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2007-05-18T14:12:00.000-06:00

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RIP and the Culture Warz

2007-05-17T16:22:00.000-06:00

While I am ambivalent about Rev. Falwell's political tactics, a 'Rest in Peace' to our brother in Christ.

Falwell may not have always taken his stands in the way I would have, but he did take his stands.

The 'Culture War' that we find ourselves in--what are ways we can actively engage our world and keep our witness of God's mercy and Christ's love intact?

Gregory

2007-05-09T20:38:00.000-06:00

What the Church (and the world) need is another Gregory of Naziansus. He was one of the great Cappadocian Fathers of the Fourth Century and instrumental in the formation of the Creed.

What strikes me about Gregory's life is not only his sublime orthodoxy, but his reluctance to take the seat of power. He was hesitant to become a bishop and took posts in 'one horse towns.' Only his friendship with Basil the Great brought Gregory influence.

Gregory was strong, convinced in the power of Christ's salvation to heal humanity through His holy life and divinity, and best of all---humble. While he was not afraid to 'mix it up' with heretics, at the end of the day it was the Holy Trinity that got the glory.

On Dealing With Judas

2007-05-06T14:06:00.000-06:00

More than ever we need a solid apologetic for the faith. We need a clear strategy for evangelism and apologetics. We are surrounded by, both inside the Church and outside, a culture that has abandoned Christianity.

Even many who profess Christ and the basic doctrines of the faith, those 'agnostics with collars,' exist within the church and sometimes control entire denominations. In some cases, there are bishops with full episcopal juristiction who do not believe in the same 'Christ' as faithful believers have for 2000 years.

What, then, do the faithful do? What then do orthodox laity and clergy do? There is the obvious answer. Leave. Form a new 'province' or 'communion' or 'house church' or 'denomination,' or whatever you want to call it. Is there another strategy?

What would Christ do in the face of apostasy? I'm not sure. We only have one example of Jesus facing obvious apostasy. This was when Judas turned him in for 30 pieces of silver. What did Jesus do with Judas? The same thing he did with Peter the denier and all the disciples who abandoned him. He washed their feet. He was Judas' servant as much as he was the 'beloved disciple's.' Can we do no less? But what might this look like?

Rest in Perpetual Light

2007-05-02T16:59:00.000-06:00

One of my all time heroes is now with the Lord. Dr. Robert Webber is one reason why I am an Episcopal priest. His book Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail has blessed many and his 'ancient future' writings have inspired me.

My wife and my first 'date' was spent discussing Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail together at Starbuck's. We both grew up in 'low church' traditions and were drawn to Anglicanism independent of each other. Robert Webber then, though I only talked with him once briefly on the phone, is our matchmaker of sorts!

For him we pray:

Into paradise may the angels lead thee; and at thy coming

may the martyrs receive thee, and bring thee into the holy

city Jerusalem.

Mattingly on VT

2007-04-23T08:33:00.000-06:00

I won't try to add to the discussion of the VT tragedy, but I really like what Terry Mattingly has said:

This column was syndicated by Scripps Howard News Service on 04/18/2007

You're waiting for the other shoe to drop.

You know the shoe I'm talking about -- the religion shoe. When the Virginia Tech University story broke, you began clicking from website to website, channel to channel, seeking information and, then, something more.

You've seen photos of mourners in pews, offering comfort and seeking solace. You know that believers will pray and that journalists will keep aiming cameras at them, because, that’s what Bible Belt people do. People in southwest Virginia put scriptures on big road signs and build huge crosses next to Interstate highways. They pray. It's a good photo, but it's just prayer. Right?

No, you're waiting for a real religion angle to surface, a crazy one linked to violence and power. After all, religion surfaces in so many bloody stories these days.

Plus, you know there are politicos here inside the Beltway who are sitting, TV remotes in their hands, waiting to grade the candidates. Will Barack Obama get the tone right, with the right mixture of scripture and concern? Will Hillary Clinton look chilly? Will anyone in the GOP herd look both presidential and pastoral?

You know the pope will say something and that -- no matter what he says about the mysteries of life and death, good and evil -- it will appear in news reports as a naive cry for peace and for an end to violence.

Then again, journalists know that the Jerry Falwell's Liberty University is up I-81 from Blacksburg. So maybe he'll come to Virginia Tech and talk about jealousy, broken hearts and the sexual revolution. Or maybe Pat Robertson will say -- something, anything. Then, on the other side, perhaps the atheist version of Robertson could call a press conference and say this tragedy is more evidence that life is random and without purpose. That would work.

You're waiting to find out what video game the shooter played all hours of the day and night. Did he go to see the movie "300" one too many times? Was he driven by Satan or too many "Left Behind" novels? People on both sides of the sacred vs. secular divide need to know. You're waiting to see if he killed more women than men. You want to know if the big massacre started in the classroom of an evangelical professor who once witnessed to the shooter and made him mad. You heard reporters say the shooter was Asian and you immediately thought: Asia? What part of Asia? What religion was he?

You're waiting for something that points toward the source of this evil. Am I right? And if you remember the Columbine High School massacre, you may be thinking of that column that journalist Peggy Noonan -- a traditional Catholic -- wrote about the "culture of death" hours after that hellish day.

She wrote: "Your child is an intelligent little fish. He swims in deep water. Waves of sound and sight, of thought and fact, come invisibly through that water, like radar; they go through him again and again, from this direction and that. The sound from the television is a wave, and the sound from the radio. ... The waves contain words like this, which I'll limit to only one source, the news:

"... took the stand to say the killer was smiling the day the show aired ... said the procedure is, in fact, legal infanticide ... is thought to be connected to earlier sexual activity among teens ... court battle over who owns the frozen sperm ... contains songs that call for dominating and even imprisoning women ... died of lethal injection ... had threatened to kill her children. ... had asked Kevorkian for help in killing himself ... protested the game, which they said has gone beyond violence to sadism ... showed no remorse ... which is about a wager over whether he could sleep with another student ... which is about her attempts to balance three lovers and a watchful fiance...

"This is the ocean in which our children swim. This is the sound of our culture. It comes from all parts of our culture and reaches all parts of our culture, and all the people in it, which is everybody."

You're waiting for the other shoe to drop. You want to know the eternal "why" in "who, what, when, where, why and how."

I know that I do.

Terry Mattingly (www.tmatt.net) directs the Washington Journalism Center at the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. He writes this weekly column for the Scripps Howard News Service.

Being Right and Behaving Badly

2007-04-12T18:21:00.000-06:00

I am in one the 'liberal' denominations that you hear about all the time. You know the one. In my view, when Anglicanism is done right, it is hard to beat the beauty and wonder of its liturgy and piety. My Holy Week was a prime example. Our church is of the orthodox and traditional bent and does not go along with the (breaking) winds of revisionist religion.

One common trait I've noticed, however, is that when conservatives become embroiled in the 'culture wars' of the church and the state, then something quite awful can happen. If you happen to hold the right views on a matter, then 'all is fair in love and war.' That is, we turn a blind eye to our own sin and our own sinners.

Therefore, our priests and heroes, if they are caught in grave sin, we think and say they are being 'set up' my the liberal elite. Our guys can steal and cheat and if they are called on the carpet then it is the 'revisionist's fault' for exposing the wrongdoing.

Isn't there another way? Are not the 'culture wars' just a convenient way to cover up our own sin? Isn't it easier to see the speck in the other's eye than the log in our own?

We need to call wrongdoing wrongdoing, even when the sinner is one of our own. And we also need to humbly get on our face before God and plead at the Table, "Surely it is not I Lord!"

Alleluia! Christ is Risen!

2007-04-08T21:35:00.000-06:00

While Holy Week can be exhausting, this is what I signed up for. I truly enjoy the Triduum and the journey to the great Passover of our faith.

I never tire of watching the faces of parishioners who participate in Holy Week. Two images were striking this go around. One was the tearful experience that so many of my folks had while venerating the cross on Good Friday. I saw in their expressions so much gratitude and thanksgiving--a rare attitude in our day.

The second image was the little girls (two of which were mine) in the back of the church dancing and ringing their bells while we were singing the recessional hymn (Alleluia, Sing to Jesus!).

I sometimes make Holy Week out to be a test of my piety and endurance, as if my holiness is contingent on my ability to 'bring it' to all the services.

But isn't Holy Week about those two basic things: gratitude and Joy!? Our ability to be pious can never come close to Christ's power over sin and death.

Alleluia! Christ is Risen!

Harvard Abstinence

2007-04-03T20:52:00.000-06:00

From Yahoo News :

By JESSE HARLAN ALDERMAN, Associated Press Writer Thu Mar 22, 2:39 PM ET

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Sometime between the founding of a student-run porn magazine and the day the campus health center advertised "Free Lube," Harvard University seniors Sarah Kinsella and Justin Murray decided to fight back against what they see as too much mindless sex at the Ivy League school.

They founded a student group called True Love Revolution to promote abstinence on campus. The group, created earlier this school year, has more than 90 members on its Facebook.com page and drew about half that many to an ice cream social.

Harvard treats sex — or "hooking up" — so casually that "sometimes I wonder if sex is even a remotely serious thing," said Kinsella, who is dating Murray.

Other schools around the country have small groups devoted to abstinence. On most campuses, they are religious organizations. Princeton and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have Anscombe Societies, secular organizations named after an English philosopher and Roman Catholic. True Love Revolution is secular as well.

Some feminists, in particular, have criticized True Love Revolution's message.

Harvard student Rebecca Singh said she was offended by a valentine the group sent to the dormitory mailboxes of all freshmen. It read: "Why wait? Because you're worth it."

"I think they thought that we might not be `ruined' yet," Singh said. "It's a symptom of that culture we have that values a woman on her purity. It's a relic."

Others on campus have mocked the group. Murray said his friends take pleasure in loudly, and graphically, discussing their sex lives just to taunt him.

"On campus there is such a strong attitude of pluralism and acceptance, but then it doesn't extend to this," Kinsella said.

In the student paper, The Harvard Crimson, columnist Jessica C. Coggins praised the group's low-key approach and scolded Harvard students for their "laughter at the virgin." She said students on the campus, which has 6,700 undergraduates, should "find a different confidence booster than making fun of celibate peers."

True Love Revolution members say the problem starts with the university. They say Harvard has implicitly led students to believe that having sex at college is a foregone conclusion by requiring incoming freshman to attend a seminar on date-rape that does not mention abstinence, by placing condoms in freshmen dorms, and by hosting racy lecturers. (Harvard students have also launched H-Bomb, a magazine featuring racy photos of undergraduates.)

"Sometimes that voice on campus is so overwhelming that students committed to abstinence almost feel compelled to abandon their convictions," Murray said. He acknowledged he "slipped up" and had sex earlier in college but said he has returned to abstinence with Kinsella.

Dr. David Rosenthal, director of Harvard health services, disputed the notion that the university promotes sex.

He said students mistakenly think everyone on campus is having sex. The National College Health Assessment Survey, which included Harvard and hundreds of other campuses, found that about 29 percent of students reported not having sex in the past school year. For the 71 percent who are having sex, it is crucial to promote safety, Rosenthal said.

"Some students may have a feeling that acknowledgment is condoning," he said, "and it's not."

It takes a lot of guts for these college kids to do this--I applaud them. What I find the most amusing is Rebecca the young feminist. The article says:

Harvard student Rebecca Singh said she was offended by a valentine the group sent to the dormitory mailboxes of all freshmen. It read: "Why wait? Because you're worth it."

"I think they thought that we might not be `ruined' yet," Singh said. "It's a symptom of that culture we have that values a woman on her purity. It's a relic."

"That culture we have that values a woman on her purity." What culture is she talking about!?

Coming Soon!!

2007-03-26T23:03:00.001-06:00

www.fatherneo.com

Of Saints and Lent

2007-03-23T22:45:00.000-06:00

There is a Midrash from the childhood of Abraham that goes like this:

Abraham's father, Terach was an idol-manufacturer. Once he had to travel, so he left Abraham to manage the shop. People would come in and ask to buy idols. Abraham would say, "How old are you?" The person would say, "Fifty," or "Sixty". Abraham would say, "Isn't it pathetic that a man of sixty wants to bow down to a one-day-old idol?" The man would feel ashamed and leave.

