Gregorian Slant

Advent 3 sermon, etc.

2011-12-14T15:56:00.004-06:00

Sermon from Advent 3 - CLICK HERE for Audio

For additional sermons from St. Mark's Church, Arlington, CLICK HERE.

Sermon for Sunday, September 11, 2011, Pentecost 13

2011-09-14T10:44:00.001-05:00

CLICK HERE for sermon audio.

Put on the Lord Jesus Christ - Sermon, Pentecost 12

2011-09-06T15:09:00.002-05:00

CLICK HERE for sermon audio.

Sunday Sermon Pentecost 11

2011-08-28T19:26:00.002-05:00

CLICK THIS LINK for sermon audio

Pentecost 7 Sermon

2011-07-31T16:05:00.002-05:00

CLICK HERE for sermon audio.

Pentecost 6 Sunday Sermon

2011-07-24T19:37:00.002-05:00

CLICK HERE for sermon audio.

Pentecost 4 Sunday Sermon

2011-07-10T16:00:00.002-05:00

Part 3 of 3 on Eternal Life

CLICK HERE for sermon audio.

Pentecost 3 Sunday Sermon

2011-07-05T14:10:00.002-05:00

CLICK HERE for sermon audio.

Corpus Christi sermon, part 1 of 3 on Eternal Life

2011-06-26T14:59:00.004-05:00

CLICK THIS LINK to hear sermon audio.

Easter 7 Sunday Sermon

2011-06-20T15:22:00.003-05:00

CLICK THIS LINK to hear sermon audio.

Easter 6 Sunday Sermon

2011-05-29T14:16:00.002-05:00

CLICK THIS LINK to hear sermon audio.

Easter 5 Sunday Sermon

2011-05-22T19:43:00.002-05:00

CLICK THIS LINK to hear sermon audio.

Easter 4 Sunday Sermon

2011-05-15T15:43:00.003-05:00

CLICK THIS LINK to hear sermon audio.

Easter 3 Sunday Sermon

2011-05-09T16:44:00.003-05:00

CLICK THIS LINK to hear sermon audio.

The Feast of St. Mark the Evangelist, Sunday Sermon

2011-05-01T14:53:00.003-05:00

CLICK THIS LINK to hear sermon audio.

Easter 2 from St. David's, Glimer

2011-05-01T14:32:00.002-05:00

1 Peter 1 3-9, Easter 2 Yr A.mp3

If the player doesn't work, try this link.

"On This Morning of Promise and Light, Let Us Be Restored in Our Christian Confidence"

2011-04-28T07:16:00.000-05:00

from the Easter Homily of Archbishop Nichols of Westminster

"Often the coming of Jesus into this world is spoken of as his leaving his Godhead to enter into our mortal world. His rising from the dead is seen as his return to the glory of God. And this is true. But sometimes, hidden in this thought, is the idea that Jesus took on our messy humanity as an unfortunate condition of his mission in our world and on his return he leaves all its messiness behind. But this is not so. Jesus comes to our world as the act of God’s love. He enters our flesh not as a burden to his Godhead but as an expression of the deepest nature of all that God has made, for God saw it and it was good. And in returning to his Father, Jesus does not strip away his humanity as if it were a source of impurity. No, he rises in and with his body. He carries it home. And with his risen body he carries home all of the created order, which has its being through him, the Eternal Word. Jesus, we are told, loves ‘his own’ even to the end, even though ‘his own’ would not accept him. But in his rising from the dead, in his own homecoming, each one of us also finds our way home opened and clearly marked out.

"We may often be tempted to think of our flesh, our humanity, as the part of us that we must go beyond, which we must somehow reject. But Jesus does not do that. Rather, he raises it up to new life.

"Only in this light do we see our physical world correctly. Only in this light, the light of our eternal destiny, do we see our true glory, and the glory of our bodily selves. In God’s eyes we never lose our dignity, not even when the human body is stripped and debased, as it is so often for reasons of violence and exploitation. Here, on this morning, is a human body raised from the dead, raised from a broken and deformed state and entered into its true and eternal glory. And in that body we all share. For this is the body of our Lord shared with us in every Eucharist, when he takes us into himself that he may, in due time, take us to our heavenly home."

Read the whole thing here.

Easter Sunday Sermon

2011-04-26T14:53:00.001-05:00

Colossians 3 1-4, Easter 1 Yr A.mp3

If the player doesn't work, try this link.

Good Friday Sermon

2011-04-26T14:50:00.001-05:00

Good Friday 2011.mp3

If the player doesn't work, try this link.

Palm Sunday Sermon

2011-04-17T15:19:00.001-05:00

Palm Sunday.mp3

If the player doesn't work, try this link.

Sunday Sermon Lent 5

2011-04-13T08:52:00.002-05:00

Romans 8 6-11, Lent 5 Yr A.mp3

If the player doesn't work, try this link.

Sunday Sermon Lent 4

2011-04-03T15:36:00.003-05:00

Ephesians 5 8-14, Lent 4 Yr A.mp3

If the player doesn't work, try this link.

Sunday Sermon, Lent 3

2011-03-29T12:09:00.001-05:00

Romans 5 1-11, Lent 3 Yr A.mp3

Sunday Sermon Lent 2

2011-03-20T15:43:00.002-05:00

Romans 4, Lent 2 Yr A.mp3

Sunday Sermon Lent 1

2011-03-13T17:01:00.001-05:00

Romans 5 12-21, Lent 1 Yr A.mp3

Sunday Sermon, Epiphany 8

2011-03-01T14:32:00.001-06:00

1 Cor 4, Epiphany 8 Yr A.mp3

Sunday Sermon Epiphany 4

2011-01-30T20:32:00.002-06:00

1 Corinthians 1 18, Epiphany 4 Yr a.mp3

If the player doesn't work, try this link.

Sunday Sermon Epiphany 3

2011-01-24T19:29:00.001-06:00

1 Corinthians & Isaiah 9, Epiphany 3.mp3

If the player doesn't work, try this link.

Sunday Sermon, Epiphany 2

2011-01-16T20:08:00.001-06:00

1 Corinthians, Epiphany 2, Yr A.mp3

If the player doesn't work, try this link.

Sunday Sermon, Epiphany 1, The Baptism of Our Lord

2011-01-09T16:07:00.001-06:00

Matthew 3 13-13, Epiphany 1 Yr A.mp3

Click here if player doesn't work.

A Christian Singer-Songwriter talking Mary, referencing von Balthasar, and putting it all to song.

2010-12-13T19:35:00.000-06:00

Advent 3 sermon from St. Mark's, Mt. Pleasant

2010-12-12T17:39:00.000-06:00

Matthew 11 2-11, Advent 3 Yr A.mp3

If the player doesn't work, try this link.

Advent 2, "Heaven and Earth in Little Space," a sermon on and around Isaiah 11:1-10

2010-12-05T22:53:00.002-06:00

Isaiah 11 1-10, Advent 2 Yr A.mp3

If the player doesn't work, try this link.

Sermon, "The Measure of the King's Gift" from Sunday, November 21, St. Mark's, Mt. Pleasant

2010-11-23T11:45:00.002-06:00

Luke 23 35-43, Pr 29 Yr C.mp3

If the player does not work, try this link.

a little more from Derek Webb

2010-11-07T22:03:00.002-06:00

Crooked Deep Down

2010-11-07T21:49:00.000-06:00

A lyric that's been on my mind recently.

