Category: Bible Study

THERE’S MORE TO CHRISTIANITY THAN THIS

October 31, 2023 /

AN INSIPID CREED THAT FAILS TO RECORD HISTORIC FACTS: SURELY THERE’S MORE TO CHRISTIANITY THAN THIS?

 

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Somehow or another the following declaration has been incorporated into our morning church worship. The congregation is invited “Let us declare our faith in God in the words of the creed” by saying these words:-

We believe in God the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.

We believe in God the Son, who lives in our hearts through faith, and fills us with his love.

We believe in God the Holy Spirit, who strengthens us with power from on high.

We believe in one God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Amen.[1]

This version of the creed is authorised for use by the Church of England but it is a pallid relative of the real thing. This matters. My first exposure to institutional Christianity was aged 7 in a small parish church in Broadstairs, Kent. Each week Matins from the Book of Common Prayer was followed including the recitation of the Apostle’s Creed.

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:
And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead, and buried: He descended into hell; The third day he rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost; The holy Catholick Church; The Communion of Saints; The Forgiveness of sins; The Resurrection of the body, And the Life everlasting. Amen.

I’m not pretending that I found this gripping at the time, all the time.  Some of the time my attention was directed to the urgent business of ripping off a button to put into the collection bag so that I could pocket the threepenny bit that was intended for that purpose but which I intended for fish and chips.  Even when not diverted I didn’t understand all of it, but I understood enough to get an idea of the core of what Christians believed. Coming from a Jewish home a lot of it was news to me. I’m grateful for the weekly repetition of this concise statement of faith. It burned its way into my memory and has provided plenty of nourishment. Today, over half a century later, it still does. Comparing this with the emaciated version any child at church would have heard last Sunday I am struck by the inadequacy of the new liturgy.

To the uninitiated, the new version tells us next to nothing about Jesus. His name does not feature. You would never know that there was a real person called Jesus who lived and died at a particular historical time: i.e. when Pontius Pilate was in power. The incarnation is not so much as hinted at in the new version, yet without it Christianity collapses. A declaration of faith which omits the incarnation, the crucifixion and the resurrection is not just missing a few incidental points it is missing the point.  Sustaining a Christian life on this basis would be like trying to cross the channel in a ship without a hull, rudder, motor or mast.  You are not just likely to sink–you are bound to.

What were the Church of England’s liturgy experts thinking when they penned this thin gruel? It manages to be both watered down yet indigestible. Try explaining ‘from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named’ to a passing visitor (or to me for that matter). I know the phrase is taken from Ephesians but that does not tell us much that is readily intelligible about God the Father.

Have we abandoned or lost confidence in the idea that God the Father is Almighty? Do we no longer believe that He is the Maker of heaven and earth? Is it a loss of confidence in these truths that makes us shrink from declaring them? Is this why we are now expected to be content to settle for an obscure jumble of platitudes which repeatedly puts the focus on ‘us’? Thanks but no thanks.  Sadly, a passing visitor may never realise that Christians believe more that remains unsaid by the new version than is referred to in it.

Great care and attention has been taken in formulating the Nicene and Apostle’s creeds. They have withstood the tests of time and informed generation after generation of worshipers. The latest version leaves a vacuum where truth once stood. We should watch out. This vacuum will be filled by ideas falling well outside the orthodox.

  1. https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/common-material/new-patterns-28 ↑

 

The Transfiguration of Jesus Christ–does it matter?

August 4, 2023 /

I don’t remember the last time “The Transfiguration” was mentioned in my local church. It is not a subject that comes up in everyday conversation and I rarely think about it.  This coming Sunday is nominated in the Church of England lectionary as a memorial for The Transfiguration and the bible readings for the day reflect. (Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14. Psalm 97. 2 Peter 1:16-19 and Luke 9:28-36)[1]. What can I learn from The Transfiguration and why is it that the subject seems to be such a low priority even among Christians?

Forgive me for stating the blindingly obvious: the Transfiguration marks Jesus out as special. It is a difficult story to understand because transfigurations just don’t happen. None of us have seen one or met anyone who has. It is beyond our experience and we are generally skeptical about miracles. The Transfiguration corroborates the biggest miracle of all: the incarnation. Peter, James and John saw Jesus’ appearance change and heard a voice saying “This is my Son, my Chosen One; Listen to him!”   The Transfiguration asks us the question– who do we think Jesus is?  Is he merely a man, or God’s son, His chosen one? It is well worth taking time to ponder this event. Do we accept that it happened or do we think it is made up. Why would anyone make up such an unlikely story? If it happened then we too need to ‘Listen to Him’.

