Faith vs. Works #CEBTour

During Lent, I often ponder the connection between faith and works.  Or perhaps I should say the tension between faith and works, as this has often been a point of contention among Christians, particularly between Catholics and Protestants.  Much of the argument comes from the inherent problem of reconciling passages like the two quoted below:

We consider that a person is treated as righteous by faith, apart from what is accomplished under the Law. (Romans 3:28b, CEB)

So you see that a person is shown to be righteous through faithful actions and not through faith alone. (James 2:24, CEB)

 

It didn't help matters in the early days of the Protestant Reformation when Martin Luther added the word "alone" after "faith" in the Romans passage, leading to the famous Protestant slogan "faith alone" (Sola fide). 

The CEB kind of ties up some of the loose ends by translating the word usually rendered "works" as "faithful actions."  But this choice may be a bit too interpretive.  The thing is, there is a tension between the two ideas.  Faith is important, but so are works.  Some Protestants say the faith is more important, or that it has to come first.  Catholics may end up on the other side of the argument.  Many Christians would land somewhere in the middle.  Others, of course, will say one thing, but practice another.  For example, I have often heard Christians say that faith is the most important thing, and that works cannot save a person.  However, those same people will often tend to define their faith by listing things that they do or don't.  (I once talked to a woman who was clearly a conservative evangelical Christian, but she said, "I just hope when I die, that I've been good enough to get into heaven!"  If I had asked her if she believed works could save her, I'm sure she would have answered with a strong negative.)

The Lenten journey is often a time of taking on some task, e.g. fasting, abstinence, charity, not as an attempt to gain favor, but rather to put faith into action.  Lent is, for me, a time of getting into this tension between faith and works, letting the outward action inform the inward grace, I guess.  When it comes to that balance between faith and works, I think Rich Mullins (the late Christian musician) may have said it best: 

It's about as useless as a screen door on a submarine, 
Faith without works, it just ain't happening.
One is your left hand, one is your right,
It'll take two strong arms to hold on tight.

 

Pet Shop Boys- “It’s a Sin”

I don't know if I'd ever heard this Pet Shop Boys song before.  It's an interesting lyric to consider in this season of Lent.  Pay close attention to the recitation of a couple lines from the Confiteor at the end of the song.  You can hear the original Pet Shop Boys version of the song on Spotify.

"It's A Sin"

(Twenty seconds and counting…
T minus fifteen seconds, guidance is okay)
??
When I look back upon my life
It's always with a sense of shame
I've always been the one to blame
For everything I long to do
No matter when or where or who
Has one thing in common, too

It's a, it's a, it's a, it's a sin
It's a sin
Everything I've ever done
Everything I ever do
Every place I've ever been
Everywhere I'm going to
It's a sin

At school they taught me how to be
So pure in thought and word and deed
They didn't quite succeed
For everything I long to do
No matter when or where or who
Has one thing in common, too

It's a, it's a, it's a, it's a sin
It's a sin
Everything I've ever done
Everything I ever do
Every place I've ever been
Everywhere I'm going to
It's a sin

Father, forgive me, I tried not to do it
Turned over a new leaf, then tore right through it
Whatever you taught me, I didn't believe it
Father, you fought me, 'cause I didn't care
And I still don't understand

So I look back upon my life
Forever with a sense of shame
I've always been the one to blame
For everything I long to do
No matter when or where or who
Has one thing in common, too

It's a, it's a, it's a, it's a sin
It's a sin
Everything I've ever done
Everything I ever do
Every place I've ever been
Everywhere I'm going to – it's a sin
It's a, it's a, it's a, it's a sin
It's a, it's a, it's a, it's a sin

(Confiteor Deo omnipotenti vobis fratres, quia peccavi nimis cogitatione,
verbo, opere et omissione, mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa)
[trans. "I confess to almighty god, 
and to you my brothers, 
that I have sinned exceedingly 
in thought, word, act and omission,
through my fault, through my fault,
through my most grievous fault"]

(Zero!)

