“Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works, and give glory to your Father in heaven.” I shared some thoughts on these words some time ago; they come to mind again as members of St Luke discuss Miroslav Volf’s book “Public Faith.”
Jesus uses the words “your light,” not simply God’s light, in you: there is something particular about each community and each person (handed a candle with these light-words at baptism) that needs to be seen and known. The light catches our eye; we turn and see good works (Jesus will go on to talk about such topics as prayer and reconciliation). That light – those works – aren’t the kind that lead us to praise the “good people” doing such nice things (in Matthew 6 Jesus is quick to make the distinction). Our light and works draw attention to and praise for the Father of Jesus.
“Let your light shine.” Let your faith be public! We bristle when we hear that. Creationism is taught in public schools, religious leaders manipulate voters, a mosque is proposed near Ground Zero. (More issues here - could one even say that “Occupy Wall Street” is opposition to the influence of Mammon-ism on politics?) Religion seems to be in each week’s headlines, faith is already public. The topic has been raised – so what’s our response?
Volf’s chapter on “Coercive faith” addresses what many people believe: that faith made public simply makes things worse. Doesn’t it? Shouldn't churches be relatively silent enclaves, private places you go to? You look for some experience: divine presence, fellowship, opportunities to serve - or maybe for a place to hide from a rapidly changing world! If there is talk about “shining your light,” the idea isn’t so much glorifying God as attracting others to join in, bolster the fortress: you want people to see what kind of great experiences they can have in your church. All are welcome! But however inclusive it may be, it’s still a private party. Whereas Jesus’ words about light recall Isaiah’s words about a public vision: “Arise, shine, for your light has come … nations shall come to your light … and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.” (Isaiah 60) The nations don’t move in to the city, become Judeans, or stop being who they are. But the light opens their eyes to God and inspires them to praise in their own voices.
Faith made public may attract members. It might also mean joining “secular” causes or taking sides, while giving an “account of that hope that is in us”- “I support human rights because I believe all people are loved by God.” I’m also drawn to Volf’s idea that Christians’ primary distinct, public witness is our “vision for human flourishing.” Can we show (not just talk about) what human fulfillment looks like? Think of some of the best “public” displays of faith; the Amish forgive a murderer, a Jesuit priest in LA helps to provide jobs for former gang members. Do people just understand that these are good or peculiar people? Or don’t their actions point to God – who “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good?”(Mat 5:45a) Doesn’t even our participation in worship or help for the poor raise questions to the people around us about life and God?
“You will know them by their fruits,” says Jesus in Matthew 7: “Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles?” Paul says to the Galatians (5:22): “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.” People are drawn to the image of St Luke as a garden, where people grow and flourish. But this garden isn’t fenced in. The citrus tree in your neighbor’s yard, with branches stretching over the sidewalk. Faith is public so that passerby can pluck and enjoy what God is doing in and through us.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Getting in tune with Paul’s letter to the Romans
I must confess that I’d never really read and studied Romans all that carefully until our recent Bible study. I suppose any Lutheran pastor who says such a thing should be blushing beat-red, since Romans is where we find the rallying cry of the Lutheran reformation: “For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.”(3.28)
It’s the kind of verse that will always be both painful and exhilarating. We’re caught in our own sense of self-worth, to discover - painfully - that we were wrong. God sees us not for what we have done (or where we have messed up) but in Christ, through grace (exhilarating!). Paul warns us: “do not be proud, but stand in awe … continue in God’s kindness.” (chapter 11)
The verse that stands out to me in my recent reading of Romans expands on this: “hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given us.” (5:5)
I think I’m partly just drawn to the image of "pouring out" the Spirit as love into the hearts of the people when they hear the good news about God in Christ. It’s the kind of thing we don’t have control over. Think of someone you know who is difficult to deal with, and imagine that person just finding themselves loved by God, apart from your efforts to show kindness to that person.
Then again, think of those people whom society deems unworthy of love. Father Greg Boyle, in his book Tattoos on the Heart, talks about the many death threats received when they started Homeboy Industries, which was in the business of giving a new start to recently incarcerated gang members. “Why should they get this opportunity, considering what they did?” (the idea that we’re justified / condemned on the basis of what we do goes deep!) Father Boyle’s anecdotes aren’t just about helping people, but awe at witnessing people discover they are loved.