One time a woman came with a basket of bread. She said to Abraham, "Take this and offer it to the gods".

Abraham got up, took a hammer in his hand, broke all the idols to pieces, and then put the hammer in the hand of the biggest idol among them.

When his father came back and saw the broken idols, he was appalled. "Who did this?" he cried. "How can I hide anything from you?" replied Abraham calmly. "A woman came with a basket of bread and told me to offer it to them. I brought it in front of [the idols], and each one said, "I'm going to eat first." Then the biggest one got up, took the hammer and broke all the others to pieces."

"What are you trying to pull on me?" asked Terach, "Do they have minds?"

Said Abraham: "Listen to what your own mouth is saying? They have no power at all! Why worship idols?"

(Midrash Bereishit 38:13)

One of my first memories could be seen as dramatic as this Midrash. When I was three years old, I was fascinated with my mother’s porcelain Buddha. My mom was addicted to the ‘Craft Show’ shop in our suburb of Denver and would frequent it, I think, every week. Therefore, I had my name hanging in Orange Porcelain around my room and the best orange and blue painted Broncos ‘B’ anyone had seen.

Then there was the Buddha. It was about two-feet high, dark green and jolly, yet it always gave me a shudder. The Buddha’s face seemed to find me even when I was in the next room and I would peer around my mom’s bedroom door.

One day, I decided to take the Buddha situation into my own hands. My mom and dad’s room was on the second floor and on the same level as my room. I marched down the hall, picked the green Buddha off of mom’s bedroom dresser drawers. My brothers insist that there is no way I can remember all of this at age three, but I remember that it felt cold and heavy and that the bottom was not painted, so it felt kind of chalky underneath. What did I do with Buddha? I took him right to the top of the stairs and tossed him over the banister. He shattered like Terach’s idols. At my hands.

If someone would write a Christian hagiography of my life, perhaps they could find holy motives in what I did. They would say that I was ‘jealous for the God of my father Abraham.’ They would say that this event caused my family to return to the Lord in repentance and faith.

But the truth of the matter is, I was a toddler doing toddler things. I know because I have had three toddlers of my own. My son Luke, who is two, loves nothing more than to throw his trucks and his sister’s dolls down the stairs. This is what little toddlers (especially boys) do.

If this Lent is any indication, my canonization is still a couple centuries off. I did well with exercise, which I planned on, but in terms of giving up fatty food and sugary drink, I did not do so well. And my prayer life, it just felt dry.

For those who say Lent is a way of 'earning salvation' or 'meriting God's favor,' well, they just don't know any better. To the contrary, it is a reminder of God's grace because it reminds us of our sins and shortcomings. Forget the burgers and Pepsi. It is the Lenten failures around anger, bitterness, and selfishness that hit me over the head this year. Another yearly reminder that I need the cross so very desperately.

Lent

2007-03-02T21:25:00.000-07:00

The Sunday before Ash Wednesday, I gave a talk on Lent to a stairwell at the local Christian University. Surprisingly, about 30 students crammed into an apartment to learn about Lent.

What was once baptismal training morphed into a penetential season--a season that I love more than any other in the church year.

What is your discipline for Lent this year? Do you have one? Is it important?

A Titanic Discovery

2007-02-27T22:30:00.000-07:00

Whew! I'm glad that part of history is over. Now we can all get on with things. Now that James Cameron (of Titanic fame) has discovered the remains of Jesus, I can quit this clergy thing and go out and live it up! Eat, drink and be merry!!

The foundations of our faith have crumbled! We are amongst men most to be pitied!!

Not!

Toy Conspiracy

2007-02-12T19:53:00.000-07:00

There is a conspiracy in our culture, and I'm only half way kidding. I'm no big fan of 'Christian kitsch,' that is, junky little items like bubble gum with fish symbols on them. But besides this one plush church set (above) and Rev. Lovejoy from the Simpsons, there are virtually no church playsets for children. You can go to any toystore and buy toy police officers, teachers, doctors, nurses, business people, garbage workers, fast-food workers, neighborhood people, black families, Asian families, Hispanic families, disabled folks, etc. But there are no toy clergy or religious leaders to be found. Not even in 'Chirstian' retail stores. Online I found some blocks that can be fashioned into a Cathedral, but they have no crosses.

I guess we can pretend that no one goes to church and that there are so such thing as priests, pastors, monks and nuns. Maybe then we'll be officially done with religion in the West. Or maybe I'm just a sensitive priest who also likes my kids to imagine that church actually matters and is real--even in their playtime (the most real time of all!).

Inter-religious dialogue

2007-01-29T15:25:00.000-07:00

I appreciate the give and take that is characteristic of this blog. I was conversing with a Palestinian Muslim not long ago. After talking about how we appreciated one another's respective traditions, we agreed that, well, we had sharp disagreements! We were mutually annoyed with two trends that shape Christian-Muslim dialogue: first when, disagreements lead to violence, and second, when Christians in the West pretend that we are both the same. But we are not.

Mohammed said, "If Allah had a son, I would be the first to worship him." Islam does not believe in the Trinity, the Deity of Christ, or that Jesus suffered death on the cross. We must always talk (and act) in a peaceable and irenic fashion, but it does us no good to assume that we are the same.

Future Challenges?

2007-01-24T22:13:00.000-07:00

In a recent article in Relevant magazine, some contemporary Christian thinkers were asked 7 important questions, one of which was, "What do you see as the greatest challenge for young Christians in the next 10 years?"

Orthodox author, Frederica Matthewes-Green (she's a pacifist, by the way) said,
"I am afraid that every Christian is going to be increasingly challenged by violent Islam in ways that will be harder and harder to tacitly ignore. Ironically, much of what Islam hates about America are things that Christians ought to likewise resist: gluttonous consumption, recreational shopping, celebrity culture, trashing of the environment, the trivializing of sex, the sexualizing of children, the killing of unborn children, artificializing women's bodies, depriving boys and men of a coherent and worthy identity...any belief that being 'American' takes precedence over membership in the body of Christ. If we are going to face the threat of death for what we believe (as Christians [faced with Islam] have been doing for 1,300 years in Africa, Asia and the Middle East), let it truly be for what we believe, and not for Angelina Jolie, the '4th Meal' and extra cupholders."

Thoughts?

Jack is Back

2007-01-17T16:52:00.000-07:00

O.K. so the new season of 24 is underway. S and I watched all 5 seasons from October to December so we were ready. We weren't disappointed. What I want to know (spoiler alert) is what happened to Disneyland?

The Light That Shines in the Darkness

2007-01-11T20:58:00.000-07:00

We had an amazing celebration of Epiphany last Sunday (on the Baptism of our Lord) the 7th, with a pig roast no less! Our parish (Church of the Epiphany) is now 111 years old. It's amazing to see how a church goes from extinction to growth in so many different kinds of ways.

This particular parish began in 1896 but was the most vital in the 1950s under a rector who was very 'charismatic' and was able to make many of the older ladies swoon. He vacilated between the priesthood and Hollywood and preached many a dramatic sermon. The church had no windows for most of its history (the current building plant is 66 years old) and this founding rector would preach with all of the lights down, except the one on him. He also had a 'healing ministry' of the science of the mind/Mary Baker Eddy variety and was a mason. There are rumors of strange rites existing in the church--both of the Anglican and not so Christian variety.

Another interesting (strange?) piece of history is that every rector who followed the first found themselves either dead, disabled or caught in immorality.

The word 'epiphany' means 'manifestation' or 'revealing.' The Magi had the first 'epiphany' when they saw the Lord revealed by the star. Jesus revealed his own Deity through his baptism (where the Father and the Spirit were also present) and in his many 'signs,' (as John puts it)--that is, his miracles.

John said in his gospel that the Light shone in the darkness--yet the darkness could not understand it. This parish called 'Epiphany' is in a place where it needs to overcome its past darkness, the darkness of this thing we call 'the Episcopal Church' and the current darkness of the secular culture that surrounds us.

It ain't the 1950s and folks these days must choose to be disciples of Jesus and not to wear the denominational badge. But that is a good thing. We all know the Light Shining in the Darkness is Jesus Christ. The Darkness cannot overcome him.

The thing about the dark is that you only need a little bit of light to penetrate it. Light a match in a dark room and suddenly the dark is not what it was before. Imagine what the Light of the world can do with the darkness of our hearts, and with the darkness of one parish's past. The Light burns and the world is changed.

Is the Slope Slippery After All?

2007-01-03T21:50:00.000-07:00

The Headline reads:

Canadian province says child can have 2 mums

Here's the link:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070103/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_parents

Comments anyone?

Perspective

2007-01-03T21:42:00.000-07:00

And it is only a game. When tragedy strikes even the playoffs don't matter in a football town like Denver.

A White Christmas (season)

2006-12-29T11:21:00.000-07:00

Is the Lord trying to tell us something here in the 5280 capital?

My guess is we all squandered Advent and have been given a great opportunity to reflect on the Incarnation (in between shovelling of course). By a wonderful stroke of Providence, the in-laws have all the kids and S and I finally have some down time together. Praise God!

A Holy Christmas Season

2006-12-26T21:39:00.000-07:00

Listening to the radio in the car today, I noticed that the 'contemporary Christian' radio station was already done with Chirstmas music and the radio annoucers were talking about the 'great sales' in the stores. My 3 year old yelled from the back seat, 'put on some Christmas music, Daddy, please!'

The madness is over, and now, as Christians over the centuries have done--let's have a holy Christmas season. The Incarnation can never be put away with the boxes and the presents. There really are twelve days between now and Epiphany and there is every reason to keep singing carols and to keep saying 'Merry Christmas!' We are a people healed by that which was assumed, the flesh of Jesus son of Mary, Son of God.

So---'Merry Christ-mass!'

Not Too Swift

2006-12-14T12:33:00.000-07:00

Was it just me or was anyone else disturbed to see illegals rounded up at the Swift meatpacking plants around the country? Swift is based out of Greeley, Colorado, about 60 miles northeast of Denver. No one wants identity theft or criminal behavior but the timing is interesting---the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe(December 12) and so close to Christmas. Makes the heart sad.

Is Adiaphora Good for the Soul?

2006-11-30T16:52:00.000-07:00

Πιστεύομεν εις ένα Θεον Πατερα παντοκράτορα, ποιητην ουρανου και γης, ορατων τε πάντων και αορατων.

Και εις ένα κύριον Ιησουν Χριστον, τον υιον του θεοθ τον μονογενη, τον ει του πατρος γεννηθέν τα προ πάντων των αιώνων, φως εκ φωτος, θεον αληθινον εκ θεου αληθινου, γεννηθέντα, ου ποιηθέντα, ομοουσιον τωι πατρί· δι' ου τα παντα εγένετο· τον δι' ημας τους αιθρώποους και δια την ημετέραν σωτηρίαν κατελθοντα εκ των ουρανων και σαρκωθέντα εκ πνεύματος αγίου και Μαρίας της παρθένου και ενανθρωπήσαντα, σταυρωθέντα τε υπερ ημων επι Ποντίου Πιλάτου, και παθοντα και ταφέντα, και ανασταντα τηι τρίτηι ημέπαι κατα τας γραφάς, και ανελθόντα εις τους ουρανούς, και καθεζόμενον εκ δεξιων του πατρός, και πάλιν ερχόμενον μετα δόξης κριναι ζωντας και νεκρούς· ου της βασιλείας ουκ έσται τέλος.

Και εις το Πνευμα το Άγιον, το κύριον, (και) το ζωοποιόν, το εκ του πατρος εκπορευόμενον, το συν πατρι και υιωι συν προσκυνούμενον και συνδοξαζόμενον, το λαλησαν δια των προφητων· εις μίαν, αγίαν, καθολικην και αποστολικην εκκλησίαω· ομολογουμεν εν βάπτισμα εις άφεσιν αμαρτιων· προσδοκωμεν ανάστασιν νεκρων, και ζωην του μελλοντος αιώωος. Αμήν.

One area of theology that the Reformation (inspired by Augustine) brought to the Christian world was the idea of 'adiaphora' defined by the slogan by Luther's protege Philip Melanchthon: "In essentials, unity, in doubtful things, liberty, and in all things charity."

