A short study on a short book

The Jews in Haggai aggainwere under Persian rule, during the reign of Darius. Lethargy had set in, possibly because their situation was so improved compared to Babylonian occupation and captivity. They had gotten lackadaisical about God’s house since returning to Palestine. Living comfortably, they decided it was not the right time to rebuild God’s house.

God’s word to them was, “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin” (Hag 1:4)? Disobedience wrought drought and disaster.

You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it (Hag 1:6).

Twice God tells them, “Give careful thought to your ways” (Hag 1:5, 7). Drought was an attention getter. God longs to bless his people, but sometimes he is not allowed to. The remnant however, listened and began work on the temple.

We too, can become lukewarm, comfortable, and complacent. Preoccupation and worry with daily life can make our hearts grow cold. It is like having pockets with holes in them. We strive so hard and have nothing to show for it. We are afraid to let go, sometimes afraid of what God will do if we allow him to have his way. It is sometimes difficult to “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (Prv 3:5-6).

Our walk with God or lack thereof differentiates us from those Haggai addressed. If we are in fellowship with him, seeking to do his will, then we too, are like the faithful remnant. It may be difficult to identify with and we may even vilify those living comfortably while God’s house “remains a ruin” (Hag 1:4). God’s word to his remnant was “I am with you” (Hag 1:13; 2:4), “I covenanted with you” (Hag 2:5), “…my Spirit remains among you” (Hag 2:5), “Do not fear” (Hag 2:5), “’The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,' says the LORD Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the LORD Almighty” (Hag 2:9).

Obedience was the vehicle that took them from famine to feast and festivity. From the laying of the foundation, God promised a marked change. “‘From this day on I will bless you’” (Hag 2:19).

There are several ways we can apply Haggai to a concrete situation or problem in contemporary life. “You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it” (Hag 1:6). Many can identify with that sentiment. Some are deceived into believing they cannot afford to tithe. Otherwise faithful believers may express that. When I am faithful, I cannot afford not to tithe demonstrating God’s economy is unlike ours.

The Bible. New International Version.

Christians and the OT law

Fee and Stuart do a fine job of explaining the role of the Old Testament Law in the life of the Christian. “All of the Old Testament law is still the Word of God for us even though it is not still the command of God to us.” Though a fine distinction, this upholds the importance of scripture while acknowledging that not everything applies specifically to us. They also explain what is “explicitly renewed from the Old Testament law can be considered part of the New Testament ‘law of Christ.’” This includes the Ten Commandments and the commandments from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18.

Jesus showed respect toward the law. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Mt 5:17). The law was valid, but he was the fulfillment. Its purpose was to point us to the savior according to Paul in Galatians 3:24. We are not bound by the ritual aspects of it today, since it has already done its work in our hearts.

The primary role of the law is to show neediness for “through the law we become conscious of sin” (Rom 3:20).

When human achievement is measured against what God requires, there is no place for pride or boasting but only for silence that lends consent to the verdict of guilty….How startling it is to contemplate the fact that the best revelation man has apart from Christ only deepens his awareness of failure.

Martin Luther emphasized the positive aspects of the Ten Commandments in his Small Catechism. Concerning the Sabbath he wrote, “We are to fear and love God, so that we do not despise God’s Word or preaching, but instead keep that Word holy and gladly hear and learn it.” An article in A Survey of the Old Testament stated, “Finally, this love for God that prompts obedience to his commandments marks the true child of God (I John 5:1-5).”

Regarding Paul’s letter to the Romans:

In describing the law as that which brings the knowledge of sin (3.21), works wrath (4.15), increases transgression (5.20), stands opposed to grace (5.20–21; 6.14), and so

on, Paul was preparing the ground for the startling declaration in 7.4: “My friends, you have been put to death with respect to the law.”

In Galatians 3, Paul describes the purpose and temporariness of the law. “What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come” (Gal 3:19). Verse twenty-three explains the law’s function to “hold us prisoner, locking us up until Christ should be revealed.”

Paul’s view of the law was not completely negative. In Romans, Paul teaches that the law is holy and spiritual (Rom 7:12, 14). He relates the law to the inception of the church in Galatians 4:21-5:1 and as a guide for the church’s daily life, because of how Christ effected the law.

1 Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003), 169.

Ibid.

3 Frank E. Gaebelein, ed. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 11. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976), 39-40.

4 Timothy J. Wengert, Luther’s Small Catechism: A contemporary translation (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1996), 197.

5 L. Goss and J. Ruark, eds., A Survey of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991), 87.

6 Moyer V. Hubbard, New Creation in Paul’s Letters and Thought (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002), 104.

7 Frank A. Gaebelein, ed. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 10 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976), 467.

The Bible. New International Version.

Ordination: Consecration for Service, NOT Personal Validation

No one who is ordained enters ordained ministry for purely healthy reasons -- indeed, I doubt that any human being does anything for purely healthy reasons! But it is important to be aware of one's motives, and to live out the healthy ones in one's ministry and to take care not to let the unhealthy ones affect one's ministry adversely.

The proper motive for being ordained is consecration for the service of God and the people of God in particular ways, especially the ministries of Word and Sacrament. Unfortunately, many seek ordination instead as some form of personal validation. Wearing a collar and vestments gives them some sort of status so that they can feel important, or loved, or respected, or _____ (fill in the blank).

In particular, it has been my observation that some (certainly not all) who are members of groups historically denied access to ordination, especially women and openly gay and lesbian Christians, can sometimes see ordination as a validation that they are "as good as" men or heterosexuals. This is quite understandable, and as someone who unequivocally supports the ordination of women and openly gay/lesbian Christians and who am myself an openly gay man, I have certainly felt this way myself at times. And one unhealthy result is that many forget that no individual has a right to ordination -- I agree that it is an injustice to exclude women and lgbt folk from ordination, but there are individual women and individual gay people who should not be ordained (just as there are individual heterosexual men who should not be ordained).

For those of us who make our way to the Independent Sacramental Movement, we usually find that, to our dismay, most Christians don't really take us that seriously. Our churches don't usually fit the model of "brick and mortar" churches, and we lack the respectability of the mainstream. Many assume that because they haven't heard of us, we aren't "real". This problem is compounded by those of us who use the term "Independent Catholic", since most people accept the claims of the Roman Catholic denomination to be the only "Catholics". (While I would never want to give up the substance of being Catholic, as I see it, I do sometimes wish that we could let go of the word for just this reason.)

And in response to this, many of us in the ISM spend an inordinate amount of time trying to "prove" that we are legitimate, we are Catholic, we are real -- and for some of us, this gets wrapped up in issues of being female or gay. I've been there, so I am not criticizing something I myself haven't done. But, ultimately, this distracts from the reason we are clergy to begin with.

As long as we do the ministry God calls us to do, and minister to those (however few) God sends our way (and in some cases, priests may be called to a life of solitude and intercession for the world that won't involve much direct ministerial contact with others), we're doing the right thing. If everyone else laughs at us and refuses to see our minstry as valid -- that's okay. We're not priests to be recognized as such. If God sees our ministry as valid, who cares what others think? And if God doesn't see our ministry as valid, all of the people in the world calling us "Father" or "Mother" won't make a difference.

So I would exhort my fellow ISM clergy to stop worrying about what people think, and focus instead on the ministry tasks at hand. Until we move beyond the need for validation from others, we will never be effective priests.