Tag Archives: Reformed Theology

Holding the frame in a new time: the example of Elkanah

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Flight into Egypt Fra Angelico (1387-1455, Italian)

Well, it is New Year’s Day, and the first Sunday after Christmas. In much of the country it was simply awful yesterday. The usual celebrations were cancelled — as Neil Reid reports:

In a year blighted by natural disasters, mother nature was unrelenting to the end, with several New Year’s Eve celebrations cancelled as rain lashed the country.

Campsites were flooded and rain contributed to carnage on the roads. There was also a near-miss for two people whose car was swept into a river near Whangamata.

However, it was fine in Dunedin. I had to break out the Tilley Hat: something I avoid because the thing is ugly, but I needed the shade when walking. In the forests above Dunedin. Besides this, there is some good news in the papers this morning: the suicide rate went down and this is attributed by a worker to increased social cohesion during the rugby world cup and christchurch earthquakes. As a researcher, I’d need to look at the data (for there is a secular trend in NZ that is decreasing suicide rates anyway. As a clinician, I am just happy. For every suicide is a tragedy.

Another bit of good news, from my point of view, is that my favourite left radical had but one of then of his wishes from last year fulfilled. I wish Matt well: he was extremely sick last year and I hope he is able to write a similar column next year.

This is a Sunday, and thus there are two sets of readings. This is from the standard set:

1 Samuel 1:1-2, 7b-28

1There was a certain man of Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham son of Elihu son of Tohu son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2He had two wives; the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

7bTherefore Hannah wept and would not eat. 8Her husband Elkanah said to her, “‘Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? Why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?”

9After they had eaten and drunk at Shiloh, Hannah rose and presented herself before the Lord. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. 10She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord, and wept bitterly. 11She made this vow: “O Lord of hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you as a nazirite until the day of his death. He shall drink neither wine nor intoxicants, and no razor shall touch his head.”

12As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. 13Hannah was praying silently; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard; therefore Eli thought she was drunk. 14So Eli said to her, “How long will you make a drunken spectacle of yourself? Put away your wine.” 15But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman deeply troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. 16Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation all this time.” 17Then Eli answered, “Go in peace; the God of Israel grant the petition you have made to him.” 18And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your sight.” Then the woman went to her quarters, ate and drank with her husband, and her countenance was sad no longer.

19They rose early in the morning and worshipped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. Elkanah knew his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. 20In due time Hannah conceived and bore a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, “I have asked him of the Lord.”

21The man Elkanah and all his household went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice, and to pay his vow. 22But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, that he may appear in the presence of the Lord, and remain there for ever; I will offer him as a nazirite for all time.” 23Her husband Elkanah said to her, “Do what seems best to you, wait until you have weaned him; only — may the Lord establish his word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son, until she weaned him. 24When she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine. She brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh; and the child was young. 25Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli. 26And she said, “Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord. 27For this child I prayed; and the Lord has granted me the petition that I made to him. 28Therefore I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives, he is given to the LORD.“

Many, many sermons have been written about Hannah. But not much is said about Elkanah. For he was her husband, and the father of the last and greatest of the judges, Samuel. We are aware that he was a man of the LORD. He did not worship other Gods, and he kept the law. We are also aware that he loved his wife. He did not despise her because Hannah did not have children (though her sister-wife did). He was a man of wealth: the sacrifices he gave were not the minimal. Compare this to what Mary ahd Joseph offered when they (as people who followed the Law) went to dedicate Jesus

Luke 2:22-24

22When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23(as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), 24and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons.”

And… he allowed Hannah’s vow to stand. The Law was clear on this: A husband could disavow the vow of his wife. The child needed to be dedicated to the LORD, true, because he was the first born. But this did not mean that the child served in the temple for most. Jesus did not: he went and learnt a trade from his father. Hannah made two vows — they were in addition to the usual — that her child would serve at the temple and that he would be a Nazirite (a vow that is allowed in the Law for a period of specail devotion and purity) from birth. Elkanah let this stand. And once they had agreed to this course of action, Elkahah and Hannah did what they had promised.

Now, what should we take from this? Three suggestions.

