The former Prime Minister of Pakistan and recent martyr to the cause of democracy in Pakistan and around the world, Benazir Bhutto, left behind a powerful book, finished as her life came to a tragic end.
"Reconciliation" covers a lot of territory in its three hundred pages.
She lays charges at the feet of the West for what we have done as a ‘civilization’ to exacerbate conditions that have led to our global war on terror. She lays out the tragic but still-hopeful history of her beloved nation and her family’s sacrifices to build a sustainable democracy. She speaks of her beloved Islam and indicts the extremists who have sought to turn her religion into a sponsor of terror instead of a sponsor of peace. She takes to task and then takes apart the governing paradigmatic foreign policy essay “The Clash of Civilizations” by Samuel Huntingdon.
She leaves us with several conclusions. First, democratic ideals are NOT antithetical to Islam. Second, the “global war on terror”, in large measure, is a battle within Islam between moderates and extremists. Third, much foreign policy by the democratic powers of the West, especially the United States, has fed into the battle within Islam. Fourth, if the West would feed the democratic processes at work in Islamic nations, the ideals could emerge and as they did, as the economic benefits were advanced to the people of these nations, extremism would be starved on the vine.
What job does that leave for Christianity? How does the Church, seeking to fulfill the Great Commission, consider its role in the workings of Pakistan and other Muslim nations? Extremist Islamic rhetoric equates any mission work we do as continuing the Crusades of eight centuries ago. Even moderate Islamic reaction to the presence of missionaries has been to outlaw such behavior. There is also an identification of Western missionary activity with perceived Western ‘imperialist’ activity.
I believe peacemaking is part of the Great Commission. According to 1Timothy 2, God desires everyone to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. The purpose for that is mentioned one verse earlier, so that we may lead quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and dignity. Maybe our place in the mission field of the Islamic nations is to take the lead in bringing real peace, in bringing real, sustainable economic growth, in bringing real freedom. Maybe the place we must start is in the deeds that mark us as believers in Jesus Christ. The words will follow.
Remember the hymn, “They will know we are Christians by our love.”
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Media Observation: The movie "Doom", 2005
I wasn’t expecting to find a distinctly Christian character in “Doom”. I was indulging my genetic masculine predisposition to violent sci-fi shoot ‘em up bug-hunt type movies. I played the video game with a certain amount of blood thirsty glee. Besides, the Rock does pretty good violence.
Basic movie premise, an elite team of Marines goes to Mars via some cool wormhole bridge to kill things threatening humans up there. One of the Marines was a Christian, a counterpoint to a particularly disgusting character with amoral tendencies toward women, drugs, and so on. The Christian is nicknamed “Goat” (a play on the Lamb of God? A reference to the Sheep and the Goats in Matthew? Or was Lambchops just too uncool for a Marine nickname?).
“Goat” sticks in my head for two scenes, one negative and one positive, both in sick, violent, sci-fi, shoot-em-up bug-hunt ways.
On the negative, Goat takes the Lord’s name in vain. Punishment for breaking the Fourth Commandment? Self-mutilation. He carves a cross into his forearm with his combat knife. I think we were supposed to take note of the extensive scar-tissue.
That was a lot more introspective then carving a cross in his arm. I still haven’t decided whether I like it or not, but it made me think.
Basic movie premise, an elite team of Marines goes to Mars via some cool wormhole bridge to kill things threatening humans up there. One of the Marines was a Christian, a counterpoint to a particularly disgusting character with amoral tendencies toward women, drugs, and so on. The Christian is nicknamed “Goat” (a play on the Lamb of God? A reference to the Sheep and the Goats in Matthew? Or was Lambchops just too uncool for a Marine nickname?).
“Goat” sticks in my head for two scenes, one negative and one positive, both in sick, violent, sci-fi, shoot-em-up bug-hunt ways.
On the negative, Goat takes the Lord’s name in vain. Punishment for breaking the Fourth Commandment? Self-mutilation. He carves a cross into his forearm with his combat knife. I think we were supposed to take note of the extensive scar-tissue.
On the positive, okay, not positive, but rather interesting, Goat, like most of the humans in the movie, gets turned into a flesh-eating demonic creature by other flesh-eating demonic creatures. To stop them, they must be shot with extreme prejudice.
They play a minimal subtext where Goat calls these creatures demons. Then, while his redeemed nature is still in some kind of control of his free will after he is bitten/infected, he chooses to kill himself rather than lost his free will and his soul to this evil. It is grotesquely comical to watch him bang his skull on bulletproof glass to kill himself.That was a lot more introspective then carving a cross in his arm. I still haven’t decided whether I like it or not, but it made me think.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Easter Sermon 2008
Sermon Mar. 23, 2008 Luke 24:1-35 Easter Sunday
“This Is That Of Which I Speak”
It hasn’t really felt like Easter this year. I don’t know if it because Easter is so early, but the awe and wonder isn’t what it usually is. It may just be the news of the day. I don’t know if it is the bipolar reaction to the economy in the media. One day, doom, despair and recession, the next, oh no, an indicator is good, we are coming out of it. I don’t know if it is because we have been at war for five years, we are at four thousand dead. I don’t know if it is because this is the most convenient war we have ever fought. There is no draft, there is no rationing, there are no shortages. If you don’t look for it, you won’t see it at all.
The way the world is at the moment, it feels more like Good Friday, the death of Jesus, rather than Easter morning, Jesus come back to us.
It was that way for the apostles. They did not believe the news of the women. Mary Magdalene, Joanne, Mary the mother of James (apparently not to be confused with Mary the mother of Jesus) and the rest went to the tomb with ointment and spices to embalm the body of Jesus. They did not find Jesus in the tomb, but they did meet two men in dazzling clothes-angels. They reminded the women of Jesus’ own words, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again. Then, verse eight, “they remembered his words”. And they believed that Jesus was risen from the dead.
When they returned to the apostles to tell them this, those condescending QUOTE leaders of the church UNQUOTE decided their story was an idle tale and they did not believe them. At least Peter was curious enough to go check it out. He went, saw the empty tomb and the linen clothes inside, but, instead of coming back to speak of what he saw, just went home amazed.
Then Luke follows two of them were headed for Emmaus. They were having an animated discussion about everything that had happened. Jesus was dead, but the women were saying he was alive. How do you get your mind around that? When Jesus joins them and pretends ignorance, they give him a recap of the events of the last few days. And at the very least they confirm the “idle tale” of the women. They saw the empty tomb, not the angels, but the empty tomb. Something was happening, but they had no idea what. And unlike the women, they could not believe it was Jesus resurrected.
