By now, most of you have already heard of the recent ruling of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) in regard to the suit brought against Westboro Baptist Church for inflicting emotional harm upon the family of a U.S. serviceman who died in the line of duty after church (it pains me to use the word "church" in regard to this organization)people picketed at the funeral. As always, they brought their hate filled signs and rhetoric and made their claim that they speak on God's behalf.
The SCOTUS ruled for the church on the basis that free speech, "even hurtful" is protected by the First Amendment. Few people like the ruling, even though it is correct, because most recognize that the right to free speech brings with it tremendous responsibility. Words remain powerful, as we have witnessed in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. Certainly, in light of the suffering and grief that attends a funeral, the Westboro congregation has cast aside the church's historic compassion for those who are grieving, to spew their anti gay hatred. What the Westboro people do is in stark contrast to the compassion shown by Jesus to those who were dead, dying or in grief.
On the way to the tomb of Lazarus Jesus "began to weep" (Jn 11:35ff)and then he raised him from the dead and restored him to his grieving sisters. In Mark 5:21ff Jesus raised the daughter of Jairus from the dead. "Little girl, get up!", he said. Aside from being immanently present at times of grief, Jesus continually expanded the Kingdom of Heaven to include tax collectors, outcasts, sinners,and gentiles. From the woman he saved from stoning, to the woman at the well of Sychar, to the parable of the great banquet, to the parable of he lost sheep and the Prodigal Son,Jesus continually makes room for those who would ordinarily be left out, and continually shows compassion for those in need. In Matthew 5:4 Jesus says, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." Even if one could recognize a prophetic side to the ministry of the Westboro people, in failing to be compassionate as Jesus is compassionate they have utterly forsaken the pastoral responsibility of the Christian faith.
They also have a tendency to misappropriate scipture on their placards. I couldn't help notice that one of their signs quoted Jesus saying, "whoever kills is liable to judgment." In actuality Jesus begins in Matthew 5:21 by saying "You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, 'You shall not murder'; and 'whoever murders shall be liable to judgement.'" Jesus goes on however to reframe the law in the context of the believer's much greater responsibility to seek reconciliation. He goes on to say in verse 23, "if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift." Jesus point is two fold: his followers are called to a ministry of reconciliation, and God's acceptance of our gifts is dependent upon the seriousness with which we engage in the ministry of righteousness and reconciliation. The placard, used like a cudgel on those who read it, both misquotes and misinterprets Jesus at the core of Christian teaching.
In the Sermon on the Mount (the very sermon that the placard misquotes) Jesus says,"Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:44) The rest of the passage and sermon are well worth reading. Nowhere in it is an authorization to curse others as the Westboro people claim to do on God's behalf.
As with so many hate groups, the Westboro people cherry pick which scriptures apply and then lift them completely out of context.
The Westboro people seem far to interested in judging others, but would that they would read further on in the sermon from which they misquoted. There we read,"Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be he measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbors's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your negihbor, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye', while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye." (Matthew 7:1-5)I know myself well enough not to engage in eye surgery of this kind, and it is something from which all should refrain.
Near the end of the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 7:15ff, Jesus speaks of the false prophets who claim to speak in his name, "Beware of false prophets, wo come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit..."
Over many years, I have met many pastors and priests who, as I do, struggle with preaching the Word of God;and struggle to be both prophetic and pastoral. If I like a sermon too much, I usually have to start over. A sermon needs to afflict my conscience as well as the consciences of others. I have come to believe,however, that in Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God, God's final Word to us is a Word of Grace. This is why each sermon may contain law, but always ends with Gospel. The sermon really is the story of the resurrection told in different words, and it is always about Grace. And if I err, I would rather plead to Jesus that I erred on the side of grace, rather than plead excuse for the flesh I bruised with thorns and thistles.
I will pray for those injured by the picketing of the Westboro people, and as hard as Jesus command is, I will pray for the Westboro people, that the hatred with which they are afflicted and afflict will be replaced with a renewed spirit of mercy and justice.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Changing our Violent Hearts
This morning in worship we prayed for the many victims of the shooting that took place in Tucson, Arizona yesterday. We asked that God would have compassion on those who lost beloved family members and friends. We prayed that God's healing power would be extended to those who had been wounded. We asked that God would guard our own lips from saying things that might encourage people to do violent things, or speak of people in such a way that violence might be directed at them. We also prayed for the perpetrator of the violence. We didn't ask that he escaoe responsibility, but we asked for healing. Indeed, as more news comes out, the young man who committed this terrible act seems to be mentally ill in addition to being saddled with the diseases of racism and hatred.
