‘Tis the Season…for my favorite tradition

November 28, 2007 at 6:12 pm (Advent, Christmas taditions, Family, Family Traditions, Traditions, Tuesday's Tradition)

Advent Wreat  

*** 

With Christmas decorations and advertisements arriving earlier and earlier each year [this year I saw them going up before Halloween decorations even came down, yikes!] it seems like we can’t escape the “commercilization” of the  Christimas “hol-y-days.” Escape is what I wish I could do when this season comes upon us.  I can’t stand the consumerism and materialism.

Before you write me off as a grinch let me tell you that I do like certain aspects of the Christmas season. I love  time spent with friends and family celebrating our faith in Christ and love for one another. I like Christmas cards and family letters that bring news about the lives of distant friends and family we rarely see.  I like Christmas trees and lights.  I even like Christmas music. But…

More than anything, I like the season of Advent that prepares us for celebrating the birth of Christ.

***

Advent is the beginning of the liturgical calendar year and it’s one of my favorite seasons.  It’s a season of repentance as we acknowledge we are a people in need of a Savior and prepare for the celebration of the advent/coming of our Messiah. It’s a season of joy and expectation as celebrate the fulfillment of God’s promise to send the Messiah and it’s a season of anticipation and hope as we cling to the promise that He will one day come again.  

The season of Advent, as celebrated in Church and at home, is what makes this time of the year so meaninglful to me. That it is why during the four weeks before Christimas we practice one of my favorite family traditions: lighting the candles in the Advent Wreath at home every night. This tradition was something my parents practiced while I was growing up. If you’re not familiar with the Advent Wreath here’s the basics: The Advent Wreath is traditionally a circular evergreen wreath with five candles, four around the wreath and one in the center. Each candle has a name and tells part of the Christmas story. [That's Ella and Claire with our Advent wreath in the picture above.]

***

When I was growing up we’d light the candles each night at dinner and my dad would ask us the name of each candle and quiz us about the Bible story or history behind the candle. “What’s the first candle? Who was the Prophet? What did Isaiah prophesy?” Such a simple thing and yet it meant so much. Scott and I love sharing this tradition with the girls but we even practiced it before they were born; it kept us focused on Christ when the world is so focused on consumerism.

I like this tradition so much that I’ve been known to hand out wreaths and candles to my friends. A few years ago I created a document from various sources that talks about this tradition and how we practice it in our home. If you’re interested here’s the link: Advent Wreath Document.

So, that’s my favorite tradition.  

Thanksgiving is over and the hectic ways of the world’s holiday celebration are in full force.  Don’t let it suck you in. Take time during this season to examine your heart before celebrating the “coming” of Christ our King into this world. Focus on what the incarnation of God in the flesh means in your life and  prepare the way of the Lord in your heart during Advent.

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Funny big brother, very funny!

November 23, 2007 at 12:15 am (Uncategorized)

My brother’s idea of a fair  Thanksgiving cornbread dressing competition!

Pat’s forks

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Humble thyself…

November 21, 2007 at 2:05 pm (Humility, Maturing in Christ, Uncategorized)

*** 

 I discovered the Litany of Humility (below) a few years ago in a prayer book. 

I keep a copy of it close by.  It’s one those prayers that God uses to deal with my hideous pride.

I’ve exchanged a few of the words from the original with synonyms more common to our contemporary speech.

My husband and I are convinced that humility is the key to loving one another as Christ loved the church.

Walking in the same humility as Christ is what makes our marriage work. Actually, it’s what makes any relationship work.

If only we’d humble ourselves…O how the love of Jesus would transform our relationships and our environments.

Humility is where it’s at!

 

***

 

Litany of Humility 

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, hear my prayer: 

From the desire of being esteemed

From the desire of being loved,

From the desire of being extolled,

From the desire of being honored,

From the desire of being praised,

From the desire of being preferred,

From the desire of being consulted,

From the desire of being approved,

Deliver me, Jesus 

From the fear of being humiliated

From the fear of being despised,

From the fear of suffering rebukes,

From the fear of being slandered,

From the fear of being forgotten,

From the fear of being ridiculed,

From the fear of being wronged,

From the fear of being suspected,

Deliver me, Jesus 

That others may be loved more than I,

That others may be esteemed more than I,

That in the opinion of the world, others may increase, and I may decrease,

That others may be chosen and I set aside

That others may be preferred to me in everything,

That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should,

Jesus grant me the grace to desire it.

***

How is Jesus calling you to humble yourself today?

