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“My heart is overflowing with praise of my Lord, my soul is full of joy in God my Savior. For he has chosen to notice me, his humble servant and, after this, all the people who ever shall be will call me the happiest of women! The one who can do all things has done great things for me—oh, holy is his Name! Truly, his mercy rests on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm, he has swept away the high and mighty. He has set kings down from their thrones and lifted up the humble. He has satisfied the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away with empty hands. Yes, he has helped Israel, his child: he has remembered the mercy that he promised to our forefathers, to Abraham and his sons for evermore!” (Luke 1:46-55, Phillips)
As we spend these next eighteen days meditating on the grandeur of the Incarnation, let me challenge us to mirror the posture of the mother of Jesus: OVERFLOWING with praise! FULL of joy! DELIGHTING to be noticed! HUMBLY serving! HAPPY with the heart’s true joy! EXULTING in His goodness! REVELING in His mercy! WATCHING IN WONDER all He can do! LIVING-INTO His plans! SATISFIED with His provision! ACCEPTING His help! REMEMBERING how He remembers EVERY SINGLE promise He’s promised! Never forget: WE are the ones privileged to SHOW THE WORLD that Christmas is, in fact, REALITY!
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At Anchor this week, rather than going back through, and teaching back through, many of the same words/phrases as occur in Matthew 6's similar "Do not be anxious" teaching, I wanted our group to hear Jesus’ argument a little more "philosophically." You see, if you trace His words in this section from the end to the beginning, you start to realize how He’s built His logic on a heavenly-spiritual logic. Every thought follows so beautifully, so invitingly, one to another.
Back to front, consider what He says: - Your heart will be where your treasure is stored, thus - Store your treasure where moth and thief can’t tamper with it, meaning - In Heaven, where time is endless and values utterly changeless--in fact, - Learn to live like money hardly matters at all… because - Do you realize? You and I have already been given the entirety of a Kingdom! meaning - Fear nothing. Fear no one. Because - We will be given what we need in this Kingdom, because - Our Father always knows exactly what we need… and - He’d hate to see His sons and daughter frittering away their lives like the people who don’t know His heart… so - We must do business with our anxiety—stare it right in the face… so that - We set out hearts not on mere food and drink… because - If He has been faithful up-till-now, can’t we trust, today and forever, that His faithfulness will continue? For remember: - What He has done, He can do again… and - He is mindful down to the most minute detail… and - If we’re honest, do we actually believe—do we actually want to believe?—that we can somehow “make our own way” through these lives of ours? Or better: - Wouldn’t it be lovely to think our Heavenly Father loves us, and knows us better, than making life a mere fending-for-ourselves? Instead, - What if it is Him who has always fed us, and - Planned for our futures, and - Given us the minds and bodies and skills to participate in His heavenly-earthly plans? What if - Our lives are meant to mean more than their mere sustenance? Yes! - What if our body is more than clothing, our life more important than its feeding--for this reason: - That, we are being fed and clothed, we are invited not to be bothered… by - The One who tells us to worry about nothing. Why? - Because… He is… HE IS!… and He is with us… not just “back then”… but now… and forevermore. - Because He personally knows the pushes and pulls of money, work, time, stress, fear--and yet still, boldly, says to us: - “Do not worry about life.” - “You must not live in a state of anxiety.” - “Your Heavenly Father knows you need these things.” - “Don’t be afraid, you tiny flock!” Why? - Because “Your Father plans to give you… …the KINGDOM!” 100 He visits Mary & Martha in Bethany Luke 10:38-42 AS THEY CONTINUED their journey, Jesus came to a village and a woman called Martha welcomed him to her house. She had a sister by the name of Mary who settled down at the Lord’s feet and was listening to what he said. But Martha was very worried about her elaborate preparations and she burst in, saying, “Lord, don’t you mind that my sister has left me to do everything by myself? Tell her to get up and help me!” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, my dear, you are worried and bothered about providing so many things. Only a few things are really needed, perhaps only one. Mary has chosen the best part and you must not tear it away from her!” Just after… A MAN FINISHES a meeting on the other side of town, shakes his counterpart’s hand, walks out the door and into the freshness of the evening air. He takes a deep breath in; lets it out.
