Let There Be

There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. "Rabbi," he said, "we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you." Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God...I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life."
          - John 3, NLT

This conversation is one of a few places in Scripture that give us the concept of salvation being a rebirth of sorts - a recreation. What Jesus is telling Nicodemus here is that our spirits must be made new again if we are to see God's Kingdom here on earth. The theme of God making his people new again, though, is a thread throughout the Christian cannon. In fact, salvation is best understood, I believe, in terms of the grander scheme of creation. Specifically, we are created "ex nihilo" or "out of nothing" and so to this "nothingness" we have the propensity to return without the sustenance or sustaining power of God. So you and I, right now, are being held together by God's will that we do so. This is why, at death, we would face eternal separation from God; that is, our ultimate return to our base "nothing" state. Incredibly, our Creator longs for us to be with him and so salvation is essentially accepting his will to keep us with him forever and totally forsake our "nothingness".

It's important to remember, however, that we are in process. You and I are not able to achieve this higher state on our own. This is one of the reasons for Christ's coming, that you and I can become what we were intended to become: God's perfect creation. So, when we find ourselves in darkness and reverting to nothing, remember the words that called us from that nothing.

This idea was rattling in my head the other day when I was listening to this song. It is a song about creation and it's opening line says "darkness hovering, grasping everything it seems...". It then goes on to describe primordial earth: void and chaotic. Through a series of calls from afar, the song masterfully builds to the revelation of God's command "let there be light".

Application:
 
In our lives, we periodically find ourselves in dark times. Life can tend to feel - spiritually, emotionally and sometimes physically - like that chaotic mess that was before creation. With Christ as our base for faith and his love as our motivator for new life, day in and day out, we can sing "let there be light" and see his love illuminate our lives once more.

This is a short blog and there could be much more said about the connection between the Genesis poem of creation and our daily martyrdom to our chaotic and dark falleness. Still, I hope that in these few lines, you remember to think of your mornings as a new birth - every morning - and when life gets a little "primordial", I hope that you remember to sing "let there be light".

peace,
C.M.

On St. Augustine in Brevity

Hello all! As of now, I am on a brief break from my Masters program (which I'll finish in December) and so I will be getting back to writing here more often (as opposed to writing for that). So, in order to initiate this period of my life, I want to start with a brief recount of the "Father of Western Christianity", Saint Augustine of Hippo. Also, I will post two links to a couple songs that were directly inspired by his writing and use his words verbatim.

The reason: I want to post something like this every once in a while because I think it is extremely important for the church to know about the people that formed it into its current state; however, I realize that not everyone will have the time to read a whole book about characters like Augustine (or Auggie to those who know him best ;) ). So, it is my hope that these sporadic and brief writings on these people of Christianity will help you in your Spiritual development.

                                                                             Augustine of Hippo

Of all of the founding fathers of the Christian tradition, few if any can lay claim to being as influential for the worlds of philosophy and theology as Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430). Often referred to as the Father of Western Christianity, Augustine imparted much of the verbiage of Christianity in the West as well as many of the distinctions that most modern Christians take for granted.

Aurelius Augustinus was born and died in the town of Hippo in North Africa in the region that is now known as Algeria.  His father was a devout pagan of Rome and his mother was a Christian of simple faith. At age 17, Augustine went to Carthage to study rhetoric. There he encountered world views other than Christianity and quickly fell into Manichaeanism, a philosophy that maintained that the forces of good and evil in the world were eternally at a stalemate. This philosophy was appealing to the young, pleasure-seeking Augustine who indeed enjoyed all the pleasures that were available to a young man at the time. The year 384 found Augustine headed to Carthage to teach in Rome and finally Milan where he encountered the writings of Plotinus and promptly converted to Neoplatonism, abandoning his Manichaeanism leanings. Only two years later he himself recorded the story of his Christian conversion.

While sitting in a friend’s garden, Augustine claims to have heard a small voice like that of a child repeatedly telling him to “pick it up and read”. Having picked up Saint Paul’s letters to the church, he opened up to Romans 13:13-14 which blatantly called Augustine from his life of fleshly self-gratification. Thus Augustine returned to the faith of his childhood, imparted to him by his mother, and went on to spend a 40 year pastoral career, quite literally, shaping Christianity into the religion that we know it to be today.

