Extra Nos: Sometimes Christmas

Extra Nos: Sometimes Christmas:

"Sometimes I am ambivalent about Christmas. It makes me both happy and sad. Sometimes it makes me sad when I think of those people who do not have a family they can share it with."

'via Blog this'

Christmas Day Sermon

Christmas Day Sermon

Luke 2: 8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.  13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. 16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. 18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

Luke 2: 8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

The second part of Luke’s nativity is the application, where the Holy Spirit reveals this great miracle to ordinary working people. Sheep were a mainstay for the economy at that time, providing many different products and clothing. The Bible contains 500 references to sheep and shepherding. God chose to show them the greatest miracle of all, the Incarnation, the Word made flesh, and to do so with an angelic light show and chorus.

Lenski:

The shepherds were out in the open because of their flock, and the probability is that they did not live in the town at all but somewhere in a valley in the hills. The place shown to tourists should deceive no one. So also the deduction that Jesus could not have been born in December, which is fortified by Talmudic notices to the effect that some time between April and November must be referred to. This conclusion is valueless, for in a climate such as Palestine has sheep could be kept out-of-doors all winter. While December 25 is only traditional and goes back to the celebration of the nativity at Rome on that date in the fourth century, it is at least traditional and better than deductions that have no basis and only assail the old date without furnishing even the inkling of a new one. Only one conclusion is sound, namely that Jesus was born at night—otherwise the angel would not have appeared to the shepherds “at night.”

Lenski, R. C. H.: The Interpretation of St. Luke's Gospel. Minneapolis, MN : Augsburg Publishing House, 1961, S. 128.

Any history fan knows that people make up details, and those details often stick for a long time. However, human tradition often remembers what is not written down. Religion is quite conservative in preserving the past, so I am always inclined to favor the traditional remembrance if no data contradicts it. Those who have never been to the Holy Land say, “It had to be in the spring because that is the only time shepherds are out in the fields at night.” Grand statements like that are difficult to hear without laughing. I would like to poll the farmers in Illinois and see if all of them infallibly do the same thing all the time.

The anti-Christians like to say that Christmas was invented to get believers away from the winter solstice (when the sun threatens to go even lower in the sky and begins rising again each day).  In fact, the first Christians in Rome were won away from drunkenness and orgies by the Gospel, not by an alternative celebration. That sounds like Guys and Dolls, where mobsters have to decide between a prayer meeting and a card game.

Not even the greatest expert on the culture of a time can say exactly what happened because 99% or more is lost to history.

Any believer would conclude that Christmas was celebrated because of the unique message of the faith, that God became man, that Jesus—a real person—was born of a virgin. Pagan Rome had gods and goddesses from all over the world, but they were not real. Jesus was a person known to history, seen and heard by many, someone whose effect left a permanent mark on the population, although His travels were limited to a minor and troublesome province in the Roman Empire.

One of the ironies of history is that the Empire identified the Christians with the Jews. They were just another brand of Jews, they thought. That only added to the persecutions that erupted from time to time.

So these shepherds were minor figures in an outlying province of the Empire, yet they played an essential role in the birth of the Christian Church. They were the earliest evangelists.

We know this happened at night –

9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

God created light before the heavenly spheres, separating light from darkness. God is the ultimate judge of truth and falsehood, so Paul and John both use light and darkness to represent good and evil. That is also found throughout the Bible

KJV Isaiah 9:2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

Therefore, the angelic host was spectacular because of the light (glory) shining all around and also because they were light, truth, in the midst of darkness and untruth.

Still, divine appearances are terrifying at first. The shepherds were afraid.

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

When people face judgment of any type, fear is the first response. The greater the power encountered, the greater the fear. God knows all so the appearance of the angel is going to penetrate the conscience of each person witnessing the event.

But the angel said, “Stop being afraid.” The reasons are threefold:

1. Good tidings – the Gospel literally.
2. Of great joy – the effect of the Gospel.
3. To all people – applied to all people. The Gospel will not go out to a limited group of people but will be shared with the world.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Here is the explanation – so much is said in one simple sentence.

1. Unto you – This happened for your benefit.
2. Is born – A real person, not god from mythology.
3. This day – You are there to witness this event.
4. In the City of David – The Messianic prophecies are fulfilled.
5. A Savior – He will rescue His people.
6. Christ – He is the King, anointed with oil, the Messiah.
7. The Lord – He is Lord of all.

12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 

There is only one baby like this in the whole area. Verse 12 is a beautiful parallel to Verse 7 –

KJV Luke 2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

Doubtless many babies were born that night but only One was lying in a manger. He was wrapped in pieces of cloth, swathed, as Lenski wrote.

Sidebar - This term is used in Latin for the earliest printed books, incunabula, Latin for “wrapping in swaddling clothes.” The great and glorious bindings for printed books came later. I saw many jewel encrusted bindings for Dante’s Divine Comedy, lying about at Notre Dame’s library, before the rare books collection was finished up. I imagine the school got tired of getting them as gifts – another Dante from the cardinal of Padua, what a cad you are.

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

This means the sky was filled with thousands of angels praising God and chanting this poetry, made famous by the miraculous event.

15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. 16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. 18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

This is the application of the Gospel, so clear and yet so clearly evading many ministers today. The energy of God’s Word is so great that the Holy Spirit moves people to do what is God pleasing. The power of the Word is directly related to the purity of the Word. The angels proclaimed the Gospel, moving the shepherds to visit the Child – with haste – not making any excuses or stopping along the way. And, once they had seen God Incarnate, they told everyone about it, verses 17 and 20.

“And they returned”

They went back to their flocks, but with new experiences and emotions. Nothing was the same after that.

Mormon missionaries told me about the imaginary visions of Joseph Smith, a noted con man. They said, “If that happened to you, wouldn’t that change your life?”

I said, “I wouldn’t start a new religion.”

The shepherds did not start a new religion. They renewed their understanding of Judaism transforming into Christianity. They began laying the foundation of the Church that grew so rapidly at Pentecost.