As he walks back home, he is at first totally unaware of the loveliness of the sunset: how its pinks and purples linger over the western hills and rises. But all at once he notices. He turns his full attention to the poetry of the night’s encroaching over the town: men and women are returning through the warm-lit doors of their homes; food is cooking; children play in the street, unconcerned. He is watching as he winds along through the alley into the straightaway that runs right up to the door of his shared family home. His sisters are standing outside at the open door. They are talking to a stranger. Both their faces are lit by a lovely warm glow. Even at a distance he can see that their eyes are moist. The stranger nods his head as the two of them pass by each another. “Who was that man?” Lazarus asks his two sisters, arriving home. “Come inside,” they say, “and we’ll tell you all about it.” As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and He said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed Him. (Matthew 9:9, ESV) * * * "The Savior of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ, did not come to the world in order to bring a doctrine; he never lectured. Since he did not bring a doctrine, he did not try by way of reasons to prevail upon anyone to accept the doctrine, nor did he try to authenticate it by proofs. His teaching was really his life, his existence. If someone wanted to be his follower, his approach, as seen in the Gospel, was different from lecturing. To such a person he said something like this: Venture a decisive act; then we can begin. What does that mean? It means that one does not become a Christian by hearing something about Christianity, by reading something about it, by thinking about it, or, while Christ was living, by seeing him once in a while or by going and staring at him all day long. No... venture a decisive act; the proof does not precede but follows, is in and with the imitation that follows Christ." Søren Kierkegaard
Judge for Yourself! It is early in the day on a Monday—you’ve just woken from your sleep wrapped in your cloak—you and the other disciples, most still sleepy, all very hungry, start to realize that Jesus is nowhere to be seen. You had spent the night camped out a little distance from the main road; the only roof over your heads was the wide-spreading boughs of the tree above you. The morning breeze now faintly flutters its leaves; you and the others rise to go and look and find Jesus, wherever He happens to be.
It doesn’t take very long. He is just over the nearest rise, sitting and facing away in the direction of the western horizon. He, as so often in the early mornings, is perfectly still. You know that He is talking with His Father. Just the sight of Him there—so sitting and still and talking and, even, at times, smiling—is enough to make you wish for exactly what He has. So, today, you walk right up to Him. He opens His eyes; sees you. And, without missing a beat, you ask the following question: “Lord, John used to teach his disciples how to pray. Would you teach us how to pray?” Oh! how His eyes light up! how His lips take on the grandest loveliest smile you’ve ever seen! And looking you directly in the eye, and with the same beautiful smile, He says, simply: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen. Here, by way of reminder, is just a taste of how "with you" the Lord will be this whole week:
Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you... (Gen. 26:24) Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go... (Gen. 28:15) Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. (Deut. 31:6) Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9) Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Is. 41:10) When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you... (Is. 43:2) Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord. (Jer. 1:8) They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you. (Jer. 1:19) Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord's message, “I am with you, declares the Lord.” (Hagg. 1:13) And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Mt. 28:20) And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever... (Jn. 14:16) Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you... (Acts 18:9) As shared before, here are a few more of my Pointillisms -- these ones could be a mighty declaration over the week you're living (maybe even read them, over your week, aloud!)...
