I'm. . .

. . .sorry for the infrequency of my posts lately. . .

The Austen Files of an Austenphile 01-22-09

"I have sometimes thought," said Catherine, doubtingly, "whether ladies do write so much better letters than gentelmen! That is--I should not think the superiority was always on our side."

-----"As far as I have had opportunity of judging, it appears to me that the usual style of letter-writing among women is faultless, except in three particulars."

-----"And what are they?"

-----"A general deficiency of subject, a total inattention to stops, and a very frequent ignorance of grammar."

-Catherine Morland and Henry Tilney, Northanger Abbey, 1818

The Austen Files of an Austenphile 01-13-09

An amusing narrative interjection by Jane Austen in Northanger Abbey (1818), with equally amusing evidence, validating this observation, from the pages of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina:

"They called each other by their Christian name, were always arm in arm when they walked, pinned up each other's train for the dance, and were not to be divided in the set; and if a rainy morning deprived them of other enjoyments, they were still resolute in meeting in defiance of wet and dirt, and shut themselves up, to read novels together. Yes, novels; for I will not adopt that ungenerous and impolitic custom so common with novel-writers, of degrading by their contemptuous censure the very performances, to the number of which they are themselves adding -- joining with their greatest enemies in bestowing the harshest epithets on such works, and scarcely ever permitting them to be read by their own heroine, who, if she accidentally take up a novel, is sure to turn over its insipid pages with disgust. Alas! If the heroine of one novel be not patronized by the heroine of another, from whom can she expect protection and regard? I cannot approve of it. Let us leave it to the reviewers to abuse such effusions of fancy at their leisure, and over every new novel to talk in threadbare strains of the trash with which the press now groans. Let us not desert one another; we are an injured body. Although our productions have afforded more extensive and unaffected pleasure than those of any other literary corporation in the world, no species of composition has been so much decried. From pride, ignorance, or fashion, our foes are almost as many as our readers."

I found the following from Anna Karenina quite amusing, in light of what we just read above:

-

"[Anna] read and understood; but it was distasteful to her to read, that is, to follow the reflection of other people's lives. She had too great a desire to live herself. . .She forced herself to read. . .[and not long after]. . .She laid down the book and sank against the back of the chair."

Sights and Sounds from Andrei Tarkovsky's The Mirror

Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky (Russian: Андре́й Арсе́ньевич Тарко́вский) (April 4, 1932 - December 29, 1986) was a Soviet filmmaker, writer and opera director.

Tarkovksy is listed among the 100 most critically acclaimed film directors; director Ingmar Bergman was quoted as saying "Tarkovsky for me is the greatest [director], the one who invented a new language, true to the nature of film, as it captures life as a reflection, life as a dream".

Tarkovsky worked extensively as a screenwriter, film editor, film theorist and theater director. He directed most of his films in the Soviet Union, with the exception of his last two films, which were produced in Italy and Sweden. His films are characterized by Christian spirituality and metaphysical themes, extremely long takes, lack of conventional dramatic structure and plot, and memorable cinematography.

Tarkovsky's film, The Mirror, is a semi-autobiographical account of Alexei, a middle aged man who has taken ill and is dying. The film is a blended collage of both present day and past memories/dreams that circle around the themes of childhood, motherhood, the war, his father's abandonment, his own son, and his estranged wife. The film is a reflection of many of Tarkovsky's own experiences growing up, including: His fathers own abandonment and enlistement to the war effort; Living with his mother and moving to Moscow during the war; Both Alexi and Tarkovsky's mothers worked as proofreaders at a printing press; Tarkovsky includes many of his own father's poems into the The Mirror.

These are a series of looks at this BEAUTIFUL and POETIC film, incorporating some great music to top it off.

Scenes from The Mirror set to minamalist composer, Arvo Pärt's "Mirror in the Mirror."

More scenes from The Mirror, set to Iron and Wine's "Naked as We Came."

The last two scenes from The Mirror with an absolutely breathtaking performance of Bach's "St. John Passion" in the background. In the last scene, right after Alexi's death, we see a pre-war Maria, his mother, talking of his expected birth. It then pans to a dream-like sequence where we see a young Alexi and his sister taking a walk with an elderly Maria. Then we see a beautiful fade out between the trees with the three walking off in the distance. Perfect!

Epiphany

Hans Memling, Adoration of the Magi, c. 1470

"The Journey of the Magi" by T.S. Eliot

(A poem about Eliot's own journey from agnosticism to faith; he wrote it around the time of his baptism and acceptance into the Anglican Church, in 1927.)

