Ah...the Pax Romana! It was a time of relative peace, simply maintained by the brutal force of Rome and her legions. Nations were crushed, freedoms were curtailed, soldiers could force labor on you, tax collectors could swindle you and you had no recourse.

The nation of Israel was under Caesar's control. Though allowed to carry out religions practices in the temple in Jerusalem, there was a great sense of suffering. Taxes and regulations made a poor region even  more wretched. 

God's timing was perfect, as always. Roman dominion had set the stage where relative peace allowed commerce to move quickly across the massive and diverse area of the Mediterranean world. The Greek language was commonly understood everywhere. Ideas traveled quickly as did news of major events. The time was ripe...God's time!

Rome worshipped power and despised anything remotely resembling mercy, forgiveness and grace. To Rome, those were signs of weakness and worthlessness. Humility was scorned and reviled. It was not an environment where those things valued by God and essential to the health of the human soul were encouraged.

It was into this context that the Word became flesh to dwell among us. The King of kings and Lord of lords, who could have called down 12 legions of angels (Rome had fewer active legions at the time) when the soldiers came to arrest Him in Gethsemane, would not conform to Rome's expectations of a king. Jesus doesn't conform to our demands either. He is who He is as He has eternally been.

In fact, as Mary proclaimed in Luke's Gospel, God scatters the proud and haughty in their deceit, He brings down princes from their thrones and exalts the humble. He fills the hungry with good things and sends the rich away with empty hands. He shows mercy from generation to generation to those who believe Him, whose lives are lived in the awe and reverence He deserves.

Rome thought power and control was the answer to ruling unruly people. Joseph Stalin and Adolph Hitler thought the same, as did Mao Zedong and Che Guevara. You may crush people's lives, but that doesn't change their hearts.

Power and manipulation are never be the means of the transformation of society. Choose your "-ism": socialism, Communism, totalitarianism, paganism, capitalism, legalism, Buddhism, Darwinism, existentialism, fascism, Freudianism, nihilism, positivism, pragmatism, humanism, utopianism or establishmentarianism!

None of the above can ever get to the root of the human problem. They can never change the human heart. As long as the human heart is disconnected from its true source and reference for life, humans will still oppress one another. We will still "zombify" all who disagree with us so disposing of them raises no ethical questions. We will keep sending our sons to die on the world's battlefields.  

We simply couldn't do what was necessary.  God Himself had to come if humanity had any hope of restoration. The Creator had to personally come to rescue the lost crown of His creation. Jesus came to fulfill the will of God in the earth. God's way would open the singular Door for all humanity to return to God, receive forgiveness for heinous rebellion, be given a new heart and empowered by God's own Spirit to be able to actually live new lives...to be changed for the good! 

The power of God is infinitely greater than all combined human effort. In fact, St. Paul speaks directly to this in his first letter to the Church in Corinth (1st Corinthians 1:20-25). God's means of salvation through the cross, by death and resurrection of Jesus, seemed foolish to the Jews and nonsense to the Gentiles. But the wisdom of God's plan is infinitely wiser than the wisest plan of man...any of our  "-isms"...and the "weakness" of God is infinitely strong than any strength mankind could possibly muster.

God chooses what the world think of as week, a teenage girl, to bear God, the Eternal Son. Mary bears God Himself in her womb. In her womb, the Word was made flesh. He didn't do things the way Rome would have or even the way Paramount Studios might have imagined. He came as a dependant, helpless baby.

Jesus, the Messiah would take His humanity from Mary; carry her DNA in His own physical body...even after His Resurrection. Fully God, Jesus Christ bears our humanity fully that we might be fully rescued and redeemed...not in the world's might, but in the might of God.

In Mary's womb was the One whom the universe could not contain. The embryo in her named Jesus was God's way for mankind's reclamation.

The mystery of the ages was about to be revealed in a very oppressive Pax Romana.

That One, once Incarnate from the Virgin Mary, is one day going to return in the fully-unveiled power of God, not hidden, but infinite in His glory. Like lightening flashing from east to west, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. Every eye shall see this happen. There will be no room for misunderstanding.

