Trend or continuity

I have not examined the study, as I have little access to journals. However, one of the tenants of actual scientific findings is that the findings should connect with reality. In my, now over 30 years of working with young people, this studies results are in fact reflected by experience. The press release is titled: "Recent generations focus more on fame, money than giving back; Young adults less interested in community issues, politics and environment, finds new research" and is from the APA. I do disagree with the first sentence of the last paragraph in the release, in that I do think that most of our generation, who are raising or have raised this current crop, have created exactly what we have and thus our peer group deserves all the derision we can heap upon them. Of course, we are all products of the disastrous 20th century and are only living on the steep downward slope of culture and civilization.

This kind of information should inform any efforts in the area of community resilience, since the children are disconnected, distracted, inattentive...well you know the litany. St. Augustine wrote: Quod amplius nos delectat, secundum id operemur necesse est.  Thus A.J. Nock was able to say;

The fundamental validity of egoism and hedonism seems to me indisputable, as it did not only to the Cyrenaics and to Epicurus, but to Christian moralists like Butler and Wilson among Protestants, to Spinoza among Jews, and to the mighty Augustine of Hippo among Catholics. But putting all such authority aside, I hold it to be a matter of invariable experience that no one can do anything for anybody. Somebody may profit by something you do, you may know that he profits and be glad of it, but you do not do it for him. You do it, as Augustine says you must do it, are bound to do it (necesse est is the strong term he uses), because you get more satisfaction, happiness, delight, out of doing it than you would get out of not doing it; and this is egoistic hedonism.

If altruism exists then it only came into existence in the 1850's. It was developed by Comte in his efforts with Positivism. Comte being a Frenchman needed to try to make sense of the Frenchman's tremendous capacity for destruction (see Twain's comparison and contrast of Frenchmen and Comanches). I guess Comte came up with something, but again does it reflect reality...the answer is a decided NO. Only the individual can be changed. Improvement can not occur in a community, society, state, nation or any other collective unless each individual improves. So, if you have individuals that are drunk all the time, you have a community of drunks; if you have individuals who are idiots, you have not just a village, but an entire society of idiots. With all due respect to E.O. Wilson, we are not ant or bees.

And so it goes.....

SDG

Cowboy Hypocrisy

Over the years of my wanderings I have had the misfortune of being present during what is misnamed a ‘Cowboy Service.’ These services tend to based on some Christian service, but never seem to elevate to actual worship. Most such services are held in and around the western parts of these united States. However, I suspect they may show up any where.


I recently was made aware that there is a published ‘Cowboy Bible.’ I have seen a copy of this piece of work, but have yet to open it. So, I will save any comments on it for another time. It simply should be noted that all of the dissenting sects have their own version of a bible. Each is written [translated] to rationalize and substantiate the sects own dogma. Most are terribly infantile and so poorly written as to bring tears to the eyes of more sensitive beings.

As for the ‘Cowboy Services,’ each has its own peculiarities, but the ‘minister’ is usually a well dressed movie, urban, or drug-store type. He, less often she, extols the virtues of the cowboy. Apparently, this creature is God’s favorite. It appears that God has given up on shepherds since cowboys came along. Yes, sheep are range maggots and do not mix with cattle. Most actual ranging examples show this to be false as well.

Cowboys are close to God, call on him daily, and thank him for saving themselves and the cattle they work. These guys are patriotic also. They are the ‘my country, right or wrong’ crowd. These are hard working Christian men (or boys) that are the salt of the earth and the knitting that holds the world together. At least that is the picture one gets from these ‘Cowboy Services’ with their ministers in boots.

All of the above gives me a good laugh.  Once again, the deception of these ministers and the gullibility of the masses make for highly humorous behaviors.

One need delve very briefly into the literature to discover something slightly different. A prime example comes from Andy Adams who wrote ‘The Log of a Cowboy; A narrative of the old trail days.’ As a sixteen year old, Adams left the San Antonio area to work with some cowmen and boys. They took charge of a herd in south Texas and moved up the western trail to Montana. Adams’ book is a travel log of his journey and one of the best documents of actual cowboy life and ways in the early trail driving days.

Adams’ writes that during one river crossing a young fellow is drowned. The crew finds his body and one of the boys knows the family. It would seem that the mother, described as a ‘Christian woman,’ has lost two other sons to drowning in the Red River. The boys decide to give this poor unfortunate a decent burial, so that it can be reported back to the mother that the boys had done the best they could by her son. So, one of the boys heads off toward the nearest town for a coffin while a couple of others begin to dig the grave.