"See I'm not water. I'm not wine. Well you could say I'm just here for the party with one thing on my mind: squeezing me and my camel through the needle's eye."

Sunday Sermon on Luke 17:1-10

2010-10-03T19:27:00.000-05:00

Luke 17 1-10, Pr 22, Yr C.mp3

If the player doesn't work, try this link.

Sunday Sermon from St. Mark's, Mt. Pleasant

2010-09-26T17:07:00.000-05:00

Political opinions, misquotation of Jim Eliot, divorce, depositions, lawsuits, and tons of fun in this week's episode. Blessings, GLC+

Luke 16 14-31, Pr 21 Yr C.mp3

If the player doesn't work, try this link.

Sunday Sermon on Making Friends with Unrighteous Wealth (Luke 16:9)

2010-09-19T17:02:00.000-05:00

Luke 16 1-13, Pr 20 Yr C.mp3

If the player doesn't work, try this link.

Sunday Sermon on the God who saves the lost (or on how to be as happy as if you had sense)

2010-09-13T15:04:00.000-05:00

Luke 15 1-10, Pr 19 Yr C.mp3

If the player doesn't work, try this link.

Sunday Sermon, September 5, 2010, On the Cost of Non-Discipleship (with thanks to Dallas Willard, and especially Jesus)

2010-09-05T15:46:00.000-05:00

Luke 14 25-33, Pr 18 Yr C.mp3

If the player doesn't work, try this link.

Sunday sermon from St. Mark's, Mt. Pleasant, TX

2010-08-29T22:20:00.000-05:00

Luke 14 1-14, Pr 17 Yr C.mp3

If the player doesn't work, try this link.

Of ears and what to do with them

2010-08-28T10:45:00.000-05:00

Hard of Listening by Rodney Clapp

"How does the virtue of listening fare in our noisy culture? Listening requires patience, and we are impatient. Listening requires a background silence, and we seem determined to use radios and iPods and televisions to blot out every threat of quietness. Listening requires focusing attention on another as he or she speaks, and our omnipresent consumerism habituates us to focus first and foremost on ourselves. The odds are against us learning the virtue or skill of listening. We won't just stumble into good listening. If we are to achieve some level of aptitude in listening, we will have to be quite intent at practicing and sharpening the skill."

read the whole thing (it's pretty short)

Sermon from Sunday, August 22, 2010

2010-08-23T17:28:00.001-05:00

Luke 13 22-30, Pr 16 Yr C.mp3

If the player doesn't work, try this link.

Sunday Sermon from St. Mark's, Mt. Pleasant, August 8, 2010

2010-08-15T22:08:00.002-05:00

Luke 12 32-40, Pr 14 Yr C.mp3

If the player doesn't work, try this link.

Touchstone Archives: The Truth About Men & Church

2010-08-14T19:49:00.001-05:00

Touchstone Archives: The Truth About Men & Church

A Sermon on Luke 12:13-19

2010-08-02T22:29:00.003-05:00

Luke 12 13-19, Pr 13 Yr C.mp3

If the player does not work, try this link.

We are led to God by desire of the good

2010-07-29T06:59:00.000-05:00

Thence also He says here, if you turn your attention to it, “No man comes to me except he whom the Father shall draw.” Do not think that you are drawn against your will. The mind is drawn also by love. Nor ought we to be afraid, lest perchance we be censured in regard to this evangelic word of the Holy Scriptures by men who weigh words, but are far removed from things, most of all from divine things; and lest it be said to us, “How can I believe with the will if I am drawn?” I say it is not enough to be drawn by the will; you are drawn even by delight. What is it to be drawn by delight? “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” There is a pleasure of the heart to which that bread of heaven is sweet. Moreover, if it was right in the poet to say, “Every man is drawn by his own pleasure,”—not necessity, but pleasure; not obligation, but delight—how much more boldly ought we to say that a man is drawn to Christ when he delights in the truth, when he delights in blessedness, delights in righteousness, delights in everlasting life, all which Christ is? Or is it the case that, while the senses of the body have their pleasures, the mind is left without pleasures of its own? If the mind has no pleasures of its own, how is it said, “The sons of men shall trust under the cover of Your wings: they shall be well satisfied with the fullness of Your house; and You shall give them drink from the river of Your pleasure. For with You is the fountain of life; and in Your light shall we see light”? Give me a man that loves, and he feels what I say. Give me one that longs, one that hungers, one that is travelling in this wilderness, and thirsting and panting after the fountain of his eternal home; give such, and he knows what I say. But if I speak to the cold and indifferent, he knows not what I say. Such were those who murmured among themselves. “He whom the Father shall draw,” says He, “comes unto me.”

--St. Augustine of Hippo, Tractate 26 on the Gospel of John

Pining for the Good ol' Days of Knowledgeable Heretics

2010-07-27T15:53:00.000-05:00

From the Ignatius Press blog:

The modern heretic, all in all, is a different animal. If he has any interest in theology, it's usually a negative interest; he wishes it would go away. It is an annoying fly in the ointment of his grand scheme to remake the Church in his likeness and image. He usually embraces heresy not because he makes a mistake while pondering theological nuances but because he has accepted the dominant cultural mores and social attitudes and is now intent on remolding Catholicism to fit them, rather than scrutinizing them in the light of Catholic teaching.

The ancient heretics eventually ran up against Church authority and, alas, made bad choices. Modern heretics make bad choices and then try to run over Church authority. "Minds no longer object to the Church," wrote Abp. Fulton Sheen, "because of the way they think, but because of the way they live. They no longer have difficulty with the Creed, but with her Commandments ... Briefly, the heresy of our day is not the heresy of thought; it is the heresy of action."

And I know that since I'm not currently in communion with the Holy Father I should tread lightly around the issue of "CatholicBut!" I suppose that I'm a schismatic and not a heretic. Given this unfortunate choice, I'll take the former. GLC+

Some Fun with Fundamentals

2010-07-21T16:45:00.002-05:00

From Dallas Willard in Renovation of the Heart:

"Now I must say something you can be mad at me about. A fundamental mistake of the conservative side of the American church today, and much of the Western church, is that it takes as its basic goal to get as many people as possible ready to die and go to heaven. It aims to get people into heaven rather than to get heaven into people. This of course requires that these people, who are going to be 'in,' must be right on what is basic. You can't really quarrel with that. But it turns out that to be right on 'what is basic' is to be right in terms of the particular church vessel [i.e. the way we do things, GLC+] or tradition in question, not in terms of Christlikeness.

"Now, the project thus understood and practiced is self-defeating. It implodes upon itself because it creates groups of people who may be ready to die, but clearly are not ready to live. They rarely can get along with one another, much less those 'outside.' Often their most intimate relations are tangles of reciprocal harm, coldness, and resentment. They have found ways of being 'Christian' without being Christlike.

"As a result they actually fall far short of getting as many people as possible ready to die, because the lives of the 'converted' testify against the reality of 'the life that is life indeed' (ontos zoas, 1 Timothy 6:19, PAR). The way to get as many people into heaven as you can is to get heaven into as many people as you can--that is, to follow the path of genuine spiritual transformation or full-throttle discipleship to Jesus Christ. When we are counting up results we also need to keep in mind the multitudes of people (surrounded by churches) who will not be in heaven because they have never, to their knowledge, see the reality of Christ in a living human being."

