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No Retreat….No Escape.. but no need…You are Holy
Devotional Thought of the Day…
“God is not removing you from your environment. He is not taking you away from the world, or from your condition in life, or from your noble human ambitions, or from your professional work… But he wants you to be a saint—right there!” (1)
Well, we made it to Saturday! The week is seemingly over for most of us, and we can enter a moment of rest for our weary bodies. If you look at the freeway last night, or this morning, there were people on their way out of town. Some were in RV’s, others pulling toy haulers, others on their way to the bright lights of Vegas. All working at a feverish pitch to escape, to get away, to escape. Some are leaving on more nobler causes – a weekend retreat in the mountains with other people who trust in Jesus. Even so, there is a sense of haste, a sense of a need to escape the world.
Throughout the centuries, people of faith felt this need as well. Whether it was the acetic monks finding caves in Egypt, or the orders that built monasteries that looked more like castles, some of talked of the need to escape the world to pursue holiness. And they did. To tell you the truth there is a great temptation there for me, to escape the distractions, to escape the conflicts, to escape the temptations and the problems of life. That was the thought then, that holiness and full concentration on God could be attained if we only gained enough separation from the world. What they tried to do for a lifetime – we have sped up – and seek the same things in a weekend!
I know myself though, and it is my nature that anything could become a distraction from God. Instead of a charged comment on Facebook, it could be the ant trail. Instead of the commercial with scantily clad models selling a hamburger, or a phone, it could be hunger. Jesus understood what makes us tick, and He said “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. 21 For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. 23 All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.” Mark 7:20-23 (NLT)
So if our reason for escape is to avoid temptation, to avoid sin, to pursue holiness/sainthood, then we can’t succeed by simply running away, or finding a remote place.
Another reason to try and escape the world would be “rest”, yet I’ve seen the work it takes to get my camper ready for the weekend. The stress of driving through traffic, and then the stress of setting up, and taking down, camp. Not an easy thing! For 20-25 hours of rest we add 12 more backbreaking hours of work and driving!
The quote got me thinking practically today.
If escaping the world (for months/years) and its “input” doesn’t help us find either great rest or achieve holiness, then what does?
I believe the answer is found quite simply, in being transformed into the likeness of Christ just in the place we are. For there is no place on earth where we cannot find Christ’s peace, where we cannot find rest and holiness as we abide in Him. Jesus said we are not of the world, yet He also said we are in it. Our vocations are found in life, in work, in our marriages, in being parents and children, in being friends, in being part of a community. In being apostles, sent by God to share the hope of His love and mercy and presence.
It is here, as we live in Christ, that we find our rest. It is here, that we find out our holiness, our being set apart.
For He is here, because the Spirit has gathered us, because we have been united with Christ, and causes us to abide in Him.
You have no need to escape, no need to retreat from the world you know, save for short periods of time to pray, to study His word, to Worship. but those things must be part of your daily life here. Pray unceasingly, find your focus in your devotion to Him.
Know that you dwell in His peace!
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 1428-1430). 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 Simplicity of Sharing God’s Love…
Devotional Thought of the day….
28:16 The eleven disciples went to the hill in Galilee where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him, even though some of them doubted. 18 Jesus drew near and said to them, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, 20 and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:16-20 (TEV)
“The moment you have anyone—whoever he may be—at your side, find a way, without doing anything strange, to pass on to him the joy you experience in being a son of God and living as such.” (1)
There are many things to think through, in the scene mentioned above, as having broken the power of death and shame, Jesus gives the disciples some last directions about the ministry He is sharing with them.
It is interesting to me that even in His presence, some doubted, for that gives me hope, when I struggle with this great work we have – and indeed, considering the last verse we have the answer. We are never far from our Triune God and His glory – even here in this “life”.
I love parts of the TEV translation here – especially when it uses “people” rather than nations. Nations distance the project, they make it seem larger than possible – to go into ALL the WORD and make disciples of ALL NATIONS. If we consider the task with those words, it is easy to become disappointed, disillusion – 7 billion people? But if we see that passage refering to going everywhere – and making disciples of people, the task becomes a matter of life, a matter of our vocation, not some task, but really, that which is part of every role, every vocation, everything we do in life.
That is why I love the simplicity of how a catholic priest named Josemarie Escriva (now canonized as a saint by the RCC) describes this work we call evangelism. Find a way, without doing anything strange to pass on the joy! What joy? Pass on the joy of being a son of God, and living as such!
There is a magnificent joy in realizing we have been freed to be God’s children, to live life with that kind of exuberance, with that kind of energy. To realize the burdens God has lifted from us, the anxiety we’ve been from – for a purpose – to walk with God. Think of that for a few moments as you eat your lunch today. And then, look around you, see those God has brought into your life – who live or work or are enjoying a game or eating, those people side by side. Simply share with them your joy, help them to see it is theirs as well.
For that is why we have been sent into the world, to reflect His love, His mercy, His light.
Lord, as we cry Lord have mercy, may we cry for those around us, and as we receive that mercy, may we share that with them as well.
(1)Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 701-703). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
