Reading Days... not for reading

This week at Luther we had a few days off for "reading days" to continue stuyding for midterms which was great! I have to admit I did not spend much time reading over reading days. It was great to spend the week at home and spend time with Chad and my sister Katie and go to Church at Trinity on Wednesday evening.

This week in the lectionary the gospel text is Jesus' parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector praying in the temple. The Pharisee thanks God that he is not like the other sinners, including the tax collector. The tax-collector admits his sin and asks God for mercy. In the end Jesus says, "all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted." This parable has made me think a lot about God's grace this week. Its amazing that God calls us and loves us as we are! I wanted to share this exerpt of a devotional from Luther Seminary that was really inspiring:

"... Yet I also see myself as the tax collector, "the sinner." If I am honest with myself I admit I do things I really do not want to do. A selfish part deep at my core hurts the people I love the most. It is then that I cannot even look up to heaven and all I can murmur is "God, have mercy on me, a sinner!"
When I realize that this part of me that I really do not like is not something I can change, I surrender. I cry out to God, "Have mercy." And then transformation begins. God begins to work. When I hear the words "you are special," "you are mine," and "I love you" each week as I worship God takes hold of me. I am transformed from "pathetic sinner" to God's loved, special child."

taken from:
http://www.luthersem.edu/godpause/

God is Good!

In the end its pretty simple

Well I had my first midterm this week in Early Church History. I felt that it went okay but I won't know for a couple weeks. I also had a big paper due this week, so needless to say I spent a lot of time hitting the books this week. Next week we have a few days off for "reading days" so it will be nice to take a break and relax a bit.

I can't believe next week I will be finishing up my first class. The first 6 weeks have flown by. In my Telling the Story class, our final is to write a mini -sermon that we will give to the class. So after I present that on Monday the class will be over and I will be done for the week at school.

I feel like I have had a lot of theological and historical information thrown at me in a very short amount of time. At times it seems my brain cannot process any more information. It has been said that the more you know about God and theology the more you realize its a mystery! My Telling the Story class helped me process some of this reality. In the end, the most important message you can communicate is that God loves each person and all of creation, and that God and the Spirit were with Jesus in the work of the cross that was done for all people. The good news is true! And that is the message that all Christians have the task to live out and share. In the end its pretty simple. (well sort of.... :)

Romans 12:12
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Celebration!

It was a great week to be a student at Luther Seminary. The beautiful fall weather is enough to make anyone smile. Our God is an amazing Creator! Luther Sem. was also hosting the 2nd Annual Celebration of Biblical Preaching Conference, so not only did I get to hear some amazing preachers, but there was also free coffee in the student center all week long! Amazing.

Karoline Lewis, a Luther professor who is on sabbatical, gave a great presentation on Biblical preaching that my class Telling the Story attended. She looked at the John text 13:23 where the beloved disciple is leaning on Jesus' bosom. Then she showed how the same Greek word was used to show the relationship between the Father (God) and the Son (Jesus). Then she made the comparison of how close God holds us to God's heart. It was really beautiful!

Karoline also read this spunky poem, which I could not copy and paste, but you can look up: http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/126.html

Enjoy the beautiful weather!

Psalm 8:3-4
When I look at your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you have established;
what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
mortals that you care for them?

Boo Pack....

Another good week of classes in! One good thing about being in Minnesota this week was that I didn't have to hear a lot about the Packers horrible loss! Monday night I visited my cousin Carrie and her family to watch the game. Other than the loss, we had a great time. My goddaughter Audrey is just starting kindergarten, so we were able to compare our stacks of homework. In the process Carrie reminded her that those were actually just workbooks bought at Target. Still, its good to see that she takes her education seriously! :)

Today in discipleship group one of our members gave a short presentation to learn about Islam. I found it very helpful. From her research, she believed one of the key points to growth in Christian-Muslim relations is mutual respect, especially Christians being more respectful of the religion of Islam. (Esposito, Who Speaks for Muslims?) Overall, the conversation was very fruitful and I was thankful for that time to learn from her.

I also listened to a lecture today by Elizabeth Marquardt on children and divorce. The most interesting aspect of the lecture was about a study done with people recounting the biblical story of the prodigal son. Children who came from married homes heard the story in the traditional sense emphasizing the parent-like love of God who welcomes us back. Children from divorced homes often saw the story in terms of the prodigal parent who left home, only they never returned. The point was made that the Church needs to be cognizant of these experiences, and include them into the life of the Church so these children can feel welcome.

Just a few tidbits from the week! Now I am hoping to get caught up on some homework as well as sleep! God bless.

