More than I ask or imagine. . .

Entering into the Darkness of Love: A Maundy Thursday Reflection

The term Maundy Thursday comes from the Latin for "New Commandment" Mandataum Novum.  It comes from Jesus on that night before he was betrayed and arrested John 13:34 34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." 

Jesus will demonstrate the full extent of his love in washing the disciple's feet and eating with them.  But his love does not end there. Through this night, Jesus will go through that lonely valley as he anticipates his calling to the Cross beginning with the arrest, the stripping, the flogging, the trials, and the shame.  It is this dark time that Jesus enters into, and that we must enter into as well.

Jesus enters into this new commandment, and this is only a preview of what he is doing by enduring the Cross. The call of Maundy Thursday is not just to cognitively remember but to re-enter the drama of that night.  If you have ever really loved someone, you hate to see them go through pain.  What is even more painful is when they are walking on a path that will eventual pain.  Love in this sense is what Paul alludes to in 1 Corinthians "Love suffers long" (King James). Love must experience this darkness.

We must understand the call of love is always a path to service and suffering.  We must examine our loves. Do we love those God has placed in our life with such a long suffering? Do we understand what we label as love is just infatuation to be terminated when we do not "feel" the same way again?  Have we refused the call of love? Would we rather 'fix' people than walk with them, weep with them, and even be hurt by them?

Behind all of these questions is the example of the Great Shepherd who has gone before us who endured the Cross fully entering into the darkness of love.   The effect of entering into this darkness means that light has dawned.  It is no longer darkness because the light of love has illuminated everything. Our Shepherd is good and calls to us, saying, "Follow Me".

Follow Him, this Maundy Thursday.

Calvin's Institutes: the Prefatory Week One

Calvin is there reason I am Presbyterian.  I remember reading him in college and thinking that this man was not the cold Scholastic I thought he would be. In fact, reading John Calvin was like drinking Choclate Milk, smooth and sweet showing me beautiful vistas of God's goodness. 

I will be reading a chapter or so a week and finish whenever I finish.  I am not in a rush, I want to understand in a new way what this work is about and how Calvin does theology.  I read the Institutes before seminary 10-12 years ago, now I hope to see new things as a pastor and father. 

What is embarrassing is that I never have read the Prefatory before!  But what a great historical work that is.  Calvin writes this to the King of France as an exile pleading with the King that he and this movement are innocent of the charges being brought against them.   

He addresses briefly the charge of schism and the authority of the Pope.  I find this especially important in our modern world. Unity is prized in many circles, but the fact remains that people are divided in their own churches.   So what then should the unity be based on?  The Word being purely preached and the sacraments rightly practiced.  There is the unity. Of course the follow up questions can be legion: What is the Gospel?  How Pure? what is rightly?  Are they sacraments or ordinances?  However, I get the feeling that all of the Institutes are all about answering all these questions.

So my reading will be guided by that statement of Word and Sacrament and how that guides the Institutes.

How Can I Change the World? It begins in the Sanctuary of the Lord.

I have always been a big fan of the idea that you live how your worship.  I firmly believe that worship services train us as God's people to live for him.  Below is an article by Mark Horne on How to Change the World?  Hope you enjoy it.

10 things a church can do to change the world

by Mark Horne

The principle to keep in mind is that we have to change ourselves first.

1. Participate in the Lord’s Supper Every Sunday in Worship
The Kingdom is again and again a feast. The Church is the beachhead of the Kingdom. Does Jesus ever tell a parable comparing the Kingdom to a lecture hall? Does he ever compare the Kingdom to a music concert? Then lets not stop up the Kingdom at the source. Lets get it right. Lets eat and drink.

2. Drink Wine in Church
Duh. How else would you worship a glutton and a drunkard? The Gospel is New Wine that bursts wineskins–not grape juice that sits there inert. You want to know if God can forgive a sinner like you. Get it in a cup and drink it down and you will know. That changes everything.

3. Sing the Psalms
By sing, I mean chant. Don’t remake the Psalms to fit a rhyme scheme. Sing the words that are there according to an accurate translation. What would happen if we did this? For one thing a ton of bad theology would be exorcised.