Be still for a moment and ask Him, listen to Him and then obey Him.

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Sibling Rivalry and Mom’s Cornbread Dressing

November 20, 2007 at 12:47 pm (Family, Family Traditions, Thanksgiving)

fork

*** 

Haven’t shared a Tuesday tradition lately (so much for follow-up and follow-through). Thought I’d share a little Thanksgiving ritual I have with my brother. A little history first. My big brother, Pat, is six years older than I.  He’s my only brother. While growing up he spent most of his time putting up with with my sister Meg and me, the baby of the family. I could tell you all kinds of stories but most of them would make me look bad so in the spirit of vanity and pride my lips are sealed.

Like most families we have our favorite dishes that my mom serves at Thanksgiving. The all-time Thanksgiving favorite in our family has to be my mom’s cornbread dressing. Pat and I love my mom’s cornbread dressing. As far as I’m concerned it’s not a Thanksgiving meal if it doesn’t include mom’s cornbread dressing. I recall the first Thanksgiving I spent away from my family. The experience was tragic (ok, maybe it wasn’t tragic, but it was disturbing); they did not serve my mother’s cornbread dressing!

I think my brother must have had a similar experience because in recent years I’ve noticed a certain desparateness when it comes to mom’s cornbread dressing. As soon as the bird comes out of the oven my brother and I hover with forks in hand in order to get the first taste. The hovering has become a bit competitive as we race to see who is the first to plunge their fork in that moist oven roasted cornbread dressing. [Yes, I know, it's a bit silly for a 40 something year old man and this  30 something woman to act that way. The only excuse I can offer for myself is that he's the older sibling and the one setting the example for this little sister.]

Last year my brother spent Thanksgiving with his in-laws. I don’t think they served mom’s cornbread dressing. As I waited with fork in hand for the bird to emerge from the oven it felt a bit strange without my toughest competition standing nearby to claim the victorious first bite for himself. So, I gave him a call to let him know what he was missing (aren’t I a sweet sister?). As always the dressing tasted great but something seemed to be missing. Was it poultry seasoning, salt, or maybe pepper? No, it was the sweet taste of victory. It just wasn’t the same without my big brother next to me vying for that first bite.

This year I’m hosting Thanksgiving and cooking the bird and dressing. I’m not sure if that disqualifies me from competing for that first bite. At least my big brother will be with us this year and I’m sure he’ll let me know either way.

I hope you enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday, especially the time you spend with your loved ones.

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“Tag, I’m it”

November 15, 2007 at 1:18 pm (Perseverance, Uncategorized)

 My friend Tina tagged me on a meme the other day. The question was, WWJS…?:  ”What would Jesus say to you?”

Lately the message He continually whispers to my heart has been simple:

“Hang in there and hang on to me.”

In other words, He’s been telling me to persevere. He’s saying do not get weary or discouraged but hold on to the hope and life I have in Him. This pretty much applies to a lot of different circumstances in my life right now.

In my prayers for a loved one who needs healing…

In the refining process that Scott and I are walking through…

In a friendship that needs restoration…

In dying to self and surrendering my agenda…

In humbly loving others… 

…Persevere

So, that’s what Jesus has been saying to me. What is He saying to you today?

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My Story, Chapter 2.2 – The “After Mass”

November 14, 2007 at 1:06 pm (Catholic, Catholicism, Church, catholic converts, mass)

girl crying 

*** 

I don’t know what, if anything, I was expecting from our visit to this Catholic Church. Because of my Episcopal upbringing, the liturgy of the Mass was familiar and comfortable for me.  This was not the case for Scott. He was raised  in the Church of Christ. Hymns, yes. Kneeling, standing, sitting and formal liturgy, no. 

After leaving Mass he got in the car and laughed and said something like: “I must have had a big ‘P’ on my forehead (P for Protestant). When I was supposed to sit, I stood. When I was supposed to stand I should have been kneeling.”  

I, on the other hand, got in the car and started to cry. Scott looked at me and said, “Well this is a switch. You would have thought I’d be the one crying, you’re supposed to be used to that kind of worship.” Through my tears I said, “We don’t belong anywhere. We can’t go back to the Protestant Churches we know. And we certainly don’t belong here.”

*** 

I guess I’d had some expectations of this Mass after all. After years of attending Protestant churches where great emphasis was placed on community and fellowship I have to say that my experience at that Catholic Church was a disappointment and a culture shock. The people did not seem warm and welcoming. This was not my definition of community and fellowship.

