Benedict XVI and the Anglican Communion

Pope Benedict XVI is making overtures to disaffected Anglican clergy, suggesting that even married Anglican priests may be accepted into the Roman Catholic priesthood and may retain their Anglican rites and liturgy. While details are vague, even this hint is enough to delight and dismay various contingents in both expressions of the faith.

Fr. Chris Larimer, vicar of St. Stephen’s Anglican Church in Louisville, Kentucky and author of Adiaphora blogsite recently posted the following quote in response to the Vatican’s announcement.

What can be supposed wanting in our Church in order to salvation? We have the Word of God, the Faith of the Apostles, the Creeds of the Primitive Church, the Articles of the four first General Councils, a holy liturgy, excellent prayers, perfect sacraments, faith and repentance, the Ten Commandments, and the sermons of Christ, and all the precepts and counsels of the Gospels. We … require and strictly exact the severity of a holy life. … We communicate often, our priests absolve the penitent. Our Bishops ordain priests, and confirm baptised persons, and bless their people and intercede for them. And what could here, be wanting to salvation?”
- Jeremy Taylor, Bp. of Down & Connor (1613-1667)

Why return to Rome, wondered Anglican Bp. Taylor nearly four centuries ago, when there is nothing wanting in Canterbury? Of course, much has changed in both Roman Catholicism and Anglicanism in the intervening centuries, but the question still hangs in the air – especially now.

“And what could here, be wanting to salvation?” It would be presumptuous – for several reasons – for me to posit an answer to Bp. Taylor’s question. First, I am neither Anglican nor Roman Catholic. Second, and most significant, to answer the question would require me to stand outside the church and to stand in judgment upon one or another expression of it. As James, the brother of our Lord, taught us (cf James 4:11-12), that is a most dangerous place to stand: Who am I to judge my neighbor – particular when he is the servant of another?

But – Already I’m on treacherous ground; Lord, have mercy on this sinner. – there is implied by Bp. Taylor’s question a notion that perhaps I may address without transgression. Surely, the implied assertion that Anglicanism lacks nothing for salvation cannot mean that Canterbury and Rome are equivalent/indistinguishable in their understanding and practice of Christian salvation? The differences between Anglicanism and Catholicism are profound. And, as different as they are one from another, taken together, they are more different still from Orthodoxy. “What could … be wanting to salvation?” begs this even more fundamental question: “Are all views of the nature of salvation equivalent?” And, if they are not equivalent, are the differences significant?

We can answer these reformulated questions without standing in judgment of any particular communion. No, all views of the nature of salvation are not equivalent. Yes, the differences are significant. Both Anglicanism and Roman Catholicism lack or de-emphasize the therapeutic understanding of salvation so central to Orthodoxy, just as Orthodoxy lacks or de-emphasizes the forensic understanding of salvation prevalent in Western expressions of the faith. These differences in emphasis lead to corresponding differences in theology and praxis. Orthodox theosis – and life of askesis generally required to approach it – for example, is relatively foreign to the Western church; yet, it is the goal and nature of salvation in the Eastern church. The Western concept of original sin is not equivalent to the Eastern understanding of ancestral sin. Simply put, Athanasius is not Anselm.

So, to return to Bp. Taylor’s question: “And what could here, be wanting to salvation?” In one sense, nothing; salvation is available on paths that lead through Canterbury, Rome, Constantinople, and Antioch. But that doesn’t mean the paths are the same.

