a scientist, a religious leader--any interesting person!  Krista explores the work and spirituality of each guest, and together they try to plumb the depths of the question "What does it mean to be human?"  These podcasts are touching and soul-enriching.  Each episode will give you a new perspective on life...and a new perspective on yourself.  Don't miss this one!!!  Average Duration of an Episode: 1 hour  [podcasters also have the option of listening to the "uncut" conversations...these are longer, but they are worth it!]

1. Car Talk
Also from National Public Radio, this show is hosted by Click and Clack, two Italian-American car mechanics who went to MIT.  These guys are smart, but they are even funnier.  If you want a fun podcast, you need to try this one.  Even if you don't like cars or care about cars, you will enjoy this show.  Click and Clack take calls from people who have car troubles and they diagnose the car's problem on the air.  Along the way, they end up digging into people's lives and discussing all sorts of issues like relationships and spirituality and philosophy.  I have been listening to CarTalk since 2006, and it never gets old!  Just hearing the hosts' distinctive voices--and laughs--immediately brightens my day, and gives me hope for this world.  This is so much more than a car show.  But I have also learned a lot about automobiles--and physics/mechanics.  Average Duration of an Episode: 1 hour...totally not long enough.

So, there it is.  My top seven podcasts.
What else should I be listening to?
Let me know.

Meanwhile, happy listening!

Books that Changed My Life

Apparently, there is a blogger's bandwagon on which I have heretofore failed to jump.  I understand that it is now in vogue to share a list of the top 10 books of one's life.  I have enjoyed thinking back, and searching my book shelves to decide which books make the cut of such a list.  The hard part, for me, was not finding just ten, but rather finding as many as ten!  I have read countless books, for school and for fun, and yet there are only a few that have been so transformative that I would fain put them on a serious top ten list.  Just as in life we only find a handful of truest friends, so too, only a few books really affect us deeply and profoundly...changing the course of our thought and life.

Before we get down to business, however, I must make a disclaimer.  The Bible does not appear on this list.  I think it unfair to place the Bible on this list, since it is the most effective book in my life.  The Book is so rich, varied and expansive, and the Book is so transforms me--comforting, challenging, correcting, supporting and guiding me--that it is truly beyond any category, particularly the category of literature.  The Bible then, properly exists before and behind this list, above it and throughout it.  There is no story like the story of God and God's people.

One final note: this list is NOT in random order.  The list is a countdown to the most profound book in my life, and thus #1, the end of the list, is the most impactful book upon my life.

10.  Bunnicula by James Howe, et. al.
Although this book is neither a classic, nor a giant in the world of literature, it made a huge impact on me. Bunnicula is a series of books (7 now, but when I was in grade school there was only 4 or 5) about a vampire rabbit, whose evil designs are thwarted by a house cat and pet dog.  Chester is the quixotic cat, redoubtable, if excitable and misinformed.  Harold, the dog, is his unwitting (well, oblivious, really) partner.  Adventures ensue as Chester and Harold try to uncover the mystery of Bunnicula, and work to save their unsuspecting human owners.  I read these books as a child, and so I do not remember and cannot speak for their quality in writing.  However, these books got me to enjoy reading.  The book is full of adventure, humor, character and plot.  I would not be the avid reader I am without Bunnicula, and the misadventures of Chester the cat.

9.  Spider-man, Storm and Power Man Battle Smokescreen!  (Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc.)
I love reading comic books and graphic novels, and not just those telling the exploits of Spider-man.  This comic is what started everything off for me.  This special, promotional issue serves as a public service announcement for kids against the ills of smoking.  When I was in early grade school, I read this comic...and the rest is history.  After this, I began collecting Spider-man comics, and to this day, Spider-man is my favorite comic book character.

8.  The Fabric of the Cosmos by Brian Greene
I read this fairly recently--while I was in seminary.  Although life took me through high school English, to Philosophy in college and on through the humanities, I have always been interested in science.  Brian Greene writes in such a way that armchair scientists are able to sink their teeth into some of the most amazing discoveries in astrophysics and cosmology, and come away with a sense of awe for God's creation unfolding around us.  If you want to know about that creation, and you love science (but don't get it)--try this book out!  This (and other titles by Greene) are an entertaining one-stop-shop for amateur thinkers.

7.  Imzadi by Peter David (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
I believe I read this book in high school, though it may have been middle school.  As you may know, I love Star Trek.  And although I have read many Star Trek novels over the years, this one stands out. At heart, it is a love story...and I display, from time to time, romantic tendencies.  This book opened new worlds to me as I read about how life interrupts love and how love can evolve over time, and about regret and second chances.  As will all science fiction, the advancements in technology only serve to highlight humanity.  I learned a lot of humanity from this book.  And it is good Star Trek.

