Book: Food, A Love Story

The Book Blitz Continues, but shifts moods!

I am a typical Baptist pastor. I like food. A lot. I remain thoroughly unconvinced that no major problems in this world should not be solved over a good meal together. In fact, I I think an oft-overlooked historical fact is that the most effective summits between the USA and the USSR were the best catered. Most likely with barbecue. (NOTE: “barbecue” is slow-cooked meat, not anything cooked outdoors. Burgers? These are grilled. You cannot barbecue in a hurry.

It is with this strong affection for food that I come to Jim Gaffigan’s second book, Food: A Love Story. Where do I begin, to tell the story of how fun this book can be? A fun food story that he wrote for you and me? Where do I start?

That was unnecessarily musical in my head. Gaffigan, famed for humor about whales, blubber, Hot Pockets, and childbirth, gives us his second effort at a book length masterpiece. It is certainly piece of something, whether or not it’s masterful is going to come down to your opinion.

First, there is no unification of theme other than “food.” If you were expecting a great tome on world hunger problems, you are in the wrong place. But if you want some wandering thoughts about our strange approach to food as Americans, this is the right place.

Second, there is no heavy attention span investment needed here. Gaffigan has politely fed us this book in reasonable courses, rather than just dropping a whole roast on the table and expecting us to sort it ourselves. The chapters/essays range from a few pages to just a few more pages. Easy to read, easy to digest.

Third, there is no emotional investment necessary here. You might look at the cover picture and wonder if Gaffigan and the hot dog actually get together or not—but you know from the first few pages they do. And the hot dog is still hanging around—both with Gaffigan and with a few dozen of its family members.

Is this a life-changing book?

For the love of bacon, no.

It is a funny book, and one worth letting the stress of today’s world melt a bit off of you to read.

I did receive a copy of this book in exchange for the review. That’s the way book reviewing works.

Book: No Greater Valor

Welcome to the Book Blitz: there will be multiple book posts over the next few days.

Jerome Corsi’s No Greater Valor tells the story of the Siege off Bastogne in World War II. I find the work worthwhile for the personal reflections on the war alone, without delving any further than that into the work. World War II is moving from memory to history, and efforts to secure as much memory into a recorded form are worth commending.

Knowing that I favor the overall effort of getting history in print, I am predisposed to like No Greater Valor. I have not read any of Dr. Corsi’s other books, so I cannot tell you if this fits his typical style. I will first highlight my chagrin that, once again, a nonfiction book has been saddled with endnotes rather than footnotes. I like references, and I like them on the page they are noted.

Overall, the writing here does feel a bit disjointed. Corsi presents the various Allied units involved in the Battle of the Bulge, but of necessity there is a great deal of chronological shifting. Some events are grouped by people involved, requiring a flashback to an earlier time to catch up on what is happening outside of the earlier chapter.

Having read various history books, I have seen some that follow this method and others that follow a strict chronological method. Either works, though strict chronology appeals to me when trying to learn. The harder to trace narrative of No Greater Valor makes for a better casual read.

All in all, Corsi has mixed his analysis with both first-person quotes and information from the official records. There are the accounts of both generals and corporals, observations from those inside Bastogne and those outside.

I like this book. There are a few typos, and a few events could be narrated more clearly. If you have a textbook-type knowledge of the Battle of the Bulge, and specifically of the Bastogne events, this definitely puts more detail into that knowledge.

Various people rotate through the spotlight. Patton takes several turns in it, as does McAuliffe. So do chaplains like Father Sampson and Chaplain O’Neill. There is a photo section in the middle of the book which broadens the understanding, but it is not specifically tied to the writing.

The one concept that causes me hesitance about this book is made clealry in the concluding pages. Corsi broadens the historical lesson from Bastogne to include the need for America to retain strong moral character and Judeo-Christian values. While I agree with the need for these, I am unconvinced that the book strongly supports this as the conclusion. It feels tacked-on as a conclusion.

Is it worth reading? Absolutely.

