A Sermon delivered to The Company of Jesus at its Profession of Vows Service,
Friday October 1, 2010, The Close Retreat Center, Somerset, KY.
We are here tonight to receive Vocations - to receive those who are answering Jesus' call, "Come follow me..." . His call is to follow Him and become fishers of men, yes, but first and foremost to simply Follow Him.
Just like the first disciples heard the call, left everything and followed Jesus , we too have heard the call and have left the comfort of our former ways to follow Him as disciples and monastics.
The essential call is not "instrumental": 'follow me, so that - You can win people, build a church, or change the world. But it's first and foremost a call to follow Christ. As Benedict says in the Prologue to his Rule: the voice of the Lord invites us, in His lovingkindness to find 'the way of life' - which is precisely Christ.
When St. Anthony heard the call, he left all and followed Christ into the desert - primarily so he could know God better - listen to God better by going to a place where there was nothing else to do but listen. Benedict and Francis too spent significant amounts of time alone in caves just to be with Christ and to hear from him.
As 'Third Order' folks, our call is not quite so radical. Our calling is to remain in place , to follow Christ by staying put in our jobs, our families and ministries -to use all that we have for Him, where we are, but mostly to follow Him, - just for HIM.
While Christ calls everyone to follow him, this calling to monastic life is not for everyone. Not everyone hears Christ calling him or her to follow in the manner of Francis and Benedict. But we are disciples who hear the voices of these Brothers, and we respond to the calling to follow Christ in this monastic way because - - - well we don't know exactly why - why just have to.
Something about it just makes sense to us. It's not the external trappings of robes and scapulars, cinctures and rosaries - it's that we see a life that makes sense, a life that fits our particular personality, a life based in refreshing wisdom, a life centered in Christ.
When we listen to Benedict exhort us to 'Greet everyone as if they were Christ' , and to turn our whole life into the Work of God; when we listen to Francis exhort us to love simple things and to leave aside attachments to this world; when we think about following Christ, Francis and Benedict are two brothers who show us the way. Their sisters, Clare and Scholastica also show us the same ways, but through their own unique perspectives.
We look at the lives of these saints, and we are inspired to follow Christ right where we are. We know that we have not begun to touch the sanctity of men and women who have literally given up everything, but we are inspired. We can see what it looks like for a human being to be Christlike; we relate to the pain and pathos of choosing a misunderstood way - monasticism - in order to walk out a calling to something we can only half explain.
Some object to the form of following Francis or Benedict. 'Why follow a man when you can to directly to the God-Man, Christ?
And the answer is: "Because these men and women are US and they show us how to follow Jesus. And for that we love them. And we follow them as they teach us to follow Christ.
Tonight we will receive the initial vows of new postulants and affirm the life Vows of two who have walked out this life faithfully for the past five years.These Brothers and Sisters will make a Vow. they will 'swear on oath" ('sacramentum' in Latin), making a solemn pledge to follow Christ in the manner of St. Benedict or St. Francis - really both, as our Order blends the two Charisms.
But unlike parties who enter into a contract, these brothers and sisters will not just exchange goods or services, they will make an exchange of Persons. They will give themselves to Christ, just as Christ gives himself to us by taking on human flesh, living among us, dying for us and rising so that we might walk in newness of life.
'Deep calls to deep' says the Psalmist and so it is tonight. The Holy Spirit of God has searched out our deep heart desire and has shown us a way to receive this desire. By making their vows, these postulants are giving themselves to God and receiving back Jesus Christ in their place.
This deep calling is not for anything other than Love. It is always a mistake to think that monasticism is supposed to accomplish something in order to justify its existence. Indeed the response to the call of Jesus to this life is 'just because' and needs no other explanation. It's not instrumental like everything in the world, so the world cannot understand it.
In a sense, we are the Ultimate Hippies. Those of the 60's and 70's wanted to drop out, tune in and turn on to some imagined ideal of a primitive Good Life a life lived 'just because'. But instead of dropping out and turning on through drugs, sex and rock 'n roll, we are seeking 'life and good days' by staying put, living a life that challenges the values of the world system merely by existing and living as we do.
If there is a justification for the monastic life, it is that it shows the world an alternate way to live, a way that lives into the essence of Human Being, convicting the world of its shallowness, explaining the world to itself.
"This is the Way, walk ye in it", says Jesus to us. And we in our turn say to the world: 'Christ is the Way the Truth and the Life'. Follow Him - for his own sake; follow him to find out what your life is really all about and how to live fully human.
If we ourselves live out this calling authentically, we will draw others to Him so that they can have fullness of life: good measure, pressed down and overflowing, just as Jesus said.
My brothers and sisters, your vocations are truly a sign of hope and joy to the whole world. I am pleased and privileged to receive your professions and to charge you to Follow HIM as He calls to you through Francis and Benedict. AMEN
Monday, October 04, 2010
Sunday, July 18, 2010
A Farewell Statement
A Statement given to All Saints Anglican Church after our regular worship on July 18, 2010
Dear Saints,
Over the past two months, I've had occasion to do some deep reflection about my own sense of calling and my place of ministry in the Kingdom of God. As a young Christian, I initially considered becoming a Pastor, but later discerned this was not my calling and instead trained to become a Christian Counselor. Thanks be to God, he has allowed me to serve Him in various counseling settings since 1984.
In 1995, I was introduced to the Rule of St. Benedict and collaborated with with St. Luke's Episcopal Church to create the 8th Day Life Center, a healing ministry based on Benedict's Rule. That experience affected me profoundlyl and eventually led me to make my profession as a Benedictine in the Company of Jesus and become ordained as a priest - both in 2002.
Although it was exciting to be equipped to serve the Lord’s Supper, I was always uneasy about being a ‘priest with no Table’. I didn't feel called to be a church planter per se, but in 2006, the Episcopal Church began to explode in earnest and several of you called me to be your spiritual leader. I accepted that challenge because I love Anglicanism and wanted an Anglican church where Cindy and I could worship in 'spirit and in truth'.
Over the last three years it has been a joy to worship with you as we blend “Word, Sacrament and Spirit”. It has also been a joy to work on reclaiming Hope House from the devil’s clutches. A couple of recent shootings in the vicinity have highlighted just how urgent the need is, and have reaffirmed my desire to make an impact in what seems to be the epicenter of violence in Huntington. At the same time, I have been amazed by the number of new vocations coming into the Company of Jesus – and especially by young men and women who want to ground their ministries around their monastic callings.
During Bishop Loomis’ visit, I talked with the Vestry about all of this and how I had come to the conclusion once again that parish ministry is not my primary calling. Instead, I feel very much called to spend more time advancing the Company of Jesus and also to develop a new expression of the 8th Day Life healing ministry.
Cindy and I have been very privileged to serve in the founding and establishment of All Saints Anglican Church. We also look forward with excitement to what God will do in our midst through this new adventure. Please pray for us as we launch out into the deep. We love you all and hope to continue our relationships with you even as we refocus our ministry.
Together with Him, for the Gospel,
Fr. Andrew and Cindy Counts
Dear Saints,
Over the past two months, I've had occasion to do some deep reflection about my own sense of calling and my place of ministry in the Kingdom of God. As a young Christian, I initially considered becoming a Pastor, but later discerned this was not my calling and instead trained to become a Christian Counselor. Thanks be to God, he has allowed me to serve Him in various counseling settings since 1984.
In 1995, I was introduced to the Rule of St. Benedict and collaborated with with St. Luke's Episcopal Church to create the 8th Day Life Center, a healing ministry based on Benedict's Rule. That experience affected me profoundlyl and eventually led me to make my profession as a Benedictine in the Company of Jesus and become ordained as a priest - both in 2002.
Although it was exciting to be equipped to serve the Lord’s Supper, I was always uneasy about being a ‘priest with no Table’. I didn't feel called to be a church planter per se, but in 2006, the Episcopal Church began to explode in earnest and several of you called me to be your spiritual leader. I accepted that challenge because I love Anglicanism and wanted an Anglican church where Cindy and I could worship in 'spirit and in truth'.
Over the last three years it has been a joy to worship with you as we blend “Word, Sacrament and Spirit”. It has also been a joy to work on reclaiming Hope House from the devil’s clutches. A couple of recent shootings in the vicinity have highlighted just how urgent the need is, and have reaffirmed my desire to make an impact in what seems to be the epicenter of violence in Huntington. At the same time, I have been amazed by the number of new vocations coming into the Company of Jesus – and especially by young men and women who want to ground their ministries around their monastic callings.
During Bishop Loomis’ visit, I talked with the Vestry about all of this and how I had come to the conclusion once again that parish ministry is not my primary calling. Instead, I feel very much called to spend more time advancing the Company of Jesus and also to develop a new expression of the 8th Day Life healing ministry.
Cindy and I have been very privileged to serve in the founding and establishment of All Saints Anglican Church. We also look forward with excitement to what God will do in our midst through this new adventure. Please pray for us as we launch out into the deep. We love you all and hope to continue our relationships with you even as we refocus our ministry.
Together with Him, for the Gospel,
Fr. Andrew and Cindy Counts
Mary and Martha
A Sermon Delivered to All Saints Anglican Church on July 18 2010, at the Convent Chapel of St. Mary's Medical Center, Huntington, WV and based on Luke 10:38-42:
38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (ESV)
Have you ever gotten into your car and automatically turned on the radio? Perhaps it's always on and you don't even think about the need to turn it on...Have you ever come home to an empty house and turned on the TV - just to have some noise or a human voice going on in the background? Have you ever just stopped and observed how NOISY our world is?
If so, you may have also tried to enter in to some level of silence. Maybe you just get tired of the incessant voices that come over the media - You turn them off and just bask in the relative quiet, alone with your thoughts. It can be a pretty nice respite from time to time.
But what about practicing silence regularly - or taking in a big chunk of silence all at once? Maybe that's a little more difficult.
In today's Gospel reading, we have a contrast between one busy, noisy sister and another who practiced silence - so that she could listen to Jesus. Jesus tells Martha that she is anxious and worried about many things, and that Mary has chosen the good portion by quietly sitting at his feet. On the surface this looks like a categorical endorsement of a reflective temperament vs. a more active one.
But there are a couple of variables that enter in here that are perhaps not immediately apparent.
The first has to do with temperament itself. We've said before in other messages that Temperament seems largely God-given. And various personality types are drawn to various expressions of spirituality. So, I don't think that in this instance, Jesus is categorically saying that active people are inherently less spiritual than contemplative people. In fact, here's a kind of prayer that Martha might pray as she is doing her housework:
Martha's Prayer
Lord of all pots and pans and things,
Since I've no time to be
A saint by doing lovely things,
Or watching late with thee,
or dreaming in the dawnlight,
Or storming heaven's gates,
Make me a saint by getting meals
and washing up the plates.
(quoted in Wm. Barclay, The Gospel of Luke, Daily Study Bible Series, pg. 141,142).
One of the great insights put forward by St. Benedict is that the Work of God, the Opus Dei, is not just our times of formal liturgical prayer and private 'quiet times' - but that even our driving, our sweeping, our mowing or the activities of our daily occupations can be made into a prayer through a simple intention to praise God in all our works. You can practice the Presence of God by getting meals and washing plates just as surely as you can by storming heavens gates and watching late. It all depends on what kind of an attitude you bring to your work.
In Martha's case we can imagine her bustling around with such intensity that Jesus could walk quietly in the room and sit down - and along would come Martha telling him to lift his legs while she runs the sweeper!
She was determined that nothing and nobody would get in the way of making a nice meal for Jesus - even Jesus! The attitude we bring to our activities matters!
And it's certainly possible for one personality type to look down on another. We can perhaps imagine Mary sneering at Martha and saying, "See...he likes me best!"
This is also not a good attitude to bring to our time with Jesus!
No, our individual preferences in prayer and spirituality are all acceptable to God as we offer them up in humility.
But there is something else going on in this Gospel story - something that we don't hear in the selected passage. And that is the context of Jesus' visit to Mary and Martha. Remember, in Luke Chapter 9, Jesus had been Transfigured and counseled by Moses and Elijah about his earthly mission. He warns his disciples that "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” (v.21) He repeats the warning in v. 44: "The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men."
Jesus' focus as he came to the town of Bethany was on his death!
Therefore, it's likely that he was pensive and may have needed some peace and quiet to collect his thoughts. Mary and Martha and their brother Lazarus were his good friends, so he may have gone to their home looking for some calm before the coming storm.
But Martha didn't know that. All she knew was that Jesus had come to her home and that the most important thing was entertaining him in a suitable style! She was trying to be kind to Jesus by rushin' and fussin' - but that was precisely what Jesus did not want! (Barclay, pg.142).
William Barclay comments on this passage, "With the cross before him and with the inner tension in his heart, he had turned aside to Bethany to find an oasis of calm away from the demanding crowds if only for an hour or two, and that is what Mary gave him and what Martha, in her kindness, did her best to destroy!"
Mary understood - and Martha did not.
Barclay goes on, "Here is one of the great difficulties in life. So often we want to be kind to people - but we want to be kind to them in our way; and should it happen that our way is not the necessary way, we sometimes take offense and think that we are not appreciated."
"If we are trying to be kind the first necessity is to try to see into the heart of the person we desire to help - and then to forget all our own plans and to think only of what he or she needs." (Barclay, pg. 142).
Jesus loved Mary and Martha - but Martha made a self-centered fuss over him, while Mary understood him and gave him what he needed.
Mary minimized the noise in her life so that she could focus on Jesus - God's Word (Logos). She practiced listening in the midst of her life so she could hear the voice of God. But one can easily imagine that this attentive listening was not merely silent, but that there may have been a conversation going on with Jesus. Mary might well have asked questions or made comments. Even if she didn't speak, there was no doubt an active engagement with the words Jesus spoke. Her silence fostered a dialog and communion with God, that Martha missed because she was so intent on accomplishing her agenda.
And so it is that if we truly want to hear God, we must draw apart in silence on a regular basis in order to have space and time to converse and commune with Him.
Thomas Merton, in his book Springs of Contemplation, reminds his Christian readers that 'it is terribly important for us to be clear about our silence,' ... 'The tyranny of noise always has a will behind it...
There is a note of supreme injustice in noisemaking; the noise made by one person can compel another person to listen."
Anyone who has ever heard the insistent thump-thump of a car's subwoofer coming down the street knows the truth of that statement.
Speaking of his own context as a Trappist, Merton says that "the monastery's service to the world might simply be to keep a place where ...people might be silent together."
But I wonder whether this actually may be the birthright of all Christians, exemplified by Mary sitting at Jesus' feet? Of all people, we have God's ear. He delights in our presence and is much more willing to give than we are to receive.
Why then are we so reluctant to cultivate silence?
