Happy Easter!

 

A blessed and joyful Easter to all!  

And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week they went to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?” And looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back; for it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, “Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here; see the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.” And they went out and fled from the tomb; for trembling and astonishment had come upon them; and they said nothing to any one, for they were afraid.  Mark 16.1-8

I sometimes wonder if we aren't properly afraid, given the immensity of what our Faith claims.  Just a thought. 

Merry Christmas

 

“NOEL” by J.R.R. Tolkien

 Grim was the world and grey last night:

The moon and stars were fled,

The hall was dark without song or light,

The fires were fallen dead.

The wind in the trees was like to the sea,

And over the mountains’ teeth

It whistled bitter-cold and free,

As a sword leapt from its sheath.

 

The lord of snows upreared his head;

His mantle long and pale

Upon the bitter blast was spread

And hung o’er hill and dale.

The world was blind,

the boughs were bent,

All ways and paths were wild:

Then the veil of cloud apart was rent,

And here was born a Child.

 

The ancient dome of heaven sheer

Was pricked with distant light;

A star came shining white and clear

Alone above the night.

In the dale of dark in that hour of birth

One voice on a sudden sang:

Then all the bells in Heaven and Earth

Together at midnight rang.

 

Mary sang in this world below:

They heard her song arise

O’er mist and over mountain snow

To the walls of Paradise,

And the tongue of many bells was stirred

in Heaven’s towers to ring

When the voice of mortal maid was heard,

That was mother of Heaven’s King.

 

Glad is the world and fair this night

With stars about its head,

And the hall is filled with laughter and light,

And fires are burning red.

The bells of Paradise now ring

With bells of Christendom,

And Gloria, Gloria we will sing

That God on earth is come.

 

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.  Isaiah 9.6

Christ is risen!

 Truly He is Risen!

And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.  Mark 16.5-7

A long Good Friday

One of my boys said we are living through a long Good Friday.  It's hard to disagree.

That first Good Friday, from the POV of Jesus' followers, ended a good thing.  A week earlier and a triumphal entry.  Dare we think Rome will be tossed out the window and a new David will reign (minus the bad stuff)?  Now He's dead.  Lying on the ground, dead.  And having made Himself an enemy of the powers that be, his followers knew the score. 

We often give the disciples grief.  Couldn't you even stay awake?  How could you be so daft?  Running away from Jesus?  Ages ago in my ministry days, I recall one Easter sermon I gave. 

In that sermon, I took on that tendency to judge too harshly when it comes to His followers.  I told the congregation that I can show some pity since I'm sure I never would have abandoned Jesus.  Unlike the disciples, I would not have run away. 

How do I know this?  Sounds sort of arrogant, more arrogant than just judging the disciples, don't it?  Well, how can I make such a bold claim?  Easy. I wouldn't have abandoned Jesus when He was arrested, tried and crucified because I wouldn't have been within a hundred miles of Him in the first place. I would have been home, going about business, doing my thing.  Perhaps I heard of Him, saw Him, was even healed by Him.

But knowing me, I would have been glad, maybe liked what He had to say, then back to business as usual.   To abandon Jesus, the disciples already had to have given up everything and everyone to follow Him.  They would have done more than I ever have.  Only when you leave hearth and home and walk with Jesus through thick and thin do you have the chance to fully abandon Him.  Or even betray Him.  And how many of us who so easily judge the disciples over that first Good Friday can say we've made the grade in that department? 

Well, today there are ones who are holding fast to the historical Faith as so much of it is being pulled out from under us.  We see the World openly make war on everything God revealed.  And as we watch our leaders and those we  trusted throw in the towel, wave the white flag, and willingly question anything we ever believed rather than stand up to the World, it reminds us of something. Something that might make us a little more understanding when we see such capitulation.