Quotes

“Remember,” Father Maximos said as he escorted them to their car, “whatever good or bad things happen to us, they have only one single purpose, to awaken us to the reality of God and help us on the path toward union with Him. There is no other reason for being born on this planet, believe me. It is up to us whether or not we take advantage of these wake-up calls.”
The Mountain of Silence, Kyriacos Markides
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There is only one tragedy: to fail to become a saint.
Léon Bloy, quoted in The Jesus Prayer, Frederica Mathewes-Green
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…in order really to be members of the Church and to belong to the Body of Christ, the laity must partake, or struggle to partake, of the purifying, illuminating and deifying energy of God.
These things are being said with the understanding that through Baptism we are enrolled as members of the Church. However, if we do not activate the grace of Baptism by the whole ascetic life which the Church has, then we are not really members of it. We can make a division. It is one thing to be a potential member of the Church, to have accepted the possibility of becoming a real member, and it is another thing to be an active member of the Church. St. Gregory Palamas uses the image of the son of the King. He is born in the palace and has the possibility of becoming heir to his father’s estate. But if he dies prematurely or if he is expelled from the house, then he loses the possibility of inheriting the good things. Christ says about the bishop of Sardis: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.” True, he can repent, and therefore he is advised to “be watchful” and “repent,” but at that moment he was spiritually dead…
Thus in the Church some are members potentially, some actually, and to express it better, some are dead limbs and others are living ones. This distinction, dead and alive, is seen in all the biblico-patristic tradition of the Church. And it is a pity when we do not know this whole tradition and teach that all who receive only Holy Baptism are members of the Church. To be sure, there are also members who have cut themselves off completely from the Church. But some dead members have the possibility of being made alive by the operation of divine grace and their own cooperation.
The mind of the Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Hierotheos
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“Go to Church. Say your prayers. Remember God.”
-- advice given to Fr. Thomas Hopko by his mother as he left for seminary

Sermon: 10 Pentecost (9 August 2009)

Sermon: 10 Pentecost (9 August 2009)
(2 Sam 18:5-9, 15, 31-33/Psalm 130/Eph 4:25-5:2/John 6:35, 41-51)
Theology, Transformation, Praxis

Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
And blessed be his kingdom, now and for ever. Amen.

At the risk of dredging up unpleasant memories – recent for some and long suppressed for others – let’s speak of high school mathematics, particularly of high school mathematics books. As you can imagine, in the past twenty years I have read, reviewed, and used many of these – some good, some not so good. Almost universally these books present the content in a common format. A section begins with the development of a mathematical concept – a rather formal and abstract presentation. The writing is densely packaged, filled with strange symbols and unfamiliar terms whose meanings must be coaxed out with not a little effort. We might call this subsection Theory. Following that come the example problems, which show how to put the abstract theory into use. This subsection we might call Application. It answers the question, So what is this stuff good for?

You can tell a lot about students just by watching them read a math book. The true math geeks – and true math geeks don’t mind being called that – plunge right into the Theory. They delight in its inescapable logic and pristine beauty. The strange symbols are for them hieroglyphic mysteries begging to be solved, the unfamiliar terms a new language opening new modes of thought. They explore connections to previously encountered themes and extend those connections forward into uncharted mathematical territory. Often these math geeks care nothing about application; the theory is for them the true mathematics and they are the true mathematicians.

Then there are the math consumers, the ones who know that math is just a tool to solve problems – sometimes a hammer, sometimes a scalpel, but always just a tool. These students skip the theory entirely or just skim over it as quickly as possible and then head directly to the example problems. These are the future engineers, scientists, accountants, movers and shakers of industry. Often these consumers care nothing about theory; the answers are for them the true goal of mathematics and they are the true mathematicians.

Of course, all this is caricature and generalization, but it’s not without some validity. I’ve seen math geeks who are expert at theory but who can’t calculate their way through the simplest problem, and I’ve seen math consumers who frequently get right answers but who have no idea why, no concept of how the mathematics works.

What is needed is a bridge linking the two approaches to mathematics. Those who find and walk such a bridge – and I’ve seen several in two decades – are true mathemagicians. They both create and consume mathematics and embody, in themselves, mathematics as art and industry.