Time #CEBTour

"Time keeps on slippin' (slippin', slippin…) into the future," as the old song by the Steve Miller Band goes.  The psalmist puts it this way: "5You've made my days so short; my lifetime is like nothing in your eyes. Yes, a human life is nothing but a puff of air!" (Psalm 39:5, CEB)  However you look at it, time does indeed keep slipping into the future.  

The reason I began thinking of these verses (the psalm and "Fly Like an Eagle") is because I was contemplating how little time I have today to work on the Mahler music that I'm working with the Nashville Symphony Chorus.  The work is huge, and it takes a long time just to prepare to work on it.  Then, when I actually work with the chorus, it's amazing how quickly time passes.  Before we know it, we're out of time.  Out of time…it's something I say more and more.  I just need a little more time.  Give me some time.  And on and on…  Heck, just typing this brief blog post is taking up time that I could be spending working on Mahler!

Lent has always been concerned with coming to grips with how little time we actually have on the Earth.  "Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return," goes the phrase as the ashes are placed on foreheads on Ash Wednesday.  And even though 40 days seems like a long time when Lent begins, it's often a surprise to me how quickly the time goes by.  Then we have Easter, and rebirth.  More time to celebrate, but the cycle goes on over and over again.  In less than a year, we begin to contemplate the brevity of our lives, and try to make the most out of the little time we have.  It's not a bad thing to contemplate from time to time.

Dies irae, dies illa #CEBTour

Dies iræ! dies illa
Solvet sæclum in favilla:
Teste David cum Sibylla!

The day of wrath, that day
Will dissolve the world in ashes
As foretold by David and the sibyl!

-Dies Irae from the Requiem Mass

That day is a day of fury, a day of distress and anxiety, a day of desolation and devastation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and deep darkness…

-Zephaniah 1:15, CEB

The first quote is obviously not from the Bible, but we can see where the writer of the “Dies Irae” got his material, can’t we?  I am listening to Mozart’s Requiem as I write this.  I thought maybe it was time to deal with a nice dark subject during this penitential season of Lent.  The modern Lenten thing is to focus on all of the positive aspects of repentance: developing a deeper relationship with God, focusing on spiritual discipline, etc.  But for a long time it seems that Lent was a pretty dreary time. Ashes, fasting, more somber music, all that kind of thing.  Well, you can’t get any darker than the Dies Irae text.  And I’d love to pretend that the darkness of that medieval hymn didn’t come from the Bible, but as you can see from the passage in Zephaniah, there’s plenty of that kind of thing in Scripture.

A couple of weeks ago, a lady in my weekly Bible study was talking about how she was trying to read the Bible cover to cover, and she was a bit surprised at how racy some of it was.  I asked if she’d gotten to Ezekiel yet.  When she said she hadn’t, I informed her that there is an awful lot in Ezekiel about blood and whores.  And it’s true, read it sometime, and you’ll see it’s not just funky stuff about a wheel in the sky and bones coming to live.  Really, there is a lot of stuff in there about whores.  Just read Ezekiel 23 to see what I mean.

I guess my main point here is that the Bible is not all sweetness and light.  It’s not really a book that belongs in the “Inspiration” section of the bookstore.  Grappling with the darkness in the Bible is at least as important as grappling with the light.  But, on the other hand, as I listen to Mozart’s beautiful music, I find that some of the most beautiful music in his Requiem is the dark stuff: the Dies Irae, the Confutatis, the Lachrymosa…all of it dark and beautiful.  If you get a chance this Lent, listen to it and enjoy.  

