The Blind Shall See. (Not all of them)

This Sunday's reading from John 9:1-41 has Jesus, on the Sabbath, healing a man who was born blind much to the consternation of the Pharisees.

As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, saying to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam’ (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. The neighbours and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, ‘Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?’ Some were saying, ‘It is he.’ Others were saying, ‘No, but it is someone like him.’ He kept saying, ‘I am the man.’ 1But they kept asking him, ‘Then how were your eyes opened?’ He answered, ‘The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, “Go to Siloam and wash.” Then I went and washed and received my sight.’ They said to him, ‘Where is he?’ He said, ‘I do not know.’

 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, ‘He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.’ Some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.’ But others said, ‘How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?’ And they were divided. So they said again to the blind man, ‘What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.’ He said, ‘He is a prophet.’

 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, ‘Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?’ His parents answered, ‘We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.’ His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, ‘He is of age; ask him.’

 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, ‘Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.’ He answered, ‘I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.’ They said to him, ‘What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?’ He answered them, ‘I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?’ Then they reviled him, saying, ‘You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.’ The man answered, ‘Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.’ They answered him, ‘You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?’ And they drove him out.

 Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ He answered, ‘And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.’ He said, ‘Lord, I believe.’ And he worshipped him. Jesus said, ‘I came into this world for judgement so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.’ Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, ‘Surely we are not blind, are we?’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, “We see”, your sin remains.

Ooh... Jesus just pinned the sinner label back on the Pharisees. 

They are not going to like that. 

 

The Future of Global Anglicanism

GAFCON has met and to sum it up, at least we won't have an "Uber-Archbishop," and we shall have no ties to Canterbury unless she forswears her foolish ways.

From Anglican Futures comes this summary,

The Abuja Affirmation sets out and explains the decisions taken by the leaders of the Gafcon movement in Abuja.  Here are five key takeaways to share with all faithful Anglicans.

1.  New Leadership is Necessary

For decades the leadership of the Anglican Communion (known as the Instruments of Communion) have unrepentedly:

"... compromised the authority of the Scriptures by normalising hermeneutical pluralism, elevating cultural capitulation, and reframing the rejection of Scripture’s authority and clarity as “good disagreement”, and not what it really is – false teaching."

They have:

"...neither restrained nor challenged false teaching and instead have called for the acceptance of false teachers as fellow members of the Communion."

2.  The Global Anglican Communion now offers that Leadership 

Gafcon have expressed a commitment to reform the Anglican Communion for many years, they have authenticated Anglican dioceses and provinces (e.g. the Anglican Church in North America, the Diocese of the Southern Cross and the Anglican network in Europe) and encouraged real global fellowship

This week is a development of that work and represents:

" ...a shift of the stewardship of the Anglican Communion from the Canterbury Instruments to the Global Anglican Communion."

The Global Anglican Communion will be led by the Global Anglican Council, consisting of Primates, Advisors and Guarantors as voting members.

The Most Revd Dr Laurent Mbanda was elected as the Chair of this Council and will hold that office until the next five-yearly gathering of Global Anglicans, which will take place in Athens in 2028.

3.  True Communion is Confessional not Institutional

The Abuja Affirmation asserts that, "True communion is confessional, rather than defined by a shared history or institutional structures."  The re-ordered Global Anglican Communion will therefore be open to all who assent to the 2008 Jerusalem Declaration.

"The Jerusalem Declaration was written as an expression of authentic Anglican doctrine because the Canterbury-led Anglican Communion had lost connection to its biblical roots, compromising its values, structures and mission. To embrace the Jerusalem Declaration is to apply historical Anglican doctrine and practice to the needs of contemporary society."

Provinces, dioceses, PCCs and individuals are all encouraged to give their assent to the Jerusalem Declaration and thus become part of the Global Anglican Communion.

4.  The Global Anglican Communion is not a schismatic breakaway group 

The Abuja Affirmation explains:

"There are not two Communions, but two incompatible definitions of communion – one confessional, the other institutional."

