Blog Archives
Getting Back on “the” Topic!
Devotional THought of the Day:
Look, the days are coming”—the LORD’s declaration—“when it will no longer be said, ‘As the LORD livesw who brought the Israelites from the land of Egypt,’ 8 but, ‘As the LORD lives, who brought and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the land of the north and from all the other countries where ID had banished them.’ They will dwell once more in their own land.” Jeremiah 23:7-8 CSB
I don’t know whether or not we can avoid having social classes. In any case it is not my job to speak of such matters, much less here, in this oratory, where we have come together to talk about God (I would never want to talk about anything else) and to talk to God.
It wasn’t the case of “what had God done for me lately.”
The people of God were living in the past with God; they weren’t looking for Him in the present. They kept talking about the past, the glories that were there when God freed them from Egypt.
They weren’t looking for His work in their here and now. They didn’t expect Him to be with them, there in the brokenness, as they dealt with the consequences of their sin.
We are not any different. We start by wanting to make the best of a situation, to deal with the apparent injustices in our day. We want to reverse the damage of “their” sin, forcing them to do what we think is right, what we think is just.
We overlook that all sin, and whoever we put “in charge” of making things just will surely offend people. We overlook our biases while condemning others. Therefore aren’t anymore just than those we oppose. We’ve forgotten God dwells in our presence, that we dwell in His presence.
That is why Josemaria wants to get back on topic – talking about God, talking to God. That is why Isaiah’s prophecy aims to get people to look for what God is doing now and is about to do. We have to learn to look to Jesus. We have to look for how the Holy Spirit is reconciling people in this day, as is promised. We have to pray and ask God to reveal His work through and around us.
Ironically the cross and the resurrection are not in the past as the Red Sea was. It is present, always! That is where our rescue, our deliverance, our salvation occurs. Our Baptism makes the cross and resurrection our present, the Lord’s Supper – brings us back to that moment of sacrifice, and it cleanses our sin… now.
This is our life… this is why we are here… to talk about God and talk with Him now, even as we see Him at work. Looking a the past helps us see His promises – but we need to know they are here.. now. He needs to be the topic of our lives…. and then we will live in peace. For He has promised that… to us.
Escrivá, Josemaría. Friends of God . Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Tired of Rejection!?!
Devotional Thought of the Day:
3 He said to me, “Mortal man, can these bones come back to life?”
I replied, “Sovereign LORD, only you can answer that!”
They say that they are dried up, without any hope and with no future. 12 So prophesy to my people Israel and tell them that I, the Sovereign LORD, am going to open their graves. I am going to take them out and bring them back to the land of Israel. 13 When I open the graves where my people are buried and bring them out, they will know that I am the LORD. 14 I will put my breath in them, bring them back to life, and let them live in their own land. Then they will know that I am the LORD. I have promised that I would do this—and I will. I, the LORD, have spoken.” Ezekiel 37:3:11-14 GNT
4 Come to the Lord, the living stone rejected by people as worthless but chosen by God as valuable. 5 Come as living stones, and let yourselves be used in building the spiritual temple, where you will serve as holy priests to offer spiritual and acceptable sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ… At one time you were not God’s people, but now you are his people; at one time you did not know God’s mercy, but now you have received his mercy. 1 Peter 2:4-5, 10 GNT
This world is full of rejection.
I have felt a lot of it across my life.
No, I am not talking about the ladies in high school who thought I was going to ask them out on a date and proactively said no. (Fourteen of the them, and only one was I thinking about asking out!) Nor the jobs and positions I really wanted whom others got.
I am talking about people who reject each other, and people they don’t even know, because of political views, religious views, views on what is moral or immoral and what is right and wrong. Maybe we wouldn’t reject them outright, but we place the signs and meme’s were they can see them, dripping with snark and sarcasm, or being just being offensive and hurtful in what we choose to say. (we may defend our statement as being true and accurate, but we say it in a way for shock value!)
And so we reject each other.
It is as if we were the one the Lord asked, “Can these bones live?” and rather than answer that only God knows, we go “No!” and turn our back and walk away.
We have had this done to us, and I bet we have done it to others.
Look at Facebook and Twitter – we’ve said it about every president or candidate or politician, we’ve said it about the broken figures in sports and in business, we’ve said it about those who seek help, and those who do not seem to help others. We’ve said it about the diversity of people around us, no race or culture has been exempt, including our own.
Notice I have said “we’ve said it,” for though we don’t each say it about everyone, we all have had our targets, those whom we believe are beyond redemption, who are beyond God’s ability to “Make alive” or put His Holy Spirit in, as He has promised. And I’ve said we, because sometimes it seems the church is more antagonistic than any other group.We are willing to bach people who don’t understand grace and mercy, and they won’t necessarily learn about it from us.
They should, we should be the ones who explain to the rejected that God won’t reject them. He will love them draw them to Himself, heal and cleanse their wounds. He doesn’t want to reject them, He wants to make them His people. His living, blessed, God chosen, valuable people.
People who know God, and revel to be in HIs presence.
These bones can live – and so can yours.
Rejoice, and look at all people, as those God is calling to be His own….what a wonderful thing!
