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The Key to Faith, Peace and Joy….on a Tuesday which is actually a double Monday!
Devotional Thought of the Day:
1 LORD, I have given up my pride and turned away from my arrogance. I am not concerned with great matters or with subjects too difficult for me. 2 Instead, I am content and at peace. As a child lies quietly in its mother’s arms, so my heart is quiet within me. 3 Israel, trust in the LORD now and forever! Psalm 131:1-3 (TEV)
268 If you are convinced of your “poor quality”—if you know yourself—you will react to events supernaturally. Joy and peace will take a firmer root in your soul, in the face of humiliations, being despised, calumnies… In these cases, after saying fiat—Lord, whatever you want—you should think: “Is that all he said? He obviously does not know me, otherwise he wouldn’t have left it at that.” Being convinced that you deserve worse treatment, you will feel grateful to that person, and rejoice at what might have made somebody else suffer. (1)I
it is Tuesday morning, but not a normal Tuesday. It is more like a triple espresso version of Monday.
I could go into why, but each of us has our challenges, our crosses, our burdens to bear, The secret is to bear them with great joy, because of the peace that we have, that surpasses all understanding, a peace that comes to all who trust in God.
But that trust isn’t easy, having faith in God is something itself that is miraculous, that is supernatural because it simply isn’t natural to us.
There is a point in life where the world so overwhelms and oppresses us, that we want to emotionally crawl into a corner and go into a fetal position. To find a place where we can find security, where we can find peace, where we can find healing for our souls.
As I read this passage from Psalms this morning, as I looked at St Josemaria’s words in Furrow, something came to mind. When we are so spiritually exhausted, when we are so tired, so beyond our abilities, focusing on being humbled isn’t an issue. We simply are, and when we call out to God in such despair, we somehow, miraculously hear His voice, we recognize His presence. We find that we are embraced by Him, that we have found the rest and healing our souls so long desire.
All of a sudden, the supernatural becomes the natural, the work of God becomes our norm, and we walk through life, frazzled and joyous, oppressed and yet peace-filled, harried but trusting in a God who has proved His love for us at a wretched torturous cross, and proved to us that we dwell in Him. It is hard to explain, but it comes down to the simple humility that is described in the first commandment,
5 “The LORD said, 6 ‘I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from Egypt, where you were slaves. 7 ” ‘Worship no god but me. Deuteronomy 5:5b-7 (TEV)
It is that simple, humility is recognizing that we aren’t gods, that we aren’t in charge, but that He is. He is our God, the One who has promised us peace, mercy, joy, because of the love He has for us. Living simply in that, we find something beyond, something supernatural, something that should become more and more natural. That is why reading and studying (they are different disciplines) God’s word is crucial to our lives, it is why the sacraments, Baptism, Confession and Absolution, and the Eucharist (the Lord’s Supper) are blessings that should be received frequently. These means of grace bring us back to that level of humility, that place where we are curled up in God’s arms… that place where we simply know His presence, and His love… and that, that is enough for incredible peace, mind-blowing joy, and a strengthening of our faith as we walk humbly with Him.
Amen.
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1320-1326). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
In Christ, we are victors, (even on Mondays)
Devotional and Discussion Thought of the Day:
18 But the LORD says, “Do not cling to events of the past or dwell on what happened long ago. 19 Watch for the new thing I am going to do. It is happening already—you can see it now! I will make a road through the wilderness and give you streams of water there. 20 Even the wild animals will honor me; jackals and ostriches will praise me when I make rivers flow in the desert to give water to my chosen people. 21 They are the people I made for myself, and they will sing my praises!” Isaiah 43:18-21 (TEV)
20 But you, my friends, keep on building yourselves up on your most sacred faith. Pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, 21 and keep (guard/treasure) yourselves in the love of God, as you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ in his mercy to give you eternal life. Jude 1:20-21 (TEV)
616 Our life—a Christian’s life—has to be as ordinary as this: trying every day to do well those very things it is our duty to do; carrying out our divine mission in the world by fulfilling the little duty of each moment. Or rather, struggling to fulfil it. Sometimes we don’t manage, and when night comes, in our examination, we’ll have to tell Our Lord, “I am not offering you virtues; today I can only offer you defects. But with your grace I will be able to count myself a victor.”
