Ash Wednesday Meditation Matt 6: 1-6, 16-21

This Ash Wednesday text is often misunderstood.  When Jesus told his audience not to do their alms in public, he was not saying that public prayers should not be offered, or that acts of mercy or charity should be ignored.  Jesus was instead reminding us that the inner motivation of heart was more important than the outward actions.  This doesn't mean that our faith should be private. Our faith takes place in both private and public settings, part of our corporate worship is gathering and reciting public corporate prayers.  However, these should not be opportunities to impress others, nor should we forget that while we do not live perfect lives, in fact, we are far from perfect, we should beware of the kind of religious life that acts one way in public but quite another in private.  How we treat people matters, and we cannot have the kind of devotion that is insensitive to people during our week but them ignores our actions on Sunday.  Lent is a time of self examination, it is a time for us to turn in repentance once again and focus on the life giving sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.  Let me invite you this lent to make a commitment to engage spiritual disciplines in your life as we walk together with Christ into this special season of the Christian year. 

Recommended Reading for Spiritual Development

Without question, reading is critical in Christian spiritual development.  I present the following as resources for those seeking to follow Jesus in discipleship that are looking for books from authors that encourage us to think deeper about our Christian faith.  The criteria for choosing these volumes are as follows; firstly those that are written from a Christian perspective, are volumes in which the authors recognize the "already/not yet" aspect of the Kingdom of God.  Christian sometimes fall into the gnostic trap of spiritualizing applications of Christian truth to make our everyday involvement in the world irrelevant or worse, sinful.  How we take care of our environment, issues of social and economic justice, issues related to poverty, are all linked with how we love for our neighbor, our family, and our enemies.  Christian faith does not simply look towards the sweet by and by, some future 'heavenly' realm that we inhabit.  Secondly, they draw from a catholic, ecumenical perspective.  That is realizing that no one particular camp of Christianity has all knowledge they are authors that interact with scripture and tradition to bring to light truths that are recognized as faithful to the apostles creed and inclusive of the ancient faith of the church as well as its contemporary voice.  Thirdly, they do not advance the notion that if we have enough faith our problems simply vanish. In fact, often it can be complicated because we follow Jesus.  Christians are called to participate in Kingdom of God, suffer for it if necessary, and seek it out above all else. Finally, those volumes not written from a Christian perspective illuminate a wisdom that calls us to a reflective life and to examine the lives we live.

This list will be expanded on in time, and I am using four categories "beginning, intermediate, advanced, master" to describe the difficulty of each.  Lastly, these are all books that I have found indispensable, books that I have read and re-read several times over and have found to contain the kind of truth that goes beyond the surface to the deeper issues of life and faith.

Beginner Must Reads

Michael Green, "Who Is This Jesus?"  Thomas Nelson Publishers

Justo Gonzalez, "The Apostles Creed For Today"  John Knox Press.

Henri J Nouwen, "Reaching Out: Three Movements of the Spiritual Life" Doubleday

N.T.Wright, "Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense."  Harper One

Rowan Williams, "Meeting God in Mark: Reflections for the Season of Lent" John Knox Press.

N.T.Wright, "New Testament For Everyone" John Knox Press: (The Gospel of Mark), John Knox Press

NRSV, New Revised Standard Version, the Bible.  The Gospel of Mark

The Kingdom New Testament; N.T.Wright translation.  Harper Collins

The Message, Eugene Peterson translation.

Intermediate

C.S. Lewis, "Mere Christianity." Harper One

James H Cone.  "The Cross and the Lynching Tree." Orbis, 2011 

Shirley C. Guthrie, Jr. "Christian Doctrine; revised edition"  John Knox Press

Adam Hamilton, When Christians Get it Wrong.  Abingdon Press, 2013

St. Augustine.  "The Confessions of St. Augustine" Doubleday

Henri J Nowen, "In the Name of Jesus" 


Alister McGrath.  "I Believe: Exploring the Apostles Creed" IVP

Eugene Peterson, "Run with Horses"  Green Press, 2009

Eugene Peterson.  "A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society" IVP

N.T.Wright, "Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, The Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church."  Harper One

N.T.Wright, "New Testament For Everyone" John Knox Press: (Commentary on NT), John Knox Press

Albert Wolters, "Creation Regained:  Biblical Basis for a Reformational Worldview" Eerdman's Publishing Co.

Advanced Reading

Karl Barth.  Evangelical Theology. Eerdmans 1963

C.S. Lewis, "The Great Divorce"  Harper One.

John Calvin.  "Institutes of the Christian Religion"  Ford Lewis Battle Translation, Library of Christian Classics.  

