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In truth, then, God became a man and provided another beginning (ἀρχή), a second nativity (γένεσις), for human nature, which, through the vehicle of suffering, ends in the pleasure of the life to come.

St. Maximus the Confessor

“Moderation or the middle ground is not always the loci of righteousness.”

• Esau McCaulley, Reading While Black

I am deeply saddened that some think what happened yesterday at the Capitol is in any way after the pattern of Christ.

There is no biblical justification for what we have just witnessed as a nation.

The kind of rhetoric we are hearing that emboldens and not-even-so-subtly condones violence is deeply immoral.

It is disturbing to see such blatant evil so widely accepted and even celebrated.

Meanwhile the pandemic continues to ravage our state.

So I was grateful to be with my church family yesterday evening, masked and socially distanced, but nevertheless together. We gathered in worship to celebrate the light of Epiphany, Jesus Christ himself, come to give true and lasting peace to all those that will receive it.

We prayed this prayer for times of social conflict or distress from the Book of Common Prayer together, and I commend it to you:

Increase, O God, the spirit of neighborliness among us, that in peril we may uphold one another, in suffering tend to one another, and in homelessness, loneliness, or exile befriend one another. Grant us brave and enduring hearts that we may strengthen one another, until the disciplines and testing of these days are ended, and you again give peace in our time; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

To this prayer I add: Come, Lord Jesus.

2020 brought much about the Church in America into the light.

Turns out, we’re even worse off than we perhaps thought in terms of our continued tolerance and even embrace of various “isms” at odds with Christianity: racism, sexism, classism, nationalism, consumerism, and anti-intellectualism stand out to me.

As I see it, the above mentioned ideologies are far worse and more immediate compromises of the Church’s faithfulness than the mostly vaguely defined “cultural Marxism” and “Critical Race Theory.” (Nevertheless these are certainly not exempt from robust evaluation in light of the Gospel.)

That said, now that these things are out in the open, the discussion has deepened.

This can be the beginning of justice and change and healing.

Yes, it is hard, painful. Discouraging, even humiliating sometimes.

But we can say with confidence that the Spirit of Truth is at work in his people.

As we open ourselves to his leading, we will leave our previously held commitments to self-advancement and self-preservation behind.

As we keep our eyes focused on the Jesus presented to us by the Gospel of witness of the Church throughout the centuries, his image will become more clear in us and through us.

As we persevere through the discomfort of revelation and transformation, we’ll find comfort and strength and satisfaction in the promise of a prize much greater than the power that’s so intoxicatingly difficult to let go of in the present.

As our desire for union with God in Christ is renewed, all things contrary to him will fall away, because the fulfilment of this desire is the promise guaranteed by the Resurrection.

The gates of the “isms” will not prevail against the Church of God.

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Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

This Advent, those of us that claim the Name of Christ have an opportunity to–like John the Baptizer—point beyond ourselves, and cry out with joy and urgency the true story of God come to us in Jesus…

…The true account of God come to us in the flesh, his miraculous birth, his perfect life, his sacrificial death, his vindicating Resurrection, and his Kingly ascension…

…The true gift of God come to us now in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in and among us…

…The true testimony of God come to us in the preaching of word, in the sacraments, and in the fellowship of the saints….

…The true and only lasting hope of Christ coming again to finally renew all things.

“Holy ordinances are Christ’s, though administered by weak men.”

~ Matthew Henry

Hallelujah!

Dan Scott, writing at Facebook:

In the last few months, all sorts of prophets told us how the election would turn out, who was on God’s side and who was not, and so forth. These abusive claims were simply ways controlling others. They differed considerably from carefully constructed arguments from some man or woman of God saying something like, “after looking at this situation, or this ideology, or this person carefully in the light of our faith, I have come to the following conclusions and offer them for your consideration …”

Saying “thus saith the Lord concerning how God intends for you to vote” is abusive, deceitful, and ungodly. Such tomfoolery should be dismissed out of hand.

