The Confessor - Part 2 (Trials)

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Consider two of the biblical heroes of faith in particularly trying circumstances: Daniel in the lion's den and Paul on a sinking ship in the midst of a violent storm. If we take these two narratives into our discussion of the role of the confessor in the Church we can see the two general types of trials in which we may bear a good witness for the faith. Daniel suffered for his adherence to the religion of the true God. His sufferings are peculiar to the righteous. Paul was caught in a horrible tempest that threatened his life and the life of everyone else on the ship. His sufferings are typical of those that are common to every man. While our sufferings may never equal those of Daniel, Paul, or even Maximus, there are powerful lessons in these narratives for all who would answer the call to be a confessor of the orthodox faith.

Whatever the form of the intimidation, whether social, financial, religious or otherwise, we have been called to be faithful in our doctrine and practice. We may or may not ever face a life and death decision that tests our commitment like Daniel did, but we have been instructed to view ourselves as living sacrifices, people whose lives are already in the hands of another. There are few things that bear a more substantive witness to the Gospel than costly obedience.

Nevertheless, the Christian's sufferings are not limited to those that descend upon his head due to his Christian profession. He is also exposed to all the tribulations that are common to the inhabitants of this fallen world. How is the Christian to act in the midst of multitudinous sore trials that he will experience in this life? He is to be a confessor of the faith of Jesus Christ.

We are not excused from the call to follow holiness when we enter into periods of suffering, however long they may last. Trust me when I say that I tremble to write these words, knowing that I will suffer trials in this life as will you.

We pray for the good Lord to deliver us from all hypocrisy. Are we willing that He would answer our prayer?

Tolstoy writes of a group of people sitting around talking about Christian discipleship. Finally, one of them gets fed up with all the empty chatter.

"What a strange thing! exclaimed one of the visitors who had hitherto been silent. What a strange thing! We all say that it would be good to live as God bids us and that we are living badly and suffer in body and soul, but as soon as it comes to practice it turns out that the children must not be upset and must be brought up not in a godly fashion but in the old way. A married man must not upset his wife and children and must live not in a godly way but as of old. And there is no need for old men to begin anything: they are not accustomed to it and have only a couple of days left to live. So it seems that none of us may live rightly: we may only talk about it."

The Father is Lord

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What is the first thing you think of when I say "God?" What is the most important thing to say about God? What should be the first thing we think of when we think of God?

Is it an attribute, like sovereignty? Is it an action, like ruling or saving or creating? Is it an exhortation as to how we should relate to him, like fearing or obeying? What is the first thing?

A beef that I have with some Reformed folks is what I perceive to be as an overemphasis, or maybe a misplaced emphasis, on sovereignty.

Who was God sovereign over prior to creation? Was the Father sovereign over the Son, and the Son over the Spirit? What do we know about God that was true of him before creation? He is one God. He is three persons: Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

What I am trying to advocate is that we rethink some of our assumptions about theology proper, that is, the study of God himself. I am advocating that we take another look at all that we know about God through a Trinitarian lense, or within a Trinitarian framework. The one whom we call "Lord" is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. That should begin to help us in our conceptions of who it is we are talking about when we say "Lord."

More to come ...

The Confessor - Part 1 (Definition)

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He had lived 80 years. The harshest of those years had been spent in theological controversy, a controversy that had led to his present exile. He looked down at his mutilated right hand. He felt inside his mouth the tongue that had also been mutilated. His opponents had wanted to prevent his speaking and writing. As he considered his sufferings he thought to himself that they were a small price to pay for the crown laid up for him in heaven. As he lifted his heart to heaven, he mouthed the words of the Lord's Prayer, and prepared to die.

St Maximus: Confessor of the Orthodox faith, Defender of Christianity, Witness to the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Church commemorates the life of St Maximus the Confessor on August 13; sorry I’m a bit late.

What is a confessor? A confessor is one who bears faithful witness to the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the face of social, ecclesiastical, economic, political and/or academic reprisals both great and small. The confessor's ministry is especially highlighted in times when there is great opposition to the orthodox faith. The confessor's message can be summed up in the words of Psalm 117:

"O Praise the Lord, all you nations: praise him, all you people. For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the Lord endures for ever. Praise the Lord."

We all are confessors of one sort or another. Our words and actions testify to what we truly believe. We will either be a confessor on behalf of the truth, or a confessor of a lie.

