The painting to the left is a work by the artist Sigismund Christian Hubert Goetze. It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words but if you look closely you will  realize the impossibility of giving even a faint idea of its power and awful significance with words from a people who refuse  to recognize their Savior. 

This is traditionally a time that we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ. It is the time of the Angels singing on high and joy and goodwill to all mankind. Trees are going up and strings of colored lights decorate our homes and even our cities! Children’s faces are aglow with anticipation of Santa, presents under the tree  and there seems so little time to get everything done. The shopping malls will soon be full of shoppers, pushing, rushing from one store to another and if you look carefully there are few smiles of joy. For many the pressures of the season overwhelm them. In the city where I live there are a number of homeless encampments within hearing distance of the canned Christmas music that is being played everywhere. There will be the usual laments about Christ being taken out of Christmas even though the facts are plain, Christmas is a Christian thing celebrating the birth of Christ. That being said it is worth noting  “Many popular customs associated with Christmas developed independently of the commemoration of Jesus’ birth, with certain elements having origins in pre-Christian festivals that were celebrated around the winter solstice by pagan populations who were later converted to Christianity.”  As we make our way back to the painting I must share with you this scripture from   Isaiah 53: 3-5….

He was despised and rejected by others;

    a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity;

and as one from whom others hide their faces

    he was despised, and we held him of no account

This chapter foretells the sufferings of the Messiah, the reason he did so and for which he died. The Jews were not impressed by this poorly dressed man and his humble appearance and manners. He would suffer for sins not his own, giving to us the gift of salvation. When you can, please read Isaiah 53: 1-11.    

According to an article on the painting in The Literary Digest, “‘At the exhibition of the Royal Academy in London, the great canvas by Sigismund Goetze … has created an artistic sensation.’ It is declared to be a ‘powerful and terribly realistic presentment of Christ’ in a modern setting.”

The complete link to this article will be posted at the end of this blog*. I cannot emphasize how important it is for you to go there and read the entire article. Overwhelmed by the season we are unable to see the real gift, the good news if you will, hidden amongst bright-colored ribbons and Christmas wrappings of red and green, mankind’s  only hope for redemption and salvation. The painting of course goes past that to the end result. Why in this time of celebration and great joy would I take us there? Simply put, we have the book, the word and yet we are the mirror image of the people in that painting. Going about our business, caught up in our importance, so rushed with life we can only spare a couple of hours out of this season to note the gift of our salvation coming among us. Go to the link and copy that picture, print it and post it, let every image in it be burnt into your mind. There among a heedless crowd, bound by ropes upon a pedestal stands the Christ. Do our actions say “it is nothing to me”?

To Christians Christmas is not a season, it is the presentation of the gift of the Father to his children in the person of the Christ child, a promise of hope, life and goodwill to all men.

Life is Good

jk

http://www.victorianweb.org/painting/goetze/paintings/3.html     *

More about the title of today’s blog latter. I struggle at times to find things to write about, ignoring the fact that life itself has enough things to ponder and sometimes even change the way we see things. This past week our faith community lost a lady of immense faith whom I am sure was an angel to all that knew her. “Angels Among Us” is a song written by Don Goodman and Becky Hobbs and recorded by Alabama, a country music band. The song was released in December 1993. When I heard that Karen has passed it immediately came to my mind. That coupled with my bible study class which had decided this past week to take a break from our study of John and talk about Angels, well life made a point. Never knew that Angels had a hierarchy and each step the of the way they had certain responsibilities according to their place in the hierarchy. You know me or should if you have read any of my posts, I value simplicity. Here is the simple explanation of those whom God has assigned to comfort us. There is no better way to put it than to just reprint here a portion of the lyrics from the song “Angels Among Us”

Oh, I believe there are Angels Among Us,

Sent down to us from somewhere up above.

They come to you and me in our darkest hours

To show us how to live

To teach us how to give

To guide us with a light of love.