I don’t think my experience is uncommon for many non-Catholics who visit a Catholic parish –especially for those who come from or have experienced some of the non-denominational Protestant traditions that pride themselves on creating a warm, friendly and ”non-threatening” environment. When a non-Catholic comes with some level of expectation for that same experience they are often disappointed like I was. It’s both a “cultural” difference as well as theological. The theological difference has much to do why some Protestants attend church versus why Catholics go to Mass.

Later I would come to understand these differences. But, for the time being it was easy to use this experience as one more strike against the Catholic Church in my heart. [If I’m honest I would say that even today I sometimes struggle with this cultural difference. The truth is some of us Catholics could learn a few things from Protestant congregations about the joy of fellowship with other believers and helping to welcome people into the community.]

Of course, my experience at this Mass wasn’t enhanced by the fact that we sat in the back of the church along with those parishioners who conveniently left after receiving the Eucharist.  I looked around after Communion and the last three rows of pews were empty. It was like witnessing a dinner party where the guests come in, eat and then leave without taking time to thank the host. I remember thinking, where is the devotion? Of course I didn’t take time to notice those who were focused on giving thanks and worshipping the Lord. No, in my heart this apparent lack of devotion of a few was attributed to the Catholic Church as a whole. Yet another strike.  

***

Given this experience you’ll be surprised to learn we actually came back to that Catholic Church the next week. Some might wonder why.  There were a few reasons.

1) Despite my observations we believed it was right for us as a family to be in church worshipping with other believers together on Sunday morning. And we had no other place to go.

2) We reasoned that we’d visited many Protestant churches, why not visit the Catholic Church for a while?

3) And this was the most important reason: These disappointments were based on the behavior of people, not on theology or truth.  

Scott was quick to remind me our journey was about finding truth. It was about being sure of what we believed and what the church we were attending believed. It was about authority when it comes to the interpretation of scripture and doctrine.  

He also reminded me of what this wasn’t about. It was not about the pastor, his style of teaching and whether it “fed” us. It was not about the music and whether it suited our personal preference. It wasn’t about having good youth programs for our kids as they grew up. It wasn’t even about whether the people made us feel warm and fuzzy.

No, it wasn’t about people, programs, or our personal preferences. It was about Jesus and His doctrinal truth. The rest, as Scott put it, has its value and its place, but that place isn’t supposed to be first. And as he put it, we’d never be able to objectively examine the teachings of the Catholic Church or any other church if we’re putting these other things first.  People, programs, pastors and personal preferences are subjective and change — truth is obective and does not change. 

 It was so easy to get my eyes off of Jesus and the truth and focus on what made me comfortable. But I had to admit that no where in scripture did I see Jesus emphasizing what is “comfortable” and what we prefer. Instead my Jesus calls us to a radical conversion of the heart. He told the rich young man to sell everything (Matt. 19:21). He tells us to pick up our cross (Luke 9:23). After his discourse about his flesh being real food and his blood being real drink some of his followers said “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” They left him, and Jesus let them go. He didn’t follow after them and try to make his teaching “easy” for them to accept and more to their liking (John 6:53-64).  

Jesus calls us to exchange our “worldview” for his. And I was learning that meant being willing to let go of my personal preferences and my opinions in which I took great pride. It meant not trying to fit Him or His doctrines into my box and into my theological worldview. But instead being willing, if He asked me, to embrace even that which made me uncomfortable (especially that which made my flesh uncomfortable). So, after my childish, emotional “after mass” reaction was over I told God that I would abandon my self-interest and follow him no matter the cost or discomfort to my flesh.

*** 

We went back that parish the next week. That’s when my parents introduced us to the associate pastor, Fr. Palka. He was a young priest who was passionate about his faith and had a gift for teaching. It’s no coincidence that we met Fr. Palka. As it turns out, at just the time we were beginning to objectively examine the Catholic faith and compare it to other Protestant faiths, Fr. Palka was teaching a class on the Catechism of the Catholic Church called, We Believe.

If you’d told me three months prior that I would attend a class at the Catholic Church I’d have laughed. But lots of things had changed in the last three months. We had changed. We were on a different road in our faith journey with Jesus. And only He knew where it would lead us.   