The incomplete gospel of "heaven when you die" is something that's probably still deep in my bones. I'm working to supplement it with the fullness of the Gospel of the Kingdom, which is the Gospel of the availability of the Kingdom of God now, and later, by, with, and in Jesus of Nazareth. Dallas Willard is of great help here. Jesus is of more. And so are the apostles and their faithful successors.

The goal is to get heaven into people. That's a great (and memorable) reminder.

It takes words connected to reality to think thoughts connected to reality

2010-07-05T16:04:00.001-05:00

Loss of Language, Loss of Thought by Wolfgang Grassl.

I think I suffer from the problem he describes, namely a modern liberal arts education rather than a classical one.

This makes me want to re-read C. S. Lewis's The Abolition of Man.

The Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ

2010-07-01T16:41:00.000-05:00

"John the Baptist has pointed out the Lamb, Peter has firmly established his throne, Paul has prepared the bride; their joint work, admirable in its unity, at once suggests the reason for their feasts occurring almost simultaneously in the cycle. The alliance being now secured, all three fall into shade; whilst the bride herself, raised up by them to such loftly heights, appears alone before us, holding in her hands the sacred cup of the nuptial-feast.

"This gives the key of today's solemnity, revealing how its appearance in the heavens of the holy liturgy at this particular season is replete with mystery. The Church, it is true, has already made known to the sons of the new covenant, in a much more solemn matter, the price of the Blood that redeemed them, its nutritive strength, and the adorng homage is its due. On Good Friday, earth and heaven beheld all sin drowned in the saving stream, whose eternal flood-gates at last gave way beneath the combined effort of man's violence and of the love of the divine Heart. The festival of Corpus Christi witnessed our prostrate worship before the altars whereon is perpetuated the Sacrifice of Calvary, and where the outpouring of the precious Blood affords drink to the humblest little ones, as well as to the mightiest potentates of earth, lowly bowed in adoration before it.

"How is it, then, that holy Church is now inviting all Christians to hail, in a particular manner, the stream of life ever gushing from the sacred fount? What else can this mean, but that the preceding solemnities have by no means exhausted the mystery? The peace which this Blood has made to reign in the high places as well as in the low; the impetus of its wave bearing back the sons of Adam from the yawning gulf, purified, renewed, and dazzling white in the radiance of their heavenly apparel; the sacred Table outspread before them on the waters' brink, and the chalice brimful of inebriation - all this preparation and display would be objectless, all these splendours would be incomprehensible, if man were not brought to see therein the wooings of a love that could never endure its advances to be outdone by the pretensions of any other. Therefore, the Blood of Jesus is set before our eyes at this moment as the Blood of the Testament; the pledge of the alliance proposed to us by God [Exodus 24: 8; Hebrews 9: 20]' the dower stipulated by eternal Wisdom for this divine union to which He is inviting all men, and its consummation in our soul which is being urged forward with such vehemence by the Holy Ghost."

"'Having therefore, brethren, a confidence in entering into the Holies by the Blood of Christ,' says the apostle, 'a new and living way which He hath dedicated for through the veil - that is to say, His flesh - let us draw near with a pure heart in fullness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with clean water, let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He is faithful that hath promised. Let us consider one another to provoke unto charity and to good works [Hebrews 10: 19-24]. And may the God of peace who brought again from the dead the great Pastor of the sheep, our Lord Jesus Christ, in the Blood of the everlasting Testament, fit you in all goodness, that you may do His will: doing in you that which is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom is glory forever and ever. Amen! [Hebrews 13: 20,21].'"

(from here)

Litany of the Most Precious Blood

N. T. Wright - "The Shape of Justification"

2010-06-26T09:38:00.002-05:00

There is much for good reflection here.

Including this bit:

"By ‘the gospel’ Paul does not mean ‘justification by faith’ itself. He means the announcement that the crucified and risen Jesus is Lord. To believe this message, to give believing allegiance to Jesus as Messiah and Lord, is to be justified in the present by faith (whether or not one has even heard of justification by faith). Justification by faith itself is a second-order doctrine: to believe it is both to have assurance (believing that one will be vindicated on the last day (Rom. 5.1-5) and to know that one belongs in the single family of God, called to share table-fellowship without distinction with all other believers (Gal. 2.11-21). But one is not justified by faith by believing in justification by faith (this, I think, is what Newman thought Protestants believed), but by believing in Jesus."

A Meditation on the Sacred Heart of Jesus from the Office of Readings

2010-06-11T12:31:00.002-05:00

Take thought now, redeemed man, and consider how great and worthy is he who hangs on the cross for you. His death brings the dead to life, but at his passing heaven and earth are plunged into mourning and hard rocks are split asunder.

It was a divine decree that permitted one of the soldiers to open his sacred side with a lance. This was done so that the Church might be formed from the side of Christ as he slept the sleep of death on the cross, and so that the Scripture might be fulfilled: ‘They shall look on him whom they pierced’. The blood and water which poured out at that moment were the price of our salvation. Flowing from the secret abyss of our Lord’s heart as from a fountain, this stream gave the sacraments of the Church the power to confer the life of grace, while for those already living in Christ it became a spring of living water welling up to life everlasting.

Arise, then, beloved of Christ! Imitate the dove ‘that nests in a hole in the cliff’, keeping watch at the entrance ‘like the sparrow that finds a home’. There like the turtledove hide your little ones, the fruit of your chaste love. Press your lips to the fountain, ‘draw water from the wells of your Saviour; for this is the spring flowing out of the middle of paradise, dividing into four rivers’, inundating devout hearts, watering the whole earth and making it fertile.

Run with eager desire to this source of life and light, all you who are vowed to God’s service. Come, whoever you may be, and cry out to him with all the strength of your heart. “O indescribable beauty of the most high God and purest radiance of eternal light! Life that gives all life, light that is the source of every other light, preserving in everlasting splendour the myriad flames that have shone before the throne of your divinity from the dawn of time! Eternal and inaccessible fountain, clear and sweet stream flowing from a hidden spring, unseen by mortal eye! None can fathom your depths nor survey your boundaries, none can measure your breadth, nothing can sully your purity. From you flows ‘the river which gladdens the city of God’ and makes us cry out with joy and thanksgiving in hymns of praise to you, for we know by our own experience that ‘with you is the source of life, and in your light we see light’.

--St. Bonaventure

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

2010-06-03T12:18:00.003-05:00

From Fr. Hart at the Continuum:

I Want to Be Left Behind

This is an interesting reflection on the idea of the Rapture from a traditional Christian perspective.

"I read somewhere to learn is to remember"

2010-01-01T11:48:00.003-06:00

Fr. Stephen Freeman, an orthodox priest, shares this essential quotation from the Desert Fathers and adds some challenging thoughts of his own.

Remember God Always

Somebody asked Abba Antony (St. Antony the Great of Egypt), “What shall I do in order to please God?”

He replied, “Do what I tell you, which is this: wherever you go, keep God in mind; whatever you do, follow the example of Holy Scripture; wherever you are, stay there and do not move away in a hurry. If you keep to these guide-lines, you will be saved.”

