Highlights from Magnifica Humanitas

 Simul and I re-read the Pope’s encyclical about Humans in the era of AI. I intend to integrate all of this into my own Lutheran framework, but for now, here are some highlights from Magnifica Humanitas

Private, transnational parties are the main driver of AI development (5)

“Technology is never neutral” Technology takes on the characteristics of their creator (9)

“Building for the common good means accepting the limits and weakness of humanity without considering them an error to be corrected.” (12)

“The Church regards all who sincerely seek ‘truth, goodness, and beauty’ as companions on the journey, and considers them as ‘precious allies’ in defending the dignity of every person and in caring for creation.” (23)

Leo XIII’s Encyclical Rerum Novarum confronted with the “new things” of his time—the conflict between capital and labor, the question of the workforce, and economic and social transformation—Leo XIII did not limit himself merely to acknowledging the unrest, but saw these situations as an area for the Church’s pastoral mission.” (29)

Subsidiarity: “Whatever can be carried out by individuals, families, intermediary organizations and local communities should not be carried out by higher-level authorities.” (31)

Factors to keep in mind while thinking about our present situation Law over interests, economic equality to ameliorate tensions and violence, and community as mediator between the individual and the state/powerful entities (32)

“The church values democracy insofar as it guarantees the effective participation of citizens, enabling them to elect and peacefully replace their leaders and prevents power from being monopolized by small elite groups motivated by particular or ideological interests.” (39)

Development ought to translate into “real growth, of benefit to everyone and genuinely sustainable.” (40)

People have inherent dignity and that ought to be protected in the age of artificial intelligence (46)

The mystery of humanity becomes perfectly clear in Christ who is “completely free, open to others, capable of building healthy and beautiful relationships, and committed to the total gift of self.” (49)

Ideologies that “suggest that every person must earn or justify their worth, to the point of attributing greater value to those who are more efficient or effective” are insidious. Persons ought not be reduced to means to an end, resources to be used, or instrumentalized. (51)

If the task of discovering human rights that are applicable to all is abandoned, “it is conceivable that rights considered untouchable today might, in the future, end up being questions or denied by those in power, perhaps after having obtained only an apparent consensus from populations that are frightened or manipulated.” (56)

The State’s responsibility is to “ensure cohesion, unity and the proper organization of civil society so that the common good can be pursued with everyone’s contribution… harmonize the different sectoral interests with the requirements of justice.” (63)

Private property rights are always subordinate to the universal destination of goods. “The Christian tradition has never recognized the right to private as absolute or inviolable.” (66)

Universally intended goods include patents, algorithms, digital platforms, technological infrastructure, and data. (67)

“Decisions ought to be made at the closest level possible to the persons involved.” This should lead to: accessible social life, services that match real needs, solutions that are more creative and respect the dignity of each person. (70)

“States and transnational institutions are called to ensure fair rules and effective safeguards, so” local institutions “have a voice and can contribute to the discernment of choices that affect people’s daily lives, such as employment, access to services, data management and digital environments.” (72

Solidarity requires: “the ability to forgo immediate benefits in order to create opportunities for others in the future and a willingness to challenge habits and privileges—including those related to digital consumption and use of technology—when they prevent others from living with dignity.” (75)

“Like the natural environment, the ‘digital ecosystem’ can be preserved or exploited, shared or monopolized. Solidarity demands that decisions regarding data, algorithms, platforms and artificial intelligence take into account not only the immediate benefits for a few, but also the impact of all peoples and on future generations.” (76)

“Development is not truly human if it increases consumption for some while shifting costs and burdens on to others, or relegates entire regions to subordinate roles, preventing them from realizing their full potential.” (83)

“True progress is not what increases the wellbeing of some by degrading ecosystems, shifting costs onto the most disadvantaged communities, or compromising the living conditions of those who will follow us.” (84)

Technocratic paradigm: “the tendency to let the logic of efficiency, control and profit alone shape personal, social and economic decisions. This makes it clear that technology is not simply a tool. When it becomes the standard by which everything is judged it begins to dictate what matters and what can be discarded.” (92)

“If technological development advances without a corresponding ethical and social progress, the result may be an increase in means without a growth in humanity: ‘having more’ without ‘being more.’ (94)

“All of us, including those who design them (AI systems), possess only a limited understanding of their actual function… Thus there emerges an urgent need for a twofold commitment: on the one hand, a deepening of scientific research; on the other, the exercise of moral and spiritual discernment.” (98)

We need to especially consider: “the ease with which results are obtained, the impression of objectivity and the simulation of human communication.” Ready made answers weaken personal creativity and judgment. Because AI seems objective we “overlook the fact that they reflect the cultural assumptions of those who designed and trained them.” For less discerning users, AI imitating human communication can be misleading, “creating the illusion of a relationship with a real personal subject. When words are simulated, they do not build genuine relationships, but only their appearance. The artificial imitation of care or support can become particularly risky when it enters context where real relationships and emotional bonds are lacking. Here the danger is not so much that a person may believe they are communicating with another person, but rather that they may gradually lose the very desire to form genuine human connections.” (100)

“AI systems require enormous amounts of energy and water, significantly influencing carbon dioxide emissions, and place heavy demands on natural resources… For this reason it is essential to develop more sustainable technological solutions that reduce environmental impact and help protect our common home.” (101)

“We cannot consider AI to be morally neutral.” (104)

