Maundy Thursday

Today is the beginning of the Great Three Days of the Christian liturgical calendar and this first of the days is Maundy Thursday.
In the simplest of explanations, it is the remembrance of The Last Supper in which Jesus Christ told the disciples that this was his last meal with them and that to always remember that meal in the celebration of the Holy Communion until his return.
The Christian Orthodox depiction of The Last Supper below is what both the Western and Eastern churches imagine the scene to be.

So what happens at a Maundy Thursday service?
For most in the Western liturgical traditions, it can begin with the blessing of the Chrism oils to be used on The Great Vigil of Easter for the newly baptised. Before celebrating the Holy Communion,
often times there will be a washing of the feet. No, it is not a pedicure, just a simple bit of water being poured on the feet of the congregants as a commemoration of what Jesus did. Then is the Holy Communion. Once that is done there is a ceremonial stripping of the altar. Everything is taken off the altar and the remaining communion bread/wafers and wine are taken to a box of reserved sacraments to be used at Good Friday services. Some stripping of the altars are more elaborate than others. A good explanation is in this link.
In the Eastern Orthodox churches, it is celebrated differently and also tweaked for local custom. Most Orthodox churches are based on ethnicity and geographically. Again a good explanation is found here.
One aspect of this day is the division in American Christianity.
There are whole Christians that have absolutely no idea of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and the Great Vigil of Easter.
Regrettably this is due to strong theological differences between fundamentalist Protestants and some evangelical Christians.
It is one of the reasons I admit I have a great deal of disagreement with by evangelical brothers and sisters.
What they miss is that the three days are true to the biblical account of the Last Supper, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the Resurrection on Sunday morning.
I suppose that a rightful objection is the bells and smells aspect for some evangelicals. I mean, if one belongs to Anglicanism, Lutheran or any other Protestant liturgical church, why is there so much ritual, especially on these days?
Speaking as an Anglican, I can say that some churches are High Churches and they emphasise the Catholic tradition. Vestments, albs, chasubles, incense and the like. In many but certainly not all Anglican/Episcopal churches today, much of this list is found in any given worship service. At this point the catholic, small c, forms of worship are predominant in worship. But the big ones, well they come out in this time of the church year.
But, many evangelical Anglican/Episcopal churches do not go all liturgical crazy. They do celebrate the Great Three Days in a more subdued manner and remember the meaning in this remembrance.
I for one consider myself a Protestant but have no fear that a little tradition and ritual will suddenly make me a papist.
Yet there are many Christians can not get past that and thus do not appreciate the whole of why there is  a Christian church of any kind.
It is the Last Supper, the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
It would be a wonderful thing if all Christians can unite and celebrate the Great Three Days together. But alas, we can not.
As for me, it is very important to recognize the whole meaning of Jesus Christ. And the Last Supper, aka Maundy Thursday is a great way to start.

The War Against Santa Claus . . .By Conservatives?

