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Delivered from Demons, Now Return Home and Love!
Before the sermon, the Gospel had been read, and the heard again as our special guest Bob Bennett sang the song at this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JIzudCJZAE I would ask you listen, as it frames the sermon well…
The Simple Christian Life – Love Hope Faith!
Delivered – So Return Home and Love!
Luke 8:26-39
† I.H.S. †
May the grace, that mercy and peace that comes from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, the grace which delivered you from the power of demons, be the hope you share with those you dwell among!
It bothers me….
Even as I love the story of this man being delivered from the power of demons, there is something that bothers me about this story.
No, it is not the destruction of several tons of bacon.
I mean it’s not like it would have lasted two thousand years anyway.
There is something ominous that hovers in the background of the story, that even as we celebrate one man being healed, being redeemed, being freed from thousands of demons, there is something that is frightening going on.
The reaction of the town, the community that is so paralyzed by anxiety, that they drive off the hope that is in their midst. Unlike other towns, they turn down the chance for Jesus to be in their midst, healing, teaching, the Lord God dwelling in their midst…
Living in the presence of God, that is the simple Christian life, a life full of love, hope, and faith. So why would they beg Jesus to leave?
What were their issues? Why would anyone want to reject the hope of the man of the tombs knew?
To quote Bob’s song
Underneath this thing that I once was
Now I’m a man of flesh and blood
I have a life beyond the grave
I found my heart; I can now be saved
No need to fear, I am not afraid
This Man of Sorrows took my pain
He comes to take away our sin
And bear it’s marks upon His skin
I’m telling you this story because
Man of the tombs I was
Why would they reject this for themselves?
Or the harder question to face, have you and I rejected this hope? Have we driven tried to drive Christ away? Or worse, do we ignore His presence in our lives?
Why do we avoid Jesus?
I’ve heard a lot of guesses about why this group of people begged Jesus to leave them alone, and all are really conjecture. I’ve also heard some reasons people have given me over the years. Some are more about why they want to avoid the church, because of bruises and wounds that we’ve inflicted on each other. Or they are afraid of the time commitment it will make in their life, a life already complicated and overloaded.
Others are more considered because of the idea that their lives will change. That in order to change, they will have to deal with the pains of the past, the guilt, and shame. Or that Jesus might confront them over something sinful and broken in their lives today.
That’s scary. Maybe we aren’t wandering among the tombs, yelling and screaming, but to let Jesus come to us and work in our lives? Remember – that is what Jesus told the man to share, what did Jesus do?
The man was naked, he had no home, no place to belong, he was the kind of guy that Jesus said the sheep who were welcome into the kingdom, because they helped him.
But what was it about the community that Jesus needed to address?
We say we know we need Jesus, but for what reason? For most of us, it isn’t as easily seen as it as in the case of the man Jesus met. Even so, it is there, some of us buried deep.
Don’t run! This time, don’t try to avoid Him! Come and ask, trusting in His nature, knowing He will deliver you!.
Don’t send Jesus away, don’t beg him to leave. Let the Spirit come to you…
and bring you the relief and peace you need.
He’s come to us; He heals us…
For that is what Jesus does,
You see, the beach where he directed the disciples for, he came to those people, there is no other reason for a Jewish Rabbi to come to this place, but to meet people where they are at.
To come to free a man from thousands of demons, to bring peace to a village that only new fear, and now in their anxiety, sent Jesus away.
A Second Chance?
You need to know, that Jesus doesn’t quite accept their rejection.
For after they beg him to leave, he gives them a pastor, a prophet in their midst. The man who was the possessed by the demon, which begs Jesus to come with him, is now sent to them to preach. To announce salvation, to explain everything God has crafted, the poem God made out of his life.
A miracle they couldn’t deny, a life so dramatically changed that people notice. A man tortured by the life he knew, freed now and so incredibly at peace. Who lives in their midst, forgiven, saved, healed, and a testimony to the work of God, and that fact that God comes to us. God hasn’t given up on them, any more than he gave up on the man with thousands upon thousands of demons. He will come to them as he abides with this man…
That’s what the cross is all about, where Christ died to forgive us and to make us holy as we dwell in Him.
That is what this moment is about, as Christ comes to you, and saves you from the burdens that haunt you, from the life’s anxieties, from the pain you’ve endured, and even the pain you’ve caused.
For He has promised this, that you will know the serenity, both now and for all eternity. For Christ has come to ensure you of that peace, and He shall keep your heart and mind safe in that peace.
AMEN!!
