A Prayer Of Intercession: Innocent Victims

Fr. Dale Matson

Lord, watch over the victims who perished at the hands of others. Deliver them from earthly care and distress. May they enjoy eternal felicity in Your presence.

Lord, intend for good the actions intended for evil. Restrain those who would seek to profit from the pain of others. Restrain others who would be attracted to form their own script for evil. May they not view violence toward others as justice or a balm for their own suffering.

Lord comfort and console the survivors. Let them heal from the trauma of the events that have harmed their sense of security and trust. May they be surrounded by love and human warmth. May any physical wounds heal quickly. Let compassion abound and may they laugh and experience joy once again. May each passing day diminish their grief and soften the pain of their memories. May they not experience false guilt for surviving when other did not survive.

Lord help those who are relatives of the victims put their world back together. Let them eventually see some purpose, realize a greater meaning. Do not let hate and anger replace hope and faith in what is left of their lives. Let them only remember the good in those they have lost. Let them cherish and share what memories they have. May they find thankfulness for the time they did share with those who were taken from them. Please help them transcend a terrible grief and seemingly endless nightmare.

Lord help the community come together and recommit to caring for and supporting one another. Let other communities that have suffered as well, reach out and offer their knowing compassion. Let them offer ways to cope.

Lord let us who have suffered from afar not look away from what has happened. Let us see this as our family also. Help us to not defend ourselves with denial, insulate ourselves in our homes, and drug ourselves with distractions. Help us to examine our own lives and private thoughts. Convict us when we fail to care. Let us better understand the toxicity and contagion of violence.  Help us to continue to love and trust others. Let the lessons of this violence yield honesty and humility, not cynicism. May our prayers ascend for peace, mercy and forgiveness.

Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy amen.   

Knock On Wood: Avatar

Fr. Dale Matson

There is probably no one reading this posting that hasn't used the expression, “Knock on wood” after making a statement about their good health, financial well-being or any string of positive experiences. It is intended to mean that one is not taking things for granted and things could still ‘go south’ at any time.

The derivation of the expression possibly came from an account in the life of St. Boniface who was an Anglo-Saxon apostle to Germany in the 700’s. The Germans were essentially pagan and believed that spirits inhabited trees. “Now at that time many of the Hessians, brought under the Catholic faith and confirmed by the grave of the seven-fold spirit, received the laying on of hands; others indeed, not yet strengthened in soul, refused to accept in their entirely the lessons of the inviolate faith. Moreover some were wont secretly, some openly to sacrifice to trees and springs; some in secret, others openly practiced inspections of victims and divinations, legerdemain and incantations; some turned their attention to auguries and auspices and various sacrificial rites.”  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donar_Oak

Much to the dismay of the local pagans St. Boniface began cutting down their holy tree. A mighty wind came up to finish the felling of the tree. This tree and others were linked to a world tree (Yggdrasil). Seeing the tree felled with no retribution visited upon St. Boniface by the resident spirits, the pagans became Christians. Boniface later "Christianized" the tree by having it made into a small chapel dedicated to St. Peter.

St. Boniface was eventually martyred in 754. His feast day is celebrated by Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Eastern Orthodox and Anglicans on June 5^th.

   

So, what does this story have to do with the movie “Avatar” (2009)? Avatar is really a modern story of paganism (neo-paganism) with an incarnational protagonist named Jake Sully. Jake reminds me of the character Neo in “The Matrix” and Luke Skywalker in “Star Wars” etc., etc., etc. It also reminds me of a Star Trek episode, “The Way To Eden”. In fact it reminds me of so many stories, that it is what could called "Sampling" if the movie was music.

In Avatar, Jake Sully is initially an invader and eventually a savior of the residents of Pandora (an Eden- like planet). The Na’vi. are a peace loving, Eywa “All Mother” worshiping culture who live in harmony with their environment. “Hometree is an important gathering place for the Na’vi but an impediment to human exploitation of the minerals beneath it. (Think of Donar Oak here). It is eventually destroyed. The “Tree of Souls” (Think of Yggdrasil here or pagan spirit) is successfully defended because Jake prays to Eywa as an intercessor for the Na’vi and the rapacious humans are expelled from Pandora forever.

