The Internet Monk Archives

The Cruelest Month

Yesterday, the wind blew strong from the west, colder and more piercing as the day went by. The sky was a wild migration of stampeding clouds, many dark as slate and angry. Leaves blew everywhere. Color is thinning and soon the treetops will be as bare as an old man’s pate. All will be brown, gray, and chill. Darkness is falling.

This is November.

Here is something I wrote about the final stages of the year’s falling a few years ago.

• • •

the cruelest month…

t. s. eliot was wrong—it is not april, but november.

it is november that sucks the color out of the world.

it is november that brutally strips the brilliant textured sweater off the tree and leaves it naked, shivering against the gray, cold wind.

it is november, when sky becomes steel, earth becomes stone, grass a wire brush, breath fog, each day a more rapidly drawn shade.

it is november, when time changes, and daytime suddenly drops into darkness before our supper is prepared.

it is november, when baseball ends, gloves are oiled, grass is covered, and stadiums sit silent and empty, too bleak even for ghosts to want to have a catch.

it is november, when the porch is stripped of furniture, the hose and bird bath put up lest they crack, the gutters emptied of fallen sky, a stretch of street with yards forsaken like the dormitory hall at lights out.

it is november, all gray and brown.

it is november, hangover after the harvest party, period of mourning after autumn’s exquisite expiration.

it is november, the time between—between the joy of ingathering and the wonder of incarnation—when darkness gathers, unwilling yet to be dispelled.

the month, of course, has its joys but they are humble — smell of wood smoke rising, tears for the young gone off to war, college football’s rivalry games and the beginning of basketball, a homely and heartwarming feast of thanksgiving, the quiet inauguration of advent and a new year to live within god’s story.

three of the most wonderful women in my life have birthdays in november—my mother, my wife, and my oldest daughter. this november will mark the final season of watching my children play on sporting fields, as my oldest son completes his college football career. life will move more and more inside closed walls. we’ll begin rehearsing our annual worries about how to keep the heating bill down and what we’re going to do for the holidays.

the shivering begins.

november is the cruelest month. between time, gray and brown, it sucks the color out of the world.

Yea, I have looked, and seen November there;
The changeless seal of change it seemed to be,
Fair death of things that, living once, were fair;
Bright sign of loneliness too great for me,
Strange image of the dread eternity,
In whose void patience how can these have part,
These outstretched feverish hands, this restless heart?

• William Morris, “November“

Real Presence?

Comments now closed.

My apologies to those who hold the following view. I don’t think your voice was fairly represented in our discussion earlier this week on the Lord’s Supper. I hope you were not offended, and that you will continue to participate in our ongoing conversation about this matter.

Because I think your perspective is so important, I will give you a post all your own.

Grace and peace.

Continue reading “Real Presence?”

What Is This Parable About?

talents — Parable of the Talents, Matthaeus Merian the Elder

On Monday, my pastor asked if I would like to preach this coming Sunday. I accepted his kind invitation, and have been thinking about the day’s Gospel text ever since.

Would you be willing to help me in my preparation?

If so, I’ll give you some information here, and then you can join in the discussion, contributing your insights on this passage of Scripture.

• • •

Our text is commonly referred to as Jesus’ “Parable of the Talents” (Matt. 25:14-30).

As we prepare to talk about this text, let’s first put the parable in its context:

This parable is found in the fifth and final discourse attributed to Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel. Matthew organizes the teachings of Jesus into five sermons (ch. 5-7, 10, 13, 18, 23-25). The Gospel’s conclusion commands the church to make disciples, teaching them to obey everything Jesus taught. These five discourses summarize those teachings and provide an organized “catechism” by which Jesus’ followers can fulfill his great commission.

The final discourse is made up of teachings that involve “the end of the age” (24:3). The first part (ch. 23) is Jesus’ final word of judgment to the Jewish religious leaders and his lament over their failure to welcome Israel’s king. The second part (ch. 24) is usually called, “The Olivet Discourse.” It is Jesus’ message about “the end,” the destruction of the Temple, and “the coming of the Son of Man.” The third and final section (ch. 25) is composed of three parables: (1) The wise and foolish bridesmaids, (2) The master and slaves (the talents), and (3) the sheep and goats.

Continue reading “What Is This Parable About?”

N.T. Wright’s “The Kingdom New Testament”

Tom Wright has now given us a fresh translation of the New Testament: The Kingdom New Testament: A Contemporary Translation.

