Good Quote

"For wherever they see the Lord's blood, devils flee and angels run together."

~ John Chrysostom

Christ at the Center

Well, it's snowing pretty good here today. Supposed to warm up a bit, but so far the temperature has fallen. Supposed to change over to sleet and freezing rain, and then plain rain overnight - the question will be how much snow falls first. We'll see!

But anyway, more words from Dr. Schmauk . . .

The difference between various [Christian denominations] lies not merely in some difference of their component elements, but also in the way in which those elements are set in their relation to each other; and the large and more sweeping difference, which counts on the whole, is to be found in the latter fact.  . . . 

The Roman Confession writes the doctrine of the Church large, and makes it the visible centre on which all else revolves. The original Reformed Confession writes the doctrine of God, our Sovereign and Creator, large, and makes it the centre and goal of the faith. Many of the older sects exalted the doctrine of the individual and his freedom, as the large and controlling element of their faith  . . .  The Lutheran Confession is the one Confession that writes the doctrine of Christ large.  . . .  If Christology is thus the centre, the centre of Christology is Christ's office as Priest, and particularly that of completed redemption through his vicarious satisfaction. In Word and Sacraments it recognizes the means whereby the fruits of his satisfaction are applied.

The Confessional Principle and The Confessions of the Lutheran Church, 

p. 136-37

An Interesting Juxtaposition

My church does not have its own building. We rent space in a Spanish Seventh Day Adventist church building. At times, this creates some interesting conflicts and dynamics. This week is one of them. The Adventists are having a revival this weekend, and on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Why not Wednesday night, too? That’s our night to use the building, and it’s Ash Wednesday.

So notice the contrast: although I have not been to an Adventist revival, the revival model is to stir up the people to action using emotion and motivational speaking. Nineteenth century America was awash in this kind of effort (which is when Adventism was born) with tent revivals and itinerant rvivalists. One of the most famous was Charles Grandison Finney, and a book (historical fiction) about this is Elmer Gantry - an entertaining read. Our church is having a kind of revival too, but of a much different sort. It is a call to repentance and the discipline of Lent. It is a call to look at our sins in sorrow and focus on the cross and forgiveness of our Saviour in joy. 

At first, the difference between these two might seem to be outward versus inward - revivals focusing on being on fire and going out to win the world for Christ, while Lent is focused inward, on self examination and repentance. But the difference is far more significant than that. It is really the difference between a focus on what man does and a focus on what God does. Revivals speak of Christ, but the focus is on you and what you do. So get out there and do it! But Lent is focused primarily on what Christ does - a season leading to the remebrance of His death on Good Friday and His resurrection on Easter. Yes, repentance is a focus, but even this is the work of the Spirit in man (John 16), convicting of sin and turning us to our Saviour to receive His gifts.

And it is this focus on our Saviour and His work for us that produces deep and lasting results. It is not a few days dedicated to special and fervent service, followed by burn out and a return to life as we know it (which often cannot measure up to the emotion of the revival, and so quite a let down), but a change of heart that can only occur through Word and Sacrament. A change of heart not for a few days and then a return to life as we know it (or which now seems worse), but to “create in me a new heart” (Psalm 51) and a return to our life callings (vocations) for the long haul. To live for others where the Lord has put us, in those callings He has given us, as parents, spouses, children, workers, friends, neighbors, and more. Callings that are intricate parts of our lives, not outside of them.

So on Tuesday and Thursday, the building we meet in will be filled with fervor and the stirring up of emotion and excitement. On Wednesday night, it will be quiet, reflective, and repentant. On Tuesday and Thursday, the word will be “go out and do it!” On Wednesday night, the words will be: Dust you are, and to dust you will return . . . I forgive you all your sins . . . Take, eat, this is My Body; Take, drink, this is My Blood. Quite a contrast, don’t you think? If only those walls could talk . . .

This Is My Body

[This may turn into a sermon one day. We'll see. I need to think about this some more. Comments and concerns welcome. But for now, some Holy Thursday thoughts and musing, inspired by a sermon I recently read by Ronald Knox.]

"This is my body."

The first time those words become flesh for us is as newborns. A baby begins to discover his body, finger, toes, hair, all these new things. This is my body, he thinks. Given to me.

Then at the opposite end of life, it happens again. During our life, when we are healthy and busy and our days are full of work and play, we tend to forget about our body - we're too consumed with other things. But when we get old it happens again. Our bodies start wearing out, pains come more frequently and more sharply, maybe breathing becomes more difficult, it is harder to get out of bed in the morning. And then one day, lying there, not so busy nor able anymore, the thought comes again: this is my body. My body that doesn't work so good anymore.

