Blog Archives
Do We Serve God, or Does God Serve Us?
Devotional Thought fo the Day:
18 And I told them how God had been with me and helped me, and what the emperor had said to me. They responded, “Let’s start rebuilding!” And they got ready to start the work. Nehemiah 2:18 (TEV)
1 Don’t let your life be sterile. Be useful. Blaze a trail. Shine forth with the light of your faith and of your love. With your apostolic life wipe out the slimy and filthy mark left by the impure sowers of hatred. And light up all the ways of the earth with the fire of Christ that you carry in your heart. (1)
When elected President of the United States of America, John F. Kennedy directed the citizens of the USA to ask themselves a question. Occasionally, I’ve heard that question adapted to the church, especially when a church is low on funds or wants to start a new ministry. The adapted question reads something like this:
Ask not what God can do for you, ask what you can do for God (or at least for His church).
When I hear such motivational malarky (an old-fashioned word for bullshit) it irritates me slightly. Okay, more than slightly. Not because God’s people shouldn’t be active in ministry, they must be. But the reason for such activity is not to do something for God as if to earn His favor. Or to do something for God, as if to repay some debt. Our living as Christians isn’t something that has to be manipulated.
I’ve heard a similar question asked about church. Do we go to church to serve God or to let God serve us. Matter of fact, there are great debates about this, with judgment being poured out on those who think otherwise. Both sides take up their positions, prepare their defenses, pump up their disciples, and start tossing cliche’s and one-line statements of wisdom.
It is the same question – do we serve, or are we served? Is it all about pleasing God, or do we expect to be made happy.
It is neither. Both sides of the question have overlooked the obvious.
it is not about who does what for whom.
It is about communion. It is about knowingly living in the presence of God. As Nehemiah wrote, “God had been with me”. as St Josemaria wrote, “with the fire of Christ you carry in your heart” For them, what is to be done pours out of that intimate relationship with God. Not from demanded obedience, but from hearing Him, (Greek and Hebrew scholars who are struggling with this, go look up the word for hear.)
Whether it is giving a thirsty man a cup of cold water, buying a homeless lady breakfast, visiting that person who is bedbound and can’t live a normal life, or kneeling and receiving the body and blood of Jesus, given and shed for you; our actions aren’t about who benefits. it’s not a God scratches our back, we will scratch His.
It’s about walking with God, about rejoicing in His presence. To use an old phrase, it is about abiding with Christ or practicing the presence of God. (Except it isn’t practice!)
It is a Heavenly Father, walking through life with His children, even when our Father has to pick us up and carry us, because the road seems too tiring, to long.
So don’t ask what God will do for you, or what you will do for God. Don’t go to church expecting to be served, or struggling with whether your service will be acceptable.
Simply be in the presence of God, enjoy His company, let Him be your Father and know you are His children.
The rest? It will become obvious.
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2010-11-02). The Way (Kindle Locations 171-173). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
The God Who Would Be Involved With You…
Devotional Thought of the Day:
19 I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference. 20 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. Revelation 3:19-20 (NLT)
Saint Luke tells us of some fishermen washing and mending their nets by the shores of Lake Genesareth. Jesus comes up to the boats tied up alongside and goes into one of them, which is Simon’s. How naturally the Master comes aboard our own boat! “Just to complicate our lives,” you hear some people complain. You and I know better; we know that our Lord has crossed our paths to complicate our existence with gentleness and love. (1)
I once was told “God wouldn’t be involved with the likes of me.”
Actually, I’ve been told it more than a few times. From people who were incarcerated, from people on the streets, from people with multiple graduate degrees but with a past that wasn’t just broken, it was shattered.
While I understand, heck I know the feeling, whenever I hear that, I cannot help weeping.
Not because of their past. But because they believed something that is a lie. Because in trusting in that lie, they miss out on what we call grace. More simply put, the blessing of knowing that God loves you, that His love means that He will show mercy to you, and knowing the miracle of that mercy, you will know peace.
To those that believe God won’t be involved with you, the lesson of Peter’s boat is a good one. Imagine Jesus getting into your car. Just walking up, opening the door, getting in and saying, “let go for a ride”. Or the passage from Revelation, he knocks at your door, comes in and asks, “where is dinner”” That is what Jesus does throughout all of history.
