Posted on by Kurt Bodling

precision talk about God

Note:
A former Lutheran pastor now converted to Catholicism writes about a similarity between the two traditions: they “do theology alike.” Particularly, both bodies put a high premium on the words they use in official documents. The theological task – thinking, writing, speaking about God – needs to be done with care and precision.

Quote:
“What impressed me was how close Lutherans and Catholics really are in basic doctrines and in the respective theological formulations. We ― Romans and Lutherans ― do theology alike, and possibly in a way nobody else does. We pay close attention to our words. Each word is weighed and compared to alternative words that might be used but pose less precision. Precision in wording, it seems, will keep us out of theological hell, and if the exact words aren’t the exactly proper words placed in the exact proper order, well, do not doubt it, we are all certainly doomed.

“When you think about it, it’s actually a pretty charming approach. It also means that when Lutherans and Catholics do sit down together, they have a common language and speaking it together often results in surprising outcomes, as in 1999 with the doctrine of justification.”

Source:

Russell E. Saltzman,”Former Lutheran Pastor: ‘Why I Am Becoming Catholic …’.” viewed online on the Aleteia website < viewed 18 March 2016 > at:
http://aleteia.org/2016/03/18/former-lutheran-pastor-why-i-am-becoming-catholic/

Posted on by Kurt Bodling

keeping on

Note:
Thomas mentions a series of activities, spiritual activities, that he wants his reader to persist in. Perseverance in “writing, reading, singing, lamenting, keeping silence and praying” will eventually bring a reward to the believing disciple: peace everlasting.

[Side note: at the end of my Lutheran school 6th grade, we were each assigned a topic for a one minute ‘speech’ we were to deliver at graduation. My topic was “perseverance.” I’ve wondered over the years whether my teacher was signalling that this was something he thought I needed to learn about.]

Quote:
“Continue on with what you are doing; labor perseveringly in My vineyard, and I Myself will be your reward. Continue your writing, reading, singing, lamenting, keeping silence and praying, and bearing your troubles bravely; for eternal life is worth all these combats and more.

“Peace shall come at a time known only to the Lord. And it will not last a day or a night as we calculate time; there will be light everlasting, infinite glory, unbroken peace and undisturbed rest.”

Imitatio Christi, Book 3, chapter 47, paragraph 2

Source: Thomas à Kempis. The Imitation of Christ: in Four Books. Newly ed. by Clare L. Fitzpatrick. NY: Catholic Book Publishing Co., 1993.

Posted on by Kurt Bodling

theologians must pray

Note:
Cardinal Dulles says theologians must pray. It would seem like a ‘no brainer,’ but I’d bet he knew of some theologians who said they didn’t. Or maybe it was his way of saying that theologians can’t only be book-learning head-knowledge people.

Quote:
“So the theologian must participate in the prayer life of the church and be a praying person himself or herself in order to think the thoughts of God, as we theologians try to do. A theologian who does not pray could hardly be a good theologian.” [emphasis added]

Source: Dulles, Avery Cardinal. “Reason, Faith and Theology.” Interviewer: James Martin, SJ.  America. 5 March 2001 issue. Viewed online 12 December 2015.

Posted on by Kurt Bodling

turn to the contemplative

Note:
John Burroughs, certainly no Christian, notices that as we grow older, we naturally pull back from the noise of society and turn more toward things of lasting value. That is, we become more contemplative the more we mature. This reminded me of something I read recently in Falling Upwards a book by Richard Rohr where he talks about ways in which the spirituality of attentive Christians changes as we age.

Quote:
“The longer I live the more my mind dwells upon the beauty and the wonder of the world. I hardly know which feeling leads, wonderment or admiration. After a man has passed the psalmist’s dead line of seventy years, as Dr. Holmes called it, if he is of a certain temperament, he becomes more and more detached from the noise and turmoil of the times in which he lives. The passing hubbub in the street attract him less and less; more and more he turns to the permanent, the fundamental, the everlasting. More and more he is impressed with life and nature themselves, and the beauty and grandeur of the voyage we are making on this planet. The burning questions and issues of the hour are for the new generations, in whom life also burns intensely.” (vol. 15, p. 1)

Source: Burroughs, John. “The Summit of Years” in Volume 15 of The Writings of John Burroughs. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1913.

