Whatever you do for the least of these...

Just a quick quote today:

   "The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little."   FDR

Please remember those who are less fortunate than you.
And, as always keep them and I in your prayers.

God Bless

Book Review

"When Bad Christians Happen to Good People"

I read this book because the title intrigued me.  It was definitely worth my time.  Author Dave Burchett uses a good amount of humour, in the form of anecdotes, to deliver his message.  Yet, he doesn’t spend all of his time trying to make you laugh, and you will laugh.

As the book progresses Burchett leads you down the path to his ultimate point with honesty and truth as your map and compass.  All people, Christians and non-Christians alike, will get something positive from this book.  For some it will help them on their journey to become mature Christians.  For others it will help them identify what needs to be changed in their church.  Others will gain insight into why Christians act, and react, the way they do.

At the back of the book there is an eight-session study guide, with questions for reflection and discussion, along with relevant scripture passages to be used on your own or in a small group. 

The best way to finish this review is with a quote from the book itself:  “Mother Teresa said, ‘We can do no great things, only small things with great love.’  One person trusting God, receiving His love and grace, and then giving that love and grace back to others, can make a difference.  That is my heart’s desire.  You in?”
“I received this book for free from Waterbrook Multnomah publishing group for this review”

http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/bloggingforbooks/reviews/view/20009

http://www.amazon.com/review/R3MOW1AFNY00XE/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=0307729923&linkCode=&nodeID=&tag=

 

When Bad Christians Happen to Good People by Dave Burchett (Chapter 1 Excerpt)

Moving The Stone

Moving The Stone

 There is a passage in the New Testament which invites thoughtful consideration.  It’s the story of Jesus and the raising of Lazarus – or, more precisely, what happened in the cemetery.  It is found only in the Gospel of John.

        John dutifully and faithfully recounts the fact that Jesus deliberately arrives at Bethany a few days after Lazarus has died and been buried.  It is here that the evangelist records perhaps the shortest verse in the Bible: “Jesus wept” (Jn 11:35). 

         Lest a tomb be violated, it was a common, even necessary practice for stand-alone tombs to be sealed with a large stone.  For example, when Jesus was buried, all the evangelists record the custom: (Mt 27:59-60; Mk 16:5; Lk 23:53; Jn 20:1).  Even though Lazarus had been sealed in the grave for four days, “many Judeans had come to see Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother’s death” (Jn 11:19).  Jesus makes His way to the burial area: “Deeply moved once more, Jesus went to the tomb, which was a cave with a stone placed at the entrance. ‘Take the stone away!’ Jesus ordered” (Jn 11:38-39).

         The mourners are shocked – it is a blatant and unthinkable desecration to disturb the final resting place.  Moreover, they are leaving themselves open to the penalty of ritual impurity.  Understandably, the practical Martha gives Jesus a severe reminder: “There will be a bad smell, Lord.  He has been buried four days.”

 “Take the stone away!”

         Certainly we know that Jesus can say a word and the stone would miraculously move aside.  We know that in other situations Jesus has not involved individuals or groups.  But, contrary to our subconscious wishes, Jesus is not Mr. Fix-it.  His mission is to preach His Gospel, and any miraculous cures usually require the faith of others.  In this particular situation Jesus wants mourners to be involved.  Lazarus cannot come forth without their cooperation.  Much to think about here.

 “Take the stone away!”

         Obviously Jesus is speaking to the men among the group.  What are their feelings (so similar to ours in other situations)?  Some may be wearing their best clothes… and they don’t want to soil them.  Others may be saying that they can’t stay there any longer – they have to get back to their jobs.  And at least a few would surely not want the religious leaders to know about their presence.  (By this time Jesus is notorious and living on borrowed time.)

        To whom is Jesus talking?  To His apostles?  To His disciples?  To the mourners?  Or – to us?  We need to pause here, and reflect where we are in this story.

“Take the stone away!”

        There are times when doubt and despair hold us in a spiritual tomb.  We feel helpless, abandoned, confused and, above all, lonely.  It is precisely during these depressing times that we must recall we are part of the church, which is the body of Christ.  Our great danger is to forget the church and each of us in that community: We are not ignored, and we in turn must not ignore.  Whether we feel it or not, we must in faith cling to the gathering of the faithful who pray with and for us in those moments (days, months, years) and personally reach out when we feel isolated and even trapped in a darkness without answers.  In good times and especially in bad times, the Lord does not abandon us or those whom we encourage to come forth from their particular tombs.

“Take the stone away.”

