Church of the Redeemer

Small Group Guide
The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany
January 29, 2012

Collect of the Day:
Almighty and everlasting God, you govern all things both in heaven and on earth: Mercifully hear the supplications of your people, and in our time grant us your peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Readings:
Deuteronomy 18:15-20
Psalm 111
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Mark 1:21-28

Discussion Questions:
Feel free to use some or all of these questions in your cell group, Bible study, or with your family.  Some questions will need to be reworded or omitted for smaller children.

1) What do you think about all those passages in the Bible where Jesus casts out demons?  Do you think demons were real, are they real?  Have you ever encountered one?  

2) Where does evil come from?  Have you ever encountered a truly evil person?  

3) What can you do about the evil around you?  What can you do about the evil in your own heart and mind?

Dear Church of the Redeemer,

Greetings to you.  I hope this letter finds you well.  

As you are probably aware, this has been a tumultuous time in the Anglican world.  I have written three other updates which I hope you have already read.  You can find them on our website.  My first letter is here: http://tinyurl.com/7gb86aq  My second letter is here: http://tinyurl.com/7kmcdfr  My third  letter is here http://tinyurl.com/7m3ru2p

Since I last wrote to you, I have been to the annual Anglican Mission (AMiA) Winter Conference.  I was joined by our other pastors and three of our elders.  The highlight of the event was Jenna Martin’s ordination to the deaconate!  I don’t always enjoy the programs at these conferences, but I always enjoy seeing my fellow clergypersons from both North America and Africa.  This year many of these friends were absent.  

It was a pleasure to be with the clergy leaders of all the AMiA churches in our “Mid-South Network” (Middle and Eastern Tennessee).  We had many good discussions.   I was especially grateful to hear from Bishop Todd Hunter and Canon Ellis Brust.  Bishop Todd was our bishop until his resignation from Rwanda, and I would love for him to be our bishop again in the near future.  The best thing I experienced in that hotel was the discussion which took place between Bishop Todd and the Tennessee clergy.

Bishop Todd's humility and non-defensiveness were remarkable.  When I asked him why he had resigned from Rwanda, he answered me that he had made a mistake.  He did not know that his resignation would affect his relationship with our church.  He expected that the bishops were simply going to move into another Anglican Province.  He reminded us that he has only been an Anglican for a couple of years.  He did not fully grasp the enormity of this move.  He said these same things to the entire conference.  

Bishop T.J. Johnston, our previous bishop, was also a humble and sensitive presence.  He apologized to all of us, not for what he had done but for the pain that had been caused.  He is leading an effort to negotiate with the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA).  It is possible that these negotiations will lead to the AMiA coming under the oversight of ACNA.  This is what I would most like to see happen.  

Unfortunately, much of what was said by the leadership of the AMiA was not as helpful.  From my personal perspective, I heard too much arrogance, fact spinning, and finger pointing.  I would prefer not to give a laundry list of specific examples, as this is not beneficial to my soul.  They explained to us that they intend to begin a “missionary society” that will possibly not be part of an Anglican Province.  They did not tell us what a missionary society was, or why it should exist.    At least one of the bishops questioned whether it was even necessary for the organization to remain Anglican at all.

Our Elders and Pastors have had serious conversations about the situation. We are not satisfied with the present circumstances.  We don't believe that the AMiA has adequately addressed important questions. Redeemer is completely committed to remaining Anglican, and attached to an Anglican Province (or at least an emerging Province like the ACNA).  

All that being said, we are still hopeful that the AMiA will find a satisfactory a resolution. We don't see the value in making any hasty decisions. While we are not currently governed by any AMiA bishop, we intend to retain our membership in the AMiA for now. However, we are also paying close attention to the guidance of our present bishop, Archbishop Rwaje and the bishops who did not leave Rwanda.  Furthermore, we are in contact with bishops of the ACNA.  

At this time we have not been officially offered an alternative structure.  Some new structures are emerging, but nothing is in place quite yet.  I expect that at some point Redeemer will be asked to make some important decisions regarding how we will relate to the wider Anglican Communion.  At that time, I will make sure to give you whatever information I have.   

