I have a clergy friend who recently agreed to serve in a difficult situation. When the opportunity came up for him to serve, I told him that if he went I would go with him – in the sense that I’ll be there to talk and support him. Little did either of us understand how problematic his work would become. We talk on a nearly daily basis.
My friend is dealing with what theologians refer to as the powers of the world. To summarize the theologians, there are two powers, one from heaven one from the world. As articulated in the Gospel and pastoral letters of John (for whom our church is named), these two powers are at odds with each other. The power from the world arises from, as you might guess, things of the world. These things include fear, hate, anger, and anxiety that manifest themselves in social class, greed, beauty, gender bias, racism and other forms of domination and suppression. In olden days, an emperor was supreme at manipulating the powers of the world (fear, hate, anxiety) to keep his power. This suppressive and aggressive power is seen in many Gospel lessons but most heart renderingly in the crucifixion of our Lord. The powers of the kingdom of heaven are love, unity, self-sacrifice, peace and joy. In the first century, the power of love and peace seemingly couldn’t hold a candle to the incredible and overarching powers of the world. For instance, the powers of the world held the citizens of Rome in an invisible prison of fear and anxiety that started just beyond their fingertips. Their choice was to either participate in the system or drop out and be chewed up by it. There is evidence that the people of Jerusalem were also held in a similar invisible cage that tied them to the Temple authorities, local officials and under the oppressive thumb of the emperor. Into this political and economic climate, Jesus came to preach peace, forgiveness and to reconcile all people to God. Within the first generation of believers, many had been kicked out of their houses of worship. Some had left their occupations in order to follow Christ. They formed congregations that met in homes and other safe havens. In that time, the author for whom our church is named, wrote, “You are from God and you have conquered them [the powers of the world] because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 Jn 4:4) History shows us the believers went out and changed the world. Those Christians believed, obviously, that the One inside of them was in fact greater than the power of the world. But what about us, in our time, with the immense powers of fear, hate, anger and anxiety of the world stacking against believers of the Kingdom? This is what I believe – the fire from the Holy Spirit in my clergy friend is greater than the fire that he stepped into. The fire/Holy Spirit will sustain him and will burn longer than any difficult pastoral situation that he is currently involved in. Likewise, with you, no matter what situation you are dealing with, no matter what powers of the world are pressing in on you, the One who is in you is greater than the power that is in the world. The powers of love, unity, self-sacrifice, peace and joy will conquer all. -Fr. Marshall A recent sermon for our school had to do with prudence. We played a game called, “Is It Prudent?” One statement was, “Eat fruits and vegetables and stay away from chips.” The contestants had to figure out if that statement was prudent or not prudent. This question spilled out into classroom discussions so this past week, I addressed the fruits and vegetables versus chips question head on. I brought out a bag of Takis, the most popular school chip. The bag says there are 150 calories per serving. I hope you are sitting down because there are four servings in the lunch-sized bag. That’s 600 calories. I asked which has more calories, four apples, a granola bar, a celery stalk, or a chocolate bar. I then held up the aforementioned items and told them the total calories of them all equaled the chips. I then asked how full they’d feel if instead of eating the chips they ate the entire celery stalk, all the apples, the granola bar and chocolate bar in one sitting. Most said they couldn’t eat that much. Yet, they could imagine eating the entire bag of Takis. Now my kids’ sermons have object lessons so bear with me a second on this one. Fact: chips, which are not nutritious, do not fill us up even though they are very high in calories. Fact: eating four apples would fill the average person up but has few calories compared to chips. Are there other things in life that are like that? Well, I think posting mean things on line about someone is like eating chips; it fills us with calories but is not good for us. Consider a hug; it is fulfilling and good for us at the same time, like an apple. I continued with the students that studying for a test is like eating an apple; it is valuable. Cheating on a test is like eating chips — there is no nutritional value and it leaves one feeling empty inside. After the morning services, I head straight into Bible study. We are reading Paul’s Letter to the Romans where he writes there are two laws at work in him, the law of God and the law of sin. He knows what is right but he does what is wrong. Finally, he declares, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God – through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (7:24) We know what is right but we do what is wrong. We know celery is better for us but we go for the chips. We know that a hug fills us up and is what we are supposed to do but then gossip arises and we find ourselves empty. Like Paul, I am not immune. I caught myself this week wondering how to give my neighbor’s dogs fleas. I know that is wrong but I have become tired of listening to their barking and barking and barking. Giving their dogs fleas won’t make my neighbors better dog owners. But, like a bag of chips, it made me feel a little better just thinking of it. I think that Jesus wants us to live on full, not empty. He wants us to do things that fill us up, like hugs. I also believe that Jesus, being human, knows what it is like to be tempted to eat chips in our world even though he is the only one who never ate any. And he’s the only one who can save us when we do. -Fr. Marshall It is interesting and fashionable to have multi-faith dialog. There is real importance to this work. For instance, in the contested Kashmir region between India and Pakistan, it is of paramount importance to have Hindu and Muslim dialog. Likewise, multi-faith dialog is principal to finding peace in Israel. But what about inner-faith, ecumenical dialog? Has it gone out of fashion?
