Clarion: Journal of Spirituality and Justice

Resilience: A Black Woman in America - LaToshia Everson with Brad Jersak (IRPJ)

LaToshia Everson is a Black leader, activist and academic in America. In this interview, she shares her personal experience as a Black woman in America and within an inter-racial marriage. She then carefully defines key terms (whiteness, white fragility, white solidarity, racism, systemic racism, anti-racism, allyship, etc.). She speaks about the #BLM protest movement, love and anger versus hate, nonviolence and Jesus. She guides Brad through some key double binds and finally announces the gospel to the Black community and beyond. Magnificent resource.

A Person of Colour for All Colours: The Scandal of Jesus' Universality & Particularity - Brad Jersak

Jesus of Nazareth was a Jewish person of colour who united himself to people of all colours.

 

As Fr. Kenneth Tanner says, "We can either be scandalized by his universality or his particularity."

 

In his universality, he both transcends colour and unites himself to every and all colours as the every-human.

 

In his particularity, Jesus was neither black nor white. He was specifically a Palestinian Jew--Semitic and so neither European nor African.

 

When I say Jesus was a 'person of colour,' I emphasize his identification with all people of colour who have been excluded or oppressed.

 

But I also cringe at creating an us-them umbrella for Jesus under which all colours are included except white people. White people already made that horrid mistake and I will grieve that to my grave.

 

If the consensus is that white exclusion is the way to make things right, I will take my turn outside the city. Lord knows it's justified. But I've never seen reason to be confident that exclusion creates a just society. So again today, despite what I deserve, I ask for mercy.

 

This same principle of universality and particularity applies to the sexes. Jesus was a single Jewish male who united himself to people of all sexes.

 

In his universality, he transcends sex, sexuality and gender while uniting himself to every human being regardless of their sex, sexuality or gender because again, he is the every-human.

 

In his particular sex, sexuality and gender, Jesus of Nazareth: 

(1) was a biological male,

(2) was asexual in practice, engaged in neither gay nor straight sexual relationships and

(3) exhibited the FULL range of healthy gender traits (masculine & feminine/lion & lamb characteristics).

 

Jesus seems to anticipate his ascended, resurrected state as forever human but transcending sex and sexuality:

 

"At the resurrection, people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven." Matt. 22:30  

 

So, if the consensus is that male exclusion is the way to make things right, I will take my turn outside the city. Lord knows it's justified. But I've never seen reason to be confident that exclusion creates a just society. So again today, despite what I deserve, I ask for mercy.

 

I think Cherith Nordling said it well,

 

"It's not that in Christ, our particular markers (race, sex, gender, etc) are eradicated or accidental. But transcending them means they no longer have a place of privilege over the other as assigned by the fallen world system. My identity is in Christ, but this is not sameness. Rather, my particular me-ness is my unique contribution and it is to be cherished."

James Finley on Richard Rohr's 'Universal Christ' - Response from Brad Jersak

“Phenomenal cosmic powers … Itty bitty living space.”

—Genie, Disney’s Aladdin

Richard Rohr’s instant classic, The Universal Christ (2019), raised quite a stir by distinguishing the historical Jesus from the “cosmic Christ,” for it seemed to flow in the opposite direction of the apostle John’s insistence that “Jesus IS the Christ.” Indeed, I’ve occasionally flagged that distinction as problematic. 

And then again, much of the pushback Fr. Richard received for his teaching contained more error and less orthodoxy than what his critics thought to oppose. Rather than nitpicking Rohr, I want to hear the treasure in what he’s thoughtfully and prayerfully attempted—I want to perceive with my heart what the Spirit is speaking through the limitations of human thought and words. Said another way, I want to receive the gift of the Incarnation afresh through this friend who exudes it so beautifully.

To do so, I’ll briefly engage with his contemplative colleague, James Finley, in his summary of Rohr’s teaching.¹

So, James begins:          

Our Christian faith does not teach us that God became incarnate in someone named Jesus who lived 2000 years ago. Rathe,r our faith teaches that in the person of Jesus who lived 2000 years ago, it is revealed that God has become incarnate as us—that God’s life and our life are one life and this one life is Christ’s life, a unitive life in which in some essential sense, we and God are not dualistically other than each other.

And this is where Finley and Rohr lose so many of us. Are they denying the Incarnation? Not really, no. Are they denying the uniqueness of Jesus of Nazareth as the “only begotten” Son of God? Not as I’ve come to know Fr. Richard. Rather, they view Jesus as the focal point of this unique revelation: that in Jesus of Nazareth, God the Word (the universal Christ) did more than temporarily borrow a human body to roam around Galilee and die outside Jerusalem. The revelation of Jesus Christ (for I stubbornly combine the two ‘names’ in one person) is that infinite Love is unitive. That is, our Creator is united to all creation, Christ is united to all humanity and infinite Love is united to you. Finley describes this “unitive nature”:    

What’s so key about this understanding of unitive nature—of God’s life being given to us as our own life—is that this oneness with God and life itself is not something that’s been given to us out of the ability to live up to some ideal that we aspire to, some set of moral principles or standard like the law that we’re trying to measure up to.

This should certainly trigger a resounding “Amen” from those who’ve had a taste of grace. The indivisible union of this God of “phenomenal cosmic love” in the “itty bitty living space” of the Virgin’s firstborn baby is the quintessential revelation that this same Love resides in you and “ain’t goin’ nowhere.” It is not sabotaged by our shameful bits or propped up by our grandest achievements…    

To the contrary, in Jesus of Nazareth is revealed that God has freely chosen to become identified with us—unexplainably precious in the midst of our fragility itself. That in some sense, the recognition of our fragility, the recognition of our weakness, the recognition of the unresolved matters of our mind and heart is the condition in which we realize the infinite love of God is infinitely identified with us in the midst of those very issues…

Please remember that the “Incarnation” extends beyond the virginal conception of Jesus or his birth in Bethlehem. The historic Incarnation encompasses the whole of the life of Christ, including his death on the Cross. What does the Cross reveal about the “unitive mystery”? How does it apply to my faith journey today? Forgiveness of sins, for sure. But there’s more:

Another key insight that runs through the heart of our faith is that Jesus says, “Come, follow me” and we discover where he is leading us is the Cross. And what is the Cross in the context of our faith? It is the mysterious process of dying to our dreaded and cherished illusions that anything less or other than an infinite union with infinite love has the authority to name who were are. That is to say, the mystery of the cross is dying to the idolatry of shame, as having authority to name who we are, and it is also simultaneously dying to the authority of virtue or attainment.

You see, the Incarnation reveals that it’s not about how good or bad we’ve been, but that Infinite Love freely chose to identify with us, abide in us and become inextricably woven into the human condition. Christ emptied himself into humanity to raise up humanity with himself—in no way contingent on our performance:  

Because this love is so unexplainably given to us by infinite love, it is a love we are powerless to diminish and we are powerless to increase. It is boundaryless in all directions through and through.

Some have wondered whether Rohr’s Jesus/Christ distinction or “cosmic Christ” revelation makes the Cross unnecessary. Rohr is unequivocal: “Without the Cross, your suffering would be meaningless.” But with the Cross, we see how Christ (perfect Love) co-suffers with all human suffering. Ironically, our embrace of the Cross of Christ means our death but what a gift! Why? 

… this process of this sweet death—of dying to everything less than love is our experiential salvation.

Dying to the idolatry of both shame and achievement reorients us to Infinite Love and now that Love names us. No longer do we know ourselves by what we’ve done or failed to do. Rather, our identity is rooted deeply in Perfect Love’s infinite union with us.

I will take Finley and Rohr’s word as a call to grow a little bit more in love (in Christ) by ‘dying’ a little bit more (to performance). To let my fearful “what ifs” become bold  “even if” faith statements … and ultimately, to fix my eyes and ears on Christ, who “Because Love ____, therefore____.” And to let that be my hymn of hope and praise!    