I think it's because we know we will hear Something - and that Something may make us uncomfortable; may compel us to face an unpleasant truth about ourselves; may demand that we take actions that challenge our easy illusion of being in control of our lives!
Silence is dangerous! But if it's true that God speaks to us in silence, then it's also true that what he speaks is Truth and Life - even if we perceive the Word to be hard or difficult.
I encourage you then to practice silence regularly - not only exterior silence - turning off the radio or TV, but active inner silence as well - becoming aware of the interior noise and learning to silence this as we release the distractions into the Great Silence who is God himself.
In other words, as we become aware of interior distractions such as gluttony, impurity, avarice, sadness, anger acedia, vanity and pride - we dash them on the Christ, my Rock (Psalm 137:9) and take these thoughts 'captive to the obedience of Christ' (2Cor. 10:5).
As an example of this, when I begin to quiet myself to listen to God, I almost immediately think that it would be nice to have a bologna sandwich. I attend to that thought, but I don't give in to it. Rather, I dash it against Christ and take it captive. I don't reprimand myself for having the thought, but I release it into Christ and cease to let it disturb me. Then I move on, simply dealing with each thought as it comes up, until such time as I can find a clear space to listen attentively to God.
It's definitely work - but it's definitely worth it!
It is, as Jesus says 'the good portion', 'the better part', the 'one thing needful' in our lives.
All of us have numerous distractions, numerous time commitments. And we all feel lost and alone at times.
A couple of days ago, David Frederick reminded us of a prayer by Thomas Merton. I'd like to close with it because every time I encounter it, I am reminded about how clueless I am, but how loving our heavenly Father is.
Try to read this slowly and make it your own prayer. Try to enter into that interior silence and face the uncertainty of your life, but then also pay attention to the hope and trust that arises at the end. And remember that you are never alone - that you are at the feet of Jesus and he will protect and guide you.
From Thomas Merton, A Prayer
My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think that I am following your will
does not mean I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though
I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and will never leave me to face my perils alone.
In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. AMEN.
38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (ESV)
Have you ever gotten into your car and automatically turned on the radio? Perhaps it's always on and you don't even think about the need to turn it on...Have you ever come home to an empty house and turned on the TV - just to have some noise or a human voice going on in the background? Have you ever just stopped and observed how NOISY our world is?
If so, you may have also tried to enter in to some level of silence. Maybe you just get tired of the incessant voices that come over the media - You turn them off and just bask in the relative quiet, alone with your thoughts. It can be a pretty nice respite from time to time.
But what about practicing silence regularly - or taking in a big chunk of silence all at once? Maybe that's a little more difficult.
In today's Gospel reading, we have a contrast between one busy, noisy sister and another who practiced silence - so that she could listen to Jesus. Jesus tells Martha that she is anxious and worried about many things, and that Mary has chosen the good portion by quietly sitting at his feet. On the surface this looks like a categorical endorsement of a reflective temperament vs. a more active one.
But there are a couple of variables that enter in here that are perhaps not immediately apparent.
The first has to do with temperament itself. We've said before in other messages that Temperament seems largely God-given. And various personality types are drawn to various expressions of spirituality. So, I don't think that in this instance, Jesus is categorically saying that active people are inherently less spiritual than contemplative people. In fact, here's a kind of prayer that Martha might pray as she is doing her housework:
Martha's Prayer
Lord of all pots and pans and things,
Since I've no time to be
A saint by doing lovely things,
Or watching late with thee,
or dreaming in the dawnlight,
Or storming heaven's gates,
Make me a saint by getting meals
and washing up the plates.
(quoted in Wm. Barclay, The Gospel of Luke, Daily Study Bible Series, pg. 141,142).
One of the great insights put forward by St. Benedict is that the Work of God, the Opus Dei, is not just our times of formal liturgical prayer and private 'quiet times' - but that even our driving, our sweeping, our mowing or the activities of our daily occupations can be made into a prayer through a simple intention to praise God in all our works. You can practice the Presence of God by getting meals and washing plates just as surely as you can by storming heavens gates and watching late. It all depends on what kind of an attitude you bring to your work.
In Martha's case we can imagine her bustling around with such intensity that Jesus could walk quietly in the room and sit down - and along would come Martha telling him to lift his legs while she runs the sweeper!
She was determined that nothing and nobody would get in the way of making a nice meal for Jesus - even Jesus! The attitude we bring to our activities matters!
And it's certainly possible for one personality type to look down on another. We can perhaps imagine Mary sneering at Martha and saying, "See...he likes me best!"
This is also not a good attitude to bring to our time with Jesus!
No, our individual preferences in prayer and spirituality are all acceptable to God as we offer them up in humility.
But there is something else going on in this Gospel story - something that we don't hear in the selected passage. And that is the context of Jesus' visit to Mary and Martha. Remember, in Luke Chapter 9, Jesus had been Transfigured and counseled by Moses and Elijah about his earthly mission. He warns his disciples that "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” (v.21) He repeats the warning in v. 44: "The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men."
Jesus' focus as he came to the town of Bethany was on his death!
Therefore, it's likely that he was pensive and may have needed some peace and quiet to collect his thoughts. Mary and Martha and their brother Lazarus were his good friends, so he may have gone to their home looking for some calm before the coming storm.
But Martha didn't know that. All she knew was that Jesus had come to her home and that the most important thing was entertaining him in a suitable style! She was trying to be kind to Jesus by rushin' and fussin' - but that was precisely what Jesus did not want! (Barclay, pg.142).
William Barclay comments on this passage, "With the cross before him and with the inner tension in his heart, he had turned aside to Bethany to find an oasis of calm away from the demanding crowds if only for an hour or two, and that is what Mary gave him and what Martha, in her kindness, did her best to destroy!"
Mary understood - and Martha did not.
Barclay goes on, "Here is one of the great difficulties in life. So often we want to be kind to people - but we want to be kind to them in our way; and should it happen that our way is not the necessary way, we sometimes take offense and think that we are not appreciated."
"If we are trying to be kind the first necessity is to try to see into the heart of the person we desire to help - and then to forget all our own plans and to think only of what he or she needs." (Barclay, pg. 142).
Jesus loved Mary and Martha - but Martha made a self-centered fuss over him, while Mary understood him and gave him what he needed.
Mary minimized the noise in her life so that she could focus on Jesus - God's Word (Logos). She practiced listening in the midst of her life so she could hear the voice of God. But one can easily imagine that this attentive listening was not merely silent, but that there may have been a conversation going on with Jesus. Mary might well have asked questions or made comments. Even if she didn't speak, there was no doubt an active engagement with the words Jesus spoke. Her silence fostered a dialog and communion with God, that Martha missed because she was so intent on accomplishing her agenda.
And so it is that if we truly want to hear God, we must draw apart in silence on a regular basis in order to have space and time to converse and commune with Him.
Thomas Merton, in his book Springs of Contemplation, reminds his Christian readers that 'it is terribly important for us to be clear about our silence,' ... 'The tyranny of noise always has a will behind it...
There is a note of supreme injustice in noisemaking; the noise made by one person can compel another person to listen."
Anyone who has ever heard the insistent thump-thump of a car's subwoofer coming down the street knows the truth of that statement.
Speaking of his own context as a Trappist, Merton says that "the monastery's service to the world might simply be to keep a place where ...people might be silent together."
But I wonder whether this actually may be the birthright of all Christians, exemplified by Mary sitting at Jesus' feet? Of all people, we have God's ear. He delights in our presence and is much more willing to give than we are to receive.
Why then are we so reluctant to cultivate silence?
I think it's because we know we will hear Something - and that Something may make us uncomfortable; may compel us to face an unpleasant truth about ourselves; may demand that we take actions that challenge our easy illusion of being in control of our lives!
Silence is dangerous! But if it's true that God speaks to us in silence, then it's also true that what he speaks is Truth and Life - even if we perceive the Word to be hard or difficult.
I encourage you then to practice silence regularly - not only exterior silence - turning off the radio or TV, but active inner silence as well - becoming aware of the interior noise and learning to silence this as we release the distractions into the Great Silence who is God himself.
In other words, as we become aware of interior distractions such as gluttony, impurity, avarice, sadness, anger acedia, vanity and pride - we dash them on the Christ, my Rock (Psalm 137:9) and take these thoughts 'captive to the obedience of Christ' (2Cor. 10:5).
As an example of this, when I begin to quiet myself to listen to God, I almost immediately think that it would be nice to have a bologna sandwich. I attend to that thought, but I don't give in to it. Rather, I dash it against Christ and take it captive. I don't reprimand myself for having the thought, but I release it into Christ and cease to let it disturb me. Then I move on, simply dealing with each thought as it comes up, until such time as I can find a clear space to listen attentively to God.
It's definitely work - but it's definitely worth it!
It is, as Jesus says 'the good portion', 'the better part', the 'one thing needful' in our lives.
All of us have numerous distractions, numerous time commitments. And we all feel lost and alone at times.
A couple of days ago, David Frederick reminded us of a prayer by Thomas Merton. I'd like to close with it because every time I encounter it, I am reminded about how clueless I am, but how loving our heavenly Father is.
Try to read this slowly and make it your own prayer. Try to enter into that interior silence and face the uncertainty of your life, but then also pay attention to the hope and trust that arises at the end. And remember that you are never alone - that you are at the feet of Jesus and he will protect and guide you.
From Thomas Merton, A Prayer
My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think that I am following your will
does not mean I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though
I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and will never leave me to face my perils alone.
In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. AMEN.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
The Fight of the Century: Flesh vs. Spirit
A Sermon delivered to All Saints Anglican Church on June 27, 2010 at the Convent Chapel of St. Mary's Medical Center, Huntington WV.
Text: Galatians 5:1, 13-25
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.
Walk by the Spirit
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
Introduction
On June 13, 1935, in Madison Square Garden, an epic boxing match took place between a formerly 'washed- up' fighter named James Braddock, and the seemingly invincible Champ, Max Baer. Baer had previously killed two men in the ring and was so vicious that the fight's promoter, James J Johnston, forced Braddock and his agent to watch a film of Baer in action - just so he could claim 'informed consent' if Braddock too was killed!
We can imagine the newspapers and radio announcers of the day plugging the upcoming match as 'The Fight of the Century...!!"
And indeed it likely was! In one of the biggest upsets in boxing history, Braddock, the 'Cinderella Man" defeated Max Baer to become the heavyweight champion of the world, winning for himself the hearts and imaginations of every poor and downtrodden man, woman and child in Depression-era United States.
Like Braddock, we Christians are engaged in a fight with a formidable opponent - our flesh! We could even say that the Battle of the Flesh vs our Spirits is the 'Battle of the Century' - or the "Battle of our Lives" if you wish.
Like Paul, in Romans Chapter 7, we 'know that we are 'of the flesh, sold under sin....and that 'nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. We 'desire to do what is right, but don't have the ability to carry it out. (vv.14,18).
Hebrews 12:1 refers to 'the sin which so easily besets us - a certain type of sin that keeps flaring up, unique to each one of us, that causes us difficulty time after time. This is where we get the concept of the 'Besetting Sin'.
So when we talk about the opposition of Flesh and Spirit, we're often referring to this 'Fight of the Century' between our Besetting Sin and our better spiritual natures, between what I desire to do and what I actually do.
Today we might actually identify better with the language of 'addiction' rather than 'besetting sin' because addiction and 'relapse' may better convey to us the ongoing struggle we have - and the sense of frustration that can grow out of such a repetitive cycle of success and failure.
Biblical examples of addictions or besetting sins would include the foolish young man from Proverbs who falls prey to alcoholism.
-King David's serial adultery might today be called 'sexual addiction'.
- King Saul, David's nemesis, might reasonably be labeled a 'rage-a-holic'. - not to mention being demonized!
-King Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes, about multiple excessive behaviors: Feasting to the point of Gluttony, he became a 'foodie'.
-Amassing huge sums of gold, houses, slave garden and parks, he became a shopaholic with a capital S!
Name your issue and he probably did it - in large part because he had the time and money to pursue his indulgences. Most of us don't have such huge resources at our disposal, so we have to concentrate on one or maybe two issues - and these are determined by several factors:
Factors affecting our besetting sins:
-Our nature or temperament
-Our nurture, or family background
-Our circumstances, including our current stresses
Regarding our temperament, we can be either outgoing or introverted, driven or relaxed, dominant or submissive, feelings oriented or thinking oriented. Temperament, or one's 'bent' seems to be largely innate. Our 'god-given traits lend themselves to particular kinds of besetting sins:
The outgoing and dominant person might be prone to exaggeration and running roughshod over others' feelings.
The withdrawn, submissive person to silent resentments and anger.
And the overly analytical person to insensitivity.
We tend to think that others are like us, and so have a hard time comprehending how others can fall into certain sins. Of course, we like to frame our own besetting sins as some sort of virtue.
"I'm not a workaholic, I'm diligent!"
'I'm not lazy, I just know the value of relaxation..' and on and on.
In terms of our Nurture, we can learn to play different roles in our families:
Hero/Golden Child
Angry Rebel
Lost Child
Victim
Pleaser
These are some ways we learn to make it through life as we grow up in our families. And each behavior pattern in turn lends itself to various besetting sins.
Then finally, our circumstances can cause an otherwise latent or potential sin to manifest under stress. Work pressures might lead to gambling problems. Financial pressure to theft, or family conflicts to compulsive eating.
Paul says that the remedy for these conflicts is to "walk by the Spirit". If we do so, we "will not gratify the desires of the flesh." (Gal. 5:13) However, even when we try to walk by the Spirit, we often 'see in [our] members another law waging war against the law of [our] minds...making [us] captive to the law of sin that dwells in [our] members." (Rom. 7:23).
We can find ourselves crying out, like Paul, "O Wretched man that I am who will deliver me from this body of death?"...and despair of ever getting the Victory.
Martin Luther, in his famous commentary on Galatians comments on this pattern:
"Do not despair if you feel the flesh battling against the Spirit or if you cannot make it behave. For you to follow the guidance of the Spirit in all things without interference on the part of the flesh is impossible. You are doing all you can if you resist the flesh and do not fulfill its demands."
He goes on to tell how he almost despaired of his salvation because of the persistence of carnal feelings:
"When I was a monk I thought I was lost forever whenever I felt an evil emotion, carnal lust, wrath, hatred, or envy. I tried to quiet my conscience in many ways, but it did not work, because lust would always come back and give me no rest. I told myself: "You have permitted this and that sin, envy, impatience, and the like. Your joining this holy order has been in vain, and all your good works are good for nothing." If at that time I had understood this passage, "The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh," I could have spared myself many a day of self- torment. I would have said to myself: "Martin, you will never be without sin, for you have flesh. Despair not, but resist the flesh." ...
