Hamstrings and Excellence, Law and Grace

For those who do not know me, I push myself hard in many areas of life. I generally like doing "hard things" that trigger the desire to perform within me. From preaching, to teaching, to writing long essays, to lifting heavy weights, I generally delight in doing things that many people find difficult or strenuous. And before I go on, let me make it clear that there are plenty of things I am bad at too. I hate administrative things, paying bills, balancing accounts, making beds in the morning, doing dishes, going to bed at a reasonable hour, waking up early, etc. So suffice it to say, I tend to perform in front of people, and get lazy behind the scenes. So, I've got a lot of growing to do.

But, one of my more effective hobbies is lifting weights. I'm good at it, for my age and build. I pick heavy things up. I put them down. Usually in the solitude of my garage with loud music playing. I don't injure myself often, but when I do, it is memorable. One of those occasions was last night.

New Year's Resolutions 2015

The ball has dropped. The calendar has flipped. The holiday break is almost over.

And thus, I suppose it is time to do this year's obligatory resolutions (which, in fact, are continuations of things I am already working on).

However, on the supposition that if I make my decisions public, I have a greater chance of actually accomplishing them, here are my resolutions for 2015. I have limited myself to 5 goals, because I tend to accomplish things in sets of 3 or 5. God created us to evolve with five digits, so that is a pretty handy way of keeping track. And so without further ado, my New Years resolutions for 2015:

How should we prepare to partake in Eucharist?

Some years ago, I wrote a short essay explaining different views of what is happening in the Eucharist, and what it means for Anglican Christians. Judging by statistics, it is the most popularly read article on my blog, and you can find it here.

Today, a friend of the blog sent me the following email:

"I sincerely thank you for this. It is by far the best instruction I've ever received on this subject. You have outlined all these interpretations of the Eucharist in a clear, non-judgmental way that stimulates the reader to think about his conclusion rather than attempt to force one upon him.

I am a convert to Roman Catholicism but am seriously thinking of returning to the Church of England due mainly to my skepticism about transubstantiation, which was rather badly explained to me by a priest at my initial instruction several years ago. For this reason I haven't taken communion for three or so years, during which time I have been reading, thinking, praying in an effort to find answers. Reading your explanations was almost like receiving manna from heaven!"

So, this very kind email-- which is much kinder than the blog deserves-- raises the pastoral question:

How should we prepare to receive the sacrament of Christ's Body and Blood through the elements of duly consecrated bread and wine?

Eucharist, Epiphany, and Richard Feynman

Today I celebrated Eucharist for Epiphany at TMI - The Episcopal School of Texas. Since our chapel service on Monday was our actual reading of the Epiphany narrative, I chose to talk about the Epiphany that happens within Eucharist, where the Risen Jesus is "known to us in the breaking of the bread". Of course, I used the Gospel text of Luke 24, where Jesus talks with the disciples on the road to Emmaus, but they do not recognize him as Jesus until he breaks bread.

And then suddenly the Epiphany dawns on them: It is the Risen Lord!

And as I was thinking about how the deep mysteries of the Universe can be revealed to us in something as simple as a meal that remembers a man, I remembered a toast given by Nobel Prize winning physicist Richard Feynman. He spoke of seeing the interconnections of all things in a glass of wine:

Fr. Thomas Hopko: 55 Maxims for Christian Living

I just found a great list posted by Bryan Owen at "Creedal Christian". It's not very often that I read a list of things and say to myself "I think I agree with everything on that list!" I almost said that to this list, although I have appended addendums on two items I feel need elaboration.

Nevertheless, this 55 item "rule of life" by Orthodox priest Fr. Thomas Hopko is worthy of meditation and integration into one's own spiritual journey. Enjoy!

The Most Common Objection to Prayer

There are several objections to prayer. I read them all the time on blogs, websites, and comments sections. I hear them from students and parishioners. Many people experience a profound discomfort with what prayer DOES, even if they pray all the time.

Faith and Hope and the Tightrope of Love

Love is dangerous, risky, and infinitely costly to the self. Precisely because it is the giving of self away to the Other, for the Other, in the Other. Why should we give ourselves away in this manner? Why is Love worth the risk? Why would it not be better to act in self-interest, rather than loose yourself in what may in the end be a futile effort?

Is there a good reason we should sing with the Song of Solomon:

"Love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away. If one were to give all the wealth of one’s house for love, it would be utterly scorned." [Song 8.6-7]

Religious Not Spiritual

I'm not entirely sure why I forgot to post this on my blog in January when I made this video. But, nevertheless, here it is.

This is a response to the "Why I hate religion but love Jesus" video by Jefferson Bethke. There are many things I agree with him on, and I probably would have done a similar video (had I the skills and production abilities he does) 15 years ago. But I have been walking with Jesus for a while now, and this is where I am at on my journey now.

Here are the lyrics and some scriptures for further study.

