Category Archives: Theology

Refprmed version of Christianity: hope injected into a broken world

Useful Christian Fools.

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St Clair Beach.

I generally blog in the morning. Now, my church has three congregations, and the one I go to is tailored for families of school children. Our service is over by 10. This means that the children in sports teams can go to both: that families have the day together — and, since we serve breakfast, that the parents have one less meal to consider on Sunday.

But when that church is closed we visit. Yesterday, we could not find Leith Valley (which is similar) and there were good reasons not to attend Highgate’s main congregation.

So we went to Knox. Knox is liberal. Knox however, has good music, and I know about half the choir. There were about 80 people there. The sermon was about following the star and not giving into hatred from those of other faiths and beleifs, but to see their wisdom. And one of the hymns praised Mohammed.

This left son angry. He hates Mohuammed. Becuase that bastard preaches execution and slavery to the infidel, Desctruction and persecution of the body of CHrist. As Mosab Yousef says, Allah is a thug, and Islam was a religion of thugs. (Warriers if you will, but functionally the same thing). Then the session clerk praised the Occupy Wall St demonstraters and prayed that they would show us the way forward.

I was left thinking useful idiots

Ephesians 4:1-16

1I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

7But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8Therefore it is said, “When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people.”

9(When it says, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) 11The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. 14We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. 15But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.

Now, we are called to keep the unity of the spirit in Love. But at the same time we disagree. Vigourously. Frequently. And when we do this, it is easy to take this personally. The distinction one has to make between beleif systems and people is important. For people are people. There are totally phoney evil people who are in out churches. And there are men and women living righteous lives who are not Christian. THere is a tag for this: Nihil ad hominem. Do not look at the person, look at the thoughts.

I have no argument with Knox caring for the poor. Knox is an elite church. The rich have a duty to be generous. (But not to lobby the government to be generous — the church is the appropriate channel for that). However, because that chruch is elite, they are infected with the culture of the elites in all its forms — from Bach to Socailism. An old saw says that the upper classes are communists, the middle classes Tory and the working class social democrat — and we are seeing this worked out here.

In fact, their broad minded empathy with people and their theological soft headedness (“God the life-bringer, love maker and pain-bearer” when the liturgy calls for “Father, Son and Holy Spirit”? Ewwww. the double entendres there… Yuk. I need some mind bleach) makes them very susceptible to the fashions of this world. They are immature. They are useful idiots.

Ideologies matter. Systematic theology matters. We can (and do) work together, and we can look at each other’s church history and the way they have worked out the meaning of Christ’s salvation… yes. But we need to do that from a position of knowledge and maturity.

Otherwise we will be right on, up to the miniute… and instantly irrelevant. My son hates that church. My love of Bach and choirs is not great enough to take us back.

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.

Goals should be written with pencil, not chiseled into stone.

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Today is December 31. End of the year, and the issue of New Year’s resolutions is coming up. Alte gives an example of how goal setting can work for you.. Now, there is a truth here. Setting goals, writing them down, helps concentrate the mind.

Last year I resolved to lose my excess weight and work out regularly. I’ve achieved that. I think that this year I’ll resolve to read a book every evening, and spend less time blogging. I’ve somehow slipped out of the book-reading habit, which is something I never thought possible. Hopefully, the blog will profit from my improved literacy through better articles, even as it suffers from my less frequent commenting.

But things happen. (As Cam Slater is showing, in today’s series of posts about what happened this here in NZ. We have had earthquakes, mining disasters, floods, an election, and we are watching the global economy crunch in slow motion. We cannot control these things. So when we plan, we have to balance this.

James 4:13-17, 5:7-11

13Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money.” 14Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that.” 16As it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. 17Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, commits sin.

7Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. 8You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. 9Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! 10As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11Indeed we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

Goals for this year?