Luther shows us an almost paradoxical acceptance of our fleshiness, while challenging us to gain mastery over the flesh. Our struggles drive us to Christ:
"The Christian feels the unholy condition of his heart, and it makes him feel so low that he cannot trust in his good works. He therefore goes to Christ to find perfect righteousness. This keeps a Christian humble."
Christian writer Denina Hudson says this about Righteousness:
‘You’re not righteous when you feel spiritual and blessed.
Neither are you righteous when you’ve failed miserably, you’ve come to the end of yourself and you’re ready to repent and get yourself right with {God}.
The true test of a righteous man working his way in righteousness is when he’s in the middle of his fight, he knows it’s not over, but he gets before [God] anyway because he knows [God] knows his heart.
(Denina Hudson) http://www.christian-truth-ministry.com/Denina
True to the spirit of the Fight, the righteous person slogs it out, even when feelings go against him.
Turning now to some practicalities, here are some tips on How to deal with Besetting Sin:
4 Be's:
1) Be Sincere ('without chaff') about overcoming the sin. Don't secretly hold on and enjoy the sin. In fact, Hate the sin that keeps you bound.
2) Be assured of God's love for you in the midst of your struggle:
Romans 5:8,10,11: "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ... if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
3) Be assured of your inability to deal with it in your own strength. As long as you have flesh, your flesh will be weak.
4) Be patient, this is going to take a while.
4 Do's:
1) Do ask for help, God first, then other people. (Prayer and counsel).
2) Do Tell God how it is with you, as honestly as you possibly can - however bad it is.
3) Do sit still and listen to whatever God tells you as you focus on His Word.
4) Do whatever he tells you. ( John 2:5, Mary's directive to the servants at Cana.)
Repeat as needed!
Regarding #3 above, here's Luther again on the role of the Scriptures in this fight:
"When the flesh begins to cut up the only remedy is to take the sword of the Spirit, the word of salvation, and fight against the flesh. If you set the Word out of sight, you are helpless against the flesh. I know this to be a fact. I have been assailed by many violent passions, but as soon as I took hold of some Scripture passage, my temptations left me. Without the Word I could not have helped myself against the flesh."
As Hebrews 4:12 says, "... the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."
A Final Illustration:
In the last movie of the Lord of the Rings series, 'The Return of the King', at the last stand of the Conflict, Aragorn and Gandalf are gathered with Legolas, Eomer, (and his twin sister Polymer...) and Gimli the dwarf, discussing how to mount one last diversion against Lord Sauron in order to give Frodo more time to destroy the Ring. As they mull over the plan, Gimili reflects, ..."Certainty of death... Small chance of success... What are we waiting for!"
As Christians, we too have a certainty of death - but with a difference. We have the certainty of Christ's death on the cross, the Finished work of God on our behalf, which justifies us once for all.
Then we have the certainty of the death of our Old Man, with its sinful inclinations: "And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (v. 24).
Notice that although this is couched in the past tense - 'have crucified' - yet there is a sense of ongoing struggle. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. (Luke 9:23).
Dying to self is a daily process, one that will last your whole life. As such, this mortification is intimately connected to our sanctification - the ongoing process of becoming more and more like Christ. Paradoxically put, the more you die, the more you live.
Now, as to success - we have a better hope than Gimli. We know that 'it is God who works in [us], both to will and to work for his good pleasure' (Phil. 2:13). Therefore we engage the fight to 'work out [our] own salvation - not only with fear and trembling, but also with Confidence, the confidence that God works all things together for the Good of conforming us into the image of his Son (Romans 8:28,29).
It's not just up to us! Romans 8:26 &27 ..." the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."
God Himself, in the person of the Holy Spirit is interceding for us, praying the Father for the Success we need in this fight!
Therefore - - Chance of Success? - Great!!!
So what are we waiting for??!!!
If an ugly little imaginary dwarf named Gimli can muster the chuztpah to face certain death for the sake of saving Middle Earth from Ultimate Evil, and if a formerly washed up fighter could risk death for the sake of a Heavyweight Boxing Title, how much more should we as Christians, who have the assurance of Christ's Victory over Death and the certain hope of the Resurrection be confident in our fight against our own besetting Sin!
Friends, Fight to Win! AMEN!
Text: Galatians 5:1, 13-25
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.
Walk by the Spirit
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
Introduction
On June 13, 1935, in Madison Square Garden, an epic boxing match took place between a formerly 'washed- up' fighter named James Braddock, and the seemingly invincible Champ, Max Baer. Baer had previously killed two men in the ring and was so vicious that the fight's promoter, James J Johnston, forced Braddock and his agent to watch a film of Baer in action - just so he could claim 'informed consent' if Braddock too was killed!
We can imagine the newspapers and radio announcers of the day plugging the upcoming match as 'The Fight of the Century...!!"
And indeed it likely was! In one of the biggest upsets in boxing history, Braddock, the 'Cinderella Man" defeated Max Baer to become the heavyweight champion of the world, winning for himself the hearts and imaginations of every poor and downtrodden man, woman and child in Depression-era United States.
Like Braddock, we Christians are engaged in a fight with a formidable opponent - our flesh! We could even say that the Battle of the Flesh vs our Spirits is the 'Battle of the Century' - or the "Battle of our Lives" if you wish.
Like Paul, in Romans Chapter 7, we 'know that we are 'of the flesh, sold under sin....and that 'nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. We 'desire to do what is right, but don't have the ability to carry it out. (vv.14,18).
Hebrews 12:1 refers to 'the sin which so easily besets us - a certain type of sin that keeps flaring up, unique to each one of us, that causes us difficulty time after time. This is where we get the concept of the 'Besetting Sin'.
So when we talk about the opposition of Flesh and Spirit, we're often referring to this 'Fight of the Century' between our Besetting Sin and our better spiritual natures, between what I desire to do and what I actually do.
Today we might actually identify better with the language of 'addiction' rather than 'besetting sin' because addiction and 'relapse' may better convey to us the ongoing struggle we have - and the sense of frustration that can grow out of such a repetitive cycle of success and failure.
Biblical examples of addictions or besetting sins would include the foolish young man from Proverbs who falls prey to alcoholism.
-King David's serial adultery might today be called 'sexual addiction'.
- King Saul, David's nemesis, might reasonably be labeled a 'rage-a-holic'. - not to mention being demonized!
-King Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes, about multiple excessive behaviors: Feasting to the point of Gluttony, he became a 'foodie'.
-Amassing huge sums of gold, houses, slave garden and parks, he became a shopaholic with a capital S!
Name your issue and he probably did it - in large part because he had the time and money to pursue his indulgences. Most of us don't have such huge resources at our disposal, so we have to concentrate on one or maybe two issues - and these are determined by several factors:
Factors affecting our besetting sins:
-Our nature or temperament
-Our nurture, or family background
-Our circumstances, including our current stresses
Regarding our temperament, we can be either outgoing or introverted, driven or relaxed, dominant or submissive, feelings oriented or thinking oriented. Temperament, or one's 'bent' seems to be largely innate. Our 'god-given traits lend themselves to particular kinds of besetting sins:
The outgoing and dominant person might be prone to exaggeration and running roughshod over others' feelings.
The withdrawn, submissive person to silent resentments and anger.
And the overly analytical person to insensitivity.
We tend to think that others are like us, and so have a hard time comprehending how others can fall into certain sins. Of course, we like to frame our own besetting sins as some sort of virtue.
"I'm not a workaholic, I'm diligent!"
'I'm not lazy, I just know the value of relaxation..' and on and on.
In terms of our Nurture, we can learn to play different roles in our families:
Hero/Golden Child
Angry Rebel
Lost Child
Victim
Pleaser
These are some ways we learn to make it through life as we grow up in our families. And each behavior pattern in turn lends itself to various besetting sins.
Then finally, our circumstances can cause an otherwise latent or potential sin to manifest under stress. Work pressures might lead to gambling problems. Financial pressure to theft, or family conflicts to compulsive eating.
Paul says that the remedy for these conflicts is to "walk by the Spirit". If we do so, we "will not gratify the desires of the flesh." (Gal. 5:13) However, even when we try to walk by the Spirit, we often 'see in [our] members another law waging war against the law of [our] minds...making [us] captive to the law of sin that dwells in [our] members." (Rom. 7:23).
We can find ourselves crying out, like Paul, "O Wretched man that I am who will deliver me from this body of death?"...and despair of ever getting the Victory.
Martin Luther, in his famous commentary on Galatians comments on this pattern:
"Do not despair if you feel the flesh battling against the Spirit or if you cannot make it behave. For you to follow the guidance of the Spirit in all things without interference on the part of the flesh is impossible. You are doing all you can if you resist the flesh and do not fulfill its demands."
He goes on to tell how he almost despaired of his salvation because of the persistence of carnal feelings:
"When I was a monk I thought I was lost forever whenever I felt an evil emotion, carnal lust, wrath, hatred, or envy. I tried to quiet my conscience in many ways, but it did not work, because lust would always come back and give me no rest. I told myself: "You have permitted this and that sin, envy, impatience, and the like. Your joining this holy order has been in vain, and all your good works are good for nothing." If at that time I had understood this passage, "The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh," I could have spared myself many a day of self- torment. I would have said to myself: "Martin, you will never be without sin, for you have flesh. Despair not, but resist the flesh." ...
Luther shows us an almost paradoxical acceptance of our fleshiness, while challenging us to gain mastery over the flesh. Our struggles drive us to Christ:
"The Christian feels the unholy condition of his heart, and it makes him feel so low that he cannot trust in his good works. He therefore goes to Christ to find perfect righteousness. This keeps a Christian humble."
Christian writer Denina Hudson says this about Righteousness:
‘You’re not righteous when you feel spiritual and blessed.
Neither are you righteous when you’ve failed miserably, you’ve come to the end of yourself and you’re ready to repent and get yourself right with {God}.
The true test of a righteous man working his way in righteousness is when he’s in the middle of his fight, he knows it’s not over, but he gets before [God] anyway because he knows [God] knows his heart.
(Denina Hudson) http://www.christian-truth-ministry.com/Denina
True to the spirit of the Fight, the righteous person slogs it out, even when feelings go against him.
Turning now to some practicalities, here are some tips on How to deal with Besetting Sin:
4 Be's:
1) Be Sincere ('without chaff') about overcoming the sin. Don't secretly hold on and enjoy the sin. In fact, Hate the sin that keeps you bound.
2) Be assured of God's love for you in the midst of your struggle:
Romans 5:8,10,11: "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ... if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
3) Be assured of your inability to deal with it in your own strength. As long as you have flesh, your flesh will be weak.
4) Be patient, this is going to take a while.
4 Do's:
1) Do ask for help, God first, then other people. (Prayer and counsel).
2) Do Tell God how it is with you, as honestly as you possibly can - however bad it is.
3) Do sit still and listen to whatever God tells you as you focus on His Word.
4) Do whatever he tells you. ( John 2:5, Mary's directive to the servants at Cana.)
Repeat as needed!
Regarding #3 above, here's Luther again on the role of the Scriptures in this fight:
"When the flesh begins to cut up the only remedy is to take the sword of the Spirit, the word of salvation, and fight against the flesh. If you set the Word out of sight, you are helpless against the flesh. I know this to be a fact. I have been assailed by many violent passions, but as soon as I took hold of some Scripture passage, my temptations left me. Without the Word I could not have helped myself against the flesh."
As Hebrews 4:12 says, "... the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."
A Final Illustration:
In the last movie of the Lord of the Rings series, 'The Return of the King', at the last stand of the Conflict, Aragorn and Gandalf are gathered with Legolas, Eomer, (and his twin sister Polymer...) and Gimli the dwarf, discussing how to mount one last diversion against Lord Sauron in order to give Frodo more time to destroy the Ring. As they mull over the plan, Gimili reflects, ..."Certainty of death... Small chance of success... What are we waiting for!"
As Christians, we too have a certainty of death - but with a difference. We have the certainty of Christ's death on the cross, the Finished work of God on our behalf, which justifies us once for all.
Then we have the certainty of the death of our Old Man, with its sinful inclinations: "And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (v. 24).
Notice that although this is couched in the past tense - 'have crucified' - yet there is a sense of ongoing struggle. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. (Luke 9:23).
Dying to self is a daily process, one that will last your whole life. As such, this mortification is intimately connected to our sanctification - the ongoing process of becoming more and more like Christ. Paradoxically put, the more you die, the more you live.
Now, as to success - we have a better hope than Gimli. We know that 'it is God who works in [us], both to will and to work for his good pleasure' (Phil. 2:13). Therefore we engage the fight to 'work out [our] own salvation - not only with fear and trembling, but also with Confidence, the confidence that God works all things together for the Good of conforming us into the image of his Son (Romans 8:28,29).
It's not just up to us! Romans 8:26 &27 ..." the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."
God Himself, in the person of the Holy Spirit is interceding for us, praying the Father for the Success we need in this fight!
Therefore - - Chance of Success? - Great!!!
So what are we waiting for??!!!
If an ugly little imaginary dwarf named Gimli can muster the chuztpah to face certain death for the sake of saving Middle Earth from Ultimate Evil, and if a formerly washed up fighter could risk death for the sake of a Heavyweight Boxing Title, how much more should we as Christians, who have the assurance of Christ's Victory over Death and the certain hope of the Resurrection be confident in our fight against our own besetting Sin!
Friends, Fight to Win! AMEN!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Trinity Sunday 2010
A Sermon delivered to All Saints Anglican Church on May 30 2010, at the Convent Chapel of St. Mary's Medical Center.
Today is Trinity Sunday, the one day a year when we pay particular attention to the nature of God - the idea that there is One God, but three persons within the Godhead. Since the very earliest days of the church, Christians have had a hard time understanding this concept. The Jews of Jesus' day strongly emphasized the unity of God, to such an extent that many early Christians had a difficult time with the idea of personal distinctions within God.
The word 'Trinity' is not actually found in the Bible, but was first used by the Latin theologian, Tertullian, in about AD 225 to explain the idea that God was 'one in essence - not one in Person'. A hundred years later, the Council of Nicea (325AD) met to respond to the teachings of a man named Arius - where we get the term 'Arianism'. The council of Nicea was led by the church father Athanasius, who helped develop the Nicene Creed, which describes Christ as "God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance (homoousios) with the Father."
Although the council of Nicea pretty much settled the matter, there was still controversy around this doctrine for several more decades. However, after the fifth century, all branches of the Christian faith accepted the doctrine.
St. Augustine grappled with this idea and described the Trinity as comparable to the three parts of an individual human being: mind, spirit, and will - three distinct aspects, yet inseparable and together constituting one unified human being.
Icon painters looked for ways to help people understand the doctrine, but were put off by the prohibition against depicting God directly, so they turned to the story of the hospitality of Abraham, who was visited by three wanderers (Gen. 18:1-8).