And Jesus clobbers them with it. The sanitized version appears in Luke, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared!” A more contemporary rendering might be “Hey, stupid! You’re thicker than a brick! Remember what the prophets said?”
Now the angels at the tomb only had to remind the women of what Jesus had said. They thought back to Jesus’ words in Galilee and bingo, the light went on. Jesus was alive! Jesus was resurrected from the dead! That was God’s promise fulfilled! They remembered and believed. That was why the tomb was empty.
But now we have these two jug heads. Jesus starts with the same reminder. Was it not necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and then enter into his glory? For the women, that was the trigger point. In that instant, they got it. But not these gentlemen. Jesus has to go back to Moses, he has to go back to the book of Genesis, and then through all the prophets, all the way through the Old Testament, interpreting to them the things about himself in all the Scriptures.
What a glorious time that was for them. Their hearts burned within themselves while Jesus spoke.
The only problem is they still weren’t getting it. They are hearing all this incredible stuff and they are deeply moved, but Jesus is standing right next to them and they don’t see him. They are hearing all the promises of the bible but without believing Jesus was alive. This was seven miles of walking stupid.
So they get to the village. Jesus was going on, but they urged him to stay. It was almost evening, the day was nearly over, the evening rush hour was beginning, they wanted him to stay, and he agreed.
These two disciples were obviously not auditory learners. Telling them stuff was all well and good, but they did not break out to reach the conclusion that Jesus was aiming for. They did not get it that Jesus was alive and standing right there with them. Rather, these two guys were obviously visual. Jesus repeated the Last Supper. He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.
Baddabing! Their eyes were opened and they recognized him! And he vanished from their sight. So back they go to Jerusalem, tell the apostles, and they all finally believe it after corroborating evidence that Jesus appeared to Simon as well. Our final verse says, “Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he, Jesus, had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.”
Now imagine the women listening to this. Early dawn, they’d gotten the good news and believed it. But the men didn’t believe, they dismissed their testimony as an “idle tale”. But now, these two spend hours with Jesus teaching them, hours having their hearts and minds all fired up, hours having the bible explained to them in detail, they still didn’t figure it out until Jesus broke some bread for them. Then, they walk seven miles back to Jerusalem to tell the apostles. It took a round trip from here to Menlo Park Mall and a visitation of Jesus to Simon and an entire day for the men to believe what the women knew first thing that morning.
This sounds like a marriage. The wife knows the truth, but the husband doesn’t believe her, not until he figures it out for himself, and not until he figures it out the hard way.
No matter how long it took them to believe it, the Good News is that Jesus rose from the dead.
When we walk out of here this morning, we will still be at war. Our economy will still be wildly unstable. Poverty, climate change, all those things will still be there. What will be different is us. The Promise of Easter will suffuse us to our very souls. Jesus conquered death. People will still die, in Iraq, elsewhere, but in Jesus is the hope of heaven. Jesus conquered sin. Our economy is sliding, a lot due to greed and sinful business practice. In Jesus, we know there are things bigger and more eternal then any market fluctuation.
When we walk out of there, may the joy of Christ Jesus, risen from the dead, savior of us all, surround you and kindle in you a love for God and neighbor that will sweep us into Christ’s vision for us this year and for all time to come. May the bad things melt in the light of our Lord Jesus. May his grace be sufficient and his love all encompassing for us.
Amen.
“This Is That Of Which I Speak”
It hasn’t really felt like Easter this year. I don’t know if it because Easter is so early, but the awe and wonder isn’t what it usually is. It may just be the news of the day. I don’t know if it is the bipolar reaction to the economy in the media. One day, doom, despair and recession, the next, oh no, an indicator is good, we are coming out of it. I don’t know if it is because we have been at war for five years, we are at four thousand dead. I don’t know if it is because this is the most convenient war we have ever fought. There is no draft, there is no rationing, there are no shortages. If you don’t look for it, you won’t see it at all.
The way the world is at the moment, it feels more like Good Friday, the death of Jesus, rather than Easter morning, Jesus come back to us.
It was that way for the apostles. They did not believe the news of the women. Mary Magdalene, Joanne, Mary the mother of James (apparently not to be confused with Mary the mother of Jesus) and the rest went to the tomb with ointment and spices to embalm the body of Jesus. They did not find Jesus in the tomb, but they did meet two men in dazzling clothes-angels. They reminded the women of Jesus’ own words, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again. Then, verse eight, “they remembered his words”. And they believed that Jesus was risen from the dead.
When they returned to the apostles to tell them this, those condescending QUOTE leaders of the church UNQUOTE decided their story was an idle tale and they did not believe them. At least Peter was curious enough to go check it out. He went, saw the empty tomb and the linen clothes inside, but, instead of coming back to speak of what he saw, just went home amazed.
Then Luke follows two of them were headed for Emmaus. They were having an animated discussion about everything that had happened. Jesus was dead, but the women were saying he was alive. How do you get your mind around that? When Jesus joins them and pretends ignorance, they give him a recap of the events of the last few days. And at the very least they confirm the “idle tale” of the women. They saw the empty tomb, not the angels, but the empty tomb. Something was happening, but they had no idea what. And unlike the women, they could not believe it was Jesus resurrected.
And Jesus clobbers them with it. The sanitized version appears in Luke, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared!” A more contemporary rendering might be “Hey, stupid! You’re thicker than a brick! Remember what the prophets said?”
Now the angels at the tomb only had to remind the women of what Jesus had said. They thought back to Jesus’ words in Galilee and bingo, the light went on. Jesus was alive! Jesus was resurrected from the dead! That was God’s promise fulfilled! They remembered and believed. That was why the tomb was empty.
But now we have these two jug heads. Jesus starts with the same reminder. Was it not necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and then enter into his glory? For the women, that was the trigger point. In that instant, they got it. But not these gentlemen. Jesus has to go back to Moses, he has to go back to the book of Genesis, and then through all the prophets, all the way through the Old Testament, interpreting to them the things about himself in all the Scriptures.
What a glorious time that was for them. Their hearts burned within themselves while Jesus spoke.
The only problem is they still weren’t getting it. They are hearing all this incredible stuff and they are deeply moved, but Jesus is standing right next to them and they don’t see him. They are hearing all the promises of the bible but without believing Jesus was alive. This was seven miles of walking stupid.
So they get to the village. Jesus was going on, but they urged him to stay. It was almost evening, the day was nearly over, the evening rush hour was beginning, they wanted him to stay, and he agreed.
