Category Archives: The Furrow
Includes citations from The Furrow by St. Josemaria Escriva
If You Are Part of the Church, It’s Time to Get to Work: A Call to Love and Service
The church is always in the midst of a storm… but safe in Him
Devotional Thought of the Day:
11 It was he who “gave gifts to people”; he appointed some to be apostles, others to be prophets, others to be evangelists, others to be pastors and teachers. 12 He did this to prepare all God’s people for the work of Christian service, in order to build up the body of Christ. 13 And so we shall all come together to that oneness in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God; we shall become mature people, reaching to the very height of Christ’s full stature. 14 Then we shall no longer be children, carried by the waves and blown about by every shifting wind of the teaching of deceitful people, who lead others into error by the tricks they invent. 15 Instead, by speaking the truth in a spirit of love, we must grow up in every way to Christ, who is the head. 16 Under his control, all the different parts of the body fit together, and the whole body is held together by every joint with which it is provided. So when each separate part works as it should, the whole body grows and builds itself up through love. Ephesians 4:11-16 (TEV)
1 There are many Christians who are persuaded that the Redemption will be completed in all environments of the world, and that there have to be some souls—they do not know which ones—who will contribute to carrying it out with Christ. But they think it will take centuries, many centuries. It would be an eternity, if it were to take place at the rate of their self-giving. That was the way you yourself thought, until someone came to “wake you up”.
The first office, that of the ministry of the Word, therefore, is common to all Christians. This is clear, from what I have already said, and from 1 Pet. 2[:9], “You are a royal priesthood that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” I ask, who are these who are called out of darkness into marvelous light? Is it only the shorn and anointed masks? Is it not all Christians? And Peter not only gives them the right, but the command, to declare the wonderful deeds of God, which certainly is nothing else than to preach the Word of God. But some11 imagine a twofold priesthood, one spiritual and common to all, the other external and limited, and say that Peter here speaks of the spiritual one. But what is the function of this limited and external office? Is it not to declare the wonderful deeds of God? But this Peter enjoins on the spiritual and universal priesthood. In truth these blasphemers have another, external, ministry in which they declare, not the wonderful deeds of God, but their own and the pope’s impious deeds. So, as there is no other proclamation in the ministry of the Word than that which is common to all, that of the wonderful deed of God, so there is no other priesthood[i]
In the ancient creeds, the church is described as “one, holy, catholic and apostolic church.” But how often do we look at what those words mean?
One, the church is a unit, a body, whose mind must be Christ’s mind. Whose work, whether it is hands or feet, mouth or ears, eyes, whatever part, works based from HIs lead. (As we heard yesterday – He is the cornerstone of this body, to which all are joined and measured)
Holy, the church is to be holy, which means to be set apart for a special purpose, one that is sacred. To be holy means to be embraced by God, and to embrace Him. To cry out for a deeper taste of which we see a small portion of in our salvation. We are to walk (together) with God.
Catholic, the church is to be the church of all people, in all places, throughout history. When this was written there wasn’t the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and the myriad of Protestant bodies out there, there was simply the people of God, united by Christ’s blood across georgraphy, across time. We have a tendency in our fractured body to turn on ourselves, to devour those we think threaten us, rather than love and pray for each other. We tend to cast those out who, like us, struggle in our faith.
Apostolic, the church seems to forget this, despite the words of Escriva and Luther. Some want the pastors and priests to do all the work (and then only those on the front line on the mission field) Others think that only the pastors and priests can do this work. Some don’t even bother with this, thinking that somehow, magically, the kingdom of God will grow into its fullness, without our growing into our fullness as those sent by God to change the world.
Not to make it heaven on earth, but to bring about the change that occurs as people know the love of God for them. As they start to explore that love as the Holy Spirit transforms them. This is the life of the church, not matter the label, no matter the location, no matter whether it is 20 people or 20,000. meeting together.
We have been sent by God, we have been given work to do, work that requires us to love people, not just on Sunday morning, but throughout the week. To love those who are friends and family, neighbors and co-workers, enemies, adversaries and even those who are a pain in the ass.
No one retires from this, no exceptions, we are a holy priesthood. This is our identiy as the people of God.
Time to wake up and serve those in need of God’s love.
But remember – God goes with you through it all!
Escriva, Josemaria. Furrow (Kindle Locations 242-245). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
11 For example, Jerome Emser. WA 8, 247.
[i] Luther, Martin. Luther’s Works, Vol. 40: Church and Ministry II. Ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann. Vol. 40. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999. Print.
