Have you hugged a Moravian today?

Hey Folks,

As many of you know, I’ve been working as a hospital chaplain this summer in Bethlehem, PA. One of the things I’ve run into out here are a lot of people of the Moravian faith. Since you don’t see that many Moravians in NJ (at least I don’t) I thought I’d give you a rundown on the Moravian denomination. From http://www.moravian.org/:

“The name Moravian identifies the fact that this historic church had its origin in ancient Bohemia and Moravia in what is the present-day Czech Republic. In the mid-ninth century these countries converted to Christianity chiefly through the influence of two Greek Orthodox missionaries, Cyril and Methodius. They translated the Bible into the common language and introduced a national church ritual. In the centuries that followed, Bohemia and Moravia gradually fell under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Rome, but some of the Czech people protested.
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Moravians recognize the example of Christ's life and proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord. Living the Christian life depends not only on our own effort, but upon God our Father, who in Jesus Christ accepts us as heirs of God and strengthens and sustains us. In baptism we are united with Christ in his death and resurrection, so we have died to sin and should walk in newness of life. We realize that our Christian faith must continually be nourished if it is to remain living and vital. Therefore, we desire to grow in our Christian lives through family devotions, personal prayer and study, and the opportunities for spiritual development offered by the Church.
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In accepting other creeds of the Christian Church (such as the Apostles’ Creed, Nicene Creed, the Augsburg Confession) and in its practice, the Moravian Church has always stood by its motto: “In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; and in all things, love.”
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The Moravian Church recognized the sacraments of baptism and of holy communion. The usual mode of baptism is sprinkling and the church administers the sacrament in the name of the Triune God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). In the case of infant baptism, the sacrament carries with it the responsibility of parents, child and congregation. Through baptism the individual receives a pledge of the forgiveness of sin and admission into the covenant of God through the blood of Christ. Children may be baptized as a sign and pledge to them of the promise of Christ that theirs "is the kingdom of Heaven." Youth and adults confirm their baptismal covenant or are received by adult baptism when they make a profession of faith.
In respect to the sacrament of holy communion, the Moravian Church does not try to define the mystery of Christ's presence in the communion elements, but recognizes that the believer participates in a unique act of covenant with Christ as Savior and with other believers in Christ. The Moravian service of holy communion is a service of praise and prayer (with hymns being sung as the elements are distributed to all communicants); of fellowship (with the right hand of fellowship extended at the beginning and close of the service); and of special covenant with Christ and with each other.”

For more info, check out their FAQ at http://www.moravian.org/faq/. I’d also like to add that our founder, John Wesley, was strongly influenced by the Moravian Church. So, say something nice to the next Moravian you meet. Have a great day!

Grace and Peace,

Kevin

Hey Fool!

1 Corinthians 1:18-31 ¹⁸ For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart." ²⁰ Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹ For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. ²² For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, ²³ but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength. ²⁶ Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; ²⁸ God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, ²⁹ so that no one might boast in the presence of God. ³⁰ He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, ³¹ in order that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."

I’m sure you’ve something foolish…and perhaps even something foolish recently. But have you done something foolish for Christ? In the early centuries of Christianity there were people who did things to make fun of self-righteous Christians who figured you could only follow Jesus a certain way. One of these people was Simeon the Fool…Here’s just some of what he did to “stick it to the man”:

-threw nuts at priests during worship services and blew out candles

-publicly ate sausage on Friday (remember, the church used to have a no meat on Fridays thing)

-dragged around a dead dog on a leash

-tripped people in the streets

-ate vast quantities of beans on fast days

But Simeon didn’t only mock the idiocy of the world. The other thing he did a lot of was to help people. But he did this in secret as to not attract accolades or admiration. Not a bad way to help people, I say.

To quote from ShipOfFools.com, ‘St Simeon the Holy Fool was a secret saint, his story was a holy farce, and his life shows how God chooses "the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; the weak things of the world to shame the strong" (1 Corinthians 1:27).’

So, today I commend to you St. Simeon the Fool!

Peace,

Kevin