Category Archives: The Furrow
Includes citations from The Furrow by St. Josemaria Escriva
How Do I Survive the Dark Times
Devotional Thought of the Day:
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. 6 God sent a man, John the Baptist, 7 to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. 8 John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. 9 The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. John 1:4-9 (NLT)
862 When darkness surrounds us and our soul is blind and restless, we have to go to the Light, like Bartimaeus. Repeat, shout, cry out ever more strongly, Domine, ut videam!—Lord, that I may see… And daylight will dawn upon you, and you will be able to enjoy the brightness He grants you. (1)
When darkness hides His shining face, I’ll rest on his unending grace….. (2)
I’ll admit, even as a Christian there are times when darkness settles in, where my soul is restless, anxious, stressed. Where the struggles of life get to me, and I can’t abide the stillness I need, the quiet I need to be able to listen, and hear the still small voice of God. To be able to see through the blinding darkness, to be even able to see enough to fire off an emergency flare.
This world’s evil can do that to us, as can grief, as can unresolved brokeness, and unreconciled sin. We live as aliens in this world, and it is a world that is plunged into darkness.
Because we have been in the light, these momentary (compared to eternity) moments scare us, frighten us, disorient us. We don’t know how to deal with it, because we know life, the life we have been given in Christ. This isn’t it.
Yet out of such times come hymns like “A Mighty Fortress”, “It is Well”, “Amazing Grace”, “On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand”, the great Psalms 8, 51, 139, modern praise lament music by people like Michael Card, Tori Hunter, and Casting Crowns. (Can anyone hear her?) All are written from insid e the darkness, even as the faint ligtht is seen, even as the cries we’ve poured out with all that is within us come to being.
We might recognize this on our days in the light, but it takes a trust that is well acquainted with God’s nature, that has experienced being pulled out of the darkmess to relax, to be still, to know that God is there, even when we can’t feel it, even when darkness is suffocating us. And even then, in those first moements when the storms crash, when the waves threaten, when darkness coalesces and gains strength, we can lose sight of who we know, and His history of rescuing us from sin, and Satan’s attacks, and the anxiety of death.
It is at that time we need to remember that we can cry out, that it is not a sign of surrendering to our problems, or the darkness, but a realization that only God’s light can penetrate it, only His light can alleiviate it. Only His love can bring us the assurance that we are in His care. The situation may not change, but His light, His promises, His word, His presence makes all the difference!
So we learn to wait, with expectation, with the knowledge that God’s plan will see you through the time. Hear the voices of people sent to minister to you, to bring that light. Be still, know He is God…. and that His light will indeed shine.
- Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 3533-3536). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
- Lyrics to On Christ the Shining Rock
Do We Desire God’s Presence? Do we Desire Eternity?
Devotional/Discussion Thought of the Day :
4 I have asked the LORD for one thing; one thing only do I want: to live in the LORD’S house all my life, to marvel there at his goodness, and to ask for his guidance. Psalm 27:4 (TEV)
11 Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NLT)
857 Someone we know well told us sincerely, in confidence, that he had never been bored, for he had never been on his own, without our Friend. It was late in the evening, and there was a great silence… You felt very intently the presence of God… And, in the knowledge of that reality, what peace! (1)
Each morning that I find myself in my office, I start the day with the morning liturgy from “Celtic Daily Prayer”. Each morning I do so, after remembering my baptism while making the sign of the cross, the very next thing is Psalm 27:4. I read the words and often ask myself a question.
Do I really want only that – to live in His house all my life, for all eternity?
Let me confess, I struggle with that, as I imagine you do.
And if I struggle with living with Him here, in this time and place; I also struggle with seeing that which Solomon mentioned, that God has planted eternity in my heart. For often my heart and mind are not centered there. Some things I desire may be good and beneficial, like seeing people given the gift of faith, and the promises that come from Baptism and receiving the Body and Blood of Christ. I desire the church to grow, to find reconciliation where it is so needed. But anxiety over making that happen.
Is my first desire God’s presence, to be where He abides?
There are times it is, and I can think back over the years and long for those times again. The quiet sanctuaries of my youth, the incredible retreats I’ve been on, the baptisms, the putting into people’s hands the body and blood of Christ. The holding someone’s hand while they passed away, just silently praying. Praying again with my son, when he fit in the niche of my arm, praying that God would bless him, and through him many people. They are my treasured times, they are the best moments of my life.
