Category Archives: st josemaria escriva
He’s a Bit Possessive…
Thoughts which carry me to Jesus, on the cross
“However, God’s solid foundation remains standing, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” ”” (2 Timothy 2:19a, NET)
Many of us are interested in walking with God and pleasing God and resting in the promises of God. We have discovered that such a life on this earth begins with a complete change in relationship between God and the sinner; a conscious and experienced change affecting the sinner’s whole nature.
Preaching—the preaching of Christ crucified—is the word of God. Priests need to prepare themselves as best they can before carrying out such a divine ministry, the aim of which is the salvation of souls. Lay people should listen with very special respect.
St. Josemaria makes a bold and very accurate statement – that preaching only happens when Christ is shown to be crucified. That is what preaching is, the revelation of God’s love for us, shown in the death of Christ. (he would have gotten extra points if he had tied out baptism to it, for there we die with Christ that we may live with God forever!)
This cross is the foundation for who we are, it is the basis for our knowing we are his. Our baptism, in the God’s name, is where He marks us HIs own. It is no coincidence we make the mark of the cross over the person’s head and heart as we baptize them on God’s behalf, as as noted, in His name. It is that name that seals us to Him, that marks us indelibly as his
It is that promise that begins our walk with Him, as we have been born again, as we have been risen with Him, a new creation. The relationship changes, as we become His born again children, friend of Jesus, as we become part of the community, the family.
That is why preach has to be the proclamation of Christ crucified – for us. It is the reason we have hope, it is point of union with our incredible God.
Who is, more than a bit possessive of us, why He is a jealous God, and why the first commandment is that we can have no other God, but Him.
We are His… sealed into this relationship in Baptism.
AMEN!
Tozer, A. W., & Smith, G. B. (2008). Mornings with Tozer: Daily Devotional Readings. Moody Publishers.
Escrivá, Josemaría. The Forge (p. 200). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
The Other Plans of God for you… from Jeremiah 18
Thoughts which carry me, kicking and screaming, to Jesus, and to the Cross..
“But if that nation does what displeases me and does not obey me, then I will cancel the good I promised to do to it. So now, tell the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem this: The LORD says, ‘I am preparing to bring disaster on you! I am making plans to punish you. So, every one of you, stop the evil things you have been doing. Correct the way you have been living and do what is right.’But they just keep saying, ‘We do not care what you say! We will do whatever we want to do! We will continue to behave wickedly and stubbornly!’ ”” (Jeremiah 18:10–12, NET)
952 A disciple of Christ can never think as follows: “I try to be good; as for others, if that’s what they want… let them go to hell.” Such an attitude is not human. Nor is it in keeping with the love of God, or with the charity we owe our neighbour.
Without a doubt the most quoted verse from Jeremiah is found in 29:11, “I know what I have planned for you,’ says the LORD. ‘I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you a future filled with hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11, NET) I have heard it used at ordinations and church plants, at weddings and even as a motivational verse for sports teams. I have heard people share it with others going through hard times, as if the plans they think God has in mind start right now, changing trauma into joy, because everything is going to work out, not ust fine, but perfectly! (and of course, we want to be in change of determining what the perfect life style is!)
The problem is that those plans in 29 aren’t the only plan God laid out for His people. And if we are going to trust him to fulfill 29:11, then we need to look carefully at the other plans Jeremiah lays out – like those in my devotion today, “I am making plans to punish you. So, every one of you, stop the evil things you have been doing.”
Gulp! It is going to take some work to see these plans as compatible, to welcome Jeremiah 18 and let it bring us the same comfort and peace tat 29 does. For scripture has to be consistent, so, somehow these plans must be compatible! If they are, we have to look forward to the one as much as the other. But how can we do so?
How can we look forward to plans which would punish us, that would cause us to seek the Spirit, and the gift of repentance? For only if God is using these plans to call back His people, that would get their attention so that they could realize the futility of their lives.
To not punish, that would be far more harmful. To not call us into the repentance He offers, that would be the most violent thing God could do.
This attitude of God needs to infect our lives as well.
