DAPPLED THOUGHTS

I'M MOVING!

2008-01-30T14:51:00.000-08:00

The new site isn't completed, but it's far enough along for me to make the jump. Please come find me at the New Dappled Thoughts.

http://www.dappledthoughts.wordpress.com/

A POTENTIAL RECALL ON MY TESTS

2008-01-25T07:46:00.000-08:00

I’ve been reconsidering the two diagnostic tests I offered below; I’m concerned that they may be misunderstood. It would be especially ironic if a test, which was meant to encourage “spiritual health,” sent people down the most popular bad habit in Western Christendom: transactionalism.

We put all sorts of prices on God’s favor. The check-ups weren't meant to say “Those other guy's costs are ridiculous; Come see our more enlightened rates!” No; not at all. The items listed were meant to be included in the Owners Manual- not on the Sales Sticker.

In each of the quizzes, God’s preemptive love and forgiveness are assumed. They both came in Jesus Christ.

"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people." Titus 2:11 (ESV)

It seems to me that Spiritual health isn’t about securing or keeping his love and forgiveness. Rather it’s about more fully enjoying and understanding that love and forgiveness. Spiritual growth is about truly knowing the one God-Who-Is and the creation that reflects his eternal existence as Giver, Gift, and Gifting. The proposed check-ups were meant to help me discover whether growth in that "awareness" was taking place.

Spiritual maturity is about seeing reality as it really is… and feasting in it. It is not about having the right change for the Divine Vending Machine. Knowing (in the most biblical, incarnational, nuptial sense) is the point, not obedience.

Thank you Michael for reminding me.

ANOTHER BIT OF QUACKERY

2008-01-21T12:43:00.000-08:00

If anyone's interested in more quackery, then I've come up with another "diagnostic tool." Caveat Emptor !

I think I can whittle the 28 Question Exam down to three.

The first would borrow a memorable phrase from Walter Brueggemann. I’d ask, “Are you striving to be a poet in a prose-flattened world.” Then I’d follow up with, “Is all of your poetry cruciform?” And that would be that.

What?

Where’s the third question?

Well, it’s not a question, really. It would be the circumstance of asking the previous two, just like I wrote them, without any further explanation. Then we’d watch to see how the examinee responded- with frustration or awakened curiosity.

That ought to tell us everything we need to know about the pith of their soul. Maybe not, but it sure ought to tell you something about my view of a pithy soul.

SPIRITUAL CHECKUPS

2008-01-21T10:04:00.000-08:00

A good friend asked me a good question. He wanted my opinion: What sorts of inquiries might be helpful in determining how an individual is doing spiritually?

There are short exams out there that claim to do just that, but I've not been impressed. My deep seated idolatry would likely make it past the diagnostic filter of those things. That's a problem.

Of course, I'm no expert, but I think the questionnaires that are typically circulated in our churches reveal a very serious compromise with the spirit of this age. Their sensors are searching for the wrong contagion. They focus on efficiency and quantifiable progress. They assume the superiority of busyness and business.

It seems to me that instead of enquiring about the number of tracts a person has handed out or how many small groups they've attended, the truly helpful exam would question how consciously we are attempting to be formed in and by the gospel, and how aggressively we are struggling to resist the counterclaims of those powers who would usurp Christ's throne. Incidentally, I'm not talking about those manifestations of idolatry that "others" are exposed to, but the ones we Americans constantly swim in- radical individualism, reductionistic rationalism, traitorous nationalism, a gnostic disregard for the body, sensual obsession with the body, the commodification (and consequent dismissal) of all things human, mysterious and awful, and ...summarizing it all- chasing after the American dream of rabid consumerism.

My check up might look something like this:

1. Do you regularly eat with God and his people?

2. Do you immerse yourself in the four Gospels?

3. Do you find ways to plant the flag of the gospel in your own "small yard?"

4. Do you regularly ask yourself what those flags might look like?

5. Do you resist the salvific claims of Mammon, Mars and Aphrodite, which are present in the American Dream?

6. How?

7. Is your identity clearly rooted in your Baptism or your American Heritage?

8. Do you draw on the rich cultural distinctives of the church to enact and strengthen your identity?

9. Do you forgive your enemies?

10. Do you gossip?

11. Do you hold grudges?

12. Do you strive to see Christ in everyone that you meet?

13. Do you strive to be Christ to everyone that you meet?

14. Do you keep a Sabbath?

15. Do you strive to rid yourself of a deistic two-storied world?

16. Do you try to cultivate an attitude of astonishment and wonder?

17. Do you resist the need to explain everything, tightly?

18. Is The Faith confusing and challenging?

19. Do you prepare yourself to notice when “God makes a pass at you?”

20. Do you worship God with your body, as well as your heart and mind?

21. Do you Fast?

22. Do you Feast?

23. Can you tell the stories of God’s people?

24. Does the doctrine of the Trinity appear to be immeasurably practical?

25. Are you struggling in all these things?

26. Do you make regular confession?

27. Have any of these points gotten you in trouble?

28. Lately?

IS IT WRONG TO WORK FOR PEACE?

2008-01-17T07:20:00.000-08:00

Christians believe that god- the one, true, living God, was most clearly revealed by allowing himself to be tortured, bled and stuck dying to a tree by his enemies….and all for their sake. It puzzles me when people who claim to represent and speak for this God mock humility, attempts at reconciliation, understanding and forgiveness.

Apparently Christ had it wrong; a life typified by self sacrificing love isn’t the mark of true godlike humanity, rather the distinctive characteristic is the compulsion to conjure up a bull’s-eye just between the eyebrows of everyone who disagrees with you.

The disagreement might be over the most tremendous question imaginable: which god is God, and the ways of interacting are as varied as the answers given. While Christ allowed those who disagreed with his answer to slaughter him and in so doing enacted his faith- “God,” he said before dying, “Is like this towards his enemies,”- Pastor Chuck O’Neal believes that the gospel requires that we refuse to accept overtures of discussion and entreaties of grace, and in so doing enacts his own answer: “God is the one who has no time for people who are wrong.”

Surely such a response reveals a vision of God closer to ancient Rome's Mars than the prodigal father of the gospels.

These hawkish Christians don’t need life or death disagreements to justify the bull’s-eye, either. It's just as likely to appear on the foreheads of brothers and sisters who disagree with them over issues that have remained unresolved since the church began. It might even happen at a conference, between men voluntarily sharing a podium for ostensibly the same gospel cause.

The occasion, big or small, doesn’t matter; or rather it does, because every disagreement, every offer of discussion, every difference of opinion is an opportunity to enact the “god-as-Mars gospel.”

“Can we talk…” draws a resounding “Those are fighting words!”

“It believe…” elicits an abrupt “Those are fighting words!”

“Don’t you think…” Fighting words!

“I’m sorry.” Fighting words!

In response to a group of brave Muslims who offered to begin a conversation, the signatories of A Christian Response extended a presumption of sincerity, asked forgiveness for failing to live up to the faith they proclaim, and encouraged these fellow human being to live up to their own faith commitments.

Did the signatories deny the uniqueness of Christ? No, they recognized the common ethical injunctions of the distinct faiths.

Did the signatories affirm Mohammed’s claim of prophetic legitimacy? No, they pointed out explicitly that both faiths teach the same ethical requirements of love towards God and neighbor. They affirmed that the bombing of innocents is not the way the battle should be fought.

Must their words be interpreted to affirm the identity of the Gods’ of Islam and the Christian church? If the word "god" indicates an abstract category of transcendence, yes. There can be but one ultimately transcendent being. But in regards to which personal transcendent deity, no.

Muslim murders attacked their Western opponents with planes and violence. There is a declaration of a particular vision of God in that.

After failing to take the initiative in working towards the reduction of bloodshed, the church embarrassingly extended grace to the enemy who asked for it. There is a particular vision of God in that.

There’s little doubt that a great war is on. I suspect that none of the signatories of the Christian Response would deny it. The real question is about how the battle should be fought. Which weapons should fall most readily into our armored hands. What default response should an adversary...or an impressionable disciple, expect from us. An individual’s conception of the God they worship will determine the answer.

I’m loosing patience with “Christian” leaders whose constant apocalyptic battling, morph the God of the cross into a weaker version of a violent Allah, and I’m ashamed when those who do not know my God, seem to image him more clearly than his own ambassadors.

Grace is not compromise. Respect is not denial. Measured comments are not universal affirmations, and the gospel doesn’t rule out attempts at charity.

GHOSTS AND A CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW

2008-01-10T14:16:00.001-08:00

This is an odd topic for Epiphany, but C. Michael Patton is treading where few dare to go. He asks, "Do you believe in Ghosts?" I'm so glad for his honest question.

I’ve often wondered at how strongly those in the tradition of my childhood affirm that Ghosts can not exist! It was also a surprise to find how distinctively Evangelical such a commitment seems to be.

It seems to me that the few affirmations of scripture regarding the intermediate state leave a lot of room for further activity. Surely to be present with the Lord doesn’t necessarily imply that we are inactive, sedate or unconcerned with this world. The whole of classical Christianity seems to think otherwise.

Might our Lord have work for us to do in the mean time? Might there be something to learn? My Anglican tradition affirms that believers who have passed continue to exist somewhere, and so we pray that they continue to grow in love, grace and knowledge. And what does any of this have to do with those who die apart from our Lord’s covenantal claim. We believe they suffer somewhere; do we know for sure this has no manifestation in the realm of our sense?

How do we know?

That’s the point of wonder for me: we act so sure about that which we know very little- especially when we have the testimony of so many people and cultures. Do we know from the paltry number of verses available that the thousands of experiences of honest people must be wrong?

The whole question of "Are there ghosts here?" also seems to be built on a two-storied view of creation- earth is here, heaven and hell are way over there, and never the twain shall meet. But if heaven and earth are further dimensions of reality so that we are constantly surrounded by an unseen reality, might the question of whether those who died in the Lord are still “here” be a moot one? Wouldn’t the answer be “Of Course! And sometimes they step out and say hello.” Likewise, should we be surprised if we wander into a part of the landscape where those who died lost (and so continue to be so) congregate.

Perhaps Heaven is up, but not North; Hell is down, but not South.

EATING CRUSHED DRAGON

2008-01-09T14:40:00.001-08:00

Yet God my King is from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. Thou didst divide the sea by thy might; thou didst break the heads of the dragons on the w aters. Thou didst crush the heads of Leviathan, thou didst give him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.

Psalms 74:12-14

Dragon meat is expensive, and it has a “grown up” sorta flavor, too. If for no other reasons than these, we only serve it twice a year. You can be sure that if dragon is on the menu, something big is going on at the James’ house.

Michaelmas is marked with a roasted tongue of the defeated foe. And a few months later Theophany makes stewed Dragon Jowl an appropriate celebration. We like ours over rice- preferably Jasmine.

Seeing that in Christ’s baptism the serpents, leviathans and dragons of the deep had their heads crushed, we will glory in the victory by consuming the vanquished enemy. There is very little that is edible on the head of the dragon- too much bony plate and grizzle. But the jowl muscles are plentiful and quite good. There are of course the brains- usually service scrambled in eggs, but I don’t like ‘em and they’re really bad for you. The jowls, on the other hand, are just the thing.

I’ve ordered a single slab of jowl from our Romanian source. There are cheaper sources, but bottom line: I trust their butchering.

Skill, experience and a concern for those who will be eating your work are necessary when preparing Dragon Jowl. Years spent next to the creature’s fire gland guarantee an intensely hot and spicy dish, but you don’t want any (and I mean any!) of the gland itself. Oh no! A particularly painful death, there. The point being that you need to know your Dragon monger.

I know a good one, if anyone is interested.

THEOPHANY: WHY WE BLESS THE WATERS

2008-01-09T09:03:00.000-08:00

I can remember a particular afternoon. I was walking with my son towards the pond; we had fishing on our minds. He was grinning up at me because I was singing St. Patrick’s breastplate, and he thought that was funny.

I'm sure it was.

The connection with this older brother seemed precious at that point in my journey, so I was making the effort to learn the hymn that bears his name. I had the lyrics in my pocket and needed to refer to them often. I can still see the muddy “worm dirt” of our bait smeared on the white sheet.

Fishing poles, afternoon warmth, St. Patrick, and my boy . It's a special memory.

Anyway, I can remember meditating on the words of the first cycle. Everything made wonderful sense- chiefly for the catholic (and so evangelical) concern of the prayer. Everything clicked with one exception- the line where I claimed Christ’s Baptism as my own. I wasn’t quite sure what to do with that. Perhaps, you can see what I mean. Leave it out and what is lost?

My upbringing and then current religious tradition had prepared me for claiming our Lord’s incarnation (though inadequately, for sure), his death and burial and triumphant ascension and glorious return, but baptism in the Jordan river….?

The answer lay in a full and firm affirmation of the third cycle of the hymn. Starlight, sun’s ray, moon’s luminance, wind’s deep howling, lightning’s flash, rocks of earth and salty seas are each included in my blessing for the sake of the mystery of the Christian gospel. I read this as poetic…fluff. It was a colorful way of saying that God works all things together for my good- even using stuff to do it.

Of course that is true, but I think it makes a smaller utilitarian point about something that is much more grandly the case. God loved the cosmos! He loved it enough to dream it up and call it into existence. He loved it enough to put it on. He loved it enough to take it into himself for all eternity. The gospel is more than a proposal to be hawked to the mere acceptance of individuals. The gospel is a proclamation to be shared with every creature. Rocks, worms, stars and mankind are radically affected by the truth it proclaims. Jesus, the crucified and risen king of Israel, now sits on the throne of all of creation.

This matters for you and me and our families. That's for sure.

But it also has meaning for the lawn outside, the animals in our homes that we call by name and those outside, who are made strangers to us by Eden's curse. The farthest nebula and deepest oceanic ravine have a Sovereign, and this champion has promised their final perfection and deliverance.

The feast of Epiphany/Theophany completes the declaration of Christmas morning’s promise: No more let sins nor sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground. He comes to make his blessings flow, far as the curse is found!

The early church saw Christ’s baptism as the beginning of the undoing of the triumph of the curse. Water was the most basic element of creation. The story in Genesis affirms that everything was called forth from its depths. In the curse of the great flood, God unmade all that he had made, and returned creation to a formless and void expanse of water. It was an anti-creation occasioned by the sin of men and women. With mankind’s rebellion came the sting of death, and the water over which God had hovered in creative love, became a symbol of chaos, destruction and the very enemies of God and his people.

It was with this context in mind that God stepped down into the dirty waters of the Jordan. Through the primordial element, God himself entered into our afflicted and bent world. From this point on we read of demonic opposition in the ministry of our savior. Apparently, the dangerous proclamation of Christ’s baptism in the Jordan was understood by the demonic forces that had usurped heavens rule in the good creation that began in our God’s prodigal mind.

So often we see the gospel accounts of Christ’s healings and provisions as simple instances of compassion towards hurting individuals, and they were certainly that. But there's a greater fullness in seeing them as a working out of his baptism. The rule of chaos, evil, disease and pain was being rolled back. A shock wave of purity was issuing from the ripples that his holy toes caused in the muddy water. A miracle was occurring…and continues to occur. The kingdom of God was advancing. Satan’s kingdom must make way.

This transformation was otherworldly and not according to the principles of this world. In the land of Adam, corruption was the contagion. Like my dirty fingers on the whiteness of St. Patrick' hymn, filth contaminates purity. Lay a clean cloth in the mud and the cloth becomes dirty. Touch a putrid piece of rotten meat to a table and the table becomes unclean. But with the coming of the kingdom, this was stood on its head. An unclean woman touches the hem of the Lord’s garment and his cleanness washes over her defilement. How can this be? Purity as contagion. Health and life flowing into the heart of darkness and death. What must it mean that our Lord descended into the depths of creation? Satan and his demons knew, it is our responsibility to make sure our children know.

This is why we will bless the waters this coming Sunday…Lord willing. We will fulfill the charge given to us by St Mark to preach the gospel to every creature. By speaking clearly to the foundations of the world, the entire cosmos will hear the good news of Christ’s victory.

CHALKING THE DOOR: A JAMES' FAMILY EPIPHANY HOW TO-

2008-01-04T14:42:00.000-08:00

All: + In the Name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! Amen!

Leader: Peace be to this house!

All: And to all who enter it in this jubilee year of God's favor and grace!

Reader: A reading from the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

All: Glory to you Lord Christ

Reader reads Matthew 2:1-12

All: Praise to you Lord Christ!

Leader: The Wise Ones came from the East to worship the Lord Jesus.

All: And falling at his feet and beholding the radiance of his glory, the glory he had with the Father before the world began, they gave him precious gifts of mystic meaning.

Leader: They presented him with gold because he is the world's only true King, the one merciful Lord worthy of our gifts, our service and our vows! They blessed him with incense that sweet-smelling smoke might evermore rise up from our altars to the Throne of his majesty, worshipping and blessing and magnifying him, the one, true God! They offered him myrrh because it would soon anoint his immaculate body, preparing it for his burial.

All: Our Father, who art in heaven....

Leader: Gracious God, you revealed your Son to the nations by the brilliant Star of Bethlehem! O Uncreated Light, Morning-Star of Epiphany and the world's New Dawn, lead us, warm our hearts, fortify our wills, enkindle our devotion to you, enlighten and illumine our inward vision! Lead us, guide us all the days of our earthly pilgrimage until we are received into your glory. We implore your great mercy through Jesus Christ our Lord!

All: Amen

BLESSING OF CHALK

Bean Queen or King: Lord Jesus, through your Incarnation and birth in true human form, you have made all the earth holy. We now ask your blessing upon this simple gift of your creation — chalk. We use it as a tool to teach our children, and they use it as a tool in their play and games. Now, with your blessing, may it become a tool for us to mark the doors of our home with the symbols of your wise servants who, so long ago, came to worship and adore you in your first home.

BLESSING OF DOORWAY

With chalk, the Bean King or Queen makes this inscription on the lintel: 20+C+M+B+01. The letters stand for both the traditional names of the Magi- Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar- and "Christus Mansionem Benedicat," meaning "May Christ bless this dwelling." The numbers are for the year of our Lord.

BLESSING OF WATER

Leader: Eternal God, + bless this home. + We thank you for the gift of water. Over it the Holy Spirit moved in the beginning of creation. Through it you led the children of Israel out of their bondage in Egypt into the land of promise. In it your son received the baptism of John and was anointed by the holy spirit as the Messiah, the Christ, to lead us, through his death and resurrection, from the bondage of sin into everlasting life. Sanctify this water to be a sign of our baptism, a token of our consecration to Christ's service. May this water + made holy on this Day by the baptism of Christ + drive far from this house and all who enter it all snares and assaults of the enemy. Wherever this water is sprinkled may safety be guarded and hospitality be made manifest. Grant that faith, charity, and good health triumph over evil in this house. May your Word always be cherished and obeyed here. We give praise and thanksgiving to you, and to your Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

All: Amen

The leader blesses him/herself with the Epiphany water and then all who are present. Exchange the sign of peace. All move through the other rooms of the house, sprinkling the rooms, blessing God, and singing the very Anglican “We three Kings of Orient Are.”

JAMES' FAMILY EPIPHANY HOW TO:

2008-01-04T08:13:00.000-08:00

Christmas is drawing to a close. It’s always a bit sad, but I’m so thankful for the extended period the church has provided for this celebration. I need to remember that it’s not over yet, and it ends with a bang. Twelfth Night and Epiphany morning are approaching. Theophany will follow days later, and we’ll get to bless the waters beneath which crushed dragons lie! There is still much to look forward to before life returns to its normal pace and tenor. Though not part of Christmas.

Epiphany forms the bookend to this side of Christmastide. It is a celebration of God’s revelation of the gospel to those who were once afar off- the Magi. It’s the proper time to place the wise men around the manger. More ancient than Christmas, this celebration is known as Theophany by our Eastern brothers and sisters. It commemorates three “in your face” revelations of Jesus as Christ and Lord: the magi’s worship, Christ’s Baptism and the miraculous transformation of water into wine by our Savior’s thought. This feast day brings to fruition the awesome gift of the Nativity by making manifest the word made flesh.

There is simply too much to squeeze into a single day, and so our family celebrates the Magi’s worship on Epiphany morning and our Saviors baptism on the following Sunday.

I’ll try to give you a heads up on what we do on Theophany Sunday so that you can play along with us, if you want, but there is plenty to prepare for this coming Epiphany morning.

This is how we do it: Christmas ends on it’s twelfth day-January 5th. This is called Twelfth Night and was once the biggest party of the year. We’ve often talked of planning such a party, but it’s never materialized. Anyway, this means that Epiphany morning (January 6th) falls one day outside of Christmas. Doesn’t bother us, though. We have saved gifts for opening on this blessed morning. Our way of doing this has been to open stockings on Christmas morning and any gifts from the grandparents that may have arrived. Gifts from brother and sisters are opened throughout Christmastide. For example, Bekah has an evening to distribute her gifts, Hannah has another, etc. This makes the season truly exciting for the children and keeps the generosity of the giver from being swallowed up in everyone else’s giving.

We’ve always kept the children home from school to celebrate on January 6th, and they’re up early for the gifts under the tree on Three Kings Day. Later in the day, we’ll have a celebratory meal (though not as large as Christmas. We’ll save that for next Sunday and the celebration of our Lord’s baptism) where the significance of the day is discussed. The one requirement for the meal in our home is that we finish it off with a Bean Cake. This is a cake into which Sandi has baked a bean. Whoever finds that bean in his or her slice is crowned Bean King or Queen for the year. Their services are required through the coming year’s celebrations in various ways. Basically the rule is that whenever someone has an honored role in a family celebration, it goes to the Bean Queen to preside or appoint. But we don’t have to wait for later in the year; there is an immediate task to perform. This is the traditional time to bless our homes. We do this by chalking our doors. By that I mean we write a blessing in chalk above the door of the house. Gathering by the front door we look at last year’s visible blessing, still smeared across the lintel. We then recount the blessings and protections God has provided in answer to the chalky prayer. The blessing is then erased by last year’s monarch, and a new one is drawn by the newly crowned bean king. Hear is a suggested liturgy for chalking your doors; you might wish to create your own. Here is another. This is getting a bit long for a post, so I’ll put the liturgy we’ll use up as a separate post

The blessing itself takes this form- 20 + C + M + B + 08. The year for which we are asking God’s blessing (in this case, 2008) is interrupted by crosses and the letters C, M and B. These letters bring to mind both the traditional names of the three Magi- Caspar, Melchior and Belthazar- and the request that we are making- “Christus Mansionem Benedicat,” Christ bless this dwelling.

Some people might have trouble with the likely fictitious names (dating from the 9th century), but I believe this is part of the heritage that belong to my children. Every people has their own legends and yarns. Think of George Washington cutting down the cherry tree. Whether his axe ever hit wood isn’t the point of telling the tale. It’s simply a story every American child should know; and its knowing helps form them into Americans. The same is true of our kingdom’s stories.

The blessing of homes used to be commonplace and more elaborate. I’ve read of Epiphany being called a smoke night because incense was carried through the house and every room blessed. Seems like a cool idea. We might try it this year. I think the kids would remember me going through the house with a smoking shovel of incense. Here is a liturgy for those who would like to ask for God’s blessing on their home in this explicit way,

Here is a family tradition I’ve recently heard about. I’m sure our children would enjoy it. I’ll post it just as I found it on this site:

“About an hour ago I celebrated the second annual 'placing of three cards' on our front sidewalk.

On the front of the card: A picture of the Magi and 'To you who pass by our house: Please take one—just one'. There's a quarter taped on each card and each is sealed in its own clear zip-locking small plastic bag.

Inside the card: 'There's an old Pennsylvania Dutch custom that on the eve of the new year, three silver coins are placed outside the house where the Magi can find them and cast their blessings as they travel toward Bethlehem seeking the Babe. The blessings of the Magi are peace, love, and health to all who live therein. Please take one of the quarters. It's unlikely that the magi will be coming through Winston-Salem on their way to Bethlehem, and maybe you can spread the blessings of peace, love and health in your life, at home or work or wherever. And by your taking the coin, the Magi will leave their blessing at our house, too'.

I just peeked out the front door. They're all three still there. That's the way it was last year, but when I got up (customarily late) on New Year's morning, one was gone, and by the time I had fixed us a celebratory breakfast and eaten it, the other two had gone. The blessing of the Magi had been spread abroad."

Like I said, this is getting way too long. Let me encourage you to get your bean, cake mix and chalk ready, because the Word was made flesh and we beheld his glory- the glory of the only begotten of the Father!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2007-12-27T06:35:00.000-08:00

We're two days into the celebration of the incarnation of our God, and this year's feasting has been particularly poignant and enjoyable at our home.

The first three days of Christmastide- after Christmas day- are spent in honoring the Comites Christi or Companions of Christ. Yesterday was devoted to the first Christian martyr- St. Stephen. His story is found in the book of Acts. You might remember this feast being mentioned in the Christmas Carol, Good King Wenceslas. We spent it together at home and dedicated the evening meal to this murdered deacon.

Today is the day of the beloved disciple-St. John. Sandi and the girls are going to an English tea room for lunch. They have a small gift exchange among themselves. Tommy and I will have a “boy’s afternoon out.” It’s traditional to bless wine on this day. That’s the plan for this evening- here is the blessing we will use.

The Blessing of Wine on St. John's Day

Lord Jesus Christ, Thou didst call Thyself the vine and Thy holy Apostles the branches; and out of all those who love Thee, Thou didst desire to make a good vineyard. Bless this wine and pour into it the might of Thy benediction. Grant that every one who drinks of it may, through the intercession of Thy beloved disciple the holy Apostle and Evangelist John, find courage and strength to pursue the Way, be renewed in the Truth of the Word made flesh, and at the last enter into Life everlasting, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.

A glass of wine is then passed around the table. As it is passed, the giver says:

"Drink to the love of St. John."

And the recipient answers:

"For where love is, there is God."

In addition to the Merlot, I’ve started fermenting six gallons of pepper wine this Christmas season. It's only four days into the primary fermentation stage- an appropriate time to ask for God’s blessing on it, me thinks.

Tomorrow those children who were murdered by King Herod will be remembered. On Holy Innocents Day we hope to thank God for each of our children, blessing them:

"O God our Father, whose Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, once embraced the little children who were brought to him, saying, "Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, and their angels always see the face of my Father;" Look now, we beseech thee, on the innocence of these children: Bless them and protect them this night and throughout their lives; (the parent makes the sign of the cross on the forehead of each child) in thy grace and goodness let them advance continually, longing for thee, knowing thee, and loving thee, that they may at the last come to their destined home and behold thee face to face; through Jesus Christ, the Holy Child of Bethlehem, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen."

Then, taking the head of each child in both hands, a parent says to each one: May God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit bless you and keep you both now and for evermore. Amen.

Here is a wonderful resource for those who wish to keep the fullness of the Christmas Feast.

HAVE A BLESSED ST. NICHOLAS DAY!

2007-12-06T05:18:00.000-08:00

Loving God,
we thank you for
the example of St Nicholas,
who fed the hungry,
brought hope to the imprisoned,
gave comfort to the lost,
and taught the truth to all.
May we strive to imitate him
by putting you first in all we do.
Give us the courage, love and strength of St Nicholas, so that, like him, we may serve you through loving our brothers and sisters.
Amen.

—by Amy Welborn

ST ANDREW'S MISSIONARY JOURNEYS

2007-11-30T12:38:00.000-08:00

International commentator, George Alexandrou, has written a huge (over a thousand pages) volume on the missionary journeys of St. Andrew. It's called He Raised the Cross on the Ice.

Though unavailable to english readers, an interesting 27 page interview about the material is available as a pdf. Check out The Astonishing Missionary Journeys of Andrew the Apostle.

HT: The Byzantine Calvinist

THE FIRST FISHER OF MEN

2007-11-30T10:39:00.000-08:00

It bothers me when the tradition I’ve grown up with can’t speak with the language of scripture. That’s a problem. The almost universal indifference to the significance of this day is a case in point.

