Marmanold.com

Twitter Mute Filters

Without explanation, above are the keywords, hashtags, and clients I’m blocking on Twitter.

If a topic doesn’t apply to you and/or does nothing but make you anxious, stressed, and/or angry you can block it. If Twitter isn’t bringing you joy or edifying you, it ain’t worth it. No one deserves a space on your timeline!

Z Shell One-Year Update

I’ve been using Z Shell for over a year now and I’ve been very pleased with it. Honestly, I should have moved off macOS’s antiquated default Bash ages ago. Below is an update on where my .zshrc is sitting a while down the road.

Oh My ZSH Plug-ins

I keep the Oh My ZSH plug-ins pretty light. Partially because I want to keep startup times low and partially because I can’t remember the commands anyways.

Simple Keyboard KVM Switch

I recently replaced my iMac with an M1 Mac mini and did an entire rework of my desk setup. With the iMac gone, I was finally able to buy a proper 4k montior to share between my work laptop and my personal workstation. I was also able to upgrade my keyboard to a Varmilo Miya Pro and get a new mouse. Since I would be switching between my work and personal machines several times a day, I wanted a simple and reliable system to share external devices between my systems.

Just as Important

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.

These two commandments here are pretty interesting. I think it shows the two tendencies that most people generally fall into. Some people seem to want to focus on the Divine and coming to know God. Prayer, meditation, contemplation, deep thought — these are all favored activities. Others, like to dig into doing. Penance, acts of mercy, protest — these tasks make them happy and feel closer to godliness. Heady piety versus works — it is the age-old struggle.

I'm *Not Tired Yet

I don’t know about y’all, but there’s a lot of noise in my world right now. Politics — almost always a bunch of clanging symbols — is in high gear. The pandemic, still running wild across the world, is — as almost all things seem to be — a divisive often partisan topic. Race is a topic. Police are a topic. Riots, looting, and vandalism are topics. Gender & sexuality didn’t stay in 2019, either, and decided to join 2020’s party. It seems every bizarro COVID-19 2020 interaction is full of strife.

Christians & the 2020 Presidential Election

There is no Christian candidate in this presidential election. Though I personally cannot look past his poor moral character and inappropriate use of Holy Scripture and the Church, many faithful Christians will vote for Trump. Many faithful Christians will vote for Biden. Other faithful Christians will vote for the Solidarity Party or for other political parties.

The &Campaign points a way forward for faithful Christian political engagement in all areas of the political landscape. Christians are called to be witnesses of the True King and his Kingdom in all areas of life. Our identities should be in Christ and not political parties. Our words should point to the Living Word and not temporary dramas of the present political moment. The laws and government of Israel in the Old Testament guide us in what types of government and laws followers of the Living God should desire. Christians should not focus on single issues in our political engagement, but pragmatically balance the whole revelation of Scripture and the character of God made manifest in the Incarnation of God the Son in Jesus Christ.

Baptism: Fresh Water in the Valley

Friends, we live in difficult times. The last time we were together was March 1st. Spring was finally here. When I setup everything at Memorial Lutheran, many people were out on their bicycles. The neighborhood was full of noise from lawn mowers, children, and birds. A ladybug visited me in the narthex. Winter was over and the world was full of hope.

The tornado came two days later. The power of God’s creation was clearly seen. Our neighborhood was destroyed. Large buildings are now in ruins. Smith and Lentz, the brewery where we met so often, no longer has a beer garden, a roof, no rear wall.

Die Taufe: Frisches Wasser im finstern Tal

Freunde, wir leben in schwierige Zeiten. Das letztes mal, dass wir zusammen waren, war es 1. März. Der Frühling war endlich da. Als ich bei Memorial Lutheran alles aufgerüstet hat, kamen vielen vorbei an den Fahrrädern. Die Nachbarschaft war voller Lärm von Rasenmäher, Kinder, und Vögel. Ein Marienkäfer hat mir besucht im Narthex. Winter war vorbei und die Welt war voller Hoffnung.

Zwei Tage später kam der Tornado. Die Macht Gottes Schöpfung war klar zu sehen. Unsere Nachbarschaft war zerstört. Große Gebäude liegen jetzt in Schutt. Smith und Lentz, die Brauerei wo wir so oft getroffen haben, hat kein Biergarten mehr, kein Dach, keine Hinterwand.

