Catholicity, Orthodoxy, and Lordship
David Koyzis, author of Political Visions and Illusions, has updated his Genevan Psalter page. The website contains metrical psalms with the proper melodies from the Genevan Psalter and other beautiful hymns versified by David. In preparation for my sermon on Psalm 42-43, I have sung this beautiful psalm many times. Continue reading “The Beauty of the Psalter”
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This Reformation Day has been exceptionally refreshing and stimulating. As the day is coming to an end, I checked my blog stats and was surprised to find out the greatest amount of views in the fours years of Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (272 views). Many of those thanks to my loyal Ron Paul readers. I make no apologies for bringing together into one blog both Ron Paul news and distinct Reformational subjects. My intention has always been from the beginning to labor on presenting ideas on a variety of subjects from a distinctly Biblical and Reformational perspective.
While my wife spent the evening with her students, I spent the evening with a dear friend, a nice Scotch and a smooth cigar. We spent the majority of the evening talking about our service in the church and our futures. It was a refreshing, and yet an encouraging time together. We finally spent some of our time talking about two issues we deeply care about: Preterism and Austrian economics. A glorious Reformation Day indeed!
It is Friday evening and we decided to go out for a free movie…yes, free. There is some anticipation in the air, perhaps different expectations. I, for one, would prefer to stay home and enjoy the quietness of my abode on a Friday evening, but I can be easily persuaded. And so begins our adventure. Adventure! On our way, we stop at the light and as I look into my left I see a familiar face. Is that the old white guy I wonder? Is it Steve Brown? It’s hard to miss that beard, after all, I sat in the front row of his classes. But it’s night and I can’t see too well. Wait! It is Steve Brown. It’s hard to mistaken the bumper sticker: Speak truth to power, or his classic: Choose Life license plate. Perhaps the Old White Guy is headed to see the free movie. Then, as he stops at another light in front of us, the glorious pipe is lit…at that moment I had a sense of relief. Perhaps this will be a pleasant evening, I thought. After all, Steve Brown would not attend something unpleasant. But lo, he turns. As Bono would say: With or without you!
We arrive at our destination and are greeted by a multitude of vehicles. Big, small, ugly, luxurious. All types. As we approach the theater, we are greeted by all sorts of people. Big, small, ugly, luxurious. All types. Finding one lot was an absurdly complicated task, but we found one through trials and tribulations.
They are in line, I shouted! Wait, it’s a free movie, I don’t have to wait in this gigantic line. We went in. Inside there was an enormous table with christian literature and a host of what some would call: Jesus Freaks. How do I know? Well, I’ve seen too many in my life-time. Theater Number 10, they told us. “10,” I said. Deep inside I thought: “Now how does the apostle John use the number 10 in the book of Revelation?” Actually, I didn’t have too much time to think. We ran to our destination to find a seat. We were 7 minutes late to be precise. We were greeted by a mean looking man. He had a thick New York accent, which as you know increases his meanness. The place is jammed, he said. There are about 500 people in there. Suddenly, I thought that our adventure was over. Is it only the two of you, he asked. Yes, we answered. Well, there are a few seats in the front row. As we went in, I overheard him telling the others that they had to be firm and not let anyone in…they had no more room.
We were walking into a free showing of the Pilgrim’s Progress. This has to be entertaining, I said to myself. We walked in the first few minutes of the movie. Christian has just had a vision of the doom to come to his city. His burden grows and he is destined to begin a journey into the celestial city.
This is based on John Bunyan’s great masterpiece. Bunyan was a good Calvinist! The movie is a modern adaptation of the Pilgrim’s Progress. Throughout Christian’s journey, he greets various characters: Hypocrisy, Pliable, Hopeful, Ignorant and so on. What was unique about all characters is that they possessed a certain evangelical flavor to them. I suddenly noticed a series of interjections that sounded unlike the Bunyan I read many years ago. In fact, it sounded like the evangelical culture that I had fled from in my own Christian journey. “Accepting Jesus into your heart” and “Praise the Lord” refrains were thrown in for special “affect” or better, to please their audience. Playing cards, dancing, and drinking were cautiously inserted as a former way of life, not to be compared with the born-again life.
Towards the end of the movie, my wife whispered: “Let’s leave!” But I was too spiritual to go, so we stayed. Remember the mean looking man? Well, as soon as the movie ended, he jumped in with his unbearably loud mic and told us to remain seated. Suddenly, thoughts of deacons standing at the door not allowing anyone to go out ran into my mind. I just want to get out of here, I quietly said. The man with the New York accent was a local pastor. He told us to remain seated. He pointed out a couple of scenes from the movie and repeated himself several times…did I tell you he repeated himself several times? There is no short-cut to heaven, he uttered. No Church membership, youth group, giving money to the poor will get you into heaven! Wait! In the ol’ days didn’t they add baptism to the list…oh it was just a thought. Then, (10 minutes later) the invitation began. The volunteers replete with eager youth members and a couple of seasoned Christians came up to the front to “encourage” others to come forward. Billy Graham would be proud.
Some came, probably not enough because the New Yorker kept repeating himself. Others came…well, maybe three more. My eyes were intent on the speaker. It had been at least 5 years since I’ve heard an invitation call. In fact, I was so intent on him that I noticed a guy on another row kept staring at me as if saying, Go on brother! Jesus is knocking at your door!