“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom:  preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.  For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,  and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:1-5)

Second week in Advent.     

Feminism And The Church

Fr. Dale Matson

And Mary said, “My soul doth magnify the Lord: and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. For he hath regarded: the lowliness of his handmaiden. For behold, from henceforth: all generations shall call me blessed.” (Luke 1:46-48 KJV)

“Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

"Women have compelled their legislators in every state in this Union to so modify their statutes for women that the old common law is now almost a dead letter. Why not compel Bishops and Revising Committees to modify their creeds and dogmas? Stanton, Elizabeth Cady (2012-05-17). The Woman's Bible (p. 13).  Kindle Edition. Again there are some who write us that our work is a useless expenditure of force over a book that has lost its hold on the human mind. Most intelligent women, they say, regard it simply as the history of a rude people in a barbarous age, and have no more reverence for the Scriptures than any other work. So long as tens of thousands of Bibles are printed every year, and circulated over the whole habitable globe, and the masses in all English-speaking nations revere it as the word of God, it is vain to belittle its influence. The sentimental feelings we all have for those things we were educated to believe sacred, do not readily yield to pure reason." Stanton, Elizabeth Cady (2012-05-17). The Woman's Bible (p. 14).  Kindle Edition. The Woman’s Bible is actually a commentary on selected verses of Scripture.

I believe feminists (even those who actually believe the creation account as a real event) have taken Eve as their role model for women to their own detriment. Their goal has been to get even (equal with men).

“Mary's surrender destroyed the illusion of power embodied in another woman who had refused to be handmaid, and who instead had reached for control and clarity. In the primordial garden a Serpent's fateful words had rung out. "Eat of this tree and you will be gods," the devil had quietly urged, hiding the intensity of his excitement as the first woman toyed with the idea of "forbidden" knowledge and power. Eve grew suddenly suspicious that God might be withholding some tantalizing special something to which she might have a right. She grasped the tempting promise, only to rupture the fabric of God's eternal giftedness in self-giving love poured into creation.

In Mary--the Woman--the Church learns that every act of grasping, control, pride, and ambition distorts the feminine Body which is the Church. These principles anchor our turbulent emotions when wrestling with what are perhaps inaccurately called "feminist" issues in the Church. There are women of our own century who symbolize in their own feminine self-donation the essential Marian image of the Church: among them Mother Teresa, the angel of Calcutta and visible sign of the healing Christ to people of every religion and no religion, and Mother Thecla, co-foundress of the Daughters of St. Paul and, in her life, always in the forefront of evangelization, communicating the word, the essence and the heart of the Church. Amidst the clamoring of labels, insults, speculation, politicizing, and arguments that burden the simplicity of faith today, they are women who embody Marian faith that is handmaid and womb.” (Sr. Kathryn)      http://www.its.caltech.edu/~nmcenter/women-cp/art2.html.

I am not here to argue against the feminist assertion that Adam and Eve were created by God as equals. In fact, some feminists use Scripture to argue for the superiority of women over men. “Phyllis Trible, Professor of Sacred Literature at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, for example, holds that far from being a secondary or dependent being, Eve is in fact the ‘culmination’ of creation.” http://witcombe.sbc.edu/eve-women/3eveidentity.html.

Feminism is part of the new gospel of the Episcopal Church included in the justice of equality and inclusion. The highest regard for Elizabeth Cady Stanton is evidenced by her inclusion in the “Lesser Feast and Fasts” (Now called “Holy Women, Holy Men”) She is viewed as a “Saint” by the Episcopal Church (TEC) yet listed under “Atheist Feminism” in Wikipedia and elsewhere. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheist_feminism#Elizabeth_Cady_Stanton_and_Matilda_Joslyn_Gage.

Since when does a feminist who is an atheist, deserve inclusion in the list of Saints?

Am I being unfair to feminists? What about those who refer to themselves as Christian feminists?

