Category: Theological Thoughts

Why do we come to church? The answer to that question is actually monumentally important. If you have a simplistic/minimalist view of the church, then showing up late or attending infrequently, or taking every other Sunday to go camping/fishing instead of being with God’s people means your ecclesiology is about as great as RoboCop 3, Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, or whatever sequel that ruined a great franchise. If your view of the Church is represented by that mentality, then good luck, or whatever you say to someone who is endangering his soul and the souls of his offspring.

But for the rest of you who treasure worship, and who have made a once-in-a-lifetime decision to be with God’s people every Sunday unless providentially hindered, then you should know that no matter the tradition, your view of worship is all-inclusive. There is no half-time show, no water-break; rather, the whole thing from beginning to end is significant to shape your view of Christ. In my tradition, if you show up about 10 minutes late, you will have missed the prayer of confession and Christ’s words of forgiveness. You will have missed a huge part of the Gospel story.

This leads to the second argument against keeping children in worship from beginning to end, which is, “I am not going to get anything out of the service if I am constantly distracted by them.” This is a variation of the first argument, but it adds that since the sermon is the central element of worship, keeping children in worship takes our attention away from the preached Word. There is much to admire in this perspective. But we need to challenge the basic premise here, which is that the purpose of worship is merely to hear a 20-50 minute sermon. While the premise is noble and we must treasure God’s word proclaimed, we fundamentally err in thinking that a sermon is a stand-alone act in worship. What goes before the Word preached sets the stage for the Word preached and what goes after the Word preached is the response of grateful hearts to the words of God.

Our first mistake is to think that children are a distraction from the real business of the Church. But why should they not benefit from the sermon also? What if, instead of viewing them as distractions during the sermon, we viewed them as hearers of the sermon as well? What if you worked towards getting them to participate in the singing and the hearing? If the Word of God proclaimed by an ordained minister is so crucial–and it has always been in the history of the Church and the biblical story–why are little children exempt from such a blessing? “But they won’t understand a word!” you might say. Are their humanity and the blessings of God’s revelation contingent on their understanding? What if you have a 30-year-old mentally disabled son who grasps only the minimal? Is he also not worthy of hearing God’s word because of his mental incapacity? Think very carefully about this logic.

We often view children differently than how the Bible viewed them. In Joel 2:16, the assembly gathered, and the prophet added to that flock “the nursing infants.” In Psalm 8:2, the psalmist says that praises flow from the mouth of babes and infants. There is never an indication that these little ones were set aside for a separate assembly during the prophetic delivery, and there is zero indication that Jesus scattered the babies during the sermon on the mount. But the opposite is, in fact, true.

The other failed premise is to assume that “getting something out of the sermon” is the sole purpose of worship. If your congregation is full of life in word and singing, then God is ministering to you in every element of the worship service. You don’t have to wait until the sermon to be fed; God has already begun to feed you before the sermon and will do so after the sermon in the worship service.

I contend that the service itself provides opportunities for you to gain throughout by the very act of training your little ones, and being around others with little ones, and singing with little ones, and hearing with little ones. Will there be distractions? Yes. Will you follow the pastor’s argument in Jude 6 all the way? Probably a bit or most certainly not. But do these acts of togetherness with your offspring set the stage for future worshipers who grow in integrity before God and man and who treasure the songs of Zion and the Word-made-flesh? You better believe it! I’ve seen it! Heck, I lived it just a few minutes ago in our family morning worship.

To my theologically conservative friends,

I beseech you to not let your guard down in such a time as this. “Tis the season of childishness posing as innovation. Immature theology presents you with its offers of fame and success. They are “cause” directed. It never offers you deep and established categories of the historic faith because they are too rooted in Christendom and if there is one enemy of leftism, it’s Christendom. Instead, they offer you shiny objects and “easy speeches.” But as for you, you are to love your neighbor, show hospitality, and suffer well. Don’t abandon your post for those offering you a chance to engage in the real “battle” of our day.

They are asking you to globalize your concerns instead of continuing to do those local things that God has clearly called you to do. They are saying that you should show care for this or that cause, otherwise you are an imbecile worthy of condemnation and to be treated as a denier of “progressiveness,” or good ol’ fashion, “social justice.” But, I say, resist the niceties of leftists agendas in the church and in the world. Of course, this commitment comes with consequences for you, which is why you must count the cost (Lk. 14:28). The end result of such a stand against the gods of this age will be the loss of relationships, even among family members; perhaps the loss of jobs, and possibly the loss of reputation. But I assure you: the reward is infinitely greater than the losses.

Many will guilt us into causes that are so far detached from the umbilical cord of truth, but they will present it as the “cause of the century,” or “the real battle.” “It’s just nice,” they say, to care about this or that movement. C.S. Lewis repudiated such absurdity when he wrote that nice people are difficult to save because God is not nice or safe, but He is good.

