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Need Something to Sacrifice For Lent? Give up Your Isolation!
Devotional Thought of the Day:
19 And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart, 20 so they will obey my decrees and regulations. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God. Ezekiel 11:19-20 (NLT)
933 Jesus, may my poor heart be filled from the ocean of your Love, with such big waves that can cleanse me and expel from me all my wretchedness. Pour those most pure and ardent waters of your Heart into mine, until my desires for loving you are fully satisfied and I can no longer hold back my response to your divine ardour. My heart shall surely break then, dying for Love, and pour out that Love of yours which, in irresistible and most fertile, life-giving torrents, will reach other hearts that will beat through contact with these living waters, with the pulsating force of Faith and Charity. (1)
At all times and in every race God has given welcome to whosoever fears Him and does what is right. God, however, does not make men holy and save them merely as individuals, without bond or link between one another. Rather has it pleased Him to bring men together as one people, a people which acknowledges Him in truth and serves Him in holiness. He therefore chose the race of Israel as a people unto Himself. (2)
For many of us, this is the last day before the beginning of Lent.
I’ve already seen people posting on FaceBook and Twitter the things they are going to give up. The usual list appears, chocolate, sugar, alcohol, they’ll read the Bible where they used to watch their favorite television shows, they’ll give up going to the movies, using the money to help those in homeless shelters. Even some have dared say they will give up FB, or Instagram, ( maybe this explains snapchat invitations rising?
People are willing to give up things that do them damage, to attempt to control the cravings that so easily entice them, To enter into a time of discipline, to make sacrifices. Those that have been at it for a while also know they need to replace these things with better habits. If they do not the temptation will rise, and failure will happen like it did with our New Year’s resolutions.
I have a suggestion if you are still looking for something. Even if you have already decided on something, consider this as well. It will be tough; it will be challenging. It will cost you something you are not that willing to give up.
Give up your isolation, your individuality. Give up your defensive walls that have been so carefully erected and protect your pride and self-esteem. Get involved in people’s lives! Let them into your life. Even those with whom you struggle to get along. Talk to them, invite them to sit next to you at church, or go and sit near them. Find ways to let them into your life, and love them.
This isn’t easy, yet for those who trust in Jesus, it is His nature. It will take faith, not in your strength, not in the hope they will change, but in trusting in Jesus promise. Remembering God is with you, right there in those moments, you can depend on His promise, that all will work for good. He knows your love, He chose you, He will take care of you.
It is God’s design, it is how we are to live, not just loving God but loving His people, and all the people whom He would call His own. The words from Vatican II struck me this morning, as did St. Josemaria Escriva’s. The nature of being transformed by God’s love gives us a new heart, a heart from which His love pours out, to those around us.
So go and get involved in that Bible Study, even encourage someone to join you. Take a step of faith and take on a new ministry at church. Buy that homeless guy lunch; talk to that lady sitting by herself at the table next to you as you eat dinner with your family at a restaurant. (Even invite her to join you!)
Trust in God’s love! Know He is with you! See Him in each of those you meet! Then this sacrifice of you, will not seem like a sacrifice at all. It will be a great joy!
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 3294-3298). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
(1) Catholic Church. (2011). Dogmatic Constitution on the Church: Lumen Gentium. In Vatican II Documents. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
Is Desiring Reconciliation Optional for Christians?
Devotional Thought of the Day:
11 As surely as I live, says the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die? Ezekiel 33:11 (NLT)
23 “Do you think that I like to see wicked people die? says the Sovereign LORD. Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live. Ezekiel 18:23 (NLT)
9 The Lord is not being slow in carrying out his promises, as some people think he is; rather is he being patient with you, wanting nobody to be lost and everybody to be brought to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 (NJB)
18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 (NLT)
824 Do you feel as if goodness and absolute truth have been deposited with you, and therefore that you have been invested with a personal title or right to uproot evil at all costs? You will never solve anything like that, but only through Love and with love, remembering that Love has forgiven you and still forgives you so much! (1)
Therefore it is God’s ultimate purpose that we suffer harm to befall no man, but show him all good and love; and, as we have said it is specially directed toward those who are our enemies. (2)
It seems like yesterday I had to quote the passages above from Ezekiel a half dozen times, and should have quoted them a dozen more.
In each, people were rejoicing over brokenness. Some were larger than life, as they rejoiced over victories in war. Some were more organized, as people planned to celebrate larger divisions between people groups. (including the Reformation.) Some were far more personal, as people encouraged each other to rejoice in division, to rejoice in broken relationships. There were even a couple of situations were those trying to promote reconciliation were attacked and mocked.
Yes I know, that in some of these cases, pain is involved, But what about those who encourage the joy? What about those who welcome the brokenness, who encourage it?
It is even more tragic that in each case, the people involved were leaders in the church. Some of the brokenness was in the midst of the church, Traumatic and tragic, this lack of desire for reconciliation is!
