Category Archives: Soul Care
Augustine, Luther, Vatican I and the Purpose and Mission of God’s People.
Thoughts which carry me to Jesus, and to the cross:
“ And as they came down the hill-side, he warned them not to tell anybody what they had seen till “the Son of Man should have risen again from the dead”. They treasured this remark and tried to puzzle out among themselves what “rising from the dead” could mean. (Mark 9, Phillips)
Have you never read this scripture— The stone which the builders rejected, The same was made the head of the corner; This was from the Lord, And it is marvellous in our eyes?” ” (Mark 12 Phillips)
[1]Let us love him, for he made these things and he is not far off,44 for he did not make them and then go away: they are from him but also in him. You know where he is, because you know where truth tastes sweet. He is most intimately present to the human heart, but the heart has strayed from him. Return to your heart, then, you wrongdoers, and hold fast to him who made you. Stand with him and you will stand firm, rest in him and you will find peace.
Concerning the use of sacraments it is taught that the sacraments are instituted not only to be signs by which people may recognize Christians outwardly, but also as signs and testimonies of God’s will toward us in order thereby to awaken and strengthen our faith. [2] That is why they also require faith and are rightly used when received in faith for the strengthening of faith.
…so the Church, constituted by GOD the mother and teacher of all nations, knows its own office as debtor to all, and is ever ready and watchful to raise the fallen, to support those who are falling, to embrace those who return, to confirm the good and to carry them on to better things. Hence it can never forbear from witnessing to and proclaiming the truth of GOD, which heals all things, knowing the words addressed to it: “My Spirit that is in thee, and My words that I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, from henceforth and for ever.”*
Today is the last day of the Liturgical year. Not a big deal to some, but to me, it has some significant meaning.
It lies between the Sunday of the CHirst the King – the Sunday that celebrates His victory for us, which we know is coming, and the beginning of Advent, a season of repentant waiting for Jesus to become Immanuel, that is, God with us! (Note the exclamation point; it is there for a reason.)
Like the disciples after the transfiguration, I have questions about the cross. Not about the necessity, but the fact that Jesus volunteered for it with joy, to save you and me. We so desperately need not just a Savior, but a brother, who leads us back to the Father. It is truly a marvelous mystery to treasure, this grace that unites us to God.
We get to know this through the sacraments, those moments when God draws us near and unites us to Himself. As He originally cleanses us, cutting away our stone-hard hearts, and replacing them with His Heart, His Spirit (see Ezekiel 36:25) He then cleanses us of not only all sin, but all unrighteousness–all injustice. All the damage done to us by our sin, the sin of the world, both present and in the past. And of course, the incredible feast where Jesus feeds us with His body and blood. The Lutheran Augsburg Confession nails the purpose: not to define us to the world, but to strengthen our faith, to lay the foundation and build our lives on Jesus.
This is why Augustine talks of such an intimate relationship with God. It is of the most incredible value, so much so that He begs us to return to our heart, for that is Jesus, our Heart. He recognized, the hard way, that there is no option, no other name in which to find comfort, hope, and a relationship that heals.
This is what the world needs to know!
Vatican I sees this clearly! It is the purpose of the church, the purpose behind preaching, catechizing, teaching, and distributing the sacraments. Not just to indoctrinate people. Not to receive their tithes and offerings, and building artistic edifices. This is what ministry is! This is why we are here! This is the very thing at the heart of the Reformation (at least Luther/Melanchthon’s portion of it), and for some, the Counter-Reformation.
It is who we are, and I pray all the church, Lutheran, Catholic, Orthodox, and others, return to this ministry in the next year…AMEN!
Saint Augustine. (2012). The Confessions, Part I (J. E. Rotelle, Ed.; M. Boulding, Trans.; Second Edition, Vol. 1, p. 104). New City Press.
Kolb, R., Wengert, T. J., & Arand, C. P. (2000). The Book of Concord: the confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (p. 46). Fortress Press.
