Of Holidays: Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday, the Sunday prior to Resurrection Sunday, is the day Jesus enters Jerusalem on the back of a colt.  Upon His entry into the city the Jews, believing He was coming to liberate them from the Romans, lined the streets in celebration waving palm branches and laying them, and in some cases their cloaks, on the ground for Jesus to ride over.  They were anticipating something momentous, yet what they were anticipating and what ended up happening wasn't anywhere even close.  The Jews believed He would be their savior from decades, if not centuries, of living under the oppressive rule of one after another conquering nation.  Rome was just the latest of many.

Of Holidays: St Patrick's Day

St Patrick's Day (March 17th) is probably the most recognized of the many Feast Days, followed closely by St Valentine's Day.  This was a day set aside to commemorate an individual who was instrumental in spreading the good news of Salvation to an, as yet, untapped area of the world, Ireland.  Though it is, as in many cases, quite unique how God brought about this occurrence.  St Patrick was born in 387 AD to a rich family living on the island of Brittania (England) back when it was still controlled by the Romans.  When he was about 16 years old he was abducted by Irish raiders and taken into captivity in Ireland.  According to his Confession he had a dream where God told him to escape from his captivity and go back to Brittania.  He successfully escaped and eventually made it a monastery in Gaul (France) where he studied to become a priest.  In 432 he had another dream where God told him to go back to Ireland and spread the Gospel to the Pagan, Polytheistic, people living there.  One noteable aspect of St Patrick's teaching methods was to use the shamrock (clover) to explain the Trinity.

Of Holidays: Lent

Lent is a period of 40 days and nights, the example of which comes from Christ's time he fasted in the desert up to His temptation by satan and embarkation of his ministry as well as the time Moses spent fasting on Mount Sinai when he received the first copies of the tablets with the Ten Commandments. This period begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Thursday (the day before Christ's crucifixion). The dates for these events are determined, based on a resolution at the Council of Nicaea of 325 AD, where Resurrection Sunday falls on the Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon (the first full moon on or after the vernal (spring) equinox). Then Ash Wednesday is set 40 days prior to Holy Thursday, which is, of course, three days prior to Resurrection Sunday.

Of Holidays: Valentine's Day

I am sure that all of the one of you who read this blog are asking yourself, "Do we really need to keep God at the center of our celebration of any holiday?"  Well, here is a holiday that will allow us to explore that in a bit more detail.

Of Holidays: Feast Days...

Feast Days are those in which the Catholic Church, whether it is a local congregation or the Vatican itself, set aside to commemorate those who made significant contributions to the growth of the church, especially during its most formative years.  Many were martyrs and the like and the day on which their feast falls corresponds with either their date of birth, or more routinely, the day they died.  But should we as Christians celebrate these feast days.

Of Holidays...

This post is to spark a series on holidays.  Mostly holidays that are celebrated in the United States, though it is possible I may expand into holidays celebrated in other countries.  The main thing I would like to discuss is what are the holidays we have around us and whether or not, as Christians, we should participate/celebrate these various holidays.

Of Church Authority...

In this post I would like to open a discussion about the authority of the church as it pertains to its members.

It is important to point out first what I mean by "member".  A member is someone who does not merely attend a church every week.  Any Christian that regularly attends a specific church I respectfully suggest that they prayerfully consider becoming a member of the church they attend.  Becoming a member may be called different things depending on the denomination your church belongs to.  Some churches use the term "Communicant Member", others use the term "Professing Member", still others use the term "Voting Member".  Regardless of the term used a member basically takes on certain responsibilities, which are generally laid out in the by-laws of the church.  Those responsibilities may include, without limitation, voting in perspective elders or deacons, voting in a perspective pastor, or voting on which missionary organizations the church will support.  Were you aware that, as a member, you have those responsibilities, among others?

Of Bullying...

Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear O Isreal: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'  The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  There is no other commandment greater than these."
Mark 12:29-31 (ESV)(emphasis added)

Bullying, obviously, is the act of one or more persons asserting their perceived dominance over another person or group of people.  It has gone on throughout time and has been instrumental in making the world what it is today.  Various forms have been employed from the schoolyard to the battlefield.  The most common motivations for it are envy, greed, and power.  Of course the question is, what would the world look like if bullying was not part of the fabric of humanity?  Some have asserted that bullying is a part of life and that it is one of the many things that ultimately define us as human beings.  But should we accept it as that?

Of Bearing False Witness...

"Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." Exodus 20:16 (KJV)

Recently in our adult Sunday School we wrapped up a study on the 9th commandment.  There were many call-outs in regard to how one may knowingly bear false witness against another person.  Here are a few:

• Gossip
• Slander - or speaking something false about another person
• Libel - or publishing something false about another person
• Perjury - or providing false testimony, under oath, about another person

Anyone who has spent any amount of time online on a social networking site knows how easy it can be to say something and have it spread like wildfire across that site as well as others.  There is the somewhat infamous instance of the girl who was cyber-bullied so much she ended up committing suicide.

The 9th commandment speaks to both making direct and indirect false statements.  Although, gossip is primarily considered to be done in idle conversation there is another form of it that is quite a bit more troubling and may be overlooked by many Christians.  That is including false statements about one or more individuals in the quise of a, seemingly innocent or innocuous, prayer request.

The purpose of a prayer request is to garner support and encouragement from fellow Christians and to open a dialogue with God through more people to convey praise, thanksgiving, needs, wants, etc.  What it is not is an opportunity to indirectly air someone's dirty laundry or spread false rumors.

