This sermon was given at the Profession Service of the Company of Jesus, 10/27/06 at Forest Avenue United Methodist Church, Chatannoga, TN. The text for the day was Luke 10:38-42.
In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
For nearly 800 years, lay people, religious, and priests who recognize a calling to follow Christ in the footsteps of St. Francis of Assisi have been striving to live the Gospel life in the world under the Third Order Rule of Francis. For some 1500 years, individual Christians have been offering themselves to Christ’s service by becoming Oblates of particular monasteries, focusing on prayer, work and service in their daily lives. Both Franciscans and Benedictines are interested in personal holiness, social justice and peace. Both are keenly committed to serving Christ and to letting nothing come before devotion to Christ.
At times there seems to be a sort of Mary/Martha split between the two Charisms. Benedictines initially appear more contemplative and stuck in one place, while Franciscans seems more active and Spirit-led. But a closer look reveals that this is a false dichotomy, and that we can easily find Benedictines who are actively engaged in teaching and other ‘secular’ pursuits, as well as Franciscans who live in a convent and have an intensely contemplative prayer life.
In the Company of Jesus, we are the happy recipients of two distinct but complementary spiritualities: the best of Francis and Benedict, Mary and Martha. All of us in the Company of Jesus are interested in an “Eschatological Existence” That is, we have been smitten with the idea of living our lives in a way that brings Heaven to earth. And while we all look forward to the blessings of the Celestial City, we also believe that it is possible to practice the Peaceable Kingdom now, before it arrives in its fullness here, or we go to meet it there.
In order to witness the New Jerusalem come down out of heaven and to see angels descending and ascending the ladder to heaven we must practice a cardinal virtue. Both Francis and Benedict agree that this virtue is Humility. Benedict thought Humility was so important that he devoted a long chapter to it in his Rule (#7) and describing its Tools – 74 in all in another chapter (4). Francis was so intent on following Christ literally that he stripped himself of every earthly privilege and emptied himself just as Christ did, walking naked into the world. Fro both men and their female counterparts Clare and Scholastica, Humility was the Key to living the Christian life – an Eschatological Existence in which Heaven is brought to earth by following a Rule of Life based on key values. Franciscans enumerates them as Poverty, Chastity and Obedience, while Benedictines express it through Obedience Stability and Conversion of Life (Conversatio Morum). Both sets of values express a desire to sit faithfully at the feet of Jesus while also serving Him in acts of Love in the world.
When Francis was first starting out in his monastic life, he used to say that the only Rule he and his brothers followed was the Gospel. By this he meant that simply following Jesus in his lifestyle of total dependence on God would produce an intimate acquaintance with Christ and personal transformation that also touches the world. Lady Poverty was the constant, sweet companion in this life, embodying the paradoxes of the Gospel, bringing riches out of weakness and joy out of misery. Benedict took Poverty for granted, insisting that none of his monks would own anything in private, but yet at the same time would have everything basic they needed to help them along the path of Holiness of life. Poverty was seen as the twin virtue of Humility, the basis for a true Conversion of Life, bringing the monk or nun into conformity and union with the Poor Christ.
Obedience to a Superior was considered by both our patrons to be a necessity. To listen to the abbot or the Minister General was to listen to God, thus denying oneself in imitation of Christ, and certainly requiring taking up the Cross! Monastics placed themselves under the authority of another in order to gain freedom from stubbornness, selfishness and self-centeredness – and to grow in Humility unto Christ. But Obedience is a two-way street. This is seen in Benedict’s admonition to his brothers to listen to the newest member of the Order during Chapter meetings, because often God speaks through the youngest member. Francis required holy obedience from his Friars, but at the end of his life was compelled to obey brother Leo, who insisted that he was loaning Francis a tunic that did not belong to him and so was forbidden to give it away or take it off! It is a measure of Francis’ growth in Humility that he was able to rejoice in obedience to his dear brother and disciple in the faith.
Finally, the vow of Chastity focuses stability and fidelity to our Lord- either through abstaining from sex altogether, or by remaining faithful to one’s spouse. The story is told of a young monk who arrives at a monastery. He is assigned to helping the other monks in copying the old canons and laws of the church by hand. He notices, however, that all of the monks are copying from copies, not from the original manuscript. So, the new monk goes to the abbot to question this, pointing out that if someone made even a small error in the first copy, it would never be picked up! In fact, that error would be continued in all of the subsequent copies.
The Abbot says, “We have been copying from the copies for centuries, but you make a good point, my son.” He goes down into the dark caves under the monastery where the original manuscripts are held as archives in a locked vault that hasn’t been opened for hundreds of years. Hours go by and nobody sees the old Abbot. So, the young monk gets worried and goes down to look for him. He sees him banging his head against the wall and wailing, “ We missed the ‘R’! We missed the ‘R’!”
His forehead is all bloody and bruised and he is crying uncontrollably. The young monk asks the old abbot, “What’s wrong, father?”
With a choking voice, the old abbot replies, “ The word was…CELEBRATE!”
So why choose this kind of life in America, in the 21st Century? As I have worked with new members coming in to the Company of Jesus, I see several things: First, a sense of being personally drawn to the faith and spirituality of one’s patron. Our members seem to feel that Christianity, as personified by Benedict or Francis, ‘fits’ me and my God-given termperament. There is also the feeling of being drawn inexplicably to this life despite faith backgrounds that are often almost diametrically opposed to my desired vocation. I attribute this to the active, drawing work of the Holy Spirit and the conviction that God is not done with the monastic expression of spirituality, but wants instead to do something in our day through these ancient forms of devotion.
In fact, I think part of this purpose is to reconnect us with generations of saints who have gone before us, growing toward perfection in their life in Christ. WE don’t have to reinvent the whell when it comes to following Christ. If you can think of it, someone has tried it! In Benedict and Francis, we have a near-compendium of everything that “works” in the spiritual life.
Lastly, making a profession or an oblation to a religious order expresses a desire for accountability and mentoring as a follower of Christ. The Celtic saints used to say that a Christian without a Soul-Friend is like a body without a head. Without a guide, it is easy to get off the track. Most of our members are ordained clergy. It doesn’t have to be that way. It’s not even ultimately desirable. Traditionally, most Friars, monks and oblates are lay people.” Yet, we see the desire for a deeper and more ordered spiritual life even among those who are “professional” Christians. In a word, I would describe this as a desire for Discipleship; a desire to fulfill the Great Commission in one’s own life, Obeying the Lord by following the wise and sure examples of our father and mother in the faith, bringing peace and justice to ourselves and those around us, bringing a little bit of Heaven to Earth in our daily acts of Humility and Love, being like Jesus in all things, and preferring nothing whatsoever to Him. Amen.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
The Dynamic Bartimaeus
This sermon was delivered by The Rev. Deacon Mark Goldman on 10/28/2006 at All Saints Anglican Church, Barboursville, West Virginia:
This is my very first sermon, and while writing it, I was reminded of this story:
A little girl asked her father what he was doing. He said, I’m writing a sermon. The little girl asked, How do you know what to write? He said, God tells me. The little girl looking at her father’s sermon said, Daddy, If God tells you what to write, Why do you keep crossing things out?
So, after a number of revisions, I think God and I are finally on the same page.
In the Lesson, Blindness is mentioned. In the Epistle, Perfection is mentioned (or having faith towards God). The story of Bartimaeus shows us how to move from blindness towards God. Yes, it is a healing story. However, and most importantly, it is a story about how the healing occurred - and it is our story too; our coming to Jesus. Because Bartimaeus demonstrates three Qualities:
1. He had Dynamic Faith
2. He had Dynamic Desire
3. He had Dynamic Devotion
We will examine each “Dynamic” in detail, but first lets begin with a word of prayer:
Heavenly Father, We ask you to prepare this place to receive your Holy word today. We ask you to bless it to our understanding, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom. And may Christ be glorified now, and forever in our lives, for it is in Jesus name we pray, Amen
Lets begin by putting this story in context: Jericho was 18 miles outside of Jerusalem. Jesus is passing through to Jerusalem to face the religious establishment and his Passion. Bartimaeus is a blind beggar, a marginalized person in society. We know that he once could see, because he wants to see again. We don’t know what caused the blindness, but blindness was common in the area (flies would get into the eyes at night and infect the cornea. This left the eyes looking opaque).
His name is significant: Bar (Aramaic) – means “Son of”. “Timaeus” (Greek) – means “to honor” So his name means “Son of honor”. And because of his name, he may have come from a wealthy family. What Jesus is going to do is to restore Bartimaeus to honor again. But how?
You see, Bartimaeus knows something the others do not know _How to get the attention of Jesus. He begins with Dynamic Faith. He shouts, “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me.” Let’s examine the cry:
“Son of David”. Blind Bartimaeus sees Jesus for who he is. The disciples still don’t.
He understands that Jesus is from the Davidic line and that he is the “Messiah.” Jesus does not rebuke this, for his time has come to be reveled; He is the “Messiah.”