Driving to Connecticut to celebrate the Christmas season with our family we noticed a highway sign on route 495 giving directions to the funeral of a police officer. It turned out that the officer was a member of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Woburn, MA. He was killed while trying to apprehend a robbery suspect. Violence is too much with us.
Sadly, in recent years praying prayers for the victims of violence has become much to commonplace. It was only a few years ago, after the violent shootings at Virginia Tech that our leaders promised to take action so that such a thing could never happen again. The rhetoric seemed appropriate at the time, but our leaders don't make such promises anymore. The epidemic of violence seems to have overwhelmed them, and to our shame, we have come to accept it as part of life. Perhaps our leaders have come to realize that as long as we continue to confuse the priority of the right to own a gun with our sacred right to life, such promises are empty.
In one sense, such promises don't even matter. We will never be able to legislate the demise of violence until we change the hearts of a good many of our fellow citizens. We need to change the way we speak to one another,and we need to move beyond the rhetoric of confrontation to a place where we celebrate our common humanity and truly begin to see in one another the face of Jesus Christ.
In Matthew 5:44, Jesus teaches us that we are to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. We need this kind of radical shift in the way we think and in the way we relate to one another. Instead of using our talents to demonize and denigrate one another, we should look harder into the faces of those with whom we disagree. Is it possible that in the faces of these "enemies" there is the faintest trace of our Lord's face? Faith demands of us that we at least try. Then, by constant practice we will begin to see some of the other common features with which God has graced each one of us, and that in itself would have a salutary effect.
Yet, I know this; that if we do not try, we are the wielders of the hammer, that even now, pierces the flesh of Jesus,to nail him to the cross.
Driving to Connecticut to celebrate the Christmas season with our family we noticed a highway sign on route 495 giving directions to the funeral of a police officer. It turned out that the officer was a member of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Woburn, MA. He was killed while trying to apprehend a robbery suspect. Violence is too much with us.
Sadly, in recent years praying prayers for the victims of violence has become much to commonplace. It was only a few years ago, after the violent shootings at Virginia Tech that our leaders promised to take action so that such a thing could never happen again. The rhetoric seemed appropriate at the time, but our leaders don't make such promises anymore. The epidemic of violence seems to have overwhelmed them, and to our shame, we have come to accept it as part of life. Perhaps our leaders have come to realize that as long as we continue to confuse the priority of the right to own a gun with our sacred right to life, such promises are empty.
In one sense, such promises don't even matter. We will never be able to legislate the demise of violence until we change the hearts of a good many of our fellow citizens. We need to change the way we speak to one another,and we need to move beyond the rhetoric of confrontation to a place where we celebrate our common humanity and truly begin to see in one another the face of Jesus Christ.
In Matthew 5:44, Jesus teaches us that we are to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. We need this kind of radical shift in the way we think and in the way we relate to one another. Instead of using our talents to demonize and denigrate one another, we should look harder into the faces of those with whom we disagree. Is it possible that in the faces of these "enemies" there is the faintest trace of our Lord's face? Faith demands of us that we at least try. Then, by constant practice we will begin to see some of the other common features with which God has graced each one of us, and that in itself would have a salutary effect.
Yet, I know this; that if we do not try, we are the wielders of the hammer, that even now, pierces the flesh of Jesus,to nail him to the cross.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
The Baptism of Jesus
Now that we have celebrated the incarnation of our Lord and are on the cusp of celebrating his baptism by John the Baptizer, it might be wise to take a few moments to look a little more deeply into the reason for both the incarnation and the baptism of Jesus.
When Jesus came to John, he had to insist that John perform the baptism. John recognized the simple reality that as a human being he stood in need of Jesus' baptism. John knew that he as sinner had no business baptizing Jesus. Yet, Jesus insisted that it was necessary for the purpose of fulfilling all righteouness.
I believe that the fulfilling of all righteousness means two important things for those who are concerned with sin. First is that in insisting upon being baptized by John, Jesus declares his solidarity with all of humanity. His submission to a "baptism for repentance for the forgiveness of sins" means that he accepts into himself our human nature in completeness; and that means taking upon himself the fulness of our sin.
