Christ Is Victorious

Finding Joy in Uncertain Times: A Great Word from Thomas a Kempis

 

I have been preaching a sermon series on Philippians entitled "Finding Joy in Difficult Times" I have been deeply appreciative of the positive and encouraging words of response that I have received from people at West Side and on line listeners (see www.wspc.org sermons). One of the great challenges we have in our North American culture is that we confuse the Christian gift and virtue of JOY with the American pursuit of happiness. Simply stated, Joy and Happiness are not the same thing, although as CS Lewis seems to suggest they can be related. Happiness is soley based on "happenings" (circumstances) while "joy" is a gift given and a virtue practiced despite the circumstances. Thus the Apostle Paul can write a joy-filled letter to the Philippians while incarcerated by the Roman Empire.

This past week, I finished my sermon with a prayer taken from Thomas a Kempis' famous book called THE IMITATION OF CHRIST. I have had many requests for it and so here it is:

My God and my love, you are mine and I am yours. Deepen your love in me, O Lord, that I may learn how joyful it is to serve you. Let your love take hold of me and raise me above myself, that I may be filled with devotion because of your goodness. Then I will sing a song to you of love and worship. I will follow you and my soul will never grow tired of praising you. Let me love you more than myself, and love myself only for your sake. Let me love others in you and for you, as your law of love commands.Through Jesus Christ. Amen

 

Freedom, the 4th of July and Some Thoughts from Karl Barth Worth Pondering (Again!)

 The Celebration of Independence Day is this Monday in the USA...otherwise known as the 4th of July...an interesting juxtaposition for those who are Christians and Americans. I find it a bit odd that some churches altered their "normal" worship and church events last year when the 4th fell on a Sunday...even those churches still committed (for one reason or another) to Sunday night services, canceled them for that week...but why should we be surprised when we do the same thing for the Super Bowl and even when Christmas Day falls on a Sunday...Sorry I digress...

 When Karl Barth, the great Swiss theologian (1896-1968), visited the USA in 1962 he reflected on freedom and liberty with such insight that I wish to share it here.

"If I were myself an American citizen and a Christian and a theologian, I would look at that liberty statue in New York harbor. She needs a little or a good bit of demythologizing—nevertheless, she may also be seen and interpreted and understood well as a symbol of the true theology, one not of liberty but of freedom. It is a real human freedom, one which God gives us in his grace to obey him." An American theology of freedom, Barth said, should include "freedom from any inferiority complex over or against good old Europe, freedom from a superiority complex over or against Asia and Africa." It should also include freedom "from fear of Communism, Russia, inevitable nuclear warfare and, generally speaking, of all principalities and powers." Said Barth, summing up: "This theology of freedom should be a freedom for humanity."

I find it interesting that Barth made a distinction between freedom and liberty, but not only that, he challenges our culturalized definition of freedom by asserting the true human freedom is God's gift of grace and leads to faithful obedience to God and a freedom for other people (freedom for humanity). How different from contemporary assertions of freedom which say nothing more or less than "freedom is being able to do whatever I want, with whoever I want, whenever I want, however I want, etc." He also challenges us to be set free from both an inferiority complex and a superiority complex in relation to other peoples and nations. I particularly appreciated his challenge that we need to be set free from fear, but I must add to be set free from anxiety and complaint as well.

Barth was challenging us in the church to believe and live a more faithful understanding of freedom, a challenge that sounds amazingly contemporary for being something said nearly fifty years ago. I firmly believe Dr. Barth was right and I challenge us to think more deeply upon how we understand and live out our freedom, a precious grace gift from God most certainly and a costly grace to live out.

