March 2020 – CLIMBING THE WALLS

March 29, 2020April 2, 2020

The Stories We Tell

Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad

Swiss theologian, Karl Barth, famously stressed the importance of interpreting the Bible as “narrative.” By this he didn’t mean it isn’t true, but that its underlying meaning is grasped in the form of story.

Noted for his almost indecipherably dense Germanic writing style, with dependent clause upon dependent clause, our assignment in divinity school was to read only about ten pages at a clip of his landmark four-volume tome, Church Dogmatics.

So, years ago, I based a children’s story on it. With the youthful trusting faces surrounding me up in the chancel, I asked them if they liked a good story. They did.

March 23, 2020March 29, 2020

Faith in the Time of COVID-19

Back when I was deciding whether to seek ordination or not, I wrestled with the fear that being a pastor would place a barrier between me and others.

I had noticed that many of my friends and acquaintances had reacted poorly to the news I was attending divinity school. Many thought it odd and not especially worthwhile. Like many today, they couldn’t quite understand why I would commit to such a thing. Christianity, after all, was on the ropes, and being a pastor a dead-end proposition.

Indeed, over the years I’ve officiated at any number of weddings. More often than not the young people treat me as if I’m a Martian or something, an odd creature whose life-sensibilities are mysterious if not just plain weird.

March 16, 2020March 23, 2020

Love in the Time of COVID-19

An extraordinary event occurred this past Friday, though its significance is likely to go unnoticed. In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, various medical experts and industry leaders gathered at the White House to announce to the nation various steps being taken collectively to address the virus’ looming threat.

This was an exceedingly rare instance of normally competing worlds agreeing to work together on a common problem for the common good. I was heartened by it.

Generally, in today’s economic climate, multinational corporations have little loyalty to the nations within which they operate. In an era of rampant financialization, the only loyalty is to the shareholder, not the country or its people.