NT Wright : Authority of the Bible

Maundy Thursday

The word Maundy comes from the Latin mandatum, which means "commandment." At the Last Supper, Jesus gave the disciples a new commandment to love one another as he had loved them (John 13:34). Prior to breaking the bread with the disciples, Jesus washed their feet. As a result of these ceremonies the day received different names, all of which point to a church solemnity that evolved from Holy Week.

Readings of Exodus 12:1-42; John 13:1-17, 31-35

MEDITATION OF THE DAY: The three holy days before Easter, (known as the TRIDUUM), begins with today’s celebration and end with the Easter solemnity. The theme of the first lessons lays our attention on the Eucharist which is instituted in this “Last Supper” and yet some are surprised as John’s Gospel. Why all this attention to Jesus washing the feet of his disciples when he is giving us the Eucharist? Remember when Jesus was invited by a Pharisee to dinner and the discussion that ensued? The custom of the time was that the host would have his servants make the guests comfortable by cleansing their feet before they recline at table for the meal, conversation and fellowship. This is what Jesus is doing for his disciples in the upper room.
But this isn’t just a meal but the Passover celebration when faithful Jews recalled how Yahweh saved them from slavery and led them through the desert to their promised land. That event prefigures what Jesus is about to do for us all in this paschal mystery of salvation we are celebrating. And Jesus is present to his disciples in this meal as the servant. Are we people inclined to serve or be served tells a great deal about how we received the mysteries revealed this day?
PRAYER OF THE DAY: Almightyand eternal God,you told us to love. But we are weak. We do not love as Jesus did, or anything like it. Send us your Spirit to change us and to make us love like the Crucified and Risen One, which we may carry out your mandate. Amen

Maundy Thursday Discipline – Make an effort to commit to an act of humble servitude that you would not normally do on this day. In the evening go to the liturgy and participate in the foot washing.

Picture from Nathan Turner
Source: Meditations of the Day at Anglican Mainstream

Anglican Meditations for the Holy Week (MONDAY)

The following material has been taken from ANGLICAN MAINSTREAM

am: Ps 51
pm: 69:1-23
Jer 12:1-16; Phil 3:1-14; John 12:9-19

LITURGICAL THEME FOR THE DAY: The term “Holy Monday” carries over from the Eastern Orthodox Church for Monday and Tuesday of this Week also known as Great and Holy Monday and Tuesday. On these days, an icon of the "Bridegroom" is placed in the center of the church, portraying Jesus wearing the purple robe of mockery and crowned with a crown of thorns. Also the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is celebrated, at which the faithful may receive Holy Communion from the reserved Holy Mysteries.

MEDITATION OF THE DAY: For the Apostle Paul, we see today that he spends a good bit of time that there is the need for perspective and self-reflection. As a matter of fact he calls all that he has done he has just spent time explaining to the Philippians Christians of little consequence and in fact, it is worthless. WHY? Because he has met and encountered Jesus Christ and everything, is worthless compared to knowing him? This Week in Holy Week, we are given a profound opportunity through the liturgical journey of the church to come face to face with the power of the cross and reconcile our lives with the price Christ had to pay to save us. This is not a week to be complacence and to look forward to a nice holiday. Rather we should be aware that here is much to
do in this journey, if we want to attain the prize of which he speaks . As we consider the words of St. Paul today and moving through this Holy Week, let us ponder our reasons why or why not we are on the road to accomplish the prize, which is Christ Jesus as Risen Lord.

PRAYER OF THE DAY: I cry aloud to the LORD; I lift up my voice to the LORD for mercy. I pour out my complaint before him; before him I tell my trouble. When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who know my way. In the path where I walk men have hidden a snare for me. Look to my right and see; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life. I cry to you, O LORD; I say, "You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living." Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me. Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me. Amen - - (Psalm 142)

Holy Monday Discipline – Take some time to study about what the church teachings on poverty and the Christian response is to be. Ask yourself how significant your life response has been. Such thoughts will not only help you serve Christ, but you also add into yourself a wider perspective about difficult issues. Or Think about this….Mary used costly perfume to anoint Jesus’ feet. What is valuable in your life today? Time? Money? Relationships? How can you use these things to honor Jesus?