“Disarming AI means freeing it form the mentality of ‘armed’ competition, which today is not limited simply to the military context, but is also an economic and cognitive phenomenon… To disarm means discrediting the assumption that technical power automatically confers the right to govern… preventing it from dominating humanity.” (110)

“When efficiency becomes the ultimate measure of value, human beings are tempted to see themselves as a project to be optimized rather than as persons called to relationship and communion.” (112)

“when intelligence becomes self-referential its true purpose of serving life and the human person is lost.” (113)

Transumanism “the central role of technology and the aspiration to transcend the limits of the human condition. In general, transhumanism envisions the enhancement of human beings through technologies with the aim of increasing performance and capabilities. Posthumanism, especially in its more radical forms, goes further: it challenges anthropocentrism and envisions a hybridization of human beings, machines and the environment, even anticipating a threshold where humanity surpasses itself in a new evolutionary stage. Even when such ideas remain largely speculative, they gain relevance by altering the collective imagination and thereby influence social, economic and political choices. (116)

“It is one thing to integrate technology within a human-centered relational vision; it is quite another to be guided by an outlook that devalues human limits and promises a purely technical form of ‘salvation’” (117)

“We must remember that humanity flourishes not despite limitations, but often through them… It is also wise to acknowledge our fundamental finitude, knowing that ‘religious experience, and in particular Christian faith, propose that we live, without oversimplification, this ambivalence between human greatness and limitation, interpreting it in the light of our original and fundamental relationship with God.” (118)

“Even when limitations are experienced as inner suffering, human wisdom teaches us not to deny or suppress it, but to integrate it… over the years, we carry within us lessons that leave their mark like scars, the memories of a journey shaped by freedom and failure, dreams and disappointments… To renounce this adventure, both tragic and splendid, in the name of a presumed transcendence of all limits, could mean many things, but it would not longer be human.” (120)

“Tools that could foster dialogue and participation are often used to construct distorted narratives and blur the boundaries between truth and falsehood, mixing fact and opinions. Disinformation did not begin with AI, yet today it finds a powerful amplifier in AI. In public discourse, the truth of facts has a rational dimension, as it requires verification, cross-checking of sources and responsible argumentation. Moreover, it is deeply relational, built through bonds of trust and shared practices, as well as an honest exchange with others and with the world. Only the shared pursuit of the veracity of facts, perceived as a common good, can provide a solid foundation for just communication.” (132)

“People believe that they can construct reality, and that whatever best suits their claims corresponds to what is true.” (133)

“As the philosopher Hannah Arendt wrote, the ideal subjects of (totalitarian propaganda) are not so much those who are ideologically convinced but rather ‘people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction and the distinction between truth and false no longer exist.” (134)

“The content that circulates within digital environments shapes how people perceive the world and introduces into the collective consciousness images and narratives that direct our desires and influence our daily choices.” (135)

“truth is a common good and not the property of those with power or influence.” (137)

“The pervasiveness of digital media fosters a culture of immediacy and hyper-stimulation, which gives rise to fatigue, boredom and apathy concerning the effort required for seeking the truth.” (139)

“Educating people about the use of AI involves teaching them to decide when and for what purpose it ought not be used. The speed and ease with which answers or summaries can be obtained risk extinguishing the desire to ask questions, which is a process that bears fruit only over time.” (140)

“Work is not simply an instrument; it expresses and enhances the dignity of our lives.” (149)

Automation, robotics and AI “are rapidly transforming the very structure of work... It frequently forces workers to adapt to the speed and demands of machines, rather than machines being designed to support those who work.” “Current approaches to technology can paradoxically de-skill workers, subject them to automated surveillance and relegate them to rigid and repetitive tasks. The need to keep up with the pace of technology can erode workers’ sense of agency and stifle the innovative abilities they are expected to bring to their work.” (150)

“In those parts of the world where work tends to diminish or change radically due to technological and organizational processes outside of democratic control, we must rethink the nature of work and its connection to citizenship, ensuring that unemployment does not jeopardize social participation.” (154)

“While some regions spend heavily on superfluous interventions or dreams of individual enhancement accessible only to a select few, other parts of the world lack the essential equipment needed to save millions of human lives… Today, justice requires access to the benefits of innovation, including care, knowledge, tools and opportunities.” (161)

“The subtler forms of addiction linked to the ‘digital attention economy’ should not be underestimated, since platforms and services are often designed to capture users’ time and attention exploiting their vulnerabilities and weakening their inner freedom. When business models thrive on human weakness, the person is treated as means rather than as an end… There is an urgent need to promote technologies that strengthen interior freedom by fostering education in digital sobriety and the protection of minors, thus countering models that exploit vulnerability.” (170)

Technocratic and post-humanist mentalities “tend to regard the human person as an object to be manipulated or resource to be optimized, removing all safeguards against the unchecked pursuit of profit. What prevails is efficiency, rather than respect for freedom and human dignity.” (172)

“Nothing in the world of AI is immaterial or magical. Every seemingly immediate and flawless response is the result of a long chain of mediation, involving vast networks of natural resources energy infrastructure and, above all, people.” (173)

“If technology becomes the ultimate criterion, the human person risks being reduced to data a cog in a machine or a commodity. If, however, technology is integrated with a wise perspective, it can become an instrument of growth, justice, and fraternity.” (180)

War… “the risk of technology, detached from ethics and responsibility, will render decisions about life and death more rapid and impersonal, and will present the use of force as an immediate and viable option.” (182)