The Reformed Anglican Tradition prided itself on holding the center and keeping charity and liberty in the 'non-essentials'---until the center caved in.

Is 'adiaphora' possible for the Christian Tradition? If so, what are it's limits?

Pope Benedict said recently in a meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury, "Our long journey makes it necessary to acknowledge publicly the challenge represented by new developments which, besides being divisive for Anglicans, present serious obstacles to our ecumenical progress," a nice way of saying, with developments over the last 30 years, 'y'all are out of bounds.'

Happy Thanksgiving!

2006-11-23T11:09:00.000-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all neophytes!!

Left Way Behind

2006-11-18T20:09:00.000-07:00

Since Advent is just around the corner, it is the annual time to start thinking about Advent's dual reflection: the first coming of Christ and his second coming. I grew up in a church that made the Left Behind books look like Dr. Suess. We talked about 'being ready for the rapture,' and I, as an 8 year old, had far too much fear of the eschaton. Does anyone remember the Thief in the Night movies? They are about as cheesy as they come, with all the fashion of the 1970s, but they scared the hell out of me as a kid. I know that the tensions in the Middle East have the end times prophets working overtime. So, what do we do with the second coming and the 'end times?' Eschatology is, after all, an important part of our Faith. As the Creed says, "And he shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead, whose kingdom shall have no end."

A Haggardly Ending

2006-11-06T16:10:00.000-07:00

I have been follwing Ted Haggard's story with much grief and sadness. I am particularly saddened by the coverage in the news media. Like this is a 'political' story!? There is a complete disregard for a man who is very broken with a family that is humiliated and devastated--especially his kids (who were on the front page of the newspaper).

I heard that in certain poitical circles people were cheering about Haggard's downfall. Makes the heart sad.

Pundits and Power

2006-11-02T16:53:00.000-07:00

I know that our readers have strong feelings about next week's election. We are all concerned about the direction of our country and the potential direction of our country. We are all concerned about the brutal war we are engaged in.

A corollary to a previous post. Are we called to be politically powerful as Christians? How does the political direction of the country affect the Church? How do we most effectively bring about change?

All Saints/ All Souls

2006-11-02T13:05:00.000-07:00

Nothing challenges our distorted sense of individualism like a sober-minded, Christian reflection of the faithful departed. The Saints are not mini gods out to do our bidding, nor are they silent on the other side of heaven. They pray for us as the 'great cloud of witnesses' and cheer us on. The church is not the bricks and stones of our meeting places, but the living stones of apostles, prophets and martyrs and all of those faithful in Christ who have preceded us in eternity!

Burning Man

2006-10-23T22:04:00.000-06:00

Recently, I read about the postmodern festival called the 'Burning Man.' This takes place every year in the Nevada desert and lasts for over a month. People, mostly young, from all over, risk the 107 degree heat to experience art and radical community. The website describes it this way:

You belong here and you participate. You're not the weirdest kid in the classroom — there's always somebody there who's thought up something you never even considered. You're there to breathe art. Imagine an ice sculpture emitting glacial music — in the desert. Imagine the man, greeting you, neon and benevolence, watching over the community. You're here to build a community that needs you and relies on you.

You're here to survive. What happens to your brain and body when exposed to 107 degree heat, moisture wicking off your body and dehydrating you within minutes? You know and watch yourself. You drink water constantly and piss clear. You'll want to reconsider drinking that alcohol (or taking those other substances) you brought with you — the mind-altering experience of Burning Man is its own drug. You slather yourself in sunblock before the sun's rays turn up full blast. You bring enough food, water, and shelter because the elements of the new planet are harsh, and you will find no vending.

You're here to create. Since nobody at Burning Man is a spectator, you're here to build your own new world.

The article goes on to describe it in almost religious terms: a place of 'radical inclusion,' 'an epiphany,' a place where you are 'reborn.' One of the mission statements of the Burning Man festival is to 'bring positive spiritual change.' A book I saw recently has said that Burning Man is the new church and it in fact has superceded the church because it is more spiritually effective, more authentic, and has a higher degree of community. Who out there has been to one of these? What is your assessment?

Christ the Spiritual Master

2006-10-23T21:47:00.000-06:00

While Jesus did not offer any spiritual 'techniques' per se, without a doubt the disciplines of the spiritual life were commonplace for him. He prayed in deserted places, he fasted, he fought with demons, he heared directly from the Father. The Sermon on the Mount is perhaps the most sublime of his spiritual teachings.

We must remember that Jesus was a Middle Eastern man and that Christianity was birthed in the East, not the West.

Justia Dei

2006-10-10T07:11:00.000-06:00

Our 'evil' discussion has morphed into a discussion on original sin. So, how is one 'saved?' That is, what are we 'saved' from, and what are we 'saved' to, and in what way does Christ save us? Also, how are we 'justiied,' that is, made right before God?

Evil?

2006-09-26T14:44:00.000-06:00

We've had some spirited discussion below and some terms have been used that might need clarification. When we say that such and such or so and so are 'evil' (i.e. Bush, Islamofascism) what are we talking about? Is evil personal? Is it external? Is it corporate? Is it everyone else but us?

Who decides what is evil and what is not?

Papa's In Trouble

2006-09-18T08:29:00.000-06:00

"Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached...God is not pleased by blood - and not acting reasonably is contrary to God's nature. Faith is born of the soul, not the body. Whoever would lead someone to faith needs the ability to speak well and to reason properly, without violence and threats... To convince a reasonable soul, one does not need a strong arm, or weapons of any kind, or any other means of threatening a person with death..."

So said Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus in the 14th century. Based on the response to Papa's comments, was the emperor right?

Inclusive as...

2006-09-13T10:42:00.000-06:00

Check out this link:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2348095,00.html

Apparently, one can be an Anglican priest and also a Hindu. The article states:

Mr Hart believes that his change to Hinduism would be “read in the spirit of open exploration and dialogue, which is an essential feature of our shared modern spirituality”.

He also said that he would continue to celebrate as an Anglican priest when he visited England, but he would also visit a Hindu temple while there. “My philosophical position is that all religions are cultural constructs,” he said. “I am acting out God’s story in local terms.”

I'm getting pretty tired of this caca de torro.

I guess I shouldn't throw away my application to the Jedi academy after all! Sigh. Maranantha!

Mainstream or Diaspora?

2006-08-30T12:01:00.000-06:00

I love the discussion. I asked below what we do as a church when it comes to things like radical Islam. Now to the greater question. Is our goal as the church to be mainstream, to be the 'winners' in the culture war? Or are we to be the Christian diaspora, that is the 'losers' in the culture war, liminal and on the fringe? In what ways is our citizenship in heaven in conflict with our citizenship in this world--applied directly to the kind of discussion we have been having?

The children of Israel have asked that question throughout their history. (The picture is of Titus sacking the Temple in 70 A.D.)

Mid East Crisis

2006-08-25T19:08:00.000-06:00

Since the post below about our President seemed to strike such a chord, are there any answers to the crisis in the Mid-East? What do we as Christians do? How does the Church deal with radical Islam? Beyond the political process, are there any answers? Answers that won't do:

Liberals: "Let's drop butter, not bombs!"
Conservatives: "Let's turn the Middle East into a crater!"

Tough question of the day: Are the interests of the United States the same as the interests of the gospel and the Church?

Kickin' it old school

2006-08-25T19:02:00.000-06:00

The Continental in Denver had a special showing of the original Matrix on its giant screen last Wednesday. I can't believe we've been watching it on the itty bitty screen all of these years. Other than a couple of scenes that were stolen, the experience was old school magic.

'V' for Very Disappointed

2006-08-22T21:51:00.000-06:00

Not to bite the hand that feeds us, but...

While I put off the Wachowski's 'V' because I heard the church was put in the worst possible light (it was and the FF button was pressed a few times), I finally saw it last weekend. Think Michael Moore meets the Matrix. Not that we don't have lots of liberal minded folks in our community, but, Wachowskis, chill out. Hugo was amazing but the political junk food was terrible.

The Theotokos

2006-08-15T17:30:00.000-06:00

O God, you have taken to yourself the blessed Virgin Mary,
mother of your incarnate Son: Grant that we, who have been
redeemed by his blood, may share with her the glory of your
eternal kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives
and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
now and for ever. Amen.

A Blessed Feast Day of St. Mary the Virgin!!

Left, Right Left, Right--How Wide the Divide?

2006-08-12T08:44:00.000-06:00

Our Commander in Chief is both loved and hated by folks all over the political spectrum. Why has this President brought out such strong feelings? Other presidents put themselves in wartime situations, some with better results than others. Most of our Presidents have claimed Christian faith. Why does W make conservatives warm and fuzzy and the rest saying, "I never thought I'd miss the Nixon administration?"

What was he thinking?

2006-08-05T14:27:00.000-06:00

Mel Gibson is one of my heroes. My wife and I had just finished watching We Were Soldiers just days before he dropped his DUI bomb. I have followed his spiritual journey from Lethal Weapon through Signs and, of course, to the Passion.

Bad timing? Couldn't be worse. While Israel gets bombed by Hezbullah, Mel decides to choke and say horrible things. I really don't think he is Anti-Semitic. The Passion could not have captured the Jewish spirit better. I studied biblical Hebrew in college and the Aramaic in the Passion could not have been more moving. In fact, it is stunning to hear.

I hope we can pray for Mel Gibson, our brother in Christ. It would be easy to throw him under the bus now, but let's pray that God and the Jewish community will forgive him.

Everyone is Special, But...

2006-08-01T21:34:00.000-06:00

"You are special, special, everyone is special, everyone in his or her own way."
My girls were watching Barney yesterday morning, and the 'special' song came on. Then I heard Barney explain "You are the only you in the whole wide world."

Barney is just a kids show I know--but he reflects the culture's emphasis on 'being the only you' and that 'everyone is special in his or her own way!' Nothing wrong with good old fashioned self-worth and a healthy bit of individuality, but why are we not 'special' because of the family we belong to or because of the community we are a part of? (Or, of course, because we belong to the Body of Christ?) Why am I only special when I am me?

We are made for the whole, not for ourselves. We were created for communion with God and our fellows, not for self-esteem or self-anything!

Positive Notes

2006-07-30T21:06:00.000-06:00

On vacation my wife and I visited a couple of really big and healthy Episcopal Churches. Still, we found ourselves missing our own parish, which is growing but certainly not anywhere near as large as the others. We missed our worship and our folks.

There is a great deal of negativity surrounding church life these days--much of it quite warrented. Call this a research question: What is it about your church that you love, on a deep, heart level? Forget the 'big this or that program,' what is it about your parish that brings you into the presence of God and inspires you to serve Him?

Would you read a book about...

2006-07-30T20:58:00.000-06:00

-The last emperor of the Byzantine Empire?
-With lots of war and martial arts?
-With a tragic ending?

The real life story of Constantine XI is fascinating and I'd like to try my hand at writing a historical fiction piece. Any advice from the neophytes? Is there anyone out there who has actually done something like this?

7 Song Meme

2006-07-22T14:50:00.000-06:00

The 'Ungodly Ranter' tagged me to name 7 songs I am currently 'into.' (Yes, I am avoiding the unraveling of the Episcopal Church). Here they are:

1)Don't Stop Believin'--Journey (it's even one of my ringtones, can you ever be tired of this song?)
2)Photograph--Def Leppard
3)Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence
4)Here I am to Worship--Tim Hughes (a little CCM doesn't hurt anyone)
5)How Great is Our God--Chris Tomlin (see #4)
6)Imperial March (see #1)
7)I Bind Unto Myself Today--St. Patrick's Breastplate

Does this say anything about me, like a personality test?

'Tis in Hiding

2006-07-22T14:37:00.000-06:00

No, I am not in hiding, just on vacation ('Till Tuesday at least). Currently, the whole house is napping which is a most unusual occurence!

I just finished Frank McCourt (Angela's Ashes)second book, called 'Tis, which is his sequel to Angela's Ashes. What a riot! McCourt reminds me of a Saliger with Irish humor. Lots of drinking, lots of language, but what a picture of a poor immigrant's life in New York.

I was struck with McCourt's picture of the church--quite negative--but I got the sense he longed for it somehow. He was also brief in his description of how his first marriage failed and never mentions his current wife. I'm considering buying his third book Teacher Man, but I will be disappointed if he doesn't fill me in on those details. If anyone has read Teacher Man, let me know.