The Journey of Lent Ends #5 Christus Victor Again...A Message for Holy Week

     

My favorite time of the year as a person, a pastor, a professor as a Christian is Holy Week. Here lies the heart of the faith. And at the heart of the faith is CHRIST HAS DIED. CHRIST HAS RISEN. CHRIST IS COMING AGAIN. When I created this blogsite I wanted it to be a site where the message "CHRIST IS VICTORIOUS" could be proclaimed. There is lots of bad news around, but the greater news is CHRISTUS VICTOR. These were the last words known to be spoken by the great pastor/theologian Karl Barth as he responded to his good friend Eduard Thurneyson offer a litany of what was wrong in the world of late 1968, Karl Barth responded "Don't forget, Christus Victor". Yet we notlonly need to be reminded that Christ is victorious but that the same Jesus Christ was crucified. We cannot fully celebrate Easter without celebrating Good Friday. Karl Barth put it right when he wrote:

On Good Friday Jesus Chris entered the godforsaken state that was our due inorder to take it upon himself, to bear it and to take it away with the divine power given to him. He cried out "My God, My God why have you forsaken me?" in order that we might no longer have to ask that question...certainly there are times when we don't believe we can avoid the idea that we could be abandoned by God, but perhaps it is us who have abandoned God. Yet we are mistaken to feel and think that way forinlight of Good Friday the state of being godforsaken can only be a shadow, a pale memory, only a bad dream. It could well be true but it is not true---not for you and not for me or for anyone---that God has forsaken us...Because what a triumph is Easter, out of the godforsaken realm of death and the grave comes the risen Jesus Christ. What happended that day became, was and remains the center around which evrything else moves. For everything lasts its time, but the love of God which was at work and was revealed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ endures forever. Because this even took place, there is no reason to despair, and even when we read the newspaper with all its frightening news, there is now and forever every reason to hope."

Have a blessed Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter everybody...Christus Victor

My Life Summarized in A Weekend: The Life of a Pastor-Theologian with Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Sarah McLachlan, Ronald Reagan, Babe Ruth, Bob Marley, Super Bowl XLV, The Green Bay Packers and My Family

   I do not usually spend alot of time reflecting around my birthday(s). Tomorrow, February 6th, I turn 52 years old. As I came home from teaching at Regent College in Vancouver, BC Canada (www.regent-college.edu) and attending AN EVENING WITH SARAH MCLACHLAN (www.sarahmclachlan.com) at the Paramount Theater here in Seattle, I began to reflect upon the fact that the various things which occupied my time over this weekend was an unusual summary of my life. Let me explain...

As I taught at Regent College, I lectured on the importance of Pastor-Theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer to students in both my Pastoral Ethics Course and my Systematic Theology courses. As February 4th was the 105th Anniversary of Bonhoeffer's birth I thought it was important to remind students who seek to be faithful witnesses to Jesus Christ that other than the Bible itself, Bonhoeffer was a great source to guide them as to what it truly means to follow Jesus with complete devotion and commitment (see other blog posts here).

Then, for my birthday, my wife Caroline treated me to one of the greatest concert experiences I/we have had, with SARAH MCLACHLAN at the Paramount Theater here in Seattle. My wife and I were deeply impressed not only with her music performed live with new arrangements, great band, and great acoustics and lighting, but the spirit in which she engaged throughout the evening. A great surprise was to learn how committed she is to WORLD VISION (www.worldvision.org) and its work around the world. World Vision even had a large booth in the lobby next to the various merchandise on sale and were encouraged by Sarah to visit the booth. We had eighth row seats and it could not have been a better evening spent together in one of the nicest venues in the USA. Caroline and I were deeply moved by the night together.

Yet, as my birthday is on Sunday (February 6th), I will have the privilege to be teaching on Ephesians 2 in Adult Education and leading in worship w/Holy Communion at West Side Presbyterian Church...living the dream as a pastor-teacher-theologian (see www.wspc.org) and then heading straight home to watch Super Bowl XLV between my Green Bay Packers (for those who do not know, I am proudly from Wisconsin...I possess every kind of Packer regalia including YES a Cheesehead) and the Pittsburgh Steelers...again, living the dream with my son, bratwursts from Wisconsin and hopefully a Packer win, as nothing would thrill me more or be a better birthday present than the Green Bay Packers winning another Super Bowl on my birthday. Then, I will return to Vancouver, BC Canada to teach at Carey College (www.carey-edu.ca) an intensive course on theology to pastors, teaching for my good friend Jonathan Wilson.

