Dear Friends,
Will you please stop using OTC drugs like Claritin D to make your meth? Tonight I went to Target to get a few items for the week. I stepped up to the pharmacy counter and asked for two boxes of non-drowsy 24- hour Claritin D for Aaron and I. The pharmacist politely informed me that only one box may be purchased at a time. I thought, okay, that'’s fine, I'’ll come back in a five days. I handed over my drivers license and the pharmacist respectfully asks, "Have you bought these within the past month?" I said that I had. Then she informed me that I may only purchase one box per month. I wanted to scream, "one box per month? There are only 10 days worth in a box! I'm sorry, but maybe you haven't heard ,it's spring and allergy/sinus problems last longer than 10 days a month! I wish they didn't, but they do, give me my medicine! Oh, by the way, the system'’s screwed I purchased one box Monday morning and another Tuesday because I forgot to take a pill before I went to work. So why can't get around the system again?"
This letter goes out to my friends who make it impossible for Aaron and I to legally feel okay during the spring. Thanks to you, I had to research pseudoephedrine laws for Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ohio. This weekend Aaron and I will be traveling to Susan and Judy's wedding in Wisconsin and can purchase Claritin D there, but only one package each. My research informed me that Ohio will have the same restrictions beginning May 17. So, I called Mom. By next Monday, we'll have a month'’s supply of the Claritin D. Friends, please, stop the insanity, I want to be able to buy 30 days worth of Claritin D in 30 days, not 90!
Sincerely,
Springtime Allergy/Sinus Sufferer
4.21.2006
More IS Better
Easter Sunday I decided to have many and various kinds of meat to end my Lenten disciple. In 12 hours, I had 7 kinds of meat – of course I had to make sure I had the holy number. It all started at Mom’s brunch with bacon and sausage links. After that, it was the Wernicke dinner with smoked Turkey. The last stop was supper at Spagio with lobster, shrimp, crab and smoked duck.
Today I binged with movies You, Me and Everyone We Know, Elizabethtown, the Legend of Zorro and Memoirs of a Geisha. That's right, four movies in one day. Gotta love Blockbuster and Hollywood Video!
I don’t know what’s up with the numbers thing – I can’t stop counting and doing things many times over. Today I did 6 Sudoku puzzles and now I’m trying to make sure I get 100 blogs done by May 10 – the date of my first entry. 100 blogs, that’s pretty impressive considering I started out to procrastinate end of the year stuff last May.
Today I binged with movies You, Me and Everyone We Know, Elizabethtown, the Legend of Zorro and Memoirs of a Geisha. That's right, four movies in one day. Gotta love Blockbuster and Hollywood Video!
I don’t know what’s up with the numbers thing – I can’t stop counting and doing things many times over. Today I did 6 Sudoku puzzles and now I’m trying to make sure I get 100 blogs done by May 10 – the date of my first entry. 100 blogs, that’s pretty impressive considering I started out to procrastinate end of the year stuff last May.
4.10.2006
Solidarity March for Immigration Rights
On Sunday, I joined over 30,000 marchers fighting for immigration reform. I went for many reasons – I went because of our broken system, because of my friends in Mexico and El Salvador, because my freedom in bound with theirs and because I am part of an immigrant family, like most Americans. I found myself in wholehearted agreement with what Archbishop Harry Flynn of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis had to say. “We are at a crossroads right now that will define the character of our country… Yes, holding one another accountable to the law is important, but there is also a higher law that forms the basis of our legal justice system and many of our religious traditions. Our higher law is based on the values of human dignity, community and solidarity. And we must not only hold one another accountable to these values -- we must act on them." I could be found guilty in a US court because I have ‘helped’ undocumented immigrants as I hold myself accountable to the higher law. I am proud to say I’m guilty, but I’m furious that a law exists making my actions criminal. It’s more than what’s at stake for those fortunate enough to be citizens it’s about fair immigration laws, it’s about the
millions that are here working, going to school, paying taxes and contributing to society while in fear of deportation. Yesterday I marched in solidarity with folks of all colors, ages and backgrounds. We marched to let our leaders know we will not stand by silently and we marched to let each other know you are not alone in your struggle._________________________________________
More photos available on Chris' Pics Page
4.06.2006
Superstar
Below is my topical sermon for my preaching course. I used the scenario of being at a college retreat where we just finished watching Jesus Christ Superstar and headed into a midnight worship setting.
