Magnum Opus

My life is a witness to 'vulgar' grace – a grace that amazes as it offends. A grace that pays the eager beaver who works all day long the same wages as the grinning drunk who shows up at ten till five. A grace that hikes up the robe and runs breakneck toward the prodigal reeking of sin and wraps him up and decides to throw a party no ifs, ands or buts. A grace that raises bloodshot eyes to a dying theif’s request–’Please, remember me’–and assures him, ‘I will’ A grace that is the pleasure of the Father, fleshed out in the carpenter Messiah, Jesus the Christ, who left His Father’s side not for heaven’s sake but for our sakes, yours and mine. This vulgar grace is indiscriminate compassion. It works without asking anything of us. It’s not cheap. It’s free, and as such will always be a banana peel for the orthodox foot and a fairy tale for the grown-up sensibility. Grace is sufficient even though we huff and puff with all our might to try to find something or someone it cannot cover. Grace is enough. He is enough. Jesus is enough.”

Robert Capon Farrar.

Wisdom is all about harvesting riches, wherever they are found.
Thanks to Jim Mc Neeley's excellent book, the Romance of Grace, I've been re-thinking a number of things of late in regards to how life and truth are meant to marry. Jim writes at the beginning of the book about the parables of the treasure hunter and the pearl collector (Matthew 13:44 - 46) , who gained their deepest desire by giving all to gain what they discovered. The wonder, of course, is that these were people who found something rare and truly worth everything to them, and the items discovered are gained by means of costly purchase. We often think, perhaps, in terms of our giving everything to gain a spiritual reward (the kingdom of heaven) when we read these parables, but, in truth, we are not the ones doing the buying!

In the first chapter of his letter to the Ephesians, Paul begins by writing of the fact that in God's Son, we have been blessed with every blessing (vs 3), and he then goes on to tell us why. Long before the Lord made the storehouses for wind and snow, or caused the stars to burn in space, Paul tells us the He predestined us to be adopted in love through His beloved Son (vs 4 &5). It was through His Son that we would be given redemption from a world gone mad and the forgiveness of all of our sins, purely because of His amazing grace, which, Paul says He richly  'lavishes upon us' as He makes known to us the splendor of this purpose - to untie all things, in Jesus Christ, by this grace - all things in heaven and earth (vs 8-10), that everything might express this glory (vs 14).

Because of evil and sin, we don't see ourselves as we truly are. The universe has been tarnished by calamity, but amidst the deepest darkness - at the very point where there is only the weight of alienation, just condemnation and death, it is there, at the finality of a cross, that we find Jesus Christ, dying in our stead, carrying our sin, and our judgement, and telling us "it is finished" as He dies and rises again to life, purchasing us as the treasure, the pearl, because of the Father's great love for us, before anything had even begun.

Paul goes on to the Ephesian Christians that his desire is that they might truly revel in the glorious splendor of the immeasurable goodness that has been given to them in God through Christ (vs 15-19), for by this alone (2:8), we have been brought from death to life (2:1-6) that we might share in such riches of grace forever (vs 7).

If there's a great theme for us to dwell upon today, surely it is this. Before all that we know was, there was a Father who already loved us, and a Son who would, by the power of the Holy Spirit, do all to show to us and all of creation, the heights and depths of that love, which has become our inheritance, forever.

T h e V o w

What shall I do with you, O Judah?

It's a pretty familiar picture.
The people of Israel and Judah have a love for God that is like 'a morning cloud' - driven easily away by other desires and interests, wayward and foolish.

And yet, says Hosea, as sure as the dawn and the refreshing morning dew that waters and revives the earth, so the Lord, wounded by their folly, calls to them - come, and I will heal. Draw close, and I will refresh you (Hosea 6:1-4).

The desire of God, for our steadfast love, is not something easily grown. So often, we are detached from that prize by our failure and apostasy, our longing after something other than a love and mercy that can truly heal us.

God sees our error, and calls to us amidst our empty ways, for He also sees what we shall be, entirely by His love, and it is His love that will truly rule over us.

Listen to His words:

Behold, I will allure her,
and bring her into the wilderness,
and speak tenderly to her,
and there, in that place, I will giver her vineyards,
and I will make that valley a place of hope,

and then, there she shall answer,
as in the days of her youth,
as in that time when I delivered her and set her free

and in that day, says the Lord, you will call me 'my Husband'

and I will lye you down in safety,
and there, betroth you to me, forever, in righteousness,
in justice, steadfast love, and faithfulness,
and you shall know the Lord

and the earth will answer with wine and grain,
as I will sow the land for her,
and I will have mercy on a people who were not my people

(2:14-23).