“Have Mercy on me”. Mercy means “to help someone out of compassion”. People cry out for mercy for (3) reasons:
It is an expression of misery
It is an expression of helplessness
It is an acknowledgement of being unworthy due to sin.
So what Bartimaeus is saying is this: “Jesus, I know who you are. You are the promised messiah, the savior of the world. I believe out of your deep compassion you can help in my misery, my blindness.”
Next, Bartimaeus, had Dynamic Faith. I want to share (2) key principles of faith with you:
#1. All of God’s promises are possessed by faith.
He had faith to call out
He had faith in who Jesus was
He had faith he could be healed
#2. Our faith must be persistent.
He overcame the crowd – that showed faith.
And, Jesus did not respond to his first cry.
Sometimes faith has to be tested. So Bartimaeus stood strong and did not get discouraged. He called out again. Then, Jesus stood still – Ever wonder how to get Jesus to stop and listen? Was it the cry, or something in the cry he heard? Bartimaeus shows us the secret to getting the ear of Jesus:Jesus responds to our:
Humility
Brokenness
Poverty of Spirit
Deepest need
“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me”
So Bartimaeus had Dynamic Faith. Bartimaeus also had Dynamic Desire. He was willing to give up anything to get his miracle – unlike the rich young ruler. Which brings us to the cloak – for it Represented many things.
1. Livelihood – throw on grown to collect coins
2. Protection – from the elements.
3. Cover – during the cool nights.
4. Bed – to sleep on.
But most importantly,
#5. It represented his Identity. A cloak identified him as being blind.
When you see “garments” mentioned in the Bible, it represents works. And the bible says our “works” are but filthy rags. So when we come to Jesus, we always leave something behind (the things that hold us down). When we take off the cloak, we shed our own self-sufficiency and identity, in order to receive from, and to put on Jesus. Bartimaeus adamantly refused to be held down any longer; he took off his cloak, and received his freedom by “springing up.”
Bartimaeus also had Dynamic Desire for the right thing – his sight. He wanted only to see, to just be ordinary. Unlike James and John who wanted to be seen. Through faith in God, his healing word, and in the saving power of Jesus Bartimaeus received his sight. He was “made well” (or whole and complete). When we come to Jesus we receive all of Jesus: a complete and total healing. I believe Bartimaeus received his physical sight, his spiritual sight, and his salvation.
And this is our hope today, that we too, can come boldly before the throne of grace, in faith, to receive our spiritual inheritance and blessings. “Take heart, get up, he is calling you.”
Bartimaeus had Dynamic Desire
Now Faith does not stop with healing; it needs to proceed. So Bartimaeus had Dynamic Devotion. Our text says, “He followed him on the way.” This means the he became a disciple of Jesus. And since Jesus was going to Jerusalem, Bartimaeus would follow the way of the cross. But what motivated this Dynamic Devotion? It was one word, “Go”
With Previous healings, Jesus would say, “Go your way” Tell no one”. This referred to the “messianic secret” for His time had not come to be revealed as “the Messiah.” But, this “Go” was different. The Circumstances had changed. Bartimaeus has identified Jesus as the “Messiah”. This “Go” means “choice”. The same “choice” we have today.
“Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.
He made his choice, and followed immediately. And this is the story of Bartimaeus – we now can “choose” to follow Jesus. For if seeing Jesus is the goal of faith – then only the unblind can see where to follow.
Bartimaeus had Dynamic Devotion
As Christians, we too have vision problems and want to see. Lets revisit the story once more through the words of Longfellow:
Ye that have eyes, Yet cannot see
In darkness and in misery
Recall those mighty voices three:
“Jesus have mercy on me”
Courage, rise, he calleth thee
This faith of thine hath saved thee.
So, Bartimaeus, - a blind beggar? Or a powerful example that if we turn our heads towards Jesus, our vision will improve?
He risked (Dynamic Faith)
He rose (Dynamic Desire)
He followed (Dynamic Devotion)
DO WE!?
Amen.
This is my very first sermon, and while writing it, I was reminded of this story:
A little girl asked her father what he was doing. He said, I’m writing a sermon. The little girl asked, How do you know what to write? He said, God tells me. The little girl looking at her father’s sermon said, Daddy, If God tells you what to write, Why do you keep crossing things out?
So, after a number of revisions, I think God and I are finally on the same page.
In the Lesson, Blindness is mentioned. In the Epistle, Perfection is mentioned (or having faith towards God). The story of Bartimaeus shows us how to move from blindness towards God. Yes, it is a healing story. However, and most importantly, it is a story about how the healing occurred - and it is our story too; our coming to Jesus. Because Bartimaeus demonstrates three Qualities:
1. He had Dynamic Faith
2. He had Dynamic Desire
3. He had Dynamic Devotion
We will examine each “Dynamic” in detail, but first lets begin with a word of prayer:
Heavenly Father, We ask you to prepare this place to receive your Holy word today. We ask you to bless it to our understanding, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom. And may Christ be glorified now, and forever in our lives, for it is in Jesus name we pray, Amen
Lets begin by putting this story in context: Jericho was 18 miles outside of Jerusalem. Jesus is passing through to Jerusalem to face the religious establishment and his Passion. Bartimaeus is a blind beggar, a marginalized person in society. We know that he once could see, because he wants to see again. We don’t know what caused the blindness, but blindness was common in the area (flies would get into the eyes at night and infect the cornea. This left the eyes looking opaque).
His name is significant: Bar (Aramaic) – means “Son of”. “Timaeus” (Greek) – means “to honor” So his name means “Son of honor”. And because of his name, he may have come from a wealthy family. What Jesus is going to do is to restore Bartimaeus to honor again. But how?
You see, Bartimaeus knows something the others do not know _How to get the attention of Jesus. He begins with Dynamic Faith. He shouts, “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me.” Let’s examine the cry:
“Son of David”. Blind Bartimaeus sees Jesus for who he is. The disciples still don’t.
He understands that Jesus is from the Davidic line and that he is the “Messiah.” Jesus does not rebuke this, for his time has come to be reveled; He is the “Messiah.”
“Have Mercy on me”. Mercy means “to help someone out of compassion”. People cry out for mercy for (3) reasons:
It is an expression of misery
It is an expression of helplessness
It is an acknowledgement of being unworthy due to sin.
So what Bartimaeus is saying is this: “Jesus, I know who you are. You are the promised messiah, the savior of the world. I believe out of your deep compassion you can help in my misery, my blindness.”
Next, Bartimaeus, had Dynamic Faith. I want to share (2) key principles of faith with you:
#1. All of God’s promises are possessed by faith.
He had faith to call out
He had faith in who Jesus was
He had faith he could be healed
#2. Our faith must be persistent.
He overcame the crowd – that showed faith.
And, Jesus did not respond to his first cry.
Sometimes faith has to be tested. So Bartimaeus stood strong and did not get discouraged. He called out again. Then, Jesus stood still – Ever wonder how to get Jesus to stop and listen? Was it the cry, or something in the cry he heard? Bartimaeus shows us the secret to getting the ear of Jesus:Jesus responds to our:
Humility
Brokenness
Poverty of Spirit
Deepest need
“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me”
So Bartimaeus had Dynamic Faith. Bartimaeus also had Dynamic Desire. He was willing to give up anything to get his miracle – unlike the rich young ruler. Which brings us to the cloak – for it Represented many things.
1. Livelihood – throw on grown to collect coins
2. Protection – from the elements.
3. Cover – during the cool nights.
4. Bed – to sleep on.
But most importantly,
#5. It represented his Identity. A cloak identified him as being blind.
When you see “garments” mentioned in the Bible, it represents works. And the bible says our “works” are but filthy rags. So when we come to Jesus, we always leave something behind (the things that hold us down). When we take off the cloak, we shed our own self-sufficiency and identity, in order to receive from, and to put on Jesus. Bartimaeus adamantly refused to be held down any longer; he took off his cloak, and received his freedom by “springing up.”
Bartimaeus also had Dynamic Desire for the right thing – his sight. He wanted only to see, to just be ordinary. Unlike James and John who wanted to be seen. Through faith in God, his healing word, and in the saving power of Jesus Bartimaeus received his sight. He was “made well” (or whole and complete). When we come to Jesus we receive all of Jesus: a complete and total healing. I believe Bartimaeus received his physical sight, his spiritual sight, and his salvation.
And this is our hope today, that we too, can come boldly before the throne of grace, in faith, to receive our spiritual inheritance and blessings. “Take heart, get up, he is calling you.”
Bartimaeus had Dynamic Desire
Now Faith does not stop with healing; it needs to proceed. So Bartimaeus had Dynamic Devotion. Our text says, “He followed him on the way.” This means the he became a disciple of Jesus. And since Jesus was going to Jerusalem, Bartimaeus would follow the way of the cross. But what motivated this Dynamic Devotion? It was one word, “Go”
With Previous healings, Jesus would say, “Go your way” Tell no one”. This referred to the “messianic secret” for His time had not come to be revealed as “the Messiah.” But, this “Go” was different. The Circumstances had changed. Bartimaeus has identified Jesus as the “Messiah”. This “Go” means “choice”. The same “choice” we have today.
“Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.
He made his choice, and followed immediately. And this is the story of Bartimaeus – we now can “choose” to follow Jesus. For if seeing Jesus is the goal of faith – then only the unblind can see where to follow.
Bartimaeus had Dynamic Devotion
As Christians, we too have vision problems and want to see. Lets revisit the story once more through the words of Longfellow:
Ye that have eyes, Yet cannot see
In darkness and in misery
Recall those mighty voices three:
“Jesus have mercy on me”
Courage, rise, he calleth thee
This faith of thine hath saved thee.
So, Bartimaeus, - a blind beggar? Or a powerful example that if we turn our heads towards Jesus, our vision will improve?
He risked (Dynamic Faith)
He rose (Dynamic Desire)
He followed (Dynamic Devotion)
DO WE!?
Amen.
Sunday, October 22, 2006
The Living Word of God
Between the ages of 14 and 20, I lived the life of a Prodigal. I grew up in the church and went to church every Sunday. I even took Confirmation classes. But on the Sunday morning I was to be confirmed, I decided I didn’t believe in this Christianity thing and so got ‘deconfirmed’ instead of Confirmed. At that moment I was aware of stepping out from under the protective umbrella of my parent’s faith and into the storm of life, lived by my own wits. Thank God for His active work in my life. Because of it, I have been saved from myself. Without it, I think there is as excellent chance I wouldn’t be standing here today.
In today’s lesson from Hebrews, we read that the Word of God is living and active, sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, and able to judge the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Heb. 4:12). I want to speak to you briefly about how the Word has been active in my own life doing these very same activities. First, a few comments on the nature of ‘The Word”.
When we speak of the Word, we likely think first of the Bible, the written Word of God. There is the understanding that God speaks and His Word is recorded. (Heb. 1:1: Long ago at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets…). This giving of His Word is not a mechanical dictation, but rather a dynamic interaction in which the personality of the writer is engaged while still conveying the Word of God. It is a collaborative effort. And it is Inspired.
2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that all Scripture is God-breathed (literally, ‘Inspired’), or ‘Theopnuestic’. The text of the Bible is not like other books. These verses tell us that the Bible makes a special claim to be Truth in a way that other texts do not. Scripture comes from God’s own Spirit. The Apostle Peter tells us that Scripture is not about our own interpretation, but about the Revelation of Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 1:20, 21) given to us by men moved along by the Holy Spirit. As a result, we have God’s prophetic Word made sure to us (v 19). To put it another way, The Bible is the testimony of God written down by faithful servants, whose witness is reliable.
The Living Word
We can also say that Jesus is the Word of God, the Living Word. In that great introduction to the Gospel of John, we read, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God”. Jesus is the Logos of God, through which all things were made. He is also the exact representation of God (John 14:8, 9) and thus we can say that he is God’s Special Revelation – both through his life and teaching. While the entire creation reveals God to us in a general way, Jesus, the Word reveals the Special Revelation of God, giving us knowledge of Salvation. This knowledge of God’s plan of Salvation comes to us through the preaching of the Word (Romans 10:14).
Getting Saved Without Reading the Bible.
Now having said all that, I also know that my own Salvation experience did not come through reading the Bible. Rather, it came through the witness of a very special young lady, a preacher of the Word, who later became my wife.
When I first met Cindy, I was at the end of a seven year period of searching through all manner of things, some honorable, and most not. I was looking for Truth, but all my searching had lead to dead ends. I was really rather miserable and arrogant at the same time. And so I told her in one of our initial conversations, “I hate Christians, and I detest Christianity!” But Cindy was very tolerant of my declarations. You see, she had been talking to God about me, and God was talking to her, saying “Andy is seeking Me, through you, Cindy”. Therefore, she had hope that this young pagan would eventually come to the light. But after five frustrating months of watching me bob and weave my way around Jesus, she finally gave me an ultimatum: We were going separate ways. She was continuing with Christ and I wanted to be my own God. Therefore, she was breaking up with me.
“I just have a few more questions,” I countered. “No,” she replied emphatically, “You have all the information you need to make a decision. It’s just that the devil is holding you back because he knows what a committed Christian you will be when you do ask Christ into your life.”
I knew there was nothing left for me to do, but to go back to my dorm room and accept God. As I sat on my bed in my room, I became acutely aware that I was bankrupt spiritually and emotionally. I needed to be saved from myself, but I couldn’t do it by myself. All this time, I had the odd sensation that there was a Presence hovering outside the window, just waiting for me to pray.
“God, I don’t even really know if you are there, but I think you are. And if you are, would you come into my life and save me?” I prayed.
As soon as I prayed, I felt as though someone opened the window and let the Wind come in. It was definitely a sense that Someone had come into the room and surprised me with Joy as CS Lewis has said. I came into contact with the Living Word, Jesus Christ through his Holy Spirit coming into my heart on that day in January 1977. It was dramatically different from what I expected. You see, I thought that when I became a Christian, I would endorse a set of ideas, and that by so doing, I would become a better person. What I did not expect was that I would actually meet God! But that is exactly what happened.
As a result, I did an immediate 180 turn around and people noticed right away. I was a different person and it showed. There was a glow of happiness and warmth present that I had never known before. It was greatly relaxing and greatly energizing at the same time.
And even though I had not read the written Word of God, I had encountered one of God’s kids, who had been formed by the Word and had the living Word inside of her. Now, I was about to embark on a journey of transformation. This time it would be guided by studying God’s written Word, the Bible.
Going back to 2 Timothy 3:16, we are told that the Bible is “profitable for Teaching, for reproof, for correction and training in Righteousness, that the man of God may be equipped for every good work”. As a new Christian, I began to devour the bible, reading two or three books at a sitting sometimes. I was amazed because as a pagan, I had occasionally tried to read from the Bible, but for the life of me could not make heads or tales of it. Now, amazingly, the words fairly leapt off the page. I know now it is because the Holy Spirit of God was illuminating those words on the page and making them to be what some people call the Rhema word of God – the fresh or living understanding of the Bible as God’s revealed will.
So, all of this can be understood as The Living Word of God actively judging the thoughts and intentions of my heart, producing an awareness of my need for God, and then leading me graciously into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.
Let me point out again, that Cindy was a willing agent of God’s work in my life. She tolerated a lot because she knew that God was at work in me. At the same time, she was also ready to cut off our relationship because she was obeying the same Word she had heard telling her to be patient. She was living out a servant life style for her God. It was because Jesus had done it before her. By taking up human flesh, the eternal Logos, the Word of God, through whom all things were created, became a servant and became obedient to the Father, even to the point of death.
We are to do the same! We are to obey God by humbling ourselves and becoming servants to those around us for the sake of the Gospel. In so doing, we interact with those who need to know Christ and He works through us to draw people to him. Folks, this is how the Living Word works through us, helping us to fulfill the Great Commission, which is to make disciples of all nations. But it doesn’t stop there. WE ourselves are to be continually changed and transformed as we allow the Word of God to enter our minds and hearts, changing us into the Image of Jesus.
Let me challenge you today to consider how you might make yourself available to the Living Word today – both in witnessing to those who need Christ and in making yourself open to being transformed into Christ. The critical Question facing us today is: “Will we open ourselves to the Living Word and allow Him to use us and change us?” Will you? Amen.
In today’s lesson from Hebrews, we read that the Word of God is living and active, sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, and able to judge the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Heb. 4:12). I want to speak to you briefly about how the Word has been active in my own life doing these very same activities. First, a few comments on the nature of ‘The Word”.
When we speak of the Word, we likely think first of the Bible, the written Word of God. There is the understanding that God speaks and His Word is recorded. (Heb. 1:1: Long ago at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets…). This giving of His Word is not a mechanical dictation, but rather a dynamic interaction in which the personality of the writer is engaged while still conveying the Word of God. It is a collaborative effort. And it is Inspired.
2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that all Scripture is God-breathed (literally, ‘Inspired’), or ‘Theopnuestic’. The text of the Bible is not like other books. These verses tell us that the Bible makes a special claim to be Truth in a way that other texts do not. Scripture comes from God’s own Spirit. The Apostle Peter tells us that Scripture is not about our own interpretation, but about the Revelation of Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 1:20, 21) given to us by men moved along by the Holy Spirit. As a result, we have God’s prophetic Word made sure to us (v 19). To put it another way, The Bible is the testimony of God written down by faithful servants, whose witness is reliable.
The Living Word
We can also say that Jesus is the Word of God, the Living Word. In that great introduction to the Gospel of John, we read, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God”. Jesus is the Logos of God, through which all things were made. He is also the exact representation of God (John 14:8, 9) and thus we can say that he is God’s Special Revelation – both through his life and teaching. While the entire creation reveals God to us in a general way, Jesus, the Word reveals the Special Revelation of God, giving us knowledge of Salvation. This knowledge of God’s plan of Salvation comes to us through the preaching of the Word (Romans 10:14).