The self-appointed miracle workers want nothing to do with the pure Word of God. They have programs, which water down the Word. They have personalities, goals, objectives, and exciting new movements. They are the religious leaders being left behind, because they are too blinded by their own arrogance to know the treasures of the Gospel.

As Luther noted, God placed the Savior in a manger, not in a palace. He give the honor of the first visit to shepherds, not to scribes and Pharisees. And yet He gave them another chance when Jesus stayed days at the Temple, and another chance when Jesus was tried for treason and blasphemy, and yet another chance when the Apostles taught on Pentecost and afterwards.

The Gospel Word keeps going forth. There so many examples I could tell, but many would involve personal details that I would rather keep private. One young man never had a saving knowledge of Christ until we took him to church every Sunday. Now that is the most valuable thing to him, knowing Christ.

We should trust God so much that we let Him accomplish His will through His Word rather than force results through our goals. He has managed quite well up to now and should continue to do so as well, as Luther observed.

Quotations

"Here are no learned, no rich, no mighty ones, for such people do not as a rule accept the Gospel.  The Gospel is a heavenly treasure, which will not tolerate any other treasure, and will not agree with any earthly guest in the heart.  Therefore whoever loves the one must let go the other, as Christ says, Matthew 6:24:  'You cannot serve God and mammon.'"

Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., I, p. 154. Luke 2:1‑14.      

"The preachers are to be angels, that is God's messengers, who are to lead a heavenly life, are to be constantly engaged with God's Word that they under no circumstances preach the doctrine of men.  It is a most incongruous thing to be God's messenger and not to further God's message."

Sermons of Martin Luther, I, p. 153. Christmas Day Luke 2:1‑14.

          

"Whoever does not receive the Word for its own sake, will never receive it for the sake of the preacher, even if all the angels preached it to him.  And he who receives it because of the preacher does not believe in the Word, neither in God through the Word, but he believes the preacher and in the preacher. Hence the faith of such persons does not last long.  But whoever believes the Word, does not care who the person is that speaks the Word, and neither will he honor the Word for the sake of the person; but on the contrary, he honors the person because of the Word, and always subordinates the person to the Word."

Sermons of Martin Luther, I, p. 162. Luke 2:15‑20.

   

"Therefore God must lead us to a recognition of the fact that it is He who puts faith in our heart and that we cannot produce it ourselves.  Thus the fear of God and trust in Him must not be separated from one another, for we need them both, in order that we may not become presumptuous and overconfident, depending upon ourselves.  This is one of the reasons why God leads His saints through such great trials."

Sermons of Martin Luther, II, p. 21. Luke 2:41‑52.

Christmas Eve Holy Communion. 7 PM Central

By Norma Boeckler

Christmas Readings and Hymns

Holy Communion

December 24, 2011 – 7 PM Central

Bethany Lutheran Church

Bella Vista, Arkansas

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

Hymn 77:1-6            All My Heart This Night Rejoices                                             2.25

The Invocation, Confession and Absolution                                          p. 15

The First Gospel

Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

KJV Isaiah 40:1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins. 3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: 5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. 6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: 7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. 8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. 9 O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!

The Place of Jesus’ Birth

KJV Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

#102                           O Come All Ye Faithful                                    1:7

KJV Isaiah 9:2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

Virgin Birth

KJV Isaiah 7:10 Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying, 11 Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. 12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD. 13 And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. 15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. 16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.

Incarnation

KJV Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

#109                           While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks               1:35

KJV Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. 20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. 22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. 24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: 25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

Sermon – No Modesty about the Truth

Luke’s Account – Sermon Text

KJV Luke 2:1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. 2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

No Modesty about the Truth

One of my classmates reminded me of a famous quotation when she wished everyone Merry Christmas, “even though we are not sure exactly when Jesus was born.”

I wrote back, “We know more about the time and place of Jesus’ birth than we do about Obama’s.” I should have added – and more about His Father, too.

In the midst of the various Christmas greetings, one Leftist classmate wrotre, “Merry. Merry.”

I simply added “Christmas” to the next line, because I am tired of people pretending it is not Christmas but just happy-time, or winter, even though no one buys winter presents for anyone. Neither does anyone yell, “Merry Winter” to various strangers and friends.

Needless to say, both of my faux-innocent comments led to dustups, with people offended and admonishing me (not a new experience).

In light of that, Chesterton’s quotation about modesty is appropriate:

“Modesty has moved from the organ of ambition. Modesty has settled upon the organ of conviction where it was never meant to be. A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth: this has been exactly reversed. Nowadays the part of a man that a man does assert is exactly the part he ought not to assert-himself. The part he doubts is exactly the part he ought not to doubt - the Divine Reason... The old humility was a spur that prevented a man from stopping: not a nail in his boot that prevented him from going on. For the old humility made a man doubtful about his efforts, which might make him work harder. But the new humility makes a man doubtful about his aims, which will make him stop working altogether.”

― G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

There is such a thing as truth, but this basic concept is denied as a foundational assumption. If there is no truth, there is nothing to argue about, especially religion, so “every truth is God’s truth,” as someone cheerfully said in a class I took. The Christian professor said “Amen” with great gusto and fervor.

Christmas has a special claim upon truth, because God became man, and Jesus was born of a Virgin. This is revealed as truth in the Scriptures, but people still want a Christian philosophy of some type that avoids and denies this truth.

All mainline groups (including the Lutheran franchises) deny and oppose the Confessions – especially their own. The greatest energy has been devoted to working with all other denominations and even such heretical churches as the Salvation Army. At the same time, which is even great proof of unbelief, there is a demonic energy for persecuting those who do believe in the basic articles of faith. And this does not matter which denomination, which I have taken great pains to prove.

The Gospel seed is thinly sown, as Luther remarked. The outward trappings often hide the inner apostasy.

Luke 2:1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.

Governments are good at taxing people and business. They even use taxes to control people, keeping them too busy to rebel against the oppression.