+++

This small story from the lives of the Desert Fathers has always reminded me of the quote that Fr. Thomas Hopko offers as having been given him by his mother when he left for seminary: “Remember God. Say your prayers. Go to Church.” The Christian life, it would seem, is not so much complex as difficult and the things that are difficult are themselves quite simple.

continue reading on Fr. Stephen's blog

Sing and Walk Onwards

2009-11-28T07:53:00.006-06:00

from a sermon of St Augustine

Let us sing Alleluia to God, who is good and frees us from evil

Let us sing alleluia here on earth, while we are still anxious and worrying, so that we may one day be able to sing it there in heaven, without any worry or care. Why anxious and worrying here? You must want me to be anxious, Lord, when I read, Is not man’s life on earth a trial and a temptation? You must want me to worry when temptation is so plentiful that the Prayer itself tells us to worry, when we say, Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us. Every day we are petitioners, every day we are trespassers. Do you want me to throw care to the winds, Lord, when every day I am requesting pardon for sins and assistance against dangers? After all, when I have said, because of past sins, Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us, I must immediately go on to add, because of future dangers, Lead us not into temptation. And how can a people be in a good way, when they cry out with me, Deliver us from evil? And yet, my brethren, in this time that is still evil, let us sing alleluia to the good God, who does deliver us from evil.

Even here, among the dangers, among the trials and temptations of this life, both by others and by ourselves let alleluia be sung. God is faithful, he says, and he will not permit you to be tempted beyond what you are able to endure. So even here let us sing alleluia. Man is still a defendant on trial, but God is faithful. He did not say “he will not permit you to be tempted” but he will not permit you to be tempted beyond what you are able to endure; and with the temptation he will also make a way out, so that you may be able to endure it. You have entered into temptation; but God will also make a way out so that you do not perish in the temptation; so that like a potter’s jar you may be shaped by the preaching and fired into strength by the tribulation. But when you enter the temptation, bear in mind the way out: because God is faithful, God will watch over you and guard your going in and your coming out.

Furthermore, when this body has become immortal and imperishable, when all temptation has been done away with; because the body is dead–why is it dead?–Because of sin. But the spirit is life, because of justice. So do we leave the body dead, then? No, but listen: But if the Spirit of him who raised Christ from the dead dwells within you, then he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies. So you see: now the body receives its life from the soul, but then it will receive it from the Spirit.

O! what a happy alleluia there, how carefree, how safe from all opposition, where nobody will be an enemy, where no-one will ever cease to be a friend! God’s praises sung there, sung here – here, by the anxious; there, by the carefree – here, by those who will die; there, by those who will live for ever – here, in hope; there, in reality – here, on our journey; there, in our homeland.

So now, my brethren, let us sing, not to delight our leisure, but to ease our toil. In the way that travellers are in the habit of singing, sing, but keep on walking. What does it mean, “keep on walking”? Go onward always – but go onward in goodness, for there are, according to the Apostle, some people who go ever onward from bad to worse. If you are going onward, you are walking; but always go onward in goodness, onward in the right faith, onward in good habits and behaviour. Sing, and walk onwards.

Evangelicals and Catholics Together

2009-10-29T14:06:00.003-05:00

Evangelicals and Catholics Together

The Gift of Salvation

Your Word is Truth

The Communion of Saints

The Call to Holiness

That They May Have Life

Do Whatever He Tells You

Of Parish Priests and Patron Saints

2009-08-04T15:35:00.000-05:00

Today is the feast of St. John Vianney, patron saint of parish priests. A brief survey of his life proves to me yet again, with much consolation, that C students make the best pastors. In this age of rampant grade inflation, that means that B to B+ students make the best pastors.

Here's an excerpt from his St. John Vianney's catechetical instructions, from Chapter 8 on Prayer:

"See my children; the treasure of a Christian is not on the earth, it is in Heaven. Well, our thoughts ought to be where our treasure is. Man has a beautiful office, that of praying and loving. You pray, you love - that is the happiness of man upon the earth. Prayer is nothing else than union with God. When our heart is pure and united to God, we feel within ourselves a joy, a sweetness that inebriates, a light that dazzles us. In this intimate union God and the soul are like two pieces of wax melted together; they cannot be separated. This union of God with His little creature is a most beautiful thing. It is a happiness that we cannot understand.

"We have not deserved to pray; but God, in His goodness, has permitted us to speak to Him. Our prayer is an incense which He receives with extreme pleasure. My children, your heart is poor and narrow; but prayer enlarges it, and renders it capable of loving God. Prayer is a foretaste of Heaven, an overflow of paradise. It never leaves us without sweetness. It is like honey descending into the soul and sweetening everything. Troubles melt away before a fervent prayer like snow before the sun. Prayer makes time pass away very quickly, and so pleasantly that one does not perceive how it passes. Do you know, when I was running up and down the country, at the time that almost all the poor priests were ill, I was praying to the good God all along the road. I assure you, the time did not seem long to me.

"We see some persons who lose themselves in prayer like a fish in the water, because they are all for God. There is not division in their heart. Oh, how I love those generous souls! St. Francis of Assisi and St. Colette saw Our Lord and spoke to Him as we talk to each other. While we, how often we come to church without knowing what we come for, or what we are going to ask! And yet, when we go to one's house, we know very well what we are going for. Some people seem to say to God, "I am going to say two words to Thee, to get rid of Thee. " I often think that when we come to adore Our Lord, we should obtain all we wish, if we would ask it with very lively faith, and a very pure heart. But, alas! we have no faith, no hope, no desire, no love!

"There are two cries in man, the cry of the angel and the cry of the beast. The cry of the angel is prayer; the cry of the beast is sin. Those who do not pray, stoop towards the earth, like a mole trying to make a hole to hide itself in. They are all earthly, all brutish, and think of nothing but temporal things, . . . like that miser who was receiving the last Sacraments the other day; when they gave him a silver crucifix to kiss, he said, "That cross weighs full ten ounces. " If there could be one day without worship, it would no longer be Heaven; and if the poor lost souls, notwithstanding their sufferings, could worship, there would be no more Hell. Alas! they had a heart to love God with, a tongue to bless Him with; that was their destiny. And now they are condemned to curse Him through all eternity. If they could hope that they would once pray only for one minute, they would watch for that minute with such impatience that it would lessen their torments.

"Our Father who art in Heaven!" Oh, how beautiful it is, my children, to have a father in Heaven! "Thy kingdom come. " If I make the good God reign in my heart, He will make me reign with Him in His glory. "Thy will be done. " There is nothing so sweet, and nothing so perfect, as to do the will of God. In order to do things well, we must do them as God wills, in all conformity with His designs. "Give us this day our daily bread. " We are composed of two parts, the soul and the body. We ask the good God to feed our poor body, and He answers by making the earth produce all that is necessary for our support. . . . But we ask Him to feed our soul, which is the best part of ourselves; and the earth is too small to furnish enough to satisfy it; it hungers for God, and nothing but God can satiate it. Therefore the good God thought He did not do too much, in dwelling upon the earth and assuming a body, in order that this Body might become the Food of our souls. "My Flesh, " said Our Lord, "is meat indeed. . . . The bread that I will give is my Flesh, for the life of the world:' The bread of souls is in the tabernacle. The tabernacle is the storehouse of Christians. . . . Oh, how beautiful it is, my children! When the priest presents the Host, and shows it to you, your soul may say, "There is my food. " O my children, we are too happy! . . . We shall never comprehend it till we are in Heaven. What a pity that is!"