Yes I do desire this, and I cannot but help look forward to eternity, because of promises like this:
9 However, as the scripture says, “What no one ever saw or heard, what no one ever thought could happen, is the very thing God prepared for those who love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9 (TEV)
The times are precious, when I can sit and meditate on this, when I contemplate my baptism, or the Eucharist, or receiving the incredible news that my sins are absolved.
It is then I realize the peace the Josemaria’s friend new, the silence, the presence of God. That which we do desire the most, if we take a moment to realize it.
Be still, my friends, and know there is a God, and you are His…..
It is worth every micro-second. For there eternity, the eternity planted in our hearts is revealed.
For eternity is yours already. He is with you…
(1)Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 3511-3515). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
In the Midst of Trauma…You cling to Christ!
Devotional & Discussion THought fo the Day:
7 Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. 9 God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:7-9 (NLT)
855 Everything may collapse and fail. Events may turn out contrary to what was expected and great adversity may come. But nothing is to be gained by being perturbed. Furthermore, remember the confident prayer of the prophet: “The Lord is our judge, the Lord gives us our laws, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us.” Say it devoutly every day, so that your behaviour may agree with the designs of Providence, which governs us for our own good. (1)
Twelve years ago, this Sunday, I walked into Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Yucca Valley, and began another transition in my life. I had been the pastor of a great -non-denomination church in the same town, and served as a hospice chaplain there as well. It is in the latter experiences that I came to appreciate what I had dismissed for years. The role of liturgy, especially in regards to repetition done with meaning and emphasis. All repetition is not vain, itcan easily become so, but it can also become that which drives the message deeply into our heart, past the mind’s memory which can fail, and often does.
I learned this as I would visit people with dementia, or alzheimers, or who were on pain meds to deal with their broken, dying bodies. They wouldn’t remember my name, or often those around them, but when it came time to pray, something miraculous happened. Voces that only mumbled would strengthen, their tongues loosen when we read the 23rd psalm. They would have a sense of calm strength as we recited the Apostles Creed, and oh would their bodies and voices resonate the Lord’s Prayer, or when we would sing “Amazing Grace”, or “It is well!” Oh and the peace with which they would savor the Lord’s Body and Blood!
In those moments, they found their connection to God, they remembered, deep in their heart and soul, His love. It for a second or two – or for an magnificent moment, broke through the haze……and they found themselves in the presence of God.
This is exactly what each of us needs, every moment, every day. To find ours in communion with God, to be Christ’s partner’s. To know His presence to the depth of our souls, to see it shatter the darkness. This is the glory of Christ, shared with us!
I love what St. Josemaria advises us to memorize. Oddly, it is a very Lutheran passage.
It notes that God is our judge, that His laws are the ones which govern us, by which we will be judge. (this is the “Lsw” of “Law and Gospel”)
It then notes that He is our Lord, our King, the One who takes responsibility for us, and will rescue us from the penalty of that law. (the “Gospel” part”)
We need to know this – we need to have it ingrained on our hearts, our minds, our soul.
We need the fear of being judged, and the calmness that knowing He has saved us brings. We need to cling to Christ in those times where our bodies, our minds, and yes our souls fail us. To cling to him like someone who thought they were drowning clings to the life guard. Or perhaps more approariately put – we relax when He clings to us..
May you this day, as you cry out for his mercy, realize that He will keep you strong… that He is faithful to His promises, that He has bound you to Jesus, and therefore you cling to Him. In that place – there is a peace that cuts through any darkness.
AMEN.
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 3503-3507). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Preaching with A Soul on Fire: A Necessity!
