Reflecting on Advent

Christmas is coming and the world bustles about in eager anticipation of the festivities and jovialitaies of the holiday. Even in this increasingly secularized society there is a palpable feeling of jubilance. This is the season of giving for some, the season of family for many, the season of hope for others. Many churches are decorating with lights and greenery and planning myriad parties, potlucks, concerts, and other galas. Bishop Sutton, in his sermon this morning, reminded us that as the liturgical calendar presents for us today as the first Sunday in advent, we are encouraged to step away from the mirth and prepare ourselves for the coming of the King.

Juxtaposed against the laughter and chipper cheerfulness we see around us, the season of Advent has been interjected into the calendar of the church as a penitential season. The liturgical calendar, the calendar whereby the church has measured time for these many centuries, begins with a time of reflection and preparation. Where just this last Wednesday, during the eucharist service for Thanksgiving, and the services that have preceded since Easter, the Gloria in Excelsis has been sung as a joyful and exuberant proclamation of praise, during this penitential season it is silenced. This season calls us to wait eagerly for the coming of our King, but to do so with reflection and preparation of ourselves for that coming.

Imagine if you will that you knew that in one month you would be visited by an earthly king. Would you not spend a large portion of that month in preparation? You would clean your house from top to bottom, and then go through it once or twice more. You would have your clothes picked out long in advance and schedule an appointment with the hairdresser shortly before his arrival. In this season of Advent we are doing just that. We are anticipating the coming of the King of Glory, the Incarnate Son, the Word made flesh. Not only are we remembering His incarnation, which would be cause for celebration enough, but we are also looking forward to His return. He came in the incarnation as a feeble child but will return as the conquering victor.

In the midst of the bustle of the world around us, the church has the gift of the Advent season to help us prepare ourselves for this anticipated coming. This is a time to repent and to humble ourselves before God Almighty. It is a time to recommit ourselves to His service.

Allow me to share the words to one of my favorite hymns, which I find to encapsulate the whole of the Advent season. In silence and wonder we are penitent in preparation for His coming, reverently reflecting upon His worth for our worship. Just as our joyous praise fully resumes in response to the presence of our King, we join the angels as they ceaselessly cry Alleluia. These ancient words are from the 4th century Liturgy of St. James:

Let all mortal flesh keep silence,
And with fear and trembling stand;
Ponder nothing earthly minded,
For with blessing in His hand,
Christ our God to earth descendeth,
Our full homage to demand.

King of kings, yet born of Mary,
As of old on earth He stood,
Lord of lords, in human vesture,
In the body and the blood;
He will give to all the faithful
His own self for heavenly food.

Rank on rank the host of heaven
Spreads its vanguard on the way,
As the Light of light descendeth
From the realms of endless day,
That the powers of hell may vanish
As the darkness clears away.

At His feet the six winged seraph,
Cherubim with sleepless eye,
Veil their faces to the presence,
As with ceaseless voice they cry:
Alleluia, Alleluia
Alleluia, Lord Most High!

Baby Name Contest, Round 3

** Round 3 Over **

** Comments Closed **

** New Clues in Round 4 **

We are less than three months away from meeting our daughter, and are very eager to do so. As some of you know, the due date is the end of February but the doctor has told us that we would be wise to have the nursery ready closer to the beginning of the month. Apparently he anticipates her being eager to meet us too.

One need only begin to read and study the Old Testament to realize that naming is not a casual activity. So here's a free clue: meaning matters. There are some names we considered that both looked and sounded beautiful, but upon delving into their meaning or considering historically those associated with the name the choice to not choose that name was simple.

For the rules and to peruse the previous clues, go to the "Round 1" and "Round 2" posts earlier in my blog.

Clues for round 3:

Clue 3-1
Both names have the same ethnic origin.

Clue 3-2

The other initial is "Z".

Prayer for the Children (from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer):

ALMIGHTY God, heavenly Father, who hast blessed us with the joy and care of children; Give us light and strength so to train them, that they may love whatsoever things are true and pure and lovely and of good report, following the example of their Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Let's Get Ready to Rumble: The Fight for Thankfulness

Thanksgiving is upon us again and the competition between celebrating gluttony and expressing true thankfulness is in full swing. In the red corner is Hedonism, with a left jab from the food industry and a right uppercut from the consumer industry, both honed with the guidance of the entertainment industry. The promotion team for this powerhouse fills the nodes and circuits of computers and HD TVs with reminders of all the food that must be consumed in honor of this day and all the sales that must be discovered for the latest fad gadget, designer outfit, or pop-star emblazoned knick-knack.

In the blue corner, seeming to struggle from old age and neglect, is Thankfulness. This southpaw from a bygone era seems to be a poor matchup for this bout; one may wonder why he hasn't been entered in the featherweight category when you look at him next to Hedonism. His jab of remembrance is tenacious though and his left hook of gratitude will set your head spinning if it connects.