Paul’s letters are much like mathematics books. The first several chapters of a typical Pauline text develop the major theological emphases of the letter, e.g., Christology, ecclesiolgy, soteriology. This writing is densely packaged, filled with Old Testament allusions – references and cross-references – with Greek verbs that must carefully be parsed, with multiple metaphors and layers of imagery. This must be read and studied in conversation with the church, with the consensus fidelium – the consensus of the faithful – over two millennia. Frankly, it is hard going. We might call this writing Theology. But Paul generally moves on from there in the latter chapters to provide practical instruction, to put the theology to use. Husbands, love your wives. Masters, treat your slaves with dignity and respect. Thieves, stop stealing and go to work. All of you, control your lust and greed and anger. This writing, which we might call Praxis, answers the question, So what’s all this theology good for?

You can tell a lot about people by watching them read Paul. There are the academic theologians who delight in forming syntheses of Pauline texts and themes. They study literary criticism, master ancient languages, delve into Old and New Testament cultures. They tease out meanings from the lines and from between the lines – some meanings that are there and some that never were. Theology is their playground and they delight in the mental exercise of it all. God is an object to be studied, but perhaps not a Person to be engaged. The faith is a construct to be analyzed, but perhaps not a way to be lived.

Then, there are those who skip all the theology and head straight for the practical advice, straight for the Praxis. Some are looking for yet another self-help manual to bring them health, wealth, and prosperity. Some are looking for a rule book with which to satisfy God, merit heaven, and avoid hell. Some are seeking honestly to follow Jesus and are looking for how to do so.

Of course, all this is caricature and generalization, but it’s not without some validity. I’ve seen academic theologians who are experts at Pauline literature but who somewhere along the way lost Pauline faith, who no longer believe in the God whom Paul worshipped. And I’ve seen good Christian folk who live as scrupulously as the Pharisees, careful to obey every rule and commandment but who have no idea why. I’ve seen them bludgeon their brothers and sisters and neighbors with the Bible-As-Rule-Book, betraying their own insecurity and constant fear of sin and damnation.

What is needed is a bridge linking theology and praxis: theology as engagement with God – Creator, Redeemer, and Advocate – and praxis as the fruit of a transformed life, obedience born of overwhelming love and gratitude, empowered by the Spirit. Those who find and walk such a bridge – and I’ve seen a few in my years among the faithful – are the pneumatikoi, the spiritually mature. These know Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

For several weeks we have explored Pauline theology in Ephesians, Paul’s understanding of the church as the one true people of God – Jews and Gentiles alike united into one Body in and through Jesus Christ the Head: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all” (Eph 4:4-6, NRSV). This theology was hard going in Paul’s day; many simply did not want to hear it and Paul suffered much for proclaiming it. This theology is hard going in our day – difficult to understand, difficult, sometimes, to see as relevant. So, we might breathe a sigh of relief as we transition to Pauline praxis today, to the practical application of all this theology. There is always a danger, though, that we will divorce the behavioral instructions from the underlying theology and turn Paul into a self-help guru or else a burdensome taskmaster. What we need is a bridge linking his theology of Gentile inclusion – his theology of the unity of the Body of Christ – to the praxis of life in the Church and in the world. And this is precisely where the Revised Common Lectionary lets us down with a Bump! today. The bridging text, Ephesians 4:17-24 – certainly one of the most pivotal sections of the letter – is ignored in the rush to praxis. But we cannot ignore it; it lies at the heart of Paul’s theology.

Now this I affirm and insist on in the Lord: you must no longer live as the Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of their ignorance and hardness of heart. They have lost all sensitivity and have abandoned themselves to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. That is not the way you learned Christ! For surely you have heard about him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus. You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness (Eph 4:17-24, NRSV).

Paul is the Christ-ordained apostle to the Gentiles. He has spent the major portion of his ministry among them proclaiming the good news of their inclusion in Christ and defending them from every effort by the sect of the Circumcision to impose elements of the Jewish Law on them. Fully half his letter to the Ephesians he devotes to this revelation: “The Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (Eph 3:6, NRSV). And now, having told the Gentiles that God accepts them as Gentiles just as God accepts Jews as Jews, Paul writes to his beloved Gentiles, “you must no longer live as the Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds” (Eph 4:17a, NRSV).

