Christianity: July 2014

Saturday, July 26, 2014

Psalm 151, A Contemplation

We must remember this Psalm when we are faced with any impossible and insurmountable adversity as all The Church on earth today is faced with that Goliath, that Philistine, sometimes called post-modernism.

When enemies inside and outside The Church assail us, let us remember David, who was neither handsome nor tall; who could not win the day by the guile of the beautiful, nor by the strength of the mighty; but in the fact of his frailty, as little more than a small boy, he won the day by confidence in the leadership and strength of the Living God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Therefore, let us follow Jesus, even unto death.

Psalm 151:1-7

This Psalm is autobiographical to David and outside the number.

I was the smallest of my brothers, the youngest in my father’s house; I tended my father’s sheep. My hands made a musical instrument; my fingers tuned my psalterion.

Who will report [this] to my LORD? The LORD Himself; He hears [my prayers and my psalms]. It is He, Who sent His messenger, took me from my father’s sheep, and Christened me with His Chrismating oil.

My brothers are handsome and tall, but the LORD was not pleased with them.
I went out to meet the Philistine; he cursed me by his idols; but I drew his own sword; beheaded him, and took away shame from Israel’s children.

http://unsettledchristianity.com/2009/11/psalm-151-a-new-translation/

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

July 22, 2014 Tuesday Talk, Catholicity and Orthodoxy

... in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen. Glory to You, our God, Glory to You.

O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things, Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it is now, was in the beginning, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

All-holy Trinity, have mercy on us. Lord, cleanse us from our sins. Master, pardon our iniquities. Holy One, visit us and heal our infirmities for Your Name’s sake. Lord have mercy (three times).

July 22, 2014 Tuesday Talk, Catholicity and Orthodoxy

The Revelation

Revelation 4:1-11

After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven. The first voice I heard was like a trumpet talking with me; who said, “Come up here, and I will show thee things which must come afterward.” Immediately I was in the spirit. Behold, a throne was set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. He looked like a jasper and a sardius stone. There was a rainbow around His throne, in sight like an emerald.

Around the throne were twenty-four thrones: and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had crowns of gold on their heads.

Out of the throne proceeded lightning and thunder and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

Before the throne there was a sea of glass like crystal. In the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. The first beast was like a lion. The second beast like a calf. The third beast had a face like a man. The fourth beast was like a flying eagle. Each of the four beasts had six wings around him, and they were full of eyes within, and they rest not day and night, saying,

“Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Pantokrator, Who is, Who was, and Who is coming.”

These beasts give glory and honor and thanks to Him, Who sits on the throne, Who lives for ever and ever. The twenty-four elders fall down before Him, Who sits on the throne, and worship Him, Who lives for ever and ever, casting their crowns before the throne, saying,

“You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for You have created all things, and for Your pleasure they are and were created.”

The Talk

Who decides, what is Catholic? The Holy Ghost decides! Who decides, what is Orthodox? The Holy Ghost decides! Who decides, which baptisms, communions, and other sacraments lack or have fullness or validity? The Holy Ghost decides![1] Peter and Paul do not decide. Popes and Councils do not decide. Mere men and women do not decide. Peter and Paul, every pope and council, and all individual men and women are at most witnesses of the acts of God. Every council and decision is subject to the Highest Court of God, and will be judged by that Supreme Court: for even Peter himself would claim nothing for himself, other than he was one witness among many others. Are we greater than Peter? Are we greater than the Apostles? Are we greater than the Holy Ghost? Μὴ γένοιτο, may it never be!^{^[2]}

I find then, this very curious fact that we ever dare to discuss, who is and is not Catholic and Orthodox, and we dare to call other communions and people Apostate, Heretic, or Heterodox and do not confine ourselves to condemning specific statements. Oh yes, the undivided Church addressed such people and schisms, but it has been a long time since we have had an undivided Church.

