Keeping Scripture Sacred in Practice

" With Bibles everywhere, we can lose the sense that Scripture readings are precious words dripped from God's mouth. Jewish rabbis used to put a drop of honey on the holy books held by young Jewish students to remind them of how sweet the word of God is, like honey on our lips. Muslim friends wash their hands before they touch the Koran. There is something to be said for remembering how precious the Story is. As you read the gospel aloud this year (in morning prayer, before a meal), consider standing on your feet and recognizing that this is not just someone reading a newspaper headline or a poem; this is God's word, speaking directly to us. Another practice might be to sing an Alleluia chorus before and after you read aloud a passage of the gospel. (Alleluia is the Latin version of the Greek word allelouia, an expression of praise and joy that, in turn, comes from the Hebrew Hallelujah for "praise the Lord".) Maybe even consider putting a drop of honey on your children's Bible as you read to them."
                Common Prayer: A Liturgy For Ordinary Radicals, p. 68

How does your time reading scripture differ from your time reading other literature? I used to go about it very much the same, sitting in the same chair as I read my fiction novels and magazines, opening it up in the very same way and just plodding through, reading every word with interest, but not really recognizing it, in practice, as anything different than anything else I read.


I have personally made it a practice to light  incense and or/a candle before reading Scripture. And many times (this is more frequent when my children are not home) I will start off in preparing my heart by practicing 15-20 minutes of meditation. It helps clear my thoughts and open my heart to God.  Sometimes, especially if I don't have the time or the privacy for silent meditation I will say the Jesus prayer, " Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.", repeatedly. When I let my mind and heart dwell on these precious words, pregnant with truth, it really helps me open up to the Scriptures with a renewed sense of expectancy and eagerness. Sometimes I'll say the Lord's Prayer or sing a hymn (that's definitely something I do when nobody is around...nobody needs to hear me sing!).

I definitely have found that prayer, meditation, a hymn sung, are all great ways in helping one clear the mind from distractions and start to focus on the truths of God, opening oneself to experiencing God's presence in more and more ways, and opening the gate that leads the heart to more insights and truths in God through the whispers of the Spirit to the soul, an occurrence that is a blessing one receives from reading Scripture.  God does not deny the seeking heart, He always answers when we call. But I've found that it is especially helpful to fine tune the ears of my heart to hear those answers, and I've learned to do it through the ways mentioned. Such ways also show a distinction between reading Scripture and reading other non-sacred texts. 

Do you have any way that you've made your Scripture time different and unique from the time you read other things? Are there ways that help you define that time as sacred? As a time being alone with God and receiving the spiritual manna all of our souls hunger for? If so...please share!

Freedom in Hope: Thomas Merton

"We are not perfectly free until we live in pure hope. For when our hope is pure, it no longer trusts exclusively in human and visible means, nor rests in any visible end. He who hopes in God trusts God, Whom he never sees, to bring him to the possession of things that are beyond imagination."
                                                ~ Thomas Merton



Heavenly Father,

May we be children that live free in You. That find unrestrained hope and joy in Your presence and in Your promises. With each passing day may we learn to walk trusting less in our own wisdom and more in yours. And through our childlike trust may you reveal to our hearts truths and experiences our minds would never have imagined.

 May we walk with light hearts, our souls pregnant with peace and comfort and may we share all the beautiful spiritual and material blessings you give us with others. May the whole world see the light that is You in us and may it rejoice in the pure hope that only you offer.

We love you, we praise you and give you all glory and honor.

In Jesus' name,
Amen

Letting Go of Attachments: St. John of the Cross

"The soul that is attached to anything, however much good there may be in it, will not arrive at the liberty of divine union. For whether it be a strong wire rope or a slender and delicate thread that holds the bird, it matters not, if it really holds it fast; for until the cord be broken, the bird cannot fly."

                   ~ St. John of the Cross



I thought the image of a bird being tethered would be appropriate to include in this blog post, since St. John of the Cross uses it to illustrate how attachments can bind us to ourselves and our own egos, hindering us from true and unhindered divine union with God. I just want to say I,  in no way, condone such treatment to animals (I'm a vegetarian and speak out against animal abuse) and my stomach turned while flipping through images to find a decent one!

As much as I find this image disgusting...I find it appropriate and I think St. John of the Cross brings up much for us to think about. He raises good questions to ask ourselves. What is keeping us from experiencing God more fully? What are we attached to that hinders our relationship with God?...

Important questions to ponder...