Why Are We So Afraid of Repentance?
Devotional Thought of the Day:
7 In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!
Luke 15:7 (NLT)
18 When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began praising God. They said, “We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.”
Acts 11:18 (NLT)
994 If you really want to be a penitent soul—both penitent and cheerful—you must above all stick to your daily periods of prayer, which should be intimate, generous and not cut short. And you must make sure that those minutes of prayer are not done only when you feel the need, but at fixed times, whenever it is possible. Don’t neglect these details. If you subject yourself totally to this daily worship of God, I can assure you that you will always be happy.
Imagine for a second that you’ve been told on the other side of a chain link fence there is 4 million dollars. That it is yours if you can get past the fence. There are ways to get through it, over it, under it, but it can be done. Those ways might include a little pain, but your mortgage is due, your card just died, and the kids are just a few years from needing money for college, and your tax due just wiped out your bank account.
You grit your teeth, determine which way will work, and get to it. After all, the peace of being debt free for a while is worth the effort.
A change of scenario, the debt is not financial. It is spiritual. Do you set your mind on the end result and embrace what it takes to get to the peace you need? Or do you stay where you are at, hounded by guilt and shame, crushed by the resentment and anxiety you feel? Yet we avoid the very blessing that would free us from all that oppresses us, all that holds us bondage.
I can understand those who do not know God’s love for them avoiding repentance, but what about those of us who do? What about those of us who teach about it, and call people to repentance? Why are we so afraid of it? Are we worried how people will react? Or are we worried we will realize how much we need repentance as well?
I chose the three readings above, in hopes that they will show that there is way to get through the fence, to find the peace we need. That even as we do, all heaven, and all those who know that peace will be rejoicing, that they will be rejoicing for us and with us. And as St. Josemaria indicates, a repentant life is one of happiness, a life of cheerfulness, a life that is abundant and worth living.
Because what is on the other side of the fence brings that joy. It is the life that is intimate with God. That lets Him bear our burdens, that lets Him rid us of the anxiety, the resentment, the guilt, the doubt, the pain. It allows us to cast off this sin which so hand us in its grasp, crushing us with its bondage.
No wonder heaven rejoices when one of us repents. (and we all need to!) It is no wonder that the early church rejoiced and praised God, singing of His glory.
Today we enter the season of lent. It is not that we shouldn’t repent daily, but it is a time of learning why, of taking the time to seriously examine our lives, and not for a season, but for life make adjustments. either ridding ourselves of that which distracts us from God, or taking on something which will make us more aware of His presence. I prefer the latter, as it helps our transformation -not because of our efforts – but because we will find His peace life-changing.
Don’t fear repentance, it is time to embrace it, for the joy set before us… is amazing.
So amazing, all heaven rejoices, as will those who love and care about you.
Cry out with faith, “Lord, have mercy!” and then rejoice that He has!
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 4019-4023). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Feeling Disconnected?
Devotional Thought of the Day:
1 Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” 2 Jesus said, “This is how you should pray: “Father, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. 3 Give us each day the food we need, 4 and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation.” 5 Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, 6 ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ 7 And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ 8 But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence. 9 “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? 12 Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! 13 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”
Luke 11:1-13 (NLT)
445 If you abandon prayer you may at first live on spiritual reserves… and after that, by cheating.
Of course, God’s name is holy in and of itself, but by this request, we pray that He will make it holy among us, too.
One would think that we have enough examples in scripture, that we wouldn’t forget its importance.
One would think we have had enough examples from our own lives, and from the lives of those who disciple, teach and pastor us.
A few days ago, my devotion quoted the Lutheran Confessions, specifically the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, which said if we called it a sacrament, maybe, then maybe, men would realize the blessing and do it more often.
Far too often I hear people tell of feeling distant from God, who are troubled because He doesn’t seem to be there. Or they feel overwhelmed and challenged, and the anxiety levels continue to climb. Who struggle to know any kind of peace in their lives. It may start in one place, let’s say their workplace. The stress soon affects other places in their life, their home, their friendships, it can even drive them away from the one place they will be reminded of the answer, and the encouragement that helps us realize that God isn’t so far away, that He isn’t so uncaring.
What our forefathers found so incredible, so necessary, so much a preventative against feeling disconnected is simple prayer.
