Easter 5, Morning after thoughts...

Good morning!

Well, like I mentioned yesterday, this passage from 1Peter 2 was something that Luther made a pretty big deal about during the Reformation era. I chose not to concentrate so much on that angle, as much as I did on the textual angle of being both "living stones" in a new temple *and* offering "priestly sacrifices" as holy people.

But, maybe you're wondering just what is the current thinking in the Church of Rome regarding something as "Protestant" as the "Priesthood of all believers." And before I attempt to answer that question I should include the caveat that whenever we try to answer the question what does Rome believe about this or that...the same pitfalls exist as when others try to answer the question "what do Lutherans believe about this or that?" For example: What do Lutherans believe about ordaining women? What do Lutherans believe about praying with other Christians? What do Lutherans believe about who can preach or celebrate the Lord's Supper? Bottom line: IT DEPENDS! It depends on which Lutherans you ask. Well, something of the same issue exists even in the Church of Rome. His Holiness the Pope just visited the USA. If we could've asked him what he thought of the priesthood of all believers, we would've received an 'up-to-the-minute' ruling on the matter, as--after all--the Pope IS the voice of what the Roman Church believes.

Since we weren't able to ask him, though, I would like instead to turn to a volume in the "Days of the Lord" series. This series is put out by Liturgical Press, a Roman Catholic publisher, and was introduced in the early 90s, so would qualify as basically recent. Specifically, these books are commentaries on the Sunday readings, designed to aid in sermon preparation & development. Here's what the appropriate volume has to say about this passage of 1Peter:

"The appellation "holy priesthood," "royal priesthood," has sometimes been taken to mean that every baptized person is in fact a priest, in our common understanding of the term. Certainly, for some centuries, the Catholic Church has avoided insisting on the priestly character of all the baptized. Today, with certain controversies being toned down, the "common priesthood of the faithful" has once again taken its rightful place in the Church's doctrine. There is a real participation in the priesthood of Christ. This has important consequences for participation in the sacraments, particularly the Eucharist, for prayer, and for the duties of the laity in the apostolate. Distinct from that of ordained priests, the "common priesthood of the faithful" allows for a better understanding of the nature and function of the ministerial priesthood within the priestly people, as well as the indispensable complementarity of both. Peter is clearly speaking of the proclamation of the gospel that falls to all. Actually, today perhaps more than ever, the spreading of the good news demands that all believers take on responsibility for it, according to individual vocations and charisms. It is just as great a mistake, for the same reasons, to ignore the evangelizing ministry of the laity as of the priesthood."

All in all, I'm not sure that Martin Luther could've expressed the idea better himself!
Does that mean that the Catholic Church is now Protestant? No, of course not.....but if anything it shows that it is important to read & listen to what the various church bodies are saying **today**. If there's a lesson in here, it's that too often we tend to refer to the polemical documents of the reformation era--documents that were crafted in the heat of battle. It's amazing to note that after a few hundred years when everyone has calmed down, at least some of the differences that do exist no longer appear to be light years apart.

Cheers!

TM

Easter 4, Morning after thoughts...

So, how's it going??

Well....I enjoyed unpacking the 23rd Psalm in church yesterday morning. As I said then, it seems to me that this beautiful psalm that we generally reserve for the dark times of our lives, is--in reality--a wonderful psalm for our WHOLE life. If you were here, you probably recall the big question I asked at the end......what is there that is distinctively "Christian" about this psalm....and the answer was that it becomes distinctively Christian FOR US when we see that the "LORD who is our shepherd" is none other than Jesus our Savior.
And yet, combining several thoughts.....a Christian perspective on the psalm....as well as the idea that it is a psalm for all of life, it probably bears pointing out that the ancient church had a neat spin on this psalm. They saw it as a psalm of initiation. The "still waters" that we're led to are none other than the waters of holy baptism. The "table" that is set before us" in the sight of our enemies is none other than the table of holy communion where our Lord sustains us with his very body and blood.
It's not that we have to give this psalm up in terms of its great comfort as a "valley of the shadow of death" psalm....but as we saw yesterday, there's so much MORE to it than just that. It truly can be our psalm for LIFE.

cheers,

TM

Manwells host Pineview Mennonite Group

Well, we had some excitement at our place over the last couple of days. We were privileged to host a group of teens from the Pineview Mennonite Church in Vassar, MI, where Stacey's nephew Nick Seney is the Youth Minister. The group was in town to attend the "Dare2share Survive Tour." This is a distinctively Christian, non-denominational event consisting of highly motivational youth speakers and concerts. This year's Chicago event featured Speakers: Greg Stier, Derwin Gray, and Zane Black; as well as musical artists Hawk Nelson and Washington Projects. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough lead time on this to be able to involve the youth here at LCHS, however my own sons were able to take part and have given the event a ringing endorsement. That being the case, we're looking forward to the Dare2share Invincible Tour in April of 2009, and who knows, maybe we'll be hosting the Pineview group again! In the meantime, here's some more info about Dare2share, taken from their website Dare2share.org.
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The Mission:
Energizing and equipping teenagers to know, live, share and own their faith in Jesus!

The Need:
Did you know 2 out of 3 Christian teens will, according to George Barna, participate in a "graduation evacuation" from the body of Christ once they graduate high school? The problem of teenagers fleeing the church upon graduation has spiraled into a crisis.

