Advent 2018

Lately, I have been preoccupied with family and other matters and have not been posting. I have still been reading, praying the office, participating in different capacities at the Eucharist, and teaching a weekly Bible study. In some ways, such reduced activities have increased the meaning of Advent as a season of waiting and preparation for the various ways Christ has come, keeps coming and will come again.

In this context, the BCP Advent seasonal collect (Advent I) seems more appropriate than ever:

Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen. 

Trinity XI- Ways to Pray: Inner and Outward

The parable of the Pharisee and tax-collector in  Luke 18:9-14 is about two men praying. Much can be said about Christian prayer. The main emphasis in our reading is on the mental and spiritual attitudes for prayer- and by extension, about attitudes for all of life. Here we have two contrasting characters- a self-righteous person and a humble repentant one. The parable shows us two different kinds of sinners. And sinners are not distinguished as much by their deeds as they are by their attitudes. Both the Pharisee and the tax collector are sinners, but the tax collector prays with a better inner attitude.

All humans are sinners, and all human beings need true repentance before God. All of us need to stop trusting in ourselves. All of us need to stop excusing ourselves by comparing ourselves to the failings of others. To be right with God, each person must truly regret his/her failings, realize his/her need for divine mercy, and trust in God alone to take away our sins.

In addition to teaching about spiritual attitudes in prayer, the parable also illustrates another topic. It contains hints about some postures or mechanics of prayer. In the Bible and Jewish tradition, people usually stood for prayer, as both men do in our Gospel. Sometimes, people also knelt for prayer, rarely they prostrated themselves, and even more rarely they sat.

Standing has some practical advantages. Most people can stand longer than they can kneel. It takes less space, and it was certainly more practical in the days before churches had pews and cushions. According to some ancient Christian teachers, kneeling in church should be limited to penitential days such as Fridays or Lenten weekdays, but not done on Sundays, Easter, or other celebratory days. Even in the Book of Common Prayer during the 1500's, the instruction for the congregation to kneel only occurs for the Ten Commandments and responses, the General Confession-Absolution, the Prayer of Humble Access and the Reception of Communion. So while kneeling can be a fitting and meaningful way to pray, but it is not the only traditional posture for prayer.

Another posture implied by our parable concerns the head and the eyes. Despite his bad attitude, the Pharisee makes an appropriate start by praise or thanksgiving. Presumably he follows common Jewish practice and prays with head and eyes slightly lifted.  We know that Jesus and the early Christians often prayed this way.  The tax collector, on the other hand, is emphasizing confession of sin, and so it is fitting that his head and eyes be downcast. Again we must be open to the worship context and to personal needs in prayer.

Now to a third matter- the position of our hands in prayer. In Jewish and Christian tradition, there have been two common but different traditions about hands in prayer. One is with the fingers and palms of both hands joined in some way. This posture stresses quietness, introspection, and meditation. The other is with hands and arms slightly extended and lifted near shoulder level. This posture emphasizes praise and openness to God. In Scripture, it is referred to as lifting up of hands. It was common among clergy and laity in the early church, and still expected of ministers in parts of the liturgy. However, even in the ancient church, there were problems with lifting hands. The church father Tertullian (about 200 AD) warns, “We more commend our prayers to God with modesty and humility- with not even our hands too loftily elevated…” Unfortunately, in our time, some people who raise their hands seem more extravagant and less modest or humble. (And lifting up hands does not mean the unruly waving like a rock concert!)

In conclusion, Christ’s parable of the Pharisee and the publican points us toward proper worship of God.  Every human being needs to turn aside from daily activities on a regular basis in order worship and pray. Prayer involves both our inner attitudes and our external postures and gestures.

Let us pray for and pray in humble faith. And whatever our postures and gestures- standing, kneeling or sitting, eyes up or down, hands joined or lifted- they should reflect both our praise of God and our humble dependence on divine mercy and grace.

