Not so Divine Comedy...

...of errors

Just when I thought I had heard of every possible mismatch of backgrounds among episcopus vagans (episcopi vagantes in the plural), popularly called vagante, along comes some even more ridiculous concoction of ecclesiastical tossed salad. That is not to say, however, that these vagans folks should be confused with absolute vegetarians (vegens). But, the tossed salads I have seen in the past do include quite a mixture of vegetables. There was my favorite, the Celtic Orthodox Church, headed by some "Abbot" who needed only his Costello to be complete (that would make a great movie title: The Abbot of Costello). The real Eastern Orthodox Church never heard of these jokers, and their "Celtic" authenticity was seriously undermined by their Texas venue, not to mention their modern origin.

Well, now there is a new one: The Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church (ALCC). One can well imagine the sound of Tallis being sung by the choir while the organist plays the music of Bach, both of which are beautiful when not played together. If Texas Celts can worship in the style of Constantinople, we may certainly enjoy the combination of Wiener Schnitzel served up with Yorkshire Pudding. It all makes a great tossed salad for episcopus vagans--and I don't mean pagans.

It is so much fun visiting the websites of the respective parishes of this unimaginable ALCC, or it might be if only they had any real websites other than a main central one loaded with photos of, you guessed it, guys in collars (or Men in Black). Well, the whole Vagante side dish reminds me of the time when our friend The Barking Toad went after diploma mills that pretended to be respectable seminaries. Any vagante Archbishop in need of a church to match his miter, takes his cue from what the Marines do; he looks to find a few good men. Maybe, if he gains enough converts, or new members, by offering them ordination (when no one else would) he might, some day, have a real church, maybe even a real stained glass window--you know, one of those essential things that constitutes a mark of the True Church.

Well, in case you thought the name "Lutheran" was a mismatch with the name "Anglo" (and gee, thank God they did not say "Anglican"), never worry. In their eagerness to look legit, and to be respectable, they have thrown Dr. Luther under the Church bus, in fact, under the Coeti-bus. Orlando's tragic blog of comic relief, "The Anglo-Catholic" of misnomer infamy, is rejoicing this day because the Anglo-Lutheran Catholics are trying to get into the whole Roman ordinariate club. So they report:

"On May 13, 2009, The Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church (ALCC) mailed a letter to Walter Cardinal Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, stating the ALCC 'desires to undo the mistakes of Father Martin Luther, and return to the One, Holy, and True Catholic Church established by our Lord Jesus Christ through the Blessed Saint Peter.'”

It is a comfort to find "Lutherans" whose commitment to Lutheranism is every bit as deep as the Orlando gang's commitment to Anglicanism. A name, what is in a name? An Anglican, or Lutheran, by any other name would smell as feet... in sneakers after a long run. And, not just any run, but a run through a superficial approach to doctrine, so superficial as to make a mockery of the word "convictions." But, among the vagante element, convictions give way to "theology" that suits the mood of the times, and their idea of the latest marketing scheme.

The blog at Orlando goes on to say:

"The letter further stated, 'As we proceed toward the erection of Ordinariates we would invite you, therefore, to make contact directly with Archbishop Wuerl at the following address…' Humbly, the ALCC responded with a resounding 'YES', mailing a letter to Cardinal Wuerl in compliance with the correspondence received from the CDF, requesting to be a part of this wonderful reunification within the Body of Christ."

Translated, of course, what that really means is that Cardinal Kasper had the good sense to pass the buck and wash these fellows out of his hair. "Write to Archbishop Wuerl" means, "It's his problem now, not mine: Whew!"

Of course, just as "The Anglo-Catholic" webmiester, one Mr. Campbell, demonstrates the depth of his integrity by clinging to the name of his choice all the while renouncing the meaning of that name, so these "Anglo-Lutherans" show the depth of their integrity by inexplicably clinging to their own peculiar misnomer. They have the temerity to call themselves Lutherans, but publicly state:

"...the ALCC 'desires to undo the mistakes of Father Martin Luther...'It is with great joy and deep gratitude, therefore, that the Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church makes known her intention to enter the American Ordinariate under the provisions of Anglicanorum coetibus, and looks forward to serving with all our brothers and sisters in Christ to undo the Reformation."