Arise, O Yahweh
O God, lift up your hand;
forget not the afflicted.
Why does the wicked renounce God
and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?
But you do see,
for you note mischief and vexation,
that you may take it into your hands;
to you the helpless commits himself;
you have been the helper of the fatherless.
Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;
call his wickedness to account till you find none.
Yahweh is king forever and ever; the nations perish from his land.

4. Pray the Psalms
Arguably this is redundant with the point above. But I want to stress that God wants us to pray things like:

judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness
and according to the integrity that is in me.
Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
and may you establish the righteous—
you who test the minds and hearts,
O righteous God!

There are people and whole churches who claim to be Bible-believing who think this is sinful to pray. You can’t change the world for God if you think He is really a Pharisee unless he has the help of your styleguide by which to edit his prayers.

5. Tell people in church that God has forgiven them.

Don’t preach that God forgives some people somewhere some time. Tell the professing Christians in front of you, and their children, when they confess their sins together, that God has wiped each one of their slates clean. The good news that is going to change the world is not that God forgives someone somewhere at some time.

(Yes, God forgives them at other times, including when they pray apart. But these things are not opposed. Rather, one helps the the other. Those who are trained to believe that God hears and forgives them will be encouraged to trust God for the same at other times and places.)

6. Believe the whole Bible and teach it like God really meant it.

Because saying, “You’re getting too much of your theology from the parables” mostly means, “Jesus was a stupid peasant who told misleading stories that we have to carefully strip down to a single point that we found in Paul’s Epistles”–or rather, “that we found in Westminster Confession” (or, “… the Councils of Trent” or whatever). I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that God isn’t blessing churches who don’t like the Bible.

7. Preach Jesus as King but Avoid Petty Politics

Jesus is Lord and he wants a visible unified entrance to the Kingdom (Church) as a witness to that fact. We have to obey what Jesus says, but we also have to recognize how divisions and arguments actually can undermine the theocratic Faith. So find some highly obvious points in the public square to harp on (i.e. abortion), but try not to get bogged down in minutia (don’t preach Christian libertarianism, socialism, or whatever from the pulpit).

8. Let the Great Commission be your commission

If you think you know what this means, go read it, and ask yourself what this says about being “born again,” “faith,” or “evangelism” compared to what it says about obedience, theocracy, baptism, and ongoing teaching/training of everyone.

9. Worship like the Bible matters

Does it not strike anyone as odd that, if you want to attend a worship service that took you systematically through Scripture, you would be better off in an Episcopal, formal Lutheran, Roman Catholic, or Eastern Orthodox service rather than a Baptists, conservaitve Presbyterian, or “Bible Church” assembly? Is God supposed to speak to us in the Church or not? If not, how are we supposed to see anything change, let alone the world?

10. Live Corporately like Matthew 18 is in the Bible

I mention the whole chapter on purpose, by the way, because it is obviously focused on humility and forgiveness, and in that context gives directions for accountability and purifying the Church. I think that is important because, while not one church in a hundred includes Matthew 18.15-19 in their real canon, some that do can be so zealous (I’m using a euphemism) about it as to reinforce the temptation to neglect it. But it is in the Bible and it is an operating instruction from the Lord Jesus. So obey Him.

My Credo Part One: Too Many Influences Make Me a Theological Mutt

Yes, I am a mutt and a theological one to boot. What I mean is that I have a Presbyterian tradition and call, but my background and theological outlook is much more broad.  Recently in my transition to the PCUSA, I had to write up my theological commitments in about a page.  This practice showed me how influenced I am from many different angles by such a diverse amount of traditions.  Below is a list of influences historical and literary that have formed my view of theology, Scripture, and the Church. My next few posts will be paragraphs from that theological summary.

Methodism- In my formative years, I attended a UMC church that said the Lord's Prayer and Apostle's Creed every week.  This had its effect in my having these truths drummed into me at a very young age. The power of repeated words said in unison gave me direction in my prayer.

Fellowship of Christian Athletes- You may have heard that the Christian faith is about a "relationship not a religion".  Now I consider it cliche but it was very powerful for me as a teenager. It was through this ministry that I began to learn to repent of my sin, even intentional and premeditated sin.

