Month: April 2017

Soon after I began this blog, I grouped several small comments into one post I called Odds & Ends, and said I would probably do so again as the occasion might warrant. In that first Odds & Ends, I commented on several blog-related items, such as the Bible version I was using, where my blog’s heading picture came from, etc. Today, I offer a second such collection, but do so in the famous words of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, “And now for something completely different. . .”

There are a few things that have been on my mind that are not directly related to matters of faith or theology (or so it may seem!), but which I want to “get off my chest” as it were. Not knowing where else to go with these thoughts, I decided to post them here. You may read, ignore, or reply as you wish!

Earthrise: The first thought has to do with the famous photo taken on Christmas Eve, 1968 by Apollo 8 as it orbited the moon, showing the earth in the lunar sky just above the horizon. The photo is called, “Earthrise,” and it is not only a beautiful picture, it is also a powerful reminder that all of us share this one planet together; that in the vastness of space, this one “blue marble” is where physical life exists. The implication is that we need to take care of it and each other – not a bad idea – and good theology as well! (Genesis 1:26-30, 2:15 and Romans 15:1-2 among many other verses).

Last year, a Japanese video lab released an enhanced video showing the earth actually rising in the lunar sky, lifting above the horizon until it is full-orbed in view. The description read with it placed the camera’s location at the moon’s south pole. The announcers who showed it on their national news program were suitably awed and impressed by the video.

The only problem is that from the moon’s perspective, there never has been an “earthrise” because the same side of the moon always faces the earth! The only way to watch the earth “rise” in the moon’s sky is to do what Apollo 8 and various moon probes did, and that is to fly over the surface toward the side of the moon which faces the earth. As you approach the earth-facing side, the earth would appear to rise due to your motion. But, if you took a still photo or video of the earth from anywhere on the moon’s surface, the position of the earth in your sky would never change. You could stand there for hours or days or weeks or centuries, and the position of the earth in your sky would be the same. You could see the earth rotate and watch as first the Americas and then the other continents passed in and out of view, but the position of the earth’s globe would always be in the same place, relative to where you are standing.

Why is that? Technically it’s because the period of the moon’s rotation (one 29.5-day month) is the same as the period of the moon’s revolution around the earth. The result is more familiar to us: the same side of the moon always faces the earth; whether the moon is full or a crescent or dark, the same side faces us all the time. It always has; not until probes photographed the back side of the moon did we have any idea what it looked like. Now both sides have been mapped, but just as we will never look up and see the far side of the moon, the far side of the moon will never see the earth; hence, no earthrise . . .

Oh, and by the way, even if the moon rotated faster so that both sides of the moon got to see the earth, a camera at the moon’s south pole would not see an earthrise; it would see the earth circle in the sky like the sun circles our sky above the arctic circle in the summer. Seeing an earthrise from the poles would be like the sun coming up in the north and setting in the south here on the earth. So. . . “earthrise” makes a great still photo, but no video from the moon’s surface.

So where does theology come in? Check out scriptural references to God’s creation of the moon. (Genesis 1:16 – creation; Psalm 89:37 – as a witness to God’s faithfulness; and Psalm 104:19 – to mark the seasons.)

The Monty Hall Problem: No, I’m not saying Monty Hall has or had a personal problem of some kind! What I’m referring to is a math problem based on the game show, Let’s Make a Deal, which was produced and emceed for many years by Mr. Hall. The problem has to do with the choice faced by a contestant when confronted by three doors, behind one of which is hidden the grand prize. The contestant must choose one of the three (let’s call it door A), which remains closed and unrevealed. Then Mr. Hall opens a door which does not have the grand prize (let’s call it door C), and asks the contestant whether he or she wants to keep the door already selected (door A), or trade it for the other unopened door (door B).

The contestant knows that the grand prize is behind either door A or door B; the problem is, should the contestant hold on to A or switch to B? Which choice is more likely to win the grand prize? Or are the odds the same for either choice?

