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Thoughts for our Dark Days
The church, is always in the midst of a storm… but safe in Him
Devotional Thought of the Day:
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night— 12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you. Psalm 139:11-12 (NLT)
101 Persevere in prayer. Persevere, even when your efforts seem sterile. Prayer is always fruitful.
102 Your mind is sluggish and won’t work. You struggle to coordinate your ideas in the presence of our Lord, but it’s useless: a complete fog! Don’t force yourself, and don’t worry either. Listen closely: it is the hour for your heart.
Recently, the skies in Southern California were filled with clouds. Not the light fluffy kind that seems so high, but the dark, ugly, black storm clouds. The kind of clouds that are once fascinating, but also frightening.
Some of us are enduring those clouds spiritually. Whether the storms are coming or not, we feel almost paralyzed as the clouds gather around us, coming at us from every direction.
it is at those times when my prayers seem hollow, my devotions, just going through the motions. I want to move on past them, but the fog which St. Josemaria describes is enveloping us, just as the darkness seems to cover us.
St Josemaria advises us to persevere in prayer, not in pushing our prayer, but listening more carefully, becoming aware of the Lord’s presence, until it shatters the darkness, until the Holy Spirit breathes into us, clearing away the fog. comforting us, loving us.
SO what do we do? Do we fight the burden? Do we just abandon our prayer time, discounting it as too draining, to ineffective, and not worth it? Do we let guilt swallow us because we wonder if our faith is lacking and that is why our prayers are so dry?
I’ve been there, done that, given up, said I will come back in tomorrow, or next week, and once, it was a year…
What I didn’t realize was that these “down times” are essential for my spiritual health. They teach me like they did Ezekiel, who hid in a cave, waiting to find God in the storm and in the fire, then recognizing God’s still small voice after hiding. Why else would Jesus Himself head into the mountains to pray, or go to the garden, begging his friends to watch and pray with Him?
We need to be ministered to by God. We need to let Him love us, care for us, comfort us, and kindle the spark of love that exists in us.
As I come out of these times or at least see the light of the tunnel, I can begin to realize the power of God that raised Christ from the dead is at work in our lives.
And I need that… so need that.
So I’ve learned to try and persist in prayer, waiting to hear He will have mercy, to know His presence and love. ANd some days, I can even rejoice in the dry times, knowing that God is going to take care of it.
As he does for all He loves… and you are one of those He does!
AMEN!
Escriva, Josemaria. The Way (Kindle Locations 389-392). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Having one of “those” days? You aren’t alone…..
Concordia Lutheran Church – Cerritos, Ca , at dawn on Easter Sunday
Devotional THought of the Day:
41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby moved within her. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and said in a loud voice, “You are the most blessed of all women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 Why should this great thing happen to me, that my Lord’s mother comes to visit me? 44 For as soon as I heard your greeting, the baby within me jumped with gladness. 45 How happy you are to believe that the Lord’s message to you will come true!” Luke 1:41-45 (TEV)
2 John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, 3 “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?” 4 Jesus told them, “Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen— 5 the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. 6 And tell him, ‘God blesses those who do not turn away because of me.’” Matthew 11:2-6 (NLT)
32 And John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from heaven and stay on him. 33 I still did not know that he was the one, but God, who sent me to baptize with water, had said to me, ‘You will see the Spirit come down and stay on a man; he is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen it,” said John, “and I tell you that he is the Son of God.” 35 The next day John was standing there again with two of his disciples, 36 when he saw Jesus walking by. “There is the Lamb of God!” he said. John 1:32-36 (TEV)
106 You wrote, and I well understand: “Every day I spend my ‘little time’ in prayer. If it weren’t for that …!”
As I was reading the 3rd reading about John the Baptist this morning, (part of my daily routine) I thought of the other two readings.
John, before he was born, and while Jesus was even younger, recognizes the presence of God. (not to mention what happened to John’s mom must have been cool!) Incredible experience!