        Questions:  Will you “take the stone away” for another person?  And will you reach out to another in your isolation and helplessness?  That is the challenge and the promise:

When you pour out your soul to the thirsty

And refresh the soul of the afflicted,

then shall your light shine in darkness,

and the Lord will give you rest continuously

and fill your soul with brightness;

and you shall be like a watered garden

and like a spring whose water never fails.

(Isaiah 58: 3-4)

A Steady Faith

"Unless your faith is firm, you shall not be firm!"  Isaiah 7:9

What is essential to our faith is our communication with God - our life of prayer.   When we pray, we let go of ego and will and place ourselves in the presence of the divine so that communication can occur between our human spirit and God's Holy Spirit. 
  Prayer holds us firm in that presence, an anchor that keeps our lives steady and securely linked to God, even while the storms of everyday life bear down on us and try to drag us out to sea.

    A life of prayer keeps us aware of the sacred, ordinary moments in our lives and connected to the One who never changes, even as everything around us sways and lurches, tosses and shifts, Prayer helps us know that God is, indeed, close by, alive, moving and working in our lives.

  God, hear my prayer.  Hold me firm in the palm of your hand.

Read:  Isaiah 7:1-9  Psalm 48:2-8  Matthew 11:20-24

Something to Ponder

Hold God Fast as your Good

    This is the first commandment, this is the beginning of our religion and our journey and road - to have our hearts fixed firmly in faith, and by fixing our hearts firmly in faith to live good lives, to abstain from seductive goods, to endure patiently temporal evils, and as long as the enticement of the first and the second persist, to keep our hearts steady and unshaken against each of them.

  In doing so, you shall hold God fast as your good and have no evil to endure.    - Sermon 38, 5

Prayer - You go on carrying me, Lord, until Your work is finished in me.    Psalm 85:7

What is true forgiveness?

What is true forgiveness?

Forgiveness does not come naturally to most of us.

        When we are hurt or injured by another, our natural response is to want to lash out, strike back, hurt the other as we have been hurt.  Yet, Jesus tells us that we are to "forgive those who trespass against us,"  as we say in the very words of the Our Father.

 

        Jesus gives us two very good reasons for forgiving others.  First, that our own sins might be forgiven: "if you forgive others their transgression, your heavenly Father will forgive you.  But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions" (Matthew 6:14 – 15).  Second, we forgive so that our prayers will be heard: "when you stand to pray, forgive anyone against whom you have a grievance, so that your heavenly Father may in turn forgive you your transgressions" (Mark 11:25).

 

        As Christians, Jesus' words are the gold standard for forgiveness.  Moreover, He tells us that we should forgive those who harm us, not just once or twice, but over and over, as many times as necessary: "then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?  As many as seven times?  Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but seventy times seven.""(Matthew 18:22, RSV).

 

        Forgiveness is a choice we make in obedience to the Lord for the good of our own souls.  We are to do it freely, repeatedly and without counting the personal cost.  All that notwithstanding, our modern world has created a few misconceptions about forgiveness to make this essential Christian act more difficult than it already is.

Are we obligated to forgive everything instantly?

        The clearest example of this can be seen in how we expect children to respond when someone hurts them.  Let us say one child deliberately smashes another child’s prized Play-Doh rabbit.  We command Miss Smasher, "say you are sorry."  Miss Smasher mumbles "Sorry" under her breath, and then we expect the offending child to say something like, "that’s OK.  I forgive you."

 

        The problem is that the child whose rabbit is now roadkill doesn't really feel like forgiving at that moment, not to mention Miss Smashers hastily tossed off, "Sorry," with no conviction, doesn't indicate any sort of repentance.

        If we read Jesus’ words to Peter in context, we realize that they come with the parable of the servant who refused to forgive the debt even though he himself had been forgiven an even greater debt.  A careful reading of the passage shows that the master who granted forgiveness didn't forgive the debt the moment it was incurred.  Nor did he call his slave in and immediately say: "Oh, it's all good.  No problem.  You don't owe me a thing."  The servant had to ask for forgiveness before it was extended.

        Somehow we've forgotten that the point of the story was that when someone genuinely asks for forgiveness (not just saying meaningless words), we must give it.  Instead, we've interpreted it to mean no matter what someone does to us, we are obliged to forgive them immediately, if not sooner.  While it's true that Jesus did forgive those who were crucifying Him in the midst of the crucifixion, it's equally true that God does not peremptorily forgive us our sins until we ask for forgiveness.  A "trespass" doesn't carry automatic forgiveness.  God isn't asking us to do something that He himself doesn't do.