He get’s involved with people. Involved with them to where there is no protective comfort zone. Deeply involved, for that is where we need Him, even if we don’t like Him that intimately involved in our lives. He comes in, and would make Himself at home with us. Celebrate the good stuff, comfort us as we grieve. He would bring healing to the brokeness of our lives, even to those who are shattered. He would make everything brand new. Not like brand new, He will make us completely brand new.
That’s what Jesus does when He determines to get involved with us. Which is why it doesn’t matter how broken we are, or from what kind of life we have survived. He is here to get involved, and that may be a little uncomfortable at first… but the depth of His Spirit’s involvement is guaranteed to be glorious.
He’s going to get involved because He wants a relationship with you. Once that relationship begins, expect Him to make Himself at Home in your life, and rejoice as you walk together, for you are loved.
AMEN
Escriva, Josemaria (2010-11-02). Friends of God (Kindle Locations 532-535). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
God, Do You Really Want Me to Go Through THIS?!!?
Devotional Thought of the Day:
16 Yet preaching the Good News is not something I can boast about. I am compelled by God to do it. How terrible for me if I didn’t preach the Good News! 1 Corinthians 9:16 (NLT)
4 I replied, “But my work seems so useless! I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose. Yet I leave it all in the LORD’s hand; I will trust God for my reward.” Isaiah 49:4 (NLT)
902 I didn’t think God would get hold of me the way he did, either. But, let me tell you once again, God doesn’t ask our permission to “complicate” our lives. He just gets in: and that’s that! (1)
As I look at my life, there is a strong temptation to question God’s wisdom, or perhaps His sanity.
Not that doing so is a good practice, please note, I said temptation. And like Jeremiah, and Isaiah, I sometimes struggle with why God would lead me the way he has, and like Isaiah, I wonder if I will ever get to see the results.
I preach about God’s faithfulness, and I know it is true. I have seen it over and over in my life. Yet there are times where the attitudes of Jeremiah and Isaiah aren’t just interesting passages, they are words I think, and say. Lord, really? Couldn’t you find someone who could do this better? Couldn’t you find someone with a stronger faith, who was more patient? Couldn’t preaching about the peace of Christ be more… peaceful?
Those times don’t last for months, but they can flow from one day into another. They never get past Sunday, or the Wednesdays during Advent and Lent where we share in the Eucharist, where we receive the Body and Blood given and shed for us.
I wonder what would happen if every pastor was honest about those times where God “complicates” their lives? How would their congregations react? Would they be supportive? Would they dismiss the pastor? Would they work harder in the harvest fields? Would it strengthen their faith, or weaken it? What about their peers in ministry, how would they see them?
Looking back, after most of those days when I feel like a Jeremiah, or an Isaiah, I find that God has been at work in ways beyond anything I can share here. I can see why being brought low in Spirit is a blessing, why being humbled is part of the cross we bear.
I’ve learned to just let the emotions run for a little while, and then remember the hope we have in Christ Jesus. That He will sustain us, that the peace and sustenance we’ve been given. That is why the Liturgy fo the Lord’s Supper becomes so much a blessing.
As we sing the sanctus, to realize we are singing of His holiness with the whole company of heaven, including Jeremiah and Isaiah. God proved faithful to them, and the promises He made through them, and He will be to us.
As we sing the Agnus Dei, to realize the Body and Blood of Christ is there, so He has been given for us, to take away our sins, to have mercy on us, to grant us peace…..
As we hear a welcome to the table, as we take and eat, and take and drink, we realize again that we dwell in Him, and that He has bound us to Him in the New Covenant.
As we (a Lutheran practice) leave the altar, we sing the song of Simeon, and realize that He is our salvation, that He is our light and life, and the glory of His people.
I can’t stop the days like Jeremiah’s, I can’t diminish the feelings like Isaiah. Not on my own. Yet walking with Christ, there is hope, and there is a peace so blessed, I can take the time to pour out my heartache, to give Him frustrations and my doubts. His peace allows for such blessed times.
I pray this for you as well, that you would realize the peace, and let it strengthen you to do so, whether you are ordained or not, for we all are His priests. We all serve, and He will use us in places beyond anythings we could imagine, or want.
AMEN
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 3193-3195). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
where does loving my neighbor stop…..
