Tag: Presbyterian

God Don’t Make No Junk

On By J. Barrett LeeIn SermonLeave a comment

Sermon for Proper 16, Year C

Click here for the biblical readings

Once upon a time, there was a big family, who all lived together in a big house. Each member of this family had a special, magical gift. One was very strong, one could talk to animals, another had powers of healing, and another could control the weather. But then there was another member of the family, Bruno, who could see visions of the future that no one else wanted to see. His gift made people uncomfortable, so the rest of the family banished him from the family. Whenever anyone asked about him, the family would say, “We don’t talk about Bruno.”

But here’s the thing: Poor Bruno didn’t just go away when he was banished; he stayed in the house and lived in the walls, where no one could find him. Eventually, his ominous visions of the future started coming true. Finally, the family realized that they needed Bruno’s help because his visions provided the wisdom they needed to fix their problems. In the end, they saved their family and their house, not by getting rid of Bruno, but by bring him out of the walls and reintegrating him into the life of their family.

The story I have just told you is the plot of the Disney movie Encanto. You may or may not have seen it. But even if you haven’t seen it, I think its story rings true for most of us in the real world.

Many of us, in our families or neighborhoods, can think of people who we would rather not acknowledge or talk about. They make us feel awkward or angry with their unusual ways. We would rather just pretend that they didn’t exist at all, but the thing is that we can’t ever really get rid of them. We can push them out of sight and out of mind, but they are never truly gone.

If we’re honest, we can admit that the reason why such people make us so uncomfortable is that they remind us of truths within ourselves that we would rather not acknowledge. But if we’re truly honest, we can even admit that each one of us has a “Bruno” within ourselves: Some part of us that we wish wasn’t there, because it makes us uncomfortable.

These unwelcome parts of ourselves often get pushed to the side, or even banished into the unconscious parts of our minds, because we would simply rather not deal with the inconvenient truths that they present us with. But the fact is, for us just as much as for the family in the movie Encanto, we can never truly be set free until we recognize these banished parts of ourselves and welcome the truthful message they bring us. This is a story about every single one of us, and it is also the story of today’s gospel.

The woman that Jesus encounters in today’s gospel is a person who knows what it’s like to be pushed aside and forgotten. As a woman, she was already banished to the far corners of the synagogue. The men were the ones who could stand in the center and lead the assembly in singing praises to God.

In addition to her gender, this woman also had some kind of psychosomatic ailment that kept her “bent over” and “quite unable to stand upright” for almost twenty years. On a metaphorical level, this illness made the woman present herself to the world as something less than what she truly was. Her story makes me think of people I know who feel like they are defective or less than their peers because of some quality about themselves that they think will be perceived as unacceptable to the people around them. Her story makes me think also about those parts of myself that I would rather hide from the world because they make me feel ashamed. Like the family in Encanto, I would much rather push those parts of myself out of sight and out of mind, hoping that the world will never find out about the secret that I am so desperately trying to hide. But Jesus doesn’t play that game.

When Jesus encounters this woman, he invites her to come stand in the center of the synagogue. He proclaims to her, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment,” and then reaches out and lays his hands upon her. It is not lost on me that this laying on of hands is the same gesture that a bishop performs during the ordination of a priest. Jesus is ordaining and empowering this woman to stand up and claim her true identity in the midst of the people of God. I think it is no coincidence, therefore, that the woman in this story immediately straightens up to her full stature and begins praising God.

It is also no surprise, at that point, that the managers of that religious institution suddenly become indignant and begin to argue about the petty minutiae of religious law, even though they have literally just witnessed a miracle taking place. But Jesus is having none of their hypocrisy; he calls it out for what it is. Jesus would rather risk blasphemy by breaking the rules than keep the rules and sacrifice the real needs of human people. This is the kind of Savior that Jesus Christ is: with us, for us, in us, and through us. He breaks religious rules for the sake of human needs, and he invites us to do the same.

I remember a time, early in my ministry, when I was the pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Boonville, New York. It was a small, traditional church in a small, traditional town. At that time, the Presbyterian denomination was in the process of revising its official stance on the ordination and marriage of LGBTQ+ people in the church. One prominent member of the church, a man named Rick, came to me and told me that he was gay. He said that, in light of the changes happening in their denomination, he wanted to come out of the closet to his church family. Whether they loved him or hated him, he wanted them to know him as he truly was.

