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Lord, Please Increase our Faith!
Stained glass showing Lamb of God with vexillum and chalice, from chapel that used to be part of a convent (now a Baptist church and school complex) in El Cajon, California (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Mission Briefing #4
“Increase our Faith”
Luke 17:1-10
† In Jesus Name †
Luke’s gospel was written with this blessing in mind, that you would have faith in that which you have been taught, that the Lord is with you. May this sermon increase this faith.
Temptations and forgiveness and miracles and serving and…….
If we look at the gospel lesson today, it seems that Christ is asking a lot of us. We are to deal with temptation, be careful not to tempt others, carefully rebuke others, forgive them, forgive them again, and well, again. We are have enough faith to do miracles, and serve others diligently without complaint or asking for reward or thinking about our own needs and aches.
It’s enough of a list, that it doesn’t surprise me that the disciples, right in the middle of the list, cry out – Lord! Show us how to increase our faith!
Some of us have had one of those weeks, where we want to slow down God’s work in our lives enough to say, “Lord, I need more faith! Show me how to find it, show me how to increase it”
If only we would have the patience to wait for an answer, if only we had enough faith to wait, then maybe our lives wouldn’t be so dry, maybe we wouldn’t be so weary…
Or maybe, we need to be that weak? At that point, would our faith, our trust, and our dependence on Jesus increase?
Can we face those things… which cause us to need faith?
I for one, know how much stronger I need to my faith to be. I know I need to trust in God a lot more than I do, to have confidence that it is His strength, His power that will not only save me from the sin that crushes me – my own, those whose sin against me, and those who sin I weep over. I must also have confidence that the Holy Spirit will be there on days like Thursday and Friday, where I had to try to be there for 7 different families, or worse, where I couldn’t be there… and had to trust in God as I put them into God’s hands. That’s the kind of faith we need to see grow.
You see, faith is a very active, very dynamic verb. To increase in faith means we find ourselves in situations where we know our only Hope is in the one who gives us hope, whose faithfulness, whose trust worthiness is so great – that we trust in Him.
Where temptation, and lovingly correcting others, where forgiving and serving drain us, where we think we can do no more… and the call to serve is great…and we hear Jesus say, Take up your cross, and follow me…
Lord, please, please, increase my faith! Please increase my faith….please, please increase my faith!
Then look to the cross, and know you prayers are answered.
He’s did His duty… for the joy set before Him.
You see, Jesus isn’t asking us to do something that He wouldn’t do Himself. He forgives us, not 7 times a day and more, knowing full well we will mess up again, and though we are repentant and sorry, sometimes more than less, He will be faithful and forgive.
He dealt with temptation – as much as we can imagine from Satan, and then the temptation of not wanting to endure the cross. He has dealt with lovingly rebuking people and forgiving them. He has demonstrated His faith in His Father’s promises that were recorded in scripture. He has served, without thought to His own reward, but for the joy set before Him….
He is the one we trust – for we know how He reacted when He had to trust, He proved faithful and He will ensure we will be…for He died to pay for when we aren’t.
You see that’s the point about increasing our faith – it happens when we realize that He is here. That He is always faithful to us, even as He promised. That the promises that He made to at your baptism – those aren’t broken because we slipped up, because we did something stupid, because we forgot He is here.
The promises He makes here – at this altar – that’s the reason we sing the Agnus Dei – because we know here that He will grant us peace – that He will shower us with His love! That we can leave every burden we have, when we come and kneel here.
You want to trust in Him more? Come, know the depth of His love, come experience His mercy, His forgiveness, even His rebuke, come let His miracles wash over you and come… let Jesus serve you.. let Jesus take those burdens, let Jesus nourish you with His precious Body and Blood.
And then, united with His love – cleansed and few and holding as Timothy did – to His promises – let His love shape you, let it be your pattern of living.
AMEN?
