Drew's Views

The Second Sunday in Advent

2011-12-04T01:59:00.001-05:00

The Collect.

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.

The Epistle. Romans 15:4-13 (ESV)

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,

“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles,
and sing to your name.”

And again it is said,

“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”

And again,

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and let all the peoples extol him.”

And again Isaiah says,

“The root of Jesse will come,
even he who arises to rule the Gentiles;
in him will the Gentiles hope.”

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

The Gospel. St. Luke 21:25-33 (ESV)

“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

And he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

An Excellent Review of An Outstanding Book (Except for the Epilogue)

2011-11-30T00:32:00.004-05:00

Allen C. Guelzo's For the Union of Evangelical Christendom: The Irony of the Reformed Episcopalians is a great history of the part of Christ's Kingdom into which I was ordained and where I have served as a cleric for more than a decade. This review provides excellent insight into the book and I agree with Fr. Campbell's conclusions -- it's well-worth a read but the epilogue was written with a definite agenda and needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

This review, which originally appeared on the site Contra Mundum -- now, sadly, defunct -- is so accurate that I've printed out a copy of it and stuffed it into my own copy of the book so that when loaning it (I need to get my copy back!) I can urge people to read it before reading Guelzo.

I regret the formatting and the underscoring, which I was not able to correct.

-- DC+

P.S. This was written in 2002 and is, therefore, a bit dated. Dr. Guelzo is now at Gettysburg College and the Refrormed Episcopal Church is no longer a member of the National Association of Evangelicals.

Sorted Out

by John M. Campbell

For the Union of Evangelical Christendom: The Irony of the Reformed
Episcopalians, by The Rev. Allen C. Guelzo, Ph.D. (The Pennsylvania
State University Press, University Park, PA 1994 404 pages)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you'd like to understand the Anglican cedar in America, as well as
the Reformed Episcopal twig of it, read this brilliantly researched,
engagingly written book by the Rev. Dr. Alan Carl Guelzo. Dr. Guelzo
is the former academic dean of Reformed Episcopal Seminary in
Philadelphia, where he taught apologetics and church history. While
there he was a voice for the "New School" RE's, if you will, who seek
to re-establish the evangelical, reformed, Anglican identity the REC
was founded to perpetuate. This book recounts that original vision,
what made it necessary, our forgetfulness, and our remembrance.

A Movable Reformation

The REC was begun with a dual vision: to reestablish and protect the
religion of the English Reformation on these shores, and to make it a
grand, umbrageous haven for evangelicals of every stripe, who could
retire to the safety of doctrinal conservatism behind discreet
episcopal protection. Guelzo derived the subtitle of the book, The
Irony of the Reformed Episcopalians, from modernist Lutheran gadfly
Martin Marty's observation that ecumenical outcomes are often
unforeseen, even opposed to the goals and ideals of the participants,
Hence irony, a fitter word to describe RE history better than which I
cannot conceive.

"On the surface, the Reformed Episcopal schism of 1873 was the
culmination of an internecine battle between two factions within the
Protestant Episcopal Church - the Evangelicals and the Anglo-Catholics
- each wanting desperately to direct her future. Beneath that
surface... however, the differences that polarized these factions
represented deep-seated tensions and anxieties that permeated American
culture. The Reformed Episcopalians were at the center of a fierce
struggle between the rationalist impulse of the Evangelical mind in
the nineteenth century... and the Gothic Romanticism of the
Anglo-Catholics, between classical Protestant dogma and gaudy Catholic
ritual, and between the symbols of Whig republicanism and the
ambiguous antimodernism of an industrial consumer culture (p. 3)."

The making of sausage comes to mind. Guelzo deftly points out that
those in the modern day Episcopal Church in the USA who view the REC
as a schism are remiss, due to the simple fact that ECUSA stands for
nothing, therefor it would be hard to determine just exactly what we
are in schism with.

It is sometimes hard to tell why a man might choose one tradition over
another. From the beginning of the English Reformation, which was
often as much a political settlement as a religious one, there were
those within the Church of England who were as different as night and
day, and yet were still considered good C of E men. There were

"High Churchman, who rejoiced in their Englishness and in all the
trappings of episcopacy, liturgy, and ceremony that went with being
part of the Church of England. At the other end were those whom we
even more often call Puritans, who viewed their church as parochial,
suspecting that all the elaborate justifications of episcopacy they
had been raised on were little more than strained efforts to make a
religious virtue out of a political necessity (p. 5)."

Amer-Anglican Formation

Guelzo has some remarkable insights into the peculiarly American brand
of Anglicanism that developed here. He demonstrates that political
settlements were not something endemic only to the Church of England
in England. The development of the theory and practice of American
episcopacy was a synthesis of Whig conservatism and Jacksonian
republicanism, and this is perhaps the most valuable insight he offers
in examining the background and development of the Protestant
Episcopal Church (pages 46-49), describing the rationalist/romantic
tension cited above.

He quotes another historian about how it was - and remains - a mistake
to confuse American episcopacy with the Church of England brand (page
48), and demonstrates how the centralizing tendencies in the northern
states prior to Mr. Lincoln's War can be attributed to the rejection
of Baptist localism, tempered by revulsion for "Episcopal
monarchicalism." There were enough Episcopalians in government in the
North, notables like Salmon Chase, to introduce a thesis of reciprocal
influence between church and civil government in the northern states,
but he doesn't mention that there were a few notable Episcopalians in
the South, like Robert E. Lee, confirmed in 1856, and Jefferson Davis,
confirmed in 1864, who made mature decisions to embrace
Episcopalianism, and yet went to their graves convinced of the
rightness of localism, otherwise known as States' Rights. I would have
liked to have seen this given some consideration, but I heard Guelzo
refer to these gentlemen as "traitors" more than once in his history
class, so I need not guess where that would have gone.

Guelzo takes us on a tour of the consecrations of America's first
Episcopal bishops, which is also the story of how and why "romanizing
germs" found their way into the Protestant Episcopal Church's Book of
Common Prayer, which is more "Catholic" than the English book of 1662,
which is still in use in England, and is basically the book of the REC
today.

It was impossible for Samuel Seabury, a former chaplain in
Washington's army, to swear allegiance to George III (titular head of
the Church of England) in order to be consecrated bishop, and hope
ever to re-enter Congregational Connecticut. So he went from the
Archbishop of Canterbury, who demanded such an oath, to the
"non-juring" bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church for his
consecration to the episcopacy. Non-juring (non-swearing) Scottish
bishops who, having taken the Oath of Supremacy to the deposed papist
King James II, refused to pledge allegiance to William of Orange so
long as James was alive. From Guelzo, with characteristic wit:

"In 1689, William III, to please his Presbyterian subjects in
Scotland, as well as to stick another thorn into English High Church
flesh, disestablished the Scottish Episcopal Church and replaced it
with the Presbyterian Kirk. The Scottish Episcopalians had developed
too high a notion of episcopal grandeur to accept being shut down by a
mere king, and so they clung to a forlorn existence of their own as
the so-called Non-jurors. Disowned by the Anglican establishment in
England, they had nevertheless maintained a clear line of succession
in their bishops, and when in 1784 the Scottish primus, Robert
Kilgore, learned of the plight of Samuel Seabury, Kilgore concluded
that the opportunity to strike a bargain was at hand," page 29.

The bargain was bought, which was this: "We'll consecrate you bishop
if you make the American prayer book a little more Catholic than the
1662 book. We'd like the Oblation and Invocation we use included after
the consecration of the Eucharist if you please, as well as a
reference to and prayer for the church triumphant. Then, you can be
consecrated."

Seabury continued the non-jurors' line of succession in the Protestant
Episcopal Church, and the non-jurors themselves were reorganized by
the Church of England and exist today as the Scottish Episcopal Church
(and are ordaining women by the way). Ironically, William White, the
low church rector of Christ Church, Philadelphia, occasional pastor to
George Washington, was consecrated February 4, 1787 by the Archbishop
of Canturbury himself after the Supremacy Oath was abolished for
foreign Church of England jurisdictions. White was very Low-Church,
suspected of mild Arianism and universalism, but by the turn of the
century these were venial sins in Philadelphia, because "Philadelphia
Episcopalianism had a distinct flavor of genteel latitudinarianism to
it... far from the polemical battlefields of new England, (p.25)."

White's Philadelphia was a cosmopolitan and tolerant place. No one was
prepared to fight for his low-churchmanship, since there was less to
define it by and hence, less to fight for. But the
Low-Church/High-Church eggs were now a-hatching, a development that
would define Episcopalian churchmanship until the middle of the
nineteenth-century in the United States when a third ingredient was
added. White had one-upped Seabury, but he too had made a concession
for his consecration; he retained the Nicene Creed and the clause, "He
descended into hell," in his American proposed prayer book, which he
had done away with in his own revision: another political settlement
for the church to live with. But "[b]y all the standards Seabury held
dear, White's consecration was incontestably valid, whereas Seabury's
was at best irregular and at worst fraudulent (p. 31)."

Ironic, that the Low-Churchmen would provide the church with what
would appear to be the more valid orders vis-a-vis apostolic
succession, for those who care about such things. In many instances,
White's Reformed Episcopal heirs could have cared less. What the
evangelicals came to be was, as Guelzo put it in an article in The
Christian Challenge some years ago, "one big, black-gown parish," with
central pulpits and honest wooden communion tables, with church
interiors largely indistinguishable from Presbyterians', and a fervor
for evangelism and Scripture unrivaled on this continent.