We need to carefully love our neighbor, loving them enough to work for their salvation, caring and loving them enough to do whatever is possible to see them in heaven, and see them sent to hell. St. Josemaria is correct – it neither living and loving God or loving our neighbor to just write them off.
This is who we are becoming in Christ.
AMEN!
Escrivá, Josemaría. The Forge (pp. 197-198). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
The Need for Reverent Worship….and the Challenge of Guiding it….
Thoughts which carry me to Jesus, and to the Cross…
“The people were delighted with their donations, for they contributed to the LORD with a willing attitude; King David was also very happy.” (1 Chronicles 29:9, NET)
““But who am I and who are my people, that we should be in a position to contribute this much? Indeed, everything comes from you, and we have simply given back to you what is yours.For we are resident foreigners and nomads in your presence, like all our ancestors; our days are like a shadow on the earth, without security.O LORD our God, all this wealth, which we have collected to build a temple for you to honor your holy name, comes from you; it all belongs to you.” (1 Chronicles 29:14–16, NET)
53 Servite Domino in laetitia!—I will serve God cheerfully. With a cheerfulness that is a consequence of my Faith, of my Hope and of my Love—and that will last for ever. For, as the Apostle assures us, Dominus prope est!…—the Lord follows me closely. I shall walk with Him, therefore, quite confidently, for the Lord is my Father, and with his help I shall fulfil his most lovable Will, even if I find it hard.
I have been doing a lot of thinking recently about the idea of reverence in life and in a life of worship. (see Romans 12:1-3 – worship is far more the Sunday Morning!) It goes along with my version of the ancient rule that how we worship/pray determines how we depend on God, which determines how we live. (Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi is the old phrase.
With that floating around in the back of my mind, my readings this morning included David’s provision for the Temple. He made all the arrangements, he subsidized most of it out of personal wealth, then he realized he needed to share that opportunity with others. This is all the vivendi part of the concept, the way in which they lived out living in the grace of the God whom they worshipped.
You see it in the embracing of difficulty, cheerfully, that St. Josemaria describes! Joy that is a consequence, he teaches, of the faith, hope and love he receives from the Lord. It is the same joy and attitude describes there in Chronicles, a joy that comes from realizing all that we have is from God. it all belongs to Him.
This to me is the core of reverence then, the attitude towards God that is found as we contemplate and live, reflecting the joy that comes from realizing how He comes and blesses us! I would say you have to experience that joy before reverence develops–but that means reverence has to come out of the joy of being blessed by God.
One might even say that reverence then is the reaction to the grace of God. It can be quiet and in awe, it can be loud as full of joy as when singing Handel’s Messiah. But as a reaction it needs to be natural, not forced. It may be shaped by cultural norm, or what is available in the language of the one God has given the gifts of faith, repentance and deliverance to, as they express their awe. And certainly their attitude toward the deliverance itself matters, someone who knows the depth of their sin maybe more enthusiastic than one who considers themselves less of a sinner, or just a normal sinner.
As an example – a stoic person from Finland, who grew up in a family that loved them, but no one spoke of it, would respond reverently different than a family from Jamaica–neither group wrong in their reverent worship – but surely different! Forcing the Finns to worship in a manner reverent to the steel drums and even dancing of the Jamaican would be awkward, the same as forcing the Finn to smile and laugh would cause them so much stress, they couldn’t focus on the God who delivered them from sin, and Satan and an eternity in Hell.
So what do you do in a multi-cultural, multi-lingual, multi expression of joy and reverence community? How do you facilitate and encourage reverence? I believe the key is not focusing on the vivendi, but rather on the reason for worship/prayer. To focus on the gifts of God, being given to the people of God, . This requires making it clear that we should respect each other in their way of celebrating the presence of God, but not dwelling ther, but immediately returning to the fact that the Lord is good, He is with us, and He gives himself to us.
With the focus on Jesus, and the work of God in us, the response will happen, it will be natural, and it will be reverent….for it is only a response.
Escrivá, Josemaría. Furrow (p. 23). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Can a Lutheran (Or Catholic or Presbyterian or) Pray for Revival?
