266 Hildegard von Bingen

Today my Inner Catholic cum Latin Wannabe decided to check out some Cds of lovely, spiritual music from the library. I chose two discs of Hildegard Von Bingen, a 12th century musical genius, a German Abbess. She was quite sickly as a child, but seemed to have a rich interior life which was the basis of her music and writings. Right now I’m listening to Vision; The Music of Hildegard Von Bingen, by Richard Souther. This is a jazz interpretation, and I suppose I could say I’m not beside myself with joy over it. So now I’ve switched to Diadema. One account of her life and work says Hildegard was most recently hijacked by the New Age Movement. I’d been listening to some old timey hymns in the car, like Trust and Obey, and What a Friend we have in Jesus. I’m probably not ready for Hildegard, but it is interesting that regardless the age, illness and difficulty seem to have inspired many hymn writers.

Our Lady of Liturgical Abuses

Vox Lauri is a Roman Catholic librarian with a lot of health problems and a quirky sense of humor. After attending Mass at OLLA she stops at a Walgreens to buy hair dye where she encounters "burly man" who sat next to her in church. She tells quite a wild story.

"Around the store all the employees were talking about the fight: burly man tried to stop a shoplifter. I immediately thought that wasn't too bright, as in burly man could have gotten killed to save Walgreen’s the loss of a talking fish plaque or Chia Pet. The police arrived and took a statement, promised to look for the thief; their promise almost like someone asking how you are or wishing you a nice day, trite and expected."

264 A Mother's Peace

We don’t usually stay for Sunday School after worship. However, today our pastor encouraged the congregation at the 8:30 service to stay and hear Rachel Muha talk about God’s peace, and the murder of her 18 year old son, during the Sunday School hour. We are doing a series on the gifts of the Spirit, and today’s topic was Peace, using the passage, Phillipians 4:7, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

We were so blessed by Mrs. Muha’s loving, quiet ways. A tiny woman with a lovely smile who appears to be in her mid-40s, she talked about her two sons, Chris and Brian, their growing up years in a Columbus suburb, their school and activities, and their love for family, church and community. Both went to Franciscan University in Steubenville, OH and that’s where Brian and his roommate were kidnapped and then murdered in Pennsylvania in May 1999. She talked about prayer and the peace God gave her as each horrible detail began to unfold. As the students packed the college chapel to pray for the missing students, Mrs. Muha addressed them and said, “Whoever is responsible for what has happened to Brian and Aaron, and whatever you have done to them, I forgive you.”

She talked about why she had to forgive the three young men, Terrell, Nathan and Brandon, who murdered Brian Muha and Aaron Land. Hers is not a warm, fuzzy, whimpy forgiveness--she says her heart has been shattered and will always be in a million pieces. But she won’t let the devil make her hate. She concluded with the story of the Prodigal Son, and says she prays daily for those young men and hopes that prison will be their path to heaven. She calls them her brothers. They have not yet repented six years later, so she urged us to pray for them also.

There are numerous accounts of this crime and the trial on the internet, but I thought this one, less than a year after Brian’s death, accurately reflected what she told our group.

After the trial, Tony Norman wrote:

“At the heart of the courtroom's luminous drama was Rachel Muha, the mother of Brian. Her gracious speech will reverberate for years in that sad and divided community.

"If you hadn't done this, I would have my Brian and you would have your freedom," she said calmly. "But losing your freedom is not as bad as losing your soul." She then asked Herring to redeem the rest of his years on Earth before blessing him and assuring him she'd pray for him.

Herring had no idea a year ago that he'd ever be confronted by such a woman. Had he known such love in his life, he would've wrestled his partner to the ground. Taking a bullet would've been better than living under the weight of a heartbroken mother's prayers.

Rachel Muha's redemption song has stunned and inspired many people. What the petite woman did in the presence of the tall man who helped kill her son required a bravery beyond what it takes to squeeze the trigger of a gun. What good is hatred? Rachel Muha understands that, sometimes, the language of redemption is the only thing in the whole world that makes any sense.”

A loophole in Ohio's law has caused our Supreme Court to throw out the murder convictions in this brutal case, according to this article and this one, and that loophole has now been closed, but too late for the victim's families.