After the sermon, Bob helped us focus on the hope we have in Christ by singing this song,,, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X46ayH7Io4c
The Inconvenient Truth about Being God’s Children
Devotional Thought of the Day:
13 We are sure that we live in union with God and that he lives in union with us, because he has given us his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and tell others that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If we declare that Jesus is the Son of God, we live in union with God and God lives in union with us. 16 And we ourselves know and believe the love which God has for us. God is love, and those who live in love live in union with God and God lives in union with them. 17 Love is made perfect in us in order that we may have courage on the Judgment Day; and we will have it because our life in this world is the same as Christ’s. 18 There is no fear in love; perfect love drives out all fear. So then, love has not been made perfect in anyone who is afraid, because fear has to do with punishment. 19 We love because God first loved us. 20 If we say we love God, but hate others, we are liars. For we cannot love God, whom we have not seen, if we do not love others, whom we have seen. 21 The command that Christ has given us is this: whoever loves God must love others also.
1 John 4:13-21 (TEV)
282 Practise a cheerful charity which is at once kindly and firm; human and supernatural. An affectionate charity, knowing how to welcome everyone with a sincere and habitual smile, and how to understand the ideas and the feelings of others. In this way, gently and vigorously, and without concessions in matters of personal morals or in doctrine, the charity of Christ—when it is being well lived—will give you a spirit of conquest. Each day you will be more eager to work for souls. (1)
5. We cannot truly call on God, the Father of all, if we refuse to treat in a brotherly way any man, created as he is in the image of God. Man’s relation to God the Father and his relation to men his brothers are so linked together that Scripture says: “He who does not love does not know God” (1 John 4:8). (2)
He chose to stay there. He had to stay there. He had to absorb their hatred and return love in its place. They physically tortured Him, and He called on God the Father to forgive them anyway.
One of his followers said, Imitate me, as I imitate Christ!
Are you ready to do that? Are you ready to face hatred head on, and meet it with love? Are you ready to surrender your pride, your rights, your position or reputation, your family and even your life, if that is what is needed, that your enemies and adversaries could be afforded the opportunity to be reconciled to God the Father through Christ?
Some would say we aren’t supposed to put ourselves in the place of Jesus, that there is only one mediator. That God can’t expect us to love like He did, that such is not possible for sinners such as we are.
And so they refuse to love their neighbor, nevermind their enemy.
We can’t do that anymore, it is so contrary to what Paul talks of, when he talks about our being united to Christ’s death and resurrection, when he says we can use grace as an excuse for not trying to restrain the sin in our lives. (For Lutherans, check out Article VI of the Augsburg Confession)
There is a new life in Christ. There is the life in the Spirit; there is the life breathed into us, when we were spiritually dead, dry bones.
But this life is one that begins in the sacraments, as the word of God results in God taking root in our lives. It is encouraged in prayer, and in times of devotion, those times of quiet awe and adoration when we realize He is God, and He is here… It is a life where any fight is not over power or authority, but a fight to see people reconciled to God, rescued and healed from the damage of sin and hell.
To see their hearts turned to God, to see them be drawn to the cross, for there we have found hope, for there we have found life.
This is our ministry, whether pastor or priest, deacon or any other servant of God. Yes, it takes great faith, great trust in God, that He will raise you from the dead, that He has given you this life, He has given us the Holy Spirit to comfort and empower us and transform us into the image of His Son.
In this faithful life, we come to love our brothers who we can see, and so demonstrate our love for God our Father.
This is the baptized life. Don’t accept any other ….
(1) Escriva, Josemaria. The Forge (Kindle Locations 1144-1148). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
(2) Catholic Church. (2011). Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions: Nostra Aetate. In Vatican II Documents. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
Florida, An Elevator, and Peace….
Devotional Thought of the Day:
1 On that day, you will say: I give you thanks, O LORD; though you have been angry with me, your anger has abated, and you have consoled me. 2 God indeed is my savior; I am confident and unafraid. My strength and my courage is the LORD, and he has been my savior. 3 With joy you will draw water at the fountain of salvation, 4 and say on that day: Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name; among the nations make known his deeds, proclaim how exalted is his name. 5 Sing praise to the LORD for his glorious achievement; let this be known throughout all the earth. 6 Shout with exultation, O city of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel!
Isaiah 12:1-6 (NAB)
The impression that people have today is that being a Christian is something irksome, a multiplicity of commands and prohibitions to which new prohibitions are added with every increase in knowledge and every new possibility that is opened to us. Little by little, it begins to seem impossible to live all that, to bear all that. Ultimately, faith seems to be just a burden. But when a person has once met Christ, when a person has once seen Jesus and really learned to know him, then everything is changed. Then everything else is comprehensible and life is renewed. And you priests have really only one task: to present Jesus to all people in such a way that they see him and learn to love him. Then everything that faith teaches will be self-evident.
I remember then that Saint Paul, in his Letter to the Galatians, described his activity as apostle and priest in the following words: “I depicted Christ clearly before your eyes” (cf. Gal 3:1). Ultimately that is what the priesthood is all about: to have seen Jesus oneself, to have received with love him whom we have seen, to live in that seeing, and then to show him to others. (1)
Yesterday, I awoke to the news that there was a tragedy, an act of terrorism by a man who was described by many as always angry, always wanting to strike out. A man who grew up here, in a land full of churches, in a land of freedom.