Move to the second reading, and now John is in prison, he is having one of “those” kind of days. Miserable, depressed, anxious and afraid, he needs to be encouraged, he needs to remember that what he devoted his life to, actually was worth it.
A bad day to say the least.
A day where even he, a prophet, doubted the very prophecy he was meant to give.
John, who had pointed to Christ, who knew him well, who proclaimed he was Israel’s hope, doubted and struggled with trusting God.
Just like we do!
There is a lot of hope in this realization, that John the Baptist could have one of those days, and apparently more than one. That he could be so caught up by his own situation that he needed to know God was at work, that God’s promises are true.
And God responded to his query, John wouldn’t die without knowing for sure Jesus was the Messiah, that John’s ministry was validated, it was good, it was needed. That Jesus was still there, doing what John knew he would do, even when he didn’t know.
And Jesus is here for you and I, His promise is that we are never alone. ( Read Psalm 139 sometime – David realized God couldn’t be outrun either)
Even when we struggle, even when we doubt, God is there…. and will respond to our cries, our cries of despair, our cries of doubt, even our cries of anger and frustration. He hears you and I and responds. As St. Josemaria notes, if it weren’t for those little times of prayer, where we listen, where we vent, …
This is the lesson of John the Baptist, the lesson that even the greatest stumble and struggle, and are ministered to by God. For He hears us…and loves us. AMEN
Does it help you to know the prophets and apostles struggled and doubted? That they ahd bad days as well?
How do you feel when you realize God was there, working behind the scenes? Can you accept that you won’t always be able to see Him at work?
Escriva, Josemaria. The Way (Kindle Locations 397-399). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Is Worship Boring?
Devotional Thought of the Day:
14 When I think of the greatness of this great plan I fall on my knees before God the Father (from whom all fatherhood, earthly or heavenly, derives its name), and I pray that out of the glorious richness of his resources he will enable you to know the strength of the spirit’s inner re-inforcement – that Christ may actually live in your hearts by your faith. And I pray that you, firmly fixed in love yourselves, may be able to grasp (with all Christians) how wide and deep and long and high is the love of Christ – and to know for yourselves that love so far beyond our comprehension. May you be filled though all your being with God himself!
20 Now to him who by his power within us is able to do far more than we ever dare to ask or imagine – to him be glory in the Church through Jesus Christ for ever and ever, amen! Ephesians 3:14-20 (Phillips NT)
77 You told me that to tie yourself to a plan of life, to a schedule, would be so monotonous! And I answered, “It is monotonous because you lack love.”
It is sometimes. Ver much so more than I would like to admit.
It doesn’t matter if it is a high powered contemporary service, or a organ blasting traditional service, or a small intimate worship time on a retreat.
Church services can be boring, even monotonous,
And while the pastor and those who music facilitates our praises can impede or encourage worship, there is one key that absolutely makes the difference in whether you find a church and the worship service.
You.
I’ve seen couples where one is completely engaged in worship, one is actively engaged, and talks about church as the high point of their week. The spouse, however, was so disengaged that they eventually fell asleep.
What makes the difference in perception is the person.
St Josemaria says it well, it is monotonous because of the truth of this, you lack love.
And if you lack love, there are two options, you are unable to love God and others, or what is necessary to love him, you haven’t been immersed in the reality of HIs love for you. You haven’t had the opportunity, as St Paul desired for you, to explore the incredible dimensions of that love for you.
Not just know the love as a piece of data, because you can’t fully, it is so far beyond our comprehension, You need to be filled with that love, you need to be filled with God.
And that is the purpose of a church service, to help you explore that depth, and those who lead are simply guides on the journey. Guides who hopefully are still in awe of the same journey, pointing out this treasured point, and that, how this explores the heights, and that explores the depths.
For if you know how incredible God’s love is for you,
And when you do, the hunger to more will help you engage, to enter the service as a participant as we dance with God, rather than being an observer. For everyone has a part in worship, every voice has its role, a part in the service. It’s not just about the guys up there in robes, We are just there to point you to the love that God has for you, the incredible love that makes a difference in every aspect of your life.
