Reformation Day for All Saints

In honor of Reformation Day and All Saints', I've been reflecting on Ephesians 2:8-10.

I'm working on an idea that maybe at the heart of the Calvin/Wesley conversation lies the preference of one prepositional phrase over the other from the statement "Salvation is by faith through grace." Each camp pledges the entire statement proudly, but I think each subconsciously emphasizes the concepts that support their theology. The Calvinist will stop short, ending with verse 9, "lest no man should boast" as the natural conclusion of God's work of Grace, while the Armenian will skip to verse 10 "created in Him to do good works" as the natural conclusion of man's work of Faith. Each uses the text to launch out into familiar territory. Each is an incomplete expedition. Let's now endeavor to pioneer the entire landscape of our salvation.

I've said before that prepositions are my favorite part of speech because of their ability to express relationships with precision. Based on those used, I'd like to suggest that faith is the door through which we receive the gifts of grace, which together offer a complete salvation (past, present, and future).

• Faith challenges us to rest from the past, remain in the present, and redeem our future.
• Grace gifts us with pardon from the past, power in the present, and promise for the future.

I think all saints would agree that active faith gives access to grace that:

• RESTS in His PARDON for our past
• REMAINS in His POWER for our present, and
• REDEEMS his PROMISES for our future.

"O the joy of full salvation!
Glory, glory, to His Name!"
DeVenter, 1896

When Am I EVER Going To NEED This?

Hint for teachers: when they ask "When am I ever going to need this?" Tell them. If you don't know, then find out. Some people need vision for motivation to succeed. Kids who ask the above question are almost always that breed.

For example, I discovered years later that Algebra is useful for developing the ability to think logically from an abstract perspective, enabling the thinker to be detached from the content and thus more objective with his or her thought progression. This discipline develops higher thinking skills. If I had known that 10 years ago, I might have tried harder.

But wait... Then I would have passed Algebra II the first time and I wouldn't have needed Allie to help me pass it the second go 'round and then I wouldn't have started dating her, so we wouldn't have gotten married, and we wouldn't have Cecily...

On second thought teachers, keep enabling mediocrity by forced academic servitude without educational vision. That worked out for me.

(As a side note, the above "change of heart" was a functional illustration of how reason can suffer when personal investment muddies the components of the argument, eg. I'd rather be married now than academically successful years ago, so I'll settle for a flawed argument that supports my favored outcome.)

Yay for Algebra, and yayer for knowing what its value is.  

Captain Eugenics?

Captain America is a movie about a scrawny boy who wants to fight the evil Nazis who perform evil scientific experiments to create perfect human specimens because some humans are better than others. ...So he lets America do a scientific experiment on him to make him a perfect human specimen. Am I missing something here? Is there no cognitive dissonance in this?

“The interesting thing about this character is that he’s an everyman who in the course of a few minutes become a perfect human specimen." - Captain America Director Joe Johnston

Jesus Doesn't Need PR.

There's a church in town touting a banner that reads as follows:

"We've been called non-traditional... progressive... even radical... Funny, that's what they said about Jesus."

I'd like to point out 3 things.

1. Those things have been said about Jesus, but as the Lord Himself pointed out, it doesn't matter who or what others say He is. It matters who HE says he is. Because, let's be honest - He was also called blasphemer, traitor, and home-wrecker. I don't know if we want those adjectives affixed to the side of our buildings. Word on the street can't be sufficient criteria for our resume. It's unreliable.

2. The aim of the banner is two-fold: a.) to distance themselves from the stereotype of conservative churches in the area, and b.) to suggest their superiority over such churches by claiming that their antithesis to conservatism is what's really Christ-like. This is supposed to be a blow to conservatives, who seriously contemplate their WWJD bracelets and look at liberals as those to be pitied. Listen, if traditional churches are teaching heresy, come out and say it. Don't suggest. Doctrine is serious business; not an ad-campaign.

3. The ad is relatively clever, in a low-brow political kind of way. But the problem is, I've seen the same kind of thing on conservative church grounds. There are entire websites devoted to posting pictures of church signs ("If you think it's hot here..."). The clergyman feels pressure to keep the the ad space fresh and appealing, so he comes up with rhymes and puns to fill the space and he goes back to his study secretly proud of himself. And the people he's "trying to reach" stop in front of the church, take a snapshot, mockingly post it on the web, and never dream of actually attending the church because advertising doesn't save lives.

Let's let our lifestyle be the advertisement. If they want to know where your church meets after seeing that, then you can be pretty sure you're representing Jesus for who He really is, and not just what's been rumored.

The City Sacred - A Verse

The City Sacred stands secured, her streets now bathed in blood

Which washed away the wicked stain that had endured the flood

Though every incantation known be uttered by a priest

No other substance interposed could save her from the siege

Worshiping Community in the Worshiping Community

I've begun to see a pattern lately of people accidentally worshiping community instead of the Trinity. Their search for Christian fellowship leads them to believe that community is an Biblical ideal to build towards, rather than a current reality to be participated in. Christ has purchased our fellowship in full. Our job is to acknowledge it in its every form and participate in it wherever we find ourselves among fellow believers. Don't LOOK for the ideal. BE the ideal.

Psalm 84 and the Theory of Relativity

The first time I heard Psalm 84, it was put to song, and I didn't understand it. One day anywhere can't possibly be as good as a thousand elsewhere, right? It's over too soon. Well, I was stupid. Time is relative in many ways. That one day would last much longer than the other thousand.

The Greek uses two words which we commonly translate in the Bible as "time." Kronos refers to the quantity of time, or the measurement of duration. This is where we get our word "chronology." Kairos refers to the quality of time, or the measurement of meaning. It's more like a season.

September 11, 2001 was, chronologically, just another day. As long as the earth kept going, September 11 was going to arrive, live out its commanded 24 hours, and disappear forever. But humans are not mere counters of things. We need to know why the numbers are significant. We are creatures of meaning. For humans, this day seems much larger in the collective memory than the day preceding it. I would venture to say that not many people recall with clarity where they were standing at 9:30 am on September 10, 2001, but the day after was different. It was not just another day. It was a much, much, bigger day. Lives have been dramatically changed. Global policies have shifted. Art has been created. Some say it was the last day of the 20th century, even though chronologically that's nonsense. Even greater weight than this can (and should) be given to the days of Jesus death and resurrection.

The past 10 days of my life were much longer than thousands of the days that preceded them. I had the privilege of traveling to beautiful places and encouraging people with my gifts in fruitful ways. I'll spend a long time unpacking them, reflecting upon them, making decisions based upon what happened within them. I don't recount them by day or hour, but by themes and motifs. In some ways, I'd prefer to do as Mary did, and keep them to myself, pondering the wonder of it all.

Time in the chronological sense will pass away, but the rich and gracious seasons of God's loving action toward us will roll on like an endless tide. Better is one day like that than any other indeed.