  1. Firstly, we should respect the fervour of women. This does not mean that we should be ruled by it. The priest was correct to question what Hannah was doing. We do not want drunken promises, out of control worship, or people to be ruled by their emotions. But the prayers of women, particularly for their children, are not to be despised. There is a risk for us men here, for there are a large number of  very silly and misguided women out there — many now in positions of leadership or influence — who do not think things through in a rational way, follow their instincts (when we should modifiy our behaviour so we neither damage ourselves or others(. We then discount the women of faith. And that has always been an error.
  2. We need to honour our word, and keep frame. I better explain this a little. The term  comes from supportive therapy. You set up a contract that you will be available at appointed times — and during that time you will listen. You will not act, and you won’t put your stuff (technially, project your conter transference) onto the client. It is a professional relationship with fairly strong rules around it. For some it is a secular ritual. But, as a therapist, you do not change. You are there. You hold the anxiety, fear, hatred, love, loathing and despair the person has and you do not act on it. The second that you appear to be fearful and out of control the entire experience of therapy becomes unsafe. Elkanah. held frame. He loved his wife, not because she had given him ten sons (I love the hyperbole) but because he had chosen to love her. When she would not eat and cried, he still loved her. And when she made the vow, he listened, decided it was right, and then bent the habits and rituals of the family for that period — and only for that reason. Elkanah is an example of male leadership within the family. This allowed Hannah to grieve, to experience joy: for Elkanah made it safe for her.
  3. Thirdly, all three adults in the family (Hannah, Peninnah and Elkanah) worshipped the LORD in a planned manner. They did not wait for the spirit to spontenously arrive. Here I think Barna is making an error in his criticism of the methods of worship we have.  The very structure of worship (and he is correct, the protestant service is a modification of a late medieval mass: we spend too much money on churches when we should hire halls: and scripture has but some very simple rules on worship). allows us to work through the task of worship in a planned manner.

There is a reason that I use the lectionary and daily readings here. It is not because I have taken a vow to read the missal, or to do morning and evening prayers. For many years I did not do this: I read the bible, chapters at a time.  But the structure of the lectionary is useful. The structure of our services is useful.

So what am I wishing for those who read this? Well, again, I am borrowing from the lectionary.

Colossians 1:9-20W

9 For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. 11May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully 12giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Happy and blessed new year everyone, May you keep your covenants and vows, and may this year be one of joy and growth.

Power and Stumbling.

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There is a lot of newsworthiness in being contrary. A few examples over the last days… such as charity being bad because it destroys dignity. (Yes, Charity requires you accept what you have not earnt, and that destroys self worth (which is what the author meant) and builds humility). Or pretending that child abuse is not an issue in certain groups (in New Zealand, Maori) and calling any discussion of this racist. Again, it is not about preserving the feelings of adults. It is about preserving the welfare of the little ones.

For in todays reading Jesus says that the angels protecting children are always before God.

Matthew 18:1-14

1At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2He called a child, whom he put among them, 3and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

6“If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea. 7Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling block comes!

8“If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and to be thrown into the eternal fire. 9And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into the hell of fire.

10“Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven. 12What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.

So what are the stumbling blocks I need to be aware of? I don’t beat my kids into a pulp. But at times I am less holy than I ought to be — and my boys see that. I don’t pretend that I am a ruler of the church or in the kingdom — but I am going to work today, where I run (or rule) an acute psychiatric ward. I cannot pretend that I am without power.

And to offend… these little ones, puts one at risk of great punishment. Calvin notes.

But whosoever shall offend one of those little ones. This appears to be added for the consolation of the godly, that they may not be rendered uneasy by their condition, if they are despised by the world. It is a powerful obstruction to the voluntary exercise of modesty, when they imagine, that by so doing they expose themselves to contempt; and it is hard to be not only treated disdainfully, but almost trodden under foot, by haughty men. Christ therefore encourages his disciples by the consoling truth, that, if their mean condition draws upon them the insults of the world, God does not despise them.

But he appears to have had likewise another object in view; for a dispute had arisen amongst them as to the first place of honor, from which it might naturally have been inferred that the Apostles were tainted with sinful ambition. Every man who thinks too highly of himself, or desires to be preferred to others, must necessarily treat his brethren with disdain. To cure this disease, Christ threatens a dreadful punishment, if any man in his pride shall throw down those who are oppressed with poverty, or who in heart are already humbled.

Under the word offend he includes more than if he had forbidden them to despise their brethren; though the man who gives himself no concern about offending the weak, does so for no other reason, than because he does not render to them the honor to which they are entitled. Now as there are various kinds of offenses, it will be proper to explain generally what is meant by offending If any man through our fault either stumbles, or is drawn aside from the right course, or retarded in it, we are said to offend him. 504 Whoever then desires to escape that fearful punishment which Christ denounces, let him stretch out his hand to the little ones who are despised by the world, and let him kindly assist them in keeping the path of duty; for Christ recommends them to our notice, that they may lead us to exercise voluntary humility; as Paul enjoins the children of God to

condescend to men of low estate, (Ro 12:16,)

and again says that

we ought not to please ourselves, (Ro 15:1.)

