We change our understanding of Bible and theology as we gain more experience. The Lutheran congregation where I grew up was pietistic and fundamentalist. I trembled as I approached the altar for communion. There was no doubt that God created the world in seven, twenty-four hour days, and that heaven was up and [...]]]> Dear Friends,

We change our understanding of Bible and theology as we gain more experience. The Lutheran congregation where I grew up was pietistic and fundamentalist. I trembled as I approached the altar for communion. There was no doubt that God created the world in seven, twenty-four hour days, and that heaven was up and hell was down. In seminary, the theology professor relied on Franz Pieper’s four volume Christian Dogmatics which seemed rigid and dogmatic. But, I did my best to articulate the traditional teachings at the mission congregation in Maine.

Then came a longish period when Bible and theology seemed largely irrelevant to larger societal events. Neither gave clear, detailed, policy answers to the pressing problems of racism, sexism, homophobia and the great social issues of the day whereas it was very clear that people counted and their pain was real. In the early 1970s Black, Latin American liberation theology and emerging feminist theology provided new hope because they talked about empowerment for the neglected and the alleviation of their suffering. But, these views were mostly marginalized in seminaries and congregations.

Subsequently, I came to view many of the texts as evocative metaphors rather than literal events, stories of faith, not history, and the Bible became more relevant again. For example, biblical scholars think the resurrection story is more an affirmation that life is stronger than death than a literal description of Jesus physically rising from the dead.

Take another example: heaven. If Jesus ascended into heaven on Ascension Day, exactly where “up there” is that from the viewpoint of a round planet? Jon Meacham’s “Heaven Can’t Wait: Why rethinking the hereafter could make the world a better place” argues that for many people, especially in the affluent West, notions of heaven are changing (Time, April 16).

He writes that scholarly definitions have shifted from pie-in-the-sky-bye-and-bye to a “redefinition of heaven as a manifestation of God’s love on earth. . . . Heaven thus becomes, for now, the reality one creates in the service of the poor, the sick, the enslaved, the oppressed. It is not paradise in the sky, but acts of selflessness and love that bring God’s sacred space and grace to a broken world suffused with tragedy until … the unknown hour when the world we struggle to piece together is made whole again.” This view doesn’t deny an afterlife, but emphasizes the here instead of the hereafter; emphasizes creating as much heaven on earth as possible, now.

What if we, nonetheless, need magical, non-empirical, thinking to cope with life’s challenges. A Scientific American article (Oct.19, 2010), suggests that magical thinking works for some people, e.g. if you think a golf ball is lucky, you are likely to do better on the course. Perhaps we do need a certain amount of magical religious thinking, e.g. the idea that God has a specific plan for our individual lives, or that when I talk to my deceased father, he can hear me. I don’t know whether he can or not, but I hear him because his voice is inside me.

Bottom line? Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly, not only with your God, but your ideas of God. But, keep walking on “The Way” (as Christianity was first called).

Peace,
Pastor Hoehn

One of the loveliest, recent, songs in our hymnal begins “I was there to hear your borning cry, I’ll be there when you are old.” Who is the “I”? Sung in church, the “I” is double – the “I” who is “God,” and the “I” who are the singers, the congregation, you and [...]]]> Dear Friends,

One of the loveliest, recent, songs in our hymnal begins “I was there to hear your borning cry, I’ll be there when you are old.” Who is the “I”? Sung in church, the “I” is double – the “I” who is “God,” and the “I” who are the singers, the congregation, you and me – us.

The song traces a lifetime, through childhood, middle age, and when “you shut your weary eyes, I’ll be there as I have always been.” It’s sometimes sung at a baptism, but it could, with changes, be sung at a bat mitzvah, or even a funeral. In order fully to appreciate the song, you need to sing the rich lilting melody as part of the many voices of a congregation, even as fully to appreciate the “Kyrie” in Bach’s B Minor Mass, you need to hear, or better yet, sing it in the midst of a chorus of mixed voices.