I am still a priest of the Anglican Province of Rwanda.  Danny Bryant is a deacon of Rwanda, and Jenna Martin is actually a deacon of the Anglican Church of Congo.  Church of the Redeemer is part of the world-wide Anglican Communion by virtue of these connections.  Archbishop Rwaje is our bishop.  

Regardless of how we are connected to the Anglican Communion a year from now, I am certain that Redeemer will remain what it is today, a church that lives and proclaims Christ’s redeeming love.  Our vision, our values, and our direction have not changed.  I do not believe that this current mess was God’s best for his people.  I believe it came from the sinfulness of men, though what those sins were and who committed them are not mine to know or judge.  I do know that the Lord is still in the redemption business.  I believe he will take this messy situation and bring forth something beautiful.  I continue to hope that he will bring forth a more fully unified Anglican Church in this nation.  

I call upon each of you to pray.  Let’s kneel together in this season.  Please pray for your pastors and elders.  Please pray for the leaders of the AMiA, the ACNA, the Province of Rwanda, and all those affected by this situation.  Pray that all of us would find resolution soon.  Pray that the enemy of our souls would find no foothold.  Pray that no further dishonor would come to the Name of Christ.  

As I said in my previous letter, if you feel that you would like to discuss this matter further, please feel free to contact me and set up a meeting.  There is a great deal of opinion and “information” on the internet.  Feel free to explore that as much or as little as you like.  I will do my very best to keep you informed as things develop.  

May the Lord grant to us His peace, the peace that the world can’t give. The peace that we will never find in good circumstances, in happy climates, or in godly leaders.  The peace that comes from Him alone.  

My love and prayers are with you all,


The Reverend Thomas McKenzie
Pastor, Church of the Redeemer

Small Group Guide

The Feast of the Holy Name, and the 8th Day of Christmas

January 1, 2012

Collect of the Day:

Eternal Father, you gave to your incarnate Son the holy name of Jesus to be the sign of our salvation: Plant in every heart, we pray, the love of him who is the Savior of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

Readings

Numbers 6:22-27

Psalm 8


Galatians 4:4-7


Luke 2:15-21

Discussion Questions

Feel free to use some or all of these questions in your cell group, Bible study, or with your family.  Some questions will need to be reworded or omitted for smaller children.

1) We’ve all known some people with some odd names (one of my sister’s friends was named Misty Harbor).  What are some odd names that you’ve known?

2) What is something or someone that you have named (a person, a company, a boat, whatever)?  Why did you give that name?

3) What does the name of Jesus mean to you?  Has your feelings about that name changed over the years?

4) When you think of yourself as adopted and renamed by God, what do you think God names you?

 

 

Let’s face it, today is the best part of this whole Christmas thing.  Christmas Eve is way better than Christmas Day.  Anticipation is almost always better than the thing anticipated.  Most of the time, the wrapped present under the tree is far superior to the unwrapped thing we stuff in a drawer within a few days.

A wrapped present is a symbol of hope.  An unwrapped present is an object that was manufactured at a factory in China.  A wrapped present is mystery, an unwrapped present is utility.  A wrapped present is joy while an unwrapped present is a mere commodity.  When I look at those gifts shrouded in colorful paper and bows, I feel that I am catching a glimpse of heaven.  Nothing you buy at the mall will ever compare with heaven; the gift you receive will never measure up to the hope that came before.

Now imagine if the gift really were better than the expectation.  That would be miraculous.  You think you are in for another pair of socks but there is that <insert favorite toy here> you really wanted.  Heaven is like that.  It is something we hope for, but it far surpasses the hope we have.  In his Revelation St. John uses all kinds of images for heaven.  He talks about gates made from pearl and streets paved with gold.  The reality will be even greater.  I am confident that the anticipation of the expectant Church will be far surpassed by the joy that is coming to her.