Devotional/Discussion Thought of the Day:
27 God’s plan is to make known his secret to his people, this rich and glorious secret which he has for all peoples. And the secret is that Christ is in you, which means that you will share in the glory of God. 28 So we preach Christ to everyone. With all possible wisdom we warn and teach them in order to bring each one into God’s presence as a mature individual in union with Christ. 29 To get this done I toil and struggle, using the mighty strength which Christ supplies and which is at work in me. Colossians 1:27-29 (TEV)
14 But even if you should suffer for doing what is right, how happy you are! Do not be afraid of anyone, and do not worry. 15 But have reverence for Christ in your hearts, and honor him as Lord. Be ready at all times to answer anyone who asks you to explain the hope you have in you, 1 Peter 3:14-15 (TEV)
815 You have seen very clearly your vocation to love God, but only with your head. You assure me that you have put your heart into the way you are following. But you say that you are distracted at times, and even attempt to look back. That is a sign that you have not completely put your heart into it. You need to be more sensitive! (1)
The second requisite for effective preaching is that the preacher not only himself believe the things he preaches to others, but that his heart be full of the truths which he proclaims, so that he enters his pulpit with the ardent desire to pour out his heart to his hearers. He must have an enthusiastic grasp, in the right sense of the word, of his subject. Then his hearers get the impression that the words dropping from his lips are flames from a soul on fire. That does not mean that the Word of God must receive its power and life from the living faith of the preacher; for the Lord says distinctly: “The words that I speak, they are spirit, and they are life.” John 6:63. Moreover, the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews says: “The Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Heb. 4:12. But when a preacher proclaims what he has ever so often experienced in his own heart, he easily finds the right words to speak convincingly to his hearers. Coming from the heart, his words, in turn, go to the hearts of his hearers, according to the good old saying: Pectus disertum facit, that is, it is the heart that makes eloquent. This does not mean the artificial eloquence acquired in a school of elocution, but the sane spiritual art of reaching the hearts of hearers. For when the hearers get the impression that the preacher is in full and dread earnest, they feel themselves drawn with an irresistible force to pay the closest attention to what the preacher is teaching in his sermon. That is the reason why many simple, less gifted, and less learned preachers accomplish more than the most highly gifted and profoundly learned men. (1)
In our midweek Bible Study, I have been teaching about preaching this summer. Not because my people are going to preach from the pulpit, but because:
1) It will help them interact with the sermon/homily more, and therefore benefit from it more
2) It may help me grow in the area of preaching>
As we are going through a very elemental book on the craft of preaching, I came across the quote above in blue. I very well may take the italicised part of that and hang it above my desk, It is to become a goal of mine, knowing the context from where the quote comes.
I want people to know what I know, the presence of God. Gosh I want them to know it.
Why?
Because it seems to me the only way to survive this life. To get through things like I’ve gone through in life. the pains, the surgeries, the anxieties, the pain. To deal with things like the sin which the author of Hebrews says so easily ensnares us. For it does, and the grief and shame of our own sin can crush us, and resentment towards those who sin against us can tear our souls apart.
To be able to deal with death, something I’ve had to deal with since a child, my own hovering over me, and later, ministering to those who are dieing, and those who were left behind. Knowing God’s promises are the only way to deal with that pressure. To deal with demons as well, both those who are figurative, the idols we create that drag our life’s focus from God, and the real one’s who work to destroy our life by attempting to destroy our relationship with God. We see both of those demons at work today, although we can never quite be sure which is which… both are real.
I love Escriva’s words, and I Pray mine would encourage people to believe with their heart (as Paul talks about in Romans 10), to know God, and relate to Him as their Lord, as their Savior. Not to just know about Him.
Can a sermon be passionate, charismatic, full of zeal and dripping with flames from a soul on fire?
It can, if the pastor, the priest, the preacher has been broken and by God’s loving kindness is healing.
For as we heal – we begin to see the height, the depth, the breadth and the width of the love of God, revealed to us all in Christ Jesus.
That’s preaching…. that’s proclaiming.
And our people, not from pulpits, but in their homes, and their workplaces, in restaurants, coffee shops, in line at Walmart, will begin to do the same.
For such is our glory, the hope that we have in Christ Jesus….
And may we share it with zealous love.
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 3361-3364). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
(2) Walther, C. F. W., Dau, W. H. T., & Eckhardt, E. (2000). The proper distinction between law and gospel: 39 evening lectures (electronic ed., p. 112). Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House.
Is Desiring Reconciliation Optional for Christians?
