Monday, December 27th
Sunday at Bethel (again)
Once again I filled in at Bethel Presbyterian as a guest pianist. I always feel a bit strange doing that because I am filling in for an organist- and a piano will never be an organ. However I did get a comment that made me feel quite good- that the congregation has a tendency to drag but they did not when I play. Perhaps the piano is easier to follow rhythmically than an organ?
One thing that was fun was that Mike Farrington was there as a guest vocalist. Mike went to the church several years ago but left to study theology and become a Baptist pastor. I figured the odds that I'd ever see him again were slim to none. Mike asked me to accompany him for special music about seven years ago which was the first time I played at Bethel. At that time he sang an oratorio from Mendelssohn's Elijah, which is one of my favorite classical pieces. But yesterday he sang very different tunes. He sang I Wonder as I Wander and In the Bleak Midwinter while accompanying himself with an acoustic guitar. He's changed his style!
In the Bleak Midwinter is a song I'm going to have to add to my repetoire for next Christmas. Here is the best verse:
What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.
Bethel has a new pastor. I was sad that Marion wasn't preaching because I always really enjoy her sermons. But Jerry wasn't bad. He seemed more "stylized" to me- in a way that fit the church. That's fine for that church of course. I'm used to a different tradition and so it took a while for me to "get into" his message. But the message was great. It was a message of Jesus being born as the prince of peace into a world that was and is desperately violent. Jesus' birth was accompanied by the heavenly armies who proclaimed peace rather than war. He was born in the Roman Empire in a time that was known as the Pax Romana (Roman Peace) but whose peace was achieved by Augustus Caesar killing thousands who disagreed with him. Jesus peace is a different kind of peace.
Jerry also quoted a sad statistic that he had seen. A group of people were asked what they would wish for if they could have anything. 38% said "to win the lottery." Only 1% said "world peace."
The bulletin was headed by the following quotes:
Emotional peace and calm come after doing God's will and not before.
Erwin W. Lutzer (1941-)
First keep the peace within yourself, then you can also bring peace to others.
Thomas A. Kempis (c. 1380-1471)
If there is righteousness in the heart, there will be beautiy in the character.
If there is beauty in the character, there will be harmony in the home.
If there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the nation.
If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world.
Chinese Proverb
The rest of the day was a lot of fun. I managed to complete a multisampled instrument definition using Soundbridge that I loaded to my Alesis synthesizer. It is a recording of my voice saying "I love Nancy." I had previously created an instrument using only one sample. This didn't work so well because the synthesizer stretched the time as well as the pitch so that in the upper octaves the words were coming out so fast that you couldn't understand them. So I used Sonar to stretch only the pitch and leave the timing intact.
Then Nancy and I took the bus to Graceland shopping center to grocery shop at Kroger's. Before we did this we walked to 5/3 bank on High St. Nancy is incredible! Less than two years ago she could barely walk without a cane and now she is bounding over snowbanks and icebanks so quickly that I had to struggle to keep up with her.
Living without a car is actually a lot of fun!
:jester:
Sunday, December 26th
A Clintonville Christmas
So two Thursdays ago Central Vineyard had it's neighborhood Christmas party. It seems that we took nearly 70 pictures with Santa, including one with our dogs: Molly and Kalayo. Molly was terrified, but Kalayo kept trying to give Santa a kiss! I thought all the music went really well. I got a chance to play some jazzy Christmas stuff while John McCollum sang and that was a lot of fun.
It has only been one week since we moved into our Clintonville home. As I was carrying stuff in from the car, a woman came by walking her dog. She asked me if I was the new mailman, because she had heard that I was moving into the neighborhood. When she heard that I was, she invited us to a Christmas party that she was having at her home just two doors down. Despite feeling very tired, Nancy and I both felt like we really wanted to go. We are so glad that we did! We actually ended up spending well over an hour there. Interestingly a mailman that I work with also came to the party. He was surprised to see me there, of course, and asked, "What are you doing here?" I told him I just moved in two doors down, and he thought I was joking! (haha) Nancy ended up talking with our neighbors from three doors down the other way and getting to know them better. I had a conversation with the man across the street, who seems very interested in urban planning. He had quite a bit to say about the way Columbus plans (or fails to plan rather) various endeavors, especially mass transit. We got on that subject because I told him that I was planning on riding the bus to and from work daily.