Today, the richness of His grace is truly ours, because He has, does and will always love us - that is why we are His.

I d e n t i d y

Early May in England can be pretty astonishing. The landscape fills with rich colours as creation becomes adorned with new life, the days become longer and, when we're really fortunate, the sun appears and fills those days with warmth and light which allows us to get out of 'winter mode' and enjoy all the good gifts God has bestowed upon our world. I easily find my thoughts turning to the theme of our own renewal as this unfolds, and it's great when those thoughts can be accompanied by a 'guide' that will develop and deepen an understanding of God's caring, unmerited work within us. That has certainly been the case this spring, as I've been reading Jim Mc Neeley's really helpful work, The Romance of Grace  (nicely reviewed here).

As the radiance of Spring can escape us if we're otherwise occupied, so can the nature of what God has truly done for us, purely through love, in and through His Son, Jesus Christ.
What if God, asks the book, sees us the way a man sees a women he has become infatuated with - the issue isn't how do I get her to live up to all my expectations, but how do I woo her, how do I get such a person to fall in love with me? Jim's study of the truth at the heart of our faith really opens this theme up and explores what it means for each of us and creation to be the focus of such a cosmic romance.

There were moments here that really resonated deeply - the look at the parable of the merchant in Matthew 13 in chapter 1 brought home to me the strength of Lewis' analogy of the diver (used in his essay, The Grand Miracle) in a fresh way, and the second chapter of the book's study on what transpired in Eden (regarding the division of the way we view and understand good because of evil) left me with some very fresh thoughts and more to unpack, but it was the last chapter - after really affirming it's truly all about grace for the rest of the book - that brought it all home.

Some years ago, whilst listening to various White Horse Inn materials on law and gospel, it became clear to me that true religion (the unique, complete, objective work of God of Christ) leaves us in a place where we're in one of either two 'modes' - that of the "moral" person (who thanks God he's not like others), or the sinner entirely thrown upon God's unmerited love (Luke 18: 9-14). Mc Neeley finishes the book by re-visiting this issue through the incident of the woman who had been caught in adultery, asking who do we identify with here, and have we become those who know the freedom and the mercy which Jesus shows in this moment, each day, in our own lives.

It's a gem of a book, and my own comments here have barely scratched the surface on how it will impact upon us in underlining the need we all have to be entirely drawn and held by God's love. Hopefully it will be enough to peak your curiosity to at least find out more about it and then read the book for yourselves - it's certainly been a great way to enjoy the real start of Spring.

Nailing it down

No longer do we live in a Platonic world of shadows from which we must escape if we are to receive divine light. No longer do we live in a Kantian world of phenomena that bars access to noumena. No longer do we live in a Naturalistic world devoid of transcendence. Rather the world and everything in it becomes a sacrament, radiating God's glory, by truly speaking of what God has wrought in creation.    William Dembski - Intelligent Design.

However wonderful life is (and it's astonishingly wonderful when we really look at it), we don't really 'sit' well with certain aspects of our existence. Human nature is daily revealed to be a scorn (with regards to the way we treat each other and the world we live upon), and elements of what is usually deemed 'natural' (pain, suffering, misery, death), not to mention the enigma of evil, prey upon us in our moments of quiet (which, no doubt explains why so much of modern life is so noisy). The common answer is to seek refuge in some manner of escape, either amidst readily available virtual reality, or the 'harder' notions of scientific philosophy, but these scurrying's twist us back into ourselves - into a universe that is hollow and empty, where nothing has any lasting meaning or value.

There is a very real alternative:



Once we begin to recognize that the answer to what is does not lye within that 'stuff' itself, but elsewhere, and what that implies, then the Christian answer to what life is and what really matters here and now begins to stack up.

Christianity allows us to see the world beyond our self-inflicted limitations, and understand that there is something much better ahead for that world, which is not an illusion or a prison to escape, but a wonder being rescued from our spoiling of its majesty.
The 'cave' was meant to be a garden. The obscurity was mean to be clarity. The natural was meant to reveal to us a richer, deeper, glorious splendor. Jesus Christ will indeed make it so.

Beneath the Sunrise

"If a person lives for many years, let them rejoice in them all"  Solomon.

