DE TRINITATE
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From the Senior
In the last issue of De Trinitate I reflected on my forty years of ordained ministry and my life-long romance with orthodoxy. Those are Chestertonian words. I discovered G. K. Chesterton while I was an undergraduate student and have read him ever since—especially the stories of the irrepressible Father Brown, who was able to solve crimes because he believed in original sin while everyone else believed in the goodness of man.
Orthodoxy, as I said, really means "right praise or worship." We think of the praise or worship being right in terms of texts. But worship is not just words. We worship God with our bodies. There are two Greek New Testament words that we translate as "worship." One is latreia (see John 16:2; Romans 12:1; Hebrews 9:1,6), which could also be rendered "service." The other is proskynein (see Matthew 4:9; Luke 4:8), which really means "to prostrate" oneself—falling down on one's face.
Worship involves the use of the body. What else could it involve? We are bodies. In Holy Baptism we receive the Holy Spirit. Our bodies are then temples of the Holy Spirit. The worship that wells up in us is the expression of the Holy Spirit within us, using our bodies to praise God. Martin Luther is reported to have said that God gave us five senses with which to worship him, and it would be ungrateful to use less.
I could leap from this into a discussion of ways to use the body in worship besides speaking and listening or standing and sitting (kinetics). But instead I want to reflect on a theology of the body. The late Pope John Paul II reflected on this in his weekly addresses in St. Peter's Square between 1979 and 1984. Those 129 addresses were pulled together in a 700-page tome entitled The Theology of the Body: Human Love in the Divine Plan. A new translation has been released under the title Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body. A whole institute has been founded to study John Paul II's theology of the body.
As I understand the general thrust of this theology, by focusing on the beauty of God's plan for the union of the sexes, John Paul II shifts the discussion from legalism ("How far can I go before I break the law?") to liberty ("What's the truth that sets me free to love?"). The truth that sets us free is salvation in Jesus Christ. It doesn't matter what mistakes we've made or what sins we've committed. The Pope's theology of the body wags a finger at no one. It's a message of sexual salvation offered to one and all.
As a Christian humanist, John Paul II asked what it means to be human and how to live life in a way that brings true happiness and fulfillment. While the theology of the body focuses on sex and marriage and celibacy as special callings, it is really wider than that. It provides a whole worldview. In discussing what it means to be human, the Pope reflects on the three different "stages" of the human experience of sex and the body: in our origin before sin (see Matthew 19:3-8); in our history darkened by sin yet redeemed in Christ (see Matthew 5:27-28); and in our destiny when God will raise our bodies in glory (see Matthew 22:23-33).
I have been interested in exploring this theology more thoroughly, but confess that I haven't had the time. But I connect it with another issue that has occupied my attention in recent years: the resurrection of the body (the Pope's third "stage"). Here I have been challenged by Anglican Bishop Tom Wright's popular book, Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church. It builds on his magnum opus on The Resurrection of the Son of God, but it has implications for our views both of the afterlife and of the Church's mission in this world. It addresses Christians' muddled views of the relationship between body and soul and advocates a return to a more biblical, creation-centered, Jewish understanding of the future hope of new heavens and new earth. Christians profess belief in the resurrection of the body, not in the immortality of the soul. We bury the dead "in the sure and certain hope of resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus."
I am an agnostic about souls. I am open to being further instructed on this by the church fathers. But I know I was created as a body; that body is animated by life (nefesh chaim, if I recall my Hebrew). Our whole moral debate over abortion (forget the political debate for the moment) has been hamstrung by views from Augustine and Thomas Aquinas about when the soul joins the body. In the biblical view in Genesis we are created as living beings. If there is a body in the womb, there is life, and it is God-given no matter how the body got in the womb because God alone is the source of life. The question for civil society is whether this life deserves protection. The unanimous judicial conclusion in the U.S. is that it doesn't. But pastors must counsel to choose life.