One of Augustine’s biggest contributions to our faith tradition was his fusion of Christianity with the philosophy of Plotinus and, by extension, Plato. This was possible because Christianity, unlike Buddhism and other eastern religions, has no strict philosophical basis, but instead is based on the events of history surrounding the Jewish people and the man, Jesus of Nazareth. His method was more or less to lay Christianity over Neoplatonism and wherever Neoplatonism’s logical results conflicted with Christianity, Augustine gave preference to the Christian teaching; his belief that divine revelation trumped human reason was the power house behind much of his ground-breaking philosophy.

Augustine left to the annals of history two of the most profound works of literature ever produced from Christendom: Confessions and The City of God. The latter was his magnum opus of how Christians ought to view their role in this world. Drawing on Plato’s realm of forms, Augustine puts forth that there is a City of God that is founded on absolute truths and idealism and, contrastingly, there is the City of Man that is a shadow of the former’s perfection; in this way, he outlines ideal Christian living. In Augustine’s Confessions, we are given the known world’s first autobiography in the modern sense. This work was even more notable for the multiple applications that can be drawn from it; that is, not only is it biographical, but also introspective and revelatory into how Christians (according to Augustine) ought to deal with their own depravity.

It is no exaggeration to say that “Western Christianity is Augustinian Christianity”; this, however, does not necessarily mean that the man was in any way infallible. Along with giving the academic world works that largely anticipated philosophical giants like Kant, Descartes, Aquinas, Luther and Calvin, Augustine gave us more harmful doctrine like that of predestination that was used in the middle ages to justify the grotesque slaughter heretics and informed Marxism which played a significant role in Hitler’s persecution of the Jewish people.

All in all, Augustine was a man who pioneered not only new ground in philosophy but also in church orthodoxy and literature. Imperfect as a man and affected by his historical context, Augustine still stands above most as the father of modern and Western Christianity on a global scale. 

Here and Here are the two songs that I promised at the beginning. The first is by a band called Gungor and the second by a band called Disciple.

Peace,

C.M.

On Death and Identity

Why does death hurt if we believe in Jesus? I mean, if we're going to see all of our deceased loved ones again someday, what sadness is there? After all, don't we love to cry "Oh Death, where is your sting?!" on Easter? So why do we cry? What mourning is there to be done if a loved one has died?

I shall endeavor to answer this question here. Be forewarned, like everything else on this blog, these are my beliefs personally and you're welcome to disagree :)

What is Death?

I believe in a theory which is known as "soul sleep"; it's this idea that when you die, your soul takes a long nap until it can be reunited with your perfected body in the resurrection. I think this jives well with Scripture and simply makes sense (because I have little confidence in alternate realities and thus have a hard time placing "heaven" as an ontological place). I do think that while we are sleeping we are given the sweetest dreams in which God comes to us in fellowship and we are allowed to experience paradise at that point, but these are not to be final - that is saved for the resurrection.

So, if this is what is in store for my loved ones, then why would I cry? Hold that thought.

Who Am I?

I think that when we understand our identity it must be seen in terms of relationship. I think that part of the image of God that we bear is the necessity for relationship as the Father is in relationship to the Son and Spirit and creation as a whole and us in particular. This means that, in a sense, I am the sum of the relationships that I have - to my wife, children, parents, siblings, friends, acquaintances, etc. So, when I meet someone new, I immediately give them a measure of myself and am changed to a small degree on a metaphysical level. The longer and more intimate of a relationship that I have with this person (any person), the more that they affect who I am and I them.

Why does this matter? Hold that thought too.

Putting it together as a Christian

When I take these two ideas and put them together and ask why death hurts Christians emotionally (which can lead to physical pains, but we won't go there in this post), I am brought to the following conclusion:

The pain that we feel from losing a loved one is the pain of self-separation.

This is not to say that I, as an individual am personally disintegrated, but that a part of me has metaphysically left me and there is a hole of sorts in its stead. There is pain in this and there is sorrow, but it is not at the idea that I'll never see this person again, nor is it in any doubt about their relationship to God (which is none of my business really). Instead, it hurts because I am fundamentally a different person without that loved one in my life.

Other places that the theory holds

This idea also seems sensible in the face of divorce in which a relationship that was once so intimate is now torn apart. Children and ex-spouses alike feel the void and, though they may be happy with new companions, there is still a connection to the previous life. If both people are still living, there is still a part that impacts the others identity.

This theory also supports why sex outside of marriage is a bad idea; that is, when one shares the intimate connection that a healthy sexual relationship is suppose to contain, a deep part of themselves are connected. When one promiscuously sleeps around - or even just has sex with whomever they're dating at the time, even if they only date a different person every 5 years - it is spiritually damaging and what is divinely designed to be a permanent relationship gets worn out like a screw that is stripped from overuse. There can be healing when a permanent relationship is established, but this process is painful.