To hang a millstone about a man’s neck, and drown him in the sea, was the punishment then reckoned the most appalling, and which was inflicted on the most atrocious malefactors. When our Lord alludes to this punishment, we are enabled to perceive how dear and precious those persons are in the sight of God, who are mean and despised in the eyes of the world.

Now how do we offend? I do not think this is about feelings. I think it is about disrespecting the status of the poor, the downtrodden and oppressed, as adults. As equals. Adults do not need protection from harsh words, or being told “No, you cannot afford this”. Adults have a role — to protect their little ones. Adults need to work — to provide for their children, to improve their community, to ensure that the little ones are protected, safe and growing.

We spend too much time being careful about what we say, and not dealing with problems in our society. Among Maori, some leaders acknowledge there is a problem with violence. If you do not name the problem, confess the problem, you leave a stumbling block. And when people in power prevent this, there is a great evil — as Calvin points out, Jesus teaches this, by alluding to a terrible punishment.

NOTE ON IF YOUR HAND OFFENDS YOU. Jesus teaches by parable and hyperbole. He does not command us to take those who lie and drown them. In the same way, he does not command us to cut various parts of our anatomy off, What he commands is that we examine ourselves, and surrender all of our lives to him. Which is as painful, at times, as having an amputation without anaesthesia.

Mary, the most blessed of women.

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Today we discussed a forbidden topic among the reformed in Church. And that is Mary.

Luke 1:46b-55

46b My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
50 His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,
55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

In the reformation, the doctrines of Mary being without sin and ascending to heaven were rejected. Instead, Mary is fully human, a young Jewish woman, probably in her teenage years, betrothed (and preparing) for a marriage that was arranged with Joseph.

But she saw the child within her as the saviour of Israel and herself. She carried Jesus. We are to note that of all women she is accounted as the most blessed.

But in her lifetime… her husband died (which is what most commentators beleive — Jesus on the cross told John to look after her). Jesus Brothers went on in ministry — but even then, they were martyred. Do the math. If we say that Mary was ay 156 or 17 when she conceived by the spirit of God Jesus, and he lived 33 -34 years, at around my age (51) she was standing watching her first child be crucified.

Mary reminds us that the external signs of prosperity are not what God calls blessed. He chose a woman from the most marginal and dspised region — Galilee — and from a poor family. Mary may have been related to a priest’s wife, but she was going to marry a tradesman. She reminds us that Godly and blessed women still marry, still live within those walls — in fact it is significant that she DID marry — unlike most Female saints, who chose not to. Like most Jews, she was too sensible to see God as her boyfriend, but as the almighty.

If you compare her hymn (which is the text) and the prophets, you can see that see shes that the coming of the kingdom will be about justice. And this justice is something that all will plead for. And although Mary is fallen, she allowed the incarnation, and that makes her blessed.

As we are if we work for liberation, and freedom of the oppressed. Which takes me from Pergolesi to Gorecki, From the mother standing at the cross to a child awaiting death.

Confrontation is needed, or people get lost.

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We have a duty to correct one another. Sometimes this is about trivial things — such as my tendency to play Ani diFranco (who once satirised feminists as “those righteous babes that have their panties on too tight”: my habit of reading the Spectator, and liking (some) Americans.
However, those are trivial. Much more important is confronting the entrenched biases within the church that put women on a pedestal (bad for them) and men in the outhouse (worse, because they leave), water down the gospel, and do not confront when we sin.
Because Jesus does not want any of the flock lost

Matthew 18:10-20

10“Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven. 12What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.

15“If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. 16But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 18Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

Now there is a lot in this passage. There is a clear instruction that you do not need a quorum, or a bishop, or a structure to act in this manner. It is the duty of all to correct. What has tended to happen is that it is dumped onto the professionals and hierarchies — to the ridiculous situation where the Pope is blamed for events that happened 20 years ago that he was opposing (as a priest and theologian), frequently in dioceses that were ignoring the teaching of the pope and were functionally not merely protestant but heretical. Or blaming the moderator of the Presbyterian Church for events when it is a post you hold for but one year.

