The quest for meaning is as old as the hills. One of the most familiar stories in Greek mythology is that of Sisyphus. Poor Sisyphus reaped the displeasure of the gods when he disclosed to mere mortals secrets that were known only within celestial ranks. His sentence consisted in having to roll a massive stone to the top of a hill, watch it roll down again, and repeat the exercise endlessly. His was a life consigned to futility. All kinds of intriguing suggestions have been made by philosophers to rescue Sisyphus. 'If only Sisyphus could have changed the way he viewed his task, so that he enjoyed rolling stones.," opined one. " Could he not had rolled up a different stone each time, so that someone else could have built a monument with it? " asked another. In proposing such options, these thinkers not only miss the point of the predicament, but mores seriously, they completely miss the very essence of meaninglessness. We can really discern the reason behind the futility that holds Sisyphus in its grasp. The title Ecclesiastes given to this book is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Qoheleth. The book is concerned with the purpose and value of human life. While admitting the existence of a divine plan, it considers such a plan to be hidden from man, who seeks happiness without ever finding it here below (3,11; 8, 7,17). Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth All things are vanity! What profit a man from all his labor which he toils at under the sun.? One generation passes and another comes, but the world forever stays. The sun rises and the sun goes down, then it presses on to a place where it rises. Blowing now toward the south, then toward the north, the wind turns again and again, resuming its rounds. All rivers go to the sea, yet never does the sea become full. To the place where they go, the rivers keep on going, becoming (living waters). All speech is labored; there is nothing man can say. The eye is not satisfied with seeing nor is the ear filled with hearing. What has been done, that will be done. Nothing is new under the sun. Even the thing which we say, " See, this is new!" Has already existed in the ages that preceded us. There is no remembrance of the men of old; nor of those to come will there be any remembrance among those who come after them. Men remember nothing long, God never forgets. (1:11). While rejecting the older solution of earthly rewards and punishments, Ecclesiastes looks forward to a more lasting one. The clear answer to the problem was to come with the light of Christ's teaching concerning future life. As children, wonder can be attained by dabbling in a world of fantasy. But as the years pass wonder is eroded in the face of reality, and we recognize that may not live in a fairy-tale world.
But as times have changed and possibilities abound, one would think we came a long way from Sisyphus malady. Instead we deal with the same problem, only now not in mythological terms as much as in stark reality of our busy lives. No piece of ancient literature was more forthright and more penetrating of this struggle than the book of Ecclesiastes, credited to the pen of Solomon. His opening line charge into his deduction.- " Meaningless! Meaningless! Everything is meaningless!"
Then he takes a regressive journey, cataloguing his path to that cynicism -wisdom, pleasure, work, material gain, and much else. He comes away empty.
I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. ( Ecclesiastes 2: 10-11).
This was no Sisyphus speaking. At Solomon's command, others rolled stones up steep hills so that he could build his stables, palaces, and temples. He was a man who boasted capacities of unparalleled intellect and imagination that made him the envy of many, and who presided over the most pompous court of his time. In the end he groaned that " under the sun" there was a monotony, a circularity, and a fatality, to all human endeavor.
This assessment by Solomon presents a most starling, almost fearsome reality: Meaningless does not come from being weary of pain but from being weary of pleasure. Solomon is not the only one surrounded with wealth and success who has talked of such disappointment at the end of the road.
That refrain is repeated with consistency. A modern day writer, Jack Higgins, was asked at the pinnacle of his success what he now knows that he wished he had known as a younger man. " I wish I had known that when you get to the top, there is nothing there." So it is not the condemnation of Sisyphus that restricts meaningless to the ranks of the monotonous. The condition is universal and cuts across cultures, wealth, and generations. In is the mind of God to which we turn in seeking an answer to meaning. The Gospel of Jesus Christ deals precisely with the question "why"- the why of creation, and the why of our existence. Jesus says, " I have come that they may have life., and have it in full." ( John 10:10). He tells his disciples that he wanted their joy to be full. All who came to him- the wealthy and the poor, the young, old- drew life and joy from him. How did he give life meaning?
We can take many approaches in coming to the answer. I shall take the indirect route. which you can attribute to our heritage. The shortage route is not always the best route because you may miss many of the needed lessons along the way. I have to wonder if that is why the Lord took his people through forty- year journey in the desert when it could be accomplished in a few weeks. For our purposes, let us divide life into four stages. childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, and maturity. Each stage, we will see God's answer to all. First stage we will consider is the world of a child. G.K Chesterton, who unabashedly proclaimed that he learned more about life by observing children in a nursery than he ever did by reflecting upon the writings of any philosophers. What is it about a child that fascinate us? We see it in our church, that the actions of a child, during the gospel text, upstages the sermon message and is more popular then the message?
More to the issue, what is it that fascinates a child? In the Gospel of Jesus Christ, God offers us the ultimate relationship with himself. At the heart of the Gospel message is the offer of Christ to come and dwell among us in fellowship.-making us his children, extending us to his care. The answer to the search for wonder lies in our relationship with Christ. But is this mere fantasy? No. Jesus pointed beyond fantastic to the fantastically. Aristotle was right when he said that all philosophy begins with wonder; but the journey, can only progress through truth, which leads to faith.
Friday, March 31, 2017
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
A Spirituality of the Paschal Mystery
" Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains but a single harvest."
Some of Christianity's harshest critics have suggested that what is wrong with it, is that it set itself a absurd task of teaching happy people to be unhappy, so that it can minister to their unhappiness. Christianity, they say, focuses too much on suffering, death, and the next life, effectively destroying our capacity to enjoy this one. Freud, it seems was of this mind. He blamed Christianity for a neurotic anxiety within the Western soul that , among other things, prevents us from being properly responsive to where the real soul's happiness lies.
Not all of this is wrong, a lot of anxiety has been taught in the name of Christian spirituality, but the critic of Christianity are so naïve if the suppose that human's are naturally content and that issues of suffering, death, and the next life do not, without undue attention from Christianity, make us pathologically anxious. No philosophy of life, no anthropology, no psychology, and certainly, no spiritually can pretend to be mature without grappling with the timeless, haunting questions on suffering and death. These are the realities that gnaw at the heart. No amount of denial, disciplined focus on the present moment, or effort to exorcise what some perceive as the neurotic ghosts of Christianity immunizes us against the realities of suffering and death and the need for transformation to which these call us.
Hence Christian spiritually does not apologize for the fact that, within it, the most central of all mysteries is the paschal ( the sacrifice of the Lamb.) One, the mystery of suffering, death, and transformation. In Christianity spiritually, Christ is central. and, central to Christ, is his death and rising to new life so as to send us a new spirit. This is the central mystery within Christianity. Unfortunately, it is also one of the great misunderstood and ignored mysteries within Christian theology and spirituality. We pay lip service to the fact that the key thing that Jesus did for us was to suffer and die, but we seldom really try to understand what that means and how we might appropriate it within our lives.
What is the paschal mystery of Christ? How do we enter that mystery?
Before looking explicitly at the theology that underlies the paschal mystery, it can be helpful to get a certain feel for it by examining a few stories within which we see it incarnate. ( Embodied). We will look at two stories, from very different places, each of which, is a truly a paschal story. One of the early books, of Brian Moore, 'the lonely Passion of Judith Hearne' , is truly a paschal story.
Once upon a time, in Dublin, there was a women named Judith Hearne. In many ways, Judith is a very gifted women. Healthy, bright, attractive, a respected teacher, comfortable financially, and solidly connected to her family and a number of trusted friends, she is loved and respected. There is one problem, however. she is approaching menopause, is unmarried and without children, both her biology and psyche are consciously and unconsciously reminding her of the fundamental axiom, " it is not good to be alone" especially when your biological clock is striking-12!
Hence, without realizing it, Judith becomes desperate. Everything in her life- her health, her job, her family, and her friends- count for nothing in face of the fact that what she wants, a husband and children, is denied her. a great restlessness besets her, and in that unconsciously state, she meets a man, an American, with whom she falls in love with. The man, however, is not interested in her romantically and is pursuing the relationship only because he thinks she has money. and they might open a restaurant together.
One night, after a date, Judith takes the initiative. She proposes marriage to the American. But he rejects her offer, telling her the truth of his intention. That rejection was the final straw. Judith snaps. She goes on a alcoholic binge, has a nervous breakdown, and ends up in church, cursing God, and trying to grab the blessed sacrament. She was taken to a hospital where she receives good care and eventually recovers. The story has a redemptive ending. Shortly before she leaves the hospital, she receives a visit from her American friend, the man who had previously rejected her.He arrives in her room contrite, carrying a dozen roses, telling her he had been wrong, and proposing marriage.
Her response to him, far better than most theology books, lays out the dynamics of Pentecost. She hands back the roses back to her friend with these words: " Thank you." I am not interested in marrying you and, to tell you why, I need to tell you a story. When you are a little girl you dream a dream of the perfect life you will have. You grow up to have a beautiful body, meet the perfect man, marry him, have wonderful children, live in a wonderful home in a neighborhood, and have wonderful friends. But as you grow older and that dream doesn't happen, you begin to revise it, downward. You scale down your expectations and begin to look for someone to marry who doesn't have to be perfect... until you get like I was, where unconsciously you get so desperate that you will marry anyone, even if he is common dirt! Well, I learned something by losing myself and then refinding myself; I can be happy either way. I learned that if I receive the spirit for who I am, it doesn't matter whether I am married or unmarried, my happiness doesn't depend upon somebody outside of me, but upon the peace with what's inside of me. The story ends with Judith leaving the hospital, strong and happy again, making a airplane out of his business card, and floating it out of the cab's window.
Pentecost has just taken place because, as scripture tells us, the Holy Spirit is not a generic spirit, but a spirit that is given to each of us in a most particular circumstances.
The last story is from the Jewish scriptures and recounts history of the death of King David' illegitimate son.
One day David's son became seriously ill and David for his part, did what was expected then of a Father. He donned sack cloth, sat in ashes, and prayed and fasted, pleading with God to spare his son.
However, the son died. Immediately upon hearing this, David got up from the ground, took off his sack-cloth, bathed off the ashes, went to the Temple, prayed, returned to his house, ate a good meal and went up and slept with his wife. This behavior struck his friends as rather odd. They asked David whether perhaps he has got things somewhat backwards. : " while your son was alive you fasted and prayed: and now that he is dead you eat and drink. But David, in words to this effect, explains some of the Paschal mystery: While the child was still alive, I fasted and prayed, hoping God might spare him. Now that he is dead there is nothing I can do.
For King David, a certain resurrection has just occurred. His son is dead, but he is still alive., not in the same way as he was alive before his son died, but with a new life which he, in faith begins to move into with some strength. The paschal mystery is the mystery of how we, after undergoing some kind of death, receive new life and a new spirit. Jesus in both his teaching and in his life, showed us a clear paradigm for how this should happen.
Hence, Christian spirituality does not apologize for the fact that, within, the most central of all mysteries is the paschal one, the mystery of suffering, death, and transformation. In Christian spirituality , Christ is central and central to Christ, is his death and rising to a new life so as to send us a new spirit. Unfortunately it is misunderstood and ignored mysteries within Christian theology.
We pay lip service to the fact that the key thing that Jesus did for us was to suffer and die, but we seldom really try to understand what that means and how we apply it to our lives.
We must distinguish between life and spirit. For example, after the resurrection of Jesus, the disciples are given a new life of Christ, but only after, at Pentecost, are they given the spirit for the new life that they are already living. We live by both life and spirit and our peace of soul depends on balance between the two.
Some of Christianity's harshest critics have suggested that what is wrong with it, is that it set itself a absurd task of teaching happy people to be unhappy, so that it can minister to their unhappiness. Christianity, they say, focuses too much on suffering, death, and the next life, effectively destroying our capacity to enjoy this one. Freud, it seems was of this mind. He blamed Christianity for a neurotic anxiety within the Western soul that , among other things, prevents us from being properly responsive to where the real soul's happiness lies.
Not all of this is wrong, a lot of anxiety has been taught in the name of Christian spirituality, but the critic of Christianity are so naïve if the suppose that human's are naturally content and that issues of suffering, death, and the next life do not, without undue attention from Christianity, make us pathologically anxious. No philosophy of life, no anthropology, no psychology, and certainly, no spiritually can pretend to be mature without grappling with the timeless, haunting questions on suffering and death. These are the realities that gnaw at the heart. No amount of denial, disciplined focus on the present moment, or effort to exorcise what some perceive as the neurotic ghosts of Christianity immunizes us against the realities of suffering and death and the need for transformation to which these call us.
