Holy Trinity

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This coming Sunday (May 30) is my favorite in the church year, Holy Trinity Sunday. I like this Sunday for many reasons, the first among many being that this is a good Sunday to encourage and support our faith in the mystery of God and how God works.

In honor of Trinity Sunday, I’ll be posting some excerpts from work I’ve done before on the Trinity. Some of this is a little more scholarly in tone than what I usually post here, but I’ll edit it a bit and I think it’s good fodder for conversation- with me, in your house, with fellow followers of Christ, with people who reject the Good News because of doctrines like the Trinity.

As the Gentile Christian movement began to stream from the Jewish establishment that was its original riverbed, the triangle formed between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit began to look confusing to those who believed in the monotheistic base of the faith. The intensity of the struggle to defend the core monotheistic values is difficult to describe. By the time of Justin Martyr (100-165), there was an emphasis on the three, but not as much on the one. Grant quotes Justin’s apology, “we confess the most true God, the Father of righteousness and chastity and the other virtues, untouched by wickedness… we honor and worship him and the Son who came from him and us these things… and the prophetic Spirit.”[1]

Not, in its entirety, the most stalwart of Trinitarian formulas (Justin does put an “army of angels” before the Spirit), the phrase is nonetheless recognizable even to Christians today as part of what we believe. Within Justin’s basic formulation, one can see what will form the fodder for various heresies and struggles to come. Are all three the same in essence? How do the Son and the Spirit come from the Father? Is there a hierarchy? It also became important to establish Jesus as both coming from and being God and having been fully human. Between the efforts of the Cappadocian fathers, Irenaeus, the councils at Chalcedon and Nicea, and countless others, the relationship of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to one another and to the world was hammered out- both in positive and negative theology (what is and what is not).

The need to define the roles and relationship within and without the Trinity is also rooted in our need (as human beings) to understand the relationship of the Three and the One to ourselves. Beyond theological and historical need, the Trinity must be clarified for our own spiritual and psychological needs. Paul Tillich describes these needs as part of our ultimate concerns. It is enough of a struggle to accept the gifts of grace and faith and understanding the bonds of love between the members of the Trinity, united in one another, can help us understand the love of God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for us. We use specific symbols for the members of the Trinity, which stir in us remembrance, appreciation and comprehension of their actions in, through and for us. Tillich says:

The questions arising out of man’s finitude are answered by the doctrine of God and the symbols used in it. The questions arising out of man’s estrangement are answered by the doctrine of Christ and the symbols applied to it. The questions arising out of the ambiguities of life are answered by the doctrine of the Spirit and its symbols. Each of these answers expresses that which is a matter of ultimate concern in symbols derived from particular revelatory experiences. Their truth lies in their power to express the ultimacy of the ultimate in all directions. The history of the Trinitarian doctrine is a continuous fight against formulations which endanger this power.[1]

Understanding God as Creator, Father or Life-Giver illuminates what we are not able to do for ourselves: bring ourselves into our fullest being, create from nothing and parent with an all-encompassing love. Seeing Jesus in a lamb, an empty cross or footprints stirs in us the recognition of reconciliation beyond what we could do ourselves or even know to ask for. Thinking about the Spirit as a wind blowing through the world, a feeling rising within or an anointing being poured over helps us grasp, in some small way, the reality of the continued action of the Holy in the world.

Though we can recognize them individually with their symbols (that meet our ultimate concerns), together the members of the Trinity also meet our need to understand relationships and mutual love. God sent Jesus, as part of God’s self, to show the way to welcoming arms of a Parent who never forsakes. The Spirit proceeds from them as a promise and a sign that we are not in the world without God. The relationship of the three to one another reminds us God, as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is in the same kind of loving, sending, divided and united relationship with us. The doctrine of the Trinity helps us, as believers, to understand the three notes that make up the chord of God. Our faith is not divided among three distinct deities, but enriched by the mystery of a God who is so self-giving that there is no limit, except that of our minds to conceive, to how God can act in, through and for all of creation.

[1] Tillich, Paul. Systematic Theology, Vol. 3. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1963.

p. 286.

Confidential

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Here is one of my big secrets. It’s hardly a secret (or that big), but nonetheless…