NT Wright on Resurrection

NT Wright on evil & satan

Incarnational Christianity

Archbishop Venables in Lambeth

More on Lambeth and the 'S' day

In the previous post, I assumed wrongly that the voices of ex-gays were not heard in Lambeth. Actually, in the market place, and amongst all pro-gay activists, there is one prophetic voice as reported by VirtueOnLine.

Speaking of ex-gay or post-gay, the Zacchaeus Fellowship is here bearing witness to the transforming power of Christ's love in our lives. "As men and women who have struggled with same-sex attractions, we seek to be a voice of hope to the church and to others who share these struggles. We encourage the Church to stand firm in proclaiming to everyone who experiences same-sex attractions that Christ offers them new life and hope." Not with this crowd. Inclusion means never having to repent or change your life.

VirtueOnLine reports are worth to read.

Keep praying and let's see what happens!

Decisive day in Lambeth: the 'S' day

Early this morning the BBC announced that today is THE day. Bishops will talk and reflect on human sexuality (that's why I called it the 's' day!)
The agenda for today can be found here. Even more, later today a theater play will be performed on the stories of gay Christians.

Funny enough, Bishops have been listening to one side of the story. But Peter Ould made the point in a recent post: the voices of those Christians who once were gay and today are not gay anymore have not been heard! He clearly mentions Andy Comiskey (the founder of Desert Stream Ministries, now in Kansans), Mario Bergner, an Anglican priest from Redeemed Lives Ministries. There are other Anglicans like Martin Hallet the founder of True Freedom Trust who deserve to be heard, or that should have had more room and space in all this process. Probably they were heard before.

A good article on the Anglican Crisis can be found here.

Again, let's pray, wait and see.

Venables in Lambeth

Many years ago, I've seen and heard ++ Gregory Venables preaching a couple of times when he was the Bolivian Anglican Bishop. If there is something I remember from his preachings, it is that he would never doubt to use any circumstance or situation to preach the Gospel, to announce Jesus. Actually, I admired the fact that an older man would be so outspoken for Jesus.

Anyway, many years later, this man is one of the central figures of the Anglican Communion. He participated in the GAFCON conference, provided pastoral oversight to those bible believing Anglicans in the US and Canada (a remnant?), and stood firm for the orthodox faith.

Church Times has published some recent comments by Bishop Venables. The full article can be read here. Apparently, there is a kind of 'denial' mood in Lambeth, and the core issues are not being properly addressed.

Unless we talk about the real reasons why we are divided there’s little hope of putting it back together again

Let's wait and see!

Lambeth ...

It is difficult to follow all the moves and news from the Lambeth Conference. Our brethren in the Anglican Communion are struggling to choose either a bible based faith, with the pains and sorrows that it may imply, or to choose a more modern and open minded way of believing. I think that the latter is an avoidance of the 'sorrows' that we should expect in this world (John 16.33).



Archbishop Williams pronounced his Second Presidential Address to the Lambeth Conference 2008. Hereunder an extract of his speech:

What might the traditional believer hope others have heard? ‘What we seek to do in our context is faithfully to pass on what you passed on to us — Holy Scripture, apostolic ministry, sacramental discipline. But what are we to think when all these things seem to be questioned and even overturned? We want to be pastorally caring to all, to be “inclusive” as you like to say. We want to welcome everyone. Yet the gospel and the faith you passed on to us tell us that some kinds of behaviour and relationship are not blessed by GOD. Our love and our welcome are unreal if we don’t truthfully let others know what has shaped and directed our lives — so along with welcome, we must still challenge people to change their ways. We don’t see why welcoming the gay or lesbian person with love must mean blessing what they do in the Church’s name or accepting them for ordination whatever their lifestyle. We seek to love them — and, all right, we don’t always make a good job of it : but we can’t just say that there is nothing to challenge. Isn’t it like the dilemma of the early Church — welcoming soldiers, yet seeking to get them to lay down their arms?

