St. John the Evangelist - Ancient Faith, Modern Relevance

Baker Library Book Brief

                  “A man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). 

                  “And Pharisees came up and in order to test [Jesus] asked, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?’ He answered them, ‘What did Moses command you?’ They said, ‘Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, “God made them male and female.” “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate” (Mark 10:2-9).

                  “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies … ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband” (Ephesians 5:22-28, 32 & 33).

                  It is often said that the family is the basic structure of international culture. As well, many believe that marriage between a man and a woman is the only secure basis for families. However, there are many voices that suggest otherwise these days.  What is a “family”? What is “marriage”? Thus, 2009 has been declared the Year of the Family at St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church. Our preaching and teaching have been focused on the foundational teaching of God’s Word with regard to mankind, created, fallen into sin and finding redemption by means of faith in the grace of God in Jesus Christ our Lord. This Fall, in particular, will find us exploring biblical proclamation with regard to the family and marriage.

                  Given these goals, a copy of Gary Thomas’ Sacred Marriage: What If God Designed Marriage to Make Us Holy More Than to Make Us Happy? has just become the newest addition to our parish library. A number of copies of Sacred Marriage are also available for purchase on the book table in the narthex. Mr. Thomas is an author and counselor who teaches at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon. He and his wife, Lisa, and their children live in Bellingham, Washington. He is the author of at least ten books. Sacred Marriage, presently in its 41^st printing, has been received as a modern classic since its publication in 2000.

                  Mr. Thomas’ academic focus in seminary was upon the holy life to which all Christians are called. His concern for Christ-like living runs through all of his subsequent publications. So it is no surprise that he writes the following early in the first chapter of Sacred Marriage: “As a man who believes his primary meaning comes from his relationship with God, I want to explore how marriage can draw me closer to God.”  The rest of the first chapter offers a sharp and reasonable Christian criticism of marriage as a resource for mere romance. Quoting Katherine Anne Porter, Thomas believes that “[Marriage] is the merciless revealer, the great white searchlight turned on the darkest places of human nature.”   As well, he holds marriage to be the human relationship in which we are most likely to learn, and need to practice, forgiveness and reconciliation. Therefore, by means of a consideration of almost every biblical passage on marriage and the experiences of others - and of Lisa and himself - in marriage, our author reflects on matrimony as a bond which is meant to result in delight and maturity, as Christ is allowed to be Lord and Savior. This book goes against the grain of our the superficial environment which surrounds us in its consideration of how God uses matrimony to teach us to love, respect others, pray, persevere, build character, develop a servant’s heart and much more. You need to read it.