Merry Christmas

Home now, after the Christmas Eve services. I pray that you have a blessed Christmas. May our Lord, who humbled himself to be born of Our Lady some two thousand years ago, be born anew in your heart this Christmastide.

Luke 2:1-20 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace,
good will toward men.

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

Christmas Rush

Rush Limbaugh has some harsh words for Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. In this 'sermon', Rush responds to a recent news story reporting Williams as saying, "The Christmas story is a legend." There's a lot going on here, so let me address each thing in turn.

First, Rush says he writes because the "liberal Christians out there, these wacko Christians that are liberal" try his patience. Among this lot of liberal, wacko Christians falls Rowan Williams, who said in a recent interview that belief in the virgin birth of Christ should not be a "kind of hurdle people have to get over before they can, you know, be signed up." Rush interprets this as a sign of 'slippery-slope' Christianity, stating that:

"A lot of Christians know where his reasoning is going to end up, or where this line of reasoning will take you, because it ends up denying the fundamental basis of Christianity, which is the resurrection. Because if that didn't happen, then the whole thing is in trouble, and if these biblical miracles didn't happen, the star of Bethlehem didn't stop, if there was no virgin birth, then, of course, there probably wasn't a resurrection. In which case, what the hell is the Archbishop of Canterbury doing in the business, if he wants to rewrite it this way?"

Near the end of his 'sermon', he suggests that Williams begin his own religion:

"By the way, the Archbishop of Canterbury also said the nativity scene is a "legend." Not real, just a legend. So for those of you out there who feel compelled to take some of your Christian beliefs, discard the miracles, and replace them with modern science and thereby invent a new religion, go right ahead -- and if this is what Dr. Rowan Williams wants to do, if he wants to throw out the things in Christianity that he just can't explain in his "superior mind," go ahead, Dr. Williams. But just don't call it Christianity. You are distorting and debasing it. Call it whatever you want. Call it Williamsism. I don't care what you call it, but do not call it Christianity. When you start cherry-picking things that you want, cherry-picking things that your superior mind says you can't possibly accept because stars don't stop; there's no virgin both, and nobody can rise from the dead, fine. Go base your own religion on that; find the flock that you want, but don't call it Christianity."

There's rich irony here, for Rush himself has engaged in some serious 'cherry picking' of Rowan Williams's words. Rowan Williams in his interview takes us straight back to the gospel text, which has no mention of how many 'kings' there were, no mention of one from Africa. If nativity scenes portray something the Scriptures don't actually say (see Ben Witherington's excellent analysis of the nativity texts), then they are in fact portraying 'legend.' This is not Rowan Williams striking at the roots of the Christian faith, but merely pointing out that what tradition has given us may not be the actual biblical story.

As for Rowan's comment that the virgin birth not be a hurdle to new believers, I can say that it is clear from our earliest Christian documents that the virgin birth was not a major part of the early Christian proclamation. That Paul should make no substantial mention of it in his letters and that Mark and John should include nothing of Jesus's earthly life before his baptism reveals this. The Christian message was Christ crucified and risen.

This does not deny the importance of the virgin birth, or its historicity (two things which I affirm), but it does show that the gospel's proclamation is elsewhere. Rush himself makes this point by saying that the 'slippery-slope' thinking he sees in Rowan will lead to the denial of the 'fundamental basis of Christianity, which is the resurrection.' If the fundamental basis is the resurrection, then it is easy to understand why the Archbishop would not want an uneasiness about accepting the virgin birth to deter those ready to enter the Christian community, those who believe in the risen Lord.

Of course, this sort of nuance might not be appreciated by Rush and those of similar thinking who tend to categorize people as either 'liberal 'or 'conservative' (or should I say 'wacko liberal?). But the truth is that life is not that simple, and neither are people. Belief is a complex thing, and forcing people into unhelpful categories or telling them to go start their own religions (when they are clearly within the mainstream of Christianity) does not help anyone.

Also unhelpful is the media's excitement and exploitation of occasions like this. Take for instance the news story I mentioned above. The title reads, "Archbishop says Christmas story is legend." Immediately thoughts of 'liberal church leaders', and slipping doctrinal affirmations comes to mind. But is that what Rowan Williams really said? No. Instead, he said the nativity scene is a legend. This does not make 'the Christmas story' (whatever that means) a legend, nor is it what the Archbishop said. This sort of cherry-picking only produces more confusion.

From all this we can certainly learn to be wary of the media, and to be careful not to rush to conclusions about church leaders and their beliefs simply on the basis of select quotes.

(Check out iMonk's assessment of the situation here.)

*picture from here

St. Thomas the Apostle

Today is the Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle

John 20:24-29 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe." ²⁶ Eight days later, his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them, and said, "Peace be with you." ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing." ²⁸ Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" ²⁹ Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe."