And it is always interesting to discover who was actually born on the same day you were, so guess who was born on the same day as me? In order...Babe Ruth, Ronald Reagan and Bob Marley. No wonder I turned out the way I am...Anyhow, just some random thoughts as another year passes in my life...I could not have scripted this if I tried, but I remain grateful to God for the life He has given me thus far; for all my family (especially Caroline, Mark, Claire) and friends who have been part of the journey, and those who have made it all the more rich by their love, influence, even though they never knew it. To God be the Glory.

A New Kind of Christianity: 10 Questions that are Transforming the Faith...Here Goes Brian McLaren again...

 

Well here he goes again...another book on revisionist, progressive, emerging, a new kind of Christianity for a new kind of Christian who believes in a generous orthodoxy in an everything must change world. There I have my cynicism taken care of in relationship to Brian McLaren. See I deeply appreciate many of the questions Brian is raising, including those in this book. My problem is that I find myself having difficulty with Brian's answers and where he gets them. I was also deeply disappointed when he stepped down from being a pastor of a local church working out his theology in the day to day context of the Christian community called church. Yet, one cannot or should not ignore his thought as it continues to have significant influence with many people as the church navigates the massive societal and ecclesiastical changes that are taking place in the early 21st century. So what does McLaren offer us this time around?

McLaren begins by insisting that many have lost the sense of "quest" (journey or pilgrimage) in the Christian life which in turn neglects life's and faith's sense of "questioning"...kind of a postmodern version of the modernist philosopher Descartes "I question, therefore I am." By recalling a sense of quest and questioning, McLaren then poses the following questions (with his 'answers')...

BOOK ONE: UNLOCKING AND OPENING

Question One: The Narrative Question-What is the story of the Bible?

Question Two: The Authority Question-How should the Bible be understood? Revelation through conversation.

Question Three: The God Question-Is God violent? From a violent tribal God to a Christlike God

Question Four: The Jesus Question-Who is Jesus and why does he matter? Finding Jesus outside the lines

Question Five: The Gospel Question-What is the Gospel? Jesus and the Kingdom of God

BOOK TWO: EMERGING AND EXPLORING

Question Six: The Church Question-What do we do about the church?

Question Seven: The Sex Question-Addressing Human Sexuality without fighting about it

Question Eight: The Future Question-Finding a better way to view the Future

Question Nine: The Pluralism Question-Relating to Other People of Other Faiths

Question Ten: The What Do We Do Now Question-Translating Quest into Action

The subtext of the book is "What would Christianity look like if we weren't afraid of the questions?" I am increasingly concerned about "What would Christianity look like if we weren't afraid to discover the answers to the questions?" Again, if McLaren's book gets Christians and various Christian communities to ask and struggle with the questions raised in this book, I say "Fantastic!" However it will take great pastoral guidance from Holy Scripture as well as the faithful witness of the evangelical, ecumenical orthodox tradition of the Christian church to guide that quest and conversation. There is almost a "throwaway whatever" in McLaren's theology that is most disturbing. If post-modernism is to be taken seriously within evangelicalism, it is going to require its most public proponents (emergent/emerging church movement members) to move beyond the biblical, historical, philosophical and theological skepticism of our culture (which is as skeptical as modernism and Descartes' "I think therefore I am.") and return to a truly "generous orthodoxy" that humbly yet with conviction can affirm the evangelical, ecumenical orthodox expressions of Christian faith "without crossing your fingers behind your back". I therefore stand with John Stott when he answered the following question in his last interview with CHRISTIANITY TODAY in 2006" (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/october/32.94.html)

CT Question: what is evangelicalism, and why does it matter?
John Stott Answer: An evangelical is a plain, ordinary Christian. We stand in the mainstream of historic, orthodox, biblical Christianity. So we can recite the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed without crossing our fingers. We believe in God the Father and in Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit.