“Christian feminism is an aspect of feminist theology which seeks to advance and understand the equality of men and women morally, socially, spiritually, and in leadership from a Christian perspective. Christian feminists argue that contributions by women in that direction are necessary for a complete understanding of Christianity. Christian feminists believe that God does not discriminate on the basis of biologically-determined characteristics such as sex and race. Their major issues include the ordination of women, male dominance in Christian marriage, recognition of equal spiritual and moral abilities, reproductive rights, and the search for a feminine or gender-transcendent divine. Christian feminists often draw on the teachings of other religions and ideologies in addition to biblical evidence.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_feminism.

With this lens, how will feminists offer a second commentary on Scripture or even a new translation?

     

The Error Of Human Flourishing As Missiology

Fr. Dale Matson

By mission I mean two things.  First, it is the conscious engagement of churches at local, diocesan, provincial, national and global levels with the challenges and issues that diminish flourishing in the human race. Secondly, mission means taking the Gospel of Jesus Christ across that bridge, so that not only are we seen to be nice people doing nice things (there is a certain amount of British irony about that)  but, with the good wishes, good intentions and helpful hands, there is the love of Christ that constrains us, that drives us forward, and that, when allowed to reign and rule in our individual lives and in the lives of societies and communities, transforms structures and practices and permits human flourishing. (Excerpted from here: http://centeraisle.net/2012/07/09/from-todays-issue-the-answer-to-division-in-the-anglican-communion-is-mission/  July 2012 +Justin Welby)

Human Flourishing (Eudaimonia) is an ethical term used by Aristotle and others as the highest human good. Reading Dr. Welby’s article was my first exposure to the term. (For a thorough treatment of the concept, I have included the following link. http://new.stjohns.edu/media/3/6ca8afd50ee4459b9b74e2aef1c458a1.pdf

I have two concerns about human flourishing as I understand +Welby’s use of the term. First, I do not believe human flourishing is the end to which the mission work of the church should be directed. My second concern is that it embraces an unscriptural concept of human nature that perceives humans as basically good. I will get back to this after mentioning another high profile individual who also advocates this missiology.

The Millennium Development Goals seek to end the deep poverty that limits human flourishing. Achieving them would provide concrete examples of the abundant life Jesus insists is the reason he came among us – ‘I came that you might have life, and have it abundantly’ (John 10:10).”
+Katharine Jefferts Schori  https://www.ctepiscopal.org/Content/Funding.as

Is this why God came and dwelled among us? Is that the Gospel that we are to proclaim? I believe the abundant life for Christ is life in Him. That is what He refers to when He states, “ What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36) The Kingdom is not about comfort. It is about conformity to God’s will. Sanctification is not self-actualization, it is self-denial.

Human flourishing is not the end toward which the Gospel is directed. Human flourishing may be a byproduct but it is human focused and not God focused. By proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ, we are God’s messengers who help quicken to life those who are spiritually dead. “When you were dead in your sins and in the Uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins.” (Colossians 2:13) We are not ashamed of Christ and we proclaim Him as the only way and the only name whereby we are saved. We are not “Jesus followers”. We exist in Him and with Him and by Him.

Human flourishing embraces a false concept of the basic nature of humans. We are not all born basically good. This is humanist doctrine and popular amongst many social scientists like the late Abraham Maslow who believe humans are unfairly exploited by systems that dehumanize them and restrict their access to the abundant life. All we have to do is provide the basics of a quality life and they will choose what is right. The problem is that humans are born broken, contaminated with original sin and their natural direction is self-centered and self-destructive. Our behavior may be influenced by but is not contingent on our environment. Anchorite saints like Julian of Norwich lived an abundant life.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is our missiology. The Word of God is our means. The building of the Kingdom begins with the Cross not human flourishing.

           

            

The Church of England: Lessons for ACNA

Fr. Dale Matson

“For those pushing for women bishops in the Church of England, there is after all only one real theological argument. And it is that the office of priest and the office of bishop are fundamentally united, and that there should not be a class of people ordained to be priests who cannot be bishops:” Post on Stand Firm blog

I agree with this and believe it is the crux of the issue. Women priests are already a break from tradition and scripture. Once this is allowed, the measure is no longer scripture and tradition but consistency. The cloth begins to unravel.