Really, the best way to approach prayer for a fellow Christian when it comes to negative reports about their reputation or character is to pray for guidance and divine intervention for that individual.  God already knows what is going on in their life and does not need details.

Also, as mentioned in the catechism questions below, we should be ready to defend our fellow Christian, as well as admonish anyone who is willing to speak ill of them.

Once again it all comes down to how you would want to be treated no matter if any negative reports are true or not.

Questions 143 through 145 from the Westminster Larger Catechism:

Q. 143.  Which is the ninth commandment?
A. The ninth commandment is, Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.


Q. 144.  What are the duties required in the ninth commandment?
A. The duties required in the ninth commandment are, the preserving and promoting of the truth between man and man, and the good name of our neighbor, as well as our own; appearing and standing for the truth; and from the heart, sincerely, freely, clearly, and fully, speaking the truth, and only the truth, in matters of judgement and justice, and in all other things whatsoever; a charitable esteem of our neighbors; loving, desiring, and rejoicing in their good name; sorrowing for, and covering of their infirmities; freely acknowledging of their gifts and graces, defending their innocency; a ready receiving of good report, and unwillingness to admit of an evil report, concerning them; discouraging talebearers, flatterers, and slanderers; love and care of our own good name, and defending it when need requireth; keeping of lawful promises; studying and practicing of whatsoever things are true, honest, lovely, and of good report.


Q. 145.  What are the sins forbidden in the ninth commandment?
A. The sins forbidden in the ninth commandment are, all prejudicing the truth, and the good name of our neighbors, as well as our own, especially in public judicature; giving false evidence, suborning false witnesses, wittingly appearing and pleading for an evil cause, outfacing and overbearing the truth; passing unjust sentence, calling evil good, and good evil; rewarding the wicked according to the work of the righteous, and the righteous according to the work of the wicked; forgery, concealing the truth, undue silence in a just cause, and holding our peace when iniquity calleth for either a reproof from ourselves, or complaint to others; speaking the truth unseasonably, or maliciously to a wrong end, or perverting it to a wrong meaning, or in doubtful and equivocal expressions, to the prejudice of truth or justice; speaking untruth, lying, slandering, backbiting, detracting, talebearing, whispering, scoffing, reviling, rash, harsh, and partial censuring; misconstructing intentions, words, and actions; flattering, vainglorious boasting, thinking or speaking too highly or too meanly of ourselves or others; denying the gifts and graces of God; aggravating smaller faults, hiding, excusing, or extenuating of sins, when called to a free confession; unnecessary discovering of infirmities; raising false rumors, receiving and countenancing evil reports, and stopping our ears against just defense; evil suspicion; envying or grieving at the deserved credit of any, endeavoring or desiring to impair it, rejoicing in their disgrace and infamy; scornful contempt, fond admiration; breach of lawful promises; neglecting such things as are of good report, and practicing, or not avoiding ourselves, or not hindering what we can in others, such things as procure an ill name.

Of Living With Your Neighbors...

Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear O Isreal: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'  The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  There is no other commandment greater than these."
Mark 12:29-31 (ESV)(emphasis added)

In the previous post, which you most likely have read because you love this blog and would never miss a post, you saw that I commented on this article about a lady in the Los Angeles area who erected an over 24 foot high cross in her front yard.  I thought I would look again at this article through the lens of the above-referenced verses.

Sure, the apparent motivation, contrary to what the article states, of this lady is to tell her surrounding neighbors that she is a Christian, which I will not try to confirm or refute as it is not my place, but I wonder if she truly considered the impact that having this cross in her front yard is actually having on any of her neighbors (which can be considered to be anyone she may come in contact with, or who would see the cross for that matter). Though she may consider that she is just being a witness for Christ in her community, she may also be, unintentionally, accomplishing quite the opposite.  On the one hand erecting this cross could be considered just as benign as erecting a flag pole just as tall, on the other some might consider it an eyesore.  But let us take a look, shall we?

Aside from the height of it, this cross seems rather benign, except for the fact that it is located in someone's front yard, as opposed to the front lawn, or the steeple, of a church.  According the article, this lady's neighbors believe the cross is causing their property values to go down due to the increase in traffic in the quiet little cul-de-sac this house is located.  Of course property values is a rather subjective thing, but do the neighbors have a legitimate complaint?

In addition to the outcry coming from her neighbors, her city is stating that she either needs to take it down or get a permit for it, otherwise she is facing fines that could range up to $3000.  Not exactly the kind of example you want to make as a Christian.  Is it really a good idea to erect something this big without making sure that it is ok with the local authorities?  After all isn't it standard practice to obtain permits when making this big of a change to your property?

However, putting aside the lack of consideration she made in regard to getting permission from the city, has she really put any thought into how this is impacting her neighbors?  Would she be just as understanding of her neighbors if they were to erect a giant star of david, or put a budda statue in their front yard?

Of Picking a Topic...

When I first thought of starting this blog I thought it might be somewhat difficult to come up with specific topics to discuss on a routine basis, such as daily, weekly, or monthly.  Then Providence showed me a rather appropriate topic to get the ball rolling.  This happened when I came across this article that was posted on the Daily News website that is based in Los Angeles, California.  Let's see what topics rise to the top on this one.

The subject of the article is a woman who, having been, reportedly, led by a religious organization that is an off-shoot of the Roman Catholic Church called: the Cross of Love or Friends of the Glorious Cross of Dozulé constructed an almost 25 foot tall cross in her front yard.  This group, according to the article, "was launched in the 1980s by members of a church in Dozule, France, who said God told them in a series of apparitions to build crosses to ensure their salvation."