------------------ 

[1] James Finley, “On The Universal Christ by Richard Rohr,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3yIwHgGaKE.

Institute for Religion Peace & Justice - Check us out!

Institute for Religion, Peace and Justice (St. Stephen's University) – Join us in 2020/21! from IRPJ on Vimeo.

The Institute for Religion, Peace and Justice (St. Stephen's University) is accepting applications for our online, six-course, accredited Certificate program for the fall 2020 semester. This program can be completed in eight months and is for *any* curious and thoughtful person who wants to integrate spiritual and theological considerations with practical peace work, nonviolent activism, peacemaking, and advocacy for either personal enrichment and knowledge acquisition or professional enhancement.

The Certificate is a stand-alone credential that can enhance one's preparation and experience for use in organizations that focus on peace and humanitarian work, including NGOs and non-profits, and as a professional development upgrade.

The Certificate is also a professional enhancement credential for clergy who want to guide their church community in the ways of peace and justice spiritually, theologically, and practically.

For more information, visit irpj.org/certificate To check your eligibility and to apply, visit irpj.org/admissions The Certificate program can also be completed as the online Peace Studies Track of SSU's M.A. or M.Min in Theology & Culture. For more information on this, visit irpj.org/graduate-degrees If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our director, Dr. Andrew Klager — andrewklager@ssu.ca. Or you may wish to visit our FAQs page: irpj.org/faq

The David Moore Interview: This White Guy's Experience - Brad Jersak

On May 29, 2020, as Minneapolis was burning with race riots in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, I was able to interview Dr. David N. Moore. He is an activist, pastor, teacher and the author of Making America Great Again: Fairy Tale? Horror Story? Dream Come True? A Challenge to the Christian Community, An Appeal to the Global Community. 

I want to share briefly about my experience of the interview. I will make it about me. Because that's what I'm prone to do in the midst of other's crises. If you haven't seen the interview, here it is. My reflections follow below the video.

Now, I want to briefly share my experience of the interview. First, as you can tell, I felt awkward. I think that's appropriate right now. I just know we need to wade into hearing the lament of those who are poor in spirit, mourning, hungry and thirsty for justice right now. I'm okay with awkward if that's what NOT "turning from my own flesh and blood" requires (cf. Isaiah 58:6-12). 

Amidst the fear, chaos and flames of the past weeks, I am convinced that hearing the voice of prophetic protest against systems that undergird, generate and justify racism is to hear "the word of the Lord."

At no time did I feel David condemning or shaming me for the colour of my skin. What I heard was what many African Americans feel and what they experience ... that was my agenda coming into the conversation and how David framed what he said. I heard his critiques of "whites" in the context of white supremacy, which I regard as a demonic ideology rooted in fear and practiced as violence. I also recognize the issue more broadly as *whiteness*--not simply the colour of my skin but in terms of racial identity, privilege and bias, consciously practiced or unconsciously assumed. While I do not consciously identify with white supremacy, during the interview, I tried to be vigilant and mindful, watching the mirror for my own blind complicity to racial assumptions, especially by omission.

The conversation prepared me for authentic identificational repentance, where I could genuinely say, "I am so sorry. WE have sinned." I think of the prophet Daniel's confession in Daniel 9:5 as an act of vicarious national repentance and Jesus' undergoing John's "baptism of repentance" as an act of vicarious sin-bearing confession and cleansing. Identifying my participation in and contribution to the problem (even in silence) led me to mean what I said. I AM sorry. WE have sinned.

Although David is an empowered man, a serious academic and an effective shepherd, I wanted to hear him in this moment of fresh lament, because I believe our first order of business as Christ-followers is co-suffering love with those who've had a knee on their neck for many centuries. I want to discern the lament communicated in David's quiet and thoughtful voice and also beneath and above and through the outrage that takes desperate people to the streets. And I want to say that I don't like looting or vandalism, but surely we can see the asymmetry between that reaction and its chronic backstory of lynching and murder. 

All that to say, David gently enabled me to feel real grief for the African-American community rather than shaming me for the unearned advantages I enjoy as an accident of my pigment. He also suggested ways for me to avoid becoming the hateful monster I want to overcome. I am still meditating on the important implications of his advice to "speak out against injustice without thinking that to do so is being extreme." And as my sons have modeled for me, pushing back at the darkness starts where we're most vulnerable to it: flagging moments with our own friends and family when they think private racial slurs are acceptable.  

 

IRPJ.org presents: Racism, Fear & a Disorder of Territoriality - Dr. David N. Moore w/ Brad Jersak

Brad Jersak interviews activist, pastor, teacher, Dr. David N. Moore. He is the author of Making America Great Again: Fairy Tale? Horror Story? Dream Come True?

David and Brad discuss racism in America, the fears that drive it, the "disorder of territoriality" and the asymmetry of racial protests. How do we avoid becoming the very monster we oppose.

"I noticed similarities between my experience and those of survivors of abuse, especially with reference to their need to tell their story, and thereby reclaim their lives. Having lived most of my life in the world of white Christians, feeling unheard on matters of race and empire, this book is an important part of my personal journey towards forgiveness and even, in some cases, hope for reconciliation."

ON RORSCHACH, RAINBOWS & WAR BOWS – Brad Jersak

WHAT MIGHT THIS BE?

When you look at the following inkblot, what do you see?

Hermann Rorschach’s famous and controversial diagnostic test sought to understand the human psyche and mental illness by analyzing the patterns behind our perceptions. The following 5-minute summary explains how the test works and how it doesn’t work.

 

While debate continues around the use and misuse of the Rorschach Test, what we can say for sure is that (1) people perceive the world in dramatically different ways and (2) our interpretation of symbols may tell us more about the beholder than what we’re beholding.

FROM RORSCHACH TO RAINBOWS

When you look at the following symbol, what do you see?

Of course, it’s a rainbow. But what does it represent to you?

At one time, the rainbow represented God’s promise after Noah’s flood. Here we have the earliest preserved mythology of the rainbow:

• ¹² And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: ¹³ I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴ Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, ¹⁵ I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. ¹⁶ Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” ¹⁷ So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.” (Genesis 9:12-17)

What a beautiful biblical promise. But then again, as a young fundamentalist, the itinerant revivalists also paired this passage with 2 Pet. 3:10:

• But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.

Hang on. So he promises never to destroy the world with water ever again. But he’s willing to do it with fire. Hmm. How about just drown me?

Anyway, later in the Bible, we discover a rainbow identified with God’s throne and angelic messenger (Ezek. 1:26-28, Rev. 4:1-4, Rev. 10:1-2) and it’s apparently a halo or radiance … not refracted but emerald green.

THE DOUBLE RAINBOW

Rainbows are not exclusive to the Jews or Christians. The story even says so. Have you ever seen a full double rainbow? My friend Lorie Martin (IG @loriemartin) took this photo last week at Cultus Lake in beautiful British Columbia.

Amazing! And symbolic! In other cultures and religions, the full double rainbow is a sign of blessing. Haitian Voodoo even has a Creole term for it, but it’s been nearly three decades since I heard it. Let me know if you find out.

RAINBOWS: PRIDE & HOPE

Today, the rainbow symbol has been adapted and adopted for other purposes. Let’s say I post this cartoon by David Hayward (@thenakedpastor)) on social media. In fact, I will. The comments to follow will tell me a little about the cartoon and a whole lot about those who respond or react.

Take a moment. What do you see? What do you feel? What thoughts come to mind?

I’ll tell you what I saw:

I saw Jesus. I could tell by the crown of the thorns, the long gown, the middle eastern complexion and the outstretched arms. The outstretched arms speak of divine hospitality, of inclusion, and remind me of God’s cruciform (cross-shaped) love.