263 Les Miserables

Cindy Swanson writes about Les Miserables, and her anticipation of using the tickets for the Chicago production given as a birthday gift.

"I absolutely LOVE the music in Les Miserables. I also appreciate the Christian world-view that permeates the play. Grace/mercy versus legalism/justice--it's a pretty classic theme. I love the character of Jean Valjean--he epitomizes a redeemed soul. I think Valjean's lyrics in "What Have I Done?" are a picture of salvation:

"I am reaching, but I fall
And the night is closing in
And I stare into the void
To the whirlpool of my sin
I'll escape now from the world
From the world of Jean Valjean
Jean Valjean is nothing now
Another story must begin!"

Sounds spectacular, Cindy. Hope it met all your expectations. Cindy is a radio announcer and voice-over artist by occupation. She loves to read and write, and can't live a day without music, according to her bio.

262 The Pope is Catholic

Isn't that a surprise! Philip Lawler in today's Wall Street Journal says that the portrait being painted of Benedict XVI by the MSM responding to the secular liberals "is completely at odds with the actual personality of Benedict XVI. In fact, he is a genial, diffident man. Those who meet him for the first time are invariably struck by the humility that camouflages his powerful intellect." He comments that belief in absolute truth gives offense to those who cling to the self-contradictory principle that there are no absolutes. Their real complaint is that the Pope is Catholic. Lawler is editor of Catholic World Report.

As a Protestant (Lutheran) watching all this unfold during the last few weeks with the death of the Pope and selection of the new Pope, I've discovered my inner Catholic. And my high school Latin. I actually want someone in charge! I'd like someone to say, this is right and that is wrong despite what your government or school system or entertainers say. In Protestantism we are constantly thrown from one side of the boat to the other, and we wander from church door to church door looking for truth. We don't take in converts, we get disgruntled transfers seeking different music and jazzy programming. All Protestant denominations have had numerous splits and schisms. Then they regroup and start all over again. I think when the Catholic church caves, we're all in trouble.

I've heard a few Catholic commentators suggest to those Catholics who don't like what the church is doing, to "walk." Well, stay out of our neighborhood--we've got enough problems of our own figuring it out.

261 Good for traveling

On our recent trip to Illinois I brought along Hank Hanegraaff's 4 disc set of Bible questions, The Bible Answer Book and thoroughly enjoyed it. I checked it out of our church library, and at $20 I think it is an excellent buy and would recommend it. One gets tired of talk radio, inane advertisements and loud music on these long trips, so it was very pleasant to listen to his clear and thoughtful explanations of common questions people have about the Bible.

I'm more a book/print person myself, but if the speaker is slow enough and varies his voice, I can get a lot out of it. I recently tried Anne Graham Lotz's "Why; trusting God when you don't understand" which is read, unabridged by the author on 3 discs. However, she reads too fast and there was not enough variation in tone and value to make it an easy listen, so I stopped half way into the first disc.

260 Spitting in the wind

And I'll say it again, anyway. In my reading of Christian authors, the biggest challenge is often finding a clear presentation of the Gospel, and that includes Max Lucado and Rick Warren, two extremely popular Christian writers. Wonderful writers both, but because they know the Gospel so well, they fail to build a foundation for their readers. All Christian writers and publishers can assume that at some point a seeker or an unbeliever will pick up their material, so they shouldn't start with sanctification assuming the reader knows about sin and salvation.

A Prayer for the Unemployed

A young man at another site is going on an interview and has asked the other bloggers for prayer. He didn't leave his e-mail address, and I thought this reply might be unappreciated if posted at that site, so I'll put it here and make a referral. This prayer is taken from "My Prayer Book" published by Concordia in 1957. I've modernized the language a bit.

"Dear Father in Heaven, Giver of all good things, I thank you that you have created me and preserved me to this day. You know my needs and my fears because of my present unemployment. I ask you to comfort and strengthen me, and help me to maintain my hope and courage.

It is clear from your Word that work is normal and good for man, yet I have not found the work which I need and seek. This situation is hard to understand. Help me, Lord, to surrender wholly to you and to look to you for the employment which I need.

