Today, a reading for us to meditate upon.
Hear the word of God:
I have found my servant David;
with my holy oil I have anointed him;
my hand shall always remain with him;
my arm also shall strengthen him.
The enemy shall not outwit him,
the wicked shall not humble him.
I will crush his foes before him
and strike down those who hate him.
My faithfulness and steadfast love shall be with him;
and in my name his horn shall be exalted.
I will set his hand on the sea
and his right hand on the rivers.
He shall cry to me, 'You are my Father,
my God, and the Rock of my salvation!'
I will make him the firstborn,
the highest of the kings of the earth.
Forever I will keep my steadfast love for him,
and my covenant with him will stand firm.
I will establish his line forever,
and his throne as long as the heavens endure.
If his children forsake my law
and do not walk according to my ordinances,
if they violate my statutes
and do not keep my commandments,
then I will punish their transgression with the rod
and their iniquity with scourges;
but I will not remove from him my steadfast love,
or be false to my faithfulness.
I will not violate my covenant,
or alter the word that went forth from my lips.
Once and for all I have sworn by my holiness;
I will not lie to David.
His line shall continue forever,
and his throne endure before me like the sun.
It shall be established forever like the moon,
an enduring witness in the skies."
Blessings,
Ron
Psalm 89:20-37 – NRSV
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
Let me dwell with you ...
Hear the word of the Lord:
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: Stand in the gate of the Lord's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah, you that enter these gates to worship the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your doings, and let me dwell with you in this place. Do not trust in these deceptive words: "This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord."
For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly act justly one with another, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, then I will dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your ancestors forever and ever.
Jeremiah 7:1-7 – NRSV
Of course, since we are Christians, the temple of the Lord is no longer our spiritual focus, no longer the cornerstone of our faith. Jesus Christ is our cornerstone, the stone that too many others have rejected. But do we sometimes take the cornerstone of our faith for granted? When I read these words Thursday night, I remembered some words I had read some time ago. Words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer:
Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession. . . . Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate. . . .
Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: “ye were bought at a price,” and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship, 47-48).
Most days, we are quite competent at seeking grace and asking for the gift of grace. It has become second nature to us. Yet the real challenge that Bonhoeffer calls us to is discipleship. Following. Because the words of our faith are so powerful, it is easy to rely on them: grace, forgiveness, justification, redemption, salvation. I hope that these words never lose power in our lives, because they are the works of God in our lives. At the same time we tend to forget the importance of words connected with our part of our relationship with God: confession, repentance, yielding, emptying, imitation, discipleship. These are words that cause us to “amend our ways,” to change our “doings,” and to “act justly with one another.” At the same time, certain practices are required. In our ministry, we not only seek to avoid oppressing the “orphan,” whether physical or spiritual, but we try to help them find life. Some find that life in Jesus Christ, and that abundantly.
To do all of these things is a rich and deep discipleship, yet it is a fiercely challenging one. It is one that requires grace, grace from God. Let us not be too hasty to extend ourselves grace, but rather rely upon the power of the one who has actually purchased it to provide it for his disciples, for us. Let us seek it, let us ask for it, and let us engage in the kind of discipleship that shows that we trust in the power of the God who gives it, and not merely the structure of the words.
Blessings,
Ron
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: Stand in the gate of the Lord's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah, you that enter these gates to worship the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your doings, and let me dwell with you in this place. Do not trust in these deceptive words: "This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord."
For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly act justly one with another, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, then I will dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your ancestors forever and ever.
Jeremiah 7:1-7 – NRSV
Of course, since we are Christians, the temple of the Lord is no longer our spiritual focus, no longer the cornerstone of our faith. Jesus Christ is our cornerstone, the stone that too many others have rejected. But do we sometimes take the cornerstone of our faith for granted? When I read these words Thursday night, I remembered some words I had read some time ago. Words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer:
Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession. . . . Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate. . . .
Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: “ye were bought at a price,” and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship, 47-48).