Today I woke up to a memory on Facebook, reminding me of another angry young man. One who was specifically trained in the middle east to be a cold-blooded assassin. He grew up in a nation torn by war, where both sides persecuted their enemies. Where family members died, and where revenge was a way of life. It was tied to religion and culture, ethnicity and historic hatred. A man who didn’t murder 49 people yesterday, but instead helped other know peace. A year ago today he visited my church and shared about both his anger and brokenness, and how he now knew peace.
As I look at the star contrast, the difference between the two men, the difference comes down to a moment in an elevator. AN elevator in a war-torn country that is still torn apart today.
Yeah, started in an elevator, maybe the time it takes to travel 10-12 stories. The man with the history, whose brother was killed, who family was torn apart by war, stepped into the elevator where another man was. A man who could have represented everything the man was against.
And in those brief moments, everything changed. In those moments, the brokenness of both men, and the fact that one found hope and healing, enabled the other man to do the same.
Peace became evident where it should not have had the slightest chance. Love made the difference, as an old man reached out to an angry young guy and who over time would depict Christ clearly to him, who would give him hope, who would see him come to know God’s love and praise the God, who saved him. The angry young guy is now a pastor, trying to reach out to others, and bring them peace. The older man, simply took the time to listen, and talk, and share the peace he knew helped him in his brokenness. The story of a man who loved his enemies enough to let them kill Him, so He could bring them peace, sanctuary, rest, and joy.
I am not sure if anyone ever tried to reach out to the man who terrorized a community as he killed people whose parents, siblings, friends who are traumatized and grieving this morning. I have heard that many recognized his brokenness and even lived in fear of him.
I don’t know about the past, save that we can learn from it. We can reach out to those who are broken, who seem depressed, who are angry, hurt, even those who aren’t like “us.” (Whatever that means) We can make known His works to all the nations, doing so in a way that is loving and respectful. We can love them, and pray for them, and see God work in their lives.
For in our brokenness, we have seen Christ, we have received Him and learned to love Him, and living in fellowship with Him. We can show him to others….loving them,
even in an elevator…
Lord have mercy upon us ALL! AMEN!
(1) Ratzinger, J. (1992). Co-Workers of the Truth: Meditations for Every Day of the Year. (I. Grassl, Ed., M. F. McCarthy & L. Krauth, Trans.) (p. 191). San Francisco: Ignatius Press.
Where True Reconciliation and Leadership Begins
Devotional Thought fo the Day:
2 Euodia and Syntyche, please, I beg you, try to agree as sisters in the Lord. 3 And you too, my faithful partner, I want you to help these women; for they have worked hard with me to spread the gospel, together with Clement and all my other fellow workers, whose names are in God’s book of the living. 4 May you always be joyful in your union with the Lord. I say it again: rejoice! 5 Show a gentle attitude toward everyone. The Lord is coming soon.
Philippians 4:2-5 (TEV)
10 By the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ I appeal to all of you, my friends, to agree in what you say, so that there will be no divisions among you. Be completely united, with only one thought and one purpose.
1 Corinthians 1:10 (TEV)
1 I, who am an elder myself, appeal to the church elders among you. I am a witness of Christ’s sufferings, and I will share in the glory that will be revealed. I appeal to you 2 to be shepherds of the flock that God gave you and to take care of it willingly, as God wants you to, and not unwillingly. Do your work, not for mere pay, but from a real desire to serve. 3 Do not try to rule over those who have been put in your care, but be examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the glorious crown which will never lose its brightness.
1 Peter 5:1-4 (TEV)
Whenever on of us had a fit of anger or bitterness or behaved in a manner unbefitting a Christian, Father Gilbert asked him to go prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, so that he could examine his conscience face to face with Jesus and allow himself to be calmed by the Lord’s gentle presence. ( from God or Nothing A Conversation on Faith, by Robert Cardinal Sarah)
The idea of division in the church is not new. Yes, many denominations and associations (brotherhoods, synods, organizations, etc., there) are facing bitter division, my own synod included. There is a battle fo; there is a battle often seen as a battle for survival, and for what we treasure. At times, such a rivalry can be compared to a high school football game, with post-victory celebrations as full of expletives and spewing hatred. I’ve heard and read the promises that we will get them, that they will be crushed. And the despair of those who try to find hope in defeating those who were victorious.
I’ve been there, seen it, lived in, to my shame and grief I’ve been part of it.
And we all know better. Or if we don’t, we need to leave the leadership of churches to someone else.
I once jokingly said that the solution to reconciliation of any large group of Lutherans was to gather them in a room, ply them with free coffee, free Lutheran beverages and accidently lock the doors, chaining them closed. To only open them when every person in the room was able to commune and utter the words, “the Lord is with you” and bless each other with “Christ’s peace is with you” and take the sacrament together, without hesitation, and with joy.
Of course, I would rather do it without locking the doors, to see it freely happen. To be able to say God is with you to those who are in opposition, instead of saying the words from Romeo and Juliet, “the plague be on both your houses.” To quote Lincoln quoting Jesus, “A house divided cannot stand!”