The Austen Files of an Austenphile 01-05-09

They said he was sensible, well-informed, and agreeable; we did not pretend to judge of such trifles, but as we were convinced he had no soul, that he had never read [Goethe's] The Sorrows of Werther, and that his hair bore not the least resemblance to auburn, we were certain that Janetta could feel no affection for him, or at least that she ought to feel none. The very circumstance of his being her father's choice too, was so much in his disfavour, that that of itself ought to have been sufficient reason in the eyes of Janetta for rejecting him.

-Love and Friendship, 1790

Circumcision and Name of Jesus

"And when eight days were fulfilled to circumcise the child His name was called Jesus, the name called by the angel before He was conceived in the womb" (Luke 2:21).

Hans Memling, Presentation in the Temple, 1463

Commemoration of David

Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your loving-kindness, according to the multitude of Your tender mercies; blot out my transgressions.
Wash me completely from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions; and my sin is ever before me.
Against You, You only, I have sinned, and done evil in Your eyes; that You might be justified in Your speaking and be clear when You judge.
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.
Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts; and in the hidden parts You teach me wisdom.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Cause me to hear joy and gladness; the bones You have crushed will rejoice.
Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me out from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors Your ways; and sinners will turn back to You.
Deliver me from the guilt of shedding blood, O God, O God of my salvation; my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips and my mouth shall declare Your praise.
For you do not desire sacrifice, or I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion; build the walls of Jerusalem.
Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole offering; then they shall offer bulls on Your altar.

-Psalm 51

The Austen Files of an Austenphile 12-27-08

Where people wish to attach, they should always be ignorant. To come with a well-informed mind is to come with an inability of administering to the vanity of others, which a sensible person would always wish to avoid. A woman especially, if she have the misfortune of knowing anything, should conceal it as well as she can.

-Northanger Abbey, 1818

“Knowing the Mind of God”

Todd Peperkorn over at Lutheran Logomaniac has posted his wonderful Christmas day sermon, “Knowing the Mind of God”. It expresses well some of the points I made in my Christmas day post. It is a shorty but a goody. You should check it out.

The Austen Files of an Austenphile 12-24-08

[Mrs. Ferrars] was not a woman of many words; for, unlike people in general, she proportioned them to the number of her ideas.

-Sense and Sensibility, 1811

Hans Memling: Triptych of Saint Christopher

If you were wondering who painted the picture in my heading, or who the two people portrayed are, here is a little context:

The painting is by Hans Memling (or Memlinc), c. 1430-1494. Though far (far) from knowing anything about art, I have fallen in love with Memling's work. I was first exposed to his painting The Last Judgment by my Doctrine II professor, Rev. Charles Schulz, mentor, academic advisor, senior thesis advisor. You have seen some of his other work, like Christ Giving his Blessing and Christ with Musician Angels at the bottom of my blog.

The portraits are of Willem Moreel and his wife, Barbara van Vlaenderberch. Willem Moreel was a spice trader, was Lord of Oostcleyhem, and was one of the richest men in Bruges. He was also a banker for the Bruges branch of the Banco di Roma. He had five sons and thirteen daughters from Barbara van Vlaenderberch. The portraits were most likely originally part of a triptych with the Virgin and Child in the central panel.

The two also commissioned another painting for the church of Saint James in Bruges. They are again depicted along with their children.

Triptych of Saint Christopher:

Central panel: Saints Christopher, Maurus and Giles

Left wing: Willem Moreel with his sons and Saint Willam of Maleval

Right wing: Barbara van Vlaendrberch with her daughters and Saint Barbara

(Click here for full size)

I mean't to have a post done on Paul Althaus on Friday, but was unable to see this through. I therefore won't be able to post it until Tuesday.

The Austen Files of an Austenphile 12-18-08

Mrs. Portman is not much admired in Dorsetshire; the good-natured world as usual extolled her beauty so highly that all the neighbourhood have had the pleasure of being disappointed.

-Letter to Cassandra [Austen's sister], 17-18 November 1798

The Austen Files of an Austenphile 12-16-08

It is true, I am unashamedly a big Jane Austen fan. Be this a product of growing up with an older sister, or not, I'd like to think my fascination with Austen stems from her genius in writing biting social commentary, unparalleled dialogue, and unforgettable characters. I figure if a successfully published theologian can write a book on Austen, I too may be perfectly justified in carrying on an affair with an, admittedly, "feminine" writer.

