Advent is a season of spiritual and emotional preparation and promise. It is not a season of fulfillment.
Pastoral types have been challenged by the distinction, probably as long as there has been a complete liturgical calendar. People in the church want to ruch headlong into the fulfillment of Jesus' birth at Christmas. Even the general public, likely motivated by commerce and profit margins, wants to rush to Christmas. If we are to receive Christ Jesus, however, we must prepare for his arrival.
Preparing for Jesus' arrival is not so easy, however.
In Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary, we derive the worship and study themes for most weeks of the liturgical calendar from the Gospel According to Luke. In faithful preparation, we must therefore consider the portrait of Christ Jesus that is painted by that Gospel's author. Two things are certain. Firstly, Luke's portrait of Christ is distinct from the one that is painted by the other Gospels. Secondly, that portrai determines what Jesus says and does, in comparison to the other Gospels. In all honesty, we lose the impact of each story if we attempt to impose the overall, conflated picture of Jesus Christ on any of the Gospels. The same is true of Luke's story.
In Luke's Advent, we are preparing for the coming of one who is savior to all people, not just for the Judaic world, as in Matthew. The salvation of Luke's Christ comes in the form of a superhuman, almost pagan, description. Jesus is born miraculously, like the demi-gods of Hellenistic lore. He can accomplish what other humans only dream of doing. His presence is curiously cosmic, where the divine is at work against the evils of the world.
Among those evils of the world against which the divine fights in Luke's Christ Jesus are inequality, divisiveness, separation, prejudice and disparity. The promise is of one who comes to bring justice, where valleys are lifted up and hills brought low. He exercises radical equality, where Mary receives the annunciation, where the blind and the lame and the lepers represent all who have been excluded. Jesus comes as their savior, every bit as much as he comes as the savior of those who meet in the synagogues of Galilee and Asia Minor. He is the savior especially of the downtrodden, the rejected, the excluded, the red-tented masses of faith.
In the context of Luke's portrait of Jesus, we can imagine one "preparing the way of the Lord, making his paths straight," or singing, "My soul magnifies the Lord, for God has considered the lowly estate of God's own handmaid." The cries come from the economically, politically, culturally deprived, from those who had been victimized by the systems under which they were forced to live. Those same cries had previously fallen on the deaf ears of the powerful, positioned, privileged few, who determined, from their gilded towers, what was good for everyone.
If the Church is to faithfully prepare itself for the coming of this Christ, then it had better become mindful of its own privilege, power, position vis-a-vis the poor and destitute who have been victimized by the ways that we have chosen to live together. It had better take seriously the possibility that it, like the Temple and synagogue, like the Mosque and meeting places of religions the world over, can and do become instruments of discrimination, rejection, exclusion, violence and hatred.
In preparation for Luke's Christ, we have to take seriously the idea that the Church that bears Christ's name, in fact every religious institution and practice, is responsible for the salvation of the lowly, oppressed, secular masses. We are called to swallow the pride that would focus Christ's attention only on us, the good and right ones, widening the scope of our work to include those whom society and culture have ignored.
This is difficult work for those who have believed that their participation and faithfulness sets them apart or makes them better than others. It is difficult as well for those who demand that the Church serve them, instead of serving those who struggle and suffer. To be faithful to Luke's Christ, and in order to practice his form of salvific work, the Church must attend particularly to the needs of the secular world, to societal wrongs and cultural biases.
The preparation is difficult indeed. The benefits of this incarnation of God's will pays dividends which, we are promised, benefit all people and every person. Get ready! Here he comes!
Monday, November 30, 2015
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Thanksgiving
I have been taking stock and inventory recently of those things that I seem to take for granted. These are little things for which I could demonstrate thankfulness, but often do not. Maybe I am too busy. Maybe I just don't see them for as important a factor in my life as I could. Maybe I have just grown lazy in my capacity for appreciation.
No matter. This week, since it is Thanksgiving, I take a moment to pause and give thanks for those unstated blessings in my life:
I am thankful for my family. My wife and daughter form a constant support network that allows me to do the ministry to which I am called. Lisa, my wife, has shared thirty years of my life, longer now than I experienced life without her before we were married in 1986. Casey, our daughter, has been a continual source of joy and amusement, even sometimes when she has not intended to be. We were also fortunate to add to our family a new son-in-law, Justin. She and Justin were married in July. It has been a pleasure to include him. I am also thankful that my mother is still living and that I have brothers and their families. I give thanks for my family.