Devotional Thought of the Day:
11 As surely as I live, says the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die? Ezekiel 33:11 (NLT)
23 “Do you think that I like to see wicked people die? says the Sovereign LORD. Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live. Ezekiel 18:23 (NLT)
9 The Lord is not being slow in carrying out his promises, as some people think he is; rather is he being patient with you, wanting nobody to be lost and everybody to be brought to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 (NJB)
18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 (NLT)
824 Do you feel as if goodness and absolute truth have been deposited with you, and therefore that you have been invested with a personal title or right to uproot evil at all costs? You will never solve anything like that, but only through Love and with love, remembering that Love has forgiven you and still forgives you so much! (1)
Therefore it is God’s ultimate purpose that we suffer harm to befall no man, but show him all good and love; and, as we have said it is specially directed toward those who are our enemies. (2)
It seems like yesterday I had to quote the passages above from Ezekiel a half dozen times, and should have quoted them a dozen more.
In each, people were rejoicing over brokenness. Some were larger than life, as they rejoiced over victories in war. Some were more organized, as people planned to celebrate larger divisions between people groups. (including the Reformation.) Some were far more personal, as people encouraged each other to rejoice in division, to rejoice in broken relationships. There were even a couple of situations were those trying to promote reconciliation were attacked and mocked.
Yes I know, that in some of these cases, pain is involved, But what about those who encourage the joy? What about those who welcome the brokenness, who encourage it?
It is even more tragic that in each case, the people involved were leaders in the church. Some of the brokenness was in the midst of the church, Traumatic and tragic, this lack of desire for reconciliation is!
And it is not Christian. It is not imitating Christ. It is not being obedient to His giving us the mission of reconciling people to Him, as Paul points out. For in reconciling them to Him, we find them reconciled to us.
Life isn’t a personal crusade to stamp out evil. That only turns us into evil people, as we place ourselves in the place of God.
Life isn’t about rejoicing over division, over the bad things which happen to those we consider enemies, adversaries, or just pain in the ass’s.
God has told us to love them, to work for their good, to see them reconciled to Christ. For that is His will, even though every person who is brought to reconciliation was once God’s enemy, who chose evil over good, and hate over love.
This blog isn’t easy to write. I have my own people I struggle with, who I have to grow in Christ to love and seek to reconcile with. But let me tell you, the joy that is there when we do… is amazing.
I’ll leave you with this blessing, knowing that it pleases God when people reconcile:
20 Now may the God of peace— who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood— 21 may he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever! Amen! Hebrews 13:20-21 (NLT)
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 3390-3393). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
(2) The Large Catechism of Martin Luther.
The Christian’s Measure of Maturity: The Heart of Christ
Devotional and Discussion Thought of the Day:
10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. 14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. John 1:10-14 (NLT)
11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Ephesians 4:11-13 (NLT)
813 I give you thanks, my Jesus, for your decision to become perfect Man, with a Heart which loved and is most lovable; which loved unto death and suffered; which was filled with joy and sorrow; which delighted in the things of men and showed us the way to Heaven; which subjected itself heroically to duty and acted with mercy; which watched over the poor and the rich and cared for sinners and the just… I give you thanks, my Jesus. Give us hearts to measure up to Yours! (1)
There is much theologically to say about the two natures of Christ. How Jesus is fully man, and fully God. Martin Chemnitz wrote a wonderful concise 3 inch thick volume about the subject, all of its implications, all of its potential issues. It is well worth reading, an amazing work about an amazing subject. It leaves you in awe, first of Chemnitz’s brilliance, and far more, of our Lord of whom the words describe.
Even so, I think that all the theology needs to be seen through something like the prayer that is written by St. Josemaria Escriva above. Which takes the incarnation seriously, which explores quickly the implications of Christ leaving His throne and being incarnate into our world, walking in our flesh. As St John’s gospel so beautifully states – He has made His home with us, The God whose love for us, whose faithfulness to the promises He made to us and to all, became present in their lives. We know His glory.
I pray your understand that this incarnation has not only been witnessed to by the apostles, by the early church, by Jesus mother who stored all these things in her heart. That incarnation, that glorious news that God has come to dwell with us, today, in these turbulent times. HE IS HERE! He dwells with His people still! We still see His glory.
As Josemaria prays that we all measure up to Christ heart, that prayer is perhaps of the highest level of theology, as well as the simplest. It is not the knowledge we would attain of God, though we desire to know Him. It is not that we could conjur up miracles that would mark as measuring up to Christ Jesus.
