The Keys that Loose and Bind September 2020

Boy! I stepped in it.  After services a few weeks ago two parishioners asked me about this particular phrase taken from the gospel that day, "...whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  Matthew 16.19.  This phrase manifests later in the gospel in vs. 18.18 and a similar rendering in John 20.23 referring to remitting sins.  

I faithfully replied to the two parishioners, "Oh, I'll write an article about it."  That promise has lead me down a rabbit hole.

This verse is charged with a lot of ecclesiastical baggage. The passage follows St. Peter's Confession (profession) of Jesus, "You are the Christ."  In the history of the church the verse has been used to support the supremacy of the Bishop of Rome (the papacy) as the successor to Peter. In addition, other catholic churches such as Anglican (us) and Eastern Orthodox view the passage as establishing the authority of the Church in regards to order and discipline within the Church.

The term "keys" that Jesus uses has to do with authority.  In the Old Testament Joseph is given keys to manage Pharaoh's Egypt.  The key still belongs to Pharaoh but Joseph received the authority to open and close (loose and bind) the storehouse based on the authority given to him by Pharaoh and in accordance with Pharaoh's character.  The important thing to recognize here is that Joseph is still a servant of Pharaoh and is bound by Pharaoh's will.  Within that will Joseph is given power to act.

Analogous to that, St. Peter (in this gospel) will be given the keys to loose and bind in heaven and earth.  Later in 18.18 the other apostles will be given that same authority as it pertains to church discipline.  In that setting, and in the aforementioned passage in John, the verse establishes the responsibility of pastoral leaders to bring order to the Body when sin causes fractures within the church.  This gets to the heart of binding and loosing.  Appointed church leadership has a spiritual authority to discipline members when their conduct is sinful or detrimental to themselves or others.

That's why I began with, "I stepped in it."  My critique of our denomination is that Anglicans/Episcopalians struggle with authority and obedience.  400 years after the Anglican theologian Richard Hooker gave us the infamous "three-legged stool" of authority (Scripture, Tradition, Reason) in which he clearly establishes that Scripture is primary, Tradition is secondary, and Reason is tertiary...we push back against authority.  Many clergy and laity are quick to suggest that the stool metaphor expresses co-equal and interchangeable legs of authority.  The order (1)Reason, (2)Tradition, (3)Scripture or any other variation was not Richard's intent.  Authority comes from God and within our peculiar Anglican structure we prayerfully call leaders to ad-minister God's will on behalf of the church as a whole.

What does it mean to loose and bind?  It means that God has given authority to his appointed ministers to restore and reconcile fractures within the Church in accordance with God's character. 

 Matthew 16 

Bound in Heaven and Loosed in Heaven

What are we doing this for? August 2020

In the last line of this month's financial report I typed a statement of which I feel strongly.  We must remember why we are doing all of this stuff. 

We are about to put a lot of financial resources as well as sweat equity into our building.  It is a beautiful building, a sacred building...  But do you remember when St. Peter wanted to build a dwelling for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah on Mt. Tabor?  It was a good idea, but God had a better idea and said, "This is my Son, listen to him." Jesus' teaching was more important than a hut that Peter could build.

Priests often like to build things.  Naves, Sanctuaries, Parish Halls.  But I want for us to remember why we are doing these things.  Our campus is beautiful but all our efforts would be in vain if we didn't first think of the Mission of the Church.  

What is the Mission of the Church? It is to reconcile humanity to God through Jesus Christ. Restated: Reconciling humanity is the mandate given by Jesus to make disciples...to make followers.  (Matthew 28.16-20)

Putting this beautiful House of God back together is a great thing.  But to me, it only means something if we understand that we are doing it to glorify our Father in heaven. And we do it with the express purpose of calling others into his Kingdom.

My vision for St. Peter's is to be a place where we are shaped more and more into the likeness of Jesus Christ.  That is being a disciple.  How do we do that?

Years ago, before seminary,  I had a friend and colleague who was a fellow draftsman in our architecture firm in Houston.  He was from Indonesia and was a devout Muslim.  He and I would frequently speak about religion trying to understand the differences in our basic beliefs and doctrine.  At some point we swapped books.  I gave him a copy of the Holy Scriptures and he gave me a copy of the Koran.  We read the texts at our own leisure.  

There are several things that I took note of from his book. Some helpful/some not. (You can call me and ask me about it anytime) One positive thing that is communicated is despite its criticism of Christian and Jewish teachings it refers to the followers of Christ as "the people of the book."  Over and over again, the Muslim text identifies Christians as "the people of the book."

The Koran was purportedly compiled in the 7th Century A.D.  Consider this!  Between 5-600 years after the New Testament is written down Christians are identified (sometimes pejoratively) by other religions as the people of "the book."  We were seen as people shaped by the Word of God revealed in Holy Scripture.

