Pentecost Sunday

 



Tomorrow (Sunday, 19 May 2013) the Church will celebrate the culmination of the Great Fifty Days, the conclusion of the Easter season, the outpouring of the promise of the Father, the baptism with the Holy Spirit, and the birth of the Church. - John the Baptizer had declared concerning Jesus, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire" (Luke 3:16, NRSV).

Jesus assured the disciples that it would be to their advantage that He would ascend to the Father, because, in doing so, He would send the Holy Spirit (the Advocate/Comforter/Counselor/Helper - parakletos ) to them (John 16:7). The Holy Spirit would teach them everything and remind them of all that Jesus had said to them (14:26), and the Holy Spirit would "prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgement (16:8).

Further, Jesus told the apostles, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8, NRSV).

On the Day of Pentecost, the disciples saw the fulfillment of the promised outpouring of the Holy Spirit as told by John the Baptizer and the Lord Jesus, as well as the prophet Joel.  It is that same outpouring of the Holy Spirit that we enter into by faith and through our baptism, for St. Paul declares, "For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body . . ." (1 Cor. 12:13, NRSV).*

 

Pentecost is one of the major feast days of the Church, and it should be a great day of celebration for those of us in the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition. - I recall a conversation several years ago with a pastor from a Presbyterian (USA) congregation. He confessed, he really didn't know what to do with Pentecost. Now, I do not mean to imply that such is the case for all, or even a majority of Presbyterians. I don't know. However, whatever the case for my Presbyterian brother, Nazarenes, whether espousing a 19th century or a classical Wesleyan view (cf. footnote, below) ought to know how to celebrate Pentecost Sunday.

 

You see, one of the main benefits of Pentecost and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is the possibility of having our hearts cleansed of sin. - As the prophet Ezekiel foretold, there was coming a day when God would ". . . sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statures and be careful to observe my ordinances" (Ezek. 36:25-27, NRSV). And St. Peter, referring to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the gentiles, argued, "And God, who knows the human heart, testified to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us; and in cleansing their hearts by faith he has made no distinction between them and us" (Acts 15:8-9).

 

It is this heart cleansing that has been at the heart (no pun intended!) of the Wesleyan & Methodist movement, and especially so for the Holiness branches of Methodism. It has been referred to by Wesley in connection with the Biblical doctrines of Entire Sanctification and Christian Perfection. In fact, the spread of scriptural holiness throughout the land was the stated purpose of Methodism, first by John Wesley in London in 1733, and then in America, at the famous Christmas Conference in Baltimore in 1784 at the founding of the Methodist Episcopal Church. It was the commitment to this purpose that gave rise to the 19th century Holiness Movement within Methodism. And Phineas Bresee said of the Church of the Nazarene, that it is ". . . a part of that body of believers raised up to spread sanctified holiness over these lands, and thus that we are a part of that company who are the real successors of John Wesley and the early Methodists" (Nazarene Messenger, July 15, 1909).

And so, we Wesleyan Christians enthusiastically join our sisters and brothers in Christ from around the world to rejoice and give thanks to God on Pentecost Sunday for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as we seek to worship God in Spirit and in Truth.

_____________________________

*At this point, those within the Holiness movement will recognize that I take my stand with John Wesley, the Church of history, and those in the classical Wesleyan theological tradition, rather than those who are more consistent with 19th century interpretations. Those debates within the Holiness Movement can be seen in The Wesleyan Theological Journal between 1973 and 1982. Mark Quanstrom discusses it in A Century of Holiness Theology: The Doctrine of Entire Sanctification in the Church of the Nazarene, 1905-2004 (though his bias toward the 19th century view is apparent in his, not always completely accurate portrayal of members of "The Trevecca Connection").

TIME IS RUNNING OUT!

Time is running out on becoming a "Founding Member" of the Wesleyan-Anglican Society.  The Society previously indicated that everyone who joined by Aldersgate Day (May 24) 2013 would be considered "Founding Members." Well, that date is just one week away!

I want to encourage the readers of this blog (if you have not already joined the Society) to go to the Wesleyan/Anglican Facebook page.  There, you can click on the files section to view our Constitution.  If you agree with the membership requirements and would like to become a member, you can message me on Facebook, providing your name, address, phone, email, denomination/jurisdiction, and clergy/laity statue (if clergy, which order).  (If you don't have a Facebook account, leave a comment, and we will work out other arrangements.)

You should know, dues have been set (by vote of the Society) at $30 and $15 for students (with the possibility of a waiver due to financial difficulties).   However, we have had a bit of a set back, and are not yet ready to receive those dues.  As soon as we have established our banking account, we will notify members where they can send their dues.

I hope to hear from a number of you!

Good News for General Assembly

Those of us who have been concerned, in recent days, about the desire of some to move the Church of the Nazarene away from our historical Wesleyan identity and toward a position on the Scriptures that would be more consistent with fundamentalism can breathe a sigh of relief . . . at least for the time being.