On issues of sex and marriage, a marital relationship depends on the joining together of complementary bodies for the purpose of procreation, whether that is realized or not. The old marriage rite said, "with my body I thee wed." We don't give our souls to each other; we give our bodies. Any other sexual uses of the body would have to be seen as a perversion of "the two become one flesh."
I think about all these issues as my church body decides this summer whether it can live with traditional Christian moral teaching concerning human sexuality. The issue of ordaining those who are not living according to these norms (e.g., in same-sex relationships) is especially vexing. I don't think anything will be resolved by this Churchwide Assembly. This is one of those issues that will take a century to be resolved, just like gnosticism and Arianism in the ancient church. In fact, it is precisely a new gnosticism that we are struggling against. The Jewish secular critic Harold Bloom was insightful enough to see that the real American religion is gnosticism. That's why creeds, dogmas, liturgies, polities are eschewed in favor of spirituality. Spiritually is liberating. Religion is limiting; it binds the body. Yes it does. Because as Father Brown understood, unleashed the body will do untoward things with other bodies. As Father Brown would also have understood, his job as a priest was to draw people into the praise of God with their bodies. That's orthodoxy!
See you at the general retreat. Pray for the Holy Spirit's guidance of the Society as we elect a Senior.
Frank C. Senn, STS, Senior
Thank You
The Society of the Holy Trinity would like to thank the following Archangels, Angels, and Saints for their financial contributions during the last fiscal year, which ended June 30, 2009:
ARCHANGELS
- for contributions of $500 or more
Mr. and Mrs. Paul G. Kachelmeyer
Mr. and Mrs. Paul Keller
Rev. Robert P. McGurn
Mrs. Helen M. Smith - in memory of her husband, Lou
Rev. and Mrs. Carl A. Voges - in memory of loved ones
All Saints Lutheran Church, San Diego, California
Christ Lutheran Church, York, Pennsylvania
Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Wichita, Kansas
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Abington, Pennsylvania
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Delhi, New York
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Thomasboro, Illinois
Peace Lutheran Church, Grass Valley, California
St. Luke's Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado
St. Matthew's Lutheran Church, White Plains, New York
Zion Shaffer's Lutheran Church, Seven Valleys, Pennsylvania
ANGELS
- for contributions of $250 or more
Rev. George R. Muenich
Rev. and Mrs. Richard P. Niebanck
Rev. and Mrs. Ralph R. Reitmeyer
Rev. Jack Traugott
Zion Lutheran Church, Bow Island, Alberta
Zion Lutheran Church, Peoria, Illinois
Zoar Lutheran Church, Lebanon, Pennsylvania
SAINTS
- for contributions of $100 or more
Bp. James E. Bennett
Mr. Michael Bennett
Mr. Arthur Birkenstock
Rev. Frederick G. Keller
Rev. Lloyd H. Linder
Rev. David G. Poedel
Rev. Amy C. Schifrin
Pr. Erma S. Wolf
Mr. Wayne Yoder
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Lexington, Virginia
St. Mark's Lutheran Church, Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Chapter News
CALIFORNIA CHAPTER
Dean, Richard O. Johnson, california@societyholytrinity.org
The California Chapter met in retreat May 18-19 at St. Andrew's Abbey, Valyermo, Calif. There were fourteen in attendance (eight members and six visitors), including a special guest, Bishop Joseph Sartoris, Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The retreat focused on the practice of individual confession and absolution, with Jim Pike, STS, and Josh Elliott-McGuffie, STS, leading us through a discussion of the history of the practice, from the early church through the Reformation era. Rev. Bill Cwirla, a pastor of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and frequent visitor at our retreats, led a discussion on developing the practice of individual confession in the parish. Bishop Sartoris offered a number of helpful and interesting comments regarding Roman Catholic practice. Allen Schoonover, STS, served as chaplain, and the dean served as confessor.The chapter's Advent retreat will be held at Christ the King Retreat Center in Citrus Heights, Calif., November 30-December 1, 2009.
