Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

So I realize that this post comes late in this week of prayer, but I think it is necessary nonetheless. If we confess that the Church is one, holy, catholic and apostolic, but truly treat it as if we are just fine with the divisions that currently exist, then we lie in our confession. To spiritualize our unity we share in Christ Jesus, and make no effort to mutually build up our belief, our witness, our faith, then we fall into parochial thinking that damages the witness of our faith. All Christians should be appalled by the division that exists in the body of Christ... no matter the reason. And there is absolutely no reason that we should follow the rules of playground ecumenism taking our ball home when we reach the slightest disagreement and discomfort when others shine light on our own shortcomings.

John Paul II writes in his encyclical Ut Unum Sint the following.

This truth about dialogue, so profoundly expressed by Pope Paul VI in his Encyclical Ecclesiam Suam,⁵² was also taken up by the Council in its teaching and ecumenical activity. Dialogue is not simply an exchange of ideas. In some way it is always an "exchange of gifts".⁵³

29. For this reason, the Council's Decree on Ecumenism also emphasizes the importance of "every effort to eliminate words, judgments, and actions which do not respond to the condition of separated brethren with truth and fairness and so make mutual relations between them more difficult".⁵⁴ The Decree approaches the question from the standpoint of the Catholic Church and refers to the criteria which she must apply in relation to other Christians. In all this, however, reciprocity is required. To follow these criteria is a commitment of each of the parties which desire to enter into dialogue and it is a precondition for starting such dialogue. It is necessary to pass from antagonism and conflict to a situation where each party recognizes the other as a partner. When undertaking dialogue, each side must presuppose in the other a desire for reconciliation, for unity in truth. For this to happen, any display of mutual opposition must disappear. Only thus will dialogue help to overcome division and lead us closer to unity.

To recognize the other as a partner and not an opponent is something that truly demands the presence of the Holy Spirit in the midst of the dialogues. We must move from a posture of hostility to one of hospitality. Sometimes that hospitality might not be the most comfortable, but we must learn to see in those actions the graciousness of not assuming the worst and a desire to work towards more visible unity.

For many Lutherans, they see the document Dominus Iesus as a step backward in ecumenical outlook, blaming then Cardinal Ratzinger for a deterioration of ecumenism. Of course, it seems to be completely in keeping with Roman Catholic teaching. And to look at the whole picture, one should also look at the attempt of Ratzinger to save the discussions (single-handedly) that produced the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (read a previous post here about this).

At the same time, Lutherans would be well advised in this spirit of reciprocity to stop treating the Augsburg Confession as some sort of declaration of ecclesiastical independence. At its heart, the Augsburg Confession is precisely an ecumenical document that sought reform and reconciliation between two parties. It is important to note here that the Reformers did not leave but were essentially exiled. During this week of prayer, one thanksgiving to raise up is that there is conversation and dialogue that seeks to end the exile, even if it is difficult.

So what is the alternative to playground ecumenism, where we stomp away when we don't get our way? How about a courtship ecumenism? Courting one's future spouse can be a difficult task... hard decisions need to be made, there must be trust that each partner is working toward a more visible union, and the results are meant to be permanent. As the Church works toward and waits for the marriage feast that has no end, it seems only fitting that we divided members be preparing now for the relationship that will exist for eternity.

Peace.

Cheer Up Charlie...

I downloaded the self-titled album from the group Cheer Up Charlie at Emusic.com. I think it is really good. The music is lively and the lyrics are not of the insipid "I-me-My-me" variety that abounds in contemporary Christian music. I cannot remember hearing at all any lyrics that are easily adaptable into a teenage love song (you know, "I'm so glad you're in my life..."). Cheer Up Charlie's lyrics evoke some contemplation, even from me... Take for example their song We Cry Out.

We cry out by Bradley DeRosia Hugh Butler

In faith we live a Godly life
Rejecting sin, a daily fight

There’s no changing tide
That will shake our lives
So in Him we’ll find a way

We cry out to the Son again
We cry out to be whole again
We cry out for your grace and love again
We cry out

The precious blood that paid the price
Still draws us near, from dark to light

There’s no changing tide
That will shake our lives
So in Him we’ll find a way

We cry out to the Son again
We cry out to be whole again
We cry out for your grace and love again
We cry out

We cry out to the Son again
We cry out to be whole again
We cry out for your grace and love again
We cry out

First the lyrics are first person PLURAL. We... WE cry out... evidently there is a group out there who recognize the brokeness of the world, and seek to reject that brokeness, that sin. This same collective group recognizes a source of healing and wholeness.

