Monthly Archives: March 2016
The Need to Hear Jesus, and Not Just the Experts
Devotional Thought fo the Day:
“Who are you to put God to the test today, setting yourselves in the place of God in human affairs?*g 13 And now it is the Lord Almighty you are putting to the test, but you will never understand anything! 14 You cannot plumb the depths of the human heart or grasp the workings of the human mind; how then can you fathom God, who has made all these things, or discern his mind, or understand his plan?” Judith 8:12-14 NABRE (2)
31 O Jesus…, strengthen our souls, open out the way for us, and, above all, intoxicate us with your Love! Make us into blazing fires to kindle the earth with the heavenly fire you brought us. (2)
As I’ve worked with people who are suffering, I’ve heard a lot of people offer “expert” advice to them about why God caused/is allowing/is fine with the suffering they are enduring.
It is almost as if the friends of Job (where they really?) have been re=incarnated!
Some promise that God wouldn’t allow the people He loves to suffer, or that if they do this, they will be fine. They will use the often misquoted passage about God not allowing you to bear anything you can’t handle… (sometimes with a disclaimer)
We love to speak for God, but the question needs to be asked – were we lsitenign to him when we spoke?
In the case of the text from Judith, the leaders hadn’t. They were, as so often happens, using their own reason, their own logic, to solve a situation. They didn’t consult God, they had forgotten His promises, they treated His word as if it was, supplemental to the gifts He ahd given them, when He entrsuted them with the leadership of God’s people.
And like us, they failed.
There is a level of humility we as leaders need in the church. The humility that drives us, not from obligation, but from realizing our need to be with jesus, to hear His voice, to find the hope that comes, as we conciously dwell in His presence.
Judith noted this, her words to the leaders of her people to her. They came, and as she convicted them, she also encouraged them to model the faith in God that they had inherited from their ancestors. And she herself mourned, grieved, prayed (even to the extent of laying fully prostrate – a symbol of complete submission)
And she did what was incredibly distasteful, horrid, and sacrificed her own peace.
Not exactly a Christ figure (still working through the God using all things, including Judith’s deception for good.. i.e. Genesis 50:20.. issue in this one) but there are elements of her work, of her humility, that need to be noted. She sought God’s face, and
The kind of humility, the kind of submission and sacrifice that only comes when a heart is on fire for God. When a heart and soul has found its only answer is in the promises God made us, the promises that He will be the refuge and shield of His people.
Hear these words of her prayer,
“You are God of the lowly, helper of those of little account, supporter of the weak, protector of those in despair, savior of those without hope.”
She is right about that. As is St Josemaria with his prayer, asking God to overwhelm us, humbling us, strengthening our souls, encouraging us to reflect his light to the gentiles and give hope to His people Israel. It is this adoration of the God who would hang on the cross that is our salvation, for in Him we have life. Our people need our help to explore the dimensions of His love, even in the midst of suffering.
May we guide people into their rest and healing found in Christ, rather than prognosticate and pontificate about their situation.
Lord have mercy…
(1) Judith is one of the books from the deuterocanonical books of scripture (i.e. the second canon ) It was included in old Bibles, and would have been considered part of scripture by the early church reformers. It is not found in most modern Bibles published by protestants. (Although it exists in translations like the ESV, the RSV, etc) Lutherans and Anglicans vacillate on it, considering it anywhere from being like a book by a church father, to being a lesser part of scripture, to being part of the canon. As the translation I am using for daily devotions this year (NAB-RE ) includes it, so I am re-introduced to it. I found this quote particularly poignant, given issues with leadership in the church and outside it today.
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 348-349). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
The Repentant Heart is Not Supposed to Be Sad?
Devotional Thought of the Day:
“Today is holy to the LORD your God. Do not lament, do not weep!”—for all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law. 10 He continued: “Go, eat rich foods and drink sweet drinks, and allot portions to those who had nothing prepared; for today is holy to our LORD. Do not be saddened this day, for rejoicing in the LORD is your strength!” 11 And the Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Silence! Today is holy, do not be saddened.” 12 Then all the people began to eat and drink, to distribute portions, and to celebrate with great joy, for they understood the words that had been explained to them. Nehemiah 8:9–12 New American Bible. .