I am a firm believer in the importance of guarding sound doctrine, as well as Apostolic Succession. But Who is the ultimate decider in such matters? Is it not the Holy Ghost?[3] Or is an illegitimate child any less a child in the eyes of God? Or are persons who have lost their baptismal certificates, suddenly unbaptized? Is the confession of the heart invalidated by men, or is the priest at most a witness? Is a marriage validated by a piece of paper or by rings, in the eyes of God? Is a lover and teacher of the Bible any less a lover and teacher of the Bible simply because he has no Apostolic Succession? Of course not. The Holy Ghost is the real decider of Apostolic Succession. Should I, given the opportunity, buy up Apostolic Succession with my very soul? Absolutely! But such a purchase is nothing more than a testimony and a witness of what the Holy Ghost has already done.

We seem to have forgotten Who leads and rules The Church in this age. We seem to have forgotten that the LORD Jesus Christ Himself has prayed to the Father to send us the Holy Ghost. We seem to have forgotten that ever since the Day of Pentecost, since the heavenly enthronement of Jesus Christ, since the birth of The Church in 33 AD; we seem to have forgotten, Who leads, Who empowers, Who is in charge. It is the Holy Ghost Who leads, Who empowers, and Who is in charge.

How dare we then, lift our voices to judge that which we are no longer fit to judge?

It is ethically, intellectually, morally, and rationally dishonest to adduce authorities who spoke and wrote prior to the act of schism. It is the height of folly to quote Saints Ignatius of Antioch (35-107), Basil the Great (329-379), John Chrysostom (347-407), Maximus the Confessor (580-662), or John of Damascus (675-749) in evidence and support of the Great Schism and subsequent events. If the terms Roman Catholic or Protestant were used during their lifetimes, they would have no idea of their meaning; and would have thought the users of such terms as more than strange. At most we may bring such witnesses, as witnesses of principle alone: for they were most certainly not witnesses of the events of 1054 and beyond. Even here we must use caution, lest we twist their meaning, or put words in their mouths. Such words and meanings will surely be judged by the LORD of All, and it would be very embarrassing, at the very least, to have any of these great Fathers of The Church stand up and refute our claims about what they said. What these Fathers said and wrote is true. How they are being quoted is questionable. This is dishonest to call them as witnesses of acts and works, which they neither heard nor saw, while they were yet alive on this earth, and to which they certainly speak in heaven, when they cry out with the angels, “Holy! Holy! Holy!”

It is equally dishonest to adduce as authorities and witnesses great Ecumenical Councils, such as Chalcedon[4] (451), Nicaea II[5] (787): for these and other Ecumenical Councils were equally ignorant of the terms Roman Catholic and Protestant. The Apostolic Canons (ca 692) do not have the weight of Ecumenical Council. The Church was not divided in the days of Chalcedon or Nicaea II. The realities and judgments concerning Monophysites and Monothelites have little bearing on 1054, nor was The Church really divided at that time.

This is not to say that 1054 is trivial or unimportant; it is extremely important. However, east and west, Greeks and Latins did not cease to co-commune in 1054. Even the Fourth Crusade (1202-1204) was insufficient to produce such a rift: for afterward there is evidence that Orthodox priests, who may only commune once a day, serving under Roman rule, served communion to their Orthodox congregations; then in a separate but adjacent room, proceeded to serve their Latin rulers from the same table. Not even the Council of Constance (1414-1418) led to such action: for even today Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants all lay claim to Hus. It is not until Basel-Ferrara-Florence (1431-1449) in the aftermath of Conciliarism’s failure that this violent separation took place.

Florence was not marked by the apostasia (leaving) of the Latins; it was the Greeks who left in anger and betrayal. Was that anger justified? Certainly, at least somewhat. Nor should the Orthodox again risk union with the Latins until such legislative rules are set in place to prevent a repetition of such betrayal. The ensuing actions among the Greeks reveal political, rather than theological moves to prevent infiltration by Latin adversaries. Hence, the vacating of Latin baptisms serves a reasonable political necessity; on the other hand it is ludicrous to suppose that the gift of the Holy Ghost in baptism¹ is now vacated by the act of man. Equally ludicrous is the supposition that either side of Florence, acting in division, and defiance of the Holy Ghost, might possibly have His blessing. What man blesses, God condemns. Florence is little better than an exercise in Nicolaitanism.[6]

Further investigation of the fifteenth century reveals even more Nicolaitanism: brother lording over brother in the most tyrannical way; the crushing of the Conciliar movement, popes and anti-popes, the murder of Hus, the Hussite wars, and now Florence.