Concordia Lutheran Church – Cerritos, Ca , at dawn on Easter Sunday
Thoughts which carry me to Jesus, and to the Cross
““So I will set apart as holy the tent of meeting and the altar, and I will set apart as holy Aaron and his sons, that they may minister as priests to me. I will reside among the Israelites, and I will be their God, and they will know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out from the land of Egypt, so that I may reside among them. I am the LORD their God.” (Exodus 29:44–46, NET)
544 The Communion of the Saints. How shall I explain it to you? You know what blood transfusions can do for the body? Well, that’s what the Communion of the Saints does for the soul.
I don’t know why I felt the need to write on revival this morning, and to be honest, I didn’t see the connection at first in my devotional readings. The seem as far from the concept of revival as the horizon seems to the sailor in the Pacific Ocean.
What great thoughts ar expressed in them though! The idea that God’s reason, His “so that” for the Exodus, was not just so they could recognize Him, but that He could reside, that He could dwell with us! And as He does this community that is formed with Him in Him and through Him becomes the place of the transfusion, as the trust in God that sustains this saint becomes common to that one. Where the hope of that little group becomes the hope for all, as we are reminded of the Lord’s presence,
And as I long for those thoughts to become reality at Concordia – I realized what I was longing for was the result of revival–it is the end game result, the people of God knowing the love of God for man that enables us, no that compels us to share the life we’ve been given.
All the rest that goes with revival, from the repentance of people who have learned to grieve over their and their communities’ sins, to the flood of new music, to the care for those who are widowed and orphaned and who have immigrated to the community, are complimentary and caused by the people of God dwelling in His presence, communing together, as they are made God’s.
But it is the communion, the community of God and man (all of us) that is the goal. Not the change in morality, though that will happen, nor is it about filling every church and planting thousands of others-thought this will happen as well. It’s not about political agendas, or denominational superiority. It is even about the signs and wonders that happen…..
Revival is simple- it is about people rejoicing in the presence of a loving God as He cares for us.
And this we can all pray…even as the psalmist did:
6 Won’t you revive us again, so your people can rejoice in you? 7 Show us your unfailing love, O LORD, and grant us your salvation.
Psalm 85:6-7 (NLT2)
Escrivá, Josemaría. The Way (p. 117). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Who Am I? How Do I Define Myself, Even As I Age…and Change More…
Thoughts which carry me to Jesus, and to the Cross…
“LORD, answer me quickly, because I am getting weak. Don’t turn away from me, or I will be like those who are dead. Tell me in the morning about your love, because I trust you. Show me what I should do, because my prayers go up to you.” (Psalm 143:7–8, NCV)
LORD, I know Thou livest, And dost plead for me; Make me very thankful In my prayer to Thee. Soon I hope in glory At Thy side to stand; Make me fit to meet Thee In that happy land. Amen.
It is what I have repeatedly called “mystical wishful thinking,” made up of useless daydreams and empty ideals: If only I hadn’t married, if only I did not have this job, if only I had better health, or was younger, or had more time! Like everything valuable the solution is costly. It lies in the search for the true center of human life, which can give priority, order, and meaning to everything. We find this center in our relations with God by means of a genuine interior life. By making Christ the center of our lives, we discover the meaning of the mission he has entrusted to us. We have a human ideal that becomes divine. New horizons of hope open up in our life, and we come to the point of sacrificing willingly, not just this or that aspect of our activity, but our whole life, thus giving it, paradoxically, its deepest fulfillment. The problem you pose is not confined to women. At some time or other, many men experience the same sort of thing, with slightly different characteristics. The source of the trouble is usually the same—lack of a high ideal that can only be discovered with God’s light.
I am a pastor, a husband, a father, a musician (if a below average/average one), and several other roles, some are interesting, some are frightening, some are…amazing.
But I am getting to the age where some of these will change–some more dramatically than others. As I approach 60, and have considerable health issues, I note that my fingers don’t scale the keyboard or the strings with the same agility that was once there. It takes longer to recover, longer to process deeper thoughts, longer even to get up from the commode! (Okay – my sense of humor is deteriorating as well!) Doctors tell me scary things about the future, and friends remind me that the past is even further in the mirror than it appears!