Hence Christian spiritually does not apologize for the fact that, within it, the most central of all mysteries is the paschal ( the sacrifice of the Lamb.) One, the mystery of suffering, death, and transformation. In Christianity spiritually, Christ is central. and, central to Christ, is his death and rising to new life so as to send us a new spirit. This is the central mystery within Christianity. Unfortunately, it is also one of the great misunderstood and ignored mysteries within Christian theology and spirituality. We pay lip service to the fact that the key thing that Jesus did for us was to suffer and die, but we seldom really try to understand what that means and how we might appropriate it within our lives.
What is the paschal mystery of Christ? How do we enter that mystery?
Before looking explicitly at the theology that underlies the paschal mystery, it can be helpful to get a certain feel for it by examining a few stories within which we see it incarnate. ( Embodied). We will look at two stories, from very different places, each of which, is a truly a paschal story. One of the early books, of Brian Moore, 'the lonely Passion of Judith Hearne' , is truly a paschal story.
Once upon a time, in Dublin, there was a women named Judith Hearne. In many ways, Judith is a very gifted women. Healthy, bright, attractive, a respected teacher, comfortable financially, and solidly connected to her family and a number of trusted friends, she is loved and respected. There is one problem, however. she is approaching menopause, is unmarried and without children, both her biology and psyche are consciously and unconsciously reminding her of the fundamental axiom, " it is not good to be alone" especially when your biological clock is striking-12!
Hence, without realizing it, Judith becomes desperate. Everything in her life- her health, her job, her family, and her friends- count for nothing in face of the fact that what she wants, a husband and children, is denied her. a great restlessness besets her, and in that unconsciously state, she meets a man, an American, with whom she falls in love with. The man, however, is not interested in her romantically and is pursuing the relationship only because he thinks she has money. and they might open a restaurant together.
One night, after a date, Judith takes the initiative. She proposes marriage to the American. But he rejects her offer, telling her the truth of his intention. That rejection was the final straw. Judith snaps. She goes on a alcoholic binge, has a nervous breakdown, and ends up in church, cursing God, and trying to grab the blessed sacrament. She was taken to a hospital where she receives good care and eventually recovers. The story has a redemptive ending. Shortly before she leaves the hospital, she receives a visit from her American friend, the man who had previously rejected her.He arrives in her room contrite, carrying a dozen roses, telling her he had been wrong, and proposing marriage.
Her response to him, far better than most theology books, lays out the dynamics of Pentecost. She hands back the roses back to her friend with these words: " Thank you." I am not interested in marrying you and, to tell you why, I need to tell you a story. When you are a little girl you dream a dream of the perfect life you will have. You grow up to have a beautiful body, meet the perfect man, marry him, have wonderful children, live in a wonderful home in a neighborhood, and have wonderful friends. But as you grow older and that dream doesn't happen, you begin to revise it, downward. You scale down your expectations and begin to look for someone to marry who doesn't have to be perfect... until you get like I was, where unconsciously you get so desperate that you will marry anyone, even if he is common dirt! Well, I learned something by losing myself and then refinding myself; I can be happy either way. I learned that if I receive the spirit for who I am, it doesn't matter whether I am married or unmarried, my happiness doesn't depend upon somebody outside of me, but upon the peace with what's inside of me. The story ends with Judith leaving the hospital, strong and happy again, making a airplane out of his business card, and floating it out of the cab's window.
Pentecost has just taken place because, as scripture tells us, the Holy Spirit is not a generic spirit, but a spirit that is given to each of us in a most particular circumstances.
The last story is from the Jewish scriptures and recounts history of the death of King David' illegitimate son.
One day David's son became seriously ill and David for his part, did what was expected then of a Father. He donned sack cloth, sat in ashes, and prayed and fasted, pleading with God to spare his son.
However, the son died. Immediately upon hearing this, David got up from the ground, took off his sack-cloth, bathed off the ashes, went to the Temple, prayed, returned to his house, ate a good meal and went up and slept with his wife. This behavior struck his friends as rather odd. They asked David whether perhaps he has got things somewhat backwards. : " while your son was alive you fasted and prayed: and now that he is dead you eat and drink. But David, in words to this effect, explains some of the Paschal mystery: While the child was still alive, I fasted and prayed, hoping God might spare him. Now that he is dead there is nothing I can do.
For King David, a certain resurrection has just occurred. His son is dead, but he is still alive., not in the same way as he was alive before his son died, but with a new life which he, in faith begins to move into with some strength. The paschal mystery is the mystery of how we, after undergoing some kind of death, receive new life and a new spirit. Jesus in both his teaching and in his life, showed us a clear paradigm for how this should happen.
Hence, Christian spirituality does not apologize for the fact that, within, the most central of all mysteries is the paschal one, the mystery of suffering, death, and transformation. In Christian spirituality , Christ is central and central to Christ, is his death and rising to a new life so as to send us a new spirit. Unfortunately it is misunderstood and ignored mysteries within Christian theology.
We pay lip service to the fact that the key thing that Jesus did for us was to suffer and die, but we seldom really try to understand what that means and how we apply it to our lives.
We must distinguish between life and spirit. For example, after the resurrection of Jesus, the disciples are given a new life of Christ, but only after, at Pentecost, are they given the spirit for the new life that they are already living. We live by both life and spirit and our peace of soul depends on balance between the two.
Sunday, March 26, 2017
Proverbs: 9:1-6. Tree of life- Tree of knowledge- Gospel. John 6:51-58.
Wisdom has built her house, she has set up her seven columns; She has dressed her meat, mixed her wine, yes, she has spread her table. She has sent out her maidens, she calls from the heights of the city; "Let whoever is simple turn in here; to him who lacks understanding I say, come eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed! Forsake foolishness that you may live; advance in the way of understanding.(Prov. 9:1-6). Wisdom and folly are represented as matrons, each inviting people to her banquet. Wisdom offers the food and drink of divine doctrine and virtue which give life (1-6).
Genesis states: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. He was with God from the beginning, and through him all things were made, without him nothing was made. "Gospel Text": (John 6:51-58). I myself am the living bread:
come down from heaven.
if anyone eats this bread
he shall live forever;
the bread I will give
is my flesh, for the life of the world.
At this the Jews quarreled among themselves saying, " How can he give us his flesh to eat?" thereupon Jesus said to them:
"Let me solemnly assure you,
if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man
and drink his blood.
you have no life in you.
He who feeds on my flesh
and drinks my blood
has life eternal
and I will raise him upon the last day.
For my flesh is real food and my blood real drink.
The man who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood
remains in me, and I in him.
just as the Father who has life sent me
And I have life because of the Father
So the man who feeds on me
will have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven.
Unlike your ancestors who ate and died nonetheless,
the man who feeds on this bread shall live forever (51-58).
When the disciples heard these words, they remarked:
This sort of "talk was hard to endure!"
This message started back in the Garden, where we recall their are lush and pleasant plants, rivers, animals. There are two human beings, male and female. There is the "Serpent", who claims to know about God and therefore to have the key to "Knowledge," but being sly, he intentionally gets it wrong, also there are two signified trees: The tree of knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. To begin with, these trees seem unconnected. It is only the tree of knowledge that Adam and Eve are not to eat. " On the day you eat thereof you shall surely die," Adam was told. But, the tree of life despite it's wondrous qualities and gifts, even eternal life, does not seem to have concerned God at first, nor are we told that it tempted humans. Apparently it seemed no different of other trees of the Garden from which man and women were permitted to "freely eat."
Why did God prohibit eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil? What was the knowledge that God wished to keep from the humans? Why did the tree of life become a problem for God after Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge, so that God expelled them from the Garden, lest they become like God and " live forever." There are a number of possibilities, perhaps the knowledge in question is about human obedience to God., so it was not they, but he who was "uninformed" God did not yet know, as it were, whether humans would choose God (obedience) or evil (rebellion). God did not know how they would responded to the knowledge. When our children were born we did not know how they would turn out. We did not know how the knowledge taught to them; was for their (Good) or (evil), or was it the knowledge they needed for their life. Perhaps, God's commandments
was intended to deny them the knowledge of evil, the potential for malice and misuse inherent in all knowledge. When Adam and Eve knew about evil, a knowledge that the serpent depicts as wisdom, they become ashamed, self- conscious, alienated from each other and from God, even the pastoral Garden and the natural world. Yet God is not portrayed as wishing to deny knowledge as such to his human creatures after all, the tree of life also represents knowledge and the "magical" possibilities open to humanity. But by using knowledge that runs counter to the purposes of the creator-evidence by eating from the tree of knowledge. Adam and Eve have given God, as it were, disturbing "knowledge" of their dubious intentions, should they be given access to the fount of wisdom. Lacking self-control, will they not use the life giving properties of the "tree of life" for evil purposes? Humans must be kept away from the magic of the tree of life. If they live forever, their creativity can contain havoc, chaos, will bring into the world. Through God's command, the tree of knowledge set limits within the world. However, the tree of life pointed to the "magic" potential for knowledge that humans possess, in the Bible at least, humans who eat of the tree of knowledge of good and Evil, are kept away from the tree of life.
Herein lies our true worth. We are made in God's image and are therefore valuable to God and others. God loves men and women, far beyond His love for animals, plants,, inanimate matter, moreover, He feels for men, and women, identifies with them in Christ, grieves for them and intervenes in history to make each one of us into all He has determined we should be. We are God's unique and valued companions. In support of this we have only to think of the image of the New Testament teaching concerning Christ as the "Bridegroom" and the Church as his bride.
After this, we may be tempted to say, " Why bother with all that ancient history? Is it important for today, Moses and the Red Sea, Jonah and the whale, Adam and Eve, the snake? We have Ten commandments, and that's enough. well, suppose you wanted understand the life of Abraham Lincoln. could you ignore everything before 1809, the year he was born? The cold and fear of "Valley forge," the long debate over the Constitution? A development of a " North and South, a world of 13 colonies, slave ships from Africa. While all this was going on , the people of Israel were waiting, longing, for the Messianic Age." And there waiting among the poor of God is a girl of " Nazareth" the virgin womb of Israel, prepared by the Prophet, Priest, and King. In somewhat parallel way we can not come to know Jesus as He really is, unless we have what His conscious was as he heard the beginning and the story of his people read in the synagogue all His life, unrolling of the scrolls and He saw himself as the future through His vocation. John tells us Jesus is the "Living bread" offering himself to God in death, releasing His life for the life of the world
Genesis states: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. He was with God from the beginning, and through him all things were made, without him nothing was made. "Gospel Text": (John 6:51-58). I myself am the living bread:
come down from heaven.
if anyone eats this bread
he shall live forever;
the bread I will give
is my flesh, for the life of the world.
At this the Jews quarreled among themselves saying, " How can he give us his flesh to eat?" thereupon Jesus said to them:
"Let me solemnly assure you,
if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man
and drink his blood.
you have no life in you.
He who feeds on my flesh
and drinks my blood
has life eternal
and I will raise him upon the last day.
For my flesh is real food and my blood real drink.
The man who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood
remains in me, and I in him.
just as the Father who has life sent me
And I have life because of the Father
So the man who feeds on me
will have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven.
Unlike your ancestors who ate and died nonetheless,
the man who feeds on this bread shall live forever (51-58).
When the disciples heard these words, they remarked:
This sort of "talk was hard to endure!"
This message started back in the Garden, where we recall their are lush and pleasant plants, rivers, animals. There are two human beings, male and female. There is the "Serpent", who claims to know about God and therefore to have the key to "Knowledge," but being sly, he intentionally gets it wrong, also there are two signified trees: The tree of knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. To begin with, these trees seem unconnected. It is only the tree of knowledge that Adam and Eve are not to eat. " On the day you eat thereof you shall surely die," Adam was told. But, the tree of life despite it's wondrous qualities and gifts, even eternal life, does not seem to have concerned God at first, nor are we told that it tempted humans. Apparently it seemed no different of other trees of the Garden from which man and women were permitted to "freely eat."
