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Why Faith Is More Than Just What We Believe…..
devotional thought of the day:
26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. 28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:26-28 (NLT)
9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NLT)
127 The test, I don’t deny it, proves to be very hard: you have to go uphill, “against the grain”. What is my advice? That you must say: Omnia in bonum, everything that happens, “everything that happens to me”, is for my own good… Therefore do accept what seems so hard to you, as a sweet and pleasant reality. (1)
We hear the passages, the plea that is the question,
“do you believe in Jesus?”
We nod our head, maybe even say a strong, gut level yes. We proceed to talk about some aspect of doctrine, or some moment in the past where our “faith” became alive and meaningful. We know we are going to heaven, (aren’t we?) but we struggle to understand what that really means.
We believe, which I think too often we define as “we know”. We reinforce that when we talk of defending the faith as arguing about doctrine, or some theological principle or proof, such as the proof for the existence of God. Or even our “new believer’s class, which can appropriately cover a catechism, but is all question and answers, including some interesting tangents. Such knowledge is necessary and beneficial, but it is not what our faith is, it is simply a description of it.
Faith is a level of trust, a level of dependance on God. It is knowing that He will indeed keep His promises, the promises He has actually made to you and others who know Him.
It is knowing that all things will work together for good. All things, yeah, even when that moment occurs when you are revealed to be broken to the entire world. Yes, even those times you struggled with the brokenness of the world, and the inability of anyone to deal with it. As St. Josemaria encourages us, we accept what happens, not liking it, but confident in God will prove Himself again worthy of your trust, caring for you, healing you, holding you.
Faith is an intimate relationship with God, on His terms, based in His love, by His standards. It’s a non-negotiable relationship, what we call a religion. After all, He is the One who created us, the One who is pure wisdom, pure love, pure reality, pure grace. A grace, a charism, a gift of life that is beyond anything we can imagine.
The odd thing is, we find ourselves closest to comprehending it, not during mountaintop experiences, but in the midst of our brokenness. In is in the depth our sorrow, our anxiety, our grief that the light of the Holy Spirit comes in the brightest. It is the midst of those times we pray, and we depend, and trust, and find Him holding onto us.
Maybe you are there, in the middle of brokenness, in despair and need to know that God loves you. I assure you that He does. That He will pick you up, as He has picked me up. As He continues to minister to us all.
I’ll leave you with this, a video of Rich Mullins, whose brokenness…is as evident as his dependance, his trust, his faith in God
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 720-724). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
want a meaningful vacation? try this…
devotional thought of the day
25 I will sprinkle clean water on you and make you clean from all your idols and everything else that has defiled you. 26 I will give you a new heart and a new mind. I will take away your stubborn heart of stone and give you an obedient heart. 27 I will put my spirit in you and will see to it that you follow my laws and keep all the commands I have given you. 28 Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors. You will be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will save you from everything that defiles you. Ezekiel 36:25-29a (TEV)
Insofar as we can trace its history at all, pilgrimage is one of the primordial impulses of humanity. Man sets out again and again to find escape from the customary daily humdrum, to gain distance from it, to become free. This impulse is still active today in the more recent profane brother of pilgrimage, namely, tourism. Its continued existence accounts for the hordes of wanderers who incessantly make their way through our continent, feeling that they are not completely at home there. But pilgrimage must be more than tourism. I mean: it must realize more truly, more fundamentally, and more entirely what the tourist only hopes to experience.
I have to admit, I was tempted to put the entire devotion from Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger into today’s blog, and leave it alone. It is one of the most brilliant pieces I have ever read. When we go on vacation, what we are, in the bottom of our hearts looking for, is a retreat, a pilgrimage, and encounter with something that will restore and give us rest.
Instead we often try to move so fast, see so much, experience it all.
A few years ago, my wife and I were given a gift – a vacation to Italy. We tried to see it all in the ten or eleven days we were there. Having read this, I thought back to the trip, and what made it special. I asked her, and it was the moment I thought, as it was for me.
It was in a church; Santa Maria de la Pace, that was located in a place called Villa Tevere. The church was built in what we might call the basement of a very ordinary building. It wasn’t ancient, it wasn’t even old by American standards, never mind Roman. It wasn’t a large cathedral or a majestic major basilica. It was a place where we were able to pray, given as much time as we wanted by the man who showed us around. It was a place that invited such prayer, even begged for it.
It was the place where a vacation turned into a pilgrimage.