All you need is love #CEBTour

Psalm 89:2

“Your loyal love is rightly built–forever! You establish your faithfulness in heaven.”  (CEB)

“…love is built to last for ever, you have fixed your constancy firm in the heavens.”  (NJB)

This morning I first read this psalm in the New Jerusalem Bible (NJB), and then looked it up in the CEB.  I like both readings: the phrase “built to last” in the NJB jumped out at me (sounds kind of like a truck commercial), and I like the alliteration of the CEB’s “loyal love.”  The point being, I’m sure, that love, particularly God’s love, is not fleeting, not capricious, but everlasting.  Isn’t the idea of truly everlasting love a hard one for us to grasp?  I’ll be honest, I’ve often had a hard time loving God.  I respect, believe, honor, even fear God.  But love?  It’s difficult for me.  I love my wife, I love my kids, I love my family, but it’s difficult for me to understand how to love God.  So I have to ponder, where does my love for my family come from?  Where does love itself come from?  Is it based on affection, mutual respect, social convention?  Or is it something more?

St. Paul says this: “God shows his love for us, because while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8, CEB)  I think this is important: real love is given sacrificially, most often to those who have done nothing to earn it.  Certainly we have done nothing to earn God’s love.  Come to think of it, a newborn baby has done nothing to earn its parents’ love, but they still naturally feel those feelings.  And it may have nothing to do with affection or social responsibility.  The parents should, if all is as it should be, love their child, and would gladly give up anything to protect that child.  As in all things, if we can feel that kind of love, being limited humans, how much greater is the love of God, who has no limits?

In our culture, love has gotten wrapped up in all kinds of things which don’t necessarily have much to do with it: sexual activity, political definitions, social conventions, romantic ideals, etc.  I think real love, at least as the Bible describes it, is far different, far deeper, and as the psalm quoted above says, built to last…forever.  

Eating and drinking appropriately #CEBTour

“This is why those who eat the bread or drink the cup of the Lord inappropriately will be guilty of the Lord’s body and blood. Each individual should test himself or herself, and eat from the bread and drink from the cup in that way. Those who eat and drink without correctly understanding the body are eating and drinking their own judgment.”  

1 Cor. 11:27-29, CEB

I have often thought about this passage, and what it means.  I think, once again, the Roman Catholic take on the passage makes the most sense.  Unless Christ is truly present in the Eucharist, what sense does this passage make?  It seems a little more serious than simply preparing oneself spiritually for Holy Communion.  The author of www.scripturecatholic.com puts it this way:

Although Protestant churches teach that the Eucharist is just a symbol of Christ’s body and blood, Paul in this verse sets forth the Catholic teaching that Christ is really, truly, and substantially present in the Eucharist. Paul confirms what Jesus taught in John’s Gospel, chapter 6. If we partake of the Eucharist unworthily, we are guilty of the unthinkable crime of profaning Christ’s body and blood (literally, murdering Christ). This very solemn and powerful teaching drives home the Catholic understanding of the Eucharist and leaves little, if any, room for doubt about the Real Presence.

An illustration of the application of this verse may be helpful. Some time ago, I was debating a Protestant gentleman at work about the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. I explained to him that in all three synoptic Gospel accounts of the Last Supper, as well as in Saint Paul’s teaching which he received directly from Christ, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and said, “This is my body.” In the same manner, he took wine, gave thanks, and said, “This is my blood.” Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20; and 1 Corinthians 11:21-25. I emphasized that Jesus did not say “This represents my body and blood,” or “This is a symbol of my body and blood” (even though there were many verbs in Aramaic for “represent”). I further explained to him that God does not, and cannot, declare something to be without making it so, and challenged him to find a Scripture verse to prove me wrong. He could not.

Instead, the Protestant took down a picture of his wife which he had pinned up in his cubicle, gave me the picture, and said, “This is my wife.” Then he asked me, “But it is not really her, is it?” He thought he had me cold.

I first congratulated him on having such a beautiful spouse. I then pretended to rip up the picture and, after it fell to the ground, pretended to stomp all over it. I made a bit of a scene. He looked at me with an expression of surprise and confusion. I then asked him, “Am I now guilty of profaning your wife’s body and blood?”

After quite a pause, he responded, “No.” I asked him, “Why not?” His mind was obviously reeling, but I don’t think he knew where I was going. I jumped in to help him by saying, “I’ll tell you why, and it’s the point you just made. Because the picture of your wife is just a symbol of her, and not actually her.” At this point, he agreed, but was still confused. I then added, “Being guilty of profaning your wife’s body and blood by ripping up a picture of her would be an absolute outrage, because you can’t profane a symbol, right?” He agreed.