As I was working through my devotions this morning, I struggled with it, you see, I need to get a jump on things. Part of today I lose to a doctor’s appointment – so I have to jam 10 hours of work in 8, and now that I am running late, make that 6 or so. Plus get a jump on tomorrow, because i host a pastor’s gathering here. I had to send a fax off – which made me look at my dad’s funeral bulletin, and I realize again, how much I miss him.. On top of that. and on top of that,, (what was the old song, rainy days and mondays ALWAYS get me down!) and I am to distracted to do my much needed time of thinking, and meditating – which is really what the blog’s devotions are about – my processing, more with heart than mind, what I am hearing from God….
And the distractions and business of the minsitry would quiet that voice, or at least distract me from it. God didn’t just make me a pastor, a husband, a father. Or make you to hold the vocations you have as you interact with church, and family and work. We were made to be God’s people, to relate to Him, to know His love…. You are made for Him, to be His people, to share and revel in His glory, as His children.
Pause. breath,… ralize that is who you are, this Monday… this day which seems to overwhelm us.
Keep praying, not within your own strength, but as the Spirit leads, as He moves you, we hear from Jude, and do this while treasuring your time in God. For that is where we find rest and joy and peace and realize God will sustain us, even on the busiest of Mondays.
The last think I posted, the comforting words of St Josemaria, which remind me that I am not perfect, there are going to be Mondays I fall flat on my face. But in Christ, even my defects, even the times I can’t get it all done… God will use, GO=od will redeem, God will somehow, miraculously make things right and holy. For that is what He does for His children. For In Chirst, we are victors, even on Mondays…
For we were made for God, to be His people, His children, and even mondays can’t steal that from us!.
In my Old Testament reading, the underlined words cause me to stop…
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 2277-2282). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
616 Our life—a Christian’s life—has to be as ordinary as this: trying every day to do well those very things it is our duty to do; carrying out our divine mission in the world by fulfilling the little duty of each moment. Or rather, struggling to fulfil it. Sometimes we don’t manage, and when night comes, in our examination, we’ll have to tell Our Lord, “I am not offering you virtues; today I can only offer you defects. But with your grace I will be able to count myself a victor.”
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 2277-2282). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Need A New Years Resolution? Here’s An Miraculous and Missional One!
Devotional Thought of the Day!
5 Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Don’t miss a trick. Make the most of every opportunity. 6 Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out. Colossians 4:5-6 (MSG)
918 You should always avoid complaining, criticising, gossiping… You must avoid absolutely anything that could bring discord among brothers. (1)
Within the next week, you will hear people talking about their New Year’s resolutions, the changes they know they need to make, and at least will verbally commit to attempting… and least for 3-4 weeks.
The above verse from Colossians, and the corralary from a devotional work from St Josemaria Escriva, I would ask you to consider, if you are making such resolutions. If not, I would simply point out that the red letters above are scripture, and they are how God has planned us to live. ( in other words. resolve to make this a change anyway!). I pray that the resolution is not just something in passing, but starts a movement.
We live in a society, where this is so counter-cultural, that we take to twitter, fb and every other means possible to complain, to criticize, (which is a nice way of saying condemn), to divide us from others. We fight for rights, we demand respect, we forget that the person we are upset with may have had a long tiring day, or that they are in grief, or that they are struggling with anxiety or fear. We can’t know what they are going through, and that God may have sent us into their life to show them love, to impart to them a little joy and peace. To give them a moment to catch their breath and know that God will make everything alright.