McNabb, V., ed. (1907). The Decrees of the Vatican Council (pp. 17–18). Benziger Brothers.
The Re-formation, not the Reformation
Thoughts which carry me to Jesus, and to the Cross
“who by God’s power are protected through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:5, NET)
While perfect restoration to the divine image awaits the day of Christ’s appearing, the work of restoration is going on now. There is a slow but steady transmutation of the base metal of human nature into the gold of God-likeness effected by the faith-filled gaze of the soul at the glory of God—the face of Jesus Christ!
We are coming up on the 508th anniversary of Martin Luther asking for a discussion on 95 points, or theses, which concerned him about the teachings of indulgences and purgatory. This discussion focused a lot on the Doctrine of Justification, and the Doctrine of Sanctification — in other words, how are are delivered from sin, and how we are transformed, as the Holy Spirit works a miracle in us.
In the midst of what became the “Reformation,” as sin prevailed and divided the church, what was lost in the process was central issue–the “re-formation” of the sinner into a saint. Lives would be taken–by both sides, the church would be fractured, and fractured again,
One of my favorite novelists (W.E.B Griffin) wrote a line I will not forget, “I regret it was necessary” in regards to an action he had to take in war. I deeply regret the reformation, and I deeply regret the fact that 500 years later we have become so divided that we forget the core of it – the re-formation of the sinner.
It is all about God’s power at work, God’s ability to care and protect us as He transforms un into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ (see 2 Cor. 3:16ff, Col. 1:28-29, Romans 12:1-3, Ephesians 2:8-10. This is where the discourse was supposed to go, but horribly did not.
We need to talk about how we are re-formed, for the sake of our people. We need to know the power and ability of God, the grace by which we are rescued from our bondage to sin, the sin which separates us from God, and would result in our condemnation unless it was dwelt with. We need to talk about what the Holy Spirit does to us after we are made righteous in Christ, how we are made holy and perfected/made complete.
We don’t need to talk about these things in an academic manner, or with arcane and technical language. That would only serve a small contingent of people, those labelled “theologians.” We need to discuss it for the people like Theophilus (which means friends of God) to whom Luke wrote his gospel, and the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, Written so Theophilus, a common ordinary person could know the truth, and as the Apostle John writes, “31 But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name. John 20:31 (NLT2)
Our people need to have the assurance of God’s work in their lives, anything else is a minor tidbit of information. He is re-forming us! Amen!
Tozer, A. W., & Smith, G. B. (2008). Mornings with Tozer: Daily Devotional Readings. Moody Publishers.
Life: God’s Version of ‘Take Your Child to Work’ Day Week 1: Time to Get Ready – A sermon on Colossians 3:1-10
Life: God’s Version of
‘Take Your Child to Work’ Day
Week 1: Time to Get Ready
Colossians 3:1-10
† I.H.S. †
May the grace, mercy and peace of God be yours, as you labor in the faith, rejoicing as God brings His lost home!”
Robert Webber, the great modern expert on Liturgy wrote, “The purpose of worship is not only to glorify God by celebrating the work of his Son but also to assimilate in our own lives the pattern of dying to the sin that Christ died to destroy and rising to the new life that Christ rose from the dead to inaugurate.”
It’s an interesting thought, and it goes with the theme of the next 8 weeks. Whereas his statement is more from our perspective, we are going to look at how God assimilates us into this pattern of Christ’s death, resurrection and eventual ascension….as we begin to live life in the way that God has chosen for us, a life filled with love, and peace and mercy.
The way we are going to picture that goes back to an old practice, where dad’s would take their boys to work with them, so they could learn two things. One, to introduce them to a potential career, and two, to respect their father’s hard work.
It’s too bad the practice has been pretty much forgotten, or because of insurance and OSHA rules, stopped!