Welcoming, Affirming, and in Big Trouble

2006-06-26T20:33:00.000-06:00

What is frustrating about the implosion of the mainline and my denomination in particular, is the leadership's inability to address the decline in membership and faithfulness to the Christian faith among mainline Christians. The talk of inclusion and being 'welcoming and affirming' is actually an irony. The more lax the tradition, the less people there are who show up for the game. Here's a great sign for the front lawn: "We welcome and affirm your brokenness. We have nothing to offer you that you cannot get staying at home watching trendy cable shows like 'Queer Eye'. But we're very nice!"

Inclusive as Hell

2006-06-22T20:35:00.000-06:00

Seraph mentioned that I have not commented on the week long fiasco that was ECUSAs General Convention. I usually lay low on 'church matters' so as not to be too esoteric for our readers.

However, I am no longer sure that ECUSA (and many of the other mainline denominations) on a national level can call itself a 'church' at all. Churches do not put matters of faith and morals up to a 'vote,' nor are they driven by secular agendas. No one has a 'right' to be ordained, it is something that God calls you to. No one has a 'right' to anything in God's Kingdom. We relinquish our rights for the sake of Christ and the sake of the the Body, the Church.

Conventions and Conferences only cause more and more people to become disillusioned with what they thought was a church. What these poor folk learn is that there is nothing 'one, holy, catholic, or apostolic' about elitists voting away the soul of their own faith.

PS The photo is not from the General Convention, but from Trinity Wall Street's celebration of Trinity Sunday in 2005. A mime and clown mass. Kyrie Eleison.

I Bind Unto Myself Today

2006-06-10T20:58:00.000-06:00

At heart in so many of the 'Jesus fad' discussion is if Jesus ever claimed to be God or the Son of God. John 8:58 seems obvious enough for me.

The early Christians not only believed that the New Testament taught the divinity of Christ and hence, the doctrine of the Trinity, they also experienced God in a Trinitarian way. God the Father was 'above' them, God the Son was 'with' them in the person of Jesus, and God the Holy Spirit was 'within' them, making them a new creation.

What puts us at odds with Judaism and Islam (Mohammed in the Koran says, 'if Allah had a Son, I would be the first to worship him'), is our insistance that God is one yet three, and that indeed God's greatest act was to become one of us.

So much of Protestant reflection on salvation has wrongly put Jesus at odds with his Father. In other words, God anger with us was taken out on Jesus. However, the Trinity and the Incarnation of the Son of God show us a God who is not angry, but who is reaching out to us, even before we reach for him.

A Blessed Trinity Sunday+

Vocare

2006-06-03T14:21:00.000-06:00

Getting close to the Feast of Pentecost, it is vital and necessary to focus on the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit. One thing that stikes me, though, is the way in which the Holy Spirit 'lifted the veil' not only on the way the disciples saw the world, but also on their sense of perception. It was as if they could not only see better, but that they could also 'hear' better. When God spoke, they could not help but hear. When he called, they could not help but follow. Listen to these words by a Benedictine abbot at the consecration of a monk:

When God calls He means business! He calls and you must respond ‘Yes” or ‘No’. Anything less or different would be a lie to Him and to yourself. The response can be nothing less than total. Part time monks are like part-time Christians; they are good only for Sunday Mass statistics!

What we need is the ability to hear--an ability to perceive the Holy Spirit's radical call in our lives!

Charismatic Leadership

2006-05-16T21:17:00.000-06:00

'Leadership' is all the rage. Many seminaries offer programs that boast courses on 'leadership development' and such. Many books on leadership I've seen are based on secular business methods. The problem is, what are pastors/priests? Are we religious CEOs or something else? Are we the 'non-anxious presence' of systems theory?

Two books on my shelf are bucking this trend. The first (which I have read twice) is Empowered Church Leadership by Brian J. Dodd, and the second (which I am currently reading) is called Soul Mending by Fr. John Chryssavgis.

Dodd is a evangelical church-plant type and Chryssavgis is an Orthodox priest. Dodd uses the apostle Paul as his model of leadership and Chryssavgis the desert fathers. Both point to 'charisamtic leadership,' but not in the sense of slick and 'crowd pleasing.' They speak of charismatic leaders who are filled with the Holy Spirit and the presence of Jesus. Leaders who are followed and even obeyed, not because they are gifted 'people persons' but because they are gifted by the Spirit of God. As one father of the desert put it, 'Obedience responds to obedience, and not to authority.'

No longer cool

2006-05-10T21:55:00.000-06:00

Today is my birthday. Not that I was cool to begin with, but now I am officially 'out' of the 18-35 age range. I am no longer a part of the 2% of priests in ECUSA 35 or under. Now I'm just an '80s geek. I choose Blogger instead of MySpace. GenX rulz man. How old were you when Escape came out?

Solutions?

2006-05-04T19:17:00.000-06:00

I am not a politician nor the son of a politician. I just wonder, with all the rhetoric, how this immigration thing can actually be solved. I don't buy the 'assimilation' stuff (this really ought to make the Christian pause--remember 1 Peter calls us 'resident aliens!!'), and I see so many big wigs using Mexican labor more like slave labor than anything else. So, what is the Christian response?

I commend this article from this month's Christianity Today:
Blessed Are the Courageous

When it comes to immigration policy, let's remember who we're talking about.
A Christianity Today editorial | posted 04/03/2006 09:45 a.m.

The usual array of arguments marshaled to support or hinder immigration tends toward the abstract. The arguments often obscure rather than clarify. It's helpful to remember who we are talking about when we discuss "undocumented workers."

We're talking about people like Maria. Daniel Groody, immigration scholar, author, and Catholic priest, tells Maria's story like this:

"I remember meeting Maria, who came north from Guatemala and wanted to work in the United States for only two years, then return home to her family. I met her on the Mexican side of the border just before her third attempt. In the previous 10 days, she had tried twice to cross the border through a remote route in southern Arizona. On her first attempt, she was mugged at the border by bandito gangs. Though bruised and beaten, she continued her journey through the desert and ran out of food. Just before she reached the road, she was apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol and put in an immigration detention center. A few days later she tried again. This time, her coyote smuggler tried to rape her, but she managed to free herself and push her way through the desert once again. After four days of walking, she ran out of food, water, and even strength. The border patrol found her, helped her, and then sent her back to Mexico."

Dignity for Aliens
On the one hand, some advocates tell us to remember that immigrants are made in the image of God and have an essential dignity. That is true. But basic human dignity also belongs to the border agents, the coyote smuggler who tried to rape Maria, and legislators who seek to further restrict Maria from coming to the United States.

On the other hand, some complain about "lazy Hispanics" who desert their families and come to this country to take advantage of social welfare programs. But given human nature, all kinds of people abuse our welfare system—including Anglos.

Some Christians pull a verse out of Leviticus like a trump card—let's say Leviticus 19:33–34: "When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born." They use it as a bludgeon: "The Bible commands us to welcome the stranger."

Indeed, we should. But that does not help us decide, ultimately, what to do with "illegal aliens." Nor whether we should give amnesty to the up to 12 million undocumented persons in our midst, or deport them, or something in between. Nor does it tell us how to screen out drug dealers and terrorists in a way that protects human rights and dignity.

There is also the argument that says we should care about immigrants, legal or not, because they are poor, oppressed, and defenseless—"the least of these." As one well-meaning cleric put it, we Christians are called "to attend to the last, littlest, lowest, and least in society and in the church."

Such talk can be patronizing and demeaning. Immigrants aren't mere victims, but historic actors. Most of the suffering they experience they know about well in advance, yet they venture forth in courage nonetheless. They are not weak, but strong; not "the least of these," but our betters in many ways. They have the initiative and courage that is emblematic of being American. They traverse deserts. They walk 50 miles or farther in treacherous conditions that have killed (so far) 3,000—all to enjoy greater economic and political freedom.

Once here, they toil in labor-intensive work that most Americans consider demeaning but that immigrants imbue with dignity, because of the work ethic they bring to it. That ethic—when combined with thrift and care for family and extended family—has earned them a significant place in American culture.

Deep Faith
We suspect that they are also people of deep Christian faith in many cases.

Groody continues his story about Maria:

"I was curious about how Maria dealt with these trials before God. 'If you had 15 minutes to speak to God,' I asked her, 'what would you say?' I thought she would give him a long litany of complaints. Instead, she told me, 'I do not have 15 minutes to speak to God. I am always conversing with him, and I feel his presence with me always. Yet if I saw God face to face, the first thing I would do is thank him, because God has been so good to me and has blessed me so abundantly.'"

Immigration policy is a mass of complexity. A wise policy will balance compassion for individuals and separated families with national security and economic ramifications. Respect for law is not negotiable, but it is not everything. And creating criminal penalties for those who aid illegal immigrants falls far short of solving our problems. Those responsible for crafting immigration reform surely need our prayers.

We should remind our lawmakers and advocates that when all is said and done, we're not talking about "the poor" or "deadbeats" or "undocumented workers." We're talking mostly about people like Maria.

Any policy that treats her the same way we treat drug smugglers and foreign terrorists is foolish. Any policy that makes it harder for Maria to come here, temporarily or permanently, is a policy that says that courage, industry, and faith no longer matter.

Let's figure out some way, please, to let Maria and others like her sojourn among us.

Copyright © 2006 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Home Sweet Home

2006-05-04T19:04:00.000-06:00

No, not the Crue tune. We were debating on homeschooling for our daughter who is in kindergarten this year. We decided to do it and have no regrets. Of course my wonderful bride carried the bulk of the load, but she pulled it off quite well. This makes us kinda freaky in our denominational circles, but, oh well. Here are my babies.

Doubt and Easter

2006-04-24T16:41:00.000-06:00

Last Sunday was 'Thomas Sunday.' The second Sunday of Easter is the time when we reflect on faith and doubt and focus on Thomas, the one who 'saw and believed.' Jesus, in turn says, 'blessed are those who have not seen, yet believe.'

Here are some reflections from an anonymous blogger that posted on my sermon sight, I'm especially interested in what he says about 'oversimplification and overgeneralization':

DavidD said...
So doubt is the enemy, eh? Yet doubt is necessary to understand the difference between true faith and false faith, as fear is necessary for prudence and anger is necessary for determination.

Human beings are suckers for oversimplification and overgeneralization. Religion preys on this weakness, among others. I would look for God beyond that myself. I find God understands the usefulness of doubt and the folly of saying one shouldn't doubt.

I think there are many kinds of doubters. Mostly, I think a risen Christ is too threatening for the majority of us! If he is risen, then he's a threat to our cozy little world.

Why are you looking for the living among the dead?

2006-04-16T15:16:00.000-06:00

Easter Sunday 2006

I am going to do what most preachers would not do on this day. I want to give you every reason not to believe what we have just heard and what we are celebrating this year.

We have scientific reasons. How many of you have ever seen a dead person come back to life? How many of you have ever seen a dead person come back to life and be resurrected, never to die again? And this gospel of Mark, it seems to be an ambiguous account anyway. One commentator says this, ‘The resurrection, as Mark presents it, is not formally verifiable according to scientific rules of evidence. Mark offers no evidence that the young man’s message is true, except that he reiterates precisely what Jesus said would happen.’ No scientific evidence. No good empirical evidence. But that is not the best reason not to believe.

What about the different ways the four evangelists describe Easter morning? Are there one angels or two? How many women were there? Which women actually were there? What were there names? The gospel writers don’t agree, how can we? But that is still not the best reason not to believe.

Do you want to know what the best reason not to believe this story? If we do believe it, then we are forced to deal with this prophet from Nazareth named Jesus on his own terms, not ours. If Christ is risen, he has something to say about how we live our lives. If Christ is risen, then indeed he is the Son of God!

There are reasons not to believe. But usually those reasons have to do with our desire not to be inconvenienced. And my friends, a risen Christ is inconvenient to all of us!!

Mark actually wrote his gospel with people like us in mind. The disciples don’t get it and the women are afraid to even tell anyone about the empty tomb that they have seen. I believe that Mark wanted to show us the first Episcopalians! ‘They said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.’