Why did God prohibit eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil? What was the knowledge that God wished to keep from the humans? Why did the tree of life become a problem for God after Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge, so that God expelled them from the Garden, lest they become like God and " live forever." There are a number of possibilities, perhaps the knowledge in question is about human obedience to God., so it was not they, but he who was "uninformed" God did not yet know, as it were, whether humans would choose God (obedience) or evil (rebellion). God did not know how they would responded to the knowledge. When our children were born we did not know how they would turn out. We did not know how the knowledge taught to them; was for their (Good) or (evil), or was it the knowledge they needed for their life. Perhaps, God's commandments
was intended to deny them the knowledge of evil, the potential for malice and misuse inherent in all knowledge. When Adam and Eve knew about evil, a knowledge that the serpent depicts as wisdom, they become ashamed, self- conscious, alienated from each other and from God, even the pastoral Garden and the natural world. Yet God is not portrayed as wishing to deny knowledge as such to his human creatures after all, the tree of life also represents knowledge and the "magical" possibilities open to humanity. But by using knowledge that runs counter to the purposes of the creator-evidence by eating from the tree of knowledge. Adam and Eve have given God, as it were, disturbing "knowledge" of their dubious intentions, should they be given access to the fount of wisdom. Lacking self-control, will they not use the life giving properties of the "tree of life" for evil purposes? Humans must be kept away from the magic of the tree of life. If they live forever, their creativity can contain havoc, chaos, will bring into the world. Through God's command, the tree of knowledge set limits within the world. However, the tree of life pointed to the "magic" potential for knowledge that humans possess, in the Bible at least, humans who eat of the tree of knowledge of good and Evil, are kept away from the tree of life.
Herein lies our true worth. We are made in God's image and are therefore valuable to God and others. God loves men and women, far beyond His love for animals, plants,, inanimate matter, moreover, He feels for men, and women, identifies with them in Christ, grieves for them and intervenes in history to make each one of us into all He has determined we should be. We are God's unique and valued companions. In support of this we have only to think of the image of the New Testament teaching concerning Christ as the "Bridegroom" and the Church as his bride.
After this, we may be tempted to say, " Why bother with all that ancient history? Is it important for today, Moses and the Red Sea, Jonah and the whale, Adam and Eve, the snake? We have Ten commandments, and that's enough. well, suppose you wanted understand the life of Abraham Lincoln. could you ignore everything before 1809, the year he was born? The cold and fear of "Valley forge," the long debate over the Constitution? A development of a " North and South, a world of 13 colonies, slave ships from Africa. While all this was going on , the people of Israel were waiting, longing, for the Messianic Age." And there waiting among the poor of God is a girl of " Nazareth" the virgin womb of Israel, prepared by the Prophet, Priest, and King. In somewhat parallel way we can not come to know Jesus as He really is, unless we have what His conscious was as he heard the beginning and the story of his people read in the synagogue all His life, unrolling of the scrolls and He saw himself as the future through His vocation. John tells us Jesus is the "Living bread" offering himself to God in death, releasing His life for the life of the world
Thursday, March 23, 2017
Christians! PREACH! St, Luke. 10:38-42
Perhaps when the Church is at it's best, is when "it's all ears." Almighty God urges the faithful, again and again, to "Listen up!" to heed the word from above.
So it was with Abraham an Sarah, With Mary and Martha and the early Church at Colossae.
Text: As Jesus and the Disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem they came to a village, where a women named Martha welcomed them into her home. Her sister Mary sat on the floor, listening to Jesus as He talked. But Martha was the jittery type, and was worrying over the big dinner she was preparing.
She came to Jesus and said, " Sir, doesn't it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me." But the Lord said to her, "Martha, Martha, dear friend, you are so upset over all these details! There is really only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it- and I won't take it away from her!" Luke 10:38-42).
Yet, Jesus, advises, without being nourished by the word, you will become worried and distracted by many things. Your needs, your neighbor's needs, and the needs of creation will become overwhelming without an understanding of how God is already working to sustain and to redeem. Christians gather around the "Word" each Sunday, listening for God's activity in scripture, sermon , song, and prayer, knowing it can not live by bread alone. Inextricably linked with the story in (Luke 10), the story of Martha and Mary models only half of the ideal disciple. A disciple is not only one who sits and listens but also one who extends mercy through action. The liturgy of Sunday worship forms disciples in these two ways, first by proclaiming the word of God, then sending God's people into the world to live out what they have heard proclaimed. This homely story nudges us in more than one way. Familiar tensions are there: Protestant work-ethic verse freedom: duty-ridden housewives verses, happy-go-lucky youth; week day tasks verses the obligation of church going.
I remember going with my Dad, and sitting with the men on the porch at night listening to Joe Kellerman the neighborhood story-teller, telling stories about early life way before I was born.
I was seven years old, sitting between my dad's legs, enjoying these get-together of the big guys, sharing how it was before I came along.
St. Luke, however, appears to have a more primary and unified intention in placing this story right after Jesus dramatic parable of the "Good Samaritan" and its demand for the life of love.
For his little story is dramatic too: the continuing struggle in the life of God's people to choose the word for life. In the familiar setting of household living, as though to say, " Look, this means you,"
this story gets right to the heart of mankind's chief concern.: how to live?
By 'life" I mean staying alive, finding food, clothing, and shelter, amusing ourselves and coping with our worries, keeping healthy, and warding off the burdens of aging as long as possible,
In an early chapter of St. Luke, he tells a story of how the Devil helped Jesus face up to this fact: " We do need bread!"
In God's plan of creation, however, the life of work and play, body and spirit, muscle and nerve is simply the setting for life which has a richer meaning. That is the intention God has for man, that out of all his creatures, to be empowered by his spirit and for his purposes, so that man can share that life and spirit of God with others and so maintain the meaning of God as supreme in man's existence. God is interested in keeping his people physically alive, to be sure; the dead cannot praise thee. God knows everyone of his flock, where we are at all times, ready to put us into service at a moment notice.
Hezekiah mused ( Isa. 38:18). For Sheol cannot thank you, death cannot praise you; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for your faithfulness. But our Lord reminded Satan in the wilderness that even though man lives by bread, he does not live by bread alone, " but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. " Jesus quoted that line from Deuteronomy (6:16), this lesson that Israel learned from experience of its ancestors in the Exodus.
As we, the people of God, try to live out our lives, it is our business to see these two sides of life surging through us too. Both are important. What this little story tells us of Mary and Martha in our gospel text, that at times the two kinds of life confront us with a choice. You have to make up your mind, Always in (prayer for guidance) to move through life not simply coasting, but under the power of God and for the sake of his objectives for your journey and the load you are pulling.
We know through scripture ( proverbs) which reflects the incarnate wisdom which God ordained to provide his own impulse and guidance into the hearts of his people.
' Happy is the man that listens to me, who finds me, finds life and obtains favor from the Lord.'
(8: 34-35). To the Colossians St. Paul opened up the identity of this word and wisdom; it is Jesus Christ in whom God had acted to give his own people his own life, it is in the telling of Christ's work that this word and wisdom arrives at it's destination, namely us. Jesus came that we may have life, and have it abundantly. Remember, he is the way , truth, and the life. Who ever believes in me, will never die. God raised him from the dead, to proclaim him 'Lord of life." Jesus said to Martha, I am the resurrection and the life... whoever lives and believes in me shall never die ( John 11: 25-26).
In the early church, the earliest document, found from the 1st century (Didache), gives us a peek at just went on, when you wanted to join the church; the priest would ask you two questions: " Do
you want the way to Life; or the way to death! As we consider the two kinds of life in the abstract, it doesn't seemed difficult to decide which one gets the priority. But in actual experience we all know that it doesn't work that way, and that is precisely the burden of this story. It is difficult to make a choice for God's kind of life. The story of Mary and Martha and their brother Lazarus were a small family; But Jesus had to say about Martha : " You are fretting and fussing about so many things" for she was distracted by her many tasks. The reason for this substance for life of the body take a thoroughly tangible struggle.
What makes the choice for the word of life secondary in our minds is the struggle for our bodily life.
and the burden of staying alive.
In our text Martha viewed Jesus as our guest speaker, a man of God. and she gave his word priority.
These wasn't words of a sermon, it was a power by which Jesus was opening up to Mary the act of God, in sending him into the world, to brings his father's creation back to himself.
Even under difficulties; the choice has to be made continually, to grow up in the life of God.
At your next meal at home and you share in the family meals, and help with the dishes afterward, and have a heart for the fretting and fussing of our dear ones; and remember the words from the priest in the "Didache," from the 1st century. Do you want the way of life or the way of death!
So it was with Abraham an Sarah, With Mary and Martha and the early Church at Colossae.
Text: As Jesus and the Disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem they came to a village, where a women named Martha welcomed them into her home. Her sister Mary sat on the floor, listening to Jesus as He talked. But Martha was the jittery type, and was worrying over the big dinner she was preparing.
She came to Jesus and said, " Sir, doesn't it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me." But the Lord said to her, "Martha, Martha, dear friend, you are so upset over all these details! There is really only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it- and I won't take it away from her!" Luke 10:38-42).
Yet, Jesus, advises, without being nourished by the word, you will become worried and distracted by many things. Your needs, your neighbor's needs, and the needs of creation will become overwhelming without an understanding of how God is already working to sustain and to redeem. Christians gather around the "Word" each Sunday, listening for God's activity in scripture, sermon , song, and prayer, knowing it can not live by bread alone. Inextricably linked with the story in (Luke 10), the story of Martha and Mary models only half of the ideal disciple. A disciple is not only one who sits and listens but also one who extends mercy through action. The liturgy of Sunday worship forms disciples in these two ways, first by proclaiming the word of God, then sending God's people into the world to live out what they have heard proclaimed. This homely story nudges us in more than one way. Familiar tensions are there: Protestant work-ethic verse freedom: duty-ridden housewives verses, happy-go-lucky youth; week day tasks verses the obligation of church going.
I remember going with my Dad, and sitting with the men on the porch at night listening to Joe Kellerman the neighborhood story-teller, telling stories about early life way before I was born.
I was seven years old, sitting between my dad's legs, enjoying these get-together of the big guys, sharing how it was before I came along.
St. Luke, however, appears to have a more primary and unified intention in placing this story right after Jesus dramatic parable of the "Good Samaritan" and its demand for the life of love.
For his little story is dramatic too: the continuing struggle in the life of God's people to choose the word for life. In the familiar setting of household living, as though to say, " Look, this means you,"
this story gets right to the heart of mankind's chief concern.: how to live?
By 'life" I mean staying alive, finding food, clothing, and shelter, amusing ourselves and coping with our worries, keeping healthy, and warding off the burdens of aging as long as possible,
In an early chapter of St. Luke, he tells a story of how the Devil helped Jesus face up to this fact: " We do need bread!"
In God's plan of creation, however, the life of work and play, body and spirit, muscle and nerve is simply the setting for life which has a richer meaning. That is the intention God has for man, that out of all his creatures, to be empowered by his spirit and for his purposes, so that man can share that life and spirit of God with others and so maintain the meaning of God as supreme in man's existence. God is interested in keeping his people physically alive, to be sure; the dead cannot praise thee. God knows everyone of his flock, where we are at all times, ready to put us into service at a moment notice.
Hezekiah mused ( Isa. 38:18). For Sheol cannot thank you, death cannot praise you; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for your faithfulness. But our Lord reminded Satan in the wilderness that even though man lives by bread, he does not live by bread alone, " but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. " Jesus quoted that line from Deuteronomy (6:16), this lesson that Israel learned from experience of its ancestors in the Exodus.
As we, the people of God, try to live out our lives, it is our business to see these two sides of life surging through us too. Both are important. What this little story tells us of Mary and Martha in our gospel text, that at times the two kinds of life confront us with a choice. You have to make up your mind, Always in (prayer for guidance) to move through life not simply coasting, but under the power of God and for the sake of his objectives for your journey and the load you are pulling.
We know through scripture ( proverbs) which reflects the incarnate wisdom which God ordained to provide his own impulse and guidance into the hearts of his people.
' Happy is the man that listens to me, who finds me, finds life and obtains favor from the Lord.'
(8: 34-35). To the Colossians St. Paul opened up the identity of this word and wisdom; it is Jesus Christ in whom God had acted to give his own people his own life, it is in the telling of Christ's work that this word and wisdom arrives at it's destination, namely us. Jesus came that we may have life, and have it abundantly. Remember, he is the way , truth, and the life. Who ever believes in me, will never die. God raised him from the dead, to proclaim him 'Lord of life." Jesus said to Martha, I am the resurrection and the life... whoever lives and believes in me shall never die ( John 11: 25-26).