I know the Bible can be daunting to read at times.  But Christians have proclaimed for two millennia that both the antecedent Jewish texts, the Gospels, and the Apostolic Letters articulate the fullness of God's self-revelation.  The ancient Church understood that our proximity to Christ and our ability to become more like him is rooted in our familiarity with Holy Writ.  

God does not expect you to be a biblical scholar.  But in order to be familiar with him, you must be familiar with his self-revelation.  To be formed more into the image of Jesus we must know him! As he is revealed in Scripture.  I commend to you to commit to reading first the Gospels if you have not already done so.

State of the Parish July 18, 2020

If I gush too much, then I apologize.  I still have such affection for you all and for our church family.  Despite the current pandemic and chaos St. Peter's community is continually blessed.

We are enduring very difficult times for many of us. There is so much unrest in our society (much of which we are protected from).  But none-the-less we see it on the news and it hurts.  It's a sad time for many of us in so many different ways.

I have to confess that my biggest concern continues to be for your spiritual well-being.  Are you connecting with God and is our church family part of that connection?  I hope so. What can I do?  Would you like to talk on the phone???

I continue to be so proud of the work we are doing and thankful to our staff and volunteers who continue to minister.  When these difficult times pass this Rock will still be here.  Let's not forget to name before our community and friends the gospel work that is being done here.  They want to be a part of the Kingdom too.

In order to facilitate our strange worship parameters I have had to stay in Brenham and not go to Camp Allen for summer camp with Kate.  I've asked Amy to be a well-needed adult resource in my place there.  You may not know how important Camp Allen is to the children that receive this ministry. It is formative. And it is an extension of the ministry of St. Peter's.  The hungry are fed and prayer is being made daily from our online Compline service and Morning Prayer (both available on Facebook).

St. Peter's continues to be a strong Christian presence in our community.  Do not lose heart, instead cling to God who is our Rock.

Blessings, 

Fr. Stephen+

Update on our Building Project.

I hope you have received our letter regarding the financial needs to repair our House of Worship. I've been asked to clarify some points.  

Our total cost for mold remediation and build-back to ServPro, Brazos Valley is 174,535.73.  We will subcontract the downstairs build-back not to exceed 40,000.

We do not expect to receive any additional remuneration from our insurance company.  They have contributed 90,000 to replace roofs on all three of our structures.  As a parish we have autonomous responsibilities for the upkeep of our facilities therefore the diocese does not provided grants for this type of work.  However, the diocese has assisted in light of the COVID pandemic.  We have applied for and received grants to alleviate our diocesan assessment for three months and a secondary grant to support technology for online worship.  We are responsible for funding the construction work above.  As noted in the letter endorsed by the vestry we are contributing additional personal resources to this effort in order to decrease the amount of loans taken and retire those loans.

Regarding the benefits of the work accomplished:  At the end of construction St. Peter's will have a cleaned facility with air and surface qualities of a new structure.  Our ventilation systems have been cleaned.  Our responsibility forward is to maintain internal air quality.  We'll do that through consistently operating our AC systems and preventing water leaks around the buildings.  We'll also see improvement in lighting, wall, ceiling, and floor surfaces (especially in classrooms).  We've also taken this opportunity to install windows in downstairs classrooms for children's safety.  We hope you will experience a bright and fresher feel at St. Peter's when we return to the main building.

Finally, we want to include friends of St. Peter's in our effort to fund this project.  If you know someone in the community who would like to make a contribution let us know their address and we will send our invitation letter to them as well.

Blessings,

Fr. Stephen+

A Time for Pandemic June 16, 2020

I've got a song in my head, and you know it.  Turn, Turn, Turn recorded by The Byrds in 1965-ish.  I don't remember the first time I heard it on the radio.  But it has always resonated in me.  The music is alive and the lyrics are full of the paradoxes of humanity.  Boy! It's been a long time, but that piece of music has transcended the decades and generations.

A time to...
     be born/die;     plant/reap     kill/heal     break down/build up;


     weep/laugh;    mourn/dance;       cast away stones/gather stones together;


     embrace/refrain from embracing;     gain/lose;     keep/cast away;


     rend/sew;     keep silence/speak;     love/hate;     war/peace.


You could spend all day contemplating the depth of these human experiences and where your own spirit has lived in these words.

What do I mean?  Take for instance, A time to hate.  It's been a long time, but if I go far enough back into my childhood experiences I could tell you for whom I held hatred in my heart.  And I could tell you why I held it for so long. (As a follower of Jesus, hatred is directed only toward those injustices that oppose the attributes of God)  I could tell you when I've wanted to tear things apart and when I've wanted to sew things back together.  In every word of this list I can identify myself.