I am thankful for the congregation that I serve. Shiloh is a unique place to "live the word by serving the world." Where else can a pastor see four huge mission activities at the same time? Shiloh just completed a food collection, that consisted of more than 100 bags of food, to be distributed between two local food banks. The congregation is also involved in its 14th annual provision of an ark for Heifer Project International. The cost of each ark is $5,000. Shiloh will also be distributing the $10,000 that was made from its annual golf outing to needy families for the holidays. We will assist nearly 100 families in celebrating a brighter Christmas. Shiloh is also collecting hats, mittens, scarves and other winter gear for Valerie School through its "Mitten Tree." This is being accomplished in the midst of Christmas Musical, Christmas parties, decorations, worship, Bible study and everything else that Shiloh does. I give thanks for Shiloh Church.
I am thankful for my calling. Even though clergy types like to gather and complain about the difficulty of the calling to which we have been called, there is significant meaning and purpose to the career that others may not see. One cannot express adequately the joy of seeing the spark of epiphany in persons at worship or in Bible study. It is impossible to communicate the meaning behind a person who had grown up in a congregation that one has served who claims that those years were foundational to life and faith. One cannot celebrate enough the opportunity to express God's love and grace amongst a community that respects and supports it. I give thanks for my calling.
I am thankful that I live in Dayton. Sure, the community has its challenges. That simply means that the opportunities here for meaningful ministry and important service are plentiful. Shiloh has been an arena in which the community can address issues of proper health care, economic opportunities, racial divisions, life-choice discrimination, ageism, sexism and a host of other important social and religious issues. I appreciate the fact that those conversations are taking place. Many communities shy away from discussion of important issues. Dayton has been bold in approaching the problems that lie in contemporary culture. Could we do more? Certainly. But I am thankful for the bright, energetic, creative people of Dayton, Ohio. At least we try.
Most of all, though, I am thankful that I live in a nation at a time when cultural evolution is compelling us toward unity, despite diversity, and acceptance of every person, despite differences among us. I am thankful that we are free to express, examine, accept or reject the open vistas that lie before us. Some around the world are not so fortunate. We are blessed to dream, to imagine, to strive for something better, other, alternative. We are not satisfied with the way things are because we can imagine a better way. We can see a brighter day. We can dare to dream about another configuration and more functional systems. And we can work for fulfillment of a vision that promises a day when humanity shares, cares, loves and works for the benefit of every person. I give thanks that the day about which we dream is just around the corner. Maybe it comes tomorrow.
Have a great Thanksgiving! Be thankful!
No matter. This week, since it is Thanksgiving, I take a moment to pause and give thanks for those unstated blessings in my life:
I am thankful for my family. My wife and daughter form a constant support network that allows me to do the ministry to which I am called. Lisa, my wife, has shared thirty years of my life, longer now than I experienced life without her before we were married in 1986. Casey, our daughter, has been a continual source of joy and amusement, even sometimes when she has not intended to be. We were also fortunate to add to our family a new son-in-law, Justin. She and Justin were married in July. It has been a pleasure to include him. I am also thankful that my mother is still living and that I have brothers and their families. I give thanks for my family.
I am thankful for the congregation that I serve. Shiloh is a unique place to "live the word by serving the world." Where else can a pastor see four huge mission activities at the same time? Shiloh just completed a food collection, that consisted of more than 100 bags of food, to be distributed between two local food banks. The congregation is also involved in its 14th annual provision of an ark for Heifer Project International. The cost of each ark is $5,000. Shiloh will also be distributing the $10,000 that was made from its annual golf outing to needy families for the holidays. We will assist nearly 100 families in celebrating a brighter Christmas. Shiloh is also collecting hats, mittens, scarves and other winter gear for Valerie School through its "Mitten Tree." This is being accomplished in the midst of Christmas Musical, Christmas parties, decorations, worship, Bible study and everything else that Shiloh does. I give thanks for Shiloh Church.
I am thankful for my calling. Even though clergy types like to gather and complain about the difficulty of the calling to which we have been called, there is significant meaning and purpose to the career that others may not see. One cannot express adequately the joy of seeing the spark of epiphany in persons at worship or in Bible study. It is impossible to communicate the meaning behind a person who had grown up in a congregation that one has served who claims that those years were foundational to life and faith. One cannot celebrate enough the opportunity to express God's love and grace amongst a community that respects and supports it. I give thanks for my calling.