        On the other side of the equation, we can't expect to be forgiven all the things we have done to harm others just because they're supposed to forgive.  If we have "sinned against a brother," we have the responsibility to ask for forgiveness, not automatically assume that it is instantly granted, even as we are figuratively smashing their Play-Doh rabbits.

        The unfortunate consequence of this idea is that too many people now believe that they can do anything they want and then they have to be forgiven, genuine repentance or not.  They think a halfhearted "sorry" (if that) is all that is required to be forgiven.  However, forgiveness is a gift from those of us who are doing the forgiving, not a mere exchange of words.  We forgive because bearing grudges is a cancer in our soul.  We forgive because the way we forgive, is the way, God will forgive us.  We forgive because it is good for us, not because it's the automatic response to all offenses.

Does forgiveness make it all better?

        We need to understand that forgiveness doesn't eradicate the law of cause and effect.  Forgiveness doesn't erase consequences.  Take, for example, a husband who has an affair and brings home a sexually transmitted disease to his wife.  His wife may forgive him, but they still have to deal with the medical repercussions of his adultery, and probably with trust issues and other emotional aspects stemming from the affair.

        Just because the sin is forgiven, the effects don't disappear, either for the person doing the forgiving or the one being forgiven.  To understand this better, think of the Cross.  Jesus forgave those who crucified Him, but He still died on the cross.  The mere act of forgiveness didn't change the physical reality of the action.

        We may be forgiven our sins, but that doesn't mean that all the temporal effects are removed.  We still have to live with and work through the cost of our trespasses.  Neither extending or excepting forgiveness can change that reality.  In fact, sometimes we have to live a lifetime with the consequences of our actions, a constant and painful reminder of what we have done.

Does forgiveness trump justice?

        Along with the fact that forgiveness doesn't erase consequences, neither does it preclude justice.  If someone has harmed us or someone we love in a way that breaks a law, we can still demand our right to justice, while simultaneously forgiving the person.

        Politicians and public figures seem particularly prone to overlooking this aspect of forgiveness.  All too often they act as if a public apology is all that is necessary, even when a crime has been committed.  They almost act affronted when they aren't let off the hook just because they said the right words of apology.

        But it isn't just the rich and famous.  All of us face the temptation to believe that asking for forgiveness will somehow erase the price of justice.  Who, for example, hasn't hoped that telling a police officer you are really sorry for having speeded will prevent the issuance of a ticket?

        The interplay between forgiveness and justice is complex, but one of the best modern examples of how the two can coexist stems from Mehmet Ali Agca’s assassination attempt on Pope John II in 1981.  Although shortly after the shooting, Blessed John Paul asked that we "pray for my brother… whom I have sincerely forgiven," and later visited him in prison, the Pope did not intervene to prevent justice from being served.  Agca was convicted by an Italian court and sentenced to life in prison.

 
        What forgiveness does call for with regard to justice, however, is that justice be tempered with mercy.  Eventually, Pope John Paul asked that the Italian government pardon Agca and allow him to be extradited to Turkey - not before he had served 19 years of his sentence, however.  Forgiveness was granted, but justice was also served.

        Forgiveness is tough.  As Reinhold Niebuhr says, "Forgiveness is the final form of love."  As Christians, we are called to forgive, as we have been forgiven.  But we are also called to model God's forgiveness, which incorporates repentance, allows for consequences and demands justice.

        When we try to forgive as the world understands forgiveness, it is an almost impossible undertaking.  But when we forgive as Christ commands us, it is an infusion of grace into a wounded world.

I'm Back!!!

Hey There!!   I know I have been gone for quite awhile but I decided to get back to it.  So,  we will get going with a short message today and then follow up with some news and reviews in the days to come.  If you want to follow my blog you can subscribe or receive the feed in your RSS reader.  I recommend Netvibes,  it works great.  You can set it up any way you like.  

In a later post I will give a short list of sites and blogs that are of interest to me, (and hopefully to you as well).  Please submit your comments, (keep it civil) about what I post and feel free to make suggestions.

BIBLE QUOTE:  God did not make death, nor does He rejoice in the destruction of the living.  For He fashioned all things that they might have being.

How reassuring!  God seeks life, not death, for all creation.  Through the Death and Resurrection of Christ, God brings to life all who are dead in sin.
  Let us sing praise!!

He is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive. (Lk 20:38

Ok,  that's it for now.  Please continue to follow and we can make the journey together.

May God Almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit descend upon you and remain forever. Amen.