Category Archives: Martin Luther
A Simple Thing, more beneficial than all the political talk possible
Thoughts which carry this broken pastor to Jesus, and to the Cross:
“LORD, help me control my tongue; help me be careful about what I say. Take away my desire to do evil or to join others in doing wrong. Don’t let me eat tasty food with those who do evil.” (Psalm 141:3–4, NCV)
Little lives need the great sunshine of mother’s love, and the great heat of Christ’s benediction. Suffer me to speak a word of experience from the schools where they will learn of great men: Caesar will not teach them such courage; Washington will not inspire them with such patriotism; Socrates will not show them such calmness; David will not impress them with such chivalry; Moses will not move them with such meekness; Elijah will not imbue them with such earnestness; Daniel will not touch them with such manliness; Job will not nerve them with such patience; Paul will not fire them with such love, as will their daily little devout intercourse with Jesus Christ, in the prayers they learn to lisp while yet in your arms, or to repeat while yet kneeling at your knee. Lead them there, and their future manhood and womanhood will rise up to call you blessed.
A Christian must take care that he deceive not himself; he differs from the hypocrite, who may honor God’s Word and the gospel, yet in reality he is unchanged. True Christians so live that it is apparent from their lives that they keep God before their eyes and truly believe the gospel
Psalm 141’s words immediately made me think about the coming elections, and the posts I’ve seen, and been tempted to respond to on social media. For honestly, watching people, church people, demonize the candidate that opposes “their” candidate, whether national, state or local is getting exhausting. At the same time, the hope they are placing in their own candidates makes me wonder how close our society gets to idolatry.
And Psalm 141 hits me right between the eyes.
I am not saying don’t consider positions, I am saying how we treat the “opposition” and our favored candidate needs to be watched, lest we fall deep into idolatry, fatalism, and gossip and slander.That is the “tasty food” set before us, which we could all to easily share with others who are broken, but do not yet have the hope of eternity, but just emptiness, and so this life matters more that it should.
Luther is dead on accurate, we have to fight against the hypocritical “old adam” that would have us slide into the idea that the end justifies the means, for our side. We need to live with our lives, our hope, our trust placed in God, that we can cling to the message of reconciliation and redemption, leading to everlasting life with God… in His kingdom.
Loehe, that trainer of Lutheran pastors of the 19th century gets it right–what matter is not the examples of the great men we know from history. They will not learn from even expertise on these great men, even the great men of scripture, as much as a few moments of simple prayers, of simply basking in the love of Christ as we think on His presence, and His promises in our lives.
It is beneficial to show them how God is always faithful to the broken, for all these leaders were, but that is only to support our devotion to the Lord who is faithful to keep the promises He has made us. Promises that need to be thought through, taken to heart, and claimed in our dialogue with the God who comes to us. Those prayers toddlers and infants learn. that we can use as well, resonate so deeply that they can change our outlook and give us comfort and peace. The same as pointing out the other times we focus in on that intimate relationship, hearing His word, sharing in His death and resurrection in the sacraments, and simply know we are His…
encouraging people to pray, whether the 3-year-old or the 93-year-old – is worth more than all the votes in all the elections, for the result is far more beneficial, as we come to know the love and the peace that both go beyond all comprehension.
Lœhe, W. (1914). Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians (H. A. Weller, Trans.; pp. 599–600). Wartburg Publishing House.
Luther, M., & Sander, J. (1915). Devotional Readings from Luther’s Works for Every Day of the Year (p. 365). Augustana Book Concern.
The Hardest Words in Scripture… are there for a reason
Thoughts which carry this broken pastor to Jesus, and to the Cross…
“The LORD said, “Name him Lo-Ammi, because you are not my people, and I am not your God.” (Hosea 1:9, NCV)
“I will plant my people in the land, and I will show pity to the one I had called ‘not shown pity.’ I will say, ‘You are my people’ to those I had called ‘not my people.’ And they will say to me, ‘You are our God.’ ”” (Hosea 2:23, NCV)
“I know what you do, how you work hard and never give up. I know you do not put up with the false teachings of evil people. You have tested those who say they are apostles but really are not, and you found they are liars. You have patience and have suffered troubles for my name and have not given up. “But I have this against you: You have left the love you had in the beginning.” (Revelation 2:2–4, NCV)
I often used to wonder that St. Ambrose was so bold as to call himself a servant of Jesus Christ. I supposed we all ought to be terrified at thoughts of this kind, and that none but the apostles might boast of such honor. But the fact is, we must all say to Christ: Thou art my Lord and I am thy servant; for I believe in thee and aspire to be with thee and all the faithful and to possess thy Word and Sacrament.
The first quote from Hosea hit me like a freight train. How I would hate to hear them, how I hate to read them, even about someone else that I’ve never known. They are the saddest and most devastating words in all of scripture.