To undo the Reformation? Well, changing history requires, at the very least, a time machine. In the meantime they might consider acquiring enough honesty, or sanity, to change their name, as Mr. Campbell could change the name of his blog (TASS is no longer being used). They would at least look a bit less ridiculous. "Lutherans" condemning Luther and renouncing the Reformation? Well, one advantage of the episcopus vagans world is that you can believe anything you want, making it up as you go along. In the Octopus' garden of episcopus vagans there are no rules. One may simply play "church" by making a costume from the vestments worn by bishops, priests and deacons. Vagante play their game by dressing up like men who have a real ministry, but they cannot hide their true wannabe condition.

As for the Orlando ordinariate champions; they are so desperate that they have scraped the bottom of the barrel. But, I'll give them this: At least they have steered clear, if only by their western style, of my favorite vagante bishop of all, the "Orthodox" vagante bishop who owns the title, "Shepherd of shepherds, and Master of the Universe." At least I think he owns it. Perhaps it is still under copyright by the Marvel Comics Group.

Laymen's Guide to the Thirty-Nine Articles

Article VII Of the Old Testament The Old Testament is not contrary to the New; for both in the Old and New Testament everlasting life is offered to mankind by Christ, who is the only Mediator between God and man, being both God and man. Wherefore they are not to be heard which feign that the old fathers did look only for transitory promises. Although the law given from God by Moses, as touching ceremonies and rites, do not bind Christian men, nor the civil precepts thereof ought of necessity to be received in any commonwealth; yet, notwithstanding, no Christian man whatsoever is free from the obedience of the commandments which are called moral. De Veteri Testamento Testamentum Vetus Novo contrarium non est, quandoquidem tam in Veteri quam in Novo per Christum, qui unicus est Mediator Dei et hominum, Deus et Homo, aeterna vita humano generi est proposita. Quare male sentiunt, qui veteres tantum in promissiones temporarias sperasse confingunt. Quanquam lex a Deo data per Mosen, quoad ceremonias et ritus, Christianos non astringat, neque civilia eius praecepta in aliqua republica necessario recipi debeant: nihilominus tamen ab obendientia mandatorum quae moralia vocantur nullus quantumvis Christianus est solutus. ***** Fr. Laurence Wells This Article has its own natural division into two parts. The Old Testament is not contrary to the New: for both in the Old and the New Testament everlasting life is offered to mankind by Christ, who is the only Mediator between God and Man, being both God and Man. Wherefore they are not to be heard, which feign that the old Fathers did look only for transitory promises. From the morning of the first Whitsunday the Christian community was already graced with a body of Holy Scripture. In his powerful sermon that day (Acts 2:16--35), Peter quoted at length from the Prophet Joel and twice from the Psalms. Most of the books of the New Testament, in fact, quote from the Hebrew Scriptures. Not only is this body of sacred literature quoted, but Divine authority is accredited to it. The author of Hebrews quotes the books which we call the Old Testament under the rubric, "God says" (Heb 1:3,6,13, etc). Paul had in mind what we call the Old Testament when he wrote "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable..." (II Tim 3:16). Considering the exalted status which the New Testament gives to the Old (all the NT writers were what we might call fundamentalists), it is perhaps startling that early in the 2nd century, when the ink of the NT documents was hardly dry, a heretic named Marcion initiated a significant schism from the Church by denying the authority of the Hebrew Scriptures. Marcion wished to distinguish between a God of wrath and a God of love. (Does this sound familiar?) Marcion's "God of wrath" was the false god of the Hebrew Scriptures, and his "God of love" was what he claimed to find in ten of Paul's Epistles (all save I and II Timothy and Titus) and an abbreviated form of Luke's Gospel. This may well have been the most serious heresy before the advent of Arianism. At least eight Patristic writers were at pains to refute this error. The Holy Catholic Church firmly rejected Marcion's proposal. We probably should thank him, however, for pushing the mainstream of Christianity forward in the process of setting the boundaries for the New Testament canon. And he brought up a real and enduring problem for Christian thought. If the Old Testament is included in the Christian Bible, what is the relationship between it and the New Testament? How do we relate "Blessed is he that taketh thy children and throweth them against the stones" (Psalm 137:9) to "Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not?" Rejected by the Fathers, the Marcionite heresy did not disappear simply, but went underground. The lingering virus caused a revival amongst the Anabaptists and radical Protestants in the 16th century. (Our study of the Articles must notice once again that the argument of the Anglican Fathers was as much against the radical extremists--Anabaptists and Socinians--as against Rome.) We must pay close attention to the language of Article VII. The Old Testament is not only equal in authority to the New; it is equally full