Trinity VIII- Beware

In today’s gospel, Christ warns us about bad religion. In St. Matthew 7:15, He begins, “Beware of false prophets…” Then in Matt. 7:21 He concludes, “not everyone who saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven…."

During His earthly ministry, Jesus Christ exposed a great deal of bad religion. Some religious people opposed Him strongly. Some others claimed to support Him at times, but they were not really committed to Jesus. Only a minority of "religious" people actually followed Him.

The false prophets purported to be religious leaders. They claimed to serve goodness, and they often appeared harmless (they were in sheep’s clothing). But inwardly, they were like hungry wolves in the midst of a flock of sheep. They were really selfish, out for themselves, and destructive.

False disciples honored Jesus and used some religious words without meaning anything. They might give lip service to high principles, but they were not really committed to Christ’s Gospel, and they would not produce good fruit
.

The problems caused by false prophets and false disciples have not been confined to New Testament times. Bad religion has been a recurring danger in church history, and it is a serious problem for Christianity in our day.

One might argue that false prophets and false disciples are the most serious threat to Christianity in our time. Of course, several outside challenges are significant and endanger many Christians, body and soul. But fake Christians do great damage to Christian faith, community and witness- from within. There is still a lot of bad religion making a false show of piety. And it can come from any branch of Christianity. There are people from all Christian groups who are selfish and insincere and use Christian labels for their  own bad purposes.

Many contemporary church members are also more concerned with secular standards and political correctness than with eternal Christian truth. There are false Christians who are more interested in organization or denomination than in Biblical Faith. There are people more dedicated to social respectability or worldly acceptance than to Christian morality.

Such false Christianity sometimes manages to appear good for a while, but in the long run, this kind of religion does not produce lasting good fruit. Such false Christianity actually tends to hinder the true spread of the Gospel and give all religion a bad reputation.

 So what do Christ’s warnings about bad religion mean for us?  Today I would briefly suggest two points. First, we need to take Christ’s warnings seriously. We must remain aware that all religion is not good. Some things wrapped in a Christian label do not deserve our acceptance. Thus, we must be on our guard against false prophets and false disciples. We must make practical judgments based on our loyalty to the Scriptures, the Creeds and the basic commandments.

Secondly, besides warning about bad religion, our Gospel today encourages us to grow deeper in our commitments to Jesus Christ. Pious words can be a start, but our Lord asks for more than a few pious words. He asks His followers for a living and true faith in Him and His message. He wants His Gospel to permeate our whole approach to life. He asks us to care for and cultivate the tree of faith so that it can produce much good fruit. So let us sincerely profess and live out our loyalty to Christ and keep Him at the center of all that we say and do.

Trinity III- Christian Individualism

One can hear all sorts of things about the individual human being. Some people stress the individual in all areas of life. Some others react by downplaying the importance of the individual; they may stress the human group- family, community, society, nation, or humanity. Depending on the circumstances, both emphases can be appropriate.

However, in light of today's Gospel from the beginning of St. Luke 15, let us think a bit about the spiritual value of the human individual. One lost sheep is important enough to leave the rest of the flock to find. One soul that repents leads to heavenly rejoicing. This passage points to a general teaching of Scripture: the supreme human value of the individual soul and his/her relationship to God.

Scripture is the basis of any true Christian individualism. While the value of each person may have an impact in all areas of human life, Christian individualism is not about philosophy, politics, economics, psychology, or societal building blocks. True individualism is spiritual; it is about God the Father reaching out in grace through Christ and the Holy Spirit to save individual souls that He created in His image- souls that He seeks to bring into fellowship with Him.

Trinity I- "Love, Love, Love"

Many human beings over the centuries have talked and sung about love. Especially since the late 1960's, popular culture has included a lot of talking and singing about love. A characteristic example is John Lennon's “All You Need is Love.” And the churches have been influenced by this popular culture. Of course, Christians have always spoken of love, but much religious talk about love in recent decades has been far from Christian ideals.

Today in contrast to such popular nonsense, let us spend a few minutes thinking about some New Testament views of love. We begin by highlighting the beginning verses of our Epistle from I John 4:7-11, “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.”