In the early church, the earliest document, found from the 1st century (Didache), gives us a peek at just went on, when you wanted to join the church; the priest would ask you two questions: " Do
you want the way to Life; or the way to death! As we consider the two kinds of life in the abstract, it doesn't seemed difficult to decide which one gets the priority. But in actual experience we all know that it doesn't work that way, and that is precisely the burden of this story. It is difficult to make a choice for God's kind of life. The story of Mary and Martha and their brother Lazarus were a small family; But Jesus had to say about Martha : " You are fretting and fussing about so many things" for she was distracted by her many tasks. The reason for this substance for life of the body take a thoroughly tangible struggle.
What makes the choice for the word of life secondary in our minds is the struggle for our bodily life.
and the burden of staying alive.
In our text Martha viewed Jesus as our guest speaker, a man of God. and she gave his word priority.
These wasn't words of a sermon, it was a power by which Jesus was opening up to Mary the act of God, in sending him into the world, to brings his father's creation back to himself.
Even under difficulties; the choice has to be made continually, to grow up in the life of God.
At your next meal at home and you share in the family meals, and help with the dishes afterward, and have a heart for the fretting and fussing of our dear ones; and remember the words from the priest in the "Didache," from the 1st century. Do you want the way of life or the way of death!
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
New Testament. [St. Matthew]
Let us glance briefly at the land , people, religion, and politics of Palestine in Jesus time. The land consisted three main sections: Galilee in the north ( Jesus home province)), Samaria in the middle (the land of the Samaria), and Judea in the south. ( Where Jerusalem was located). The Samaritans, of mixed Israelites and Gentile, had their own Temple and accepted only the Five books Moses as scripture. The Israelites lived mainly in Judea and Galilee. The national center of religious worship, except for the Samaritans was the Temple in Jerusalem. A vast number of priests carried on the animal sacrifices. The country people would come up to Jerusalem for the major festivals, usually on Passover. The synagogue often had especially qualified "rabbis," or teachers, to preach and comment on the readings. Opposed to the priests and the Sadducees were the (i.e. Hasidim the "pious ones" ). and the Pharisees. The Hasidim were interested mainly in retaining the purity of Judaistic religion both inward and outwardly. They were non-political and unworldly, and resisted assimilation
to Greek ways. The Pharisees preached the new apocalyptic doctrines of imminent advent of the Messianic redemption and judgment and the resurrection of the dead. But they insisted on living in accord with traditional law. They emphasized the oral, unwritten law, They created the Talmud and the form of Judaism which survived the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.
They accepted Roman rule as an abominable necessity imposed by God. The Zelotes were militant party who advocated armed resistance to Roman rule. Their motto was : ' No God but Yahweh! They seized the town and the armory near Nazareth, in A.D. 6.
The Essenes, at the opposite, extreme were non-violent who lived apart in monastic communities
practicing celibacy and communism, praying and undergoing purifying baths.
From the viewpoint of the historian of religions, Christianity begins with the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan. Mark actually begins his narrative with this event. But just as John signals the religious meaning of these events by his prologue about the words made flesh ( see John 1:1-18), so Matthew heralds the early Christian conviction that Jesus was the Christ by a genealogy that traces Jesus back to David and Abraham, an account of a Virgin Birth., and stories of marvelous events in Jesus infancy (see Matthew 1-2).
Texts are summoned up from the Old Testament as prophecies of what has come to pass. The use of the Old Testament texts as proofs indicates how early Christian community viewed Jesus and how it argued for its faith. The story of the flight of Jesus family to Egypt has overtones of the story of Moses and the Exodus- "out of Egypt have I called my son" ( Matt: 2:13-15). The key sentence in Matthew's prologue is verse 21 of chapter 1. And "she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus:" the Gospel accounts of Jesus baptism in the Jordan River (chap 3) tell us of the "call"
of a religious personage a familiar event in the old Testament. After the call Jesus meets temptation and successfully resists. Writings over thousand of years have been fascinated by this image of the Devil tempting Jesus and have tried to interpret its meaning. One thing is certain: utter adherence to God, is protection against the powers of evil, within and without us. Jesus responds to the Devil, rejecting, in turn, the idolatries of belly filling, wonder working, and worldly power. Jesus prefaces each answer with the words " It is written that ...," referring to Deuteronomy 8;3; 6:16; 6:13.
No religious writings in history have ever had the universal appeal of the New Testament Gospels.
They possess clarity, simplicity, and religious vision. The essentials of the ministry and destiny of Jesus of Nazareth. told with the directness and force, and have made the news of Jesus known to the whole world. Through these master pieces, they have express faith, spread faith of the early Christian Church, that god had revealed himself in the life, teaching, death of Jesus of Nazareth. That God was uniquely incarnate in this man.
The togetherness of history and eternity, of human and divine comes from this faith in the incarnate God. The idea of a suffering God to the Greeks "foolishness." and a contradiction, for many schools of philosophy. In Jesus humiliation and this death, as well as the resurrection is the story of the gospels for the Christian faith. When we look for the "Hope", end time divine intervention, better known as " Eschatological", can be found in Daniel and Revelation. This "Hope" Christians talk about is the return of the "anointed one (Messiah) with the angels, collecting the faithful at the end of the age, a last judgment, and finally a kingdom of Heaven on earth.
Not all who sound religious are really godly people. They may refer to me as 'Lord' but still won't get to Heaven. For the decisive question is whether they obey my Father in Heaven. At the judgment many will tell me "( in that day)" 'Lord we told others about you and used your name to cast out demons and to do other great miracles'. But I will reply" you have never been mine. Go away "I never knew you." Your deeds are evil. all who listen to my instructions and follow them are wise, like a man who builds his house on solid rock. Though the rains come in torrents and the floods rise and the storm winds beat against his house, it won't collapse, for it is built on a rock.
But those who hear my instructions and ignore them are foolish, like a man who builds his house on sand. For when the rains and the floods come, and storms beat against the house, it will fall with a mighty crash. The crowds were amazed at Jesus sermons, for he taught as one who had great authority, and not as their Jewish leaders, (scribes). ( Matt7:21-27, 28-29).
We are not to give lip service.
In a remarkable passage, Jesus asks from his followers the same kind of absolute devotion that God demanded from Abraham. The obligation to adhere to him transcends all ties of kinship. His followers must endure suffering and give up their lives in order to save them.
Think not that I am come to send peace on earth, but a sword.
I have come to set a man at variance against his father and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in law against her mother-in law. and a man's foes shall be they of his own house. He that loveth his father or his mother more than me, is not worthy of me. An he who does not pick-up his cross, and followeth after me is not worthy of me.
He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. )10:34-39; also 12:46-50).
to Greek ways. The Pharisees preached the new apocalyptic doctrines of imminent advent of the Messianic redemption and judgment and the resurrection of the dead. But they insisted on living in accord with traditional law. They emphasized the oral, unwritten law, They created the Talmud and the form of Judaism which survived the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.
They accepted Roman rule as an abominable necessity imposed by God. The Zelotes were militant party who advocated armed resistance to Roman rule. Their motto was : ' No God but Yahweh! They seized the town and the armory near Nazareth, in A.D. 6.
The Essenes, at the opposite, extreme were non-violent who lived apart in monastic communities
practicing celibacy and communism, praying and undergoing purifying baths.
From the viewpoint of the historian of religions, Christianity begins with the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan. Mark actually begins his narrative with this event. But just as John signals the religious meaning of these events by his prologue about the words made flesh ( see John 1:1-18), so Matthew heralds the early Christian conviction that Jesus was the Christ by a genealogy that traces Jesus back to David and Abraham, an account of a Virgin Birth., and stories of marvelous events in Jesus infancy (see Matthew 1-2).
Texts are summoned up from the Old Testament as prophecies of what has come to pass. The use of the Old Testament texts as proofs indicates how early Christian community viewed Jesus and how it argued for its faith. The story of the flight of Jesus family to Egypt has overtones of the story of Moses and the Exodus- "out of Egypt have I called my son" ( Matt: 2:13-15). The key sentence in Matthew's prologue is verse 21 of chapter 1. And "she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus:" the Gospel accounts of Jesus baptism in the Jordan River (chap 3) tell us of the "call"
of a religious personage a familiar event in the old Testament. After the call Jesus meets temptation and successfully resists. Writings over thousand of years have been fascinated by this image of the Devil tempting Jesus and have tried to interpret its meaning. One thing is certain: utter adherence to God, is protection against the powers of evil, within and without us. Jesus responds to the Devil, rejecting, in turn, the idolatries of belly filling, wonder working, and worldly power. Jesus prefaces each answer with the words " It is written that ...," referring to Deuteronomy 8;3; 6:16; 6:13.
No religious writings in history have ever had the universal appeal of the New Testament Gospels.
They possess clarity, simplicity, and religious vision. The essentials of the ministry and destiny of Jesus of Nazareth. told with the directness and force, and have made the news of Jesus known to the whole world. Through these master pieces, they have express faith, spread faith of the early Christian Church, that god had revealed himself in the life, teaching, death of Jesus of Nazareth. That God was uniquely incarnate in this man.
The togetherness of history and eternity, of human and divine comes from this faith in the incarnate God. The idea of a suffering God to the Greeks "foolishness." and a contradiction, for many schools of philosophy. In Jesus humiliation and this death, as well as the resurrection is the story of the gospels for the Christian faith. When we look for the "Hope", end time divine intervention, better known as " Eschatological", can be found in Daniel and Revelation. This "Hope" Christians talk about is the return of the "anointed one (Messiah) with the angels, collecting the faithful at the end of the age, a last judgment, and finally a kingdom of Heaven on earth.
Not all who sound religious are really godly people. They may refer to me as 'Lord' but still won't get to Heaven. For the decisive question is whether they obey my Father in Heaven. At the judgment many will tell me "( in that day)" 'Lord we told others about you and used your name to cast out demons and to do other great miracles'. But I will reply" you have never been mine. Go away "I never knew you." Your deeds are evil. all who listen to my instructions and follow them are wise, like a man who builds his house on solid rock. Though the rains come in torrents and the floods rise and the storm winds beat against his house, it won't collapse, for it is built on a rock.
But those who hear my instructions and ignore them are foolish, like a man who builds his house on sand. For when the rains and the floods come, and storms beat against the house, it will fall with a mighty crash. The crowds were amazed at Jesus sermons, for he taught as one who had great authority, and not as their Jewish leaders, (scribes). ( Matt7:21-27, 28-29).
We are not to give lip service.
In a remarkable passage, Jesus asks from his followers the same kind of absolute devotion that God demanded from Abraham. The obligation to adhere to him transcends all ties of kinship. His followers must endure suffering and give up their lives in order to save them.
Think not that I am come to send peace on earth, but a sword.
I have come to set a man at variance against his father and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in law against her mother-in law. and a man's foes shall be they of his own house. He that loveth his father or his mother more than me, is not worthy of me. An he who does not pick-up his cross, and followeth after me is not worthy of me.
He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. )10:34-39; also 12:46-50).
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Pascal. [Conversation].
Blaise Pascal was one of that great company of Scientists and mathematicians who laid the foundation of modern science in the 17th century-" the century of genius." Pascal wrote a treatise on sound at the age of twelve, another on conic sections at sixteen, and most of his mathematical works by the time he was twenty-six. But, here we shall consider the background of Pascal's religious thought. The main influence under which he fell was Jansenism, a French Catholic movement which emphasized personal religious experience, especially the sudden conversion which it believed brings the soul into direct relation with God. Pascal's family was Jansenist and he came under the tutelage of certain confessors at the convent of Port Royal, a famous Jansenist center.
In 1654 Pascal had a religious experience, usually referred to as his " Conversion." Some stories associate this with a near escape from death . From that time on, Pascal devoted himself to religious meditation and concerns. He became closely associated with Port royal and took the side of Jansenist in their controversy with the Jesuits. He wrote ( anonymously) the scathing "Provincial Letters" as apart of this struggle. (Jansenist doctrines were declared heretical by papal decrees in 1653 and 1713.) It is characteristic of Pascal that personal experience, rather than philosophical speculation., was the basis for his religious meditations. At the moment of his "conversion" experience he wrote down his thoughts on a scrap of parchment. THIS CONFESSION, CALLED " THE MEMORIAL," WAS FOUND AFTER HIS DEATH, WAS SEWN INTO THE LINING OF HIS DOUBLET. He carried it on his person all the time. Here it is in full:
The year of grace 1684.