In the preface, Wright explains that this is a translation, not a paraphrase. However, he also explains that, since “Greek often goes quite easily into English, but not always,” translators must make decisions about how to present things in the receptor language.

With regard to “little words” like “for” (Gk., gar), Wright says that we don’t always use connecting words like this in English because it makes our communication sound formal and stilted, especially if we repeat it as often as Paul did. So, he explains some of the alternate ways he provides connections between clauses in his translation. I find this to be a weakness in many contemporary English translations. Often the connecting words are simply left out, leaving one to wonder about how one phrase, clause, or sentence relates to another. Wright, on the other hand, seems committed to making those relationships clear.

Then there are “big words,” such as “righteousness.” This is an important word (which has caused much controversy) for Wright in his NT studies. “We want a word that can pack ‘justice,’ ‘covenant faithfulness,’ and ‘right standing or relationship’ all into the same hold, and can set off, with this cargo safely on board, to sail around the world,” he writes. This sentence is significant for those familiar with Wright and the “justification” debate, because it shows that he does not eliminate the “old perspective” while advancing a so-called “new perspective” on this subject. Since there is no one word in English which conveys all those meanings simultaneously, he uses different words in different contexts to bring out the nuances in each case. You can see this in some of the sample passages below.

Similarly, he sometimes renders “Christ” in the traditional way, but at other times he uses “Messiah” or “King.”

N.T. Wright believes each generation should be about the task of Bible translation, for each new generation must go to God’s Word for itself, while continuing to learn from those who have gone before us.

This particular translation arose from Wright’s “everyone” commentaries, and he says plainly at the outset, “I have taken a particular view on point after point of interpretation, and my understanding of the many controversial passages in the New Testament shows up, naturally enough, in the translation as well.”

Here are a few samples of passages from the various NT authors, as rendered in The Kingdom NT:

The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-10)
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the hillside and sat down. His disciples came to him. He took a deep breath and began his teaching:

“Blessings on the poor in spirit! The kingdom of heaven is yours.
“Blessings on the mourners! You’re going to be comforted.
“Blessings on the meek! You’re going to inherit the earth.
“Blessings on people who hunger and thirst for God’s justice! You’re going to be satisfied.
“Blessings on the merciful! You’ll receive mercy yourselves.
“Blessings on the pure in heart! You will see God.
“Blessings on the peacemakers! You’ll be called God’s children.
“Blessings on people who are persecuted because of God’s way! The kingdom of heaven belongs to you.”

John 3:14-17
So, just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, in the same way the son of man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may share in the life of God’s new age. This, you see, is how much God loved the world: enough to give his only, special son, so that everyone who believes in him should not be lost but should share in the life of God’s new age. After all, God didn’t send the son into the world to condemn the world, but so that the world could be saved by him.

Acts 2:42-47
They all gave full attention to the teaching of the apostles and to the common life, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Great awe fell on everyone, and many remarkable deeds and signs were performed by the apostles.

All of those who believed came together, and held everything in common. They sold their possessions and belongings and divided them up to everyone in proportion to their various needs. Day by day they were all together attending the Temple. They broke bread in their various houses, and ate their food with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and standing in favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being rescued.

Romans 3:21-26
But now, quite apart from the law (though the law and the prophets bore witness to it), God’s covenant justice has been displayed. God’s covenant justice comes into operation through the faithfulness of Jesus the Messiah, for the benefit of all who have faith. For there is no distinction: all sinned, and fell short of God’s glory — and by God’s grace they are freely declared to be in the right, to be members of the covenant, through the redemption which is found in the Messiah, Jesus.

God put Jesus forth as the place of mercy, through faithfulness, by means of his blood. He did this to demonstrate his covenant justice, because of the passing over (in divine forbearance) of sins committed beforehand. This was to demonstrate his covenant justice in the present time: that is, that he himself is in the right, and that he declares to be in the right everyone who trusts in the faithfulness of Jesus.

Ephesians 2:8-10
How has all this come about? You have been saved by grace, through faith! This doesn’t happen on your own initiative; it’s God’s gift. It isn’t on the basis of works, so no one is able to boast. This is the explanation: God has made us what we are. God has created us in King Jesus for the good works that he prepared, ahead of time, as the road we must travel.

