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Remember…..
Devotional Thought of the Day:
23 For I received from the Lord the teaching that I passed on to you: that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took a piece of bread, 24 gave thanks to God, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in memory of me.” 25 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup and said, “This cup is God’s new covenant, sealed with my blood. Whenever you drink it, do so in memory of me.” 26 This means that every time you eat this bread and drink from this cup you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 (TEV)
15 In these times of violence and brutal, savage sexuality, we have to be rebels: we refuse point blank to go with the tide, and become beasts. We want to behave like children of God, like men and women who are on intimate terms with their Father, who is in Heaven and who wants to be very close to—inside!—each one of us. (1)
Disclaimer: This blog is not primarily about 9-11.
there was a massacre once, the slaughter of the innocent, that we should not, will not, cannot forget.
It was ultimate act of depravity, the ultimate act of violence, and it is something we have to remember, not because of the violence, not because of the savagery, but because in that very act, we are given hope. Even in that death, we are given life. Even in that savage, torturous, incomprehensible act, we find our rest an peace.
There is no greater paradox.
Paul instructs the church to remember not just the act above, but the One who was brutalized and killed. In Greek the work translaeted “to remember, to not forget, to memorialize, etc” is much stronger than just give him a passing thought. It is related to words like repentance (to have a new mind) and the root where we get paranoia. It is something that deeply affects and is rooted in the mind. Not just knowledge, not just a passing thought, but something that burns into our mind and soul, that causes in us a change.
We proclaim that death, we reveal again the love that is revealed in His willing sacrifice of His life for us.
Something that changes everything.
Some of us will remember 9-11, like those before us remember the Shuttle exploding, or the Oklahoma City Bombing, like those, who remember Kennedy getting shot, or Pearl Harbor. There are other events that we will never forget because they scar our souls, they ring us to the core, they cause us to be on guard.
this remembrance, where we take and eat the Body of Christ given up for us, where we drink the Blood of Christ given and shed so that sin is forgiven, this knowing the presence and depth of the love of God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, doesn’t just scar our souls, it brings healing and life to our heart and soul, our mind and body that have been scarred by sin and the injustice of the world. It sustains us through the rush of the world’s evil, and the traumas of life.
That is why we remember, that is why we proclaim His death until He comes….
For in knowing Him, we know peace.
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 290-293). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
The Necessity of Martyrdom, our Martyrdom.
Discussion and Devotional THought of the Day:
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, “Now God’s salvation has come! Now God has shown his power as King! Now his Messiah has shown his authority! For the one who stood before our God and accused believers day and night has been thrown out of heaven. 11 They won the victory over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the truth which they proclaimed; and they were willing to give up their lives and die. Revelation 12:10-11 (TEV)
21 But Ittai said to the king, “I vow by the LORD and by your own life that I will go wherever my lord the king goes, no matter what happens—whether it means life or death.” 2 Samuel 15:21 (NLT)
I’ve seen all over the Facebook and Twitter the Arabic letter Nain. Most are putting it up; they claim, in solidarity with the Christians in Mosul and Iraq who are facing persecution and reportedly are being martyred. The story goes that it is the letter that is being painted on the homes of Christians, to mark and identify them. It’s a handy little symbol and stands for “Nazarene.” People are free to harass, persecute and even kill those who live in those homes.
I haven’t seen necklaces and wristbands with the symbol on it yet, but I am pretty sure some entrepreneur will develop them soon.
It’s popular; it’s in vogue, it makes us somehow feel like we are doing something against the evil in their lands.
Most of us aren’t. We may change the photo on our FB. We might even donate an extra 10 or 20 bucks in the offering plate and designate it for relief. We might have heard them added to our prayers at church on Sunday, and said amen under our breath. (that assumes we were there, and heard the prayers)
But are we really willing to go to Iraq and stand beside them, and/or take their punishment? ( Sometime read the story of the martyrdom of Maximilian Kolbe – a catholic saint who did that very thing!) How far are we willing to take this fight?
And what fight is it? Is it a fight against injustice, the fight for making sure that no one ever suffers persecution. It’s a fight that no one ever has to faith death because of their faith?
Or is the fight something against something more insidious, something more evil, evil incarnate, the power of Satan. The power of the one who would accuse us of the sins we have committed and demand that we pay for each and everyone.
Revelation is clear on how that evil is defeated.
1. By remembering that Christ’s death, the shedding of His Blood cleanses, purifies and sanctifies us. That God declares us righteous and just because of that blood being shed.