Monday, November 23rd, day of St. Clement,
Pope and Martyr, and others in Martyrology.
Eve of St. Chrysogonous, martyr, and others.
From about half past ten at night to about
Half past twelve.
Fire.
God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob,
Not of the philosophers, and the men of science,
Certainly, Certainly, feeling, Joy, Peace,
God of Jesus Christ.
deum et deum vestrum.
Thy God shall be my God.
Forgetfulness of the world and of all apart from God.
He can be found only by the ways taught in the Gospel.
O religious Father, the world has not known thee.
Joy, Joy, Joy, tears of Joy.
I have separated myself rom him.
dereliquerunt me fontem quae vivae.
Will thou leave me, O my God?
May I not be separated from him for ever.
This is life eternal that they may know thee
the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou
sent.
Jesus Christ,
Jesus Christ,
I have separated myself from him; I have
fled, renounced, crucified him
May I never be separated from him.
He maintains himself in me only in the ways
taught in the Gospel.
The phrase " God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob,
Not of the Philosophers," has thundered down the ages and is still
the subject of discussion. You will note in this reading that Pascal rejects the reasons of the intellect in favor of the reason on the hearts.
Pascal says that man is miserable without God, he must seek him in order to attain eternal life. First he must admit his misery and his need, then seek him in order to attain eternal life. First he must admit his misery and his need, and then seek with all his heart. The worst form of misery is the unconscious and indifferent state of those who do not care about being cut off from God and do nothing to attain salvation. Like his fellow spirit Soren Kierkegaard, Pascal saw the worst form of despair in the unconscious type which hides itself by attaching infinite importance and anxiety to the trifles- the passing show.
There are only three kinds of persons; those who serve God, having found him; others who are occupied in seeking him and have not found him, while the remainder live without seeking him and with out having found him. The first are reasonable and happy, the last are foolish and unhappy; and those between are unhappy and reasonable. The attitude of the last group, for Paschal, betrays a lack of virtue as well as reason. No one would trust a person like that in the ordinary affairs of life says Paschal. He gives doubters the classical advice to abate their passions, renounce pleasures, and hunger after righteousness. He harps on the transitoriness of life before the vast infinity of eternity which will see us " either annihilated or unhappy forever.
How stupid of man to think only of the moment's satisfaction and forget the ultimate end of life!
Between us and heaven or hell there is only life, which is the frailest thing in the world.
Now lets look at his terrible version of the "Confession" of the indifferent doubter:
" I know not who put me in this world, nor what the world is, nor what I myself am. I am in terrible ignorance of everything. I know not what my body is, nor my senses, nor my soul, not even that part of me which thinks what I say, which reflects on all and on itself , and knows itself no more than the rest. I see the those frightful spaces of the universe which surround me, and I find myself tied to one corner of this vast expanse, without knowing why I am put in this place rather than in another, nor why the short time which is given to me to live assigned. All I know is that I must soon die, which I can't escape. "As I know not whence I come, so I know not whither I go. I know only that, in leaving this world, I fall ever either into annihilation or into the hands of a angry God, without knowing to which of these two states I shall be forever assigned. Such is my state, full of weakness and uncertainty. And from all this I conclude that I ought to spend all the days of my life without caring to inquire into what must happen to me. Perhaps I might find a solution in my doubts, but I will not take the trouble, nor take a step to seek it; and after treating with scorn those who are concerned with this care. I will go without foresight and without fear to try the great event, and let myself be led carelessly to death, uncertain of the eternity of my future state. What of the honest doubter who seeks?
How is he to find God? Hobbes the 17th century philosopher, we recall, made authority and established tradition the ultimate guide in religious matters. But, Paschal is talking inner belief, not merely words and actions. He counsels us not to rely on authority, tradition, or the common view.
I admire the boldness with which these infidels undertake to speak of God. Their first chapter is to prove divinity from the words of nature. Paschal is astonished at their enterprise, if they were addressing their argument to the faithful; for it is certain, that those who have living faith in their hearts see at once that all existence is none other than the work of God.
Like Luther, Paschal revives the notion of the "hidden" God, not evident in nature, reason, or history, and knowable only to the pure of heart.
Even the visible signs of his presence in the "Church" are so disguised " that he will only be perceived by those who seek him with heir heart.
Indeed, it is good that he has not revealed himself to the haughty sages, (Philosophers) unworthy to know so " Holy" a God. Their only two kinds of persons who know him; those with a humble heart, and those who love lowliness, whatever kind of intellect they may have, high or low; and those who have sufficient understanding to see the truth.
Man can only know the hidden God. " Only through Jesus Christ, whom without all communion with God is cut of.
In 1654 Pascal had a religious experience, usually referred to as his " Conversion." Some stories associate this with a near escape from death . From that time on, Pascal devoted himself to religious meditation and concerns. He became closely associated with Port royal and took the side of Jansenist in their controversy with the Jesuits. He wrote ( anonymously) the scathing "Provincial Letters" as apart of this struggle. (Jansenist doctrines were declared heretical by papal decrees in 1653 and 1713.) It is characteristic of Pascal that personal experience, rather than philosophical speculation., was the basis for his religious meditations. At the moment of his "conversion" experience he wrote down his thoughts on a scrap of parchment. THIS CONFESSION, CALLED " THE MEMORIAL," WAS FOUND AFTER HIS DEATH, WAS SEWN INTO THE LINING OF HIS DOUBLET. He carried it on his person all the time. Here it is in full:
The year of grace 1684.
Monday, November 23rd, day of St. Clement,
Pope and Martyr, and others in Martyrology.
Eve of St. Chrysogonous, martyr, and others.
From about half past ten at night to about
Half past twelve.
Fire.
God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob,
Not of the philosophers, and the men of science,
Certainly, Certainly, feeling, Joy, Peace,
God of Jesus Christ.
deum et deum vestrum.
Thy God shall be my God.
Forgetfulness of the world and of all apart from God.
He can be found only by the ways taught in the Gospel.
O religious Father, the world has not known thee.
Joy, Joy, Joy, tears of Joy.
I have separated myself rom him.
dereliquerunt me fontem quae vivae.
Will thou leave me, O my God?
May I not be separated from him for ever.
This is life eternal that they may know thee
the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou
sent.
Jesus Christ,
Jesus Christ,
I have separated myself from him; I have
fled, renounced, crucified him
May I never be separated from him.
He maintains himself in me only in the ways
taught in the Gospel.
The phrase " God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob,
Not of the Philosophers," has thundered down the ages and is still
the subject of discussion. You will note in this reading that Pascal rejects the reasons of the intellect in favor of the reason on the hearts.
Pascal says that man is miserable without God, he must seek him in order to attain eternal life. First he must admit his misery and his need, then seek him in order to attain eternal life. First he must admit his misery and his need, and then seek with all his heart. The worst form of misery is the unconscious and indifferent state of those who do not care about being cut off from God and do nothing to attain salvation. Like his fellow spirit Soren Kierkegaard, Pascal saw the worst form of despair in the unconscious type which hides itself by attaching infinite importance and anxiety to the trifles- the passing show.
There are only three kinds of persons; those who serve God, having found him; others who are occupied in seeking him and have not found him, while the remainder live without seeking him and with out having found him. The first are reasonable and happy, the last are foolish and unhappy; and those between are unhappy and reasonable. The attitude of the last group, for Paschal, betrays a lack of virtue as well as reason. No one would trust a person like that in the ordinary affairs of life says Paschal. He gives doubters the classical advice to abate their passions, renounce pleasures, and hunger after righteousness. He harps on the transitoriness of life before the vast infinity of eternity which will see us " either annihilated or unhappy forever.
How stupid of man to think only of the moment's satisfaction and forget the ultimate end of life!
Between us and heaven or hell there is only life, which is the frailest thing in the world.
Now lets look at his terrible version of the "Confession" of the indifferent doubter:
" I know not who put me in this world, nor what the world is, nor what I myself am. I am in terrible ignorance of everything. I know not what my body is, nor my senses, nor my soul, not even that part of me which thinks what I say, which reflects on all and on itself , and knows itself no more than the rest. I see the those frightful spaces of the universe which surround me, and I find myself tied to one corner of this vast expanse, without knowing why I am put in this place rather than in another, nor why the short time which is given to me to live assigned. All I know is that I must soon die, which I can't escape. "As I know not whence I come, so I know not whither I go. I know only that, in leaving this world, I fall ever either into annihilation or into the hands of a angry God, without knowing to which of these two states I shall be forever assigned. Such is my state, full of weakness and uncertainty. And from all this I conclude that I ought to spend all the days of my life without caring to inquire into what must happen to me. Perhaps I might find a solution in my doubts, but I will not take the trouble, nor take a step to seek it; and after treating with scorn those who are concerned with this care. I will go without foresight and without fear to try the great event, and let myself be led carelessly to death, uncertain of the eternity of my future state. What of the honest doubter who seeks?
How is he to find God? Hobbes the 17th century philosopher, we recall, made authority and established tradition the ultimate guide in religious matters. But, Paschal is talking inner belief, not merely words and actions. He counsels us not to rely on authority, tradition, or the common view.
I admire the boldness with which these infidels undertake to speak of God. Their first chapter is to prove divinity from the words of nature. Paschal is astonished at their enterprise, if they were addressing their argument to the faithful; for it is certain, that those who have living faith in their hearts see at once that all existence is none other than the work of God.
Like Luther, Paschal revives the notion of the "hidden" God, not evident in nature, reason, or history, and knowable only to the pure of heart.
Even the visible signs of his presence in the "Church" are so disguised " that he will only be perceived by those who seek him with heir heart.
Indeed, it is good that he has not revealed himself to the haughty sages, (Philosophers) unworthy to know so " Holy" a God. Their only two kinds of persons who know him; those with a humble heart, and those who love lowliness, whatever kind of intellect they may have, high or low; and those who have sufficient understanding to see the truth.
Man can only know the hidden God. " Only through Jesus Christ, whom without all communion with God is cut of.
Saturday, March 11, 2017
Reading: "Man is Soberly to Judge the Divne Ordinances. "Of Prayers."
Michel de Montaigne had a distaste for dogmatic judgments and fanatical beliefs. The events of his time confirmed him in his life long revulsion against narrow-minded bigotry. In that era Catholics and Protestants waged implacable warfare on one another to make their own faith dominant and to control the state. In France, Catholic supremacy was menaced by the Huguenot revolts: terrible massacres, such as that of St. Bartholomew's day, occurred; and horrible cruelties were committed on both sides.
Montaigne, himself a loyal Catholic, decided to withdraw from public life and live peacefully, as the only way to retain human decency and rationality. He sought tranquility of spirit and the cultivation of the mind. In his rural retirement he wrote essays which made him one of the great writers of the Western world.
When you read this religious essay, remember the whole country side around Montaigne was being devastated in an attempt to settle some of the issues he was writing about. These quiet, genial, direct writings on religious truth and inwardness represent a little oasis of peace and reason in a world of intolerance, cruelty, and passion. They are a permanent monument to a single individual's attempt to preserve human decency and moderation under the worst circumstances. In this essay, on judging divine ordinances, Montaigne warns us against something with which we are very familiar- the association of religion with success, or the claim to have God on one's own side in wars and other enterprises. Have faith, some preachers tell us, and you will be successful in all your earthly endeavors. This country, some people assert, is "under God;" thus we are bound to win out in any international conflict. This is the pragmatic view of religious faith.
Montaigne begins, and ends, by pointing out that we are being very presumptuous to claim that we know the secret works of the divine mind. He charges such a claim is impious. He closes with these words from the book of wisdom: " wo amongst men can know the counsel of God? Or who can think what the will of the Lord is?" ( Wisdom 9:13.)
He also charges that such a coupling of religious faith with material success is logically absurd. When we win, we conclude that God's approval of us is manifest; but when our enemies, win, we do not conclude that God planned it that way, save maybe as a fatherly punishment. God is never on the side of our enemies. When people whose religious doctrines are opposed to ours die in a horrible manner, we see the hand of divine judgment at work; but not so when people of our own views suffer similar fates. On the contrary , says Montaigne, God having shown us... ( that the good have something else to hope for and the wicked something else, than the misfortunes of this world, manages and applies these according to His own occult will and pleasure, and deprives us of the means foolishly to make thereof our own profit.) From the religious point of view, the best thing is to accept whatever happens as the will of God, without presuming to know the inscrutable divine purposes and meaning behind events. Montaigne would have approved of Abraham Lincoln's humble acceptance of the origin and result of the Civil War as the action of divine providence- not favoring either side, but a judgment on both. ( See Lincoln's Second Inaugural address).