Rome via Oxford

While all of this was playing out in America, some Church of England
priests and scholars were blaming England's social problems on the
Reformation, and were urging a return to pre-Reformation Christianity
where everyone behaved himself. Their tracts began to emanate from
Oxford University (hence, the "Oxford" or "Tractarian Movement"),
advocating a return to primitive Christianity and the abandonment of
Reformation principles, practices and doctrines. The problem with this
approach to social reform was, among other things, they confused the
pre-Reformation Roman Catholic Church with primitive Christianity. But
it wasn't even pre-Reformation Christianity to which they were casting
a yearning eye (except for reading the Ante-Nicene Fathers), but the
Church of Rome of their day. The excesses of the Rome of the
mid-1800's dwarfed anything Martin Luther could have nightmared, so
this movement was not exactly embraced in evangelical circles on these
shores when it began to migrate hence. (Believe me, Guelzo makes all
this read like cloak and dagger stuff, and holds the reader's interest
while less gifted communicators would have had us turning off the bed
stand light by now.)

Innovations

In reaction to Anglo-Catholic/Tractarian influences, the evangelical
low-churchmen began to change the liturgy ad hoc to reflect their
distaste of what some words had come to mean in some quarters after
the importation of romanist definitions for them. For instance, some
began to remove the word "regenerate" from the baptismal service
("seeing that this child/person is regenerate..."), because the
Anglo-Catholics were teaching that regeneration meant salvation, as
opposed to being engrafted into the body of Christ, as a means of
grace, as e.g. Westminster divine George Gillespie or John Calvin had
taught.

The key to understanding the rest of the book, and therefor the
Reformed Episcopal Church's formation, is this: The evangelical
innovations were met with a much different reaction from the High
Church bishops than were the Anglo-Catholics' innovations, which
included the introduction of papist lingo and ceremony, including the
pushing of communion tables against their chancel walls to serve as
sacrificial altars, a development hitherto unheard of in American
Episcopal tradition. This unequal treatment was not simply the
High-Churchmen's embrace of the Anglo-Catholics; it was the beginning
of the persecution of the Low-Church faction through the introduction
of prelacy.

Most Reformed people confuse prelacy with episcopacy, which is a grave
error. A bad moderator can be as destructive as a bad bishop, while a
good man can be wise and pastoral in either office. There is goofiness
and heresy abounding among the "independent, fundamentalist" churches
today that got their errors without the assistance of bishops. While
few hard-core evangelicals would unchurch the Arminian,
dispensationalist, baptistic independent down the street, some barely
consider Episcopalians Christian at all, even if they wear out their
copies of Calvin's Institutes every two years. Americans are more
forgiving of doctrinal error than of power plays, so the idea of a
bishop telling us what to do or believe is scarier than sitting under
the ramblings of an unordained independent preacher, even if we
strongly disagree with him.

Be that as it may, the evangelicals in the Episcopal Church were now
about to experience real prelacy, the old fashioned pre-Reformation
type. For instance, the High Church faction refused to accept the
resignation of Bishop Smith of Kentucky when he retired to Hoboken,
New Jersey, and even granted him a waiver to reside outside his
diocese, in order that his evangelical, Low-Church assistant, George
David Cummins, might be kept from succeeding him, the kind of prelatic
trickery characteristic of the abuses the Reformers fought in the
sixteenth century. But it was the response to prelacy, not its
imposition, that became headline news in its day, just as in the
sixteenth century.

Bishop Cummins, to cut to the chase, participated in an ecumenical
communion service at a conference of the Evangelical Alliance at Fifth
Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York, along with Presbyterians and
Methodists, not to mention the Dean of Canterbury. Dean Smith was
subsequently pilloried in the New York Tribune by William George
Tozer," late Bishop of Zanzibar," in an open letter to the bishop of
New York, for fraternizing with unwashed sectarians and conducting
episcopal duties within a diocese other than his own without the
permission of the Bishop of New York, Horatio Potter (page 129).

Suspicions abounded, however, that it was Potter who put Tozer up to
this letter, hoping that Cummins would get hit by the blunderbuss
aimed at Dean Smith, since Cummins had been pushing for prayer book
revision to excise the last vestiges of romanism, real or imagined,
from the liturgy and services. To shorten this significantly, Cummins
left the church rather than face censure or worse, consecrated another
embattled Low Church presbyter Charles Edward Cheney as bishop, and
founded the Reformed Episcopal Church in December, 1873.

The rally around evangelical Episcopalianism Cummins had hoped for
never occurred, though. What the REC devolved into over the course of
the next few decades was a Cave of Adullam for all of the disgruntled
Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, and others who largely defined
conservatism by adherence to the Scofield Reference Bible notes, which
Reformed Episcopalians James Gray and Arno Gaebelein helped produce,
for which God has only recently forgiven us. RE Bishop Culbertson
headed the Moody Bible Institute for a while: you get the picture. Who
among the staid and stodgy ranks of Episcopalianism would be attracted
to this gaggle?

The High-Church Christ was kind of frosty and rationalistic. The
Low-Church Christ preached fire and brimstone, which is hard to
squeeze in among all of that liturgy. But the Anglo-Catholic Christ
was tangible (at least allegedly) in the bread and wine, and adorable
in the beauty of the nave and sanctuary (see p. 102 &f). Besides, you
could get all misty and sentimental in church and forget that you were
not paying your workers a livable wage. The Low-Churchmen were more or
less the working-class Episcopalians, and Cummins wanted to go lower
than they already were, so social stigma was there to consider as
well. The differences between the High and Dry became less and less
distinguishable with the Anglo-Catholics, Holy Scripture rarely having
been the rallying-cry for either.

Ecclesiastically, the REC came to be seen by Presbyterians and
Episcopalians alike (their two closest cousins) as an anachronism;
were they Presbyterians with a prayer book, or Episcopalians
embarrassed by a prayer book, and vestments, and even bishops?

It remains a source of amazement that within the mainline Episcopal
Church there are clergymen and laymen alike who both love Jesus and
the Bible, yet remain in a church where women and sodomists are
routinely ordained, where one diocese couldn't pass a resolution a few
years ago affirming that Jesus was the Savior, and so on. They have
drawn so many lines in the sand that they look like they're standing
in the end zone looking out through the ear hole of their helmets,
having just been tackled for a tenth safety in ten possessions. They
continue to voice "outrage" over every new outrage, from modernistic
prayer book revision to the ordination of women and sex-perverts and
prayers to non-existent deities, ever inventing new campaigns and
strategies to "take back the helm of the church," while it continues
to drift further from shore with them locked safely in the brig. The
irony of it all is that the ones who have left recently, beginning in
1977 and following, are largely the heirs of the "papists" that were
happy to see Cummins et al leave in 1873!

At any rate, what could seem dusty and parochial is told in a way that
will interest the reader unfamiliar with the REC, or Episcopalianism
for that matter, simply because Guelzo is unmatched as a storyteller.
It was a joy to read for me personally, so much so that I recommended
the book to many friends before I was finished. But that was a
mistake, which I only realized upon reading the epilogue.

A man that studieth revenge

Guelzo takes great pains throughout to keep to his theme that the REC
was begun "for the union of evangelical Christendom," and ends the
book judging her success or failure by her adherence to this standard.
He jumps carefully from rock to rock in the REC's ecumenical stream,
maintaining his sure-footedness until the epilogue.

The Reformed Episcopal Church has been involved in any number of
missionary societies, church alliances, and so on. We went into the
American south and founded a missionary jurisdiction among the blacks
with which the Episcopal Church wanted nothing to do. We have a sister
church in Canada and one in England, the latter of which was
unfortunately headed by a lunatic, so that relationship was poisoned
from the jump. But the scope and interests of the REC were from the
beginning wide, even international and groundbreaking. Our oldest
mission, e.g., is in India.

For better or worse, we were also actively involved in the early days
of the Federal Council of Churches, and there was a great deal of
enthusiasm for the FCC in the REC, recounted in this book by quotes
from those involved as both participants and cheerleaders. Guelzo
laments the theological liberalism of the FCC which drove the REC away
in 1945 (page 332), but he amazes us with the declaration that, "The
great age of ecumenical endeavor in the Reformed Episcopal Church was
over, and with it the most important reason for the existence of the
Reformed Episcopal Church."

He could have reported that the FCC was shortly thereafter exposed as
a Communist front operation by Congress, closing only long enough to
re-emerge as the National Council of Churches. I for one think it was
a good thing that the RE wagon was unhitched from an agent of
Muscovite Communism. I hardly see this fifty year-old divorce as the
end of our reason for being.

The REC is now a member of the National Association of Evangelicals.
Does this count for nothing? Our raison d'etre is called into question
because we left the FCC, yet Guelzo leaves our affiliation with the
NAE in the dark. Although there are other confederations with which we
might more profitably plight our troth, the NAE is still better than
the FCC/NCC if one thinks we should do something ecumenical to remain
faithful to Bishop Cummins' vision. If the REC exists to promote
ecumenism at any cost, then she is doing so in uniting with the NAE.
But it seems that Guelzo is bent on writing the obituary of the REC,
and therefore must allege that the reason we exist is to be
ecumenical, which is of course partly true, but our main purpose is to
be the Reformed Episcopal Church, not the Christian and Missionary
Alliance.

He writes on page 335, "With the closing of the Reformed Episcopal
seminary's historic buildings in Philadelphia in 1993, the pool of...
leadership will only get smaller." But Reformed Episcopal Seminary has
only moved across town, thank you. She now reposes in Blue Bell, PA. I
see how reporting that the historic building's closing could be used
to craft inferences, but I don't see how this will necessarily lead to
a shrinkage of the pool of leadership, especially in light of the fact
that these buildings closed nearly twenty years ago. The building that
closed in 1993 was only in use for ten years, and the dorm was the
only part of the "historic buildings" in use then.

Dr. Guelzo, as mentioned earlier, was formerly employed at Reformed
Episcopal Seminary. One would never learn that from reading the book
since it is never stated, though one is free to wonder why. He left
when the seminary hired the REC's Archdeacon of Texas, the Rev. Dr.
Ray R. Sutton, as president, and forced out the neo-evangelical former
president, David Schroder, last seen at the Christian and Missionary
Alliance's school in Nyack, New York, where we hope he doesn't do as
much damage as he did at Reformed Episcopal Seminary in his two years
there. Guelzo dedicated the book to him, saying, "For David, who fled
from Saul to the mountains..." We still wonder who played the role of
Saul in Guelzo's mind. The seminary in Philadelphia is now in the
capable hands of the Rev. Dr. Wayne Headman, by the way.