As we study Romans I’ve been reading a commentary by Robert Jewett (bits and pieces; the book is big enough to stop a moving vehicle). We all know about the “growing gap between rich and poor” in our own world - Jewett talks about an enormous class divide in ancient Rome: maybe 5% of the population were the wealthy Romans we hear about who brought order and peace through military conquest to the world; most everyone else was poor, many of them immigrants, and considered virtually "nothing" in terms of value. And yet it was largely among these nobodies that Christianity took root in Rome. Paul could point to the pouring out of God’s Spirit as this power that enabled people to discover that they weren’t nobodies but loved – despite what seemed to be the prevailing views of their society.
The Spirit poured out was a power that brought together diverse communities of Jew and Greek to live into a peace that the Emperor could never achieve, let alone prevent.
Are we aware of this Spirit of love poured out in our own hearts and neighbors? How does this pouring shape our approach to ministry? We explore further this Summer in several ways: through sermon series on Romans 8 (July 10th – July 24th), Romans 12-13 (August 21st – Sept 11th), further bible study in August, a visit to the New City Parish (see further below – how can our efforts to help others be also about finding God’s love for ourselves and others, being drawn together in new way?), and a visit to the Getty Villa in August, to learn more about ancient Rome.
It’s the kind of verse that will always be both painful and exhilarating. We’re caught in our own sense of self-worth, to discover - painfully - that we were wrong. God sees us not for what we have done (or where we have messed up) but in Christ, through grace (exhilarating!). Paul warns us: “do not be proud, but stand in awe … continue in God’s kindness.” (chapter 11)
The verse that stands out to me in my recent reading of Romans expands on this: “hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given us.” (5:5)
I think I’m partly just drawn to the image of "pouring out" the Spirit as love into the hearts of the people when they hear the good news about God in Christ. It’s the kind of thing we don’t have control over. Think of someone you know who is difficult to deal with, and imagine that person just finding themselves loved by God, apart from your efforts to show kindness to that person.
Then again, think of those people whom society deems unworthy of love. Father Greg Boyle, in his book Tattoos on the Heart, talks about the many death threats received when they started Homeboy Industries, which was in the business of giving a new start to recently incarcerated gang members. “Why should they get this opportunity, considering what they did?” (the idea that we’re justified / condemned on the basis of what we do goes deep!) Father Boyle’s anecdotes aren’t just about helping people, but awe at witnessing people discover they are loved.
As we study Romans I’ve been reading a commentary by Robert Jewett (bits and pieces; the book is big enough to stop a moving vehicle). We all know about the “growing gap between rich and poor” in our own world - Jewett talks about an enormous class divide in ancient Rome: maybe 5% of the population were the wealthy Romans we hear about who brought order and peace through military conquest to the world; most everyone else was poor, many of them immigrants, and considered virtually "nothing" in terms of value. And yet it was largely among these nobodies that Christianity took root in Rome. Paul could point to the pouring out of God’s Spirit as this power that enabled people to discover that they weren’t nobodies but loved – despite what seemed to be the prevailing views of their society.
The Spirit poured out was a power that brought together diverse communities of Jew and Greek to live into a peace that the Emperor could never achieve, let alone prevent.
Are we aware of this Spirit of love poured out in our own hearts and neighbors? How does this pouring shape our approach to ministry? We explore further this Summer in several ways: through sermon series on Romans 8 (July 10th – July 24th), Romans 12-13 (August 21st – Sept 11th), further bible study in August, a visit to the New City Parish (see further below – how can our efforts to help others be also about finding God’s love for ourselves and others, being drawn together in new way?), and a visit to the Getty Villa in August, to learn more about ancient Rome.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Getting in tune with the main event: Easter Vigil and Holy Week
At sunset on Saturday, the people gather outside around the “new fire,” with that tall, ornate candle that stands behind the baptismal font - known as the “Easter” or “Paschal Candle.” Pascha, the older name for Easter, means literally “Passover,” as in Jesus “passed over” from death to life - as do we, by grace, with him. The word “Pascha” maybe conveys the experience of Jesus’ resurrection beginning in darkness with the light of hope, before everyone breaks out in the “Alleluia!”