So when you come into a church, expect something special, expect to hear you are loved, listen for it, rejoice in it, walk in it, even dance in it, and then love and adore the God who loves you.
The same service will never be the same.
Escriva, Josemaria. The Way (Kindle Locations 339-340). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
When the waters aren’t still…
The Good Shepherd, carrying His own.
Devotional Thought of the Day:
1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Psalm 23:1-3 (NKJV)
12 Let obstacles only make you bigger. The grace of our Lord will not be lacking: Inter medium montium pertransibunt aquae!—“Through the very midst of the mountains the waters shall pass.” You will pass through mountains! What does it matter that you have to curtail your activity for the moment, if later, like a spring which has been compressed, you’ll advance much farther than you ever dreamed?
There are times I read Psalm 23 and I wonder where the still, restful waters are, the places where peace, where it seems that the green peaceful pastures are not easily found. For it seems my soul isn’t “restored”, instead, I find my life to be one that is weary, harried, and in great need.
So what happened?
Are those words only for King David and/or really devout believers?
Are they for most Christians, and not for me?
Are they just words on a piece of paper, and not the word of God?
There is a question that I haven’t asked, but I need to ask.
Is it possible that He is here, that He is leading me where He would, guiding me, protecting me, delivering me from the evil I fear?
I’ve been through times where I don’t know God is there too many times in life. Where the stress is too distracting, where the concerns seem too overwhelming, to serious, and I cannot see the Spirit at work, I don’t feel the comfort that is promised. I just see the shadows, I just know the evil that is lurking there.
I want to break through the stress, I want to learn to fight it, to be strong in my faith and face the storm head on…
And then, in such a time, I need to realize the point that St Josemaria makes, the grace of our Lord will not be lacking.
I don’t have ot wield the rod and staff, instead, I can realize that my Shepherd does. That God’s grace will provide, and that provision includes the comfort. For there are the meadows and streams, but the valleys exist as well.
He is there.. He is here.
My Shepherd.
He is here.
That’s what I need to gain by working through the 23rd Psalm. Though my mind wants to struggle with what I can’t see, I need to grow in my ability to know what is promised is the reality. And as I do, my faith, put under pressure, is finally released, the energy released being spent in praise and adoration of the Lord, my shepherd, my protector, my God.
Lord, have mercy on us, and help us to see that which is revealed to us in Your word. AMEN!
Escriva, Josemaria. The Way (Kindle Locations 191-195). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Wait for it…..can you?
The Pantheon, a place once dedicated to worship of idols but reborn to host the worship of God. May our lives tell a similar story as we realize what God does to us in baptism!
Devotional Thought of the Day:
2 The LORD gave me this answer: “Write down clearly on tablets what I reveal to you, so that it can be read at a glance. 3 Put it in writing, because it is not yet time for it to come true. But the time is coming quickly, and what I show you will come true. It may seem slow in coming, but wait for it; it will certainly take place, and it will not be delayed. 4 And this is the message: ‘Those who are evil will not survive, but those who are righteous will live because they are faithful to God.’ ” Habakkuk 2:2-4 (TEV)
Impatience carries within itself a punishment: sterility.
The impatient, by wanting it all at once, is left with nothing. Their projects are like the seed that fell on rocky soil: they lack depth; they are mere words without consistency.
I remember the movie theatre in my hometown would change movings on Saturday, in time for the matinee. Then it began that they would open on a new movie on Friday night, and now often, there is a midnight screening that you can go to, usually packed, so that you can be among the first to see the new movie.
We aren’t a very patient society at all, when we are willing to give up our health in order to say, “I was there” for a movie picture. (Heck – now they will bring the popcorn barrel and half a gallon of caffeine to your seat so you won’t fall asleep in the powered recliner.
Is it any wonder that we are not patient in the church? That we are so wanting the church to be what we envision the church to be that when there aren’t instant results we give up? When this program or that staff member doesn’t accomplish the goals we set (did we even ask God what His vision for our congregation is?), we simply get rid of the program, find another place, a better fit for the staff member, rather than finding the patience we need.