This is a particular time in history when theological compromise is knocking at your door and the temptation to serve the greater cultural causes will tempt you. But you are not to forsake your duties to your neighbor in exchange for global causes; this is our time to be even more diligent loving our brother and sister, and serving and caring and committing to those tested and tried Christian duties. Naturally, you will feel the pull to take these causes in the name of making a mark or building your “I care” brand, but don’t be deceived, many of the ideologies of our day come with strings attached. They are often attached to unholy agendas of sexual freedom and the acceptance of lifestyles far from the kingdom of heaven.

Remember that the “who” is just as important as the “what” and “how.” Those who perpetuate concepts of reconciliation, for instance–from whatever tribe–will not call you to simply defend their cause, but they will demand you follow their charity by kneeling before their ideological gods, and none of these gods lead to the cross of the crucified Messiah.

Therefore, keep your guard up! Be courageous among fierce vultures. Don’t feel the compulsion to enter into the first cause that seems noble and do not act as if your cause is to study every conceivable angle of a movement to destroy its argument. Too many have entered and never returned. What you must do is test the spirits and see if they are of faith for sometimes they dress up as angels of light to deceive you into a nice Christianity devoid of godly conviction and before you know it, the cause you are fighting for has no Gospel at all. God forbid!

Reading Bonhoeffer’s pastoral heart during my dissertation writing was a sweet sound to my soul. His prison letters led me down a path of admiration and excavation of my own heart. I read almost 1,000 pages’ worth, and I left with a sense of passion for the holy. Among the many glorious things gleaned from Bonhoeffer, in particular, I was drawn to the musical component of this astute and brave Lutheran scholar. His engagement of congregational singing with young seminarians and his particular thoughts on singing in the community has largely inspired my mission for my local body and the role I see sacred music play in parish life.

For Bonhoeffer, singing is a relational tool. If there is one thing quite clear in his writing is that there is a special bond created when people sing together. Life together does not just happen; it is cultivated. The young seminarians were not immune to temptations; in fact, it is precisely their singing together that alleviated some of those natural temptations to pursue sin. Singing is and ought to be a tool of healing and reconciliation. We can engage in spectacularly contradictory forms of protests today with our yard signs and vocal cords, or we can engage in spectacularly harmony-driven singing that cultivates relationality.As Bonhoeffer notes:

“Music … will help dissolve your perplexities and purify your character and sensibilities, and in time of care and sorrow, will keep a fountain of joy alive in you.”

A few years ago, I was invited to visit one of my parishioner’s grandmother on hospice care. She asked me to minister to her family, whom I had never met. By the time I arrived, her grandmother was no longer responsive. It was just a matter of hours before she died. I walked in there and saw that dear woman and the first reaction I had was to sing: so, I did. We all gathered, and I asked them permission to sing. I sang Psalm 23 and prayed. I was a stranger to all these people, but suddenly that old Irish melody brought everybody together. It was a mystical moment, if I can use that term.

For Bonhoeffer, one of the great pastoral means to deal with pain and death is singing. Paul says to encourage one another with psalms and hymns and Spirit-songs, which is to say, singing as a church invites the church to enter each other’s stories and narratives. Singing allows pastoral theology to come alive.

On this Saturday, the Church calls this day “Blessed Sabbath” or more commonly, “Holy Saturday.” On this day, our Lord reposed (rested) from his accomplishments. Many throughout history also believe that Holy Saturday is a fulfillment of Moses’ words:

God blessed the seventh day. This is the day of rest, on which God rested from all His works . . .(Gen. 2:2)

The Church links this day with the creation account. On day seven, Yahweh rested and enjoyed the fruit of his creation. Jesus Christ also rested in the rest given to him by the Father and enjoyed the fruits of the New Creation he began to establish and would be brought to light on the next day.

Holy Saturday is a day of rest for God’s people; a foretaste of the true Rest that comes in the Risen Christ. The calmness of Holy Saturday makes room for the explosion of Easter Sunday. On this day, we remember that the darkness of the grave and the rest of the Son were only temporary for when a New Creation bursts into the scene the risen Lord of glory cannot contain his joy, and so he gives it to us.

On the Friday of Holy Week, traditionally known as “Good Friday,” the great question is, “What do we do with this man?” “Do we crucify him; do we let Him go; will He anger Caesar; will He draw to Himself members of our political party?” Good Friday is replete with politics.