There are still people who are not ready for that Day.

In the now, Life and Peace are offered in God's grace to all who will turn from self, turn to Jesus Christ in faith and surrender their lives to Him.

On THAT Day, the Redeemer will return as the Judge of the living and the dead. His majesty will make the glory of Rome look less that ashes.

I want everyone I know to be ready to receiving Him as their returning King, Lord and Savior.

The last three Sundays before the season of Advent are sometimes called "Kingdom Sundays". They focus on King Jesus, His reign, His Word and His ways. This Sunday there is a focus on His Word. The collect appointed for the days reads like this:

 

Blessed Lord, Who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for

our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn,

and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever

hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which You have

given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with

You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

To read is one thing. We can forget what we have read if we just read in a cursory manner, like in the doctor's office. However if we mark, really pay attention to what we read with a mind to remember, we retain more.

If the intent is to learn, really learn, then the focus is ramped up another notch because there is an intent to utilize the information we are reading. If I want to learn how to make a quilt, how to play an instrument or maybe how to build a house, I will read the instructional material much more closely than if I'm just reading till the nurse calls me back into the  doctor's examination room.

If we are wanting to master a thing, we read, re-read, make notes and ask questions of those who are already to some degree mastering more than we have. We begin to eat, drink and sleep the material so that it becomes part of us. Our whole perspective begins to change, being shaped by the subject we have devoted ourselves to. It's at this point that we find that having read, marked, learned we have inwardly digested the information/knowledge and it has become part of us. You know...you are what you eat.

Reading God's Word for some is like chewing gum. You get some flavor and a workout for your jaws, but no real benefit other than fresher breath for a few moments. There is no nutritional value.

Others may just focus on their favorite passages maybe not even noticing the context of those passages. That's kind of only eating "sweets". Now that has more benefit than gum, but if that is your steady diet, you will not remain healthy for long. You need your veggies, grains and proteins as well.

When we submit our lives to the full counsel of God's Word we will find places that make us uncomfortable and for good reason! We need the Holy Spirit to work out in our lives the salvation God has given us in Jesus Christ. We will be convicted and disciplined by the Word of God...even "taken to the woodshed" at times...believe me, I've been there many times over the past 42 years of following Jesus.

In Hebrews 12:5-12 the author clearly states that all true children of God will be disciplined for their own good, so they may share in His holiness. That discipline/correction/training can be painful. We have to face the fact that there are places in our lives that we are not as free as we thought. Unhelpful habits can still enslave us. You know the "Oh...that's just the way I am..." kind of excuses we give.

Being "born-again" does not mean "perfected". It does mean, however, that we have a new spiritual DNA, a new heredity and a new nature. Like new-born children we have to grow up, mature. As new creations coming out of death into life, we need to un-learn a lot, to have our minds renewed to see things from a radically new perspective: God's perspective.

We are not merely meant to read about God's Holiness, we are meant to share in it, to be changed in an ongoing way to become more alive, more real, more whole...more like Jesus. It's when we so digest Jesus' Words that we begin to do what it says in faith and obedience...when we make our "home" in God's Word and His Word finds a home in us that we will know the truth and the truth will set us free...no longer slaves!

It is the written will of God that in the life of any follower of Jesus Christ, God's Word is to become "home" to us; that defining reference as to what makes for life and the arbiter of any and all decisions we made need to make in living. When that process is an ongoing and ever increasing, our vision of life will be changed by the application of truth and  that the truth will become assimilated and becomes life and breath to us. We ill begin to look like "what we eat."

The freedom that comes from this will empower you to live fearlessly and rigorously. It will make no difference if people persecute you or not. You will be able to embody the Love of Jesus to them because as he lives in you He will live through you.

Feed your life! Read, mark and inwardly digest God's Holy Word so that you may embrace (like a lover) and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life God has given you in our Savior Jesus Christ.

