Hello, I Must Be Going

Hello, I must be going.

I cannot stay; I came to say I must be going.

I’m glad I came, but just the same, I must be going….

These immortal words were sung by one of my heroes, Grouch Marx in the classic “Animal Crackers”.  And they capture my thoughts for this post.

Yes, it’s been a while. There were some glitches with the website, but I think the technical issues are behind us, and I am able to post here again. So I am back, but only to say I will be signing off for a while.

Hopefully you have gotten a little something out of reading the occasional posts here. For me, the blog was a way to keep digging into the Word and sharing whatever thoughts or insights seemed helpful, and it was an enjoyable project.

The main reason I am stopping – pausing might be a better word – is that I feel that I am more in a learning posture than a teaching or expounding posture right now.  That is, in part, why the posts have been infrequent. I feel as if God is saying that this is a time in my life to be quiet, simply sit at His feet and learn.

I hope that what I am learning will be the stuff that will eventually get me back up on my digital soapbox. Specifically, it involves becoming more involved with ordered forms of spirituality that are deeply rooted in the history of our Christian faith, such as a greater and more regular use of the Daily Office and principles of Ignatian spirituality.  I have been practicing these things for a while, but at a beginner’s level.

While there is nothing I would like to do more than write about all I am learning, that would be sort of like a college freshman trying to write a doctoral dissertation. It’s not time yet. There is much to learn. Eventually, I want to be able to expound not only on the ideas but on the practical results (i.e. how it makes me more of the person God designed me to be), and that takes time, consistant application and wisdom I do not yet have.

So thank you for whatever reading or attention you have given to my rambling thoughts in the past. It’s been fun and I hope to resume someday in the not-too-distant future. Until then, see ya ‘round the farm.

(Yes, I headlined a post about Christian spirituality with a Jewish guy. Gotta love the irony.)

The Friendship Of God

Taking a short pause in Ephesians here. I read this this morning and wanted to share. It is from a second-century Church Father, Ireneaus of Lyons, and is taken from his treatise called Against Heresies. The subject: the friendship of God.

Our Lord, the Word of God, first drew men to God as servants, but later he freed those made subject to him. He himself testified to this: I do not call you servants any longer, for a servant does not know what his master is doing. Instead I call you friends, since I have made known to you everything that I have learned from my Father. Friendship with God brings the gift of immortality to those who accept it.

In the beginning God created Adam, not because he needed man, but because he wanted to have someone on whom to bestow his blessings. Not only before Adam but also before all creation, the Word was glorifying the Father in whom he dwelt, and was himself being glorified by the Father. The Word himself said: Father, glorify me with that glory I had with you before the world was.

Nor did the Lord need our service. He commanded us to follow him, but his was the gift of salvation. To follow the Savior is to share in salvation; to follow the light is to enjoy the light. Those who are in the light do not illuminate the light but are themselves illuminated and enlightened by the light. They add nothing to the light; rather, they are beneficiaries, for they are enlightened by the light.

The same is true of service to God: it adds nothing to God, nor does God need the service of man. Rather, he gives life and immortality and eternal glory to those who follow and serve him. He confers a benefit on his servants in return for their service and on his followers in return for their loyalty, but he receives no benefit from them. He is rich, perfect and in need of nothing.

The reason why God requires service from man is this: because he is good and merciful he desires to confer benefits on those who persevere in his service. In proportion to God’s need of nothing is man’s need for communion with God.

This is the glory of man: to persevere and remain in the service of God. For this reason the Lord told his disciples: You did not choose me but I chose you. He meant that his disciples did not glorify him by following him, but in following the Son of God they were glorified by him. As he said: I wish that where I am they also may be, that they may see my glory.

It's About Him

OK I admit it…life has been crazy and I have been slow to post. Mea cupla (wait - I think I knew a girl in high school by that name).  This blog has been two-thirds prepared for some time, but the busy-ness of life has gotten in the way. On the other hand, that may not be all bad, because it has given some thoughts a greater chance to sift for me. 

In trying to wrap up this introductory section of Ephesians (1:3-23), one can read it and feel instantly overwhelmed. There is so much here. But for some reason, one little phrase toward the end jumped out and grabbed me. In v.23, Paul says that the church is “His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”  Put another way, it is Christ’s church and it exists for one reason:  Him.  And He fills it with His presence and imbues it with His power.

We may see the church as lots of different things.  It is a place full of familiar faces where we find fellowship, and where we gather together to hear God’s truths declared.  It’s a place populated by people who are just like us – human, flawed, sinful, who need God’s grace.  

We watch the church deal with its own mechanics, especially if we are involved in the nuts and bolts of ministry. We know what goes on at meetings, who said what to whom, who is engaged in the work, and who is not. 

