December: Emotional Wellness II

This is definitely the most emotional time of the year for a great number of us – the gathering of family around the Thanksgiving table, Advent observations, celebration of at least two birthdays at our house, and then the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day worship services. We are soaked in the warmth of family, the anticipation of Advent, the sense of birthday greetings, and the joys of Christmas.
Yes, there can be momentary reminders of emotions like sadness or regret – seeing who may be missing around the table this year compared to the past, a sense of aging and loss of youth, the frantic pace that can overtake one in keeping up with invitations and shopping excursions, the built up expectations for Christmas with family and friends that can disappoint because how often do we anticipate almost more than reality can provide?
But then, then there is the quiet peace of family and friends’ love no matter how many or how few, the satisfaction of the sheer blessing of more life from God’s hand, the comfort of the Advent hymns of expectation and fulfillment, and the absolute joy of the boisterous Christmas Carols!

December may be a roller coaster of emotions for us all, but as so often happens on a roller coaster you feel like you barely survive the ride and then what do you do? You want to get back in line for another go around. The Lord who comes at Christmas invites into the ride of life – the lows and highs. (I like that order better, don’t you?) Jesus, who went from the low of Good Friday to Easter, from the abandonment by friends to their embrace of his love and vision, from the flight to Egypt to the Ascension for earthly mission and heavenly reign, this Jesus accompanies us as we make our own pilgrimage through life. And all our emotions – raw and reserved, planned and surprising – can be blessed as we embrace the Good News of God’s love for the world and for each one of us.

Advent: Sublime and Mundane

Advent


What a season; what a sensation.

Advent and its theme of preparation can get lost in the haste and noise of the month ahead. At the same time, the beauty of the subject of our reflection almost immediately leads to an encouragement: Jesus may be coming as judge at the end of time, but the beginning of our time as people of faith can be found in the infant promise, the promise that would grow and mature and do everything needed for our salvation. The beauty of the infant, leads to the harshness of the cross, and then forward to the blazing beauty of the Easter morning resurrection revelation!

We could start right in Luke 1: 26-38 to see where this is going. On the surface it is a straightforward story of the revelation of the choice of Mary to bring forth the child of promise.
And this story comes complete with heavenly visions of angelic visitors. What a sublime greeting – “O Favored one” and what a mundane response from Mary – pondering what it could mean.
What a demonstration of the importance of this coming child; what a sublime promise for this Jesus – Son of the Most High (that’s God!), throne of David (that’s the Messiah promise!), house of Jacob (more Messiah!). And mundane Mary: “How can this be since I am a virgin?”
So, once more the sublime comes with a full explanation: Holy Spirit, power of the Most High, child will be holy, and a reminder “nothing will be impossible with God.” Finally the mundane fades as Mary responds in the only appropriate way: “let it be to me according to your word.” Mary who worried about what was next when she received God’s favor, Mary who worried about human limitations when God delivered so much promise, Mary finally comes up with what a statement of resignation to the Lord’s promise.

But before we give her too much trouble, we would do well to give ourselves a sublime and mundane check-up.
Advent means Jesus was promised and God delivered, and we may wonder if we are allowing enough shipping time for the gifts destined for far-off relatives.
Advent means God is coming again, and we may be wondering if we have spent enough money on the relatives’ Christmas presents.
Words of forgiveness and God’s love are proclaimed, and we may be trying to decide who we will invite to sit around the Christmas dinner table.
God’s message comes repeatedly in promise and light and love and Word and Sacrament – nothing is impossible with God, even you are loved! May we, who so often get dragged into the mundane concerns of life even at joyous times such as this, hear the sublime Advent promise: nothing is impossible with God, no one is impossible for God’s love, nothing can stop this Jesus, no one, not even Mary, can get in the way -- for the Son of God is coming to fulfill God’s promise and fulfill our need.

November Soon!: Emotional Wellness I

Well, Texas Rangers fans are all excited as I write this – the World Series is close with the Rangers leading with three games to two for St. Louis. Soon the resolution will be clear with one side excitedly celebrating, while the other grumbles about waiting until next year!
Children have their own excitement to anticipate – Halloween draws ever closer with promises of candy and scary moments -- safe moments but a little scary most hope. Others look for a Fall Festival or school carnival or perhaps “Trunk or Treat” to keep them busy. Emotions generally run high with squeals of mock fear and excitement and often time a serious sugar rush from all the candy.
November 2, a few of our neighbors from South of the Rio Grande will similarly celebrate the Day of the Dead with all the excitement and emotion it brings.