Not because in prayer we do something that proves our holiness, not because the more time in prayer, the more you cause yourself to grow holier. It is not a spiritual discipline in the manner of lifting weights, or working out, where our suffering and pain builds us up.
It is because we are being heard, and as we pray, we become more aware of it. As we become more aware of it, we trust God more and more, we dump the stuff we are trying to deal with at His feet.
Like the idea that we drift away from prayer slowly, it takes us some time to develop a life that is one lived in conversation with God. It is one where our confidence in His presence, in His listening, in His fulfilling His promises grows. Not because of our skill, not because of how eloquent we are, but it grows as we learn to trust Him, as we learn to depend upon Him. And that growth does take time and a continued transformation.
That is why Jesus talks of such persistence in Luke’s account. It is why Jesus talks about the love of a father that will answer his children’s requests. It is to cause us to draw near, to drop our self-defense mechanisms, to show God our wounds, the wounds that are healed because Jesus was wounded on the cross.
The more we see that love, the more we find ourselves exploring it, the more we find salvation to make a tangible change in our lives, the more we learn to desire to prayer. And the more we see those prayers answered….
So pray my friends, and if you don’t know how simply start with the prayer Jesus taught us…. in it all things are prayed for anyway.
Lord have mercy on us, teach us to approach the throne with confidence, and give you all, including that which causes guilt, share, fear or anxiety. Help us be confident that you never will leave us disconnected. AMEN!
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1975-1977). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Martin Luther, Luther’s Small Catechism: Developed and Explained, WORDsearch CROSS e-book, Under: “The First Request”
Which Is a Greater Priority in Life? Prayer or Theology?
Devotional Thought of the Day?
18 Do all this in prayer, asking for God’s help. Pray on every occasion, as the Spirit leads. For this reason keep alert and never give up; pray always for all God’s people. 19 And pray also for me, that God will give me a message when I am ready to speak, so that I may speak boldly and make known the gospel’s secret.
Ephesians 6:18-19 (TEV)
Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi, Lex Vivendi – As we pray/worship so we believe, so we live.
16 Ultimately, if we should list as sacraments all the things that have God’s command and a promise added to them, then why not prayer, which can most truly be called a sacrament? It has both the command of God and many promises. If it were placed among the sacraments and thus given, so to speak, a more exalted position, this would move men to pray.
447 You lack interior life: that is because you do not consider in your prayer other people’s concerns and proselytism; because you do not make an effort to see things clearly, to make definite resolutions and fulfil them; because you do not have a supernatural outlook in your study, in your work, in your conversations, and your dealings with others… Are you living in the presence of God? For that is a consequence and a manifestation of your prayer.
The Church has brought about the emancipation of simple souls and has promised even to them the ability to be philosophers in the true sense of the word, that is, to comprehend what is essential to human nature as well as, or even better than, those who are learned. (a few sentences later) But how can this teaching of the Church be binding if it is not binding on theologians? The essence of the Church’s teaching ministry consists precisely in the fact that the proclamation of the Faith is the valid touchstone for theology as well. This proclamation is the object of the reflection of theology. The faith of simple souls is far from being a kind of watered-down theology for the laity, a so-called “popular Platonism”; the relationship is exactly the opposite: proclamation is the standard for theology, not theology for proclamation
Back in the days of taking algebra and geometry, my instructors would get upset at me because I didn’t include every step as I solved a problem I would get the answer correct, but the missing steps, things I assumed everyone knew, were missing. My attitude was that they didn’t matter. I would eventually find out it they did……
I think the church, especially those who preach, teach and blog are guilty of the same thing. We love to come across as profound in out theology. We love to say why this piece of arcane theology is far more accurate than that, or why this practice will lead to a slippery slope, where those doing or thinking this will become heterodox, then heretical, and then bound for hell. Well, we might leave that last part out.
There is another group that is strongly opposed to theological teaching, whose modern creeds are, “Love your Jesus, hate your religion” or “Relationship not Religious rules”. They are no different that those two hundred years ago cried out “no creed but Christ”.
They are the simply souls who know there is something missing in our theological proofs. Who realize the dissonance, that there is a weak point in our equation. They might not be able to put a finger on it, but they realize what we believe is not impacting how we live.
Think about how many blogs, sermons, Sunday school classes urge us to pray, that teach us how to enter into conversation, either publicly or individually with God? Sure you can find blogs about worship, usually to the extent of “those guys don’t do it right”, but how many help you connect to the awe of realizing you are in the presence of God?