"And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth and said, “O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quick! Three seahs of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes.” And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly. Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate." (ESV)
The painters who depicted this story included many details -- the figures of Abraham and Sarah, a servant killing a calf in preparation for the feast, the rock, the tree of Mamre, and the house (tent) -- all in an attempt to be as faithful as possible to the text.
But look at this reproduction of the most famous of all Trinity icons, that painted by the Russian Andrei Rublev in the 14th century.
Rublev has omitted all the narrative details of the story, including Abraham and Sarah, and only painted the three angels. By doing this he wanted to convey the Unity and Indivisibility of the three persons of the Trinity. Some people have objected to this, saying that Abraham was visited by the pre-incarnate Christ and two angels, so some icon painters painted Christ as the middle angel and set him apart either by a halo with a cross, by enlarging his figure, giving him widely spread wings, or a scroll in His hand.
Jurgan Moltmann, comments that in Rublev's version, 'the three divine persons are seated at a table. In the slight inclination of their heads toward each other and in the gestures of their hands, a deeper unity of the three is suggested. A chalice on the table symbolizes the sacrifice of the Son on Golgotha for the redemption of the world. ...
it is impossible to tell which is the Father, Son or Spirit. In this way, the painting expresses the ultimate un-representability of the triune God. (Moltman, Sermon on the Trinity.)
So although people have tried to illustrate the concept of the Trinity, it is fundamentally impossible to really represent God. He is just too big, and the concept is just too hard for us. But even though we will never be able to plumb the depths of God's being, we can definitely know that God is relational.
Moltman puts it this way: "the triune God is a social God, rich in internal and external relationships. It is only from the perspective of the trinitarian God that we can claim that “God is Love,” because love is never alone. Instead, it brings together those who are separate while maintaining their distinct characters."
In John 16, Jesus lays out this inter-relatedness :
Verse 5: "...I am going to him who sent me, (namely, the Father, v. 10).
In verse 7, he tells the Disciples, "I will send him [the Helper, Paraclete, the Comforter, the one, 'just like me'] to you.
Verse 10: I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer...
The Holy Spirit is to complete the teaching work of Jesus: (v.12)“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
Add John 5:19 to the mix:
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise."
The sense is of continuous intercommunication and cooperation, complete harmony among equals - each with a role to play, but each in complete agreement with the other two.
Phillip asked Jesus to show them the Father, and Jesus replied, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. ... I am in the Father and the Father is in me."
The Son is not only the exact representation of the Father, but He speaks and acts on the authority of the Father:
"The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works."
Again we see a complete unity of message and purpose - in the midst of diversity.
I'd like to relate this concept to some examples from our daily lives - with the caution that they are not really analogies of the Trinity - the comparison to the God who is 'one essence but Three Persons" quickly breaks down, but I still think they are useful comparisons.
I'd like to relate this concept to some examples from our daily lives - with the caution that they are not really analogies of the Trinity - the comparison to the God who is 'one essence but Three Persons" quickly breaks down, but I still think they are useful comparisons.
The United States of America
According to our national slogan, "E Pluribus Unum", we become one people out of many backgrounds; one nation in the uniting of 13 - now 50 - independent states. Of course, the United States of America is not a Person, but the ideal of the founders was for us to come together despite our differences.
According to our national slogan, "E Pluribus Unum", we become one people out of many backgrounds; one nation in the uniting of 13 - now 50 - independent states. Of course, the United States of America is not a Person, but the ideal of the founders was for us to come together despite our differences.
The Church
The Church is to be one as Jesus and the Father are one (John 17: 21: ...that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us....). We are to function as His Body: (Romans 12:4,5: For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.)
The Church is to be one as Jesus and the Father are one (John 17: 21: ...that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us....). We are to function as His Body: (Romans 12:4,5: For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.)
I Cor: 12:12 "For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ."
I Cor.12:27:"Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it."
Unity in Diversity. The church as a picture of the Trinity.
Many people are grievously offended by the fact that there are so many denominations. Yet, how can it really be otherwise, given that God is so vast and people have had so many different experiences in God, so many ideas about how to worship Him - and so many quarrels about who is right!
Because we are sinful, we will never have complete unity. Because God is big, no one way of worshiping Him will ever be adequate to do Him justice. There must be some basic things we agree upon - and that's why we have Creeds - so that we can say that some expressions are truly Christian, and some are not.
So, while we differ from the Orthodox in our understanding of who exactly sends the Holy Spirit - Father only vs. Father and Son - we still recognize them as Christians because they embrace the Trinity - unlike Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses and Unitarians, who deny the Trinity.
Our unity around the basics of the Creeds defines us a members of the same household.
Our unity around the basics of the Creeds defines us a members of the same household.
Marriage
Marriage also provides us a picture of unity in diversity:
Eph. 5:28-33: ..." husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” (Gen. 2:24) This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband."
Jesus quoted Genesis 1:27 and 2:24 in regard to Marriage: (Mark 10:6-8 and Mt. 19:, 45): "But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh.
Marriage also provides us a picture of unity in diversity:
Eph. 5:28-33: ..." husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” (Gen. 2:24) This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband."
Jesus quoted Genesis 1:27 and 2:24 in regard to Marriage: (Mark 10:6-8 and Mt. 19:, 45): "But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh.
Again, the comparison to the Trinity breaks down because in marriage, we still have two separate persons joined together by covenant and union, while in the Trinity we have Three Persons, but one essence.
So, there are three comparisons to the Trinity. How does this work itself out in our practice as Christians?
Let's start with our Worship
Anglican worship is very trinitarian. From the opening acclamation, to the Gloria, to the
Doxology, to the Sanctus and the Communion prayer, one hears many references to the Trinity. And as a local parish we say that we emphasize the Liturgical/Catholic/Sacramental,
the Evangelical or Word-based understanding of the faith, and the Spirit-led, or the Charismatic, roughly mirroring Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
the Evangelical or Word-based understanding of the faith, and the Spirit-led, or the Charismatic, roughly mirroring Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Our focus is both on the transcendent God, who is high and lifted up, receiving the praise of all creation, and on the immanent or Present God, who is Emmanuel, God with us.
Devotionally, as I read the Bible, I want to allow the words to become the Word of God to me - to allow the concepts I am reading to become life-giving 'manna' from heaven, speaking to me in my current life situation right now. I want the 'Logos' Word of God to become the 'Rhema' word of God to me, that I might become transformed by the renewing of my mind.
Psychologically, I want my mind to learn to think God's thoughts, my emotions to be conformed to those of Christ, and my will to be transformed so that I can choose to obey even when it's hard.
Devotionally, as I read the Bible, I want to allow the words to become the Word of God to me - to allow the concepts I am reading to become life-giving 'manna' from heaven, speaking to me in my current life situation right now. I want the 'Logos' Word of God to become the 'Rhema' word of God to me, that I might become transformed by the renewing of my mind.
Psychologically, I want my mind to learn to think God's thoughts, my emotions to be conformed to those of Christ, and my will to be transformed so that I can choose to obey even when it's hard.
Responding to God's love, I want to give of myself - my time, my talents, and my treasure, I want to realize that the focus of my giving is God. I am giving back to the Father, through Jesus the Son, as I am led by the Spirit, just as God first loved me and gave His Son to die for me. I give in response to a God who gives me Himself. The hymn by William How puts it this way: "We give thee but thine own, whatever the gift may be. All that we have is Thine alone, a trust O Lord from Thee." (We Give Thee but Thine Own. How, 1864).
This giving includes service to our world. Through God's Spirit, we take Christ to our world. Through our good deeds, we proclaim the Good News that Christ has come to seek and save that which was lost - namely the whole world! .
In their book, The Externally Focused Church, Rick Rusaw and Eric Swanson relate that 'When the Communists took over Russia in 1917, they vigorously persecuted the church, but did not make Christianity illegal. The Constitution of 1918 (chapter 5, article 13), in face, guaranteed a freedom of religion. But the Communists did make it illegal for the church to do any good works. No longer could the church fulfill its historic role of feeding the hungry, educating the young, housing the orphan, or caring for the sick. The state would handle those duties. What was the result? After seventy years, the church in Russia was largely irrelevant to the communities in which it dwelt. take away service, and you take away the church's power, influence, and evangelistic effectiveness. The power of the gospel is combining its life-changing message with selfless service "( pg. 118).
We proclaim the Good News through our actions, in addition to our verbal proclamation. Our goal is for all the world to know the Joy of Loving and serving God, the joy of abiding in God, and he in us, just as it says in the trinitarian pattern of I John 4: 13-16:
"By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
Ultimately it comes back to the two great commandments: Love God, and Love your neighbor. I pray that as we contemplate our great God and his great love for us, that our capacity for loving God and others may increase and that we might truly abide in Him and He in us, just as The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit are one and abide in each other. AMEN.
Wait for the Promise, Go in the Power
A sermon delivered to All Saints Anglican Church on Pentecost Sunday, 2010 at the Convent Chapel of St. Mary's Medical Center, and based on Acts 2:1-11 and Joel 2: 28-32.
When our girls were small, we had a Tri-Color Shelty, a little collie type dog that is very smart, and who responds well to training. The reason I know that is not because our dog was well-trained - it wasn't - but because as Cindy and I would walk in Ritter Park, we used to observe a couple who would train their own Shelty.
We used to see this couple often and we would observe them in every stage of the process: arriving in the car and unloading themselves and the dog, preparing for their training session by setting up little cones in a sort of course, walking the dog, giving him commands, and then finally packing up and leaving to go home. It was a sort of liturgy I suppose.
This whole process made a big impression on us. We used to admire how dedicated the couple was to this training, how well-behaved the dog was - and even how the little dog seemed to take pride in this work they were doing. We used to think to ourselves, "Wow, look what we could do with Sarah..." and then we stopped to think how much time this process took - and we settled for the less well-behaved dog, who was also less time-consuming!
At any rate, one of the training excercises we used to observe was what I might call Stop, Wait, Go. The man or the woman would walk the dog, then come to a full stop, give the command to 'Wait' and then another command to 'Go'. Dog and owner seemed to flow together as one unit - and it really was an interesting - even beautiful - thing to watch.
Well, while it may sound a silly, I think there is a lesson for us here regarding the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives. I've coined a slogan for it:
'Wait for the Promise, Go in the Power"
First, the Wait part.
The background of our reading from Acts 2 is, of course, Acts 1, beginning in verses 4 and 5:
"And while [Jesus was] staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
So, just like the dog owners in the park, Jesus basically said to the disciples, "Sit! Stay!" "Wait " - just about the hardest thing in the world to do! - Especially if you've just seen your Lord taken up bodily into heaven ...which was the very next thing that happens after Jesus tells them to Wait.
Jesus ascends to heaven on Mount Olivet, 'a Sabbath days' journey from Jerusalem ( not very far at all), and the disciples return to Jerusalem. Picking up in v. 13 of Acts Chapter 1: "And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. 14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
Obeying, they take up their vigil, all gathered together in one place, devoting themselves to prayer.
After choosing a replacement apostle for Judas (Matthias), the day of Pentecost arrives. They're still gathered together in one place. (Acts 2:1), when the Holy Spirit shows up like tongues of flaming fire, sounding like a locomotive tearing through the room. They all start speaking in tongues, preaching the mighty works of God to "Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians" (Acts 2:9-11), in fulfillment of that prophecy from Joel that he would "pour out [His] Spirit on all flesh..." (Joel 2:28 ff).
They sat still, they waited and they received the promised Holy Spirit, which in turn enabled them to preach the mighty deeds of God in power.
In his sermon on Pentecost, the apostle Peter explains to a bewildered crowd:
"This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing" (Acts:2: 32,33).
In other words, 'You just saw us get what God has been promising us for hundreds of years!"
Peter goes on to admonish the crowd to "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Again, he makes reference to the Promise:
Acts 2:39 "For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”
The result of his simple and powerful preaching is the salvation and immediate baptism of 'about three thousand souls". After Waiting for the Promise and receiving it, Peter Goes in the Power of the Holy Spirit with tremendous results! And this pattern immediately becomes a lifestyle for the new believers:
Acts 2:42:
And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. In other words, the devoted themselves to a lifestyle of active, participatory waiting. They weren't just sitting back watching TV and playing video games. They were engaged in a work together - the work of waiting on the Lord. This work extended to taking care of one another:
"And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. (Acts 2:44,45)
This work went hand in hand with "attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes,
The ultimate result was that the believers "received their food with glad and generous hearts.
As they praised their God (v. 47) they found favor with all the people.
..."awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
All in all, pretty remarkable. Remarkable enough for even secular people to catch the ideal and try to make it into an idol of secular government.
But there's a crucial ingredient to making this pattern of life work: The Holy Spirit.
The believers waited upon the Lord. He filled them with the Spirit of Promise, and then he sent them out into the world to serve Him in Power. I think this is a basic pattern for Life in the Spirit. It's a pattern that results in getting something from God, and then doing something for God.
We've recently been studying NT Wright's book, "Simply Christian". Here's what he says in his chapter on God's Breath of Life:
"God doesn't give people the Holy Spirit in order to let them enjoy the spiritual equivalent of a day at Disneyland. ...the point of the Spirit is to enable those who follow Jesus to take into all the world the news that he is Lord, that he has won the victory over the forces of evil, that a new world has opened up, and that we are to help make it happen." (pg. 122).
Immediately before his ascension, Jesus tells the disciples:
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts1:8).
The gift of the Holy Spirit is a gift for witness, ministry and outreach - a gift for 'external focus' as Rick Rusaw and Eric Swanson would say.
In their book entitled "The Externally Focused Church", these authors
quote a second century writer who reflected on what the church was to the world of AD 150:
"As the soul is to the body, so Christians [are] to the world." (Epistle of Mathetus to Diognetus, Chapter 6, v. 25).
Imagine what the church of that day must have done in their world to be viewed as the 'soul of the world' ! ...
Rusaw and Swanson also describe how the church is viewed in our own day:
"There is no question that the church has been marginalized in our society. ...The church is seen...as an 'island of piety, surrounded by a sea of irrelevance.' ... [it] is generally not viewed as an important part of the fabric of the community. In most places the church has lost any voice on the issues and needs facing the community. The church isn't on the list of resources community leaders consult when looking for assistance in resolving the challenges they face." Pg. 104.
This past week, I received a letter from Chief of Police Skip Holbrook asking me and others to attend a presentation of the High Point Drug Market Intervention Strategy. The presenters from High Point NC will be Major Marty Sumner and Pastor Sherman Mason. The presentation will be held at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church. The letter goes on to say, "You are an important stakeholder in the future implementation of this innovative community based strategy. Your attendance for the presentation would be greatly appreciated."
