Life’s Unfair I Cry… and then realize I am glad for that…
Thoughts which carry me to Jesus, and the Cross
“For this reason the sovereign master himself will give you a confirming sign. Look, this young woman is about to conceive and will give birth to a son. You, young woman, will name him Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14, NET)
When they arrived in the Spoleto valley, going back to their holy proposal, they began to discuss whether they should live among the people or go off to solitary places. But Christ’s servant Francis, putting his trust in neither his own efforts nor in theirs, sought the pleasure of the divine will in this matter by the fervor of prayer. Enlightened by a revelation from heaven, he realized that he was sent by the Lord to win for Christ the souls which the devil was trying to snatch away. Therefore he chose to live for everyone rather than for himself alone, drawn by the example of the one who deigned to die for all.
You stir us so that praising you may bring us joy, because you have made us and drawn us to yourself, and our heart is unquiet until it rests in you.
Christians who understand the true meaning of Christ’s cross will never whine about being treated unfairly. Whether or not they are given fair treatment will never enter their heads. They know they have been called to follow Christ, and certainly the Savior did not receive anything approaching fair treatment from mankind.
In language the word “unfair” seems altogether innocent but it indicates an inner attitude that has no place among Christians.
It’s ironic that one one the most evil rulers in all of history had the opportunity to receive any blessing he desired. ALl he had tro do was ask, and God would have granted it, to prove that he was trustworthy. And despite the king’s refusal, God provided him a sign, the birth of the Messiah, All to prove what is contained in the name of the Child provided.
Immanuel – “God is with you!”
It’s something we should never tired of hearing.
Even when we are as obstinate as the King of Israel, or as evil as his wife. God is at work, stirring us, trying to awe us with His love, that we might fins the peace we so desperately need, so our heart can rest from the “unquiet”
And from there, even as we desire more peace and rest, like Francis, we find at the end of our prayers a desire to live fro others. We learn to stop whining about what is fair or cry out for justice for our sake. For it wasn’t fair for Christ to come and die for me, but he embraced that sacrifice, that injustice, for me.
And so dealing with things that are unfair…
Those things become meaningless when we find the joy that comes when we realize we can worship God–for we know God’s love for us, and knowing that we can rejoice in Him. Knowing why we can rejoice in Him, because of his extravagant, incredible love for us.
That’s where it comes down to – experiencing the love of God that goes beyond what theologians can write about, or make a Youtube about. The love of God needs to be experienced, it needs to be lived in!
It is so incredible, embracing that which is unfair, in order to help people experience it is well worth it, indeed, we will come to rejoice in those times of life being unfair – for we know the opportunity it brings, to testify to how Jesus embraced us, even as our sins were unfairly carried by Him, nailed with Him to the cross….
The tears will come, as will the pain, but God will use it all for good, even if we don’t understand. He promised and we can depend on it. AMEN!
Pasquale, G., ed. (2011). Day by Day with Saint Francis: 365 Meditations (p. 214). New City Press.
Saint Augustine. (2012). The Confessions, Part I (J. E. Rotelle, Ed.; M. Boulding, Trans.; Second Edition, Vol. 1, p. 39). New City Press.
Tozer, A. W., & Smith, G. B. (2008). Mornings with Tozer: Daily Devotional Readings. Moody Publishers.
Christians are simply beggars… if we do things right.
Thoughts which carry me to Jesus, and to the Cross:
“In other words, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting people’s trespasses against them, and he has given us the message of reconciliation. Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His plea through us. We plead with you on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God!”” (2 Corinthians 5:19–20, NET)
They are expressions of the one great heresy, which is as old as fallen mankind: Man refuses to accept the external word and the external means of grace and develops his own religion, which places man where God alone has the right to stand: “Ye shall be as gods!”
I have met Christians who were so intent upon winning souls to Christ that they would not talk to you about anything but God and His goodness!