I need to take them seriously, I need to hear the warning they bring to our people today. I can’t just dismiss them as if they are not relevant to today. For the reading from Revelation tells me that things do not change much.
We still forget God, we still forget our first love. These words aren’t talking to non-Christians, they are talking to us–those who’ve been called Christians and God’s people. Those who loved God, and know more about God than any other – for they can and do discern false teaching – they have suffered–even as they unmask liars in their midst.
Yet for all their knowledge, like Israel and Gomer in Hosea’s time, they lost the intimate relationship with God. And they don’t even notice, a sad comment on its own.
As I was reading my other devotions, I came across the quote from Luther, and I have to wonder about how it affects this. If we think we need to be afraid of Christ, afraid of serving God, In that fear of serving God, there is also the fear of being in HIs presence, being accountable to the plan He has, which may not be a demanding as we hold it to be. But the fear keeps us at a distance- a distance which allows us to know of God, but limits our ability to know Him, to engage Him, to serve Him as a trusted companion.
That’s the point that makes the difference–the relationship with God–that’s why serving God as His servant-companion and friend. That is the second reading from Hosea, the incredible reconciliation that God promises and makes happen. For the people who were told they were not, are once again the people of God. He restored the relationship – as promised- and then revealed that incredible blessing–that there is hope for restoration, for healing, for life as even more than a servant – but as the friend Jesus would tell us we have become.
His friends.
His family.
The ones the Spirit heals and nourishes through the word that testifies of Jesus and the sacrament which unites us with Him.
This is what changes knowledge of Jesus to knowing Him.
This is what saves us, this is what we are saved too – an intimate, eternal relationship with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Luther, M., & Sander, J. (1915). Devotional Readings from Luther’s Works for Every Day of the Year (p. 362). Augustana Book Concern.
Prayer-the ultimate result of faith and where faith finds ability…. (so why don’t we…)
Photo by Wouter de Jong on Pexels.com
Thoughts which carry this broken man to Jesus, and to the cross:
“LORD, remember my suffering and my misery, my sorrow and trouble. Please remember me and think about me. But I have hope when I think of this: The LORD’s love never ends; his mercies never stop. They are new every morning; LORD, your loyalty is great. I say to myself, “The LORD is mine, so I hope in him.” (Lamentations 3:19–24, NCV)
“Now, since God has left us the promise that we may enter his rest, let us be very careful so none of you will fail to enter. The Good News was preached to us just as it was to them. But the teaching they heard did not help them, because they heard it but did not accept it with faith. We who have believed are able to enter and have God’s rest. (Hebrews 4:1–3, NCV)
When as bishop, or before that simply as a colleague, I tried to determine why a vocation that had begun with such fervor and such high hopes had gradually collapsed, the result was always the same: at some time, the individual in question had ceased to practice silent prayer—perhaps from sheer zeal to accomplish all that had to be done. But then the zeal had lost its inner dynamism and had become empty. At some time, personal confession had been abandoned and with it that contact with challenge and pardon, that renewal from within in the sight of the Lord, that is indispensable. “To be with him”—this “with him” is needed not just for a certain initial period so that it can be drawn upon later. It must always be at the heart of the priestly ministry.
It is characteristic of faith boldly to trust God’s grace, and to form a bright vision and refuge in God, doubting nothing. Where there is no true faith there is no true prayer, nor any seeking after God. But where it exists it makes man bold and anxious freely to bring his troubles unto God, and earnestly to pray for help.
As I read Lamentations this morning, I was again amazed by the brutal honesty of the Jeremiah.
He struggles to get past his situation, and the despair it causes. I’ve been there more times than I want to think about. Believing I was or am as Jeremiah thought he was seems to be a norm. It has also become the norm, and I am grateful for this, to come to the resolution Jeremiah has – that “The LORD is mine, so I hope in Him.” That is the only thing that gets me through the days that are too numerous to count…
That resolution is the point the author of Hebrews is getting to, when he talks of the promise of entering God’s rest–as we enter that rest only by faith–not by the doctrines of our faith, for faith is not a statement of the things we believe in, but it is the dependence on God, and knowing His faithfulness.
As this dependence (faith) leads us to pray, so too does the prayer strengthen that dependence. Pope Benedict is clear on the results of not praying, the reduction of the zeal and power that is characteristic of knowing we can boldly go into the presence of God, and find His love and mercy and peace in which we can rest! Luther sees this incredible connection as well, for where there is true faith, there is true prayer – a complete unburdening of the heart and soul of the believer–who struggles to find themself in Christ.
I need to make this clear – the posture and words of my prayers do not make me holy. My dedication has nothing to do with the dynamis, the power/ability that is revealed in prayer. It is not the pattern of the prayer, or even the contents that matter as much as the faith which finds hope in talking to the LORD. Sometimes we can’t find the words, we only find the tears, at other times, the words flow and flow, and as the Spirit leads, the grace of God is revealed. Prayer is real, the connection is real, the hope is real…
for the Love of God is real.
