No new entries until July

Where is Wisdom?

I think; therefore, I am --- Descartes

 

Without knowing the philosophical questions of Descartes' time, without the context of his famous quote, it is hard to realize its implications.  But presumably, the thinkers of his day were struggling with the question of "How do we know what's real, or true?"

 

I am pretty sure that Descartes was not equating the mind with the "I" who exist, however.  As I sat on my porch this morning watching the sky and the birds and the trees come to life, all kinds of random thoughts ran through my mind -- thoughts of gratitude, of love, of beauty, of curiosity, of wonder.  And yet, for some reason, I realized that "I" am yet more than these thoughts, that they do not define who "I" am at the core of my being, even though I welcomed the thoughts of the morning and made them my own.  In a way, I am grateful for that reflection, for how many times do thoughts come to us unbidden, thoughts that we actually wonder, "Where did that come from?"

 

Years ago, one of my brothers noted that there is no scientific evidence that our brains manufacture our thoughts-- that it is possible that thoughts do arrive from the (spirit) world that surrounds us.  Then, as the thoughts arrive, we accept them and make them our own -- part of our neuro/biological structure-- or we reject them and do not allow them to make their home with us.  Whatever we welcome as our own thoughts, however, become part of our neuro-anatomy, and whether we want them or not after that, they are "ours," and they will subsequently grow stronger and control our behavior.

 

How many times have we seen the cartoon angel and devil on opposite shoulders whispering thoughts in our ear?  Maybe the cartoon comes closer to reality than we realize.  Whatever the origin of our thoughts, however, what I believe to be absolutely true is that the mind is both the connecting point and the battleground between the spirit -- the "I" -- and the flesh, between the spirit-man and the "natural" man.

 

That is why control of the mind is critical for our existence, even for our health.  For centuries, people have realized this truth in their efforts to control the mind through "mind-control," " the power of positive thinking," etc.  Einstein said that we cannot solve our problems with the same mind-set that created them.  Isaiah said, "Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted.  From the sole of your foot to the top of your head, there is no soundness--only wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with oil."  Isaiah may not have been referring to the mind at this point, but I like to make the application, because the writer of Genesis points out that the Lord saw "...that every inclination of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil all the time" (Gen. 6).

 

For our health, it is critical that we surrender "the thoughts of our hearts" to Jesus Christ, that He might gain control of where we are going, for we will certainly follow our thoughts into heaven or into hell.  If we are sinful by nature, all the "positive thinking" and "self-control" in the world will not lead us to God's thoughts.  The whole lesson of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil tells us that we cannot tell with our thoughts the difference between good and evil.  We intend the good, and through ignorance or nature, we end up doing the very thing we did not want to do. 

 

Proverbs 3:5 tells us to "lean not on your own understanding/ in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight./  Do not be wise in your own eyes..."  We must be guided by the Holy Spirit in all our ways, and "this will bring health to our body and nourishment to our bones" (Proverbs 3).  One of my favorite prayers is "Holy Spirit, think Your thoughts in me until Your thoughts become my thoughts."

 

Whatever thoughts flit through our minds are not necessarily "ours."  We do not have to claim them as ours, but we are encouraged to "submit every thought to the Lord Jesus Christ" to see where it goes.  If it belongs to the kingdom of God, He will strengthen the thoughts of our hearts; if it does not belong to the kingdom of God, he will demolish it in order to bring us to the Father. 

 

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom,

the man who gains understanding,

for she is more profitable than silver

and yields better returns than gold.

She is more precious than rubies;

nothing you desire can compare with her.

 

Long life is in her right hand;

in her left hand are riches and honor.

Her ways are pleasant ways,

and all her paths are peace.

She is a tree of life to those who embrace her;

those who lay hold of her will be blessed.

 

Man cannot "think" his way into wisdom, but if anyone wants to gain wisdom and the control of his mind, a wonderful place to begin is the 3rd chapter of Proverbs, read slowly and thoughtfully, "chewed on" and meditated on.  Most of us read the bible for information rather than for inspiration, but if we want to be guided by the thoughts of God, we must abandon our own thoughts and allow His to seep through us in peace and love.  Then we will no longer be at the mercy of every whim and random thought that assails our minds; we will "grow up" into the wisdom of God Himself.

 



A Door in the Universe

I have been thinking for several days about three great men -- St. Paul, St. Augustine, and C.S. Lewis.  All three of these men were highly educated and great intellects --- and all three of them were both suddenly and gradually changed forever by an encounter with Jesus Christ. 

We might expect that when it comes to pre-eminently intellectual and rational men, God would send to them in some form or another brilliant logical "proofs" of His existence, intellectual arguments that would appeal to their minds.  We might expect a conversion through their "strengths," in other words -- the mode of operation with which they made sense of the world.

