Monthly Archives: November 2013
Burdened? With those of Christ, or Those of the World?
Devotional Thought of the Day:
28 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. 29 Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. 30 Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG)
414 Is the burden heavy? No, a thousand times no! Those obligations which you freely accepted are wings that raise you high above the vile mud of your passions. Do the birds feel the weight of their wings? If you were to cut them off and put them on the scales you would see that they are heavy. But can a bird fly if they are taken away from it? It needs those wings and it does not notice their weight, for they lift it up above other creatures. Your “wings” are heavy too! But if you did not have them you would fall into the filthiest mire. (1)
It’s one of the great mysteries of ministry, the ability to endure, and the strength that comes when we shoulder the burdens we are called to bear as we walk with Jesus.
There are days and weeks where pastors and others who serve the church get worn down, we are tired and weary and nearly breaking under the strain. I saw such a week ago, at another pastor’s memorial service. So many of my brothers looked worn down, beaten, broken. I didn’t pay much attention to the service to be honest, as I was mostly praying for the pastors sitting on either side of me. We are a tired bunch these days, many of us overburdened, many of us at the point where we can forget to look to Jesus. As we forget it is He that works through us, caring for His people.
As I was reading this morning, I came to the above quote from St. Josemaria. Having read of his life, of the existence during a civil war when brothers were dieing, of working tirelessly to see a vision where people – all people of the church realized that they were God’s worksmanship – that He had a role for each one, I realized these just weren’t words of advice. These were words of experience, words that shared the hope of realizing that we live at our best, when we take on those burdens of Christ.
Similarly, Eugene Peterson’s translation of an oft quoted passage strike home as well. It talks of the relationship we have with Christ. The relationship based on letting Him lead, letting Him choose the burdens we must carry. He replaces the burdens of sin, and shame, and guilt and resentment and regret with grace, with love, with putting all that aside to walk with Him, as He re-creates lives, as He restores what was broken, as He brings healing to that which was sickened and weakened by neglect and oppression. That’s God’s work, not really ours, though often it happens as we talk, as we hold the hand of one weeping, praying for them.
The burdens we do carry… seemingly heavier than those we set down, set us soaring. Not because they make us stronger, for that is not the nature of a wing. Wings primarily work because they catch the wind, and the wind pressure supports them and lifts them up. This is how the Spirit works in us, the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, who dwells in us, who cleanses us, who works through our words to bring people into that amazing relationship we have with God.
Ultimately, there is a time to stop, to listen to breathe. To pick up my guitar or sit at my keyboard (music not this one) and play… and realize the God who named me as His child, who called me into this ministry, who knows what He is doing. For if we don’t do that, surely we shall crash, surely we won’t be able to get out of the crud we entered as we ministered to people dealing with it in their lives. It’s the lesson an old Baptist jail chaplain taught me, as we served together. He told me when I left the jail, before I started my car to sit there, take a few moments to realize Christ’s promises to me in baptism. to remember that He has cleansed me, that He has taken all the real burdens from me, and that He will never leave me.
That’s a burden that is a blessing, and enables us to do everything else.
May you find the time today to take on His burden/blessings. AMEN
English: fragment of the Gospel of Matthew (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1858-1864). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Related articles
- The Heart of Theology & the Heart of Ministry is the Heart of Christ (justifiedandsinner.com)
- Needing a Sanctuary… because we know He is there… (justifiedandsinner.com)
- Only Requirement to Come to our Church. Do you, or have you ever taken a breath… (justifiedandsinner.com)
Can a Christian Leader let his people fail? He must!
Devotional Thought of the Day:
And now, a word to you who are elders in the churches. I, too, am an elder and a witness to the sufferings of Christ. And I, too, will share in his glory when he is revealed to the whole world. As a fellow elder, I appeal to you: 2 Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. 3 Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. 1 Peter 5:1-3 (NLT)
If we say, ‘We have no sin,’ we are deceiving ourselves, and truth has no place in us; 9 if we acknowledge our sins, he is trustworthy and upright, so that he will forgive our sins and will cleanse us from all evil.1 John 1:8-9 (NJB)
402 People have to be taught how to work, but their training need not be overdone, for actually doing things is a way of learning too. They should accept in advance their unavoidable shortcomings: the best is the enemy of the good. (1)
It is one of the hardest lessons that pastors and other Christian leaders have to learn. I still struggle with it, the guys I mentor, yes they do as well.
It seems a paradox, counter-intuitive to the responsibility for them that we have been given. We want them to succeed, we want them to grow, we want them to rejoice in all things.