The church in the West is corrupt and flawed. Across many or most branches. Our errors include:

  • A tolerance of divorce and other sexual sin.
  •  We tolerate people,and praise them as successes, who succeed in businesses that harm or damage people. We may shun slavers and pornographers, but accept those that oppress their workers or charge usurious rates of interest.
  • A weakening of the gospel. No one preaches the hard passages. No one talks about hell. Jesus is not seen as a man opening a way for us to reconcile from our inevitable damnation through his death and resurrection but as a good teacher. There is a move to functional unitarianism and reducing Christianity to the level of Buddhism — a good philosophy that increases your happiness rather than the means of salvation.
  • A lack of external witness. The church is always being broken by scandals. We need to be influencing the culture around us by our behaviour (from fidelity and modesty to financial probity) not be shunted to one side because of the bad behaviour of a minority.
  • A move to what C. S. Lewis called “Christianity and”.  Socialist Christians. Feminist Christians. Conservative Christians. Traditionalist Christians. If the ideology is greater than the faith and all the hard sayings in the gospel — indeed the gospel itself — is filtered by the ideology, one is in error. And yes, there is now a Men’s Rights version of this, which can equally be an error.
  • A lack of reading. We have two thousand years of writings from believers who had to work through the difficulties of that day. We have their writings. We can use their writings as a check on our behaviour and work out how to deal with issues because what we face has come before and will come again. This is the reason that I quote from Calvin so much — it is online and he was living in  a self ruling city, facing some of the same issues. It is the reason that the Catholics look at the church fathers so much (Calvin, by the way, does discuss the church fathers extensively. Those who followed him less so.)

We need to regather the means of correction. Men don’t mind their brother doing this. Women have to learn to accept it from women. For none of us are completely pure. We all sin. We all are in error. The spirit is with the Church, true, but the church is not one person. It is people. And these people are commanded to correct each other.

On the notes I write.

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Dalrock once said that this blog is hard to categorize. He’s right. Some people blog on a theme. I don’t. I tend to blog about:

  • The lectionary
  • Church and Christian life
  • Behavioural science, psychology and psychiatry.
  • Politics from a conservative & liberterian position
  • Local and international news.

The postings are generally what I think is interesting this day. That would be the “brightness” in the title. This contrasts with my fairly pessimistic view of the future from an economic and political point of view. Like many Presbyterians, I do not see human beings as some form of angelic being that is perfectable. I see anything good as coming out of the grace of God. We have a reputation of being dour and bleak for a reason. Hence the word “Dark”.

I generally start with part of the lectionary. This is from today:

1 John 3:11-18

11For this is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12We must not be like Cain who was from the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. 13Do not be astonished, brothers and sisters, that the world hates you. 14We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15All who hate a brother or sister are murderers, and you know that murderers do not have eternal life abiding in them. 16We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us — and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. 17How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?

18Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.

via Daily Lectionary Readings — Devotions and Readings — Mission and Ministry — GAMC.

In my younger years I studied this — including reading it in Greek. Every time I read this I’m challenged. This piece leaves me dumb: it challenges me on if I am truly caring for those around me practically.

This piece is not about feelings, it is about getting results. But… it damns anyone who does nothing or sits and talks instead of acting. Blogging… a form of talking… can lead to this. The people I respect most are doing and reflecting on what they do: whether it is Alte home schooling challenging kids or Cameron raising money by being pummeled in Charity Boxing matches, or Daegus being a student in the People’s Republic of Toronto — they are acting to make change for the good.

About half the time I post on the lectionary.

The rest… is driven by the news, or what people are writing elsewhere.

This place is eclectic. I can’t see that changing.

On works (and love).

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I slept in this morning. I woke up, and rolled over. I stumbled out of bed at the same time Church was starting. (This is not difficult: the kirk community I belong to meets at 8:30 AM).

Talked to  the boys when they woke. We will go tonight… but looking at today’s readings. the vexed issue of works rises up again.

I John 2. 10,11

Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light, and in such a person there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates another believer is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know the way to go, because the darkness has brought on blindness

via Daily Lectionary Readings — Devotions and Readings — Mission and Ministry — GAMC.

This is where we have to be so careful. We must be honest, discreet, wise, trustworthy and caring. The term love here implies wanting the best for everyone.

This is extremely hard. You have to let the fruit of bitterness and hurt go: if you want the best for a person — indeed someone who has deeply hurt you — you have to lose the hurt. This has been taken by some to mean that we should not be honest about the hurt.

I commented to a friend that I find it hard to go to places where my ex habitually goes and I used to go because it raises in me feelings of anger, resentment and bitterness. This includes the church where she used to go. When I visit that town, I worship with my parents. Elsewhere. Fellowshipping with her is hard.