2. By the words of our martyrdom, the words of our witness. It is interesting to note that martyrdom and witness are the same word in Greek. That we are so in awe of #1 that we have to share it with others, That God’s love and desire to save us transforms us into wanting others saved, even at great cost. For some that means they will dedicate their lives to serving wherever God wants, even if it means forgoing things the rest of us take for granted. Families, homes. jobs, personal pleasure. For others, it may mean their life.
For all of us, it means sacrificing the idol of self and pleasure. If we aren’t willing to do even that, can we say we stand in solidarity with those who
3. #1 and #2 lead to this – that we can’t love our life so much that we aren’t willing to sacrifice, or even portions of it (say a day off or a vacation, or even time with family) that others might know.
Paul talks of standing in solidarity, standing in communion, when he encourages the church to “imitate me, as I imitate Christ.” He does it again as he asks us to present our bodies as living sacrifices. Jesus’ words about those that would save their life must offer it up. In each, solidarity is not seen apart from martyrdom, In each we take up our cross, we willingly pay the price that others would know that God can be trusted, even through death
It goes deeper – for we are united with Christ’s martyrdom, with His witness, with His cross. There is where we find our salvation, our deliverance, in the fact that He didn’t cling to life, but gave up Himself, for us. You see that Nazarene died for us, even as some die for Him, even as we who live are living sacrifices to Him. Without His cross – without our unity to Him in it, our symbolism is void and worthless.
May we embrace whatever shame, whatever cost, whatever sacrifice is necessary, for the joy that was set before Him and before us.
Lord have mercy on us!
We Find Our Rest.. In His Cross
We Find our Rest in His Cross
Matt 11:25-30
`
† IHS †
As we learn the depth of the grace of God, how it floods our lives, may we learn to trust as children, leaving our burdens behind, and learning to rest in His presence!
A Parker Parable….
Being a Christian is like Playing Golf…..
It leaves me a little in awe how often my life includes lessons that coincide with the message of the sermon for the week. It happens most weeks, sometimes multiple the same lesson learned through the experience of several lessons, and sometimes one of them is perfect to use in the sermon. When those happen, I call them “Pastor Parker’s Parables” even though they are the lessons I learn…the one’s I’ve been taught.
So get ready, this week, the parable is that, “Living the Christian Life is like playing golf!”
No, I don’t mean the part about the frustration, the anger, losing things left and right, from golf balls going in the water to one’s temper, to all desire to keep going.
Well, those things are included, it’s what called the law….
But there is another aspect to golf, that is not about suffering, but actually develops character, and joy….
A Little Success is a dangerous thing!!!!
The day on the course starts our great… well, great for me. Nice strong drives… decent bogies, nothing too pathetic. Then, on the par 5…. confident in my drive, the ball dribbles off the tee, it wouldn’t even make it to the parking lot! The next 6 hits went about as far, one even bouncing off of three trees to land at the base of the first one! The next hole – a par three (that mean you meet the standard by getting the ball in the hole on the third “hit”) the penalty strokes for getting the ball in the water exceed par on their own! Frustration is set in, every possible change to my swing is being analyzed…… I am relying on every bit of wisdom.. and failing.
We are like that in life, things can be going well, we can be doing good, and then confident, we try to do everything on our own, We want to decide not only what is good and right, but we become wise in our own eyes, trying to solve the messes we get into, because we think it is all about us.
Most of us, at one time or another, fall into the trap that Jesus so clearly describes, when He describes those “who think themselves wise and clever.”
Not that we would use those words, but how often do we try to run our lives? How often do we set aside God’s word and do things that we think will be beneficial to us, without considering its effect on others, or on us. The more our playing God fails, the digger the hole we dig ourselves in, Or instead of trying to run our own lives, it is telling others how they should live, or helping them justify their playing god, in the way they deal with others.
Ultimately, all sin, any time we break any of the commandments boil down to our thinking we know what’s best. Somehow we think we are wiser, or more clever than God. That we can handle it all on our own, without any help from Him, or those He sends.
Not only do owe not measure up, but we get more and more frustrated, until we want to give in, or give up…..or just hurl a golf club farther than the ball we hit with it went.
Playing God doesn’t lead to peace, but just frustration and anger and anxiety and….. we don’t ever find ourselves measuring up. We find ourselves so far from par, from being righteous, from being the people God came to share life with, eternal life, that is.
