Category Archives: The Furrow
Includes citations from The Furrow by St. Josemaria Escriva
The Lord’s response to “Lord please defeat my enemies!”
Devotional Thought of the Day:
15 Then I said, “LORD, you understand. Remember me and help me. Let me have revenge on those who persecute me. Do not be so patient with them that they succeed in killing me. Remember that it is for your sake that I am insulted. 16 You spoke to me, and I listened to every word. I belong to you, LORD God Almighty, and so your words filled my heart with joy and happiness. 17 I did not spend my time with other people, laughing and having a good time. In obedience to your orders I stayed by myself and was filled with anger. 18 Why do I keep on suffering? Why are my wounds incurable? Why won’t they heal? Do you intend to disappoint me like a stream that goes dry in the summer?” 19 To this the LORD replied, “If you return, I will take you back, and you will be my servant again. If instead of talking nonsense you proclaim a worthwhile message, you will be my prophet again. The people will come back to you, and you will not need to go to them. Jeremiah 15:15-19 (TEV)
419 An apostle must not remain at the level of the mediocre. God calls him to be fully human in his actions, and at the same time to reflect the freshness of eternal things. That is why the apostle has to be a soul who has undergone a long, patient and heroic process of formation. (1)
A few days ago, I wrote a blog that we as Christians don’t really have enemies, we have adversaries. That our goal was not to defeat them, or crush them, but instead to love them, to pray for them, to come alongside them, that they may know the love of God. That is what following in the footsteps of Jesus is, that is what being a child of God looks like. Growing in our trust of God to the extent that we begin to love as Christ does.
I got a bit of feedback, some quite defensive saying we can’t avoid enemies – they will come after us. My point seemed to be lost, or maybe poorly communicated? It is not that they don’t oppress us, or challenge us, or even hate us. That’s on them. But when we decide that they are enemies, when we make that judgment, it places us in a battle, either offensive or defensive, and negates our ability to minister to them. Our reaction to enemies is different than our reaction to an adversary.
this morning in my devotional time, I read the passage from Jeremiah above. Jeremiah is one who had significant opposition, primarily for speaking out for what God wanted from His people, what He expected as part of the relationship, how He expected them to love each other, and Him. Not a easy message then, nor is it one today. He got a lot of opposition, and here we see him asking God to take care of it. The opposition is real, death threats have been made, serious ones. This isn’t just whining because he didn’t get his way.
But his attention in the midst of the opposition has shifted. It has become personal, this opposition to God’s word. Jeremiah has lost his focus, as we all do at times. He focuses in on his on righteousness, his own goodness.
And God rebukes him, takes him back to the beginning.
God doesn’t promise vengeance on them, instead He tells Jeremiah to return, to repent, to re-focus on the relationship between God and Jeremiah.
That’s a message many of us, including me, perhaps today especially me, need to hear. For we get tired and weary, as we see people choose evil, make decisions that ignore God, and walk on paths that are self-destructive. The temptation is to compare their journey to ours. “Wouldn’t they be better off like us, why can’t they see this?”
While what we should be doing is speaking to them about Jesus’ love, about His mercy, about their need for it in their lives. They need to hear His message, His gospel, His word, and that may take some time. It may take some time for us to get it right, to learn to speak His word, not focus on our situation, to bear His cross, to pray for those who persecute us. Rather than just condemn them and desire wrath, or to give up hope for them, we need to learn that if God is patient with us, not willing that any should perish but all come to repentance… than that is our path, our desire. This focus on the eternal takes time – even for prophets and apostles… we just need to remember to turn to Him…..
So we need to pray for them, ask God to save them, Speak the truth in love regarding their sin and ours, and that God offers hope… He will return them… He will welcome them home.
Lord, have mercy on us ALL…. AMEN
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1878-1880). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
You should never have enemies? If you are obeying God, this is true.
The Pantheon, a place once dedicated to worship of idols but reborn to host the worship of God. May our lives tell a similar story as we realize what God does to us in baptism!