From the New Fire, the Paschal Candle is lit and blessed, the light is spread to others - this is the original “candlelight” service. Someone may sing from Psalm 27: “the Lord is my light and salvation, whom shall I fear?” Another may sing from the song from the early church, known as the Exsultet:
“Rejoice, now, all heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels! Exult, all creation around God's throne! Jesus Christ is risen! Celebrate the divine mysteries with exultation; and for so great a victory, sound the trumpet of salvation. Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendor, radiant in the brightness of your king!
Christ has conquered! Glory fills you! Darkness vanishes forever!
The gathering becomes a procession, to where the stories will be heard (for us, the fellowship hall) - the great stories about new life, the kind children are likely to hear first: the creation of the world, Pharaoh chasing Israel through the sea, Noah’s ark are some of the possibilities. We’ll hear four, not so much read as conveyed through story in fun ways by our Sunday School - and sung, with the help of choir and folkjammers. Then, it’s time for the main event. We process into the sanctuary, singing the first “Alleluias,” to hear the Easter Gospel, and to celebrate Baptism.
In the early church (at least in the West), the day before Easter was the most important day for Baptisms - or even to remember, as Paul says: “we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” At St Luke, there will be people joining the church on this day. All the stories, about God’s creation and care for us, the defeat of darkness, turns out to lead into what God does for us, in our lives!
So, does all this sound familiar? Maybe not - since it’s only been about 30-40 years that Lutherans have begun to reclaim this tradition, and these things take a while to catch on! (see “history of Easter” pg 3) Why the Vigil? One of the key factors was the realization that we no longer live in a culture where pretty much everyone goes to church. As it turns out, our “main event,” Easter - isn’t just for “insiders” but all about how God embraces people from all walks of life - not just crowded in the pew on Sunday morning, but reborn in the waters of Baptism and the family of faith.
Evangelism isn’t just about conveying the bullet points of Christian teaching, but joining together as we are immersed in the stories, symbols and experiences of Christ’s Spirit. One of our oldest traditions is this “crash course” in Christian teaching AND experience that we know as Holy Week.. Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter in particular were traditionally thought of as one worship service that went for three days, the “Triduum.” The symbols include darkness, light, fire, a meal, a bath, tree and garden, and more - in the presence of a loving family. The stories we’ll hear include creation, exodus, passover, the prophecies of the Messiah, the last supper, Jesus’ command to love one another, the passion and execution of Jesus, and his resurrection.
So join us! Get acquainted or reacquainted with God’s love for us in Christ.
A history of Holy Week
Source: Gail Ramshaw and Mons Teig, Using Evangelical Worship Volume Three: Keeping Time: the Church’s Years. Augsburg, 2009. pg 94ff
Early church - by middle of the second century, Christians celebrate “Pascha,” meaning “Passover,” connecting the lamb eaten by the Israelites about the flee Egypt with Jesus as the lamb of God slain to save us. By late second and third centuries, the focus of Pascha shifts to the story of the crossing of the Red Sea, connecting this event to Jesus’ resurrection and our Baptism. So the Jewish seder had evolved into the Christian vigil of Easter. By the fourth century, this Vigil was drawn out into the “Three Days”: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Vigil - seen as one worship event, focused around welcoming new people into the church through Baptism. (Palm Sunday seems to have appeared in the late 4th century).
Middle ages - the speedy baptism of infants throughout the year (maybe threatened by infant mortality) disconnects Baptism from Christ’s resurrection. Rich liturgical practice gets moved to the monasteries and convents. More focus put on the sufferings of Christ, attention to personal sin (and private penitence) rather than assembly worship. New rituals spring up, especially in the late middle ages: “Stations of the Cross” (Franciscan), “Tenebrae” (Monastic), “Three hours” (Peruvian Jesuit) - many of these rituals focusing on Jesus’ crucifixion as an event separated from Easter. (Apparently, to this day Good Friday is a much more popular church going day in Germany than Easter Sunday). So also, the celebration of Easter was disconnected from Jesus’ Passion - the happiness of Easter about having moved beyond the intense grief and guilt (whereas the cross is meant as part of the good news!).