We could then identify two other places, much more humble, yet even more incredible and precious than the huge places that surrounded them. The chapel/sanctuary where St. Francis was buried, under to other incredibly beautiful sanctuaries in Assisi. And the pantheon, a place once dedicated to destroying life to appease gods and re-dedicated as a church, a place where people came spiritually alive as they heard the Word and received the Eucharist. We came back from this trip not exhausted, but fulfilled, rested and aware of the grace of God because of those moments kneeling in prayer.
I don’t think either would have meant as much without the church inside Villa Tevere. Thirty minutes, simply quiet and on our knees. Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict ) later wrote in the devotion why this is so critical; Those moments were amazing, a taste of heaven in a way words cannot explain.
The purpose of pilgrimage is ultimately, not an object of interest, but a breaking through to the living God. We attempt to reach this goal by seeking out the scenes of salvation history. Its interior and exterior ways do not follow the direction of our whims. We enter, as it were, into the geography of God’s history, where he has set up his directional signs. We journey toward a goal that has been designated beforehand, not toward one that we invent for ourselves. By entering into his history and turning toward the signs the Church gives us out of the fullness of her faith, we go toward one another. By becoming pilgrims, we are better able to attain what tourism seeks: otherness, distance, freedom, and a deeper encounter.
It is a chance to get a sight of what Ezekiel describes, a foretaste of what we will have for eternity, a time where we realize the reality of walking with God, we see the fellowship, the communion that is life changing, that leads us deeper in faith.
If you can’t go to Italy, I can recommend two other pilgrimages. The first is to travel in time, to go back to your baptism, to meditate on what was given there, promised there. The promise God made to you, an eternal promise of life, an eternal promise of His presence. The second is also sacramental, the time at the altar, on our knees, as we receive the Body and Blood of Jesus. As we realize we are one with Him, as we gain what we really desire, the sense of otherness, distance from the world, freedom from sin and Satan and so much else. It is that moment where we arrive at a deeper encounter, a transforming and transcending moment where all we are aware of is God presence and the presence of His family. So in a very precious and real way, every Sunday becomes a pilgrimage, a real vacation, a real time of restoration and rest.
Come and rest, come and leave your burdens behind, come and know that God is indeed with you. AMEN.
Ratzinger, J. (1992). Co-Workers of the Truth: Meditations for Every Day of the Year. (M. F. McCarthy & L. Krauth, Trans., I. Grassl, Ed.) (p. 335). San Francisco: Ignatius Press. devotion for 10/22
does how we view God affect our ministry?
devotional thought of the day;
18 You have not come to a physical mountain,* to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai. 19 For they heard an awesome trumpet blast and a voice so terrible that they begged God to stop speaking. 20 They staggered back under God’s command: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.”* 21 Moses himself was so frightened at the sight that he said, “I am terrified and trembling.”*
22 No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering. 23 You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect. 24 You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel. Heb 12:18–24 nlt
119 Those problems which used to overwhelm you—and seemed like enormous mountains—disappeared completely. They were solved in a divine way, as when Our Lord commanded the winds and the waters to be calm. And to think that you still doubted!
when i read the verses from Hebrews this morning, i knew i would be writing about them, though i didn’t know how until i read the passage from St. Josemaria.
for i think we would all say that we understand the scripture passage, that we all agree, we do not dwell in the presence of God in the way Moses perceived. we live in grace, we live in a God who reveals His presence as the comforter, the paraclete, the refuge, the One in Whom we can trust, and upon Whom we depend.
if that is so, shouldn’t that be evident in our life? we should live in a manner that reflects the joy of coming into the presence of God as one whose name is written in heaven. we should live without fear, for we depend upon the fact that Jesus mediated the new covenant, a covenant which cries out with mercy, that speaks of forgiveness.
we need to realize what this means for life now, here and now. those mountains of fear that assail us, that challenged our desire to serve God, cannot cause us to fail, for forgiveness and mercy follow us, as David wrote. we may need to find our rest, our sanctuary, and a place to heal now and then, but God will guide us past the mountains, and through the storms. we don’t have to walk around on eggshells, as if failing God, He’s already proven what He does with our sins, would He somehow less merciful because we tried to love, care, and bring the gospel to others?
this means we can dream big – not of our fame, but of God’s glory. we can try something that we might not have seen as possible, or possible for us. we can reach out in love, without fear of rejection. we can simply love, not to be loved in return, but because we know we already are.
walking into God’s presence is something that leaves us in awe. yet it transforms us as well, freeing us to hear His voice, to realize we walk with Him. as we heard yesterday in Mark 9, that means the impossible – of seeing God at work in our lives… is not just possible. it is probable.
live in Christ Jesus my friends, for that is why you were born again. AMEN
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 692-694). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Hang on to God, not gods, a sermon on Mark 10:23-31
The Companions of the Cross
Hang on to GOD, not gods
Mark 10:23–31
May the grace of God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ so leave you in awe, that no idol, no other desire would distract you from their love and mercy. Amen!