Some of my friends’ families really got into it, even make the children clothes that would resemble their dad’s – making them “twins” for the day! Some of my friends loved it, the banker’s son had to wear a suit, the police Lt.’s son had a uniform—complete with BB gun, the fireman and doctor’s kids dressed up to…
The only friend I had that didn’t like that day, was the kid whose dad owned the septic tank cleaning company…he had a crappy day…
Each and every morning you and I wake up, God is taking us to His work, to learn how and what He’s doing in the world, and teaching us to do the same work, as we learn how, and grow even more in our adoration and respect for Him.
So, it’s time to get ready, and for today, we will look at the very beginning fo the day, and getting ready, getting dressed to go to work, with Dad.
Get undressed
Unless you are a pre-school teacher or maybe an elementary school teacher, most of us don’t go to work in pajamas or whatever we wear to bed…. and I think that’s a good thing!
Can you imagine if Deacon Bob was wear his flannel “spidey” pajamas under his role?
But the first step in “getting ready for work,’ is leaving the clothes of the night, behind.
Paul says, “5 So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. 6 Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. 7 You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. 8 But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. 9 Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds.
The phrase for “you have stripped off” is the based on the word “dyo”, to undress, to shrink out of, to remove.
The clothing of the darkness, the clothing of the night, needs to be removed, before we can get ready for work. We have to be stripped of it, it has to be removed, no matter the cost.
But look at what’s being removed…
The sinful matter described in these verses. It starts with desires and sexual immorality and all that goes with it, the desires, and it moves on to the bad stuff, uncontrolled anger, bad behavior – in fact, the word “bad” is the word for human waste product, the stuff they make fertilizer from. The list goes on and includes slander —what we term gossip today, and dirty or inappropriate language.
All that stuff has to be done away with, like the pajamas that are tossed in the hamper in the morning – they have to be put aside, even as Paul says, put to death. This is not only so we can go to work with God – but that we can live with Him.
The challenge is that we can’t – those stupid sins stick to us worse pajamas after a humid night in the 90s…. or some people stick to their bed despite 6 or 12 alarms going off!
The gospel begins as God causes us to rise out of bed, shrug off the pajamas, and He cleanses us like a steaming shower…
And now that we are cleansed, the gospel dresses us up… and get us ready to go to work…with dad.
Getting Dressed.
The same word that has a negative to it to make “undress” appears again- without the negative. Paul writes, “10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.”
It is interesting that where as the behaviors of the old nature, the pajamas, the clothes worn in darkness are well documented, the behaviors to be expressed as we are clothed in Christ, as we are made ready.
We don’t have to describe the behaviors, the actions of those who are dressed with the nature of Jesus, because God walks with us, He guides us, He causes us to love and serve those who are different, those who are broken, those who lives the world has tossed aside, or glorified fro the wrong reasons.
To me this is the most amazing thing about God taking us to work –the complete change he works within us, the unbelievable peace and love that fill our lives, as we live in Christ with God our Father.
This is seen in Paul’s words to the council of Athens,. 28 For in him we live and move and exist.’ Acts 17:27-28 (NLT2)
This idea of is expressed as we are told to put on Christ, that the Holy Spirit dwells in us, the we are in fellowship with God, that He will never leave or forsake us.
And He takes us to work every day, that we might share in His joy when He shows us how He saves, heals and equips others just like us… and the learn that when Jesus rose from the dead, we did as well, to share in His life, and His dad’s work.
AMEN!
Job’s Death Wish… and finding Jesus there!
Thoughts which carry me to Jesus, and to the cross
““Oh that my request would be realized, and that God would grant me what I long for! And that God would be willing to crush me, that he would let loose his hand and kill me.” (Job 6:8–9, NET)
Hard fights are rarely fought except by those with the greatest strength.”
In each case, this line of theological thought expresses well that divine initiative brings about sudden conversion and that therein exists the indispensable spiritual basis for theology. Consequently, the words of Paul—“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:20)—are foundational for Ratzinger’s understanding of theology.
