Mercy and generosity belong together

Camote Eaters by Carlos Francisco

After reading Luke 6:17-45 yesterday, I pulled out the first volume on Luke by Darrell Bock.  Following are some nuggets I discovered:

Luke 6:21a The consequence of being among the poor is “hunger and sadness.” Darrell Bock 575

• Quote from Goppelt, “The hungry are men who both outwardly and inwardly are painfully deficient in the things essential to life as God meant it to be, and who since they cannot help themselves, turn to God on the basis of His promise.”
• Bock’s summary of the verse: “Blessed are you who sense your lack and depend on God, for God shall accept and reward you in the consummation.” 576

Luke 6:22 from Bock, “Blessed are you who suffer scorn and pain as you identify with God and depend on him, for you shall be fully welcomed by him at his table and shall rejoice.” 577

Luke 6:22-23 “The disciple is treated as evil, unclean, and thus as a person with whom one does not associate.” Total rejection. 579

Luke 6:24-26 Warning about trusting “too greatly in wealth, comfort, popularity and possessions.” 582

• “An attitude of independence from God is the road to destruction.  Its reward is fleeting, limited to the present.” 582

Luke 6:24 “What is condemned is a misplaced focus that zeroes in on this life and its possessions without concern for God’s desires or fellow humans. The danger of succumbing to things of only temporal value is all too real and deceptive.” 583

Luke 6:25 “The joy of possessions now will become the pain of what is lost forever.” 585 Darrell Bock

Luke 6:26 Warning “not to fall into the trap of courting acceptance for one’s message at the expense of truthfulness. . . Popularity at the expense of being God’s faithful representative is disastrous.” 585

Luke 6:27-38

• Mercy should produce a hesitation to judge others.  Luke 6:27-38
• Mercy and generosity belong together
• The disciples are to “make clear what the justice of God would mean for one who steadfastly refused to listen to God; but they were to seek to benefit their enemies as much as possible.” 591

Luke 6:28 supernatural love being discussed here since it reverses “all natural instincts.” 590

Luke 6:29a “Love is available, vulnerable, and subject to repeated abuse.”

• Turning the other cheek “is not so much an active pursuit as it is a natural exposure when one reaches out to those who have contempt.”   In other words, we continue “to minister at the risk of further persecution.” 591

Luke 6:30b “To commit to a radical love, one must see that God honors such a commitment to reflect his grace (6:35-36).”

Luke 6:31 “not simply a command to avoid unfair treatment that one might not wish for oneself. Rather, it is a command to give the same sensitive consideration to others that one might want others to give.” 596

• “treat others with the respect and sensitivity that one would wish from them.” 597
• “As you wish to be treated with sensitivity to your preferences, so treat others with sensitivity to their preferences.” 598  (“this does not involve moral areas where God’s desire is clear”)

Luke 6:34 “One should give without strings attached.”  601

Luke 6:37-38 When we are merciful, we are hesitant to condemn and quick to forgive.  605 (my summary of his words)

Luke 6:37 Jesus warns against a harshness that holds onto an unforgiving attitude and ceases to hold out hope. 607 (my summary again)

Comforting and uncomfortable words

olivet by gerard laurenceau

In our online formational reading group, we read Luke 6:17-45 this morning and I wanted to share (with her permission) what my wife wrote about Luke 6:35, “For He is gracious to the ungrateful and evil”

I find this verse comforting, but also uncomfortable!

Why?

Because grace itself is comforting but uncomfortable.

And this verse is a definition of grace, God’s lovingkindness toward those like me who don’t deserve it.

And the following verse, “Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.” Challenging, but also frightening, as I see how short I fall.

I can only be merciful, gracious, as I draw upon the fountain of God’s mercy and grace toward me.

I wonder what the original hearers of this passage thought? Even for me today, after many years of studying God’s words, and hearing about grace and mercy…even today, I am taken aback anew.