I plan, in future, to share the genius of Austen's wit and humor with my readers...whether you like it or not. Enjoy!

"In marriage especially. . .there is not one in a hundred of either sex who is not taken in when they marry. Look where I will, I see that it is so; and I feel that it must be so, when I consider that it is, of all transactions, the one in which people expect most from others, and are least honest themselves."

------ Mary Crawford, Mansfield Park, 1814

The Law and Sin

My Gerhard Forde post is forthcoming, but I wanted to get us thinking through something I don't believe Forde takes seriously into account. This is, the relation of sin to the law. Forde places such a separation between law and gospel, due to his purely existential definition of that law, that he forgets that "the power of sin is the law" (1 Cor. 15:56). Not that the law is mankind's essential problem, but rather, the law reveals how sinful we really are. If sin is not kept in mind when analyzing the law's first two uses, the law, and not sin, becomes man's essential problem. The gospel then saves us from the law and not from sin. Without the consideration of sin, the law, as we understand it in its first two uses, becomes meaningless. The question becomes: does there exist a definition of law that is not essentially defined in its connection to sin? If so, then Forde's thought is flawed. If not, then we can acknowledge Forde's construction.

What do these verses from Paul tell us in connection to these considerations?

"And the commandment which was to life, this was found to be death to me; for sin taking occasion through the commandment deceived me, and through it killed me. So indeed the Law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good. Then that which is good, has it become death to me? Let it not be! But sin, that it might appear to be sin, having worked out death to me through the good, in order that sin might become excessively sinful through the commandment. For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, having been sold under sin." Rom. 7:10-14

Ugh!

What a terrible, and just plain wrong depiction of the third use of the law. I found this in a footnote in a paper that is posted in some archive on the LC-MS' website. I don't think anybody claims that this is the definition of the third use. The only "daily drowning" I'm aware of in Lutheran theology is through contrition and repentence (2nd use). "It is the Law". . . WHAT (!) ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!?!

This “daily drowning of the old nature” by the Law is what is classically known within Lutheranism as the Law’s “3rd use”. The Law’s 1st use is its restraining of the evil present in all humans, Christian and non-Christian. Its 2nd use is to show our continued rebellion of human against the will of God. The “third use” is its use as a guide for the Christian life. The Christian, in so far as he is a new creation, has no need of the law. Since the new creation is solely the work of the Holy Spirit sent by Jesus Christ and the Father, it has no need of the Law: it is the Law. If the new creation were not in full conformity with the Law, the “new” creation would remain an imperfect reality and could certainly not claim to be a “saint” or holy one (as Paul calls all Christians in his epistles). But the old nature remains. This nature does not desire to serve God, but enjoys its continued rebellion. The Law must be continually spoken to this old nature. The law, however, is not applied externally by the natural order, by conscience, or by government, but by the new creation itself. So the law is actually applied by the Christian internally to the old nature. This is the “3rd Use of the Law”. Stumme writes that “For the mainstream Lutheran ethical tradition, however, there is no third use of the law that stipulates a specifically Christian form of existence replete with distinctive patterns of obedience.” Yet he cannot help but add that “the God of the Decalogue is quite enough.” Those who would reject a 3rd use of the Law end up resurrecting it in some other form. (Stumme, John “A Tradition of Christian Ethics” in The Promise of Lutheran Ethics Karen L. Bloomquist and John R. Stumme, Eds. (Fortress Press, Minneapolis, MN: 1998) p.16)

Calvin and Hobbes

Paul Gregory Alms over at incarnatus est has inspired me to post on a most important topic...Calvin and Hobbes:

"Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps"

This is today's New Testament reading from the Treasury of Daily Prayer. I thought it was a good reflection of the model Jesus envisioned in his high priestly prayer, that we read in my previous post, in John 17. Jesus' Incarnation becomes a model for our own role in the world.

"Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls." (1 Peter 2:13-25)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Rejoice always.
Pray without ceasing.
In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus toward you.
Do not quench the Spirit.
Do not despise prophecies.
Test all things, hold fast the good.
Keep back from every form of evil.
And may the God of peace Himself fully sanctify you, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Faithful is the One calling you, who also will perform it.

1 Thess. 5:16-24

Christ the King

A nice devotional from Rev. Earl Feddersen for Christ the King Sunday:

It is a bit ironic that, as I prepare this editorial for a Sunday that has a theme about last things, I am also preparing the memorial service for my father-in-law. One of the themes for the Sunday of the fulfillment reminds us that, in all things, Jesus is Lord. Some churches still celebrate the day as Christ the King Sunday.

