"If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you...all these things they will do to you for My name's sake because they do not know Him who sent Me...this happened that the word might be fulfilled,.. 'They hated Me without a cause.'" John 15:18, 21, 25
We often lose sight of the enmity which exists between the world systems and the Kingdom of God. It takes senseless acts of cruelty in the face of God's offered grace and mercy to remind us that the unregenerate heart "is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked" (Jeremiah 17:9), and that left to itself it will trample the Son of God underfoot, count the blood of the covenant as a common thing, and insult the Spirit of grace (Hebrews 10:29). The beginning of the Church's liturgical year provides us a stark comparison between the gift of divine love offered, and the hatred of sinful man blinded in pride and earthly ambition. Consider the Christmas angel's message of "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men," and compare it to the dying screams of toddlers and babies, the broken-hearted wailing of Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted because they were no more. It is no wonder that Paul tells us in II Corinthians 6:14-15 that there can be no covenant between righteousness and lawlessness, between light and darkness, between the temple of God and the idols of Satan. The Church has purposely placed three days of remembrance within the octave of Christmas to remind us that those are truly blessed who "are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:10). One of those days is Childermas (in its old form), or as we know it today, the remembrance day of the Holy Innocents.
The story is brief enough and found in the gospel of Matthew 2:1-8, 12-18. Herod the Great was troubled about the announcement of the birth of the Lord's anointed in Bethlehem, Who was prophesied to sit on the throne of His father David. Herod the usurper, Herod the ambitious, Herod the ruthless lied to the wise men who brought news to him of this marvelous, long-awaited birth. "Go and search diligently for the young Child, and when you have found Him bring back word to me that I may come and worship Him also." But God judged the intent of Herod's heart, and sent His angel first to the wise men (warning them not to return to Herod), and then to Joseph (warning him to flee to Egypt because Herod was about to "seek the young Child [Jesus] to destroy Him"). Scripture records that Herod, "when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under." There have been many opinions as to how many gave their lives for the Christ Child that day. The Greek Liturgy sets the number at 14,000. Certain Syrian documents state 64,000. Many medieval interpreters conclude that the 144,000 mentioned in Revelation 14:1-5 are these holy innocents "found without guile, for they are without fault before the throne of God." Still others set the number low, pointing out that it did not even warrant a mention by the historian Josephus who certainly chronicled other cruel, hateful acts by Herod the Great during his reign. We may not be able to define the exact extent of the bloodshed, but to illustrate the depth of cruelty and blind ambition in Herod's heart the story concerning Casesar's response to the reports of the massacre may best state it. Augustus Casesar was reported to have remarked that it was "better to be Herod's hog than his son", for at least the Jews prohibited the killing of swine. This quotation was attributed to the report that one of the children under two years of age killed in the Bethlehem slaughter was Herod's own son. This may be an apocryphal application of Augustus' quotation which others believe that he actually said concerning the death of an older son (when Herod was lying on his own death bed he ordered his grown son Antipater to be beheaded because of intrigue against the king). The story's point is illustrative regardless.
It was mentioned earlier that the Church has placed three remembrance days within the octave of Christmas, days set aside to remember the so-called "companions of Christ." These include the remembrance day of St. John the apostle (martyr in will, but not in deed), St. Stephen (martyr in both will and deed), and the Holy Innocents (martyrs in deed, though not in will). In these three instances we see portrayed the full testimony of those who "did not love their life even to death" (Revelation 12:11); from the testimony of the elder father who had known Him from the beginning, to the strength of the young man full of faith and overcoming the devil, and finally to the innocence of babes reflecting the glory of those who inherit the kingdom. The Church, since the time of Irenaeus (2nd century) has ascribed to these holy innocents the title of martyr, for they gave their lives in Christ's stead, giving testimony not by word, but by their blood.
One last piece needs to be added to complete our picture. The evangelist Matthew tells us that the slaughter of the Bethlehem innocents was a fulfillment of the prophecy found in Jeremiah 31:15 "A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted for her children because they are no more." It is at Ramah (north of Bethlehem and Jerusalem) that the tomb of Rachel, ancestress of Israel is found. It was in this region that the remnants of Judah were gathered after the fall of Jerusalem to be led into captivity to Babylon. The prophet said that Rachel wept at the fall of Judah for her lost children, for few would return from judgment. Matthew, under divine inspiration, applies it as well to that time when Herod sought to destroy the Messiah, forcing Him to flee into exile in Egypt for a time. Once more Rachel is said to weep for her sons, once more heartbreak and loss fills the cities of Judah. All of these pieces come together to form this remembrance day which traces its placement in the liturgical calendar of the Church back to the fourth or fifth century when the date for Christmas was also formally established.
We may never be able to explain why the hand of God was not raised to avert this great tragedy. Perhaps it was a foreshadowing of when His own Son's blood would be spilled upon a cross in this same vicinity so that the children of Israel might know at last the freedom from their enemies. Perhaps it was to show the depth of human depravity which required the sending of Jesus Christ to earth to redeem it from the hand of Satan. Perhaps the words of the gospel of Matthew 19:13-14 come closest to communicating the deeper significance of this day. It is there that we will close our narrative. "Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven."
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
St. John, the Beloved Disciple, Apostle (Remembrance Day December 27)
"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life...that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you may also have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His son Jesus Christ." I John 1:1-3
Disputes over doctrine often form the battleground for denominational religion. Doctrine is important in that it tells us what lies within the Kingdom of God, and what lies outside of its realm. But that makes it more like the fence that surrounds the pasture of the Lord; it is not the pasture itself in which the daily Christian life grows and prospers. Once we are within that pasture, it matters not so much what we believe, as Who it is that we believe in. Life within the pasture is based on relationship to Jesus Christ, and it is devotion, not doctrine, that is the better measure of life within the kingdom. Christ's rebuke of the Ephesian church in Revelation 2:4 is that "you have left your first love." Purity of devotion is never intended to be sacrificed in order to attain purity of doctrine. We are not meant to spend our lives being fence-menders. Our fences of doctrine have been established by the ancient Church since its beginning; it's time to live out the liberty by which Christ has set us free. In every age of the Church there have been those who have possessed an inner delight at having an intimate relationship with their Lord. They have "chosen that good part which will not be taken away from [them]" (John 10:42), that contentment of spirit which comes from sitting at the feet of the Lord. Such a man was John, both an apostle and an evangelist, but better remembered as that "disciple whom Jesus loved" (John 20:2).
John was the son of Zebedee and brother of James the Greater (Matthew 4:21-22). Since he is always mentioned after James in any listing of the two brothers, commentators have concluded that John was the younger of the two. Although he is portrayed in the synoptic gospels as a fisherman, we also know from his own gospel that he was a disciple of John the Baptist (John 1:34-40), one of two to which John the Baptist declared "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" as he sent them to follow this new Teacher come from heaven. What we see portrayed of John in the gospels is a man deeply in love with the Lord Jesus Christ, a man whose devotion grows daily as he is accounted worthy of love and trust by the Lord. Consider these Scriptures. John was one of the three (along with Peter and James) who was present at the raising of Jairus' daughter (Luke 8:51), who was on the mount of transfiguration (Matthew 17:1), who was present at the Lord's agony in prayer in the garden (Matthew 26:37). He and Peter were sent into Jerusalem to prepare the Lord's final passover meal with His disciples (Luke 22:8), during which he sat at the Lord's side leaning back on His chest (John 13:23-25). He was present at the Lord's trial before the Sanhedrin (John 18:15-16), and when it appears that all other of the disciples deserted Jesus for fear of their lives, John stood at the base of His cross and received the mother of Jesus into his care (John 19:25-27). It is no wonder, therefore, that he was one of the first disciples to run to the Lord's grave on Resurrection Day after the news of Mary Magdalene reached them, and was the first disciple to believe that Christ was alive once more (John 20:2-10).