The building of a theological empire on the basis of political bitterness cannot be made to stand. Yes, many worth voices have spoken to this issue: Saints Nicodemus the Hagiorite (1749-1809), John of Kronstadt (1829-1908), Nectarios of Aegina (1846-1920), John Maximovitch (1896-1966), Justin Popovich (1894-1979), Philaret of New York (1903-1985), with Elder Paisios (1924-1994), not yet canonized), to name a few. Even so, the words written cannot be entirely correct, or correctly applied; and none of these blessed Fathers is sufficiently aged to speak to the fifteenth century, nor am I. The piling up of names and quotations does not correct a fundamental error of the nous. The same error cannot be repeated again and again, to be made into truth. A fundamentally political action cannot be made into a theological truth. The Holy Ghost is still God, and until the Second Coming of Christ, He rules The Church. He decides which ordinations stand and fall; which baptisms are empty or filled; which organizations are apostate or both Catholic and Orthodox. He brings everything under the feet of Jesus.

As far as the idea that Orthodoxy is undivided, this too is ridiculous. As we write, three churches vie for supremacy in Ukraine. In the United States, one Orthodox? body considers all others as gone astray. Many others wish to embrace the west, while still others reject that idea entirely, or else this discussion would not be taking place. Need we multiply examples? Orthodoxy is severely divided.

Be that as it may, many Orthodox consider themselves closer to Monophysites, than to anything in the west. This in spite of the fact that many in the west are sincerely Chalcedonian;[7] while nearly all are sincerely Nicaean, and many would be happy to expunge the filioque clause, to bring peace and unity to The Church. Is Sanctity possible outside of Orthodoxy? Certainly!

The Holy Ghost decides. Jesus reigns. The Father judges.

[8]

[1] Luke 11:13

[2] Psalm 119:126; Acts 2:32; Hebrews 12:18-29; Revelation 4:1-11

[3] 1 Corinthians 12:11

[4] The Fourth Ecumenical Council

[5] The Seventh Ecumenical Council

[6] Revelation 2:15

[7] For example Rousas John Rushdoony, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rousas_ Rushdoony and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalcedon_Foundation.

[8] If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations, please repost, share, or use any of them as you wish. No rights are reserved. They are designed and intended for your free participation. They were freely received, and are freely given. No other permission is required for their use.

Monday, July 21, 2014

July 20, 2014 Sunday Sermon, Cosmic Events

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it is now, was in the beginning, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

All-holy Trinity, have mercy on us. Lord, cleanse us from our sins. Master, pardon our iniquities. Holy One, visit us and heal our infirmities for Your Name’s sake. Lord have mercy (three times).

July 20, 2014 Sunday Sermon, Cosmic Events

Old Testament Lesson

Exodus 20:1-17, The Decalogue: The Law

And God spoke all these words,

“I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

You shall not have other gods before Me.

You shall not make for yourself any graven image: any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

You shall not bow down yourself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me; and showing mercy to thousands of those who love Me and keep My commandments.

You shall not take the name of the Lord Your God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. You shall labor six days, and do all your work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God: You shall not do any work in it: not you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day: therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

The First Commandment with promise

Honor your father and your mother: that your days may be long on the land which the Lord your God gives you.

You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.

The Psalms

Psalm 119:12, 18

Blessed are You, O Lord: teach me Your Statutes.

Open my eyes, so that I may behold wondrous things out of Your Law.

Psalm 110:1-7

The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”

The Lord shall send the rod of your strength out of Zion: rule in the midst of your enemies. Your people shall be willing in the day of your power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: you have the dew of your youth.

The Lord has sworn, and will not repent, “You are a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.”

The Lord at your right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath. He shall judge among the heathen. He shall fill the places with the dead bodies. He shall wound the heads over many countries.

He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.

Psalm 114:1-8

When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language; Judah was his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion.

The sea saw it, and fled. Jordan was driven back. The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs. What ailed you, O you sea, that you fled? You Jordan, that you were driven back? You mountains, that you skipped like rams? You little hills, like lambs?