In my mind, it is inconsistent with John Bunyan’s theology. But I guess Bunyan was more a means to an end in their mind. His theology probably was not as important. Though good ol’ Bunyan might have appreciated a little altar call here and there. He was after all a rowdy preacher, an anti-Quaker, but a fabulous writer I might add. His times of prison solitude gave him much to think about.
My wife grew impatient and I was about to run out. Finally, he told us we could leave. Actually, he said we could stay and pray with the others. We decided to leave. After leaving the crowded Christendom, we were outside again. Ah…fresh air, I mumbled.
As we approached our vehicle, we realized the car next to ours. On the license plate we read: “In case of rapture, this car will be unmanned.” We laughed. We even took a picture with our cool cell phone camera. Then we left. Our free movie gave us some free laughs.
Much has happened in the last few days. My birthday on the 26th was a pleasant time with a fine cigar from a friend and a fabulous dinner from my lovely wife.
One of my great joys this semester has been my preaching lab with the Rev. John Holland. He is a disciple of Richard Pratt, one of the instrumental voices in my theological training. Our class will make some fine pastors and preachers one day. Our group went out for a beer afterwards where we continued our great fellowship.
I was very pleased also with the outstanding performance of the Brazilian girls yesterday as they defeated the US 4×0. Last night I was able to watch a re-run of the match. A fascinating result in light of the fact that these Brazilian girls will go back home (whether or not with the title) to a country that does not encourage a Women’s Soccer League. Some of these girls don’t even have phones in their homes. This is the triumph of perseverance and determination.
Tomorrow I will be teaching our Sunday School class on the topic of the Love of God. D.A. Carson’s little book: The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God has been quite helpful.
The 12th of August I will be in Palm Harbor preaching at a small PCA church. It will be a splendid time.
On the 19th, I will once more teach another class to our adults on the Wrath of God.
On the 23rd, classes resume at RTS. My last semester is arriving and my motivation has died two semesters ago. But nothing like a good dose of Hebrew exegesis to revive my love for seminary.
The commemoration of our Lord’s physical resurrection from the dead provides not only the crucial resolution to the Passion story, but to several liturgical themes stretching back over the past two months. Easter ends the seventy days of Babylonian exile begun on Septuagesima Sunday by restoring the Temple that was destroyed on Good Friday, i.e. the body of Jesus Christ. It ends the forty days of wandering in the desert begun on Ash Wednesday by giving us the Promised Land of eternal life. It ends the fourteen days of concealment and confusion during Passiontide by revealing the divinity of Jesus Christ and the meaning of His cryptic prophecies. It ends the seven days of Holy Week by converting our sorrow over the crucifixion into our jubilance about the resurrection. And it ends the three days of awesome mystery explored during the sacred Triduum by celebrating the central mystery of our faith: life born from death, ultimate good from unspeakable evil. It is for this reason that all the things that had been instituted at one point or another during the past penitential seasons (the purple vestments or the veiled images) are dramatically removed, while all the things that had been successively suppressed (the Alleluia, the Gloria in excelsis, several Gloria Patri’s, or the bells) are dramatically restored. a
I attended the Mass for my neighbor yesterday. As the priest read the words from Jesus’ account before the grave of his friend Lazarus, I was reminded that when the Almighty Lord of Glory saw his friends’ grave, He Wept.1 He wept as a human. They were true tears, tears of grief and sadness as sin conquered one more. But yet, the Christ who wept is the Christ who raises in glory and exaltation the dead at the last day.2 All those who are His will come and death will be no more.
I attended the mass for my neighbor yesterday. As the priest read the words from Jesus’ account before the grave of his friend Lazarus, I was reminded that when the Almighty Lord of Glory saw his friends’ grave, He Wept (Luke 11:35). He wept as a human. They were true tears, tears of grief and sadness as sin conquered one more. But yet, the Christ who wept is the Christ who raises in glory and exaltation the dead at the last day (I Corinthians 15:50-58). All those who are His will come and death will be no more.
I am now taking a short break from my reading of J. Douma’s excellent work on the Ten Commandments. All of this is to prepare myself for the Ethics exam in a 8 days. I have much more reading to do.
The Lord granted a marvelous day of worship yesterday. The singing was beautiful, the preaching was Biblical and challenging and the Lord’s Supper was administered. In the afternoon, we joined a group of other believers. We ate together and spoke on the topic of Christian fellowship using Maurice Robert’s essays on Christianity published by Banner of Truth.
Let us return to the Basics of the Christian Faith. The Psalmist teaches us that the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him and hope in His steadfast love.[1] Yet this clear reality is overshadowed by our naïve thought that love could be found elsewhere. We find ourselves making idols, substituting God for our vain imagination. We desire the new, the most complete, the technologically advanced, and the best the world has to offer us.
Those who hope on these things find themselves craving for them again and again, and never able to hope for that which is True, Beautiful, Unchangeable, and All-Loving. Returning to the Basics of the Christian faith entails hoping in God alone and what He offers. But the way of the fool as the Proverb contrasts is the way to destruction. As Lewis states:
He puts the blame on the things themselves. He goes on his life thinking that if he just found the right woman, stayed at a more expensive hotel, he would be happier. He is looking for “the Real Thing.”[2]
This real thing is just a contrivance from the devil himself who seeks to devour. This real thing is sometimes mixed with that which is pure, but it must never be seen as pure. If man hopes in any such thing, he has deceived himself and the truth does not abide in him.
[1] Psalm 33:18
[2] Mere Christianity, pg. 120.