I’m aware of the problems she has now and I hope that she can sort them out. I have offered to help her… .even though we are divorced, they would impact on me and the lads.  I truly hope that she finds happiness in celibacy or with someone else.  But it has taken four years to reach that point.

And we cannot drag our darkness into the light. We have to let it go.

Daily Lectionary Readings — Devotions and Readings — Ministries & Programs — GAMC

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We are commanded to love our neighbour. Not to cheat, steal and betray our neighbour. Not to do this to only the neighbours who are theologically or politically correct.

Romans 13

8Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbour as yourself.” 10Love does no wrong to a neighbour; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.

via Daily Lectionary Readings — Devotions and Readings — Ministries & Programs — GAMC.

We are told to keep short accounts: to not be in debt (that is under obligation). We are to do right. And… Paul is quoting a Rabbi, who when Jesus asked what was the greatest commandment, said love the LORD your God, and the second is love your neighbour as yourself. Jesus said he had answered rightly.

For believers, this has no limit. But we cannot force this on non believers. And, the very fact that Paul  has to say not to do these things… implies that they did happen.

And still happen. For we are fallen, and continue to make provision for the flesh.

Three dangers, no four

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There are three or four dangers here.

  • The danger of listening to reason and ignoring the suppositions behind it. It one supposes there is no need to invoke the deity — G_d is not on the playing field — the Bible is mere supersition, and is treated with contempt.
  • The Danger of listening overmuch to authority. I am responsible for my walk next to G_d (which is very intermittent). I cannot rely on the life of any pastor, any saint.
  • The Danger of ritual and tradition, no matter how beautiful, obscuring the need to rely on Jesus. This is the danger of religion, and it is real: If I keep Kosher, do not use a computer, live as a Mennonite… I am holy. (I am not holy. Only G_d is holy. I stumble towards my aspirations.) Our salvation relies on the cross.
  • There is a fourth problem. We can take on the rituals and prohibitions of the world. We can become too Green, to concerned with Social Justice — in the end because we think we can manage that which we cannot (I am speaking of the climate, on abolishing evil and inequality). We should do good, but the rituals of atonement such as carbon credits — add little, and, like the indulgences in Luther’s time, need to be condemned.

Colossians 2:8-23

8See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. 9For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority.

16Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. 17These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 18Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, dwelling on visions, puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking, 19and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God.

via PC(USA) – Devotions – Daily readings for Friday, April 23, 2010.

Basic morals. Broken.

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This is the base of our ethics. And it would be unpopular.

  • For G_d claims exclusivity — you cannot shake and bake your own G_d.
  • For G-d demands that all rest at least one day of seven.
  • For it is commanded that you respect your parents.

The no murder, theft and adultery were seen as self evident. Anyone who has lived through a broken marriage would agree with the last being there, but the current ethos celebrates being unfaithful.

There are arguments about untruthfulness, but not many argue about perjury being wrong. However, the 10th commandment gets us all. Drooling over, and wanting to get, our neighbours toys, not being content with our blessings, is sinful.

Exodus 20

1Then God spoke all these words: 2I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; 3you shall have no other gods before me.4You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, 6but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.7You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.8Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. 9Six days you shall labor and do all your work. 10But the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; you shall not do any work – you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. 11For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.12Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.13You shall not murder.14You shall not commit adultery.15You shall not steal.16You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.17You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

via PCUSA – Devotions – Daily readings for Today.

And we have entire industries that aim to make us covetous.

You see a person’s characther if they have power.

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Over history, people have returned to religion when times are bad. These times will come and have come.

1 Peter 4

7The end of all things is near; therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers. 8Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. 9Be hospitable to one another without complaining. 10Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. 11Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

12Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. 14If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you.

(The religion matters here — the burden for a green is much, much higher than a Muslim. And the burden on a Muslim is hard. Jesus’ burden is light). The real test is not when times are bad, but when you can say this:

Psalm 92

10But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox;you have poured over me fresh oil.

11My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.

Let us who have pray for protection from pride, from boasting in our power, for the powerless and poor see pride and boasting as a luxury. We are all dependant on G_d. The current circumstances are — in the long haul — ephemeral, for we do not survive a centurey (except rarely). And the economic,political  and moral  climate we are in changes from decade to decate.

Our job is to be faithful and bring glory. Even though are best is tarnished, we are continue in this.

via PCUSA – Devotions – Daily readings for Today.