I am thankful that I live in Dayton. Sure, the community has its challenges. That simply means that the opportunities here for meaningful ministry and important service are plentiful. Shiloh has been an arena in which the community can address issues of proper health care, economic opportunities, racial divisions, life-choice discrimination, ageism, sexism and a host of other important social and religious issues. I appreciate the fact that those conversations are taking place. Many communities shy away from discussion of important issues. Dayton has been bold in approaching the problems that lie in contemporary culture. Could we do more? Certainly. But I am thankful for the bright, energetic, creative people of Dayton, Ohio. At least we try.
Most of all, though, I am thankful that I live in a nation at a time when cultural evolution is compelling us toward unity, despite diversity, and acceptance of every person, despite differences among us. I am thankful that we are free to express, examine, accept or reject the open vistas that lie before us. Some around the world are not so fortunate. We are blessed to dream, to imagine, to strive for something better, other, alternative. We are not satisfied with the way things are because we can imagine a better way. We can see a brighter day. We can dare to dream about another configuration and more functional systems. And we can work for fulfillment of a vision that promises a day when humanity shares, cares, loves and works for the benefit of every person. I give thanks that the day about which we dream is just around the corner. Maybe it comes tomorrow.
Have a great Thanksgiving! Be thankful!
Monday, November 09, 2015
Back on Track
Somewhere along the lines, probably in order to grow the institutional model of the organizational church, we abandoned the ethic of Jesus Christ. The good news is that the cultural evolution in which we currently find ourselves is forcing the Church of Jesus Christ to find its way back to the ethic of Christ, that upon which it was originally based.
Those are pretty bold statements. Let me do a little more explanation.
The historical Jesus stood for grace from within an institution of law. The tradition in which Jesus was raised taught that persons who failed to live up to a standard of law were defiled. Worse, they defiled those with whom they came into contact. Those persons were to be avoided. They were to be ostracized, rejected and expelled from everything in which the "good and righteous" ones were involved. There were no jobs for them, no Temple or synagogue, no interaction, no inclusion, no hope and no solace. If persons differed from the proscribed normative standards of those who were in power, then they were left outside to look, forever, at the fortunes of others.
Jesus rejected the normative standards that were set by the exclusionary and judgmental power elite, who interpreted and applied the law according to their own desires. Jesus learned, contrary to their applications of law, to exercise mercy and love for every person, whether or not they belonged to the "good and righteous" population. In fact, Jesus found response in those communities of rejection and shame. He found there an openness to a practical grace that is reflected in the archetype of Crucifixion and Resurrection, where persons are called, enabled and equipped to go out of their way in an effort to improve the lives of others. Jesus brought grace and tore down the citadels of exclusion and judgmentalism.
Paul continued, and likely expanded, the theology of grace by concentrating exclusively on the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ as the ethic from which faithful men and women are directed to act. In Paul, the ethic of Christ is fully articulated.
But Paul's grace is rejected in the early Church. The ethic of Christ is supplanted in the formula for leadership in the developing institutional Church, post-90. The formula is called "Apostolic Succession." In Apostolic Succession, only those who can trace their theological lineage back to one of the original disciples may claim authority in the developing institutional church. This was, of course, a rejection of the theology of grace in Paul and, by extension, removal of the ethic of Christ as the guiding foundation for following Christ.
Soon after 90, the early developing Christian tradition rejected the theology of grace in Paul and, in the void, embraced again the theology of law, orthodoxy, rule and regulation. Within a century of the historical Jesus, the developing institution that used his name rejected the his grace.
Through the ages, especially through the promise of the Great Reformation of the 16th century, it looked like the Protestant Church of Jesus Christ may have acted to recover the theology of grace that we learned in Jesus and Paul. Instead, we fell back into denominationalism and additional division. The ethic of Christ remained in subjection to the orthodoxies of institutions and organizations. The needs of those institutions and organizations supplanted the ethic of Christ in the practical work of the Church.
Since 1968, however, there has been a cultural shift afoot. That shift has ushered in an age of acceptance and diversity that is unprecedented in the annuls of history. The culture began moving toward something that looked a great deal like the ethic of Christ. It distrusted the motivations of institutions, organizations and governments. It rejected authority for authority's sake. It looked suspiciously on those who claimed natural rights of privilege and began to question statements of superiority.