What an amazing image of the patience of our Lord! He understood the doubts and he made himself available to a man who wanted desperately to believe that what his friends had told him was true. But it was so incredible and it would have been all his hopes and dreams come true, that St. Thomas couldn't allow himself to believe without seeing with his eyes and touching with his hands. St. Thomas was determined that he was not going to believe a fantasy. He wanted it all to be real, but it was too much to hope for! So he refused to believe until he experienced the Risen Jesus for himself.

After he encountered the Risen Christ, he fell to his knees and confessed: "My Lord and my God."

Jesus then says, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe."

Believing in him, they see him, trust him, love him.

It's not merely that they have believed, but that they have allowed their belief to result in a relationship with Jesus. Faith is more than a feeling and more than merely an assent to an intellectual proposition. Faith here, belief here, is nothing less than total openness to and absolute trust in the God revealed in Jesus Christ.

What we have in this episode is a person who wanted desperately to believe, but wanted his belief to be based on something true and substantial and real. This is important because it confirms for us that Christianity is not merely a spiritual exercise, or a moral code, or a fanciful desire. Christianity is based on the historical fact that God intervened in human history by coming among us, by taking on our flesh and our frailty, and by standing in our place – in the place where we belong – in judgment on the cross.

In just a few days, we celebrate that day, some 2000 years ago, when God humbled himself and stepped into time, stepped into skin, and became one of us. This episode with St. Thomas reminds us that it's not just a nice story. It's all true! It actually happened! We can trust it, believe it, and give ourselves in complete totality to it. And it leaves us with only one appropriate response: we must fall to our knees before the Risen Christ and confess with St. Thomas and all the saints: "My Lord and my God!"

Almighty and everliving God, who didst strengthen thine apostle Thomas with sure and certain faith in thy Son's resurrection: Grant us so perfectly and without doubt to believe in Jesus Christ, our Lord and our God, that our faith may never be found wanting in thy sight; through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

What's a Thurible?

This is a Thurible:



Actually, THAT one is not the norm. That's HUGE! (And most impressive - and kinda scary!) Most thuribles are small and are carried (and swung) by an acolyte, called a thurifer, and is used cense the altar, the Gospel book, the Eucharistic elements, and the people. At Saint Peter's we cense the altar, the Gospel book, and the Eucharistic elements at the 11:15 am service on all Sundays. Incense is only used at our other services on high holy days. Here's some more information about the thurible from The Catholic Encyclopedia.

A thurible is a "vessel suspended by chains, and used for burning incense at solemn Mass, Vespers, Benediction, processions, and other important offices of the Church... In its prevailing shape the censer consists of a cup, or bowl, which rests on a firm base and is provided with a hollow movable pan for holding ignited charcoal, a lid or covering, and four chains about three feet in length, three of which unite the bowl to a circular disc, while the fourth is used for raising the lid, to which one end is attached, the other passing through a hole in the disc and terminating in a small ring..."

Read the entire article in The Catholic Encyclopedia.

The Dawkins Delusion

A brilliantly satirical look at the logic Richard Dawkins employs to discredit those who believe in God. Take a look:

Rowan Williams and The Golden Compass

I plan to blog about the Golden Compass (which I saw at the theatre yesterday) once I have read the first book. For now, check out this discussion between the author of the Golden Compass, Philip Pullman, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.

Life, God, and the Universe

The Prosperity Gospel

Pastor John Piper and I don't agree on everything. But he nails this one. The "Prosperity Gospel" is no Gospel at all. Watch this:

Advent, St. Nicholas, and Santa Claus

What is Advent and who was St. Nicholas of Myra? And what about Santa Claus?

The St. Nicholas Center site has lots of great information about the season of Advent and the saint so associated with this time of year:

Advent is the time when Christians prepare to greet Christ—who came as a babe in a manger, who comes into our lives each day, and who will come again at the end of time. Advent is the time when people of faith are most at odds with the culture. The church calls people to focus on getting ready to receive Christ—preparing hearts and lives to make room for Jesus, to live as he would have us live. It is a time of longing, not fulfillment. Quiet reflection, not celebration. The culture, however, is already in a time of festivity, unable or unwilling, to wait and contemplate and prepare for the real festival. It is not easy to observe Advent without being pulled prematurely into Christmas.

Read it all at St. Nicholas Center:

http://www.stnicholascenter.org

Almighty God, who in thy love didst give to thy servant Nicholas of Myra a perpetual name for deeds of kindness on land and sea: Grant, we pray thee, that thy Church may never cease to work for the happiness of children, the safety of sailors, the relief of the poor, and the help of those tossed by tempests of doubt or grief; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.