“Traditionally, both Lent and Advent are penitential seasons — not times of overflowing celebrations. This is not something we have sought to cultivate at all, even though we do observe a basic church calendar, made up of what the Reformers called the five evangelical feast days. Our reluctance to adopt this kind of penitential approach to these seasons of the year is not caused by ignorance of the practice. It is a deliberate attempt to lean in the other direction” (God Rest Ye Merry, p. 83),
Have 'Em Delivered
Write to the Editor
“If the Season is Penitential, You Are Doing It Wrong” Maybe. But maybe not. Over at The Gospel Coalition, they’re singing God Rest Ye Merry, Sodomites. They have an article up saying that there’s absolutely no relationship between godliness and heterosexuality, and “same sex attracted” Christians are some of the godliest Christians, and so parents should focus on raising godly children and quit worrying about whether they’ll turn out gay or straight. “We, most of all, want our boys to grow up as godly and mature Christians. Some of the most godly and mature Christians we know are same-sex attracted.… Read more »
Unbelievable
The atricle is a quote from ‘Same-Sex Attraction and the Church: The Surprising Plausibility of the Celibate Life’ by Ed Shaw, and reminds me of Tim Keller on the subject.
Uh, the article doesn’t quite say “God Rest Ye Merry, Sodomites”–the author (Ed Shaw) wrote a book saying (I gather from its title) celibacy is a surprisingly good option for those with same-sex attraction (SSA). That is, he’s NOT saying (as far as I’ve seen) homosexual ACTION is fine with God; he’s saying people with SSA can be good people living celibate lives, and that SSA can be awfully hard to get rid of. Well, we here might agree that other than SSA feelings, a person with SSA can be full of good, and that SSA can be as hard… Read more »
It is helpful to note, however, that penance is not synonymous with misery and deprivation. You know how before Passover all observant Jews clean their houses and remove everything with yeast? For us, too, it is a time to simplify, to clear the decks, to empty our minds of all that is not worthy of the coming Christchild. Even something as simple as memorizing Milton’s On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity can cut through all the jingle bell stuff and bring you joy and readiness for the miracle to come.
clean their houses and remove everything with yeast? Including socks? I like warm socks.
yeast in socks?
I think part of what causes foot funk is yeast.
The season is penitential. The season is joyful. The season is anticipatory. Set any of these elements aside, and you are missing the wonder that countless generations of the faithful have experienced in Advent.