Another obvious observation: the Transfiguration story features Moses and Elijah. The New Testament cannot be understood without reference to the Hebrew Scriptures. And yet our knowledge of Old Testament stories and characters is receding. It is worth taking time and trouble to put this right, however unfashionable this might be. Only by getting to know the old testament can one begin to see God’s purposes being worked out over the centuries and to grasp the coherent over-arching and continuing story of God’s steadfast love and faithfulness. Elijah was taken to heaven alive (2 Kings 2:11) and expected to return before the Messiah.  John the Baptist is often understood to have fulfilled this role. The Jewish people expected a prophet in the manner of Moses to arise (Deuteronomy 18:15-18). Moses and Elijah talk about ‘Jesus’ departure which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem’ (Luke 9:31). A little earlier in the same chapter of Luke, we find Jesus telling the disciples of the death he was about to suffer and that he would be raised from the dead (Luke 9:21-22).  I assume this is what Luke is referring to when he uses the word ‘accomplish’. What is accomplished is the saving of the world by way of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Putting it crudely: the Transfiguration directs us to the person of Jesus and the purpose of Jesus.

The third feature of the story is Peter’s response. Is it possible that he is bewildered and starts talking before he has had time to observe and listen? To suggest building booths might perhaps be an attempt to memorialize what was likely to be a fleeting event. Perhaps similar to building a statue to commemorate someone, something or an event? Or maybe it was equivalent to suggesting the formation of a committee –a gut response that allows us to acknowledge the need for change without actually changing? In any event, Peter’s ideas are cut short by the loud voice that talks across his talking and tells him to ‘listen up’.

We do well to be silent and listen in the presence of the Lord.

  1. Luke 9:28–36 (ESV) — 28 Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33 And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. 34 As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” 36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen. ↑

 

HOPE THAT WILL NOT FAIL

October 25, 2020 /

“Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: help us so to hear them, to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them that, through patience and the comfort of your holy word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ; who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.“

This is the appointed prayer for today, ‘Bible Sunday’. When Thomas Cranmer wrote this one sentence prayer, around four hundred years ago, he ought to have felt like a traveller who has succeeded in stuffing more into a suitcase than a suitcase is designed to carry. Success in having left nothing out is counter-balanced by the effort required to carry it.

There is so much in this one sentence that it is hard to follow. It is as if one opens an overpacked suitcase and can’t focus on any one object because everything falls out in a heap. The phrase which falls out of the sentence and catches my attention this morning is “hold fast [to]… the hope of everlasting life”.

If you had asked me why anyone should bother to read the Bible, before pondering this prayer I suspect I might have come up with such reasons as “to get to know what God is like” or, “To know Jesus Christ better”. This prayer brings into focus another reason ‘so that I may hold onto the hope of everlasting life.’ Holding onto hope whilst adjusting to the uncertainties of the Covid world in the shadow of climate change is challenging. Without hope, our zest for life quickly dulls and eventually withers altogether. Sustaining hope is essential to healthy living. What we hope for and what we place our hope in matters. Get these things wrong and disillusion and despondency follow. “Hope” is so valuable and attractive that we sometimes slip into the habit of talking about it as if it is self-standing rather than asking ourselves what/who we are hoping in and what we are hoping for.

How often, if at all, do we even think about the hope of everlasting life? When you have toothache, it is hard to think about anything other than the tooth that is aching. When all news channels are saturated by the coverage of the pandemic and our day to day life is forced into strange patterns, it requires a deliberate effort to make ourselves think past the virus and focus upon the hope of everlasting life. This is a very timely prayer. What are we hoping for? If our hope is in economic success or enduring good health then the pandemic must surely make us think twice. But what if our hope is ultimately in what comes after this life? What sort of re-orientation of our thoughts is needed to allow us to give pre-eminence to this hope?

The second thing that caught me by surprise in this prayer is the word ‘patience’. What has that got to do with the reading of scripture and holding onto the hope of everlasting life? Quite a lot, I realise, once it has been pointed out to me. Cranmer’s prayer is targeted at the way in which we read scripture […help us so to hear them…]. This is addressing not so much our method of reading scripture as our attitude towards the scriptures. I sometimes read scripture attentively, distractedly, casually, critically, carelessly, carefully etc but never would I have thought of describing myself as reading scripture ‘patiently’. Patience is required; I see that now. There is so much that is not immediately apparent. There is so much that is a mystery. There are so many truths that slowly unfold so that patience is indeed needed. One of today’s appointed readings is Psalm 119:9-16 which includes these words

“11  I have stored up your word in my heart,

that I might not sin against you…..