6.  The Birth of Tragedy by Friedrich Nietzsche
I read a lot of Nietzsche at Augustana College, in my philosophy studies.  I even did a senior seminar on Nietzsche works when I was a sophomore.  I believe he is given a bad rap, particularly for his seemingly anti-Christian sentiments.  In any event, this work of his is particularly meaningful for me.  In it, Nietzsche looks back to ancient Greek culture to learn about lessons for humanity today.  It taught me that the art and stories of the past can teach us important lessons.  In particular, this book taught me how art can be a window into culture and thought.  His distinction between Dionysian and Apollinarian art is widely applicable to life as helpful categories.  This book challenged me to think about our culture, and appreciate art.

5.  The Complete Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Sherlock is, perhaps, the most well-known and -loved character in all of western literature.  We admire his genius and try to imitate it.  Sherlock is larger-than-life, and yet very real defects in his character bring him alive to us and make him relatable.  The relationship between Watson and Holmes is also an inspiration.  I believe that we all long for such friendships in our lives.  These stories are engaging and inspiring.  Most of all, the adventures of Sherlock and Watson are fun.

4.  The Lutheran Book of Worship (ELCA Hymnal)
Hymnals form us in faith; they are instructors.  In and through them we learn scripture, theology, prayer and song.  Hymnals knit us together in community, as we join our voices into one voice.  When I was too young to remember, I am told that I loved to be in worship and hated having to go to the nursery or to Sunday School.  I wanted to be in the sanctuary with all of the adults.  As soon as I could read, I was using this book to guide my worship.  In fact, I was motivated to learn to read just so that I could follow along with all the other people.  Later, once I discovered a copy of the LBW at home, I would sit and read through it.  From these readings, I gained a love for liturgy--for the different ways people can come together and praise God.  This book taught me how to pray and to worship.  This book was a primer for the deep theology I would later study in college and in seminary.  I still love sitting down to plan and write worship services.  I still love singing and praying and praising.  If I had not discovered this book in my own home, I may not have become a pastor or a theologian.  I love the "new" red hymnal, but I began my journey of faith with the ol' green book.

3.  Upbuilding Discourses in Various Spirits by Soren Kierkegaard
If you know me, you know my love of Kierkegaard.  As I was sitting down to make this list of books, it was difficult not to list 10 of Kierkegaard's works!!!  I compromised by choosing two--this one and the next one.  Kierkegaard is my spiritual and theological mentor.  His words describing God and the life of a Christian are immensely helpful.  In this book, a collection of separately published discourses, Kierkegaard interprets Bible passages in such a way that one can see the relevance and importance of God's Word for our lives today.  His categories are groundbreaking and his dialectical reasoning is both instructive and invaluable.  What does it mean to follow Jesus Christ--in practical terms?  Oh, read this book.  Kierkegaard is a difficult author to read, however, if you can get through his verbosity, it is worth it.  His theology is profitable, edifying and unbelievably up-building.

2.  The Sickness Unto Death: A Christian Psychological Exposition for Upbuilding and Awakening by Anti-Climacus (Soren Kierkegaard)
Of Kierkegaard's works, this is (in my humble opinion) his best and most useful.  In it, he takes on the topic of sin.  In short, he explains how and why despair is sin, and it is the only mortal sin--the only sin that can keep us from God's love, salvation and eternal life.  Ultimately, he shows how faith (faith in Jesus Christ) fights and can conquer despair--and how each individual participates in and with that faith.  This book made me fall in love with Kierkegaard, a relationship that continues to grow and that has, indeed, changed the way I think about God, life and everything.  This book awoke me from sleep and lifted me up.    

1.  Dune by Frank Herbert
Dune was the first book on my list, and it is hands-down the #1 book I have read.  This novel changed my life.  And the other 15+ books in the series helped.  Herbert created a rich and expansive universe in this book.  In reading it, my horizons and perspective were expanded immeasurably.  Dune treats a wide-ranging spate of issues and facets of humanity and how they function in our lives: society, history, ecology, religion, mysticism, power, politics, love, loyalty, destiny, endurance, determination, duty, justice, the future of humanity--generally speaking, what it means to be a human being in a complex universe full of unknowns.  This is the only book I have read over a half a dozen times.  If you fail to read all of the other books on this list, at least read this one.

Happy reading, friends!