Even long after we’ve left the course, we are going to feel the frustration, the tension, the disappointment in ourselves. We will go from thinking we are perfect, to condemning ourselves, putting ourselves down, and giving up what we love, and are meant to do.
No, I am not talking about golf, but the lesson can be seen there as well.
Finding the Ability to Cease, to Give Up Control…
If those who find themselves wise and understanding struggle, it is amazing to see that the simple, that the naïve, that the very childlike do not.
It is because of the ease, the natural way they come to trust in God, to know Him, to walk with Him. How they accept what is revealed to them by God.
It’s not that they don’t sin, but they learn to seek forgiveness, to count on mercy, quickly. They get to know the Son of God and therefore the Father.
And when Jesus says come, knowing His love, knowing the joy of walking with Him, they come.
And find rest, they find the ability to relax and cease their struggles in life. They learn to stop trying to force life to go the way they think is best, and just revel in His presence.
That is the key to live, it is what those who think they are wise cannot figure out. It is because it is something beyond figuring out, beyond our capacity to comprehend.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t experience it….
The Rest….
It has been said that it is not the power of the swing that causes a golf ball to sail far, but the smoothness of that swing. That a relaxed smooth that might appear to be effortless will cause it to go farther than one is far more powerful but is forced.
The same is true for a believer in Christ.
There is Jesus, saying come to me, and I will give you rest…
I love how the paraphrased translation the Message says this….
29 Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. 30 Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:29-30 (MSG)
That’s what the yokes are for, as we see in Hosea,
“4 I led Israel along with my ropes of kindness and love. I lifted the yoke from his neck, and I myself stooped to feed him.”
The blessing of being yoked to Christ is learning to live in His grace, His love, His peace. It isn’t about God controlling us, or turning us into robots, it’s about teaching us to live.
When you go through physical therapy after surgery, as many of us have done around here, as some are doing right now, the therapists aren’t just trying to cause us pain, but teach us how to move again, so that other places don’t give out. What seems like a curse, or may cause a curse or two, is there to help us live as free as possible.
When a golf instructor has you swing the club over and over, without hitting anything, he’s conditioning you body to do what is right. Same for the martial arts instructor who makes you punch the same spot in front of you 10,000 times.
Hear the Message again,
29 Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. 30 Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:29-30 (MSG)
Where do we walk, bound to jesus? Learning His grace?
To the cross, and then to the resurrection.
To see God’s handiwork through all of life – even suffering, even death…for even there, in the shadows of death…. we find His life…eternal, everlasting, immortal.
We can stop guessing, we can stop trying to play God, or pretending we are wise and clever.
We can move with Him, through our baptism, to the altar. To look upon His sacrifice, His body given for us, His blood shed to seal His contract with us, to seal us to Him. We can move with Him, as He takes our burdens, as He takes our cares, and anxieties, and binds Himself to us, that we may know how to live.
To live, now as well as then, in a peace that passes all understanding, a peace in which we are kept, heart and soul… guarded by Jesus Himself.
AMEN?
Because We Were Raised From the Dead with Jesus, We Dwell in Peace
Alleluia! He is Risen! And Therefore
We Have Risen and Live Joyfully in His Peace!
John 20:19-31
In Jesus Name
May the God’s desire to make us His own, proven to us through the Incarnation, Death, and Resurrection of Christ, be revealed more and more and therefore may we live in His peace!
The 371 picture….
One day driving up the mountain to Anza, I took what has become the best photo I have ever taken. It is there on your prayer insert/sermon notes. There has been nothing done to the picture, there was a fierce and I mean fierce mountain storm that was coming over Thomas Mountain and Mount San Jacinto.
Yet this tree stood as a beacon, the sun breaking through the clouds so gloriously lighting up the tree as if the tree itself was glowing. It stood, unaffected by the storm, unaffected by the clouds.
Completely at peace….
I have so longed to be like that tree – able to withstand the threat of any storm in life. To be able to dwell in God’s glory, to be able to reflect it like that tree, even in the face of such overwhelming storms. Yet that is not to be….
As I looked at the picture yesterday, it reminded me of the upper room, the storms that threatened the disciples, that raised their anxiety levels to their maximum. Enough that doors were shut, people weren’t allowed in, as they mourned, as they grieved, as they struggled.
In the midst of their storm… Jesus was revealed in their presence. Jesus the crucified one, Jesus the Passover sacrifice, Jesus who had been born of Mary, who had taught, who had healed.