Our minds, no matter how brilliant, how rational, cannot conceive of God.  What we can know of Him must be revealed by Him, in a relationship of personal love and communion.  People argue that the word "God" is unknowable as to its reference -- and they are right; man cannot know God as he knows the universe, because God is not an object, a "noun" that can be named and defined.

That is why, as we can see by looking at these three men, God speaks first to the heart of man, and only later, His light shines in our hearts, illuminating our minds to understand what the heart knows intuitively.  C. S. Lewis, an avowed atheist despite all the intellectual and rational arguments of his good friend Tolkein, describes a moment when he was riding a double-decker bus in England.  Suddenly, he felt "a door in the universe" open to him.  (Nothing rational about this at all, by the way.)  He hesitated a moment, and then stepped through the door, becoming not yet a Christian, but no longer an atheist -- a theist. 

This moment for Lewis was nothing he could grasp with his intellect.  He could not wrap his mind around the experience, other than just to describe what happened to him.  Later, he reveals another moment when he was riding in the side-car of his brother's motorcycle.  He says that when he entered the side-car, he was a theist; by the time they had reached their destination, he was a Christian.  The transformation happened suddenly, without his understanding how or why -- it just happened.  Lewis would spend the rest of his life exploring with his great mind and intellectually trying to grasp the Christian experience.

The experience of St. Paul, so well-educated in the Hebrew faith and Scriptures, and that of Augustine, whose great intellect and passion for life led him to reject the church, are both very well- known experiences.  For both of them, it was not an "argument" for faith that converted them, but a moment of grace, when they simply stepped through Lewis' "door in the universe," and began to live a Christian life.  Both men spent the rest of their lives applying their understanding to the experience of that one moment.

Perhaps this is what Jesus meant when He said, "Unless you are born again, you cannot even see the kingdom of heaven."  There are really two worlds -- the material world, the natural world which speaks to us of God and points the way to the other, the spiritual world, which He invites us to enter.  The choice is ours whether we will step through the door into the other world, into the world that men can neither see nor understand without the Holy Spirit.

Of course, Satan will always mimic God's world; he, too, invites us to plunge into the "spiritual" world of deceit, manipulation, fortune-telling, witchcraft, séances, Ouija boards, etc.  The difference in the two worlds is that we enter Satan's world as a means of power and control over the physical world -- "ye shall be as gods."  When we enter "the Door" that is Jesus Christ, the Door to His Father's world, we give up control, and surrender to the will of God for our lives.  Jesus said that whoever does not enter by the gate (His own body) is a liar and a thief, coming to steal and destroy.  When we step through the Door that is Jesus, we enter the kingdom of God, a kingdom that is invisible to the world at large.  Once we step into His world, we lose control and mastery, becoming like Him a servant to the world instead of trying to "name it" and control it.

None of these three men "lost" their great intellectual capacity when they stepped through the door that opened to them.  Rather, their natural gifts were perfected in the divine light and placed at the service of the their worlds.  God does not waste our natural gifts; when we place them at his disposal, He knows how to make them shine with greater brilliance.  I have learned so much from these men; I have drunk deeply from the waters of their intellects and understanding -- and I am grateful that all three of them chose to step through that "door in the universe."

On Atheism and Christianity

A fascinating book by Richard Wurmbrand, who spent many years in a Soviet prison, and who wrote this book in secret while in prison, is called The Answer to the Atheist's Handbook.    I had no idea that Moscow's Academy of Science had published a summary of atheistic creeds in 1961.  The compilation of renowned Socialist scientists and professors, the book assures its readers that when an atheist dies, "...the dead are dead forever; there is no comfort for the bereaved, those who are separated now will never more be reunited, there is no God and no such thing as eternal life."

Richard Wurmbrand is not the enemy of atheists; in fact, he understands completely how people can be atheists -- and he gives reasons why they do not believe in God.  He says, "...it is only logical that many should be atheists."  I think I paid $1.99 for this book on my Kindle; it is worth much more than that, and I recommend it to all thoughtful readers, atheists and believers alike.