Free book from BookLook Bloggers in exchange for the review.

Book: Romans 8-16 for You

What do you know? It’s a book!

This book review is sponsored by Cross-Focused Reviews, who persuaded the Good Book Company to send me a free copy in exchange for this review.

I’m torn in reviewing Romans 8-16 for You by Timothy Keller. It’s a good, compact study on the second half of Romans. It’s not at all a bad book, and Keller wisely did not try to address all of Romans in one volume in this series. The “For You” series aims for a 200 page volume, and this one hits that mark.

I have several of the other volumes in this series, and have greatly profited from these, including Keller’s first Romans volume. And I tried to really like this one as much as the previous ones. I just don’t.

I don’t dislike it, mind you, I just don’t find it compelling. There is good exegesis: Keller treats the text as important and the source of his ideas. He does not produce odd or novel ideas, nor does he spring off the wall.

For example, he threads the needle of Romans 13 on submission to the state quite well. It’s not a command to submit to Caesar rather than God, but it is a command to follow God first and not just aggravate the government.

Overall, though, I just couldn’t get into this one. I think that some portions of Scripture do not work with trying to be both simply explained and deeply applied as this book aims for. Romans 8-16 feels like it needs more time spent on it, more effort in the cultural setting and application.

It’s a good add to the series, and a good add alongside other volumes about Romans. But I don’t see this one standing alone as a guide through Romans 8-16 like I had hoped.

Still worth having, a solid base hit. Just not a home run.

My opinion is my own. You can ask Paul if Dr. Keller did him justice later.

In Answering: Luke 20

In Summary:

Luke 20 sees the chief priests and elders confronting Jesus. Again. This is habit of theirs. It’s an ineffective habit, but a habit nonetheless. Perhaps we can learn something right here from the chief priests and elders: if you find yourself constantly arguing and losing, maybe you’re wrong? It’s worth considering.

They come and confront Jesus with a question about his authority to do what he is doing. The likely inciting incident for this direct question is the cleansing of the Temple—they want to know how Jesus thinks he has the right to say what can and cannot happen in the worship center of the people of Israel. Rather than answer them directly, Jesus gives them a question to deal with. Here we see that Jesus is not only the master of answering trap questions, but also the master of asking questions. He hits them with a choice: speak the truth or be politically expedient. They fail and try to equivocate.

The remainder of Luke 20 sees a continued effort by the religious leaders to stymie Jesus. They toss various questions at him and are dissatisfied with the answers. They’re also undaunted in their efforts by the answers. Here’s a question for most of us: are we more interested in getting answers or asking questions?

In Focus:

As in the last few chapters, Luke gives us one of Jesus’ parables in the midst of the other activities. The parable of the vineyard serves is the hinge for this chapter, and so draws our focus. The action after the parable is driven by the response of the religious leaders to Jesus telling it.

First, though, consider that Jesus tells this parable after silencing his critics, again. He is not out to silence critics: he is out to proclaim the Kingdom of God. We would do well to gather that truth. Be more concerned with proclaiming the Kingdom. We may have to stir up the critics a second time, but we cannot be satisfied with being “right.” We must share God’s loving truth.

Now, the parable of the vineyard runs a familiar story line for Jesus’ parables. There is a metaphor for God’s Kingdom. This time, a vineyard fills that role. There are people who are the initial participants in the Kingdom. These are vine-growers (or tenant farmers.) There is the stand-in for God, in this case the owner (or “lord”) of the vineyard.

The vineyard makes its produce and the owner sends for his share. The tenant farmers decide that they will not give it—so they refuse with violence. The violence escalates alongside their refusals until there are no servants left to mistreat. At this point, they kill the son of the vineyard owner, expecting that this will allow them to claim the inheritance that should be his.