In Hard Times Like These… hug Christ
Baptism of Christ. Jesus is baptized in the Jordan River by John. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
1 That is why we must hold on all the more firmly to the truths we have heard, so that we will not be carried away. 2 The message given to our ancestors by the angels was shown to be true, and those who did not follow it or obey it received the punishment they deserved. 3 How, then, shall we escape if we pay no attention to such a great salvation? The Lord himself first announced this salvation, and those who heard him proved to us that it is true. 4 At the same time God added his witness to theirs by performing all kinds of miracles and wonders and by distributing the gifts of the Holy Spirit according to his will. Hebrews 2:1-4 (TEV)
When the branches are united to the vine they grow to maturity and bear fruit. What then should you and I do? We should get right close to Jesus, through the Bread and through the Word. He is our vine… We should speak affectionate words to him throughout the day. That is what people in love do. (1)
Been through a bit of stress this week… and part of me wants to lock myself in a room – or dive into a book or a video game. It takes a lot to make me go introverted… and while it is a defense mechanism… it is dark at times when you are alone. (What is really hard is when I need to do the opposite – and have many people encouraging me to climb into my hole and lock them out..)
I added 10 people to our prayer list this morning…. people recovering from surgery. People mourning friends who we won’t see until we are before the throne, I’ve talked too others, very afraid of another war, and others whose finances are so stretched beyond belief. These are hard times, for so many, times of tears and weariness and emotional exhaustion.
THe strength we have, if at all, in these times, is remarkable and extraordinary. It comes from deep within us… yes, even as it is not ours, and is clearly something alien to our basic nature. It is because at such times, everything is cut away, and we find ourselves in Christ’s embrace. And there, we find His heart, and the strong beat of life that calms our soul.
When my 6 year old was an infant, he used to go to sleep at night in my arms with his head over my heart. Because I have two artificial heart valves – my heart literally clicks. Its funny – on the nights when he 2-4 and was scared or sick and desperately asks to sleep in our bed – he usually ended up with his head pressed (not just touching) about the same place – or against my back – where he could hear my heart click. I can only imagine it brought him comfort and security. He could rest.
We need to be like that with Jesus, that close, that spiritually aware, that intimate, that involved in the relationship. As Escrvia says – we do this with the Bread and in the Word, as we connect to Jesus, to our Lord. As Lutherans our way of saying this is through word and Sacrament. For as we hear the word, the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life does more than just “teaches” us, that word is planted in us and grows, and we don’t just know it academically, but intuitively, with all that we are. The same thing as we commune with God, and notice it is not you or I, but we…. the family of God. It is these times we see Christ, revealed to us is His very Heart, the love He has for us… and how He has taken us into His heart, even as the Holy Spirit abides in ours.
There is a part of me that hates these hard times… I despise the pain, the abslutely… stripped feeling I have. The seeming loneliness, the emotional rollercoasters…
Yet there is a part of me that has learned to deal with them… to welcome rather than run… because I know in these times… the Lord who makes us one with Him is there… ready to love, ready to show mercy… ready to embrace us….
And for that… what else can we do but adore Him?
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 1683-1686). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
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When All Seems Meaningless….
6 And Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, two of the spies, tore their clothes in sorrow 7 and said to the people, “The land we explored is an excellent land. 8 If the LORD is pleased with us, he will take us there and give us that rich and fertile land. 9 Do not rebel against the LORD and don’t be afraid of the people who live there. We will conquer them easily. The LORD is with us and has defeated the gods who protected them; so don’t be afraid.” 10 The whole community was threatening to stone them to death, but suddenly the people saw the dazzling light of the LORD’S presence appear over the Tent. Numbers 14:6-10 (TEV)
“To begin is for everyone, to persevere is for saints. May your perseverance not be a blind consequence of the first impulse, the effect of inertia; may it be a reflective perseverance.” (1)
It was once said that “life is suffering”. Another wise man, wrote that all is vanity, it is all meaningless. While both were significantly wiser than I, I know the feeling after a week among church leaders in my denomination. It may only be my thinking, but we spent several million dollars on a convention that did nothing, but remanded more things to study, and ignored the issues we all wanted to work through. Even if we would have come to the table with extremely divergent ideas.
Add to that 12 hours days, some people I dearly care for going through tremendous trauma, some really meaningless and almost incomprehensible theology reading for a class I am taking and a long flight and time change, and as I sit to write my blog and then my sermon,
It is far too easy to be like Israel, approaching the promise land and wondering – why go on? Why keep pushing through this “stuff” (insert any term relating to digestive system end product) and fighting the system? Why not just go back to places like Eqypt, as the Israelites wanted to, where at least the pain and suffering where known and you could brace yourself for them? Why push through to a land of promise that we will have to fight to enter? Even as we realize the threat isn’t external, but internal?