But that impatience leads to fruitlessness, it leads to a weak church that doesn’t take time to see God at work, the kind of work that is sound, that is based in spiritual growth, that depends on learning to live in the presence of God. That learns that true growth happens as we are left in awe of His love, as we adore Him, as we realize the change He is making in us, and the difference that change is from where we were.
Patience and its corollary, steadfast-faithfulness, doesn’t mean futility or stagnation. It doesn’t mean doing nothing, but rather dwelling in Christ. Not just going through the motions for religious reasons, but treasuring what we’ve been given for the way it reveals Jesus with us, and helps us experience the serenity that the Spirit brings us. It means rejoicing as we realize what we’ve been given, what has been handed down to us.
This isn’t always easy, especially for one like me that thrives on change. (the only stable thing in my life is the presence of change, I get nervous without it) Patience is not on my virtues, but neither is it for many of us. Which is a good thing, as it drives us back to Christ, it reminds us that only in Him do we have hope, the promise that all will work out for good for those who love God.
God is with you, be at peace, and wait for it!
Pope Francis. A Year with Pope Francis: Daily Reflections from His Writings. Ed. Alberto Rossa. New York; Mahwah, NJ; Toronto, ON: Paulist Press; Novalis, 2013. Print.
The Necessary Ingredient of Heroism.
Devotional Thought for our Days:
3 I’m speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him. Romans 12:3 (MSG)
821 Work with humility. I mean, count first on God’s blessings, which will not fail you. Then, on your good desires, on your work plans—and on your difficulties! Do not forget that among those difficulties you must always include your own lack of holiness. You will be a good instrument if every day you struggle to be better.
We are no different than the children who put on superhero costumes for Halloween.
There is a part of us that wants to be the best, at something, anything.
Especially the idea that we are the best at what we do, whether it is a parent needing the hero for their kids, or being the superstar at work, the one everyone turns to, that everyone counts on, the person who is indispensable.
We want to be the heroes
We’ll even attempt to the difficult, the impossible if that will lift us up, not just for the praise, but for the acceptance. For heroes are always accepted, aren’t they? They always are welcome, aren’t they?
But this desire to be accepted, to be the hero, to be indispensable will fade, or we will fail. For we can never do enough, not for those whose favor we want, but to assure us own hearts that we will never be forgotten.
Compare this drive to the idea of humility, the idea of knowing who we are based on who God is, and what He does for us. I love that St. Josemaria says that humility is counting first on God’s blessings. Humility then is not a matter of self-abasement. It is not primarily an understanding of who we are, of recognizing our talents and limitations. That comes into play, but even then, that should drive us back to the first step.
Who God is: our Father, our Brother, our COmforter, our deliverer, our Lord, and Shepherd. WHat He does for us, creation, reconciliation, and as we are united to Jesus, the miracle of holiness happens to us. We are holy in Him, in no other way, yet so incredibly transformed by the Holy Spirit.
This happens as the Spirit enables us to trust, to depend, to have faith in God, who loves us.
You want to be the hero? Why? You have one, and that Hero has provided what you need, accepting you, making you His child, treasuring you!
Humility is found in depending on this. The Lord, your God, is with you…always!
AMEN!
Escriva, Josemaria. The Forge (Kindle Locations 2912-2916). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Did Jesus Come For You?
Devotional Thought of the Day:
15 While He was reclining at the table in Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were also guests with Jesus and His disciples, because there were many who were following Him. 16 When the scribes m of the Pharisees saw that He was eating p with sinners q and tax collectors, r they asked His disciples, “Why does He eat s with tax collectors and sinners?”
17 When Jesus heard this, He told them, “Those who are well don’t need a doctor, but the sick do need one. I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2:15-17
In revising the Roman office, its ancient and venerable treasures are to be so adapted that all those to whom they are handed on may more extensively and easily draw profit from them.
It is one of the great paradoxes of Christianity, those who think Jesus wouldn’t associate with them are the very ones He came to unite to himself. And those, who think they are spiritually adept often miss out on the blessing.