We've been a godless, atheistic, secular society for many generations.  Oh, there was some Christian residue, but that was fading fast.  By now, we can see the secularization was purposeful, and the paganizing increasingly complete.  From a time when leaders invoked Almighty God, to today where ideas of the afterlife or divine will have no place anywhere in our social debate, we've seen a growing number of believers and leaders turn their backs on God, Christ, the Gospel, and goodness. 

And I know it's frustrating.  As my son said, we're heading into a long, dark Good Friday that seems to show no end.  But as we see so many throw in the towel, consider that at least until recently, many were holding fast..  If they're buckling now, they've had decades to join our nation and abandon God and flip the bird to the Gospel, yet they didn't until relatively recently.

Perhaps they're finally doing it now.  But at least they held out, so there is hope.  I'm not downplaying or diminishing the harm being done as Christians and our leaders day after day seem to grovel and buckle under the World's assaults.  But at least they made it this far.  Many buckled ages ago.  Many turned their back on God long before I came along.  Our nation certainly did.  But the ones we're watching today at least made it to the modern Gethsemane.  And that's worth something.

Again, I'm not downplaying the severe harm done in our Church's age of capitulation.  The harm it does and the damage to the witness of the Truth.  But before we get too angry, consider that the ones we talk about and say "I never thought it would be him" at least made it this far.   As a former agnostic, I can testify that our God fearing nation had already gone pagan, and provided plenty of reasons and excuses to abandon God back when cable meant twelve channels.  Yet these who are struggling and giving in today made it this far. 

Of course there is even hope for those who turned away decades ago or grew up never caring because our nation and its institutions told them not to.  Thief on the cross moment there.  But for those who fought the good fight until the Internet, or Facebook, or Twitter, or BLM, or this or that social woke twist to sanity in recent years, at least made it farther than we sometimes give credit.

So pray that at some point as we stumble through this Good Friday time in the Church's history, they will come back around.  That those of us who say 'surely not I Lord'" will mind ourselves so that we don't join the ranks of those fleeing into the woods.  Instead, pray that we remain faithful, and those who traveled so long will return to the narrow path.  For however long our Good Friday is, we know that Easter is always round the corner.  And that's our hope and assurance that nothing happening today can't be overcome. 

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.   John 16.33b

A reminder

Pope Francis nails the spirit of modern Christainity

By telling Ukraine to embrace the 'white flag' of negotiations.

Let's face it.  Christians have been charging forth with white flags waving for generations.  Since WW2, Westerners and Americans have joined the call to charge forth and surrender.  That's how we're at the place we are today.  

And it isn't in one area alone.  The world has been having its way with the Church, and by extension the civilization it helped build, for more years than I can remember.  If what Pope Francis said seems bothersome, I'd suggest we take a long, hard, honest look at the last century or so and ask why.  

Easter

And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week they went to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?” And looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back; for it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, “Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here; see the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.” And they went out and fled from the tomb; for trembling and astonishment had come upon them; and they said nothing to any one, for they were afraid. Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.  Mark 16.1-10

Heading into Easter

A little post from back in the day, showcasing our annual viewing around this time.  We won't get anywhere near watching all of these now, with busyness and our second oldest ready to move on.  Fact is, the very weekend of his wedding, our oldest is graduating from college.  Also our youngest was supposed to be confirmed that weekend, but he will be going through another church a week before.  Plus our third is passing his year long training stint for his promotion at work.  Did I say May and this time in general would be busy?   

Anyhoo, that was our viewing for many a year, and this year we'll see some of it.  We already watched The Ten Commandments on a big screen and projector the family bought me for Christmas a year ago.  One of the perks of those old 'great rooms' that were all the rage some years ago.  We can fit a mighty big screen that's as close as you'll get to theaters without being there.  I must admit, seeing it up close and giant was a new way of enjoying the spectacle.  