The Roman Empire’s taxation was denied in books that I read in the 1970s, but Lenski knew about supporting evidence decades before. I also read Ramsay in seminary and knew about the astonishing accuracy and precision of Scriptural trivia. This is trivial because the census is not doctrine, but nevertheless the trivial fact is true, showing that God’s Word is accurate in doctrine, history, and geography. Man argues against one or the other because of his unbelief.

Lenski:

Until a few years ago the critics had things pretty much to themselves, and all one could do was to trust to the reliability of Luke. But now a mass of papyri and several inscriptions have reversed the situation. The evidence is now at hand that Augustus did issue the decree of which Luke speaks, that it was a new, epoch-making measure, and that it inaugurated a periodic enrollment in the empire which continued for over two centuries at intervals of fourteen years. See the writings of W. M. Ramsay.

Lenski, R. C. H.: The Interpretation of St. Luke's Gospel. Minneapolis, MN : Augsburg Publishing House, 1961, S. 116.

Like the Star of Bethlehem, the census was one part of the picture. Some would like to set aside the Star of Bethlehem too, but that has worked its way back into the picture, simply because we have the tools to recreate it and to view it exactly as the Wise Men saw it – in planetariums. And the skeptics deeply resent that fact.

2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

I remember the chortles from the Left. “Now we have Luke in the crosshairs. Cyrenius was not governor then.” He was serving in that capacity. He was governing. When we conquered Japan, McArthur became the military governor of Japan. He carried himself as an emperor, which is what the people expected. He was not a governor in the American sense, far from it, but he governed. That is the point.

Lenski:

Acting in a governing capacity in Syria, and having broader powers than those of the regular governor, Quirinius managed the enrollment also in Herod’s domain.

Lenski, R. C. H.: The Interpretation of St. Luke's Gospel. Minneapolis, MN : Augsburg Publishing House, 1961, S. 118.

3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

The fact of the census caused the pathos of the Nativity. With everyone crowding the roads, inns, and homes, there was no room for Joseph and Mary. Homes were tiny then, something we can hardly imagine. If you see photos of crowded busses, ferries, or markets in the Third World, that gives a better impression than imposing our need for space upon the Roman Empire. The ultra-rich had palaces, but everyone else was crowded together.

Here we see that God enters history contrary to man’s expectations. Instead of great pomp and glory – humility and poverty and yieldingness. Joseph and Mary could not even claim a spare room at a relative’s home. Sure there was something available. The problem at the inn is a good indication, because it should have been an alternative.

4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

As we all know from Christmas pageants, these verses from Luke flow elegantly as phrases in a poem. The best passages to memorize are those which are poetic in form, with simple descriptive phrases. I can imagine this being memorized by children in the earliest congregations, adults reciting it as the narrative of their Savior’s birth.

Not to be missed in the long, uphill climb from the low-lying territory of Galilee to the mountainous Jerusalem. Similar would be the journey from the desert valley of Phoenix to the high country of Flagstaff and beyond. Only we went by auto, not by foot. I keep seeing graphics of Mary on a donkey. There is no beast of burden mentioned in the Scriptures. Even with one, the trip was arduous.

Joseph’s lineage caused him to report to Bethlehem for the census. Therefore, when we read about that shepherd boy, David, in Bethlehem, we already have an inkling of the story of the Savior. Saul was an unfit king, so the reign passed over to David, and David became the example, the ideal of the Messiah – the king anointed with oil.

The prophecies said the Savior would be born in Bethlehem, and the Roman Empire made this happen. This alone shows us how God works in history. The clever philosophers want to divorce a charming story from the facts of history, but believers see how God declared and then fulfilled every promise from the Old Testament.

These Messianic promises are woven into the Scriptures, so that anyone reading them before or after the event could see those details, not as a platform, but as a thread running through the Old Testament books. Where one detail might be overlooked, many more cannot be. The Old Testament is certainly a cradle that holds the baby Jesus. Once the Holy Spirit has opened the eyes of faith, that cannot be missed.

When obstinate rejection closes the eyes of faith, nothing can be seen at all. My apostate Roman Catholic friends came back from a famous lecturer’s talk, happy that all the Old Testament miracles were set aside as “symbolic.” Someone asked, “What about the New Testament miracles?” The man responded, “Oh, those are all true.” This made the two theology students (now professors) furious.

I contacted them as alumni, by email. They found communicating with me difficult, even though I only said hello after all these years – 29 in all.

The Bible is not a cafeteria line where we pick out what we like.

6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

These verses indicate that Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem and were there a period of time before Jesus was born. The Bible is very strict with details, because we do not need to know everything. Compare this to an essay I graded, where a woman took six typed paged to describe her dog’s illness. In fact the story the sinking of a famous ocean liner (Normandie) took up more space in the New York Times than the entire account of the Flood in Genesis.

This concise narrative is good, because we reflect upon the essentials rather than all the other details that intrigue us without edifying us.

Many like to dwell on morbid descriptions of how terrible this was, to give birth in such a way. If anyone suggested it advance to a couple, they would be astonished at the lack rather than the abundance – except for one thing. God would surely take care of His Son’s birth and provide all needed assistance. His angels announced it, so they did not leave the family without help or comfort.

The message here is that they trusted in God to provide what was needed. A German Gerhardt hymn makes that point about all believers. God provides special care, comfort, and protection at all times.

So, as humans, we look at the birth in the animal shelter as the opposite of our wishes for anyone, but God presents it as a scene of peace and joy.

The Gospel comes to the humble and poor, those who hunger for the righteousness of God. The people who consider themselves great intellects are too proud to read the Word of God as a direct revelation. They place themselves above it.

But here we see the Savior born in the midst of the decaying Roman Empire, turmoil everywhere. Hundreds of Old Testament prophecies begin to be revealed in scene after scene, as the true drama of salvation unfolds.

For those who believe the Word of God and trust in its promises, the Bible is a constant source of wonder and wisdom. If someone asks, How can my own sins be forgiven?, he only need to look at the census bringing the Holy Family to Bethlehem, the Wise Men following the Star of Bethlehem, the shepherds told in the fields by angels while King Herod faced the end of his power and life.