Throughout the Gospels, we often hear of the confusion and uncertainty about the nature of Jesus. But by this point, the leaders of the day have realized that Jesus is no ordinary man; that He is not just claiming to be the Messiah, but also a kingly substitute to the current selection. After this realization, their tone changes quite drastically. Their plans of execution and murder suddenly become quite concrete. This is the politics of Good Friday, as one author observes:

God enters His creation, and His creatures concentrate all their ingenuity, passion, piety, and power to destroy Him.

What is distinctive about the politics of Good Friday is not that Jesus despises power; after all, He will receive all power and authority in heaven and earth from the Father, rather the uniqueness of Good Friday is that power comes through death, and the declaration of His kingship does not appear in the splendor of a Roman coronation, but in the horror of a tree.

When Pilate handed over Jesus to the Jews and mockingly stated: “Behold your King!” little did he know that the destruction of his own kingdom now was certain, and the genesis and emergence of an everlasting kingdom were already taking place.

Unlike Adam, Jesus did not fail to crush the Serpent. On a tree, Adam fell, but through a tree, a New Adam and a New Humanity is resurrected. Hail Good Friday! All glory, laud, and honor to the Redeemer King!

On Thursday of Holy Week, Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with his disciples. It is traditionally known as “Maundy Thursday.” The word “Maundy” is derived from the Latin “mandatum” which refers to the “commandment” that our Lord gave to His disciples “to love one another.”

John 13:33-34:
“My children…
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

We see the tenderness of Jesus displayed as he addresses his disciples as his children. For Jesus, they belonged in his kingdom. Therefore, our Lord had to protect them from what was ahead. What was ahead was something only Jesus could undergo.

“Where I am going, you cannot come,” Jesus said.

The Lord gives them this new commandment to hold on to as they continue kingdom work. But why is this a new commandment? Didn’t Moses already give us this imperative in Leviticus 19:18 when he said, “to love your neighbor as yourself?” Indeed. However, this new commandment is unlike Leviticus. Jesus says “love one another, just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” The difference is God became flesh and literally loved His disciples for three years.

The disciples now have the example of God in the flesh of what love truly looks like. Yes, it is a new commandment: Love one another. But when Jesus says “Do this,” it is because He has already demonstrated for us what it looks like.

Love is the center of Christian discipleship. How will the world know who we are? It should not be because of our intellectual expertise, or our professional accomplishments, but rather by the love we have for one another at our tables, living rooms, workplaces, and in the place of worship.

The Christian history triumphed because God has loved us in his Son, and Christians have reacted to that love by loving one another. Without love there is no Christian faith; without love, we are noise-makers, clanging cymbals, self-delusional religionists, but when we obey this new commandment, the world sees us and they will know that we are disciples of the Crucified King, Jesus Christ.

Prayer: O Lord, of heaven and earth, we are undeserving of such love, yet, you love us still without hesitation. We are your disciples and pray that your love would overflow in our hearts that we might display this love to those around us by listening, cherishing, serving and encouraging our neighbor in the Name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Some refer to the Wednesday of Holy Week as a “Silent Day” or “Holy Wednesday.” Much of it depends on how one puts together the Gospel chronology. Still, it appears that after Judas decided to betray Jesus, Wednesday is spent conspiring on how this would occur. Jesus is in Bethany throughout the day and stays there during the night.

There is, however, one remarkable scene that takes place in Bethany.

One of the Pharisees invited Jesus to eat with him. He entered the Pharisee’s house and sat at the table. There was a woman in the city who lived a very sinful life and knew that Jesus was eating in the Pharisee’s house. In humble service, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume. Standing behind at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears, and she wiped them with the hair of her head, kissed his feet, and anointed them with the perfume (Lk. 7:36ff).

On Thursday, at the Last Supper, there is another table set. But on Wednesday, Jesus receives one of the most splendid displays of worship in his earthly ministry. A woman, of immoral reputation, anoints our Lord. In the Bible, kings are anointed. Unlike the traitorous leaders of the day, this woman wasted no time in submitting to the Lord of Glory.

This scene is filled with symbolic significance. First, the woman wet his feet with tears–a symbol of casting her cares on him. Then, she wiped his feet with her hair–a symbol of casting her sins on him for “hair” in the Bible is often associated with weakness and uncleanness (Lev. 13:40). Finally, she kisses his feet–a symbol of loyalty. Unlike Judas whose kiss meant death, this woman’s kiss meant life and loyalty.

On this Holy Wednesday, while Jesus’ ministry may be relatively silent, the angels in heaven are not; the Father and the Spirit are not, and this true worshipper in a Pharisees’ home is loudly worshipping the Second Adam.

Prayer: O Blessed Messiah, whose feet were kissed by those who follow you, we dare not betray you for you served us unto death. May our lives be like kisses of loyalty to the Son of Man who poured his love on all our hearts; yes, Jesus our Messiah, amen!