Jesus went through both those times with us. He was born as a baby, just as we. So He, too, discovered His fingers and toes. This is My body, He realized. Jesus also had that time at the end of life. Not old age as most of us, but when His body was wracked with pain, when breathing was difficult, while he was hanging on the cross. This is My body, that He was giving for you, as the sacrifice for your sin.

But along with those two end points of life, there is yet another time those words become a part of our life, and that is when we get married. When husband and wife (who according to God's plan, anyway, have lived chastely up to this point) give themselves to one another. This is my body, the wife says (perhaps even without words) to her husband; and the husband to the wife. They give themselves, their bodies, to one another, and become one flesh.

Is this where the analogy fails? Not at all. While Jesus was not married as we (notwithstanding some recent books and movies that try to make us believe He was secretly married to mary Magdalene), He did have a spouse. Yes, the Scriptures tell us that Jesus is the Bridegroom and His bride is the Church. And here we see how Jesus gave Himself to His bride. He gave himself for her on the cross, and on the night when He was betrayed, before he went to the cross to lay down his life, He gave His Body to her. This is My Body, given for you. Not sexually, but in holiness. Not a mere symbol, but His real Body. We call it Holy Communion.

Does this seem like a stretch? Perhaps. But maybe not when you consider that the crucifixion is filled with bridal imagery. When Paul calls human marriage an icon of the real marriage of Christ and His bride, the Church, he refers to the fact that Christ lays down His life for His bride. Then there is Jesus' giving of His mother to his disciple. A man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his bride and the two shall become one flesh (Mt 19:5). The Son of God left His Father to come down from heaven in His incarnation, and while hanging on the cross leaves His mother and clings to His bride. And when Jesus comes again at the end of time, the great feast of the Lamb in His kingdom which will have no end, will begin (Rev 21).

Until that day, This is My Body, given for you, He says. The Bridegroom to His bride. Given to make us his own. Given to wash us clean in forgiveness and make us beautiful and radiant brides. That we be one with Him.

Holy Thursday

Today begins the Triduum - the final three days of Lent - in which we remember and celebrate our Lord laying down His life for us.

Today, Holy Thursday, has two foci: Jesus washing the feet of His disciples and the giving of His Supper. The two are not unrelated. A close reading of the foot washing text from John 13 reveals that Jesus is doing more than washing feet - He speaks of cleanness and uncleanness in a greater way. He is teaching His disciples about forgiveness and the ongoing washing away of sins that is needed. He speaks of bathing only once (baptism), but the need of the ongoing washing of the dirt collected from everyday life (absolution). He says "not all of you are clean" because He knew who would betray Him. He also says "if I do not wash you, you have no share with me." Clearly, these are all statements of a washing not just of feet, but of sin. So what Jesus is doing here is a kind of "living parable," not unlike what the prophets in the Old Testament would often do - act out the words of their teaching.

Then Jesus gives them His Supper, the preeminent way this ongoing forgiveness would be given by Him through the service of the disciples who would now become apostles - sent ones, sent to do what Jesus has done: serve, love, forgive, and lay down their lives for the life of the world. Through them, and those who would come after them, Jesus will continue to serve His people and wash them and feed them with the forgiveness, life, and salvation they need.

So having taught and given all this, Jesus now goes to accomplish the forgiveness that will be given through these means - He goes to the cross.

Some Good Quotes

Some good quotes from the Church Fathers that I recently read:

From Cyprian: "The Ancient Church Fathers had an acutely honed sacramental sense. Wherever Scripture intimated anything related to the sacramental elements or practice, they read the text sacramentally. Their lives were arranged around pulpit, font, and altar. These were sources of life for them, because from them flowed the Word of God. These means, then, were seen everywhere in that Word. We would be blessed to learn this from them."

(Do we have trouble reading and interpreting the Scriptures this way today because our lives are not "arranged around pulpit, font, and altar" but around other things?)

From Ambrose: "Christians should never fear the trial of repentance. We should never seek to plead to a lesser charge than our full guilt. We are not trying to avoid punishment, because the punishment for our sins has been laid on the back of the only Son of God. To delay or avoid repentance is tantamount to denying the completeness and perfection of Christ's work. He is rushing toward us, offering us the pledge of His mercy; why should we be reluctant? He offered Himself into death, even for enemies."

("He is rushing toward us." Picture that! And so is avoiding repentance to dodge Christ "rushing at us" with His forgiveness like dodging a dodge ball? Do we see Christ rushing at us as good news [to be received repenting of our sins] or bad news [to be dodged by professions of innocence]?)

Both quotations from: A Year with the Church Fathers by CPH, a companion book to the Treasury of Daily Prayer. I highly recommend this book!