The Imperative of Unity

2009-07-21T15:08:00.003-05:00

Church unity has seemed more of a luxury than a necessity. I suppose I've always considered a clear gospel of a greater priority than a unified Church. But can a divided Church pronounce a clear gospel? Or, in St. Paul's language, "And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle?" (1 Cor 14:8). I know the context is off. St. Paul isn't addressing Church unity, as such, he's talking about the appropriate use of the gift of tongues. But the analogy seems apt. The Babel of our divided Christian witness is a scandal, a stumbling block, an obstacle to a clear and compelling witness to the person and saving presence of our Lord Jesus in the world today.

David Bentley Hart adds a compelling chapter the book Ecumenism Today. In his conclusion, he speaks of the imperative of Church unity.

"[R]eunion of the Orthodox and Roman Churches has become an imperative, and time is growing short. I say this because I often suffer from bleak premonitions of the ultimate cultural triumph in the West of a consumerism so devoid of transcendent values as to be, inevitably, nothing but a pervasive and pitiless nihilism. And it is, I think, a particularly soothing and saccharine nihilism, possessing a singular poswer for absorbing the native energies of the civilization it is displacing without prompting any extravagant alarm at its vacuous barbarisms. And I suspect that the only tools at Christianity's disposal, as it confronts the rapid and seemingly inexorable advance of this nihilism, will be evangelical zeal and internal unity. I like to think--cal it the Sopphiologist in me--that the tribulations that Eastern Christianity has suffered under Islamic and communist rule have insulated it from some of the more corrosive pathologies of modernity for a purpose, and endowed it with a special mission to bring its liturgical, intellectual, and spiritual strengths to the aid of the Western Christian world in its struggle with the nihilism that the post-Christian West has long incubated and that now surrounds us all, while yet drawing on the strengths and charisms of the Western Church to preserve Orthodoxy from the political and cultural frailty that sill afflicts Eastern Christianity. Whatever the case, though, we are more in need of one another now than ever. To turn away from ecumenism now may be to turn towards the darkness that is deepening all about us. We are called to be children of light, and I do not think that we will walk very far in the light hereafter except together."

Ecumenism and the Eucharist

2009-06-16T09:33:00.002-05:00

Some sobering and encouraging words from Christoph Cardinal Schönborn in an excerpt from Living the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

The Church's Proper Name

2009-02-23T15:17:00.002-06:00

The Church is called “Catholic”: this is the proper name of the Holy Church, the mother of us all, which is the spouse of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Only-begotten Son of God—for it is written, “As Christ also loved the Church and gave Himself for her,” (Eph. 5:25)—and is a figure and copy of Jerusalem which is above, which is free, and the mother of us all (Gal. 4:26); which before was barren, but now has many children. . . . In this Holy Catholic Church receiving instruction and behaving ourselves virtuously, we shall attain the kingdom of heaven, and inherit eternal life; for this reason we endure all toils, that we may be made partakers of eternal life from the Lord. For ours is no trifling aim, but our endeavour is for eternal life. For this reason we are taught in the Creed, after the words, “And in the resurrection of the flesh,” that is, of the dead, we are taught to believe also “in the life eternal.” This is the object of our efforts as Christians. The real and true life then is the Father, who through the Son in the Holy Spirit pours forth as from a fountain His heavenly gifts to all; and through His love to man, the blessings of the life eternal are promised without fail to us men also. We must not disbelieve the possibility of this, but having an eye not to our own weakness but to His power, we must believe; for with God all things are possible.

—St. Cyril of Jerusalem (d.386 a.d.), Instructions to Catechumens, 18:26-29

Sola fide . . . old school

2008-12-15T11:04:00.000-06:00

"Let us contemplate with faith the mystery of the divine incarnation. . . . For who, relying on the power of rational demonstration, can explain how the conception of the divine Logos took place? . . . How was there an engendering without loss of maidenhood? How did a mother, after giving birth remain a virgin? . . . How was He who was pure baptized? How did He who was hungry give sustenance? How did He who was weary impart strength? How did He who suffered dispense healing? How did He was dying bestow life? And, to put the most important last, how did God become man? . . . Faith alone can embrace these mysteries, for it is faith that makes real for us things beyond intellect and reason."

—St. Maximos the Confessor

Fr. Reardon on Prayer

2008-08-25T14:04:00.001-05:00

"The real purpose of prayer, after all, is not to inform God what we want, but to hand ourselves over more completely, in faith, to what God wants. The purpose of prayer, after all, even the prayer of petition, is living communion with God. The man who tells God, then, “Thy will be done,” does not thereby show himself a weaker believer but a stronger one."

--Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon on petitionary prayer.

Read the whole article here.

2008-07-17T14:20:00.002-05:00

Heb 13:8-15

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them. We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name."

The scripture sure seems to point out that the altar from which our hearts may by strengthened by grace is the altar of the cross. The meal, the nourishment, of course, being Christ himself. It's interesting how the concepts of sacrifice, meal, praise, worship, and the cross of Christ all coalesce in this passage, as they do also Sunday by Sunday at every sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving in the Holy Communion.

How to Read the Bible

2008-05-22T09:29:00.005-05:00

The most important thing is to read the Bible. A close second, is paying attention to how we read the Bible. That's what the science of hermeneutics is about. The study, the science, of how to interpret the Bible.

A popular, and very brainy, method of interpretation is called the "hermeneutic of suspicion." It's a way of reading where you doubt what you're reading and feel free to read your own meanings into the text. That's certainly making it too simple. But that's what the complicated explanations always seem to say. Perhaps I'm too suspicious.

When it comes to the Bible, however, suspicion needs to go away and a new hermeneutic, a new way of reading the Bible, needs to be employed.

I suggest the "hermeneutic of submission." I believe Jesus speaks of this in many places, perhaps none so clearly has John chapter 7. Answering critics, Jesus says, "My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority." (John 7:16-17, ESV)

The only way we can know if Jesus' teaching is true is to submit to it. We can't evaluate it critically from a safe distance. We must commit. And only then can we know.

Another writers says, "And without faith it is impossible to please [God], for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him" (Heb. 11:6, ESV).

I would think that's another way of saying the same thing. If we would know if Jesus' teaching is true,
we must submit our will to God's will. Then, and only then, can we begin to know.

What are "These Things"?

2008-05-16T11:09:00.004-05:00

What are "These Things"?
(a reflection shared during Lent 2006)

I have a confession to make. I’ll get to the confession a little later. But first, here’s some information about me that you may not know. It’s something I remind my people of quite frequently, and it’s something that most of you won’t find all that surprising. And here it is: I am a Bible nerd. Come to think of it, for an Episcopal priest, being a self-proclaimed Bible nerd may be surprising. I tell you this about myself, because you’re about to get some Bible, a good bit of St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians.