St. Paul tells us in Eph 2:20 that the church was built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. If I were asked to identify the church’s foundation, I’d almost certainly answer- “Christ.” That’s not what scripture says, however. The foundation of the church is explicitly declared to be…men. Now, that’s the sort of thing that gets caught in my reformed throat.

Today marks the anniversary of the death of St. Peter’s older brother, Andrew. He was the first of those twelve living stones that Jesus gathered around himself. Today is St. Andrew's day. His life, work and teachings are an indispensible part of the underpinnings of the church. Today we thank God for giving us this fisherman, and we tell our children that his story belongs to them and their's to him.

Make sure to read the account of his calling to your family tonight. Maybe fish could make onto the menu this evening. You can be sure that this dear brother ate more than his share of fish.

St. Chrysostom marveled in this way:

Has anyone ever seen a simple fisherman catch people like fish? O, how great is the power of the crucified Christ! O, how great is the beauty of Divinity! There is nothing in the world as supreme as apostolic grace. Human life has seen much that is truly extraordinary and surpasses understanding. It saw Noah's ark remain afloat during the deluge and the destruction of mankind. It saw Moses commanding the elements. It saw water made hard as rock and the bottom of the sea opening up. It saw manna being sent from heaven in place of bread. It saw the movement of the sun being stopped by human prayer, and the day made longer by the prayers of Joshua. It saw a chariot fleeting through the air, and the prophet Elias carried away in it. Human life has seen many such great and amazing events. But there has never been anything like the apostles. They, being the servants of the Word, communed with the One Who, as God, cannot be depicted. They followed in the footsteps of the One Who is everywhere. They sat together with the One Who cannot be contained anywhere. They heard the voice of the One Who created everything with His Word. They traveled all over the world. They destroyed idols like savage beasts, chased away demons like wolves. They united the Church into a flock, they gathered the faithful like wheat. They weeded out heresies like chaff and sowed the word of God like the good seed...O, the great glory of Andrew! O, the depth of Apostolic wisdom! O, the fullness of his love! Let us glorify, dear brethren, this wondrous Apostle, and let us love the One Whom he had found, Christ the Messiah.

-- St John Chrysostom, Eulogy to St Andrew the First-Called Apostle HT: Orthodixie

JAMES' FAMILY ADVENT HOW TO- ADVENT WREATH

2007-11-23T17:47:00.000-08:00

Advent is about waiting, anticipation and longing, and most of the season’s traditions cut right to the chase. They’re about counting down the days.

This is the case for three of our four family traditions. The Advent Calendar swallows time in big chunks, marking each week as it passes by. “The floor banging liturgy” begins its “ticking” as the expectation becomes more intense- sixteen days before the feast arrives.

The two together might be just the thing for most families. I say this because we count with a Jessie tree, too, and this serves the same function as “the floor banging liturgy.” Both mark off individual days (although “the liturgy” begins deep in the season as an outgrowth of the O Antiphon tradition), and both rehearse the story from creation to the birth of Christ. I can see why some people might find this too much. Why two traditions that do the exact same thing? For us the answer is that we enjoy both of them. But it might be wise to pick one or the other, if you are new to either- Jessie Tree or “Floor banging liturgy.”

But which ever way you decide to go, you’re going to need an Advent Wreath. This is a simple Christmas wreath with four candles placed equidistant around it. These are lit consecutively on each of the Sundays in Advent. A fifth candle is placed in the middle for lighting on Christmas morning. As the season progresses, more and more light shines into our darkness. This is one of the lessons the kids shouldn’t be allowed to miss.

Advent wreaths have taken countless shapes. Until last year, when Sandi purchased us an attractive one, we scavenged the house for the needed items. We’ve even done the wreath without the wreath- creating a “circle” of four candles.

The liturgies are as varied as the possible wreath configurations. We like to bless the wreath and candles when we put them out the Saturday before Advent begins. I hope you don’t skip that part. The children need to know what tree branches are for. They need to understand that evergreen branches are God’s love made fragrant and botanical. This is why we bless stuff. We ask our God to allow us to see things for what they were created to be- his love to us and a means of communing with him.

"O God, by whose word all things are sanctified, pour forth Thy blessing upon this wreath, and grant that we who use it may prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ and may receive from Thee abundant graces. Through Christ our Lord."

The Father then sprinkles the wreath with holy water

Ok, you’ve created, procured or simulated a wreath complete with five candles. We’ve blessed it and are ready to go. In case I’ve not been clear, let me spell out what that “going” actually consists of. We are going to count down the weeks ‘til Christmas arrives. The children can see its approaching- his approaching. On the first Sunday we light one candle. On the second Sunday we light a second…so that by the fourth Sunday we’ll have four candles blazing. Some people only use the wreath on Sundays. We light it every evening before dinner, and blow it out before we go to bed.

Like I said, liturgies vary from simple to elaborate- requiring a prayer book for participation. I’d recommend the simpler variety. Here’s the one we use.

O God, as light comes from this candle, may the blessing of Jesus Christ come to us, warming our hearts and brightening our way. May Christ our Savior bring life into the darkness of this world, and to us, as we wait for his coming.

This site has some others that might be appreciated by families with small children. If you’d like other ideas, a quick Google search for Advent Wreath will provide plenty.

JAMES' FAMILY ADVENT HOW TO- THE FLOOR BANGING LITURGY

2007-11-19T08:04:00.000-08:00

Something for fathers and mothers to think about- Christmas has a darker side, and without an appreciation of this we won’t be able to grasp the joy of Christmas morning.

Wilfred McClay has written on the need to keep Satan in Christmas. It’s a short read; I hope you take a moment to consider it.

Advent is the time to set the stage. In our home it’s been difficult to adequately convey the sense of darkness and cold that a world without Christ must experience. We’re too comfortable, well fed and warm.

Dante envisioned the deepest level of hell as frozen. Intuitively that feels right. Perhaps those of us who live with winter cold can grasp a small part of what our ancestors must have felt looking out on months of barren, frozen, lightless days. It’s no accident that Christmas falls in winter. Explaining to our children the appropriateness of that timing is part of our Advent calling.

The symbols are ready at hand, if we grasp the presence of the wolf and dragon that’s always implied. Candles, light, and warmth aren’t treasured on a tropical sun-drenched beach.

Every match struck and every bundling against winter’s chill gives opportunity to point out Satan’s role in Christmas. The single most helpful ritual we’ve discovered to point out the before and after of Christmas is a liturgy created by Douglas Jones.

This has become one of our favorite traditions. I want to invite you to play along with us. Be forewarned: neighbors glancing through the window will imagine strange occultic ceremonies. We sit without chairs in a circle. We bang on the floor with “bones." We taste sand and touch tongue to vinegar…which is to say, the kids love it.

It’s hard to keep a straight face. There’s not much point in trying. Have a good time in reminding your children what “long lay the world in sin and error pining” means. We live on this side of Christmas, after all.

When the time comes, I’ll post some pictures. If anyone else plays, I’d love to see yours, too.

WHY ADVENT- A BRIEF AND INADEQUATE EXPLANATION

2007-11-19T06:07:00.000-08:00

The weeks that are approaching are among the busiest of the year. My family ends up being swept away by the hurry that characterizes everyone else. We’re busy, yet accomplish nothing distinctively Christian. Our home tends to look like every other home- both believing and unbelieving.

This can’t be right… at any time of the year. It’s especially sad at Christmastide because we are those who are formed by the story of the God who dared to put on his own creation. And this is the season where that clothing is celebrated. The Word became flesh! God and Creation were united together, distinctly yet without division. God and world together…and yet we can travel through the coming weeks while barely thinking of God at all.

I've done it, and I suspect you have, too.

We don’t mean to leave God out; we simply make no preparation to include him. Without an intentional incarnation, our best motives and ideals end up being about something other than what we intended. They just do...almost everytime. That’s the point of the Christian understanding of time. We don’t follow our Lord in a vague, general way. We follow him actually and concretely by tracing his steps (regardless of where we happen to be) across our planet, each and every year.

The season of Advent and its traditions can help our families overcome the constant tendency to distraction. It provides a focus- daily, if we’ll let it- of the truth of Christmas morning: Emmanuel, God is with us.

Mother church is so very wise. It’s not simply that Advent helps with the happenstance indifference that can creep into our busy days; rather Advent is about that inevitable worldy indifference that constantly soaks into the fabric of our lives from the puddles of unbelief we are called to walk through.

Israel became distracted and unprepared for the first coming of her Messiah; today’s world is busy buying and selling, and so ill prepared for her King’s return. These two periods of time are the focal points of Advent. We, however, are to be different. We inhabit the same chronological time as our distracted brothers and neighbors, but we make a different use of it. We do this by living in a different liturgical time.

Everyone makes ready for something, but we make ready for Christ. Everyone looks forward, but we look forward to his coming. We prepare and long for the time when his blessings will flow “far as the curse is found.” In other words, we keep Advent.

Four distinct traditions go into keeping Advent in the James house:
1. The Advent Wreath
2. A Jessie Tree
3. St. Nicholas Day
4. and what Essie calls our “floor banging” liturgy

We’ve already described what St. Nicholas Day looks like around here. If all of this seems a bit overwhelming, let me encourage you start simply this year by adding an Advent Wreath to your evening dinners.

Here’s another suggestion: for every intentionally Christian tradition you add, drop a secular one.

I’ll post some resources on each of our four traditions. We’re adding something new with our manger scene this year, or that’s the plan, anyway. I’ll let you know how that goes, too.

Would love to hear your ideas…and if this is helpful or a waste of time. Leave me a comment.

ST NICHOLAS DAY: JAMES' FAMILY HOW TO- PART TWO

2007-11-16T05:31:00.000-08:00

St Nicholas Day Breakfast

Generally the children wake up early from the excitement. It’s amazing how little “out of the ordinary” celebration it takes to get the kids anticipation going. But there’s another reason for the early rising. We’re going to eat a large breakfast together. This might require that we pass on the school bus this morning.

Southerners know how to do breakfast, and it’s the sort of culinary offering that will kill you. Anything less is hardly worthy of a Saint’s memory. Biscuits, bacon, gravy…

I would love to have a statue of the bishop to serve as a centerpiece for the table. Occasionally I see figures of St. Nicholas that include clerical items- crosier, mitre, etc. Here’s an example that I’ve had my eye on for a while. Something like this would be great as a focal point. We have a special Christmas table setting. This morning it will make its first appearance since the end of last year’s Christmas season.

The point is to make the meal special. Every home has unique items to bring into play. In our case, simply eating a large breakfast together on a school morning makes the occasion stand out.

The one breakfast item that seems out of place (in our home, at least) is a bowl of clementines or oranges. These are blessed and distributed with the following prayer- this is a great way to send the family out into the world with a tangible memorial in hand:

Loving God, you ask us to show kindness and care to everyone. Thank you for good Saint Nicholas who shows us how to give gifts and care to others, especially children.

Bless these oranges that they may remind us of Saint Nicholas' gifts to people in need. Help us to love and care, like Saint Nicholas, for those who need helpand children everywhere.

Amen

Including our God in these times is natural. Talking to him and asking his participation is the least we would do for any guest. A thanksgiving for Nicholas is usually included in the blessing of the food. Here are a number of examples.

Nothing fancy or undoable here. Just an intentional time of good food.

Telling the Story of Nicholas

This portion of our tradition is the most variable. Now that the children have heard the story for a while, it’s easy to ask for them to take turns telling their favorite bits. Asking about the origin of the various symbols is another good way of doing this.

The St. Nicholas Center provides some exceptional story resources. This method might be great with younger children after the meal is finished. In fact, I might give it a try this year.

We’re not talking about prepping for an exam. This ought to be light and fun. Year after year of celebration will reinforce the fact that Nicholas is our children’s brother.

ST NICHOLAS DAY: JAMES' FAMILY HOW TO- PART ONE

2007-11-15T08:20:00.000-08:00

It helps to remind myself what I’m up to as a Father on the feast days of the Saints. Off the cuff it seems to me that I’m wanting to 1) provide an opportunity for my family to be together as a family 2) Reinforce my children’s self identity as being a part of a distinct and alien people with distinct and alien views of reality 3) through distinctive rituals 4) and stories 5) Provide positive examples of lives lived in fulfillment of that Christian identity 6) Center all of this in the God who calls us his own through acts of worship and prayer.

Our celebration of the life of our elder brother St. Nicholas provides an opportunity to do each of these things. In our home the festivity involves three distinctive elements:

1) Pretending about St Nicholas’s visitation during the night before December 6th
2) A special breakfast
3) The telling of stories about this blessed saint with a prayer of thanksgiving for his example.

There’s a central yarn that’s told about this generous man that seems to work its way into most of the day’s symbols. It’s the origin of our tradition of hanging stockings on the mantle, and it’s important enough to briefly tell now. This version is taken from the St. Nicholas center:

One story tells of a poor man with three daughters. In those days a young woman's father had to offer prospective husbands something of value—a dowry. The larger the dowry, the better the chance that a young woman would find a good husband. Without a dowry, a woman was unlikely to marry. This poor man's daughters, without dowries, were therefore destined to be sold into slavery. Mysteriously, on three different occasions, a bag of gold appeared in their home-providing the needed dowries. The bags of gold, tossed through an open window, are said to have landed in stockings or shoes left before the fire to dry. This led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas. Sometimes the story is told with gold balls instead of bags of gold. That is why three gold balls, sometimes represented as oranges, are one of the symbols for St. Nicholas. And so St. Nicholas is a gift-giver.

Okay. Let’s take a look at what St. Nicholas Day looks like at our home.

1) St. Nicholas Visitation

On the evening of December 5th each of the children put their shoes just outside of their bedroom doors. Each child places a carrot in one of their shoes. To understand this you need to know that St. Nicholas Day is huge in many European countries. Each year TV coverage is given to the ancient Bishop coming ashore on horseback- complete with Mitre and Crosier. The carrots are a sort of Old World version of milk and cookies, but instead of being for jolly 'ole St. Nick, they are a treat for the Bishop’s horse.

The next morning everyone in our house gets up earlier than normal. Esther usually starts the commotion. She peeks out her bedroom door to find that each carrot has been nibbled down to a stub, and every pair of shoes contains a very small and inexpensive gift. Along with the small gift (or during particularly tight years this item is the small gift) there is always a bag of golden wrapped chocolate coins. These coins are meant to remind us of the story of the three daughters and the importance of generous giving.

Items needed:
1) Our Children’s shoes
2) Carrots
3) Chocolate Coins. I’ve been able to find these every year at Dollar type stores- Dollar Tree, Dollar General, etc.

I’ll pick up the other two elements of food and story in the next post.

ST NICHOLAS DAY- WORTH CELEBRATING

2007-11-15T06:14:00.000-08:00

I made three suggestions for those who are new to following the story of Christ’s life throughout the year- 1. Observe Advent as a preparation for Christmas. 2. Add St. Nicholas Day to your celebration 3. Observe Christmas as a Season.

It makes sense to begin with the first, because Advent arrives before the others (Dec. 2nd in 2007). So of course, I’m not going to start there. I’m thinking that most people will have some familiarity with Advent and Christmas, but the St. Nicholas Day thing…well, that’s part of Shoppingmas. Right?

Of course not! St. Nicholas is a wonderful, glorious and important brother of our Lord Jesus. As such, he belongs to us. Our children need to know that. Enough of the Egyptian’s plundering our treasures. The biblical precedent is the other way around.

St. Nicholas served as a bishop in what is now modern day Turkey. There are wonderful legends and stories swirling around this dear man. Many of them will sound very familiar- stories of gift giving and stockings, for example.

My personal favorite involves his role at the Council of Nicea. A minister named Arius was telling the story of Jesus in a way that departed significantly from how the apostles had related the tale. Specifically, Arius denied that Jesus was truly God. That’s a big plot change…and a huge deal. The fathers of the church were called together because this competing tale was spreading. Common Christians were beginning to tell the story in this deviant way. One of those summoned t0 this important council was St. Nicholas. When Arius rose to speak and began to deny the divinity of our Lord, the good bishop just couldn’t take it. Apparently he sprang from his seat and lit into the startled speaker…literally. The other bishops and presbyters pulled Nicholas off of Arius and reprimanded Nicholas strongly…although I’m sure they were secretly pleased. (Maybe that’s just me projecting my own redneck persona, though.) It tickles me to think of Santa Claus rolling around on the floor with another fella over the language of the Nicene Creed.

Anyway, every time I recite those precious words, “God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father,” I think of good St. Nicholas.

There is a wonderful resource available online: The St. Nicholas Center. Please check it out. There is a great deal of information- including ideas for celebration. If nothing else, check out Who Is St. Nicholas and click around on the links to the left. His connection to our modern Santa Claus is explained. Our children ought to know. This is their heritage.

I’ll post the details of how we celebrate at the James’ house. The amount of enjoyment the children seem to get out of it far exceeds the simple preparation that is necessary. There is plenty of time to make ready....and not much involved. St. Nicholas Day always falls on December 6th. I hope you’ll consider adding this to your family’s Advent celebration.

DO I REALLY SOUND LIKE THAT...?

2007-11-14T05:26:00.000-08:00

Christ the King REC has made available the audio of my discussions during their 2007 Parenting Retreat.

God was gracious through all my stammering. I had a wonderful time in spite of my fears.

Session One: Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Session Two: A Parents Guide to Time Travel

Session Three: The Naked Truth

FOLLOWING CHRIST IN OUR YEAR- A PRACTICAL PROPOSAL

2007-11-13T07:19:00.000-08:00

I’ve enjoyed sharing pictures of my family’s celebrations of the Christian Year. I’ve been told that they have encouraged others to join in the fun the next time around; I’m so excited about that. But I’m sure it would be better if the ideas and reminders were posted before the date arrived. That way everyone could begin now…this year.

I want to try to do just that. These preparatory posts will be gathered under Labels for each Season/Holy day and grouped together under a Label entitled Calendar Practical Ideas.

Please contribute to the discussion with ideas, questions, etc. This could be a wonderful resource with your participation.

The most fully packed segment of the year (with the exception of Holy Week) is only a few weeks away. I want to give an overview of the seasons immediately before us- from November 30th- Jan 6th. It can seem a bit overwhelming. With a “heads-up” maybe we can select those things that might be most helpful for our families. Of course there is much more or other that can be done; this is all from the perspective of our home’s traditions.

We have an amazing array of Saint Days during this time. Nov 30th marks the death of St. Andrew, the brother of St. Peter. December 6th is St. Nicholas Day. Dec 21 marks St Thomas’ death; December 26th the martyrdom of St Stephen, and December 28th the killing of the “Holy Innocents” by King Herod.

The Season’s involved are Advent, Christmas and the beginning of Epiphany. The focal points are Dec. 25th and Jan 6th.

Whew!

Our family began small. We added things after the newest addition had become comfortable. A little each year. Remember, the point is to make the passing of time intentional and meaningful by incarnating the story of our Lord and his people into the life of our family... and to do this in a way that is joyful and fun. The Christmas season is too busy already. I know we ended up doing some “weeding.”

If you are new to this, let me suggest that you focus on three things. I think all three are doable for many, but perhaps you would want to tackle one at a time:

1. Observing Advent as a preparation for Christmas.
2. Adding St. Nicholas Day to your celebration
3. Observing Christmas as a Season. There are twelve days to Christmas. I know you knew that, though.

One and three are foundational; the second is just a lot of fun- especially if you have younger children. It is also a powerful time to teach your children the truth that Christ is truly God and perfectly Man, but we'll have more about that in a St. Nicholas Day post(s).

I’ll share with you how our family does each of these three. I hope you’ll do the same with ideas, recipes, etc.

Remember, I'll be posting about a much fuller calendar. Please only bite off what is enjoyable for you at this point of your family's life, and begin with the three suggestions above.

TO MY NEW FRIENDS AT CHRIST THE KING

2007-11-12T08:30:00.000-08:00

My family and I arrived home from Dayton Ohio late last night. We participated in the parenting retreat hosted by Christ the King Reformed Episcopal Church. I want to say thank you to the precious brothers and sisters who embraced my weakness and ministered to me and my family.

It just fills me with wonder to consider that there are such people in the world…and I had no idea of their names or faces. I know that’s weird; but apparently I’m so vain that I think I know all the cool people. I don’t think that’s really it (or at least I hope not). It’s just amazing to me that the world is filled with people…precious people… and I don’t know who they are. My world grows brighter every time Christ takes my hand through the hands of a new friend. Thank you, each of you, for being Christ to me.

I know that some will be stopping by Dappled Thoughts. The stuff that might be the most helpful in relation to what we were able to talk about- especially in regards to Family Celebrations and the Christian year- can be found under the Family Label on the lower right hand side. I’m going to try to be more consistent about getting ideas posted. I’d love to hear yours. Let’s encourage each other in this regard.

I believe the church’s calendar is one of the greatest ways that we can compete with the world’s stories. I know for a fact that its feasts and fasts are among the most enjoyable times our family has spent together. That has great value in itself.

Our salvation comes from union with Christ- our baptism speaks of that union and identifies us as those who “aren’t from here.” What could be more practical than entering into the life of our Savior…every year, year after year? It’s a way of bringing my children’s baptism before their eyes daily, and that has everything to do with who they are, and this has everything to do with my hearts deepest longing for each of them. I wish I had been more diligent in commending this precious treasure of the church to the families that were present.

For those who are interested, an earlier version of Hannah’s Book can be found under the Desire 101 Label. The chapters will come up in reverse order, but you can skip right to the desired chapter by a link at the bottom of each post.

Can’t wait to see each of you again. Please pray for us.

THINKING OF THIS COMING SUNDAY

2007-11-02T08:29:00.000-07:00

All Saints’ Day

Waiting behind burned-out jack-o’-lanterns for day to come,

the saints clap their stigmata hands.

They are the sun’s halo, shimmering the November air

with celestial simplicity; the sky, their dried blood.

By the time we wake on All Hallows,

weary from our own werewolves and witches,

the narrow sidewalks are crowded, the Christian dead

hopscotching between the cracks

we’ve let creep parallel to where we live.

And soon, yes, they’ll be marching triumphantly

past the graveyard, cymbals like offering plates at their hips,

the old spiritual clanging the neighborhood,

saxophones and trumpets blasting the last

doubts from our ears.

Of course, we will follow,

stiff in our nightshirts, too human for holiness

but hungry enough to shadow their sanctified sufferings,

genuflect with them in the cold gothic arch of the cathedral where,

with the canonized, we will feast greedily

on the Body and Blood.

—Marjorie Maddox

IS HALLOWEEN SATAN'S HOLIDAY

2007-10-31T10:55:00.000-07:00

It's interesting to me how off target a conscience can become. I've often wondered if a loving Canaanite woman might have felt guilt at having kept her infant back from being used as a fiery sacrifice to her people's god.

Our consciences are formed by the stories we've been told. Stories are powerful things. The untrue one's are doubly sad for it.

Evangelicalism, like all other worldviews, rests on stories. Many of these I applaud and affirm, but some are hurtful, ridiculous and embarrasssing.

One of my least favorites is the Origins of Halloween as a Satanic Festival myth.

For those who don't know what I'm talking about, you can check out these nuggets of silly paranoia.

Steve Carl has summarized a more winsome and accurate account. Hat Tip to the Jolly Blogger. Everything below was written by Mr. Carl:

Separating Fact from Theory

For nearly a generation Hallowe'en has been a bone of contention among Christians. Some celebrate it blindly, not knowing (or caring) what it may represent. Many believe it is a pagan ritual whose roots are planted in the soil of historical Druidism. Others abstain from Hallowe'en, convinced that those who celebrate it are unknowingly worshipping Satan. More and more Christians are simply ignoring the day or creating alternatives to it.

But many Christians resent being told that they are really worshipping Satan when they dress-up their five-year-old as a princess and hand out candy. They know that just as you cannot accidentally worship Jesus, you cannot accidentally worship Satan, either. Worship is an act of volition, and our symbols mean only what we mean by them. Consider Communion, where we ritually eat His body and drink His blood. Without its story it would look just as "satanic" as Hallowe'en!

In spite of all the talking we do about it, little is actually known of the true Hallowe'en. And, what we do know -- the facts, not the theories -- might surprise you! It has been said that, "Nature abhors a vacuum." So it is with the story of Hallowe'en. Historical accounts leave us with unanswered questions, and in order to "fill-in-the-gaps" historians have suggested possible links to other cultures and their celebrations. In this way, our search for the truth naturally leads us into the other celebrations -- often leaving Hallowe'en far behind. The result has become such a tangle of fact with theory that it is difficult to separate the two. What we believe about Hallowe'en today, has been built upon the rather tenuous foundation of "It-Looks-Like-That-Over-There."

Consider that many otherwise logical minds accept that we and the apes have common evolutionary ancestors -- because we appear to resemble each other. That they defend this idea "religiously," demonstrates their bias, rather than their grasp of the facts. Over-simplified, they have tangled fact and theory as they attempt to "fill-in-the-gaps." In much the same way, Hallowe'en is often confused with pagan festivals because they apparently resemble each other. And, in our zeal to stand against Satan at every opportunity, we Christians are often guilty of blindly throwing the baby out with the bath water.

This pamphlet is intended to shed a little light on the subject of Hallowe'en, by identifying facts as facts, and theories as theories. What you choose to believe about Hallowe'en is left to you. May God richly bless you as you seek to do His will.

Hallowe'en was created by the Early Christian Church during the 4th century.1 Originally celebrated on the 13th and 14th of May as "All Martyr's Day," it was instituted to remember those who had given their lives for the Faith during the Great Christian Holocaust, by Rome.2 It was, in other words, the Christian Memorial Day -- the second most important holy-day in the entire Christian Calendar. Fact.Somewhere along the way it apparently became customary to hold Church pageants on the preceding evening. Everyone, even the audience, came dressed as their favorite martyred saint.3 Those who chose Paul, came beheaded. Those who chose Matthew, came with a spear thrust through them. In skits, congregations would reenact the valor and passion of the Church-in-persecution. Others dressed as the antagonists of the stories -- Satan, his demons, the wild animals of the coliseum, the soldiers and the Caesars. These were the defeated enemies, booed and hissed, while the victorious heroes were cheered. Afterward they would all spill out into the streets of the city, begging food for the poor among them.4 Fact.

Some three hundred years later, the city of Rome donated a building to the Church in memory of all the "martyrs" of the Great Persecution. The building had formerly been used as a place of torture and the execution of Christians. Now, it would be used to worship Jesus Christ. The irony was not lost on the Church, and many shifted their All Martyr's celebration to the day the new building was dedicated -- November 1. 5 Within the next fifty years that change became official in the Western Churches (the Eastern Churches still celebrate in the spring, to this day6). The celebration was gradually expanded to include any who had been persecuted for the name of Christ, and many began calling it "All Saints' Day." Fact.

In the centuries that followed, the name was finally changed to the "Holy Day" - or more popularly, the "Hallowed Day." The festivities traditionally began the night before, because until recent times both Jews and Christians began their day at dusk. This is not the result of culture or superstition, but because God made them that way ("… and the evening and the morning, were the first day", etc.). So, to the early Church the evening of a Saturday, for instance, was the night before, not the night after -- Saturday began with Saturday-evening (what you and I would call Friday night). In fact, what we call "Christmas Eve" today, was originally the evening of/before Christmas-Day. The same is true of New Year's Eve. Similarly, the Hallowed Day began with the "Hallowed Even'," which was ultimately contracted to the "Hallowe'en" we know today. Today, we still begin our celebration on the evening before - what appears on our calendars as October 31. Fact.