#646                           Silent Night                                                   4:38

Heavenly Host

Luke 2: 8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. 15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. 16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

Holy Communion                                                                           p. 24

The Prayers and Benediction

#87                 Joy to the World                                                        1:20

Modesty Misplaced

By Norma Boeckler

“Modesty has moved from the organ of ambition. Modesty has settled upon the organ of conviction where it was never meant to be. A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth: this has been exactly reversed. Nowadays the part of a man that a man does assert is exactly the part he ought not to assert-himself. The part he doubts is exactly the part he ought not to doubt - the Divine Reason... The old humility was a spur that prevented a man from stopping: not a nail in his boot that prevented him from going on. For the old humility made a man doubtful about his efforts, which might make him work harder. But the new humility makes a man doubtful about his aims, which will make him stop working altogether.”
― G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy - he was also at Notre Dame

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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Modesty Misplaced":

In 1999, the Catholic Church and the LWF signed a joint declaration on the doctrine of justification (how a person is saved), one of the main points of contention between Catholics and Lutherans in the 16th century.

At the meeting with Younan, Benedict called the 1999 declaration "a significant step along the difficult path towards re-establishing full unity among Christians."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/18/lutheran-leader-seeks-com_n_798413.html

LWF
http://www.lutheranworld.org/Directory/afr/Welcome-EN.html

Thrivent uniting and binding in theology and purpose
https://www.thrivent.com/magazine/fall11/whereintheworld.html 

From Wiki - So You Can Be the Hippest Lutheran on the Block

"Not so fast, buster."
Paul McCain's high school doctrine instructor.

This is what the pope is doing in England, Canada, and America:


A personal ordinariate is a canonical structure within the Catholic Church enabling former Anglicans to maintain some degree of corporate identity and autonomy with regard to the bishops of the geographical dioceses of the Catholic Church and to preserve elements of their distinctive Anglican spiritual and liturgical patrimony. Its precise nature is described in the apostolic constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus of 4 November 2009[1] and in the complementary norms of the same date.[2]

The new structure is intended to integrate these groups into the life of the Roman Catholic Church in such a way as "to maintain the liturgical, spiritual and pastoral traditions of the Anglican Communion within the Catholic Church, as a precious gift nourishing the faith of the members of the Ordinariate and as a treasure to be shared".[3]

As an ordinariate of this kind is part of the Catholic Church, it professes that Church's principles and doctrines in their entirety and maintains fidelity to the leadership of the Pope.

Anglicans who join the Catholic Church can still choose to be part of the usual dioceses rather than of an ordinariate.

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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "From Wiki - So You Can Be the Hippest Lutheran on ...":

As an ordinariate of this kind is part of the Catholic Church, it professes that Church's principles and doctrines in their entirety and maintains fidelity to the leadership of the Pope.

Rev. Paul McCain provided this insite into the Lutheran Synods desire for the Antichrist's leadership.
"Father Neuhaus was able to make direct personal appeal to Pope John Paul which led to direct contacts with Cardinal Ratzinger, with the result that the The LCMS was again given a place at the table of discussion and dialog with Rome"
http://cyberbrethren.com/2009/01/08/a-grief-observed-richard-john-neuhaus-1936-2009/

Paul McCain goes on to state, "In both cases, he challenged me to think, to reflect, to grow and to strive for excellence in our common confession of Christ."

With his violent promotion of the false gospel of Universal Objective Justification there is no doubt that the Church of the Antichrist shares a common confession of Christ with McCain and with the other UOJists in the LCMS, WELS, ELCA and ELS.

Pope worshiping Father Richard Neuhaus stated it this way, "I will not plead that I had faith, for sometimes I was unsure of my faith, and in any event that would be to turn faith into a meritorious work of my own."

Lacking Christian faith, in fact persecuting Christian faith and Christ's Church through their confession of UOJ, the false teachers in the Lutheran Synods will have no problem begging for a seat at the Pope's table while he ascends to his earthly throne as the center of the New World Order religion. Even now they coddle the pedophiles, murderers and New Age practitioners while dogpiling faithful Christians like hobos on a hotdog.

Below Is the Process for Digesting the Episcopal Church. Admire the Guile of the Pope!

Cardinal Levada is in charge of this effort.

Decree of erection of
the Personal Ordinariate of
Our Lady of Walsingham

The supreme law of the Church is the salvation of souls. As such, throughout its history, the Church has always found the pastoral and juridical means to care for the good of the faithful.

With the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus, promulgated on 4 November 2009, the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, provided for the establishment of Personal ordinariates through which Anglican faithful may enter, even in a corporate manner, into full communion with the Catholic Church. On the same date, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith published Complementary Norms relating to such Ordinariates.

In conformity with what is established in Art. I § 1 and §2 of the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus, having received requests from a considerable number of Anglican faithful and having consulted with the Episcopal Conference of England and Wales, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

Pretty sneaky, Ja Wohl!
Zay call me Wolf, but I am Christ on Earth.
Ask my Director of Communications,
who is free on bail.

ERECTS [GJ - This is the British effort, which will be followed by the American one on New Year's Day.]

the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham within the territory of the Episcopal Conference of England andWales.

1.The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham ipso iure possesses juridic personality and is juridically equivalent to a diocese. It includes those faithful ,of every category and state of life, who originally having beloned to the Anglican Communion, are now in full communion with the Catholic Church, or who have received the sacraments of initiation within the jurisdiction of the ordinariate itself or who are received into it because they are part of a family belonging to the Ordinariate.

2. The faithful o the personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham are entrusted to the pastoral care of the Personal Ordinary, who, once named by the Roman Pontiff, possesses all the faculties and is held to all the obligations, specified in the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus and the Complementary Norms as well as in those matters determined subsequently by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, on request both of the Ordinary, having heard the Governing Council of the Ordinariate, and of the Episcopal Conference of England and Wales.