Why go on?
As I read the account this morning from scripture, I am reminded why I preach, and the message that I will share tomorrow, and indeed the entire service is gear to a fact that is far too often overlooked.
The LORD is with us and has defeated the gods who protected them; so don’t be afraid.”
All our false gods, all our struggles, all the sin that would so easily ensnare us has already been defeated. God has won the battle, He has overcome. His promises are to that extent, if we can remember to hear them.
THe people there, ready to take out their angst on others, ready to through it in and abandon their mission, give up on the course God sent for them needed to remember this simple thing – “The Lord is with us!” That changes everything.
The look to the place where God put His name, where He promised He would be for them… and He was there. His promises, His presence, His glory shown as He was where He promised He would be, in the midst of His people. As He has been, ever since.
That is why gathering together, as the Body of Christ is so critical. We need our Calebs, our Joshuas, those who lead us to remind us of this… to drag our eyes to look to Him, not to the past where we were comfortable, but even to embrace the journey and battle we have until we reach the “promised land”, that place where we will finally see Him face to face, the place were others will find themselves because Jesus was there for them, even as we are there for them. The strength to persevere is indeed there for saints… because He is with us, and He is our perseverance.
The Children of Israel Crossing the Jordan (illustration by Gustave Doré) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Go with God this day… and know that He is the reason you have hope!
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2010-11-02). The Way (Kindle Locations 2286-2288). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
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A Sermon for Those sent to Serve
“The Spirit of the Lord is Upon Me…so Why?”
Luke 4:14-30
† In Jesus Name †
As you give your lives as a living sacrifice to God, as you are equipped by the Holy Spirit’s gifting in your lives, never forget that for you as well is the grace, mercy and peace of God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ!
The Burden of the Call
We So want to see the evidence – to know it has been fulfilled!
It always amazes me, how the man made schedule of readings God is able to use. The Sunday I am preaching to those apostello’d – those sent not just by the LCMS but by God to share His message – the gospel reading is about Jesus taking up the burden of His being apostello’d – of His being sent.
Not that you and I have the same burden as Jesus did – or even that of the original 12 plus Paul – but we do share in that burden – you are as surely sent here as God sent them. Whether you are GEO’s or doing life… err lifetime missionaries or accompanying spouse – or the children – you are all here because God has brought you here.
We look at Jesus taking up His burden as the primary, the first apostello. As He reads the prophecy that points out this very thing in Isaiah – hear these words, not just descriptive of His call – but of your call – because you are united to Him.
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
The year of the Lord’s favor – the year, when God descreed every debt cancelled, that every bill was paid in full – that everything is restored to its rightful place- including us. The year of jubilee.
I know when I left the University I worked at – to enter “full-time” ministry, I thought of all those things happenin – all the people that would come to know Jesus, all the wonderful – even miraculous things that would occur – and how God’s people would praise Him… as they saw His love.
But then the questions arise
Who are you – anyway?
We even may think they are out to crucify you
If they are – so what?
That was 15 years ago – nearly 20 if you count my time as a “part-time” minister. Gonna be a little honest – I think more of my time has been like Jesus’ first service and sermon. So excited to share God’s call to everyone to enjoy the freedom of Christ.. and I quickly fade as people start questioning me – and while they haven’t picked up stones yet……
It seems like that sometimes – not enough eyes that are blind to the gospel open them – or those who hear that they are free from the bondage of sin, stay in the familiar cells that they have become comfortable to – afraid of venturing out into the reality of God’s love. Some have questioned me – not the – “aren’t you Joseph’s son”, but the same question, who are you to tell me I am a sinner in need of God’s grace?
I have to admit – I look at myself far more often than the message I am entrusted to bear. I don’t always hear it for myself first, and so I find myself condemned in the eyes of those I am called to bring it to, those who it is so evident that they need it.
I end up feeling crushed – I end up wanting to go home – to find a little cabin in the mountains of new Hampshire, on a nice quiet lake with a awesome internet connected, and finish out my life canoeing, playing piano and guitar and World of Warcraft.
IT is then, that the law has afflicted me… and I need to be comforted by the very message I bring. Having talked to a number of folk since I landed in Asia ten days ago, I am not the only one.