Can’t get in!
I remember almost thirty years ago, standing at the desk at St joseph’s hospital in Orange. A young man was standing outside the obstetrics ward, as his girlfriend had given birth to his son. Big kid, some 13 pounds 8 ounces. He was frustrated, because it wasn’t visiting hours, he was there too early, and he wanted to see his son and his lady.
But there are rules, and at that hospital, back in those days, no one was allowed on a floor.
I remember the tiny little nun and the nurse, standing there, telling him there was no way they would let him in, never mind any of the other family standing around. He tried every argument, even suggesting a small bribe and then a bigger bribe. Well, that didn’t make things much better,
No access. No way.
I think the camel would have passed through the needle twice before he would get in past the nun and nurse prior to visiting hours. .
No access. No way.
Last week we saw the rich young man walk away because he owned too much property, and it was his idol, how he identified himself, and to give it all up to follow Jesus.
The rich man so wanted to find a way to get into heaven, and walked away realizing it would cost him more than he was willing to part with, it would cost him everything to walk with Jesus.
In today’s gospel, the story continues. The apostles are amazed that the rich man can’t get into to heaven. They were astounded that Jesus compared the difficulty of taking a camel weighing 2000 pounds and forcing it through a sewing needle.
About the same likelihood of a young father getting to see his son in a Catholic hospital thirty years ago, a son born to a woman he was not married to…
Astounded and amazed – Powerless – really
It says twice in our gospel reading that the apostles were amazed and astounded by the fact the man couldn’t be among those blessed. After all, the man they saw before Jesus had EVERYTHING they believed marked one as a blessed son of God.
He had property in the holy land, what God had promised to Israel, or so they thought.
He was able to keep the commandments and claim it before Jesus, something Jesus didn’t contest. That didn’t mean he broke them, but that when he did, he offered the appropriate sacrifices to atone for them.
Mark even records that he was greatly loved by Jesus. Either this was based on a comment or observation, but the proof was evident, so evident that the holy spirit recorded it in the scriptures.
With all of that, he wasn’t able to be given a free pass into the kingdom of God.
If anyone should have been, it should have been him.
Reminds me of paul’s words in Philippians
4 though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more! 5 I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. 6 I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. Philippians 3:4-6 (NLT)
Sounds like the young rich young man, doesn’t it.
Matter of fact, some in the early church thought it might have been. A man with all the right stuff, all the right credentials, and he couldn’t get into heaven on his own.
The barriers were still up, and the idols he clung too were too much.
Amazed he can’t, the disciples are dismayed. They wonder who can be saved, they ask the same question, what will it ake. And if the apostles and the rich man can’t impressed Jesus enough, how in the world do you and I have a chance.
I guarantee I am not able to measure up to someone like Paul, and sorry, there isn’t one of you who can either.
Let’s be serious, we have as many false gods we cling too, we have our idols, and the things that control us, our identities, our sins.
And if it is impossible for a man who was, by all accounts a saint, who desired to be in heaven, to see the fulfillment of all of God’s promises, then it is impossible for us as well.
What hope is there then Peter says, we’ve given it all up.. is there any hope/
Empowered
While Jesus says it is impossible for man, it is possible for God.
The man, impatient to see his son and lady, realized someone walked up behind him. It was his younger brother, who had a name badge identifying himself as a chaplain at another hospital. The nun and nurse greeted him warmly, noting the badge.
He asked if he could see his brother’s lady, and the nun graciously said she would immediately show the young chaplain into see her. The chaplain asked if his brother would come, and was told, ‘yes, chaplain.’ The man went in and saw his newborn son and lady.
What power and money couldn’t do, having a connection to the right person could. As we said in Boston, click “ya gotta know somebody.”
It is as Jesus said, what is impossible for man, God is able to do.