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My Story, Chapter 2.1- A road less traveled

November 12, 2007 at 11:51 pm (Canonization of Scripture, Catholic, Catholicism, Church History, Scripture Alone, mass)

road 

*** 

At first I didn’t want to go down this road and continue studying. After seeing that my trust in Sacred Scripture meant I was also trusting a decision (a tradition) that came from the Catholic Church this journey now seemed different. It was one thing to study a little church history, to read a few conversion stories, and to read a little about doctrines related to baptism and the Eucharist. It was quite another to purposely and objectively examine the doctrines of the Catholic faith. I wanted to turn back and claim ignorance. 

Why?  Because of the real possibility that this road might lead to Rome. I couldn’t imagine becoming Catholic. The stigma attached to my perceptions of the Catholic Church was enough to make me want to turn and run. There is a well-known quote by Bishop Fulton Sheen that explains why I felt this way. 

There are not 100 who hate the Catholic Church. But, there are millions who hate what they mistakenly think the Catholic Church believes. 

That was me. While I can’t say that I hated the Catholic Church, I strongly disagreed with much of what I thought the Catholic Church believed.   

At this point the easy choice would have been to listen to our friends who at different times told us things like: “So what if it was the Catholic Church that canonized scripture. It’s obvious the church is irrelevant to today’s society. It’s a dead church, it’s antiquated. And what could you possibly get out of that dead liturgy?…” 

But…and this is a big but… The Holy Spirit wouldn’t let me stop. Every time I started to talk myself out of going down this road the Holy Spirit would remind me of how I’d been wrong the doctrine of sola scriptura; how it was unscriptural and led to confusion and relativistic truth among Christians. Then He’d gently ask me, “What else could you be wrong about?”  

No, the Holy Spirit wasn’t going to let me off the hook (neither was my husband). 

*** 

To give you an idea of how resistant I was to studying Catholicism, in an effort to scare Scott I told him that if we became Catholic we might end up with a dozen kids. Now for anyone who knows Scott’s story, they know this was a scare tactic made in desperation. Scott (and I share this with his permission) spent many years afraid of becoming a father and providing for a family. My act of desperation was not one of my finer moments – especially because I’d gladly take a dozen kids if God would give them to me now.

The scare tactic didn’t work. Scott’s response: “We owe it to ourselves and to Claire to be sure of what we believe and why we believe it.” To which I replied, “But what if…” 

Now Scott was no fan of the Catholic Church either–raised in the Bible belt he’d been exposed to many of the same teachings about the church that I had. But, he wasn’t as convinced of the reformed theology that I’d embraced for most of my life. Nor was as swayed by his emotions; he was able to be more objective. 

So, he chose the road less traveled (at least the road less traveled in our circle of friends). I, with the nudging of the Holy Spirit, followed his lead.

***

Meanwhile, my parents were miles ahead of us (further than I ever intended to go). They’d decided to join a program similar to RCIA at a local Catholic Church. This class was designed for baptized believers who were interested in learning more about the Catholic faith and potentially choosing to become Catholic. So much for our effectiveness at those Sunday dinner debates. 

The Rite of Christian Initiation is an ancient rite that dates back to the 1st century. In the early Church, persons wanting to become Christian lived in a small Christian community to learn their way of life. There was a structured apprenticeship of the person in training. This process became known as the “catechumenate”. After sometimes years of learning and praying with the community, the person (called a catechumen) was baptized by the community into Christ. 

You may recall that by this time we’d stopped going to church on Sundays. On the first Sunday of Lent my parents asked us if we wanted to go to Mass. Because we had no place else to go we said yes. Despite my fears and reservations about Catholicism I was actually looking forward to going to Mass during Lent. 

One of the things I enjoyed about the Episcopal Church was the liturgical calendar. I especially liked Lent and the emphasis on fasting, prayer and repentance for the 40 or so days before Easter. After leaving the Episcopal Church I always missed the seasons of the liturgical year. In the Protestant churches I attended Easter always seemed to “creep” up on us. It came and went with little more than a special play or celebration the week before. I felt this way about Advent and Christmas as well. The celebration of these holidays (“holy” days) seemed to be lacking in terms of our spiritual preparation as individuals and as a community.

While away at college I found an Episcopal Church for Maunday Thursday and Good Friday services. I didn’t keep this up after Scott and I married. However, it’s somewhat telling that while away on a speech and debate trip in 2000, during what is commonly referred to as Holy Week, I again found my way back to these liturgical services.  

Given my background, I guess I expected to feel very comfortable and at home at the Mass with my parents. But, that was not the case. 