The institutional, organizational, orthodox-driven denominations began to diminish. The cultural standards for faith-based organizations shifted from power to servanthood. Those institutions that remained faithful only to their own rule of law have fought hard against the cultural evolution and have, at least somewhat, delayed it. But the cultural evolution toward acceptance and natural rights is inevitable. It will continue to develop, no matter the objection of those who have been mired in their own orthodoxies of control and manipulation.
This is great good news for the Church of Jesus Christ. Thanks to the cultural evolution that is unfolding around us, we can embrace again the theology of grace in Christ Jesus. We can embody again the archetype of Crucifixion and Resurrection from Paul. We can begin again to put in place a practical theology through which all persons are served, where we work for universal human rights, and where we spend our time, energy, talents and money on making the world a better place for everyone. For everyone. Every one.
God is at work in the cultural evolution in which we find ourselves. And that cultural evolution is advent of an ecclesial one. Thanks be to God for getting us back on track.
Those are pretty bold statements. Let me do a little more explanation.
The historical Jesus stood for grace from within an institution of law. The tradition in which Jesus was raised taught that persons who failed to live up to a standard of law were defiled. Worse, they defiled those with whom they came into contact. Those persons were to be avoided. They were to be ostracized, rejected and expelled from everything in which the "good and righteous" ones were involved. There were no jobs for them, no Temple or synagogue, no interaction, no inclusion, no hope and no solace. If persons differed from the proscribed normative standards of those who were in power, then they were left outside to look, forever, at the fortunes of others.
Jesus rejected the normative standards that were set by the exclusionary and judgmental power elite, who interpreted and applied the law according to their own desires. Jesus learned, contrary to their applications of law, to exercise mercy and love for every person, whether or not they belonged to the "good and righteous" population. In fact, Jesus found response in those communities of rejection and shame. He found there an openness to a practical grace that is reflected in the archetype of Crucifixion and Resurrection, where persons are called, enabled and equipped to go out of their way in an effort to improve the lives of others. Jesus brought grace and tore down the citadels of exclusion and judgmentalism.
Paul continued, and likely expanded, the theology of grace by concentrating exclusively on the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ as the ethic from which faithful men and women are directed to act. In Paul, the ethic of Christ is fully articulated.
But Paul's grace is rejected in the early Church. The ethic of Christ is supplanted in the formula for leadership in the developing institutional Church, post-90. The formula is called "Apostolic Succession." In Apostolic Succession, only those who can trace their theological lineage back to one of the original disciples may claim authority in the developing institutional church. This was, of course, a rejection of the theology of grace in Paul and, by extension, removal of the ethic of Christ as the guiding foundation for following Christ.
Soon after 90, the early developing Christian tradition rejected the theology of grace in Paul and, in the void, embraced again the theology of law, orthodoxy, rule and regulation. Within a century of the historical Jesus, the developing institution that used his name rejected the his grace.
Through the ages, especially through the promise of the Great Reformation of the 16th century, it looked like the Protestant Church of Jesus Christ may have acted to recover the theology of grace that we learned in Jesus and Paul. Instead, we fell back into denominationalism and additional division. The ethic of Christ remained in subjection to the orthodoxies of institutions and organizations. The needs of those institutions and organizations supplanted the ethic of Christ in the practical work of the Church.
Since 1968, however, there has been a cultural shift afoot. That shift has ushered in an age of acceptance and diversity that is unprecedented in the annuls of history. The culture began moving toward something that looked a great deal like the ethic of Christ. It distrusted the motivations of institutions, organizations and governments. It rejected authority for authority's sake. It looked suspiciously on those who claimed natural rights of privilege and began to question statements of superiority.
The institutional, organizational, orthodox-driven denominations began to diminish. The cultural standards for faith-based organizations shifted from power to servanthood. Those institutions that remained faithful only to their own rule of law have fought hard against the cultural evolution and have, at least somewhat, delayed it. But the cultural evolution toward acceptance and natural rights is inevitable. It will continue to develop, no matter the objection of those who have been mired in their own orthodoxies of control and manipulation.
This is great good news for the Church of Jesus Christ. Thanks to the cultural evolution that is unfolding around us, we can embrace again the theology of grace in Christ Jesus. We can embody again the archetype of Crucifixion and Resurrection from Paul. We can begin again to put in place a practical theology through which all persons are served, where we work for universal human rights, and where we spend our time, energy, talents and money on making the world a better place for everyone. For everyone. Every one.
God is at work in the cultural evolution in which we find ourselves. And that cultural evolution is advent of an ecclesial one. Thanks be to God for getting us back on track.
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