Story-telling, listening and spiritual direction

Gentoo penguins by Andreas Butz

Saw the following in Ken Royers’s email newsletter that he sends out (for free) to personnel involved in missionary member care.  In his January letter, he passed on “Good Listening: Three Before Me,” an article by Steve Karum of NTM. Although Karum does not use the word spiritual direction, what he is suggesting is a way of accompanying fellow missionaries in their journey with God as we listen to their stories.  Is that not a form of SD? I suppose he is offering a little bit of SD and a bit of coaching He suggests we ask the following three questions as we listen to another’s story:

1. “In light of this how are you and God doing?”
2. “What strengths do you have that will help you meet this challenge?”
3, “Whom do you know who could help as you face this challenge?”

Following is Karum’s article in full:

“Three before me” is a little self-reminder, like a string tied on my finger, to stay focused on the one with whom I’m conversing by asking three important questions.

Currently our ministry is with missionaries on home assignment.  We find that while all missionaries have a story to tell, telling the story is just half the experience.  If “telling the story” is to be effective, the story-teller needs to have a good story-listener.  Therefore the main question:  How good a story-listener am I?

Has this ever happened to you?  As the story-teller you’re deeply engaged in relating an incident when all of a sudden, out of the blue, your story is intercepted, hijacked!  Somewhere in the course of your story telling the listener grew bored and took over the conversation!  It might have happened in a short millisecond in which you paused or you said a word that triggered a story or memories, or even a hobby horse the listener insisted on relating.  It’s hard when that happens.  How do we handle it?  Do we speak “Readers Digest Condensed” the next time we’re the story-teller?

As much as I don’t like it, how many times as a story-listener have I hijacked another person’s story?  Have I adopted the un-golden rule, “Do unto others as they have done to you?”  Seeking to encourage while interacting with the story-teller (without hijacking their story), I aim to ask three important questions to bring perspective into a difficult story.

We recently met with a couple en route to PNG.  Since they had started “Partnership Development” they had several setbacks.  After I heard of these events I asked them Question #1, “In light of this how are you and God doing?”

Although it may seem silly to do so I like to ask this question even when everything is going well.  Maybe this is a question that should come later but I ask it first because we are spiritual beings and I believe it is best to start with the most important relationship we have — God and me.  Question #1 pulls our attention to God.  He knows all about our struggles and just as He knows about battles so He also knows the way through.

It is not uncommon to hear a challenge / struggle / disappointment woven through a missionary’s story.  The missionary may not be sufficiently aware of the struggle to put it into words but I believe it’s there and it’s causing them stress, emotionally, physically or spiritually.  Therefore I like to ask Question #2 in a positive way, “What strengths do you have that will help you meet this challenge?”  This question focuses on our God-given strengths.  These strengths will with His direction help us overcome the problem and grow stronger.  It is a question that hopefully will draw the heart toward hope.

Humans are part of a social network and missionaries have several networks:  friends, relatives, churches, mission organization, the ministry country or location, local believers, and co-workers.  Within some networks missionaries feel very safe to the point they will reach out for help.  Therefore Question #3:  “Whom do you know who could help as you face this challenge?”  This query points them toward another who can come alongside.  Suffering is a given but suffering in solitude can seem intolerable.

Of course every conversation has a life of its own.  It’s never the same as the previous one and that makes listening enjoyable.  By utilizing these questions, each conversation will tell of one’s relationship with God — the questions, the blessing, and the challenges — the strengths they never knew they had, and the strength they drew from the rich wisdom of their friends.

Sometimes the “three before me” doesn’t seem to fit.  The surroundings are important.  Is it quiet?  Is the topic safe to talk about publicly?  How well do we know each other?  These all need to be considered.  So with that in mind here is what I try in conversation with missionaries.

It all starts with their story.  I realize that is so “duh,” but I really believe missionaries, actually all people, feel honored through good listening.  Through engaged listening the listener communicates respect, safety, and love to the missionary.  Billy age 4 is quoted on the Internet, “When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different!  You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.”  I’d like every missionary to say, “I know my name is safe with Steve and Patty.”

 In order to subscribe to Ken Royer’s newsletter, email him at   kenroyer@linkcare.org

Worship with drums

After a week away in silence, maybe I appreciate the worship these guys lead us into with drums!  Oh yeah!

