The Bishop and the President

After "Bishop" Budde lectured President Trump and Vice President Vance from the pulpit of the National Cathedral, I have witnessed reactions from many sides. My revisionist friends rejoiced and placed images of the Budde onto their social media posts while my Christian friends posted well reasoned responses to the "Bishop's" lecture like this one from Campbell. 

"Christians must speak about the conditions which exist in the world, and play our part in shaping society. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus tells us we are salt and light, the salt which prevents corruption and the light which pushes back darkness. We should act from a biblical standpoint, holding the world and its ways up to the bar of God’s judgement, not our own.

The pronouncements of liberal Christians like Bishop Budde make that task more difficult. She makes it easier for unbelievers to dismiss Christian intervention in social affairs as ill-thought-out regurgitation of progressive talking points garnished with a few Christian terms. If Christians are to speak out, we must do the serious and hard work of examining our world from a biblical perspective. Only then will we deserve to be heard."

The President and Vice President probably never thought a "Bishop" would put on such a performance as a "sermon". I was not at all surprised. I remember when Budde was elected, and she behaved exactly as predicted back then.

 

When I heard her speak I thought, "I've heard this before." 

Indeed I have from many a pulpit, and that is one of the many reasons why I am no longer an Episcopalian. 

I am glad that Budde has gotten so much publicity. She has shown the world what it takes to be an Episcopalian, and what you must believe if you want to join their club. While my die hard Episcopalian friends loved it, I think the majority of Christians saw it as a stark warning to avoid the Episcopal denomination.

Making it too easy

This Sunday's Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) reading is Nehemiah 8: 1-3, 5-6, 8-10. You may note that verses 4 and 7 are left out. I have re-inserted them below (highlighted in blue). After reading them, I can guess why they were omitted.

1 all the people gathered together into the square before the Water Gate. They told the scribe Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had given to Israel. 2 Accordingly, the priest Ezra brought the law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could hear with understanding. This was on the first day of the seventh month. 3 He read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law. 

4 The scribe Ezra stood on a wooden platform that had been made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand; and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hash-baddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand. 

5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. 6 Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, ‘Amen, Amen’, lifting up their hands. Then they bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground. 

7 Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, helped the people to understand the law, while the people remained in their places. 

8 So they read from the book, from the law of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

9 And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, ‘This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.’ For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. 10 Then he said to them, ‘Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’

I have sat and listened as readers struggled with Old Testament names, and I suspect the editors had as well. Not wishing to scare away potential lay readers, the editors of the RCL decided to remove the list of those assisting Ezra.

We pewsitters should not be deprived of the pleasure of watching our friends struggle at the lectern with all of those names!

Pre-emptive pardons vs. pardoning sins

I for one had never thought about pre-emptive pardons as a constitutional power granted to a President of the United States. I always thought a pardon was issued for someone who has been convicted in a court of law.  

I guess for a revisionist President, the plain meaning of the Constitution is something to be ignored if it stands in the way of your agenda. Much like he must hold a revisionist view of the Bible where it comes to marriage and abortion, he feels free to make it up as he goes.

Fortunately, he is gone.

Still it makes me wonder how God, the only one who can pardon us, feels about pre-emptive pardons. 

Mark 2:3-12 comes to mind,

And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.  And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” 

Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts,  “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”  And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic—  “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.”  And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

The man's past sins were forgiven, but what about the next sin he incurs?

As Anglicans, we beg for forgiveness every time we confess, and we confess a lot.

A pre-emptive pardon would seem to something that is given to those who have not confessed to any wrongdoing, but who probably could be convicted of such. 

Jesus' ministry began with a call to repentance, so I don't think God gives us a pre-emptive pardon in the same sense as these recent Presidential pardons even though He knows that we are going to sin again, and again. 

I'll have to think this one out a while longer.

The Injustice of the Revised Common Lectionary

This Sunday we have another example of how the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) sanitizes the Bible. In Psalm 36, Dixit injustus, only verses 5-10 are to be heard by the congregation. 

5 Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, *

and your faithfulness to the clouds.

6 Your righteousness is like the strong mountains,

your justice like the great deep; *

you save both man and beast, O Lord.

7 How priceless is your love, O God! *

your people take refuge under the

shadow of your wings.

8 They feast upon the abundance of your house; *

you give them drink from the river of your delights.

9 For with you is the well of life, *

and in your light we see light.

10 Continue your loving-kindness to those who know you, *

and your favor to those who are true of heart.

 That sounds so sweet. The pewsitters will never know the real context of the Psalm because they won't hear the introduction, 

1 There is a voice of rebellion deep in the heart of the wicked; *

there is no fear of God before his eyes.

2 He flatters himself in his own eyes *

that his hateful sin will not be found out.

3 The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful; *

he has left off acting wisely and doing good.

4 He thinks up wickedness upon his bed

and has set himself in no good way; *

he does not abhor that which is evil.

And they won't hear the conclusion,

 

11 Let not the foot of the proud come near me, *

nor the hand of the wicked push me aside.

12 See how they are fallen, those who work wickedness! *

they are cast down and shall not be able to rise.

Important warnings are lost by these edits, and that is to the detriment of the pewsitters, most of whom will never in their lifetime hear the full messages and as a result will not know to heed their calls.

Now that is an injustice.

Shame on you RCL.

I Can't Imagine... Do We Need a "Funeral Channel"?

Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood singing John Lennon’s song, Imagine, at Jimmy Carter's funeral in the National Cathedral.

 Atheistic drivel at a funeral no less. 

I didn't believe it until I pulled up the video on YouTube. Interestingly, YouTube has turned off comments and "Thumbs Down" votes for this one. 

So much for free speech.