Tremble, you earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob; Who turned the rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain of waters.

The Revelation

Revelation 4:1-11

After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven. The first voice I heard was like a trumpet talking with me; who said, “Come up here, and I will show thee things which must come after.” Immediately I was in the spirit. Behold, a throne was set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. He looked like a jasper and a sardius stone. There was a rainbow around His throne, in sight like an emerald.

Around the throne were twenty-four thrones: and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had crowns of gold on their heads.

Out of the throne proceeded lightning and thunder and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

“Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Pantokrator, Who is, Who was, and Who is coming.”

“You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for You have created all things, and for Your pleasure they are and were created.”

The Homily

Cosmic Events. Let’s face it. We take the Bible for granted. All too often we read the Bible and it flows in one ear and out of the other ear, without pausing in between; sometimes we fail to read it at all. In large segments of The Church, the Old Testament is not read at all: no wonder we don’t understand the New Testament. The Old Testament in Greek was the Bible of the New Testament Church: it was their worship manual, their evangelism manual, their standard of preaching and teaching. From the Old Testament in Greek the New Testament Church and the New Testament Scripture grew together side by side. The Church could not exist without the Old Testament in Greek, the Septuagint. It is the disgrace of The Church that the Old Testament is not read.

Both the Old and New Testaments are filled with Cosmic Events. Media people love expressions like “an epic of biblical proportions.” I don’t think they really have any idea what that means. When Jesus was borne, Angels sang, the stars themselves were shaken, nothing in the Universe remained unmoved, even the rocks cried out, a handful of shepherds, and a few Persian dignitaries. Herod grumped about it and took lethal action. Nobody else noticed. Why didn’t anybody notice?

Yes, the Old and New Testaments are filled with Cosmic Events. Events of such proportions that they shook and still shake the Universe itself: Creation, Abraham’s would-be sacrifice of Isaac, the flight into and out of Egypt, the giving of the Law, the entry into the Holy Land, the coming of David and Solomon, the voices of the prophets, the destruction of Jerusalem; the Incarnation, birth, life, Crucifixion, Resurrection, Ascension, and Enthronement of Jesus Christ, God’s Own Son on the Day of Pentecost, in 33 AD.

Considering the magnitude and significance of such events, how can we be so inattentive? How can we persist in asserting our petty wills against His? How can we be so indifferent? Do we not realize what is going on all around us?[1]

[1] If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations, please repost, share, or use any of them as you wish. No rights are reserved. They are designed and intended for your free participation. They were freely received, and are freely given. No other permission is required for their use.

Friday, July 18, 2014

Revelation 2:12-17

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it is now, was in the beginning, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Revelation 2:12-17

To the angel of the church in Pergamum write, “These things says He[1] Who has the sharp two-edged Sword[2].”

“I know your works, and where you dwell, even where Satan’s throne is. You hold fast my name, and have not denied my faith, even in those days when Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwells. Nevertheless, I have a few things against you, because you harbor those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to throw a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.[3] You also harbor those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans[4], which thing I hate. Repent; or else I will come to you quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.”

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

“To him who overcomes, I will give to eat of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name is written, which no man knows except he who receives it.”[5]

[1] Jesus

[2] The Bible

[3] False prophets are inevitably put to the Sword; Numbers chapters 22 through 25; Numbers 31:8; Joshua 13:22; 24:9; Judges 11:25; Micah 6:5 (from https://www.biblegateway.com).

See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balak_(parsha)

[4] Νικάω (Nikáο) in Greek means to conquer. Jesus is the One Who conquers. Men commonly reject the gentle rule of Jesus, only to prefer the rule of tyrants: hence rule by domination and oppression. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolaism

[5] If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations, please repost, share, or use any of them as you wish. No rights are reserved. They are designed and intended for your free participation. They were freely received, and are freely given. No other permission is required for their use.

Thursday, July 17, 2014

A Prayer for Today

"Take away the love of sinning."

It is taken from an old hymn written by Charles Wesley (1707-1788), "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling"; we always sang it to the old Welsh tune, "Hyfrydol." I don't believe I've sung this hymn since I was a small boy: that is a great shame. Here is the whole hymn as we sang it.

