Two more reasons to read Oecolampadius' Sermons on the First Epistle of John

  

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(1) Oecolampadius has replaced Zwingli as the most important first-generation (Swiss) German Reformer. In case you missed it, Yale professor Bruce Gordon, in his recent biography of Zwingli, pronounces Oecolampadius the stronger theologian. In recent centuries, the English-speaking heirs of the German Reformed tradition — "German" referring to the language the first Swiss Reformers spoke; their reforming work, by and large, was not done in Germany per se, but in the Swiss cities and cantons along the Rhine — have been cut off from the tradition's most important founding father. But just last year several seminal works of Oecolampadiana (in addition to my own) appeared: a translation of his piece critiquing the Paschal laughter, the complete collection of his correspondence with Zwingli, et al. Oecolampadius studies is a burgeoning field and not a moment too soon. (See below.)

(2) The Sermons on the First Epistle of John (preached in Advent 1523, published in the spring of 1524) represent the evangelical movement (i.e., early 16th c. Protestantism) at its most unified. Although the first-generation Reformers would gradually come to some strong disagreements over the sacrament of the Lord's Supper (1525-1528), resulting in a rupture at Marburg (1529), there was a time when the Lutherans in Wittenberg were applauding the Reformer of Basel for his lectures on Isaiah and his Sermons on 1John (both unfolding in 1523-24). There had even been talk of hiring Oecolampadius to join the faculty at Wittenberg. The cracks would begin to appear in late 1524 with debates over Karlstadt's tracts criticizing Luther on the sacraments, but those would take some time to develop.

These days, my social media feed is awash in attacks on Calvinism. Many of these are likely from bots, others from those who have little understanding of Reformed theology. I also see many good-hearted souls rushing to its defense. This morning I saw an article — I will not link to it — suggesting that AI will unify the fractured church, promote ecumenical harmony, sort out the theological questions that distinguish one denomination from another, and make seminaries obsolete in the process. (The author does not appear to have any formal theological education.) 

Think about that claim. Jesus prayed to the Father for unity among his disciples, present and future (John 17); the Holy Spirit of Truth is the Spirit of God who unites the church under the headship and within the one body of Christ. "There is one body and one Spirit, etc." (Ephesians 4:4-6) And AI is going to outbid the Triune God on matters of doctrine, spiritual discernment (there is always a spirit behind every doctrine), and unity in the body of Christ? And by what spirit will it do that?

At some point it is going to occur to folks that behind Calvinism are not only the Westminster Standards, but Calvin himself and the Institutes, and behind Calvin himself (a second-generation Reformer) stands the first generation of Reformers, and prior to the disagreements that beset the first-generation at Marburg, the evangelical movement looked with unanimous approval on this "Handbook for the Christian Life." In many ways, the series on the First Epistle of John represents the most mature distillation of the Gospel from a unified evangelical movement: from Oecolampadius as the chief expositor of the (Swiss) German Reformed, with the unanimous endorsement and congratulations of the Lutherans in Wittenberg. It was a moment of notable Christian unity marked by the Spirit, when the Gospel was clearly distinguished from the corruption of the Roman church at the time. 

There is a lot to be said for going back to the source material, especially this source material, which epitomizes the very best of the Protestant tradition (no less than one third of the global church), but which has been available to English-speaking readers only since 2017. 

Laffer Curves across the map

Surely every field, every discipline, every profession will, at some point, demonstrate some corollary to the Laffer Curve. Art Laffer's famous napkin sketch (basically a frowny face) doodled for President Reagan describing how there is a tax rate above which revenue decreases rather than increases, i.e., becomes counterproductive—I assume—applies broadly, across the map. In my own area of homiletics, one often hears the objection that a sermon exceeding the attention span of most hearers will "tax" them overmuch, and instead of inspiring them will make them restless. What about your field, your experience, your congregation, your constituency?

Lord willing, I hope my sermon this morning does not run too long. I would much rather be greeted with smiles.

The Allison Inquiry

I wonder how many social justice preachers will be mentioning the Allison Inquiry in their sermons this week. I'll wager zero.

UPDATE: "Light will prevail over darkness. Good will prevail over evil."

ANOTHER UPDATE: A YT playlist for the Allison Inquiry.

Imago Dei

"Imago Dei" is an old track, one of my oldest. It was written and recorded in Andy Thornton's Jump Studio in Glasgow in the late summer of 1993 and debuted as a Late Late Service (LLS) track in the Rolling Magazine Tent at the Greenbelt Festival in the last week of August that year. Andy did the engineering and mixing and added just what was needed, the compelling ambient speech track that runs through the whole thing. What a gift. With no objection from LLS leaders at the time, it was later added as a bonus track to my 1991 record, A Soundtrack for the Close of the Age. Having reached its 33rd birthday, it seems like it is old enough to have its own video.

Three vital leadership principles from Scripture

In my first Doctor of Ministry cohort, I assigned The Peter Principle, which is absolutely hilarious. Surprisingly, I still had a job afterwards, it is so dated and politically incorrect. The point is that I have tried to live by that principle, i.e., not to get promoted beyond my level of competence. But to those who actually do have gifts for institutional leadership and seek to develop them: God bless you. Here are three biblical leadership principles you will likely never find in the leadership literature, at least not in their original settings. They are, however, divinely inspired, so even if they rub pragmatic leaders the wrong way and seem counter-intuitive, as they likely will, they promise real blessing to those humble enough and willing to act on them.