First, the Little Drummer Boy Rocks

And after listening to that, I thought of the Prayer as Creativity short video produced by 24-7 prayer guys

prayer-as-creativity

O Love Divine in Five Senses

Personal photo from Muir Woods

O Love, divine Love why do you lay siege to me?
In a frenzy of love for me, You find no rest.

From five sides you move against me,
Hearing, sight, taste, touch, and scent.
To come out is to be caught; I cannot hide from You.

If I come out through sight I see Love
Painted in every form and color,
Inviting me to come to You, to dwell in You.

If I leave through the door of hearing,
What I hear points only to You, Lord;
I cannot escape Love through this gate.

If I come out through taste, every flavor proclaims;
“Love, divine Love, hungering Love!
You have caught me on Your hook, for you want to reign in me.”

Orb Weaver spider by fiveeyesvik

If I leave through the door of scent
I sense You in all creation, You have caught me
And wounded me through that fragrance.

If I come out through the sense of touch
I find Your lineaments in every creature;
To try to flee from You is madness.

Love, I flee from You, afraid to give You my heart;
I see that You make me one with You,
I cease to be me and can no longer find myself.

If I see evil in a man or defect or temptation,
You fuse me with him, and make me suffer;
O Love without limits, who is it You love?

Matthias Grunewald The Crucifxiion

It is You, O Crucified Christ,
Who takes possession of me,
Drawing me out of the sea to the shore;

There I suffer to see Your wounded heart.
Why did You endure the pain?
So that I might be healed.

Jacapone Da Todi

Thanks Jonathan for a lovely Epiphany service tonight and for sharing with us this poem.

Self-help gospel of Joel Osteen or Grace?

Just read this seemingly fair and helpful critique of Osteen and his theology of self-help.

One quote out of the article struck me.  Osteen is said to say, “We don’t always get what we deserve in life, but we usually get no more than we expect; we receive what we believe.”

But, when I read Matthew 20, I see that all we receive is of grace and is not dependent on the effects of our believing.

I read Martyn Lloyd-Jones on the parable of the workers yesterday.  A few quotes from Lloyd-Jones

• Even the rewards are of grace. He need not give them, and if you think you can determine and predict how they are to come you will be quite wrong. Everything is of grace in the Christian life from the very beginning to the very end.
• Be prepared for surprises in this Kingdom. You never know what is going to happen. The last shall be first
• It is grace at the beginning, grace at the end. So that when you and I come to lie upon our deathbeds, the one thing that should comfort and help and strengthen us there is the thing that helped us at the beginning. Not what we have been, not what we have done, but the grace of God in Jesus Christ our Lord. The Christian life starts with grace, it must continue with grace, it ends with grace. Grace, wondrous grace. `By the grace of God I am what I am.’ `Yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

The Wise: a Christmas Poem

Omnes de Saba venient by Salvador Dali

Saw this poem mentioned in Richard Swenson’s In Search of Balance and found it here

Miles across the turbulent kingdoms

They came for it, but that was nothing,

That was the least.  Drunk with vision,

Rain stringing in the ragged beards,

When a beast lamed, they caught up another

And goaded west.

For the time was on them.

Three wise men by Eric Gill

Once, as it may, in the life of a man,

Once, as it was, in the life of mankind,

All is corrected.  And their years of pursuit,

Raw-eyed reading the wrong texts,

Charting the doubtful calculations,

Those nights knotted with thought,

When dawn held off, and the rooster

Rattled the leaves with his blind assertion—

All that, they regarded, under the Sign,

No longer as search but as preparation.

For when the mark was made, they saw it.

Nor stopped to reckon the fallible years,

But rejoiced and followed,

And are called “wise”, who learned that Truth,

When sought and at last seen,

Is never found.  It is given.

Adoration of the shepherds by Bassano

And they brought their camels

Breakneck into that village,

And flung themselves down in the dung and dirt of that place,

And kissed that ground, and the tears

Ran on their faces, where the rain had.

Give us the Courage to Wait and the Courage to Say Yes

Used this in a small group earlier in the week.  Borrowed post title from a 2009 post by Ruth Haley Barton and used some of the poetry on her 2011 advent posts here and here.