Mathematics offers a solution to the dilemma. According to several proofs, including one presented in episode 13 of the TV show, Numb3rs (yes, that’s how it’s spelled) and in the movie 21, the contestant will have a better chance to win if he or she makes the trade for door B. The math says that the odds of winning by switching almost double the odds in your favor.

Huh? Aren’t the odds equal? You have two choices, A or B. Basic math probability gives the odds of either choice as 1/2 or 50%. Two choices, one desirable outcome = equal odds. How can mathematicians contradict that simple formula?

Their answer is that when you first chose door A, the odds of it being right were 1/3 (I agree), so the odds of B or C being right was 2/3. Because door C was a losing door, the odds of door B being the right choice remains 2/3. So, door B’s odds are 2/3, door A’s are 1/3, so you should switch to double your odds of winning. So the theory goes, and proofs of it are readily available on YouTube.

I am at risk dabbling in what is not my field of expertise (if I have one), but even after seeing the math proofs, I would still insist it makes no difference which door you chose, for the following two reasons: 1. First, it doesn’t matter how many choices were first available which narrowed it down to just two doors. There could have been 25 choices like on Deal or No Deal? When you get down to the final two doors, there are still just two choices. What went before doesn’t matter and doesn’t affect that choice.  It’s like tossing a coin: even if you toss 25 heads in a row, the odds on the next toss are still only 50% heads and 50% tails (assuming it’s not a 2-headed coin, which you might begin to suspect at that point!). Now, if you tried to predict at the beginning that you would toss 25 heads in a row, that would be different – 1/2 to the 25th power or 1/33554432. But on the 26th toss, the odds for that toss are still 1/2 for heads and 1/2 for tails.

2. The second reason I question the advice to switch doors is because the “proof” which is used to suggest the change is flawed. It switches the basis on which the two odds are calculated. Door A is rated using a base of three doors, but door B is rated based on adding two doors together. Of course the odds will be different if you set it up that way. Each door (A, B, and C) had only a 1/3 chance of being the prize door at the beginning, but when door C was eliminated, those initial odds vanish, and in the final selection doors A and B each have a 1/2 chance to hold the prize. Q.E.D. as they say in math proofs (Quod erat demonstratum = Latin for “what was to be demonstrated” or “thus proven” or more rudely, “take that!”).

What is the theological reason for this math question? I came across it while researching logical and ethical dilemmas for the course I taught on Christian ethics at St. Peter’s. It has been bugging me ever since . . . Also I would say not to bet your life or eternity on chance or the questionable odds of choosing which religion/door has the true prize behind it. There is only one door to eternal life, and that was the one promised by Jesus Christ, who said in John 10:9, “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”

May the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord look upon you with favor, and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Genesis 1 and John 10

“Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!”

That chorus was heard proclaimed in churches around the world today, Easter Sunday, just as it has been down through the centuries for almost 2000 years. Jesus Christ’s resurrection is the most life-changing, world-overturning, and hope-creating event in all of history. Without it there would be no Easter, of course. Without it, neither would there be a Christian Church. Without it, (shudder!) there would be no pastors emeriti! Without it, there would be no resurrection for you and me, nor hope of eternal life to come. But, Christ is risen (He is risen indeed!) and therefore we do have the sure and certain hope of our own resurrection to come, based on the historical fact of Christ’s resurrection and the biblically-revealed significance of what happened that first Easter.

This particular Easter weekend of 2017 is also the time of year we file our income tax returns. Talk about a clash of rendering unto Caesar and to God what belongs to each! (Matthew 22:21) Of course, Easter is about what God did for us to save us from our sins (Gospel) rather than what God demands from us (Law); it’s the government in this case that has the law thing going for it. What we render to God at Easter is our faith in Christ’s death and resurrection for our sake.

What we render to God at Easter is our faith in Christ’s death and resurrection for our sake.

While thinking of this juxtaposition, I was reminded of Ben Franklin’s famous remark, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Old Ben was a pretty sharp guy, the inventor of bifocals, the Franklin Stove, Poor Richard’s Almanack (I always liked the name of that for some reason – except for the “Poor” part), and the first electric kite, but he made a huge error of omission in that statement. While his point was that taxes are as inevitable as death itself, he forgot to mention the third thing which is also certain for each of us besides death and taxes, and that is resurrection.

