Session I - Part 3b: "Dead to sin and alive to God" (Romans 6:11)

In the last post, I began describing the seven traits shared by all living things, as developed by Mike Breen in his book LifeShapes. The first three (which form the acronymn MRS) are MOVEMENT, RESPIRATION, and SENSITIVITY. If something isn't moving, breathing, or aware of its environment, chances are it is dead! And what holds true in the natural realm is also true of spiritual life; if we are not moving when God commands, being filled with the Spirit, and aware of the presence of God and the needs of those around us, then it is right for us (and others) to question the health and viability of our spiritual lives.

The next four traits which finish the Heptagon (and make the acronym GREN--however you want to picture MRS GREN in your mind is up to you!) are all equally necessary for an organism to live. GROWTH is natural in a healthy living thing. It is most dramatic when the organism is young, but even once something reaches "adult" size, growth continues, until disease and death set in. Likewise we are expected to grow spiritually. Second Peter 3:18 encourages us to "Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." Though Christ told us to "become like children," Paul clarifies the difference between being "child-like" and "childish" in 1 Corinthians 14:20 when he says, "Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature." Throughout the Old Testament, the "righteous" (those who are right with God) are described in terms of lush growth:

The righteous flourish like the palm tree
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
They are planted in the house of the Lord;
they flourish in the courts of our God.
They still bear fruit in old age;
they are ever full of sap and green,
to declare that the Lord is upright;
he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

- Psalm 92:12-14
And in the New Testament, Paul lists "the fruit of the Spirit" (qualities which should be growing in us) as "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23).

The next trait is REPRODUCTION. This is growth in the social dimension; if a tribe, herd, or species does not reproduce, it will soon become extinct. Though we don't have to worry that Christ will allow his Body to die off completely, there are churches which have died, and neighborhoods or entire countries where a once-strong representation of the Body of Christ has become virtually non-existent (think of North Africa, for example). One of the marks of a disciple is that they make other disciples; God is faithful and he will not leave himself "without a witness" (Acts 14:17), but his chosen strategy for sustaining and building his body is to use US to bring others into the life of God, and train them in the faith. The content of what is taught is important, as Paul instructs Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:2, "what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also," but the personal touch is also incredibly important, as Paul tells the Corinthians, "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ" (1 Cor. 11:1). Or, as Mike Breen says, "We all look like sheep from the front, and shepherds from the back." In your relationship to God and to those more mature in the Lord, you are a sheep looking for guidance, but there are people coming up behind you (which you might not even notice), who will be looking to you as a shepherd. And that is all part of discipleship.

The next one we don't like to talk about, but every living creature builds up toxins as a natural process of living, and those would cause sickness and death if they didn't have a healthy process of EXCRETION. Our bodies must eliminate sweat, urine, feces and carbon dioxide, and our spirits must eliminate sin, guilt, fear, anger, bitterness, selfishness and other spiritual toxins. The chief way of doing this involves confession, repentance, seeking forgiveness, perhaps making restitution, and altering our lives. All of this is possible, not by our own merit or effort, but through the power of the cross of Jesus Christ. "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace," says Paul in Ephesians 1:7, and John tells us "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). James highlights the benefit of confessing to other believers (and notes the way in which our spiritual lives can impact our physical lives) when he says "Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed" (James 5:16). We might not like doing it, but we won't be healthy if we don't!

And, finally, all living creatures need NUTRITION, taking in food, breaking it down, and putting it to use in providing the body with what it needs for energy, growth, and maintenance of health. Psalm 34:8 encourages us to "Taste and see that the Lord is good," and at the conclusion of the Eucharist we thank God for "feeding us with the spiritual food of the most precious Body and Blood of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ" (BCP p. 366). Communing with God is what nourishes us spiritually, and most often this means feeding on the Word of God. When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, and Satan suggested he turn stones into bread, he responded by saying, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4). Peter encourages his readers to, "Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk [or "milk of the word" KJV], that by it you may grow up into salvation" (1 Peter 2:2), but the writer to the Hebrews reproves his readers for still needing "milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil" (Heb. 5:12b-14). Clearly our spiritual faculties are expected to mature--as an infant's digestive tract matures--through taking in more and more nourishment, and not simply sticking with the same diet of "soft food" we start with.