20th century - various churches (Lutheran, Presbyterian, Catholic, Methodist, Episcopal / Anglican) begin to recover the tradition of the Three Days - with the way Jesus’ death, resurrection, and our transformation are held together in one joyful event. Where the medieval traditions of Holy Week focused on the life of Jesus, this older tradition “stresses instead that the church is the community born again by the resurrection of Christ, who annually renews its commitment to the baptized life.”
 | |
| "Fire" by Chelsea Curtis |
“Rejoice, now, all heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels! Exult, all creation around God's throne! Jesus Christ is risen! Celebrate the divine mysteries with exultation; and for so great a victory, sound the trumpet of salvation. Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendor, radiant in the brightness of your king!
Christ has conquered! Glory fills you! Darkness vanishes forever!
The gathering becomes a procession, to where the stories will be heard (for us, the fellowship hall) - the great stories about new life, the kind children are likely to hear first: the creation of the world, Pharaoh chasing Israel through the sea, Noah’s ark are some of the possibilities. We’ll hear four, not so much read as conveyed through story in fun ways by our Sunday School - and sung, with the help of choir and folkjammers. Then, it’s time for the main event. We process into the sanctuary, singing the first “Alleluias,” to hear the Easter Gospel, and to celebrate Baptism.
 | |
| Photo by Chelsea Curtis |
In the early church (at least in the West), the day before Easter was the most important day for Baptisms - or even to remember, as Paul says: “we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” At St Luke, there will be people joining the church on this day. All the stories, about God’s creation and care for us, the defeat of darkness, turns out to lead into what God does for us, in our lives!
So, does all this sound familiar? Maybe not - since it’s only been about 30-40 years that Lutherans have begun to reclaim this tradition, and these things take a while to catch on! (see “history of Easter” pg 3) Why the Vigil? One of the key factors was the realization that we no longer live in a culture where pretty much everyone goes to church. As it turns out, our “main event,” Easter - isn’t just for “insiders” but all about how God embraces people from all walks of life - not just crowded in the pew on Sunday morning, but reborn in the waters of Baptism and the family of faith.
Evangelism isn’t just about conveying the bullet points of Christian teaching, but joining together as we are immersed in the stories, symbols and experiences of Christ’s Spirit. One of our oldest traditions is this “crash course” in Christian teaching AND experience that we know as Holy Week.. Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter in particular were traditionally thought of as one worship service that went for three days, the “Triduum.” The symbols include darkness, light, fire, a meal, a bath, tree and garden, and more - in the presence of a loving family. The stories we’ll hear include creation, exodus, passover, the prophecies of the Messiah, the last supper, Jesus’ command to love one another, the passion and execution of Jesus, and his resurrection.
So join us! Get acquainted or reacquainted with God’s love for us in Christ.
A history of Holy Week
Source: Gail Ramshaw and Mons Teig, Using Evangelical Worship Volume Three: Keeping Time: the Church’s Years. Augsburg, 2009. pg 94ff
Early church - by middle of the second century, Christians celebrate “Pascha,” meaning “Passover,” connecting the lamb eaten by the Israelites about the flee Egypt with Jesus as the lamb of God slain to save us. By late second and third centuries, the focus of Pascha shifts to the story of the crossing of the Red Sea, connecting this event to Jesus’ resurrection and our Baptism. So the Jewish seder had evolved into the Christian vigil of Easter. By the fourth century, this Vigil was drawn out into the “Three Days”: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Vigil - seen as one worship event, focused around welcoming new people into the church through Baptism. (Palm Sunday seems to have appeared in the late 4th century).
Middle ages - the speedy baptism of infants throughout the year (maybe threatened by infant mortality) disconnects Baptism from Christ’s resurrection. Rich liturgical practice gets moved to the monasteries and convents. More focus put on the sufferings of Christ, attention to personal sin (and private penitence) rather than assembly worship. New rituals spring up, especially in the late middle ages: “Stations of the Cross” (Franciscan), “Tenebrae” (Monastic), “Three hours” (Peruvian Jesuit) - many of these rituals focusing on Jesus’ crucifixion as an event separated from Easter. (Apparently, to this day Good Friday is a much more popular church going day in Germany than Easter Sunday). So also, the celebration of Easter was disconnected from Jesus’ Passion - the happiness of Easter about having moved beyond the intense grief and guilt (whereas the cross is meant as part of the good news!).