I don’t like to exercise because I’m not good at it.
I know that sounds ridiculous. It sounds as crazy to me as it does to you. But I don’t enjoy doing things that I’m not good at and I enjoy doing things at which I am proficient or excel.
Now there are things that I don’t LOVE to do, but need to be done and I don’t suck at them… so I do them. I’m hardly an expert dishwasher loader (though if sheer number of times counts for expertise), but I do that. I’m not an expert lawn mower, but I do that. There are things which I do that I don’t enjoy, but I do them.
If you’ve known me for years, you might say I’m “indoorsy”, but I don’t think so. I like being outside.
I like hiking. Fishing. Camping. Playing with the dog. Swimming. Canoeing in peaceful circumstances. I enjoy them when I’m doing them (mostly) and when I’m done, but the motivation…
And just straight up exercise… the thing you should do every day… I just dread it. You could argue that I need to find something I enjoy or that I’m doing it wrong or that I just need to get over it. You might be right on all counts.
In my head, I should be able to sprint like a deer, jump up and slap a volleyball, concentrate and flip my feet over my head in a back hand spring, be an Olympian if lacking the opportunity to try out for the competition. Instead, I’m sweating, ungraceful and much slower than I’d like to be. It’s not character-building, it’s humiliating and annoying.
Here’s the reality that I need to accept. I can’t be great at everything. I can’t even be good at most things. I can be gifted in the areas in which I’m gifted and then the rest is just stuff I have to do. I can’t do it all. I can’t read myself fit. I can’t pray myself fit. I can’t sleep or eat myself fit. I can’t journal myself fit. I just have to get up and put one foot in front of the other, for a significant amount of time each day, a little more quickly each time.
So I put fitness goals ahead of myself. And I work toward them. Because my faith in God’s love of the body won’t let me neglect mine.
In the end, that’s what will do it for me. I can rationalize my opinion of my body. I can ignore other people’s opinions.
But this…
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body,” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

That, I can’t ignore.


Reverend Ham

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Some of you know and some of you don’t that the Lutheran Church in Lake Woebegon has a new pastor. Reverend Barbara Ham came to Lake Woebegon just before Easter to fill in between the abrupt departure of Pastor David Inqvist and the next pastor (whomever that will be). Apparently, Pastor Barbara has caused quite a stir among Prairie Home Companion fans because Garrison Keillor describes her as overweight, gossipy, an ineffectual preacher and someone who talks on her cell phone in public restrooms.

Longtime PHC fans have expressed frustration with Keillor that the appearance of a female pastor in Lake Woebegon is so disappointing.
I don’t think Keillor thinks for a second that all female pastors are like this. But I do think (and I believe he does as well) that some are. GK isn’t creating a caricature, he’s simply telling it like it is.
Pastors aren’t talented and virtuous because of their gender. They are through dedication, patience, hard work and the gifts of the Spirit. Poor pastoral habits aren’t limited to men, there are plenty of women in pastoral office who abuse their power, who don’t have appropriate boundaries, who don’t practice good self care or whose talents lie somewhere other than in the pulpit. That’s just the reality of the pastorate and church life.
Rev. Ham is a fictional character and she no more represents all female pastors than Pastor Inqvist did all male ones. But she does represent the reality of the church- pastors are people too.
We’d all like our pastors to hold to the orthodoxy we don’t have the patience for, practice the faith we don’t have the discipline for, sit with the mystery that we don’t have the openness for and love those we don’t have the time for. But church doesn’t work like that.
Pastors work hard. They lie awake and think of you when you’re sleeping. They sit in their cars and weep when they know you’re aching, so they can be stronger in your presence. They provide a backdrop to weddings and funerals- scanning the situation to help things be as smooth for you as possible. They stare over Bible texts and pray for guidance to say what God wants you to hear. They seek creative ways to help you hear it. Pastors will pull weeds, meet the ambulance, trim beard hairs, literally feed people, wait with the dying, sit in silence, engage in email correspondence, go on field trips, sing to spiders, show up early and leave late.
Pastors will also swear, get exasperated, feel confused, get sick, make decisions that result in poor outcomes, interpret Scripture wrongly, say things they don’t mean, procrastinate, have feet of clay, ignore burning bushes, adopt heterodox beliefs, question their faith, sing flatly or sharply, forget the words to the Lord’s Prayer, lay in bed on Sunday morning and wish they didn’t have to get up, and sometimes wish they could jump in a bush when they see you coming.
Pastors are leaders of the baptized- ordained for order, not because they have special powers. They dedicate their lives to being where others might not be able to be, to praying when others cannot pray, to trying to explain what’s explainable and to holding you through the inexplicable. But through all that- they are still people.
Reverend Ham isn’t bad woman pastor. She’s just a woman pastor who’s not all she could be. What remains to be seen is how people will respond to that. Will Clint Bundsen call the Bishop and say, “I think this pastor needs a sabbatical and some continuing education. Could you send us a more intentional interim and give us some direction here?” Will the Church Council say, “Pastor Ham, we know you’re here to help us, but these are the things that are important to this congregation. Here’s a little bit of our history. We need help understanding ourselves and then understanding how we relate to the rest of creation.” Will Rev. Barbara have the patience and insight to listen to that?
Pastors work alongside a congregation. Too often we think of them as working for a congregation and we only do that when we realize there’s a problem in the relationship.
It’s a complicated relationship, that of a pastor and a congregation, but at its best the relationship should have mutual and healthy support that causes everyone involved to remember Who is really in charge.

Crossways

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Sometimes you meet people and you assume that brief encounter encapsulates the entire experience you will have together. That’s why I often encourage people to remember that they may be the one encounter another person has with Christ in a day or week or more. It sounds very New Age to say that our actions have a ripple effect, but I don’t mean that in a “woo-woo” way. I meant it from the deepest need the world has for the gospel. People need good news and the message of salvation by grace through faith is what so many are hungering for.

