Category Archives: Martin Luther
Does He now? Yes…
Thoughts which drag me to Jesus, and to the cross…
13 The slave girl gave a name to the LORD who spoke to her: “You are ‘God who sees me,’ ” because she said to herself, “Have I really seen God who sees me?” Genesis 16:13 NCV
But this supportive community abandons him just when he has most need of it—where his work ends and he is on his own. In reality, the isolation of death and suffering reveals only what has already been true of his whole life. Where dying has no meaning, life itself becomes insecure. Where suffering finds no answer, the individual finds himself alone just when his questioning actually begins.
It is a sacrifice of thanksgiving and a service most pleasing to God if you acknowledge and proclaim His acts of kindness and call Him רֳאִי, He who sees me, as if you were saying: “I thought I had been completely forsaken by God. But now I see that He had regard for me and did not cast me aside when I was in trouble.”
This is a most beautiful name for God. Would that we all could bestow it on Him, that is, conclude with certainty that He has regard for us and cares for us, especially when He seems to have forgotten us, when we think we have been forsaken by Him. For he who can say in affliction: “God sees me” has true faith and can do and bear everything, yes, he overcomes all things and is triumphant.
Though Pope Benedict’s words were about death, I think that any major transistion we go through in life leaves us as alone as he describes about the one who is dying. I witness this in divorce situations, especially in the lives of children. I have seen it in the business world, as someone is terminated or promoted and they are as abandoned and left alone. Those dealing with illness and dying, or memory failure encounter this as well.
It is frustrating, and it adds significantly to the pain encountered. Indeed, I would rather have the pain than the isolation that occurs. Let me be honest, I am the source of at least some of that isolation, fearing it, but also fearing the lack of ability to engage with people.
I’ve known the same feelings I hear, that those I turned to for community- they don’t seem to be there. They too are going through there own transition and grief, and if anything – we need each other more in those moments.
There are times, where befoe we can engage with others, we must encounter the presence that means the most – we must encounter God. We need the experience of finding ourselves in the wilderness, and coming to the conclusion that God still sees us, He still cares, He hasn’t abandoned us. HE will not… HE CANNOT…
And knowing that allows for one to depend on HIs strength, rather than our weakness. It allows us to see HIs victory, which not only is a victory to win us, but a victory He shares with us! Assured of that, one can reach out through the transition, finding the hope we have encountered is the hope others need as well–the hope that was an si to be found in community.
We all go through many transitions – we all find ourselves in Hagar’s spot…sometimes frequently. And there, if we slow down, we find that our refuge, our sanctuary has a lot of room for those we have shared that refuge with before.. and others that come to realize they need it, and are part of our home.
A home where God just doesn’t see me, where He sees us.
Joseph Ratzinger, Co-Workers of the Truth: Meditations for Every Day of the Year, ed. Irene Grassl, trans. Mary Frances McCarthy and Lothar Krauth (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1992), 354.
Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 3: Lectures on Genesis: Chapters 15-20, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 3 (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1999), 70.
A Missing Lesson About Financial Stewardship….that is Absolutely Necessary!
Thoughts which drag me to Jesus…and to His cross…(kicking and screaming at times)
“So when you offer your gift to God at the altar, and you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there at the altar. Go and make peace with that person, and then come and offer your gift. Matthew 5:23-24 NCV
The boldness of Luther in the hour of danger has been sadly misrepresented by his enemies. It has been attributed to arrogance, self-confidence, and as many other evil qualities as would have constituted a thousand demons. But when we withdraw the veil of his private life, and get an acquaintance with his thoughts in solitude, we get a different view of him. When we follow him to his retirement, and hear nothing but that solitary, penitential cry, “My sins, my sins,” we do not find much self-reliance. It was not in himself that Luther found confidence: it was in the arm of Omnipotence.
2. That a man pray in every time of trial and need; for, the greater our need the stronger is our prayer. Therefore also God, in the 50th Psalm, says: “Call upon me in the day of trouble.” (Always and everywhere there is sufficient provocation to prayer if one will but realize it).