It’s important for us to remember that one day we will be resurrected. Our destiny is not to be floating around like ghosts for all eternity; our destiny is to be raised from the dead with immortal, glorified and spiritual bodies. Scripture says that our bodies will be sown perishable and raised imperishable (1 Corinthians 15:42), meaning that though our current bodies are mortal and subject to death and decay, when they are raised from the dead they will be changed, and no longer subject to illness, injury, aging, or death. Our resurrected bodies will have continuity with our current ones – our same bodies (whether embalmed, cremated, or eaten by a shark) will be raised – but they will be transformed. Exactly the same – only different.

This promise of resurrection is what we proclaim in our Apostles’ Creed: “I believe in . . . the resurrection of the body . . .” and the Nicene Creed: “We look for the resurrection of the dead . . . ” It is the comfort we give at funeral services to the bereaved. It is the hope we hold in our hearts for our own futures. It is the promise given to all who believe in Jesus Christ: that they will not perish, but have eternal life.

That the resurrection awaits all believers we are certain, but Scripture actually teaches that everyone will be resurrected, even those who were non-believers and enemies of God in this life!

Scripture actually teaches that everyone will be resurrected

• 1 Corinthians 15:22 “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” All here means all, since even non-believers die, so they too shall live.
• Revelation 20 speaks of two resurrections, the first of those who will reign with Christ, the second of “the rest of the dead.”
• John 5:28-29 gives Christ’s definitive statement of this truth: “Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.”

Unlike what some sects teach, those who die apart from Christ do not just cease to exist, nor do they only suffer emotional or spiritual anguish (what Jesus referred to as the weeping and gnashing of teeth). The anguish will be real, but it will also be suffered physically as well, in bodies that will never die and therefore never receive the release from pain that death in this world can deliver. When Christ died for us and rose from the grave to defeat death, he delivered us from that eternal torment of soul and body which we were condemned by our sins to receive. Thank God! Through him we have the resurrection of life (John 5:29) promised by Christ, who proved his promise by his own resurrection that first Easter.

Therefore, we can legitimately proclaim, “We are risen, we are risen indeed!”

Though the day of our resurrection is still to come, its certainty is attested to in Scripture. It will take place on that “great and awesome day of the Lord” (Joel 2:31) when Christ returns. 1 Thessalonians 4 tells us that Christ will descend from heaven with a shout and the sound of the trumpet. He will bring with him the souls of those who have died in him; they will be raised in that instant. Then we who are alive at his coming will not die, but will be changed in the twinkling of an eye, receiving our immortal, eternal bodies. A living resurrection, as it were!

So, wait . . . Ben Franklin was wrong on another point? Death is not so inevitable as he said it was? For being so smart he must not have read his Bible all the way through! So, the only thing he got right was the part about taxes? Which reminds me . . . I’ve got a 1040 around somewhere that needs to get mailed . . .

Rejoice this day, and every day, that “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!”

The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord look upon you with favor, and give you peace. Amen.

Read: 1 Corinthians 15, 1 Thessalonians 4

 

Today was Palm Sunday, the first day of what is known as Passion Week. “Passion,” in the older English usage, means “suffering,” and is applied to the week during which Jesus Christ moved inexorably toward the crucifixion. It is a fitting term, in that Christ suffered intensely during the week, knowing that his death was imminent, being rejected by the people he came to save, feeling the pangs of betrayal and denial by his own disciples, being slandered and condemned unjustly in a rigged trial, and of course, being flogged, beaten, and crucified.