It is the Canterbury-led Anglican Commmunion which has, "lost connection to its biblical roots, compromising its values, structures and mission." This means that it has to look to shared history to find connection and thus it,"defines communion on an institutional basis."

In contrast, the Global Anglican Communion is, "... returning the Anglican Communion to its roots. The Global Anglican Communion is not a new Communion, but the historic Anglican Communion reordered from within."

5.  Leadership of the Global Anglican Communion will require 'principled disengagement' 

The Global Anglican Communion is, "committed to supporting faithful Anglicans whether they stay in revisionist or mixed provinces or decide to leave and establish separate provinces or dioceses."

However, leaders who hold office in the Global Anglican Communion will be required to disengage from the Canterbury Instruments and the power, influence and finance they provide.

They must not attend future Primates' Meetings, the Lambeth Conference or participate in meetings or commissions of the Anglican Consultative Council.  Neither may they, "receive financial assistance from compromised sources."

Whether those in the Church of England, who receive stipends, diocesan support and buildings from "the compromised ecclesial structures" can therefore hold office is therefore in doubt.

Is that it?

G26 in Abuja marks the inauguration of the reordered Global Anglican Communion.  Anglican Futures is committed to following the implications of this momentous decision as they are worked out in the coming weeks, months and years.

Jesus and the Samaritan Woman

 This Sunday's reading is from John 4:5-42,

So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.

 A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink’. (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?’ (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, “Give me a drink”, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?’ Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.’

Jesus said to her, ‘Go, call your husband, and come back.’ The woman answered him, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to her, ‘You are right in saying, “I have no husband”; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you* say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.’ The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am he, the one who is speaking to you.’

 Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, ‘What do you want?’ or, ‘Why are you speaking with her?’ Then the woman left her water-jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, ‘Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah,* can he?’ They left the city and were on their way to him.

 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, ‘Rabbi, eat something.’ But he said to them, ‘I have food to eat that you do not know about.’ So the disciples said to one another, ‘Surely no one has brought him something to eat?’ Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. Do you not say, “Four months more, then comes the harvest”? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, “One sows and another reaps.” I sent you to reap that for which you did not labour. Others have laboured, and you have entered into their labour.’

Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me everything I have ever done.’ So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there for two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, ‘It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Saviour of the world.’

For details on the Samaritans, who they were, what makes them different, and where they are today, see this link from the Fellowship of Israel Related Ministries.  

Legalizing an Assisted Suicide "Exception" in France

From the European Conservative,  

The introduction of euthanasia in France entered its final phase with the formal vote on the bill on Wednesday, February 25th.

This is the culmination of a long and chaotic process initiated by Emmanuel Macron himself when he was first elected president in 2017.

After multiple postponements and rewrites by both chambers, the version that was voted on reflects what is perhaps the most progressive vision ever implemented on this major issue.

All the efforts of a handful of right-wing and centrist MPs to try to put safeguards in place against this deadly rush forward have been reduced to nothing.

The latest version of the text confirms the adoption of the principle of assisted suicide as a reference, rather than ‘euthanasia’ in the strict sense: the amendment introduced by former Health Minister Frédéric Valletoux, making self-administration of the lethal substance the rule and assistance from a third party when the person is unable to do so the exception, was adopted by a large majority.

I wonder if one exception is when the lethal substance is given as an intravenous injection.  Starting the IV line would certainly require assistance. 

As a small consolation, a government amendment aimed at excluding “psychological suffering alone” from the scope of the law on assisted dying was approved by 159 votes to 130. 

An amendment creating an offence of “incitement to assisted dying” was widely adopted, but it provides for penalties that are half as severe for the offence of incitement as for the offence of obstruction.

What will constitute "incitement" or "obstruction"? 

The final vote on the bill was 299 in favor and 226 against, with an absolute majority set at 263 votes.

