Oh, for another Athanasius!

In light of the constant whining and nay-saying and power-politicking in the Anglican Communion and the Episcopal Church right now, I just wanted to say:

May we be blessed with a horde of modern day Athanasiuses (Athanasius', Athanasii, what IS the plural of Athanasius anyway???).

When good ol' Ath was confronted with a Christendom "that woke up one day to find itself Arian", he did not create a new denomination... Or spout self-fulfilling prophesies about how it was inevitable that the Arians were going to take over the Church... Or say the Church as we know it is bankrupt and must be abandoned... blah, blah, blah.

THE TRUTH ABOUT THE TRUTH

[A.K.A. Nate's Theology in a Nutshell]

A Sermon For Year A, Fifth Easter
Copyright © 2008 Nathan L. Bostian
Based on John 14.1-14

ONE PERENNIAL QUESTION, TWO TROUBLING ANSWERS: Some sermons challenge the heart to feel something new, whether new compassion for people, or new passion for God. Other sermons challenge the imagination to see ourselves and our Reality in a new way. Still other sermons challenge our will to act, to stand boldly for Christ, or to reach out to those in need.

But this sermon is here to challenge your mind, your way of thinking, your understanding of the Reality we live in.

And the mental challenge is the question that Jesus ANSWERS in this passage. Yet, this question isn't ASKED for another four chapters, by a very practical Roman governor named Pilate.

Storm Damage Next Door

This blog is up to help us sort out some storm damage with neighbors. Simply click on an image to enlarge the picture.

Campus Minister Receives Evangelism Award [Sat 19-Apr 11am]

The Late +Donis Patterson, Bishop of Dallas

Our Campus Minister, Nate Bostian, has received the "Bishop Donis Patterson" award for excellence in Evangelistic preaching. Part of his reward for the award is to preach Saturday at 11am at the Stanton School for Ministry, located at St. Matthew's Cathedral near downtown Dallas.

So, to come hear Nate preach at the Eucharist for the Stanton Center, show up at St. Matthew's Cathedral at 11am, Saturday April 19th. Lunch will follow. To find the Cathedral, go here:
http://www.episcopalcathedral.org

When contacted for comment, Nate said "Huh? I won what? You're kidding, right?"

PRACTICING CHRIST WITH THE EARLY CHURCH

A Sermon For Year A, Third Easter
Copyright © 2008 Nathan L. Bostian
Based on Acts 2:14a,36-47; John 21:1-14

MY FAVORITE RANDOM FACTOID: Tonight we heard in the Gospel one of my favorite random factoids in Scripture.

Did you catch it?

Nope. It wasn't the fact that St. Peter liked fishing naked. I mean, that is an INCREDIBLY interesting factoid. And the next time you get into a conversation with a Roman Catholic friend about the origin of the Church, I think you should mention that the first Pope liked casting his nets in the buff.

But it isn't my favorite factoid.

My Belief-O-Matic Results

Well, well, well. Beliefnet now has a QUIZ to determine what kind of religious faith you are. In a handy-dandy 20 questions, you can find the religion you always wanted to be, but didn't know it!

Based on your answers to 20 questions, you can find out which of 27 different religions fits you best. I think you should name yourself based on your top five matches. Apparently, I am a Quake-aventa-prot-edoxo-catholic Christian! Here are my matches:

A Proposal for a Chalcedonian view of the Eucharist

This last week I have been blessed with a wonderful debate about the Eucharist which included two generous Catholics and another brother from the Church of Christ.

In it, we tried to hash out in detail (often nitpicky and scholastic detail) what exactly is going on the Eucharist. Everyone confused each other (and probably ourselves too). And I am not entirely sure that we fully heard or understood each other. But, we were generous and kind, which is a lot better than most blog debates.

In the debate, we bumped up against the genius and the limits of Thomas Aquinas several times. We also talked at length about what types of errors must be avoided in understanding the Eucharist.

I would like to put forward a proposal about understanding both the Eucharist itself, and the understanding St. Thomas' role in helping us understand the Eucharist:

On Scholastic Argument

Scholastic Theological Arguments give me a nervous tick.

They are sometimes necessary, just like cleaning a clogged toilet.

But, prolonged practice of both is dangerous for precisely the same reason.

THE ULTIMATE PRACTICAL JOKE

A Sermon For Year A, Easter-2
Copyright © 2008 Nathan L. Bostian
Based on John 20:19-31; Acts 2:22-32; 1 Peter 1:3-9

What is the best practical joke you ever played on someone? What is the best practical joke that someone ever been played on you?

1. PRACTICAL JOKES: I have to admit that I have been both the instigator, and the receiver, of a great many practical jokes.

There, of course, have been the gross jokes: Vaseline on doorknobs... Saran wrap over the hole in the toilet...

The football team decorating the car of one of our teammates with dirty athletic supporters. That was pretty smelly...

Then there was the time we were all driving in my buddy's jeep. All of the sudden I yell "Toilet in the lawn! Toilet in the lawn!"

You see, someone had been redecorating their bathroom, and had thrown their toilet out to be picked up by the trashmen. So, we picked it up instead. And we put it on the front steps of a friend's house... Then he put it at someone else's house... Then they drove it somewhere else... And so on...

What do Anglicans believe happens in the communion meal?

