Meals And Mission

MEALS AND MISSION How our attitudes influence our outreach.

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This class is for First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Houston, TX. The two basic references for the class are: Willard Van Orman Quine, Two Dogmas of Empiricism, 1953, Originally published in The Philosophical Review 60 (1951): 20-43. Reprinted in W.V.O. Quine, From a Logical Point of View (Harvard University Press, 1953; second, revised, edition 1961.). Nancey Murphy, Beyond Liberalism and Fundamentalism: How Modern and Postmodern Philosophy Set The Theological Agenda, Trinity Press International. 1996.

INTRODUCTIONS

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Because of time constraints, this will have to be limited to name along with a brief description of my background. Ideally, we would have enough time to have everyone answer the question, “Why are you here?”

Where did you have your favorite meal? 3

Was it an extra special affair? 4

Are you one of those people whose fondest memory of food involves an extra special affair that normally includes white linens, silver service, and porcelain plates? Feast in Houston serves traditional European fare in an atmosphere of a public house that fits nicely into this category. It might be that you simply love the pork cheek or the Welsh rarebit along with a glass of fine French wine. Or do you like to go to new, highly rated restaurant? According to Bon Appétit Magazine, the number one seafood restaurant in all of the United States is in Houston. Reef gives you a seasonal menu like based on locally caught seafood. Last month, Gulf Blackfin Tuna bacon was the talk of the town. It is conceivable that your dearest dinning recollection happened on a trip to that quintessential example great food found at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans. Here you can be assured of impeccable service along with food that appeals to all of the senses simultaneously. A well-loved menu item is pecan roasted black drum.

How about authentic American cuisine? 5

It could be that you simply adore those out of the way places with their authentic American cuisine. You might love the greasy spoon that only a select few know about. They serve a breakfast of eggs and hash browns to die for. Another popular choice is the icehouse. You know the one that I am talking about. It is out on the farm to market. It still lacks air conditioning and uses all those garage doors along with a handful of shop fans to keep the place cool during the summer. Here you go to for a hamburger with hand battered 1015 onion rings. A “long neck” washes all of this down. Then there is that BBQ joint with the smell of mesquite permanently embedded into every inch of the building and probably every one of its owners. You cannot go wrong if you try the brisket, ribs, or sausage and then grab a Dublin Dr Pepper to go with the meal.

How about home cooking? 6

Maybe you are particular to home cooking. Nothing fancy for you. You know there is no reason to go out when you can get better food at home. Here in the south, this would typically include lighter than air biscuits and butter along with chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, and it goes without saying gravy. Certainly, a Thanksgiving meal with all the fixings is best when it is made at home. (This is for the men. You can decide who makes the best meals, your wife or your mother.)

How would you describe this event? 7

Emotionally charged 8

Fine Dinning 9

You might think that this way of dining has completely disappeared from the face of the earth, but you would be wrong. Come and enjoy the good life that still exists. The maître d’ will greet you at the door. Walk in. Look at the luxurious linens that grace the table. See how the fine china glistens in the candlelight. From the freshest food available, the chief has carefully prepared today's menu. An ample wine menu is also available if you choose to enhance your dining pleasure. When the food comes to the table, you will first eat with your eyes because of the plate’s stunning presentation. What comes next is difficult to describe but rest assured that your palate will be pleased.

Hidden Treasure 10

Come very hungry and prepare to be amazed at what you will find here. Something in the atmosphere produces foods here that defy ordinary expectations. All by itself, the quantity of food makes it worthwhile to take a trip to this restaurant. But just you wait. The food is out of this world. That is not all. You will be surprised at the people you will see. Seated next to the biker will be a high priced lawyer. They all come of one reason: good food.

Home Cooking 11

By nature, people are very passionate about home cooking. If you do not believe me, just ask who makes the best homemade bread, chili, or pecan pie. I am even willing to bet you that it will be difficult to find two unrelated people that agree on who makes the best homemade food. This difference of opinion seems to raise its ugly head during first weeks of a marriage. “Well, you do not feed me like my mother!”

Technical Details 12

Providing details about the meal is the second way to tell someone about your favorite dining experience. Normally, this happens through a recipe. “Take a pinch of this, add a dash of that, combine, and cook for four hours over low heat.” This same idea of enumerating what must be done to prepare a meal can be applied to every dining situation. The only difference will be in the price of the items and the skill needed to complete the recipe. Listing the food consumed is another version of this idea. “My favorite meal is steak and potatoes.” Once again, this concept can be used for every type of meal.

How do we hear the Bible? 13

These two different ways of looking at the world can also be applied to the way we read the Bible.

Using emotion 14

Every part of our lives has been touched by storms. At work, we are worried about the financial troubles that surround the market and we wonder how much longer we can hold on. Our families face the same type of tempests. Forces right outside our houses threaten to change our way of live. Children find many things that draw them away from home and hearth. Parents want more and more. Obviously, our families are hurting. Christ has experienced storms in His ministry and He knows just what to do. He will calm them. Call out to Him and experience His peace. That is His gift to you: Peace in the middle of the worst storms of life.

Cold Hard Facts 15

It is not a particularly long trip from one side of the lake to the other since the distance is only four and one-half miles. Normally, the boat that carried them would have been about 26 feet long, 8 feet wide, and been able to hold 12 to 15 people. Jesus and the disciples were in this sort of craft because He had been teaching the crowds all day long. At evening, Jesus commanded them to go to the other side of the lake. Somewhere on the way, a great tornado like storm struck the boat. This storm did not bother Jesus' sleep even though the disciples were terrified. They woke Him and informed Him that they were about to die. He stood up and calmed the storm. The Creator of the universe can control every aspect of His creation. That is why the storm obeyed Him. It knew its Creator. All of the is world under Christ's command. So, when storms threaten you, remember that Jesus is the Lord of all. Technical details from The Gospel of Matthew, Daniel J. Harrington, S.J., Sacra Pagina, The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota, 1991.