So... (here comes the "Dr. Phil question") How are we doing with all that? What areas of our spiritual lives are strong and healthy, and where do we need some attention? Take some time to think about which areas you may be weak in, and what you might do to strengthen your spiritual life.

Welcome!

This blog is being set up to summarize lessons in Church of the Savior's ("COTS," in Ambrige, PA) Catechesis Class, primarily for students who miss a class. This is an original curriculum, though it borrows from several resources. This first class (begun July 11, 2010) is a pilot program; we'll see how it goes and how it needs to be tweaked for future students. The plan is for the class to go a full year, but we got a bit of a late start, so we're going to try to get through all of the material in about 7 months. Not everyone in the class is expected to be confirmed--that is a decision the student, the teacher, and the student's mentor will make with the rector when the time comes--but for any who do wish to pursue confirmation, we hope to cover everything by the time the Bishop visits in February or March.

The first four sessions are somewhat introductory; students will be asked at the end of these whether or not they wish to officially enter the Catechumenate and commit to the full program (including mentoring). More on that in upcoming posts.

Anyone who is not in the class may feel free to follow along and make appropriate comments. I trust we will all learn a lot over the course of this program.

Godspeed!

--Dana
Director of Christian Formation
Church of the Savior
Ambridge, PA

Session I - Part 3a: "Dead to sin and alive to God" (Romans 6:11)

What does it mean to be alive? Mike Breen and his team at 3DM say that scientists have determined there are seven traits which all living things share, and in their LifeShapes curriculum, they use a Heptagon to help us remember what those are. The other thing they use is the acronymn MRS GREN, which combines the initial letters of each trait into a woman's name. Their concern, of course, is not with natural biology, but with applying the principles of the natural life to spiritual life, and give us a way of understanding how "alive" we are in Christ (and what areas of our spiritual life may be in some degree of danger).

1. The first of these traits is MOVEMENT. All living things must move. Obvious examples are predator and prey; the predator must track and eventually capture its prey if it is to eat to stay alive--and the prey must FLEE if IT is to stay alive! Herbivores must move to find food as well, as they will overgraze, ruin their habitat, and starve if they stay in one place. Some animals migrate to avoid extreme temperatures, find foliage, or find a mate. But even on the microscopic level, living creatures move.

The Bible is full of moving stories, some of the most memorable being Abraham sojourning in the land of promise, going to a land God would show him (Genesis 12:1-3). When Abraham's descendants had spent many years in Egypt and were freed by Moses, they moved through the Wilderness, following God's guidance in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Numbers 9:15-23). In the Exile, God sent his people away, but then he called them back to himself, and back to the land of promise (Isaiah 35:8-10). Jesus did extensive traveling, and he sent his disciples out, both during his earthly ministry and at his ascension in what we call "The Great Commission" (Matt. 28:18-20). Other passages use movement in a metaphorical sense, describing our life of faith as a journey or a race, with Christ as the goal (Philippians 3:7-14, Hebrews 12:1-12).

2. RESPIRATION -- all living things need to breathe in some fashion. When we come across something or someone we think might be dead, this is one of the first tests we use to determine if there is still life in the body. When we breathe in, we take in oxygen, which is needed by all of our cells, and when we breathe out, we rid our bodies of carbon dioxide (which is harmful to us, but needed by plants), and we must balance breathing in and breathing out regularly.

In both Hebrew and Greek (the languages of the Bible), "Breath" "Wind" and "Spirit" are possible translations for one word. It was when God breathed into Adam that he became a "living creature" (Gen. 2:4-9), and Ezekiel was told to "Prophesy to the wind" (or breath, or spirit) to come upon the dry bones and make them live again (Ezek. 37:1-14). We need to constantly be taking in the refreshing inspiration of the Spirit of God, which manifested itself as "a mighty rushing wind" on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4), and ridding ourselves of "hot air" (or pride). We must also balance rest with work, and work with rest.

