John Calvin -- Happy Birthday

This is the year to celebrate John Calvin's 500th birthday.
Surprisingly, Calvin continues to hold the interest of many.
The Dutch broadcaster NCRV.NL carries a two-hour broadcast on Calvin. One of the speakers, Herman Selderhuis, gave a talk on the marks of a Calvinist Church, and I am giving a brief synopsis of this talk.
Selderhuis asks: if Calvin came to your town, he would certainly look to join a local congregation, but which one?
In answer, Selderhuis gives seven characteristics that any church should have to qualify as a Calvinist congregation.

1. Any church must be a preaching church. In any service of worship there should be a sermon preached in a warm, friendly manner. It should engage people, always with the deep desire to win people for the cause of Christ. A preacher must not be an austere, aloof person, but one who is enthralled by the message.
2. The church must be a community of people who speak to the world. There should be a well-worn path between the church and the town hall. The members of the church should tell the society around it that everyone should do justice, live in peace, and demonstrate compassion in all of life. As a citizen of Geneva, Calvin often appealed to City Hall.
3. The church and state should be independent from each other, each with its own proper sphere of influence. A free church in a free country would be the ideal.
   
4. The church should be a seeking, caring community. The elders of the church should seek out people who are troubled, grieving, lonely, and try to minister to them, and the deacons of the church should seek out the poor, the homeless, the unemployed, and try to help them with the necessities of life.
   
5. The church should be a mother. Calvin often used this metaphor to describe the concern the church ought to have for all its members. This also includes discipline, for through discipline the church shows that it cares whether people are living a godly life or not. When people don't, discipline is the church's appeal for people to return to God.
   
6. The church should always be changing. The church lives and works in ever changing circumstances, and it must adapt to those circumstances.
7. The church should be a singing church. The songs belong to the people, not to the choir. When the congregation has forgotten to sing, it must learn to sing again. The church should pay careful attention to what we sing, for hymnody has a longer-lasting influence than sermons do. In his day, when people were no longer singing in church, Calvin felt that the best place to start would be with the singing of Psalms. Calvin was likely not principially against the singing of songs of human composure, but he saw danger in them. So he urged great care in singing any other songs.

So, which congregation would Calvin be likely to join in your community? Selderhuis says that you might think twice to have Calvin join your church, because being the kind of guy he was he would probably chose the church which most need reforming.