In one of the old M.A.S.H. shows on television, Colonel Potter was trying to comfort or "cool down" an angry Hawkeye, who had just lost a young patient. He said, "Rule number one in war is that young men die. Rule number two is doctors can't change rule number one." Today my wife's family is fully aware that rule number one in life is that people die and doctors can't change that either. On the other hand, this Sunday we remember that Christ rules everything and, because of His death and resurrection rule number one has been dramatically changed!

Celebrating Christ's Kingship is not some ritual, performed annually, but an ongoing act of faith. It recognizes and proclaims the One who is in charge. Since we, Republican and Democrat and Libertarian and Independent types, all like to think we are in charge, this is risky business.

Some people ridicule royalty today. We may not be as cold and calculating as paparazzi or yellow journalists, but we know how to mock and jest and joke. It is more than merely humbling to see, in the Gospel of John, the same behavior among those who participated in Jesus' trial, where He was accused of nothing less than being a king. The soldiers gave Him a scepter -- the same stick with which they beat Him, a purple robe -- the royal colors, and a crown -- prickly and painful. Isn't the king funny -- a big joke?

At the same time, as you read the story, you begin to sense that things are not as they seem. Pilate thinks that he is in control, and Jesus is on trial, but it looks more and more as if the opposite is really true. While Pilate insists he has power, it is the bedraggled and beaten Jew before him Who demonstrates a personal presence and power. Before Herod, the contrast was between a puppet king and a real King. Before Pilate, the contrast is between a power king and genuine Royalty.

When Jesus said that His kingdom was not of this world, He was not implying that His kingdom was in some other time or place; He was saying that His kingdom was not involved in the ways and wars of Caesar or any other temporary world power. The Revelation of John has it succinctly when it says that Christ is "the Ruler of the kings of the earth." He is above those who rule by force or coercion, whose authority is as tentative as the next coup or revolution.

But the ultimate question this Sunday still remains, and it is very personal. Jesus is King, of that there is no doubt, but is He our King? Who is in charge for us? Do we shout with the crowd, "We have no king but Caesar"? Do we shiver like cowards with Peter and pretend we don't even know Him? Or do we bow with the nations and people of every language, who were envisioned by Daniel, and worship Him? Do we shout with the whole company of heaven, as envisioned by John, "And He shall reign forever and ever! Hallelujah!"

Shortly after ascending to the throne of England, Queen Victoria attended a splendid performance of that great oratorio by Handel, The Messiah. She had been told in no uncertain terms that members of royalty do not rise with all the others when the Hallelujah Chorus is sung. It was simply not proper.

But when the singers lifted their voices to shout, "Hallelujah! The Lord God omnipotent reigneth," she could hardly remain in her seat. She did not wish to violate the traditions of kings and queens, but when the chorus came to that last grand climax, proclaiming Jesus Christ the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, repeating the phrase with increasing crescendos, the queen of all England rose and bowed her head before the King of all, including all kings and queens.

A kingdom of love may not seem like much in a warring and truculent world, but it is still with us, and Caesar's is not. Christ is still King, whether or not Victoria is queen. (Please rise.)

There is a King Whose rule truly is determined by Divine right. Christ is King without regard to a popular vote. He rules if we choose to go deer hunting this Sunday, or play golf, or give homage to the god of the pillow. Nothing we will or will not do this Sunday morning will have any bearing on whether or not He reigns forever and ever. But we cannot avoid the confrontation which ultimately asks whether or not He rules in our lives, is our King, and we, His willing servants.

John's vision of the King Who is Ruler of the kings of the earth inspires him to a song of doxology and praise: "To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve His God and Father -- to Him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen." Those words empower us far beyond the decrees and coercion and force and power of any other king or ruler.

Thank God that the Ruler Whose dominion stretches beyond the earth and over all the galaxies and wonders of all the universe, is the same King Who stood before Pilate and lived the truth of God's love. The One Who is our Judge is the same One Who gave His life as a ransom for us. The One Who calls us to serve Him and live under Him in His kingdom in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness is the same One Who came not to be served but to serve. The One Who demands obedience from us is the same One Who gave up everything to forgive our disobedience by obeying His Father unto death, even death on a cross.

We close the Church Year, not just standing in awe of, but ready to serve the King Whose power and authority go far beyond not only the resources but even the imagination of any other king. In one short week we will be even more awed and inspired by the knowledge that this same King is the frail and dependent Child Who comes to bring peace on earth, His grace to all women and men.