CelticAnglican's Ramblings

The Bait and Switch of Contemporary Christianity

celticanglican — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 06:24:47 +0000

I happened across this interesting article back in December, and thought it was worth sharing. In it, the author, Richard Beck, discusses the issue of people for whom getting closer to God doesn’t always mean being nice to other people. One example given is the type of behavior seen among some Christians when eating out after church.

In an era where people are being increasingly turned off by Christianity, I think this is something that we all need to think about. After all, a lot of people are influenced by the types of behavior that they see Christians around them exhibiting. I can honestly say that, during my time as a “spiritual seeker”, un-Christlike behavior on the part of some Christians made the Christian faith seem less desirable.

With Lent coming up before too long, this may be something to ponder. Is our walk with God an effective witness to the faith, or is it a stumbling block to others? I pray, that with God’s help, we will all be effective witnesses to the faith.

Lectionary Readings for 4 Epiphany

celticanglican — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 02:22:38 +0000

All Bible readings, with the exception of the psalm, are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. The psalm is from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer.

Almighty and everlasting God, you govern all things both in heaven and on earth: Mercifully hear the supplications of your people, and in our time grant us your peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer)

Deuteronomy 18:15-20

15 Yahweh your God will raise up to you a prophet from your midst, of your brothers, like me. You shall listen to him. 16 This is according to all that you desired of Yahweh your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, “Let me not hear again the voice of Yahweh my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I not die.” 17 Yahweh said to me, “They have well said that which they have spoken. 18 I will raise them up a prophet from among their brothers, like you. I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I shall command him. 19 It shall happen, that whoever will not listen to my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. 20 But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.”

Psalm 111

Hallelujah!
I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, *
in the assembly of the upright, in the congregation.

Great are the deeds of the LORD! *
they are studied by all who delight in them.

His work is full of majesty and splendor, *
and his righteousness endures for ever.

He makes his marvelous works to be remembered; *
the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.

He gives food to those who fear him; *
he is ever mindful of his covenant.

He has shown his people the power of his works *
in giving them the lands of the nations.

The works of his hands are faithfulness and justice; *
all his commandments are sure.

They stand fast for ever and ever, *
because they are done in truth and equity.

He sent redemption to his people;
he commanded his covenant for ever; *
holy and awesome is his Name.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; *
those who act accordingly have a good understanding;
his praise endures for ever.

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

1 Now concerning things sacrificed to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2 But if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he doesn’t yet know as he ought to know. 3 But if anyone loves God, the same is known by him. 4 Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that no idol is anything in the world, and that there is no other God but one. 5 For though there are things that are called “gods”, whether in the heavens or on earth; as there are many “gods” and many “lords”; 6 yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we live through him. 7 However, that knowledge isn’t in all men. But some, with consciousness of the idol until now, eat as of a thing sacrificed to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 But food will not commend us to God. For neither, if we don’t eat, are we the worse; nor, if we eat, are we the better. 9 But be careful that by no means does this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if a man sees you who have knowledge sitting in an idol’s temple, won’t his conscience, if he is weak, be emboldened to eat things sacrificed to idols? 11 And through your knowledge, he who is weak perishes, the brother for whose sake Christ died. 12 Thus, sinning against the brothers, and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore if food causes my brother to stumble, I will eat no meat forever more, that I don’t cause my brother to stumble.

Mark 1:21-28

21 They went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath day he entered into the synagogue and taught. 22 They were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as having authority, and not as the scribes. 23 Immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, 24 saying, “Ha! What do we have to do with you, Jesus, you Nazarene? Have you come to destroy us? I know you who you are: the Holy One of God!” 25 Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” 26 The unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 They were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching? For with authority he commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him!” 28 The report of him went out immediately everywhere into all the region of Galilee and its surrounding area.

Praying for Prisoners

celticanglican — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 22:12:03 +0000

I think a lot of us who live in free countries often take religious liberties for granted. In many parts of the world, Christians have to contend with being members of the “wrong” denomination according to the local government, being accused of being troublemakers and being driven out of their homes, and even being imprisoned.