We have to know the news we bring… just not know – but know. We have to hear it from Him!
As good LC-MS Lutherans – we may have heard the phrase once or twice about proper Law and Gospel tension – Afflict those comfortable in their sin, comfort those afflicted by their sin.
I get the feeling that most of you are as in need of that comfort as I am. Ou wonder why wasn’t there 100 baptisms or even ten, or just one, to witness recently. You want to blame someone, lest you have to blame yourselves. Our “Leaders” are really easy targets. If only they would… then I could see the kinds of results I thought I would.
We who serve in the temple – so need to stop and remember that we are the temple – that God’s spirit is with us here – wherever here is. The love we want people to know – we need to meditate on it, dwell in it, rest and be strengthened by it.
When we want to go on our way – to escape the crowd as Jesus did we need to realize He went on His way for us, and indeed through us! As He walked through that crowd, the way He went, the way He chose to go on, was to that cross to did for us, that we could die with Him in baptism, that we could rise with Him.
That is why I am so greatful to end my stay this way – serving you – calling you to remember what I have failed to remember so many times. That while we share Christ’s calling, we aren’t Christ. The work doesn’t depend on us, or those holding us back. No one can separate us from His love, for we are His called one, His loved ones.
When I proclaimed your sins forgiven, and when you proclaimed mine forgiven, did you hear that? That you are cleansed of all your sin and all unrighteousness?
When we pray together the Lord’s prayer – do you hear yourself correctly addressing God as your Father? Do you hear what Jesus has taught you to ask for, to pray for, knowing it is the Father’s will to give you all these things?
When you hear the words “for you” during the words of institution, do you get that it is for you… you?
Know this – you have been called and sent into… called and apostell’d to this place. But you haven’t been sent alone, you have been sent with Him – not just His message – but with Him.
For you are His, as the song said – bought with the precious blood of Christ.
So as you serve – as you are tempted with loneliness, know that is never true… but you are in Christ… with Christ…
And he is keeping, guarding your hearts and minds in the glorious peace of God, the peace that goes beyond understanding, the peace that is the Father’s.
The peace that is yours.
AMEN?
Can we work together?
Devotional/Discussion Thought of the Day:
I came across the passage after looking at Facebook yesterday, and being in despair. Not because of the election, but because of the responses to it, from both sides of the aisle, and from pastor’s whose hopes were pinned to one candidate or the other. In despair, because the love and mercy that has been modeled to us by Jesus dying on the cross, was evident no where… I was despondent, and I wondered – has there ever been a time like this, were the people of God were so despondent about their leadership, and about each other?
Preparing for worship services for the next few weeks led me to the readings for thanksgiving Day. One actually is a parallel to our Bible study in Ezekiel, and is found in Daniel 2. There – having been taken from their home, having seen what they thought has been gross injustice in the way the government was treating them (Ezekiel 17 shows that isn’t necessarily so) an impossible task is laid on a young leader named Daniel. He is asked to provide that which others say will require a miracle. TO not only interpret a dream that caused him great anxiety, but to do so without the dream being shared. The penalty for failure was decapitation after limp being separated from limb. (and some of us are discouraged by economics!)
Daniel asks for a little time – goes hope – calls the prayer chain (some other young men who will soon know God is their refuge) and they pray, and the prayer is answered. Here is Daniel’s response to the answer:
“Blessed be the name of God, forever and ever. He knows all, does all: 21 He changes the seasons and guides history, He raises up kings and also brings them down, he provides both intelligence and discernment, 22 He opens up the depths, tells secrets, sees in the dark—light spills out of him! 23 God of all my ancestors, all thanks! all praise! You made me wise and strong. And now you’ve shown us what we asked for. You’ve solved the king’s mystery.” Daniel 2:20-23 (MSG)
If God is indeed in charge of our lives, if God is truly here, active, our refuge and strength and the King of Kinds, Lord of Lords, and Prince of Peace, then, and only then, is a reaction like this possible. Only in faith can we find the strength and patience to turn to God in prayer, when Government seems oppressive and wrong. Only in Christ can we find a way to work with them, loving them, treating them in a way in accord with Phil 4:7-8, that will result in their honoring God.