These words are taken from the poem Ecclesiastes 3.1-8.  King Solomon is the author according to tradition. It has a very long range of conjectured dates between 1000-200 B.C.  It shouldn't surprise that the words of the song have transcended the last six decades.

Solomon's musings about life are placed in the context of wanting to find purpose in his own labor and by extension the labor of humanity.  With each achievement, award, accolade he concludes that it is all "vanity."  Beautiful gardens, crafts, vineyards, wisdom itself are given to one person who ultimately will die and give these gifts to someone else who could just as easily be a fool and squander the gift.  So the Poet concludes that all our efforts only find their joy if they are done in relationship to God's will.

Whether we live or die, gain or lose, love or hate (that which is evil) everything in a person's life exists in the shadow of God.  Therefore, as children of God, it is incumbent upon us to consider God in all of our actions and especially our thoughts.

We're wandering in the Wilderness May 2020 2.0

Here is what I perceive.  The bars are opening and the churches remain shut.  In this time of reopening it's easy for me to identify and name this absurd disparity between bars vs. churches.  It's especially troubling in our time of spiritual need. What makes this more difficult for me is that in Texas we have been given more freedom by civic authorities than have been given in other totalitarian states.  It is our own ecclesiastical authorities that are guiding us to wait. Understand, it's not just the Episcopal Church.  I've spoken with pastor of a local AME Church whose bishop is also directing them to be patient.  And searching websites I can see other local denominations are being cautious as well.

What are we to think of this?  In the book of Exodus, after the Israelites and Moses fled Egypt and were saved by God through the Red Sea there was a long period (40 years) of exile in wandering.  At times Moses separates himself from the people to pray and later to receive the commandments from God.  Do you remember what the people did? 

They circumvented Moses and pleaded with Aaron the priest to make a new god for them. He made the golden calf and they made offerings to the idol.  When all was said and done they worshiped the graven image of a god that had done nothing for them.  God became angry and frustrated with his people because they were impatient and couldn't wait.

Many of you are feeling more than antsy to get back together.  Do you know, I feel the same way. It’s important that you understand that this is not a competition to see which church gets together quicker.  Please know that your leadership has worked really thoughtfully to put together and submit our plan to the bishop.  And we await the response.

But, have you stopped to think that maybe: Just as the time in the wilderness for the Israelites, God is doing something to and for us.  Just as our bishop is in prayer and guidance to help us form the best plan we can; God is working a change in you and me.

If Sunday worship is your only outlet for Christian life, I want to tell you there is more to it.  If you're not praying for others, reading a scripture daily or just being kind and patient in the name of God...you need to know there is more to the Christian Life than only Sunday mornings.

We’re in this wilderness together. What is God asking you to learn about him? How are our Sunday religious practices shaping you more into the image of Jesus?  God is doing something for us.  Wait patiently upon him.  It won't be longer than 40 years.

Blessings,

Fr. Stephen+

Glory to God whose power working in us can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus forever 

We are together! May 2020

My mind keeps going back to the first century.  In the history of the Primitive Church (the first three centuries A.D.) that is the church without all of our institutional garb.  It is a church without vestments, without buildings.  It is a church without youth groups and choirs (because everyone sung who could sing).  It was a church without Sunday School.  Imagine! So many of the things that make church for us...didn't exist in the first century. The primitive church didn't even have pipe organs and some believe it only had voices as instruments.

But what do we share in common.  First, Jesus is Lord.  They prayed together and for one another when they were absent.  They sang songs in house churches.  They shared the Eucharist, Holy Communion, the Bread and the Wine.  They shared the stories of the life of Jesus.  They emulated his life.

Each gathering, in each city was a church.  They shared the oral telling of the life of Jesus.   The four gospels (in different decades) take at least 30-60 years after Jesus' resurrection to be written down in the forms that we have them today.

The epistles (letters) from the various apostles were actually written down first as a supplement to the oral stories of the life of Jesus.  And epistles existed regionally in places like Achaia and Asia Minor, and in cities like Ephesus, Philippi, and Rome.  To the primitive church scripture was what we call the Old Testament.  The New Testament was spread out over the Mediterranean world.  It wouldn't be until the Council of Nicaea in the 300s A.D. that we see a unified list of the Old and New Testaments.  The Spirit guided their understanding to compile and canonize (codify) what we call the Holy Scriptures.

How did they do it?  How did they stay connected in a time when the height of technology was parchment and pen?  How did they stay connected, when they weren't able to gather during random and regional persecutions?

I can articulate now what I know intuitively.  Truly, in a metaphysical way (spiritual way), through prayer we are united to one another because we are united to Christ. I pray for you; you pray for me, and we are together.  I'm glad we're together right now.  I'll also be glad when we are together in body underneath the roof of God's house.  God bless you all.

Fr. Stephen+