Let’s take time to give thanks for the liberties we enjoy, and pray for those who don’t enjoy such freedom. Also, let’s pray for the persecutors, that their hearts may be turned and they may may know God’s grace and mercy.

This prayer, shared on the Trust, Live Serve blog, was written by Dietrich Bohnhoeffer while he was imprisoned by the Nazis. I think it’s a good prayer that helps put things into perspective. Read it here

Lectionary Readings 2 Epiphany

celticanglican — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 20:49:21 +0000

All Bible readings are from the World English Bible, which is a copyright-free edition. The Psalm is from the BCP.

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory, that he may be known, worshipped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (BCP ’79)

1 Samuel 3:1-10(11-20)

1 The child Samuel ministered to Yahweh before Eli. Yahweh’s word was precious in those days; there was no frequent vision. 2 At that time, when Eli was laid down in his place (now his eyes had begun to grow dim, so that he could not see), 3 and the lamp of God hadn’t yet gone out, and Samuel had laid down in Yahweh’s temple, where the ark of God was; 4 Yahweh called Samuel; and he said, “Here I am.” 5 He ran to Eli, and said, “Here I am; for you called me.” He said, “I didn’t call; lie down again.” He went and lay down. 6 Yahweh called yet again, “Samuel!” Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am; for you called me.” He answered, “I didn’t call, my son; lie down again.” 7 Now Samuel didn’t yet know Yahweh, neither was Yahweh’s word yet revealed to him. 8 Yahweh called Samuel again the third time. He arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am; for you called me.” Eli perceived that Yahweh had called the child. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, Yahweh; for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 Yahweh came, and stood, and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak; for your servant hears.” 11 Yahweh said to Samuel, “Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of everyone who hears it shall tingle. 12 In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from the beginning even to the end. 13 For I have told him that I will judge his house forever, for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves, and he didn’t restrain them. 14 Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be removed with sacrifice nor offering forever.”15 Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of Yahweh’s house. Samuel feared to show Eli the vision. 16 Then Eli called Samuel, and said, “Samuel, my son!” He said, “Here I am.”

17 He said, “What is the thing that he has spoken to you? Please don’t hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that he spoke to you.”18 Samuel told him every bit, and hid nothing from him. He said, “It is Yahweh. Let him do what seems good to him.”

19 Samuel grew, and Yahweh was with him, and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of Yahweh.

Reflection: How often do we miss God speaking to us in our own lives?

Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17 Page 794, BCP

1 LORD, you have searched me out and known me; *
you know my sitting down and my rising up; you discern my thoughts from afar.

2 You trace my journeys and my resting-places *
and are acquainted with all my ways.

3 Indeed, there is not a word on my lips, *
but you, O LORD, know it altogether.

4 You press upon me behind and before *
and lay your hand upon me.

5 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; *
it is so high that I cannot attain to it.

12 For you yourself created my inmost parts; *
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

13 I will thank you because I am marvelously made; *
your works are wonderful, and I know it well.

14 My body was not hidden from you, *
while I was being made in secret and woven in the depths of the earth.

15 Your eyes beheld my limbs, yet unfinished in the womb;
all of them were written in your book; *
they were fashioned day by day, when as yet there was none of them.

16 How deep I find your thoughts, O God! *
how great is the sum of them!

17 If I were to count them, they would be more in number
than the sand; *
to count them all, my life span would need to be like yours.

Reflection: What are some of the ways in which God’s knowledge and love of us amazes you?

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

12 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are expedient. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be brought under the power of anything. 13 “Foods for the belly, and the belly for foods,” but God will bring to nothing both it and them. But the body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body. 14 Now God raised up the Lord, and will also raise us up by his power. 15 Don’t you know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be! 16 Or don’t you know that he who is joined to a prostitute is one body? For, “The two”, he says, “will become one flesh.”17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit. 18 Flee sexual immorality! “Every sin that a man does is outside the body,” but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 19 Or don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Reflection: What is the best way to avoid being brought under control of anything that can hinder our walk with God?
John 1:43-51

43 On the next day, he was determined to go out into Galilee, and he found Philip. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael, and said to him, “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote: Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”46 Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said about him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered him, “Because I told you, ‘I saw you underneath the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these!” 51 He said to him, “Most certainly, I tell you, hereafter you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Reflection: What is the best way to invite someone to “come and see” what following Jesus is about?