In a lot of churches, November is a month of budget preparation for the next year, and for those churches, Stewardship drives and Stewardship Sundays and fundraising takes a lot of time. At least that is the way many of us were trained, and based on emails and programs sent to me, it still is a major endeavor for some.
I have yet to see a program started in the words of Jesus, found in Matthew’s gospel, and quoted above. For one good reason, the fiscal impact of this heard in our churches would cause the offering plate to have a different weight, for most would hear this as a required first step, and decide it wasn’t worth the effort! They might say, “So if I can’t give unless I reconcile, I guess – I don’t have to give!”
And the most time we don’t want to reconcile, it is because we see “those” much as some Catholic leaders of his day saw Luther! (and undoubtedly as he saw them!) Courts declare such relationship divied, based on irreconcilable differences, whether the relationship is a business or marriage. And in some cases, for the moment, so they are.
But look at Hunt’s words about Luther – everything would change if they could have witnessed how he was haunted by sin, terrified by a God he thought could not love him–then he realized scripture revealed Jesus far differently. some tried to steal that comfort, that peace that knowing our sin was completely forgiven! No wonder he was a little perturbed at Eck and Tetzel, then at the pope that defended their work!
But how do we get through the hardship of trying to do the impossible and reconcile with people we can’t stand? Well, I can tell you that the only way is through and during prayer – while we plead with God for such. Our faith and trust in God deepens as the Spirit empowers us to reconcile. For there is no other way to approach it, except trusting in God to break hearts and restore souls and in doing so, bring about the desire of God. To bring about what Christ’s directive states…
This is far more pleasing to God that throwing $20, $50, or $10,000 in the offering plate….
So be good stewards – first of relationships, then of other treasure, talents and time. And know, God will supply whatever you need, for you dwell in Jesus! Amen!
Martin Luther and John Hunt, The Spiritual Songs of Martin Luther: From the German, trans. Thomas Clark (London: Hamilton, Adams, and Co., 1853), vi–vii.
William Lœhe, Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians, trans. H. A. Weller (Chicago: Wartburg Publishing House, 1914), 1.
Who Are You Asking to “Come”?
Thoughts which drag me to Jesus, and to the Cross…
6 The LORD Almighty says to the priests, “A son honours his father, and a servant honours his master. I am your father—why don’t you honour me? I am your master—why don’t you respect me? You despise me, and yet you ask, ‘How have we despised you?’ 7This is how—by offering worthless food on my altar. Then you ask, ‘How have we failed to respect you?’ I will tell you—by showing contempt for my altar. 8When you bring a blind or sick or lame animal to sacrifice to me, do you think there’s nothing wrong with that? Try giving an animal like that to the governor! Would he be pleased with you or grant you any favours?” Malachi 1:6-8 GNT
The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come!”
Everyone who hears this must also say, “Come!”
Come, whoever is thirsty; accept the water of life as a gift, whoever wants it. Rev. 22:17 GNT
Meditation is a continual prating or talking and is here used in a bad sense. For as a lover is always spontaneously saying many things about the object loved, so the hater is assiduously prating the worst of things about the object hated. There is the same modesty also in the words “rage” and “take counsel together;” the act itself was far more atrocious than the purport of these words would seem to indicate. We are thereby taught not to exaggerate the evil conduct of men, but as much as possible lessen it, and thus show that we do not feel so much indignation on our own account as pity on theirs.
823 Love for God invites us to shoulder the Cross squarely: to feel on our back the weight of the whole human race, and to fulfil, in the circumstances of our own situation in life and the job we have, the clear and at the same time loving designs of the Will of the Father.
I write this with more than a little anxiety, as I want people to depend on God to do the the miraculous through them, not add more guilt or shame, or use that to motivate them.
But I read the the first passage, these words that come at the end of the Old Testament, and hear them, and take them in consideration with the words from Revelation, and the words of Luther and Escriva, and see what an incredibly, wild, miraculous God works in and through us, His people.