“While AI can enhance the defense and protection of civilians, it can also lower the threshold for the use of force, shield people from responsibility and foster a culture in which the enemy is reduced to a statistic and the victim to ‘collateral damage.’” (183)

“The modern Babel can be seen not only in the globalized technocratic paradigm, but also in the remote clash between opposing imperialisms, between powers that wish to preserve their supremacy, and those that aspire to seize that supremacy, resulting in a multiplicity of local conflicts… Yet, despite this downward spiral, we can also glimpse a great part of humanity that is striving to remain human and work to build the holy city of coexistence and peace. All to often, we are unwitting builders and clumsy architects of this city, capable of generous gestures but lacking an overall vision. This building project is slower, less visible and less spectacular, and awaits a better understanding and greater coordination so that it may become the conscious and clear responsibility of every community, from families to States, and the relations between Nations. It is this prospect of commitment, this construction site of hope, that we call the ‘civilization of love.’” (185)

“It is important tot reaffirm that the ‘just war’ theory, which has all too often been used to justify any kind of war, is now outdated. Humanity possesses far more effective and capable tools for promoting human life and resolving conflicts, such as dialogue, diplomacy and forgiveness. The use of force, violence and weapons reflects a relational poverty that always has disastrous consequences for civilian populations.” (192)

“The growing ease with which autonomous weapons systems can be deployed makes war more ‘feasible’ and less subject to human control. This violates the principle that armed force should be used only as a last resort in case of legitimate self-defense. For this reason, the development and use of AI in warfare must be subjected to the most rigorous ethical constraints.” (197)

“It is not permissible to entrust lethal or otherwise irreversible decisions to artificial systems. No algorithm can make war morally acceptable.” (198)

“When people come to believe that nothing is genuinely true and that principles are hollow words, then the fuse in their hearts is lit for new eruptions of intolerance and aggression.” (206)

“In countries marked by serious social tensions, we cannot rule out the possibility that some leaders may consider armed conflict as an effective way of diverting attention from domestic problems and a cynical tool for managing difficulties.” (208)

Tolkien quote: “It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till.” (213)

“I would like to propose a sober yet demanding program of Christian life with which we can navigate this epochal change in the light of the Gospel. This avenue emerges through contemplating God’s plan, living ecclesial unity by partaking of the Eucharist, building a world centered on the common good and praying in union with the Blessed Virgin Mary.” (229)

“Our world is filled with attempts to seize control of markets and spheres of influence, often shrouded in reassuring rhetoric and seductive ideologies. Yet our hearts yearn for an approach that is wise and benevolent, akin to that which Mary praises in her Magnificat, when she proclaims that God’s mercy extends in every generation to those who fear him. This plan of mercy continues to unfold throughout history today, even amid the rapid and unsettling changes brought by algorithms and global networks, and it becomes a compass in the digital era for living our lives according to the Gospel.” (230)

“What saves humanity is the divine love that descends into the most fragile point of our history and renews it from within.” (232)

“Nothing will be lost that is authentically human. Indeed everything will be purified and reunited in the One, who gathers every fragment of life, every tear and every authentically human achievement, rescuing them from nothingness and delivering them redeemed to the Father.” (233)

“Our role must be the acceptance of human limitations as a natural and positive reality… we are called to assume an active role, without taking refuge in spiritual sentimentality or retreating into our own little worlds. We must be faithful to the truth, invest in education, cultivate relationships and love justice and peace.” (236)

“I invite everyone to cherish places and times where physical presence remains crucial, such as shared meals, Christian community gatherings, time spent with the lonely and serving the poor.” (239)

“I would encourage a careful examination of the supply chains of digital production, the working conditions hidden behind our devices and the mechanisms that profit from manipulation and war.” (240)

“In this era of digital transformation, I see in Nehemiah a striking parable of our own vocation, which is not to be passive spectators of social and cultural factures, nor mere commentators on what is crumbling, but men and women prepared to enter the construction site of history—research laboratories, technology companies, schools, the media, institutions and local communities—in order to rebuild what has collapsed and protect what is threatened.” (241)

A Trinity Sunday Blessing

 

                As near as I can tell, Trinity Sunday is the only Sunday on which we celebrate a doctrine, not an event or person.

                Doctrine usually comes into existence to combat heresy (wrong belief)…
which usually is when a Christian says too much
—they nails down things so fully that they put God in a box
—and any God you can box up, is an Idol, not the Living God.

                Orthodoxy, saying something right about God,
is always a humble, tempered position,
usually taking a middle ground between two extremes
(bowling alley theory of Heresy and Orthodoxy).

                When it comes to the Trinity, these creeds we profess are attempt to:
-avoid Modalism (where the persons of the Trinity aren’t persons, but masks)
-and Arianism (where the Trinity is “the Father and the Exalted Creatures”—which might be a fun name for a rock band, but its bad theology).

Yes, our professions of faith insist that the persons of the Trinity are Fully God and Fully One.

                Faithful confession about the Triune God holds in tension and navigate between: Uniqueness & Divinity,
Trinity and Unity,
Persons and Deity,
Transcendence and Imminence.

 

                And in the midst of all that, we can run into an entirely different danger
—a doctrine becoming a calcified thing,
instead of a confession of faith.