It is to be known to be like King David, to be a man after God’s own heart, a man who desires that which God desires, the reconciliation of all. To desire it so much that we are willing to pay whatever price to see it occur. Read those descriptions, a heart that loves and is lovable, which loves unto even death (I think of Romans 12:11 here.) Who embrace sorrow, filled with joy and sorrow, delighting in the things of men and showing them the way to heaven and heroically does what is needed with mercy, watching the poor and rich, caring for sinners and just.
That is the description of those whose hearts are growing to the measure of the sacred heart of Christ. It is the goal that pastors and others who minister long to see developed in their people.
Lord develop in us the Heart we long for, and as you promised through Ezekiel, may You replaced our shattered stone hearts with Your Heart of Flesh. Amen!
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 3352-3356). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Forgiveness for Any Other Reason but Love…. Is Not…
Devotional THought of the Day:
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But now I tell you: do not take revenge on someone who wrongs you. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, let him slap your left cheek too. 40 And if someone takes you to court to sue you for your shirt, let him have your coat as well. 41 And if one of the occupation troops forces you to carry his pack one mile, carry it two miles. Matthew 5:38-41 (TEV)
806 You were very sorry to hear that most un-Christian comment, “Forgive your enemies: you can’t imagine how it angers them!” You could not keep quiet, and you replied calmly, “I don’t want to cheapen love by humiliating my neighbour. I forgive, because I love, and I am hungry to imitate the Master.” (1)
Yesterday I wrote about the fact that forgiveness is not learned, it is not a discipline, it is simply the result of love.
Today, I cam across the quote from Escriva, and I again was amazed at the thought. Simply because I’ve heard this said before, I’ve even probably used something like it along the way. Just show them you are bigger than them, and forgive them. ( I apologize to any I’ve said that too. I’ve also heard it said this way, you don’t have to like forgiving them, you just have to obey God and do it.
Or perhaps the most common excuse. Forgive them, for it may not benefit them, but it benefits you
Somehow I can’t see Jesus, on the cross, being benefitted by forgiving his captors, or Stephen, being stoned by Paul’s friends, being benefited. Or any of the martyrs over the last 2 millennia, who forgave as they were tortured and died, benefitting from being free of the resentment and anger they felt.
If we forgive because we desire what is beneficial for ourselves, when the hurt and pain come back, then we will be ill-prepared to deal with it. It will again fuel resentment and anger, and thoughts of how to make them pay for the sin will creep back into our hearts
The way to forgive, to bypass revenge is simple – love.
To accept the pain, the hurt, the cost of loving that person. To give that all over to Christ, the one who taught us to pray to the Father to be forgive and to be able to forgive. The one who died for His enemies, because He loved them. The One who frees us, by paying for every debt, every trespass, every pain.
The one we hunger to love, and desire to imitate, because He has loved us…..
Mercy, Love, forgiveness….. on package deal.
May we do so…counting on the Lord’s mercy
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 3326-3329). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Forgiveness is Not A Learned Action or Skill
Devotional Thought of the Day:
6 For when we were still helpless, Christ died for the wicked at the time that God chose. 7 It is a difficult thing for someone to die for a righteous person. It may even be that someone might dare to die for a good person. 8 But God has shown us how much he loves us—it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us! 9 By his blood we are now put right with God; how much more, then, will we be saved by him from God’s anger! 10 We were God’s enemies, but he made us his friends through the death of his Son. Now that we are God’s friends, how much more will we be saved by Christ’s life! Romans 5:6-10 (TEV)
804 That friend of ours with no false humility used to say: “I haven’t needed to learn how to forgive, because the Lord has taught me how to love.” (1)
There are times where I am amazed by the simplicity and truth in St. Josemaria’s writings.
A lot of ministry deals with reconciliation, bringing back together, and balancing out that which is broken. It might be reconciling the relationship of a married couple who have “fallen out of love”. Or reconciling a church that has too long buried conflict, thinking that if they ignored it, they could all get along. OR reconciling someone who is so burdened and oppressed by sin, that they cannot even imagine that they could be forgiven.
Reconciliation begins with forgiveness, which is where the healing starts.