Or as Paul the apostle wrote,
7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. Philippians 3:7-9 (NLT)
That is what heaven is about. About having a relationship with the creator of the universe. It is about knowing his grace, his mercy, and his love. That we become one with Him, that we know we are the kids that God has given birth to in our baptism.
Nothing is more valuable, nothing is even comparable to knowing the love of God, love so incredible that St. Paul talked of our exploring its height, its depth, its width and breadth.
It is worth abandoning all, as peter indicated that he and the other apostles had.
And then heard Jesus remark something incredible,
I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, 30 will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life.
my brothers, sisters, we have been given each other, a gift from God as we’ve been born again. We are going to have some struggles, but together, as His family, we will one day be home with our Father, and with our Lord and the Holy Spirit.
Until that day, we are His, and will dwell, guarded in peace, a peace that passes all understanding.
AMEN!
A Measure of Congregational and Christian Maturity: The Sacrifice of Preference
Devotional Thought of the Day:
But Melchizedek, who was not a descendant of Levi, collected a tenth from Abraham. And Melchizedek placed a blessing upon Abraham, the one who had already received the promises of God. 7 And without question, the person who has the power to give a blessing is greater than the one who is blessed.(Heb 7:6–7) NLT
Her purpose has been to adapt the Gospel to the grasp of all as well as to the needs of the learned, insofar as such was appropriate. Indeed, this accommodated preaching of the revealed word ought to remain the law of all evangelization. For thus the ability to express Christ’s message in its own way is developed in each nation, and at the same time there is fostered a living exchange between the Church and the diverse cultures of people.
I have an older member of my congregation; she is tone who loves a traditional liturgy with organ accompaniment going full throttle. She said to me one day, “Pastor, I prefer the older liturgy, but I hear people singing the new liturgy, and I see where it is a blessing to others. Keep doing it.” I have another member, who learned the Lord’s prayer from a modern translation, without the hallow ‘d’s and Thy’s. But hearing the passion in the voice of the older folk who say it, he wants to hear them say it, their way, and not steal their comfort by forcing them to become modern.
I hold them out to you, dear reader, as an example of Christian maturity.
Why? Because they understand that being blessed by their preferences being satisfied is not as important as helping others know Christ Jesus, to experience His love and His mercy.
As the writer of Hebrews explains it, it is Christlike, it is the more mature that blesses, and what greater blessing is there that you can give someone, that to have the gospel communicate to them in a way they “get.”
That’s what I like about the statement from Vatican II. It recognizes the purpose of the church to make sure that can grasp the gospel. To express Christ’s message in a way that is different, not in core message, but in view of the context it is delivered to, knowing the age, the culture, the various ethnic and language idiosyncrasies. Let me give you an example. The French spoken in Quebec is different than the French of Belgium, is different from the French spoken in Vietnam. Some is the same, but to communicate to the heart of the people, you phrase some things differently. Likewise, I would preach a sermon on the same passage differently if I was preaching it at a Harvard Chapel, or at a rescue mission. As Robert Schuller used to talk about, we have to study our milieu as much as the passage we preach.
A mature church adapts its message to the people. This is not sugar coating it, but understanding it is an act of love to bless others with a message it can grasp. That means working hard, diligently preparing messages and music, and helping others see where they too can learn to sacrifice.
This is the church; this is growing in awareness of God’s desire. This is growing in our ability to depend on God, to love, to be transformed into the image of Christ. It is proof of His work in us….
So think – and bless God fo the ability to communicate His love, even to those who are different!
Catholic Church. (2011). Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World: Gaudium Et Spes. In Vatican II Documents. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
How Do You Survive Ministry Weariness and Do Your Job
Devotional Thought of the Day
17 God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. 18 So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. 19 This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. 20 Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 6:17-20
122 You find yourself in a position which seems rather strange: on the one hand, you feel fainthearted, as you look inwards; on the other, sure, encouraged, as you look upwards. Don’t worry: it is a sign that you are beginning to know yourself better and— more importantly!—that you are beginning to know Him better. (1)
As things get more expensive, the ability of most churches to have sufficient staff that is compensated for their work has decreased dramatically. Where there might have been a couple of pastors, a youth worker and secretarial staff of 2 30 years ago, is now down to a full-time pastor, and maybe a part support person or two. Sometimes the pastor is blessed with a large amount of volunteer staff, but to train them and still be responsible for their ministry, adds to the burden.