Discussion Thought of the Day:
4 I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth just as we were commanded by the Father. 5 But now, Lady, I ask you, not as though I were writing a new commandment but the one we have had from the beginning: let us love one another. 6 For this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, as you heard from the beginning, in which you should walk. 2 John 1:4-6 (NAB)
431 You should always be well-mannered towards everybody, especially towards those who present themselves as your adversaries (you should never have enemies) when you are trying to let them see their mistake. (1)
I started composing this blog this morning, based on the Bible passage above, from my devotional readings. It’s been a thought on my mind for a while, this idea that we cannot separate loving God from being obedient to Him. We can’t say we love Him, and then live a life that rebels against the way He has revealed for us to life.
Then I came across the words of St. Josemaria, this morning, and it is the words that are in parenthesis that stunned me. What does it mean that we shouldn’t have enemies? Is there such a great difference between enemies and adversaries?
Jesus tells us to love our enemies, to pray for those who persecute us. He’s saying the same thing – for in loving our enemies, they are not enemies anymore. They may work against, us, frustrate us, even ignore us, but if we love them, if we walk in the steps of Jesus Christ, they aren’t our enemies any longer. They are those we are willing to make sacrifices for, that we desire the best (which is knowing God’s love) , that we are willing to die for, to become martyrs, those who death testifies of Jesus Christ, and His love.
Adversaries can be convinced, not by carefully planned arguments, but by those who love them and sacrifice for them. We in turn are changed as we pray for them, as we unite our hearts with God’s heart, as we ask Him to bless them. As we sacrifice our right to be resentful, angry, our plans of revenge and retribution, as we simply pray, and learn to love them.
This is easy to say as I sit in my church office in California, No one is pointing a gun at me, or throwing me in jail. Yet if I look at the lives of the martyr’s throughout history, I am not so sure I have it easier. There was a level of trust, a level of faith, an awareness of the presence of God that was beyond anything I can even imagine. Oddly enough, I find myself desiring it, being a little envious of their stories, of their ability to love their enemies.
This is the way we, who trust in Jesus, are supposed to walk. Loving all, confronting their errors for sure, but loving them in that. We have to realize that our job isn’t to convict them, but to shepherd them into Christ’s love, into His truth. We can do that with adversaries, we cannot with enemies. Of course, they may still see us as enemies, but it is not their perspective that matters. It is ours.
We are called, commissioned, commanded to love them, even as that demonstrates our love and trust in God. Even as it screams that we are walking in Christ’s steps, united to His death, and to the life which we are raised with Him to live. This is how we are God’s masterpiece, as Paul tells the Ephesians, re-created in Christ Jesus to do the good works which He has planned for us, from before time. The good work of loving others, bearing witness in that supernatural love, to the love of Christ.
Lord, have mercy on us, and teach us how to love as You do!
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1925-1927). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
An Individual Relationship with God? Inconceivable…
Devotional Thought of the Day:
7 I will give them hearts that recognize me as the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me wholeheartedly. Jeremiah 24:7 (NLT)
19 We have, then, my friends, complete freedom to go into the Most Holy Place by means of the death of Jesus. 20 He opened for us a new way, a living way, through the curtain—that is, through his own body. 21 We have a great priest in charge of the house of God. 22 So let us come near to God with a sincere heart and a sure faith, with hearts that have been purified from a guilty conscience and with bodies washed with clean water. 23 Let us hold on firmly to the hope we profess, because we can trust God to keep his promise. 24 Let us be concerned for one another, to help one another to show love and to do good. 25 Let us not give up the habit of meeting together, as some are doing. Instead, let us encourage one another all the more, since you see that the Day of the Lord is coming nearer. Hebrews 10:19-25 (TEV)
409 “I was a guerrilla fighter,” he wrote, “and I moved around the hills, shooting whenever I wanted. But I thought I had better become a soldier, because I realised that wars are won more easily by organised armies and well-disciplined armies. A poor guerrilla fighter on his own cannot take whole cities, or conquer the world. I hung up my old musket—it was so out of date!—and now I am better armed. At the same time, I know that I can no longer lie down in the hills, under the shade of a tree, and dream about winning the war all on my own.” Blessed be the discipline and blessed be the unity of our Holy Mother the Church! (1)
I was asked this week, how do I respond to people who think that they can worship God all by themselves. It’s not the first time, people have asked that question of me. Apparently someone asked Pope Francis that earlier this week as well, as one of his tweets responded to such a question. He admitted that it was difficult, because people are sinners, and we can frustrate anger and even cause each other great anxiety. But it was, nevertheless necessary.