I also saw masks and rubber gloves and social distancing … air-hugs from six feet away. And then there’s the rainbow wool on the sheep. Did you know that in 2020, the rainbow has been chosen as a symbol of hope during the COVID-19 crisis? It speaks a word of promise that we’ll get through this, that we’ll renew contact again, and that we’re cheering on the medical professionals who are risking their lives to care for the infected and seeking solutions.

I’m also reminded that the LGBQT+ community adopted the rainbow as a sign of pride in who they are. Not long ago, being queer was illegal and dangerous (and still is in much of the world). Christians condemned the gay community with threats of hellfire and personal violence (and many still do). But David Hayward’s cartoon pushes back. If the sheep’s rainbow wool symbolizes gay people, “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matt. 9:36), then what is Jesus’ orientation toward them?

Here’s a radical statement: God loves everyone. If the next word that comes to mind is but, then God loves everyone is your Rorschach Test. What would that but say about our orientation to the love of God?

GOD HANGS UP HIS BOW

Back to Noah. One more Rorschach Test. What does God mean by, “I have set my rainbow in the clouds?” I regularly read Hebrew scholars who believe that the text draws a connection between the rainbow and the war bow. Very interesting. I know of two versions:

A Covenant Promise: I believe it was Dr. Matt Lynch who told me that ancient covenants would include a penalty clause for breaking covenant. “If I break this promise,_____________.” In this case, God promises all creation that never again will there be such a world-ending destructive flood. And to ensure he never defaults on the contract, he places a cocked war bow in the sky aiming up, at himself. If the covenant fails, the divine arrow is pointed at God’s heart, not ours.

A Retirement Heirloom: Others believe that when God hangs up the bow, it symbolizes God’s public retirement from the wrath business. Not only will there be no more global floods, but the rainbow becomes a sign of peace with God. We’re not to regard God as the destroyer of worlds. In fact, Noah’s unique version of the flood is about the Savior-God who has cleansed and recreated the world already ruined (made uninhabitable) by human violence (Gen. 6:11).

The Hanging God: In the end, the Noahic covenant is ultimately fulfilled in Christ. The same Lord who hung the rainbow in the heavens now hangs upon a Cross, speaking peace to the world. Thus the Cross becomes our new rainbow, the universal symbol of God’s orientation toward humanity, where mercy triumphs over judgment.

Sowing Love for Peace-building in the Middle East - Mercy Aiken with Safi Kaskas & Brad Jersak

The Emmaus Way: Reading the Bible as Gospel Typology - Brad Jersak with Abp Lazar Puhalo

Living Faith in Loving Conversation - Safi & Eman Kaskas with Brad & Eden Jersak

The Kaskas & Jersaks in Loving Conversation.

We discuss:

1. Why we, as Muslims and Christians call each other brothers and sisters in the Lord.
2. The ethical unity of love for God, neighbor & enemy.
3. What it means for both Muslims and Jews to follow Jesus and live the Sermon on the Mount.
4. The essence of the Qur'an as freedom.
5. Freedom and oppression of women (faith vs. culture).
6. What Christians should know about Mohammed.

Ron Dart's (ed.) "Myth and Meaning in Jordan Peterson: A Christian Perspective" - Review by Brad Jersak

Reflective Review of Ron Dart (ed.), Myth and Meaning in Jordan Peterson: A Christian Perspective (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2020), 210 pages.

It may well be that the tide of Dr. Jordan Peterson’s rise as a social phenomenon has crested and begun its wane. After a long career as an academic and therapist, we witnessed this fascinating Canadian become a major media celebrity-villain, uber-selling author, and then recede into treatment to overcome his dependency on prescription medication. While his opponents might wish him the worst, the man is an expert on improving resiliency, so I wouldn’t plan for his exit prematurely.

The truth is, Jordan Peterson is more than a polarizing influence: he’s a living Rorschach test. I learn almost nothing about him by reading his fans or opponents. But I can certainly infer a fair deal about them. And frankly, it got old. One couldn’t even mention him on social media without a firestorm of devolving shitfits. How’s that for a mixed metaphor? Having actually read the man’s books and listened to his lectures, I would argue that Peterson says almost nothing that validates his alt-right sycophants or arms his far-left critics. He did, however, serve to hold the mirror up to fascist groupthink on both ends of left-right spectrum ideology. And, well … yawn.

While his recovery and the pandemic give us a breather from the hyperbolic blowhards, it’s a treat to read a calm and scholarly work that reflects on Peterson’s real thought. Ron Dart has edited a fresh collection of essays titled Myth and Meaning in Jordan Peterson. Ten clear-minded assessments without a hint of slather or anxious body odor.

At the same time, the peace isn’t boring. I’m very intrigued by what Christians make of Peterson’s elusive faith and his non-denial denials thereof. Unlike C.S. Lewis or Tolkien, there’s no chance that the Evangelical tribe will be able to project themselves onto his thought to co-opt him for their agendas. Yet ironically, who else has reinvigorated interest in the Bible and tempted millennials to re-examine faith in Canada more than Jordan Peterson? Ex-church agnostics were filling large halls to hear him ramble on about archetypes in the Book of Genesis for endless hours. Now that was newsworthy. I’ll say it: for good or ill, Jordan Peterson has been, by far, the most effective evangelist in our nation for many decades. A striking accomplishment for someone who is self-consciously agnostic and heterodox. But that’s part of the appeal, no?    

Back to the book. I may as well drop the table of contents here:

Contents

    “Introduction” by Ron Dart

1. “Jordan Peterson and the Chaos of Our Secular Age” by Bruce Ashford
   
   
2. “Jordan Peterson the Counter-Revolutionary: Marxism, Postmodern Neo-Marxism, and Suffering” by Hunter Baker
   
   
3. “Language and Freedom: Jordan Peterson as Champion of Free Speech (and Freedom from Compelled Speech)” by Alastair Roberts
   
   
4. “Myth, Memoricide, and Jordan Peterson” by Ron Dart
   
   
5. “Archetypes, Symbols, and Allegorical Exegesis: Jordan Peterson’s Turn to the Bible in Context” by T. S. Wilson
   
   
6. “Jordan Peterson’s Genesis Lectures: Interpreting the Bible between Rationalism and Nihilism” by Laurence Brown
   
   
7. “The Image of Christ: Jordan Peterson as Humanist” by Esther O’Reilly
   
   
8. “Professor Peterson, Professor Peterson: What Is Your View on … Science and Religion?” by Esgrid Sikahall
   
   
9. “A Kierkegaardian Reading of Jordan Peterson” by Stephen M. Dunning
   
   
10. “Being and Meaning: Jordan Peterson’s Antidote to Evil” by Matthew Steem and Joy Steem

Myth and Meaning is well-written, thoughtful, and transcends the tired rhetoric, propaganda, hagiography, and misinformation that’s made “the historical Peterson” harder to locate. Each of the authors approaches their topic from within their own wheelhouse and applies their expertise to coolly interpreting a facet of his thought where they may be as competent or more so than he is. I found the book charitable and “true” if there’s such a thing in our age. I mean that its affirmations and critiques, whether accurate or mistaken, were consistently thoughtful and, more importantly for Peterson, in good faith. He deserves at least that. Everyone does.

I won’t annotate each chapter, but I would like to express enthusiastic kudos to Ron Dart for orchestrating this impressive ensemble. And I especially want to laud T.S. Wilson’s work in his chapter on “Archetypes, Symbols, and Exegesis.” It outshone the essay I had hoped to contribute on “Peterson’s Affinities to Patristic Interpretation.” Ron had kindly invited me to the table at a time when I knew I was unable to pull together something worthy of the volume. But I’m gratified that Wilson far exceeded the very best I could have offered. Well done, Taylor!