  • There are a pile of work related ones: I have enough projects to keep my going through 2012 and there is a long-term one that I need to research before committing to.them. In addition, my clinical workplace is moving from one hospital site to another.
  • From the fitness point of view, I want to run some trial runs/races. This requires quite a lot of gym time as I have chronic injuries (lots) & I need to be cautious.
  • Musically, I’ve committed to sitting viola exams, and I have to practice my fretted instruments as well.
  • Alte is challenging me on reading as I have been blogging too much and not reading enough.
  • And… I have to get kid one through NCEA II and kid two through Year 10. And support the Canadian family as well.  I need to get to one overseas meeting next year, and visit them during that.

But all the detailed plans have to be written in pencil. Written yes,  but I have to be able to let things go… the aims I have in January may not be able to be done this year. For instance, the running goal is the same as last year, but this year I managed to injure myself (again).

It is time to break out Google calendar, and start planning. But lightly. I literally don’t know what God has in store in the next decade. The one thing I do know is that things change.

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.

This makes my head hurt.

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Today is the last day of the Christmas break, and tomorrow I am back at work. However, while most of NZ is asleep… Christchurch is not, because they are still cleaning up. Before Christmas I was finding that the readings were concentrating on  Jesus acts of salvation. But today we move to something that is a little more difficult, and one of the reasons that at times the reformed get wrong.

1 John 5:1-5

1Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child. 2By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, 4for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. 5Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

I John can drive you crazy. You are aware that you fail. Daily. Yet we are told that we have the power to keep his commandments. It does not make sense.

The confessing churches talk about the power of the spirit to keep us from error, and the need for ongoing reflection, repentence and renewal — by rituals of confession — by corporate prayers of confession. We are encouraged to pray like this daily.

ALMIGHTY and most merciful Father; We have erred, and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; And we have done those things which we ought not to have done; And there is no health in us. But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders. Spare thou those, O God, who confess their faults. Restore thou those who are penitent; According to thy promises declared unto mankind In Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake; That we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, To the glory of thy holy Name. Amen.

In our struggles there is righteousness found. There is no point where we are perfect in this life.

Yet John says we can conquer the world. Some take this to mean that we  can acheive perfection.  I see this as an error — from the Cathars and the Gnostics to the Holiness movement — and a move away from our need to reform and renew. For when we confess our faith, we also confess our unworthiness, our imperfection, our ugliness… and mourn what we have lost and what we will only regain in Christ.

Geneologies.

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One of the things that matters in NZ is ancestry. Most Maori can recite their ancestry back to the mists of time. It matters. For the local people (Ngai Kahu) state “There is no Maori (the people) just iwi (tribe) and whanau (family group)“. If you are not of the blood of the tribe, you are not of the tribe. (Marrying in is allowed, but that is because your children are of the tribe). Since Ngai Kahu control millions and millions of dollars of assets (they intermarried with the Scots and are quite canny) this matters.

So to a Maori, this geneology, with its contractions… makes sense.


Luke 1:67-80

1An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

2Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, 4and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6and Jesse the father of King David.

And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 7and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, 8and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, 9and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, 11and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

12And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, and Salathiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob,16and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.

17So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.

Luke likes symmetry and numbers… yes. But let us look at some of the things we have forgotten which are in this, the geneology of our LORD.

  1. This list is of patriarchs. Of men. It is the geneology of Joseph, who traced himself through  Zerubabel (the governer who restored the temple) Jechoniah (the last king), David, jesse, Obed, Judah… Abraham.  The list contains heroes in the history of his tribe, his kingdom, his faith.
  2. Jesus could claim this geneology because Joseph was the husband of Mary. Luke has just spent most of the first chapter of his gospel describing Mary’s pregnancy — by the spirit. But the covenant of marriage, in which Jesus was born, meant that Joseph was accounted as his father, and that this is valid. It is thus who raised you that matters, not the blood line as such. (This is personally important: I am adopted and acknowledge my families history back to the Taranaki settlement when I have to  give a formal introduction on the Marae (formal meeting area run on Maori ceremonial rules).
  3. The list is not matrilineal. One woman is acknowledged — Mary. Now, Matthew acknowledges Rahab (who was a prostitute and hid Joshua’s spies when they visted Jericho), Ruth (who was a Moabite widow of Jewish exiles and Mary). The ancestry follows patrilineal lines. Again, my Maori friends understand this. They acknowledge both men and women… those who have served, those who were heroes, and those who led the family. But the main lineage is male.