When Christ came as a baby, the angels sang his praises to a limited number of shepherds.  When Christ returns, everything in heaven and on earth will sing his praise.  No one will need to point the way to him, no one will need to seek him out.  No one will miss that wonderful event, as most of the world missed his birth.  Upon his return He will be as obvious as the Sun on a cloudless day, as loud as thunder that has come too close.

How we will greet Christ depends in part on how we live in the ongoing Advent season of our daily lives. If we are not watching, not waiting, then I expect we are in for a rude awakening.  If we are waiting with fear, trying to make sure we are doing enough to earn his favor, I expect we will be in for disappointment as we see the last being made first.  If we are waiting with hope, as a child looking on an unwrapped Christmas present, I believe that the joy we find will far exceed our expectations.

Today is Christmas Eve.  This Advent is nearly over.  The great Advent of our lives continues on, each and every day until all days finally end.  Let’s welcome Christmas Day with joy this year.  Let’s receive it as a beautiful gift.  But let’s also keep our eyes open, for that final Gift will come when we least expect Him.

 

Joseph and Mary came into a crowded Bethlehem.  Men and women were there from all over the Jewish world.  These crowds had come to register for the Roman census.  The commonly told story says that, because of the numbers of people in town, there was no room for the holy family in the local hotels.  Joseph went from door to door, searching valiantly for a place for his betrothed to give birth.  Fortunately, a kindly innkeeper told them they could sleep with his animals. So he either placed them in a barn or a cave, depending on the version of the story.  It is truly a lovely story, but there is a small problem.  It isn’t exactly found in the Bible. 

Luke’s Gospel tells us that “While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guestroom available for them.” (Luke 2:6,7 TNIV)  Many translations say “there was no room in the inn.”  Those versions of the Bible are reading later Christmas stories into the text. 

In Greek, the language of the New Testament, there is a perfectly good word for “inn.”  That word is not found in this story.  Rather, the writer says there was no “living space” available for them.”  This phrase, “living space” refers to a room designated for humans in a home.  In this culture, people kept both animals and people in the same house. After all, animals were wealth.  To keep them out in a barn or a cave would have been both impractical and foolish, especially in a city.  People had a room or two in their homes for their families as well as a room for the animals.  Often this room was a step or two down from the rest of the dwelling.

Here is one possible scenario for how they ended up in the animals’ room.  Joseph brings his young, pregnant fiancé to suburban Bethlehem.  He is the distant relative from out in the sticks who has come into the “big city.”  Somehow his live-in girlfriend has become pregnant.  No one knows who the baby’s father is, though these two claim it is God.  Joseph is poor, has a funny accent, and lives in an area known for mixed races and pagan worship. His family in Bethlehem share little more than his blood. They are of a higher and more pure class than he is. They don’t want to have anything to do with Joseph and his “lady.” 

However, because of their honor they can’t let him sleep in the street. That just wouldn’t do, not in a culture so invested in hospitality. At the same time, they can’t have these people in their house.  What to do?  They put the country cousin and his girlfriend with the animals.  Yes, they offered hospitality.  But they also made sure that Joseph and Mary knew their place.  Joseph is in no position to refuse.

This story won’t be shown in our church Christmas pageant. No one sings songs about Joseph’s family rejecting him.  Of course, this is just one possibility.  Perhaps the family house was just so crowded that there was literally nowhere else but with the animals.  No one knows, and Luke does not bother to make things clear.  

This might serve as a reminder that Christ was always an outsider.  Though Son of God and King of the Universe, he was born to a lowly family in a lowly place.  As John’s Gospel says “he came to that which was his own, but his own people did not receive him.”  He was such an outcast that he wasn’t even born in a normal room. He was birthed among animals and laid in a feeding trough. 

We may sometimes feel cast out.  Perhaps you are the black sheep of your family.  You feel rejected, like they would rather have you sleep in the garage.  Perhaps you are the one looking down your nose at your relatives.  You just can't bare the thought of those people coming into your home.  In any case, it is important to remember that the One we are expecting comes to us through the lowest of places. He knows our suffering, and he commands us to receive the lowly in his Name.