Last February, in the middle of a cold snap, I got a call from a young couple to see if I would be willing to do their wedding. They really wanted to have it outside and every other pastor they had contacted said no. There was some urgency. She was pregnant. He was about to deploy for a year to Afghanistan. They were both from Florida. I figured if two kids from FL wanted to get married outside in 14 degree weather, then this pastor from Alaska could accommodate them.
Besides, I was pregnant. And my husband was about to deploy to Iraq. Everyone else said no, including the military chaplain, but they were determined and I hoped that by meeting with them and talking to them before the wedding- I would nourish seeds already planted by the Spirit that might help them turn to a church later in their lives.
We met and talked about what they knew about one another, the difficulties of being married during deployment, the stresses that they might anticipate, the reality that there was much we couldn’t anticipate or know.
I married them in the dim light of a Saturday afternoon, near the picnic pavilion at Otter Lake on Fort Richardson. Several of his friends showed up in uniform. Her friends were all in Florida, but the guys encouraged her that day, as well as teasing the groom. It was frigid and she shivered in a sleeveless dress, while I struggled to turn pages in my Bible with my mittens. It was a very, very short service with their promises to each other, my Bible reading and reminder of God’s love that was binding them together and which was there for them to lean on in good times and bad. I prayed for them and they kissed. Then everyone whooped and yelled and I served as de-facto wedding photographer while the “wedding party” lined up in the snow.
I’ve thought of them off and on, mostly in the context of how cold that day was. A few fleeting prayers when they came to mind and then…
This week, in my local paper, there has been a series of stories about a soldier, recently returned from Afghanistan, who shot and killed his wife and daughter and attempted to kill himself. He’s still non-responsive.
It took me a couple days to put together the details, but when a picture of the little family ran- I recognized them together. When I did, I felt stunned.
I don’t believe I could have done much more for them than I did. They both had strong, supportive families and other support networks. I was just a tangential intersection in their life.
I see the comments people make about the situation. Either that he must have been a monster to do a thing like this. Or he was a victim, through his military service, without enough support and there are three tragedies here.
The truth is somewhere in the middle, though there are more than three victims.
The answers could be no more war, more help for soldiers/airmen/Marines and their families, gun control, Prohibition, prayer… and the list goes on.
That’s not my answer.
The tagline for The Shadow was “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?”
I think the real question is “Who knows what gaping depths ache in the hearts of all creation?”
God does.
I don’t say that in a flip “Jesus is always the answer” way. I say that from the bottom of my heart. Within my life, within my work, within my heart, I know that people long for answers, for truth, for light, for control.
If God doesn’t know the depth of that struggle, if God doesn’t understand it, if God doesn’t care, then nothing matters. Nihilistically, we climb the ladders and slide down the chutes. Life sucks and then you die.
But if God does know, if God does care, if God does understand, then we have hope. We believe that new growth comes from death. God came among us as one of us, in Jesus, so that we might know it’s not our struggle that saves us. We’re saved by our faith in the gracious One who struggles and aches alongside us.
Will this knowledge help the families associated with this tragedy? Maybe. Maybe not.
But it helps me. It helps me from saying “Screw it.”
I believe that God was there, muttering about how free will was a bad idea, but the only way this will work. I believe that God was holding the mother and child in their last moments and was there to welcome them to eternal rest. I believe that God was with the shaking, angry, and terribly afraid young father who felt like there were no other options.
I don’t think for a second that this was God’s will. But I do believe that God was present for every moment.
And that’s why I believe living a faithful life matters. Because in believing that God does care, then we are compelled beyond ourselves to share that love and care with the people around us. And it’s phone calls, covered dishes, late nights, letters, hugs, listening, holding tissues, prayer, compassion that can save lives. It’s God that saves souls.
Sometimes in a situation, you wonder if there was anything else you could have done. Sometimes the answer is yes. Sometimes, no. Sometimes someone else could have done something more. Sometimes there was nothing more to be done.
Rest in peace, R and K. Be at peace, K.

Frolic in the Mystery (Easter Sermon)

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Isaiah 65:17-25; Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; 1 Corinthians 15:19-26; Luke 24:1-12

Aren’t Easter services great? Trumpets. Music. Alleluias. Flowers. Drums. Hallelujahs. Bright colors. Christ is risen. Alleluias. Did I mention alleluias?

It’s funny, though, that we don’t see that kind of rejoicing in the Gospel reading, though. The women are afraid when they find the empty tomb. Even though Jesus had told them that he would be raised from the dead, they needed an angelic confirmation to tell them that he was living, that his body was out and about.

After their initial shock, the women scurry back to the upper room where all the disciples are hiding in fear. And the women report what they had seen. And to the disciples, it seemed like an idle tale. It couldn’t be true.