The Penguin History of the Church Series (Vo1 1-7; The Early Church, Western Society and the Church in the Middle Ages, The Reformation, The Church in the Age of Reason, The Church in the Age of Revolution, a history of Christian Missions, The Christian Church in the Cold War)

Marva Dawn, Eugene Peterson. "The Unnecessary Pastor; Rediscovering the Call." Eerdmans

Edwin Friedman.  "A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix"

Gustavo Gutiérrez, "A Theology of Liberation." Orbis

Martin Luther King Jr.  "A Testament of Hope" Essential Writings and Speeches

Martin Luther.  "Commentary on Romans" and  "The Bondage of the Will"

Philip J Lee.  "Against the Protestant Gnostics" Oxford University Press

N.T.Wright, Christian Origins and the Question of God Series, Fortress Press
     "The New Testament and the People of God" Vol 1
     "Jesus and the Victory of God; Christian Origins and the Question of God" Vol 2
     "The Resurrection of the Son of God" Vol 3
     "Paul and the Faithfulness of God" Vol 4, Part 1 and Part 2

N.T.Wright, "Evil and the Justice of God"

N.T.Wright, "Paul in Fresh Perspective"

Max Weber, "Protestant Work Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism", Penguin Twentieth Century Classics

Master Level

Karl Barth, "The Epistle to the Romans." Translator Edwin C Hoskyns.  Oxford University Press

Karl Barth, "The Dogmatics in Outline."  Harper and Row

Fyodor Dostoyevksy, "The Brothers Karamazov"  Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Jürgen Moltmann, "The Crucified God."  Translated by R.A. Wilson, and John Bowden.  Fortress Press.

Sermon: Christmas "Simeon and Anna"

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Simeon and Anna are two people that meet Joseph and Mary as they bring Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem, they have one thing in common, they both are awaiting the hope of the world, a messiah that would save their people.  This hope, which is our hope of Christmas, is found in Jesus not as a great teacher or moral example or but as the "Son of God"proclaimed in the beginning of the Gospel of Mark.  In Jesus, hope enters into the world, because Jesus is Emmanuel, "God with Us".  The hope that we can indeed be freed from bondage and slavery is a reality.  Simeon responds by leaving with God's peace and Anna as a joyful witness.  What is our response?  

Should Christians celebrate Christmas?

Surprising as it may seem occasionally a Christian objects to celebrating Christmas.   One objection is the fact that Christmas took the place of solstices-oriented pagan festival like the Norse celebration of Yule and the Roman celebration of the god Mithras.  When the church decided to celebrate Christmas on Dec 25 it absorbed the traditional pagan holidays.  While this is true there is precedent for its celebration going back to the apostles and the early church.  So much more must be said to understand its importance.  

The church has from its inception observed special days of worship.  Dating back to the Old Testament worship, Israel had a number of special festivals and holy days that were celebrated like Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits and Weeks.  Early Christians began worshipping on Sunday as the Christian Sabbath in order to emphasize the resurrection of Jesus (Acts 20:7, 1 Cor 16:1-2).  While the resurrection of Christ is celebrated every Sunday, the day of 14 Nisan (the same day as Passover in Judaism) was observed as the historical day of the resurrection.  This was based on apostolic tradition.  

The earliest record of Christmas actually goes back to the Feast of Epiphany, sometimes called the Feast of Theophany which is today celebrated on January 6th.  This is documented in the Apostolic Constitutions, early treatises on Christian worship and by St Clement of Alexandria (150-215) who also mentions the feast and vigil that accompanied it.  Christmas was more actively promoted during the fourth century and by the Council of Tours in 567 Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany were established and celebrated as a cycle.

The significance of this is more than just celebrating the "birthday of Jesus", it is rather, a recognition of the redemptive acts of God in Jesus seen through his birth, baptism, ministry, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension.  The Christian liturgical cycle functions to emphasize those important events that define our faith, it is a time not just to celebrate and commemorate it is a time to reflect, understand and ultimately to believe in what we as Christians are being called to, a life and vocation of discipleship in the footstep of Jesus.

Understanding the historical roots of Christianity is important because it helps us to understand and pass down important traditions, traditions that remind us of what those that came before us valued.  When we lose our history, we lose our grounding.  So, yes, we can certainly enjoy celebrating Christmas with many of our holiday traditions that make this time of the year joyful, but we must always remember that the root of Christmas is in the worship that takes place when Christians gather to praise, read, and hear the word proclaimed and celebrated Holy Communion together on the day the church sets aside to focus on the birth of Jesus, the inauguration of a new and wonderful act of salvation into the history of humanity.

So, should Christians celebrate Christmas?  Of course, but the celebration is truly a life changing one, it is one that calls us to grapple during Advent with the most serious of questions, because only when we can fully understand the nature of the darkness in the world, can we then celebrate the coming of the light that shines brightly directing our paths back to God.  

Sermon: Fourth Sunday in Advent "Advent's Wake-Up Call"

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Advent is a time that calls people to "wake up!"  We are asked to listen for the voice of God in our lives and in our world.  During this season, the lectionary turns our attention to John the Forerunner, who breaks out calling loudly in the wilderness to prepare the way for the Messiah!  The message is simple, God has come to us, God is calling us, God is about to be revealed to us.  Therefore, repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins.  John's role as the first witness was simply to point people to the Messiah that would come.  Too often we get this out of focus.  Distracted by other voices it is easy for us to take our focus off of the life and teachings that the scriptures bear witness to.  This time of the year we are asked to refocus on the Christ and prepare our hearts in an attitude of repentance, humility and receptivity to the message we are about to hear.

Advent Devotional Sunday 4

This Advent Devotional invites us to reflect on several pieces of Art during the Advent Season as we prepare our hearts for Christ's coming.

Faith and Art in Advent

Advent Devotional Sunday 3

Year B: St. John Introspective

This Advent Devotional invites us to reflect on several pieces of Art during the Advent Season as we prepare our hearts for Christ's coming.

Advent Faith and Art