Finally, this theory holds when we see childhood friends for the first time in a long time. The rekindling of relationships that have been long set aside can be one of the most beautiful moments because that part of you that has been untapped for so long can finally be re-explored. Childhood friends and school mates are great to keep around, but sometimes its sweeter to re-acquaint them later in life as well.

Concluding Thoughts

I encourage my reader to take some time to think about their relationships and life experiences in light of this theory. If every person I meet literally shapes who I am on a metaphysical level, perhaps I ought to be more careful with my relationships in general. Maybe I should be kinder to strangers who may end up having a long bearing on my life and whom I impact with my life. Perhaps my testament to the good news which is the establishment of the Kingdom of God is found more within how I shape people's lives with my friendship and not in my ability to argue well. There are profound implications and it is good to chase them out. 

In regard to the topic at our outset: grief, it is natural and healthy

to feel pain at the loss of a loved one, but listen well to Scripture to hear Jesus whisper to you "why are you crying? They're only sleeping". Allow the Spirit of God which is in you to heal the hole that has been left by a relationship lost; Christ is enough.

Peace,

C.M.

On Leadership

Sorry for the hiatus; life got blessed.

Tonight, I'm writing in brevity a few thoughts on leadership. I usually write in the mornings as that is my most productive thinking time, but tonight I managed some space, so I thought I'd take advantage of it.

Spiritual Gift of Leadership

I don't really want to comment too much on the Biblically-mentioned gift of leadership because, to be honest, I'm not entirely certain on where to draw the line between natural leadership and "supernatural, spiritually gifted" leadership; that is, I feel like the line is kind of blurry. I feel like there is no real reason to think that spiritual gifts are permanent or that a person is only allotted one, so I think it is more helpful to evaluate oneself in light of where one's passions lay - there a person will perform the best services. We need the Spirit to be effective Christian leaders, but I don't feel like this is essentially different than being a leader in general.

What's a Leader?

Truthfully, the best answer I have heard for this question is simply "those who have followers". I know it seems silly and simple, but the truth is there are people who gain followers no matter where they are. I reflect at the men in my family and every one of us naturally get people following us without really even trying. Now, to be sure, there are different kinds of leaders and my father, brother and second son are more alike than my oldest son and myself, but we all lead naturally in our own way (side bar: I left out the women because I am not a woman and cannot really relate to leading as a woman so it's hard to make intelligent comments in that regard). The best example of this is when I take my eldest son to public places such as a park or basketball game and, sure enough, before long he has a pack of kids - not all younger - following him around and doing whatever he says. This is leadership in its most raw form.

So What?

The basic point I want to make is that, as Christian leaders, it is imperative that we take that role seriously. Like many Biblical figures, leaders don't often ask to become leaders; in fact, it is often their reluctance which most qualifies them for the job. In any case, when one finds oneself with followers, it is important to do a few things:

1. Be like Jesus - It's really the only right thing to do with any kind of influence. In this way, we love God.
2. Delegate - No one man is truly qualified to do all tasks that eventually pass in front of a Christian leader's eyes and there's usually someone better suited for the job.
3. Trust - Trust God, your followers, your team and your gut. Holding everything and everyone suspect usually saves you some headaches but you miss out on adventure.

There's more - much more - but here's a primer for you. If you survey your life and find that you have followers, be serious about it. Honor that role; you were given it for a reason. Conversely, if you find yourself constantly searching for a leadership role to fill and cannot seem to find one that fits just right, perhaps you're not naturally (or supernaturally?) gifted as a leader and there are more effective, purposeful and fulfilling ways to spend your energy.

In all things, pray and search the Spirit of God which is within you for guidance and confirmation of your calling. We're all here to bring the Kingdom of God into reality; do it with fervor and wisdom.

peace,
C.M.

Resurrection Sunday!

Christ is risen from the dead, trampling over death by death.

Come awake, come awake, come and rise up from the grave.

Here we are, Resurrection Sunday! Today is a day when we can all breath a sigh of relief and whisper a prayer of gratitude. It has been a weekend riddled with drama; from the death of God to the quiet despair that comes with the tomb, we have once more walked our hearts through the path of Christ.

However!

The story does not stop there; we are not followers of a God that can be kept in a building, a book or a tomb. We are the adopted children of the One who breathed movement into atoms and first erected the cell walls of life on this planet. The incarnation, ministry, death, burial and resurrection of our God is now our family heritage.