Our second selection, on prayers, is perfectly consistent with the first one. It inveighs against the pragmatic use of prayer, to attain material ends, and urges that prayer come from purity of heart and genuine turning toward God. Now comes a discussion that can start a firestorm of whether the "Bible and "Theology" should be made available to the ordinary worshipper. This is like the answer to the question; ( Whose a better team-Yankees or Red Sox?).
Montaigne says that he is completely baffled by those people who are able to combine " devout" offerings and prayers to God with a life in which they do the very opposite of God's will. In deed, they even implore God's help in their nefarious enterprises. What goes on in the minds of people who can jump so easily from fervent religious affirmations to unethical acts?
They seem to be unconscious of their schizoid state. They are in what Montaigne calls " an indigestible agony of the mind," ( the original meaning of "agony" is conflict.")
Their theology is odd-one sided. They realize that God is supreme power, but they don't understand that He is supreme righteousness and justice. Montaigne sees the pragmatic attitude, the seeking of material results, at the bottom of such duplicity. The people who take such attitude either do not realize that prayer is a spiritual matter, concerned with inner "Holiness and Truth".
They simulate being in such a state in order to attain material rewards. Witness the man who told Montaigne that he had practiced a religion he detested solely to get ahead in the world.
The externalities of religious acts are easy to mimic, says Montaigne, because so much of it is mere routine, inane mumbling, and posturing. The fact that we fail to recognize that prayer is inwardness.
We do not recognize that we can only pray to be better, not have more. It is blasphemous to give one hour to God, the rest to the devil, says Montaigne. It is our whole life that attests to our devotion, repentance, at oneness with God. God finds the sacrifice of a contrite heart more pleasing, than any outward show.
Lets look at Montaigne views on the reading and translation of the Bible. Montaigne speaks as a good Catholic. He makes it clear from the beginning, although he claims only the status of personal opinion for his views. He supports the policy of the Church of his day in not making the scriptures available to the mass of the laity. He is aghast at the wide spread circulation, they have received as a result of the Reformation, and the translation of the Bible from Latin into the common tongues.
In the first place, he asserts, the Bible is something very special and sacred, and can only be approached with deep spiritual preparation. Secondly, what it has to say can only be understood by profound study, and is not a matter of merely literal meanings expressible in ordinary everyday language. Only a select, authorized few can understand the Bible.
( Neither is it a book for every one, but the study of select men set apart for that purpose, and whom almighty God has been pleased to call to that office and sacred function. The wicked and ignorant grow worse by it. Montaigne. The pure "Mysteries of piety" should not be "profaned by the ignorant rabble," a group Montaigne would include princes, as well as gabbling women and children who, he claims, discuss canon laws. He sides with the view that... all contentions and dialectic [disputations on theological subjects] were to be avoided, and to give into formulas of faith established by the ancients.
Indeed Montaigne would keep theology entirely separate from philosophy and the humanistic disciplines; sacred doctrine is not to be stained by contact with profane learning. He would approve an edict preventing anyone who is not a public "professor of divinity, " including himself- from writing unreservedly about religious subjects. He sets up as a model for our admiration a legendary Christian community whose inhabitants are a paragons of religious practice and ethical conduct, but" so simple that they understand not one syllable of the religion they profess and wherein they are so devout."
Does Montaigne in his last remark literally, or does he intend it ironically.
Montaigne refers to the situation in which he and his readers found themselves. It was a time of religious civil war. He was on the "Catholic" side, but felt uneasiness over the passion and violence and injustice of persons on his own side.
Montaigne, devotes the greater part of the end of this digression of the noble character of emperor Julian. Montaigne sees Julian as the prime example of the Christian tendency to approve all emperors who were pro-Christian and to condemn completely all emperors were anti-Christian.
Montaigne gives an honest account of a man whom he considers " wrong through out" in religious matters. He ridicules gently what he considers Julian's superstitiousness, but shows an open understanding of the man's religious attitude. He also demonstrates that striving for historical truth can accompany a firm Christian faith. He questions the authenticity of the legend that Julian recanted his "apostasy" at the time of his death. (referring to the suppose utterance), "Thou has conquered, O Nazarene."
The connection between discussion of "Julian the Apostate" and the problem of liberty of the conscience. Montaigne says: that Julian introduced freedom of worship in order to produce factions in the Christian Church.
Montaigne, himself a loyal Catholic, decided to withdraw from public life and live peacefully, as the only way to retain human decency and rationality. He sought tranquility of spirit and the cultivation of the mind. In his rural retirement he wrote essays which made him one of the great writers of the Western world.
When you read this religious essay, remember the whole country side around Montaigne was being devastated in an attempt to settle some of the issues he was writing about. These quiet, genial, direct writings on religious truth and inwardness represent a little oasis of peace and reason in a world of intolerance, cruelty, and passion. They are a permanent monument to a single individual's attempt to preserve human decency and moderation under the worst circumstances. In this essay, on judging divine ordinances, Montaigne warns us against something with which we are very familiar- the association of religion with success, or the claim to have God on one's own side in wars and other enterprises. Have faith, some preachers tell us, and you will be successful in all your earthly endeavors. This country, some people assert, is "under God;" thus we are bound to win out in any international conflict. This is the pragmatic view of religious faith.
Montaigne begins, and ends, by pointing out that we are being very presumptuous to claim that we know the secret works of the divine mind. He charges such a claim is impious. He closes with these words from the book of wisdom: " wo amongst men can know the counsel of God? Or who can think what the will of the Lord is?" ( Wisdom 9:13.)
He also charges that such a coupling of religious faith with material success is logically absurd. When we win, we conclude that God's approval of us is manifest; but when our enemies, win, we do not conclude that God planned it that way, save maybe as a fatherly punishment. God is never on the side of our enemies. When people whose religious doctrines are opposed to ours die in a horrible manner, we see the hand of divine judgment at work; but not so when people of our own views suffer similar fates. On the contrary , says Montaigne, God having shown us... ( that the good have something else to hope for and the wicked something else, than the misfortunes of this world, manages and applies these according to His own occult will and pleasure, and deprives us of the means foolishly to make thereof our own profit.) From the religious point of view, the best thing is to accept whatever happens as the will of God, without presuming to know the inscrutable divine purposes and meaning behind events. Montaigne would have approved of Abraham Lincoln's humble acceptance of the origin and result of the Civil War as the action of divine providence- not favoring either side, but a judgment on both. ( See Lincoln's Second Inaugural address).
Our second selection, on prayers, is perfectly consistent with the first one. It inveighs against the pragmatic use of prayer, to attain material ends, and urges that prayer come from purity of heart and genuine turning toward God. Now comes a discussion that can start a firestorm of whether the "Bible and "Theology" should be made available to the ordinary worshipper. This is like the answer to the question; ( Whose a better team-Yankees or Red Sox?).
Montaigne says that he is completely baffled by those people who are able to combine " devout" offerings and prayers to God with a life in which they do the very opposite of God's will. In deed, they even implore God's help in their nefarious enterprises. What goes on in the minds of people who can jump so easily from fervent religious affirmations to unethical acts?
They seem to be unconscious of their schizoid state. They are in what Montaigne calls " an indigestible agony of the mind," ( the original meaning of "agony" is conflict.")
Their theology is odd-one sided. They realize that God is supreme power, but they don't understand that He is supreme righteousness and justice. Montaigne sees the pragmatic attitude, the seeking of material results, at the bottom of such duplicity. The people who take such attitude either do not realize that prayer is a spiritual matter, concerned with inner "Holiness and Truth".
They simulate being in such a state in order to attain material rewards. Witness the man who told Montaigne that he had practiced a religion he detested solely to get ahead in the world.
The externalities of religious acts are easy to mimic, says Montaigne, because so much of it is mere routine, inane mumbling, and posturing. The fact that we fail to recognize that prayer is inwardness.
We do not recognize that we can only pray to be better, not have more. It is blasphemous to give one hour to God, the rest to the devil, says Montaigne. It is our whole life that attests to our devotion, repentance, at oneness with God. God finds the sacrifice of a contrite heart more pleasing, than any outward show.
Lets look at Montaigne views on the reading and translation of the Bible. Montaigne speaks as a good Catholic. He makes it clear from the beginning, although he claims only the status of personal opinion for his views. He supports the policy of the Church of his day in not making the scriptures available to the mass of the laity. He is aghast at the wide spread circulation, they have received as a result of the Reformation, and the translation of the Bible from Latin into the common tongues.
In the first place, he asserts, the Bible is something very special and sacred, and can only be approached with deep spiritual preparation. Secondly, what it has to say can only be understood by profound study, and is not a matter of merely literal meanings expressible in ordinary everyday language. Only a select, authorized few can understand the Bible.
( Neither is it a book for every one, but the study of select men set apart for that purpose, and whom almighty God has been pleased to call to that office and sacred function. The wicked and ignorant grow worse by it. Montaigne. The pure "Mysteries of piety" should not be "profaned by the ignorant rabble," a group Montaigne would include princes, as well as gabbling women and children who, he claims, discuss canon laws. He sides with the view that... all contentions and dialectic [disputations on theological subjects] were to be avoided, and to give into formulas of faith established by the ancients.
Indeed Montaigne would keep theology entirely separate from philosophy and the humanistic disciplines; sacred doctrine is not to be stained by contact with profane learning. He would approve an edict preventing anyone who is not a public "professor of divinity, " including himself- from writing unreservedly about religious subjects. He sets up as a model for our admiration a legendary Christian community whose inhabitants are a paragons of religious practice and ethical conduct, but" so simple that they understand not one syllable of the religion they profess and wherein they are so devout."
Does Montaigne in his last remark literally, or does he intend it ironically.
Montaigne refers to the situation in which he and his readers found themselves. It was a time of religious civil war. He was on the "Catholic" side, but felt uneasiness over the passion and violence and injustice of persons on his own side.
Montaigne, devotes the greater part of the end of this digression of the noble character of emperor Julian. Montaigne sees Julian as the prime example of the Christian tendency to approve all emperors who were pro-Christian and to condemn completely all emperors were anti-Christian.
Montaigne gives an honest account of a man whom he considers " wrong through out" in religious matters. He ridicules gently what he considers Julian's superstitiousness, but shows an open understanding of the man's religious attitude. He also demonstrates that striving for historical truth can accompany a firm Christian faith. He questions the authenticity of the legend that Julian recanted his "apostasy" at the time of his death. (referring to the suppose utterance), "Thou has conquered, O Nazarene."
The connection between discussion of "Julian the Apostate" and the problem of liberty of the conscience. Montaigne says: that Julian introduced freedom of worship in order to produce factions in the Christian Church.
Thursday, March 9, 2017
Warnings from the Master. [Mark 9: 42-50]
This passage finds the Lord's disciples sailing some treacherous seas. Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem to die on the cross and these men are a long way from being ready for His death and departure back to heaven.
Earlier in this passage, they were actually fighting over who was the greatest V. 34. Jesus used their argument to teach them a very important truth. He taught them that greatness is obtained through service. V. [ 35-37]. The way to become great in the kingdom of God is by serving the least. V. [41]. The path to the top leads through humble service to those who cannot serve us back. That was a lesson the disciples needed. Far too many want to occupy the chief seat and far too few have a servant's heart..
On the heels of this event, Jesus issues a series of stern warnings to his disciples. These verses uses harsh, straight to the point language that cautions us to be careful how we live our lives.
More than one person has said, the last few messages from Mark's gospel were " moving him out of his comfort zone." That person is exactly right! The word of God will comfort the afflicted, but it will also afflict the comfortable. Like the disciples, the modern church has become far too comfortable in this world. Jesus knew that his men needed to be shocked into becoming the men He had saved them to be. He knows the same thing about us. Left to ourselves we amount to nothing. Therefore, the Lord had to come along every now and then and shake us up to get our attention. That is what these verses are designed to do.
I want to talk about these verses: on " Warnings from the master." A "Warning from the Saints;" A "Warning about Sin." "Warning about service."
Let us look at the "Saints and see what our Lord has to say to us through our text. [V. 42].
Jesus had used a child to illustrate the kind of people we are to serve in this world. [V. 36-37].