                Luther saw this plain
—that’s why his summary of the Creed
(if you’re using the Pentecost Prayer Book, you’ve been using it regularly)
—his Paraphrase, was clearly HIS confession
-Wow! God the Father provides shoes for me!!!!
-Wow! God the Son has purchased me from my kidnapper!
-Wow! God the Holy Spirit calls me through the Gospel!

                And, in a similar way today, I wish to make this doctrine genuine and fresh, as a blessing of you all today.

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

Prayer

 

May the Grace of the Son be with you.

                He’s your Redeemer!
Your relative, he pays your bail.
He keeps your bookie away and the loans from coming due.
He’ll never abandon you.

                After all, in our Baptism we are marked by him forever, forever his.

Because we belong to him, Saints,
we are citizens of the City of God,
entering into its economy through
service and solidarity—care and mercy
—the same mercy, the same costly generosity, he embodied for us.

He is light, revealing what it means to be truly human.
He’s what right and real authority looks like; he reigns.

 

May the Love of the Father be with you.

                The one who loves us like a good parent.
Who provides for and protects us,
and does the same for everything that is—seen and unseen.

A love that is creative,
for the mere joy of companionship,
for peaceful harmony,
honest good work,
gentle walks through the Garden,
and rest as part of the rhythm of life.

                The one who has no beginning,
but provides both beginnings and ends for us
—who offers something out of nothing
and orders chaos,
making it good and very good.
In him there is peace.

 

May the Communion of the Holy Spirit be with you.

                The Spirit hovers, and proceeds
—whirlwind cycles of action
—calls, gathers, enlightens, keeps, and is making us holy
—and then does it all again…
and also, the still small voice
who stops the hearts of even the bravest prophet.

                Breath that raises the dead,
and the grounding that lets us trust God at all.

                With that trust, we can come together and be a Spirit people
—always catching up to what the Spirit has already prepared for us.

               

                “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

 

 

                With these words we gather every week. Together as people baptized in the Triune name. A community connected to the mysterious unity of the Godhead.
If we are made in the image of God, and we are, there must be some of this reality
—the Dance of the Trinity,
the interrelationship of God with God’s self,
that spills out into relationship with us…

 

                The Son is conceived by the Holy Spirit,
so that we might be born to new life,
Jesus Christ begotten of the Father,
that we might entrust our prayers to him.

                The Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son,
that we too can march in that grand Spiritual parade
—carried along on that trajectory,
the stream of Spirit swelling up behind us.

 

                Hear this siblings! The Son redeems us and the Spirit forgives us daily,
so that we are what the Father has declared us, “Good and very good.”

                And strangely enough,
we are created by the Father,
to be redeemed and forgiven!

 

The Father provides common things and the Spirit gives us Spiritual gifts.

The Spirit give us the ability to believe the Son’s story,
and shall raise us up to new life like the Son was raised
—he is the First Fruit of the Resurrection!

                The Spirit keeps us in the Faith,
the Son keeps us in the Kingdom,
the Father keeps us in his merciful protection.

 

At a certain point our language breaks down…
fresh words, but themselves touching the edges of heresy,
and it all gives way to mystery,
a return to that simple blessing of Paul’s:

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

Amen!

A Resolution I Hope to Pass at Synod Assembly

 

As I’ve intimated elsewhere, Artificial Intelligence is something I’ve been thinking about for a while. My hope is that a Social Message from the ELCA will address the big questions that AI brings; that we can use the many tools Lutheranism has in our theological toolbox to: call a thing what it is, discern how to use it for the sake of our neighbor, and discern a faithful path forward with AI.

Questions I hope are grappled with by a Social Message like this include:

-In what ways can AI augment our roles, relationships, and responsibilities? In what ways does AI hinder our ability to live out our baptismal vocation faithfully?

-How will AI shape and reshape our self-conception as co-creators? As made in the image of God? What sort of image will AI mirror to us?

-What idols will we make with AI? How will we relativize them, and rightly name them as a part of creation?

-What is truth, mediated through the prompts and lenses of AI?

 

Below is the Resolution that will hopefully be passed at the New Jersey Synod Assembly.

 

A Resolution Requesting a Social Message on Artificial Intelligence (AI)[1]

WHEREAS, the rapid adoption of Artificial Intelligence brings up perplexing questions within congregations, seminaries, and the pulpit, and

WHEREAS, AI is often described as set to have the same level of impact on the world as the Industrial Revolution, the invention of the internet or the printing press, or even the discovery of fire, and

WHEREAS, AI promoters promise that it will be a tool that sorts through the near infinite amount of information produced in our world, creates more efficient offices and electrical grids, and widens access to healthcare and education, and

WHEREAS, AI skeptics warn that it will leave large percentages of young people unemployed, cause irreparably damage to the environment, create unintended cultural chaos, give cover for illegal activities, and make decisions without responsibility and have authority without accountability, and

WHEREAS, this Church has wise things to say about truth, vocation, personhood, and idolatry, be it

RESOLVED that the New Jersey Synod Assembly direct the New Jersey Synod Council to request the ELCA Church Council to authorize development of a social message on artificial intelligence.

 

Submitted by Pastor Chris Halverson, Spruce Run Lutheran Church, Glen Gardner, NJ

---

[1] Here are two definitions of AI from the ELCA’s Corporate Social Responsibility Issue Paper on AI:
“AI is generally considered to be a discipline of computer science that is aimed at developing machines and systems that can carry out tasks considered to require human intelligence.”

