Dear Friends,
I invite you to participate in an online discussion throughout the month of October.
In the Episcopal Church, we speak of the many ways in which members feel 'at home' and welcomed--included in the community of faith. This affirmation of our being accepted by God is a joyful and empowering gift.
At the same time, having been affirmed by God in Christ, and affirmed and welcomed by the other members of the community of faith, we are also called upon, in word and deed, to make an Affirmation of Faith.
What is the faith we affirm? What do we mean when we say we are Christian?
Such questions are on the minds of a number of people at Saint Luke's who are preparing for Confirmation on All Saints' Day, November 1st.
- Suppose you were approached by some one who is not Christian but who wants to understand a bit of why you are. How would you respond? What does it mean to be Christian?
- That same person then has a follow-up question for you: Why would somebody choose to be Christian in The Episcopal Church?
PLEASE POST YOUR RESPONSES. That way we'll be helping our candidates for Confirmation (and Reception*) prepare for their November 1st Affirmation of Faith and we'll be learning more about faith from our shared affirmations.
BY THE WAY: Among the topics that candidates will be studying and discussing are The Bible and The Book of Common Prayer.
DURING THE STUDY OF SCRIPTURE we have been focusing on The Gospel According to Mark. You might want to read it. It's a fast read--both by length and by the evangelist's tempo. It's a good place to begin a study of The Gospels. One particular section you might attend to is Mark 8:27-10:45. In this section, we read of how the followers of Jesus, and early Christians in Mark's church community, were misunderstanding what it means to call Jesus the Christ. It seems people had the idea that you could follow Christ as a way to be relieved of whatever ailed you. However, Jesus (and Mark writing about Jesus' ministry and message) warns people that to be a true disciple or follower does not mean a life of tranquillity and calm. GIVE THESE CHAPTERS A LOOK! Three times, Jesus predicts his Passion (suffering and death); three times his disciples don't want to hear it and as a result are misunderstanding the heart of Christ's mission; three times Jesus offers a teaching to correct their (and our?) mistaken views on what it means to call Jesus Christ and to follow him in faith as a disciple.
A CLUE TO SEEING THE THREE-FOLD PATTERN IN THIS SECTION OF MARK: As I said, there are three repititions of a) Jesus Predicts His Passion, b) the Disciples Misunderstand what it means to follow Jesus, and c) Jesus teaches them about Christ and Faith. The clue is that each of the three sections begins with a geographic reference-- it almost makes it like a mini-chapter heading: Section One starts at 8:27 (with a reference to Caesarea Philip); Section Two, at 9:30 (referencing Galilee and Capernaum); and Section Three, at 10:32 (Road to Jerusalem).
Next week (after Oct 7) check back here for some focusing questions on The Book of Common Prayer.
Faithfully yours,
Tom
(*Reception is the term used when a person, having been previously confirmed in another denomination, desires to be received into The Episcopal Church, making an adult affirmation of faith)
1 comment:
What does it mean to be a Christian? The simple answer, of course, is that to be a Christian is to believe that the path to salvation is found through the person of Jesus, by following his way as revealed in scripture. This begs the question of what actually is the way of Jesus and what does scripture actually reveal. Christians have been arguing amongst themselves about this since the earliest days of the church, an argument that is just a fierce today as it was in the First Century.
Why would someone choose to be Christian in the Episcopal Church? For me, the Episcopal Church offers a vision of Jesus' Way and an insight into absorbing scriptural revelation that resonates with my sense of being called by the Holy Spirit. Anglicanism has traditionally been a thinking person's movement, a doctrinal framework that provides guidance but not dogma on reading scripture and understanding theology. The Episcopal Church, unlike many other denominations, acknowledges that man's knowledge of God's will is inherently incomplete, that as human beings we misunderstand and misinterpret scripture. Scripture is unchanging, but our understanding of it can and should change when the Holy Spirit moves us to a more complete understanding. In this church, I'm asked to think about and pray over what Jesus calls me to do, to go with open-eyed faith, not blind faith, along the path God sets for me.
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