Because of Jesus' words to Peter recorded in John 21:20-23 the rumor was started that John would not see death. What we know of his later life is taken from both scripture and church tradition. We know that he remained in Palestine until Herod's persecution (compare Acts 8:1-2 and 12:1-2). Church tradition tells us that some time after that John went to minister to the churches in Asia Minor which had been started through the ministry of Paul. It is probable that he returned in A.D. 51 with the rest of the apostles for the council of Jerusalem (Acts 15:1-6). Paul referred to John as one of the pillars of the Church (Galatians 2:9), and it is doubtful that he would have been absent from such a gathering. At some time in his mission work, he was arraigned before the Romans for his faith, and tradition tells us that he was immersed into a cauldron of boiling oil, from which he was miraculously delivered. He was subsequently banished to Patmos under the reign of the emperor Domitian (A.D. 81 to 96) and it was on that island that he received the book of Revelation (Revelation 1:9). After Domitian's death, John returned from exile and settled at Ephesus (Jerusalem had been besieged and destroyed by the Romans some 25 years earlier). There are several sources which confirm this. Justin Martyr, writing from Ephesus in the early second century, mentions in the Dialogue with Trypho (Chapter LXXXI) that "there was a certain man with us, whose name was John, one of the apostles of Christ..." And Irenaeus, writing in the same era in Against Heresies (Book III, Chapter I Section 1) states that "John, the disciple of the Lord...did himself publish a gospel during his residence at Ephesus in Asia." According to church records, John died in A.D. 100 at Ephesus, bringing to an end the apostolic age. He was succeeded by his most famous disciple, Polycarp, but that is another story.
His gospel differs from the other three in its nature, with the same difference which devotion has when compared to doctrine. In the three synoptic gospels we have an account of all that Jesus did and taught (as Luke tells us in Acts 1:1). But in John we see the revelation of the person of Jesus Christ, at least insofar as his words were able to communicate that person. Consider the pictures which John paints to describe Him "who dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory..." (John 1:14). To John, Jesus was The Word of God (John 1:1), the Lamb of God (John 1:29), the Second Birth (John 3:1-17), the Living Water (John 4:13-14 & John 7:37-39), the Messiah (John 4:23-26), the Fulfillment of Scripture (John 5:39), the Bread of Life (John 6:35), the Light of the World (John 8:12), the True Liberty (John 8:32,36), the Door of the Sheepfold (John 10:7), the Good Shepherd (John 10:11), the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25), the Way, Truth and Life (John 14:6), the Humble Servant (John 13:12-17), the True Vine (John 15:1), the Giver of the Holy Spirit (John 20:22-23), the Son of God (John 20:30-31). These are a few of the images of one who knew Jesus, not knew about Him; it is the perspective born of devotion, not doctrine. One last thing can be mentioned of John to further bear this out. The Church has ascribed to him two symbols of his ministry. The first is the eagle which speaks of the heavenly heights which are portrayed in his gospel. The second is the chalice which Jesus told him he would drink of in Matthew 20:23 after his mother asked preference for him and his brother. This speaks of a deep, heart relationship, a "fellowship" as John puts it in our opening scripture, which is "with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ." This is the good part which John sought from His Master which is now his eternally to enjoy. May we never confuse our practice of religion with only the mastery of doctrine. It is the depth of relationship to Jesus Christ that we are to seek so that the words of our Lord in John 17:22-24 might be fulfilled for us as they were for John; "...that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in unity, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me."
Disputes over doctrine often form the battleground for denominational religion. Doctrine is important in that it tells us what lies within the Kingdom of God, and what lies outside of its realm. But that makes it more like the fence that surrounds the pasture of the Lord; it is not the pasture itself in which the daily Christian life grows and prospers. Once we are within that pasture, it matters not so much what we believe, as Who it is that we believe in. Life within the pasture is based on relationship to Jesus Christ, and it is devotion, not doctrine, that is the better measure of life within the kingdom. Christ's rebuke of the Ephesian church in Revelation 2:4 is that "you have left your first love." Purity of devotion is never intended to be sacrificed in order to attain purity of doctrine. We are not meant to spend our lives being fence-menders. Our fences of doctrine have been established by the ancient Church since its beginning; it's time to live out the liberty by which Christ has set us free. In every age of the Church there have been those who have possessed an inner delight at having an intimate relationship with their Lord. They have "chosen that good part which will not be taken away from [them]" (John 10:42), that contentment of spirit which comes from sitting at the feet of the Lord. Such a man was John, both an apostle and an evangelist, but better remembered as that "disciple whom Jesus loved" (John 20:2).
John was the son of Zebedee and brother of James the Greater (Matthew 4:21-22). Since he is always mentioned after James in any listing of the two brothers, commentators have concluded that John was the younger of the two. Although he is portrayed in the synoptic gospels as a fisherman, we also know from his own gospel that he was a disciple of John the Baptist (John 1:34-40), one of two to which John the Baptist declared "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" as he sent them to follow this new Teacher come from heaven. What we see portrayed of John in the gospels is a man deeply in love with the Lord Jesus Christ, a man whose devotion grows daily as he is accounted worthy of love and trust by the Lord. Consider these Scriptures. John was one of the three (along with Peter and James) who was present at the raising of Jairus' daughter (Luke 8:51), who was on the mount of transfiguration (Matthew 17:1), who was present at the Lord's agony in prayer in the garden (Matthew 26:37). He and Peter were sent into Jerusalem to prepare the Lord's final passover meal with His disciples (Luke 22:8), during which he sat at the Lord's side leaning back on His chest (John 13:23-25). He was present at the Lord's trial before the Sanhedrin (John 18:15-16), and when it appears that all other of the disciples deserted Jesus for fear of their lives, John stood at the base of His cross and received the mother of Jesus into his care (John 19:25-27). It is no wonder, therefore, that he was one of the first disciples to run to the Lord's grave on Resurrection Day after the news of Mary Magdalene reached them, and was the first disciple to believe that Christ was alive once more (John 20:2-10).
Because of Jesus' words to Peter recorded in John 21:20-23 the rumor was started that John would not see death. What we know of his later life is taken from both scripture and church tradition. We know that he remained in Palestine until Herod's persecution (compare Acts 8:1-2 and 12:1-2). Church tradition tells us that some time after that John went to minister to the churches in Asia Minor which had been started through the ministry of Paul. It is probable that he returned in A.D. 51 with the rest of the apostles for the council of Jerusalem (Acts 15:1-6). Paul referred to John as one of the pillars of the Church (Galatians 2:9), and it is doubtful that he would have been absent from such a gathering. At some time in his mission work, he was arraigned before the Romans for his faith, and tradition tells us that he was immersed into a cauldron of boiling oil, from which he was miraculously delivered. He was subsequently banished to Patmos under the reign of the emperor Domitian (A.D. 81 to 96) and it was on that island that he received the book of Revelation (Revelation 1:9). After Domitian's death, John returned from exile and settled at Ephesus (Jerusalem had been besieged and destroyed by the Romans some 25 years earlier). There are several sources which confirm this. Justin Martyr, writing from Ephesus in the early second century, mentions in the Dialogue with Trypho (Chapter LXXXI) that "there was a certain man with us, whose name was John, one of the apostles of Christ..." And Irenaeus, writing in the same era in Against Heresies (Book III, Chapter I Section 1) states that "John, the disciple of the Lord...did himself publish a gospel during his residence at Ephesus in Asia." According to church records, John died in A.D. 100 at Ephesus, bringing to an end the apostolic age. He was succeeded by his most famous disciple, Polycarp, but that is another story.
His gospel differs from the other three in its nature, with the same difference which devotion has when compared to doctrine. In the three synoptic gospels we have an account of all that Jesus did and taught (as Luke tells us in Acts 1:1). But in John we see the revelation of the person of Jesus Christ, at least insofar as his words were able to communicate that person. Consider the pictures which John paints to describe Him "who dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory..." (John 1:14). To John, Jesus was The Word of God (John 1:1), the Lamb of God (John 1:29), the Second Birth (John 3:1-17), the Living Water (John 4:13-14 & John 7:37-39), the Messiah (John 4:23-26), the Fulfillment of Scripture (John 5:39), the Bread of Life (John 6:35), the Light of the World (John 8:12), the True Liberty (John 8:32,36), the Door of the Sheepfold (John 10:7), the Good Shepherd (John 10:11), the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25), the Way, Truth and Life (John 14:6), the Humble Servant (John 13:12-17), the True Vine (John 15:1), the Giver of the Holy Spirit (John 20:22-23), the Son of God (John 20:30-31). These are a few of the images of one who knew Jesus, not knew about Him; it is the perspective born of devotion, not doctrine. One last thing can be mentioned of John to further bear this out. The Church has ascribed to him two symbols of his ministry. The first is the eagle which speaks of the heavenly heights which are portrayed in his gospel. The second is the chalice which Jesus told him he would drink of in Matthew 20:23 after his mother asked preference for him and his brother. This speaks of a deep, heart relationship, a "fellowship" as John puts it in our opening scripture, which is "with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ." This is the good part which John sought from His Master which is now his eternally to enjoy. May we never confuse our practice of religion with only the mastery of doctrine. It is the depth of relationship to Jesus Christ that we are to seek so that the words of our Lord in John 17:22-24 might be fulfilled for us as they were for John; "...that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in unity, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me."