1Peter 2:11-12
My beloved ones, I beg you — strangers and resident aliens as you are — to hold back from the fleshly desires that wage war against your true lives. Keep up good conduct among the pagans, so that when they speak against you as evildoers they will observe your good deeds and praise God on the day of his royal arrival.

• • •

I’m sure that I will be consulting N.T. Wright’s translation often (as I do his commentaries) in my own study of the New Testament.

Creation Wars Update

Chagall creation l'homme 2 — La Creation de L'Homme II, Chagall

Today, your faithful iMonk correspondent reports from the front lines of the “Creation Wars” about recent articles on issues related to science and Biblical interpretation.

Duck and cover.

• • •

1. October saw Peter Enns move his blog to the Patheos evangelical portal. Enns dived right in and wrote about the ongoing debate on the Bible and evolution, with five posts analyzing Al Mohler’s positions on Young Earth Creationism.

If you would like to listen to Al Mohler’s side, here is the link to his appearance on NPR’s “Talk of the Nation.” He sat down along with Barbara Bradley Hagerty, NPR’s religion correspondent, and Daniel Harlow, religion professor from Calvin College, and discussed the ongoing debate in the Christian community.

Why does Enns devote five articles to responding to Mohler?

My aim is not to cross swords with Mohler, put him in his place, go after him, score points, misrepresent, or any of the other types of tactics that tend to be employed when people disagree on the internet.

Those tactics are both tedious and sub-Christian, and I continue to be amazed at how easily theological watchdogs fail to watch their own theologies by their belligerent denunciations and mockeries of those who don’t interpret the Bible the way they do, thinking the Gospel is at stake at every turn.

Having said that, let me state clearly that I believe Mohler is dead wrong at virtually every turn in how he approaches the difficult subject of biblical Christianity and evolution. I also believe he is free to think as he choses and live with the consequences, and I am not writing to convince him otherwise.

I am writing, rather, for the sake of those who are living with the consequences of what Mohler says they must believe–those who feel trapped in Mohler’s either/or rhetoric, that to question a literal interpretation of Scripture concerning creation puts one on the path to apostasy.

Driven by his precommitment to biblical literalism, Mohler leaves his audience with an impossible false choice between a Christian faith that must remain in intellectual isolation in order to survive and an intellectual life that has no place for Christian faith.

Mohler’s rhetoric is spiritually harmful because it is intellectually untenable.

So, in the posts that follow, I will aim to express very clearly why Mohler’s views are simply unsupportable once one steps outside of the intellectual categories Mohler presumes are closed to discussion.

More importantly, I hope to give to the spiritually distressed some confidence to reject the intellectual demands Mohler makes of them.

Chagall creation l'homme 1 — La Creation de L'Homme I

• • •

2. On October 18, Karl Giberson and Randall Stephens had an editorial in the New York Times called, “The Evangelical Rejection of Reason.” The argument is essentially an abstract of their new book, The Anointed: Evangelical Truth in a Secular Age. Some people find Giberson abrasive. I agree that he is direct and at times not as nuanced as he could be, but overall I find his positions reasonable and important.

Beginning with references to what they see as a climate of “anti-intellectualism” in the Republican presidential field, Giberson and Stephens write, “But evangelical Christianity need not be defined by the simplistic theology, cultural isolationism and stubborn anti-intellectualism that most of the Republican candidates have embraced.”

As an alternative, they assert: “Evangelicalism at its best seeks a biblically grounded expression of Christianity that is intellectually engaged, humble and forward-looking. In contrast, fundamentalism is literalistic, overconfident and reactionary.”

They go on to build their case against the “parallel culture” evangelicalism has created by focusing on three representative evangelical personalities: Ken Ham, David Barton and James C. Dobson. In contrast to these charismatic popular leaders, they point us to men they consider more intellectually responsible: historian Mark Noll of Notre Dame, and Dr. Francis Collins.

Giberson wrote a follow-up piece in The Huffington Post called, “Why Christians Need a Secular World.”

As one might expect, Al Mohler was not impressed with Giberson and Stephens’ arguments. He responded with, “Total Capitulation: The Evangelical Surrender of Truth.”

Let’s Discuss…Open or Closed Communion?

Comments now closed.

One of the differences between Christian groups with respect to the Lord’s Supper involves who is invited to participate in the meal.

I have experienced many different practices in this regard.