So we have to let them fail?
Yes! And yes, it hurts, yes we want to go in and fix everything, to make an event succeed, to help a couple before they need counsel, FOr oto wait, the problems will be worse, the pain to correct them more intense. The question then arises, will they blame us for their failure?
But I think it is caring even more to embrace the pain of their failure, to be their, waiting for the prodigal to come home.
Two reasons for letting them fail.
1. We learn better from our mistakes. It stops the learning process if everything always goes smoothly, They have to learn when to ask for help, when to admit they are overreached, and how to do the work to correct their errors, For it is there, that the most significant
2. They need to learn about God’s presence there, ready to cleanse them. They need to know that failure doesn’t result in condemnaiton, but in reconciliation. People have to realize that God loves them, (and so should we) even when we fail, so that we run to Him first, so we know we will encounter grace not condemnaiton. That they will realize what it means for God to be God. To be their Father. They have to get that, and it is more important than their doing everything right the first time.
Two reasons for those around them…
1. We all need to learn to be graceful to those around us. If failures are treated with grace this will happen. We don’t want to encourage people to fail, but we want them to know that some failure, some shortcomings is unavailable.
2. We, as servant leaders, need to grow in our faith of God. Every servant leader in scripture failed, some dealt with it (King David, St. Peter), many didn’t (king Saul for example). But to let our people fail, to even stand by and watch it happen, requires us to have both a pastor’s heart and a deep faith that knows that all will work for good for those that love God. That in failure, our people will have to meet Christ crucified, that they will adore the God who knows their sufferings and will rescue them. We must trust God…. and that trust has to grow…that expectation of His grace has to be so ingrained in our lives, that it is lived in view of our people. THat we realize that the sins of the people of God and all unrighteousness and evil is cleansed from us.
So let them fail, and be there with God to lovingly pick them up, be there to see the wounds heal, and to help them learn the lesson.
FOr that is what we do….
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1816-1818). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Related articles
- Have We Shut Down…the church (justifiedandsinner.com)
- Dare to Be Christian Means Dare to Be Broken (justifiedandsinner.com)
- Proper Practical Pastoral Care… and a Pimple… (justifiedandsinner.com)
Struggling with your past and present? Something that will help!
Devotional Thought of the Day:
8 If we claim that we’re free of sin, we’re only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. 9 On the other hand, if we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. 1 John 1:8-9 (MSG)
16 Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. James 5:16 (MSG)
22 Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive people’s sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” John 20:22-23 (TEV)
The priest mentioned the sacrament of confession. That was new to me. The confessional in our parish church had been transformed into a storage room for buckets and brooms. I had always thought that confession had been abolished in the sixties. That evening, I asked the Carmelite sister about it. “On the contrary,” she said. “Confession has not been abolished at all. It’s one of the most beautiful sacraments there is!” “So… um… how does it work?” I asked. “Do you just tell the priest all your sins, and that’s it?” “It isn’t just about listing your sins,” she answered. “Confession is first and foremost an encounter with Christ. He loves you more than you know, and when you truly meet him, you start to discover what in your life stands in the way of that love. So you entrust all those obstacles to his mercy, and he takes them away.” “If that’s the case, I would love to go to confession,” I said. After all, I did like Jesus. I also knew that there were many things in my life that still needed to change to be able to deepen my friendship with him. “Just go see the priest, and ask him to help you. He will guide you through it. Don’t worry about a thing.” That evening, I made my first confession. The priest was friendly and listened to me with his eyes closed, as if praying. I do not recall what he said to me afterward, but I do remember vividly the moment he stretched out his hand and told me my sins had been forgiven. It was as if a ton of bricks just had been zapped to another dimension. I felt like I was walking on air— I was so light, so relieved, so incredibly happy. That night, I hardly slept. I felt overwhelmed by God’s love for me. My doubts had vanished. I didn’t just believe in God on an intellectual level— I sensed that I had just met him personally. (1)
As I was reading this book, I came across the above passage, and though a little long, it talks so well of something so needed. There are too many of us dealing with the repurcussions of sin, the guilt and shame from doing what we know we shouldn’t. The confusion we get when the games we play to avoid that shame come crashing down, and even the stress caused by the way we react to others sinning against us.
Roman Catholics call it the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we use a more common term, Private Confession and Absolution. Basically, whether very formal at the altar, or in my office, someone comes in, and shares about the guilt they feel, or some area where they know they’ve done wrong. As this happens, it is awkward, both for the person coming to me and for me. We talk, the person and I and God, and then a time as precious as we get occurs.