And it is not Christian. It is not imitating Christ. It is not being obedient to His giving us the mission of reconciling people to Him, as Paul points out. For in reconciling them to Him, we find them reconciled to us.
Life isn’t a personal crusade to stamp out evil. That only turns us into evil people, as we place ourselves in the place of God.
Life isn’t about rejoicing over division, over the bad things which happen to those we consider enemies, adversaries, or just pain in the ass’s.
God has told us to love them, to work for their good, to see them reconciled to Christ. For that is His will, even though every person who is brought to reconciliation was once God’s enemy, who chose evil over good, and hate over love.
This blog isn’t easy to write. I have my own people I struggle with, who I have to grow in Christ to love and seek to reconcile with. But let me tell you, the joy that is there when we do… is amazing.
I’ll leave you with this blessing, knowing that it pleases God when people reconcile:
20 Now may the God of peace— who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood— 21 may he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever! Amen! Hebrews 13:20-21 (NLT)
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 3390-3393). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
(2) The Large Catechism of Martin Luther.
We Are His!
Alleluia! He is Risen…therefore
We are His!
John 17:1-11
In Jesus Name
As we walk through this life together, may we know the grace and peace of God, for He has made us His own…
He is Risen, and therefore…
There is an old tradition among God’s people, to greet and respond to each other during the seven weeks between Christ’s resurrection and Pentecost with the following words,
Alleluia! He is Risen!
(Some respond “He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!”)
Let’s all try that – English and Chinese at the same time
Alleluia! He is Risen!
(response)
We’ve added something to that, this year in our congregation. It is that I respond, “therefore” and the congregation responds, “we have risen indeed! Alleluia!”
In each of our sermons, then, we’ve looked at what it means to be the people of God who are united to Christ in His death and in His resurrection. Today is the last day of that series, and in our gospel reading we see the incredible truth,
He is risen and therefore we know we are His!
If there is something that should cause our praises to be heard throughout California, through the world, it is this. You and I are Christ’s, and therefore dwell in the presence and glory of God!
Let’s look at how this is laid out in John’s gospel….
But first I want to hear it one more time.
Alleluia, He is Risen (response)
therefore, ((response)
The Son Gives us Eternal life
In verse 2, we are reminded why Jesus came, what the moment of His glory was all about. It says there,
2 For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him.
But what is eternal life? My first funeral sermon was done back in 30 years ago at a church in Yorba Linda. Since then, I have done hundreds, and I’ve heard people talking before and after the services about what heaven is, or at least asking the same questions.
“Will my dog be there?”
“Will there be golf?”
“How old will I look?”
“Will we know each other?”
Or one of my favorite comments,
“When I get to heaven, I am going to ask God, (or maybe the Apostle Paul) why….
Most of the questions, we can’t respond to, they aren’t dealt with in the passages that describe heaven, like 1 Corinthians 2:9 – which says it is beyond our ability, or the passages in the Book of Revelation, where it talks its perfection.
Jesus describes eternal life here though, in this passage, in a way that is simple and clear.
3 And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.
Eternal life is simply knowing the Father and the Son, to be in a relationship with them, to dwell in their presence, to dwell in their glory. This is what it is, this relationship with God that is described here eight times in these verses, that we are His!
I think that deserves a Alleluia! Or if we translate that – a “Praise the Lord” or in Mandarin (teach English speakers to say it J )
Eight times as Jesus prays we are described as being God’s, either the Father’s or that we’ve been given to Christ by the Father!
- Keep His Revelation
We are God’s people, that has been the plan since before the foundation of the world, it is what Jesus accomplished on the cross, and it is there that we are united to His death, and to His resurrection.
We see that relationship described in verse 6 as well, as we are described,
6 “I have revealed you* to the ones you gave me from this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word.
We are described here in a way that is incredible. We have kept the Father’s word,
“Kept His word.” Some translations in English translate this as obey, as if God’s word is simply about obeying the Ten Commandments, checking each one off, one by one. The words go deeper than that – the word for kept is to guard, to observe, to value and treasure and protect. In English it goes back to the most secure place in the community, the castle keep, where you put all of your treasure. TO keep something was to secure it, to guard it with every ounce of your strength, for it is precious.
It is the same word as in verse 11, where Jesus asks the Father to protect us by the power of His Name. The word for word is rhema in Greek – God’s declaration, God’s official statement regarding the issue.
In this context, I think of the word, as that which we find in Moses writings, and in the prophets, the statement that God makes to us.
“You will be My people, and I will be your God” or “You will be My people, for I AM your God”.
That is a declaration of God that should be at the core of who we are, for it completely defines who we are.
We are His!
And that is worth treasuring, not just with “a” Alleluia, or a Praise the Lord, but a life filled with praises, a life glorifying Him, as we live in complete awe of His love for us!
- Keep/protect Us
I mentioned before, that the word translated as “kept” was also seen in verse 11 as “protect”, when Jesus prays,
11 Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name;* now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are.
This word, keep/protect, brings up the last point of our message, our reason to celebrate today. The power of God seen in our lives again, as God protects us, as God guards us, protects us with the full power of His name.
