Vindictive Judge or Anodyne Version of Ourselves?

‎"Just in passing let me wonder why anyone is surprised that church attendance is in decline in America. If half the church is presenting a faith that makes God out to be a vindictive judge, and the other half is making God out to be an anodyne version of themselves, it’s actually amazing anyone goes to church at all." — Sam Wells

I have no taste for the former. But, I worry that we in the Episcopal Church often tend toward the latter. The God of Christianity should not be reduced to a vindictive judge. But, neither is that God a Big American Liberal in the Sky.

See:

Idolatry of a Certain Sort?

Radical Centrist Manifesto II

CWOB: More Resources

One of the topics of consideration at the Episcopal Church's General Convention this summer has to do with whether or not we should maintain the ancient discipline of expecting baptism before participation in the Eucharist.

A little over two years ago, I wrote a series of posts attempting to explain why we should maintain that ancient discipline:
Baptized into Eucharist

A while back I offered some resources from others who I think have made a cogent defence of the classic discipline:
Communion Without Baptism? Some Resources

Since so much of the case for change is anecdotal, I also offered some anecdotes of my own:
Against Communion Without Baptism: Some Anecdotes

Here are some more resources on the topic:

Robert Hendrickson:
On Many and More Controversies: Of Justice, LGBT Christians, Female Priests, and Communion Regardless of Baptism

Jesse Zink:
Beyond “open communion”


Jared Cramer:
A Slight Rant on Current Arguments for CROB

The Theology Committee of the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church prepared this:

Reflections on Holy Baptism and the Holy Eucharist: A Response to Resolution D084 of the 75th General Convention

Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations:

Admissionto the Eucharist of the Non-Baptised (Begins on p. 51)


Some of these and others can be found at a site maintained by Christ Church, New Haven:
Baptism and Communion: resources for conversation

Whose Box?

Do you ever suspect that when some people insist that you should "think outside the box" what they really mean is that they want you to start thinking inside their box?

Anslem: "Jesus, as a mother . . ."

Anselm of Canterbury (1033 - 1109):

Jesus, as a mother you gather your people to you: you are gentle with us as a mother with her children; Often you weep over our sins and our pride: tenderly you draw us from hatred and judgement. You comfort us in sorrow and bind up our wounds: in sickness you nurse us, and with pure milk you feed us. Jesus, by your dying we are born to new life: by your anguish and labour we come forth in joy. Despair turns to hope through your sweet goodness: through your gentleness we find comfort in fear. Your warmth gives life to the dead: your touch makes sinners righteous. Lord Jesus, in your mercy heal us: in your love and tenderness remake us. In your compassion bring grace and forgiveness: for the beauty of heaven may your love prepare us. (Preface to the Proslogion)

Praying with Julian’s Hazelnut

I invite you to try this prayer experiment based on Julian of Norwich's hazelnut vision:

• Get a 'hazelnut'. This can be a real hazelnut or anything similar in size and roundness, e.g., a marble, a small stone, a balled-up half sheet of paper, etc.

• Intentionally set aside a period of time - 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, or more if you can. And a place where you can be alone and quiet. If you have a timer set it for the amount of time you have set aside so you won't be watching the clock.

• Sitting comfortably and with eyes closed, let yourself relax. Rest your hands open on your lap holding the hazelnut.

• Breath in slowly through your nose and out though your mouth. Pay attention to the breath.

• Imagine the small thing in your hands as representing all that it is created. Imagine it representing your own life. Or the life of someone else on your heart. Give thanks to God for making it, for loving it, and for keeping it.

• Begin repeating 'made, loved, kept' quietly or silently forming the words with your mouth.

• When other thoughts arise, do not fight them. Rather, gently let go of them, turn your heart back towards God and the small thing and resume repeating, 'made, loved, kept'.
  

• At the end of the prayer period, return your attention to your breath and remain in silence with eyes closed for a while.

• End by again giving thanks to God for making it all, for loving it all, and for keeping it all.

• If you like, carry your hazelnut in your pocket or place it where you will see it throughout the day as a token of remembrance.

I have found that doing this daily can serve to settle my heart into the heart of God where my own life, the lives around me, and the larger world gain a different perspective. I begin to share some of the hope and joy that was characteristic of Julian of Norwich.