It’s not the first time I’ve faced major changes in life. After a cardiac arrest and a double heart valve replacement things and activities which helped define who I am disappeared in life. There have been positive changes as well–entering the ministry, completing my Ph.D. in Liturgical Worship and Pastoral Care, taking on roles in my church brotherhood.
Change is difficult. I didn’t like it then, I am sure I will struggle with it in the years to come. Especially as the weakness the Psalmist mentions approaches. There are moments like he mentions, where without the influence of God in my world, death would seem a likely reality, if not a preferable one. Not that I live with a death wish, and I haven’t bought a motorcycle… but life’s value seems to be limited to far less than it once was.
I go thorough Josemaria’s wishful thinking, if only I didn’t have scoliosis, or congestive heart failure, if only I had more energy, and could process things as I think I once did. I have 10,000 “if only’s”, and 10 times that a desire to find that which is my life, that which helps me live it with the right priorities and an undeniable meaning to life.
My first church had a great, simple slogan, “teaching Christ-centered living!” That is what the people wanted form their pastor, and we struggled wiht it together. My present church another awesome one, as we strive to be a place where “people find healing and hope in Jesus, while helping others heal!” That is where we find the fulfillment of our community, in those two simple statements. It is also, with a little diversity, where we individually find our meaning, our priorities (I don’t like finding order that much!) and our lives.
In this intimate relationship with Jesus, which leads to an intimate relationship with God our Father, as the Holy Spirit brings us to life from the spiritual death we know all to well without Him. This is the work of God in our lives as individuals, and as a community of faith. It is the work we share with Him in that community, even as we look forward to the answer to Loehe’s prayer — as we come to the fulfillment of our hope to stand at God’s side, for Jesus has died, and risen, to make us fit to meet Him there.
To realize that prayer was one Loehe advocated teaching, not to the infirm, but to children is mind-blowing – for they would live their lives praying it, knowing that soon (by God’s standards!) we would be home with Him. That is the answer, that is what needs to be reinforced, as Jesus reminds us of His presence and love every morning…
This is what defines me, far more than my name, my ancestory, my political beliefs, my myriad of roles in life. It should define you as well, and if you can’t see it yet, let’s talk…. for He loves you–and you need to know that!
Lœhe, W. (1914). Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians (H. A. Weller, Trans.; p. 604). Wartburg Publishing House.
Escrivá, Josemaría. Conversations with Saint Josemaria Escriva . Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Obedience: I Don’t Think This Word Means What You Think It Means!
Thoughts which carry this broken believer to Jesus, and to the cross:
“Then the LORD spoke his word to Jeremiah: “This is what the LORD All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: Jeremiah, go and tell the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem: ‘You should learn a lesson and obey my message,’ says the LORD. ‘Jonadab son of Recab ordered his descendants not to drink wine, and that command has been obeyed. Until today they have obeyed their ancestor’s command; they do not drink wine. But I, the LORD, have given you messages again and again, but you did not obey me. I sent all my servants the prophets to you again and again, saying, “Each of you must stop doing evil. You must change and be good. Do not follow other gods to serve them. If you obey me, you will live in the land I have given to you and your ancestors.” But you have not listened to me or paid attention to my message. The descendants of Jonadab son of Recab obeyed the commands their ancestor gave them, but the people of Judah have not obeyed me.’” (Jeremiah 35:12–16, NCV)
“LORD, your word is everlasting; it continues forever in heaven. Your loyalty will go on and on; you made the earth, and it still stands. All things continue to this day because of your laws, because all things serve you. If I had not loved your teachings, I would have died from my sufferings.” (Psalm 119:89–92, NCV)
It is of design that the apostle does not term the two dispensations “law” and “gospel,” but names them according to the respective effects produced. For it is impossible to keep the law without Christ, though man may, for the sake of honor or property, or from fear of punishment, feign outward holiness. The heart which does not discern God’s grace in Christ cannot turn to God, nor trust in him; it cannot love his commandments and delight in them, but rather resists them.