All of these things and more make it very easy to focus on the church as something we “do”, as an enterprise which we operate. In short:  it is our own corporate response to God.  And in a way, this is right. After all, we are meant to be involved.  

But we must never forget what Paul asserts in that short phrase at the end of Ephesians chapter 1 – this is His body, and Christ is the one who fills it up, not us. Christ Himself inhabits the church. It isn’t simply that the church was established by Him, or even that it points to Him. It is His and He is here, in a real way. The church is His dwelling place.  His Spirit and power are active.  His glory (tho veiled) is with us. 

Because of this passage and others like it, we are biblically called to see the church as the very habitation of God Himself, the place to which we are invited to come and behold Him. A place to enter and offer the sacrifice of praise. Everything else – all our plans, programs and preferences - run a distant second. 

One theologian I heard recently put it this way.  It is common to come to church because of what is there for me.  But, he argues, NOTHING is supposed to be there for me. That’s precisely the wrong posture.   Everything that is there is meant for Christ. He is the fullness. It is His church. So, don’t worry about how the music sounds. Don’t worry if everything went smoothly.  Don’t be concerned with whether or not you are being fed, or if you thought it was a “good” service (whatever that means), because it is not about you, or me, or what we want. It is about showing up in love and obedience to worship Him Who gave everything for you.  Nothing else. Seeking Him first is not simply an individual matter. It is a corporate matter as well. 

The objection might be raised: “What about feeding the flock? What about our fellowship?” Sure, these are important, and they are functions that the church should provide. I am thinking more about our attitude, our motivation. Our expectation and our focus.

A final thought that relates to this in a small but practical way – many Protestant churches have adopted a practice that is typical in Catholic churches – the reverent silence and time of quiet personal reflection and prayer in the sanctuary before a service. Conversation is meant to be left in the fellowship hall or foyer, and the pre-service sanctuary becomes a place where we believers prepare our hearts for what is about to happen.  

Maybe your church does this.  If not, how might it change how believers approach a Sunday morning service?

Christmas: The Gift Of Sheer Grace

A blessed Advent, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I wanted to get another blog up prior to the holidays, but to break from Ephesians for the moment and focus on the season.

So many meaningful things have been written about this special time of year so I am going back to one of the greats: Augustine. Many of you are familiar with him, but for those who are not, Augustine (354-430AD) is one of the most significant theologians and fathers of the Church. He was bishop of Hippo (in present-day Algeria) and many of his writing such as Confessions and City Of God are considered to be among the best all-time Christian classics.

The following is from one of his Christmas sermons. Enough said. God’s best blessings of the season to you all! - Ed

Awake, mankind! For your sake God has become man. Awake, you who sleep, rise up from the dead, and Christ will enlighten you. I tell you again: for your sake, God became man.

You would have suffered eternal death, had he not been born in time. Never would you have been freed from sinful flesh, had he not taken on himself the likeness of sinful flesh. You would have suffered everlasting unhappiness, had it not been for this mercy. You would never have returned to life, had he not shared your death. You would have been lost if he had not hastened to your aid. You would have perished, had he not come.

Let us then joyfully celebrate the coming of our salvation and redemption. Let us celebrate the festive day on which he who is the great and eternal day came from the great and endless day of eternity into our own short day of time.

He has become our justice, our sanctification, our redemption, so that, as it is written: Let him who glories glory in the Lord.

Truth, then, has arisen from the earth: Christ who said, I am the Truth, was born of the Virgin. And justice looked down from heaven: because believing in this new-born child, man is justified not by himself but by God. Truth has arisen from the earth: because the Word was made flesh. And justice looked down from heaven: because every good gift and every perfect gift is from above.

Justified by faith, let us be at peace with God: for justice and peace have embraced one another.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ: for Truth has arisen from the earth. Through whom we have access to that grace in which we stand, and our boast is in our hope of God’s glory. He does not say: “of our glory,” but of God’s glory: for justice has not come out of us but has looked down from heaven.

For how could there be peace on earth unless Truth has arisen from the earth, that is, unless Christ were born of our flesh? And he is our peace who made the two into one: that we might be men of good will, sweetly linked by the bond of unity.

Let us then rejoice in this grace, so that our glorying may bear witness to our good conscience by which we glory, not in ourselves, but in the Lord. That is why Scripture says: He is my glory, the one who lifts up my head. For what greater grace could God have made to dawn on us than to make his only Son become the son of man, so that a son of man might in his turn become son of God?

Ask if this were merited; ask for its reason, for its justification, and see whether you will find any other answer but sheer grace.