[Tomorrow, my experience at the Mass]

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My Story, Chapter 2.0 – Questioning Authority

November 9, 2007 at 1:30 am (Bible, Canonization of Scripture, Catholic, Catholicism, Church, Church History, Traditions, catholic converts)

It’s been a while since I posted an installment of “My Story.” My “July” post stated July was a challenging month and suggested August and September might prove to be the same. Little did I know…

God is doing some work on Scott and me; both individually and as a couple. I have great hope in where He is leading and in what He is doing. I am however a bit distracted. Which is why my writing has been sporadic at best; my head and heart have not been in it. So, the installments may come infrequently but that’s ok, He’s busy writing the rest of my life story.

Here’s Chapter 2, Part 5…

question mark

*** 

When I left off our studies of early church history  revealed it was the Catholic Church and its leaders who’d canonized scripture. Without going into too much more detail on the subject I’d like to share the impact of this realization.

Like many Protestants I was taught that as early as 300 A.D. the Catholic Church had become apostate (meaning it had abandoned the true teachings of Christ) and that because of persecution the “real “church and “real” Christians went “underground,” so to speak.  But history was telling us a different story.

In the latter part of the 4th century it was the Catholic Church that prayed and debated over which books were scripture. It was the Catholic Church, it’s councils and Pope who finally canonized the 73 books of the Bible and declared them to be sacred scripture. What I was taught regarding the “apostate” Catholic Church didn’t jive with what I was learning about the canonization of Scripture. This left me with a few questions:

  1. If the Catholic Church had been apostate as early as the third century, then how could they have been led by the Holy Spirit to put the books of the Bible together as a complete canon of Scripture?

  2.   If the Catholic Church had been apostate when the Bible was canonized then why did I and other Protestants for that matter accept the Bible they canonized? How could we trust the decision of an “apostate church?”

  3. And even if the Catholic Church hadn’t been apostate at this point, what or who gave them the authority to canonize scripture?

 *** 

To hold on to the belief that the early Catholic Church was apostate meant the infallibility of the canon of Scripture was questionable. How could I accept a canon of scripture from an apostate church? But the other side of coin was also disturbing, if the Catholic Church wasn’t apostate then I’d been taught and was holding onto false teachings about this church. I think it was the third question that kept nagging at me the most. What or who gave the Catholic Church the authority to canonize Scripture? Why did the early church accept the Councils’ and Popes’ decisions as authoritative?

Note: I started to re-read the book of Acts at this point. As I read chapter 15 I couldn’t help but note the authority of the Council at Jerusalem as it made decisions regarding the Gentiles and circumcision. The Apostles made a binding decision on this matter. Each individual Christian wasn’t told to go and read Scripture and ask the Holy Spirit to lead them to their own doctrinal truth. And they weren’t told that, “hey doctrine doesn’t matter, do whatever you like as long as you love Jesus.” No, the issue was brought up to the Council and the Council issued an authoritative letter instructing them. This letter even pointed out that some were teaching “without our authorization.” 

Was this a picture of what God intended for the Church? An authoritative Church leadership? One that had the authority to make decisions and declare who was and was not “sent.” I remember thinking that this is not what the Protestant Church looked like. My experience was that when one leader didn’t agree with the teaching of another he would go and start his own church. There was no such thing as binding authority on matters of faith and morals in my experience as a Protestant.

*** 

During this time a really frightening thought crossed my mind, if the Catholic Church had the authority in the early church to convene councils and the authority to make decisions for the church then it would make sense that other church councils and decisions by the Catholic Church would be authoritative too. If they had the authority to decide what was Sacred Scripture then it would stand to reason that they would have authority over other matters. Which begs the question, if they once had this authority then do they still have this authority? If not when did they lose this authority and who had the right to revoke it?  

These were important questions to Scott and me because authority was at the heart of the problems we had with sola scriptura and with the Protestant churches we’d visited. Under sola scriptura there is no binding authority over the conscience of believers. And yet it was clear to us that in the early church these councils and Popes had authority over the church. Enough authority to canonize the scripture…whiched seemed like an awful lot of authority. We couldn’t imagine a church today canonizing scripture and all of Christianity for centuries to come accepting that decision. Exactly where did this authority that the early Catholic Church had come from?

*** 

It was at this point in our journey when Scott and I knew we were faced with a decision: To continue to move forward and objectively examine for ourselves the teachings of the Catholic Church and compare them against the teachings of the early church and our Protestant beliefs or to abandon this journey and deem it foolishness. The second option looked really good to us, afterall we just knew the Catholic Church and it’s doctrines couldn’t be true.

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