On the 29th of December, 1170, Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered by four knights of King Henry II while saying vespers, for refusing to acknowledge royal sovereignty over the church. 

Church-state politics have always been delicate matters, since the earliest days of the church.  The declaration Kyrios Iesous, “Jesus is Lord,” has inherently political implications.  As the current Bishop of Durham, Tom Wright, has said of the statement, it states “Jesus is Lord” and furthermore declares that “Caesar is not.”

In the case of Henry II and Thomas, while the two were engaged in a power play over control of lands, buildings, money and authority, and the accompanying greed, there was an issue upon which Henry was justified, at least in principle.  Unfortunately, his grasping, greedy approach to rule has masked this justified issue. 

“Criminous clerks,” as the Constitutions of Clarendon called them, were clergy who were let off (too lightly in Henry’s terms) for civil and criminal offenses, because they were clergy and were being tried in ecclesiastical courts, rather than royal (i.e., civil) courts.  On the surface, this perversion of justice on the part of the church looks glaringly obvious.  What is not so obvious (on the surface) was that Henry was trying to use the church to advance his political agenda and to help him consolidate his power. 

In the end, Henry and his knights wronged Becket and lost prestige in the eyes of others for his assassination.  Beyond the murder, they violated the law of Sanctuary, which denies civil authority the ability to remove anyone from a place of worship by force.  The Law of Sanctuary also requires that no weapons be carried into the same space, let alone drawn.  This violation was what scared the populace - if the King could take anyone by force from a place of worship, who could be safe from injustice enforced by the King?

In the end, the Henry-Becket conflict involved two people defending unjust systems against each other, rather than either maintaining any sense of the moral high ground.  Nevertheless, we might still justifiably consider Thomas Becket a martyr for his faith, despite the otherwise compromising circumstances. 

Understanding that the Liturgical calendar is more didactic than chronological, this day, the 4th day of Christmastide or the Incarnation, 28 December, is celebrated as the Feast of the Holy Innocents.

“Holy Innocents” refers to those children murdered at the hands of Herod, as described in Matthew 2:16 - 18 -

16When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
 18“A voice is heard in Ramah,
      weeping and great mourning,
   Rachel weeping for her children
      and refusing to be comforted,
   because they are no more.” (NIV)

Today as I read the scriptures relating to this day, I reflected upon the words of Psalm 2:

Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot in vain?

The promise of God to those who have lost children to the corruption of this world is that God will restore them; the promise of God to those who have harmed children - contributing to the corruption of this world - is that God will not hold them guiltless, except through the faith of Jesus Christ. 

This is the Word of the Lord.

Nine years ago today I began a written journal of my thoughts, reflections and actions.  This journal has been, for the most part, private, with particular parts, pieces and parcels made public here in this weblog and elsewhere. 

When I first began my journaling, I was in the winter break of my sophomore year of college at the University of Illinois, at home in my old bedroom.  The 28th of December seemed just as satisfactory as a starting date as the 1st of January was, without all the ruckus and formidable commitment of New Year’s Day.  I wanted to start on the 28th, and so I did.  I figured I could get a few days down the road before the full weight of the New Year’s Resolution baloney managed to derail the project. 

The archives still sit at home, in increasing numbers of binders, not nearly as well-sealed and preserved from age and prying eyes as they should be.  Originally intended as a daily exercise, the self-flagellation generally directed at such proposals has largely been abandoned in favor of sanity.  The winter is a rather poor time for carrying out most resolutions toward self-improvement, especially given the shortness of daylight, uncooperative weather, and rather more expensive life - as my utility bills alone attest.  However, in the case of journaling, it is perhaps a little less problematic. 

That being said, I make no promises here of regularity, although I suspect I will attempt another Lenten Marathon from 6 February 2008 - 23 March 2008.  I will attempt to produce content worthy of the web, whenever that content is produced.  I will do my best to stick to subjects germane to my target audience, and, while other extraneous issues may find their way in, I will attempt to read and interact with others’ blogs as much as is feasible. 

Grace and Peace be yours in abundance:

+Matt

The Lord be with you: 

The Conflict Managment Network Report to the First Baptist Church of Warren, Ohio, is now out, and I feel it is time to begin moving back into the blogosphere and the rest of the Web 2.0 world.  In October, I really had the first inklings that I would like to get back into blogging, but after a few posts I settled back in to silence. 

