Category Archives: Scripture

Martyrs Topic: Lewis Smedes on Homosexuality

Posted on February 1, 2012 | Leave a comment

NEWS FLASH: Tonight’s meeting of the St. Stephen’s Martyrs has been canceled since the Edina Country Club is closed this week for remodeling. So this topic will be discussed at next week’s meeting.

The Martyrs, a men’s group, decided to continue last week’s discussion about Minnesota’s proposed marriage amendment that would ban, constitutionally, same gender marriage in the state. So tonight’s next week’s conversation will take place after watching an interview with Lewis Smedes, a former professor emeritus of theology and ethics at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, where he taught for more than twenty-five years. He was educated at Calvin College, where he also taught, Calvin Theological Seminary, and the Free University of Amsterdam. Smedes, who died in 2002, was an ordained minister in the Christian Reformed Church and most noted for his books on forgiveness.

Christianity Today, in an article that was published after Smedes’ death, quoted the President of Fuller Theological Seminary, Richard Mouw, as saying:

More than one of his former students has said that while his class lectures were unforgettable, it was worth coming to class just to hear his opening prayer.

This was a man of prayer with impeccable credentials as an Evangelical Christian, who loved Jesus and spent most of his life reflecting on ethics in relation to being a follower of Jesus. Many people can relate to his background and his struggle to understand the issue of homosexuality in the life of our various churches.

Not everyone, of course, will agree with his conclusions, which changed over time and are described in the video below. However, I hope that most of us will at least be able to appreciate these words of his near the end of this interview:

I know that a lot of churches besides mine are really wrestling, in all good conscience, with this issue. . . . I just want to say that my heart goes out to you in your wrestling because I know how hard it is.

Learn more about the St. Stephen’s Martyrs and how to find them here.

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Posted in Jesus, Marriage Amendment, Martyrs Topics, Scripture, Theology

Martyrs Topic: “. . . so much delight in one man.”

Posted on January 4, 2012 | Leave a comment

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Edina, Minnesota
The Reverend Neil Alan Willard, M.Div.
December 30, 2011

RODNEY DANFORTH HARDY
February 21, 1938 – December 1, 2011

O God, you make us glad by the yearly festival of the birth of your only Son Jesus Christ: Grant that we, who joyfully receive him as our Redeemer, may with sure confidence behold him when he comes to be our Judge; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

On behalf of Rod’s wife, Katie, and their daughters, Kim, Elizabeth, and Jo, I want to thank you all for your presence today as we give thanks to God for Rod’s life and witness not only in this community of faith but also in the community of friendship that has gathered here this afternoon. Please know of their deep gratitude for your prayers and your deeds of kindness throughout the fall months before Rod’s death at the beginning of December. His bow ties, his contagious joy, his encouraging words, and, above all, his presence will be missed. As one of my clergy colleagues put it, “Rod always made me laugh, and I have never witnessed so much delight in one man.” To that, I say, “Amen.”

On the cover of your bulletin, you’ll see a picture that was drawn by Rod, inspired by Psalm 121, which we read together a few minutes ago. It’s one of 15 “Psalms of Ascents,” songs that accompanied pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. Their walk upward into the city and then onto the temple mount was both a literal ascent and a metaphorical one. It represented a life that over and over reached toward the presence of God.

Psalm 121 opens with a question: “I lift up my eyes to the hills, from where is my help to come?” That kind of searching is a universal human experience. Everyone turns to something or someone in a time of need. Everyone wonders at some point if God, as a source of help, can be trusted. Continue reading →

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Posted in Jesus, Martyrs Topics, Scripture, Sermons, St. Stephen's

Sermon: Christmas Reveals a Different Kind of Glory

Posted on December 29, 2011 | Leave a comment

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Edina, Minnesota
The Reverend Neil Alan Willard, M.Div.
Christmas Eve, December 24, 2011

Loosen a little our grip, O Lord, on our words and our ways, our fears and our fretfulness, that finding ourselves found in you, we may venture from the safety of the shore and launch afresh into the waters of grace with Jesus, “the bright morning star,”[1] as our guide. Amen.

When I was in college, I remember attending Christmas Eve services at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in downtown Winston-Salem, North Carolina. One of the head ushers always stood out on that holy night. He could be seen marching up and down the aisles in some of the most wonderfully outrageous Christmas trousers you’ve ever seen. It was surely the only time of the year that he would’ve dared to wear such clothing in that church. Of course, he wasn’t alone. There was lots of other playful attire in the pews on people who would normally be dressed rather conservatively, to say the least.

My former boss, now the Bishop of Southern Virginia, has a similar, fond memory of a guy who would wear the same socks to his church every Christmas Eve and would show them off at the door as he greeted the clergy. The socks were green and had little silver bells all over them, so he would jingle as he walked around. Christmas brought out something playful in him, something of the joy and wonder that we see in children.