If this is new to you, it is because in the process of "filling-in-the-gaps," scholars have added a great deal of theory to the mix. Along with these theories come theoretical motives ascribed to the Church, to explain why they did what they (theoretically) did. Eventually, no one was talking about a Christian Memorial Day anymore. No one was talking about Christ, the Church, or the Great Persecution anymore, either; only about Satan, and pagan rituals. When was the last time you were "reminded" that nearly seven million men, women and children were horribly tortured and finally brutally murdered in terrible ways, over the course of three hundred years - all because they refused to recant the Name of Jesus? Could we find that many Christians, so committed to the Name of Christ today? Listen… this is the real meaning behind Hallowe'en!

Filling-In The Gaps

The controversy over Hallowe'en is not now, nor has it ever been, a controversy over the facts, above. They are just that; facts of history. Facts recorded at the time, by the Church itself. Instead, the controversy is over the various theories surrounding a single question… "From whom did the Church copy their Halloween symbols?" Why did the Church begin dressing-up in costumes? Where did they get the idea of going door-to-door with a basket of treats? Why did they play "tricks" on those they didn't get a "treat" from? What about the pumpkin, the bat, the cat, etc.? Where did the Church get these symbols? And, if they are from wholly pagan sources, what can we surmise about the motives of a Church which not only allowed it to happen, but enthusiastically embraced such an extraordinary indiscretion?

Notice that the question is not, "What meaning did the Church ascribe to the symbols?" Amazingly, today's authors don't seem to care! They are apparently only interested in their origin. We know from Church history that they dressed in costumes of the dead, to memorialize them. But did they think this up out of thin-air? They went door-to-door to collect food for the poor, but where did they get the idea? They celebrated on November 1 because a famous building was dedicated on that day, but could there have been a more sinister motive than the one recorded by the Church? "From whom did they copy their symbols?" This is the true basis of the controversy. Today, there are three possible answers to this question. Since no one was there recording it, each of them are only theories. Each of us should be capable of making up our own minds -- and, capable of tolerating those who chose differently.

1. An Original Idea

Couldn't the Church have originated their own symbols for Halloween? While clearly possible, it is commonly agreed that this is the least likely of the three theories. The symbols of Hallowe'en appear in the historical records fully formed and complete. Though not impossible, it remains unlikely (based on the evolution of other holidays) that the Church could have created a such a set of "mature" symbols, from the very beginning. It is simply more likely that they copied them from another people.

2. The Druids

Another theory is that the Church adopted its Memorial Day symbols from the pagan rites of an ancient religious cult known as the Druids. In spite of the marvelously-detailed accounts of these rituals appearing in both secular and Christian histories (some of which often read like the pages of a Hollywood Tabloid), in truth we know very little about them.7 This is because they were a very secretive sect among the Celts of ancient Europe, and neither they nor the Celts around them had a written language8 -- there is simply no historical record of who they were or what they celebrated, except a few accounts written by their Roman enemies, as they struggled for survival against the advancing Legions.9

What we know of the Druids, is this… They were first seen by the outside world in 61 A.D.10 (though some theorize that they may have been much older). They were the civil and religious authorities11 over the Celts, until roughly 500 A.D.12, when they died-out during the war with Rome. Down through the centuries since, there have been several attempts to resurrect the cult. In each case, they had as their guide, only unwritten tales and Gaelic-poetry, passed word-of-mouth from generation to generation (the earliest written accounts by the Celts themselves began to appear around 1200 A.D.13). In each case the attempt was unsuccessful, and cult died-out again. The current Druidic cult (in England and Texas) is no older that the early sixties. Today, our understanding of Celtic rituals is limited to two eye-witness accounts, both written by their enemies. Both accounts essentially agree in detail, and both were accounts of the execution of prisoners-of-war. In one of these accounts, the prisoners were woven into baskets of reeds and then burned alive. By the manner in which the events were described, it seems logical that this was a common practice. The earlier account insisted that there was much superstition surrounding the event, including the understanding that their gods would grant these executions to be the fate of all their enemies.

In and of itself, there is little here, that is unique to the Druids. Frankly, other cultures before and after the Celts have displayed just as much barbarism in the execution of their criminals. What makes the Druids case special, however, is that the specific god involved was their God of Death and War -- a deity called Samhain -- whose major religious rites were celebrated in the fall of the year, at the autumnal equinox of the sun (that day between summer and winter when the days first begin to shorten). The Celts had no formal calendar beyond the shadows cast by the sun (some believe this is what Stonehenge was used for), but on the Roman calendar (as on ours, today) the date of the equinox is September 22nd. It is surmised by many authors that during this festival the same type of executions may have taken place, perhaps with wild abandon.

Today, the Gaelic peoples celebrate a New Year festival they call Samhain on October 31, thirty-nine days after the equinox. Why they changed the day, and when they made the change is open to scholarly speculation. Some believe that it was changed prior to the eighth century, and others, after the thirteenth. What difference does it make? Just this… if it happened earlier than 700 A.D., then it was already being celebrated on that day when the Church changed its All Martyr's celebration to November 1. Those who adopt this "early-change" theory, see a secret motive behind the Church's move to November 1 -- to "corrupt" the Samhain celebration with a more Christian meaning. Both Church and secular records are silent regarding such a motive, however.

On the other hand, if the shift of Samhain to October 31 followed the Church's own change, then perhaps a rapidly Christianized Ireland consolidated its holiday into the Church's Hallowe'en in order to keep its own pagan traditions alive. This "late-change" theory has the additional advantage of supplying us with a viable reason for the change from September 22 to October 31, in the first place ("early-changers" have no motive for the change).

In either case (the theory goes), the mixture of pagan and Christian symbols was responsible for a gradually weakened celebration that ultimately lost all Christian values, in favor of the pagan ones. The prevailing theory is that such customs as trick-or-treating and costumes must have been present in the Celtic celebrations (though no historical record exists of it), and copied by the Church. Today, contemporary Irish history (written within the last few hundred years) insists that it was not their ancestors that were "corrupted," but the Church. They speculate that the customs of the Christian Hallowe'en were copied by the Church from what must certainly have been celebrated long before by their ancestors at the "Vigil of Samhain" -- all the way back to the Druids themselves.

3. The Jews

There is a third theory. Some 600 years before Jesus was born, the Book of Esther, in the Old Testament, recounts the near extinction of the Jews by their enemies, and the story of their deliverance by God through Queen Esther of Persia -- who was secretly a Jewess, herself. The chief enemy of the Jews, one Haman, recommended that the King greatly honor someone who had done a great service, thinking that it would certainly be himself. Instead, it turned out to be Mordecai, the secret Jewish uncle of the Queen. Haman's hatred of the Jews finally peaked (according to the Jewish Midrash) when his own daughter maliciously dumped a full "bedpan" on him by mistake, having confused the clothing worn by the two men. There is a considerable "Clark-Kent-style" to the story.

According to Scripture, Haman's plot to kill all Jews, all over the world, was to take place in the spring, on the 14th day of the Hebrew month Adar. But on the day before it was to happen, just as the dark got darkest, God intervened to turn the tables. Now the Jews stood in authority over their enemies. The 13th was to become a day of rejoicing, rather than a day of mourning (Est. 9:1). These two days (the 13th and 14th) would be known as Purim (9:27). They sent letters to all Jews, all over the world, commanding them to celebrate them forever by, "sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor." (9:22)

Ever since, observant Jews celebrate the Festival of Purim (beginning on the evening preceding the 13th) by dressing their children up in costumes of the heroes and of the enemies in the story of Esther. Many of the costumes are of those that died. It is common to see old Haman and his ten sons, all with hangman's nooses around their necks. Special pastries and treats are prepared to resemble Haman's hat, buttons, even his ears (orecchi di Haman) -- which are eaten with a grisly glee! The costumed children are sent out with baskets of these ready-to-eat treats to be delivered to the doors of their most favored friends and relatives (Mishloah Manot), and to the poor as well (Mattanot le-Evyonim). As each basket is delivered, the children receive a "tip" of edible treats.14 And it continues, in every Jewish community all over the world, to this day!

Those who are "stilted" ("I thought I was among your favored friends? Why did I get no Hamantashen from you?") can take good-humored retaliation on each other the following morning. In Israel, great parades (adloyada) are held comprised of revelers carrying silly plastic hammers, sold by vendors on every street-corner. The "stilters" are sought out and soundly bonked on the head because they sent no treats last night! (Trick-Or-Treat!)

They hold pageants where the story of Esther (Megillat Esther) is reenacted, and tradition demands that the name of Haman be blotted out so they boo and hiss each time it is mentioned, while cheering the heroes of the story. Some historians claim a much later date for the inclusion of costumes and pageants into the Purim festival, but apparently it was well established among many groups by close of the second century. The trick-or-treat look-alike, goes back to the beginning (c. 600 B.C.), however, as it was a Biblical commandment.

The theory that Hallowe'en's symbols were copied from Purim, contends that the new Christian Church of the first and second centuries was quite Jewish. Indeed, we know there were no gentile Christians for the first several decades of its existence. Jesus was a Jew, as were the Apostles, and all continued as Jews, attending Sabbath Synagogue services, and celebrating the Old Testament feasts. Those who subscribe to this theory claim it would be naive and short-sighted to believe that Purim and its symbols was unknown to the Early Church.

This same Church withstood incredible persecution by Rome for over three hundred years, their enemies planning for their complete annihilation. Then, just as the darkness could get no darker, the tables were turned! Under the reign of Constantine, Christianity was elevated overnight to the state religion of Rome. Suddenly Christians found themselves (for better or worse) in authority over their former enemies. Thus, just as today's Communion is essentially the Old Testament Passover festival with new meaning given to its symbols, so too (according to this theory) new meaning was given to the symbols of Purim by the Early Church, which began calling it All Martyr's Day.

Both Purim and Hallowe'en were (originally) celebrated in the spring (both on the same days of the month). They share a common heritage, history, Bible, and God. They both celebrate essentially the same kind of worldwide persecution followed by the same miraculous deliverance. They are both Memorial Days.

Thus, proponents of this theory contend that the symbols of the Christian Hallowe'en were not copied. Instead, they suggest that Hallowe'en was just a new name, with new meanings attached to the old symbols of the Biblical Feast of Purim. They further theorize that these same symbols (devoid of their Christian meaning) were subsequently copied by the Irish into their Samhain New Year festival (rather than the other way around).

Creeping Secularization

A few of the symbols of Hallowe'en are not traceable to the very beginning (c. 350 A.D.). There was simply no specific mention made of them in Church or secular records relating to Hallowed Day celebrations. This does not mean that they didn't exist from the beginning, only that it is unlikely. These include the bat, the cat, bonfires, and the Jack-O-Lantern. Today, scholars believe that with the exception of the Jack-O-Lantern, their association with the Hallowed Day is seasonal, rather than memorial. That is, they became associated with Hallowe'en because it was THE Christian holy-day during the harvest season, and these elements were symbols of the harvest.

Some suggest that cats are a symbol of Hallowe'en because it was worshiped in Egypt. But then, everything was worshiped in Egypt, even the dung-beetle. This does little to explain why the cat (and not the dung-beetle) became a symbol of the season. Others offer that witches sometimes use a cat as a familiar. But then, witches apparently so used many animals, including dogs, rabbits, even horses. Why the cat and none of these? The list is amazingly diverse, and equally improbable.

The only thing that all ancient cultures have in common, when it comes to the cat, is a reverence for it at the harvest season. The cat is the one and only defense-mechanism that an agricultural world had against the mouse, the rat and the snake -- all of which were pests that could destroy a harvested-crop. Thus, in all agricultural economies the cat is a hero, especially at this time of the year when the harvest has just been brought in.

Bats have a similarly obvious connection with the harvest. Scientists tell us that the bat is not only completely harmless, but consumes 1400 mosquito-sized insects every night.15 When, in the heat of the season, laborers have been beating the field all day long, the bat is a welcome entry into the evening harvest festivities. The common association of the vampire-bat is apparently insupportable, as it exists nowhere in the world, except in South America -- not in the Mid-East, nor even in Transylvania! The mythology surrounding a vampire turning himself into a bat was proposed for the first time anywhere, during the late 1800's, in the fiction "Dracula."

Bonfires were common each and every evening of the harvest, all over the world. Apparently this had no religious application, only the practical burning of the stalks and chaff from each day's winnowing.The pumpkin, which many of us associate so strongly with Hallowe'en, is native only to North America, and grows nowhere else in the world. They simply did not have pumpkins to use as symbols, until about 300 years ago! The original Jack-O-Lanterns go back a little further, but were usually made from turnips or potatoes, and are a relatively recent European invention (c. 1200 A.D.).

According to tradition, the Jack-O-Lantern is the good-natured result of an old Irish-Christian wives-tale about a miser named Stingy Jack16 who refused his good wife's exhortation to go to church. Jack instead frequented saloons, were he eventually met and tricked the Devil himself into paying for the drinks. A year later, on the eve of the Hallowed Day, Jack choked to death, eating a turnip. When he arrived at heaven's gate he was turned away as an unrepentant sinner. At the gates of hell, Satan drove him off by throwing glowing embers of hell-fire at him, still angry over being tricked. Jack was doomed to walk between heaven and hell until the Judgment Day, still carrying his half-eaten turnip, in which burned the glowing embers he had caught.17 They called it Jack's-Lantern, and Christians would put them up to mark the locations of their Hallowe'en parties. According to the legend, if Satan saw such a lantern he would turn and walk the other way rather than risk meeting Stingy Jack in such a gathering.

Conclusion

Though we often hear otherwise, Hallowe'en is a Christian holy-day. Criticism of the celebration actually concerns its symbols, rather than what it was intended to be from the beginning -- the Christian Memorial Day. Some object that stories of martyred saints are inappropriate because they do not appear in Scripture. But it would be myopic to assume that God stopped working miraculously among His people, with the 28th chapter of Acts. Furthermore, our heritage -- those who became examples for us -- goes all the way back to Genesis. There is no reason to limit our remembrance to those three centuries. This is not man-glorification, but the awesome power of God's Spirit making new and fearless, the hearts of mere men.

Evil does exist; everywhere, everyday. Those who practice evil on our Memorial Day, are the same ones who desecrate all our other holi-days, too (Christmas, Easter, etc.). This does not mean we should flee the day -- you cannot win a battle by retreating from your own ground.
Whatever you choose to believe about Hallowe'en's symbols, never let it cease to be a memorial of faithful believers that, following the example of Jesus, laid the foundations that you and I stand on today with their own blood. And remember this too… The true story behind Hallowe'en must remain a secret! Whatever you do, don't let the Public School System get wind of it! They are perfectly willing to expose our children to all manner of unknown and potentially dangerous things. But if they ever found out that they were embracing a wholly Christian festival, the Memorial Day of the Church… they'd drop it like a hot rock!

1 "A Feast of All Martyrs was kept on May 13 in the Eastern Church according to Ephraem Syrus (who died 373 AD)." v.1, p.275, 2a, Encyclopedia Britannica, Chicago, IL, 1992
2 "In the late 4th century, a feast of All Martyrs was observed by the Eastern Syrians on May 13 and by the West Syrians and Byzantines on the Sunday following Pentecost. Pope Boniface IV received from the emperor Phocas (reigned 602-610) the Pantheon at Rome, which he dedicated on May 13 to St. Mary and All Martyrs. The Feast of All Saints on November 1 was promulgated by Pope Gregory IV in 835, in place of the May festival." v.16, p.308, 1a, Encyclopedia Britannica, Chicago, IL, 1992
3 "On All Hallows, many churches staged plays called pageants for the benefit of their members. Each pageant participant dressed up as the patron saint of his special guardian. Those who did not play the part of a 'holy one' played the part of devils. The procession then marched from the church out into the churchyard where the play might continue until late in the evening." p 36b, Phillips, P., Halloween and Satanism, Starburst Publ., Penn, 1987
4 "[They would] walk door to door begging food for the poor… chanting: Soul, soul! for a soul cake! I pray, good mistress, for a soul cake! An apple or pear, or plum or a cherry. Any good thing to make us merry. One for Peter, two for Paul, Three for Him who made us all. Up with the kettle, down with the pan. Give us good alms and we'll be gone. Alms, were the money of the common people. A soul cake was a square bun decorated with currants. During the holiday, bakers would fill their shops with soul cakes." pp. 31, ibid.
5 "The first evidence for the November 1 celebration and of the broadening of the festival to all Saints as well as Martyrs occurred during the reign of Pope Gregory III (731-741), who dedicated a chapel in St. Peter's Rome on November 1 in honour of All Saints. In 800, All Saints Day was kept by Alcuin on November 1, and it also appeared in a 9th century English calendar. In 837, Pope Gregory IV ordered its general observance. In medieval England, the festival was known as All Hallows, and its eve is still known as Halloween." v.1, p.275, 2a, Encyclopedia Britannica, Chicago, IL, 1992
6 "All Saints' Day is a religious festival honoring All Christian Saints. It is observed [today,] on November 1 by the Roman Catholics and members of the Anglican Communion, and on the first Sunday after Pentecost (Whitsunday) by the Eastern Orthodox Church." v.1, p.585, Encyclopedia Americana, Grolier Corp., Danbury, CN, 1991
7 "…little is known of the doctrines of the druids." Rhys, Prof., Celtic Heathendom, Modern American Corp., Chicago, 1936
8 "Little is known of the Druids because their rites were never written down." Compton's Encyclopedia, E.E.Compton Co., Chicago, IL, 1984 "No early Celtic literature has been preserved… The Druids, did not commit their learning to writing." "Celts," c.1, Twentieth Century Encyclopedia, World Literary Guild, 1934
9 "Our information respecting [the druids] is borrowed from notices in the Greek and Roman writers, compared with the remains of Welsh and Gaelic poetry still extant. …That the Druids offered sacrifices to their deity [Be'al, the Sun] there can be no doubt. But there is some uncertainty as to what they offered, and of the ceremonies connected with their religious services we know almost nothing. The classical (Roman) writers affirm that they offered on great occasions human sacrifices; as for success in war or for relief from dangerous diseases. …Many attempts have been made by Celtic writers to shake the testimony of Roman historians to this fact, but without success. …It is certain that they [the druids] committed nothing of their doctrine, their history, or their poetry to writing. Their teaching was oral, and their literature (if such a word may be used in such a case) was preserved solely by tradition." p358-361, Bulfinch, Thomas, Bulfinch's Mythology, Anenel Books, NY, 1978
10 "The only specific reference to druids encountered by the Romans when they invaded Britain is in connection with the assault on Mona (Anglesey) in 61 A.D. under the command of Seutonius Paulinus." v.9, p.420, 1a, Encyclopedia Americana, Grolier Corp., Danbury, CN, 1991
11 "Druids of Gaul were both judges and priests, who sacrificed criminals to their gods. The Druids of Britain, on the other hand, were chiefly religious leaders." v.4, p.185, 2a, Compton's Encyclopedia, E.E.Compton Co., Chicago, IL, 1984
12 "…finally, after the Anglo-Saxon invasions in the 5th century, [Druidism] is supposed to have been exterminated in England, and survived only in Ireland, Wales, Isle of Man, the Scottish Highlands, and Cornwall. "Celts," c.1, Twentieth Century Encyclopedia, World Literary Guild, 1934 "… The druids' fierce resistance to the spread of the Latin culture, led to their suppression by Roman authorities in Britain and Gaul; in Ireland, which never came under Roman rule, druidism survived until A.D. 500." v.6, p.281, 2b, Academic American Encyclopedia, Danbury, CN, 1989
13 "The ancient Celts did not write down their history and religion and poetry. Literature written in the Celtic languages did not begin to grow up until much later. The earliest Celtic literature that we have was written about 1200 A.D." p.343, col.2, par.5, Illustrated World Encyclopedia, Bobbley Publ., NY, 1978
14 p. 195, The Jewish Holidays, Rabbi M. Strassfeld, Harper & Row, NY, 1985
15 "Bats eat thousands of bugs every night, yet they remain one of the most misunderstood creatures in nature… A single bat of average weight will consume well over 1400 mosquito-size insects each night." Tuttle, M., America's Neighborhood Bats, Bat Conservation Int'l, TX, 1989
16 "The origin of the Jack-O-Lantern is found in a fanciful tale of a down-on-his-luck Irishman named 'Stingy Jack'…" Phillips, Phil, Halloween and Satanism, Starburst Publishers, Penn, 1987
17 According to an Irish legend, jack-o-lanterns were named for a man called Jack, who could not enter heaven because he was a miser, and could not enter hell either, because he had played jokes on the devil. As a result, Jack had to walk the earth with his lantern until Judgement Day. v.9, p.25, 1a, World Book Encyclopedia, Chicago, IL, 1992

HALLOWEEN REDUX PART FIVE: A BRIEF INTERLUDE

2007-10-24T08:22:00.000-07:00

You and I are sitting across from each other. I'm grinning. You're not. (You can see already that the cards are stacked in my favor. But it is my blog, and you, dear reader, as addressed in this Interlude are imaginary. Alas, I'm afraid all of my readers are imaginary ones)

Your pained expression betrays the fact that you're not sure whether you heard what you think you heard nor what it would mean if you did. "Is he serious? Is he sane?" you wonder. "If so,… is that "spooky God stuff" okay to say?"

You study my face. No reassurance there- same 'ole yahoo face. Should you respond? "Is there culpability in encouraging him" you question. You rub your face in exasperation. Then, you begin.

"Let me get this straight…um, we see God in creepy moments."

"That's right, or at least we were meant to"

"You're saying God is creepy, then? Is that what you're saying!?"

"I'm not sure. But I am suggesting that the unease we feel when we encounter spooky, eerie or uncanny places or things was God's idea. He put them there to teach us something about himself."

"That he's creepy? How can you say he's creepy"

"No, I didn't say that he was creepy. That would be like looking around for Divine feathers because Isaiah declared that God lifted him on eagle's wings. Eagles…and foreboding windy black nights point to God, but I don't believe he's a winged creature or a meteorological event."

"But an eagle speaks of strength. A comparison with an eagle says "God is strong." What does a comparison with a haunted house imply if not "Creepiness?"

"I see you're point. I'll try to answer it after I skillfully maneuver your conversation into the appropriate query- that way I'll look in control, but until I figure out how to do that, I'd say that a haunted house teaches not only that he's "Other" but what it might be like to be in the presence of "Otherness." Creepiness connotes creeping, loathsomeness or things foul. I'm not meaning to include them- at least not at this point. What I'm after is the fear of the unknown- the unknowable. I'm not sure what to call it precisely, but it's present in a haunted house. You're not scared because you believe you will be hurt, but rather because you are with something you do not understand, that doesn't belong there, but which you imagine could very easily work in unpleasant ways. It's the effect that unnatural things have on us."

"But unnatural…that's bad stuff. How can you say that God is unnatural?"

"It depends on what you mean by unnatural, doesn't it. If you mean "bad stuff or bad behavior", then certainly God is not unnatural. If you mean distinct from nature, he's certainly unnatural. I could say "supernatural," I guess; but that would create problems that we'd have to clear up later. What we think of as supernatural is really a large segment of creation or nature."

"But unnatural!"

"It seems to me that calling God unnatural is less problematic than calling him natural. What could that possibly mean? Anyway, I…"

"Tell me what I'm to learn of God from seeing my neighbor in a Freddy Krueger mask! It's horrific. Violent, even demonic- Freddy hurt people. Where's God in that?"

"Let me try again. I've been talking about eerie places or things- trying to argue for the positive value of this category as a category. That isn't to say that every individual example of creepiness is positive. I'm sure that sexual desire was first dreamed up by God, but that is a far cry from saying that I endorse everything that invokes sexual desire. Also, Creepy always involves fear. But there are other sources of fear, as well. Witnessing a violent car wreck ought to scare you, but that's a whole different thing. Don't you think?"

"But the whole Halloween monster thing implies violence. You can't have a monster without implied violence"

"Well, I'm not so sure about that, but I do understand that Halloween tangles many different themes into its celebration. I was meaning to start by looking at only one- the spooky, eerie aspect. I think you can distinguish the experiences of being on a lonely tree lined road, or in a windy autumn night, or hearing a wolf's baleful howl- I think you can distinguish those things from the grotesque. Maybe not. But for me that would most likely mean that the grotesque has something to teach us about our God, not that the grotesque should be totally avoided. Anyway, I've had nothing to say about the whole grotesque thing. Let's talk about it next. Right now its all more than I know"

HALLOWEEN REDUX PART FOUR- WHY SPOOKY MATTERS

2007-10-18T08:28:00.000-07:00

I've a suspicion that the lessons of nature that go unlearned end up being...well, unlearnable…period.

Let me try again: Our knowledge is metaphorical and imaginary….

Let me try again: We cannot appreciate a concept unless we have had an experience from which we can image it. No, wait, wait, wait. This is what I mean, if I tell you that a Krag is a creature with wings like a Jorg and the teeth of a Mulph, how much have I told you? Maybe you've learned some new words, and if they're Latin ones, they might be useful in sounding intimidating in a smart sort of way. But beyond that, not a lot has happened- not much was learned. No communication took place. But if I say a Krag has the thin skinned wings of a bat (only these wings are enormous) and that its head resembles a lion's head, then you can begin to form some idea of what a Krag might be. Does that make sense? We cannot appreciate a concept unless we've had an experience from which we can image it.

When we are told by St. Paul that God's attributes are evident from nature's book, we should expect to find the creaturely finger that points to his power, beauty, justice etc. And they are very evident. Now, if I were to say that God is acertonastical. What does that mean? Maybe I'd add that it refers to an indefinable, completely and utterly unexperiencable state of acertonisty. "Oh" you say knowingly, "I see," but you're lying because there is nothing there to learn. If you've not experienced something analogous, there is nothing there to see.

How about the word holy? What does it mean? If Otto was right about The Numinous, then where do we go in our experience to fill up the meaning? More often than not we go to one of the other attributes- to things like power or justice. "Holiness is really one of these," we say. We end up making God's people speak in redundancies- "God is good and (good)." We might as well drop one of those "goods," and it really ought to be the one that isn't spelled g-o-o-d. Holiness disappears.

This is one of two possible outcomes, if what we are talking about is beyond our experience. Either the particular facet of God, to which the word Holiness is meant to refer becomes lost because mistaken for something else, or we are simply going around mouthing words that have no meaning at all. Either way, the practical molding influence that only an understanding of God's Holiness can provide is lost. Is that a big deal? It depends on how important God's holiness is. You tell me.

It seems to me (another suspicion) that there is more than coincidence involved in the fact that experiences of "Otherness" are "pooh-poohed" in both nature and in the worship of nature's God. A disregard for the transcendent seems to lie at the heart of the whole business. Or worse, it's the collapsing down of the transcendent into the mundane and immanent. Spooky moments are nothing but superstition and irrational fear. God is nothing more than Creation blown infinite. A lot of "Nothing mores" and "Nothing buts" going on there. But that is the great error of our time- "Nothingbutteryism."

Modernity knows (for dissection has established it to be a fact) that one place is no different than another. Any desire to lower your voice in a cathedral, a graveyard or darkened forest is "nothing but"…and should be out grown. God's holiness is nothing more than sheer power and majesty and so you should obey him simply because he can squish you like a bug if you resist. Just like Hitler or…wait. That can't be right. Why do we follow/worship God?

Practically, I believe that a disregard for the mysterious and disturbingly "other" experiences of our world is both a symptom and a cause of the loss of reverence. That's where the piper comes to be paid- in the loss of Reverence. We are taught that there is nothing in this world that is truly unnatural, uncanny…spooky- at least not for the educated. God is explicable in terms of human qualities- only ones blown up really big. And so we should approach him like we approach anyone else- only really loud. In our relationships there is no area, station or calling that can be considered "other." There is nothing sacrosanct. Not the umpire overseeing the game- "punch the blind bastard," not the King- "who does he think he is," nor a woman's honor.

The whole concept of Reverence seems as old fashioned and nonsensical in our culture as taking seriously a child's fear of the night. But that is the point.