That is not to say that it always feels that way or that the prayer automatically engenders warm and pleasant feelings. Julian knew better:

Our Lord is most glad and joyful because of our prayer; and he expects it, and he wants to have it, for with his grace it makes us like himself in condition as we are in nature, and such is his blessed will. For he says: Pray wholeheartedly, though it seems to you that this has no savour to you; still it is profitable enough, though you may not feel that. Pray wholeheartedly, though you may feel nothing, though you may see nothing, yes, though you think that you could not, for in dryness and barrenness, in sickness and in weakness, then is your prayer most pleasing to me, though you think it almost tasteless to you. And so is all you living prayer in my sight. (14th Revelation, p. 249)

Still, Julian was undaunted and encourages to persevere because:

Prayer unites the soul to God, for though the soul may always be like God in nature and in substance restored by grace, it is often unlike him in condition, through sin on our part. Then prayer is a witness that the soul wills as God wills, and it eases the conscience and fits us for grace. And so he teaches us to pray and to have firm trust that we shall have it; for he beholds us in love, and wants to make us partners in his good will and work. (14th Revelation, p. 253)

And:

Truth sees God, and wisdom contemplates God, and of these two things comes a third, and that is a marvelous delight in God, which is love. (14th Revelation, p. 256)

The Julian quotes are from Julian of Norwich: Showings (Classics of Western Spirituality).

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Meditation 3: God keeps it

Julian discerned three properties in her vision of the thing no bigger than a hazelnut representing all that is made: “In this little thing I saw three properties. The first is that God made it, the second is that God loves it, the third is that God keeps it.”

Read the following passages from the Bible and Julian. Sit quietly for several minutes meditating on what it means to believe that God ‘keeps’ what he has made and what he loves.  God holds all that is created in his hands and he is working his purpose out. God has a hold on you. And God’s hold on you is always stronger than your hold on God. What does it mean to believe that God keeps and preserves you? Carry that around in your heart for a day.

From the Bible:

• I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6)

• For it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13)

• If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:31-39)

From Julian:

• See, I am God. See, I am in all things. See, I do all things. See, I never remove my hands from my works, nor never will I without end. See, I guide all things toward the end that I ordain them for, before time began, with the same wisdom, and love with which I made them; how should anything be amiss? (3rd Revelation, p. 199)

• God wishes us to know that he keeps us safe all the time, in sorrow and in joy; and sometimes a man is left to himself for the profit of his soul, although his sin is not always the cause. (7th Revelation, p. 205)

• Because of the tender love which our good Lord has for all who will be saved, he comforts readily and sweetly, meaning this: It is true that sin is the cause of all this pain, but all will be well, and all will be well, and every kind of thing will be well. (13th Revelation, p. 225)

• Our good Lord answered to all the questions and doubts which I could raise, saying most comfortingly: I may make all things well, and I shall make all things well, and I will make all things well. (13th Revelation, p. 229)

• The place that Jesus takes in our soul he will never depart from.  (14th Revelation, p. 287)

• Enduring and marvelous is that love which cannot and will not be broken because of offences. (14th Revelation, p. 300)

• It is his office to save us, it is his glory to do it, and it is his will that we know it; for he wants us to love him sweetly and trust in him meekly and greatly. And he revealed this in these gracious words: I protect you very safely. (14th Revelation, p. 302)

The Julian quotes are from Julian of Norwich: Showings (Classics of Western Spirituality).

Next: Praying with Julian’s Hazelnut

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Meditation 2: God loves it

Julian discerned three properties in her vision of the thing no bigger than a hazelnut representing all that is made: “In this little thing I saw three properties. The first is that God made it, the second is that God loves it, the third is that God keeps it.”

Read the following passages from the Bible and Julian. Sit quietly for several minutes meditating on what it means to believe that God loves what he has made. God delights in everything in the universe – from supernovae to subatomic particles, from humpback whales to banana slugs. What does it mean to believe that God loves and delights in every single human being? What does it mean to believe that God loves and delights in you? God desires your good. Carry that around in your heart for a day.

From the Bible:

• For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

• Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. (John 13:1)

• But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

• I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

• But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2:4-5)

• God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another.  (1 John 4:9-11)

From Julian:

• Then Jesus our good Lord said: If you are satisfied, I am satisfied. It is a joy, a bliss, an endless delight to me that ever I suffered my Passion for you; and if I could suffer more, I should suffer more. (9th Revelation, p. 216)

• For we are his bliss, because he endlessly delights in us; and so with his grace shall we delight in him. (9th Revelation, p. 219)

• Our good Lord said most joyfully: See how I love you, as if he had said, my darling, behold and see your Lord, your God, who is your creator and your endless joy; see your own brother, your savior; my child, behold and see what delight and bliss I have in your salvation, and for my love rejoice with me. (10th Revelation, p. 221)

• Do you wish to know the Lord’s meaning in this? Know it well, love was his meaning. Who reveals it to you? Love. Why does he reveal it to you? Love. What did he reveal to you? Love. Why did he reveal it to you? For love. Remain in this and you will never know different, without end. (15th  Revelation, p. 342)

Julian understands that God’s love is not simple affirmation, but also entails the promise of transformation:

• He says: I shall completely break down in you your empty affections and your vicious pride, and then I shall gather you and make you meek and mild and holy through union with me. (13th Revelation, p. 227)

The Julian quotes are from Julian of Norwich: Showings (Classics of Western Spirituality).

Next: Meditation 3: God keeps it

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