Second there are serious Eucharistic overtones. I heard them for the first time today while listnening. "The precious blood that paid the price" could certainly refer to the cross when Christ is offered up for all, but the following line says more, "still draws us near from dark to light." This drawing near is not just a remembrance of the crucifixion, but something active today. The precious blood which still draws us near is found when that aforementioned group gathers for worship. There the gospel is made real and concrete and placed in our hands as the precious body and blood seeking to make us whole... And of course I heard the Eucharistic prayer where I have said time and again, "We cry out for the resurrection of our lives when Christ will come to share with us the great and promised feast."

Here found in a piece of contemporary Christian music is a piece worthy of contemplation in praise of the mystery of the Eucharist.

Peace.

How Lutheran?

You are 100% Lutheran! This is most certainly true.

Nicely done! Martin would be proud of you! You may or may not have room for growth in understanding Lutheran terminology and culture. Good thing Salvation is by Grace and not by merit. We can add nothing to what God has done for us in Christ Jesus. But it never hurts to learn a little more about the church on earth. Thanks for taking the quiz!

How Lutheran Are You?
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Ok I did score 100% on my first try but I'll admit I guessed at a few...

Peace.

Elizabeth Ann Seton -- Renewer of Society -- Jan 4

Elizabeth Ann Seton began the parochial school system for Roman Catholics in the U.S. by starting a Catholic girls' school in Baltimore, Maryland after she had started one to support her and her children after her husband died. She also took vows and began the Daughters of Charity of St. Joseph in 1809. Many of the sisters in that order staff hospitals and other care facilities.

Despite being born into a life of wealth and prestige, Elizabeth Ann Seton shows for us the power of the transformed life, one lived out in sacrifice and devotion to Christ.

Her life of sacrifice can point us to Christ, who also lived a life of sacrifice insofar as he was completely devoted to the Father. Seton's life is one that points to a complete trust in God's providence, when after losing all she had, wealth, honor, and her husband, she continues to trust and work for God by establishing religious schools based on models of religious communities. When she began her first school, the school was a means to support her and her children. At the same time she was carrying out a ministry.

Near her death, she wrote the following statement of faith.

Link by link, the blessed chain
One Body in Christ -- He the head we the members
One Spirit diffused thru' the Holy Ghost in us all
One Hope -- Him in heaven and Eternity
One Faith--by his Word and his Church
One Baptism and participation of his sacraments
One God our dear Lord
One Father We his children--he above all through all and in all.
Who can resist, all self must be killed and destroyed by this artillery of love-- one, one, one. Who could escape this bond of unity, peace, and love? O my soul, be fastened link by link, strong as death, iron, and Hell as says the sacred Word.

Peace.

Basil the Great -- Doctor of the Church-- January 2

Don't you just hate it when you click "save as draft" when you really meant to hit publish... grrr....

Generally commemorated on June 14 in the ELCA breviary with the other two Cappadocian Fathers ( he and the other two Gregorys... of Nyssa and of Nazianzus), Basil is commemorated today in the Roman calendar, and frankly given the importance of these three, each really should receive their own date. Butler's Lives of the Saints says,

Basil the Great lived during the height of the Arian controversy (239-379), and he had an important part in the process of resisting it.... Basil worked against steady opposition and received little support from other leaders in the Church even as he was championing the Church's teachings. Libraries preserve many of his books and letters today. The members of his flock loved him because he was an outstanding pastor who often visited among them. He preached to large gatherings twice a day, took care of the poor, and had a hospital built. One of the great personalities in church history, Basil did superlative and enduring in one of the most difficult times the Church has ever faced.

Briefly, Arias and his school taught that ultimately that the Son (Trinitarian language) was a creature far surpassing any other creature of the world, but made nonetheless by God the Father. The Son merely becomes a demigod and loses actual knowledge of God, which if God is truly transcendent, no mere creature however exalted, could know.

Basil offers an example not just of the defense of the faith, but of perserverance in the faith. In a world where everyone expects a quick fix, or maybe a compromise, Basil reminds us that there are some things worth staying in for the long haul. Had the Church compromised on this doctrine, something essential would have been lost. Jesus as the Son of God is important not because he is another creature like one of us, but because he is God who dwells with us carrying knowledge (not mere information, but relational knowledge) of the Father and Spirit. If there was a time when the Son was not (which Arias taught since the Son was made by the Father), then there is no way to claim that the Son shared divinity in any meaningful sense.

Let us all perservere in the faith.

Peace.