Think of what that would mean to us, if someone did that for us when we are stressed, when we are dealing with loss, or fearing it. When we are feeling alone, and the one that feels like an “outsider”. We’ve all been there, we’ve all known the hurt, the pain, the anxiety, even to the point of compromising ourselves to avoid it. So how would we feel if someone reached out to us, in that very moment we were at our weakest?
This is what Christmas is all about, and in a sense the idea of New Years. That God would reach into our lives, and put a stop to our being outsiders. He makes us family, He creates in us a sense of belonging, by reaching out, comforting, drying the tears, forgiving us from sin, helping us to realize the height and width, depth and breafth of His love. Then, He commissions us to go and bring word of that love to others that are outsiders as we were, People that are just asa broken, but hide it. People that are just as in pain as we were, and strike out at everyone, people whose sins require the healing that only God can bring to them, but brings it through us.
They need Him.
You want a resolution that will chagne more than the numbers on your scale? That will change life for others? Here it is…scripturally sound, missional, loving, and can only be done,even miraculous, For it can only be done by living in Christ.
Lord have mercy on us, and flavor our speech with your grace, mercy and peace! AMEN
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 3732-3734). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Pastors, Priests and other ministers: Breath, Shift and Accept and Rejioce that it’s all about Jesus!
Devotional THought of the Day:
6 A child is born to us! A son is given to us! And he will be our ruler. He will be called, “Wonderful Counselor,” “Mighty God,” “Eternal Father,” “Prince of Peace.” 7 His royal power will continue to grow; his kingdom will always be at peace. He will rule as King David’s successor, basing his power on right and justice, from now until the end of time. The LORD Almighty is determined to do all this. Isaiah 9:6-7 (TEV)
Breathe, Shift, Accept…. ( a tool a counselor taught my son, which I need to remember as well!)
Things are beginning to get hectic around here. Three services, plus meals, plus people coming over to our place in between services, plus last minute edits and finalizing sermons.
I am beginning to feel like I am losing it, and expect readers that know me would pipe in with “beginning?”. Seriously – there has not been enugh time this month, because there have been people who needed to know God’s grace in the moments they face. That’s cook – I understand it,and that is why I am here. Even so, I am beginning to feel a lot of pressure. It’s Christmas, and everything has to be perfect.
My son has asberger’s. To be honest, as I’ve learned about it, I’ve wondered about myself. When we went to a child psychologist to find out how to help him with his schooling, Dr. Dudley taught us a lot, but he specifically gave William a tool – to help him avoid a meltdown, or if in the midst of one, to find the peace to come out of it. Three simple steps. And it works, even for us older folk.
Breathe – deep slow breaths, with lots of focus on the breathing.
Shift – take the time to move into the mode you have to – this comes only after breathing, to slow everything down – and to get needed oxygen to our muscles.
Accept. – this is it… this is the reality I have to work in..
For me, I add a few words to the accept.
“It is all about Jesus”. Because that is where i have to focus. It is the point of all this we go through in ministry. We may strive for perfection in our ministries, in our worship services, especially these days when we know people are here.. that desperately need to hear of God’s love. This can all add more pressure, more stress as we try to know the place for everything, and put everything in its place.
Breath my brothers and sisters….
Shift you thinking to the babe in the manger, the one in the shadow of the cross, which is in the shadow of our being welcomed into the very glory of God’s presence.
And accept that this is all about Him… and point to Him, the lamb of God, who has come…
And rejoice, for our King is with us now, even as we prepare to lead others in rejoicing that He has come!
THe one who will care for us, our benevolently providing Lord,
Our Wonderful Counselor,
Our Mighty God,
Our Eternal Father,
The One who brings us into His peace..>
Breath, Shift, Accept and REJOICE!
King David in Prayer (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 3653-3657). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
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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?
What Do We Choose to Invite into our Lives?