Jesus, who was no longer dead, whose glorious resurrection was revealed by His presence! The relationship they had was not over, it had become even more glorious, as they realized, Praise God, He is Risen! (He is risen Indeed, Alleluia1)
And therefore…. (we have risen Indeed! )
Like the tree in the picture calls our attention, so too He calls our attention, our presence for in His presence we know His peace.
How often must we hear these words?
Jesus appears in the presence, like the tree appears along the side of the road, and the words resound, “Peace be with you!” Even as their hearts were so flooded with joy that the anxiety was drowned, the words would resound again – “Peace be with you!”
We need to understand that blessing, and its equivalents, “fear not”, and “the Lord is with you!” We need to hear them, to understand them. We need to taste them, digest them, to bring them into the very core of who we are.
The problem is that these words can become the church equivalent of “How are you doing?” with the quick response of “And also with you” or “with your spirit”. We too often reduce a powerful blessing to a greeting and polite response.
Why is that a problem?
We need peace. Satan would rob us of it constantly. He does it through encouraging our sin, and the shame and guilt it will cause. He does it through the sins others commit against us, as we allow the resentment to build, as we try to justify our sinful responses. Satan would use grief and despair as well, even as he did with Thomas.
It can be so easy to take Thomas’ position, to cry out Lord, unless I see you, unless I know you are there, I won’t give up my doubt, or my anxiety, or my pain. I won’t let you deal with it.
And then, when someone tells us, as we shall moments from now, “God’s peace is with you,” we quickly answer back – even mumble back a suitable response.
My friends, we can’t do that anymore. We need to hear those words, we need to know as we approach this altar that God will take those anxieties, those pains, the guilt, shame and resentment away from us.
An example of Christ’s ministry
That is exactly how Jesus dealt with Thomas….
“Peace be with you!” He exclaims to the room again, not just for Thomas, but for all of the brothers.
Thomas, you needed these hands? I am here, in the flesh. My side? I will offer it to you, the side from which my blood poured. Now, can you live in peace?
I think we read this passage sometimes, without seeing Jesus’ love for Thomas, We want to hear Jesus’s words without compassion, simply going, okay Thomas, here you go. Now get back to work.
But Jesus knows him, knows his brokenness, knows how much Thomas wants to believe. He made Thomas, he walked with him for years.
This is the same God who inspired Solomon at the dedication of the temple, to pray,
32 And don’t forget the foreigner who is not a member of your people Israel but has come from a far country because of your reputation—people are going to be attracted here by your great reputation, your wonderworking power—and who come to pray to this Temple. 33 Listen from your home in heaven and honor the prayers of the foreigner, So that people all over the world will know who you are and what you’re like, And live in reverent obedience before you, just as your own people Israel do, So they’ll know that you personally make this Temple that I’ve built what it is. 2 Chronicles 6:32-33 (MSG)
That’s the God who answered Thomas, the Lord who would listen to prayers of people who aren’t even His… as far as they know. Who would gather them, and encourage them to pray to Him.
Thomas, being ministered to by a Jesus who was real, found the peace he needed to believe. To declare that Jesus was his master, the One who was in charge of His life! And His benevolent, merciful loving God….
In other words, He knew peace.
What can you do, knowing that peace?
But Jesus didn’t leave the apostles just in that place of peace. He wanted them to take that peace out of the upper room, even as he wants us to take it outside the walls of this church, and off this property. Even as the Father in heaven sent Jesus to bring us that peace, we now have to take that peace to the world.
Impossible? Not if we realize that God is with us. That the Holy Spirit, breathed out on the 10 in the upper room was given to us at our baptism.
How? In the mercy displayed as we forgive sins, even as we know our sin are forgiven. That peace is found there. Nothing new about this – for while God answered prayers of those foreigners, Solomon also noted the prayers of the people of God.
18 Can it be that God will actually move into our neighborhood? Why, the cosmos itself isn’t large enough to give you breathing room, let alone this Temple I’ve built. 19 Even so, I’m bold to ask: Pay attention to these my prayers, both intercessory and personal, O GOD, my God. Listen to my prayers, energetic and devout, that I’m setting before you right now. 20 Keep your eyes open to this Temple day and night, this place you promised to dignify with your Name. And listen to the prayers that I pray in this place. 21 And listen to your people Israel when they pray at this place. Listen from your home in heaven and when you hear, forgive. 2 Chronicles 6:18-21 (MSG)
Sound familiar?
That is what Jesus authorized the apostles to preach – the forgiveness of sins, the freedom given in our baptism. Whatever you forgive here… is forgiven….
