| HEAVENLY DRESS CODE |
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It was
the highlight of the social year for the Owosso Country Club.
First was the tournament of champions on the course, followed by the
black-tie dinner. All the mucky-mucks from town would be
there. Anyone who was anyone (or hoped to be someone in Owossian
terms) would be there. I was there—as a caddy first, then as a
waiter. (That was OK; the tips that day bank-rolled
me for a month.)
The dinner was a veritable fashion parade. This was small-town Michigan’s version of the Oscars. Everyone was dressed to the hilt. That was expected since you couldn’t get in without a tie and jacket or formal dress. The Country Club had assigned me to be the door keeper until it was time to serve the meal. I was told to strictly enforce the dress code. Anyone who wasn’t properly attired shouldn’t be let in unless they were. One of my favorite members, the one for whom I caddied, walked up. Mr. Haas tried to get in but he had forgotten his dinner jacket at home! He had gotten 3rd place at the tourney and was to receive an award. But that wouldn’t happen if he couldn’t get in. He begged me to let him in. He had the head pro intercede for him. But as the door master I was under strict orders to be immovable. No jacket, no service. He failed the dress code. His wife could come in, but not him. Just then I remembered that I had the family car and that Dad had conducted a funeral earlier that hot day. Luckily, Dad had left his black jacket in the car. So I ran and got the jacket (and doubled my tip in doing so), gave it to Mr. H and all was well. Mr. H. needed a jacket, but had nothing to offer. His membership in the club, the nice guy that he was, and the best round of golf in his life were not enough to get him in. The gate keeper had his orders—no coat, no crossing the threshold. The standard would not be lowered. Doesn’t that remind you of getting into Heaven? |
Entrance to and places at the celestial table are given only to those
with the proper dress code—perfection. The proud, the
self-seeker, the pre-returning prodigal sons & daughters, those
wallowing in the pig-sty of sin, are all ineligible. No perfection, no permission to enter. Do you remember the parable of the Wedding Banquet? Jesus says about the story "the Kingdom of Heaven is like..." Let me review it for you. “The Kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son… Go into the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find… But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes? He was speechless. The king said… Throw him outside into the darkness where there will be weeping a gnashing of teeth. For many are invited, but few are chosen.” Matt. 22. The parable of the wedding banquet is a situation similar to my story. The wedding guests all had to have a garment given to them to enter the hall. Without that 'jacket', entrance was forbidden. But God, the Heavenly Host, provided the perfect attire to each and every guest, free of charge. Jesus paid with His sacrifice on the cross. It is a free gift to all. Yet, one man tried to sneak in without the mandatory robe of righteousness. (He would never have gotten by me.) He is confronted by the Father. He could try to offer excuses. 'I’m good. I’m nice. I have money. I’m handsome. These have no value. No Faith, No Future (with God). So, the man is dispatched to the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth, to Hell. Only when we have Jesus in us, on us, and through us will we avoid the same fate. Jesus has invited us. The chosen simply receive God’s grace with thanks. Jesus has a spare jacket for each of us! |
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Something to Think About
Church in FearAs a conservative Episcopalian, I have a real problem with the church that may be difficult for others to understand. For those on the outside, the Episcopal Church’s problems may seem like a mishmash of issues that society largely has moved beyond. From within, however, there is something more important going on. Contrary to what the more liberal elements of the church’s leadership (and unfortunately much of the media coverage) would have you believe, what is happening within the Episcopal Church has nothing to do with sexual preference, same-sex marriage, female clerics or a host of other accusations hurled at us for disagreeing with the church leadership. These are symptoms. Much as an elevated temperature may point to a deadly infection, the disease itself is worse. The Episcopal Church is suffering from an acute case of fear. The more liberal among us fear irrelevancy. The process of de-coupling the Episcopal Church from historic Anglicanism coincides pretty closely with the revolutionary attitudes of the 1960’s, when our benign trust in leadership was shattered by governments that did a lot of bad things behind our backs. The next generation didn’t want the same old church as their parents. Church enrollment dropped; fear took root that the institution would decline and perhaps disappear. In 1970, church leadership believed social justice could trump fear. It began to “fix” the church by discarding the beloved 1928 Book of Common Prayer. The 1979 version, with its watered-down requirements and weak translations of Scripture, was designed to be easy to read. Out went Shakespeare, in came Mr. Rogers. The revisionists celebrated, but church attendance did not improve. Fear grew. That fueled demand for female clerics. In the 1980’s, female priests appeared, followed closely by bishops. Enrollment declined further; fear increased. This brings us to the latest innovation to stop the decline, “the full inclusion of baptized Christians in the full life of the Church.” That’s code for “we need homosexual priests and bishops, same-sex blessings and marriages.” Today, enrollment is still slipping. Make no mistake; the battle within the U.S. Episcopal Church is not about intolerance, gender or sexual preference. It is about fear |
leading