Let's wait and see.

Historic: The Jerusalem Declaration

Finally, after the GAFCON a Declaration was released. The full text can be found here.

8. We acknowledge God’s creation of humankind as male and female and the unchangeable standard of Christian marriage between one man and one woman as the proper place for sexual intimacy and the basis of the family. We repent of our failures to maintain this standard and call for a renewed commitment to lifelong fidelity in marriage and abstinence for those who are not married.

13. We reject the authority of those churches and leaders who have denied the orthodox faith in word or deed. We pray for them and call on them to repent and return to the Lord.

By affirming the historical and biblical teaching on human sexuality and rejecting the Ministry of those who don't even believe in the Resurrection or the uniqueness of heterosexual marriage, it seems obvious that Anglicanism is facing a split.
It seems obviuos that GAFCON Leaders do not recognize the ministry of those who uphold heretic doctrines (as the TEC or the Church of Canada). Now Lambeth ... Venables will be there as a voice from GAFCON, while the Bishop of Rochester cannot have communion with those who departed from the orthodox faith. Packer has requested Rowan William's resignation. The turmoil does not seem to pass away.

Conservatives are also 'split'. The main Orthodox scholar NT Wright has clearly expressed his opposition to the GAFCON movement. If he eventually becomes the head of the Anglican Communion as it has been suggested in the blogsphere, he or whoever inherits the Canterbury See will have to be very creative to keep the unitiy of the one Apostolic an catholic Church.

On the Anglican Communion: Reform from within!

I have been following the current events in the Anglican Communion. At this very moment, more than 250 Bishops and in total about 1000 bishops, clergy and lay leaders are reunited in Jerusalem, at the Global Anglican Future Conference 'GAFCON' , praying and listening God on His will for the future of the Anglican Communion.

What we are meeting for here is not to plan to walk away. We are meeting to renew our commitment, to renew our faith, to get a sense of direction of what we can be as Anglicans. We do not want to start a new Church. (Archbishop Orombi, Uganda)

The Anglican leaders are searching for a renewed commitment to evangelism and the proclamation of the Gospel of King Jesus, despite the growing influence of secularism in society. They are looking for a refreshed way to tell the world that King Jesus has actually never forsaken his people and God's creation.

The West is losing a Christian discourse at the very time it needs it most. Let us pray we are able to recover our Christian nerve in the West and to make sure the Gospel is not lost. (Bishop of Rochester, UK)

The Anglican leaders understood that there is indeed a need to keep the unity of the Church, and that their voices are much more important within the context of the Global Anglicanism than becoming a separate Church. What a challenge!

the agenda is now reform from within rather than starting a breakaway conservative Anglican church (Times Online)

Venables will attend Lambeth

Finally, after lots of "I won't attend Lambeth" and probably following the request of several orthodox bishops in the UK, +++Greg Venables, the Primate of the Southern Cone will indeed attend Lambeth.

The full story here.

In any case, due to all the turmoil surrounding the schism between Orthodox (Bible believing) and Liberal (open minded, easy going and not really Bible believing) Anglicans, Venables' presence in Lambeth is of utmost importance. He must stand for those who still hold the Bible as final source of doctrine and faith, as the Reformers did. At least, the Orthodox Anglicans should make their voices heard.

Wonderings of the Anglican Communion (2)

After yesterday's post, i've found that last weekend FULCRUM had a specific meeting to address the issue of the Communion and the Anglican Covenant. The main speakers were obviously Tom Wright, and Andrew Goddard.

Tom Wright's lecture "Conflict and Covenant in the Bible" can be found HERE.

Andrew Goddard's lecture "Conflict and Covenant in the Communion" can be found HERE.

In any case, it clarifies very much the understanding of what's going on with the Anglicans, and definitely does not support any idea that +Tom would be making his way from Durham to Canterbury. +Tom actually supports militantly the role of +++Rowan Williams, and hopes for the unity of the Anglicans. Both lectures are long to read but worth.