These are the words heard in a few moments, the blood of the New Testament, shed for the forgiveness of sin. And as you take and eat, and take and drink, what is the blessing the end of communion? Until we are before His throne in glory, know you dwell in His peace…..
Be at peace, all sin, every sin committed against you is forgiven. Go and share that peace, the peace we know because sin was dealt with at the cross, and while it cannot rise, we know this.
Alleluia! He is Risen! (He is risen indeed! Alleluia!)
and therefore?
(We are risen indeed! Alleluia!)
AMEN
We Call on His Name – Just as Jesus DId!
Treasuring God’s Gifts!
He has Given Us the Right to Use His Name!
Exodus 20:7, Romans 10:11-17
In Jesus Name!
May the glory of the cross, the love of God revealed, remind you that you are children of God, and can therefore cry out to the Father!
The Journey
We have almost completed our journey through the Decalogue, through the masterpiece God makes of our life, so beautifully described in words we normally call the Ten Commandments. The journey where we have not heard them as hastily written words, given to cramp our style, to forbid fun.
Instead we remember to hear them as the words of God, which describe for us a way of life He considers His masterpiece.
On this day, when we hear Jesus cry out, “it is finished”, when we know of His cry, “Father, Into Your Hands I commit my spirit,” may we realize we can cry out to the Father, for that is why He has given us His name… to use.
The Third (4th) Word
The Third “word”, the “third commandment” is simple, “Do not use God’s name vainly” or to no good purpose. If we think it through, that command is simply a correction, a clarification to the idea that we are called to use God’s name.
For as we heard, all who call on the name of the Lord will be delivered, we will be saved.
There are people who misuse God’s name, using it basically in frustration, in anger, to condemn, to mock God, and often His people. That is sin.
There are also those who do not use His name at all, to lift others in prayer, to offer comfort, even the comfort of a glass of water, who do not care enough about others eternity to share God’s love with them, so they will know heaven and not hell. Those who do not use His name to reconcile, those who refuse to forgive – for that too is the proper use of His name, and to not do so, is sin.
Seeing the Gospel
When William was born, we were shocked by his pediatrician giving us her cell-phone number. She has a large office, and an incredible caseload. Over the years we’ve called it, and been surprised when we didn’t get a answering service, but that she answered it herself.
How many places can you call, where the boss picks up the phone? Never mind that, where a real person does.
Yet, God, Creator of the Universe, expects us to call out to Him, to give Him our burdens, to ask Him for forgiveness.
That is what the cross is all about, that is what this time and this place is all about.
God gathering His people here,
Gathering His people, marked by His name.
For Christ has been lifted up…..
We have been lifted up with Him.
Lifted up into His presence, into His place of peace, The peace that goes beyond all understanding and guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. AMEN.
Why a Crucifix can be so incredibly important… not just during Holy Week
Devotional Thought of the Day:
23 So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense. 1 Corinthians 1:23 (NLT)
20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die. Galatians 2:20-21 (NLT)
70 You asked me if I had a cross to bear. And I answered, “Yes, we always have to bear the Cross.” But it is a glorious Cross, a divine seal, the authentic guarantee of our being children of God. That is why we always walk along happily with the Cross.
For some it is a piece of jewelry, or an art piece, and artifact.
For others, it is something they do not want to face, so they remove them from homes and sanctuaries. They may say it’s divisive, or that they are afraid of it becoming and idol. Even a barren cross is seen as too close, and so they are removed, taken away, hid in a closet or irreverently thrown in a dumpster.
But there is something about a crucifix, about looking at a portrayal of a body wracked with pain, the crown of thorns, the nails through the wrists and ankles, the eyes that through the pain look out upon us.
The reason for the cross.
To make us the people of God,
This is what God the Father gave the son to endure, because He loves us……
This is what Jesus endured, hating its shame, but for the joy set before Him…. the joy of seeing us rise with Him.
This is what the Holy Spirit testifies to, the very power of the gospel that can save us all…..
Christ dying for us… and His crucifixion – the place where we died to sin…. the place where the promise comes home, we have risen with Him as well.
As i go through this life, as I see the effect of sin devastating marriages, crushing families, as I see the challenges of this broken world strike us with disease, as I see us choose, again and again, to tear down, to let resentment build, to seek after something that will quench our pain for the moment, whether it be sex or drugs or the latest television binge. Escapes that mean little but a moment away. We need something more substantial, something more enduring.