Ever wonder why the disciples didn’t believe the women? Was it because they were women and their witness didn’t count for anything in the ancient world? Maybe. But the disciples, too, had heard Jesus’ promises of being raised up and restored. Could it be that the disciples couldn’t bring themselves to believe because it seemed too good to be true?

After such a harrowing week, the last hurried teachings of Jesus, the horrible trial and the crucifixion, to believe that not only was it over, but that it was OVER… that death and fear and separation from God did not win, but lost in a upset that would rock the universe, known and unknown… could the disciples bring themselves to believe that?

Peter ran out to the tomb and walked away amazed. Was he truly amazed at resurrection or amazed that Jesus’ body was gone or simply overwhelmed at everything that happened over the week. Being amazed isn’t the same as believing.

And that’s the important thing for us to remember. Easter is an event, a resurrection event for all people. Jesus is raised from the dead, so that we might no longer fear death. If we have hope in the resurrection, then we are truly freed to fully live this life. If what has been holding you back is fear of death, fear of getting it wrong, fear of punishment, the empty tomb and cross say to you, to all of us, “Be not afraid. Don’t be dead among the living. Be alive. Be alive in and with and through Christ.” That’s the Easter day message.

But Easter celebration, Easter living, is also a process. None of the women or the men on that first morning whipped out trumpets or banners, they moved around stunned and confused. Could it be true that Jesus was alive again? What did it mean if was true? What did it mean that God had died and was alive again?

It took time for them and it takes time for us to absorb the realities of resurrection, to consider all its implications, to savor its life-giving truth and to realize the power that it brings to faith. Easter is a process, a processional, a constant walk to be closer to God, only to realize that the resurrected God in Jesus has been with you all along.

When we proclaim the mystery of faith, we say “Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.” Each of those things is a mystery. How could God die? How could a man be raised from the dead? What and when will happen in the future? But that proclamation is at the heart of our faith.

And we proclaim that mystery whether or not we fully understand it. That’s what it means to be faithful.

On Friday, when I was in my office, I could hear one of the preschoolers singing a song in the hallway. He knew about three lines of the song and then he would start over. He sang, “Puff the magic dragon lived by the sea and frolicked in the mystery… Puff the magic dragon lived by the sea and frolicked in the mystery… Puff the magic dragon lived by the sea and frolicked in the mystery.”

I loved this image. The idea of frolicking in the mystery. That’s the process of living as Easter people. We believe in the resurrection. We hope that it’s true. We trust that what God promises in Jesus is for all who believe- that we don’t need to be afraid of death. That we are free to live.

And life is what Easter is about. One man didn’t die for all, so that we could wring our hands talk about our unworthiness. One man gave his life, the One God gave the Only Son so that we might really live! And living means rejoicing. Living means hoping. Living is a process that only happens day by day.

And day to day is how we understand Easter. Day to day is how we live with the mysteries of our faith. We appreciate the trumpets, we like the flowers, we’re glad for the alleluias, but we still have our own questions. Tomorrow, even this afternoon, maybe right now, we will still wrestle with faith.

It’s a mystery, this faith. But God calls to us to say, “I know what I have done and I did out of love for you, for your neighbor, for my whole creation.” It’s a mystery – that love. That resurrection. That grace.

The Easter call, God’s call to Easter people, is to frolic in that mystery. To roll in it like fresh grass. To inhale its life-giving breath. To eat at the life-giving table. To splash the water of redemption. To look again and again and again at cross and a tomb that will never cease to be empty.

Is it just an idle tale? Or do you dare to believe that there is God who loved us before we were? That goodness is stronger than evil? That love is greater than death? That a light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not, cannot, will not overcome it?

It’s a mystery that you will not solve. And you don’t have to. You only have to believe it.

Christ is risen. (He is risen indeed.)

Frolic in the mystery.

Amen.

Dream a Little Dream

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Today I’m thinking of the wife of Pontius Pilate. We hardly ever mention her or her dream.


While [Pilate] was sitting on the judgement seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for today I have suffered a great deal because of a dream about him.” Matthew 27:19

There are many traditions about Pilate’s wife, regarding her name, history and even her faith before and after the crucifixion. There has been speculation as to her dream being from the Holy Spirit to bring her to faith and rival contemplation that perhaps her dream was a move by Satan to thwart the plan of salvation through the resurrection. (If Jesus doesn’t die, he can’t be raised now, can he?)

Regardless, in this week of sleeplessness (full moon + breastfeeding + Holy Week), I think of this woman waking up in a cold sweat, calling for a servant and telling him to go without delay to her husband and give him this message. I wonder how she felt when Pilate came home and said, “You won’t believe the day I’ve had.”

There have been many elaborations on this verse. The rock opera/musical/move “Jesus Christ Superstar” gives the dream to Pontius Pilate. You can see that below.

You can also read a poem by Charlotte Brontë elaborating on the dream and the traditions around Pilate’s wife.