I went through a phase in my spiritual development where I seriously doubted if I wanted to be a Christian any more. After all, I said to my older brother, "if we are Christians, then our spiritual heritage is one of butchers and pirates (and not the cool kind)". The fundamental flaw in my assertion was that I had forgotten that our primary heritage is that of martyrdom and love.

This is the relevance of the resurrection

That by the awakening of Jesus on Sunday morning, we may join in God's victory over death. The gospel or good news is not that God beat death - of course he beat death - the good news is that God wants to freely share that victory with us; he wants us to be one with him. 

Adam of old was deceived:

Wanting to be God he failed to be God.

God becomes man,

so that He may make Adam god.

- "Doxastikon at the Praises," Feast of the Annunciation.

By our baptism, we are joined in the process of deification, the union of man and God. Make no mistake, the creature will never be the Creator, but now we are joined in that creative energy which is the foundation to all life and all nature: grace. The truth of the events of the resurrection is that it necessarily elicits a response and only one is appropriate. We devote our lives to taking the same course as our savior and brother, Jesus. Our lives are now intrinsically oriented toward martyrdom; we take up our cross - our sin and sickness - and carry them towards the death of the corrupt us so that the resuscitation of the new us can thrive.

Today, let not a moment more go by before you acknowledge the new essence in your being, the deep connection we now have with the divine. Rejoice indeed and come awake.

peace,

C.M.

Dissonant Saturday

 Today - Holy Saturday - we mourn at the level to which humanity is capable of stooping. The crucifixion is, if nothing else, a glaringly obvious example of the enormous capacity that mankind has for evil. Why do I point this out? Because

it is good for Christians to exist on Saturday.

What I mean is that so often we reach Good Friday and talk about the events of Christ's crucifixion and how incredible they were - and we should. Also, we like to spend time on  Sunday and before talking about how incredibly joyous an occasion the resurrection of Christ is - and it is. But what about Saturday? What is the purpose?

We mourn

You see, the problem with shaking our heads on Friday and clapping our hands on Sunday without bowing our hearts and bending our knees on Saturday is that we are able to simply say "Jesus died and Jesus was raised". The truth, however, is that there is a Saturday and it exists to give space to reflect on the events at hand. The sin of humanity, the missing of marks, the shortcomings and sickness in our hearts which put Christ to death.


We chose to kill God.

We do so with every act of evil.

 Every act.

 Let us take this time to remember that despite our incredible capacity to accomplish the seemingly impossible (cell phones, moon landings, DNA splicing, etc.) we are intrinsically missing something.

Goodness; we're missing goodness.

Jesus of Nazareth - a lay worker, a brick-layer and an innocent pauper - shows humanity how evil it is by willingly being crushed and laying cold in a tomb.

We know what comes next, but let's not gloss over the ugly part for our own sake. Look at the tomb. Look at the blood on the ground. See the weeping mother and brothers. We did this and we deserve no forgiveness for it.

Reflect and pray

peace,
C.M.

A Note on Palm Sunday

Today is "the Lord's Day" or Palm Sunday or the day of the Triumphal
Entry into Jerusalem. Each of these names indicates a certain understanding of the events of Jesus' coming to Jerusalem to be crucified. I don't want to spend a lot of time on this today because I think that reading the Bible and meditating on it yourself would do much better than anything I could say; the Spirit of God tends to be a better teacher than me ;-) I digress, there is one thing I'd like to tell you and it is my mindset going into leading worship today.

We are with Jesus

At Advent, we remember that God is with us and during Lent remember that we need that. Here on Palm Sunday we remember that we are with Jesus in this journey to martyrdom and on Easter we celebrate the beginning of a reconciling process between creation and Creator. In this spirit I encourage you to spend time today - at your church gathering or on your own - thinking about how the Christian life is to parallel Jesus' life. We're truly born at our baptism, this sets out the beginning of the Christian journey. We live and grow, learn and teach and when we come to points in our life (as there are many) in which we have to choose to be of Jesus' Kingdom or that of darkness, we die to ourselves; this is why the command to take up our cross is a daily-fulfilled command.

So, today, we walk toward the cross with Jesus, bearing in mind that this shameful and low event is not the end of our journey. Martyrdom - our daily bread - is the beginning of our life in Christ. Just as Jesus death was the beginning of the Church, so too are our daily "little deaths" the beginning of being re-created again and again.

Pray for your brother's and sisters throughout the world today as we all remember our relationship to Jesus and each other this week.

peace,
C.M.