What a contrast! Instead of being seen as irrelevant and beside the point, here's a case in which the church is taking an active role and pastors from the community are being invited to participate.
Why is this? It's because Pastor Mason and others like him in the High Point church got involved in an important local need.
It's because those of us in Mission Tri-State have created relationships with our local community leaders, praying for them personally and regularly over many years. It's because at least some of our Huntington churches have taken on an 'External Focus', reaching out beyond our own walls to seek the welfare of our city. It's because local pastors who get this letter from Skip Holbrook will rearrange their schedules to be at this presentation.
Through the prophet Jeremiah , the Lord told the exiles in Babylon to 'seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile.' They were told to Pray to the Lord for it because if it prospers, you too will prosper." (Jer. 29:7).
Notice that the strategy involved prayer. I would relate this back to the 'waiting on Promise', the first part of our equation.
The Church is, first and foremost a worshiping community. We come to this place each Sunday to hear God's Holy Word, to be fed with spiritual food and to be empowered by God's Spirit - so that we can then 'love and serve the Lord' in the world. Without being built up in the Spirit, we cannot go out in the Spirit. So Worship is first and foremost.
But as Rusaw and Swanson write, their is an increasing conviction among Christian leaders from around the globe 'that effectiveness is not measured by what happens inside the church but rather by the impact the people of the church have on their communities.' (EFC, pg. 16).
Folks, we of All Saints Anglican Church have been given the privilege of impacting our community far beyond our numbers. If you watched the news last night or read the paper today, you would have seen the story about Hope House packed with grieving people seeking solace in their loss. If you could have been there last night, you would have seen a cross section of our community gathered together, along with our mayor and our police chief, experiencing the relevance of the church in our city.
You may not think of this as 'spirit empowered' ministry, but it is. It has to be. It could not happen without the power of God's Spirit.
Today I would like to challenge us to be willing to be of service to our communities, wherever we live. But I'd also like to challenge us to take some time and 'wait for the promise of the Spirit', so that we may be empowered for the service God expects of us.
Right now, in the presence of God, I would like for us to quietly wait upon the Spirit. This will be our ministry time today. We're going to invite the Holy Spirit to come and empower us as we wait upon Him.
I invite you to come to the altar, or to kneel at your place, to stand in prayer or even to walk around and pray if you wish. But let's take some time and actively wait upon the Lord.
Let's pray:
'Holy Spirit, we now invite you to come and minister to us. We give you permission to do something within us that we cannot imagine. Fill us now with your grace and your power to do the work you have given us to do, to love and serve you serve you as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord."
Come Holy Spirit.
When our girls were small, we had a Tri-Color Shelty, a little collie type dog that is very smart, and who responds well to training. The reason I know that is not because our dog was well-trained - it wasn't - but because as Cindy and I would walk in Ritter Park, we used to observe a couple who would train their own Shelty.
We used to see this couple often and we would observe them in every stage of the process: arriving in the car and unloading themselves and the dog, preparing for their training session by setting up little cones in a sort of course, walking the dog, giving him commands, and then finally packing up and leaving to go home. It was a sort of liturgy I suppose.
This whole process made a big impression on us. We used to admire how dedicated the couple was to this training, how well-behaved the dog was - and even how the little dog seemed to take pride in this work they were doing. We used to think to ourselves, "Wow, look what we could do with Sarah..." and then we stopped to think how much time this process took - and we settled for the less well-behaved dog, who was also less time-consuming!
At any rate, one of the training excercises we used to observe was what I might call Stop, Wait, Go. The man or the woman would walk the dog, then come to a full stop, give the command to 'Wait' and then another command to 'Go'. Dog and owner seemed to flow together as one unit - and it really was an interesting - even beautiful - thing to watch.
Well, while it may sound a silly, I think there is a lesson for us here regarding the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives. I've coined a slogan for it:
'Wait for the Promise, Go in the Power"
First, the Wait part.
The background of our reading from Acts 2 is, of course, Acts 1, beginning in verses 4 and 5:
"And while [Jesus was] staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
So, just like the dog owners in the park, Jesus basically said to the disciples, "Sit! Stay!" "Wait " - just about the hardest thing in the world to do! - Especially if you've just seen your Lord taken up bodily into heaven ...which was the very next thing that happens after Jesus tells them to Wait.
Jesus ascends to heaven on Mount Olivet, 'a Sabbath days' journey from Jerusalem ( not very far at all), and the disciples return to Jerusalem. Picking up in v. 13 of Acts Chapter 1: "And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. 14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
Obeying, they take up their vigil, all gathered together in one place, devoting themselves to prayer.
After choosing a replacement apostle for Judas (Matthias), the day of Pentecost arrives. They're still gathered together in one place. (Acts 2:1), when the Holy Spirit shows up like tongues of flaming fire, sounding like a locomotive tearing through the room. They all start speaking in tongues, preaching the mighty works of God to "Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians" (Acts 2:9-11), in fulfillment of that prophecy from Joel that he would "pour out [His] Spirit on all flesh..." (Joel 2:28 ff).
They sat still, they waited and they received the promised Holy Spirit, which in turn enabled them to preach the mighty deeds of God in power.
In his sermon on Pentecost, the apostle Peter explains to a bewildered crowd:
"This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing" (Acts:2: 32,33).
In other words, 'You just saw us get what God has been promising us for hundreds of years!"
Peter goes on to admonish the crowd to "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Again, he makes reference to the Promise:
Acts 2:39 "For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”
The result of his simple and powerful preaching is the salvation and immediate baptism of 'about three thousand souls". After Waiting for the Promise and receiving it, Peter Goes in the Power of the Holy Spirit with tremendous results! And this pattern immediately becomes a lifestyle for the new believers:
Acts 2:42:
And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. In other words, the devoted themselves to a lifestyle of active, participatory waiting. They weren't just sitting back watching TV and playing video games. They were engaged in a work together - the work of waiting on the Lord. This work extended to taking care of one another:
"And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. (Acts 2:44,45)
This work went hand in hand with "attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes,
The ultimate result was that the believers "received their food with glad and generous hearts.
As they praised their God (v. 47) they found favor with all the people.
..."awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
All in all, pretty remarkable. Remarkable enough for even secular people to catch the ideal and try to make it into an idol of secular government.
But there's a crucial ingredient to making this pattern of life work: The Holy Spirit.
The believers waited upon the Lord. He filled them with the Spirit of Promise, and then he sent them out into the world to serve Him in Power. I think this is a basic pattern for Life in the Spirit. It's a pattern that results in getting something from God, and then doing something for God.
We've recently been studying NT Wright's book, "Simply Christian". Here's what he says in his chapter on God's Breath of Life:
"God doesn't give people the Holy Spirit in order to let them enjoy the spiritual equivalent of a day at Disneyland. ...the point of the Spirit is to enable those who follow Jesus to take into all the world the news that he is Lord, that he has won the victory over the forces of evil, that a new world has opened up, and that we are to help make it happen." (pg. 122).
Immediately before his ascension, Jesus tells the disciples:
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts1:8).
The gift of the Holy Spirit is a gift for witness, ministry and outreach - a gift for 'external focus' as Rick Rusaw and Eric Swanson would say.
In their book entitled "The Externally Focused Church", these authors
quote a second century writer who reflected on what the church was to the world of AD 150:
"As the soul is to the body, so Christians [are] to the world." (Epistle of Mathetus to Diognetus, Chapter 6, v. 25).
Imagine what the church of that day must have done in their world to be viewed as the 'soul of the world' ! ...
Rusaw and Swanson also describe how the church is viewed in our own day:
"There is no question that the church has been marginalized in our society. ...The church is seen...as an 'island of piety, surrounded by a sea of irrelevance.' ... [it] is generally not viewed as an important part of the fabric of the community. In most places the church has lost any voice on the issues and needs facing the community. The church isn't on the list of resources community leaders consult when looking for assistance in resolving the challenges they face." Pg. 104.
This past week, I received a letter from Chief of Police Skip Holbrook asking me and others to attend a presentation of the High Point Drug Market Intervention Strategy. The presenters from High Point NC will be Major Marty Sumner and Pastor Sherman Mason. The presentation will be held at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church. The letter goes on to say, "You are an important stakeholder in the future implementation of this innovative community based strategy. Your attendance for the presentation would be greatly appreciated."
What a contrast! Instead of being seen as irrelevant and beside the point, here's a case in which the church is taking an active role and pastors from the community are being invited to participate.
Why is this? It's because Pastor Mason and others like him in the High Point church got involved in an important local need.
It's because those of us in Mission Tri-State have created relationships with our local community leaders, praying for them personally and regularly over many years. It's because at least some of our Huntington churches have taken on an 'External Focus', reaching out beyond our own walls to seek the welfare of our city. It's because local pastors who get this letter from Skip Holbrook will rearrange their schedules to be at this presentation.
Through the prophet Jeremiah , the Lord told the exiles in Babylon to 'seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile.' They were told to Pray to the Lord for it because if it prospers, you too will prosper." (Jer. 29:7).
Notice that the strategy involved prayer. I would relate this back to the 'waiting on Promise', the first part of our equation.
The Church is, first and foremost a worshiping community. We come to this place each Sunday to hear God's Holy Word, to be fed with spiritual food and to be empowered by God's Spirit - so that we can then 'love and serve the Lord' in the world. Without being built up in the Spirit, we cannot go out in the Spirit. So Worship is first and foremost.
But as Rusaw and Swanson write, their is an increasing conviction among Christian leaders from around the globe 'that effectiveness is not measured by what happens inside the church but rather by the impact the people of the church have on their communities.' (EFC, pg. 16).
Folks, we of All Saints Anglican Church have been given the privilege of impacting our community far beyond our numbers. If you watched the news last night or read the paper today, you would have seen the story about Hope House packed with grieving people seeking solace in their loss. If you could have been there last night, you would have seen a cross section of our community gathered together, along with our mayor and our police chief, experiencing the relevance of the church in our city.
You may not think of this as 'spirit empowered' ministry, but it is. It has to be. It could not happen without the power of God's Spirit.
Today I would like to challenge us to be willing to be of service to our communities, wherever we live. But I'd also like to challenge us to take some time and 'wait for the promise of the Spirit', so that we may be empowered for the service God expects of us.
Right now, in the presence of God, I would like for us to quietly wait upon the Spirit. This will be our ministry time today. We're going to invite the Holy Spirit to come and empower us as we wait upon Him.
I invite you to come to the altar, or to kneel at your place, to stand in prayer or even to walk around and pray if you wish. But let's take some time and actively wait upon the Lord.
Let's pray:
'Holy Spirit, we now invite you to come and minister to us. We give you permission to do something within us that we cannot imagine. Fill us now with your grace and your power to do the work you have given us to do, to love and serve you serve you as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord."
Come Holy Spirit.
Sunday, May 09, 2010
On Receiving God's Good Things
A Sermon Delivered to All Saints Anglican Church on May 9, 2010 at the Convent Chapel of St. Mary's Medical Center, Huntington, WV
The Sermon began with listening to the first minute a four seconds of 'Somthin's Comin' from West Side Story,, ending with, 'it's going to be great!"
Have you ever felt like that - felt that something was coming just up ahead? You didn't know what, you just knew that it was coming - but you had to wait for it....?
Well, that what it must have been like for the Jewish people of Joel's day. In the 2cnd chapter of his book, vv. 24 and following, Joel conveys the following promise to his people:
24 “The threshing floors shall be full of grain;the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.25 I will restore to you the yearsthat the swarming locust has eaten,the hopper (Locust), the destroyer, and the cutter,my great army, which I sent among you. 26 “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,and praise the name of the Lord your God,who has dealt wondrously with you.And my people shall never again be put to shame.27 You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else.And my people shall never again be put to shame.
WOW! Something's Coming! Something big! Something Awesome! Something Good!
Restoration, Plenty of good stuff to eat - and the Lord's Presence with His people to boot! How Great! For once it's good to be Jewish!
The feeling must have been the same as what Tony was singing about in West Side Story: Something Good is coming!
Of course, we as Christians know that the Good Thing being predicted was really Jesus. He is the ultimate fulfillment of all God's Promises, just as it says in 2 Cor: 1:20: "For all the promises of God find their Yes in him..."!
Jesus was the one who would rebuke the devourer - namely the Devil and his minions: Sin and Death, ushering in the Kingdom of God and the Lordship of Christ. All the promises of God find their Yes in him!
But I think that we as Christians can also relate to the Jewish people in the sense that we have yet to see the ultimate fulfillment of God's Kingdom - the re-creation and renewal of all things.
This is what John was talking about in Revelation 21l 22 - 22:5:
22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.
The River of Life
22:1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.
We too as Christians have Something REALLY Good to look forward to!
Here again, the promise involves good stuff to eat - a Fruit of the Month Club, Some Kind of Awesome Aloe Vera leaves - and the very presence of God manifested so intensely that we won't need the sun or moon or stars any longer! - It's comin'!
But, you know, as wonderful as all that stuff is for the future, there's also the present reality that God wants to give us good stuff now as well. His plan is to bless us in our coming in and our going out.
Deuteronomy 28:
1-6 If you listen obediently to the Voice of God, your God, and heartily obey all his commandments that I command you today, God, your God, will place you on high, high above all the nations of the world. All these blessings will come down on you and spread out beyond you because you have responded to the Voice of God, your God:
God's blessing inside the city,
God's blessing in the country;
God's blessing on your children,
he crops of your land, the young of your livestock, the calves of your herds, the lambs of your flocks.
God's blessing on your basket and bread bowl;
God's blessing in your coming in,
God's blessing in your going out.
7 God will defeat your enemies who attack you. They'll come at you on one road and run away on seven roads.
8 God will order a blessing on your barns and workplaces; he'll bless you in the land that God, your God, is giving you.
9 God will form you as a people holy to him, just as he promised you, if you keep the commandments of God, your God, and live the way he has shown you.
10 All the peoples on Earth will see you living under the Name of God and hold you in respectful awe.
11-14 God will lavish you with good things: children from your womb, offspring from your animals, and crops from your land, the land that God promised your ancestors that he would give you. God will throw open the doors of his sky vaults and pour rain on your land on schedule and bless the work you take in hand. You will lend to many nations but you yourself won't have to take out a loan. God will make you the head, not the tail...
The rewards and blessings of living faithfully in covenant with God are many. He pours out his abundance upon His people because of his own joy in giving. And when you start to list out those benefits, it soon becomes amazing and overwhelming.
God's Goodness to All Saints Anglican Church
So - with all that in mind, I'd like to begin pointing out four material things that are signal blessings to us as a congregation.