The Sacrament of Servanthood

Based on Matthew 25.31-46
Copyright 2011 © The Rev. Nate Bostian

I want to start today by doing something that every preaching manual, and every good preacher, will agree is something you should never do: I want to start by talking about a word that many people find confusing, many others think of as boring, and almost everyone will agree has nothing to do with the subject of hunger.

That word is "sacrament".

When I say the word sacrament, what images and ideas come to your mind?

JESUS AT THE BREAKFAST TABLE

Copyright © 2009 Nathan L. Bostian

A Sermon For Year B, Proper 12 BCP

Based on 2 Kings 2:1-15, Mark 6:45-52

So, were you REALLY listening to the Gospel Story that just got read today? Were you thinking about what was going on? Did you perhaps imagine what it was like to actually BE in that boat with the disciples, as Jesus came waltzing across the water?

I mean, do you even believe that Jesus could do such a thing? Walk on top of stormy seas without falling in?

A Litany to Pray Upon the Reading of Church Blogs

Rubric: This Litany will help after reading Church blogs and news websites who capitalize and sensationalize schism and heresy in the Church for the purpose of increased readership. It is effective after reading blogs and websites of all persuasions, whether left or right, high or low. When you experience signs of nausea, mental exhaustion, blurring eyes, or demon possession after imbibing these types of blogs, simply pray this Litany. It may be helpful also to sing a hymn such as "The Church's One Foundation", "Amazing Grace", or "Lift High the Cross".

New Shelves, Spring Cleaning, and Spirituality

For reasons I am still not entirely sure of, I decided yesterday that it was time to clean the garage, re-organize, and build bookshelves that I have been meaning to build for months. My wife suggested that it would be a good day to do it- like she suggests every couple of weeks when we have a few spare hours in the schedule.

But yesterday, it seemed like time. It just felt right.

Maybe it is because I want to start working out on weights again, and I can't until I uncover them from all the stuff on top of them. Maybe it is because I have walked past the mess one too many times, and am tired of being harassed by it. Or maybe it is because I would like to put our new huge recycling tub in a place where we will actually USE it.

Whatever the reason, it seemed right.

IMAGINE YOU ARE A BLIND BEGGAR

A Sermon For Year A, Lent 4
Copyright © 2008 Nathan L. Bostian

Based on John 9:1-38

Tonight I want to do something a little different than what I usually do. Usually I try to connect with your mind, and challenge you to make a decision to follow Christ in a deeper way.

Tonight I want to engage your imagination. I want to help you see something. For some it may be seeing something entirely new. For others, it may be a reminder of things they have already seen.

I want to lead you in an ancient spiritual practice that the monastic traditions call "meditatio", and what we may know of today as "meditation".

But this is not meditation where you clear your mind and try not to think at all. Clearing oneself is actually part of something called contemplation. Rather, in Christian Spirituality, meditation actively engages the imagination to think upon a specific object, a specific image, a specific text of Scripture.

Tonight, I want to show you how to use a text of Scripture- namely our Gospel Drama tonight- to pray with Christ through your imagination.

IS JESUS JUST A LIFESTYLE ACCESSORY?

A Sermon For Year A, Lent 3

Copyright © 2007 Nathan L. Bostian

Based on Exodus 17:1-7; Romans 5:1-11; John 4:5-42

Have you ever thought about what it takes to make your life complete? What can you NOT imagine life without? What stuff- whether products, possessions, places, or things- do you HAVE TO HAVE to consider yourself fulfilled?

Have you ever really thought about it?

For instance: When you think about a perfectly fulfilled life, what is the minimum sized place you would have to live in?

What is the minimum car you would have to drive?

What is the minimum salary you would have to make?

What is the minimum amount of clothes and shoes you would have to own? Where is the minimum store you would buy them from?

ARE YOU SHEEPISH?

ARE YOU SHEEPISH?
A Sermon for Year C, Easter 4
By Nathan L. Bostian

In the interests of Orthodox Christianity, I would like to start off tonight's sermon in a very unorthodox way. I want to ask you a silly question, and I would like your silly response:

When you were a kid (or an adult!) what animal did you want to be, and why? [ASK AROUND FOR ANSWERS]

I have to admit that I never really fantasized about being an animal. An astronaut, or a knight, or GI Joe, yes. But animals: not so much.

However, I thought that it would be really cool to be a huge, ferocious bird of some type. An Eagle, or a Falcon: Something with huge talons and that blood-curdling scream that would make your prey wet itself. And yeah, the idea of flying was pretty cool too.

But there is one animal hardly anyone fantasizes about being: A sheep.

One Crappy Sermon

Philippians 3:4-14 If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ.

More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

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Do you remember the first time you used profanity? Do you recall the first time a really juicy, filthy word flowed forth from your mouth? Do you remember the feeling that went with it? Was it shame, or power, or the feeling of getting away with something? Were you angry? Were you hurt? Were you frustrated? Were you trying to be cute or mischevious?