Today, in America, half the population is elated that their candidate for President was re-elected. The other half is not rejoicing and have various ways of expressing their disappointment. Division is a sad given and will continue to be so as long as people continue to put their hope in finite & flawed humanity.

 

The world we live in is moving through time toward an ultimate end that God has set; it cannot be changed. That's not pessimism, but eternal truth. Time will not continue on forever. A day will come when time will end. Until that moment arrives, the only hope for humanity is to follow the only One who can give life. You cannot put your in Congresses, Presidents or Judges, armies or any other person and hope for a better future. The only One worthy of trust is Jesus Christ.

 

No government has ever been the "salvation of mankind" nor will one ever be. Human hearts can only be rescued and changed by the love and grace offered humanity in Jesus Christ. True life-change is never due to human achievement but solely because of His grace and mercy.

 

We  all hope for a "better future" but we can read clearly in Scripture that the rebellion against God that is entrenched in the human heart is not moving in that direction. Things will get much worse before the Lord Jesus returns. We should not be shocked or surprised when people make choices that defy God's ways or His Word. I cannot expect to see Life flowing out of something that is at its heart "spiritually dead".

 

But I won't despair, because I have seen Jesus rescue me. There is no one "too far gone" that the Lord's Love cannot reach them and restore them. I am living proof of that.

 

Till Jesus comes again, I will pray and work with the Holy Spirit's power for the justice and equity of God, the mercy and compassion Jesus displayed on the Cross and be willing to lay my lives down to see people rescued from death by Jesus' Life.

 

Followers of Jesus are called to pray FOR, not AT our governmental leaders, regardless of whether you respect them or trust them. God is still in control. He cannot be mocked, bribed nor dismissed, though some will think that is the case. Remember, you are not God and do not see as clearly as you suppose.

 

"The Lord loves those you may hate as much as He loves you." (Thank you Lizzy) Jesus did not die and rise again selectively, but as St. John writes, "He (Jesus) is the sacrifice that atones for our sins--and not only for our sins, but the sins of the whole world." 1 John 2:2

 

Neither Republican nor Democrat will heal our land. Only Jesus can heal and restore humanity to what it was created to know. All else is a Band-aid over the bullet-hole. Hold fast to the One who will last forever, Jesus Christ.

 

+++++++++++++

 

Below are the words to a song written by Twila Paris in 1993.

 

This is no time for fear
This is a time for faith
And determination
Don't lose the vision here
Carried away by the motion
Hold on to all
That you hide in your heart
There is one thing
That has always been true
It holds the world together

 

God is in control
We believe that His children
Will not be forsaken
God is in control
We will choose to remember
And never be shaken
There is no power above
Or beside Him we know
Oh God is in control

 

History marches on
There is a bottom line
Drawn across the ages
Culture can make its plan
Oh but the line never changes
No matter how the deception may fly
There is one thing
That has always been true
It will be true forever

 

God is in control
We believe that His children
Will not be forsaken
God is in control
We will choose to remember
And never be shaken
There is no power above
Or beside Him we know
Oh God is in control

 

He has never let you down
Why start to worry now
Why start to worry now
He is still the Lord of all we see
And He is still the loving Father
Watching over you and me

 

God is in control
We believe that His children
Will not be forsaken
God is in control
We will choose to remember
And never be shaken
There is no power above
Or beside Him we know
Oh God is in control
+++++++++++++++++

 

God bless you.

This coming Sunday, we will celebrate the feast day of All Saints. All Saints Day is always November 1st, but that day rarely falls on a Sunday. So, we will celebrate the Lord's overwhelming grace in remembering that He has "looked beyond our weakness and found purest gold in miry clay, making sinners into saints."

We tend to see ourselves separated from the people we read about in the Scriptures as if they were somehow on a different spiritual plain that we are. The shocking fact is that everyone, excepting Jesus Christ alone, was in desperate and vital need of a Savior. 

Save for Jesus, all the people in the Bible after Adam's fall were born spiritually dead, unable to return to the destiny they were created for. The whole mass of us needed to be rescued. Someone had to come "from the outside" to salvage us or we would have remained in our devastated state.