Such a man was the Canadian, Robert Jaffray, one of our early pioneer missionaries. His family owned the Toronto Globe and Mail and as a young Christian he was disinherited because he chose to follow God’s call to China rather than join the family business.
That good godly man spent his lifetime in China and the south Pacific, searching for the lost—and winning them! He was always reading maps and daring to go to the most difficult places, in spite of physical weaknesses and diabetic handicap. He sought out and lived among the poor and miserable, always praying to God, “Let my people go!”
On my bookshelves I have numerous books about church growth, about having a missional spirit. Others talk about forensic apologetics and evangelism. Many of these approach the topic with a clinical approach, looking at statistics, looking for patterns that can be replicated, looking for logical presentations of the gospel that give overwhelming proof – which we hope will covert the heathen.
We know, for we ourselves our guilty, of the great sin of self-idolatry, of narcissism. Even in thinking “we” can prove the gospel, we are take up a burden that is rightfully the Holy Spirit. Far too often in the church, we create our own religion, putting ourselves in charge of saving the world.
Yet there are those, who in humility simply follow the Spirit, as they are compelled to not shut up about Jesus. Jaffray was one, Eric Liddell comes to mind, as does Barton Stone, and Wyneken and Luther. Each spent their lives, or a great deal of their lives not arguing, but pleading that people would be reconciled to God – a work already accomplished by Jesus.
I think that word pleading is important – it has the emphasis of desire built into the request. It doesn’t come from a place of power, or even authority, but of someone is so worried about the person they beg them to let God in, to receive the love and mercy. It comes from seeing people living without hope, without peace, assaulted by the world, and by their own guilt and shame.
And we have the antidote to that which poisons their life.
How can we get them to receive it? How can we get them to trust in a God they do not yet know of, that they have yet to experience, that they haven’t allowed to bring them to life, remove the guilt and shame of sin, and restore them?
This is the passion Paul had, this is why some cannot shut up about the love of God.
We can beg them, the Spirit opens their hearts, Christ has reconciled them to the Father.
This is our call… we simple beggers on a this journey called life…
Sasse, H. (2001). This Is My Body: Luther’s Contention for the Real Presence in the Sacrament of the Altar (p. 191). Wipf and Stock Publishers.
Tozer, A. W., & Smith, G. B. (2008). Mornings with Tozer: Daily Devotional Readings. Moody Publishers.
The Critical Need… Isn’t Deeper Theology…
Thoughts which carry me to Jesus, and to the Cross
“Now an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you understand it?”The expert answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.”Jesus said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”” (Luke 10:25–28, NET)
“Opening sentences
One thing I have asked of the Lord,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life;
to behold the beauty of the Lord
and to seek Him in His temple.
Call: Who is it that you seek?
Response: We seek the Lord our God.
Call: Do you seek Him with all your heart?
Response: Amen. Lord, have mercy.
Call: Do you seek Him with all your soul?
Response: Amen. Lord, have mercy.
Call: Do you seek Him with all your mind?
Response: Amen. Lord, have mercy.
Call: Do you seek Him with all your strength?
Response: Amen. Christ, have mercy.”
Yes, it is fun to fool around with councils and fathers if one juggles with the letters or constantly postpones the council, as has now been done for twenty years, and does not think of what happens meanwhile to the souls who must be fed with conscientious teaching, as Christ says, “Tend my sheep” [John 21:16].
The responsive prayer above in green is one I have used, on and off for years. I originally found it in a book called “Celtic Daily Prayer” and later found the website version above.
The responsive part of it, means so much to me, not that i full seek the Lord, but it reminds me to pray and do so. and to to strive to do it with all I am. For there I will find the love and peace I need to survive. I will find the grace that enables me to look past this troubled day.
I need to seek God, with all I am… and I need to be reminded to do so.
I see that in ministry as well. There are a lot of cool things to look at in academic theology. Wonderful thoughts about the mysteries of God, all the incredible histories, some of which provide warnings by example. But far too often, these histories, these doctrinal disputes, these things become red herrings and strawmen, capturing our hearts and minds, stealing our focus on Jesus.