We know God because others who are part of the body of Christ have shared His love with us. No one comes to know Jesus, unless He is revealed to us by another. It could be parents, uncles or aunts, a friend, even someone we were interested in dating. But someone revealed to us the depth of God’s love for us.
The writer of Hebrews knows this all too well, as he begins to some up his letter, he address those who want to have some kind of individual relationship with God – where it is just God and them, at the beach, in the forest, on their motorcycle, playing their music, where ever. The argument is that the relationship could be purer, less restricted, less affected by hypocrisy, or their own inability to be patient and deal with others. But that presumes that the kind of relationship God has designed for each of us is one on one with Him. That we don’t need the encouragement of others, that those times where we stress, where we worry, where we hurt, are going to take away from our relationship with God, rather than intensify it, as we realize our need for God, to need to know His presence, His comfort, His peace. It
I love the quote from St. Josemaria, because it nails me to the cross. For years growing up, desiring to be a pastor, I thought about my winning the world for God, the great things I could do. I was the idyllic “guerrilla”, solider of the cross. There was a lot of encouragement for this, a naivete about the need for true fellowship – as working as one body in Christ. Of realizing what affects one believer affects us all, without regard to denomination or theology, or personal journey. It’s not about what I’ve chosen to believe, or you think in right.
Paul explains it well in his letter to the church in Ephesus,
3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 and one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all. Ephesians 4:3-6 (NLT)
Our unity is not found in our diversity, but in Christ, in His revelation, in His Love. In what binds us together in His un-explainable peace.
That’s why we need to no abandon each other, finding reasons to walk alone.
It can’t be done. For God has designed us to be His people – together, and He comes to us to be our (together) God.
The strength we find in this, the peace, the encouragement, even in times of stress, of anxiety, of dealing with brokenness, of dealing with sin…
It’s why church and Bible study are important. Not to prove our holiness, but to encourage each other to remember we are holy, separated together for a relationship with Jesus Christ.
That’s the Church, simply put, His people….
Come and join us, as we walk with Christ, together.
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1835-1841). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Where is Jesus Taking You Today? For Whose Benefit?
Devotional Thought of the Day:
3 and Moses went up the mountain to meet with God. The LORD called to him from the mountain and told him to say to the Israelites, Jacob’s descendants: 4 “You saw what I, the LORD, did to the Egyptians and how I carried you as an eagle carries her young on her wings, and brought you here to me. 5 Now, if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own people. The whole earth is mine, but you will be my chosen people, 6 a people dedicated to me alone, and you will serve me as priests.” 7 So Moses went down and called the leaders of the people together and told them everything that the LORD had commanded him. 8 Then all the people answered together, “We will do everything that the LORD has said,” and Moses reported this to the LORD. Exodus 19:3-8 (TEV)
21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I send you.” 22 Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive people’s sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” John 20:21-23 (TEV)
377 The Lord wants a definite apostolate from you, such as catching those one hundred and fifty-three big fish—not others—taken on the right-hand side of the boat. And you ask me: How is it I know myself to be a fisher of men, can live in contact with many companions, and be able to distinguish to whom I should direct my specific apostolate, but still catch nobody? Is it Love that is lacking? Do I lack interior life? Listen to the answer from Peter’s lips, on the occasion of that other miraculous draught:—”Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” In the name of Jesus Christ, begin again. And being strengthened, rid yourself of that indolence! (1)
From the very beginning, God has determined that those whom he has saved, those He has delivered are special to them. They have a special role in the world, acting as priests, serving Him, interceding for others. This is done in various ways, as the Spirit determines, as the Spirit distributes the charisms, the gifts described in such places as 1 Corinthians 12, and Romans 12. Many of those gifts are simple, others more visible, all are miraculous. Not because of what we see, but because God has rescued us, placed us in specific roles, specific vocations, all to bear witness to His love. That is as much the miracle – the way the Holy Spirit coordinates all of this, gifts, people, places,
We are all to share a hope that we have come to know, as we realize what God has done for us. We all have to be ready to explain the reason we have hope – which for most of us strikes fear into our very core.