“The knowledge of God is a way; it means discipleship. It is not revealed to the uncommitted, permanently neutral observer but, rather, is disclosed in the measure in which one sets out on the way.” Such knowledge requires deep conversion so that it remains a constant encounter. True reasoning requires “a purification of heart.” It is bound to the Logos and includes death and resurrection.
His words came out of a place of great despair, for everything he treasured, everything he found joy in, was stripped from him over the course of moments.
He was broken, overwhelmed by grief and pain and suffering, and his cry, his desire to die seems like the only hope.
He doesn’t have the strength that St. Francis alludes to, to battle thi hard fight. He just wants to get past it, and the only option appears to be death. Even his wife realizes this – as she encourages him to curse God and die.
I may not have lost as much as Job, but I’ve lost a lot at times. There have been pains in my life I didn’t think I could get through, times of hurting and to be honest, times where I wished Jesus would either return, or call me home. Not because I wanted to get to heaven, but because I wanted to escape from life.
And in a real way, the answer to life is found in death.
Not our physical death as we know it, but as we die with Christ in baptism, only to rise–united with Him as He lives.
it takes some thought to think through the change, to realize it with our mind, but our heart realizes it at the altar, and when we hear His word, and our old nature struggles with the fact we are loved, that we are forgiven, as demons struggle to keep their hold on us, trying to load on the guilt and shame removed at the cross of Jesus.
To help people experience that blessing, to experience that love is the purpose of all ministry, From facilitating worship through music, to the sacraments; from feeding the poor to counseling and advising the rich.
This is the true administration, the proper stewardship of the gifts of God, for the people of God.
To help them know and understand, and experience, as Job spoke, ““As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and that as the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God,” (Job 19:25–26, NET)
Pasquale, G., ed. (2011). Day by Day with Saint Francis: 365 Meditations (p. 187). New City Press.
De Gaál, E. (2018). O Lord, I Seek Your Countenance: Explorations and Discoveries in Pope Benedict XVI’s Theology (M. Levering, Ed.; p. 211). Emmaus Academic.
De Gaál, E. (2018). O Lord, I Seek Your Countenance: Explorations and Discoveries in Pope Benedict XVI’s Theology (M. Levering, Ed.; p. 212). Emmaus Academic.
Attitude Check: How do we look at “those” sinners?
Thoughts which drive me to Jesus, and to the Cross!
“Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God on behalf of my fellow Israelites is for their salvation. For I can testify that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not in line with the truth.For ignoring the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking instead to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law, with the result that there is righteousness for everyone who believes.” (Romans 10:1–4, NET)
“The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: extortionists, unrighteous people, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.” (Luke 18:11, NET)
It seems to be a comfort to some Christians to sit back and blame and belabor the Jews, refusing to acknowledge that they have information and benefits and spiritual light that the Jews never had.
It is surely wrong for us to try to comfort our own carnal hearts by any emphasis that Israel rejected Him. If we do that, we only rebuild the sepulchers of our fathers as Jesus said!
Back in high school, our youth group had a practice or tradition. If something didn’t seem right, someone would yell out, “attitude check!!. The others would respond, “Praise the Lord.” It would refocus us on Jesus, it would refocus us on His love and mercy, and on His rescuing us from sin.
I think the church today needs an attitude check, I think her pastors and priests need one to, especially this guy, typing these words.
You see, we all limit God’s grace. Like the Pharisee who couldn’t believe God could relate to “lesser” people who were broken. Or like those Tozer identifies, who are content to blame and not give a rip as to whether people come to know Christ.
It’s as if we say, “Yep, they deserve it,” as we walk away from those without hope, those blinded by sin. It doesn’t matter if the sin is against he first commandment, as people put their trust in other gods, or make themselves out to be gods, whether the sin is dishonoring parents and other authorities, whether it is being caught up in sexual sin of some form, or simply those who gossip, spreading lies and rumors and even defending their right to do so.