45.49 In Jesus, I shall never be condemned. 45.50 In Jesus, the Holy Spirit looses my life from death and the Fall. 45.51 In Jesus, the divide is bridged. 45.52 In Jesus, the former Law is already fulfilled within me. 45.53 In Jesus,—by His Spirit—I have His outlook ever available. 45.54 In Jesus, I presently have peace. 45.55 In Jesus,—by His righteousness—I am utterly, ultimately, alive. 45.56 In Jesus, my current life is contemporaneous with eternity. 45.57 In Jesus, I too am a son of God. 45.58 In Jesus, I too am an inheritor of the wealths of the Kingdom. 45.59 In Jesus, I am on display as one of His glories. 45.60 In Jesus, I am gloriously free—in order to free. 45.61 In Jesus, I know where this is headed. 45.62 In Jesus, the Holy Spirit is replacing my age-old spirit. 45.63 In Jesus, that Spirit translates my life, my thoughts, my prayers. 45.64 In Jesus, I have nothing at all to fear. 45.65 In Jesus, I have everything to hope for. 45.66 In Jesus, I am being made like Jesus. 45.67 In Jesus, I shall be sustained just as certainly as I was known; created; saved; called unto. 45.68 In Jesus, nothing separates this life from His life. I want you to imagine Jesus – just the way you imagine Him – see Him in your mind’s eye with all the details that come along with that: the look of His clothing, the set of His shoulders, the look in His eyes, and on His face, as He leans closer to you. He is sitting in a room where, just a few minutes ago, He’d stooped at your feet and washed and dried them; now He’s been speaking to you, very directly. Something in His eyes says that all these words are a valediction – a sort of farewell – like a father preparing to make his final earthly departure. You find your heart confused; sad. Why is He suddenly taking on a tone like this?
Then His features soften; His eyes gloss over with tears. “Peace I leave with you,” He says, “my peace I give to you.” In the last three years of following after Him, you have seen the nature of that peace: scenes begin to occur to your memory. Of the crush of the crowds pressing against Him from all sides. Of the approach of Legion, the man possessed by a thousand spirits. Of the night before that: His waking, in the storm, and standing up against the gunwale and pronouncing “Hush” into the night. Of the constant attacks of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Of the rumors of the fury of Herod. Of the whispering of the authorities unto the Romans. Of the day, even, when He’d cleared the Temple. The peace He is leaving you, His peace that He says He gives, is the most remarkable power you have ever seen. Jesus’ peace is not the absence of action – a vacuum where no problems may enter – it is a conquering force that dominates every situation. You have seen the way His peace can be as quiet as the light mellowing at dusk; you have seen it rise to confront all evil in its darkness. The peace that Jesus gives you, on this night, and forever, is the ability to abide in Him, no matter what. It’s the ability to conquer fear with love; hate with goodness; lack with abundance; death with life. Nothing can stand against the peace of Jesus. This week, at Anchor, we meandered our way through John 10's “Good Shepherd” message, while looking back at some of David's most famous words, from Psalm 23. I think you'll enjoy the juxtapositions, section by section:
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd will give his life for the sake of his sheep… I am the good shepherd, and I know those that are mine and my sheep know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I am giving my life for the sake of the sheep.” “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.” “I am the door. If a man goes in through me, he will be safe and sound; he can come in and out and find his food.” “He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” “[The shepherd of the flock] calls his own sheep by name and leads them out of the fold, and when he has driven all his own flock outside, he goes in front of them himself, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.” “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” “Believe me when I tell you that anyone who does not enter the sheepfold though the door, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a rogue. It is the shepherd of the flock who goes in by the door. It is to him the door-keeper opens the door and it is his voice that the sheep recognise.” “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.” “I do assure you that I myself am the door for the sheep. All who have gone before me are like thieves and rogues, but the sheep did not listen to them… The thief comes with the sole intention of stealing and killing and destroying, but I came to bring them life, and far more life than before.” “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me ALL the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” “So there will be one flock and one shepherd. This is the reason why the Father loves me—that I lay down my life… and I lay it down to take it up again! No one is taking it from me, but I lay it down of my own free will.” My friends, let's go listen for, and follow after, our Good Shepherd all week long! Jesus came: to reveal the heart of God; to establish the Kingdom of Heaven; to show us the Way; to give us His Word; to die to set us free from sin; to conquer death; to ascend to intercede on our behalf; to send His Holy Spirit; to allow us untrammeled access to the Throne; to send us out to make all this known to everyone; to be with us in perfect power; to be with us in His own brand of fearlessness; to ask for more of everything He offers; to receive everything He offers; to be with Him—as He is with us—every minute of our lives.