I dare say that our liturgies have for too long aided and abetted this problem. The look and sound more like the pious Pharisee than the broken tax-collector. The content of our services, from the mass to vespers and then compline need to be in the language that is profitable, that is beneficial for those broken by the weight of sin. It needs to resonate with their soul and reveal to them the love and mercy of God, their God, who would have them dwell in peace.
I think those at Vatican II and those who influenced the council’s deliberations were starting to see this. That the liturgy was for all the people of God, not just those who knew the right actions, the right words, and could repeat them without knowing the power of their meaning. ( I wish my own small part of Christianity would follow suit, but I fear it is heading away from such thoughts)
We desperately need to be formed by the word of God in our prayers, in our liturgy. And by we, I don’t mean those on the membership roster of our church and the churches we trust. It means all the people of God, those He died for, those He is drawing to himself, those who may fight now, only to be baptized tomorrow. The people of God include all who don’t believe God’s mercy is available to them, for in their humility, they will receive it. Those who think they are good enough already, why would they bother? The liturgy can cause us to really cry out for His mercy, and express praise and wonder at God’s love seen as Jesus was slaughtered like a lamb, that we might live.
If the word is to form us, we have to be able to understand it, simply and without a dictionary, lexicon, and thesaurus by our side. This message is to needed, to precious, to amazing to conceal it with elaborate words, and movements that have no meaning because they are not know, not explained, not heard.
We all, from the youngest to the oldest, from every continent and country, from every economic group, language group, everyone, needs to know that Jesus came for us all. It is really a simple concept, one spoken originally in simple Hebrew, Aramaic, and common Greek. We can and show do the same today so that the people God draws to us will know Him, as the Spirit reveals Him to them through our words, our music, our liturgy.
As we finalize our words for the Christmas celebration, may we do so, and may all those the Spirit draws near profit from them. AMEN!
Catholic Church. “Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy: Sacrosanctum Concilium.” Vatican II Documents. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2011. Print.
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Are We Afraid to Pray?
Devotional Thoughts for our seemingly broken days:
28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (NLT)
291 Jesus is asking you to pray … You see this very clearly. Nonetheless, how poor your response has been! Everything is a great effort for you: you are like a baby who is too lazy to learn to walk. But in your case, it isn’t just laziness. It is fear, too, and a lack of generosity!
The Second Petition
“Thy kingdom come.”
7 What does this mean?
Answer: To be sure, the kingdom of God comes of itself, without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may also come to us.
8 How is this done?
Answer: When the heavenly Father gives us his Holy Spirit so that by his grace we may believe his holy Word and live a godly life, both here in time and hereafter forever.
In my daily devotions this week, there seems to be a common thread, the idea that we are afraid of intimacy with God, the idea that we are afraid of God.
Looking at the church today, we see this is truly an issue. We speak far more about God than we speak to Him. We train our pastors and ministers to teach theology, to pursue accurate doctrine (even on this feast of St Nicholas, to punch out those who don’t teach accurately) but do we help them to desire those moments, where we simply are in awe of God’s presence?
A friend of mine used to talk about how he hated the Sundays when the church had communion (some Lutheran churches have communion every other week, some even less,) because that meant church went 20 minutes longer, and he would miss 20 minutes of football. In later years this changed, and as a pastor, the churches he cared for moved to celebrate the Lord’s Supper every week. He had realized how precious this time was, in fellowship with God. It meant something special to, this time of breaking away from life, and concentrating not on the truth of God’s presence, but on God himself, there with us.
Prayer is no different, and we need to realize that so that we don’t treat it with indifference. It is the Kingdom of God coming to us, the Holy Spirit transforming us, comforting and calming us, helping us to trust in what is revealed about God’s love in scripture.
We shouldn’t fear it either, this coming of God to interact with us. Some fear the change that God will ask of them, either to give up this sin or that habit or to make some sacrifice (like becoming a missionary to some jungle or the inner city) s if somehow the more we hang out with God the more likely He will ask us to do something that only a saint could do.