Therein lies the problem. God cannot respond to human sin in any other way than with enimity and wrath. (Theodosius Harnack, Luthers Theologie (LT 1) Because sin is an assault on God's majesty and glory, as well as an assault upon God's own righteousness, every sin is an insult and injury to God. Luther was a believer that all of the commandments could be seen in the First, and the breaking of any commandment does, in fact, elevate other lords above the one Lord of Heaven and Earth. In the Old Testament, God describes himself as a jealous God, and with holy jealousy God is determined to protect his righteousness and glory from sinful attacks. Therefore God meets sin with wrath. In our urgency to preach grace, we cheapen it, often forgetting that God has both the will and power to punish sin. Wrath, however, is something that you and I cannot bear; ultimately it means our death. Our only hope lies in the incarnation and Jesus own proclamation of solidarity with humanity.
Second, Jesus the man is also fully Divine. God declares, "This is my Son, the beloved..." Were Jesus as man to take on our sin as an end in itself, we would be lost. Instead, Jesus takes on our sin as the Divine Son of God, who will "take on our lot" yet remain absolutely obedient to the will of the Father. When he spoke to John of fulfilling all righteosness, he meant this as well. As if to stress the point for us, in the gospel of Matthew, following his baptism Jesus is immediately driven into the wilderness, where starved and thirsty, he is tempted by Satan. In the wilderness, Satan, the personfication of sin, confronts Jesus trying desperately to force Jesus to submit. Such submission would be Jesus' damnation and ours. In Jesus Christ however, sin confronted what it had never met before; in the form of a human being, with all human weakness, a man nevertheless of "eternal and unchangeable righteousness." (Luther) Satan and sin are conquered by unconquerable obedience. Satan will try once again, at Golgotha, but Jesus will again do the will of his Father. (More on obedience another day.)
I love Luther's description: sin "did indeed attack him but he was too powerful for it; he swallowed it and it was extinguished in him like a spark of fire which falls into the great ocean, for he was nothing but righteousness."
None of this would matter, except that Jesus' victory over sin is given to us by grace through faith. Luther speaks of this as the "wonderful exchange." "Now the wonderful exchange takes place and Christ gives himself and his benefits to faith and takes upon himself the heart and whatever lies heavy upon it and makes it his own." Everything that stands in the way of life is taken away by Jesus, and everything that stands for life is given to us as free gift.
When Christians speak of being baptized into Christ, we speak of being baptized into his life death and resurrection. We are baptized into his obedience, we are baptized into his suffering and death, and we are baptized into his eternal and righteous life.
One additional note for now. There is a constant effort minimize sin. When we yield to this temptation as a church, we lose our way, we lose our mission. I think we often minimize sin so that we do not have to join in the struggle of discerning and doing God's will. So we admit little discrepancies, small moral failings, minor omissions and commissions. Yet, to recieve the gift of Jesus Christ in fulness, we must, it is inescapable for the life of faith, admit that we live in the full rebellion of sin. Then, experiencing the spiritual pain of God's wrath, whose sole purpose is to redeem us, we are driven to Christ.
If sin were no big deal, Jesus needn't be bothered, but it is a matter of life and death. Jesus came to the Jordan for a reason; for you, for me.
When Jesus came to John, he had to insist that John perform the baptism. John recognized the simple reality that as a human being he stood in need of Jesus' baptism. John knew that he as sinner had no business baptizing Jesus. Yet, Jesus insisted that it was necessary for the purpose of fulfilling all righteouness.
I believe that the fulfilling of all righteousness means two important things for those who are concerned with sin. First is that in insisting upon being baptized by John, Jesus declares his solidarity with all of humanity. His submission to a "baptism for repentance for the forgiveness of sins" means that he accepts into himself our human nature in completeness; and that means taking upon himself the fulness of our sin.
Therein lies the problem. God cannot respond to human sin in any other way than with enimity and wrath. (Theodosius Harnack, Luthers Theologie (LT 1) Because sin is an assault on God's majesty and glory, as well as an assault upon God's own righteousness, every sin is an insult and injury to God. Luther was a believer that all of the commandments could be seen in the First, and the breaking of any commandment does, in fact, elevate other lords above the one Lord of Heaven and Earth. In the Old Testament, God describes himself as a jealous God, and with holy jealousy God is determined to protect his righteousness and glory from sinful attacks. Therefore God meets sin with wrath. In our urgency to preach grace, we cheapen it, often forgetting that God has both the will and power to punish sin. Wrath, however, is something that you and I cannot bear; ultimately it means our death. Our only hope lies in the incarnation and Jesus own proclamation of solidarity with humanity.