Devotional Thought fo the Day:
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 4:16-21 (TEV)
869 If you really loved God with all your heart, then that love for your neighbour, which you sometimes find so hard to have, would come as a necessary consequence of your Great Love. You would never feel hostility towards anyone, nor would you discriminate between people.
Your neighbor, the one that cut you off on the freeway. Or maybe the one who was promoted over you unfairly at work, he’s your neighbor, isn’t he? what about your old high school friend, who stabbed you in the back/ Or what about that false preacher, the guy who doesn’t agree with anyone else (or so it seems) in your denomination, is he your neighbor?
If these are those you are called to love, is there a point where you can stop loving them?
Where you can with all purity of heart wish God’s wrath to fall on them? Where you can hope that they receive justice, and not the mercy of God?
i can perhaps come up with 50 reasons I should be able to just hate them, or dismiss them into obscurity. Those I have heard as a pastor, and some I came up with myself. We may not want to deal with them, we may not want them in our neighborhood, or our church, or our denomination.
Yet, we are still called to love them. To not only do what is best for them, but to do it in a loving way. (not gritting our teeth, or just saying – this will hurt – but its what’s best for you… ) We are still called ot be like Christ in the way we deal with them.
I had a friend who once said you don’t change anything as a pastor within your church, until you know its place so well it hurts you to change it. If that is true for a practice, or a tradition, can you see the necessity of the same attitude towards a person?
this is the atitude of God, so clearly seen in the words from Ezekiel,
” 10 The LORD spoke to me. “Mortal man,” he said, “repeat to the Israelites what they are saying: ‘We are burdened with our sins and the wrongs we have done. We are wasting away. How can we live?’ 11 Tell them that as surely as I, the Sovereign LORD, am the living God, I do not enjoy seeing sinners die. I would rather see them stop sinning and live. Israel, stop the evil you are doing. Why do you want to die?” Ezekiel 33:10-11 (TEV)
Would you cry over than neighbor’s continued lack of repentance? Or would you rejoice? Would you carry a cross for them, for the joy set before you? Or would you simply dismiss them as having rejected God, because they rejected you? ( And would you count on Jesus to forgive you your debts, even as you refuse to forgive them theirs?
Hard questions? Sure!
But they should cause you to run to the only place the answer can be found. In the wounds of Christ crucified, in the eyes of the one who cries out for our forgiveness, even as He steals our sins from us.
You see, to love your neighbor like this requires only one thing…. our unity with Christ.
Nothing else will make it happen, nothing else will cause us to desire it to happen. We will search for every lookhole, try to find every exception, Look back into our lives to every pain and challenge God saying, “You can’t mean this one Lord, the pain is too hard”
It is then we realize the depth of our need for Jesus…. and His faithfulness.
Which is what we need to know about Jesus.
May every service, every mass, every Bible study with others, every quiet time of prayer, devotion and study, reveal to us His presence… so we can know the impossible, is certainly doable….. AMEN
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 3073-3075). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Are We Willing to Pray for Our Needs?
Devotional Thought of the Day:
31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. Matthew 6:31-33 (NLT)
9 “If any of you were asked by his son for bread would you be likely to give him a stone, or if he asks for a fish would you give him a snake? If you then, for all your evil, quite naturally give good things to your children, how much more likely is it that your Heavenly Father will give good things to those who ask him?” Matthew 7:9 (Phillips NT)
“Give us this day our daily bread.” What does this mean?
Answer: To be sure, God provides daily bread, even to the wicked, without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that God may make us aware of his gifts and enable us to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.
14 What is meant by daily bread?
Answer: Everything required to satisfy our bodily needs, such as food and clothing, house and home, fields and flocks, money and property; a pious spouse and good children, trustworthy servants, godly and faithful rulers, good government; seasonable weather, peace and health, order and honor; true friends, faithful neighbors, and the like. (1)
807 I copy these words for you because they can bring peace to your soul. “My financial situation is as tight as it ever has been. But I don’t lose my peace. I’m quite sure that God, my Father, will settle the whole business once and for all. I want, Lord, to abandon the care of all my affairs into your generous hands. Our Mother—your Mother—will have let you hear those words, now as in Cana: ‘They have none!’ I believe in you, I hope in you, I love you, Jesus. I want nothing for myself: it’s for them.”
in the Lutheran and evangelical churches, there is a reaction to the works of those like Joel Osteen and those who teach what is referred to as Dominion Theology, or more degradingly, as the prosperity gospel, or the “Name it-Claim it” movement. So much of a reaction, I think we forget to tell people to pray, even as the Lord taught us to, and to recognize He will meet our needs. He will care for us, and while we have to live wisely, we also need to live trusting Him.
