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The Infantorium and The Infant Jesus

In my December 15th, 2019 sermon (currently posted on line here) I did my best to retell a bit of the story I heard on the 99% Invisible podcast.  The episode called “The Infantorium” was facinating and the podcast, article summary, and transcripts are available by clicking here.

I hope you are able to enjoy celebrating Jesus this Christmas week.  I’m looking forward to the next year and all it will hold for our church.

The Grinch Summary of a Sermon Intro from 2018

There is a movie that plays nearly every Christmas time on this channel or that since it was 1966. Like most movies it came from a book, but unlike most books Dr. Suess’s books always have meter and rhyme.  Like most movies made years back a retelling or digitized, animated, adaptation has been brought before the holidays. And in 2018, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas is back in theaters near you.  This is not a recommendation, endorsement, approval or review. But I want to think briefly about its message for just a moment or two.
If you’ve never seen it, the short story starts rather quick.  Introducing the Grinch, the green pear shaped curmudgeon who live above who-ville in the mountains and slopes.  He hates all things Christmas, especially the noise. He especially despises the little who children banging on new toys.
So, he devises a scheme and recruits his poor dog Max. And they sneak down to whoville dressed as Santa Claus with empty sacks. Of course the tragic scenes of Jolly Saint Nick steeling ribbons and cookies, and gifts and trees only makes sense in a whimsical rhyming animation, but it does hold your attention, at least for 30 minutes.  The story can’t end with the stealing of Christmas and the song deriding the foul Grinch caper. Of course the last minutes reveal that the important truth about Christmas wasn’t wrapped up in presents. Nor was it present in the feasting. Nor was it festive decorations.
It is deeply ironic that Dr. Suess doesn’t share the truth behind Christmas, but only hints with a cross shaped light. But it illustrates what we see today, or better said, what is unseen in our midst. That Advent season draws us near to the truth: a truth that is far more important than the images and decor surrounding Christmas, a truth that we strain to keep in focus during a busy holiday, a truth that isn’t seen directly like wrapping paper and lights. The true gift of Christmas: a union of divine and human, invisibly conceived gives birth to a new life in you and in me.  Just as the Grinch learned the invisible won over all facade. We also learn again, that the deep truth of Jesus’ invitation isn’t merely initiation into divine fellowship but a promised abundance of life filled with God and his fruit. It is a truth unseen, a truth easily missed.
So let’s pray.
– Excerpt from a sermon preached toward the end of 2018 with minor grammatical editing presented here for your enjoyment.

Face the Darkness – Advent Anglican Style

I enjoyed the opinion piece I came across from the New York Times by Tish Harrison Warren.  Some quotes that I enjoyed:

“We dwell in a world still racked with conflict, violence, suffering, darkness.  Advent holds space for our grief…”

After speaking some on the holiday hoopla full of optimism, happiness, and fun, etc…
“But life isn’t a Disney Cruise. The tyranny of relentless mandatory celebration leaves us exhausted and often, ironically, feeling emptier.”

This was an interesting thought for me to mull over.  In our relentless pursuits (of time saving technology, entertainment crammed into every free second, etc) often seem to cost more than they redeem.

Opinion | Want to Get Into the Christmas Spirit? Face the Darkness – The New York Times
or How I fell in love with the season of Advent.
— Read on www.nytimes.com/2019/11/30/opinion/sunday/christmas-season-advent-celebration.html

Start

In the beginning there was trauma.
My mother’s cry, my lungs burn.
My head breached and my blood courses,
On its own, alone for the very first time.
The first day begins cold and harsh.
Separated from comfort, evicted and exposed.
Quickly our first blur comes close
Touches our face and kisses our brow
Tender exhaustion and hard-earned, joy-filled, exhales reassure our ears
Time slows and cries yield to rest
United freshly in familiar arms now held
We give way to sleep in our mothers hopeful arms.
Written: Jan 11, 2019
Revised Last: Nov 30, 2019

A White Rock in Revelation 2:17

In a sermon, late in September, I used a sermon illustration regarding a white rock referenced in John’s Apocalypse (aka Revelation).  I was asked about the reference and so I thought I’d post the response here for others to recall also.