Second, Jesus the man is also fully Divine. God declares, "This is my Son, the beloved..." Were Jesus as man to take on our sin as an end in itself, we would be lost. Instead, Jesus takes on our sin as the Divine Son of God, who will "take on our lot" yet remain absolutely obedient to the will of the Father. When he spoke to John of fulfilling all righteosness, he meant this as well. As if to stress the point for us, in the gospel of Matthew, following his baptism Jesus is immediately driven into the wilderness, where starved and thirsty, he is tempted by Satan. In the wilderness, Satan, the personfication of sin, confronts Jesus trying desperately to force Jesus to submit. Such submission would be Jesus' damnation and ours. In Jesus Christ however, sin confronted what it had never met before; in the form of a human being, with all human weakness, a man nevertheless of "eternal and unchangeable righteousness." (Luther) Satan and sin are conquered by unconquerable obedience. Satan will try once again, at Golgotha, but Jesus will again do the will of his Father. (More on obedience another day.)
I love Luther's description: sin "did indeed attack him but he was too powerful for it; he swallowed it and it was extinguished in him like a spark of fire which falls into the great ocean, for he was nothing but righteousness."
None of this would matter, except that Jesus' victory over sin is given to us by grace through faith. Luther speaks of this as the "wonderful exchange." "Now the wonderful exchange takes place and Christ gives himself and his benefits to faith and takes upon himself the heart and whatever lies heavy upon it and makes it his own." Everything that stands in the way of life is taken away by Jesus, and everything that stands for life is given to us as free gift.
When Christians speak of being baptized into Christ, we speak of being baptized into his life death and resurrection. We are baptized into his obedience, we are baptized into his suffering and death, and we are baptized into his eternal and righteous life.
One additional note for now. There is a constant effort minimize sin. When we yield to this temptation as a church, we lose our way, we lose our mission. I think we often minimize sin so that we do not have to join in the struggle of discerning and doing God's will. So we admit little discrepancies, small moral failings, minor omissions and commissions. Yet, to recieve the gift of Jesus Christ in fulness, we must, it is inescapable for the life of faith, admit that we live in the full rebellion of sin. Then, experiencing the spiritual pain of God's wrath, whose sole purpose is to redeem us, we are driven to Christ.
If sin were no big deal, Jesus needn't be bothered, but it is a matter of life and death. Jesus came to the Jordan for a reason; for you, for me.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Christmas 2010
"Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing which the Lord has made known to us. So they went with haste and found the babe..."
Four weeks of Advent are nearly behind us. Our focus has shifted from the second coming of Christ to the celebration of our Lord's birth in Bethlehem. The shift began on the Third Sunday of Advent with the lighting of the pink Advent candle; the candle that symbolizes both hope, and the liturgical change. Then there was the singing of the Great 'O' Antiphons which many know better as the hymn O Come, O Come Emmanuel. This beautiful hymn and the antiphons are sung between the 16th and 24th of December. The angel visitations, which began with the announcement to Mary that she would bear a child of the Holy Spirit, and proceeded with the news to Elizabeth and Zechariah, and finally to Joseph, on Christmas Eve come to a crescendo with the visitation to the shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem. "Do not be afraid for I bring you good news of great joy. For to you is born this day in the City of David a Savior who is the Messiah, the Lord." What began as a quiet visit to Mary becomes an event in which the sky is torn apart with light, and an entire host of angels appears glorifying and praising God.
It sometimes gets by us that the incarnation is the center of history. Everything that came before points to the incarnation, and everything since flows from it. Yet, all of the theology of the incarnation would be lost upon us if the story of Jesus birth was not also a great love story.
From creation's fall to the birth of Jesus our relationship with God was always about God's unfailing love in the face of continuing rejection, unfaithfulness and sin. He gave us the commandments, the Torah, the prophets, and finally to win us back forever, he sent His Son, born of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary.
As the shepherds waited out the night in the fields around Bethlehem, they had no reason to expect that if the Messiah came they would be part of the story. They lived on the edge of society. Their occupation made it nearly impossible for them to meet the demands of Torah. And since they could not meet the law's demands they could not expect to have a place in the Kingdom of Heaven. However, God always works in ways that are beyond our vision and expectations. So the angels appeared to the least likely recipients of God's grace; shepherds living on the edge. Through the visitation of the angels, the shepherds were drawn into the very center of the story.
