Monday, March 26, 2018

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: If Groups of Church Members Find They No Longer Share The Same Values ---- What Then?


When I was in High School, my parents encouraged me to participate in a local Presbyterian church.  This particular church was where my mother had grown up, and her parents had been long-time, active members, as well.

My father had grown up in New York City, and had become a member of an Episcopal church there.  But, upon marrying my mother and moving to Rochester, he willingly attended my mother's Presbyterian church.

In my sophomore year, soon after a new minister was installed, the peaceful tempo of the Rochester church was upset within the congregation.  Within a few months, the new pastor had begun revealing some of his ideas for the future direction of this tradition-bound church.  He seemed determined to transform us into an outward-looking church actively seeking social justice.

It started with grumbling and whispered talk in the church parking lot, after worship.  Before long, there was open discussion, and some Elders were protesting our new church direction at meetings of the Session.  Increasingly, the congregation was divided into two opposing sides.

Meanwhile, at home, I found that my parents were not in agreement on the "social justice" direction sought by the new pastor.  My mom and her parents liked things the way they were.  My father was more in sympathy with the direction the new pastor wanted the church to take.  I would hear them debating the issue as they washed up the dishes after dinner.

My mother and many of her friends who had grown up in this church, were firmly set on emphasizing evangelism, not social justice.  They were active in Bible study and could quote Scripture for almost any occasion.  Mom insisted that this was how she kept on a straight path ---- by regularly reinforcing her Christian values through repeated reading and appreciation of Scripture.

My father, on the other hand, had come from a different style of religion, and from the more worldly environment of New York City.  He was very aware of the disparities in society, and wanted to do something about them.  He became a supporter of the new pastor's initiatives.

As time passed, each side in this "debate" became more and more convinced they had the right answer.  There was little interest in compromise, and soon members of the traditional/evangelical faction, began to leave the church.

I think about this now, years later, and wish I could go back and change a few things for them.  But, that church situation was not unique.  Arguably more blood has been spilled and more hearts broken around church schisms than any other issue in the Presbyterian Church.

The biblical understanding of the church as "the body of Christ" was as revolutionary 2000 years ago as it is today.  Imagine how some of the original Disciples must have rolled their eyes when Jesus introduced Simon the Zealot and Levi the tax collector into their fellowship.  Zealots were Jewish resistance fighters sworn to overthrow the occupying Roman army.  Tax collectors were not the same as the county officials we know today ---- they were collaborators with the Roman imperial occupation who sold out their people for a cut of the tax revenues.

But notice this ---- it was not the Disciples choosing to affiliate with one another.  They were all chosen by Jesus.  Only Christ, only the call of Christ, brought these people together as Disciples.  Jesus' free claim on them was what they had in common.

Paul's Scriptural message shows this insight ---- that hands and feet join a body because they see the world the same way.  Ribs do not affiliate with ears because they share similar beliefs.  Organs of the body are formed and knitted together by the creative love of God.  What God hath joined together, let no one break apart.

When the Apostle Paul speaks of the church as "the body of Christ," he reminds us of a far more basic reality than the narrow interests of affiliation groups and our endless debates about whose values and beliefs are better or more pious.  Our unity does not lie in our points of member agreement, but alone in our belief in Jesus Christ.  We are united, not because we have found a secret to consensus, but because Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit unites us in and through and to Himself.

When a condition of "schism" occurs in the congregation of a church, or they split into "groups" because people want to bond with folks sharing identical values, it fosters a kind of self-righteousness that runs counter to the spirit Christ seeks.

Our unity as a church is not based on conditional contracts that hold only so long as we agree with one another, but on the basis of our covenant with God sealed in Christ.  Our church unity is the act of God, not of ourselves.

C. S. Lewis once observed that "the church is that body in which all members, however different, must share the common life, complimenting and helping one another precisely through their differences.

So, is CPC merely a voluntary religious association of like-minded individuals?  Would it not be more accurate to say that our church is not a movement or a mood or a direction, but the balance of many movements and moods.  Thus, the members of our church ultimately seek and accept an "arbitration" which strikes a balance focused on our Heavenly Father, and not upon ourselves.
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These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage you to pursue some personal spiritual growth this Spring at CPC.
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Tuesday, March 20, 2018

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: How Should We Define SIN?