10 Think about what the Holy Spirit says, and let yourself be filled with awe and gratitude: Elegit nos ante mundi constitutionem—he chose us before the foundation of the world, ut essemus sancti in conspectu eius!—that we might be holy in his presence. To be holy isn’t easy, but it isn’t difficult either. To be holy is to be a good Christian, to resemble Christ. The more closely a person resembles Christ, the more Christian he is, the more he belongs to Christ, the holier he is. And what means do we have? The same means the early faithful had, when they saw Jesus directly or caught a glimpse of him in the accounts the Apostles and Evangelists gave of him.
As my church has spent Lent considering what repentance is, one thing becomes clearer and clearer. Lent, while a solemn season, while a penitential season, is one filled with joy because it is filled with hope.
As Ezra read the Torah to the people of God, as the Spirit called to mind their sin, there was a grieving that took place, as people considered generation after generation of sin, as well as their own. And yes, a repentant sin does need an examination of conscience, as we approach our confession. But even that confession is done with expectation, clinging to the promise of God’s faithfulness.
We have to remember that a repentant life is a transformed life, a life where God is working on us, recreating us, cleansing us. This work of God, this masterpiece He is creating, is what repentance granted us is really about.
It is getting used to living in the light, as opposed to floundering in the darkness! It is walking around, free in Christ, free to be with Christ, rather than being chained to sin, anxiety, fear, and resentment.
It is the simplicity that St. Josemaria talks of, of simply living life, confident and aware of the presence of God, revealed in His word, communicated in the sacraments. It is when we catch that glimpse and hold onto it, letting everything else fall aside. It is isn’t easy, as our old nature will fight to stay alive, yet it is as easy as realizing we are Jesus’ friends, the Father’s children, His people. And that realization, especially when we know it isn’t right because we don’t we deserve it, but rather is right because God granted us this repentant life.
Repentance is not an act, any more than conversion is, and more than faith is a declaration of our trust. It is a state of being, it is being “the Repentant”, a joyous walk with a God that loves us, and is willing to forgive, showing mercy, and faithful, unending love!
Cry out, “Lord have mercy!” but do it in faith, and in expectation, for you dwell in His presence! AMEN!
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 270-276). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Monday: A Day to Die for….
Devotional Thought of the Day:
I have been put to death with Christ on his cross, 20 so that it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. This life that I live now, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave his life for me. Galatians 2:19b-20 (TEV)
8 Live close to Christ! You should be another character in the Gospel, side by side with Peter, and John, and Andrew. For Christ is also living now: Iesus Christus, heri et hodie, ipse et in saecula!—Jesus Christ lives! Today, as yesterday, he is the same, for ever and ever.
I have written some blogs about Mondays. A lot of that comes from the attitudes I encounter before I get to my office, either in real life or on Facebook. It is as if we dread Mondays more than death. Sometimes I think this is an exaggeration, and other times, I am not so sure.
I dread them as much as anyone else, as another long week gathers steam. Maybe death is preferable? Well – not physical death, per se, but the death we were reminded about as we shared in the Body and Blood of Jesus yesterday.
We have died with Christ on the cross. Our old nature was nailed there, with all of its sins, with all of its brokenness. With all of its rebellion against God. With all of the desire to say, I don’t care what God reveals in scripture, my way is just as valid a way to be with God.
The challenge on Mondays remembers that Jesus lives in us, that we live so close to Him, as close as the apostles did, because of the cross. We are a character in the gospel, for we died in Christ, that we may live in Him.
This is a critical thought to start the week with, that it is not just What Would Jesus Do” but what is Jesus doing in and through me today!
Its’ not about thinking and meditating about what Jesus would do, and then 20 minutes later doing it. The Christian life is spending so much time in prayer, so much in His word, so much talking to Him that your normal reactions become like Christ’s. That you love as you are loved, that you show mercy even as you’ve been shown it, that you share in the greatest treasure you have.. your relationship with God.
For it is that which makes Monday worth dying for, the idea that you are not alone, that it is not hopeless, but that it is a wonderful opportunity because we live in Christ.
God speed.
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 262-265). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
You Were, You are, I am! A Sermon on Isaiah 12:1-6
You Were, You are, I am!
Isaiah 12:1-6
† In Jesus Name †
May the grace and peace of God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ bring you great comfort.
Have you ever seen….