We, as a church, need to pray… as pastors/priests, as congregations gathered into His presence together to celebrate His love poured out in word and Sacrament. Poured out into broken vessels, that can empty themselves out in prayer.
This is who we are-this is our church, of which it was said “My house shall be called a house of prayer for the people of all nations” (Isaiah 56:7)
So pray my friends – the Lord who is with you, is the Lord who listens and knows!
——
Ratzinger, Joseph. 1992. Co-Workers of the Truth: Meditations for Every Day of the Year. Edited by Irene Grassl. Translated by Mary Frances McCarthy and Lothar Krauth. San Francisco: Ignatius Press.
Luther, Martin, and John Sander. 1915. Devotional Readings from Luther’s Works for Every Day of the Year. Rock Island, IL: Augustana Book Concern.
The Difference Between Spiritual “Disciplines” and Devotions
Thoughts which carry this broken pastor to Jesus, and to the cross
“But now in these last days God has spoken to us through his Son. God has chosen his Son to own all things, and through him he made the world. The Son reflects the glory of God and shows exactly what God is like. He holds everything together with his powerful word. When the Son made people clean from their sins, he sat down at the right side of God, the Great One in heaven.” (Hebrews 1:2–3, NCV)
The summer bee flits from flower to flower, not at haphazard, but designedly; not merely to recreate itself amid the garden’s pleasant diaper, but to seek honey, and carry it to its hive, to the symmetric comb where it stores its winter food. Even so the devout soul in meditation. It goes from mystery to mystery, not merely as dipping into the beauty of those wondrous matters, but deliberately seeking fresh motives for love and devout affections; and having found these, it feeds upon and imbibes them, and, storing them up within, condenses them into resolutions suitable to the time of temptation. Thus the Heavenly Bride of the Canticles hovers like a bee round the cheek, the lips, the locks of her Beloved, drawing thence innumerable delights, until, kindled with sacred joy, she talks with Him, questions, hearkens, sighs, longs, marvels, while He fills her with content, opens her heart, and fills it with boundless light and sweetness, yet so secretly, that that may be said of this devout communing of the soul with God which we read of Moses: “Moses went up unto God, and God called to him out of the mountain, and they spake one with another.”
For the Word must first have been heard, and must have entered the human heart, showing the mercy of God in such a way as to create faith. Then they clung to these tidings, trusted them, went thither, and hoped to receive of him what they had heard. In this way faith grows out of the Word of God. We must, therefore, earnestly search the gospel in order thus to lay the first stone. The Word first informs us of the mercy and goodness of God; faith then lays hold on the Word with firm confidence, and we obey it. We now become conscious of it in our hearts and are satisfied. For as soon as we believe we are already justified and are with Christ in his inheritance.
Back in the 80s and 90s a term was re-introduced to the church which caught on and became a overnight focus for some ministries. The term was “Spiritual Disciplines”, and it basically was a form of spiritual calisthenics – do these things, preferably in these orders and you well end up a leaner, stronger spiritual warrior who can overcome evil, evangelize the world and live a blessed life.
Prayer, devotional Bible study reading and meditation, frequent reception of the sacraments are awesome experiences, but they are not spiritual exercises, anymore that talking to a spouse or a dear friend is.
The moment we legislate the effort, the moment we turn it into a system to produce some kind of growth, we turn a blessing into a law, and rob it of the very thing that makes it special – the love that motivates and empowers it.
I don’t think that was the intent of people like Richard Foster, Dallas Willard and others had in mind as their objective. They didn’t want to force these practices on people as a cookie cutter – at least as I read their works.
These things are devotional – they come out of a heart seeking to understand the devotion God has for them – to explore the height, depth, breadth and width of God’s love for us, to experience it, much as De Sales’ bumblebee does, much as Solomon’s lovely bride did. To seek that communion, not for the sake of the the outcome and effect, but for the moment of joyous communion.
This is the point Luther talks about – where the experience of fellowship is found and experienced, not just with the mind, but with the heart. and a peace-filled satisfaction is the side of effect of knowing we are in Christ Jesus. Having a time of devotion – exploring God’s love, mercy and faithfulness becomes a time of delight, a time we wouldn’t trade for all the power and riches in the world. It’s our time to explore the glory of love beyond our imagination, beyond any explanation…
This is the foretaste of heaven we need – as the Spirit heals us, and carries us to heaven.
AMEN
Francis de Sales. 1888. Of the Love of God. Translated by H. L. Sidney Lear. London: Rivingtons.
Luther, Martin, and John Sander. 1915. Devotional Readings from Luther’s Works for Every Day of the Year. Rock Island, IL: Augustana Book Concern.
Obedience: I Don’t Think This Word Means What You Think It Means!