The congregation, with all its limitations and shortcomings, is present at birth and will be there through all those stages of the newborn’s life. Some members will go, others will come. But, the congregation as a social community (i.e. religious polis) will be there continuously through the infant’s life.

Thus, we sing: We are here for you now to celebrate your arrival in our midst. We’ll be here for you later, throughout your life – in celebrations, sickness and in health. We will hold your hand as your life ebbs away, and we will be there to celebrate your life and comfort your loved ones after you are gone. We are there for you as you are there for us. And so we will be, from generation to generation. As contentious and disagreeable as we sometimes are, we are also one.

Our society is so mobile, it is sometimes hard to feel the continuity of our religious communities. I’ve lived in seven states and our children now live on three continents. The church I grew up in is no longer a part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Many of my friends who intended to be pastors, dropped out of ministry for one reason or another. Things change. People change. Beliefs and habits change. Change is the norm. Faster and faster change is the new norm. Here today, somewhere else tomorrow.

And yet, and yet, “I was there to hear your borning cry, I’ll be there when you are old.” We are there, i.e., here, for one another at Christ the Servant, for our neighborhoods and communities, and for those whom we will never meet but who are every-bit-as-much God’s children too; because when we sing, the Creator and the creation sing with us: “I was there to hear your borning cry . . . I’ll be there as I have always been.”

The hymn resides in our hearts as we struggle to make it real in our lives.

Blessings,
Pastor Hoehn

“I’m thinking about getting something to eat,” but I don’t eat anything. “I’m thinking about paying my taxes on time,” but I don’t pay them at all, ever. “I’ve decided to go to work now,” but I don’t go anywhere. It’s important to think about what and when we eat, but if we [...]]]> Friends,

“I’m thinking about getting something to eat,” but I don’t eat anything. “I’m thinking about paying my taxes on time,” but I don’t pay them at all, ever. “I’ve decided to go to work now,” but I don’t go anywhere. It’s important to think about what and when we eat, but if we don’t get something to eat, we die. It’s important to pay our taxes, but if we don’t, we might go to jail. If we don’t go anywhere, we’re stuck in the spot where we are standing.

Thoughts can lead to other worthwhile thoughts, and intentions to other valuable intentions. Yet, there’s a range of thoughts and intentions that are meaningless unless they lead to action. You may think that I’m about to encourage you to go to church more often or give more money. Why not? But, there’s a sense in which those are only half-acts, like lifting your foot but never putting it back down. Suspended in air, it waits for solid ground and forward movement.

We read about hunger and poverty in the United States and abroad, and we think that’s wrong. We intend to do something about it, and do. CTS’ benevolence giving is generous, and service at Gaithersburg HELP, the Lamb Center and other agencies is extraordinary. We also need to take the next step of social justice action, i.e. changing the system that contributes to injustices. Marriage equality and other great opportunities lie before us.

The DREAM law – regular in-state tuition rates for youth brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents – is up for a public vote in November. We can learn more about the law. Did you know that it applies to active duty military persons stationed in the state, and that 12 other states had passed a DREAM Act? We can act to encourage people to vote, whether for or against.

Bread for the World’s Offering of Letters is another opportunity for action toward justice. This year’s campaign urges Congress and the administration to form a circle of protection around programs that help poor and hungry people, specifically domestic nutrition, tax credits for low-income families, international food aid programs and poverty-focused foreign assistance. CTS has done Offerings in the past. Now is a great time to resume this important practice.

We will think and learn, imagine and intend together, and, finally, put our thinking, learning, imagining and intending into action that helps in our neighborhood and beyond. The beneficiaries, who because they are healthier and better educated, will bring untold blessings to us all. And, we get the satisfaction of knowing that we helped make a difference.