We can’t give up on them, we can’t casually say, they reject God and “dust off our sandals” and leave them. (This is one of the most abused passages in the gospels, as people use it to justify indifference and hatred) We have to work, as Paul described his ministry, with everything we are, trying to help people mature in Christ, as we reveal Christ, their hope of glory.
That’s the attitude of Jesus, not just writing the person off because they are progressive or conservative, nor because of a massive sin in their past (their are all massive) or because of issues they struggle with today.
Let us struggle with this, and continue to depend on the hope we have in Christ Jesus, even as we pray, and even cry over those whose struggle is so visible… and yet, denied.
Tozer, A. W., & Smith, G. B. (2008). Mornings with Tozer: Daily Devotional Readings. Moody Publishers.
Time to Stop Objecting To the Harvest: An Eastertide Sermon from Concordia on Acts 11:1-18
Time to Stop Objecting
To the Harvest
Acts 11:1-18
† I.H.S. †
May the grace and mercy of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ inspire your work in the Harvest of all souls, as you rejoice in your own salvation!
God is moving… are we?
I have to make a good confession. Over the last week I have had a number of things that I just wanted to do. Nope, no way. I had some great excuses lined up, but to be honest, I just didn’t want to make the drives, I didn’t want to sit in the seats and attend those meetings, I didn’t want to lay on that gurney, or drink that horrid stuff with nasty effects, and I didn’t know if I had anything left to minister to people I had never met before.
I was a bit of a grump…
And in each of the 7 places God was sending me to. I would see Him at work… even to the point of crying with a peaceful joy.
The reason I bring this up, is that I understand Peter, and the story he recounts to the believers in Jerusalem, who are little tired, a little paranoid of causing more trouble with their Jewish relatives, and to be honest, they didn’t think they had the will or desire to do what God was calling them to…the places He would send them anyway, just as Peter was sent to Cornelius and his family and friends.
But after the fact, the trips, both Peter’s and mine, even the colonoscopy, were incredible blessings. Because of the impact those moments had.
Even if we objected to the harvest, and tried to find excuses, and didn’t want to go…..
For as the title says, it’s time to stop objecting to the harvest!
- Dangerous words!
In this passage, we see Peter making two blunders far worse than the two classic blunders of “’getting involved in a land war in Asia,’ and ‘going in against a Sicilian when death is on the line.’”
Far greater.
The first we see in verse 8. Peter said to the Holy Spirit, “No”
Don’t ever do that. Nope, never ever said to the Lord, No.
You end up saying yes, but if you are unlucky you smell like you’ve been living in a giant fish for three days, or walking around the Sinai Peninsula, or maybe even, like Peter, have to eat some bacon wrapped lobster….
Wait… that’s what he said no to??
Yes… to prepare Peter to do something even more challenging, which for many silly reasons, objected to…
The other massive bunder… God responded to this way, Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.’
Peter learned the hard way, that God was in control, that He determined if something was clean or not, whether there was hope or not, and that God chose to whom He would offer salvation.
We don’t get to decide if people of this economic class, denomination, political affiliation or race, culture or ethnicity are saved or not… we get to rejoice in their salvation.
I want to repeat that, We don’t get to decide if people of this economic class, denomination, political affiliation or race, culture or ethnicity are saved or not… we get to rejoice in their salvation.
- The gift is for you and you and you..
And that is where God sends us, whether long term believers who are struggling and don’t quite “get” God…. Like Cornelius, who wanted to honor God, but because he didn’t know Jesus.
And we stop saying, “No, Lord.” Or “you can’t Lord – its against the rules…” and we see God at work. It’s amazing.
I didn’t know I would get three opportunities to encourage three women – my before, during and after nurses on Friday. All were related to pastors, a daughter, a wife and a sister. But all three needed encouragement from the bizarre pastor who they had to care for.
The same thing with the two funerals, both very different, both needed to hear God’s grace- one who had no idea of the peace of Christ, and one, they just needed to hear it again. Like the hymn, “I love to tell the story,” sometimes the ones longing to hear it are the ones who know it best.