Although we mark each step our Lord took that last week before his death, our eyes look ahead to how the week will end: with the death of our Savior for the sins of the world and the burial of his lifeless, sacrificed body in the cold rock of a borrowed tomb. Like spectators who pass an accident scene, we have to look upon the horror even though it repels us; like videos of a great catastrophe on the news, we have to watch. But of course, we are not just spectators or innocent passers-by when it comes to Christ’s suffering: rather, we are the cause of his suffering. Though we were not there to directly flog him, though we swung no hammer to drive the nails into his hands and feet, those brutal assaults on the Lord of lords were endured because of our sins and for the forgiveness of the very sins that caused his suffering.

When I was in high school I sang in our church’s Gospel Choir (Yes, I actually did sing in a choir) and was asked by the choir director to sing one of the verses – solo – (Yes, solo!) on the following Sunday. Without going into the painful details of that self-esteem-shattering experience let me just say that: 1) I was never asked again; 2) I gave up any hopes of a Broadway career; and 3) the congregation came to understand suffering in a new way.

But the words of that verse have stuck with me all these years. They go like this: “Can’t you hear the hammer still ringing; Jesus died on Calvary.”

Now that it is Passion Week, we do once again listen for the sounds of the hammer driving the nails into our Lord’s hands and feet. It’s not that he is still being sacrificed; no, his work on the Cross was completed almost 2,000 years ago and there is nothing more that he needs to do to save us. As Jesus himself declared from the Cross, “It is finished!” But though Christ’s saving sacrifice is done, two things do continue down through the centuries to our day: first, the reason for Christ’s sacrificial death; and second, the benefits of his sacrifice for us.

1. The Reason for Christ’s death: Plainly stated, the reason for Christ’s death is the confrontation between our sins and God’s love for us. Our sinful nature and the sins that flow from us created the need for us to be forgiven and have our guilt taken away to avoid eternal condemnation. We were totally lost and unable to save ourselves, no matter how many good deeds we tried to pile up. But having that need doesn’t mean we had any expectation to find forgiveness; it was only because God loved us so greatly that he did not give up on us, but sent his only Son to die for our sakes. 1 John 4:9 says, “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.” Mercy triumphed over judgment (James 2:13).

As we pray, fast, worship, and meditate on God’s word, we come face to face with our sins. We realize that we are no less responsible for Christ’s death than were those who physically drove the nails into our Lord. And we realize that we are no less loved than were those for whom Christ pleaded, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

2. The Benefits of Christ’s death: If the ringing of the hammer sounds like the sad notes of a funeral bell tolling the death of a loved one, then it should also sound like wedding bells ringing out a celebration of love and the promise of new life together. For the death of Jesus Christ brought eternal benefits to his beloved bride, the Church (Ephesians 5:25). Those benefits continue for us today: forgiveness of our sins; adoption as children of God; the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to guide and empower us; eternal life with God in a new heaven and earth; and unending joy and peace. These are ours because Jesus accepted the Cross and all that went with it for one reason: to reconcile you and me to God. And these benefits are ours by believing in him.

So, do you look ahead this week to Good Friday? Do you “hear the hammer still ringing?” If you do, then you know your sins and Christ’s great love for you. May you grow in your devotion to our Lord and may you rejoice at the eternal benefits that only he could provide. Those benefits are worth singing about . . . only this time I think I’ll leave the solos to those who can sing!

The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord look upon you with favor, and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Joel 2:12-13, and John chapters 12 – 20.

One of the dancers on this season’s Dancing With the Stars is the actor known as Mr. T. You may also remember him from Rocky III where he played Rocky’s formidable opponent, Clubber Lang, or from his role as B.A. Baracus in the 1980s TV series, The A-Team. In that series, one of Mr. T’s most memorable lines was “Pity the fool!” which he would snarl at anyone who tried to get in his way. The insult warned that the person would suffer dire consequences, something that Mr. T’s character was only too willing to dish out.

I was reminded of that line when I saw that today is April 1st, or as it is known widely, April Fools’ Day. This is the day that people traditionally pull tricks or play practical jokes on their (former?) friends and family. Such jokes can run the gamut from funny, harmless tricks that even the victim can laugh at, to harmful and upsetting stunts that are totally inappropriate. Of course, I have never done any of the latter, but I did pull off a couple elaborate ruses in my day (all of which, I hasten to add, were long before I became a pastor!).