I have attended churches in which communion is completely open. “Everyone in this room is welcome to the Lord’s Table,” is the invitation. Of course, those in the room are those who have been participating in a service in which the living God has been praised, confession of sins made, the Gospel heard, and the Creed confessed.

More commonly, communion is offered to believers, defined as “those who have placed their faith in Christ,” or “accepted Christ as their personal Savior.” The qualification is that one has had a conversion experience. Those who have not are invited to reflect on the meaning portrayed through the elements, and sometimes an invitation is given for them to trust Christ as well.

In many traditions, it is baptized Christians who are invited to partake. Baptism is the sign that one is part of God’s family and has entered the community that shares at the Table. In some cases it is required that the baptism should have occurred within that particular church or tradition.

Roman Catholicism and other traditions require that one be a member of that particular church in order to share in the elements of the Supper. A variant of this approach is that a denomination may have agreement with others that their members can take communion in one another’s churches.

In addition, in the Catholic church and in other congregations there may be spiritual guidelines for Christians receiving the elements, such as having been to confession, being in a state of grace, holding to a proper view of what communion means, and not being under church discipline. In free churches, the appeal may be from a passage like 1Cor. 11, where Paul calls those celebrating the feast to “examine themselves.” This is often presented that those coming to the Lord’s Table should be in a state of good fellowship with God and not having unconfessed sin in one’s life.

I would like to have a discussion about open and closed communion today.

Please share your experience, perspectives, and feelings about the way Christians practice this important part of worship. Let us know how Communion (Eucharist, the Lord’s Supper, the Lord’s Table, whatever you call it) is practiced in your tradition and congregation.

The Genius of an Art Full of Spiritual Vitality

Monday Merton Musings, Nov 7, 2011
The Genius of an Art Full of Spiritual Vitality

All quotes are from The Seven Storey Mountain, by Thomas Merton

One turning point in Thomas Merton’s life came at age 18, when he visited Rome. In The Seven Storey Mountain, he tells how he began touring churches throughout the city. He was not attending services, but found himself attracted by the art in the churches. It began speaking to him and awakening an interest in Christ.

His words are eloquent testimony to the power of beauty to point people toward the sacred.

Mosaic in St. Cosmas and Damian, Rome

Things were going on as they usually did with me. But after about a week — I don’t know how it began — I found myself looking into churches rather than into ruined temples. Perhaps it was the frescoes on the wall of an old chapel — ruined too — at the foot of Palatine, at the edge of the Forum, that first aroused my interest in another and far different Rome. From there it was an easy step to Sts. Cosmas and Damian, across the Forum, with a great mosaic, in the apse, of Christ coming in judgement in a dark blue sky, with a suggestion of fire in the small clouds beneath His feet. The effect of this discovery was tremendous. After all the vapid, boring, semi-pornographic statuary of the Empire, what a thing it was to come upon the genius of an art full of spiritual vitality and earnestness and power — an art that was tremendously serious and alive and eloquent and urgent in all that it had to say. And it was without pretentiousness, without fakery, and had nothing theatrical about it. Its solemnity was made all the more astounding by its simplicity — and by the obscurity of the places where it lay hid, and by its subservience to higher ends, architectural, liturgical and spiritual ends which I could not even begin to understand, but which I could not avoid guessing, since the nature of the mosaics themselves and their position and everything about them proclaimed it aloud.

I was fascinated by these Byzantine mosaics. I began to haunt the churches where they were to be found, and, as an indirect consequence, all the other churches that were more or less of the same period. And thus without knowing anything about it I became a pilgrim….

And now for the first time in my life I began to find out something of Who this Person was that men called Christ. It was obscure, but it was a true knowledge of Him, in some sense, truer than I knew and truer than I would admit. But it was in Rome that my conception of Christ was formed. It was there that I first found Him, Whom I now serve as my God and my King, and Who owns and rules my life.

As a result of what he was seeing, Merton bought a Latin Vulgate Bible and began reading the New Testament. “…I read more and more of the Gospels and my love for the old churches and their mosaics grew from day to day. Soon I was no longer visiting them merely for the art. There was something else that attracted me: a kind of interior peace. I loved to be in these holy places. I had a kind of deep and strong conviction that I belonged there: that my rational nature was filled with profound desires and needs that could only find satisfaction in churches of God.”

At the climactic point of Merton’s awakening spiritual interest during that visit to Rome, the young man walked into the Dominican church of Santa Sabina, anointed himself with holy water, walked forward to the altar rail, knelt and prayed the Lord’s Prayer.

