Joyful Lament: Preparing for the Season of Advent

We are but a week away from the month of December and from the liturgical time of Advent! In the midst of overwhelming commercialism it is easy to lose the beauty and meaning of this holiday season. It's unfortunate that the holidays have too often become about selfishness and greed.

In the upcoming cold and desolate month we will be buying gifts, hanging ornaments, verbally and emotionally assaulting each other over costs and item availability, stuffing our faces, destroying our teeth, and complaining about getting the wrong color for the iPod Touch we asked for. It's incredible that the symbol of Christmas is a Bishop/Saint and yet the Church often goes unremembered and Christ is neglected.

Christmas and Advent is, and will always be, a Christian holiday. People get angry when politicians have "holiday" trees instead of Christmas trees. If they aren't Christians then they can call them whatever they want, the holiday has no real significance or importance to them anyways.

The giving of gifts is a beautiful tradition of Christmas. I am by no means saying that gift-giving should be eliminated from this holy day since it is the day God gave the greatest gift of all: His Son...Himself. We live in the realm of ungratefulness, never remembering the true beauty of Christ's coming. Advent is to be a time where we celebrate and rejoice in the greatness of God and His love for us, but it should also be a reminder of the darkness that was before Christ came into our lives. This reality should also bring our minds to the harshness of sin that still remains in the world and all that is yet to be brought into full subjection to Christ. There are still millions of people who have yet to even hear of Christ!

That said, Advent should be a time of lament, but it should also be a time of repentance; remembering that the reason Christ came was to save us from the sin that destroys our society, culture, economy, and
government. He came so that He would die and usher in the age of the Church, and God forbid that we eat and drink in celebration of His coming without first falling on our knees in humility and fearful trembling in the revelation of our sinful state.

May we all be fasting and praying as we approach the day set aside in memorium to Christ's birth.

Grace and Peace,

Stephen

"From Breaking Chains to Breaking Bread": A Brief Summary

Over the last 5 years I have been an incredible spiritual journey that have deeply affected me emotionally, mentally, and theologically. It began, as such things usually do, quite unexpectedly-like an echo of an echo that knocked on the door of my heart. It was the slight itch at the back of mind. It was the deafening silence that screamed out in a whisper a single word: change. The growing uneasiness that told me "something is wrong" began in the final months of high school, but soon intensified in college.

For the majority of my life, I participated in churches of Pentecostal/charismatic tradition. In high school I became a leader in the youth ministry that I regularly attended and led small groups, taught at retreats, and prayed for other students at altar calls. I actually did this through the entirety of my college years, driving back and forth between Chattanooga and Dayton twice (sometimes trice) a week for 4 years.

I was a tongue talker and I was a "chain breaker"; I always had a bottle of anoitin' oil on hand and I was ready to go to war against "the principalities and powers of darkness." I have been present at two exorcisms, and I have prayed for dozens of people-yelling and screaming "freedom" at them as if my very action of speaking would cause the Spirit to charge into them and chase away all darkness and fix all that was broken instantly right then and there.

I've calmed down quite a bit since my graduation. I have begun participating in a local Anglican church and have found myself quite at home in the theological circles of the traditional and sacramental. This came out my experiences with reformed and traditional Christians that I met at my school, travels to Italy and Jordan where Orthodoxy and Catholicism are both very present in there prospective countries. Through my independent study, personal interactions, and in being forced to engage with various theological paradigms and beliefs due to friends who were also searching, I soon found myself in love with/drawn to this form of Church governmental structure and worship style.

In the end, I found that I could not be Catholic because of my lack of ability to justify belief in the Papal Authority. I loved participating in the Episcopal Church, but I found their theology far too liberal (and the presiding Bishop is a certifiable heretic). In the end, I have found myself in the Anglican circle and plan to be here for the rest of my foreseeable future.

Despite my change in church traditions and my way of viewing the purpose of the church, I still have a great love for those within my previous tradition and I see a lot of beauty among them and their worship. I realize that I now disagree with a lot of the philosophies and methods that they hold to, but I do not think that these differences should prevent us from being unity and from working towards the same goal: showing Christ to the World.

I still have my bottle of anoitin' oil that I carry with me everywhere I go. I still pray in tongues form time to time when I am alone in prayer, and my current tradition leads me to believe even more strongly that words that are spoken have an influence on the world around me. But now I come to church to meet Christ in my participating in Eucharist and in the deep and meaningful worship structure of liturgical worship. I am confident that Christ has led me to this and I am grateful for all that Christ has done in me through this tradition.

And so I leave you with these words: "Life is short and there is but little time to gladden the hearts of those who travel with us. So be quick to love, and make haste to be kind. In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit."

Peace be with you,

Stephen

Liquid Holiness

For many generations, Christians have promoted (and made use of) a liquid substance primarily known as anointing oil! I myself keep a bottle of the stuff in my satchel. The question is whether or not there are biblical basis for it's use and, if so, when is it to be used? does it accomplish anything by being used.

I am writing on this topic after a friend of mine contacted me and requested that I share my thoughts on the topic matter and immediately I felt the inspiration to write on the subject matter. My friend asked me about my thoughts on the use of anointing oil and whether or not I thought is was abused, specifically by the charismatic/Pentecostal brethren.