We are to serve those who are neglected and rejected by others. We are to serve those who cannot serve us in return. We must be willing to be a slave and take our place in the kingdom of God, serving Christ by humbly serving our fellowman. Not only are we to serve the least, Jesus uses the same child to teach us another important principle. not only are we tor serve the least among us, we are also to protect them from sin. Jesus says, we are to protect the least from sin.
The " Word offend" means to scandalize. It has the idea of leading someone else into sin. Jesus says it's a very serious matter when we cause one of God's children to fall into sin. It's better to have a millstone ( translated) " donkey stone") tied around your neck. If such a stone were tied around the neck and that person was tossed into the sea, that person would be pulled to the bottom and they would drown. His listeners were very familiar with what He said. On more then one occasion the Romans had carried out executions by tying heavy stones around the necks of their victims and throwing them in the rivers. The image is very graphic! Jesus is describing death as horrible as any can imagine. Yet, he says it would be preferable for a person to die this way than for them to cause one of His little one's to fall into sin. Jesus says this is a grievous sin! In fact, the person who harms one of his children is actually harming the Lord himself. Zech. 2:8, "For he who touches you toucheth the apple of his eye. The person who reaches out his foot and causes one of God's children to stumble
is sticking his finger in God's eye. How do believers cause other's to stumble?
By directly tempting others to sin. This kind of behavior is seen through out the bible. Eve, Aaron, Jeroboam, and the Pharisees. Matt. 5:32; the church at Pergamum, Rev. 2:14; the church at Thyatira,
Rev.2:20. If a believer who is weak in the faith sees a respected believer commit a sin, that younger believer could fall into sin by following that evil example. (1 Thess. 5:22; I Tim. 4:12).
People can be led away through false doctrine. We fail to share the riches of Christ with new believers, we fail to disciple them, and they remain weak and never grow up in the Lord.
We fail to give them their spiritual food they need and they starve in the midst of plenty!
I am a grandparent. I can forgive a slight against me pretty easily, but you touch one of my grandchildren and I will have a harder time in the forgiving department. But, I am in good company! God says that the person who offends one of his little ones is in big trouble.
In the early days of the church, some took the words literally. One of the more notable examples was "Origin of Alexandria." He had such a problem with sexual lust that he had himself emasculated, (castrated) to get rid of temptation. What Origin discovered is what you and I to know today. No amount of surgery on the outside will cure the problem on the inside.! Man does not need a change on the outside; man needs a change of heart! All sins proceeds from the heart! ( Mark 7: 18-23).
What Jesus is talking about in these verses is how we are to deal with our sins. When temptation to sin comes into our lives, we must deal with it immediately, harshly, ruthlessly,
In Jewish society, the right eye, the right foot, and the right hand represented a person's best and most precious faculties. The right eye spoke of one's best vision. The right foot spoke of one's best walk. The right hand spoke of one's best skills. Jesus is simply saying we must be willing to give up the most precious, the most valuable things we have in our effort to avoid sin.
Jesus warns his disciples that nothing in this world is so valuable that it is worth going to "Hell"
over. Yes, Jesus believed in Hell! His references to "Hell" are very graphic Let's examine what Jesus said. The word "Hell" comes from the word "Gehenna." Gehenna was a place in the valley of Hinnom near Jerusalem. In ancient times it had been a sight devoted to pagan worship. It was here that the people of Israel had sacrificed their children to the false god's of the Canaanites. King Josiah tore down the pagan altars and desecrated the site, turning it into a garbage dump.
By Jesus day Gehenna was a horrible place! Fires burned there continually. Wild dogs roamed the dump, feeding on the carcasses or animals and criminals. The insane and other outcasts lived there as well. It was a fitting description of what " Hell" will be like.
Jesus is trying to teach His men that even if radical surgery is required for a person to be saved, that surgery is necessary and warranted. The Lord wants people to know that there is a horrible place called "Hell" and that lost people will spend eternity there.
Jesus says "Hell" will be characterized by two terrible realities. Jesus quotes Isa. 66:24 and tells us that people in "Hell" will suffer in two terrible ways.
First, " their worm dieth not..." This phrase has been interpreted many ways over the years. Some thinks it refers to actual worms , that will gnaw on the body in Hell. Others think Jesus is talking about the soul. They feel that He is saying those who go to "Hell" will live for ever. They do! I don't think it is what He is talking about here. When Jesus says, " And their worm dieth not..." I think He is speaking about internal torments man will suffer in hell. When the rich man died and went to hell in Luke 16, we are told that he had an active memory, Luke 16:25-31. Those in "HELL" will remember every opportunity they had to be saved. They will remember the love and grace of God.
They will remember the cross and the empty tomb.. They will be reminded for all eternity that they did not have to be in that horrible place..
Second, Jesus says, " and the fire is not quenched." This phrase refers to the physical agonies of "Hell."
Above all, they are avoidable! You do not have to go there!
Hell is a place of punishment-Matt.25:41.
Hell is a place of fire-Luke 16:24; Mark 9:43-44
Hell is a place of thirst-Luke 16: 24-25.
Hell is a place of pain-Luke 16:24,25,28; Rev.14: 10-11.
Hell is a place of divine wrath- 2 thes.1:8-9.
Hell is a place of frustration and anger- Matt.13:42; Matt 24; 51.
Hell is a place of eternal separation from God-2 Thes. 1:8-9.
This is a warning about "hell."
The two verses that close this chapter are among the most difficult. Jesus is to talking His people. He is talking to the people of God. In verse 42, Jesus warns His people against offending weaker believers.
Second, In verses 43-48, Jesus warns His people of the tragic consequences of sin. Jesus (warns), that sin is a destroyer!
Earlier in this passage, they were actually fighting over who was the greatest V. 34. Jesus used their argument to teach them a very important truth. He taught them that greatness is obtained through service. V. [ 35-37]. The way to become great in the kingdom of God is by serving the least. V. [41]. The path to the top leads through humble service to those who cannot serve us back. That was a lesson the disciples needed. Far too many want to occupy the chief seat and far too few have a servant's heart..
On the heels of this event, Jesus issues a series of stern warnings to his disciples. These verses uses harsh, straight to the point language that cautions us to be careful how we live our lives.
More than one person has said, the last few messages from Mark's gospel were " moving him out of his comfort zone." That person is exactly right! The word of God will comfort the afflicted, but it will also afflict the comfortable. Like the disciples, the modern church has become far too comfortable in this world. Jesus knew that his men needed to be shocked into becoming the men He had saved them to be. He knows the same thing about us. Left to ourselves we amount to nothing. Therefore, the Lord had to come along every now and then and shake us up to get our attention. That is what these verses are designed to do.
I want to talk about these verses: on " Warnings from the master." A "Warning from the Saints;" A "Warning about Sin." "Warning about service."
Let us look at the "Saints and see what our Lord has to say to us through our text. [V. 42].
Jesus had used a child to illustrate the kind of people we are to serve in this world. [V. 36-37].
We are to serve those who are neglected and rejected by others. We are to serve those who cannot serve us in return. We must be willing to be a slave and take our place in the kingdom of God, serving Christ by humbly serving our fellowman. Not only are we to serve the least, Jesus uses the same child to teach us another important principle. not only are we tor serve the least among us, we are also to protect them from sin. Jesus says, we are to protect the least from sin.
The " Word offend" means to scandalize. It has the idea of leading someone else into sin. Jesus says it's a very serious matter when we cause one of God's children to fall into sin. It's better to have a millstone ( translated) " donkey stone") tied around your neck. If such a stone were tied around the neck and that person was tossed into the sea, that person would be pulled to the bottom and they would drown. His listeners were very familiar with what He said. On more then one occasion the Romans had carried out executions by tying heavy stones around the necks of their victims and throwing them in the rivers. The image is very graphic! Jesus is describing death as horrible as any can imagine. Yet, he says it would be preferable for a person to die this way than for them to cause one of His little one's to fall into sin. Jesus says this is a grievous sin! In fact, the person who harms one of his children is actually harming the Lord himself. Zech. 2:8, "For he who touches you toucheth the apple of his eye. The person who reaches out his foot and causes one of God's children to stumble
is sticking his finger in God's eye. How do believers cause other's to stumble?
By directly tempting others to sin. This kind of behavior is seen through out the bible. Eve, Aaron, Jeroboam, and the Pharisees. Matt. 5:32; the church at Pergamum, Rev. 2:14; the church at Thyatira,
Rev.2:20. If a believer who is weak in the faith sees a respected believer commit a sin, that younger believer could fall into sin by following that evil example. (1 Thess. 5:22; I Tim. 4:12).
People can be led away through false doctrine. We fail to share the riches of Christ with new believers, we fail to disciple them, and they remain weak and never grow up in the Lord.
We fail to give them their spiritual food they need and they starve in the midst of plenty!
I am a grandparent. I can forgive a slight against me pretty easily, but you touch one of my grandchildren and I will have a harder time in the forgiving department. But, I am in good company! God says that the person who offends one of his little ones is in big trouble.
In the early days of the church, some took the words literally. One of the more notable examples was "Origin of Alexandria." He had such a problem with sexual lust that he had himself emasculated, (castrated) to get rid of temptation. What Origin discovered is what you and I to know today. No amount of surgery on the outside will cure the problem on the inside.! Man does not need a change on the outside; man needs a change of heart! All sins proceeds from the heart! ( Mark 7: 18-23).
What Jesus is talking about in these verses is how we are to deal with our sins. When temptation to sin comes into our lives, we must deal with it immediately, harshly, ruthlessly,
In Jewish society, the right eye, the right foot, and the right hand represented a person's best and most precious faculties. The right eye spoke of one's best vision. The right foot spoke of one's best walk. The right hand spoke of one's best skills. Jesus is simply saying we must be willing to give up the most precious, the most valuable things we have in our effort to avoid sin.
Jesus warns his disciples that nothing in this world is so valuable that it is worth going to "Hell"
over. Yes, Jesus believed in Hell! His references to "Hell" are very graphic Let's examine what Jesus said. The word "Hell" comes from the word "Gehenna." Gehenna was a place in the valley of Hinnom near Jerusalem. In ancient times it had been a sight devoted to pagan worship. It was here that the people of Israel had sacrificed their children to the false god's of the Canaanites. King Josiah tore down the pagan altars and desecrated the site, turning it into a garbage dump.
By Jesus day Gehenna was a horrible place! Fires burned there continually. Wild dogs roamed the dump, feeding on the carcasses or animals and criminals. The insane and other outcasts lived there as well. It was a fitting description of what " Hell" will be like.
Jesus is trying to teach His men that even if radical surgery is required for a person to be saved, that surgery is necessary and warranted. The Lord wants people to know that there is a horrible place called "Hell" and that lost people will spend eternity there.
Jesus says "Hell" will be characterized by two terrible realities. Jesus quotes Isa. 66:24 and tells us that people in "Hell" will suffer in two terrible ways.
First, " their worm dieth not..." This phrase has been interpreted many ways over the years. Some thinks it refers to actual worms , that will gnaw on the body in Hell. Others think Jesus is talking about the soul. They feel that He is saying those who go to "Hell" will live for ever. They do! I don't think it is what He is talking about here. When Jesus says, " And their worm dieth not..." I think He is speaking about internal torments man will suffer in hell. When the rich man died and went to hell in Luke 16, we are told that he had an active memory, Luke 16:25-31. Those in "HELL" will remember every opportunity they had to be saved. They will remember the love and grace of God.
They will remember the cross and the empty tomb.. They will be reminded for all eternity that they did not have to be in that horrible place..
Second, Jesus says, " and the fire is not quenched." This phrase refers to the physical agonies of "Hell."
Above all, they are avoidable! You do not have to go there!
Hell is a place of punishment-Matt.25:41.
Hell is a place of fire-Luke 16:24; Mark 9:43-44
Hell is a place of thirst-Luke 16: 24-25.
Hell is a place of pain-Luke 16:24,25,28; Rev.14: 10-11.
Hell is a place of divine wrath- 2 thes.1:8-9.
Hell is a place of frustration and anger- Matt.13:42; Matt 24; 51.
Hell is a place of eternal separation from God-2 Thes. 1:8-9.
This is a warning about "hell."
The two verses that close this chapter are among the most difficult. Jesus is to talking His people. He is talking to the people of God. In verse 42, Jesus warns His people against offending weaker believers.
Second, In verses 43-48, Jesus warns His people of the tragic consequences of sin. Jesus (warns), that sin is a destroyer!