Blogging will go back to being light as we head into Easter.  I came out of semi-retirement because of the Nashville shooting and the clear corner we turned as a nation.  Christians were killed because of the relevant church's adherence to historical Christianity - and we darn well know that plays into it.  Yet the Left made it clear we would not go there and, for the most part, our nation didn't.  No nationwide Christian prayer vigils.  No protests.  No Christian leaders decrying the horrible post-shooting vitriol from the transgender community.  The US Catholic Bishops have been silent.  Few if any even mentioned a thought or prayer, and nobody looked glaringly at the movement increasingly comfortable saying anyone who believes in boys and girls must go.  Again, because the Left is now Caesar, and as far as most Americans are concerned - including a large swath of believers and their leadership - what Caesar says, Caesar gets .

Pondering the implications of living in a hostile empire in light of Easter this year will certainly cast a new light on things.  We are no longer an anti-Christian nation.  We are a zealously pro-secular pagan nation.  There is a new god in town, and a new Caesar who rules.  Neither will tolerate disobedience and, more to the point, in most cases neither will receive any.  Nashville showed that in flying colors. 

Those few, those remnant few, who keep to the historical Faith increasingly will be targeted.  Nashville was merely a mile marker.  One more that historians will look back at and study when the inevitable question of 'what went wrong' is pondered.  

Nonetheless, all the viewing (Charlie Brown excepted) above reminds us of a time when even our entertainment industry conveyed the message of our faith in troubled times.  So let us hold firm and rejoice.  Even if the bulk of our leaders flinch and cower, we can look past them to the God we serve. Our nation says now that there is no God, and our faith is myth at best, evil at worst.  At some point, dust off the heels is an appropriate reaction. 

It won't be easy in the coming years.  But as one of my sons said, if we just take an honest look at the track record of our post-Christian nation and civilization, that alone should be enough to instill a solid faith in God's revelation that they so openly reject.  

BTW, bonus quote from one of my sons while discussing the state of things: "For moderns, perseverance is the only solution to failure." I liked that.  Because it's true.  It took the most educated generation in history to refuse to admit failure  no matter what the body count.  The problem is, so few leaders with access to the national stage will call it for what it is.  

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.

A blessed and merry Christmas to all

 

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.  

Isaiah, 9.6

Out of the mouths of babes

In the series finale of the television show Frasier, Frasier Crane says his goodbyes before he flies away to a new chapter in life.  He says his farewells, gives his hugs, and receives best wishes from his closest friends and family.  Then he comes to his brother Niles, played by David Hyde Pierce, whose performance as Frasier's pretentious brother is considered by many the reason the series became a smash hit.  One constant set piece for the show was the two brothers discussing various topics over coffee in a local Seattle coffee house.  As Frasier moves toward Niles in that last episode, Nile responds with a simple statement that summed up the mood of fans everywhere: "I'll miss the coffees."

When our second oldest gets married and moves out, and when the other boys move on in their own times, I must say that sums up my thoughts as well.  Our family has had many adventures, many ups and downs, taken trips, built traditions, enjoyed vacations, attended sporting events and concerts, watched movies and shows, and played a million games together. But when all is said and done, and my wife and I turn back to our empty nest, I admit more than anything else, I'll miss the coffees.  That is, our endless talks and conversations over the years.  

Sometimes we went off topic during prayer time.  Or we began rambling on during dinner.  Or we prattled on if we were in the van together traveling from place to place.  Or sometimes we were just chilling after a long day and began a conversational stream of consciousness that could take us from Mario Brothers to the Battle of Jutland to the filioque clause to gay marriage to the tonal differences between Aliens and Terminator 2 to the proportional influence of Chuck Mangione compared to Bach, to looking into Nietzsche's abyss, to the benefits of organic vegetables.  It didn't matter.  The sky was the limit when our conversations reached the tarmac.  Sometimes we watched hours go by, and everyone - even our youngest - would offer his or her two cents worth, before the talks wrapped up.

