Monday, September 23, 2024

*** This is a rough transcript of today’s show ***

It is the 23rd of September 2024 Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

Hey everybody! It’s great to be back—almost de-jet-lagged, but I will admit my schedule and workload still keep me up at all hours of the evening. I'm looking forward to getting back on track this week.

And a big shout out to Dianne in Columbia, Tennessee—home to Dan Uggla (a second baseman with some pop) and 11th president James K. Polk—a one-term president, Tar Heel Alum, and well… he helped us get the Oregon Territory?

A long-time listener aware of my various pedagogical techniques, she turned the tables on me and asked about my trip to Germany: “What did I learn”? And while my mind is still still fresh, let me suggest a few things:

1. I’m doing it again, which might tell you enough- and while nothing is going to be perfect the first time, I’m excited to make this (as long as people are willing to go) a regular feature of my work as a historian and one specifically working in ministry contexts.
2. The German people (however defined, “Germany” wasn’t a thing until the 1800s) are neither better nor worse than any others. We don’t learn about this region because they are specifically smart (the Reformation, “hooray!” Or the Holocaust, “boo!”). We can observe them because- as a foreign country- they are prone to different kinds of mistakes. I told the tour that it reminds me of C.S. Lewis reminding us to read old books- not because they don’t make mistakes, but because they make different
3. It’s possible to tell the story of the Reformation without old tropes of “good guys” vs. “bad guys.”- I was probably most pleased in conversation with folks on the trip who took away an appreciation for the Medieval church and its desire for unity (despite adversity… and we can debate how to balance unity and diversity and truth, but the attempt is important!) The Medieval model of “diversity with limited adversity” could be a model for a fractured American church
4. The remnants of the Berlin Wall and the NAZI camps will never not be stunning and remarkable testimonies to both evil and the human will overcome evil- as a group, we discussed an old maxim- the title of a book, actually “Ideas have Consequences”- bad ideas- ideas based on utopian thinking- on the insistence of making “the other” out of people made in the image of God can lead to disaster- and while the Germans certainly have culpability, there isn’t anyone free from these kinds of thoughts and actions.
5. Students of the Reformation and those following in the footsteps of the Reformers do well to remember their own injunctions about the invocation of the saints. “Lutherania” and silly socks that say “Here I stand” are one thing, but beware saying “I am of Luther (as others might be of Apollos or Cephas)- On his best days, Luther knew that he was a sinner, and would want you pointed to Christ- not him. And on his worst days- he should be criticized. The parallel to Medieval shrines and then “Luther” shrines was not lost on all of us. We can appreciate our history, but not slavishly or as blind idol worshippers.
6. We spent our mornings in the book of Galatians- one of Luther’s favorites and one he wrote numerous times. We asked questions about authority, how we are made right with God, and then what comes next (often the trickiest part, but that part which is also lived in faith by the Spirit). We were self-consciously Christians looking at part of our heritage, but ultimately looking to Christ- not Luther, not the Reformation for its own sake- but what they pointed us to Christ Crucified and resurrected for us.

A shout-out to everyone on the trip- and the Harmons from the UP…. Congrats on beating us 27-24. I shouldn’t have talked so much trash about the Wolverines.

Ok- the trip is over. Let’s do it again. But in the meantime, I’m back on my Almanac schedule to tell you some of my favorite stories- about the church and God’s faithfulness with a dollop of reading from the lectionary and that reminder at the end. Thanks for bearing with me as I continue to develop whatever in the heck it is I’ve been called to do.

The last word for today is from the daily lectionary and James 4 (and if you were in my Sunday school class yesterday, we used this helpful verse for thinking about upcoming plans):

13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 23rd of September 2024, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by the caffeine king at gillespie.coffee, unfortunately, he has no elixir for traveling backward in time for 9 hours- He is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man about to take another nap, but don’t worry—I’ll be up at 2 a.m. to wander around a quiet house—I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.