The Way Things Were

All of us who have snow on the roof top have seen many changes. Let’s see, do you have similar experiences to mine?
I remember when our village in Friesland had only one telephone. It was in the post office, and so expensive to use that people wouldn’t think of using it except for dire emergencies.
Our first two houses as a new immigrant family in Ontario, had no running water, no indoor plumbing, no electricity and no telephone. But the bakeshop where dad worked did have a telephone, but no dial. You dialed phone numbers with a crank. You had to know how many longs and shorts to crank to phone someone, something like Morse code. And everyone on the line knew who was receiving a phone call, and pretty much everyone would know pretty soon what it had been about. You remember: they were party lines. Now we can carry our telephones in our pockets. Mine is old fashioned; I can phone with it, but I can’t read the newspapers on it, or take pictures with it. I am so yesterday.
Then there were our adventures with cars. My father never drove a car in the old country, and nothing is about as much as he knew about cars. Shortly after arriving in Canada in 1951, my dad bought a 15 year old Oldsmobile. It spent a lot of time being dragged around behind other people’s cars, trying to get it started. Once in a while it did run. But now what?
I tell you that we now brag about what nice cars we bought; but those stories are not nearly as much fun as the adventure stories which told of the new immigrants and their cars.
You want to hear about my uncle’s first truck? It was an old Ford V8. It smoked bad, really bad. And most of the smoke for some reason ended up in the cab. It was deadly dangerous to ride in that truck unless you had both windows completely open, regardless of the weather. Did it rain? Keep the windows open. Was there a blizzard? No problem! Keep those windows open!
Then a strange thing happened in our village. Down the street, not far from where we lived, the family would dim their living room lights, and an odd blue light would fill the place. Can you imagine our surprise when we discovered that they had bought a box on which you could see cowboys riding on their horses, shooting away at each other? Little did we know, but TV had arrived. Not in our house, mind you; we were reformed and not about to bring movie pictures into our home and what matters just us much is: we were too poor to buy a TV.
It was about to get worse: one day an article in the newspaper declared that the day was coming when the TV would be getting signals in colour. All you would need to do was spend still more money on an even fancier set, and voila! there you’d be! Living coloured movies in the living room. Others writers nixed this idea. How could it be possible, in your wildest dreams, to send colour through the air, from far away to your house?
Were all these changes good? Well, these kinds of changes we took in stride. I think you could make the case that some of the changes were wonderful, but others, perhaps not so much. Soon our grandchildren will have babies with telephones glued to their ears at birth, one fears.
There were many changes in our church communities, too. Some of them were difficult to swallow, and caused lots of pain. Here it becomes evident that not every change is an improvement.
I want to focus a bit on the singing. What did you listen to on the radio? Do you remember Rosemary Clooney singing “Come on-a My House?” Or Nat King Cole’s “Unforgettable?” How about “Rock Around the Clock?” And that the real shocker: “You ain’t nothing but a hound dog?” by a newcomer named Elvis Presley? Some of us enjoyed those kinds of song, others not so much so. I can give you the name of one young fellow who came home to find his younger brothers and sisters listening to this, so he grabbed the radio by the plug, swung it around and it promptly crashed against the wall. There have been many changes in our church community, too. We are constantly singing new songs. No sooner have we learned one, than it is has been replaced with more we don’t know, in styles we don’t care for much. For us, as we age, this can be tough to deal with.
And now I am getting around to what I had in the back of my mind all along. In our churches we sing! Paul wrote about it in Colossians 3: with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. We have no idea what tunes would have been used in that early church. We don’t know the words of their spirituals songs and hymns, either. But we do know that throughout history, there have been many styles of singing, and many thousands of hymns have been written. So we are open to changes there, too, even though the new may clash with our older styles.
I was reminded of this when a week ago I was going through a small bundle of old papers that my dad and mom left. There I found a small piece of paper written in my father’s angular, workman’s hand. At least I think it was dad’s hand. It is in Friesian. Likely he wrote it in war time, out of terrible need, no doubt, having witnessed suffering and death that no humans should ever have to suffer and witness. What he wrote is important; it is a song for singing in the night time of despair and distress. It is a song that gives faith courage to continue into the storms. Here are the words, a versification of Psalm 33, the last part of the Psalm.
The Lord on high looks down from heaven;
he sees all people he has made.
No king is saved by might or army;
a warrior’s horse will not give aid.
Our Lord sees with favour
those who love their Saviour—
keeps his eye on them.
Death’s bonds he will sever,
save their lives forever—
God will save from death.
Our souls wait for the Lord, our keeper;
he is our helps, he is our shield.
Shout loudly, praise the Lord, and trust him
who has our life and future sealed.
God our loving Saviour;
keeps us safe forever.
Holy is his name!
God the Lord is loving,
always, always proving
hope is in the Lord.
Whatever may change, decay, disintegrate or disappear, pray that such faith may be vigorously alive from generation to generation.

New Hymns

In the introduction to a new hymnal, "New Wine in Old Wineskins," the editor writes "surveys of hymnody in congregations repeatedly indicate that, while new hymnals and supplements are continually being published, for the most part we sing the same old and familiar hymns. This is problematic in that it causes us to limit our ability to grow biblically, theologically, and liturgically."

New hymns are constantly being written. The sheer number of hymns will guarantee that most will never gain a regular place in the church's song, even though a good number are every bit as good as many of the older hymns.

One of the reasons for continuing to sing mostly old and familiar songs, besides their inherent merit, is that some of us are wired to be reluctant to go along with changes. There are also some whose psychological make-up makes them ask for new material. They love change. We need to bear in mind both of these groups of people. Some will have to agree to look at making some changes from time to time, and others will have to be content with a pace that feels like a snail's pace for them. Love, unity and peace matter a great deal. If we all go flying off in our own directions, there will be a lot of debris!