Turning our attention to St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians I want to point out that this letter is important for people like you and me. I believe that this letter, 1 Corinthians, is instructive for the Church in our day. In fact, an insightful, and Anglican, commentator writes this about 1 Corinthians. “With today’s ‘post-modern’ mood we may compare the self-sufficient, self-congratulatory culture of Corinth coupled with an obsession about peer-group prestige, success in competition, their devaluing of tradition and universals, and near contempt for those without standing in some chosen value system. All this provides an embarrassingly close model of a postmodern context for the gospel in our own times” (Thistleton, 17). A “self-sufficient, self-congratulatory culture . . . coupled with an obsession about peer-group prestige, success in competition [and] a devaluing of tradition and universals.” That’s something that reminds me of a city called, Dallas, in a country called the United States of America. And here’s the kicker. I would like to be self-congratulatory about my diagnosis, with the added benefit, of course, being peer-group prestige. Insidious, isn’t it?

What’s the antidote to such a disease? I believe St. Paul delivers it in chapter 2 of his first letter to our brothers and sisters in Corinth. To them, and through them to us, he writes, “And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, (why?) that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

Bold and blunt proclamation of the suffering of Jesus, this is where St. Paul began with people obsessed with success, prestige, and commerce. This is where he starts, “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Christ crucified.” And this is where he stays, saying, “Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”

We do impart wisdom. It’s stunning. St. Paul leads with the cross when speaking the Dallasites of first century Corinth. God the Father leads with the cross when speaking to “the rulers of this age who are doomed to pass away.” You see, St. Paul is simply going with God’s program, which is this: to destroy false wisdom with true wisdom. The cross destroys the false wisdom of self-sufficiency and self-congratulation with the true wisdom of self-giving and self-sacrifice.

I would like to be more excited about this than I am most days. But, most days I am much more enamored with the false wisdom of self-sufficiency and self-congratulation. Most days I ask these two questions: How am I going to fix this? and What a good boy am I? Those are the questions of self-sufficiency and self-congratulation. How am I going to fix this? It’s up to me and my own resources. I’d better pull myself up by my own bootstraps. Makes one think of Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone, or Lee Iacocca, Rudy Giuliani, or Bill Gates. Most days, all I lack, then, is a biographer.

You see, like most men, I’m a legend in my own mind. Yet somehow, by God’s grace, this do-it-yourself fix it man has been given eyes to see that Man on that cross showing, living, dying, bleeding, a more excellent way. “As it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.’” But wait, doesn’t that refer to the good stuff? Isn’t “what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined” a reference to mansions and streets of gold and eyes with no tear?

I certainly thought so, until I reread 1 Corinthians chapter 2. You see, there were either Dallasites living in Corinth 2,000 years ago, or I am a first-century Corinthian living in Dallas in the year 2006. I, with them, and they with me, see the spiritual life as the key to comfort, success, and prosperity. But then God helped me see it . . . in the text, where a Bible nerd would hope to see it best.

Do you?

Paul decided to know nothing among the Corinthians except Christ and Christ crucified. This is the secret and hidden wisdom of God. The cross is what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.

God prepared the cross for those who love Him? It would seem so. After all, God the Father prepared the cross for God the Son, the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world.

St. Paul continues, “these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit.” What are these things? What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him. The secret and hidden wisdom of God. Jesus Christ and Christ crucified.

I told you I have a confession to make. And here it is. I don’t want these things. I want pennies from heaven. Not nails and wood. This shouldn’t surprise you. And if it does, look in the mirror. You’ll see someone else who is not keen on crucifixion.

And that’s why we’re here, isn’t it? We’re in Church for re-programming, for re-education, for a confrontation between our commitment to self-sufficiency and self-congratulation, and God’s desire to grace us with His self-sacrifice and self-giving. And in this confrontation, we are charged to receive, as much as we are able, to receive that grace, God’s grace, so that, in time, and by God’s grace, we can want what the perfect Father prepared for the perfect Son and makes known to us by the perfect Spirit.

Christ crucified. A secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. A wisdom decreed before the ages of pre-modernity, modernity, or post-modernity. A wisdom decreed before there ever was a city called Corinth, or a city called Dallas. Christ crucified. A wisdom to be praised forever now and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Tattoos for Your Mind

2008-04-25T15:17:00.004-05:00

"Let us get two propositions written into our minds with indelible ink.
(1) The human mind has no more power of inventing a new value than of planting a new sun in the sky or a new primary colour in the spectrum.
(2) Every attempt to do so consists in arbitrarily selecting some one maxim of traditional morality, isolating it from the rest, and erecting it into an unum neccessarium."

--from "The Poison of Subjectivism" in Christian Reflections

Humility is Humiliating

2008-04-11T11:18:00.007-05:00

"It is well known that obedience is the chief among the initiatory virtues, for first it displaces presumption and then it engenders humility within us. Thus it becomes, for those who willingly embrace it, a door leading to the love of God. It was because he rejected humility that Adam fell into the lowest depths of Hades. It was because He loved humility that the Lord, in accordance with the divine purpose, was obedient to His Father even to the cross and death, although He was in no way inferior to the Father; and so through his own obedience He has freed mankind from the crime of disobedience and leads back to the blessedness of eternal life all who live in obedience. This humility should be the first concern of those who are fighting the presumption of the devil, for as we advance it will be a sure guide to all the paths of virtue."

--St. Diadochos of Photiki, “On Spiritual Knowledge” (The Philokalia, v. 1, p. 265.)

St. Ambrose on learning and teaching the Scriptures

2008-04-05T10:57:00.004-05:00

"I do not therefore claim for myself the glory of the apostles (for who can do this save those whom the Son of God Himself has chosen?) nor the grace of the prophets, nor the virtue of the evangelists, nor the cautious care of the pastors. I only desire to attain to that care and diligence in the sacred writings, which the Apostle has placed last among the duties of the saints; and this very thing I desire, so that, in the endeavor to teach, I may be able to learn. For one is the true Master, Who alone has not learnt, what He taught all; but men learn before they teach, and receive from Him what they may hand on to others."

--St. Ambrose, Three Books on the Duties of the Clergy, I.1.3, NPNF 2d, v. 10, p. 1 (emphasis mine)

Have This Mind Among Yourselves

2008-03-14T10:50:00.007-05:00

“People often do not realize that Christ Himself, in terms of temporal fame and in terms of political history, was quite unknown. There is hardly any reference to him in Roman history books of the time. You may remember Anatole France’s famous story ‘The Procurator of Judea.’ In it we meet Pontius Pilate as a retired civil servant who lives in a health resort and nurses his arthritis. A friend from the time of Pilate’s procuratorship in Judea meets him and reminds him of several incidents of those bygone years. The friend brings up, quite incidentally, the case of Jesus. Pontius Pilate tries hard to remember. But finally the old civil servant, who has had so many legal cases to deal with, admits: ‘I do not recall him.’ The great skeptic Anatole France has here, with artistic intuition, given us an eternal truth. Compared with the matters of the state of the Roman Empire, Jesus was nothing. He never made the headlines, to use the current expression. The procurator Pontius Pilate, in order to remember, would have had to look up the old files, provided there were any left. It is most important to realize that within the colossal Imperial machinery of Rome the story of the man with the blood-stained face, mocked by occupation troops, is not much more than a police incident.

“Thus we see that a curious incongruity exists between the political and the spiritual history of mankind. It seems almost as if a thing to be world-shaking in spiritual terms had to be inconspicuous and unknown in temporal terms.”