That is something to have confidence in, to be in awe of, and to contemplate. That God cares about us so much, that we are protected and His treasured people. That He would take the time to cleanse us of sin, to deliver us from the bondages of that sin, and of Satan, that He would free us of our anxiety and fear of death, for we know we have life eternal.
It is from this place of security, this place of peace, this walking with Christ daily that holiness and unity flows.
We are one, not because of our work, nor are we holy because we decided to be holy. We find our unity, our eternal life, in God, in His making us His people.
All because God the Father send Jesus to us, to claim us for we are His.
For jesus Christ was born of Mary, was crucified, died and Alleluia! He is risen! (let them answer) and therefore ( We are risen indeed.)
Hear it as Paul wrote to the churches in Colossae,
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. Colossians 3:1-3 (NLT)
So treasure the eternal life you’ve been given, know the blessings of God revealing that you are His children, His people, and be confident, that you are kept in Christ and we are one in Him! To sum it up,
He is Risen, and therefore We are His!
What Does the Rich and Satisfying Life in Christ Look Like?
Alleluia! He is Risen! And Therefore
We are a community that perseveres
Acts 2:42-47
In Jesus Name!
The grace, mercy and peace of God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ shall build here His family, His community, as we serve in love. AMEN!
The Purpose of God Revealed
As we travel these weeks of Easter with those who lived in and witnessed the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we see the will of God revealed to His people, and we see the will of God revealed in His people.
The message is repeated over and over, as a friend says, “we preach the same thing every week, we just use different words.” Or in the case of our reading from the Acts of the Apostles this morning, we see those words describing a picture of God’s people, those He gathered.
The church pictured there is incredible, not because it has the best people, or is the biggest. It is a church that shows the effect of their Resurrection, not just in their words, but in their deeds.
A church with the same purpose as Jesus revealed His purpose to be. A church where the will of the Father is lived out in view of mankind. They become a picture of what Jesus prophesied about in the gospel, when He said,
“My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”
A life portrayed in Acts 2, a life portrayed here in our lives, if we take time enough to look.
A life lived, because Jesus is Risen! (He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!) and therefore (We have Risen with Him! Alleluia!
So let’s look at what this abundant, rich and satisfying life looks like, compared to life lived outside of Christ, life lived without the resurrection.
The Before
Mere hours before the Crucifixion, we see a tiny picture of the world in one room. There are people there, arguing about who is most important to the group after Christ. Another one thinks his holiness is sufficient that he doesn’t need the Lord Jesus to cleanse him, or minister to him. He will later deny Christ, just like the rest. Another is ready to betray one he loves, a betrayal so severe that it will wreaks havoc not only with the relationship, but it will end his life, ashamed and desperate for the guilt that overwhelms him. By the end of the evening, all relationships will be broken and shattered as promises fail, as they abandon Jesus.
Sin seemed to reign over them, even in the midst of the very first Communion service. Even in the presence of God, as Jesus was there, washing their feet, teaching, breaking the bread, giving them the cup.
It was life, well life that was neither rich, nor satisfying, if we think about it.
It was a life that needed something…
Just like our lives, when they are lived outside of Christ need something. For the broken relationships we see at the last supper, and in the garden are what we encounter in our lives. Sometimes the arguments, the superior attitudes, the betrayals and denials, the shame and the grief are all we see in our lives.
The After
Less than two months later, the same group gathers, the men from the upper room now leading a group of thousands, but a group that is so radically different, than you know something has happened.
For it is true, Praise God, He has Risen! (He has Risen indeed) and therefore…. ( We have Risen with Him! Alleluia!)
How else can you describe a group that acts like these people do, when 50 days before they were acting like jerks?
Look at the change described in verses 44, look at how they loved each other…
44 And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. 45 They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. 46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people.
That seems like a pretty incredible group – worshipping together daily, sharing in the Lord’s Supper, not just in church together, but in each other’s homes. They even helped each other financially, the word there for need was “in debt”. They shared in meals, they shared in each other’s lives, they shared in everything….
This wasn’t because of being commanded to, it was a matter of desire, of volition, it’s what happens to people when they become part of God’s family.
They could, because when Jesus Christ rose from the dead, they were raised from the dead with Him.
Just as we have risen with Him, alleluia? O come on – that means to praise God, not just too sort of compliment him. We have risen with Christ! Alleluia!
How?
Living in Christ, our lives focused on Him, walking with Him, is where this transformation happens. It is the reason we do the things in verse 42, for in each of these we encounter Christ, we learn of His love. Which is why they were devoted to it, together, Let’s look…
That’s what the apostles’ teaching, or as older translations put it, “the apostles’ doctrine” is all about. The fact that Christ was born of Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, died, rose, ascended and will judge the quick and the dead. Those words sound familiar, because that is our Creed – it is what we believe. It is what the apostles handed down to us. And so they were devoted to this together, because Jesus had given them the words of life.