In contrast to Soviet society, which has attempted mightily to eradicate Christianity, he gives the following excerpts from our American Presidents:

Above all, the pure and unbending light of Revelation has had illuminating influence of mankind and increased the blessings of society ---George Washington

 

I have always taken counsel of God and referred to Him my plans and have never adopted a course of proceeding without being assured as far as I could be of His approval.  I should be the most presumptuous blockhead upon this footstone, if I for one day thought that I could discharge the duties which have come upon me since I came into this place, without the aid and enlightenment of One who is wiser and stronger than others. -- Abe Lincoln

 

Hold fast to the Bible as the sheet anchor of your liberties; write its precepts in your hearts, and practice them in your lives.  To the influence of this Book are we indebted for all the progress made in true civilization, and to this we must look as our guide in the future.  -- Ulysses S. Grant

 

Choose the undying Jesus as your everlasting friend and helper.  Follow him, not simply as a Nazarene, the man of Galilee, but as an ever-living spiritual person, full of love and compassion, who will stand by you in life and death and eternity.  The hopes of the world are false, but as the vine lives in the branches, so Christ lives in the Christian, and he shall never die. --  Garfield

 

We must be doers, not hearers only. To be doers of the word, it is necessary that we must first be hearers of the word; yet attendance at church is not enough.  We must study the Bible, but let it not rest there.  We must apply it in active life. ---McKinley

 

If every man in the United States would read a chapter of the bible every day, most of our national problems would disappear.  -- Woodrow Wilson

 

I reiterate the statement which I have made times before --- that a revival of religion is what this country most needs; that in such a revival we would find a solution of all our problems, whether political, economic, or social.  -- Franklin D. Roosevelt

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More selections from the book:

 



Even the atheist Karl Marx wrote:  Luther, by giving the Bible to the people in the vernacular language, put into their hands a powerful weapon against the nobility, the landlords, and the clergy.

 

A former cannibal once said to an atheist, "What?  This book is not true?  I take it in my house and sit down and read it, and it makes my heart burst with joy.  How can this be a lie?  I was an eater of men, a drunkard, thief, and liar, and the book spoke to me and made of me a new man.  No, this book is not a lie."  [The educated atheists would have been eaten by the natives in many parts of the world if the missionaries had not taught them first the Christian religion.....to spit in the well from which you and the whole civilized world have drunk is terribly wrong.]

 

I am enjoying this book for its clarity of thought, for its subtle humor, and for its depth of insight into the ways people think on both sides of the divide.  In fact, I have not been able to put it down for a couple of days.  Only a man who had spent years in prison could "see" both sides so clearly -- and we are the beneficiaries of his sacrifice.

 

 

 



Do Not Be Afraid

If you ask people what the main message is in the bible, they might tell you, "It's Love" or "Forgiveness," but what is the phrase that appears more times than any other message in the Bible?  DO NOT BE AFRAID.  Over and over through history, God's message to humanity has overwhelmingly been Do not be afraid.  This phrase appears more than one thousand times in the Bible.  WHY? Because God knows that we are in fact afraid -- afraid to trust Him.  Afraid to love others.  Afraid to love ourselves.  Afraid to embrace and celebrate the best-version-of- ourselves.  Afraid to ask the big questions and see where they might lead. AFRAID.  God wants to liberate us from these fears (from Decision Point).

 

"I sought the Lord, and He answered me; from all my fears, He delivered me."

 

"God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in distress. / Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way, and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.... (Ps. 46:1-2)

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It might be an interesting exercise to go through one of the Gospels just looking for the phrase "Do not be afraid," or "Fear not."  The second letter of St. Paul to the young pastor Timothy says this:  For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love, and of a sound (healthy) mind.

 

A sound mind is not one filled with fear, but with confidence.  Yet, "confidence" is hard to come by if we rely only on this world.  I see terrorists taking over Iraq, and I wonder how the population of ordinary citizens can have any hope at all.  It seems that terror is the keyword today all over the world.  In the U.S., we are under constant threat of terrorism, of storms, floods, fires, tornadoes, and hurricanes.  Jesus predicted that in the last days, "men's hearts would fail them because of fear" of what was coming upon the earth.  And it seems that we must be very close to the last days even now.

 

And yet, we are told, "Do not be afraid; in the world you will have many troubles, but I have overcome the world."  "Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."  "I have told you these things ahead of time so that when they happen you will believe."

 

We look at the early Christian martyrs and wonder where they got the courage to undergo being set on fire, devoured by wild beasts, or being beheaded.  During the French Revolution, the revolutionists closed all the churches and monasteries and appropriated all the properties and wealth of the church to pay for the revolution.  They guillotined all the priests and nuns they could find, along with anyone who might seem to oppose the revolution and its principles of "liberty, equality, and justice."  They removed all references to the "outmoded" Christian religion and set up their own "blood sacrifices" and "communion services," including public processions to "The Supreme Being," a construct of their own minds.  Sixteen Carmelite nuns offered their lives to God as a sacrifice to "quell the terror" of the revolution; they were all beheaded, and 17 days later, the revolution, with its "daily sacrifice" of 40 lives a day, ended.  The nuns all sang the Te Deum and the Salve Regina as they climbed the steps to the scaffold and bared their necks to the guillotine.  Where did they find the courage?

