Julie’s News from Maryland

Well, it’s official. Seminary has made me weird. It has taken me out of the mainstream of normal people and turned me into a complete and total church geek. I hadn’t realized how bad it really was until I took a recent online quiz: Are you a heretic?

I find it terribly frightening that I not only understand what the questions are asking but that I have a reasonably decent working knowledge of what all the results mean. Scary!

In case you are curious, my results are as follows:

You scored as Chalcedon compliant. You are Chalcedon compliant. Congratulations, you’re not a heretic. You believe that Jesus is truly God and truly man and like us in every respect, apart from sin. Officially approved in 451.

One of my guilty pleasures is watching Dog The Bounty Hunter on A&E. I know it is sort of silly, but I like the show and so I catch it when I can. For those that aren’t familiar with the show, Duane “Dog” Chapman and his family are bail bondsmen in Hawaii. They are also bounty hunters that capture clients that fail to appear in court or whose bail is revoked for some reason. Dog works with his wife, Beth, his brother, Tim, and his sons, Leland and Duane Lee. Dog is unique in many ways, but most relevant to the show is that he was in jail himself for many years. As he tells it, when he was first learning to hunt for fugitives the bounty hunters that he met were brutal and cruel to their clients. Dog was disgusted by what he saw and decided to be different. He doesn’t carry a gun (though he carries mace and wears bullet proof gear) and treats all of his fugitives with dignity, especially if they don’t seem to deserve it. He and his team pray before going on each hunt.

As I was watching the show tonight I realized that there is a lot of good stuff to take away from Dog:

• Pray before you do what you do. Stopping to say a prayer, alone or with others, reminds us what it is really all about. When we are grounded and centered in Jesus, we make decisions accordingly.
• Treat everyone with dignity and respect. No matter what someone has done they are still a person. They might do terrible things, but there is no way to know how they got to where they are. Even when they seem to be worthless, they are worth something because Jesus loves them and there really is no reason not to love them too.
• Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Tim said this to a convict that was considering suicide. Tim reminded him that life is what we make it and that tomorrow is a new day. Nothing is so bad that we can’t over come it with the help of those that love us.
• Forgiveness, reconciliation, and restoration are possible. No matter what you’ve done or what the penalty is, anyone can turn their life around and have a positive future. Dog, and some of his family members, have been in lots of trouble and spent time in jail, but they have each found new life. Dog reminds each of his clients that their life doesn’t have to be a revolving cycle of drugs and jail and works hard to help them find hope.
• Be careful and protect yourself. Treating everyone with dignity and respect does not mean being a doormat or letting others hurt you or abuse you. Before a hunt, Dog and his crew take proper precautions. They study the client and know what they are up against. They wear protective gear and carry mace for emergencies. They are careful not to put themselves or anyone else in danger.

It seems a little hokey at first, but it makes sense to me.

Advent. The time of waiting. A restful time. Contemplation and introspection as we wait to celebrate the birth of our Savior and we think about and wait for Him to come again. Ahhhh.

Isn’t that what you did this Advent? Rested. Waited. Contemplated. No? Me neither. I thought I would. Every year I think that this is the year; the year I’ll really pay attention to Advent and be attune to the season of waiting. And every year I get caught up in all the muck of life. This year it happened to be the end of the semester (papers to write, finals to take) and a contract job that took me out of town last week with only a few days notice. I managed to get all the presents and the house organized before I left, but there was nothing restful or contemplative about that. But, really, it could have been anything. And it usually is something.

I suppose that I’ve never been one for quiet contemplation. I’ve always been full of energy and on the go. Sitting still and waiting for things is definitely not my strong suit. (Those of you that know me are laughing aloud, I’m sure.) I wonder if it is possible to be quietly waiting on the inside while running around like a crazy person on the outside. In some ways I sort of feel like that happened to me this year - quite accidently. I felt in a way like I have been missing something - like I am looking for something. Something has been missing lately and it has been hard for me to put my finger on it. But I got it tonight at church.

We started to sing O Little Town of Bethlehem and I discovered the words for the first time. How many years have I been singing that song and never really paid attention to the words? But there they were. The quietness, the stillness and from it emerges The Everlasting Light. In the 3rd verse “Silently the wondrous gift is given! So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His heaven.” All of a sudden I felt Jesus emerge for me from the quietness, the emptiness. My outside life is hectic and crazy, but my heart has been quiet and empty. And there Jesus is, meeting me in my emptiness and fear. Reminding me that it is in my meekness that He is present. I felt connected again. Connected to Jesus. Connected to the world. Connected to my family. Connected to those around me in worship. Connected to my journey.

Jesus comes on this blessed day - even if we aren’t being intentional about being contemplative and waiting. Jesus knows that we are all waiting for Him and He comes to the quiet places in our hearts.