That’s Luther’s point about the councils, and studying their works. Sometimes the actual work of those councils stopped the priests, bishops and cardinals from providing the pastoral care their people need. That they desperately need.
This is true today as well, as I find people, hungry for hope, turn to Youtube and other social media, looking for experts to teach them. They find teachers and apologists, men and women who do know a lot about doctrines and histories from within one framework or another, But what is not provided is pastoral care and guidance–which should focus us on our relationship with Jesus and celebrate our being healed from our brokenness with others that are broken.
I am not doubting the sincerity of these teachers, or necessarily what they teach, but we need to be carried to Jesus, we need to receive His healing. Then this other stuff might be beneficial.
What is critical – to experience the love and mercy of God, to experience the resurrection from the dead, that only comes from dying with Jesus at the cross and rising with Him – His people.
May we seek Him, and be strengthened by those who help carry us to Him.
Amen
https://www.northumbriacommunity.org/offices/morning-prayer/
Robinson, P. W. (1539). On the Councils and the Church. In H. J. Hillerbrand, K. I. Stjerna, T. J. Wengert, & P. W. Robinson (Eds.), Church and Sacraments (Vol. 3, p. 359). Fortress Press.
Reserved in Heaven, for YOU! A sermon on Col. 1:1-14
Reserved
in Heaven, for YOU
Col. 1:1-14
† In Jesus Name †
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ strengthen your trust in Him, as you are prepared for that which is reserved for you in heaven!
- Registered and Reserved
Last week, when deacon Bob preached, his sermon revolved around a word… anyone remember it?
Bob- you do remember it, right?
The focus was your names being REGISTERED in heaven, proof you belong there. I believe you referred to the fact that you and everyone can find the proof of your married in the place it is registered – the County Registrar’s office.
Today takes off of that word “registered” which focuses on the who, and works around the concept of who – in the case of marriage – Bob and Helena… in the core of the message – your name being registered in heaven.
Today we move passed that to what our names are registered for, and we see the impact of what is reserved for us. It is one thing to know someone has our name and we are going to get something… but our response is based on what is waiting for us. What are we expecting, that is reserved for us….
It makes a big difference, let me explain
- Failed Faith from Failed Expectation
Back in high school we had a vice principal whose primary job was to be the disciplinarian – you were only called to his office when someone registered a complaint against you. So for him to call you out of a crowd… well…it wasn’t good! (normally) Well, one day in my senior year I am walking down the hall with my friends, and he sees us, and he calls out, “Hey Darren get in here…”
My instinct I am safe…so I turn around and walk away, leaving Darren Nelson, Darren Cobb, and Darren Degenhardt in the hall to deal with the gruff and mean vice principal.
Until I heard, “Parker, don’t walk away from me…” and all the Darrens breathed and relaxed!
Anxiety level 10 and growing quickly.
He did have my name! Somehow, my name was registered with him… and now I had to to find out what was reserved for me….
I think we often look at God that way, as the disciplinarian who only calls us out when we’ve done wrong?
Even those of us who have heard the gospel, the good news, still can have the impression that God is out there, waiting to give us detention, or suspend us, or kick us completely out, as Moses warned the people of Israel. Sin too much, or certain sins, and unless mercy reigned, outside the people’s camp you were sent, either for a week, or forever…
Paul’s prayer for these people is that they don’t get caught up back in that loop, for they were already living a life that testified to God’s work transforming them! They loved God and all of God’s people because they had the confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven.
- Expecting Heaven, knowing God better
If I had only known what the vice president reserved for me, if I only knew my name and likeness registered in his mind, I would have had a far different attitude. And the Darrens wouldn’t have been relieved either, they might actually have been jealous!
That is the point Paul is making here… hear it again, “we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, 5 which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News.”
Our lives are changed by this expectation, by knowing that life is given to us, not just life now, but life eternal, eventually life in the very presence of God, life witout pain and sorrow, life where loving even the least is just how we live.