It can never be about faith in men (see Psalm 2 and 146) or even a lack of faith in man….
It has to be about the faith we have in God, in the expectation we have, because God has vowed to make us His and keep us in His peace.
You want to know how to survive – look to Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith in God….
and then you will know how to work alongside each other, and a leader we didn’t think was God’s will.
We might even find out – like Israel was told by Ezekiel, that it was… (see Ezekiel 17)
God’s peace, my friends, is yours!
The Source of Hope…
Devotional-Discussion thought of the evening….
There are days where it seems that what we do makes little difference, the flood caused by sin’s damage is too great, to overwhelming. No matter where you look in this world, we see the damage caused by sin, the brokenness, the wounded, even those we think are the perpetrators – yet are victims of sin’s bondage as well.
The tendency to drop into despair, to get depressed, to want to give in, give up is there. I’ve known those kinds of days
But surrendering to hopelessness is only one of the choices to make… there is another way to surrender ….
Seek union with God and buoy yourself up with hope—that sure virtue!—because Jesus will illuminate the way for you with the light of his mercy, even in the darkest night. (1)
You see, there is a blessing in the darkness – for in the darkness we find our exactly how much we need His light. We realize our helplessness, we realize we cannot make it, and we remember….. His Body, His Blood, broken and shed for us, the promise that we aren’t in the darkness, not meant to be there, but we belong in His glory, brought there in His mercy, because of His love.
We have to remember that, when the darkness seems to overwhelming, when the cares of the world cause anxiety, when we for the moment… forget His love…
Lord – Have mercy upon us, may we ever dwell in Your glory… and may we be confident, that we are never left by You, in the dark. AMEN!
(1)Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 1192-1194). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Sacrificing what doesn’t matter to embrace what does
Devotional/Discussion thought of the day:
Last night, as a couple of friends and I were talking about the gospel reading for this week, we struggled with the message that will develop out of it.
Because it challenges our idols, it challenges the things we cling onto for support. And if we are to preach it clearly, we will have to destroy and idol or two. This isn’t easy, and the reaction of the man in the story is what we, as those who are tasked with what is fancifully called “the proclamation of the gospel” fear. The man came to Jesus, desiring eternal life, willing to bend his knee and honor Jesus, and at the end of the discussion this is what happens.
“he was stunned at this demand, and he went away grieving,”
He went away, rather than accept the invitation to accompany Jesus, in reality to do exactly what was at the heart of the question – to experience heaven, to be in the presence of God. For if he had given all that restrained him, all that bound him, this young man would have walked with God, just as Enoch did, just as Abraham and Moses and David… and Peter and James and John. What he wanted was right before his eyes! And he walked away, turning down what he wanted most. And not only did he turn away, he left broken and stumbling and….grieving.
While he went his way, Jesus went away, for the joy set before Him. A joy that would lead him to the cross. For this young man, into whose heart he looked, and loved, and would die for, gladly. He would endure the cross to break the power of sin, in this case, the sin of idolatry, and by breaking those bonds, the man would be able to do that which he most desired, to live in the presence of God. He would be able to do, that which we cannot do. Jesus would come to him the next time, and free him of that sin, and unite with him.
A good summary of the lesson for us would be this prayer….may we each pray it today, embracing the pain that being separated from our idols will bring, for the joy that was set before Jesus….that caused Him to give up everything that had to do with Himself, that He could share with us that glory and love.
“”Lord, grant me the grace to give up everything that has to do with myself. I should have no other concern than your Glory… in other words, your Love. Everything for Love!” (1)
AMEN!
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 1038-1040). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
The Forge of Despair
There is a time in life, where we feel overwhelmed, were the challenges we face pull at us with the power of a black hole, sucking us in, blinding us to everything…except the vacant brokenness.
It is at those times our faith seems non-existent, the strength and support of God which we rely on seems as distant from us as a galaxy. We become spiritually blind, and the more we try to fight, the stronger that which sucks the life out of us takes hold, and attempts to crush us.
I wish I was speaking from theory, or at least from the strength of one who is there to pull people out. I suppose I could, been there as a pastor, an amateur theologian, someone who enjoys the mystical aspects of worship, and meditation on God’s word. Yet there are days….the battle is too much…and I have to go back to the basics, almost needed to be re-converted, re-baptized, re-freed from that which ensnares me. As i believe we all do.