We hear so often about the people at the center of Holy Week (Jesus, Pilate, Peter, Judas, Anais and Caiaphas, Herod, the Marys), but we should remember the people who were on the periphery. It’s worth thinking of the events from their point of view. Given that this was an event of biblical proportions (ha!), the scope of the actions is hard to comprehend. So in the middle of the whole story that you know so well, look around at the faces in it and step into the shoes of someone’s whose view point is new and, maybe, fresh.



Pilate’s Wife’s Dream (published under the name Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell)

I’ve quenched my lamp, I struck it in that start
Which every limb convulsed, I heard it fall
The crash blent with my sleep, I saw depart
Its light, even as I woke, on yonder wall;
Over against my bed, there shone a gleam
Strange, faint, and mingling also with my dream.

It sunk, and I am wrapt in utter gloom;
How far is night advanced, and when will day
Retinge the dusk and livid air with bloom,
And fill this void with warm, creative ray?
Would I could sleep again till, clear and red,
Morning shall on the mountain-tops be spread!

I’d call my women, but to break their sleep,
Because my own is broken, were unjust;

They’ve wrought all day, and well-earned slumbers steep
Their labours in forgetfulness, I trust;
Let me my feverish watch with patience bear,
Thankful that none with me its sufferings share.

Yet, Oh, for light! one ray would tranquilise
My nerves, my pulses, more than effort can;
I’ll draw my curtain and consult the skies:
These trembling stars at dead of night look wan,
Wild, restless, strange, yet cannot be more drear
Than this my couch, shared by a nameless fear.

All black one great cloud, drawn from east to west,
Conceals the heavens, but there are lights below;
Torches burn in Jerusalem, and cast
On yonder stony mount a lurid glow.
I see men stationed there, and gleaming spears;
A sound, too, from afar, invades my ears.

Dull, measured, strokes of axe and hammer ring
From street to street, not loud, but through the night
Distinctly heard and some strange spectral thing
Is now upreared and, fixed against the light
Of the pale lamps; defined upon that sky,
It stands up like a column, straight and high.

I see it all I know the dusky sign
A cross on Calvary, which Jews uprear

While Romans watch; and when the dawn shall shine
Pilate, to judge the victim will appear,
Pass sentence yield him up to crucify;
And on that cross the spotless Christ must die.

Dreams, then, are true for thus my vision ran;
Surely some oracle has been with me,
The gods have chosen me to reveal their plan,
To warn an unjust judge of destiny:
I, slumbering, heard and saw; awake I know,
Christ’s coming death, and Pilate’s life of woe.

I do not weep for Pilate who could prove
Regret for him whose cold and crushing sway
No prayer can soften, no appeal can move;
Who tramples hearts as others trample clay,
Yet with a faltering, an uncertain tread,
That might stir up reprisal in the dead.

Forced to sit by his side and see his deeds;
Forced to behold that visage, hour by hour,
In whose gaunt lines, the abhorrent gazer reads
A triple lust of gold, and blood, and power;
A soul whom motives, fierce, yet abject, urge
Rome’s servile slave, and Judah’s tyrant scourge.

How can I love, or mourn, or pity him?
I, who so long my fettered hands have wrung;

I, who for grief have wept my eye-sight dim;
Because, while life for me was bright and young,
He robbed my youth he quenched my life’s fair ray
He crushed my mind, and did my freedom slay.

And at this hour although I be his wife
He has no more of tenderness from me
Than any other wretch of guilty life;
Less, for I know his household privacy
I see him as he is without a screen;
And, by the gods, my soul abhors his mien!

Has he not sought my presence, dyed in blood
Innocent, righteous blood, shed shamelessly?
And have I not his red salute withstood?
Aye, when, as erst, he plunged all Galilee
In dark bereavement in affliction sore,
Mingling their very offerings with their gore.

Then came he in his eyes a serpent-smile,
Upon his lips some false, endearing word,
And, through the streets of Salem, clanged the while,
His slaughtering, hacking, sacrilegious sword
And I, to see a man cause men such woe,
Trembled with ire I did not fear to show.

And now, the envious Jewish priests have brought
Jesus whom they in mockery call their king

To have, by this grim power, their vengeance wrought;
By this mean reptile, innocence to sting.
Oh! could I but the purposed doom avert,
And shield the blameless head from cruel hurt!

Accessible is Pilate’s heart to fear,
Omens will shake his soul, like autumn leaf;
Could he this night’s appalling vision hear,
This just man’s bonds were loosed, his life were safe,
Unless that bitter priesthood should prevail,
And make even terror to their malice quail.

Yet if I tell the dream but let me pause.
What dream? Erewhile the characters were clear,
Graved on my brain at once some unknown cause
Has dimmed and rased the thoughts, which now appear,
Like a vague remnant of some by-past scene;
Not what will be, but what, long since, has been.

I suffered many things, I heard foretold
A dreadful doom for Pilate, lingering woes,
In far, barbarian climes, where mountains cold
Built up a solitude of trackless snows,
There, he and grisly wolves prowled side by side,
There he lived famished there methought he died;

But not of hunger, nor by malady;
I saw the snow around him, stained with gore;

I said I had no tears for such as he,
And, lo! my cheek is wet mine eyes run o’er;
I weep for mortal suffering, mortal guilt,
I weep the impious deed the blood self-spilt.