 

It is human nature to fear; there is not one of us who does not fear something.  But when the Psalmist says, "from all my fears, He delivered me," he means just that.  God is the only One who can accomplish this miracle in us.  And He wants to do it; He does not want us living in fear, despite what the world does to us or around us.

 

In January 2010, before I knew I had lung cancer, I was in my back yard surveying all the freeze damage and thinking about what I had to do to get my yard ready for spring.  Suddenly, a bubble of absolute peace descended around me, from head to toe, and I knew that I would not be doing that yard work.  At the time, I thought it meant I was going to die, so I said, "Okay, just give me time to de-clutter my house so that my kids won't have a mess to go through when I'm gone."  And I went inside and began cleaning out the attic that very day. 

 

Two weeks later, a doctor said to me, "I think this is cancer."  "Okay," I said, without a flutter of the heart.  I already knew I was going to die, so I thought he was just telling me how I was going to die. But "how" didn't matter to me; I still had the bubble of peace all around me.  A moment later, he said again, "I think this is cancer."  "Okay," I said again.  He looked at me strangely and said, "Aren't you upset about that?"  "No," I replied, "but my husband will be." 

 

That strange peace never left me for a moment throughout the coming days.  About 2 weeks after surgery, I thought, "I guess I'm not going to die; I'd better figure out what else I'm going to do." 

 

"Do not be afraid."  Here's the thing:  the Word of the Lord doesn't just command; it does what it says.  If I say to someone, "Don't be afraid," my words may not overcome the fear that is consuming the other person.  But if the Lord God says, "Do not be afraid," His words are as effective now as they were at the moment of creation when He said, "Light! Be!" and so it was.  When He speaks to our hearts, His words leap forth to create what they say.  He Himself overcomes our fear, and He delivers us from the power of Satan to threaten and overcome us through fear.

 

If we read the Scriptures and allow the word of God to penetrate our hearts, we will find ourselves delivered from all our fears.  God's Word cannot but accomplish all that it says, for His Word is His Son, who has all power over life and death, over this world and the world to come.

 

 



Seeking God Together

Believing means entrusting oneself to a merciful love which always accepts and pardons, which sustains and directs our lives, and which shows its power by its ability to make straight the crooked lines of our history....

The self-awareness of the believer now expands because of the presence of another; it now lives in this other, and thus, in love, life takes on a whole new breadth.  Here we see the Holy Spirit at work....

Faith transforms the whole person precisely to the extent that he or she becomes open to love

 (from Lumen Fidei -- the Light of Faith, Pope Francis' first encyclical).

 

Pope Francis' encyclical Lumen Fidei, begun by Pope Benedict XVI, is a document that is best read in a group, in my opinion.  The depth of thought and of truth is best appreciated from multiple perspectives, from a number of people who have experienced "the crooked lines of our history."

 

The ladies' Bible Study that I have been attending for several years now decided recently to begin reading Lumen Fidei.  Although we have been studying the Bible and its commentaries for a long time together, our perspectives on "faith" were quite different when we began reading the encyclical.  For some, "faith" simply meant believing what the Catholic church teaches; for others, "faith" meant trusting Jesus Christ in all aspects of life -- a personal encounter and on-going relationship that transforms our life.

 

One of the topics dealt with in the encyclical is that of "Faith and Reason."  Most of us, of course, were not used to delving in such depth into the relationship between faith and reason, much less with the relationship between faith and truth.  Reading the encyclical together allows us to stop and reflect together on our lives and experiences:  How do we know truth?  How do we know it is true?  How do we embrace the truth?

 

One of the things we've discovered is the "miracle" of the first Christians in dialog with the Greek world, with its thirst for truth.  The philosophical culture of the Greek world -- admired even by the non-philosophical Roman world -- created an ideal environment for the message of the Gospel.  That balance of pagan philosophy, with its search for truth, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who proclaimed Himself as "The Truth" set up an interaction between faith and reason that has continued down the centuries to our day: 

 

Religious man strives to see signs of God in the daily experiences of life, in the cycle of the seasons, in the fruitfulness of the earth, and in the movement of the cosmos.  God is light and he can be found also by those who seek Him with a sincere heart (Lumen Fidei).

 

Pope Francis gives the example of the Magi, pagan astrologers "...who were led to Bethlehem by a star.  For them, God's light appeared as a journey to be undertaken, a star which led them on a path to discovery.....Religious man is a wayfarer; he must be ready to let himself be led, to come out of himself, and to find the God of perpetual surprises....to the extent that they are sincerely open to love and set out with whatever light they can find, they are already, even without knowing it, on the path leading to faith....Anyone who sets off on the path of doing good to others is already drawing near to God, is already sustained by his help, for it is characteristic of the divine light to brighten our eyes whenever we walk toward the fullness of love."