How tragic to be attached to something, like that bird in the photograph, that keeps us from soaring to the unknown heights of union with God. May God illuminate to each one of us the things of this world and the things within ourselves, that we still cling to and give us the strength to let go of them and may our souls cleave to God, and God alone.

Any thoughts?

Confronting Christianity's Bad PR (w. Quotes from Claiborne and Manning)

"A friend and I prepared a video clip once for a worship service. Our goal was to capture people's responses to the word Christian, so we took a video camera and hit the streets, from the trendy arts districts to the suburbs. We asked people to say the first word that came to mind in response to each word we said: "snow", "eagles" (it's Philly), "teenagers", and finally "Christian". When people heard the word Christian, they stopped in their tracks. I will never forget their responses: "fake", "hypocrites", "church", "boring". One guy even said, "used-to-be-one" (sort of one word). I will also never forget what they didn't say. Not one of the people we asked that day said "love". No one said "grace". No one said "community".
       ~Shane Claiborne, Irresistible Revolution, p. 269-270

"The greatest cause of atheism is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door and deny him with their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."
          ~ Brennan Manning

If we were to consider the image Christianity commonly strikes up within the average modern citizen that doesn't attend church, and even among some of those sadly that do, the images and impressions would be strikingly sad and disheartening for those of us believers that feel the Spirit alive and well within our souls. Who know what it is to have an active relationship with Christ and have felt hope, strength, encouragement and life from that relationship.


Individual churches as well as Christian groups that have decided to use the pulpit as a political platform, oftentimes targeting certain groups within our country in limiting their rights and voices, have turned many off from our faith. Oftentimes these groups receive much more press than the groups and churches  in this country and abroad who are doing good things in the name of Christ. Who are actively living out the gospel everyday and showing love and compassion towards others...lifting up those that are in despair, providing spiritual and material blessings to those who are in desperate need of them.



Through our continual display of love and compassion towards humanity and stewardship to our environment we can help show the world that, though there are Christians that do live up to the stereotypes, there are many of us that do not. To be honest...when reflecting on the informal study done by Claiborne, Christianity can be boring if it is gone about without the Spirit of God. Perhaps some of the churches are dead spiritually and need a resurrection of sorts. In fact, I would say, Christianity as a whole, needs to rise from the ashes and ,with the gospel as its wings, soar back into the hearts of the people. This can only be done through the Spirit and God's will. May it be God's will that His Kingdom will be seen on earth through the works and prayers of His people.

It's my view that we should never change the gospel to win people over into accepting us more or opening up more to God's truth. For if we changed the gospel we wouldn't be presenting people with the truth at all. Just a cheap version of something that has the power to transform. No, we want to be transformed and watch in joy as others are transformed in the love and light of Jesus. For this to happen, the gospel shouldn't be reinterpreted but lived out. Words are just symbols for concepts, actions...well they say it all. So let's live out our faith, let's believe the words of the gospel and give our all to Jesus and let the light of the Spirit shine through us into the darkness of a fallen world.

~blessings

The Word as a Tree of Life

"The Word of God is a tree of life that offers us blessed fruit from each of its branches. It is like that rock which was struck open in the wilderness, from which all were offered spiritual drink. Be glad then that you are overwhelmed, and do not be saddened because he has overcome you. A thirsty person is happy when drinking, and not depressed, because the spring is inexhaustible. You can satisfy your thirst without exhausting the spring; then when you thirst again, you can drink from it once more."

           ~ Ephrem the Syrian

May we all find much fruit today while reading through the Scriptures and feasting upon the spiritual manna God provides for our souls. May God bless us with insight, knowledge and His Spirit, so that we might be encouraged and given strength and direction to bring His light and love to those in our families and community that thirst after it.

~Many blessings



Christ's Twofold Coming: Quote by Passchasius Radbertus

Heavenly Father,

Prepare our hearts on this sabbath day as we come together in corporate worship to praise you and to lift your name above all others, declaring your supreme sovereignty in our lives. May you continually stir our consciences, day by day, minute by minute-may we feel your presence and be in continual union with you. Work in our hearts, God, to conform them more to your Will and less to the world. Wash us and renew us with your Spirit Lord. We seek strength and comfort in you so that we may be blessed with the tools in which we can serve you more, and your children on earth, bringing glory to your immeasurable name.

Please forgive us our sins and make straight our paths. For those of us that have strayed, we pray in earnest that you guide us back to sure footing and make clear in our minds and hearts the direction you have for us.Help us cast the light of the Spirit that is within us into the darkness of this fallen world, so that your truth-of your great mercy and compassion, might be magnified.