“AI refers to the theory and development of computer systems that can perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as speech recognition, decision-making, and pattern identification. AI encompasses a broad spectrum of capabilities, from mimicking human actions and thought processes to acting and thinking rationally.” 

Pentecost in 3 parts

 

            I distinctly remember the moment when I knew seminary was for me. It was the summer before my senior year of college, and Pastor Sarah took me to see Wartburg Seminary, and I got to sit in on a class
—it was focused exclusively on the Holy Spirit showing up in scripture before Pentecost
—so brooding over the chaotic waters in Genesis,
enlivening the valley of dry bones before Ezekiel,
and the like. Mind blowing, the Spirit acting in such a variety of ways, invisible even while right in front of our eyes throughout the Hebrew Bible.

            There are a wide variety of interpretations of the Holy Spirit—the Spirit does a lot.
Think of our own confessional documents, the Holy Spirit: calls, gathers, enlightens, sanctifies, and keeps us. Not only that, but the Spirit will forgive and raise us up to Eternal Life.

-Our Pentecostal siblings see the Spirit as all excitement and ecstasy.

-The Society of Friends—my wife’s faith tradition—sometimes describe themselves as “introverted Pentecostals” they simply wait on the Shy Sovereign to come among them and reveal a Word out of silence.

-We Lutherans understand the Spirit to be a Baptismal being
—wrapped up in that Identity we have in Christ,
flowing from us as we live out that identity in our day-to-day life.

            And today, I’d like us to consider the Spirit in light of some of the ministries of the Church
—actual concrete committee work…
even that is Spirit-work.
Particularly:
-Outreach and Evangelism,
-Fellowship and Pastoral Care,
-Stewardship and Caretaking.

Yes, the Spirit is among us in our outreach, our fellowship, and in our stewardship.

 

Prayer

            The Pentecost, which we find in Acts, is the most in your face example of the Spirit’s work.
It is loud and big,
fire and flame,
prophecy and portents in the sky.

            The disciples are given words that will reach the wild and wide diversity of people gathered in Jerusalem on Pentecost—the Jewish Feast Day of Moses receiving the 10 Commandments. People from all around the Empire, hearing gospel in their language. Euangelion to the Greeks,
Evangelium to the Romans,
Injil to the Arabs,
Basharta in Aramaic, and so on.

            Pentecost is a proclamation that the Word of God is for everyone,
the Good news: “Jesus is Lord! In him there is salvation” is to be translated, told, enacted, and offered, in whatever form people will hear.

            Truly, the Spirit is about making the good news plain—Evangelism and reaching out—Outreach…

 

            Then there is John’s version of Pentecost, the resurrected Christ coming to the upper room to these dispirited disciples of his,
shut away out of fear and huddled together in gloom of night…
and Jesus appears, a light in the darkness, an opening for those trapped behind doors.

            He comes, quiet, intimate, personal.

            He breathes into them
—inbreathing,
comfort, order out of chaos
—like the Spirit hovering over the waters, like a pile of dry bones becoming a living people.

            The breath of Jesus, his ongoing presence with his people—the Spirit!
The Spirit is the one who accompanies us on Jesus’ behalf!
The one who gives us Peace and sends us out.

            Peace—that our griefs and fears might be overcome by comfort
—the Spirit is the Comforter!

            Sending—opening those doors, so that they might be courageous and walk in and with the Holy Spirit,
proclaiming Jesus’ forgiveness to a fallen and frightened world, even as we get to hear it again and anew ourselves!

            In our fellowship and our care for one another, I assure you the Spirit is with us!

 

            Paul speaks of the Spirit’s work as well, in his letter to the Corinthians…

The Corinthian Church, these people who frustrate him to no end, people who always brag of their spirituality, their ecstatic experiences,
to the point that Paul is pretty sure they are using spiritual things as a way to establish a pecking order…

And so he gives a formula
(we only have part of it in today’s reading)
a formula for how to know if a Christian is dealing with a Spiritual Thing, or are in relationship with the 3^rd person of the Trinity—the Holy Spirit—you hear that, right?
The Spirit is a Person;
abuse of spiritual powers is a thing.

Paul’s formula is that Abusive Spirituality will curse Christ,
the Holy Spirit will affirm Jesus as Lord.

And to undergird this point, he again makes a similar distinction between “Spiritual Things” and Spiritual Gifts. What do they empower?
If they strengthen a hierarchy in the Church, they’re a thing,
if they help us live out our roles, relationships, and responsibilities in ways that honor God and aid our neighbor
—then that’s the Holy Spirit.

All that to say, when it’s about Stewardship
—putting gifts, passions, and talents to work for the Common Good
—that’s the Spirit at work.

 

            Holy Spirit! Sanctifier! Prophetic Flame! Shy Sovereign! O Voice of Baptism! Holy Presence who hides in plain sight throughout our scriptures, Empower, we pray:
our Outreach—may it be ongoing acts of gracious translation!
our Fellowship—comfort and courage as your new world is being born.
our Stewardship—your gifts, used for the common good. Amen.

Eulogy for a Faithful Church

 

Sara Olson-Smith’s “Eulogy for a Faithful Church” is balm for the soul. It is a reflection on her first call to St. Peter’s Lutheran in North Plainfield; this ministry began as redevelopment work and became a ministry of holy closure.