It's All Right Here

“I’ve looked EVERYWHERE!!!”

Car keys. Glasses. Important papers. Whatever may be left of my mind. I lose things constantly, and after conducting what I think is a thorough search, I decide that whatever I am looking for has simply vanished from the face of the earth.

That is, until I just happen to glance at my desk one more time, and there it is, sticking out like a sore thumb, where it has been all along. A blind chimp could have found it.

I can easily do the same thing to myself when it comes to spiritual things.

To explore this, let’s go back to Ephesians chapter 1. We got past “grace and peace” last time and are moving through Paul’s opening remarks. (Eph. 1:3-14).

While it doesn’t appear this way in most translations, vv 3-14 are one long sentence in Greek. This is typical Paul. Whether he is writing or dictating his thoughts to an assistant, he is prone to getting carried away, especially when it comes to praising God for what He has accomplished in Christ. That’s what is happening here as Paul gets caught up and unleashes this verbal avalanche. He piles phrase upon phrase, one on top of another as one thought to leads him to the next while he blesses God for all He has given.

(Trivia: this is the second longest sentence in the NT at 202 words. The reigning champ is Col. 1:9-20, coming in at 218 words. Amaze your friends with this fun fact when the subject of exegesis comes up at the holiday cocktail party, as it always does.)

Some have pointed out that, to make it more readable, it can be broken down into 3 sections that each end in praise (vv. 6, 12, 14). And, that each section focuses on a member of the Trinity: Father (4-6) Son (7-12) and Spirit (13-14). Others argue against breaking it up, saying that the passage is liturgical, and that this would detract from its beauty and flow. But regardless, it is an amazing, inspiring outpouring of praise and thanksgiving to God that can’t help but lift your spirit.

In verse three, Paul begins by saying that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. As you move throughout the passage, Paul identifies at least some of these: forgiveness, sonship, lavished grace, revealing the mystery of His will to us, bestowing an inheritance, etc. etc.

In all likelihood Paul is just scratching the surface of all that God has provided us with. But the point is, we have been given everything we need to live a life of faith that would please Him and to reach others, if we just have the eyes to see it. I lose sight of that at times, just as I do with the reading glasses that are sitting there in plain view.

I’m not much for popular self-help or positive-thinking books. I have read enough of them to know that they contain some general truths but are largely repackaged snake oil. Still, a concept you often find in books like these definitely applies here: living out of an “abundance mentality” as opposed to a “scarcity mentality”.

How different would our lives be if, rather than focusing on our failings, sins, or weaknesses, we focused instead on what God has provided to help us overcome them? Paul says here that we have everything we need. Certainly, people can have problems that are deep-seated, going back many years, or some that have their roots in physical causes. Counselors and medical professionals can help with those. But largely, what we need to make God happy and to be effective for Him is instantly available to us, right at hand. If we could stop dwelling on our own insufficiencies and focus on the sufficiency of Christ, we would see them, and we would come at these issues in a completely different way – a way that can help us to move ahead, and live the life God intended us to live before Him.

For sure, knowing our own inadequacies is a good thing. After all, we can’t deal with them by our own power. But to remain focused on them is to be stuck in the mud. If I really understand that God has provided me with everything I need, I will be focused on overcoming instead of failure.

There is no scarcity when it comes to God’s gifts – only amazing, profound abundance. I want that abundance mentality to become the way I look at life everyday.

Also, particularly at this time of year, and as we move into the joyfully expectant Advent season, I want to take the time to be grateful for all God has provided, be it tangible or intangible. And I want to learn better how to live out of that gratitude consistently..

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and Advent season!

A Fine How-Do-Yo-Do

So here we are, beginning Ephesians, and I am stopped in my tracks almost immediately. I can’t get past Paul’s initial greeting to those who will hear this letter read to them. There’s a lot to consider in the first 14 verses. This could take a few installments. Pack a lunch. We may be here for a while.

It’s not just that I’m stuck on the first 14 verses that comprise the opening of the letter. I can’t get past v.2! After he introduces himself (not that he was a stranger), Paul writes in v 2, “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Two things stick out to me about this greeting.

First, I like the fact that Paul took the standard greeting of the day and changed it. In a typical greeting of that time, you would have opened a letter by saying – guess what? - “Greetings!” But Paul changed this to “grace “– an idea that likely presented itself to him because those two Greek words look very similar. By simply altering a few letters, Paul poured simple but meaningful Christian truth into a generic greeting.

Then as if that weren’t enough, he added the word “peace” which was not part of the standard greeting in Greek letters. In fact, it was a Hebrew greeting, which Paul imported from the Old Testament and his Jewish background. The word he used is Greek, but it is a translation of "shalom", which means not only “peace’’, but a complete sense of well-being.