1) Christ Pantokrator Icon: Written for us by Elsie Hosie of St. George Greek Orthodox Church after attending one of our prayer meetings. To commission an original icon like this would be very costly. God laid it upon Elsie's heart to do it for us without charge!. It speaks to us of Jesus himself - God's own free gift to us - the best thing he ever gave us.
2)Yesterday, God sent us Bezalel and Oholiab in the form of Bill and Clara Clay, who worked most of the day at Hope House, installing an 'Aumbry', a little cabinet in the wall - a custom that dates back to medieval times, when the Lords of castles would put their weapons in a hidden place within a wall. Our Aumbry will contain our 'weapon' ( 2Cor. 10:4) the consecrated body and blood of Christ, the visible reminder of His Presence with us - and that there is 'power in the blood'!
3) Several weeks ago, I got a call from Christine Habrle, former weekend TV News anchor from Charleston, who is doing a Master's Degree in Digital Media. As an assignment for one of her classes, she had to analyze the media presence of a church and make recommendations. She wrote this 30 page paper about us and is now helping us to update our Digital media plan so that we can be more effective in communicating Good News electronically.
4) The Hope Quilt. ( get an assistant to help display the quilt) by Sr. Connie Mershon of the Company of Jesus and her friends, Mary and Charlie Snyder, from Charleston. It has the word HOPE built into the quilt pattern. It reminds us that: "Hope does not disappoint because of the Holy Spirit that has been poured out ...(Romans 5:1)
Non Material Good Things
Let me also list some good things that are coming our way this coming week for the Day of Hope on Saturday May 15:
First of all, the Venue: The Byrd Clinical Center is again allowing us to use their facility without charge - courtesy of a little skid-greasing from our own Richard Crespo!
And here is a list of people who are participating in, or planning to attend our event:
-Mary Lyons, the woman who spearheaded raising a $50,000 reward fund, and who has personally prevailed upon each of the families of the fallen teens to attend this service and to get behind Hope House.
-The Huntington High School Junior ROTC, under the direction of Major David Clark, who have faithfully volunteered their time for four years now.
-Mayor Kim Wolfe, who will deliver a proclamation about Day of Hope in Huntington - and who personally approved our Permit for Amplified Sound!
-Chief of Police Skip Holbrook, who will be at another event earlier that day, but will join us somewhat later in the service.
-Mr. Tim White of the Huntington Weed and Seed program, who sent out our announcement about Day of Hope on official letterhead - and who personally shows off Hope House to visiting out-of-towners when he wants to show them what Weed and Seed means in concrete community terms.
- Professional Violinist Hannah Burbery, and our own professional music teacher Cynthia Counts to accompany her.
-Hannah's husband, Dr. Tim Burbery of Marshall University's English Department, and Aimee Slash Chapman to read the names of the murdered.
-Mr. Chris Dehner, Music director from Jefferson Avenue Church of God to lead us in praise and singing.
-Reverend Reginald Hill, pastor of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, who will speak on the topic "Healing and Reconciliation".
-Rev. Mike Greider, Mission Tri-State and Rock of Grace Church, who will deliver the pastoral prayer.
-Audley Kilburn - Rock of Grace church - but also Christian-at-large and prayer warrior extraordinaire!
-The family of Steven L Ferguson, who will be on hand to witness this year's award to Mr. Thomas Kincaid, resident of Huntington since 1955 and 'Dean of the Street Mayors" ( tell story from Weed and Seed meeting): "I'm the mayor of this street, that's who!"
-Rev. Gary Brydie of the Glorious Church of God in Christ, and Mr. Leon 'Do-bug' White, both former Steven L Ferguson Memorial Award winners, who sit on the board of the Neighboring Initiative, and who will give this year's award to Mr. Thomas Kincaid.
-Special Thanks to Marcia Smith, through Clara Clay, who is providing a wonderful vacation time-share package to the winner of the Steven L Ferguson award.
-Bridge Ministries, INC. who will provide our sound system and tech support as well as perform an Offertory - and who, since January, have worked construction miracles at Hope House. (
Here are some other people who have or are blessing us:
-Curtis Johnson of the Huntington Herald Dispatch, who has always been very supportive and given us many stories over the years.
-Tom Roten and WVHU radio, who always gives us time each year, and who interviewed me on-air last Thursday morning.
-Mayor Jean Dean and her radio program, who is always supportive as well.
-Mr. Bill Smith, Cabell County Supt. of Schools, who affirmed to me on Friday that he plans to attend and who has forwarded information about our service to his publicist.
I am reminded of Psalm 68: 19, (KJV): Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation.
I love the image expressed here - that God is loading us down with benefits!
As I said earlier, the first and foremost benefit he gives us is Himself - and his own body and blood poured out for us. We will experience that benefit in just a little while at the Lord's Table.
The Rite I Communion prayer alludes to this loading of blessings: .." having in remembrance his blessed passion and precious death, his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension; rendering unto thee most hearty thanks for the innumerable benefits procured unto us by the same" ...
I don't have time to list them all out, and couldn't even if I had the time, but here are
Seven Benefits of our Faith:
1. Forgiveness of our sins. Were we have missed the mark, or 'stepped over the line', God has forgiven us. Closely related to this is the idea of Atonement - that Christ as atoned for our sins, allowing us to be 'at one' with the Father.
2. Salvation, God has saved us, has brought us into wholeness, and is brining wholeness to us through Christ.
3. Justification, we have been declared to be 'in the right' by the judge of our souls. The certificate of debt against us has been set aside and we are free from the burden of our Sin.
4. Sanctification, we have been 'set aside' and made Holy - and we are continually being transformed into the image of Christ.
5. Deliverance from the bondage of sin and from the false attempts of the Devil to keep us bound in sin, shame and failure.
6. Healing of our souls from the wounds we have sustained in the past, and also healing of our minds, our thinking, and even physical healing.
7. Empowerment for Ministry through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This is what Jesus was talking about in the Gospel lesson today - that he has given us the "Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you" and give us the gift of Peace.
All of these things are God's gracious gifts to us. The emphasis is on GRACE. We don't earn any of the benefits he give us. Our work for Him does not in any way add to our worthiness to receive his benefits. In fact it's just the opposite:
Romans 5: 8-11:
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Think about this! Even if you have never been very bad in your life, you and I are all rebels at heart. We get it from our first parents.
Despite that, God gave himself to us! It's amazing, incomprehensible! Paul goes on to explain:
(Romans 5:9) Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
The same God that saved us while we were enemies, has reconciled us to Himself through the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross.
Our enemy, the Devil, would like us to forget all the benefits the Lord has given us, to steal away our joy, and even to kill us if possible. He's an unfair enemy and He uses every trick in the book -
even ourselves - to fight against us!
Our charge as Christians is to 'resist him, firm in our faith' (1Pet.5:9). One of the ways we do that is by remembering all his benefits and affirming our belief in His Goodness towards us.
And we're going to do that right now. I'm going to have you stand with me and resist the Evil One by declaring aloud all the good things that God has done for us. I've given you long lists of things that God has done.
I'd like each of you to do the same. I'd like you to think about the benefits that Jesus has procured for us and upon our adoption into God's family, I'd like you to say in your own words something about the benefits that God is giving us personally and as a church. You praise the Lord and declare all his benefits.
Go ahead right now. ......
AMEN.
The Sermon began with listening to the first minute a four seconds of 'Somthin's Comin' from West Side Story,, ending with, 'it's going to be great!"
Have you ever felt like that - felt that something was coming just up ahead? You didn't know what, you just knew that it was coming - but you had to wait for it....?
Well, that what it must have been like for the Jewish people of Joel's day. In the 2cnd chapter of his book, vv. 24 and following, Joel conveys the following promise to his people:
24 “The threshing floors shall be full of grain;the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.25 I will restore to you the yearsthat the swarming locust has eaten,the hopper (Locust), the destroyer, and the cutter,my great army, which I sent among you. 26 “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,and praise the name of the Lord your God,who has dealt wondrously with you.And my people shall never again be put to shame.27 You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else.And my people shall never again be put to shame.
WOW! Something's Coming! Something big! Something Awesome! Something Good!
Restoration, Plenty of good stuff to eat - and the Lord's Presence with His people to boot! How Great! For once it's good to be Jewish!
The feeling must have been the same as what Tony was singing about in West Side Story: Something Good is coming!
Of course, we as Christians know that the Good Thing being predicted was really Jesus. He is the ultimate fulfillment of all God's Promises, just as it says in 2 Cor: 1:20: "For all the promises of God find their Yes in him..."!
Jesus was the one who would rebuke the devourer - namely the Devil and his minions: Sin and Death, ushering in the Kingdom of God and the Lordship of Christ. All the promises of God find their Yes in him!
But I think that we as Christians can also relate to the Jewish people in the sense that we have yet to see the ultimate fulfillment of God's Kingdom - the re-creation and renewal of all things.
This is what John was talking about in Revelation 21l 22 - 22:5:
22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.
The River of Life
22:1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.
We too as Christians have Something REALLY Good to look forward to!
Here again, the promise involves good stuff to eat - a Fruit of the Month Club, Some Kind of Awesome Aloe Vera leaves - and the very presence of God manifested so intensely that we won't need the sun or moon or stars any longer! - It's comin'!
But, you know, as wonderful as all that stuff is for the future, there's also the present reality that God wants to give us good stuff now as well. His plan is to bless us in our coming in and our going out.
Deuteronomy 28:
1-6 If you listen obediently to the Voice of God, your God, and heartily obey all his commandments that I command you today, God, your God, will place you on high, high above all the nations of the world. All these blessings will come down on you and spread out beyond you because you have responded to the Voice of God, your God:
God's blessing inside the city,
God's blessing in the country;
God's blessing on your children,
he crops of your land, the young of your livestock, the calves of your herds, the lambs of your flocks.
God's blessing on your basket and bread bowl;
God's blessing in your coming in,
God's blessing in your going out.
7 God will defeat your enemies who attack you. They'll come at you on one road and run away on seven roads.
8 God will order a blessing on your barns and workplaces; he'll bless you in the land that God, your God, is giving you.
9 God will form you as a people holy to him, just as he promised you, if you keep the commandments of God, your God, and live the way he has shown you.
10 All the peoples on Earth will see you living under the Name of God and hold you in respectful awe.
11-14 God will lavish you with good things: children from your womb, offspring from your animals, and crops from your land, the land that God promised your ancestors that he would give you. God will throw open the doors of his sky vaults and pour rain on your land on schedule and bless the work you take in hand. You will lend to many nations but you yourself won't have to take out a loan. God will make you the head, not the tail...
The rewards and blessings of living faithfully in covenant with God are many. He pours out his abundance upon His people because of his own joy in giving. And when you start to list out those benefits, it soon becomes amazing and overwhelming.
God's Goodness to All Saints Anglican Church
So - with all that in mind, I'd like to begin pointing out four material things that are signal blessings to us as a congregation.
1) Christ Pantokrator Icon: Written for us by Elsie Hosie of St. George Greek Orthodox Church after attending one of our prayer meetings. To commission an original icon like this would be very costly. God laid it upon Elsie's heart to do it for us without charge!. It speaks to us of Jesus himself - God's own free gift to us - the best thing he ever gave us.
2)Yesterday, God sent us Bezalel and Oholiab in the form of Bill and Clara Clay, who worked most of the day at Hope House, installing an 'Aumbry', a little cabinet in the wall - a custom that dates back to medieval times, when the Lords of castles would put their weapons in a hidden place within a wall. Our Aumbry will contain our 'weapon' ( 2Cor. 10:4) the consecrated body and blood of Christ, the visible reminder of His Presence with us - and that there is 'power in the blood'!
3) Several weeks ago, I got a call from Christine Habrle, former weekend TV News anchor from Charleston, who is doing a Master's Degree in Digital Media. As an assignment for one of her classes, she had to analyze the media presence of a church and make recommendations. She wrote this 30 page paper about us and is now helping us to update our Digital media plan so that we can be more effective in communicating Good News electronically.
4) The Hope Quilt. ( get an assistant to help display the quilt) by Sr. Connie Mershon of the Company of Jesus and her friends, Mary and Charlie Snyder, from Charleston. It has the word HOPE built into the quilt pattern. It reminds us that: "Hope does not disappoint because of the Holy Spirit that has been poured out ...(Romans 5:1)
Non Material Good Things
Let me also list some good things that are coming our way this coming week for the Day of Hope on Saturday May 15:
First of all, the Venue: The Byrd Clinical Center is again allowing us to use their facility without charge - courtesy of a little skid-greasing from our own Richard Crespo!
And here is a list of people who are participating in, or planning to attend our event:
-Mary Lyons, the woman who spearheaded raising a $50,000 reward fund, and who has personally prevailed upon each of the families of the fallen teens to attend this service and to get behind Hope House.
-The Huntington High School Junior ROTC, under the direction of Major David Clark, who have faithfully volunteered their time for four years now.
-Mayor Kim Wolfe, who will deliver a proclamation about Day of Hope in Huntington - and who personally approved our Permit for Amplified Sound!
-Chief of Police Skip Holbrook, who will be at another event earlier that day, but will join us somewhat later in the service.
-Mr. Tim White of the Huntington Weed and Seed program, who sent out our announcement about Day of Hope on official letterhead - and who personally shows off Hope House to visiting out-of-towners when he wants to show them what Weed and Seed means in concrete community terms.
- Professional Violinist Hannah Burbery, and our own professional music teacher Cynthia Counts to accompany her.
-Hannah's husband, Dr. Tim Burbery of Marshall University's English Department, and Aimee Slash Chapman to read the names of the murdered.
-Mr. Chris Dehner, Music director from Jefferson Avenue Church of God to lead us in praise and singing.
-Reverend Reginald Hill, pastor of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, who will speak on the topic "Healing and Reconciliation".
-Rev. Mike Greider, Mission Tri-State and Rock of Grace Church, who will deliver the pastoral prayer.
-Audley Kilburn - Rock of Grace church - but also Christian-at-large and prayer warrior extraordinaire!
-The family of Steven L Ferguson, who will be on hand to witness this year's award to Mr. Thomas Kincaid, resident of Huntington since 1955 and 'Dean of the Street Mayors" ( tell story from Weed and Seed meeting): "I'm the mayor of this street, that's who!"
-Rev. Gary Brydie of the Glorious Church of God in Christ, and Mr. Leon 'Do-bug' White, both former Steven L Ferguson Memorial Award winners, who sit on the board of the Neighboring Initiative, and who will give this year's award to Mr. Thomas Kincaid.
-Special Thanks to Marcia Smith, through Clara Clay, who is providing a wonderful vacation time-share package to the winner of the Steven L Ferguson award.
-Bridge Ministries, INC. who will provide our sound system and tech support as well as perform an Offertory - and who, since January, have worked construction miracles at Hope House. (
Here are some other people who have or are blessing us:
-Curtis Johnson of the Huntington Herald Dispatch, who has always been very supportive and given us many stories over the years.