The only hope is reconciliation. The only hope is decisions made, not on a majority vote, but on consensus.
The challenge is that such reconciliation means up giving up the idea of supervision by power and authority, and replacing it with service, with washing the feet of our enemies and adversaries, as seeing their salvation and reconciliation with God as the ultimate goal, as opposed to our group being in power.
And it means instead of going back to the bargaining table, or the floor of the debate, going to the altar, going to our communal refuge. As the Catholic Cardinal noted in his work, allowing Jesus to calm us with HIS presence.
Finding His mercy, finding His love and healing, finding that in being reconciled to Him, we are, miraculously, reconciled to each other. It is from that peace; it is from this point where we learn that washing each other’s feet is more powerful than any resolution. That the presence of Christ is more powerful than any blog, or any political machine. That true worship breaks out when mercy is the basis of our hope.
Anxious, upset, worried? I live in that as well… and the place to be rid of it has some bread and a cup of wine, that is so much more… it is our Christ, our Savior, our Lord, our Healer, our Brother.
Lord, break us and reconcile us, transform us by your presence, into your image. And may your glory, reflected from us as we heal, bring hope to the world. AMEN!
When Theology Fails It’s Objective…
Devotional Thought of the Day:
1 In the beginning the Word already existed; the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 From the very beginning the Word was with God. 3 Through him God made all things; not one thing in all creation was made without him. 4 The Word was the source of life, and this life brought light to people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out. 6 God sent his messenger, a man named John, 7 who came to tell people about the light, so that all should hear the message and believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came to tell about the light. 9 This was the real light—the light that comes into the world and shines on all people. 10 The Word was in the world, and though God made the world through him, yet the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to his own country, but his own people did not receive him. 12 Some, however, did receive him and believed in him; so he gave them the right to become God’s children. 13 They did not become God’s children by natural means, that is, by being born as the children of a human father; God himself was their Father. 14 The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us. We saw his glory, the glory which he received as the Father’s only Son.
John 1:1-14 (TEV)
“Our desire to advance in theological knowledge, in sound, firm Christian doctrine is sparked , above all, by the will to know and love God. It likewise stems from the concern of a faithful soul to attain the deepest meaning fo the world, seen as coming from the hands of God. “( St Josemaria Escriva, Christ is passing By)
I believe that I cannot come to my Lord Jesus Christ by my own intelligence or power. But the Holy Spirit call me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true faith, just as He calls, gathers together, enlightens and makes holy the whole Church on earth and keeps it with Jesus in the one, true faith. In this Church, He generously forgives each day every sin committed by me and by every believer. (Martin Luther, Luther’s Small Catechism)
Theology has the hardest job of any science.
Yeah, you read that right, I called theology a science. It is a logos; it seeks to exist in the world of logic and reason, of in-depth study and observation. It is full of hypotheticals, and that which is proven, though we argue about which things fall into which categories.It has to balance general revelation with documents which claim to be specific revelation from a divine, omniscient source. It is up to us to discern which books are divine, which are simply good, and which are absolutely false. Just for clarification sake, “us” is inclusive of people of every time, and of nearly every culture, from every continent, with no special wisdom given to those of any particular heritage.
The problem is that Theology has failed miserably, because theologians on every part of every spectrum have forgotten the basic reason for the existence of theology. Some still get it, but they are marginalized, more about them later! Unlike other sciences, theology has long ceased to benefit humanity; it seeks simply for a truth divorced from meaning.
The reason for this is that theologians distance themselves from the objective, expressed by St. Josemaria Escriva as to know and love God. This should be the Theologian’s greatest joy, to do what Paul prayed for, for all the people of God.
14 For this reason I fall on my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth receives its true name. 16 I ask God from the wealth of his glory to give you power through his Spirit to be strong in your inner selves, 17 and I pray that Christ will make his home in your hearts through faith. I pray that you may have your roots and foundation in love, 18 so that you, together with all God’s people, may have the power to understand how broad and long, how high and deep, is Christ’s love. 19 Yes, may you come to know his love—although it can never be fully known—and so be completely filled with the very nature of God.
Ephesians 3:14-19 (TEV)
This is where a theologian lives, it is where a theologian would thrive, and it is as the theologians share the wonder and joy of knowing this love, that a theologian learns to know and love God, and where the theologian begins to understand the deepest meaning for this world. It is where John 1:1-14 goes from being nice philosophy to something that is mind-blowing and life-altering.
It is where theology becomes the science which benefits people, those who hear and listen and end up becoming the children of God.
That is what theology is for, that is why we preach, that is why the church sacrifices all it has to make known the love of God.
May theologians from every culture, every language remember why they are called to this task. Our existence is predicated on knowing and loving God, and as we return to that, knowing His love for us, may we see the Breath of Life empower and guide our efforts.
