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IS This What Christlike Means?
Devotional Thought of the day:
1 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. 3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. 5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Philippians 2:1-5 (NLT)
That is what Jesus Christ teaches us. Mankind awaited the coming of the Savior for centuries. The prophets had announced his coming in a thousand ways. Even in the farthest corners of the earth, where a great part of God’s revelation to men was perhaps lost through sin or ignorance, the longing for God, the desire to be redeemed, had been kept alive.
When the fullness of time comes, no philosophical genius, no Plato or Socrates appears to fulfill the mission of redemption. Nor does a powerful conqueror, another Alexander, take over the earth. Instead a child is born in Bethlehem. He it is who is to redeem the world. But before he speaks he loves with deeds. It is no magic formula he , because he knows that the salvation he offers must pass through human hearts. What does he first do? He laughs and cries and sleeps defenseless, as a baby, though he is God incarnate. And he does this so that we may fall in love with him, so that we may learn to take him in our arms.
We realize once again that this is what Christianity is all about. If a Christian does not love with deeds, he has failed as a Christian, besides failing as a person. You cannot think of others as if they were digits, or rungs on a ladder on which you can rise, or a multitude to be harangued or humiliated, praised or despised, according to circumstances. Be mindful of what others are—and first of all those who are at your side: children of God, with all the dignity that marvelous title entails. (1)
I have been struggling a lot this week. Serious, soul wrenching struggle.
I originally thought the struggle was with other men, other men who, like me are called to shepherd the people of God. I thought my struggle was with them because of actions and words that I have seen that divide the church more. In one scenario, men are in opposition, not directly, but from bunkers of anonymity. Both claim this is necessary because of a “fear of reprisal”. They actually both use that phrase, but I am not sure who they are afraid of, each other or some mythical third party?
Part of my angst, my struggle is found in wondering if this is Christ-like, or more specifically, if the adversaries think it is Christlike. Even though I resonate with one side more than the other, I am repelled by the actions and secrecy of both sects. To be honest, there are days I want to utter a Shakespearean curse, “the pox on both your houses”.
Until I realize my angst is with neither group, my struggle is not in their ethical challenge. My struggle is with my trust in God, the God whom Joseph had faith, telling his brother that what they meant evil, God used for good. Or the promises of Paul that all things work for good for those who love God, and nothing can separate us from His love.
As I enter the arena of the discussion between these two sects, it must be with an attitude that Paul describes in the red above. Imitating Christ by being on one mind striving for that in love. it is too easy to harangue and argue, to be dismissive and even paranoid. It takes great faith to work for the reconciliation that Christ wants to see in the life of HIs people. If we see that we are reconciled to Him, then er can realize, and only then can we realize, we are brothers and sisters, the family that God loves,
Lord have mercy upon us, and may we love and pray for each other,
AMEN
Escriva, Josemaria. Christ is Passing By (Kindle Locations 1227-1239). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
How To Find Peace in the Middle of Conflict…. is it possible?
Devotional Thought of the Day:
6 I am tired of living among people who hate peace. 7 I search for peace; but when I speak of peace, they want war! Psalm 120:6-7 (NLT)
304 Each day try to find a few minutes of that blessed solitude you need so much to keep your interior life going.
I am getting very tired.
Tired of those who yearn to fight, whether trying to tempt others into confrontations or verbal arguments, and especially those over spiritual things. I’m tired of watching those who would try and dominate over others, forcing their opinions, even opinions about inconsequential things, on others.
Tired of seeing people react without thought, assuming the worst, rather than letting things settle down and work out. I can think of international issues, issues in our cities, issues in the Church. People trying to take advantage of those emotions, encouraging division, encouraging the battles that can rob people of any comfort, of any peace.
So do we just walk away, do we fail to minister to those on embroiled in conflict? Do we hole up in a cave, like some in the early church did, creating our own monastic fortress, a place where heaven is on earth, and there is no conflict, no battles, no one trying to take over our world?
Or do we stand and minister to those in the fight? Do we enter the fray, with the intention, not of fighting, but simply giving aid and pointing out to those in turmoil the hope of peace that is always there in Christ?