of the Gospel of grace. The Article confronts the lingering notion that the Old Testament is somehow inferior, primitive, or less than Christian. The two Testaments are absolutely consistent because they have their unity in Christ and in His good news. How are the two Testaments to be related as Christian Scripture? It is a serious but common mistake to say, "Why of course, the Old Testament is Law and the New Testament is Gospel." That is precisely what Article VII refutes. It is more accurate to understand the two Testaments in terms of promise and fulfillment: what was promised in the Old Testament was fulfilled--made flesh--in the New. Another way to state this relationship is in the categories of shadow and substance. An old jingle, sometimes accredited to Augustine of Hippo, holds that "The New is in the Old concealed; the Old is in the New revealed." The Gospel was first announced, not in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, but in Genesis 3:15, in the form of a curse (!) pronounced over the Serpent, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." Nowhere in Sacred Scripture does the glory of Jesus shine more clearly than in Isaiah's Servant Songs, "Behold my servant shall deal wisely; he shall be high, and lifted up, and shall be exalted." The Church battled Marcion and has continued that battle to the present time against his disciples, who never seem to go away. Ignorance of the Old Testament and general disinterest in its contents is rampant among many who consider themselves to be paragons of orthodoxy. We continue the battle for the sake of Christ Himself, who said, "Everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled" (Lk 24:44) and, "You search the Scriptures ... it is they that bear witness of me" (Jn 5:39). Although the Law given from God by Moses, as touching Ceremonies and Rites, do not bind Christian men, nor the Civil precepts thereof ought to be received in any commonwealth; yet notwithstanding, no Christian man whatsoever is free from the obedience of the Commandments which are called moral. We must sympathize with the reader of the Old Testament who wonders where is Christ, and where is His gospel in large chunks of Old Testament literature. After the excitement of Genesis and the earlier chapters of Exodus, the remainder of Exodus, and all of Leviticus and Numbers is rough sledding. The history of salvation (our salvation!) which began in the Garden of Eden is interrupted and seemingly delayed by a long chunk, tedious to the average reader, of legislation on all manner of topics. This can become manageable if it is broken down into three types of law. Most conspicuous and most foreign to our culture is the Ceremonial Law, the law of sacrifices and of holiness. This has little relevance to us, for as Hebrews teaches us, it was all fulfilled and set aside in the perfect and final sacrifice of Jesus our Great High Priest. Its lasting value for the Christian is that in the ceremonial law we may learn the seriousness of worship. Worship is not a game for dilettantes; it was and still is the point of contact established by God Himself in His holiness and His otherness for unworthy sinners to have access to Him. Secondly, we find the civil legislation of God's covenant people living in community in the land of promise. This civil legislation also passed away with the end of the Israelite nation. It remains notable, however, for its note of compassion for the widow, the fatherless, the slave, and the foreigner. The contrast between the law God gave to His covenant people and the law of neighboring kingdoms is frequently remarkable in this regard. Finally, we have the moral law, summed up in the Ten Commandments and in "the first and great commandment," of love for God and neighbor. Line for line, this moral law is the briefest of the three, but it is the only part of the Torah still in full effect. The Article is emphatic that "no Christian man whatsoever is free" from this moral law. From the time of Paul himself, a heresy called Antinomianism had developed, alleging that since Christians are no longer under the curse of the law and the law is no means of salvation, we are invited to "continue in sin that grace may abound." The modern form of this error, as we know to our sorrow, is the "situation ethics" popular in the 1960's. But like the error of Marcion, to which it is akin, Antinomianism had re-surfaced in the radical Reformation and to a degree within Lutheranism. In the mainstream of Christianity which we call Catholic tradition, Article VII rules it out of bounds. * * * Fr. Robert Hart St. Augustine, refuting the heresy of Pelagianism, wrote: This grace hid itself under a veil in the Old Testament, but it has been revealed in the New Testament according to the most perfectly ordered dispensation of the ages, forasmuch as God knew how to dispose all things. From his words we get the saying, “The New is in the Old concealed, the Old is in the New revealed.” To a degree this is true, and to a degree misleading. It is true because the glory of God shines brighter with the full revelation of Christ in the New Testament. It can be misleading if we think “concealed” to mean hidden away out of sight. The Old Testament reveals the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and it even predicts the establishment of the new Covenant in very direct and explicit language: Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. (Jeremiah 31: 31-34) In that passage