These two disciples were obviously not auditory learners. Telling them stuff was all well and good, but they did not break out to reach the conclusion that Jesus was aiming for. They did not get it that Jesus was alive and standing right there with them. Rather, these two guys were obviously visual. Jesus repeated the Last Supper. He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.
Baddabing! Their eyes were opened and they recognized him! And he vanished from their sight. So back they go to Jerusalem, tell the apostles, and they all finally believe it after corroborating evidence that Jesus appeared to Simon as well. Our final verse says, “Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he, Jesus, had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.”
Now imagine the women listening to this. Early dawn, they’d gotten the good news and believed it. But the men didn’t believe, they dismissed their testimony as an “idle tale”. But now, these two spend hours with Jesus teaching them, hours having their hearts and minds all fired up, hours having the bible explained to them in detail, they still didn’t figure it out until Jesus broke some bread for them. Then, they walk seven miles back to Jerusalem to tell the apostles. It took a round trip from here to Menlo Park Mall and a visitation of Jesus to Simon and an entire day for the men to believe what the women knew first thing that morning.
This sounds like a marriage. The wife knows the truth, but the husband doesn’t believe her, not until he figures it out for himself, and not until he figures it out the hard way.
No matter how long it took them to believe it, the Good News is that Jesus rose from the dead.
When we walk out of here this morning, we will still be at war. Our economy will still be wildly unstable. Poverty, climate change, all those things will still be there. What will be different is us. The Promise of Easter will suffuse us to our very souls. Jesus conquered death. People will still die, in Iraq, elsewhere, but in Jesus is the hope of heaven. Jesus conquered sin. Our economy is sliding, a lot due to greed and sinful business practice. In Jesus, we know there are things bigger and more eternal then any market fluctuation.
When we walk out of there, may the joy of Christ Jesus, risen from the dead, savior of us all, surround you and kindle in you a love for God and neighbor that will sweep us into Christ’s vision for us this year and for all time to come. May the bad things melt in the light of our Lord Jesus. May his grace be sufficient and his love all encompassing for us.
Amen.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Creation and Evolution: Can they be the same thing?
I heard an intriguing statistic on the radio. One third of Americans believe in the fundamentalist inerrant interpretation of Scripture while two thirds of Americans do not believe in evolution as a scientific theory. My first reaction is to wonder at the polling process that resulted in these numbers. They seem to be widely disparate.
I do not doubt that there is a gap. To hear the media play, creationism, the religio-scientific theory drawn from Genesis 1 and 2, should stand in contention with the theory of Evolution. This religio-scientific theory of Creationism is achieved when a fundamendalist inerrant approach to the interpretation of Scripture is rigorously applied.
But to interpret these statistics, the conclusion I draw is that the Creationist theorists have convinced more people then fundamentalists. You don't have to interpret Scripture in a certain way yourself in order to identify with others who interpret Scripture in a certain way.
I thank the Lord that my salvation is not on the line with how I interpret Genesis 1. I accept the theory of evolution as the best interpretation of the data available in the world around us and in the words of Scripture. Because those are the two modes of God's revelation to us, in general and in a special way, we must take what each of them reveal to us, prayerfully asking the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
I have found myself correcting my vocabulary a couple of times here. The initial expression that came to my mind for Genesis 1 is that it is called a 'creation myth', but that has negative connotations. I also tossed around calling Genesis 1 the 'creation story', but that also rouses negative connotations for me. I recognize the real possibility that I am overly sensitive to language, but this debate is so emotionally charged that I feel I have to be.
Genesis 1 teaches that God created the universe. That is what I believe. "How" is a more complex question. And it is a story for another day. So is interpreting the contradistinction of the Creation accounts in Genesis 1 and 2.
I do not doubt that there is a gap. To hear the media play, creationism, the religio-scientific theory drawn from Genesis 1 and 2, should stand in contention with the theory of Evolution. This religio-scientific theory of Creationism is achieved when a fundamendalist inerrant approach to the interpretation of Scripture is rigorously applied.
But to interpret these statistics, the conclusion I draw is that the Creationist theorists have convinced more people then fundamentalists. You don't have to interpret Scripture in a certain way yourself in order to identify with others who interpret Scripture in a certain way.
I thank the Lord that my salvation is not on the line with how I interpret Genesis 1. I accept the theory of evolution as the best interpretation of the data available in the world around us and in the words of Scripture. Because those are the two modes of God's revelation to us, in general and in a special way, we must take what each of them reveal to us, prayerfully asking the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Over and against a fundamentalist inerrant approach to biblical interpretation, I would have to characterize the methods I use for Scriptural interpretation as a "literary inerrant approach". I accept the inerrancy of Scripture in the literary form that has been handed down to us. Genesis 1 is in the genre of other Creation accounts found in the ancient world. The difference is that this is the proper account.
I have found myself correcting my vocabulary a couple of times here. The initial expression that came to my mind for Genesis 1 is that it is called a 'creation myth', but that has negative connotations. I also tossed around calling Genesis 1 the 'creation story', but that also rouses negative connotations for me. I recognize the real possibility that I am overly sensitive to language, but this debate is so emotionally charged that I feel I have to be.
Genesis 1 teaches that God created the universe. That is what I believe. "How" is a more complex question. And it is a story for another day. So is interpreting the contradistinction of the Creation accounts in Genesis 1 and 2.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Time to fight the Culture Wars, Round 1
Bishop Gene Robinson and Bishop Martyn Minns are being sidelined for the upcoming Lambeth gathering of the world-wide Anglican Fellowship. These two bishops have become the flashpoints for two sides of a Culture War going on inside the Episcopal Church. Bishop Robinson is the first openly gay ordained bishop and Bishop Minns leads a series of conservative Episcopal congregations around the country who have broken away in large part in reaction to Bishop Robinson.
I pray for our brothers and sisters in the Anglican Fellowship. Their fight is one going on inside the Presbyterian Church as well. And like the Episcopalian Church, it is damaging and dividing us. A number of our churches have withdrawn to join the Evangelican Presbyterian Church.
Makes me wonder how we fight a Culture War and stay faithful to our Christian beliefs. Makes me wonder how two groups of Christians with polarized beliefs can function in the same denomination. Makes me wonder how the mainline will thrive if this is where we get stuck.
It is not an issue of the authority of Scripture. Some people want to make it that, but I don’t buy it. It only becomes an issue when the authority of Scripture is rejected to make the point of homosexuality and sin. But once the authority of Scripture is rejected, a fundamental presupposition of conversing as Christians is rejected and, for me, the conversation goes outside the sacred realm and into the secular.