"The Report of the Scripture Study Committee to the Twenty-Eighth General Assembly" has been made public.  In it, the Committee recommends rejecting a proposed resolution that would alter the Nazarene Article of Faith on Scripture in such a way as to affirm "complete inerrancy."  Such a position would be quite different from Articles in the historical Wesleyan/Methodist/Anglican tradition.  On the other hand, the position would be much more in line with modern fundamentalist statements about the Bible.  -  Thankfully, the Committee has proposed that we retain our current Article of Faith.  Further, they have presented a helpful evaluation of the strengths of our current Article of Faith.

I said that we "can breathe a sigh of relief . . . at least for the time being," because this is only a report and recommendation of this Committee.  It is a Committee charged with studying this situation, and, thus, the delegates of the General Assembly should give it the weight it is due.  Nevertheless, it is up to the General Assembly, not simply this Committee, to make the final decision.  So, it is possible for the Assembly to reject this Committee's recommendation.  -  However, the fact that the Committee has given such strong arguments for retaining our current position is a very good sign.

The Report can be read, here.

Anglican Roots of Wesleyanism

Here is a brief video of Dr. Melvin Dieter of The Wesleyan Church, who also taught at Asbury, as he talks about the Anglican roots of Wesleyanism.

Why Wesleyan?

Here is a video of Ben Witherington discussing why he is a Wesleyan Christian.  Dr. Witherington teaches New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary, where I did my doctoral work.  He is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church.

The video is a part of the "Seven Minute Seminary" series of videos through Asbury's Seedbed program.



More information about Dr. Witherignton can be found here. 

Wesleyan Theological Society Video

Here is a video by my friend, Brent Peterson, featuring highlights from the recent meeting of the Wesleyan Theological Society in Seattle, WA.

I have been a member of the WTS since 1989, although I was not able to make this year's meeting.  I presented my paper, "Authentic Christian Worship: Discovering Wesley's Criteria" at the 2009 meeting of the Society.  That paper was published under the title, “Authentic Christian Worship:  Relevance of Wesley’s Criteria.” in the Wesleyan Theological Journal 45.2.  (Fall, 2010.)  (The full paper, for those interested, can be view, here.)

I would encourage Wesleyan Christians who are theologically minded to consider the WTS.  More information can be found on their website, here.  -  In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the video!




*** NOTE ****  -  I have been informed that the original link will soon be broken.  Here is the updated link.

A Methodist Cardinal?

With the meeting of the Cardinals to elect a new Pope, I thought this would be a good time to mention a (probably) little known tidbit.  Namely, that, yes, indeed, it seems that there has been a Methodist Cardinal!

If one travels to the World Methodist Museum at Lake Junaluska, North Carolina (at the headquarters of the World Methodist Council), or if one picks up the book, Treasures of the World Methodist Museum, one will discover a ring given to Methodist Bishop, Fred P. Corson, by Pope Paul VI.  At the time that the Pope gave the ring to the Methodist Bishop, he said, "I have made you a Cardinal In Pectore."

A Cardinal In Pectore literally means, a Cardinal in my breast or heart.  It is a way that a Pope makes a "secret Cardinal."  Now, as a secret cardinal, they cannot function as a Cardinal unless and until the Pope makes such appointment public.  Indeed, in some cases, the person in question may not even be aware of their elevation to the position of Cardinal!  However, once it is made public, the Cardinal gains rank among the Cardinals from the time of his In Pectore appointment.  -  If the appointment is never made public, then the Cardinalship ceases at the time of the Pope's death.

It does not appear that Bishop Corson's appointment was ever made public by the Pope.  However, made public or not, whether one is able to function as Cardinal or not, whether one is aware that the Pope has given you that rank or not, a Cardinal In Pectore is, nevertheless, a real, true Cardinal (so long as the Pope is alive)!

Why would a Pope make a secret Cardinal?  In general, Popes may do so when it seems that such a person's life would be endangered by giving them such a position.  An example of this would be Cardinals named in the People's Republic of China or prior to the fall of the Soviet Union. . . . Perhaps another reason for making a "secret Cardinal" might be that the person in quesiton is a PROTESTANT, METHODIST BISHOP!

It really does raise the question, though, can the Pope really name as Cardinal a non-Roman Catholic, whose orders are not recognized by the Church of Rome?

Well, Bishop Corson was elected a Methodist Bishop in 1944.  He also served as the President of the World Methodist Council in 1961.  He was an observer at the Second Vatican Council.  He also held a number of private audiences Popes, and was considered to be close friends with Pope Paul VI.  -  And apparently the Bishop of Rome esteemed him so highly he made him a Cardinal In Pectore!

Pope Paul VI and Bishop Fred P. Corson
(picture found on eBay)

Bishop Corson died in 1985.  Pope Paul VI died in 1978.