Our reaction to those who sometimes advocate praying for selfish desires to be met, whether financial or relational is damaging. Yes, we know God doesn’t necessarily want us to win the lottery, He probably won’t grant always grant that teenager’s prayer to date the supermodel, or that everything will wok out perfectly, as we see it. He does want us to look to Him, to see His love, to see His care for us. To have us depend on Him, like a child depends on their dad.
Yes, to often our prayers can become a form of idolatry, as we put our desires before our relationship with God, or make that relationship conditional upon getting what we want. (and we’ll even throw a tantrum when we don’t!) But to stop depending on God, leads to anxiety, and coveting, and temptations to get what we want, without God. To manipulate our situations, to become machivellian, that is what happens when we forget God is our source
We need to be aware of God’s gifts, we need to receive them and celebrate them, whether it is that last can of soup in the cupboard, or the bank account that is down to $2 the day before payday. As we do realize that even these things are gifts of God, our attitude towards them will change. We’ll treasure what we have, not because of its fiscal value, but because of from whom we received it.
We need to pray, God give us what we need, even fervently pray for it. Our relationship must be that kind of relationship – where He is the source of all our blessings… not just the eternal ones. Don’t forget those, but also realize, from Him we have life,
Praying for our daily bread is not just about spiritual nurture. for we aren’t called to love Him with just our soul, but with every part of our lives. Mind, Soul, Body and Spirit. We need to realize our dependence and His faithfulness in this part of the prayer as much as any other!
So let us pray, even as our Savior taught us…
(1) Tappert, T. G. (Ed.). (1959). The Book of Concord the confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. (p. 347). Philadelphia: Mühlenberg Press.
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 2877-2882). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Why fighting false teaching is not a oneman job.
Devotional Thought of the Day:
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.“ Matthew 17:19-21 (NKJV)
Again you say, “The temporal power is not forcing men to believe; it is simply seeing to it externally that no one deceives the people by false doctrine;85 how could heretics otherwise be restrained?” Answer: This the bishops should do; it is a function entrusted to them86 and not to the princes. Heresy can never be restrained by force. One will have to tackle the problem in some other way, for heresy must be opposed and dealt with otherwise than with the sword. Here God’s word must do the fighting. If it does not succeed, certainly the temporal power will not succeed either, even if it were to drench the world in blood. Heresy is a spiritual matter which you cannot hack to pieces with iron, consume with fire, or drown in water. God’s word alone avails here, as Paul says in II Corinthians 10[:4–5], “Our weapons are not carnal, but mighty in God to destroy every argument and proud obstacle that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and to take every thought captive in the service of Christ.”[1)
Over the last few days, I’ve given a bit of thought to how to deal with those who promote heresy or heterodoxy, and to those who attempt to deal with it. It is a bit of a focus in the higher echelons of my denomination presently. Or at least some are making the case that it is, and they are struggling to determine how to deal with it, or not deal with it.
Yet in the parish, we have to deal with both heresy and heterodoxy. It may be someone who has strayed into it. It may be someone who deliberately comes into the church, or posts something on FB. So how do we approach those who would lead people away from the mercy of Christ?
The question, no matter the situation, whether large and prevailing, like Arius, or the lady who watches Joel Oseteen, is whether we can confront is love, and call the person to repentance. This is why force cannot be used, or power and “authority”. That is not the pastoral approach, nor is tt that of Matthew 18, where it is not the individual or the elders that deal with the sinner, but the community of God.
Why does this work this way? Simple, because as faith and prayer, leaving it in the hands of God.
You see, when you fight heresy by your own strength, by your own will, what you are doing is falling into heresy, for you have created a idol out of your position. Worse than heresy is this… for it is blasphemy.
You see, when dealing with history, one must be pastoral, one must care for souls. Doing so is critical, to have the people of God be the correcting source, the church is the one who has the witness. Not just any one man has the ability to defeat heresy or heterodoxy. You see, dealing with it through force, through authority doesn’t evangelize, either the heterodox or heretical, or those who are watching the confrontation. You see, they need to hear the clear gospel as well, those who would challenge it. By using authority, by using force to bluntly crush heresy and heterodoxy, you fail in that regard, you don’t show the people the true gospel, the light that will always shatter the darkness, that will reveal clearly Christ.