We give you all praise, honor and glory.

In Jesus' name,
Amen 

"The apostles took every care not to be drawn from the right path. They kept watch, observing the universal precepts their master had given to his disciples as to be ready when he came again. Consequently we must always be on the lookout for Christ's twofold coming, the one when he comes day after day to stir our consciences, and the other when we shall have to give an account of everything we have done. He comes to us now in order that his future coming may find us prepared."
    ~ Passchasius Radbertus, 9th century Benedictine monk

A Holy Rage Against Complacency: Passage by Kaj Munk

"What is therefore our task today? Shall I answer: "Faith, hope, and love"? That sounds beautiful. But I would say -courage. No, even that is not challenging enough to be the whole truth. Our task today is recklessness. For what we Christians lack is not psychology or literature...we lack a holy rage-the recklessness which comes from the knowledge of God and humanity. The ability to rage when justice lies prostrate on the streets, and when the lie rages across the face of the earth...a holy anger about the things that are wrong in the world. To rage against the ravaging of God's earth, and the destruction of God's world. To rage when little children must die of hunger, when the tables of the rich are sagging with food. To rage at the senseless killing of so many, and against the madness of militaries. To rage at the lie that calls the threat of death and the strategy of destruction peace. To rage against complacency. To restlessly seek that recklessness that will challenge and seek to change human history until it conforms to the norms of the Kingdom of God. And remember the signs of theChristian Church have been the Lion, the Lamb, the Dove, and the Fish...but never the chamelon."
            ~ Kaj Munk


During Kaj Munk's lifetime he had much to lament about as the world around him was in obvious turmoil. He was a prominent Danish playright and Lutheran priest living through one of the most bloodiest times in our world's history. Hatred, intolerance, fear, injustice, suffering and death were woven into the tapestry of his daily existence. He lived during the second world war and was eventually killed, his Bible beside him, by the Gestapo in 1944 who would not tolerate his open critisicms towards Hitler's cruelty.

Kaj Munk illuminates the importance, as Christians, of taking  inventory on the state of our heart and its reactions and awareness to the cruelty that permeates our world. How do we respond to the social and environmental injustices we witness in these modern days? Are we filled with apathy when we come across the troubles and sufferings others are experiencing? Do we feel saddened yet feel we can't do anything? Do we feel troubled and just want to look away from the images on tv, displaying starving and dying children, figuring that someone else will take care of it, or the problem is much greater than we could comprehend, for sure we, alone, couldn't make a difference.

...Or do we feel angry...that someone would dare treat a child of God that way? That while other's tables are overflowing with food, yet many more are empty. That while precious children are dying because they don't get the simple vaccinations and medicine they need there's medicine that expires everyday on shelves across the globe? Let's stand up and resist complacency! Let's stand up and resist being apathatic, or turning sad eyes away. We can help others...we have the Spirit of God inside us after all!

The Bible tells us: Through God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26)

Jesus stood up for what was right and against what was wrong. He went against the current that most let guide them through the culture of that day. But when he saw something wrong or injust happening, or felt like people were being hypocritical, he called them out on it, holding them accountable. Look at the account of when an adulteress was about to be stoned. Jesus was not complacent. He called into question the purity of those about to cast stones on the woman who had sinned. He stepped forward and spoke up, asking him that has not sinned to cast the first stone. (John 8:4-11). When we see someone being treated or judged unfairly, do we speak up? Or are we complacent?

Let's look at when Jesus entered Jersualem and saw people misusing the temple. "Turning a house of prayer into a den of robbers". What did he do when he saw that? Did he walk away, head bowed, feeling nothing could be done among such defilement towards the sacred? No...with a holy rage he overturned the tables and rebuked them. (Matthew 21:12-13) Jesus was not complacent.



I wonder what the world would look like if christians like Martin Luther King Jr. or Mother Teresa gave up and did not pursue the stirrings the Spirit caused in their heart towards combatting suffering in this world, figuring they, alone, could not make a difference. Both, beautiful individuals, pursued different paths-one, an open and loud voice towards reform, rallying others that shared his visions...the other, a quiet gentle soul, by her very service to humanity sparking a fire inside the hearts of many to follow in her vision. Neither were complacent. There are many ways to contribute towards peace and love in this world, to combat evil and darkness...but to do nothing...perhaps that's the greatest of all crimes against humanity.