Which brings us to the point.  We don't have the full family talks as often now owing to life's obligations. When we do, sometimes it is shorter, with commentary from this or that son following a day or so later.  After we had a hefty discussion about the lack of emphasis on the hereafter in our modern society, and why we need to recapture that within the faith, my youngest came to me to offer his take. He mused on the role our material obsessed culture has in distracting us from the invisible part of Creation.  He thought for a few about what heaven must be like, as well as the alternative.  Then he gave his thoughts about all the things people want today rather than the important things of God and loved ones. 

He said heaven must be where there is nothing to own, but we have God and all of our loved ones to spend eternity with.  Hell must be where you have everything you ever wanted to own, but nobody around to spend eternity with.  Not to downplay the great theologians or doctors of the Church, but I'm at pains to think of a more poignant image of our eternal options.

I'll let Rod Serling take it from here (an episode we've watched that might have inspired his thinking): 

Christianity: The Flowchart

Heh. And not too inaccurate:

I would amend it in one spot.  From Catholic to Eastern Orthodox there might be OK with, but from Orthodox back to Catholic it's definitely does NOT like.  

I'm often amused at the naiveté of some Catholics who think reconciliation with 'Orthodox Christians' is just a day away.  Not quite.  When Catholicism eliminates Papal infallibility, and the Catholic Church grovels and begs forgiveness for it's persecution of Orthodox Christians', then maybe.  Not until then. Nowhere near until then. 

A happy and blessed Pascha to our Orthodox brothers and sisters

Today is Pascha - that's Easter to us Westerners.  Of course Pascha works for those in the West just the same.  But popular Western parlance calls it Easter, while most Orthodox will correct you in two shakes of a paschal lamb's tail if you use Easter in their company. 

My second oldest son has chosen to remain in the Orthodox way, even as the rest of us returned to the Catholic Church.  This wasn't surprising, just as it wasn't surprising our oldest remained Catholic when the rest sojourned with the Orthodox tradition for a season.  

Years and years ago, on our way into the Catholic Church, we actually visited with the Orthodox for a bit.  In Protestantism, you have engrained certain 'anti-Catholic' biases that are a bit like having the Queen of Diamonds laid in front of you when you get too close to a Catholic tradition.  Because my wife had been born and bred Baptist, her family drinking deeply from the well of Baptist life, it wasn't easy for her to transition to Catholicism in a direct line.

Therefore we went in an outflanking maneuver that included visiting the Orthodox cathedral in Columbus, Ohio.  It was too far to seriously consider visiting on a regular basis.  And it was quite foreign to us.  But it wasn't Catholic, and that helped us look at various doctrines and teachings in ways a lifelong Protestant might not have if the only option was through a Catholic lens. 

Eventually we came into the Catholic Church - a long road to be sure.  But we did get an appreciation for the Orthodox tradition.  There were problems, of course, and that's why we returned.  But for my son, the problems our outweighed by the benefits, and the problems he sees in the churches of the Dead West.  Plus, from the time we first entered an Orthodox church before becoming Catholic, he had a wide eyed wonder that he never quite matched in the Catholic tradition.  

So for him, and all who will be worshipping through the Paschal Celebration today and last night - especially those in war torn Ukraine who will be doing so from underground bunkers and hiding places - prayers for a blessed and joyous celebration. 

Easter Sunday

 An old Sunday cartoon strip that says it all:

Have a happy and blessed Easter. 

Suddenly it's fine to pray for someone's death

In this case, Christianity Today lets us know that praying for Putin to kick the bucket and do so quickly can be a right biblical thing to do.

Here's my thing.  I know from a purely historical, traditional, pre-modern Judeo-Christian understanding of Creation and salvation, such an attitude could be, and was sometimes, advocated.  My problem is, since I've been a Christian, at no time have mainstream Christians condoned such attitudes.  Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, or Christianity Today. 

In fact, when people cheered for the death of Osama bin Laden, more than a few Christian leaders and pundits and publications bemoaned such attitudes.  We pray for people, we don't cheer when they die.  We certainly don't pray they die.  God loves everyone.  All can be saved.  We end the death penalty because this life and salvation are practically the same.  We no more pray for someone's death than we say it's good to execute them because it forces their hand on reconciling with the Almighty.