I told Rick that, since I was still new at the church, I couldn’t predict how the parishioners would respond, but I would proudly stand beside him as his pastor, no matter what. So, we planned a church supper to discuss the changes that were then happening in our denomination. At the end of the conversation, I invited Rick to the front of the room to tell his story.

After he finished talking, there was a long moment of silence. I held my breath as I waited to hear how the church would respond. You could have heard a pin drop in that room.

The first person to speak up was a longtime member of the church who very rarely said a word, good or bad.

“Well,” she said, “God don’t make no junk!”

What happened next, I can only describe as a “Tidal Wave Group Hug.”

The entire mob of people of the church rushed to the front of the room, covering Rick with their tears and their love. His elderly aunt said, “I’m so proud you’re my nephew!”

And I was never so proud to be their pastor as I was in that moment.

From that day on, First Presbyterian Church of Boonville became a bastion of civil rights for LGBTQ+ people in upstate New York. They embodied the all-inclusive and unconditional love of Jesus Christ in a way that I would not have thought possible for such a small church in such a small town. They did it because they loved their friend Rick, and because they followed their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who called them to love their neighbors as themselves.

Kindred in Christ, this is what it looks like when a community of believers lives out the call to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ in this world. This is what it looks like when the Church, following in the footsteps of her Lord, invites marginalized people into the center of our collective life, lifts them up, and empowers them to sing God’s praises in our midst.

My question to you today is this: What happens when it’s your turn? What happens when those parts of yourself that you have ignored, repressed, or banished get invited to stand up straight in the center of the room and lead the chorus of God’s praise? What happens then?

[QUICK DISCLAIMER: To my wonderful and beautiful introverts in the room: I know you feel terrified by what I just said. I just heard all of your blood pressures go up simultaneously. Please don’t worry; I won’t make you stand at the front of the room. To you, I would ask the following: What happens when that one person you love the most feels so invigorated by your presence that THEY go to the front of the room and sing God’s praise? Afterwards, they turn to you with a subtle wink and silently mouth the words, “Thank you.” What happens then?]

Well, I’ll tell you what happens then: The kingdom of God comes on Earth, as it is in Heaven. The followers of Jesus begin to act more and more like their Lord and Savior. “The power of love overcomes the love of power,” as Jimi Hendrix once said, and the world understands anew the meaning of those old words: “Jesus loves me, this I know…”

Kindred in Christ, the Spirit of Jesus is among us today, just as the physical Jesus was present with that woman in today’s gospel, setting you free to stand up straight and sing God’s praises. Let us sing those praises together and empower our neighbors to stand and sing with us, so that they too might know the love that sets us free.

Amen.

Living In Between: Adventures of a Presbyterian pastor on a Jesuit campus

On By J. Barrett LeeIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Reblogged from Presbyterians Today

By the Rev. Abby King-Kaiser

Protestants prioritize the Word, Scripture. We take it very seriously. So seriously. Worship thus centers on the Word. Even the formal ways we talk about worship usually relates back to the Word. Catholic Mass, on the other hands, centers on the sacrament. The altar is the centerpiece, and much of the rest of worship, prayer, and even a faithful life, flows from the sacrament. It even changes the way we talk about encounters with God.

This doesn’t mean that Communion isn’t essential for Presbyterians (though the infrequency of its celebration in some of our congregations may raise questions to that effect) or that Catholics are unconcerned about Scripture. It’s just a question of where our emphasis lies.

Perhaps we can learn from each other.

Click here to read the full article

Seek Ye First the Rat Park

On By J. Barrett LeeIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Hey there Superfriends and Blogofans!

I’m delighted to report that I have an article that’s just been published for Unbound: An Interactive Journal of Christian Social Justice. The article is a theological piece I’ve been working on for the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s Task Force on Drug Policy Reform.