 

The early Christian message was immediately embraced by both Jews and Greeks, by Roman centurians and by "pagan" philosophers and men of science.  Not everyone accepted the message; many did turn away, but my point is that the dividing line was not a label -- Jew or Gentile, man or woman, Roman or pagan.  The dividing line was those who were drawing near to God through love and goodness, and those who were wrapped up in their own egos.

 

 Exploring these ideas together strengthens both our faith and our reason, as we understand through the stories of our lives shared in trust with one another.  I am grateful for the experience of "faith seeking understanding" through the lives of many who are drawing near to God through multiple pathways.

The Ultimate Friendship

At the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan, the Father spoke from heaven ("This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased") and the Spirit hovered over Him.  Obviously, these Three are One -- they were One at the baptism--the beginning of Jesus' public ministry---and they were One at the end.  Jesus did nothing that the Father did not do; He spoke the words given to Him by the Father, and He was anointed by the Spirit, Who worked with Him and Who confirmed all that He said and did. The Love of the Trinity for One Another is the ultimate Friendship and the model Community.

We cannot separate Jesus from the Father and the Spirit, for He is Who He is only in the Father and the Spirit.  St. Basil the Great puts it this way:

 I testify to every man who confesses Christ but denies God the Father, that Christ will profit him nothing.  I testify to anyone who refuses the Spirit that his faith in the Father and the Son, which he cannot have without the simultaneous presence of the Spirit, will become fruitless for him.  For he who does not believe the Spirit does not believe the Son, and he who does not believe the Son, does not believe the Father.  "For he cannot say 'Jesus is Lord' except in the Holy Spirit" (I Cor. 12:3),  and "No one has ever seen God, but the Only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has told us about him" (Jn. 1:18). Such a person is bereft of true worship, for he cannot worship the Son except in the Holy Spirit, and he cannot call upon the Father, except in the Spirit of adopted sonship (from On the Holy Spirit).

Jesus told His disciples to go into the whole world, teaching all that He had commanded and "baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit."  We cannot baptize in the name of the Father only, of the Son only, of the Spirit only -- for the Three are indissolubly One.  They cannot be separated. 

Jesus' discourse at the Last Supper (John 14-16) drew His friends into the same relationship with the Father and the Spirit as He had.  He prayed that they would be "One" as "...the Father and I are One," and He promised to send them the same Spirit with which He had been anointed.  He said, "I no longer call you servants but friends." 

Friends know one another's thoughts, and they share the same spirit with one another, even while remaining individuals.  Imagine being "friends" with  God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit!  And yet, that is exactly the relationship Jesus came to bring us.  The image of a human being standing in the waters of baptism, being anointed with the Holy Spirit, and hearing the Voice of God say, "This is My beloved child, in whom I am well pleased" is almost too much to believe!  And yet, Jesus draws us into this very position by His life and death among us.  He draws us to Himself, and in His own Spirit, draws us into His very position and relationship in the Holy Trinity. 

This is our destiny for all eternity -- Friendship with God!  Friends share one another's thoughts; they counsel one another and support one another through all the difficulties of life.  As we read Scripture, we discover the thoughts of God toward us, and we grow more and more confident:

If God be for us, who can be against.....?

Cast your cares upon the Lord, for He cares for you.

He will give His angels charge over thee, lest you dash your foot against a stone.

There is one who stays closer than a brother.

I will put My words in your mouth, and write them on your heart.

 

I challenge you to open the Bible and begin reading at any point, looking for the thoughts and promises of God to those who love Him.  His friendship cannot disappoint us ever.  If we will but take the invitation and the hand of Jesus Christ, He will walk us home, to a Friendship without end.

Six Minutes a Day

Last time I wrote about using the Bible in a small way, allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us to a section, and reading only a small part -- as we would browse in a library, for example.  Today, I ran across this reading:

You have been spending six minutes a day praying Scripture, a very old form of prayer.  Most people are surprised at how easy it is to pray this way, and how deep the prayer can be.  Six minutes a day is easily within reach.

All you need is a Bible.  It's best to have your own so you can underline words, write in the margin.  There's something about having your own book of Scripture --familiar to your sight and touch.  A good friend.

To get started, pick any of the Gospels (or the Acts of the Apostles) and start reading slowly, a little bit each day, and sense the presence of the Lord as you read.  When something catches you, stop and talk to the Lord about it, and let the Lord talk to you.  There's no rush to get through the text.  Sometimes one or two sentences is plenty for one day. We simply let God speak to us through the words, guiding us to reflections that sometimes seem to come to us from nowhere.  But they're not "from nowhere."  They're from God.

