Today in Church History

On 9 July 381, Nestorius, the first patriarch of Constantinople, was born in what is now Maras, Turkey. Nestorius attained fame for his teaching that Christ had two natures and two persons (rather than two natures in one person), which the Council of Ephesus in 431 condemned as heresy.

Man created God in his own image . . .

. . . and, in this instance, the Son of God as well.

Christmas is Not Your Birthday

This is the time of year when everyone is looking forward to what they’ll be getting under the tree on Christmas morning. So we were wondering, how would Jesus answer if we were to ask him, “What do you want for Christmas?”

Perhaps Jesus would direct us to the song that his mother Mary sang shortly after discovering she was pregnant (Luke 1:46-56). In this song, we find that Mary anticipates that the coming of Jesus will challenge the social order as we know it: Rulers will be brought down while the humble are uplifted and the hungry will be filled while the rich are sent away empty.

It is precisely these earth shaking kinds of social changes that we are committed to bring about as American Baptist missionaries. By ministering to the needs of Haitian migrants in the Bahamas, we are attempting—at least in a small way—to proclaim the Good News of Jesus’ birth in both word and deed. So when Jesus looks under the tree on Christmas morning, he won’t be getting a new stereo, the latest video games, or even that fancy new electric can opener that doubles as a camera—at least not from us! But he will be getting the best gift of all: Our commitment to serve him and join him on his mission to transform the world.

But too often we don’t think about what Jesus wants for Christmas. We just think about what we want. But Christmas is not our birthday; it’s Jesus’ birthday. So we hope that you will take some time this advent season to remember whose birthday it really is and, more importantly, to reflect on ways that you and your church can truly celebrate the birth of our savior Jesus Christ.

This post originally appeared in News from Daniel and Estela Schweissing on 11 December 2006.

He is Risen!

Today is Easter Sunday. Below is one of my favorite meditations for the occasion, written by a Baptist minister in 1926, that has since been reprinted in numerous versions over the years.

Jesus- A Brief Life
by Dr. James A. Francis

Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another obscure village. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty, and then for three years was an itinerant preacher.

He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never owned a home He never had a family. He never went to college. He never put his foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place where He was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but himself. He had nothing to do with this world except the naked power of His divine manhood.

While still a young man the tide of popular opinion turned against Him. His friends ran away. One of them denied Him. Another betrayed Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed upon the cross between two thieves. His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth while He was dying, and that was His coat. When He was dead, He was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.

Nineteen wide centuries have come and gone and today He is the center of the human race and the leader of the column of progress

I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, and all the navies that were ever built, and all the parliaments that ever sat and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon the earth as powerfully as has this one solitary life.

My God, they killed him

Unlike the United States, Good Friday is a national holiday here in the Bahamas. All government offices and nearly all businesses, including supermarkets and convenience stores are closed. Most churches conduct worship services where seven different speakers preach on the last words of Jesus. And the main meal for the day includes fried fish and hot cross buns.

Earlier today, I listened to the Kate Campbell's latest album, For the Living of these Days, which has a number of thought provoking songs on the meaning of Jesus' life and death.

Consider, for example, this excerpt from her song "They Killed Him."

The only Son of God Almighty
The holy one called Jesus Christ
He healed the sick and he fed the hungry
And for his love they took his life away
On the road to glory where the story never ends
Just the holy Son of Man I'll never understand
My God, they killed him

In song after song, Campell's lyrics emphasize the nature of Jesus' engagement with the world, his efforts to transform the social order, and the how those efforts ultimately led him (and sometimes his followers) to his death. For those of us who have chosen to "take up our cross" and follow him, such lyrics challenge us to rethink the nature of our own engagement in the world, to reflect on how we are allowing God to use us to transform the social order and, finally, to take stock of the risks that such commitment entails. Given that this is Easter weekend, this is an especially timely message to help stimulate our reflection on the events we are remembering.

You can see (and hear) the rest of the copyrighted lyrics for this and other Kate Campell songs by clicking here.