Finally, both the geneologies are there to prove a point. Jesus is to be accounted in the line and geneology of David, from whom the Messiah was to come. Although he was to fulfil the law and move beyond the law, he had to meet the qualifications or fulfil the prophecies that were written and known about the Messiah. Paul comments on this…

Galatians 3:15-22

15Brothers and sisters, I give an example from daily life: once a person’s will has been ratified, no one adds to it or annuls it. 16Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring; it does not say, “And to offsprings,” as of many; but it says, “And to your offspring,” that is, to one person, who is Christ.17My point is this: the law,18For if the inheritance comes from the law, it no longer comes from the promise; but God granted it to Abraham through the promise.

19Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring would come to whom the promise had been made; and it was ordained through angels by a mediator. 20Now a mediator involves more than one party; but God is one.

21Is the law then opposed to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could make alive, then righteousness would indeed come through the law. 22But the scripture has imprisoned all things under the power of sin, so that what was promised through faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

The promises and inheritance of all those in faith are for Christ. Who chose to give them away… because the law is sufficient to condemn us, but not save us. That required that Christ not only intercede for us, but bleed and die for us.

The incarnation — the birth — the faithfulness of Mary and Joseph in raising this child — all was leading to a death some thirty-odd years later.  And in that death, the promises given to Abraham, and the faith that was shared down the geneology, has become the faith of all peoples, even the Ngai Kahu in antipodes.

(NB. I’m not Maori: I’m of English descent (with some Polish and French via Australia, according to my grandfather. One branch (maternal grandmother) settled in NZ in 1857 as part of the Taranki Military: she married a man whose father failed in farming in South Australia due to drought: her daugther married a man whose father had emigrated as a stable boy and married a woman whose family had been established in Auckland for at least three generations… they farmed. My parents met when they were both teaching.  He was Anglican, she was Presbyterian. Both had vibrant faith, and both are far more righteous than me. Our tribal roots may flow through, and the history of faith has to be acknowledged, but in Christ we are all of one generation: those who have gone before and those who follow).

 

Against a monopoly of discourse.

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The very idea of freedom of speech is a Christian one. It comes out of the attempts the puritans made to reform the Anglican church, the breakdown of cuis regius, cuis religionis during the 100 years war. There was an acceptance that free speech would allow the truth to be proclaimed… and unfree speech could shut it up.

For the truth needs no defence. Good speech drives out bad speech as light drives out dark. However my son has taken my e reader and is giggling as he reads Steyn. One of the points that Steyn makes… is that freedom if speech is lost. It has become rude, a social faux pas, ot not accept the current progressive shibboleths.

As the republic fades (Steyn’s point) ant the eurocrats destroy democracy (one of Cameron’s points, if he consciously made it). These are the times we are in. What are we to do?

Titus 2:11-3:8a

2:11For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, 12training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, 13while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. 14He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.

15Declare these things; exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one look down on you.

3:1Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show every courtesy to everyone. 3For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, despicable, hating one another. 4But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. 6This Spirit he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 8aThe saying is sure.

So we are to live Godly, sober and upright lives. There is no law against this. We are to be gentle… polite. But not silent. We are commanded to preach the gospel, in season and out of season. Titus is told to exhort believers to live a Christ-like life, for we are his witnesses in this world.

And at this time, the church needs to stand on issues. We need to give an alternative… to the current systems of courtship and marriage, to the failing systems of social welfare, against contentless education. We need to defend our faith, speak truth to power, defend beauty from modern “art”… and we need to speak against the euphemistic set of stultifying rules that limit our freedom to do so.

Submission.

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I have probably used the most dangerous word in the western world. Because submission is seen as something we have to do to external and anti christian forces… from Islam to militant humanism. But we are told to submit. That there are roles in our life that we have because of our sex, our age and because we are in families. SInce I cannot call my young, I have highlighted those bits that are the duties of the older person in the faith (noting that there is nothing here about eldership or being a bishop. This is for all in Christ).