I pray Lord, correct what is wrong with me or with the employment situation in general, and give me the opportunity to earn my own bread. Open a door to employment which I do not now see. Keep me from discouragement and bitterness, and help me to put my trust in you.

Help me to say with a believing heart: "The eyes of all wait upon Thee, O Lord, and Thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest Thine hand and satisfiest the desire of every living thing."

In that knowledge and in that faith make me trusting and patient. In the meantime care for me and mine according to your promise. I trust you will do so for the sake of Jesus Christ, my Savior, in whom you have promised to give us all things. Amen."

I used to think it odd that people relied on printed prayers, but I see more and more are being published. I often refer to this little pocket size book and have found it very flexible and scriptural. It even has prayers for various professions (although not librarians). The petitioner expresses his needs and fears and discouragement then asks for a fresh look at the situation, for trust and patience. Unemployment is very wearing on the soul and spirit.

258 Watching the Papal Conclave

CBS News broke into the Dr. Phil Show to allow us to see this historic moment. However, the news speakers just blathered on and on--I couldn't even hear the music. So I turned on Fox News, and got a simple 30 minutes of just the event of the cardinals taking the secrecy oath. I briefly checked CNN and they were chattering too. Eventually, Fox added the voice of a Roman Catholic priest, knowledgeable about the Sistine Chapel, the faith and event who explained the theological and political significance. Then they too succumbed to the "can't have a dead space" disease.

Photo here

You too?

"The music employed by the Church, and used in the bumpers for the coverage [of the Pope's death], which is much different from the Sunday Catholic worship norm. The reason? We are talking about death and resurrection right now. Whatever the virtues of most modern popular Catholic worship music, it is not generally about those subjects."

Seen at Dyspeptic Mutterings

256 Spring Break

Check out one of my paintings and a poem about April at my other blog, Collecting my Thoughts.

Ideas have consequences

One of the things that has disturbed me about the Terri news coverage is that the outrage about the starvation and thirst (even the callous Europeans are horrified), might actually work in favor of the pro-death crowd. Denyse O'Leary writes: "Starting slowly in the early 20th century, but now picking up speed, naturalism has begun to make deep inroads into our culture, including the school systems. And we are seeing the results.

At one time, only unborn children slated for abortion were treated with complete indifference to their possible suffering. Now it could be you. And if you complain that Terri is being treated cruelly, you will be told that a lethal injection would be more humane. In other words, going the whole way of treating all humans as animals would be more humane.

So, even if you are not religious or not socially concerned, but merely selfish, wake up and care."

The whole essay is well worth reading.

254 Lip Service after Easter Services?

On Good Friday, Zach Wendling wrote about why he treasures the services held on that day--services that end in total darkness leaving one with a sense of horror at what has transpired on our behalf, Jesus death on the cross for our sins.

“Before Jesus could overcome sin and death by his glorious resurrection on Sunday, he had to endure that sin and death today. What we will celebrate in two (three?) days is predicated by what happened today, and so it behooves us to mark this day as different. To ignore Good Friday and skip straight to Easter may even have theologically troubling implications. Pride makes us want to ignore our sin and skip straight to the Gospel message of salvation and joy, and appropriately, Easter is a celebration of that salvation. Good Friday, on the other hand, is a stark reminder of why we need Christ, why he died, and how he died.” Zach Wendling In the Agora

In a nutshell, Wendling described why so many sermons with “bumper sticker gospel” fall flat, both for the saints and the ain‘ts. To me they are stuck either on Palm Sunday with happy, relationship themes, or they underscore the law in Paul’s writings with admonitions to go out and do more witnessing, more serving, more stewardship, more good examples, etc. They not only skip over the Resurrection, our hope, the rest of the church year, but ignore what happened on Good Friday.

“Pride makes us want to ignore our sin and skip straight to the Gospel message of salvation and joy.”

Here’s an example of the Gospel of Jesus Christ reworked to be inoffensive. Our church magazine for March has a reprinted interview with Quaker Richard J. Foster, the founder of Renovaré. My first complaint is that his article on prayer is reprinted from The Plain Truth, the organ of a sect that I’m not ready yet to embrace given its founding by Herbert W. Armstrong and the Worldwide Church of God (which has split into many factions since Armstrong‘s death).