And that is okay, but not here.
For me, the issue is the interpretation of Scripture. Are the famous (or infamous) verses in the Torah and in Romans speaking about homosexual activities in themselves as sinful or are they speaking of homosexual activities when used as religious rituals as sinful? Or are they condemning both? Or do certain passages address sexuality and certain passages address religious ritual?
The tough part of resolving this issue is that the interpretation of Scripture rests on settling a cultural/scientific question. Is homosexuality innate or is it chosen? Can it be both, chosen by some, innate in others? Are there people who are truly not sure? How does a discussion of transgender enter in?
The reason these two questions are connected for me concerns the question of innate behavior. If homosexuality is innate, it is created by God. If it is innate, how can we interpret Scripture to condemn what God has created?
If homosexuality is chosen, Adam and Eve is the biblical example of marriage, an heterosexual monogamous relationship. If homosexuality is innate, Adam and Eve is the biblical example of marriage, an exclusive monogamous relationship.
Some of my friends get upset with me when I say that this issue follows the pattern of interpreting the Scripture about slavery, about the ordination of women, about civil rights. In each generation, those issues generated their own anger. We fought a civil war over slavery. The Presbyterian Church split over the issue. We are apparently splitting again.
What do I think? I think there are no easy answers. I think this issue strikes to the heart and soul of many devout Christians on both sides. I also think that the flames of the debate have been fanned by the devil to suck away the church’s life blood from the real matters of gospel proclamation and world redemption.
I also think mercy is the order of the day. I know devout Christians who are gay. I don’t think they chose. Given the discrimination that goes on in this country about gender issues, I cannot imagine why they would want to choose. I would rather risk being wrong for the sake of the gospel going to include more.
I am also ordained in a church where the polity takes the opposite view. I know full well that putting this opinion up on my blog could catch me hell (literally) with my congregants and with my denomination. I smack of personal hypocrisy, saying one thing while working in a church that teaches something else.
But theologically, this is a minor issue. I don’t think salvation rests on it, one way or the other. There are any number of sins that could be listed which don’t grab the spot light like this one does which are as or more damaging to our Christian natures. I think this is a cultural issue first and foremost that has been taken up in the church and, as I said before, sucks energy away from what is really important.
I pray for our brothers and sisters in the Anglican Fellowship. Their fight is one going on inside the Presbyterian Church as well. And like the Episcopalian Church, it is damaging and dividing us. A number of our churches have withdrawn to join the Evangelican Presbyterian Church.
Makes me wonder how we fight a Culture War and stay faithful to our Christian beliefs. Makes me wonder how two groups of Christians with polarized beliefs can function in the same denomination. Makes me wonder how the mainline will thrive if this is where we get stuck.
It is not an issue of the authority of Scripture. Some people want to make it that, but I don’t buy it. It only becomes an issue when the authority of Scripture is rejected to make the point of homosexuality and sin. But once the authority of Scripture is rejected, a fundamental presupposition of conversing as Christians is rejected and, for me, the conversation goes outside the sacred realm and into the secular.
And that is okay, but not here.
For me, the issue is the interpretation of Scripture. Are the famous (or infamous) verses in the Torah and in Romans speaking about homosexual activities in themselves as sinful or are they speaking of homosexual activities when used as religious rituals as sinful? Or are they condemning both? Or do certain passages address sexuality and certain passages address religious ritual?
The tough part of resolving this issue is that the interpretation of Scripture rests on settling a cultural/scientific question. Is homosexuality innate or is it chosen? Can it be both, chosen by some, innate in others? Are there people who are truly not sure? How does a discussion of transgender enter in?
The reason these two questions are connected for me concerns the question of innate behavior. If homosexuality is innate, it is created by God. If it is innate, how can we interpret Scripture to condemn what God has created?
If homosexuality is chosen, Adam and Eve is the biblical example of marriage, an heterosexual monogamous relationship. If homosexuality is innate, Adam and Eve is the biblical example of marriage, an exclusive monogamous relationship.
Some of my friends get upset with me when I say that this issue follows the pattern of interpreting the Scripture about slavery, about the ordination of women, about civil rights. In each generation, those issues generated their own anger. We fought a civil war over slavery. The Presbyterian Church split over the issue. We are apparently splitting again.
What do I think? I think there are no easy answers. I think this issue strikes to the heart and soul of many devout Christians on both sides. I also think that the flames of the debate have been fanned by the devil to suck away the church’s life blood from the real matters of gospel proclamation and world redemption.
I also think mercy is the order of the day. I know devout Christians who are gay. I don’t think they chose. Given the discrimination that goes on in this country about gender issues, I cannot imagine why they would want to choose. I would rather risk being wrong for the sake of the gospel going to include more.
I am also ordained in a church where the polity takes the opposite view. I know full well that putting this opinion up on my blog could catch me hell (literally) with my congregants and with my denomination. I smack of personal hypocrisy, saying one thing while working in a church that teaches something else.
But theologically, this is a minor issue. I don’t think salvation rests on it, one way or the other. There are any number of sins that could be listed which don’t grab the spot light like this one does which are as or more damaging to our Christian natures. I think this is a cultural issue first and foremost that has been taken up in the church and, as I said before, sucks energy away from what is really important.
Monday, March 10, 2008
The Seven Modern Wonders of Sin.
“Polluting, genetic engineering, obscene riches, taking drugs, abortion, pedophilia and causing social injustice join the original seven deadly sins defined by Pope Gregory the Great in the sixth century: pride, envy, gluttony, greed, lust, wrath and sloth.”
“Gianfranco Girotti, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, responsible for absolving Catholics from their sins, named the new mortal sins in an interview with the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, yesterday.”
These are two paragraphs from the Sydney Morning Herald, actually listing the “new” seven deadly sins. The New York Times Online article did not provide such a categorical list. You read the headlines and it is like there is a new list published by the Roman Catholic Church. Read more indepth and you can see that the church is providing more information on what it calls “mortal” sins, sins that, if unrepented, lead to damnation.
I applaud the church for taking seriously how sin affects us today, and for taking on the systemic nature of sin in our globalizing world. The idea that sin existed in two arenas was one I learned
about in Seminary.
The first arena was in the human heart, the sins I commit, the ones I am responsible for, the pain and suffering that I cause by what I do. The second, more expansive, is that sin exists in institutions and systems. For example, sin exists in capitalism because by its nature, some people are left behind as other people advance. The trouble is, unlike personal sins, systemic sins do not leave someone specific to blame or to confess for what has happened. That seems to be the shift taking place in the Roman Catholic thinking.
