Black Friday

On Good Friday, after the evening service, I went to the store to buy some supplies for the Easter children's sermon. I was still wearing my black clergy shirt, black pants, and black shoes, although I had taken the tab out and had the collar open. As I was checking out, the girl working there asked me why I was wearing black.
I said, "It's Good Friday, the day we remember the death of Jesus, black is the color of death. I am also a pastor, so I wear this as a reminder that Jesus died for us." She said, "Oh." By that time our short transaction was over, the next customer was already waiting, and I had to go.

I wonder a lot about clergy shirts. If I had my way I would wear them all the time, mainly because it would simplify my wardrobe a lot. I would just have one pair of black shoes, two pairs of black pants, and four black shirts, two short sleeved and two long. But life isn't that simple.
Most people don't know what the shirt means and they have been misused. Protestant pastors have stopped wearing them so when I go to the hospital people call me 'Father' and think I am coming to deliver last rites. The shirt has also become associated with all the abuses, hypocrisies, and negligence of bad clergy. Sometimes it scares people. A lot of people have no idea why I am wearing a shirt like that, they just notice that it looks funny. I think these reasons and many more, are why clergy have stopped wearing clergy shirts. Maybe we should just let them go.

But I also think that there is a great significance to wearing a black clergy shirt. It reminds us, and the world, of our humble solidarity with the pain, oppression, violence, and death that surround us every day. That great theologian of the cross, Johnny Cash, explains this better than I ever could:


Maybe we could compromise and just wear black without the collar? I don't know, I haven't figured this out yet.

PS If you want more great theology of the cross from Johnny Cash...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmVAWKfJ4Go

Modern Art for the Wondering Soul

I took a trip to LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art). They have a good collection of modern and contemporary art which I enjoy immensly. As I wandered past paintings, scultures, and pieces that defy category I began to remember some of the things I used to think about. Things like existence, truth, and what it means to be human. It is good to be reminded of the big picture and completely different ways to think. The creativity of the art draws out the creativity of my own being. It gives me a sense of peace and hope. It reminds me that being human does mean something, even if we can't really explain it.

Earthquake

At 8:27pm this evening there was an earthquake. These things are not uncommon in southern California. Several months ago there was a small one. That quake was a jolt followed by a little trembling. The one tonight was a little bigger with a few seconds of shaking. According to wunderground.com it was a 4.0 magnitude. It made the bookshelf sway but it didn't make anything fall. Like I said, these things happen here so everyone just keep doing what they were doing and I just kept doing my laundry.

Productive Day

Some days go by and when I look back I don't seem to have gotten much done. Today was the opposite. I deftly went from one task to another. It started when I amazingly got out of bed 1/2 earlier than usual. I submitted a newsletter article, had a Bible study, a preschool chapel, and a lunch meeting with some other pastors. Then I left the church and managed to finally recycle eight bags of newspaper, talk to a friend who is engaged (Hooray!), buy groceries, buy inner tubes for my bike, wash my pickup, and do the dishes. If tomorrow is as productive as today I should have a great weekend.

True Servants

There are some people who love to serve. They like to help out and take care of things that need to be done. It is not just that they will help out but that they want to help. The church here has some people like that. One of them, named Travis just had his job moved to Denver. He was given only one month's notice.
Travis was the Youth Guy organizing retreats and summer camps, movie nights, and trips to concerts. He knew the youth very well. He believed very much in relational ministry (even if he never used that phrase). Not only was he a passionate youth leader but he was also the handyman at the church. He fixed leaky faucets, changed light bulbs, put up giant banners, mopped up when the roof leaked, and moved appliances. He was also put together the projected slides for Sunday morning and ran the projector at the praise service. He was as much a part of the band as anybody and knew when they were going to skip a verse or sing the chorus again and he would adjust the slides accordingly.
Now other people are filling in and stepping up but it is hard to replace that kind of commitment and knowledge. Just this morning it was discovered that the fan was running on the projector even though it had been off since yesterday. No one is sure if this is normal, except maybe Travis, so we'll send him an email.
I learned a lot from Travis. Having been a part of this congregation most of his life he could fill me in on history and tell me why things are done the way they are. He gave me many great experiences with the youth and most of all he gave me a great example of a true servant.

Good Guessing

There are a lot of places in the Bible where we do not know exactly what is happening. The writers give us some information and leave out some details. We often want to try to fill in these gaps with our our guesses, assumptions, and sometimes all out speculations. This week I heard two conjectures about what was happening in the gospel. One of them is interesting, the other entertaining.

1) During our weekly text study, one of the pastors was asking about where Thomas was at when the disciples were in the room. I said I didn't know. I am aware of different answers to this question and explanations for his absence. This pastor said that he thinks Thomas was looking for Judas. I had never thought of that. I also didn't know where he got that from or what he was going to do with it. I don't find any reason to believe it, but I was left thinking, "Huh..."

2) During this morning's sermon, the pastor asked the congregation, "What do you think the disciples were talking about in that room? What were they saying?" People gave answers like, "They were trying to figure out what had happened to them." "They were trying to figure out what to do next." A young boy raised his hand and said, "They were talking about what they're going to do for lunch." I liked his answer best.

Resurrection

Resurrection means nothing if you are not dead.

Gird Up Your Loins

Today was Maundy Thursday, and as is customary we did a little foot washing. I say "a little" because there were probably only about ten people who came forward to have their feet washed by the Pastor and I, but it was very meaningful nontheless.
Tonight's first reading from Exodus 12 was about God's command for the first passover. One of the instructions that God gave to the people was that they should eat the meal with their loins girded. I was interested in exactly what this meant so I looked it up. It turns out that groins and loins are not the same thing. Your loins are the part of your body that connects the top to the bottom. It is your entire waist/thigh section. To gird your loins meant to hoist up your long robe around your thighs/waist and tuck it into your belt. That way your legs can move freely without tripping. This is important if you are going to work or fight or run. God commanded his people to do this so that they would be able to leave quickly.
Interestingly enough, in the gospel Jesus girded himself with a towel and used it to wipe the disciple's feet.
When I went to wash people's feet I should have girded my alb to my loins. I knelt down to wash and one time when I was getting up, I was standing on my alb and almost fell headfirst into the wash basin. It turns out that that little detail in God's instruction and in Jesus' action is quite practical and still important today. Maybe next year I'll gird.