______________________________________________
Who do we expect Jesus to be? We’ve seen an artistic rendition of what Judas’ could’ve been thinking as he walked with Jesus. The film portrays Jesus as a Savior who is extremely human. So human in fact that it is hard for some to see the Jesus depicted in Jesus Christ Superstar as fully God. I see that His relationships and interactions make Him one who is a divine and human being walking with other humans. His relationships with Mary and Judas as well as His pained interactions with them and the disciples make His humanity real. A real tension is lifted up concerning how Jesus’ fully humanity and full divinity coexist. Often I find myself seeing only the divine part of Jesus although he was fully human so that he could save the fully human us.
The great dose of Jesus’ humanity leads me to entertain different questions than if I had just read the gospels. My question to you tonight is what do you expect of Jesus? The gospels tell us Jesus defeated our death, but what else is there to Jesus? What does Jesus expect of us? Is Jesus one that set the example to be followed?
This question was certainly alive in the 1990’s with the WWJD or “what would Jesus do” craze. Every morning I would wake up and get ready for school, but before I walked out of my room, I would turn to my dresser and choose the WWJD bracelet color that best completed my outfit and I set off for school. I remember sitting in class looking down at my wrist and thinking about what I thought Jesus would do. A few times I even thought, what would Jesus answer on this US History test, Benjamin Franklin or George Washington?
I would eventually decide that Jesus wouldn’t be found in a classroom in the most powerful country in the world studying dead white guys. At this point, I thought that Jesus came so that we could follow his example, so did I need to be so radically Christian that I was a martyr? After all, actions were more powerful than words because they showed what I was really made of. Moreover, I was certainly going to heaven because I was a good person. The great thing about the WWJD craze was my daily focus on Jesus jumped dramatically, and I did pray more. But, Jesus didn’t have to die for me, he had to just set an example for me to follow and I could do the rest.
Now I have a somewhat broader understanding of Jesus, but I still struggle with the Jesus I want and the Jesus of the gospels. Jesus was and still is unpredictable. As I would expect, Jesus was concerned with the poor. However, he also didn’t object to Mary spending the equivalent to a years wages on a pound of pure nard to anoint his feet. What could $20,000 do for a family in sub-Saharan Africa, Mexico of Afghanistan?
In the predictable way, he cleanses the temple. Yet, he does it in a violent way, turning over tables and chairs. What do I, a want be pacifist, do with a violent Jesus? Prof. Fretheim would offer that God reacts to a violent world with violence to bring about peace. I human terms I see this as an absurd concept. As the old saying goes, “Fighting for peace is like having sex for virginity.”
Other than what is recorded about Jesus, how can anyone be so bold as to claim what Jesus would or wouldn’t do in any situation? We can only know what Jesus did not what he would do. Jesus was never predictable. Those who spent the most time with him still couldn’t predict his words or actions. The disciples got it wrong all the time. Not only did they get his teachings wrong, Peter denied Jesus and Judas betrayed Jesus.
The one film clip that I can’t forget is the portrayal of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. We see a Jesus who struggles with what has been required of Him. He fervently prays for God to take the cup away. Jesus’ will seems different from God’s. During Jesus’ prayer, He prays telling God that He did not start it and God’s will is hard and God holds every card. Jesus does say He will drink God’s cup of poison. He is willing, but now running with joy to His Godly calling.
The fully human, fully divine Jesus takes up his cross for Peter, the denier, and Judas, the betrayer and for you. Jesus came not to set an example but to save you. We are called not to do what Jesus did, but to take up our cross and follow.