As I look at the church today, it does seem to have settled with less effort less results in what they offer God. Other things take the best part of our time and our talent, take the best parts of us, rather than allowing God to transform us in His image rather than being conformed to the world. (Romans 12:1-3, 2 Cor. 3 16ff)
We are more than willing to protect what we have in the church, trying to preserve it (whether traditional or contemporary) rather than muddy ourselves by reaching out to those who desperately need to know God loves them. We are more than willing to whine and complain and obsess about those who we see threatening our lives, but are we willing to intercede for them, get to know them, learn to love them? That’s the kind of Cross we need to shoulder, to see that God desires more than anything to transform us and them into His one people.
To say with the Spirit and Jesus, “come!” for that is we need to do to invite them, on God’s behalf! To help them who are thirsty for justice, and for making things right, to realize that is seen best in Christ’s work on the cross. THey may not understand this – but love and prayer, patiently delivered by the power of the Holy Spirit, will cause the antagonists and yourself to be the kind of offerings that makes God dance with joy!
Martin Luther and John Sander, Devotional Readings from Luther’s Works for Every Day of the Year (Rock Island, IL: Augustana Book Concern, 1915), 383.
Escrivá, Josemaría. The Forge . Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Do We Take The Liturgy and Preaching Too Seriously?
Thoughts which drive me closer to Jesus, and to the Cross!
13 Whoever acts without mercy will be judged without mercy but mercy can afford to laugh at judgement.
James 2:13 (NJB)
In the Baroque period the liturgy used to include the risus paschalis, the Easter laughter. The Easter homily had to contain a story which made people laugh, so that the church resounded with a joyful laughter. That may be a somewhat superficial form of Christian joy. But is there not something very beautiful and appropriate about laughter becoming a liturgical symbol?
Therefore as in the preceding verses the passion and death of Christ are prophesied, so in this verse his resurrection is predicted, though by a somewhat obscure allusion. Who would have thought, while Christ was suffering and the Jews triumphing, that God was laughing at them all the while! So also while we are oppressed, how shall we believe that God is holding our adversaries in derision, when it seems to us as though we were held in derision both by God and men? What a power of faith is required in all these words!
In my office hangs a copy of the painting entitled Jesus laughing.
I often thought of it as a reaction to something Peter said, or when some well-meaning rabbi complimented Him on His understanding of scripture.
The words of Luther gave me another insight–as the Father endures watching the Son endue the cross…there is a slight grin on His face, a grin like the A-Team’s Colonel as he says, “I love it when a plan comes together.” In that same moment, as Jesus screams it is finished, a victory cry through the pain can be slightly heard…
The God who tells us to rejoice without ceasing himself rejoices without ceasing.
This attitude needs, no, it has to invade our liturgy, to invade our preaching. The joyous laughter that knows that no matter what, the plan of God will succeed, and the people of God are His. We are HIS!
That is why when Pope Benedict XVI, one of the greatest theologians and teachers on the liturgy brings up laughter, but only from his own perspective. He brought up the history of the liturgy, and the fact that the rubrics required laughter in the homily! For the very reason that this was a celebration–a time when laughter is more than appropriate!
Do you think Simeon, when holding the baby Jesus, knowing He was the Messiah, wasn’t giggling with laughter? Do you not think the disciples were laughing and crying in the upper room when Jesus appeared? That Thomas, on His knees, wasn’t smiling–even as Jesus said he could touch his wrists and put his hand in Jesus’ side.
This is part of our minsitry, this odd, paradoxical sense of humour in the midst of complete reverence and awe of the God who comes to us, to die for us, to use all of His power to save and re-create us… which brings God the greatest joy, and glee.. and laughter!
Joseph Ratzinger, Behold The Pierced One: An Approach to a Spiritual Christology, trans. Graham Harrison (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1986), 119–120.
Martin Luther and John Sander, Devotional Readings from Luther’s Works for Every Day of the Year (Rock Island, IL: Augustana Book Concern, 1915), 391.
Prayer – the recognition of our greatest need!
Thoughts that drive me to Jesus, and to His cross
They stumbled because they did not believe in the word; such was God’s will for them.