DELAWARE RIVER CHAPTER
Dean, Ronald C. Yergey, delawareriver@societyholytrinity.org
On June 8 and 9 the Delaware River Chapter met in retreat at the St. Francis Retreat House in Easton, Pa. As has been the practice over the last number of retreats held there, we were treated like honored guests and fed equally well. We gathered to pray the offices and had opportunity for individual absolution. Instead of our usual practice of centering our sharing and learning on a particular topic for presentation and discussion, we focused on our ministry and our personal lives, sharing and seeking support for those special issues that sometime disrupt and sometime enlighten our daily existence. Our Lord's promise of his presence wherever two or three are gathered in his name was particularly evident in that time together.Our next gathering is planned for November 16 and 17 at the same facility. Our brother, Michael Tavella, STS, will share his vision for the Benedictine Rule in congregational life.
FLORIDA CHAPTER
Dean, Lawrence Recla, florida@societyholytrinity.org
The Florida Chapter will meet in retreat November 2-3 at the San Pedro Center, Winter Park, Fla. A Liturgical Practicum will be held, with presentations, sharing of practices and opinions, and consideration of others' ways of "doing" worship.
GREAT RIVERS CHAPTER
Dean, Timothy D. Hubert, greatrivers@societyholytrinity.org
The Great Rivers Chapter will meet at Toddhall, Columbia, Ill., November 30 to December 1. Larry Vogel, STS, will be our presenter.
GUADALUPE RIVER—TEXAS CHAPTER IN FORMATION
Contact, Ralph W. Reitmeyer, rwreit@aol.com
The Guadalupe River—Texas Chapter in Formation will meet on November 16-17 at Cedarbrake Retreat Center near Belton, Tex. Frank Senn, STS Senior, is scheduled to be the teaching theologian for this retreat.
MICHIGAN-EASTERN CANADA CHAPTER
Dean, William F. Kirsh-Carr, michigan-eastern_canada@societyholytrinity.org
The Michigan-Eastern Canada Chapter held its retreat on Monday, August 9, through Tuesday, August 10, at St. Augustine's House in Oxford, Mich. Del Baier, STS, of the chapter, served as our teaching theologian, presenting on the topic of Eucharistic sacrifice. Conversation was held around the question of how we as clergy can participate in our denominational / diocesan life, even while we feel compelled to dissent from movements within our judicatories. The chapter is placing emphasis on recruiting more members, particularly in Canada, and is giving consideration to alternating retreat sites between Michigan and Canada.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS CHAPTER
Dean, Keith L. Forni, northernillinois@societyholytrinity.org
The Northern Illinois Chapter looks forward to welcoming STS members and friends to the general retreat at Mundelein, Ill., this fall. The chapter will again co-sponsor a retreat with the Wisconsin Chapter at the DeKoven Center in Racine, Wis., November 9-10. Additional daytime and overnight retreats are being scheduled into 2010. Readers of De Trinitate in northern Illinois and northern Indiana are especially invited to contact the dean for details about the chapter's activities. Upcoming retreat locations will include: Oregon, Ill., Chicago, Ill., Joliet, Ill., and South Bend, Ind.
UPSTATE NEW YORK CHAPTER
Dean, Troy A. Mulvaine, upstate.newyork@societyholytrinity.org
The Upstate New York Chapter met August 27-28 at the Stella Maris Retreat Center in Skaneateles, N.Y. The retreat center is located on Skaneateles Lake and is operated by the Sisters of St. Francis. This former Roosevelt family Victorian summer house is a wonderful location that always offers a peaceful setting for members of the Society.We prepared ourselves for the upcoming general retreat by examining Prayer, Worship, and the Holy Ministry in Our Lutheran Context. The preacher for the retreat was Richard Niebanck, STS.