3. SENSITIVITY is the third trait shared by all living things. In order to find food, avoid danger, and generally stay alive and healthy, a creature must be sensitive to its environment, seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, an tasting in order to be aware of what is helpful and harmful to life. Spiritually, we must also be sensitive to our surroundings, and to what God is doing in the world around us. When the disciples asked Jesus why most people didn't "get" his parables, he said:

Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

You will indeed hear but never understand,
and you will indeed see but never perceive.
For this people's heart has grown dull,
and with their ears they can barely hear,
and their eyes they have closed,
lest they should see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
and turn, and I would heal them.

But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

-- Matthew 13:14-16

In the Gospels and in Revelation, Jesus frequently admonishes his audience, saying, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." The clear implication is that people grow insensitive to God's truth and the Spirit's voice. And not only are we insensitive towards God, we are also often insensitive to the needs of those around us. Jesus had compassion on the crowds, and he expects us to show compassion as well, as in the parable of the Good Samaritan. John reproves anyone who sees his brother in need and "closes his heart" (1 John 3:17--literally "locks up his intestines," the idea being that seeing the suffering of those without adequate food and shelter should be "gut-wrenching"). May God soften our hearts so that we can truly love God and our neighbor as we should!

[to be continued...]

Session I - Part 1 "Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:20)

We are all familiar with "The Great Commission" which Jesus gave his disciples just before his Ascension back to heaven. We usually hear it in the context of missions conferences or exhortations to evangelize, focusing either on the parts where he says "Go into all the world" and/or "Preach the gospel." We may remember "Baptizing" is in there somewhere, and when we feel overwhelmed we might remember the "Lo I am with you always" part. In practice, too often, we envision it in terms of a Billy Graham crusade, and see the goal as one of making decisions (i.e., getting people to walk an aisle, come down front and pray to "get saved" as the culmination of the commission), rather than making disciples. Disciples aren't made overnight; it's a process over time, and it involves teaching, commands, and obedience. This, we're not so good at; but it's what Jesus commanded.

So, one of the things we're going to focus on in this class is looking at the commands that Jesus gave. Not that God didn't give other commands through Moses, David, Paul and others who wrote the books of the Bible, but if we're going to be disciples of Jesus, then focusing on what he commanded seems a logical place to start.

Being in the Anglican tradition, we have a Daily Lectionary (in the back of the Book of Common Prayer, or available online at various sites, including http://satucket.com/lectionary/ ) which includes a reading from one of the Gospels for each day. For the duration of this course, I am asking that we all read these Gospel lessons for each day of the week, and come prepared to discuss them. Our discussion will naturally involve determining what are direct commands, what are indirect commands, to whom each command is given, and if--and how--each command is to be obeyed by us as Jesus' disciples today.

Session I - Part 2 "Humans from Earth"

We come from a blue planet light-years away
Where everything multiplies at an amazing rate
We're out here in the universe buying real estate
Hope we haven't gotten here too late

[chorus:]
We're humans from earth
We're humans from earth
You have nothing at all to fear
I think we're gonna like it here

We're looking for a planet with atmosphere
Where the air is fresh and the water clear
With lots of sun like you have here
Three or four hundred days a year

[chorus]

Bought Manhattan for a string of beads
Brought along some gadgets for you to see
Here's a crazy little thing we call TV
Do you have electricity?

[chorus]

I know we may seem pretty strange to you
But we got know-how and a golden rule
We're here to see manifest destiny through
Ain't nothing we can't get used to

We're humans from earth
We're humans from earth
You have nothing at all to fear...

