Philippians 2.12, What do y'all think?

My wife and I have recently joined a small group stemming from our Alpha group this past winter. We decided to continue meeting in what the church calls a "life group" where we meet several times a month, share dinner, and then engage in discussion over a selected passage from the Bible. We have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know other people our age who are genuinely interested in being involved in the church and who want to get to know other believers. For our first study, we decided to do a Peter Moore study on Philippians.

In any regard, some interesting questions have come up during our times together. We have addressed everything from the basic questions like "what exactly is grace?" to more thought provoking questions such as "who is your Timothy and who is your Paul?" (i.e. who have you mentored and who has mentored you).

Getting to the point of this brief post, we read and discussed Philippians 2 this past week. When we got to our discussion on Philippians 2.12-13, "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure," I found myself wondering what exactly was St. Paul talking about here?

Was St. Paul talking more about temporal salvation (our day to day decisions) or more about our eternal salvation? My immediate thought was that St. Paul was sounding very James-esque, but then my wife offered her opinion to the group which made me wonder if St. Paul was talking in a more temporal sense. She suggested that St. Paul was telling the Philippians that you have to live your life in the day-to-day sense and that God will always be with you, but not always there in such a literal sense like holding your hand and telling you what to do.

So, I am very interested in hearing what the Mockingbird community has to say about this... What are some good Law/Gospel opinions on this?

Some funny (but good) Law

One of my favorite "grab a quick bite" restaurants in Charleston is run by a little Korean lady named Mama Kim. Mama Kim is a born again Christian who is very religious and who takes her faith quite seriously - to the point where she has several mission and outreach donation jars that make the tip jar almost invisible. She is very opinionated and sometimes will change your order if she doesn't like what you have ordered. I am a big guy, but sometimes I like to just get one of her smaller items called a small bowl. If she is working the counter, she never lets me leave with just a small bowl. I end up walking out with gobs of food, but only having paid for the small bowl, go figure... She has a big mouth, but her big heart, giant sense of humor, and endless love for the Lord are worth a million bucks.

I always laugh when I walk into her restaurant because she is all about telling you her opinion and is unashamed in doing so. Notice the door, it looks like any take-out restaurant door with the name adorned on it along with some hand written signs. Take a look at one of the handwritten signs noting the Sunday hours (below). I just love the little bit of Law she gives to all of her customers who enter her restaurant.

If you are ever in Charleston, SC, stop by and see Mama Kim on Calhoun Street across from Marion Square. It is well worth the trip and the food is great! and....Go to church!

How Sinners Become Saints - Bp. FitzSimons Allison

I had the pleasure of hearing Bp. Fitz Allison deliver a home run of a sermon on All Saints Day this past week at my church here in the lowcountry of South Carolina (St. John's Parish, Johns Island). When I sat down in the pew and noticed the appointed readings for the day, I wondered how in world was Bp. Allison going to handle such pointed texts, and I wondered if he was going to tone down his approach. What he delivered from the pulpit was a pure gem and a true testimony to the Gospel message - leaving no stop unpulled!

The lessons he preached from were Deuteronomy 6.1-9, Hebrews 7.23-28, Mark 12.28-34, and Psalm 119.1-8. If you glance through the readings, you will find that the common theme that runs through these lessons pertains to the Law.

Bp. C. FitzSimons Allison is XII Bishop of The Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina (retired), a well known Anglican author and scholar, and is a friend of Mockingbird. Among his works are The Rise of Moralism: The Proclamation of the Gospel from Hooker to Baxter; The Cruelty of Heresy: An Affirmation of Christian Orthodoxy; Guilt, Anger, and God: The Patterns of Our Discontents; and Fear, Love, and Worship.


Enjoy the good Bishop's strong Southern accent as he preaches on how sinners become saints.

Bp. Allison's sermon can be downloaded here and listened to here:

Reflecting on Grace

Recently, I have found myself reflecting on grace. As I have been preparing for my upcoming marriage (9/26/09), finished seminary, moved from Pittsburgh, PA, to Charleston, SC, and started the process of thinking what will be next, I have been asking myself what is grace? While thinking about this unique gift from God, I have come to the conclusion that grace is perhaps one of the hardest lessons for us as humans to learn about and accept from God.