Check it out at their site:

Seek Ye First the Rat Park

Preventing drug abuse and treating addiction on a societal level means ‘building a Rat Park’ for humans. The solution to the drug problem is not more incarceration or military intervention, but the pursuit of shalom and the kingdom of God. As our communities begin to reflect the love of the Triune God, with resources invested in community development, social justice, substance abuse prevention, medical care, education, and treatment, we will be creating avenues toward healing human pain, rather than simply numbing it with addictive behavior or chemicals.

Click here to read the full article

(Reblog) Reasons to celebrate the PC(USA) this Advent season (Moderator’s column)

On By J. Barrett LeeIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

It’s a little late for Advent, but I love this article and this guy. Moderator Heath Rada lays out some of what makes our church a good one:

Heath Rada, Moderator of the 221st General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA)

  • I celebrate the PC(USA) as a denomination that unequivocally affirms the Lordship of Jesus Christ as our Savior. Each new member, when joining the church, confesses that she or he accepts Jesus as their personal Savior. In fact, they could not be members if they do not confess that as their position. Do we state that everyone has to be a Christian to be saved? I thank God that I am not called upon to provide God’s answer to that question, for only God can give the answer. God is the judge; that is God’s job. But I do know that all members of the PC(USA) say they believe Jesus is the mandated key to salvation, and for that I celebrate our denomination.
  • I am grateful that the PC(USA) believes in the authority of the Scriptures as being God’s word. Anyone who is ordained a teaching or ruling elder in our denomination affirms that this is his or her belief. Does that mean we all agree on every interpretation of God’s word? No. Does anyone? But it does mean that we see the Holy Bible as the authority, and understand as much as we possibly can, though we are also told in the Scriptures that today “we see in a mirror, dimly” (1 Cor. 13:12, NRSV). I cannot attest to my interpretation of the Word as being the only one. Being a member of the PC(USA) allows us the latitude to keep on searching for the ultimate truth. Whether I am liberal or conservative, from one social class or race or another, does not matter. The PC(USA) invites us all to become a family of Jesus Christ bound together.
  • The PC(USA) believes in taking the Good News to all the world. Ninety-four million Christians around the world attribute the PC(USA) with being the source of their knowing Jesus Christ! Though we may have fewer full-time missionaries throughout the world today than we did 50 years ago, we now send thousands of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) members (more than ever in our history) to serve in international missions—work missions, teaching missions, medical missions, etc. We all share in this role in ways and numbers that we never have before, and we model the Good News as we deliver needed services with our talents and gifts.

Click here to read the full article

Heart to Heart

On By J. Barrett LeeIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

We modern folks, Protestants in particular, have a hard time conceiving of ministry that doesn’t somehow involve an exchange of information. We talk a lot. Many words.

We ask for prayer requests and affirmations of faith. We made the sermon the central feature of the worship event. We analyze hymns based on their lyrical content. Especially since God cannot be seen directly with the eyes, we are tempted to reduce Christian faith to exchanging the right kind of information in the right way.

Let me be as clear as possible: I have come to believe that we have made a vital error in this. Faith and ministry are adamantly not primarily about the exchange of information.

I experienced this firsthand in a new way last spring when I visited St. Gregory’s Abbey, a Benedictine monastery in Three Rivers, Michigan. During my week there, I shared that space with the monks who live there year-round and with several other visitors: an Anglican priest, a Quaker pastor, a woman going through a difficult life transition, two young women in campus ministry, a group of men on retreat from a nearby Episcopal church, and a rabbi in the throes of a psychotic episode.

Each of us had our own reasons for being there, but what I experienced most deeply was the sense of togetherness and connection that emerged, not from our conversations, but primarily through the space shared in silence. We got to know each other while knowing very little about each other. This was intimacy minus the exchange of information. It runs completely counter to the style of relational building that our culture has trained us to pursue (which could be described as the exchange of information without intimacy).

There is a similar kind of ministry that grows among us at North Presbyterian Church, where I serve as pastor. Most of the people we do ministry with have some kind of serious, chronic mental illness. Some of our people are barely verbal in their cognitive expression. I stand up to preach every Sunday, but it’s not the main event of the service. My sermon could be good or bad, short or long, and the ideas would still go over the heads of several people in the congregation. They don’t come for the sermon.