These two competitors have met in this ring for many a match, and although Hedonism has been winning more decisively in recent years he has yet to get in a knock-out blow. Unfortunately for Thankfulness, his training during the year is less intense than it used to be and is becoming increasingly sporadic altogether. Thankfulness needs constant exercise, otherwise, when it is brought out for its annual title bout, it will quickly succumb to Hedonism, who is on a persistent and constant training program all through the year.

May I suggest that our attempts at being thankful at this time of year are futile when we don't live a lifestyle of thankfulness throughout the rest of the year. The problem is that even our attempts at being thankful quickly become expressions of our hedonism, materialism, and selfish interests. I have found myself, when praying at times, to settle into a mantra of thankfulness that lists the material possessions I have gained, the human accolades I have garnered, or the personal triumphs I have secured. "Thank you for this job, whereby I can provide for my family" may seem like a great prayer, but it is focused on self. "Thank you for the spouse you've given me" may seem selfless and sincere, but how often are you able to pray that prayer after a disagreement or while you're licking your wounded pride.

Thankfulness that is focused solely on self will soon cease to be thankfulness. I urge you this Thanksgiving season to focus your thankfulness on God and what He has done and continues to do not just in your life, but in the life of the community of faith and in the historical development of His world.

Let me suggest the prayer of thankfulness which is prayed as part of the daily morning and evening prayer liturgy in the prayer book:

ALMIGHTY God, Father of all mercies, we, thine unworthy servants, do give thee most humble and hearty thanks for all thy goodness and loving-kindness to us, and to all men. We bless thee for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all, for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we beseech thee, give us that due sense of all thy mercies, that our hearts may he unfeignedly thankful: and that we show forth thy praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to thy service, and by walking before thee in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen.

Finding the Anglican Way - Part 5, Creed

"No creed but the Bible" is an all too common battle cry for many churches. On the surface the slogan may appear appropriate, for it uplifts the supremacy and sufficiency of the Bible, which is right and good given that it is God's revelation to humanity. A nagging problem creeps into the discussion when you ask someone what interpretation of the Bible is the one that is to be lifted up as supreme and sufficient. Is it the Arminians or the Calvinists? The covenantal theologians or dispensationalists? The Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses derive at least some of their theology from the Bible, perhaps they have the correct interpretation. The battlefield of history is strewn with the corpses of biblical interpretation that have been struck down with the sword of heresy.

The solution to this for many in our modern day is to conclude that since I have the Bible in my hand and the Holy Spirit in my soul I have all I need to understand God and His Word appropriately. This is a very idealistic claim that is tragically false. A careful study of the heresies that have laid siege to the church over the centuries will reveal that most of them are the offspring of well-intentioned biblical scholars who attempted to answer theological questions apart from the developing orthodoxy of the church. Arianism held to the belief that the Son is lesser than the Father and not eternally pre-existent based upon a view of 1 Corinthians 8:5-6. Marcion's view of the Old Testament God being a different God than the New Testament God has its basis in biblical interpretation that struggled to reconcile the justice of God demonstrated in the Old Testament and the love of God presented in the New Testament. Philippians 2:7, and its explanation of Jesus being made in human likeness, provides helpful support for Docetism, which tries to argue that Jesus' human body was merely an illusion.

If I can just close myself in the closet with my Bible and the Holy Spirit I'll be okay, really! The problem is that you've brought yourself into that closet. Saint Peter had to have his theology corrected by Saint Paul due to his struggle to rightly understand the role of circumcision in New Covenant community and to accept table fellowship with Gentiles. If someone who had his feet washed by the eternal Son had to have his theology corrected by the developing orthodoxy of the blossoming church, why do we think we are any better equipped.

We need the boundaries laid out by orthodoxy to keep us from straying into heresy, and it is for that reason that the creeds are so vital to the life of the individual Christian and the corporate life of the church. The three catholic creeds confessed by the Anglican Way are the Apostles Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed, and they are confessed on a regular basis. We communally confess the Nicene Creed every eucharist service and the Apostles' Creed every morning and evening prayer. The recitation of a creed directly before the homily in the liturgical order is a potent reminder to the preacher that what they say must be consistent with the orthodox teaching of the church.

This consistent confession of the creeds and the expectation of staying within the boundaries they set forth for orthodoxy has been yet another reason for my wife and I to appreciate the Anglican Way. If your own church doesn't consider the creeds on regular basis I would challenge you to begin reading them and committing them to memory on your own and to ask the leadership of your church why they aren't a part of the life and worship of your community of faith. From the very creation of humanity we have needed boundaries to prevent us from straying off the path marked for us by Almighty God; consider the creeds as such a boundary for our interpretation of Holy Scripture and doctrinal development.