As Paul would put it, 10 Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.
In some of my vacation reading, I came across a lot of similar thoughts by Luther, Augustine and Pope Benedict XVI. All were saying the same thing—that theology wasn’t about academic pursuits or knowledge of doctrine, but the ability to know God, to experience His love more. To know He knows your name, to know He has reserved a place of you, to know He loves you and died for you
So he could, as Paul says “rescue us from kingdom of darkness (and anxiety that is caused as He calls your name) for He is transferring us to the Kingdom of Jesus, who purchased our freedom, and forgave our sins.
So rejoice – you are registered, and you have a reservation.. and you are remade for that reservation! Amen
Freedom, Liberty, and your Rights –
Thoughts which carry me, even drag me to Jesus and the Cross
“When any of you has a legal dispute with another, does he dare go to court before the unrighteous rather than before the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you not competent to settle trivial suits? Do you not know that we will judge angels? Why not ordinary matters! So if you have ordinary lawsuits, do you appoint as judges those who have no standing in the church?I say this to your shame! Is there no one among you wise enough to settle disputes between fellow Christians?” (1 Corinthians 6:1–5, NET)
Francis told them: “When you pray, say “Our Father” and “We adore you, O Christ, in all your churches throughout the whole world, and we bless you, for by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.”
To any human who bothers to think a bit, it should be evident that there is in our society no such thing as absolute freedom—for only God is free!
It is inherent in creaturehood that its freedom must be limited by the will of the Creator and the nature of the thing created. Freedom is liberty within bounds, liberty to obey holy laws, liberty to keep the commandments of Christ, to serve mankind, to develop to the full all the latent possibilities within our redeemed natures. True Christian liberty never sets us free to indulge our lusts or to follow our fallen impulses
Tozer’s words about freedom seem so appropriate today, though written decades past. He smacks down the illusion of idols named freedom and liberty. For they are not absolute, they are not all powerful, and they aren’t all merciful… for they have a cost that is reminiscent of slavery….unless…
It has been redeemed by the one who saves us, that He is allowed to put the limits on our freedom, limits which recognize His role as our God, and the limits He placed on Christ’s freedom, which was given the boundaries of what best cared and provided for us.
Tozer said “mankind,” but lets simplify it – our children, our parents, our parents, friends, co-workers and neighbors. Our liberty must be in tune with how we love those around us, those who need us to sacrifice for their well-being. whether the need is physical, psychological or spiritual.
That is what Paul us getting at with his comments on lawsuits–wisdom is required because God’s justice is different than man’s. It is based in mercy, love and loyalty– not just what is our “right” or allows us to maintain our liberty, above our community.
This is the truest freedom.. that found in our relationships…the freedom to be loved and to love.
Pasquale, G., ed. (2011). Day by Day with Saint Francis: 365 Meditations (p. 192). New City Press.
Tozer, A. W., & Smith, G. B. (2008). Mornings with Tozer: Daily Devotional Readings. Moody Publishers.
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.
What Are You Doing Here? A sermon on 1 Kings 19:9b-21 from COncordia
God, who am I?
What Are You Doing Here?
1 Kings 19:9b-21
† In Jesus’ Name †
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus help you know why you are where you are!
As the people of God, we’ve been given a huge task. It’s called the great commission – the responsibility to help people becoming those who follow, who walk with Jesus. Part of that Commission is that we get to teach people to treasure what God has commanded, how they are to live their lives with him!
In teaching them to treasure this life God has given us, there is an important distinction that is made… that has to be understood.
Do we place greater emphasis on doing what is right, or on why we do what we do?
I mean we’ve all done the right things for the wrong reasons, right?
And have we done the wrong things for the right reasons?
Which is better?
Which do you think you get more blame for, take more heat for?
But what if you do the right thing for the wrong reason, and everybody thinks what you did was wrong – that just by doing what you did, you sinned, without any consideration for why you did it.