In this passage, the Greek term used for “love” is agape'. In Christian Greek, this word for love became clearly distinct from eros, “desire” and philos, “brotherly love.” This kind of love has its source in God; it is an attribute of the divine nature. “God is love.” Divine Love is creative and unselfish.

Agape'  is not some naive and syrupy sentiment. It is not weak. It does not tolerate evil. It is powerful, holy, and righteous. It is not selfish but it reaches out to care for the universe and created beings. According to divine wisdom, God's love may be applied in differing ways according to the circumstances. It may lift up the humble and bring down the proud. Love may strengthen the faint-hearted and punish the sinful. Divine love means that God is concerned about the true well-being of the one loved. He cares about our souls and works for our salvation, even in the worst worldly circumstances.

The clearest indications that human beings have about divine love cannot be separated from the life and saving work of Jesus Christ. As He Himself told us in the Gospel of John, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). The ultimate goal of love is salvation and eternal fellowship with God. We see this in Jesus. In love, He helped the poor and weak, and He rebuked the rich and proud. He chastised the self-righteous, and He forgave penitent sinners. He blessed those with even a trace of child-like faith in Him and His Father. And in love, He gave Himself over to suffering and death for all who would turn to Him in faith.

Divine love is always there, and God's creatures benefit from it before they are even aware. Love only asks one thing to start with: to accept it in faith. And once accepted, divine love should have results in our human lives. “..If God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” Although our particular expressions of love need wisdom, guidance, and concrete human expressions, true love does not start with us. It starts with God, especially in Christ, and asks us to respond. Because God first loves us, we love Him in response, and like Him, we love His creation and His creatures.

Like divine love, our love should be powerful, committed, and unselfish. Unlike God, however, we remain fallen and fallible. Sometimes, we do not love as we should. And even when we do love, we don't always do so with strength or wisdom. At times, we love naively or inappropriately. Sometimes, we may not be tolerant enough, or we may be too tolerant of the wrong things.
St Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:15 that we should speak “the truth in love.” We often have trouble keeping love and truth together in the best ways. When we speak the truth, we may not be very loving. And when we try to be loving, we may hesitate to speak the truth. Although Christians seek to be kind, there is a difference between being superficially polite and being loving. True love is more concerned about the long-term and eternal well-being of others than about their temporary and temporal comfort.

Therefore, let us heed Scriptural teachings about love. Let us avoid straying to the right or to the left. We must not avoid the danger of true divine love, and we must not substitute some cheap political tolerance or sentimental nonsense. If we must be foolish in loving, let it not be some worldly ways from the movie romances or political correctness. Rather if we are foolish, let it be the foolishness of the cross of Christ, the perfect love of God.

Pentecost and Preaching the Gospel

The traditional BCP lesson appointed for the Epistle on Pentecost is from Acts 2:1- 11. It concludes, "we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God." What are these Galilean Apostles proclaiming? Although inspired by the Holy Spirit, and although Peter cites Isaiah about pouring out the Spirit, the core message is not about the Holy Spirit; the heart of the proclamation is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

A few verses later, Peter makes this clear. In Acts 2: 22-24, he preaches, "Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it." This is the heart of the Gospel, the Christ-centered core of the Christian proclamation.

The same basic proclamation is also alluded to in the Prayer Book Gospel for Ascension Sunday. In St. John 15:26, Christ tells the Apostles, "When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me." The whole point about Pentecost is not about the mechanics of inspiration. And although we honor the coming of the Holy Spirit in a new way, Pentecost is not about the Spirit alone. The point is that the Holy Spirit testifies about and for the crucified and risen Jesus Christ. The Spirit of Truth enables Christ's followers to be faithful witnesses to and proclaimers of the Gospel of salvation. How the Spirit came and the variety of gifts bestowed are of interest, but the main issue is that the presence of the Holy Spirit brings faith in and witness to the saving work of Jesus Christ, the divine Word, God the Son.