I don’t think it is because of our fear of persecution, whether that being tortured or being thought not relevant. I think it is because we are afraid to reveal how dependent we are on God, to reveal how precious this intimate relationship is to us.
But that is exactly what they need to know! That is exactly where they need to be, exploring how high, how wide, how deep is the love of God is for them, for their family, for all who have wandered, or run far off from God. They need to know God desires that they not be lost, not be wandering, but that they come home…..This is our vocation, our mission, our apostolate…..
He has sent us all out to let them know this, to call them home, to bring them hope…..
So where is Jesus taking you to this day? Where is He sending you, even as the Father sent Him? Where is your mission field this week, who will you encounter? Have you prayed for them yet? Have you prayed that you would hear God’s guidance? Have you considered your baptism, the Body and Blood of Christ which you received yesterday, the gospel that was shared with you? These are all the things, these means of grace, that will guide you, the very thing that will help you know He is with you….
As you walk with God, as you go to the places He sends you, you will realize something I quoted from Pope Francis yesterday,,
“Our mission, then— the mission that frightens us and makes us offer excuses like the ones we hear from the lips of the reluctant prophets in the scriptures— is to evangelize, to shepherd the faithful people of God. And that mission establishes us in our vocation. In calling us to that mission, Jesus gives us solidity in the depths of our hearts: he establishes us as pastors and makes that our identity. In our visits to the sick, in our administration of the sacraments, in our teaching of the catechism, and in all the rest of our priestly activity, we are collaborating with Christ in establishing Christian hearts. At the same time and by that same means, that is, by the work we do, the Lord is establishing and rooting our hearts in his own.” (2)
Lord have mercy on us all, as we share His mercy with those He has sent us too!
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1720-1728). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
(2) Pope Francis; Jorge M Bergoglio (2013-11-18). Open Mind, Faithful Heart (pp. 39-40). The Crossroad Publishing Company. Kindle Edition.
Those People Sin? How Convenient! We Have Something in Common!
Devotional Thought of the Day:
15 Here’s a word you can take to heart and depend on: Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. I’m proof—Public Sinner Number One— 16 of someone who could never have made it apart from sheer mercy. And now he shows me off—evidence of his endless patience—to those who are right on the edge of trusting him forever. 1 Timothy 1:15-16 (MSG)
367 Among believers ( original read Catholics) it might perhaps be that some have little Christian spirit; or so it might seem to those who have dealings with them at some particular moment. But if you were to be scandalised by this fact, you would show that you knew very little about human wretchedness and… about your own wretchedness. Furthermore, it is neither just nor loyal to use the example of the weaknesses of a few to speak ill of Christ and his Church. (1)
it is a rare day when looking at facebook and twitter doesn’t cause a bit of sadness. Simply put, a lot of those who count on God forgiving their sins, forget that it is God’s desire to forgive all sinners.
Yeah – it means those people we don’t just judge but those we condemn. Politicians, athletes, movie stars, our neighbors, ex-spouses, bosses, employees, immigrants, criminals, instead of fearing God’s wrath and repenting, they feel our wrath. And that is a problem, because if they feel our wrath, they won’t know the blessing of fearing His, of having the Holy Spirit cut their hearts open and bring them healing. They won’t ask us about the mercy of God, the forgiveness poured out in love. They won’t engage us in discussion, they won’t come into our homes or invite us into theirs.
There are a lot of religions out there, there are even some that have no deity, except perhaps one’s self. Reaching them with God’s love isn’t some kind of war, some kind of argument. Even Elijah’s “battle” at Mr Carmel wasn’t a head to head battle. It was, let’s see whose God will answer prayer, let’s see whose God will reveal Himself, not for the prophet’s and priests sake, but for the sake of the people God would make his own.