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
"Ourselves in the Spititual life."
To pray, I think does not mean to think about God in contrast to thinking about other things, or too spend time with God instead of spending time with other people. Rather, it means to think and live in the presence of God. All our actions must have their origin in prayer. Praying is not an isolated activity; it takes place in the midst of all the things and affairs that keep us active. In prayer a " self centered monologue" become a God centered monologue."
Knowledge alone cannot save us. When St. Augustine coined that phrase nearly seventeen hundred years ago he meant it as a principle of truth, but he was writing a commentary on his own life. Augustine, as we know, had two conversions, one in his head, the other in his heart. at age twenty-five, he converted to Christianity, intellectually. after years of experimenting with various pagan philosophies and ways of living, he was now convinced in his head that Christianity was correct. The rest of him, however was not willing to convert. For nine more years, until he was thirty- four years old, he was unable to bring his moral life into harmony with his intellectual faith. It was during these years he not infrequently prayed his infamous prayer:" " Lord make me a good and chaste Christian, but not yet."
We see from that example that it is not enough just to know the truth, to have clarity of conviction, and to know where ideally our lives should be heading, though that can be a valuable start. There is also the question of heart, of energy, of willpower, of sustaining ourselves on the road. The spiritual life is not a quick sprint to a well marked finish line, a marathon,an arduous lifelong journey into a journey into a ever-widening horizon. To sustain ourselves on that road, even after we have some assurance that we are on the right road, requires that along the way we continually what metaphorically might be termed " Elijah's Jug," namely, the substance that God promised to provide to those who are walking toward the divine mountain. Obviously, Augustine dictum notwithstanding, that is important, with out vision we perish. The heart needs guidance from the head, you must fall in love with your faith (Jesus). Anyone who has ever known the truth, but felt tired, lonely, lazy, bitter, or addicted to old habits to move toward it can testify to. We need knowledge and heart. The time is fast approaching when one will either be a mystic or an unbeliever.
Thus to be a believer today is to live in moral loneliness. To sustain faith today is not to vote with the majority, but to stand outside of the dominant conscience. One can no longer simply roll with the flow one's own particular community, even one's faith community, if one wishes to have a living faith. Remember we stand alone at judgment, and by our faith in Jesus Christ, he stands next to us, telling the Father he's one of ours. It is no longer enough to be born in a Christian family, to have been baptized, or even to be part of a worshipping community. None of these alone, opens the doors to the kingdom of heaven. This is evident, not just because so many people ( including many of our own children) are drifting away from Christianity, but because, even within our churches, it is easier to have faith in a code of ethics, in Jesus moral teachings, in God's call for justice and in human value of gathering as a community, than it is to have a personal faith. Too often what we have, in fact is not "Christianity" but an ideology of Christianity.
What are these anti-faith forces? These are the forces around us that tempt us away from prayer, from self sacrifice, from being more communal, from being willing to sweat blood in the garden. in order to keep our integrity and commitments, and from mustering of the time and courage to enter into our own souls. Hence they are not abstract, foreign forces. They live in the house with us and are as comfortable to us a old worn shoe. What blocks our faith is that myriad of innocent things within our ordinary,, normal lives which precisely makes our lives comfortable: our laziness, our self-indulgence, our ambition, our restlessness, envy, our refusal to live in tension, our obsession with a certain life style, our perpetual tiredness. So how do we become mystics in the midst of all this. all classical writers, from every tradition, suggest one road beyond all of this, " Private prayer."
How do we develop the heart to sustain ourselves on the long road to Christ? How do we move beyond our "fatigue" from loneliness, laziness, bitterness, and bad habits so as to become gracious, happy, self sacrificing, adult Christians? ( story of a detective novel, we know the ending. Be happy).
What do we do during those times, when as "Henri Nouwen" puts it, to tired to read the gospels, too
restless to have spiritual thoughts, too depressed to find words for God, or too exhausted to do anything. What practices are helpful for us as we struggle as Christians to live healthy spiritual lives?
From the Bible, on down, through the early church fathers, through medieval theologians, through great reformers, through great mystics, through the founders of religious orders, down to Henri Nouwen, these are the spiritual practices you see everywhere emphasized.
We are to set a time to spend apart from God. As Henri Nouwen assures us, that time apart will keep us centered, even when it does not feel as if we are praying or making headway: He says: my time...
apart is not a time of deep prayer, nor a time in which I experience a special closeness to God; it is not a period of serious attentiveness to the divine mysteries . I wish it were!
But the simple fact of being in the presence of God and showing him all that I feel, think, sense and experience, without trying to hide anything, must please him. I know he loves me, even though I do not feel that human love, as I can feel a human embrace, even though I do not hear a voice as I hear human words of consolation, even though I do not see a smile, as I can see in a human face. Still God speaks to me, looks at me, and embraces me there, where I am unable to notice it.
But prayer is more than just saying prayers, just as mysticism is more than a question of merely seeking God, through formal prayer.
Right after John the Baptist is murdered, Jesus desires a time of solitude, with his disciples, and goes up into the mountains to pray, yet he is moved to perform one of the greatest miracles, feeding of the five thousand.
Jesus demonstrated His power over the laws of nature when He fed the Five-thousand and walked on water. John's unfair execution disturbed Jesus deeply, but He could not escape either the crowds of people or his disciples. Yet, Jesus showed compassion on the people and met their needs. Jesus gave his disciples inspiration, when he told Peter to come on, and Peter doesn't have to be told twice.
Its not every day that you can walk on water through waves that are taller than you are. The first steps go well. But a few strides out onto the water, and he forgets to look to the one who got him there in the first place, and down he plunges. His response may lack class, but it gets him out of deep water. "help Me! "
And since Peter would rather swallow his pride than water, a hand comes through the rain and pulls him up.
The message is clear!
As long as Jesus is one of many options, He is no option. As long as you can carry your burdens alone, you don't need a burden bearer . As long as your situation brings no grief, you will receive no comfort. As long as you can take him, or leave him, you might as well leave him, because he won't be taken half- heartedly. In this day of falling church attendance, conflict within congregations, the missing of the "Holy Spirit,' within these congregations, becomes clear. the importance of prayer, with going deeply within ourselves to see how we match up with Jesus expectations of us. Look around the congregation for the gifts of the Holy Spirit, see if they are being seen. The fruits of the spirit is " Love, Joy, Peace, longsuffering, gentleness, Goodness, Faith, against such there is no law.
If you don't see these gifts within your congregation, please pray immediately.
Knowledge alone cannot save us. When St. Augustine coined that phrase nearly seventeen hundred years ago he meant it as a principle of truth, but he was writing a commentary on his own life. Augustine, as we know, had two conversions, one in his head, the other in his heart. at age twenty-five, he converted to Christianity, intellectually. after years of experimenting with various pagan philosophies and ways of living, he was now convinced in his head that Christianity was correct. The rest of him, however was not willing to convert. For nine more years, until he was thirty- four years old, he was unable to bring his moral life into harmony with his intellectual faith. It was during these years he not infrequently prayed his infamous prayer:" " Lord make me a good and chaste Christian, but not yet."
We see from that example that it is not enough just to know the truth, to have clarity of conviction, and to know where ideally our lives should be heading, though that can be a valuable start. There is also the question of heart, of energy, of willpower, of sustaining ourselves on the road. The spiritual life is not a quick sprint to a well marked finish line, a marathon,an arduous lifelong journey into a journey into a ever-widening horizon. To sustain ourselves on that road, even after we have some assurance that we are on the right road, requires that along the way we continually what metaphorically might be termed " Elijah's Jug," namely, the substance that God promised to provide to those who are walking toward the divine mountain. Obviously, Augustine dictum notwithstanding, that is important, with out vision we perish. The heart needs guidance from the head, you must fall in love with your faith (Jesus). Anyone who has ever known the truth, but felt tired, lonely, lazy, bitter, or addicted to old habits to move toward it can testify to. We need knowledge and heart. The time is fast approaching when one will either be a mystic or an unbeliever.
Thus to be a believer today is to live in moral loneliness. To sustain faith today is not to vote with the majority, but to stand outside of the dominant conscience. One can no longer simply roll with the flow one's own particular community, even one's faith community, if one wishes to have a living faith. Remember we stand alone at judgment, and by our faith in Jesus Christ, he stands next to us, telling the Father he's one of ours. It is no longer enough to be born in a Christian family, to have been baptized, or even to be part of a worshipping community. None of these alone, opens the doors to the kingdom of heaven. This is evident, not just because so many people ( including many of our own children) are drifting away from Christianity, but because, even within our churches, it is easier to have faith in a code of ethics, in Jesus moral teachings, in God's call for justice and in human value of gathering as a community, than it is to have a personal faith. Too often what we have, in fact is not "Christianity" but an ideology of Christianity.
What are these anti-faith forces? These are the forces around us that tempt us away from prayer, from self sacrifice, from being more communal, from being willing to sweat blood in the garden. in order to keep our integrity and commitments, and from mustering of the time and courage to enter into our own souls. Hence they are not abstract, foreign forces. They live in the house with us and are as comfortable to us a old worn shoe. What blocks our faith is that myriad of innocent things within our ordinary,, normal lives which precisely makes our lives comfortable: our laziness, our self-indulgence, our ambition, our restlessness, envy, our refusal to live in tension, our obsession with a certain life style, our perpetual tiredness. So how do we become mystics in the midst of all this. all classical writers, from every tradition, suggest one road beyond all of this, " Private prayer."
How do we develop the heart to sustain ourselves on the long road to Christ? How do we move beyond our "fatigue" from loneliness, laziness, bitterness, and bad habits so as to become gracious, happy, self sacrificing, adult Christians? ( story of a detective novel, we know the ending. Be happy).
What do we do during those times, when as "Henri Nouwen" puts it, to tired to read the gospels, too
restless to have spiritual thoughts, too depressed to find words for God, or too exhausted to do anything. What practices are helpful for us as we struggle as Christians to live healthy spiritual lives?
From the Bible, on down, through the early church fathers, through medieval theologians, through great reformers, through great mystics, through the founders of religious orders, down to Henri Nouwen, these are the spiritual practices you see everywhere emphasized.
We are to set a time to spend apart from God. As Henri Nouwen assures us, that time apart will keep us centered, even when it does not feel as if we are praying or making headway: He says: my time...
apart is not a time of deep prayer, nor a time in which I experience a special closeness to God; it is not a period of serious attentiveness to the divine mysteries . I wish it were!
But the simple fact of being in the presence of God and showing him all that I feel, think, sense and experience, without trying to hide anything, must please him. I know he loves me, even though I do not feel that human love, as I can feel a human embrace, even though I do not hear a voice as I hear human words of consolation, even though I do not see a smile, as I can see in a human face. Still God speaks to me, looks at me, and embraces me there, where I am unable to notice it.
But prayer is more than just saying prayers, just as mysticism is more than a question of merely seeking God, through formal prayer.
Right after John the Baptist is murdered, Jesus desires a time of solitude, with his disciples, and goes up into the mountains to pray, yet he is moved to perform one of the greatest miracles, feeding of the five thousand.
Jesus demonstrated His power over the laws of nature when He fed the Five-thousand and walked on water. John's unfair execution disturbed Jesus deeply, but He could not escape either the crowds of people or his disciples. Yet, Jesus showed compassion on the people and met their needs. Jesus gave his disciples inspiration, when he told Peter to come on, and Peter doesn't have to be told twice.
Its not every day that you can walk on water through waves that are taller than you are. The first steps go well. But a few strides out onto the water, and he forgets to look to the one who got him there in the first place, and down he plunges. His response may lack class, but it gets him out of deep water. "help Me! "
And since Peter would rather swallow his pride than water, a hand comes through the rain and pulls him up.
The message is clear!
As long as Jesus is one of many options, He is no option. As long as you can carry your burdens alone, you don't need a burden bearer . As long as your situation brings no grief, you will receive no comfort. As long as you can take him, or leave him, you might as well leave him, because he won't be taken half- heartedly. In this day of falling church attendance, conflict within congregations, the missing of the "Holy Spirit,' within these congregations, becomes clear. the importance of prayer, with going deeply within ourselves to see how we match up with Jesus expectations of us. Look around the congregation for the gifts of the Holy Spirit, see if they are being seen. The fruits of the spirit is " Love, Joy, Peace, longsuffering, gentleness, Goodness, Faith, against such there is no law.
If you don't see these gifts within your congregation, please pray immediately.
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