Peace,

Pastor Hoehn

Since my mother turned 101, I’ve been thinking about the huge changes that have occurred in her lifetime. She grew up in a house built by her grandfather (imagine having to build your own house!). They had an outhouse, no telephone, no electricity and thus no refrigerator. The spring house, still part of [...]]]> Dear Friends,

Since my mother turned 101, I’ve been thinking about the huge changes that have occurred in her lifetime. She grew up in a house built by her grandfather (imagine having to build your own house!). They had an outhouse, no telephone, no electricity and thus no refrigerator. The spring house, still part of the property, sent a stream of cold water down a concrete trough where food was stored in large pottery crocks. They had no automobile. They had oil lamps and traveled on in a horse and buggy, or by train, to go into town.

They raised most of their food. They had bees for honey, chickens, corn, wheat, vegetables, berries, pigs, cows for milk and butter, a small apple orchard up the hill. When they walked in the fields, they always carried a sturdy stick lest they encounter a local rattlesnake.

There had been no great flu epidemic of 1918 or HIV/AIDS. The first safe antibiotics were invented in 1945. World War I or II, let alone Korea, Vietnam, or the Middle East wars had not happened. William Howard Taft, a Republican, was president.

Just a few years before she was born, the Wright brothers’ plane flew 6.8 mph. (By contrast, earlier wagon trains traveled 2-20 miles a day, depending on weight and terrain.) Everything has picked up speed since then. It’s sometimes said, that the only thing that is constant is change. In nature, things typically adapt to changes in their environment or they die off.

American church and society are undergoing huge changes. But, really, that’s not new, though the pace has increased. The first Norwegian Lutheran immigrants joined with other Norwegians in other cities to form synods, as did the Danes, the Swedes and other nationality-based groups. Gradually, mergers occurred, and congregations are often a mix of races and ethnicities, languages and cultures from all over the world.

As CTS looks toward its next decade, we need to think seriously about what sort of changes might be necessary for this congregation to continue its ministry. The alternative is to let external events make the decision for us.

While everything around us changes, there are some things that remain constant – the love of God that we witness in the words and ministry of Jesus; the care, teaching and service that are characteristic of CTS; and our ability to think imaginatively about the changes that we can embrace without losing our identity, and that will strengthen our ministry for decades to come.

Peace,
Pastor Hoehn

When say “Happy New Year,” what are we wishing for?

Research suggests that some people have a predisposition toward happiness, whether due to genes or early socialization (parent alert!), and that while sustainable income also contributes, in the United States increments above $75,000 a year do not yield equivalent increments in happiness. [...]]]> Dear Friends,

When say “Happy New Year,” what are we wishing for?

Research suggests that some people have a predisposition toward happiness, whether due to genes or early socialization (parent alert!), and that while sustainable income also contributes, in the United States increments above $75,000 a year do not yield equivalent increments in happiness.

CNN asked five faith leaders “What makes people happy?” They answered “that happiness comes from meaning and purpose in life. It’s in your heart and soul and can come from helping others” (http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/20/what-makes-people-happy/). Two Christians said believing in Jesus leads to happiness. The other three respondents said: engaging relationships, good works, connection to loved ones and to humanity; to make other people happy; the fullest utilization of your talent, and knowing when you had made someone’s life better.

Aristotle suggested that the goal of life is happiness or well-being. The Greek word often translated as happiness is eudaimonia, literally eu = good + daimon = demon. The prefix eu is familiar in eu-logy (eu-logos), to speak good words and eu-thanasia (eu-thanatos), to have a good death. The Greek word daimon can be translated spirit, whether good or evil. We think of evil spirits when we use the word demon. But, in its Greek origin, it means a deity, divinity, or spirit that can be either good or evil.

Since we use the word happiness in such trivial (the movie made me feel happy) as well as deep ways, other words that might express it are “an active and ongoing sense of well-being” – recognizing that there are counter-moments when things are not going so well. A happy life is life in which a person is filled with a good spirit because they are actively actualizing their potential as an individual and as a member of a community, which includes relating to and helping others.

Being at CTS makes me happy. My wish for you is that being at CTS will contribute to your well-being in the New Year, as we actively sing, pray and contribute to the well-being of one another, as well as those who are not part of our gathered and worshipping community.