Introduction

• Which is harder—to wait? Or to say yes?  Do not both need courage? Identify one area or thing for which you are waiting?
• Which is harder for you—to wait or to say yes?  Share with a partner.

 Sometimes, we need the courage to wait

 Read together as a big group the following passage:

It appears to me that whatever we suffer now will show up only dimly when compared to the wonders God has in store for us.  It is as though all creation is standing on tiptoe longing to see an unforgettable vision, the children of God being born into wholeness.

Although creation is unfinished, still in the process of being born, it carries within it a secret hope. And the hope is this: A day will come when we will be rescued from the pain of our limitation and incompleteness and be given our share in a freedom that can only belong to the children of God.

At the present moment of all creation is struggling as though in the pangs of childbirth.  And that struggling creation includes even those of us who have had a taste of the spirit.  We peer into the future with our limited vision, unable to see all that we are destined to be, yet believing because of a hope we carry so deep within.
Romans 8:18-25 paraphrased by Macrina Wiederkehr.  Read this in her 1991 book, Seasons of Your Heart

Sing Together the following song

Wait for the Lord whose day is near
Wait for the Lord
Keep watch, Take Heart

Responsive Reading.

The group will read together the bold print after the other lines are read

For the darkness of waiting
of not knowing what is to come
of staying ready and quiet and attentive,
we praise you, O God:
For the darkness and the light
are both alike to you.

For the darkness of staying silent
for the terror of having nothing to say
and for the greater terror
of needing to say nothing,
we praise you, O God:
For the darkness and the light
are both alike to you.

For the darkness of loving
in which it is safe to surrender
to let go of our self-protection
and to stop holding back our desire,
we praise you, O God:
For the darkness and the light
are both alike to you.

For the darkness of choosing
when you give us the moment
to speak, and act, and change,
and we cannot know what we have set in motion,
but we still have to take the risk,
we praise you, O God:
For the darkness and the light
are both alike to you.

For the darkness of hoping
in a world which longs for you,
for the wrestling and laboring of all creation
for wholeness and justice and freedom,
we praise you, O God.
For the darkness and the light
Are both alike to you.

From Bread of Tomorrow: Prayers for the Church Year, Janet Morley, ed. (Mary Knoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1992), p. 22, 23.  From Barton Haleys’s post here

Group Prayer for those who are waiting

Sometimes, we need the courage to say yes

Mary’s prayer shows us the way.  “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”Mtt 1:38

Share with a partner one thing for which you need the courage to say yes.  Then, if you are comfortable, read/pray the following prayer with a partner.  Pray for one another.

A Prayer of Abandonment

Father,
I abandon myself into your hands;
do with me what you will.
Whatever you may do, I thank you;
I am ready for all, I accept all.

Let only your will be done in me,
and in all your creatures—
I wish no more than this, O Lord.
Into your hands I commend my soul:
I offer it to you with all the love of my heart,
for I love you, Lord, and so need
to give myself, to surrender myself into your hands
without reserve and with boundless confidence,
for you are my Father.  Amen.

Charles de Foucauld
Found this poem on Ruth Haley Barton’s post here

Group Prayer for those needing the Courage to say Yes

 

Faith in America by state

Interesting interactive graphic here on the topography of Faith in America

From a pew forum study

The Power of Hope

Following is a paraphrase of Romans 8:18-25 by Macrina Wiederkehr in the 1991 reprint of her book, Seasons of the Heart.

It appears to me that whatever we suffer now will show up only dimly when compared to the wonders God has in store for us.  It is as though all creation is standing on tiptoe longing to see an unforgettable vision, the children of God being born into wholeness.

Although creation is unfinished, still in the process of being born, it carries within it a secret hope. And the hope is this: A day will come when we will be rescued from the pain of our limitation and incompleteness and be given our share in a freedom that can only belong to the children of God.

At the present moment of all creation is struggling as though in the pangs of childbirth.  And that struggling creation includes even those of us who have had a taste of the spirit.  We peer into the future with our limited vision, unable to see all that we are destined to be, yet believing because of a hope we carry so deep within.