The theological technical term for sin (although hardly universal) is “Harmatology”. And that is a tough sell these days. Point to something and call it sinful can make us anything from judgmental to irrelevant. We are judgmental for nosing into someone else’s life. We are irrelevant because “sin” as an idea has faded from real consideration.
I was getting ready for work today and I caught a promo for Good Morning America. A woman has discovered that her best friend’s husband is having an affair. The question was whether or not it was any of her business to let her friend know. The question of right and wrong, sin or not sin, was not in the affair itself. Now there is a commandment about that, it is a ‘shalt not’. Thou shalt not commit adultery. The question of right or wrong was whether the friend should divulge this information.
The implication I took away is that to reveal the affair could be an ethically negative activity, in other words, a sinful activity. That assumes that someone else’s sin is none of my business. The question of when sin becomes my business is generally at the line where it becomes criminal.
Adultery is not a crime, unless specific circumstances turn it into one (sex with a minor or someone mentally incompetent). If it were a criminal activity, I would have a civic duty to report it. But if it isn’t a crime, the implication is that I ignore the sin or leave the sin alone, or just make the sin NOT my business.
If sin is irrelevant, then the need for forgiveness is irrelevant. The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross to give grace to the world becomes irrelevant. Heaven, the moral values that religion are supposed to provide as the very minimal token of its existence becomes irrelevant.
I am not prepared to argue for or against the sins added to the list of mortal sins by the Roman Catholic Church. I think it is a convenient media ploy to list seven of them so we can grab the soundbite made popular from Dante to “Seven” with Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt.
I think the culture at large has lost just about any sense of what ‘sin’ is supposed to be and the church has not been able to fill that gap of knowledge. Heaven, it seems like within the church, what sin is seems to be a lost subject. The news reports citing these new deadly sins also cited the statistic that 60% of Italian Catholics do not go to Confession, corroberating proof to the general irrelevance of sin to the modern mind.
Believing in Christ means accepting him as the Way. It is the Way to heaven, away from Hell. But we seem to be losing the very sense of what this Way is taking us from.
“Gianfranco Girotti, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, responsible for absolving Catholics from their sins, named the new mortal sins in an interview with the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, yesterday.”
These are two paragraphs from the Sydney Morning Herald, actually listing the “new” seven deadly sins. The New York Times Online article did not provide such a categorical list. You read the headlines and it is like there is a new list published by the Roman Catholic Church. Read more indepth and you can see that the church is providing more information on what it calls “mortal” sins, sins that, if unrepented, lead to damnation.
I applaud the church for taking seriously how sin affects us today, and for taking on the systemic nature of sin in our globalizing world. The idea that sin existed in two arenas was one I learned
about in Seminary.
The first arena was in the human heart, the sins I commit, the ones I am responsible for, the pain and suffering that I cause by what I do. The second, more expansive, is that sin exists in institutions and systems. For example, sin exists in capitalism because by its nature, some people are left behind as other people advance. The trouble is, unlike personal sins, systemic sins do not leave someone specific to blame or to confess for what has happened. That seems to be the shift taking place in the Roman Catholic thinking.
The theological technical term for sin (although hardly universal) is “Harmatology”. And that is a tough sell these days. Point to something and call it sinful can make us anything from judgmental to irrelevant. We are judgmental for nosing into someone else’s life. We are irrelevant because “sin” as an idea has faded from real consideration.
I was getting ready for work today and I caught a promo for Good Morning America. A woman has discovered that her best friend’s husband is having an affair. The question was whether or not it was any of her business to let her friend know. The question of right and wrong, sin or not sin, was not in the affair itself. Now there is a commandment about that, it is a ‘shalt not’. Thou shalt not commit adultery. The question of right or wrong was whether the friend should divulge this information.
The implication I took away is that to reveal the affair could be an ethically negative activity, in other words, a sinful activity. That assumes that someone else’s sin is none of my business. The question of when sin becomes my business is generally at the line where it becomes criminal.
Adultery is not a crime, unless specific circumstances turn it into one (sex with a minor or someone mentally incompetent). If it were a criminal activity, I would have a civic duty to report it. But if it isn’t a crime, the implication is that I ignore the sin or leave the sin alone, or just make the sin NOT my business.
If sin is irrelevant, then the need for forgiveness is irrelevant. The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross to give grace to the world becomes irrelevant. Heaven, the moral values that religion are supposed to provide as the very minimal token of its existence becomes irrelevant.
I am not prepared to argue for or against the sins added to the list of mortal sins by the Roman Catholic Church. I think it is a convenient media ploy to list seven of them so we can grab the soundbite made popular from Dante to “Seven” with Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt.
I think the culture at large has lost just about any sense of what ‘sin’ is supposed to be and the church has not been able to fill that gap of knowledge. Heaven, it seems like within the church, what sin is seems to be a lost subject. The news reports citing these new deadly sins also cited the statistic that 60% of Italian Catholics do not go to Confession, corroberating proof to the general irrelevance of sin to the modern mind.
Believing in Christ means accepting him as the Way. It is the Way to heaven, away from Hell. But we seem to be losing the very sense of what this Way is taking us from.
Sermon from March 9, 2008
Sermon: March 9, 2008 Girl Scout Sunday
I Peter 4: 7-11
7 The end of all things is near; therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Be hospitable to one another without complaining. 10 Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. 11 Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.
This coming Wednesday, it will be the 96th Anniversary of Juliette Low’s founding of the Girl Scouts of America. I wished I could have met this lady. In the first edition of the Girl Scout handbook, apparently she taught how to do things like tie up a burglar with eight inches of cord and how to stop a bucking horse.
But there is a legacy behind all the adventures that she wanted for girls to undertake. We have those listed in our bulletins. The Girl Scouts have a promise, a law, a slogan, and a motto. These condense into a few words what has developed from an initial group of a dozen and a half girls 96 years ago to two and a half million today. And when these words are spoken, they are the background for an incredibly wide ranging and rich heritage for every girl who experiences them.
I want to turn from that legacy to a legacy left to us in Scripture. In Peter’s first letter, he is giving advice to the people he is writing to on living as God’s children. In this passage, that service is expressed in five specific things, first, serious, disciplined prayer, second, love for one another, third, being hospitable to one another, fourth, serving one another, and fifth, speaking to each other. I want to talk about those five this morning.