Pastor Hoehn

P.S. To learn more, read Thomas Nagel, “Who Is Happy and When?” and his review of Sisela Bok, Exploring Happiness: From Aristotle to Brain Science, and Derek Bok, The Politics of Happiness: What Government Can Learn from the New Research on Well-Being, in “The New York Review of Books,” Dec. 23, 2010, pp. 46-48. Or, read their books.

There’s good news and bad news.

We are beginning a new church year. We are on the path to Bethlehem and the birth of our Savior. The joy and warmth of the Christmas season is close upon us. The search process is moving forward. We are receiving new members this [...]]]> CTS Friends,

There’s good news and bad news.

We are beginning a new church year. We are on the path to Bethlehem and the birth of our Savior. The joy and warmth of the Christmas season is close upon us. The search process is moving forward. We are receiving new members this month. All . . . good news.

There’s also good news that progress is being made on the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the eight goals the nations of the world have agreed on; progress because people care, work, contribute, sacrifice in order to achieve the goals. They are real heroes, though we will never know most of their names.

During the Christmas season, we meditate on God becoming human, on the birth of the baby Jesus, and the meaning of that event for our lives. We might also meditate on the fate of other infants, the “least of these.” The fourth MDG goal proposes to reduce the mortality rates of children under five to reduce by two-thirds, between 1990, when the goals were established, and 2015, the target date.

The good news on child mortality? The number of children in developing countries who died before they reached the age of five dropped from 100 to 72 deaths per 1,000 live births between 1990 and 2008. Lives that would have been lost are now being saved.

And the bad news. Almost nine million children still die each year before they reach their fifth birthday. In sub-Saharan Africa, in 2008, one in seven children died before their fifth birthday. Of the 67 countries with high child mortality rates, only 10 are currently on track to meet the MDG target 2015.

Advent is about the coming of the Messiah, the good news of God, the bringer of salvation. So, what is the good news for those kids who don’t make their fifth birthday? And what does the word “salvation” mean in this context? I pretend to ask, but you already know my take on it.

One definition of salvation is “deliverance from destruction, from evil.” We are called by God to be the salvation army (lowercase), to save, insofar as humanly possible, those tiny bodies and minds from an untimely death. One way to get into the Advent and Christmas spirit, is to become educated and educate others about the MDGs, and to apply political pressure to ensure that our government does its part.

Blessings,
Pastor Hoehn

P.S. The other seven goals? Look them up and attend the adult forum.

A steward is someone in charge of managing someone else’s property, not someone who makes stews, or someone’s ward. We Christians believe that every good thing is a gift that ultimately comes from God.

Physicians and nurses, beneficiaries of years of decades of medical training from their predecessors, drag us into the [...]]]> Dear friends,

A steward is someone in charge of managing someone else’s property, not someone who makes stews, or someone’s ward. We Christians believe that every good thing is a gift that ultimately comes from God.

Physicians and nurses, beneficiaries of years of decades of medical training from their predecessors, drag us into the first light of day in rooms built by architects, financiers, brick layers, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, and painters; filled with equipment manufactured elsewhere; accessed by roads built by governments and road crews; in cars assembled thousands of miles away from metal, chemicals, parts, and plans. We are cleaned and clothed with fabrics grown and manufactured by workers thousands of miles away whom we will never know.

The doctor speaks words in a language that combines a hundred national dialects, gradually standardized by millions of people’s usage over centuries. An aide writes down data using a numerical system invented by Arabs thousands of years ago. And, all we’ve done so far is scream.

We are dependent on nature that sustains us, the people who have gone before us, and those who in sharing our moment in history, make life possible for us today.

Language, the arts, music, markets, businesses, religious institutions, politics, and culture are all there the day before we are born. We don’t invent them, though we have the opportunity to enjoy, enlarge and reshape them. Ultimately, no one pulls themselves up by their bootstrap without a huge boost from other people.