He was so angry that his nostrils flared.
He couldn’t control his breathing, as his strongly worded rebuke comes out with great deliberation and focus. His face was bright red, the kind of anger that you wonder whether his heart or mind will explode before you.
If it weren’t for the control over those words, you would wonder if there was any control left in Him.
The anger so powerful, that you can’t focus
I don’t think this is exactly what we were picturing when we chanted the gradual, when we said, “fix your eyes on Jesus…”
I think most of us have a hard time seeing God this angry, especially Jesus or the Holy Spirit. I mean – how does a dove get angry? God the Father maybe, but God that angry? But then we think of the parable of the prodigal, and that Father wasn’t all that mad…
That furious? So much so that it physically was revealed?
Who was God that mad at????
For the definition of the word angry describes someone based on physical appearance, so angry their body cannot hide it.
You were…
Who was it Isaiah was quoting when he wrote, “You were angry with me, O LORD”.
Most of us would love to point at someone else, and say – God must have been mad at, and name a name. Most likely a name that betrayed and hurt us in the past. Or maybe someone who is breaking the laws, or threatening our way of life, our future or children/grandchildren’s future.
This is what we need to realize, God was that angry with us.
Angry with us because of our sin, because of our rebelling against Him, angry as we rejected His love and his care.
I think sometimes we would prefer to think he was disappointed, or maybe a little upset. That because God is understanding, that he doesn’t get emotional over our idolatry, our gossip, our sexual sin, our jealousy, and coveting. Somehow I think we want to minimize the things we do wrong, we want to justify them, argue that their right, say that the Greek or Hebrew doesn’t really mean that its wrong, just that it isn’t as good as God would hope for us to be.
Sorry,
God was mad; he was angry, so angry that it caught there attention.
He caught our attention.
He was that mad at us, that angry at our sin,
There is a need to recognize this, that we can cause God so much anger that He must pour it out on someone, for if we don’t understand this, we don’t understand the cross.
We can’t understand the wrath of God that was poured out upon Jesus, that He bore out of obedience.
What happens if we don’t understand how angry God was with us, is that we don’t worry about our sin, and we continue to dwell on it, and we will struggle with the need for repentance, with the need for more than a quick “I’m sorry.”
We need to look at the cross from the point of seeing God so angry, that He needed to pour out that anger, and instead of pouring it out on us, He chose Christ Jesus.
You are…
Hear those words again,
In that day, you will sing: “I will praise you, O LORD! You were angry with me, but not any more. Now you comfort me. 2 See, God has come to save me. I will trust in him and not be afraid. The LORD GOD is my strength and my song; he has given me victory.” Isaiah 12:1-2 (NLT)
You were angry O LORD- not His title but His Name…
You were angry, but not any more… now you comfort me.
Now you comfort me.
All because of the cross. Where that anger was satisfied, where the sins met the wrath of God and were consumed. The cross where the people who had no god, who had walked away from Him saw His love overcome to His anger, and broken, and crushed, we were given life in Jesus.
Yes, we ticked God off, more perhaps than we can ever understand.
He didn’t set it aside, He dealt with it, as Christ Jesus was nailed to the cross.
He was angry, but because of Jesus- He is no longer.
And that is why we worship and praise Him, that is why we tell the world what Jesus has done. The wonderful things He has done, that we make known around the world.
That He has brought people from around the world to hear about.
He was angry at us, not any more, now He comforts us…literally in Hebrew, He allows us to breath easy. He allows us to sigh in relief and drink deeply of His cup of salvation!
I am…
This is the reason for our joy! That one little verse, not even a whole verse, talks of our sin angering God, and the rest of the chapter praises Him. It is that joy that springs up from seeing what was crushed, restored, what was broken healed.
At first, we cannot believe it, and then we are in awe… then life becomes incredibly infused with the love of God.
Hear the last words of Isaiah’s reading this morning
6 Let all the people of Jerusalem/Concordia shout his praise with joy! For great is the Holy One of Israel who lives among you.”
the Repentant
Zacchaeus:
The Question of Who BenefitsFrom “My” Work
† In Jesus Name †
May the grace and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ so transform you that you know the excitement and joy that leads you to see others needs…and meet them!