God has called his people to develop wisdom and discernment, He does not call his people to surrender their lives to some seer that stands beyond all accountability and common sense.

Amen and Amen.

So grateful for Fr. Kenneth Tanner’s way of articulating a key implication of the Gospel here. This has helped clarify my thinking, soften my heart, and strengthen my faith.

108 COVID-19 deaths reported in AZ today. I believe this is a record high, the previous being 103 on July 17.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Almighty God, Father of mercies and giver of comfort: Deal graciously, we pray, with all who mourn; that, casting all their care on you, they may know the consolation of your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Data source: www.azdhs.gov/preparedn…

With Pastor Matt, I affirm I’m not an economist. I’m a priest. That said, it is part of my vocation to bring the witness of Scripture to bear in regards to what a healthy society looks like and the place of material wealth in that society.

So, I have been doing my best to carefully consider the biblical witness in relationship to a lot of emotionally-charged rhetoric around so-called “socialistic” and “Marxist” public policies–things like universal healthcare, more funding for public education at all levels, more taxes on the rich, and so on.

I have been thinking about these things because they have been presented to me often as de-facto morally reprehensible because of an alleged connection to the economic/social philosophies listed above. However I’ve not seen a similar skepticism of the American version of “Capitalism” and its associated policies. So often, this has been presented as the “obviously Christian” option–mostly because it emphasizes a kind of non-coerciveness, I think, in the minimalist approach to regulation. There’s certainly something to that.

Nevertheless, the post below is a great reminder that no economic/social/governing philosophy is wholly biblical, and careful discernment along with a counter-cultural, faithful witness is needed no matter what system we find ourselves in.

Matt Tebbe, writing at Facebook:

Some thoughts on ‘Marxism/Socialism’, Capitalism, and USA Christianity:

1. Marxism isn’t an enemy to Christianity – any more than Capitalism is an enemy to Christianity- which is to say

2. Both economic systems have a logic and telos contrary to parts of our Chrisitan story and yet

3. I know Socialist Christians. And Capitalist ones.

4. All that to say: here’s some things that aren’t socialist but seem like they are to USA Christians:

• Collectivism: Every single culture represented in the Bible was collectivistic; we misread and misapply to our own peril when we individualize Scriptures. Biblical collectivistic assumptions aren’t Marxist, they’re Christian. Christians are told to live with a collectivist ethic in Scripture.

• Critiques of meritocracy: It strikes us as unfair and criminal that people would get what they don’t deserve and yet the politic and economy of the Kingdom of God is scandalously un-meritocratic. To critique and dismantle meritocracy isn’t Marxist, it’s Christian.

• Taking corporate responsibility for history/societal ills: The atonement loses all meaning, the stories of judgment and deliverance make no sense, Paul’s logic of jew/gentile unravels unless one holds to the notion of corporate responsibility. To be complicit and culpable in systems/structures of evil and have a responsibility to reckon with that isn’t Marxist. It’s Christian.

• Suggest that wealth redistribution to the poor is morally superior to wealth redistribution to the rich: USA has billions of dollars in govt handouts to the wealthy, corporations, and rural middle class. Wealth redistribution is a central part of our economy. To advocate for wealth redistribution to the poor isn’t Marxist, it’s commanded over and over in Scripture (OT and NT, both individuals and governments). Wealth redistribution isn’t Marxist, it’s Christian. Wealth redistribution to the wealthy is Capitalist, not Christian.

5. All these things seem Socialist (or Marxist) to USA Christians because we are good disciples of Capitalism.

6. The reason Socialism seems like such a threat to us and elicits such fear in us is not because it’s incompatible with Christianity; it’s because it threatens our allegiance to Capitalism.

7. I am no expert in economic theory; But I see the above dynamics playing out in articles, conversations, and books I’m reading and this is how I’m beginning to work it all out.