Jesus Christ Crucifix (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Discussion/Devotion in Life
4 May you always be joyful in your union with the Lord. I say it again: rejoice! 5 Show a gentle attitude toward everyone. The Lord is coming soon. 6 Don’t worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart. 7 And God’s peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus. 8 In conclusion, my friends, fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable. 9 Put into practice what you learned and received from me, both from my words and from my actions. And the God who gives us peace will be with you. Philippians 4:4-9 (TEV)
I’m going to tell you which are man’s treasures on earth so you won’t slight them: hunger, thirst, heat, cold, pain, dishonor, poverty, loneliness, betrayal, slander, prison … (1)
As I write this blog about trauma, I am not writing about the things in the quote from St. Josemaria Escriva above, for as he says, they are treasures, and therefore, not necessarily trauma. Even as I wrote on Monday – there is trauma that so engages us in serving God, in seeing His love, that it rarely seems traumatic, or sacrificial.
There are different types of trauma can different, Some thrusts itself in, and those things – including the list above are traumatic – but can be blessings because in overwhelming us, they drive us into our Father in Heaven’s presence….. we have no choice, we simply must turn to God to be able to cope, to be able to breath… the be able to survive.
But invited trauma is when we ignore the Bible passage’s admonition and encouragement. When we look for division, when we spend less time looking to God and choose to embrace things that make us anxious, worrying about things far out of our control. When we look away from peace,. When we don’t fill our mind with those things that are good and deserve praise, but focus on that which are evil and need to be avoided. This the type of trauma we willingly give a place in our lives.
I see to much of this, these days…..
I see it way to much among those who follow Christ.
We invite trauma in when worry too much about how the world is changing – to the extent that we spend so much time fighting it, or worrying about how to fight it, that we forget we’ve been sent here so the world can know Jesus love, to know Him, to know the power of His resurrection… to know His peace. We spend more time learning strategies to convince them about Christ that we pray for them, or love them. We forget it is the gates of hell than cannot restrain God’s invasion, cannot withstand His church, and the Rock on which it stands.
We invite trauma in when get to aggressive towards other believers, debating with them, rather than loving and serving them, and praying for them. As if somehow we aren’t the family of God, working in His harvest, working together, working as one.
We invite in trauma when we lack of looking to God, trusting Him, relating to Him, when we walk away from Him….to fight that which He has defeated, walking away from the peace He gives…
In choosing these things that are not Godly, we invite that trauma into our lives. We choose the discord, we choose the power plays, we choose the war…. we choose the stress…. and we don’t choose Him….
We don’t have to invite that trauma… we can look to Christ, we can see His love poured out on us, His grace, His mercy… and we can love and serve as He did….learning how much He is with us…
Lord, please have mercy on us, and draw our attention to You!
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2010-11-02). The Way (Kindle Locations 567-568). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
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Stressed? Challenged? Attacked? Oppressed? Your reaction can be Fight or Flight…….or Trust and Testify
Stained glass window of the sacred Heart of Jesus Christ in the former Mosque (Cathedral) of Cordoba, Spain (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Devotional/Discussion Thought of the Day:
11 Boaz answered her: “I have had a complete account of what you have done for your mother-in-law after your husband’s death; you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know previously. 12 May the LORD reward what you have done! May you receive a full reward from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.” Ruth 2:11-12 (NAB)
5 You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. 7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. 8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. 2 Corinthians 4:5-10 (NLT)
Last night, as I drifted off to sleep, my mind was working through all the issues of the week, and there were a number of serious ones. Even two that sprang up a couple of hours before bed. Some will be dealt with quickly, some are going to linger for months, and all of them have the potential to cause both anxiety and worse heartache. I can often deal with the stress, and with others heartache, but when I encounter some things – and see the lack of grace, and concern for the people whom God has created, the heart ache is overwhelming.
