"...I know only one Lord..."

Thoughts for a Sunday Afternoon

Those who declare publicly that they belong to me, I will do the same for them before my Father in heaven. But those who reject me publicly, I will reject before my Father in heaven.

(Gospel of Matthew chapter 10 verse 32 - 33, Good News Translation)

Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, a king, and the ancients understood this well enough (see Gospel of Luke 23.2 or Acts of the Apostles 17.7 for example). He sits on a high and lofty throne ruling a very real kingdom of which we are citizens (Letter to the Philippians 3.20).  In New Testament times "declaring publicly that you belong" to this king (or "confess him," as the old Bibles put it) was seen as nothing less than sheer disloyalty to the empire and, as most people know, could get you tortured and killed. 

Over the past 2000 years though this fact -- that Christianity is a clash of kingdoms and in today's scripture Jesus is asking us to choose sides in the conflict -- has mostly been stripped away. In the 21st century we see "confessing Jesus" as simply picking a belief system that we feel comfortable with. And the unspoken assumption often is that we can always switch to another system if the first one gets uncomfortable.

But for Jesus, we don't declare allegiance to a belief system, we declare allegiance to him as king. And the stakes are rather serious.

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Saturnius said, "...Swear by the genius of our lord the Caesar!" 

Speratus answered, "I do not recognize any empire of this present age. I serve that God whom no person has seen, or can see with these eyes. I have not stolen. On the contrary, when I buy anything I pay my taxes, for I know only one Lord, the king of kings, the ruler of all nations.

(Acts of Martyrs, official court minutes from Carthage, July 17, 180)

What Kind of Messiah Did They Expect?

Coins minted by a Messiah

courtesy of Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. 

Jesus of Nazareth came as Israel's Messiah and did the Messiah's work, inaugurating the the new age of God's Kingdom promised by ancient prophets by being resurrected from the dead. That's what we were talking about on Monday.

I've never felt right making major assertions without giving something to support them. Especially on a site dedicated to explaining Christianity to interested parties, asking you to just trust me isn't terribly convincing.

So today is going to be a bit of a wonky day. Today I'd like to show you all the technical information that lies behind saying, as I did in the last post, that, "broadly speaking most people agreed [the Messiah] would: be a warrior, ride into Jerusalem, defeat the enemies of God (i.e., the Romans, naturally), purify the temple, and set up the Kingdom of God, which ushered in an age of unending bliss."

Just to warn you ahead of time, this may be incredibly boring. Then again, you might find it fascinating. I sure do...

The Man Who Won Ireland

Saint Patrick was never about green beer and corned beef. One of the Christian movement's boldest heroes, Patrick was by his own account a slave who escaped his harsh Irish owner only to be sent back by divine vision to evangelize his former captors.

And evangelize them he did, almost singlehandedly winning the nation's loyalty to Jesus by persuading them that the God of the Christians was much kinder than the bloodthirsty spirits they worshiped -- kind enough to die for them, rather than insisting they die for him. For more information on that exploit of Patrick's and other reasons we Irish are are so great, I heartily recommend Thomas Cahill's book How The Irish Saved Civilization.

Patrick was no myth but a real, historical man. On this St. Patrick's Day, between sips of green beer, take a listen to this reading of his autobiography.  Or read it for yourself here.

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The Breastplate of St. Patrick

I bind unto myself today
The strong name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.

I bind this day to me for ever,
By power of faith, Christ's Incarnation;
His baptism in the Jordan River;
His death on the cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spicèd tomb;
His riding up the heavenly way;
His coming at the day of doom;
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of the Cherubim;
The sweet 'Well done' in judgment hour;
The service of the Seraphim,
Confessors' faith, Apostles' word,
The Patriarchs' prayers, the Prophets' scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord,
And purity of virgin souls.

I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the starlit heaven,
The glorious sun's life-giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea,
Around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, his shield to ward,
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.

Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours
Against their fierce hostility,
I bind to me these holy powers.

Against all Satan's spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart's idolatry,
Against the wizard's evil craft,
Against the death-wound and the burning
The choking wave and the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till thy returning.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the name,
The strong name of the Trinity;
By invocation of the same.
The Three in One, and One in Three,
Of whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
salvation is of Christ the Lord.