From a Distance?

The Christmas season is upon us Bloggers!

Please forgive my absence. Alas, school work is bearing down and the days grow frighteningly short for the amount of work left. However, I felt the following deserved a brief comment.

There are countless examples these days of how a majority of people (Christians even?) while celebrating Christmas completely miss the significance of it. This hit me tonight as I was studying and listening to Jewel's Christmas album. one of the few Christmas CDs that my wife added to our immense collection (have I mentioned that I love Christmas music?) Unfortunately, in an otherwise fine album, she includes the song: "God is Watching Us From a Distance" (made famous by Bette Midler a few years ago). While it is certainly a nice sentiment, it does not belong on a Christmas album because the one truth of Christmas is that God came near! The incarnation is the story of the once distant God taking flesh to walk among us. And with the coming of the Spirit, the remaining truth of Christmas is that he never leaves! Even death does not separate him from us. Thus, to put "God is watching us from a distance" on a Christmas CD profoundly misses the point.

Might I suggest to Jewel "O Come O Come Emmanuel" instead. For as Matthew tells us, Emmanuel means "God with us." And, in my mind, nothing grasps the true meaning of Christmas better than those three words.

The Holy Calendar

At church this morning, our pastor addressed the upcoming events in the church's calendar, namely Advent, or as he put it, "the church's new year." His short discussion reminded me of how radically different than church's calendar is as compared to, for lack of a better term, our secular calendar. Here are a few of the poignant differences.

The church's calendar begins with Advent. The preparation for the birth of our Lord marks the chance for the church to be reborn and to begin anew walking with Christ to the cross. Christmas is of course the end of the year in the secular calendar, and I doubt that many non Christians understand what Advent is really about. New Year's is a time to make "resolutions" that everyone knows will not last more than a week.

In January, the church celebrates Epiphany, marking the time when the wisemen visited Jesus. Epiphany is also marked by the Mount of Transfiguration, where it is revealed to the disciples who Christ really is. The Orthodox Church views Epiphany as their high holiday (like our Christmas) for it marks the point when Christ is introduced to the East. January is a horrible month in the secular calendar, one to merely get through.

In March, the church begins a season of preparation called Lent. It is a time of sacrifice, of renting the body that we might be conformed to Christ as he makes his way to the cross. For the church knows that there is no Easter without Good Friday. In the secular calendar, March is typically the time of Spring Break, when the headonistic fantasies of college students are played out. If you don't believe me, tune into MTV this March. Its troubling to say the least.

In early April, the church celebrates the high point of her year, Easter. The celebration of when her Lord has risen and has given true meaning to our lives. The celebration of the beating down of death. And we sing the wonderful hymn of faith: "Lives again our glorious King; where, oh death, is now thy sting? Dying once, he all doth save; where thy victory, oh grave?" Easter in the secular calendar is a time to look for eggs.

50 days after Easter, the church celebrates Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit when we are given the first fruits of the Kingdom, when we are assured that even though Christ has ascended, God is with us. He is in our hearts. Roughly the same time in the secular calendar is the beginning of summer, which is truly the high point of the secular year.

Interestingly though, after Pentecost, the church enters into what I believe is called "Common Time." We rest in the knowledge during those days that Christ has risen and that God is with us in his Spirit. The next celebration of the church comes on the Sunday before Advent, Christ the King Sunday, where Christ is celebrated as the true King.

If you notice, the church's calendar is stark opposite of the secular calendar. When the secular calendar ends, the church's begins. When the secular calendar reaches its high point, the church is in rest. To me it is a beautiful reminder of how God, by coming into this world as a human, has sanctified time and made it his own. All those who follow Christ are a part of this holy time. Ours is a different calendar because ours is a different reality.

As my friend and pastor JD Walt said to me once, it ought to give us pause that we are much more familiar with the secular holidays - New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, etc. - than we are with the church's holidays.

As Advent nears, I encourage everyone to set aside some time to truly prepare to be reborn with Christ. And spend this next year walking with Christ in His time. You might find yourself at a cross while the rest of the world indulges. But then you might find yourself walking out of a tomb. In the words of that same Easter hymn: "Soar we now where Christ hath led; following our exalted head. Made like him, like him we rise; ours the cross, the grave, the skies."