Titus 2:1-10

1But as for you, teach what is consistent with sound doctrine. 2Tell the older men to be temperate, serious, prudent, and sound in faith, in love, and in endurance.

3Likewise, tell the older women to be reverent in behavior, not to be slanderers or slaves to drink; they are to teach what is good, 4so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5to be self-controlled, chaste, good managers of the household, kind, being submissive to their husbands, so that the word of God may not be discredited.

6Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. 7Show yourself in all respects a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, gravity, 8and sound speech that cannot be censured; then any opponent will be put to shame, having nothing evil to say of us.

9Tell slaves to be submissive to their masters and to give satisfaction in every respect; they are not to talk back, 10not to pilfer, but to show complete and perfect fidelity, so that in everything they may be an ornament to the doctrine of God our Savior.

Men are expected to have what the Romans called dignitas Seriousness, an awareness that there is a higher purpose in our life, and a sense of their mana or clout. But they are not to abuse this by losing their temper, by being oppressive, but to be temperate, balanced (the prime Roman virtue) and to let their righteousness exceed the stoics. Common sins for older men — despair and grumpy anger — are warned against.

Older women are to teach the younger how to love their husbands and children. Not the young. Marrying is accepting that you are in an ultramarathon and not a spirit. And two common sins for older women — gossiping and drunkenness (which, today, would include benzos and other sedatives) are mentioned.

For the young… they are to submit to the teaching of the old and obey their parents or masters. Now,, you may say this is hard. Tough. Titus was living in a much more unjust society, with much harsher punishments (A Roman paterfamilias could kill any slave or child with impunity). We are to submit to each other because we are submitted to God.

WHich brings us to the Gospel. For Mary is honored precisely because she submitted to shame, dishonour and shunning for the sake of the gospel.

Gospel Luke 1:26-38

26In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

(Yes, this was a reading on Sunday. The RCL notes the text for each Sunday, but there are daily readings at the site. On Sunday, I look at both…).

Mary submitted to the word of God, and became pregnant. By the law, she should have been stoned. Joseph was a righteous man: he did not want to do that but could not tolerate her clear infidelity (she was pregnant) and thus was about to quietly divorce her. Which would have been legitimate — she was betrothed to him. However, God sent him also a vision… and Mary spent much of her pregnancy in Judea, with Elizabeth. Away from the gossip and stares.

Mary may have been young, and somewhat inexperienced, but she was not stupid. She would have been aware as to what happened to girls who got themselves knocked up outside of wedlock. Her submission to the word of God was costly. We need to be aware that ours may be costly as well.

Advent prophecies.

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One of the things that happens in reformed churches is that we hold to the lectionary lightly. Today we had a sermon on the song of Simeon. This is the lectionary for today: it is the Magnificant. Not Nunc Dimittis.. But that is the nature of us… we moved ahead to talk about Simeon.


Jesus Presented at the Temple

22 And rwhen the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem sto present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in tthe Law of the Lord, u“Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in tthe Law of the Lord, v“a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was wrighteous and xdevout, ywaiting for zthe consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not asee death before he had seen bthe Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when cthe parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and dblessed God and said,

29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant4 depart ein peace, faccording to your word; 30 for gmy eyes have seen your salvation 31 ithat you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 ja light for revelation to the Gentiles, and kfor glory to lyour people Israel.”

Now one of the men of the church, who is studying theology preached today. He talked about how Simeon and Anna were both righteous and old. They had lived their entire life in prayer, waiting for a poor couple (the sacrifice is the one the poor people gave for purification of the woman. (For those who do not “get this” you had to be ritually pure to enter the congregation of the temple…. and you had to be of a certain tribe to lead the worship, and of a certain family to be a priest. And everyone could not have had sex, nor be menstruating, not have just had a child, nor have touched a dead body… to be in the temple). There are rituals and symbols, and this was one for women). For they were led to the messiah.

