In this E-pistle:
PRAY WITHOUT CEASING
SEVEN GIFTS THAT ARE EASY ON YOUR BANK ACCOUNT
JESUS IN THE NEWS

The church prayer list often includes the names of Park people and friends who are suffering brokenness of physical health. Such prayer is altogether appropriate for those who serve One who sent his followers to heal the sick (Luke 10:8-9). One of the great distinctives of the Christian faith is its insistence on the inherent worth of the human body, the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). There are, of course, other kinds of brokenness that afflict us from time to time. So in addition to those whose broken physical health we bring before God, we also bring those surely known by God and maybe known by us who suffer a brokenness of:

Relationships: Family ties or friendships that have grown tense or may have snapped.
Will: The lure of or addiction to food, drink, drugs, gambling, sex, power or self-disdain that has overcome our ability to say “no” to that which harms us or “yes” to that which strengthens us.
Finances: The loss of employment, under-employment, catastrophic emergencies or poor decision making that has led to a sense of being overwhelmed by financial obligations.
Hope: Sometimes health, relationship, addiction, financial and other circumstances seem bigger than our ability to manage.

Let’s pray for broken people – perhaps ourselves – that they, like the Apostle Paul, might hear the voice of Christ saying, “My grace is sufficient for you.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

We’re down to nine shopping days ‘til Christmas, but, you know, the best gifts we give don’t have to cost us a penny. Consider these seven ways to give without spending money:
1. Ring – The Salvation Army has asked Park people to be responsible for the kettles at the Beaver Super on Saturday, December 23. 21 of our 32 slots have been filled, so there is room for 11 more ringers. Why not you? Sign-up Sunday in the Gathering Room.
2. Visit – Spend an hour or so with one of out homebound members or care facility residents.
3. Invite – We’ll have three worship services on Christmas Eve. The Lord’s Day worship at 10:55 a.m. and then a wonderful family service featuring a children’s presentation at 7:00 p.m. and the traditional 11:00 p.m. service. Invite a friend or family member to join you.
4. Read – As you gather with family or friends, spend a few minutes reading the Christmas story aloud. Luke 2:1-20.
5. Pray – As you receive Christmas cards this year, be sure to pray for each person who has taken time to send one to you.
6. Sing – Whether it is the great carols in church or singing along to a CD in the car or at home, open your mouth and “Come, let us adore Him!”
7. Tell – There’s no better time to speak about matters of faith. A simple “God is so good to us,” may be the best present you can give to anyone.

Jesus always makes the covers of the news magazines in December, and this year is no exception. Both Newsweek and US News have feature articles on Jesus in their current editions.

The Newsweek article, “How Jewish Family Values Shaped Christianity,” (click here) by religion editor Lisa Miller, takes a to-be-expected skeptical approach to the authenticity of the Old Testament witness (Jewish morality was “probably more a matter of pragmatism more than theology” – forget that “be holy for I am holy” stuff) and the New Testament narratives (Christians insist on the moral life, a “message shaped for the masses,” because of their “failed apocalyptic hopes.”)

Miller is correct, though, in reminding us that much of what we now consider Christian morality is rooted in Biblical Jewish values. Miller’s Jesus is decidedly ordinary in every important way (in the end he is just “a nice Jewish boy,” she says, tongue in cheek). If all that Jesus did was affirm “Jewish family values,” the world would be a much better place for it. But Jesus was decidedly extraordinary and he did so much more than affirm what is good and right. He transformed what was broken and wrong. “For in him all the fulness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” (Colossians 1:19-20)

The US News piece, “The Gospel Truth, Why some old books are stirring up a new debate about the meaning of Jesus,” (click here) was written by senior writer Jay Tolson. You get the feeling that Tolson may have had some material left from his work on the Da Vinci Code earlier in the year. Tolson begins his article in pretty conventional fashion, demeaning historical Christian orthodoxy as “close-minded dogmatism” and quoting the too-often quoted Elaine Pagels too often. (Ms Pagels is a Princeton professor who has popularized the “Gnostic gospels” and has a self-identified animus against traditional Christian faith.)

But about half way through the somewhat long article, Tolson begins to find some of the holes in Pagels’ plea for new Gnostic Christianity (who needs a divine Jesus when we all have a spark of the divine inside us?). He quotes British scholar and Anglican bishop, N.T. Wright, “one of the strongest critics of the Gnostic enthusiasts.” “His is certainly not a minority position within early Christian studies,” Tolson says of Wright. That is, N.T. Wright represents something like a 95% consensus among scholars.

The article concludes with words all of us who are interested in these current cultural debates should understand well:

But can there really be any reconciliation of those who believe that salvation comes from the outside, through the redemptive act of a divine savior, with those who believe that it comes through self-knowledge? Such a difference, Johnson, Wright, and other traditionalists argue, cannot be explained away by scholars like Pagels as merely politically motivated differences. The distinctions reflect profound theological and anthropological convictions about human nature and its relation to the divine.

The core Christian teaching is wrong, Wright insists, if the Gnostics are right. “In other words,” he says, “you are not the spark of light; you are part of the problem. And if you look deep within your heart, and you are true to what’s deep within your heart, then you will actually mislead yourself and others that you drag down with you.”

Both the Newsweek and the US News articles are worth reading and worth talking about. Let me know if you’d like to talk more.
Finally there is this on CNN: What the hell happened to Christianity? Click here for the column and here for a background article.

The writer of this commentary is Jay Bakker, son of Jim and Tammy Faye. I don’t disagree with everything this “punk under God” says, but I’m not ready to join the Revolution. We’ll talk about the views of the punk preacher and more during our Sunday morning class “Prepare Ye the Way.” Why not join us?

See you Sunday