I wanted to say more on Sunday during the sermon...

Friends in Christ,

I wanted to say more last Sunday during the sermon, but I ran out of time.

I have posted here a quote from Father Robert Capon, an Episcopal priest who has written a number of excellent commentaries on the Four Gospels. I have read many of his books and use his commentaries (where appropiate) when I prepare to preach.

I was directed to this quote from Capon by Rev. Brian Stoffregen, who has written many fine commentaries on the Four Gospels as well. You can find Stoffregen's commentaries at www.crossmarks.com.

I love the quote from Capon. He is rock solid as a theologian, and he doesn't mind telling the church to stay on message, that is, preach the Good News of God in Jesus Christ through the forgiveness of sins.

In Easter joy, Pastor Grant


Here is a quote from Robert Capon (Hunting the Divine Fox: An Introduction to the Language of Theology, [pp. 132-3] republished in The Romance of the Word: One Man's Love Affair with Theology [p. 345])to help us understand the nature of forgiveness and being the church.
... The church is not in the morals business. The world is in the morals business, quite rightfully; and it has done a fine job of it, all things considered. The history of the world's moral codes is a monument to the labors of many philosophers, and it is a monument of striking unity and beauty. As C.S. Lewis said, anyone who thinks the moral codes of mankind are all different should be locked up in a library and be made to read three days' worth of them. He would be bored silly by the sheer sameness.
What the world cannot get right, however, is the forgiveness business – and that, of course, is the church's real job. She is in the world to deal with the Sin which the world can't turn off or escape from. She is not in the business of telling the world what's right and wrong so that it can do good and avoid evil. She is in the business of offering, to a world which knows all about that tiresome subject, forgiveness for its chronic unwillingness to take its own advice. But the minute she even hints that morals, and not forgiveness, is the name of her game, she instantly corrupts the Gospel and runs headlong into blatant nonsense.
The church becomes, not Ms. Forgiven Sinner, but Ms. Right. Christianity becomes the good guys in here versus the bad guys out there. Which, of course, is pure tripe. The church is nothing but the world under the sign of baptism. ...

We Easter people have been sent to forgive sins.