First, Peter says to be serious and disciplined for the sake of your prayers. Why? Consider, what is a prayer? A prayer is a conversation with God, our Creator, our Redeemer, our Sustainer. God is all powerful, all loving, the giver of all good things. So if you are going to pray to God, you want to be serious about it, you want to be focused about it. This is something that you really want to do.
It also takes discipline to pray, to get into the habit of prayer. You can pray once, maybe when someone you know is sick, or maybe before a big test. But prayer, talking to God everyday, that takes a determined effort, applying to get it done each day.
It sounds like Girl Scouts. If you want something from Girl Scouts, you have to be serious about it. I mean, you can just show up at the meetings, you can hang out with your friends, but if you are going to be responsible for your community, if you are going to respect others, if you are going to do a good turn daily, that takes practice. And it takes discipline to practice, to do something each day until it becomes a part of your routine.
The second thing Peter talks about sounds easy, maintain constant love for one another. You know why? Love covers a multitude of sins. You all have friends, right? Some good friends? Do they ever annoy you? Have they ever hurt you, by accident of course? What do you do? Do you annoy them back? Well, maybe. Do you hurt them back? I hope not. Forgiveness is part of the Girl Scout way. You forgive them and they forgive you and your friendship continues. That is love overcoming the bad. Love in the good times is easy. Peter knows that. But he also wants us to know that love is important, no, its necessary for the bad times too.
The third thing is that you have to be hospitable to one another. That means you have to show hospitality. That means showing warmth, welcoming someone, showing kindness and generosity. And then Peter adds something, do it without complaining. Do something nice for someone without complaining about it. How many of you have little brothers and sisters? Have your mom or dad ever told you to watch them? Have you ever said something like “Do I have to?”
And if you do watch them, are you nice to them? Or do you sit on them to make sure they behave? That is not very hospitable, even if they are royal pains in the backside. Lets go back to Girl Scouts. Have you had new girls come into the troop? Have you been the new girl? Have you shown hospitality? Included them in the games? Shown them how to do things? See, there are a lot of places you can do this. And it takes discipline, you have to practice it.
Fourth, you serve one another with the gifts God has given you. And these are the gifts that God has given to you. We have any good joke tellers in the group? Any good story tellers? Do you share your jokes? Do you share your stories? Does anybody specialize in silliness here? Are there other special things you can do? Do you get to share those with your families? With your friends?
You know why it is so important to share your gifts? The bible language is a little thick, it says to be like good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Well, what does that mean? It means when God has put something in your heart or in your mind or in your body that you can do for someone else, you are the steward of that gift. You are in charge of that gift. And it is your responsibility to use that gift to serve other people. You good in some subject at school? Serving someone else may be helping them with their schoolwork. You a good athlete? Serving someone may be helping someone who is not as good as you to get better, to teach them, to practice with them.
The last one Peter talks about is speaking to one another. He says whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God. Here are a few things that God does not do when God speaks in the bible. God does not call people names. God does not lie to people. God does not use bad words against people. God does not play mean jokes on people.
We talked about love a little earlier and I asked if anyone had ever hurt you. Who here has ever had something really mean said to them? Maybe the words were so hateful you even cried, or felt like crying. Words can hurt if used badly. That is why Peter says speak the words of God. The words of God are loving, they are respectful, they lift you up, they forgive you, they are kind.
Finally, how do we do all this stuff? There seems to be so many rules, so many things to remember. Well, you have the Girl Scout promise to help you. How does it start? On my honor, I will do my best to serve God. Well, in our passage, Peter has something to say about serving God. It says whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies.
This means we are not by ourselves. When we do good things, God gives us the strength to do them. In the Christian faith, we believe especially that Jesus took all the bad things we do onto himself when he died, so that we can be forgiven when we do bad things, sinful things, instead of the good stuff.
But when the good stuff goes on, when we pray or show love, when we are hospitable, serving each other, speaking good things, that makes something beautiful. And that beauty we make here makes our God more beautiful, more glorious. And we celebrate one example of that this morning. Juliette Gordon Low, Daisy, wanted these good and beautiful things for the girls of her community. From her, we have received the gift of the Girl Scouts where good and wonderful things happen, all in service to God.
May the words of Holy Scripture and the words and actions of these blessed women show us the beauty of God today.
Amen.
I Peter 4: 7-11
7 The end of all things is near; therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Be hospitable to one another without complaining. 10 Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. 11 Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.
This coming Wednesday, it will be the 96th Anniversary of Juliette Low’s founding of the Girl Scouts of America. I wished I could have met this lady. In the first edition of the Girl Scout handbook, apparently she taught how to do things like tie up a burglar with eight inches of cord and how to stop a bucking horse.
But there is a legacy behind all the adventures that she wanted for girls to undertake. We have those listed in our bulletins. The Girl Scouts have a promise, a law, a slogan, and a motto. These condense into a few words what has developed from an initial group of a dozen and a half girls 96 years ago to two and a half million today. And when these words are spoken, they are the background for an incredibly wide ranging and rich heritage for every girl who experiences them.
I want to turn from that legacy to a legacy left to us in Scripture. In Peter’s first letter, he is giving advice to the people he is writing to on living as God’s children. In this passage, that service is expressed in five specific things, first, serious, disciplined prayer, second, love for one another, third, being hospitable to one another, fourth, serving one another, and fifth, speaking to each other. I want to talk about those five this morning.
First, Peter says to be serious and disciplined for the sake of your prayers. Why? Consider, what is a prayer? A prayer is a conversation with God, our Creator, our Redeemer, our Sustainer. God is all powerful, all loving, the giver of all good things. So if you are going to pray to God, you want to be serious about it, you want to be focused about it. This is something that you really want to do.
It also takes discipline to pray, to get into the habit of prayer. You can pray once, maybe when someone you know is sick, or maybe before a big test. But prayer, talking to God everyday, that takes a determined effort, applying to get it done each day.
It sounds like Girl Scouts. If you want something from Girl Scouts, you have to be serious about it. I mean, you can just show up at the meetings, you can hang out with your friends, but if you are going to be responsible for your community, if you are going to respect others, if you are going to do a good turn daily, that takes practice. And it takes discipline to practice, to do something each day until it becomes a part of your routine.
The second thing Peter talks about sounds easy, maintain constant love for one another. You know why? Love covers a multitude of sins. You all have friends, right? Some good friends? Do they ever annoy you? Have they ever hurt you, by accident of course? What do you do? Do you annoy them back? Well, maybe. Do you hurt them back? I hope not. Forgiveness is part of the Girl Scout way. You forgive them and they forgive you and your friendship continues. That is love overcoming the bad. Love in the good times is easy. Peter knows that. But he also wants us to know that love is important, no, its necessary for the bad times too.