Having said that, there are two particular things we like to emphasize: the concern for authority on the one hand and salvation on the other.

For evangelical people, our authority is the God who has spoken supremely in Jesus Christ. And that is equally true of redemption or salvation. God has acted in and through Jesus Christ for the salvation of sinners.

I think it's necessary for evangelicals to add that what God has said in Christ and in the biblical witness to Christ, and what God has done in and through Christ, are both, to use the Greek word, hapax—meaning once and for all. There is a finality about God's word in Christ, and there is a finality about God's work in Christ. To imagine that we could add a word to his word, or add a work to his work, is extremely derogatory to the unique glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

THOUGHTS...

Remembering Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Today we celebrate and remember the life and witness of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I believe it is made all the more important this year as we see the devastation in Haiti and see the world uniting with various acts and deeds of compassion and mercy. May the vision of "I have a dream" stay alive in our day...

The good neighbor looks beyond the external accidents and discerns those inner qualities that make all men human and, therefore, brothers.

I submit to you that if a man hasn't discovered something he will die for, he isn't fit to live.

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.  Quotes taken from MLK's "Strength to Love"

Most Recent Sermons at WestSidePres (Seattle) (see 4/15 and 4/22) can be heard at www.wspc.org (Inc. The Parables of Jesus, "Finding Joy in Difficult Times" Philippians Series & What Christ Thinks of the Church, Grace&Gratitude). Regular Posts Follow.

A Thanksgiving Meditation

 

Hear O People of God

 

Living as the People of God

 

Living As The People of God 2_

 

Pentecost-The New Wind of the Holy Spirit

 

The 10 Commandments as a the Way to Freedom

 

Stewardship- No More Needed

 

Joshua- Be Strong and Courageous

 

It Really Is All About Following Jesus

 

I Believe in Jesus Christ
 

(Video Link to Reformation Sunday Sermon Preached at Grace Lutheran Church in Huntington Beach, California pastored by my friend and colleague Rev. Chris Tweitmann who introduces me at the beginning of the video is http://vimeo.com/36052733). Password to view is Burton (case sensitive). Enjoy!

You may also listen to sermons I have preached at West Side Presbyterian Church in West Seattle where I am currently serving as a parish associate (go to sermons at http://www.wspc.org).

I offer these for my blog readers who have requested it. I will continue to post more in the near future. As one who loves preaching, I am humbled and honored everytime the invitation to preach comes to me. I have been blessed to preach to many great congregations through the years and I look forward to what lies ahead in the future.

For me, Karl Barth spoke profoundly to the call of Christian preaching when he wrote:

But, some might say, how can we theologians come to speak God’s Word in our words? Or, some congregation might say, how can we come to hear God’s Word in the words of this or that pastor who has nothing to offer us, or in the words of all pastors, none of whom we trust? … If we expected to hear God's Word more, we would hear it more even in the weak and perverted sermons. The statement that there was nothing in it for me should often read that I was not ready to let anything be said to me. What is needed here is repentance by both pastors and congregations…. This does not mean that congregations must say Yea and Amen to all the words of their reverend pastors. Pastors are sinners. They are unprofitable servants with all their words even though they do all that they are under obligation to do (cf. Luke 17:10). Nevertheless, they are servants of the Most High (cf. Dan. 3:26). They speak in his name. They carry out his commission, which is a reality even today. No matter how well or how badly they do it, this in the presupposition of listening to them…. They know fear and trembling whenever they mount the pulpit. They are crushed by the feeling of being poor human beings who are probably more unworthy than all those who sit before them. Nevertheless, precisely then it is still a matter of God’s Word. The Word of God that they have to proclaim is what judges them, but this does not alter the fact – indeed, it means – that they have to proclaim it. This is the presupposition of their proclaiming it.”

Karl Barth, The Göttingen Dogmatics, Vol. 1, 33-35.