The passage I referred in to Revelation is Rev 2:17.  It reads:
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.
In the sermon we had been reviewing the amazing claim we make as Christians that God would care for each of us individually and that Jesus claimed to be our “shepherd” or our Pastor.  That he said he would call to us by our name.  In the Revelation passage, John (the author) tells us that Jesus will give us a white stone with a new name on it.  I found this remarkable.
If I understand the context correctly, the white stone could be a reference to the white stone that were awarded to athletes in ancient Roman times as a entrance ticket to a special awards banquet. There are other possible explanations for it’s symbolism, but this is a strong contender. For a short discussion of various options there is a short discussion at the end of this blog entry: http://www.worksofmacdonald.com/consuming-fire-daily-devotional/2016/2/8/the-new-name but my vote is the athlete’s reward as it fits the context of the verse.
Here is the link to the entire sermon on our website:
Here is the clip of the few minutes where I discuss the white rock:

Veterans Day 2019

As we move into Veterans Day on Monday Nov 11, Here is a document of particular historic interest and a historic prophecy of universal interest.

First the “Witness Echoes” publication of the Norwegian Evangelical Free Church (now First EFC) of 649 66th Street, Brooklyn, NY around March 1945.  These notes and letters from World War II service men, chaplains, and church folks provides an interesting look into the faith and experience at the time.  Enjoy:

1945 05 Witness Echos Publication 66th Street Church

Second, our hope lays in a savior that will one day render war obsolete.  This passage reminds us of his Kingdom Coming: Isaiah 2:1-5

This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:
In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.  He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.  Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord.

An Old Soul

An old soul isn’t born or bred, but rather recovered.

Its path is rarely soft and its journey oft seems perilous. That said, an old soul is held loosely with an effortless grasp. Almost a common possession more than a part of one’s self. A favored shirt or a worn bill fold.

An old soul is not displayed but only discovered. Almost a treasure unearthed in early friendship. It is no wonder that an old soul is oft found guarded by loved-ones as if a sacred flower or secret spring.

An old soul may be quick but is not fast. An old soul is at times youthful but never trite.

An old soul is faithful and trusting, holds joy with a grieving hand, giving praise with gentle caution.

Finally. An old soul is always someone else’s never our own. Unearthed in the search for the kindred never in the search for self.

I wonder at times what part of God’s triune life together, the finding of an old soul reflects. Perhaps the gift of an enduring friendship that spans longer than time has actually afforded. Perhaps a glimpse at an abiding fellowship that will certainly endure.

 

Originally written July 2015 and published in a Service Bulletin I believe.  Moderately revised October 2019.

Regarding the Father – Son relationship in the Trinity

Below is an email response to a question that some of our congregation had brought to them by a friend of theirs who was inquiring about Christianity and its claim that Jesus is the Son of God.  In prior conversation or emails, they were already very knowledgable about the difficulty followers of Islam have with the language of “father” and “son” and the implication they see regarding a sexual relationship required for the incarnation, something Christians obvious deny.  But the further explanation of the possible importance of the Father-Son language for the Christian may prove helpful for others, so I’m posting it here.  Notice that I’m hardly writing as much as I’m quoting in it.  Here it is for your enjoyment:

Dear _______________,
This is a long email, so let me summarize my recommendation:
I’d say, first that “Father” and “Son” are important metaphoric words to describe the type of relationship these two persons exhibit. One is “originating” and the other is “of the same kind”. While the relationship is different than our human father-son relationships it was the metaphor that God felt (we assume) best fit the way that God exists in three persons that are unified in their being or essence.
So here are my more detailed thoughts….
First off, I might recommend a book (I have not yet read but have in my office) by Carl Maderas called Speaking of Jesus.  He has worked with Muslims for many years and while he might not address this specific issue, probably has a great deal to teach us on the topic generally.  I’ve enjoyed talks by him.
Your friend asks a great and difficult question. I’d certainly encourage your friend in his questioning.  God is a mystery to us for the very reason that he is God and infinite and we are not.  We can (and should) search for him and for knowledge of him, but our understanding will never completely be satisfied. That said, the pursuit of God is the best thing we can do.
At the core of his question lies our doctrine of the Trinity.  That God is one (essence or substance) and also that God is three (persons).  It took the early church a few hundred years to figure out how to talk about that this and it still is too much for our minds to grasp, and however, it’s clear that this is what the Bible teaches and that it is essential to our understanding of how salvation and grace work.
The union that the Trinity describes is one of both substance and fellowship. So Jesus is the second person of the Trinity, called “the Son” and sometimes “the Word” and he makes claims about himself that only God can make.  So all the attributes that you’d use to describe God (eternal, ultimate, all-powerful, etc) apply to Jesus, the Son of God. Since these attributes are only attributable to God, then Jesus is God.  John 1 says “The Word was with God and the Word was God.”  That said, it is clear that Jesus is a separate person from God the Father. This is important for two reasons.  One, Jesus (the Son) took on humanity when he came to earth and God the Father did not. In this, the Son was able to represent humanity in his crucifixion taking the punishment for our sins.  Two, Jesus (the Son) was restored into communion or fellowship with God the Father in his resurrection. When we are “in Christ”, we too are brought into the relationship that they have shared for eternity past.
So, borrowing from an early discipler, Don Fairbairn…
“Salvation or heaven apart from Christ is inconceivable, precisely because salvation is Christ; salvation is our sharing in Christ’s relationship to His eternal Father.” –  – Life in the Trinity, Donald Fairbairn, p. 57
As Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
In the resurrection, “God the Son was brought back into the fellowship (communion) of the Trinity, and through his humanity he brings us with him.” –  – Life in the Trinity, Donald Fairbairn, p. 182
As the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Rome, “we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently…. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” – Romans 8:23-25,29
or to the Colossians “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority….having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.”  – Colossians 2:9,10,12
Again, Don writes,
“The Bible depicts three divine persons who are identical in terms of characteristics or attributes, although…there are other ways to distinguish them in spite of their having the same set of divine attributes. Theologians describe this by saying that they possess a single “substance,” “nature” or “essence” or simply that they are a single God.” –  – Life in the Trinity, Donald Fairbairn, p. 51.
“The biblical idea … is that there is one God, the Father, but there are also two other persons who are equal to him and united to him and each other in such a way that they are one being, one God.” – Life in the Trinity, Donald Fairbairn, p. 44.
or from a much older theologian…
“The Word of God (the Son), in so far as He subsists in Himself, is distinct from Him from whom He has His subsistence. But, since He exhibits in Himself those same things which are discerned in God, then in His nature He is identical with God.” – John of Damascus, 750 AD
So…. how does that translate to a person without a Christian background…
I’d say, first that “Father” and “Son” are important metaphoric words to describe the type of relationship these two persons exhibit. One is “originating” and the other is “of the same kind”. While the relationship is different than our human father-son relationships it was the metaphor that God felt (we assume) best fit the way that God exists in three persons that are unified in their being or essence.  So, as the early church wrote in the original Nicene Creed:
We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father [the only-begotten; that is, of the essence of the Father, God of God,] Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father;
By whom all things were made [both in heaven and on earth];…
The parts in the square brackets were removed and/or replaced by other text in the one we and other churches occasionally recite (the Niceno–Constantinopolitan Creed).
I hope that helps more than it confuses.  As ___________ said, probably the most important things you are doing for them is praying for them and loving them.  Ironically, it is the third person of the Trinity (the Holy Spirit) who will be the most effective agent at promoting the glory of the first two (John 16:14,15).
Blessings,
Pastor Chris