Scientists from Biologist to Sociologists talk about such times being the mechanism which fire off a “fight or flight” response. That is, the trauma is such that we have an energy spike, and our reaction is to use that energy to run away and hide (the Elijah response – where is that cave again?) or fight (remember St. Peter in the garden with a sword?) Things get tense – and we are informed it is “natural” to feel the pull to one response or the other. Or sometimes we are paralyzed, as our minds can’t decide which to do – and the energy is release, and instead of one or the other…we simply get more anxious, more agitated.
Been there, done that, have the hole in the ground because my head was spinning so fast it turned my body into a drill bit. Fight or Flee – I want to do both right now – and so I look like Shaggy on the old scoobydo cartoons – feeting moving faster then the eye can perceive – and going no where.
For those of us whom God has claimed in the waters of Baptism – there is actually another option. It requires something more than fight or flight.
It takes remember that God is God. That He is our refuge, our strength – as Martin Luther said – he is our Fortress. (that hymn btw is not the anthem of a warrior, but the lament of those needing refuge and their joy in finding it in Christ)
The option is to trust. To have confidence in all of God’s promises – not just about being our refuge, but indeed seeing how God will bless us even more. Taking refuge as Ruth did, in God is about more than spending time in His sanctuary, it is realizing that He has made us His sanctuary. To know that God has called us to these times and these places – to testify of His love, to reveal to people His will, that He doesn’t rejoice in the death of the wicked – that He desires to bring people to reconciliation and repentance, to have Him the trust in Him – even to the extent of what He teaches.
Trust and Testify.
To know He is God, to intimately, deeply, without reservation know it. To know He is our refuge, our sanctuary. Our Hope, our love.
To testify to that – to show others how He has saved us from sin, how being in His presence, death is no longer something to be feared, To realize we don’t have to reach out to Him, but He has us in the firmly in His grasp.
Lord, help us to realize that when we cry out – Lord Have Mercy, it is for the same reason Luther said we pray “They will be done”. Not because You will not, but that we would know You have. AMEN.
Need Hope? No Answers? Come Experience Jesus, Have Hope! (evangelical catholic VI)
English: The Lord Jesus Christ in the image of Good Shepherd. Early Christian trsdition of symbolism. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Devotional/Discussion of the Day..
15 But have reverence for Christ in your hearts, and honor him as Lord. Be ready at all times to answer anyone who asks you to explain the hope you have in you, 1 Peter 3:15 (TEV)
At the same time, Evangelical Catholicism recognizes that, in offering everyone the possibility of friendship with the Lord Jesus, it is offering the postmodern world something postmodernity badly needs: an encounter with the divine mercy. As the God of the Bible came into the ancient world as One who liberates humanity from the whims and fancies of the Olympian gods or the terrors of fearsome Moloch, the Gospel of Jesus Christ and friendship with him liberate postmodern humanity from its burden of guilt, born of a tacit (if often intuitive and inarticulate) understanding of the awfulness that humanity visited upon itself throughout the twentieth century. By whom can that burden of guilt be expiated? To whom can that wickedness be confessed, and from whom can forgiveness be received? In offering friendship with Jesus Christ, Evangelical Catholicism offers postmodern humanity a path to a more humane future, absolved of the guilt of the recent past. 12 And where is this friendship with Jesus to be found? According to the evangelical Catholic proposal, this friendship is found in the Church, in the Word of God recognized as such by the Church in the Bible, in the sacraments celebrated by the Church, in the works of charity and service, and in the fellowship of those who have been “born of water and the Spirit” [John 3.5]. Despite the sinfulness of its members and their failure to live fully the meaning of friendship with the Lord Jesus, the Church is always the privileged place of encounter with the living God, who continually forms his people into the community in which the full truth about humanity is grasped.
In the last few days, I have had to deal with an increasing number of people who have struggled to have hope, to find hope. There have been a large variety of reasons, with a multitude of causes. Some are young with everything going right, some are more my age – and partially wonder about what is right still, still others, older and wondering if their life has any meaning, and if it ever did. The weight they bear – each again different, seems crushing. So crushing is the weight upon them, so much so that I struggle with just watching their struggle. As I returned to my office, to complete my sermon, I have to write this – as much as for those around those who are struggling, as those who are.