St. Stephen, Martyr (Remembrance Day December 26)
"Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. And you will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you." Matthew 10:16-20
In a familiar parable (Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23) the Lord talked about the shallowness of religion. "But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles." That word, stumbles, is better translated, "is offended." A shallow faith is easily ashamed of its religion, is afraid of public censure or opinion. Such a faith has a limit beyond which it will not go even for the love of God. Such a faith is a sorrow to the heart of God, for it has a form of godliness, but denies its power. Yet in every age and in every people there have been those with the depth of faith against which the gates of Hell cannot prevail; those who are willing to overcome "by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony and that they did not love their lives to the death." (Revelation 11:11) The Church calls these "martyrs" from the Greek word which means "witness", for by the giving over of their lives these men and women bear powerful witness to the reality of God's promises in Jesus Christ. Such a man was Stephen, first called to wait upon the widow's tables, afterwards sealed to the Lord as the Church's first martyr.
All that we need to know about Stephen is found in Acts 6 and 7. In Acts 6:1-7 we read first that Stephen was one of seven who were chosen by the disciples to oversee the daily distribution of food and alms to the Church's needy. This might seem to us a menial task, but consider that the apostles established the following criteria as necessary to wait upon the Lord's tables of mercy. "Seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom..." One of these was Stephen, a "man full of faith and the Holy Spirit." We can infer that he was a Hellenistic Jew from the dispersion. Only one of the seven chosen was referred to as a proselyte; the others we assume were therefore Jews. Also in Acts 6:8-9 we read that Stephen's preaching was primarily to the Synagogue of the Libertines (the Freedmen). These were probably the children of Jews taken into captivity to Rome by Pompey in 63 BC who had subsequently been freed and returned to Palestine. Stephen disputed with them and "they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke." But the word that Stephen spoke was an offense to them, and instead of embracing the truth as he had done, they accused him of blasphemy against the law and God. Stirring up the elders and scribes, they brought him to the Sanhedrin for judgment. Acts 6:15 sets the introduction for his defense. "And all who sat in the council looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel." Such is the power and glory that is given by the Holy Spirit in times such as this.
Acts 7 is Stephen's defense as the high priest asks simply "Are these things so?" With wisdom and true devotion, Stephen recounts as his defense the covenant of Yahweh, laying it out milestone by milestone until we arrive at verse 51. It is at this point that the Holy Spirit rebukes the council through Stephen, calling them stiff-necked, uncircumcised in heart and ears, resistors of the Holy Spirit, murderers of the prophets, and finally, betrayers of their own Messiah. I said earlier that the preaching of Jesus Christ was the stone of stumbling, the rock of offence. Jesus said of this in Luke 20:18 , "Whoever falls on that stone will be broken [unto salvation]; but on whomever it falls [in judgment], it will grind him to powder." We see those very reactions portrayed for us in the book of Acts. When Peter preached in Acts 2, it records in verse 37 that "when they had heard this, they were cut to the heart and said...'Men and brethren, what shall we do?'" That day 3,000 were added to the Kingdom. But in Acts 7:54, 56 it records that when Stephen spoke, although they were also cut to the heart, this time they gnashed at him with their teeth. Being unable to withstand his words, they stopped their ears, cast him out and stoned him into silence at last. Or so they thought.
Three things are recorded of Stephen's death. First, that he was granted a vision of Jesus Christ standing, not sitting, at the right hand of power; standing, I believe, on his behalf, for "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." (Psalm 116:15). Second, he prays at the last, "Lord, receive my spirit"; and finally, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." We see the Lord's own words from the cross mirrored in Stephen's (Luke 23:34, 46). What better words might a saint of God pray as this world passes away and the Kingdom of God comes clearly into focus? The Council thought they had silenced the testimony of this follower of Jesus, and they used the event as an occasion to begin a widespread persecution of the Church at the hands of Saul. Acts 8:3 "As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every home and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison." But the wisdom of men is foolishness before God. Their plans for silencing the testimony resulted in a scattering of the disciples throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria (Acts 8:1). Where there had been one voice crying aloud, now there were hundreds proclaiming the faithful witness of Jesus Christ. Such is the power of the blood of the martyrs.
But now, what of us? What have we done when confronted by this rock of offense, Jesus Christ? His words cut to our heart, it is impossible to ignore them. And when we hear them, we can only have one of two reactions. Either we will cry out "Men and brethren, what must we do to be saved?"; or we will stop up our ears and seek to still the voice which speaks to us. Oh, we may not cast stones at the prophetic voice as the Sanhedrin did, but we will rationalize our lives into a position where we can still retain a semblance of Christianity while remaining comfortably in control of ourselves. Stephen's words resound in rebuke at us if that is our course....Stiff-necked! Uncircumcised in heart! Resistors of the Holy Spirit! His words will haunt us into the courts of eternity. May we therefore never be ashamed of the gospel. As Paul said in Romans 1:16, "it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes..." May we choose rather to commit ourselves, whatever the cost, to proclaiming the testimony of our Lord. We live in a world which has their fingers in their ears and is in desperate need of our message. But do not doubt for a minute that the price of martyrdom may be required from our hands in this godless age! If not our lives, then perhaps our livelihood, our reputation, our circle of friends. If it comes let us not fear it, for the Son of God will stand for us on that day as He did for Stephen.
In a familiar parable (Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23) the Lord talked about the shallowness of religion. "But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles." That word, stumbles, is better translated, "is offended." A shallow faith is easily ashamed of its religion, is afraid of public censure or opinion. Such a faith has a limit beyond which it will not go even for the love of God. Such a faith is a sorrow to the heart of God, for it has a form of godliness, but denies its power. Yet in every age and in every people there have been those with the depth of faith against which the gates of Hell cannot prevail; those who are willing to overcome "by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony and that they did not love their lives to the death." (Revelation 11:11) The Church calls these "martyrs" from the Greek word which means "witness", for by the giving over of their lives these men and women bear powerful witness to the reality of God's promises in Jesus Christ. Such a man was Stephen, first called to wait upon the widow's tables, afterwards sealed to the Lord as the Church's first martyr.
All that we need to know about Stephen is found in Acts 6 and 7. In Acts 6:1-7 we read first that Stephen was one of seven who were chosen by the disciples to oversee the daily distribution of food and alms to the Church's needy. This might seem to us a menial task, but consider that the apostles established the following criteria as necessary to wait upon the Lord's tables of mercy. "Seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom..." One of these was Stephen, a "man full of faith and the Holy Spirit." We can infer that he was a Hellenistic Jew from the dispersion. Only one of the seven chosen was referred to as a proselyte; the others we assume were therefore Jews. Also in Acts 6:8-9 we read that Stephen's preaching was primarily to the Synagogue of the Libertines (the Freedmen). These were probably the children of Jews taken into captivity to Rome by Pompey in 63 BC who had subsequently been freed and returned to Palestine. Stephen disputed with them and "they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke." But the word that Stephen spoke was an offense to them, and instead of embracing the truth as he had done, they accused him of blasphemy against the law and God. Stirring up the elders and scribes, they brought him to the Sanhedrin for judgment. Acts 6:15 sets the introduction for his defense. "And all who sat in the council looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel." Such is the power and glory that is given by the Holy Spirit in times such as this.