The Lutheran Confessions almost seem snarky when talking about calling prayer a sacrament because then we might take this encounter with God more seriously. St Josemaria talks of living in God’s presence is a consequence and manifestation of our prayer, simply because you have to know He is here to talk to Him. Pope Benedict, then a cardinal, talks of those freed form sin and their simple faith, which is greater than the deepest of theology. (read Augustine’s Confessions and you will eventually find that are the end of his journey)
The missing part of our sermon/blog equation is the starting place. The time spent pouring our heart out to God and letting His comfort and presence bring us hope. It is what will form the basis of our theology, of our teaching, of that which we write and blog. And that is what makes our life, this realization that we dwell in the very presence of God, in His holiness, in His glory. That we can give Him every burden, every anxiety, as He draws us to Himself, as He cleanses, heals, and makes of our lives, our souls, something incredible.
Prayer and worship cannot exist without faith, not just the faith described in theological tomes and creeds, but the dependence, the trust in God to give us what He promises.
To understand that God is here, for you, drawing you into His love. Theology might teach about it, prayer, worship, the sacraments are all experiencing it. Theology tells us what is happening to us, if it is based in prayer. Otherwise, you never get past it to living out that life in Christ.
Spend time in prayer, spend time listening and pouring out your hearts and souls to God, who loves you enough to give you His name to call upon. Who wants to walk with us, live with us, rejoice and cry with us.
Don’t skip by prayer to get to your theology, it is not just a requirement, it is what the theology needs to discuss! For it is life.
Lord have mercy on us!
Tappert, T. G. (Ed.). (1959). The Book of Concord the confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. (p. 213). Philadelphia: Mühlenberg Press.
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1981-1985). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Ratzinger, J. (1992). Co-Workers of the Truth: Meditations for Every Day of the Year. (I. Grassl, Ed., M. F. McCarthy & L. Krauth, Trans.) (p. 40). San Francisco: Ignatius Press.
What is “Freedom?” Specifically, what is “religious freedom?”
Devotional Thought of the Day:
36 If the Son sets you free, then you will be really free.
John 8:36 (TEV)
423 Under the pressure and impact of a materialistic, pleasure-loving, faithless world, how can we demand and justify the freedom of not thinking as they do, and of not acting as they do? A son of God has no need to ask for that freedom, because Christ won it for us once and for all. But he does need to defend it and practise it whatever the circumstance he finds himself in. Only thus will they understand that our freedom is not bound up in our surroundings. (1)
This morning on the way to work, I heard a man complaining about the necessity to pay that his children could pray in school. He prattled on about how unfair it was that this wasn’t truly a free country, that it cost to have his kids raised by those who would teach them to pray. ( By the way, I know “Prattled” isn’t used much, but it fits the sounds he was making)
I think in this country we have made freedom an idol. Certainly we consider free speech a right, as well as the vague term “freedom of religion” or as some would have it, “freedom from religion.” We get upset when those “rights: are taken away, or limited. We get even more upset when others use those “rights” in a way that threatens, disagrees or demeans us. I’ve even heard the verse in red above used in discussions about the freedom of religion as if the Americanism – that Jesus gave us freedom, and anyone who would take it away should be damned. (Or at least, mocked and embarrassed behind their back on Facebook) The idol of freedom or even the freedom of religion does nothing long range for mankind. It is an illusion, and it is not Christian freedom.
Our freedom is part of the peace that God gives us. It is, as St. Josemaria says, freedom of not thinking as they do, or acting as they do. It is not a freedom the world can give. It is not a freedom guaranteed by the Bill of Rights or the Magna Carta. It is the freedom Peter and Paul knew, as they were prisoners in Rome. It is the freedom and peace that Stephen knew, as men laid their coats down at Saul’s feet, and picked up stones to crush him. It is freedom martyrs longed to share with their tormenters.
It is a freedom that, like the peace we are given, is divine.
Hear the rest of Jesus statement, the context of the discussion on Freedom:
34 Jesus said to them, “I am telling you the truth: everyone who sins is a slave of sin. 35 A slave does not belong to a family permanently, but a son belongs there forever. 36 If the Son sets you free, then you will be really free. 37 I know you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are trying to kill me, because you will not accept my teaching. 38 I talk about what my Father has shown me, but you do what your father has told you.”