So it is with God. First Mary, then Zechariah and Elizabeth, then Joseph, and on Christmas night the shepherds became part of the story. And the story continues. When we gather on Christmas Eve we will once again be reminded that the story of the shepherds is our own story; God coming to the least likely and inviting them to become part of the story. It is a love story we cannot resist, so let us go and see the love of God in the face of a child,-- our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Four weeks of Advent are nearly behind us. Our focus has shifted from the second coming of Christ to the celebration of our Lord's birth in Bethlehem. The shift began on the Third Sunday of Advent with the lighting of the pink Advent candle; the candle that symbolizes both hope, and the liturgical change. Then there was the singing of the Great 'O' Antiphons which many know better as the hymn O Come, O Come Emmanuel. This beautiful hymn and the antiphons are sung between the 16th and 24th of December. The angel visitations, which began with the announcement to Mary that she would bear a child of the Holy Spirit, and proceeded with the news to Elizabeth and Zechariah, and finally to Joseph, on Christmas Eve come to a crescendo with the visitation to the shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem. "Do not be afraid for I bring you good news of great joy. For to you is born this day in the City of David a Savior who is the Messiah, the Lord." What began as a quiet visit to Mary becomes an event in which the sky is torn apart with light, and an entire host of angels appears glorifying and praising God.
It sometimes gets by us that the incarnation is the center of history. Everything that came before points to the incarnation, and everything since flows from it. Yet, all of the theology of the incarnation would be lost upon us if the story of Jesus birth was not also a great love story.
From creation's fall to the birth of Jesus our relationship with God was always about God's unfailing love in the face of continuing rejection, unfaithfulness and sin. He gave us the commandments, the Torah, the prophets, and finally to win us back forever, he sent His Son, born of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary.
As the shepherds waited out the night in the fields around Bethlehem, they had no reason to expect that if the Messiah came they would be part of the story. They lived on the edge of society. Their occupation made it nearly impossible for them to meet the demands of Torah. And since they could not meet the law's demands they could not expect to have a place in the Kingdom of Heaven. However, God always works in ways that are beyond our vision and expectations. So the angels appeared to the least likely recipients of God's grace; shepherds living on the edge. Through the visitation of the angels, the shepherds were drawn into the very center of the story.
So it is with God. First Mary, then Zechariah and Elizabeth, then Joseph, and on Christmas night the shepherds became part of the story. And the story continues. When we gather on Christmas Eve we will once again be reminded that the story of the shepherds is our own story; God coming to the least likely and inviting them to become part of the story. It is a love story we cannot resist, so let us go and see the love of God in the face of a child,-- our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
With little more than a week before Christmas Eve, I wanted to use a few moments to speak of the nature of our Christmas celebration. I have seen all of the usual laments attached to car bumpers, on billboards, and even on the airwaves. Yet, I have tryed over the years not to become involved in the Christmas culture wars. Because of my calling, I have had somewhat limited success in this endeavor. Years ago, I lived in a city in which the creche had been banned from city property, and as a result, the war flared up, with heated talk on both sides of the issue. My own response was to take into consideration that state appropriation of religious symbols usually works out badly. Secondly, I do not want our sacred symbols used in any sort of coercive way; again this usually works out badly, especially for the coerced.
Based on what I have seen in the churches in which I have been priviledged to serve, I don't need to remind people that "Jesus is the reason for the season," or to "keep Christ in Christmas." For the most part, I think such slogans are counterproductive. One cannot legislate love for Christ or impose it. And although, I can probably be accused of many things, I try to avoid being a hypocrite. What I mean by this is that I plan to enjoy many facets of the Christmas season. There will be gifts under the tree, we will have our great family celebration, we will sing our favorite Christmas carols, and alongside these we we sing some of our favorite secular Christmas songs. What I can also say, is that at the very center of all of our celebration will be the birth of Jesus Christ. As one of my sons said years ago, he couldn't imagine missing Christmas worship. It is the incarnation after all that gives meaning to "Peace on Earth goodwill to all," and "Merry Christmas" (merry from the old English, meaning "blessed").
Someone may object, but the culture wars are not mine to fight. For those to whom the child of Bethlehem has been revealed as the Savior, there is no need to fight. Living out our calling is enough, and hopefully, by extending peace and goodwill to all, more people will want to have that peace for themselves.