Our bound wills do not allow us to accept the notion of grace. The thing about grace, is that it sounds like something that is too good to be true. We live in a world where the pursuit of excellence and perfection will only do (academics, sports, music, etc.). As a result of never fully measuring up, we rebel and we try to fix our wounds with the drug of our own choosing. All in all, we pick something that we feel we can ultimately have total control over. In this vicious process, any idea of grace is lost as we try to gain control. Thinking about Romans 7 here...

The way I see it, there are two major misunderstandings of God's unfailing grace. Some of us are 'do-gooders' and show our ignorance of God's grace by working hard trying to earn it, while others of us show our misunderstanding by thinking that God's grace is inaccessible to us. The latter of these two is where I find a lot of my generation struggling with.

The human mind is a powerful thing, and it is perhaps the chief manipulator in telling us how unworthy we are. Moving back to Charleston has allowed me to become reacquainted with old friends who all seem to be approaching the 30 mark. Most of them are unmarried, over-educated, and suffering and/or recovering from some sort of addiction (drugs, work, sex, you name it...) as a result of trying to self-medicate the let downs in life.

Needless to say, this has lead to several interesting conversations as they know I have just finished seminary and am preparing for a career within the church. Most proclaim to believe in God and most even proclaim to be Christian - though choosing not to attend church. As I have asked the questions "what does the Gospel mean to you?" and "what is grace?," the answers have been interesting. Often times neither of the questions are answered and I hear about the pain and suffering, the guilt and depression, and the anxiety and fear, my friends are experiencing in their lives. As I try and redirect their focus to their faith, I hear more times than not that they know they cannot be good enough for God, so they despair of ever having a closer (and dare I say personal, thanks ++KJS) relationship with the Lord.

I find my own self identifying with the same thoughts and feelings of those of my friends. It is all too easy to allow my mind to slip into the same patterns that lead to destruction. Romans, Ephesians, and 2 Corinthians speak the loudest to me when I find myself slipping back into the rut. It is becoming clearer to me that the road ahead does not get easier. Life isn't perfect. But because of the cross, we are able to have faith in the Lord and experience the true and great gift of God's never-failing love towards us. As a result, we find that through love we are able to follow the 2 great commandments that St. Matthew writes about in his gospel text.

Below is a beautiful hymn written by Julia Johnson who totally gets what grace is all about for those of us who need to be reminded that grace is not too good to be true, but that it is too good and completely true.

Grace, Grace
Julia Johnson

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt
Yonder on Calvary's mount outpoured
There where the blood of the Lamb was pilt

chorus
Grace, grace, God's grace
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within
Grace, grace, God's grace
Grace that is greater than all our sin

Sin and despair, like the sea waves cold
Threaten the soul with infinite loss
Grace that is greater, yes, grace untold
Points to the refuge, the mighty cross

Dark is the stain that we cannot hide
What can avail to wash it away?
Look! there is flowing a crimson tide
Whiter than snow you may be today

Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace
Freely bestowed on all who believe
You that are longing to see His face
Will you this moment His grace receive?

Secret Lives...

This week marks yet another story of the secret lives we are capable of living due to the fallenness of our human nature. Down here in South Carolina, Governor Mark Sanford, a man who has staunchly stood up for family values, was busted for having an extramarital affair with a mistress from Argentina he has known for 8 years and with whom he has been romantically active with over the past year. Suspicious thoughts started circling the local airwaves when state officials and politicians could not reach the governor for several days earlier in the week. His staff announced that Gov. Sanford was hiking the Appalachian Trail and that communication between the governor and his office was sparse, if any.

Come to find out, Sanford was not on the Appalachian Trail, but rather down in Argentina visiting his mistress. Setting politics aside, my heart broke for this man who is the father of four young boys, an active Episcopalian, and a well-loved public figure here in South Carolina. I was saddened to think what all this man had been going through internally in order to convince himself that he, as the governor of one America’s 50 states, could actually sneak off to Argentina without anybody knowing. I thought of major figures such as Bill Clinton, Ted Haggard, the list could go on, who have been well-known and well-loved public figures and busted for the secret lives they lead.

