Posts
What I
mean by that is most clearly seen in 2nd Peter. The verses ironically
missing from the 2nd Peter lesson for this Sunday actually speak the
loudest to possessing a convicted soul: Peter says “17You therefore,
beloved, since you are forewarned, beware that you are not carried away with
the error of the lawless and lose your own stability. 18But grow in
the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the
glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.”
Growing
in Grace is living into Grace as a complete life-long commitment as well as it
most significantly relies upon our volition to respond in, with and through
Grace which is justified by our faith—CONVICTION. I enjoyed a funny conversation
with my best friend Jurek, the other day. He is Polish Eastern Orthodox. He's a
lot like Sheldon on the Big Bang Theory. He loves to be instructional and
always assumes that he knows everything, is always right about everything and
anything even about your faith! Basically he tried to give me a “lesson” on
where Protestantism has gone wrong…
I am
for the most part a humble person but I did just graduate from six years of
seminary and I think I know Protestant theology as well as Christian theology
in general... This particular day’s debate we had a lovely and lengthy discussion
about the need for preaching, witnessing within the context of corporate
fellowship or “Church.” He in his usual
funny “snobby” way tries to rebuke the necessity of preaching in a church
service that all you really need he feels is worship and Bible study and that
preaching is the “Protestant’s mistake....” In regards to worship and Bible
study, that's all fine and dandy. We do need to join together in worship as
well as we definitely do need to be involved in Bible study not just as a group
but individually. However preaching is very closely tied to teaching and is as
well, a commandment tied to our commissioning as disciples of Christ to be
stewards of the Living Word of God—each and EVERYONE of us!
After
27 years of friendship I know I could never win an argument with my friend and
I usually don't really go there but this time, I couldn’t let it slide. But
what this made me think about in retrospect is how much I admire people who are
bold witnesses of their faith. They are bold witnesses for preparing the way of
the Lord in the hearts of their neighbors! This takes however, growing slowly
through a life time into truly spiritually transforming alongside God’s Living Word.
This
week I was contemplating beginning a doctoral thesis. In its infancy of just thinking about titles,
ideas; I saw how my life has greatly begun to change through Christ who
strengthens me! I would love to do an in
depth giant paper on the theology of the Holy Spirit (the big missional,12
letter word, Pnuematology) and Christian Existentialism coming from an
Orthodox, Evangelical, Lutheran perspective.
Hopefully I will be embarking upon this in the near future… but this
came out of just thinking of the Living Word and (The) Voice as what fueled the
conviction, need, movement to DO this.
In
almost a Marvel comic moment... If we can recall, John the Baptist never
stopped talking… which as we would see tragically down the road of the story of
John, that voice of his tormented poor King Herod Agrippa to the point of
executing him by cutting off his head for Salome. The voice that never stops proclaiming the Word,
the Living Word of God is something we are called to partake in if we are truly
and truthfully taking on the painful, transforming challenge of discipleship.
John the Baptist never became Jesus’ disciple but was obedient and intentional
to following God’s command to herald Him, crying out from the (graceless)
wilderness through to our broken world for the advent of Hope—New life, New
earth and New world to come.
Thinking
about today's Gospel text, we have that wonderful descriptive scene of John the
Baptist in action. It is an amazing scene for us to think about especially in
realizing what our baptismal calling is as a member within the priesthood of
all believers. The Voice long crying through the graceless wilderness to our
hearts has been Jesus. His, is a calling
to us to be “with” inner change or “metanoia.”
I can’t compose a lick yet alone a sentence in Greek but what I did look
up and understood of this word’s use fascinated me. Metanoia means repentance or the “change of
the inner person.” It shouldn’t be taken
lightly or figuratively as merely “a change of heart…” more than it should be
taken much more seriously as a turned and renewed heart dedicated to God in
service to Love Him and neighbor.
We must
be bold witnesses in an era where culture is trying to reign over Christ and being
“politically correct” for selfish and indifferent reasons also runs over and
above the will and precepts of God! Being Evangelical as I consider an
appropriate and truthful adjective to my “Lutheran” self is living into it
truly with a fully connected and convicted soul…. But we must remember that
they are adjectives to describe but not necessarily refer to “doing the Do’s of
the Gospel,” as my mentor would say.
There's
been a sad series on the news lately concerning the actor and comedian Bill
Cosby. All the sudden 40 years later, a group of women, I think 15 or so, have come
forward and accused him of sexual misconduct or assault. Outside of what the
media has been pondering why all this time what's it about... etc. What you
have to kind of think about is that this has now painted a cloud over this
man's head and what righteousness or justice is truly being served especially
without all the facts confirmed? Since when does gossip become truth or visca
versa?
Yes
these are many testimonies against Cosby and perhaps we don't know. Maybe he is
guilty in some way or another but what justice does it serve to place a scarlet
letter over someone head in the latter years of their life? The motive as most
of the media has been alluding to is most likely for money. Is that really what
our motivation is for many things today to be a voice and speak up for
something or is it around other vices we feel we need self-righteous
vindication upon? We must remember where “The voice” could come from. We as Peter alludes to can aspire to grow in
Grace (true inner transformation for a greater Godly purpose) or we could fall
prey to the Evil One’s graceless voice and stagnate in our Old Nature, worldly
selves to our detriment…
The
difference from how we view the world today first as some 2,000 years ago...
The witness, Herald, voice was more towards coming from a place of virtue. The boundaries between virtue and vice were
much clearer because people had grounded themselves to God, to an unspoken rule
in the heart to where the beginning of operating in the world ethically truly
begins. If Cosby is in fact guilty and
has lived truly indifferently to these crimes he has been accused of; what is
the most tragic about that is that he has not even remotely considered being
accountable to them at all.
Being
accountable in the things we have done, and left undone is the cost of living
faithfully into our discipleship calling.
Everything we do, say, be and become are known by God the Father, our
heavenly parent, provider, protector and sanctifier. As disciples of Jesus, we
need to live our lives into Grace as if we were cognoscente of living into 3
different time zones of the soul. What
do I mean by this? This means basically
living your life truly and truthfully to the Gospel dealing with your past,
present and future. Not an easy task at
all, but that IS what GRACE truly means opened profoundly within the believer’s
soul as a powerful Voice of conviction, commitment and witness.
AMEN
December 7th, 2014;
Second Sunday of Advent; Year B; SOLA Lectionary Nicole Collins
Psalm 85; Isaiah 40:1-11; 2 Peter
3:8-14, 17-18; Mark 1:1-8
No comments:
Post a Comment