we see the greater revelation of grace to be given in the Incarnation of Christ, perfected by His death and resurrection. It is not “concealed” in the sense of hidden. Furthermore, it was concealed for several generations only because it awaited the fullness of time (Galatians 4:4). Speaking, for example, of the Law and the Gospel, St. Paul wrote: Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. (II Corinthians 3:5-9) Any genuine contrast between Law and Gospel is not the Old Testament held up against the outworking of God’s plan of redemption. In fact, “the commandments called moral” are just as much “the ministration of death” today as they were in the days of Moses. And, without them we cannot understand the Gospel, inasmuch as we cannot appreciate the Gospel unless and until we know that we have sinned. “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” (Galatians 4:24) Therefore, “the ministration of death” is a necessary element of any true presentation of the Gospel in our time also, not only in the time of the Old Testament. Without intelligent appreciation of sin and death, we cannot know what Christ has saved us from. So, in addition to teaching us how to live, "the commandments called moral” teach us that we need the Savior. Their true meaning is driven home to us with greater severity by the words of Christ in the New Testament than by anything known to Moses and the Prophets. That is what the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew, chapters 5,6, and 7) revealed, a terrifying severity that the Old Testament “concealed” in comparison to the preaching of Christ in the New Testament. But, what the New Testament also reveals, and which it reveals as a historical fact, is God’s establishment of the New Covenant in His Son. We see clearly the true remedy revealed in its fullness by the bold proclamation that now, by the completed and perfected work of Christ through His cross and through His resurrection, we can point to the greater Passover, effected in real history in and by means of our time and space world of matter. We have been saved from sin and death by what Christ has done. Therefore, our altars have no blood shed on them; and this, altars without bloodshed, makes a stronger statement about the cross than does mere absence of an altar. Our sacrifice is mystical, pointing to the fact already completely accomplished, Christ's once for all offering of Himself fulfilling the typography of the blood-soaked altars of the temple. For, the sight of those altars foretold the salvation that is, on our side of history, fulfilled in Christ, a fact accomplished. They looked ahead to His sacrifice of Himself once offered; we look back to it. In the Law, and in the Prophets, the Gospel is fully set forth. For example, it is most clearly and thoroughly foretold in the Suffering Servant Passage of Isaiah (52:13-53:12). In that Suffering Servant passage we see the full demands of the Law satisfied, both the justice of that Law (the Torah) by the sentence of death, and the priestly ministry of worship according to the same Law, in the blood of atoning sacrifice to take away the sins of the people. In that passage Christ is the Sacrifice; He is the Sin Offering and the Priest. We see too the resurrection of Christ, for the passage foretells that the one who dies as the true Sacrifice for sin, the One for the many (Isaiah 53:12, Romans 5:15-21), also shall “prolong his days.” (In case anyone misses the point, the New Testament dogmatically applies the Suffering Servant passage to Jesus Christ by consistent and frequent quotations and allusions.) The Law was not simply about death; rather, the sentence of death, as well as the types and shadows of every sacrifice slain on the altars, was the foretelling of the Gospel. The word “concealed” as Augustine used it, takes on an ironic twist, meaning at once both revelation of truth, but also an enigma, a mystery. That mystery was fully revealed in the Person and work of the Son of God on this Earth, in real history, in our very real world of matter, energy and time. What Christ taught ever so clearly is that the Scriptures that already had been written, and received by Israel , were all about Him. And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not. Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. (John 5:37-39) Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself… And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. (Luke 24:25-27, 44-48). The Apostles, and others among Christ’s Disciples, were witnesses of the things foretold by the Prophets. Notice the wording used by St. Luke, who did not say “he expounded unto them all the scriptures concerning himself”--a dash of Psalm 22, a sprinkling of Isaiah 7:14, and 53, and so on. Rather, St. Luke tells us, “He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” This is a remarkable statement. It means that the whole subject of the Law and the Prophets, as well as the Psalms and Wisdom literature, as well as the Prophetic telling of Israel’s history (including things glorious and things notorious), was written to reveal Jesus Christ Himself. If you can pray the Psalms, and read the Writings, but miss the Subject Himself, you have failed to see. We do not have two canons of Scripture. We have one Canon of Scripture in two Testaments. We need both of them to see Christ clearly for Who he is, and to appreciate the history of our salvation as revealed and accomplished by Almighty God.