Thoughts which carry this broken believer to Jesus, and to the cross:
“Then the LORD spoke his word to Jeremiah: “This is what the LORD All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: Jeremiah, go and tell the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem: ‘You should learn a lesson and obey my message,’ says the LORD. ‘Jonadab son of Recab ordered his descendants not to drink wine, and that command has been obeyed. Until today they have obeyed their ancestor’s command; they do not drink wine. But I, the LORD, have given you messages again and again, but you did not obey me. I sent all my servants the prophets to you again and again, saying, “Each of you must stop doing evil. You must change and be good. Do not follow other gods to serve them. If you obey me, you will live in the land I have given to you and your ancestors.” But you have not listened to me or paid attention to my message. The descendants of Jonadab son of Recab obeyed the commands their ancestor gave them, but the people of Judah have not obeyed me.’” (Jeremiah 35:12–16, NCV)
“LORD, your word is everlasting; it continues forever in heaven. Your loyalty will go on and on; you made the earth, and it still stands. All things continue to this day because of your laws, because all things serve you. If I had not loved your teachings, I would have died from my sufferings.” (Psalm 119:89–92, NCV)
It is of design that the apostle does not term the two dispensations “law” and “gospel,” but names them according to the respective effects produced. For it is impossible to keep the law without Christ, though man may, for the sake of honor or property, or from fear of punishment, feign outward holiness. The heart which does not discern God’s grace in Christ cannot turn to God, nor trust in him; it cannot love his commandments and delight in them, but rather resists them.
As I said before, we have merited nothing. Before God called us, there was nothing more than personal wretchedness. Let us realize that the lights shining in our soul (faith), the love wherewith we love (charity), and the desire sustaining us (hope) are all free gifts from God. Were we not to grow in humility, we would soon lose sight of the reason for our having been chosen by God: personal sanctity. If we are humble, we can understand all the marvel of our divine vocation. The hand of Christ has snatched us from a wheat field; the sower squeezes the handful of wheat in his wounded palm. The blood of Christ bathes the seed, soaking it. Then the Lord tosses the wheat to the winds, so that in dying it becomes life and in sinking into the ground it multiplies itself.
As I have meandered through the various parts of God’s church, I have often been encouraged to “obey” God.
Sometimes, I have wondered whether the goal was to live like Christ, or to live within the expectations of those who were encouraging/demanding submission and obedience. Let me be clear, I am not just talking about legalists on one side of the church. Those that want to control behavior exist on both sides. And many of them, are truly sincere, even as they lack the patience and grace that I need to develop the life they have desired.
But more than once, this demand for obedience left me shattered–absolutely convinced that I would never be holy enough to meet the standards they (and therefore?) and God set in my life. It made me wonder about even going to church, never mind being a shepherd of God’s people.
But Biblical obedience isn’t about trying to re-create myself into a clone of Jesus. The words for “obey” come from two words in both Hebrew and Greek. The first concept is to hear- to perceive a message in the sound made, and to give it attention, and the concept of letting those words mold one’s life is inherent in them. The second concept is to treasure something (for example – the Great commission includes the idea to “treasure what I have commissioned/established.)
You see this in Jeremiah’s prophetic message to Israel, as they refuse to hear and act within the guidelines of the relationship established. They won’t have it, they won’t listen! They will, as Luther points out, pretend they are holy, for a variety of reasons–and then take it s a step further–and make others “fake it til they make it.” This gets us nowhere, except for feeling like a failure, hating our failures, and knowing how empty our lives are…
The descendants had a different look to them. They treasured their ancestor’s words, they heard them, and they gave up having homes and pleasure, iin response to the wisdom and love they knew. This is what the Psalmist so clearly points out, over and over in Psalm 119. The very words, the teachings are loved, because they point the psalmist to what life is. (Remember why in John 6 Peter and the 12 don’t leave is because Jesus has the words of life?) All of this revealed about God, including His presence, becomes our priceless treasure. What we hear promises real life, promises real hope, comforts and lifts us up.
That is what St. Josemaria describes, as we are given a life we don’t merit, that we don’t deserve. God does all this work inside us, as He promised in His word, and the more we hear it, the more the blood of Christ forgives, reconciles us to the Father and restores us, the more we treasure it, the more we love Him, the more we realize His role in our lives is not something distant, but is concrete and real.
It is our reality now.
Treasuring it shapes us, as the potter shapes the clay, and obedience becomes natural, the default way of life. For we are able to love because we are loved, we can have faith in God, because He is revealed to be completely dependable.
This is true obedience, not some sacrifice given to placate God, or those who claim to represent Him. This is love…reflected back opn the One who loved us from the beginning.
Hear Him, treasure His words…
—–
Luther, Martin, and John Sander. 1915. Devotional Readings from Luther’s Works for Every Day of the Year. Rock Island, IL: Augustana Book Concern.