I am not going to promise you won’t e “volunteered” for something, but that can happen if you aren’t praying. I can’t say that God won’t put on your heart a desire to break the habits of sin either, for surely He will. What I can promise is what He doesn’t, that in spending more time with God, our burdens are lifted, our anxieties fade away, and our souls find rest, even as God more clearly uses us to reconcile the world to Him.
In a world where peace seems so fragile, prayer, walking with God shows us that the real peace is internal, a gift of confidently living in Jesus.
Don’t be afraid, don’t be apathetic, rather, run to Him, leaving all your brokenness, find rest for your souls. And while you talking to Him, pray that I learn these lessons as well!
Thanks!
Escriva, Josemaria. The Forge (Kindle Locations 1186-1189). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Tappert, Theodore G., ed. The Book of Concord the Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Philadelphia: Mühlenberg Press, 1959. Print.
Are Your Ears Burning? They Should Be! A sermon on 1 Thes. 1:1-10
Are Your Ears Burning? They Should Be!
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
† In Jesus Name †
May you realize the grace God our Father and the Lord Jesus have given you, and may that grace be so evident that those around you, and even far away speak of God’s work in your life!
Is the word ringing out?
Did you ever walk into a room and suddenly everyone stopped talking? Or walk by a group of people and they all started staring at you? Or get back to the office and find out that 4 or 5 people needed to talk to you?
There is even an old question that asked if you notice this kind of behavior,
Are your ears burning?
Well, looking at the church in Thessalonica that Paul was writing too in our epistle reading this morning, their ears should have been burning. People were talking to them, and it was a wonderful thing!
I pray that people are talking about us in the same way!
Here how Paul described it,
wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don’t need to tell them about it, 9 for they keep talking about the wonderful welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve the living and true God. 10 And they speak of how you are looking forward to the coming of God’s Son from heaven—Jesus, whom God raised from the dead!
Do people know that you’ve turned away from idols and false gods? Do they know of you look forward to the second coming of Jesus?
Are they so in awe of God’s work in your life that they speak of your trust, your dependence, your faith in Him?
How did the people of Thessalonica end up with their ears burning… as they should have been….
And how can we see that happen in our lives?
How can our dependence on God become so strong that it is remarkable, that people talk about it?
I mean, that is a good thing, if I were to invite someone to come here, and the people already knew how strong our faith was, how we set aside ungodly rubbish in order to we look forward to eternity in the presence of God?
So let us investigate what else Paul said about these people!
We know God..
He says in verse 4, “We know, dear brothers and sisters, that God loves you and has chosen you to be his own people.”
It all starts there, and I know this to be true about you as well.
I said it last week this way,
The Lord …
Who loves you
Is with you!
For that is what it means to be chosen, to be called. It is to dwell in the presence of God, to dwell in the glory of God.
God loves you, as He did the people in Thessalonica, He chose you to be His people. We need to know this, not just with our minds, but deep, deep in our souls, in the places where we wonder how God could love us, and so traumatized by our past, we wonder why He loves us.
It is in those dark, anxious broken places, that God is there… even when we can’t see Him, can’t feel His presence. When He is revealed there, we realize that He is willing to pick us up, no matter how many pieces there are, that life begins to be transformed.
Hear something else Paul says… and we understand that it is reality too.
6 So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord. 7 As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Greece—throughout both Macedonia and Achaia.
with joy…..
despite the trials and tribulations, despite the pain that is endured as God heals us. As God transforms us, as He did Paul, into the image of Jesus.
Imitation – reborn like Paul was reborn like Jesus (POWER)
But how?
That word behind “imitate” has another meaning. It means to be born, to begin, completely new, completely different. We talk about being baptized, being born again, that is the same concept here. To die to our sin, our past, our self-centeredness. To die with Jesus, in order to be raised to this new life, this being born again, in Jesus.
Just like Paul did, and Peter, and so many millions who God has join to Jesus, and to His death and resurrection.