It's proving to be a month of considering all the good gifts God has given to us - Food, Music, Laughter and Rest in our study group, but this has caused me to ponder related fields of pleasure and delight as well - art, beauty, sex, writing and the body. Joy, notes the scriptures, is most commonly found for us in such realms (Ecclesiastes 8:15), and we are actually commanded to enjoy what God has made for such a purpose (1 Timothy 4:1-5), because there will always be those who seek to negate and reject what is deemed good for the goal of spiritual deceit (Colossians 2: 20-23).

If an activity causes us to turn outward - to look beyond ourselves because it is shared or created to encourage our delight in each other - then it can have a value beyond merely satisfying ourselves or our own needs, and all of the gifts I've touched on above are given for this very purpose. Eating shows us we cannot exist in an autonomous fashion, and what is better than a good meal shared with friends? Music can turn us from deep introspection to look up to things beyond us, and communal singing and worship can be a most edifying experience. Recreation (walking, swimming, gardening, relaxing and so on) can be rejuvenating, and again, is often enriched when done with those close to us, or enjoying a moment making new acquaintances whilst engaged in these, and laughter often crowns the delight of our meals, work, rest and refreshment by 'speaking' of the joy found within them.

"If there lurks in modern minds", notes C S Lewis, "the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I suggest this notion has crept in from the likes of Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of these promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak" (Mere Christianity).

It as we truly begin to value and enjoy the basic 'stuff' of life (food, work, music and rest), and how these allow us to share life together in a richer way, that the deeper splendors found in our being bodily creatures can become rightly employed and and enjoyed in our bodily communion with God and one another. It is this essential nature of life which will remain at the heart of creational existence forever, so it is imperative that we learn, in spite of those moments when we trip and fall (for which we have an advocate before the Father, the man, Christ Jesus) that this - bodily redemption - is indeed the life for which we were made (Romans 8:23), and that it is just such a reconciliation of all things that will truly please the Father forever (Revelation 21:5).

And, exhale...

"Luther recalls: “Staupitz used to comfort me with these words: ‘Why do you torture yourself with these speculations? Look at the wounds of Christ and at the blood that was shed for you. From these predestination will shine.’”

Election, Predestination, Salvation.

Big subjects, and quite a lot has been said about them lately.
Here's a link to an article I read this week, which is just superb on this, and spells out the alternative to the usual positions - enjoy.

Listen up (or loose it all)

Then I saw that wisdom excels folly, as far as light excels darkness.

Solomon - Ecclesiastes 2:13.

What makes us 'comfortable' at church? 
Good "fellowship" perhaps, or a vibrant time of worship?
A 'useful' sermon, or lots of after-service activities? 
We, no doubt, find many or all of these things engaging, but what we need to 'hear' in all of it, is the proclaiming of the totally saving work of God in Christ (Romans 3:21-26), because when something - anything - else becomes pre-eminent, then we're quickly on very dangerous ground, and what should bring us 'light' will leave us stumbling in the dark.

That's why I so often find myself "wriggling" and concerned... usually "little" things start up, through a sermon or a song, a particular statement or even a conversation, and you realize, that what is actually at stake if a certain "approach" takes hold is the doctrine and faith by which, as Luther put it, the church stands or falls. There's always 'another gospel' crouching just behind what we see, waiting to take hold by the most appealing means (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).

The place where this so often comes to light, aside from the Gospel itself, is in regards to Christian sanctification. We tend to think of this as a 'doing' thing, but we need to see that the true work of making someone profane holy is something that is done only In Christ (see the Romans passage above) and through His word (John 17:16). It is God's faithfulness to His promises alone that counts - any good works that we may do are merely evidence of what is truly ours in Christ alone (1 Corinthians 1:3, Ephesians 2:10), but there are plenty of 'approaches' to this matter which clearly place the onus back upon us, inviting a way in for all manner of troubles related to "works righteousness", as the New Testament shows (Galatians 3:1-5, Colossians 2:20-23).

When we gather as Christians, what matters is that God is evidenced through the work that He has done, alone, in His Son and that we, by Word and Sacrament, are refreshed in the unchangeable fact that we are safe because He is the one who saves the ungodly. Sin is first and foremost, a lack of fear before a Holy God because we have been deceived into thinking that something else, anything else which comes from us is good enough to bring us right standing before God, but only His work can clothe us and pronounce us justified.

We all have a nature that naturally wants to find something in us to boast in, to hold up as passable, perhaps even worthwhile, but only in Christ is there a humanity that is good and true and redeemable - all else, as the old hymn puts it, is sinking sand.

We sorely need, constantly, a ministry to the saints that gets this, because if we don't, we're all going to be without safe harbor, and the consequences are dire (Ephesians 4:14).