When life held troubled times

And had me down on my knees

There’s always been someone

To come along and comfort me

A kind word from a stranger

To lend a helping hand

A phone call from a friend

Just to say I understand

Now ain’t it kind of funny

At the dark end of the road

Someone light the way with just a single ray of hope.

( Lyrics By       Don Goodman and Becky Hobbs) 

The lyrics of this song give me comfort and I can say with blessed assurance that with Karen May’s passing, God has called another Angel home. We all can be an Angel at sometime in life, just look at the lyrics of the song, the list is simple acts meant to comfort others, we all have at one time or another done at least one or more on that list. Be an Angel to someone……….

Life is Good

jk

One word to allow the persecution of the church, the other a misused metaphor that has eliminated anything having to do with Christian theism in the public arena. The word translated as church in the NT is ekklesia, which means political assembly. Now we are referring to early church times but this is an interesting word play. The political comes from the fact that the church had its own laws and authority figures and as it grew in number it was a threat to Roman society in the second century AD. The Roman proconsul Pliny issued a decree prohibiting “political associations” and used that to crack down on Christianity. Never thought of church being a political assembly especially since we value the separation of church and state so much. First let’s look at Pliny, a civil servant who served as governor of Bithynia, in the north of Asia Minor (modern Turkey), from 111-113 AD.  In a letter to Trajan, Pliny is seeking advice as to how to handle these Christians, also approval of his actions so far. We see the Roman Empire’s attitude toward Christianity, while this letter and the questions asked in it were of little importance to the political situation in Rome it does give us a view of how these early Christians were seen in the eyes of the authorities and their actions concerning the church. Trajan’s reply is interesting, it simply states that there is no general rule or fixed standard to judge by. Of course if they are accused of civil disorder or refusing Roman practices as to the worship of our gods and this is proven and documented they are to be punished according to our laws.There is an interesting caveat added here. If they repent and prove it by returning to the worship of our gods, they shall obtain pardon through that act of repentance. Also interesting to note the closing statement in the letter.

“But anonymously posted accusations ought to have no place in any prosecution. For this is both a dangerous kind of precedent and out of keeping with the spirit of our age.” (https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/study/module/pliny)

Given the last mid-terms this is advice we could well use today. This blog is the result of my concern over the silence from the pew and pulpit in these changing times. Change will always be with us and in most cases change is a good thing. I am concerned about the lack of civility and respect we have for others and the lessening influence of the church in our daily lives and the influence of societal change that marginalized our faith and our God. We, “The Church” no longer have a seat at the table and the state of our nation and its government have reached a state of controlled chaos. How did this happen? I believe the systematic removal of Christian values, faith and yes, I am just going to say it……The removal of God in our institutions of government, learning and law. Not to be overlooked is the absence of God in our families, once a place of religious learning and teaching of moral standards to live by.  Here is something to think about and gives me a dignified path of exit. “The Metaphor and the Constitution” an excellent article that contains a little nugget I just love. You must read this article to understand the impact this revelation could have on the church and the nation. Here is a brief snippet  from that writing:

“This, in conjunction with several other factors, makes the “separation of church and state” metaphor an icon for eliminating anything having to do with Christian theism, the religion of our heritage, in the public arena.”

Please go to this link

//www.allabouthistory.org/separation-of-church-and-state.htm

So to wrap up, we have been quiet for too long. The church has been too busy trying to adapt to the changing times and remain relevant in the lives of its people. No words from pulpit or pew, just silence and the mistaken belief that this is how we show our love for all people. Like it or not we must get back to the “table.” God’s voice must be heard again. Our voice, God’s voice is being held hostage by a Metaphor.

Separation of Church and State was never intended to remove the Christian’s voice from the establishment of our Government, its laws or its people from their God.

