Always Reforming

20 years? Can it be true? Has it really been 20 years Since we lost you? I was just a kid, Sometimes I feel like I still am, I lost you just as I was becoming a man, I think about the scar, Where they cut your body open, Christmas 2003 Left so many hearts broken. 20 years? How can it be? Has it really been  20 years Since you left me? I was just a boy, When those paramedics came through, I've known pain and loss, But I never really knew you, I remember the night,  I heard the shadow was winning, Your pain was over, But ours was just beginning. 20 years? How can it be? Has it really been 20 years Since you were set free? Remember the good times , They always say, But when I think of you,  I think of Flashing lights, And Crippled limbs, Extended hospital stays, And  A cemetery down the road. 20 years? How can it be? Has it really been  20 years Since you left me?

The world was shocked, though many conservative Christians were unsurprised, by Pope Francis's latest foray into Progressivism .  His proclamation, which allows Roman Catholic priests to bless LGBTQ couples, met with equal parts rejoicing and decrying.  Regardless of your persuasion, this seems like a significant historical moment, one which is sure to have rippling effects for years to come. Now, before we go any further, let me clarify one thing: there is a difference between offering a blessing upon a gay couple and solemnizing a gay marriage.  This difference is theologically significant, though it ends up being practically less significant than many Roman Catholics would claim.  Any time that spiritual leaders allow people to feel comfortable in their sin, they are derelict of their duty and are putting souls in risk of eternal judgement.  Whatever a blessing might mean, this feels like the first step towards the inevitable goal of allowing priests to marry...

The liturgical season known as Advent is designed to remind Christians that we are defined by not one, but two, Advents. We celebrate the first Advent of Christ. We await the Second. The first has happened--it is a historical reality.  The Son, the Second Person of the Triune Godhead, took on human flesh and was born of a Virgin.  He is Immanuel--God with us.   This event occurred at a specific time in a specific place, which we in the West have chosen to celebrate on the 25th day of December each year. But this Advent--this Coming--only has meaning in relation to the Second Advent.  Christmas is incomplete, useless even, without Consummation.  The sweet babe in the manger, so tender and mild, can offer you no benefit unless you submit to Him as your returning Lord.  Advent is a season of hope and expectation, but only for those who wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. We celebrate Advent as Christians--Christ followers--because these two hi...