Juror No. 2283 -- Released!

Yesterday, I answered the summons to jury duty from Dallas County. At this point in life, I go when called because I am fairly certain I will not be selected from the jury pool. I want to do my civic duty, but generally I hope I will not get placed. Perhaps, I am just protective of my personal time. But I also think I am a bit uncertain about Christians sitting in judgment over others. It is wrapped in the encouragement of the Two Kingdoms idea of Luther as well as a corollary of the "in the world but not of the world" from the New Testament. Christians can live responsibly as citizens but act carefully as well. The temptation to decide according to my prejudices can sway the desire to decide justly. Despite my fretting, I was not chosen as I suspected. But that sitting in judgment over others remains a temptation even outside the courtroom.

And the Winner Is ...

Monday evening a local theater, the Magnolia, hosted a pre-Oscar event with a panel of three syndicated movie critics, plus drawings for movie-related goodies, and a tasty chocolate Oscar-shaped candy. I did not win a prize, but I do not think that colored my evaluation of the evening. I will comment on Oscar picks after the Sunday evening event. (Check the Oscar nominees here.) For now, I keeping thinking of the comment by all the critics as they shared their opinions of which nominees should win versus which would win. They shared the political, friendship, and monetary influences on the selection of winners. I do wonder how the world would be different if the should-win did win, instead of settling for the influenced picks -- not just for the Oscars but at work, in relationships, and community decisions. I know, sin is in the world, but we could at least hope for and work for incremental changes. Therefore, I want everyone to push for my favorite movie picks, so they will announce: "And the winner is ...."

Happy 100th Birthday,
Millicent Dahlsten Johnston!
On Saturday, I was privileged to join a large crowd celebrating the 100th Birthday of Millicent Johnston, our congregation's oldest member. She beat the anticipation of the Psalmist: "The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away." (Psalm 90:10) And she has seen changes. In 1909, her parents paid perhaps $3 for her baby bed, her first dress probably cost about 0.50, three condensed milk tins went for 0.25, and her parents could split a sirloin steak for 0.16 a pound. Things have changed indeed. But Millicent supposedly has not changed from her flapper days until now -- sweet, loyal, kind, and a faithful Christian. On Tuesday (her actual birthday), I brought Holy Communion to her, and she joyfully invited a neighbor as well, thanking God for the privilege of life and the gift of faith. Thanks, Millicent, for your witness!

To fly

In the College Assembly (Chapel) time at Paul Quinn College, the speaker was Rev. Frederick Haynes III. He is the dynamic leader of a congregation of over 8000 in South Dallas. He is an amazing speaker, captivating the attention of the students in attendance. Towards the end of his sermon, he developed a kind of rhythmic highpoint -- "Rosa Parks sat, so Martin Luther King, Jr. could march, so Jessie Jackson could run, so that Barack Obama could win," and then he addressed the students directly: "so you could fly!" What a wonderful message for the students, many of whom are the first in their family to attend college. Yet, Pr. Haynes also tried to point out parallels in the Christian life. Christ came, served, healed, taught, died, and rose, so that we could .... May people of faith find the motivation indeed to fly with the Gospel.

Dallas Theater Center "In the Beginning"

Late last week I attended the Dallas Theater Center's production of "In the Beginning," a rather experimental look at the first ten chapters of Genesis. (Basically they covered creation, the temptation/fall, Cain/Abel, and Noah.) It was an interesting staging (particularly good use of the movable floor at the DTC). At the end, the cast interviews a "professional" Bible/theology-type person and takes questions/responses from the audiences. I had gone to watch, not interact, so I was not prepared to participate that night. But I have thought since a bit about it, and am sharing with this Blog.
1) Go see the play! (It runs through February 15.)
2) The actors focused on what the ten chapters tell us about God. Certainly there is much to that. However, I think they missed the greater point. I think of those chapters being "family stories" for the family of faith. That is they tell us about the human condition and human response to God. And like "family stories" they do not tell us everything, but they tell us past experiences to tell us about our present. So, all that is to say, I wished they had said more about the human desire to be a god (temptation/fall), the human desire to let competition ruin "brotherly" relationships (Cain/Abel), and answering the call of God, even when it seems disconnected from experience (Noah). By the way, a young person in the audience really did a nice job on pointing out the competition aspect of Cain and Abel. Bravo!
3) As I said above, go see it. I would love to know your response!