Wiederkehr writes the following as a reflection on Romans 8.

Could it be true
That some folks die
Because our hope is too small
To bring them forth?

It is good to remember:
We do not give birth to ourselves.
We give birth to others
By believing in that first, small spark of life
The spark we can barely see.

It is called hope.
Immensely hopeful
At birth.

After reading the above, I wrote the following confession:

Forgive me Lord for not having hope
Forgetting hope
not believing
not feeling
not trusting

They need the gift of hope I can offer them
And when I withhold hope
They suffer
Die
Or may never be born
Forgive me Lord

A Prayer to Own Your Beauty

Just back from a two-day silent retreat and while away, I found the following poem from Seasons of Your Heart: Prayers & Reflections
by Macrina Wiederkehr.  Still praying this!

O God

Help me

To believe

The truth about myself

No matter

How beautiful it is!

Lessons on transformation

Narrow way by David Hayward

God provides each of us a unique divine curriculum here on earth for our transformation into the likeness of Christ.  What God began, he will complete, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
(Philippians 1:6 ESV)

Gerald Sittser (in his book, Water from a Deep Well) quotes Peter Kreeft, “Earth is not outside heaven; it is heaven’s workshop, heaven’s womb.” 137

In other words, says Sittser,

“God uses all things to change us for the better.  How we respond is important.  Life in this world is like a divine workshop; the stuff of daily experience—marriage and children, responsibilities and opportunities, interruptions and problems and suffering—the tools that God uses; the artist is God himself, who will sculpt the block of marble that we are into something extraordinary.” 138

Sittser suggests we ask ourselves daily the following three questions:

• What is God trying to do in my life?
• How is God using the stuff of ordinary experience to change me?
• What choices can I make to give him freedom to work?

Sittser concludes this section, “The Christian faith is not a self-help religion, and mature Christians are not self-made people. . . True maturity must be God’s doing. Not that we are left with nothing at all to do.  God calls us to trust him, pray to him, surrender ourselves to him respond to his initiative and obey his commands.  Above all, we should remind ourselves daily of the goal which is complete transformation.”  138

Lessons on spirituality from Icons and Saints

Je suis le bon pasteur (personal picture of an icon i found in a Texas retreat center)

In chapter five of his book, Water From a Deep Well, Gerald Sittser describes the spirituality of the Eastern Orthodox Church,  a spirituality that provides us with examples to follow.  I suspect that most evangelicals do not affirm the value of  icons and see little value in the stories of the saints.  Living in a Catholic country, I have seen the negative side of icons and saints but I have personally seen the benefit of meditation on Christian art.  Here is an earlier post I made on visio divina. Following are some quotes from Sittser:

Icons

Icons are paintings that accomplish this purpose by inviting us to gaze upon the portraits of people whose human nature has already been transformed into something unspeakably glorious. 121

Purpose of icons: to portray realities that transcend what the eye can naturally see and to transport us into another world. . . They show us in symbolic form what the spiritual transformation of a person’s life actually accomplishes. 121 Theological or spiritual art. 125

Saints

Spiritual biographies or hagiographies are stories of the saints that show how transformation takes place in people.

Purpose of spiritual biographies: inspire the faithful to imitate the saints and to embark on the same journey of faith.  121

Rublevs Trinity (another favorite of mine)

Icons reveal the results of transformation and spiritual biographies show the process of transformation.  The stories of the saints function as written icons. 121

Sittser concludes his chapter with the following:

Icons, spiritual biographies and voices from the past remind us that the destiny awaiting believers is beyond earthly imagination and human achievement.  They reflect the reality of the kingdom, where martyrs are glorified and ascetics honored.  136

In the end, we have to give up control

Two outstanding songs here from JJ Heller. In the End and Control.

First a few of the lyrics to JJ Heller’s powerful new song In the End.

Oh this silly heart of mine

Looking for new things to buy
Nothing really satisfies
In the end, in the end
Greed is making fools of us
Waging war betraying trust
Empires only fade to dust
In the end, in the end

Safety is not for sale.
[You can not buy peace of mind]
Earthly defenses fail
[There's nothing new under the sky]
Build your kingdom all your life
And say goodbye
In the end, in the end

And you can listen here to the music on youtube.

