Yet, still, again, more words- The letter "P"

Good afternoon, and yes, I'm still perseverating about words. I got to thinking last week during the sermon- no pastor my eyes were not closed in sleep, but in deep concentration. By the way, Luther had some pretty unkind things to say about the book of Esther as well as James. But I want to continue where Pastor went with Luther and the Book of James.

In one of life's little ironies, I was baptised in St. James Lutheran Church in Ashland, Pennsylvania. Hard to believe they would name a church after one of Luther's less favorite New Testament writers. But that is for another time. Luther and his rather strident position on the book of James is what brings us to 'the letter P' and the word Polemic. Luther found himself in the unenviable position of taking an extreme point of view because of his opposition to the Church's position on the value of works and in particular the way in which this position was part of the sales campaign for indulgences. When James talks about works, Luther, almost by default, has to attack him because it counters the argument for the power of grace. Much later Luther was able to soften his tone and accommodate the value of works for Christians. It was really quite simple, works are a result of our gratitude for the gift of grace, not the means of achieving salvation. But I wanted to talk about the 'P' word.

A polemic is a position one takes at the opposite pole of an argument presented by another, it is the favorite rhetorical device of adolescents. I think you all have a favorite memory to illustrate the point. And, while a polemic may win points for strident behavior, it does not do much for civil discourse. And one thing which Paul, and by default St. Augustine and then Luther would support was the theology of open and civil discussion leading to discernment and a resolution of the conflict. One of the major problems that I have with polemics is that it tends to demonize the other party and reduce them to a caricature. And we need to remember that we are all creatures created in the image of God, and, as such we should have respect for them in that capacity if nothing else.

Unfortunately, in the past 30 years we have seen the rise in this behavior, demonizing, in so much of the public discussion. Be it in the political or the religious arena, it opens wounds that are slow to heal if they heal at all. What I would like to close with is a thought from this week's second reading, taken from James 3: 8-10. "But no one can tame the tongue- a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so."

Peace,
Deacon Clyde

Some additional words

It is good to get back to my schedule of posting on Wednesday, I hope to continue. In my last Post "A Few Words About Words" I talked about the word 'church', today I would like to talk about the word WORSHIP. When most people talk about 'worshipping in church' what they mean is they attend a worship service in a building (church). In an even more serious way equating worship with a particular activity in a specific place is wrong on many accounts. The Compact Bible dictionary says, "The English word worship comes from the Old English word worthship, a word that denotes the worthiness of the one receiving the special honor or devotion." Dom Dix in his book The Shape of the Liturgy says," The Liturgy is the term which covers generally all that worship which is officially organised by the church." he use both the words in the same sentence. But the phrase which I consider essential to my particular rant is, 'officially organised by the church'.

Martin Luther is quoted as saying, "Even a milkmaid can milk a cow to the glory of God." What Luther is saying to us is that every action we perform, our job, our study, our recreation should be done in a mindful way (this is very zen like for a German) and done in such a way that it reflects God's glory and that we, as his creation, respect us and all else within his creation. I wonder if Luther were alive and writing today, would he say, "Even the person collecting my garbage for Waste Management can do so to the glory of God" ? Think about how you would approach your day if you carried this attitude of doing whatever the activity not for your employer or teacher or whoever, but you were doing it to glorify God.

And so, the point I am belaboring here that we need to move beyond considering worship as the time we spend in the pew at 1700 Makefield Road. Several years ago after the flood in Yardley and Wing of Faith was working to clean up and restore the Duchat's home there was a great deal of work that still needed to be done after all the hours of work on Saturday. Pastor Taylor told

the work crew to return the next morning and continue their work, because that was a form of worship and they would be included in the attendance figures for the day. I want to be clear that this is not an invitation to skip attending church next week ! I want to be equally clear that this is not in any way an endorsement of works over grace as the path to salvation.

All the many ministries at LCR are a form of worship, it does not matter if they are done at a time other than Sunday or a place other than the building at 1700 Makefield Road. So regardless of where you are you can worship!

Peace,

Clyde