A division in the catholic (universal) church has recently been healed. This division started on October 8, 451, when a month-long church council was held at Chalcedon. There were issues of authority but the core of the meeting was the nature of Christ. Today we freely say that Jesus is fully human and fully divine. But it took the Church centuries to get to that phrase. While the New Testament shows that Jesus was fully divine and also human, it focuses more on Christ’s divinity than his humanity. To the witnesses of Jesus, the most remarkable aspect was his divinity. Later, however, as the Church came to take his divinity for granted, there was an effort to look more at his humanity and this searching caused a great Church divide. Prior to Chalcedon, an earlier council had decided Christ has one nature. But the Nicene Creed seems to suggest that Jesus has two natures – human and divine. A century after it was written, however, Church leaders thought that it did not make sense; it’s either one or the other, right? Not so fast, said the bishops at Chalcedon. If we think in human terms, yes, it makes no sense, but if we look at Christ through divine eyes, nothing is impossible. The problem with councils is that someone is always going to feel left out. In the case of Chalcedon, that group is the Oriental Orthodox churches (Coptic, Ethiopian, Eritrean, Syriac, Indian Orthodox, Armenian) and that was the beginning of the divide between East and West. Our Book of Common Prayer includes liturgical elements from both the Eastern and Western church. Speaking of divides, it also incorporates parts of the Scottish and English rites. It would make sense then that the Anglican Communion could help in uniting the Oriental Orthodox with Western Orthodox. Last week, a statement on Christology was published by the Anglican-Oriental Orthodox International Commission. It addresses the division that started in Chalcedon. The Commission quoted Anglican theologian Richard Hooker (16thcentury) who quoted St. Cyril (5th century) that, “His two natures have knit themselves the one to the other, and are in that nearness as uncapable of confusion as of distraction. Their coherence hath not taken away the difference between them. Flesh is not become God but doth still continue flesh, although it be now the flesh of God’ (Laws 53.2).” Another component is that the union of both natures – human and divine – is natural, hypostatic (united in one God-man), real and perfect. The commission underscored that the two natures of Christ are distinguished in our mind in thought alone; it’s not a God thing but a human understanding thing. One more interesting note – the commission also agreed that Mary is the Theotokus, the mother of God. Up next for the commission is the Holy Spirit. The Eastern Church disagrees with Nicaea on this: “We believe in the Holy Spirit… who proceeds from the Father and the Son.” They believe the Holy Spirit did not “proceed” since that implies creation after the Father and the Son. Although I personally don’t think that was the intent of the phrase, it is a sticking point. We wake up today with a more united Body of Christ. And that is good news. -Fr. Marshall I learned a new word today, “equipoise.” Theologian C. Clifton Black used it in a sentence and I simply had to look it up. The sentence read, “[The Gospel writer] Mark presents in equipoise human responsibility and God’s grace.” I found out the word means to be in counterbalance, equilibrium, stasis.