Then Adams’ writes the most profound line. He writes, ‘There was not a man among us who was hypocrite enough to attempt to conduct a Christian burial service…’ Instead they send a rider to a wagon train of immigrants, one of which is described as a ‘superannuated minister who gladly volunteered his services.’ Well, the funereal goes off well as the minister’s daughters sang hymns and the word struck the hearts of all the boys.

What stands out here is the attitude that the boys had concerning their own standing before God. They were not hypocritical enough to believe they could pull off a Christian service. In other words, these simple boys who followed cows for living were humble enough to stand down and let God provide. This He did by having a ‘superannuated minister’ in the area.

Did they have a special service just for themselves? No. Did they have a specially written bible just for themselves? No. Did they dress like move or urban or drugstore imitations? No, they were the real thing. They simply waited on God and humbled themselves before the great mystery which no man can grasp.

SDG

SECOND SUNDAY IN EPIPHANYTIDE

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that the Holy Spirit will give me the words to draw us all under the Cross and focus us on Jesus Christ and him crucified and risen.

My name is John David Harrison and I want to thank you for the opportunity to be with you on this day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Stay with me now as I give you a little family and personal background. My eldest is Keara. She is named after St. Kieran one of the twelve apostles of Ireland. Blayre is my middle daughter; her name is Gaelic Scot for a field or an open plain. My youngest daughter is Grace. We all think we know what her name means. It is Latin in origin and given that she was our last child, she is a blessing indeed.

My son, Lee, and I are of several generations of first born sons named after their grandfathers. This seems to be a tradition of at least eight or ten generations. My paternal line came to this country as subjects of the British Crown and moved as the country did across to Texas in the 1800’s. My maternal line seems to have been part of what Frank Lawrence Owsley described as “the great horde of Scotch-Irish Presbyterians,” with their German Lutheran brothers, “who had pushed to the Mississippi River and far North of the Ohio before the New England population had got a hundred miles west of Boston.”

My wife’s paternal name is Spencer. Some of you will recognize this name as the royal name which has produced such notables as Winston Churchill and more recently the Princess of Wales, Diana. Her maternal name is Hickey, a very devout and loyalist group of Irish Catholics. It appears that my wife’s family was of the Royalist Cavalier branch and with their Catholic faith they were sent packing to these shores and the opportunities found here. Her family was involved in farming, cattle and livestock trading in Iowa.

Over 30 years of my life has been in Agriculture the details of which are on a flyer that I have made available. It makes great reading for insomniacs, it should put you right to sleep. As a wandering scholar in that time I have taught in High Schools and Universities. Some of these schools are close by in Medina, Kennedy and Kingsville. Others are in central America in Tegucigalpa, Honduras and Texistepeque, El Salvador. Still others may be familiar to you, such as Thessalonica, Greece were St. Paul established a church and Tirana, Albania where Christians stopped the Turkish invasion of Europe during Martin Luther’s day. Finally there are those in such exotic locations as Columbia, Missouri, where I met my wife which explains why I was called there; and Logan, Utah which actually defies explanation.

In each of these locations I have helped farmers, ranchers and local communities improve their operations and economies. By increasing self-sufficiencies and providing for the daily need of one another these farms, ranches and communities are healthier and better prepared for the whims of fortune that continually sweep though our land.

I am a late comer to the faith, being baptized and confirmed in 1997. Since then, the cross has become inscribed in my life. The way of the cross, on which God leads us, is clearly the way of the people of God in the world. I recognize that we are becoming believers, ones who hope and ones who love through the power of God’s word as revealed in Jesus Christ. I hope to meet each of you before the day is out because as you will hear shortly, you are my unmet brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus.

In reference to our readings this morning, Eli and Samuel were distracted and inattentive to the Lord even though they are ministering. Given what is going on around them, they were probably worried about Philistines. The reality is that ‘Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.’ The Lord had other plans for them and finally illuminates Eli, who then tells Samuel to go back to bed and patiently wait on the Lord. Eli also gives Samuel the words to humble himself before the Lord. “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

So, we must humble ourselves and repeat “Speak, for your servant is listening” and we will hear the call go forth, “Follow Me.” These are the words Jesus spoke to call his disciples and they dropped everything to follow after Him. Philip is not messing around with this treasure and he immediately goes to his brother and says, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

Philip’s brother, Nathanael has a thoroughly modern response, “Nothing good can come from Nazareth.” We will return to this shortly, but for now Philip says, “Come and see.” So they go.