 

[Sometimes, the Holy Spirit has prompted me to look up a word -- it is amazing how doing so opens up deeper meanings of the text I am reading.]  But remember, you're not studying the Bible.  You're praying.  You're spending quiet time with the Lord.  When you do this, you will realize that God has given you a treasure in the holy word.  It's a wonderful way to pray.  And it's there for the asking.  (from The Little White Book: Six-minute reflections on the Resurrection Narrative according to Matthew.)

 

Six minutes a day is so easy -- and so rewarding.  When I first began reading the Bible, I would draw a very small flower in the margin whenever I read a passage I wanted to remember -- mainly so that I could find it again.  However, I could see that would not do for the long haul.  So I began keeping a notebook to write down my reflections as I read.  I quickly discovered that the Holy Spirit was ready to speak to me when I was ready to listen.  This blog is the result of having written reflections on Scripture for many years; I quickly learned that writing on the computer is faster than writing on paper -- but I still have many journals saved from those beginning days.

 

Last time, I wrote about reading the Bible as a way of learning God's thoughts and His promises to us.  A few weeks ago, I had to sit in a doctor's office for about three hours, waiting for a surgical procedure on my eye that I did not want to undergo.  For most of the time, I was praying the 23rd Psalm:  The Lord is my Shepherd.  I prayed it slowly, line by line, since I had lots of time.  As I prayed each line, I sank deeply into its images, making them personal to me and my situation at the moment.  When I finally got into the surgical room, the doctor decided that he did not really need to do that procedure, because the eye had healed itself to the point of not needing lancing.  I practically danced out of the office, singing the 23rd Psalm. 

 

Although I recognize that praying the psalms will not always result in a miracle, my point is that Scripture links us to God in a way that nothing else can.  One time, as I was reading slowly, the Holy Spirit put the thought in my mind:  "look up the word 'word.'  When I did so, I discovered that "word" can mean promise, provision, plan, in addition to its usual connotation of pronouncement.  As I reflected on these meanings in terms of John's use of "Word" in his Gospel, I realized that Jesus Christ, as the "Word" of God, was also the promise of God, the provision of God, and the plan of God -- as well as the final pronouncement of God as to His will for us.  Everything God wanted us to know is contained in His Word, in His Son.  We have everything we need for salvation in the Word of God.

 

Six minutes a day spent in Scripture can bring us riches we never dreamed of -- and it is less time than we spend getting dressed in the morning.  In fact, this six minutes will certainly "get us dressed" for heaven as well as for our lives on earth.





Why Read the Bible?

The Bible is not a "book;" it is a library, a collection of scrolls.  The convenience of having all those scrolls (books) bound into one volume is incredibly valuable for us modern-day readers.  It is a gift not available to centuries before us.  But that convenience has also made people think that if they want to read the Bible, they must treat it as a book, beginning with the first page of Genesis and reading straight through to Revelation. 

Our Kindle readers today are amazing portable libraries.  No one that I know would think herself obligated to begin reading the first book listed on her kindle and not stop until she had read all the books in the order they happened to land on the Kindle list.  When we enter a real library, we do not feel obligated to begin with the book closest to the door and read our way around the room.  Rather, we browse, pick up a book, flip through it, consider its contents, and then maybe put it back on the shelf, repeating the process until one book grabs our attention.

When we come to read the Bible, we need to consider that the Holy Spirit is somehow involved in the decision even to lift the book off the shelf.  He is directing our attention for a reason, so our browsing ought to be under His guidance and inspiration, beginning with prayer and attentive listening to the movement of our heart.  Even when we settle on a place to start, we do not need to read the entire book from beginning to end.  It is "permissible" to read a few sentences here and there from random sections of books or the library of scrolls that we hold in our hands.

In other words, we read the Bible not for information, but for inspiration.  There are some among us called to be scholars of the Word and to "study" the Bible -- but that is a specific vocation.  Most of us will not be called to "know" the Bible from cover to cover.  But still, there are wonderful reasons to be familiar with the Scriptures.

First of all, they contain the promises of God as they were made and fulfilled in human history.  When we read stories such as those in Guideposts, for example, we become more convinced of God's presence, love, and faithfulness in our lives.  We dare to believe that what happened to another person might also happen to us.  Faith is confidence that God will fulfill His plans for us, and that His plans for us are good and not evil:  "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jer. 29:11). 

