At Cana

Jesus' first miracle contains a fascinating exchange between the Lord and his mother. There are so many ways of reading this passage, wherein Jesus rebukes his mother for trying to control Him, then seemingly honoring her request. Maybe this is the way prayer works -- we can not control the Lord (As C.S. Lewis points out, Aslan is not a tame lion), but he loves to meet our requests when they align with His work and His will.

Romans 14:1-8

Paul talks about allowing different believers to hold different views, "without passing judgment on disputable matters." The Western/American church has always been horrible at this, which is why we have so many denominations.

I think this problem arises from 2 flawed assumptions: 1) That we are capable of fully understanding biblical doctrine; and 2) That if we disagree, one of us must be WRONG. Let's take these one at a time, although they are related.

The idea that we can comprehend the thoughts of God is ludicrous. I occassionally get to be Moses, seeing just a glimpse of His glory. But I can't figure out how to make sense of the Trinity, to understand the mechanics of Creation or the Incarnation, to rightly balance love and justice, grace and the law, sovreignty and free will. And I don't think you can, either -- no one this side of the veil can.

So you and I disagree over exactly what happens in Communion, or how prayer works, or whether Christians should dance or play cards. Does that mean that one of us is right and one of us is wrong, and we can not fellowship? Here's the secret: Related to point number one, any time we disagree over doctrine, we are almost certainly BOTH wrong.

What I Know

This is a reply I made to someone's post over in LiveJournal. I liked it.

Our puny little brains have no chance of understanding the totality of what God is. There are so many things that don't "make sense" to my human mind, the seeming contradictions that I have no hope of reconciling, but that I all put under the heading of "his ways are not mine." And how close are his ways to mine? Only about "as far as the heavens are above the earth."

Faith & works. Justice & mercy. Sovereignty & free will.

And then there is God's vastness & God's care. I don't understand how it can be true that I am dust and my life is just a vapor, yet also that The Lord catches every one of my tears -- and cries them with me.

I just know that it's true.

Justice

In Romans 13, Paul has some interesting things to say about this topic. There seems to be a difference between individuals carrying out justice (i.e., "vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord"), and governments carrying out justice. Paul seems to okay the carrying out of justice by governmental authorities, who have been appointed by God. But then . . . what about the person who actually carries out (or authorizes) the governmental action? Is this person under the strictures of the governmental authority or of the individual? I am sure God knows the answer to this, but I'm at a bit of a loss.

One of the many things about the Lord that causes my head to spin when I think too much about it.

Epiphany / Twelfth Night

I am attempting to integrate some aspects of the Church Calendar into my devotions for this year. This is a stretch for someone who: a) never attended church until he was 17; and b) spent the next 20+ years in the ritual-less-ness of the Evangelical world.

So I note that today is Epiphany, celebrating the arrival of the Magi, and by extent the revelation of the Christ to Gentiles. As one, that is worth celebrating.

A Martin Luther sermon on the topic makes note of the message inherent in the King of Kings revealing himself to the lowest of the low: "It is both a terrifying and consoling [tale]: terrifying to the great and wise, the self-satisfied and the mighty, because they all reject Christ; consoling to the humble and despised, because to them alone Christ is revealed."

Resolved

In reflecting on the last few years, I can now dub 2005 as the year of "Stress and Struggle" and 2006 as one of "Recovery and Restoration."

Instead of waiting to decide what 2007 was after the fact, I am going to now declare my intention to make this a year of "Productivity and Progress."

May it be so.

All is Calm, All is Bright

Like a stone cast in a still river
Pushing the ripples out forever
Redemption rips through the fabric of time
In the cry of a tiny babe (Bruce Cockburn)

God bless us every one.

Book Review

Second Coming Attractions, by David Prill.

This book takes place in the Christian entertainment industry, and follows the struggles of a family-friendly, Christian film company trying to keep up with changing times and tastes. It is a satirical look at the Christian subculture by one who is clearly not a part of it -- this is not a "Christian" book in the sense that neither Prill nor the publishers are part of the evangelical world. It is not a "CBA" book, to use the industry jargon.

As satire, it exaggerates the eccentricities of the Christian sub-culture, and is certainly not an accurate portrayal. But for what it is, it is intriguing -- I think it often good to get a fresh "outsider's" perspective on the little world we inhabit. I don't have enough free time in my life to be able to spend all of it reading things that I already know, or otherwise agree wtih. Art is to be challenging, and some books that I read, I read to be challenged.

I enjoyed this book until a very uncalled-for scene late in the novel that turns the Christians from lovable weirdos to dangerous weirdos. It's a shame, because the work is otherwise a very worthwhile read, if you don't mind your own community's shortcomings being pointed out.

More Than an Icon

This is a work of mine that was published in my church's advent devotional:


There is a 14-inch statuette on my mantle that has been in family since my parents visited Brazil nearly 50 years ago. It’s a statue of Mary, holding her newborn babe. At this time of year you may think that is not unusual; plenty of people display similar pieces of art for the holidays. But this statue is not surrounded by Joseph and donkeys and angels and shepherds. And it doesn’t get put away in early January. Mary retains her place of honor in our house all year round.

I love Mary.

She is my favorite character in the Bible, and there is no close second. There are times I wish I were a Catholic so I could even more open in my respect and admiration for Our Lord’s mother. Mary speaks to me of faith, trust, and belief. My own character pales in light of hers.

Consider the arc of her faith walk. As a young woman, she has a powerful encounter with God that changes her life, and then never doubts what happened. Every moment of her life seems to flow with the will of God. I like to think that if I had had such a powerful experience, I would have responded the same way. Yet I have had a personal encounter with the King, and his Holy Spirit lives within me, supposedly beating in time with my own heart. And still I question, still I waver, still I doubt.

As the events at Cana show, Mary did not always understand what Jesus was doing, but she never doubted His authority: “Do whatever He tells you” (John 2:5). Is there a better summation of what it means to be a follower of Christ?

In so many ways, Mary is my model. She received Christ in a way that transformed her as completely and radically as I hope my own encounter with Christ will one day transform me.

I love Mary.

Book Review

The City of God, by Saint Augustine.

This tome is considered a classic work of theology, and as I read it I understand why. So much of what we think of as orthodoxy derives directly from this work, and is really the template for Christian apologetics. In this case, much of what Saint Augustine is arguing against is the Roman gods (Zeus and that bunch), and so is not directly applicable today. But the idea of taking on the "gods of the age" and comparing the truth of their claims to the truth of Jesus taught the Church how to face the claims of the false gods that have arisen to challenge Christ in the 1600 years since.

The work is much longer and more academic than The Confessions, the other great literary contribution of Saint Augustine. That is the template of the spiritual biography, and is probably the place to start with Saint Augustine.

I am not recommending that others read this (it is long, and some parts are not applicable and others are dry), but it is important work, and we should know that it is an important work.