Acts 7 is Stephen's defense as the high priest asks simply "Are these things so?" With wisdom and true devotion, Stephen recounts as his defense the covenant of Yahweh, laying it out milestone by milestone until we arrive at verse 51. It is at this point that the Holy Spirit rebukes the council through Stephen, calling them stiff-necked, uncircumcised in heart and ears, resistors of the Holy Spirit, murderers of the prophets, and finally, betrayers of their own Messiah. I said earlier that the preaching of Jesus Christ was the stone of stumbling, the rock of offence. Jesus said of this in Luke 20:18 , "Whoever falls on that stone will be broken [unto salvation]; but on whomever it falls [in judgment], it will grind him to powder." We see those very reactions portrayed for us in the book of Acts. When Peter preached in Acts 2, it records in verse 37 that "when they had heard this, they were cut to the heart and said...'Men and brethren, what shall we do?'" That day 3,000 were added to the Kingdom. But in Acts 7:54, 56 it records that when Stephen spoke, although they were also cut to the heart, this time they gnashed at him with their teeth. Being unable to withstand his words, they stopped their ears, cast him out and stoned him into silence at last. Or so they thought.
Three things are recorded of Stephen's death. First, that he was granted a vision of Jesus Christ standing, not sitting, at the right hand of power; standing, I believe, on his behalf, for "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." (Psalm 116:15). Second, he prays at the last, "Lord, receive my spirit"; and finally, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." We see the Lord's own words from the cross mirrored in Stephen's (Luke 23:34, 46). What better words might a saint of God pray as this world passes away and the Kingdom of God comes clearly into focus? The Council thought they had silenced the testimony of this follower of Jesus, and they used the event as an occasion to begin a widespread persecution of the Church at the hands of Saul. Acts 8:3 "As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every home and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison." But the wisdom of men is foolishness before God. Their plans for silencing the testimony resulted in a scattering of the disciples throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria (Acts 8:1). Where there had been one voice crying aloud, now there were hundreds proclaiming the faithful witness of Jesus Christ. Such is the power of the blood of the martyrs.
But now, what of us? What have we done when confronted by this rock of offense, Jesus Christ? His words cut to our heart, it is impossible to ignore them. And when we hear them, we can only have one of two reactions. Either we will cry out "Men and brethren, what must we do to be saved?"; or we will stop up our ears and seek to still the voice which speaks to us. Oh, we may not cast stones at the prophetic voice as the Sanhedrin did, but we will rationalize our lives into a position where we can still retain a semblance of Christianity while remaining comfortably in control of ourselves. Stephen's words resound in rebuke at us if that is our course....Stiff-necked! Uncircumcised in heart! Resistors of the Holy Spirit! His words will haunt us into the courts of eternity. May we therefore never be ashamed of the gospel. As Paul said in Romans 1:16, "it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes..." May we choose rather to commit ourselves, whatever the cost, to proclaiming the testimony of our Lord. We live in a world which has their fingers in their ears and is in desperate need of our message. But do not doubt for a minute that the price of martyrdom may be required from our hands in this godless age! If not our lives, then perhaps our livelihood, our reputation, our circle of friends. If it comes let us not fear it, for the Son of God will stand for us on that day as He did for Stephen.
Advent, The Preparation Days of Christmas
"...But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." Galatians 4:4-5
There have always been two opinions present in the world concerning God and His involvement in our world. The first is expressed in II Peter 3:3-4, "...know this first, that scoffers will come in the last days...saying 'Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.'" The world has little use for God under the best of conditions, and it certainly has no interest in a God that has promised some day to intervene by separating wickedness from righteousness and by bringing in a judgment which will forever bind the spiritual forces of evil in order that the Kingdom of heaven might be manifest. The second is expressed a little further on in II Peter 3:11-13 where it proclaims "Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God...we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells." To the first group, the Day of Yahweh (the covenant God) is a religious fable; to the second group it is the sure promise of God that the day of their salvation has come. The difference in perspective is critical. It can mean missing the presence of the Lord and His Kingdom as it had for the Jews at the first coming of the Lord. Luke 10:41-44 "If you had known...the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes....because you did not know the time of your visitation." Or it can mean receiving the fullness of God's salvation at His appearing as it says in Luke 21:28, "Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads because your redemption is near." The season of Advent is given to us so that we might examine our hearts to see which of the two opinions holds sway within us, for the season of Christmas can either be a season of light and grace (a blessed Christmas), or it remains only a season of merchandising and nuisance (a Bah, Humbug!).
The word Advent comes from the Latin word adventus which means a coming or arrival. It was used in the pagan nations to herald the official visit of important dignitaries or rulers. It was also used to indicate the annual observances and ceremonies in the various temples of the gods. It is an especially good word for the Church to use for in this season we remember the birth of Jesus Christ who is worthy of our homage as the King of Kings, and worthy of our worship as God the Son. Two themes are interwoven throughout the season. The first is penitence and preparation as the season reminds us that we are not all that we should be, that our lives, no matter how we may fill them up, are still empty at their core if we do not first acknowledge our need for God. This theme is visually portrayed to us by the use of the liturgical color violet, the Church's color of penitence and self-examination. The second theme, however, is that of joyful hope and expectation of fulfillment as the season reminds us that God's promises are made "Yes" and "Amen" in Jesus Christ. This theme is woven in by the use of the liturgical color rose on Gaudete Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent.
The tradition of observing four Sundays prior to Christmas Day is ancient within the Church. It is first found in the liturgical books of Spain and France as far back as the fourth century and appears to have made its way to the Roman Church by the fifth century. Although it had some of the elements of a solemn preparation for the Holy Day of Christmas, it was not of the same penitential attitude of the season of Lent. It was better characterized as a season of "joyful preparation" as we mentioned above. By the thirteenth century it appears to have been universally adopted for use within the Church. Some liturgical interpreters have said that the four weeks of Advent are intended to remind us of the 4,000 years of darkness in which the world walked after the sin of Adam and prior to the coming of the light of Christ to dispel that darkness. That certainly expresses the true significance of Christmas Day which we look forward to throughout the season. The season is fixed and variable at the same time; fixed in the sense that it is always the four Sundays immediately preceding Christmas Day, variable in the sense that it moves about on the secular calendar with the first Sunday being the one nearest to the Remembrance Day of St. Andrew. For the Church it marks the beginning of its liturgical year reminding us that we walk according to a time-table which celebrates the works of God's salvation and not just the marking of time in the world.
The four Sundays have their own individual sub-themes as well, as expressed in the prayers and scriptural readings for the day. On the first Sunday of Advent we stir up within our hearts both self-examination and longing. We remember the true condition of our hearts without God, and we cry out with the Apostle Paul in a sense of helplessness "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? (Romans 7:24-25). The answer comes to us in a moment, "I thank God --through Jesus Christ our Lord!" As we light the first candle on the Advent wreath may we recall when God first kindled the light of life in our hearts. May it shine forth brighter each day that we live. On the second Sunday of Advent we recall the true depth of humility that was portrayed to us in Jesus Christ "Who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant and coming in the likeness of men..." ( Philippians 2:5-8) We recall further, that true humility is the entrance-way to the Kingdom. As we light the second candle may we add humility to the light of salvation, for it is the doorway to Heaven; and by it we will shine as the lights of the world. On the third Sunday of Advent we remember that for all His humility and submission to the Father's will, Jesus is still the Christ, God's anointed, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. As He came in humility that first Christmas, so He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. As it says in Revelation 19:11-16, "Then I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True...His name is called The Word of God...and He has on His robe...a name written King of Kings and Lord of Lords." The mystery of God's salvation is, after all as Paul said in Colossians 1:27 "Christ in you, the hope of glory." As we light the third candle, may we add this hope of glory to our humility and salvation that it might be a lamp to light our way home. And on the fourth Sunday of Advent we at last prepare our hearts to make a straight way for the Lord on the day of our visitation as it says in Isaiah 40:3-5 "Every valley shall be exalted,....every mountain shall be made low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places made smooth." When once our heart is prepared in this way then "the glory of the Lord shall be revealed". As we light the last candle and see them all burning may we recall the fulfillment of Christ's love and the fire of the Holy Spirit burning within us. As these candles say "Complete" may we also be completely ready to receive Him anew in this season.
We must be the people of God who looks for and hastens the day of His second coming by our prayers, our hopes, our lives of godliness and righteousness. May our attitude in this Advent season reflect that which is recorded by the Apostle John in Revelation 22:17-21, "...the Spirit and the bride [the Church of Jesus Christ] say 'Come!' And let him who thirsts come. And whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely....He [Jesus Christ] Who testifies to these things says, 'Surely I am coming quickly.' Amen [that is, let it be so]. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!."