(1) Do not be Rehoboam. Rehoboam inherited the throne of a united Israel from his father Solomon. He asked advice of his counselors, and the older ones told him to lighten the load of his subjects. If he would do so, they said, the people would be loyal to him for life. Instead, he listened to his younger advisors, who told him to demand more and more and more of his subjects. They even crudely told him to claim it was all about whether he or his father had the bigger manhood, so to speak. As a result of following the juvenile counsel of the latter, he angered and alienated his people, found himself facing a rebellion, and lost the larger part of his kingdom, ten of the twelve tribes he inherited. He should have listened to his older counselors. He would have had loyal subjects for his entire reign. [See 1Kings 12.] Don't be Rehoboam.

The other two principles I hastily bookmarked in a previous post, but let me explain them here.

(2) This one is mentioned three separate times in the Bible, which conveys remarkably strong reinforcement:

"Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." (Deuteronomy 25:4)

"Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." (1Corinthians 9:9)

"Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." (1Timothy 5:11)

Paul tells us this is not just about oxen, but about human workers, as well. So, when we can ask: "What do muzzles do?", we can answer: "They muffle speech, they inhibit proper breathing, and they prevent someone from eating, taking refreshment, and enjoying the product of their labors." If your workers have no way to speak to you or send you critical feedback, if your leadership structure allows for no one to lobby or advocate for your workers, if your style does not convey genuine openness to suggestion or critique, if workspaces are suffocating cages or the workload relentless and ever increasing, you risk killing the goose that lays your golden egg. If your mission really is "all" about your customers, clients, students, etc., and you show no awareness of or interest in how much work your people are doing, how much their burden has been increasing, how often you have been asking them to do more with less, over and over again, you will fail and deservedly so. Because muzzling an ox while it is treading out the grain is not only bad management, it is stingy, cruel, demoralizing, and dispiriting. Don't do it.

(3) Do not presume to appropriate divine promises of prosperity by wrenching them out of context. Here is an example that hits close to home for many evangelicals, but read the two verses in blue first (vv. 10 and 12), then go back and read the middle one (v. 11).

10 "This is what the LORD says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. (Jer 29:10-12)

Those seventy years refer to the Babylonian exile, after Jerusalem had been besieged, starved, and resorted to cannibalism, her leaders killed or captured. The Spirit of the Lord had departed the city. Ezekiel saw it happen. And the Lord set the sentence for the Jewish exiles in Babylon at 70 years. Why? To ensure the land was given its sabbatical years, every year an earned sabbatical that had been withheld, clawed back, or reneged by her leaders over the decades and centuries from Solomon and Rehoboam to Zedekiah. That is how serious the Lord was and is about honoring sabbatical years, serious as a 70-year exile. In this case the context places substantial and sobering conditions around the promise people try to appropriate, but without regard to those very conditions: When ... then.

Every preaching textbook, every Bible exegesis course, teaches the interpreter to look at what comes immediately before and immediately after the text in question. It is the very first step of proper interpretation. Good leaders should likewise be attuned to context. In this case, the context says: the middle verse — the promise of prosperity — is not for you unless you are prepared to honor its terms and conditions.

All of these principles pose a serious question and a challenge to those who seek to lead faithfully: Do you trust God and his Word? Do you trust him to provide through sabbatical years (which are spiritually regenerative and bear remarkable fruit), even when, e.g., your most productive Presbyterian elders and deacons are constitutionally required to take a year off after two consecutive three-year terms? Do you trust him to provide when the muzzle is off, the burden is lessened, the yoke is untied? Do you trust the Lord more than the efficiency experts, obsessed as they are with the bottom-line, who constantly goad you to demand more and more and more from your people and insist they make do with less (time), less (freedom), less (money), and less (rest)? "Show me the numbers" is an important part of good stewardship, but time and again the Scriptures attest that numbers are no match for God. 

Listen to your elders. Loosen the yoke. Lighten the load. Buck the self-defeating "do more with less" trend that other institutions are imposing so feverishly out of desperation and distrust, even if that trend seems like common sense and the only logical way to please your stakeholders and investors. Honor the Sabbath day (remember the Exodus) and build Sabbatical years faithfully into your culture (remember the Exile). Let them be an offering to God. Keep your promises. God will bless you and your institution. Your people will remember it and be unswerving in their loyalty. Others — those who break their promises and continually move the goal posts — will have trouble filling jobs with competent, loyal people, but everyone will want to work for you.

Choose wisely. Lead well.

A life well lived. The world is poorer for his passing.

 RIP, Wendell Berry. 

When/then: Thoughts about starving oxen and promises of prosperity taken out of context.

Here is a triply biblical thought:

"Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." (Deuteronomy 25:4)

"Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." (1Corinthians 9:9)

"Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." (1Timothy 5:11)

Why do you think the Holy Spirit saw fit to reiterate this three times, once in the Old Testament and twice in the New?

And I wonder if we might not see some astonishing outpouring of grace from on high if we stopped ripping Jeremiah 29:11 out of context and recognized how serious the Lord was and is about observing sabbatical years, you know, serious as a 70-year exile, so that muzzled oxen should not collapse and die from lack of nourishment and oxygen deprivation while grinding at the mill.

10 "This is what the LORD says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. (Jer 29:10-12)

 

Psalm 3 [St. Columba]

This was the first of the Revenant Psalms I worked up in 2021.  

It became Track 2 on the initial volume. Hopefully having the text before you will make it more singable. Meanwhile, this series of videos showing the capo arrangements, chord shapes, fingering, etc., may perhaps have the same effect watching a friend play his snappy technique had on me way back in 1993. It only took me 28 years (from 1993 to 2021) for me to actually put my pick down and do this, but I'm glad I did. I find this style of rhythm guitar much more fun to play and enjoyable to listen to than the more common strumming style that is ubiquitous among worship leaders. [Not even sure I could do it if I tried.]