9 But you are the chosen race, the King’s priests, the holy nation, God’s own people, chosen to proclaim the wonderful acts of God, who called you out of darkness into his own marvellous light. 10At one time you were not God’s people, but now you are his people; at one time you did not know God’s mercy, but now you have received his mercy. 1 Peter 2:8b-10 GNT
When prayer is genuine, possessing the fire by which it is kindled, prompted by a sincere heart which recognizes its need and likewise the blessings that are ours as proclaimed in the Word, and when faith in God’s Word—in his promise—revives, then the individual will be possessed with a fervor prompting him to fall upon his knees and pray for strength and for the power of the Spirit. Martin Luther
767 What really makes a person—or a whole sector of society—unhappy, is the anxiety ridden, selfish search for well being, that desire to get rid of whatever is upsetting. Escrivá, Josemaría. The Forge .
I’ve been doing some research into the collapsing mid-sized church, those that run 250-2000. In my group of churches, their numbers are shrinking faster than the hopes the fans of the… (well I won’t mention the team name). Seriously, we have a problem across the board–and many younger pastors are leaving their church to pick up the problems some other pastor left, in order to take the place of pastor #3. Or more likely, they leave the parish, and become life coaches or counselors or teachers or..
I have to believe some of this is do to our poor formation, not only of pastors, but of church leaders in general. As churches shrink, we put in place anyone breathing – anyone willing to volunteer, rather than adequately prepare them. Then frustration and anxiety set in, as they don’t feel successful, and the leaders who put them there see no results. We become unhappy, as if happiness is the answer to everything, and the lack of it causes anxiety and desperation and often, change that is… unwise
St. Peter’s words talk about what eventually happens – they forget the promises in the word of God and they don’t hear it…even as we study it with our churches, we don’t hear it. We hear about the Greek or Hebrew, we read and hear about the background of those who did hear it, and how the Holy Spirit used it to change their lives. We hear what we have to do, the doctrines we have to believe, the way we must behave (or that how we behave is okay…when we know scriptures teaches differently) But we don’t hear about the good news, the love of God poured out on His people…along with mercy and grace and healing…as He restores us.
And without hearing that, without knowing God is hear for us, ready to listen, ready to act…the noise and stress and anxiety only gets worse. Eventually, pastors and people leave, determining there has to be more, a different way…..and they try to find it on their own, or coach those who are looking for it–but are just as lost in the darkness….
The church needs to draw them out of that darkness, as it is gthered by Jesus and reflects His glory, as He revives them. He’s there, we just need to recognize our need for Him, and those promises, the promises that we are no longer alone – but we are His people. A message we receive, not just in sermons and the Lord’s Supper, but in that neglected sacrament of prayer…
Oddly enough – though Lutherans may not talk about it often today, Luther points us to that need – to pray for the power of the Spirit to be manifest in our lives together, in the church where the Spirit gathers and enlightens us all.There is no doubt of the need, there should be no doubt of the theology… and there should be no doubt of the promise…
So hear that word, those promises and pray with me…
The Hope of the World is Found IN the Broken Believer
Thoughts the draw me to Jesus, and to His cross!
16 “I will look for those that are lost, bring back those that wander off, bandage those that are hurt, and heal those that are sick; but those that are fat and strong I will destroy, because I am a shepherd who does what is right. Ezekiel 34:16 GNT
5 Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith. 2 Corinthians 13:5 (NLT2)
If the poor wounded man had desired to help himself he would only have done harm to himself and irritated his wounds. Had he remained lying quiet, he would have suffered all the same. This parable pictures us perfectly.
Let me tell you about the true Christian, the Bible Christian, and his view of this troubled and uncertain world in which he lives….He knows that the day when Christians should meekly apologize is over; that they can get the world’s attention not by trying to compromise and please, but by boldly declaring the truth of divine revelation with the affirmative signature, “Thus saith the Lord!”
761 Christ is nailed to the Cross. And you?… Still taken up with your whims and fancies—or rather, nailed by them!
Luther, talking about victim tended to by the Good Samaritan, describes the how completely broken and hopeless he is. Unable to help himself, unable to survive on his own, completely hopeless.
And yet it is such broken men and women that can and must provide the hope that this world needs.