You see we get to tell people the gift of God’s love is for them too! We will realize that just like Peter was called into Cornelius’ life to tell them “how you and everyone in your household can be saved!’”
That’s our job whether they are young or old, no matter rich or poor, beautiful or ugly, no matter the race, the ethnicity, the original nationality, or what language they speak.
And then, as we see God working in their lives, our own faith in God is strengthened as we realize those we might have thought beyond salvation have the Holy Spirit convicting them, and given them the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.
And as we see the harvest begin, we will rejoice with angels and archangels and all the host of heaven in the harvest. Amen!
The Vision of the Chalices: Thoughts on our Existence
Thoughts which carry me to Jesus, and to the cross!
“In all hard work there is profit, but merely talking about it only brings poverty.” (Proverbs 14:23, NET)
He found it easier to do what is perfect than to talk about it; so he was constantly active in showing his zeal and dedication in deeds, not in words, because words do not do what is good, they only point to it.
That is why we use we use matter in liturgy, explains Paul Evdokimov. “The final destiny of water is to participate in the mystery of the Epiphany; of wood, to become a cross; of the earth, to receive the body of the Lord during his rest on the Sabbath.… Olive oil and water attain their fullness as conductor elements for grace on regenerated man. Wheat and wine achieve their ultimate raison d’etre in the eucharistic chalice.
I am pretty sure it was a dream, (at least I hope it was!) but there were some chalices gathered together, having a discussion, which occasionally devolved into arguments about their reason for their existence. The odd thing, is that they all sat on a shelf, awaiting to be purchased, and none of them had actively served–they were all awaiting to be purchased and put to use. That didn’t stop them as seeing themselves as experts, of forming and aggressively sharing their theories and positions. They even formed a coaches and consultants guild for chalices’
One day, a chalice that should have been retired, for it was dented, and its gold faded, its ornate artwork rubbed down by decades in the hands of priests and pastors, came into the shop. The pastor asked if his old friend could be repaired, his gold polished if he could be restored.
There were more chalices there that day, as they were having a conference to vote on new rules for the creation, maintenance and use of chalices. Only the best were allowed to come, those that dedicated their lives to the study and teaching of chalice-ness. The old chalice listened in and smiled, and longed to be back in his parish, for it was there he was a chalice. It was there the joy of being the vessel containing Christ’s Blood was found, as broken people drank from Him, and found the healing God meant for them. It was there he was profitable, or in the old language, salutary.
He attempted to share this, but was shut out – too eccentric, to odd, and too dedicated to those ugly broken humans, who would wear him down, steal his luster and shine.
Hopefully you see the connection of this dream to the proverb, and the poverty of being “on the shelf” rather than in the hands. And St. Francis and the old chalice have much in common, as does the point of the destiny of water to be used in baptism, and wheat and wine in the sacrament. Of the wood of the manger and cross, and even the temporary use of the grave.
But do you see yourself in the dream? Are you the sort of Christian who just sit on a shelf, reading books on theology, evangelism, and how to be the church? Or are you like the old beaten up chalice which has lost its glorious shine, but filled with the completeness that is found in being who God called you to be, one of His people who was sent to continue Christ’s ministry to those who are broken,,,,
Don’t spend time thinking about it.
You know you are His, forgive, healing, children.
So live that way, and fulfill your ministry.
Pasquale, G., ed. (2011). Day by Day with Saint Francis: 365 Meditations (p. 104). New City Press.
Fagerberg, D. W. (2019). Liturgical Mysticism (pp. 134–135). Emmaus Academic.