3. The Anglican faithful who wish to be received into full communion with the Catholic Church through the Ordinariate must manifest this desire in writing. There is to be a programme of catechetical formation for these faithful, lasting for a congruent time, and with content established by the Ordinary in agreement with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith so that the faithful are able to adhere fully to the doctrinal content of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and, therefore, make the profession of faith.

4. For candidates for ordination, who previously were ministers in the Anglican Communion, there is to be a specific programme of theological formation, as well as spiritual and pastoral preparation, prior to ordination in the Catholic Church, according to what will be established by the Ordinary in agreement with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and in consultation with the Episcopal Conference of England and Wales.

5. For a cleric not incardinated in the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham to assist at a marriage of the faithful belonging to the Ordinariate, he must receive the faculty from the Ordinary or the pastor of the personal parish to which the faithful belong.

6. The Ordinary is a member by right of the Episcopal Conference of England and Wales, with deliberative vote in those cases in which this is required in law.

7. A cleric, having come originally from the Anglican Communion, who has already been ordained in the Catholic Church and incardinated in a Diocese, is able to be incardinated in the Ordinariate in accord with the norm of can. 267 CIC.

8. Until the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham may have established its own Tribunal, the judicial cases of its faithful are referred to the Tribunal of the Diocese in which one of the parties has a domicile, while taking into account, however, the different titles of competence established in cann.1408-1414 and 1673 CIC.

9. The faithful of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham who are, temporarily or permanently, outside the territory of the Episcopal Conference of England and Wales, while remaining members of the Ordinariate, are bound by universal law and those particular laws of the territory where they find themselves.

10. If a member of the faithful moves permanently into a place where another Personal Ordinariate has been erected, he is able, on his own request, to be received into it. The new Ordinary is bound to inform the original Personal Ordinariate of the reception. If a member of the faithful wishes to leave the Ordinariate, he must make such a decision known to his own Ordinary. He automatically becomes a member of the Diocese where he resides. In this case, the Ordinary will ensure that the Diocesan Bishop is informed.

11. The Ordinary, keeping in mind the Ratio fundamentalis institutionis sacerdotalis and the Programme of Priestly Formation of the Episcopal Conference of England and Wales, is to prepare a Programme of Priestly Formation for the seminarians of the Ordinariate which must be approved by the Apsotolic See.

12. The Ordinary will ensure that the Statutes of the Governing Council and the Pastoral Council, which are subject to his approval, are drawn up.

13. The location of the principal Church of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham will be determined by the Ordinary in agreement with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and in consultation with the Episcopal Conference of England and Wales. Likewise, the Seat of the Ordinariate, where the register referred to in Art. 5 § 1 of the Complementary Norms will be kept, will be determined in the same way.

14. The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham has as its patron Blessed John Henry Newman.

Everything to the contrary notwithstanding.

Rome, from the Offices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 15 January 2011

William Cardinal Levada
Prefect

+ Luis F. Ladaria, S.I.
Secretary

VirtueOnline - News - Exclusives - Former Episcopal Bishop Jeffrey Steenson to be named the first American Ordinary

Katezilla is driving droves into Roman Catholicism.

VirtueOnline - News - Exclusives - Former Episcopal Bishop Jeffrey Steenson to be named the first American Ordinary:

Former Episcopal Bishop of the Rio Grande, Jeffrey Steenson, is to be named the Ordinary when the Anglican Ordinariate is erected on January 1, 2012, sources tell VOL.

Word seeped out from the Vatican late last week that Steenson -- who left The Episcopal Church in 2007 over TEC's polity - has been tapped for the new post as the Ordinariate gets its first foothold in the United States.

The former Episcopal House of Bishops' member has been deeply concerned with the continued fracturing of Anglicanism. The Episcopal Church's insistence on autonomy has further distanced itself from other Anglican provinces and resulted in a shredding of the fabric of Anglicanism.

This reporter came into possession of a private communiqué late Wednesday revealing that Steenson is being tapped for the Ordinariate's top post. A second confidential source has confirmed the communiqué.

When asked if the former Episcopal Bishop of the Rio Grande has received the nod to be the first Ordinary the source replied: "Yes, Jeffrey Steenson will be the new Ordinary."

On Tuesday, a third source, The Bovina Bloviator Blog theorized that Steenson would get the miter.

"It is being noised Jeffrey Steenson, the former Bishop of the Diocese of the Rio Grande in the Episcopal Church, who was received into the Catholic Church in 2007 and is now a priest, will be named Ordinary of the American Anglican Ordinariate on January 1, 2012," the Bovina Bloviator posted under an Ordinariate Buzz header.

Steenson's Anglo-Catholic pedigree comes from being an Episcopal priest for 24 years including stints as the curate and rector at two Pennsylvania parishes -- All Saints' Church in Wynnewood, and Church of the Good Shepherd in Rosemont, before going on to St. Andrew's in Fort Worth, Texas. From there he was elected, in 2004, to be bishop coadjutor for the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande under Bishop Terence Kelshaw. The former Rio Grande bishop has the distinction of being the 1000th Episcopal Church bishop consecrated with his "lappets" stretching all the way back to the first Bishop of Connecticut, Samuel Seabury who was consecrated in 1784. Steenson's consecrators included then Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, his predecessor Bishop Terence Kelshaw, Anglo-Catholic Bishop Clarence Pope, indigenous Bishop Mark McDonald, and ecumenical Bishop Anthony Burton from the Anglican Church of Canada. Steenson became the eighth diocesan bishop in 2005. He was an Episcopal bishop for two short years before swimming the Tiber.

The Anglo-Catholic Bishop of the Rio Grande shed the purple in December 2007 and was received into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church. This was done in Rome, Italy, at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major during a private ceremony officiated by Bernard Cardinal Law, the former Catholic Cardinal of Boston and then archpriest at a Roman basilica.

The former Episcopal bishop embraced the Pastoral Provision that allows for former Anglican clergy to become Roman Catholics and eventually recoup their priesthood. The Pastoral Provision is the precursor to the unfolding Anglican Ordinariate and will operate along side of it for those converting priests who do not wish to become a part of the Ordinariate yet want to become Roman Catholic.