Getting Saved Without Reading the Bible.
Now having said all that, I also know that my own Salvation experience did not come through reading the Bible. Rather, it came through the witness of a very special young lady, a preacher of the Word, who later became my wife.
When I first met Cindy, I was at the end of a seven year period of searching through all manner of things, some honorable, and most not. I was looking for Truth, but all my searching had lead to dead ends. I was really rather miserable and arrogant at the same time. And so I told her in one of our initial conversations, “I hate Christians, and I detest Christianity!” But Cindy was very tolerant of my declarations. You see, she had been talking to God about me, and God was talking to her, saying “Andy is seeking Me, through you, Cindy”. Therefore, she had hope that this young pagan would eventually come to the light. But after five frustrating months of watching me bob and weave my way around Jesus, she finally gave me an ultimatum: We were going separate ways. She was continuing with Christ and I wanted to be my own God. Therefore, she was breaking up with me.
“I just have a few more questions,” I countered. “No,” she replied emphatically, “You have all the information you need to make a decision. It’s just that the devil is holding you back because he knows what a committed Christian you will be when you do ask Christ into your life.”
I knew there was nothing left for me to do, but to go back to my dorm room and accept God. As I sat on my bed in my room, I became acutely aware that I was bankrupt spiritually and emotionally. I needed to be saved from myself, but I couldn’t do it by myself. All this time, I had the odd sensation that there was a Presence hovering outside the window, just waiting for me to pray.
“God, I don’t even really know if you are there, but I think you are. And if you are, would you come into my life and save me?” I prayed.
As soon as I prayed, I felt as though someone opened the window and let the Wind come in. It was definitely a sense that Someone had come into the room and surprised me with Joy as CS Lewis has said. I came into contact with the Living Word, Jesus Christ through his Holy Spirit coming into my heart on that day in January 1977. It was dramatically different from what I expected. You see, I thought that when I became a Christian, I would endorse a set of ideas, and that by so doing, I would become a better person. What I did not expect was that I would actually meet God! But that is exactly what happened.
As a result, I did an immediate 180 turn around and people noticed right away. I was a different person and it showed. There was a glow of happiness and warmth present that I had never known before. It was greatly relaxing and greatly energizing at the same time.
And even though I had not read the written Word of God, I had encountered one of God’s kids, who had been formed by the Word and had the living Word inside of her. Now, I was about to embark on a journey of transformation. This time it would be guided by studying God’s written Word, the Bible.
Going back to 2 Timothy 3:16, we are told that the Bible is “profitable for Teaching, for reproof, for correction and training in Righteousness, that the man of God may be equipped for every good work”. As a new Christian, I began to devour the bible, reading two or three books at a sitting sometimes. I was amazed because as a pagan, I had occasionally tried to read from the Bible, but for the life of me could not make heads or tales of it. Now, amazingly, the words fairly leapt off the page. I know now it is because the Holy Spirit of God was illuminating those words on the page and making them to be what some people call the Rhema word of God – the fresh or living understanding of the Bible as God’s revealed will.
So, all of this can be understood as The Living Word of God actively judging the thoughts and intentions of my heart, producing an awareness of my need for God, and then leading me graciously into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.
Let me point out again, that Cindy was a willing agent of God’s work in my life. She tolerated a lot because she knew that God was at work in me. At the same time, she was also ready to cut off our relationship because she was obeying the same Word she had heard telling her to be patient. She was living out a servant life style for her God. It was because Jesus had done it before her. By taking up human flesh, the eternal Logos, the Word of God, through whom all things were created, became a servant and became obedient to the Father, even to the point of death.
We are to do the same! We are to obey God by humbling ourselves and becoming servants to those around us for the sake of the Gospel. In so doing, we interact with those who need to know Christ and He works through us to draw people to him. Folks, this is how the Living Word works through us, helping us to fulfill the Great Commission, which is to make disciples of all nations. But it doesn’t stop there. WE ourselves are to be continually changed and transformed as we allow the Word of God to enter our minds and hearts, changing us into the Image of Jesus.
Let me challenge you today to consider how you might make yourself available to the Living Word today – both in witnessing to those who need Christ and in making yourself open to being transformed into Christ. The critical Question facing us today is: “Will we open ourselves to the Living Word and allow Him to use us and change us?” Will you? Amen.
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Poverty and Loving God
Once upon a time there was a young man, fine-featured and outgoing, the wealthy son of a cloth merchant, who aspired to make a great reputation for himself as a soldier and who loved fine parties and uproarious living. He was intelligent and poetic, possessed of a wonderful singing voice, a natural leader – but unfortunately, often led his companions in drinking and carousing all night, spending outrageous amounts of his father’s money.
His father, Pietro was a successful and indulgent man who had high hopes of bringing his son into the family business. Any shenanigan could be tolerated as long as his son worked in their cloth business. But along the way a troubling thing began to happen. The young man began to show signs of not being interested in the family business. He began to visit sick people, and started giving money away to the poor.
He even began to go begging on the street to identify with the poor of the city. It was highly embarrassing to Pietro, one of the wealthiest men of the city. Finally, the young man pushed his father over the edge by selling some of the shop’s most expensive fabric, along with one of his father’s favorite horses, intending to give it to a nearby priest to distribute to the poor.
Pietro was furious when he found out about it. He grabbed his son gruffly by the collar and hauled him before the Bishop of the city, asking him to intervene with his son and bring him to his senses. So the young man and his father told the Bishop their stories. The Bishop sympathized with the young man’s zeal, but told him that he had sold his father’s property without permission and must return the money.
The young man considered the verdict carefully, and then slowly began removing his clothes. He placed all his clothes and the money from his sales at his father’s feet and stood there stark naked. In a strong voice, he called out, “I have called Pietro Bernadone my father….Now I will say Our Father who art in Heaven and not Pietro Bernardone.”
Quickly the bishop enfolded the naked young man in his robes, and called for his assistant to bring some old clothes that were to be given to the poor. Putting on the barest minimum to cover his nakedness, the young man walked out of the bishop’s palace and into the cold December day resolved to live a life of holy poverty, just as Jesus had done.
The young man is, of course, Francesco Benardone, known to us as St. Francis of Assisi. French scholar Ernest Renan, an agnostic, was so impressed with this follower of Christ that he wrote, “After Jesus, Francis of Assisi has been the only perfect Christian” (Quoted in Francis of Assisi, A Revolutionary Life., by Adrian House).
Indeed, Francis was determined to live out literally the advice Jesus gave to the Rich Young Ruler to sell all he owned, give to the poor and follow Jesus. It’s hard for us, living in the 21st century in the most affluent country the world has ever known to identify with this radical young man. We may have had fleeting thoughts of “leaving it all” and running away from modern life, but few of us have ever thought about what it would mean to literally walk away from all that we owned or held dear in order to follow Jesus. ...
Simply put, Francis had fallen in love with Lady Poverty. By this we understand that “this lady was symbolic of the poor Christ, of chastity, of valor and courage, of chivalry and virtue and everything spiritual and fine…To serve Lady Poverty was to be rich beyond imagining.”
Lady Poverty also symbolizes the paradoxes of the Gospel: richness in poverty, life in death, strength in weakness, beauty in the sordid and shabby, peace in conflict and temptation, fullness in emptiness and, above all, love in detachment and deprivation.” (Murray Bodo, Francis: The journey and the dream, pg. 11).
Now this is a radically different way of thinking from what most of us do most of the time. For us, wealth is comfort and security, a sign of God’s blessing and favor. At the extreme, being wealthy in our culture is even a defining characteristic of the Good person. No so with Francis. For him there were definite benefits associated with poverty. Franciscan author Ilia Delio, OSF lists a number of these benefits in her book “Franciscan Prayer”:
Poverty is the starting point of our attachment to God. The poor person is the one who finds himself or herself in need of God. To be poor is to depend upon God completely. Poverty challenges us to go beyond ourselves by taking from us everything upon which we might lean. It releases us from our self-concerns and helps us overcome our self-centeredness. Thus, we grow in the Spirit of God.
Poverty is the Key to spiritual Transformation. It frees us from depending upon things for our security and thus preserves freedom in our relationship with God. Jesus said: Blessed are the poor in spirit for they shall see God! Being poor and dependent is the basis of intimacy with God. Francis knew this to the utmost. He was so identified with Christ that he even received the stigmata, the signs of Christ’s wounds. Although he suffered greatly his life was beautiful and selfless. Thus we can say that true poverty releases divine beauty.
Here we need to insert a caveat. The poverty we are speaking of is Chosen. Simply being without money is of no use spiritually unless one chooses this consciously. Otherwise, being poor is simple suffering without benefit.
In terms of our relationships with others, poverty makes us Human. We are more alike in our needs than we are in our strengths. We need others to be fully human. (People, People who need people…). Without poverty of spirit, we separate ourselves from others and become puffed up with our own sense of pride and self-sufficiency. Because Poverty is the sister of Humility, we can accept the goodness of the other person, welcoming them as if they were Christ in person.