When we realize we are sinners as well, there are a number of blessings that come. The first is that we can hear that our sins are forgiven. The second is that once forgiven, we can still identify with those who struggle in guilt or shame, we know what it is to deny the truth, we know the brokenness, and can speak their language and point them to the hope we know, the mercy we’ve experienced, the love that brings us comfort, and heals our brokenness.
That’s what Paul is getting at, when he says his sins top all ours. (and no that is not a challenge) That is what St Josemaria is pointing to, when he calls to mind our own wretchedness.
We have been given hope, we know we’ve been delivered from the muck and mire of sin.
They need that – and yes sin can be confronted in a way that lays out hope – that takes them along the path we’ve been on, as we come alongside them. that works a lot better than lasso’ing them and dragging them into God’s kingdom, or just leaving them in their brokenness!
Lord have mercy on us, and teach us how to have mercy on others…..
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1683-1687). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Why Works are Necessary to Faith…?!?
Devotional Thought of the Day:
22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. 25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. James 1:22-25 (NLT)
1 Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? 2 Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Romans 6:1-2 (NLT)
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:8-10 (NLT)
Another of the elders said: When the eyes of an ox or mule are covered then he goes round and round, turning the mill wheel But if is eyes are uncovered he will not around the circle of the mill wheel. So too, the devil if he manages to covered the eyes of a man can humiliate im in every sin. But if that man’s eyes are not closed, he can easily escape the devil. (From Celtic Prayer Book,, 6/18, Aiden Readings)
355 Sooner or later, those who do not wish to understand that the faith demands service to the Church and to souls, invert the terms, and end up by having the Church and souls serving their own personal ends. (Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1642-1644). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.)
For centuries, the church has argued about what role we play in our lives as God’s people. TO be honest, I find the arguments tiresome, and most of them end up with their own distortion of the truth. Some would pit Paul against James, some, but looking at the above passages, there doesn’t seem to be that much of a difference. Some get it wrong by saying there is no work at all involved in faith, and they misquote passages like those that say all work is like filthy rags, or that all have fallen short of the glory of God. In doing so, they forget the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of every believer. They forget the transforming work of God in our lives. On the other side of the pendulum swing, there are those that say we must work to earn our salvation – that unless we work alongside of God we aren’t saved.
Within the sphere of Lutheran Theology – some would deny that there is a “third use” of the law – that there is a line that we should adhere to, as those who trust in Jesus Christ. They would say this is a violation of our understanding of the proper tension between law and gospel, forgetting that we don’t preach the uses, it is the work of the Holy Spirit that not only applies the uses, but as He transforms us, equips us with the charis to be used in service to others.
In this I really like the words from my devotional this morning, and our being portrayed as a bunch of stubborn oxen or jackasses. (which we pretty much are) We just plod along, focused on what is before our eyes. If we are focused on Christ, we work, we do what we are led to do, we walk in faith and do that which God calls and chooses us to do. We are led – and we do the things that we do… focused on Christ. (see 2 Cor. 3:16ff, Titus 3 etc) Our service is about what we need, it isn’t about our glory, it isn’t about what others do, it is just what God calls us to do. Heck, we might not even know it.
The other option is to remove the focus on Christ, to be overwhelmed by all the options for sin, to have the eyes blinded to Christ, but open to everything else. Then man believes everything is about his, about His pleasure, about His life. Church becomes what is pleasure for him, rather than what is best. That’s why we see pressure being put on the church to turn a blind eye to certain sins, like sex outside of marriage, or gossip, or any other self-centeredness and self idolatry.
But if our eyes are fixed on Jesus, the sin which ensnares us loses its grip – and we find ourselves being transformed by the Spirit. This results in works which please God – a necessary by-product of faith. Works don’t save us, they don’t produce faith or faithfulness, they are simply evidence of our trust in God.
So when the world is tempting you, when you are overwhelmed, remember your focus on Christ, encourage others to keep their eyes on Christ as well.
AMEN…
Walking Away from God and His People? Please read….
