Posts Tagged repentance
Pope Paul VI – The Salt of Repentance
Posted by Joel in Devotional on February 24, 2011
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Following the Master, every Christian must renounce himself, take up his own cross and participate in the sufferings of Christ (Mt 16,24). Thus transformed into the image of Christ’s death, he is made capable of meditating on the glory of the resurrection. Furthermore, following the Master, he can no longer live for himself, but must live for Him who loves him and gave Himself for him. He will also have to live for his brethren, completing “in his flesh that which is lacking in the sufferings of Christ…for the benefit of his body, which is the church» (Ga 2,20; Col 1,24).
In addition, since the Church is closely linked to Christ, the penitence of the individual Christian also has an intimate relationship of its own with the whole ecclesial community. In fact, not only does he receive in the bosom of the Church through baptism the fundamental gift of “metanoia,” namely the transformation and renewal of the whole person, but this gift is restored and reinvigorated in those members of the Body of Christ who have fallen into sin through the sacrament of penance. “Those who approach the sacrament of penance receive from the mercy of God forgiveness for offences committed against Him and at the same time become reconciled with the Church on which they have inflicted a wound by sinning, and the Church cooperates in their conversion with charity, example and prayer» (Vatican II : LG 11). And in the Church, finally, the little acts of penitence imposed each time in the sacrament become a form of participation in a special way in the infinite expiation of Christ.
Not penance, but repentance, but… I agree about the relationship between the believer and the community.
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Psalms of Solomon, Psalm 8-10 – Analysis
Posted by Joel in Psalms of Solomon on June 1, 2010
Psalm 8- Pertaining to Salomon. Regarding Victory
This Psalm is parallel with the second Psalm, in which we do not see an eschatological destruction, but a recounting of a recent event set against the backdrop of a perceived judgment of God. It is tells the story of Pompey’s entrance into the city, invited in by the Hyrcanus (v16-18), who would then proceed to profane the altar of the Lord. This, according to the author of the psalm, was not a free will choice, but directed by God (14-15) as an act of righteous judgment[1]. It does not mention the death of Pompey, which leads Nickelsburg to postulate that this was written before the second psalm[2].
In verse 23, God is pictured as being made ἐδικαιώθη. VanLandingham argues that this term means ‘make righteous’ rather than acquit[3]. If this is so, then it holds that God must accomplish the destruction of Jerusalem through Pompey, allowing even the profaning of his alter, in order that he would be considered righteous for upholding the covenant. Finally, it is worth noting the allusion to Isaiah 53.7 found in verse 23. The devout are seen as innocent lambs in the midst of all the troubles. It was not their sins that caused the destruction of Jerusalem under Rome’s boot, but it is the community who ‘justifies’ the name of God even in the midst of the correction.
Psalm 9 – Pertaining to Salomon. Regarding Rebuke
The psalm opens with a recount of the recent exile into Babylon, picturing it s a necessity for God to remain righteous. In the fourth verse we find a thought which seems to counter post-Reformation era thinking. Here, the only ἔργα which concerns the community are those of free will. For the author, ἔργα are found in the individual’s ability to choose to do what is right or what is wrong, forcing God to react. Those that do what is righteous θησαυρίζει for himself a life with the Lord while those who ‘practice[4]’ injustice will find only destruction[5].
The phrase, ἔθου τὸ ὄνομά σου ἐφ᾽, found in the ninth verse is reminiscent of the Hebrew found in 2nd Chronicles 7.14, נִֽקְרָא־שְׁמִ֣י , possible serving to calling attention to covenant (v10) made between God and Solomon concerning the Temple. While this psalm concerns the covenant, and thus election, made by the Name of God, the author sees the possibility of even the sinner repenting of his or her sins, although it is arguable that the confessor in verse 6 is one inside the community.
Psalm 10 – Among Hymns. Pertaining to Salomon
The Community has appealed to self-humiliation, accepting their punishment as a due reward, seen their Temple defiled, and their sovereignty gone. Now they are appealing to God’s covenant and the testimony therein (v4) that any wrath would be short lived, serving as a correcting measure. The entire Psalm is centered on the fourth verse, with it acting as a zenith of the song. It is worth noting that the phrase διαθήκης αἰωνίου (v4) is found also in Hebrews 13.20, a book heavily influenced by Deuterocanonical material. It ends with an expectation for the salvation of the Lord (v8).
[1] Dunn calls attention to the rhetorical parallels between Pss Sol 8-14, which lists the sins of the people, and Psalm 50.16-21, Philo Conf 163, TLevi 14.4-8 and CD 6.16-17 which is similarly found in Romans 2.17-24). Dunn, 167
[2] Nickelsburg, 240
[3] Chris VanLandingham, Judgment & Justification In Early Judaism And The Apostle Paul, Peabody: Hendrickson Press 2006, 246, 252.