Aphorisms, Bumperstrips, and T-Shirts

Just some sayings I have come to love at this point in my life and ministry...

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Love 'em all, let God sort 'em out!

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God loves you more than that...

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Christmas is nice, but

Let's put CHRIST

back in christians!

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whatever you do, do NOT think about jesus christ.

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jesus is for loosers...

we're all loosers...

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to hell with your fascist barbie doll beauty standards!

jesus makes you beautiful.

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you are what you worship.

what do you worship?

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imperfect. flawed. needy. hurting. sinner.

loved. redeemed. treasured. cherished. child of god.

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jesus is a just crutch for weak people...

...and he is waiting for us all to realize we are weak people.

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christians are all hypocrites

and we have room for one more... so join us.

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the bible is irrational, confusing, and contradictory...

that makes it the perfect guide to help us through an irrational, confusing, contradictory world.

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an apathetic christian

is a pathetic Christian.

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porn is slavery...

if you don't believe it, just try to stop watching it for a month.

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mass marketing is making you a slave...

if you don't believe it, just try to stop watching t.v. for a month.

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be a true rebel... throw away your television set.

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be a real non-conformist... say no to mass marketing

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i am a person

not just a body

so look me in the eyes.

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American Religion:

- my family doesn't have time for god... we worship our child's extra-curricular activities!

- i don't have time for god... i worship at the altar of success!

- don't ask what you can do for jesus... ask what jesus can do for you!

- i am the god of my own universe. really.

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jesus is ironic.

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when god made man and woman he did not consult mtv, maxim, cosmo, playboy, or victoria's secret

jesus makes you beautiful

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I'm an aatheist

do you know who you are?

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ask me about jesus.

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The difference between what you think you believe

And what you really believe

Is shown in how you live

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JESUS LOVES

men - women - children - teenagers - the unborn - the elderly - gays - straights - christians - nonchristians - atheists - hindus - buddhists - muslims - black - brown - red - yellow - white - pink - the poor - the rich - the stupid - the smart - pretty folks - ugly folks - skinny - fat - liberals - conservatives - fundamentalists - random acts of mercy and love - probably some politicians and lawyers - the person in this shirt - and...

EVEN YOU!!!

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Yes! I am the most smartest person alive!

A thought while cleaning up the Junior High Youth Group's mess...

As I walk around cleaning up bags of disposable junk food and Styrofoam cups left behind by kids who, while essentially good kids, are still so self-absorbed and used to other people picking up after them that they probably didn't realize how horrible they left their own youth room, the thought struck my mind:

In all our activities, all our ministries, we must seriously ask the question:

"Is this forming Christlike people?"

Sadly, I fear that for most of us (myself included) the answer is usually "no".

It is time for a revolution.

CONNECTING FAMILIES TO CHRIST

CONNECTING FAMILIES TO CHRIST

I love being a youth minister.  One of the most amazing things that I am privileged to do as a youth minister is to watch as young men and women give their lives totally over to the Lord.  To see that "lightbulb" go off over their heads when they realize that Jesus really is real, that He really does have a purpose for their lives, and that they really can know Him personally.  That is an incredible event to be a part of.  But, do you know what is even better than that?  When it happens to WHOLE FAMILIES!

Do you know why?  

Anthem

Someone has said 'to live deliberately is to suck the marrow of life'
A life with a purpose beyond ourselves transcends all the pain and the strife
My God, You are my purpose! Yahweh, You are my light!
You have shown amidst my darkness... Christ has turned to day my night.
If Your blood is living water,
make my thirst a desert wind!
Parching, wretched hot, and blistering within...
If Your body is my bread,
make my hunger gaunt and greedy!
On the brink of starvation, make me a beggar needy...
If Your Word is Spiritual milk- let me suckle like a newborn babe.
If Your Truth is my life's meat- make me a cannibal in blood lust rage!
Let me stare steely eyed resolute, into the dark hollow depths of Hell
and shout with last lung's breath "NO! NO MORE! I SHALL TELL!"
Tell it to all creation- yell at the whole dark world
Scream it with my very life- so much more than just mere words
Tell them all that Christ is life- and He is life alone
In Him is salvation for everyone- every soul that claims His throne
Scream it! Proclaim it to every nation- to every tribe and tongue!
Speak the truth to every person- man and woman, old or young!
Yes! He is my Lord... He is my God- wonderful and ever true
Incredible, and yet so odd- that He should save me too
I've talked the talk, I must walk the walk- and live what I believe
Shall I hear His Word, yet deny my Lord? May I never thus be deceived!
Live it, say it! Preach it, pray it! Every second of my whole life...
No hesitation- don't ever delay it! If I live, may I live as Christ!
If I live, may I live as Christ!

1998