I read this the other day written by Nancy French outing herself as a "Santa Truther" and meaning that she will tell her children that, there is no Santa Claus. And her husband, David French, who writes often on National Review Online's The Corner backed his wife after she was pummeled with outrage by many.
Oh, did I mention that both are conservatives?
So what gives? Why do they have Santa hate?
I get the thrust of what Mrs. French wrote. That Santa Claus, as he is presented today, is a far cry from the story of St. Nicholas. And that the Reason for the Season, the birth of Jesus Christ, is a much better story to begin with.
I do not disagree that the Reason for the Season is the truth of Christmas for those of us that are practicing Christians. But if one reads about the "legends" of St. Nicholas with an open mind, he was carrying out the message of the Gospel. The one account that seems to be where the current Santa Claus derives from is that St. Nicholas heard of a poor father of three daughters and because of their lowly status, the father could not afford the dowry to marry them off properly and to a better life. St. Nicholas wanted to help but would not do so publicly. So he went to the man's house one night with three purses of gold coins. One for each daughter. Thus, the father had the funds to marry them off and hopefully to a better life. Now another version is that this was done over three nights. And still another has this being done over a period of three years.
The point being that St. Nicholas was giving away to help others.
So the modern Santa Claus is derived from St. Nicholas. As well as a pagan god named Odin. Santa is a lot of different things to different people.
But, for myself as a Christian, I celebrate Santa because of the Christian origin of St. Nicholas. And if properly taught and told by parents, one can believe in Santa not as a fantasy but a reminder of our role as Christians to be a beacon for all. To be willing to give of their time and talents to those who do not know the Christian message.
Before I go on, I would totally agree that Christmas is overly commercialized. That to an extent, it has ruined the meaning of St. Nicholas and Santa Claus. We as a society worry way too much about what we are getting people that we forget it is not the gift or gifts but what they show we mean of those we know and or don't know.
The past two weekends, I have been a Santa Claus at my church.
The first Saturday was for our preschool kiddies. Because our school has a good reputation and is in a high-income area, well overwhelmingly these kiddies were more than likely going to get whatever they asked for. Part of what I do is make a grand entrance and shake hands and wish the people, kiddies and parents and anyone else a Merry Christmas. I go to my special chair and the kiddies waiting start to sit on my lap. Then I ask their name and if they have been a good boy or girl. Then I ask what they want for Christmas. Because this is a strictly preschool group, most can barely get out a coherent sentence. And this year, most asked for something electronic that did ask. Most important Santa rule, never, ever promise anything. Ever. And I don't. I just tell them to keep being good and I will see them on Christmas Eve.
OOOHHH! I am LYING to these kiddies, right? Because I will not be personally seeing them at all. Because I am NOT Santa Claus, right? And thus, according to the French's, I am a liar.
Well, I get back to that.
This past weekend I was Santa for our church's transitional housing program for addicts. These kiddies, they have already had a life full of disappointment. I certainly do not want to add to that. And I don't think that I do. The predominate thing that these kiddies wanted for Christmas is a puppy. That warms my heart as a dog lover. Again, no promises made. I only hope that some of these children will be able to get their puppy for Christmas.
I don't believe that I am doing any psychological damage to these children. I am simply offering myself to show that someone cares to take time to be with them, get a photo, and put a smile on their face.
I think that a part of the French's disdain for Santa Claus is that it derives from Roman Catholicism and the belief in venerating saints. As a Protestant that belongs to a liturgical denomination that has named most of their churches after saints, we believe in their goodness, but not to venerate them. I refer to Article 21 of the Articles of Religion:

The Romish doctrine concerning Purgatory, Pardons, Worshiping, and adoration, as well as Images as of Relics, and also the Invocation of Saints, is a fond thing, vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of scripture, but rather repugnant to the Word of God.

But that does not mean we don't look at the totality of the saint's life and what they did in the name of Christ. And St. Nicholas did wonders in the name of Christ.
And Santa Claus is simply a derivative of this.
And should be treated as such.
And not something to be feared by anyone that is a Christian.
Don't be a Santa Truther. Tell the full story of Santa to your child. And you will be better for it and happy this Christmas season.
Conservatives, don't fight it. Embrace it.

Pope Francis

It is official that Buenos Aries Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio is now the 266th Bishop of Rome or as he will be known as, Pope Francis, the head of the Roman Catholic church.
This is a slew of firsts.
This is the first non-European Pope since Pope Gregory III, who was born in Syria. This is the first Pope ever from the Western hemisphere. This is the first Pope that will be known as Francis.
An aside note to self. When making a reference to NOT thinking of Francis the Talking Mule, make sure that wife knows what I am talking about.
This is the first of the Society of Jesus or the Jesuits to be elected Pope. And, correct me if I am wrong, the first Pope to have one lung.
Pope Francis will probably be a huge disappointment to those who oppose traditionalist teachings that the Roman Catholic church has on sexual issues, including and especially abortion and homosexuality. And probably will not see women in the priesthood anytime soon.
For me, as a Protestant Christian, I will say that this whole process is a lot more interesting that the recent ascent to the See of Canterbury of the Anglican Archbishop Justin. No black smoke or white smoke on that one. However, a whole lot of politics in how the Archbishop of Canterbury is chosen than the Pope. I mean, it is the governing British political party and the reigning monarch and the approval of parliament to gain the head of the Church of England and the Anglican Communion. Again, no smoke signals.
YAWN!
Back to issues Pope Francis faces.
Pope Francis is a strong advocate for Roman Catholic social justice. He has spoken about what he believes is income inequality and poverty.
One area that I am very interested in is his view on child abuse. And according to this from Wikipedia, he is probably going to be a strong advocate for victims of child abuse.
Which leads this Protestant to believe that this Pope will be able to cleanse the church of those that were accomplices to allowing the abuse of children to occur under their reign. One that comes to mind is the current Roger Cardinal Mahony of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. There is way too much to go into here, but Cardinal Mahony should not have been allowed to participate in the just concluded conclave that elected Pope Francis. Like it or not, if Cardinal Mahony were not in his position and wearing a Roman collar, he more than likely would be tried as a co-conspirator in covering up the scandal of pedophile priests within his jurisdiction.
To me, when one does not protect the innocence of children, he or she not only loses any respect, but may in fact be suspect themselves.
It would send a very positive signal to RC's and non RC's in this blogger's opinion.
My last thought is this.
I hope that there is a future Pope that will take the name of. . .Mark. Pope Mark. It does have a nice ring to it, doncha think?
Until then, I will watch the new Pope of the Roman Catholic church, Pope Francis, with great interest.