Partial lyrics below to her song “control”

Oh, control
It’s time, time to let you go

Perfection has a price
But I cannot afford to live that life
It always ends the same; a fight I never win

Oh, control
It’s time, time to let you go

I’m letting go of the illusion
I’m letting go of the confusion
I can’t carry it another step
I close my eyes and take a breath
I’m letting go, letting go

You can listen to the song on youtube as well–I must admit that I did not care for the official music video and so I prefer just listening to the music at this youtube site

 

 

Lessons on spirituality from the monastics

In chapter five, Gerald Sittser, in his book Water from a Deep Well is looking at the rhythm of work and prayer that the monastics established.  Building on the foundations of Pachomius, Basil, Cassian, and Augustine, Benedict established his rule of St. Benedict which provided a pattern for life in the monasteries.

Sittser describes the three cardinal virtues of Benedict and his monks:

• the work of silence forced monks to discipline the most dangerous weapon the monks had—the tongue
• the work of obedience helped monks to become subservient to Christ, to Scripture, to the rule and to the abbot, in that order, which wold protect them from self-will and unruly behavior.
• the work of humility made them lowly in spirit, broke them of pride and set them on course toward heaven. 109-110

Prayer and work combined to keep their life and spirituality healthy:

Prayer protected them from turning their work into an idol; work kept their prayers from becoming an empty exercise.  .  . The day was ordered and busy, but never hurried and frantic. The monks prayed for their work, and they worked out their prayers.  They worshipped God and they served the common good of the community. 111

The rhythm created had a spiritual reason.

God calls his people to two duties—prayer and work.  Prayer draws us to ‘god; work sends us into the world.  Prayer centers and quiets us; work energizes us.  Prayer restores us to God; work allows us to participate in God’s restoration of the world. 114

Prayer and work needed one another to be effective

Without work, prayer becomes rote, vacuous and irrelevant, an empty discipline that shows little evidence of a deep concern for the world.  It loses its purpose, lacks passion, turns inward, serves the self.  We mouth the words, but there is nothing at stake. It does not seem to matter much whether our prayers are answered or ignored. 115

Without prayer, work becomes an idol.  We work to make money, to gain power and prestige, to advance in our careers.  We become presumptuous too, thinking that our work can accomplish good things without actually relying on God for wisdom and power.  But work that pleases God an serves the common good of humanity must have God involved in it, for only God can accomplish what has transcendent value and eternal significance.  Human effort is necessary but is not sufficient. 115

 

 

The importance of wonder in the spiritual life

Unreachable by euroborne

Started this post three months ago and just now discovered it in my draft box as the following quote from David Benner’s new book Soulful Spirituality.  As I look over the quote three months later,  I suspect I was thinking how little the evangelical churches I grew up (as an adult Christian) did to cultivate wonder in my spiritual life. But maybe that is a bit unfair??  In meeting with my spiritual director last week, I think I shocked her in describing how little I was looking forward to Christmas and how my advent preparation has traditionally been non-existent. I think this relates to the topic of wonder and mystery.  Isn’t the incarnation something about which we should experience  wonder.  After reading the quote, I would be interested in reactions of others.

The person who knows wonder is the person whose soul is deepening and whose spirit is expanding. Wonder enlarges us and draws us out of our self-preoccupation. It attunes us to the sacramental majesty of the world. It softens the ego and creates space within us for awe, surprise, and reverence in the face of the mystery of what is. It is, therefore, the natural source of prayer. But prayer that is born out of wonder is not as full of words as prayer that starts with our needs or desires. In fact, it is often wordless. It is this emptiness that allows it to hold mysteries so profound that the only response to them is silence.

In what way has and does your church cultivate a sense of wonder and mystery with regard to spiritual matters?

Discovering security, stability and joy from Psalm 16

Personal photo

More questions than answers after a week spent in Psalm 16. Perhaps these will touch your heart and mind as they have my own.  What other questions or encouragements arise from Psalm 16 for you?

“Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.” (Ps 16:1 ESV)

• Refuge implies that I am facing a threat to my well-being.
• In what way is God currently my refuge?
• From what or in what events do I need god to be my refuge?
• What are other places am I tempted to take refuge?

“I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; Ps 16:2a

• In whom or what am I trusting this morning?
• Is Yahweh my Lord? Does intimacy exist in my relationship with God?
• Do I have a submissive posture to God?

I have no good apart from you. (Ps 16:2b ESV)

• Worthy of significant meditation.
• Do I recognize that all the good in my life comes from God?
• What are the implications of these words?
• All I have is a gift.
• I should be grateful
• God defines what is good for me.
• If God is not a part of something, how can it be good for me?
• Do I miss seeing expressions of goodness in my life? (often happens because I am thinking too much about myself)
• Check out my post on being grateful and on the goodness of God

“As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.” (Ps 16:3 ESV)

• What is the state of  my relationships with the saints?
• Any unresolved conflicts?
• With whom do I share my heart?
• How have I been isolating or withdrawing from others?
• What relationships in my life can I rely upon for help?

“The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips.” (Ps 16:4 ESV)

• To what extent do I feel compassion for those who run after other gods?
• Am I compromising in any way in my relationships with non-Christians?
• What other gods am I tempted to follow?
• In what ways/areas do I envy other people?

“The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.” (Psalms 16:5–6 ESV)

• How confident am I about the future?
• What worries me most about the future?
• For what am I grateful?
• To what extent am I dissatisfied with my life?
• Do I believe that God has my back covered? Do I recognize that my life, the current situation I am in and all of my future is protected and preserved by God?
• In what ways have I experienced the fairness and generosity of God?
• Describe any areas in which I feel God has been unfair or unjust to me.
• Am I content with where I am and with my future? Do I really believe that I have a beautiful inheritance?

“I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.” (Ps 16:7 ESV)

• Am I listening to God and receiving his wisdom?
• Is my heart saturated by God’s word?
• What lessons has God been teaching me lately? In what way has God been touching my heart? How connected is my heart to the word?
• For what do I need his help and counsel?

“I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.” (Ps 16:8 ESV)

• Do I face the Lord every day?
• How stable do I feel? If not very, is there something for which I need to trust God?

Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.” (Psalms 16:9–10 ESV)

• How joyful do I feel?
• Is my joy dependent on others or on my circumstances?
• What threatens my security?
• What concerns do I have about aging?

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalms 16:11 ESV)

• Am I on the right track?
• How aware am I of God’s leading?
• Am I experiencing joy today?

How to be a better man

Outstanding post  on lessons learned about how to be a better man from the now defunct tv show Friday Night Lights.  Here are the main points but read the entire well written article

• Relish the underdog role
• A man needs to come to peace with his father
• Nurture manliness
• A man seeks redemption
• Texas forever (remember your roots would be my paraphrase for those not from Texas)
• A man’s closest ally is his wife
• A man needs a team
• Clear eyes, full heart, can’t lose (When you have a clear conscience and play with everything you have, you can never lose)

 

 

Lessons on spirituality from the desert saints (part two)

Drawn from Gerald Sittser’s Water from a Deep Well.  Part one is here.

Sittser uses STRUGGLE as the key word to describe the spirituality of the desert saints but it was a struggle related to the battle between flesh and spirit.  Paul had something to say about this in Galatians:

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” (Galatians 5:16–17 ESV)

Personal photo

Following are reflections by Sittser on the desert saints with regards to their struggle against the temptations of the flesh:

It was the battle for the soul that mattered most to them.  The desert saints believed that the Christian life requires struggle against the darkness that resides in the heart, epitomized by the egoism that runs in every human being.  Only by facing that darkness will we find true life and freedom. 83

Evagrius describing the problem of egoism, “It is not in our power,” he wrote, “to determine whether we are disturbed by these thoughts, but it is up to us to decide if they are to linger within us or not and whether or not they are to stir up our passions.” 84