And on and on.  But the greatest thing about modernity, especially as incarnate in the political Left, is its 'here today, gone later today' approach to principles, ethics, standards and anything else you want. So you heard it said yesterday that it's entirely unchristian to pray that someone should die? Well by the sacred dogma of progress, today we say that it's perfectly acceptable  to pray for someone to die since it's today, and it's convenient. 

Again, I'm not saying the debate was settled.  I'm not saying there were never arguments from parts of the church advocating for the old ninja warrior approach to our faith, including death penalties and praying that the Hitlers of the world meet with an untimely end.

I'm saying those Christian outlets that tried to stay relevant to our modern sensitivities  - and that was the bulk of most mainstream traditions - tended dispense with those olden ways. Often they outright condemned such thinking.  Even now, I'm trying to recall anyone of credible worth arguing that modern, 20th Century Christians should pray for the death of someone.  

I know, I know.  The article is very agreeable in its tone.  It's careful.  It's cautious.  It's trying to not come out and say it directly and with gusto that we should gleefully petition Heaven for Putin's quick entry into the netherworld.  But its attempt to open up this possibility when I'm at pains to think of anyone mainstream coming close since I've been a Christian, shows just how almost anything we took for granted is on the chopping block.  Even if it's topics Christians were forced by the world to reconsider being reconsidered again because the world says so. 

My private prayer?  That after several generations of Christians trying to modify the Faith to keep up with the Joneses, we'll stop it.  It hasn't worked well, and the world has shown itself to be a rather fickle and unreliable guide. 

A happy and blessed Holy Week to my Orhtodox brethren

 A nifty treasure map for the occasion

Nobody does Christian preparation like the Orthodox.  Their fasts were the stuff of legend, and rightly so.  As my sons said, the best way to live up to their often months long fasts was to open the door and graze on the grass in the front yard.  In fact, one of the problems with Eastern Orthodoxy was just how surprisingly cultural it was.  For us Westerners, those fasts were nigh on impossible.  But they were not for people in parts of Eastern Europe and the Middle East, where the fasts tend to align more closely to the daily diets and menus of the average population.  

That was, in fact, one of the surprising things we discovered in the half decade or so in which we sojourned with the Orthodox side of the tracks.  Here in our Western lands, even our dying, anti-Christian Western lands, we still have a semblance of the Christian Faith's long shadow.  Many of the things we take for granted are rooted in eons of Christian influence.  There is also a sort of give and take with certain cultural tendencies that found their way into the Church.  

So when we see something like Orthodox Christianity, more or less divorced from any noticable Western influence, we have a tendency of saying 'Ooooo, Ahhhhh, look how otherworldly and not-conformist it is.'  Well, here in the States it can look that way.  But in their own back yard, turns out their churches are just as linked to the cultural heritage of those countries and lands as a Baptist tent revival is with good old 19th Century Americana. 

Nonetheless, a heartfelt wish for a blessed Holy Week.  Orthodoxy, like all faith traditions, is under the same assault as the faithful in the Dying West.  In some ways, the lessons they learned under centuries of Ottoman, Muslim and later Communist oppression have given them a different take on some of these problems.  Nonetheless, the sudden burst of openness and freedom that came with the collapse of the USSR has also exposed them to unique dangers that they are now only beginning to confront.  So prayers and best wishes through this Pascha season.

Christ is Risen!

(to which we all respond, Truly He is Risen!)

Khristós anésti! Alithós anésti!

al-Masīḥ qām! Bi-l-ḥaqīqati qām! 

Khristos voskrese! Voistinu voskrese!