They devoted themselves as well to fellowship, to being a community together, not just to being a bunch of individuals who each looked after #1. How well this shows the work of the Holy Spirit in them! How it testifies to the love of Jesus working in their lives. It is who they are in Christ, It is who we are!
They shared in meals, especially the Lord’s Supper! The purest, most basic form of fellowship, sharing in the blessings of God as we take and eat, and take and drink the Body and Blood of Christ Jesus. For in this meal, in the simplicity, we come to know the blessings of God, we begin to understand that He died on the cross for each one of us. We begin to know the depth of His love! The intimate relationship that God has called us into, which is seen in communion, is one that we are called into together. The church devoted itself to this practice, as have we.
The picture of God reconciling us to Himself that in the sacraments is so clear! These sacred times of baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and private Confession and Absolution/ Cleansing. We remember our baptism daily, Luther reminds us, and we commune frequently, for there are many among us who need this blessing.. indeed we all need it. Finally, who of us doesn’t need to hear the words, “your sins are forgiven, by the authority of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit!”
How precious is this grace of God given us, in the Apostles teaching in scripture and the sacraments! Because they communicate to us that He is Risen! And therefore….
The last thing they engaged in, as Christ engages them, is prayer. The laying of all burdens down before God, of knowing and trusting in God so that we keep nothing back. That is why Phillip Melanchthon, one of Luther’s most gifted friends and students includes prayer among the sacraments in the Apology of the Augsburg confession, saying,
16 Ultimately, if we should list as sacraments all the things that have God’s command and a promise added to them, then why not prayer, which can most truly be called a sacrament? It has both the command of God and many promises. If it were placed among the sacraments and thus given, so to speak, a more exalted position, this would move men to pray.
Praying together, knowing those burdens are taken, that we can release them to Him and that He will provide us peace, the life that is complete and rich and satisfying. A life in which that peace of God is ours, our hearts and minds secured in that peace by Jesus Christ. AMEN?
Choose Life, Be a Disciple, Show Kindness to….
I Appeal to You… Show Kindness to….
Philemon 1-21
Hagia Sophia ; Empress Zoë mosaic : Christ Pantocrator; Istanbul, Turkey (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
As you learn of the grace of God our Father, the love and mercy poured out with the blood of Christ… may you show the same kindness towards those who also don’t deserve it…and find the glory therein…
The Appeal…
In each of the readings this morning, there is a challenge, a request of the people of God to choose to continue to be the people of God. To commit themselves into God’s hands, into His care…to be His disciples.
Moses asks them to choose life, to choose to embrace the God who delivered them from Egypt, and to love Him and treasure His commands.
Jesus will ask us to be true disciples, to set everything else in life aside, and love life that knows the cost of walking with Him, and chooses to do so, knowing the price.
I think both of those challenges are one’s we need to, as a church, answer this morning. But the challenge in Philemon takes it from being a theological issue, to being downright personal. It will question our heart, our devotion to Christ, the very core of our faith. We will be challenged to minister with great love and patience, to those who’ve betrayed us…to those who have, and who can hurt us.
In other words – discipleship means trusting in Christ when it hurts…and when it terrifies us…
And as Paul challenged Philemon, I quote those words to you….”I appeal to you, show kindness to….(fill In the blank)” Only you know the name that goes there….. The phrase means to come alongside and render aid and support. It is the very word of the Holy Spirit.
Like Paul wrote – this isn’t a matter of command, but a matter of love… Christ’s love.
The Problem of Pain….
This would be an easy task, except for the problem of pain and the anxiety it causes. None of us, once hurt, can easily choose to risk that pain again. Even if we no it is what we should do, we cannot bring ourselves to, we struggle to embrace what we know is right and good, because it will hurt, and maybe hurt worse. Between the pain and the anxiety we can almost become paralyzed, and we need others encouragement, others to minister to us.
Because what Paul called Philemon to do, what Jesus calls us to do, is risky, and we are not sure of whether the risk is worth it. After all – what kind of heroes does God think we are?
The anxiety gets worse, when we realize that others are watching – and what we do might be criticized for the precedent that we set – or we will be judged as fools. Philemon was supposed to make Onesimus a example – branding him, beating him, even killing him. Revenge and an example to others were supposed to be poured out in great wrath. Paul asks Philemon not just to put aside the pain of the betrayal and the theft, but the continued questioning and judgment of the community.
It’s going to take a church to pull around Philemon and His wife. Archippus the pastor will need to build a consensus…and get the church to pull around Philemon and His wife, should they attempt this…
Even then, can Paul or God really expect us to put away our pain? To trust this much? To Risk this all? Does God really know what He is asking Paul to ask Philemon? Does God really mean for us to hear this and act likewise?
The Road of Discipleship
That’s the challenge of discipleship, where being a living sacrifice, where bearing one’s cross is an incredible challenge. Where some people will walk away…and think they can wait for another day.