Devotional Thought of the Day:
17 When they saw him, they worshiped him, even though some of them doubted. Matthew 28:17 (TEV)
343 That passage of the Second Epistle to Timothy makes me shudder, when the Apostle laments that Demas has deserted him for love of this life and gone to Thessalonica. For a trifle, and for fear of persecution, this man, whom Saint Paul had quoted in other epistles as being among the saints, had betrayed the divine enterprise. I shudder when I realise how little I am: and it leads me to demand from myself faithfulness to the Lord even in events that might seem to be indifferent—for if they do not help me to be more united to Him, I do not want them! (1)
I have some friends who I am thinking of, even as I write this blogpost. If you are reading this, you probably are not them…. but it might apply anyway.
They are facing challenges in life, hard challenges, painful challenges. Enough so that while praying that they would see God revealed in their life, considering what they’ve gone through brings tears to my eyes. I can’t know the pain as deeply of course, ,but the pain is visible and tangible.
And the temptation is to walk away from the one place where their hearts can be lifted, where they can find peace.
How do I know this? Been there, been tempted to walk away once or twice…heck who am I kidding. It’s a lot more than that, and I have. As the prodigal found out, it isn’t better there. Not even close. the scars get bigger, the healing doesn’t come, the loneliness seems to grow and dominate, as does the despair.
St. Josemaria gets the point, the more I walk away, the littler I become. The answer isn’t running away, trying to slide away unnoticed, as if the pain will simply dissipate….
I’ve found the answer is to embrace God even more strongly, to bug him like the old lady bugged the judge, to yell at Him like Jeremiah does in chapter 20 of his book, to try and wrestle with him as Jacob/Israel did. To trust Him so much that I can doubt what’s going on, and I can express my doubt that He is present. That kind of doubt takes faith, faith that He won’t turn us away if we are blunt and honest. Trust that will work out in our lives, as that trust in His presence, His love and care allows us to dump all the crap in our lives onto the cross – where it will die with all sin and shame.
Don’t run away, don’t walk… come back, join us who struggle with our faithfulness – and trust in His. Let us encourage each other, for these last days… we need that encouragement, that reminder of God’s presence..
For that is having great faith.
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1595-1600). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Seriously, Does God Take Mondays Off?
Devotional Thought of the Day:
“I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day, right up to the end of the age” Mt 28:20, MSG
341 You told me that God sometimes fills you with light for a while and sometimes does not. I reminded you, firmly, that the Lord is always infinitely good. That is why those bright days are enough to help you carry on; but the times when you see no light are good for you too, and make you more faithful.
Deep faith is seen is us, when we can’t hear or see God, yet still we instinctively recognize His presence and trust him ( I don’t remember who he was quoting CS Lewis maybe, but I remember the Bible Study where Doug Dickey taught me this )
My son yesterday bought a computer game called Minecraft, which is a bit much for a 7 year old, even one as precocious as my son. He waited for it to download (he gave me the money to buy it with my credit card, ) and took the computer over. Even as I knew he would, he immediate found himself in a situation he didn’t know how to get out of easily. After a wile helped him with it, and then, when he got in a similar one, I had to let him struggle and insisted he did, rather than just start it over.
This morning the lesson was repeated, this time with a yo-yo, which he said didn’t work. (He got it as a prize at school, and despite flashing lights, was somewhat cheap) Again, showed him it could work, gave a little advice, and then let him struggle with it. He understood this lesson this morning, and achieved his goal of bouncing the you-yo ten times. He made the connection to last night – and said – this is why you didn’t let me restart? Why I had to keep going and work it out? Yes, son, and what would happen if I fixed everything the first time you got stuck? With a smile he replied, “I wouldn’t learn to do things myself”
Smart kid! (takes after his mom)
So now I am at work, and got 6 million things to do, all the while trying to recover from 2 days of grief, grief that I couldn’t get past, as this was the first Father’s Day without my dad. I know enough to know that grief can’t just be shaken off, or ignored, Scars open, scabs rip off – and sometimes the healing in complete, and sometimes we find it hasn’t really begun. We have to trust God through it all, and let the time pass…..
The lesson to my son now comes and slams home on me. The quote in blue above slammed it home to, as I am not as quick to pick up on things as my son is. There are days everything seems to click, where God’s presence is so clear, that I feel like I could figuratively reach out and hug him. There are other days, where from my perspective, I can’t see His light as clearly, where life obscures the glory He has invited us to share in forever. Where life seems to be a “Spiritual Monday”, and while we go through Monday, maybe God took it off like some pastors do?
