Glorifying the Triune God through Hymnody

St. Ambrose, one of the four Latin doctors of the Western church, was the spiritual father of Augustine and prolific bishop in the city of Milan in the late fourth century CE. Being elected by acclamation of the people following the death of the Arian Bishop Auxentius in 374, Ambrose took to the task of putting his administrative skills to service for the church. Though not a profound theologian by the likes of Augustine, his concern for pastoral ministry is clearly seen in his use of hymns in the liturgy for the church of Milan. In his sermon Contra Auxentium, Ambrose shares this insight:

“They declare also that the people have been beguiled by the strains of my hymns. I certainly do not deny it. That is a lofty strain, and there is nothing more powerful than it. For what has more power than the confession of the Trinity which is daily celebrated by the mouth of the whole people? All eagerly vie one with the other in confessing the faith, and know how to praise in verse the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So they all have become teachers, who scarcely could be disciples.” (Contra Auxentium, 34).

Theologically rich, Trinitarian-confessing hymns make teachers out of disciples. The hymns of Ambrose effectively stopped the advance of Arian (or Arian-influenced) teaching in the church of Milan and stayed the physically onslaught of the pro-Arian empress Justina in her attempt to procure a basilica in Milan for Arian worship. Ambrose’s hymns combated heresy and established orthodox conviction in the hearts of his parishioners. I wonder, does our modern-day evangelical worship have the same effect?

Ascension Thursday 2011

Jesus walked with, talked with, and taught his disciples and others for 40 days following his resurrection. He was alive in the flesh! They soon asked him if he was going to restore the kingdom to Israel and Jesus spoke with his disciples saying:

“He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
(Acts 1:7–8 ESV)

He gave them a mandate to go and proclaim the message of Christ to all peoples as it is written in the Gospel According to Matthew, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt 28:19–20 ESV). We as the church have been given a holy task, a mission, a mandate from our Lord. But he also gave us a promise, that he would never really leave us. Though he has ascended, he has poured out the Holy Spirit upon believers in order that we may be empowered to do the work of his kingdom here right now.

After giving the church this mission, Scripture testifies to his ascension saying, “And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:10–11 ESV). He has ascended but he has promised to return. This is the essence of the Feast of the Ascension!

Ascension Day celebrations include processions symbolizing Christ’s entry into heaven and, in some countries, chasing a “devil” through the streets and dunking it in a pond or burning it in effigy – symbolic of the Messiah’s triumph over the devil when he opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
The liturgical color in many churches is white on Ascension Day. Symbols include the ascending Christ, birds flying homeward, open gates, a lion conquering a dragon, Elijah’s fiery chariot and a broken chain.

May we celebrate the ascension of our Lord, who was made like us in order that we may be like him, by remembering that he will return again the same way in which he departed; alive and glorious!

“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done.I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.””
(Rev 22:12–13 ESV)

“He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”
(Rev 22:20 ESV)

sick, and reading

so i was feeling pretty sick yesterday and this morning, and used the time to read. i got one book finished and hopefully will have another done by tomorrow. there are a lot of items still unchecked on the to do list for school. of course, this is the first time in academic study that i have actually cared about getting everything done. seriously. tomorrow is “holiday in the park” with the students, a day at six flags over texas. i am fairly uncertain about how this event will go. i know numerous students will not be attending. possibly 5-6 will be there at the most. everyone is either out of town or has something else going on. plus i don’t really like amusment parks. and by “don’t really like” i mean terribly dislike. i’m trying hard not to use the word hate here. really hard. anyways, it’s tough to not get down by thinking it will break me away from much needed homework and reading time, but i also know it will be a good time to spend with those students who will be there tomorrow. i have a feeling God is going to place those ones in whom i know i need to spend more time with tomorrow. i just hope i have enough adults to come along. yikes.