______________________________________________
Who do we expect Jesus to be? We’ve seen an artistic rendition of what Judas’ could’ve been thinking as he walked with Jesus. The film portrays Jesus as a Savior who is extremely human. So human in fact that it is hard for some to see the Jesus depicted in Jesus Christ Superstar as fully God. I see that His relationships and interactions make Him one who is a divine and human being walking with other humans. His relationships with Mary and Judas as well as His pained interactions with them and the disciples make His humanity real. A real tension is lifted up concerning how Jesus’ fully humanity and full divinity coexist. Often I find myself seeing only the divine part of Jesus although he was fully human so that he could save the fully human us.
The great dose of Jesus’ humanity leads me to entertain different questions than if I had just read the gospels. My question to you tonight is what do you expect of Jesus? The gospels tell us Jesus defeated our death, but what else is there to Jesus? What does Jesus expect of us? Is Jesus one that set the example to be followed?
This question was certainly alive in the 1990’s with the WWJD or “what would Jesus do” craze. Every morning I would wake up and get ready for school, but before I walked out of my room, I would turn to my dresser and choose the WWJD bracelet color that best completed my outfit and I set off for school. I remember sitting in class looking down at my wrist and thinking about what I thought Jesus would do. A few times I even thought, what would Jesus answer on this US History test, Benjamin Franklin or George Washington?
I would eventually decide that Jesus wouldn’t be found in a classroom in the most powerful country in the world studying dead white guys. At this point, I thought that Jesus came so that we could follow his example, so did I need to be so radically Christian that I was a martyr? After all, actions were more powerful than words because they showed what I was really made of. Moreover, I was certainly going to heaven because I was a good person. The great thing about the WWJD craze was my daily focus on Jesus jumped dramatically, and I did pray more. But, Jesus didn’t have to die for me, he had to just set an example for me to follow and I could do the rest.
Now I have a somewhat broader understanding of Jesus, but I still struggle with the Jesus I want and the Jesus of the gospels. Jesus was and still is unpredictable. As I would expect, Jesus was concerned with the poor. However, he also didn’t object to Mary spending the equivalent to a years wages on a pound of pure nard to anoint his feet. What could $20,000 do for a family in sub-Saharan Africa, Mexico of Afghanistan?
In the predictable way, he cleanses the temple. Yet, he does it in a violent way, turning over tables and chairs. What do I, a want be pacifist, do with a violent Jesus? Prof. Fretheim would offer that God reacts to a violent world with violence to bring about peace. I human terms I see this as an absurd concept. As the old saying goes, “Fighting for peace is like having sex for virginity.”
Other than what is recorded about Jesus, how can anyone be so bold as to claim what Jesus would or wouldn’t do in any situation? We can only know what Jesus did not what he would do. Jesus was never predictable. Those who spent the most time with him still couldn’t predict his words or actions. The disciples got it wrong all the time. Not only did they get his teachings wrong, Peter denied Jesus and Judas betrayed Jesus.
The one film clip that I can’t forget is the portrayal of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. We see a Jesus who struggles with what has been required of Him. He fervently prays for God to take the cup away. Jesus’ will seems different from God’s. During Jesus’ prayer, He prays telling God that He did not start it and God’s will is hard and God holds every card. Jesus does say He will drink God’s cup of poison. He is willing, but now running with joy to His Godly calling.
The fully human, fully divine Jesus takes up his cross for Peter, the denier, and Judas, the betrayer and for you. Jesus came not to set an example but to save you. We are called not to do what Jesus did, but to take up our cross and follow.
4.04.2006
Thirty Hours of Anxiety, Joy and Life
Background:
- On Monday, internship placements came out.
- According to the Confessions syllabus, oral exams over the Small Catechism (roughly 3,000 words) and Augsburg Confession (28 subject headings and a summary sentence) is to be completed by April 5.
- Aaron and I decided Sunday afternoon to spend an extra night in Aberdeen with Mike and Perry.