Christmas 2004 is our first Christmas in our very own Clintonville home! Nancy is so excited, and so am I. I really blew it by forgetting to get Nancy anything for Christmas- which is a pretty big blunder if you think about it. It caused me to be depressed for part of Christmas and to sleep through conversations that I really should have been participating in. But I was awake enough for the wonderful breakfast that Nancy cooked for all of us. By "all of us," I mean all of our three children and our daughter's husband Robbie. It is wonderful to have a home big enough for this project. Nancy made a breakfast casserole which had vegetarian sausage in it. Anya, who can be quite the picky eater, was surprised to find out that the meal was entirely vegetarian.
Nancy's gifts to me were, of course, perfect. She got me a sweater and a pullover shirt to wear in lieu of my usual flannel shirts. She says that I look ten times younger than I did which I guess is a good thing. It isn't good to be too mature, of course. She also got me The Passion of the Christ and an ethnic-looking hat from Byzantium. My sister Marilyn got me a copy of The Politics of Jesus by John Howard Yoder- a bit of a project to find since it isn't the sort of book one can find in the bookstores.
In the evening Nancy understandably didn't feel like fixing dinner so we did something that we often do for Christmas dinner- we went out and ate Chinese. It made me wonder exactly how many billions of dollars the movie The Christmas Story has generated for the Chinese restaurant business on Christmas day. It was a blast walking down to the Chinese buffet from Clinton Heights. I thought the food was pretty good, but Nancy, who is vegetarian, thought that everything tasted like fish. Likely the food is all fried in the same frier and the various foods manage to all rub off on each other. So we will have to find another restaurant to go to in time for next Christmas. Also I heard that The Christmas Story is playing at 11 P. M. tonight at Studio 35. If I'm still up by then, maybe Nancy and I will go check it out.
After we were done with dinner, we took the bus back up to Clinton Heights. This was good because on the way back to Clinton Heights we would have been walking with our backs to the traffic. We had so much fun walking and riding the bus!
It is such a peaceful home that Nancy has set up for us here in Clintonville. God is certainly answering my prayers that our home would be a place of peace. We listen to the classical radio station while eating meals and it is just wonderful. Once they played the Bach tune that my brother used to sing:
Ah, the memories of our families! I hope we create many more here in Clintonville.
Tuesday, December 21st
Repenting from the love of money II
So, the saying keeps coming to my mind: "a rich person is not the one who has the most, but is one who needs the least." This being the case, what is it that I really need? Now that we've moved to a bus line, do I really need a car any more? I suppose the answer to that question depends on what I "need" to do.
It's so easy to confuse those things that we "want" to do with the things that we "need" to do.
Speaking of Clintonville, we are pretty well entrenched here now. I'm delivering route 217 and live on the first hour of the route. As I was moving stuff in Saturday, a neighbor who happened to be walking by asked me if I was the mailman. Obviously, somebody had clued her in that I was moving onto the route. When I answered in the affirmative, she invited me and my wife to a party at her house- which happened to be only two doors down from where we live. While I was there I saw some recently aquired aquaintances as well as meeting some new ones. Interestingly, one of the mailmen that I work with was at the party. He lives only a few streets down. He was evidently surprised to see me: asking, "What are you doing here?" I told him that I had moved in a couple doors down. He nodded and moved on to mingle. A few minutes later we ran into each other and he told me, "Oh, you were serious!" Apparently he thought I was joking.
Nancy had a great time too. This tells me that we made a good move. Nancy loves parties, but not the type where there are a lot of phoniness and pretention. She is a really good judge of genuineness, and it seems to be in evidence in Clintonville.
:coorie:
Wednesday, December 15th
Repenting from the love of money
So in my e-mail today was a newsletter from Sojourners with a link to buynothingchristmas.org, which is a really interesting concept. Coincidentally, today I was thinking about my own love of money that I have been struggling with for the past year or two. I could say that I've been struggling with it my whole life, but that wouldn't be true. For most of my life I've thoroughly embraced the love of money, even reveled in it. Unfortunately, there is precious little in the world or in the church which discourages the love of money. Christmas is certainly no help.
I remember a Christmas a long time ago when I had just become aware that children got stuff on Christmas day. At that time I thought that Santa brought the stuff and I remember the great anticipation that I had. I also remember being really disappointed in the amout of stuff that Santa brought. I was so looking forward to the mountains of toys he would bring me, and he only brought one (!?)
Well, at least that's the way I remember it.
It was only a year or so ago that I realized that one way I rewarded myself was to go out and buy something each week that was just for me. It didn't have to be anything large or expensive- maybe only a $5 or $10 doodad- but it was a pattern that revealed an inner love of money that is really pretty ugly. It began a process of God shining a light into a dark place in my life- and my not having any place to run from the light.