Yes- they are the hope of the world… for they, as beaten and broken as they are… they have heard Jesus say, “thus saith the Lord!” Which really means “You are mine!” And that is the hope for the world, to hear those incredible words. It is as we are nailed to the cross because of our brokenness that we are united to the hope that is Christ. Those whims and fancies are killed off ( and ohh they struggle to come back to life)
The hope is actually found in Christ, through the Spirit who makes His home in us, who shines through our lives, who hope and love so fill out lives that it overflows, and draws people looking for answers in this broken world. For it is He who has come to look for those of us who are lost, to bring us home.
This is the truth we have to declare – the presence of the Lord Jesus in the lives of His people. No other religious tenet, no other truth works unless we bring that to the attention of those who are His people. From there we explain the cross – and how that means He is there… there to help, to cure, to cleanse, to bless. Any “truth” other than that tends to distract from that, and from the peace that God would have us know..even as we know His love.
The Christian’s view of this troubled and uncertain times is not to give up on the world, but to see the need for Christ’s love being brought to the world, as it was to us.
The Lord is with you!
Martin Luther and John Sander, Devotional Readings from Luther’s Works for Every Day of the Year (Rock Island, IL: Augustana Book Concern, 1915), 341.
A. W. Tozer and Gerald B. Smith, Mornings with Tozer: Daily Devotional Readings (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2008).
Escrivá, Josemaría. The Forge . Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Humility Reveals How Rich We Truly Are….
Thoughts which draw me cloer to Jesus, and to HIs cross:
17 Command those who are rich in the things of this life not to be proud, but to place their hope, not in such an uncertain thing as riches, but in God, who generously gives us everything for our enjoyment. 18Command them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share with others. 1 Timothy 6:17-18 GNT
Especially would he teach them to be useful and bring comfort to the poor flock of Christians by their good example of faith and love in order to strengthen their faith and love. He here shows how he gives and will give rich blessings to the end that such office and service may accomplish much good, and bring forth much fruit.
He knows that he is as weak and helpless as God has declared him to be. Paradoxically, he knows at the same time that he is, in the sight of God, of more importance than angels. In himself, nothing! In God, everything!
751 Faced with the marvels of God, and with all our human failures, we have to make this admission: “You are everything to me. Use me as you wish!” Then there will be no more loneliness for you—for us.
Luther’s words comment on Jesus commanding the apostles to feed thousands upon thousands of people, with not even enough food to feed themselves. One might think they are poor, yet in the presence of Jesus, are they really? The example of faith and love is more important than them having a fleet of food trucks (you would need at least 60?) available. For it is only by realizing the incredible power of God at work in their lives, that they can see the potential they have as servants of the people of Jesus.
This is the same point as Tozer, as a man looks at himself, and realizes his brokenness, his inability. Then the paradox can be revealed, and the man sees how God truly values him, for Jesus was sent to restore to the Father that which He treasures the most. You need to take a moment and think that through. Jesus was the investment God made, the payment for our restoration.
This is not something just made up, this is the point of scripture, to show that God loves us enough to heal and restore us, and counts that work, started as we were joined to Jesus in our baptism (see Col. 2) All of scripture points to this work of Christ, even though we will not see it fulfilled until He returns, it is true now, and the effect of it is as sure as those people were no longer hungry. As the St. Paul tells Timothy, God provides everthing we need, not just for us, but for us to minister to the world, and not just a little here and there… we are to give generously – without concern, but with reliance on God for what is needed. For this is what it means to have hope – to expect something. TO act on the fact that God wants your neighbors to know Him, to love Him, this is what we have to realize is our life–for it is lived in Christ.
This leads us all to St. Josemaria’s prayer – that recognizing God’s presence in our lives, we should plead for Him to use us as He wishes (think Romans 12:1-15).
Pray those words with me, “Heavenly Father, ‘You are everything to me. Use me as you wish!’ AMEN!”
Martin Luther and John Sander, Devotional Readings from Luther’s Works for Every Day of the Year (Rock Island, IL: Augustana Book Concern, 1915), 314.