You see, most people judge Elijah’s actions in the Old Testament reading as wrong…. and in doing so, we miss the work of God in Elijah’s life, a work that we desperately need in ours.
Was Elijah a Coward.
When I read this passage when I was younger, and when I heard pastors preach on it, the usual observation about Elijah was he was weak, that he should have stayed and battled Jezebel and her armies.
After all, he had, well God had through him, toasted up 450 priests of Ba’al and defeated! He was on a winning streak of winning streaks, able to mock his opponents without mercy. Hey – your idols not answering your prayers? Maybe your god Ba’al is sleeping, or maybe he’s on vacation, or maybe he’s in the restroom?
And after the victory, instead of having a parade, instead of celebrating freeing God people, he runs away and hides… in cave! And then he whines, oh does he whine, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”
Remember a moment ago, when I talked about doing the right thing for the wrong reason?
I think Elijah did exactly what he needed to be doing. I think he needed to hide in that cave and rest.
But the way that He answered God’s question, shows where he sinned.
It wasn’t in the running and hiding and resting – we all need to do that.
But hear what God asked him….
“What are you doing here, Elijah?”
Not why are you here… not what caused you to be here. But what are you doing, here?
And this is where Elijah sin is revealed…
He didn’t know why he was there…..
You see, he couldn’t tie what he knew intellectually and instinctively, to the reality of his situation.
He ran to escape, not to find a refuge, not to find sanctuary, not to find a fortress where he couuld be safe, and heal.
“I’m here because they are evil, I am here because they didn’t listen when I told them “the Lord is with you!” in fact…
Wait Elijah, not what caused you to be here…. What are you doing here?
Through the windstorm, through earthquake, through the fire…and Elijah still didn’t know…
Right action – wrong reason – no reason, and that is where he sinned…
That is where we sin.
The sin isn’t that we shouldn’t run away… the sin is that we don’t know what we are to do when it is time to run. We run an hid and whine just like Elijah did, forgetting we dwell in the presence of an alimighty, all-powerful, all-wise, God who loves us. And had promised to make everything work together for our good.
What Was He Supposed to be doing there?
So what was Elijah supposed to being there?
We heard in in Luther’s most famous hymn, out of the 1000s he wrote, the one we all know – the one that starts,
A mighty fortress is our God,
A bulwark never failing!
Our helper He amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing!
Elijah was provided for, all along the journey. Birds brought him food, he found places to rest. He didn’t realize it, but he was never alone on the journey, he ever was talking to God, when God told him to go outside, to find God.
Typical guy, oblivious to everything going on around him!
God never failed him, no matter how bad the flood, no matter how overwhelming the flood of what ails and torments us, we find our refuge in the love and care of God.
This is the nature of the cross, and the resurrection.
I saw that at the convention, when Jim couldn’t help himself—and spoke up “and therefore” when one of the speakers said “Alleluia! He is Risen!” I saw it again, as I told one of Elizabeth’s teachers about how we got to be part of Edith’s being claimed as one of Jesus’ family in baptism – and he brought it up in his presentation this day – an example of what it meant, not to be educated as a Lutheran, but to live and share your hope in Jesus.
What are you doing here?
Spending time with my heavenly Father, with Jesus Christ, my brother, being comforted and healed by the Holy Spirit.
The great thing—that even as Elijah forgot this, God was at work doing it!
We might forget—but He doesn’t.
When it’s time, when Elijah remembers who he is—the one God loves—it is time to get back to the mission – to train up another generation of believers, of leaders, of those who worship and are thankful to God—willing to sacrifice their lives, as we have been, when we don’t need to run away and let God be God…
And then it is time to get back to work, sharing the love of God with people who are so broken, they don’t even realize how broken they are. Who have been turned inside out and ravaged by sin. Not only do we bring them news of God’s love, but we prepare the next generation to do so…
For we know why we are here, we know why we run to the Father…and fall on His grace… AMEN!
Know Thyself…Socrates Said. (It was simpler than he thought!)