One of the things that helps is reading the writings of a few people, Henri Noowen is one, Frank Perretti’s early novels, the Church Fathers, Luther’s letters and table talks. And if you’ve read my blogs, you know I have developed a fondness for the devotional writings of Josemarie Escriva , a catholic priest who 10 years ago this day, was canonized a saint. Not all his stuff for sure, there is still the usual challenges of the difference between Roman Catholic doctrine and that of the Lutheran Church. Like Luther, it seems he fought despair, even as God used him to re-focus the church on the grace and strength that is found in Christ Jesus. He knew the costs of his ministry, embraced them and struggled through them. He likened himself to a donkey, (although I wonder if that is a kinder translation of the Spanish) and you can’t read “The Way” or my favorite “the Forge” without seeing the broken heart supported and healed in Christ.
Such a thought I came across today:
If the outlook in your interior life, in your soul, is darkened, allow yourself to be led along by the hand, as a blind man would do. In time the Lord will reward this humble surrendering of your own judgement by giving you clarity of mind. (1)
It is amazing simple, and amazingly true. In talking about Jesus as Lord, we often focus on our obedience, our following His guidance, direction. How often do we look at the obligations He places on Himself, as He offers to become our Lord? Do we see His committing to be present in our lives, to clean and heal us of the damage our sin causes? Do we see His protecting us in the black holes.
Do we see Him at the Forge, in the midst of the heat and pounding that seems to be life – strengthening us, forming us, transforming us? Transforming us, according to Paul in 2 Corinthians, into His image.
I have learned this again. It seems the secrets to escaping the black holes, the quicksand, the traumas of life is to let Him be my Lord, to relax in His grasp, to know He is God……..
As many have before us have… and may our lives serve those who follow, in the same way….
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 1021-1023). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
My Faith, One Step Forward, Two Steps…?
6:11 But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have confessed so well before many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6:11-12 (NLT)
There are days where being a believer is a fight, where it is just a struggle. There is a “fight” against the world, and its pressures, and seduction and mocking criticism. There can be a “fight” within the church, as we interact closely with others who are dealing with the paradox of being forgiven sinners. ( if they would only stop sinning, and also – don’t they understand they are supposed to forgive me?) But the biggest struggle for me is not the external fights, it is the internal one. The kind Paul describes himself going through in Romans 7 -the fight within me to pursue righteousness, to see mercy dominate, to keep in mind the struggle of this life pale in comparison to God’s presence now, and what He longs for, when we are all home in heaven.
After those days of internal fighting, I wonder about my faith. Do I deserve to be called a “christian”, never mind deserving to serve as a pastor? I comprehend all to well Paul’s word’s about not doing what I know I should, and doing that which I know I shouldn’t. I want to beat myself into submission, I want to find a way to get rid of the sin, as Hebrews 12 urges us – setting it aside for that which I enjoy more………and just when I do, something comes up – and my cynical and sarcastic side takes over… again.
So how do we mature, how do we overcome in this struggle?
We strive, but not in our own strength – we begin to depend on the One who is our source of righteousness – who created the faith we have, and will perfect it. We don’t give up, thinking there is not option to failure. But we are reminded by that failure of our need to depend on Jesus. As one pastor/priest wrote:
“You are not getting worse. It is just that now you have more light to see yourself as you really are. You must avoid even the slightest hint of discouragement.
Along the way to personal sanctity we can at times get the impression that we are going backwards instead of forwards, that we are getting worse instead of better. As long as there is interior struggle this pessimistic thought is only an illusion, a deception to be rejected as false. Persevere and don’t worry. If you fight with tenacity you are making progress and are growing in sanctity.” (1)
If our “fight” is to grasp more onto Christ, it makes sense that we will see that which would pull us away more clearly, that we would feel the drag on us more acutely, that we would learn the hard way, that trying to make progress is effective as we depend on Jesus, His love, His mercy, His guidance, His presence, more and more and more. That Godly life can only be learned from within the Kingdom of God, the place where we have belonged since our first day, when God cleansed us in baptism. When He took hold of us.
Hold on, don’t be distracted or drained by the currents of life, for know that He has a hold of you as well, as nothing can separate you from His love.
(1)Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 957-964). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