-Tom Roten and WVHU radio, who always gives us time each year, and who interviewed me on-air last Thursday morning.
-Mayor Jean Dean and her radio program, who is always supportive as well.
-Mr. Bill Smith, Cabell County Supt. of Schools, who affirmed to me on Friday that he plans to attend and who has forwarded information about our service to his publicist.
I am reminded of Psalm 68: 19, (KJV): Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation.
I love the image expressed here - that God is loading us down with benefits!
As I said earlier, the first and foremost benefit he gives us is Himself - and his own body and blood poured out for us. We will experience that benefit in just a little while at the Lord's Table.
The Rite I Communion prayer alludes to this loading of blessings: .." having in remembrance his blessed passion and precious death, his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension; rendering unto thee most hearty thanks for the innumerable benefits procured unto us by the same" ...
I don't have time to list them all out, and couldn't even if I had the time, but here are
Seven Benefits of our Faith:
1. Forgiveness of our sins. Were we have missed the mark, or 'stepped over the line', God has forgiven us. Closely related to this is the idea of Atonement - that Christ as atoned for our sins, allowing us to be 'at one' with the Father.
2. Salvation, God has saved us, has brought us into wholeness, and is brining wholeness to us through Christ.
3. Justification, we have been declared to be 'in the right' by the judge of our souls. The certificate of debt against us has been set aside and we are free from the burden of our Sin.
4. Sanctification, we have been 'set aside' and made Holy - and we are continually being transformed into the image of Christ.
5. Deliverance from the bondage of sin and from the false attempts of the Devil to keep us bound in sin, shame and failure.
6. Healing of our souls from the wounds we have sustained in the past, and also healing of our minds, our thinking, and even physical healing.
7. Empowerment for Ministry through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This is what Jesus was talking about in the Gospel lesson today - that he has given us the "Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you" and give us the gift of Peace.
All of these things are God's gracious gifts to us. The emphasis is on GRACE. We don't earn any of the benefits he give us. Our work for Him does not in any way add to our worthiness to receive his benefits. In fact it's just the opposite:
Romans 5: 8-11:
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Think about this! Even if you have never been very bad in your life, you and I are all rebels at heart. We get it from our first parents.
Despite that, God gave himself to us! It's amazing, incomprehensible! Paul goes on to explain:
(Romans 5:9) Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
The same God that saved us while we were enemies, has reconciled us to Himself through the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross.
Our enemy, the Devil, would like us to forget all the benefits the Lord has given us, to steal away our joy, and even to kill us if possible. He's an unfair enemy and He uses every trick in the book -
even ourselves - to fight against us!
Our charge as Christians is to 'resist him, firm in our faith' (1Pet.5:9). One of the ways we do that is by remembering all his benefits and affirming our belief in His Goodness towards us.
And we're going to do that right now. I'm going to have you stand with me and resist the Evil One by declaring aloud all the good things that God has done for us. I've given you long lists of things that God has done.
I'd like each of you to do the same. I'd like you to think about the benefits that Jesus has procured for us and upon our adoption into God's family, I'd like you to say in your own words something about the benefits that God is giving us personally and as a church. You praise the Lord and declare all his benefits.
Go ahead right now. ......
AMEN.
Ordination
A Sermon delivered to All Saints Anglican Church on April 25, 2010 at St. Mary's Medical Center Convent Chapel based on Numbers 27:12-23
Opening Collect (BCP)
O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people: Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Joshua to Succeed Moses
12 The Lord said to Moses, “Go up into this mountain of Abarim and see the land that I have given to the people of Israel. 13 When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, 14 because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin when the congregation quarreled, failing to uphold me as holy at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.) 15 Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, 16 “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation 17 who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.”
18 So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him. 19 Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall commission him in their sight. 20 You shall invest him with some of your authority, that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey. 21 And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the Lord. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the people of Israel with him, the whole congregation.” 22 And Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and made him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, 23 and he laid his hands on him and commissioned him as the Lord directed through Moses. (ESV)
In today's reading from Numbers we see the beginning of what we now call Ordination. "Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and made him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, and he laid his hands on him and commissioned him as the Lord directed through Moses (vv.22,23).
Let's look at the text in our bulletin and ask some questions.
Why did Moses do that? ..."that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.” v. 17
Why would they be without a shepherd? Because Moses was about to die.
Why was Moses about to die? v. 14: Because he 'rebelled against [God's] word in the wilderness of Zin when the congregation quarreled, failing to uphold [Him] as holy at the waters before their eyes.”
How did Moses do that?
By striking the rock to bring water out for the people instead of speaking to it. Numbers 20:8:
“Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.”
VERSUS:
11 And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock.[He had struck the rock previously but this time he was supposed to speak to it. It's a wonder that striking the rock worked. Why didn't it just not work?]
Whose idea was it to pick a successor?
Moses V. 15: Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, 16“Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation...
Who actually picked the successor?: God: v. 18: So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun...
Why was Joshua chosen?
Because he was "a man in whom is the Spirit" v. 18
How was the ordination service to take place? V. Moses was told to "lay your hand on him. 19 Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall commission him in their sight. 20You shall invest him with some of your authority,
Why was this done publicly and before the priest? v.20" that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey."
What would Joshua do? 17 [he] shall go out before them [the congregation] and come in before them, [he] shall lead them out and bring them in..." that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.”
What was Joshua's basic job? To be a shepherd.
The Importance of Shepherding
Joshua's basic job was to be a shepherd - and so it is with all ordained people. Let's look at some words together:
Pastor = Shepherd in Latin.
Greek Synonym: Poimeen = 'Pastor' Eph. 4:11, 1Pet.2:25; 5:1-4, Acts 20:28.
But several other Greek are used in the Scriptures, and these terms are interchangeable:
Episkopos, 'overseer, or bishop': Titus 1:7, Phil. 1:1, Acts 20:28
Presbuterous - presbyter, or 'elder" I Pet. 5:1, Tit. 1:5, Acts 20:17, 1 Tim, 4:14.
And there is the verb "Poisteemi", which means 'to rule" I th. 5:12, 1 Tim 5:17.
We can quickly see that the terms that relate to ordained ministry describe things that Joshua was to do - to lead the people in and out, to exercise authority, and to protect and guide the people.
But something that strikes me about Joshua is that he is a type of Christ. His job description reminds me of Isaiah 40:11: ( I can here the music from the Messiah in my ear)
11 He shall lead his flock like a shepherd...he will gather the lambs in his arms;he will carry them in his bosom,and gently lead those that are with young.
This sounds like John 10:
The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. ... I am the door of the sheep. ... If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture... 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep...
So although terms like Overseer, Bishop and Ruler are used to describe the ordained, the term Shepherd or Pastor really trumps the others because the overall sense is leading, guiding and protecting, as opposed to Lording it over or exercising power over others.
Unfortunately many of us have experienced Bishops who are less than pastoral. The poet Dante relegated bishops to the lowest level of his Inferno!
I think he did so because the Bishop is supposed to be a pastor first and foremost. However, if a pastor misuses his authority, he betrays the trust placed in him, and he becomes an instrument of the Enemy - and at least according to Dante, subject to damnation.
And here, let me just insert a plug for our leaders in the Anglican Mission. Both Doc Loomis, our Bishop, and Peter Matthews, our network leader are true pastors. Mark and I have interacted with them enough to know their heart attitudes - that they truly care for those entrusted to them. While they're not flawless, being flawless is not part of the job description. If it were, there would be no pastors or network leaders or Bishops. At any rate, we are truly blessed to have leaders who really care about us.
Now back to Moses and Joshua:
So... Moses ordained Joshua. If you've been following closely, however, you'll notice that Joshua was not ordained to priestly ministry, but to governmental, civic, and military leadership. Priests were chosen from among the Levites- they inherited their position through birth. But Joshua - and Moses were called out specially by God for their particular tasks.
The Notion of Calling.
Time doesn't permit us to go into a complete study of God's calling. But just think back to Moses and the burning bush. God spoke to Moses through the bush and called him to go down to Egypt and deliver his people. (Exodus 3).
Moses was given cool superpowers, a staff of office (a crozier if you will) and even an assistant, his brother Aaron, to validate his calling and authority.
The initial call happened in private, but there were signs to go with the calling, which signified that Moses was truly God's representative.
And this is essentially what Moses did for Joshua by calling him out publicly, having him stand before the priest, and laying hands on Joshua. His ministry was being confirmed before the people.
The Three Orders of Ordained Ministry
In our episcopal style of church governance there are the three orders:
Deacon, from Diakonos, meaning servant or minister.
Priest, from Presbuteros, meaning elder or presiding officer.
Bishop, from Episkopos, meaning overseer.
While they all have their own particular spheres of activity, yet the overall purpose for these orders is to shepherd the people. Without this 'care of souls' aspect, the orders are reduced to simple power-mongering over others.
Serving as a Deacon, Priest or Bishop is a sacred trust, one that can be thought of as sacramental. In the Anglican tradition, Ordination is not a Sacrament per se, but a 'sacramental rite'.
On the Nature of Ordination:
William Wake was the Archbishop of Canterbury between 1657 and 1737.
Here is what he said about the the nature of ordination:
The imposition of hands in Holy Orders, being accompanied with a blessing of the Holy Spirit, may perhaps upon that account be called a kind of particular Sacrament. Yet since that grace which is thereby conferred, whatever it be, is not common to all Christians, nor by consequence any part of that federal blessing which Our Blessed Saviour has purchased for us, but only a separation of him who receives it to a special employ, we think it ought not to be esteemed a common Sacrament of the whole Church, as Baptism and the Lords' Supper are. (William Wake, An Exposition of the Doctrine of the Church of England, Article XV, pp. 45ff.).
In other words, Ordination is sacramental, but it is not for all Christians and therefore is not on the same level as Baptism and Communion. So there's the basic outline of the meaning and purpose of ordination. If there had been news reporters around in the days of Joshua's ordination, they would have undoubtedly crowded around him and asked, "Joshua, how do you feel?"
While it's impossible for us to really know that, I do think it's possible to guess how Joshua might have felt. As someone who has been through this process personally, I can tell you that there is probably no experience that is as disconcerting, humbling or exciting as discerning a call to ministry and then being tested and finally ordained.
For many people, the call to ministry is deeply embedded in who they are as a person. Like the prophet, Samuel, they hear the call to ministry early in life and this calling becomes an essential life-long identity. Usually in this case, public acknowledgment through ordination is universally recognized by others and accepted as a 'fait acompli'. For someone like this, it's almost a relief to be ordained.
In other cases, the calling to ministry comes right in the midst of doing something else. Gideon was busy threshing wheat when God called him to deliver Israel from the Philistines. And remember that Moses was occupied with tending sheep on the backside of the desert when God called him.
Fr. Mark and I are species of the latter type. We were minding our own business as professional counselors when the Lord began to place within us a conviction that we were supposed to do something else.
For me, Fr. George Landry from Sparta, Tennessee was God's vehicle of calling. On January 1, 2001, Cindy and I were visiting with friends in St. Albans - folks we had come to know through the 8th Day Life Center ministry. Fr. George was also a guest and during our conversation about the 8th Day work, Fr. George pointed out that I really needed to have the sacramental aspect available in my ministry and that I should consider 'reading for holy orders.'
At that moment, what appealed to me about ordination was celebrating the Eucharist and pronouncing absolution during confessions. Church planting, preaching and administration were definitely not on my radar screen in 2001. But in 2006, as you well know, something happened. We were suddenly thrust together into formation of All Saints Anglican Church. And not only do I get the joy of celebrating the Eucharist, but all the joys and challenges of church leadership as well.
To paraphrase Winston Churchill, "Never have I been so wrong, so often, about so many things, in the sight of so many, since I became a minister."
Part of this I accept as going along with the turf, and part of it terrifies me.
Moses was not allowed to see the promised land because of one impulsive thing he did - striking the rock instead of speaking to it. Nothing is easier than to fail as a minister. Nothing is harder than to constantly face up to your weaknesses and to fix your mistakes.
On the other hand, nothing is cooler than to participate in what God is doing in the life of a congregation and a community. Do you think Joshua didn't have a Miller Time moment after the Battle of Jericho - oh yeah! And after he succeeded in bringing Israel into the land and settling them successfully, do you think he looked back with satisfaction on his life's work? I'm sure he did. Ordained ministry carries with it deep resposibility pain and even suffering, but deep, deep reward as well. And that's why it's so important to actually be ordained publicly.
Here are five things that happen during ordination according theologian Martin Chemnitz:
1) Public Testimony: ...the rite of ordination is nothing else than the kind of public testimony by which the call of that person who is ordained is declared before God and in His name to be regular, pious, legitimate, and divine.
2) Commitment of Ministry: By that rite, as by a public designation of declaration, the ministry is committed in the name of God and of the church to him who has been called.
3) Solemn Vow: By this very thing also, as by a solemn vow, he who has been called becomes obligated to the church in the sight of God to render the faithfulness in the ministry that the Lord requires in His stewards, regarding which He will also judge them. (I Cor. 4:2)
4) Authorization to Teach: The church is reminded that it is to recognize that this pastor has divine authority to teach, and to hear him in the name and place of God.
5) Church's Intercession: ...and this is the most important: That rite is to be observed for this reason, that the whole church might, by common and earnest prayers, commit to God the ministry of him who is called, that He, by his Holy Spirit, divine grace, and blessing, might be with his ministry. ( Chemnitz, MWS, Sec. 29, p. 136.)
This is, in essence, why Joshua had to be ordained before all the people. Again, even though his was not to be a priestly ministry, he needed all these five elements so that he could be effective. And you'll notice, if you study his life, that Joshua was one of the few leaders in the Bible who had no blot or stain on his ministry record. From first to last he was completely faithful. This I think points again to his role as a type of Christ, but I also find it encouraging to think that one can indeed faithfully discharge their duty as a minister over the course of a lifelong work. Billy Graham would be an example of long-term faithfulness in our own day.
Now, just a word about Women's Ordination. This comes out of the policy and resource notebook from the Anglican Mission and can also be found on the website. Here it is verbatim:
Summary of AM position on Women's Ordination:
"Based on a careful study undertaken by the Rt. Rev. Dr. John Rodgers, the Anglican Mission in America determined that the most faithful response to the witness of Scripture and its teaching on headship would dictate that women be ordained only to the diaconate. While recognizing that the Church is presently seeking further clarity in this matter, the important concept of "headship" proved to be the most critical issue for us as we developed our policy on the issue of women's ordination.