On November 6 in Sunday morning Church (and perhaps November 1 for precision) we will mark All Saints Day. This too, though more reserved because it is in Sunday worship, can still bring out emotions as we remember departed loved ones. Though we can confess that they rest safely in the Lord’s care, we can still think of treasured memories, unresolved issues, and our own sense of loss of their company. And God’s promise that guarantees them a saintly rest comforts us in our sorrows and reminds us of the Lord’s divine provision for our needs. Such care may not produce immediate squeals of excitement, but our emotional needs can be met by the Lord. God is not just about theology and stoic resolution, the Lord comes as we have need.

Then towards the end of the month emotions can run high yet again. Many families and groups of friends are already starting to plan for Thanksgiving gatherings with assignments specifically being made. (I know I am required to produce two pumpkin pies and two pecan pies!) Yet, emotions can run high with the calories piled on from sugar and carbs and that “trip…” checmical that supposedly is in turkey. But for many, emotions run high as folks remember losses since that last gathering or people who will be there who bring joy as well as a few unresolved issues. And just as the Lord comforts us in our All Saints’ losses, this same God comes to give us strength to handle whatever comes – joys, sorrows, losses, new and renewed relationships, pauses of reflection, and moments of emotional outbursts. Thanks be to God that we have a Lord who makes all life’s journeys with us!

Cowboys and Aliens and Religious Commentary

What a great concept -- mix-up the genres of Westerns and Sci-Fi. Harrison Ford did it previously in the original Star Wars (aka A New Hope), don't you think!

Though the potential was there, once again the Summer blockbusters are just not quite getting there. Although huge amounts of money are flowing into Hollywood coffers this years, the quality of the films seems to be off a bit. [But let me say that Jon Favreau's meteoric rise has been well-deserved. The directing is good; I think the writing is probably weak -- never really got beyond the original cool idea with several formulas tossed in.]

Some religious theme could have been anticipated as the town's name was Absolution.

There is an interesting character in the film -- a preacher / doctor / posse member. Though there is a cross close to the pulpit in an area that also served as a surgery suite, the "theology" seemed weak. In fact, it was strongly the traditional understanding of religion as doing right, morality alone, personal accomplishment judgment. What exactly was God's function in this character's theology? And how did he mesh it with ALIENS?
Sadly we never found out as he tried to do good, and got stepped on by one of those pesky demon Aliens!

We wait for a good religious reflection in current cinema. Dare I say that the closest we have gotten so far was in Easy A among the mainstream films?

Interpersonal Wellness – Vocational Call

We are exploring the richness of the idea of call in the Adult Study on Sunday mornings. And for all its fullness, often the sense most folks have is of their vocation / work or their call to some action. Our understanding of our being has to do with our doing. And that is partially true, if we believe that God has called us to both that being and doing. We are called to faith and it is sealed in Baptism; we are called by the Spirit to act for God’s creation – being and doing. In this hot Summer, may we all be warmed by a certainty of both God’s call to faith and call to action – in jobs, professions, retirement, service, and love for the Lord’s creation.

One aspect of the “call” we will just touch on is the common understanding that clergy / pastors have a special “call.” And though pastors are called by God, they are called to action equally, alongside the teacher, the salesperson, the hospital worker, the scientist. Having said that, the pastor’s call is also from the congregation – to act on behalf of a local church in spreading the Gospel. It is not the pastor’s task alone (that Gospel business belongs to every Christian) but it is the focus for much of the pastor’s life, rather than grading papers or selling shoes or taking blood pressure. Interestingly, when a pastor is asked to come to a congregation, a “Letter of Call” is issued, specifying the expectations of the congregation – how the pastor will act publicly for that community of faith. I keep my “Letter of Call” on display, so I can look at it periodically and remember the expectations of the congregation’s call – to preach and teach the Word of God, to administer the Sacraments, to lead worship and provide the announcement of forgiveness, to provide pastoral care and be a voice for the suffering, to encourage others to be pastors, to remind us of connections to the broader church, and then to equip others for their witness and service. And then the final specific is to guide the congregation in proclaiming God’s love through word and deed. That is the kind of job to which I hope God has called me!

Maybe everyone should write up a “Letter of Call” for whatever that person spends a majority of waking time doing. Such a document could affirm the actions already being pursued, as well as be a challenge to fulfill other aspects of that call. And you know, one of the keys to Luther’s Reformation was that no matter the life-task, all Christians can speak of God’s love (preach and teach), can forgive, can soothe the suffering and assist the forgotten, can encourage persons to serve and support the church, can help others (and themselves!) embrace the task of proclaiming God’s love in word and deed! Together, we are all called to witness and service.