It is no surprise that pastors, ministers, priests and the others who “minister” at the church burn out. Or simply get too weary to do things effectively. For a pastor putting in a sixty hour a week (or more) or a volunteer putting in 15-20 hours after their full-time job, weariness becomes a way of life, a pattern that seems unbreakable.
St. Josemaria’s words hit home to those in those periods of life. We look inwards and wonder how we will keep going. How can we do our job, not just passably, but well. After all, our ministry does have an importance like no other. It is not just a life or death situation, it is now and eternally a life or death/hell issue. So when we fall asleep on the job, what do we do?
We look up, we run to God for refuge, We find in Him our anchor for our souls. And anchor that pulls us into the Holiest of Holy places, into the presence of God Himself.
And this holy place, this sanctuary, this place where God dwells becomes our life. Because the Holy Spirit is given to us, we become that holiest place, Our feet are standing on Holy Ground because we are there. We find know His presence, exult in it. Which is why the letter of Hebrews talks about encouraging each other, helping each other, coming alongside and reminding us that God comes alongside us.
It is there, in the second someone says, “and also with you” as you share with them the Lord’s presence in their lives, that we find the strength. And the weariness fades long enough to drive home, and rest in His peace.
This is ministry… empowered by God… dwelling in His presence.. bringing Him to others who need to know that.
Godspeed!
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 702-705). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Struggling with Division in God’s Church… WIll We Die With Him?
Devotional Thought of the day
8 Always remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of King David, was raised from the dead. This is the Good News I preach. 9 And because I preach this Good News, I am suffering and have been chained like a criminal. But the word of God cannot be chained. 10 So I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen. 11 This is a trustworthy saying: If we die with him, we will also live with him. 12 If we endure hardship, we will reign with him. If we deny him, he will deny us. 13 If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is. 14 Remind everyone about these things, and command them in God’s presence to stop fighting over words. Such arguments are useless, and they can ruin those who hear them. 2 Timothy 2:8-14 (NLT)
Augustine tells us that, one day, he tore himself away from his friend Alipius in order to be alone in the garden with his misery, his temptations, his inner conflict. In that moment of overwhelming agitation he thought he heard a child’s voice calling repeatedly to him: “Tolle et lege—Take and read!” He arose, found a Bible, and read these words: “Put on the Lord Jesus!” This was the turning point of his existence. Augustine had, in that moment, discovered the word of God. (1)
Over the years I have spent in ministry, I have struggled with how we deal with division, denominationalism and sectarianism in the church.
Some have the ancient answer, “in essentials unity, in non-essentials freedom(liberty), in all things charity (love, grace, mercy.) The problem is that they divide soon after based on what is essential, and insisting on non-essentials, and dismissing charity as being weak.
Others handle the division by misquoting Romans 16:17, and the idea that we should toss aside those with heretical and even heterodox doctrines. I say this because the context includes causing divisions in the church by use of these doctrines, these teachings. Whether they be teachings about theology or practice. Heretical meaning that they are against God and His desire to save all of mankind. Heterodox meaning that they aren’t giving glory to God in their teaching and practive as God deserves.
I’ve been part of both groups at times, and I can tell you the sincerity and intent of both groups are noble. Even as they fail to apply it properly. In being a participant and observer of this, I have reached a conclusion.
We are all broken. We all have our heretical and heterodox practices. As we all have those things that glorify God in their holiness, proving God has set us apart for Himself Even in the beloved churches I’ve been blessed to be part of, whether it was St Joe’s – Salem NH, St. Francis Church in Lawrence, MA, First Baptist, Salem, The Crystal Cathedral youth group, OVBC, North Orange Christian, Arrow Hwy Wesleyan, West Valley Christian, First Christian YV, Good Shepherd Lutheran YV, Shepherd of the Valley, Anze, and now Concordia Lutheran – Cerritos. I’ve named them all for a reason; I can think of people in each of those church’s who were holy and broken. Whose doctrine needed to conform to Jesus, and yet who Jesus worked through in diverse and yes, miraculous ways. Who indeed needed to grow, but were growing.
So how do we do this? How does a splintered, fractured church see Christ’s church? Does it welcome people of all beliefs and say that doctrine and practice don’t matter? Does it instead force everyone to become clones? I can’t agree with either perspective. Indeed, I think both extremes of full inclusion and full exclusivity miss the mark. That’s being nice; I believe both are sinful.
If we can admit we have areas of our theology and/or practice that are broken, then we have some hope.As we find healing for our brokenness in Jesus, that healing will bring us the unity we need.