There have always been two opinions present in the world concerning God and His involvement in our world. The first is expressed in II Peter 3:3-4, "...know this first, that scoffers will come in the last days...saying 'Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.'" The world has little use for God under the best of conditions, and it certainly has no interest in a God that has promised some day to intervene by separating wickedness from righteousness and by bringing in a judgment which will forever bind the spiritual forces of evil in order that the Kingdom of heaven might be manifest. The second is expressed a little further on in II Peter 3:11-13 where it proclaims "Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God...we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells." To the first group, the Day of Yahweh (the covenant God) is a religious fable; to the second group it is the sure promise of God that the day of their salvation has come. The difference in perspective is critical. It can mean missing the presence of the Lord and His Kingdom as it had for the Jews at the first coming of the Lord. Luke 10:41-44 "If you had known...the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes....because you did not know the time of your visitation." Or it can mean receiving the fullness of God's salvation at His appearing as it says in Luke 21:28, "Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads because your redemption is near." The season of Advent is given to us so that we might examine our hearts to see which of the two opinions holds sway within us, for the season of Christmas can either be a season of light and grace (a blessed Christmas), or it remains only a season of merchandising and nuisance (a Bah, Humbug!).
The word Advent comes from the Latin word adventus which means a coming or arrival. It was used in the pagan nations to herald the official visit of important dignitaries or rulers. It was also used to indicate the annual observances and ceremonies in the various temples of the gods. It is an especially good word for the Church to use for in this season we remember the birth of Jesus Christ who is worthy of our homage as the King of Kings, and worthy of our worship as God the Son. Two themes are interwoven throughout the season. The first is penitence and preparation as the season reminds us that we are not all that we should be, that our lives, no matter how we may fill them up, are still empty at their core if we do not first acknowledge our need for God. This theme is visually portrayed to us by the use of the liturgical color violet, the Church's color of penitence and self-examination. The second theme, however, is that of joyful hope and expectation of fulfillment as the season reminds us that God's promises are made "Yes" and "Amen" in Jesus Christ. This theme is woven in by the use of the liturgical color rose on Gaudete Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent.
The tradition of observing four Sundays prior to Christmas Day is ancient within the Church. It is first found in the liturgical books of Spain and France as far back as the fourth century and appears to have made its way to the Roman Church by the fifth century. Although it had some of the elements of a solemn preparation for the Holy Day of Christmas, it was not of the same penitential attitude of the season of Lent. It was better characterized as a season of "joyful preparation" as we mentioned above. By the thirteenth century it appears to have been universally adopted for use within the Church. Some liturgical interpreters have said that the four weeks of Advent are intended to remind us of the 4,000 years of darkness in which the world walked after the sin of Adam and prior to the coming of the light of Christ to dispel that darkness. That certainly expresses the true significance of Christmas Day which we look forward to throughout the season. The season is fixed and variable at the same time; fixed in the sense that it is always the four Sundays immediately preceding Christmas Day, variable in the sense that it moves about on the secular calendar with the first Sunday being the one nearest to the Remembrance Day of St. Andrew. For the Church it marks the beginning of its liturgical year reminding us that we walk according to a time-table which celebrates the works of God's salvation and not just the marking of time in the world.
The four Sundays have their own individual sub-themes as well, as expressed in the prayers and scriptural readings for the day. On the first Sunday of Advent we stir up within our hearts both self-examination and longing. We remember the true condition of our hearts without God, and we cry out with the Apostle Paul in a sense of helplessness "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? (Romans 7:24-25). The answer comes to us in a moment, "I thank God --through Jesus Christ our Lord!" As we light the first candle on the Advent wreath may we recall when God first kindled the light of life in our hearts. May it shine forth brighter each day that we live. On the second Sunday of Advent we recall the true depth of humility that was portrayed to us in Jesus Christ "Who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant and coming in the likeness of men..." ( Philippians 2:5-8) We recall further, that true humility is the entrance-way to the Kingdom. As we light the second candle may we add humility to the light of salvation, for it is the doorway to Heaven; and by it we will shine as the lights of the world. On the third Sunday of Advent we remember that for all His humility and submission to the Father's will, Jesus is still the Christ, God's anointed, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. As He came in humility that first Christmas, so He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. As it says in Revelation 19:11-16, "Then I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True...His name is called The Word of God...and He has on His robe...a name written King of Kings and Lord of Lords." The mystery of God's salvation is, after all as Paul said in Colossians 1:27 "Christ in you, the hope of glory." As we light the third candle, may we add this hope of glory to our humility and salvation that it might be a lamp to light our way home. And on the fourth Sunday of Advent we at last prepare our hearts to make a straight way for the Lord on the day of our visitation as it says in Isaiah 40:3-5 "Every valley shall be exalted,....every mountain shall be made low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places made smooth." When once our heart is prepared in this way then "the glory of the Lord shall be revealed". As we light the last candle and see them all burning may we recall the fulfillment of Christ's love and the fire of the Holy Spirit burning within us. As these candles say "Complete" may we also be completely ready to receive Him anew in this season.
We must be the people of God who looks for and hastens the day of His second coming by our prayers, our hopes, our lives of godliness and righteousness. May our attitude in this Advent season reflect that which is recorded by the Apostle John in Revelation 22:17-21, "...the Spirit and the bride [the Church of Jesus Christ] say 'Come!' And let him who thirsts come. And whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely....He [Jesus Christ] Who testifies to these things says, 'Surely I am coming quickly.' Amen [that is, let it be so]. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!."
St. Andrew, Apostle (Remembrance Day November 30)
"The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said 'Behold! The Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of Whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.'....' I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon Whom you see the spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He Who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.'" John 1:29-34
In the world's systems of philosophy and science, the appeal based on authority is considered one of the weakest forms of argument. "Show me, prove it to me, let me experience it" demands the world! To believe or hold to something simply because someone else tells you it is true, or that it is right to do so is held to be nonsense, absolute foolishness. But in the Kingdom of God, authority is considered to be one of the strongest forms of evidence, for the authority of the Kingdom is God Himself. The scripture clearly states in Romans 3:4 "Indeed let God be true, but every man a liar." The scholars of the world may scoff at the man who walks by faith and not by knowledge or sight. "A simpleton!", they will call him. So be it. In every age, in every nation there have been those men who have heard the voice of God's authority speak, and have instantly been made more certain of the truth than if they had pursued it in the universities for their entire life. Their faith is not only diametrically opposed to the wisdom of the world, but becomes the power of the Kingdom against which the gates of Hell cannot prevail. For this reason it was said of these men of faith that they "have turned the world upside down..." Acts 17:6. Such a man was Andrew, one of the first to be called by the authority of Jesus Christ.
The earliest account which we have of Andrew is in the gospel of John. In John 1:35-40 we discover that he was a disciple of John the Baptist until the day when the Baptist pointed to another and simply said "Behold the Lamb of God." He hurried after Jesus until the Lord turned and asked "What do you seek?" What a question! How could he express the hopes, the dreams the desires of his heart which had been inflamed by the preaching of the Baptist and which now seemed so close to fulfillment? His initial response was guarded at first, "Rabbi, where are you staying?" But the Lord's acceptance ("Come and see") of his simple response was soon translated into a more certain declaration as Andrew later declared to his brother, Simon Peter, "We have found the Messiah". From Matthew 4:18-20 we read that he was a fisherman in partnership with his brother. In John 1:44 we learn that he had originally been born in Bethsaida, a city on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee, but that he now resided at Capernaum (as shown in Mark 1:21, 29).
