Today's small piece of the Big Picture
A couple of weeks ago we went to the Pastors' & Wives' Retreat in Wisconsin, my first time there in eight years, my wife's first time ever. We were blessed by some refreshing insights from Gene Edward Veith, culture editor of "World Magazine", on "vocation". Our life consists of callings from God, that generally are very concretely connected with the here and now, in the roles we find ourselves in, loving and serving those around us because God is "hidden" in them. For example, marriage is God's calling to love and serve my wife. And today I'm called to love and serve the people who call me "pastor", by submitting bulletin info, visiting a bereaved family, visiting a young farmer who broke his leg, and the list goes on.
I find myself (rather often) focusing on things beyond today's callings. I'm working on a master's degree in Jewish studies, at a rather slow pace. I have up to a year to do each course. It's nearly a year since I finished the first course. I have until June to do the current one, but I don't want to fall too far behind a one-course-per-year pace. At my current rate I'll finish the program in 2018, which means that I'm wasting my time whenever I surf the web looking for what program to do on the doctoral level after that (and I admit I do that occasionally). My current course on "Jewish Theology" is interesting, but not what I'm ultimately interested in. Eventually I hope to do a "concentration area" on the "Postexilic era", the crucial time between 400 BC & AD 100 when Christianity appeared, because my real goal in Jewish studies is to get to know the origins of my own Christian faith better. To see the beginning of the Church through new eyes, by working forward from a knowledge of the Church's direct precessor in post-exilic Judaism rather than working backward from Lutheranism. But I'm not there yet. This spring's calling is to do some essays on topics like "describe the role of 'polarity' in Jewish theology" and "describe the Jewish 'smorgasbord' of ideas concerning God." Not my top priority, but indeed if it's God's call for me to acquire a deep knowledge of the Jewish side of my faith's origins, then this is a hoop I need to jump through today.
Martin Luther said something like this: "I pray an hour each morning, unless I'm going to be especially busy that day. Then I pray for two hours!" That's the opposite of my own trend, I'm afraid. LORD, please teach me today's priorities, that I may answer the calls you give me today, just today. In Jesus' name, Amen.
I find myself (rather often) focusing on things beyond today's callings. I'm working on a master's degree in Jewish studies, at a rather slow pace. I have up to a year to do each course. It's nearly a year since I finished the first course. I have until June to do the current one, but I don't want to fall too far behind a one-course-per-year pace. At my current rate I'll finish the program in 2018, which means that I'm wasting my time whenever I surf the web looking for what program to do on the doctoral level after that (and I admit I do that occasionally). My current course on "Jewish Theology" is interesting, but not what I'm ultimately interested in. Eventually I hope to do a "concentration area" on the "Postexilic era", the crucial time between 400 BC & AD 100 when Christianity appeared, because my real goal in Jewish studies is to get to know the origins of my own Christian faith better. To see the beginning of the Church through new eyes, by working forward from a knowledge of the Church's direct precessor in post-exilic Judaism rather than working backward from Lutheranism. But I'm not there yet. This spring's calling is to do some essays on topics like "describe the role of 'polarity' in Jewish theology" and "describe the Jewish 'smorgasbord' of ideas concerning God." Not my top priority, but indeed if it's God's call for me to acquire a deep knowledge of the Jewish side of my faith's origins, then this is a hoop I need to jump through today.
Martin Luther said something like this: "I pray an hour each morning, unless I'm going to be especially busy that day. Then I pray for two hours!" That's the opposite of my own trend, I'm afraid. LORD, please teach me today's priorities, that I may answer the calls you give me today, just today. In Jesus' name, Amen.
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