Mark offers a challenge and that is the genius of his account. As one writer has said, ‘Mark’s ending shows that the historical, “Was it real?” ignores the more crucial question, “Is it real?” Something other than a pious dropping by the tomb once every Easter and looking in to see that it is empty is required to spark faith.’

The resurrection asks us to do two things. One, to believe the claims of Jesus and two, to proclaim the message. An irony of Mark’s gospel is that throughout Jesus tells those he has healed not to tell anyone about it, and of course they tell everyone. Here at the empty tomb, the angel tells the women to tell, and they go away afraid, silent. The challenge is for us, the disciples here and now to tell it out. To proclaim it on the rooftops.

But there’s one more thing. Mark mentions what the angels said to the women.
Why do you look for the living among the dead?

Perhaps you’re here today because it is what you do on Easter. Perhaps you’re here today because some dragged you. Perhaps you will leave this morning as unaffected by it all as when you sat down.

You have been looking for the living among the dead. You’ve tried the high life or the low life, however you want to put it, and you have found it lacking. Or you’ve got the two.5 kids and the SUV but life just ain’t cutting it. You’ve got cash, or you can’t wait to get some, but it just doesn’t seem to be enough.

You are looking for the living among the dead. You want this thing to be true because sometimes you feel dead inside. Whether you’re hooked on Jack Daniels or Ben and Jerry’s or Ben Franklin’s you’re tired, darn tired, of looking for the living among the dead.

If Christ is risen, than he is more than a carpenter. He is the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, God of God, light of light true God from true God.

He lives, not only to pull you out of the grave clothes of death, but to take you out the grave clothes you’re living in now. The Easter celebration is wonderful, but if he doesn’t breathe life into you, if his life death and resurrection have nothing to do with you and me each and every day, we’re just playing around.

There are reasons not to believe. But usually those reasons have to do with our desire not to be inconvenienced. And my friends, a risen Christ is inconvenient to all of us!!

Why do you look for the living among the dead? Christ is risen. Invite him into your life today. The doors of the Kingdom of Heaven are open for you. Amen.

Good Friday

2006-04-14T08:23:00.000-06:00

Tonight's Reflection on Good Friday

When the children of Israel fled from Egypt they had two paths to take. They could have gone through the land of the Philistines and arrived more rapidly to the promised land.

But God was clear that they were not to take this path. They were to take the more difficult path–through the Red Sea. In fact even after the miraculous deliverance in the Red Sea, they were set on another path–the Divine path–through the wilderness. It was a 40 year detour of suffering, confusion, and adversity. The Scripture is clear that this was the path God wanted them to take.

Pilate asked Jesus, ‘what is Truth?’ Well, Jesus had already answered the question just 5 chapters earlier in John’s gospel. ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.’

As Christians we often think doctrinally when it comes to Truth–and in part we should. The doctrines of the faith must be true or this weekend has absolutely no meaning whatsoever. However, as much as Jesus is the Truth–he is also the way and he is also the life.

If we are to accept that Jesus is the Truth, then we must accept the way that he desires us to walk and the life that he expects us to emulate.

Our way to the promised land is to find the Truth of forgiveness and salvation in Jesus, yes! A thousand times yes!

But a servant is not greater than his master. If he is the Truth, then he is also the way and the life. His way of the cross is our way. The life that he lived in obedience and humility must be our life as well.

If he is the Truth, then his way is our way. His life is to be our life. His cross is our way to salvation, but he requires that we take it up ourselves as well.

Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimthea understood the risk their taking Jesus’ body was. They still were quiet about their devotion. But they could not keep away. They overlooked the purity laws of coming into contact with a dead body. They overlooked the fact that if caught, they could be next.

Significantly, Nicodemus’ gift of a hundred pounds of spices was an incredibly extravagant gift. Gratitude drove him–to risk his own life in love for Christ. Nicodemus risked his own life because his heart was full of love and gratitude.

As we venerate the cross tonight, kiss it in gratitude. Touch it in thanksgiving. Like Nicodemus, bring a heart full of love and thanksgiving. The fragrant offering you bring for him is none other than your soul, your life, your all.

Agape

2006-04-13T16:51:00.000-06:00

Maundy Thursday
Love is an obsession of humanity. So what is it? Is it the eewie goowie feelings of a first kiss? Is it unbridled sensuality? Is it finding that someone who ‘completes us?’ As Jerry Mcguire might say?
Mother Teresa said “love is a fruit that is always in season.” To what is she referring? Is it the weird way in which 21st century Americans meet to “try out” another person or to gratify a desire? Or is love something else? When Scripture says that “God is love,” what does that mean? Maybe we should consult our gospel tonight to see what love is.
What is taking place here in John 13? Why is this night different from other nights? It was just before Passover, the night before Jesus was to be crucified. Passover was a time to remember. It was a time to look back when Israel was in bondage to Egypt and God miraculously delivered them. In the famous Exodus story, God struck down the firstborn of every family in Egypt, his final of several terrible plagues. That fateful night, the only families who were spared were those who had killed an unblemished lamb and applied the blood of that lamb on their doorposts. The angel of death “passed over” those houses protected by the blood of the slain lamb. Incidentally, this is why Episcopal Churches have red doors. This is a place of safety and sanctuary.
It was for this Passover, records John, that Jesus came. Remember the words of John the Baptist, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.” Jesus had full knowledge that it was his hour to become the Lamb of God. He knew his betrayer was in his midst, yet he wanted to show his disciples the full extent of his love. I cannot imagine the agony he must have felt knowing the brutal treatment he was about to receive. Nor can I understand why he would want to show love to a group of men who would all soon abandon him.
Jesus answered our questions about love by showing that love is manifest in and through humility. Our gospel says Jesus knew “that the Father had given all things into his hands.” So, if he knew this, what did he do? Did he display his power by destroying the Romans? Did he display his power by forcing his disciples to declare him as King? No. He got up and wrapped a towel around his waist and began to wash his disciples feet. As you probably know, foot washing in 1st century Palestine whether you be Jewish, Greek or Roman, was reserved for the slaves of the household. It was a menial, degrading task. Remember the words of John the Baptist when he refers to Jesus as the one who comes after him, “the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” John was referring to foot washing. He felt he was not even worthy to be a slave to Jesus. So what was Jesus doing? The one who had all things under his power, made himself a slave to show is love for his disciples. The King of kings and Lord of lords became a slave to show his love to his disciples. He showed that love is manifested by humility and selflessness, not selfishness and pride.
Next Christ shows us that before we can love, we must first be loved. Peter could not understand why Jesus was humiliating himself so. Peter saw this act of humility as a sign of weakness and rightly so. He says, “Lord, you shall never wash my feet!” but Jesus felt it was imperative to show that Peter must first be served before it was possible for him to serve. We can see how difficult it must have been for Peter to accept this kind of love. It is often easier to be the one who is giving the care rather than the one receiving the care. Sometimes we think we are junior messiahs and try so hard to give ourselves to others. We do not realize that we too need help, like Peter.
As long as I’ve been coming to Maundy Thursday services, there is always someone who is freaked out by the whole idea of footwashing in the first place. I remember one Lent I was in a basketball league and I wore shoes that were too small one game. When you wear shoes that are too small you get what athletes call ‘purple toe.’ So guess what my feet looked like that Maundy Thursday?
Footwashing is an embarrassing and vulnerable kind of thing. Peter felt that it was degrading for Jesus. He was embarrassed for him. Peter did not want to receive such an act of love and humility. But Jesus insisted. Because Jesus wanted to love him like no one else could.
When someone loves you deeply, they see all of your weaknesses and those things that are ugly, those things you would rather not have others see—yet they love you anyway.
That’s what the love of Jesus is like. Those who know his love know that he loves totally and without condition. Someone might say, “That’s all well and good, but you don’t know the kind of life I’ve led, or the things I’ve done.” But God does not love us–not because of what we do but in spite of it. Through Christ, we are forgiven and loved. The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world—has taken away your sins and mine. Indeed we have been loved.
Next, Jesus shows us that since we have been loved , we should in turn love others. Today is Maundy Thursday. Can anyone tell me what “Maundy” means? “Maundy” is the Latin word meaning “commandment.” After washing his disciples feet, Jesus says, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another—just as I have loved you, you should also love one another.” This “new commandment” puts the Maundy in Maundy Thursday. Christ wants us to love as he loved. He wants us to relinquish our rights just as he did his. To love as Christ loved, we relinquish our right to think we are better than anyone else: we do things no one else wants to do, we go where no one else wants to go. We love even when the other person does not deserve it.
Could you imagine what our lives would look like if we loved in this way? Could you imagine your relationship with your loved ones if you all committed to love selflessly the way Christ did–putting others first? Could you imagine our church if we all committed to put everyone else’s needs above our own? Could you imagine your marriage if both spouses committed to putting the other before themselves?
Love as Christ loved–do the things no one else wants to do, go places no one else wants to go. Put others first, whether they deserve it or not.
Lastly, for the truest example of love, there is no greater love than that which Jesus displayed on the cross—which is what this week, and our faith is all about.
John 13:1 says that Jesus showed the full extent of his love—he loved then to the last, he loved them completely. The act of foot washing was only a foretaste of what Jesus was to do on a horrible cross of wood the next day. There is no greater love than love Christ displayed by dying for these disciples that he calls friends. These disciples who all abandoned him only a few hours after he washed their feet. The Romans and the Sanhedrin who had him put to death, at least they didn’t know him—but his friends abandoned him in his greatest hour of need. And he died for them.
Why? Why would he die for those who denied and abandoned him?
We know we have abandoned and denied him too. It is so easy to make sin and evil something ‘out there,’ something that others do to helpless victims or something others do to us. But as our bishop recently remarked, ‘sin’s face is always the most familiar.’ That face is our own. We live with ourselves everyday—we know what is in our minds, we know what is in our hearts, we know what our true intentions are. We know we “haven’t loved God with our whole hearts and we haven’t loved our neighbors as ourselves.” Why would he die for us?
Because he loves us—not because of what we do but in spite of it. No matter how unlovely or unlovable we think we are, he loves us. no matter how unlovely or unlovable you think you are, he loves you.
Richard Neuhaus says, “from the beginning God knew what he would do about a humanity he created free to love him, and therefore free to hate him...From the beginning ‘God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself.’ This is what it means to love; this is what it means to be love; this is what it means to say that God is love...What was separated by an abyss of wrong has been reconciled by the deed of perfect love.”
So-what is love? Love is not a selfish feeling. Love is not an emotion. Love is not using others for our own needs and gratification. Love is none of these things. Love is doing the things no one else wants to do, going the places no one else wants to go; putting others first, whether they deserve it or not.
Love is a towel. And a basin. It is a cross of wood. Three nails. And a crown of thorns.

Gnosis with the Mostest Deux

2006-04-07T21:17:00.000-06:00

All of a sudden there is a buzz about the 'Gospel of Judas.' This is a Gnostic text written by a sect called the 'Cainites,' who venerated those punished by God in the Old Testament (like Cain), because they withstood the punishment of the cruel God of the Old Testament. The gospel of Judas says that Judas was trying to 'free' Jesus from his flesh--a task that Jesus put Judas up to.

The text is condemned by Iranaeus in about 180 AD. Here is his quote in full:

Others again declare that Cain derived his being from the Power above, and acknowledge that Esau, Korah, the Sodomites, and all such persons, are related to themselves. On this account, they add, they have been assailed by the Creator, yet no one of them has suffered injury. For Sophia was in the habit of carrying off that which belonged to her from them to herself. They declare that Judas the traitor was thoroughly acquainted with these things, and that he alone, knowing the truth as no others did, accomplished the mystery of the betrayal; by him all things, both earthly and heavenly, were thus thrown into confusion. They produce a fictitious history of this kind, which they style the Gospel of Judas.

Irenaus describes the Cainite Gnosticism and the polytheism around it.

Since the Gospel of Judas is a Cainite Gnostic writing written in the late 2nd century does anyone really think it can offer any 'historical insight' on Jesus? Give me a break! Elaine Pagels and Dan Brown strike again! Does anyone really take this stuff serious?!

No Easter without the Cross

2006-04-07T20:55:00.000-06:00

Few pilgrims take the road through Holy Week to the Sunday of Resurrection. It seems that so many go from the 'Hosannas' of Palm Sunday to the 'Christ is Risen' anthems of Easter Sunday.