BR>

Good-bye to The Unit

David Mamet's series "The Unit" has finally left TV after about a five year run. I have been catching up on the whole past year on library checked out DVDs, as my spouse loves The Unit. I like it, but keep expecting Dennis Haysbert to stop and sell Allstate Insurance in the middle of a fire-fight with enemy terrorists.
One thing that cropped up frequently in the final season were religious references. It is interesting that a career soaked in violence would also be familiar with the Bible and religious traditions? Is Mamet just offering interesting characters or is he saying something about the close tie in America between a heritage of violence as well as a national reputation of being decidedly a country of faith?

Harry Potter -- I Have to Say Something

I was there opening day (but not at the midnight show!) to see the Harry Potter series conclude. Impressively dark, brooding, almost despairing, but resolved to fight. One wonders if this had to be a British-born series -- not the attempt at pluckiness or a twinge of sunlight that an American author may have included.
Some religious folks object to the wizards and witchcraft aspects; those are not my concerns here.

It does strike me as overwhelmingly appropriate that a snake / serpent was the animal representation of evil -- sounds like from the beginning (Genesis) biblical imagery!
Appropriately resolved. I wish the epilogue would have been clearer, as the book seemed to provide.
Now, what are all those stars going to do next???

Larry Crowne and a Side Observation

Larry Crowne seemed even to be promoted good-naturedly as a light weight Summer movie -- no ground broken, little ripple in life experience. It achieved that I think. I would agree with many reviewers that it rated between 5 and 6 on a 10 point scale.
But there were two things I thought were interesting to dig into:
One, I liked the on-going garage sale of his neighbor. It appealed to my eBay forays!
Two, the character Steve Dibiasi, played by Rami Malek, is an interesting contrast to the character, "Snafu," also played by Malek in The Pacific HBO series. Did Hanks purposely cast him in the two roles to highlight the different paths of young people in 2011 and 1941? One wonders: would Malek's offbeat Snafu have been just a "character" like Dibiasi, if Snafu had stayed home in New Orleans and rode his bicycle and goofed off with his friends and been a bit out of touch with reality instead of enlisting when America went to war in 1941?
Even with a war in Afghanistan and operations globally by the military, young people today do not go off to enlist in the huge masses experienced in World War II. Will the peace experienced by most shape the country more positively in the long-run? Will crises that increased religious fervor during World War II and after be by-passed, and will other life experiences draw folks today to the Church?

Bad Teacher -- Jesus Christ!

The movie Bad Teacher seemed to have so much potential. Education is something everyone goes through (though fewer go to school with the home school movement strengthening and now folks are promoting online education for the pre-Adult grades).
Still the movie offered a humorous peek at the classroom experience -- offered, but I am not sure delivered. Yes, there were laugh-out-loud moments, but the teacher was so bad that one's concern for the children's experience began to outweigh the desire to laugh.
One particularly problematic moment for me came when the teacher was grading papers, and comments increased in their caustic nature. Finally, Cameron Diaz writes "Jesus Christ" on one paper.
OK, so this may violate the "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord your God" commandment. That is a big problem, but movies have been stepping over that line for some time. I am more concerned with this scene as if it would be tolerated in school. In recent films wrestling coaches easily flaunt language for their students and now this middle-school teacher. Teachers do have some modeling role for appropriateness for the students. Really? "Jesus Christ." I do not think that would be tolerated in school, even by a principal as out of touch as the one depicted in "Bad Teacher." Teachers do not have to be saints, but there are boundaries, right?

Interpersonal Wellness - Vocational

In July (and August too!), the Wellness wheel turns to Vocational Wellness. And we have much time to consider it – 31 days in July AND 31 more in August! Plus, this year July has five Fridays, five Saturdays, and five Sundays, which according to an email I received has not occurred for 823 years! (Can that be true?)

Either way, that is plenty of time to work on the concept of vocation.

Often we think about the Summer months as times of vacation and rest, not vocation and work. Yet, vocation is not just about our jobs or what we do. “Vocation” may include that but even more deals with our “call” from God – a call that may include work that supports others, but also our relationships and service. Thus, vocation, God’s call for each of us, acts year round – maybe just a little slower in the Summer. Yet as you perhaps slow down, I hope you will take time to explore the various aspects of Vocation or Call. We cannot ignore the jobs or past jobs of our personal histories, but vocation enriches our lives and infuses our lives – in those areas of work, but also in family life, friendships, personal finances, as a citizen and community member, in service, ministry, and mission. Sometimes our vocation is NOT even our work, but comes into focus in one of those other arenas.