More I recall not, yet the vision spread
Into a world remote, an age to come
And still the illumined name of Jesus shed
A light, a clearness, through the enfolding gloom
And still I saw that sign, which now I see,
That cross on yonder brow of Calvary.

What is this Hebrew Christ ? To me unknown,
His lineage doctrine mission yet how clear,
Is God-like goodness, in his actions shewn!
How straight and stainless is his life’s career!
The ray of Deity that rests on him,
In my eyes makes Olympian glory dim.

The world advances, Greek, or Roman rite
Suffices not the inquiring mind to stay;
The searching soul demands a purer light
To guide it on its upward, onward way;
Ashamed of sculptured gods Religion turns
To where the unseen Jehovah’s altar burns.

Our faith is rotten all our rites defiled,
Our temples sullied, and methinks, this man,
With his new ordinance, so wise and mild,
Is come, even as he says, the chaff to fan

And sever from the wheat; but will his faith
Survive the terrors of to-morrow’s death?

I feel a firmer trust, a higher hope
Rise in my soul it dawns with dawning day;
Lo ! on the Temple’s roof on Moriah’s slope
Appears at length that clear, and crimson ray,
Which I so wished for when shut in by night;
Oh, opening skies, I hail, I bless your light!

Part, clouds and shadows! glorious Sun appear!
Part, mental gloom! Come insight from on high!
Dusk dawn in heaven still strives with daylight clear,
The longing soul, doth still uncertain sigh.
Oh! to behold the truth that sun divine,
How doth my bosom pant, my spirit pine!

What Happened?

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So, if you’ve been checking regularly for the continuation of the bracket series, it will be resurrected (so to speak) after Easter. Each bracket takes time and extra writing time is not magically appearing in the Holy Week season. And, yes, I do know it wasn’t Holy Week last week, however- there is more than one week’s planning going on here. I don’t think I can manage 32 face-offs, but I’ve done three and I have at least five other topics, so an “Elite Eight” will happen. If you’re frustrated by this, talk to the blog followers who’ve been waiting for me to finish the “50 most important Scriptures” series.

Bracket 3: Infant Baptism v. Consecration Edition

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Today’s game is sponsored by:

The Real Presence of Christ.
So you aren’t sure you’re getting what you need from the bread and wine? Christ has promised to be present in these earthly elements to feed our faith and to strengthen us to do what He has called us to do. The love of Christ compels to come and eat and then to go and serve. He’s there. He has to be. He promised.
Today we’re looking at infant baptism versus consecration. The baptizing of infants is a sticking point for many Christians in getting along. How can an infant be considered able to respond to God’s call? Furthermore, does an infant need cleansing from sin? Some people classify the opposite of infant baptism as “believer’s baptism”. However, I think it’s safe to assume that the persons who bring their child to be baptized believe in what’s being done there. So, let’s say “adult baptism”.
Are infants sinless? Well, yes, if you consider sin only to be deliberate, conscious actions. However, when we confess our sins, we confess to things known and unknown. Infants represent humanity at its best and worst, free from worldly encumbrances and yet totally self-centered. My son loves me, but he wants what he wants when he wants it. He did at 6 minutes and does at 6 months. Is this sin? Well, maybe it’s not currently separating him from God, but if I don’t help him learn (as he grows) that the world doesn’t revolve around him (news flash from Copernicus!), then his faith life will be affected. At some point, even early on, we wrestle with the fact that we aren’t in control. Maybe infants aren’t yet sinners, but they aren’t perfect.
The idea that lack of perfection brings us to baptism as strict salvation from hellfire is a problem. When we reduce baptism to a magical escape from hell, we bring infants (and adults) to the font (or river) out of fear, rather than out of a response to God’s call and grace. Baptism is part of God’s redeeming action concerning everyone. When people are baptized, we recognize and welcome them into the faithful journey with us. We’re bringing them into the discipling and disciplining life of the church. Even children can be disciples (and disciplined).
People who disagree with infant baptism argue that an infant isn’t able to “decide for faith”. Consecrating an infant (like christening) dedicates a child to God, but allows the child to later make a profession of faith on their own accord and then be baptized. Presumably, this would happen when he or she was old enough to ask questions and understand answers about faith, God, Scripture and the life of the church. This can mean that children are young adults (or even older adults) by the time this happens.
If we believe that baptism calls us to recognize the work of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life (whether they do or not) and brings them into the life of the church, why wouldn’t we extend that to every person around us- regardless of age? Furthermore, if we believe that God is always the agent of action (you can’t invite Jesus, he’s invited you), then who are we to decide the structure of the means of grace? If people can be baptized by their own tears, why do we need to control the ritual?
Because rampant grace is scary. It’s overwhelming. And it means we don’t totally have Christ nailed down. (We tried that once and it didn’t work then either.) I’ve yet to meet an adult, any adult, who could fully, totally and confidently explain what happens during Holy Communion or Baptism. I’ve yet to meet an adult, any adult, who could fully, totally and confidently say that they believed in every promise of God, every day, with every breath. I’ve yet to meet one who didn’t feel like they had more to learn.
Even Paul tells us that we must put away the things of children and act as adult (1 Cor. 13:11), but Jesus reminds us that little children are beloved to him and urges us to be more like children (Matthew 18:3).
When I see children at the communion rail with their hands extended, I know they’re doing it because they see others doing it, because they see their parents doing it. They want to be in on the action. Isn’t that the truest expression of faith, though?
I may not totally understand what’s happening. I might not totally be able to explain how it happens. But I want in on it.
Somewhere between what we think we know, what we know for sure and what really confuses us, the Spirit intercedes with sighs to deep for words and helps us to say, “Hey, I want to be a part of that.”
Children get it. They know they want it before they know they need it. By the time we’re adults, we know we need it, but we aren’t always sure we want it.
If we believe 1) that the Spirit is at work in the life of child from the time he or she born, 2) that children will grow in faith, just as adults do, 3) that God is capable of using even children for the good of the kingdom and 4) that the resurrection is for all creation, regardless of age or understanding…
Then why would we keep infants from being baptized? Baptism isn’t the end, it’s the beginning. And when you know what abundant life can be like, wouldn’t you want that from the beginning?
Winner: Infant Baptism- Grace for all, exclusion for none
(Now who wants me to help them remember their baptism by pouring this Gatorade on them? Anyone?)