You see – when someone is severely anxious, severely stressed, when they can’t find the answers – they don’t need to know about Jesus – they need, desperately need to know Him.
All of the sound bite apologetics sound nice, and they may even give assent to them After all – we’ve heard them before – we’ve seen them posted on FB, they’ve made the rounds. They may have read the books where the quotes we all love come from. and actually know the context of the quotes!
Whether they do or don’t, they need to know the God who is there with them – they need to connect to Who they feel disconnected to, or from whom they disconnected themselves. They need a tangible and real connection to divine mercy, to the love of God that keeps them, literally guards them. They need to know the reason we have hope – and that is far more than knowing about Christ – it is about knowing Him deep enough sure enough, that we don’t just hope in Him the way we hope the tax bill won’t be enormous – but we expect Him, we trust Him to keep everything He has promised. That our trust in Him, based in knowing even the beginning of the depth, height, breadth and width of His love, because we know HIm, brings comfort to our hearts.
Simple because we know – He is with us! He is our Shepherd, our caring and providing and merciful Master.
I love how the quote from Weigel’s book identifies the source of that hope – is to be found in the Body of Christ – in the community He established, where He reveals His presence through His word, where He pours out that DIvine mercy in the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and yes Confession and Absolution. (and I would include prayer – as the Apology of the Augsburg confession most assuredly tells us is sacramental)
You see, in word and sacrament ministry, we don’t just learn about Christ, we don’t just take notes on how God is promising to work, but we see HIm at work, we experience His grace, the miracle of the reconciliation that comes as God bring us to faith, as we begin to truly see what it is like to live – as we encounter His life, His mercy…
That Encounter – one which lasts all our lives, overwhelms any modern or post-modern theory. It crushes the idea that we are alone, that there is no meaning to life – no constant to hold on to, to base our lives upon.
That is what is needed…. and that is what we bring to the picture – and what we desperately need to be reminded of, even as we do….
Lord, show us the mercy you have and have had on us!
(1) Weigel, George (2013-02-05). Evangelical Catholicism (p. 59). Basic Books. Kindle Edition.
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Anymore time for games?
Devotional/Discussion thought of the day:
There is a game that we play, that came to an abrupt end last Friday.
I call the game, “Utopia”, and I think we get addicted to playing it.
The premise of the game is to see how well we can pretend the world is “perfect”, that there are no problems, or that the solution to them is as easy as whose name we check on a ballot. Or what we will unwrap on Christmas day will finally put us in the winner’s circle of the game. Or perhaps getting that new job, or being able to retire. Or if we find the right partner, (and if they aren’t perfect, we toss them away and try again). Even our schools prefer to have perfect images, and sometimes ignore the kids with serious issues, until it is too late. In churches as well, we often fail to see our own heresies, our own legalism, our own devotion to our culture more than our devotion to our community. Our empty sanctuaries are too hard too fill – with 100 times more people in our community than when they were built, so let’s close their doors and turn them into a starbucks, or a museum
We like perfection, and we avoid those things that would call us to admit there is work to be done. If things are perfect, if we are not in control, anxiety looms, more powerful and stronger than our wills. Often, in defense, we project the problem a distance away, its someone else’s fault, their problems, their issues, their weaknesses are now affecting us! If only they would pull their weight, if they only followed our wisdom,
There is a very subtle evil, a very determined narcissistic nature, a very powerful form of self-idolatry, that is alive and well as we play such a game as Utopia.
And one of the reasons we all take tragedies, whether natural ones like a hurricane or earthquake, or man-made ones like 9/11, Columbine, Paducah, Va Tech, or now NewTown, so hard, is that they stop our games. We can’t pretend our world is perfect anymore, we can’t play the game… it just seems…vain.