Posted on by Kurt Bodling

simplicity a safeguard

Note:
Yes, of course, evangelical poverty and evangelical simplicity are looked upon as stupid eccentricities (at worst) or reserved only for the holiest (at best). But that doesn’t mean that followers of Jesus should skip over them. The aims of simplicity are aims of love, Maundy Thursday aims. Surely these are on-going processes in which there is always one more next step to take. And the aims are easier to reach when we don’t have inordinate attachments to stuff.

Quote:
“What has happened to the Franciscan or Buddhist ideal of the rich person who voluntarily becomes poor? Who lauds the one who sets aside life’s complicating muchness for a heart more devotedly and simply given to life’s truly satisfying values? Sad to say, such thinking is relegated by most to the spiritually bizarre edge of cultural appreciation.

“Courageously we need to articulate new and more humane ways to live. The spiritual discipline of simplicity has been a recurrent vision throughout history. It doesn’t need to remain a lost dream; it can be recaptured. In this case, why should not that which can be, be?

“The spiritual discipline of simplicity may be the only safeguard that can sufficiently reorient our lives so that possessions can be genuinely enjoyed without their destroying us.

“A changed life-style in the direction of simplicity is a faithful witness to a better way to live at peace.” (p. 135)

Source: Sager, Allan H. Gospel Centered Spirituality: An Introduction to our Spiritual Journey. Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1990.

Posted on by Kurt Bodling

formative reading

Note:
What Sager calls “formative reading” is what we would call lectio divina. It isn’t our regular mode of reading (see the first paragraph below). It is slower; receptive rather than acquisitive; meditative rather than argumentative. It seems that so, so many of our reading experiences are, instead, either merely for entertainment or mostly to ferret out where the other guy is wrong so that we can triumphantly correct him. That’s not lectio. Even when we say that we are reading to learn, aren’t we usually in a disputatio mode? What could we learn if we were truly open to the text before us?

Quote:
“Formative reading is the kind of reading that nourishes the life of the spirit. Contrast that with other more typical approaches to reading. Often our approach is informational as we look for ideas and facts to enlighten the mind. Or our approach may be recreational as we just relax and enjoy the story line. At times our approach may be literary as we appreciate or analyze the text for its intrinsic quality and attributes. Or again, our approach may be exegetical when we try to understand the ancient text in its “there and then” meaning.

“Formative reading is slowed down and reflective. It is inspirational rather than informational, and more qualitative than quantitative.

“Formative reading calls for an attitude of receptivity, the grace of appreciation, and participatory engagement.

“The chief requirement of formative reading is to move from a mainly argumentative, rationalistic fault-finding mentality to an appreciative, meditative, confirming mood. We are called to move past challenging or rebuffing the text to a savoring of its timeless values. We are called to listen with inner ears of faith to what God may be saying or doing.

“Formative reading calls for a posture of docility and humility as we accept the gift of enlightenment coming from beyond our control. We expect not only to be touched by what is read, but transformed by it.” (p. 101)

Source: Sager, Allan H. Gospel Centered Spirituality: An Introduction to our Spiritual Journey. Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1990.

Posted on by Kurt Bodling

Jesus prayed in solitude

Note:
Wanting to be like Jesus also means wanting to spend time in solitude and prayer. There’s a place for action, but only after contemplative sitting. The latter needs to be a priority.

Quote:
“Solitude and prayer-time alone were important to Jesus. Why is it, I wonder, that we seem more ready to follow Jesus into service than into solitude? Especially before important decisions were to be made, the Bible shows that Jesus took time to be alone with his Father and to reflect before deciding to move to another locale for ministry, before choosing the disciples, before embracing the cross.” (p. 96)

Source: Sager, Allan H. Gospel Centered Spirituality: An Introduction to our Spiritual Journey. Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1990.