The secondary literature on Peterson is already expanding exponentially and will no doubt continue to grow. But unless readers are planning to accumulate a large collection, for my money, Dart et al’s Myth and Meaning in Jordan Peterson would be my go-to first recommendation.        

"The Lord Descends into Hades" St. Epiphanius and St. Maximus

Homily on Holy Saturday: The Lord Descends into Hades

St. Epiphanius, Bishop of Cyprus (403 A.D.)

Something strange is happening - there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and He has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and Hell trembles with fear.

He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, He has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, He who is both God and the Son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the Cross, the weapon that had won Him the victory. At the sight of Him Adam, the first man He had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone, “My Lord be with you all.” Christ answered him, “And with your spirit.” He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying, “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.

“I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and for your descendants I now by My own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in Hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the Life of the dead. Rise up, work of My hands, you who were created in My image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in Me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated.

“For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Jews in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden.

“See on my face the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in My image. On My back see the marks of the scourging I endured to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See My hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree.

“I slept on the Cross and a sword pierced My side for you who slept in Paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in Hell. The sword that pierced Me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you.

“Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly Paradise. I will not restore you to that Paradise, but I will enthrone you in Heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am Life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The Bridal Chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The Kingdom of Heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity. “

From the Synaxarion of the Lenten Triondion and Pentecostarion, Fr. David and Mother Gabriela, eds., HDM Press, Rives Junction, MI, 1999 pp. 160-161.

 

Homily: Christ Is Risen!

St. Maximus, Bishop of Turin (467 A.D.)

Christ is Risen! He has burst open the gates of Hell and let the dead go free; He has renewed the earth through the members of His Church now born again in Baptism, and has made it blossom afresh with men brought back to life. His Holy Spirit has unlocked the doors of Heaven, which stand wide open to receive those who rise up from the earth. Because of Christ’s Resurrection the thief ascends to Paradise, the bodies of the blessed enter the Holy City, and the dead are restored to the company of the living. There is an upward movement in the whole of creation, each element raising itself to something higher. We see Hell restoring its victims to the upper regions, earth sending its buried dead to Heaven, and Heaven presenting the new arrivals to the Lord. In one and the same movement, our Savior’s Passion raises men from the depths, lifts them up from the earth, and sets them in the heights.

Christ is Risen! His rising brings life to the dead, forgiveness to sinners, and glory to the Saints. And so David the Prophet summons all creation to join in celebrating the Paschal festival. “Rejoice and be glad,” He cries, “on this day which the Lord has made.”

The light of Christ is an endless day that knows no night. Christ is this day, says the Apostle; such is the meaning of his words, “Night is almost over; day is at hand.” He tells us that night is almost over, not that it is about to fall. By this we are meant to understand that the coming of Christ’s light puts Satan’s darkness to flight, leaving no place for any shadow of sin. His everlasting radiance dispels the dark clouds of the past and checks the hidden growth of vice. The Son is that Day to whom the Day, which is the Father, communicates the mystery of His Divinity. He is the Day who says through the mouth of Solomon, “I have caused an unfailing light to rise in Heaven.” And as in Heaven no night can follow day, so no sin can overshadow the justice of Christ. The celestial day is perpetually bright and shining with brilliant light; clouds can never darken its skies. In the same way, the light of Christ is eternally glowing with luminous radiance and can never be extinguished by the darkness of sin. This is why John the Evangelist says, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never been able to overpower it.”

And so, my brothers, each of us ought surely to rejoice on this Holy Day. Let no one, conscious of his sinfulness, withdraw from our common celebration, nor let anyone be kept away from our public prayer by the burden of his guilt. Sinner he may indeed be, but he must not despair of pardon on this day which is so highly privileged; for if a thief could receive the grace of Paradise, how could a Christian be refused forgiveness?

From the Synaxarion of the Lenten Triondion and Pentecostarion, Fr. David and Mother Gabriela, eds., HDM Press, Rives Junction, MI, 1999 pp. 166-167.

 

Conspiracy Theory: How & Why Christians Perpetuate the Tomb Soldiers’ Cover-up - Brad Jersak

 

     Now while they were on their way, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened.

     And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, and said, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’

     “And if this should come to the governor’s ears, we will win him over and ¹keep you out of trouble.”

     And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to this day. –Matt. 28:11-15

Last weekend, on Easter Sunday in the Western tradition, I posted an article on Christ’s descent into and conquest of hades. Here is the link to the article and a link to all my primary sources: Holy Week – Resurrection Morning: A Harrowing Exit.

I showed from the Scriptures (including Jesus’ own words), from early Christianity, and even beyond that our Lord’s triumph over hades is central to the gospel message. Christ did not merely emerge alone from an empty tomb—he made his harrowing exit from “hell” itself and led a parade of prisoners to freedom.

This proclamation is not a side note or corollary to the gospel. 100s of millions of Christ-followers around the world proclaim it every week, at the very least when they cite the Apostles’ Creed. “He suffered, died, descended into hell, on the third day he rose again.”  

That article resonated strongly with readers, in part because the gospel it expresses is jubilant—Love wins! Life wins! Jesus wins! That’s the gospel—the message that took off in the first century.

And it is the same message that the Sanhedrin did all they could to repress. The temple guard (actual Levites) conspired with the chief priests to cover up the resurrection. “To this day.“

“TO THIS DAY”

Amid the positive responses to the gospel I described in my article was a remarkable subset of surprise. One commenter exclaimed, “WOW!! This is so beautiful! How is it possible that I’ve never—not once ever—heard this message before?!! I’ve been a Christian my entire life and this is entirely new to me!!”      

How, indeed?

The question has niggled at me all week. Here’s a conspiracy theory: our theological amnesia around Christ’s victory was no accident. It was a diversion and a cover-up. But by whom? And for what reason? Who stands to gain from the exclusion of Christ’s descent into hades and triumphal plundering of “the strong man’s goods”?

Think about it for a moment. The early church trumpeted this message of the resurrection: “Rejoice! Love wins, Life wins, Jesus wins! Death is defeated and hades is despoiled! Be not afraid! Christ is risen and has raised up humanity with himself! Be not afraid.” Why cover that up?

WHY COVER THAT UP?

Why demote Christus Victor from gospel truth to an “atonement theory”? Why displace it with alternative gospels rooted in wrath, driven by fear and threatening hellfire? What is to be gained by those who preach a retributive message of redemptive violence and terrorizing ultimatums? Why preach “Repent or burn!” where “repent” means join our club or be very afraid?”

Well, when I say it out loud, it seems obvious. A fearless proclamation of Christ’s victory leaves you with very little leverage for control over others. If you can’t threaten them into conformity, all you have left is … an open invitation? Why can’t you hold people hostage with the gospel? Because Christ has already freed them!

Now free, Christ has invited them to his table. And while there are warnings about the poverty and poison of the world system’s many competing tables, Christ removes the threat of wrath lest even one of his disciples responds through coercion rather than love, or fear rather than faith.

I believe we experience our salvation through a free faith response of love to Jesus’ good news. Messages of hellfire-fear and blackmail would sabotage our willing “Yes” or reduce it to expedient submission to terrifying force. A “white flag” reaction, so to speak. That’s not very good news. So, for the retributive gospel of redemptive violence (under threat) to work, what do you need to do?

You can’t be preaching Christ’s conquest of hades, that’s for sure. You can’t talk about how he vanquished the netherworld and emptied it of its inhabitants and its power. You NEED all that darkness as leverage. You need a conspiracy of silence around the stunning triumph between the Cross and the Resurrection.

Conversely, how do you overcome that conspiracy of darkness or break the power of silence? I guess we just spread the good news as the disciples did from the beginning, and so I will:

“Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tomb, bestowing life!” 

descendit ad inferos “The Harrowing of Hades” with Sample Texts (compiled by Brad Jersak)

The Great Descent

The Law, the Psalms and the Prophets forecast it.
The Gospels and the Epistles allude to it.
Ancient Christian hymns, liturgies and poetry announce it.
It permeates both Eastern and Western theological tradition.
It even has its own line in the Apostles’ Creed.  