An Excellent Post from Shreds and Patches

celticanglican — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 06:13:01 +0000

Fr. Tony Clavier contributed an excellent post to his blog that I wanted to share a link to. (here) I’m only now getting online after some technical problems, so I’ve got a backlog of posts. I recommend reading the whole blog post, but there were a few points that stuck out for me that I wanted to mention.

A lot of congregations and individuals within the larger Church seem to be trying to reach people using models that were started when many congregations were trying to reach nominally Christian people. My thought is that, instead of using the more consumerist, corporate-like model centered on “brands” of Christianity, maybe our approach as a whole needs to be more relationship-centered. After all, the apostles and other early Christians practiced a more relational form of evangelism that made disciples – not those who could only function in one form of Christian environment.

I also liked how the point was brought up about culture being complicated by negative views of “organized religion” (a phrase that I detest, but that’s for another post ). God is bigger than all the scandals that have ever rocked the Church at large, but a lot of people can’t get past this, especially if one has been personally affected by them.

The Church will survive. However, we must, with God’s help, determine how to weather the storms caused by a world that’s hostile to its message.

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Light and Hope

celticanglican — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 05:16:30 +0000

For many of us (or at least those in the Northern Hemisphere), the weeks leading up to Christmas can seem rather gloomy. It gets dark much earlier, the weather isn’t always ideal, and the rush that occurs from well before Thanksgiving until New Year’s can be rather manic. For some, the holiday season is something to be endured, not enjoyed.

Interestingly enough, many of the Scripture readings commonly used by churches in these weeks leading up to Christmas offer some type of message of hope in the face of darkness and despair. Here are just a few you might want to consider:

Isiaiah 11:1-10
Isaiah 40:1-11
Baruch 5:1-9 (found in Anglican, Catholic and Orthodox Bibles)
Philippians 1:1-11
Isaiah 35:1-10
Isaiah 65:17-25
Zephaniah 3:14-20

If circumstances get you down, don’t give up. God has always redeemed and cared for the people of God, and will continue to do so. Let’s look forward, with joy, to celebrating the birth of our Savior.

What has happened in your life this holiday season to give you hope?

Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Collect for the 4th Sunday of Advent)

The Practice of Hope by David Henson

celticanglican — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 05:06:06 +0000

Read it here

The author of this Advent meditation takes a long, hard look at hope. I think it’s always interesting to see how people choose to look at things regarding God acting in our lives in the face of tragedy. Sometimes there are no neat and tidy answers to things.

What do you think about the author’s take on hope?

“Maybe This is the Desrt Time”

celticanglican — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 01:11:55 +0000

Here’s a link to an interesting recent interview with former Presiding Bishop Griswold: Faith and Leadership

One of the points that was touched on that I thought was interesting was more of a desire for theological literacy. This is one thing that, from my observation, is very badly needed. I realize that not everyone is going to want to acquire seminary-level education, and that’s fine. But, I’ve noticed that there seems to be a lack of knowledge about the basics of Christianity in general among those of various denominations.

How do you suggest increasing theological literacy?

St. Martin’s Lent

celticanglican — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 01:42:31 +0000

I found about about the following link via the Geranium Farm list. It provides an interesting look at how Advent as we know it originally came into being as St. Martin’s Lent. Here’s the link: St. Martin’s Lent

I know of some who kind of keep the spirit of St. Martin’s Lent alive by keeping Advent as a season of penitence. My parish has included the Great Litany on the First Sunday of Advent in times past, as well as the First Sunday of Lent.

How do you feel about the idea of having a more penitential church season prior to Christmas?

A Nice Summary of Advent

celticanglican — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 17:47:53 +0000

From the Huffington Post

The article referenced above is a nice introduction to what the season of Advent is all about. Don’t forget to check out the slideshow that follows at the end of the article.

What special Advent traditions do you have?