Thomas A Kempis- At Vanderbilt, I read "On the Imitation of Christ" for my Class on Reformation History. It was the first textbook that I read that grew my faith.  His mysticism intrigued me when I thought everything was about a re dedication of your life.

John Calvin- I remember reading the "Institutes" for the same class above and thinking, "This man knows a God much bigger than Max Lucado".  Granted I did still love Lucado, but the capacity and vision of God's power turned my world upside down. I am a Presbyterian today because of that encounter.

Westminster Theological Seminary- I graduated in 2004, and am still amazed at how the whole program from Biblical Studies, Counseling, Church History, Apologetics, and Theology formed one whole worldview and Biblical view. 

James Jordan and Peter Leihart- These two Westminster graduates took me to a place of appreciation of the whole Christian tradition including some elements of Anglicanism, Catholicism, and Orthodox.  They were very keyed into the symbolic worldview that dominates the Hebrew Mind.  I am continued to be encouraged by their agrarian worldview, biblical theology, and sacramental practice.

NT Wright and Karl Barth-Although these guys are very different, I saw them both as suspect at one time, but now see tremendous amount of gain in interacting with their thought.  I do not sign on to everything they say, but I do find they help me think through the truth of Scripture.

The Jack Miller Movement- This is a renewal movement out of Westminster Theological Seminary that emphasized Sonship and understanding the blessings of salvation to such an extent that your functional theology would be the same as your formal theology.  So if you really believe that you were justified by Christ's work and not based on your own performance, you would be less defensive, less self-righteous, but more loving and trusting. This movement was influential to Tim Keller and the ministry of the PCA.

Eugene Peterson- The author of The Message has given me a view of Pastoral practice that I will never exhaust and never recover from.  As a college in the PCUSA, I have found his view of pastoral ministry to be so appealing and so church affirming. From his series on Spiritual Theology to The Contemplative Pastor, I have learned how to see my calling and see my story to be about God's Story in Christ.

GK Chesterton and Charles Spurgeon-My two fat Englishmen!  I cannot tell you how influencial both of these men have been.  One is Catholic and one is Baptist, but both enjoyed life and the romance of orthodox belief.  I guess in many ways I am right in the middle of both of these men, but tremendously indebted to them. How can I love both liturgy and freedom in worship?  Because I have been so influenced by both of these men.  I highly recommend Orthodoxy by Chesterton and Morning and Evening by Spurgeon to begin.  I could go on for hours about these guys, but that is another post.

Friends and Family- The diversity of my geography and network have opened my eyes to see life through many different windows, and even recommended the above influences. I am a product of all of those and am full of thanks for all of you.

The Moon Was Claimed for The Glory of God through the Lord's Supper

      I just received an email from The Font and the Table, which is a ministry of the PCUSA for Sacramental Renewal. It describes how on the Sunday closest to July 20 Webster Presbyterian Church celebrates Communion because Buzz Aldrin Celebrated the Lord's Supper on the Moon in 1969. Below is the article.

    No doubt you’re familiar with World Communion Sunday. There’s a congregation southeast of Houston, Texas, that takes it one small step – or is that one giant leap? – further. Each year on the Sunday closest to July 20, Webster Presbyterian Church commemorates the day when Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin, then a ruling elder at Webster Presbyterian Church, received communion on the moon as an act of thanksgiving. Here’s an account from the church’s website, an excerpt from the church’s centennial history by Judith Haley Allton, Patricia M. Brackett, and Dana Ray.

In Aldrin’s own words: “I poured the wine into the chalice our church had given me. In the one-sixth gravity of the moon, the wine curled slowly and gracefully up the side of the cup. It was interesting to think that the very first liquid ever poured on the moon, and the first food eaten there, were communion elements. And so, just before I partook of the elements, I read the words which I had chosen to indicate our trust that as man probes into space we are in fact acting in Christ. I sensed especially strongly my unity with our church back home, and with the Church everywhere. I read: 'I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, and I in him, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without me.'"