So during this season of Advent I'm going to suggest being introspective and looking at our role as Christians in this world. Do we walk the walk like Jesus did? Or do we talk the talk and let the sufferings and pain of our neighbors go unnoticed or ignored. I'd suggest, and this is only my layperson suggestion...but let's get angry. Let's feel anger towards the groanings of the world under the yoke of darkness and oppression. Let's get angry enough to be stirred towards casting our light into the darkness. Towards lifting our hands to help, our voices to speak against wrongs, our feet to walk the path that Jesus did.

Let's cultivate a holy rage against complacency and a holy love towards our neighbor. In the eyes of the homeless, of the sick and the dying, of the depressed and diseased, of the murderer and the robber...let's see Jesus. And let's battle against complacency by extending ourselves beyond our comfort zones and lifting others up, encouraging them, giving them hope in Jesus.

I'll conclude with these verses that apply to this message and are worthy of consideration. (As is everything in our holy scriptures)

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.    ³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
   ³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
   ⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

A Holy Vigilance

^{Isaiah 5:8:11-12}

¹¹ Woe to those who rise early in the morning

   to run after their drinks,

who stay up late at night

   till they are inflamed with wine.

¹² They have harps and lyres at their banquets,

   pipes and timbrels and wine,

but they have no regard for the deeds of the LORD,

   no respect for the work of his hands.

Luke 21:34-36

 ³⁴ “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. ³⁵ For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶ Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

Holy-
: devoted entirely to the deity or the work of the deity <a holy temple> <holy prophets>
(Merriam Webster)

Vigilance-

watchfulness: the process of paying close and continuous attention; "wakefulness, watchfulness, and bellicosity make a good hunter"; "vigilance is especially susceptible to fatigue"

Scripture indicates the necessity for the children of God to display a holy vigilance towards Him. This can be seen in the above verses. A holy vigilance in the way that we live out our lives in every area.  If we can slowly remove the clutter in our lives that separate us from experiencing, knowing and serving God more, it will truly be a blessing to our own lives, a blessing to others and give God glory.

I used to think of the word "holy" as just being an attribute associated with God. When I think of holy I think of  something set apart because of its purity. That definitely would be one way to describe God. Because of His amazing capabilities, because of His infinite wisdom and eternal existence, for sure He is set apart from the rest of us. But are we, as followers, set apart from the rest of the world in our perspective towards the way we live and go about things? Or do we jump into activities with others that we might know do not glorify God, but do it anyways? Figuring perhaps that it's not important, or God won't mind, or perhaps reminding ourselves of the fact that we go to church, maybe participate in a prayer group...heck we try our best..if we do "this little thing" for sure God won't mind.

Is that true though?

God calls us to be holy. We can see that in 1 Peter 1:16 : ¹⁶ for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” 

If Jesus were to return to this world this very second, what does your heart tell you about the matter in which you would be received? We all fall short of the glory of God but it is through earnest effort, deliberate prayer, meditation and time in the scriptures that we become less and less cleaved to this world and more and more cleaved to our Creator. It is surely through the workings of the Spirit that we progress down the path of sanctification.

 Would Jesus catch us joining in the world's revelry, separating ourselves from the reality of God and the place that we have in Him to partake in feasting upon the fleeting fruits of the world that only turn into ashes in our mouth and whose taste never linger but fade quickly? Or would He find us to be a vigilant people, continually striving towards holiness, continually preparing our hearts for Him and continually seeking to walk on this earth more like Jesus, bringing glimpses of His Kingdom here on earth?

Important questions to ask ourselves, especially during this season of Advent, when we are preparing our hearts to celebrate the time when our savior came to earth in the form of a baby, to live tempted as we are tempted, yet in his purity living unhindered by the temptations of this world. May we find the strength, through the Spirit, to become less and less hindered and susceptible to the ways of this world and become more and more vigilant in preparing our hearts for God and entering into more acts of service, as they bear fruit for His Kingdom and bring glory to His name.

Heavenly Father,

We thank you for your unending mercy and grace. We thank you for being a God of compassion and love. May we never take for granted the blessings you heap on us-the physical blessings of warm homes, food on our tables and clothes to wear. The spiritual blessings of peace and joy and of your presence. May we stay focused on striving to bring you glory and manifesting your Kingdom here on earth. May we rejoice in knowing you and continually seek your face and be satisfied spiritually in our pursuit of you, looking to no other ways of feeling fulfilled and at peace. May you and you alone be our source of strength and may your love be the means and ends in our lives. To experience your love, to seek your love and to spread your love. May you purify us on our walks and may the Spirit spur us onwards towards a holy vigilance.

In Jesus' name,
Amen