John 8:34-38 (TEV)
Here is our freedom. The freedom from guilt and shame that breaks us down as we realize the consequences of our sin. The freedom to see the relationships shattered by sin. The freedom from resentment, the anger and hurt we store in our memories, as if we can protect ourselves from further injury, further hurt.
It is a freedom that is part of our faith, part of the trust and dependence we have in God. Dependence on His fulfilling promises like that in Romans 8 that everything will work out for our good, that nothing can separate us from Him. Promises like Genesis 50, that what others plan for evil, God will use those things for good. The promise that is revealed as we look to Jesus, the author of our faith, and the one who makes it perfect.
This is freedom, true freedom.
Let us treasure the Lord, who frees us, more than the illusion of freedoms that would leave us oppressed and bound to sin and unrighteousness.
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1893-1897). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Are You Experiencing a Spiritual “Monday”? Do You Feel God isn’t There?
Devotional Thought of the Day:
25 But I know there is someone in heaven who will come at last to my defense. 26 Even after my skin is eaten by disease, while still in this body I will see God. 27 I will see him with my own eyes, and he will not be a stranger. Job 19:25-27 (TEV)
235 Don’t complain if you suffer. It is the prized and valued stone that is polished. Does it hurt?—Allow yourself to be cut, gratefully, because God has taken you in his hands as if you were a diamond. An ordinary pebble is not worked on like that.
Ignatius describes the pattern of life as one where we move from being aware of God’s consoling presence into times of desolation, times where we feel abandoned by God. The latter times are when we cannot easily recognize His presence in our lives. It is a devastating feeling. It’s the Spiritual equivalent of a month of Mondays.
It can wipe you out, this feeling of darkness swallowing you. Satan may try to convince you God doesn’t exist, that’s he a fable. Or failing that, you might struggle with your past/present, sure that some sin weakened you so much that God can’t even heal you, that His mercy isn’t enough to save you.
You may feel like St Josemaria’s diamond, being polished and cut, yet unaware of the precision that God is using to create in you a righteous spirit, a holy priest, a blessed child and co-heir of Christ. But even knowing that doesn’t stop the pain and feeling of abandomnet and loss.
So how do you survive these times?
Job’s focus was eternal. He knew the promise of God, that God would save Him. That even in death, in HIs body He would see God.
Knowing God, knowing God’s ultimate desire does that. This intimate knowledge of God doesn’t ease the pain or the grief by eliminating it. Instead, knowing that promise helps us to realize the emptiness is temporal, and isn’t our reality. St. Paul saw this as well,
2 Keep your minds fixed on things there, not on things here on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 Your real life is Christ and when he appears, then you too will appear with him and share his glory! Colossians 3:2-4 (TEV)
So are you stuck in a spiritual cycle of Mondays? You are defeated, for you are Christ’s, and nothing can separate you from His love. Patiently hold onto the hope that Job and so many others testify to, that when we see God, He will be not be a stranger.
AMEN.
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1179-1182). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
A Prayer for the Right Attitude on a Monday!
Devotional Thought of the Day:
11 iI will set my tabernacle in your midst, and will not loathe you. 12 Ever present in your midst, I will be your God, and you will be my people. Lev 26:10–12 NABRE
40 *They will confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their ancestors in their treachery against me and in their continued hostility toward me, 41 so that I, too, had to be hostile to them and bring them into their enemies’ land. Then, when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they make amends for their iniquity, 42 I will remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac; and also my covenant with Abraham I will remember. Lev 26:40–42
273 Dear Jesus: if I have to be an apostle, you will need to make me very humble. Everything the sun touches is bathed in light. Lord, fill me with your clarity, make me share in your divinity so that I may identify my will with your adorable Will and become the instrument you wish me to be. Give me the madness of the humiliation you underwent, which led you to be born poor, to work in obscurity, to the shame of dying sewn with nails to a piece of wood, to your self-effacement in the Blessed Sacrament. May I know myself: may I know myself and know you. I will then never lose sight of my nothingness. (1)
It’s Monday, and that means lots of posts and tweets about how Monday is a pain in the buttocks. We grieve over Mondays, we hate them, we struggle with them.
Part of the struggle is that we think we have to deal with Monday’s alone, we somehow decide to be hostile to God. You may say, I am a believer, I went to church for 90 minutes yesterday and didn’t even complain when the pastor kept boring me to death!