Blessed is He

From Fr. Thomas

We know very little about Mary’s fiancé. He was quite possibly a woodworker. It is likely he is around 20 years old when we first meet him in Matthew’s Gospel.  At this juncture in the story, Mary had become pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.  She had immediately left town for three months. Now she has returned to Nazareth and it is obvious that she is going to have a baby. A close reading of the Bible reveals that it is possible Mary didn’t tell Joseph that she was pregnant or how it happened. He may have found out the same way everyone else had (by looking at her).

Regardless of how he found out, Joseph showed remarkable compassion and restraint. In those days an engagement was a legal contract. Joseph could have publicly humiliated Mary and her family. Some scholars say that he could have sued Mary’s father for allowing the girl to be “damaged.” However, the New Testament tells us “because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.” (Matthew 1:19)

It was then that Joseph had his own conversation with an angel. The first chapter of Matthew’s gospel tells us about a dream he had in which God revealed that Mary’s pregnancy was from the Holy Spirit. The Bible then says that Joseph took Mary home with him, but they did not have sex until after she had given birth. (Matthew 1:24-25)

Joseph and Mary moved in together while she was pregnant. At that moment they were technically married according to custom. No ceremony is mentioned, just the fact of cohabitation. The other villagers assumed that the baby was his, or at least he would raise it has his own. In their eyes Joseph was at best immoral, at worst a fool.

Entitlement is the belief that you deserve things to go your way. God or the Universe or the Church or the Nation owe you something. When you don’t get what you want, you are angry and bitter. I believe entitlement is one of the most disastrous of spiritual sicknesses.

Joseph did not suffer from entitlement. When it seemed Mary had broken her contract, he decided to be merciful. When God told him he would have to raise a son who was not his, he gladly took Mary and the boy into his home. When Joseph is forced to go to Bethlehem, and then flee to Egypt, he moves forward in God’s plan with no recorded complaint. He is the model of a man who is not getting what he wants or what he ‘deserves,’ and yet is faithful to the Lord and to his family.

May God give us the grace to lay down our entitlements, like Joseph does. May God give that grace to all his Church in this Advent season.

Small Group Guide

4th Sunday in Advent

December 18, 2011

Collect of the Day:

Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Readings:

2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16

Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26

Romans 16: 25-27

Luke 1: 26-38

Discussion Questions:

Feel free to use some or all of these questions in your cell group, Bible study, or with your family.  Some questions will need to be reworded or omitted for smaller children.

1) In the reading from Luke, we see a beautiful picture of obedience.  When have you had to obey someone else in your life?  When has someone else had to obey you?  Would you prefer to obey or be obeyed?  

2) What lesson can we learn from Gabriel, a great and powerful being who nonetheless serves God and blesses Mary?

3) What lesson can we learn from Mary, who is troubled and has at least one question, but still accepts Gabriel’s message?

4) What is Gabriel’s message to Mary?  What ramification does that message have for the world today?  For you today?

Blessed is She
Luke 1:26-38
from Fr. Thomas

The woman who would be called the Mother of God lived in a small town called Nazareth.  Nazareth was part of an unimportant district known to the Romans simply as “the Circuit,” a word that comes to us as “Galilee.”  I grew up in the West Texas Panhandle, also an unimportant district with lots of tiny towns.  Some of these only have one traffic light or one restaurant (often a Dairy Queen).  These towns are little more than wide spots in the road where a few shops and houses have been built near each other. We call them “one horse towns.”  That’s what Nazareth was--a one horse town, a rest stop between other places.  A tiny insignificant place inside a larger insignificant place. 

We know that Mary was unmarried and a virgin. Scholars agree that she was around the age of 14.  It is most likely that her engagement with Joseph was arranged by her parents.  There would have been a combination of political, social, and economic reasons why he was chosen above other possible suitors.  In their culture, Mary would be given over to Joseph along with some of her father’s possessions (a dowry) and she would become his wife. Being a wife was a great deal like being a piece of property.  Mary would be expected to have children, care for her family, and engage in the life of the village as she had been trained and taught since childhood.  There was no reason for Mary to believe her life would be any different from all the other women she saw around her and knew so well. 