Thomas Howard tells of a group of students taken by a learned cultural anthropologist into the depths of an unmapped jungle. They wander into a village just in time to see a scantily clad witch doctor slicing the head off of a chicken. Violently flinging the warm blood across the altar in front of him, the old man repeatedly bows towards the image. The scientist turns towards the students and says "Here we have a perfect example of the earliest stages of religious evolution and a clear manifestation of the myth of the fertility god's enacted death…" Obviously, the two men see something very different taking place.

If you had to choose, who would you side with? Are you with the Scientist or the Witch Doctor? Seems a clear choice to me: The witch doctor knows many things the Scientist does not- that there are some things before which we must bow, that sacrifice is required and that it must be made in blood, that there is more to reality than can be seen, etc, etc

The battle is decided when one side concedes the bedrock contention of the other. It seems to me that we need to be careful whose weapons we are using and what we are aiming at.

If there is "more than" to God, if he is truly "other," then that otherness finds expression in the image of his creation. Those innocent, profound and radically molding places, times and encounters should be recognized and treasured- brought captive to the King to whom they rightfully belong. This is simply seeing them for what they are- facets of our God's great glory. Since the garden, this has been man's challenge- to properly name God's creation. It's always been that way. Modern men and women have the distinction of adding an additional challenge- they have set out to feel shame at the awareness of certain creatures (Spookiness wasn't the first) or to deny that they exist at all. That's a tough row to hoe...because they do.

One night you'll be alone. The moon will be full, but ducking behind the gray stretched clouds, as if afraid to watch. A solitary dog will bark in the distance and a cold blast of air will send the dead leaves past your face and swirling upwards. A thought occurs to you. Not a thought really, more of an awareness; and you respond by glancing over your shoulder at the woods that lay behind. You're looking for something in the almost perfect blackness that lies between the trees. Not sure what, just …something. You shudder and gather up the groceries as quickly as you can; trying to tell yourself that nothing is going on.

Is there? Anything going on, I mean. I hope you answer, "Yes, Indeed" and offer thanks for the visitation.

HALLOWEEN REDUX PART THREE- SPOOKY CONT.

2007-10-10T05:36:00.000-07:00

When my kids were small we taught them that "God is a spirit: infinite, eternal and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth." I regret it now- not because I think any of that stuff is wrong, but rather because taken together I think it gives the wrong impression. It's too impersonal. Too…well, precise. I wouldn't define any of my children in that way. Maybe a tractor or a college course- but not a person. Instead I'd say "that one is charmed when it comes to animals. Why once she…" or "That one is too much like me; she…" You see, I'd tell them a story.

Moderns (and I'm sure you know that's not a category I want any of you to fall into) subscribe to the whole reductionistic definition thing. They believe we understand something best when we've taken it apart and labeled all the innards. The problem with that is you loose the thing you're trying to get to know and the sort of knowledge you end up with is of a rather limited kind. If I were to gut your mother and analyze precisely her chemical makeup, I wouldn't learn half as much about her as a trip to the beach would reveal…and I'd get to take her home afterwards, too. You can see the advantage. The definition of God up there can (I didn't say must) give the impression that our God is a substance of some sort (maybe a giant glowing silly putty like blob of "BEING") or simply the sum total of his various attributes. If it's not possible to define your mother in that way, it's surely not possible with your God.

You can see that there's something else there- something beyond all the parts. Rudolph Otto has written the classic work on that "something." His book is called The Idea of the Holy. C.S. Lewis listed it as one of the ten most important books in his life. In it Mr. Otto claims that the "something" is really the heart of our concept of the Divine. It, not the attributes listed above, is common to all the religions of man. He calls it the Numinous. I like that word. Numinous. Anyway, it refers to the mysterious, indefinable and overwhelming sense of power, inapproachability and raw energy of God. He is similar in some respects to his creation, because she was created to be so; but there is an unbridgeable chasm between the Creator and his creation. He is "Other". He alone is God. People know they are in the presence of the Numinous by the effect it has on them. This effect has been called the mysterium tremendum . That's a mouthful, so people have tried awe, dread and similar words to describe it. But they don't quite do the trick either. When you're in the presence of the Numinous you're struck dumb in amazement because it is so different from what you expected to encounter, you shudder as this Absolute begins to touch the deepest points of your feelings, and there is a profound awareness of your creatureliness, our dependence, our vulnerability and sheer contingency before this Totally Other.

C.S Lewis illustrated it in the introduction to his Problem of Pain, "Suppose you were told that there was a tiger in the next room: you would know that you were in danger and would probably feel fear. But if you were told "There is a ghost in the next room," and believed it, you would feel, indeed, what is often called fear, but of a different kind. It would not be based on the knowledge of danger, for no one is primarily afraid of what a ghost may do to him, but of the mere fact that it is a ghost. It is "uncanny" rather than dangerous, and the special kind of fear it excites may be called Dread. With the Uncanny one has reached the fringes of the Numinous. Now suppose that you were told simply "There is a might spirit in the room" and believed it. Your feelings would then be even less like the mere fear of danger: but the disturbance would be profound. You would feel wonder and a certain shrinking–described as awe, and the object which excites it is the Numinous."

Along with the mysterium tremendum comes an almost irresistible attraction. Otto called this the mysterium fascinosum. Here's an observable distinction between animalistic fear and the mysterium tremendum. We long to get away from what we fear. We are drawn to that which fills our heart with terrifying awe.The traditional word for all of this is holiness. It's not first and foremost about right behavior. Rather it's about the "Otherness" that lies at the heart of our God. To be in the presence of the Holy is to be struck dumb, trembling and on our face. Witness St. John in his Revelation- the same John who laid his head on the Savior before- falling down speechless at the Holiness' manifestation. It is terrifying to behold…and yet ecstatically beautiful and attractive. With sin, certainly, a new experience of fear began. But the mysterium tremendum is part of the Creator's and his Creation's relationship. It never depended on sin for its kindling. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom." This was as true of unstained Adam as it was of David untold ages later.

If it's true that Creation was meant to point towards it creator, if it's true that we see his power in the sea, his care in a mother's look, his beauty in a flower and taste his goodness in a nibble of stinky cheese, then where do we find creaturely images of his Numinance? This seems to me to be a very important question.

Lewis hinted towards my view in his comment about ghosts in the quote above. There are dark corridors that frighten and draw us, shadowy, solitary stands of trees that touch us to the point of shuddering as we contemplate passing through them. There's Luna's bright roundness flirting out the wolf's lonely howl. We stop to look. We stop to listen and shiver at the thought. Could it be that certain creatures have been gifted with this particular "telling." Is it coincidence that both Egyptian and Celt shuddered at the passing of a black cat? Or are there places and things that were "painted" just so to remind us that He is frightening because…well, like the face in the window He doesn't belong- not to this world.

Creepy, Eerie, Uncanny, Disturbing, Awesome. Holy…Spooky. Amidst our overly familiar Christianity centered on a God who is little more than a "buddy from out of town" don't we need a better understanding of his untouchable otherness. "You think that was something" we should say to our friends as we're leaving this year's most unsettling haunted house. "Wait till you meet my God."

HALLOWEEN REDUX PART TWO- SPOOKY, A START

2007-10-08T07:10:00.000-07:00

He could have put us on a great, flat ping-pong table. God, I mean.

If simply "being" was the point, then a ping-pong table would have been just the thing. Of course it would have needed to be big, really big…but "the world as table" is imaginable. He could have painted it all white, too. Nothing fancy. He could have done without the whole beautiful, rolling, landscape thing. No poofy dandelions. No "wet" water. No sunsets or peacock feathers. He could have, but he didn't. Do you ever wonder why?

Jesus' people have always answered that a big white table wouldn't, or couldn't, serve God's end. You know, like sleeping in a wet bed or taking your sister to the prom just doesn't cut it. It's imaginable, but not worth the trouble. There was more to food than fuel, more to legs than movement, more to love than reproduction. More! And that more was wrapped up in all the unnecessary, impractical and seemingly superfluous stuff. The big white table isn't sufficient, because our God envisioned creation as having something to say. Something to declare. And a big white table just wasn't up to saying it.

Creation was meant to state, "God is like this. God is like that." He's a rock, a father, an ocean and a lion. Not those things exactly. They're creatures. He's Creator. But each has something to say about him. Each declares his glory. The whole creation, all of it, pulls on our sleeve and points upward to her source when we give her our attention. The whole earth is full of the glory of God. That was the idea, anyway. Since men and women began mistaking the advertisement for the real thing, Creation has gone wrong. But she keeps on declaring, none the less. While the naked bodies of husband and wife have something wonderfully important to say about the God who first dreamed up such a thing, the bleating terror of the baby wildebeest being flayed by lion's claws shows the reality of the same thing when love is removed. We're surrounded by images. Some of them "were from the beginning". Others came with the fall. Everything pulls at our sleeve.

I want you to think about a particular creature. Tell me if she was present in Eden before the damned serpent caused our parents to question the Fatherhood of their God. I'm speaking of Spookiness. Did she exist when our God declared all things good, or did she arrive only when the situation had changed and the new fallen reality required new ugly images? I believe she was always there. I think she will still be there at the very end, because she has something to say about God that needs saying. Finding what that might mean will require that we take a more direct look at our God. I hope to do that next.

THE BEST HALLOWEEN OLD TIME RADIO

2007-10-03T07:43:00.000-07:00

We really enjoy collecting and listening to Old Time Radio shows. One of my daughters has collected the complete X-Minus One series. It's a fun and inexpensive family sorta' thing to do.

A favorite October activity at the James house is to sit out on the deck at night and listen to the spookiest OTR shows we can find. It's all the better if we are wrapped in blankets, sipping hot chocolate and watching a fire in the chimenea while the wind whips dead leaves into the air around us. I hope the weather cools down enough for that!

Here is a wonderful collection of the 100 best OTR horror and Sci-Fi broadcasts, free for the listening.

My youngest daughter really recommends Three Skelton Key.

HALLOWEEN REDUX

2007-10-02T09:53:00.000-07:00

I’ve a little project that will require a good deal of time over the next month. I won’t have much oppurtunity to post my undercooked thoughts. This is a shame because the next great feast day is All Saint’s Day. Of all my half-baked thoughts, none have been accused of being as thoroughly half-baked as the ones I’ve pondered regarding Hallowe’en.

In the spirit of the diabolical season, It seems appropriate (and time saving) to put up some musings I began last year regarding the topic.

Here’s the first one:

Thoughts on Hallowe’en

"You ask me why we don't celebrate Halloween, Timmy? Because we're superstitious, reactionary, gullible, and we refuse to check things out for ourselves. Now, let me finish signing this petition so we can stop Madalyn Murray O'Hair from taking "Touched By an Angel" off the air. Why don't you take your mind off the fact that your friends are out having fun by reading one of your Left Behind: The Kids books?"

Funny stuff, that!

But I wouldn't have always appreciated the humor. It wasn't so long ago that I was judgmentally prideful…er, grateful for our congregation's informed Reformation Day party- thankful that my children weren't like those unsuspecting "devil's night" revelers quickly scurrying past my darkened porch- their poofy Wal-Mart fairy princess wands calling out to the nether world like stinky chicken liver to a catfish.

The point being that I understand 'em. With a testimony similar to this, I can feel the strength of the objections. I know that they are sincerely held. I know they grow out of fear, and I've been held by the kind of fear that can make you blind (totally-never-occurred-to-me blind) to how horribly unloving and unneighborly it must appear to darken your home on the one night that our communities take on any appearance of…well, community. The irony of being the only foreboding, unwelcoming and darkened home in a sea of friendly, lighted and self-consciously welcoming front doors- all in the name of being a "beacon of love", was lost on me. Of course there was that other house, but everyone knew he was a mean bastard and you'd better stay out of his yard- even on Halloween, but you see that just makes my point.

In my vitriolic and reactionary "Hallowe'en- God's gift to an uptight, rationalistic, judgmental, gullible, uninformed…and worst of all, modernistic evangelical yahoo" response, I worry about giving my children the impression that there aren't lines to be drawn or that this some how doesn't matter. Of course it does, but not for the reason's usually given. It matters because I suspect that The Spooky is a gift of our God and must be returned in blessing- like all of our fellow creatures who look to our priestly service. It matters because it ought to, not because it ought not.

Anyway, I figure this is as good a place to start as any. I want to embarrass all who know me by thinkin' on the meaning of Spookiness, take a brief digression down the whole "edifying nature of the grotesque" thing, fumble through the "universal needs that even a pagan understood" bag, and finally explain my understanding of the actual historical pedigree of the Christian feast day itself. (Yes, I said Christian Feast day. It's my blog. You need one of your own to worry about.)

That's the plan. We'll see how it goes.

Incidentally, I suspect that there may be a reason that I've never run across this sort of thing before- most people know better. So discretion (of which I have less than the average allotment) compels me to point out that this is half-baked and loosely held. I have no doubt that the epiphany will occur somewhere in the midst of my posting and I'll have to repent. That being said, I do think I'm on to something. Anyway, keep all of this in mind as you read. Read with discretion. Help me think it through.

MICHAELMAS 2007

2007-10-01T05:53:00.001-07:00

And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. And the dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who Is called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

The Revelation of St. John

Three guests joined us this year for our Michaelmas celebration. That made eleven of us thanking God for ordering things in such a way that men and women are privileged to stand beside angelic warriors for the cause of King Jesus. But more than that, in Him (like Lucy, Susan, Peter and Edmund) we stand as the Captains of these ancient and fierce warriors. Unbelievable!

We spent the morning and early afternoon at the Ringgod Middle School Duck Race. The weather cooled down and it was a glorious day. But this meant that our celebration would have to come later in the evening.

You'd think from the pose that I'd killed the thing myself, but alas, I had it flown in from Romania. This was the first time many of those present had every eaten Roasted Dragon's Tongue.

Though the tongue's the least expensive cut, it was still too costly to allow any to go to waste; so we made Dragon Slime Bread. Delicious!

Michaelmas Pie, an old Irish recipe.

It went great with vanilla ice cream.

Dragon Sweet Bread Competition...

...Fierce Competitors...

...the completed entries

...and the Grand Champion!

Glory to you, Lord Christ!

MORE RANDOM THOUGHTS ON ANGELS AND MICHAELMAS

2007-09-28T07:24:00.000-07:00

Without doubt my childhood is one of the greatest treasures ever given me. Even though the precious experience is in my past, I remember it regularly, and in remembering, celebrate the parents, siblings and God who would conspire to give me such a gift.

I’ve often told my mother that if my life ended today and God allowed me to simply live it over and over again, that would be heaven for me. I mean it, too. To go from childhood to the glories of Sandi and then on to my children….I have so much to be thankful for.

The memories of my childhood include innumerable small items. Some of them are tangible; some of them not. I can’t go outside and smell an early, dark winter morning without instantly being transported back to the Middle School bus stop. And I’ll occasionally happen upon an old toy that my brother and I might have played with for hours. The triggered longing is deliciously painful, and certain to disappear as quickly as it came.

Earlier this year I came across a picture, which used to hang above the bunk beds that my brother and I shared. I felt the same tantalizingly sad ache. The painting depicts two children reaching out from the safety of a bridge to pick flowers that are growing along the banks of a rapidly flowing stream. Behind them an angel stands protectively- their guardian.

That image captures much of what I think of when I consider the work of angels. While scripture speaks of these spiritual giants as regulating nature, guarding nations and peoples, fighting demonic battles and carrying the throne of God about on their shoulders, when I think of angels, I think of guardians- for me and those I love.

Church tradition seems consistently unanimous in teaching that every individual (if not every, then every individual who belongs to God) has their own guardian angel. This seems to be the popular belief of many of the Jews at the time of the Incarnation. Of course this doesn’t make it true, but it is interesting. We see evidence of this folk belief in the story of Peter’s angelic release from prison. When the other apostles were told that he was at the door, they suggested that it might be “his angel.”

Christ explicitly taught that children “have” angelic guardians when he said in Matthew 18:10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.”

The early church saw great significance in the word “their.” The angels were their angels. The early interpreters reasoned that this must mean that the angels were attached or assigned in some way to the individual children.

Other’s who came later on, weren’t so sure. They pointed out that scripture teaches that in some cases a single angelic person was given charge of a whole nation- whether for protection or judgment; while at other times multiple angels seemed to be involved with one individual. John Calvin didn’t see that it much mattered. He wrote, "For if the fact that all the heavenly host are keeping watch for his safety will not satisfy a man, I do not see what benefit he could derive from knowing that one angel has been given to him as his especial guardian."

What all Christians unite in affirming is the truth proclaimed in Psalm 91 "For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone." Whether this involves an individual guardian or a host of guardians is inconsequential. My family and I should take great comfort and courage in knowing that our elder fellow servants are always at hand.

A FAMILY HYMN FOR MICHAELMAS

2007-09-25T10:09:00.000-07:00

I’ve been looking for a song or hymn that the family could sing together this Michaelmas. I’ve had trouble finding one; thought I’d just write one myself. If anyone else is planning on celebrating this holy day, I thought they might be interested.

It’s meant to be sung to the folk tune Fare Thee Well.

You can hear the melody played here for another hymn, The Gift of Love.

A Family Song for Michaelmas

We thank you Lord for guarding us,
With fiery wings and swords of flame;
Armies of light to shield this home,
Hearth's mantle warm and doorway’s frame.

The night’s cold terror and its storm,
The arrows of our family’s foes,
The dragon’s claw and hateful roar,
First break on shield’s protective rows.

Our brothers older than the stars,
Unnamed to us, yet knowing ours,
Ye watchers and ye holy ones,
Accept our thanks for selfless scars.

Lord, grant us strength to stand beside,
Archangel’s spear and awful blade,
Defending those who call your name,
Before whose arms, hell’s gate must cave.

Glory to you, and to the Son,
Who with the Spirit- One in Three-
Caused eyes oppressed to see our weak hands,
Like Michael’s shield, as a place to flee.

THOUGHTS ON MICHAELMAS AND ANGELS- PART THREE

2007-09-24T14:41:00.000-07:00

Alastair Roberts has written a very interesting post on Angelic Activity in Nature. Encounters with these celestial powers might be much more ordinary than our modern minds want to admit.

THOUGHTS ON MICHAELMAS AND ANGELS- PART TWO

2007-09-10T19:59:00.000-07:00

The reality of Angelic beings isn’t a matter of dispute among God’s people. I don’t mean that there aren’t baptized individuals who deny it; rather I mean that they are wrong to do so. Angels are a major part of the story that defines the church. It’s as simple as that. We don’t affirm their reality as a result of a proof. We affirm their existence based on the testimony of those who know.

While we don't begin with an argument, it might be helpful to think through one. Not to establish that angels exist, but to ask why they do. Perhaps their final cause will reveal something about their nature.

So, why angels?

One of the church’s greatest thinkers asked that question. His answer was simple and straightforward- “the universe would be incomplete without them.” Perhaps that sounds too simple…maybe simplistic, but I think Thomas Aquinas’ answer was profound for the simplicity.

Have you ever seen a canvas that’s partially painted? Maybe it’s a portrait whose detail has been fiercely worked over in some places; whole sections of the canvas remain blank and untouched, while others are roughed in with broad unfinished strokes. Would you go to the trouble of matting and framing the painting at this point? Why not? If we saw such a portrait prominently displayed, we’d wonder about the story behind it. Did the artist die before completing it? Did she loose interest? Was she unhappy with the progress?

Each of these potential tales spring from one obvious fact- the thing isn’t finished. It’s incomplete. This is Thomas’ point.

Creation is God’s artwork. It was inconceivable that he’d leave any part of the canvas blank. Past thinkers called this the doctrine of plenitude. By this they meant that within the sphere of created being-every possible gap would be filled.

This is more than theory at the material level. It seems to be the case. Men and women stand at the top of the corporeal realm. Below them are the higher apes; then various mammals leading all the way down to the lowest of insects. Strange creatures seem to bridge the gap between animal and plant, and we can continue our descent down from the giant Sequoia to the most simple of plankton. From there complex chemical brews can be broken down into various molecules; molecules give way to constituent elements; elements to particles, particles to quarks and…there is no where else to go. The continuity seems necessary and fitting. This half of creation’s canvas is complete.

Mortimer Adler has written that St Thomas believed that the order to be expected in any world created by God would look like “(1) inanimate and mindless physical things to (2) living beings without minds, and (3) minds that are somehow associated with animal bodies and from them to (4) spiritual beings- minds without bodies.”

That’s why God made angels. He had a very large canvas to fill.

Paintings of fat playful cherubs have blinded me to the reality that the spiritual realm presents. The fittingness of plenitude helps to reorient me. Scripture distinguishes between different choirs of angels. We know of cherubim, seraphim, Principalities and Powers, Archangels and Angels. Surely this is not an exhaustive list with the ten thousand times ten thousands of angels scripture speaks of. Not a single one of them is cute. All deserve the fear their presence would instantly inspire.

The vast continuum of creaturely potential that angels exhaust begins just above man. For we have it on good authority that mankind was made a little lower than the angels. From there the creaturely progression towers upward, lost in the dizzying heights of the utmost creaturely potential. The doctrine of plenitude teaches that the greatest manifestation of power and glory that is possible for a creature to attain is an actual reality in at least one set of glowing, terrible, thundering seraphim's wings high above in the glory cloud of God. Such a being exists, and there is another just below him, and another just below him... on and on without number.

To get a perspective on what these beings must be like, we can compare the other half of animate creation’s progression- being soars upward from plankton to the majestic dignity of man. Now think; in the higher half of the creaturely chain of being Seraphim stands to man as man stands to bacteria.

Is it any wonder that the first words from an angel’s mouth seem to invariably be “Fear not.”

THOUGHTS ON MICHAELMAS AND ANGELS- PART ONE

2007-09-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hamlet told his friend, "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

More.

To this assertion the church says, Amen! From all eternity we witness the beatific vision of the Father, but before we can drink in an infinitely small portion of this glory, he points us on to the indescribable vision of the Son. Falling on our face, we look up to see him motion us on to the breathtaking beauty of the Spirit, who …and from this great ecstatic excess spilled the world that you and I are a part of. Each segment of this world speaks of mystery; each part points to the exuberant prodigality of creation’s God; each celebrates the splashing, wasteful, exhilarating gifting of the Creator.

More.

But not everyone agrees. The more fortunate (though less consistent) Materialist would have told Horatio that what you see is what you get. No god; no soul; no life after death. While the sad and small cadre of initiated skeptics would declare there is much less in heaven and earth than the young Dane imagined. These poor people believe that everything is ultimately nothing but chemicals randomly reacting. No love; no persons; no life.

Men and women, the sane ones anyway, have always known that they and others exist, that things aren’t like they’re supposed to be, and that life, beauty, justice and truth matter. In other words we’ve known that there is more.

There is something out there- something right here- that can’t be registered with our five senses, but it gives meaning to those things we can directly experience. It has substance, but no materiality. It is powerful and personal, but “unbodied.”

It’s become the convention to speak of this reality as a Spiritual one. The account in Genesis refers to it as “the heavens” in distinction to “the earth” and the Creed specifies that unlike all that’s seen, this created realm is invisible. It's this spiritual, substantial, heavenly, powerfully personal and invisible "More" that angels are a part of.

Before I begin thinking about angels specifically, it might be good for me to recall why I should spend time thinking about this stuff at all. The short answer is that it's relevant. While this is true in many, many ways, I need to remember its significance at the most basic level: angels and the realm they occupy matter just as air, coworkers and sunshine matter. Each forms the environment in which we exist.

Modernity has stripped us of this awareness. It’s split the single reality of creation in two. While there’s nothing wrong with distinguishing between things seen and unseen, it is a warping of reality to conceive of the two as divided or separated. It’s just not the way things are, and that matters.

Sandi and I were lying in bed the other night. She was trying to sleep and I was thinking about Fr. Stephen’s recent posts.

“Sandi,” no response. “Sandi you asleep?”

“What?” she mumbled.

“Are you sleeping?”

A muffled groan was the only response.

“Good,” I continued “You know why I’m talking to you and not Bekah?”

“What?” She sounded a little angry.

“Do you know why I’m talking to you and not Bekah?”

“No”

“Because she’s downstairs and you're right here.”

“What?”

“If I wanted to talk with Bekah, I’d have to go to where she is or fly her a message folded into a paper airplane or something. I don’t have to do that with you. You’re right here. Isn’t that cool?”

“Right here” or not, the conversation didn’t go much further, but I still think it was an important epiphany.

Modernity has managed to envision creation as being a two storeyed house. You, me and stuff…you know everything that’s real…is down on the first floor. That’s where we spend our lives. God’s upstairs.

He’s up there. We’re down here and that’s just the way things are. In this version of reality, life with God means something peculiar. We may imagine that we hear him walking around up above us, but we don’t expect him speak. It would certainly be disconcerting to hear him whistling down the hall. We don’t receive anything from his hand. We don’t talk spontaneously and naturally with him. Rather we use mechanisms to send him messages. We’ve never been in the attic, so we imagine what it must look like. One day, he’ll put down a stair, but until then those who are most committed to God msut be content with spending a great deal of time in that sort of theorizing. What else is there to do? What other form could a commitment to “the man upstairs” take? Christianity equals abstract thinkin’. Faith equals assent to doctrine. Given that ceiling/floor thing, what else is there?

The truth is, as Fr. Stephen says in his post, the world runs on pretty well without any need of that god's involvement. You end up sorta embarrassed for him. He’s not really needed. In fact, if he was to go away or to be replaced by someone else, how would you notice?

Now consider how that type of "personal relationship" with the god in the attic differs from the ones we have with the people we live and work with…the ones who are right here? What does a commitment to them look like? What if God, angels and all things invisible aren’t up there. What if they’re right here. Imagine that the house has only one storey.

Well, we’d have real conversations. The God who is never alone (he is the Lord of Hosts, after all) is sure to be surrounded by those who have gone before. Myriads and myriads of seraphic wings are beating constantly about our kitchen table, and we might be startled, but not surprised to see a candle flame flicker in a still room, a tumor suddenly disappear or a bush glow with fiery presence. We could say “good night,” even when we were alone, because…well, we never are.

I believe that’s the sort of world our God created. There’s only one storey. It’s the one we spend our days in.

Angels, departed saints and God surround us. These are the things unseen, but present. Occasionally God allows men and women a glimpse into what is already there. When God’s people were threatened by a besieging army, the prophet strode about as if nothing was wrong. His servant couldn’t understand this and was terrified at the seemingly inevitable outcome. “Then Elisha prayed and said, "O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see." So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” II Kings 6:17 The angelic army didn’t arrive with the prophets prayer. The servant was allowed to see what was already going on…unseen.

Modern physics and mathematics give us clues (if only analogous or metaphorical ones) of how this could be. Dimensional limitation provides a helpful illustration. The author of Flatland asks that we imagine a world of only two dimensions. Think of a sheet of notebook paper. Embedded in this sheet are shapes of various constructions- triangles, squares and circles. They move around in this world of width and length with no concept of up or down. For in Flatland Up is the direction marked North on the page. Up is the top of the sheet. Down is at the bottom of the sheet of paper. Imagine their surprise if we began to speak to them from above the paper. Living in a world made up of only two dimensions, they hear a voice coming from nowhere.

“Where are you.” they ask.
“I’m up here.” We answer obviously.
The little polygon immediately turns toward the top of the sheet.
“I don’t see you.”
“Not North silly,” we chide them “Up”
“But North is Up” they argue.

No amount of explaining could make height an intelligible concept. It's a dimension beyond their experience.

I believe something similar is going on in the heavenly realms. They are higher, but not up.

PREPARING FOR MICHAELMAS

2007-09-10T06:16:00.000-07:00

The calendar that shapes the Christian’s year guarantees that none of the radical truths about God, his creation and the incarnate bridge between the two is overlooked. The Feast of St. Michael and all the Angels is the day on which the church asks that we think about the nature, place and doings of our elder fellow servants, the angels.

We’re planning to mark Michaelmas (pronounced Mickelmus) with special food and activities. Traditional fare features roast goose, but our culinary salute to the Archangel’s victory will center on Roasted Dragon’s Tongue (not the most choice cut, but the least expensive by far) and Dragon Slime Bread. We’ll be going with a more traditional desert, though.