I then drove my point home by leaning in close to him and slowly asking, “Then why does Saint Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:27 declare us to be guilty of profaning Christ’s body and blood if we receive the Eucharist unworthily? That would be an absolutely unjust penalty if the Eucharist were just a symbol, wouldn’t it?” After another long pause it was obvious that my Protestant brother was at a loss for words. All he could do was ask me to give back to him his wife’s picture and promised me he would read the verse in its proper context and get back to me. He never did.

Food for thought. (Pun intended.)

The Bible: the Church’s Book #CEBTour

“I tell you that you are Peter.  And I’ll build my church on this rock. The gates of the underworld won’t be able to stand against it.”  Matt. 16:18, CEB

 

“…if I’m delayed, you’ll know how you should behave in God’s household. It is the church of the living God and the backbone and support of the truth.”  1 Tim. 3:15, CEB

I don’t know how many times I’ve seen churches that claim to be “Bible churches,” i.e. they claim to be built completely on scripture, rather than on tradition.  I don’t believe it is possible, or even desirable, for a church to be based completely on scripture.  This is where I completely agree with my brethren in the Catholic Church.  Sola scriptura doesn’t work.  It is a self-evident historical truth that the Church was around for quite some time (a couple hundred years, at least) before the Bible was even close to being compiled.  The Bible is the Church’s book.  It didn’t drop from heaven, in book form, with a table of contents.  Therefore, it also makes perfect sense that there would be Church tradition that wasn’t specifically explained in scripture.  Which is just what the Catholic Church teaches.

After all, using the Bible as a guide, we can see in the couple passages I quoted above, Jesus talks of building his church on Peter, and Paul calls the Church itself the backbone and support of the truth.  No talk of scripture at all.  The thing is, why do we even consider the Bible authoritative?  It wouldn’t have any authority at all, if it weren’t given that authority by the Church.  The Church that has continued from Jesus’ commissioning of Peter, and that was around long before the Bible came to be.  When it comes to being a “Bible church,” it seems to me that the Catholic Church fits that description better than any of the churches that claim the title for themselves.  

No doubt, some Protestant readers of this blog will say, but what about all of the problems in the medieval Church that led to the Protestant Reformation?  I don’t think even Catholic scholars disagree that there were problems in the medieval Church, but didn’t Luther and the rest kind of throw out the baby with the bathwater in their zeal to promote sola scriptura?  That seems to be what led to this idea that we could build a Church on the Bible as a sole authority, a principle that is found nowhere in the Bible itself.

You may ask, if this is what you believe, why don’t you become a Roman Catholic?  Well, right now, I don’t have any good answer to that question.  I think it’s mostly because I’ve been a so-called Protestant for forty years, give or take.  One gets set in one’s ways, and it’s difficult to change.  I pray that God will show me the way to the fullness of faith during this holy season of Lent.  Amen.

My crown of glory #CEBTour

It is beginning to look a little bit like Moses, I think.  And it occurs to me that not trimming one’s beard can be seen as an attempt to put aside petty vanity for a little while.  Perhaps that’s why the Torah forbade men from trimming the corners of their beards.  I don’t know…

Meanwhile, I’m not sure my gray hair (and thinning hair) has anything to do with any righteousness on my part, but it’s certainly a worthy goal for Lent to strive for more righteousness, and to attempt to learn something as the years roll on.  I don’t know if the aging process has brought me much wisdom, but I would like to think I know a few things that I didn’t know twenty or thirty years ago.