One year after becoming a Roman Catholic, Cardinal Law ordained Steenson as a Catholic deacon. Fourteen months late, he was priested by Archbishop Michael Sheehan in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, located within the Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe, which overlaps the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande.

Since becoming Catholic, Steenson has kept a high profile in his new Catholic circle. He has been active at various levels and has been seen at several Anglican Use events including attending Anglican Use Conferences where he has been the keynote speaker or the preacher at the solemn high Mass. In addition, he has been actively working hand-in-glove with American Catholic bishops as they hammered out the details of how the Anglicanorum Coetibus would be implemented in the United States.

In November, Steenson was introduced to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops by Donald Cardinal Wuerl. The Cardinal was then tasked with the implementation of the Anglicanorum Coetibus in the United States. Steenson was on hand when the Cardinal announced the January 1 date for the formal erection of the American Ordinariate.

The soon-to-be-named Ordinariate leader was educated at Harvard Divinity School and holds a doctoral degree from Oxford.

Steenson is now in Houston, Texas, where has been on the faculty of St. Thomas University and St. Mary's Seminary. He has also been instrumental in helping to set up the theological training that his brother bishops and priests will undergo in order to become fully formed Catholic clerics. He has worked at helping to develop the specific elements needed in the formation and retraining program. The former Episcopal bishop has worked closely with both Cardinal Wuerl and Daniel Cardinal DiNardo to get the unique seminary preparation program setup and running in time for the establishment of the Ordinariate on New Year's Day.

Once the Ordinariate is established, Steenson will be in charge of a non-geographic-type diocese, which encompasses the entire United States from Alaska to Florida and New York to Hawaii.

Since Steenson is married with grown children, according to Anglicanorum Coetibus norms, he can never be elevated to the rank of bishop. However, he will receive the honor due a bishop and will be in the temporal and limited sacramental charge of an as-of-yet-to-be-named Ordinariate; although, he will be prevented from celebrating episcopal sacraments such as ordination.

Once the Ordinariate is established, the initial membership is expected to eclipse the Rio Grande's numbers. Waiting in the wings are at least 67 priests, as well as a bishop or two, and several established Anglican Use parishes that may or may not be incorporated in the new Ordinariate as it unfolds including the thriving Texas parishes: Our Lady of the Atonement, San Antonio; Our Lady of Walsingham, Houston; and St. Mary the Virgin, Fort Worth. Other established Anglican Use congregations include: St. Thérèse Little Flower in Kansas City, Mo; St. Thomas More, Scranton, Penn; and St. Anselem's, Corpus Christi, Texas.

Recently, several Episcopal parishes converted to the Roman Catholic Church in anticipation of the Ordinariate. They include: St. Timothy's, Fort Worth, Texas; St. Luke's in Bladensburg, Md.; and All Saints Sisters of the Poor in Catonsville, Md.

There are also several Traditional Anglican Communion (Anglican Church in America) congregations scattered around the country poised and ready to convert en masse to Roman Catholicism and be brought into the Ordinariate.

Steenson was unavailable for comment.

This story is copyright, but may be forwarded and posted with full recognition of the source.

---Mary Ann Mueller is a journalist living in Texas. She is a regular contributor to VirtueOnline

'via Blog this'

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Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori's Aggression Against Anglican Leaders
Jefferts Schori attacks Archbishop Rowan Williams with the Charge of Double-Mindedness

NEWS ANALYSIS & COMMENTARY

By Sarah Frances Ives
Special to Virtueonline
www.virtueonline.org
December 19, 2011

In Jeffert Schori's recent book, The Heartbeat of God, she cleverly weaves together her vision of the future Episcopal Church-interfaith communities partnered with a huge United States government. She writes, it is all about, "Mission, mission, mission", (91) and describes many different projects that parishes can start in tandem with the government and other secular groups. Jefferts Schori's underlying terror in this book is clear: create more projects at the parishes or the Episcopal Church is going to disappear. Get to work, peons. Our ship is sinking.

She tells us what to do about any problem in glib and superficial terms that include disparate advice such as to eat our protein, wash our dishes by hand, celebrate layoffs in the Episcopal Church, support the Obama health care bill, call ourselves beloved, criticize the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, make the United States government limit capitalistic profits, declare unity in the Episcopal Church, and plant gardens on the church lawns.

Jefferts Schori bounces from one subject to another with the rapidity of a writer not disciplined by transitional ideas or even rational thought. On page 23 within four sentences, Jefferts Schori drags in, with her typical pell-mell fashion, Katrina and its aftermath, genocide in Rwanda, global AIDS, torture for terrorists, and health care reform in our country. With all her vast pronouncements, she doesn't even bother with a bibliography to support her ideas and includes only seven notes for quotes (two of which are from the Book of Common Prayer).

The only really clear part of this book is that Jefferts Schori supports the Obama health care bill. She continually advocates for this bill in simplistic terms. "Providing basic health care for everyone in this country would be a relatively trivial issue economically if our defense budget went on a diet."(17)

In nearly every chapter, she works that theme and attacks those who oppose the Obama health care bill. Remember her modus operandi? Humiliate and taunt opponents rather than rationally address issues. She derides the criticism of this bill describing it as, "The ranting about health care that this country endured for months as Congress debated reform bills-the ranting that still continues on cable news shows."(27)

Mixed in with her seemingly endless stream of stereotypical political views are Jefferts Schori's odd Biblical interpretations. For example, Jefferts Schori describes Jesus' holy entry into Jerusalem for His crucifixion as the same as "the cowpoke's blessing, 'Happy Trails.'"(48) Her tasteless reference is to the Dale Evans-Roy Rogers theme song, "Happy Trails to you, until we meet again."