As I said before, we have merited nothing. Before God called us, there was nothing more than personal wretchedness. Let us realize that the lights shining in our soul (faith), the love wherewith we love (charity), and the desire sustaining us (hope) are all free gifts from God. Were we not to grow in humility, we would soon lose sight of the reason for our having been chosen by God: personal sanctity. If we are humble, we can understand all the marvel of our divine vocation. The hand of Christ has snatched us from a wheat field; the sower squeezes the handful of wheat in his wounded palm. The blood of Christ bathes the seed, soaking it. Then the Lord tosses the wheat to the winds, so that in dying it becomes life and in sinking into the ground it multiplies itself.
As I have meandered through the various parts of God’s church, I have often been encouraged to “obey” God.
Sometimes, I have wondered whether the goal was to live like Christ, or to live within the expectations of those who were encouraging/demanding submission and obedience. Let me be clear, I am not just talking about legalists on one side of the church. Those that want to control behavior exist on both sides. And many of them, are truly sincere, even as they lack the patience and grace that I need to develop the life they have desired.
But more than once, this demand for obedience left me shattered–absolutely convinced that I would never be holy enough to meet the standards they (and therefore?) and God set in my life. It made me wonder about even going to church, never mind being a shepherd of God’s people.
But Biblical obedience isn’t about trying to re-create myself into a clone of Jesus. The words for “obey” come from two words in both Hebrew and Greek. The first concept is to hear- to perceive a message in the sound made, and to give it attention, and the concept of letting those words mold one’s life is inherent in them. The second concept is to treasure something (for example – the Great commission includes the idea to “treasure what I have commissioned/established.)
You see this in Jeremiah’s prophetic message to Israel, as they refuse to hear and act within the guidelines of the relationship established. They won’t have it, they won’t listen! They will, as Luther points out, pretend they are holy, for a variety of reasons–and then take it s a step further–and make others “fake it til they make it.” This gets us nowhere, except for feeling like a failure, hating our failures, and knowing how empty our lives are…
The descendants had a different look to them. They treasured their ancestor’s words, they heard them, and they gave up having homes and pleasure, iin response to the wisdom and love they knew. This is what the Psalmist so clearly points out, over and over in Psalm 119. The very words, the teachings are loved, because they point the psalmist to what life is. (Remember why in John 6 Peter and the 12 don’t leave is because Jesus has the words of life?) All of this revealed about God, including His presence, becomes our priceless treasure. What we hear promises real life, promises real hope, comforts and lifts us up.
That is what St. Josemaria describes, as we are given a life we don’t merit, that we don’t deserve. God does all this work inside us, as He promised in His word, and the more we hear it, the more the blood of Christ forgives, reconciles us to the Father and restores us, the more we treasure it, the more we love Him, the more we realize His role in our lives is not something distant, but is concrete and real.
It is our reality now.
Treasuring it shapes us, as the potter shapes the clay, and obedience becomes natural, the default way of life. For we are able to love because we are loved, we can have faith in God, because He is revealed to be completely dependable.
This is true obedience, not some sacrifice given to placate God, or those who claim to represent Him. This is love…reflected back opn the One who loved us from the beginning.
Hear Him, treasure His words…
—–
Luther, Martin, and John Sander. 1915. Devotional Readings from Luther’s Works for Every Day of the Year. Rock Island, IL: Augustana Book Concern.
Escrivá, Josemaría. Christ is Passing By (p. 21). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
How to Stop the Decline of the Church in Post-modern (Post-Christian?) Culture
Thoughts which carry this broken Christian to Jesus, and to the Cross:
“The teaching I gave you is the same teaching I received from the Lord: On the night when the Lord Jesus was handed over to be killed, he took bread and gave thanks for it. Then he broke the bread and said, “This is my body; it is for you. Do this to remember me.” In the same way, after they ate, Jesus took the cup. He said, “This cup is the new agreement that is sealed with the blood of my death. When you drink this, do it to remember me.” Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup you are telling others about the Lord’s death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:23–26, NCV)
40 In Dr. Luther’s Small Catechism we read: “I believe that by my own reason or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him. But the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, and sanctified and preserved me in true faith, just as he calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth and preserves it in union with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.”
For the children who are here brought to Thee in holy baptism, we pray Thee, maintain them mightily in Thy covenant of grace. For their elders we pray: grant them true repentance and, by Thy grace, grant them true absolution from sin; and, cause them to receive the most holy Sacrament of the true body and blood of Christ unto the renewal of their oppressed souls, and the strengthening of their weak faith.