Guelzo was publicly fearful before he left that the seminary, let
alone the denomination, was adopting Christian Reconstructionism
despite many personal assurances that this was not the case. He was
apparently more comfortable after leaving RE Seminary to be at Eastern
College rubbing elbow patches with Tony Campolo and Ron Sider. His
recent re-ordination in the apostate ECUSA is astonishing in light of
his concern for catholicity in his allegation that we are being
seduced by Reconstructionism, a false prophecy if ever there was one.

Bishop Sutton headed up our seminary in Shreveport, Louisiana until
leaving to take a parish, and is firmly in place as a churchman and
heir of the English Reformation by studied choice. He made that clear
at the time of his acceptance into the REC's clergy role. He continues
his repudiation of Reconstructionism. He has done nothing in over a
decade to promote Reconstructionism, and the provost of the seminary
even sent supporters and friends a circular in which Bishop Sutton's
repudiation of Reconstructionism was stated.

Yet Guelzo sees fit to ignore this and to allege that the church has
now blundered into the hopelessly splintered "Christian
Reconstruction" camp. The REC, from his perch, "has groped wildly for
a series of 'isms' - Calvinism, dispensationalism, and more recently,
Christian Reconstructionism - less with a concern for how well these
'isms' matched the reasons for their founding than with an urge to
hitch the Reformed Episcopal wagon to any vehicle that looked like [a]
movement," page 336. Coming from Guelzo this is like saying that we
now worship trees. I have no information about whether Guelzo has
received communion from Bishop Spong.

Alan Carl Guelzo was a leader in the REC's return to a more thorough,
Reformed Anglicanism, and engaged in ecumenical contacts with
conservatives within ECUSA. Did he feel that we were, at that time,
"groping" for some "ism?" He mentions that at the founding meeting of
the more or less conservative Episcopal Synod of America in 1989, they
"welcomed a Reformed Episcopalian onto their platform," page 334. He
could have looked at his own driver's license to research that guy's
identity, who was trying to hitch the RE wagon to the Episcopal Synod
of America.

And so on and on. In order to review this book fully and to explain
the epilogue to those to whom I've recommended it, I had to get into
this messy 9th Commandment work, but I still recommend the book up to,
but not including, the epilogue.

Now go on and read it, and know this about the REC today: We are
Reformed and liturgical. We believe the Bible is the inerrant,
infallible, fully inspired Word of the Triune God. We have no
modernists, women, or sodomists among our clergy. We renew our
anti-abortion resolution each General Council. We have, in the past
fifteen years, begun to recapture the Episcopal part of our name, and
are growing healthily now that we have sorted out our Anglican
identity once and for all under the godly leadership of our current
class of bishops. And you are welcome.

The Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity.

2011-10-16T20:30:00.001-04:00

The Collect.

LORD, we pray thee that thy grace may always prevent and follow us, and make us continually to be given to all good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle. Ephesians 4:1-6 (ESV)

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

The Gospel. St. Luke 14:1-11 (ESV)

One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” And they could not reply to these things.

Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

The Third Sunday After Trinity

2011-07-10T22:01:00.001-04:00

The Collect.

OLORD, we beseech thee mercifully to hear us; and grant that we, to whom thou hast given an hearty desire to pray, may, by thy mighty aid, be defended and comforted in all dangers and adversities; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle. 1 St. Peter 5:5-11 (ESV)

Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
The Gospel. St. Luke 15:1-10 (ESV)
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
“Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The Fourth Sunday after Easter

2011-05-22T23:47:00.000-04:00

The Collect.

OALMIGHTY God, who alone canst order the unruly wills and affections of sinful men; Grant unto thy people, that they may love the thing which thou commandest, and desire that which thou dost promise; that so, among the sundry and manifold changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed, where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Epistle. St. James 1:17-21 (ESV)

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
The Gospel. St.John 16:5-15 (ESV)
But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

The Rev'd Canon Dr. William Griffin, Ph.,D., R.I.P.

2011-05-11T02:10:00.003-04:00

When I left the meeting of the Rotary Club of Goose Creek this afternoon I had a message from Karen Griffin and suspected, correctly, that the news was sad, namely that her husband, the Rev'd Canon Dr. Will Griffin, had passed away -- he indeed had the previous night.

Will Griffin and I first corresponded via email before finally meeting in person at the annual Mere Anglicanism conference in Charleston in, I believe, 2006. At the time Will, whose earthly pilgrimage had included time as an Old Catholic as well as Roman Catholic (with a stint as a monk) in addition to time in the Episcopal Church before heading for the Continuum, was a priest in the Anglican Province of America and fairly recently widowed. We struck up a friendship and some time after that he married Karen, who brought him great joy. Will's service on the board of the Federation of Anglican Churches in the Americas brought him to Charleston with increasing frequency and we often enjoyed getting together -- in between those meetings we would keep up by telephone and email. When a large number of parishes left the APA to form the Diocese of the West of the Reformed Episcopal Church and later of the Anglican Church in North America and added benefit was that I got to visit with him more regularly. At the enthronement of Archbishop Robert Duncan, we processed together.

Will lived a full life in service to Christ and His Church. May he rest in peace and rise in glory!

The Fifth Sunday in Lent, commonly called Passion Sunday.

2011-04-10T23:36:00.000-04:00

The Collect

WE beseech thee, Almighty God, mercifully to look upon thy people; that by thy great goodness they may be governed and preserved evermore, both in body and soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle. Hebrews 9:11-15 (ESV)

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.
The Gospel. St. John 8:46-51
Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”
Before Abraham Was, I Am
The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

The Fourth Sunday in Lent

2011-04-03T20:56:00.001-04:00

The Collect.

RANT, we beseech thee, Almighty God, that we, who for our evil deeds do worthily deserve to be punished, by the comfort of thy grace may mercifully be relieved; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.Amen.

The Epistle. Galatians 4:21-31 (ESV)

Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. For it is written,

“Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear;
break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor!
For the children of the desolate one will be more
than those of the one who has a husband.”

Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.

The Gospel. St. John 6:1-14 (ESV)

After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”

The Third Sunday in Lent

2011-03-27T21:35:00.000-04:00

The Collect.

WE beseech thee, Almighty God, look upon the hearty desires of thy humble servants, and stretch forth the right hand of thy Majesty, to be our defence against all our enemies; through Jesus Christ our Lord.Amen.

The Epistle. Ephesians 5:1-14 (ESV)

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,
“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
The Gospel. St. Luke 11:14-28 (ESV)
Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” while others, to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven. But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.”

Of Church Bookshops and Literature Tables

2011-03-13T23:23:00.013-04:00

A friend of mine alerted me to the fact that Christian Book Distributors felt compelled to put a "theological warning" on Rob Bell's forthcoming book Love Wins. I must confess that I'm not that familiar with the Rev'd Mr. Bell, preferring to get my theology, as I often like to say, from old dead white guys, but Love Wins has generated considerable theological controversy as Bell seems to be friendly toward Universalism -- hence the warning. As my friend pointed out, CBD has not felt compelled to issue such theological warnings while selling other books -- by Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer, and Jim Wallis for example -- that are cause for at least as much concern. It would appear that CBD is engaging in a bit of selective orthodoxy.

That's not terribly surprising. Years ago during seminary I briefly worked for a Christian bookstore and it was a depressing experience. I actually felt dirty selling some of the questionable stuff that was carried (in the half of the store that actually carried books and wasn't devoted to Jesus junk) and, if I had to do it over again, would learn bartending as doing so wouldn't feel as compromising (it could also serve as a great counseling practicum, but that's another story). The fact of the matter is that most of "Christian retail" is more retail than Christian with a few happy exceptions (Cumberland Valley Bible Book Service is one, as is Lifeway for the most part, owing to its affiliation with the Southern Baptist Convention) but many of them sell all sorts of things in pursuit of profits.

I've long been a fan of bookshops run by churches. The Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul, where I'm privileged to assist, formerly had an excellent one and it is missed. The First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, South Carolina, has a great one as does the Independent Presbyterian Church of Savannah, Georgia, and St. Helena's Episcopal Church in Beaufort, South Carolina; if you live near those areas or find yourself visiting them I would warmly commend them to you (they are strong churches as well). The First Presbyterian Churches of Augusta and Macon, Georgia, used to have great ones; I've not been to to former one in years and understand that the latter has closed. Because they're underwritten by the churches and don't have the overhead of larger, mall-based ventures, such bookshops can exercise more quality control than those run purely as a business. That having been said, it's usually only larger churches that have the resources to operate such ventures.

Because Christian literature is so important, every church should consider providing quality literature (the emphasis is on quality -- the ubiquitous Chick Tracts have probably done more harm than good through the years!) either for sale or for free. While not every church can afford to run a full-blown bookshop, every church can have a table with some literature on it for the edification of its members and visitors. When I have been in charge of parishes, that's one of the first things that I've done and it reaped great results.

The following are a few ideas for this:

Chapel Library: The literature of Mt. Zion Bible Church, a smallish (80 members, about twice what they were roughly ten years ago) essentially (nut not officially) Reformed Baptist church in Pensacola, Florida. They have reprinted quite a few sermons and tracts by greats such as J.C. Ryle, Charles Spurgeon, and Robert Murray M'Cheyne. Their literature is free in reasonable quantities, for larger quantities it is provided at cost although, obviously, donations are accepted. I've been receiving their stuff for years and have benefited greatly by it.

The Banner of Truth Trust: This publishing house has done yoeman's work in reprinting classic and new literature from a Reformed and Evangelical perspective since 1957. While their books priced at various levels, they have some short booklets that are immensely practical and inexpensive enough to give away.

P&R Publishing: Formerly also known a Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing (I'm not entirely sure of why they shortened it), their books are priced at various levels, but they publish very helpful pamphlets by the Rev'd Dr. Jay E. Adam s that, at $25 for a pack of 100, are within the price range of almost all congregations to give away.