Jesus points out that the result will not be what the vine-growers expect. Instead, their violent refusals to recognize the vineyard owner’s authority will be met with violence, and the vineyard will go others. Jesus was teaching that the religious leaders would not be permitted to hold the Kingdom of God hostage to their personal preferences and profits. Keep in mind, this is told in response to the religious response to cleansing the Temple: Jesus made a direct assault on religion-for-profit. Now he makes a didactic (teaching) follow-up on the principle. Verse 19 tells us that his target audience understood him exactly. And they were not pleased.

In Practice:

When we look at this for practical application, two things jump out. First, the vineyard belongs to God. Whatever our preferences, the Lord God sets the rules. Not us. We are commanded to bear fruit and to bear the fruit that God calls for from our lives. Too often, we spend our time and effort setting our definitions of fruitfulness and living up to those. That’s not our place.

Second, we want to define our reward for our work. But the inheritance is not ours, nor are the fruits of our labors. Instead, we rely on the gracious lord of the vineyard to provide what we need. Our work is constant—like tending a vineyard—but our reward is in pleasing the master, not in claiming our own rewards.

In Nerdiness: 

There are two follow-on questions that Jesus deals with in Luke 20. They are the typical response of the theologically curious when we don’t want to deal with the implications of what we are being taught. The questions on taxes and marriage? They point to obvious answers but ultimately are side-points to the real issue.

Don’t get so bogged down on the nerd side that you miss the main point. 

Sermon Recap for February 15

Good morning! I hope the ice and sleet have not caused you great grief today. Please be in prayer for those who have to be out in it.

Also, do not fail to pray for those whose lives are on the line for their faith nor for the families of those who gave their lives as a testimony of Christ.

Morning Sermon: Mark 9:2-10 (audio link)

 

Evening Sermon: Romans 6:19-23 (audio link)

 

We also had a good discussion on some church history and on the nature of eternity in our question-and-answer time.

A thought or two about this weekend

This weekend marks one of the three pillars of romantic relationships in mainstream American culture. It’s Valentine’s Day. If you believe the jewelry ads, and the flower ads, and the chocolate ads, February 14 is a critical day to get right. It’s also the easiest of the three, because the other two are your wife/girlfriend’s birthday and your anniversary. Those two are different, and nobody’s screaming on the radio to remind you of them!

(And yes, I just went with wife/girlfriend because that’s where the stereotype is.)

How important is it? Let’s consider how much a dead flower is worth. Any given day, it’s worth next to nothing because it’s dead. However, given as a romantic gesture, it’s worth a bit more. But the cost of those flowers? It will double, nay triple, by the magical date. It’s a bit insane. I am not an unromantic soul, despite what you may have heard from a few select individuals. Here are a few suggestions, though, amidst the madness.

First, remember that a relationship is about multiple days, not one big DAY. True, there are days that are more important than others. Married folks, celebrating the moving of years is important at your anniversary. Noting the grace of another year of life at birthdays, great. Celebrating romance? Not a bad thing.

Make those days elevated towers of celebration, rather than the pillars on which your relationship is built. Putting the pressure of an entire relationship on your Valentine’s Day plans will cause a breakdown. Let it be great if it works, and be a fun memory if it doesn’t.

Second, remember that your relationship is about you two, not everyone else. Seriously: how much debt and stress comes from trying to outdo someone else? Too much. It also leads to doing things that neither of you enjoys just so you can show off what you did.

Focus on what the two of you enjoy, not what will compete in the next day’s discussion.

Third, remember that your attentive time is a precious gift. Give it. If the fancy-schmancy-dinner plan requires you to work right up to it, then watch your phone the whole time, and be distracted, then maybe Pizza Hut was a better idea. This is why even couples who work together need to spend time that is not work-related. Don’t be silly, parents, and claim you are not going to talk about the kids. You just need to not focus on them. Especially those couples who have one at-home/primary caregiver and one not. It’s not the time to catch up on what you should be keeping up with about your parental responsibilities. But a few kid stories shouldn’t kill the evening.

Give your full attention to the time you have.