But only recently has Christ’s conquest of Hades caught the attention of moderns. It’s so central to the gospel message that its omission requires correction.

The same events go by various names—the great descent, the harrowing of hades, Christus Victor. But they all refer to the narrative that culminates in the resurrection of Christ before dawn on Easter Sunday.

For those not familiar with the story, the climax of Holy Week 2020 is as good a time as any. The coronavirus quarantine’s gift to you. I’ll summarize the narrative then link you to a sample of primary sources.

Here are the bare facts of Easter weekend as I’ve heard them:

• Christ suffers, dies and is buried on Good Friday.
• The disciples are locked out of the tomb through Black Saturday.
• Christ rises and exits the tomb before dawn on Easter Sunday.

That’s all we know. Or so I was taught. But in truth, the apostolic tradition dug deeper, gathering and interpreting their Scriptures and leaving us with this critical extra piece: “He descended into hell” (Latin: Inferno). When? Here’s the order:

He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended into hell (descendit ad inferos)
on the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven…

– The Apostles Creed

Translators like to swap in hades or death or the grave, which is all fine but doesn’t get to the heart of the matter. The early church regarded this descent as far more than Jesus being entombed or visiting the place of the dead. They regarded it as Christ’s victorious rescue mission into the kingdom of darkness—“hell” if you like. This is our Lord’s great conquest of the underworld in which Satan is bound, defeated and his captive souls rescued.

The great descent is also called a “harrowing,” not because Christ uses a rake, but because his arrival in hell creates distress for death’s wicked warden. Satan’s reign is over. And then, the King of Life who descends through death also ascends from death, shattering its gates. And he’s not alone! He doesn’t merely leave an empty tomb. Christ leaves the ruins of hades itself, leading its prisoners to freedom—the ultimate exodus.  

Yes, it’s an epic drama, adorned with symbolic language and poetic excess. Hades isn’t actually a giant fiery dungeon deep beneath the earth. You won’t find literal gates of bronze or broken dungeon chains down in the magma. It’s unlikely you’ll meet a demi-god named Hades borrowed from Greek mythology.

But that doesn’t make the story untrue. Rather, Christ’s victory is real, told as a theological narrative woven from the Scriptures and proclaimed as gospel truth. What is that gospel truth?

The Gospel Truth

First, that in Christ’s death, the power of death is broken. You don’t need to be afraid of it anymore. Death cannot separate you from the love of God and in fact, death as non-being or perpetual torment no longer exists. In Christ, death has become a doorway to eternal life.  

Second, that in Christ’s resurrection, we have the assurance of our resurrection. That he’ll raise us up with and to himself.  

And third, our rescue from hades and entry into eternal life don’t await the next life or coming age. The gospel is preached today for today. Whatever hell or hades or darkness you experience now … that’s where Christ comes. He descends into our “waterless pit” or “dark abyss,” whatever form that takes. And the eternal life he won is not merely heaven someday when you die. It’s fulness of joy (or life to the full) in this life.

If you’re like me, that’s not a magical snap of some genie’s fingers. I wasn’t given a happy pill at my baptism. It’s a daily journey within the loving grace of a friendship—a living connection with Life himself. But I can testify that despite my circumstances, my melancholy, my haters and my screw-ups, I experience the resurrection (repeatedly) in this life.

Regardless of your faith (and even if you have none), if a deeper living connection is your desire too, may I encourage you to pray a simple prayer? Here’s one: “Find me. Amen.” Or “Yes, please.” Or, “I’m dying here. Help me.” Whatever resonates. And then watch for him. “Christ plays in ten thousand places.” Pay attention. Rinse and repeat.

Joyous Easter. He is risen.

Click HERE to download the biblical and historical sources on Christ’s descent into hell

Where Lent Meets Ramadan - Brad Jersak with Safi Kaskas

Safi Kaskas

The purpose of worshiping God:

As we approach Ramadan, I keep reminding myself that God doesn't need my fasting or my five times a day prayers. So why I'm totally focused on fasting and praying?

It is because I need to fast and feel with the poor and the hungry and I need to bow down and put my forehead to the ground to tame my selfish ego.

Unless our fasting and praying make us BETTER PEOPLE, then they will be useless acts. What does a better person mean anyway???

It simply means a better neighbor. Someone who loves others and is charitable to them. A more peaceful person, a more forgiving person. One at peace with himself and at peace with others. Let's please remember that the purpose of worshipping God is to become better people on the inside and the outside.

Brad Jersak

As my friend Safi prepares for Ramadan, I find his principles of empathetic fasting and humbling prayer to be an entirely appropriate guide for the final week of (Western) Christian Lent, and for my (Eastern) tradition where we share the practice of full prostrations with our Muslim brothers and sisters.

The NT Greek word for repentance is metanoia, which we typically signify as TURNING from darkness to light and from self-will to surrender. But the word is also associating with BOWING DOWN in humility. In the Orthodox Church, to "do a metanoia" is to do a full forehead-to-floor prostration in prayer.

It sounds odd to say that Jesus "repented" since we see no darkness in him whatsoever. However, has anyone ever lived in such complete humility before God, descended to such depths of servanthood for humanity, to such submission to the divine plan? In that sense, the life of Christ is the ultimate prostration, the prototype for every true metanoia.

Where 2 or 3 Gather – Covidtide Prayers 3/3: "In His Name" - Brad Jersak

“Yes: where two or three come together in my name,
 I’ll be there in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20 NTE).

Can we once again conceive of a Christ-centered faith in which
two or three are gathered “in his name”?

Previously, in this three-part series, I challenged the idea that a pandemic or an indefinite, legislated quarantine can truly “cancel church.” Neither God’s people nor our faith has ever been eradicated by plagues or persecution, “by famine, danger, nakedness or sword.”

Will disillusionment, cynicism or trendy deconstruction be the end of God’s family? Will the tarnish of our innumerable sins or cynicism at our egregious corruption be the final nail in the Bride’s coffin? I doubt it.  

The Church Resilient 

We (I use “we” advisedly) are either miraculously resilient or we simply die and rise again without fail. So… Covid-19. Cancel ‘church’? Not a chance. Purge and purify it? That’s both our now-invitation and our age-old track record.   

I still hear Gloria Gaither’s impassioned voice on vinyl in 1977, exhorting courage in the Gaither’s anthem, “The Church Triumphant”:

God has always had a people.
Many a foolish conqueror has made the mistake of thinking that because he had forced the church of Jesus Christ out of sight, he had stilled its voice and snuffed out its life, but
God has always had a people.
The powerful current of a rushing river is not diminished because it's forced to flow underground.
The purest water is the stream that burst crystal clear into the sunlight after it has forced its way through solid rock.
There have been charlatans who, like Simon the Magician, sought to barter on the open market that power which cannot be bought or sold.

God has always had a people,
men who could not be bought and women who were beyond purchase.
God has always had a people.
There have been times of affluence and prosperity when the church's message has been nearly deluded into oblivion by those who sought to make it socially attractive, neatly organized, financially profitable,

but God has always had a people.
Yes, it's been gold platted, draped in purple and encrusted with jewels.
It has been misrepresented, ridiculed, lauded and scorned,

but God has always had a people.
And these followers of Jesus Christ have been, according to the whim of the times, elevated sacred leaders and modern heretics.
Yet through it all, their march is on that powerful army of the meek.
God's chosen people who cannot be bought, flattered, murdered or stilled.
On through the ages, they march, the church!
God's church triumphant! Alive and well!