It is not so much that we find peace; rather we need to know that we have it already. We have it because the Spirit dwells within us, because the Spirit brings that peace into our lives from the beginning. Therefore, our presence in the conflict can bring peace there.We become the point of peace, not only for ourselves, but all of those involved in the conflict – even the aggressors.
For us to have the ability to do so, we must take time to be with Him, in solitude, to pour our heart out, to let Him take our burdens. We need to let Him not only bear the weight fo the sins committed against us, but to deal with our sin as well. That’s what it means to be still, and know that He is God.
For being involved in conflict, even as the peacekeeper wears you down, and it isn’t your strength that will sustain you. Even more so, if you are the one involved in the conflict, if you are the one being engaged,
We need Christ; we need to know Him, depend on Him and trust Him, in every situation, in every moment.
For as we grow in our relationship with Him, even in the middle of a battle, or an argument, or as our frustrations grow, we ill depend on His presence, and that will give us the hope and peace needed to survive. That is the result of spending that time Saint Josemaria talks of, that time in solitude and silence,..with our Lord.
Lord, have mercy!
AMEN
Escriva, Josemaria (2010-11-02). The Way (Kindle Locations 789-790). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Do I Really Have to????? Yes! Love Them!
Devotional and Discussion Thought of the Day:
7 And work for the peace and prosperity of Babylon. Pray for her, for if Babylon has peace, so will you.” Jeremiah 29:7 (TLB)
760 All right, I agree! That person has behaved badly; his behaviour has been reprehensible and unworthy; he deserves no merit at all. Humanly speaking he deserves to be utterly despised, you added. I understand what you mean, I can assure you, but I do not share this concluding view of yours. That life which seems so mean is sacred. Christ has died to save it. If He did not despise it, how can you dare to? (1)
I am on vacation, and we’ve driven a bit here and there, and my memories go back to my childhood vacations in the lake region and in White Mountains of New Hampshire. Three kids in the back of the old Chevy Malibu, and later in the Monte Carlo. God a bit cramped back there, and let’s just say it is was about as peaceful as the Holy Land. There was even the innocent victim (me) caught in between the rival factions.. I can still hear my dad and mom instructing my siblings to get along, to love each other, sometimes even to give each other a hug… a nice gentle one.
And the loud pitched, whining reply, ‘do I really have too???????”
Move forward to today. Even if we are not caught into a political and historical mess like Israel and Palestine, we find ourselves in serious disagreements, We have rivals, we have those we don’t like, and we have those we are seemed destined to hate, because they hate us. We are at war, sometimes in our workplaces, other times in our neighborhoods, with distant family, and sometimes, sad to say, in our homes.
We justify our anger, we get protective to stop the pain, to defend our reputations, even our families. There is a meme going around, saying that if they drop their guns, there will be peace, but if we drop ours, we will be annihilated. Not sure how true this is, but we take it is as truth, and apply that truth in our lives. We want at least the personal version of Mutually Assured Destruction.
We don’t realize how damaging this is, this dealing with enemies, this always defending ourselves.
Israel was in captivity when Jeremiah wrote these words, with the ancestors of those they have been engaged in hostilities with for centuries. The prophet’s words are different, they don’t call for strategy, they don’t call for defensive posturing. I chose the translation from the Living Bible because it identifies the city, these enemies. Here it is, as we would normally here it,
7 And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.” Jeremiah 29:7 (NLT)
Do I really have to? Do I really have to love them, to pray for them? Do I have to sacrifice time and energy to work for their peace and not just survival, but prosperity?
Do I really have to?
I mean St Josemaria described them so well, “All right, I agree! That person has behaved badly; his behaviour has been reprehensible and unworthy; he deserves no merit at all. Humanly speaking he deserves to be utterly despised, you added.”
And the response, read it again,
I understand what you mean, I can assure you, but I do not share this concluding view of yours. That life which seems so mean is sacred. Christ has died to save it. If He did not despise it, how can you dare to?
Here is a way, similar to the words above, that helps. Hear Jesus words from the cross, Father, forgive (insert your name), for they know not what they do. See Him utter those words, even as He is dieing, even as the pain wracks His body, even as the blood drips to the ground. Now, Look at your adversary, see Jesus on the cross, begging the Father to forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing as well. Let this thought be pondered in your heart for 10 or 15 minutes…. really dwell on it. Not just picture it for a second – go that’s nice. But dwell on it until the tears come, till the pain is pulsing in your body, and then purged of it, the peace rushes into your soul.