A significant step in Thomas Merton’s journey of faith had been prompted by “the genius of an art full of spiritual vitality.”

Let the Saints Teach Us to Be Children

Today is the day many Christian traditions celebrate All Saints’ Day (some celebrated earlier last week). On the first page of our church bulletin this morning were these words:

“All Saints celebrates the baptized people of God, living and dead, who are the body of Christ. As November heralds the dying of the landscape in many northern regions, the readings and liturgy call us to remember all who have died in Christ and whose baptism is complete. At the Lord’s table we gather with the faithful of every time and place, trusting that the promises of God will be fulfilled and that all tears will be wiped away in the new Jerusalem.”

So, on this day we remember all the faithful departed, giving thanks for their memory and drawing strength from their example and our ongoing communion with them.

In the Lutheran tradition, we speak of three specific honors that we should give to the saints who have gone before us.

The first is thanksgiving. We thank God for the gifts he gave those who have gone before us, and we thank God that they have been gifts to us and to the world.

The second is allowing our faith to be strengthened by them. When we remember our loved ones, we know they were not perfect people. Like us and like all people, they were weak and needy. Yet God helped them, forgave them, strengthened them, and used them to bless others. We draw strength in knowing that God can do the same in our lives.

The third honor we give to the saints is that of imitation. We remember the good qualities of our grandparents, fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, children, and friends. We recall their faith, their kindness, their laughter, their love. We urge ourselves to learn from their lives, to follow their example, to live so that people will remember and want to imitate the example of our lives as well.

If we understand this day correctly, we will not look at those who have gone before us as superhuman or bigger than life, and thus aspire to be something more than the flawed human beings we are. Instead, we will take the lesson Henri Nouwen learned from an experience that caused him to reflect on the childlike dependence that should characterize each step of our earthly journey.

Continue reading “Let the Saints Teach Us to Be Children”

Close to the Fire

Gethsemani Journal 2011 (5)
Here is the fifth and final installment of my journal from a five-day personal retreat at Gethsemani Abbey.

• • •

Friday, October 14

Martin Luther shows up in the most unexpected places.

I arose at 5 am, showered, packed my bags and took them to the car. I attended Lauds and Mass. Many of the readings this week have been from Romans, and the priest who presided at Mass this morning preached from the Epistle, focusing primarily on the day’s reading from chapter four.

One of the last things I thought I would hear during these days at a Roman Catholic monastery was a sermon on justification, faith and works, the Reformation and Martin Luther (in a positive light), and the supremacy of the grace of God. Yet that was precisely the Word of God proclaimed this morning.

I liked the way this priest burrowed down to the ultimate issue. He asked, “Are we justified by faith or by works?” He answered, “Neither and both.”

In the end, the priest proclaimed, we are justified by GRACE — “God justifies the ungodly” — and neither our faith nor our works is the ultimate issue. It is God’s fidelity (faith, faithfulness) and Christ’s works that bring our justification to pass. God’s faith and works are what matter in the end.

As Paul says in his constant, ringing refrain in Ephesians: “all to the praise of his glorious grace!”

Continue reading “Close to the Fire”

Walking through Rain and Desert

Gethsemani Journal 2011 (4)
Part four of my journal from five days of quiet at Gethsemani Abbey.

Thursday, October 14

Perfect! I had hoped for at least one rainy day while I was here so that I could go walking in the gray stillness.

Yesterday, I had three brief conversations, the only ones I’ve had this week. The first came while I was walking along a trail, with a young man who made a comment about my Cubs t-shirt (this is my lifelong penance). Of course, we talked about baseball. He wondered how the Tigers were doing in the playoffs. I told him what I knew. The Tigers? The end is most certainly nigh.

The second conversation was a brief one with the man who minds the desk in the reception area. I asked him if he would show me some things on the aerial picture of the property, so that I could see where best to go walking.

Finally, as I was wandering about the vistor’s garden taking pictures of the magnificent sycamore tree, one of the monks came riding up on a golf cart, likewise carrying a camera. He introduced himself and we talked about photography for a few moments. He asked about what kind of camera I had. When I told him, he recognized the model. then I said something stupid about how I was just making due until I could get an SLR. To a monk I said this.

I can be such an idiot sometimes.
Continue reading “Walking through Rain and Desert”