Monday, March 31, 2008

Easter



Easter Sermon
I attached the audio to my Easter sermon in this post. I hope it works...

It is not perfect. Sermons never are. I was trying to foster thinking about the resurrection beyond categorizing it as a mere miracle. The resurrection is certainly miraculous, but it is much more than that. It is not so much about God’s power, as it is about us.

The resurrection is a gift to the disciples. It is a sign to them, and it affirms Jesus identity for them. The resurrection is Jesus’ gift to us, that we might see and believe. Our age is so caught up in the historicity of the resurrection, we often miss the meaning.

Give it a listen. Does it work?




Sunday, March 9, 2008

Interview with Archbishop Akinola


I hope the Archbishop is not connected with this event.

Church Times

Chris+

Friday, March 7, 2008

MDG Stations Article from Christianity Today


A couple of months ago, a Stations of the MDG’s liturgy was made available to Episcopal Parishes. It is an interesting service calling us to be mindful of the poor and hungry. Nothing wrong with that. The implication, of the timing of the release of this liturgy, is that it is for use during Lent. I have no real problem with this. The Exhortation to a Holy Lent, read Ash Wednesday, The Litany of Penitence and The Great Litany all recognize sin against God and sin against one another. A world where the haves have so much, and the have-nots have so little certainly knows sin. We should make good use of the resources at our disposal to live fully into Jesus’ vision of a present Kingdom.

That said, I have carefully placed the MDG Stations at the bottom of a stack of material. I will revisit them another time. I want Lent to be about “the days of our Lord’s passion”. Hopefully, our observance of these days will change all our days.
There are probably better times of the year to emphasize the MDG’s. For me, It is not about right or wrong, as much as emphasis.

A quote from the article might well illustrate the source of some confusion:


"There has been a little controversy about the Stations of the MDGs," said Luke Fodor, network coordinator for the church's relief arm. "At Episcopal Relief and Development, we're here to just take care of problems. We're not interested in theological discussions or politics in the church. We're to take care of the least of these, and that's our mandate. We [at ERD] didn't create this; we produced it for churches to use as they see fit."

I would hope the relief agency of the Church would be a little interested in theology. Care for the victims of a broken and sinful world matters so much. Can’t we place this endeavor in a theological context in the life of the church? Ironically, the creation of the Stations liturgy seeks to do that, but the clash with Lent undermines the attempt. I love ERD. I love the MDG’s. I just wish we could execute this all a little better, and have it dovetail with the Gospel, rather than seem in competition. Maybe, it is time for a theological discussion? Or, if you are not interested in theological discussion, maybe, you should stay out of the liturgy business?


Stations of the MDG's


Archbishops on Blogging


In the internet age, there is no shortage of information and commentary. This is a link to the thoughts of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York.

The Lead