The Chargers star quarterback Philip Rivers has learned how to play with equipoise. He is equally fearless and cautious when throwing the football. When I had a pool, I found that chlorine and muriatic acid keep the pool water in equipoise. I have seen relationships in which one partner likes to save and the other likes to spend. Although disagreements arise, they are likely in equipoise with their spending habits. Some who follow politics have said that President Bill Clinton needed House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and Gingrich needed Clinton, to equipoise, or balance out, the shared powers of the executive and legislative branches of government. As we head towards Halloween, I’d like to say that the best candy bar in the world contains chocolate in equipoise with peanut butter. This week we had our annual Clergy Conference. A hallmark of our time together is table snacks consisting of almonds and chocolate covered peanut M&M’s. What can I say – it’s a tradition. I am awed by the Mars Company because they found the perfect balance between peanut, chocolate and candy coating. Somehow they repeat the balance flawlessly from one colorful nugget to the next. At the conference, we were sharing difficulties in our ordination path. I shared that in seminary there were afternoon classes that I needed a certain boost in order to survive. That boost was a particular chocolate bar that I purchased at a liquor store kitty corner from the school’s parking lot. It was 98% cocoa dark chocolate. The bitter and slightly sweet taste kept me alert during the second half of an afternoon class. It brought me equipoise – it balanced out the drudgery of 13th century history and theology. To this day, when I stumble across writing from the Middle Ages I can taste dark chocolate in my mouth. Besides candy, one of the things we discussed at Clergy Conference was why people search and stay with a church. We have found that folks look for a church because they feel as if their life is out of balance. A sense of God in one’s life is often an equipoise against the pressures of life. Back to Professor Black’s assertion that this Sunday’s Gospel lesson presents equipoise in human responsibility and God’s grace. I wonder. Some theologians assert that God’s grace is a reaction to human sin. Others say God’s grace stands alone and is not contingent on the existence of sin. I think Black’s point is that we humans have a responsibility to follow God in Christ but can’t without the Grace of God. I’ll let theologians figure out human responsibility, sin and grace. I am comfortable knowing that Jesus is my equipoise in life. He is my counterbalance; he gives me grace and peace in a world that seems to have little of either. When the cares of the world pull me off balance, Christ brings me to stasis and reminds me to be still and know that he is God. -Fr. Marshall I’ve had continuous cell phone service with the same carrier since the late ‘90’s. I’m probably one of their longest-standing patrons. At the insurance company I worked for, we valued people who had been with the company for a long time. I’m still with that insurance company and when I call, the representative usually mentions we’ve been with them for more than twenty years.
In a recent Consumer Report magazine, an interesting article about cell phones said customer service varies between carriers, but the signal itself is very close across the board which negates the main reason I went with my current carrier back when coverage was not a given. The advice was to look at deals offered by carriers and once your contract is up to negotiate with your existing carrier. We found out that changing carriers could drop our bill by almost 40%! Our two-year contract expired in September so I walked into my current carrier’s store to find a better deal and was told that what we are paying is their best rate. They didn’t seem concerned that we’ve been customers for twenty years. I’m wondering what God thinks about longevity. We are told in Scripture that there is rejoicing in heaven when someone who has left the faith returns. But what about people who have been believers since birth? An interesting note about Islam – a new believer is held in higher regard than one who was born into the faith. The rationale is that the new believer has seen other ways and has decided to follow the five pillars unlike one who was born into it and knows nothing different. Performing a baptism is one of the best things about being a priest. Of all baptisms, there is something extra special about baptizing an adult. I even had the privilege of performing a baptism for someone lying on a hospice bed. That was extra, extra special. If I listened closely, I could actually hear the celebration in heaven. Does Jesus welcome the newly-baptized 85 year old differently from the one who was baptized as a baby? Or, does God prioritize prayers based on how long someone has been a believer? Probably not. Faith is not a commodity that you can switch for another like gasoline, copper, lumber, or even cell phone carriers. There are benefits of having longevity with Christ – living with the knowledge that God loves you, forgives you, and gives the gift of grace and peace. There are benefits in belonging for a lifetime to a church, too. But, when it comes to God, it’s just like the parable that Jesus told about the workers hired in the morning and those hired in the late afternoon. They all get paid the same amount regardless of how long they worked. It’s not like the dinner buffet at a casino that lets the high rollers skip the line. So, if you are counting on taking cuts in the line at Heaven’s gate because of membership at Saint John’s, I rather doubt that will occur; and I can even see a rationale for letting that newly baptized 85 year old in line ahead of us. Once our hearts turn to Jesus, we are received in the same manner. The joy from heaven and the peace from God is enough for each believer. Maybe that is where “the first shall be last and the last shall be first” comes in — those of us who are cradle Christians will be so overjoyed to see those who have come to Christ later on in their lives it won’t much matter about the order of things. -Fr. Marshall |