We have the opportunity to do what Paul was setting as an example for Timothy. We remember His death and resurrection, and the fact that He has united us to Him, bonded Himself to us in that event, so that we can know life, both now and everlasting.
This is what made the difference, this gospel, in Augustine’s life. To see, to hold in your hands the story of God’s love for you, revealed! That is our turning point and over and over in our lives we need to have it. The best example I can think of is a swordsmith, who folds the steel over and over on itself – each time gaining more strength. So too as we remember Christ, as we hear and read and speak of His love, that strengthens us. As we hear of the promises given to us in baptism, that strengthens us, as we eat His Body and drink His Blood we again encounter His presence, a presence that leaves us in awe, as we realize His mercy and love.
This is our God, here in our lives. Listen to Him, Know Him….
And as that happens, the issues that divide us that shouldn’t fade, and we will realize a unity not based on our faith, but His faithfulness. And together we can cry, “Come, Lord Jesus!” AMEN
(1) Ratzinger, J. (1992). Co-Workers of the Truth: Meditations for Every Day of the Year. (M. F. McCarthy & L. Krauth, Trans., I. Grassl, Ed.) (p. 327). San Francisco: Ignatius Press.
What Can You Bring on the Journey – A sermon on Mark 10:17–22 (with Audio)
Traveling Companions of the Cross
Lesson IV – What Can You Bring on the Journey
Mark 10:17–22
† Iesou, Huios, Soter †
May the God our Father, the God of peace make you hoy in everyway, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again!
What can I bring?
It is expected.
You may be bringing the side dish, or the desert.
Or if you are going to Dr. Chris’s you may bring a box of wine.
But we are trained to bring something with us when we go to someone else’s house.
If we are going on a long trip, we may offer to pay for the gas, or grab the snacks and drinks for the trip.
We might call it having good manners, or being raised and trained well.
Certainly the man in the parable was like us, he wanted to journey with Jesus, to be guaranteed that eternal life with God.
But he didn’t expect, and he couldn’t handle Jesus telling him he couldn’t do his fair share.
He couldn’t accept that when he asked Jesus what he could bring on the journey, Jesus’ answer was,
Nothing! Matter of fact, “go, sell everything you have, give the proceeds to the poor, and without bringing anything, “come follow me.”
We, like the man in the gospel struggle when Jesus invites us to come follow Him, and adds, leave everything behind… and I mean everything!
The problem of what we cling to… our idols
For the man, a man by all accounts righteous, what he wanted to bring along the way was his possessions. That was what he clung to, actually it was what clung to him. He wouldn’t let go, and walk with Jesus.
I hope we will….
You see, some will make this passage about the money, that we should use our money well for the kingdom. That it proves that we are responsible to use our money and all we possess to praise God. It could be our golf clubs, our sewing machines, our guitars or homes. Sell it all, give it to God. NO!
Actually God didn’t want it. Use it to help those without, set it aside. Come with me!
There is a bigger issue here. The way things control us, the way count on things to identify who we are. It might be something we possess, or it might be a talent, or our intellect. Jesus isn’t just asking the man to leave stuff behind.
Think about what Jesus asks people to leave behind in scripture.
Their jobs, and Matthew and Zaccheus left their tax tables
Their families, and Andrew, Peter, James and John left their families as they left their boats
Their nations, as Abraham, Moses, Jonah, and Paul would leave those behind
Their “rights”? a disciple follows His master… abandoning all for the honor.
And amazingly, their guilt and shame, as both David and Peter took on leadership roles they didn’t think they were qualified for,
Often how we define ourselves shows us what our idols, our false gods are. What we cling to, what we think defines us. What we cling to, what defines us in the darkness of a night…..
Hear how Luther put it
What does it mean to have a god? or, what is God?
Answer: A god means that from which we are to expect all good and to which we are to take refuge in all distress, so that to have a God is nothing else than to trust and believe Him from the [whole] heart; as I have often said that the confidence and faith of the heart alone make both God and an idol.
The Large Catechism of Martin Luther.
Where does your confidence lie, when all else is falling around you?
It might even be negative – that you deserve to suffer, because your are no good.
Or it might be the idea that you are a victim. That life is the way it is because you’ve been crushed by others, or attacked, or mocked.
**Whatever it is, what we define ourselves as, hints at what our gods and idols are.
They are the things that get in the way of walking with Jesus, what get in the way of our following him.