Dare 2 Share is convinced that the answer to this crisis in Christianity lies in an aggressive initiative to transform youth ministry from reactive and entertainment-based to Great Commission-driven and Scripture-based.
Youth ministry needs to become increasingly purposeful and call students to something more.

Dare 2 Share's Answer:
We at Dare 2 Share Ministries are fully convinced that the answer lies in raising the bar spiritually for teenagers, calling them to make a difference by taking Jesus Christ and the Great Commission seriously.
The result? According to Philemon 6 when we are actively sharing our faith, we know by personal experience every good thing we have in Christ Jesus. In other words, when students begin to share their faith they begin to own their faith, instead of borrowing it from their parents and their pastors.

The driving concept behind this movement is a "calling," much like the calling Jesus gave to his disciples...a dare to share. Teens who accept the call at our events are committed to transforming their youth ministries through an aggressive and relational evangelistic thrust. These core teens become the initiators of an invitational strategy of evangelism. These students pray for their unreached friends, pursue their friends on a deeper spiritual level by bringing up God conversations with them, and persuade their friends to attend youth group consistently, believe in Jesus, connect to a tribe/clique, develop spiritually and evangelize others. We call this Deep and Wide Youth Ministry.

Dare 2 Share conferences are held each school year in key metropolitan cities across the United States that motivate and train students to reach out to those around them by living and giving the life-changing message of the gospel in a contagious epidemic of love and truth.

Why are youth ministry conferences effective?

Youth ministry conferences are an extremely effective venue for motivating and equipping students. There are at least four different reasons for this:

It is a neutral ground.
Youth ministry leaders who teach the same things in the same youth room to the same kids week after week can testify to the importance of getting their kids to some neutral ground to learn spiritual truth. There is something about getting students out of the same building and into a new climate that opens the doors to their hearts to hear and receive.

It is an electrifying atmosphere.
The atmosphere of an arena or auditorium crammed with thousands of teenagers surges and pulsates with excitement and anticipation. Before the first session ever starts students are already excited, screaming, yelling and pumped. This electrifying atmosphere prepares the way for spiritual impact.

It builds a reaffirming climate.
Over the course of a conference weekend, students build strong bonds with those in their youth ministry group(s). But they also are building an invisible bond with every student in the auditorium. They are together experiencing God and the mission he has called them to. This reaffirming climate insures positive reinforcement for teenagers when they stand to give their testimonies on the Saturday night portion of the youth ministry conference weekend. Student after student is applauded and affirmed by the teens that hear their stories.

It produces a "movement" mentality in youth ministry.
Students need to feel a part of something bigger. It is the way that God has wired them. Being a part of a conference where thousands of students gather for a common mission, many of these teenagers know for the first time in their lives that they are not alone. There is an army of students from across their city with the same passion, purpose and cause. The more students there are, the more this feeling is punctuated. The more it is punctuated, the stronger the likelihood that students on the fence will choose to be more than a spectator in the coming student awakening.

Description
A student weekend youth ministry conference that features a full-production drama, powerful worship, Biblical sessions, hands-on evangelism training, interactive games, and an afternoon outreach experience, as well as a celebration concert with a nationally recognized Christian recording artist.
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Well, so much for what they say about themselves. Now, of course, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to point out that "this ain't a Lutheran" youth event. True. But the thrust of Dare2share isn't on denominational specifics, but rather on those doctrines shared by all Christian faith groups--specifically the life-changing evangelical message of the saving work of Jesus Christ on the cross, and the difference this makes in our lives. We COULD wait around for something Lutheran to come our way, OR we could take advantage of something like this when it comes to our own back yard and celebrate the wonderful diversity of the Body of Christ. Here's looking forward to the 2009 Dare2share Invincible Tour!

Easter 3, Morning after thoughts

Good morning!

Well, my coffee cup is full & I'm ready to go.
Probably the biggest "leftover" sticking in my mind from yesterdays text is the following verses:

Luke 24:25 He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

"Moses & the Prophets," of course, being something of a technical or 'code' name for the Scriptures; what we would call the Old Testament, but what constituted the Bible of Jesus' day. We, however, live in a very interesting day. On every side, it seems, we are beset by new ideas and old arguments as to what we can glean from the Old Testament. Is it a book of science? Does it accurately tell Creation's story to the satisfaction of 21st century minds, or does it do so couched in the terms and story of an ancient culture? Arguments, debates and accusations abound. To another extreme, there seem to be many who are actively engaged in finding all manner of "hidden treasures" for living in these pages--ranging from God's infallible plans for running a successful business to God's perfect diet and weight loss plan.

Perhaps an alternative to these considerations would be to at least begin with how first century Jewish people of faith saw their holy writings. First and foremost Torah (and by extension the writings of the Prophets) were seen as that which gives LIFE. The Torah gave life, because it revealed the one true God and His ways; those who worshipped Him were *alive*. Conversely, those who did not, were considered "dead," and without Torah, they had no chance of life. When Jesus of Nazareth opens Torah and the writings of the Prophets and finds **HIMSELF** there, a very subtle change takes place. Torah can still be seen as that which gives life--but now it is precisely so because it reveals JESUS and his blessed work as Messiah.

First generation Jewish believers in Jesus would never consider giving up "Moses and the Prophets" NOT because they were ethnically attached to old fashioned ways, and not because they were slow to jettison the remnants of the "old" religion in favor of the "new," but because they firmly believed that these writings revealed JESUS.

Cheers!

TM