A War of Gifts An Ender Story

2013

The debate on the relevance, need, and method of Christ-centered preaching is one which may never end. Such debate is good for the field of homiletics, but there are some shortcomings of the current debate. One such shortcoming is the lack of any conversation on the relationship between Christ, the Scriptures, and the Holy Spirit. In this paper, I examine the relationship between the Word (both Incarnate and written) and the Holy Spirit. I will survey Reformed and Lutheran understandings of the relationship between written Word and Spirit. I then note where Baptists differ. Were this difference fully developed it might look something like the coinherence of Scripture and Spirit found in the theology of Pilgram Marpeck. Marpeck's understanding of coinherence of Scripture and Word has implications for homiletics. First, coinherence supplies a fine-tuned rationale for Christ-centered preaching-to preach the text is to preach Christ because all of the text proceeds from him. Second, coinherence provides further justification for the conception of the preacher as a herald, an image that often seems undercut in modern literature in homiletics.

2023

Introduction 1 Christmastide: Our Savior Has Been Born 9 e Nativity of the Lord [Christmas]: At the Vigil Mass 10 Literal 1. e Nativity of the Son of David 14 Allegorical 2. e Nativity of the Bridegroom 17 Moral 3. Joseph's Evening Fiat 20 Anagogical 4. e Eschatological Meaning of Christmas 22 e Nativity of the Lord [Christmas]: At the Mass During the Night 25 Literal 5. Caesar Is Neither Savior nor Son of God 28 Allegorical 6. e Nativity of Grace and Glory 31 Moral 7. At the Manger with the Shepherds 33 Anagogical 8. e Royalty of Heaven Are Not ose of Earth 36 e Nativity of the Lord [Christmas] at the Mass at Dawn 38 Literal 9. e Nativity of Our Salvation 40 Allegorical 10. e Nativity of the Good Shepherd 42 Moral 11. e Story Will Be Messy but the End Glorious 45 Anagogical 12. Christmas Is Always Pointing to Easter 47 e Nativity of the Lord [Christmas] at the Mass During the Day 50 Literal 13. e Nativity of the Word of God 54 Allegorical 14. e Nativity of the Son of God 57 Moral 15. Today We Enter into the Cosmic Worship of God 59 Anagogical 16. e Weight of Glory 62 e Sunday within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord [Christmas]e Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph Year A 65 Literal 17. Honor Your Parents 68 Allegorical 18. e Flight into Egypt of the New Moses 70 Moral 19. Joseph, the Hidden King of the Jews 73 Anagogical 20. e Christmas Story in the Apocalypse 75

2006

Pro Rege, 2015

Sound bites work because they strikingly capture a pithy thought, in a way that the average person can readily remember. For this reason-and in spite of their modern-media-attuned name-"sound bites" are not a new phenomenon. The ancients called them aphorisms, or "delimitations"-not quite as sparkling, but it meant what it said: an original, laconic saying that expressed something definitively. Your average first-century urbanite knew scores of them: "marry well," "pick your time," "a cost to every commitment," "nothing to excess." Jesus was surely not the first to speak in such ways. But he was among the most adept: "love your neighbor," "Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath," "blessed are the poor in spirit," "I have come not to call the righteous but sinners," and the justly famous "golden rule": "do to others what you would have them do to you." Self-important intellectuals might sometimes be tempted to smile at such rustic simplicity. But if one wants to change the world, one must engage with the mass of humanity. Given the gospel's unrivalled influence on human history, Jesus clearly knew what he was doing. Unsurprisingly, many Christians' knowledge of Jesus consists largely of a scattering of these isolated sayings, along with a few stand-out stories (e.g. casting out demons, healings, multiplication of the loaves and fish, calming the storm, his encounters with Zacchaeus and the woman caught in adultery, and his final action in the Temple), all of which are bracketed by the annually celebrated events of Christmas and Easter. But as a moment's reflection reminds us, these sayings and actions do not just float about in some kind of Christian ether. They are drawn from the Gospels, which, as is now increasingly recognized, are carefully constructed and highly textured narratives. It is when we examine the four Gospels more closely that interesting questions begin to emerge. As most of us know, the first three-Matthew,

Insight Magazine of Council of World Mission, 2019

Advent is the period marked out by the four Sundays before Christmas where we prepare for the Lord's coming in to the arms of Mary and into the hearts of our lives and systems. CWM invites you to reflect through Advent on the steps we need to take to rise up for peace and justice. This is particularly important as CWM looks to 2020 as a year where we make our apology and repent of our past complicities with enslavement and look to how we can rise up with Jesus in seeking racial justice. Some of the text is emboldened should this be used in a group setting, when people can respond in several voices. Where this is used in private reflection then this can be ignored.

This is the text of a sermon on Luke 3:7-18 followed by a critical commentary which grapples with the dissonance that appears to exist between judgment and grace. The headings in the text of the sermon follow Eugene Lowry's 'homiletical plot'. My critique describes the process of preparation, my response and the informal feedback by a few hearers following the preaching event. I evaluate the hermeneutical choices made in interpreting the text, myself, the hearers, and in choosing the form of the sermon. I choose a first person voice in order to establish empathy without avoiding the full force of the text. I draw upon empirical evidence from psychology to explore 'relevance' motivating listening. I demonstrate the subtleties of the hermeneutical process, engaging with the horizons of scripture and contemporary life. I show how this biblical text which bristles with judgement exposes the need for transformation by God's grace.

Think 14 (40): 9-25 (2015)

Abstract: In Act I, Faith and Klaus had it out regarding whether their deity of choice—God and Santa respectively—exists. Although Klaus was unable to convince Faith, Klaus suggested that Krampus, his “Santa pastor” (the guy who owns the mall where he buys his Christmas presents), will set Faith straight. We join the dialogue, once again, as Faith is about to first meet Krampus, who promises to provide us with more sophisticated arguments in favor of Santa Claus.

2008

Barth delivered the lectures that form the basis of this commentary in Basel during the winter of 1940-41, five years after he had been banned from his teaching post in Bonn for his criticism of the Nazi regime. The historical context gives added interest to his reflection on Rom 9-11. While Barth does little to mitigate what he takes to be an account of Israel's disobedience in those chapters, he forcefully refutes the idea that the Jews have been finally rejected by God, calling anti-Semitism the "most potent form of disobedience." God wills the "disobedient Synagogue," according to Barth, in order to extend mercy to the world. However, if the Jews' "rejection" is the Gentiles' gain, the latter's ultimate hope depends on the inclusion of Israel-and the last word has not been spoken on those whom God has "hardened." More broadly, this commentary is presented as an explication of Paul's claim in Rom 1 : 17 that the Gospel reveals the righteousness of God. Although it is the "power of God for salvation," the Gospel initially confronts humanity with God's wrath, the object of which is the sinner's mistaken selfconfidence. Salvation, the "good centre in the hard shell," lies in the acceptance of the guilty verdict borne by Jesus Christ. The believer is not made righteous in appearance only, but "seriously," and his task is to live according to the "new order" of which he is a part-or, as Barth puts it, the "imperative" is explained by the "indicative." The current volume is a reprint of the original English translation from 1959.

'What Does a Child Want? Reflections on Children’s Bible Stories'

A response to articles in Text, Image, and Otherness in Children’s Bibles: What Is in the Picture? (ed. Caroline Vander Stichele and Hugh S. Pyper)