Mary’s life took an unexpected turn when an Angel came to her. We don’t know where this encounter happened, what time of day or night.  We have no description of Gabriel or of Mary.  We do know that this visit changed everything. 

In just a few sentences in the Book of Luke, Mary reveals her distress, her fear, her astonishment, and her curiosity.  She is a person just like us.  When an angel from God tells her that she will give birth to a king who will reign forever, she focuses not on the brilliant future but the practical reality staring her in the face.  She hasn’t had relations with a man.  Every person who lives around animals (like girls in ancient small towns) knows exactly where babies come from.   When the angel tells Mary that this will be the work of the Holy Spirit, Mary immediately gives herself over the God. She accepts that she will become pregnant without sex, and that this is the divine will.

I went to school in a small, religious town. In my high school we had a couple of girls who got pregnant and carried the baby to term.  I saw how those girls suffered--the stares, the gossip, and the abandonment they must have experienced from former friends.  As their pregnancies progressed, our public school wouldn’t even let them come to class. Instead, they received “tutoring” in their homes.  I don’t believe any of these girls graduated.

Consider Mary’s situation.  She lived in a society that was much more sexually conservative than ours.  She lived in a tiny, close knit community.  In our society we have credit scores and reputations and social standing acquired through education or wealth.  These things tell other people who we are and what we are worth.  In Mary’s society, they had “honor.”  By being unmarried and pregnant, Mary had dishonored herself, her father, her family, and Joseph.  She was in danger of losing everything.  By becoming pregnant outside of her relationship with Joseph, there was a very real possibility that Mary would be driven out of her father’s house and left to wander.  She could possibly end up in slavery or prostitution or both. 

Mary accepted the angel’s message and took an enormous risk.  She did this for her people and for us as well.  She did it through the work of God’s grace.  This was not her strength alone.  Gabriel tells her that she has received grace (favor), and he’s right.  Nonetheless, she cooperated in God’s work.  As Advent begins to draw to a close and Christmas comes ever closer, I give thanks to God for the gift of Christ.  I also give him thanks for the grace he gave that little Palestinian girl.  She inspires me today to trust the Lord and let him take care of the outcomes. 

A Christmas Carol

from Fr. Thomas McKenzie

A couple of years ago, Disney released “A Christmas Carol," an animated film with Jim Carrey.  It is a strange movie in some ways.  It was meant to be seen in 3-D, and a great deal of it is basically a roller coaster ride.  That being said, the script is remarkably devoted to Charles Dickens’s original novella.

The point of Dicken's original story came loud and clear through this secular film: Christians are supposed to care for the poor.  That is what Dickens was trying to convey, and the film pulls no punches.  While I would argue that the book suffers from a hefty dose of works-based salvation, it certainly reminds me of God's concern for those in need. 

Advent is a season in which the Church looks ahead to the great Day of Judgment.  On that Day, you and I will not be saved or damned because of how we treat the poor.  Salvation is in Christ alone by grace alone through faith alone.  But the Lord will judge our works, including the way we treat those in need.  We will be answerable for our actions.

In this season of Advent it is important to spend some of our time, energy, and money on those who are less fortunate.  Last week we suggested giving to or working at the Family Affair Christmas Store, and I still recommend that.  Another way that I recommend is through World Vision’s Christmas Catalog.  This catalog, available on-line, allows you to select gifts that will be given to the poor in the name of another person.  So instead of buying a sweater for your sister, you could give a goat to a family in Africa.  You could provide a month of education to an orphan, or a fish pond for a village, or clothing for the homeless, or a soccer ball for children in Latin America.  World Vision will then send your recipient a card, or you can print one off and send it yourself.  You can visit the Christmas Catalog by going to WorldVision.org.

Gift giving is part of the tradition of Christmas; I am not suggesting otherwise.  I am suggesting that perhaps some of the gifts we give this year could be a blessing to both the recipient and to a person in need.  I especially think of those people who don’t really need anything else, the man or woman “who has it all.”  Maybe this would be a good time of the year to feed the hungry and clothe the naked in their name, and in the Name of Jesus.