According to one legend, when Michael and his warriors threw Satan from heaven, the old serpent landed in a patch of blackberry briars. Furious at his defeat and sore from the stickers, he stomped and spat and…um, “messed up” the poor plant. Understandably no one wanted anything to do with blackberries picked after Sept 29th. So Blackberry Cobbler and Vanilla Ice Cream will finish off the meal.

Being a good modern, I'm rusty on my angelology. I believe it would help to have someplace to lay out what I want our family to learn or recall during this season. I think I’ll put some tentative thoughts up here, so that they can begin to congeal before the family starts talking next Sunday.

THE CAKE'S THE THING- ICING'S MERELY FROSTING

2007-08-20T08:26:00.000-07:00

I’m compromised as a follower of King Jesus.

I’m becoming more and more aware of that. It’s not news, really. Anyone who knows me could tell you as much, but I’ve become aware of an even greater disloyalty than the standard struggle to struggle with pride, anger, lust etc. The really frightening thing is that I’ve been taught this disloyalty by the very tradition that molded my allegiance to the King.

It’s deep and corrupting and ugly, and it seems to fester the deepest in those of us who (sincerely or not) protest our allegiance to Christ the loudest.

This is the sin I’ve discovered on the bottom of my shoe: I’ve sold out to Caesar. I bow before my heavenly king... after getting the wink from the Empire’s throne. When I look around, I see where I first stepped in the filth. It was in the liturgy and the politics of the religious right.

It seems clear to me that Christianity is merely the outer icing we spread on the Cake of Americanism. There are other flavors of frosting- secular, Jewish, agnostic, New Age, but slice us open and we’re all the same inside- solidly, uncritically and shamelessly “American First.”

America, not God’s people, has our first allegiance. Deep down we believe the American Government and the power of its military will change the world for the better; American democracy and its limitless economy is the message we need to get out. The gospel, well, it is mighty to save... souls, but the "good news" of consumerism is the earth altering left hand of God.

I’ve been reminded of this as I struggled with what my family ought to do for the recent Marymass celebration. I knew countless Christians world-wide were continuing the ancient veneration of the lady who bore God. I wondered, could it be that hymns of celebration and invocation were appropriate to this most hallowed of saints?

In the end my conscience dragged its heels. Years of example had worn the appropriate ruts of resistance. It just wouldn’t be right.

But…then I remembered services where we gathered as God’s people, Christ’s name was invoked and we went on to “Pledge our Allegiance” to the one nation cocky enough to declare itself indivisible before God. Ballsy, that.

I remember singing in a service dedicated to King Jesus a hymn to our earthly nation. “America, America” we praised “God shed his grace on thee.” Hmmmm. Why would these same people resist crying out to the mother of their Lord (in the words of scripture, no less) “Hail Mary, full of grace?”

“My Country tis of thee…of Thee I sing," and “Oh Beautiful for spacious skies…” Obviously, conservative evangelicals have no principled problem with praising and invoking powers other than God in their worship services. Just wait until Independence Day, Veterans Day or Memorial Day...even Scout Sunday, and you’ll see. Honoring those we believe to be on "our" side in the context of worship can't be the problem. Rather, it must be who do we reckon as belonging to that "Our." The problem must be a matter of whom we belonging to, whom we are allied with, who we believe (in our gut) to be really worthy of admiration and memory.

America, yes; our brothers and sister across the ages; No.

It’s a difficult thing to give up –if only potentially- the earthly ties that are so precious to us. But the claims of Christ require it. So does our love for those precious ones- whether family, friends, or nation. It is for their sakes that we must be the people that our baptisms declare us to be. The church exists for the sake of the world.

I’m sure that we, as conservative evangelicals, would protest that our identity transcends the boundaries of our national existence, but I’m looking for ways to make that obvious. I’m tired of having to argue that it is so- especially to myself. Surely our calendar, stories and songs would be a good place to look for what’s really under the religious frosting.

Both Labor Day and Michaelmas are fast approaching. Well…you see my point.

YOUR BODY IS A WONDERLAND

2007-08-20T07:04:00.000-07:00

I found the essay below over at Too Wonderful For Me. I thought it was rather wise.

There's No Such Thing As Sex

I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.

Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way.

-the Holy Spirit, via Paul of Tarsus

Why do Christians talk about sex? There really is no such thing. The bible does not say “Adam and Eve had sex”. That would have implied that sex was just another one of the tasks they had to accomplish, along with naming the animals, etc. Gee whiz–I hope that’s not the case. “Okay, Eve. Ten o’clock, I taxonomize the cichlids. Eleven o’clock, we have sex. Got it?”

No, the bible says that Adam knew Eve. That is an order of magnitude different than “having sex”. The bible doesn’t have to say Adam and Eve “had sex” because it assumes they “had sex”–just as they had toenails, linguistics, and REM cycles. Adam and Eve were not human beings who happened to have sexual characteristics. They were just human beings. Even mentioning the word “sex” in relation to humanity is by definition redundant, and therefore, silly.

The Creator’s will for “sex” (ugh) is really a no-brainer. Husbands go into their wives, and know them. That’s the template which easily weeds out 90% of what the world calls “sex”. Do husbands go into whores, and know them? Not God’s will. Do husbands go into their neighbor’s wives, and know them? Not God’s will. Do husbands go into their own imaginations, and know them? Not God’s will. Do husbands go into husbands, and know them? Not God’s will. It’s not rocket science.

Okay, now that we’ve established the frustrating irrelevancy of the word “sex”, what is a better word? “Knowing” doesn’t work very well in our language. Too unspecific. “The marriage act” is a nice term, but a little clinical sounding. I tend to favor an expression I read in C.S. Lewis–”the nuptial embrace.” This really gets past a lot of the technical arcana, which really has nothing at all to do with “sex”, and gets down to the brass tacks of what God is up to in marriage.

Marriage is like Christ and his church. What does Christ do for his church? Well, he gives. That’s it. The nuptial embrace is about giving, pure and simple. Only, it’s not that simple.

A lot of Christians like to talk about “biblical world views” these days. It’s a useful concept, but the more I’m around people who use the term, the more I find it leaves a lot to be desired. More often than not, I see it used to smuggle in rules and laws which are not necessarily that easy to support from the bible. Many good Protestants I know are positively Roman Catholic in their ability to go beyond what is written in scripture. It’s ironic, because these people are often the ones who know and revere scripture best.

For instance, there are a lot of Protestant “marriage manuals” on the book market these days. I’ve browsed a few of them, and most of them are in fact profitable and honorable for the most part, but I always wonder–why so many rules? We want to honor the heart of God in our married lives, and we don’t want to transgress, but it sometimes makes me wonder where Jesus is in all of this.

Jesus never talked about the nuptial embrace apart from the rest of ethics. He expected one thing from his disciples–a life of gratitude to God. That manifested itself in how people used their hands and eyes, to how they pitched coins into the collection box.

Another thing Jesus didn’t talk about was “design”. He did not see handicaps or inabilities as unclean. He did not tell people “do it this way because it’s teleologically obvious, DUH.” He talked instead about people acquiring thrones by washing feet, and about their teleological family ties being turned upside down and ripped apart for some new, amazing purpose.

Giving is the first delight of God. Everything he does flows from it. He gave matter. He gave order. He gave life. He gave law. He gave judgment. He gave salvation. All of them were gifts. The best gift he gave was knowledge of himself. That came from the Incarnation. He gave us knowledge of himself by just being himself with us. That is where the beauty of Adam knowing Eve comes from. Not from design. Not from order. Not from creation mandate. Just from the simple joy of knowing another human being.

If there’s one thing I’ve come to learn about knowing people, it’s that nothing is programmed. Surprise rules the day. Try to get to “know” someone in a programmed manner, and you won’t learn anything at all about them. Think too hard about their “proper place in the design” of things, and you’ll definitely not get to know them.

The nuptial embrace is a lot like that. The design of it is obvious, which is what makes it so cool. You don’t have to translate it from Russian to Inuit. Husbands and wives know how to do it intuitively across all boundaries. It’s simple. It doesn’t require skills. It has obvious, good, consequences. If warped or skewed, it has bad consequences.

Often, in “sex” (ugh) Christians talk about the design of it all, which is a good thing. Design is always the first thing tossed out the window by people who don’t want to glorify God. We need to talk about design all the time, in simple and obvious manner, just so when people eventually come around to remembering what it’s all about, they won’t be able to say “well gee, why didn’t anybody tell me?”

On the other hand, “design” by itself proves way too much. God obviously designed a woman’s breasts for one thing, didn’t he? Keeping very small people fed, warm, and content. That’s a brilliant design, eh? Um… but wait a second. Scripture talks about other uses for a woman’s breasts, and they don’t have anything at all to do with keeping very small people alive. And, by just looking at them, that design argument is completely nonexistent, from a rational point of view. It’s a picayune thing to say, but if for some reason the Holy Spirit had not superintended the Song of Songs into the bible, men all over the world still wouldn’t need it in order to tell them that a woman’s breasts are good for them in ways which completely defy design.

Another example is the “design” of fertility. Often, Christians read the tale of Onan as an example of the sins of infertility or self-abuse. However, that tale is not a warning against self-abuse at all, or even about the proper repository for seed. It is, rather, a harsh warning about uncharity. Onan was a mean-spirited bastard who had a duty to give–and, given the context, not that horrible a task, I would think!– but was too petty to do it. There is more than ample evidence in the bible for the sinfulness of self-abuse, but the Onan story is most definitely not one of those examples. If Onan had gone into his brother’s wife ten times, cheerfully planting his seed eight of them, and doing something else the other two, that story would never have made it into the bible. Plain, simple fun is always the last thing on the minds of mean-spirited bastards.
This is why “sex” (ugh) consternates us so much as Christians. It is an “area of our life” (ugh) in which want to obey God. So, being good idolaters, we busily construct lots of checklists for what constitutes holiness in sex, so we can make sure we meet them all. Don’t do it with the neighbor’s wife? Check! Man in authority on top, woman in submission on bottom? Check! Prophylactic in place for godly stewardship purposes? Check! Properly following the design at all points? Check! We don’t really have to dig too far into our common cultural memory as Christians in order to see all this in its wondrous splendor, do we?

I wonder if we as Christians really believe in Christian liberty “in this area”? (ugh). If nothing is unclean in itself, why do we persist in thinking so? Is it because we’re afraid of seeming too licentious? Perhaps. That’s not an irrelevant concern. Grace always appears licentious to those who are absorbed with rules. However, Paul promoted a kind of surreal humility in those matters, saying that it was better to abandon something harmless than to consternate rule-obsessed people unnecessarily. This is a mind-bending kind of ethics which does not fit our natural patterns of thought. In fact, it is the exact ethic which Christ followed. He gave up something objectively good–communion with his own Father–in order not to consternate a world of people obsessed with following rules. In so doing, he finally managed to rip their petty minds away from their depraved rule-reliance, and focus them all instead upon Him, himself.
“Design” says you should give ten percent. The widow’s mite represented much more than 10%. This is a kind of radical knowing which lays waste to our concepts of what God expects of us. But even then, we’re tempted to turn that radical example of discipleship into just another Rule. “You must give your whole self to God!” we say. “You must step out in faith!” we say.

God is not impressed with us. He sees right through us. He says to us, “I’m not interested in how radical you are toward me. I just wonder whether you delight in me, or not.” The widow delighted.

Do we delight in each other’s bodies as husband and wife? Sure, we may give 10%, as required. That’s good, and honorable. “Be fruitful and multiply”. “Have a quiverfull”. Great. Man on top, woman on bottom. Tab A in slot B. Every act according to design. Everything done by law, in obedience to God. Great. But do we delight? Our bodies are one of the few things which God re-gifts. They’re his, but he brokers them out so that someone else can use them for a romp. Are they playgrounds? Are the appurtenances well-grooved with exuberant use, like the worn marks on the treads of the merry-go-round? The more familiar metaphor is “garden”, but playground makes a lot of sense, too. Our bodies ought to be the romper room of our beloveds.
That’s the thing about God, and giving, and knowing. There is nothing rational or “designed” about it. There is no apparent purpose. It is a completely new business altogether; a business of delight which shocks with its impertinence and apparent irrelevance. It is the grace of Surprise. The Creation mandate has its design, and that is good, and there is purposeful enjoyment in it. If it is despised, all the joy goes out of it. If it is honored, all the joy floods in. Yet, playgrounds don’t really do anything. They’re just fun.

A Christian husband and wife ought to be able to enjoy the apparent playful purposelessness of the nuptial embrace. After all, infertility doesn’t render the delights null and void. It does aggravate the Creation impulse, which is a good thing, and in so doing, it drives the pursuit of other avenues for fruitfulness. That’s the genius of adoption. It’s much like Christ healing the blind man and, when his followers asked about the apparent design of that handicap, he told them, in effect, “Huh. Whatever”, as the guy danced around with joy.

It takes faith to embrace God’s purpose, and it requires fear and mistrust to abandon it. That’s where the power of sexual novelty comes into play. All of the lurid perversions we see are just attempts to convince society that the nuptial embrace is too mundane to be very enjoyable; that it needs to be spiced up somehow. And, of course, the so-called “novelty” they advertise ironically turns into mundaneness itself, because it attempts to become everything. As with all sin, the thing itself is not intrinsically evil; its power comes by its promise to replace what is good. A husband and wife should feel no shame in enjoying novelty in the nuptial embrace. If they, in fact, begin to think that the novelty is everything, they have by definition ceased to enjoy the novelty, because it is no longer a novelty.

Some things are just apparent. You can run up the slide in the playground, and have a lot of fun doing it, but it’s a laugh to suggest that it’s nearly as fun as sliding down it. It would also get really tiring, which just makes everybody want to leave the playground and go home. And, of course, it’s idiocy to suggest dumping mud all over the slide. You can’t slide down it or run up it, then.

And, the most important thing about playgrounds: if you try to force your three-year old little sister to run up the big slide, you deserve a very hard spanking. Likewise, if you somehow get the impression that your three-year old sister would enjoy having her hand slammed under the see-saw, it’s time to call the police. Playgrounds are all about fun, and fun is all about which rides we feel comfortable on. Forget that prime rule–yes, finally, a Rule worth following!–and you’ve just forfeited the whole city park. Time for the city council to take it away and give it to somebody who knows how to enjoy it.

CREED BY THE SEAT OF MY PANTS

2007-08-18T15:56:00.000-07:00

Everything below this paragraph comes from over at Too Wonderful For Me. HT to Tim at Taliesan. He's being added to my Blog List.

Ever since the early saints came up with the Apostle’s and Nicene creeds, various parties in the church have attempted to summarize biblical truth for various reasons. The longer history went on, the longer the creeds got. Here’s one of my own, done with no forethought whatsoever. It’s very long, because I’m so late in history.

Mairnéalach’s Creed

God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are friends. They’re also one, which breaks several rules, but they do that sort of thing a lot.

One of their favorite things to do is make stuff. God thought up the universe and everything in it, including people. He let Jesus do all the building because Jesus enjoys building. This makes sense, because my little boy loves building and Jesus is God’s little boy. I get a kick out of watching my little boy build, so I imagine God gets a kick out of watching Jesus build.

It’s dumb to talk about God too much without mentioning Jesus, because it’s like waxing eloquent about your wife’s brain without mentioning the other bits you like about her. Besides, since they’re one, you can get to know God by getting to know Jesus, which is a handy arrangement. There’s no such thing as “pure God” without Jesus, but if there was, he’d be too boring to want to know anyway.

Jesus loves the universe and the people he made. A few of the cool things he made are octopuses, cattle, pill bugs, grapes, cypress trees, and red giants. Some of the cool people he made are grandmas, five year olds, wives, and that crocodile guy who sadly died.

Jesus enjoys making stuff so much that he built that into us, too. Some of the stuff we like making are calamari, steaks, chardonnay, two by fours, and atom smashers. The coolest things to make are the things we make in cahoots with other people, like babies with your wife, cartoons, and laughs which come from tickling five year olds.

Jesus also made some people that we don’t understand very well. They’re called angels. Just like us, he made them to be his friends, but some of them mistrusted Jesus, and they became demons. They fight Jesus. The worst one is named Satan.

The first man Jesus made like himself was Adam. Since Adam is so much like Jesus, he needed a friend, just like Jesus needs God and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, Jesus made Eve for him. Woo-hoo! Jesus made a safe haven for them, away from the war.

Adam and Eve mistrusted Jesus one day. When they did that, they died. Well, their spirits died immediately, but their bodies lingered for quite a while. Even though Satan was largely responsible for this, the punishment was fair. Every man since Adam has shared in this sadness. Everybody knows they deserve it.

Mistrusting Jesus started a chain reaction in man’s history which resulted in a huge amount of misery. We’re basically right in the middle of the war now. This shows up in such things as dictators, bombs, AIDS, and divorce.

Even though Adam’s betrayal brought sadness, Jesus let him keep an incredible amount of happiness. Things like jobs, friends, dancing, whisky, sailboats, stories, and symphonies are a few examples of this. It wasn’t exactly fair of Jesus to do this for Adam, but Jesus really isn’t very fair.

Since the whole point of man was for him to trust God, many men started saying that God had failed at his task. This is a classic example of what psychologists call “projection”. It’s also what writers call “grim irony”. Much of history is a record of these fools being hoist on their own petard. Jesus even said that he hated such men, and that if they didn’t change, he would let them rot forever. Those people say it’s not very fair of Jesus to say such things (or that he never really said them, which is just another variation of saying they’re not fair), but Jesus really isn’t very fair.

Jesus started making new people who trusted him. He started with a man named Abraham. Abraham was grandpa to millions of people who trusted Jesus. This process required several events which were, quite frankly, impossible. Yet, they happened anyway. Jesus, who likes to teach using comedy, eventually named this mob of people “Israel”, which means “people who fight with me”.

Jesus’s favorite people were always the ones who trusted him the most. Abraham, Jacob, Isaac, and Joseph are some great examples. Moses and Joshua are others. David was a particularly great one. Jesus really, really loved David. David was an amazing man, and a jerk, and he wrote incredible poems.

All throughout this process, Jesus kept smuggling in people from outside of Israel, and making them honorary Israelites. This wasn’t really a fair thing for Jesus to do, but Jesus isn’t really fair.

Jesus kept telling his people that he would save them. One of Jesus’s usual methods for saving them was by letting them go through terrible trials, usually to teach them not to be jerks.

As things were coming to the biggest crisis yet for the Israelites, Jesus did something very, very good. He came and lived with them in person. This involved him being a baby. That must have really tickled him to no end. He made a lot of best friends and forgave sins. He also got to make two by fours and wine by hand instead of trees and grapes by speaking, which also must have tickled him to no end.

He was also holy. So holy, in fact, that he made the holiest people in Israel look like complete jerks, which is what they were. They hated that, so they killed him. His best friends weren’t much help when this happened. The jerks enjoyed the show, but the friends were just paralyzed and in complete despair. Perhaps they were thinking about what big jerks they were themselves.

While he was dead, Jesus went to hell and did something nobody understands. It was a secret commando mission. The net result was something like planting a time bomb there.
Jesus came alive again. By doing so, he showed his friends that his own father, God, had personally approved his execution. This was not very fair for God to do, but God isn’t really fair.

The jerks immediately did everything they could to get people to ignore this.

Jesus left from our earth, but before he left, he sent the Holy Spirit to keep us company and empower us to be brave and laugh. Nobody really understands the Holy Spirit much, except for the fact that he allows people to be brave and laugh, and he seems to be heavily involved in war, quantum mechanics, and baby making, among other things.

He told us he’d be back, and gave us a list of things to do. He told us that if someone really wants to leave jerkdom behind, and if they really trust he saved them by dying on the cross, then they’re his people. Period. He gave us two gifts to help display what he was doing, one of which is his baptism, and the other of which is his thanksgiving supper.

Since that day, his people have been fighting among themselves about who “has” better baptisms and thanksgiving suppers. We completely forgot that those things belong to him, not to us. Since we love fighting with him so much, it only makes sense we would love fighting with each other so much. His people, Israel, are pretty much the best empirical proof that the cross is necessary. It’s not very fair for Jesus to endure this kind of thing, but Jesus isn’t very fair.

Footnotes

One of the intriguing things about Jesus is that he has testicles. Some people don’t like this, but it’s a fact. He was a man, not a woman. However, he didn’t mistreat women, like jerks do. He made best friends with them, treated them grandly, and even died for them. So, anyone else who has testicles must do the same, if they want to be a real man like Jesus.

Jesus was a jerk himself sometimes. However, he was a jerk because he loved people and wanted to break their hearts. Most men are just jerks, period.

Did I mention that Jesus invented making babies?

The most awesome thing about creeds is that they help people praise Jesus. Other than that, if you have one printed on paper they’re good for kindling, or wiping your butt.

Man’s biggest problem is that he thinks he invented fair. But he didn’t, God did. For example, God hates judges who condemn innocent people. Yet, God condemned Jesus. That isn’t fair, but we have no evidence to suggest that God hates himself; quite the contrary, actually. Therefore, sometimes the best way man can honor God is just to shut up and let God decide how things are.

EVANGELISM IS AN INVITATION: “YOU CAN BE LIKE ME.”

2007-08-16T14:37:00.000-07:00

THE DORMITION OF OUR LADY

2007-08-15T05:04:00.000-07:00

Today is the Feast day of the Theotokos, the young virgin who bore God. No other person played such a significant role in the salvation that our Lord brings to us. The blood shed and the body broken came from her willing response to God’s summons.

Apart from her there is no Incarnation.

There is much that could be said in her honor, and of course limitless gratitude that ought to be expressed, but I want to comment on the zealousness of the protests against many of the traditions that have attached themselves to this dear lady. Nothing seems to draw the ire of Evangelicals like a sincere belief in The Holy Virgin’s Immaculate Conception, her sinless life, or her physical Assumption. That puzzles me.

If you were to conduct an informal poll, I think you’d find that Americans are divided on whether George Washington really destroyed his father’s cherry tree and then came clean about it because he refused to tell a lie. Maybe he did; maybe he didn’t. I know I have my opinion, but the point I’d like to make is that the historical question doesn’t generate a lot of heat. In contrast if opposing positions were maintained about whether or not Americans (especially American Presidents) were even capable of admitting to wrong doing, then you might have a fight on your hands. The historicity and the implied issues of possibility are two different kinds of questions, or so it seems to me.

I can understand people not believing in any of the extraordinary events reported of the Virgin Mary, but I don’t understand why any orthodox Christian would argue that they couldn’t have possibly taken place. The stories of her life are not treated as interesting (and significantly encouraging) points of historical enquiry; rather their affirmation is viewed as an attack on the intergrity of the gospel. This appears wrong headed to me. It's also discouraging because it reveals a very inadequate understanding of what Christ has in store for every one of his children.

By all accounts- including her own testimony- The Virgin Mary, as an heir of our first parents, was in need of a savior. Because of her Son’s work on her behalf, she lived a sinless life- or so the story goes. Is this really as scandalous as some would make it? Do they not know that one day each of us, because of Christ’s work on our behalf, will freely and continually spend an eternity of days without sin?

Christ raised her physically to be with him. Whether this occurred before or after her death is a matter of debate, but many believe she was taken bodily into her son’s presence. Is there anything here that can be ruled out as a possibility? Do we not know that each of us looks for the resurrection of the dead?

I've recently read a favorite blogger of mine mockingly quoting her ancient veneration, "More honorable than the cherubim, and more glorious beyond compare than the Seraphim." Where, he asks, does scripture teach that? Does he not know that both he and I- indeed every one of Christ's people- have been lifted above the angels. We reign and rule with our big brother. We will fully share in his exaltation.

It seems to me that those who want to fight over the possibility of these things only reveal an impoverished understanding of the salvation that plain bland vanilla Christianity affirms.

Relegate it to the realm of legend, but please smile when the notched fruit tree is mentioned. There’s nothing in the tale of young Washington that ought to offend a good American, and it’s entirely in keeping with what we believe about our first President. No harm; no foul. In a similar way, even if we decide to chalk it up to simple naiveté (and I don't believe we should), the idea of the Virgin being lifted to meet Christ in the clouds ought to please us at some level. It shows that the work of her Son has been understood; it’s the denial of the possibility of a fully redeemed human being that ought to make us sad.

MY "WHAT HAPPENED TO ME" BOOK LIST

2007-08-12T17:48:00.000-07:00

I was talking to a brother at church this morning, and we were describing to each other the paths we'd taken to arrive in the Anglican church. We talked especially about things we'd read. It got me thinking about the influences that have fashioned, for good or bad, how I look at the world today. I sat down with a pad and pencil and made a list of only those books whose exclusion would have meant a very different Phil.

This isn’t my “You’ve got to read 'em list.” It’s not even my “Favorites” list. It’s the “It is what it is” List- although there are many favorite and precious friends there.

They're listed in chronological order. Some of the titles grew into the next step of my thinking; some made possible the next step, but like scaffolding were discarded when that level was reached.

And yes, I do realize that some will think I’ve been climbing down into a hole.

Underneath it all is the faith Mom and Dad taught and modeled for me.

1. Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey, Two Babylons by Hislop and Chick Tracks- I put these together because they reflect much of what I’ve grown out of. I was hugely fascinated by Dispensational Prophecy type issues and can remember driving home from church on Sunday evenings, seeing a large orange harvest moon out the rear window and being terrified that the moon was turning to blood. Pelaginism was the great enemy of the gospel (although I would have called it works righteousness then). Clearly, Rome had that all wrapped up. In addition I believed that they were Satanic in the most explicit sense. Yeah…I know. I read Loraine Boettner’s horrifically inaccurate Roman Catholicism when I was in Junior High. I gave out many copies through my early thirties. Christ have mercy.

2. War of the Worlds, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, and The Old Man and the Sea. The smell that an old paper back book gives off when you quickly flip its pages takes me back to a small den I had fashioned in the center of a storage room full of boxes. Cave like, you had to crawl on your belly to reach the hidden opening in the center. I spent many hours hidden in that room, re-reading Jules Verne. Reading! I would wait until I met my wife before I'd discover anything better.

3. Lord of the Rings had a double significance. I had never seen such a beautiful presentation of Christlikeness. Who wouldn't want a friend like Gandalf. Who wouldn't desire to be seen as Aragorn's true brother. Who couldn't see that sacrafical virtue was more important than personal survival. Beauty, not fear, is the great evangelistic tool. I was introduced to this trilogy by an older Cousin. I thought the world of Robby. He was viewed by many in my extended fundamentalist family as a radical. He read too much. Had strange ideas. He shared these three volumes with me- secretly, and like Gandalf told me to keep them secret and keep them safe. He wanted them back for his own children.

4. Francis Schaeffer Trilogy- First to open my eyes about the universal extent of Christ’s reign. Not very happy with some of the simplifications regarding various thinkers, but paradigm changing when I first read it as a teenager. I didn’t know it then, but I was getting Van Til’s Presupositionalism while very young.

5. Decision Making and the Will of God by Friesin and The Christian and Alcholic Beverages by Kenneth Gentry. I read Decision Making while Sandi and I were dating, and Gentry’s book shortly before we were married. Both were significant in that they shattered certain “givens” about the Christian life. The world was a larger place than I imagined.

6. Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul shook me up badly and made possible my slide into TR style Reformed Theology. Wonderfully important, but needs to be balanced with a fuller understanding of the truthfulness of the revelation of God in Christ- in my opinion.

7. Five Points of Calvinism by Duane Spencer, Redemption Accomplished and Applied by John Murray and Chosen by God by R.C. Sproul- three of the books that marked my first self conscious crusader stage. I had an axe to grind, and for the first time I knew what it looked like.