Christian response

All around our country, including on the campus of Luther Seminary, people are abuzz with the talk of the current hot topic of Islam in America. On Good Morning America yesterday, they hosted a panel of teens to discuss this very issue. Topics addressed included: Muslim and Christian relations in a post 9/11 era, the building of the Mosque near ground zero, and the attempted burning of the Quran in Florida. It's fascinating to see these issues through the lens of America's youth. (Check it out on the ABC website) My discipleship group is also preparing to talk about this issue, so it has been on my mind. Consider these only a few thoughts on the matter and not in anyway a comprehensive effort. (Also a shout out to the MHS journalism class who is tackling some of these tough issues in their student newspaper with amazing insight. Great work!)

There is a statistic floating around that 80% of New Yorkers oppose the building of the Mosque near ground zero. However, this small sampling of teens did not follow this trend. Most of the non-Muslim participants seem to think it was well within the rights of this particular Muslim community to build this Mosque and community center. The sole voice opposed brings perhaps the most interesting dynamic to the conversation. This voice is the 14 year old son of the pastor from Florida whose Church planned the Quran burning. There was at least one other Christian in the group, a Catholic teen girl. She believed the attempted Quran burning and prejudice against Muslims was morally wrong. And yet, the voice most featured was the one of the pastor's son, who used a single and obscure Bible verse to justify his opinion on the matter.

This moment in the history of our country is one of great significance. We have the opportunity to build a bridge between the Muslim and non-Muslim Americans, or we have the opportunity to further the schisms that already exist. As a Christian, I believe it's the Christian community's responsibility to extend the grace and love of Jesus rather than choose hatred. Jesus spoke prophetic words of loving one's neighbor, loving one's enemy, and calling peacemakers blessed. This humble service and love for others is not an easy path. But it's the path we are called to follow if we truly seek to be disciples of Christ. All too often the media only vocalizes the voices of hate, so hopefully people can begin speaking messages of love to counter that. Just a few musings to ponder as you see all of these stories out there in the media!

Trinity Rocks!

Hello All,
Another week in St. Paul down. I am writing this from Trinity Lutheran Church in Eau Claire. I just met with pastors Heather and Jim. Trinity has graciously agreed to be my teaching community for the fall! This is another requirement for the Mdiv (Masters of Divinity) program. I have to be in a congregation for 4 semesters as an introduction to practical ministry before an internship. This works out well considering I am already involved with ministry at Trinity. I am really excited to be working with Jim, Heather, and Kurt for this process.

Another exciting thing that happened this past week was that I recieved two more scholarships! One is a Siebert Foundation Scholarship which is given to ELCA ministry candidates in Wisconsin. The other is called the Olson Scholarship. I am looking into finding out more about the namesake for this scholarship. God is good! This is just another example of the ways that God's grace can surprise us and lift us up just when we need it. :)

Classes went well this week. Chad and I are getting into the routine of our school schedules. We have been skying a lot, which is great. Chad, being the great teacher that he is, has helped me out with my English grammar when needed. Learning Greek requires you to understand grammar and syntax on a much deeper level than we as English speakers usually learn. In English we rely heavily on word order to show function of words. In Greek, every word is inflected to show the tense, person, and function. For instance we understand that a noun is a direct object because it comes after the verb and by using context clues. In Greek, the noun is inflected in the accusative form to show that its being used as a direct object. So point being.... it helps to be married to an English teacher.

Well I am off to Wednesday evening worship where I get to reconnect with my Crossword (youth praise team) peeps!
Peace.

Agape

As many of you know Agape is a Greek word for love. As you may not know, it is also the name of Christian rap/hip hop group from the twin cities. This week in my early Church history class I learned about the early Christians tradition of the agape feast. Today in chapel I joined in singing the chorus of the song "All are Welcome" by Agape as Dave rapped about everyone having a space in the Church, even those outcast by disease, lifestyles, and sin. Needless to say its been an interesting week, full of God's surprising grace and agape love.

Studying the worship tradition of the early Church was the most interesting aspect of all my learning this week. I find it fascinating to see some of the traditions that have lasted for thousands of years. The first Christians, meaning those who lived within the first couple hundred years after Jesus, had their major worship service on the first day of the week, Sunday. This was to celebrate the day of the resurrection of Jesus. The Eucharist (which means give thanks), was the most important element of the service. First there was a time of teaching, reading Scripture, prayers, and singing. This was open to all. Then the baptized believers shared in the communion, which was a very joyous celebration.

I felt that joy today as we worshiped together and shared in communion in chapel. Having the hip hop music made it feel like a true celebration! Its interesting to note that the emphasis on Christ's suffering and passion during communion did not come about until the medieval times. The early Christians held Wednesdays and Fridays for days of fasting and meditating on the more somber themes of suffering and confession. It was fun to find that tidbit about the joy of the eucharist amdist much of the suffering that the early Church endured due to persecution by the Roman government. Hopefully you found it of some interest as well!

Thanks again for all of the prayers and best wishes! Keep them coming, and have a good rest of the week.
Jami