A Storm is Coming. Let us pray!

Almighty and everlasting God, You who are always more ready to hear than we are to pray, and who are willing to give more than either we desire or deserve: Pour down upon us the abundance of Your mercy, forgiving us those things that cause guilt within us, and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord. Amen.

This past Sunday we prayed this Collect of the Day. In our tradition, it is the prayer we are called to pray throughout the week of Trinity 12. What a fitting prayer at this time! Especially the second clause, “You who are always more ready to hear than we are to pray,...”. What a word of truth we find here. Our God is always more ready to hear our prayers than we are to pray them. As I sit here waiting for the storm to arrive in our city I find myself still doing as I spent the day yesterday doing ...praying. Even as I like many of you moved items into safer locations and made those last minute preparations for the storm, I prayed. As I am sure that you all did as well. Here, in this hour, following on what Deacon Jarrett shared with us this past Sunday, we are confronted with the truth from which we so often shy away: We are not actually in control of so much. Today you and I live in the palm of the hand of God. This is always the case but today we are reminded and made more powerfully aware of this reality.

And IT is the reality. That we are actually in charge of all things, in control of all things, can order all things according to our wishes, … that is the illusion and not the reality.

There are certainly inconveniences and even dangers involved with some of the effects of such storms, especially the loss of electrical power, that are obvious causes for concern. But what I sense we really loath about the loss of power is the commensurate loss of the sense of a control we never really had in the first place.

A dangerous weather system has spawned a storm in the Gulf of Mexico. And, in response, many have prayed and are praying even as I write these prayerful words of reflection. And in the hours ahead many will pray as the obvious danger of this storm draws nearer and nearer. But here is the thing, there is always a “storm” drawing near. Many of the “storms” of this life cannot be forecast with Doppler radar and yet they are just as real and they often come without warning. These storms of life can leave a path of destruction and harm in our lives more long enduring than the effects of capricious tropical weather. And yet for many of us they seem less real and less worthy of prayer that seeks a Holy God's intercession.

The Disciples asked our Lord to teach them to pray. And throughout the Scriptures we are taught to pray: the Psalms, in Our Lord's prayer, and in m any other places we see the model of an open communication line with the Creator of the universe laid before us. So, let us pray!

And when this temporary storm passes on and our lives are “restored” to what we had before the storm...Let us pray!

When we find ourselves focused on ourselves...LET US PRAY!

Today, yes, let us pray that this storm is dissipated by the almighty hand of our merciful Father. Not because we deserve such favor but so that we might ascribe to Him the glory. Yes let us prayer for such mercy. But what of tomorrow and the next day? Let us pray. Let us pray to our Father not on the basis of our merits or worth but upon the worth and merits of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us pray. A storm is coming. A storm is always coming in this life. So let us pray to the One who is always more ready to hear than we are to pray. Let us pray!

TEC General Convention, Gay “Marriage”, Chik-Fil-A, and Absolute Truth

So I haven't posted a blog in a quite a while. My earlier “commitments” to be more diligent not withstanding. The problem I face is that I am often stymied both by the sheer number of things going on in the world about which I am often tempted to comment  and a serious doubt that I have anything really worthwhile to contribute to the noise on the internet. That being said, a series of events in the news of late coupled with an interchange I had with some friends on another list-serve have led me to this moment of commentary.

The events are the TEC General Convention during which the leadership of that once great and faithful part of the Church treated the last vestige of orthodox belief like a vampire and drove a stake through it's heart. Then there was the crescendo of noise surrounding the “civil rights” of gay marriage. To even question the practice is to be immediately labeled a hater. Take the controversy surrounding Chik-Fil-A and the statements of the owner of the company's simple adherence to biblical norms. It seemed an unquestioned foregone conclusion that any company that had any association with a someone who held to a biblical standard regarding sexual morality is “clearly” a bigot and must be punished for his “alternative” view. All of these things remind me of my own first encounter with this kind of “thought crime” logic.

In the late 80's I was an Undergrad in the University of Houston Honors Program (now the Honors College). Near the beginning of one semester it was announced that we had a visiting lecturer coming from Oklahoma to teach a senior seminar level class on comparative religion called "Dialogue Among World Religions". We were encouraged by the head of the program to sign up, if our schedules allowed, for what was to be a guaranteed stimulating intellectual experience. Sounded interesting and I had that slot open in my class schedule so I signed up.

Now it must be strictly understood that I really did not have in any way a living faith. I was not a part of a church, let a lone THE Church, at best, I questioned almost every central tenet of the Christian faith's claims. I was not raised in the Church in any way, nor could I have honestly given any assent to the most basic Christian doctrines. Although I had read the bible and was familiar with its contents. Its message and meaning were lost on me. I could not even have articulated any significant difference between Roman Catholics and Protestants except one group drank alcohol and the other forbade it. On paper I was a perfect fit for such a class.