Finally, Chosen Poverty redresses injustices and inequalities.
A good example of this is in 2 Corinthians, chapter 8, in which Paul commends the people of Macedonia. He writes that “in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means…and beyond their means, of their own free will, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints.”
These folks had given out of their own poverty, and thus identified with the needs of others. This kind of giving builds community because it reminds us that we are all in this life together. And notice too, there is great joy in giving. Those who give freely are uniformly cheerful.
So if these blessings are indeed associated with Lady Poverty, how does one apply the lessons of poverty without walking off into the woods naked?
Applications of Poverty in “Secular Life”
Clement of Alexandria on Mark 10:21 says:
“It is not what some hastily assume, that Jesus commands him to throw away everything he owned and to abandon his property; rather, Jesus commanded him to banish from his soul his attitudes about property, his affinity for these things, his excessive desire, his terror and distress over these things, his anxieties (the thorns of life) that choke the seed of life. For it is neither great nor desirable to be generally without property, except for the sake of the word of life….” (Who is the Rich Man Who is Saved?)
The Goal is to be Sine Proprio: “Not without things, but without possessing things.”
An Illustration:
There was once a man who was very rich and was called to heaven. Because he was rich, he negotiated with God and finally God allowed him to bring one suitcase of his worldly treasure along with him. The man died and as he stood at the pearly gate, Saint Peter came to greet him. The man looked through the gate viewing the glitter of golden streets, and gems of perfection and such immense size that he was amazed. Peter saw the man and the suitcase and said, "This is strange. Nobody ever comes here with a suitcase. The man said, "I negotiated with God, and he said I could bring whatever of my wealth as would fit in one suitcase. Peter said, "I will check it out with God, but first let me see what is in the suitcase." The man opened the suitcase and Peter looked in. Inside the case were several bars of gold. Saint Peter said, "This is the wealth that you brought? You brought pavement!" …
Francis wrote a rule of life for those who wished to live a life of non-possessiveness. We know it as the Third Order Rule of St. Francis.
Here’s a brief excerpt form Chapter Six: “The Life of Poverty”.”21. All the sisters and brothers zealously follow the poverty and humility of Our Lord Jesus Christ. "Though rich" beyond measure (2 Co 8:9) He emptied Himself for our sake (Ph 2:7) and with the holy virgin, His mother, Mary, He chose poverty in this world. Let them be mindful that they should have only those goods of this world which, as the apostle says, "having something to eat and something to wear, with these we are content (1 Tim 6:8). Let them particularly beware of money. And let them be happy to live among the outcast and despised, among the poor, the weak, the sick, the unwanted, the oppressed, and the destitute.22. The truly poor in spirit, following the example of the Lord, live in this world as pilgrims and strangers (cf 1 P 2:1). They neither appropriate nor defend anything as their own. So excellent is this most high poverty that it makes us heirs and rulers of the kingdom of heaven. It makes us materially poor, but rich in virtue (cf Jm 2:5). Let this poverty alone be our portion because it leads to the land of the living (Ps 141:6). Clinging completely to it let us, for the sake of Our Lord Jesus Christ; never want anything else under heaven.”
So, we cultivate Poverty through our attitude of Non-possessiveness.
Finally, a word about our current birth pangs as a church: Jesus said that if we would heed his word and sell everything, that is, to put God first in all things, we would reap a reward in this life as well as the next. I believe that the Lord will help us to find and have all that we need to grow as a congregation.
We have stepped out in faith, walking away from all our familiar religious surroundings. For a little while, we will have to find various places to meet, but we can do it. Rick Warren did - for fifteen years before they actually built a church building! God will give us what we need in the way of a meeting place.
We are stepping up to the challenge of planting an orthodox Anglican congregation. It’s the equivalent of denying ourselves, and taking up our crosses. We are taking the Gospel into the world. We will only grow if we do so. This means sharing the Gospel with people who don’t know Christ and helping them experience transformation in Christ, that is discipleship.
Finally, if we are faithful to the first two challenges, we will step into the Promise of Intimacy with Christ and with each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. We will experience a multiplication of reward beyond anything we thought we enjoyed before. There is something better up ahead and none of us knows exactly what it is, but Jesus promises it, and we believe it together.
So, I’d like to close now with a famous prayer that is attributed to St. Francis, but was probably written in the 1800’s by a priest in France. Listen to the Prayer of St. Francis:
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is
hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where
there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where
there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where
there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
His father, Pietro was a successful and indulgent man who had high hopes of bringing his son into the family business. Any shenanigan could be tolerated as long as his son worked in their cloth business. But along the way a troubling thing began to happen. The young man began to show signs of not being interested in the family business. He began to visit sick people, and started giving money away to the poor.
He even began to go begging on the street to identify with the poor of the city. It was highly embarrassing to Pietro, one of the wealthiest men of the city. Finally, the young man pushed his father over the edge by selling some of the shop’s most expensive fabric, along with one of his father’s favorite horses, intending to give it to a nearby priest to distribute to the poor.
Pietro was furious when he found out about it. He grabbed his son gruffly by the collar and hauled him before the Bishop of the city, asking him to intervene with his son and bring him to his senses. So the young man and his father told the Bishop their stories. The Bishop sympathized with the young man’s zeal, but told him that he had sold his father’s property without permission and must return the money.
The young man considered the verdict carefully, and then slowly began removing his clothes. He placed all his clothes and the money from his sales at his father’s feet and stood there stark naked. In a strong voice, he called out, “I have called Pietro Bernadone my father….Now I will say Our Father who art in Heaven and not Pietro Bernardone.”
Quickly the bishop enfolded the naked young man in his robes, and called for his assistant to bring some old clothes that were to be given to the poor. Putting on the barest minimum to cover his nakedness, the young man walked out of the bishop’s palace and into the cold December day resolved to live a life of holy poverty, just as Jesus had done.
The young man is, of course, Francesco Benardone, known to us as St. Francis of Assisi. French scholar Ernest Renan, an agnostic, was so impressed with this follower of Christ that he wrote, “After Jesus, Francis of Assisi has been the only perfect Christian” (Quoted in Francis of Assisi, A Revolutionary Life., by Adrian House).
Indeed, Francis was determined to live out literally the advice Jesus gave to the Rich Young Ruler to sell all he owned, give to the poor and follow Jesus. It’s hard for us, living in the 21st century in the most affluent country the world has ever known to identify with this radical young man. We may have had fleeting thoughts of “leaving it all” and running away from modern life, but few of us have ever thought about what it would mean to literally walk away from all that we owned or held dear in order to follow Jesus. ...
Simply put, Francis had fallen in love with Lady Poverty. By this we understand that “this lady was symbolic of the poor Christ, of chastity, of valor and courage, of chivalry and virtue and everything spiritual and fine…To serve Lady Poverty was to be rich beyond imagining.”
Lady Poverty also symbolizes the paradoxes of the Gospel: richness in poverty, life in death, strength in weakness, beauty in the sordid and shabby, peace in conflict and temptation, fullness in emptiness and, above all, love in detachment and deprivation.” (Murray Bodo, Francis: The journey and the dream, pg. 11).
Now this is a radically different way of thinking from what most of us do most of the time. For us, wealth is comfort and security, a sign of God’s blessing and favor. At the extreme, being wealthy in our culture is even a defining characteristic of the Good person. No so with Francis. For him there were definite benefits associated with poverty. Franciscan author Ilia Delio, OSF lists a number of these benefits in her book “Franciscan Prayer”:
Poverty is the starting point of our attachment to God. The poor person is the one who finds himself or herself in need of God. To be poor is to depend upon God completely. Poverty challenges us to go beyond ourselves by taking from us everything upon which we might lean. It releases us from our self-concerns and helps us overcome our self-centeredness. Thus, we grow in the Spirit of God.
Poverty is the Key to spiritual Transformation. It frees us from depending upon things for our security and thus preserves freedom in our relationship with God. Jesus said: Blessed are the poor in spirit for they shall see God! Being poor and dependent is the basis of intimacy with God. Francis knew this to the utmost. He was so identified with Christ that he even received the stigmata, the signs of Christ’s wounds. Although he suffered greatly his life was beautiful and selfless. Thus we can say that true poverty releases divine beauty.
Here we need to insert a caveat. The poverty we are speaking of is Chosen. Simply being without money is of no use spiritually unless one chooses this consciously. Otherwise, being poor is simple suffering without benefit.
In terms of our relationships with others, poverty makes us Human. We are more alike in our needs than we are in our strengths. We need others to be fully human. (People, People who need people…). Without poverty of spirit, we separate ourselves from others and become puffed up with our own sense of pride and self-sufficiency. Because Poverty is the sister of Humility, we can accept the goodness of the other person, welcoming them as if they were Christ in person.
Finally, Chosen Poverty redresses injustices and inequalities.