The third thing is that you have to be hospitable to one another. That means you have to show hospitality. That means showing warmth, welcoming someone, showing kindness and generosity. And then Peter adds something, do it without complaining. Do something nice for someone without complaining about it. How many of you have little brothers and sisters? Have your mom or dad ever told you to watch them? Have you ever said something like “Do I have to?”
And if you do watch them, are you nice to them? Or do you sit on them to make sure they behave? That is not very hospitable, even if they are royal pains in the backside. Lets go back to Girl Scouts. Have you had new girls come into the troop? Have you been the new girl? Have you shown hospitality? Included them in the games? Shown them how to do things? See, there are a lot of places you can do this. And it takes discipline, you have to practice it.
Fourth, you serve one another with the gifts God has given you. And these are the gifts that God has given to you. We have any good joke tellers in the group? Any good story tellers? Do you share your jokes? Do you share your stories? Does anybody specialize in silliness here? Are there other special things you can do? Do you get to share those with your families? With your friends?
You know why it is so important to share your gifts? The bible language is a little thick, it says to be like good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Well, what does that mean? It means when God has put something in your heart or in your mind or in your body that you can do for someone else, you are the steward of that gift. You are in charge of that gift. And it is your responsibility to use that gift to serve other people. You good in some subject at school? Serving someone else may be helping them with their schoolwork. You a good athlete? Serving someone may be helping someone who is not as good as you to get better, to teach them, to practice with them.
The last one Peter talks about is speaking to one another. He says whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God. Here are a few things that God does not do when God speaks in the bible. God does not call people names. God does not lie to people. God does not use bad words against people. God does not play mean jokes on people.
We talked about love a little earlier and I asked if anyone had ever hurt you. Who here has ever had something really mean said to them? Maybe the words were so hateful you even cried, or felt like crying. Words can hurt if used badly. That is why Peter says speak the words of God. The words of God are loving, they are respectful, they lift you up, they forgive you, they are kind.
Finally, how do we do all this stuff? There seems to be so many rules, so many things to remember. Well, you have the Girl Scout promise to help you. How does it start? On my honor, I will do my best to serve God. Well, in our passage, Peter has something to say about serving God. It says whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies.
This means we are not by ourselves. When we do good things, God gives us the strength to do them. In the Christian faith, we believe especially that Jesus took all the bad things we do onto himself when he died, so that we can be forgiven when we do bad things, sinful things, instead of the good stuff.
But when the good stuff goes on, when we pray or show love, when we are hospitable, serving each other, speaking good things, that makes something beautiful. And that beauty we make here makes our God more beautiful, more glorious. And we celebrate one example of that this morning. Juliette Gordon Low, Daisy, wanted these good and beautiful things for the girls of her community. From her, we have received the gift of the Girl Scouts where good and wonderful things happen, all in service to God.
May the words of Holy Scripture and the words and actions of these blessed women show us the beauty of God today.
Amen.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Basics of Theology
Theology is the art and science designed to create devotion in its learners toward the worship and praise of a higher being. In my case, God, in three persons, blessed Trinity. I am looking for a place and a time to enter my own considerations into the multiverse of internetia. The ideal of theology is that its consideration is not an empty endeavor, but one to deepen and enlarge faith. I am unashamedly Christian, ashamedly a Christian, and working out my faith in fear and trembling. I think Paul said that.
There is a companion blog, "The Elizabethan", a little more in the vein of intentional humor, wit, and bite. This one will be, I hope, a more reflective place.
Enjoy, respond, be nice, love neighbor as yourself.
Sermon from March 2, 2008
Sermon March 2, 2008
Romans 8: 24-30 “Our Deepest Hope”24 For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27 And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Have you noticed the spate of television shows relating to ghosts, hauntings, and the occult? They are on the SciFi Channel, little wonder, but also on the History Channel, the Discovery Channel, and a few other more mainstream cable stations.
And there are the fictional series on this topic, my current favorite being the Ghost Whisperer. I like the premise, a young woman helping the dead finish up their unfinished business here so hey can move on into “the light”. It is language borrowed from out of body experiences, what Christians would equate with the journey to heaven after death.
All of these shows touch on a deep inward need, a need for people to know that there is something after death.
The first verse of our text this morning, which was also part of Romans 8 from last week, is the statement of our hope as people in Christ. We hope for what we do not see. Our hope is in the God who created us, who we believe we go to join when we die on this earth.
But the concern for what comes next is not something that only presses us today. It was a concern in Paul’s time as well.
I believe Paul is talking about the end of life, although he does not expressly say it, because of how I have used these words. He says that in our weakness, we do not pray as we ought, but that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.
That is always a part of my communal prayers, explicitly or implicitly. When we are too weak to pray, the Bible promises that the Spirit will pray for us. And those moments when I have been too weak, or been with someone too weak to pray, those moments have been near the time of death.
Whatever the weakness, the pivotal event in this process of prayer is in verses 27 and 28: And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” This is divine assurance that the Lord hears us especially when we cannot pray. God knows the Spirit’s mind, because the Spirit intercedes for us according to God’s will.
That is the prayer that never fails brothers and sisters, simply put, “Thy will be done.”
So there is the Spirit yet again, our Counselor at our moment of greatest weakness, our Advocate when we have no voice to bring to God on high. And the Spirit’s prayer is not our own stumbling searches for the will of God, no these prayers are according to God’s will. So we move from the hope of God, the hope in what is unseen, from that rather abstract idea to the very concrete. At our weakest, the Spirit will intercede for us. And the language here suggests that the Spirit is feeling our pain. The Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.
But then, at the end of this incredible expression of the deep and tender concern of God for God’s people, Paul swings into a full on theological discussion, consider the words: “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.”
I have a book in my office on what NOT to say in times of grief and weakness. Paul’s words are near the top of that list, “It will all work out for the best, or for the good.” Dying can be dignified, it can be appropriate, it can be peaceful, it can be full of grace and mercy, but it is never good for the people left behind.
In time, the good might become apparent, or it might not. But what Paul is telling us is not the most appropriate bit of news when offering pastoral care. Then comes a string of theological terms, foreknowledge, the big one for the Reformed faith, PREDESTINATION, conformity to the image of Christ, being called, justification, and glorification. These couple of verses in Romans 8 have become the basis for literally thousands of pages of theological explication and explanation.