Of course, this was an extraordinary situation. Ordinarily, the proper context for communion is the celebration of the Lord’s Supper on the Lord’s Day in the community of faith. It’s worth noting, though, how careful and intentional Aldrin was to connect this act with the communion of his home congregation – using a chalice provided by the church, consulting with the pastor, and receiving dispensation from the presbytery. (Thanks to Webster Presbyterian Church pastor Mark Cooper for this information.) This wasn’t “private communion,” but, as Aldrin so eloquently put it, an expression of “unity with our church back home, and with the Church everywhere,” through the connection of Christ the true vine. In a way, this extraordinary communion was an extension of what we now know as the Extended Serving of Communion.

Beyond taking the extended serving of communion to new heights, Aldrin’s simple act of gratitude is a stellar illustration of the “great” in the Great Thanksgiving, and of the cosmic scope of eucharistic celebration: giving our thanks and praise to the “Lord our God, creator and ruler of the universe” (Book of Common Worship Great Thanksgiving A). Indeed, as we sing with celestial choirs, “heaven and earth are full” of the glory of God. Hosanna in the highest! Presbyterians (and specifically members of Webster Presbyterian Church) have made other significant contributions to the space program. Many are aware that astronaut and United States Senator John Glenn is a Presbyterian elder; his wife played the organ at the church in Webster. Another Webster Presbyterian Church member, Jerry Carr, was on the crew of the Skylab space station; for the duration of his mission, his family had a sign in their front yard counting the days until his return, with the letters K.O.S.P. (Keep Outer Space Presbyterian). A member of the congregation also made the flag and plaque that mark the site of the first moon landing. (Thanks again to Mark Cooper for sharing these stories.) This year’s Lunar Communion service will take place at Webster Presbyterian Church on July 17. We celebrate with them, as the Church in every place is united at the table of the Lord.

Grace and peace,

David Gambrell, Associate for Worship Office of Theology and Worship, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Well, if I'm accused of being a Barthian, then I should probably read him.

Q: "So now that you are PCUSA, does that mean you are a Barthian?"

Me: "What does that mean?"

Q: "You know, you cannot Predicate."

Me: "What does that mean?"

Q: "The impossibility of the contrary, right?"

Me: "Oh man, I guess I should read him"

Well, so I will now read him.  I remember my Church History professor saying how much he appreciated the Historical nature of Karl Barth.  So today, I opened up my new books and put them on the shelf. 

Now debating whether to join the conversation at Storied Theology..... Stay Tuned.

Happy All Hallow's Eve! Celbrate Christ's Victory over Death and Mock Evil!

 It comes up every year.  What do you do for Halloween?  I tell people, "I mock evil."  I take my stand with the rest of Christian history.  This day is not just about Reformation, candy, getting scared, or the paranormal. This day is the eve of All Saints Day, which is basically Christian Memorial Day. We celebrate those who have come before us and even died for their faith in Christ. 

As James Jordan points out in his article on Halloween:

The Festival of All Saints reminds us that though Jesus has finished His work, we have not finished ours. He has struck the decisive blow, but we have the privilege of working in the mopping up operation. Thus, century by century the Christian faith has rolled back the demonic realm of ignorance, fear, and superstition. Though things look bad in the Western world today, this work continues to make progress in Asia and Africa and Latin America.

The Biblical day begins in the preceding evening, and thus in the Church calendar, the eve of a day is the actual beginning of the festive day. Christmas Eve is most familiar to us, but there is also the Vigil of Holy Saturday that precedes Easter Morn. Similarly, All Saints’ Eve precedes All Saints’ Day.

The concept, as dramatized in Christian custom, is quite simple: On October 31, the demonic realm tries one last time to achieve victory, but is banished by the joy of the Kingdom.

What is the means by which the demonic realm is vanquished? In a word: mockery. Satan’s great sin (and our great sin) is pride. Thus, to drive Satan from us we ridicule him. This is why the custom arose of portraying Satan in a ridiculous red suit with horns and a tail. Nobody thinks the devil really looks like this; the Bible teaches that he is the fallen Arch-Cherub. Rather, the idea is to ridicule him because he has lost the battle with Jesus and he no longer has power over us.

Because Christ has won, we also remember those who are currently being persecuted today.  My church honor those around the world who are persecuted for their faith.  Below is a video from Voice of the Martyrs describing Christians being persecuted all over the world.  What drives my prayers for my brothers and sisters in the midst of persecution is that Christ has and will triumph.  God will wipe away the tears from their eyes, and reveal himself to be the true King of the world.  Happy Halloween!  Happy All Saints Day! Praise God for his victory in Christ Jesus!

