Musings: Notes From My Daybook

My spare moments the past couple of days has had me reading from German influences. First, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Lutheran pastor. A group at church is currently reading his work, Life Together. Life Together reflects his brief term as a director of an illegal seminary in pre-WWII Germany. Bonhoeffer boils down to some basic essentials in terms of developing a robust spiritual life.

Moving back three hundred years is the work of Philip Jacob Spener. Again, from the Lutherans we find some of the early strands of the pietist movement. I'm rereading his work Pia Desideria and thinking of rewriting a paper that is now 20 years old on Spener's reflection on how to spur spiritual vitality in the churches. Reading something from the 1600's does create some challenges in terms of what it might mean for today. But Spener does have something strong going for him--a deep conviction about the necessity that faith must emerge from the heart.

Third, though he isn't, strictly speaking German, Reinhold Niebuhr, certainly is rooted in German heritage. Looking for material to encourage young ministers, I was reminded of Niebuhr's Leaves from the Notebook of a Tamed Cynic. Leaves is Neibuhr's published "diary" of his 13 years of ministry before he headed to New York City and a career in academia. I found my old first edition and reread his words I was immediately taken back to some of my own first discoveries about what it means to be in the "ministry"--complete with the challenges, the ambiguities, and those moments of joy.

Three dead guys. One clear passion from all three. Vibrant Christians, vibrant Christianity that transcends the trappings of religion and announces God's inbreaking reality.

From friend Morris who undoubtedly scarfed it up from the unknown regions of the internet I submit to you the perfect holiday greeting in light of all the hub-bub about Christmas:

Greetings:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral, celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular at all.....and a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2006, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great, (not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country or is the only "AMERICA" in the western hemisphere), and without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, choice of computer platform, or sexual preference of the wisher.

(By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others, and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.)

If you made this far I want to wish all a Merry Christmas! Carson