In 2007, the Anglican Mission expanded its structure at the request of Archbishop Kolini by creating the Anglican Mission in the Americas, an umbrella organization made up of three entities: The Anglican Mission in America (AMiA), the Anglican Coalition in Canada (ACiC) and the Anglican Coalition in America (ACiA). The Anglican Misson's umbrella organization embraces two countries (the US and Canada) as well as two positions on the ordination of women. The ACiC and the ACIA ordain women to the priesthood, as does the Province of Rwanda, while the AMiA maintains its policy of ordaining women only to the diaconate." ( AM website)
Again, all this relates back to the basic job of the ordained person: to shepherd the flock of God.
When the apostle Paul was traveling to Jerusalem for the last time, he stopped in Ephesus to say goodbye to the church (Acts 20:17-36). He describes is part his ministry among them:
"“You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; 20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, 21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. ... 27 for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God." ...and then he admonishes them for the last time:
28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood..."
It is my fervent hope that I and Mark and all who are called to ordained ministry within our church may live up to this high calling in Christ.
I'd like to end with an ordination prayer by an early church father, Clementina: (Clementina, Homilies, Hom. III. Ch. LXXII, ANF VII, p. 251).
O Thou Ruler and Lord of all, Father and God, do thou guard the shepherd with the flock. Thou art the Cause, Thou the Power. We are that which is helped; Thou the helper, the physician, the savior, the wall, the life, the hope , the refuge, the joy, the expectation, the rest, in a word, thou art all things to us. In order that we may attain eternal salvation, do thou co-operate, preserve, protect. Thou canst do all things. For thou art the Ruler of rulers, the Lord of lords, the Governor of kings. Do thou give power to the president to loose what ought to be loosed, to bind what ought to be bound. Do Thou make him wise. Do Thou, as by his name, protect the Church of Thy Christ as a fair bride. For thine is eternal glory. Praise to the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost to all ages. Amen.
Opening Collect (BCP)
O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people: Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Joshua to Succeed Moses
12 The Lord said to Moses, “Go up into this mountain of Abarim and see the land that I have given to the people of Israel. 13 When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, 14 because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin when the congregation quarreled, failing to uphold me as holy at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.) 15 Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, 16 “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation 17 who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.”
18 So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him. 19 Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall commission him in their sight. 20 You shall invest him with some of your authority, that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey. 21 And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the Lord. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the people of Israel with him, the whole congregation.” 22 And Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and made him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, 23 and he laid his hands on him and commissioned him as the Lord directed through Moses. (ESV)
In today's reading from Numbers we see the beginning of what we now call Ordination. "Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and made him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, and he laid his hands on him and commissioned him as the Lord directed through Moses (vv.22,23).
Let's look at the text in our bulletin and ask some questions.
Why did Moses do that? ..."that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.” v. 17
Why would they be without a shepherd? Because Moses was about to die.
Why was Moses about to die? v. 14: Because he 'rebelled against [God's] word in the wilderness of Zin when the congregation quarreled, failing to uphold [Him] as holy at the waters before their eyes.”
How did Moses do that?
By striking the rock to bring water out for the people instead of speaking to it. Numbers 20:8:
“Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.”
VERSUS:
11 And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock.[He had struck the rock previously but this time he was supposed to speak to it. It's a wonder that striking the rock worked. Why didn't it just not work?]
Whose idea was it to pick a successor?
Moses V. 15: Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, 16“Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation...
Who actually picked the successor?: God: v. 18: So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun...
Why was Joshua chosen?
Because he was "a man in whom is the Spirit" v. 18
How was the ordination service to take place? V. Moses was told to "lay your hand on him. 19 Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall commission him in their sight. 20You shall invest him with some of your authority,
Why was this done publicly and before the priest? v.20" that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey."
What would Joshua do? 17 [he] shall go out before them [the congregation] and come in before them, [he] shall lead them out and bring them in..." that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.”
What was Joshua's basic job? To be a shepherd.
The Importance of Shepherding
Joshua's basic job was to be a shepherd - and so it is with all ordained people. Let's look at some words together:
Pastor = Shepherd in Latin.
Greek Synonym: Poimeen = 'Pastor' Eph. 4:11, 1Pet.2:25; 5:1-4, Acts 20:28.
But several other Greek are used in the Scriptures, and these terms are interchangeable:
Episkopos, 'overseer, or bishop': Titus 1:7, Phil. 1:1, Acts 20:28
Presbuterous - presbyter, or 'elder" I Pet. 5:1, Tit. 1:5, Acts 20:17, 1 Tim, 4:14.
And there is the verb "Poisteemi", which means 'to rule" I th. 5:12, 1 Tim 5:17.
We can quickly see that the terms that relate to ordained ministry describe things that Joshua was to do - to lead the people in and out, to exercise authority, and to protect and guide the people.
But something that strikes me about Joshua is that he is a type of Christ. His job description reminds me of Isaiah 40:11: ( I can here the music from the Messiah in my ear)
11 He shall lead his flock like a shepherd...he will gather the lambs in his arms;he will carry them in his bosom,and gently lead those that are with young.
This sounds like John 10:
The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. ... I am the door of the sheep. ... If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture... 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep...
So although terms like Overseer, Bishop and Ruler are used to describe the ordained, the term Shepherd or Pastor really trumps the others because the overall sense is leading, guiding and protecting, as opposed to Lording it over or exercising power over others.
Unfortunately many of us have experienced Bishops who are less than pastoral. The poet Dante relegated bishops to the lowest level of his Inferno!
I think he did so because the Bishop is supposed to be a pastor first and foremost. However, if a pastor misuses his authority, he betrays the trust placed in him, and he becomes an instrument of the Enemy - and at least according to Dante, subject to damnation.
And here, let me just insert a plug for our leaders in the Anglican Mission. Both Doc Loomis, our Bishop, and Peter Matthews, our network leader are true pastors. Mark and I have interacted with them enough to know their heart attitudes - that they truly care for those entrusted to them. While they're not flawless, being flawless is not part of the job description. If it were, there would be no pastors or network leaders or Bishops. At any rate, we are truly blessed to have leaders who really care about us.
Now back to Moses and Joshua:
So... Moses ordained Joshua. If you've been following closely, however, you'll notice that Joshua was not ordained to priestly ministry, but to governmental, civic, and military leadership. Priests were chosen from among the Levites- they inherited their position through birth. But Joshua - and Moses were called out specially by God for their particular tasks.
The Notion of Calling.
Time doesn't permit us to go into a complete study of God's calling. But just think back to Moses and the burning bush. God spoke to Moses through the bush and called him to go down to Egypt and deliver his people. (Exodus 3).
Moses was given cool superpowers, a staff of office (a crozier if you will) and even an assistant, his brother Aaron, to validate his calling and authority.
The initial call happened in private, but there were signs to go with the calling, which signified that Moses was truly God's representative.
And this is essentially what Moses did for Joshua by calling him out publicly, having him stand before the priest, and laying hands on Joshua. His ministry was being confirmed before the people.
The Three Orders of Ordained Ministry
In our episcopal style of church governance there are the three orders:
Deacon, from Diakonos, meaning servant or minister.
Priest, from Presbuteros, meaning elder or presiding officer.
Bishop, from Episkopos, meaning overseer.
While they all have their own particular spheres of activity, yet the overall purpose for these orders is to shepherd the people. Without this 'care of souls' aspect, the orders are reduced to simple power-mongering over others.
Serving as a Deacon, Priest or Bishop is a sacred trust, one that can be thought of as sacramental. In the Anglican tradition, Ordination is not a Sacrament per se, but a 'sacramental rite'.
On the Nature of Ordination:
William Wake was the Archbishop of Canterbury between 1657 and 1737.
Here is what he said about the the nature of ordination:
The imposition of hands in Holy Orders, being accompanied with a blessing of the Holy Spirit, may perhaps upon that account be called a kind of particular Sacrament. Yet since that grace which is thereby conferred, whatever it be, is not common to all Christians, nor by consequence any part of that federal blessing which Our Blessed Saviour has purchased for us, but only a separation of him who receives it to a special employ, we think it ought not to be esteemed a common Sacrament of the whole Church, as Baptism and the Lords' Supper are. (William Wake, An Exposition of the Doctrine of the Church of England, Article XV, pp. 45ff.).
In other words, Ordination is sacramental, but it is not for all Christians and therefore is not on the same level as Baptism and Communion. So there's the basic outline of the meaning and purpose of ordination. If there had been news reporters around in the days of Joshua's ordination, they would have undoubtedly crowded around him and asked, "Joshua, how do you feel?"
While it's impossible for us to really know that, I do think it's possible to guess how Joshua might have felt. As someone who has been through this process personally, I can tell you that there is probably no experience that is as disconcerting, humbling or exciting as discerning a call to ministry and then being tested and finally ordained.
For many people, the call to ministry is deeply embedded in who they are as a person. Like the prophet, Samuel, they hear the call to ministry early in life and this calling becomes an essential life-long identity. Usually in this case, public acknowledgment through ordination is universally recognized by others and accepted as a 'fait acompli'. For someone like this, it's almost a relief to be ordained.
In other cases, the calling to ministry comes right in the midst of doing something else. Gideon was busy threshing wheat when God called him to deliver Israel from the Philistines. And remember that Moses was occupied with tending sheep on the backside of the desert when God called him.
Fr. Mark and I are species of the latter type. We were minding our own business as professional counselors when the Lord began to place within us a conviction that we were supposed to do something else.
For me, Fr. George Landry from Sparta, Tennessee was God's vehicle of calling. On January 1, 2001, Cindy and I were visiting with friends in St. Albans - folks we had come to know through the 8th Day Life Center ministry. Fr. George was also a guest and during our conversation about the 8th Day work, Fr. George pointed out that I really needed to have the sacramental aspect available in my ministry and that I should consider 'reading for holy orders.'
At that moment, what appealed to me about ordination was celebrating the Eucharist and pronouncing absolution during confessions. Church planting, preaching and administration were definitely not on my radar screen in 2001. But in 2006, as you well know, something happened. We were suddenly thrust together into formation of All Saints Anglican Church. And not only do I get the joy of celebrating the Eucharist, but all the joys and challenges of church leadership as well.
To paraphrase Winston Churchill, "Never have I been so wrong, so often, about so many things, in the sight of so many, since I became a minister."
Part of this I accept as going along with the turf, and part of it terrifies me.
Moses was not allowed to see the promised land because of one impulsive thing he did - striking the rock instead of speaking to it. Nothing is easier than to fail as a minister. Nothing is harder than to constantly face up to your weaknesses and to fix your mistakes.
On the other hand, nothing is cooler than to participate in what God is doing in the life of a congregation and a community. Do you think Joshua didn't have a Miller Time moment after the Battle of Jericho - oh yeah! And after he succeeded in bringing Israel into the land and settling them successfully, do you think he looked back with satisfaction on his life's work? I'm sure he did. Ordained ministry carries with it deep resposibility pain and even suffering, but deep, deep reward as well. And that's why it's so important to actually be ordained publicly.
Here are five things that happen during ordination according theologian Martin Chemnitz:
1) Public Testimony: ...the rite of ordination is nothing else than the kind of public testimony by which the call of that person who is ordained is declared before God and in His name to be regular, pious, legitimate, and divine.
2) Commitment of Ministry: By that rite, as by a public designation of declaration, the ministry is committed in the name of God and of the church to him who has been called.
3) Solemn Vow: By this very thing also, as by a solemn vow, he who has been called becomes obligated to the church in the sight of God to render the faithfulness in the ministry that the Lord requires in His stewards, regarding which He will also judge them. (I Cor. 4:2)
4) Authorization to Teach: The church is reminded that it is to recognize that this pastor has divine authority to teach, and to hear him in the name and place of God.
5) Church's Intercession: ...and this is the most important: That rite is to be observed for this reason, that the whole church might, by common and earnest prayers, commit to God the ministry of him who is called, that He, by his Holy Spirit, divine grace, and blessing, might be with his ministry. ( Chemnitz, MWS, Sec. 29, p. 136.)
This is, in essence, why Joshua had to be ordained before all the people. Again, even though his was not to be a priestly ministry, he needed all these five elements so that he could be effective. And you'll notice, if you study his life, that Joshua was one of the few leaders in the Bible who had no blot or stain on his ministry record. From first to last he was completely faithful. This I think points again to his role as a type of Christ, but I also find it encouraging to think that one can indeed faithfully discharge their duty as a minister over the course of a lifelong work. Billy Graham would be an example of long-term faithfulness in our own day.
Now, just a word about Women's Ordination. This comes out of the policy and resource notebook from the Anglican Mission and can also be found on the website. Here it is verbatim:
Summary of AM position on Women's Ordination:
"Based on a careful study undertaken by the Rt. Rev. Dr. John Rodgers, the Anglican Mission in America determined that the most faithful response to the witness of Scripture and its teaching on headship would dictate that women be ordained only to the diaconate. While recognizing that the Church is presently seeking further clarity in this matter, the important concept of "headship" proved to be the most critical issue for us as we developed our policy on the issue of women's ordination.
In 2007, the Anglican Mission expanded its structure at the request of Archbishop Kolini by creating the Anglican Mission in the Americas, an umbrella organization made up of three entities: The Anglican Mission in America (AMiA), the Anglican Coalition in Canada (ACiC) and the Anglican Coalition in America (ACiA). The Anglican Misson's umbrella organization embraces two countries (the US and Canada) as well as two positions on the ordination of women. The ACiC and the ACIA ordain women to the priesthood, as does the Province of Rwanda, while the AMiA maintains its policy of ordaining women only to the diaconate." ( AM website)
Again, all this relates back to the basic job of the ordained person: to shepherd the flock of God.
When the apostle Paul was traveling to Jerusalem for the last time, he stopped in Ephesus to say goodbye to the church (Acts 20:17-36). He describes is part his ministry among them:
"“You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; 20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, 21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. ... 27 for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God." ...and then he admonishes them for the last time:
28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood..."
It is my fervent hope that I and Mark and all who are called to ordained ministry within our church may live up to this high calling in Christ.
I'd like to end with an ordination prayer by an early church father, Clementina: (Clementina, Homilies, Hom. III. Ch. LXXII, ANF VII, p. 251).
O Thou Ruler and Lord of all, Father and God, do thou guard the shepherd with the flock. Thou art the Cause, Thou the Power. We are that which is helped; Thou the helper, the physician, the savior, the wall, the life, the hope , the refuge, the joy, the expectation, the rest, in a word, thou art all things to us. In order that we may attain eternal salvation, do thou co-operate, preserve, protect. Thou canst do all things. For thou art the Ruler of rulers, the Lord of lords, the Governor of kings. Do thou give power to the president to loose what ought to be loosed, to bind what ought to be bound. Do Thou make him wise. Do Thou, as by his name, protect the Church of Thy Christ as a fair bride. For thine is eternal glory. Praise to the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost to all ages. Amen.
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