Which the game always was… vain.
We are free of the vanity now… but will we embrace it again?
There is an option to Utopia – it is reality.
A reality not of blind optimism, or some kind of hopeless fatalism. There is God’s reality. There is His work in our lives, there are His promises.
The risen Christ, Christ in glory, has divested himself of the things of this earth, so that we men, his brothers, should ask ourselves what things we need to get rid of.
Part of me wants to rebel against this – to dismiss it as some sort of fanaticism, some form of Amish like pietism.
But when trauma robs us of everything on earth – even the lives of those we love, we have something. We have Christ. We have His glory, we have His love and the promises that all is not lost, all is not vain and empty.
For what becomes the center of our life is a relationship, with our Mentor, our Guide, our Master, our Protector, our Healer, our Advocate, our Righteousness, our Lord, our Comforter, our Brother, our Father….our God,
The One who loves us.
The One we don’t see when we play Utopia…
So live in the reality of His love, look to Him every day, ask Him to cleanse you of your idols, ask Him to strengthen your trust, your love, ask Him to remind you that you dwell in His peace…..
Ask Him, Lord have mercy!
And rejoice, in knowing He has promised, and His is doing this very thing – even now.
AMEN
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 1990-1991). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition. 526
The journey is too great for you… arise and eat…
Is our Journey too great? Arise, Take and Eat
I Kings 19:1-8
† In Jesus Name †
As we journey toward the day when all are gathered around our Father’s throne, may we know the mercy and peace that comes from hearing His voice call to us and say,
Arise and eat…
Not the answer I want to hear!
But it is the one I need to hear!
Tired,
Alone.
Exhausted.
Hunted,
Barely sleeping on the hard ground, as he hides under a tree with spikes for branches..
He’s at the end of his rope, a little while prior to hearing the angel’s voice, he had been praying that God would bring it all to an end, that God would take his life.
Not just because he’s had it, but also because he realizes that he’s not up to the challenge, he’s as weak as those who have gone before him.
“Enough is enough!” he cried….
And now, prodded and poked awake by the Angel of the Lord, the messenger of God, he hears the answer to his cry.. the answer he didn’t want to hear.
“the journey is too great for you….”
At first look, that is NOT the answer to my plea that I want to hear, as I try to go on in this life. It’s not the answer I want to hear as I see the trauma of life around me, even as I look back to the blessed victories.
“the journey is too great for you…”
It may not be what we want to hear, even as I am sure Elijah would much rather have heard – “You can do it!”. Instead, we hear with him,
“the journey is too great for you…”
And though we may not want to hear it, it is the exact answer we need to hear…
The Journey is long
Even after victories
Anxiety kicks in… why?
We even can abandon those God sent to lift us up…
We can even cry out as Elijah did..
In Elijah’s life, we see how fast things can change. He barely had taken in the incredible victory over those who would lead God’s people deeper into sin, when his world falls apart. Ahab and 450 prophets of Ba’al were little challenge, as the god they made in their own image was proven non-existent, Elijah even mocked them, suggesting their “god” was on vacation, or maybe using the bathroom. That event ends with people praising God, the living God. Good times, a revival moments away..
One victory is not the journey, and as high as that mountain top experience was, it all seems to come crashing down, as Jezebel’s demonic oath unsettles him, as he realizes he needs some rest, and the desire for rest is changed by anxiety into a desire to run and hide. As his praises and awe of God’s work in his life changes into pleas and despair, as he wonders how will he survive this time.
Well, not really, he doesn’t wonder, for if his words tell us that he doesn’t want to survive. He wants God to come and collect him, to claim his life. He is so dogged by this anxiety, this sense of failure, that he abandons the young man he mentors, whom he trains to trust God in everything!