A God Who Loves Inconvenience
Thoughts that drag me to Jesus, and to the Cross
“The sons of Abraham: Isaac and Ishmael. These were their descendants: Ishmael’s firstborn son was Nebaioth; the others were Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These were the sons of Ishmael.”…
“The sons of Esau: Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. The sons of Eliphaz: Teman, Omar, Zephi, Gatam, Kenaz, and (by Timna) Amalek. The sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah.” (1 Chronicles 1:28-31, 35–37, NET
“The voice spoke to him again, a second time, “What God has made clean, you must not consider ritually unclean!”” (Acts 10:15, NET)
I have known some who were interested in the deeper life, but began asking questions: “What will it cost me—in terms of time, in money, in effort, in the matter of my friendships?” Others ask of the Lord when He calls them to move forward: “Will it be safe?” This question comes out of our constant bleating about security and our everlasting desire for safety above all else.
A third question that we want Him to answer is: “Will it be convenient?”
As I read Chronicles this morning, I had to think about it as I read about Ishmael and Esau’s descendants. I mean, they were the guys that were to be forgotten about, the covenant of Abraham ran through their brothers families–not theirs. They should have been forgotten about, except to log their sin, for they were exiled, put out of the family of God.
They didn’t matter. They weren’t the chosen people.
So why are their names here? Why do we know of their descendants?
Why go to the hassle, the inconvenience of tracking them? Why should their names be in the Bible?
Think about this – this book is somewhere between 800-1000 years after them….
God didn’t forget them, nor the promises he made to their mothers and to Ishmael and Esau. While the promise of the Messiah, the Lord who would come was to be through the lineage of their brothers, there was something to remember…
Jesus was coming to save them all.
They weren’t inconvenient, they were part of the target, the focus, the reason for the cross. We, the people of God, are to seek and save their further descendants, just as God promised.
As I read this, I am beginning to take inventory of my own actions and thoughts. Who do I dare consider inconvenient, ministering to whom is not worth investing my time and heart in? Do I consider them not worth including in my story of my journey with God?’
If there are people, I need to repent…
Which is fine, because God can handle that, granting me forgiveness and changing my heart and mine – as the Spirit works within…
Maybe its time for us to reconsider who our church considers inconvenient, and then rejoice as we engage and help them know God wants them in His Book as well!
Tozer, A. W., & Smith, G. B. (2008). Mornings with Tozer: Daily Devotional Readings. Moody Publishers.
The Journey Home is Never Enough to Satisfy…
Thoughts which drive me to the Cross, and to Jesus
“Indeed, you are my shelter, a strong tower that protects me from the enemy. I will be a permanent guest in your home; I will find shelter in the protection of your wings. (Selah)” (Psalm 61:3–4, NET)
“Now the Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We saw his glory—the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth, who came from the Father. John testified about him and shouted out, “This one was the one about whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is greater than I am, because he existed before me.’ ”” (John 1:14–15, NET)
There is no sin in being on the pathway; the spiritualists are wrong. But there is a sin in loving our road instead of our home;
“[T]he ‘original’ sin is not primarily that man has ‘disobeyed’ God; the sin is that he ceased to be hungry for God and God alone.… The only real fall of man is his noneucharistic life in a noneucharistic world.”
This liturgical mysticism does something to the sacraments, too. If you taste and see, you will see that you have not tasted enough yet. The sacraments are not designed to fulfill our appetites, they are designed to increase those appetites.
First, a confession, I have become to lax in my spiritual diet! What was one day away because of distractions quickly became three, and then I find myself 15 days behind in my readings. God used it I think, because of out of a time to “catch up” I saw somethings in larger segments, and was blown away by reading more than a paged here and a page there.
In the last few years, I have lost a number of my early mentors. as they have died. The last time I saw one of them in person, he asked me and another pastor type how much we talked about heaven. As he aged, he became more and more aware of tendencies in the church to be focused on this life, and give no attention to eternity.
While we talk some about how to “get” to heaven, the work of Christ redeeming us, uniting us with iIs death and resurrection – we often don’t talk about why getting there is a good thing!
We have, to used the words of the quote in blue – fallen in love with the road home, and forgotten about the goal of the road is home. We’ve talked about overcoming the power of sin, and being forgiven, but forgotten the reason that is important – that it removes from us the barrier to getting home– from being in that refuge, that shelter of the Lord’s presence.