Acts 4:32-35
When I first came across this passage many years ago, I was quite surprised. Nothing that comes earlier in the Bible prepared me for this radical statement:
All the believers were one in heart and mind.
No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own,
but they shared everything they had.
Some observers have said that these Christians were the first communists, but given what we know of communists in the century just past, this is an insult to these early brothers and sisters in the Lord. Communism as we know it from Russia, China and other places, is a God-denying. They persecuted the church and tried to end all religion.
The early Christians were motivated by their love for God, their obedience to Jesus as Lord, and their understanding of the message of the Bible, a message about the coming of the Kingdom, a call to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with God.
Motivated by their salvation in Jesus, they could not help but wonder what a truly godly and Christian life would look like. Do they sound like dreamy-eyed idealists to you? Were they bound to fail given the harsh realities of life, governed as it is by selfishness and greed? Or were these early Christians really on to something? After all, it sounds pretty good to me: "All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had."
Sounds a lot better to me than a world were some billions of people, including children, live in poverty. They have no home, no nutritious food, no health care, no education—all they have is nothing.
Let’s agree, for the sake of argument, that given the realities of the real world, we cannot implement the early church’s ideals. But Christian people could at least agree to work towards some of that. We could advocate for the world’s needy, in Papua New Guinea, in Bangladesh, in Africa and so on, and do what we can to have each person in the world have all the basics.

• Let’s agree that every person should have a safe, sturdy roof over their heads.
  
• · Every child, woman and man should have nutritious food, with 2 000 calories per day. ·
  
• There should be access to clean drinking water for everyone. ·
  
• Every child have an opportunity to learn to read and write and do their numbers.
  
• Every person should have access to basic health care.
  

This would not be expensive. An economist did the math: providing the basics for all humans would cost only 10% as much as we now spend on war. Here’s one thing I’m sure of: I would love those early followers of Jesus. Their hearts were in the right place. Their obedience to Jesus really challenges us: thinking of the persecuted, the refugees, the homeless and hungry, the destitute and forlorn, what would Jesus have us do here and now?

Feb 1, 2009. Mark 1:14-20; Mark 1:14, 15. The News is Good.

The hunger for good news lives in the hearts of many people. This hunger makes us search high and low for good, nutritious food for our hearts, but can make us vulnerable to junk food, too.

A con man has been selling a gadget costing something like $20 000. It is supposed to cure all kinds of ailments. Desperate people are buying it, in spite of the fact that there is no scientific evidence that the machine works. It is called “clutching at straws,” or also magical thinking.

The need is awakened when we stare suffering in the face. After a deadly earthquake, in a family that has been torn by strife, or devastated by the loss of a loved one or where a breadwinner has lost his/her job, for a person who has been victimized by someone's violence--on and on you can think of situations that are filled with bad news, and were the need of good news is great.

We need a new job so we can feed our family, and pay our mortgage. An experience of personal disaster, loss or tragedy can also make people aware that we need more, something beyond only material goods or health. Our greatest need is often unacknowledged: we need forgiveness and reconciliation. We may not know it, but the hungry heart longs for the kingdom of God, for the bread of life which is Jesus.

And now, at the beginning of his ministry, Jesus announces the good news of the kingdom that is drawing near, the kingdom which means a total answer to sorrow and brokenness, to poverty and injustice, to the need for a new beginning, a new creation and forgiveness. This is the all-encompassing good news that Jesus brings, and the good news he himself is.

We see:
1: the difficult situation in which Jesus begins his ministry of good news.
2: the nature of the glad tidings he brings.
3: the requirements which are placed before people who would partake.

Mark does not tell us that Jesus began to preach after John had been arrested to give us a calendar date, but to indicate the antagonistic setting which ended John’s ministry, and would be like a dark hovering cloud under which Jesus would do his ministry, too, from the beginning. The cross is not a surprising outcome at the end, but a real possibility from the beginning.

Jesus began his ministry when John the baptizer was unable to continue his because he had been arrested. John was not arrested because he was a criminal: no, it was much worse! John preached, and people believed, and that was too much of a good thing. John dared call people to repentance, even the politicians and bankers. But they don’t like to be held to account. So the authorities arrested John because he preached.

Mark tells us this detail to indicate clearly the kind of situation in which Jesus began his ministry. Jesus, says Mark, did not begin his preaching of the good news in times were people welcomed the word of a new prophet. No: to preach the good news was risky business at that time; people were not holding their breath for someone to bring another religion or new religious insight.

Jesus, like John, would call people to repentance and faith as. That’s an essential component to the kingdom message. Preaching was risky business; people arrested John, and killed Jesus for what he taught. Strange, isn't it that the good news meets with this fate? Yes, crowds came to John to repent and be baptized; they wanted new lives. But the authorities were not so kind. They felt threatened by the preaching of John just as Herod had felt threatened by the news of a royal baby born in Bethlehem. So you either concede the possibility that the Messiah has come, or you nip it in the bud: you kill the impostor. And that’s what Herod did.