In yet another example, Jefferts Schori humiliates the seventy disciples sent out by Jesus. Jesus said he had given these disciples the power to tread underfoot the forces of the enemy (Luke 10:20). But Jefferts Schori mocks them as she writes, "Those seventy just go and they go ahead of Jesus. They're not following him around-they're the advance team, the roadies."(83) Hauling the rock'n roll bands equipment around, roadies (according to folklore) live a wild lifestyle. These disciples faithfully served Jesus and courageously went out into a dangerous world, yet she labels them with a term synonymous with pleasure-seeking hedonists.

Jefferts Schori also criticizes those who evangelize by telling others about Jesus Christ. She praises a man who came to her same conclusion, writing, "He said he finally learned that his job wasn't to get somebody to say a verbal formula about accepting Jesus as personal Lord and savior, but to make a space that was safe enough for others to say what they really think and feel."(75) She taunts both those who evangelize for Jesus and those who accept His ministry. She says about the leper who received healing from Jesus, "Actually, he's a bit whiny about it."(22)

Time and time again, Jefferts Schori reveals that she has no depth conception of the struggles involved with working out one's salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:12) Faithful people who testify that Jesus is Lord might actually have accepted Him as their Savior, in the midst of severe hardships, and, in doing so, found the great redemption of our Lord.

That apparently means nothing to Jefferts Schori. She declares her easy Islamic theology about the Beloved by commanding everyone to claim the divine baptismal promise given only to Jesus. Beginning with the scripture from Luke 3:22, Jefferts Schori writes, "'You are my beloved, and in you I am well pleased.' If we're willing to risk hearing that and being transformed by it, we have begun to participate in Jesus' reality. It is a hopeful saying for most of us-we don't quite believe that we can be all that pleasing to God, because we think we know more about ourselves than God does. But it was also an aspiration in Jesus' ears-he aspired to live into the fullness of God's intent."(121)

Jesus aspired to live into this? I might aspire to write something like Tolstoy's War and Peace but whether this will happen is surely in question. So Jesus aspired to live into the fullness of God's intent? Does she mean Jesus maybe hoped to do something like God might have wanted? Jesus sounds like a pretty foggy character here, not anything like the powerful revelation of the Godhead the Gospels portray.

Jesus did not have a goal to live into this, but had the full powers of God within his heart and soul. As very God of very God, begotten not made, he did not have a goal to be the beloved Son but was already both God and man.

Jefferts Schori's Islamic theology directly results in her ordination of Rev. Bede Parry. She probably told this sexual predator he was God's beloved, if her book is any indication. She tells the reader continually that all are beloved and have the same reality as Jesus. (pp. 121, 140-142, 155-156 and many more)

In another one of her Biblical distortions, she changes "Blessed are the peacemakers" to "Blessed are the Change Makers."(67) She does indeed truly qualify as a "change maker" for, as we have seen, her desire to destroy the scriptures appears to know no bounds.

This event of an entirely non-Christian theology from a Presiding Bishop might be unprecedented in the history of the Christian faith and bears watching.

The roots of Jefferts Schori's theology lie in mystical Islam called Sufism, although she might have picked up her odd theology from some New Age appropriations of this. The most famous expressions of her Islamic theology are the whirling dervishes, solitary dancing in a circle done in a group with their minds seeking ecstasy. They spin and spin until full of some spirit, they fall into high giddiness.

And toward the end of this book, spinning wildly in her theology without a Savior, Jefferts Schori begins a series of swipes at Anglican and Episcopal priests, bishops and archbishops who oppose her. The great fallacies exhibited in her thinking are Jefferts Schori's Great Spins.

Ordaining Gays and Lesbians

Jefferts Schori's first Great Spin is her claim that the Episcopal Church has found unity about the ordination and consecration of gays and homosexuals, even though she acknowledges that most places in the Episcopal Church "are shrinking, either slightly, or precipitously." (187) She writes about the decision to ordain gays and homosexuals, "The Episcopal Church recognizes that these decisions are problematic to a number of other Anglicans. We have not made these decisions lightly. We recognize that the spirit has not been widely received in the same way in other parts of the Communion."

What she doesn't mention is that the decision to ordain gays and lesbians has not been widely received in the Episcopal Church and many internally complain about this decision. Indeed, tremendous unrest and turmoil exists within the Episcopal Church. Look at the rapidly declining numbers to see that many are fleeing from this church.

There is no unity in the Episcopal Church and what does exist comes at least partially because of social and canonical pressure placed on people by some bishops, including Jefferts Schori. With its heavy-handed legal action against priests that speak out, the ordained ministry is full of anxious men and women with suppressed words and contagious fear. Who will be the next victim in the frequent accusation of abandoning the communion? How secure is any ordination anymore with the new disciplinary canons granting more power to authorities? Any perceived unity exists because tremendous effort has been put into silencing those who support the Anglican Communion yet stay within the Episcopal Church.

Jefferts Schori also lashes out at unidentified church leaders. She describes a person and then opens it up to multiple people writing, "Congregations wracked by the misbehavior of leaders know something about that, and in The Episcopal Church in the past few years there's been a fair amount of that....A petty tyrant claims the divine right of judgment, power over life and death. . . It happens all around us all the time, when some human tyrant resolves to control other people's lives...Maybe the local bishop decides that he'll only permit priests to move into the diocese who agree with him on every important issue, no matter what their other gifts or shortcomings might be."(207) In her use of an exclusive male pronoun, Jefferts Schori shows her belief that only male bishops do these actions and she targets only them.

We can only speculate to whom she is referring, but that in itself is unprofessional. Why talk about tyrants in leadership of the church and leave everyone around her to fill in the blanks? That's the definition of gossip. Anyway, Jefferts Schori's tyrants might be those in the episcopate who have left the Episcopal Church or could be the Church of England leaders that she recently attacked.

In Jefferts Schori's second Great Spin, she claims that the Episcopal Church has, in solid unity, rejected Archbishop Rowan William's Covenant, as well as the Lambeth 1998 decision of the Anglican Communion about the consecration of homosexuals and lesbians.