For in heaven we will dwell in the presence of God, we will exist in His glorious love which unites and will have healed every bit of us that was broken, We will know a peace that is not just an absence of conflict, but pure serenity….of knowing the greatest comfort, of being welcome, of being home.
That is the eucharistic world, the world of thanksgiving that comes from God re-uniting us to Himself through Christ. It is what the sacrament hint at, give a momentary experience or taste of, causing us to want more, not because of the physical act, but because of what is experienced in that moment of communion between God and His people.
I want more of that… I know WE need more of that…To help us endure the road, and keep focused on the destination. To live lives that are based on on hope–not that the road will be easy or smooth- but that the destination is Home.
Home with our Father… and the Son, and all of the Family of God.
May our appetites and desires grow for that moment… and may our time contemplating the gospel and receiving the sacraments cause that desire to be unquenchable…
Fagerberg, D. W. (2019). Liturgical Mysticism (p. 107). Emmaus Academic.
Fagerberg, D. W. (2019). Liturgical Mysticism (p. 110). Emmaus Academic.
Fagerberg, D. W. (2019). Liturgical Mysticism (p. 115). Emmaus Academic.
How to Not Become a Legalist…
Thoughts which carry this broken pastor to Jesus, and to The Cross
“‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me, and they worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”” (Matthew 15:8–9, NET)
“My child, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for they will provide a long and full life, and they will add well-being to you.” (Proverbs 3:1–2, NET)
Indeed, in this great and awesome mystery of the cross, the charisms of graces, the merits of virtue, and the treasures of wisdom and of knowledge are concealed in such profound depths as to be hidden from the wise and the prudent of this world. But it is revealed in such fullness to the little one of Christ, that in his whole life he followed nothing except the footsteps of the cross, he tasted nothing except the sweetness of the cross, and he preached nothing except the glory of the cross. In the beginning of his conversion he could truly say with the Apostle: Far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ [Gal 6:14].
“Belief is always consequent upon the encounter with the Source of the grace of faith. Therefore Christians do not worship because they believe. They believe because the One in whose gift faith lies is regularly met in the act of communal worship—not because the assembly conjures up God, but because the initiative lies with the God who has promised to be there always.
As I read the quote from Matthew, my heart and mind wanted to weaponise it, it pointed out those I encounter who have created “laws of men” regarding the Liturgy, or regarding the “viability” of small churches, or any of a thousand other pet peeves I would outlaw.
And then it hit me, I was creating my own set of laws. I was as guilty as those I judge! (I might justify myself – but even so…) I know I have this ability, it is part of my make-up, part of my humanity, part of my personal warping of justice and righteousness. As I realize that, it sucks out of me some of the harsh judgment and wrath I want to spill out.
I want to focus, as Proverbs advises, on the commandments of God, to not forget what God teaches us, to treasure (the root word of keep) the commandments, and the relationship defined by the Covenant God has made with us.
But I don’t alway do that – and I have to try… but how?
Francis provides the simplistic attitude, to focus on the cross, to walk towards it, to savor it as we would a good meal, to be so enraptured by the cross, that nothing else, I realize, is worth my time – save connecting others to it.
It is at that cross that I encounter my Jesus, that I start to experience His love in all its vast dimension-less measure. It is there in the cross I find hope, I find a reason to have faith and depend on God, it is there I find the healing from the brokenness that dominates my life.
It is there I find the grace to deal with other broken Pharisees, Saducees, God-deniers, and unbelievers.
It is there that I encounter the God whom I will worship – and then learn to more about the God who loves me enough to invade my brokenness, and carry me to the cross, to rise with Him…
God is with us, here at the Cross, this is where we learn to live and worship, and know the Lord who loves us!
Pasquale, G., ed. (2011). Day by Day with Saint Francis: 365 Meditations (p. 332). New City Press.
Fagerberg, D. W. (2019). Liturgical Mysticism (p. 7). Emmaus Academic.