See both of you, broken there… yet being lifted by Christ. For in Christ, that which divides us is broken, in Christ there is mercy, in Christ, there is healing.
That’s why Jeremiah calls for us to pray for those who oppress us, because as God makes Himself known to them, as He calls them to be His children, as He blesses them, the blessing to us is beyond compare.
St Paul mentions this in his words to the Church in Galatia…
27 And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on the character of Christ, like putting on new clothes. 28 There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:27-28 (NLT)
There is our goal, this is our mission, our apostolate, to long for this healing, this reconciliation. Tough? Yes. Painful? Yes? Calling us to sacrifice beyond our means? Yes.
In Christ, there is no other choice. It is our vocation, our life.
We pray, “Lord, have mercy on us sinners!”
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 3158-3162). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Conflict: Fight or Flee, is there a third choice?
Is the glass half empty or half full? The pessimist would pick half empty, while the optimist would choose half full. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Devotional Thought of the day:
14 Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. 15 Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down. 16 Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody. 17 Don’t hit back; discover beauty in everyone. 18 If you’ve got it in you, get along with everybody. 19 Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. “I’ll do the judging,” says God. “I’ll take care of it.” 20 Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he’s thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. 21 Don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good. Romans 12:14-21 (MSG)
An optimist looks at a 20 oz beverage container holding 10 oz of fluid and calls it half full. A pessimist looks at the same container and calls it half empty. I walk over drain the mug of beer, ticking off the optimist and the pessimist simultaneously. It was a good beer, the container served its purpose, and I caused opposing sides of an argument to be united. (against me – but that is cool) That’s a very good day! – Rev. Dt Parker
I have been thinking about conflict for a few days, as its come up in ministry to others quite frequently recently. Some are dealing with it at work, others in their homes or extended families, and yeah, some are dealing with it at church.
Normally, people deal with it (and indeed in any stress) in one of two ways – they fight or they flea. Some situations may seem to call for us to flee – to wait unti we are stronger, or we have all our resources marshalled. Others may call for us to fight. There are all sorts of works that teach us wisdom of each – I tend to lean to the classics – Musashi’s Book of Five Rings and Sun Tzu’s Art of War were books given to me read in a leadership program I was once in.
But I have to wonder, is there another way. Are we stuck in a binary choice, with no other option?
Can instead of engaging in war…can we try to engage to live in peace? Can we work with those we would rather fight or flee from – even if it means our being crucified? Perhaps the answer is in remember we have been nailed to the cross already with Christ? Therefore it is our old adam – our self before salvation – it c–n die and we can live humbly, serving those the world would tell us to knock out. And if their antagonism does cause us harm, we can cope, because Christ coped and even chose to die, that those who crucified him would live.
This is a hard road – no matter if we stick with the normal binary choice – fight or flee, or if we realize the conflict isn’t about the ratio of liquid to container, but there is something deeper at stake… eternity.
What do you think? Really want to know!
Jesus rebuked “them” – but not those we think…
Illustration of Dante’s Inferno, Canto 8 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
He Rebuked “them?”
Luke 9:51-62
† Jesus, Son, Savior †
May the grace, that love and mercy of God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ strengthen you, and help conform your will to His, as you walk with Him through this life.
The Invitation: Come Walk With Me
I asked some friends this week this question,
“What would your excuse be, if Jesus showed up today and said, Come – follow me! ?”
Eleven of them basically denied that they would have an excuse, with comments that they were ready to go, that nothing would stand in the way, that they were ready.
I guess that they have more the attitude of James and John and Simon and Andrew – who simply let their dad’s and co-workers clean up the mess. Or like Matthew, who left his collection desk with the Roman version of the IRS and went with Jesus.
How many of us are ready, or more importantly, willing, to answer God’s call that way? How many are ready to suffer discomfort, or leave things undone, even not taking the time to get things in order with our family?
I have no doubt about our desire to follow God, to walk with Jesus, to learn of Him, to be mentored by the Holy Spirit.
What we need to consider is where that desire, that devotion is limited, and turn that over to God, that we may find the limitation fade, and our devotion of God grow, and the desire grow to where we can really understand that to walk with Him is the only way to live.