Monday
9:00
- I’m driving and Aaron is orally teaching me petition one of the Lord’s Prayer. The only parts I have memorized are the 10 Commandments and the explainations of the Apostle's Creed.
Noon
- Aaron and I are still driving toward the cities and Lori calls to tell us that, yes, we are going to be in South Dakota for internship.
4:00
- Mom calls and leaves a voice mail informing us that Tina will be in Ohio over Easter (we’ll be in Ohio too).
8:00
- Aaron and I drive up the hill so that I can signup for an exam time. I find out that Tuesday is the last day to take the exam. Instead of going to the “Internship Celebration or Sorrow Drowning” gathering at the local pub, we go home so I can study like mad. If I can’t pass the exam Tuesday I fail the course!
11:30
- I can’t cram another thing in my head so it’s off to get some ZZZ’s.
Tuesday
8:05
- I wake up freaked out about the exam and study for an hour.
10:45
- I take the exam and pass! Afterward I go to the grocery and buy frozen pizza to celebrate – I NEVER buy frozen pizza.
Noon
- Aaron comes home and we celebrate my triumph over the Small Catechism and Augsburg Confessions with Mario Cart, pizza and beer.
2:00
- Aaron goes to work and I curl up on the couch, turn on Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and fall asleep 10 minutes later. Is there any better movie to fall asleep to?
6:45
- Prophets class begins with Prof. Fretheim dropping his papers followed by an announcement that he has to get his wife from the airport at 9:30. So, class will get out 20 minutes early.
Right now I’m on cloud 9. In a week from tomorrow, we’ll be in Ohio. Next year we’ll be in South Dakota (which means I can do my Chaplin internship next summer which means our senior year I’ll just take classes AND we can go to the Netherlands in August 2007 to visit Lori). I'm so excited that I just can't hide it!
- On Monday, internship placements came out.
- According to the Confessions syllabus, oral exams over the Small Catechism (roughly 3,000 words) and Augsburg Confession (28 subject headings and a summary sentence) is to be completed by April 5.
- Aaron and I decided Sunday afternoon to spend an extra night in Aberdeen with Mike and Perry.
Monday
9:00
- I’m driving and Aaron is orally teaching me petition one of the Lord’s Prayer. The only parts I have memorized are the 10 Commandments and the explainations of the Apostle's Creed.
Noon
- Aaron and I are still driving toward the cities and Lori calls to tell us that, yes, we are going to be in South Dakota for internship.
4:00
- Mom calls and leaves a voice mail informing us that Tina will be in Ohio over Easter (we’ll be in Ohio too).
8:00
- Aaron and I drive up the hill so that I can signup for an exam time. I find out that Tuesday is the last day to take the exam. Instead of going to the “Internship Celebration or Sorrow Drowning” gathering at the local pub, we go home so I can study like mad. If I can’t pass the exam Tuesday I fail the course!
11:30
- I can’t cram another thing in my head so it’s off to get some ZZZ’s.
Tuesday
8:05
- I wake up freaked out about the exam and study for an hour.
10:45
- I take the exam and pass! Afterward I go to the grocery and buy frozen pizza to celebrate – I NEVER buy frozen pizza.
Noon
- Aaron comes home and we celebrate my triumph over the Small Catechism and Augsburg Confessions with Mario Cart, pizza and beer.
2:00
- Aaron goes to work and I curl up on the couch, turn on Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and fall asleep 10 minutes later. Is there any better movie to fall asleep to?
6:45
- Prophets class begins with Prof. Fretheim dropping his papers followed by an announcement that he has to get his wife from the airport at 9:30. So, class will get out 20 minutes early.
Right now I’m on cloud 9. In a week from tomorrow, we’ll be in Ohio. Next year we’ll be in South Dakota (which means I can do my Chaplin internship next summer which means our senior year I’ll just take classes AND we can go to the Netherlands in August 2007 to visit Lori). I'm so excited that I just can't hide it!
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