Fr. Wells' bulletin inserts

SEPTUAGESIMA

In ancient times, Easter was the occasion for Baptism, Lent was primarily a period of instruction, and today, called Septuagesima Sunday, was when adult converts were enrolled for Baptismal instruction. That bit of historical background sheds light on the Epistle and Gospel appointed for this “Third Sunday before Lent.”

In today's readings we have the Christian life compared to (1) running a race, (2) toiling in a vineyard, and (3) receiving a reward. C. S. Lewis has written in the Screwtape Letters of the “Law of Undulation” in the spiritual life. At times the life of faith is like running a race, but mostly it is just toiling in a hot vineyard. But to concentrate on the reward, the parable makes it quite clear that the reward which God bestows on the Christian is absolutely a matter of His sovereign grace. The householder is not in the least reluctant to appear inconsistent, arbitrary, even unfair. “Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with my own? Is thine eye evil because I am good?” The whining complaints of those who have labored the entire day miss the point that the householder is, above all, generous. He has graciously made a place in his vineyard for the laggards who have wasted the day in the market-place.

The radical difference in Jesus' teaching from the religion of the Pharisees becomes obvious when we study their version of the parable. As one of them had told it, when the workers filed their complaint, the householder responded that the late-comers had worked harder and had been more productive.

The whole idea of grace has all too often been trivialized into a tawdry secular notion of “unconditional love.” That understanding of grace (really a misunderstanding) would rewrite the parable to say that the householder forgets his vineyard, joins the laggards in the market-place, and at the end of the day divides his entire fortune with them. A false gospel which promises everything and requires nothing will quickly have a large audience; churches which proclaim such a message will always have full parking lots.

In today's Epistle we hear one of St. Paul's most solemn statements: “lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” Those are words which must make us stop and think! The great apostle himself seems to contemplate a possibility of losing his own soul. That was the real danger, not just for those left behind in the market-place (how many were there whom the householder did not invite?), but even for those who “have borne the burden and heat of the day.” Those whining ingrates are the Biblical paradigm for zealous Churchmen who never learn the Good News of Unmerited Grace.

As we approach Lent with its blessings and its demands, the Householder Himself comes to us, inviting us to leave the market-place of our spiritual sloth and come into His vineyard. “Many are called, but few are chosen.” Are you one of the many or the few?

+ + +

From ancient times a parable has been defined as “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.” Jesus commonly taught by means of such stories. The parables always seem simple because they use familiar and ordinary things, such as vineyards and wages, employers and employees, hard work and idleness. But the “heavenly meaning” is usually elusive. The parables make sense only to those having minds renewed by the Holy Spirit. To non-Christians, they make no sense at all.

To unpack the parable in today's Gospel, we have here a series of symbols. The men of the market-place are lost mankind. The householder who invites them to labor in his vineyard is God, merciful and generous. The vineyard itself is God's kingdom, clearly set apart and distinct from the market-place. The repeated invitation into the vineyard, given early in the morning, again at the third hour, the sixth hour, even at the ninth and eleventh hours, reflects the persistence of God in His incessant offer of the Gospel. The pay-out of wages at the end of the day points to the last judgment. And the wage itself?

At this point we seem to run into trouble. It all seems so very unfair. Anyone familiar with common business practices in ancient times or now will immediately understand the point of the objection, “These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.”

This parable, centering around this complaint, is all about God's sovereign grace, His unmerited love, His baffling generosity. Tragically we have attempted to domesticate and subdue that Gospel with the silly notion that “God helps those who helps themselves,” that He simply makes us an offer and awaits our cooperation. The most dangerous substitute for the Gospel is the devil's lie that God wants us to do our best and when we fail He will somehow step in and help us out.

Grace, symbolized in the wages paid to the eleventh hour workers, will forever be to the unregenerate mind illogical, senseless, unfair. That is why the hymn-writers so frequently describe grace as “amazing.”

The griping ingrates who complain against the householder feel that somehow they have been cheated or ill-treated. What escapes them is that the householder is generous to all, at no loss to them, but only at great expense to himself. That is the price paid for us on the Cross. That infinite price entitles the householder to say, “Many be called but few chosen.” May He never say to us, “Take that thine is, and go thy way,” for that is the way which leads to perdition. LKW

Septuagesima

I Corinthians 9:24-27
Matthew 20:1-16

It doesn't seem fair- those laborers who worked all day in the hot sun received only as much as those who came in the last hour. The owner of the vineyard either is too generous or too stingy, and for one reason or the other, he is grossly unfair. In fact, he is unfair because he is too fair. Should he not be just? Where is the justice in giving everyone the same reward? We ought to object to this blatantly unfair fairnesson principle-it cannot be just.