The Challenge: Raining Down Fire!
Four times in this passage, Jesus confronts attitudes that would make walking with Jesus a process we control, that we are in charge of, where we decide when and where to follow Jesus. Three are simply seen, as Jesus questions and rebukes those who would not follow Him because it is uncomfortable, or because we might lose family over it, or because we don’t have all our lives in order. Jesus challenges each one of those pretty intensely, but I want to focus on the fourth issue, the one we don’t see right away.
The attitude demonstrated by the two brothers, James and John. The attitude for which Jesus sharply rebuked them.
All they wanted to do was rain down fire and have it consume those they thought were the enemies of Jesus. I mean these Samaritans rejected the Messiah – don’t they deserve death and hell? Isn’t that how it works?
I mean, it is not like John and James wanted to condemn them for being mean, or having a different political view or falling asleep during the sermon, or daring them to do something they should not do. It wasn’t just a selfish desire to judge and condemn.
These people rejected Jesus, they chose to refuse the Kingdom of God, they deserve it!
In making that judgment, even as they walk with Jesus, even as they follow Him, they prove that they really aren’t following Him. They might be travelling with Him, but following is something entirely different.
Following Jesus isn’t about the miles they walked, anymore than it is the miles we walk. It’s about traveling with Him through life, and allowing Him to guide us, support us, train us. It’s about hearing His voice, and understanding the way of life and where it is He is taking us.
The irony is that these very people they are wanting to toast to a crisp are the very people Jesus will send them to, once He has died, and risen and ascended. For they will once again witness to them, as Jesus will direct them just before He ascends.
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8 (NLT)
The reason Jesus rebukes them? The reason Jesus would still rebuke us when we too want to call down fire and judgment on someone? Because following Jesus means we will come back to them, and minister to them and proclaim God’s love, because He came to set them free. Because that is that is why He is going through Jerusalem to get to where He is going… that we and they can go with Him.
The Observation… The Destination is Different
When I think of this passage – which is just after the transfiguration, I think of Jesus setting out for Jerusalem where he will be crucified. It would make sense then, that when He is inviting them to follow Him, He is talking about the cross – about the sacrifice that we can be forgiven of our sins.
The passage in St. Luke’s gospel says it a bit differently.
51 As the time drew near for him to ascend to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.
Note that the focus isn’t the crucifixion, it is the ascension. The cross isn’t born by Jesus without a view of the Father’s promises, without the knowledge that because He bore it, we would “follow Him” and eventually he would return to us.
Hebrews 12 tells us that it is with this joy that He endured the cross – that he is both the genesis/beginning and the completion of our trust in God the Father.
John’s gospel tells us that even as Jesus prophesied His ascension, He told us that not only that he would return, but that the reason He was going was to prepare a place for us.
That’s the goal that Jesus has in mind as He rebukes the brothers, as He tells them that they shouldn’t even think about such a request – because it is so completely against the Father’s will. Revenge and wrath aren’t the goal, punishing evildoers isn’t God’s will either, for He punished Jesus rather than us for our sin.
It is God’s desire that those Samaritans out there, those who rejected His presence, would begin to value it, to welcome it, to desire it.
The same thing goes for those who would offend God today and all lesser offenses as well. Despite their sin, despite their rejection, God hasn’t given up on reaching them, any more than He has given up on us!
What it means to follow Jesus, to walk with Him, to let Him be our Master, our Lord is that we realize His desire is to commune with His people. His Father’s will that none should perish, for He greatly desires to be our God, and us to be His people! As we walk with Him, more and more we realize His love for us, That love, that mercy changes us, assures us, reminds us that the destination is more than just the cross or the resurrection, but it is our being with God.
That’s what this is all about, that is where we find life. As we walk with Him, our will is conformed to His will, even as our sinfulness is erased and we are see with His righteousness. That means we see the “Samaritans” in our life differently. It means we continue to pray and love those who don’t know God, desiring that as He does, they will hear and come and walk with Him as well.
That they will know His peace, a peace that passes all understanding – the peace of God that comes as we walk with Christ, as He keeps our hearts and minds secure in that peace.
Related articles
- Dan Brown, Dante’s Inferno and the Missio Dei (justifiedandsinner.com)
