paravanes:meditations

From Hebrews 12:2: "...Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross..." What was that joy? After all, isn't the world a pretty miserable place? Hasn't human history been filled with war, disease, oppression, and dishonesty---even among those who claim to be "religious"  or "spiritual"? Even when we find happiness and contentment within our circles of family, friendship, church, or work, we cannot remain isolated from the wider world. In spite of the pain that has lined human history, God has always lived in the hearts and minds of those who follow him in love. Although we cannot see the full picture of the souls committed to love and serve God, these souls are visible and known to him. These souls bring him joy! In the midst of sadness and injustice of every kind,  there are those who continue to trust in the love of God. Some are alone in their faith. Others worship in a church or other gat...

"Jesus wept". It is the shortest verse in the Bible (John 11:35). Jesus was acquainted with grief. He didn't live in grief, but he knew and understood it. That should be our formula as well. If we live honestly and see what's around us, we will be acquainted with grief. Then, we will move on. We will not bury or deny our grief. In fact, if we have been deeply wounded, some part of us will be changed--perhaps forever. When we reach that place, we can choose to welcome and engage Jesus the Resurrector. He restores life. There are no guarantees he will restore the life we had, or the life we'd hoped to have. He may restore us to something wildly different from what we'd imagined. It will be good. His call to follow comes with a single promise: come with me and allow the life of God to live in you. See and experience fear, then deny and crush it. Come to the end of yourself in sadness and pain and learn a new way to live. Allow Jesus to resurrect you into th...

Jesus always encourages us to face our fears. Then, he says "fear not." He's telling us not to be consumed by fear, not to hold the energy of fear within us, and not to accommodate our lives to the things we fear. When we go with Jesus, there is always some stress involved because we are constantly uncovering and defeating our fears. We don't do this alone.  He goes with us because we chose to go with him. It's a journey of love: a loving God teaches his beloved creature to live beyond fear. Beyond fear, there is only love.

Yes, there are easier journeys. There are journeys requiring less change, journeys of fewer challenges, journeys filled with ease and comfort. But when God calls you to walk with him, there is no finer road to walk. The journey brings the vision to life. There is nothing better.

Here is wisdom from Joan Chittister's book Scarred by Struggle : Transformed by Hope. "Struggle is always an invitation to a new life that, the longer it is resisted, the longer we fail to become who we are really meant to be. The stories of people trapped in the past--the ones for whom the story of their past struggles has become the story of their present grief, their living anger, their unfinished definitions of themselves--are the stories of people who were never able to complete the cycle of liberation, the odyssey of hope." Let God lead you through to the other side. Dare to complete the cycle. You will not walk alone. Why the struggle? So that you may live as a free person, unbound by the injuries and failures of the past.

Graphic is from reachingcampus.com More insights from my Lenten reading, this one from  pages 44 and 45 of Joan Chittister's   Wisdom Distilled From The Daily . "So, even liking one another is not enough. The truth about Christian community is that we have to be committed to the same eternal things together. What we want to live for and how we intend to live out those values are the central questions of community. Without that understanding, communities fail and marriages dissolve and people leave religious life and nations go to war." "Another function of community is to enable us to be about something greater than ourselves. It is no small task in a world that tells us" (especially in North America-- my words ) "constantly that we ourselves are enough to be concerned about and that everything else will take care of itself. Well, that kind of enlightened altruism has not saved us from the destruction of the ozone layer, or the deterioration ...

" [This is] the revelation of Jesus Christ [His unveiling of the divine mysteries]. God gave it to Him to disclose and make known to His bond servants certain things which must shortly and speedily come to pass [ a ] in their entirety. And He sent and communicated it through His angel (messenger) to His bond servant John, 2  Who has testified to and vouched for all that he saw [ [ b ] in his visions], the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ." --Revelation 1:1. The Amplified Bible While growing up (I'm a PK), I asked my father if he would ever preach a sermon on the following topic: where is Jesus right now, and what is He doing? He did later (years later) preach a sermon on a topic that begins to answer the question. He preached from the Book of Revelation and described the challenges for the church at Sardis, an ancient city near modern day Turkey. During this season of Lent, I've been reading and re-reading (silently and aloud) the Book of R...

What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing buy the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow that makes me clean, I know. (sometimes sung as "white I know.") No other fount I know. Nothing but the blood of Jesus! -- Robert Lowry (1876---now in public domain) Am I looking for some other way to "fix my problems" and move forward in  life? There is nothing but the blood of Jesus that re-starts my experience, removes guilt in life and fear of death, that focuses my gifts on something worthwhile and worthy, that frees me to forgive myself and others, that empowers me to life gracefully and honestly even when surrounded by those who are not graceful nor honest. How can this be true? How does the death of the God-Man Jesus Christ make me whole? His death and suffering reconnect me to God. Through the blood of Jesus, I am no longer under guilt for the bad things I have done and the failed/...

One of my favorite films, Wim Winders' Wings of Desire , and a lesser knock-off ( City of Angels ) inspired me to practice a spiritual exercise which has helped me tremendously. In both films, angels who have assumed (from the viewer's perspective) human form live among real humans, observe our actions, and attempt to comfort us in times of sadness or confusion. Ironically (and unfortunately), neither film explores how God actually comforts those who follow Him. Still, in both films, key characters make this assertion: "I can't see you, but I know you're there (or here)." I can't see God, but I know He's here. From early years Sunday School lessons to readings of Brother Lawrence's The Practice of the Presence of God , some of us have struggled to remind ourselves of God's constant and unavoidable presence in every space and in every place. Reflecting on the message of both films, I created this practice and invite you to join me in i...

From Sacramental Meditations and Advices , by Rev. John Willison (1821). “Meditation XIII.”   Read or download the full text of Willison’s book here .  ********************************************************************* “O love that passes knowledge! How shall I think of it and not stand amazed! That the general should die for the soldier, the physician for the patient! That the righteous Judge of Heaven should come to the bar, put Himself in the malefactor’s clothes, and be condemned for him! That the blessed Son of God should interpose his innocent breast to receive the moral stroke for us! That God all-sufficient should be exposed to hunger and thirst, to grief and weariness, and the vilest reproaches and indignities, for worms like us! Behold the Creator of the world wounded, mangled, and killed by ungrateful creatures, whom He came to save! ... Behold His heart burning with affection towards them that cruelly pierced it! Surely a believing view of t...

"Take away the love of sinning, Alpha and Omega be, end of faith as it's beginning, set our hearts at liberty." --Charles Wesley,  " Love Divine, All Loves Excelling " On and after Ash Wednesday, conversations emerge about what we are going to "give up" for Lent. Some say they will eat meat less often, reduce the amount of sugar consumed, exercise every other day-- no promises for daily exercise !--, read the Bible daily, be kinder to co-workers, etc. The list is endless. My prayer for Lent is this: Dear God, take away the love of sinning from my heart. I am not very fearful about what used to be called "great, big sins", but there is a part of me that may be tempted to think I am better off doing things my way instead of doing things God's way. There is a part of me that still thinks I know more than does God about what will bring me lasting peace and satisfaction. Thinking in that way may be the clearest picture of sin. As I ...