That’s what is important, not seeing them crucified, but seeing them crucified with Christ.
This is ministry, it isn’t easy to bear this cross, and not everyone is able to….. but this is how He did it, embracing, reconciling transforming….
That is what those who follow Him pray to see… not to win a battle, but as we see Christ victorius over sin and satan and death.
May we pray for all souls.. even as we desire to see all reconciled.
(Side note – seeing the church work together in this – also allows for the humility that corrects us when we go astray…)
85 On Luthers approval in another connection of the position here rejected, see Kawerau (ed.), Kötlin’s Martin Luther, I, 584.
86 Cf. Titus 1:9ff.
[1] Luther, M. (1999). Luther’s works, vol. 45 : The Christian in Society II. (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald, & H. T. Lehmann, Eds.) (Vol. 45, p. 114). Philadelphia: Fortress Press.
Are We So Afraid of Our Darkness?
Devotional Thoughts of the Day:
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night— 12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you. Psalm 139:11-12 (NLT)
“Nobody is wise who does not know the darkness. I appreciate the dark hours of my existence in which my senses are sharpened.” (1)
678 From Saint Paul’s teaching, we know that we have to renew the world in the spirit of Jesus Christ, that we have to place Our Lord at the summit and at the heart of all things. Do you think you are carrying this out in your work, in your professional task?
Some recent events corresponded to my devotional readings this morning.
The thing we have in common is the darkness that affects our lives. In some cases, it may be depression, or loneliness. It could also be grief, and dealing with the threat of death, or death itself. It can also be dealing with the consequences of sin, and falling in times of great temptation.
Each of these times have their own level of darkness, and we encounter them in life. They are there, unavoidable. Yes, even Christians have to deal with the darkness of life, the despair that can creep up and oppress us,
The challenge is not the darkness, but rather in not facing the darkness, It isn’t the pain and anxiety the darkness can cause, but in trying to become comfortable with it, rather than being comforted as we endure it.
In one of my devotions, quoted above in green bold print, there was the comment that we can find our senses sharpened by the darkness. Based on the rest of the reading this doesn’t mean we look to embrace the darkness, but rather that there, acknowledging the darkness, we become more aware of God’s presence, as God comforts us, protects us, gives our hearts and minds peace that is…supernatural, unexplainable, glorious.
THe pslamist knew this as well, for even that darkness cannot stop God, He sees us, hears our cries. The Hly Spirit, the gift of our baptism, the one called the Paraclete, the comforter, comes an supports us, and we become aware of it as well.
The Spirit of God reminds us of all the promises given to us, as we are united with Christ, in His death, in His resurrection, and even while we await for His return. (Check our Colossians 3:1-3 about this – it is amazing!) This is why the promise of baptism is so… incredible.
Darkness and light in our lives fade in their meaning, as we realize the presence of God. His presence, His glory.
If we hide in the darkness, if we ignore its oppression, if we try to make people comfortable with it, by diminishing the pain, diminishing the horror, discounting the anxiety and angst, we are not doing them any good. Trauma sucks, Depression is scary and overwhelming. Loneliness is something beyond which we normally can deal with, even introverts. Grave illness and death cause our souls to shrink and become almost fetal as we fear that which we cannot overcome. And sin destroys.
Unless the glorious healing power of Jesus presence is known. Unless we realize that He is here, caring for us, our wonderful Lord and Savior, who does reign. Who is, as Escriva writes, the heart and summit of all things.
So even in the darkness, He is there… eliminating it.
The words of Hebrews 12 come so clearly to mind>
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Hebrews 12:1-2 (NLT)
and take great joy – here is that verse from Colossians
1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. Colossians 3:1-4 (NLT)
And rejoice, and sing His praises, for as we endure the darkness of our lives, the lives in which He is the Lord, the darkness simply helps us be aware of His work in our lives……
To Him who sits on the throne, be all glory and honor and praise…. AMEN
(1) From Celtic Daily Book, devotional for 1/8 Finian Series
(2) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 2501-2504). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
An Odd Addiction…
Devotional Discussion THought of the Day:
9 O God, we meditate on your unfailing love as we worship in your Temple. Psalm 48:9 (NLT)
7 Yet no one calls on your name or pleads with you for mercy. Therefore, you have turned away from us and turned us over to our sins. Isaiah 64:7 (NLT) \
436 God’s love for his creatures is so boundless and our response to it should be so great that, when Holy Mass is being said, time ought to stand still.