A word is necessary here about receiving gifts and plans at romantic times. It will take some pre-day communication to establish what you are both after out of the day. And for the love bacon, do not couch this as an attempt to cheap-out, skip the “artificial” holiday, or any other self-serving excuses. Let it be a decision, together, to shift the focus. That may mean you have to remember a few romantic flourishes through the year. That’s not a bad idea, anyway…

In Triumphant Arrival: Luke 19

In Summary:

Luke 19 gives us the story of Zaccheus in the opening section. This is a well-known event, so I won’t dwell on it. Two things are worth remembering in this story, though, that occasionally get overlooked. First, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. In Luke, that means on his way to the Cross. Yet he takes the time to interact with Zaccheus. I don’t know where you are going today, but you likely have no more on your mind that Jesus did. Second, Zaccheus does not see Jesus from the tree, but when he comes down from it.

Next, we see the parable of the minas and nobleman. It is similar to the parable of the talents in Matthew 25, and I will not attempt to deal with harmonizing or separating the two. For me, I don’t see a problem with Jesus using two similar parables. I am not persuaded that every parable must be a true story. Some may fall into the fable-type category. This one, I think, falls into an allegory category. It is a story that reflects the work of Jesus as King of Kings. Whether there was an earthly individual who went through a similar event is not the point.

This parable reflects the importance of being faithful with what we have. Further, I think there is something to be seen here about rightly understanding and associating the character of the King. I think further study would be useful in looking at Luke 19:22 and raising the question of how much people will be judged on their false assumptions about God.

In Focus:

Moving forward, let us put the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem in focus. He comes into Jerusalem riding on a colt, as Zechariah’s prophecy indicated (Zechariah 9:9). Further, this echoes the coronation of Solomon in 1 Kings 1:33 where he is placed on a mule rather than a mighty, noble steed. The throng acclaims the blessedness of the coming of Jesus.

Rather than a happy moment, though, this turns into a terribly sad and difficult one. Jesus first weeps over Jerusalem and the coming destruction of the Temple and the city. He is aware of the final destruction that the Romans will bring. From there, Jesus steps forward to address the glaring problem in the Temple at the time: the sales folk. There is some level of debate about who and what Jesus drove out, but the general consensus puts a monopoly in the Temple, selling necessary sacrificial items.

It worked like this: Scripture demanded sacrifices without spot or blemish. In what likely started as a good thing, animals were available for sale in the outer courts of the Temple that were effectively “guaranteed” to meet the qualifications. That grew to a thriving business, where only Temple-sold animals were acceptable. Further, only Temple-certified coinage was acceptable, so you also had money changers who would swap out your drachmae for acceptable Temple coins.

Worship had become big business. In the process, it had ceased to be worship. True, it was clean and pretty, uniform and polished. But the central point of worship is not being polished or shiny. The central point is the Lord God Himself.

In Practice:

In this, Jesus lays out a critical concept for us. Heartfelt worship may not always be pretty and polished. Truthfully, we often snuff the passion and heart of our fellow servants of the Lord in our quest for shininess. Admittedly, there have been times when a little more effort should have been poured out, and some of us should *never* sing solos. However, worship as big business, worship as picture perfect is antithetical to worship as the response of those freed by the grace of God.

Why? Because the worshiper is still human and not God. The One we worship is perfect. We who worship are not.

So let the heart go. Not to the points of disobedience—nowhere does Scripture endorse some of the nonsense done in the name of worship. Yet singing a little flat of voice? Or the messiness of children among the body of believers? These are more than just alright. They are part of gathering the redeemed. Let them be as welcome as you are.


In Nerdiness: 

Just a brief nerd thought about “the stones crying out” in Luke 19:40. First, there is Matthew 27:51 to consider.

Second is this thought: Ebenezer. 1 Samuel 7:12. Sometimes, our remembrance is weak. Let us never fail to have reminders, even stones, to cry out of the deliverance and work of God to remind future generations. Let the stones speak in our absence.

And then there is this question: how should Luke 19:38 be related to Luke 2:14?