20th century - various churches (Lutheran, Presbyterian, Catholic, Methodist, Episcopal / Anglican) begin to recover the tradition of the Three Days - with the way Jesus’ death, resurrection, and our transformation are held together in one joyful event. Where the medieval traditions of Holy Week focused on the life of Jesus, this older tradition “stresses instead that the church is the community born again by the resurrection of Christ, who annually renews its commitment to the baptized life.”
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Getting in tune with one another
At a recent retreat, church council members and liaisonsvwere asked to think about experiences of transformation: when everything changed for me and I became a new person in some way. “What happened to enable or provoke this experience? Did it have anything to do with church? Faith? Compassion?”
These questions came out of a book we have been reading together, “Transforming Congregational Culture” by Anthony Robinson. Robinson talks about how churches once functioned as places to learn morality, to organize opportunities for charity, and especially as centers for family and community – all important roles, says Robinson, but today you can find these opportunities apart from the church. It’s time for us to reclaim
the church’s central mission: to help each other find new life – “transformation”- together in God’s grace.
That day at the retreat council members began sharing stories of transformation, whether in their own lives related to work and relationships, or even what people have seen happen at St Luke through God’s power. Time ran out pretty quickly. We just scratched the surface. And how many more powerful stories are there to hear at St Luke? That question was raised in other ways as the conversation turned to planning. “Do we really know what people at St Luke are experiencing? What they might be struggling with, or what God has to do with it?” We talked about ideas for a new Women’s Bible Study and a way for young parents to get connected. One of our youngest council members even expressed interest in doing a St Luke History project – interviewing some of our long time members, recording stories of hard and inspiring times, as a way to understand the community better and feel more at home.
When I hear your “testimony” about how you experienced God present or absent, I see my own experience in a new light – that itself can be transforming. How can we learn to do this better?
Let “transformation” be the theme for Lent and Holy Week this year. Indeed, from the beginning the purpose of Lent was to encourage new “catechumens” to seek new life, so they could understand what they were saying at their baptism (at the Easter Vigil): “I renounce the devil … I believe in God.” In this spirit, during Lenten soup suppers we’ll ask five people to share their testimonies of transformation.
In general, as a Pastor I have come to believe that the experiences and the questions that are most powerful – that people most need to hear – are often also the hardest things to say. God give us the voice to say these stories and insights, and the ears to listen!
These questions came out of a book we have been reading together, “Transforming Congregational Culture” by Anthony Robinson. Robinson talks about how churches once functioned as places to learn morality, to organize opportunities for charity, and especially as centers for family and community – all important roles, says Robinson, but today you can find these opportunities apart from the church. It’s time for us to reclaim
the church’s central mission: to help each other find new life – “transformation”- together in God’s grace.
That day at the retreat council members began sharing stories of transformation, whether in their own lives related to work and relationships, or even what people have seen happen at St Luke through God’s power. Time ran out pretty quickly. We just scratched the surface. And how many more powerful stories are there to hear at St Luke? That question was raised in other ways as the conversation turned to planning. “Do we really know what people at St Luke are experiencing? What they might be struggling with, or what God has to do with it?” We talked about ideas for a new Women’s Bible Study and a way for young parents to get connected. One of our youngest council members even expressed interest in doing a St Luke History project – interviewing some of our long time members, recording stories of hard and inspiring times, as a way to understand the community better and feel more at home.
When I hear your “testimony” about how you experienced God present or absent, I see my own experience in a new light – that itself can be transforming. How can we learn to do this better?
Let “transformation” be the theme for Lent and Holy Week this year. Indeed, from the beginning the purpose of Lent was to encourage new “catechumens” to seek new life, so they could understand what they were saying at their baptism (at the Easter Vigil): “I renounce the devil … I believe in God.” In this spirit, during Lenten soup suppers we’ll ask five people to share their testimonies of transformation.
In general, as a Pastor I have come to believe that the experiences and the questions that are most powerful – that people most need to hear – are often also the hardest things to say. God give us the voice to say these stories and insights, and the ears to listen!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
What’s evangelism, and how are we doing it?
