Richard Smith

Our beloved Greek professor is retiring this semester and we're all very sad to see him go. The Rev. Richard Smith is a retired Luther pastor (ELCA) who spent the last 25 years teaching New Testament Greek to hundreds of Sewanee seminarians. Pastor Smith is a gentle, encouraging man... you found yourself learning Greek mostly because he was so nice and he made it sound so enticing. In his class the New Testament just comes to life.

In addition to retiring, today was also the 57th anniversary of Pastor Smith's ordination. He spent 42 years starting and growing an amazing Lutheran parish in Tullahoma, TN. And during the last 10 or so of these 42 years he was also teaching at Sewanee.

Pastor Smith is an inspiration to every student who knows him and may be simply one of the finest people I've ever met. He will be missed.

why we're here

Wow! This year has simply flown past... and yet it feels like we've been here for a long time. My junior year of seminary is almost complete and it has just been such a wild ride. The pace is not always overwhelming, but days turn into weeks and weeks into months much faster than they did in my old life. I think it's because we're headed towards something definite, a visible endpoint. Seminary is 3 years and one of them is nearly done...

As students we've spent a lot of time standing on the shoulders of giants these past nine months, in every class, from Church History to New Testament studies. No matter where we turn intellectually, some genius has gone before us and shown the way. There are lots of deadends, ideas that just don't pan out theologically or pragmatically, but we have found that the exercise is almost always fruitful, if for no other reason than to discover what doesn't work.

What always works is faith. Every time I start to stumble or find myself laid out by some new twist or idea it is Jesus himself that brings me back from the edge. And it is always and only the real Jesus that does this, no pretender can do it. The real Jesus is the one I see in other Christians, sometimes they're leading me or maybe I'm leading them; often we're just moving down the same path together. In worship, in prayer, at lunch, in my kids, in the classroom, at Holy Eucharist... somewhere each week, I wish I could say every day, I encounter the Risen Lord in all his bright-shining-glory and it is more than enough, it's everything. Grades and other concerns are forgotten and I remember why we're really here; to worship and to love, that's it.

Happy Easter

Easter in Sewanee is something else! Starting with Maundy Thursday, it just rolls non-stop for four days straight.

First was the MT service in All Saints chapel; including foot washing, the stripping of the altar and then the all-night vigil commemorating Jesus' time in the Garden.

On Friday morning I went at 5am to process the Holy Elements from All Saints to the Seminary's Chapel of the Apostles (COTA). This is followed by a 9am Good Friday service at COTA, which includes the Veneration of the Cross of Christ. In this beautiful service a large cross is placed at the altar. As you approach the cross you kneel and pray three or four times. Reaching the cross you kneel and pray again. Many are moved to kiss the cross, some place their foreheads against the hard wood, weeping for the Lord's sacrifice for us.

Next is the Stations of the Cross at Otey Parish. This is the on-campus parish church that serves mostly the town folk of Sewanee and many faculty families. (All Saints and COTA serve mainly the campus and seminary communities.) The stations progress from Otey to All Saints, which is about a 1/2 mile walk. About 350 people participated in the Stations and traffic was blocked off so we could walk down the center of University Avenue. Carrying the cross with three other people for a few hundred feet was tough. I can't even imagine the strain on Jesus as he dragged his cross alone to Golgotha...

At Sewanee the Great Vigil takes place in All Saints. It started at 8pm tonight and ended just about an hour ago. You enter the nave in silence and darkness and then light the Easter fire. From this flame everyone lights a candle and the first half of the service is lit with candles only. Following the Vigil the lights came up and we celebrated the Resurrection with baptisms, confirmations, receptions and renewal of baptismal vows. We also celebrated the adoptions of two young children by the Dean of the seminary and his wife. That was amazing! The whole service was incredible and the sense of community and love was wonderful. I have no words to describe my sense of redemption through the Risen Lord.

Tomorrow I'll be worshipping at a little church where I'm interning, followed by more yummy food and further celebration. Maybe Monday I can sleep :)

Wishing you all of God's peace and joy in Christ this Easter!

Jon