St Maximus was a Confessor of the true God despite tremendous opposition. His theological tenacity helped save the Church from heresy regarding the person of Christ as having two natures, and therefore two wills. Failure at this point would have led to overwhelming confusion in the Church's view of the Trinity. We are heavily indebted to Maximus.

To speak in the colloquial, Maximus put his money where his mouth was. He put his body on the line in defense of the orthodox faith and paid for his commitment. His oppressors tortured him by mutilating his hand and his tongue, the two instruments he used to confess the truth. They were not able to silence the confession of his holy life, and we are still hearing his testimony in the 21st century.

What is Divine Lordship?

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There is an undeniable over-emphasis upon religious voluntarism in America. That is, we come and go to and from God's house as we please. As Christians we assert that God is ultimately the one with whom we have to do. By the Holy Spirit, we confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

There is a wrong concpetion among Christians that can tend to anthropomorphistically impose ideas of lordship and sovereignty upon God. Only God can reveal God. Those who care about such things may take up the challenge to consider what God is revealing about himself through human words such as "lord."

My contention is that God is tyrant to neither believer nor unbeliever, though he may wrongly be perceived as such. He has no need to rule over humankind. We are here that we might share in the life of holy, self-giving love that is the communion of the three persons of the Trinity.

Lordship and Freedom

God's rule is a part of his sharing his life with us. Nevertheless, he does not rule because he is threatened by man's freedom. Rather, he rules in a manner that respects and enables man's freedom.

For reasons that transcend our understanding, the Lord values the freedom of human persons to choose good or evil. I suspect that this opportunity for free and creative choice offers the potential for greater good, in the end, than a higher degree of limitation upon freedom.

Let there be no misunderstanding. If a human person chooses alienation from God then the result is death.

We must exercise great caution in our interpretations of God's anger, vengeance, judgment and wrath. I do not claim to have a great feel for these ideas. I do know that they are not similar to when I get aggravated with someone for not doing what I want them to do. There is no selfishness in God's anger. The Holy One doesn't get "ticked off."

Notice the times when the Lord expresses his anger against someone in the Scriptures. He is not easily angered. He is long-suffering and slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness. If he is mad at someone it is over something severe.

I appreciate appropriate levels of caution when we talk about God's love. He is not a sugardaddy. He is not indulgent. He does not treat sin lightly.

I am concerned that we do not let the atrocious misunderstandings of love as absolute tolerance determine our approaches to the subject.

Hack away.

Turba Gallorum #4 - Johnny Cash

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That's right, Johnny Cash. These lyrics are the best rationale for priests wearing black that I've heard. Cash taps into the idea of sharing in the suffering of others, you know, the whole "weep with those who weep and mourn with those who mourn" thing. While he was surely not a saint, recently he struck a nerve in me with this song.

Well, you wonder why I always dress in black,
Why you never see bright colors on my back,
And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone.
Well, there's a reason for the things that I have on.

I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down,
Livin' in the hopeless, hungry side of town,
I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime,
But is there because he's a victim of the times.

I wear the black for those who never read,
Or listened to the words that Jesus said,
About the road to happiness through love and charity,
Why, you'd think He's talking straight to you and me.

Well, we're doin' mighty fine, I do suppose,
In our streak of lightnin' cars and fancy clothes,
But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back,
Up front there ought to be a Man In Black.

I wear it for the sick and lonely old,
For the reckless ones whose bad trip left them cold,
I wear the black in mournin' for the lives that could have been,
Each week we lose a hundred fine young men.

And, I wear it for the thousands who have died,
Believin' that the Lord was on their side,
I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died,
Believin' that we all were on their side.

Well, there's things that never will be right I know,
And things need changin' everywhere you go,
But 'til we start to make a move to make a few things right,
You'll never see me wear a suit of white.

Ah, I'd love to wear a rainbow every day,
And tell the world that everything's OK,
But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back,
'Till things are brighter, I'm the Man In Black.

That's right, Johnny Cash.

Read some thoughts on Cash's Christianity here.

Words from the Cross - Final Thoughts

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Jesus made the way for us to express an ultimate trust in the Father. We have opportunities throughout our lives to express our faith in the Lord. We have a plausibility structure in the Church in which the power of witness functions to bears us up in the midst of doubts, struggles, and failings. We may speak face to face with others who have struggled through the same, or similar, issues that we may be facing.