Don’t we do that sometimes as well? The very people God would have us mentor in life, those whom God sent to life us up, we unload on them, or worse, we abandon them, as we go and find some place to be miserable. What is worse, we do it to God as well, instead of seeking His rest, His comfort, we just want to give up.
We might even cry out Maranatha – the Greek for Come Lord Jesus! Return NOW…. Not because we are desiring to be in heaven, but because we are so tired of this life, so weary of all that challenge us.
I am not just talking about temper tantrums here, but those points in life, where life just doesn’t make any sense anymore. Where exhausted, we crash wherever we think it will be safe for the moment.
How do we go on in such times? It seems like I am asked that more and more..
Then we hear the voice of God agreeing that the journey is indeed… to much!
How do we go on?
We rest, we arise, we eat that which is provided…and healed by God, we find we walk in His strength. sustained by that bread He has provided.
We aren’t alone
The Angel is the Angel of the Lord
He to whom we Journey, is on the Journey with us
He’s honest with us
But He provides what we need for strength.. in a meal which sustains us til we reach
You see in these tough times we need to realize that, we can’t lose God’s presence, nor are we hidden from those He sends to minister to us, and the Spirit that has taken up residence in us, in our baptism.
As the Angel ministers to Elijah, it is good to remember that we talk about this specific Angel, who bears the title “the Angel of the Lord”, as being God himself. All sorts of great theological discussion on this, but what matters here, more than that, is that we realize we aren’t on the journey of our lives alone, any more than Elijah was alone.
That’s a good thing – because, as the Angel of the Lord points out – with point blank honesty, “the journey is too much for you!”
No matter how strong our pride is, on our own, we aren’t strong enough to overcome in this life. That pride, which says we can do it on our own, is simply our struggle with sin. We do not like to depend on anyone, even God. Yet our journey is one we cannot manage alone, and when we try, we end up rolled under a bush somewhere, with God poking us awake, reminding us that He can and does provide for us.
We don’t need to be strong enough on our own, we don’t have to run ourselves into the ground, to the point where we think that we’ve had enough. But even when we reach that point, we aren’t alone. He is with us. And…
He provides the rest we need.
He provides the strength we need…
He provides that which sustains us, the bread of life, the living water, a feast that sustains us throughout our entire period of suffering, our entire period of pain…
He’s here.
Cleansing us
Healing us…
Sustaining us, when we are too weak to go on.
Feeding us, that which will restore in us life, not just “barely surviving life” but the life which is rich and abundant…
He nourishes us with His Body, and with His Blood, even as He nourished Elijah with the bread that was brought to Him.
Arise, take and eat… the journey is to long for you… without my presence, without me. But I will lift you up, I will strengthen you – the entire family of God.
As we were united with Christ in our baptism, as the cleansing of water and word brought us life together, so to that community is seen on our journey, as we celebrate the feast of Christ, the feast that is a prophecy, an inkling of the feast to come.
The Body and Blood of Christ, broken and shed for you! It is indeed so rich a blessing! It gives life to road weary bones. As we celebrate and feast, as we rest in a peace that assures us that we will complete this journey, not on our own strength, but in Christ, dwelling secure in His peace.
That is what makes this place, this time special, sacred. The people of God being ministered too by God. A God who knows when we face such challenges, when we are weary, when the journey is too long. He comes to us, causes us to rest – feeds us that we may be strengthened, and go on, not weary, but in His strength.
So my weary friends, in a moment it’s time to rise and eat, as we prepare to continue our journey with Him
Maybe it is me, but this year so far is a wearying one… one which too often we try to do things in our own strength, and yes to make the journey alone.
It is time for that to end, not just for us, but for those out there who are weary, as broken, as in need of a poke from God, as in need to hear those words,
The journey is too great for you… arise and eat…
As you do, may this bread, this very body of Christ, nourish and sustain you, as you confidently continue in this journey of life, knowing that until we have all joined the angels and archangels, and the entire company of heaven, we journey sustained by Christ, dwelling in His peace. AMEN