But I love Fr. Roderick’s description of what Lutherans call Private Confession above (see the 5th section of Luther’s Small Catechism) …and what Catholics call The Sacrament of Reconciliation (or commonly Confessin) that I had to share it. For even with our differences in our practice and application of this, the effect is the same. As God and the person and the pastor/priest are talking through the sins that afflct them, there is some holy and sacred and freeing that happens. As a pastor I see the burdens lifted, when I get to pronounce them free of the chains by wihich sin oppresses them. There is a great sense of joy and freedom. It’s hard to describe, either from the point of view of the person confessing, or as the pastor (and I think priests feel the same way) who speaks forgiveness as God has commanded us to speak. Even though I don’t get to serve people this way as often as they need. need,
Let’s face it, we all have a past, and we all still live in the present. We deal with sin daily, our own, the sins of those close to us, the sins of generations passed, as the divisions they cause impact our lives still. Too often, rather than obeying God and giving these heavy, heavy burdens to Him, we bury them and stew over them. The anxiety, confusion and grief burdens us more, divides us from others more, and can crush us…
If you are in that situaiton, I beg you, on God’s behalf, let God reconcile you to Himself. (2 Cor. 5:20) Come to one of us, those who know God’s forgiveness. With the Catholic Church and with some Lutheran churches- they often post times the priest/pastor sets aside for this. Others of us have an open policy – just call, drop in and let us know you need the peace and rest this sacrament brings. You will not be imposing… matter of fact, you will make our day. Don’t worry about us being shocked – St Paul has a good point when he says if God can save us, you guys are a peace of cake!
Dump that guilt and shame, be rid of that burden of grief, trust God as His word! And realize the depth of Christ’s love for you, that He would restore you and show you His love.
If you
Vonhögen, Roderick (2013-09-09). Geekpriest: Confessions of a New Media Pioneer (Kindle Locations 658-674). Franciscan Media. Kindle Edition.
God Blesses
(Twice a year, the three congregations that use our facility combine for one incredible service. People who were born in Europe, Africa, South America, and Asia as well North America God has gathered here…. The entire service is in both English and Mandardin and people are welcome to pray during the prayer times during the Creed and the Lord’s prayer in their own language. Sometimes the songs alternate languages, sometimes the song is sun simultaneously in Mandarin and English. I was very blessed to have an incredible translator work alongside me today, helping me deliver this sermon. Cindy’s translation will be up later.
All praise to God, who brings us through all challenges, and unites us in worship. AMEN.
God Blesses!
Matthew 5:1-12
† In Jesus Name †
May the grace and mercy of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ instill in us the trust to know that He has blessed us, and the patience to wait for that blessing to be revealed!
God Blesses….
The English Translation of our gospel reading this morning from the New Living Translation adds a small three-letter word that the older translations assumed we would read into the passage.
Yet it is critical we hear that word, it makes all the difference in the world.
The word is “God”.
For it is God who blesses. It is His blessing, His favor, His healing, His touch on our lives. The word in Greek for blessing is one that is used only for divine, supernatural blessing. Not just luck, or coincidence, but the touch of God’s hand in our life.
In this life many are crushed by sin, and the world’s pressures crush many of us as well. The pressure might be financial pressure, or challenges with physical health, psychological health, it could be family issues or even anxiety over death. Pressures that Satan is trying to use to crush us and humble us….
God comes to us, even in those places… and God Blesses.
God Blesses us, (pause) and God desires to bless all of those outside of this place… even blessing them through us.
It is God, who would bless us all, and that is what we are here to celebrate… AMEN?
Why can’t we always see it?
This is more challenging than it sounds though. More challenging for a simple reason we see when we slowly read verses 4- 9 slowly. When we see what is common to all.
It says God blesses those, (or Blessed are they) and then it describes people caught in a challenging situation.
Those who mourn,
Those who have been humbled,
Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness and justice…. Which means they haven’t seen it, yet.
Those who have had to show mercy… which means they have been brutally sinned against.
Those whose hearts are pure, which means they have been tempted and either overcome the temptation, or been cleansed of the sin when they failed…
God blesses those who work to make real peace. Not covering up or hiding that which divides people from each other, but those who actually engage the problem and try to reconcile people together.
Each of us, caught in those situations are blessed. God blesses us.
We rejoice in that! We truly do.
The challenge appears when we look at how God will bless them. The challenge is that word I just said.
Will.