--Karl Stern, “St. Therese of Lisieux” in Saints for Now, ed. Clare Boothe Luce, p. 299-300.

Fr. Tom Hopko on Christian Unity

2007-12-07T12:32:00.003-06:00

Fr. Tom Hopko's article, Roman Presidency and Christian Unity in our Time, presents a gracious critique of certain Roman Catholic doctrines and practices (this is also a helpful critique from my Anglican catholic perspective). More than that, Fr. Hopko offers a humble conclusion that should be embraced by all Christians seeking unity in the Gospel of Christ:

"In a word, the Orthodox would have to sacrifice everything, excepting only the faith itself, for the sake of building a common future together with Christians who are willing and able to do so with them. Like Roman Catholics and Protestants, they would have to be willing to die with Christ to themselves and their personal, cultural and ecclesiastical interests for the sake of being in full unity with all who desire to be saved by the crucified Lord in the one holy church 'which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all' (Eph 1.23), that is 'the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth.' (1Tim 315)

"With God all things are possible. It is with this conviction that we can dare to imagine a global unity of Christians under the leadership of the bishop whose church of Rome was originally the first to 'preside in love' among all of Christ's churches on earth."

Amen, Fr. Hopko. And I'll add a potential overstatement. The point of the spiritual life--a life lived of necessity by, with, and in the Church--the point of this life, the goal of this life is to "sacrifice everything excepting only the faith itself." Isn't it?

An Unlikely Devotion

2007-11-29T15:46:00.000-06:00

Old Testament commentary introductions aren't normally places I expect to find good devotional material or moral theology. And then I find this by J. Alec Motyer in his short commentary on Isaiah:

"In this way Isaiah's view of history is consonant with the Bible's (especially the Old Testament's) fixed gaze beyond second causes to the First Cause, for preoccupation with second causes leads to living by our wits, working the system and making the right move, whereas concentration on the First Cause issues in a life of faith, trusting, 'cleaving to the Lord' (see Acts 11:23, AV), and living for his pleasure."

Good stuff. Now to do that, more often than not, is the challenge of the spiritual life.

Bright Knowledge

2007-10-31T11:57:00.000-05:00

"[E]verything that is evident in religion cannot be proven, since the evidence is rooted in "bright knowledge," in communion with the "mind of Christ"[.] And proofs, in order to be proofs, must operate in a dark knowledge, in the logic of this world. According to logic, this world is always stronger, since this world fashioned logic to justify itself. Christ tells us about sin. Without Christ, sin is only a problem, which this world is solving, and the solution is always liberal, positive, tolerant, loving . . . The horror of contemporary Christianity consists of accepting this logic and in measuring faith by its laws. So the light in us becomes darkness! (Matthew 6:33)."

from The Journals of Father Alexander Schmemann 1973-1983, p. 112

The Simple Gospel

2007-10-17T15:17:00.002-05:00

At seminary (for me, that would be Dallas Theological Seminary) there was a consistent emphasis on the importance (and regulatory effect) of the "simple gospel." For good and for ill, that has had an effect on me, at least with respect to measuring whether or not I'm teaching the Christian Gospel with sufficient clarity.

Oddly enough, though it was of particular importance, the "simple gospel" was never defined. As far as I could tell the "simple gospel" was, "Jesus died to save you from your sins." Whether or not that's a correct statement of the good news about Jesus (one criticism: it leaves out the resurrection!) I've since come to this conclusion about the "simple gospel." If there is one, it's probably this: Jesus is Lord . I figure that everything is contained in and follows from from this simple New Testament declaration (cf. Acts 2:36).

I was thinking about all of that this morning. And then, this afternoon, I ran into this stunning passage from E.L. Mascall. And I happen to agree with him.

"We can sum up the essence of the Christian gospel in the assertion that God the Son united human nature to himself in order to create a new human race. Be he did not simply call a new world into existence to redress the balance of the old. He did not abandon fallen humanity to its own devices and put an entirely novel and independent creation in its place. He made a new human race out of the very substance of the old, so that the old might itself be renewed. God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. The eternal Word did not bring his human nature with him from heaven; he took it from a human mother. He did not create a new human race out of nothing; he re-created the human race which he had created at the beginning and which had fallen away from him into sin and misery. He is, as St. Paul insists, the second Adam, the Father of the new human race, but he became the second Adam by becoming the lineal descendant of the first Adam. When the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, that he might redeem them that were under the law (Gal. 4:4). He renewed man's nature by entering himself into man's fallen condition and by taking upon himself the supreme penalty for man's sin. He fought his battle not against man but within man, in order that by his victory man might not be destroyed or enslaved but restored and redeemed. He used the very material of the old creation as the substance of the new. He took a perfect and complete human nature from his Virgin Mother in order that men and women might be able to become part of the new creation by being incorporated into him. By our physical birth we are descendants of the first Adam, part of the old creation, members of the fallen human race; by our new birth in Christ, who is the second Adam, we become part of the new creation, members of the restored human race which is the Catholic Church" (Corpus Christi, 38-39).

Maybe it's not "simple." But it is the Gospel.

2007-10-09T14:01:00.000-05:00

"Loving people is not efficient."

-Derek Webb from "Intro to 'Wedding Dress'", The House Show

Dallas Willard on Anger

2007-09-11T06:46:00.000-05:00

"On anger you know I'd just say that anything you can do with anger you can do much better without it. And you can stand for what is right so much more strongly without anger. And so much more clearly. And the moment you let your anger get into it, then it's no longer about what is right, it's about who's going to win. Then we're totally off the track."

from a lecture available here (it's in part three of the series but download and listen to it all).

That ain't what we call the gospel 'round these here parts!

2007-08-24T11:19:00.000-05:00

I'm still in the process of figuring out what "the gospel" is.

This confuses me. It also offends my pride (which is an awfully good thing. And I mean that. It's awful. And it's good).

I come from a tradition obsessed with the "simple gospel." The "simple gospel" is a simple term for the minimum someone must believe or accept before they can get into heaven. The "simple gospel" is, essentially: (1) I'm a sinner; (2) Jesus died to save me from the penalty of my sins, namely, eternal death; (3) I must trust Jesus thereby accepting his payment for my sins and receiving eternal life.

Now that's not a simple definition of the simple gospel. But it's the best I can do right now.

Dallas Willard offers a better explanation of it. "In today’s presentation of the gospel, Jesus’ death is primarily presented as a ransom that deals with guilt and the effects of guilt regarding our standing before God." In other words, the gospel is fundamentally about how to get to heaven when you die. Hence the notable evangelistic question, "If you were to die tonight would you go to heaven?" Good question, in it's own way. The "simple gospel" is also good . . . in its own way. My concern--a concern that comes from my experience in certain Christian sub-cultures--is the idea that anything beyond the "simple gospel" is an addition, or accretion, or perhaps even a dangerous distraction from the main point.

But for me, and for most sinners that I know, our main concern isn't, "What's going to happen when I die?" Our concern is "What do I do with my life?"

If this is you, too, then check about about everything written by Dallas Willard. And mostly, read the Bible. Dr. Willard would probably tell you to do that first. And if you will read the Bible, you will eventually run into Acts 24:24-25.

In Acts 24:24-25, St. Paul seems to move beyond the "simple gospel" (or at least have a different definition of it than I was taught).

