Joanna Johnson

                Last Wednesday, May 2^nd, Concordia held its last convocation for the semester. This convocation was particularly interesting, in that, it was on the knoll and it involved horses. This convocation had a team of teachers and a team of students. Both teams were given a horse and told to collect objects to represent the things they thought were necessary for life. They then had to each take a turn carrying all of that plus an egg towards the final goal. Each team was encouraged to assign meaning to the horse and the egg as well as the other objects that were being carried.

                This activity was then related in discussion to finals, stress, and balancing life. The students tried to carry a lot more than the teachers, and this is probably true in life as well. It is wise to realize that it is impossible to carry everything. It is better to do a good job with a few things then to try to carry too much and drop everything.

                I didn't participate in the activity, but I still drew my own metaphors. I try to carry a lot, like spiritual life, family and friends, learning, eating, sleeping, schoolwork, and many other things. I noticed that the students tried to get the horse to help them carry the stuff at the beginning and gave up when they realized it wouldn't work, but the teachers didn't even bother trying. Because of this, the horse became the education system in my mind. When I first started school I thought that it was this great thing that would help me carry all the stuff I wanted to do, particularly learning, but really it's just another thing that I have to balance and drag along. The egg would represent integrity for me. I don't want to lose myself in order to get good grades and do what's expected of me. I don't want to waste my time. If I'm doing anything, I want it to be worth doing. I don't want to drop my integrity. 

                One of the readings from the final section of callings was "Vocation in Work" by Dorothy L. Sayers. Sayers talks about how people often live under the assumption that work is simply a curse that was put on man after the fall. She makes the argument that people were made to work when they were made in the image of God and uses the example of the artist as how people should feel about their work.

                It is a good point that pride and joy should be taken in work. If time and effort is being put into something, than it should be something worth doing. This applies especially well to school. No assignment should ever be done simply for a grade. Students should always try to learn and produce something great in everything they do. If teachers care more about students doing what is expected of them than about students taking pride and joy in their work, than they are not a very good teacher. There is a balance to be found, for sure, but it is about the students, not about the teachers.

                I mostly agreed with what Sayers had to say, I just think she took it too far. She seemed to place work at the center of our lives and I would say that it should always be God first and then relationships. Work is great, but relationships are always greater. We were created for work, but we were even more so create to be in relationships with God and with each other. If our work suffers slightly because of relationships, so be it, because relationships are what matters more. I think this is what Luke 10:38-42 is getting at (at the very least the relationship with God part). 

                On Saturday April, 28^th Concordia University's football team had its annual spring game. The defense was playing against the offense, and the defense won 55-46. It was entertain to watch, despite the fact that it was a little bit cold.

                Football relates to Christian vocation in that every player has a specific role to fill. That player is desperately needed to fill his role, and hopefully can find some joy in filling that role and being a part of the team. Similarly, vocation can be described as the place where a person is needed desperately and also finds great joy.

                I enjoyed going to this game. The most fun part was the first half. I went to the game with Aaron Wendorff, and we spent the entire first half trying to identify which player was Eli Kuphal. We eventually succeeded, so then we were cheering for his side, which was the offense. They didn't win, but it was still a fun experience and a good opportunity to reflect on vocation. 

                On Tuesday, April 24^th, the brother Drs. Tom and Dale Trapp gave the 11^th annual Poehler lecture. They started off the lecture by giving some of their family history. They then split off into talking about their main subjects. Dr. Tom talked mostly about theology and Dr. Dale talked mostly about science. It was very interesting and engaging.

                Both Dr. Trapps, especially Dale, talked a lot about the connections between faith and learning. Dr. Dale Trapp views science as a way to answer the questions how, what, when, and how much, but faith in Jesus Christ as revealed in scripture as the only way to answer the question of why. When put together, science and faith help him to have an accurate view of the world. Faith and learning work best together.

                I enjoyed going to this lecture for the most part. It was fun to hear some of the Trapp family history. It was also interesting to hear Dr. Dale Trapp talk more, because I haven't had much interaction with him. It was also nice to hear Dr. Tom Trapp talk some more. It was a nice opportunity to reflect on faith and learning. 

One of the readings that the honors class read this week was "The Cost of Discipleship" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Bonhoeffer writes about how faith must be preceded by a call from God, how that call must be obeyed. Bonhoeffer was writing in a time when people were once again asking what it means to live in the world as a Christian. Questions were also being asked about "meaningless" jobs. Bonhoeffer didn't address the second question, but the first question he would answer by saying that it simply means to obey God's call.

Bonhoeffer makes a good point by saying that Jesus should be obeyed just because He's God and that it is not necessary to justify obeying Him in any other way. He also makes a good point when he says that no one can become a disciple on their own accord. A call from God is necessary. People are powerless in their sins without God. 