We need to remember when God came into our lives, dwelt among us, and the glory of God, displayed on a cross. The love of God so incredible, so unbelievable, so needed. I need to stop and meditate on the wondrous love that would drive him there, to deliver us from all that assails us. Crosses, crucifixes serve to call us to that point, to remember the love of God…. to remember His work – even now at work in us.
It is “the” game changer, that brings light to darkness, that dispells evil, that brings peace into chaos.
I don’t think we need less reminders… but perhaps far more.
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 514-517). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
When Is Enough… Enough!?
Devotional/Discussion Thought of the Day: 
38 “Here’s another old saying that deserves a second look: ‘Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.’ 39 Is that going to get us anywhere? Here’s what I propose: ‘Don’t hit back at all.’ If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. 40 If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. 41 And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. 42 No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously. 43 “You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ 44 I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, Matthew 5:38-44 (MSG)
I look up to the mountains— does my help come from there? 2 My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth! 3 He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. 4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps. 5 The LORD himself watches over you! The LORD stands beside you as your protective shade. 6 The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night. 7 The LORD keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. 8 The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever. Psalm 121:1-8 (NLT)
“Here am I Lord, I’ve come to do Your will, Here am I Lord, In Your presence, I am still” (1)
5 “Meditate on this slowly: I am asked for very little compared to how much I am being given.” (2)
It is, I know personally, a struggle to deal with some people.
I witnessed it in the past few days, as several people I know were offended (not at the same time), and found myself extremely frustrated by the way I was treated. It literally took me a couple of hours, and some distraction to deal with my own frustration. No, let me be honest, it wasn’t just frustration, there was some anger that was beginning to settle in and take residence in my heart.
The first reading, especially the italicized part, came to mind in the shower this morning. Except in the older translations sense, this is the passage about “turning the other cheek”. But I think Peterson does a good job in getting the heart of the matter. I’ve heard a lot of people “explain” this passage, trying to get out of what we are called to do, trying to justify their own anger, or resentment. We try to justify our thirst for revenge by saying we want to stop them from doing this to others. Or that Jesus couldn’t have had what this person did…
Skip past the second passage for a moment, it was part of my devotions this morning, as were the two short extra-biblical readings. Look at them.
From the Celtic Prayer Book, we find the idea that serving God sometimes means standing still. Psalm 46 comes to mind, but that to is written amidst a storm, against threats. Written by one who was no stranger to war, and yet must trust God to deliver the stillness, to deliver the victory! What a challenge when you know how to treat those who oppress and attack us. Can I be still in those times? Confident in God’s presence and His strength and His desire to work in my life?
Even as I read that, the next part of my devotions include this little passage by St. Josemaria. And I think that I have done far worse to Jesus, and perhaps to others, than was said to me. I think of the others I know, that I observed getting offended, Yeah – we, the offended, the oppressed are not innocent of similar offenses, we don’t have the right to cast the first stone, for the One who would crush us, died for us instead. That puts things into better perspective, as I realize how blessed we are, how the times we’ve offended people were paid for, as Christ proved the depth of God’s love for us by coming and living among us, by dying, by rising, by ascending and He still is there, at the right hand of God the Father, interceding for us.
His ministry to us, through us, isn’t over, until the last sinner/saint has come home.
That is where the second reading, my psalm of the day comes into this discussion. Do I trust God at these words? Do I know my help is coming from on high? Do I realize that He doesn’t sleep, Do I realize that what happens to me will work out for good somehow, for this is His promise. The promise of the crucified Lord. The promise of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit?
In the words of a man who needed to know God’s deliverance….
Yes, I believe, Lord help me believe.
A form of a heart depth’s cry for the Lord’s compassion…. and the hope, the expectation that we will know it. AMEN
(1) Meditations for day 17, Celtic Daily Prayer
(2)Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 261-262). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Christianity and Lessons from the Blacklist!
Devotioal Thought of the Day:
15 I do not understand what I do; for I don’t do what I would like to do, but instead I do what I hate. 16 Since what I do is what I don’t want to do, this shows that I agree that the Law is right. 17 So I am not really the one who does this thing; rather it is the sin that lives in me. 18 I know that good does not live in me—that is, in my human nature. For even though the desire to do good is in me, I am not able to do it. 19 I don’t do the good I want to do; instead, I do the evil that I do not want to do. 20 If I do what I don’t want to do, this means that I am no longer the one who does it; instead, it is the sin that lives in me. 21 So I find that this law is at work: when I want to do what is good, what is evil is the only choice I have. 22 My inner being delights in the law of God. 23 But I see a different law at work in my body—a law that fights against the law which my mind approves of. It makes me a prisoner to the law of sin which is at work in my body. 24 What an unhappy man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is taking me to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who does this through our Lord Jesus Christ! This, then, is my condition: on my own I can serve God’s law only with my mind, while my human nature serves the law of sin. Romans 7:15-25 (TEV)
Liz: You’re a monster.