Jesus Christ did just that. And what He did, what He promised, what He gave was to be given to and received by everyone who would put the trust and hope of their whole lives in His hands. 

Those who would trust Him for Life and believe what he had done for them in His death and resurrection, He would give New Life, eternal Life that could not be taken from us, would never abandon us and would never grow smaller, but only more and more full and glorious.

This Sunday, October 28, 2012, comes right before one of the most celebrated day in our American culture. It is an ancient pagan celebration, one of worshiping the powers of darkness, called Samhain. The ancient Druids practiced it toward the end of October, offering human sacrifice to appease the "forces of darkness" so they would keep the people safe during the dark days of winter. How odd to think that you could appease evil with evil and somehow keep at bay the very things that wanted to destroy your life before you found out about God's grace!

The Church tried to redeem the day by having it be known as All Hallowed Eve, the evening before the feast of All Saints Day. That practice has proven futile, as culture has become more and more fascinated with the powers of darkness. Church's have "Fall Festivals" on October 31st to try and replace Halloween. It appears that we want to make sure our kids aren't denied their candy, or draw any more ridicule from their friends by appearing too strange to their friends even more strange.

Halloween is not a feast-day of the Church. It is actually not our holiday. In Deuteronomy 12:29-31 God tells His people to not investigate how the pagans worship their "gods" since God will not have them attempting to worship Him that way. The cultures that were displaced by Israel were occultic to the core: witches, mediums, sorcerers and others communing with the demonic to try and gain power over life. They willingly practiced human sacrifice as the demonic demanded the blood of the first-born. Was it, maybe, Satan's attempt to destroy "the Seed" that was prophesied to one day come and crush the Serpent's head? Maybe.

Our culture is utterly fascinated by the paranormal, the occult. You can buy a Ouija Board next to Monopoly in most stores. That is a direct tool to draw children into contact with the demonic. There are at least 48 shows now running on TV (cable + regular) that directly have to do with the occult. Oh, it's never promoted as such, but that is what it is. "The Ghost Whisperer" or "Medium" supposedly doing mankind a great good by solving murders and mysteries. Well, the demons that incited the murder definitely knows who they inspired to kill and where the dead bodies can be found.

When you then count the horror films, those dealing with the supernatural and rampant demonic evil, there are hundreds. Hollywood keeps making them because they make money. People are fascinated by them. The underlying premise in them all is "There is no God; no Ultimate Good that has power and authority to defeat the evil portrayed." Even in the Exorcist, the poor priest gets impaled by the forces of evil...God ultimately couldn't keep His servant.

Our God has defeated these foes by the Supreme act of Redemption in Jesus Christ on the Cross, by His death that destroyed the ultimate power of death and by His resurrection. He opened the way for us to begin to live eternal life in the here-and-now by Jesus coming to live His very Life within us, making us one with Himself and empowering us by the the Holy Spirit.

The reality is, human "normal" has been broken and distorted by sin. The realm of the paranormal is the bailiwick of the demonic.  The Life we are given in Jesus Christ is supernatural, a "new creation" where we a part of God's Kingdom, His family. People are desperate to know about spiritual things, life after death, meaning, purpose and destiny. That gnawing hunger is due to the fact we were created to KNOW the Lord God and thus true meaning, purpose, destiny and true peace and contentment.

Our spiritual enemy is right there ready to deceive. Even Christians get deceived and get off into "baptizing" methods from the east used to bring pagan worshippers into contact with the seducing spirits, demons sometimes referred to as "familiar spirits" in Scripture. Thinking their "intent" will sanctify a pagan form of worship they open themselves to deception. There may be great spiritual experience. But spiritual experience is NOT self-validating. One may have real spiritual experience and it not come from God.

God is in control, not us. He has made it clear that we are not to adopt the practices of paganism in any form. He will not be worshipped that way. Signs and wonders can be produced by Satan. They are not the "fruit" of God's action. Our lives must be grounded in the full counsel of God's Word. If it does not line up with Scripture, don't mess with it, regardless of how "spiritual" it may outwardly appear. The Holy Spirit's work does not make us "spooky" it makes us real!