“Archbishop Duncan has appointed the Rt. Rev. David Hicks, Bishop of the REC Diocese of the Northeast & Mid-Atlantic to lead a Theological Task Force on Holy Orders. The Task Force will lead the College of Bishops through a thorough study regarding the ordination of women to Holy Orders.” http://anglicanchurch.net/?/main/page/525

How the issue of the ordination of women to the priesthood is resolved in the ACNA may be their most important decision theologically. It is not a second order issue. A theologically sound decision must be made. One issue is an existing provision in the constitution and canons of the church.

1. “The Province shall make no canon abridging the authority of any member dioceses, clusters or networks (whether regional or affinity-based) and those dioceses banded together as jurisdictions with respect to its practice regarding the ordination of women to the diaconate or presbyterate (Constitution, Article VIII)

Does this mean that even if the ACNA decides as a church that women should not be ordained as priests, that the bishop in a diocese may still ordain them to serve in that diocese?

A great deal of ink has been devoted to the issue of reconciliation. What this really has come to mean is the reluctant acquiescence of one group to the incessant demands of another group. To what extent has the Anglican Church sought the counsel of the other two main Christian denominations; the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches? Even dialogue with our brothers and sisters in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) has them concerned about our foggy policies on the ordination of women in the ACNA.

What does it mean to be a part of the one holy catholic and apostolic church? I am simply weary from the empty arguments of relevance, context, and justice as inclusion. It finally comes down to God’s Gospel or a humanist gospel that claims inclusivity but has demonstrated only exclusivity.  The majority of those who voted in the CoE, voted in favor of women bishops in the Church of England. Did this mean that God’s will was thwarted? What about the majority of Christians in the world today? They accept only male priests and bishops. What about the tradition of the church universal?

The issue of women’s ordination will be researched by the ACNA task force, headed by +David Hicks. One comment that caught my eye: “...the first major conversation will be a study of hermeneutical issues, specifically looking at how the Church’s tradition and culture influence interpretation of Biblical texts.” I am concerned that there may be a tendency to portray early Christian culture as contextual and androcentric. Another concern is that in the context of our modern culture males are diminished by both male and female feminists with gynocentric perspectives.

One question the task force must address is whether their conclusion will lead to greater unity in the Christian church or it will be just one more, lengthy, politically correct, agenda driven document. I believe the ACNA has the opportunity to shape the future of World Wide Anglicanism through their decisions and ecumenical perspective.

+Justin Welby: Reconciliation or Irreconcilable Differences

Fr. Dale Matson

* Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. (Acts 20:28-31)

+Justin Welby has been selected as the new Archbishop of Canterbury. I am relieved that I will soon no longer be praying for ++Rowan Williams as ABC. It has been a long ten years.  I have some concerns regarding some of +Justin Welby’s statements. His central focus in his ministry is reconciliation. Reconciliation is one of the main goals of the church of Christ but like many words today, reconciliation has a contemporary meaning. The contemporary intent is not the reconciliation of sinners with God. The intent now is to resume a conversation between liberal and conservatives within the Anglican Communion. Conservatives are weary from years of listening to liberals that press forward a false gospel of inclusion as justice at the expense of leaving behind the transforming love of Jesus Christ that requires repentance and adherence to Scriptural and historical norms. This amendment of life is the response to God’s saving grace in Jesus Christ.

++Rowan Williams triggered suspicion early on with his professed willingness to respect the mind of the communion while openly disagreeing with it on GLBT inclusiveness. We are at a point in some provinces now where the mantra of “All the sacraments for all the baptized” has become a reality under the approving eye of ++Rowan Williams. +Justin Welby has already signaled a willingness to “listen” to the concerns of the GLBT community. Reconciliation for liberals really means willingness to compromise Scriptural standards. A willingness to listen really means collaboration and being co-opted.

As head of the Anglican Communion, +Welby should be considering true reconciliation. He could be considering reconciliation with the historical, holy catholic and apostolic church. He has already stated his advocacy for women bishops in the Church of England. His myopic view was shared by his predecessor ++Rowan Williams and my concern is that we are looking at ++Rowan Williams phase two.