Red: Yes.
Liz: How can you live with that?
Red: By saving your life. (1)
With my schedule, I don’t get to watch television much, except when I am home sick, or occaisonally something dvr’d.
One of my favorites used to be Boston Legal – wihich surprised me, because I didn’t like any of the primary actors in it. But I was amazed with the brilliance of how they worked together, and how the writers strived to find ways to take the broken charachters and send them hunting, often blindly for some sort of reconciliation, some sort of justice they found, despite themselves. Have to admit, I became impressed with James Spader’s characterization. Enough so, that when the Blacklist came about – I wanted to see it – just to see if he could be a truly evil charachter.
Have to admit – it is the only television show I really watch these days, usually a couple of days later, and always fascinated with the depth of depravity and yet, a quest for some kind of vindication.
There is a blunt acknowledgement of evil, a confession that is there, unaware that there is grace. There is in each primary character – a questioning of the soul. You see it in Liz, as she struggles with the evil of each case, and the questions about her husband. You see it in Red, as he tries to help Liz, but also as he has his moments of solitude, (of course he goes and decides to do what he knows is wrong thereafter) you see it in the director, and in the partner.
There is an acknowledgement of our sinful selves, and attempts made to justify themseives by doing something good or noble or perfectly just. Except they realize, as we do, that the harder we try, the more likely we fail.
That’s perhaps what I like about the show – it strips us, not from the idea that we are not sinners, but from the idea we can justify ourselves. That we can explain away our own shortcomings, our own falures, our own tendency to sin. But it needs to go beyond that.
Luther wrote,
For although the whole world with all diligence has endeavored to ascertain what God is, what He has in mind and does, yet has she never been able to attain to [the knowledge and understanding of] any of these things. But here we have everything in richest measure; for here in all three articles He has Himself revealed and opened the deepest abyss of his paternal heart and of His pure unutterable love. For He has created us for this very object, that He might redeem and sanctify us; and in addition to giving and imparting to us everything in heaven and upon earth, He has given to us even His Son and the Holy Ghost, by whom to bring us to Himself. (2)
Red sees his own redemption in saving the life of another. I don’t think he means just her physical life either, but the emotional and spiritual life that can be lost in their line of work. (remember what he did before he went rogue) Perhaps by ridding the world with more efficiently of the truly evil, he can help her save her life. He wants to be her savior, her Christ, Even so, he cannot.
Luther sees it differently, noting that God is the one who can do, and has done, what Red so longs to do. He did come – and take on evil, personally as Christ carriest all our sin to the cross. That’s what Paul is talking about as well – who can rescue us from the despair of living in the presence of Evil? Only Christ.
Maybe we don’t see ourselves as the people on the balcklist – people beyond hope. Maybe were the Liz, losing her naivete about the world, about mankind with every episode. Maybe we’re Red, hoping beyond hpoe that we can save the next generation from turning into us.
What we need in each case – is to cry out to Jesus, the One who can save us, and has already provided all the means for our salvaiton, and more importantly, to leave anxiety over walking in evil behind, as we walk with Him.
We cry, “Lord, Have Mercy” and know, and trust.. He has.
(1) http://www.tvfanatic.com/quotes/shows/the-blacklist/page-4.html#sthash.HSTHtX83.dpuf
(2) The Large Catechism of Martin Luther.
For the joy awaiting… take up and endure your cross.
Jesus Off the Cross (Photo credit: Thomas Hawk)
Devotion of the Day
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you want to come with me, you must forget yourself, carry your cross, and follow me. Matthew 16:24 (TEV)
2 Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end. He did not give up because of the cross! On the contrary, because of the joy that was waiting for him, he thought nothing of the disgrace of dying on the cross, and he is now seated at the right side of God’s throne. Hebrews 12:2 (TEV)
The Cross marked his life. He took as his daily motto, “Nulla dies sine cruce: no day without the cross.” A touchstone whose truth had been proved by experience. But he brightened it up by adding two words in front: in laetitia, in joy, which denoted a disposition, a grace, for his way of living. His personal aspiration was thus “In joy, no day without the cross.” If ever a day passed without some note of adversity, Monsignor Escrivá would go to the tabernacle and ask, “What’s up between us, Lord? Don’t you love me anymore?” Not that he liked pain. But he was convinced that the cross was the royal seal of the works of God. “To me, a day without the cross is like a day without God,” he used to say;8 he did not want there to be a single day without it as a stamp of authenticity. (1)
The last two days were some of the hardest days I have encountered in my ministry. 7 top level tragedies and traumas, a 400 mile drive, a long day at work. A facebook thread that made me wonder why some go into ministry….for the wrath and venom poured out was unlike any I have seen.