We owe more to the anonymous inventor of the wheel, the person who figured out how to make fire on demand, and the people who crafted intelligible writing and numbers than we owe to our landlord or mortgage company. But, we cannot pay them back, so our task is to share laterally with others in our era, and forward toward those yet to come.

Our contributions of time, talent, treasure to and through the church are an important part, and symbol, of our larger calling to discipleship, to be good stewards of God’s good earth and all God’s children.

Pastor Hoehn
(from my manuscript on political spirituality at http://faithandcitizenship.blogspot.com)

“Life,” “justice,” “love,” and “death” are words that roll easily off our tongues. Heard on the evening news, they weigh about as much as “Tide,” “McDonalds” and “Ford.” The local headline announces a traffic tie-up, a murder, 85 degrees tomorrow, the Redskins win. Concern for poor people in St. Louis or malnourished babies [...]]]> Dear Friends:

“Life,” “justice,” “love,” and “death” are words that roll easily off our tongues. Heard on the evening news, they weigh about as much as “Tide,” “McDonalds” and “Ford.” The local headline announces a traffic tie-up, a murder, 85 degrees tomorrow, the Redskins win. Concern for poor people in St. Louis or malnourished babies in Somalia is quickly replaced by snacks and shampoo; meaning sucked out, neutered.

But when someone close to you dies, the word “death” fills you up, sloshes around inside of you, overflows, and splashes all over your life with deep personal meaning; their death an irreplaceable loss, and a fleeting shadow of your own mortality.

The Bible is words. Sermons are words. The liturgy is words. What counts is not just how intently philosophers study the meaning of the words “love” and “justice,” how often we repeat them, or whether they are presented in the liturgically correct manner, but how we live them out in daily life.

Love is hard. It may begin with a gush of feeling, but at some point we learn that really loving is hard. To love well, we have to know something about the object of our love. Loving takes a certain internal discipline, especially when it comes to the stranger, the outcast, the fallen. Jesus says “Love your neighbor as yourself,” but not all neighbors can be loved in the same way and it takes a certain discipline to discern an appropriate approach.

The meaning of Biblical texts and liturgical tropes cannot fully be grasped in theological tomes. The meaning is not a thought, an idea, but a motivation, and a strategy leading to action. It‟s not “yes, I should love my neighbor as myself,” but working at Gaithersburg HELP, building a HABITAT home, giving more to Lutheran World Relief than you would have preferred before you thought seriously about human needs abroad.

I was taught that the word “liturgy” comes from the words “people” and “work.” The liturgy is the work of the people in response to the words of the priest, and thus, by extension, toward God. The Catholic Encyclopedia (online) says that the original meaning of the word “liturgy” was “a public duty, a service to the state undertaken by a citizen.”

Worship is a public act, as distinguished from private devotions, and public acts have public consequences. We say the words “love” and “justice,” but the words are only precursors to meaningful acts of love and justice. And, when the acts do not follow, the words are empty of meaning, whether uttered in the kitchen or before the altar.

Our fall social justice series in the adult forum will be a lot of words. The matters at hand are complex, and opinions about them are divided. It is my prayer that the work of the people in wrestling with the deepest of human social realities will lead to deeds of love and justice and that someday people will refer to CTS as “that justice church in Montgomery Village.”

Pastor Hoehn

Food for thought, especially in this time of transition, from The Lutheran, “10 trends to watch” by Kathryn Sime (June): 1. Declining church participation. ELCA average worship attendance is 125 and predicted to fall. The most engaged people are 60 and over. 2. Growth in no religious affiliation. “The number of people who [...]]]> Dear Friends:

Food for thought, especially in this time of transition, from The Lutheran, “10 trends to watch” by Kathryn Sime (June):
1. Declining church participation. ELCA average worship attendance is 125 and predicted to fall. The most engaged people are 60 and over.
2. Growth in no religious affiliation. “The number of people who don’t identify with any religion has doubled since 1990, from 8 percent to 15 percent.”
3. More spiritual, less religious, i.e. less identification with religious institutions.
4. A new stage: Emerging adulthood. 18- to 30-year-olds aren’t following the old pattern of marriage, children, financial independence. There’s more exploration and transience.
5. Changing family structures: marrying and having children later or just living together.
6. Increasing U.S. social, cultural and religious diversity, e.g. Montgomery Village.
7. Influence of Hispanic/Latino faith, e.g. Gaithersburg and surrounding area.
8. Influence of individualism.
9. Living in a digital world.
10. Increase in adults 65 and older.

