Holy Innocents, Advent, and Newtown, Connecticut

News has broken this morning of a massacre in a Newtown, Connecticut elementary school.  So far 20 children are among the 28 reported dead. How can we ever find hope, love, joy, and peace in a world with horrors like this one?  As we are in the season of Advent, how can the message proclaimed by this season uphold against such atrocity?

I was reminded this morning of the Massacre of Holy Innocents that followed the birth of Jesus Christ.  With the coming of the Sun of Righteousness, also came an evil decision on the part of Herod the Great, who ordered the massacre of all male children in the village of Bethlehem. These children are known to many as the first Christian martyrs.  In fact, this evil was for told by the prophet Jeremiah saying, “A voice was heard in Ramah, Weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children.”

Today, we too are a voice weeping and mourning.  We weep over our children, our teachers, and others, precious to the Father who were murdered this morning.

Yet, although there is no replacing the loss experienced this morning, we can reflect that although the the massacre of Holy Innocents took place, so came the birth of Emmanuel, God with us, the Christ.

What hope was there for the ancient Jews, for shepherds in fields, and for mourning mothers and fathers?  There was hope that Christ was with them, with their children, and with mankind.  There, through, the child that escaped and had life, was life for all mankind, which came when he gave that life up for those who were already dead in their sin.  What hope can we offer those who mourn? Living lives that reflect an eternal Kingdom with no death or suffering.

What love can be found in a God that allows such evil to happen? A love that prompted a Father to let his son die at the hands of evil, for the sake of many.  A love that prompted a Father to never abandon His children.  What love can we offer those who grieve? A love that prompts us to pray, mourn, and comfort those who weep.

What Joy can be found in such atrocity? The joy of knowing that Christ loves children, and does not abandon them to evil, but cherishes them and calls them, saying, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”  God’s kingdom belongs to the innocent, such as children, and we know that they now experience more joy than we could ever know here, in our present state.

Finally, what peace can be found in such chaos? The peace that is coming. We look forward to the return of Christ.  We take heart, for Christ has overcome the world.  He has nailed the principalities and powers of evil to the cross and made a spectacle of them. 

In the face of such evil as exhibited today, we can look forward to the Hope, Love, Joy and Peace we find in Jesus Christ.  May this season of Advent be just that, a look forward, and eagerness for Christ return as we pray “Marana tha” “Come, Lord Jesus!” 

Surely, Christ hears the weeping and mourning over every mother and father who has lost a child, from those in Bethlehem to those in Newtown, Connecticut.

O merciful Father, help us hold on to hope so that we may encourage others. Help us to know love that we may truly love others. Help us to take joy, so that we may mature, and grant us peace in a world of chaos, through the power of your son our savior, Jesus Christ who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit now and forever. Amen

"Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children." Revelation 21:1-6

A Call to Hope

I was deeply saddened on the night of the 2012 Presidential election.  Many would think that I was deeply saddened because of the results, but this was not remotely the case.  In fact, I was rather indifferent to the results. No, I was deeply saddened by something else.

Just after the election results were pouring in, I logged onto Facebook.  This was a terrible idea.  As soon as the update feed came up I regretted it.  It seemed that every other post was along the lines of “its the end of the world” or “I’m moving to Canada” or the like.  It can seem funny to look at now, but some of these posts were serious and truly depressing.

I confess that most of my friends on Facebook are a part of the Christian faith-many of them Protestants.  This of course, should have prepared me for the reactions I saw and I probably should have thought of that before I logged onto Facebook.

In truth, I was deeply saddened by the response of many Christians I know.  I understand disappointment, which many of these friends seemed to be experiencing.  However, I was forced to silently ask, “Where is your hope? Where is your faith?”  Are we so consumed by our nations leadership that we abandon both faith, hope, and in some cases love?

All throughout the Old Testament, New Testament, and church history we see Christians under leaders that they did not want or even have the chance to elect.  Yet their hope was not placed in a candidate or a party, an ideology or economic reform.  Their hope was in God.

The early church had hope for the return of Jesus Christ, the resurrection from the dead, and eternal life.  I am reminded of Titus 1:2, in which Paul reminds Titus that he is an apostle in the hope of eternal life that was promised by one who does not lie.  Guess who the political leader was then?  Paul’s political leader was the Roman Emperor Nero, a crazed man, whose persecution would eventually be the death of Paul, Peter, and many other Christians. Yet, Nero doesn’t make it into Paul’s letters to the Church.  This is because  Paul never sought to find hope in any earthly leader.  Yet, he has submitted his life and his hope to Jesus Christ, a commoner king who was crucified.

Paul also had put his faith in nothing other than Jesus Christ crucified.  I don’t know to many current world leaders that would agree to be crucified for their people.  Yet, Jesus instead of having a throne or an oval office, hung upon a cross and showed what it really means to be Godly.  In fact, Jesus was a part of the moral “minority” in his day.  It is complete foolishness to put your hope in a king who is crucified and shamefully punished as a rebel, yet Paul not only put his faith and hope in that man, he gave him his whole life and his pocket book.

As for the early church, we can really narrow down their political ideology to one phrase. “Jesus is Lord.”  How about that for a campaign slogan?  Especially, since the world did not get a chance to vote for Jesus.  Yet, they looked forward to the victorious coming of Christ instead of the change in Emperors or the rescuing of the economy. The idea of hope for a nation or economic reform was not a central issue for the early church, they were going to have hope no matter what happened.