But forgiveness, true forgiveness, where we ask that God doesn’t count their sin against them, (and therefore neither do we) is difficult or hard, or at least it seems to be. It seems to be unnatural, something we have to be forced to do. Our hearts cry against it, saying things like, I will forgive, but I won’t forget. It requires we give up our right for revenge, we lower our defenses, we acknowledge that this could happen 7 times 70 minus one more time.
Forgiveness leaves us weak and defenseless, or so we fear. It leaves us anxiety ridden, as we await the next blow. If it is not real, but if forgiveness is simply an act, it leaves us grumbling and ready to complain to whomever will listen, and assist us in self-justification. We can even justify ourselves by pointing out that while we’ve forgiven them, they haven’t done anything to reconcile the situation.
Forgiveness can’t be done simply because it is commanded. It is not a matter of obedience and discipline in its own right. There has to be something in us, that causes us to desire forgiveness, to desire to find that reconciliation, to give up all of our rights, in order to do what is best for the other person.
Forgiveness is impossible, without love.
Deep, abiding love.
The kind that acts like superglue in our relationships.
If we love them, we will seek what is best for them, which includes the forgiveness of every sin.
St. Josemaria has it right, if we love them, as Christ loves us, it is not a matter of needing instruction, or even being commanded to forgive, to reconcile with them. We become like Paul, willing to sacrifice anything, in order that they would be reconciled to God, for that is what forgiveness is about as well. Asking that the Father not hold them accountable, asking that God forgives them. Forgiveness and reconciliation become what we are naturally compelled to do, as we love them.
Which means we have to know Christ’s love first. We have to see this in action, and more importantly know that we’ve been forgiven this way. Romans 5 above has to become so integral to us, we have to realize what it means that God loved us, and therefore forgave us, and made His home among us who sinned against Him.
It is that love of His, which we are embraced in, that leads us to know the joy of having sin removed, of having guilt and shame done away with, that brings us to the joy He sought for us, the joy that He shares in, as reconciliation is not just a word, but a reality. We are loved, we are free to love in return, all else is shed.
In that moment, loved by God, we find that forgiveness doesn’t take strength of character, it simply is the natural action of one who loves, as they are loved.
The Key to Loving Your Enemies, Loving God. The Key to Loving God…
Devotional & Discussion Thought of the Day:
9 O God, we meditate on your unfailing love as we worship in your Temple. 10 As your name deserves, O God, you will be praised to the ends of the earth. Your strong right hand is filled with victory. Psalm 48:9-10 (NLT)
You still do not love the Lord as a miser loves his riches, as a mother loves her child… You are still too concerned about yourself and about your petty affairs! And yet you have noticed that Jesus has already become indispensable in your life… Well, as soon as you correspond completely to his call, he will also be indispensable to you in each one of your actions. (1)
Yesterday’s Bible Study time at church was talking about the attitude of St. Paul towards the people of Israel. How, even though those people would have killed him outright, his love for God, and His knowledge of God’s promises, led him to desire their salvation, no matter the cost. He said he would even give up is salvation, if that were possible,
A tough act to follow, as many of us realized, and even grieved over during the Bible Study.
Paul’s comments, “Imitate me, as I imitate Christ,” take on a far more challenging perspective. They drive home the idea of loving our neighbor – for love doesn’t count the cost. Even when our neighbor is our enemy, our adversary, or just a huge pain in the neck. Imitate Paul as he desires their salvation more than even his own, even as Paul imitated Jesus, as He died for those who caused His suffering and death. You and I. (All that debate about whether the Jews were responsible for His death, or the Romans is nonsense. He chose to die to save us from our sins, to restore us to the Father.)
Are you willing to give up all for those you love? Are you willing to love those who hate you?
Tough questions.
Even more difficult, when we realize Paul’s challenge to us is not alone, John issues it with these words,
20 If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? 21 And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their Christian brothers and sisters. 1 John 4:20-21 (NLT)
So how do we do this? Is there some metaphysical knowledge that unlocks in us the ability to love our neighbor? Is it some ritual that we must undergo, that magically gives us the ability to sacrifice all for our neighbor?
No, just simply – if you love God with all you are, when you correspond to His call on your life, then this happens. Not because of our will or volition, it is deeper than that. It is the work of God in our lives, what He has ordained for us. it is a life of Holiness, it is a life, set apart to Him.