A. W. Tozer and Gerald B. Smith, Mornings with Tozer: Daily Devotional Readings (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2008).
Escrivá, Josemaría. The Forge . Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.#751
The Greatest Sin on Earth (it may surprise you)
Thoughts that drive me Jesus, and to the Cross
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles, pray to God. 2Surely you have heard that God in his grace has given me this work to do for your good. 3God revealed his secret plan and made it known to me. (I have written briefly about this, 4and if you will read what I have written, you can learn about my understanding of the secret of Christ.) 5In past times human beings were not told this secret, but God has revealed it now by the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets. 6The secret is that by means of the gospel the Gentiles have a part with the Jews in God’s blessings; they are members of the same body and share in the promise that God made through Christ Jesus. Eph 3:1-6 GNT
There is in God’s judgment no greater sin on earth than when pious men and women despise those who lie in their sin.
Sin is, of course sin.
Let’s take the sixth commandment – it covers all sexual sin, where the blessing that God gave to a wife and husband is misused, and sexual intimacy is shared between any two that are not married. (in thought and word–as well as deed). Sin is sin.
Despite some opinions to the contrary, it has the same consequence, it divides us from God, each other, and even shatters who we are. Using the 6th commandment again, it doesn’t matter who the contact is between, or whether it is just in words – or thoughts. It is sin.
Luther claims to know that God’s #1 issue is when His people, or those who appear so, hate their brother and sister so much that they leave them in sin, unaware that the Lord has provided a cure and healing for the sinner, and will gladly transform them (2 Cor. 3) into the likeness of Jesus. To leave someone, helpless and unaware of this, to not have this basic level of compassion for them, is wrong. It shows a lack of love that is contrary to the love of Christ dying on the cross.
Compare that to Paul’s words about bringing the Gentiles into the Kingdom alongside the Jewish believers in Christ. He would work with everything he had, with the extent of making this mystery (which wasn’t really–the Old Testament tells over and over that the Gentiles would be called home.) known.
It is our responsibility now – not just pastors and missionaries–our responsibility as the church, to welcome everyone into the Kingdom of God, to see them cleansed from their sins, to be clothed with the righteousness of Christ Jesus.
Does that mean that all my Church needs to move to Ephesus – and walk in the footsteps of Paul? Or all go to seminary? No, but we can pray for these people, love them, and be guided by the Holy Spirit’s love to share with them the hope we have, because of Jesus, and the cross.
Ask God to show you who is ready to hear, Ask Him to give you the words, that they would come to know Him, and be transformed as God promises, as God planned. Listen, love, share… and realize you are a co-worker of Jesus, a person He shares His harvest with, and His glory.
Martin Luther and John Sander, Devotional Readings from Luther’s Works for Every Day of the Year (Rock Island, IL: Augustana Book Concern, 1915), 282.
Where is “the” Church FOcusing its Efforts?
Thoughts that move me towards Jesus, and the The Cross
He helps us in all our troubles, so that we are able to help others who have all kinds of troubles, using the same help that we ourselves have received from God 2 Cor. 1:4 GNT
I think we can say that most Christians have no clear end toward which they are striving.
The first and highest work of love a Christian ought to do when he has become a believer is to bring others also to believe in the way he himself came to believe. Here you notice Christ begins and institutes the office of the ministry of the external Word in every Christian; for he himself came with this office and the external Word.
Psalm 119:59 tells of a time of self-examination, a time where the Psalmist looked at his life and probably sight, stood up and began the journey again. It is a hard course of action to take, but one that we each need to do, and perhaps, need to do as congregations as well.
But 30-30 years after Tozer originally noted that we strive without a true direction, we still don’t find it. We get caught up on crusade after crusade. THe latest is to fignt human trafficking, prior to that there were battles on both sides of the CRT issue, and the LGTBQ issue, and this political issue and that one. It’s nothing new, I remember the church being directed to strive against rock & roll, promiscuity, divorce and greed growing up.