There is a lot to be said about this, but I want to focus on two things that Jesus says. I am going to comment on them in reverse order. Second, Jesus sees Nathanael sitting under a fig tree. In the book of Micah 4:4, we read about a peaceful time when, “Every man will sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the LORD Almighty has spoken.” Historically, teachers sat in the shade and dispensed their brand of wisdom. This does not seem to be the case with Nathanael though.

And in the first, Jesus identifies Nathanael as a ‘true Israelite.’ Again, we must return to the Old Testament to find what being a ‘true Israelite’ means. In Genesis 32, Jacob wrestles with God and is renamed Israel. Jacob also comes away with a ‘wrenched socket’ from his encounter. I do not know exactly what a ‘wrenched socket’ is but it sounds painful. Israel is a Greek word derived from the Hebrew words yisra’el meaning "he that strives with God." It is the proper name conferred on Jacob and extended to his descendants, from sara "he fought, contended" + El "God." Thus, to be a true Israelite is to be one who is fighting God.

So here we have Nathanael struggling with God in the shade. He is burdened by this struggle and may even be in pain, physically and mentally. Nathanael’s burden is evident in his cynical despair about place, “Nothing good can come from Nazareth.” Like Samuel, God has plans for Nathanael and has prepared him to hear.

Out of love for his brother, Philip appeals to him, “Come and see.” Jesus opened his mouth and the word of the Lord grabbed Nathanael and began to drag him out of the world. In a last ditch effort Nathanael tries to rebel, ‘How do you know me.’ Too late! Jesus’ words demonstrate there power over everything and Nathanael is yanked away from his sin, death and the devil. Just like Samuel, Nathanael can only focus on the Lord and confess the truth “…you are the Son of God!”

I urge you not to miss that this reading teaches us simply what evangelism is: it is bringing people to Jesus. That’s what Philip did. That’s what we are to do today. I know that you are extraordinarily well-equipped for evangelism. Why? Because you know where Jesus is. You know that He is present at the font, joining you to His death and resurrection (Ro. 6). If He wasn’t there, He couldn’t be doing that. You know that Jesus, the Word made flesh, is present in His Word, forgiving your sins and strengthening your faith. You know He is in His Supper, giving you His body and blood for the forgiveness of sins.

Because Jesus is present here, you get your sins forgiven here. Because Jesus is present here, your faith is strengthened via these means of grace. Because Jesus is here, you come here to hear His promises of healing and mercy. Because Jesus is present here, you come into the presence of the One who will raise you from the dead…and who gives life to those loved ones who have died in the faith before you.

It’s an astonishing truth that so many people ignore or even deny: here, by Word and Sacrament, the Lord Jesus Christ is just as really present with you as He was with Philip and Nathanael in the text. This is not just a place where a bunch of Lutherans meet; but here, in this place, heaven and earth come together—because Jesus Christ, the Lord of heaven and earth, is here. This has a profound effect upon you, and me, and us.

For instance, to invite someone to church is to say with Philip, “Come and see Jesus.” Really! He promises to be found nowhere else than in His Word and Sacraments. As long as, God willing, His Word is preached and His Sacraments are administered according to His Word here, then Jesus is here to forgive, strengthen faith, heal, and give life.

Now, many will look at these buildings and echo Nathanael cynical: “Can anything good come out of Emmanuel Lutheran Church? Why would anything special be happening there?” You and I will also be assaulted by foes within and without to the point where we might wonder the same thing. When budgets are tight and the air conditioner is acting up, we tend to dwell on these far more than the truth that the Son of God is present here with forgiveness, life and salvation. At such times, we must repent of our distractedness and return to the marvelous truth: Christ is here to forgive us all our sins. When people are offended by what we teach and practice here according to God’s Word, we’ll be tempted even to apologize, out of a desire that people feel welcome. At such times, we must repent, for then we would be apologizing for the Lord’s presence and truth. We want to welcome people, and will place no barriers that Jesus doesn’t command, but neither will we compromise His Word. Jesus is here—here to save. Let us not obscure that message. Not everyone stayed with the Lord when He stood in the flesh; but those who did were forgiven for all of their sins. It will be so here, because Jesus is here.

Again, since Jesus truly is here, then it is He who gathers us here. This means that those around you are not fellow spectators who happen to have an interest in the same things you do. They are not random customers who happen to frequent the same store. They are your brothers and sisters in Christ, because Christ Himself has called and gathered them and you, together, to this place for the time being. St. Paul reminds us, “And God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power.” The family of God remains together for eternity.