When I was growing up  I would sometimes hear adults speak of "sin".  I was taught that it meant doing a "bad" thing or failing to do an appropriate "good" thing.  I was told sin should definitely be avoided.  It was characterized as a regrettable action taken or not taken by someone.  It seemed to have something to do with God.  But, it seemed to me that a sin could be just an offense against religious or moral law.  Often it seemed just to be the treatment of other people unfairly or cruelly.

In my middle-age years, I became curious for a more precise definition of "sin."  I came across the writings of Rev. Timothy Keller.  He is the Senior Pastor of the Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, which he started in 1989, and which today has nearly six thousand regular attendees at five services.

Pastor Keller writes, "Most people think of sin primarily as 'breaking divine rules'.  But sin is not just doing bad things, but making what we prize as "good" self-beneficial things into the ultimate things.  It is seeking to establish a sense of self by making something else more central to our life's significance, purpose and happiness than our relationship to God.

Pastor Keller believes that our need for self-worth is so powerful that whatever we base our identity and self-value on, we essentially end up"deifying".  We will look to it with all the passion and intensity of worship and devotion, even if we think of ourselves as highly irreligious.  Many look to work and career for their cosmic significance.  We want to be rid of our feeling of nothingness ---- to know that our existence has not been in vain.

He continues ---- "There are an infinite variety of identity-bases.  Some people get their sense of "self" from gaining and wielding power, others from human approval, others from self-discipline and control.  But everyone is building their identity on something !"

This leads Pastor Keller to cite the Christian doctrine of "original sin" ---- humanity's inherent character defect of pride and self-centeredness.  "The Bible explains again and again, he says, that people's hearts are inescapably
drawn toward selfishness and pride.  The Bible tells us how we should live as God's people.  But it also says, "you can't and you won't."

Human society is deeply fragmented when anything but God is our highest love, says Pastor Keller.  For example, if our highest goal in life is the good of our family, we will tend to care less for other families.  If our ultimate goal in life is just our own individual happiness, then we will put our own economic and power interests ahead of those of others.  If our highest goal is the good of our nation, tribe or race, then we will tend to be racist or nationalistic.  Therefore, only if God is our ultimate good and life center, will we find our heart drawn out not only to people of all families, races and classes, but to the whole world in general.

Pastor Keller concludes ---- it is far harder than we think to have a self-identity that doesn't lead to exclusion.  The real culture war is taking place inside our own disordered hearts, wracked by inordinate desires for things that in effect control us, that lead us to feel superior and exclude those without them, and that fail to satisfy us even when we get them.

Everybody has to live for something.  Whatever that something is becomes "Lord of your life", whether you think of it that way or not.  Jesus is the only Lord who, if you receive him, will fulfill you completely, and, if you fail him, will forgive you eternally.

Sin is not simply doing bad things, it is putting the "good" things in the place of God.  So the only solution is not simply to just change our behavior, but to reorient and re-center our entire heart and life directly on God.
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These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage you to pursue some spiritual growth this Spring at CPC.
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Tuesday, March 13, 2018

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: Have You Learned The Language of Christianity?



Last month I had my annual medical exam.  Before my visit to the doctor, I needed blood drawn for analysis.  Then the doctor and I reviewed my recent medical history and he concluded that I was reasonably fit for a man of my age.  Such good news!

On the way home, I recalled our conversation.  It had been peppered with medical terms I did not really understand, so I had to count on my doctor as the interpreter.  

A few days later, it was Sunday and I was in church worship.  At some point during the service, I became aware of how many words we use in worship that I could not really explain if someone asked me.  To some degree the language of Christianity seems like a foreign language to me, that I need to learn as such.  Words like fasting, Holy Communion, spiritual disciplines, worship, baptism and repentance are part of the Christian lexicon.  These words and other words in the language of Christianity would be challenging for me to explain to someone else.

Then I realized that my superficial understanding of this vocabulary suggested that I might also be missing out on the deeper meaning and value of Christianity in my life.

For folks not familiar with the Christian vocabulary, it could be seen as "insider" language.  The trouble is that "insider" language alienates.  "Insider" language distances.  "Insider" language seems exclusive and inaccessible.

So, one might see the practice of Christian evangelism as an attempt to explain to others this Christian vocabulary.  At least, evangelism attempts to build a vocabulary for understanding the Christian view of one's relationship to God, and developing some degree of faith and purpose for living our lives.

Some people believe there is a growing tendency today for biblical illiteracy.  If this is true, isn't it just one more way that many people today fail to develop personal knowledge of the vocabulary of  Christianity?