I mean it – where is God on Monday? And why can we have a spiritual version of Monday on a Thursday, or a Saturday, or even a Sunday?
St. Josemaria and Dr. Doug were right though, that faith is seen and grows, when we learn to recognize God’s presence, even when we think it isn’t there. When we rely on His promises rather than our perception, When we reach out in faith, and receive the blessings of mercy and peace, and love. When we call out “Lord have mercy on Us” and we find our eyes opened, or maybe just our hearts, assured and calmed by His presence.
You see, what I know is this, as my son struggled with a computer game, as he got frustrated by “spaghetti string” on his yo-yo, his dad was there, watching, knowing there was a way to fix what was going on in both situations. Yet if he had really gotten stuck beyond his ability, I would be there, rescuing him, fixing things, restoring things. Even more so has God promised to do that, even more does He perceive where we are at, and care for us.
He is there, even when we can’t see Him. His presence, His protection, His comfort, His peace, His glory……
So rest, cling to the One who promised to be our God, who promised that we would be His people… and your heart will know what your mind can’t always process.
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1584-1587). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Being Blunt and Honest With God….. A Necessity..even when I am ticked off
Devotional Thought of the Day:
7 LORD, you have deceived me, and I was deceived. You are stronger than I am, and you have overpowered me. Everyone makes fun of me; they laugh at me all day long. 8 Whenever I speak, I have to cry out and shout, “Violence! Destruction!” LORD, I am ridiculed and scorned all the time because I proclaim your message. 9 But when I say, “I will forget the LORD and no longer speak in his name,” then your message is like a fire burning deep within me. I try my best to hold it in, but can no longer keep it back. Jeremiah 20:7-9 (TEV)
333 Think about this carefully: being transparent lies more in not hiding things rather than in wanting things to be seen. It is a matter of allowing the objects lying at the bottom of a glass to be perceived, and not trying to make the air visible. (1)
it has been one of those weeks. The kind I have had far too often recently, but this one is up there.
Six years ago, even though I read the verses above from Jeremiah many times before, I actually preached on it. I was at the time deciding to accept a call to the church I presently serve. Leaving behind friends and a church that was described by my predecessor as the nicest church he had ever encountered in 50 years of ministry. So why would I leave? And what did it mean that I would preach on this dark passage from Jeremiah?
Weeks like this one. Where I started the week praying for friend that was likewise moving from one parish to another, at the choice of his supervisors. Trying to grieve the change, while ministering to those he was coming to serve. Difficult. Very difficult. Another old friend this week revealed that he was also moving from one church to another – re-assigned by his supervisors. A challenging move for him as well, and then another friend last night, was told it was time to move in his ministry.
I am praying for one of the men I had a part in training for ministry, he has brain cancer and is fading fast. Another friend I found out this morning, who I also trained as a deacon, had a heart attack. Last night, out of the blue, I found myself discussing the death of one of the best friends in my life, who ministered at my side for far too long. There as well was another of my best friends, who lost his dad a month after I lost mine, and a few months later, his mom went to be with God as well.
Tomorrow, as our children wish us Happy Father’s Day, for the first time we can’t go to lunch with our dads, or talk to them on the phone. Some 15 of our friends lost dad’s or a granddad after ours passed.
This is not counting the trauma of those around us, which dwarfs our own. Dear friends with health problems. Families torn apart and going through death, others through divorce, family facing issues with those they love who are in bondage to drugs or alcohol. People dealing with financial crisis, people dealing with disabilities, including those of the mental health variety. Missionaries who are trying to deal with poverty that makes our headspin, or with violence and threats and potential martyrdom. Other people making decisions that will wreck their lives, decisions they know are wrong, but justify with justifications that…
It is enough to make you want to scream “stop”, or yell out in anger and frustration.
And if we admit it, if we are honest and transparent, the One we want to yell at …. is God.
