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Turn a deaf ear to any speaker who avoids mention of Jesus Christ who was of David's line, born of Mary, who was truly born, ate and drank; was truly persecuted under Pontius Pilate, truly crucified and died while those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth beheld it; who also truty raised from the dead, the Father having raised him, who in like manner will raise us also who believ in him- his Father, I say, will raise us in Christ Jesus, apart from whom we have not true life. Ignatius of Antioch (c.a. 110)  Be first to comment this article
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It's a common thing to read or hear stories that we're always heard and miss the obvious. I recently read a comments on a key passage within the Christian tradition. It's 1 Peter 2:9
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (KJV)
The commentator went on to use this passage to support one of the most unbiblical concepts of all, that being individualism. This common interpretation misreads priesthood for priest. The trend of individualism causes us to read a strict form of individualism into a faith tradition that is clearly communal. The text is clear that we are now a royal 'Priesthood' not Priest.
Hood is a good word. While often used as slang, in this case it captures the important implication of community. For the Christian, 'Hood' is a group of people which we choose to belong to on our profession of faith in Christ. In this light our priestliness is fundamentally linked to our belonging to the hood. The hood we belong to is made up of countless believers across the ages including many today.
The language of belonging is a buzz word across the North American church landscape. A flash word on websites, chuch programs and blogs. It's often used to attract those looking to belong somewhere yet few stop to consider what we are inviting people to belong into. G.K. Chesterton wonderfully writes,
"Tradition is the only true democracy because it means giving a vote to your ancestors[or hood]."
Lets make it clear that we are calling people to join the Hood, not their own individual version of Christianity that allows them to be called priests on their terms. Instead the priesthood is the place where belonging is guided and affirmed by those who have come and gone as members of the Hood.
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I've never watched so much advertising promoting upcoming sitcoms and new T.V. shows. While this happens every year, this Labour Day weekend reminded me of a dangerous trend. Primarily at this time of year it's easy to let T.V and the media dictate the rhythms of our lives. In my context the Fall season brings with it many transitions and hopeful opportunities. While exciting, this season can easily become an unrealistic shift rooted in cultural transitions and trends instead of a profound time of reflection rooted in past experiences. When we live by the rhythms and the hype of the culture we become less discerning and ungrateful for the important seasons we've just experienced. The summer time was formative for me. Although busy, I cherished wathcing my son learned to crawl, reading formative books and spending time with my wife and friends in Florida. Through these differng circumstances I also learned more patience. When we quickly believe the lies of 'primetime' we live by the wrong rhythm and miss out on the stuff that God is in the process of teaching us. Foundational to this problem is our culture teaches us to believe that God is contingent on our calenders as if God is more excited about the fall season then he was in the summer. In this light we also develop misconstrued expectations which come from cultural timelines rather then a deeply surrender heart rooted in the scriptures and the Christian story. For the Church, seasons and transitions are important. Those seasons consist of Easter, Lent, Christmas etc.... When we live by these rhythms our cultures flashing advertising methods soon fade away. May God help me this fall to beleive that no matter what time it is, he constantly desires to transform me into the likeness of his Son. Be first to comment this article |
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If people were now asked, what was the most powerful means of advancing the cause of religion in the world, we should be told that it was eloquence of speech or preaching: and the excellency of speech consists in delivery…. Whereas, if we were to judge from Holy Scripture, of what were the best means of promoting Christianity in the world, we should say obedience; and if we were to be asked the second, we should say obedience; and if were to be asked the third, we should say obedience. Isaac Williams Be first to comment this article |
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Transitions are good if in the process of transitioning the essentials are not lost. This has been the focus of much of my thinking lately as I grow and lead a transitioning community. The local community I serve is always in a state of transitions. University students come and go and new things are always happening. While this is exciting my role as the leader is to stay deeply rooted to the essentials and make sure they cross the transition divide.
My attentiveness to these issues is fueled by a historical pattern I've recently be working through. In the history of the Church Christians have always believed that when (2 or 3) gathered together in Jesus name they were positioning themselves as worshipful creatures before a holy creator. Worship and its context was essential. For the earliest Christians worship, as an essential, was fundamentally rooted in the sacrament of communion. The Eucharist was the center and the apex of the Christian gathering.
With the advent of the Protestant reformation came another transition that would put into question the essential of worship. Christian believers during the 16th century, although still clear about the Eucharist, saw the Protestant uprising move the center of worship from the sacrament of the Eucharist to the role of the Scriptures. The reformation mantra of 'Solo Scriptura' is more then just a catching alliteration, it was the foundation of how worship was to be understood. The reading, expounding and authority of scripture was now central to what people understood as worship.
At last we come to today's world of transition and are forced to wrestle with our present ideas of worship. From my limited perspective, I believe the transitions taking place are causing us to forget about the essentials in worship. What was once formed in sacraments and scripture has now moving many to embrace what i call Socrates.
Socrates is known as one of the great Greek philosophers. While all we know about him comes from secondary sources his Socratic method has made it's way into much of today's Christian communities. The Socratic method focuses on open discussion and debating as a method for discovering truth and learning. The key to this system is found in asking the right questions and allowing people to just discover the truth as it emerges. The appealing thing about this method is that it seems to make everyone's opinon valid. Many today embrace this method as a central part of church worship without wondering if essentials are being lost.
In many regards I think this is an extremely helpful approach, but I think it has the potential of becoming a dangerous approach. The danger is that method puts everything up for discussion including the essentials. If the questions lead towad doing away with both sacrament and scripture then so be it. This leads to reducing worship to being people centered instead of Jesus centered. Worship isn't worship if Jesus isn't the center. This will always be essential. Be first to comment this article |
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