When I Was a Young Man: A Memoir, Bob Kerrey

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when i was a young manWhen I Was a Young Man: A Memoir, Bob Kerrey
(Audio version, Audible Studios, 2014)

I was offered a free review copy of this audio book and accepted knowing I had the semester break to listen. I recognized the author as a politician, decorated war veteran, whom I thought had run for but not received the presidential nomination of the Democrat party. That was as far as my knowledge went, and it was enough to stir my curiosity.
I liked Kerrey’s writing style as well as his reading. It was straightforward and compelling. I particularly liked hearing his description of his childhood. His struggle with asthma while wanting to play football made a compelling story of perseverance. I was intrigued to hear of his church experience as well. Particularly interesting was his discussion of how the stories he heard shaped his world and where the stories came from. Kerrey stated, “My heroes came from stories I heard on Sunday. … I also learned heroic stories downtown at the Stuart Theater” where he watched the serials of Tarzan, Zorro and various cowboy movies. One of the stabilizing effects in his childhood was feeling “drawn to the great stories of the church and the parallel stores I saw on the Stuart Theater screen.” This was a reminder of the powerful impact of stories on our formation, and it made me wistful for a setting in which stories “on the screen” typically ran parallel to and supported the stories of the church.

I was also struck by his account of how a New Testament class impacted him. Since I teach such a NT survey class this was of particular interest. It was interesting that he seriously considered pursuing a ministerial vocation as a result of this class. It seemed that the Viet Nam war sidetracked this potential interest. It was sad that his reading for the NT class was Bultmann and Tillich. I wondered what might have happened if he had been introduced to more orthodox writers.
His experience in Viet Nam was clearly the central place where his story was going. I was intrigued by his first person account of training in one of the earliest SEAL teams and of what it was like to enter Viet Nam not knowing what to expect. Eventually he was seriously wounded, losing his leg, and was nominated for the Congressional Medal of Honor. His angst about the event for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor was clear but the reasons for it were not. Only after doing some web searching did I discover that there was controversy surrounding the event with contradicting stories and charges of killing civilians. I have no insight into sorting out those debates, but this account did demonstrate the terrible realities of war and the lingering effects on those involved.
The book closed in an odd way by returning to the story of his uncle who died in World War II. This left me uncertain as to what the author was trying to accomplish in the book as a whole. However, even with that oddity, the basic stories of a man’s life growing up from the 1940’s to the 1960’s was intriguing.

Resources for Preaching/Teaching Psalm 91

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As mentioned in the last post, I intend to comment on the resources I use each time I prepare to teach or preach a Psalm. Recently I taught Psalm 91 in an adult Sunday School class.

Eric Lane’s Psalms 90-150: The Lord Reigns (Christian Focus, 2006) was a bit new to me so I tried it out. Sadly it was not helpful, being thin in discussion and idiosyncratic. I had also recently received a copy of the new NICOT volume on the Psalms written by deClaissé, Jacobson, and Tanner. This volume, also, was disappointing. The exposition covered only two pages (disappointing in such a series) and in that space dealt too much with little details. If that is all the space you have you need to have a narrow focus and nail that well. Not so here. In the closing section the author stated: “It is up to the one hearing these words to decide how these words can serve as a bridge from what came before, to decide what and how things have changed” (701). I may have misunderstood, but this sounded like saying that it is up to the reader to figure out the meaning in the end.

I have previously expressed disappointment with the Hermeneia commentary on the Psalms written by Hossfeld and Zenger (2 volumes so far with the third expected). It is very technical and critical, but the more I’ve used it I have changed my opinion. This is often the first place I go now when needing information on background or on a specific word. Also, perhaps its chief value, is the separate section in the commentary on each psalm for how it is used in the New Testament. I have seen nothing else like this for its comprehensiveness and detail. Theologically we are quite different but just having the info on NT usage, including allusion, is so helpful.