Something is missing 16

While it is very likely that you have heard both sermon styles during your time in the church, you will have to admit they both come up short. Additionally when we go back and carefully look at the two different ways of explaining to someone else your favorite dining experience, the same problem occurs. Neither one is all that good.

It just does not work. 17

The basic reason for these shortcomings is that we want to base our faith on something certain. We want something that we can experience or something that we can grasp with our minds.

How we got here. 18

God’s Word 19

The Bible is the foundation of conservative theology, thus all of the teachings of the Scriptures must be completely free of any error for the conservative. All doctrine and theology must be drawn from the Bible. The manner in which conservative theologians study the Bible in turn causes the theologians to be cautious in changing any words in Scripture since language is used to make “precise statements” about God. If any of the words were changed, these changes would establish a new and different God.

Strength Everything is in complete agreement. 20

Because this method of study places everything firmly on the Bible’s foundation, both history and science must both completely agree with the Bible. When history or science are not in agreement with the Bible, the conservative will work to either bring the differences into alignment with the Bible or they will mark the differences as being incompatible with the Word of God, thus these differences must be false.

Weakness God becomes just a force among forces. 21

Modern physics research and theory teaches that everything in the universe can be understood by understanding the functioning of each individual part. A major theological problem with this understanding is if physics gives an account of all actions, how can God act in creation? Conservatives normally assume that God's supremacy includes the ability to override natural laws. These laws of nature only indicate God's normal way of action in creation. Thus, miracles are both welcomed as signs of God’s power over creation and these miracles pose no problems to the conservative theology. However, conservative theology does not have a good defense against the argument that God is reduced to a force among forces.

Experiencing God 22

Liberal theologians favor the other starting point, experience. David Hume not only pointed out that a master designer was only one possible explanation of the origin of the universe but he also argued that reason can never be used to support religion's understanding. Next, Friedrich Schleiermacher stated that the foundation for theology must be the feeling that is universal in all religions and that this feeling must be available to every human. It is these feelings that must be used to examine all doctrine. Therefore, for liberal theologians, Scripture is not the foundation for theology. Because of the approach of preferring experience, the preacher’s job is to translate the obsolete words, phrases, and ideas of the Bible into something that contemporary audiences can understand and thus feel. This translation can also include the use of feminine language for God.

Strength Everything is distinct. 23

Since the foundation for liberals is experience, theology, history, and science do not have to agree between themselves since all three areas for liberals are completely distinct.

Weakness Everything is preordained. 24

Baruch Spinoza's stated the conservative theory of God's actions in creation was selfcontradictory since God cannot both create the laws and then break them. The liberals expanded on this work and they normally emphasize that God is in all natural laws and God works through these laws. In this theory, God’s intellect and power were used during creation to accomplish everything that God desired to do. Since God has planned for every possible outcome, miraculous events are not needed. Thus, for a liberal theology miraculous events are discounted to the point of being ignored since these events are difficult to account for. There are two problems with this liberal theology. First, since God has preordained all actions, every action is God’s will. Thus, God is just as responsible for the birth of Jesus and the systematic murder of the Jews during World War II. A second problem is that since God has given God's will to the natural laws, God does not need to be involved with creation. We therefore no longer have a God who interacts on our behalf; we have a God who does not care about our situation.

Why we are here We want certainty and not faith. 25

The basic reason for this failure is that we want to base our faith on something certain. We want something that we can experience or something that we can grasp with our minds. It is hard to believe that God wants us as an integral part of His story. That is why we continually leave others and ourselves out of the work God does in the world. Trusting in the One who makes and keeps promises is even more difficult than seeing our place. Instead of believing God, we put our faith into something that we can understand, the facts and figures found in the Bible.

People are leaving We are not speaking the truth. 26

Somehow people know something is wrong. They feel something is missing. In their minds, they go over the lists time and time again but it just does not add up. The effects of not telling the whole story have been devastating. Across this country, families are not raising their children in the faith. All over the US, adults stay away from Christianity. The destructive cycle continues for the next generation. The results are easy enough to predict. Fewer people believe in God. The numbers in our own tradition prove this. Since 1986, 200,000 fewer people worship God in the ELCA. From 1970 to 2004, almost 900,000 children have left our Sunday education programs.

What would trusting in God look like? 27

Taste and see 28

“O taste and see that the LORD is good.” Psalm 34:8a

Invite them Trust that God will work in them. 29

There is another way to tell others about what you like. Bring them along. Trust that they might have a good time. Invite them to come and eat with you.

Theological Issues First a definition 30

Theology is nothing more than making accurate statements about our relationships between us and God, us and others, and between ourselves. When I wonder why the world is that way that it is, I am making a theological statement. When I want to know how others feel, this is also a theological inquiry. When I cannot come to grips over an issue, I am wresting with a theological problem.

Fundamental Commandment 31

Love God and your neighbor. 37 He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40) 30 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. 31 The second is this, You shall love your neighbour as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31) 27 He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.” (Luke 10:27)

There are no exclusions. 32

Every bit of our existence is covered under the commandment to love God and others. This even includes the strangers living among us and all of our enemies.