Escrivá, Josemaría. Christ is Passing By (p. 21). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
How to Stop the Decline of the Church in Post-modern (Post-Christian?) Culture
Thoughts which carry this broken Christian to Jesus, and to the Cross:
“The teaching I gave you is the same teaching I received from the Lord: On the night when the Lord Jesus was handed over to be killed, he took bread and gave thanks for it. Then he broke the bread and said, “This is my body; it is for you. Do this to remember me.” In the same way, after they ate, Jesus took the cup. He said, “This cup is the new agreement that is sealed with the blood of my death. When you drink this, do it to remember me.” Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup you are telling others about the Lord’s death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:23–26, NCV)
40 In Dr. Luther’s Small Catechism we read: “I believe that by my own reason or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him. But the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, and sanctified and preserved me in true faith, just as he calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth and preserves it in union with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.”
For the children who are here brought to Thee in holy baptism, we pray Thee, maintain them mightily in Thy covenant of grace. For their elders we pray: grant them true repentance and, by Thy grace, grant them true absolution from sin; and, cause them to receive the most holy Sacrament of the true body and blood of Christ unto the renewal of their oppressed souls, and the strengthening of their weak faith.
If the sacraments are abandoned, genuine Christian life disappears. Yet we should realize that particularly today there are many people who seem to forget about the sacraments and who even scorn this redeeming flow of Christ’s grace. It is painful to have to speak of this sore in a so-called Christian society, but we must do so for it will encourage us to approach these sources of sanctification more gratefully and more lovingly.
The decline of the church in America is a grievous fact, whether we talk about any denomination or the church as a whole. Seminaries have been in decline, though some like to rejoice that the rate of decline is descreasing. It is still in decline, which means as Boomer pastors finally retire, there won’t be enough, for there are few of us GenX pastors, and we need thousands of pastors in the future. (not to mention church musicians, youth workers, teachers, etc.
I think this is not a theological issue, nor is an issue of worship style and practice–as we consider traditional versus contemporary, liturgical versus less structured worship. I think the issue has to do with the fact we are robbing our churches of the great comfort and enlightenment found in the sacraments, especially the sacraments of Baptism, Confession and Absolution and the Eucharist (aka the Lord’s Supper/Communion)
I think I am not alone in this, as I saw in my readings this morning. Luther, Loehe’s prayer and St Josemaria all note the critical importance of these sacraments. Their reasoning is far more pragmatic than it is abstract.
Luther notes that in these gifts, the Holy Spirit enlightens His people–the whole Christian Church–as they see God at work in their lives. There is something about seeing God’s work revealed in our hearts, souls and minds that is amazing, that should be treasured. Not because of our role in a pietistic ritual, but because of God making sure His promise to us, in a tangible way that we can depend upon in the crazy broken world.
Loehe’s prayer likewise keeps a focus there, that we beg God to help us all stay in the covenant we enter in baptism. This isn’t just a thought, the statistics on who was baptized prior to 18 and still are in the church at 30 are a grievous tragedy. The same for the prayer for those of us who are older, as we need to hear we are absolved and forgiven of our sin, and we need to have our souls, so oppressed by the world, renewed. Some might declare their faith is not weak, and therefore this passage doesn’t apply. To them I ask what faith is, is it knowledge you can defend on Twitter. Faith is being sure we can depend on God for the healing of our brokenness that will find its completion when Christ returns. And that kind of faith is nourished at the altar, it is put in our hands as we eat and drink His body and His blood.
We need this enlightenment; we need this renewal (or my preferred word – healing); we need our faith empowered. St. Josemaria see this, as he grieves–almost 100 years ago–at the possibility of the sacraments being abandoned. Either removed from the service–or making them less that the sermon or the prayers, and never re-instructing people as to their use – to provide this comfort, to provide peace, to assure people that God is with them, working with great intent and diligence in their lives. To remove the sacraments, to even diminish their importance, removes one of the marks of the church, part of the means of grace, and it weakens what should be our refuge.
It is our refuge, not because the buildings were built with human hands, but because God has put His name there, for us to be able to locate Him, for us to be able to interact with Him, for us to receive His gifts and the promises He would pour out on us. So we who lead need to make sure our people realize those promises, and the presence of God who would bless us….
As people learn to treasure God and His gifts, and they realize there is no limit, then they will share them, and then others will desire to distribute them… and help people find what they need!
——
“The Formula of Concord: The Solid Declaration: Free Will or Human Powers” Tappert, Theodore G., ed. 1959. The Book of Concord, the Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Philadelphia: Mühlenberg Press.
Lœhe, William. 1914. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Translated by H. A. Weller. Chicago: Wartburg Publishing House.
Escrivá, Josemaría. Christ is Passing By (p. 123). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
We Need to Be Comforted, not Comfortable.