God will bless them as He comforts them, as He gives them the earth, as He satisfies their craving for justice and righteousness. God will show them mercy and they will see Him and they will be called His children.
Will. Future tense. Something that does not always appear to us yet! Even though it is promised to be reality. Even though it is reality. Even though God already blesses us, we do not always see it in the moment.
That causes a problem with most of us, as patience is not always something to admit we can exercise.
We want to see healings now, we want the heartaches to fade away in a moment, we do not want to hear we might have to work at our relationships and that being merciful requires to interact with those we need to show mercy towards.
Knowing we are blessed by God is now, realizing how God Blesses us, that may take time, and lot of faith and patience. It takes remembering who it is that blesses us. It takes remembering that God does not break promises, He doesn’t change His mind and what He has done, He has done.
God Blesses… He always blesses us, He always does. Guaranteed.
Even when we struggle to see the blessing, Even when we struggle to see Him.
He is with us. The Lord is with you!
Except for the two “is”
So how do we deal with the time when we have to be patient, when we have to trust in God that we will receive the blessings, the comfort, our hunger and thirst for righteousness quenched?
We need to look to the two blessings that are not in the future tense. The promised blessing for those poor in spirit, for those who are persecuted for being just, mistreated for living in Christ, for living life in view of God’s desire that all should come to know Him, to be granted repentance, to be transformed.
You see the two beatitudes tell us we’ve become part of the Kingdom of God. We are in Him, His reign over us is now. Brought into a relationship where God is our Lord, our Master, we have been made His children. He has made promises, bound Himself covenant promises to us.
You see, God being our Lord is an awesome thing. That means He has committed to us in a relationship and dwells with us, working on us, in us, and yes through us to reach the world, to reach Cerritos and all in this area.
In Biblical times there was more an obligation on the Lord, than the servant, just like there is more obligation on the parent than on the child. God commits to us in ways that go beyond our understanding… but that is okay, He is God.
It is the Master’s responsibility to care for the servant, His obligation to provide for them and assure their welfare, just as it is parents responsibility to care for their children. Not our wants, but our needs, and always n His wisdom, which is pure and holy and loving.
We have been brought into the Kingdom of God.
We’ve been brought into the relationship with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
That is why the Father sent Jesus to be our blessing. Why Jesus came and defined each of these blessings.
Why he became poor in spirit, allowing sin to crush Him.
Why He mourned over all the people of God as He mourned over Jerusalem
Why He chose to be humbled and He hungered and thirsted for righteousness so much He died to see that hunger satisfied, He humbled Himself and became a servant to the point of death as Paul writes to the Phillipian Christians.
That is what all these blessings are about, it is what the Kingdom of God is about. God’s love for us, His uniting Himself to us through the death of Christ. The mercy of God shown to us, the way in which are hearts are purified even though we have sinned, as He worked to make peace for us, peace with us, for He is the Son of God.
We are blessed, because we are united to Jesus, to His death, to His resurrection. We have been brought to Christ, marked as His, as has every believer, everyone who trusts in Him. It doesn’t matter if we are from Germany or Taiwan, from Boston or the Philippines, or from South America or Africa or you are a native California. It doesn’t matter whether we are 6 months old, or 6 years old or 100 years old, God has called us into a relationship to care for us, to provide for us, to heal our souls and make us His children. He brings us into this relationship and commits to us…
He commits to bless us, to be our God, to be our Lord, to be our Father.
To bless us.
Today we celebrate All Saints Day, we look back at the saints who God has blessed in the past, we realize that He has blessed us and is blessing us, and we know He will bless the next generation of Concordia and Passion. For He has always done this, He has always taken care of His people, His children.
Even when we struggle to realize it.
For God is always faithful. He can be counted on, for all of the blessings we find in scripture, including one last one I would leave you with one final blessing, from today’s reading… a look at the day when all of the blessings are fully revealed
9 After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb.
that’s us, and here is the blessing…
15 “That is why they stand in front of God’s throne
and serve him day and night in his Temple.
And he who sits on the throne
will give them shelter.
16 They will never again be hungry or thirsty;
they will never be scorched by the heat of the sun.
17 For the Lamb on the throne
will be their Shepherd.
He will lead them to springs of life-giving water.
And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”
May it be that we, to whom this blessing speaks, and our children and children’s children, both physical and those children who come to faith as God works through us, may it be that we all realize we dwell secure in His peace… the unsurpassable peace of God. For it is there we dwell, for we are in Christ, and He guards our hearts and minds in that peace.
AMEN?