If we do not read the Bible, we cannot know God's "mind-set" toward us -- and therefore, we will make up our own theories about both God and His plans for us -- usually, plans to harm us, for some reason.  Elizabeth said to Mary, Blessed is she who has believed that what God has promised her will be fulfilled.  If we don't know what God has promised us, we cannot believe that it will be fulfilled.  If we don't know "The Lord is my Shepherd/ He makes me to lie down in green pastures/ He leads me beside still waters/ He restores my soul," then we will not expect God to do this very thing for us. 

If all we read for the rest of our lives is Ps. 23, and if all we did is to absorb those promises, we would have peace and confidence in God.  Faith is not "blind;" it is based on experience, just as our faith in other people.  If someone tells you they will meet you at a certain time, and they are an hour late one day, you will write that off as unavoidable.  If that pattern is habitual, however, you will not have "faith" that they will ever meet you at the agreed-upon time. 

Our faith is based on an encounter with the Living God, Who is there to meet us when we pray.  If we know that "many are the troubles of the just man, but out of them all the Lord delivers him," we will not collapse under trouble, but rather look toward God to keep His promises.  Faith receives what God has promised -- it does not come all at once, but little by little as we experience again and again His help on our journey.  That is why the story of Abraham is so powerful -- it was not that Abraham was a paragon of virtue that we honor him; it was that he learned on the journey that God was with him no matter what or when or where he went. 

I encourage everyone to pick up the Bible and browse, stopping at an interesting section, listening for the voice of the Holy Spirit directing us to "Stop, Look, and Listen" here!  There is no telling what God has in store for us!

Who Are You?

Each year, as I begin a new class with my 11th grade Confirmation students, I tell them the same thing:  This class is not about what I believe, nor is it about what the church teaches (in the sense of imparting more "information"). This class is about who you are, who you will be, who your friends are, who you will marry, what you will become.  This class is about you  -- with God -- and who you are -- without God.

In a sense, our life's journey is the same; it is a "class," an experiment, where we learn who we are with God and who we are without God.  Those who discover their need for God are the "little ones," the "poor" of Mary's song, the anawim who are longing for deliverance and who  are looking to God for their hope, the ones downtrodden and rejected by the world more rich and powerful than they are.

My heart bleeds for those who are without God because they have never experienced the Gift of God, the water springing up to eternal life, the peace that passes all understanding that Jesus came to give us.  They are waiting for heaven to experience what they are longing for on earth. Or they are not waiting for heaven, but only for death to end the pain they experience in this life.  I hear their hollow, mocking laughter, their ridicule of those who believe in God, and I am reminded of Jesus' words to the church in Laodicea:

You say, "I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing." But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.  I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness, and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see......Here I am! I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will go in and eat with him, and he with me...he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches (Rev. 3:17-22).

 

For most of us, our lives are about acquiring "wealth:" wealth of knowledge, wealth of skills, wealth of beauty to attract others to us, wealth of money to sustain ourselves in our need.  Last season's Survivor divided the contestants into three groups: beauty, brawn, and brains, based on the gifts that each group tended to rely on to make their way in the world.  One of the young women admitted to the secret (or "confessional") camera that she consciously used her beauty to manipulate others into giving her what she wanted.  I thought it was interesting that she knew and acknowledged the dynamics by which she chose to live.  But, in reality, I think we all know what it is we rely on to make our way through life -- our "riches," so to speak.  For Donald Trump, it is definitely money that buys his way; for academics, it is their intelligence that sustains their lives; for Hollywood, beauty is the coin of exchange.

 

But when those gifts fail us, when our beauty fades, when our wealth cannot buy love or peace, when the world does not care what we know, what then?  Who are we then?  Who are our friends? And where is the water of life that satisfies our souls?

 

Blessed are they who discover early in life that the things of earth in which we put our faith will not satisfy us; blessed are they who know young that their souls need water as well as their bodies.  I remember when I was 19 years old, I "fell in love" with a guy who wanted to marry me.  He was everything I wanted at the time -- we danced so beautifully together that other people would stop dancing to watch us; his father owned a cattle farm in Texas; he was a lot of fun to be with, and my whole family loved him.  But something was bothering me -- I knew that even with all of this, it would not be enough to satisfy my soul.  I asked him once if he thought he could love me for the rest of my life.  "I think so," he said --- and I instantly knew that I wanted something more than he could give me, even though I believed he would give me the best he had to offer.  I knew I would not be happy with all that the world had to give me.  I needed something more.  To his amazement -- and mine, too -- I broke off the relationship. 

 

What I was searching for was what only God could give me -- peace and overflowing love.  Without that in the depths of my soul, I would destroy others searching for what they could not give me.