Thoughts which carry this broken believer to Jesus, and the Cross:
“Also do good things for the city where I sent you as captives. Pray to the LORD for the city where you are living, because if good things happen in the city, good things will happen to you also.”” (Jeremiah 29:7, NCV)
We have lost sight of the fact that Christians cannot live like “everyone else”. The foolish notion that there is no specifically Christian morality is merely one way of saying that a fundamental concept has been lost: the “distinctively Christian” as opposed to the models offered by the “world”. Even religious orders and congregations have confused true reform with a relaxation of the traditional austerity previously practiced. They have confused renewal with comfort. To give a small but concrete example: a religious reported to me that the downfall of his monastery began very concretely with the declaration that it was “no longer practicable” for the religious to rise during the night to recite the nocturnal office. But that was not the end of the matter. The religious replaced this uncontested but significant “sacrifice” by staying up late at night to watch television
These sufferings are often such that even the great and strong would languish and wither beneath them, were it not for the comfort God bestows. These troubles grip the heart and consume the very marrow.
There are days I am tired of being broken.
Whether it is talking about the physical brokenness I endure because of Marfan’s Syndrome, the brokenness I encounter spiritually and emotionally in my community, or the brokenness that I encounter personally because of sin and my own “unique” place on the spectrum, I am tired of it.
I know I am not alone–I have a church and community and friends around the world who are almost as broken, and just as weary and tired of it. Oddly enough, I more I realize I am broken, the more demand is placed on me to come to the assistance of those who are broken as well…and this is evidence of my deliverance, even if, at times, I do not see it.
I think it is because we are taught to pursue comfort–to live lives of leisure, to enjoy the good things in life, and be rid of anything that takes endurance, hard work and suffering. We are told life should be comfortable we should fit in it with ease, like sinking into a relaxing bath or jacuzzi, sipping on a nice cold beverage and letting the past drift away from us. (this is not new – there was a bath soap (or something like that) that used the phrase, “Calgon, take me away!”
But as I titled this blog, I think we have got it wrong. We should not pursue the comfortable, it is a goal that is impossible. We can crowd our lives with distractions, but they will not meet our greatest need..
That is why Jeremiah, as Judah is taken away, tells them to notch it up, to not only endure their captivity, but to strive to make their captors lives better, to work for their success, to pray that the Lord bless Babylon–the very people that took them as slaves and tormented them!
It is what Pope Benedict notes, as he mourns the loss of those who set aside renewal for comfort, who replace time spent in prayer and meditation with watching late night television! He laments the fact that Christian morality embraces harsh times and hardships as they learn to love God and through His love, learn to love the unlovable. The sarcrfice is worth it, for the impact on society is enormous.
While we set aside being comfortable, we find true comfort, as the Spirit, the Paraclete, comforts us. (Logically this doesn’t work unless we need to be comforted!) The troubles that are so powerfully described by Luther drive us to Jesus and to the cross, there is no recliner, no 5 star resort hotel, no self help guru/pastor/coach/cousnelor that can do what the Holy SPirit does, as the gospel is shared through God’s word and the sacraments. Indeed, were it not for that mercy and grace that the comfort consists of, we would be without any hope.
But the Holy Spirit, the Lord of life, is here. He was sent by the Father and the Son to comfort us, to dry the tears, to heal the hurts, to remind us that in Christ we have life–even if that life is hard to see at times.
We are not alone as we bear our cross, and bear it we shall. For we are joined to it with Jesus, and the Spirit comforts us in our grief.
So seek out His comfort – it is worth more than anything – for it is the result of His love, and as your rest in it, you dwell in His peace. Amen!
Ratzinger, Joseph. 1992. Co-Workers of the Truth: Meditations for Every Day of the Year. Edited by Irene Grassl. Translated by Mary Frances McCarthy and Lothar Krauth. San Francisco: Ignatius Press.
Luther, Martin, and John Sander. 1915. Devotional Readings from Luther’s Works for Every Day of the Year. Rock Island, IL: Augustana Book Concern.
“Pious Practices Are Pragmatic” or “Spend the Time with Him”
Thoughts which Carry Me to Jesus, and to the Cross
““I am the vine, and you are the branches. If any remain in me and I remain in them, they produce much fruit. But without me they can do nothing.” (John 15:5, NCV)
The sociologists who prepared a recent report about women religious in Quebec, the French-speaking province of Canada, describe how, in the course of twenty years [1961–1981], all the communities there initiated every conceivable kind of reform: abandonment of the religious habit, individual budgets, degrees from secular universities, membership in secular professions, massive assistance from “specialists” of every kind. Yet sisters continued to leave and new ones failed to come. Perhaps, without being fully aware of the reasons, women religious felt a deep unrest at living in a Church in which Christianity is reduced to an ideology of doing, a Church in which there is no longer any place for mystical experience, for that zenith of religious life that has been—and not by chance—the most precious treasure of the Church through centuries of uninterrupted constancy and fullness in the lives of religious, usually women rather than men; in the lives of those extraordinary women whom the Church has honored with the title “saint”, and sometimes even “doctor”, not hesitating to offer them as models for all Christians.