But being hostile to God isn’t just about going to church, or saying you are a believer. Being hostile to God includes going off on a Monday without Him. Trying to struggle through the return to work, without considering He is as with you today, as He was when you were receiving His body and His Blood at the altar. We are hostile to God when we deny Him the opportunity to comfort us, the opportunity to walk with us, the opportunity to be in a relationship with us that is more than 90 minutes of visitation a week.
What if your Monday stress is simply a call to humility? To remember that you are His children, that He is your God? To remember His role in your life, and welcome it with you?
That is what St. Josemaria’s prayer is all about; as we find the humility to share in His divinity, in His glory. In setting aside our will, our pleasure, instead revelling in His presence, content in His peace.
That is the key to dealing with the frustration of a Monday. That is how dealing with the stress, or the weight of the workload, or the bad attitudes of those around us. To realize we are nothing, like Christ, who emptied Himself. Because from that place, nothing is impossible, and in every situation we can find joy.
For we are with Him, and He reveals to us His love.
AMEN.
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1341-1347). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
The K.I.S.S principle: Keep it Simple Sermon-crafter!
Devotional Thought of the Day:
11 This is a sure thing: If we die with him, we’ll live with him; 12 If we stick it out with him, we’ll rule with him; If we turn our backs on him, he’ll turn his back on us; 13 If we give up on him, he does not give up— for there’s no way he can be false to himself. 14 Repeat these basic essentials over and over to God’s people. Warn them before God against pious nitpicking, which chips away at the faith. It just wears everyone out. 15 Concentrate on doing your best for God, work you won’t be ashamed of, laying out the truth plain and simple. 16 Stay clear of pious talk that is only talk. Words are not mere words, you know. If they’re not backed by a godly life, 2 Timothy 2:11-16 (MSG)
242 Sometimes they didn’t want to understand: it is as if they were blind… But sometimes it has been you who did not manage to make yourself understood properly. You must change that!
I will be honest; it is a challenge for me. It always has been, and as long as I preach, I think it will be.
To explain the glorious, majestic, beyond belief work of God in a simple way, that people will listen too. Yes, I know the Holy Spirit does the work of imprinting that which God has called into existence on their hearts, but that doesn’t mean we can be lax, or, on the other extreme, so eloquent that even a seminary professor would be in awe of our wisdom and message.
Every time we sit at a keyboard, or for some, take a pen in hand, we risk our words becoming talk that is only… talk. We may be proclaiming wonderful ideas, incredible theology, mind-blowing insights into theological truths, but if they don’t get the relationship, if we don’t bring people to realize their hope is not in knowledge, but in the intimate relationship with Jesus that Paul describes. It bears repeating
2 If we stick it out with him, we’ll rule with him; If we turn our backs on him, he’ll turn his back on us; 13 If we give up on him, he does not give up— for there’s no way he can be false to himself. 1
There is the truth that makes a difference. There is the truth that opens eyes, causes ears to hear, brings healing and expectant hope to those damaged and broken by sin.
Yes, there will be people who always seem blind and deaf spiritually. But Paul is equally insistent to Timothy to preach clearly, having studied well. That is the good stewardship of that which is entrusted to us in our ordination, or delegated to those co-misisoned to bear witness to Jesus.
Preaching with simplicity is a craft. It still may be profound, for the simple truth usually is more profound that the most complex of theories.
God loves you… he proved this as…
God came…for you
God died … for you.
God rose again – for you.
Oh yeah – He’s coming back for us.
That’s pretty profound, yet very simple.
May people hear us tomorrow as we point to Jesus. May we rejoice as they see the light that shatters their darkness. AMEN!
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1203-1204). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
The Joy of… Suffering?
Devotional Thought of the Day:
8 “But as for you, Israel my servant, Jacob my chosen one, descended from Abraham my friend, 9 I have called you back from the ends of the earth, saying, ‘You are my servant.’ For I have chosen you and will not throw you away. 10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. Isaiah 41:8-10 (NLT)
254 An incurable illness restricted his movements. And yet he cheerfully assured me: “The illness suits me well and I love it more all the time. If I were given the choice, I would be born again this way a hundred times!”(1)
Moreover, the people are instructed often and with great diligence concerning the holy sacrament, why it was instituted, and how it is to be used (namely, as a comfort for terrified consciences) in order that the people may be drawn to the Communion and Mass (2)
I have the honor to visit a 97 year old lady for about 10 minutes a week. She lives with some other eldery people around the corner. It isn’t much of a visit by the world’s standards, but it is one I treasure.