"After some days Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. And as he reasoned about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, 'Go away for the present. When I get an opportunity I will summon you'" (Acts 24:24-25, ESV, italics mine).

See, for St. Paul speaking about faith in Jesus Christ involved reasoning about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment. I'm sure it's possible to read into the verse the idea that St. Paul told Felix how to go to heaven when he dies. But I don't think that's what St. Paul was doing. I imagine that he was talking about true righteousness that comes through commitment to and friendship with Jesus. I suspect St. Paul reasoned that salvation is a relation in which Jesus is trusted to direct one's daily life. Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments" (Jn 14:15). Following Jesus' direction--keeping his commandments--requires self-control. And it won't be until the last judgment that we really and finally discover that forgiving our enemies and blessing those who curse us and giving money to people who don't deserve it were actually the right things to do all along. In other words, at the last judgment we'll find that Jesus has been right and those who follow His commandments are part of His circle of friends.

Moreover, in this life, we'll live in close relationship with Jesus and enjoy His presence as He teaches us to follow His commandments. And after the judgment, Jesus and His friends will go to the biggest party of all time. So, yes, heaven is involved. But it's one part of a larger picture. And daily life transformation (ie., righteousness and self-control) is an essential part of our friendship with Jesus.

So repent, before some crazy preacherman screams at you again.

Man enough for aerobics?

2007-08-23T14:21:00.000-05:00

Clearly this isn't me. Besides which, if I took my shirt off at the gym, it trust that somebody would either giggle, or politely ask me to cover myself.

But I did use one of those infernal balance balls today. I thought I had decent balance. Then I used a balance ball while causing pain to some hidden muscles in my abdomen. The pain was a distraction I didn't need whilst attempting to balance on my elbows or feet or whatever it was on the ball.

I almost kept up with my wife, who almost kept up with the instructor, and now I can't pick anything up. Do you know how often each day you use mystery muscles in your "core" (abs, and back, and glutes . . . which is still a funny word because every word for that part is funny)? I think I'm trying to use some to breathe right now, and something seems wrong with that. Involuntary acts like breathing should use undetectable muscles. And woe to him who raises their ire.

Just give me a treadmill and tell me to run and I'm happy. The aerobics room culture is a little too loud and go get 'em for me. And it hurts every time I go in there. So I'm out. But at least I tried.

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Rockers

2007-08-22T10:17:00.000-05:00

Paige Hamilton is good at rock and roll. So is his band, Helmet (of whom one reviewer asks, "How could such an unpleasant sound come from people who looked so reasonable?").

I don't expect many to enjoy Helmet with me. In fact, I've just completed a two-year subscription to a music magazine (and a good one, by the way, Paste magazine . . . a friend of mine said of it, "It's like Rolling Stone for grown-ups." To which I would add, "Yes, and it's good, too."). After this stint of learning about and enjoying critically acclaimed rock and/or roll, and indie rock, and roots rock, and all around good music, I'm convinced that there's some stuff that I like simply because I like it. What's more, I can't and don't need to justify it with rock critics.

So there. I like Helmet.

They're really the last band standing from my metalhead days. Now that I'm older (and don't want my kids to discover everything I was into in my 20's . . . and, perhaps, have also developed some things like taste and restraint) I've gotten rid of most of my metal collection. But not Helmet. They make noise that I like to have on hand.

I've read a few interviews with Hamilton and he has repeated (if my memory is correct) that his goal with Helmet was to be like AC/DC. The first time I read that I thought he was kidding. I no longer think so.

Hamilton's rationale is the immediate recognition of the AC/DC sound. When you hear them, you know it's them. This is like sonic branding of a sort. You know the brand when you hear it. Maybe, with this goal, critical acclamation is secondary to recognition. And, if so, So what? Everybody knows who it is.

This is a pretty substantial goal for any band (to be instantly recognized). I think Hamilton and Helmet achieved this goal, fusing the power-chord force of AC/DC with the atonal noise of Sonic Youth (and any other number of influences) to make a unique sound.

So remember, kids, if you're gonna be a rocker, be sure and set your goals (I can here it now, "Alright, dudes, what's our vision and mission?").

A Confusing King

2007-08-21T14:01:00.000-05:00

The Old Testament readings for the Daily Office have been through 2 Samuel for the past month or so. I've been riveted by the story of Absalom's revenge and rebellion (2 Samuel 13-19).

For any non-Bible reader that might think the Bible is only a collection of pretty stories for self-improvement or wacky fables purported to be history, check out 2 Samuel 13-19. There's murder and political intrigue and a thing or two I wouldn't want to mention here. And I think they really happened substantially as recorded.

So I've been watching David's kingship nearly come undone, and that at the hands of his own son. Armchair ancient Israelite king that I am, I've been evaluating David's performance. With the rebellion and all, you can imagine that David's been getting bad grades from me.

And then I realized that I'm a bad grader. What if, I finally thought, David is doing the absolute best he can with circumstances that he can't control. And by "best he can" I mean full obedience to God in exactly what God is telling him to do. Now the text is silent on this point so I can make up any theory I want. But why would I assume that David, a man after God's own heart, has stopped seeking and receiving direction from the Lord's heart in his most consuming crisis?

Here's why. Because things were going poorly for David.

I assumed that, since David was on the run from his own son and didn't kick Abasalom's rear end to Edom a few chapters back, that he was abdicating his responsibility as King, sinning against God, and making matters far worse for himself.

Things did get worse for King David, but why? Because David didn't love God anymore? I don't think so. Because God didn't love David anymore? Impossible.

Why?

Heck, I don't know.

I guess because that's how things get sometimes: horribly, terribly awful. And when things get that out of control it may not even be the King's job to fix it. It may simply be the King's job to ask for mercy from God and ask for mercy even on his enemies. I believe that another King in David's line will encourage that sort of behavior in the first four books of the New Testament.

I might be reading all of this wrong (i.e., seeing the ancient Israelite monarchy as the nascent New Testament Kingdom of God). Yet I came to find more clearly, just this morning, that I think on the basis of patterns of power and self-protection (foundations of the kingdom of this world). I judge others on the basis of circumstances that they can't control. And, finally, to me, mercy can seem like weakness and compassion like failure.

I hope the Holy Prophet King David is easier on me from his armchair than I have been on him over the past few weeks. Seeing that he's still a man after God's own heart--and perfectly so, now--I suppose he won't be petty.

I finally got around to it

2007-08-20T20:22:00.000-05:00

A few years ago somebody told me I should blog. A few years before that, somebody told me I should write. These were two different somebodies.

Blogging wasn't around when the first somebody told me to write. I don't even think I had kids when I received that advice. When the second somebody told me to blog, I didn't have a clue. But I thought I did. So I was very dangerous, and, fortunately, a procrastinator. I still am in many respects. But finally my procrastination led me to launch a blog. Fitting, I suppose.

So here I go. I'm just laying some stuff down to get it going, and I have no idea where it'll end up. I reckon I'll post thoughts and such as I have them. I've got a few things I've been chewing on for a while: nerdy theological thinkings and assorted leftovers from seminary; one idea to explore from my ordination exams (don't know when I'll get to that one); and quirky observations about stuff.

And I suppose I'll post some family updates from time to time. But mostly I'll just write, and try to figure out, little by little, how words go together in interesting ways and even how they make points from time to time.