"Love divine, all loves excelling, Joy of heaven to earth come down; Fix in us thy humble dwelling; All thy faithful mercies crown! Jesus, Thou art all compassion, Pure unbounded love Thou art; Visit us with Thy salvation; Enter every trembling heart.

"Breathe, O breathe Thy loving Spirit, Into every troubled breast! Let us all in Thee inherit; Let us find that [promised] rest. Take away [the love of] sinning; Alpha and Omega be; End of faith, as its Beginning, Set our hearts at liberty.

"Come, Almighty to deliver, Let us all Thy life receive; Suddenly return and never, Never more Thy temples leave. Thee we would be always blessing, Serve Thee as Thy hosts above, Pray and praise Thee without ceasing, Glory in Thy perfect love.

"Finish, then, Thy new creation; Pure and spotless let us be. Let us see Thy great salvation Perfectly restored in Thee; Changed from glory into glory, Till in heaven we take our place, Till we cast our crowns before Thee, Lost in wonder, love, and praise."

Monday, July 14, 2014

July 13, 2014 Sunday Sermon, Triangulation

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it is now, was in the beginning, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

All-holy Trinity, have mercy on us. Lord, cleanse us from our sins. Master, pardon our iniquities. Holy One, visit us and heal our infirmities for Your Name’s sake. Lord have mercy (three times).

July 13, 2014 Sunday Sermon, Triangulation

Old Testament Lesson

Exodus 20:1-17, The Decalogue: The Law

And God spoke all these words,

“I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

You shall not have other gods before Me.

You shall not make for yourself any graven image: any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

You shall not take the name of the Lord Your God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

The First Commandment with promise

Honor your father and your mother: that your days may be long on the land which the Lord your God gives you.

You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Psalm 119:12, 18

Blessed are You, O Lord: teach me Your Statutes.

Open my eyes, so that I may behold wondrous things out of Your Law.

The Gospel

Matthew 5:21-26

You have heard that it was commanded of them in ancient times, “You shalt not kill;” and whoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: but I say to you that whoever is angry[1] with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment; whoever says to his brother, Worthless[2], shall be in danger of the council; but whoever says, Wicked[3], shall be in danger of hell fire.

Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar[4], and there remember that your brother has anything against you; leave your gift at the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be cast into prison. Truly I say to you, “You shalt never be released, until you have paid the last penny[5].”

Matthew 18:7

Woe to the world because of offences! for it is necessary that offences come; but woe to that person by whom the offence comes![6]

Matthew 18:15-20

Moreover[7], if your brother trespasses against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him privately. If he hears you, you have reconciled with your brother.[8] If he will not hear you, then take with you one or two more, so that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. If he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. If he refuses to hear the church, let him be to you as any heathen person or a tax collector.

Truly I say to you, “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”[9] Again I say to you, “If two of you agree on earth as touching anything that they ask, it shall be done for them by my Father which is in heaven: for where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”[10]

The Homily

Triangulation. What is triangulation? Triangulation is a civic, cultural, or social situation in which three parties become hopelessly entangled, and unable to resolve whatever issues confront them. If two find resolution, the third is alienated and opposed. George Orwell pictured this sort of conflict in Nineteen Eighty-Four, which has become an astonishingly accurate analysis of modern world conflict.

Triangulation may even be observed in the church in the division into Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant. However, the sort of triangulation concerning us today is more social or personal in nature.

Triangulation is the sort of thing of which I’ve been guilty far too often; which, in other instances, I’ve tried and been unable to resolve; and which, once or twice I’ve been the victim.

Triangulation often starts when two very ordinary people, A and B get into a heated dispute. A, desirous of ending the dispute walks away preferring silence to continued dispute. B, perhaps frustrated by this action, contacts a third party, C, for help and discloses the whole matter: no matter who does it, this is the sin of gossip.[11] Had B contacted C with the request, “I want you to try to resolve a dispute between A and me,” the dispute might have been resolved. The sin of gossip exists in the complete disclosure, not in requesting help with resolution. In this case C is being asked to weigh both sides of the dispute fairly and act as a judge: full disclosure takes place in the presence of all three parties, where every word can be heard and countered. All too often C listens to the complete disclosure in A’s absence, which is the further sin of listening to gossip: no matter who is guilty of it.[12] However, A’s absence further compounds the problem, because words cannot be unsaid, and unless a recording was made A can never know exactly what was said behind his back. At this point the only real solution is to start over with all three parties present, beginning with apologies to A from both B and C.

