I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. —Philippians 3:12
Never choose to be a worker for God, but once God has placed His call on you, woe be to you if you “turn aside to the right hand or to the left” (Deuteronomy 5:32). We are not here to work for God because we have chosen to do so, but because God has “laid hold of” us. And once He has done so, we never have this thought, “Well, I’m really not suited for this.” What you are to preach is also determined by God, not by your own natural leanings or desires. Keep your soul steadfastly related to God, and remember that you are called not simply to convey your testimony but also to preach the gospel. Every Christian must testify to the truth of God, but when it comes to the call to preach, there must be the agonizing grip of God’s hand on you— your life is in the grip of God for that very purpose. How many of us are held like that?
Never water down the Word of God, but preach it in its undiluted sternness. There must be unflinching faithfulness to the Word of God, but when you come to personal dealings with others, remember who you are— you are not some special being created in heaven, but a sinner saved by grace.
“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do…I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).
Journal, DJR
Good Morning Lord,
We continue to look at two streams of devotional literature and compare the truths that are contained in each. It’s a process of sorting, and comparing and even rejecting some of what we find. The authors, after all are imperfect humans caught in the space and time of their own culture… just as we are. Sometimes, understanding the context that the author wrote in helps, just as it is essential to understand the context that the scriptural authors wrote. And sometimes you’ve shown us concepts that help bridge differences and answer seeming contradictions. The bolded quote above… “when you come to personal dealings with others, remember who you are— you are not some special being created in heaven, but a sinner saved by grace.” … depends on the “either – or” dualistic thinking context. Which we are coming to reject. To us, it really helps to see and state that both are true. We are special beings, created in heaven…. and also sinners saved by grace.
Another line that we see as true, but we see it differently is, Never water down the Word of God, but preach it in its undiluted sternness. What Chambers and some of today’s polarized folks in politics as well as religion fail to include are the clear scriptures on Love and Grace and Mercy. We must not water those down either. When they are “preached with undiluted sternness” we have a delicious tension that only reliance on your Holy Spirit can resolve. Until he does, for us specifically, in a specific situation, it seems that the only safe way to stand is holding both of the seeming opposites in an “open palm”… ready to hear, ready to be instructed, ready to see thru a new lens. Help us Lord to live like that.
Field Hospital on the Edge of the Battlefield (Daily Devotional from Richard Rohr)
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Francis of Assisi taught us the importance of living close to the poor, the marginalized, the outcasts in society. The outer poverty, injustice, and absurdity around us mirror our own inner poverty, injustice, and absurdity. The poor man or woman outside is an invitation to the poor man or woman inside. As you nurture compassion and sympathy for the brokenness of things, encounter the visible icon of the painful mystery in “the little ones,” build bridges between the inner and outer, learn to move between action and contemplation, then you’ll find compassion and sympathy for the brokenness within yourself.
Each time I was recovering from cancer, I had to sit with my own broken absurdity as I’ve done with others at the jail or hospital or sick bed. The suffering person’s poverty is visible and extraverted; mine is invisible and interior, but just as real. I think that’s why Jesus said we have to recognize Christ in the least of our brothers and sisters. It was for our redemption, our liberation, our healing—not just to “help” others and put a check on our spiritual resume.
I can’t hate the person on welfare when I realize I’m on God’s welfare. It all becomes one truth; the inner and the outer reflect one another. As compassion and sympathy flow out of us to any marginalized person for whatever reason, wounds are bandaged—both theirs and ours.
Thomas, the doubting apostle, wanted to figure things out in his head. He had done too much inner work, too much analyzing and explaining. He always needed more data before he could make a move. Then Jesus told Thomas he must put his finger inside the wounds in Jesus’ hands and side (John 20:27). Then and only then did Thomas begin to understand what faith is all about.
Pope Francis is encouraging a church of doubting Thomases when he tells us that “the church seems like a field hospital” [1] on the edge of the battlefield (as opposed to a country club of saved people) and the “clergy should smell like their sheep” (rather than thinking they smell better). [2] If this could happen, it would change just about everything that we have called church up to now.
Gateway to Silence:
Be still and still moving.
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