8. What Every Parent Should Know About Infant Baptism by James Sartell, Baptism: Its Mode and Method by Jay Adams and William the Baptist. I envisioned God’s people for the first time as being defined by Covenant. It was only a matter of time before the dispensationalism had to go

9. Christ of the Covenants by O. Palmer Robertson introduced me to the truth that Covenants- not Dispensations- structure Scripture. Still very fond of this book.

10. The Conservative Mind by Russell Kirk, Calhoun’s Disquisition on Government and Liberty or Equality by Kunhelt Ledhn. Original sin made fear and skepticism of those in power necessary- especially the ubiquitous democratic sort of power.

11. Systematic Theology by Robert Dabney. I took to Dabney immediately because of his anti Jacobian emphasis in matters political. I also turned to the younger Hodge’s Outlines of Theology whenever I had a question of how it all worked.

12. An Eschatology of Victory by Marcellus Kik. This along with other similar works (Last Day Madness, Days of Vengeance, etc) was my introduction to Partial Preterism. The world has never looked the same.

13. Theonomy by Greg Bahnsen. This stage was passionate and lasted a while. N.T. Wright has cured me, though.

14. Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neal Postman and various essays by Wendell Berry forced me to reconsider what real progress looked like.

15. I’ll Take My Stand by Twelve Southerners and The Southern Tradition at Bay by Richard Weaver. Ditto.

16. Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis, The seven novels of Charles Williams and Orthodoxy by Chesterton. All the themes I’ve come to regard as most important in a rubber-meets-the-road sort of way are found in these books. Each acted as an intro to these men’s writing. I wouldn’t be the same person without their wisdom.

17. The Fire that Consumes by Edward Fudge. Although I’m not an annihilationist. This book began my current agnosticism in regards to how much we truly know about what God is finally up too. A more current read, The Evangelical Universalist would count in the same way.

18. Evangelical is Not Enough and Chance or the Dance? by Thomas Howard. I realized that I was Gnostic in my worship and a chronological snob in my convictions. The beginning of the end of my TR days and the conception of the world as two-storied.

19. Centrality of the Resurrection by Richard Gaffin. It’s been republished with another title. I began to understand Vos’s point that salvation is Eschatological and Christ’s resurrection was all about his receiving in this age what Israel believed would come to pass in the Age to Come. Later, Resident Aliens by Stanley Hauerwas did a monumental job of showing why that mattered- although I think he’s unfair to Constantine.

20. Complete Poems of Gerald Manley Hopkins and For the Life of the World by Alexander Schmemann. These brothers understood that the world had but one Storey. I wanted to be able to see that world- the one that needed no stairs.

21. What St. Paul Really Said and The Challenge of Jesus by N.T. Wright. The most startling thing I’ve ever read. Single greatest paradigm shift of my life. Began a journey of reading everything I could find by this man and a realization that I’d never clearly understood the gospel before.

22. Crendenda/ Agenda- a monthly magazine that presented a vision of Christianity that was attractively medieval. It introduced me to Peter Leithart and others who have been hugely influential in my formation. Leithart’s Against Christianity summarizes much of my current axe grinding.

23. Theology of the Body Explained by Christopher West. My introduction to the most exciting theological reflections of the last century. Thank God for John Paul the Great!

24. At the Corner of East and Now by Frederica Mathewes-Green and Every Earthly Blessing by Esther de Waal. Almost persuaded; time will tell...

WHAT IF GANDALF HAD USED THE RING?

2007-08-07T06:12:00.000-07:00

Joel Garver has an important devotional on the significance of yesterday. Please take the time to read it.

ROMANS 4:1-25 FOR MY CHILDREN

2007-08-06T14:55:00.000-07:00

A Targum* for my children based on Romans 4:1-25

4:1-12

But let me tell you what that doesn’t mean. It doesn’t mean that all who believe the gospel ought to be absorbed into the ethnic community created by the Torah. Christians don’t have to become ethnic Jews.

That’s obvious, because if Abraham was regarded as belonging to God because of ethnic badges, then he had something to boast about. But scripture says that Abraham believed God and was declared to be one of his people. The mark that distinguished him from others owed nothing to the sort of unique qualities, which people want to brag about. He simply trusted God.

If a person works for something, his pay isn’t considered a gift; it’s simply what is due. But how can being a friend of God ever be what a person is owed- especially when that person is a sinner?

To quote our favorite ancient King once more: “Blessed is the man whose sins God overlooks.” If sinfulness is a given for even a blessed man and the source of his blessing is the fact that God doesn’t hold him accountable for them, then… clearly, even the best have sin to deal with.

Now I know that requiring everyone to become part of God’s ancient ethnic people seems to be a simple way of solving the problem. It upholds the Torah and in a sense you end up with “one people.” But the very history of the Old Oath itself, shows that ethnic assimilation isn’t what God’s about.

When was Abraham declared to be one of God’s people? Was it before or after he was marked as a Jew. It was before he was a Jew! The sign of his “Jewishness” was a seal of the standing he had while still a gentile. From the very beginning God worked it out so that Abraham is the father of all gentiles who believe and of all Jews who are not only Jews ethnically, but who live in the trusting faithfulness that Abraham exhibited while still a gentile.

4:13-25

God’s promise to Abraham that he would inherit the world came before the giving of the Torah. If it is only for those who have the Torah, then there is no such thing as being God’s friend by simply accepting his friendship (for Abraham or anyone else). This would mean the promise is doomed. There are no heirs of the promise. That’s because those on the outside are…well, on the outside and those on the inside are condemned, because the Torah has brought wrath.

That’s why “trust” must be the distinguishing mark of those who are truly God’s friend. This makes it possible for the promise to be claimed by those who are guilty (as it must, if it is to have any impact in the real world of fallen men and women) and produce the one family that God’s own Oneness requires- a family consisting not only of Jews, but Gentiles as well. This new Israel is made up of all those who have the faith of Abraham. He is truly the father of both- the father of many nations.

This trust identifies God’s friends because it is the proper response to his offer of friendship. Contrast Abraham’s actions with those of the idolaters at the beginning of our discussion. He believed and glorified God, was promised new life, received power and the ability to conceive.

This doesn’t apply to Abraham alone. It is true for all of us who believe in him who raised King Joshua from the dead: Our Lord was delivered to death for our transgressions and raised that we might share in him the life of The-Age-To-Come.

Other completed passages of the Targum: Romans 1:1-7 , 1:8-17, 1:18-28, 2:1-29, 3:1-20, 3:21-31

*A Targum was an expanded paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures composed by Rabbis during the diaspora to aid the understanding of their “Hebrew challenged” congregations. I thought something similar might be of help to my kids. So I’ve started with Paul’s Epistle to the Romans.

ROMANS 3:21-31 FOR MY CHILDREN

2007-08-06T08:34:00.000-07:00

A Targum* for my children based on Romans 3:21-31

But now, and here’s the point- God’s faithfulness has been revealed apart from the sphere of the covenant he established with Israel. It had to be this way in order to fulfill the promise made in the Writings of the Old Oath regarding what God would do for the whole world. While Israel failed in its calling, God was faithful through the faithfulness of Israel’s representative King. What Israel failed to do for the world, King Joshua did for the world…by what he did for his people Israel. This was done for the benefit of all who believe.

Again, there is no distinction of any consequence between those who are by birth Jew or Gentile. Both have sinned and fail to reflect the glory of their creator, and both are declared to be in right standing with God purely by grace- as his gift.

A new Exodus has occurred, and a new people have been created. This exodus from the slavery of sin was effected by the sacrifice of Israel’s’ Martyr King, Joshua. It is allegiance to this king, not the ethnic markers of the Torah, that identify this new Israel.

Every parent knows that if we love our children, we will despise the actions, diseases, or circumstances that work to destroy them. Our Father God had been merciful in the past by overlooking our sins, but he judged them for what they are in the death of the King. Joshua’s crucifixion was God’s terrifying roar against everything that would keep us from the life that he had always intended for his creation. He can now assure his helpless and guilty people that things are truly alright between him and them, and he can do so without making their sins a matter of indifference.

There is no room for ethnic boasting. If you’ll think about it you’ll see that things had to happen in this way. In order for God’s promises to be fulfilled, the divisions that the Torah created between Jew and Gentile had to be done away with.

The Old Oath had a statement that summarized all that Israel believed. It was called The Shema, and it began like this: God is one!

Doesn’t it follow then, that there can be only one people of God. God isn’t the God of Jews only. He is the God of all the peoples of the Earth. His one people- whether Jew or Gentile by nature- are marked out by their allegiance to King Joshua and not by any ethnic, racial or cultural distinctive- including the Torah.

Now, be careful. This doesn't mean that we condemn the Torah because it created these cultural and ethnic distinctions between Jew and Greek. No way. The Torah had a very significant role to play in this whole story, and so we must uphold its importance.

Other completed passages of the Targum: Romans 1:1-7 , 1:8-17, 1:18-28, 2:1-29, 3:1-20

ROMANS 3:1-20 FOR MY CHILDREN

2007-08-04T20:33:00.001-07:00

A Targum* for my children based on Romans 3:1-20

3:1-8

There's a very important question that arises here, and I'm not sure you will feel its strength. Maybe an illustration will help: We all live on land that was taken from Native Americans. You probably never think of that. It seems so long ago, but it’s true. I bet the Native Americans haven’t forgotten, though. Now, what we’ve said about Israel probably doesn’t shake ya’ll up like it would have a Jew living in the time of King Joshua, either. It’s been too long, and things have just, well… developed as they have. But the question is “Should they have?” That’s what we need to spend some time talking about: “Did God do Israel wrong? Was her failure his failure? Is this whole Christian thing based on God’s unfaithfulness?”

For example, if God can consider anyone- even a gentile- as one of his people (as we’ve said), then what’s the point of Israel in the first place? Was it all a game, or was his covenant an empty gift?

Well, it certainly was the plan and promise of God that he would deal with the curse of sin- its guilt and misery- through Israel. It was no empty gift. But Israel was unfaithful. That’s why we find her under a Roman boot when King Joshua arrives on the scene. It looks like God’s plans to deliver the world had been frustrated. Surely Israel’s failure was God’s failure.

We know better than that! King David of ancient times once cried in sorrow for his sin with Bathsheba: “God’s words are true- even if all human words are false.” We know this is true; so we just need to wait and see how he works it all out.

By the way, I can think of other objections that ask how God can be a fair judge when he is one of the plaintiffs or if he pulls this thing off in spite of Israel’s unfaithfulness, then why in the world would he complain about her unfaithfulness? I’m not going to spend any time with these questions. They’re just the sort of thing a fallen yahoo would ask.

3:9-20

So, we know that Israel is no better off than the Gentile nations. I don’t know why anyone should be surprised by this. Her own prophets have told us just how deeply wicked she was. Not that the others aren’t, but that’s the point! The prophets also declared that in precisely such a situation God would act to judge the whole world, rescue the helpless and be faithful to his covenant.

The Torah that summarizes Israel’s covenanted relationship establishes that she has nothing to say in her defense; the whole world, both Jew and Gentile, stand condemned before God. The Torah shows very clearly that all are sinners- even those who have been given the greatest of religious advantages. It would be impossible, then, to be declared righteous simply on the basis that one had the "markers" that identified him as “Jewish.” These markers only draw attention to the fact that Israel is just like everyone else- guilty before God.

Other completed passages of the Targum: Romans 1:1-7 , 1:8-17, 1:18-28, 2:1-29

ROMANS 2:1-29 FOR MY CHILDREN

2007-08-04T18:05:00.000-07:00

A Targum* for my children based on Romans 2:1-29

Romans 2: 1:16

Now, I can hear some of your unbelieving friends saying, “That’s right! Give ‘em hell. You religious types claim to be all holy, but I’d never want to be like you. You’re a bunch of hateful, hurtful, judgmental, hypocritical, self-serving jerks.”

Well, they’d be right more often than not, but let me ask them: do you think that publicly judging other’s de-humanizing behavior is enough to rescue you from it? I mean, look around. Those who've never claimed to know God are guilty of doing the same things. Complaining about others isn't going to cut it. Don’t you know that God’s judgment will fall on all those who slavishly perpetrate sin? Do you think your societies’ increase in violence, loneliness and despair is a coincidence? It’s God’s judgment.

God will give the life of the Age-To-Come to all of those who desire to reflect truthfully his eternal life of love, but to those whose lives mimic the creatures that they idolize, he will give the full culmination of their de-humanization. It has already begun. Want to know what hell is like? You can see a small foretaste in the violence and despair of the inner city and the loneliness of the old lady forgotten and left to die in a nursing home bed. This is a fact for everyone…both those who claim to know God’s name and those who do not. God is not partial. It is the reality of both Jew and Gentile.

While God will judge those whom he’s recruited as partners in the fixing of the world by the clear stipulations of the relationship they freely entered into- the Torah, He will not judge the Gentile by a standard they do not possess. They will be judged apart from that special document that was given to Israel alone.

But just as “the critics” will not escape by mere criticism, God’s ancient people will not escape by the mere possession of the Torah. A man can be married and yet fail miserably to keep his vows. In that case the marriage covenant will only condemn him further. In the end, it will be those people who are faithful to the requirements of the Torah that will be fully vindicated and declared to be “His people, indeed.”

This is true of gentiles, as well. When they fulfill the Spirit of the marriage covenant, which God has entered into with Israel- even thought they haven’t the particulars of that relationship, they will show that God has written it on their hearts. At the end, neither the possession of secular morals not Jewish Torah will be of any consequence to those who have lived as idolaters.

2:17-29

Now, if ya’ll were Jewish or had any Jewish friends living right after Joshua’s resurrection, they might say something like, “Amen, the Gentiles are screwed up, and… what you say may be true of some Jews, but we as a people have been given the Torah. We are the answer to the sin and misery of mankind. God promised our Father Abraham thousands of years ago that that the world would be blessed through us. We know his will. We know how men and women ought to behave. You forget that we are a guide to the blind nations- their teacher and healer.” Well, what can I say, friend. This is what Israel was called to do and be, but…in your zeal to teach others, do you not teach yourself? You as a people are no different from those you claim to teach. Because of your sin and boasting the Gentiles mock God.

Again, being a Jew is of consequence if Israel keeps her covenant, but if she doesn’t then she's no different from the gentiles. So it’s only fair that if a Gentile is somehow enabled to keep the heart of the covenant of Torah, she should be regarded as one of God’s people. If there are such people in the world, then their lives condemn those who are in covenant with God and yet break it. Belonging to God isn’t a matter of race or other historical privilege. It is a matter of the heart.

Other completed passages of the Targum: Romans 1:1-7 , 1:8-17, 1:18-28
*A Targum was an expanded paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures composed by Rabbis during the diaspora to aid the understanding of their “Hebrew challenged” congregations. I thought something similar might be of help to my kids. So I’ve started with Paul’s Epistle to the Romans.

ROMANS 1:18-28 FOR MY CHILDREN

2007-07-19T08:22:00.000-07:00

A Targum* for my children based on Romans 1:18-28

St Gregory of Nyssa said that it is impossible for one to live without tears who considers things exactly as they are. How can God be faithful to his creation when things like the World Trade Center bombings are going on? I know that he promised to fix things through the People of the Old Oath- Israel, but they have fallen under his judgment and are sidelined and cursed. They can’t help themselves, much less the rest of us. It sounds like a botched operation, doesn’t it? What’s up with that?

To understand how the current reign of King Joshua answers all of these questions about God’s faithfulness we need to start at the very beginning- at Creation itself:

The first thing to remember is that because everything visible and invisible originated in the mind of God, everything seen and unseen is at its heart good. America is not evil for existing. Power finds its origin in God himself. Handsome faces and round bottoms are proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. The creator delighted in making trees and animals. He said so himself and called it all "Good"! Agreed, then. We should be thankful for America, bodies, markets, wealth, etc.

But even more fundamental than the goodness of creation is the fact that God is God and Creation is not.

Since the beginning mankind has known the truth about God, but the very first man and woman (as every man and woman after them) chose to serve and worship creation rather than creation’s God. They traded God in for a critter.

God’s love for his creation necessarily means his hatred of anything that would hurt or destroy it. God’s “Yes” to us is a loud “No!” to our enemies, and underlying all of these enemies is the idolatry of putting creation in God’s place.

It’s an inviolable law that human beings become like that which they worship. While being made to mirror the glory of the true God, they instead fell into behaving like beasts. Angered at the destructive choices his vice regents had made, God turned them over to the consequences of their unthankfulness and pride. He gave them what they chose.

Men and women’s existence focused only on the gratification of their selfish desires. Gross shame resulted from the debauchery that followed. Women lived for their passions and took for themselves forbidden lovers. The offspring increased in wickedness until God destroyed the entire world of mankind during the days of Noah. It didn’t end there. Again mankind disgraced itself. Men refused to be satisfied with the restraints placed on their passions by their own humanity. They were consumed with cravings towards women and even each other, and like the women before them, sought forbidden sexual partners- the angelic messengers that God’s grace had sent to them- even to the point of violent rape. God again destroyed them.

Even worse, not only were they disgraced in their own bodies- their lives being indistinguishable from those creatures they were created to rule over, but they devoured each other with bestial violence. Many of their most vile acts of brutality took place in hearts and speech. One doesn't even need a body to hurt and defraud as they chose to.

With their minds darkened they taught others that this type of existence was how humans were meant to live. When goodness and wickedness are confused, the dehumanizing effect of idolatry is complete. There seems to be no escape. Humanity perishes.

I know this seems to apply very clearly to those who were never part of God’s Old Oath people- Israel, but didn’t she also “trade” the living God for an image of a beast while in the wilderness (as her ancient King David declares in Psalm 106:20)? Aren’t all the horrific resulting consequences present in her subsequent history, too?

Other completed passages of the Targum: Romans 1:1-7 , 1:8-17

ROMANS 1:8-17 FOR MY CHILDREN

2007-07-18T15:18:00.000-07:00

A Targum* for my children based on Romans 1:8-17

I thank God for each of you kids, because your allegiance to King Joshua is noticed by others. Your love for each other declares an alternative way of existing to those whose lives are spent serving the real pretenders to earth’s throne: shortsighted consumerism, empty greed, selfish pleasure and violent national pride.

God could tell you that I pray all the time that He would make it possible for me to come and visit with ya’ll. It would be so wonderful to encourage you in your faithfulness to the king and have you encourage me in return. I want you to know that it’s my desire to get down there one day, so that I can have a hand in bringing your friends into God’s kingdom. This is a task that our King has entrusted to me, and I feel I have something that belongs to those who haven’t heard. So I’m determined to help you spread the word there in Georgia.

There have been countless individuals and powers that have claimed to be the source of security and prosperity. “Look to me!” they offer “and I will make things right.” I know your nation’s economy, culture and military are not unique in this regard. So I don’t want you to think that I’m picking on you, but you know that your nation’s aggressive expansion is evident throughout the world.

McDonald’s can be found in Kuwait and China has embraced Wal-Mart. American weapons are aimed everywhere….at least potentially, and Madonna can be heard in Tehran. Your marketing is working, because it seems the whole world desires to be formed in America’s image. Ipod’s and blue jeans are the international standard of fashion. And people with rich and ancient cultural pasts are just “Lovin’ it.” Young and old, brown, yellow and white look to your nations products because they’re “the Real Thing.” Money makes the world go round. Corporate logos are everywhere so that no one can forget this. Americanism is declared at our sporting events, in our homes and on the shoes and caps we wear. Markets rule our charity, religion and sex. They just do. Look around.

But they don’t. Not really. That’s our message, isn’t it. King Joshua, not Coca-Cola adds life, and I’m not the least bit embarrassed to say so. Do you know why? Because I’ve seen the mere news of our King’s arrival tear people free from the dehumanizing tyranny of money, markets, and selfish emptiness. I’ve seen it change families into loving communities. I’ve seen its power to transform anyone who believes it is true.

This thing that God has done through King Joshua shows that He is faithful to his commitments to set all things right again. It makes clear what he was up to all for all of those ages. It is a glorious act of faithfulness on God's part, and it calls for a liberating response of faithfulness from each man, woman and child who hears of it.

Other completed passages of the Targum: Romans 1:1-7

*A Targum was an expanded paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures composed by Rabbis during the diaspora to aid the understanding of their “Hebrew challenged” congregations. I thought something similar might be of help to my kids. So I’ve started with Paul’s Epistle to the Romans.

ROMANS 1:1-7 FOR MY CHILDREN

2007-07-17T21:23:00.000-07:00

A Targum* for my children based on Romans 1:1-7

Dear Rachael and Rebekah, Hannah, Naomi, Tommy and Esther (and everyone else who is loved by our God and living in America- this broken world’s most powerful nation)

Things are messed up. I know you realize that. People hurt and are lonely. They are hungry for food and attention, but no one cares. Even Creation itself seems to strike out through tsunami and drought. Something is clearly wrong. This isn’t the way it’s supposed to be. The hearts of men and women point to something different, and this "something different" is what I desire for you. May all the deepest craving of your heart for a world made glorious with love, justice, truth and beauty be made a reality- a gift from God our Father accomplished through Joshua the King, Lord of all.

My greatest boast is that I’m a slave of this King and chosen by him for the royal task of telling everyone that the world’s true ruler has returned and will make everything as it should be. This oughtn't come as a surprise (the king’s return, not my privilege) because God had promised this very thing hundreds of years ago in the prophecies of the Old Oath. God swore that his own champion would one day come- tied to this broken world by his descent from Israel’s ancient King David, but declared through the power of the Spirit of Life to be the one who ushers in the World-Which-Is-To-Come.

Though he appeared to be a pretender- stomped on and ground up under the heel of those who fancied themselves in control, God pronounced his reign legitimate and true by raising him from the dead. The miracle of Easter told us two things: what time it was and whether the man Joshua was delusional. Clearly, the promised new age had begun and all authority in heaven and earth truly belong to this man- just as he had quietly claimed.

It is through the gracious friendship of this King that I have received my commission to call everyone to allegiance to the banner of King Joshua, Lord of all. This includes you, whom he has declared to be more than close friends- he calls you his brothers and sisters.

*A Targum was an expanded paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures composed by Rabbis during the diaspora to aid the understanding of their “Hebrew challenged” congregations. I thought something similar might help my kids. So I’ve started with Paul’s Epistle to the Romans.

TAKING JESUS TO A TOGA PARTY

2007-07-02T16:29:00.000-07:00

It used to get you thrown to a hungry lion or smeared with tar and set alight over an emperor’s garden bench; now it’s as ubiquitous and harmless as sneezing. Come to think of it, it’s actually less harmful than sneezing, because sneezing might make others sick or embarrass you with its viscous aftermath. But calling the Christ “Lord,”…well, what could be more natural.

My kids do it daily at prayer. So do their young apostatizing acquaintances. Presidents speak of “the Lord." Actors and business men reference “the Lord”. The name is thrown out in Sitcom’s, standup comedy acts, sporting events and water cooler conversations.

Regularly. Daily. Often, and yet no jailer appears with hungry felines in tow. There’s little people-burnin’ going on. Few heads roll for it. I wonder why?

I suspect it’s because the phrase has become simply a name- a moniker like Joe or Sally. Little offence, there. But for the early church, “Lord” was first and foremost a title. There may be many Joes or Sallys.... or even Lords, but there can only be one LORD…by definition, you see.

The ancient world already had a claimant. Caesar, and the entire empire built around him, declared him to be Lord of Lords and King of Kings. He was the Savior of the World. In him was found its hope of security and fruitfulness. He, and he alone, required ultimate allegiance. Hundreds of competing religions existed- each at peace with the Roman Emperor.

Why weren’t devotees of Isis fed to the beasts? The answer’s simple. They poised no threat to the Roman Lord's... how would you say it, Lordship. They could worship and bow and incense all day long, but when push came to shove, Caesar ran things.

He was Lord.

Well, he just was. It was a no-brainer. One only had to look around at the glory and achievements of the Pax Romana to see that it was so.

What Caesar did, worked. Period.

To the backwards hooligans of Europe, Asia Minor and Africa, Rome had brought peace (insert bloody gurgling sound)…and prosperity (insert crack of whip) and…law (insert fat lecherous Senator’s laugh). It had been done. It was being done. It was fact.

Against the obvious, the early church dared imagine the world in a different way. Jesus, the crucified King of Israel, was the one who was actually running things. Really, that’s what they said. He was the source of security and fruitfulness- even Rome's own. He was the world’s savior. Caesar had better get down on his knees and do some serious toe kissing.

Now that’s the sort of thing that will get you turned into cat chow.

In a very real sense, I think it was easier for our ancient brothers and sisters to be faithful to their baptisms. They understood who their God’s competition was. He was that other dude- the one who claimed the title of “god.” The Kingdom of the Christ was in opposition with that other entity- the one everyone referred to as “the Empire.”

Faithfulness was clearly defined. Either the kingdoms of this world had become the kingdoms of our God or…they had not. It was simply a matter of choosing Caesar and his empire or Christ and his. One was a pretender, but which one?

The early church had a firm opinion on the matter. Other religions got on swimmingly with the Roman sovereign. They met and talked about “going to heaven when you die.” Caesar couldn’t give a rat’s rear end where they went after they died. He just wanted the honorific, economic and militaristic cooperation of those individuals; after that they could go anywhere they wanted- to hell for all he cared.

Good thing we haven’t an emperor today. Right? There is no expanding world-dominating and uniting power. There is no common story that molds the lives of geographically diverse people so powerfully that no one can imagine things differently. Nothing claims our faith and hope for security and prosperity. Christians and non-Christians live for exactly the same things, goals and ends because….the life advocated by Jesus of Nazareth is the only one on the market (and it's pure random coincidence that I chose an economic metaphor just then). True progress is measured in terms of responsibility, justice, sacrifice, contentment, fidelity and mercy. Right?

As followers of Christ we are to show forth the possibility of life lived as our God would live it, and this in stark distinction to the life of other gods. We are necessary to the world as a reminder to them of whom they truly are as human beings.

But many congregations struggle over what the church’s role really is. That’s because we’re blind to the powers that enslave human persons and society’s imagination. There are no powers. Only people and choices. The subterfuge has been so successful that we can not even imagine life lived another way. With the pitiful god’s of history, we bring our little plaster Jesus and bow to the obvious power, glory and promise of the Pax Americana, limitless markets, consumption, technology and convenience.

We go about earnestly hawking our dualist religion. “If you died tonight, do you know where you’d spend eternity,” we ask those passing by. Caesar rises from his throne of golden arches. We are truly humbled. He takes off his mouse-eared crown and helps us to our feet. “I can help you get that message out,” he offers, and we and our plastic Jesus bow with true thankfulness.

THE SUPRISED ENDINGS OF A GRACED WORLD

2007-06-25T07:17:00.001-07:00

I lifted the title from Michael J. G. Pahls of Reformed Catholicism; who commented on this amazing You Tube performance:

“The Radical Orthodoxy folks argue that in a postmodern world Christianity must out-narrate — that is, tell a better and more beautiful story of the world — than its competitors.

I think that the moment captured here only becomes fully intelligible within a story where the mighty are cast down from their thrones and the lowly are raised up; where the hungry are filled with good things and the rich are sent away empty; and where God remembers the promises once made to his lowliest of servants.

Even if we grant that the performance is set against the gilded saccharine of “reality television” (a more blatant oxymoron doesn’t exist), the chord that is struck in the heart — our resonance with the notion that this must be the truth of things — is powerful testimony that we were made for God and that our hearts will ever be restless until they find rest communion with God.

The most beautiful story is one where the losers finally win. It is why we are moved by Rocky, Rudy (Go Irish), and the 2004 Red Sox. It is the surprise ending of a world graced by the cross and resurrection.”

Amen to that! Only the church can tell men and women the “why” of what we all feel to be true in the transcendent moments of life- whether those moments involve another’s body, breathtaking beauty, selfless sacrifice…or the exaltation of the underdog. We alone can tell men and women who they are and why certain "scents of glory" remind them of another place.