If the sacraments are abandoned, genuine Christian life disappears. Yet we should realize that particularly today there are many people who seem to forget about the sacraments and who even scorn this redeeming flow of Christ’s grace. It is painful to have to speak of this sore in a so-called Christian society, but we must do so for it will encourage us to approach these sources of sanctification more gratefully and more lovingly.
The decline of the church in America is a grievous fact, whether we talk about any denomination or the church as a whole. Seminaries have been in decline, though some like to rejoice that the rate of decline is descreasing. It is still in decline, which means as Boomer pastors finally retire, there won’t be enough, for there are few of us GenX pastors, and we need thousands of pastors in the future. (not to mention church musicians, youth workers, teachers, etc.
I think this is not a theological issue, nor is an issue of worship style and practice–as we consider traditional versus contemporary, liturgical versus less structured worship. I think the issue has to do with the fact we are robbing our churches of the great comfort and enlightenment found in the sacraments, especially the sacraments of Baptism, Confession and Absolution and the Eucharist (aka the Lord’s Supper/Communion)
I think I am not alone in this, as I saw in my readings this morning. Luther, Loehe’s prayer and St Josemaria all note the critical importance of these sacraments. Their reasoning is far more pragmatic than it is abstract.
Luther notes that in these gifts, the Holy Spirit enlightens His people–the whole Christian Church–as they see God at work in their lives. There is something about seeing God’s work revealed in our hearts, souls and minds that is amazing, that should be treasured. Not because of our role in a pietistic ritual, but because of God making sure His promise to us, in a tangible way that we can depend upon in the crazy broken world.
Loehe’s prayer likewise keeps a focus there, that we beg God to help us all stay in the covenant we enter in baptism. This isn’t just a thought, the statistics on who was baptized prior to 18 and still are in the church at 30 are a grievous tragedy. The same for the prayer for those of us who are older, as we need to hear we are absolved and forgiven of our sin, and we need to have our souls, so oppressed by the world, renewed. Some might declare their faith is not weak, and therefore this passage doesn’t apply. To them I ask what faith is, is it knowledge you can defend on Twitter. Faith is being sure we can depend on God for the healing of our brokenness that will find its completion when Christ returns. And that kind of faith is nourished at the altar, it is put in our hands as we eat and drink His body and His blood.
We need this enlightenment; we need this renewal (or my preferred word – healing); we need our faith empowered. St. Josemaria see this, as he grieves–almost 100 years ago–at the possibility of the sacraments being abandoned. Either removed from the service–or making them less that the sermon or the prayers, and never re-instructing people as to their use – to provide this comfort, to provide peace, to assure people that God is with them, working with great intent and diligence in their lives. To remove the sacraments, to even diminish their importance, removes one of the marks of the church, part of the means of grace, and it weakens what should be our refuge.
It is our refuge, not because the buildings were built with human hands, but because God has put His name there, for us to be able to locate Him, for us to be able to interact with Him, for us to receive His gifts and the promises He would pour out on us. So we who lead need to make sure our people realize those promises, and the presence of God who would bless us….
As people learn to treasure God and His gifts, and they realize there is no limit, then they will share them, and then others will desire to distribute them… and help people find what they need!
——
“The Formula of Concord: The Solid Declaration: Free Will or Human Powers” Tappert, Theodore G., ed. 1959. The Book of Concord, the Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Philadelphia: Mühlenberg Press.
Lœhe, William. 1914. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Translated by H. A. Weller. Chicago: Wartburg Publishing House.
Escrivá, Josemaría. Christ is Passing By (p. 123). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
The God Who Comes to Us
Thoughts the carry me to Jesus, and to the Cross….
