Sacraments Part 2

These rites, baptism and Eucharist, are not just "religious things" that
Christian people do. They are essential rituals of our politics. Through
them we learn who we are. Instead of being motives or causes for
effective social work on the part of Christian people, these liturgies are
our effective social work. For if the Church is rather than has a
social ethic, these actions are our most important social witness. It is
in baptism and the Eucharist that we see most clearly the marks of God's
Kingdom in the world. They are our standard, as we try to bring every aspect
of our lives under their sway. - Stanely Haurwas

Sacraments Part 1

Taken from Peter Leithart's book Against Christianity (Cannon Press, 2003):

This has become one of my favorite citations: when Aquinas considered the "necessity" of the sacraments, his answer cited Augustine's dictum (Against Faustus 19.11) that no religious body or group can exist without signs and symbols. Signs and rites are necessary because Church is necessary, and the Church is necessary because salvation is a restoration of man not just in his individuality but in his social relations. The new creation must take a social form, and since there is no social interaction, common goals and programs, or harmonization of disparate melodies without the use of signs and symbols, common languages, common allegiances, and common participation in rites and ceremonies, so there can be no Church without sacraments. Since there can be no salvation without the Church, since indeed, the Church is salvation, there is no salvation without the sacraments.

City of Wine

Yahweh is disappointed that His vineyard produces no good grapes. He wants wine, but doesn’t get any.

The fruit he looks for is “justice and righteousness.” Hence: Justice is wine.

Instead of the wine of justice, Yahweh finds blood.

So comes Jesus: He sheds His blood in the city of blood, the city of injustice that kills the prophets. He sheds His blood, which becomes wine, so that Jerusalem, the city of blood, might become a vineyard, a city of justice, a city of wine.- Peter Leithart

Old St Nick

Today is St Nicholas day, December 6. Saint Nicholas is remembered and revered among Catholic and Orthodox Christians, he is also honored by various Anglican and Lutheran churches. St Nicholas was born 270 A.D. in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). He lived in Myra in the county of Lycia where he was a bishop. He was a part of the council of Nicaea, was persecuted under the Roman emperor Diocletion and died on December 6, AD 343.

Through the centuries many stories and legends have been told of St. Nicholas' life and deeds. These accounts help us understand his extraordinary character and why he is so beloved and revered as protector and helper of those in need.

One story tells of a poor man with three daughters. In those days a young woman's father had to offer prospective husbands something of value—a dowry. The larger the dowry, the better the chance that a young woman would find a good husband. Without a dowry, a woman was unlikely to marry. This poor man's daughters, without dowries, were therefore destined to be sold into slavery. Mysteriously, on three different occasions, a bag of gold appeared in their home-providing the needed dowries. The bags of gold, tossed through an open window, are said to have landed in stockings or shoes left before the fire to dry. This led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas. Sometimes the story is told with gold balls instead of bags of gold. That is why three gold balls, sometimes represented as oranges, are one of the symbols for St. Nicholas. And so St. Nicholas is a gift-giver.

We as a family look to celebrate St. Nicholas day by giving to someone that has a need. We do this in remembrance of a great saint who was following in the example of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who gave everything so that we might have life.

Happy Saint Nicholas day!

LIGHTS

Our lighted candles are a sign of the divine glory of the one who comes to dispel the dark shadows of evil and to make the whole universe radiant with brightness of his eternal light. Our candles also show how bright our souls should be when we go to meet Christ. (Sophronius, seventh century

Calvin on Weekly Communion

Concerning the Fourth Lateral Council’s decision that the faithful should partake of the Lord’s Supper once a year,Kim Riddlebarger summarizes Calvin's position thusly:

John Calvin’s desire to see the Reformed churches celebrate the Lord’s Supper frequently is well known. Calvin spoke of the decision of the Fourth Lateran Council to celebrate the Supper annually as “a veritable invention of the devil.” Calvin says “it should have been done far differently: the Lord’s Table should have been spread at least once a week for the assembly of Christians, and the promises declared in it should feed us spiritually.”