More food for thought will be dished up this fall in the Sunday adult class under the general rubric of social justice. We’re still matching topics, speakers and dates, but a bunch of really good people have agreed to come. Specific topics and speakers will be announced in advance. I’ll lead some of the sessions. Others will be led by outside practitioners (most of whom are also personal friends) and CTS members with special expertise.

Topics include the work of advocacy organizations, whether and how Christians should get involved, Lutheran and other theological sources, state, national, regional (e.g. Central America), and international situations, policies and programs.

Some people dismiss these concerns as just “issues,” or “causes,” but they are real policies and practices that can mean life or death to our brothers and sisters. And, they affect the quality of our personal lives as well.

The point is not to load up a bunch of horror stories, or induce counterproductive guilt, but to help us be better informed Christian citizens who can find ways to address some of our deep concerns. The sessions will focus on current information and strategies for personal involvement.

I’ll see you there.

Pastor Hoehn

The brouhaha about Congressman Weiner makes me angry. The public and media obsession with his transgressions have consumed too much attention. We are morally adrift, unhinged from the things that are really serious.

According to Bread for the World (www.bread.org), 1.4 billion people in developing countries live in extreme poverty – on less [...]]]> Dear Friends,

The brouhaha about Congressman Weiner makes me angry. The public and media obsession with his transgressions have consumed too much attention. We are morally adrift, unhinged from the things that are really serious.

According to Bread for the World (www.bread.org), 1.4 billion people in developing countries live in extreme poverty – on less than $1.25 a day, and in the United States, 14.6 percent of households struggle to put food on the table. Nearly one in four children in the U.S. is at risk of hunger.

The World Bank says that more than 4 million female children in Pakistan are not in primary school. Life expectancy at birth for females is 44 in Afghanistan, 46 in Zimbabwe and 47 in Zambia, compared with 81 in the United States.

We don’t see a huge public outcry about these situations, or a popular demand for information on what we can do to help the people behind the numbers – those real live people with hopes, fears and dreams who simply happened to be born in the wrong place at the wrong time. We don’t see a media obsession about what we can do to change the situation. We don’t pressure Members of Congress to resign because they vote against the most vulnerable people in our society and world.

We track the stock market – up a point today, down a point yesterday, because it can directly affect our savings or retirement. But, we’re not tracking the number of lives lost that could have been saved, or the number of lives saved that might have been lost on a day-to-day basis. They, too, affect the quality of our moral and spiritual lives; even, our societal and economic well-being as their contributions to society are lost.

When I was on the staff of Bread for the World, I thought about child deaths, malnourished people and families in poverty every single day. It would have been depressing except that I believed that I was doing something, every single day, to alleviate that suffering. Though the situation itself was terrible, we were on the side of justice, of morality, even, of God. We were making a difference by organizing to advocate for the people to whom Jesus was most devoted.

I understand that most people feel overwhelmed by the world’s grim crises. But, we are only powerless if we choose to be powerless. Political power comes in joining with others in the quest for justice. The forces that work for destruction are huge and it takes broad-based people power to offset their money and influence. The late Roman Catholic Bishop, Dom Helder Camara said, “When we dream alone, it is only a dream. But, when we dream (and act) together, it is the beginning of reality.” Who will speak for and with those who suffer most, if not us?

Pastor Hoehn

P.S. while we’re bandying numbers about: 42% of the people in the Montgomery Village zip code identify as White alone. 24% identify as Black. Almost 19% identify as Hispanic, and 11% identify as Asian alone. The median age is between 34 and 35. In the months ahead, we’ll be talking about what this means for CTS.