But isn't that typical of the world in which we live? We're all right with bunnies and peeps but not the sadness and melancholy of Maundy Thursday nor the bloody cross of good Friday.

It's time that we call people to take up their cross and follow the savior. 'For where I am, there will my servant be also,' says Christ. Now is not the time for a spirituality of spring, but for the gospel. As Pope John Paul II said, "This is no time to be ashamed of the Gospel. It is the time to preach it from the rooftops. Do not be afraid to break out of comfortable and routine modes of living, in order to take up the challenge of making Christ known."

It is a challenge to make our crucified God known. But isn't this what our holy season is about?

Feasts or Folly?

2006-03-26T18:00:00.000-07:00

I mentioned the George Barna book a few posts ago in which he says that in the US there are 'revolutionaries' who will change the face of the faith. These are the Christians who have chosen to live as faithful disciples without darkening the doors of a church.

This would make my vocation and ministry a fool's errand. In fact, that would make the feasts and fasts of the church (the Church Year) nothing more than a cultural phenomena whose time has come.

While we have all heard of the ills of 'organized religion' and God knows I hate the bureacracy of my little slice of Christendom, is the 'no church' movement the wave of the future?

PS I know that the 'Body of Christ' is the people of God more than the building that we call 'church.' That does not make our spaces of worship less set apart for God's use, however. In fact, how can we be set apart as the Temple of the Holy Spirit if we know no holy space, no 'thin place' in the world? I hope and pray that my parish nave and sanctuary is a 'thin place,' a place where the human and divine intersect. I also hope and pray that we all see ourselves as that intersection.

Annunciation

2006-03-25T20:25:00.000-07:00

We beseech thee, O Lord,
pour thy grace into our hearts,
that as we have known the incarnation
of thy Son Jesus Christ,
announced by the message of an angel to the Virgin Mary,
so by his cross and passion
may we be brought to the glory of his resurrection;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord
who lives and reigns with thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Almighty and everlasting God, who by the co-operation of the Holy Spirit, didst prepare the body and soul of the glorious Virgin Mary to become a habitation meet for thy Son: Grant that as we rejoice in her commemoration, we may be delivered by her loving intercession from our present evils and from eternal death. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

(From the Anglican Service Book)

Undone?

2006-03-23T21:04:00.000-07:00

I was reflecting with my spiritual director the other day some more thoughts on the Paraclete. (Our Lenten study at church is on the Holy Spirit, by the way, which is why our recent musings have been geared towards the Third Person of the Trinity).

Our reflection brought me to one of my favorite passages in Scripture, Isaiah 6, where Isaiah is commissioned by the LORD. I was drawn to Isaiah's language of being 'undone' in the presence of the LORD. He is faced with God's holiness and 'otherness' and can only say 'Woe is me!' This is not the experience of a 'worm' or someone who needs to 'get over' his guilt. This is man naked before the numinous.

In our world, we treat the spiritual life the same as everything else. Spirituality is something to be 'consumed,' we get what we want from it, and we move on to the next fad. Certain 'gifts of the Spirit' or emotional responses to God are as deep as we want to go.

How about being 'undone?' How about being naked before the numinous?

The Paraclete

2006-03-13T15:41:00.000-07:00

As some of you may know, I grew up Pentecostal. In regards to the Holy Spirit, I've noticed that there are two extremes among many Christians. The first how Luther described the Moravians: "They've swallowed the dove, feathers and all." These are those obsessed with the Holy Spirit, or at least certain miraculous gifts of the Spirit.

Then there is the other extreme. These are the folks like the converts to Christ in Acts who were disciples of John, were baptized by John--but who did not receive water baptism in Christ and who said, "we did not even know there was a Holy Spirit." This, I think, is where the majority of Christians are.

What I believe is needed is a renewal in the Holy Spirit. Rather than 'swallowing the dove,' we have 'caged' the dove. Either we limit (yes limit) him to certain gifts, music or dramatics, or we pretend that the Christian life has no mystical or experiential dimension at all.

The failure of 'charismatic renewal,' in my opinion, was not the desire to go deeper in the Holy Spirit, it was that we did not go deep enough. When the penultimate Christian experience is speaking in tongues (not that there's anything wrong with that), and once to do you've 'arrived,' then the riches of Christian spirituality get stuck somewhere in the 1970s, or whenever one experienced the gift for the first time.

There are many ways that the Holy Spirit has come with 'fire' over the centuries. Let's not 'cage' the dove by limiting him to a certain era or gift. I believe there is much to be discovered for those who wish to be empowered for ministry and mission in this world. There is much to be discovered for those who wish to grow in holiness. What we need to do is 'set the dove free' so that we can accomplish the work of Christ's Kingdom.

In the words of the medieval hymn:
Come down, O love divine, seek Thou this soul of mine,
And visit it with Thine own ardor glowing.
O Comforter, draw near, within my heart appear,
And kindle it, Thy holy flame bestowing.

O let it freely burn, til earthly passions turn
To dust and ashes in its heat consuming;
And let Thy glorious light shine ever on my sight,
And clothe me round, the while my path illuming.

Let holy charity mine outward vesture be,
And lowliness become mine inner clothing;
True lowliness of heart, which takes the humbler part,
And o’er its own shortcomings weeps with loathing.

And so the yearning strong, with which the soul will long,
Shall far outpass the power of human telling;
For none can guess its grace, till he become the place
Wherein the Holy Spirit makes His dwelling.

Confession?

2006-03-01T11:06:00.000-07:00

The Sacrament of Reconciliation, or Confession, has seen hard times lately. It is rarely encouraged and priests hear fewer and fewer. Lent is a great time for the Sacrament of Confession, in fact Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent is a particular time for Confession. To 'be shriven' is to participate in Reconciliation. I heard no confessions on Shrove Tuesday.

Is the great Sacrament of Confession passe?

Temptation on the mount

2006-02-26T18:56:00.000-07:00

In the ancient rite of baptism the catechumen (after many prayers of exorcism and the anointing with the oil of exorcism) spits to the West, renounces Satan, and turns to the East where the 'Son of righteousness' shines.

In our world, like Christ on the mountain, we are tempted to have 'all the kingdoms of the world.' We are tempted to have it all without God, without Christ.

How do you 'renounce Satan?' What do you do to 'spit to the West' and face Christ?

Beauty and Ashes

2006-02-23T20:41:00.000-07:00

Ash Wednesday is coming very soon. I am wrestling with what my 'rule' will be for Lent. I am attracted to a 'desert' theme but I haven't worked out the details. The Book of Common Prayer has a great description of Lent:

Dear People of God: The first Christians observed with great
devotion the days of our Lord's passion and resurrection, and
it became the custom of the Church to prepare for them by a

season of penitence and fasting. This season of Lent provided a time in which converts to the faith were prepared for Holy Baptism. It was also a time when those who, because of notorious sins, had been separated from the body of the faithful were reconciled by penitence and forgiveness, and restored to the fellowship of the Church. Thereby, the whole congregation was put in mind of the message of pardon and absolution set forth in the Gospel of our Savior, and of the need which all Christians continually have to renew their repentance and faith.

I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the
observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance;
by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and
meditating on God's holy Word. And, to make a right beginning of repentance, and as a mark of our mortal nature, let us now kneel before the Lord, our maker and redeemer.

I wonder what the neophytes out there are doing for Lent?

It's in the Book, and...

2006-02-13T19:52:00.000-07:00

I see survey after survey of church-going folks who just don't know their Bibles. I know more and more liturgical church-going folks who not only don't know their Bibles, they don't know their Tradition either.

I gravitate towards material that some consider obscure (ancient monasticism and the third century Christian catechumenate) because the ancients seemed to have a way of passing on the content and behaviors of the faith better than our 'Purpose Driven' modern faith does (not that there's anything wrong with that--many churches have no purpose at all, other than to increase butts and bucks).

So what is the answer in our pomo (postmodern) universe? Where are the mystagogical teachers like St. Cyril of Jerusalem?

I ask these questions because I am truly hopeful that there are answers. Neophytes?

Renewal of the Heart

2006-02-08T09:18:00.000-07:00

What brings renewal to the church? There is no doubt that we are experiencing decline in the church and have been since the end of the 1960s. The membership of the Episcopal Church is supposedly over 2 million, but the people that actually show up on a given Sunday is under 800,000. Contrast that with the Diocese of Nigeria, which has almost 20 million worshipers on any given Sunday. I do not want to dwell on the troubles of the church. What we need to do, in part, is to look back on the life of Jesus and how early Christians also looked back on the life of Jesus to renew the church of their time.

Why look back to any time period other than our own? We Americans have a short memory. We think church history is when father so and so was the rector of our parish.

In order to look forward, we must learn to look back. Christians of the past often emphasized a particular characteristic of Jesus and ran with it to make it their own and to apply it to their own age.

As simple as it sounds,if we learn to pray like the early Christians and if we have a mission to be a light shining in the darkness—there is no telling what we can do as a church.

Look at Mark 1:35-39 You can already see the twofold pattern early in Jesus ministry—pray in solitude—then preach the Kingdom and set people free.

The Church of the early centuries was a powerful church. It was a movement, not a bearacracy, it was an organism, not an organization. It was alive, full of the Spirit of God—partly because being a Christian was a life or death decision. The Roman Empire would at any time request Christians to offer a pinch of incense to the emperor, a sign of loyalty, but also of worship. When Christians refused, they were systematically eliminated. To be a Christian was serious business. Tertullian, a Christian from the 3rd century said, “We are regarded as persons to be hated by all men for the sake of the Name—just as it was written. And we are delivered up by our nearest of kin also—as it was written. We are brought before magistrates, examined, tortured, make confession of Christ, and are ruthlessly killed—as it was written.”

In the early fourth century, the Emperor became a Christian, making the times of persecution an unfortunate memory. Christianity became legal, and within a few generations it became the official religion of the Roman Empire.

Not everything about Constantinian Christianity was or is bad. The doctrines of the faith were solidified. The canon of the New Testament was made official, church order was put in place, beautiful structures were built for worship.

But when you go from a faith that is a life or death decision to the faith of an Empire, then the cost of discipleship is cheapened, and the spiritual lives of Christians becomes lax. I do not want to be simplistic or Hollywood about this. Hollywood has a way of making medieval Christianity into one corruption after another. Christianity has always been a big movement that is both East and West, it is a worldwide phenomena, not a monolithic organization.

Still there were many who remembered the persecutions and the power of the church in those days and compared that with a church that did not require anything other than that you show up. One became a Christian during the persecution era after a catechumenate process of formation and self-denial that lasted three years. One became a Christian after persecution often simply by being born—the closest thing to self-denial being Lent and other penitential occasions. The three years of intense training were reserved for priests, the strict regimen of study and formation was reduced to the 40 days before Easter.

Faithful Christians looked at the opulence of some clergy and the lack of true discipleship among many of church-goers. Then they looked back to the life of Jesus and the lives of the martyrs and wondered why there was such a huge disconnect. These radical faithful decided to go back, if not to give their blood like the martyrs, to give their loves in obedience to Christ, denying the pleasures and comforts of the world. These radical ones came to be known as monks and nuns, desert fathers and mothers. Some were hermits, others lived in community, most lived a combination of both.

Why? They saw in the life of Christ and his followers those who had nothing yet possessed the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus had no wife, no possessions and ‘nowhere to lay his head.’ Jesus lived a life of faithful obedience and prayer—so then should those who follow him. Pelican says, ‘All three virtues vowed by the monk—poverty, chastity, and obedience—were based on Christ as pattern and embodiment.’

He also states, “These monastic athletes, as one scholar has put it, ‘were not only fleeing from the world in every sense of the word, they were fleeing from the worldly church.’ The monasticism of the fourth and fifth centuries was a protest, in the name of the authentic teaching of Jesus, against an almost inevitable byproduct of the Constantinian settlement, the secularization of the church.”

This was a way for those radical disciples of the early church to live out Christ’s life of simplicity. It was also a way of entering into a most blessed and deep communion with Christ himself through prayer.

The Rule of St. Benedictine states‘[do not] value anything more highly than the love of Christ.’