As I mentioned, I was deeply saddened by the loss of hope and faith and love by many believers due to the election.  I should also mention that I was deeply saddened by the Obama 2008 campaign posters that had Obama’s picture and the word Hope across it.  Again, how can I ever find hope in any other man other than Jesus Christ.  I am reminded of the early Christian Bishop Polycarp who when asked by a Roman leader to throw some incense onto a fire before a Roman idol said “Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?”

I strongly believe that part of “being in the world and not of the world” is that we maintain hope, faith, and love no matter what takes place in the world around us.  Are we like the disciples who lost all hope when things did not turn out their way?  It is time for us to grow up! No matter who is president or if the United States even exits, Jesus Christ is still Lord and our hope should not be lost.  Let us then hold fast to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

Religion as Relationship

A few months ago, the viral video “Why I Love Jesus, but Hate Religion” soared through the internet. One could hardly, log on to Facebook without seeing the video reposted, either by those who align themselves secularly or religiously. The topic itself was nothing new.  Many of us have often heard the words “Its about a relationship, not a religion.”

I struggle with the language in this video and the ideologies of the this anti-religion movement.  Sifting through the various responses to the video both in agreement and in criticism gave me a lot to think about and reflect on.

Often, this discussion has simply become a discussion of semantics rather than a meaningful discussion about the “relationship” Christians have with Jesus Christ.  It is interesting to hear that what some people describe as religion, is in reality the Church, while others seem to have a vague concept of religion as tradition and practice.  I, however, do not think you can separate a relationship with Jesus from a relationship with His church and the “religious” practices of that church.  

The question I believe that needs to be asked is “How do we have relationship with God?”  Is it possible that we have relationship with God through action? That sounds an awful lot like religion to me. Can we worship God without actions or without  practices?

This becomes an interesting question when we look at how God has entered into relationship with people throughout the scriptures. God is a God of covenant relationship.  “I will be your God, and you will be my people, and I will dwell among you.”  This is not a bartering agreement and the emphasis is communal. We cannot, have part of the covenant and leave the rest.  Therefore, if God is going to be our God, and we are going to be His people, and He is going to dwell among us, we must understand that this will take place in community.  

It is also interesting to note, that those who entered into covenant relationship with God, put that faith into action, bringing forth righteousness and justice. One just need only look at the “Heroes of Faith” in Hebrews chapter 11 for examples. 

Jesus himself, was also not opposed to religion.  Jesus did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it.  He himself, was religious, and fulfilled that religion by the most religious of actions when he himself became an atoning sacrifice.  Furthermore, even in his criticism that the religious leaders were following their religion by tithing but ignoring justice and righteousness, Jesus explains that they should have sought justice and righteous without stopping their religious obedience (Matthew 23:23.)

So let us examine, covenant relationship so that we may understand how religion fits in.

First, how is God our God? How is Yahweh the God of the Jews and the Gentiles? The answer to this question is found throughout the scriptures.   It is in the mystery of God that the answer lies. The mystery, that the promised Jewish Messiah would be God incarnate, human and divine, and become the one sufficient sacrifice for all time on behalf of humanity forging a new covenant that would be for all people. (Hebrews 11)  It is in this New Covenant, that humanity has access to the throne of grace. (Hebrews 4:14-16, 9:19-25)

Second, how then, are we God’s people?  We have been sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13), we have been washed, sanctified, justified and we now stand as a royal priesthood and Holy nation (I Corinthians 6:11, I Peter 2:9).  Not only, are we God’s people, but a people who have been prepared to worship Him and do good works through action (Eph. 2:10, James 1:27)

Lastly, how then, does Christ dwell among us?  Have we not been given the Spirit of God, which not only seals us, but also breaks down communal barriers and in gifting us, makes us a body of Christ in which we dwells? Were we not commanded to repeat the actions of Jesus himself,  who at the Last Supper, took the bread and after blessing it said “This is my Body broken for you” and took the cup saying “This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins?”  How did the disciples recognize Jesus on the road to Emmaus?  It was in the simple Eucharistic actions repeated before them. Christ took the bread, he blessed it, broke it, and gave it, and their eyes were opened.

Christ dwells among us in his people and he becomes present to us in the Lord’s Supper.  How then, can we have relationship with Christ by leaving the church he established and the sacraments he instituted behind? How can we worship our Lord, without religion?

Yes, religion can become motions without relationship.  Just as sexual actions can become devoid of relationship.  Should, we therefore hate sex? Of course not!  Just because religion can become devoid of relationship does not mean that the actions we take to worship God (i.e. communion, singing songs, prayer, taking care of the needy, creating, tithing, hearing confessions and confessing, etc.) should be thrown out.  Someone can just as easily help the poor devoid of relationship with the Lord, as participate in a high church Eucharistic liturgy devoid of relationship.  However, both of these things require actions.  Both point to relationship and can be full of relationship.  

We must stop being afraid of religion and we must stop being afraid of relationship.  The fact that there are those who make religious practices into empty motions, is not the fault of religion. Therefore, we should stop finding an excuse for our spiritual struggles by blaming religion. We must realize that the church, religion, and relationship cannot be separated.