A good example of this is in 2 Corinthians, chapter 8, in which Paul commends the people of Macedonia. He writes that “in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means…and beyond their means, of their own free will, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints.”
These folks had given out of their own poverty, and thus identified with the needs of others. This kind of giving builds community because it reminds us that we are all in this life together. And notice too, there is great joy in giving. Those who give freely are uniformly cheerful.
So if these blessings are indeed associated with Lady Poverty, how does one apply the lessons of poverty without walking off into the woods naked?
Applications of Poverty in “Secular Life”
Clement of Alexandria on Mark 10:21 says:
“It is not what some hastily assume, that Jesus commands him to throw away everything he owned and to abandon his property; rather, Jesus commanded him to banish from his soul his attitudes about property, his affinity for these things, his excessive desire, his terror and distress over these things, his anxieties (the thorns of life) that choke the seed of life. For it is neither great nor desirable to be generally without property, except for the sake of the word of life….” (Who is the Rich Man Who is Saved?)
The Goal is to be Sine Proprio: “Not without things, but without possessing things.”
An Illustration:
There was once a man who was very rich and was called to heaven. Because he was rich, he negotiated with God and finally God allowed him to bring one suitcase of his worldly treasure along with him. The man died and as he stood at the pearly gate, Saint Peter came to greet him. The man looked through the gate viewing the glitter of golden streets, and gems of perfection and such immense size that he was amazed. Peter saw the man and the suitcase and said, "This is strange. Nobody ever comes here with a suitcase. The man said, "I negotiated with God, and he said I could bring whatever of my wealth as would fit in one suitcase. Peter said, "I will check it out with God, but first let me see what is in the suitcase." The man opened the suitcase and Peter looked in. Inside the case were several bars of gold. Saint Peter said, "This is the wealth that you brought? You brought pavement!" …
Francis wrote a rule of life for those who wished to live a life of non-possessiveness. We know it as the Third Order Rule of St. Francis.
Here’s a brief excerpt form Chapter Six: “The Life of Poverty”.”21. All the sisters and brothers zealously follow the poverty and humility of Our Lord Jesus Christ. "Though rich" beyond measure (2 Co 8:9) He emptied Himself for our sake (Ph 2:7) and with the holy virgin, His mother, Mary, He chose poverty in this world. Let them be mindful that they should have only those goods of this world which, as the apostle says, "having something to eat and something to wear, with these we are content (1 Tim 6:8). Let them particularly beware of money. And let them be happy to live among the outcast and despised, among the poor, the weak, the sick, the unwanted, the oppressed, and the destitute.22. The truly poor in spirit, following the example of the Lord, live in this world as pilgrims and strangers (cf 1 P 2:1). They neither appropriate nor defend anything as their own. So excellent is this most high poverty that it makes us heirs and rulers of the kingdom of heaven. It makes us materially poor, but rich in virtue (cf Jm 2:5). Let this poverty alone be our portion because it leads to the land of the living (Ps 141:6). Clinging completely to it let us, for the sake of Our Lord Jesus Christ; never want anything else under heaven.”
So, we cultivate Poverty through our attitude of Non-possessiveness.
Finally, a word about our current birth pangs as a church: Jesus said that if we would heed his word and sell everything, that is, to put God first in all things, we would reap a reward in this life as well as the next. I believe that the Lord will help us to find and have all that we need to grow as a congregation.
We have stepped out in faith, walking away from all our familiar religious surroundings. For a little while, we will have to find various places to meet, but we can do it. Rick Warren did - for fifteen years before they actually built a church building! God will give us what we need in the way of a meeting place.
We are stepping up to the challenge of planting an orthodox Anglican congregation. It’s the equivalent of denying ourselves, and taking up our crosses. We are taking the Gospel into the world. We will only grow if we do so. This means sharing the Gospel with people who don’t know Christ and helping them experience transformation in Christ, that is discipleship.
Finally, if we are faithful to the first two challenges, we will step into the Promise of Intimacy with Christ and with each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. We will experience a multiplication of reward beyond anything we thought we enjoyed before. There is something better up ahead and none of us knows exactly what it is, but Jesus promises it, and we believe it together.
So, I’d like to close now with a famous prayer that is attributed to St. Francis, but was probably written in the 1800’s by a priest in France. Listen to the Prayer of St. Francis:
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is
hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where
there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where
there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where
there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Marriage is About....
In Mark 10: 5-9 Jesus is asked about divorce. He acknowledges that Moses had allowed divorce because of the hardness of people’s hearts, but then he quickly goes on to tells us that …from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. Immediately, we can see that his view of Marriage is based in Revelation, that is, What God says. Jesus affirms the existence of God as Creator and that God had plans and purposes for marriage that He reveals to us in the Creation Order generally and specifically in the Bible.
Jesus does not debate about the revealed purposes of God, but accepts and interprets these purposes to the questioners, basically saying, “It’s about what God says, not about what I think or like. It follows Andy’s Axiom: “When you’re the Creator of the Universe, you write the Rules”. Our attitudes about Marriage and about God and His will must be like that of Jesus, who submitted himself to the Father’s Authority in all things – even in that excruciating moment in the Garden of Gethsemane when he prayed, “Not my will but Thine be done”. So the first main point that we want to make is that Marriage is about God’s Revealed Will, found in the Bible, our source of Authority for our faith and practice.
Marriage is also about the Church. In Ephesians 5:31, the Apostle Paul makes reference to the same passage from Genesis that we read today, “Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave (stick together like glue) to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. Again, note that Paul is appealing to the authority of God’s Word to reveal His purposes. And His will for us is wrapped up in submitting our will to His, just as Jesus did.
Here is the pattern of submission: Christ is the Head of the Church, in submission to God the Father. (Again, not my will but Thine be done). The Church Submits to Christ and He loves and cherishes it as his own. We are His body and He loves us. We reaffirm our status as His body every time we take Communion. We become what we are – the Body of Christ in union with Him. Paul says that this mystery is of two people becoming one flesh is great, profound, and that it refers to Christ and the Church.
Now the Church is also the Bride of Christ. Revelation 19:6-9 speaks of the Marriage feast of the Lamb in which the Church, His bride, sits at table with him in that great Eucharist in Heaven. Note that it is the Church as a corporate body which is the Bride, not the individual. This is called “Corporate Solidarity”. It means that God sees us as a group. The book of Hosea is about God as a jilted lover wooing back, and redeeming his unfaithful wife, The Jewish People. In the New Testament, Christians become God’s Bride. Sort of like a second marriage for God in a way = although the standard for being God’s Bride has always been Faith. So Marriage is about the Church.
Having said that however, we also say that Marriage is about the Individual and God. Many marriages fail simply because of overt selfishness. Someone said once that some folks look for a spouse in the same way a tick looks for a dog. So, they get married and they find there’s no dog! It’s a mindset of selfish gratification and Individuality in which you exist for my happiness and to support my individuality. We can call this Absolute Autonomy of the individual. But the absolute autonomy of the individual is not what God has in mind for individuals who marry. Rather, marriage is about Reflecting the Image of God as a male or female (Gen. 1:26, 27). Donald Joy, in his book, Bonding, Relationships in the Image of God, says that God ‘split the Adam’ when he created Eve and gave man and woman the task of coming together with each other in their individuality to reflect the ‘full-spectrum’ image of God, male and female. This involves following Christ in denying ourselves and serving in Humility.
Yesterday, I went with Dr. Zhivago to the Russian Orthodox Orthodox monastery near my home. (My friend's name is actually David Life, but we were told that "Zhivago" means "life" in Russian!) While we were there the Abbot, Fr. Seraphim, told a story about a Canadian woman who was a pious Jew, but secretly became fascinated with the Orthodox Church and began reading Orthodox literature. She became a Christian and was secretly baptized in to the Orthodox Church. Soon, her husband found out. He was thoroughly nonplussed because he held a prominent place in the local synagogue and he couldn't have his wife becoming a Christian!
The woman was persistent, and worked out a deal with him: If he would allow her to worship privately in a little closet room of their home (locked at all times), she continue to lead the life of a faithful Jewish wife. No one would no the difference. Being essentially kind, the husband relented and they lived that way for some time. Eventually she found the web site of the Holy Cross Hermitage in Wayne, WV and began to talk to her husband about all the advantages there would be in vacationing in WV.
Sure enough, one day in August, a car with Canadian plates pulled up to the Monastery. Out pops the woman, who quickly pulls on a head scarf and off drives the husband. Fr. Seraphim was puzzled by this spectacle until the woman explained that she was on vacation and could only visit for two hours while her husband took a little trip to Huntington. They had a pleasant visit, took the tour, and visited the bookstore. When her husband returned, she got in the car with him and went back to Canada, overjoyed that she had been able to visit the monastery.
Fr. Seraphim was amazed at the woman's faith and her willingness to submit herself in obedience to her Jewish husband. Yet she was full of joy in the midst of carrying out her commitment to her marriage.
