Tag: Jesus Christ

The House of the Lord

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The church is, first and foremost, the gathered community of faith dedicated to following the example and teaching of its Lord, Jesus Christ. In I Peter 2:5, we are told that we are to be “like living stones… being built into a spiritual house… offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” Yet, that gathered body of faith, benefits from a physical home in which the Word may be proclaimed, the Sacraments observed, and the milestones of life consecrated to God. A church building can testify eloquently, if silently, to the faith of those who worship within its walls.

That truth was brought home to me as I worshipped with my family in Greyfriars Kirk, Scotland, where our daughter had found a church home away from home during her semester of study abroad. Not only was I made to feel welcome by the faithful hospitality of the present generation, but I also was struck by the care with which this lovely sanctuary, built in 1620, had been maintained for the present generation. It was a gorgeous physical representation of the continuity of faith through all those generations, from its construction, until the present day. If a picture is worth a thousand words, the same can be said of an appropriately designed church of whatever style. Clearly, this space was the spiritual home of a community for whom God was central to their lives. Here was a body of faithful Christians for whom the spiritual virtue of hospitality was important.

The idea that a sacred building can express faith in a physical form is older than Christianity itself. The Old Testament prophet Haggai understood this well when he addressed the people of Israel:

This is what the Lord Almighty says: “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house.'” Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses (i.e., nice, modern houses), while this house remains a ruin?” Haggai 1: 2-4

I wish to express my deep gratitude for those who have pooled their resources together to make possible the renovations of our own church building so that it might better reflect God’s glory and the central role of faith in the lives of those who worship under the roof and within the walls of East Hills Moravian Church.

Following Jesus

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In June of last year, the American singer and songwriter Katy Perry became the first person to have over 100 million “followers” on Twitter. Of course, being a follower today is quite a bit less demanding than following someone like Jesus in the 1st century. For Perry’s fans, “following” her need mean no more than clicking a button inside of Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.

Titian: Christ Carrying The Cross [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

It is unlikely any will have to make substantial sacrifices to secure the privilege of keeping up with their favorite artist on social media. This is not the level of commitment Jesus had in mind when he advised would-be followers that they must be willing to “take up the cross” and “… to lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel.” (Mark 8:35)

Early Christians were known as “followers of the Way.” They understood that Jesus’ way of life was all-encompassing. It affected how they saw the world, how they understood their relationship to temporal authority and to society, how they lived their lives personally, and how they interacted with and treated others. Though they lived in the 1st century while we live in the 21st, the demands of following Jesus remain the same.

  • As followers of Jesus, we believe creation and everything in it belongs to God. Therefore we exercise faithful stewardship on God’s behalf rather than exploiting resources and situations for our own enrichment.
  • As followers of Jesus, we, like Peter and the apostles before us, say: “We must obey God rather than any human authority” whenever our society or its leaders conflict with Jesus’ teachings. (Acts 5:29)
  • As followers of Jesus, our lives are a gift from God. Therefore we live for God and for others, rather than merely to pursue our own happiness or betterment. “We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.” (Romans 14:7-8)
  • As followers of Jesus, we treat others the way we wished to be treated. We extend the grace to others that we know we need for ourselves.

Yes, there’s quite a bit more to following Jesus than merely to “like” him or express interest in his teachings and life.

Wishing You a Merry, Mindful Christmas and a Holy New Year

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I love clever and memorable ways of expressing deep truths succinctly. One of our EHMC preschool teachers shared such a saying with me: “Christmas is not about the presents, but about His presence.” True enough and most of us would benefit from improving our skill in detecting God’s presence for, as Dallas Willard has observed, “God does not ordinarily compete for our attention.”

nativity

Adoration Of The Magi, Hans Memling.

Dreams of Christmases past, while perhaps enjoyable or comforting, can blind us to the action of God in Christmas present. Making lists and checking them twice is great for Santa Claus and for accomplishing holiday tasks but similarly does little to reveal the Holy Spirit’s movement in our lives and the lives of others. Jesus was well aware of the spiritual dangers of excessive “future-tripping” – of being so focused on planning for what lies ahead that one neglects to engage the present. (See Matthew 6:33-34) If we would perceive God’s presence, we must engage the “now” with our undivided attention. It can be a challenge in the best of times but is an even more arduous endeavor during this busy, emotionally fraught season when so many forces compete for our attention and energy. Perceiving God’s presence requires dedication, patience, and purposefulness.