She has lived a fascinating life, one that would have me asking her to tell the stories from, for she has worked in places that I find extremely fascinating. But with the strength she has, just a few minutes of hearing about God working with our preschoolers, and a prayer of blessing, and it is time to leave.
Yet her contentment is amazing, her joy as she sees me is so evident. She doesn’t mind her weakness. She seems to treasure our brief moments together. This incredible lady, me, and the God who loves us so! A few moments that make such an incredible difference.. in my life.
It is hard to look at her weariness, for the smile and the assurance of her love for God overwhems it. She is more at peace than so many I know. So much more full of joy. Despite the suffering, despite the hours spent alone.
There are all different types of suffering. Suffering can be caused by evil oppression, by poverty, by health, by age, by loneliness?
But what we find in the suffering makes all the difference in the world. In this time of Advent, can we find Christ there? Can we find the joy of having no other hope but that which is found in Christ Jesus? The hope of sharing in His glory?
When we do, when in the midst of the pain we hear His voice; when we realize the comfort Jesus brings to us in the Lord’s Supper; in those moments of prayer when we can only listen, and allow the Holy Spirit to minister to us, that is when the quiet joy comes flooding through our souls. That is when the brokenness finds healing.
That is when we know we are loved.
Such a joyous thought…
I pray that you and I would know God’s love that deeply, with that assurance, at any age, in any situation. Because of that love, may joy be generated at our very core.
AMEN!
.
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1244-1246). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
(2) Tappert, T. G. (Ed.). (1959). The Book of Concord the confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. (p. 56). Philadelphia: Mühlenberg Press.
Forgiveness and Reconciliation – Dividable?
Devotional thought of the day:
12 Forgive us the wrongs we have done, as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us. Matthew 6:12 (TEV)
16 No longer, then, do we judge anyone by human standards. Even if at one time we judged Christ according to human standards, we no longer do so. 17 Anyone who is joined to Christ is a new being; the old is gone, the new has come. 18 All this is done by God, who through Christ changed us from enemies into his friends and gave us the task of making others his friends also. 19 Our message is that God was making all human beings his friends through Christ. God did not keep an account of their sins, and he has given us the message which tells how he makes them his friends. 2 Corinthians 5:16-19 (TEV)
236 Those who flee like cowards from suffering have something to meditate on when they see the enthusiasm with which other souls embrace pain. There are many men and women who know how to suffer in a Christian way. Let us follow their example. (1)
This post may cause you some grief, some anger. You may want to dismiss it; I know I struggle even writing it. But it is something I am dealing with, and I believe most of us need to work through to see God’s peace revealed.
There are many treasured phrases out there, but they all say the same thing, “forgive – but don’t forget.” I saw several today, basically saying that forgiveness doesn’t mean you have to let them hurt you again. Or that the real reason we are to forgive is to free us from the resentment, not to free them from the consequences of their words and actions.
They are saying this, forgiving someone shouldn’t cause you to suffer more. Even if that suffering is only becoming humble.
So here is the question, can you forgive someone without desiring reconciliation?
Can you really ask God not to hold their sins against, and vow to not hold their sins against them, and desire that the relationship remains in the broken, separated state it is?
I am not talking about their heart, they may refuse the reconciliation, but ours cannot harden to the possibility of it. We have to grow in our desire of it. We have to pray for it, work for it, struggle with the sacrifice and humility of it. And when it doesn’t happen, we have to weep.
It is that simple.
We have to bear that cross. We have to love that deeply.
Reconciliation may be a long process; it may seem beyond our ability, beyond the ability to even desire. It’s not going to be a smooth path, but it is one we are called to embrace. It is our deepest vocation as children of God.
We may not like that; we may not want to hear it. We may rebel against it, find excuses, rationalize the need away. We may say that God wouldn’t ask us to embrace that level of suffering.
We would be wrong.
God desires that none perish, but that all would be changed, their hearts and their minds. Our hearts and our minds.
This is how we live in the baptized life, the reconciled life, the redeemed life.
Even on the days we have to cry out, “Lord, I believe, help me when I can’t believe”; on the days we cry out, “Lord have mercy on me, a sinner.”
He has..so rejoice and love.
AMEN.
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1183-1186). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