The National Cathedral is run by Episco-pagans, and Jimmy Carter's Baptist church tolerated his revisionist views, so I would expect no less from this service. 

I am glad that I didn't tune in.

This makes me second guess my proposed "Funeral Channel ™" (I added the little trademark) for television. Since people seem to love to watch celebrity send offs, I thought that endless hours of royal funerals, matinee idols' "celebrations of life", expert commentary with play-by-play analysis, cross cultural funerary programming, and advertising from casket makers, local funeral homes, and anti-aging remedy manufacturers would be a sure-fire money maker. 

It certainly would get some attention initially.

But would it have legs?

Maybe, if I could get Garth and Trisha involved.

Imagine that!

The Revised Common Lectionary: Use at your peoples' own risk

 This Sunday's reading from Luke 3:15-16,21-22 has another of those curious deletions found in the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL).

15 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, 16 John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with* the Holy Spirit and fire.

21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’

The deleted verses, 17-20, contain then bad news that the editors of the RCL felt should be withheld from the Sunday pewsitters.

17 His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’

18 So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people. 19 But Herod the ruler, who had been rebuked by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the evil things that Herod had done, 20 added to them all by shutting up John in prison.

See what can happen when you proclaim the good news. You get locked up and beheaded.

Guess what happens when you don't proclaim the good news. 

John the Baptist tells us.

Chaff.

Musn't let the congregation hear that!

 

Oh Virginia!

 Those of you who are employed or in the wage-earning years of life should be wary of what you post on social media. I quote from CBN,

A Virginia realtor accused of "hate speech" for posting a Bible verse on Facebook has been found "guilty" of an ethics violation.

The Virginia Association of Realtors ruled on December 11 that Wilson Fauber of Staunton violated the ethics code that prohibits realtors from "certain religious expressions."  Fauber maintains he did nothing wrong and is expected to appeal. 

This started to come to light last year when the 70-year-old Fauber, a realtor and pastor, decided to run for Staunton City Council. Long before his decision to run, Fauber had reposted a scripture from Rev. Franklin Graham on his personal Facebook page in 2015. It stated that homosexual sex is a sin, based on Leviticus 18:22. Then last year, two Staunton realtors, including an openly gay man, filed a complaint with the Virginia Association of Realtors accusing Fauber of "hate speech." 

Sounds like a political hit job to me. 

When asked why he believes this is all coming out now in 2024, Fauber said, "Because the National Association of Realtors is woke. The leadership of the National Association of Realtors has made it very clear about their involvement in endorsing and approving of the LGBTQ community, and just recently, just a few weeks ago actually, in Charlottesville, Virginia, the National Association of Realtors provided funding for a Drag Queen Show." 

The Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors did host a Drag Show in November in the name of a "Fair Housing Symposium", which was reportedly funded in part by the National Association of Realtors' "fair housing grant." We contacted the N.A.R. for a comment and no one has responded to our request. 

Fauber's attorney sees it as a double standard that the N.A.R. can use realtor money to fund drag shows but Fauber can't post a Bible scripture on his Facebook page. "That's the position that's being suggested, correct," said Michael Sylvester with Founding Freedoms Law Center.

He tells CBN news that while this is a violation of free speech, there's a catch.  "So, it all changed in 2020 when the National Association of Realtors adopted a rule that prohibits anybody from speaking what they deem 'hate speech' against certain protected classes such as sexual orientation or gender identity. But what's incredible here is the post that Wilson made was in 2015, five years before that rule even existed. He simply was presenting his religious views about marriage that should not qualify for a hate speech charge," Sylvester said. 

For now, Fauber can keep his real estate license while pursuing a possible appeal. He says this "guilty ruling", however, sets a bad precedent and will likely affect other organizations, not just realtors. 

"Christians don't have rights, and this is just totally wrong. And the National Association of Realtors being the largest trade organization in America, they have set a precedent by adopting this policy. If I'm guilty because I post my religious beliefs in a meme or a scripture on my Facebook or social media accounts, and if that's guilty of "hate speech"… there are millions and millions of Christians that agree with my position, and we don't have a voice," Fauber said.

If the guilty verdict stands, Fauber could face fines as high as $15,000 and possibly lose his license which would likely end his real estate career. 

As Christians, we are called to spread the Gospel, even the parts that are offensive because it would be wrong to promise people a rose garden when Jesus never said it was going to be easy. 

To the homosexual realtor who was offended by Leviticus, I say, just wait until you read Romans 1.

 

Screwtape and the Revised Common Lectionary: Hiding the Horror

 The Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) used in many churches gives the following options for the reading from the Gospels this Sunday. You can choose from Matthew 2:13-15,19-23; or Luke 2:41-52; or Matthew 2:1-12.

So why does Matthew 2:13-15,19-23 omit verses 16-18 (highlighted in red)? 

13 Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.’ 14 Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I have called my son.’

16 When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:

18 ‘A voice was heard in Ramah,

   wailing and loud lamentation,

Rachel weeping for her children;

   she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.’

19 When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, 20 ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.’ 21 Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. 23 There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, ‘He will be called a Nazorean.’

Since Holy Innocents was not on the Sunday calendar for churches using the RCL, the congregations will never get to hear the missing verses. They will be protected from hearing about the horror of slain children in the ancient world.

All the better to advance the abortionists' agenda in the present world.

Well done Wormwood.

Signed, 

Screwtape

Resolutions

 Every New Year people make resolutions and within two weeks they drop them. That day is called "Quitting Friday". 

This year I resolve to try to do two things that I know I can't do even if I resolve to do them. 

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.  And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." - Matthew 22

Try as you might, you won't be able to keep these past Quitting Friday. 

And that, my dear readers, is why we need a Savior. 

But don't give up trying!