To be “led by the Spirit of God” means to be given a heart which gladly hears God’s Word and believes that in Christ it has grace and the forgiveness of sins; a heart which confesses and proves its faith before the world; a heart which seeks, above all things, the glory of God, and endeavors to live without giving offense, to serve others and to be obedient, patient, pure and chaste, mild and gentle; a heart which, though at times overtaken in a fault, and may stumble, soon rises again by repentance and ceases to sin. All these things the Holy Spirit teaches one if he hears and receives the Word, and does not willfully resist the Spirit.
“According to several surveys, prayer remains the least satisfactory aspect of pastors’ spiritual lives.”
Back in the 1990s, before i became a pastor, I read an article by a pastor I knew and respected, that grieved over the amount of time pastors spent in prayer, and in listening to God as they read scripture and other books devotionally. The 2017 quote above indicates that hasn’t changed much, and a google search indicates that pastors and lay people spend less than 15 minutes in prayer a day on average. WHen I read Jack’s words, I wondered, somewhat self-righteously, how pastors could let this happen, how could they (now we) cut ourselves off from the source of our life, the very power that enables us to do what we do.
I don’t wonder anymore. Our very ministry and life robs us from these things, as we try to balance the needs of our people, our community, our families–all who we are called to minister to, with spending “me time”, the time I need to find the peace and sanctuary I need to survive this mad world. If I don’t take this time, it is clearly visible – and it seems more and more so.
THere is also a bit of hypocrisy here. How can I instruct people to spend time in prayer, talking and listening to God, if I don’t show an effect of that prayer in my own life? For certainly we all need this time of rest, this time of recovery, this time of devotion, adoration, doing those things once labelled pious.
Today I think the pious label needs to be replaced with a different one.
There are not pious practices, they are not what creates pietism.
They are simply pragmatic.
Like when I plus my car in to get charged.
Jesus speaks of this as He teaches us that we can do nothing separated from Him, NOTHING.
My two favorite pastor/theologians, Martin Luther and Pope Benedict XVI comment on it, noting the effect of removing those practices on a community of nuns, that literally dies off as the pragmatic practices that caused them to realize the presence of Jesus in their lives is removed, and their hearts, like those of the pharisees and people of Jesus day are far off from Him. Luther testifies to the effect of walking in the grace and forgiveness found in the Spirits presence, a mindblowing witness of the transformation of a sinner into a reflection of Jesus.
We need this time, as we need to breathe, as electric cars need current and gas cars need gasoline. We live in Him, and He in us, and it takes time to work that out in our heart, souls and minds.
I know this for a fact, as I sit in my office – 12 major things (woops – another came to mind 13) and a million minor things to do…
But I can’t do any of them without Him.
Neither can you… spend he time in prayer, even if it is slowly savoring the words of the Lord’s prayer, or a psalm or 2…
and know the Lord is with you!
Ratzinger, Joseph. 1992. Co-Workers of the Truth: Meditations for Every Day of the Year. Edited by Irene Grassl. Translated by Mary Frances McCarthy and Lothar Krauth. San Francisco: Ignatius Press.
Luther, Martin, and John Sander. 1915. Devotional Readings from Luther’s Works for Every Day of the Year. Rock Island, IL: Augustana Book Concern.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/karl-vaters/2017/september/for-every-minister-who-struggles-with-your-prayer-life.html
Life is Suffering! (and yet…)
Thoughts which lead me to Jesus, and the cross, where I find comfort and peace!
“LORD, I know that our lives don’t really belong to us. We can’t control our own lives.” (Jeremiah 10:23, NCV)
“Since you were raised from the dead with Christ, aim at what is in heaven, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Think only about the things in heaven, not the things on earth. Your old sinful self has died, and your new life is kept with Christ in God. Christ is your life, and when he comes again, you will share in his glory.” (Colossians 3:1–4, NCV)
Christian or spiritual peace, however, just turns the thing about, so that outwardly the evil remains, as enemies, sickness, poverty, sin, death and the devil. These are there and never desist, encompassing us on every side; nevertheless, within there is peace, strength and comfort in the heart, so that the heart cares for no evil, is really bolder and more joyful in its presence than in its absence.
Siddharta Budha, the great philosopher, has been credited with saying that, “life is suffering.” And at first glance, there is a lot that supports his premise.
Most people aren’t content with their lives, whether young or old, rich or poor. It doesn’t matter their sex, if you can slow them down to examine their life, they will soon want to move onto something else.
Some try to change their lives, constantly changing jobs, or sexual partners, moving from here to their, each stop shorter and shorter and shorter, as they, like the old song says, “still haven’t found what I’m looking for!”