Early Christians continued and expanded upon the ancient Jewish practice of praying at dawn, midday, and dusk. This routine directed worshippers’ attention to God throughout the day and helped them comply with the Apostle Paul’s direction to “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17.) Over time, this devotional practice developed into the Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office which consisted of seven set times at which Christians were to “sanctify the day with prayer.” We don’t have to be monks or nuns to benefit from intentionally turning our thoughts to God throughout the day.

If we determine to fully engage the present, we can sense God’s presence. Such an epiphany is the best Christmas gift of all. I wish you a Merry, Mindful Christmas and a Holy New Year.

Learning For Life

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The next time you are around an infant observe how he or she absorbs all the world’s new sights, sounds, and experiences. Children are veritable sponges when it comes to learning. Once upon a time, we all walked in their shoes. While the dividends are great, such rapid learning is exhausting. No wonder many small children sleep upwards of fifteen hours a day. Perhaps, in combination with all the additional responsibilities of adulthood, this explains why many persons’ active learning tapers off after their school years. That’s a shame because learning keeps one’s mind nimble and one’s outlook on life youthful.

jesus children christian education

Jesus once said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:2). He was thinking of humility as the childlike characteristic which marks those worthy to enter the kingdom of God; he just as easily could have called our attention to a child’s hunger for learning. After all, one aspect of humility is not thinking ourselves wiser than we are (Romans 12:16). It’s easy to think that by a certain age one knows all one needs to know about an issue such as Christian faith.

In our infancy and youth, we learn a lot of the mechanics of daily life. That’s also true of Christian spiritual education. If we were fortunate enough to attend worship, Sunday School, or Vacation Bible School as a child, teachers introduced us to the stories of the faith. Really good teachers helped us see the application for our lives; yet their teaching was only a beginning point in opening up to us God’s wisdom for the living of our lives.

As we grow older, our context and, therefore, the application of what we have learned regarding our faith, changes. To give but a brief example: the sentence “Now Sarai was childless because she was unable to conceive” from the biblical story of Abram and Sarai (Abraham and Sarah) takes on a whole new significance when, as adults, we or our peers face the grief of infertility. Suddenly, we understand her situation in a way no child could. We may find God touching us in our own situation in ways we had not previously considered.

East Hills Moravian Church is blessed with an active body of adults seeking to learn more about their faith together. If you are not already involved in one of these opportunities for deepening your understanding of how faith relates to daily life, I invite you to consider joining an adult Sunday School class or bible study this Fall.

No matter what age you are God desires that you live an abundant life. As Einstein once noted, “Once you stop learning, you start dying.”

  • Pastor Derek French

Seeking a Life in Truth

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Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”  (The Gospel of John, 8:31-32)

Sincere followers of Jesus Christ seek to live a life grounded in truth, for Christ is himself the embodiment of God’s truth. The quest for truth is often personally costly. The eternal struggle between God’s truth and the lies and hatred of the world are laid bare in an exchange between Pontius Pilate and Jesus which occurs during our Savior’s sham trial: Jesus: “… For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate asked him, “What is truth?”(John 18:37-38)

Christ Before Pilate, Duccio Buoninsegna

Christ Before Pilate, Duccio Buoninsegna

Pilate is no seeker after truth, but rather cynically sees what others call “truth” as a matter of personal perspective or practical expediency. Christ is crucified as “King of the Jews,” not because Pilate believes that Jesus is the Messiah, but rather because doing so is politically convenient. In ordering Christ be crucified, Pilate curries the favor of the mob clamoring for Jesus’ death while winning the approval of both Jewish leaders and Caesar. It’s a good deal for him all the way round.

Pilate’s self-serving behavior contrasts starkly with the lives of those who earnestly seek truth. Such seekers understand that truth consists of more than statements which accord with the facts or with reality. Ultimately, truth is teleological – that is, it pertains to the purpose of life. As such, truth directs our relationship with others and shapes our ethics and worldview.