James Mays’ Interpretation volume is brief, but as usual it got to the heart of the issue, profound theological truth from a pastoral angle in pithy expression. He helpfully mentioned the commendation Athanasius gave of this Psalm in his letter to Marcellinus. This was a reminder of why I regularly turn to this volume.

An Indictment on Evangelical Worship

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At the start of a new semester, I have chosen for my poem of the week a stirring critique of all too common experiences in our evangelical worship services by Justin Wainscott. We have probably all seen the things skewered here. Let us labor for better.

 An Indictment on Evangelical Worship

Set the stage and dim the lights,
Create my mood; abuse my rights.
Out-do all you did last week,
And never let the silence speak.
Entertain me, at all costs,
Blur the lines ‘tween true and false.
Smile and tell me all’s okay,
I’ll believe whate’er you say.
Give me mirrors; give me smoke,
Fill me with clichés and jokes.
Like an orphan with no story,
Cut me off from all before me.
Hide the pain and fake the smile,
Lamentation’s out of style.
Give me milk and warm the bottle,
Make sure it is the latest model.
Numb my mind with borrowed tricks,
Feed my soul with Pixi-stix.
Don’t confront what lurks within,
Or else I’ll never come again.

– M. Justin Wainscott, © 2007

What Resources are Good for Help Preaching the Psalms?

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Along the way I have lamented the lack of great resources for help in preaching the Psalms. There is a general problem of Bible commentaries getting bogged down in details and seeming to forget this is the word of God to the people of God. But this is particularly aggravated with the Psalms. At least two things contribute to this. One, the sheer length of the Psalms often limits or prohibits the type of depth of reflection given them. Just look at the number of pages given to commentaries on various NT books and then look at the commentaries on the Psalms. In the NICNT series the volume on the Pastoral Epistles (letters which often get less attention) has 934 pages whereas the NICOT on the Psalms has 1050 pages.

Secondly, with restricted space the academic pressures (or interests) typically push commentators to give their space to critical details. These details can be helpful, but the absence of further reflection is especially painful and problematic on the portion of Scripture which is designed to teach us to pray and to praise. Of all places, here we need the reflection of believing churchmen who from years of experience in laboring with the church and their own souls (in addition to academic work) can give us guidance on why God gave us these specific texts (I am deeply grateful for Ray Ortlund’s regular question to those of us in his Hebrew exegesis class, “Why did God give us this text?).

Good resources do exist (I think of Kidner’s 2 volume gem), but we need more. Often the liveliest books on the Psalms are books which approach them generally or collectively. These are wonderful, but in the work of preaching we need some that examine each Psalm individually. So, I have decided along the way as I teach or preach on certain Psalms to record here what I found in the various resources I used. I can’t use every source each time, but my plan is to vary my usage in order to find which ones are most useful in the actual work of preaching the Psalms. I have previously written a post like this on Psalm 128 and have more planned for the future.

Accountability, from Thomas Becket

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The scripture is clear on our need for faithful friends who will tell us our faults with a desire to help us. One who has such friends is blessed and the one who does not is in danger.

I was quite intrigued to see this point affirmed as my sons and I read The Lives of Thomas Becket. Shortly after being elevated to the position of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Becket said to a friend:

“’This I desire, this I instruct you, that whatever men say about me, you tell me boldly and in private. And if I fail in any of my work, as I say, I enjoin you to tell me freely and confidently, but secretly. For many things may be said about me from now on which are not said of me, which to a great extent is also true of others, especially the rich – many here and there speak about them in public, but few or none to them. Likewise, also point out any transgressions that you see and judge to be so.’ And at the end of his talk he added, ‘Certainly four eyes see more circumspectly and clearly than two’ ” (Lives of Thomas Becket, 65)

Wise words.

Chrysostom on the Necessity of Scripture Reading

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john_chrysostom1“Countless evils have arisen from ignorance of the Scriptures. From this the plague of heresies has broken out. From this there are neglectful lives. From this there are labors without benefit. For just as men deprived of daylight of this world do not walk rightly, so those who do not look to the gleaming of the Holy Scriptures must be frequently and constantly sinning, in that they are walking in the worst darkness.