I know Foster is considered a wonderful writer, but in this interview the Gospel is just gibberish, an unbeliever would never figure it out and a believer would just be lulled to sleep with all that sweetness and joy. There is no Good Friday. No Easter. Only figuring out through trial and error how to get close to God in prayer--which sounds an awful lot like works to me. It’s not that tough in a two page article to insert a few words about sin and the cross so we have a foundation from which to start. Here’s the cheerleading, bumper sticker gospel to which I object:

“God will not come into certain corners of our lives until we open those corners to him.”

“It is the life relationship, the interaction with God, that changes us.”

“Prayer is one of the means God uses for purifying our motives [to pray?].”

[Through prayer, good, bad, whatever ?] the problems of sin begin to be dealt with in time.”

“A loving relationship with God . . .is a great adventure.”

The name of Jesus does not appear anywhere in the article. Even the Muslim clerk at Meijer’s says, “God bless you” after our chats.

The article did drive me to his website, which is better than this interview--actually mentions Jesus--but still bogs down in relationship chatter. Sort of the ecumenical version of, “do you have a personal relationship with Jesus” to the power of 10.

253 Not only Christians fight for Terri

"Eleanor Smith of Decatur, Georgia, sat on Tuesday in a motorized wheelchair in front of the hospice, baking in the sun, with a sign on her lap reading, "This agnostic liberal says 'Feed Terri."'

Seems she'll take the Christians over the ACLU when it comes to life.

Story here.

252 The gift of helps

In December 2003 I wrote about the Gift of Helps I saw in action while helping a friend recovering from an injury. The story here.

251 Ten myths about Contemporary Christian Music in Worship

I enjoy contemporary Christian music--in my office, in aerobics class and in the car. I’m listening to some right now on an Internet radio station. So does Michael Spencer, the Internet Monk. He’s not too thrilled with some of the mythology concerning its use in worship. He writes a six-pager on this topic, so I’m including just the ten points with highlights of his essay. I think I’ve heard at least eight of them just casually talking to people in the narthex at our church about why they attend a particular service (we have ten, four styles of worship). You can read the whole thing--and it is worth every word and very funny in a serious sort of way--at http://www.internetmonk.com/looney.html From here on, it's all the Monk.

1. Contemporary Praise and Worship music is especially anointed of God. Advocates of P & W have lost the capacity to realize that Christian music companies will say anything to sell product.

2. God has sent contemporary Praise and Worship music to.....
A. Revive the End Times Church before the Rapture. This is patently ridiculous.
B. Break down "religious strongholds" in the church. I think this means that God wants us to act strangely and say it's the Holy Spirit. Loosing a "religious spirit" seems to be Churchspeak for doing something that used to get the ushers on your case.
C. Minister to the special issues of "this generation." "This generation" seems to be a movable term that most often applies to young people willing to fight you to turn the front of the church into a mosh pit.

3. Praise and Worship Music evangelizes without preaching.
Praise and Worship music falls somewhere between pretty good use of Bible texts to complete nonsense. Preaching, when done right, proclaims Christ and how to be saved every time it opens its mouth.

4. Praise and Worship Music brings down the Holy Spirit.
Among systematically goofy theology, this is one of the patriarchs. . . God PROMISES to be present with His people when they gather in His name. Music is completely irrelevant to the intention of God to keep his promises to His people.

5. Praise and Worship music brings a unique experience of God's Glory.
God's glory is a major Biblical theme, and encountering the glory of God would qualify as the greatest trauma a sinful human could experience. The contemporary Praise and Worship crowd apparently believes that Christians are now invited to become like Moses, and experience the glory of God routinely.

6. The overridingly important factor in deciding what church [service] to attend is MUSIC. [I]t's clear that church government, leadership, the sacraments, preaching, teaching, discipleship, doctrine and church support of the family are all areas where scripture gives some guidance of importance to any of us who are picking a church. Yet, I am not aware of any way to read the Bible that places music in such an important place in church life.