Instead, they come to sing their hearts out (loudly and off-key), to share a hug and a smile (maybe the only one they’ll get all week), to voice their weekly joys and concerns in words that are sometimes unintelligible (but known to God in prayer), to receive the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist (which we celebrate weekly, a rarity among Presbyterians).

Our liturgy is messy and rowdy: quite the opposite of Benedictine silence and Presbyterian “decency and order.”

Our worship and ministry at North is not about the exchange of information, but the intimate connection of heart to heart in the gospel. It happens in music and touch, in bread and wine.

The following video illustrates this beautifully. While none of our members are as impaired as Ms. Wilson, the principle of ministry is the same. St. Francis of Assisi is thought to have said, “Preach the gospel always; use words when necessary.” This video shows how it’s done:

In Defense of Pronouns

On By J. Barrett LeeIn Uncategorized7 Comments

A couple of years ago, I wrote a blog post on my ideas about church growth and pastoral leadership:

A Growing Church is a Dying Church

As it turns out, this post said what many others were thinking. I watched as it made its way around the theological corners of the blogosphere, sparking an enthusiastic “Amen!” from many of my colleagues in ministry. The response, however, has not been entirely positive. A small minority of commentators have branded me as a ‘Leftist’ whose heretical views are responsible for the decline of mainline Protestant churches.

Why have I been so labeled?

  • Have I blasphemed against the doctrines of the Trinity, the Incarnation, or the Atonement? No.
  • Have I called for Christians to stop praying, throw out the Bible, or cease & desist from celebrating the Sacraments? No.
  • Have I discouraged churches from engaging in mission, serving their communities, or speaking publicly about their faith? No.

I have done none of these things. To the contrary, my call in the article is for more prayer and Bible study, more frequent celebrations of the Eucharist, and more community outreach, all of which are activities that even the most theologically conservative Christians could get behind with their whole hearts.

The issue that has repeatedly stoked the fires of anger in some of my readers is my use of a single, three-lettered pronoun: She. The hypothetical pastor in my article is a woman.

It was a relatively minor editorial decision that I made on the fly. When I wrote the article, I didn’t set out to make any kind of deliberate statement about feminism or gender equality through my use of pronouns. Honestly, I didn’t give it much thought because it didn’t seem like a big deal to me at the time.

I serve in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), where we have ordained women to the ministry of Word and Sacrament for over half a century. In every single congregation I have served, women have not only been my colleagues, but also my predecessors at the table and in the pulpit. My wife was ordained several years before I was and it was through her, in part, that I began to discern my own call to pastoral ministry.

I have been shocked that this minor detail seems to have drawn out the sexist attitudes that still poison our church life and do violence to the gospel itself, no less than the arbitrary distinctions between Jews and Gentiles that St. Paul sought to overcome in his time.

It seems ridiculous to me that this particular article could have sparked such a hateful reaction.

Even though the article itself only advocates for things that could be affirmed by all Christians, detractors point to my use of feminine pronouns as evidence for a liberal conspiracy to undermine, subvert, and destroy the church from within.

Gender equality had nothing to do with the main thrust of my article, but it has emerged as an important issue in the way that the article has been received by its critics. To me, their unexpected vitriol highlights two important realities:

  1. That our sisters in ordained ministry are being compelled to carry the cross of mainline decline.
  2. That some versions of the conservative vision for ‘renewal’ in the church have little to do with fidelity to the gospel and much to do with returning to a nostalgic ideal of a specifically American way of life, dominated by straight, white men.

In the time since the article’s initial publication, I have received numerous requests for it to be reprinted in church bulletins and newsletters. Some churches have asked whether they could change the pronouns from feminine to masculine. I have refused to authorize any such changes.

I think it’s important to keep the feminine pronouns as they are. So long as it is up to me, I would rather there not be a second version of this article in circulation that could be used to remove the scandal for sexist ears.

Why I Stay

On By J. Barrett LeeIn Uncategorized15 Comments

Image

Last week, the Office of the General Assembly for the Presbyterian Church (USA), released its 2013 statistics on church attendance and the number of congregations in our denomination.

You can read that report by clicking here.