My answer, however, cannot be made without first looking at scripture. In the Bible we see various instances where oil was used for anointing: generals to lead reformation, men to be priests, and a little boy to be a king. In the books and letters of the new covenant we see where people we anointed because they were sick.

The use of anointing oil has been upheld by Christian tradition for centuries. The Roman Catholic Church still supports it use in some of its rites, such as the final rites (which is perceived to be sacramental in nature). The RCC also uses Holy Water (which protestants, in a strange twist of irony, have labeled heretical). Pentecostal traditions have managed to mass produce the liquid substance and find themselves anointing. not only the sick or those being placed in a position of authority, but also the windows, chairs, walls, and doors.

What is the purpose of oil? What good does it do? Is it deeply symbolic, merely another strange action of a bizarre group of people lost in traditions while trying to honor a power and unfathomable God, or is there something deeply spiritual and effective about the use of oil? I'm not going to even pretend that I have the answer...because I don't. As much as I love God and as much as I have read books and had classes on scripture...more and more I realize that I may know more than most, I know nothing compared to all there is to know about Christ and His universe.

So, we have something that has vague use in the Bible, but is in fact used by the the early Church and carried forth by church tradition. It is powerful reminder and physical, tangible substance that draws our attention to the unseen and intangible. Regardless of it having power, it is a powerful tool for worship and prayer, as well as faith strengthening. Just like the incense that fills the naive and the bells that sound in rafters of ancient cathedrals, so does the oil bring us into focus upon our Creator and make us aware of His ever present Presence that covers us, fills us, and leaves a mark upon us.

I think the ultimate question is...does the your use of anointing oil or theology concerning anointing oil take away your worship, praise, faith, or reliance in God? Many pray to "Padre Pio" instead of praying to Christ, and many call on Mary and rely on her to speak on their behalf. Christ is center, Christ is focus, and if you find the anointing oil is a great symbolic reminder of the presence of Christ and helps strengthen your faith...then by all means use it! If you believe that there is a deep, spiritual essence to holy oil by which God causes change and/or acts upon the use of...then great! Point is that a) God gets glory and He is recognized as the life source and b) we are pushed to living a life style the reflects the beauty of the Gospel.

Tradition!!!

When I hear the word "tradition", there are several things that come to mind. I think of small little random things that families do for holidays such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter. I also think of the classic musical "Fiddler on the Roof" (if you haven't seen it then you are deprived of life and culture...go watch it... no no you can read this later...go...GO!). More recently tradition has turned my attention to ancient forms of worship within the Church.

Just to clarify to some of the protestants out there who might be asking "Well, which church are you talking about?" or "Are you talking about the heartless ritualism of that cult in Rome?" or even  may be saying "My church sings the hymns that my grandfather's grand father sang and if they were good enough for Paul and Silas then they are good enough for me!", when I say "Church" I mean the holy, universal Church that transcends time and space. The Church that does not sum up the four walls and a roof that's on the corner of your street. I mean the full Kingdom of believers that are and were and will be. By "ancient" I mean REALLY REALLY OLD! You probably don't have your family traced back this far! To my Pentecostal brothers and sister...no I don't mean meeting in houses/home churches to speak in tongues and dance (please note that I am not bashing these things, I simply am pointing out that this is not a form of worship recorded in the New Testament or early Church history). Lastly, I do not believe Catholicism to be a cult, but merely a segment of the Church with a skewed focus...like pretty much every denomination in some way, shape, or form.

I'm talking about the liturgy, the deeply ritualistic and symbolic worship that was done for many a century...and is still being done in several denominations. At this I want to point out that I am not "running to Rome" as it were...but I am still deeply moved by these services and this form of worship that I grew up without. Why? I could just say "the Holy Spirit", but lets face it...that's a cop out and a tactic used by way too many people who just want to have their way or get their two-cents in without people making a huge fuss. People will punch others of opinions, but "woe unto him who touches God's anointed who doth speak prophetically". I am no prophet, and even though I deeply believe that prophecy and words of knowledge still exist in the Church today, I fear that we have a tendency to speak too quickly out the flesh and label it as God. No, I'm going to break down a little bit of my reasoning and thought process here.

There is nothing "wrong" about ritualistic worship...though I've been taught for years that it is by people who ritualistically lift their hands, dance, and or play the acoustic guitar. The fact is that ritualism and tradition are not limited to robes and weekly communion. No, it can also be found in the Baptist church, the Presbyterian church, and even in Pentecostal churches. I think the problem is that we have so heavily defined those words in association with Catholicism and/or old Baptistic hymn singing that we forget the true meanings of the words. We have been classically conditioned to have a bitter taste for things we understand and know very little about!

I'm beginning to explore these things and see how they are relevant in the life of a Christian today. I am particularly being drawn to a more Anglican tradition, but I have not full let go of my Pentecostal roots. I have personally felt the Spirit's presence in the middle of a liturgical service and that leads me to the conclusion that neither form whether "traditional" or contemporary are essentially right or wrong. God is honored in both. I hope to share more of my thoughts concerning the matter in the future and why I'm being drawn to Anglicanism.

Peace be upon you all,

Stephen