Publish Your Own: With modern technology and the ease of desktop publishing, publishing short pamphlets on timely subjects is well within reach of many clergy and churches.

I hope that more churches will begin or expand their literature ministries.

The First Sunday in Lent.

2011-03-13T23:17:00.002-04:00

The Collect.

O LORD, who for our sake didst fast forty days and forty nights; Give us grace to use such abstinence, that, our flesh being subdued to the Spirit, we may ever obey thy godly motions in righteousness, and true holiness, to thy honour and glory, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

The Epistle. 2 Corinthians 6:1-10 (ESV)

Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says,

“In a favorable time I listened to you,
and in a day of salvation I have helped you.”

Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. We put no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.

The Gospel. St. Matthew 4:1-11 (ESV)

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written,

“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’

and

“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,

“‘You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you serve.’”

Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

The Sunday called Quinquagesima, or the next Sunday before Lent.

2011-03-06T22:30:00.002-05:00

The Collect.

O LORD, who hast taught us that all our doings without charity are nothing worth; Send thy Holy Ghost, and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of charity, the very bond of peace and of all virtues, without which whosoever liveth is counted dead before thee. Grant this for thine only Son Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.

The Epistle. 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 (ESV)

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

The Gospel. St. Luke 18:31-43 (ESV)

And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.” But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.

As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

A Few Thoughts on Taxes

2011-02-27T03:42:00.004-05:00

Since I use the original 1928 Book of Common Prayer Lectionary, the first lesson for Morning Prayer this morning was Genesis 41:15-37, where Joseph -- having been hauled out of prison to interpret Pharaoh's dream -- delivers the bad news that seven years of prosperity are to be followed by seven years of famine. In response to this unfortunate news, Joseph advises Pharaoh that he should set up overseers who will take one-fifth (20%) of the produce and put it in storage so that when the lean years come the people of Egypt will not starve but will instead be cared for. That -- and the fact that my income tax return needs to be filed soon -- got me thinking about taxes.

What Joseph established was a de facto tax, but it was a tax that was dealing with a specific coming crisis. The 20% that was gleaned would pay rich dividends in the future when famine came to the land. In contrast to this, too much of the taxes that are payed today go to servicing debt -- debt that continues to grow, and grow, and grow with the printing of fiat money. Elsewhere in Scripture, when the people clamor for a King, Samuel warns them about some of the things that this King -- Saul -- will do. Among the warnings that he lists are that the King will take a tenth of their grain and flocks (1 Samuel 8:15, 17). Clearly, he sees a 10% tax as excessive. That's even lower than the 20% that Joseph advised -- when, after all, he was dealing with an emergency.

In comparison, many in the United States pay between 32-40% in taxes once the direct and indirect (the so-called "hidden taxes" that are embedded in the products and services that we buy) are taken into account. That's considerably more than the sub 10% rate that Samuel seemed to hope for! Furthermore, taxes in the United States are progressive, meaning that if you work hard and earn more money you get more taxes, meaning that a raise can quickly morph into a pay cut. For people in the top tax bracket of 40%, they can easily pay more than 10% in local taxes, meaning that most of the fruit of their hard work is taken from them. That's an effective way to disincentivize success. It's interesting to note that when God established the Census tax in Israel, progressive taxation was forbidden.

There are numerous other problems with the way that we do taxes and I'll try to address those in the near future. Suffice it to say, though, that the current system isn't working. Perhaps returning to the old paths outlined in Scripture are worth more than a passing glance.

The Sunday called Sexagesima, or the second Sunday before Lent

2011-02-27T03:30:00.001-05:00

The Collect.

O LORD God, who seest that we put not our trust in any thing that we do; Mercifully grant that by thy power we may be defended against all adversity; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle. 2 Corinthians 11:19-31 (ESV)

For you gladly bear with fools, being wise yourselves! For you bear it if someone makes slaves of you, or devours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or strikes you in the face. To my shame, I must say, we were too weak for that!

But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.

The Gospel. St Luke 8:4-15 (ESV)

And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

The Sunday called Septuagesima, or the third Sunday before Lent

2011-02-20T16:47:00.000-05:00

The Collect.

O LORD, we beseech thee favourably to hear the prayers of thy people; that we, who are justly punished for our offences, may be mercifully delivered by thy goodness, for the glory of thy Name; through Jesus Christ our Saviour, who liveth and, reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost ever, one God, world without end. Amen.

The Epistle. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (ESV)

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

The Gospel. St. Matthew 20:1-16 (ESV)

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ So the last will be first, and the first last.”

The Power of a Driver's License

2011-02-16T00:04:00.002-05:00

While visiting with a patient this afternoon I noticed that her paid sitter was reading the South Carolina Driver's License Manual. Since she was clearly older than high school age (I wasn't entirely sure, she turned out to be 33) my curiosity was piqued and I asked her if she was studying for her Driver's License and it turned out that she was. We visited a while, discussed the driving test and her nervousness about it, prayed, and then I went on my way. This lady, in her thirties with three children, is paying several hundred dollars for her license, a piece of plastic that will enable her stop having to take a cab (for which the fare runs $7 -- not a small amount when making low wages with children) to work or to rely on friends or others who can at times be unreliable. It will allow her to have independence and will hopefully open up new opportunities for her (I lived for a time without a car for several months years ago in Columbia, South Carolina, and realize that it's not easy to do that in most cities).

My conversation with her got me thinking about my own experience getting a driver's license -- one that was fairly typical of a middle-class teenager in the 1980s. Instead of paying hundreds of dollars for classes, I enrolled in Driver's Education at Myrtle Beach High School (the mascot of which then carried a dagger and did not look like an effeminate maitre d from an all you can eat seafood buffet, but I digress) during my freshman year -- it was offered for at least of couple of reasons: (1) At least ostensibly it promoted safe driving. (2) It provided a real and not too taxing course for several of the coaches to teach (parents liked it because [3] You got a break on insuring your teenager if they'd passed the course!) and learner's permit, quickly followed by what was then called a day license which magically morphed into a driver's license when I turned 16. I had a car at 15 (a yellow 1977 Honda Civic Hatchback -- not a bad car and roughly appropriate for a teenager's first car, by the way) and took the mobility that it and a driver's license provided for granted, and that's the point.

Driving is an essential part of my work -- if I couldn't drive I'd have to get another job -- and that's true for many people. It also allows me freedom and independence that I (and most Americans) have gotten used to. Within reason, I go where I want to go when I want to go there.

I'm not saying that a driver's license is a universal entitlement (it should be granted to all who can demonstrate the skills and judgment needed to operate a vehicle safely) nor am I suggesting that all government schools should offer state-funded driver's education (that's a call for local school board). What I am saying is that speaking to that sitter made me appreciate a seemingly small thing that I'd previously taken for granted; such an increase in gratitude is always helpful!

Guest Post: The Baltimore Declaration of 1991

2011-02-14T23:22:00.006-05:00

Some 20 years ago my friend William McKeachie and five other Episcopal priests then canonically resident in the Diocese of Maryland produced the Baltimore Declaration, an affirmation of orthodox Christianity. The articles of faith affirmed therein remain relevant for the Church and Christ's Church continues to struggle with those who would attack the faith; it bears re-reading. Inasmuch as the sites where it was formerly available no longer are, it is presented in its entirety here. Tolle Lege! -- DC+

The Baltimore Declaration
1991

Throughout the history of the Christian Church, there have been times when the integrity and substance of the Gospel have come under powerful cultural, philosophical, and religious attack. At such times, it has been necessary for Christian believers, and especially for pastors and preachers, to confess clearly, unequivocally, and publicly "the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3), and to define this faith over against the heresies and theological errors infiltrating the Church. Thus the Church is led into a deeper comprehension of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the communal identity of the Church is strengthened in its mission to the world.

We, the undersigned, who are baptized members of the Episcopal Church of the United States, believe that such a time has now come upon the Church which we serve. We are now witnessing a thoroughgoing revision of the faith inconsistent with the evangelical, apostolic and catholic witness, a revision increasingly embraced by ecclesiastical leaders, both ordained and lay. In the name of inclusivity and pluralism, we are presented with a new theological paradigm which rejects, explicitly or implicitly, the doctrinal norms of the historic creeds and ecumenical councils, and which seeks to relativize, if not abolish, the formative and evangelical authority of the Holy Scriptures. This paradigm introduces into the Church a new story, a new language, a new grammar. The "revelations" of modernity, infinitely self-generating and neverending, supplant and critique that historic revelation which God the Holy Trinity has communicated by word and deed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Israelite.

Fully aware of our own sinfulness, as well as the spiritual dangers inherent in issuing such a call, we humbly and prayerfully summon the Church to return to and remain steadfast in that Gospel entrusted to it by the Apostles of Jesus Christ. We also summon the clergy of the Church to stand up boldly and declare that Trinitarian faith which they have sworn at their ordinations to uphold and preach. We are well aware of the possible personal and professional costs of such a confession in the present situation; but we are convinced that the integrity and substance of the Gospel, that Gospel which is the only hope and salvation of the world, are at stake. The Lord is calling us to fidelity to him and to him alone.

We offer, therefore, the following Declaration of Faith. This is not a comprehensive confession. It addresses those critical theological issues which we believe to be at the heart of the present crisis.

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you" (Matt. 28:18-20).

By the command and mandate of her risen Lord, the Church of Jesus Christ is commissioned to baptize disciples into the revealed name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This proper name faithfully identifies the Savior and Lord of the Holy Scriptures. While human linguistic formulae cannot exhaust the mystery of the ineffable Deity, the threefold appellation - given to us in the resurrection of Jesus - truly names and designates the three Persons of the Holy Trinity as disclosed in the biblical narrative, and summarizes the apostolic experience of God in Christ. To reject, disregard, or marginalize the Trinitarian naming is to cut ourselves off from that story which shapes and defines the identity of the Church; ultimately, it is to cut ourselves off from the God of Israel himself. The confession of the triune name is required in the celebration of Christian baptism, and it properly structures the liturgy and prayer of the Christian community: We rightly pray to the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit. As St. Basil the Great declared: "For we are bound to be baptized in the terms we have received and to profess belief in the terms in which we are baptized, and as we have professed belief in, so to give glory to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit."