Too triumphalistic? Nah. I’d say Gloria carefully avoided whitewashing our ugly side. The triumph she proclaims is not a testimony of institutional glory. She’s recalling the victories of God’s grace despite us. Alive. Yes, we are. Well? Maybe that’s a faith statement of what could be.    

I also proposed that using the New Testament alternative term oikos (house, household, home) might help us ditch some of the baggage accrued by the word “church” and retrieve the sense of family belonging that gets lost. What if Jesus’ “two or three gathered” evoked the hospitality of “my house is your house” and the sense of secure love we feel in the phrase, “Welcome home!”     

“In his name” 

Just as my friend Paul helped me ponder the differences between house and home, so he inspired me to rethink what gathering in Jesus’ name could look like—both under lockdown and beyond. I am no longer convinced we are being church by merely gathering. If Eden and I gather to watch “The Valhalla Murders” on Netflix, we may be the church (God’s family) but are we really being church during our binge? Is this actually “family time” in his name)?

Paul helped me imagine gathering in his name using my granddaughter as an analogy:

Ahhyeon, our little dolly, is without a doubt a forever-member of our family. She IS family. That will never change, regardless of the physical distance that separates us—in our case, the vast span of the Pacific Ocean. We like seeing her via social media and FaceTime. But one day, we hope to be together in person and gather as family. Then our words of affection will become flesh, our love expressed in touch, and our virtual affection will be embodied (incarnate) in hugs and kisses.

When Ahhyeon first arrives in our home, we won’t simply gather. We will have a feast in her name. We will celebrate her presence with grandiose toasts and speeches. We will sing to her and listen to her and express our devotion to her with mountains of gifts and treats. Our best friends and family will be invited, to join in the festivities. And all of us together will know as Ahhyeon most surely will—this party is in her name. It will be, without a doubt, all about her.

Now let’s transpose this analogy to Christ to see what’s important, what we may have missed and how to refocus our attention through quarantine and beyond. What does “in his name” signify?

• It’s about Jesus. Two or three gathered in his name means the gathering is not about football, gossip or Netflix. It’s at the name of Jesus that every knee bows and tongue confesses his Lordship—that God is glorified and exults his Son. The same people may congregate but this meeting is especially in his honor.
  
  
• It’s about presence—living, loving connection. When we gather in his name, Christ is in our midst. Yes, by the Spirit, Christ is everywhere, at all times. We get that. But Christ’s words here are not empty. WHERE does Christ happen? Christ inhabits our midst—in love-one-another. Christ indwells the love passing between us.
  We are not meeting to memorialize someone who is dead, absent or elsewhere. Christ is here and now, a living presence experienced in our gathered-love, embodied in each of his children. Christ is not invisible or intangible—we see him in the Scriptures, in the chalice, but most of all, Christ is seen and loved in those we see and love. To be seen and loved—that’s our deepest longing. Will we learn to find it in his household?    
  
  
• It’s a feast—God’s banquet. Jesus said the kingdom of God is like a wedding banquet. He spoke these parables at actual feasts where he was guest of honor. He established the new covenant at a Passover meal—his “Last [sort of] Supper.” Then he made celebration of the wine and the bread of his sacrificial love the central point and apex of our worship.
       Could Covid-19 be our invitation back to the table? To make dinner time at home a daily (or weekly) opportunity to recall the original Passover, the Lamb’s protection and our Exodus in Christ? Perhaps it would include a Psalm, a prayer of thanks and a glass of wine.
       And after quarantine? I cannot imagine worship that makes table fellowship optional but smoke machines mandatory. Time to revisit the agape meal in its festive form, yes?  
       Nor should table fellowship be insular—a club for insiders. No. Jesus said so. Invite, invite, invite. And that includes you know who—the poor, the outcast and outsider, the “black sheep” and the scorned sinner.
       And Christ also says go, go, go. Visit those perpetually quarantined by disability or age or homeless … bring dinners or at least fresh water and socks to those who have none. If Christ is not found in the lost sheep, he may not be found at all.  
  
  
• It’s a celebration of adoration. In his name means we adore Christ with words, with songs and prayers, with gifts of art and poetry. Since it’s a banquet, we may raise a toast of gratitude and honor the one who gave himself freely for our very lives. Whatever else this celebration is, it calls for participation. Whatever our platform, virtual or actual, how might the post-quarantined household be compelled to join in more fully? Can we flatten the curve that centralizes power and reduces family time to spectator games? How can we emulate Christ as he used privilege to make space for the marginalized and then ultimately set it aside himself?
  
  
• It’s Jesus’ turn. Our various traditions engage the voice of God in various ways—from Gospel readings to prophetic encouragement to contemplative silence. No matter how your tribe opens its spiritual ears, let’s make sure Jesus is given his turn to speak. On purpose. Like, slot it in. And know this: it will always be the Word of invitation, no compulsion—the Word love redeeming love, not condemnation. Our Word brings and IS Light, Love and Life that dispels darkness, dread and death. Jesus the Word of God, meaning that Christ IS what God has to say about himself. Listen well, because this party’s in his name.

I could go on and you may see it differently, but I hope the coronavirus interruption may help us recalibrate Christian worship and discipleship. If we’re super-mindful right now, quarantine may be the best thing that’s happened to “the church” in a long, long time.

Let’s use this time to re-imagine the faith of
two or three gathered in his name.    

Where 2 or 3 Gather – Covidtide Prayers 2/3 “House or Home?” - Brad Jersak

“Yes: where two or three come together in my name,
 I’ll be there in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20 NTE).

Can we conceive of a Christ-centered faith in which
two or three are gathered as his household?  

 

Context Matters (but application counts)

After reading my previous installment in the Covidtide Prayers series, titled "Is Church Canceled? I received a wonderful tidbit of research from my friend, Boyd Barrett, diving more deeply into the immediately and canonical context of our Matthew 18 theme. Here he is: 

I read your article about Matthew 18:20. I definitely agree with your practical conclusions for the church in this time. It just so happens that I’ve been working on that scene in COME AND SEE, and I wanted to ask your opinion before I get too far into it.

I had never noticed the context of that statement before. When I put the verses leading up to it (15-19) together with Deuteronomy 17:6 and 19:15, it seems pretty clear that Jesus is not talking about just any gathering of two or three - but rather, the agreement of two or three witnesses in a dispute between two parties. It even changes the idea behind Matthew 18:19.

Could Jesus be saying that when two agree about the truth in a disputed matter, the Father stands with those witnesses? And could verse 20 be following that up with the promise of Jesus that where two or three gather together in His name, he’ll be there to back up their decisions regarding problem situations? And if you go back to verse 18, could the binding and loosing there be talking about those same kinds of decisions regarding disputes? And I find it interesting that in verse 21 Peter asks Jesus about how many times you have to forgive a brother. That would be a natural followup if these verses say what I’m thinking.

This is brilliant and I think exactly right when read in context. And context matters. I feel that Boyd nailed both the immediate story context and the longer canonical context. Compared to that direct interpretation, I want to reiterate that all I am really doing is transposing and applying the word of Christ to our particular crisis. And application counts, even though I'm broadening it from matters of discipline to meeting in general--to "church" reimagined.

“CHURCH” (in scare quotes) 

“Church” has become such a weary and heavy-laden term that one can hardly utter it without a sigh and or a debate about what it means. And then another sigh. “Church” may be pronounced with joy, with sorrow, with bitterness or with glazed eyes. “Church,” whatever that word means, nearly demands scare quotes because how we use it is attached (or entangled) to each “churcher’s” personal story.

When defined by English usage, “church” ranges in meaning from a nebulous idea to a local congregation, from the buildings with steeples to a covenant community. It can refer to something we are or to something we do. “Church” may indicate a people, an activity, a service or a building.

