Meditations: Invocavit

The past Sunday was the first Sunday in Lent. Not of Lent, as the Sundays don't count toward the forty days, but in Lent. It's known as Invocavit,  from the Latin antiphon, which comes from Psalm 91: Invocavit me, et ego exaudium eum.

Historically for Lutherans, Invocavit is a big deal, due to a series of sermons Luther preached in 1522, with the result of calming the Reformation into a nonviolent movement. More on that another time, though.

What I'd like to point out about this week and the readings from this Sunday is about temptation. Traditionally, we read about Jesus being tempted on Invocavit - if you follow the revised common lectionary, you are in year B, so there's only one verse about it in Mark, you kind of got the Baptism of Christ again. In any case, we remember the temptation of Jesus on this Sunday as we remember His sufferings throughout Lent. He went through what we do - and we fail at it.

As a colleague of mine has remarked, any chance we get, we want to turn stones into bread, we want to get something for nothing. Jesus doesn't live from the sweat of others, He's not interested in what He can get at someone else's expense. We sure are, though.

And in the same way, anything that gives us the least advantage, a bit of wealth or power, a better reputation, some pleasure - we are right there to worship that, every chance we get. Jesus succeeds where we fail - He that kept the Law for us became a curse for us, that we might be redeemed.

It strikes me, when I look at these temptations, how thoroughly I, we all, fall prey to the same thing, even if it looks different today. We remember in Lent why we need a Saviour, and that we have one.

Meditations: Septuagesima

This last Sunday actually began the pre-lent period (the "gesimas"). This is the three weeks before Ash Wednesday in which we prepare for the time of repentance that is Lent. Many places do away with this, after all, Lent is hard enough, right? These are rough Sundays, too - it was Septuagesima, or Circumdederunt Sunday. That's "wrapped around" or "entangled", coming from Psalm 18:5 in Latin: The ropes of the grave entangled me. Not a very nice thought, but it does serve to remind us that we need to repent, and we are in need of a Saviour!

Historically, the Gospel for the past Sunday is Matthew 20:1-16, the parable of the workers in the vineyard. And what a Gospel it is! The Lord of creation hasn't decided to pay us according to our works, but to dispense with what is His own as He chooses. He has chosen us, apart from what we may have done or may not have done. Perhaps we are even decent people - not perfect, but decent. There's no way to be good enough, and there's no need to be good enough. We are taken as sinners, declared righteous, and then we are united to Christ. He becomes sin for us, that we might become righteous.

In this busy mid-week, after the last vestige of Epiphany is gone with Candlemas, after a groundhog prognisticates the weather, and before our thoughts even begin to turn to Lent and Easter, let us remember the insufficiency of our "good enough", of our "do this", of our "achieve that", and the great sufficiency of His "it is done." He has claimed us as His own, away from the powers of death, sin, and the grave, though they encircled us. We are His - and He may do what He chooses with what belongs to Him. May it be so.

VDMA

No longer under the radar

So if you used to read this blog, you know that I haven't posted in a very long time. There's a reason for that, and it's not just laziness.

About a year ago I moved from Munich, Germany, back to the United States. I was happy in academia, but wanted to pursue ordination and more direct ministry, instead of "just" teaching. We probably could have stayed in Germany, but  there were some other personal matters involved in the decision.

So, having been a member of the EKD, I entered into the colloquy process with the ELCA. Colloquy is a process by which a pastor from another tradition or Lutheran body becomes a pastor in a Lutheran body. And boy, is the ELCA different from the EKD. While I was comfortable in the EKD, if on the conservative end of things, in the ELCA, I was so far right on some issues that I could barely see the left-of-center leadership I was working with. Needless to say, this did not bode well for my colloquy.

I won't go into all the details, but it took me a year to accept the fact that it just wasn't a good fit - and five rounds of added requirements and rule changes to get the message that they thought so too. It was probably one of the worst years of my life, certainly one of the worst recently.

However, once I got it, I was able to take stock of what I felt called to do, and the situation around me, and I found a new home: the Evangelical Lutheran Conference and Ministerium in North America, the ELCM. I found a group that I'm 100% theologically in agreement with, and their polity is amazing. It's seriously by consensus - and stuff gets done! We are a moderate, centrist group, and I'm happy to be a part of things. I've been extended a call as healthcare chaplain and mission development pastor, and there is also a return, at least partially, to academia in the works. I've come a long way to be back where I started, but God has grown me a lot, and I've learned a lot about myself.

So what does that have to do with this blog? Well, I'm. I longer worried about what I say in here affecting my material security or future. I'm free to proclaim what I believe, faithfully.

So starting with this week, this blog is alive again. It's Septuagesima Sunday - a time of preparation for Lent, where we focus on our need for penance. A time where we are reminded, in the traditional Gospel for today, that God rewards as He chooses, and He gives to those He chooses (Matt 20:1-16). A time when we say, out of the depths have I cried out to thee, O Lord: Lord hear my voice - and know that He has indeed heard.