Is this a contradiction? Is Paul weakening the theology of Gentile inclusion? Not at all. Paul is not for a moment reneging on his proclamation of the gospel to the Gentiles, nor is he asking them to begin living like Jews. Having fully developed the theology of Gentile Inclusion, Paul now develops the theology of Gentile Transformation. This is the essential bridge between theology and praxis: inclusion in the body of Christ must be a transforming experience that plays out on the stage of human behavior. Simply stated: Christ welcomes you as you are but has no intent of leaving you that way. Gentiles, you must no longer live as the Gentiles live; you must be transformed into the likeness of Christ, “dying to self and sin and…rising to new life with Christ, specifically characterized by a holiness and renewed humanity in which certain habits and styles of life are left behind.”[1]

Paul merely uses the Gentiles as exemplars of the fallen human condition; what Paul says of them is true of all people struggling under the burden of ancestral sin – the sin, the illness, inherited from our first parents. The Gentile mind is futile, completely ineffective for its intended purpose, having been darkened by sin: the mind, not the rational, reasoning capability of man, but the capacity to know and to relate to God directly, unmediated by thought or emotion. In Greek, this mind is the spiritual mind, the nous. It is the highest capacity of man, the eye of the soul through which we apprehend God. When functioning properly it knows, it experiences God directly and then rightly orders human reason, imagination, will, and desire. But sin – ancestral and personal – has blinded that eye of the soul. For this reason Paul says the Gentiles “are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of their ignorance and hardness of heart” (Eph 4:18, NRSV). With a futile mind, with a darkened nous, it is no longer possible to know God. And so the Gentiles – exemplars of all humanity – turned away from God and toward the satisfaction of human desire. With reason, imagination, will, and desire no longer governed and ordered by the spiritual mind (nous) set on God, the passions enslaved the Gentiles so they “lost all sensitivity and…abandoned themselves to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of impurity” (Eph 4:19, NRSV).

So Paul writes to the Gentile Christians, “Now this I affirm and insist on in the Lord: you must no longer live as the Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds.” Why? Because,

That is not the way you learned Christ! For surely you have heard about him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus. You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness (Eph 4:20-24, NRSV).

The Gentile Christians cannot learn Christ, cannot be renewed in the spiritual mind (nous), cannot be recreated in the likeness of God – in true righteousness and holiness – while living in their former sin; nor can anyone. Jesus said as much in the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Mt 5:8, NRSV).

So Paul transitions from the theology of inclusion to the theology of transformation: all are welcome, all must change. The praxis Paul insists upon is not a salvation by works, but a salvation by renewal. This praxis is both medicine for the healing of the soul – a therapy for subduing the passions – and evidence that the healing has begun. And, in keeping with Paul’s ecclesiology – one body and one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all – it is a communal praxis, focused on the transformation, welfare, and unity of the whole Body of Christ (cf Eph 4:25-32).

All of us must speak the truth, for we are members of one another.

Thieves must give up stealing and labor honestly so as to have something to share with the needy.

Everyone must guard the tongue and speak no evil, but only gracious words to build up the body.

All must be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgives us.

All God’s beloved children must imitate God and live in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us.

If we do these things, we will not grieve the Holy Spirit of God with which we were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. If we do these things, if we are renewed in the spiritual mind, then the eyes of our hearts will “be enlightened to know the hope to which God has called us, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe” (Eph 1:18-19, NRSV). This theology of transformation is the bridge between the theology of inclusion and the praxis of faith. This the church affirms and insists upon in the Lord: that we put away the former way of life with its futility and alienation, with its ignorance and hardness of heart, with its greed and impurity; that we clothe ourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness; that we practice a theology of transformation to the glory of God the Father, through Christ the Son, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.




[1] N. T. Wright. Rowan’s Reflections: Unpacking the Archbishop’s Statement. http://www.fulcrum-anglican.org.uk/page.cfm?ID=453, accessed through http://www.ntwrightpage.com/ on 8/5/2009.