“Then in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought to me, I took the wine and gave it to the king. Previously I had not been depressed in the king’s presence.So the king said to me, “Why do you appear to be depressed when you aren’t sick? What can this be other than sadness of heart?” This made me very fearful.” (Nehemiah 2:1–2, NET)
Neo-Platonism provided him (Augustine) with a vocabulary, and stirred in him a desire, for mystical union. Yet the One to whom Augustine aspired was not the remote, indifferent reality of Plotinus, but the God who constantly seeks, attracts, guides, heals, stoops toward us, forgives and loves us. He is the humble God of the incarnation. The Neo-Platonists had glimpsed the country Augustine sought, but could not show him the way there (VII,20,26; 21,27).
The God revealed in the Old and New Testaments is, moreover, the God who forms a people. He is the God encountered in the Church.
Benedict’s encyclicals and other papal writings invite the reader to have a personal relationship with Christ. “Encountering Christ” is the phrase that pervades all of his texts. In this light, Benedict’s Christocentric approach offers a fresh and deeper understanding of the concept of revelation. Benedict prioritizes Christ the Logos over Scripture and Tradition.
One might venture to conclude that Ratzinger’s /Pope Benedict XVI’s lasting legacy is to state vigorously that revelation in Christ is the definitive, personal self-disclosure of the triune God—and thereby, also as the identity of the human being.
“Remember, Tozer,” he said, “death is not the worst thing that can happen to a person!”
For the Christian, death is a journey to the eternal world. It is a victory, a rest, a delight. I am sure my small amount of physical suffering has been mild compared to Paul’s, but I feel as Paul did: “I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far!” (Philippians 2:23).
Nehemiah was not himself
It was so obvious that the King he was enslaved to serve noticed, and was concerned over a relatively minor person in his Kingdom. We use the phrase, “he wasn’t himself,” rarely these days, but it is a growing phenomenon as people try to identify themselves with this movement or that movement, with this star, or that politician, Often the “not being themselves” draw them into more extreme positions, even within the church, as they look for their true identity.
They are correct in their realization that relationship defines their existence, that it gives a picture of who we are. To often these relationships become idolatrous, as we define our identities by one different than our primary relationship- our relationship with the Father through Jesus.
Like Augustine, the existence of the search for identity can be part of what helps us find (actually be found by) Jesus – who is our identity. HIs dabbling with Neo-Platonism would leave him with a desire to be with God, even as its vision of God was not right,..it led him to the place where, when God came to him, he was ready to see his need for God.
That’s why Pope Benedict championed the cause of encountering Jesus. All of his knowledge, all of his theological understanding, all of it was only valuable if he recognized at the end of the day the presence of Jesus. It doesn’t take much imagination to see Pope Benedicts or Augustine, Luther or Melanchthon or Josemaria Escriva smile as they heard Philippians 1:21 read ““For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain.” (Philippians 1:21, NET) or to see the sigh of relief as people respond “and also with you,” during the mass or daily gatherings for prayer.
Ultimately, defining our identities, finding our identity in Christ leads us to recognize what Tozer’s mentor was pointing out. Death becomes less and less a threat, as we long to be in the presence of God the Father. If we knwo as ourselves as children of God, then it becomes natural to want to be home with Him, to enjoy His presence.
This is to know ourselves, to recognize that we are simply His children, His people, His beloved.
Saint Augustine. (2012). The Confessions, Part I (J. E. Rotelle, Ed.; M. Boulding, Trans.; Second Edition, Vol. 1, p. 19). 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.; pp. 201–202). Emmaus Academic.
Tozer, A. W., & Smith, G. B. (2008). Mornings with Tozer: Daily Devotional Readings. Moody Publishers.
