The Lord of all glory gives us of Himself that we might be nurtured. He nurtures us that we might perpetuate His example of selfless giving and nurture the world. At this table we are reminded and exhorted to serve one another just as we have been served by Christ. This table is the giving of the Son for a holy people: a people made holy by the One who is altogether Holy. We do not weep at the table of a dead Savior, but we rejoice in the presence of an Exalted Lord. Let us rejoice as we dine with our Lord.
Mormonism and Joel Osteen
The same questions asked in the early church are being asked again in the 21st century. The Nicene Creed, a standard summary of Christianity, is threatened on a regular basis.
With the political scene heating up, and the Romney ticket becoming certain, the national debate is beginning to focus on the religious affiliation of candidates. This being the case, Romney’s Mormonism will take central stage again much like Kennedy’s Roman Catholicism in the 60’s.
Many evangelicals will taste the Republican pie certain of its bitter taste. However, they will claim its bitterness is tolerable. The more sophisticated evangelicals will argue that this is a necessary step, an incremental move that will bear fruit in the long term. The bottom line is Obama must go, and Romney is the likely candidate to assure this desired exit.
At the same time, there are a growing number of Christians who not only argue on the basis of Romney’s unconvincing credentials as a conservative, but also that his Mormon faith is unhealthy, and undesirable in the quest for a Christian republic.
Though many politicians play their religious syncretism with skill, Romney’s faith is unquestionably headed towards Utah. So, does this mean evangelicals need to back up in their creedal dogmatism? Or should they insist that a line is a line? Or did Athanasius die in vain?
Kennedy was quick to throw the pope under the bus. Will Romney do the same with Thomas S. Monson? Further, how will evangelicals undertake this theological analysis? Will they be able to distinguish properly between a non-Trinitarian and a worshiper of the One who is Three and One? These types of discussions will undoubtedly continue in the days ahead. Christians–many of whom I respect–have taken the “anything but” argument, and will push for a Romney presidency. If these evangelicals pursue this route–and there are many noble ones who will– may they be sure that they not confuse their Christ for an unknown god.
Mormonism–for all its moral qualities–is not Christian. Joel Osteen’s version of Jesus Christ is not Christian. His appeal to a broader view of Jesus–though politically savvy–is precisely the type of affirmation Jesus rejected. The Christian cannot afford to lose precision at this point. Our confession cannot be compromised:
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father,God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father.
Sixth Sunday of Epiphany: Mark 1:40-45
People of God, we come to the end of Mark 1. We continue where we left off last week. Mark is an action-packed gospel filled with movement. Jesus is moving from wilderness, synagogue, city, and the world. This is a constant pattern we see not only in Mark, but in the other gospels, and that we ultimately see in the entire Bible. God begins with a little garden in Genesis, and he moves to create a bigger garden throughout history.
God is active in his work of restoring the world to the way it should be. In C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, there is a scene at the end of the book—where after Aslan has been raised from the dead—he goes into the Witch’s home. The Witch has turned all her opponents into stone. When they arrive at the Witch’s home Lucy declares: “What an extraordinary place! All those stone animals—and people too! It’s—like a museum.” To which Susan filled with the vigor and joy of Aslan’s resurrection utters: “Hush, Lucy. Aslan is doing something.”[1] In our narrative Jesus is doing something wonderful. Though he is not turning statutes into humans or animals again, he is turning sickness into health; turning despair into joy. Susan’s attitude is something we should keep in mind as we consider this narrative. Sometimes we need to just hush and ponder and enjoy the sheer movement of Jesus’ healing ministry. Continue reading “Sixth Sunday of Epiphany: Mark 1:40-45”
Fourth Sunday of Epiphany: Mark 1:21-28; Exorcism and Discipleship, part II
Here is my audio of my sermon on Mark 1:21-28.
People of God, the action-centered gospel of St. Mark continues to bring out the unsavory manifestations of demons. The gospel of Mark introduces us to the forces of evil incarnated in Satan himself. As I alluded to last week, Jesus is going to confront a man with an unclean spirit in the synagogue. The demonic forces are coming out to meet the Holy One of Israel. The presence of Jesus draws these demons out. They realize that their territory is being threatened by his presence. They realize that they are going to be crushed. The coming of Jesus is a dramatic blow to Satan’s plans. Throughout the gospels there will be many encounters with evil. In the wilderness testing, we saw the first of the many battles Jesus will have with the evil one. These battles symbolize the promise of a cosmic battle between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, as told in Genesis 3:15. Good vs. Evil; Purity vs. Impurity; Blameless vs. Demonic.[1]
Last week we read and heard that Jesus began his assembling of a new race of proclaimers. From verses 14-20, Jesus is gathering his army. He does not call soldiers or trained Jewish leaders, rather he calls fishermen. He called Simon, Andrew, James and John. These men were effectually called to serve this new leader. But discipleship is not cheap. These first disciples abandoned everything that they had and followed after Christ. It is not that their tasks were unimportant in the kingdom, but rather that they were called to a greater job in the kingdom; that of establishing the foundation of the kingdom of Christ. They would be fishers of men. These were unimportant men in the community, but their role is to signal a transition in redemptive history. These are men of the sea. Their livelihood comes from the sea, but now they are going to preach the message of the kingdom of God in the land. They are going to echo John the Baptist. They are going to cry out: Repent and believe in the gospel! Continue reading “Fourth Sunday of Epiphany: Mark 1:21-28; Exorcism and Discipleship, part II”