The short answer is that we believe that Christ is really present in the sacrament of Communion. To understand this, we must remember what a "sacrament" is. The prayer book defines it as "an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace" (BCP 1979 pp. 357-361). In short, it is a physical thing, like bread, wine, water, oil, that God uses to share the presence and power of Jesus Christ, through the working of His Spirit.

Yet, there is much more to say...

A CHRIST FOR EVERY TASTE?

A Sermon For Year A, Easter Sunday
Copyright © 2008 Nathan L. Bostian

Based on Acts 5:25-32; 10:34-43; Luke 24:13-35

1. A CHRIST FOR EVERY TASTE: One of the interesting things about being on my side of the Easter phenomenon is looking at how other churches and ministries do Easter, and comparing and contrasting it with what we do.

As I was driving around this week, I noticed at almost every major intersection in my town, clusters of plastic signs by the side of the road offering every conceivable type of Easter worship experience.

A CROWN FOR A KING

A Sermon For Year A, Passion Sunday
Copyright © 2008 Nathan L. Bostian

Based on Matthew 26:69-27:54

Tonight I would like us to take a mental tour- a tour with our imagination- of the day that Jesus was condemned... The day that Jesus was finally "crowned" as a King.

A perfect life. Perfect love. He healed and delivered all who trusted in Him. The blind see. The crippled walk. The hungry are fed. And now this...

Jesus, eyes swollen, face bruised, body beaten, stands before crooked judges after becoming a victim of police brutality...

Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus:

"Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?"

Look into the narrow eyes of the high priest. Can you see the hate? Can you see the judgment? Can you see the rage?

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?

WHAT'S SO SINFUL ABOUT SIN?

A Sermon For Year A, First Lent

Copyright © 2008 Nathan L. Bostian

Based on Genesis 2-3; Romans 5:12-19; Psalm 51; John 1:9-18

What's so sinful about sin? Why is sin so bad? What is all the fuss about?

I mean, if you read what Paul says in Romans, you would think the world is going to heck in a handbasket. He talks about sin entering the world through Adam, and then death happening because of sin... And eventually, like a bad Rambo movie, sin kills everyone.

It sounds like whatever sin is, it must be horrible. And whoever this Adam guy is, he must have REALLY screwed up royally.

So, you turn to the beginning to find out what all went down to make everything go bad, and what you find is... well... let's be honest here... childish.

In fact, the story looks more like a children's fantasy than an explanation about how the world got so botched. A children's story with nudity, that is.

DO OUR SPIRITS CHANGE?

Today on facebook, one of my friends asked me a difficult question about the nature of our Spirits. First he noted that:

"A) God created us in his image.
B) God is unchanging.
C) Animals are instinctive and vulgar creatures, conforming themselves to their environment to survive.
D) Humans are amphibians, part spiritual beings, part animal."

Then he asked:

"But our spirit is eternal, right? ... How about here on earth? It is possible to taint your spirit, to throw in the Enemy's camp. So our spirit is capable of change, right? What do you think?"

Here is what I think:

Scripture: The Story that Reads Us

OK, instead of writing a sermon this last week, I drew a picture. Click above to see it.

The basic thesis that drives the chart above (and the sermon that went with it) is that Scripture is a grand Story which reads us and interprets our lives to us. When we find our place in the outworking Story revealed in Scripture, we find our true identity in Christ. This Story has seven "ages" or "chapters":

1. The Creation.
2. The Crisis.
3. The Calling.
4. The Christ.
5. The Commission.
6. The Church.
7. The Completion.

Let me describe a little of what is going on here. The idea that "Scripture is a grand Story into which all of our personal stories are being woven" is not a new one. It has its roots in the early Church tradition. One exemplar that I can think of is Irenaeus and his theory of Jesus Christ recapitulating and redeeming the whole human story.

I WANT TO FIND GOD- BUT JUST NOT THERE

A Sermon For Year A, Epiphany 3

Copyright © 2007 Nathan L. Bostian

Based on 1 Corinthians 1:10-17; Matthew 4:12-23; Psalm 139

You know, in my line of work, one of the questions that frequently gets asked of me is "Where do I find God?" It may be asked many different ways.

Some may say "I just feel so distant from God. I wish he was closer. I wish I knew where to find him."

Another may say "I want to know how this God-stuff is relevant to my life. I don't get the whole Christianity thing."

Yet another may say "What does God want from my life? I keep asking for direction, but it seems like nothing happens."

The question comes in a thousand varieties, but at the core there is a similar reality: There is a hunger for God, and awareness that God SHOULD be there... But at the same time there is a profound awareness of God's absence.

Christian history in a nutshell?

Recently on a discussion board I came across this quote which is both inaccurate and annoying:

"Christianity began as a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. When it went to Athens, it became a philosophy. When it went to Rome, it became an organization. When it went to Europe, it became a culture. When it came to America, it became a business."

I know this quote is posted up all over the internet. It is an attempt to sum up Christian history in a very convenient, very protestant, very individualistic nutshell. Hopefully this blog will be read by someone to put this lie to rest:

FINDING YOUR STORY IN HIS STORY

A Sermon For Year A, Second Advent

Copyright © 2007 Nathan L. Bostian

Isa. 11:1-10; Rom. 15:4-13; Mat. 3:1-12; Psa. 72
With special thanks to CS Lewis, NT Wright, and Brian McLaren

What is your favorite story? I'm not looking for the Sunday school answer. But really: What story captures your imagination so that you read it, or see it, or listen to it, time and time again? What story gives shape to the narrative of your life?