We tend to forget that public figures, whether they are religious or political, are still human beings. We think that they are somehow exempt from the sin that plagues our very souls. The opposite is actually true in my opinion. I bet it is safe to say that these guys probably struggle with sin more than most do, due to the fact that they have to keep their earthly and humanly desires all bottled up because of “who they are.” As we all know, nobody wants to hear how we truly struggle because more times than not, it really looks like a mirror facing right back at us. That’s why we would rather hear a self-help sermon rather than a grace/atonement filled message. After all, we can ultimately control our bound wills right? It is unfortunate that while guys like Clinton, Haggard, and Sanford try their hardest to “maintain face,” they actually are suppressing their sin so much that it finally erupts and causes AWOL behavior such as what we heard about this week.

Where is the grace in all of this? I believe that the true grace is found in how the betrayed families react in all the mess. While the media has been relentlessly attacking Gov. Sanford for his mess-up, his wife has said the following: “I would like to start by saying I love my husband…I believe wholeheartedly in the sanctity, dignity and importance of the institution of marriage…When I found out about my husbands infidelity I worked immediately to first seek reconciliation through forgiveness, and then to work diligently to repair our marriage…I believe enduring love is primarily a commitment and an act of will, and for a marriage to be successful, that commitment must be reciprocal. I believe Mark has earned a chance to resurrect our marriage. Psalm 127 states that sons are a gift from the Lord and children a reward from Him. I will continue to pour my energy into raising our sons to be honorable young men. I remain willing to forgive Mark completely for his indiscretions and to welcome him back, in time, if he continues to work toward reconciliation with a true spirit of humility and repentance. This is a very painful time for us and I would humbly request now that members of the media respect the privacy of my boys and me as we struggle together to continue on with our lives and as I seek the wisdom of Solomon, the strength and patience of Job and the grace of God in helping to heal my family.” (Mrs. Sanford’s statement may be read in its entirety here)My hope is that Gov. Sanford’s family and the people of South Carolina can truly forgive Mark Sanford and move forward in grace. I look at my own life and realize that the areas where I struggle could (and do!) most definitely escalate to unacceptable behaviors, and they too could cause much grief and hurt. We are all capable of doing such ill will and we are all capable of living secret lives. The more we try and control the very sin that plagues us, the more it festers up and causes infection. The good news about living at the foot of the cross is that Jesus takes our sin, though he may never fully remove it, and forgives us. That one-way love he offers us is unconditional, regardless of what our bound wills may stir up.

“ALMIGHTY and most merciful Father; We have erred, and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; And we have done those things which we ought not to have done; And there is no health in us. But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable off enders. Spare thou those, O God, who confess their faults. Restore thou those who are penitent; According to thy promises declared unto mankind in Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake; That we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, To the glory of thy holy Name. Amen.” (General Confession, 1928 Book of Common Prayer)

The LAW of Seersucker...101 days and counting

While many down South have been wearing various articles of clothing made of the lightweight and extremely fashionable fabric known as seersucker since Easter Sunday, those of you up North (as of Memorial Day) are now officially allowed to don clothing made from the ever so comfortable, light and airy, all-cotton fabric. Society tells us that it is proper only to wear seersucker from Memorial Day to Labor Day – that’s a short 101 days!

After doing a little bit of research on the history of seersucker, one will discover that the thin, striped fabric used to make clothing for spring and summer wear originally came from the Middle Eastern region of the world. The name is derived from two Persian words shir-o-shakar, which literally means milk and sugar. This was probably figuratively used as the fabric is marked by both smooth and rough stripes; thus allowing the fabric to be held away from the skin, creating better air circulation.


Now the rules or societal laws regarding when one can or cannot wear seersucker are a farce in my book. Though you would probably never catch me wearing seersucker during winter, or perhaps even Lent, I would wear it without batting an eye through the end of September. After all, the fabric was not intended to have a set period of time for when it could or could not be worn. If it’s hot out, then by all means wear seersucker.

My view of the Law is quite similar to how we determine when it is proper to wear seersucker. You see, when it was created, it had good intentions and served a purpose. But humankind started to mess with it and tried to put limitations around it in order to curtail it to their own liking. As a result of the corrupt nature of our human existence, we took something that was good and pure, and turned it into something that is so far removed from its original intention, that it became a curse rather than a blessing.

We as a society do everything in our power to try and control every single aspect of our being by manipulating the law to our liking, including something as silly and mindless as to when we should or should not wear seersucker. Thank God, through the power of Christ’s death and resurrection, that we are no longer held captive to the law (Romans 7).

Oh yeah, one ending note, I am getting married on September 26 (a whole 19 days after Labor Day), and I plan on wearing my seersucker suit…