Since the report’s release, Presbyterians have engaged in the usual ritual of nail-biting and finger-pointing over the current state of the church. Various pundits have offered their opinions online and in print, analyzing and interpreting these statistics.

I’m not going to do that.

What I’d like to offer now are some of my thoughts on why I came and why I stay in the Presbyterian Church (USA).

I’m a young pastor in the Midwest who falls somewhere on the line between GenX and Millennial. I’m young and married with kids… exactly the kind of demographic that most of our churches are trying to court.

Yet, we’re not just attending church, my wife and I have given our lives to it as pastors. We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t believe this denomination capable of carrying the Christ-light into the future. So, here’s a little advice from your target demographic…

We are so DONE with whining about mainline decline and finger-pointing over whose theology is to blame. When Boomers and members of the WW2 generation give voice to that spirit of despair, they belittle the commitment we’ve made. What’s even worse is that their belly-aching ignores what it is that makes us the Church:

I was born in 1980, so I never saw the “glory days” of the 1950s. I never saw the packed pews or overflowing parking lots that others remember so fondly. I’ve only known a Presbyterian Church in numerical and fiscal decline, but that hasn’t stopped me from coming or staying.

I didn’t grow up Presbyterian. In fact, I didn’t even attend a service at a PC(USA) congregation until I was in my twenties. I grew up in an evangelical mega-church with contemporary worship, dynamic preaching, and no bureaucratic ties to a denomination that might hold the congregation back from following the Spirit’s lead. It was a pretty good place and I’m thankful for the gifts I received there.

But when the time came for me to follow God’s call on my life, I came here.
Did you get that? I’ll say it again:
I. Chose. You.

Here’s why:
There is depth here. This is a place where I can connect with something greater than myself. This is a place where I am forced to encounter the presence of Christ in the face of those who disagree with me. This is a place where I can be rooted in tradition, yet inspired to branch out in new directions. I’m rarely comfortable here. In fact, I feel like a fish out of water most of the time, but I stick around because YOU have convinced me, in your preaching and praying, in your singing and voting, and most of all in the Scriptures and Sacraments, that personal discomfort is the surest sign that Christ is at work in me, continually calling me toward new life and growth in faith.

If that’s not worth sticking around for, I don’t know what is.

When it comes to reading statistical reports and fretting over what our future will look like, I want to re-direct our attention back to what matters most: to the Christ who comes to us, walking on the water, calling us to step out of the boat in faith, daring us to do the impossible. Let’s not tremble in fear at the wind and waves that threaten to overwhelm us, but fix our eyes instead upon the Author and Perfecter of our faith, the One who began this good work in us and will see it through to completion in God’s time.

I know this little rant of mine won’t solve any of our immediate problems. We still have a General Assembly to convene, budgets to balance, buildings to maintain, pastors to pay, and missions to support. The cause for concern is real. My purpose in sharing this is to give you hope by offering a testimony of faith from a young voice who has come to and stayed in this denomination, not because you have big buildings or budgets, not because you have slick worship or good preaching, not because your theology is evangelical or progressive, but because Jesus Christ loves and challenges me through you.

That is the gift you bring. That is what makes us the Church.

As you read the above statistical report and gather for General Assembly in Detroit, keep that in mind.

Remember how our elder brother, St. Paul, said it:

“Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

Call to Prayer for the Philippines

On By J. Barrett LeeIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Reblogged from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.):

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) deeply grieves the devastation and loss in the Republic of the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan (also known as Typhoon Yolanda). The denomination is actively responding through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and its partners, and also is calling for prayer.

 

The Creator of the world, the stiller of storms, our shelter and our strength:
We turn to You in this dire hour, of massive devastation and death.
Interceding for your people in the Philippines and in other parts of Southeast Asia,
Joining our hearts, our prayers, and our cries with theirs.
Hear us, dear God! We plead to You. See the suffering. Feel the tears. Come to Your
     people in a way that only You can, God of mercy and grace.
Be the shelter for the thousands whose homes have now become debris or washed with
     the waters;
Be the healer for the wounded;
Be the comforter for many who weep, for the many who sift through the trees, who
     wonder, “Where is my loved one? Why us?”
Feel the pain, dear Lord, because You know our inward parts, the heart and soul of Your
     people beat with anguish that You alone can bear, that You alone can hold in the
     shadow of your wings.

