It’s Only the Beginning…

This is a sermon I preached last night…My first Christmas sermon.  Enjoy….

Our passage tonight is a popular one – one we’ve all heard many times before.  And so that puts me in a rather tough spot: there’s not a whole lot that I can say that you haven’t heard before.  But that doesn’t make our passage any less significant.  Sometimes, those passages that we’ve heard the most or know the best are also the ones that continue to impact our lives in significant ways year after year after year.

Here at the beginning of another church calendar year, we find ourselves once again celebrating that greatest of American holiday traditions: holiday shopping.  We often find ourselves torn between materialism and spirituality – between self-seeking greed and the humble, lowly manger birth of our lord Jesus Christ.

I see this struggle even within myself when I venture out to the shopping malls…

Filed under: Bible Study, Sermon

Reflections on Exodus 33:12-23

12 Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ 13 If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”
14 The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
15 Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. 16 How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”
17 And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”
18 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
19 And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”
21 Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. 22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”

I’ve always found this passage mildly intriguing.  What I mean is that, when compared to Ex. 33:7-11 – Moses and the tent of meeting – verses 12-23 seem rather odd.  Off the top of my head I can’t explain what exactly is happening in the tent of meeting, particularly in light of the following passage.  But I can say something about the above verses…

The words “glory” plays an important role in Ex. 33.  The Hebrew word is kavod, meaning “glory, importance, weight, heavy.”  There’s a sense that God’s glory is being personified slightly in this chapter.  When the OT speaks of God’s kavod there is an assumption that God and kavod cannot be separated – kavod is part of God’s essence, it’s part of who God is.  We can experience the glory of God, but we cannot be in the physical presence of His glory.

So when Moses demands that God shows him His kavod, God responds by basically saying “no,” but He says it in sort of a weird way.  God says, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence…When my kavod passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.  Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back…”  God says, “You can’t see my glory, but you can see my back.”  In an odd way God is compromising with Moses.

But here’s what I find really intriguing: there is some evidence to suggest that the phrase “and you will see my back” is actually a Hebrew idiom literally meaning “you will see the place where I was.”

The other day, I was watching a special on the History Channel that was talking about Lincoln’s assassination and Wilkes-Booth’s escape.  While trying to escape, Booth broke his leg.  He made his way to a doctor friend where he spent the night getting his leg treated.  The doctor’s house has been turned into a museum complete with the original furnishings for no other reason than the fact that John Wilkes-Booth once sat on the couch and slept in the bed.

There are places throughout the world in which people flock simply because someone famous once slept there or lived there or whatever.  A similar thing happened between God and Moses; Moses could not be in God’s physical presence, but he was allowed to see/experience where God had once been.  But unlike the many museum’s and historical sites throughout the world, this really was an honor.  Moses was able to be as physically close to God the Father as any living human being could possibly hope to be and live to tell about it.

How’s that for a reality check…

Filed under: Bible Study

Who Can do the Most?

I’m straying from my usual topic matter today. Please do not take this as another evangelical putting his nose where it doesn’t belong – I’m only expressing some thoughts, not endorsing anyone.

I’m not a big Clinton family fan. It has nothing to do with their agenda or voting records. In fact, I tend to favor the idea of socialized, er, universal healthcare. My problems are with the sort of political games they play. Bill is great public speaker, he has a commanding presence, he’s articulate – virtually everything a strong leader should be. Morally he leaves a lot to be desired – but who doesn’t anymore.

Hilary is much like Bill – strong, articulate, confident, etc. I think she possesses every ounce of ability to be president. Although I, like many in America, she her as rather conniving, willing to do just about anything to get what she wants – an ends justifies means approach to leadership. As a Christian, that bothers me greatly – the ends never justifies the means in my book.

Filed under: Random

More Thoughts on Science, Faith, and the Origins of Life

I’ve been truly fascinated by the scientific community lately. Undoubtedly, this is entirely the result of my Theology and Science class I’m taking this term. For what it’s worth, here are a few more thoughts on the topic…

Not too long ago I engaged in a debate regarding the role of faith in scientific endeavors. Paul Davies, a self-proclaimed atheist from Australia, wrote an article for the NY Times claiming that at a certain level, all scientific research is faith-based. Although Davies did reference a number of Christian-specific issues to make his point, I feel that his examples were more for convenience/familiarity than anything else. Many of his references could just as easily used examples from any number of other world religions that insists on faith as a central tenant. In short, his argument boiled down to this thesis: all science is, at a certain level, based solely on faith. This faith has to do with certain presuppositions that everyone brings into a particular situation. With regards to science, simply the act of engaging in science at its most basic level requires faith that we can indeed “discover” something about a particular thing. The logic continues in that way…

Filed under: Apologetics, Christianity, Evangelism, Intelligent Design, Ministry, Philosophy

“Truth? What is truth?”

These famous words were asked of Jesus by Pilot during the last few hours before his crucifixion.  I think Pilot was a postmodern.

I’ll be the first to admit that this post is not by any means the norm within the Christian Church at this moment in time.  But I feel as though I need to get it out there: I am a postmodern Christian.  And I’m not referring to the time period in which I’m living.

I am, for all practical purposes, a Christian who also holds to a postmodern worldview.  Now of course, I cannot be a pure postmodern in every single sense of the term and still be a Christian…that would make me a walking contradiction (thank-you Greenday) which by my judgment is what postmodernism ultimately is anyways.

Let me explain myself:

My postmodernism shows itself primarily in two ways: (1) my cross-cultural sensitivity which prevents me from applying my cultural norms/expectations on, say, the bushmen of Africa.  (2) I’m not convinced that we can know truth.  And that’s where the fire storm begins…

Humanity is totally depraved – that is, we’re not perfect.  In fact we have a natural inclination to hate God and distance ourselves from other people – we’re always thinking about ourselves.  This is the inheritance we received as a result of the sins of Adam and Eve.  Our whole being has become tainted with sin, created a sort of barrier between us and God.  What this means to me is that whatever we observe or learn is not really the thing we are observing.  It may be really close, but it’s not actually the thing itself (I believe one of the great philosophers said something like this, but I can’t remember which one).

Sure, you can appeal to God’s grace and talk about how that has redeemed humanity and therefore allows us know truth.  I agree with that too, but I see the truth that we do know as being extremely limited…and still not a perfect picture of the truth.  What truth do I hold to?  I know that God is; I know the Jesus was His son yet also equally God; I know that Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected making the salvation of those who believe possible; and I know that we are saved by grace through faith, and not by works.

Christian theology – of any school – is much more expansive than what I just mentioned.  I have my own preferred theology: Calvinism.  But I will never say that I believe I know everything beyond a doubt.

How does this play out?  I see this idea as placing a tremendous focus on the role of faith.  On a certain level, I see faith as knowledge without completely proven facts.  That shouldn’t cheapen what it is.  Instead, what it does for me at least is it forces me realize that I don’t have all the answers.  But something inside of me (the Holy Spirit?) convicts me that what I believe – what I have faith in – is what I need to believe.  For me, this places the emphasis firmly on salvation by grace through faith…

Filed under: Christianity, Philosophy, Theology