What we then talked about was that Simeon told Mary that a sword would pierce her heart also. As Jesus suffered, his mother hurt. This seems to be a universal: when a child is in difficulty the father may be angry, sad, and grieving, but he generally can harden himself and do what is right. The mother… sees the babe she bore, and nursed, and her heart breaks. Mary was going to have to see Jesus on the cross.

But the lectionary is a balance, for it is the Magnificat, and the beginning of the incarnation. It is quite interesting to look at what Mary actually said.

Luke 1:26-38

26In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

Luke 1:47-55

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.”

Some points:

  • Mary may have been poor, and living in Galilee (the hillbilly part of Palestine) but she was not stupid. She knew sex was needed for babies, and she was a virgin. The question she asked… “How can this happen?” only makes sense of we take the usual meaning of that term: she had not had sex. I am sure that then, as now, many young women get pregnant in the usual way — the liberal interpretation of this word is “young woman” — but that does not explain why the angel talks about Elizabeth, who had found herself pregnant when post menopausal.
  • The Magnificat talks about Mary’s personal saviour. (which is why the reformed would say that Mary was, like all humans, not sinless). But then she expands on this.
  • The expansion of what it means to be saved has almost nothing to do with her. She is not talking about herself. She is talking about a scattering the proud, pulling down those in power, and feeding the hungry…
  • And she called herself blessed.

Mary did not lack courage. What she lacks in th s prayer is selfishness and pride. She gives all the glory to God… and she accepts the pain that is to come.

Because Advent is not the end of the good news. It is but the beginning. There is a child of God in the world. He has to survive (for Herod tried to kill him),. grow up, and then… walk to his own death.  For only in breaking the power of sin is our salvation assured.

For Mary, like all mothers, had to let her child go. She could not keep him as a little boy forever, But most women do not have to see what she did: most women pray that they will not have to live through their child being in trouble or being ill, or burying their child. Mary became the mother watching her son on the cross. Mary watched her son being buried.

And Mary saw the joy of our salvation in his resurrection.

Seals, encryption, fascism and John.

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I’m posting later than I planned this morning. Overnight, the Norfolk police, on the advice of the US department of justice, raided Tallbloke, who was instrumental in breaking the emails that discussed Micheal Mann and his crew deliberately subverting peer review, and have becume known as climategate. They have also asked that his wordpress.com account be frozen. He is now being libelled. His account is here.

.

I do not understand this. Carbon credits are dead. Dodo dead. For China and India… exempt from the Kyoto accords, produce more carbon than the west. For the West is rich. We can afford expensive and green kinds of energy.

But this kind of clumsy thuggishness is becoming a pattern for the US administration — in everything from chasing people who use bittorrent (Yes, I do. Great for downloading the next version of Fedora. And Hulu won’t let me watch some TV programmes — yet my pay TV company is quite happy for me to use a DVR), to the war against drugs (Don Brash does not go far enough. I would legalise and regulate drugs. It worked for the Victorians… if you were addicted you could buy your heroin and kit from a chemist. Yes Heroin. One of my friends is the son of rural UK GPs and recalls diamorph (Herion) being in the fridge — along with the antibiotics and insulin — in case of emergencies (or childbirth, where until recently in the UK it was the pain relief of choice).

I’m not sure how this links to the day’s reading… except that the seals of secrecy will all be blown asunder. Destruction will come in the end of the days, and there is not very much we can do to stop this.

Or the climate changing. The greeks had a term for that conciet. Hubris.

Revelation 6:1-17

1And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. 2And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

3And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. 4And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

5And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. 6And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

7And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. 8And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

What are we to do? We have a duty, as citizens to stand up. We should not in any way have the delusion that the big government agenda and the green agenda that is being pushed is in our interests. (Global warming? Meh. It is supposed to be summer and I am sitting in the house with the heat pump on because it si in the low teens celsius. It should be ten or so degrees warmer at this time of year).

But the duty we do have is to do good to those around us. The homeless, the poor, the needy, those oppressed and those in prison. For that is what Jesus himself states will be the test on the last day.

Matthew 25:31-40

31″When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.

God does not care about Gaia. God cares about people. And the enviromentalists want us to work together in joyous union. For which there is an old name. Fascism.