Incredible, Precious Long-forgotten Wisdom
Devotional Thought fo the Day:
My child, when you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for trials. 2 Be sincere of heart and steadfast, and do not be impetuous in time of adversity. 3 Cling to him, do not leave him, that you may prosper in your last days. 4 Accept whatever happens to you; in periods of humiliation be patient. 5 For in fire gold is tested, and the chosen, in the crucible of humiliation. 6 Trust in God, and he will help you; make your ways straight and hope in him. (Sir 2:1–6 NAB-RE)
13 Thus you can easily understand the nature and scope of this commandment. It requires that man’s whole heart and confidence be placed in God alone, and in no one else. To have God, you see, does not mean to lay hands upon him, or put him into a purse, or shut him up in a chest. 14 We lay hold of him when our heart embraces him and clings to him.
15 To cling to him with all our heart is nothing else than to entrust ourselves to him completely. He wishes to turn us away from everything else, and draw us to Himself, because he is the one eternal good.
Too late loved I Thee, O Thou Beauty of ancient days, yet ever new! too late I loved Thee! And behold, Thou wert within, and I abroad, and there I searched for Thee; deformed I, plunging amid those fair forms which Thou hadst made. Thou wert with me, but I was not with Thee. Things held me far from Thee, which, unless they were in Thee, were not at all. Thou calledst, and shoutedst, and burstest my deafness. Thou flashedst, shonest, and scatteredst my blindness. Thou breathedst odours, and I drew in breath and panted for Thee. I tasted, and hunger and thirst. Thou touchedst me, and I burned for Thy peace.
292 You should repeat very often: Jesus, if ever a doubt creeps into my soul, setting up other noble ambitions in place of what you are asking of me, I tell you now that I prefer to follow you, no matter how much it costs. Do not leave me!
Bear with me, as a share some background to this post…. Growing up, my first full Bible was a white “leatherette” Bible with a silver cross imprinted on it. Like the one in the picture, though the leatherette was cracked, and the pages worn…
I remember reading and being asked by Father Alex questions each week about what I read. I was probably not more than my son’s nine years old then, and I remember reading the book of Ecclesiasticus, or Sirach, or properly the Wisdom of Ben-Sirach. Do I remember what I read sitting on the couch against the bay window? No, I just remember it was a book of the Bible that gave me peace. Peace I needed then, as I dealt with a few serious issues in life. The deadly threat of Marfans, often being sick with Asthma, trying to work through the idea I that was adopted, and possibly what would now be known as Aspergers. For by no means did I “fit in” at school, nor could I understand why “they” didn’t fit in with me.
Every year I pick a different translation to read through, thanks to one of my computer programs, and this year it is the New American Bible, Revised Edition. What replaced my beloved first “full” Bible. As such it has Wisdom/Sirach in it, as it is a Roman Catholic translation. First time I’ve probably read this section of the Bible in 30 years or more.
Now I know why I recall the peace that came from it, sitting in my living room – it talks of what Luther calls faith, it identifies what Augustine burned for, what Escriva says we should often repeat, crying out for the Lord to help us remember and stayed focused upon.
This is faith, to cling to God no matter what assails us, to trust God, to do so recognizing His Majesty, His mercy, His love. For as we trust in Him, as we depend upon Him, He will make our ways straight, He will not just give us hope; He will be our Hope. Maybe as a child I understood that better than I do today, maybe there was less theology, less human insight. This is what scripture said – cling to God…do not leave Him, trust in Him….
A message I need to hear today, as new problems arise, as even as I serve Him, I find Sirach right – there are so many trials, so many heartaches, so much that challenges my embrace of the Lord, who embraces me.
Probably as some of my Protestant friends are reading this, their mind is going to throw a stumbling rock in the way! Sirach isn’t scripture, and all the side conversations of what that means. Perhaps my Catholic friends will be wondering why I can quote Luther next to Augustine or Escriva (some Catholics might question that as well! )
Drop it. Drop all that crap now!
Hear the words of Sirach’s wisdom, wisdom that is not only in harmony with three of my “heroes”, or role models, but is in accord with all of scripture. This is what the covenant means, this is what the promise of God declaring that we are His people, that He is our God. This is faith; this is why we are declared just, why we are made holy. Whther you think this is pure scripture, or a good book, you can’t argue with the fact it is scriptural in its teaching, it is what all of scripture proclaims, and urges us to believe.
That we could know the peace of God being our sanctuary, where we find rest and peace, peace that goes beyond all understanding, that guards our broken hearts and minds, and makes them whole.
Cling to God, no matter what happens as you serve Him. Know His love, know He holds you… even as you cry out,
Lord, have mercy!
You will find He will strengthen your faith, and He will be your hope. AMEN!
Tappert, T. G. (Ed.). (1959). The Book of Concord the confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. (p. 366). Philadelphia: Mühlenberg Press.