Life is Good,

jk

“The issue of homosexuality was first openly debated in the church at the 1972 General Conference, four years after the Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren churches joined to form The United Methodist Church. Issues related to sexuality have continued to be debated at General Conference gatherings since then. General Conference last met in Portland, Ore., in 2016 and will next meet in a special session in St. Louis, Missouri in 2019.” (http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/human-sexuality-backgrounder“

This is another one of those blogs that I have started over more than once. This is an issue that I have always believed to be driven by social and organizational agendas and having no standing in the church. Here I will get a few raised eyebrows, as I believe God settled this issue long ago. Having gained no significant ground over the years it sought a more universal platform, one that would produce a large enough angst among a larger more focused group and then there was the Methodist Church, just one among many.Here is the thing, if you were looking for a way to reach a lot of people who were passionate about something, you need look no further. Next, you need controversy, the more the better. Nothing, absolutely nothing, draws a crowd better than controversy. It was, to use a time-worn phase, “a marriage made in heaven.” So I have come to the conclusion that this same-sex issue has kidnaped the Church and Christianity. Now the Methodist church was an obvious target due to the fact that they are so vast, serving all over the word and taking seriously the charge to “do good whenever you can and wherever you can.” The Methodist church has had a social agenda for a long time, well-funded and active. in Romans 14:1 -15:13 we find Paul dealing with issues within a small church in Rome. Paul’s discussions of the different opinions that separate them is remarkable in that Paul in this section of scripture uses no identifiers such as Jew, Gentiles, circumcised or uncircumcised. He briefly lists the matters that divide them and focuses on the things that bring them together. To put this in context with today’s same-sex issue is not that hard and we must acknowledge that this issue is not the only one facing the church of today but it is the one at this time that seems to be capable of splitting the church. Paul takes these issues concerning the early church and makes it one about opinions, and as you know, everyone has one. The interpretation of scripture is one of the driving forces of this same-sex issue which is  changing church doctrine today. The issues may be different but he stays with the theme of the commonality of the faith. There are people of diverse backgrounds coming to join the people of the one God and acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Messiah. The church at that time was very much still Jewish in many of its practices and these Gentiles were of a different opinion concerning the matters of worship and faith. At that time the big issue was what you could eat and what not to eat, being circumcised or not  being circumcised. Paul knew that the problem was between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians and there were strong and weak in both as to their adherence to the faith. Here is a point that would help us with this issue in the church today….Paul does not condemn either for their opinion. Paul is worried that the matters that have arisen will threaten the united worship of the one God. Paul is concerned that this worship of all sorts of people will be impacted by social or cultural influences and the insertion of Jewish law into this new “way” for God to be reconciled with his people would impact the church’s growth. Paul knew the elements that were involved here, but wisely chose to not emphasize them, he did not want to be drawing lines in the sand, he preferred to insist that it was possible for people of different opinions to learn to live and worship together.  

Now it gets a little sticky here on. Here again is my opinion, yours may differ. Paul equates “strong or weak” in the faith to a matter of maturity. We should not disqualify people for their opinion, because opinion is not a requisite of Christianity. Can we recognize that people whose faith is anchored by the belief that Jesus Christ, the risen Messiah and Lord belong together in the same family……the “Family of God”? What is the standard for exclusion from the “Family of God” and who makes that judgement? I must make this plain. The research material I am drawing from divides this segment of scriptures (Romans 14: 1 -15- 13) into three segments. In 14: 1-12 we read that the weak and the strong are made aware that they each have the same Lord. He is the Lord of all and we all will be judged and held to account by him. It is not right that any Christian should pre-empt God’s right in advance. Verses 13-14 present a real problem for many of us. Can we cope with the need to not condemn others opinions? Can we learn to respect and not make demands on one another’s consciences? When we get to the verses in chapter 15 there is an insistence on a mutual welcome to all people. Jews and Gentiles, following the risen Christ, the Messiah through whom our God will give the hope and power to be one in the Holy Spirit.

For over thirty years I sat in a pew in the Methodist Church and then a little over three years ago I found another pew. To my beloved church and to my brothers and sisters, I beg you not to leave as I have. We are one in Christ and we should not let opinions and other views drive us from the “Unity of Christian worship.” Judge not, Believe, Respect, Love and Honor God’s call to Unity. 

Life is Good

jk