It was a day where I was drained by noon, as much emotionally as physically, but physically suffering from “drive-lag”.
Yet, as I look upon it this morning, I understand that there is no way those days can happen, unless God is with me. To deal with broken hearts, very borken lives, some dealing with it, some running from it, some doing both at the same time. (that is called running in circles )
At the end of the day, no, really before that, I was wiped out, finished, broken myself. Too tired to think straight, to tired to enjoy life.
But when I went to sleep – I slept – knowing that God was present, not just in my life, but in the lives of everyone I know enduring trauma. Somehow, despite my anxieties, and fears and all the crap that is going on in this world… God stripped me of it, took the burdens into His hands. Otherwise? I would have been up half the night.
I suppose on of the reasons I love St Josemaria Escriva’s works, is because of such honesty. Because he is an example of trusting in God, in knowing God’s presence, that taking up such a cross is doen without thinking, its done without complaint, its done – knowing that we are simply here to bear the burdens that others can know Christ’s peace, and love, and mercy. But we can’t bear those burdens long – they will chew us up and spit us out, exhausted, overwhelmed, maybe even bitter and disgusted with life.
But we follow Him, to the cross, to His death, to that point where every sin was paid for, every point of brokenness removed… and then we find ourselves alive!
For we bear our cross to His cross. For His cross takes it all…. and brings healing and joy – and rest – but we have to see ourselves there.. at the foot of the cross, seeing His brokeness, seeing His blood spilled on the ground, seeing His eyes… looking down upon his, with a joy that knows by that very pain He is enduring… that He is freeing us from our burdens, our pains, our crosses. We can’t deal with our burdens, our brokeness, we can’t have faith and trust in Him, unless we recognize those things we bear… and realize they are to be nailed to Him, to His cross.
“In joy, no day without the cross“…. because our crosses require us to be with Him, to let Him ultimately bear them. For joy is there, awaiting us, for He is there awaiting us.
Lord, have mercy!
Yesterday was a rough day, One of those days you realize is a cross to bear.
(1) Urbano, Pilar (2011-05-10). The Man of Villa Tevere (Kindle Locations 1552-1559). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Related articles
- The Mission: To Reveal Jesus Lifted Up (justifiedandsinner.com)
- Dare to Be Christian Means Dare to Be Broken (justifiedandsinner.com)
- Persecution, Martyrdom, the Love of Christ…. and a hard lesson in prayer (justifiedandsinner.com)
Thankful for many friends… whose love for me demonstrates their faith.
Devotional Thought of the Day:
34 I give you a new commandment: love one another; you must love one another just as I have loved you. 35 It is by your love for one another, that everyone will recognise you as my disciples.John 13:34-35 (NJB)
I spent five days this week with other servants of God at a deacons conference and then at a pastor’s conference.
Saw a lot of old friends, many of who showed interest in how I was doing with my father’s death two weeks ago.
I came home to folks in crisis… not my family but those in my church family. It’s been a hard morning – a very hard morning.
But for 5 friends – my wife, a young pastor, a vicar, a deacon, and a friend who gave to me the most precious gift you can give a pastor. A friend who let me be her pastor… who let me speak to her of God’s grace. That takes a sense of God’s love and trust that is incredible and is a blessing.
You see, loving each other isn’t just about the kind words and deeds whcih we usually count as showing love. It is equally loving, even more loving, to let someoen in close enough to see your hurts, your pains, your embarassment and ask – is God still with me? Not that we don’t know this in our heads, but our hearts so deperately need to hear this as well. It takes great amounts of love to let people in, to let them care about you, to let a pastor, pastor you.
And to do so, letting me in, trusting God to work thorugh me… is one of the greatest ways to show love.
So in these days… I am thanking God for many… but especially for the friends who not only call me pastor… but let me…
a very precious gift you give me…
God Bless….
D†