Augustine, S., Bishop of Hippo. (1996). The Confessions of St. Augustine. (E. B. Pusey, Trans.). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
Escriva, Josemaria. The Forge (Kindle Locations 1189-1191). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Theology that Truly Matters Meets Us….
Devotional THoguht fo the Day:
14 Let us, then, hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we have a great High Priest who has gone into the very presence of God—Jesus, the Son of God. 15 Our High Priest is not one who cannot feel sympathy for our weaknesses. On the contrary, we have a High Priest who was tempted in every way that we are, but did not sin. 16 Let us have confidence, then, and approach God’s throne, where there is grace. There we will receive mercy and find grace to help us just when we need it.
Hebrews 4:14-16 (TEV)
290 Joy, and supernatural and human optimism, can go hand in hand with physical tiredness, with sorrow, with tears (because we have a heart), and with difficulties in our interior life or our apostolic work. He who is perfectus Deus, perfectus Homo—perfect God and perfect Man—and who enjoyed every happiness in Heaven, chose to experience fatigue and tiredness, tears and suffering… so that we might understand that if we are to be supernatural we must also be very human. (1)
Tomorrow in church we will use the Athanasian Creed, an incredible wonderful set of words that describe the nature of God who is so much more than we can understand or conceive. It first describes Father Son and Holy Spirit (or for us older folk Holy Ghost). Mindblowing in both its simplicity and complexity. Very appropriate as we dedicate the day to thinking about the Trinity, this majestic and glorious God, who has revealed Himself to us.
The second aspect I want to deal with here, well sort of…
It describes, as best as one can, the divine and human nature of Christ. That he is 100% man, 100% divine. Theologians will talk about this ad nauseum, with fancy Latin phrases and epic tomes which make us sound far more brilliant than we are. Where it matters is where the saint who wrote Hebrews mentions above.
Christ has sympathy for us. Not just a sympathetic ear, but true sympathy for us. Or perhaps more accurately, empathy. He’s been here, done this, and instead of having a t-shirt to wear, He has stripes on His back, a gaping hole in His side, and in his wrists and feet. As the scriptures tell us, he endured the temptations we face, (and then some extras!) He experienced the fatigue and suffering, the tears and emotional exhaustion. his sacrifice was on the cross, but it was also His very life. A life that was an offering for us, and to us, to show us the depth of God’s love.
Which is why, broken and weary, tired and drained, even doubting and in despair, we can turn to Him. Or more precisely drawn to Him. We don’t have to avoid the pain, and the sorrow, the tears and the grief. For there, in the midst of the brokenness, we find Jesus, who was broken for us. We find in our Humanity, the Lord and Savior, who loved us enough to become human, and there, at that moment, we find the joy of His making us holy, and supernatural, as we share in His glory.
So if you are preaching tomorrow, remember to link the Trinity to their beloved, remember to mention the Birde of Christ. If you are hearing a sermon, worship with great joy, knowing that God is with you… that He has chosen to share your life, and at that moment, know the peace and joy that is beyond all understanding. For Jesus the Christ is with you, guarding you heart and mind. AMEN!
Escriva, Josemaria. The Forge (Kindle Locations 1181-1185). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Why Do You Insist On Struggling Alone?
Devotional Thought fo the Day:
22 “The Son of Man must suffer many terrible things,” he said. “He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.” 23 Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. 24 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. Luke 9:22-24 (NLT)
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)
252 Grant me, Jesus, the Cross with no Simon of Cyrene to help me. No, that’s not right; I need your grace, I need your help here as in everything. You must be my Simon of Cyrene. With you, my God, no trial can daunt me… But what if my Cross should consist in boredom or sadness? In that case I say to you, Lord, with You I would gladly be sad. (1)
Occaisonally I hear the complaint, “no one knows what I am going through, and no one understands, no one cares.” Sometimes I want to argue the point, confronting the opinion with that which proves it is not true. Other times I simply want to say, “stop whining, trust in God, you know that is not true!” And sometimes I want to walk away, tired of the complaints, which seem more an excuse for not living as one should.
But how do I walk away from myself?
Though I have heard such as a pastor and as a friend, I have heard it often in those internal arguments we have when we have that moment to think, when we have a moment where we are not recoiling from the constant stress that life provides. Even as I’ve shepherded others through those times, (some have even suggested I have a talent for it?) applying the same truth to my own life is difficult.
Part of me just wants to accept it, it’s part of taking up my cross, and I will get through it, eventually. After all, good Christians endure all things, right?
No.
We are not meant ot bear our burdens alone. We are meant to share them, with God, and as our trust in God grows, with the people He’s called to be His own.
St Josemaria’s words that I read, that I need to inwardly digest this morning confront me in my struggles.They don’t dismiss the cross I’ve got to bear, but they remind me that a Christian doesn’t walk through such times alone. And we certainly aren’t the heroes who bear the weight by our own strength. We need to let Jesus be our Simon of Cyrene. We have to let the Spirit intercede for us, even as we are too overwhelmed to know what to pray.