But those days, spent living in resentment, in building up anger, in not dealing with the problem, that isn’t really living either. Living in the fear, and the anxiety and pain…even re-living the betrayals…
Paul sees the ability, sees Philemon trying to be the man God would desire him to be, and knows this next step is critical – even more for Philemon than it is for Onesmus.
For Paul has been in Onesimus place… he saw the awe and joy in the face of those who he had betrayed. It was the first thing he saw… as a new believer.
What Paul experienced….
Remember, Paul was tasked with arresting and persecuting and killing those who were followers of Jesus. Luke records the story in chapter 9 of Acts, where Paul is blinded by his encounter with Christ and His glory – and Annanias is tasked with being the one to come to Paul and minister to him. He too doubted, here are his words,
11 The Lord said, “Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now. 12 I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.” 13 “But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem! 14 And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name.” 15 But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. 16 And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.” Acts 9:11-16 (NLT)
As Ananias prays for Saul/Paul, Paul is healed – and will begin to preach, and the people are amazed at the power of God to transform someone. Despite the Old Testament being chock full of such stories, they never seem to lose their power. The one written off, given the freedom of forgiveness from those they threatened and betrayed, are changed. How Ananias’s faith in God’s work must have soared! How the people who trusted in Christ rejoiced!
You want to see God’s power at work? Trust in Him enough to free those indebted to you, believe in His promises, delivered in word and sacrament to forgive those who trespass against you.
Hear God’s appeal to love your neighbor, hear Paul’s encouragement to Philemon to not just not punish Onesimus, but to free him from all debt, to set him free from both the civil law that condemns and the spiritual debt of sin which utterly condemns.
but How?
I am asking each of us, me included, to do that which the world would shake their heads at… that they would count us as idiots, suckers and worse. On God’s behalf…
“I appeal to you, show kindness to… “ Show love and mercy.
And here is how… realize that you are being prayed for – and pray for those around you, ask God’s help for you and others, as we go to God for the strength to do this.
Remember Paul’s words early in this letter,
I am praying that you will put into action the generosity that comes from your faith as you understand and experience all the good (things) we have in Christ.
That is the key, fully coming to know the grace of Christ we have had poured over us. The forgiveness and mercy and love and peace poured over us when we are baptized, nourishing us as we feast with Him together as the people of God. The transformation, literally the metamorphosis that is occurring within us, as we spend time with Jesus, exploring His righteousness, His love, demonstrated in Christ Jesus.
It’s then, as He is at work in us, that the joy of knowing His powerful love, strengthens us to do these very things. Focusing on His work – on the One who loved enough to die on the cross – for people who betrayed Him, who will betray Him again… to know that is us.. and yet He loves and forgives..
To hear. I appeal to you… show kindness to…
And we can… knowing His kindness..knowing His love… His unsurpassable peace in which He guards us…we learn to love as Philemon did. AMEN
The Shared Life of Community
Devotional Thought as I prepare to leave Jiangmen
25 And so there is no division in the body, but all its different parts have the same concern for one another. 26 If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts suffer with it; if one part is praised, all the other parts share its happiness. 27 All of you are Christ’s body, and each one is a part of it. 1 Corinthians 12:25-27 (TEV)
14 Ask God to bless those who persecute you—yes, ask him to bless, not to curse. 15 Be happy with those who are happy, weep with those who weep. 16 Have the same concern for everyone. Do not be proud, but accept humble duties. Romans 12:14-16 (TEV)
“ Why don’t you try converting your whole life into the service of God—your work and your rest, your tears and your smiles? You can… and you must!” (1)
As I prepare to leave this city of Jiangmen, and head off to Macau, I am again consumed by a sense of homesickness, of missing my wife and son, and the people I fellowship. Yet in just a few days, I have come to like this city, its people, the road that runs beside the river with its trees, the noise and neon lights, the contrast of high-rises next to 100 year old brick and stone buildings. The people greeting me with a very enthusiastic “Jo-san” (not sure if spelling is correct)
The people aren’t different. All have their hopes, their fears, the things they would hide, the laughter that reveals both mirth, and yet…. pain. It is the same in America, or here in China, and in Italy, and in all the world. Indeed, some of us, are so used to the tears and pain, I am not sure we know how to deal with estatic joy.
The challenge is to realize that God didn’t mean for us to bear our burdens alone. They are meant to be shared. Some couples can do this – yet – many cannot. Never mind sharing both our joys and sorrows with our church families. Or our fears and anxieties. The very thought causes more fear and anxiety.
We so need to realize the dynamic that happens when we are joined with Christ. In each book that Paul writes, there is a need to address our community of faith – not just the local church but the church in its entirety. We are joined together, and completely and intimately as we are joined with God – because we are joined in God.
That is how both our joys and pains can both serve God, not because we force them to by an act of will, but because they do as we are united in Christ. It’s the outcome of who we are. For if indeed our bodies are living sacrifices, then everything we do and think and experience and feel – yes our emotions, becomes part of God’s tapestry – and can be used to glorify Him….