Sermon: 3 Epiphany (25 January 2009)

Sermon: 3 Epiphany (25 January 2009)
(Jonah 3:1-5, 10/Psalm 62:5-12/1 Corinthians 7:29-31/Mark 1:14-20)
The Time Is Short

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

It is sometime around 55 A.D. – only twenty-five years since Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension – when Paul writes a second letter to a troubled Corinthian church. There is a sense of urgency in the letter: Paul believes the end of all things is near – that the return of Jesus is imminent – and he expresses as much to the saints at Corinth. Paul is wrong.

Some two millennia later we are still waiting, a testimony not so much to Paul’s error as to the patience of God: “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pe 3:9, NKJV). Nevertheless, “the time is short,” Paul believes, and so he writes.

29 But this I say, brethren, the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none, 30 those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess, 31 and those who use this world as not misusing it. For the form of this world is passing away (1 Cor 7:29-31, NKJV).

The time is short and the form of this world is passing away. If there is an ounce of human error in Paul’s timetable, there is surely also a pound of divine truth. Brothers, sisters, the Spirit speaks now as then: “The time is short,” and I have only begun to take notice.

I do not know the day of our Lord’s return: no man does, neither the angels in heaven, nor even the Son, but only the Father in heaven. By God’s gracious forbearance two more millennia may pass. But this I know: soon I will meet the Lord face to face. Soon I will stand before him. If, by virtue of grace and strength, I have a long life, some thirty or forty years may yet stretch before me. But now from this half-century vantage point, that time seems so short, as the form of this world is passing away. The time is short, and I have only begun to take notice. The time is short, and I am not ready.

Do not misunderstand. I have been washed, and I have been sanctified, and I have been justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God (1 Cor 6:11b). I have put on Jesus in baptism – have died there to sin in water and Spirit and have been raised in new creation to life everlasting. I have become a partaker of the divine nature and have been adopted as a beloved son of God Most High – a son in whom He is well-pleased. I believe that by God’s grace and power – should our Lord tarry – I shall fall asleep in the Lord and shall be raised on that last, great day to be forever with him. And yet – and yet the time is short, and I am not ready.

38 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”
41 And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:38-42, NKJV).

The time is short and I am not ready in precisely the same way Martha was not ready that evening in Bethany: she was worried and troubled about many things, but the one needed thing – the good part which her sister Mary recognized and grasped – the one needed thing Martha abandoned for pots and pans and bread. Martha loved this world and her place in it, loved her usefulness, loved her reputation as “the responsible one” far too much to abandon it all and simply sit at Jesus’ feet. For Martha the time was short and she was not ready: there was food to prepare and a table to set and a meal to serve. “Martha,” Jesus said, and again to get her attention as she bustled about distracted and angry, “Martha. You are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed.”

Martha loved her world as I love mine. And that love kept her from fully embracing Jesus – kept her from the intimate communion that her sister knew – as does my love for the world. The time is short and I am not ready because I have not chosen the one needed thing, the good part, the union with Jesus that comes from forsaking the world and sitting at his feet. The time is short and I am not ready because I have not learned to love the Lord my God with all my heart and all my soul and all my mind and all my strength. The time is short and I am not ready because I have not fulfilled my purpose and calling as a human being – the purpose lost in the Garden – the union of man and God through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit – through the grace of God at work in the life of man.

I will never fulfill this purpose until I loosen my fierce hold on the world, until I prefer nothing to Christ (Prologue, The Rule of Benedict). This was Paul’s message to the Corinthians.

29 But this I say, brethren, the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none, 30 those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess, 31 and those who use this world as not misusing it. For the form of this world is passing away (1 Cor 7:29-31, NKJV).

We know our purpose, our calling: union with God through Christ. We know the great challenge, the obstacle: love of the world. It is not Paul only who so encourages us and warns us, but Peter and John also.

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever (1 John 2:15-17, NKJV).

The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life: these are the marks of one enthralled by the world, and too often the hallmarks of my life.