Again, not easy, a radical transformation in our lives.
So how do we do these things, things God has emphasized through His word, through the Apostles, the Prophets, in the Law of Moses, in the Gospel of Christ?
Think.
No – not think about where the solution, that won’t help. We aren’t capable of it.
Do what the psalmist asks us to do – meditate on the Lord, on His love, on His mercy, on His promises revealed in His word. On His unfailing love. As Paul will say, explore its depths, its height, its width, its breadth. Realize how God’s love consumes us, how it transforms us, How the Holy Spirit makes it a reality in our life.
It sounds too easy, but keep in the forefront of your thoughts during the day the incredible love and grace of God. Spend time just thinking about it.
Don’t limit yourself to worship and praise, to just studying the Bible in classes, or studying it as you read it.
Just read and be in awe, let the words run through your heart like a bubbling brook, occasionally like a waterfall, Like the Niagara Falls, or Iguazu Falls in South America. (Watch the movie “The Mission” to see this – and an incredible story of loving your enemy!)
Let the promises amaze you, the patience of God astonich you, the miracles and wonders of God leave you without the ability to read any further.
And delight that all of this has been done and revealed – to you… for you, for your neighbor, for that person…….
Then you will love, ot as a command, but because the gospel is alive in you, you won’t be able to resist,
It will be our lives… lived as our Lord lived.
We’ll stumble for sure, we struggle at times, but the correlation between realizing the love of God, and loving others is clear… and it is necessary…
So dwell in Him, rejoice in His presence. Know His love!
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 3299-3303). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Are We Waiting for the End of Time with Joy?
Discussion and Devotional Thought of the Day: 10 Announce to the nations, “The LORD is King! The world stands firm, never to be shaken, and he will judge its people with fairness.” 11 Tell the heavens and the earth to be glad and celebrate! Command the ocean to roar with all of its creatures 12 and the fields to rejoice with all of their crops. Then every tree in the forest will sing joyful songs 13 to the LORD. He is coming to judge all people on earth with fairness and truth. Psalm 96:10-13 (CEV)
794 Mary spent three days and three nights looking for the Son who was lost. May you and I also be able to say that our willingness to find Jesus knows no rest. (1)
Carmelite Vow: Let each stay in or near their own cell, meditating, day and night on the law of the Lord, and vigilant in prayer, unless otherwise employed by the Holy Spirit! (2)
As I look at the last quote, it seems odd for me, a Lutheran pastor, to quote a Catholic Monastic Vow. Luther was not known to praise monastic orders, he saw little use for them.
But to dismiss this thought entirely, is to forget the amount of time Luther spent in prayer, and in the word of God.
What would happen if we spent this kind of time with God, that whenever we weren’t involved in our vocations of life, we were using that time for prayer. If we made the time we spent entertaining ourselves, the time we watched “reality shows”, the time we spent just doing nothing, seeking the Lord? If we gave thought daily to His return, His glorious return? I think we wouldn’t fear it, or see Christ’s return as simply an escape from the day’s trouble. ( I will admit there are days I cry out for his return, just to be done with the trauma and drama of this life)
I think the experience of being so aware of His peace would change us dramatically.
We would hunger for those times as the Psalmist does, as we read of men like Luther and Wesley who would make a priority of hours a day in prayer. I love St Josemaria’s thoughts as well, what if our willingness, or desire to find Jesus knew no rest – if we looked for His presence, not just in the fifteen minutes of the day, but also for hours, and for the seconds when we have nothing else occupying our minds?
That would change how we view our vocations, how we view the daily grind of life.
It would change every encounter, as fueled by our time with Hi, our hearts would be centered on the glorious day of His return. The time where judgment comes, and rather than fearing it, we welcome it, because of the work of Jesus Christ. We welcome His coming, seeing the Father face to face, knowing as we are known.
Come, let’s plunge into a life of devotion, come, lets spend time with our Lord! Not to impress Him, not because of some expectation we hope to meet, but rather, in love with a God who would come and make His life here… among us.
Lord Have Mercy!
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 3286-3288). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
(2) Celtic Prayer Book, Monthy Devotional Thought for the 3d Day of the Month