Bracket 2: Paul v. Paul (Paul v. Women Edition)

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There is no more loved and more hated person in Christian history than Paul of Tarsus. (I could make good cases for Constantine in that category, but that’s not this bracket.) Paul deriders say he was a misogynistic egotist who hated Jews (might have even been the original self-hating Jew) and moved Christianity to the margins today because of his words. Paul supporters say he was a great philosopher who was far more open than his day would have allowed and, without him, Christianity might never have become a mainstream religion, much less the powerhouse that it is today.

For the sake of the argument, let’s allow in the game the seven books (just like b-ball!) that we’re pretty sure were penned by Paul: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Philemon, Galatians, Philippians and 1 Thessalonians. There’s a place for redaction criticism (as a point guard) later in this game, but I’d like to point out first that this Scriptural debate is brought to you by…
God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit: True Author of the Written Word. For all your inspiration needs, see God. You might like the Big 10, but we worship the Big 3-in-1!
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming:
Was Paul anti-woman? Let’s consider 1 Corinthians 14:34-36: “[W]omen should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in church.”
Redaction arguments posit that this was added later to the text. As the letters of Paul were gathered together, an editor added this note (which appears textually in parentheses) to keep Paul in line with the Pastoral Epistles (1 and 2 Timothy, 1 and 2 Peter, James, Titus), which were being written at the time to help the early church as it became a more formal organization.
Using the “editor added it later” argument helps Paul, but I call traveling. That argument runs down the court with the ball, which gets you to the goal, but without abiding by the rules.
Let’s throw it in from the sidelines and consider what else Paul has to say about women in 1 Corinthians (at the very least). How about 1 Corinthians 11:5: “[B]ut any woman who prays or prophesies with her head unveiled disgraces her head- it is one and the same as having her head shaved.”
People get caught up in the idea that this verse establishes the godly mandate for long hair on women. However, that misses the point just a little bit. Any woman who prays or prophesies would seem to be a more crucial phrase. Paul is taking it for granted that women will pray and prophesy. And this wouldn’t be just among other women. Paul greets women by name in congregations in the Letter to the Romans and he affirms equality all before the Lord in Galatians, “In Christ, there is no Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ” (Gal. 3:28)
Secondly, in 1 Corinthians 7:2-5, Paul says, “But because of the cases of sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; likewise her husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another except perhaps by agreement for a set time, to devote yourselves to prayer, and then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self control!”
(Let the crowd do the wave, so we can get the air moving again.)
Paul will go on to say he wishes that everyone could remain unmarried, but not everyone has the gift for celibacy, which he did. However, this is a radical statement of equality in marriage. Unlike in non-Christians marriages, where each spouse might have his or her own lovers (or two) and unite only for the purpose of children (offspring being a necessity to cement a marriage, which was most likely political in nature at all levels of society), Paul is proposing that spouses cleave only (only!) to one another. Furthermore, he’s asserting that the wife has the same rights regarding her body and her sexual expectations as does the husband! That’s pretty impressive for an alleged woman- hater.
So, what’s with that women-silent-in-church passage? Since we’re going with the understanding that it was written by Paul, then we have to figure it out. It doesn’t really stand with the other passages on women that we know are from his hand. Is there another explanation?
What if Paul was being sarcastic? He was known for putting a sharp twist on his words when he needed to.
1 Corinthians is one letter or a collection of letters that Paul writes to a congregation he knows and who has written to him with some spiritual issues. There are concerns about people speaking in tongues, eating meat sacrificed to idols, sexual immorality and other issues. Paul mostly advises people to play it safe when dealing with issues that could interfere with the faith life of a brother or sister. Is your brother in faith very worried about your habit of eating meat sold out the back of the temple, previously sacrificed to some Roman god? Then grab for the bean pods when you’re with him and don’t push him on it. (1 Cor. 8:13)
Yet, if Paul thinks it’s important, he can have a firm hand. Romans 6:1-2, “What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it?” Paul is dramatically making his point that though God’s grace is for all people and covers all our sins, we don’t keep sinning for access to that grace.
1 Corinthians 14:36- “Or did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only ones it has reached?” This comment follows the dictates about women speaking in church. If we go with the idea that the instruction about silent women came later, this latter sentence would be read to understand that elsewhere God makes it clear that women have no authority or right to speak in church.
Since that does not stand with the rest of the biblical narrative (which has some mouthy, holy women!), perhaps this is Paul scolding the men of the Corinthian church for adopting maxim from other religions or the larger culture.
In other words, what Paul may well be saying is:
“I’ve heard you’ve adopted a new church policy: “Women don’t talk here.” You expect women to be silent worship participants, is that it? Women should go home and talk to their husbands and never in the gathering of the body, where men always know best. Well, how wonderful for you that you know the law so well? And where is that this is written? Oh, it’s not, but you know that it’s the desire of the Spirit? How amazing that we have such enlightened and spiritual individuals in our midst. They know the mind of God better than I, Paul, your teacher. They even know it better than God himself.”
I think Paul snatches the ball, runs down the court and, despite his limpy, bowed legs, he’s got a slam-dunk before others know he had the ball.
Christianity does have some misogynistic roots and it has a history of trying to keep women quiet, but that tree hasn’t grown from Paul. Maybe from misinterpretation of Paul and misattribution of words to him, but I think Paul’s writing stands as a testament to a God who does not discriminate and a Spirit who is equally indiscriminate and to a Savior who dined with and died for all.
Paul “Votes for Women” of Tarsus wins this bracket. Which means that women win as well.
(This topic got expansive. Other Pauline issues have been benched for future games.)