“LORD, show me your love, and save me as you have promised.” (Psalm 119:41, NCV)
“God did not choose us to suffer his anger but to have salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus died for us so that we can live together with him, whether we are alive or dead when he comes. So encourage each other and give each other strength, just as you are doing now.” (1 Thessalonians 5:9–11, NCV)
Come Thou Thyself, with Thine angels, into our temples and homes, as once Thou camest unto Abraham and Sarah. Let them accompany us upon all our ways and journeyings as they did unto Tobias. Let them save us from dangers and death, even as they saved the three men in the fiery furnace, a Daniel from the mouths of the lions, and a Peter from prison bonds. When we go upon paths of unrighteousness, cause them to hinder us, as they once hindered Balaam.
321 Apostolic soul, that intimacy between Jesus and you—so close to him for so many years! Doesn’t it mean anything to you?
As I think about my devotional time this morning, interrupted as it was, I have to start with St. Josemaria’s words,
What does the intimacy I have with God mean? Or as St. Paul points out, we were chosen, not to receive the wrath that is hell, or the reward of a paradise of our choosing (which I would argue is hell,) but to live with Him together. The intimacy that is described in Loehe’s prayer, the confidence that God will be with us in and through every trauma, leads us to be assured of our eternal home–with Him.
It is that confidence in God’s promise that can lead us with the Psalmist to cry out for help to beg for God to show us our love, whether it is to save us from our sin, or to save us from whatever life is throwing at us–again see Loehe the Lutheran trainer of pastors, who documents this in his prayer.
This is what will sustain us, what will empower us, what brings us to where we can serve the Lord our God. To know Him now, to be aware of His presence, to rejoice in His revealing us to himself, both generally in HIs creation and specifically, in great detail in the scriptures–this is that intimacy, to commune as we partake of Bread and Wine, Body and Blood, to know the presence of His Holy Spirit–this is what makes the difference.
Even when He or His angels have to hinder us from some horrendous sin, as the ange; did to Balaam.
This is our God – who loves us, who responds to our cries for help- to our cries for proof of His love.. who planned on it, well before the cross,
He is with us!
———-
Lœhe, William. 1914. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Translated by H. A. Weller. Chicago: Wartburg Publishing House.
Escrivá, Josemaría. The Way (p. 54). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Should I Want to Please People? The Answer is surprising…
Thoughts which drive me to the crucified Christ….
31 The answer is, if you eat or drink, or if you do anything, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Never do anything that might hurt others—Jews, Greeks, or God’s church—33 just as I, also, try to please everybody in every way. I am not trying to do what is good for me but what is good for most people so they can be saved.
11 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. 1 Co 10:31–11:1. NCV
Sovereign Love is found only in charity; the love of hope is imperfect, and consists more of feeling than fact, without charity; yet as a motive power nothing can exceed hope, and therefore we say that through hope we love God supremely.
321 Apostolic soul, that intimacy between Jesus and you—so close to him for so many years! Doesn’t it mean anything to you?
I read a different Bible translation every year for a reason, I want to do more than just read it, I want things to strike me differently, to challenge me, to gnaw at my brain until it burrows into my heart.
Today is one of those days, and it was caused by Paul’s advice that we are to imitate him by pleasing everybody in every way. I had to admit, this struck me odd, so I went back to my old familiar translations, NLT, NJB, NKJV even the old KJV, and all of them had the same concept… we are to please every body.
That sounds so contrary to how I’ve been taught to minister to people! We are supposed to do what is right, not what makes everyone happy! When we preach, when we plan worship, when we are counseling them regarding sin and trauma, I’ve heard that from pastors and professors for years, especially in regards to worship practices.
I think the anxiety rises because we equate people pleasing with compromise, and that leads us to think we would compromise something important, like the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus which was accomplished to join us to Himself by erasing our sin. I have heard such conversations about those who want to appease those in their church by honoring traditions, and by those who want to offend them in order to “please” others.
I think please them is less about compromise than we think – it is about making people comfortable in the presence of God, removing the stumbling blocks that distract them from resting in the presence of God. Think abut a hot day, where you are working hard outside, and someone offers you a cold soda just as you finish your work. That can be a moment where you are pleased, where nothing stops you from taking a deep breath and being satisfied with the day.