Part 1: Fruit of His Labors
When we hear Zacchaeus was a tax collector, I think we paint a picture in our minds. A small man, perhaps with squinty eyes, and hands that are moving way to fast. A glint in his eye when money is involved.
We probably assume he is evil, that he robbed people left and right of what they earned. After all, aren’t tax collectors the ultimate example of evil? There are some noble used car salesman out there, and even some very honest politicians and lawyers.
But a tax collector though? A government worker whose job depended on collecting enough revenue? Who had legal authority to fine and who received a bonus, or a cut, of all he took in, he is one who needs to repent, right?
So if he can repent, we have hope, right?
If Zack can be transformed by God’s love, then we are a much simpler job, right?
No. I don’t think so. I think we make a mistake in saying he was more evil than we are, just because of his role. Certainly, the little guy was hated more than anyone else, but he we can’t assume that he was more corrupt, more self-centered.
Certainly he was not a hero to his people. Look at how they grumbled because Jesus went to him!
He hoarded his wealth; he was successful in that we find out why he needed to repent. We see the change in him after he encounters Jesus. Instead of sharing, he hoarded. Instead of meeting needs, he made sure he had none. He didn’t care about those around him; he cared about himself.
It may be considered as American as apple pie, but greed is still a sin. Not loving your brother, and responding in love to his needs is still a sin. We don’t like hearing that, we want to enjoy the fruit of our labors, and not share it with others. We want what we deserve, the pay we earned with our own hands.
Which brings up an interesting question – why do we do what we do? To serve God, or to serve ourselves?
Zacchaeus served himself, but even as a wealthy man, a man who did his job well, that wasn’t enough. Throughout scripture, you see this – over and over, as those who are only focused on themselves live empty lives. Ethics and morality are reduced from living a life that benefits others, to lives that don’t rob from others.
We hear this in the first epistle of John,
16 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? 18 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; 1 John 3:16-19 (NLT)
This is our call to repentance this evening, this is the call to confession, to pray that God would help us to change.
That He remove from us the lack of compassion that has a grip on our souls. That He would remove from us a heart that is self-centered and only cares about its own needs.
As we enter a time of silence, let the Spirit convict you, show you where you need to have Him change you, and grant you the forgiveness you need.
( after confession of sin, confession of what we believe and why we have hope, part II begins )
Zacchaeus Part II
It probably never entered Zacchaeus’ mind that Jesus would be coming to dinner. He would be willing just to get a glimpse of him, maybe if was lucky, get a selfie with Jesus in the background.
Why would a prophet, why would a rabbi invest time in him? It is as inconceivable as Ebenezer Scrooge leaving his entire net worth to the elder’s benevolence fund. Or Mr. Grinch bringing Christmas presents for everyone in Whoville. Or Mr. Zacchaeus returning the tax money he collected to those in need.
No priest, no pastor would give him the time of day, he was a spiritually wounded man on the road to Jericho, and he really needed a Samaritan, a Savior. Even though he was a Jew, even though he probably donated money, how would he ever learn that he could repent of his sin? That he wasn’t a complete write-off in the eyes of God. He needed someone to tell Him,
And Jesus did.
He said let’s eat together – at your place.
I am interested in your life Zach; I want to be part of it.
It may be the first time any religious leader had said that to him, and it changed Zaccheus’s life forever.
Come, let us feast together, let me come to you.
My friends repentance doesn’t start with us promising God to make things right; it doesn’t start by our deciding we need to change. It starts like it did with Zacchaeus, with the Lord reaching out to us, loving us, wanting to be involved in our lives.
That love that interest in what is happening with us changes us heals us, makes us complete. It is the granting of repentance, the transformation from sinner to saint.
And it comes to all believers, as God comes to us and says, let me come with you, and let’s feast together this day…
Its time for us now, to hear that invitation. We too have realized that we don’t know always choose to love God with all we are, to love our neighbor as ourselves. But He’s come to make that possible, to show us His love.
So come, and eat with Jesus. He’s come here to be with you today. Here.
AMEN.
This politician is so evil and corrupt, that they ticked God off..
Devotional Thought of the Day:
He did much evil in the LORD’s sight and provoked him to anger. 7 An idol he had made he placed in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to his son Solomon: In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I shall set my name forever. 8 I will no longer make Israel step out of the land I assigned to your ancestors, provided that they are careful to observe all I commanded them, the entire law, the statutes, and the ordinances given by Moses.