How are we doing, in daily pragmatic experience, with receiving all of the above? When you are wronged by a brother or sister from within the Body of Christ:
* When you are wronged by a man or woman outside the fellowship of the Church:
At this week's Anchor, we considered a series of statements from the Feast of Tabernacles' message of Jesus, from John 7, and I want to share with you a few of my favorite takeaways:
Towards the end, Jesus says to the crowds, “I shall be with you only a little while longer and then I am going to him who sent me. You will look for me then but you will never find me. You cannot come where I shall be.” In this and the final statement to follow, Jesus not only points ahead at what is to come, but He also demarcates the differences between the “ways of the world and the flesh” and the glories of the “Way of the Kingdom and the Spirit.” Consider what He’s saying here of the world and the flesh: It is constrained by the construct of Time--“only a little while longer”—and of the distance between God and men--“I am going… but you will never find me.” Also, the world and the flesh, unchanged, unredeemed, cannot do anything to change the equation: “You cannot come where I shall be.” But what of the “Way of the Kingdom and the Spirit”? It is UN-bounded by time—eternal, everlasting, unchanging—and, thanks to the coming Ascension of Jesus, completely connected between God and man, Heaven and earth. And though, yes, we “cannot come where [He] shall be,” as we are, He is in the business of utterly remaking us so that it’s possible. How? Read His final statement, as John writes it: “If any man is thirsty, he can come to me and drink! The man who believes in me, as the scripture says, will have rivers of living water flowing from his inmost heart.” In other words, the world and the flesh are thirsty, uncertain where to go with their thirst, and desperate at the level of the heart for life, and for true living. But, in the Kingdom of Heaven, and by the Holy Spirit Jesus will offer to “any man” (note that “any”), we may drink to our fill, believing in Him--NOT in thirsty old religion—and, ourselves, become a river of living water for the world to come and drink from. Do you understand? By the Spirit He will pour out upon His friends and followers, we, His friends and followers, are meant to become the fountain of JOY, and of JESUS, for this world. Yes, all may come to you and I… in order to drink OF HIM! What an awesome, and humbling, honor! “In friendship...we think we have chosen our peers. In reality a few years’ difference in the dates of our births, a few more miles between certain houses, the choice of one university instead of another… the accident of a topic being raised or not raised at a first meeting—any of these chances might have kept us apart. But, for a Christian, there are, strictly speaking no chances. A secret master of ceremonies has been at work. Christ, who said to the disciples, ‘Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,’ can truly say to every group of Christian friends, ‘Ye have not chosen one another but I have chosen you for one another.’ The friendship is not a reward for our discriminating and good taste in finding one another out. It is the instrument by which God reveals to each of us the beauties of others.” C.S. Lewis
The Four Loves He works beside Peter’s mother-in-law in the kitchen, kneading dough, chatting comfortably of the rest of the things she is preparing for supper this night. He reaches out and takes a drink from a clay cup. She prattles on. Jesus continues to listen, smiling. * * * In the darkness, you hear Him chuckling to Himself in the stern of the boat, while re-fluffing His pillow. Both sounds are perfectly audible against the unnatural stillness of the waters. He only just finished hushing the storm. * * * Ideas of His: The colors of the sunrise; the smell of the lilacs in springtime; the breath of cool air off a brook in the morning; the cronch of new-fallen snow underfoot up in the high country; autumn breezes; the sound of a wind-tide lapping against a pebbly shoreline; your breath; your heartbeat; you. These, among so many millions and billions of others, were things He personally thought up. * * * Jesus enjoys your enjoyment of the life He created for you. He is also dissatisfied with your petty, untoward dissatisfactions. You must always mind your pleasure- and pain-points in all that you do—with Him and for Him. * * * His friendliness holds space for your great silences. He is content to walk alongside you, just being together.
Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. (Ephesians 3:7-12, ESV) * * * "To have a share in any earthly inheritance, is to diminish the share of the other inheritors. In the inheritance of the saints, that which each has, goes to increase the possession of the rest." George MacDonald
Unspoken Sermons "The Inheritance" When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me? (Ps. 56:3,4, ESV) * * * “It is a law of the spiritual life that every act of trust makes the next act less difficult. Trusting becomes like breathing, the natural unconsciousness of the redeemed soul.” Hannah Whitall Smith
The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” (Jn. 14:6a) “[That middle clause] has a Greek background. In Greek the noun aletheia has a double sense. It means truth as distinguished from falsehood, and it means that which is real and genuine as opposed to that which is unreal and counterfeit. “If we take it in a combination of both these meanings, it means that in Jesus we come face to face with truth and reality. In him we penetrate beyond the guesses and the gropings, beyond the perhapses and the maybes, and arrive at The Truth; we pass beyond the counterfeits and the substitutes, the imitations and the shadows, and arrive at reality. Because Jesus is the truth, he alone can tell us about God and brings us into the things which are real. Vincent Taylor says that Jesus is the Truth because ‘revelation is embodied in his person.’” William Barclay
Jesus As They Saw Him It is the middle of a hot sunny afternoon in the far northcountry, far above the Galilee, and you are trailing tiredly behind Jesus with the other disciples. Red and gray rock walls rise up on both sides of the path. Thick foliage comes right down to the edge of where you’re walking. Somewhere, in the unseeable distance, there is the loud sound of a spring flowing. Just a hint of breeze is blowing, up in the treetops.
For much of the day, Jesus has been walking up at the head of the group, clearly thinking about something which He hasn’t yet revealed to any of you. His eyes are straight forward; his pace quick. And it is only after another long while—only when you arrive to a clearing, an upland meadow—that He suddenly turns and faces you with the subject of His rumination: this direct question: “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” In essence, He is asking the ultimate secondary question—the penultimate consideration for every human heart: What does humanity think of Me? There is a murmuring amidst you Twelve, standing around Him. Someone finally speaks up with a safe, soft answer: “Well, some say John the Baptist. Some say Elijah, others say Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” In other words, there is a great disparity of opinion about you, Jesus. Some say this; others say that. Imagine the look in the eyes of Jesus that ensues—a fascinating blend of both immense humility and almighty divinity—as He leans closer and asks, “But what about YOU? Who do YOU say that I am?” I believe it's no overstatement to say that, every moment of every day since the Incarnation, this has been the operative, the ultimate question begged of every human heart. Not for others, but for YOU, what is the definition of this Man? We know what Peter then says. But what do YOU, everyday, say with the reality of your life? What follows directly after, in Matthew's account, is a particular statement made to the particular disciple, Simon-called-Peter, and yet those next words of Jesus have a universal, even totalizing meaning for all who would believe. Standing there, on a path in the sunshine in Caesarea Philippi, Jesus is speaking to us even as He’s speaking the following to Peter:
“He, the Life of all, our Lord and Saviour, did not arrange the manner of his own death lest He should seem to be afraid of some other kind. No. He accepted and bore upon the cross a death inflicted by others, and those other His special enemies, a death which to them was supremely terrible and by no means to be faced; and He did this in order that, by destroying even this death, He might Himself be believed to be the Life, and the power of death be recognised as finally annulled. A marvellous and mighty paradox has thus occurred, for the death which they thought to inflict on Him as dishonour and disgrace has become the glorious monument to death's defeat.” Athanasius
On the Incarnation 4th C. Of late, I've been struck (yet again!) by the overwhelming qualities of the opening of Paul's letter to the Ephesians. So, for this week, I'm sending you three different translations of vv. 3-10; I want these to be a reminder of how great are our privileges in this Kingdom!