And like the man, if we are to be Christ’s, then we have to let go of that other stuff….
and walk with Christ, letting Him provide everything we are to be, to need. Letting Him show us what gets in the way of our relationship with Him, and letting him destroy those false idols, those false gods.
Come Follow Me!
That’s what we see as Jesus responds to the man,
21 Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
Catch that first line –
Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him.
Jesus didn’t see the man as too proud, too conceited. He saw a man that he loved, that Jesus came to die for, to make the man’s idyllic dream of heaven and eternity true.
In His love for the man, he saw what would stop him. The things he possessed that meant more to him, at the moment.
Jesus loved him… Jesus wanted this man to join Him. Just like Jesus wants us to join Him, to accompany Him to the Father’s side.
And Jesus would die, to show this man, and each of us, how much God treasures us. To give him a glimpse of the treasure a life lived with God is. To show him the treasure that Jesus would bring him to know.
The treasure promised in the cross, given to all who would be joined to Christ’s death, burial and resurrection, that incredible mystery we proclaim in the Memorial Acclimation, that we proclaim every time we eat and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.
We don’t have to bring anything, as what we have, what we put our trust in what we depend upon doesn’t define us.
The fact that God loves us does. The fact that He loves us enough to do what it took, the cross and the grave, to make us His children.
That love defines us.
The love that says come with me. Accompany me through life unto eternity.
I love the quote that shows how we are defined, found in Paul’s words to the crowd in Athens,
as someone has said, ‘In him we live and move and exist.’ It is as some of your poets have said, ‘We too are his children.’ Acts 17:28 (TEV)
And so we understand what the man couldn’t, what the writer of Hebrews wrote so clearly,
So then, let us rid ourselves of everything that gets in the way, and of the sin which holds on to us so tightly, and let us run with determination the race that lies before us. Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end. He did not give up because of the cross! On the contrary, because of the joy that was waiting for him, he thought nothing of the disgrace of dying on the cross, and he is now seated at the right side of God’s throne. Hebrews 12:1-2 (TEV)
That’s the point of selling the stuff, getting rid of the stuff that gets in the way, whether it is good or bad.
So because of His genuine love for us, come, let us follow Jesus, our Lord, our Savior, the One who loves us more than life. I tell you this, we won’t even remember what we’ve left behind!
AMEN!
We pray and plead with you…”Do You Job!”
Devotional Thought of the Day
3 For we remember before our God and Father how you put your faith into practice, how your love made you work so hard, and how your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ is firm. 1 Thessalonians 1:3 (TEV)
9 The servant does not deserve thanks for obeying orders, does he? 10 It is the same with you; when you have done all you have been told to do, say, ‘We are ordinary servants; we have only done our duty.’ ” Luke 17:9-10 (TEV)
12 We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy. For he called you to share in his Kingdom and glory.(1 Th 2:12 NLT)
92 Every Christian has the duty to bring peace and joy to his own surroundings on earth. This cheerful crusade of manliness will move even shrivelled or rotten hearts, and raise them to God. (1)
“Do your job” – Bill Belichick
This week a couple of Patriots players commented that their coach rarely compliments people, and that when he does, it really really means something to them. It’s not just someone trying to be nice, or trying to motivate them, the praise is sincere and they are worthy of it. They might not even think what they did was that noteworthy, but Coach noticed it. Often it is just that they obeyed his instructions to “Do your job.”
Some people make a big deal of living a life in tune with Jesus, reflecting his love Some will argue that such is a mandate, that we aren’t saved unless we reach that level of perfection. Others will point out that it is wrong to tie works to salvation, works to being required to have faith. They are so afraid that people would think they saved themselves that to teach anything as what we should do puts them into a frenzied panic.
Yet we don’t see that in the writings of St. Paul to the churches, especially this church in Thessalonika. We see a prayer that encourages and applauds living life in harmony with Jesus. We see Paul plead with people freed from the Old Covenant Law to live a life in a manner consistent with what God created and recreated them to be. It is the understanding St. Josemaria had when he talked of our joy and peace transforming even the most shrivelled of hearts.
It is simply what we do. It is a response to God asking us to “do our job.”
Do what you are created to do. It’s not miraculous, though it requires a supernatural dependence on the mercy of God. It is not special, it is just ordinary. It is serving, ministering to the needs of those God puts in our path. And the more time we spend with Jesus, the more it becomes, unnoticed. It is just our life, and we encounter it with the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life!