Monasticism touched both the Western part of the church, western Europe in particular, and also the Eastern part of the church, from the Greece to Asia to Northern Africa. From Pachomias to Benedict, Francis and Clare in the West and from Anthony and Mary of Egypt to Basil and Athanasius in the East.

The Monastics experienced a depth in their relationship with Christ and were full of the Holy Spirit—so much so that people would visit monks and nuns for all kinds of healing, and there are records of Monastics levitating in prayer and hearing the direct voice of Christ. What was their secret? It really is simple. Deny yourself and pray—like Jesus did.

How does prayer renew the church? I overheard a conversation at a parish (certainly not mine) where there was a big concern about finances. One person said, ‘boy we really need to commit this to prayer,’ and the other person remarked, ‘we’d better do a whole lot more than that!’

There is a sense in which prayer is a waste of time. There is a sense that there are better things we could be doing with our time. I remember in a seminary course small group I raised the idea of requiring all seminarians to spend time in a monastic setting, to which someone replied, ‘I don’t have time for that, there is too much ministry to do!’

You want to know what is wrong with the church? It is really rather simple. We are not connected to God. Christians of all stripes live there lives as if He did not exist. We are not in his presence. It is plain and simple. The monastics could not help but be in his presence, and on their knees they saved the church from itself.

“Christian experience must necessarily have a mystical, spiritual, non-quantifiable dimension. To be a disciple meaning having the [Trinity] living in us. It means having a supernatural, interior experience that is completely unlike anything available in the world.”

The monk and nun the picture of Christ and his early followers. In lives of holiness and prayer, the world is changed.

In the Brothers Karamazov, Dostoevsky wrote, through the mouth of the holy elder Father Zosima,

“How surprised men would be if I were to say that from these meek monks, who yearn for solitary prayer, the salvation of Russia will perhaps come once more! For they are in truth made ready in peace and quiet for the day and the hour, the month of the year. Meanwhile, in their solitude, they keep the image of Christ fair and undefiled, in the purity of God’s truth, from the times of the fathers of old, the apostles and martyrs”

Let Them Cease or Be Rejected

2006-01-31T20:19:00.000-07:00

The early centuries of the Church saw astronimical growth. It is estimated that in 250 A.D. Christians made up 10% of the population and by 350 were 50% of the population. This had little or nothing to do with Constantine's conversion and everything to do with the health and strength of the Church. What was it that made it strong in the early centuries? What made it strong despite persecution (a persecution that was sometimes Empire wide), and despite not having places of worship that were 'out in the open?' What made it strong when the Roman world put it on the margins and made it illegal even to call oneself a 'Christian?'

One of the things that caused the growth of the Church, ironically, was its strict boundaries around membership. Taking the Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus, for example, we read that the potential catechumens (newcomers to the faith) underwent an intense interview process, a 'weeding out' of those who were willing to persevere and those who more than likely would not. Those who had questionable professions (e.g. Gladiators, brothel-keepers) or were living lives of immorality (pederasty or prostitution) were told to 'cease or be rejected.' They were told to leave their former lives and identities to follow Chirst and to take on new identities as Christians. It did not matter whether or not they were 'important' from the standards of the Empire--they would take on a life that was inherently 'unimportant.' It did not matter whether or not they were successful--if they were living a compromised life, they were told to 'cease or be rejected.'

What a contrast to the message so many proclaim--inclusion at the expense of transformation, eros at the expense of agape, good feelings at the expense of repentance. The irony is, when we 'preach it straight' and expect change and transformation, the world is turned upside down. When we say, 'follow the Master' rather than 'all is well' lives are changed--and more people want to be a part of that. Just ask the early Christians.

Too Bad So Sad

2006-01-29T21:23:00.000-07:00

So the controversial series 'The Book of Daniel' was cancelled by NBC? I could stomach about 360 seconds of it. I will miss it so much! Here's the e-mail I sent to NBC. I guess I was wrong about the advertising $$$!

Mr. Wright,

The reports I am hearing about your new show 'The Book of Daniel' are very discouraging. I am an Episcopal Priest and, should you continue airing this show, I will boycott NBC and encourage my parishioners to do the same. It is unfortunate that writers and producers know so little about the church, church life and religion in general. Perhaps a more informed take on ministry would keep this kind of thing off the air--but I guess anything that doesn't involve sex, homosexuals and drug-addicted clergy just doesn't get the advertising dollars.

Best wishes,
fatherneo+

The New Testament and the Sacraments

2006-01-19T20:38:00.000-07:00

Does the New Testament teach the Sacraments? Some would argue that sometime after the apostles died, the Church 'invented' the idea of Sacrament, esp. in the Medieval era.

Consider, though, the book of John. Call it the 'secret Sacramental' gospel with multiple allusions to baptism and Eucharist. For example:
John 2, Jesus turns water into wine.
John 3, no one can see the Kingdom unless they are 'born of water and the Spirit.' At the end of John 3 we see the only place where Jesus' disciples baptize.
John 4, Jesus offers the woman at the well 'living water.'
John 5, the man is healed before entering the waters of the pool of Bethzada.
And of course John 6 Jesus calls himself the 'Bread of Life' and says, 'unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood you have no life in you.'

I find the data fascinating. We need to remember there was a Christian community that coexisted with the writing of the New Testament--a community that was presumably sacramental.

Next Year Jerusalem

2006-01-12T13:08:00.000-07:00

The Barna stuff reminds me of the perseverance of the children of Israel. The Temple was the center of worship in Israel. In fact, is was directly tied to their identity as a people. The sacrificial system of Israel was indispensable. Well, we know what happened both in 586 B.C. and in 70 A.D. do we not? In 586 Babylonian Pagan armies came and destroyed Jerusalem and its Temple and forced the people into exile. In 70 A.D. the Romans did it.

So if worship is so tied to sacrifice, what does a Jew do who is either living in exile or whose Temple no longer exists. The law and the prophets made it clear that there was to be no sacrifices outside of the Temple in Jerusalem. So what were they to do?

The Children of Israel did what they always have done. They adapted. Judaism was (and is) not tied to a place as much as it was a way of life. So rather than the Temple, they ordered their worship and their lives around synagogue (created during exile), home, and the Fasts and Feasts of the seasons.

Does the Church have this kind of longevity/perseverance? Are we able to not only adapt but continue to reproduce?

Epiphanytide

2006-01-07T20:54:00.000-07:00

There is nothing better than the Feast of the Epiphany. It ties the 'manifesting of God' in Jesus not only to the Jews, but to the whole world. The star in the East, the waters of the Jordan, the water in Cana of Galilee, all transformed by Christ. May we see the star and follow it to his throne!

O God, by the leading of a star you manifested your only Son
to the peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know you now by
faith, to your presence, where we may see your glory face to
face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Revolution!?

2006-01-05T12:09:00.000-07:00

I am reading a book by George Barna (church growth statistician and guru) called Revolution in which he argues that by 2025, only 33% of Christians will go to church. He believes that the trends towards 'mini-movements'like house churches and more focused small groups (like a 'spirituality and the arts'group) are becoming more and more the primary movers in believers'spiritual formation rather than the local church. He basically argues that the local church is not effective in the spiritual formation of its members and therefore may soon be close to extinction. People are no longer experiencing God in local congregations. From someone who has given his life in hopes that the local church is the primary builder of the Kingdom and the hope of the world, I am disturbed by his thesis. What thinkest ye?

The Worship Philes

2005-12-29T10:53:00.000-07:00

What is worship, really? Is it when folks get together to sing? Does it involve ritual?
I'd like to think that the grandeur and glory of God has something to do with it. Worship is the affirmation of the Incarnational truth, Immanuel--God is with us. His presence envelops us. His holiness surrounds us. We celebrate his wonders and his works. Where does one find such worship?

I am teaching a class at my alma mater this Spring to explore these kinds of questions. It is entitled 'History of Christian Worship.' Any ideas from the neophytes?

Holy Nativity

2005-12-25T21:17:00.000-07:00

The Church has given us a gift, not only in the yearly celebration of Christmas day, but also the Christmas season of 12 days. After the boxes are unpacked, don't forget that reflection of the Incarnation cannot be limited to one day. Tell someone 'Merry Christmas' tommorrow and see what kind of a shocked look you get! If we are going to celebrate the great Feast, why not celebrate the season!

From the collect of Christmas Day:
Almighty God, you have given your only begotten Son to
take our nature upon him, and to be born this day of a pure
virgin: Grant that we, who have been born again and made
your children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed
by your Holy Spirit; through our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom
with you and the same Spirit be honor and glory, now and
for ever. Amen.

Speaking of Prayer and Advent

2005-12-14T20:51:00.000-07:00

Listen to the Collect for the Fourth Sunday of Advent from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer:

Lord, raise up (we pray thee) thy power,
and come among us, and with great
might succour us; that whereas, through our
sins and wickedness, we are sore let and
hindered in running the race that is set before
us, thy bountiful grace and mercy may speedily
help and deliver us, through the satisfaction of
thy Son our Lord, to whom, with thee and the
Holy Spirit, be honour and glory, world
without end. Amen.

I Must Increase

2005-12-07T19:36:00.000-07:00

Have you ever noticed how our prayers often revolve around building our little corner of the world? 'Lord, please bless my...' 'Lord, increase my...' 'Lord, give me more...'

Perhaps we don't see ourselves as this bold and presumptious, but it often turns out this way. I know many of my prayers ask (tell?) God to improve my situation. Remember the big thing a few years back was the 'Prayer of Jabez,' the book that encouraged readers to seek to 'expand' their own personal universe?

The words of John the Baptist are telling. 'He must increase, I must decrease.' John was not asking for expansion but a downscaling; not a promotion but a demotion.

The trouble is, God takes John up on the request. Not more than a few verses later, poor John's head is severed like a conejo. St. Teresa of Avila questioned the Lord as to why she had to endure the suffering she did to which the Lord replied, "Teresa, that's how I treat my friends" Teresa responded, "No wonder you have so few friends."

What would Jabez say? The trouble with these blasted saints is that they are lousy at selling books.

Repent

2005-11-30T15:31:00.000-07:00

Contrast the affluence of most of us with the radical life of John the Baptist. Contrast Micky D's and locusts. Tommy Hilfiger, Armani and Camel hair. Wouldn't you like to meet the old chap aka 'the Forerunner?' What do you think he would say to us? If the fire-breathing old Baptist were to get a hold of today's American congregation, what would he say?

Mater Dei

2005-11-22T21:22:00.000-07:00

Advent is also a time to reclaim the Mother of God for all Christians. Not a goddess, nor a mere vessel, she is the one who bore the Word. She is like the holy of holies in the Temple--container of the uncontainable God. As the Hymn says:

O higher than the cherubim,
more glorious than the seraphim,
lead their praises,
Alleluia!
Thou bearer of the eternal Word,
most gracious, magnify the Lord, Alleluia, Alleluia...

Thanks be to God that her 'yes' made possible our redemption!!

Blue Like Advent

2005-11-22T21:12:00.000-07:00

We are coming up on the new year in the Church, the Advent season. It seems somehwere in the 20th century, Montgomery Ward got St. Nick and in the process Advent was taken to the mall as well.

So, instead of self-examination and meditation on the Incarnation and the triumphant second return of Christ, which was Advent's original purpose (Advent is known as Nativity Lent in some traditions), Advent is not even on the radar screen. Now we go shopping.

Wouldn't it be something if Christians returned to Advent and brought out, say, Matthew 25 for perusing and contemplation. Perhaps we'd get back to our roots and maybe save our souls in the process.

The Dark Night

2005-11-13T20:27:00.000-07:00

St. John of the Cross wrote about spiritual depression in his famed Dark Night of the Soul. He mentions that 'consolations' (warm spiritual experiences) are common among followers of Christ, but that God often removes them to train his followers to look for him and not for the consolations. In other words, spiritual experiences are a gift, but that it is the ability to follow God through doubt and suffering that a disciple is made. The fathers of the desert even warned that certain experiences came from the Evil One to keep the monk off track.

I am not experiencing a 'dark night' per se, but I find myself in the desert or dark when parish life becomes downright sad. Right now it is a bit sad because more than one of our beloved members are suffering. With Constantine, I am troubled. 'Would that you would rend the heavens and come down, O Lord,' so said the prophet Isaiah. So says I.