9 Manasseh misled Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem into doing even greater evil than the nations the LORD had destroyed at the coming of the Israelites. 10 The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention.
Manasseh’s Conversion. 11 bTherefore the LORD brought against them the army commanders of the Assyrian king; they captured Manasseh with hooks, shackled him with chains, and transported him to Babylon.* 12 In his distress, he began to appease the LORD, his God. He humbled himself abjectly before the God of his ancestors, 13 and prayed to him.* The LORD let himself be won over: he heard his prayer and restored him to his kingdom in Jerusalem. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD is indeed God. 2 Chronicles 33:6-13 NABRE
We are unjust before God; we have turned away from him in pursuit of our own glorification and so we have become subject to death. But God waives the merited punishment and puts something new in its place: healing; our conversion to a renewed Yes to the truth about ourselves. So that this transformation may take place, he goes before us and takes upon himself the pain of our transformation. The Cross of Christ is the real elucidation of these words: not “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”, but “transform evil by the power of love.…” In the Cross of Christ, and only there, these words open themselves to us and become revelation. In the company of the Cross, they become a new possibility even for our own lives.
21 Here we are talking about personal faith, which accepts the promise as a present reality and believes that the forgiveness of sins is actually being offered, not about a faith which believes in a general way that God exists.
22 Such use of the sacrament comforts devout and troubled minds.
For the last week, I have seen sincere brothers and sisters in Christ aid in the demonizing of politicians that they don’t know, never mind knowing their hearts, never mind knowing the plans God has in store for us all.
Watching the anxiety grow, and the angst, I even see it beginning to fracture families and friendships, as one can’t understand how the other can support “them”. While I pray for those running, I pray even more for those who are following and placing their hopes in the plans and personalities of those running for office.
This was on my heart this morning, as I went into my devotional reading, and came across Manasseh. Not only did he encourage the worship of idols, and demonic “gods”, he even placed in God’s temple a giant Asherah pole – a pagan idol that was simply a huge phallic symbol. He put the idol in the place where God put His name, which people would know that their prayers would be answered and that He would forgive their sins, and bring them to the transformation of repentance.
A slap in God’s face, and worse. This man was evil upon evil. I think even the staunchest opponent of any politician in office today, or running for office, would find their nemesis preferable to Manasseh. Some may argue differently, but the reality is there, God’s testimony is clear – the nation’s evil was greater than nations God condemned and destroyed. God tried to speak to them, and they ignored Him.
This corrupt evil leader would not only repent; he would also lead his entire nation in repentance, in a time of purging all the idolatry from their nation.
He would lead a revival of repentance because God didn’t give up, even as God was completely ticked off, furious beyond recognition. His people, led by a descendant of the David, the man after God’s own heart, did more evil than those God had Israel clear out of the land. God was patient with them, and called them to repentance, and transformed them from evil, into His children once again.
As Pope Benedict wrote when he was a cardinal, God sent Jesus before us to bear the price of that repentance, to bear the punishment that should have been ours. He transformed evil by the power of love, not only giving us an example to follow but making it possible to love that completely. It becomes the hope, the possibility for our lives.
Melancthon writes in the Lutheran confessions that this brings us comfort when our minds are torn between being devout, yet troubled by our sin. For our trust in God, boosted by the sacraments, the acts where God pours out His mercy, love and grace, upon us.
It is those promises, and seeing those promises fulfilled in the life of Manasseh that bring peace in a time when the world and just the United States seems beyond hope God can work in and through such people. God can call them to repentance, and has.
God doesn’t give up, He strives for our very souls and the souls of those in leadership. Trust in Him, find in your baptism, and in communion the real forgiveness of sins, and pray that God would lead our leaders to the same.
So pray for them, pray for us, that all would know the mercy and peace of God.
Peace that is promised, peace that is delivered.
AMEN!
(1) Ratzinger, J. (1992). Co-Workers of the Truth: Meditations for Every Day of the Year. (I. Grassl, Ed., M. F. McCarthy & L. Krauth, Trans.) (pp. 78–79). San Francisco: Ignatius Press
(2) Tappert, T. G. (Ed.). (1959). The Book of Concord the confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. (p. 214). Philadelphia: Mühlenberg Press..