I have a rather cheeky things I do at times. It's a kind of experiment. In the middle of a group of folks that I know are not really associated with the Lord in any direct way, as they are talking about football scores, politics, golf game,  the kids, etc. I have mentioned the Name of Jesus in a "matter-of-fact" kind of way.

Believe me, it is a conversation stopper. People become very uncomfortable, look at their shoes, check their watch and look at me side-long to see if I was actually serious. When they see that I am not in the least embarrassed, the configuration of the group radically changes and I find that the ones I have been specifically addressing needing to refresh their drink or go back to the buffet table.

It's one thing to use Jesus name in combination with expletives my Grandmother would have called "cuss words" when you hit your thumb with a hammer while trying to drive a nail. That is culturally acceptable. But to talk about Jesus as if He were "real", you know REALLY REAL...well, that turns out to be a "horse of a different color".

There are a number of readily recognized names of religious personages in our world: Buddha, Gandhi, Mohammed, Swami Prabhupada or Lao Tzu. No one ever uses their names in cursing or angry outbursts In fact we have seen murderous riots and senseless violence occur when the name of Mohammed even "appears" to be dishonored. World wide, however, the name of Jesus is reviled, abused, used in vain and ridiculed with impunity.

Have you ever wondered why? Who would inspire such a world-wide phenomena? I can tell you that the fallen Arch-Angel, Lucifer, whom we know as Satan, the Devil and his minions hate Jesus. The are terrified of Him. Jesus' Name, denoting all that He is, has authority and ultimate power over the forces of spiritual darkness. Satan does not want Jesus taken seriously, because when someone does take Jesus Christ seriously, the strategies of the Devil are doomed to being dismantled in that human life.

The "Name of Jesus" is not a magic word nor a "mantra". When I speak "in the Name of Jesus Christ" I am declaring that singular and eternal relationship that I have with the Lord Jesus and am acknowledging His absolute power and authority over all things. Oswald Chambers wrote, "To pray in the Name of Jesus if to be praying in His nature." A true follower of Jesus Christ has been give a new nature, a new heart and a new spirit from God. It is the nature of Jesus, the heart of the Father and the Holy Spirit. A Christian has been given a new heredity, an new spiritual DNA that is working the salvation of God into every fiber of our being. It is because Jesus lives IN YOU that your life can be transformed AND that the life and ministry of Jesus can be manifested through you in His power.

Satan will do all he can to try and befuddle us, to distract us so we seem to forget whose we are, He desperately wants us to forget that we ARE NOW son and daughters of God, empowered by the Holy Spirit to follow Jesus and bring the Kingdom of God to those still blinded by the enemy of their souls. (2 Corinthians 4:1-7)(Ephesians 4:17-31)

Our enemy does his dead-level worst to try to convince people to keep Jesus in the same "bag" the keep Santa Claus. If Jesus is seen for who He really is, people are rescued from the addiction of sin, their receive God's forgiveness for all their wrong-doing and the "old nature" that produced that life of "going your own way" is taken off by the Holy Spirit and by the Holy spirit we are clothed in a new nature, given as God's free gift of grace.

Jesus' power and authority are infinite. Satan's power is merely finite...not weak, but finite. The One who has made His home in us is infinitely greater that our spiritual adversary. We do not need to fear. We need to be vigilant, aware and refuse to allow "wooly-thinking" about the life we have been given to live.

There is no other name given by God on this earth by which a person can be saved, rescued, made a new creation EXCEPT the Name of Jesus Christ. There is salvation in NO OTHER! God has made it simple. He  has done the work so we can receive His grace and mercy. It doesn't matter what culture or ethnic group you are from. There is no caste restriction, no ethnic necessity, no educational requirement, no code of ethics to master in order to be made acceptable to God. By His death and resurrection, Jesus has taken away the sin of the whole world. It is only through Him that humanity can be restored to Life in God...which is what God created us to know. That is why Jesus' Name is so dangerous!