At this point the dispute can take one of three paths. One. If C has not heard any testimony C may decline to take part. This is why we have appointed officers, judges and juries in civil matters, pastors and priests in clerical matters: it is a dereliction of duty for an appointed officer to decline such responsibility without just cause. If C has heard testimony, then C is no longer free to decline: C by hearing gossip has become involved by virtue of hearing gossip. If the gossip is particularly damaging, C may need to be recused as an involved party (now sided with A, or with B, or independently); one or more impartial intercessors, D must be chosen to replace C, and C must take the place of a plaintiff. Two. If C remains impartial, C may agree to hear the evidence. Three, C may unjustly judge the case without consulting A, and proceed to a conclusion. This is nearly impossible to repair. A has most surely been wronged, if only in that A’s testimony was unheard.

What usually happens in the process of time is that the guilt of C’s unjust judgment, and the failure to achieve reconciliation, weighs on one or all parties. If seared consciences and bitterness result, nothing further happens. Those with tender consciences will continue to seek reconciliation at least in prayer. In the passage of time the original offense may be forgotten, or become unimportant: A may reconcile with B. However, if A reconciles with B, C will almost surely be alienated. As more time passes, should A reconcile with C, now B is alienated. No matter how the triangle rearranges itself, two parties reconcile, while the third is alienated. The result is an ever shifting pattern of alienation.

This ever shifting pattern of alienation is Triangulation. It frequently gains momentum, dividing whole communities, and splitting churches. The only way to stop it is to gather all the injured parties, A, B, and C, to start over again from the beginning: but by this time thousands, even millions of people may have become involved: the outcome is hopelessly prejudiced.

The best solution is never to become entrapped in Triangulation to begin with. But if you do become entrapped in it, fly to your place of prayer, crying out to God for healing, and maintaining silence everywhere else. Perhaps God will be pleased to bring the three of you into peaceful discussion and reconciliation. Perhaps God will provide one or more wise Ds, who will really moderate. In the meantime, forgive all, and flee every temptation to bitterness and gossip.

Christ has set us free. The Holy Ghost makes us free.[13]

[1] Anger is increasing in stages: from anger to “Raca” to “More” (the short e is pronounced) and other vehement curses.

[2] “Raca” is a term of bitter contempt. It states that the person to whom it is applied is beneath all other humans, even gentiles; indeed beneath all of creation, even dirt and rocks. It states that another person has no worth whatever. Fool and Vain in the English language do not begin to convey the level of contempt heaped up in the word “Raca,” even though the root meaning of both is also, void of any value. Perhaps the expression, “dumb as a rock,” begins to capture the idea. The attitude of the speaker, reeking with pride, is what Jesus condemns. We dare not approach another human being with any attitude of superiority. If we are gifted, we must remember that these are gifts, differing from others only in kind: for all others are gifted in different ways. So we must be careful as we handle the gifts we have: for we have merely been chosen as a vessel to carry these gifts on behalf of all. We have no superiority: neither of privilege, nor of rank, nor of wealth. Each person would do well to begin each day with the prayer, Keep me ever mindful that I am in no way better than others.

[3] “More” (our moron) is a step down from “Raca.” What could be worse than worthless? The intentional or unintentional commission of evil; the sort of person who likes to cut or pull the extremities from another living thing for the thrill of observing fear and pain; the sort of person who likes to kill. This is a dangerous accusation to cast about lightly: since it puts the other under the death penalty for breach of the Decalogue, it also brings a false or trivial accuser under jeopardy of the same death penalty as a false witness. Since it is so easy to sin, we should now be terrified at Jesus words: for we must surely realize how frequently we speak or think lightly of others. Only God’s patience prevents our certain condemnation.