It’s a question that’s come up fairly frequently in conversation lately, which is a good thing! “Sharing the joy of faith” and “welcoming all” are all part of our mission statement. Since we’ve begun to hear from Matthew’s Gospel again this year - let’s get back “in tune” with an important evangelism text, the “Great Commission,” and notice some things:
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’ (the very end of Matthew’s Gospel, chapter 28)
1). Evangelism is not the same as outreach. “Outreach,” as I hear the word used, means a church’s general effort to engage and serve people. Hosting a neighborhood watch meeting or inviting someone to a church activity can all be part of the foundational work of building relationships. Evangelism, however, involves relating to one another on a different level - getting involved with one another in the activities of “making disciples,” “baptizing” and “teaching to obey Jesus.” Where the focus is on outreach alone it can makes of the church a community center or club, which can be a good thing, but not the main thing. As Anthony Robinson puts it - in a book council is reading together - even if the past churches could function this way, in this era, there are many possible ways people can find community. The church would do well to reclaim its primary purpose of seeking life change and transformation together in the good news of God.
2). It’s not about expert Christians teaching beginners, but God’s claim and gifts for each of us. That is to say, evangelism centers around Baptism, something many Protestant Christians neglect. Even when a child is baptized, we say “let your light so shine …” God has “lit” something in that child that we need to see, and that only she can show us: even as an infant, she’s not just “student” but “teacher!” Paul says “to each is given a manifestation of the spirit for the common good.”(see 1st Corinthians 12) I’m sure many of us who have talked about faith with visitors have been amazed as I have at the kind of insight and questions people bring to our community. “Questions” are maybe more important to share than answers. As you will notice above, the commission to evangelize isn’t just give to those who are certain and advanced in the faith - but to those who doubt even as they stand before the Jesus risen from the dead!
3). Evangelism is something we do together. Just as at the Last Supper, here also Jesus commissions not just individuals, but the whole group of disciples together. Evangelism sounds scary if we think of it as something we’re supposed to do alone “out there” in the world. But part of the good news we have to share is the presence of a whole family of forgiven sinners, there to support us and learn with us. If you want a primary “snapshot” of evangelism, picture the people of St Luke gathered around in support of people being baptized or affirming their baptism, saying together the Apostles Creed. At a conference Pastors Hillesland recently hosted in Chatsworth, worship teacher shared passionately how important it is that we involve many members as sponsors and catechists for each visitor - as we do in Sanctuary - not settling with just a “pastor’s class.”
So how are we doing evangelism at St Luke? Certainly in many ways that go unseen - in the way people are welcomed, comforted in grief, invited to talk or sing about faith and God - from coffee hour to choir to prayer group. As you read further in this Chatter, see also description of Santcuary and Your Kingdom Come (which is focused precisely on what it means to ‘obey Jesus’).
New this year: a different approach to Lent and Holy Week, and a new service. In the early church, Holy Week - stretching from Palm Sunday to Easter - was centered on baptism. The celebration wasn’t just Jesus’ death and resurrection in abstract, but as Paul says, that in fact “we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” The season of Lent was all about evangelism, the preparation of candidates for baptism.
We seek to regain that emphasis this year, as we shape Holy Week around a new, “kid friendly” and very dramatic worship service - the Easter Vigil on Saturday (the day before Easter Sunday), with baptisms and affirmation of baptism (new members). Mark your calendars now!
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’ (the very end of Matthew’s Gospel, chapter 28)
1). Evangelism is not the same as outreach. “Outreach,” as I hear the word used, means a church’s general effort to engage and serve people. Hosting a neighborhood watch meeting or inviting someone to a church activity can all be part of the foundational work of building relationships. Evangelism, however, involves relating to one another on a different level - getting involved with one another in the activities of “making disciples,” “baptizing” and “teaching to obey Jesus.” Where the focus is on outreach alone it can makes of the church a community center or club, which can be a good thing, but not the main thing. As Anthony Robinson puts it - in a book council is reading together - even if the past churches could function this way, in this era, there are many possible ways people can find community. The church would do well to reclaim its primary purpose of seeking life change and transformation together in the good news of God.