It is that kind of moment of intimacy with God, the assurance that He is with them, that being pleased is all about. That allows the anxiety and tension, the stress and overwhelming emotional overload to be vented, and to leace us in a moment of bliss, in a moment where salvation is recognized and rejoiced in, even if just a quietly said, AMEN! (meaning “this is real and true)
The desire for people to come to those moments is what Josemaria is talking about, as he addresses those who want to save the world. For it is those moments of intimacy with God, those moments that should mean everything to us…that should fuel our apostolate (Roman Catholic term – some contemporary protestants would say our missional attitude.) It is that which fuels the hope that brings us to God who gives us that hope, and helps us to realize how meaningless life is without it.
That is the core of evangelism – and what would lift people up and give them more pleasure than they’ve ever experienced, to know by experiencing it– the height, depth, breadth and width of God’s love for them, revealed in Christ. And the more we realize that pleasure, that joy, the more dominant giving it to others becomes….
Of the Love of God. Translated by H. L. Sidney Lear, Rivingtons, 1888, p. 79.
Escrivá, Josemaría. The Way (p. 54). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
How We Need to Talk About Baptism
Thoughts which force me to Jesus, and to the Cross,
3 Did you forget that all of us became part of Christ when we were baptized? We shared his death in our baptism. 4 When we were baptized, we were buried with Christ and shared his death. So, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the wonderful power of the Father, we also can live a new life.
5 Christ died, and we have been joined with him by dying too. So we will also be joined with him by rising from the dead as he did. 6 We know that our old life died with Christ on the cross so that our sinful selves would have no power over us and we would not be slaves to sin. 7 Anyone who has died is made free from sin’s control. Ro 6:3–7.NCV
Hide me within Thyself, that my will subject itself entirely unto Thee, and I be freed from the dominion of self and of every other creature. Let me not be wholly possessed of mine own nature. Grant that the thirst for temporal things be quenched in my heart. Uproot all self-love and selfish desires. Banish all hatred and jealousy, and cut off passion and my attachment to the things of this world. Gather my soul unto Thee and preserve in me a pure and peaceful conscience. Glory, praise, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.
A Christian knows that he is grafted onto Christ through Baptism. He is empowered to fight for Christ through Confirmation, called to act in the world sharing the royal, prophetic, and priestly role of Christ. He has become one and the same thing with Christ through the Eucharist, the sacrament of unity and love. And so, like Christ, he has to live for other men, loving each and every one around him and indeed all humanity.
Yesterday, my devotions forced me to take a different angle at the Lord’s Supper, today, similarly, the readings are leading me towards baptism, not toward the theology of it, or the mode and method, but to the effect of the sacrament. How this act which God ordains and uses, transforms our life as promised. Like the Lord’s Supper, the comfort given to us, as the presence of God is manifested, is something we need–desperately need. By understanding what has been done to us, the transformation began in us.
The more we understand this effect, the more we can meditate on the wonderful work of Jesus, the more we heal.
So let’s start with Josemaria’s words, and how he explains that we are grafted onto Christ, that it transforms us to sharing in the very ministry (and eventually the glory) of Christ Jesus. Confirming that faith (setting aside whether it is a sacrament or simply a sacramental ) and nourishing the relationship not only unties us with Jesus, but with all He came to save! That is the very discussion that Paul shared in Romans – as we die with Christ and experience the life of being born again–even as Christ was raised from the dead. The effect of the grace promised in Baptism is that we live a new life! We are born again, and united with Christ Jesus!
It is the realization of this that Loehe prayed for– for every plea he utters is fulfilled by the promises of baptism! That is where the transformation that has begun as we united to Christ in this new life. Our heart and soul are transformed, a transformation it takes time to learn to live in-but that transformation–but it is happening! That is why Loehe prays, so He can be assured that the promises are indeed his–a gift from the God who loves him.
We have to understand these blessings prior to getting into the mechanics of a sacrament, before trying to create hypothesis to explain the mysteries, before discussing anything-we have to know why God instituted this means of grace. We have to know the promises! The other discussions take form after, including us recognizing we don’t have all the answers – we have the command to do this, and the reason why…. to bring comfort and peace to those God wants to call His children.
Lœhe, William. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Translated by H. A. Weller, Wartburg Publishing House, 1914, p. 391.
Escrivá, Josemaría. Christ is Passing By (p. 159). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