According to Evagrius, gluttony consists of obsession with food, whether or not we actually eat too much of it. Vainglory tempts us to angle for attention and honor, regardless of how it can be attained. Pride causes us to claim credit for our virtues and successes rather than acknowledge our indebtedness to others and to God. 84

With regard to temptations, Evagrius said that thoughts toward sin cannot be overcome by simply resisting them.  They must be replaced by positive virtues—gratitude instead of gluttony, humility in the place of pride and especially love. 85

One monk even carried a stone in his mouth for three years to overcome the temptation of gossip and frivolous talk. 86

For Abba Abbas, spiritual leaders were not to impose their own will on disciples, as if they were the superior; instead they were to offer suggestions, provide encouragement, impart the wisdom of the desert and, above all, set an example. 87

Sittser concludes his chapter on the value of the desert experience for us today:

The desert will also enable us to see how unfriendly modern culture is to the spiritual life.  It seduces us into being too busy, too ambitious and too self-indulgent. We never seem to be satisfied; we always want more. 94

Abba Antony once said, “The man who abides in solitude and is quiet, is delivered from fighting three battles—those of hearing, speech and sight. Then he will have but one battle to fight—the battle of the heart.” 94

The desert will force us to hold our appetites in check, to resist the temptations of the devil and to seek the face of God. 94

Sittser suggests the following exercise. After reading Luke 4:1-13, identify an appetite that seems to be dominating your life.  Commit yourself to fasting from the appetite you have identified, for a period of time and in place of the appetite, memorize an appropriate passage and pray for areas of the world that lack what you so desperately crave. 95

This chapter stirs up all kinds of questions for me.  But on the topic of the desert:

What (if anything) can replace the desert experience for us today?  Beyond going to a literal desert (which I personally find attractive), what alternatives exist for us today? What has worked for you?

Lessons on spirituality from the desert saints

Personal photo of Judean desert

More from Gerald Sittser’s Water from a Deep Well: Christian Spirituality from Early Martyrs to Modern Missionaries.  Today, from his chapter three which focuses on the saints who lived in the 4^th and 5^th centuries and lived in Egypt, Palestine and Syria.

Struggle is the key word that identifies these desert saints according to Sittser. A key Pauline passage on struggle is found in 1 Corinthians

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.  Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”  (1 Corinthians 9:24–27 ESV)

Now from Sittser

They believed that struggle is normal, necessary and even healthy in the spiritual life. The fallenness of the world imposes it (e.g., physical sickness, mental anguish, death of a loved one), discipleship requires it (e.g., self-sacrifice) and believers must choose to face it. We therefore cannot escape struggle, nor should we try.  Rather, we should embrace it as one aspect of our calling to discipleship, for the goal of life in this world is not ease, prosperity and success but intimacy with God, maturity of character, and influence in the world.  Struggle proves that we are taking the Christian faith seriously. 74

Regarding the desert saints,

“However crazy, they deserve our admiration, for they dared to take a stand against the compromised Christianity of their day.” 79

They deeply respected the example of Jesus.

“‘The incarnation, in their minds was not intended to spare them from suffering but to inspire them to choose suffering because through the incarnation suffering had become redemptive. “The more profound our personal misery,” John Chryssavgis writes, “the more abundant God’s eternal mercy.  The deeper the abyss of our human corruption, the greater the grace of heavenly compassion.  The more involved our exposure to the way of the cross, the more intense our experience of the light of the resurrection.”’ 79

personal photo Greek Orthodox monastery in the Judean wilderness

Why the desert?

The desert saints believed that the desert itself is a fitting place to engage in this struggle, for it forces us to face our weaknesses squarely, strips away illusion and pretension, and enables us to recognize our absolute need for God. 81

The desert is barren, stark and lonely, thus symbolizing a life that is stripped of distractions, possessions and pleasures.  It is a place of extremes—frigid cold at night, unbearable heat during the day, endless sand and rock, dangerous animals, utter emptiness. There are no provisions to meet physical needs, no conveniences to make life run more smoothly, no friendships to dull the edge of loneliness, no settlements to welcome hungry, thirsty travelers.  82

The desert saints chose to live in the desert to reclaim a faith that had become too easy and convenient. 82

Part two tomorrow