At a recent Bible study class, I was asked if, since “begotten son” is the one-and-only son of God, is it a false belief that we are children of God? No, certainly not. We are children of God through Christ. The well-known Nicaean statement, “We believe in Jesus Christ, the only Son of God,” is not intended to suggest we are not children of God. Instead, it points out that we cannot become as Jesus is but the good news is that through adoption/faith we can become children and heirs of God’s promise through Jesus.
If you are wondering why I wrote “adoption/faith” it is because the Greek word for son can be translated into adoption or faith. Believe it or not, being adopted and having faith, in a Greek sense, is the same word. The New Testament and the Nicene Creed were written in Greek. The Greek word used for “son” is “vios” pronounced as “h-wee-os.” Vios is not a simple word. It has two main definitions 1) a male who is in a kinship relationship either biologically or by legal action and. 2) a person related or closely associated as if by ties of son-ship. The first definition – biological or legal action – has four subsets a) the direct male issue of a person, b) … of an animal, c) descended son, d) accepted or legally adopted as a son. Letter “d” caught my attention. There is no clear proof that “Son of God” was ever used to describe the Messiah prior to Christianity. Before Jesus, however, some polytheistic (multi-god) believers claimed to be sons of God like Caesar Augustus, wise philosophers like Pythagoras, and also wonder-workers. These men claimed son-ship based on letter “d.” But, none of them claimed to be the Messiah. In Psalm 2, written around 1,000 years before Jesus was born, the attributed author, King David, wrote “I will tell the decree of the Lord: He said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you.’” The intention here was not that David is God’s son; rather, God revealed to David that the Messiah would be. Mary – a descendant of David – was told her child would be called the son of the Most High and be given the throne of David. (Luke 1.32) When Jesus was baptized, those in attendance saw the Holy Spirit descend upon Jesus and heard directly from God, “You are my son, the beloved, with you I am well pleased.” Jesus was thus set apart from others who claimed divinity/son-ship with God. Jesus was both the Messiah and the one-and-only son of God. But what does this say about the rest of us who have been promised that if we believe in Jesus we too will be daughters and sons of God? Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God.” (Mt 5:9) He tells us to love our enemies so that we may be children of the Father. (Mt 5:45) John, our church’s namesake, wrote, “All who receive Jesus, who believe in his name, he gave power to become children of God” (Jn 1.12). There are many other Scriptures that state believers are called children of God. The point is that the two examples of vios are by legal action – adoption, and by close association – actions. (If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck…) As such, we are children of God because of our ties, belief, and action in Christ. Jesus left us two things, the water of baptism and the celebration of communion. Through our baptism and the receiving of Jesus’ body and blood, we are legal descendants, adopted, individual members of a large group, and identify with God through Christ. Because of this, rest assured, we are God’s children. -Fr. Marshall Begotten is an important word in Christianity. You may recall the words of the Nicene Creed, “We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father... begotten not made, of one Being with the Father.” An adjective, begotten is used to describe the nature and substance of Christ. The first chapter of the Gospel of John states, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (1:14) And the well-known and perhaps most quoted Scripture of the New Testament, “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (3:16)
Both John’s Gospel and the Nicene Creed were written in Greek. The word we translate to begotten is “monogenous.” “Mono” by itself simply means “one” but in the sense of being alone, or only, like the only one – last man on earth – also forsaken or destitute of help. In the animated movie, Ice Age, a mono male wooly mammoth was the one, the only, the last. There was none like him and he was forsaken and destitute because when he died, so would his species. “Genous” means “arising” in a particular place or manner and is the root of genes or genetics. It is typically translated as “son” because it has to do with family traits. In some newer translations of the New Testament, begotten is translated as “only” or “one and only” like this: “And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only son.” (1:14) Monogenous implicitly refutes the belief that through prayer and self-sacrifice, one could become a “son” of God. The adamant belief expressed in the New Testament and by the early Church, and reflected in the Nicene Creed, declares that God has one Son – only one, no one else, period... don’t even try to become The Son of God because he is monogenous! Another way to look at begotten and monogenous is to say that there is none like Jesus. No one ever was, no one will ever be – there is the one and only Jesus. As a side note, the first name of Christ is a common name. In our verbiage it would be like saying, “The one and only Joe!” The emphasis is not on Joe’s first name but rather on the substance of who Joe is. Likewise, this is how we reflect and understand Christ Jesus – the name above all other names. The Gospel of John wrote about Christ as being begotten from God. This is not a traditional father/son relationship. My dad was born before me, so, in a sense, I was begotten by him. What St. John is getting at in the Gospel is that although we see Jesus the Son as begotten from God, he was with God in the beginning and, in fact, all things were created through him! This is the very same mystery that the Nicene Creed tries its best to explain. Like a candle flame to another candle flame, they (God and Christ) are the same substance. They are both from the beginning. Christ, however, is the one and only human one through birth from his mother, Mary. The “begotten” point of all of this is simply there is no one like Jesus. No one ever was, no one will ever be. He loves us to the end and will someday return to restore all things. He won’t send in a look-alike, but it will be him, in the flesh, full of Grace and Truth to which every knee will bend and every tongue will confess. Lord Jesus, get here soon. -Fr. Marshall I don’t follow Utah politics but I can tell you the name of their Lieutenant Governor, Spence Cox. I don’t know much about his political leanings but I was moved by a speech he gave at a vigil for the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting. He said that love has changed his heart. When he was young, he bullied those he now realizes were gay. But, those who identify as LGBTQ have taught him love and he now loves them back. He asked a question to his “straight friends.” When they heard the shooting was at a gay bar at 2 a.m., did their feelings of sadness and empathy diminish? If so, he said, we have more work to do in this country to learn to love one another. He raised the fact that with God, love is the law.