John Chrysostom (from his Homilies on Romans, ca. 390 A.D.)

[Here is a similar quote from Chrysostom which I posted previously]

Singing Psalm 131

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The psalm my family sang together last week was Psalm 131, using this metrical version to the tune usually associated with “O God, Our Help in Ages Past.” It works very well, is quite singable and is faithful to the text. We have really enjoyed it.

O Lord, My Heart’s Not Lifted Up (Psalm 131)

O Lord, my heart’s not lifted up;
My eyes aren’t raised too high;
With things too great and marvelous,
I am not occupied.
I’ve learned to calm my fretful soul,
And hush my clam’ring fears;
My soul is like a weaned, young child,
Content his mother’s near.
So in the Lord let all the hope
Of God’s redeemed now be,
From this time forth and evermore,
Through all eternity.

Only this morning did I discover that this metrical version was prepared by Justin Wainscott! I had picked it up from Chris Matthews but just assumed it came from a standard Psalter. Well done, Justin!

Give it a try. This is another good metrical psalm version for singing at home and at church.

“The Lamb” By William Blake

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My poem of the week this week is Blake’s “The Lamb,” a really nice poem for children telling them about Jesus the Lamb of God. Sometimes I love Blake’s poems, sometimes I don’t like them at all. This one is great.

“The Lamb”

Little Lamb who made thee

Dost thou know who made thee

Gave thee life & bid thee feed.

By the stream & o’er the mead;

Gave thee clothing of delight,

Softest clothing wooly bright;

Gave thee such a tender voice,

Making all the vales rejoice!

Little Lamb who made thee

Dost thou know who made thee

 

Little Lamb I’ll tell thee,

Little Lamb I’ll tell thee!

He is called by thy name,

For he calls himself a Lamb:

He is meek & he is mild,

He became a little child:

I a child & thou a lamb,

We are called by his name.

Little Lamb God bless thee.

Little Lamb God bless thee.

 

Noah, a New Adam

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I’ve been pondering just briefly some of the parallels between Noah and Adam. Some of the connections are due to the fact that the flood is a destruction and then re-creation. In Gen 1:2 the earth was formless and void, covered with water. In the flood the earth returns to this condition. As the flood waters recede God once again separates the waters from the dry land as He did in creation. In this renewed land Noah emerges like Adam in the original creation. Gods’ words to Noah in Gen 9:1-4 (including the creation mandate) closely mirror God’s statement to Adam and Eve in Gen 1:28-30. All humans will trace their line now to both men. Both have three sons.

After the creation/re-creation, both men sin by indulgence of fruit. After their sin one son is cursed due to his sin (Cain/Ham [&specifically Ham’s son Canaan]). From one son comes the blessed line (Seth/Shem).

Noah represents a new beginning for humanity though the sin condition remains. We still needed the true Second Adam from above to reinstate us in God’s love, in order Adam’s likeness to efface and stamp His image in its place.

Prayer, “the soul’s blood”

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I have for some time enjoyed the poetry of George Herbert. While reading Tim Keller’s recent book on prayer I came across Herbert’s poem, “Prayer (I),” which Keller deals with in some detail. The poem describes prayer with a series of compelling images which are worth pondering.

 

Prayer the church’s banquet, angel’s age,
         God’s breath in man returning to his birth,
         The soul in paraphrase, heart in pilgrimage,
The Christian plummet sounding heav’n and earth
Engine against th’ Almighty, sinner’s tow’r,
         Reversed thunder, Christ-side-piercing spear,
         The six-days world transposing in an hour,
A kind of tune, which all things hear and fear;
Softness, and peace, and joy, and love, and bliss,
         Exalted manna, gladness of the best,
         Heaven in ordinary, man well drest,
The milky way, the bird of Paradise,
         Church-bells beyond the stars heard, the soul’s blood,
         The land of spices; something understood.