The lists of the apostles (such as in Matthew 10:2-4) always list Andrew among the first group of four named. That this is more than a numbering convention but one of divine ordination is seen in Mark 13:3 where that same first group of four, Peter, Andrew, James and John are taught privately of the end of the age by Jesus Christ on the Mount of Olives. What we see foremost in the scattered gospel accounts where Andrew's name is mentioned is an unwavering faith which found its birth in the declaration of the Baptist at the Jordan, and which found its fulfillment again and again in the travels throughout Judea, Perea, Decapolis, Galilee. Wherever the Lord led, His first words to Andrew, "Come and see", provided the backdrop for greater revelations of the Son of God. Andrew's testimony is ever the same "We have found the Messiah!" Consider the account in John 6:8-9 where the Lord looks upon the great multitude and says "Where shall we buy bread that these may eat?" The disciples were dismayed, they were in favor of sending the crowds away to forage as best as they could in the surrounding towns. It is interesting to note that all four gospels record this event, but only the gospel of John (who was the second of the disciples of the Baptist who ran after Jesus with Andrew) states that it was Andrew who responded with what faith he had in the person and power of Jesus Christ. "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?" Perhaps he hoped in his heart, but was afraid to speak out his convictions as he had been afraid on that first day by the Jordan, that Jesus Christ would say "In my hands they are sufficient for the task at hand." Again in John 12:20-22 it is Andrew who is one of those who bring word to the Lord that certain Greeks had come who wished to see Him. Andrew had found that pearl of great price of which the scripture speaks, and wherever the Lord was to be found, we may expect that Andrew would surely not be far from Him.
The accounts in the Church Fathers writing in the second to fifth centuries ascribe an active ministry to him. Origen credits the mission field of Scythia to Andrew. Gregory Nazianus lists Epirus; Jerome, Achaia; Theodoret, Helgas. There is some truth in all of these, for Nicephorous compiles still larger a sphere by listing Cappadocia, Galatia, Bithynia, Scythia, Byzantium, Macedonia, Thessaly, and Achaia. Most accounts are in agreement that in A.D. 60 he was martyred by crucifixion on an X-shaped cross in Patras of Achaia by the Roman Governor Aegeas. Tradition tells us that he was bound to the cross, not nailed, that his suffering might therefore be prolonged.
Let's return to our original starting point. The world equates faith with willful ignorance, humility with weakness, submission to divine authority with superstition. There can be no reconciliation of the world's wisdom with true religion, nor should there be. Paul challenged the scoffers to their face in I Corinthians 1:20 "Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" He was much softer in his criticism than Jesus Christ was, for the Lord spoke of them in Matthew 15:14 in this manner, "Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit." But Andrew was a man who submitted to divine authority without hesitation. He had sat at the feet of Jesus Christ on the Mount of Olives and heard Him solemnly warn "Take heed that no one deceive you!" Mark 13:5 He was not fearful to cast off everything that he had held dear whether it was the knowledge and ways of the world, or the comfort and assurance of his Hebrew religion in order to seek out that one thing for which his heart had always yearned. And his simple testimony still rings with power even today. It was sufficient for the challenges of his discipleship whether it required him to believe that 5,000 men could be fed with five loaves, or whether it kept him unbroken in his conviction on the cross of martyrdom. "I have found the Messiah." May our faith be as simple and unshakable as this.
In the world's systems of philosophy and science, the appeal based on authority is considered one of the weakest forms of argument. "Show me, prove it to me, let me experience it" demands the world! To believe or hold to something simply because someone else tells you it is true, or that it is right to do so is held to be nonsense, absolute foolishness. But in the Kingdom of God, authority is considered to be one of the strongest forms of evidence, for the authority of the Kingdom is God Himself. The scripture clearly states in Romans 3:4 "Indeed let God be true, but every man a liar." The scholars of the world may scoff at the man who walks by faith and not by knowledge or sight. "A simpleton!", they will call him. So be it. In every age, in every nation there have been those men who have heard the voice of God's authority speak, and have instantly been made more certain of the truth than if they had pursued it in the universities for their entire life. Their faith is not only diametrically opposed to the wisdom of the world, but becomes the power of the Kingdom against which the gates of Hell cannot prevail. For this reason it was said of these men of faith that they "have turned the world upside down..." Acts 17:6. Such a man was Andrew, one of the first to be called by the authority of Jesus Christ.
The earliest account which we have of Andrew is in the gospel of John. In John 1:35-40 we discover that he was a disciple of John the Baptist until the day when the Baptist pointed to another and simply said "Behold the Lamb of God." He hurried after Jesus until the Lord turned and asked "What do you seek?" What a question! How could he express the hopes, the dreams the desires of his heart which had been inflamed by the preaching of the Baptist and which now seemed so close to fulfillment? His initial response was guarded at first, "Rabbi, where are you staying?" But the Lord's acceptance ("Come and see") of his simple response was soon translated into a more certain declaration as Andrew later declared to his brother, Simon Peter, "We have found the Messiah". From Matthew 4:18-20 we read that he was a fisherman in partnership with his brother. In John 1:44 we learn that he had originally been born in Bethsaida, a city on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee, but that he now resided at Capernaum (as shown in Mark 1:21, 29).
The lists of the apostles (such as in Matthew 10:2-4) always list Andrew among the first group of four named. That this is more than a numbering convention but one of divine ordination is seen in Mark 13:3 where that same first group of four, Peter, Andrew, James and John are taught privately of the end of the age by Jesus Christ on the Mount of Olives. What we see foremost in the scattered gospel accounts where Andrew's name is mentioned is an unwavering faith which found its birth in the declaration of the Baptist at the Jordan, and which found its fulfillment again and again in the travels throughout Judea, Perea, Decapolis, Galilee. Wherever the Lord led, His first words to Andrew, "Come and see", provided the backdrop for greater revelations of the Son of God. Andrew's testimony is ever the same "We have found the Messiah!" Consider the account in John 6:8-9 where the Lord looks upon the great multitude and says "Where shall we buy bread that these may eat?" The disciples were dismayed, they were in favor of sending the crowds away to forage as best as they could in the surrounding towns. It is interesting to note that all four gospels record this event, but only the gospel of John (who was the second of the disciples of the Baptist who ran after Jesus with Andrew) states that it was Andrew who responded with what faith he had in the person and power of Jesus Christ. "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?" Perhaps he hoped in his heart, but was afraid to speak out his convictions as he had been afraid on that first day by the Jordan, that Jesus Christ would say "In my hands they are sufficient for the task at hand." Again in John 12:20-22 it is Andrew who is one of those who bring word to the Lord that certain Greeks had come who wished to see Him. Andrew had found that pearl of great price of which the scripture speaks, and wherever the Lord was to be found, we may expect that Andrew would surely not be far from Him.
The accounts in the Church Fathers writing in the second to fifth centuries ascribe an active ministry to him. Origen credits the mission field of Scythia to Andrew. Gregory Nazianus lists Epirus; Jerome, Achaia; Theodoret, Helgas. There is some truth in all of these, for Nicephorous compiles still larger a sphere by listing Cappadocia, Galatia, Bithynia, Scythia, Byzantium, Macedonia, Thessaly, and Achaia. Most accounts are in agreement that in A.D. 60 he was martyred by crucifixion on an X-shaped cross in Patras of Achaia by the Roman Governor Aegeas. Tradition tells us that he was bound to the cross, not nailed, that his suffering might therefore be prolonged.
Let's return to our original starting point. The world equates faith with willful ignorance, humility with weakness, submission to divine authority with superstition. There can be no reconciliation of the world's wisdom with true religion, nor should there be. Paul challenged the scoffers to their face in I Corinthians 1:20 "Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" He was much softer in his criticism than Jesus Christ was, for the Lord spoke of them in Matthew 15:14 in this manner, "Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit." But Andrew was a man who submitted to divine authority without hesitation. He had sat at the feet of Jesus Christ on the Mount of Olives and heard Him solemnly warn "Take heed that no one deceive you!" Mark 13:5 He was not fearful to cast off everything that he had held dear whether it was the knowledge and ways of the world, or the comfort and assurance of his Hebrew religion in order to seek out that one thing for which his heart had always yearned. And his simple testimony still rings with power even today. It was sufficient for the challenges of his discipleship whether it required him to believe that 5,000 men could be fed with five loaves, or whether it kept him unbroken in his conviction on the cross of martyrdom. "I have found the Messiah." May our faith be as simple and unshakable as this.
Monday, November 8, 2010
All Saints Day (November 1)
"After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number of all nations, tribes, peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, 'Salvation belongs to our God Who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.'" Revelation 7:9-10
One of the greatest weaknesses in any society occurs when it can no longer differentiate between the sacred and the secular, the divine and the commonplace, the holy and the profane. God severely rebuked His priesthood for this very failing in Ezekiel 22:9, 26 "You have despised My holy things...her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things. They have not distinguished between the holy and the unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean..." When this difference is lost, sin becomes acceptable and even fashionable, the things of God become objects of contempt, society casts off restraint. You will notice that the duty entrusted to the priesthood was to maintain and instruct the people in this clear difference. For this reason, the Church has always believed that God is able to sanctify (that is, to make holy) time, things, places and people. And one of the days that is set aside in the liturgical calendar to recognize this divine action is All Saints Day.
