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Psalm 146
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Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul! I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free; the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD! (ESV)
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Hanging Together
Thursday in Advent 3
16 December 2010
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American fundamentalism aims to identify those five or six basic teachings of the Christian Church, without which the church cannot do; the so-called "fundamentals." As laudable as that goal is, it misses the fact that the Bible's teaching is a whole piece; a single seamless garment. Yes, there are teachings of greater or lesser importance in Scripture, but they all are interrelated. St. Athanasius points this out at the beginning of his book on the Incarnation. The Incarnation of the Word was necessary because of the fallen nature of man. This is why a season of repentance precedes the joy of Christmas. The joy of Christmas is overwhelmingly great in the face of the human depravity from which the incarnation saves us.
Reason does not give us the tools to sort out what is fundamental and what is not. Christ is fundamental in the sense that He founds all the teachings of Scripture and directs His church to teach what His Word actually says. If we begin sifting through the teachings of Scripture to strain out those teachings that seem to us to be antique or outmoded, finally the incarnation of the Word will be sifted out and we will be left with the rationalistic religion of law that resides by nature in the heart of every human. "Do's and don'ts" will supersede the divine done. Our work will be more important than His work. Without a clear teaching on the fall and human depravity the incarnation of the Word becomes superfluous. Indeed, the incarnation of the Word of God is no more likely than the total depravity of humanity; perhaps it is even less likely. The doctrine of the Bible either hangs together or it will hang separately.
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Athanasius of Alexandria
"You are wondering, perhaps, for what possible reason, having proposed to speak of the Incarnation of the Word, we are at present treating of the origin of mankind. But this, too, properly belongs to the aim of our treatise.
"For when speaking of the appearance of the Savior among us, we must speak also of the origin of men, that you may know that the reason of His coming down was because of us, and that our transgression called forth the loving kindness of the Word, that the Lord should both make haste to help us and appear among men. For of His becoming Incarnate we were the object, and for our salvation He dealt so lovingly as to appear and be born even in a human body. Thus, then, God has made man, and willed that he should abide in incorruption; but men, having despised and rejected the contemplation of God and devised and contrived evil for themselves, received the condemnation of death."
Athanasius, On the Incarnation of the Word of God, 4
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Prayer
Stir up your power, O Lord, and come among us with great might; and because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let Your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
For Susan Hyder, who continues to convalesce from surgery, that God would grant her strength
For Seth Day, who was brought through surgery and is recovering well
For theological professors in Christian institutions all over the world, that they might resist the temptations of the world and the sinful flesh and teach faithfully the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ
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Art: LEONARDO da Vinci Annunciation 1472-75
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 © Scott R. Murray, 2010
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