Without question, it is the high point of my week. It is where time does seem to stand still, where the struggles of life seem to be of absolutely no matter. It is an experience that is “otherworldly”. It is definitely beyond logic or reason, and it’s beauty and peace cannot be explained. Right now, because it is more frequent, I rejoice, my days seem brighter. Because of that, I would say I am addicted to it….
A simple move, my hand placing in another’s hand Something so precious, and words softly spoken, that change everything.
“Take and eat, the Body of Christ, broken for YOU.”
As I say these words, some hear them so well their body’s change, the relax, they smile, some even weep with joy.
It is that moment, as they receive the gift of the Sacrament, that life makes sense. The presence of God is made clear, and that changes everything.
It is not that discussing God’s presence and praying with near strangers over breakfast is less, or praying at the bedside of someone having surgery, or helping two at great odds with each other know God’s peace isn’t as great of a moment. All of ministry, all of life is filled with the presence of God. We come to know peace in all things, in all places. His grace is needed in all those places.
But those are moments in this world, and there is something about the sacraments, about baptism and absolution and the Lord’s Supper that gives us a moment of heaven. It is, as St. Josemaria says, the moment time stands still. A moment of clear communion with God. It’s the time where our pleas and cries for God’s loving mercy are answered. What is a brief second becomes without measure.
Over the last week, I’ve come across a word a number of times, kenosis. It means the “emptying”. The moment where everything in life is shed. It is the description of Christ, emptying himself in order to become a servant. As we receive the Body of Christ, that happens to us as well, all is stripped away, save Him. Except His love. His mercy, His peace. It is the stripping away of sin, of all unrighteousness, It is the reliving of our baptism, of our being united, forged to Jesus Christ.
Emptied of all that isn’t God, we find out how we have been united to Him, How He makes us whole.
God’s glory, revealed to us as love conquers it all. All our sin, all our brokenness, all our rebellion and trauma. It is pictured in the Old Testament, where God gathered the leaders into His presence, having lefft Egypt far behind… and as they feast in His presence.
Receiving the Body of Christ is a great joy, as is see those who God called to that moment. The meditation and thought of that moment… that alone should compel us to know Him more deeply, to hear the stories of those He’s sustained, especially those in scripture. The sacraments do that, they help us realize our dependence, our need on the presence of God, and reveal to us that He is here.
Such is why i love to dwell on the Eucharist, and why such a little thing is such a tremendous blessing to me. tO see this happen to 50, 60, 100 people, is amazing. ( If there is a reason I am envious of those with larger churches, it is perhaps this!)
The promises of God, delivered to us, that we dwell in peace.
(and we who serve are blessed to deliver it!)
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 1681-1682). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Without Advent, Christmas is Just History….
Devotional Thought of the Day:
18 Let this be recorded for future generations, so that a people not yet born will praise the LORD. 19 Tell them the LORD looked down from his heavenly sanctuary. He looked down to earth from heaven 20 to hear the groans of the prisoners, to release those condemned to die. 21 And so the LORD’s fame will be celebrated in Zion, his praises in Jerusalem, 22 when multitudes gather together and kingdoms come to worship the LORD. Psalm 102:18-22 (NLT)
419 It seems an excellent idea to me that you should tell the Lord often about your great and ardent desire to be a saint, even though you see yourself filled with wretchedness… Tell him, precisely because of this! (1)
This evening, we take up our advent journey, a journey I hope to be one of intense prayer. We are going to look at different prayers in the Bible, where people cried out for the presence of God, Prayers that plead, Come Lord Jesus!
As I was thinking through the service this morning, it became apparent that we need this time of Advent. THe title above declares why. Without Advent, Christmas is a celebration of a historical event. An incredible one for sure, as Eternal God become mortal man, and dwelt among us. As the angels and shepherds sing God’s praises, as the glory of God was experienced in a way that even Abraham and Moses, David and Elijah never experienced.
Immanuel! God with us!