NIV: "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ." NKJV: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him." Phillips: "Praise be to God for giving us through Christ every possible spiritual benefit as citizens of Heaven! For consider what he has done—before the foundation of the world he chose us to become, in Christ, his holy and blameless children living within his constant care. He planned, in his purpose of love, that we should be adopted as his own children through Jesus Christ—that we might learn to praise that glorious generosity of his which has made us welcome in the everlasting love he bears towards the Son. It is through the Son, at the cost of his own blood, that we are redeemed, freely forgiven through that full and generous grace which has overflowed into our lives and opened our eyes to the truth. For God had allowed us to know the secret of his plan, and it is this: he purposes in his sovereign will that all human history shall be consummated in Christ, that everything that exists in Heaven or earth shall find its perfection and fulfilment in him." My friends, let's go LIVE this GLORY all week long! 58.68 Faith is our silent speech that yet speaks.
58.69 Faith is our deathlessness; our present immortality. 58.70 Faith is our pleasure—which pleases. 58.71 Faith is our exit out of fear. 58.72 Faith is our inheritance, today, of what shall be ours forever. 58.73 Faith is our life’s great fruitfulness. 58.74 Faith is our vision out beyond our days. 58.75 Faith is our citizenship, our passport, unto The Other Country. 58.76 Faith is the ending of our shame. 58.77 Faith is our radicalism: our “Permanent Revolution.” 58.78 Faith is seeing; sight. 58.79 Faith is blessing; blesses. 58.80 Faith is foretelling; yet finished. 58.81 Faith is fearing; yet unafraid. 58.82 Faith is, and knows, its own reward. 58.83 Faith makes visible what it knew was never invisible. 58.84 Faith is making its way through. 58.85 Faith, looking backward, perfects its present. And knows it has nothing to fear from the future. 58.86 Faith’s atmosphere is its lineage of embodied belief, eg. the men and women who’ve known this Jesus before us. 58.87 Today is the whole race of faith and obedience. 98 He sends out the Seventy to minister Luke 10:1-24 LATER ON THE LORD commissioned seventy other disciples and sent them off in twos as advance-parties into every town and district where he intended to go. “There is a great harvest,” he told them, “but only a few are working in it—which means you must pray to the Lord of the harvest that he will send out more reapers. “Now go on your way. I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Don’t carry a purse or a pair of shoes, and don’t stop to pass the time of day with anyone you meet on the road. When you go into a house, say first of all, ‘Peace be to this household!’ If there is a lover of peace there, he will accept your words of blessing, and if not, they will come back to you. Stay in the same house and eat and drink whatever they put before you—a workman deserves his wages. But don’t move from one house to another. “Whatever town you go into and the people welcome you, eat the meals they give you and heal the people who are ill there. Tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is very near to you now.’ . . . * * * In the moment… IN A DISTANT WAY, he remembers (almost as if by some kind of second-sense) how it felt to create the entirety of the scene around him.
The composition of the water-molecules, infinite in their expansive lake-sized cohesion, lapping against the scraggly shoreline: he remembers making them. The heights of the opposite edge of the lake; the sloping-up and descending-down of their western fringe: he recalls shaping them with his own hand. The sound of the bird calls, the chirruping of the crickets, a distant howling of dogs, the wind, the rustling of the leaves—he thinks about his many conversations with his Father; how they’d compared and contrasted the strengths and weaknesses of attaching certain heavenly sounds to the earthly sounds bestowed on each. How the sea, the sky, the earth, the heights, the depths, the stars, the sun, the planets, the deserts, the forests all resounded with their component parts in the heavenly. How it all resides within his heart and mind—both then and now—as he sits by the sea and watches the way his friends all go out. He is watching these thirty-odd pairs of them walking away. He has placed the whole power of the Kingdom in their hands. He closes his eyes to take a nap in the sunshine. “Corrupt forms of love wait for the neighbor to ‘become a worthy object of love’ before actually loving him. This is not the way of Christ. Since Christ Himself loved us when we were by no means worthy of love and still loves us with all our unworthiness, our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. … “What we are asked to do is to love; and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbor worthy if anything can. Indeed, that is one of the most significant things about the power of love. There is no way under the sun to make a man worthy of love except by loving him. As soon as he realizes himself loved – if he is not so weak that he can no longer bear to be loved – he will feel himself instantly becoming worthy of love. He will respond by drawing a mysterious spiritual value out of his own depths, a new identity called into being by the love that is addressed to him.” Thomas Merton
Disputed Questions 45.74 We come to know Him so that others may come to know Him.