Monday, December 13th
Voter Fraud in 2004?
So the internet is full of reports of all the voter fraud that we have had in Ohio as well as other "battleground states." I have to admit I wondered. My experience with the Secretary of State's website not logging any votes at all for my candidate in Franklin County made me pretty sure that my vote hadn't been counted. However at last reckoning, Joe Shriner got 7 votes in Franklin County. Which makes me pretty sure that my vote did in fact get counted.
It looks to me that what people are calling "fraud" is really just the reality of what happens when you have human beings involved in any system. No system is perfect. The voter turnout in this election taxed the system to the max and exposed all of the problems.
It's fun kicking around conspiracy theories, but I just can't buy it in the case of this election. A conspiracy to fix this election would be just ridiculously humongous. It couldn't be hid.
Some people have made a great deal out of the fact that there is a clear pattern of more voting machines going to precincts that tend to vote Republican. Though the evidence seems clear that this was the case, I doubt that one could call it fraud. I imagine that it is a pattern developed over many years of voting. They say that the squeaky wheel gets the grease and those who are finanacially better off tend to have the means to squeak louder.
:compute:
Friday, December 10th
George Lakoff and political metaphors
George Lakoff is a linguist with an interest in politics. He has suggested that conservatives and liberals agree in that they see the nation metaphorically as a large family. However conservatives and liberals disagree in the way that they see this family. Conservatives see the family as ideally following the "strict father" model (this is Lakoff's terminology.) Liberals see the family as ideally following the "nurturing family" model (again this is Lakoff's terminology.)
This is a very interesting idea which should feed some thought for Christians. What does it mean if most Christians are conservative? Do they see Father God as a strict father?
Lakoff's ideas of metaphors also parallel Pournell's idea of two political axes, rather than one axis. In Pournell's system, one axis is whether government is basically a good idea or a bad idea. The other axis is whether humans are essentially rational, or irrational. Lakoff parallels this by claiming that both liberals and conservatives agree that government is a good thing. They disagree as to the purpose of government (and this purpose can vary depending on whether you think that people are essentially rational or irrational.
But I wonder: if the metaphor on one end of the government axis is "the nation is a family," what is the appropriate metaphor for those who think that government is essentially a bad idea? People who think this form a small minority of people: they include anarchists and extreme libertarians.
Some Christian anarchists have suggested that John's picture of the beast that rises from the sea in Revelation 13 is a good picture of the state (or human government in general.) Perhaps this would be a good metaphor to juxtapose against Lakoff's metaphor of the nation as a family.
:duel:
Tuesday, December 7th
The Fundagelical Church
I found this interesting blog at:
http://www.christianforums.com/printthread.php?t=106530
by Rocinante:
My experience in the FundaGelical Charismatic churches was never comfortable. Although I did hold posts of leadership, the Religious Right politics were a pervasive part of that environment. It was almost impossible to talk current events without getting into an argument...
...What I came to realize about them was that they were mostly people of extremely low self-esteem (even the leaders) and one of their primary motivations in being FundaGelical was to bolster that sense of unworthiness.
FundaGelicalism agreed with them that they were vile and horrible creatures (validated their low opinion of themselves) but then told them that (with Jesus) they were suddenly above all others who believed differently.
This protected them from the pain of personal growth (pain of dealing with their problems and finding self-esteem).
It also allowed them to leap ahead to moral superiority over others without ever dealing with their personal problems. For addicts, it provided a new addiction that gave them an effective way to medicate pain without the negative consequences of drugs- plus giving them a staunch, almost militant support group...
...This is what I learned from many years of trying to work within that system. It was a waste of time because the pathology is so solid. Unhealthy needs are being met in an unhealthy way. The dream of a quick and easy solution to life has been found.
The FundaGelical Bunker is a comfortable refuge in groupthink of massive preportions. It is junk food for the starving: fast food for those too troubled to defer gratification and find real solutions.
I find the quote interesing because it so paralleled my experiences in the fundagelical church. I like the phrase "never comfortable." That is not to say that there were not good times in the fundagelical church, or that everybody there was a religious addict. But even in the best of times, with the best of people, I was never comfortable. And that makes me wonder: is anybody truly comfortable in a church like this? Or do they just pretend to be?
Sunday, December 5th
Advent 2004
We are now into December and "it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas." But before Christmas comes Advent.
How does one greet others for Advent? "Happy Advent!" doesn't sound right. I only know of one Advent song and it goes like this:
O come o come Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
Who mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Isn't it a bit incongruous that everybody is full of joy and celebratory during the Advent season? It is supposed to be a season of reflection of our deep need for Messiah to come. It should also be a reminder that this world is not our home- at least not our permanent home.
