What is the baseline of knowledge for a Christian? Martin Luther referred to three components as "the minimum of knowledge required of a Christian" (Large Catechism). Just as a craftsman knows the fundamentals of his craft, every Christian ought to know: The Creed The Ten Commandments The Lord's Prayer And not simply to recite them, but practice and grow in them. Meditate, pray, live, explore their implications, institute them in daily life. The Creed ("I believe") states who God is and what he does. The Ten Commandments are God's intended picture of what it means to live a human life. The Lord's Prayer is how we are to relate and communicate with the living God through all of life's challenges. Two factors of modern society make these three baseline components evermore important. 1.) We live in a complex society. Therefore simplicity provides a focus that cuts through the overwhelming volumes of information that exist. 2.) We live in an increasingly post-Christian society. So the basic tenets of Christianity take on greater significance. When "everyone went to church," the creed was less provocative. As fewer people speak the creed, it grows more profound. Luther recommended weekly examinations on these three components. Tell me how that goes in your home. Even if you don't quiz yourself or your family, his point was to never believe that you've mastered the basics. The basics are a depth to be mined for a lfietime. A well with no bottom. We are always living with what we believe (creed), how to live (commandments), and how to call on God through the trials of life (Lord's Prayer). Luther noted, "These have been the heritage of Christendom from ancient times . . . so that all who wish to be Christians in fact as well as in name, both young and old, may be well trained in them." At my church, we begin a series on the Ten Commandments on April 19th. "Set Free to Live Free."
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This is Holy Week. Each day, a reflection from an "old dead guy" - a church father. For Tuesday, here is Augustine (354-430AD).
You carry the cross of Christ on your forehead. The mark stamped on you teaches you what you should profess. He was hanging on the cross, which you carry on your forehead. Do not delight in the sign of the wood but in the sign of the one hanging on it. When he was hanging on the cross, he was looking around at the people raving against him, putting up with their insults and praying for his enemies. While they were killing him, the doctor was curing the sick with his blood. He said, "Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing." These words were not futile or without effect. Later, thousands of those people believed in the one they murdered, so that they learned how to suffer for him who had suffered for them and at their hands. Brothers and sisters, we should understand this from the sign, from this stamp that Christians receive when they are baptized. From this, we should understand why we are Christians. Augustine This is Holy Week. We narrow our focus to the suffering of Jesus. For each day of this week, I'll provide reflections from "old dead guys" - church fathers. Meditate on their perspective of Jesus. Today, Marin Luther, 16th century reformer.
"On his soul lay the sins of the whole world. All the anguish and fear of all other human beings are, by comparison, much, much too slight, because the sins of the whole world are resting on Him alone. And He is to pay for them with His death, whereas everyone of us has only his or her own sin to deal with. Yes, human suffering is slight when compared with that of this Man: all the world's sins - committed from the time of the first human being, Adam, until Judgment Day - burden the back of this one Man." From a modern marketing perspective, Jesus' strategy would be considered unorthodox if not ineffective. In business today, you have to tailor your product to the consumer. Give them options. Make it easy to want what you're selling. By contrast, Jesus says, "Follow me," and proceeds to make the way difficult. Has he "sold" you on following him? He says, “Strive to enter through the narrow door.” (Luke 13:24.) The way is singular, without all the options and choices. Are you sold yet? I've been wrestling with Jesus' "narrow" statements in Luke's gospel. Here are four observations on the "narrow way" that actually inspire me to follow him. In December I had lunch with six college students. I wanted to hear what challenges they face and what hopes they have for the future. A common thread in each of their reflections was an intense burden to succeed. It’s no longer enough to have a diploma or even a high GPA. I’m sounding like an old man, but I feel like "things are harder for kids these days." I believe the Great Recession intensified an already hyper-competitive and status-seeking society. We are conditioned to strive after bigger and better. Positions of prestige. Jobs that are lucrative and well-compensated. Offices of honor. Places of admiration and influence. We live in a status-seeking society. If you're in a small group, an Advent Bible Study I wrote is now out from Creative Communications. It's a short four-session study. I get no kick backs from the sale of this product :). As a camp counselor in college, the trust walk was a staple of our repertoire. You demonstrate the nature of trust by blindfolding a camper and having one of their friends lead them around only by the sound of their voice. Of course, a 12-year-old loves this opportunity to wreak havoc on their fellow camper. Common thrills were leading someone up and down steps, crossing a log, or leading them through poison ivy. One camper led his friend Billy into a building. Billy wasn’t sure which one it was, but the echo sounded like the dining hall. He was blissfully ignorant until the shrieking of sixth grade girls alerted him to the fact he was in the female side of the bathhouse. Blindfolded, the trust walk requires that you listen. And listen carefully.
There are so many words in our world. We talk, text, and post. We’re always trying to get a word in. If we do listen, we hear a million different voices. What does it really mean to listen? And how do we listen to God? The fact that Jesus died by crucifixion was not exceptional. Many were executed by the Roman government in this fashion. For that matter, in the course of human history, many men and women have been tortured and killed in brutal ways. Could it be that, physically speaking, other men have suffered greater torment than Jesus? Yes. Think of a POW held captive and brutalized for years and not just one day. It's not the crucifixion that makes Jesus' suffering so extraordinary. It is that in his crucifixion he bore all humanity's sin and suffering. This is where his torture was singularly unique. This is why he sweat blood. This is why no man can ever identify with his suffering. In this Holy Week, consider an excerpt Martin Luther: On His soul lay the sins of the whole world. The death he had to suffer was a death caused by sin and imposed by the wrath of God. For since he had stepped into our place, had taken our sins upon himself, and had ventured to render satisfaction for them, he felt both at once, the sins of the whole world and then the death he had to suffer for the sake of these sins. How is your body broken? Count your scars, wounds, and imperfections. Injuries, glasses, bad back, twisted ankle, or allergies. Or maybe things are not as you want them: crooked teeth, braces, big nose, a little extra weight here and there, too short or too tall. Or maybe you're experiencing the decline associated with age: loss of strength and sharpness of thought, wrinkles, gray hair, hearing loss. Or maybe serious maladies like cancer, heart disease, or diabetes. Or maybe mental illness, depression, a bodily addiction. There are so many ways the body can be broken. The fact of the matter is that we all have broken bodies. What do we do with our broken bodies?
A promise is a present statement with a future commitment. “I’ll call you tomorrow” is a promise – a present statement with a future commitment. Or “I promise I’ll pay you back.” Even a lease or a cell phone contract is a promise. One of the greatest promises someone can make is to solidify love with a vow. This is the traditional wedding vow: “I, __________, in the presence of God and these witnesses, take you, __________, to be my wife/husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until death parts us, and I pledge you my faithfulness.” |
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