One of the teenagers in our parish asked me a question the other day. She had to interview a person and get their ideas on what they would do if they knew they had four days to live. I thought...and I wrote. Here is what came out:

Dear Elizabeth,

If I knew that I had four days to live, I think this is what I would do.

I would tell my beloved bride that we had 4 days to do some crucial things and that I wanted her at my side the whole time. I would bless her and pray over her giving her all I could give her of God's grace. I would tell her all the reasons for loving her and would try and encourage her not to let grief rob her of the life that she would still before her in Jesus. I would encourage her to use every gift God had given her to touch as many lives with His power and love as she could. I would tell her to draw grace from Jesus through friends and family and to refuse to succumb to despair.

I would bring my son, John-Mark, home immediately from Seattle, WA and would hold him and tell him how much I love him. I would show him where important things were, give to him all the special things I have been saving for him and we would play cribbage and talk. I would tell him of my confidence in the One who has rescued me and was calling me home in 4 days, I would tell him that life without Jesus being the center, source and substance of a man is not life...it is barely existing. I would pray over him my fill blessing as his father and would plead with him to accept the love, mercy and forgiveness that God has for him. I would plead with him to let the Holy Spirit, who is dwelling in him, have His way so life could unfold before him as the adventure God intends it to be

I would gather all the kids I work with at Starbucks and tell them that I was leaving and that because they all know I am a follower of Jesus Christ, I needed to communicate to them the reason for my hope. I would say, "I know that some of you may not care about what I believe, but I do believe you care about me. I love you and would not be your friend if I did not share clearly with you about where I will be going in 4 days and who I will be received by when I get Home".

I would gather the whole congregation of Christ Church together for a feast, a celebration of our life together thus far and share my heart and love for them. I would pray over each one, laying my hands on them and blessing them with whatever the Lord laid on my heart to say. We would feast and laugh and weep together.

We would call our dearest friends, Philip & Claudia Jones, Paul & Carol Wolff and all the folks who have gone with me to Russia, let them know so they could be here for the feast is they could. I would call all our families and invite them to come as well. I would pray over family and friends as well and speak the Lord's blessing. I would give God thanks in the midst of my people.

I would send out one final message on Facebook to call everyone to think deeply and to take a hard look at their lives and to consider how much God loves them and what He has done for them in Jesus Christ. I would ask them to re-read my postings over the years and to let Jesus begin His rule in them so they might be fully alive.

I would give instructions as to how the Church was to celebrate my going Home, what songs to sing, etc. I would make sure that MINIMAL expense would be made to dispose of my "old house". I will not have my family be harmed financially through someone playing on their sorrow to make money for a funeral home.

I would have a cigar and a Scotch with my two near-neighbor guys and tell them one more time about Jesus love for them and that it actually IS all real and that I want to see them there when time comes to an end. I have shared with them before, but this sharing would be a pointed one.

I would take some time alone giving God thanks, offloading anything that burdened my soul and just giving Him thanks for rescuing me, living His Life in me, being my Lord and my very salvation. I would thank Him for making me ready to say goodbye to this life so as to enter Life in all its fullness.

I would spend a morning telling as many people as I could at my Starbucks that I was going away and to plead with them to let the mercy of God embrace them. I would thank them for letting me share my life with them.

I would call each dear friend in Russia to let them know I was going Home, to encourage them to keep seeking the Lord, to keep ministering to the children in the camps and orphanages and to know that one day I would see them again. I would tell them how I love them and how much their lives had touched and changed mine. I would tell Victor he needed to let Jesus be his Lord and to let the grace of God fill him, Dena and Irina. I would thank him for his friendship and the fellowship we shared for 16 year of work with the kids in his camp.

Then, with my wife, son and whoever else wanted to be with us I would wait till I could see them no more and my eyes opened upon Heaven and the fullness of life as Jesus welcomed me home.

I guess that's what I'd do. It makes me realize I should get finished as much of this as I can now, since I don’t know when that fourth day may arrive.

Peace,

Fr. Mark+