Worlds Collide

2005-11-02T15:27:00.000-07:00

My Mexico trip brought the past and current worlds of Fr. Neo together. It was surreal. As I said below, I grew up in a billingual Pentecostal Church. In Guadalajara I met Anglican believers who were lively and mildly Charismatic in their worship. So, there I was, faced with the Spanish language and Pentecostalesque worship in an Anglican liturgy.

I'll admit that part of me has turned my back on my peeps over the last several years. I was moved to repent for abandoning my people and my heritage. Indeed God knows where he will take me from here.

This Present Darkness

2005-11-01T15:21:00.000-07:00

While in Gudalajara, I noticed the great interest (maybe even obsession) with the supernatural. The hunger for Jesus was quite intense. However, in places (and faces) the spiritual darkness was palpable.

It is fascinating to me that the darkness here in the US is a different kind of darkness. Spiritual hunger is not as present and spiritual darkness is masked, yet I know both exist. It is notable that material goods and spiritual emptyness go together and that poverty and spiritual hunger do as well. And I do not think it has anything to do with education or class. What thinkest ye?

I sing a song of the saints of God

2005-11-01T14:44:00.000-07:00

My kids love this hymn:

I sing a song of the saints of God,
patient and brave and true,
who toiled and fought and lived and died
for the Lord they loved and knew.
And one was a doctor, and one was a queen,
and one was a shepherdess on the green;
they were all of them saints of God, and I mean,
God helping, to be one too.

They loved their Lord so dear, so dear,
and his love made them strong;
and they followed the right for Jesus' sake
the whole of their good lives long.
And one was a soldier, and one was a priest,
and one was slain by a fierce wild beast;
and there's not any reason, no, not the least,
why I shouldn't be one too.

They lived not only in ages past;
there are hundreds of thousands still.
The world is bright with the joyous saints
who love to do Jesus' will.
You can meet them in school, or in lanes or at sea,
in church, or in trains, or in shops, or at tea;
For the saints of God are just folk like me
and I mean to be one too.

Happy All Saints from Father Neo!!

Viva Guadalajara

2005-10-25T13:39:00.000-06:00

With a fellow parish, my wife, Sr. Warden, and I took a mission trip to Guadalajara. There, we did a seminar entitled 'The Life in the Spirit' which is a course designed to teach some basics and to bring folks to a deeper walk with Christ. Lots of experiential stuff that Constantine likes. I'll have many thoughts on this in this and future posts.

We did the seminar for the clergy and laity of the Anglican Diocese of Western Mexico. I found myself going back to my past in the bilingual Pentecostal church I grew up in (yes, I am Hispanic and no, I didn't learn Spanish)in which the passion of worship was full of life--and sometimes chaos.

What struck me about the culture down there was their emphasis on the 'table,' that is, the meal times and the wonderful interaction with families and friends. Life stops for meals and when the dishes are cleared, all gather for the sake of simply being together.

The buzz words in churches in the US is 'community' and 'family time.' But it is painfully obvious that we have no clue what that is. We exist for our careers and jobs and have little time to laugh with those we love. We are hurried, going from one trivial pursuit to another.

There is nothing romantic about Mexico, in fact the spiritual darkness there is palpable. However, they have something we don't--each other.

Keeping the lamps trimmed and burning...and the lights on too

2005-10-13T20:37:00.000-06:00

Giving to the church Deux:

Going back to the discussion on giving, we are in our annual pledge drive. I got some pretty honest and important feedback (see the post 'how to ask' below)from you readers. When you're dealing with a church budget, some of an average person's pledge will go to the rising energy costs to keep the building heated, etc., some will go to my salary (which is modest and for which I am grateful), and the rest will go to the ministries in the church.

Many churches face a crisis in giving and I always get heartburn at this time of year. Your questions:

1. Why do you think there is a crisis in giving to churches?
2. Why do you give?

I love your honest feedack...

Pro Bono

2005-10-07T11:28:00.000-06:00

Listen to this great quote from U2's Bono:

"The idea that there's a force of love and logic behind the universe is overwhelming to start with, if you believe it. Actually, maybe even far-fetched to start with...But the idea that that same love and logic would choose to describe itself as a baby born in shit and straw and poverty is genius, and brings me to my knees, literally. To me, as a poet, I am just in awe of that. It makes some sort of poetic sense. It's the thing that makes me a believer, though it didn't dawn on me for many years."

I am resonating as we speak. (Sorry 'bout the 's' word mom) (grin).

Gnosis with the Mostest

2005-10-06T14:47:00.000-06:00

On more than one occasion, I've heard Episcopal priests use this quote from Teilhard de Chardin, "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, but we are spiritual beings having human experience."

What sayeth ye readers? Is what the Frenchmen says true?

Archives: Inclusion Via Exclusion

2005-09-28T10:19:00.000-06:00

Having spent some time years ago in a UCC church, I was curious to learn of their new campaign 'God is still Speaking' in which they boast of their 'inclusion' of all. Part of their campaign includes a commercial which shows bouncers at a cathedral type church chasing away various folks (minorities, gays, etc.)and only allowing others (squeaky whites, etc.).

Then the UCCers come in and show how 'inclusive' their churches look, with gals holding hands and such, because 'God is still speaking.'

I contrast that with the description of Hippolytus, bishop of Rome around 225 A.D. He gives a manual on the training of Catechumens who want to join the church. A key phrase that is repeated is 'let them cease (meaning their pagan occupations and practices) or be rejected.' In other words, he describes a community that rehabilitates pagans in a three year process, complete with exclusion from the table during that time and even exorcism if necessary. If the potential convert refused to be a part of the rehab program, well, they were 'excluded' from the community.

Now pieces of what Hippolytus says is anachronistic but interestingly the church of his time grew like wildfire. The pagan rehab stuff seemed to work both in terms of evangelism and in terms of disciple-making. Is there something to learn here?

(PS, I'm not picking on the UCC, my experience with my own denomination is pretty much the same, witness the 'Via Media' evangelism curriculum.)

Gravitas

2005-09-22T20:28:00.000-06:00

There are a few people that I have known over the years that possess what we might call gravitas. That is, the ability to 'draw' others to themselves. However, for me, it is not an outgoing personality or a 'cool' demeanor that draws me in. It is a peace of soul, a comforting presence.

My grandpa died when I was 14. He had the gift of gravitas. His charism was not the gift of gab or the gift of schmooze, but a quietness of heart and soul. His days were spent working for the railroad at 10 cents and hour, his nights were spent with his wife and his 8 children. His mornings were spent with his Bible open in prayer.

I don't know about you, but I am weary of politics, beauracracy and spin. Give me a man (or woman) who is unpretentious and who just wants to do what is right; a man who knows God. A man like grandpa.

Holy Eucharist

2005-09-14T22:22:00.000-06:00

The pinnacle of Christian worship has always been the celebration of the Eucharist. I know that many of our readers have been affected by the Presence. I'd like to hear more.

As the 'Prayer of Humble Access' beautifully puts it in the Prayer Book,

"We do not presume to come to this thy Table, O merciful Lord,
trusting in our own righteousness,
but in thy manifold and great mercies.
We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table.
But thou art the same Lord, whose property is always to have mercy;
Grant us therefore, gracious Lord,
so to eat the flesh of thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood,
that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body,
and our souls washed through his most precious blood,
and that we may evermore ever dwell in him, and he in us.
Amen"

And as the hymn says,

"At His feet the six wingèd seraph,
Cherubim with sleepless eye,
Veil their faces to the Presence,
As with ceaseless voice they cry:
Alleluia, Alleluia
Alleluia, Lord Most High!"

How to read Tradition

2005-09-14T14:58:00.000-06:00

I dig this quote on Tradition by George Florovsky:

“The true tradition is only the tradition of truth, traditio veritatis. This tradition, according of St. Irenaeus, is grounded in, and secured by, that charisma veritatis certum [secure charisma of truth], which has been "deposited" in the Church from the very beginning and has been preserved by the uninterrupted succession of episcopal ministry. "Tradition" in the Church is not a continuity of human memory, or a permanence of rites and habits. It is a living tradition — depositum juvenescens, in the phrase of St. Irenaeus. Accordingly, it cannot be counted inter mortuas regulas [among dead rules]. Ultimately, tradition is a continuity of the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church, a continuity of Divine guidance and illumination. The Church is not bound by the "letter." Rather, she is constantly moved forth by the "Spirit." The same Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, which "spake through the Prophets," which guided the Apostles, is still continuously guiding the Church into the fuller comprehension and understanding of the Divine truth, from glory to glory."

How to read a book

2005-09-14T13:47:00.000-06:00

I have had some folks who were mystified over the 200+ posts on "Hermeneutics." I need to clarify a couple of things so as not to alienate anyone in blognation,and to bring them up to speed. Basically, there are two ways folks approach a text (say the Bible or even the constitution), there are the 'constructionists' who read a text seeking to find what the author intended to say. In other words, the constructionist will ask 'what did Paul mean by...' Then there are those who are deemed 'deconstructionists' who beleive that it is impossible to get in the head of an author, and who feel that the meaning of a text is defined by the reader him/her self. So, the interpreter of the text is who is important, not what the original author meant.

Therefore, when a 'deconstructionist' approaches the Bible, he/she can reinterpret it based on a variety of reasons (it is offensive, it is irrelevant, it is weighted on the side of patriarchy, etc.). No one is purely a constructionist or a deconstructionist, but this is the grid in which people interpret Scripture, whether they realize it or not.

St. Isaac Returns

2005-09-13T10:05:00.000-06:00

One of my early posts had a quote from 9th century bishop Isaac of Ninevah. Here is a fuller version of the quote. I think it is the spirit in which Christians ought to strive for.

“Let yourself be persecuted, but do not persecute others.
Be crucified, but do not crucify others.
Be slandered, but do not slander others.
Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep: such is the sign of purity.
Suffer with the sick.
Be afflicted with sinners.
Exult with those who repent.
Be the friend of all, but in your spirit remain alone.
Be a partaker of the sufferings of all, but keep your body distant from all.
Rebuke no one, revile no one, not even those who live very wickedly.
Spread your cloak over those who fall into sin, each and every one, and shield them.
And if you cannot take the fault on yourself and accept punishment in their place,
do not destroy their character.
What is a merciful heart? It is a heart on fire for the whole of creation, for humanity, for the birds, for the animals, for demons, and for all that exists. By the recollection of them the eyes of a merciful person pour forth tears in abundance. By the strong and vehement mercy that grips such a person’s heart, and by such great compassion, the heart is humbled and one cannot bear to hear or to see any injury or slight sorrow in any in creation. For this reason, such a person offers up tearful prayer continually even for irrational beasts, for the enemies of the truth, and for those who harm her or him, that they be protected and receive mercy.”

The Abbas and Ammas Have It

2005-09-12T15:43:00.000-06:00

Amma Theodora said, “Let us strive to enter by the narrow gate. Just as the trees cannot bear fruit if they have not stood before the winter’s storms, so it is with us. This present age is a storm; and it is only through many trials and temptations that we can obtain inheritance in the kingdom of heaven.”

Peace After the Storm?

2005-09-06T11:50:00.000-06:00

“God is the life of all free beings. He is the salvation of all, of believers or unbelievers, of the just or the unjust, of the pious or the impious, of those freed from passions or those caught up in them, of monks or those living in the world, of the educated or the illiterate, of the healthy or the sick, of the young or of the very old. He is like the outpouring of the light, the glimpses of the sun, or the changes of the weather, which are the same for everyone without exception” (Sr. Benedicta Ward).

Troubling Dichotomy

2005-09-02T13:23:00.000-06:00

One of the troubling dichotomies of the Christian world is 'truth versus love,' which often plays itself out in liberal/conservative polarization. Listen to this qoute from Hans von Balthasar: "...there is nothing true or good, in the long term, without the light of grace of that which is freely bestowed. And a Christianity which went along with modernity and subscribed merely to the true (faith as a system of correct propositions) or merely to the good (faith as that which is most useful and healthy for the subject) would be a Christianity knocked down from its own heights. When the saints interpreted their existence in the light of God's greater glory, they were always the guardians of the beautiful."

Wouldn't it be great to have the good, the true, and the beautiful all at once present in our Christian communities?