WISCONSIN CHAPTER
Dean, Mark W. Knappe, pastor@fallsgloriadei.com
On the 26th of June the second annual "convivium at the Knappe house," subtitled "Brats with Braaten," was held. About 20 members and friends of the Society gathered for a relaxing evening of conversation and consolation. This evening was much needed by all in these challenging times of being the church.The chapter is looking forward to the general retreat in September as well as our next chapter retreat on November 9-10 in Racine, Wis.
About General Retreat RegistrationsAs of this date, it looks like the general retreat—September 29 through October 1—will be well attended.
Therefore, it is crucial that registrants observe the deadline, which is September 8, 2009.
That way, if we need to forage for extra rooms, we won't have to do it at the last minute.
Please see the general retreat information sheet and schedule that accompany this issue of De Trinitate.
Thanks!
John E. Priest, STS, Secretary
607-746-2089
secretary@societyholytrinity.org
From the Vicar
As we take part in the general retreat in September, we will give our attention (under the Cross) to the last two marks of the Church the Society had set out to study—Prayer and Ministry. In our three years of concentration on the seven marks that were described by Martin Luther in 1531, it has become increasingly clear that the marks are, in full reality, a living template of the Holy Trinity, one pulsing with the Life of the Crucified and Resurrected Son. One also senses that the marks will continue to shape and sustain us Lutheran pastors who have been ordained to carry out the Church's ministry.
These marks begin with the Lord's Word that comes at us from the Scriptures. They continue with Baptism, the Lord's Supper, Forgiveness, Prayer, and Ministry, and they conclude with the Cross. The Lord's Word comes from eternity and it is his alone. In our studies we have noted how the Word, boring in on us through the Scriptures and Sacraments, rips the world's life apart and stitches together the Life of the Holy Trinity. As the Word makes its way into the world over the centuries, it is always seen most clearly in the Son's Cross.
Viewed from the Church's beginning and continuing, it is the staggering and redeeming reality of this Word that honestly reflects the Lord's authority in the Church's ministry. It compels us to re-examine the thinking that such authority resides only in places like Constantinople, Rome, Canterbury, St. Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee, or Winnipeg. The Church's marks keep us imbedded in that Word so that it shapes, drives, and sustains the ministry we were baptized and ordained to carry out.
The vitality of the marks surges even more when we place their template against this North American culture. The self-absorption of this culture is pervasive and overwhelming. While Christopher Lasch identified such narcissism nearly forty years ago, it has not shrunk, but has grown even more! Our Lutheran church structures have not been immune to this virus and the self-absorption is generating the roughness we experience in the proclaiming, serving, and teaching of the Gospel.
What is dismaying is to see Lutheran structures, in their attempts to cope with that roughness, succumbing to the narcissism so they can catch the world's attention and aim for a smooth, successful ministry. How else do you explain the drive for numbers, or imitating the approaches of church bodies other than Lutheran, or sidling up to the world through the self and its natural feelings? These attempts have created major problems: urging people to do their part in smashing the hold that sin, Satan, and death have on them, bringing in hymns and songs that are centered in people, naively copying the world's ways into the ways of parish councils, creating groupings of the Lord's people who refuse to interact with those they view as beneath them or not on the same page.
The way out of such realities is to turn back into the Church's marks, letting them inform our thinking and doing. As faithful Lutheran pastors, we always turn back to the Scriptures from which the Lord's Word springs. When we look intently at those holy writings, we are struck by the identification of those realities from the world that surround the Church's life today. The Greek word "thlipsis," used by the apostle Paul many times in his letters, accurately describes the roughness we experience in the proclaiming, serving, and teaching of the Gospel.
The word surfaces a significant number of times in the Old Testament. Its meanings include "constrict someone," "distress," "affliction," "hostility," "oppression," "evil," "trouble," and "tribulation." Thlipsis is significant to the history of the Lord's people, both with the oppression in Egypt and the affliction of the Babylonian Exile. Thlipsis reminds the Lord's people of their unfaithfulness and calls them back to the obedience they originally promised him. The Psalms unpack this reality in many ways with phrases such as, "Before I was afflicted, I went astray" or "I called in my affliction and the Lord heard me and saved me from all my troubles."