This is a fascinating vignette into the life of a woman who is pursuing the path of sainthood, suffering in silence, but witnessing loudly with her obedience and dedication to their Lord. It’s a counter-intuitive picture of what it means to live in obedience, not seeking one's own will, but rather serving the Lord in humility and hiddenness.
Interestingly, Jesus says in Mt. 22:30, ‘in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angles in heaven. Our eventual destiny as individuals is to be united with God. “Like an angel” means that there will be a return to the pre-fallen state in which our relationship with god is completely pure and unhindered. “Now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face,” says Paul. This will be a state of ecstatic union that sex foreshadows, but only hints at. So Marriage is meant to teach us about the individual’s union with God.
Then Finally, Marriage is about Comfort and Kids. In the Book of Common Prayer, we read,
The union of husband and wife in heart, body, and mind is
intended by God for their mutual joy; for the help and comfort
given one another in prosperity and adversity; and, when it is
God’s will, for the procreation of children and their nurture
in the knowledge and love of the Lord. Therefore marriage is
not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently,
deliberately, and in accordance with the purposes for which it
was instituted by God.
The nurture of children is the business of marriage par excellence. In God’s plan a stable marriage between a man and a woman is meant to be the most secure arrangement in which to raise vulnerable little humans.
To sum up, Marriage is God’s idea; it is His Revealed will for the Creation Order.
Marriage is about Church – the unity between God and his People, mirrored in the marital relationship. Marriage is about the Individual and our eventual destiny to be at One with God, mirrored in the unity between spouses. And finally Marriage is about taking Comfort in the person who loves me, and partnering with my lover to raise children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Because of the Fall, we do not reach the Ideal that He intends and some folks fail in the attempt to truly Reflect God’s image and become one flesh. In this case, there is the accommodation of divorce. However, just because we don’t live up to the ideal doesn’t mean that we can recreate marriage in whatever mold we chose.
The reason why the Gay Agenda is so militant, is that it first denies the Creator God and His authority over his creation. Then it denies his purposes for reflecting the full-spectrum Imago Dei, and reproducing, for it is by definition sterile.
Folks, we have a high calling in upholding God’s plan for marriage. It is one of the key reasons we have stepped out in faith to create All Saints Anglican Church. I’d like to close now with this blessing prayer found in the marriage ceremony of the BCP.”
We thank you … for consecrating the union of
man and woman… By the power of your Holy
Spirit, pour out the abundance of your blessing upon every married
man and woman. Defend them from every enemy. Lead
them into all peace. Let their love for each other be a seal
upon their hearts, a mantle about their shoulders, and a
crown upon their foreheads.
Bless us all in our work and in
Our companionship; in our sleeping and in our waking; in
our joys and in our sorrows; in our life and in our death.
Finally, in your mercy, bring us to that table where your
saints feast for ever in your heavenly home; through Jesus
Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and
reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Jesus does not debate about the revealed purposes of God, but accepts and interprets these purposes to the questioners, basically saying, “It’s about what God says, not about what I think or like. It follows Andy’s Axiom: “When you’re the Creator of the Universe, you write the Rules”. Our attitudes about Marriage and about God and His will must be like that of Jesus, who submitted himself to the Father’s Authority in all things – even in that excruciating moment in the Garden of Gethsemane when he prayed, “Not my will but Thine be done”. So the first main point that we want to make is that Marriage is about God’s Revealed Will, found in the Bible, our source of Authority for our faith and practice.
Marriage is also about the Church. In Ephesians 5:31, the Apostle Paul makes reference to the same passage from Genesis that we read today, “Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave (stick together like glue) to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. Again, note that Paul is appealing to the authority of God’s Word to reveal His purposes. And His will for us is wrapped up in submitting our will to His, just as Jesus did.
Here is the pattern of submission: Christ is the Head of the Church, in submission to God the Father. (Again, not my will but Thine be done). The Church Submits to Christ and He loves and cherishes it as his own. We are His body and He loves us. We reaffirm our status as His body every time we take Communion. We become what we are – the Body of Christ in union with Him. Paul says that this mystery is of two people becoming one flesh is great, profound, and that it refers to Christ and the Church.
Now the Church is also the Bride of Christ. Revelation 19:6-9 speaks of the Marriage feast of the Lamb in which the Church, His bride, sits at table with him in that great Eucharist in Heaven. Note that it is the Church as a corporate body which is the Bride, not the individual. This is called “Corporate Solidarity”. It means that God sees us as a group. The book of Hosea is about God as a jilted lover wooing back, and redeeming his unfaithful wife, The Jewish People. In the New Testament, Christians become God’s Bride. Sort of like a second marriage for God in a way = although the standard for being God’s Bride has always been Faith. So Marriage is about the Church.
Having said that however, we also say that Marriage is about the Individual and God. Many marriages fail simply because of overt selfishness. Someone said once that some folks look for a spouse in the same way a tick looks for a dog. So, they get married and they find there’s no dog! It’s a mindset of selfish gratification and Individuality in which you exist for my happiness and to support my individuality. We can call this Absolute Autonomy of the individual. But the absolute autonomy of the individual is not what God has in mind for individuals who marry. Rather, marriage is about Reflecting the Image of God as a male or female (Gen. 1:26, 27). Donald Joy, in his book, Bonding, Relationships in the Image of God, says that God ‘split the Adam’ when he created Eve and gave man and woman the task of coming together with each other in their individuality to reflect the ‘full-spectrum’ image of God, male and female. This involves following Christ in denying ourselves and serving in Humility.
Yesterday, I went with Dr. Zhivago to the Russian Orthodox Orthodox monastery near my home. (My friend's name is actually David Life, but we were told that "Zhivago" means "life" in Russian!) While we were there the Abbot, Fr. Seraphim, told a story about a Canadian woman who was a pious Jew, but secretly became fascinated with the Orthodox Church and began reading Orthodox literature. She became a Christian and was secretly baptized in to the Orthodox Church. Soon, her husband found out. He was thoroughly nonplussed because he held a prominent place in the local synagogue and he couldn't have his wife becoming a Christian!
The woman was persistent, and worked out a deal with him: If he would allow her to worship privately in a little closet room of their home (locked at all times), she continue to lead the life of a faithful Jewish wife. No one would no the difference. Being essentially kind, the husband relented and they lived that way for some time. Eventually she found the web site of the Holy Cross Hermitage in Wayne, WV and began to talk to her husband about all the advantages there would be in vacationing in WV.
Sure enough, one day in August, a car with Canadian plates pulled up to the Monastery. Out pops the woman, who quickly pulls on a head scarf and off drives the husband. Fr. Seraphim was puzzled by this spectacle until the woman explained that she was on vacation and could only visit for two hours while her husband took a little trip to Huntington. They had a pleasant visit, took the tour, and visited the bookstore. When her husband returned, she got in the car with him and went back to Canada, overjoyed that she had been able to visit the monastery.
Fr. Seraphim was amazed at the woman's faith and her willingness to submit herself in obedience to her Jewish husband. Yet she was full of joy in the midst of carrying out her commitment to her marriage.
This is a fascinating vignette into the life of a woman who is pursuing the path of sainthood, suffering in silence, but witnessing loudly with her obedience and dedication to their Lord. It’s a counter-intuitive picture of what it means to live in obedience, not seeking one's own will, but rather serving the Lord in humility and hiddenness.
Interestingly, Jesus says in Mt. 22:30, ‘in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angles in heaven. Our eventual destiny as individuals is to be united with God. “Like an angel” means that there will be a return to the pre-fallen state in which our relationship with god is completely pure and unhindered. “Now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face,” says Paul. This will be a state of ecstatic union that sex foreshadows, but only hints at. So Marriage is meant to teach us about the individual’s union with God.
Then Finally, Marriage is about Comfort and Kids. In the Book of Common Prayer, we read,
The union of husband and wife in heart, body, and mind is
intended by God for their mutual joy; for the help and comfort
given one another in prosperity and adversity; and, when it is
God’s will, for the procreation of children and their nurture
in the knowledge and love of the Lord. Therefore marriage is
not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently,
deliberately, and in accordance with the purposes for which it
was instituted by God.
The nurture of children is the business of marriage par excellence. In God’s plan a stable marriage between a man and a woman is meant to be the most secure arrangement in which to raise vulnerable little humans.
To sum up, Marriage is God’s idea; it is His Revealed will for the Creation Order.
Marriage is about Church – the unity between God and his People, mirrored in the marital relationship. Marriage is about the Individual and our eventual destiny to be at One with God, mirrored in the unity between spouses. And finally Marriage is about taking Comfort in the person who loves me, and partnering with my lover to raise children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Because of the Fall, we do not reach the Ideal that He intends and some folks fail in the attempt to truly Reflect God’s image and become one flesh. In this case, there is the accommodation of divorce. However, just because we don’t live up to the ideal doesn’t mean that we can recreate marriage in whatever mold we chose.