Navigating the Revitalization and Renewal of the Church
The church, is always in the midst of a storm… but safe in Him
Thoughts which drive me to Jesus, and to His Cross
“With antiphonal response they sang, praising and glorifying the LORD: “For he is good; his loyal love toward Israel is forever.” All the people gave a loud shout as they praised the LORD when the temple of the LORD was established. Many of the priests, the Levites, and the leaders—older people who had seen with their own eyes the former temple while it was still established—were weeping loudly, and many others raised their voice in a joyous shout. People were unable to tell the difference between the sound of joyous shouting and the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people were shouting so loudly that the sound was heard a long way off.” (Ezra 3:11–13, NET)
Falsely are our churches accused of abolishing the Mass; for the Mass is retained among us, and celebrated with the highest reverence. Nearly all the usual ceremonies are also preserved, save that the parts sung in Latin are interspersed here and there with German hymns, which have been added to teach the people. For ceremonies are needed to this end alone that the unlearned be taught [what they need to know of Christ].
In promoting development, the Christian faith does not rely on privilege or positions of power, nor even on the merits of Christians … but only on Christ, to whom every authentic vocation to integral human development must be directed. The Gospel is fundamental for development, because in the Gospel, Christ, “in the very revelation of the mystery of the Father and of his love, fully reveals humanity to itself.”
I have been thinking about my “career” as a pastor recently. It was 27 years ago this month I went from being a part-time to a full-time pastor. It’s been 23 years in August that I moved from being a non-denom pastor to becoming a Lutheran one, and last week-it was seventeen years since I received the call to become pastor in this place.
In that time I have seen a lot of changes in the world, the church at large and in my Lutheran group. Some of them quite good, some of them heartbreaking. I know the joy of Ezra’s people, as they saw God’s promises re-established for them, and I also understand the heartbreak of those who remember the past and its glories.
I am the one who wails over the losses, and yet I am the one who screams for joy at the renewal I see. A foot in both worlds, a foot which wants to deny the existence of the other….
I have tried to help both sides realize the other exists, not because i want to create a form of toleration, for that is worthless, and to be honest, vain.
In my devotional reading this morning, I came back to the answer–provided by the Lutheran Confessions and Pope Benedict. The answer isn’t to dwell in the past, failing to recognize its failure. It isn’t about just rejoicing in the victories of the moment–ignoring its shortcomings.
The answer is simply this – living in Christ, and revealing Him to those who so desperately need Him. To revoice in the enlightenment the Spirit provides in them–the relationship that is reformed, renewed, reborn! To sound more academic — to rejoice in the delivery and reception of grace, rather than comment on the color, texture and design. To dance with God and the angels over new life.
To be revitalized, not just an interested observer of it.
Then the church weeps and rejoices together, for God is good, and His mercy is forever!
Melancthon, P. (2006). The Augsburg Confession (1530). WORDsearch.
De Gaál, E. (2018). O Lord, I Seek Your Countenance: Explorations and Discoveries in Pope Benedict XVI’s Theology (M. Levering, Ed.; p. 197). Emmaus Academic.
Hope for a Nation with Questionable Leadership… and struggling people.
Thoughts which carry me to Jesus, and to the Cross….
“In his pain Manasseh asked the LORD his God for mercy and truly humbled himself before the God of his ancestors. When he prayed to the LORD, the LORD responded to him and answered favorably his cry for mercy. The LORD brought him back to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh realized that the LORD is the true God. After this Manasseh built up the outer wall of the City of David on the west side of the Gihon in the valley to the entrance of the Fish Gate and all around the terrace; he made it much higher. He placed army officers in all the fortified cities in Judah. He removed the foreign gods and images from the LORD’s temple and all the altars he had built on the hill of the LORD’s temple and in Jerusalem; he threw them outside the city. He erected the altar of the LORD and offered on it peace offerings and thank offerings. He told the people of Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel. The people continued to offer sacrifices at the high places, but only to the LORD their God.” (2 Chronicles 33:12–17, NET)
“Certainly you will see it with your very own eyes— you will see the wicked paid back. For you have taken refuge in the LORD, my shelter, the sovereign One.” (Psalm 91:8–9, NET)
For they do not believe that the time of their affliction is at hand, and they do not want to believe it, even though they can see it, hear it, smell it, taste it, touch it, and feel it.