Why is all this theological detail being juxtaposed next to these beautiful versesof the intervention of the Spirit? At first glance it looks like a real nonsequetor. But is it?
You do not tell a grieving widow that the death of her husband is a good thing, that is true. But Paul is not writing a counseling treatise here. In ultimate terms, God is in control. We believe our God is a good God and therefore, things work for good, even when we don’t understand how or why. And this theological language begins to explain how.
Everything is foreknown by God. Things don’t slip past God. Surprises in our lives are not surprises in heaven. In fact, things are predestined. The will of God is at work in this world, despite the sin and the pain and the horror. It does not mean that God is the author of sin, or responsible for sin. That came out of our own choice. But it does mean that God navigates through even the worst circumstances to bring out something better.
Now here is the power of the Spirit. It is so easy to lose faith, to be so angry at God in times of grief. I’ve noticed that people rarely get angry at Jesus. He was human. He died too. Grieving people can relate to him, sometimes more powerfully. We are to be conformed to the image of the Son. We are to be made like Jesus, molded into the children of God, being like the firstborn within a large family.
This is the will of God the Spirit is making known in our lives when that Spirit prays for us and in us. We are predestined to be children of God, we are called to be children of God, we are justified to be children of God, and we are to be glorified as children of God. All of this theological language is there to reaffirm for us again the promise of grace and love that comes to us through our Lord Jesus Christ.
This is the information that the Spirit is putting into our souls when we are too weak to even think of God. This is the confidence in eternity that Paul wants us to know.
Last week, we talked about the power of the Spirit to lead us to take on big things. Now we are talking about the power of the Spirit to heal our souls when we are pushed to despair by the ultimate things of life and death itself.
What the Ghost Whisperer calls “the light”, we know to be the eternal life of heaven. And we know it, even at our weakest moments, because of the work of the Spirit who is within us. Thewhole process of salvation, the very will of God in heaven, is unfolded in our hearts by God’s own Spirit. What hope we have in our Lord.
Amen.
Why sermons too?
The central work of my pastorate is the proclamation of the gospel. That occurs in the most focused form in the Sunday morning Sermon. Theological consideration, current situations in and around the church, biblical backgrounds, my own place in the world, those are only a few of the considerations that go into this process.
It never fails to amaze me the combination of scholarly knowledge and just plain horse sense that need to come together to make the proclamation of the gospel meaningful.
The sermons I will post are the Saturday night manuscripts. They are not what is fully preached. Sunday morning notes, on-the-pulpit extemporaneous bursts of spiritual insight, odd wanderings when I lose my place on the page, abridgements when I jump ahead of myself, those get left on the pulpit. All Scriptures are from the NRSV, all rights reserved, etc. All mistakes are mine. All glory to God.
The Authority of Scripture I
From about a week ago.
The Word of God, that by which we live our lives of faith. Good and proper living was biologically hardwired into us, in the beginning. But then we fell into sin. So what corrects us now? John 1:1 says in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. That is one of the few specific examples of memory work I did from my days in Sunday School that has stuck with me without the reinforcement of weekly liturgical practice.
I wanted to talk about the authority of Scripture, not inerrancy, not inspiration, although they tie in, but the authority of this book we call the Word of God. It is the centerpiece of the Christian faith and praxis.
But it seems to me that the authority of the Bible rests on this more fundamental concept that the Bible is the Word of God. The Bible is relatively easy to define, sixty six books of various lengths and genres, wrapped into two testaments, come down to us through the millennia.
But the Word of God is much more loaded as a concept.
According to John 1:1, the Word is God. That can be taken two ways. The general understanding is that the Word through John 1 refers to Jesus. Jesus, God the Son, and God the Father are being united in this passage. But God in God’s own existence is also the Word, something that was then manifest in the Second Person of the Trinity as Jesus, the Word of God.
We could split hairs here, but that is for another time. I want to make the point that the Word has divine origins, in both God and Jesus Christ. But now we run down this slope. Jesus is the Word of God. We have his words recorded in the next Word of God, the Bible itself. In the Reformed tradition, the sharing of the Word of God, its proclamation, is what makes me a Minister of the Word and Sacrament. And there is discussion of the Word of God proclaimed then becomes the Word of God received by those who hear it. So God, Bible, preacher, congregation, all of these are considered part of the defining of the Word of God.
Now, enter the Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit in our hearts and on our minds, we are not going to get the divine in the Word at any level. The bible becomes an interesting if anachronistic volume that lays down, at best, some good moral principles for living. So back to the question of the authority of Scripture. It ties into the sequence of the Word of God, it ties into the presence and work of the Holy Spirit, it forms a link in the chain from God to human. The inspiration of the Bible underpins and preserves its authority. The presence of the Holy Spirit in the Bible’s entire transmission, from its writing to its proclamation to its reception in the ears of the congregation, is a hallmark of its status as the Word of God.
The inerrancy of Scripture is a whole lot more controversial. Inerrancy in its fundamental definition states that every statement of the bible is true as fact. A fact is a scientific definition of what is. That is a late addition to the interpretation of Scripture, and not one I am real fond of.
To treat every word in the bible as fact is to lose the much richer literary treasure trove of truth that is contained in it. That presupposes that there are other truths besides facts. I assume the poetry of the Psalms or the pithiness of the Proverbs to contain as much relevant and uplifting truth for me in the form of poetic literature and wisdom literature as the historic truths found in, for example, the kings of Judah and Israel.
The authority of Scripture I believe to be damaged if a slavish fundamentalist inerrant approach is taken to interpret it. But that is an argument for another day.
The authority of Scripture is based on its place as the Word of God, received from Jesus, who is God and with God. This authority is confirmed by the real presence of the Holy Spirit who has guided and continues to guide the writing and interpretive process down through the centuries. And the argument is circular by design. The bible is authoritative because it is the Word of God. It is the Word of God because it is authoritative. We are people of faith, not of proof.
The blessings of God Almighty in our daily lives should be proof enough.
Shalom
Why this name. . .
I was having a conversation with a family member in the car. It had some theological implication and I was being a "wise guy". So he said, "Jesus", not calling on the Lord's name in vain, but in true exasperation. My response was, "I am not Jesus, I am just his annoying henchman." That brought hysterical laughter to the carload and some insight into my role as a pastor.
I began over in "Theoblogical Considerations", which will end after four posts (to be reprinted here), and this will continue as my place in the cyberverse.
I will share this caveat only once. Jesus is not annoying, but this henchman is a past master at it.
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