From A Maryknoll Book of Prayer, a “Prayer for the Unemployed,” by John and Margaret McCarthy:
“Dear Lord Jesus Christ, you wanted all who are weary to come to you for support. Lord, I am worn out by my inability to find wage-earning work. Day after day, my worry and fear grow as the rejections of my applications mount. I am able and willing to work, but I cannot find a worthwhile job. Please help me to obtain one soon so that I can support myself and my family in a decent way. However, if it is your will that I wait longer, enable me to worry less and to be able to take advantage of the time available to get closer to you. Let me realize that there are other ways to bring about your kingdom on earth besides salaried work; help me make use of them for the time being so that I may continue to grow as a person for your greater glory. Amen.”
Another prayer (general) in the same book, by St. Thomas Aquinas: “Give us, O Lord, a steadfast heart, which no unworthy affliction may drag downwards; an unconquered heart, which no tribulation can wear out; give us an upright heart, which no unworthy purpose my tempt aside. Bestow on us also, O Lord, understanding to know you, diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you, and a faithfulness that may finally embrace you: through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.” - DJ
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Pastor’s Column July 18, 2010
Next Sunday, July 25, at 9:30 I will begin a six-week Sunday School Class on The Meaning of Revelation for Today. The last time I taught a course on Revelation was as 1999 drew to a close and many expected 2K to usher in the end of the world. Remember all that?
Revelation is a wonderful book. Much of it is straight forward. For ex., there are seven letters to seven churches in Chapters 2&3. Nothing strange about these at all. But because Revelation was written ca. 96a.d., when Emperor Domitian was persecuting Christians, much of the material is of a symbolic nature, symbols that could be understood by Christians, but not by the Romans should they come across a copy. What John, who wrote Revelation, is doing is giving the churches of Asia Minor hope. Emperor Domitian was making Christians state publicly that he was “Lord and God,” not Jesus. If a Christian would not say this in public, he/she could be executed or denied a work permit, which eventually would lead to death. Thus, the message of John is that Jesus rules the world, not the Emperor. Hang in there; God will get you through this. Help is on the way.
An example. Rev. 1: 13-15: “I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash across his chest. His head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace.” What this says is that Jesus, the Son of Man, is king of the world, not Emperor Domitian.
The long robe with a golden sash across the chest is the garb of a king. The white hair symbolizes the wisdom of the elderly, in this case, that of God, the wisdom that will guide the church through this persecution. “Eyes like a flame of fire” means Jesus has a penetrating gaze: he gets to the heart of the matter. Domitian cannot outfox him. “Feet like burnished bronze” means that Jesus stands firm; cannot be moved, as opposed to an idol with clay feet in the book of Daniel. The Emperor will not prevail, cannot steamroll the church.
There is much more going on in vss. 10-20, but hopefully this gives you a taste of how rich Revelation is and how much hope it gives us even today.-DJ
Revelation is a wonderful book. Much of it is straight forward. For ex., there are seven letters to seven churches in Chapters 2&3. Nothing strange about these at all. But because Revelation was written ca. 96a.d., when Emperor Domitian was persecuting Christians, much of the material is of a symbolic nature, symbols that could be understood by Christians, but not by the Romans should they come across a copy. What John, who wrote Revelation, is doing is giving the churches of Asia Minor hope. Emperor Domitian was making Christians state publicly that he was “Lord and God,” not Jesus. If a Christian would not say this in public, he/she could be executed or denied a work permit, which eventually would lead to death. Thus, the message of John is that Jesus rules the world, not the Emperor. Hang in there; God will get you through this. Help is on the way.
An example. Rev. 1: 13-15: “I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash across his chest. His head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace.” What this says is that Jesus, the Son of Man, is king of the world, not Emperor Domitian.
The long robe with a golden sash across the chest is the garb of a king. The white hair symbolizes the wisdom of the elderly, in this case, that of God, the wisdom that will guide the church through this persecution. “Eyes like a flame of fire” means Jesus has a penetrating gaze: he gets to the heart of the matter. Domitian cannot outfox him. “Feet like burnished bronze” means that Jesus stands firm; cannot be moved, as opposed to an idol with clay feet in the book of Daniel. The Emperor will not prevail, cannot steamroll the church.
There is much more going on in vss. 10-20, but hopefully this gives you a taste of how rich Revelation is and how much hope it gives us even today.-DJ
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Pastor’s Column July 11, 2010
The Alpha Pilot class has had a lot to think about lately as we have seen discussion-provoking presentations (on DVD) about the Christian faith. For example, Jesus says that if we want to know what God is like, he’s it. What we know about God’s loving nature comes from what Jesus did and taught, as well as from his crucifixion, resurrection, and promised return. He said to Philip, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am the Father and the Father is in me?” John 14:9,10.