Most days, we are quite competent at seeking grace and asking for the gift of grace. It has become second nature to us. Yet the real challenge that Bonhoeffer calls us to is discipleship. Following. Because the words of our faith are so powerful, it is easy to rely on them: grace, forgiveness, justification, redemption, salvation. I hope that these words never lose power in our lives, because they are the works of God in our lives. At the same time we tend to forget the importance of words connected with our part of our relationship with God: confession, repentance, yielding, emptying, imitation, discipleship. These are words that cause us to “amend our ways,” to change our “doings,” and to “act justly with one another.” At the same time, certain practices are required. In our ministry, we not only seek to avoid oppressing the “orphan,” whether physical or spiritual, but we try to help them find life. Some find that life in Jesus Christ, and that abundantly.
To do all of these things is a rich and deep discipleship, yet it is a fiercely challenging one. It is one that requires grace, grace from God. Let us not be too hasty to extend ourselves grace, but rather rely upon the power of the one who has actually purchased it to provide it for his disciples, for us. Let us seek it, let us ask for it, and let us engage in the kind of discipleship that shows that we trust in the power of the God who gives it, and not merely the structure of the words.
Blessings,
Ron
Thursday, July 23, 2009
I shall dwell ...
God is our divine host; he makes room for us
and provides for us, even in the midst of difficulty.
Read and meditate on this old, familiar psalm, but
see it this time from the perspective of God’s hospitality.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff —
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
my whole life long.
Blessings,
Ron
Psalm 23 – NRSV
and provides for us, even in the midst of difficulty.
Read and meditate on this old, familiar psalm, but
see it this time from the perspective of God’s hospitality.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff —
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
my whole life long.
Blessings,
Ron
Psalm 23 – NRSV
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
We humbly beseech thee ...
Today, a prayer:
Excepts from the Southwell Litany:
Let us pray, O Lord,
open our minds to see ourselves as thou seest us,
Or even as others see us and we see others,
And from all unwillingness to know our infirmities,
save us and help us,
We humbly beseech thee, O Lord.
From moral weakness of spirit; from timidity; from hesitation;
From fear of others and dread of responsibility,
Strengthen us with the courage to speak the truth
in love and self-control;
And alike from the weakness of haste
and weakness of moral cowardice,
save us and help us,
We humbly beseech thee, O Lord.
From dullness of conscience; from feeble sense of duty;
From thoughtless disregard of consequences to others;
From a low idea of the obligations of our Christian calling;
And from all half-heartedness in our service for thee;
save us and help us,
We humbly beseech thee, O Lord.
From weariness in continuing struggles;
from despondency in failure and disappointment;
From overburdened sense of unworthiness;
from morbid fancies of imaginary back-sliding;
Raise us to a lively hope and trust in thy presence and mercy,
In the power of faith and prayer;
save us and help us,
We humbly beseech thee, O Lord.
From pride and self-will;
from desire to have our own way in all things;
From overweening love of our own ideas
and blindness to the value of others;
From resentment against opposition
and contempt for the claims of others;
Enlarge the generosity of our hearts
and enlighten the fairness of our judgments;
And from all selfish arbitrariness of temper,
save us and help us,
We humbly beseech thee, O Lord.
From all hasty utterances of impatience;
From the retort of irritation and the taunt of sarcasm;
From all infirmity of temper in provoking or being provoked;
From love of unkind gossip,
and from all idle words that may do hurt,
save us and help us,
We humbly beseech thee, O Lord.
From strife and partisanship and division among thy people,
From magnifying our certainties to condemn all differences,
From all arrogance in our dealings with others,
save us and help us,
We humbly beseech thee, O Lord.
Finally, O Lord, we humbly beseech thee,
blot out our past transgressions,
Heal the evils of our past negligences and ignorances,
Make us amend our past mistakes and misunderstandings;
Uplift our hearts to new love, new energy and devotion,
That we may be unburdened from the grief
and shame of past faithlessness
To go forth in thy strength to persevere
through success and failure,
Through good report and evil report,
And in all time of our tribulation,
in all time of our prosperity,
save us and help us,
We humbly beseech thee, O Lord.
Blessings,
Ron
Excepts from the Southwell Litany:
Let us pray, O Lord,
open our minds to see ourselves as thou seest us,
Or even as others see us and we see others,
And from all unwillingness to know our infirmities,
save us and help us,
We humbly beseech thee, O Lord.