On the first day of the class we were greeted by a warm and gracious man in his mid-fifties or so ( I was in my twenties then so anyone older than me was lumped into only one or two age categories = older and older-er:) He dressed in casual clothes and sported an interesting silver ring with a cross shape cut into it. He said he was an Episcopalian. Which meant about as much to me as if he had said he was from Lilliput. I simply had no context. It turned out during our class conversations that he was some kind of minister and was on staff in some capacity, I did not really understand, on the campus of OU.

The class was small. We had a couple of young men who were Muslim, a couple of Americans who thought they were Buddhists, some agnostics, one person who was an avowed atheist, a practitioner of the Baha'i faith, a couple of annoying folks who kept referring to themselves as "evangelical" (which I of course equated with the dudes and dudettes with big hair on television and thus steered clear of them after class), a really intense but seriously nice guy from some local campus ministry who was the neatest dresser I had ever met, a couple Roman Catholics, and me. I was just there out of curiosity.

Oh yeah, I was also studying Plato's Republic that semester in a Political Philosophy class.

Well to make an already too long tale a bit shorter let me say, I made every class (class discussion and attendance were to count for 90% of our grade and 10% on a paper in which we explored a faith not our own (which of course left the door wide open for me:)

I received an A+ on my paper on global Islam. I was an active participant in all of the in class discussions. At the end of the semester when I received my grades I was shocked to see that he had assigned me a grade of A-. Surely this was an error. I made an appointment with him to discuss my grade. During said meeting he explained my grade. It was the result of one statement that I had made during one of our in class dialogues. I had not even thought about it since making it. What disturbed the professor/priest so much was that I had concluded on the basis of reason that there was a possibility of an absolute truth somewhere in the cosmos. That's it. Not that I knew what the absolute truth was, I would never have claimed such a thing. But I was willing to grant that there just might be one and if there was such a truth extant in the universe, it was worth seeking. He explained to me that since the whole point of the class was that it be a "dialogue" among world religions, having such a position precluded my ability to engage in real authentic dialogue with other religions or worldviews.

Needless to say I was flummoxed as I wrestled with that little bit of logic.

I lacked the context to associate his own worldview with the Episcopal church at the time and did not really think about that connection until years later when I was for a short period of time a part of the Episcopal Church. It was during my discernment process for the ministry that the connection was made for me and I realized that what I experienced with the professor/priest was not an anomaly at all. I was the anomaly for holding a belief, however tenuously, that threatened his own. And in the brave new world people like me are a problem for people like this teacher/priest.

Little did I know, at the time, the path God had started me on. What Socrates accepted as a possibility I have come to know in a living way. Now I know that there is not only a chance that there might be an objective absolute truth in the cosmos... I know who He is. I know His name and so, it seems, does Mr. Cathy of Chik-Fil-A. And the name is Jesus. 

IHN

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Worship Service On Sunday if Sunday is also Christmas?

So what happens for Christians when Sunday happens to fall on Christmas Day?

Well for many it causes a quandary: To have worship services or not.

I have read a bit over the last couple of weeks giving great reasons for and against having services this coming Sunday.

For me, both as a believer in general and an Anglican in particular most of the arguments both pro and con are lost on me. It just isn't a question at all. The Lord has blessed All Saints with a place to worship, therefore there will be worship on both the Eve of the Nativity of our Lord and on Christmas Day.

Frankly, I find it a bit bizarre that evangelical believers are often nonplussed, even angered, about the yearly drive to remove the phrase "Merry Christmas" from the season's discourse, even as they mistakenly identify the Christ-Mass as "all about families spending time together." Folks, no it is not. Christmas is all about Jesus. It ain't about us except for the part we play in making it necessary that the babe in the manger had to come at all. You see, the only thing about Christmas that is about us is our sin.

You see the manger sits in a shadow...not the shadow of a barn in Bethlehem... but the shadow of the Cross raised high on Calvary. And so, this Sunday, I'll be in church, I'll worship Jesus with whoever shows up because they believe as I do: That Jesus is worthy of my worship...even if Christmas...maybe especially... if Christmas is on Sunday.

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Thanksgiving, Blessing, and PRAISING!

Yesterday as I was reading and praying through Gerritt's Blessing book I was struck by the passage from John's gospel that calls us to understand that we are connected to one another and to God through Christ. What a wonderful thing for which to be profoundly thankful! And here we are on the eve of Thanksgiving, having journeyed through a season of reflecting on blessings and seeking to be people who bless others. The Scriptures have so much to say about giving thanks that it is hard to pinpoint any one passage but a couple come to my mind often. First the one offered in Gerritt's book from Colossians: “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” (Col 4:2 ESV) The theme of praying and giving thanks for those prayers as answered even before we see them answered is repeated many times in God's Word. And it is certainly echoed strongly in Philippians, where Paul exhorts us, “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Phi 4:6 ESV)

Today's readings remind us to turn to what truly blesses and feeds us. Not the food or drink of this earth but the word of God and the gift that God has given us in allowing us to praise Him: To shout aloud His holy name!

Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens!
Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!
Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!
Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!
Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!
(Psa 150:1-6 ESV)

These passages come to my mind when I pray with earnestness and not just fussing. Because I do know that God always answers prayers and that His answers are always the right answers and therefore worthy of being praised and for giving thanks. Today I want to thank Gerritt for his wonderful book which has blessed my over the last weeks and I also want to thank my wife, Lee, and my son, EJ, for loving me, in spite of me. I also want to thank the congregation I serve, my time as your rector, has a been a blessing in so many ways. I also want to thank Baton Rouge, I love this community and always will. Most of all, today, I want to thank Jesus. Who not only loves me, in spite of me, but who saved me who walks with me even when I try not to walk with Him. You have never forsaken me, Lord. And I know you never will. Thank you and PRAISE YOU Lord Jesus!

IHN

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The Blessing Life: Friday Morning Oct. 21

“We are a group of people addicted to and obsessed with the work of the Kingdom, with little to no idea how to be with the king.” ~ Mike Breen

“Blessing is not first of all material prosperity, which may or may not occur. Rather, blessing is the fruitfulness of life lived in loving relation to God and others.” ~ Gerrit Dawson

After the past few days of walking this intentional blessing life journey and spending time with the king, even as I have blessed God more, given Him more praise, and loved Him more I have found that I love those around me more and have felt His love for me more than ever.

Each of our readings during this past week have really posed a hidden question to us. It is one we have asked at All Saints before. It is a question first posed to me by Dwight Smith, “What if it is true?” “What if God is who He says He is, has done what He says He has done, is doing what He says He is doing, and will do what He says He will do?” Does your... can your... world look different if that is all true?

I believe some things that many would regard as outrageous because I believe that Jesus is who He says He is and all that follows from that. I believe that I have an inheritance in heaven that cannot be taken away. I believe that while I am a resident of this world and have citizenship in this world, my true citizenship is in, as Augustine put it, the City of God. I believe that those who live a life receptive to the true spiritual blessings of God are the only faithful stewards of His material blessing, no matter what form that material blessing takes. I believe that those who live in the joy of giving glory to God an blessing Him for His greatness and goodness actually see the world, everything that surrounds us, differently than those who do not know Jesus as Lord and Savior.

I am enjoying walking this path of blessing life and look forward to the changes that God has and is working in my own heart as I open my heart to Him and to you.

40 days of Blessing: Day 2

“We are a group of people addicted to and obsessed with the work of the Kingdom, with little to no idea how to be with the king.” Mike Breen @ http://mikebreen.wordpress.com/2011/09/12/why-the-missional-movement-will-fail/

Hat tip to Daniel Adkinson @ http://anglican1000.org/?/main/page/477

Wow. This is the fundamental reason to enter into a season of considering our blessings and considering how we, as God's people in the world, are called to be a blessing. We spend so much time doing and rarely spend time with the one for whom we think we are doing. What He wants first is ... well... us. That is why He calls us to be a blessing as we are blessed.

But what is the basis of that calling? Is it to simply try harder? Or is it something different. Might it perhaps begin with... repentance? Not repentance as in the sense of wailing and lamentation... but something... perhaps deeper... something like what Dallas Willard calls "thinking about our thinking" ---- real self reflection--- not navel gazing but real reflection in the light of God's Word.

As I was reading the assigned Psalm --- Psalm 63 the song God You Are My God Poured into my mind... Step by step... He leads me... and I do pray that I will follow Him all of my days.

Knowing that God's face is shining on me because of the finished work of Christ I can know that God loves me and is FOR me.

Knowing that God is keeping me today I knew that I could not really be emotionally, spiritually or even physically harmed in any way that truly matters by anyone in this world.

Since God's name is branded on my heart ... I can know that the God of the universe owns me!

Good day 2.

“How To Be A Universalist Without Really Trying?”: Part 1

I am currently reading Rob Bell's new book “Love Wins”. According to my Kindle, I am 76% through the book. I have been 100% disappointed since about page 1. I won't say a lot more right now but once I have finished the book I will post a couple of comments. The best thought I can come up with for what Bell offers by way of theological musing so far is that a better sub-title would have been, “How To Be A Universalist Without Really Trying?”
Since before the book's release, Bell has been all over the airwaves declaring that he is emphatically NOT a universalist, only to then continue by expressing a stream of platitudes and thinly veiled universalist theological positions. As I have read the book I have found my personal frustration mounting. Bell, like many others, likes to precede many of his musings with the a priori disclaimer, “I am not a theologian” and then proceed to offer sloppy theological arguments. That is like saying, “Well, I am not a trained surgeon, but I am going to operate on you anyway.” Bell argues throughout the book that the position he is offering has been around in the Church for along time. He is right about that. Thereafter, his conclusions are specious at best.
Heresy has been around a long time. Longevity alone does not indicate truth. The longevity of the orthodox positions on heaven and hell are not substantiated by their having been around a long time. They are substantiated by God's Holy Scriptures. Bell's concern to preserve the best part of the “story” in the Bible reveals something about his starting position over and over again...at least in the first 76% of the book.

More later... when I have read 100% of the book

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