"Humans from Earth" by T-Bone Burnett
on the album The Criminal Under My Own Hat (Sony Music Entertainment: 1992)

What does it mean to be human? If we ever encounter other life forms in our exploration of space (as imagined in this song, or in the recent film Avatar) then we would need to define ourselves in respect to those life forms, identifying ways in which we are alike and ways in which we are different. We do define ourselves in respect to other life forms on our own planet; this field of study is called Biological Anthropology. Most often, Biological Anthropology compares humans to the "higher primates" with which we share the most in common biologically, to determine what sets us apart. Erect posture, a high level of cooperation, control over our impulses, the ability to predict what another human is thinking, and the ability of two human beings to focus on one subject at the same time (and know that the other is focusing on it, as in teaching a lesson) are some of the qualities Biological Anthropology identifies as setting us apart from animals, including higher primates such as gorillas and chimpanzees.

Other branches of Anthropology give other answers as to what it means to be human. Linguistic anthropology focuses on our use of language, the complexity and similarities that all human languages share, the way we develop more specific words for things we experience a lot (like the many Eskimo words for "snow"), and they way we "switch" the way we speak when changing contexts (e.g. using more slang or profanity with peers than with parents). Cultural Anthropology studies different human cultures to understand the diversity of cultural expressions, but also identify specific practices that all human cultures share (such as family groupings, religious practices, and having some system of arbitrating differences between members of the tribe). Archaeological Anthropology looks at uniquely human practices such as farming or city-building and traces how they have developed over the centuries and millenia.

Christian anthropology, while it may touch on some of these same issues, focuses primarily on how humans are related to God, and how that impacts our relationships with other creatures--human and non-human. Genesis 1 and 2 tell us that, like the animals, we were created "out of the ground," we were made "male and female," and we were commanded to "Be fruitful and multiply." Unlike the animals, we are told God created us "in his image" and "after his likeness," God breathed into the first human's nostrils the breath of life and he became "a living soul," and humans were given "dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

That "dominion," to some degree, seems to have been lost in the Fall (the fruitful ground now bears thorns and thistles, and enmity now exists between humans and some animals), as was the "likeness" (if, with Irenaeus and others, we interpret that to mean the moral qualities of God). But the image remained intact. When Jesus is asked about paying taxes, he says, "Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's" (i.e., the coins which bear his image) "and to God the things which are God's" (meaning YOURSELVES, as you bear God's image).

What precisely is meant by "the image of God" is not explicitly stated in scripture. The Psalmist himself seems somewhat baffled; compared to the moon, the stars, and all of the heavens, he asks, "what is man that you are mindful of him/and the son of man that you care for him?" (Ps. 8:4). It somehow seems absurd after looking at a tree, a mountain, a sunset, or the gas giant Jupiter to say that humans are the "crowning achievement" of God's creation! "Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings [angels, or--as some commentators say--God himself]/and crowned him with glory and honor./You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;/you have put all things under his feet" (Ps. 8:5-6). It is only after the creation of man and woman that God says his creation is "very good" (Genesis 1:31). Whatever the reason (and, as with any love relationship, the reasons are not always clear), God thinks rather highly of us.

Primarily, it seems, we are created in God's image so that we can have a relationship with him. If you love someone, it is your chief desire that that person will love you back, and do so out of his or her own free will. So, we were given the ability to love, and the ability to choose. And if we are free to choose the right thing, we are also free to choose the wrong thing...

And that is what happened in the Fall. What the fruit was we don't know--nor do we need to know--but it was forbidden, and it was the one thing that was. Why did God put it there, in the middle of the garden? So every day Adam and Eve walked past it, they could show their faithfulness to God. But one day they stopped, listened to the snake, and chose to go against God's command. And all the tragedies known to humankind are the fruit of that initial act of rebellion.

Paul, quoting from various Old Testament writers, sums up the human condition post-fall like this:

“None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
“Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
in their paths are ruin and misery,
and the way of peace they have not known.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

--Romans 3:10-18

Our only hope at this stage is in the love of God and the power of God to create us anew. And this is the Gospel: the "seed of the woman" (promised in Gen. 3:15) has come to bruise the serpent's head and set us free from the power of sin and death (Romans 8:1-2), and he has made us "new creatures" (2 Cor. 5:17).