[4] The Brazen Altar or altar of burnt offering, which is a picture of the purifying fires of Hell. A gift would not be brought directly to the Golden Altar or altar of incense. Generally churches do not have altars today: the Prothesis, a true altar, is reduce to an offering plate in most traditions (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prothesis_(altar)). The altar of incense is pictured in the censer, which may be carried. What is called the altar is in fact the mercy seat, from which the Offered and the Offerer, the Word reigns eternally: it is neither altar nor table, and has these names only by transference from other activities. Gifts are left at the Prothesis which replaces the Brazen Altar. Where offering plates are in use, worshipers should be aware that these bear all the significance and typology of the Brazen Altar: namely that both gifts and sins are deposited there, the sins for their destruction by God in unquenchable fire, the gifts for the acceptance of the worshipper in God’s kingdom.

[5] This is all about money. It is far too easy to pass this off as a figure of speech. The majority of curses we level against our fellow man are monetarily driven, not about wounded feelings. The motif of financial oppression appears repeatedly throughout Matthew, as well as all the prophets. Those who consider themselves too holy to murder, fornicate, steal, bear false witness, or covet, think nothing of burying other people in unjust debt and usury; as well as in using the courts to enforce their cruelty. Jesus’, not so subtle point, is that this is a form of murder. By the time we reach Matthew 18, and Matthew 25, this theme will be more fully developed. As Matthew 18 shows, there is no amount of money that can be assigned to reconciliation. As Matthew 25 emphasizes, money invested in mercy cannot be ill spent: we must be careful with how we spend whatever we have.

[6] The offenses that most concern Jesus are offenses that oppress other humans, usually financially (Matthew 18:23-35). The Law of God, the Decalogue is given to abolish slavery in any of its ugly forms. Today debt slavery is the most common form, directly condemned in Matthew. Debt slavery is just another form of murder in the eyes of God; but so are belittling and demeaning by cursing, false witnessing, and name calling, all equally murder.

[7] Moreover what? From the immediately preceding text: Committing any act that traps another person in sin; especially, any sin that tempts another person to copy it. All of God’s people are His children, so this applies to more than the youthful.

[8] Here is the whole objective of the process. The aim is to arrive at forgiveness and reconciliation, not to arrive at human condemnation and justice. The justice of God is always concerned with forgiveness as its very first, perhaps its only priority.

[9] This amazing declaration means that the Holy Ghost brought about the decision for The Church in its entirety: therefore, all truly Ecumenical Councils, have the weight of God’s Authority, and we are not free to say of them that they might err. Also note that Ecumenical Councils are collegial or conciliar in nature, so that no single jurist has authority over any other jurist; the only rank is that of Christian, and if there is any first, it is the first in humility, first among equals.

If he refuses to hear the church, let him be to you as any heathen person or a tax collector. Truly I say to you, “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

[10] In context the authority of two or three is limited to what the two or three may agree upon: namely, the only agreement that they are free to make is to settle the debt by any means and be reconciled. Failure to reconcile, by definition, is failure to agree, and the matter must be referred to a higher court. Reconciliation may be achieved at any level. Thus all unreconciled differences will be referred to higher and higher courts, until the heavenly court is reached and the Father Himself sits in judgment, with Jesus and the Holy Ghost serving as Incontrovertible Witnesses.

“If two of you agree on earth as touching anything that they ask, it shall be done for them by my Father which is in heaven: for where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

Failure to reconcile is a very serious matter.

And again:

Woe to the world because of offences! for it is necessary that offences come; but woe to that person by whom the offence comes!

[11] This is the direct violation of Matthew 18:15, “him alone.”

[12] This is the direct violation of Matthew 18:16, “that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.” The task of the arbiter, judge, magistrate, negotiator, ombudsman, peacemaker, or reconciler is first of all to be a witness. This means that all the claims and facts must be heard equally in an impartial atmosphere. Hearing either claimant separately is a breach of impartiality, because the task of witnessing cannot be properly completed.

[13] If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations, please repost, share, or use any of them as you wish. No rights are reserved. They are designed and intended for your free participation. They were freely received, and are freely given. No other permission is required for their use.