Category Archives: Scripture

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

January 29, Birthday and Feast Day

Posted on January 29, 2010 | Comments Off

Two years ago today, my wife and I welcomed into the world and into our lives a beautiful baby boy. Happy Birthday, little guy! The temperature, as recorded at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, dropped 49 degrees on that day from a high of 36°F to a low of -13°F and remained sub-zero throughout the next day. My wife had to wait for a delivery room to become available, so there must be some kind of connection between weather phenomena and the arrival of lots of babies!

Recently I learned that today is also the proposed Feast Day in the Episcopal Church for Andrei Rublev, the greatest iconographer of the Russian Orthodox Church, who was born in the 1390s and may have died on January 29, 1430. His most famous icon happens to be my favorite, and a copy of it hangs in our home on a wall that overlooks a round kitchen table where ordinary meals are shared. It’s Rublev’s interpretation of “The Hospitality of Abraham,” which depicts the visit of three strangers to Abraham and his wife Sarah in the first book of the Bible. The couple being visited are preparing food for their guests and, therefore, nowhere to be seen. Rublev wants us to focus on the three mysterious figures, who are portrayed in a way that suggests a meditation on the divine dance of the Trinity. Abraham didn’t realize that God had appeared at his table and that he and his household were now the true guests.

I often contemplate the open space at that table in Rublev’s icon. It implies an invitation to share the feast and to be drawn into the very life of God. This evening, as I remember and give thanks for the birth of my son, my prayer is that he will always know there’s a place for him at the table within the household of God.

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Posted in Scripture

On the Road with the Rector: The Dead Sea Scrolls

Posted on November 18, 2009 | Comments Off

Another stop on next year’s itinerary for “On the Road with the Rector” will take place during the season of Lent, the several weeks leading up to the holiest time of the year for Christians at the Great Vigil of Easter. On March 12, 2010, a special exhibition about the Dead Sea Scrolls will open at the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul. This is a rare, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to view some of the oldest known texts of the Hebrew Bible. The exhibition will conclude with a glimpse of the newest hand-written Bible, The St. John’s Bible. This beautiful work of art was commissioned by St. John’s Abbey and University in St. Joseph, Minnesota. I’ll be giving a presentation about the importance of the Dead Sea Scrolls on the first Sunday in Lent, February 21, 2010, at St. Stephen’s and encouraging people to make a visit to this exhibition as a part of their Lenten observance. Why not join us?

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Posted in On the Road, Scripture