We have to know we walk with God, we walk in Christ, the Holy Spirit dwells within us. We need to depend on a God who reveals Himself to be not just in a relationship, but to be the Relationship.
This is how we find ourselves to be able to rejoice in all things, and to not be anxious about anything. In order to survive, it is not about bearing up with things bravely, it is about depending on Jesus, about living, not in view of that would crush us, but in view of the cross and the love revealed to us there.
For taking up the cross, our cross, is found in being united to His suffering and death, and His life. That is where our peace comes from.. a peace that doesn’t make sense.
A peace that is ours, as we let Jesus be our Simon, as we let Him be our Paraclete, our Comforter, as we let HIm be our Lord and Savior!
AMEN!
(1) Escriva, Josemaria. The Forge (Kindle Locations 1060-1063). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
When the Church is the Building….
Discussion thought fo the Day….
27 “But will God really live on earth? Why, even the highest heavens cannot contain you. How much less this Temple I have built! 28 Nevertheless, listen to my prayer and my plea, O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is making to you today. 29 May you watch over this Temple night and day, this place where you have said, ‘My name will be there.’ May you always hear the prayers I make toward this place. 30 May you hear the humble and earnest requests from me and your people Israel when we pray toward this place. Yes, hear us from heaven where you live, and when you hear, forgive. 1 Kings 8:27-30 (NLT)
41 “In the future, foreigners who do not belong to your people Israel will hear of you. They will come from distant lands because of your name, 42 for they will hear of your great name and your strong hand and your powerful arm. And when they pray toward this Temple, 43 then hear from heaven where you live, and grant what they ask of you. In this way, all the people of the earth will come to know and fear you, just as your own people Israel do. They, too, will know that this Temple I have built honors your name.
1 Kings 8:41-43 (NLT)
But more than that: we want to see heaven, we seek something greater, for the human soul thirsts for God, for the living God. The places of pilgrimage have marked a kind of geography of faith in our country, that is, they make visible, almost tangible, how our forefathers encountered the living God, how HE did not withdraw after creation or after the time of Jesus Christ, but is always present and works in them so that they were able to experience HIM, follow in his footsteps, and see him in the works HE performed. Yes, HE is there, and HE is still there today. It is from this inner encounter with the Lord that there originated the places and images of pilgrimage in which we, so to speak, can participate in what they saw, in what their faith provided for them. (1)
It has become a mantra among modern Christians, “the church isn’t the building, it is the people!”
And as this has become more common, we see the church becoming more disposable, we are willing to let them fade into ruin, we are willing to sell them off and let them become restaurants, or antique shops, or be torn down to make way for homes or strip malls.
Let me be clear, I am not talking about Gothic cathedrals; the Church might be a store front, or a modular building, or an old wooden frame building out in the country. Nor am I talking about a form of worship – either that modified from ancient forms of liturgy, or free-form prayer and study that is equally ancient.
But these places are the church.
Because they are the places, like the temple, where God put His Name, they were dedicated to God’s work, to bring honor and glory to His name by becoming a place where the gospel was shared, where people were taught about God’s faithfulness, where people would be baptized and enter into fellowship with others who depend on God. They are the place where that fellowship, God and His people was expressed and celebrated in Communion.
Not just one generation, but generation upon generation. They are the places of pilgrimage we have been given, Pilgrimages that aren’t once i n a lifetime, but daily and weekly..As such, they do what Cardinal Ratzinger wrote about – “they make visible and tangible how our forefathers encountered the living God, how He did not withdraw from them after the time of Jesus Christ, but is ALWAYS present and WORKS in them so that they were able to EXPERIENCE HIM, follow in His footsteps, and see Him int he works He performed. ”
As I watch the church experts these days, there is a new mantra. No longer is it the building that is not the church; the congregations are no longer the church either. More precisely, they find that God doesn’t sustain a church past 25-40 years (they forget the part of the original study talking about rededication – holding on to part that explains their observations) As they have been willing to close the buildings, now we are willing to close down the people.
In doing so, we lose the history, not of this person or that, but of their encountering God on His terms, on His ground, on Holy ground, holy because it was where He put His name, where they built it to honor Him. This is what Cardinal Ratzinger was writing about when he continued,
HE is there, and HE is still there today. It is from this inner encounter with the Lord that there originated the places and images of pilgrimage in which we, so to speak, can participate in what they saw, in what their faith provided for them.
As I talk to people who are broken, there is a need to find something bigger than they are, something that will give us hope, something that will assure us that we can go on, that God is still working with HIs people. That there is something work sacrificing for, not just for our sake, but for our communities. Something that is not just a testimony to this generation, but to generations to come.
These places where God meets His people, where He assures them of His love, where He welcomes those foreign to “religion” to come and pray,t o come and find God’s heart, where they find God revealed to them, can serve in such places, because they always have. They are the gathering places, they are places of peace, because they are places of prayer, and absolution, fellowship, sanctuaries and fortresses where we can find rest and healing.