This is why the preaching of Jesus has power, as Paul said in verse 5,
“For when we brought you the Good News, it was not only with words but also with power, for the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true”
It is the power, not just to any old miracle, but the incredible miracle that is the reason that God our Father sent Jesus His son into our lives, to live among us, to die for us, and to share that death and the resurrection with us.
One pastor, Chris Gillette’s mentor, Robert Webber, calls this power the divine embrace. It’s the prodigal’s dad, coming running to him, to smother him, so excited that the prodigal is finally home.
And it is the reason behind all of this…
For when God embraces us, that is the assurance we need. That is the power that is at work, making the love of God, not some intellectual exercise, not something to diagram or diagnose.
And as we rest in God’s arms, as we are welcomed by Him, into His family, as we know His presence, everything changes. We become an example to others, some older in the faith, some younger. The word goes out, for people know how much we abandoned to be with God.
And how much we look forward to the ultimate reunion, when Jesus returns, and brings us to the throne, to see for the first time, God our Father, face to face.
This is what it means for God to give you grace and peace, to belong to God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. AMEN!
Transcendence…A Long Forgotten Blessing?
Devotional Thought for our Day:
12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who gave me strength because he trusted me and gave me this work of serving him. 13 In the past I spoke against Christ and persecuted him and did all kinds of things to hurt him. But God showed me mercy, because I did not know what I was doing. I did not believe. 14 But the grace of our Lord was fully given to me, and with that grace came the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 1:12-14
5 Lord, we are glad to find ourselves in your wounded palm. Grasp us tight, squeeze us hard, make us lose all our earthly wretchedness, purify us, set us on fire, make us feel drenched in your Blood. And then, cast us far, far away, hungry for the harvest, to sow the seed more fruitfully each day, for Love of you.
We are in a time of “spiritual myopia and moral shallowness” that try to impose on us as normal the “culture of lowness,” where there is obviously no place for transcendence and hope.
A friend reaches out with a hand that is shaking, another’s bright gray eyes water as her hand to reaches out. Another refuses to look at me, his hand and arm stretched out to desire that which he knows is his, yet knows it shouldn’t be possible. An old man will stand up a moment later, and as he returns to his seat, his hand brushes up against the baptismal font. His hand lingers there, caressing it, in awe of the grace given him at another font, some 90 years before, on another continent, in a time even more turbulent.
I often wonder and even get anxious about a question that arises from such moments, How long does the sense of transcendence last? How long does this blessed moment, this peace, this awareness of the glory and love of God last?
Are the people aware of what I see happening to them, do they realize what they are experiencing?
It is well described by the Apostle Paul, as he talks about the grace completely given to him, this incredible ability to depend on God, assured of His presence, completely aware of His love for us. It is what Josemaria also writes about, as he pictures us, as he wants us to see ourselves, firmly held in the nail shattered palm.
It is such faith, such love that calls us to want to be thrown into this broken world, wanting people to know this grace. Not just out of duty or obligation, not because of the gift that was given to us. The awe that makes us wonder, and then become amazed, as we find ourselves alive, transformed. We need these times, whether life is oppressive, or going easy. Whether we lack any hope or have hope that is found in this world, the kind that is too fleeting and fragile.
This is what the church has meant by transcendence, this time when we are more sure of the presence of God that we are of our own existence.
it is why sacramental time, whether times like Baptism and the Eucharist or time of meditation and prayer are so needed in our day. But when do we take the time?
As a pastor, do I teach about this, model it, encourage it? Isn’t this where I am to shepherd people into, the realization that they dwell in the presence of God, who loves them, cares for them, and will cleanse them and restore them?
As I work on my sermon and worship – and Bible Studies – this needs to remain in my mind…..
and by His grace, it will.
Escriva, Josemaria. The Forge (Kindle Locations 249-252). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Pope Francis. A Year with Pope Francis: Daily Reflections from His Writings. Ed. Alberto Rossa. New York; Mahwah, NJ; Toronto, ON: Paulist Press; Novalis, 2013. Print.