45.75 Beloved, we will be loved and be love. 45.76 Jesus still snares the steps of those who’d follow rotely. Then, falling, prone, He raises them up to follow Him. 45.77 How extravagant are our prayers for the world’s salvation? ie. How many brothers and sisters do we want? 45.78 Where we look for life is where we believe goodness lies. 45.79 Salvation: to believe that Jesus is alive—and say it. Thus the Word Himself enters the life; hope and salvation the heart. 45.80 We call on One who, possessed forever of the gracious heart of God, is ever inclining His human ear. 45.81 The tragedy is not that, seeking Him we will somehow not attain Him,—He has, remember, promised all seekers their finding of Him—but that so many seekers are simply seeking so many other things. 45.82 Choosing His grace, we find ourselves: chosen by Him. 45.83 Chosen by Him, we find Him: choosing to grace us. In honor of Pentecost Sunday at Anchor today, we used the combination of Matthew 15 and Mark 7's version of the same narrative to paint a picture of how "the spirit of religion" so often tends away from the heart of Jesus. In essence, we were asking: If religion looked like the scribes and Pharisees wrangling with Jesus over the ritualistic act of handwashing, what are the spirits of those infused by the Holy Spirit meant to look like? More simply, what would be the exact opposite of Matthew 15 and Mark 7, in the economy of Pentecost?
Consider the words and logic of those combined passages, but in their exact inversion: And Jesus was approached by followers and disciples intent upon His Way. They had noticed how He Himself walked in freedom before God and man. Jesus would eat, He would go to market, He only considered important the arrival of the Kingdom of Heaven. So His followers and disciples put this question to Jesus, “How should we remain free with your freedom?” Jesus replied, “My friends, I myself described you perfectly when I once stated, ‘If you are faithful to what I have said, you are truly my disciples. And you will know the truth and the truth will set you free!’ If you listen to the voice of my Spirit—who will ever live within you—you will be faithful to what I said… which is freedom!” Then He went on, “It is wonderful to watch you following the Way of the Spirit: this is my own life extended through yours! For I said to you, ‘Follow Me’—and this is how you do it! What an extraordinary display of my everlasting life—through yours!” Then He turned toward the crowds—those not yet knowing of His Way—and said to them, “Watch these, my friends, living out my Way. For I have chosen to place my Spirit right there within them—right inside the inner lives of these followers—and it is this Spirit which makes them clean. They are free now… and you may be free too.” Later, we His disciples approached again and asked, “Do you really mean that we are to walk in the freedom of following only your Spirit?” Jesus replied, “Every branch which abides in me, the vine, shall be nourished; shall be strengthened; shall produce my exact fruit. You will never-ever be alone. And, you are meant now—everyday—to be a guide to your fellowman: show them the Way home.” We asked Him to explain Himself further. “Oh!” He laughed, “you are so dear to me! Can’t you see that your greatest inheritance is receiving of my Spirit; that never again will you be anything less than heavenly to me? For my very Spirit will go into your heart and make you ever more like me; you will be made pure; you will learn to bear my fruit in your everyday life. What will flow forth from you will be extraordinary, uncommon—just like Me—and the world will get to meet me by getting to meet you. From my Spirit within will flow love, generosity, life-giving, purity, kindness, goodness, truth-telling, brotherliness, open-handedness, encouragement, humility, and wisdom! All this goodness will flow from me, through my Spirit, unto you—you will follow my Way and show the world what I am capable of!” |
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