In order to understand the significance of a day dedicated to the remembrance of all saints, it is first necessary to understand what it means to be a saint. This is a word which is used in both the Old and New Testaments. In Psalm 16:3 it declares "And to the saints who are on the earth, they are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight." Or in Jude 14 it states "Behold the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints..." In both Old and New Testaments, the word saint is derived from other words which help us to understand the depth of divine meaning in the designation. In the Old Testament, saint derives from a word which means sacred. When it is used as a verb, to sanctify, it refers to those things, places or people which are set aside for use in the worship of God. A reading of the Old Testament Torah gives us the very clear picture that such objects, places or people are set aside as belonging to God. As such, they are to be used solely by Him for His purposes, in the way He sees fit. In the New Testament, saint derives from a word which means the holy ones, those separated out of the world to be a holy people unto the Lord. We need only compare the descriptions in I Peter 2:4-5; 9-10 with Exodus 19:5-6 to see the consistency of God's calling throughout the entire scripture record.
And its just at this point that we start to understand what it means to be a saint of God. It has nothing to do with attainment, something or some place for which we have worked or disciplined ourselves. It has everything to do with calling. It is that state in which we find ourselves when God's grace has called us out of the world and translated us into the Kingdom of His beloved Son. That is why Paul addresses some of his epistles to "all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints..." (Romans 1:7) or "To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord..." (I Corinthians 1:2). It's no wonder that Paul urged the Church to "present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to the world...." (Romans 12:1-2). It was nothing more than what was expected of them in their calling! He speaks even more clearly in I Corinthians 6:19-20 "...do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's."
Now the Church has set aside November 1 near the end of the liturgical year to celebrate the remembrance of all the saints of God. Throughout the year there have been Remembrance Days in which specific saints are remembered who have had a special or important place in the foundation of God's continuing work of salvation through the Church, but on this day, the day of all saints, we remember every member of the Church triumphant (those saints who have passed on to glory) and renew unity with every member of the Church militant (those of the brethren who yet contend for the faith upon the earth). The day is intended to remind us that when we gather as the Church we "have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things..." Hebrews 12:22-24. Concerning the history of All Saints Day, it has been celebrated in the Church dating back to the 4th and 5th centuries, and was formally added to the liturgical calendar by the bishop of Rome in AD 610. But as we have already pointed out this formal declaration was only the recognition by the Church of a work which had been decreed and brought to pass by God in the calling of His people.
Sacred or secular, Holy or profane. The world may downplay or even deny such distinctions as being outdated, but it is upon these distinctions that God has founded His Kingdom. For the record of scripture is clear "You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy." Leviticus 19:2 God has never changed, the calling has never changed, it is only the hearts of men who no longer have a clear understanding of the unclean and the clean. May we, the saints of God, raise up that standard once more in order that our history, the things which fill our lives, the places in which we dwell, and the people of our communities may once more become consecrated to the service and use of God.
One of the greatest weaknesses in any society occurs when it can no longer differentiate between the sacred and the secular, the divine and the commonplace, the holy and the profane. God severely rebuked His priesthood for this very failing in Ezekiel 22:9, 26 "You have despised My holy things...her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things. They have not distinguished between the holy and the unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean..." When this difference is lost, sin becomes acceptable and even fashionable, the things of God become objects of contempt, society casts off restraint. You will notice that the duty entrusted to the priesthood was to maintain and instruct the people in this clear difference. For this reason, the Church has always believed that God is able to sanctify (that is, to make holy) time, things, places and people. And one of the days that is set aside in the liturgical calendar to recognize this divine action is All Saints Day.
In order to understand the significance of a day dedicated to the remembrance of all saints, it is first necessary to understand what it means to be a saint. This is a word which is used in both the Old and New Testaments. In Psalm 16:3 it declares "And to the saints who are on the earth, they are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight." Or in Jude 14 it states "Behold the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints..." In both Old and New Testaments, the word saint is derived from other words which help us to understand the depth of divine meaning in the designation. In the Old Testament, saint derives from a word which means sacred. When it is used as a verb, to sanctify, it refers to those things, places or people which are set aside for use in the worship of God. A reading of the Old Testament Torah gives us the very clear picture that such objects, places or people are set aside as belonging to God. As such, they are to be used solely by Him for His purposes, in the way He sees fit. In the New Testament, saint derives from a word which means the holy ones, those separated out of the world to be a holy people unto the Lord. We need only compare the descriptions in I Peter 2:4-5; 9-10 with Exodus 19:5-6 to see the consistency of God's calling throughout the entire scripture record.
And its just at this point that we start to understand what it means to be a saint of God. It has nothing to do with attainment, something or some place for which we have worked or disciplined ourselves. It has everything to do with calling. It is that state in which we find ourselves when God's grace has called us out of the world and translated us into the Kingdom of His beloved Son. That is why Paul addresses some of his epistles to "all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints..." (Romans 1:7) or "To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord..." (I Corinthians 1:2). It's no wonder that Paul urged the Church to "present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to the world...." (Romans 12:1-2). It was nothing more than what was expected of them in their calling! He speaks even more clearly in I Corinthians 6:19-20 "...do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's."
Now the Church has set aside November 1 near the end of the liturgical year to celebrate the remembrance of all the saints of God. Throughout the year there have been Remembrance Days in which specific saints are remembered who have had a special or important place in the foundation of God's continuing work of salvation through the Church, but on this day, the day of all saints, we remember every member of the Church triumphant (those saints who have passed on to glory) and renew unity with every member of the Church militant (those of the brethren who yet contend for the faith upon the earth). The day is intended to remind us that when we gather as the Church we "have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things..." Hebrews 12:22-24. Concerning the history of All Saints Day, it has been celebrated in the Church dating back to the 4th and 5th centuries, and was formally added to the liturgical calendar by the bishop of Rome in AD 610. But as we have already pointed out this formal declaration was only the recognition by the Church of a work which had been decreed and brought to pass by God in the calling of His people.
Sacred or secular, Holy or profane. The world may downplay or even deny such distinctions as being outdated, but it is upon these distinctions that God has founded His Kingdom. For the record of scripture is clear "You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy." Leviticus 19:2 God has never changed, the calling has never changed, it is only the hearts of men who no longer have a clear understanding of the unclean and the clean. May we, the saints of God, raise up that standard once more in order that our history, the things which fill our lives, the places in which we dwell, and the people of our communities may once more become consecrated to the service and use of God.
Sts. Simeon and Jude, Apostles (Remembrance Day October 28)
"Now, therefore, you are....fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit." Ephesians 2:19-22
Let us make no mistake about it, the world and the Kingdom of God are at war with each other, and it is a war to the death. No quarter can be given for eternity hangs in the balance. Such a struggle is inevitable, for the world holds a philosophy which is anathema to the Kingdom, and it moves with means and methods that are not worthy of the high calling of the gospel. It's easy to spot worldliness, but the opposite, that it should also be easy to spot kingdom-ness, is not always true. We would expect the kingdom to stand out with a luster and shine that would draw all men to its revelation. But consider what Paul states simply in II Corinthians 4:7 that "we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us." We know what men of power and ambition look like, our entire society is filled with such movers and shakers. But we have so very poor an understanding of what spiritual men of power are, most would not even attract a second glance from us. Paul describes the apostles in I Corinthians 4:9-13, and it is upon this "offscouring of all things" that Christ chose to found His Kingdom. The world would see no sense in such an action, but Paul explains in I Corinthians 1:27-31 that "God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things of the mighty....and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are..." I'm afraid that in our world today, if Jesus Christ advertised in the classifieds for apostles using Paul's job description, very few would vie for the position. Let us be thankful, however, that in an age when apostate religion and military might held tenuous sway over the empire, and when spiritual darkness bound men's hearts in chains that none could break, that twelve men came forward to answer that call. Two such men were Simon the zealot, and Jude, the brother of James.