Jefferts Schori continues with her pompous use of the royal "we" as she addresses Rowan Williams with these challenging words, "As Episcopalians, we note the troubling push toward centralized authority exemplified in many of the Archbishop of Canterbury's statements." (169) She-still using the "we" pronoun-complains bitterly about sanctions the Episcopal Church could suffer because they consecrate noncelibate gays and lesbians. "We are further distressed that such sanctions do not, apparently, apply to those parts of the Communion that continue to hold one view in public and exhibit other behaviors in private-a wink and a nod to things that go on but are not publicly recognized-such as partnered same-sex clergy in the Church of England." (170)

Taunts Rowan Williams

She then taunts the leaders in the Church of England, and more specifically Archbishop Rowan Williams, by saying that "ignoring that sort of double-mindedness is usually termed a 'failure of nerve.'"(170) She strengthens her attack on Williams by writing, "Why is there no sanction on those who continue with a double standard?"

Her use of the term "double-minded" (not one in common parlance) makes the reader wonder if Jefferts Schori is strengthening her statement by reference to scriptures using this phrase. One of these scriptures reads, "Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you men of double mind." (James 4:8)

The Jefferts Schori Great Spin is now that the Episcopal Church has allowed open homosexual and lesbian relationships for priests and bishops, the church has found purity and strength. She implies that because Church of England have closeted homosexual partners with a "wink and a nod," these United Kingdom church leaders are behind the time and ineffective.

Jefferts Schori's Great Spin says to the Church of England, recognize noncelibate gays and lesbian priests and you will have spiritual, emotional and social purity and strength.

Don't believe it, Archbishop Williams. Ordaining and consecrating sexually-active gay and lesbian priests has unleashed a destructive force in the very midst of the Episcopal Church from which it will likely not recover.

Jefferts Schori Attacks Bible

Jefferts Schori's Great Spin creates many victims, with the Bible itself as among its first victims. The Church overlooked Paul's Letter to the Romans and then soon the Bible faded away in the minds of the priests to a secondary source pulled out to help us understand New Age writers such as David Whyte.

Indeed in this 2011 book, Jefferts Schori has intensified her attack on the scriptures through her non-orthodox interpretation of Biblical scriptures.

Jefferts Schori hopes that the Episcopal Church will achieve this destruction of the scriptures and even the orthodox Christian faith without repercussion. The church has brushed past Lambeth 1998, yet danger now lurks for those who stay in the Episcopal Church, yet respect the spiritual authority of the Anglican Communion. Bishops who defy Lambeth 1998 already label negatively anyone who questions the ordination of sexually active gays and lesbians. Formerly those who do not endorse the ordination of gays and lesbians were called homophobic, but now in The Heartbeat of God Jefferts Schori says those remain loyal to the Anglican Communion have "colonial attitudes." (169)

Now the litmus test in the Episcopal Church is not whether salvation can be found in the Bible, but whether you believe in the consecration of gays and lesbians. Priests are encouraged to force back concerns and sign on the dotted line, or they might end up like the priest from Accokeek, Maryland, Rev. Samuel Edwards, defending himself in federal court against an outraged Bishop Jane Dixon.

Other issues also have come rolling out. Some gay and lesbian priests first shed the heterosexual marriage and the kids, but then start shedding the first committed homosexual relationship because there were mistakes made. Then the Episcopal Church wonders, how many homosexual relationships are allowed? The answer seems to be as many as they want.

Some believe we have the bishop or priest in a committed heterosexual or homosexual relationship with some sexual activity on the side.

Jefferts Schori ordained a sexual predator, Rev. Bede Parry, and left him in the midst of the Episcopal Church. The Presiding Bishop defends herself by saying she only knew of one of his multiple victims. She knew of only one mangled and pain-filled life? Only one life that will remember the horror of an older man forcing himself on him before the victim had a developed will? The horror exists in that Jefferts Schori didn't recognize that one victim is more than enough to know that this predator should not be ordained.

No, recognizing homosexual and lesbian committed relationships does not lead to social peace or spiritual purity. No, we just increase the "winks and nods" until the mangled Bible lies destroyed and the oppressed Episcopal Church cries out for relief.

In her latest book The Heartbeat of God, Jefferts Schori is spinning out of control with her Biblical interpretations and idiosyncratic pronouncements about the Episcopal Church. It is as if Jefferts Schori warbles "Happy Trails, Beloved." to hedonists and a sexual predator, yet unleashes a tirade against bishops she calls "tyrants" who support Archbishop Rowan Williams and the Anglican Communion. And in Jefferts Schori's book The Heartbeat of God, we have a wink and nod about what is really happening in the Episcopal Church.

--------

Sarah Frances Ives is a regular contributor to Virtueonline. She lives in Washington DC with her husband and two children

The Winter Lull in Teaching Invites More Publishing

More books? No!!

There are three main areas of publishing coming up:

1. The Justification book will be revised and expanded, with the long-expected extra research added soon. My part will add a chapter on Walther's Pietism, the Walther mythology promoted by the LCMS (with obvious deceit), and the truth about Stephan. Another section will deal with Huber's post-Concord enthusiasm for UOJ, the origin of the Robert Preus quotations.
2. I expect to get a rough draft done or at least started on the murder mystery, which is designed to be an entertaining apologetic. My non-Ichabod friends are very interested while the Ichabodians are deadly silent. That is the idea, since the book is aimed at outsiders.
3. I am going to expand into e-books so that others can participate. I have unseen helpers who can increase the number of titles produced. Every title will still be available in print, but each will be planned as e-books and promoted with Google AdWord (which I tried for free). I know next to nothing about this area, so it will be learning by doing and getting advice from others. I visited a bookstore today, and the front entrance featured e-book readers, which Mrs. I. has already tried and appreciated.

• "Nobody reads Ichabod," but the page-reads since June of 2010 total 837,000. 
• Bethany's site has another 13,000 page-reads in the same time period. 
• Moline Memories has 37,000 page-reads. 
• Sassy Sue and Friends has around 9,000 page-reads.

I enjoy the ongoing efforts to thwart, block, silence, and refute what I post. That has come back to bite more than one person, simply because the suppressed truth has a way of emerging on its own, without any help from me.