Both lectures should be carefully read by those supporting +++Venables or +++Akinola in their attempts to bring their understanding of righteousness to the wider Church. And both make the point: it's not about homosexuality per se, but about the boundaries of the Communion. It seems that everyone made homosexuality the central issue, when it's not, it's simply the manifestation of a deeper problem.

I still have to think about ;-)

Wonderings of the Anglican Communion

As most of my friends know, I came to the Christian (bible based faith) in the setting of a small Anglican Church in La Paz. As consequence, I always had a special heart for the Anglican Communion. It was normally refreshing to know that despite the hurricanes of doctrine that whipped Bolivia (e.g.Liberation Theology, Prosperity & Faith 'gospels', Dispensationalism, and lots of other mixtures), one could always count on the Bible based faith of the Anglicans. Even if the appointed leader were once "too liberal" (low Church) or the next "too backwards" (high Church), they normally kept the principle of honoring the Bible as final source of authority: the simple saying "Show me what is in the Bible and I will teach it. Show me that what I teach isn't in the Bible, and I will stop teaching it."

I recently found a post from the Unofficial Lambeth 2008 Website. They are already suggesting that Archbishop Rowan Williams should resign in order to keep the unity of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Anglicans are the largest non RC Christian denomination in the world, and in many places they are "the" reference of what Christianity is all about. Therefore, the unity of the Anglicans is a matter not only for the member but for the whole Body of Christ on the Earth.

And Michael Daly, boldly suggests that the well respected scholar, the Lord Bishop of Durham, may be the successor and the only move that could keep the Anglican Communion as a Unity. Hereunder his words:

“But, who will replace him?” you ask. I thought about that, too. While +Rochester would make a fine candidate (at least I think so), he would never fly with the rest of the Communion and it is doubtful that most British people (apart from the Evangelicals) would think much of it, either. Step back a bit, then and think about who in the English Church has been most outspoken recently about maintaining the structural integrity of the Lambeth Conference and the Anglican Communion? I’ll give you a hint: he’s another eminent scholar and has a seat in the House of Lords.

Putting this all together may seem a bit of a stretch, but it makes sense to my supper-addled mind, this evening. Could +Tom Wright be making a play for something the present Archbishop of Canterbury has already given up on? And would it necessarily be a bad thing?

Apparently all odds are pointing to NT Wright as the successor. As for me, I will simply keep praying for the Anglicans in the pain where they are now.

Easter echoes

The most recent Easter Sermon by Bishop Wright was intendedly shocking. He made several points of denouncing unrighteousness. He highlighted the current debates on abortion, babies euthanasia, asylum seekers, and human-animal inter species genetic bending.

Peter’s message to Cornelius was that through his resurrection Jesus has been constituted as the judge of the living and the dead. The resurrection of Jesus is the beginning of the final putting-to-rights of all things. In the light of the resurrection, the church must never stop reminding the world’s rulers and authorities that they themselves will be held to account, and that they must do justice and bring wise, healing order to God’s world ahead of that day.

Bishop Tom Wright "The uncomfortable truth of Easter" a sermon at the Sung Eucharist in Durham Cathedral Easter Day 2008

The Anglican Mainstream blog echoed Wright's words and further elaborated on the recent Dutch protocol on finishing the life of suffering or disabled babies, with the several scientific support obtained by the medical community. The Church should have a saying. We still believe that humans are made to bear God's image, and therefore human life should be preserved with all available efforts, not terminated as easily as possible.

“[W]e are moving toward a medical system,” says Smith, “in which babies are put down like dogs and killing is redefined as a caring act.” But this can happen only in a society that has forgotten that every human life is made in the image of God—and, therefore, worthy of protection. Think worldviews do not matter? Think our Christian heritage is irrelevant? Too bad we cannot ask the infants of Groningen what they think. Deadly Trend, by Chuck Colson 3/14/2008 The Infanticide Protocol

Furthermore, it makes me think of a global covenant with death. May the Truth of Easter bring true light to our paths!