The scriptural and historical records of the Church are sketchy at best concerning these two men, but let's piece together what is available so that we can at least become acquainted with these foundation stones of the Church. Simon is referred to as the Cananites in Matthew 10:4 and Mark 3:18, and as Zealotes in Luke 6:16 and Acts 1:13 to distinguish him from Simon Peter, and from St. Symeon, the brother of James, the Lesser. These surnames are both translations of a Hebrew word which means "the zealous" and refers to the attitude of his heart before the Lord and His law. It does not indicate the place of his residence or his political affiliation as some early interpreters were quick to conclude. Beyond this little else is known. Traditions claim that he preached in Egypt and was later joined by St. Jude who was preaching in the Mesopotamian area. Together they traveled to Persia where they were martyred for their faithful witness of Jesus Christ. The symbol of St. Simon is the saw, for tradition ascribes his martyrdom to being sawn apart.
We know that St. Jude was also called Lebbaeus whose surname was Thaddeus (from Matthew 10:3 and Mark 3:18) and that he was also called Judas, identified as the brother of James (Luke 6:16 and Acts 1:13). From these scriptures we can draw some other conclusions. The first is that this is the same Jude who wrote the short epistle and who identifies himself in Jude 1 simply as "as servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James." The second is that the brother James whom he refers to is none other than James, the bishop of the Church at Jerusalem (Acts 15:13) whom Paul refers to as "the Lord's brother" in Galatians 1:19. This would lead us to conclude that James and Jude are mentioned in Matthew 13:55 when the crowd wonders aloud of Jesus "Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary? And his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?" The whole question of exactly how he was related to the Lord is difficult to sort out and not without complications. Eusebius, in his History of the Church, Book III, Sections 19, 20 and 22 quotes Hegessipus as declaring that Jude "was said to have been the brother of the Lord according to the flesh." We will take his statement at its face value and not try to interpret it any further. Jude's name is associated with preaching in Judea, Samaria, Idumaea, Syria and Mesopotamia. According to Eusebius' record, he returned to Jerusalem in 62 A.D. after the martyrdom of James (his brother) at the hand of the Jewish party, and helped to elect another brother, Symeon, as the second bishop of the Church at Jerusalem. The internal evidence of the epistle of Jude suggests that it was written around this time, probably from Jerusalem, and was addressed primarily to Hebrew converts in the Palestine region. Tradition then tells us that Jude joined St. Simon in a mission to Persia and there suffered martyrdom in Armenia.
By the world's standard, these two men were hardly worth any attention. They are only indirectly mentioned in the writings of antiquity, and even in the scriptures of the Church of which they were apostles very little is recorded of them. The world would classify them as foolish, weak, of no repute. And yet it is precisely upon men such as these that Christ placed the entire weight of His Church, the very visible manifestation of the Kingdom upon earth. And because of their persevering spirit to "go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them....teaching them to observe all that I commanded you..." (Matthew 28:18-20), we who read this brief account of their lives have been born again by faith in the same Lord of which they were servants and apostles. Bernard of Chartres writing in the 12th century said "We are like dwarfs seated on the shoulders of giants; we see more things than the ancients and things more distance, but this is due neither to the sharpness of our own sight, nor to the greatness of our own stature, but because we are raised and borne aloft on that giant mass." The Church is that giant, and such men as Simon and Jude are Christ's chosen foundation upon which that giant stands. We may know very little of them this side of the Jordan, but may we ever be thankful to the God whom we together serve that they took seriously their apostolic charge when the whole world was arrayed against them and have made the way of salvation evident even to us today.
Let us make no mistake about it, the world and the Kingdom of God are at war with each other, and it is a war to the death. No quarter can be given for eternity hangs in the balance. Such a struggle is inevitable, for the world holds a philosophy which is anathema to the Kingdom, and it moves with means and methods that are not worthy of the high calling of the gospel. It's easy to spot worldliness, but the opposite, that it should also be easy to spot kingdom-ness, is not always true. We would expect the kingdom to stand out with a luster and shine that would draw all men to its revelation. But consider what Paul states simply in II Corinthians 4:7 that "we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us." We know what men of power and ambition look like, our entire society is filled with such movers and shakers. But we have so very poor an understanding of what spiritual men of power are, most would not even attract a second glance from us. Paul describes the apostles in I Corinthians 4:9-13, and it is upon this "offscouring of all things" that Christ chose to found His Kingdom. The world would see no sense in such an action, but Paul explains in I Corinthians 1:27-31 that "God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things of the mighty....and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are..." I'm afraid that in our world today, if Jesus Christ advertised in the classifieds for apostles using Paul's job description, very few would vie for the position. Let us be thankful, however, that in an age when apostate religion and military might held tenuous sway over the empire, and when spiritual darkness bound men's hearts in chains that none could break, that twelve men came forward to answer that call. Two such men were Simon the zealot, and Jude, the brother of James.
The scriptural and historical records of the Church are sketchy at best concerning these two men, but let's piece together what is available so that we can at least become acquainted with these foundation stones of the Church. Simon is referred to as the Cananites in Matthew 10:4 and Mark 3:18, and as Zealotes in Luke 6:16 and Acts 1:13 to distinguish him from Simon Peter, and from St. Symeon, the brother of James, the Lesser. These surnames are both translations of a Hebrew word which means "the zealous" and refers to the attitude of his heart before the Lord and His law. It does not indicate the place of his residence or his political affiliation as some early interpreters were quick to conclude. Beyond this little else is known. Traditions claim that he preached in Egypt and was later joined by St. Jude who was preaching in the Mesopotamian area. Together they traveled to Persia where they were martyred for their faithful witness of Jesus Christ. The symbol of St. Simon is the saw, for tradition ascribes his martyrdom to being sawn apart.
We know that St. Jude was also called Lebbaeus whose surname was Thaddeus (from Matthew 10:3 and Mark 3:18) and that he was also called Judas, identified as the brother of James (Luke 6:16 and Acts 1:13). From these scriptures we can draw some other conclusions. The first is that this is the same Jude who wrote the short epistle and who identifies himself in Jude 1 simply as "as servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James." The second is that the brother James whom he refers to is none other than James, the bishop of the Church at Jerusalem (Acts 15:13) whom Paul refers to as "the Lord's brother" in Galatians 1:19. This would lead us to conclude that James and Jude are mentioned in Matthew 13:55 when the crowd wonders aloud of Jesus "Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary? And his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?" The whole question of exactly how he was related to the Lord is difficult to sort out and not without complications. Eusebius, in his History of the Church, Book III, Sections 19, 20 and 22 quotes Hegessipus as declaring that Jude "was said to have been the brother of the Lord according to the flesh." We will take his statement at its face value and not try to interpret it any further. Jude's name is associated with preaching in Judea, Samaria, Idumaea, Syria and Mesopotamia. According to Eusebius' record, he returned to Jerusalem in 62 A.D. after the martyrdom of James (his brother) at the hand of the Jewish party, and helped to elect another brother, Symeon, as the second bishop of the Church at Jerusalem. The internal evidence of the epistle of Jude suggests that it was written around this time, probably from Jerusalem, and was addressed primarily to Hebrew converts in the Palestine region. Tradition then tells us that Jude joined St. Simon in a mission to Persia and there suffered martyrdom in Armenia.
By the world's standard, these two men were hardly worth any attention. They are only indirectly mentioned in the writings of antiquity, and even in the scriptures of the Church of which they were apostles very little is recorded of them. The world would classify them as foolish, weak, of no repute. And yet it is precisely upon men such as these that Christ placed the entire weight of His Church, the very visible manifestation of the Kingdom upon earth. And because of their persevering spirit to "go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them....teaching them to observe all that I commanded you..." (Matthew 28:18-20), we who read this brief account of their lives have been born again by faith in the same Lord of which they were servants and apostles. Bernard of Chartres writing in the 12th century said "We are like dwarfs seated on the shoulders of giants; we see more things than the ancients and things more distance, but this is due neither to the sharpness of our own sight, nor to the greatness of our own stature, but because we are raised and borne aloft on that giant mass." The Church is that giant, and such men as Simon and Jude are Christ's chosen foundation upon which that giant stands. We may know very little of them this side of the Jordan, but may we ever be thankful to the God whom we together serve that they took seriously their apostolic charge when the whole world was arrayed against them and have made the way of salvation evident even to us today.
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