Things have not been pleasant for me as a leader of God’s people for some time.  The conflict has been intense, and the behavior of some has been appalling.  This blog was used by some to add fuel to the fire, and so it fell silent to extract at least a portion of the combustible material from the inferno.  Some people consider the fight to be continuing, others consider it to be over.  But I’m smiling.  Why am I smiling?  Because I’m the Man in Black and “I’m not left-handed either.” (Princess Bride reference, not Johnny Cash.)

So if I am to resume blogging, which I do intend to do, let’s check in on a few ground rules, perspectives and observations.

1. I am the Rev. Matthew M. Thomas and this is my personal weblog.  At this time, this weblog is a component part of a larger website I have never fully developed, www.msquaredt.com.  Opinions expressed here are my own and may not necessarily be those of the First Baptist Church of Warren, Ohio, the Trumbull Baptist Association, the American Baptist Churches of Ohio, the American Baptist Churches USA or any other organization with which I am personally or professionally affiliated.  If I intend to speak as the Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Warren, Ohio, in print or on the web, it will be marked as such in such terms as are clear, relevant and appropriate for the statement.  Moreover, the statement will be issued by my office and will be addressed to the appropriate parties.
2. The ideas expressed in this weblog are not necessarily applicable to the context of ministry in which I now serve.  Moreover, I do not consider statements made here to be the final word on any topic in particular.  I am open to discussion on topics for which the comment thread is open.  However, I will not countenance the kind of incendiary gossip that reads something on this weblog, misunderstands it or takes it completely out of context, and then gets the telephone, personal, and e-mail conversations spinning at such a rate as to launch small mammals into orbit.  If something I say produces a fear or mistrust response in you, please discuss it with me first before you go attempting to stir the populace to revolution.  It could be that you just misunderstood something.  Or it could be that I would stand corrected if only someone had discussed it with me before torches and pitchforks and angry peasants were storming my gates.
3. The Web is a public forum, and I am in a public position as Pastor of the First Baptist Church.  Anyone can access this site who has access to the freedom of the Web.  (No doubt some military junta somewhere has me blocked for some offense.)  Nevertheless, we need to consider the intended audience.  The audience is (a) my personal friends and family scattered throughout this country and around the world.  (Yes, I have first cousins living somewhere in Scandinavia, friends in Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio, Oklahoma, in Latvia, Germany, Austria, Russia, China, Spain, the Dem. Rep, of the Congo, Italy, and the list could go on.)  (b) Those who are connected with emerging/missional/postmodern church thought and practice, whatever their specific context.  Some of these folks are in academia, others are pure-and-simple practitioners.  Many fit nicely into both categories, and others are postmodern enough to defy categorization. [wink] (c) Those who enjoy the application of science and technology to life, whether practically or philosophically. (d) Those at First Baptist Warren who want to understand the broader context of my life, thought and ministry both for the purpose of getting to know me and for the purpose of understanding the ministry approaches we are employing at this time.  (e) Everyone else who wants to listen in.
4. Please do not complain if this weblog “talks over your head,” or “is too technical.”  If you would like me to explain what something is about that you do not understand, I would be glad to do so.  However, please do not condemn me or my weblog for using technical jargon - theological, scientific, technological or otherwise - just because you do not understand it.  The content may be appropriate for one of the other audiences to whom I am writing, and may not apply to you.  Nevertheless, to reiterate, I would be glad to explain what I am talking about if you would just ask.
5. Understand that it may take some time for me to begin blogging again with some regularity.  It takes considerable time to get a habit re-started, especially when you are a bit gun-shy. 
6. Everything of my own work on this site is under copyright.  While this is implied merely by the fact that I wrote it, and I am not quoting someone else, I also have the copyright designation on as many of my template footers as I could locate for this website.  If you use material from this site in another publication, I obviously can’t stop you, and I really don’t want to, because I could use the fame.  In fact, I like being quoted. Who doesn’t?  But please (a) cite your source, with the full permalink if possible, and (b) don’t quote me to twist what I say.

Ok, so I think that’s enough on the ground rules for this blog for now.  I don’t mean to come across as a jerk by being that detailed about all of this.  The illustrations in this post are humor, not sarcasm.  This blog is a creative outlet as much as anything else, and I hope to be as creative as I know how to be here in days to come.

Grace and Peace to You:

+Matt