SOME HOUSEKEEPING

2007-06-20T10:30:00.000-07:00

While I'm here, might as well straighten some things up.

I've fixed the Pontifications hyperlink to the right. It now connects to the Pontificator's new website.

I moved Fr. Stephen's Orthodox Blog into my Daily Blog list. Glory to God for All Things ought to be checked out as regularly as possible.

I've added a new Blog- Canterbury Tales. Taylor Marshall is a recent convert to the ancient Roman branch of the church. We have a little history (all positive) over on the Theologia Forums. I happened upon his site today, and I'm thrilled to be back in contact. Check him out.

THE POTTER AND HIS CHURCH

2007-06-20T10:13:00.000-07:00

I know I said I'd be staying away, but Alastair is posting some very important thoughts on the nature of the church and God's purposes through history. It would be wrong to let this go by without trying to draw some attention to it.

The initial post was occasioned by an amazingly parochial (and self-important) view of one particular (and particularly small) sect. Its message is much needed.

The second post deals with how we are to understand what God is up to throughout the church’s history. Please give it a read.

Now, there's a third.

It occurs to me that I'd never have taken this stuff seriously (sharing the parochial and self-important understanding of the small sect mentioned above) a few years ago. The dam gave way when I understood that the Christian gospel is not "justification by faith alone." Millions of Christians were justified by faith alone before the innovation was first clearly articulated around the time of the Reformation. As Hooker said, a person can be justified by faith alone without ever knowing about or affirming justification by faith alone.

“If you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” It is faith in Christ that justifies- not faith in a particular understanding of the mechanics of how guilt is dealt with. The gospel is found....well, in the gospels.

Once this became obvious, my whole world stood on its head. There was a entire reality of roadways and commuters out there that I had never considered before. I needed to pull the car out of the backyard and head for the freeway. That was both exhilarating and terrifying.

I understood for the first time that an automobile can be driven by people who have no idea of what's going on under the hood. Happens ever day, and I ought to be wary of mechanics who want to deny that, or who claim to be able to understand engine operations that are in fact hidden from view.

Sure, if I prefer I can tinker, modify and postulate on what's going on under that hood... the one that came from the manufacturer without a release lever... all day long, but I shouldn't look down on those who just get in and drive or who have a different idea of what's going on under the hood that neither of us can, in fact, open. The most important concern is that the thing is running. After all, a car is for driving, and there are those who have been on the road a lot longer than I; maybe they know a thing or two that I don't. Is it possible?

STILL TAKING A BREAK...BUT

2007-06-13T08:44:00.000-07:00

I still don't plan on posting til next month, but I ran across this post by the Internet Monk. It's good stuff and interacts with two of my favorite "reads": NT Wright and Robert Farrar Capon. Check it out

TAKING A BREAK

2007-06-12T07:23:00.000-07:00

HAVE A FEW OTHER PROJECTS THAT ARE NEEDING MY ATTENTION; SO I'M GOING TO TAKE A BREAK UNTIL THE END OF THIS MONTH.

TRINITY SUNDAY

2007-06-04T07:21:00.001-07:00

Our God isn’t a problem to be solved, nor an enigmatic knot to be untied. Too many Trinity Sunday sermons give exactly that impression. Rather, our God is love. That is the message of Trinity Sunday.

It’s not simply that our God chooses to love. It’s not merely that our God is loving. The Christian gospel makes credible a much more glorious message- ultimate reality has always been, is now and ever shall be, communal and self-giving.

Our Triune God has never been alone... ever, and He exists by pouring himself into another. He is love.

Love is more than the commanded end toward which we all strain. Love is the beginning and root of reality itself. Take away "complete and total self-giving," and our God would cease to exist. This is not because we’d be getting his character wrong, but rather because without everlasting self-giving there would be no eternally begotten Word of the Father and no eternal procession of the Son's Spirit.

God would not be a Father; he'd be a hermit instead, and the One revealed in the face of Christ would not exist.

To Christians everywhere, a god without love isn’t a matter of mistaken identity; it’s a matter of divine stillbirth.

This is the truth we are meant to remember on Trinity Sunday- true glory and power, Godlike glory and power, consists in individuals living in, for and through each other.

Of course, this is the truth that the whole of the Christian year holds up to us. From Advent to Whitsunday- this is the truth. But on this Sunday- after the whole story has been told- we finally see the eternal spiraling relationship, which makes the helpless creature's exaltation almost a hope from the very beginning.

If you only knew my God, then perhaps the gospel wouldn't come as a surprise. Not because it's any less amazing or gracious, but because he's never been stingy with himself.

That's just the way he is...literally.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, World without end. Amen.

THE WORLD'S BORN AGAIN

2007-05-27T06:31:00.001-07:00

A Brief Introduction to Whitsunday

Alastair Roberts on Pentecost

Biblical Regeneration

INITIAL THOUGHTS AFTER VIEWING PAN'S LABYRINTH

2007-05-21T12:46:00.000-07:00

Pan's Labyrinth is a special film. Undoubtedly it deserves serious attention, but I don't have the patience to wait for a second viewing. I want to write something now. While the movie is praiseworthy on many levels, it is without doubt a very dark and darkly powerful creation. There are many in my home who will not be watching it...at least not for a while.

The movie ended; I clicked the remote and my two oldest daughters and I sat silently in the darkness. Nobody wanted to be the first to speak.

The awkwardness was strange.

It felt as if we’d witnessed something we weren't meant to. The feeling wasn’t that of guilt as much as embarrassed sadness- like walking in on a friend at a painfully intimate and transparent moment.

Don’t misunderstand. The movie was as amazing as it was disturbing. If brilliance is measured by emotional impact and imagery, the movie was brilliant. Del Toro is a master.

But I’m not sure if the depictions of violence were an example of that skill or of its failure. There were many times that I found myself wanting to look away. That’s a pretty good indicator of obscenity, but in the end… I never did. I wonder if this a commentary on his ability to powerfully ride the aesthetic line or my own jadedness toward violent images?

Thankfully, Del Toro leaves us with little doubt about one thing: violence is ugly and hateful. This unsettling movie has that over its more mainstream siblings. No spiritually compromising allure, here. No vicarious temptation. Just disgusting cruelty and the repulsive bastards who commit it.

The director also went out of his way to leave the central fact of the story unresolved- is Ophelia’s interaction with the faerie real. Do the Faun and his world exist or are they simply the fantasies into which a terrified little girl escapes? There are clues that would point to either option- her name itself, the Captain’s view of Ophelia conversing in the Labyrinth near the end, the sheer factual brutality of the world we all know…the explicit redemption imagery, the parable of the blooming rose, etc.

I believe this is the question of the movie. The ending depends on it. I suspect everyone wants Ophelia's version of reality to be true, but…

The story is set during a period of time that I know little about- the Spanish Civil War. Apparently it was no different from any other war in this respect, it brought out the most bestial in man.

Part of the shock that the film delivers is due to the juxtaposition of Franco’s Spain and the innocence of the young protagonist. Ophelia’s a beautiful little girl motored into a hell of brutal adults. History tells us that the struggle against the evils of Fascist Spain were largely ignored in the West and ended in defeat for the Resistance. The sacrifices of those who dreamed of a different world were for nothing…if temporal victory is how we measure such things.

This is the point that the story made so powerfully to me: Love, community and courageous sacrifice are either poignantly beautiful or sickeningly absurd- depending on the true nature of reality.

Men and women know in their hearts that things are not the way they ought to be- that another reality is possible, that the story doesn’t end with brute force in control.

Things may look otherwise. Heartless bullies rule, people starve, murders stalk campuses and giant waves wash away entire islands, but there is more to reality than these indisputable facts. We know this…right?

The ugliness of the Fascist's world is plain to all and real. It’s here for all to observe, handle and suffer through. Bashed-in-faces, bullet holes in the head and bright red blood dripping from the limp fingers of a dying child. Can’t doubt or deny any of it… but talking Fauns?

Trouble is that in our story, if talking Faun’s can’t exist then all that's left is bashed-in-faces, bullet holes in the head and bright red blood dripping from the limp fingers of a dying child.

Men and women expect to be treated as if truth, justice and beauty matter- as if loving sacrifice is greater than self-serving power, but unless there is an “Other”- unless there exists a Transcendent Source and Standard- it’s all just make believe.

Time and Stuff add up to only more time and stuff. There is no meaning to be found there.

There is no hope beyond the silence of a grave.

Whether we help the elderly person across the road or run our steel vehicles over their fragile bodies, we’ll all be dead in the end. There is no difference- not ultimately. Right and Wrong, Goodness and Evil, Beauty and Ugliness are each without reality- figments in the imagination of men and women who can’t face up to the truth.

Either the Faun exists or he does not. Both possibilities are followed to their end in the movie. One leads to a happy ending. The other to despair. But there is a third, as well. No Faun exists, but a world filled only with Fascists is unbearable; so decent folks must be slightly mad- living in a fantasy world of make believe. This is below despairing; it is pitiful.

I think this is what accounted for our awkwardness. It was all so ..."uncovered." Either the Faun existed or he did not.

My daughters and I had unsuspectingly seen the door thrown open to expose the sad neediness and vulnerability of the lives of those who claim that there is no loving Creator- that this sensible world is all there is. Unable to live in the loneliness and despair of their commitments, we saw them “self-medicating” to the airbrushed fantasy of sentimental denial. Like the sad little girl whose life and sacrifice finally meant nothing, they go on talking to the imaginary friends of Compassion, Oughtness and Love while the stronger get what they can, while they can.

Certainly, self-deluded humanity is to be preferred to the consistency of tooth and claw, but better than both is actually sitting down to breakfast with a Faun.

How relevant to believe in the Resurrection of the Dead and the Life of the Age to Come. How wonderful to know who is sane and who's living in a world of their own making.

ASCENSION DAY 2007 AT THE JAMES' HOUSE

2007-05-18T06:39:00.000-07:00

We rolled the petitions of Rogantide into the celebration of Ascension Day. It seemed appropriate to ask Earth’s King for his blessing on the anniversary of his Coronation Day.

We gathered inside to present offerings of Tools, Bread, Wine, Seed, Soil and Water, and to ask our God’s blessings on each. Esther smelled the wine (as she always does), before blessing it. “It smells good,” she always reports.

“We offer you, O Lord, this wine, the fruit of the vine: Bless, this drink which Thou hast created, that it may be gladness of heart for all who partake of it, and grant that all who taste of it may, by invoking Thy holy name, receive health for body and soul. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.”

Heading off singing “Crown him with many crowns, the lamb upon his throne…”

To bless the fields…

“O God, who spoke the word and the earth brought forth plants of every kind yielding seed and living creatures of every kind: We ask you to Bless these pastures and meadows, and all growing grass and green fields; may they remain healthy and unspoiled to the benefit and service of both man and beast. We ask you also to Bless these fields and all the crops that grow in our countryside; may the soil be wholesome and the crops sound; may the weather be favorable and the workers in good heart. O gracious God, multiply the seed of the sower, the bread of those who eat, and the fruits of righteousness in all your people; in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

On to bless the horse…

At the house before we began we asked God’s blessing on a group of crosses Tommy put together from briars earlier :

O God, whose blessed Son has promised that we need only to ask in order to receive: Accept and bless these crosses, and grant that in the fields where we place them they may stand as a sign of our unfailing trust in your bounty and as encouragement to all who see them to put their faith in your providence; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

We left them at every spot we prayed. Here is the one placed on the barn after we asked God’s protection on it. "Essy" sprinked water, which we originally blessed, on each of the crosses. You can see her toting around her really big cup in the pictures.

Heading to the pond, garden and blueberry patch. Belting out the Gloria at this point. “Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth…”

O God, who has given each one of us the opportunity to share in the cultivation of the land: Give us also such skill and patience in digging and sowing and planting that fruit and vegetables and flowers may sustain our bodies and gladden our hearts by their usefulness and beauty. We ask you to Bless with a healthy and plentiful crop this garden. Endow with skill and endurance those who work here, giving them rich yields and an assured livelihood; in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

“Set up your cross, O Lord, as an ensign to the people, and draw all nations to it.”

O God, who commanded that the earth bring forth trees bearing fruit of every kind with the seed in it: We ask you to bless this orchard, together with the industrious bees who labor in it and the birds who find food and shelter in it; withhold both the late and the early frost that kills and send, in due season, such moderate rain and gentle sunshine that we may receive the fruits of it to our strength and to your honor; in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Chickamauga Creek borders the back of our property. It’s a mess. Naomi claimed it for its King and asked for his mercy:

Almighty God, in giving us dominion over things on earth, you made us fellow workers in your creation: Give us wisdom and reverence so to use the resources of nature, that no one may suffer from our abuse of them, and that generations yetto come may continue to praise you for your bounty; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The neighbors were outside, so we headed over. They’re used to us by now. We asked if we could bless their garden.

It’s so wonderful to be part of a tradition that not only encourages us on a certain path, but gives us the means of living it out, too. I want my children to know that Christ has to do with hymns and prayers and church, but hymns and prayers and church have everything to do with scissors, seed, dogs and pond water, also.

I’m going to miss these times when my children have grown up, but we have a few years left…and I’m so grateful for the memories we are making and a calendar that makes time itself sing of Christ.

ASCENSION DAY- PART TWO

2007-05-16T15:25:00.000-07:00

Part One Here

"In Christ your Son, our life and yours are brought together in a wonderful exchange. He made his home among us that we might forever dwell in you."
Scottish BCP

When I think of Mount Sinai and the giving of the law, I always picture Cecil B DeMill’s version in The Ten Commandments.

I can’t help it.

The peak of the mountain can’t be seen. It’s swallowed up by the tremendous cloud that’s gathered there. There’s rumbling and lighting flashes. All very foreboding. Mr. DeMill did a pretty good job, actually. How do you do justice to God’s Throne room?

Throughout scripture God’s ruling presence manifests itself as a Cloud of Glory. There is more going on here than condensation. Just as a part of the atmosphere may break off from the boundary of the water’s surface and float about in the liquid world below, the constantly present (but hidden) dimension of God’s habitation bubbles into sight and hovers about before our senses.

That’s what going on up there amidst the crashing and flashing on the mountain top- God is present in his regal power and glory. In fact the rumbling is attributed to the thousands of angels that surround His throne. (Psalm 68:15-17) God drove this chariot cloud before the Israelites in the wilderness. His fiery glow illuminated it by night. The tabernacle and temple were both replica’s- complete with angelic representations. It came and settled on these meeting places (Exodus 40:34-35, 1 Kings 8.10, 11) so fully that the priests could not enter. Isaiah once entered the temple and bent his knee amidst Israel’s impressive mock-up. The sound of massive beating wings replaced the temple silence and horrified, he raised his head to find himself in the reality itself. He was inside the cloud and God was on the throne before him. (Isaiah 6).

Ezekial saw it.

Pharaoh felt its heat as it dropped between his armies and the children of Israel at the Red Sea.

The shepherds of Bethlehem were surrounded by it at our saviour’s birth, and now the risen Lord is lifted up into it.

Our Lord’s ascension was into God’s ruling presence. Daniel described the scene in a passage that is regularly misapplied to the Second Coming. (Notice: The Son of Man is going up to God- not down from him.)

Daniel 7:13-14 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

This is what happened before God's throne on that Thursday almost two-thousand years ago. Christ- the Son of Man- was given the crown of the universe.

This seems so common place that we miss it- Christ is King.

But think it through. What’s new? Our God has always been God. At the very least this means that he has always ruled. What changed on this Thursday?

Man had come of age. Through the mystery of the incarnation, God fulfilled all that he had dreamed for his favorite creature- the one he referred to as sons and daughters. A man was seated on the throne of God. A man is now ruling creation…and we know him. It’s our big brother. That’s amazing news.

This was always God’s plan for mankind. He intended on "raising him" from child to glorious ruling adult. Sin hadn’t necessitated it (or the incarnation that accomplished it); rather it was accomplished in spite of our fallenness. Our Spiritual elder brothers were intended as tutors. But because of our rebellion they became our sentries, too. God had made us lower than the angels, and with the evil of Eden he had placed them with flaming blades to keep us from doing more harm.

Can you imagine the scene on that Coronation Day? A seemingly endless stair rose up towards the fiery being sitting on the throne high above. All of creation, from least to greatest, lined its way.

Christ’s sandaled foot touched the first step and the elements and waves bowed to him. He continued upward as oak and pine bent to the ground. Next came the animals as their new sovereign passed by. Up he moved until he reached the dizzying heights of the angelic armies. Lowest to greatest they bowed as walked past- the hands that once held swords of flame touched the ground in fealty to the human who dared look them in the eye. Finally only Michael, Gabriel, and (if tradition is to be trusted) Raphael were left. Each of the terrifying archangels knelt before the young Jew, reached out battle hardened hands and kissed the carpenter’s calluses. No one else stood between him and God, and God rose and smiled and with a motion of his hand indicated his own seat, and Christ embraced Him and turned and sat down. All of heaven exploded in love and admiration. The new King had been crowned…and he is a man like us.

Here the work of God in Christ for you and me reached its completion. God has given us much more than we had thrown away. What's his is ours. A human being has been taken up into the very life of God, and like thousand of lesser fathers would do centuries later, He handed over the keys to the family car.

ASCENSION DAY- PART ONE

2007-05-16T12:40:00.000-07:00

9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” Acts 1:9-11

A baby is good, but not all that she will one day be.

My daughter graduates from high school this month. She’s working, driving, choosing and…she’s beautiful as a young woman. I’m so very proud of her. I’m proud of each of my other five children, too, but this is her time of accomplishment, and she’s accomplished much.

I can remember when I could hold her in one hand. Someone must have said “She is perfect,” in the delivery room, because we were all thinking it. We meant it with all of our parental hearts. No exaggerating or covering up. She was just right, and yet… our dreams were for more than the pink, mostly bald little figure, who instinctively snuggled against her mother’s breast. She was totally good and yet not finished. Perfect and yet not mature.

We want our children to grow up. We hope that one day they will take their place beside us- to argue their perspective on the Bowl Championship Series, to take over the family business, to arrive at Thanksgiving with cranberry sauce and grandkids in tow.

Parents “raise” children. In the South we go all out and “raise them up.” What a rich expression.

Our calling is to bring about the maturation and exaltation of our children. We mold them and fashion them for ever increasing glory and responsibility. We help them grow into ever more lucid images of their creator, for the glory of God, as an ancient Saint declared, is man fully alive. We pray that our little boys and girls will one day ascend to the heights that their baptismal birthright calls them.

This is our business because it was first our God’s business. The story of scripture is the story of God as Parent. Perfect as men and women were in their original state, there was more for them. Born, as scripture reminds us, a little lower than the angels, God had a much greater place for us. Redemption is about that journey to maturity, even in the midst of rebellion. God’s a good parent even to a clan of brats.

All of this is important, if we want to understand the significance of tomorrow- our Lord’s Ascension Day.

Sunday School versions of biblical events tend to sugar things up. A coating of sugar is tasty, but it can hide what lies beneath. Often on nasty processed grains, this is helpful. Usually on important biblical narratives, its not.

The account of Noah, for example, brings to mind rainbows and a boat full of smiling animals, but can you imagine the smell from a world of rotting corpses that must have greeted the emerging family? The story of Christ’s ascension comes with similar nursery visions of Christ rising up and flying off through the clouds into space- past Saturn and his rings and Pluto’s controversial body.

I used to envision him still going with a smile on his face. That would put him somewhere around two-thousand light years from earth by now. Maybe you can remember singing a song in Junior Church that began with a countdown to blasted off before declaring “Somewhere in Outer Space, God has prepared a place, for those who trust him and obey.” Space travel is cool, but that’s not it. Ascension Day doesn’t dispute the claim that the first man in space was a Russian. Its significance lies elsewhere, and the key is in those clouds that St. Luke mentions.

Lunch is over. I'll pick this back up.

ROGATIONTIDE

2007-05-14T09:55:00.000-07:00

We’ve screwed the world up. I don’t mean that in a grand rhetorical sort of way. I mean it quite literally. The world itself- soil, water, plant, air…we’ve screwed it up.

This is triply sad for those who follow the Lord Christ. First, because creation is a trust we’ve botched. Second, we botched it because we’re greedy, lazy and compromised with the spirit of the age we’ve been born into. Third, we fail to love our neighbor, those who live downstream from us and those who live “down time” from us, when we pour our poison and filth into the creek.

This is yet another example of how things are precisely not supposed to be.

It’s not ours to misuse; for all our churchy talk we’re idolaters, and we could care less about other people, if that care requires expense or inconvenience. These are the lessons of our modern ecological crisis.

But this is a controversial comment in some circles. Surprisingly, the more conservative we are as Christians, the more blind we are to the dependence and responsibility we share for creation. Against this, the church has set its Rogation Days.

The commemoration of Rogation Days is an ancient one. The church has designated the beginning of this week as a time to ask our Lord’s blessing on his creation. It’s an especially appropriate time for the church to lead the way in acknowledging the dependence each of has towards the earth and her sustenance. For our generation, this dependence has been successfully hidden behind the increasingly vulnerable and centralized agribusiness of modern technology. Its still there. We all still need to eat, but few of us have the wherewithal to provide for ourselves. And those to whom we look are increasingly squandering the remaining fertility of our world.

We need to repent of the evils that began in the unthankfulness of hearts grown arrogant with pesticides, fertilizers, and machinery. Our modern sorcery needs to be placed at the service of our God, his creatures and our brothers and sisters.

Wendell Berry offers a few precepts to help us get started:

1. Beware the justice of Nature.
2. Understand that there can be no successful human economy apart from Nature or in defiance of Nature.
3. Understand that no amount of education can overcome the innate limits of human
intelligence and responsibility. We are not smart enough or conscious enough or alert enough to work responsibly on a gigantic scale.
4. In making things always bigger and more centralized, we make them both more vulnerable in themselves and more dangerous to everything else. Learn, therefore, to prefer small-scale elegance and generosity to large-scale greed, crudity, and glamour.
5. Make a home. Help to make a community. Be loyal to what you have made.
6. Put the interest of the community first.
7. Love your neighbors--not the neighbors you pick out, but the ones you have.
8. Love this miraculous world that we did not make, that is a gift to us.
9. As far as you are able make your lives dependent upon your local place, neighborhood, and household--which thrive by care and generosity--and independent of the industrial economy, which thrives by damage.
10. Find work, if you can, that does no damage. Enjoy your work. Work well.

Most of these are implied in the ancient traditions and processions of Rogantide: Community, the humility formed from dependence on nature and nature’s God, and therefore the self-evident necessity of living in a way that nurtures and protects the knowledge and appreciation of all three.

May God revive the petitions of this season and the kind of heart that finds its celebration both appropriate and needful.

GOD'S KINGDOM IN MY BACKYARD

2007-05-07T12:44:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was a good one.

My nephew had a group of friends over Saturday night to celebrate a major milestone in his life.

I want to thank them for including my family in the evening.

Our Lord out did himself in framing the event - at least to my North Georgia sensibilities.

Like a soldier with chocolates, he handed out small prizes to each of the five senses his prodigal mind first dreamed up untold ages ago. The weather was perfect- just cool enough to make the fire enticing. Along with cozy warmth, he gave the clean sharp taste of liquid bread, the smells of roasting food and well nurtured fine tobaccos, the croaking of frogs and laughing children…all within the exotic context (for a middle aged type like me, anyway) of the moonlit coolness of early morning’s lateness.

It struck me as I sat there arguing theology with a young man who was obviously more earnest than I, that this was how it was supposed to be. I knew that in a world that is so transparently bent…this night was a gift.

As wonderful as our Lord’s “framing” was that evening, his truly transcendent work shown in the safety, warmth and community created by the people who were present. This is no small accomplishment in a gathering of drinking twenty-somethings.

I thought of how the world could learn the true nature of celebration from these young men and women. I saw (and more importantly, my children saw) that God’s Spirit makes a difference in how one parties. And thankfully it has nothing to do with being a wet blanket. We are to feast exuberantly with care and concern, with welcome and hospitality, with warmth and safety.

The alcohol worked its biblical magic of making hearts merry. The attractive energy that God designed to spark spontaneously between men and women crackled flirtatiously. Testosterone was present in doses that only a young man can handle and yet… no boisterous fights broke out, everyone stayed clothed and we didn’t misplace a soul. The chaotic power that each of these gifts constantly threaten to unleash was held in place by the underpinning ballast of the Christian gospel. No small thing, that.

Christ was present feasting with us. And the group’s conscious yielding to his claim as Lord of the Feast allowed us to taste a little of what our creator had in mind when he dreamed up each of these dangerous gifts.

The result was as different from the average college party as can be imagined. The ladies were safe, little children running in and out of the circle were welcomed onto laps and middle aged outsiders were included to the point of forgetting they weren’t twenty-five, anymore.

People passing by might have noticed the fire’s warmth flickering on the celebrant’s faces, but they’d have to come closer to know that it was much more...Nothing to see but a fire and some friends, but the reality to be experienced was the very body of Christ.

My backyard had become a Sacrament of what each of us hopes for and an enactment of God’s own perichoretic inner life.

For a few hours my family had become home to these precious people… and they had given us back the same.

OUR CHURCH HAS GONE A WHORIN'

2007-05-04T12:38:00.000-07:00

The following is a comment by Mark Krikorian found on National Review Online.

The head of the Episcopal Church, Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, is complaining about Nigerian Anglican bishops coming to Virginia this weekend to formally install the head of the conservative breakaway denomination in this country. Here's what she said: "Such action would violate the ancient customs of the church."I kid you not. The female head of a church with a practicing homosexual bishop planning to "marry" his lover, a church that could accept into seminary the adulterous homosexual governor of New Jersey, a church that embraces splitting open babies' skulls and vacuuming their brains out, is complaining about violating ancient customs? Wow.

HT: Orthodixie

REPENTING OF SENTIMENTALITY

2007-04-30T15:02:00.000-07:00

Editorial Note: I'm in a grumpy mood...pissy, even. Thought you ought to know up front.

It was the Wednesday evening of Holy Week. You’d think the season would have tempered my response, but it didn’t. The church sign should have made me sad, but it pissed me off, instead.

“He is Risen!” it read.

“How could that be,” I wondered “when he’s not even died, yet.”

Before the horror of Good Friday, before even the sadness of Maundy Thursday this group of believers had started Sunday’s celebration. That’s (not helpful), or I don't think so.

Now, the Wayward Saint's going to tell me that this is a bit grumpy. Fair enough. But I'm grumpy because people are being ripped off. Hear me out.

“And they lived happily ever after” could be the summation- the point- of every fairy tale. It’s everyone’s favorite part. But what would happen to the stories themselves, if all we told was the happy ending. What would become of their charm, integrity and power, if we reduced the telling to the resolution?

Imagine a child climbing onto her Grandpa’s knee.

“Tell me about Little Red Riding Hood,” she asks.
“They lived happily ever after.”

“Tell me the story of the three little Pigs”
“They lived happily ever after.”

“Hansel and Gretel”
“They lived happily ever after.”

Those stories just ain’t what they used to be. Not really worth the climb. Does Grandpa not have the time to tell them properly? Of course he does. Maybe he just knows better. That's got to be it. Apparently there’s the need to condense, to make efficient… to skip to the good parts.

Western Christians have long struggled with their attitude towards time. This isn't a "bible thing;" it’s a Western Thing. I’ve been told we learned this from Plato who contrasted the inferior changing realm of things with the unchanging and superior world of Ideas. St. Augustine wondered if anything other than the present even existed, and now we're taught to long for the day when “time shall be no more.”

But that’s wrong headed.

Time was God’s idea. He thought it up; he created it. He pronounced it good. In fact he took his jolly good time in the creating of each and every one of Chronos’ fellow creatures. Six days he labored, we’re told. Six days.

Then there’s that whole round about “Seth to Christ” thing- with innumerable digressions and plot twists. God took his own sweet time in shaping this world. He’s in no hurry to work out its redemption, either. Still working on that, in fact.

