Theology, Ethics, and Spirituality centered on the Trinity and Incarnation, experienced through Theosis, in Sacramental Life, leading to Apokatastasis, explored in maximally inclusive ways. And other random stuff.
This was originally written in 2006 in partial fulfillment of requirements for Systematic Theology at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. It is fairly representative of my current thought, although in several ways I have built on, or superseded, what is written here. This is especially true in matters dealing with Science, World Religions, and Socio-Economic Justice.
This is the FULL 18,000 word original version that was trimmed to around 10,000 words to be turned in. Note that all endnotes have been removed from this version, due to the limitations of the blog format. However, all sources cited and consulted are found at the end of the essay. A Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, send forth your Spirit that I may say what needs to be said, in space allowed, and bear witness fully to your Father's Glory and His Story which writes us all. Amen+
A sermon for St. Paul's Episcopal Church, based on the readings Ezekiel 2:1-5; 2 Corinthians 12:2-10; Mark 6:1-13 One of the great pleasures of working as a chaplain in a rigorous college prep environment is that I get to work with young leaders who really think they have a shot at changing the world. They have a kind of "childlike faith" in the possibility of making the world a better place, and a wonderful naivety about their own capacity to bring about that change. They have been told repeatedly that the sky is the limit, and they can do anything they put their mind to, if they will just work hard enough. And most of them have not had enough experience with the world yet, to have that beat out of them by life's hard knocks, or slowly drained out of them by life's compromises. Do you remember what it was like to have that kind of childlike faith that you could change the world? Before you "grew up" and repeatedly failed the same failures, fought the same fights, and argued the same arguments, over and over and over again. Jesus repeatedly praised childlike faith, saying that it was necessary if we wanted to enter into the Kingdom of God.
Watching American politics seems to me to be much like watching professional wrestling. Back in my childhood, both Hulk Hogan and the Rowdy Roddy Piper (and a whole host of heroes and villains) were all owned and operated by the same World Wrestling Federation. No matter who you root for, or who wins in the ring, the money all goes to the same place.
Is God able to truly feel sorrow over our failures? Does God truly rejoice with our successes? Today in Church our lectionary included the text from 1Samuel 15 that "The Lord was sorry that he had made Saul king over Israel". This is a wonderful text which leads into several interesting theological places I have wanted to write about for some time. To get to those places, let's start Biblically.
Today I want to deal with a subject that scared us to death as children, that we tend to laugh off as mere superstition when we reach adulthood, but that still haunts us when we experience something truly evil in our lives, or see it on the news. That subject is hinted at as early as Genesis chapter 3, when our first parents were tempted by a sneaky snake in the Garden of Eden, and afterward God gave that snake the ominous warning: "I will put hatred between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; The human will strike your head, and you will strike his heel." [Gen 3.15]
The last time I blogged about Fitness in 2014, I had just started my journey back to health. I have learned a great deal since then, and figured it was time to share some of that.
I will only toot my own horn if it helps others, so perhaps this will help someone. Today I have logged my meals for 3 years straight, 1095 days in a row, on MyFitnessPal. It would be 4 years in a row, but my Mission Trip in 2015 broke my 1 year streak. In these 4 years, I have gone from 330 lbs to 275 lbs (I still have 25 lbs to go to get to my goal of 250 lbs). With that loss of 55 lbs, I have gained muscle mass, and my 5 rep max lifts are at 285 for bench, 205 for overhead press, 325 for front squat, and 425 for deadlift. And beyond that, I generally feel healthy and energetic and comfortable in my own skin.
What’s my point in this bragging? My point is that you can do it too. Your goals may be different. They may be running or swimming or CrossFit or whatever. But you can do it, with self discipline that comes from the grace of God. It may not come dramatically or quickly (it sure hasn’t for me), but it will come. I’m a very busy married guy with three active kids and a demanding job. And if I can do it, you can do it.
The history of discussions about the Holy Trinity is littered with dead analogies and metaphors which fail to do justice to the God they are trying to represent. The hallowed Ice-Water-Steam analogy ends in the heresy of Modalism. Patrick's Three Leaf Clover inevitably leads to Unitarianism. The "mother who is a daughter who is a wife" analogy leads to Modalism yet again, while the analogy of "three men who share a common human nature" leads to Polytheism. The Triangle is too impersonal, whereas Augustine's analogy of Lover-Beloved-Love seems too personal, and makes the Trinity seem to be three separate consciousnesses. We could also heap up "1x1x1=1", or "Thinker-Thinking-Thought", or "Giver-Giving-Gift", or one Person as "Mind-Heart-Will", or one Family as "Father-Mother-Child", on the pile of analogies that are too inaccurate or mundane to be definitive examples of the Trinity. All fail. All fall apart. None fully conveys, or captures, the Mystery of the Trinity. Like I saw online the other day: The Trinity is a Mystery, not a Puzzle. And yet. And yet! The opposite end of over-explaining is under-explaining: The Trinity is a Mystery we cannot understand, so don't even try. Just affirm it and go about your life. Keep calm and don't think too much.