Drafts 5 Sermon Prep with LectServe

Drafts 5 for Mac recently introduced the ability to do some basic scripting in JavaScript as an action in the application. Each time I prepare a sermon, the first step for me is to lookup the readings for the week on LectServe and then paste the readings into Drafts where I can start doing sermon preparation and, eventually, write my sermon. As soon as I saw actions and scripting introduced for Drafts, I knew I’d have to automate my sermon prep process.

Angst vor den Tod

Während der Adventszeit haben wir „O Komm, O Komm Immanuel“ gesungen. In die Weihnachten sangen wir von eine „Stille Nacht“ ob sich Christus geboren war. Am 6. Januar fingen wir mit der Epiphanie — oder die Erscheinung des Herrn — an. Ein Retter wird kommen. Ein Retter ist gekommen. Gekommen, aber nicht wie wir gedacht haben.

Wir stehen jetzt in die Mitte der Epiphaniezeit. Die drei Weisen aus dem Morgenland sind schon gekommen. Jesus war getauft und Vierzig Tage in Versuchung geführt. Letzte Woche, fand er normaler Fischer und sagte: „Kommt, folgt mir! Ich mache euch zu Menschenfischern.“

The Toddler Evening Office

We started a pattern of family prayer back in Advent. Each night after dinner, I’d lead the family in prayer. Oliver (23 months) would listen(-ish) and join in the amens and Rosemary (~4) would chime in with the responses — “Hear our Prayer” — and lead the Lord’s Prayer. Having established a habit of prayer after dinner, I wanted to keep it moving forward even after the Advent calendars were empty and the wreath was put away.

His Word has Made it So

“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19 (RSV)

In this room alone, how many sermons have we heard on this passage? Dozens? Maybe even hundreds? And, yet, these words are impactful each time. Why?

There are two main reasons, I think. The first is guilt. The second is hope.

For many people, their hearts sink at hearing this passage. They remember times they were called by Christ, but did not listen. They have guilt. They have anxiety. They worry they might again, maybe even in this moment, be confronted with another call. Again, they might have to decide to answer God’s call or to ignore it.

Review: Basis Bibel Auslese

Back in October I launched a German-language worship service in Nashville, Tennessee. In the lead-up to launching St. Mang, I knew I’d need to focus on my German to get back to the point where I could write a sermon in German each month.

I immediately switched to German for my morning prayers using the 1984 Luther translation. Though there is a lot I like about Luther’s translation in German, it is not a great entry point into theological/ecclesial German. I found the language to be a barrier to getting back into German and especially towards my goal of writing simple sermons that native and non-native speakers of German could understand.

Eine königliche Familie

Jesus war geboren in Bethlehem zur Zeit des Königs Herodes. In Judäa gab es nur ein König. Aus der Sicht die jüdische Bevölkerung, Herodes war ein Verräter. Herodes hat - in Name des Römisches Reich - sein eigenes Volk erobert. Der war Vasallenkönig unter Kaiser. Als Vasallenkönig, verlangt Herodes Steuer für Rom auf die Leute. Verräter, Steuereinnehmer, Knecht unter Kaiser. Herodes war kein David. Er wusste es und sein Volk wussten es auch.

Jederzeit Bereit Sein

In mein Haus ist es kein Geheimnis dass ich kein Fan von den säkularen Weihnachten bin. Ich bin außerhalb der Kirche erwachsen. Als ich ein Kind war, liebte ich die Weihnachten. Die Musik. Die schönen Farben. Nostalgie für eine „bessere Zeit.“ Die Ideen von Freude, Familie, und Frieden. Und, natürlich, die Geschenke.

Aber dann, antwortete ich den Anruf Jesu. Die Weihnachten, kam ich zu verstehen, war nicht nur eine Erinnerung von einem netten Mann der schönen Sprüche ausgegeben hat und eine gute Lebensweise ausgeführt hat. Nein, die Weinachten waren ein Christliches Fest der Menschwerdung. Gott ist Mensch geworden. Gott hat zu uns gekommen! Die Welt und das All waren größer als ich je gewusst hat. Gott war echt. Gott kennt mich und — auch wenn er mich wirklich kennt — liebt er mich unbegrenzt und bedingungslos. Die Geburt Christi ist der Zeitpunkt wo alles verändert. Es ist der Augenblick wo das Wort Gottes Fleisch angenommen hat. Mein Fleisch. Dein Fleisch. Unser Fleisch. „Cur Deus homo?“/„Warum wurde Gott Mensch?“ fragte Heilige Anselm. Die Lösung fängt man mit den Weihnachten an zu finden.