I think that is what has made this trip so memorable – seeing God bring home to me the unity of those He has made one in the faith. Whether it be the pastors showing me their churches, the young Americans here to teach, the people I’ve been able to meet with and pray with…. God is there… having created a dynamic relationship – in Him
As we work together, one body, united in Christ. No walls dividing us, not age or ethnicity, not gender or intellect, not even sin….
That is what it means to be one holy, catholic and apostolic people who God has called together… in Him.
Go and embrace the work God does in your life today…knowing He is with you.
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 2505-2507). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
The Answer to that question
The Answer to “That” Question
Isaiah 63: 15
† In His Name †
As we ask the questions, we cannot find the answers to, may become aware of God’s richest grace and mercy and love enfolding us, allowing us to poor out our pain, our grief, our anger… on the One who came to take it away…
It is a movie I watch a few times a year – one of those favorites, that even though you know the lines, the plot – and in this case – the incredible martial arts… you love to sink yourself into.
As a kid, I loved it because of the martial arts, and the hero taking on odds of 20, 50 even 100 to one. As an adult – as an one studies mankind, the movie is fascinating in a different way – as there are different reactions to injustice, to hatred, to evil.
There are the bad guys, who do whatever they want – and do not care about the victims. The ones we love to hate, yet in the end, find ourselves pitying, even as they get what they ask for.
There was the sheriff and the doctor – who though on the side of good, restrained their public speech against those who “controlled the town.
There was the pacifists – who took action by doing their own thing – trying to protect everyone – even at the cost of their own suffering, even hiding that suffering in a supposedly noble desire to avoid further violence, further pain, further sin.
Then there was Billy, the one who could spin and kick and whose presence could intimidate and cause people to behave for the moment… but who couldn’t be everywhere at once. Over the movie, he would transform – from a man focused on retribution to one who would publicly submit – that there could be some hope for reconciliation, some hope for peace… some hope for a future.
As the credits role at the end, as the hero is taken away in police cars, as the people honor him, the trauma is still left behind, and while there is some hope for the future… there is also a past to heal from. I look at that… and it is…right.
For none of those involved in the story have the answer… and in this world, it seems like all we can do some time is try to project how to prevent such trauma in the future. And maybe that should be enough – but for me it is far from it.
There is a verse that expresses what my heart cries out to :
Isaiah 63:15 (MSG) 15 Look down from heaven, look at us! Look out the window of your holy and magnificent house! Whatever happened to your passion, your famous mighty acts, Your heartfelt pity, your compassion? Why are you holding back?
Today, in light of Robert’s funeral, in light of the massacres in China and Connecticut on Friday, in light of all the trauma – the question has been asked to me multiple times – where is God? Where is He? Has He abandoned us?
Advent of all times in the year – perhaps gives us the best answer…
One that wasn’t heard in the movie, which is why, it left me with questions, with just a momentary hope, and no peace in the present.
The Pain –
In the movie – all the reactions to something so horrible, so incredibly unjust, are our normal reactions. Even if we are only witnesses from a distance, we almost adopt the people involved – as we are grateful the incident wasn’t here, or across the street. The sorrow and grief grows – especially if we have been in a situation similar, or cared for those who were. If we’ve seen the life-less eyes, robbed of joy. The pain grows as we hear things, some true, some not so true.
With the pain, there often comes frustration – we can’t even begin to conceive a logical explanation for these times of suffering – and that frustration turns quickly into anger. Anger at the perpetrator, anger at the evilness of society, anger that something wasn’t done, anger that we can’t do anything to help.. anger at God for even allowing such evil to exist.
That anger soon turns on those who allow it to ferment – and we saw that in the last two days, as people tried to diagnose what caused the young man in Connecticut and the man in China. Such anger also occurs, when rather than praying, we find ourselves engaged in debates on how to prevent further incidents such as there. We try to work everything out while we are still pained, stressed, grieving, remembering… and we end up, in our pain, not seeing, or caring for those who are likewise trying to grieve and process the news and emotions.
Heck – I find myself incredibly pained and frustrated and angry at how my friends treated each other, as they tried to make the case for their positions, when instead we should have all been on our knees, praying for the comfort of those directly affected, and those whose scars from prior tragedies have those scars ripped open again….
We might even find ourselves, internalizing all of this or trying this time – to ignore the pain, the grief, or trying to find someone to vent upon – or pour out our wrath upon…and then the guilt is added to the scenario – if we realize we too…have our victims.
The time to purge…
…
We can’t avoid dealing with these things… we can’t just bottle them up – we have to find a way to vent it all, and to vent in a way that doesn’t create other victims. Things like this aren’t supposed to happen – we should never ever not be in pain when they do.
There is a key to this, that is in that verse….there – right in the middle –
“Whatever happened to your passion? Where is your pity? Your Compassion?
You see, they knew of God’s love – even when they were in pain. Isaiah described it a few verses before…
I’ll make a list of GOD’s gracious dealings, all the things GOD has done that need praising, All the generous bounties of GOD, his great goodness to the family of Israel— Compassion lavished, love extravagant. 8 He said, “Without question these are my people, children who would never betray me.” So he became their Savior. 9 In all their troubles, he was troubled, too. He didn’t send someone else to help them. He did it himself, in person. Out of his own love and pity he redeemed them. He rescued them and carried them along for a long, long time.