We Have A New Pope!*

Well, it did not take long for the Cardinals of the Roman Catholic church to vote on a new pope.
The white smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel and it is official. Now we wait for who it is and what name that he will take.
Now I put as asterisk because as a Protestant Christian, while I have respect for the pope, he is not my spiritual center. But it is what the church officially announces.
And FWIW, I would like this pope to take as a really biblical name, Pope Mark. Why not?
I am not being flippant on that one.
It will be important to know who will lead nearly 1,000,000,000 Christians that are followers of the Roman Catholic church.
Will the new pope follow the traditionalism of the last two popes, Benedict and John-Paul II? Or will the gates of hell and or modernism invade the Vatican City?
All to wait and see.
And one more thought.
The former Archbishop of Los Angeles, Cardinal Roger Mahoney, should NOT have been able to vote. His taint is his role in the horrific sex abuse scandal that taints the Los Angeles archdiocese to this day.
More thoughts later and maybe the name of the new pope.

Discussing Satan. . .Well, Isn't THAT Special?!

Well, thanks to Rick Santorum discussing the subject of Satan in 2008, the Devil is entering his way into the Republican race for president.
And I am all in on writing about the Devil, Satan, Beelzebub, whatever one wants to call the harnesser of evil.
Let me stipulate that Mr. Santorum was a private citizen speaking to a traditionalist Roman Catholic school, Ave Maria University. He was not at this point a sitting senator.
What is amazing is that Mr. Santorum was using language that I would not expect at an RC setting. It is more Evangelical and even fundamentalist Christian than what I am familiar about the RC view of Satan.
Here is a bit of what Mr. Santorum said at this speech:

"This is a spiritual war. And the Father of Lies has his sights on what you would think the Father of Lies would have his sights on: a good, decent, powerful, influential country - the United States of America. If you were Satan, who would you attack in this day and age?"

The language Mr. Santorum used is amazing but one that I totally agree with.
Satan, whether one believes is an actual being or a force, is a great deceiver. That much any Christian believes.
But the question is should the potential next president of the United States have been saying such things?
As a Christian believer, yes.
As potential president, no.
No matter what, whoever is running for president is not running for Christian Theologian-in-chief.
But they do not and should not leave their values at the door either.
It is a fine line any candidate walks.
Keep in mind that Mr. Santorum made the above speech in 2008. And it is I presume what he believes.
Mr. Santorum is a devout Roman Catholic. I for one find it refreshing that someone of faith speaks with such conviction.
Right now, the current occupier of the White House, the Dear Leader, President Obama says that he is a Christian. But does he speak about a struggle between good and evil? Does he, as a Christian not president, speak about the role of faith in his life?
Before you answer about his speech before the National Prayer Breakfast which I commented on here, that was not what I had in mind.
That whether one likes it or not, there is a struggle between good and evil. Right and wrong.
I have no problem with a candidate or sitting president speaking on this kind of very personal and deep issues of faith.
So we should applaud that Mr. Santorum would speak boldly and with conviction. And if he is the nominee and eventually president we would know that he stands by his convictions.