 

The "filling of the Holy Spirit" is not a one-time event; it is given to us again and again as our lives change and grow.  But until we find the water springing up to eternal life, we go on searching -- and being disappointed in the people and things that cannot provide it for us.  Some people become bitter and strike out at the people who have failed to give them what they were searching for --- but the end of the quotation above tells of the Only One who can provide the water, the bread, the salve for our eyes, the clothing with which we are able to cover our nakedness. 

 

He stands at the door and knocks at every moment, without tiring.  All we need to do is to open the door and invite Him in.  It's that simple; like the Divine Physician that he is, he will then take charge of our weak, emaciated souls, providing the salve that heals our wounds, dressing our open sores, providing from His own body the food that nourishes our anemia, and giving us the laughter of true joy!

 

If we have experienced who we are without Him, why not give Him a chance to teach us who we can be with Him?

 

 

Song of Praise and Thanksgiving

Come and hear, all who fear God; I will tell what the Lord did for my soul, alleluia (Ps. 66:16).

My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He Who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His Name (Magnificat).

Someone recently sent me an article proposing that we stop using the name “God,” because no one really knows what the term means.  Every religion uses the term to refer to different realities and for different purposes, and even within religions, each individual has a different reference point for the term “God.” 

When YHWH gave Moses His Name, He said, “I will be who I will be,” or “I Am Who I Am.”  I think it is clear that we will never “define” God for the ages; His very name is mysterious and beyond us.  That does not mean that He cannot be known, however.  He is known to us through our history, both personal and collective.  Someone once wrote, “God, it seems to me, is a verb.”  He is not a “noun,” for He is the beginning and the end of all action, of all thought, of all energy, of all that is.  We cannot know the “noun,” or “essence” of God; we can only know Him through what He has done for us, as Mary proclaimed.

I do not blame those who tire of hearing conflicting ideas about the Divinity, but those who are attempting to build a spirituality without “God” because He cannot be known are simply attempting to build a new Tower of Babel.  They say that religion is unnecessary, that man alone can “name” the spiritual forces that control the world.  They, like the Communists who built the Soviet Union, want to be in control of their own destiny without reference to a Supreme Being.  And their words, supposedly replacing the outmoded “doctrines” are endless and exhausting.  Not one of them speaks Truth, however, but only opinion – based on rationality, or what they “think.”  Not one of them can tell you of a personal relationship with God, of what God has done for them.

When we listen to a woman “define” her fiancée, she always does so in terms of who he is to her – “the kindest man I’ve ever known;” or “he completes me in so many ways,” etc.  It is always a “song” of praise and thanksgiving for having this special person as part of her life.  There is never a theoretical doctrine about who this person is or should be.  We "know" science through our reason, but we "know" other people -- including God -- through our hearts.

Psalm 66:16 says, “Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what He has done for me.” And Mary said, “My soul rejoices in God my Savior,….for He who is mighty has done great things for me.”  The only words I want to hear are from those who have a song of praise and thanksgiving, those who can tell me what God has done for them.  These are the “holy ones,” the “anawim,” the “little ones,” the ones who enter the kingdom of God as little children – without arguing or complaining, as Peter says, holding out the Word of Life to a darkened world.  In their stories, not in their theories, we come to want to know the God they have known. Jesus told Peter that if He did not wash Peter’s feet, Peter would have no part in Jesus.  If we have not allowed God, in His Son, to cleanse us from sin, we do not know who God is – the critics are right.  If people do not have a story, their ideas mean little to us.

But Mary knew for sure who God was: 

He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation.  He has shown the strength of his arm; he has scattered the proud in the conceit of their hearts.  He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly.  He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away.  He has come to the help of his servant Israel, for he has remembered his promise of mercy, the promise He made to our fathers, to Abraham and to his children forever.

When teaching writing, we always tell our students to give examples of what they think.  Surely Mary’s examples tell us Who she believed God to be.  Those who say we cannot know who God is (through our own experience, presumably) maybe should begin with Who Mary believed God to be, Who Jesus believed God to be, Who John the Evangelist believed God to be. 

The Quakers rejected religious authority in favor of each person seeking the Inner Light dwelling in each soul.  Their gatherings were an hour of silence, as each person sought the Lord within.  Only then would they begin to speak to one another.  I, too, have experienced this kind of gathering in the 70’s.  When we came together for our charismatic prayer meetings, we began with an hour of Eucharistic Adoration.  Only then would we have another hour of praise, thanksgiving, and faith-sharing, telling our stories to one another.

Only when people come together knowing what the Lord has done for them, as Mary and Elizabeth did, will we know God by His action in our lives.  Only then will we have a story to tell.  And when our common stories evolve upon a common theme, then we will know for sure the God Who has been with us from the beginning, the One Who promised that He would be with us to the end of the age.  Then our faith rests upon the rock of Truth.