Apostles' Creed

I BELIEVE in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heavenand earth:And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord: Who wasconceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary:Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead, andburied: He descended into hell; The third day he rose againfrom the dead: He ascended into heaven, And sitteth on theright hand of God the Father Almighty: From thence heshall come to judge the quick and the dead.I believe in the Holy Ghost: The holy Catholic Church;The Communion of Saints: The Forgiveness of sins: The Resurrection of the body: And the Life everlasting. Amen

Baby Name Contest, Round 2

** Round 2 Over **

** Comments Closed **

** New Clues in Round 3 **

I hope those of you who participated in Round 1 of the Baby Name Contest enjoyed the first round. As the rounds continue you will be given more clues.

For those of you new to the game, allow me to replay the key rules (see the "Round 1" post for more details):

1) Each round will last about 2 weeks, at which time I will put up a new Baby Contest post with a new set of clues.
2) Each guess must include an attempt at both the first and middle name.
3) All guesses must be as a comment to the most recent Baby Contest post here in my blog.
4) Only 5 guesses per contestant per round.
5) To win, you must guess both the first and middle name and spell them correctly. 
6) Each guess must be made in such a way that we know who you are and how to contact you. Blogger will give you the option of affiliating your comment with your google account or simply a name and email address. You can use whichever method you want so long as we know how to contact you should you win.

Clues for round 2 (go to the round 1 post to be reminded of the previous set):

Clue 2-1
Neither of the names is, to our knowledge, the name of a character from a Jane Austen novel.

Clue 2-2

One of the initials is "K".

Prayer for the Children (from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer):

ALMIGHTY God, heavenly Father, who hast blessed us with the joy and care of children; Give us light and strength so to train them, that they may love whatsoever things are true and pure and lovely and of good report, following the example of their Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Finding the Anglican Way - Part 4, The Centrality of Holy Scripture

The Bible. The Revelation of God. God’s Word. Holy Scripture. It is referenced by myriad titles and descriptions, is the central source of truth and doctrine for the church globally and historically, and is the catalyst for academic argument, political upheaval, church schisms and reformations, familial disputes, and holy wars. It is printed in countless languages with diverse versions. It is worshipped by some, cursed by others, and disregarded by many. It’s words are prayed, sung, read, studied, and dissected; they are memorized and meditated upon, misunderstood and misrepresented.

If the Bible is accurate in its claim to be the very word of God, it would seem logical that the Bible would hold an obvious and central role in the life and worship of the church. Contrary to such logic I suggest that many modern churches have moved away from the Bible as an authority and have largely taken it out of corporate worship. The irony is that in a not insignificant number of churches that are emblazoned with the title of “Bible” church there is something of a drought of Scripture. A chapter of Scripture may be read early in the service, likely the same passage that will be the focal point of the sermon, and possibly a verse or two of a Psalm or benediction to dismiss the congregation. Much responsibility is then placed upon the individual congregant to read the Bible with suggestions made for devotional books and diverse Bible reading plans.

In contrast, one of the striking characteristics of the Anglican church is the role Holy Scripture plays in the very fabric of the life and worship of the church. Holy Scripture is woven into the very ethos of the church. We sing it, we pray it, we chant it, we read it out loud as a chorus of voices, and listen as the words are read to us. I have heard it said that at least 85% of the book of common prayer, the Anglican liturgical book, is either directly quoting Holy Scripture or is directly eluding to it. In a typical eucharist service we read an extended passage from an epistle and a passage from the gospels. In a typical morning prayer service we corporately recite a Psalm, hear a reading from the Old Testament, and hear a reading from an Epistle. In a typical evening prayer service we corporately recite a Psalm, hear a passage from the Old Testament, a reading from an epistle, and read or sing the Magnificat (Luke 1:46ff). If you follow the liturgical readings for morning and evening prayer every day of the week, over the course of a year you will have read the New Testament twice, the Old Testament once, and the Psalms monthly.

If the church in our modern day and in this American culture is going to have an eternal impact upon society there needs to be a return to Holy Scripture. What should we sing as a church? Sing the Psalms. What should we pray as a church? Pray the Psalms. What should we recite and mediate upon as a church? The words of Christ, His apostles, and His prophets. Instead of fumbling around for the next great method we should learn to digest the riches of God’s Word and seek out new ways of applying our lives to His unchanging message.

Lex ordani, les credeni. How you pray is how you believe. Lex orandi statuat lex credeni. The rule of prayer establishes the rule of belief. For the Anglican Way, our rule of prayer is Holy Scripture. Beneath the vestments, rituals, formularies and structure there is a foundation steeped in God’s Holy Word.

From the Collect for the Second Sunday of Advent (1928 BCP):

BLESSED Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning; Grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace, and ever hold fast, the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.