Do not be disconnected from others here. Again, St. Paul writes, “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?” Congregations change over time as people come and go, and this can lead to a sense of distance among members. It’s easy to greet those you know and not greet those you don’t.

Do you know the people who sit next to you in the pew? In front of you? Behind you? You may or may not. If you do not, I’d encourage you to introduce yourself today. If people don’t know each other, then everyone feels like an outsider. If we don’t know one another, we’re less likely to want to help each other and labor with one another—and the mission of the church suffer for it. It’s a little thing, perhaps; but please make a point to meet one another, to greet one another by name. If you forget a name, don’t be embarrassed to ask it again. I certainly appreciate all of the hospitality that Emmanuel’s members have shown to me and my family; and I encourage you to continue that with others. You may not have a whole lot in common with them, but you share this with them for eternity: you are the people of God in this place. It is given to you to greet one another, encourage one another, pray for one another, and bear one another’s burdens. You are brothers and sisters in Christ. You are children of God for whom Christ died.

And do not forget: Christ has not only died for you, but He is risen for you, too. He has called you to be His beloved children, forgiving your sins and giving you eternal life. That is why you come and see Him here. Or, perhaps better, that is why you come and hear Him here. For this is His Word to all of His children, and this is His Word to you: you are forgiven for all of your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen

Follow up on the So-Called

Pretensious Roundheads should harken to these words.

Hans Joachim Iwand writes:

The theology of the cross is neither an exclusively theoretical expression nor a mere antithesis to the theology of glory, but it is to be inscribed in our life.  From this is to be understood what it means to be a believer, one who hopes, one who loves - indeed, what it means to be a Christian.  Yet strictly speaking one can never be a Christian; one can only become one.  Being a Christian is hidden in God.  One cannot lift it into consciousness without distroying it.  In our consciousness we have the reverse side, the not-being.

I put in the bold letters for those with a short attention span.

SDG

Reading what exactly.....

I had the occasion to converse with a man of unusual talent in these parts. I would say that he is possible one of a very few find minds in the region and has made a good accounting of his self through the years. He was holding forth on the virtue of a small library in the area. He held that the library was a good and noble thing. That the locals could be proud of it and the children did benefit greatly by the books that were available.


Then with a rather puzzled look he asked if I thought the reading scores at the local public school were low and could be improved. After an embarrassing pause, I said no I thought the scores were accurate and very good actually. As to improvement, well the children who took the reading test today would be different than the children who take the test in the future so there really was no way of determining improvement. I added that any forcing of the current scores up or down would burden both the children and the teachers unnecessarily.

Oh, yes he stated, but would it not be better if all of the children could read well and those that read well now could work toward reading even better. All of this I found very uncomfortable, because I knew that had my very able friend known how to read himself, he would be less inclined to force the issue with any one else. But then no one can know everything. So, I said that he must not have been familiar with the difficulty of reading.

In his ‘Conversations of Goethe,’ Johann Peter Eckermann quotes the great man writing:

He then joked upon the difficulty of reading, and the presumption of many people, who, without any previous study and preparatory knowledge, would at once read every philosophical and scientific work, as if it were nothing but a romance. “The good people,” continued he, “know not what time and trouble it costs to learn to read. I have been employed for eighteen years on it, and cannot say that I have reached the goal yet.”

As Erik Kuehnelt-Leddihn observed, the requirement that people have general reading and writing skills is unscrupulous because not only is it beyond most, the majority seldom put those skills to any positive use. Given that most books today are written at an elementary reading level there seems to be no reason to stress the poor unfortunates that inhabit the school by ‘improving’ their reading scores. The picture books (aka. Graphic novels) that occupy the largest number of shelves at the local library are perfect for these creatures that are better able to “let things pass through their minds” than would be great novels which would burden them with the ‘time and trouble’ to learn to read.

Since the situation is as it is and there seems that there will be no positive change in the future, it is probably best to leave things as they are.  Otherwise, one may have kicked a sleeping dog and who knows what difficulties may arise from that.  Those who do take the time and trouble will and there is no reason to upset the disposition of those who can not.

SDG

The most despicable of men

Given what passes for Christian churches in these united States, it is not surprising that the So-Called get their religious entertainment fix each week are shocked to see the condition of the church in Palestine, Russia, north Africa, and etc.  Most but not all of these areas are where one find the church of Jesus Christ.  As Martin Luther wrote:

The church is offensive to the wise and counted with criminals.  This is the lot of the church because this was the lot of Christ, the Head of the Church.