While there is meager background evidence available on +Welby because of his brief tenure as a bishop, what is available in interviews and speeches indicates his liberal leanings. There are those who will condemn the public expression of my misgivings so soon after the selection of +Welby. My response is that after ten years of covert betrayal of conservatives, the burden of proof is on Canterbury. Will Canterbury reflect the established and enduring truth of Scripture, Tradition, the vast majority of the membership of the Anglican Communion and the church universal?

I am not the only one watching. While +Welby was congratulated by some conservative primates, he was also put on notice that they were holding him accountable to the enduring standards of Scripture and the teaching of the Apostles. It is past time for the ABC to be primarily the head of the Church of England and secondarily the head of the Anglican Communion.

 * Epistle lesson for Feast day of the Consecration of Samuel Seabury first American bishop.   

Christians With Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Fr. Dale Matson

“The components of OCD may be divided into two main categories: obsessions and compulsions. Obsessive thoughts produce a compulsive response in the form of frequently performed actions or rituals. People with OCD perform rituals, such as repeatedly washing their hands, as a way of suppressing or responding to these obsessive thoughts. Unfortunately, the obsessive thought -- in this case, that one's hands are dirty -- is nearly impossible to get rid of, despite being not being grounded in reality. Some rituals involve physical action while others only occur in the mind, such as counting stairs or the number of words a person says.” http://health.howstuffworks.com/mental-health/mental-disorders/obsessive-compulsive-disorder1.htm.

There are various explanations for the origins of OCD including, genetic, cognitive, behavioral and biological. Treatments are generally a mixture based on the underlying assumptions of the causes. What can the Christian perspective offer to those who suffer from the debilitating condition of OCD? Let’s take the worst case scenario as a possibility. Some may worry that they may have inadvertently and unknowingly harmed someone. What if you had made a mistake? There was no malice intended. God is quick to forgive our mistakes. Why not treat this possibility as an opportunity for a blanket confession to God. “Dear Lord, please forgive me for the things I have done and the things I left undone. Forgive me of my known mistakes and those I don’t know about. God will quickly forgive you for the sake of His son Jesus Christ who has paid the price for all of the sins/mistakes that you have or ever will commit.

This confession is a healthy replacement behavior that substitutes for the ineffective repetitive rituals (compulsions). The belief that we must be perfect makes Christ’s death on the cross for our sake, ineffectual in our lives. Satan wants us to believe that we must be perfect because he knows that we can’t. Christ was perfect so you don’t have to be perfect too. As Christians, we are clothed in His riotousness.   Confession is an admission that we are not perfect and interrupts the closed loop vicious cycle of obsessive thoughts followed by compulsive rituals. These rituals are unconsciously intended to pay the price (penance) or undo the guilt and anxiety of the obsessive thoughts. Confession leads to forgiveness and forgiveness absolves us of guilt.  Do not overrule God by NOT allowing yourself to be forgiven because you believe you are unworthy. Christ makes us worthy. This is where trust is so important. I once offered to pray for a hospitalized individual for healing. She declined the offer because she felt that she didn’t deserve healing.

Sometimes I cringe when I remember a past misdeed yet it may be a sin or mistake that I have already asked to be forgiven for. I even know in my heart that I have received forgiveness. Who do you think is reminding me? It is not God because He has forgiven and forgotten my sin (Hebrews 8:12). Satan is called “the accuser” and the Holy Spirit is called “the Comforter”. Satan would love to keep us in bondage. Christ said, “The truth will make you free.” “I have come that you may have life and have it more abundantly” The answer is obvious. Take charge of these thoughts and in the name of Jesus, command them to depart. Also think about this every time you receive Christ’s body and blood in the Eucharist. “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:20).

For those struggling with OCD, know that Christ wants us to live a life free from anxiety and guilt. His death, resurrection and Lordship in our lives provides the avenue of deliverance from this problem from which we cannot extricate ourselves on our own. May you find yourself in Christ.