It's a very human reaction. We protect our own turf, right or wrong. Many of us cannot say the simple phrase: “I was wrong.” We have a strong impulse to defend what we believe and we are inclined to dismiss, expel or even execute our opponents. The authorities were convinced that the people and the nation did not need the kind of renewal to which John called, and so they arrested him. And everyone was very familiar with all the blood that had been shed in the land by several messiah figures. But this does not bode well for Jesus, who is now going to bring a similar message. So it does not take long for the reaction to Jesus to receive mixed reaction. Many people listen to the message, find it interesting, but ultimately reject it; they do not repent or believe, but participate in the shadow, the crucifixion. Jesus did his work entirely under the shadow of the cross, and the nearer the time, the darker the times.

However, in spite of the looming shadow, Jesus begins his work. He proclaims the message; he does not invite or initiate a religious discussion club. He proclaims. People can do with that as they please. But Jesus does not have an opinion poll to ask whether people agree with what he says; take it or it leave it is his attitude. The ancient philosophers went for long walks with students to discuss issues. Jesus preached and taught. We should be clear on why Jesus does so. In spite of the hostile situation, there was good news from God that has to be proclaimed, because it needs to be heard, it needs to be put before people. It is the only way out.

The good news must be proclaimed, in situations were people are interested in hearing it, and in situations were people ridicule it, because it is good news from God. It is God’s answer to our quest and our needs. The gospel is the bread of good news for which people hunger, whether they know it or not. Every other solution is a half-way measure.

The word gospel as Mark uses it has been discussed a lot. Exactly what did Mark mean with it? Is it just a message about good news, or is it the good news itself? Think about it: what are we doing when we tell another the good news?

One commentator who, after summarizing the discussion on this word, suggests that when the word of the Lord Jesus is preached, Jesus himself is already present in that preaching. This is what makes preaching so powerful: Jesus is in the Words, making the Word able to perform what God wants it to perform. So the gospel is not the content of what Jesus says or does, but the power of Jesus himself, present where his story is told, Paul J. Achtemeier, Mark, 50.

The good news has two components.

The first is: the time is fulfilled. For centuries, Israel had been looking for God to keep his promise. After all, God promised to send the Messiah, a new, eternal, heavenly king to rule the people. They waited eagerly, as some Jewish people do to this day. Now Jesus announces: The event which you were looking to have happen is upon you. The long time of waiting is over; the one you have been hoping, praying and waiting for all these years is now in your midst. That is what it means to say the time is fulfilled. The time is fulfilled because Jesus came.

The second component of the good news is that the kingdom of God is near, or even present. Now that signals a huge change. The kingdom of this world is ruled by sin; it is filled with suffering and pain. It is dark, and full of despair for many people. If indeed the kingdom is near, then light, peace, justice and joy are about to happen. It opens the option of new life before people. No greater announcement than this is possible. I hope all of us still sense how great that news really is. The Kingdom is the one all-sufficient alternative, the response of the grace of God to the deadliness and sinfulness of the kingdom of this world. The kingdom is here because Jesus came.

The kingdom demands a two-fold response. Both of these are given as commands, not merely as invitations or encouragements.

Both John and Jesus proclaimed the necessity of repentance. Repentance demands that we see the sinful life for what it is, and make up our mind that we want to leave it behind. Behind this demand lies the teaching that God's good news really is meant to have an impact on our lives. Christ demands that our lives be changed. If we take Jesus seriously, we will examine our lives to discover what we need to change. Encounter with Christ makes us ask: how can I be the person God wants me to be? Can I be a better husband, father, worker, or friend than I have been? What sin lives in me, what sin do I relish and encourage, or hide? Temper, pride, lusts, greed, prejudices, and whatever else is sinful in us--Jesus says: repent!

Second: Jesus commands us to believe the gospel. Jesus, the preacher, preaches himself. Believing the gospel is embracing the Saviour, the King. There is a great urgency to decide. We can't put it off, and may not put it off; it is disobedient to what Jesus says to put off the decision to some other day.
We know the urgency of decision making from everyday sales experiences. "Someone else was just looking at this house, too, and may put in a bid before the day is out." You know you run the risk of not getting your dream house. We read "this offer is good only until the end of the month." "Supply is limited, first come first served." That means: decide now!

The time is now; do not delay getting your life in order, rearranging your values, your manner of living. Give your heart in true allegiance to Jesus now, while it is yet day, while you have an opportunity.

Singing

"To sing is to pray twice." St. Augustine.