              Pastor Sara’s care-filled storytelling captures a couple of linked realities well. It names the strangeness of first call—your first solo funeral, the unexpected connections created in the midst of the mundane, etc. At least to me it also lovingly remembers what ministry was like before Covid, and I hope it can maybe coax us back there in some respects. It also captures well both the grief and care of people in the throes of closing a beloved 117-year-old congregation.

              This book is girded by a powerful image and a refrain: The various depictions of biblical figures from the stain glass windows of St. Peter’s as framing for chapters and themes, and the quote: “Given this reality, how do I make the gospel known?”

              This book captures the jarring beauty in the banality of ministry; for example, the copy machine stops working and that leads to deep hospice-level pastoral conversation. The congregation makes a variety of hard and faithful choices; some of them lead to conflict, but this conflict is always depicted with the kind of grace that can only come with time and hindsight.

              Finally, the book lifts up the legacy of St. Peter’s. In closing there was new life: ongoing healthcare for folks in Chile, hunger grants, Seminarians assisted, and grants for congregations in New Jersey to experiment and start new ministries (my own congregation has received several such grants). Additionally, the physical building, stain glass windows and all, continues to be a place of worship, St. Basilios-Gregorios Orthodox Church.

              The main points Pastor Sara focuses the reader on are: Congregations matter to communities; even those who do not worship there miss them when they are gone. Because the church is more than individual congregations, closures do not mean congregants go without care. Closures aren’t failures—there is new life for us, because we are resurrection people!

              Having been the Pastor of one of the receiving congregations from St. Peter’s, St. Stephen South Plainfield, I especially appreciate the “cast of characters” lovingly described in this book. But, even if this book doesn’t hold a personal place in your heart, it is still well worth reading! I would recommend it to seminarians, or perhaps first call pastors, and to anyone who wants to know what faithful ministry can look like. Pastor Sara models well our work at its best: relational, filled with hard and fateful decisions, emotionally draining, saturated in story, catching glimpses of God doing a new thing and getting to point to it!

Building a Bridge on Ares Hill

 

            Paul, being Paul, had stirred up trouble in Northern Greece
—he’d started a riot!
And his fellow Christians whisked him away to Athens to lay low for a while…

            And, Paul, being Paul, didn’t lay low.
Instead, he stumbled out into the streets of Athens,
and started arguing with folk
—not just his fellow Jews from the local synagogue,
but Greek Philosophers of various sorts, as well.

            You see
—Athens was a place where the new and novel were the most important thing;
philosophers debated each other like rap battles
and new ideas popped up and were consumed like popcorn at a B movie,
and digging down deep to get to the root of what it means to be human
—was held in the highest regard.

            So, Paul’s preaching was picked up as an original idea to be unpacked and played with… and judged.
These philosophers drug him up to the Hill of Ares in order to,
“find out what all these words Paul is planting mean.”

            Up Ares Hill—the Areopagus,
named for the famous first trial in Greek Myth.
Ares, the god of war, murdered the son of Poseidon, the god of the sea,
and was put on trial and acquitted… found innocent…
right there on that spot,
where Paul and his preaching of Christ and Resurrection
were put on trial.

            Right there,
where Paul begins with a sort of compliment (perhaps a backhanded one)
“I see you all are super spiritual.”

            Right there,
where Paul begins by building a bridge
to this frantic philosophical pagan audience.
Building a Bridge on Ares Hill.

Prayer

 

            Building a Bridge on Ares Hill.

Paul begins by complimenting an altar to an unknown God,
and then proceeds to quote two different philosophers and a poet.
Pagan Idols, Ideologies, and Art,
seemingly embraced by this monotheistic preacher—how odd.

It’s worth thinking about what Paul is up to here!
He’s following the 8^th commandment to get to the 1^st.
He refuses to lie about his neighbor,
in fact he’s interpreting the Athenians in the best possible light
—that the altar is an attempt to honor God,
that the beauty of poetry
and rigorous striving after truth of philosophy
are acts of yearning, a searching, sifting, fumbling,
finding of the one who has found us,
who has revealed himself to us,
who abides with us,
and will never abandon us.

Yes, he builds that bridge,
weight bearing to this day
—kind interpretation of the one with whom you disagree,
a generous explanation of the other’s motives
and where they find their meaning.

I dare say Paul does so in a more civilized manner
—back in the ancient world
—than most of us moderns and post-moderns,
with all our overtures to tolerance and “live and let live”
—do today.

So, he gives them the benefit of the doubt
and then gets to a point much larger than those particular philosophies or even pagan pantheons.
He points to the 1^st commandment,
“You shall have no other gods.”
Our gods are, as Luther says,
those things that we fear, love, and trust
—those are our idols.

Human beings are Idol factories (John Calvin).
We’ll gladly create:
-a god that needs our nourishment/
—instead of worshipping the one who created the world good and very good.
-a god who is exclusive to only our people,
a god on our side/
—when we ought to ask, as Abraham Lincoln famously said, if we’re on God’s side
—are we able to acknowledge that everyone is made in God’s image!
-a god easily containable,
confined to smaller and smaller boxes,
controlled and tame/
—when God is the one who comes to us,
meets us where we’re at,
and calls us onward
to see what the Spirit is already stirring up!

 

But Paul puts them all into their rightful place
—pieces of creation, not the Creator,
idols shrunk down to size,
those things once enthroned and deified are refashioned and redeemed
—they are good, not The Good.

“You’re sure right, Mr. Stoic
—we’re children of God
—out of many one
—a common origin and common future,
grafted into a good and growing family.”