Bracket 1: Ecumenism v. Inter-faith Relations

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In the spirit of the NCAA 2010 Basketball tournament, I’ve decided to do a little blog bracketing. Now, for the most part, there won’t be actual competition between the “opponents”, but I will do my best to explain something that’s confusing about the two, how they’re different or I just might bring them head to head and see who has the power.

In today’s bracket, we have ecumenism up against inter-faith relations. These terms are often used interchangeably, as though they were synonyms. They are not the same thing. You could do both, but not with the same partner. An event could be both interfaith AND ecumenical, but it would need at least 3 participants.
Ecumenism is Christians working together. Since Vatican II (and before), there has been a desire for one Christian church, yet Christians often find more points of disagreement than agreement. While most (but not all) Christian churches are willing to participate in joint spiritual activities with other Christian churches, most continue to worship regularly, separately.
While, arguably, Christians should be able to unite under the cross for the sake of the world, it doesn’t happen for a variety of reasons. I will offer myself as an example. I would be unwilling to join with the Roman Catholic Church and acknowledge the Pope as the head of the Church. That’s a stumbling block to me. Yet I’m very glad to work with my Catholic brothers and sisters in ecumenical services. There are churches that will never permit the ordination of women. The fact of my ordination cannot be a fact to them since it is unacceptable. Yet they are willing, often, to put aside that issue so that we might work on a neighborhood service project or joint worship service.
Ecumenism is a struggle and a hope.
Inter-faith relations are exactly what they sound like. Relationships between people (or worship bodies) of different faiths. This could be relationships between organizations (a mosque and a church) or between people (a group of Methodists and a group of Mormons). Interfaith worship services can be touchy, because people either go ahead and acknowledge their differences (if a rabbi is praying, he/she is not going to do it in the name of Jesus) and let them stand or the organizers will try to make the service palatable to everyone and, thus, often meaningful to no one.
Inter-faith relationships are important because they increase understanding between groups. Faith families often have the power than states/governments lack to build relationships and develop communities.
The struggle in inter-faith relationships is how to take my faith seriously and respect yours. In my case, as a Christian, I have to take seriously Jesus’ call in the Great Commission to go, baptize and teach all nations. If I take my faith seriously, then I do believe no one comes to God except through Christ. And I have to explain that to you, so that you might know the saving grace that is God’s in Jesus.
Of course, the flipside is that the devout non-Christian sitting across from me is just as concerned about my soul as I, theirs. As much as we long to acknowledge one another faithfully, God calls us to be faithful first to the One who has been faithful to us. Even in acknowledging the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, we’re leaving out Ishmael.
[Positive] Inter-faith relations are a struggle and a hope.
So, if these came to a tourney, which would win? Well, I guess that depends on the nature of the competition. And who’s playing.
Ultimately, I think they will go into sudden death overtime…
and God will win.