Returning to the Greek roots of the term ekklesia only helps a little. In the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament), ekklesia speaks of those who actually assemble to participate in God’s covenants together. In the New Testament, ekklesia may include the network of people who gather in homes to celebrate Christ together or it can refer to all those, living or departed, old covenant or new, human or angelic, who come to Christ’s throne on Mount Zion (Hebrews 12).

In other words, “church” or ekklesia can mean just about anything you want it to. So, in my experience, that word has become less and less helpful as we plod through the 21^st century—especially in the context of the Covid-19 crisis. With public “church” meetings canceled, “church” services streaming online and the “church” people quarantined in their homes, we’re invited to reconsider the meaning of “church”–what it is, who we are, how we meet and what’s at stake. To think fresh thoughts, I propose we start with a fresh (and ancient) alternative to the word “church.”   

OIKOS ­– House, Household, Home 

Aside from being a delicious yogurt brand (thanks, Calvin Keys), the word oikos is used 106 times in the New Testament, nearly as often as ekklesia (115x). Just over half these occurrences appear in Luke-Acts.

Oikos is translated into English with words such as:

• house: an actual building or dwelling place, including nests, stalls, tents or temples, and especially the houses where families live.
• household: those who dwell in the house, whether birds and animals, unrelated tenants or actual families. When the house is a temple, the household is the family of God.
• home: the home signifies family and all that relationship includes.

Oikos can be used literally (actual houses or families) but it is also a metaphor for the people of God. And while there is a real sense in which all humans are part of God’s extended family (Ephesian 3:15, Acts 17:29, Luke 3:38), it is also true that those who willingly participate in the Good News of Jesus Christ are now “living stones” of a new dwelling place (temple) for God and they are family members of his household. Here’s Paul in Ephesians 2:

¹⁷ So the Messiah came and gave the good news. Peace had come! Peace, that is, for those of you who were a long way away, and peace, too, for those who were close at hand. ¹⁸ Through him, you see, we both have access to the father in the one spirit.

     ¹⁹ This is the result. You are no longer foreigners or strangers. No: you are fellow-citizens with God’s holy people. You are members of God’s household (οἰκεῖοι). ²⁰ You are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with King Jesus himself as the cornerstone. ²¹ In him, the whole building (οἰκοδομὴ) is fitted together, and grows into a holy temple in the Lord. ²² You, too, are being built up together, in him, into a place where God will live by the spirit.     

HOUSE or HOME

When we privileged the term “church” over “household,” it’s worth asking what was lost in the latter term’s gradual disuse. The exception is my Pentecostal friends, who frequently like to say, “God is in the house,” usually combining the building and the meeting. But other than them…

I asked my friend Paul E. Ralph to reflect on this idea with me—the possibility that oikos can help us think more clearly about what it means to “gather in his name,” especially as we’re quarantined in our homes.

Paul asked me to consider the emotional difference between a house and a home—and how that difference suggests renewed ways of being “church.” He began by asking how I might respond if he told me, “I’ve built an addition on my house.” I suppose I’d say, “That’s great, Paul. Another room for you to use, to fill, to clean. Good for you.” But then feel the difference of discovering that his household had just increased. “A new addition to the family! Wahoo! I can’t wait to meet her!”

Or consider the difference between saying, “We’ve bought a new house” and “We’ve finally found our home.” What is it that transforms a house into a home? What happens when we encounter a group of people who, through our shared faith in Christ, feel like family to us? What do we mean when we reflect, “I feel like I’ve come home”? What are we offering when we say, “Make yourself at home”? Who must we be and how must we live to create that sense of welcome and belonging?

I won’t do all the work for you. Why not spend time thinking about the questions in the previous paragraph—why not pray through them, brainstorm them in your home, and journal what you come to. The ideas that come may even be intimations from the Holy Spirit.

And what if we were to apply these insights now, during lockdown … could “two or three gathered” be a house for God? Could a quarantined family be the household of God? AND what if we seriously implemented them thereafter?

How’s this for a prayer of invocation:

Abba, mi casa es su casa!

Our house is your house. And Christ is our Cornerstone.

Our household is your household. May the Spirit of Grace fill every room.

Our home is your home. Loving Trinity, make yourself at home.

Our family is your family. We are your children. 

I close with this story, circulating on Instagram:

THE CHURCH IS NOT STONES: In the 11^th century, the Muslim Caliph Al-Hakim decreed the closure of all churches in Egypt for nine years. It was a time of great distress for all Christians. One day, the Caliph was walking through the streets where Christians resided and he heard their voices praising and praying in each house. Then he said, “Open their churches again and let them pray as they please. I wished to close a church in every street. But today I discovered that when I made this decree, a church was opened in every home.

Stay tuned for our 3^rd installment of “Where 2 or 3 Gather,” where we will play with the phrase, “In his name.” It’s more than singing, announcements and a sermon. See you then.

Where 2 or 3 Gather – Covidtide Prayers 1/3 “Church Is Canceled” (Is it?) - Brad Jersak

“Yes: where two or three come together in my name,
 I’ll be there in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20 NTE).

“Christ said two or three, not two or three hundred.” —Simone Weil

Christians: What if... what if the church can no longer meet in buildings, must cancel all its services, and what if even live-streaming fails us. What if the internet crashes and the government bans gatherings bigger than 2 or 3? 

Is church canceled? Does ‘church’ even still exist?

Jesus: Did I stutter?

Can we conceive of a Christ-centered faith in which two or three are gathered in his name?

As COVID-19 blitzkriegs the globe, those who still conceive of the “church” being contingent on worship services held weekly in brick-and-mortar buildings are having to adjust rapidly. It’s one thing to “cancel church” for a few weeks due to blizzard conditions. But when the closures are both indefinite and legislated, we are forced to reimagine how we “gather in his name.”

So far, the creative responses of dispersed congregations depend on our prowess at digital connectivity. “Social distancing” has generated the demand for “live-streaming” services and/or remote “Zoom meetings.” At least we can see one another’s faces online—“proof of life” for the church held hostage.

When the technology works, it’s a blessing for those who miss being with their faith family. As I write, I can say I “went to church” online in Toronto and Abbotsford last Sunday. Eden and I zoomed into Hope4Life Miami for two hours this morning. And Eden is prepping a sermon for her “virch” (virtual church) this Sunday from the privacy of her office.

Then again, perhaps not much has changed for the millions of Christ-followers who had previously abandoned live services in physical structures. For those no longer affiliated with any institution or congregation, innumerable sources and genres of Christian radio, television and online content are readily available. For decades, PTM’s Greg Albrecht has offered daily online radio messages and weekly services, all archived and accessible. The www.ptm.org website is loaded with resources and pdf versions of both its magazines.        

Yes, for those who developed spiritual allergies to the local church, a buffet of virtual Christianity has been available for just nine months shy of a century. On January 2, 1921, Calvary Episcopal Church broadcast the first radio church services on KDKA. The Rev. Lewis B. Whittemore conducted the service and so began Christian “broadcasting” (the actual verb for sowing seed, by the way).

But that’s still a recent trend in Christian history. How is it that Christianity as a living faith survived prior to 1921 through extended times of medical or political lockdown? Was the church Christ founded ever truly suspended, even when driven underground?

During the Communist Revolution, Eden’s Oma and her clan could not gather for public worship for over 30 years. Would they have said, “church is canceled”? How was it that their faith survived? What form did Christianity take through the centuries when it was quarantined by persecution?

I suspect we suffer such intense historical amnesia and cultural tunnel vision that we’re tempted to imagine that “church is canceled.” What if the church doors were locked and, Lord forbid, even the internet should crash? Would Christianity cease to exist except in the privacy of our hearts? But wait…

Across the centuries, the words of Christ speak to us: “Yes: where two or three come together in my name, I’ll be there in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20 NTE). How might two-or-three discipleship look, specifically? What makes gathering “in his name” any different than when the same people meet to talk about canceled playoffs or gossip about neighbors who aren’t social distancing properly? What components to “gathering in his name” are optional and which are non-negotiable? That’s been a matter for debate for ages.