What about today's seemingly increased suspicion of institutions, especially religious ones?  Again, is this stimulated by what many see as "insider" language that they have not really studied and learned, so it is adding nothing to their lives?

Helping to weaken the desire to learn the vocabulary of Christianity, is the growing tendency in society today to use the language of psychology or therapy for interpersonal difficulties.  We also turn to management models and business language when we need to figure out how to make relationships or institutions work.  Christian practices, informed by Christian vocabulary, seem like a way to use more effectively the spiritual and moral categories and language that connect us to the wisdom of Christian tradition.

How well do we know the language of Christianity?  Even if it was spoken in our homes when we were children, we must continue to practice it so we do not become rusty.  We need conversation partners.  Occasionally we may have to do a full immersion program to supplement the weekly Sunday lesson.

I suggest that we should practice the "peculiar" words of confession and forgiveness, redemption and resurrection, communion and evangelism until they are so embedded in us that they shape our everyday thoughts and guide our waking hours.  Let's be so fluent that we aren't embarrassed to speak out in public and even translate for others curious to know what we are talking about.
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These thoughts are brought to you by the CPC Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage some spiritual growth for you this Spring.
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Tuesday, March 6, 2018

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: What Makes Holy Communion Important?



Several years ago, our family hosted an exchange student from Indonesia.  It was during the summer, so we were looking for ways to educate and entertain our guest.  We made several day trips into New York City, but on Sunday we suggested that he join us in attending the worship service at our church.  He agreed, expecting this to be an interesting aspect in his learning about America.  He was a Muslim by faith.  His name was Hari.

As it happened, one of those Sunday worship services was Holy Communion Sunday, so I tried to  prepare Hari.  I wanted him to understand the meaning behind this Christian ritual, and why we repeated it every month.

Hari had already heard of Jesus Christ because in Islam, Christ is revered as a great prophet.  However, we stressed that we see a much more important role for Jesus Christ in our Christian lives.  We see Christ as the Son of God.  Therefore, that our Holy Communion is an action by which we not only remember Jesus, but which nourishes our faith through the action of Jesus himself.

As I explained it to Hari, on the night Jesus was betrayed at the Last Supper with his disciples, Jesus instituted what today we Presbyterians call "Holy Communion".  (Luke 22:14 - 23)  He took bread and wine, broke the bread, and said of it: "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood."

We believe that Jesus was saying that sharing in these actions of eating and drinking are ways of remembering him, and that by sharing in these actions, we are proclaiming our belief in the teachings and life examples Jesus left for us.

Hari said it was interesting that Jesus used the common stuff of life ---- bread and wine ---- as the means to strengthen our faith.

I agreed with Hari.  I said that as we eat and drink, in the context of the church community and the preaching of the Word of God, we believe we are nourished in our faith because it reinforces the benefits of Christ's death on our behalf.

But, now I had to tell Hari about a very important basis of our faith, but one that is hard for some people to grasp.  That is, the presence of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus had told us that although he would no longer be with us physically as our teacher, he would leave us with the Holy Spirit as a guide in our mortal lives.

Hari said he could relate to this need for a moral guide.  For him it was the Koran.  I said we do use the Bible for this purpose, but we usually need some help in the specific dilemmas of daily life. While we exercise free will and can reject the Holy Spirit, it is always there to guide us.

So, said Hari, in some sense Jesus Christ is thought to be present in your service of Holy Communion.  I agreed with Hari, that our Communion is a "spiritual" eating and drinking that we receive through trust in Christ's promises and actions.  As we do this we find that our faith is nourished.

I continued ---- "So, Holy Communion is much more than a mere "remembering," simply recalling some distant historical event.  Eating and drinking in the covenant community is a joyful action, full of praise and thanksgiving.  I asked Hari, "Can you imagine any more wonderful event than believing we are receiving the benefits of salvation provided by Jesus Christ in visible, tangible ways?  We are now properly sorry for our sins, for all our offenses against God."

After the worship service, one of my daughters said to Hari, "As we ate and drank in the Holy Communion, we were acknowledging the amazing love of God in Christ.  We were committing ourselves to live as Christ's servants and disciples, serving him and others according to the will of God, by the power of the Holy Spirit within us and among us in the church,"
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These thoughts are brought to you by the CPC Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage some spiritual growth for you this Spring.
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