Faith & Works

I've been preaching my way through the letter of St. James at Palo and it has reminded me that the Church has come a long way in the last 2,000 plus years.  In some ways, we've remained amazingly consistant with what the Apostles and Early Church Fathers intended.  In other ways, we've let inertia and reaction to other Christian groups (Catholics not wanting to emphasize that they aren't Protestans and vice versa; along with countless other such action/reactions) take us in directions that we aren't even fully aware of.
The letter of James has a section in Chapter 2 that focuses on the absolute necessity of keeping Faith & Works (the KJV word for it; deeds, actions, etc.) TOGETHER.  James makes it very clear that he believes that "faith without works is dead"....And yet, in response to the corruption of the Church of the Middle Ages, Martin Luther felt it was necessary to emphasize "sola fide" (faith alone); in response, the Catholic Church was pushed (or pushed itself) even further in the direction of working for salvation.  In both cases, the danger of divorcing Faith from Works was very real (and in some circles remains so today)...Neither vision of Christianity is correct.  We cannot be Christ-like simply by what we believe (Faith alone) and we cannot be justified before God without faith in Christ (Works alone)...Much of the debate and animosity within the Church (universal; that includes Protestant, Orthodox, Catholic) arises from our failure to understand that we've spent the last 500 years emphasizing the two NECESSARY aspects of Christian faith.  We've acted as if the two can be torn apart and get us to Heaven on their own.  In doing so we've lost sight of the warning of James, No man can be justified by works alone, and faith without deeds is dead.

A difficult day in Palo...

Those of you who live around Grand Rapids may have read the front-page article in today's Grand Rapids Press about the house fire at the Veteran's home in Palo on Sunday morning.  This fire was particularly difficult for our congregation at Palo because we have had several visitors from this home over the past year.  One of the two who died was a quiet man named Ray who joined us for worship three or four times.  I never got the chance to learn much about Ray, we talked before church started a bit and I encouraged him (and the others) to come back again afterwards.  Now all we can do is entrust Ray to the mercy of God and pray for whatever family he had.
You never really know how much of an opportunity you will have to minister to those who walk into the church each week.  Some you know are regulars and you have a chance to talk to them each week, but others come only sparingly (sometimes once or twice a year, sometimes regularly for a little while and then not).  As the church's pastor, I make a concerted effort to greet anyone who walks in and try to ensure that they feel welcome; but it's difficult to get past the pleasantries about the weather and such to really find who the visitors really are in a short conversation.  Sadly, we won't get the chance to work on that with Ray.

Immanuel, "God with us"

Christmas is upon us once again.  You'd be hard pressed to find an American who hasn't heard of Christmas.  Most of those same people know that the holiday is somehow connected to a child, a manger, some angels, maybe something about a star.  In other words, we all seem to know a little bit about Christmas.  But do we know about why this particular child's birth has been remembered for over 2,000 years?  It was certainly worth noting that Jesus was born of a virgin, that doesn't happen every day does it?  But more importantly, Jesus was Immanuel, which means "God with us".  Jesus is the incarnation (God taking on humanity) of God.  In this case, he is literally, God with us.  When the world was created, God walked in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve.  There was nothing between God and his creation.  After the sin of Adam and Eve (the Fall), an unbridgable gap opened up between God's perfection and our fallen state.  We had no way to come to God, and he couldn't be with us any longer.  Perfection and imperfection don't mix.  With the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, the finale of the process of God's redemption of humanity was set in motion.  As God, Jesus could achieve the perfection that we cannot.  As a man, Jesus could stand in our place before God and receive our punishment.  The baby in the manager 2,000 years ago made it possible for us to be reunited with God by dying on a cross thirty years later and rising from the dead.  He is indeed, God with us. 
Merry Christmas.

The last time the World was supposed to end...

I've been reading Tom Holland's The Forge of Christendom: The End of Day and the Epic Rise of the West which focuses on the End Times fascination and/or hysteria that occured throughout Christendom in and around the turning of the Millenium (1000 AD).  The book is excellent, and it reminds me that throughout Christian history there have been voices crying out that their particular generation had become so corrupt and morally bankrupt that surely the return of Christ was imminent.  And yet the world continues to turn and the day and hour that only the Father knows is not yet upon us. 
One of the interesting aspects of Holland's book is the numerous reminders that Churchmen KNEW that knowledge of the specific Day of the LORD was forbidden, that only the Father knows (and he isn't sharing that one).  And yet, those same priest and bishops went on to speculate to their flocks or interested kings that the End Times were upon us because of all of the "signs"
We certainly aren't immune to that same specualtion fever.  During my early years the Soviet Union was portrayed as the Evil Empire that woud rise up behind the Anti-Christ; when the Soviets crumbled a new home needed to be found...Fast forward to 9/11, another event that was portrayed as a sign of the beginning of the end...And yet, speculation of this nature continues to be dangerous or at least futile.  It conditions Christians to give up fighting for their communities, to assume that decay is inevitable and that we're doomed to failure. 
This generation is certainly corrupt, we've perfected the art of killing the unborn child and passing it off as convenience (like one-hour photo), we've embraced the destruction of marriage and enshrined the celebration of sexual immorality.  We've done all this and more, but we're not better or not worse than the generations that came before us.  When your grandparents were kids their parents were decrying the corruption of the youth and worrying about the future.  And yet God always sparks a revival through the faith of his people, God gives us a chance to swing the pendulum back toward righteousness and justice.  Our God is a God of restoration and hope; as his people, we must be ministers of hope and renewal.
When is Christ coming back, you'll never hear me speculating, I have no idea.  I'm here to do the work of the Lord today, I'll let God decide the future.

Ten years and counting...

It was ten years ago today that Nicole and I shared our first kiss.  From that day forward we've been together (married 8 1/2 years now).  We've already lasted beyond the average length of marriages in America today (somewhere around 7-8 years) and we have no intention of stopping.  The sad truth is that many in our society, and far too many of them are Christians, don't take their marriage vows seriously.  People stand before God, promise to love someone for the rest of their life, and then simply walk away when the grass is greener or they just don't feel "happy".  Forget for a moment the disaster this has been for children whose lives are torn apart (and who may never really trust anyone as a result), and simply marvel at the audacity of assuming that a promise made to another Christian (assuming Christians at least follow Paul's guidelines in this; I know many do not) in the house of God; standing before the altar, with a man of God giving witness; marvel that this promise isn't considered to be more important than one's own "happiness". {we don't need to debate whether divorced people are happier than married people, they are clearly not happier being "free"}
It is amazing to me that people can simply give up.  {I'm not talking about the two exceptions that I believe the Bible would sanction, the cheated upon spouse who MAY leave if they want, or the spouse who is abused}.  Most divorces in America today end for reasons of convenience; a horrible excuse if ever there was one.
Of all of the challenges facing the Church today, this may be the most dire.  If we don't promote marriage, encourage marriage, and support marriage (on an individual basis and the principles behind it), how can we possibly bear witness to the Gospel's power to change lives?  If Christianity in America is going to stand against moral relativism and offer true Hope for those who are lost, we MUST redeem the marriage in our own house and begin to once again take our vows seriously.
For Nicole and I the very idea of considering an end to our marriage is off limits.  Neither of us has ever threatened anything of the sort while mad, nor do we allow ourselves to wonder what life might be like apart; we're in this together, together for life.
It's been ten years since my wife and I first kissed, God willing, we'll be celbrating this day for many years to come.