Seek the truth, listen to the truth, learn the truth, love the truth, speak the truth, adhere to truth and defend truth to the death.<span class="su-quote-cite"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Hus" target="_blank">Jon Hus</a></span>

Two such truth-seeking persons with ties to Bethlehem area Moravians are the 15th century Czech priest and reformer, John Hus, and his 20th century countryman, the late Václav Havel. In seeking to reform the church, John Hus wrote: “Seek the truth, listen to the truth, learn the truth, love the truth, speak the truth, adhere to truth and defend truth to the death.” As a priest, Hus was concerned that certain church practices endangered the souls of those God entrusted to its care. Specifically he was opposed to the selling of indulgences by the Roman church to pay for a crusade against other Christians and to bishops selling priestly offices. Hus insisted that priests be qualified, godly persons capable of preaching the gospel and caring for their parishioners. Hus’ pursuit of reform cut into the profits of those in power. This won him the enmity of ecclesiastic and secular leaders. Hus’ own search for truth ended on July 6, 1415, when he was burned at the stake after refusing to renounce what he believed was true. A group of his followers formed the early Moravian Church.

Like Hus, the late Václav Havel also paid a steep price for pursuing a life in truth. As a dissident in Communist Czechoslovakia, he was repeatedly imprisoned. In spite of such opposition, Havel clung to his vision that “Truth and love must prevail over lies and hatred.” Fortunately, Havel outlasted the authoritarian regime and emerged to become president of his nation. In October of 1991, Havel visited Bethlehem, re-dedicated Moravian College’s statue of Jan Amos Comenius, and received that institution’s highest honor, the Comenius Medallion.

Like Hus before him, Havel realized that living a life in truth involves courageous introspection both as individuals and as a society. A little over a year before he visited the Lehigh Valley Havel wrote: We have become morally ill, because we have become accustomed to saying one thing and thinking another. We have learned not to believe in anything, not to care about one another and only to look after ourselves. Notions such as love, friendship, compassion, humility and forgiveness have lost their depth and dimension, and for many of us they …appear as some kind of stray relic from times past … (“The Great Moral Stake of the Moment”, New Year’s Address by Václav Havel, 1990)

In short, as he surveyed his society, Havel saw many who we would identify as having chosen the cynical, self-serving way of Pilate rather than the redemptive example of Christ. We fool ourselves, and the truth is not in us if we think the moral challenges Havel noted are reserved for societies emerging from communist rule. It is the challenge of our own time and of every generation.

  • Pastor Derek French

Clothed With Christ

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“As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”

clothed in christ

When a Moravian pastor officiates at Holy Communion he or she often wears a specially made white robe (surplice). Its flowing white design with wide sleeves calls to mind the white robes in the book of Revelation. Its purpose is to remind worshipers of heaven and to show that the pastor is representing Christ when administering the sacraments of baptism and Holy Communion. The ritual of robing reminds pastors that they, together with all baptized believers, are to “clothe themselves with Christ.”

In offering himself as a willing sacrifice to atone for the sins of all humanity, Jesus fulfilled the demands of righteous justice while embodying divine grace. Clothing ourselves with Christ means that, in spite of our sinful nature we are able to approach God without fear of rejection, trusting in God’s forgiveness of sin through the sacrificial life, death and resurrection of Jesus. A hymn in the Moravian liturgy for burial expresses this well:

The Savior’s blood and righteousness, my beauty is, my glorious dress; thus well-arrayed I need not fear when in his presence I appear.

Because our lives, our souls, have been redeemed by God, we are free to respond by choosing a new focus for our lives. We clothe ourselves with Christ as disciples of the Lord. Our goal should be to become just a bit more Jesus-like each day. Therefore …

  • We exhibit love for others, even those with whom we vehemently disagree, because “God is love,” and “Whoever does not love does not know God,” (I John 4:8)
  • Knowing ourselves to be less than perfect and in need of God’s forgiveness, we forgive others’ sins, as we trust God will forgive our sins. (Matthew 6:12)
  • Similarly, we refrain from judgment for that is God’s task. The Apostle James echoes our Savior’s teaching when he writes: “So who then, are you to judge your neighbor?” (James 4:12)
  • In speaking with others, we choose our words carefully knowing that “a harsh word stirs up anger,” and that only a “perverse person spreads strife” through gossip. (Proverbs 15:1, 16:28)
  • Whatever material goods God has entrusted to us as individuals or a congregation, we invest to build up the Kingdom of God and help draw others closer to Christ for we know that one day we will have to account for our stewardship. (Matthew 25:29-30)

As we continue deeper into the New Year, resolve to clothe yourself with Christ.