“Gosh, you Epicureans are right,
if we’re not careful with all this religion and spirituality talk,
we’ll fall into superstition,
we’ll forget that everything is a grace and a gift from God
—Providence provides for us
—God acts first, we simply respond.”

 

After all that,
naming the yearnings of Athens,
relativizing the Idols,
uplifting those voices that were in harmony with his own,

Finally, Paul uses the geography of Athens
—that hill itself
—to build a bridge to his Athenian listeners.
The Areopagus,
and its eerie mythology,
point to Christ.

He points back to that other god,
who haunts that hill.
He points to the trial of Ares.
Ares was found guilty of murder
and yet judged innocent.

And so, Paul preaches about another judge
one who, so strangely, was somehow on trial!
(those of you who attend our Good Friday service might remember
that my translation of John’s Passion makes this explicit
—while SOMEONE sits on the Judge’s Bench in John’s Gospel
—ultimately it is Jesus, not Pilate)
He is innocent and yet was executed.

Yes, Paul tells of another judgment,
Jesus is found guilty and among sinners,
and yet was holy and righteous.
He died,
no, more than that,
rose, for sinners!

The judge who sees all our idols
—the Pantheon of false gods that we worship—we Athenians,
and favors us anyhow!
Whose judgement acquits us of Sin
and reconciles us to God and neighbor.
Who is making right the whole world,
Jesus Christ our Lord!

Amen and Alleluia!

Stephen’s script for dying and for living

 

 

                St. Stephen is a man of many firsts.
He is the first Deacon—one of seven sent by the Apostles to feed the widows and orphans, a person set apart to a ministry of word and service.
He is the first Christian Martyr—someone who dies for the faith—dies while telling the story of Jesus and his love.

He is arguably the first Saint—the first Holy One of the New Testament, someone assuredly connected to Christ, so connected that death can not sever the bond.

                Surely he can be a model of the faith for us—his death can provide a script for us—a script for dying and for living. He witnesses, trusts, and forgives—surely that is a faithful way to die and way to live.

Let us pray

               

                St. Stephen witnesses, trusts, and forgives, a model and script for us as well.

                Stephen preaches the longest sermon in the book of Acts—60 verses covering the highlights of Hebrew Scripture—and then he is stoned to death (a warning perhaps on preaching over-long). This is the culmination of his Christian life

“Look! The Son of Man stands at the right hand of God!

Look! Jesus is the Ascended Lord of all.

Look! The scapegoat murdered by Rome
betrayed by the religious authorities
on that awful Passover
—he is God’s chosen,
he is the true authority,
life out of death,
faithful to the end and beyond!

Look! He is the way!

Imagine living a life where your ending—says something about the goodness of God!

 

Then Stephen, knowing he is near the end, entrusts himself to Jesus, “receive my spirit.” His words here echo Jesus’ from the cross, his death a model of Jesus’ own.

Even as Stephen suffers traumatic violence, he asks this with an untroubled heart.
The house
—the dwelling place
—the abiding place
John’s Gospel insists (43 times by my count)
—the place where God the Son leans into God the Father,
which is also where we lean into the Divine—born of God,
the relationship in which we receive trust and comfort in a distrustful and uncomfortable world,
the promise of an abiding place where God is made known—an abiding peace.

Yes, Stephen trusts our trustworthy Lord,
he receives rest and release. May we all be so blessed.

 

Finally, Stephen forgives these people who attack and are murdering him
—including among them Saul who will later be called Paul—a saint shaped by Stephen’s faithful death.
Stephen pleads with Jesus, “Don’t hold their sins against them.” Another echo of Jesus’ words to his loving Father—Forgive!

Isn’t that interesting—while Paul never met Jesus in the flesh, he essentially experiences Christ’s crucifixion when he watches Stephen die, got to experience that steadfast forgiveness found in Christ, when Stephen forgave him for his part in the stoning.

Again, don’t we want this for ourselves at the end, not holding onto any slight, not leaving any relationship a loose, or even jagged, end. Just reaching out, one more time to mend the tear.

 

If you want to know what a good Christian death can look like, look to Stephen
—witnessing to Jesus,
trusting him with your whole self,
forgiving those who have harmed you.
But not only that—witness, trust, forgiveness
—those can make for a good life as well.

According to Dr. Amit Sood of the Mayo Clinic, who studies these sorts of things
—when people come to the end of their life, and look back, their regrets included:
-not having courage to express their true feelings,
-working too hard,
-and not spending enough time with family and friends.
Courageous confession, a real sense of rest, and tending to relationships. Witness, trust, forgiveness…

 

When we tell folks about our deepest convictions
—when we tell people about Jesus
—isn’t there something multiplying about it?
In telling the story of our faith it strengthens our faith!
I know there have been times when I’ve taught a bible study or confirmation class,
and I came out of the session more convinced and encouraged than I’d entered in.
Some Sundays Pastors even have to preach themselves into faith,
proclaim “Jesus loves you” until it hits us: “Oh, Gee, that’s me too!”

 

                Some of us have been attending the "Meditation & Mindfulness for Here & Now" study by Pastor Phil from Denville
—meditation is one of those practices, like keeping Sabbath,
where struggling to do nothing, does a whole lot.
Trusting that the world will keep turning without our effort,
that all those thoughts about the past and future, that come once you stop, full stop, will still be there when you get back, but maybe a little less urgent…

                It’s all grace, all gift—no work required, just peace for the moment.