As I think about the first advent of Jesus, I am reminded that He came to save His people from their sins. That is a concept that seems all but lost. There are many in the church that seem to be obsessed with the idea that Jesus came to save people from hell. Jesus seemed much less focused on this idea though than the idea that those who follow Him should stop sinning. Advent 2004 should be a great time to sell the idea that we need to be saved from our sins. With twelve step programs abounding, people seem more aware than ever that there is a sickness in the human soul that is self destructive. Perhaps people have always been aware of this, but the overriding concept of hell in the question "are you saved" has confused the issue. When the guard asked Paul and Silas "what must I do to be saved," was he thinking more of being saved from hell or of being saved from his sins?
Wednesday, December 1st
Can we make history?
At times I have wondered about the wisdom of bidding on my new Clintonville mail route. It is certainly a much harder route than my old one. In time, of course, I am adjusting and seeing many personal benefits to making the change.
But yesterday I heard about an unforseen consequence of my move. There is a woman at Northwest Station (my old station) that has had many health problems and has been looking to get a steady route that fits her particular physical limitations. She got such a route as a result of my bidding to Clintonville. Someone at Northwest bid on my old route, and then this woman got his route.
Had I planned on anything like this happening? Of course not. But I'm overjoyed that things work out this way.
This seems like a little thing- perhaps inconsequential. But it reminded me of a John Howard Yoder quote from his book The Politics of Jesus that I thought was quite interesting. The context of the passage makes one think of the "big things," but it applies even to tiny events like my bidding to a different mail route. I had only considered the negative connotations of the passage- it speaks of our basic inability to manage history. But the positive side of our inability to manage history is that it proves that God really is in control after all, and somehow uses every decision we make to work His will in history. This being the case; is it possible that our agonizing over decisions that we see as crucial life decisions is pretentious? :rolleyes2:
Here is the quote:
One way to characterize thinking about social ethics in our time is to say that Christians in our age are obsessed with the meaning and direction of history. Social ethical concern is moved by a deep desire to make things move in the right direction. Whether a given action is right or not seems to be inseparable from the question of what effects it will cause. Thus part if not all of social concern has to do with looking for the right "handle" by which one can "get a hold on" the course of history and move it in the right direction.
...Whichever the favored "handle" may be, the structure of this approach is logically the same. One seeks to lift up one focal point in the midst of the course of human relations, one thread of meaning and causality whcih is more important than individual persons, their lives and well-being, because it in itself determines wherein their well-being consists. Therefore it is justified to sacrifice to this one "cause" other subordinate values, including the life and welfare of one's self, one's neighbor, and (of course!) of the enemy. We pull this one strategic thread in order to save the whole fabric...
...If we look more analytically at this way of deriving social and political ethics from an overview of the course of history and the choice of the thread within history that is thought to be the most powerful, we find that it involves at least three distinguishable assumptions.
1. It is assumed that the relationship of cause and effect is visible, understandable, and manageable, so that if we make our choices on the basis of how we hope society will be moved, it will be moved in that direction.
2. It is assumed that we are adequately informed to be able to set for ourselves and for all society the goal toward which we seek to move it.
3. Interlocked with these two assumptions and dependent upon them for its applicability is the further postulate that effectiveness in moving toward these goals which have been set is itself a moral yardstick.
If we look critically at these assumptions we discover that they are by no means as self-evident as they seem to be at first. There is for one thing the phenomenon Reinhold Niebuhr has called "irony": that when people try to manage history, it almost always turns out to have taken another direction than that in which they thought they were guiding it. This may mean that we are not morally qualified to set the goals toward which we would move history. At least it must mean that we are not capable of discerning and managing its course when there are in the same theater of operation a host of other free agents, each of them in their own way also acting under the same assumptions as to their capacity to move history in their direction. Thus even apart from other more spiritual considerations, the strategic calculus is subject to a very serious internal question. It has yet to be demonstrated that history can be moved in the direction in which one claims the duty to cause it to go.
The other question we must raise at the outset about the logic of the "strategic" attitude towards ethical decisions is its acceptance of effectiveness itself as a goal. Even if we know how effectiveness is to be measured- that is, even if we could get a clear definition of the goal we are trying to reach and how to ascertain whether we had reached it- is there not in Christ's teaching on meekness, or in the attitude of Jesus toward power and servanthood, a deeper question being raised about whether it is our business at all to guide our action by the course we wish history to take?
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