The Dreaded Retake, Part Three

To all my faithful bloggers and prayers:

I am happy to announce that the results are in and I passed my retake! (And I didn't even have to retype any answers!) This means that I can finally check the entrance exam requirement off my to do list. Thanks to all who prayed and continue to pray for me. This Phd process is certainly a difficult one, the biggest challenge I have ever faced. Some days I think that I am not cut out for it and honestly wonder if I have the ability to finish. These snippets of good news help me keep going, as do your faithful prayers.

Unpopular Theology

In an age of the church when popular theology, fed by numerous best selling Christian books and consistent messages from various pulpits, holds that God wants to bless us beyond our wildest imagination, and that he is the "Wish Fulfiller" and the "Dream Giver", the message of the martyrs still stands in stark contrast. The martyrs remind us that God's blessings are not always in this world. The following quotation is from the seventh century Father Maximus Confessor who, for all of his faith, piety, and devotion to God, had his tongue cut out and his right hand cut off:

"Pray through the Lord that God might perfect his mercy with our lowliness, and that He might teach us that those who sail along with Him experience a savage sea, like a ship which is driven about by winds and waves but stands firm and unshakable."

I also keep a quotation from Francis Asbury near my desk that challenges me on a daily basis:

"The more troubles I meet, the more convinced I am that I do the will of God."

I don't imagine that this kind of theology will ever be popular or will ever make the best seller list, but I do believe that it is true.

Servant Leadership

In my Byzantine Theology class, we have been studying the writings of the rather enigmatic figure Dionysius the Areopagite, which had a major influence on theologians of the ensuing generations, both east and west. The mystery surrounding this small corpus is that, for all of their influence, no one is quite sure who the author is. He claims to be the first century figure mentioned in Acts 17, one of the only people to respond to the Apostle's Paul preaching. From historical clues in the writings, however, it is quite certain that the writer could not have been Paul's disciple. More likely these works came from the late fifth to early sixth century. Because of his pseudonym (and other arguably questionable material in his works), Dionysius has come under much criticism. Unfortunately, I think that these criticisms have obscured the amazing spirituality he represents.

Take for example his thoughts on the ecclesiastical hierarchy of leaders (Bishop - priests - deacons - monks - lay people). Of course, Protestants criticize this hierarchy because it seems to imply that some are closer to God or have more access to God or something. But when he explains the ordination process of each of these ministers, you catch a glimpse of the beautiful and if you can see through the symbols, you catch a glimpse of Christ. To summarize his discussion of the ordination ceremony:

1. Monks stand before the altar and are anointed by the Bishop.
2. Deacons kneel on one knee before the altar and are anointed by the Bishop.
3. Priests kneel on both knees before the altar and are anointed by the Bishop.
4. The Bishop kneels on both knees and literally places the Scriptures on his head, and is anointed by a fellow Bishop.

What amazes me about this seemingly straightforward ceremony is the symbolism in the posture. Notice that the "higher" one gets in the hierarchy of power, the "lower" they are prostrated. This displays in physical form the calling of Christ upon every human's life, but particularly upon those who would answer the call to shepherd others. This is a call to follow in the footsteps of Christ, "who did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped but made himself nothing taking the very form of a slave."

This beautiful account of a sixth century ordination service reminds us that leaders in the church are not called to greater stature and greater power (as leaders in the world are); rather, leaders in the church are called to be the servant of others, as Christ was the servant of all. This is a message, I think, that many of today's church leaders need desperately to hear and desperately to grasp. It is likewise a message that I, as I prepare to be a "Doctor", whatever that means, need to hear and grasp.

Update on the Dreaded Retake

To all my faithful bloggers and prayers-

Thank you for your prayers this morning. I know that some say "I felt your prayers today," and while I cannot say that I felt anything supernatural this morning, I did feel the test went well. The question I had hoped would be on there was - I wrote three pages this morning on the differences between Catholicism and Martin Luther's doctrine of justification by faith. And I think that it went well. I did the best that I could do. It is hard to be overly optimistic as I felt that I did great on this section the first time around, but I will dwell on it. For now I will just return to studying my normal material and wait on the examiners to make out my scrawly handwriting. Let us hope that they experience something supernatural so that they can make out what apparently is the worst handwriting to ever come out of Marshalltown Iowa. :)

Today at 3:30 I present a paper and after that I believe that I am done until my final two papers and my final Latin exam. Which means I should start studying for them, oh I don't know, yesterday!