Isaiah 63:7-9 (MSG) 7
They knew His compassion, His love, that we indeed are His people – it isn’t his nature to leacev us alone – it never has been, from Adam and Eve, to Abraham and Lot, to Moses or Joshua or David… or Job.
I love it that it says – in all their troubles, He was troubled too…
And it is incredible to realize – that God comes down, that He doesn’t leave these things up to others – but in these times – He is here…
And that is the message of advent.. He doesn’t leave us alone….. He never planned to, He never does, even when it seems that all is going to hell in the world…for that is what Mary had to treasure…the manger would lead to the cross, to the bearing of all sin, all pain, all anger. Isaiah again says it well
1 Who believes what we’ve heard and seen? Who would have thought GOD’s saving power would look like this? 2
4 But the fact is, it was our pains he carried— our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us. We thought he brought it on himself, that God was punishing him for his own failures. 5 But it was our sins that did that to him, that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins! He took the punishment, and that made us whole. Through his stripes we get healed. Isaiah 53:1-5 (MSG
Can we lay our burdens on the crucified one?
I know we hurt, even those on the fringe, or who see the fears for their children lived out in the lives of others. We in our anger and pain want to strigke out – want to rail against the evil – we want to take on something. I understand that! I know that desire – to somehow focus all of our rage, all of our pain on someone….
There is only one place to focus that rage – to focus that pain, to focus the anger…..the place that God focused it – along with all His wrath – not just for this massive evil example of sin, but all of the sin we deal with…
We have to go to the cross – to pour out our pain, our anguish, our anger on Jesus Christ – as He lies there – a victim unlike any other – for He chose to be the victim – to take all of the wrath for such actions, to let such sin, and the grief it causes to be nailed with Him there to the cross.
It is there – that our reactions, which can in themselves be sinful and trauma causing and sinful.. can be poured out…. on Jesus, as the cross…
Empty of the pain, our eyes perhaps unable to cry anymore… we find at the cross peace…
Do I need to say “I’m Sorry?” No, however…
Quote of the Day:
I agree. You acted badly, out of weakness. But what I fail to understand is how, with a clear conscience, you have not repented. You cannot do something wrong and then say, or think, that it is something holy, or that it is of no importance.
One of the challenges, in talking so much about God cleansing us of our sin, is that we somehow believe the sin isn’t a big deal. It is so easy to deal with, so easy to know God has forgiven us, do we grieve our sin anymore?
Do we grieve over the sin committed against us? Not grieving that it was committed against us, but grieving that the environment that we are part of, that results in people being compelled to sin? For sin isn’t just the sin of the person who did the act, but it is in part due to our being people who sin. How can I find the person who betrayed me by lying to me any more sinful than I am, as part of the issue is that my sin prevents them easily finding me trustworthy. Do we grieve these kinds of environments that lead people to sin through a sense of self-preservation?
For that matter, do we see sin as an individual issue, or that of the community? ( I will make the case in a later blog – that sin is always a communal issue in cause, and in need for healing)
Back to the quote by St. Josemarie, do we repent of our sin? Do we even bother to take the time to say “we are sorry”, or do we just dismiss the damage, ignore the pain, hide from bringing the issue to be healed, reconciled, the relationship restored. What happens if we don’t seek the transformation that is what we are called repentance. What if we don’t seek healing? What if we do the unthinkable, and begin to justify what we did, in hope our conscious would be relieved?
Why take such a complex way of dealing with it? Why embrace pain unnecessarily? Why set ourselves us, because we’ve been correctly found untrustworthy, to be sinned against, to be sinned against? Though life is pain (see my other blog today) we don’t need to cause ourselves more pain, either directly or indirectly.
Why not see what scripture calls is gifted and granted to us. For repentance requires more than we are capable of in the first place. It’s not just saying, “I’m sorry”, for how many of us struggle to accept those words over and over and over. Repentance is much deeper. It is a very change of how we think, what we say, what we do.
I love the word picture in Greek – literally to have a brain transplant. Or as my geek friends would say – a completely new OS (operating system) That changes everything – and causes us, requires us, calls us to depend on God ever more deeply. We cannot repent unless that ability is granted to us, unless it is a gift. So the apostles recognized,
11:16 Then I thought of the Lord’s words when he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 And since God gave these Gentiles the same gift he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God’s way?” 18 When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began praising God. They said, “We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.”
Acts 11:16-18 (NLT)
We have been given this gift, this ability to have our minds transformed, replaced, so greatly they have been cleansed that we are considered new, changed, alive instead of death. It is then, that we are realize how damaging our sin was, and that it grieves us – not just our sin, not just that we’ve been sinned against, but that we live in an environment that so encourages sin.