His question made me ponder my own heart. Do I weigh the value of life depending upon someone’s age, ethnicity, height, weight, religion or gender? If so, I have work to do to live up to the expectations in the Declaration of Independence and in Jesus’ command to love. I grew up in Washington State during the time of the so-called Green River Killer, described as the most prolific serial killer in U.S. history. In college, the lead investigator talked to us pre-law students about the investigation. We learned that the Green River Killer’s primary targets were female prostitutes. The investigator said there were two simple reasons for this – accessibility and anonymity. During a question and answer session, a student asked about the second reason for the targets. The investigator gave an answer that to this day makes the bile rise in the back of my throat. He said less weight is put on solving the murder of a prostitute so the serial killer was able to extinguish more lives with less chance of being caught. Recently, bombings and killings have occurred in three sites in Saudi Arabia, the airport in Istanbul was bombed, new avalanches of attacks are happening in Pakistan, and bombings have killed people in Kabul and in Dhaka. I ask my own heart if it changes the weight of these deaths if they, or the intended targets, are Muslim? Jesus identified himself with the outcasts, the vulnerable, and the unwanted. We are told that true religion is caring for orphans and widows – which are representations of the unwanted and discarded. (James 1:27) Our baptismal covenant asks, “Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself and will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?” That is a weighty question; an honest answer can be difficult. Yet, love is the law from Christ. Without him, I’m unable to do it, but with God, all things are possible. Lt. Gov. Cox concluded his speech to the Utah gay and lesbian community with this, “You know a little something about hate. And you know a little something about persecution. But you also know something about loving, blessing and doing good. What our country needs more than ever is less politics and more kindness. And so may we leave today with a resolve to be a little kinder. May we try to listen more and talk less. May we forgive someone that has wronged us. And perhaps, most importantly, try to love someone that is different from us.” -Fr. Marshall We had our first evening Bible study at a local pub. I believe that studying the Bible off church grounds is important. The Bible message sounds more relevant when reading it out in the world. Why not a pub? This isn’t a normal pub – it’s brand new and located inside of St. Paul’s Senior Home.
Thanks to the Bible study, my not-so-covert plan of establishing a relationship between Saint John’s and St. Paul’s is working. Several folks from St. Paul’s have asked if their residents can attend next week. I told them all – residents, employees or guests – are welcome and even encouraged to attend. It seems that my devious plan is working. The evening started with just three of us but quickly ballooned to twenty! It was exciting to be a part of a large group that wants to study the Bible. I explained that I would lead on our first night but after that I will provide material for someone to lead each of the next four weeks. After all, the best way to learn something is to teach it. I’ve felt the presence of the Holy Spirit strongest when I step out to lead and many others have said the same thing. Whether they get up to make an announcement, ask for a birthday blessing, deliver a message, or to tutor or to teach in the school, despite anxiety, if they have any, the reward is feeling much closer to God. We are using a group Bible study book that sheds light on each story and includes questions for the group to ponder. The leader simply reads the passage from Genesis and then walks the group through a reflection on the passage and then leads the questions. Nevertheless, disappointment registered on some faces – like they were there to learn from me. After our study was over, I was relishing the size of the group and basking in the desire some had to have me teach them. It frankly fed my ego. But right then and there, standing in my bedroom closet, a clear message came to me. YOU ARE TO RAISE UP AND EQUIP OTHERS TO LEAD – TO TRAIN, NOT ENTERTAIN. Oh, I thought, that was pretty clear. But God was still not done speaking. That night I had an interesting dream about entertainment on television and eating at church. The next morning, I sat down with a parishioner who connected things for me by talking about some much larger, non-Episcopal churches. This person said they have lights, smoke, loud rock n ’roll music but all they seem to do is entertain. I love it when God speaks through parishioners. And my response to God is this, okay, I get it. Jesus promised Peter that if he followed he would become a fisher of people. I imagine that later on Peter told others the same thing – if you choose to follow Jesus, you will lead and learn. So, I’ll stick with the original plan and have a different person take the lead each week. I am confident that by following what God transmitted to me that we’ll be equipping others to follow Christ. Ironically, in many ways for me sitting back and being in the group is a way to lead. -Fr. Marshall |