But this isn't because God is lackadaisical, rather he values the process. He loves a good story. He knows how to tell it well.

God's simply not sentimental.

Jeremy Begbie defines Sentimentality, in part, as skipping over the tension of a story in order to go directly to the happiness of the final resolution. Surely skipping Good Friday and beginning with Easter is bad story telling, but it’s cruel taunting, too.

It comforting to know that things will work out, that Sunday’s coming. But we need to learn the value of waiting- of living through Holy Saturday. That Sunday is, in fact, still to come. We need to learn the value and importance of Hope, because each of us wakes every morning in that in between time of Christ’s Easter vindication and our own personal glorification.

For you and me…we’re still waiting. Things aren’t how they ought to be- how they one day will be. Not yet. Not yet.

No where is this more clearly seen than in the themes that underpin the story of Holy Week: life and death. Today I read that an upcoming believer's funeral was to be celebratory and without sorrow. Sentimentalism, that...Hurtful, cruel taunting.

Certainly we are not to mourn like those without hope...but we are allowed to mourn. We are commanded to hope, which is to say that we are instructed to acknowledge with Bono that we still haven’t found what we’re looking for.

But more than simply allowing us to concede the reality of where we find ourselves (and aren’t you glad our God knows that it is what it is), a proper understanding of Sister Time frees us to see the goodness of our waiting. Like a good tune- you can’t rush through it, you can’t skip to the end…not without ruining the song.

That in between stuff matters- to music and to our lives.

Fr. Begbie asks that if they marketed The Beatle’s Greatest Hits in an album that played the songs in half the time, would you buy it?

Apparently, many would. That makes me sad. The fact that the church is “selling” it- well, that still pisses me off.

HOLY HATRED

2007-04-19T13:09:00.000-07:00

Editorial Note: Time may make the context of this post unclear. It was written during the week of the horrific Va Tech shootings.

Her picture reminded me of my daughter.

There’s a clear resemblance and I was instantly drawn to the short description of this precious young lady. The account only made the connection stronger- she was openly Christian, home schooled, unusually innocent and sweet. Those who knew her thought she was likely praying for her attacker as he took her life.

Oh God. I could feel the tears forming. I’ve got that little girl living in my house.

Like every one else, I was saddened by the news of the Virginia Tech shootings. But this connection was powerful- both in its depth and speed. It was as if I were looking at my child’s picture- as if it was she who had been hurt.

She wasn’t, and I’m so thankful, but this precious, precious individual belongs to someone.

It’s different now. I can’t hear a news report without seeing her MySpace smile…and that of my daughter.

Someone’s child has died. Today has reminded me that someday mine will, too.

I’ve been thinking a lot about death, lately. It feels like we’ve had more than our share of medical stresses: Pancreatitis, CT Scans, Asthma, Neurological studies, Gallstones, MRI’s, EKG’s and multiple Ultrasounds all within the last six months. Those who have been praying know that this is just a partial list.

The latest and scariest were a couple of skin biopsies for my wife. The physician braced us for bad news. She believed it was melanoma. We’ve lost loved ones to that particular monster. When the doctor told us that we’d be back, it really scared us, because we knew that odd discoloration had been there for many, many years.

Turns out that everything is alright, but during those twelve days of waiting on the test results I did a lot of thinking. I pled for mercy and healing. I prayed and then prayed some more. The threat of death is ruthlessly clarifying.

I simply couldn’t imagine the world without Sandi living in it. Invariably, I began to review the reasons why…and this lead to thankfulness. What else is there to feel for a life filled with Sandi but thankfulness.

I’ve had years upon years of her blessing presence. The memories are thick and deep. I’ve been given so much already- so much, but it’s not enough. That’s not a self condemning sort of statement. I mean it. It’s the truth. There can simply never be enough time with the ones we love. But…and here’s the awful reality, one day it will be done. One day the sun will rise without them being there to feel its warmth. I may not loose my darling wife to cancer this year, but one day something will take her from me- or me from her. It’s certain. It’s certain….

Religion can put a hobby like coating on the truth it handles. It’s part of a day, but somehow disconnected to actual living. But here in the face of horrific truth as we find it, our faith comes to toil in the dirt of reality beside us.

Death is the great enemy. We can see it and feel it and hate it and fight it so concretely that it makes our belly hurt in the effort. There’s no stopping it. Not really. Not finally. There’s no where to hide from it. No sanctuary - not even in a place surrounded by youth and beautifully manicured grounds.

Damn death.

God damn it.

And that’s the answer. He did, and it had it coming.

For all my middle class sheltered American soft heartedness, I understand the hatred that comes with Monday’s violence. What happened was wrong. It was wrong.

I feel it so strongly that I can almost taste its metallic tang in my mouth. I see the face of the killer and I want to curse. I want to strike out…and I think this is right and good, as long as keep in mind who the real enemy is. Evil deserves to be denounced.

When I’m tempted to shrink back from the condemnation language of Good Friday, I’ll need to remember death coming for this little sister and the others it grabbed in Virginia before moving on to stalk down each and every one I love. I’ll hate it, as my God hates it, and I’ll be thankful for his wrath and I’ll ask him to show no mercy.

Surely, mercy to the little Christian sister I’ve never met- and will never get to meet in this age.

Mercy to me and my loved ones.

Mercy even to the tormented life that became death’s instrument this past Monday. But to the enemy that reached through the young killer’s hands, nothing but cursing. Nothing but destruction.

Thank God for the cross.

“Me, too, Lord,” I want to say.

I hate it, too. Make me hate it…all the time.

We can loose the earthy, bloody truth amidst all the pretty dresses, ducklings and eggs of Easter …even among all the “going to heaven when you die” talk. Death’s been kicked in the teeth. He’s been judged and found wanting and God’s kicked him in the teeth.

Glory to you, Lord Christ!

One day the toes that slid into those shoes for the last time early last Monday morning will wiggle in the grass again. I’ll be able to hold Dad’s hand- the very same hand that once baited my hook and wiped my nose. No matter how the enemy comes, my eyes will one day look into my beloved eyes... again.

Christ has risen. Against death’s befuddled objection, he’s risen.

It’s hard to get more real…more relevant than the fingers, smiles and hugs of those we love. We get those back. All of them.

That’s the ultimate relevancy of the gospel. We get them back.

Life would be unbearable, if it were not true.

STRUGGLE IS GOOD

2007-04-18T14:54:00.000-07:00

I’ve been a failure lately. More so than usual, I mean.

I’ve been thinking about what it all means. The exceptional run of spiritual compromise over the last few days reminds me that deep down…I’m a really sorry bastard.

Emotionally it’s meant discouragement and disgust. That’s fair. Those are the appropriate and default responses to sin, but Fr Joseph Huneycutt reminds me that I should also find hope in the ugliness.

The realization that I struggle with X- whatever it is- is good news. It’s the best possible sign given my situation.

We don’t like struggles or conflict. We tend to view them as negative aspects of life- or at least I do. The tempting response, as Fr Joseph explains it, is either to try to dull out the experience with food, shopping, sex etc or to get out of the situation that gave rise to the conflict in the first place. We leave churches, marriages, and other relationships in order to find peace- at least peace for ourselves. We leave behind a lot of hurting and confused people. Sometimes the leaving is necessary, but often these options are simply selfish.

Commitment to the good demands that we are, well…committed to it. Often situations, especially those beyond our control, make that commitment something that must be worked for- something we must struggle to attain.

Struggle is precisely what faithfulness looks like in the lives of compromised and finite people who are committed to the good.

I say “compromised and finite” because every struggle involves the possibility- the inevitability, really- of failing somewhere along the way.

Our Father understands that.

One familiar response, which knowing God as Father should certainly rule out, is the fear of being cast away. We begin with his love. We begin with his forgiveness. He knows us and loves us anyway. Not because we deserve it, not because we no longer struggle and can guarantee our failure will never happen again. But simply because he’s our Father.

Neither Love nor Forgiveness is a goal we journey to attain; they’re the ground the journey takes place on.

My failures speak of me. Maybe, the fear of rejection that sometimes comes after sinning is because I don’t really believe that I’m all that sinful- not really. You know what I mean: the moment before the deed I was loveable, but now I’m not worthy of God’s attention.

Hmmm. The truth is I was never worthy.

Michael Yaconelli has called authentic Christian experience Messy Spirituality. That seems right to me. We’ve fallen to certain temptations in the past because we have a particular weakness for them. Satan’s not going to take them out of the rotation. He’s much too good a manager for that. They get the job done. So, it’s likely that we’ll be facing that same fast ball in the near future. There’s nothing to do but try to smack the thing.

Like every father cheering on his little league player, our God certainly hopes for a base hit, but the only thing he finds totally unacceptable is for us to refuse to leave the dugout.

I may hear the sickening smack of the ball in the catcher’s glove behind me. It certainly got by. Probably took my eye off the ball...again. Coach has warned me about that.

Fair enough.

But the smack isn’t all there is to hear. I need to be listening for the encouraging and enthusiastic “Good swing!” coming from the stands. I’ll be a better player for it.

GHOST RIDER'S BAPTISM

2007-04-16T06:39:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to seeing Ghost Rider Saturday. It had already made its way to the “cheap theatre.”

While this was great for my wallet, it had worked something of a toll on my expectations. The relatively quick pricing downgrade wasn’t the only negative precursor. Many of my friends- most of them huge Marvel fans- weren’t impressed. I heard its “feel” compared to that of Ang Lee’s Hulk. To my way of thinking this wasn’t a plus. “Lifeless,” they said, and no less than my second born’s impeccable taste (well, there was the Darkness Falls incident) found it lackluster. She didn’t like it.

I knew what they meant. There are certain movies that send you out cheering and energized. Others, Van Helsing comes to mind, just feel flat- regardless of the cool material. So I knew what to expect and it wasn’t much.

But…I had a good time.

It was no Blade Runner, but I thought Nicholas Cage made a fine Johnny Blaze. The special effects were well done and the story line involved marvelesque demonic characters. Mephistopheles, flaming skulls and explicit spiritual themes, what more could you want? Well, maybe a little more drama. It wasn’t exactly a nail biter, but ….Sam Elliot was in it. So there you go- a good time.

I’m pleased to report that I give it belated thumbs up. You ought to see it. It was fun and a natural spring board to all sorts of thoughts about true truth.

One of the most obvious of these was Johnny Blaze’s search for redemption. The story revolves around an ill advised transaction he made with the Devil. He traded his soul in exchange for the health of his dying father. These things never turn out well. Literary tradition is unanimous on that point, and it’s from the weariness of living with the fear of the “Monkey Paw” ramifications of this deal that the young man asks a friend if he believes in second chances- if one bad decision must haunt us for all eternity.

I was longing for someone to step up and speak Christ’s perspective, but no one did. No one could.

Sam Elliot’s character is also searching for redemption. He has the same problem as Johnny. What are the odds- same town and all? Anyway, his Faustian deal was motivated by simple greed. Compromised though he was, he was able to see the accelerating evil in what Satan had asked him to do. He chose to frustrate hell’s evolving plan- literally riding off in a God-ward direction.

Unaware of the forgiveness offered in Christ (this in spite of living on hallowed ground for the last century or so), Elliot’s character explained that he had spent his life trying to put things right and that he only hoped God gave second chances.

Scripture calls this turning from evil to the good, repentance, and Ghost Rider brought out the nobility of this holy rebellion. It occurred to me that the church’s telling of its story is not nearly as powerful as the one I was watching. Of course, the Christian story is more than its equal in everyway. So much so that it seems we’d have to go out of our way to mediocre it down.

Perhaps I tell it so poorly because I lack a real sense of conflict; maybe that’s because I forget the real nature of sin. Sin hurts. It dehumanizes. Sin destroys. In the most classical sense, sin is evil. It’s precisely not the way things are supposed to be.

We are those who have joined in the battle to set things aright. We oppose sin because it deserves to be opposed. Because, like the Care Taker in our film, we realize that what we are involved in ought to be stopped. We spend our lives trying to make things as they should be.

In contrast, when I think sin, I tend to think of broken rules, being excluded from a privileged inner circle and…well, the type of “in crowd” all of that implies. It's just not the same.

One narrative brings to mind epic sacrifice, camaraderie in battle, and an opponent worth having. The other reminds of snooty country club memberships, petty administrators and selfish misplaced motives. They don’t make a lot of “get into and then stay a member of the preppy country club” movies. There’s probably a reason for that.

The true story of Ghost Rider- the one you and I inhabit- begins differently from Marvel’s version. Unlike the two heroes in our film who fought evil because of or in spite of fear, we begin our battle in peace. We don’t have to hope for God’s forgiveness of our own participation in Hell’s corruptions. We’ve been granted it by God himself in our baptisms.

That’s what I thought the movie was missing. It spoke truthfully of repentance, the stakes of the battle, the ugliness of sin and the fear that such a vision brings with it. By the end of the movie Johnny Blaze had put Satan on notice that it was he who needed to be afraid, but this was more of a Testosterone surge than the verity of being on God’s side. It would have been much more convincing if God had shown up, placed his armored hand on Johnny’s shoulder and laughed down the old dragon.

The movie just needed an old fashioned Baptism.

SAYING GOODBYE TO BRIGHT WEEK

2007-04-13T09:39:00.000-07:00

My oldest daughter is graduating from high school this year. It’s unbelievable.

I don’t mean that in an “Oh, my gosh!” sort of way. I mean literally- it’s Unbelievable!

If I were being asked in a court of law-under oath- if its possible that enough time has past to change my darling little toddler into a beautiful and independent young woman, I’d say “No, way.”

But I’d be wrong. There she is.

….And my second born is graduating next year. Unbelievable!

One of the memories of Rachael that seem as recent as yesterday is of her strapped into her car seat and attentively watching the scenery go by- “Pacie,” of course, in hand. She’s always been fascinated with God’s world.

Invariably, especially in the summer, we’d hear an excited “Rat House!” We’d look over our shoulder to find her pointing out the window at a building in the early stages of construction. I don’t know where she got that- why she associated a framed house with rats. Maybe all the crisscrossing timbers reminded her of a huge nest. I’m not sure. I do know that I miss hearing her little voice pointing out the wonder of something uniquely new.

After a few weeks the paint would go on, the roof would be finished and we’d drive by without comment- just another beautiful and warm American dwelling.

The memory makes me think...about buildings and foundations, Daddy’s and their children and about what each of these journeys have to say to the liturgical path we travel each year.

Bright Week is coming to an end. The Feasts that lie ahead of me- Ascension Thursday and Whitsunday- each assume the foundation of Easter morning, but my attention will be directed to their wonderful lessons…and then I’ll move on to live in the house that Christ built.

It will be easy to forget the foundations. Thought I’d take one more look before the walls go up.

It seems odd, somehow, that we can cancel out forty days of heavy preparation with one week of bright revelry. It must be a very heavy concentration of brightness indeed to counterbalance all the darkness that Lent brings forward. And of course it is. All the days that cling indivisibly to Pascha are God’s judgment enacted…really enacted.

God’s Judgment. The phrase itself sounds heavy.

Even now as I’m writing this, it sounds a bit, well.... wrong.

Easter about judgment?

Judgment bright?

I see the judgment in Good Friday, but Easter… ?

It seems I want to play judgment against mercy- as if God’s verdict was by nature grim. What does that say about my concept of God? Judgment is really about choosing. When I say I don’t trust someone’s judgment, I mean that I’m unsure about the choices they make. Why would I think that all of God’s choices are naturally forbidding?

Some of my problem is in wanting to equate mercy with only a positive response and judgment with all the negative ones. But surely saying “No” to some things is the more merciful route. Think of cancer, loneliness or pain.

When God’s verdict comes down it means brightness to some options and darkness to others- all at the same time. When choosing between competing options, a “Yes” to one always implies a “No” to the other, and vise versa. You can’t choose, I mean really choose, one thing without rejecting another. Every spoken “Yes” is one half of a larger compound word: Yes-No. Every spoken “No” says “Yes” at the same time- if only silently.

I think I’ve contrasted the wrong things. Mercy isn’t opposed to Judgment. Rather Mercy is opposed to my death. God's judgment is mercy. His mercy is judgmental. There can be no Easter morning without Good Friday. One drags the other with it…unless our God equivocates. Unless he’s not quite sure what he wants…unless he refuses to really choose.

But thankfully our God does know what he’s about. He knows what and who he's for, and that someone is you and me, fully alive. This means, is another way of saying really, that he is against all that is opposed to us…all that drains the glory from the life we were meant to have and all that leaves us pale, limp and hurting.

The cross made audible His rejection of choices in opposition to His covenant love. Mercifully he didn’t scream His rejection- his judgment- at each individual who mocked the glory he had intended for them, but rather He spoke clearly to the King who represented those people. Ever loving, He played that part himself and muffled the necessary rejection through his own body.

On Easter morning our God laughed out a great “Yes!” to the life of our beloved King. The boringly familiar counterfeits of true power and glory- money, raw strength and selfish pleasure- each made a play for supremacy.

Both religious and political manifestations made the claim, “This is the way to godlikeness. This is the way of true humanity.” But in response God left each of those advocates in the sweltering misery of their lives… and eventual deaths, but to Him who took upon himself the form of a servant and was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, he gave eternal life. “That’s it. That’s what I’m for,” God vigorously declared in Christ's public vindication on Easter morning.

The Cross and Resurrection form one declaration- one judgment. Neither was possible without the other for each formed- each was, really- the other viewed from beneath. On Good Friday, our God spoke the "Yes”, which Easter so obviously declares. On Easter he whispered “No!” to the scandalous sin of Good Friday.

Judgment and choice, all of it. Mercy, all of it, too….because all of it for us.How different from the capricious vision of god that I often struggle with- a god who arbitrarily makes rules so that he can torture me eternally if and when I break one of them…and all for his own personal pleasure.

Good Friday and Easter tell of another God altogether- one who is by nature a Father. And His judgment- his choice- is for me. He wants only what any Father wants for his child. And who can stand in his way?

He hates all that would harm me, and has a heart so soft that he can’t bear for me to witness his dispatching of my enemies. He covers my eyes and does the deed, takes my face in his hands and says “No one will ever harm you.”

That’s the gospel. That’s our God. That’s where we must start to build his house.

Now, what sort of walls would best go up on such a foundation...

HOLY SATURDAY, HELLBOY AND THE DAMNING OF DEATH

2007-04-07T06:48:00.000-07:00

It’s early. Everyone else (with the exception of Sandi, of course) is still asleep. It’s that odd day sandwiched between the cross of Good Friday and the empty tomb of Easter morning. Holy Saturday has arrived. And this year, it’s come with a hard freeze.

It seems appropriate, somehow. The bed feels so warm. It’s hard to get up; ought to just snuggle back in and…sleep… for a little while… longer. It’s as if our Lord has reached down through the weather and added his own personal ornament to this tree of celebration we call Holy Saturday. Our lord is dead- sleeping in a bed of stone. It’s the Sabbath, the day of rest, the last day of the week- the last day of existence for the old cursed creation. In the morning death will die, but she doesn’t know it yet. Already, the righteous poison is working its way through her system, but she is unaware.

There's a scene at the end of the movie HellBoy, which reminds me of what our God was up to on these three precious days over two thousand years ago. Hellboy is facing Behemoth, a huge demonic being. To look at them, the battle is hopeless. Behemoth is huge, and mean and powerful. Hellboy is all of these things, but not when scaled against his opponent. When they battle, our hero appears small and weak. Finally, the inevitable happens. Behemoth swallows the small opponent- not even needing to chew. That was yesterday- Good Friday. Death devoured our Savior and champion.

The beast belches in satisfaction- sitting back on its wormlike haunches, but for those who have ears to hear a high pitched whine can be heard. Hellboy has activated the grenades he strapped to his body before purposefully provoking the beast. For those who understand, things have just taken a drastic turn. That’s today- Holy Saturday. Death has taken He-who-has-life-within-Himself...He who is life itself, into its belly.

With sudden realization, a troubled expression passes for the shortest of moments across the “face” of the behemoth before the demon explodes from the very heart of its own belly. That will be tomorrow- Easter morning. Death's carcass will lie gaping and defeated for all creation to see.

The icon of the resurrection makes all of this perfectly clear. Christ is standing on the burst gates of death and hell- helping those who have been held in its grasp to their feet. He has descended into hell. He died as fully as any man or woman has ever died. His solidarity with us is complete. This, the incarnation made possible. God cannot die, but creatures can. Those who receive life as a gift can be forced to give it up. And so death made claim on this man- just as he does on every man and woman that Christ came to save. But this particular morsel was indivisibly and inseparably united to Life itself. Death had taken its own destruction into its own heart. Death was destroyed by death. That is the message of Holy Saturday. Our sorrow is not replaced. Our sorrow is transformed.

I need to get up and moving. Last night’s Good Friday Service is still heavy on my heart. We left him in the tomb. We left the darkened sanctuary sorrowful and silent.

It is what it is: Our Savior is among the dead.

But sometime, later in the morning my heart will begin to sing. An epiphany will begin to work its solace through my consciousness. Death has swallowed unending and unconquerable life. Damned death is surely damned.

It is what it is: Our savior is among the dead. Hallelujah!

Now, we just have to wait for the bang....

A HUMBLE KING CROWNED WITH THORNS

2007-04-06T12:05:00.000-07:00

Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. They came up to him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ and struck him with their hands. Pilate went out again and said to them, ‘See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.’ So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, ‘Behold the man!’
— John 19:1-5

Have you ever wondered why the soldiers chose a crown of thorns? After all, they could have constructed the crown from a number of other materials. Yet, the crown of thorns seems purposed, that is, it draws us back to the Genesis and the series of curses that resulted when our first parents fell. “Cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you” (Gen 3:17-18). As Jesus begins to walk the path that leads to his death by crucifixion, we have a glimpse here of how he, the true guiltless Man, will take the curse, our curse upon Himself. The scene is shot through with irony—Pilate, the image of a false and corrupt “king,” presenting the true King as a helpless prisoner and eventually condemning Him to die. Likewise, we see Jesus, the Lord of creation, the perfect image of God, who unlike Adam and Eve, listened the voice of the Father in humble obedience even to the point of death on a Cross—this Jesus, Pilate proclaims is the true man (talk about meanings going beyond the intention of the author/speaker), and indeed He is—the icon of God who makes the invisible God visible, who opens blind eyes, softens hard hearts and who gives life to the dead. Yet, the One through whom all things were made and who, came to His own, finds His own in rebellion against Him. In fact, they even weave together a crown of thorns and dress Him in a purple robe to mock Him. What is our Lord’s response to this? Does He lash out and call down legions of angels to wipe out the rebels? No. The innocent, yet true King, crowned with signs of creation’s curse, stands silent and walks the path that was both His destiny and our blessing. Behold the Man!

Cynthia Nielsen is graduate student at the University of Dallas and an adjunct philosophy instructor at Eastfield College. Her interests include jazz guitar and Russian language and literature. She blogs at Per Caritatem. [HT: Alastair]

GOD'S CONDEMNATION OF SIN

2007-04-06T05:42:00.000-07:00

‘For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.’ Paul’s classic challenge to the wisdom of the world echoes down the centuries and confronts us once more as we come face to face once more with the great events which not only stand at the heart of our faith but are etched into our geography and architecture, as this great building makes clear. One of the paradoxical signs of the continuing and urgent relevance of the message and meaning of the cross is that it is once more under attack from several directions; and we who today declare that we will be true to our ordination vows, and who will this evening and tomorrow commemorate those high and holy, disturbing and decisive events in the story of Jesus himself, must take a deep breath, summon up our courage, and learn again what it means to discover the wisdom of God in what the world counts foolishness, the power of God in what the world counts weakness.

The first challenge comes from within, in the temptation to water down the message of the cross so that it becomes less offensive, more palatable to the ordinary sensible mind. We must of course acknowledge that many, alas, have offered caricatures of the biblical theology of the cross. It is all too possible to take elements from the biblical witness and present them within a controlling narrative gleaned from somewhere else, like a child doing a follow-the-dots puzzle without paying attention to the numbers and producing a dog instead of a rabbit. This is what happens when people present over-simple stories, as the mediaeval church often did, followed by many since, with an angry God and a loving Jesus, with a God who demands blood and doesn’t much mind whose it is as long as it’s innocent. You’d have thought people would notice that this flies in the face of John’s and Paul’s deep-rooted theology of the love of the triune God: not ‘God was so angry with the world that he gave us his son’ but ‘God so loved the world that he gave us his son’. That’s why, when I sing that interesting recent song and we come to the line, ‘And on the cross, as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied’, I believe it’s more deeply true to sing ‘the love of God was satisfied’, and I commend that alteration to those of you who sing that song, which is in other respects one of the very few really solid recent additions to our repertoire.

But once we’ve got rid of the caricature, we are ready to face the reality, the reality of the foolishness and weakness, but in fact the wisdom and the power, of the cross of Jesus Christ. When Paul declares, equally famously, that there is ‘no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’, he doesn’t say ‘because after all God wasn’t into condemning things, there was never any question of his being wrathful or angry, that’s a barbaric old-fashioned myth’. No. At the heart of the complex explanation Paul gives in the next two verses for why there is no condemnation, we find this central statement in which we find the life and peace of the gospel itself: ‘For God has done what the law . . . could not do: sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as a sin-offering, he condemned sin in the flesh.’ Precisely out of his fathomless love the creator God sent his own Son not simply to share in the mess and muddle of our human existence, but to take upon himself the task of being the place where God would pass judicial sentence upon sin itself, sin as a fact, sin as a deadly power, sin as the poisonous snake whose bite means death itself. Please note, Paul doesn’t say that God condemned Jesus Christ. He says that God condemned sin in the flesh of Jesus Christ. As the Archbishop of Canterbury says in his new book, ‘[Christ] becomes a sort of embodied image for what we are; and he takes on himself the curse that is laid on us.’ Now if you put that truth into other narratives – the story of an angry old man, the story of an offended mediaeval nobleman, the story of a judge imposing a heavy fine – and you will distort it. But to deny the truth because of the distortions is to cut out the heart because the patient is bleeding. The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Face it: to deny God’s wrath is, at bottom, to deny God’s love. When God sees humans being enslaved – and do please go and see the film Amazing Grace as soon as you get the change – if God doesn’t hate it, he is not a loving God. (It was the sneering, sophisticated set who tried to make out that God didn’t get angry about that kind of thing, and whom Wilberforce opposed with the message that God really does hate slavery.) When God sees innocent people being bombed because of someone’s political agenda, if God doesn’t hate it, he isn’t a loving God. When God sees people lying and cheating and abusing one another, exploiting and grafting and preying on one another, if God were to say, ‘never mind, I love you all anyway’, he is neither good nor loving. The Bible doesn’t speak of a God of generalized benevolence. It speaks of the God who made the world and loves it so passionately that he must and does hate everything that distorts and defaces the world and particularly his human creatures. And the Bible doesn’t tell an abstract story about people running up a big debit balance in God’s bank and God suddenly, out of the blue, charging the whole lot to Jesus. The Bible tells a story about the creator God calling a people through whom he would put the world right, living with that covenant people even when they themselves went wrong, allowing them to become the place where the power of evil would do its worst, and preparing them all through for the moment when, like the composer finally stepping on stage to play the solo part, he would come and take upon himself, in the person of his Son, the pain and shame, yes, the horror and darkness, yes, but also, in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, in Paul and Acts and Hebrews and 1 Peter and Revelation, in Ignatius and Irenaeus and Augustine and Aquinas, in Luther and Calvin and Cranmer and Hooker, in Herbert and Donne and and Wesley and Watts – he would take upon himself the condemnation which, precisely because he loves us to the uttermost, he must pronounce over that deadly disease we call sin. To deny this, as some would do today as they have for hundreds of years, is to deny the depth and weight of sin and the deeper depth and heavier weight of God’s redeeming love. The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

From the Maundy Thursday Sermon of the Bishop of Durham, Dr N. T. Wright