In the New Testament the afflictions of the apostles and the Church are regarded as a continuation of the Son's sufferings. Thus, in 2 Corinthians 4, Paul comments that he is suffering for Jesus' sake as he preaches the Gospel. With the Spirit's impetus he sets himself under the Word of the Son's Crucifixion. Through that Word, then, the Lord is present through the obedient apostle, who, in his ministry, carries the afflictions suffered by Jesus Christ.
According to Gerhard Kittel's Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, there are three characteristics of thlipsis. The first is that it is inseparable from living the Lord's Life in the world. The desire to be like the Lord stormed out of Genesis 3 and is shot through the lives of every person who lives in this world. A second characteristic is that it is a continuation of the Son's suffering in the troubled lives of his baptized people. It is instructive to note in the Gospels how Jesus was continually crossing the lives of afflicted people. A third characteristic is that suffering, affliction, and tribulation in the world are signals of the Church living in and pressing to the End-of-Time. That characteristic is disconcerting because we have no idea when that End will occur, but it is strangely reassuring because it reminds us that we are living between the Son's Ascension and the Son's return to this world. Such living drives our witnessing to the saving activities of the Lord.
As we press further into the study of the marks of the Church (viewed from the past three years, this can consume a lifetime), we will have a heightened awareness of the thlipsis that roughs up the proclaiming, serving, and teaching of the Gospel. We will also be more alert to the self-absorption into which we are born.
Every Sunday, through the readings of the Holy Scriptures and the practice of the Sacraments, the Lord's Word bores in on the lives of his people. We Lutheran pastors have the task to sift through those readings and practices so we can get out of the way of that Word. Our parishioners rarely see the intense struggles that go on week after week in that sifting, but those struggles are necessary. We have to let that Word slam into our lives, exposing the deadly focus on ourselves and reminding us that we have been re-born as the Lord's sons and daughters.
This is not easily done. We resent those struggles. It is painful to have the Cross being traced over our lives. We want to answer only to ourselves. In the uneasiness we are tempted to re-shape the ministry to our version of it or to fall back onto our intellects and personalities. Such succumbing will always make things happen (happenings that may not have been intended by our Lord!).
Thankfully, the Lord has mercy on us and surrounds us with the marks of his Church. He carries us through the narcissism and thlipsis of this world's life. In his mysterious way he blocked out three years of our life together so we could be drawn into those marks. In doing so he has brought us face to face with the center of the Church's ministry and has given us a living template for all the years in front of us.
Carl A. Voges, STS, Vicar
DE TRINITATE
News and reflection from the Society of the Holy Trinity
Volume 12, Number 3, After Pentecost 2009
Editor: Constance R. Seddon
Editorial office:
6239 Rosebury Ave., 1E, St. Louis, MO 63105
(314) 721-8262 / editor@societyholytrinity.org
To be placed on the De Trinitate mailing list or to report a change of address,
please contact the Secretary, below.
Senior: Pr. Frank C. Senn
Immanuel Lutheran Church, 616 Lake Street, Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 864-4464 / senior@societyholytrinity.org
Vicar: Pr. Carl A. Voges
129 Pond Ridge Road, Columbia, SC 29223
(803) 788-6656 or (803) 269-6656 / vicar@societyholytrinity.org
Secretary: Pr. John E. Priest
Immanuel Lutheran Church, 17 High Street, Delhi, NY 13753
(607) 746-2098 / secretary@societyholytrinity.org
Bursar: Pr. Mark A. Hoffman
St. Paul Lutheran Church, 324 North Street, Millersburg, PA 17061
(717) 692-2141 / bursar@societyholytrinity.org
Society Web site: www.societyholytrinity.org
Copyright © 2009 Society of the Holy Trinity. All rights reserved.
Posted -- 6 September 2009