Why, then, do we have a tendency to start out with a preconceived notion of God and then test Jesus as to whether or not he fits the bill? People say, “I can’t believe in a God who would allow this (terrible thing) to happen!” But such a preconceived notion of God says at least two things. One, it says we’re ultimately robots, and if God really wanted to, God could push a button that would prevent such a terrible thing from happening. Or two, it says that that the created world is also a machine, and if God really wanted to, God could push a button that would prevent cave-ins, storms, fires, in fact, all accidents.
No. The biblical story that culminates in Jesus is that not only are human beings fallen, but so is the whole realm of nature. Not only are things not right with us, but we’ve made a mess of the created world. Thus, Jesus calls us to follow him in putting all things right, i.e., restoring Paradise. But we have to choose to do this. God’s not going to put a gun to our head and make us.
It cannot be said enough: we live in a world in which we not only suffer the consequences of our own sins, but also the consequences of the sins of others. (Take a look at the Gulf of Mexico or Wall Street.) Still, God is not going to take away humankind’s freedom to choose in order that ours become a safer world. Instead, God works to make this a safer world by telling us to do good instead of harm, love rather than hate our neighbor, and take care of the planet.
What we truly know of God comes from Jesus, not preconceived ideas. -DJ
Why, then, do we have a tendency to start out with a preconceived notion of God and then test Jesus as to whether or not he fits the bill? People say, “I can’t believe in a God who would allow this (terrible thing) to happen!” But such a preconceived notion of God says at least two things. One, it says we’re ultimately robots, and if God really wanted to, God could push a button that would prevent such a terrible thing from happening. Or two, it says that that the created world is also a machine, and if God really wanted to, God could push a button that would prevent cave-ins, storms, fires, in fact, all accidents.
No. The biblical story that culminates in Jesus is that not only are human beings fallen, but so is the whole realm of nature. Not only are things not right with us, but we’ve made a mess of the created world. Thus, Jesus calls us to follow him in putting all things right, i.e., restoring Paradise. But we have to choose to do this. God’s not going to put a gun to our head and make us.
It cannot be said enough: we live in a world in which we not only suffer the consequences of our own sins, but also the consequences of the sins of others. (Take a look at the Gulf of Mexico or Wall Street.) Still, God is not going to take away humankind’s freedom to choose in order that ours become a safer world. Instead, God works to make this a safer world by telling us to do good instead of harm, love rather than hate our neighbor, and take care of the planet.
What we truly know of God comes from Jesus, not preconceived ideas. -DJ
Monday, July 5, 2010
Pastor's Column July 4, 2010
Two thoughts. The first is from W. Gregory Pope, The Inner Struggle, “On a holiday weekend like this one, we are reminded of the inner struggle of allegiance. We want to celebrate this land that we love, and rightly so, and yet we want to be careful that our allegiance to country never supersedes nor is ever equivalent to our allegiance to God. We sing “God Bless America,” and yet we know that our faith will not allow us to ask God’s favoritism toward us over other nations. We know there are no national boundary lines with God.
“We struggle to love our country when our government acts in ways we feel are contrary to God’s ways of justice and peace. But we love our country by calling it to God’s ways of justice and peace. We must not let our fear and struggle render us silent and still. Our first allegiance is to the God whose truth still marches on.”
Two, French writer Alexis de Tocqueville, after visiting America in 1831,
said, "I sought for the greatness of the United States in her commodious harbors, her ample rivers, her fertile fields, and boundless forests--and it was not there. I sought for it in her rich mines, her vast world commerce, her public school system, and in her institutions of higher learning--and it was not there. I looked for it in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution--and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great!" -DJ
“We struggle to love our country when our government acts in ways we feel are contrary to God’s ways of justice and peace. But we love our country by calling it to God’s ways of justice and peace. We must not let our fear and struggle render us silent and still. Our first allegiance is to the God whose truth still marches on.”
Two, French writer Alexis de Tocqueville, after visiting America in 1831,
said, "I sought for the greatness of the United States in her commodious harbors, her ample rivers, her fertile fields, and boundless forests--and it was not there. I sought for it in her rich mines, her vast world commerce, her public school system, and in her institutions of higher learning--and it was not there. I looked for it in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution--and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great!" -DJ
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