[4] 9.5 NETS
[5] A similar parallel is found in Matthew 6.19-20
Is Restoration Limited?
Posted by Joel in Debate/Discussion on February 26, 2010
Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important. (Gal 6:1-3 NLT)
This excludes apostasy. Why? Because apostasy is a knowledgeable turning and rejecting of God once you have met other qualifications. This is talking about being overcome by a sin. The person has grown weak, and somehow fell into sin.
While you are pondering if there is a sin that cannot be restored, ask yourself where you want these people who are in need of restoration. Do you want them excluded from the community? Ridiculed for their sins?
Paul says that he turned some away and out of the congregation not based on sin, but based on doctrinal errors which were disrupting the congregation. Here, he writes about someone needing to be restored.
For those of us who believe that lying is a sin, and we catch someone? Or for those of us who believe that cohabitation? Smoking? Drugs? Alcohol? Homosexuality? Arrogance?
Is restoration limited?
Does God Still Love the Wayward Christian?
Posted by Joel in Devotional on August 3, 2009
This post in response to a comment on another post. It is directed towards me as anyone, but I hope someone can get something out of it.
I am convinced that only the sin of apostasy – when we abandon and rebel against Christ – can separate us from Christ.
But what if we become wayward in our walk with God – what if we stumble and fall and begin to drift away? What if we are abandoned by the ministry, by the congregation, by others?
More than a few years ago now, I had recently been unceremoniously dumped by my fiancee. It tore me apart. Deeply. Wounded. I became angry with God, distrustful, separated from the holiness in God – by my hand – and gave up trying to serve God. I sought someone who was opposite of anyone that I had dated before. So, I found her. Well, long story short, we found ourselves pregnant – before marriage. In love, no less.
A Call to Anguish
Posted by Joel in Devotional on July 10, 2009
What a powerful message – and one true across the theological bounds.
The Church that I know is one content with cover-ups, with hiding the Gospel, with changing only light bulbs. Where are the laborer’s in the fields? Where is the weeping for lost loved ones, friends, and the ill? What great impact have w had? If the community around you has nothing good to say about – not because of the Gospel, but because of you, it’s time to either quit or change direction.
It’s time to be about our Father’s business.
His point about Nehemiah is one which connects with me – as the Book of Nehemiah is a singular event in the Old Testament. Nehemiah didn’t just build a wall, but he stood for the people and the City fo God. He was a pastor with a heart to God and the things of God.
If only…
After scandal, pastor finds solace in preaching gay inclusion
Posted by Joel in False Prophets on March 11, 2009
Not that the truth was being preached before, but now, because of the ‘scandal,’ everything is simply okay. Preaching inclusion is easier than preaching repentance. Repentance requires confession, even from the preacher, that he or she too was at one time a sinner, and encouraging the troubled heart to reach out to the same God that had saved the preacher.
As a series of scandals stripped away everything Rev. D.E. Paulk had — his church, his financial resources, even his father — he found the courage to speak his truth.
“I don’t know how to say this, the scandal didn’t make me inclusive, it took away my fear,” Paulk says. “Before that I was saying that I’ll preach about gay inclusion and just sort of mention it here or there. When you lose everything, you have nothing to lose. I looked at my wife one day and said all I have left is me, and what God is speaking to me.”
Tertullian, On Modesty XII – Verdict of the Apostles
Posted by Joel in Church Fathers, Tertullian on January 15, 2009
Reading Tertullian’s On Modesty as been beneficial to me – as a mental and a spiritual exercise. I have come to see Tertullian – in this instance – as a man deeply troubled by the lack of morality and holiness inside the church that he dearly loved. His antagonistic words were meant to counter the steep slide into moral depravity which he saw overtaking the church. Perhaps he was offensive and brutish, his rigorism showing, but surely he did it out of love for the Church and out of a plea for holy living.
Tertullian, On Modesty XI – The Author Comes to Consider Definite Acts of the Lord
Posted by Joel in Church Fathers, Tertullian on January 2, 2009
Continuing our reading of Tertullian, we find him finishing his argument on parables with the idea that it is up to God alone to forgive, regardless of interpretation; however, he points out that Christ never forgave a Christian.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tertullian, On Modesty X – Repentance More Competent to Heathens than to Christians.
Posted by Joel in Church Fathers, Tertullian on January 1, 2009
Continuing our reading of Tertullian, we find the author once again circumnavigating his opponents.