Click here to read the full prayer

Click here to donate to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance

Essential Tenets, Core Beliefs, and the Presbyterian Church

On By J. Barrett LeeIn Uncategorized1 Comment

This is a reblog from an article on the website of First Presbyterian Church, Dallas, TX.  It is one of the most astute and concise statements on theological authority I have read in a long time and it resonates deeply within my soul:

What about our core theological beliefs?  Since the Fundamentalist-Modernist controversy in the early 1900’s, the Presbyterian church has battled over a need to assert “fundamentals” of the faith,” a term invoked by Presbyterian lay leader Lyman Stewart, who published a series of essays that would become the foundation of a fundamentalist movement within Protestantism.   Some see our lack of defined “essential tenets” as a lack of core theological beliefs.  I do not.  It  keeps our theology in proper perspective to the sovereignty of God and the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  So we debate essential tenets of the faith.  We hold to the sovereignty of God in all things, and we debate what that means.  We point to the total depravity of humanity, and we debate what that means.  We debate predestination and its impact on the important decisions of discipleship.  This does not mean we lack core theological beliefs, rather we refuse to make an idol out of our theology.

Click here to read the full article

The Wrath of God and the Presbyterian Hymnal

On By J. Barrett LeeIn Uncategorized25 Comments

The number one rule of the internet is: “Don’t feed the trolls.”

Hopefully, I’m not about to violate it, but we’ll see.

I came across an article this morning that got my kettle boiling (more than it usually is).  It came from an online publication called The Blaze.  I’m not familiar with this one, but they seem to have an affinity for conservative ideas, so far as I can tell from a cursory scan of their website.

The article is titled: Why Is a Major Church Denomination Banning Famed Hymn ‘In Christ Alone’ From Its New Song Book?  It’s about the denomination I serve, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and our new hymnal that comes out this fall.  I have several bones to pick with this article: some technical, some theological.  Hold onto your hats, because here we go… (takes a deep breath):

First of all, the song wasn’t “banned” from our hymnal, it was voted out.  The Committee on Congregational Song, after much discussion and discernment, democratically decided (9 to 6) not to include it.  Such was the case with many other suggested songs.  In Christ Alone is not prohibited from being sung in PC(USA) congregations.  I have done so on several occasions.  The choir even sang it as a special anthem at my ordination service.  Songs that mention God’s wrath were not targeted for exclusion by the committee.  They included Awesome God by Rich Mullins, which sings about “the judgment and wrath He poured out on Sodom”.

Second, the PC(USA) is not “liberal” or “leftist”.  I should know: I am liberal.  I sometimes wish the PC(USA) were more so, but it isn’t.

In reality, our church is extremely diverse in its theology and politics.  We have evangelicals and progressives, Democrats and Republicans, folks who like traditional liturgy and folks who like contemporary worship.  We’re a mixed bag of people who dare to believe that our differences can make us stronger and more faithful to Christ, if we let them.  If anything, our leaders for the past half-century or so have been largely influenced by the Neo-orthodoxy of Karl Barth, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and the Niebuhr brothers.  You can see this in several of our more recently added confessional statements: the Barmen Declaration, the Confession of 1967, and the Brief Statement of Faith.  These statements reflect a theological middle ground between fundamentalist and liberal perspectives.  You can call us equal opportunity offenders.  Purists, fanatics, and extremists of all stripes tend to be equally frustrated with the Presbyterian Church (USA).  We are what we are… deal with it.

Third, the problem with the original wording of In Christ Alone has nothing to do with liberalism or squeamishness at the idea of God’s wrath.  The controversial line in the song goes like this:

“Till on that cross, as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied.”

I have big problems with that line and I agree with the committee’s decision to axe the hymn based on the authors’ refusal to allow them to change the words to “the love of God was magnified.”  I reject outright the idea that God’s wrath put Jesus on the cross or kept him there.  It was the all-too-human selfishness and violence of religious and political powers-that-be that put Jesus on the cross.  It was Jesus’ commitment to nonviolence and his tremendous love that kept him there.