This is the life described in Romans 12, and 1 Corinthians 12-14. A life lived, affected deeply, far more than just consciously by God’s work in our baptism, and in those times where we commune with Jesus’ Body and Blood. When we are in awe of His love and His presence, when the Spirit has us focusing on Him, there is a mystical transformation that occurs, as God conforms us into His image.
And so we pray, and plead with you, do your job, confident that God will work in you, even as He planned.
So go, “do your job!”
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 599-601). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Man-colds, Suffering, Resentment, and the Abundant Life
Devotional Thought of the Day
26 Look at the birds: they do not plant seeds, gather a harvest and put it in barns; yet your Father in heaven takes care of them! Aren’t you worth much more than birds? 27 Can any of you live a bit longer by worrying about it? 28 “And why worry about clothes? Look how the wild flowers grow: they do not work or make clothes for themselves. 29 But I tell you that not even King Solomon with all his wealth had clothes as beautiful as one of these flowers. 30 It is God who clothes the wild grass—grass that is here today and gone tomorrow, burned up in the oven. Won’t he be all the more sure to clothe you? What little faith you have! 31 “So do not start worrying: ‘Where will my food come from? or my drink? or my clothes?’ 32 (These are the things the pagans are always concerned about.) Your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things. 33 Instead, be concerned above everything else with the Kingdom of God and with what he requires of you, and he will provide you with all these other things. 34 So do not worry about tomorrow; it will have enough worries of its own. There is no need to add to the troubles each day brings. Matthew 6:26-34 (TEV)
The teaching of Christ even requires that we forgive injuries, and extends the law of love to include every enemy, according to the command of the New Law: “You have heard that it was said: Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thy enemy. But I say to you: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who persecute and calumniate you” (Matt. 5:43–44).
You are not happy because you make everything revolve around yourself as if you were always the centre: you have a stomach-ache, or you are tired, or they have said this or that… Have you ever tried thinking about Him, and through Him, about others?
There are a bunch of pictures on the internet this week, making fun of men who are suffering colds. Harsh and cruel to see when I am suffering with a cold. I thought I was over it, until this morning when I coughed so hard I strained a muscle under my collarbone. With a significant level of Pain, I am at work, trudging along when I came across the quote in blue above.
Ouch. Now my shoulder and my conscience hurt.
But the idea brings to light something I have been realizing more and more in the last few days.
We don’t’ take suffering well! We wil do anything avoid it, and if we can’t avoid it, we want peopel to share in it, as if their pity will somehow minimize the effect it has on us. If we complain enough, it is possible to get so addicted to the care, to the attention, that we will subconsciously make even the littlest inconveniences, critical.
It is amazing though, what can be accomplished through the suffering, even when through the times where we are ruled by our anxiety, when we pray and keep our focus on is Jesus. When we realise the love of God our Father, who cares for us. It is then we find the focus that enables us to push through, to care for ourselves, but also to care for others.
This is what the gospel reading is communicating to us. Know God cares, and if He watches out for us. more than He does for daisies, or birds or anything else. He cares for you.
Which brings me to topic #2 for the day, which is mentioned int he green quote.
We can make our emotional and spiritual injuries all about us as well, compared to being all about, well us. It may be the words stung us, or could hurt the people we care about. We wallow in the injustice like we just lie there in our bathrobe with a box of kleenex and a bottle of ginger ale, watching the movies or shows we have dvr’d months ago. Instead of being flooded with phlegm, we are overwhelmed by our hurt, anger, and resentment. We feel sorry for ourselves, and we want others to feel sorry for us as well. we go over and over the story, remembering the pain being greater with every re-telling, and we convince ourselves that this event, those words, that moment in time was why we suffer throughout our lives.
What we need is the gospel to free us, we need to look at the suffering and realize it is nothing compared to the life we have in Christ, and abundant life that resentment may cloud for the moment, but that Christ’s love and mercy burns through, healing us, reconciling us to Him, and therefore to the one who is also forgiven because of the cross.
Our abundant life isn’t wrecked by a cold (even when the cough causes us to pull a muscle. Even when the memories of injuries seem so dominant. For these things cannot separate you from the love you have in Christ.
Just look to Jesus and cry out, “Lord have mercy!”, and be confident that He has kept His promise…
Catholic Church. (2011). Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World: Gaudium Et Spes. In Vatican II Documents. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 531-534). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