In marrying grace and peace at the very outset of the letter, Paul expressed unmerited divine favor, and not simply the absence of strife or separation between man and God but a full, satisfying relationship. In other words, he expressed the very heart of the gospel.

Pretty heavy stuff for a simple greeting! But one of the lessons for me here is that Paul sought to infuse everyday things with God’s truth. The most basic tasks of our lives can be elevated and transformed by seeing and doing them from God’s vantage point and for His honor. An email or conversation with a friend or colleague can be a conduit of grace. Showing care or kindness to someone can be an act of worship. Extending hospitality can practically be missionary. After all, it is not in the mountaintop experiences or the big events where we will most acutely sense being in synch with God’s rhythms. It is in purposefully sanctifying the mundane and often tedious things, dedicating them for His glory and for Him to use as He wishes, even if we never see the end result (and we often won’t).

Second, Paul’s greeting is a model for how to communicate with those around me. Grace and peace are extremely loaded, powerful words, and they remind me that in another letter, Paul said that we should make sure our speech is laden with grace (Col. 4:3). That should be how people perceive us. When I am gone, it would be great to be remembered as someone who spoke grace and peace into the lives of people around me. I’m not entirely sure that would always be the case. But that’s the goal.

Sometimes I think it would be useful to keep a diary for a week, in which I record and reflect on the communication I have each day with family, friends and co-workers, whether verbal or written. What would that show me about my real self (as opposed to who I like to think that I am)? Would it reveal me to be a complainer? Am I often negative? Have I talked anyone down? Does it tend to be about me and my own needs or wants? Do I try to impress?

In the spirit of full disclosure, I have not kept such a diary. But after all, I have a reason: I don’t think I’d like some of the things I would discover.

Our speech is supposed to be full of grace, Paul says. This means that every opportunity to interact with someone else is an opportunity to speak grace and peace. To build that person up. To say what may be the first affirming thing they have heard all day. To encourage. To sympathize. To laugh or rejoice with them. To tell them you will pray for them. To share the love and the hope that Christ has given you. Whatever the situation calls for. The point is this: am I aware of my calling to speak grace and peace into people’s lives, as God has spoken them so deeply into mine? Will I put myself aside in that moment, and focus on them?

I would love to hear what you think, or if you have experiences to share that illustrate these two truths. But that’s enough for now.

To anyone reading this blog – I wish God’s very grace and peace to you.

Grace. Peace. They are great words to stop and meditate on, aren’t they?

Apostle Paul Cures Writer's Block

The problem with writing a blog –  the problem with writing almost anything for that matter -  is the empty page or computer screen. Even worse is the empty mind. I experience both of these on a regular basis, particularly the latter. Ask anyone in my family (“Mom, Dad’s staring at the wall and drooling again.”).

So I’ve made the foolhardy decision to commit myself to series, in order to keep my shoulder to the wheel. For sure, it puts me on the hook for having to come up with something.   But it eliminates that nasty what-to-write-about- next question, since there is always another passage awaiting some study and reflection until you get to the end. It’s a good motivator too.

I’ve decided that I am going to do a brief series on Ephesians. First of all, I love Paul. I love the way his mind works. Not simply the brilliance, but the way he will allow a sudden turn of thought to set him off in a whole new direction. He could explode in praise or in holy rage on the turn of a dime.  He is impulsive, and I love that.

Secondly, Ephesians is loaded with great truth and deep theology. There is a lot of unpacking to be done and a lot of wisdom to gain. I certainly won’t do it justice but I’ll be better for trying.

While I will get into the exegesis of the text, I am not trying to write my own commentary (the thought of that should send you screaming into the night). In the end, it still comes down to what the text means for daily living. But the exegetical work will be needed because (as the saying goes) before I can know what it means for me, I have to know what it meant for the original hearers.

A couple of introductory matters to get out of the way: first, Ephesians was not written specifically to the Ephesian church but was probably a circular letter to the various churches in the region, of which the church at Ephesus was chief.  Second, Paul’s authorship has been questioned over the years, not only by “liberal” scholars but by those that are regarded as more moderate. There are definitely some serious questions that relate to the style and theology of the epistle as well as some external issues.

My goal is not to get caught up in these sorts of discussions. God saw to it that Ephesians wound up in the canon of Holy Scripture, and that is my starting point. It is a treasure-trove of truth to explore, and that is what I will try to do here. I won’t hit every verse, but will cherry-pick the passages that really leap out to me. If I skip over something you would like to see addressed, just let me know.  

OK. I’m on the hook now.  Here goes  - let’s dig in (coming soon).