...The Nursing and Medical Associations, the Academy of Medicine and leaders of all religions all voiced their opposition. In vain

.When ethical and moral standards are set by politicians, who we know tend to practice questionable ethics and morality, instead of the standards of God, this is what you get. 

Cut out all that circumcision talk!

That's exactly what the Revised Common Lectionary editors did to today's reading, Romans 4:1-5,13-17. I have included the missing verses highlighted in red below.

What then are we to say was gained by Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.’ Now to one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due. But to one who without works trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness.

6 So also David speaks of the blessedness of those to whom God reckons righteousness irrespective of works:

7 ‘Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven,

   and whose sins are covered;

8 blessed is the one against whom the Lord will not reckon sin.’

9 Is this blessedness, then, pronounced only on the circumcised, or also on the uncircumcised? We say, ‘Faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness.’ 10 How then was it reckoned to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. 11 He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the ancestor of all who believe without being circumcised and who thus have righteousness reckoned to them, 12 and likewise the ancestor of the circumcised who are not only circumcised but who also follow the example of the faith that our ancestor Abraham had before he was circumcised.

 For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.

 For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, as it is written, ‘I have made you the father of many nations’)—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.

I guess the lectionary editors wanted to avoid any squirming in the pews during the reading of Paul's letter.  

Canadian Parliamentary committee recommends physician assisted suicide for children

Now, this is evil:

From Care, 

A committee of Canada's parliament has called for the country's assisted suicide and euthanasia programme to be extended to "mature minors".

A report by the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) suggests children whose deaths are "reasonably forseeable" should be eligible.

The report also recommended that parental consent is not always necessary in certain cases where a child is considered eligible for a doctor-assisted death.

No parental consent! Pure evil. 

It calls for the Government of Canada to "establish a requirement that, where appropriate, the parents or guardians of a mature minor be consulted in the course of the assessment process for MAID"

But it adds that "the will of a minor who is found to have the requisite decision-making capacity" in the eyes of the state should "ultimately take priority".

In the eyes of the State? What is that supposed to mean?  

Canadian MPs objected to the proposal to expand MAID eligibility to children, highlighting how decision-making capacities, even for mature young people, remain questionable.

Citing Dr. Maria Alisha Montes, a clinical associate professor of pediatrics, the report states: "I would argue that MAID for mature minors carries the highest amount of risk, as the consequence is death."

"We need to ask ourselves if we should be legalizing this for mature minors when biology shows us that the ability to balance risks and rewards is one of the last areas of the brain to mature", she added.

This proposal is indicative of the decline in Christian morality in Canada.

I wonder when this will spread to the U.S.A.. 

Happy Lent!

The Psalm for this Sunday is number 32, Beati quorum, and it is appropriate for the first Sunday in Lent, and it begins by wishing us a happy Lent.

1 Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven, *

and whose sin is put away!

2 Happy are they to whom the Lord imputes no guilt, *

and in whose spirit there is no guile!

3 While I held my tongue, my bones withered away, *

because of my groaning all day long.

4 For your hand was heavy upon me day and night; *

my moisture was dried up as in the heat of summer.

5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you, *

and did not conceal my guilt.

6 I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord." *

Then you forgave me the guilt of my sin

7 Therefore all the faithful will make their prayers to you in

time of trouble; *

when the great waters overflow, they shall not reach them.

8 You are my hiding-place;

you preserve me from trouble; *

you surround me with shouts of deliverance.

9 "I will instruct you and teach you in the way that you

should go; *

I will guide you with my eye.

10 Do not be like horse or mule, which have no understanding; *

who must be fitted with bit and bridle,

or else they will not stay near you."

11 Great are the tribulations of the wicked; *

but mercy embraces those who trust in the Lord.

12 Be glad, you righteous, and rejoice in the Lord; *

shout for joy, all who are true of heart.

Be glad and be happy this Lent for your sins have been forgiven and look forward to Good Friday for without the cross there is no crown.