The lust of the flesh – all the sensual pleasures which so entice us: ease, comfort, distraction, sloth, gluttony, drunkenness, unbridled sexuality – or just the ordinary, run-of-the-mill immoderate pursuit of any of these.

The lust of the eyes – all the material goods which stir up in us a spirit of greed, avarice, and covetousness – or just the ordinary, run-of-the-mill dependence upon our possessions for security and status.

The pride of life – all the awards garnered and accolades won, all the competitors bested and honors bestowed, all that brings glory to self and not to Christ, all that is ego, all that struts about and proclaims, “I am,” – or just the run-of-the-mill desire to get ahead on your own terms and for your own reward.

And the question echoes: What will it profit a man if he gains all these – all sensual pleasures, all material desires, all fame and glory, all the world – and so forfeits his soul? For what will a man exchange his soul? The time is short, the world is passing away, and I am not ready. There is one needful thing and I act as if there are legion.

How different are the brothers in the Gospel: Simon and Andrew, James and John.

14 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
16 And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 17 Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 They immediately left their nets and followed Him. 19 When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. 20 And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him (Mark 1:14-20, NKJV).

Jesus called and the brothers left everything: business, family, home, identity, security, comfort. One thing was needed – to be with Jesus – and they chose that good part, forsaking the form of the world which was even then passing away.

The shortness of the time, the need to forsake the world and choose the good part: these have been right there in Scripture all along in stories like Mary and Martha, Simon and Andrew, James and John, and in the words of Jesus; but, perhaps we have not seen them clearly enough, or having seen them, we have ignored them. “Blessed are the pure in heart,” Jesus says, “for they shall see God” (Mt 5:8, NKJV). And what is purity of heart if not integrity, single-mindedness, undivided purpose and devotion? How can one who is torn between the things of the world and the things of God be pure of heart? How can one still trying to serve God and Mammon be pure of heart? How can one consumed by the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life be pure of heart? And, if not pure of heart, how shall one see God, how shall one fulfill the human purpose and calling of union with God? How hard it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. How hard it is for a divided man to enter the kingdom of God. How hard it is for one who is worried and troubled about many things to enter the kingdom of God.

So what must we do to be saved – saved from the world and saved for our true calling? We do what the saints before us have done. We do what the church teaches. We listen to and follow Paul who said:

8What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
15All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
17Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. 18For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. 20But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body (Phil 3:8-21).

Where do we start? We cultivate the habits of heart and mind and spirit that call us to repentance – to a change of mind – habits which tell us that wherever we are in Christ, there is more and better ahead. We count every earthly thing that draws us away from Christ as loss and rubbish. We forget what is behind and strain toward what is ahead – the transformation of our minds and bodies into the glorious likeness of Christ. We embrace the suffering of the cross that we might know the glorious power of the resurrection.

Where do we start? We cultivate the habits of body and mind which conquer the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – habits taught in Scripture, preserved in the practices of the church, and witnessed in the lives of the saints: unceasing prayer; fasting and feasting with the church – especially fasting; meditation in Word and silence; humility, service, suffering. We love when it is difficult. We forgive when it painful. We persevere when it is beyond our ability.

Where do we start? We struggle against the temptations which bind us to the world and distance us from Christ. We cultivate the wheat of righteousness and root out the tares of sin so the harvest might be pure and holy. We confess our sins before God and one another and seek his mercy and our amendment of life.

Hard, hard work: that is the life of faith that leads to union with God through Christ. It is all by grace – God working in us to will and to do his will – but it will not happen apart from our cooperation, our determination, our effort. Is it worth it? The saints tell us so, and they have walked the path before. My heart tells me so. What could be compared to knowing Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, to becoming like him in his death, to attaining to the resurrection from the dead? What is worth more than fulfilling our purpose and calling of union with God?

The time is short and I am not ready, but I have begun to take notice. Now the goal is clearer than ever and the path, though narrow, is well marked. Let us walk it together in the communion of saints.

Amen.