More than a few of you here tonight understand that sense of playfulness. I’m sure that Len Slade’s famous red hat is in the building. I’m also sure that there are candy cane neckties, bow ties with lights, Santa pins that play music, and red and green sparkling earrings out there in the darkness, waiting to be noticed with a little grin and a wink.

For some people, all of this is a kind of false religion, a form of escape from sadness, sickness, disappointment, and the darkness of the world. For the rest of us, however, it’s a reminder that true joy can be found in the midst of those harsh realities and that, as Isaiah declared, “on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” Continue reading →

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Posted in Children, Christmas, Scripture, Sermons

The Queen’s Christmas Day Message for 2011

Posted on December 27, 2011 | Leave a comment


Here are the concluding thoughts of a woman of great faith, Queen Elizabeth II, in her Christmas Day message for 2011:

Finding hope in adversity is one of the themes of Christmas. Jesus was born into a world full of fear. The angels came to frightened shepherds with hope in their voices: “Fear not,” they urged, “we bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Saviour who is Christ the Lord.”

Although we are capable of great acts of kindness, history teaches us that we sometimes need saving from ourselves – from our recklessness or our greed.

God sent into the world a unique person – neither a philosopher nor a general, important though they are, but a Saviour, with the power to forgive.

Forgiveness lies at the heart of the Christian faith. It can heal broken families, it can restore friendships and it can reconcile divided communities. It is in forgiveness that we feel the power of God’s love.

In the last verse of this beautiful carol, O Little Town of Bethlehem, there’s a prayer:

O Holy Child of Bethlehem,
Descend to us we pray.
Cast out our sin
And enter in.
Be born in us today.

It is my prayer that on this Christmas Day we might all find room in our lives for the message of the angels and for the love of God through Christ our Lord.

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Posted in Anglican Communion, Christmas, Forgiveness, Jesus, Scripture

The Episcopal Church: Scripture, Tradition & Reason

Posted on November 6, 2011 | Leave a comment

Last spring there was a wonderful thread of comments in response to a post on Osler’s Razor about the pros and cons of the Episcopal Church. At the end of that thread, I added something that I called “Haiku for the Anglican Way,” which is:

What makes sense of things:
scripture, tradition, reason,
intertwined with love.

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Posted in Anglican Communion, Episcopal Church, Scripture, St. Stephen's, Theology

Letter from a Faithful Father to a Doubting Daughter

Posted on June 16, 2011 | Leave a comment

Gordon Atkinson is a regular contributor to The High Calling and recently shared a letter that he wrote to his daughter about her doubts and her questions. It’s worth reading in its entirety together with the conversation that follows in the comments. Here’s just a taste of it, however, to make you hungry for more:

To my dearest doubting daughter,

Our last conversation left me with a heavy feeling inside. I’ve been thinking about you and your unfolding life journey. You are a very intelligent young woman, and that can be burden. You have an uncompromising, logical mind. That’s something I love about you and hope that I helped nurture in you.

But it does present some problems when it comes to faith, doesn’t it?

And the Christian Church mostly does not know what to do with her smart children, the ones who ask hard questions. . . .

Now it seems that every decade brings a cultural or technological revolution of one kind or another. Parents struggle to relate to their children, and grandparents are almost incomprehensible to the third generation, who look upon them as ancient relics from a bygone era.

So people your age have come to believe that they must find their own way and their own answers, which is a terrible burden for young people to carry. . . .

You are young. Now is the time for practice. Throw yourself into the practice of Christianity. Pray and worship and read the scriptures. Ask your questions, yes, but do so while practicing your faith.

I think you’ll find that when your mind reaches its limits, it’s good to pay attention to the body.

And the body needs practice.

You can read the whole letter and the conversation about it here.

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Posted in Children, Scripture, Theology

“I Believe in God: Assessing the Value of Creeds”

Posted on March 4, 2011 | 1 Comment

Earlier this week, several people went “On the Road with the Rector” and joined me in downtown Minneapolis at the University of St. Thomas Law School for a free lunch and, most importantly, a thoughtful conversation about the role of creeds in the Christian life. There we heard two members of the faculty, Susan Stabile and Mark Osler, present differing views that each arise out of a sincere devotion to Jesus as the Messiah – the Christ – and a serious commitment to the community that follows him. So how should that common faith be expressed?

Before answering that question for yourself, I encourage you to take the time to listen to a podcast of the actual conversation that we heard between Professors Stabile and Osler. I think that you’ll find it worthwhile and thought-provoking.

You can listen to the podcast of this conversation about creeds here:

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Posted in On the Road, Scripture, Theology