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Thursday, November 1, 2012

Marcus' response to Monica's cousin's circle letter concern

Anna used a few excerpts from Melvin Burkholder's recent sermon on the covering, as a springboard for her concern.

Anna, I sure wanted to respond to your comments on the covering. So I asked my husband... This is what he said.

#1. "Why must it be such a radical style?" I question, Who has a radical style? Set a drawing from the catacombs of an early Christian woman with her ample flowing veil beside the picture of a neat little Easterner with her beautiful hair showing on the front, and maybe or maybe not a tiny strip showing of her little transparent cap sticking somewhere on the back. And now tell me, who has a radical style? Who would be more socially accepted in this world? Who would be more socially accepted to get a job at Good's Store?

Or consider this - Which cloth of the two would work to cover the rest of the body? The Bible says, "Let her be covered!" Shouldn't we use something that actually covers? Now we would never dis-fellowship someone with the Eastern-style covering. But actually commanding this transparent style before having communion with them?? Come on! And the same expression fits for going so far as to call it an ideal style.

#2. Then Melvin's one statement - "Any pattern allowing a great deal of personal variation degenerates into female vanity" - I respond, Yes, it certainly does, when people are used to being governed instead of governing themselves. A church relying on a rigid discipline besides the Bible invariably results in people getting used to being governed, instead of governing themselves. See any danger there? Being governed by others instead of governing ourselves? Truly deciding to follow Jesus goes along with a desire to please Him, with our veils, our dresses, and our entire lives. And when a group of people come together with that kind of desire, and break bread together, and appoint a faithful leader or two, that's what a CHURCH is. And of course we check with the brethren where it is fitting and delight in submitting one to another in the fear of God. But right now any of the families, at any time, at the husband's call, of course, can change their women's veiling style. Sure, they can go ahead and change it for the worse. But here's the key - they're completely free to totally overhaul their coverings for the better! Look at this - this is a vital ingredient for any church that is to be called alive. Choose this, or choose programmed robotism.

People who are used to being governed by rules already made for them in regards to biblical areas that are left rather open can never excel. Old Tertullian said, "All proof of abstinence is lost when excess is impossible." Virtue is no longer virtue if its opposite is not accessible. Sure, robots can perform beautifully, but there is no beauty in their surrender to their service. There is no cross that has been taken up, no self-denial, the whole thing is just as natural as being born into a Mennonite family.

I'm talking about the problem of Anabaptists accepting the fact that "any pattern allowing a great deal of variation degenerates into female vanity". Do Christians automatically degenerate to that which is evil, or do they press toward the mark? Do they love the world that dearly? Early Christians and early Anabaptists were guarded from disobeying Jesus' teachings by a true surrender to all of His teachings. And that included continually going out and reproving this world of sin. When the men in a church are in their work places, and in their preaching time on the streets and in public places, continually reproving women of immodesty, jewelry, and uncovered heads, as being a part of what it means to follow Jesus, are their wives' coverings going to get bigger or smaller? You judge. I guess sometime their coverings might get smaller, or they might lose them altogether, but I promise you, their continual reproving of this world shall have ceased first.

Do not interpret these sayings as arrogance. This is how simple the Gospel really is, and it should scare us to death, to think of what will be left when Jesus comes back, and gets through pulling off all the things holding up this big structure of ours - covering strings, suspenders, hats and bonnets, plain suits, black paint, beardlessness, homeschool-lessness, and fear of excommunication for lack of these things... What will He find remaining?

Some of these things we never think about until we Truly open ourselves - open ourselves to truth outside of the zone we always knew and held dear. So Daniel and all other men, come to Monett, and get an eyeful. Go along with the brethren to the street on weekends, or in front of evangelical church events, reproving of divorce and remarriage, lack of covering, you name it. There's a REAL battle to be fought!

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"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man." (Ecclesiastes 12:13)