The well-known writer and storyteller Garrison Keillor shared the following thoughts: I have made fun of Lutherans for years; who wouldn’t if you lived in Minnesota?… But I have also sung with Lutherans and that is one of the main joys of life , along with hot baths and fresh sweet corn. We make fun of Lutherans for their blandness, their excessive calm, their fear of giving offense, their lack of speed and also their secret fondness for macaroni and cheese. But nobody sings like them…. I once sang the bass line of “Children of the Heavenly Father” in a room with about three thousand Lutherans in it and when we finished, we all had tears in our eyes, partly from the promise that God will not forsake us, partly from the proximity of all those lovely voices. By joining in harmony: we somehow promise that we will not forsake each other. I do believe this: People, these Lutherans, who love to sing in 4 part harmony are the sort of people you would call up when you’re in deep distress. If you’re dying, they’ll comfort you. If you’re lonely, they’ll talk to you. If you’re hungry, they’ll give you tuna salad!
If you laughed while reading this, Keillor continues, you must be a Lutheran. The following list was compiled by a 20th century Lutheran who, observing Lutherans, wrote down exactly what he saw or heard: 1. Lutherans believe in prayer but would practically die if asked to pray out loud. 2. Lutherans like to sing except when confronted with a new hymn or a hymn with more than 4 stanzas. 3. Lutherans believe their pastor will come and visit them in the hospital even if they don’t notify them that they are there. 4. Lutherans usually follow the official liturgy and feel it is their way of suffering for their sins. 5. Lutherans believe in miracles and even expect miracles, especially during the stewardship visitation programs or when passing the plate. 6. Lutherans feel that applauding for their children’s choirs would make them too proud and conceited. 7. Lutherans think that the Bible forbids them |
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7. from crossing the aisle while “passing the peace.” 8. Lutherans drink coffee as if it were the Third Sacrament.
I certainly agree with that last observation;
(I thought the name for our newly merged church should be St. Arbuck’s Lutheran.) It is clearly important to be able to laugh at ourselves; it contributes to better mental health. I hope we all have a sense of gratitude for our Lutheran heritage; that we ‘own’ our Lutheran identity, with its’ good, its’ bad and its’ ugly. Our Lutheran identity is something from which we both gain wisdom about ourselves and others, our sense of community and that as a community we can laugh at ourselves. It’s about living out the tensions of being both “saint and sinner”.
While I certainly enjoy interfaith dialogues, I still continue to celebrate the gifts of my own faith tradition and its’ history of service to the larger community. While trying to know and do the good, we occasionally fail, get lost and/or do more damage than good. But then there’s God’s grace again seeking us out, forgiving us and then sending us back out to overcome evil with good. It seems to be the way God treats all His/Her Children.
Following a recent interfaith presentation on what my faith tradition contributes to World Peace, an audience member told me, "That was the most truthful description of Christianity I've ever heard." “Truthful” is not always complimentary, but it is essential. “Truthful” honors the hearer because the truth is what we all deserve. “Truthful” also honors Jesus. With time and human nature, the truth often becomes harder to see, hear and discern. Yet we still recognize the truth when we hear it. I’ve heard it called the 'bobblehead response' as we shake our heads in quiet agreement, ‘Yeah, that’s true.’ I saw that same response on Gandhi Day when sharing with our Hindu neighbors about our theology of the cross, of where we find God in our suffering. That God is always with us, especially in our suffering, apparently is a universal truth. |
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FALLEN FROM THE DESK OF PASTOR WAYNE |