One of my earliest stunts was making a fake letter from the oil company where my dad usually filled up his car’s gas tank. It was the only charge card he had, so I created a mock letter informing him that because he was behind in his payments, they were going to repossess his car. Then I slipped the realistic-looking envelope in with his mail, and waited for his suitably stunned reaction. My shout of “April Fool!” showed him it was all a joke – and who the guilty party was. A couple years later, I tried the same kind of fake notice from his dentist, but by then, he was on to me. That time it was not, “Pity the fool!” but rather, “Pity the fooler!”

So how does the Christian faith affect our “celebration” of April Fools’ Day and our understanding of what it means to be a fool?

1. I don’t know that we are forbidden from ever playing any kind of a joke on someone, because jokes can be harmless and can actually be enjoyable to the person being “fooled,” such as are magic tricks which “fool” us but are fun to watch. But there have to be serious limits and restrictions on them. First, because God forbids us bearing false witness against our neighbor (the Eighth Commandment – Exodus 20:16), any joke must not denigrate or insult the other person, especially in the eyes of others (which might eliminate 98% of all jokes right there!). Second, we must avoid situations which may cause physical harm (such as messing with food, drink, or a person’s car). Third, we should minimize the other person’s inconvenience, time, or expense. For example, I revealed my joke to my dad before he sent a check to the oil company. And fourth, we must be careful not to damage our Christian witness to people by alienating them or by gaining the reputation of being a “fooler” whose word can’t be trusted. In summary, whatever we do must reflect what Jesus called the greatest commandments: love for God and love for the other person.

. . . whatever we do must reflect what Jesus called the greatest commandments: love for God and love for the other person.

To that end, I think a Christian can get along just fine without ever fooling anyone, even on a day when they might expect it.

2. Being fooled by someone on April 1st, or any other day, doesn’t make you a fool. According to the Bible, being a fool or being foolish is a moral condition, and is defined by a person’s attitude toward God and God’s commandments. The essential definition of a fool is given in Psalm 14:1 and Psalm 53:1, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.'” Other passages, especially in the book of Proverbs, describe the attitudes and actions of a fool: a fool despises wisdom and instruction (Proverbs 1:7), a fool comes to ruin by not receiving God’s commands (Proverbs 10:8), and a fool practices iniquity and foolishness. A fool also fails in his obligations to give food and drink to the poor (Isaiah 32:6).

The Apostle Paul is hard on all those who think they are wise, yet do not follow God. He says that thinking themselves to be wise, they become fools, because what they consider to be the “foolishness of God” is wiser than anything they hold to be wise about themselves (1 Corinthians 1:20-25). Likewise, Jesus spoke parables about fools: one was a foolish man who built his house on sand rather than a rock (Matthew 7:24-27); the other was a farmer who built bigger barns to hold all his abundant harvest, only to be told, “You fool! Tonight your soul is required of you!” (Luke 12:20).

Many things Christians do seem foolish from a worldly perspective

Many things Christians do seem foolish from a worldly perspective: turning the other cheek when offended, forgiving someone who harmed or cheated you (or played an April Fools’ joke on you like sending you a false letter from an oil company . . . ), giving 10% of your income to God’s work in the church, getting up Sunday mornings instead of sleeping in, praying to God and reading your Bible. The world says, “Pity the fools!” but God’s own word says you are practicing wisdom, and not foolishness.

As a final thought for this April Fools’ Day, I’d like to share with you the words of a young man named Jim Elliot, who in January 1956 was killed in the jungle of Ecuador by the very Indians he went there to reach. After his death (and the deaths of several other men who went there with him on that mission), their widows forgave their husbands’ killers and went to the same tribe with the Gospel their men had tried to proclaim. Foolish? In the world’s eyes, yes; but many of the Indians became Christians, including the leader who had murdered the missionaries. What the women did was not so foolish, after all: the women were following the words of the martyred leader, Jim Elliot, who had said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

May the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord look upon you with favor, and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Matthew 7:24-29