I hope you all feel the presence of Jesus close to you this Christmas. Have a blessed and Merry Christmas!

I finished my last final of the semester today and now I am officially half way through seminary!  Can you believe it?!  Half way!!

This semester has been the most interesting to date from an academic standpoint.  We have done a lot of theological study of the liturgy and of the big doctrinal concepts that we think about in Systematics.  It has been a whirlwind.  We could easily have spent an entire semester on some of the concepts that we covered in one or two class periods: the Trinity, Evil and Suffering in the World, Creation, God’s presence in the world, etc.  All that we talked about has left me wanting more.

The semester has been brutal from a personal standpoint.  I have had a series of infections that has left me battling to be well for most of the semester.  Being sick and having fevers always makes me so confused and unable to think clearly.  I feel like I have struggled to stay coherent and keep up with what we have been studying.  We have all had a hard time emotionally in our house as well.  It would seem that we still haven’t settled down from the the havoc of the summer and CPE.  We are all working to find our way to emotional stability with the help of counselors and spiritual directors and all sorts of professionals.  It is hard work and very very tiring.

I am looking forward to my last half of school.  I know that there is much more for me to learn, both academically and personally.  I am confident that this journey will bring emotional health to my family and that we will be stronger and more connected to one another by the time that we are done.  I know that God is blessing us even when we feel at our most vulnerable - or maybe especially when we feel that way.  Here’s to half way!

I’ve been following the story of the San Francisco family that got lost in the Oregon wilderness a couple of weeks ago. I don’t know why, but I feel such overwhelming grief over the death of this man that I don’t know and for his family that I’ve never met. Every time I think about it, it brings tears to my eyes. It just seems so unbelievable. You leave a family vacation to drive home and suddenly you are stranded in the snow for 9 days with two small children. In the end, one of your family members is dead. The day begins like a normal day and ends in a tragedy that you could never have imagined in your wildest dreams.

I usually have such a solid grasp on the “God knows more than we do and it will all be ok” theology, but I am really struggling with that in this situation. How can it be ok that this smart, devoted, loving father is dead? How can it be ok that his girls will grow up without a father? How can it be ok that his wife is now alone? It seems so unfair. It seem so unnecessary. How can God bring something good out of this? I feel despair.

His family has a web site, http://jamesandkati.com, and are collecting email messages for the family and CNET Networks, his employer, is collecting any packages or cards that people want to send to the family. Memorial funds are being setup. The information is on the web site.

This last week, I was reading the Word Weekly (the “bulletin” in my home parish) and I came across an article about the deacon that serves in our parish, who is called to be a chaplain to inmates in prison. This is a quote from the article:

I attempt to discern Christ in each inmate I encounter by silently thinking this question when I first look at them: “Oh, Jesus Christ, is that you again?” This practice is not unique to me – I shamelessly borrowed it from a Russian monastic tradition.

In my preaching class this week I was given 30 minutes to prepare a 5 minute sermon on Matt 28:18-20:

And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’

This text is often referred to as The Great Commission. It is the last 2 lines of the gospel of Matthew and it is the only thing that Jesus says to the disciples when he sees them after the resurrection. As I looked at the text, it occurred to me what a fabulous mission statement that is. Not too long. Full of action words. Easy to memorize. All the stuff a good mission statement should have, really. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come with a strategic plan and any business person knows that a mission statement is no good without a strategic plan to put it into action.

When I really thought about it, though, I realized that the very last sentence is the strategic plan. “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Jesus is with us always because Jesus is in every single person that we encounter. Every teacher. Every mentor. Every friend that offers an encouraging word. Every annoying person that makes us want to run in the other direction every time we see them. Every broken, sad, scared person that acts out and causes us pain. Everybody.

If we really think to ourselves, “Oh, Jesus Christ, is that you again?” every time we encounter another person, it will completely transform every interaction we have with every person we meet and, I think, ultimately it will transform us.

When I first looked at the Great Commission, I thought for sure that it was something that I was supposed to do to others: baptize and teach. But, now I think maybe the real mission is not about me transforming others, but about Jesus transforming me and in the process Jesus transforms others too.

After reading some of the comments on my last post, I’ve decided we should have a little contest.  For those up to the challenge, I’d like you to write a version of the Presiding Bishop’s letter that is not graceful or thoughtful, in fact, go for broke and make it nasty.  Joe compared the PB to the mafia so if you’re really creative, see if you can write it in the voice of a mob boss.  

Not to leave anyone out of the fun, one of my colleagues suggested that I also offer a challenge to those that are critical of the PB’s letter.  For those that think she was too harsh and threatening, I’d like to see you do it better.  Write a letter that that is more graceful, thoughtful, and kind than the one she wrote.

Can’t wait to see what y’all come up with!