The results of this distance between the church of Jesus Christ and what passes for it here in these united States is of great magnitude.  But this also has a great impact upon the those within each.  In these united States the message is one of "power, wealth, peace, honor, wisdom, and righteousness."  The So-Called preachers cover the remnant with "slander, bitter hatred, persecution, and blasphemy."  This is license for the So-Called to treat the remnant with "contempt and ingratitude."

Robert A. Kelly has pointed out that the fact that the So-Called,

who carry out the persecution of and inflict suffering on Christ's people are the agents of the devil does not mean that they are obviously and outwardly wicked people.  Some are, but most are often the most outwardly pious, upright, and religious people.  They are full of holy zeal to protect God and morality from assault.

And so it is and so it will be.  But what about those who deliver Christ's words of "affliction, shame, persecution, death, etc."  Well, for the most part they are out of step with the new and the enlightened.  They are "the most despicable of men" and thus the source of the church's glory.

SDG

A whole village.....really?

As advice to middle aged reactionaries, Dr. Bruce Charlton has written, ‘Don’t read: re-read. (You have already read what you need to know.)’

A recent experience put into mind Mr. Nock’s memoirs.

I recently got news about a small village of which I had fond recollections. In years past, this village was the home of an elderly mendicant who had been trained in the highest arts of his rebellious Christian sect. He had taken his position and its responsibilities seriously. However, as time pasted and the dragon’s breath of Gresham’s Law took its toll on his rulers, he was pastured without pasturage. Thus, when we met his teeth were long in the mendicancy that was his burden.

While he lived in this village and took part in the villager’s lives, he continued to ply his vocation, abet in a more degraded state. In his wisdom he knew the results of his kind of work were difficult to measure. But the villagers were kind, the conversation congenial and the weather mild. This is as it was when I found him.

As I sat at his feet, we would sharpen each other. He found great pleasure in tempering my steel. Our conversations would range over much territory and occasionally on the situation in the village. From him I learned that the villagers had some religious leanings. However, as he noted, it was indeterminate at best and down right bestial at worst.

He has sense gone on to better things and although I have much to say about this grand old man, it is the village that concerns me today. It seems that the entire village has been converted to Christianity. The news about the village was enthusiastically exclaimed by a villager with whom I am acquainted. As with Mr. Nock, a chill coursed through me at the proclamation.

Mr. Nock continues,

“If it meant one thing, it was such an enormous pretension that I could hardly imagine a person of any delicacy who knew its implications would dare to advance it. If it meant another, on would hardly know how seriously to take it… a better informed person might find that the statement pointed at something mostly meaningless or even largely stultifying.”

Like Mr. Nock’s character, my villager was serious enough. Again, following Mr. Nock, I thought the question whether a village is or is not religious is hard enough to answer; and given that things have degraded since Mr. Nock’s time, the question of whether and entire village is or is not Christian is impossible to answer categorically; “the answer might mean anything or nothing.”

Defining terms has never been high on the list of important qualities found among enthusiast. So, I not dwell on the embarrassing truth. Suffice it to say that the villagers feel good about themselves, they remain kind and congenial and everything continues as it was. Because they are a very prosperous and secure village, they have never considered what Jesus has said and St. Mark recorded at the end of his eighth chapter.

And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

It may be said that I am being too hard on these modern villagers. Perhaps that is true, but that complaint was lodged against my Master as well. Never the less, there it is. As Professor Daniel Deutschlander says about Jesus; “He asks and he insists on it: Deny yourself, and take up the cross and follow me. He asks and he insists on it: Be a Christian!”

That is all well and good. And yet, as Mr. Nock notes, if a person “took these matters as stated, and he faithfully followed out their prescriptions …in the first century and probably in the second, he would have passed muster as a Christian.” He continues by writing, it “has been done and is being done; mainly, as is natural, in an inconspicuous way by inconspicuous persons…”

They are there as a substratum of right thinking and well doing, but as the Old Testament prophets found, they are difficult to find and impossible to know. Except that they are despised and persecuted since they have no substance in this world. They can not be found in villages where prosperity and security is the main. Suffer they must and suffer they will, until Judgment Day.

Yes, there are Christians in the world and they form the hidden church, the saving remnant. I am glad for it. The villagers in question have not yet arrived. I do wish them well.

SDG