We repudiate the false teaching that God has not definitively and uniquely named himself in Jesus Christ, that we are free to ignore or suppress the revealed name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and worship the Deity with names and images created by our fallen imaginations or supplied by secular culture, unreformed by the Gospel and the biblical revelation.

"In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said. . ." (Gen. 1: I-3).

"Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you endure; they will all wear out like a garment. You change them like clothing, and they pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end" (Ps. 102: 25-27).

The triune God is the holy creator who freely speaks the universe into contingent existence out of nothing (creatio ex nihilo). He is the sovereign Lord, utterly transcending his creation, yet actively immanent within it, guiding and directing it to its eschatological fulfillment in the Kingdom. As creator, God is free to act within his universe, both providentially and miraculously, to accomplish his purposes and ends.

We repudiate the false teaching of monism, which indissolubly unites deity and cosmos into an interdependent whole, the world being construed as God's body, born of the substance of deity, and thus divine. On the other hand, we repudiate the false teaching of deism, which distances the creator from active involvement in the preservation, redemption, and consummation of his creation.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people... . And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth. . . . From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known" (John 1:1-4,14,16-18).

"All things have been handed over to me by my Father and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him" (Matt. 11:27).

Jesus of Nazareth is God. He is the Word made flesh, the incarnation and embodiment of the divine Son, truly God and truly human, "of one being" (homoousios) with the Father and the Spirit. In this wondrous union of deity and humanity, the triune God is perfectly and definitively revealed. In Christ, and in him alone, we are freely given true apprehension of God in his immanent reality, freely given to share in the Son's knowledge of the Father in the Holy Spirit. The crucified and risen Lord, in all of his historical particularity, is thus the source and foundation of our knowledge of the living God. We rejoice in the triune God's gift of himself in Jesus Christ, and declare Jesus as the eternal Word who judges all preachings, teachings, theologies, actions, prayers and rituals. We acknowledge that God is free to communicate himself in many and diverse ways to the peoples of the world; but we confess that saving and authentic knowledge of the Deity in his inner Trinitarian life is possible only in and through the incarnate Son, Jesus Christ, the God-man.

We repudiate the false teaching that Jesus Christ is only one revelation or manifestation of God, that there are other revelations and other experiences (political, ideological, cultural, or religious) to which we may look or must look to gain knowledge of the true God.

"l am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).

"This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone. There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:11-12).

By his incarnation in Jesus the Israelite, the eternal Son of God has assumed to himself our human nature, cleansing and healing it by the power of the Spirit, redeeming it from sin and death by the cross of Calvary, raising it to everlasting life in his resurrection, and incorporating it into the triune life of the Godhead by his ascension to the right hand of the Father. Thus this Jesus, who is called the Christ, is the Savior of the world, the one mediator between God and humanity, in whom, by faith, repentance and baptism, we find forgiveness, rebirth in the Spirit, and eternal life in the Kingdom. While we do not presume to judge how the all-holy and all-merciful God will or will not bring to salvation those who do not hear and believe the preached Gospel, we do emphatically declare Jesus the rightful Lord and Savior of all humanity, and we embrace the Great Commission of our Lord to proclaim with evangelical fervor his Good News to the world. To deny this historic conviction in the absolute lordship of Christ Jesus and his exclusive mediation of salvation is to eviscerate the heart and vitality of the Church's evangelistic mission.

We repudiate the false teaching that the salvation of humanity by the sovereign action and grace of God is unnecessary or that salvation may be ultimately found apart from the atoning death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We repudiate the false teaching that Jesus is merely one savior among many - the savior of Christians but not of humankind.

"The hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him" (John 4:21-23).

"So that you may not claim to be wiser than you are, brothers and sisters, I want you to understand this mystery: a hardening has come upon part of Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved; ... As regards the gospel they are enemies of God for your sake; but as regards election they are beloved, for the sake of their ancestors; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, so they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all" (Romans 11:25-26, 28-32).

By the call of Abraham and the covenant of Moses enacted on Mount Sinai, the triune God has gathered to himself the people of Israel to be his holy nation and royal priesthood, consecrated to his service in the redemption of the world. To them he has entrusted his Torah, Wisdom, and prophetic Word. From this people God has brought forth his Messiah, born in Bethlehem of the Virgin Mary, Jesus the Jew, the son of David, who is the fulfillment of the promises of God to Israel and the Savior of humanity and of all creation. For these majestic reasons, the Jews are to be regarded by Christians as a reverend and blessed people. Following the teaching of the New Testament, we eagerly look forward to that time when Gentile and Jew will be fully reconciled and made one people in eternal communion with the crucified and risen Messiah in the New Jerusalem.

We repudiate the false teaching that the Jews may be persecuted by Christians and we especially repudiate the repugnant and fallacious charge of "Christ-killers," which has been used by Christians down the centuries as an excuse for hatred, bigotry, and violence against the Jews. All anti-Semitism in thought, word, or deed is vicious and is to be decried and condemned by Christians. But we also repudiate the false teaching that eternal salvation is already given to the chosen people of Israel through the covenant of Abraham and Moses, independently of the crucified Christ, and the inference that the Gospel of Jesus the Messiah need not be proclaimed to them.

"But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed and is attested by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith" (Romans 3:21-25).

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God - not the result of works, so that no one may boast" (Eph. 2:8-9).

The Gospel is the proclamation of the unconditional love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness of God the Father, mediated through Christ crucified, in the power of the Spirit. The Father nurtures, protects, and cares for his children like a nursing mother: he strengthens, directs, and disciplines them like a steadfast father. His love embraces all humankind equally, female and male, and is communicated to us in the preaching of the Word and the celebration of the sacraments, received by the faith granted us in the gift of the Gospel. This love cannot be earned nor bought: We are freely justified by the grace given to us through Christ in his sacrificial death and victorious resurrection, not by our religious, political, psychological, or moral works.

We repudiate the false teaching that God is male (except in the incarnate Christ) and that men are consequently superior to women, or that God has institutionalized in family, society, or the Church the authoritarian and sexist domination of women by men. We repudiate the false teaching that God the Father is the oppressor and subjugator of women, or that the divine Fatherhood is rightly construed as the psychological projection upon the Deity of the experience of human fatherhood. We therefore repudiate the false teaching that the Father of Jesus Christ is inaccessible or unavailable to contemporary women.

"Do you think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets: I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished'" (Matt. 5:17-18).

"All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3: 16-17).

We confess the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God, and to contain all things necessary to salvation. The Holy Spirit, the ultimate author of God's Word written, was active both in the inspiration of the sinful human writers, redactors, and editors and in the process of canonization. Interpreted within the tradition and community of the Christian Church, with the use of responsible biblical criticism - always under the guidance and lordship of the Spirit - the Scriptures, in their entirety, are the reliable, trustworthy, and canonical witness to God's self-revelation in Jesus Christ, and are our primary and decisive authority in matters of faith and morals. Through the Holy Scriptures the Church hears anew every day that Word who frees us from the tyranny of the fashionable, the divine Word who renews and inspires, teaches and corrects, judges and saves.

We repudiate the false teaching that the plain testimony of the Holy Scriptures may, in whole or part, be supplanted by the images, views, philosophies, and values of secular culture. We repudiate the false teaching that only those sayings of the pre-resurrection Jesus which can be demonstrated to be certain or probable by historical criticism are authoritative for the life and mission of the Church. We repudiate the false teaching that the Old Testament is not to be interpreted in light of its messianic fulfillment in the person of Jesus Christ as witnessed in the New Testament, or that the Old and New Testaments stand hermeneutically, materially, and formally independent of each other.

Pray for the Church.

The Rev. Ronald S. Fisher
The Rev. Alvin F. Kimel, Jr.*
The Rev. R. Gary Matthewes-Green**
The Rev. William N. McKeachie
The Rev. Frederick J. Ramsay
The Rev. Philip Burwell Roulette

*Fr. Kimel has since entered the Roman Catholic Church and been ordained to the priesthood in the same.

**Fr. Matthewes-Green has since entered the Antiochian Orthodox Church and is now the Pastor of Holy Cross Antiochian Orthodox Church in Linthicum, Maryland.

The Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany.

2011-02-13T19:26:00.002-05:00

The Collect.

O GOD, whose blessed Son was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil, and make us the sons of God, and heirs of eternal life; Grant us, we beseech thee, that, having this hope, we may purify ourselves, even as he is pure; that, when he shall appear again with power and great glory, we may be made like unto him in his eternal and glorious kingdom; where with thee, O Father, and thee, O Holy Ghost, he liveth and reigneth ever, one God, world without end. Amen.

The Epistle. 1 St. John 3:1-8 (ESV)

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

The Gospel. St. Matthew 24:23-41 (ESV)

Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Worship -- Still a Verb

2011-02-09T23:24:00.009-05:00

This past Tuesday evening I found myself in downtown Charleston with some time to kill so, as I often enjoy doing, I took my pipe and a book and stopped by The Smoking Lamp, my favorite tobacconist. While sitting there and visiting with a couple of hookah-smoking College of Charleston students the Rev'd Canon J. Michael Wright, Rector of Grace Episcopal Church, came in and in the course of our conversation he mentioned that Dr. Richard Schori, husband of Dr. Katharine Jefferts Schori, the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, would be speaking the next evening at Grace Church. An accomplished photographer, Dr. Schori frequently takes his camera along while traveling with his wife (many of his photos have been used by Episcopal News Service) and was to speak on some of his observations and experiences). Canon Wright kindly invited me, but I wasn't sure if I could make it or not. After speaking later to a friend who wanted to go, I did indeed attend.