The original wording in the song is based on the theory of atonement called penal substitution, famously developed by St. Anselm of Canterbury in the 11th century.  Anselm’s delineation of the theory depends greatly on its assumption of feudal notions of justice which we no longer hold.  In that society, the severity of a crime was measured by the relative social positions of perpetrator and victim.  Crimes against the nobility were punished more harshly than crimes against the peasantry.  In Anselm’s mind, any crime against an infinitely holy God must necessarily be punished eternally.  Drawing upon priestly and sacrificial language from the New Testament, Anselm presented Jesus as the perfect solution to the problem of justice: fully divine, fully human, morally stainless.  His voluntary substitution of himself resolves the problem presented by the feudal theory of justice.  Anselm’s use of this model was more apologetic than ontological.  He was simply trying to make the gospel recognizable to people in his own place and time, just as we are called to do.  However, we who no longer accept the feudal theory of justice are likewise not bound to accept penal substitution as the one and only interpretation of the significance of Calvary.

Here are my problems with penal substitution as a viable atonement theory:

First, penal substitution sets up a scenario where Jesus saves humanity from the rage (not the wrath) of an out-of-control, abusive parent.  When all is said and done, the church gathers around a crucifix and hears, “This is your fault.  Look at what you made God do.  You are so bad and dirty that God had to torture and kill this beautiful, innocent person so that he wouldn’t do the same thing to you.  Therefore, you’d better shape up and be thankful or else God will change his mind and torture you for all eternity.  And don’t forget: this is Good News and God loves you.”  If any human parent did that, he or she would be rightly incarcerated, even if the innocent victim was willing.  If that’s what Christianity is, then you can count me out.

Second, penal substitution renders both the life and the resurrection of Christ unnecessary.  If Jesus simply “came to die”, then we can conveniently ignore all those pesky red letters in our Bibles.  We also might as well sleep in on Easter Sunday because the real work was done on Good Friday.  God just tacked on the resurrection so that the story would have a happy ending.  It’s little more than icing on the cake of atonement.

The atonement theory toward which I gravitate bears more resemblance to the Christus Victor model.  According to Christus Victor, the powers of evil threw everything they had at Jesus to oppose and silence him.  They did their worst, as they always do: dealing death to anything that challenges their power.  To paraphrase biblical scholar Marcus Borg: the crucifixion was the world’s “No” to Jesus, but the resurrection is God’s “Yes”.

And God’s Yes trumps the world’s No every single time.  God rejects the world’s rejection of God.

The miracle of the atonement wasn’t in Jesus’ blood shed on the cross.  That’s just the world doing what the world does best: Killing.  The miracle of the atonement is in the resurrection of Christ: the triumph and vindication of a Love, stronger than death, that endured the very worst that the world had to offer and kept on loving anyway.

This, my friends, is the love that wilt not let us go.

This is the Good News of salvation in Christ that I am called to preach.

There, on that cross, as Jesus died, the love of God was magnified. 

I believe those words with all my heart.

I respect the authors’ decision not to have their lyrics altered, but I also respect the committee’s decision to set this hymn aside because of its deficient atonement theology.

Glory to God: The Presbyterian Hymnal comes out this fall.
Click here for ordering information.

If you want some actual information on the committee’s theology and use of language, visit the Committee Statements page on their website.

In closing, here are the words of Chelsea Stern, one of the committee members, about what they know, pray, and hope in relation to the new hymnal (taken from the Hymnal Sampler, p.5-6):

This we know:
We know this hymnal will change lives.
We know this hymnal will inspire the church.
We know these songs will enliven worship in powerful ways.
We know the familiar songs will sing anew.
We know the new songs will speak truth.

This we pray:
We pray that as we sing together from this hymnal we will come to have a deeper sense of unity in the body of Christ.
We pray that the Holy Spirit will bring surprises and breathe new life into our churches through this hymnal.

This we hope:
We hope the cover imprint fades from greasy fingers.
We hope the pages become wrinkled and torn from constant use.
We hope our kids will sing from this hymnal – we hope our grandkids will too.

We praise!
We praise God for this collection of song and give God the glory!