One thing that I really liked about this reading is how it puts things in a good perspective. Nothing matters when compared to following Christ. I'm not quite sure what he was saying in some parts, but I very much liked the point that Jesus should be followed regardless of everything else. 

On Thursday, April 19, Jubilate Choir held their annual Easter Vespers Service. The theme of the service was "When in our Music God is Glorified." The service included many anthems and songs, in particular settings of psalms. The performance went incredibly well and it was a lot of fun.

One particularly good song that the choir sang was "In Adam We Have All Been One," which is a hymn. It talks about how all people have rebelled against God and, in doing so, hurt each other, but God sought out and called people back to be His. This relates to Honors, because one major thread of discussion has been about how our ultimate call is to be in a relationship with Jesus Christ.

I really enjoyed participating in this service. I have been in Jubilate since my first semester and every service and concert has been a good experience. All of the music was really meaningful to me. Also, the experience will be really relevant to my future, because, as a Director of Parish Music, I will be planning and working with services all the time. 

One of the readings we read in Honors this week was an excerpt from The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan.  This is a somewhat radical writing for the post-reformation era, because it calls for leaving everything behind in a period where it became possible to serve God in any station. It is a story about a man named Christian and his journey to the Celestial City. He meets many interesting people along the way, some of whom join his travels for a time and some of whom he encounters only briefly. Some of these characters represent good traits and others represent bad traits.

This reading is good because it properly emphasizes the importance of the Christian faith. An eternal relationship with Jesus Christ is worth leaving everything else behind for. It is also very interesting to read some of the different characters that are distracted from their goal by various things. This story is, in many ways, timeless, because it deals with the importance of eternal salvation.

It is really cool how Christian, in the story, is always trying to get the people he meets to also go to the Celestial City. One thing I do not like about the story is how he leaves his wife and children behind. I think there must have been something he could have done to not abandon his vocation of husband and father. He surely could have tried harder to save his family from destruction. Other than that though, I like this story. 

This past weekend, Concordia's theater department put on a student-directed play called Arcadia. This play took place in one room, but in two different time periods. This play is about how everything eventually turns into chaos.

This play involved several of the characters trying to better the world through studying. This took different forms, such as math and literature, but all had their own role. It was very interesting how vocation fit into the play. Each character had a role that only they could fill that was vitally important. Whether that was figuring out a math equation, or discovering a passage in an old book.

I really enjoyed relational aspect of this play. The relationships were very complex and realistic. To me, relationships are the most important aspect of vocation and life. I also really connected with the desire to learn that was prevalent in the play. 

                One of the readings from Honors this week was "Reply to Sor Philothea" by Sor Juana Inés De La Cruz. She was a woman who loved to learn from the time she was very young. She became a nun and continued to learn through books and thinking while being a nun. Many people were opposed to her studying, but, as was becoming apparent living in a post reformation era, Sor Juana was able to serve God through learning as well as through what others thought were acceptable means.

                Learning is highly valuable and is not something that is separate from faith. Learning can, and often does, bring glory to God. This reading was really good in that it reminds people of the importance of learning. Also, it is a good example of how when a person feels called to do something they should stick to that despite opposition. Sor Jauna received a lot of pressure to stop studying, but it was what she loved to do, so she served God through learning.

                I really liked this reading because I could relate to Sor Juana's love of learning. Learning is the thing that I am best at and the thing that I most enjoy. It also related to my work at the Minnesota Children's Museum, because the purpose of the museum is to help children learn through playing. That's why I decided to volunteer at the Children's Museum, because they share my love of learning. I genuinely believe that learning brings glory to God. Therefore, I will continue to pursue learning throughout my life. 

                One of the readings that was read for honors this week was entitled Chronicle of the Crusade of St. Louis. St. Louis was a king, but what made him really interesting is that he was a layperson. Christians in the Middle Ages were asking themselves if they were being called to monastic life or if they should live a secular life. St. Louis was unique in that he was given saint status despite the fact that he was living a secular life. King Louis worked many aspects of monastic life into his daily life by having the hours sung by a choir, and living humbly. He was also a very good king because he was generous and kind. In stark contrast to the monastic life however, King Louis had children and taught them how to be good rulers.

                St. Louis shows that, even in the context of the middle ages, it is possible to serve God in whatever context a person is in. King Louis did not leave his family or his throne to join a monastery, but he was still regarded as a saint. Not everyone is called away, but all are called.

                This reading was a good reminder for me that we are all saints. All Christians are equally saints. This unit of Callings has in general been less helpful in helping me think about vocation rather than more because it has all been about works righteousness. This reading, however, was a pleasant exception because I could read some grace into it, regardless of whether or not it was really there. I also enjoyed the emphasis on teaching children, because it relates to my volunteer work at the Children's Museum.