 

                Tending and mending relationships hopefully won’t be as dramatic as Stephen, or even Jesus,
forgiving an active murder
—but having a practice,
some form of:
“Tell the story, name the hurt, grant forgiveness, renew or release the relationship”
as a tool in your toolbelt
—you aren’t going to go wrong that-a-way.

 

                Stephen, the first Martyr—witnessing, pointing to Jesus, Crucified Lord of All.

                Stephen, one of the first Christian Saints—sanctified because he trusted the one who is surely trustworthy.

                Stephen, first Deacon—so dedicated to acts of service that he somehow saw the needs of even the people in the process of killing him—they needed to be forgiven, he could follow Jesus in even that!

                Witness, trust, forgiveness.

                That’s a death, and that’s a life—worth reflecting upon, worth struggling with, worthwhile. Amen.

At the Edge of Time, at the End of World, and Encountered by God

 

                One commentator described today’s lesson from Acts as, “Doing life together at the edge of time.”

                It is pretty intense phrase, but I like it! It is a world ending—apocalyptic sort of description, isn’t it?

                Let’s think about it, let’s unpack what it would mean that these Earliest of Christians are “Doing life together at the edge of time.”

-Christ is risen, death rolled back by life.
-Jesus ascends to heaven—he is Lord of Heaven and Earth.
-The Holy Spirit comes, and allows Peter to preach to everyone!

                And that message of Peter is: “This is what the prophet Joel told us about—in the last days the Spirit will be poured down upon every type of person.”

                And his sermon, it culminates in a mass baptism of 3,000 people…
the 3,000 we read about today
—doing life together at the edge of time,
at the end of the world as they knew it,
in a new age where God is meeting people in a whole new way!

                At the Edge of Time,
at the End of the World,
Encountered by God

 

Let us pray

                3,000 newly baptized people,
met by God at the end of the world,
at the edge of time…
God doing a new thing in Jesus Christ.
Baptized into him,
filled with his Spirit,
partaking in his Lordship and Resurrection.

                That’s utterly terrifying!
Ecstatically so,
but terrifying none the less.
What do you do
—at the edge of time,
at the end of the world as you know it?
How do you enter a new age?
A new life?

 

                Think of all those times humans have encountered something truly new. How we respond, how we get so tangled in it in our carelessness.
The Agricultural Revolution
—enough food for everyone
AND slash and burn and alienation from the land.
The Industrial Age
—The radical shrinking of space and time through innovation
AND urbanization, slums, smog, fire, and factories.
The Information Age—A flat world and a global conversation
AND Move Quickly and break things.
Look at how we’re reacting to the advent of the AI Revolution
—The potential to sift through unending amounts of information,
streamlined medical services and miraculous diagnosis,
efficient energy girds and access to healthcare and education that we couldn’t have dreamed of even a decade ago
AND Deepfakes, decisions made where no one is clearly responsible,
biases tucked into algorithms, the curtailing of freedom of thought, expression, and right to privacy
and we’re opting to put it in everything and deal with the consequences later.

 

                Not only careless though, we humans. We worry about what’s at the edge of the map—uncharted waters teaming with Sea Monsters and Dragons.
Cross a bridge, meet a troll.
Ford a river, find a Dryad.

                I can’t tell you how many books and articles on ministry grab at that anxiety of ministry in unprecedented times and don’t let go—titles as provocative… and predictable… as, "Christianity must change or die” “The Church Must Change or Die” “Renovate or Die” “Adapt or Drowned” “Innovate or Die”… it gets tiring after a time…

 

                In all these instances, desperate desires for control.
We want to enter the new age on our terms
—be it with fear and trembling
or carelessly rushing in.

We want to will our way into end of the world,
conquer monsters,
hide from the machines until they go away,
master our destiny and shape our new life.

 

                But look at these folks baptized into the New Age of Christ.
They get to experience Koinonia in the Greek
—an ordinary unity, a common community
—the deep fellowship of our life in Christ.
The blessing of the Kingdom of God,
a gathering where the sermon on the mount is alive to them
and as physically present as the pews you are sitting on right now!

Look at what they do!
—they listen to teaching and are in awe of miracles.
They belong to a community and welcome others into it.
They pray and they praise God for this goodness.
They eat together and share with one another.
They receive and they give thanks.

                Maybe entering a new age
—at least the Age of Christ, which dear friends, is the age beyond all these other ages that come and go
—perhaps it is less like going off the map in search of sea serpents,
and more like surfing…
or boogie boarding (that’s Pastor Chris’ speed)…
placing yourself on that wave and just ridding it,
letting it take you where it is headed.

                Perhaps that’s the Baptismal water we’ve been placed in.
Things click.
We don’t try to capture lightning in a bottle
—that’s an act of futility and folly,
No, we receive a joyous surprise—a lightning bug in a jar, “Oh gee, look, isn’t that lovely.”

Baptism isn’t adapt or drowned, but adopted and chosen.

                 “Doing life together at the edge of time” is freeing.
We’ve already met God,
been encountered with the beginning and end of time,
the one upon whom all of reality rests
—now we get to be together in it all!

                The edge of time might make us timid, beholden to rolling anxieties.

                The end of the world might prompt a careless sort of need to be in control.

                But encountered by God, the God of our baptism
—it is praise and promise,
belonging and being beloved,
meal and gift and thanksgiving,
Koinonia community in and with Christ.

Amen.