It is easy to sympathize with the laborers who worked all day for a penny, even though they agreed to work for no more than that standard day's wage. It is easy also to sympathize with the elder brother in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, or with the priest who walked on the other side of the road rather than risk touching a man who may, for all he could see, have been killed. A Levitical priest needed to avoid uncleanness as he went to Jerusalem from Jericho, to the temple. Perhaps a Samaritan-even maybe, if it could be imagined , a good one-might come along to help the man. But, the priest has to remain kosher.

It is all too easy to sympathize with all the wrong people in the Lord's parables, sometimes to agree with the wrong people on principle, on the basis of deeply felt religious scruple. The father was too weak to make his son face the errors of his ways, so he lacked what they call "tough love." The priest needed to walk by on the other side of the road; after all, the rubrics! the rubrics! And, the owner of the vineyard was clearly without any sense of justice.

We see the unfairness of the owner of the vineyard reflected in God himself. That is, if we really notice what goes on in His Church. Some people give themselves to the church for years, even for decades, and some give their money in large amounts. Along comes some new member, perhaps a convert who has lived in notorious sin, or maybe even a (dare I say it?) liberal. This new person, once he becomes a full member, is suddenly equal to the people who have given their money to build the church, have given their time and effort, and done everything they could to make the church what it is. And, in case you thought it was a man-made system of unfair fairness (that great leveler that makes the brand new convert equal to all the people who have served and been on the vestry, and sung in the choir for thirty years) what makes the new convert equal is the Lord's very own sacraments! Once this new person is baptized, and confirmed (or ready and willing to be confirmed), he is receiving not only the same absolution (and to the same degree) as the long faithful members; he even receives the Body and Blood of Christ in the sacrament. His reward is the same, and if he truly believes, his joy is full.

It just isn't fair.

We may look at the way St. Paul mastered himself, exercising discipline with fasting and prayer. In other places he tells of his sufferings and his life of hardship, with constant persecution. He endured three shipwrecks, beatings, stoning and imprisonment. He did all this because he saw himself as a debtor to every man alive, saying "woe is me if I preach not the Gospel." Surely, though he saw himself as an unprofitable servant who needed no thanks, and though he did all for the love of Christ simply for one reward and none other, namely to know Christ and the power of his resurrection; nonetheless, if we may offer a brief on his behalf as friends of the court, he deserves more. After all his years of labor, why did he always express gratitude and joy? Did he not have anything to say about getting a special reward equal to what he earned?

Ah! Yes, and that's the point. He did say a lot about that very thing, most notably, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23) In many places in his epistles, even though he suffered much for the kingdom of God out of his love for Christ, he expresses his gratitude for being spared the special reward equal to his labor.

"For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." I Corinthians 15:9, 10

St. Paul was very grateful indeed that Jesus Christ is not fair; and though he is just, that justice was satisfied by "his one oblation of himself once offered- a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction, for the sins of the whole world." He crossed mercy with justice, and hung under the place where the two meet as one. Henceforth, there is one reward for all, and the great joy of laboring for the one who loved us, and proved it when he gave himself on the cross for our redemption.

What more could we ask?

I trust that everyone here knows that we cannot earn our salvation, and that we cannot earn anything extra. We were already disqualified by our own sins. Look at Article XIV

Of Works of Supererogation.

Voluntary Works besides, over and above, God's Commandments, which they call Works of Supererogation, cannot be taught without arrogancy and impiety: for by them men do declare, that they do not only render unto God as much as they are bound to do, but that they do more for his sake, than of bounden duty is required: whereas Christ saith plainly When ye have done all that are commanded to you, say, We are unprofitable servants.

