Like with the previous two weeks, today I set a contrast between two choices. Of course those aren't really the only two choices for how the Church functions in relation to the world. But it was either that or spend a whole afternoon preaching! If you want to look at a range of views, the classic book on the subject is Reinhold Niebuhr's Christ and Culture. It's pretty academic, but really is well written.
I'm not really into art (Some quick St. Paul's staff trivia - Sandra was an art history major. Don't tell her I'm not an art fan!) but I love Scott Mutter's work. There's an online exhibition of his work here. Extraordinary stuff.
You may have noticed I used two words, hermit and anchorite, as synonyms. Techncially they're not the same. Anchorite is a broader term that can refer to monks in monasteries as well as hermits. An anchorite is anyone who is seeking refuge from the world for a lifetime. Hermits are those who live entirely on their own and, as much as physically possible, do not come into contact with others. As I was writing the sermon the word hermit cracked me up, so I decided to use anchorite instead. Bottom line is the intent of both is to escape the world. For the purposes of the sermon the distinction between the two was irrelevant.
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