From moral weakness of spirit; from timidity; from hesitation;
From fear of others and dread of responsibility,
Strengthen us with the courage to speak the truth
in love and self-control;
And alike from the weakness of haste
and weakness of moral cowardice,
save us and help us,
We humbly beseech thee, O Lord.
From dullness of conscience; from feeble sense of duty;
From thoughtless disregard of consequences to others;
From a low idea of the obligations of our Christian calling;
And from all half-heartedness in our service for thee;
save us and help us,
We humbly beseech thee, O Lord.
From weariness in continuing struggles;
from despondency in failure and disappointment;
From overburdened sense of unworthiness;
from morbid fancies of imaginary back-sliding;
Raise us to a lively hope and trust in thy presence and mercy,
In the power of faith and prayer;
save us and help us,
We humbly beseech thee, O Lord.
From pride and self-will;
from desire to have our own way in all things;
From overweening love of our own ideas
and blindness to the value of others;
From resentment against opposition
and contempt for the claims of others;
Enlarge the generosity of our hearts
and enlighten the fairness of our judgments;
And from all selfish arbitrariness of temper,
save us and help us,
We humbly beseech thee, O Lord.
From all hasty utterances of impatience;
From the retort of irritation and the taunt of sarcasm;
From all infirmity of temper in provoking or being provoked;
From love of unkind gossip,
and from all idle words that may do hurt,
save us and help us,
We humbly beseech thee, O Lord.
From strife and partisanship and division among thy people,
From magnifying our certainties to condemn all differences,
From all arrogance in our dealings with others,
save us and help us,
We humbly beseech thee, O Lord.
Finally, O Lord, we humbly beseech thee,
blot out our past transgressions,
Heal the evils of our past negligences and ignorances,
Make us amend our past mistakes and misunderstandings;
Uplift our hearts to new love, new energy and devotion,
That we may be unburdened from the grief
and shame of past faithlessness
To go forth in thy strength to persevere
through success and failure,
Through good report and evil report,
And in all time of our tribulation,
in all time of our prosperity,
save us and help us,
We humbly beseech thee, O Lord.
Blessings,
Ron
Monday, July 20, 2009
Taking into giving ...
Today, a prayer from Walter Brueggemann:
We Are Takers
You are the giver of all good things.
All good things are sent from heaven above,
rain and sun,
day and night,
justice and righteousness,
bread to the eater and
seed to the sower,
peace to the old,
energy to the young,
joy to the babes.
We are takers, who take from you,
day by day, daily bread,
taking all we need as you supply,
taking in gratitude and wonder and joy.
And then taking more,
taking more than we need,
taking more than you give us,
taking from our sisters and brothers,
taking from the poor and the weak,
taking because we are frightened, and so greedy,
taking because we are anxious, and so fearful,
taking because we are so driven, and so uncaring.
Give us peace beyond our fear, and so end our greed.
Give us well-being beyond our anxiety, and so end our fear.
Give us abundance beyond our drivenness,
and so end our uncaring.
Turn our taking into giving … since we are in your giving image:
make us giving like you,
giving gladly and not taking,
giving in abundance, not taking,
giving in joy, not taking,
giving as he gave himself up for us all,
giving, never taking.
Amen.
Blessings,
Ron
We Are Takers
You are the giver of all good things.
All good things are sent from heaven above,
rain and sun,
day and night,
justice and righteousness,
bread to the eater and
seed to the sower,
peace to the old,
energy to the young,
joy to the babes.
We are takers, who take from you,
day by day, daily bread,
taking all we need as you supply,
taking in gratitude and wonder and joy.
And then taking more,
taking more than we need,
taking more than you give us,
taking from our sisters and brothers,
taking from the poor and the weak,
taking because we are frightened, and so greedy,
taking because we are anxious, and so fearful,
taking because we are so driven, and so uncaring.
Give us peace beyond our fear, and so end our greed.
Give us well-being beyond our anxiety, and so end our fear.
Give us abundance beyond our drivenness,
and so end our uncaring.
Turn our taking into giving … since we are in your giving image:
make us giving like you,
giving gladly and not taking,
giving in abundance, not taking,
giving in joy, not taking,
giving as he gave himself up for us all,
giving, never taking.
Amen.
Blessings,
Ron
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