7. People worship better with contemporary Praise and Worship music. How lame is it to say that a mini-concert with hand motions is "worship" and everything else is what we did before, after or instead of "worship"? Since when do we worship "better" based on whether we are singing "A Mighty Fortress" with piano or "Shout to the Lord" with a band? Do these people have any idea what worship is anyway?

8. Contemporary Praise and Worship music is used by the Holy Spirit to bypass the mind and go directly into the human spirit where real change can occur. I feel dirty typing such an absurd sentence . . . This kind of kookicity seems to come from the spiritual warfare camp, where tales of doing an end run on the devil by slipping in through music are pretty common.

9. Contemporary Praise and Worship Music is taking music away from the devil and using it for God. Theology at work here: giving the devil credit for the appeal of the larger culture, especially music, and then sending the church on a mission to raid the pantry.

10. Using contemporary Praise and Worship Music is necessary for a church growth breakthrough. If growth occurs, we ought to be able to say with Luther, "The Word did it all!"

250 A great old hymn

Rebecca in the cold Yukon points us to a warm place in our hymn memory, O sacred head now wounded. Good Friday is not a day for those happy/clappy choruses we hear so often these days in church.

And I think of Terri.

My Savior, be now near her when death is at her door;
Then let your presence cheer her, forsake her nevermore!
When soul and body languish, oh, leave her not alone,
But take away her anguish by virtue of your own!

Note: The English was translated from the German which was probably translated from Old French or Latin, so a few adjustments didn't seem out of place for 21st century American English.

249 Jesus died for Michael Schiavo

For this topic, I'm referring you to my other blog, where it was posted yesterday (it gets 5 times the hits as this blog). Most observers agree that the moral thing to do would be for Michael to turn Terri over to her family. However, experts on federalism, states rights, neurology, palative care, right to die, right to live, and rights for the disabled are all over the map on this one causing huge rifts among people who would normally be standing together. Speculation on why Michael won't do the moral thing has caused screaming, vituperative fits of text and video, and even Christians are taking opposite sides. Time to reflect. Jesus died for Michael.

248 Thanks, but I'll pass

Today we received an invitation from an area church that is planning a forum to "explore moral issues grounded in individual internal consistency rather than any political party or ideological position." The church is responding "to the deep divisions regarding moral values that came to a head in the last election cycle."

On the playbill are a retired Lutheran theologian; an official of Stonewall Columbus; an official of the local and national ACLU; an advisor for health policy at OSU; a former judge; someone from the office of public defenders; a doctor; a professor of health services management; a professor of history; a a former counsel for the ACLU.

Hmm. Grounded in individual internal consistency. Not grounded in Biblical faith or understanding. Many Democrats followed their belief core on life and crossed party lines. Many Republicans, likewise saw the war as a serious moral lapse, and voted outside the party. Is this forum suggesting they should've voted the party instead of beliefs?

The issues on the list are incredibly important. Why shouldn't we be divided? Do they plan to dialogue for 15 minutes about abortion and stem cell research and move to break-out groups thinking we'll come to a consensus on a Spring Sunday afternoon with snacks and child care?

This Easter, the Passion of Terri Schiavo

"This year it would seem we are to approach Eastertide through the passion play of Terri Schiavo. Now the new culture of technology and disposability vs. the old culture of loyalty and love is put on upon our video stage for what may only be a two-week run before death brings down the curtain. The ultimate end of the play -- two weeks or twenty years -- is not in doubt. No matter. Its resolution it is already that of a vast cultural tragedy. Performed by the Shiavos, the courts, the media, the congress, it was written by all of us day by day over several generations that only wanted one thing -- more. Seen for what it is, it sickens all of us as it should. It is only proper that we now be forced to watch what we have made. . .

This previously private but now national drama reminds us -- as things magnified by our relentless media often do -- that one of the crucial questions of our blighted age is whether or not we are correct in regarding human life as something which is, under the proper conditions and self-ascribed definitions, something that really is "disposable" whenever it becomes inconvenient? And in our answer to this, whatever it may be, we shall learn very little about Terri Schiavo but a great deal about ourselves." American Digest