15  I will meditate on your precepts

and fix my eyes on your ways.

16  I will delight in your statutes;

I will not forget your word.”

This suggests that David was in the habit of bringing scripture to mind and letting it permeate his thinking. It suggests a patience with scripture; a willingness to accept that it might not be immediately clear how it is intended to be interpreted and applied by us in 2020 and that we should not be too hasty in applying the parts we think we understand or too hasty in ignoring the parts we don’t presently understand.

The third and final item to fall out of this suitcase addresses the question of who we place our hope in. This prayer includes all three members of the Trinity. It is addressed to God the Father and its grounds for hope rest upon the person of Jesus Christ and the author’s certainty that He is alive, that He reigns and that He, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, is eternal—i.e. unchanging, come what may.

This prayer may be antiquated but remains potent.

 

Easter Saturday. A day to gloss over?

April 20, 2019 /

Christ’s resurrection from the dead is a sign and a wonder to dwarf all other signs and wonders. It opens the door to hope. Hope that death is not the end. Hope that darkness is not for ever. Hope that light really does triumph over darkness. Perhaps this is why we choose to focus most of our attention on Easter day’s celebration rather than the events of Good Friday. As for Easter Saturday, this is easily glossed over altogether. An inconvenient pause before a mighty celebration. I believe Easter Saturday is an important day which we neglect at our peril even though it is out of joint with the fashion of 2019.

The first Easter Saturday must have been a time of deep shock, grief, confusion and loss for the followers of Jesus. It was a time of unanswered questions. The crucifixion was not the sanitised event portrayed in polite art: it was a raw, horrific murder designed to humiliate the victim. What must the morning after the death of Jesus have been like for his family and followers? ‘Traumatic’ does not begin to describe it. A time for lament.

We in England in 2019 not do ‘lamentation’. The closest we get is a superficial feeling of gloom every time we are eliminated from football’s World Cup.

Celebration is an easy sell. Lamentation is the other end of the spectrum. Celebration is to celebrated: think New Year’s eve and firework displays from around the world. Lamentation is to be avoided. Are we are losing the vocabulary and capacity to express the range of emotions it involves? Consider Colin Brazier’s reflections written shortly after the death of his wife:

“At root, the modern funeral represents the privatisation of what, hitherto, was a public event. A funeral was one of the great punctuation marks in the life of a community. Open to all, imparting its lessons of Last Things to everyone, sharing a life story to a universal audience. But as soon as we start to treat funerals like a family ‘do’, where commemoration becomes a series of in-jokes or semi-private reflections, we close off the lives of others from that clear-eyed posthumous examination which only comes when their race is run. I am happy to leave it to the priest. It’s his gig. He will sum up my wife’s life, approaching that task not dispassionately, but at one step removed.

Then there’s the ‘celebration’ element. I have emailed friends and former colleagues with details of my wife’s funeral, politely asking them to leave their Hawaiian shirts and pink helium balloons at home. Black please, if you don’t mind. It’s unfair on children to insist that a funeral should mean rejoicing in a life now passed. Maybe grown-ups can handle the cognitive dissonance required in ‘celebrating’ a life rather than, you know, being all morbid. But I seriously doubt children can.” (Spectator 21 July 2018)

Colin views were reported in the English media and the reaction from the public suggests that he was onto something. He spoke about it very honestly and movingly on the radio.

When I was first forced to go to church as a schoolboy the part of the service I dreaded most was the weekly singing (perhaps not the right word) of a psalm. Boring does not begin to describe the experience. The language was archaic, the melody non-existent and the experience baffling. Fifty years later I increasingly appreciate and value the psalms and start to see why they formed the heart of both Jewish and Christian worship. They give us a window into the emotions of their authors and show us how they engaged with God. Some of them are celebrations (e.g. Ps 100). But a surprising number are lamentations: see for example Psalm 6. Here is Prof Ellen F Davis’s excellent short comments on this Psalm which say what I would like to say but much more elegantly than I could.

(This is taken from “Getting involved with God”).

From time to time each of us experience disappointment, grief, abandonment and despair– probably not to the extent that Jesus’ followers did on Easter Saturday but none the less in a real way.   As Ellen Davis shows, the Bible does not air brush these difficulties from its pages and nor should we. 

Thank God for Easter Sunday but in our thanking let’s not forget the reality of the day before and make time and space to acknowledge times when Easter Saturdays seem more real than the joy of Easter Sunday.

 

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