Catch-up entry

Sometimes when you don't do the things you should do on a daily (or even weekly...) schedule, you have to cram it all in 45 minutes when you're on your way to somewhere that takes 45 minutes and you've left yourself 45 minutes to get there. So this morning, when I was heading out the door at 9:15 to get somewhere by 10:00, my landlords, who live next door, said they wanted to install an overhead fan in my bedroom TODAY, and that they didn't know until last night that the installer would be available, which was why they were asking permission to go into my duplex today, as I was on my way out the door. Well, my house was in its usual chaotic mess, including a sink plus counter of unwashed dishes and a bedroom of heaped up clothes, not to mention a kitchen floor liberally sprinkled with cinnamon to discourage the ants who were attacking my unwashed dishes. I told them I was very unhappy for the short—no, non-existent—advance notice, and harumphed back into the house to tidy up at least a little. The clothes got picked up, many of them just thrown into the dirty clothes' basket because it was quicker than hanging them up. And then I washed most of the dishes. I was truly embarrassed by how long I'd let the dishes stack up. A good part of my irritation was at myself for being such a housekeeping slob; if I kept things tidier, I wouldn't have to worry about the landlords dropping by with no notice.

*****

Forty-five minutes later, fuming because I was so late, I drove the 45 minutes to Torrance (only possible when you can drive 65 mph on the 110 freeway through downtown LA) to a Lutheran church that was holding a forum as part of a multi-year study in the Lutheran (ELCA) church on homosexuality. One question being debated is:

Should North American Lutherans ordain gay and lesbian persons to the ministry of Word and Sacrament; and if so, should gay and lesbian pastors be required to be celibate?

The second question:

Should North American Lutheran clergy bless committed relationships between gay and lesbian persons; and if so, should these relationships be recognized as marriages?

I was particularly interested in how the presenters (one of whom is a Hebrew Bible [Old Testament] professor at a local Lutheran university) addressed the issue of scriptural authority within the Lutheran tradition. Lutherans, following Martin Luther, clearly have a "hierarchy" of scripture in which certain parts of scripture take precedence over other parts. How is that hierarchy determined? What is the "governing principle"? Does the principle come from scripture itself or from outside scripture? For Christians, what is the place of the Hebrew Bible? These are very basic, long-standing questions that have been investigated by others much more profoundly, but which I want to explore and formulate myself.

*****

Today it rained for the first time in months. It was a very happy event. Last Sunday a huge fire started in the foothills east of where I live and that I drive by on my way to school. Coming from work from the opposite direction on Monday, we could see the thick layer of smoke that had blown westward. That night and next morning the light from the sun was red from being filtered through the smoke, and my car and plants were covered with a dusting of ash. Tuesday afternoon I drove out to Claremont past the huge cumulus tower of smoke that had not yet been disbursed; the rest of the sky was much clearer than at home. Tuesday night the hills were red with flames in my rearview mirror as I drove home. Wednesday I drove to Claremont again; the smoke had been disbursed into a low blanket over the entire sky, and the hills were difficult to see. I watched a water-dropping helicopter land not far from the freeway, to re-fill with water I suppose. Driving home, the nearby foothills that had already burned were pockmarked with greyish ash. On TV I saw pictures of firefighters climbing up the steep hillsides carrying firehoses, arranged like the firehoses in those glass boxes in public buildings, strapped onto their backs. The first days of the fire it was over 100 degrees in that area. Thankfully, the weather is much cooler now, and the fire is reported to be nearly contained.

*****

On Tuesday night I was a substitute lecturer in a Hebrew class (which was why I drove out to Claremont at the height of the fire). On the drive out, my alternator decided it was just too hot, and it didn't want to function any more. Fortunately, I was fairly close to the mechanic I'd located in Claremont for the occasions my car can't make it home to my regular mechanic, and the engine didn't quit on the very-crowded-with-no-shoulder street. Fortunately, too, the mechanic was able to replace the alternator in time for me not to be late to my class. The class went OK in spite of the fire raging close by and my car trouble.

*****

Thursday evening we went out for dinner at Yujean Kang's with some business partners and our former colleague. It was an evening of excellent food and fun company. We had three appetizers and a number of main dishes including—my favorite—ants on a tree, crispy beef, chicken with squash, duck, Blue Lake green beans, and probably something else.

*****

I am tired of writing. This is why I should post on a regular basis, so I don't have to cram a week's worth of writing into one session....