Easter II- The Good Shepherd

In St. John 10:11, our Lord boldly proclaims, “I am the good shepherd.”  There are two aspects of Jesus’ claim. 1) Jesus is claiming to be the Messiah-a leader like King David in many ways. 2) By calling Himself the Good Shepherd, Jesus of Nazareth is also moving His claim to a higher level. In John’s Gospel, “I am” sayings from Jesus are reflections of God’s name in Exodus. Furthermore, Jesus does not merely say “I’m a good shepherd.” He says, “I am the good shepherd.”

God Himself is the Good Shepherd of Israel, and this claim by Jesus is a reflection of Jesus’ unique relationship with God the Father. So Jesus is making a powerful claim. He is both the human Messiah and the divine Son of God. He is the great leader of the chosen people in both ways. 

Jesus cares for God’s flock. He nourishes their souls.  Jesus is not a hired hand who will abandon the sheep in hard times. The sheep recognize Him; they know that He is worthy of their trust. He looks after them even when it hurts Him. He lays down His life for their sakes, and Jesus Christ has the power to take up His life again for the sake of the flock. Even from heaven, He continues to watch over His human flock, intercede for them, and send His Holy Spirit to guide them.

Easter is a season that stresses our hope in Christ. Knowing that Christ is our Good Shepherd highlights such hope in a special way. All too often we are like wandering sheep, but we do have a leader that we can trust. Easter is a celebration and a proclamation of the depth of our Shepherd’s love and of His victorious power. So let us heed Him and have faith in Him. Let us be loyal and stay near our Good Shepherd. Let us accept His guidance and nourish our souls with His spiritual food and drink, with His Word and Sacraments.

Easter Day 2018

St. John 20: 1-10.

The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, and the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again unto their own home. 

There is so much that can be said about the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is the central event in human history. It is the foundation of all Christian theology. It is central in Christian liturgy and celebration. It is the basis of hope. It is the great example of divine love and mercy. All those things and more deserve our attention. Yet, personally, the key is the reaction of the young beloved disciple- "he saw and believed." At that point, he did not understand all the Scriptures or have a developed theology; he simply believed in the living Lord Jesus. On this day, that is where we all need to start. Jesus Christ is risen!

Ash Wednesday- Lenten Fasting

In a religious context, fasting means abstaining from all or certain foods and/or drinks for a certain period for devotional or spiritual reasons. Technically, fasting does not mean other forms of self-denial or self-discipline. Although "fasting" from media, shopping, or other favorite pastimes and personal indulgences may be good or useful, that is not what Scripture and Christian tradition mean by fasting. Giving up or abstaining from meat (fowl included) has often been associated with fasting, but the traditional Anglican term for that practice is "abstinence."

So what are the general Anglican expectations about Lenten fasting? Traditionally, all forty days in Lent (the Sundays not included) are days for fasting to some degree. That means food intake should be reduced and simplified. In addition, the BCP indicates that most Fridays throughout the year are days of abstinence from meat. Furthermore, a person may choose to give up some favorite food, beverage, or activity.

There are several purposes for religious fasting. It is penitential or a reminder that we need to control our physical desires and habits. It is also an encouragement or a positive reminder that we need to spend more time in Scripture and prayer. Fasting can remind us that our souls need spiritual nourishment as much as our bodies need nourishment. Although not primary, there can also be some side benefits to fasting such as a healthier mind in a healthier body or more time and money to donate to charitable causes.

As important as fasting is, there are also several dangers. One is that our fasting must not be done self-righteously (see Matthew 6). A related danger is a legalistic attitude. Many Anglicans and others get too caught up in the rules- either too demanding or too much searching for loopholes. In addition, fasting practices need to be reasonable and consider our ages, health, general diets, medications, and activity levels. For example, please don't pass out from fasting, especially if you are driving!
So I urge everyone to keep a good Lenten fast as part of his/her devotional life. And as good Anglicans, be well-ordered, be prudent, and avoid extremes!