And in all of this, we’ve lost what it means to be the church, to have Jesus revealed to us, to believe, trust and depend on the work of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in our lives.
and then to share that work with those who need it. Which is everyone we encounter. That’s the basis of what Paul is telling the church in Corinth. We need to strive to maintain the hope given to us in the life, death, resurrection and eventual return of Jesus–and then we need to share that with all who are broken.
I need to do this, but so do you. Luther’s clear about this being the work of both those called to shepherd the church. and those who are the church.
This needs to be our focus, our life, this hope of being a relationship with our creator, who loves us.
To strive after anything else, to think spiritual warfare is about anything else, is vanity
A. W. Tozer and Gerald B. Smith, Mornings with Tozer: Daily Devotional Readings (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2008).
Martin Luther and John Sander, Devotional Readings from Luther’s Works for Every Day of the Year (Rock Island, IL: Augustana Book Concern, 1915), 255.
The Need for Dark Empty Nights… and their effect on our soul
Thoughts that drive me to Jesus, and to the Cross
I envy those who are dead and gone; they are better off than those who are still alive. Ecclesiastes 4:2 GNT
19 If our hope in Christ is good for this life only and no more, then we deserve more pity than anyone else in all the world. 1 Corinthians 15:19 GNT
753 When you pray, but see nothing, and feel flustered and dry, then the way is this: don’t think of yourself. Instead, turn your eyes to the Passion of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Be convinced that he is asking each one of us, as he asked those three more intimate Apostles of his in the Garden of Olives, to “Watch and pray”.
To this you have been invited, now is the time to come, now the supper is ready. Your Lord Jesus Christ is already born, has died and risen again, therefore do not remain away any longer, accept your promised treasure with joy, come to the table, eat and be happy.
I think we need to go through days as Solomon did, at least the kind of days that cause writing so full of darkness and despair.
I hate those days, as I can easily echo Solomon’s jealousy of those who have gotten to pass through this life and are now awaiting Judgment Day in the presence of God. MY mind comes back to the promise of what is waiting for us there – that the glory of God is more than we’ve ever seen, heard, or can imagine. (1 Cor. 2:9) So I long for that day, even as I grieve fro the broken world that surrounds me, and ingrained in me.
St. Josemaria must have had those days as well, for he could not describe the flustered, dry feeling that can occur when praying. WHen words are beyond you, because you don’t know how to pray, and you even wonder whether God is listening! (Or even worse, if he is playing a Jeremiah 20:7/Job idea on us!)
But we have to go through those “dark nights of the soul”, as one writer called them.
St. Josemaria’s advice is clear – look to Jesus, and see His dark night – that He chose to embrace for us. He knows the emptiness, the vanity of it all, for He experienced it – and was able to focus on the joy of rescuing and redeeming you and me! This is what Solomon would eventually remember – this relationship with God, but he had to process the vanity, the hopelessness of life without God, even as we have to remember that emptiness.
TH\hat is why the Apostle Paul reminds us of eternity and that our hope goes far beyond this life, far beyond this life’s dark times. If that was all there was, so go eat and drink into oblivion. And piuty those who use religion as a outlet for despair. Jesus died and rose so we don’t have to live without hope, but we can have hope ever while we are despairing of life.
This is why Luther, who knew some dark nights and a lot of futility, became so excited when considering the Lord’s Supper, and the feast that it anticipated. To be invited as a guest of honro, to share in Christ Jesus, to know His presence, love, mercy as we take and eat His body, as we drink His blood–knowing it is the price of our relationship being renewed. This is a moment of incredible, overwhelming joy.
Even in the midst of this life… and its brokenness, we enter into that time where all is set aside, but Jesus.
God is inviting you.. so come to church tomorrow, and know the joy of knowing God is with you now… but has something awaiting you that the Apostle Paul describes this way, “9 “What God has planned for people who love him is more than eyes have seen or ears have heard. It has never even entered our minds!”” 1 Corinthians 2:9 (CEV)
Come, celebrate with us, or if too far away, find a church that will provide for you the feast of Jesus…
Escrivá, Josemaría. The Forge . Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Martin Luther and John Sander, Devotional Readings from Luther’s Works for Every Day of the Year (Rock Island, IL: Augustana Book Concern, 1915), 252.