2). It’s not about expert Christians teaching beginners, but God’s claim and gifts for each of us. That is to say, evangelism centers around Baptism, something many Protestant Christians neglect. Even when a child is baptized, we say “let your light so shine …” God has “lit” something in that child that we need to see, and that only she can show us: even as an infant, she’s not just “student” but “teacher!” Paul says “to each is given a manifestation of the spirit for the common good.”(see 1st Corinthians 12) I’m sure many of us who have talked about faith with visitors have been amazed as I have at the kind of insight and questions people bring to our community. “Questions” are maybe more important to share than answers. As you will notice above, the commission to evangelize isn’t just give to those who are certain and advanced in the faith - but to those who doubt even as they stand before the Jesus risen from the dead!
3). Evangelism is something we do together. Just as at the Last Supper, here also Jesus commissions not just individuals, but the whole group of disciples together. Evangelism sounds scary if we think of it as something we’re supposed to do alone “out there” in the world. But part of the good news we have to share is the presence of a whole family of forgiven sinners, there to support us and learn with us. If you want a primary “snapshot” of evangelism, picture the people of St Luke gathered around in support of people being baptized or affirming their baptism, saying together the Apostles Creed. At a conference Pastors Hillesland recently hosted in Chatsworth, worship teacher shared passionately how important it is that we involve many members as sponsors and catechists for each visitor - as we do in Sanctuary - not settling with just a “pastor’s class.”
So how are we doing evangelism at St Luke? Certainly in many ways that go unseen - in the way people are welcomed, comforted in grief, invited to talk or sing about faith and God - from coffee hour to choir to prayer group. As you read further in this Chatter, see also description of Santcuary and Your Kingdom Come (which is focused precisely on what it means to ‘obey Jesus’).
New this year: a different approach to Lent and Holy Week, and a new service. In the early church, Holy Week - stretching from Palm Sunday to Easter - was centered on baptism. The celebration wasn’t just Jesus’ death and resurrection in abstract, but as Paul says, that in fact “we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” The season of Lent was all about evangelism, the preparation of candidates for baptism.
We seek to regain that emphasis this year, as we shape Holy Week around a new, “kid friendly” and very dramatic worship service - the Easter Vigil on Saturday (the day before Easter Sunday), with baptisms and affirmation of baptism (new members). Mark your calendars now!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Salt and Light
Because of God’s generosity at work through you, we have a shiny new, truly “grand” piano: 6’1”, full to the brim with hammers, piano wire, pedals, keys and such. It’s a complex instrument (it’s hard enough for me to tune eight mandolin strings!), yet from Mozart to Monk, I think of how simple the most captivating piano lines can sound. How can something so big sound so small?
Take the piano as a symbol for the church. Think of what a complex lot Jesus’ followers have been - even when he appears raised from the dead, some doubt. (Matthew 28) And yet, earlier in the story, when Jesus first tells us “who we are” as his followers, “tunes us in” to what we’re supposed to be and do, he makes it sound so simple, even small: “you are salt” and “you are light.” (From the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5) If being Christian seems more complicated than that, maybe we’ve lost sight of our true calling?
In our three year cycle of Bible readings in worship, this year we hear from Matthew’s Gospel. This January and February, we hear from the Sermon on the Mount, which you could say is Jesus’ “Discipleship 101” teachings. I suggest that during worship and between services, we take some time to focus again on these teachings, and in particular the images of salt and light, as a way of understanding our calling today in the world.
More about salt and light, from Matthew Chapter 5
“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.”
The point of salt is to season. It’s got to get out of the shaker onto the meat, as we disciples are sent out into the earth. Then again, salt is supposed to be salty. Our role “out there” in the world isn’t to fit in, but to be distinct, set apart (“holy”) from the people around us: in our way of life, in what we want, what we think. It’s the contrast between the sharp bite of the salt and the plain dough that makes the pretzel tasty.
I think of your inspiring stories about living faith in the world, challenged to “go against the grain” of our culture and to live with life’s struggles. Do we have opportunities to talk to each other about God and daily life, to support each other in our “saltiness” - our distinctness? Lately, we’ve been trying to point out what may set us apart, the generosity you show through the world hunger appeal, Lutheran Malaria Initiative, Loaves and Fishes and other ventures. Do we as a congregation know how our neighbors effected by the salty presence of St Luke, and how would we find out and build on that?
‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
Salt is cast out, light attracts (see Isaiah 61). We have something to show. As evangelists, it’s not just about what we have to say, but what our actions say: “that they m
Take the piano as a symbol for the church. Think of what a complex lot Jesus’ followers have been - even when he appears raised from the dead, some doubt. (Matthew 28) And yet, earlier in the story, when Jesus first tells us “who we are” as his followers, “tunes us in” to what we’re supposed to be and do, he makes it sound so simple, even small: “you are salt” and “you are light.” (From the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5) If being Christian seems more complicated than that, maybe we’ve lost sight of our true calling?
In our three year cycle of Bible readings in worship, this year we hear from Matthew’s Gospel. This January and February, we hear from the Sermon on the Mount, which you could say is Jesus’ “Discipleship 101” teachings. I suggest that during worship and between services, we take some time to focus again on these teachings, and in particular the images of salt and light, as a way of understanding our calling today in the world.
More about salt and light, from Matthew Chapter 5
“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.”
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| Photo by Mark Schellhase (Own work) via Wikimedia Commons |
I think of your inspiring stories about living faith in the world, challenged to “go against the grain” of our culture and to live with life’s struggles. Do we have opportunities to talk to each other about God and daily life, to support each other in our “saltiness” - our distinctness? Lately, we’ve been trying to point out what may set us apart, the generosity you show through the world hunger appeal, Lutheran Malaria Initiative, Loaves and Fishes and other ventures. Do we as a congregation know how our neighbors effected by the salty presence of St Luke, and how would we find out and build on that?
‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
 |
Photo by C. Frank Starmer, via http://frank.itlab.us/photo_essays/ |
ay see your good works,” not works that make us look virtuous or praiseworthy, but works that inspire glorification of God. When Jesus commissions his disciples after his resurrection (more about this next month) he doesn’t say “teach them,” he says “teach them to obey.” Show em’ how it’s done - not “what we can accomplish,” more “who we can point to by what we do.” Love of enemies and prayer may not accomplish much, but they witness to something.
You have seen these deeds in one another, even if we are still beginners. God has lit the lamp in us, and it needs to be seen!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Books about the life of the church today
It's no secret that the Christian Church is no longer the well established institution it once was – (well, maybe in the Bible Belt but not California!). So what's the way forward? Different approaches in the past fifty years have included a focus on fostering healthy social dynamics or utilizing the best in business and management practices. As important as these approaches may be, some of the most exciting conversations today are about finding the heart of our needed renewal within Christian faith itself, with its tradition, wisdom and practices. Our council and liaisons are reading two very good books that have emerged from this “missional church” conversation:
Diana Butler Bass' book Christianity for the Rest of Us: How the Neighborhood Church Is Transforming the Faith is being read by our three ministry liaisons (Judy, Lisa and Linda). A couple of years ago, a few of us reading an earlier book by the same author, called the “Practicing Congregation.” Bass studied fifty mainline congregations (Lutheran, Episcopal, Presbyterian, etc..) and says: “I do not deny that mainline Protestantism is in trouble. Some of its institutions, unresponsive to change, are probably beyond hope of recovery or repair. I also believe, however, that lively faith is not located in buildings, programs, organizations, or structures. Rather, spiritual vitality lives in human beings; it is located in the heart of God's people and the communities they form. At the edges of mainline institutional decay, some remarkable congregations are finding new ways of being faithful – ways that offer hope to Americans who want to be Christian but are wary of the religion found in those suburban megachurches.” She tells inspiring stories of churches practicing hospitality, discernment, healing, contemplation, testimony, diversity, justice, worship, reflection and beauty.
Anthony B. Robinson's Transforming Congregational Culture is a book that focuses more on church leadership itself. It is being read by our council. “Programmatic change is not enough. Restructuring is not enough. Neither will go deep enough … Change in the internal life, self-perceptions, and culture of the congregation will be necessary if it is to respond to these shifts in the community.” Chapters include “From Civic Faith to Human Transformation. From Assuming the Goods to Delivering the Goods. Congregational Spirituality: From Givers to Receivers Who Give. From Board Culture to Ministry Culture. From Democracy to Discernment. The Budget: From Ends to Means. From Fellowship to Hospitality.”
Both books are readily available from Amazon and other sources – let us know if you'd like to read along and join in on the discussion!
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