I had hoped to write in my online journal weekly but due to mid-terms and papers, it has been a month since my first and last entry! Thanks to many who have encouraged me to write and expressed interest in reading this blog. I am home for Thanksgiving break and thought I would take a moment to write as we prepare our hearts for the season of Advent. Continuing with the theme of the Veritable Trumpet, I found these words from Gregory of Nyssa (a bishop from the 4th Century) from “The Life of Moses II” (#158 & #159):

"158. [end] For the proclamation of the divine nature is a veritable trumpet filling its hearers with alarm. It was great in its impact on its hearers even in its earliest manifestation, but greater still in its later stages. 159. The law and the prophets trumpeted out the divine mystery of the incarnation, but those first sounds were too weak to penetrate unresponsive ears. The hardness of Jewish ears failed to take in the sound of the trumpets, but as they continued, the text says, the trumpets got louder. The final utterances came with the preaching of the Gospel and these did reach men’s ears. The Spirit expressing itself through various instruments made the sound successively more impressive and more forceful. For prophets and apostles were all instruments giving utterance to one spiritual sound. It was of them that the Psalmist declares, ‘Their sound is gone out into the world and their words to the ends of the earth' [Psalm 19:4]."

The law and the prophets trumpeted out the divine mystery of the incarnation. The incarnation is Jesus Christ, fully God, becoming fully human; God the Father meeting with humanity to make himself known to us in human form, through his Son, Jesus Christ. The Law (Torah) and the Prophets of the Jews make up what Christians call the Old Testament, which is filled with prophetic utterances, announcing the coming of Christ. Jesus claimed that He was the fulfillment of Scripture (see Isaiah 61:1-2, Luke 4:14-21). In the OT, when God commanded Moses to deliver his people out of bondage, Moses asked, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites; ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:13-14).

In the NT, Thomas, one of Jesus’ disciples asked, “‘Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?’ Jesus answered, "I AM the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him’" (John 14:5-7). God sent Moses to rescue his people from Pharaoh but He sent his Son Jesus Christ to rescue all of humanity from evil and death. Unlike Moses, Jesus was not merely a prophet, but was and is the great ‘I AM,’ God Himself. Jesus was not merely proclaiming truth or showing us a good way to live, He was and is the WAY, and the TRUTH, and the LIFE.

As the season of Advent is upon us (the four weeks before Christmas beginning Sunday, December 2nd of this year), let us remember that Christ coming as a newborn babe is not a myth or a cute little holiday story but the very act of God who came to bring life to each one of us. Let us not be hard of heart or afraid to share the Gospel, the Good News, of Jesus Christ to a world that does not know where it is going, does not understand absolute truth, and does not have fullness of life. Let us prepare ourselves for the coming King and sound the Veritable Trumpet louder and clearer so that our words may reach to the ends of the earth.

The Veritable Trumpet begins...

I created this blog today on October 18, 2007. My father-in-law, Keith Morical, left his earthly life for his heavenly home on this date 12 years ago. Shortly after his death, we conceived and our son James Keith was born 10 months later. Keith is a Celtic/Gaelic name meaning "warrior." I love the strength of this name. There are some great biblical images on this theme and some of my favorite biblical heroes were warriors for God like Joshua, Caleb, Gideon, and David.

We are told in Ephesians 6:10-20: "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should" [like the Apostle Paul, I ask that you pray this for me].

My father-in-law loved to watch movies, documentaries, and listen to audio tapes on WWI & WWII. He was in the army and his brother Bill fought in WWII. Interestingly, I discovered this quote regarding WWI, which also mentions something about the veritable trumpet, the name of this blog:

“Had England rendered no other service than this of making the seas safe for freedom and dangerous for despotism, the debt of humanity to her would be incalculable. But she was doing far more than this. The utterances of her statesmen, like those of France, from the first of August, 1914, defined the issues at stake and set forth adequately the appalling gravity of the crisis. Not only were those utterances profoundly educative but they were veritable trumpet blasts, summoning to action, action, action, in the interest of all that men in Western Europe and in America had long held most precious. In the darkest hours, and there were many such in those first three years, there was no faltering in high places, no talk of compromise of right with wrong, no weakening of resolution, no abatement of demand that this world be made safe for civilized man” (excerpt from World War, 1914-1918 by Charles Downer Hazen).

I am a seminarian in the ordination process through the Episcopal Church, I mean the Anglican Communion...which is it? Actually, I'm not sure whether I'll end up being ordained as an Episcopal or an Anglican priest. Episcopalian..."to be or not to be: that is the question" [TBD]! The Lord knows, I don't. I'm trying to be obedient and praying I will be found faithful to the call.

So, what do warrior, Episcopalian, and veritable trumpet have in common? The above quote reminds me of our situation in The Episcopal Church. Many in the Church do not realize the gravity of the crisis. We are on High Alert! Our battle is not against flesh and blood and we must take action, action, action! I pray, in this dark hour, that statesmen (men and women of God) will rise up with profound utterances and will sound the veritable trumpet with 'no faltering in high places, no talk of compromise of right with wrong, no weakening of resolution, and no abatement'! However, this is not just a call to Episcopalians, this is a call to the faithful in Christ Jesus. Jesus said, "when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth" (Luke 18:8)? Let us be found to be faithful servants as we "fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2).