But what needs to be said is that life prior to the incarnation was in desperate need fo that incarnation. THat is what Advent services, the readings, the music, the devotions, should cause us to understand. To see the Incarnation, Christ living amongst us, not just as a historical exercise, but as an answer.
An answer to a prayer uttered in despair. In despair because of evil oppression, in despair because of the darkness of our own sin, in despair because without the presence of God, life is hopeless. An answer to those groaning souls imprisoned by guilt and shame, battered, downcast, broken.
it is the prayer that St. Josemaria encourages us to utter, even in the midst of knowing our own failure. A prayer that acknowledges our desire to live life worthy of Christ’s love, but unable to. It is the prayer cry of despair, depression, submission, and one that is made with the inkling of hope. The hope as we realize what is needed, is promised. The hope that expects the answer deep in our hearts, even while our minds struggle with the possibility of it.
Knowing this despair is answered is the nature of Christmas -advent simply identifies what life is, without God. It brings Christmas’s meaning beyond history into the present, and affects us here… and now. It provides hope for us who are broken.
For Advent shows a pattern to God’s love. It is why it was recorded for us. To know that God looks down. He sees our lives, lived in bondage, He hears our cries, and answers, freeing us, comforting us, cleansing and healing us. Without realizing the desperate need for God’s presence, Christmas just becomes a time of celebrating what happened. With the realizations of Advent, it becomes much more… Christmas becomes a celebration of our hope, because our Lord God is with us.
Knowing this, may our lives be lived in the praises of His people, as we wait again for His coming.
AMEN
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 1616-1618). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Why Love Isn’t What Is Needed to Combat Hatred
Devotional THought of the Day:
19 But Joseph replied, “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. 21 No, don’t be afraid. I will continue to take care of you and your children.” So he reassured them by speaking kindly to them. Genesis 50:19-21 (NLT)
2 This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. 3 For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. Psalm 91:2-3 (NLT)
For the past week, I have been getting more and more weary. As I see people respond to the unrest in places like Ferguson, or the despair in places like Detroit, as I see the hatred that the President’s actions took regarding immigration, I find myself getting more and more depressed.
If you go – well, of course, look what THEY are doing, please keep reading. For I see the anger and hatred in the reactions of both sides of the issues. It’s just not electronic social media, you can’t even eat lunch in public place without hearing the hatred, the condescension, the call for others to change, but rarely, very rarely, the call to reconciliation, to coming together, to true fellowship. We even create ways to mock the injustice we perceive, not seeing the mocking as less than just…
Some have hated the hating. Demanding that others love, asking why can’t “THEY” just get along. Or quoting platitudes about love and hate as if people were easily capable of the former, and able to just stop the latter. As if we could stop sinning with the snap of a finger, as if we could love without self-sacrifice, as if life was as simple as platitudes and the memes which present them.
I entitled this blog “Why Love isn’t what is needed to combat hatred”, because I keep seeing such memes, such advice. It’s as if this is a war between good and evil, a war between love and hate. It’s not. good doesn’t conquer evil, and love cannot hate hatred enough to go to war against it. What turns love into something that can hatred is fear, fear created because of a lack of what we do need.
Faith.
For without faith in God, faith in Christ’s work on the cross, trust in the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives, what we call love, is not love. It is not the cHesed type of love which sacrifices and bears every burden, so as to bless and reconcile the relationship. Without faith/trust in God we can’t cope with the pain of others, we can’t stop the fear of being hurt again, we can’t cope with the anxiety that living in a sin-plagued world brings.
When you have a moment, look at home many times the psalms call God a refuge? It takes faith/trust to see this. Or how God is described as our hiding place, (and include Colossians 3:2) in that. Look at what God can do to evil, when we trust in Him as our focus, rather than fighting back. Joseph did this, Paul learned to do this from Stephen. David did this when Saul was after him.
In order to love, we have to have the faith, the confidence that God will make all things work for good, even though waiting for that good will be…challenging. For we must trust God through the pain, through what we perceive as evil, knowing that He is Lord, that He is our refuge, that we are protected, our hearts and minds, by Jesus. For as we dwell in Him, the Father surrounds us with peace, the peace that comes from finding refuge.
Lord, help us to trust you more than being repulsed by hatred… and help us love and sacrifice, that all would come to know You1
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 1565-1570). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