That last part comes from a parable:

"But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do. Luke 17:7-10

As we approach the season of Lent it is time to remind ourselves that we do not want God to be fair; and we want his justice to be merciful, that is, to come to us by way of the cross of Christ. It is not an entitlement, but rather it is mercy, that allows you to sit alongside that new convert who has just entered the Church. Consider what has been given to the one who has arrived in this late hour. He has been buried with Christ by baptism into death, and then raised with the Lord to the newness of life. He has been confirmed by the laying on of the bishop's hands, and thus shares in the full power and gifts of the Holy Spirit who was poured out on the Day of Pentecost. His confession of sin is answered by God's gift of absolution. And, he receives the Body and Blood of Christ, the food and drink of eternal life, when he kneels beside you at the altar rail.

Forget how much you feel entitled to by all your work and giving. Simply rejoice and thank God that you are able to kneel down beside that new member at the rail, and that you are granted the same grace as he.

That most inconvenient of commandments

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Exodus 20:16

The north wind driveth away rain: so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue. Proverbs 25:23

And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. James 3:6

Have you ever been drawn into the snare of a gossip, someone whose words present the temptation to listen to his backbiting tongue? Did you come away feeling as if the presence of God had departed from your life, as if He had taken His Holy Spirit from you, if only for an hour? I do not know which is more difficult, which spoils more people's fun; God's word concerning sexual morality (the commandment against adultery--whether before or after the fact of marriage, thus carrying within it a law against fornication), or God's word forbidding false witness. I do not know why gossip intrigues our sinful and fallen flesh, but it does.

It seems that among the zealous, at times even among the learned, only the finest and most "reliable" gossip is repeated, proclaimed, or even published. I have had people assert to me, with the utmost display of confidence, the most damning bits of "news" concerning various individuals. When it has been necessary for me to be informed about some matter or other, verified, documented and filed away, the exercise has proved unsavory. When it has been necessary for the common good to report unpleasant facts, that too has been an emotional drain every time. But, gossip is never reliable, and slander or libel is often tossed about in place of argument.

That is, if someone cannot win a debate, perhaps a little gossip may fill in the big empty holes of facts, logic and reason. I am not interested in the unverified sexploits of celebrities, let alone unverified legends about deacons, priests and bishops. If a man is an actual wolf in sheep's clothing, then we need to know it and put an end to his ministrations. If, however, unsubstantiated rumors and gossip can fly around about very grave matters, causing the appearance of dereliction and license, then real action against real wolves proves all the more difficult.

This is why, for example among Roman Catholics, so many practicing homosexual bishops (and here I mean only known and proved cases) were allowed to carry on under Pope John-Paul II. From his youth he had grown accustomed to the authorities in his Communist homeland spreading that same accusation falsely, so much so that he refused to hear valid complaints and warnings. He assumed it was all lies. It is all very much like the little boy who cried "Wolf!"

My method for nipping gossip in the bud can be brutal. I simply inform any gossiping party that I will ask the subject of his words about the matter and name the source of my "information" in the process, or that I will look into the matter, drawing on my skills as a former professional investigator (that came in so handily when reporting for The Christian Challenge) with the intention of taking necessary action. On too many occasions I have discovered that I had, by this method, effectively called someone's bluff.

Sadly, even among those who call themselves Continuing Anglicans, even some who feign adherence to The Affirmation of St. Louis, it has been necessary to defend doctrinal truth, to work against defection and assimilation into larger ecclesiastical venues, and to expose false claims that were leading people astray (most notably, in recent times, about the whole ordinariate and Anglicanorum Coetibus problem). Too often the response, or more accurately the reaction, has been malice seasoned with anger, creating the stage for gossip, slander and libel.

It is lamentable that so many people, even among Continuing Anglicans, have decided that the ninth commandment, "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor," is inconvenient, and that application is suspended in our time. Well, that view is wrong. Some may learn that only on the Day of Judgment.

Ethiopia: Persecution escalates in Muslim areas

From the blog Anglican Catholic Priest:

- a call to pray for the church in Ethiopia, Photo: Two Ethiopian Orthodox bishops and a priest await transportation back to their cathedral after a church visitation.
Story from International Christian Concern
By Elizabeth Kendal

The simplistic portrayals of Ethiopia as 'Orthodox Christian' or 'a Christian island surrounded by hostile Muslim neighbours' are misleading. These descriptions ignore the reality that Ethiopia is the legacy of a Christian empire that incorporated many diverse peoples. The Tigray-dominated north and the Amhara-dominated central highlands comprise the Christian heartland. These two Semitic tribes together comprise 45 percent of the population and most of the elite. The periphery is highly diverse and includes many animist and Muslim peoples. Unity is fragile and divisive forces are strong.

Read the whole article here.