Have a very Merry Christmas
Based on what I have seen in the churches in which I have been priviledged to serve, I don't need to remind people that "Jesus is the reason for the season," or to "keep Christ in Christmas." For the most part, I think such slogans are counterproductive. One cannot legislate love for Christ or impose it. And although, I can probably be accused of many things, I try to avoid being a hypocrite. What I mean by this is that I plan to enjoy many facets of the Christmas season. There will be gifts under the tree, we will have our great family celebration, we will sing our favorite Christmas carols, and alongside these we we sing some of our favorite secular Christmas songs. What I can also say, is that at the very center of all of our celebration will be the birth of Jesus Christ. As one of my sons said years ago, he couldn't imagine missing Christmas worship. It is the incarnation after all that gives meaning to "Peace on Earth goodwill to all," and "Merry Christmas" (merry from the old English, meaning "blessed").
Someone may object, but the culture wars are not mine to fight. For those to whom the child of Bethlehem has been revealed as the Savior, there is no need to fight. Living out our calling is enough, and hopefully, by extending peace and goodwill to all, more people will want to have that peace for themselves.
Have a very Merry Christmas
Monday, December 6, 2010
Thoughts in preparation for the Third Sunday of Advent
The Gospel for this coming Sunday, the Third Sunday of Advent, has John the Baptizer sending a question to Jesus from his prison cell, "Are you the one who is to come, or shall we wait for another
From the moment that Mary visited her Elizabeth some thirty years earlier there had been a special relationship between John and Jesus. They were not only cousins, but when Mary visited Elizabeth, John leapt in Elizabeth's womb at the greeting. In John, Elijah the prophet had returned, preparing the way for the messiah and calling for repentance. John was the final prophet to appear before Jesus, baptising him and literally introducing him to the public.
John seemed heedless of the danger in which he placed himself both by his criticism of the Pharisees and Saduccees, and his calling Herod to task for his adulterous relationship with his brother's wife. Herod had him arrested and put him in prison. Those are the circumstances under which he sent his question to Jesus.
For a man raised in the countryside, who lived in the wilderness, imprisonment had to be difficult, but it was endurable. However, as he gathered news of Jesus ministry in the dim light of a prison cell, he began to question whether his prophetic work had been in vain. His faith was being tested as Jesus' ministry didn't meet his expectations. John may have pondered several things. First, seemingly little had changed. Rome still ruled Judea, Herod was still ensconced in Jerusalem, there had been no change is Temple leadership, and Jesus didn't exhibit the wrath that John expected.
John's questions could well be our own. Our own faith is challenged from many directions. In the back of John's mind there must have been a question along the lines of "if Jesus is the Messiah, how can all of these things be happening?"
There is no way to overstate the importance of these kinds of questions nor the need for an answer that sustains faith. There is an answer of course, and we will hear more of that on Sunday morning. For now, you might want to consider asking yourself why Jesus says, "and blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me?" In that phrase lies the answer.
From the moment that Mary visited her Elizabeth some thirty years earlier there had been a special relationship between John and Jesus. They were not only cousins, but when Mary visited Elizabeth, John leapt in Elizabeth's womb at the greeting. In John, Elijah the prophet had returned, preparing the way for the messiah and calling for repentance. John was the final prophet to appear before Jesus, baptising him and literally introducing him to the public.
John seemed heedless of the danger in which he placed himself both by his criticism of the Pharisees and Saduccees, and his calling Herod to task for his adulterous relationship with his brother's wife. Herod had him arrested and put him in prison. Those are the circumstances under which he sent his question to Jesus.
For a man raised in the countryside, who lived in the wilderness, imprisonment had to be difficult, but it was endurable. However, as he gathered news of Jesus ministry in the dim light of a prison cell, he began to question whether his prophetic work had been in vain. His faith was being tested as Jesus' ministry didn't meet his expectations. John may have pondered several things. First, seemingly little had changed. Rome still ruled Judea, Herod was still ensconced in Jerusalem, there had been no change is Temple leadership, and Jesus didn't exhibit the wrath that John expected.
John's questions could well be our own. Our own faith is challenged from many directions. In the back of John's mind there must have been a question along the lines of "if Jesus is the Messiah, how can all of these things be happening?"