Sustaining them will take work, sacrifice of time and money. THat’s okay; they took that to build them. It will take a lot of teaching, a lot of sharing why God’s love is important, from scripture and the lives of those who went before. That is okay as well! The greater cost will be found when by closing them, disbanding their people, we send an unintended message of what doesn’t matter to “organized religion,”
They are where we, as a communion meet God. These places, centuries old or decades, large or small, ornate or plain, are where we become part of the church, where we become the church.
Maybe we shouldn’t be so hasty to abandon them, or the people and God that are the reason they exist.
(1) Ratzinger, J. (1992). Co-Workers of the Truth: Meditations for Every Day of the Year. (I. Grassl, Ed., M. F. McCarthy & L. Krauth, Trans.) (p. 165). San Francisco: Ignatius Press.
How do We Love Thee – Pentecost Sermon (manuscript)
How DO We Love Thee?
John 14:23-31
† In Jesus Name †
May the Grace of God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ assure you that you live in peace, and may that reality cause you to grow in your love and adoration!
Some of you will recognize the title as being part of a poem, a few more might recognize it as the work of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, a selection from Works of the Portuguese, #43. Some of us probably remember it from Warner Bros. Cartoons, as both Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd probably said it in twenty or more episodes.
How do I love Thee, let me count the ways, and the poet goes onto to describe love very eloquently, but not practically. Not with terms that mean anything, but sound glorious and romantic.
As I read today’s gospel, to prepare for this sermon, the words echoed in my mind. If we had to consider how we love God, would we stammer, would we use elegant words that are flowery and vague, or would we be able to say, like this passage, we did what you asked, and we trust you to return as you said you would?
A problematic question, if we ask it honestly. How do we love the God who came and dwelt among us, and will come again so that we can dwell with Him?
If our lives are to testify to our love for God, what happens if our lives testify to somewhat less than a life lived in love?
The last question, what does, our measuring our living God by our actions, what does this have to do with Pentecost?
An Impossible Standard?
Hear the words of Jesus again.
All who love me will do what I say.
He went on to clarify this,
24 Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me. And remember, my words are not my own. What I am telling you is from the Father, who sent me.
Obedience to God isn’t optional, not according to these passages. Jesus even makes sure we understand the Trinity is united in this, this isn’t just something Jesus came up with n the spot.
And it wasn’t just for Peter and James and John. Or for heroes of our faith like Augustine, Francis, and Luther. This is our standard, how we are to live, how we are to measure our love for God, by keeping, by treasuring what He has said to us, how He has taught us to live.
In other words, this is a way we can count the ways we love God.
Okay, take a minute and think about it, and this week that just passed. Take a moment, and think through it, through the actions and things you said. Were you obeying God?
Be careful, your mind might drift off, and it will be very tempting to bypass your thoughts, words and deeds, and judge others. But this is between you and God.
Did your actions testify to your love? Were your actions obedient to what Christ has taught you?
How about a little more time?
It is unnerving isn’t it?
The Confusion
it seems contrary to what Jesus goes on to say,
27 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.
So how do we know this peace, when we examine our souls and find out our thoughts, our words and deeds don’t illustrate the love that we want to have for God?
Or as Paul, the apostle says, when examining his soul,
21 I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love God’s law with all my heart. 23 But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?
Romans 7:21-24 (NLT)
For me, this isn’t just theology about like, it is even about tomorrow, I need to get this straight now, before another storm of life hits, and I can’t think it through.
How do we reconcile our lives, where sin seems so dominant, and when it robs of the peace we are supposed to have in Christ? How am I going to show Christ the love He deserves, when I struggle to keep what He’s given us?
The HOPE of Pentecost!
The answer is found in the reality of Pentecost.
You see, most of the time we talk about Pentecost it is about the lounges of fire or the gift of the Spirit that resulted in people of 15 languages hearing the gospel from 12 men preaching it, each in their language. Or by the incredible repentant hearts of 3000 plus people who were believed and were baptized.
What we miss is the power of the Holy Spirit, the causes and empowers it all, who fulfills the prophecies, who cuts open the hearts and causes people to depend on God.
As Jesus promised,
25 I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. 26 But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.
This is how we remember to demonstrate the love we have for God, by bringing to the fore front of our minds the things that Jesus not only commanded, but taught us, the very promises that we call the New Covenant.
Including the fact that God has made His home with us, or rather, that in us dwells His Holy Spirit, and someday, He will come and dwell with us, face to face again.
It is the presence of the Holy Spirt, in the comfort and peace that God gives us as we know that Christ taught us well, that He came to die for us, to offer to all to remove that sin, which ensnares us, to heal us and free us and enable us to love.
To hear those words, that in Christ there is no condemnation, and that we are in Christ Jesus.
This is the job of the Advocate, the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us already, in our baptism,
Do You want to know whether you love God? Do You want to measure it? Then look to the Lord who makes us His own, who died to set us free, and hear Him…
Thanks to the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life…
AMEN!