Couldn’t He do something? “In only you had been here Lord,”the sisters of Lazarus has said. Whose fault is all of this suffering, all this pain? Why can’t life be simple and pleasant and without all this…. painful crap… (I wrote something else there.(shit).. but edited it)
It took preaching on Jeremiah’s hitting the breaking point, to be able to realize that it was ok to yell at God. That you can say that God tricked you, deceived you, to cry out like a 5 year old, “That’s not fair” or “This sucks…. That transparency with God, about our feelings, our frustrations our pain is a good thing, and I will dare say, it is necessary.
Because being that transparent with God is a matter of faith, it is necessary if we are to trust Him to bring us through the situation, if we are going to allow Him to walk us through the fire, through the storm, even through the valley of the shadow of death. It is necessary to grieve, because then acknowledging the pain, we can let Him, ask Him, count on Him, to bring healing, to bring peace, to flood our lives with His love, and comfort.
You can’t do that if you are hiding it, if you are bottling it up, letting it turn to resentment. Pouring it out on those who become you victims, because you won’t let the frustration and anger be turned on the One who has shoulders to bear it, shoulders that bore the stripes of whips, the very stripes that Isaiah prophesied would heal us, cleanse us… save us.
Have to admit, I don’t like writing this blog. Have to admit – I would love to just spend tomorrow walking along Lake Ossipee, with my son, and yeah – with my dad.
It needs to be written, for my own sake, but perhaps for yours as well. To give us the confidence to say,
Lord have mercy…. which can only be said… when we know we need it… even desperately need it.
Amen.
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1555-1557). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Who Is My Brother? Who is my Neighbor? Who is my fellow-citizen?
Devotional thought of the day:
9 The LORD asked Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” He answered, “I don’t know. Am I supposed to take care of my brother?” Genesis 4:9 (TEV)
17 “Do not bear a grudge against others, but settle your differences with them, so that you will not commit a sin because of them. 18 Do not take revenge on others or continue to hate them, but love your neighbors as you love yourself. I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:17-18 (TEV)
317 The Apostle also wrote that “there is no more Gentile and Jew, no more circumcised and uncircumcised; no one is barbarian or Scythian, no one is a slave or a free man; there is nothing but Christ in any of us.” Those words are as valid today as they were then. Before the Lord there is no difference of nation, race, class, state… Each one of us has been born in Christ to be a new creature, a son of God. We are all brothers, and we have to behave fraternally towards one another! (Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1501-1505). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.)
We are a society that lives on the defensive. We see it nationally, where we spend billions on trying to protect our assets, and when our leaders try to help out others in need, they are blasted. We see it in how we want justice, as long as its impact is NIMBY (not in my back yard) as long as it doesn’t affect my neighborhood. We are wiling to help extended family, as long as it doesn’t cost our immediate family, or even our personal needs, wants, desires. We honor the sacrifice of the past, as long as it doesn’t mean we have ot sacrifice today. Martyrs of 500 years ago are honored, but we don’t want to face the fact that there are martyrs every day. Because that might mean we have to suffer.
It is the nature of our world, and if in no other way, we struggle to be in that world, but not of it, in regards to this.
We struggle to be one in Christ.
We struggle to forgive hurts, to reconcile, to ever desire those things. We want instead to justify our actions, our words, our thoughts, We want to be know as the ones who are right,the ones who do things the way they should be done, and those members of our family, or those nor from our community, or from our country, are always wrong.
We need to go back to the basics, to our baptism, to the moment the Holy Spirit cuts open our hearts and creates in us faith, when He gives us a new mind, when we become new creatures. We need to keep that moment before us, to remind us of who we are. Not just a Parker, nor just someone who lives in Cerritos, or the USA, but one who has found Jesus completely trustworthy, who realizes the love and mercy given to me, who recognizes the healing done in heart and soul.
It is then I can ask the questions of who is my brother, or neighbor, or fellow citizen on this journey through life. The answer?
Who did Christ die for?
The only way to love them, is in Christ. For then we can deal with the hurt, the pains the betrayals, knowing God has already dealt with those injuries at the cross. Even as He dealt with ours.
That’s what faith is… trusting in God’s presence, His love, His mercy, for us all…..