Dr. Schori spoke on "The Episcopal Church: Aspects of Breadth and Depth." Not surprisingly, his presentation was copiously illustrated and, in the main, non-polemic, focusing on the work that the Episcopal Church is doing around the world (it did have a bit of a company feel to it, but that wasn't surprising given who his wife is and the fact that Grace Church is a bastion of the Episcopal Forum of South Carolina, the local Via Media franchise -- one would hardly expect the man to come here and bash his wife). I'll not critique all of the presentation, but one comment, made toward the end when he gave his advice to new bishops, is worth of comment and, I believe, respectful disagreement.

The second of those suggestions was "practice your spirituality on your time," followed by an explanation that bishops (and one would assume other clergy as well) are "performing" during services and should keep that in mind so as to allow for a better presentation (and nicer photographs). Uh, no.

As I commented to my friend, if ever I am performing rather than worshiping, take my collar and send me out to sell insurance, used cars, fertilizer or something. As the late Robert Webber reminded us, worship is a verb and those who worship should be doing so in spirit and in truth. Don't get me wrong, I like liturgy (hence, my Anglicanism by choice) and I'm all for worship done well (agreeing completely with the Clergy Handbook for the Free Church of England that ". . . slovenliness or carelessness in deportment are not evidences of true Protestantism or of consecration of life."), but when staging a pretty picture becomes more important than worshiping, things have gotten horribly, horribly wrong.

I'm a priest, but I'm also a sinner. When I come to worship I need to confess my sins, receive absolution and assurance than my sins are forgiven in Christ, and I need to hear the comfortable words. Because the Christian life is hard, I need to hear God's Word preached and need to be sacramentally fed in Holy Communion. All of that is lost if it's only a pretty performance. From time to time people have told me that I read the prayers and lessons well ; they mean that as a compliment and I take it as such (although sometimes joking about them having no idea how impressive that is for a graduate of the South Carolina Public Schools), but I was even more complimented when another priest with whom I served once told me that he could tell that I was not only reading the liturgy, but praying it. May it always be so.

The late Flannery O'Connor, devout Roman Catholic and Southern author, once responded to the Zwinglian view of Holy Communion, noted "Well, if it's a symbol, to hell with it." That pretty much sums up my views of worship as a performance.

The Third Sunday after the Epiphany.

2011-01-23T18:35:00.002-05:00

The Collect.

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, mercifully look upon our infirmities, and in all our dangers and necessities stretch forth thy right hand to help and defend us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle. Romans 12:16c-21 (ESV)

Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

The Gospel. St. Matthew 8:1-13 (ESV)

When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”

When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.

Four Kinds of Folks

2011-01-17T00:04:00.003-05:00

My friend and Systematic Theology professor, R.J. Gore, Jr., a Chaplain (Colonel) in the Army Reserve and and Iraqi War veteran, has talked about writing a book entitled Ten Things I Learned in the Army That I Should've Learned in Church. I hope he does, for military life has many, many lessons that transfer not only to ecclesiastical life but family and business life as well. Most, but not all, of these have to do with the subject of leadership.

Years ago, while still in high school in fact, I read Small Unit Leadership: A Commonsense Approach by COL Dandridge M. "Mike" Malone, USA (Ret.). COL Malone began his career as a Private in 1951 and retired from the Army in 1981. I'm not sure if he's still living -- I certainly hope so -- but his experience serving his country taught him much about the vital subject of leadership and I would commend his book not only to soldiers but also to corporate managers and clergy as well (both the world of business and most parishes need clear leadership).

One part of Malone's book that I found particularly helpful was a section where he list four categories in which every soldier in a squad, platoon, or company/troop/battery will ultimately fall. They are: willing and able, willing and unable, unwilling but able, and unwilling and unable.

Willing and Able

Obviously these are the types of folks all of us would love to have working for us, belonging to our parishes, etc. They are able to perform the task and want to do so. As Malone points out, the approach to these people is that of a coach -- give a minimum of guidance and get out of their way, allowing them to excel!

Willing and Unable

This is a place where each of us has found ourselves from time to time and no doubt will again. They want to do the task in question but do not have the knowledge required to do so. Ignorance is not, in and of itself, a problem but rather an opportunity to educate. The approach to these people is that of a teacher -- work with them, give them the knowledge needed, and then they will often pleasantly surprise you with the results.

Unwilling but Able

These people can do the job -- you know they can -- perhaps they have in the past, but for one reason or another will not do so now. Writing in a military context, perhaps for units deployed in a combat zone, Malone advises that these people should be approached as a warden (and not the kind found in parishes, either). That is the correct immediate approach in the Army, although I would suggest that in most contexts (and even in that one where time allows) one should first find out why they are unable. Perhaps something else in going on that, when addressed, would move them into the willing and able category; if so, help them so that they can excel. If it's merely a matter of motivational deficit disorder, then bring smoke as needed (in today's business world, most employers aren't going to have the patience to do so [replacing these employees is too easy] and in the church one can't really bring smoke [one can and should, however, realize the results one will get when placing folks in this category in charge of a task]).

Unwilling and Unable

These are people who, due to emotional and developmental reasons should never have been allowed in the Army. Malone suggests, rightly, that the approach to be taken when you have discovered someone in this category (which is pretty rare) is to process them out as soon as possible. Again, he's correct in that context. In the corporate world that's the answer as well.

But what of the church? First and foremost, one should realize that all of us, due to our sinful nature, are exactly there. As St. Paul points out, "None is righteous, no, not one." (Romans 3:10 ESV). Except for the supernatural intervention of the Holy Spirit, there we'll remain!

Obviously one can't process someone out of the church (one can, and when appropriate should, exercise Church Discipline but that's another matter entirely -- the goal is restoration) but the approach should be one of ministering to them (with boundaries) rather than promoting them to positions of leadership.

Malone's book is a classic and well worth a read. I haven't read it in at least 10 years (and probably considerably more than that) but the approach that he teaches is so effective that it's stuck with me.

The Second Sunday after the Epiphany

2011-01-16T23:52:00.002-05:00

The Collect.

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who dost govern all things in heaven and earth; Mercifully hear the supplications of thy people, and grant us thy peace all the days of our life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle. Romans 12:6-16 (ESV)

Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.

The Gospel. St. Mark 1:1-11 (ESV)

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,

“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way,
the voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’”

John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

The First Sunday after the Epiphany.

2011-01-09T23:44:00.000-05:00

The Collect.

O LORD, we beseech thee mercifully to receive the prayers of thy people who call upon thee; and grant that they may both perceive and know what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfil the same; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle. Romans 12:1-5 (ESV)

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

The Gospel. St Luke 2:41-52 (ESV)

Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the group they went a day's journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?” And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.

And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

EPIPHANY SEASON.

2011-01-06T22:07:00.002-05:00

The Epiphany, or the Manifestation of
Christ to the Gentiles

The Collect.

O GOD, who by the leading of a star didst manifest thy only-begotten Son to the Gentiles; Mercifully grant that we, who know thee now by faith, may after this life have the fruition of thy glorious Godhead; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

¶ This Collect to be said daily throughout the Octave.

The Epistle. Ephesians 3:1-12 (ESV)

For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.

The Gospel. St. Matthew 2:1-12 (ESV)

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

“‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

¶ The same Epistle and Gospel shall serve unto the next Sunday.

The Holy Innocents.

2010-12-28T22:33:00.002-05:00

The Collect.

O ALMIGHTY God, who out of the mouths of babes and sucklmgs hast ordained strength, and madest infants to glorify thee by their deaths: Mortify and kill all vices in us, and so strengthen us by thy grace, that by the innocency of our lives, and constancy of our faith even unto death, we may glorify thy holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

For the Epistle. Revelation 14:1-5 (ESV)

Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.

The Gospel. St. Matthew 2:13b-18

an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:

“A voice was heard in Ramah,
weeping and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”

Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist

2010-12-27T22:34:00.002-05:00

The Collect
MERCIFUL Lord, we beseech thee to cast thy bright beams of light upon thy Church, that it, being illumined by the doctrine of thy blessed Apostle and Evangelist Saint John, may so walk in the light of thy truth, that it may at length attain to life everlasting; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle. 1 John 1:1-10 (ESV)

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

The Gospel. St. John 21:19b-25 (ESV)

And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”

Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who had been reclining at table close to him and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” So the saying spread abroad among the brothers that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?”

This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true.

Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

CHRISTMASTIDE.

2010-12-25T19:15:00.003-05:00

The Nativity of our Lord, or the Birthday of Christ, commonly called Christmas-day.

The Collect.

ALMIGHTY God, who hast given us thy only. begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and as at this time to be born of a pure virgin; Grant that we being regenerate, and made thy children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by thy Holy Spirit; through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Spirit ever, one God, world without end. Amen.

¶ This Collect to be said daily throughout the Octave.

The Epistle. Hebrews 1:1-12 (ESV)

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

For to which of the angels did God ever say,

“You are my Son,
today I have begotten you”?

Or again,

“I will be to him a father,
and he shall be to me a son”?

And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,

“Let all God's angels worship him.”

Of the angels he says,

“He makes his angels winds,
and his ministers a flame of fire.”

But of the Son he says,

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,
the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”

And,

“You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,
and the heavens are the work of your hands;
they will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment,
like a robe you will roll them up,
like a garment they will be changed.
But you are the same,
and your years will have no end.”

The Gospel. St. John 1:1-14 (ESV)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The Fourth Sunday in Advent

2010-12-19T23:50:00.002-05:00

The Collect.

O LORD, raise up, we pray thee, thy power, and come among us, and with great might succour us; that whereas, through our sins and wickedness, we are sore let and hindered in running the race that is set before us, thy bountiful grace and mercy may speedily help and 'deliver us; through the satisfaction of Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be honour and glory, world with out end. Amen.

The Epistle. Philipians 4:4-7 (ESV)

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

The Gospel. St. John 1:19-28 (ESV)

And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

(Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

The Third Sunday in Advent

2010-12-12T23:28:00.002-05:00

The Collect.

