Musings from the Week Past

If you stop by regularly (or not), you may notice that I update sporadically. I read some blogs where the author posts daily or even multiple posts daily. The must have more important things to say than I. A friend of mine back in college used to say very little. When he did speak, it was rather profound. I, on the other hand, talk constantly yet often stay within the realm of superficial. Maybe this explains the lags between posts. I am waiting for the profoundness to strike; however, it is rather elusive.
In lieu of anything profound, I offer a few reflections from the week:
February 2 was Groundhog Day. It was also the Purification of Mary and the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple. The masses wait for a marmot to determine the short-term future weather. Do the masses wait, as Simeon and Anna, for a Messiah to determine the future of humanity? We anticipate the onset of spring, but do we anticipate the onset of Lent? Do we look forward as anxiously to following the Christ to Calvary where He accomplishes salvation for the whole world as we do to finding out the future of meteorology? Do we echo the words of Simeon who said, “Lord, now let your servant depart in peace according to your word; for mine eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the sight of all people”? Do we as eagerly as Anna to tell all those around about Immanuel, God with us? Or do we hunker down in the cold, waiting for a rodent to determine the coming of light and warmth?
* * *
We often get textbook ads at our school. This week it was for 7-8 grade religion curriculum (“relevant program for teens”) entitled Finding God. To quote Forrest Gump, “I didn’t know I was supposed to be looking for Him.” The advertisement touted the book’s “culturally relevant material” which will “engage young people on their faith journey” and its “attention-grabbing format” which “appeals to adolescents who are tired of ordinary textbooks.” It encouraged educators to preview the textbooks online with the line: “Help us preserve God’s environment!” The whole ad struck me as quite catch phrase heavy for Roman Catholic textbooks. I guess postmodernism is stealthily infiltrating all denominations.
* * *
To wrap up: I gave a friend a ride from a local church to the airport. Some of the campus’s buildings were marked as follows: Student Center, Worship Center, and Community Lobby. I wonder--why is the building which looks the least permanent the Worship Center, and what is a Community Lobby?

I see it every time I drive past; I even look for it. There is a decrepit brick building on the side of I-70 when one is heading into downtown St. Louis. Graffittied on the uppermost point is a notice in an original font which reads "Red Fox 4gives you." I find this sign most mysterious.
First, who is Red Fox? Why is he--I'm making an assumption here--so magnanimous? What has the unspecified "you" done to wrong Red Fox? Is Red Fox speaking to a specific or general, singular or plural "you"? If the ubiqutious Red Fox is spreading around 4giveness to the general public, what makes him think the general public is in need of his 4giveness?
I suppose it's a purely human trait to rebel against forgiveness. For to assume forgiveness is to also assume wrongdoing. If Red Fox thinks we are in need of his 4giveness, he also believes we have transgressed him in some manner. That makes almost anyone bristle. "Who is this guy who thinks we did something against him? We don't even know what we did; who is he to 4give us? What makes him think he has the right to judge us? I don't need his stinking 4giveness."
Forgiveness (or, for that matter, 4giveness) is worth nothing when one does not know for what one is being forgiven. That forgiveness is also worth nothing when one does not know the party doing the forgiving. Law and Gospel must work together: for without the Gospel, the Law brings despair; without the Law, the Gospel either induces more Law [rebellion] or carries no meaning [I'm forgiven, so what?].
Red Fox may 4give me. . .I wonder why.

Worship Space

I have a feeling it's not a good thing (sorry, Mrs. Mills) when one walks into the church office and finds the secretary, business manager, and church musician huddled around one computer looking at website of another church and saying things such as, "Wow--Holy cow--Man, that's cool!"

I had that experience recently as the music director was talking about the church where her son-in-law was recently installed and explaining how the church and PreK-12 school's campus has 9 buildings, including one specifically for the contemporary worship service (the building is called Studio 6). I can understand needing many buildings for a PreK-12 school, but a separate building for the contemporary worship service? Bah, humbug.

Most vexing of the whole conversation? They were impressed and thought that the aforementioned Studio 6 must be really cool. I merely smiled and nodded and left before I said something I shouldn't have. Sometimes it is the best option.