The reason why the Gay Agenda is so militant, is that it first denies the Creator God and His authority over his creation. Then it denies his purposes for reflecting the full-spectrum Imago Dei, and reproducing, for it is by definition sterile.
Folks, we have a high calling in upholding God’s plan for marriage. It is one of the key reasons we have stepped out in faith to create All Saints Anglican Church. I’d like to close now with this blessing prayer found in the marriage ceremony of the BCP.”
We thank you … for consecrating the union of
man and woman… By the power of your Holy
Spirit, pour out the abundance of your blessing upon every married
man and woman. Defend them from every enemy. Lead
them into all peace. Let their love for each other be a seal
upon their hearts, a mantle about their shoulders, and a
crown upon their foreheads.
Bless us all in our work and in
Our companionship; in our sleeping and in our waking; in
our joys and in our sorrows; in our life and in our death.
Finally, in your mercy, bring us to that table where your
saints feast for ever in your heavenly home; through Jesus
Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and
reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
The Canticle of the Creatures
Happy Feast Day of St. Francis to all. Here is His famous song to God's Creatures:
Most High, all-powerful, all-good Lord,All praise is Yours, all glory, honor and blessings.To you alone, Most High, do they belong;no mortal lips are worthy to pronounce Your Name.We praise You, Lord, for all Your creatures,especially for Brother Sun,who is the day through whom You give us light.And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor,of You Most High, he bears your likeness. We praise You, Lord, for Sister Moon and the stars,in the heavens you have made them bright, precious and fair. We praise You, Lord, for Brothers Wind and Air,fair and stormy, all weather's moods,by which You cherish all that You have made. We praise You, Lord, for Sister Water,so useful, humble, precious and pure. We praise You, Lord, for Brother Fire,through whom You light the night.He is beautiful, playful, robust, and strong. We praise You, Lord, for Sister Earth,who sustains uswith her fruits, colored flowers, and herbs. We praise You, Lord, for those who pardon,for love of You bear sickness and trial.Blessed are those who endure in peace,by You Most High, they will be crowned. We praise You, Lord, for Sister Death,from whom no-one living can escape.Woe to those who die in their sins!Blessed are those that She finds doing Your Will.No second death can do them harm.We praise and bless You, Lord, and give You thanks,and serve You in all humility.
- St. Francis of Assisi
Most High, all-powerful, all-good Lord,All praise is Yours, all glory, honor and blessings.To you alone, Most High, do they belong;no mortal lips are worthy to pronounce Your Name.We praise You, Lord, for all Your creatures,especially for Brother Sun,who is the day through whom You give us light.And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor,of You Most High, he bears your likeness. We praise You, Lord, for Sister Moon and the stars,in the heavens you have made them bright, precious and fair. We praise You, Lord, for Brothers Wind and Air,fair and stormy, all weather's moods,by which You cherish all that You have made. We praise You, Lord, for Sister Water,so useful, humble, precious and pure. We praise You, Lord, for Brother Fire,through whom You light the night.He is beautiful, playful, robust, and strong. We praise You, Lord, for Sister Earth,who sustains uswith her fruits, colored flowers, and herbs. We praise You, Lord, for those who pardon,for love of You bear sickness and trial.Blessed are those who endure in peace,by You Most High, they will be crowned. We praise You, Lord, for Sister Death,from whom no-one living can escape.Woe to those who die in their sins!Blessed are those that She finds doing Your Will.No second death can do them harm.We praise and bless You, Lord, and give You thanks,and serve You in all humility.
- St. Francis of Assisi
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Entering the Promisied Land
Today, October 1, 2006 a small band of intrepid souls met at the Barboursville (WV) Community Center in order to worship together for the first time. Before worship, we had a brief liturgy that called the people together to declare their intent to form a parish. A letter of welcome from Archbishop +Mark Camp was read, and a Call was extended to myself and to Deacon Mark Goldman to be ministers of the new group.
We had a reading from Joshua 3: 5-9; 15 -17 describing how the children of Israel were led by the priests across the Jordan river. A piece of blue fabric was laid on the floor to symbolize the Jordan, and we symbolically
crossed it together. We then used a festive Celtic Eucharist to celebrate the new ministry.
Here is the text of my sermon:
Well… here we are. After years of outrage, and months of thinking and planning, here we are meeting together as a body of people so new we haven’t even figured out what to name ourselves.
Like the people of Israel, we often felt as if we were wandering in the wilderness and that perhaps we would die before ever experiencing any part of the vision we carried to worship God in Spirit and Truth in the company of other faithful, orthodox Christians after the Anglican style.
Not just that, but to experience fellowship with one another around the Lord Jesus Christ – to be transformed into his image and to help others come to the saving knowledge of the Truth and to be transformed themselves - To live in a community of disciples of the Lord Jesus. This has been a hope and a dream of mine for a long time. I think it has been for you as well.
Now we find ourselves crossing Jordan and entering into that promised, hoped for land. But just like Israel, we find that Canaan is in sore need of development!
From our Scripture reading from Joshua, I’d like to draw out Three Steps for us:
One: Just like the people of Israel, we have to be willing to Step Out in faith and put our feet into the river before the miracle occurs. In fact, just like Israel, your priest and deacon have indeed stepped out in the water before you. Five years ago I entered the Convergence movement and began the discernment process for holy orders in the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches. About two years ago, Deacon Mark felt the call to Holy Orders, was ordained a deacon, and is now working on ordination as a priest himself. All this was done completely in faith, without the financial support of a diocese or the reasonable expectation of serving a parish. God compelled us to put our feet into the river before telling us what would happen in the future. It was arduous and we often felt out of place even while trying to obey God.
Now we are joining together, going down in the river bed. The waters have piled up and we are walking into the new land together. We are stepping out in faith that God will lead us, take care of us, and provide for us in ways that we cannot even begin to imagine now.
Two: The Promised Land is full of Promise and challenge. We can reasonably expect that God will richly bless us as we cross over. Yet we should also expect the challenges that come with any new project – the obstacles to overcome and setbacks to redress even as we move ahead as a parish. There are enemies in the Land, the greatest of which is our own selves. Just as the Pogo comic strip advised many years ago “We have met the enemy – and he is us!”
Remember that of all the people who left Egypt, only two, Joshua and Caleb actually entered the Promised Land. The others had allowed themselves to become intimidated by the Giants in the Land and turned back into the wilderness. They had become weary as they wandered in the desert, longing for the meat they had enjoyed in Egypt. They even asked, “Why did we come out of Egypt?” (Numbers 11:20.). There is a real human tendency to become tired and discouraged; to look back and long for the good old days when we used to have such a great place to worship, such a big and active congregation and such nice things. But in fact, there is nothing to go back to. We must be careful to keep looking ahead and to the Lord.
The path we are entering is long. But I fully expect that we will see real miracles along the way: We will grow spiritually, watch people be saved, witness healings, and see wonderful transformation in our lives. But I also know that the Promised Land is a place of battle. Wherever you take a bold stand for God, you will have to fight the Great Enemy, Satan, who hates us and wants us to fail. The apostle Peter tells us that our “enemy, the Devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.” We are told to “Resist him, and remain firm in our faith.” (I Pet. 5:8,9). And James (4:7) assures us that if we do in fact resist the devil, he will flee from us.
We are called as the people of God to take on the full armor of God (Eph. 6: 10-20), to join the fight, and to collaborate with God in the battle to save souls – our own included. This is an active process that demands everything that we have as Christians. Our job is to help people find the Lord so that they don’t end up in Hell as Jesus so vividly reminds us. We must Step Up to the Challenge!
Finally, we desire to Step Into the Promise. The Promise involves being ‘salty’ people in the World. In Jesus’ day, salt could be evaporated out of sea water, or it could be mined from deposits in the earth, in which case it wasn’t always very pure. It could actually lose its salty flavor if it sat around too long in damp conditions. Then it wasn’t any good and had to be thrown out. Salt must be pure to be valuable.
Jesus said that he came to give people Abundant Life. This is a life purified by the Salt of God’s Word, a life purified by the Gospel. To step in the Promise Land means to allow the salt of the Gospel to purify your life over time to such an extent that you become like Jesus and are Transformed into His Image like a living Icon of Christ. This involves Purity and Holiness, wholeness of life. When we have this Life, we become truly salty and cause others to thirst after the Water of Eternal life. That’s how it is when we Step Into the Promised Land.
So friends, here we are. We have Stepped Out in faith ( actually lurched forward). Now we need to Step Up to the Challenge before us. If we do so under God’s guidance, we will Step Into His Promise and become a life-giving, healing community of believers. Amen.
At this point, I asked everyone to come forward, one by one, to be anointed with oil – the Old Testament symbol of God’s Choosing, and the New Testament symbol of the empowering of the Holy Spirit. "Consider this to be the Stepping Up phase", I said, "And that you are asking God to equip us now for the next phase of our journey." With that we had a peaceful and holy time of ministry followed by a joyful Eucharist.
After worship, we had coffee and decided upon a name for the new work: All Saints Anglican Church. Stay tuned for more!
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