O LORD Jesus Christ, who at thy first coming didst send thy messenger to prepare thy way before thee; Grant that the ministers and stewards of thy mysteries may likewise so pre pare and make ready thy way, by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, that at thy second coming to judge the world we may be found an acceptable people in thy sight, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Spirit ever,* one God, world without end. Amen.

The First Sunday in Advent

The Collect.

ALMIGHTY God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and [the]* dead, we may rise to the life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen.

¶ This Collect is to be repeated every day, with the other Collects in Advent, until Christmas-day.

The Epistle. 1 Corinthians 4:1-5 (ESV)

This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.

The Gospel. St. Matthew 11:2-10 (ESV)

Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written,

“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way before you.’

Advent Season

2010-11-28T23:43:00.002-05:00

The First Sunday in Advent

The Collect.

¶ This Collect is to be repeated every day, with the other Collects in Advent, until Christmas-day.

The Epistle. Romans 13:8-14 (ESV)

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

The Gospel. St Matthew 21:1-13 (ESV)

Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,

“Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”

The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”

The Sunday Next Before Advent

2010-11-21T21:14:00.002-05:00

The Collect.

STIR up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

For the Epistle. Jeremiah 23:5-8 (ESV)

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’

“Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when they shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.’ Then they shall dwell in their own land.”

The Gospel. St. John 6:5-14 (ESV)

Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”

The Twenty-fourth Sunday after Trinity.

2010-11-14T23:37:00.002-05:00

The Collect.

O LORD, we beseech thee, absolve thy people from their offences; that through thy bountiful goodness we may all be delivered from the bands of those sins, which by our frailty we have committed. Grant this, O heavenly Father, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our blessed Lord and Saviour. Amen.

The Epistle. Colossians 1:3-12 (ESV)

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

The Gospel. St. Matthew 9:18-26 (ESV)

While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well. And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. And the report of this went through all that district.

The Twenty-third Sunday after Trinity.

2010-11-07T22:57:00.002-05:00

[I have been unable to blog for over a month due to computer issues -- the motherboard on my computer went out. I now have a new computer and regret any inconvenience. -- DC+]

The Collect.

O GOD, our refuge and strength, who art the author of all godliness; Be ready, we beseech thee, to hear the devout prayers of thy Church; and grant that those things which we ask faithfully we may obtain effectually; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

All Saints' Day.

The Collect.

O ALMIGHTY God, who hast knit together thine elect in one communion and fellowship, in the mystical body of thy Son Christ our Lord; Grant us grace so to follow thy blessed Saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those unspeakable joys which thou hast prepared for those who unfeignedly love thee; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

This Collect is to be said daily throughout the Octave.

The Epistle. Philippians 3:17-21 (ESV)

Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

The Gospel. St. Matthew 22:15-22 (ESV)

Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar's.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.

(A Couple More) Reflections on "Restoring Honor"

2010-08-31T09:36:00.006-04:00

I have just got off of the phone with a friend with whom I've discussed the Restoring Honor rally in some detail. He's a Southern Baptist minister who agreed with me that Russell Moore's column was spot on. As we talked, I was reminded of a couple of things that built upon what I wrote last night:

1. When there was some discussion regarding Mitt Romney's Mormonism in 2008 I said at the time that I could vote for him if he got the nomination (I was a Fred Thompson backer from the beginning but when he dropped out after a lackadaisical campaign -- long after the South Carolina primary -- I hoped that Romney would be the candidate) because I was voting for my President, not my Bishop. It was, and is, a matter of sphere sovereignty; I could easily vote for a candidate whose positions were in line with a Christian worldview despite their having a heterodox theology over against a candidate with whom I was in theological agreement but whose politics were less than sound.

Ironic, then, that much of American Evangelicalism is ready to elevate Glenn Beck to something uncomfortably close to its episcopate.

2. I also recalled a conversation that I had years ago in college with a professor -- now deceased -- who leaned to the left both politically and ecclesiastically (a Southern Baptist, he was an early member of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and complained about what had become of his Alma mater, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in the "Fundamentalist Takeover*"). I studied under him at a state university and, while our theological differences became more stark over the years, I learned much from him and counted him a friend until his death. As we were talking it came up that the Army curiously classifies LDS chaplains as "Protestant." He retorted, "I guess they don't have a category for 'cult!'"

Ironic that my liberal friend got what many of the Evangelicals in the United States seem to be missing!

*As an aside, when trying to determine the theological position of a Southern Baptist, a good indicator is to see how they refer to what happened in the late 1970s through the early 1990s. If it is called the "conservative resurgence" then they are reliably conservative/evangelical. If they call it the "Fundamentalist takeover" they are almost certainly a liberal. Another quick indicator is to casually work the name of Al Mohler into the conversation. If they get visibly angry, they're probably a liberal. If they smile, they're probably a conservative/evangelical, if they get puppy dog eyes, they're almost certainly of a Reformed stripe and are probably members of the Founder's Movement.

I hope all of my Southern Baptist friends know that the above was written in good natured fun, accurate though it may be!

Reflections on "Restoring Honor"

2010-08-30T20:41:00.004-04:00

First of all, if you want to read the definitive reflections on the "Restoring Honor" rally, read the Rev'd Dr. Russell D. Moore's "God, the Gospel, and Glenn Beck." I can't improve on what Moore says and won't even try; I'm in essential agreement with his reflections.

I've been listening to Glenn Beck on and off since 2003 -- when he first aired on one of the local talk stations and have generally found him informative and entertaining. I have from time to time somewhat jokingly referred to him as "my favorite Mormon," and while I have never gone to one of his shows nor have I bought any of his books, I did consider purchasing one and taking it to be autographed when he made an appearance at the Barnes & Noble that is across the street from my office (the crowd was unbelievable and I didn't have the time or the inclination to endure it to see him). When he launched the 9-12 Project I gathered with some friends at a local bar for a viewing party (I've not been to any meetings since then so I'm hardly a "member," but I so share some of their concerns and have attended a couple of Tea Parties [not the same thing, but there is certainly some overlap there]). I have friends who were on the Mall on Saturday; most of them will probably disagree with my thoughts.

Mr. Beck is an unapologetic member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It is certainly his right to belong to that sect, and my disagreements with it -- which are substantial -- don't prevent me from enjoying his show (they also wouldn't have prevented me from supporting his fellow-Mormon Mitt Romney [which I did for a time in 2008, after Fred Thompson had withdrawn from the race for the Republican Presidential nomination)]. Harry Reid being a notable exception, most of the Mormons that I have encountered have been very traditional, family oriented, and pro-life -- people with whom I naturally have much in common and with whom I'm happy to stand politically and socially.

Why, then, am I less than enthusiastic about Restoring Honor, an event that I actually considered attending? Sarah Palin, who made voting for the 2008 Republican Presidential ticket acceptable to me and of whom I continue to be a fan, was there, as was Alveda King, whom I heard speak eloquently and with conviction at a banquet for the Lowcountry Pregnancy Center here in Charleston several years ago. One would think that this would be my must-attend event of the summer, something to which I would flock like a moth to a flame. One would, it turns out, be mistaken.

Mr. Beck called for a renewed emphasis on family and faith -- with which I completely agree. "The Kingdom of God will not arrive on Air Force One" may or may not be original to Cal Thomas, whom I first heard say it in 1994, but it is completely true. If the Republic is to be preserved politics will indeed play a part, but it will be a bit part as hearts are turned to God and renewed individuals, families, and churches proclaim God's truth and live transformed lives. Again, shouldn't I be completely on board with Glenn Beck?

It turns out I can't be. Time and again I heard people -- Christians who are on the right side of the battles raging in their churches regarding doctrine and manner of life -- say that Glen Beck says what pastors don't have the guts to say and that what he says is what he need to hear in the churches. While some of that may be true (the cultural mandate is very real and Christians are called to declare the whole counsel of God), one can hardly be said to be doing so if one gets all of the family values messages right and then gets the uniqueness of Jesus Christ, the sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures, and the Holy Trinity wrong. Mr. Beck, as a faithful Mormon, gets all of these and more wrong -- despite how right his message may sound and despite how attractively it may be packaged, I cannot pretend that those issues are inconsequential. I do not claim to have watched all of the rally (I was in a class for most of it), but I do know that time and again Mr. Beck referred to himself as a Christian (he frequently does so on his radio program) and time and again speakers who hold to the historic Christian faith did so as well either directly or by implication.

Mr. Beck proclaims another faith. A faith that is similar to Christianity (therein lies much of the danger) but different on key points. As Dr. Moore so aptly points out, the problem is not with Glenn Beck, the problem is what it says about American Christianity. Dr. Moore writes, "It’s taken us a long time to get here, in this plummet from Francis Schaeffer to Glenn Beck" -- true indeed and very damning, as Glenn Beck couldn't be dubbed the leader of America's Christian Conservative movement with approbation from many of those Christian Conservatives unless there was a huge vacuum at the helm; there is, and his ascendancy to that spot indicates just how vivid it is.

Do I think Christians should be active in the pro-life movement? Absolutely! I have been and will continue to be so. Do I think that Christians should be active in the political process, seeking to apply their faith in the public square? You bet. Do I think that Christians should work with those of other faiths in the political sphere? Yes, if they can do so without compromise. But most certainly do not think that Christians should be willing to sacrifice the essentials of the faith in so doing. Katharine Jefferts Schori , John Shelby Spong, and others are rightly taken to task when they preach a liberal universalism that denies the uniqueness of the Gospel; a conservative universalism that does exactly the same thing is just as bad -- maybe even worse. If the Church wins the culture war but denies historic Christianity in so doing, it will be no victory at all.

The Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity.