to theological amnesia. And fear has driven out the purpose of
the church. Loosening the rules to attract more congregants
instead has driven more away. Making it easier to be a member is
not what works to retain the faithful. It’s all about how you
cast your theology in your life – is your faith your anchor or just
something that makes you feel good? I place a high value on caring for the sick and feeding the hungry. Christian churches do this. But is that their reason for being? Absolutely not. The Christian church was founded in the first century to lead people into faith in Jesus Christ. With that faith, Christians still believe we can develop a relationship with God. This faith is gained through reading the Bible. The Bible offers four accounts of Jesus’ life (the Gospels) that emphasize these points: Jesus was both man and God. He lived a perfect life. He died on the cross to pay for mankind’s sins. He rose from the dead. He had expectations of us that clearly included renouncing sin. These accounts show that his definition of sins were in sync with Jewish law of the time. He even said He wouldn’t change one thing in that law. To be a Christian is to accept that, if Jesus said it, we are subservient to it. That’s been mainline Christian theology for almost 2,000 years. So now I find myself, as one who tries to embrace the law as Jesus explained it, forced to break it in order to remain an Episcopalian. I am forced to support and encourage others to sin. Jesus said that helping someone else to sin was worse than committing the sin yourself. Now you understand my fear. If I stay in the Episcopal Church, I have to embrace and support behavior clearly identified by Jesus as sinful. If I leave the church, I am “intolerant,” “homophobic” or just plain “mean-spirited.” I am simply trying to do what Jesus told me to do. He said, “Love God with all your heart, mind and soul. And love your neighbor as yourself.” If I know someone I love is going to endanger their soul by doing the wrong thing, is it an act of love to embrace the wrong action? Jesus clearly loved sinners, but despised their sin. The other side fears irrelevancy; I fear Hell. Come to think of it, maybe we’re both afraid of the same thing… By: Michael Bertaut, Treasurer of Christ Church Episcopal in Gonzales, LA |
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| PROJECT 89. This idea involves
completing 89 projects in and around church in 89 days (starting Sept.
28 and ending at Christmas) by 89 people (the number of our
communicants). We hope everyone wants to be involved in whatever
way they can to serve God’s people here. No one should sign up
for more than four (since we know some people cannot or will not
participate). There are projects that kids can do too. This
is a fun way to create excitement and serve our church. Look for the big poster with a list of
opportunities in the entry area. MARTIN LUTHER ON GOD’S WORD: You yourself in your own conscience must feel Christ Himself, convicting you of sin and comforting you with His forgiveness. You must experience unshakably that this is God’s Word, even though the whole world should dispute it. As long as you do not have this feeling, you have certainly not yet tasted of God’s Word. CHANGE FOR LIFE- CFL is a way to support the ministry of New Beginnings- A Home for Mothers. Since 1993, New Beginnings has literally been a new beginning for hundreds of mothers and their children. New Beginnings provides a single mother a home, a Christian lifestyle, a career guide and most of all, The Lord’s Word and Love. CFL is a small box you put your change (or dollars) into over a six week period, ending at Thanksgiving. Then we collect and count the money and give these mothers hope. There are boxes in the church entry. (If you just want to write out a check, it can be sent to: Christian Life Resources (attn Casey Price) 3070 Heisan Dr. Richfield, Wis. 53076.) Thanks for helping out those in need. FAVORITE HYMN FESTIVAL: Every year to celebrate the Reformation (where Martin Luther reformed the church to bring the Bible back to its place as sole guidance from God and faith in Jesus alone as the only way to be saved) we remember Luther’s love for music by using our eight favorite hymns as our worship guide October 31st (the day in 1517 when Luther posted the 95 thesis on the church door to protest the misuse of the Bible by the Catholic church). Voting will take place on Oct. 10, 17, and 24. |
Humor- St. Peter’s
Quiz Three women die and all three reach Heaven at the same time. There they meet St. Peter. He tells them he has some other important business to transact and asks them to wait outside. Finally he returns and calls the first woman into his office. He apologizes for making her wait so long. "Oh, I don't mind at all," the woman says. "I'm so thrilled just to be here in Heaven." St. Peter is delighted by her attitude. "Well, then, if you can just answer one question for me, we can finish processing your papers. Who’s in charge here and how do you spell His name'?" The woman replies, ‘God’, she spells it, and goes on in. St. Peter calls in the next woman and also apologizes to her for making her wait. "It will be worth it, I'm sure," she answers. "I am willing to wait one thousand years if necessary in order to see God face to face." St. Peter is very pleased. He insists, though, on asking her one more question for the Records. "Tell me, dear lady, how do you spell `God'?" The woman spells it perfectly and enters the Pearly Gates. Finally, St. Peter calls in the third woman. He also apologizes to her, but she refuses to accept his apology. "It was quite rude," she says angrily. "All my life on earth I had to wait in lines. Wait at the checkout counter, wait at the bus stop, wait for my coffee break. And now you expect me to wait to get into Heaven? Well, I just won't stand for it!" St. Peter said, "I'm so sorry. If you'll just answer one more question for our records, then you can go on in. Tell me, how do you spell 'Czechoslovakia'?" |