Others become focused on others’ lives to distract them from their own meaninglessness. Some do this critically, even hypocritically, Those people are evil, stupid, wrong and a million other things. Others do just the opposite, trying to find some meaning in becoming martyrs, sacrificing time and energy serving others to the point of exhaustion, rather than dealing with their own issues of brokenness and emptiness.
Siddharta was partially correct, there is a lot of suffering in life, any one’s life. And while we would do anything we could to change that, most things only make it worse, or draw more attention to the suffering.
The prophet Jeremiah notes that inability in the quote above – we don’t have control over our lives, we can’t fix what we think is broken. We aren’t in charge because either sin, which causes the brokenness and separation, has is in bondage, or we are God’s children does.
Belonging to Christ, being purchased with His blood shed as He died for us on the cross, changes everything about what we know and experience in suffering. Are attention focuses on the end of the story, the hope we have of dwelling in Christ for eternity, and that hope reveals God’s presence with us in the present moment. Paul’s amazing words in Colossians 3 bear this out, as he says our reality is not in the midst of the suffering, but in heaven with Jesus and the Father! ANd it is secure there, until His return when…this is beyond anything else, we will share in His glory!”
This is why Luther, no stranger to suffering, oppression and challenges in can write as he does, that within there is comfort strength and peace known deep within, and we have a heart bolder and more joyful when the storms outside are more threatening. (You can see this in Elijah – as long as he is fighting the prophets of Ba’al, he’s awesome…no fight and he whimpers and whines in the cave)
This is what Siddharta wasn’t illuminated enough to see, this presence of God in the lives of people. The comfort and peace which, when encountered, results in the most incredible joy.
For life includes suffering, and sometimes that threatens to overwhelm us, but it cannot, for the Lord God is here.. loving us, comforting us, sharing life with us.
And that will be true until we are before His throne.
Luther, Martin, and John Sander. 1915. Devotional Readings from Luther’s Works for Every Day of the Year. Rock Island, IL: Augustana Book Concern.
Despair, Depression and Burn out… Is there hope?
Photo by Wouter de Jong on Pexels.com
Thoughts which draw me closer to Jesus and to the Cross…
1 These are the words of the Teacher, a son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 The Teacher says, “Useless! Useless! Completely useless! Everything is useless.”3 What do people really gain from all the hard work they do here on earth? Ecc. 1:1 NCV
58 So my dear brothers and sisters, stand strong. Do not let anything move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your work in the Lord is never wasted. 1 Cor. 15:58 NCV
Faith is not just a matter of feeling, something that we pursue as a private matter in addition to the ordinary pursuits of every day because, after all, man has a longing for religion. Faith is above all the orderliness of reason, without which it loses its standard and the ability to judge its own goals
For such times, when our heart feels too sorely pressed, this comfort of the Lord’s Supper is given to bring us new strength and refreshment.
I have yet to meet anyone over the age of twelve, who hasn’t encountered the feeling that Solomon so perfectly explains this morning. It is a sense of fatalism, a lack of meaning, which attempts to extinguish our meaning. It hits us all, some of us because of things in the world we can’t change, others because of things in our lives, relationships, health, work, And when all those things gang up….what I call righteous depression sets deeply into our lives. And if we are dealing with some form of clinical depression at the same time… life becomes even more miserable.
Even for Solomon, the wisest man in history, one of the wealthiest and famous men in ancient history, who clearly was at a low as he wrote this book. Which is exactly why its in scripture, for if he could survive such, we who have the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, can do the same.
St. Paul shows the counter, that our depression isn’t an accurate feeling, what we are experiencing in the dark shadows of life isn’t what is real. It may seem this way, oh the darkness seems so real, so traumatic, and we seem so alone. But God promises something radically different a we walk with Him, a promise sthat we need to cling to, a hope that goes beyond our sensibilities, that defies our logic.
A promise that points out that God’s love and peace is beyond our understanding, untouchable by our logic. A peace that is found when we depend on God, (for that is what “to have faith” means) and we let God’s reason overwhelm our reason. We trust His reality more than what we perceive.
ANd this is the reasons for the sacraments. Something physical, something tangible, something which comforts as we realize we are being ministered to by God… as much as Elijah was, when he ran away from his victory. When we hear the words-they should shock you enough to move past your old logic that is failing, for something that is healing, for something miraculous.
This is our hope when we think all is vain, to cling to the hope of Christ, in who nothing is vain.
May you find someone to day to encourage you to look to Jesus, and may you do the same for several others.
“Ratzinger, Joseph. Co-Workers of the Truth: Meditations for Every Day of the Year. Edited by Irene Grassl, Translated by Mary Frances McCarthy and Lothar Krauth, Ignatius Press, 1992, p. 226.
Martin Luther, “The Large Catechism,” Tappert, Theodore G., editor. The Book of Concord the Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Mühlenberg Press, 1959, p. 449.