2010-08-29T22:53:00.004-04:00

The Collect

ALMIGHTY and merciful God, of whose only gift it cometh that thy faithful people do unto thee true and laudable service; Grant, we beseech thee, that we may so faithfully serve thee in this life, that we fail not finally to attain thy heavenly promises; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle. Galatians 3:16-22 (ESV)

Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.
Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.
Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
The Gospel. St. Luke 10:23b-37 (ESV)
“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

St. Mary the Virgin

2010-08-15T23:11:00.004-04:00

The Collect.

O GOD, who hast taken to thyself the blessed Virgin Mary, mother of thine only Son: Grant that we who have been redeemed by his blood may share with her the glory of thine eternal kingdom; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost ever, one God, world without end. Amen.

The Eleventh Sunday After Trinity.

The Collect.

O GOD, who declarest thy almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity; Mercifully grant unto us such a measure of thy grace, that we, running the way of thy commandments, may obtain thy gracious promises, and be made partakers of thy heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle. Isaiah 61:7-11 (ESV)

Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion;
instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot;
therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion;
they shall have everlasting joy.

For I the Lord love justice;
I hate robbery and wrong;
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
Their offspring shall be known among the nations,
and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge them,
that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed.

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to sprout up before all the nations.

The Gospel. St. Luke 1:46-55 (ESV)

And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

The Tenth Sunday after Trinity.

2010-08-08T20:17:00.003-04:00

The Collect.

LET thy merciful ears, O Lord, be open to the prayers of thy humble servants; and, that they may obtain their petitions, make them to ask such things as shall please thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle. 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 (ESV)

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

The Gospel. St. Luke 19:41-47a (ESV)

And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.”

And he was teaching daily in the temple.

2010-08-01T23:37:00.002-04:00

The Collect

GRANT to us, Lord, we beseech thee, the spirit to think and do always such things as are right; that we, who cannot do any thing that is good without thee, may by thee be enabled to live according to thy will; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle. 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 (ESV)

For I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
The Gospel. St. Luke 15:11-32 (ESV)

And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.
“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.
“Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

The Seventh Sunday after Trinity.

2010-07-18T20:37:00.004-04:00

The Collect.

LORD of all power and might, who art the author and giver of all good things; Graft in our hearts the love of thy Name, increase in us true religion, nourish us with all goodness, and of thy great mercy keep us in the same; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle. Romans 6:19-23 (ESV)

I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Gospel. St. Mark 8:1-9 (ESV)

In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.”And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven.” And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away.

Thoughts on the Blessings of a Christian Community

2010-07-12T00:31:00.005-04:00

[N.B., I missed posting the propers for Trinity VI due to a very busy day, part of which contributed to the subject about which I write below. I regret any inconvenience. --DC+]

"And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles." --Acts 2:42-43 (ESV)

It surprises some who know me to learn that I have never been an Episcopalian. I was born into a long line of members of the Presbyterian Church in the United States (the old "Southern Presbyterian Church" -- its initial name had been the Presbyterian Church in the Confederate States of America and members of my family were members of it throughout its existence), amalgamated against my will into the Presbyterian Church (USA) just before my 13th Birthday, where I remained until shortly before going to seminary when I went under care and was eventually licensed by the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. After being drawn into the Anglican way of Reformed Catholicism I joined and was eventually ordained by the Reformed Episcopal Church, where I remain canonically resident today. When the Anglican Church in North America was formed in 2009, the REC was a key part; I was privileged to be at the Inaugural Assembly (my thoughts about which can be read here).

I provide this ecclesiastical mini-biography with apologies for its length to provide context for my observations regarding Christian community because it has been my blessing for the past two years to serve as assisting clergy at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul in Charleston, South Carolina on a part-time, non-stipendary and somewhat limited (I don't celebrate Holy Communion) basis while remaining chaplain for an area hospice. After determining that it was time to resign from the Reformed Episcopal parish where I was blessed to serve as Assisting Presbyter for nearly four years I suddenly found myself a parishless hospice chaplain. While I visited several local parishes I found myself most often attending the Cathedral for several reasons: the fairly high liturgy and the evangelical ethos resonated with me; I found the preaching of the Very Rev'd William McKeachie, the then-Dean edifying; the choral music was great; and the people were friendly. Shortly after Easter 2008 Dean McKeachie suggested the possibility of my periodically assisting and I was happy when I began doing so. Assisting became more regular -- eventually a regular affair when I wasn't doing supply work elsewhere.

Dean McKeachie retired in 2009 and the Rev'd Peet Dickenson, a priest whom I'd known only vaguely during the time he was on the staff of St. Michael's Church in Charleston, was called as Dean. As is done in such cases, I offered to resign and was happy when the proffered resignation was not accepted. He's officially been there for just over a year and I have begun to do some work with the youth, do some pastoral care, and have continued worship leadership and occasional preaching all while continuing to work as a hospice chaplain.

As I write this it's very early in the morning on 12 July 2010. On 13 July I'll celebrate my 40th birthday. This evening a number of friends from the Cathedral surprised me with a party that was arranged, in complete contravention of my directive, by Dean Dickenson's lovely wife Jenny. It was a truly humbling experience to have so many people care enough to want to honor your birthday, to be toasted, given gag gifts (hopefully the Fixodent won't be needed for some time) and some not-so-gag gifts (a very talented artist who serves on the vestry will paint a piece for me, I was given some really nice cigars, and some other great gifts). I was toasted and, in turn, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to toast LTC John Scott Nelson, who was a year ahead of me at Georgia Military College and has just redeployed from Iraq commanding 1-4 Cavalry; he returned with all of the troopers that he took with him -- no small accomplishment!

Due to obligations elsewhere (helping to charter a new chapter of the Order of St. Vincent one week, doing supply work on two others), I've been away from the Cathedral for three Sundays in a row (I will, however, be preaching at all three services on 18 July) and I have dearly missed it. A community is being built around common faith, warm fellowship, and prayer and I am blessed to be a part of it. My hope for my fellow Christians is that they too will find a church where the same is happening!

Independence Day.

2010-07-04T19:54:00.003-04:00

[July 4.]

The Collect.

OETERNAL God, through whose mighty power our fathers won their liberties of old; Grant, we beseech thee, that we and all the people of this land may have grace to maintain these liberties in righteousness and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Fifth Sunday after Trinity.

The Collect.

For the Epistle. Deuteronomy 10:17-21 (ESV)

For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the Lord your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swear. He is your praise. He is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen.

The Gospel. St. Matthew 5:43-48 (ESV)

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

The Fourth Sunday after Trinity

2010-06-27T23:51:00.002-04:00

The Collect.

O GOD, the protector of all that trust in thee, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy; Increase and multiply upon us thy mercy; that, thou being our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we finally lose not the things eternal. Grant this, O heavenly Father, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle. Romans 8:18-23 (ESV)

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

The Gospel. St. Luke 6:36-42 (ESV)

Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.

On General McChrystal

2010-06-23T01:00:00.006-04:00

The fallout over "The Runaway General," Rolling Stone's profile of General Stanley A. McChrystal, seems to be rather overblown after reading the article (which I have just finished doing). While it is peppered with profanity -- as military life often is -- the most offensive of the remarks weren't really made by the General at all but rather by his staff; the General, on the other hand, comes across as a dedicated, hard-charging warrior -- someone devoted to his troops and to whom, generally speaking , they are likewise devoted.

One wonders why on earth he would even grant the interview in the first place. Rolling Stone is a generally leftist publication anyway (although they did carry P.J. O'Rourke for a number of years, cumulating in his service as the Chief of their Foreign Affairs desk) that focuses on music more than military affairs. If the interview was going to be granted one could hope that COL Charlie Flynn, General McChrystal's Chief of Staff, would ride herd on the staff to ensure that flippant and controversial comments would be kept to a minimum while the prying eyes of the media were around.

That, of course, didn't happen and General McChrystal has been summoned to the White House to meet with President Obama. There are reports that the General has submitted his resignation and reports that it has been declined. It remains to be seen whether General McChrystal will join fellow Celtic Generals McClellan and MacArthur in being removed from command.

One aspect of this whole story that I found a bit troubling, not because of the General per se but because of what it portends for society and the military are reports that General McChrystal voted for Barack Obama in the 2008 elections. While I disagree with his vote if that was the case, I am troubled with the fact that that information even came to the fore. For many years there was a tradition that active duty military officers were apolitical while serving. General George Patton even took that tradition so far as to have never registered to vote; his rationale, focused mainly on the office of President, was that if he voted for the incumbent he would have allowed his vote to be purchased and if he voted against the incumbent he would have committed a nearly mutinous act. A career officer who was a very close friend of mine since childhood (I conducted his funeral in 2005) told me that he didn't vote until he retired from the Army in the mid-1960s because Regular Army officers typically did not by tradition (he regularly voted and contributed to campaigns in retirement, however).

Times have changed. Units now have Voting Assistance Officers to facilitate voting via absentee ballot. While I certainly have no problem with those serving in uniform participating in the electoral process, I do question the wisdom of a senior General discussing how he voted.

The Third Sunday after Trinity.

2010-06-20T23:09:00.002-04:00

The Collect.

The Epistle. 1 St. Peter 5:5-11 (ESV)

Saint Barnabas the Apostle.

2010-06-11T02:41:00.002-04:00

The Collect.

LORD God Almighty, who didst endue thy holy Apostle Barnabas with singular gifts of the Holy Ghost; Leave us not, we beseech thee, destitute of thy manifold gifts, nor yet of grace to use them alway to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord.Amen.

For the Epistle. Acts 11:22-30 (ESV)

The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.

Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). So the disciples determined, everyone according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

The Gospel. St. John 15:12-16 (ESV)

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

The First Sunday after Trinity

2010-06-06T21:31:00.002-04:00

The Collect

OGOD, the strength of all those who put their trust in thee; Mercifully accept our prayers; and because, through the weakness of our mortal nature, we can do no good thing without thee, grant us the help of thy grace, that in keeping thy commandments we may please thee, both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle. 1 St. John 4: 7-21 (ESV)

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
The Epistle. St. Luke 16:19-31 (ESV)
“There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house— for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”