(It is the position of some would-be teachers that everyone who comes into the kingdom of God by faith immediately obtains all there is of God’s spiritual provision.
I believe that such a teaching is as deadly as cyanide to the individual Christian life. It kills all hope of spiritual advance and causes many believers to adopt what I call “the creed of contentment.”
One day as he was walking with blessed Francis, the saint said to him: “Brother, I tell you that from now on you do not have to confess your tribulation to anyone. Do not be afraid. Whatever happens to you that is not your doing will not be to your blame, but to your credit. Whenever you are troubled, I give you my permission just to say seven Our Fathers.” The brother wondered how the saint could have known about this; smiling and overjoyed, he got over the temptation in a short time.
Oftentimes in his encyclicals, Benedict invites the faithful to encounter Christ through Scripture and the sacraments. The theme of encountering Christ pervades all his writings. A selection of these papal writings illuminates the concept of revelation and the Christocentric approach that he already unfolded profoundly at Vatican II.
I look at the news this morning and social media, and to be honest, I don’t know what to do with it. I see so much that is a a fulfillment of Luther’s words in the first quote, where the affliction is denied, as we are told if this sie gets their way, everything will be okay, only to be echoed by the other side. And the tension and trauma that increases where the two sides collide is written off, as justifiable. Further, many on both sides are described by Tozer, as those who count themselves as good, llving Chirstians because of something that happened in the past, a baptism, a prayer, a moment of enlightenment that guarantees their being in the right, apart from anything meaningful in their interaction with God today.
They know something is wrong, but they see it as completely outside of their own lives, their own relationship with God. Maybe it is because of that they cry out for God’s vengeance without seeing Christ’s desire to save all, their adversaries and themselves.
Francis’s advise to a man caught in such tribulation is simple. Pray, and pray intimately to the Father. Say the pray Jesus taught, not as a rote, magical incantation, but as a prayer…intimately seeking the intercession of God in your life, to see His will be accomplished, to see His care for all come into being.
Benedict encourages the same thing – for people to encounter and relate to Jesus through the conduits God has provided for just that purpose, for only that purpose. The word of God (aka the scriptures) and the Sacraments are their for us to fulfil some duty, to ring up enough points that we gain some prize. They are times where God opens up His heart, that the Spirit can operate on ours, opening it up and bringing a life that we lack.
This is what happened with Manasseh, the son of King Hezekiah. Completely overwhelmed by the consequences of his, and his people’s sin, he finally cries out to God, and as God responds to his cries, Manasseh realizes that God is the only true God, the only God that can save and transform him. The broken king, looking for hope finds it–not as we look for hope, but in simply praying to a God he did not know well, who responded.
That change is Manasseh was truly revolutionary. He became the King, the leader he should have been, with the absolute priority of helping people grow in their relationship to God. He removed the obstacles, the false gods they were tempted to worship and look to for assistance. He restored the offerings that were given, not to appease God, but to recognize and receive the gifts God poured out on His people! To go from being one of the most evil of kings, to being a holy king–perhaps one of the best.
Not through his own efforts, but because God heard his cry for help, and he came to know this was the one true God.
May all our leaders, all of them, find God answering them, as we see the consequences of sin blow up around us. And I pray, that they lead us, as do all leader, to see the LORD our God. Amen.
Robinson, P. W. (1539). On the Councils and the Church. In H. J. Hillerbrand, K. I. Stjerna, T. J. Wengert, & P. W. Robinson (Eds.), Church and Sacraments (Vol. 3, p. 329). Fortress Press.
Tozer, A. W., & Smith, G. B. (2008). Mornings with Tozer: Daily Devotional Readings. Moody Publishers.
Pasquale, G., ed. (2011). Day by Day with Saint Francis: 365 Meditations (p. 167). 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. 194). Emmaus Academic.