(for those in our former church)

Happy and Blessed Easter

Now on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran, and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” Peter then came out with the other disciple, and they went toward the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first; and stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; he saw the linen cloths lying, and the napkin, which had been on his head, not lying with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not know the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes.  John 20.1-10

The lukewarm Laodiceans

And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.  Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’— and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”   Revelation 3.14-22

On this Holy Saturday, while Christ was in the tomb quite dead, it’s worth pondering this.  I’ve often thought this was the seed that was strangled by the thorns and thistles of life. The ones trudging through, spinning a fine Christian yarn on most Sundays and the odd special holy day, but Monday through Friday, from eight until about six in the evening, it’s atheism and materialism and worldly values all the way.   It’s the kind of compromise that leaves us forever with one foot on both the ship and the dock, even as the barque pulls ever further away from the worldly pier.  This especially hurts in our nation, where no matter what we're seeing in terms of godlessness and evil, so many American Christians still take comfort in the fact that we are rich, wealthy and have need of nothing. 

The imagery is not pretty, given that this is probably where many are who otherwise wouldn’t tolerate heresy or false teachings, or support or indulge in sexual debauchery and decadence during such a time as our era of AIDS.  And yet, in refusing to yield on those fronts, it doesn’t mean we are still burning with passion, but rather are tied and twisted in the things of this world.  Note the shocking statement that the Lord would rather us be altogether on the opposite side of the road from the Truth.  Better that than meandering around the middle of the road, where one can be squashed like a grape.  And note the verbiage: I will vomit you out of My mouth.  Being lukewarm is not an option.  It is not a viable alternative to full-blown blasphemy or apostasy.  There is one way, the narrow way.  Any other, including halfway between two camps, merely leads to destruction.

Friday

 

The church of brotherly love

And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”: I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.  Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie— indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.  Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Revelation 3. 7-13

The church we all want to be.  On this Good Friday, we remember the handful of faithful followers who continued with Jesus even to the foot of the cross.  Oh, how we like to imagine that would be us.   For those who haven’t concluded that everyone who came before us was a reprobate unworthy of our awesomeness, that’s how it is with studying history.  We like to think we would take the bullet, hide the Jews, transport escaped slaves, stand up to the Hammer and Sickle in Poland, climb up onto our own cross next to Jesus.  Sad fact is, however, that most are like the other disciples who either run for their lives or betray Jesus.  That’s how evil triumphs.  Not because good men do nothing.  But because good men invariably do the wrong thing. 

Nonetheless, here we have a church that has received one long chorus of praise and adoration.   Two thousand years later it seems His promise to come quickly is a bit overstated, but this is from an eternal perspective after all.  It still stands today. It could be tomorrow, today, or before I finish this post.  As the great trials are coming, and have already arrived, remember the constant theme: stand fast and know of God’s grace, love and protection.  Compromise, and that’s when you get the wrath side of the Eternal. 

The dead church at Sardis

And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, “These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. 2“ Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”  Revelation 3.1-6

Ouch.  Lesson learned: If you are praised and adored for being awesome as an ambassador of the Kingdom, you might want to think twice.  That has always been true.  The Bible, remember, is a minority witness.  As a general rule, the Scriptures tell of those rare few who stand firm as the majority around them cave, compromise or cower before other gods. 

A sure sign there are problems is if you’re standing on the side of the praise and adoration of the powers that be.  It’s bad enough if those powers simply lend lip service to, or exploit, the Gospel for their own purposes.  It is disastrous if those powers are arrayed against the Gospel with their sole purpose being at war against Christ and His Church and causing as many little ones as possible to sin and fall away from the Faith. If your big selling point is that these are the ones who consider you to have a reputation of being what a Christian should really be, it might be time to reevaluate your strategy.  After all, there is some buckshot in that phrase ‘blot out his name from the Book of Life’. 

Note again, however, that an olive branch is put out to those who haven’t caved and have remained faithful.  That is an ongoing theme here, isn’t it?  Something to ponder on this Holy Thursday when the main exercise of the disciples was insisting they weren't the traitor, but would boldly stand by Jesus even unto death.