There is no way to overstate the importance of these kinds of questions nor the need for an answer that sustains faith. There is an answer of course, and we will hear more of that on Sunday morning. For now, you might want to consider asking yourself why Jesus says, "and blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me?" In that phrase lies the answer.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Penultimate Things
Meditation on In the Bleak Midwinter
Approximately forty-six years ago I learned this Christmas carol. I was eight years old, and my brothers and I sang in my home congregation's junior choir. Thus I have had many years and several life phases to think about the hymn's imagery. In the Bleak Midwinter, was written by Christina Georgina Rossetti, and her poem appeared in the January 1872 edition of Scribner's.
In 1906, Gustav Holst put the poem to music with the tune, Cranham.
Holst had a difficult task. The poems irregular syllables made creating a melody quite difficult. (I can remember our choir director giving very specific instruction as to which syllables went with the correct notes.) Perhaps it is fitting that a carol that says, "Our God, Heaven cannot hold him, Nor earth sustain..." cannot be so easily put to music.
I have contempated these particular words many times. What does it mean that Heaven cannot hold him? The Prophets and St. John (writing in the Book of Revelation) have shared with us marvelous visions of the Kingdom of Heaven. The Prophets are at times stunned into silence it seems, and John's vocabulary is tested to the limit has he seeks to describe heaven's wonders. Here is the place where Angels, Cherubim, Seraphim and Saints offer up their continuous praise. Yet, heaven cannot hold Jesus Christ. It is as if the measure of Jesus' grace, love and mercy cannot be contained even within the wide portals of heaven, and as a result, the incarnation is a divine necessity. Jesus must be poured out upon the earth.
"Nor earth sustain..." The creation cannot sustain the Creator. Jesus Christ came to Bethlehem, his ancestral home, and the reaction of the powers and prinicpalities (Herod) was to destroy him. St. John's gospel tells us that he came to his own people and they did not receive him. Jesus, the first and greatest gift of Christmas, is the gift we sought to return. We sought first to deny him a place in which to be born, and tried to return him by way of Calvary. However, if heaven cannot hold him nor earth sustain him, certainly the grave can make no claim upon him. Thus it is that the grace, mercy and love poured out from heaven upon the creation is the beginning of a new heaven and a new earth as the book of Revelation promises. Indeed, "heaven and earth shall flee away when he comes to reign." Gone are the former things, there shall be nor more grief or crying our pain. The One who cannot be held back, the one creation cannot sustain, is the one who restores and sustains all things. Alleluia!
Approximately forty-six years ago I learned this Christmas carol. I was eight years old, and my brothers and I sang in my home congregation's junior choir. Thus I have had many years and several life phases to think about the hymn's imagery. In the Bleak Midwinter, was written by Christina Georgina Rossetti, and her poem appeared in the January 1872 edition of Scribner's.
In 1906, Gustav Holst put the poem to music with the tune, Cranham.
Holst had a difficult task. The poems irregular syllables made creating a melody quite difficult. (I can remember our choir director giving very specific instruction as to which syllables went with the correct notes.) Perhaps it is fitting that a carol that says, "Our God, Heaven cannot hold him, Nor earth sustain..." cannot be so easily put to music.
I have contempated these particular words many times. What does it mean that Heaven cannot hold him? The Prophets and St. John (writing in the Book of Revelation) have shared with us marvelous visions of the Kingdom of Heaven. The Prophets are at times stunned into silence it seems, and John's vocabulary is tested to the limit has he seeks to describe heaven's wonders. Here is the place where Angels, Cherubim, Seraphim and Saints offer up their continuous praise. Yet, heaven cannot hold Jesus Christ. It is as if the measure of Jesus' grace, love and mercy cannot be contained even within the wide portals of heaven, and as a result, the incarnation is a divine necessity. Jesus must be poured out upon the earth.
"Nor earth sustain..." The creation cannot sustain the Creator. Jesus Christ came to Bethlehem, his ancestral home, and the reaction of the powers and prinicpalities (Herod) was to destroy him. St. John's gospel tells us that he came to his own people and they did not receive him. Jesus, the first and greatest gift of Christmas, is the gift we sought to return. We sought first to deny him a place in which to be born, and tried to return him by way of Calvary. However, if heaven cannot hold him nor earth sustain him, certainly the grave can make no claim upon him. Thus it is that the grace, mercy and love poured out from heaven upon the creation is the beginning of a new heaven and a new earth as the book of Revelation promises. Indeed, "heaven and earth shall flee away when he comes to reign." Gone are the former things, there shall be nor more grief or crying our pain. The One who cannot be held back, the one creation cannot sustain, is the one who restores and sustains all things. Alleluia!
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