 

Signs of Summer and the Lesson of the Fig Tree

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From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. Matthew 24:32

parable of the fig tree
Unmistakable signs of summer surround us. Roads clear of school buses, community pools are open, and occasionally an ice cream truck can be heard making its rounds through the neighborhood. Their message is as clear to us as the fig tree’s tender branches and budding leaves were to Jesus’ disciples. Summer is here.

The lesson of the fig tree is a call to mindfulness – a call to pay attention to signs in our lives and in the world that indicate God’s drawing near to us. Jesus shared the fig tree illustration with his followers when they asked him about his coming again on the Day of Judgment. It was an admonition to be vigilant and keep alert in preparation for Christ’s return “at an unexpected hour.”

If we are wise we will learn the fig tree’s lesson. Two understandings of the summer season, one ancient and one contemporary, inform a faithful response to Jesus.

In the agrarian society of Jesus’ day, summer was a time of work, harvest and preparation. “Make hay while the sun shines,” runs a familiar saying. Hay – dried grass used as fodder for animals – is difficult to prepare in wet weather, so this adage admonishes us to make the most of time and opportunities which God gives us. Summer’s hot, dry days are perfect for curing hay. A biblical proverb suggests we follow the example of the ant, who “prepares its food in summer and gathers its sustenance in harvest.” (Prov. 6:8)

Like hay harvesters, we should make the most of time as we carry out the work of our Lord both individually and collectively through his body, the church. As a species, humanity still needs to hear and respond to Christ’s message of hope, peace, forgiveness and reconciliation. As a church, we need others to join us in spreading this Good News (Gospel). Jesus “said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.’ (Matthew 9:36) Those who attend the District Synod will be engaged in such ministry on behalf of the congregation and the broader Moravian Church.

In today’s technological society, most of us are freed from the necessity of harvesting all our own food. We more probably think of summer as a time to travel or take a vacation. Summer is a season of rest and recreation – potentially, a time of Sabbath.

Sabbath rest and recreation involve more than taking a break from work. Sabbath rest rejuvenates us, energizes us and restores us. True “re-creation” presents a chance to re-invent ourselves or “find” ourselves if we’ve lost our way, our soul, our passion or our values in the business of daily life. Summer as Sabbath season includes the serious business of reconnecting with God and our deepest, truest selves.

Pastor Derek French

The Power of Story

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Each of us has a story – a narrative of personal identity comprising our struggles and triumphs, our joys and sorrows, and the persons and places which have filled our life. We write new chapters as we respond to circumstances and events beyond our control or accomplish goals through careful planning and diligent effort. Occasionally, we share our story with others or listen to their stories and so are drawn closer together. It is through the sharing of personal stories that community is born.

Our story is but one in an anthology of stories. We hear other stories on the evening news, watch them on television, play them out in video games or read them in books. Stories shape us. They influence the formation of our world-view, mold our identity, and can transmit powerful life lessons and values to us.

Persons who wish to pattern their lives after Jesus’ example should know the stories of his life and the stories from scripture which shaped Jesus’ world as well or better than they know the plot and characters of popular movies, games and television series. Such familiarity is of inestimable help in placing one’s own story into the context of God’s story and the story of those seeking to follow Jesus.

East Hills Moravian Church is committed to helping persons learn of Christ and gain new – or renewed – appreciation for biblical stories. We have a full range of Sunday School classes for all ages including three very different options for adults, a traditional bible study, a discussion class, and a parenting class.

On Rally Day, September 13 at 9:45 am, we will meet in the Family Center to introduce our theme for Christian education for this year: “I Love to Tell the Story.” The title is borrowed from an old gospel hymn (#625) that many of our members know and enjoy. We will hear members of the congregation share favorite bible stories from a first person perspective at multiple stations in the Family Center and enjoy a time of celebration and fellowship. Worship at 8:30 am and 11:00 am will also incorporate the same theme and hymn.

Also, please note an orientation for youth and their parents wishing to learn more about preparatory classes for the Rite of Confirmation will be held in the Sanctuary Sunday, September 20 at 6:30 pm. East Hills offers a two year program of discovery and instruction which meets the first and third Sundays of each month from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. The Rite of Confirmation is held annually on Pentecost Sunday which, in 2016, falls on May 15.

  • Pastor Derek French