 

How the Scarlet Pimpernel Inspires Me

  Just posted to our New Life Theology Blog:

Noblesse Oblige: The Call of a Code

My wife and I enjoyed one of our favorite movies recently, The Scarlet Pimpernel.  I never get tired of the heroic story coupled with the love story.  It is beautifully acted and filmed, and every time I watch it something new draws my attention.

At the end of the film, Chauvalin muses on his future on security council because of the Scarlet Pimpernel’s “primitive sense of Noblesse Oblige.”  The hero responds with the pointed quip, “Primitive!  My dear Chauvalin, I shall take it any day over your new order.” This new order is the order of the French Revolution, where everyone is under the reign of terror in the name of  the “Republic”. 

 The Oxford English Dictionary (via Wikipedia) says that Noblesse Oblige ”suggests noble ancestry constrains to honourable behavior; privilege entails to responsibility”. We have lost this notion  in much of our Western Society, and have replaced it with a sense of entitlement.  Privilege is, now, an excuse to enjoy more stuff and we never have to endure anything or fight for anything.  This leads us into a sense of apathy and boredom.  There is no great fight to fight or cause to give our lives to, so we become consumers crying “here we are now entertain us!”

But the code of the Scarlet Pimpernel reveals my desire for a code.  A code is simply being a way of living that orders my life and calls me to responsiblity and nobility.  This code is the Gospel.  The message is entrusted to me that Jesus Christ died, was raised, and enthroned as King of the World.  This message is also a code of conduct because I am not my own, but belong to my King.  His mission is that everyone would know that his blessings would be made known “as far as the curse is found”.  I, as a loyal subject, must always enter into that message for myself by dying and trusting God to raise me up or at least raise up the cause of His Kingdom.  By not fearing death, I can truly live risking everything without caring how people or history see me.

The Scarlet Pimpernel pretends to be a silly fool so that he can be brave.  Why? Because of a code.  Am I willing to do the same for my ‘primative’ Gospel?  When I do, I find more joy, more love, and more life that I have ever desired.  This is the antidote to the cynicism, the boredom, and the apathy of Post-Modern life. Come and join the League of the Risen King.

Why Shakespeare? Part Two

This really should have been part one, but you must experience Shakespeare before you desire to read him.  Very similar to the Gospel, only after you taste do you know how thirsty you were.

This clip is from Henry V Act 4, Scene 3.  It is the battle of Agincourt, and this is one of the few movies that gives Shakespeare his due with his genius for lanuage and metaphor.  Enjoy! I hope you get a taste for more.

 

Henry V Script:

GLOUCESTER

Where is the king?

Why Shakespeare?

I am going on Vacation next week.  I finally was able to publish some of the blogs that I have been meaning to finish up.  Nothing like a vacation to make you finish all your projects.

I am headed to Williamsburg, VA for some history, rest and relaxation. For my vacations, I always pick a book to read.  This time, I am reading Shakespeare.  I have read many of the Tragedies, but my knowlege of the Comedies and the Histories is lacking.  So I begin with A Midsummer Night's Dream.  I will read a plot summary, watch the play on Netflix, then read it on my Kindle.  I have a glossary on my iPod Touch in case I hit any of Shakespeare's made up words.

Two reasons for reading Shakepeare that are a must for me as a pastor and Christian. 

Communication of the Beautiful-  Shakespeares paints pictures and creates psyches with his dramas.  His stories communicate something of truth when as Keats said, 'Beauty is Truth, and Truth is Beauty'.  If we are to communicate the Gospel to our world, we must know how to communicate it in a new way.

A Christian Worldview- Many scholars call Shakespeare an "essentialist" meaning he believed that the way things are divinely essential to being human.  In other words, he said reality had one meaning. This is the Christian worldview.  Shakespeare was a man who was profoundly religious in his writing which included his bawdy humor.  (Aside) I wish Christians were still known for our bawdy humor. The dividing line between good and evil always played out in the human heart, the inner person. 

A Midsummer Night's Dream was voted Shakespeares best Comedy, so I begin there.  Do you have a favorite Shakespeare?