The more we grieve, the more we learn to run to the only place we have hope – the One who cleanses us, the One who heals us (note the plural here) the One who welcomes sinners, not saints, that He can give us the gift that makes us saints in His Father, our Father’s eyes.
Lord, have mercy upon us… and help us to rejoice as we are healed together… of the sin which has ensnared us.
The Communion-Community of Christ
Discussion/Devotional Thought of the Day:
“544 The Communion of the Saints. How shall I explain it to you? You know what blood transfusions can do for the body? Well, that’s what the Communion of the Saints does for the soul.” Escriva, Josemaria. The Way
As a pastor, one of the things I do is to bring the Lord’s Supper to those who cannot make it to church, to those too weak or sick, to those who were once quite active, but now are counted as shut-ins. In doing so, the discussion always includes their asking about how things are going at church, it never fails to astound me, how concerned they are for their brothers and sisters in Christ. Often they talk of their desire to get well, to gain strength, just so they can once again commune in the sanctuary, with their friends, the people they love, with whom they have walked through their lives, even if they only knew the people at church for a small while.
We are on their hearts and minds.. and in bringing communion to them, they are reminded that they are part of the community. It is bittersweet, for they realize they are part of the community that Christ has established.
How I wish we were in the future, and we had transporter units like in Star Trek. Then we could beam them into the sanctuary, and fulfill a desire that they would have. (It would also be cool if upon “reassenbly” their ills and pains and weaknesses could be quarantined and separated from them!
St Escriva’s words hit home a lot today, as I consider one of the people I visit, who I can’t anymore. I know how much visiting him meant to me, how in many ways it was like the transfusion spoke of in this quote. Yet in bringing him communion, he two received a transfusion I am learning. The very life of the church was shared, the life we share in every time we gather and we eat together and drink together. For sharing in the Lord’s Table, kneeling at the Altar together is a community, thing, just as our life as Christ’s body is a community thing.
It is tragic that we don’t comprehend this blessing we have in sharing in the feast of Christ – that we would relegate it to less important than other things we do, that we place limits on its time, both the time we spend preparing for it, and the time we spend celebrating it. That we reduce the precious words to a formula, a incantation, rather than savor them, listen intently, and hear and absorb them. It is tragic that the gathering of God’s people is an afterthought in many lives.
As a pastor, I am partially responsible. If you know not why a priest, or a pastor, could describe the gathering of God’s people together around His sacrament as a spiritual transfusion, we haven’t done our job as those who proclaim the world well enough. If we haven’t taught you to treasure this incredible time, we have, in large part failed. If we don’t keep you in prayer, and help your prepare for this incredible gift, then perhaps we need to reconsider what our job is, to preach the word in its fullness, and to administer the sacrament – that those who are broken can encounter His healing, His mercy His presence.
Keep us, all the pastors and priests – and the deacons and elders and worship leaders who stand alongisde us, ready to serve, to minister to you… in your prayers. That we would feed you so richly that your heart would long for the next gathering the next time His people gather around His word, and His table.
“Lord Have Mercy!” we cry, and as we kneel and take and eat… and drink of the Blood shed that sins would be forgiven, we realize how much He has had the mercy we pray for!
1 John 1:9 and what precedes it….
For a Lutheran Pastor, one of the key passages to have handy when someone walks into my office is 1 John 1:8-9. I like the way Peterson translated in the Message:
1:8 If we claim that we’re free of sin, we’re only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. 9 On the other hand, if we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. 1 John 1:8-9 (MSG)
Yet many of us struggle with the idea of our sins being forgiven, not necessarily because we want to continue to live in the guilt and shame and anxiety than sin causes, stresses that can dominate our lives, but because we are afraid of dealing with the sin, of letting others – even our pastor or priest – realize that we are… sinners. Kinda silly- but the cure seems more painful than the disease, or that is what we allow ourselves to think. ANd we become paranoid… scared of what will happen if “they” find out!
But the verses prior to this great passage also bear on this…it actually has the same promise, but instead of being able to make it an individual issue, we see the context of God purging our sins is communal, corporate – part of what will bind us together….It removes the “they” and leaves “us”
1:6 If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we’re obviously lying through our teeth—we’re not living what we claim. 7 But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God’s Son, purges all our sin. 1 John 1:6-7 (MSG)
We aren’t in this as individuals – we all need our sins purged, the forgiveness which Christ commands the church to speak (see Matt 16 and John 20) and empowers it to speak – You are forgiven – your sins are purged – rejoice! This is no little thing! CLeansed of sin we are formed into a community, one where each can remind the other of God’s love, His mercy shown to us in Christ, the comfort and presence of the Holy Spirit – who will continue to testify to and through us, that we no longer suffer in darkness, hiding from the world, but live in the light.
It’s one of the reasons I love our service – we precede it (technically speaking) with the assurance that as you have confessed you are a sinner, God has cleansed you – now it is time for rejoicing, for relaxing and celebrating the love of God who causes us to “experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God’s Son, purges ALL our sin.”
Come rejoice with us!