Will I shave off my Charlton Heston-esque facial hair when Easter arrives? Probably.  Lord knows, there will still be plenty of gray on top to maintain my “crown of glory”…

All have sinned… #CEBTour

“All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory…”  Romans 3:23, CEB

I was just thinking, as I began to type this post, that I’ve kind of dropped the ball, as far as my Lenten blogging.  When Lent began, I truly meant to do a post every single day, and I was pretty faithful for the first several days.  But, as usual, my various other commitments (and sometimes my unwillingness to write) got in the way of my daily Lenten blogging.  Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa! (as the Tridentine Latin Mass used to say).  That translates to “my fault, my grievous fault.”  I’m kidding…a little.  Just as we (or should I say “I”?) shirk our little duties, or forget our minor resolutions, so we also fall short in more major ways.  ”All have sinned…”

For a long time, it has seemed to me that many Christians are fond of speaking out against particular sins: promiscuity, homosexuality, alcoholism, gambling, divorce, dancing, and many more have made the list.  Some of these (such as dancing) don’t really strike most of us as sins in this day and age.  Some of them still do.  Large groups of Christians will often spend huge amounts of time and money, in order to convince society at large that God detests a certain action or kind of behavior.  This kind of narrow focus seems to me peculiarly un-Christian.  I have even heard non-Christians respond with a Biblical “judge not” or “he who is without sin,” only to have a Christian shoot back with the good old standby, “Love the sinner, not the sin.”  

Ask just about any non-Christian what their impression of Christians in general is, and you will most likely hear one of the following words: judgmental, self-righteous, hypocritical.  Why should this be?  Was this the model set for us by our Savior?  I think not.  Lest I instantly be labeled as some sort of knee-jerk liberal, I am not attempting to deny the reality of sin in the world, or in individuals’ lives.  Rather, I am constantly bewildered by the penchant so many of my Christian brothers and sisters have for being so critical of others, while ignoring their own shortcomings.  I am especially bewildered by the way in which so many Christians seem to think one particular sin is absolutely the one behavior that irrevocably separates someone from God.  I’m specifically thinking of the average Christian rhetoric concerning homosexuality.  While many Christians are crusading for a constitutional amendment to define “Biblical marriage,” I haven’t seen any of them crusading for amendments about any of the other behaviors I mentioned above: divorce, dancing, alcoholism, etc.  This is a constant source of irritation and concern to me, this rigid legalism, that out-Pharisees the Pharisees.

“Why do you see the splinter that’s in your brother’s or sister’s eye, but don’t notice the log in your own eye?”  Matt. 7:3, CEB

Let’s try to remember that, shall we?

 

Law vs. Grace #CEBtour

So you must carefully do exactly what the LORD your God commands you. Don’t deviate even a bit! You must walk the precise path that the LORD your God indicates for you so that you will live, and so that things will go well for you, and so you will extend your time on the land that you will possess.  -Deuteronomy 5:32-33, CEB

In our Bible study on Romans today, we got talking about that age old debate over works and faith.  Or as I indicated in the title to this post, the Old Testament Law vs. the New Testament concept of justification by grace through faith.  It’s an isssue that seems particularly pertinent during this season of Lent.  I have gone round and round in my head over this one, truly I have.  Because I read the Hebrew Scriptures, and it seems pretty clear that God gave the Israelites the Torah as a lasting, binding way of life.  A few hundred years later, along comes Jesus (and more to the point, Paul), and we find this fledgling Christian sect that is allowing Gentiles into the fold.  Lo and behold, they are told that the details of the Law aren’t the important thing.  It’s all about…grace.

But, confusingly, we as Christians still maintain that the Torah was given by God.  Did God change his mind?  Did he string the Jewish people along for centuries, only to change the rules on them?  And how does faith in Jesus fit into all of this?  Jesus made it quite clear that he came to “fulfill” the Law, which would indicate that it still applies, at least to the Jewish people.  So if Jews are showing their faith in the One True God by keeping the Law, then do they necessarily have to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah?  Or is that primarily an issue for Gentiles? 

Some folks may read the passage I’ve quoted at the top of this post, and tell me, “Well, that’s Moses talking, not God himself.”  True enough.  But the Bible seems to indicate quite clearly that Moses was following God’s orders when he instructed the Israelites.  Was he just kidding or mistaken, when he told them they must “walk the precise path that the LORD your God indicates for you”?

Honestly, I’m still wrestling with this one…