This is not the case when it comes to death. There is no one who has experienced death with whom we may have a face-to-face conversation. There is no one to whom we can sit down over coffee and ask, "So, what's it like to die? Does it hurt much? Is it scary?" There is only Jesus, and we cannot see him. The Christian faith is founded on the historical reality of his death and resurrection. There is no scientific way for us to verify those events. We either accept the weighty evidence, or we do not.

If we accept the testimony of the church, Word and Holy Spirit, then we may unite with Christ in his trust of the Father's care for us in death. We may come to death, with all its horrors and pain, with the confidence of the resurrection. We may meet death with a declaration of trust in the Father. We may join with Christ in our own experience of death and say, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit."

With Christ and by the Holy Spirit, we will find that the Father is well able and exceedingly willing to carry us in his hands through death and raise us again in the likeness of his Son, in whom he is well pleased, the Spirit crying in our hearts, "Abba, Father."

A Postmodern Retelling of the Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican

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A semi-representative sampling of religious Americans went to their respective place of worship to pray …

Evangelical Republican – “I thank you that I am not a homosexual, a pro-choicer, an evolutionist, or even like this welfare mom, an irresponsible drain on society. I voted for your servant, George W. Bush. I send my children to a private Christian school and I’m thinking about homeschooling next year. I give money to the American Family Association and Focus on the Family so that values will not disappear in the United States.”

Liberal Christian – “I thank you that I am not like this Fundamentalist: intolerant, judgmental, a bible-literalist, you know, an all-around jerk. I employ the latest in the critical apparatuses and scientific methodologies. I read the Jesus Seminar. I make sure people understand that you will not judge them but are there to help them actualize their reality, whatever reality they choose.”

Church Growth Expert – “Lord, I thank you that I am not bound by previous conventions of church polity like this small church pastor. I employ the best insights from the business world. I function as a CEO. I make Christianity as simple as possible. Your Gospel is a bit difficult for the average person to understand, you know. I use Power Point presentations. Our church looks like an office building. I remove any alien elements so that non-Christians will feel comfortable.”

Atheist – “I thank you that I am not like all these Christians, wasting their time praying to a non-existent deity. Wait a minute!”

Praise and Worship Leader – “I thank you, Lord (8X), that I am not (3X) singing hymns.”

Cultural Separatist (Pentecostal or Holiness variety) – “I thank you that I am not like any other person on the entire planet. I don’t watch TV, go to movies or listen to secular music. I don’t go to restaurants that serve alcohol. I certainly do not drink. In fact, I have purged my life of all fun. I believe in holiness, you know. It’s just me and you, Lord … Lord?”

Emergent Hipster – “I thank you. Lord, that I am not like this traditionalist: stiff, irrelevant, uncool, a real Gen-Xer, not. I practice authenticity by coordinating my fashion with my spirituality. I only act virtuous when I feel like it; there’s nothing worse than hypocrisy. I look, speak, act and think like the rest of society so that I can show them how relevant Christianity is. I’m not so sure it’s working. Amen.”

Christian Satirist – “Lord, I thank you that I am not like all these other morons, but I do thank you that they are around for me to make fun of. I take pen in hand and point out the faults of others in a humorous way. I think I’m pretty funny, don’t you? Amen”

Observant On-looker – “Lord, have mercy on me; I’m confused.”

Word #7 from the Cross

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Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.
(Luke 23:46)

The words on the cross begin and end with the Son addressing his Father by name. They begin with man's need of God's forgiveness and end with the solution to his alienation from God, which is the reason he needs forgiveness in the first place.

Jesus' committal of himself into his Father's hands at the point of death is the ultimate act of trust. We have no indication that the Father answered the cry of dereliction while Jesus was on the cross. Yet, Jesus entrusts himself to the Father in death.

Trust in the Father's character was expressed before an answer was given. The Father's answer is the resurrection. The trust that Jesus exhibits in his final words from the cross are honored and proved justifiable by the Father's faithful raising of the Son from the dead.

I will end these meditations next week with a few summary thoughts.

Not Taking What I Do TOO Seriously

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And Jesus said unto them, "And whom do you say that I am?"

They replied, "You are the eschatological manifestation of the ground of our being, the ontological foundation of the context of our very selfhood revealed."

And Jesus replied, "What?"

(Source: Brennan Manning)
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A Few Scotland Pictures

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Here are a few pics of St. Andrews from my Scotland trip with my father last Summer.


Yes, I took this pic. Growing up in the visual generation has its benefits.



I have no idea what kind of tree this is. Pretty, huh?