This current crisis is an invitation to reimagine church. When it’s all over, do we really want everything to return to how it was? Could we make good use of this reset so that whether or not we attend local churches, we recognize what had been missing or what had been superfluous in our life of worship?

When Pope Francis delivered his homily to St. Peter’s empty square this week, he answered that same question:

It is not the time of God’s judgment, but of our judgment: a time to choose what matters and what passes away, a time to separate what is necessary from what is not. It is a time to get our lives back on track with regard to you, O Lord, and to others. 

In the next two installments of this series, we’ll explore a few new and potentially abiding orientations to how and why we “do church” or “be church.” See you then.    

The Covid-19 Reset: Dark Clouds, Silver Linings & New Ways of Being - Brad Jersak

Covid-1

I have no medical assessments or advice to share.

I’m a doctor, Jim, but not that kind.

While some may be going stir-crazy, others suffer greatly and still others are working hard to flatten the curve. For my part, I will only ask a few questions for contemplation. Without minimizing how harsh this storm is—medically and financially—I’m pondering what social and spiritual fabric we might weave from the silver lining around these dark clouds.

RESET QUESTION:
WHICH NEW WAYS OF BEING COULD BECOME PERMANENT CORRECTIONS?

Covid-19 has generated a wide array of involuntary responses and reactions. These range from panic to courage, hoarding to sharing, alienation to creative community. How has it changed your lifestyle? How has your way of being undergone a reset in a healthier direction? Might these new habits be an invitation for a permanent course correction?

For example, I had created a situation for myself in which I had chronically overscheduled my 2020 calendar. I thought I could get away with it because I expected a lot of my trips to include Eden. But when she had to cancel for health reasons, I found myself dreading the time away and apart. It felt like a “heavy yoke”—a signal that Christ had not given it to me. It was self-imposed. But why? What fears or dysfunctions were behind squeezing my life too tightly?

But now, with all my gigs canceled until at least June, I feel a sigh of relief. I’m still working in other ways, but I wonder how that sigh is an invitation. Instead of just coping with this temporary glitch in the matrix, I wonder if we could take advantage of this involuntary reset to discover new and healthier practices that we’d do well to embrace going forward. For example   

ALIENATION QUESTION:

HAS THE EMBODIMENT OF ISOLATION IN A VIRUS WOKEN US TO RESIST IT?  

One of the great complaints about self-quarantine is the way it can make us feel isolated. The truth is that the exodus from community into radical individualism was already killing us. My godfather says that the modern psychological term for “hell” is alienation. And the problem was that despite the anxiety and despair it created, I saw very little resistance to it.

But now that it’s embodied in this virus, we can watch and even measure how contagious and deadly it is. This is not a metaphor. I have not been tested and have no symptoms, yet in my personal quarantine, I’m now very mindful of the need to resist the alienation that was already a pandemic. Covid-19 has mobilized us to final say NO. Will we continue to fight the alienation after this current tide has receded? How so? I’m seeing purposeful acts of connection and communion that I hope will become part of this reset.    

FLESH QUESTION:

WILL OUR DIGITAL CONNECTIONS TURN US BACK TO TOUCH? 

The inability to meet face-to-face has taught us remote workarounds in our classrooms, our workplaces, our clinics and our fellowships. We’ve discovered through technology Christ’s miraculous ability to work and heal and deliver even from a distance. I mean this quite literally. And I’m very grateful for online classroom experiences. And who doesn’t love working from home in their pajamas?

That said, I am praying that we also feel the lack. While this may be an exponential leap forward for the digital revolution, let’s remember that the Word became flesh. Flesh. Touch. And he’s in the midst of two or three gathered. Hand-in-hand prayer circles. Laying on of hands to heal. Arms around shoulders to encourage. The warm embrace of comfort. The Maori people sharing breath, foreheads and noses touching. Eskimo kisses. The apostolic holy kiss or passing the peace. Wm. Paul Young or Eden Jersak’s healing hugs.

I pray that we push back hard at the limitations of social media pseudo-connection (as helpful as it can be) and fight for a fleshy faith once again. May we be recharged in our desire to meet around a shared meal, drink from a common cup, puff the same cigar. And may we forever think that anything less is not normal, however viral.           

SOLITUDE QUESTION:

HAVE WE FOUND OUR WAY BACK TO CREATION?

I saw a meme that showed “before and during quarantine.” Before the quarantine, some lone dude was huddled alone in his home, transfixed by his smartphone. During quarantine, the meme showed a collage of people riding their bikes, walking on nature trails, enjoying a calm beachfront. And this wasn’t just in the fantasyland of meme-world. My friend Giovanna described exactly this scene while out and about today. And I realized (as I gazed into my iPhone) that quarantine has given us two great gifts:

It has given the world of nature a little breathing space from us. I read about emission rates dropping in Northern Italy as the streets are less clogged and clear water flowing in the canals of Venice, inviting dolphins into the city. Fun. And temporary. Horrendous for the oil industry (another of our addictions). But at least the biosphere got to come up for a gulp of air.

But also, quarantine has called us to lift our eyes up from our glowing little screens invite us outside. In other words, even before we can safely let down the walls of our social distancing, we can still experience quarantine as spiritual solitude rather than soul-sucking isolation. I know someone in mandatory isolation right now… but they realized that weather permitting, they can spend their time in the forest rather than in the attic. Check with medical professionals but I am quite sure the “don’t go out” order needn’t literally mean “stay in your cell.”

Speaking of which, I hear children outside. Time for my prayer walk. It’s been too long.

Much love,

Brad

Let's Talk about Hell BETTER or “If You’re Wrong, a Lot of People Will Go to Hell & It's Your Fault” Brad Jersak

LET’S TALK ABOUT HELL (BETTER)

I’d like to think I’ve said and written enough about hell.

Indeed, I’ve said too much for the liking of some and not enough to be clear to others. In Her Gates Will Never Be Shut (Wipf & Stock, 2009), I attempted to address many of the questions Rob Bell would pose a year later in his career-changing work, Love Wins. I would have loved 10% of his book sales. But at least I’m not bitter. What we had most in common were critical reviews by people who didn’t bother to read either book.

I was also happy to offer my two cents on hell in Kevin Miller’s documentary movie Hellbound? My greatest contributions were surely my titillating handlebar mustache and the cemetery scene (no spoilers). Despite a decade of painstaking descriptions of the variety of biblical and patristic notions concerning hell and divine judgment, I still hear (too often) that I “don’t believe in hell.” But fear not—I do. The rumors are just slander. And you know where slanderers go, right? (Cf. 1 Cor. 6:9-10, Gal. 5:23, Rev. 22:15). Ouch, eh?

Anyway, with the firestorm release of David Bentley Hart’s That All Shall Be Saved (to reviews ranging from succulent to truculent), it seems the church is finally ready to have the conversation in earnest.

Namely, how should we talk about hell?

On a recent three-week tour of New Zealand and Australia, the topic of hell and the question of ultimate redemption came up at every single stop. Whether I was with Baptists, the Vineyard, Methodists, Anglicans, Brethren or YWAMers, I was grilled on two topics everywhere I went. One of those two themes was hell; the other I’ll save for another time.

“Let’s talk about hell,” they urged.

“Let’s talk about hell better,” I replied. 

Previously, my conversation partners and I have described three main interpretations of the Bible’s hell texts: infernalism (eternal conscious torment), conditionalism (or annihilation) and universalism (hopeful or convinced). We’ve covered that territory ad nauseam. 

This time, I want to talk about:

• how the Bible talks about hell, and
• how we should talk about it today.

Not so much what hell is but more about how to talk about it.