Posted on by Kurt Bodling

suffering obedience

Note:
We may say we want to ‘be like Christ’ or to ‘follow Jesus.’ But saying that we often forget that Jesus is always the Suffering Servant. It’s simple: We want to be like Jesus; Jesus suffered; therefore we will suffer. We won’t necessarily suffer to the point of the cross, but we can’t avoid some amount of suffering in this world so out of whack with what God wants.

Quote:
“Christ is the measure of all things for our faith and for our obedience. What characterizes this obedience of Christ and makes it a mark of his messianic quality, as well as an example for his disciples, is not the external performance of good works, which the Pharisees also practiced, but his patient suffering. On this point the evangelists and the other writers of the New Testament are in full agreement. Obedience under the authority of Christ is first and foremost suffering obedience. The ethos of the Sermon on the Mount is first and foremost suffering obedience.” (p. 248)

Source: Elert, Werner. The Christian Ethos. Philadelphia: Muhlenberg Press, 1957.

Posted on by Kurt Bodling

motivations for our obedience

Note:
The difference between motivations based in the Law and motivations based in the Gospel is clear. The one is compulsion, the other is freedom. The one arises from fear, the other from love. The one from threats, the other from acceptance.

Quote:
“Obedience under the authority of Christ differs, therefore, from obedience under the law. The law as a law of retribution compels obedience because it offers hopes of reward and the threat of punishment. Motivation springs from a desire for self-preservation. Obedience under Christ’s authority, on the other hand, includes renunciation to the point of sacrifice of self. It is not enough to serve isolated commands, we must fit ourselves into the law of life of him who is the measure of all things. That requires faith, unconditional confidence in his person and his divine authorization.” (p. 248)

Source: Elert, Werner. The Christian Ethos. Philadelphia: Muhlenberg Press, 1957.

Posted on by Kurt Bodling

what God wants of us

Note:
A perennial question among (some) Christians is about what is God’s will for our lives, what God wants us to do. In real practical terms. Things like: Should I go to this school or that? Major in this or that? Take this job or not? Marry which person? Buy this car or house, or that one?

Werner Elert explains that — based on what Jesus said in the Gospels (which should carry great authority for His followers) — maybe it just doesn’t matter so much to God. Those kinds of specific answers, those tasks, all that is small potatoes in the Christian life. What matters to the Father, what Jesus tells us, what the Spirit whispers in our ears is that we need to love God and love our neighbor. The specifics we aren’t going to get. We don’t need them. And we absolutely don’t need to stress over them.

Quote:
“If we expect the Lord and Master to assign a definite list of tasks to us, we shall be disappointed. Obedience is usually felt as compulsion. Many experience it as a welcome compulsion which gives them the feeling that they are secured in a stronger will and relieves them of the odious necessity of making their own decisions. However, the quest for particular assignments in specific situations is futile under the authority of Christ. In economic distress or national emergencies we often receive puzzling replies to our questions — How many calories? What shall we eat? What shall we wear? Christ answers: ‘Look at the birds of the air.’ That is unfortunately not the kind of exact answer we want. When I ask where to find shelter, his answer is, ‘The Son of man has not where to lay his head.’ Guidance in legal difficulties? ‘Man, who has made me a judge or divider over you?’ Advice in tax matters? ‘Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.’ ‘Entirely unnecessary,’ says Jesus, whether I should attend a funeral, even though not attending would be socially impossible. It even appears that Jesus mocks the weather forecasters. [Matt. 16:2] If an individual with strong needs of dependency chooses ‘obedience toward Christ’ as a means of receiving specific directions which will relieve him of personal decisions and planning, he will be sadly disappointed.” (p. 251)

Source: Elert, Werner. The Christian Ethos. Philadelphia: Muhlenberg Press, 1957.