Healing in his wings
May 29, 2009
I was reminded yesterday of the axiom, “Hurting people, hurt people.” My 12 year old son, Logan, came in the house on the last day of school fighting back tears. Apparently one of his closest friends said some very mean things to him. Logan’s heart was crushed! He was hurt and wounded deeply and now flowing out of his heart and mouth was more pain and hurt. Hurting people, hurt people. (I suspect that the friend who “hurt” my son is carrying around more pain and brokenness than his small body can contain.
You and I are no different. We too have been hurt, some of us very deeply. We’ve been betrayed, lied to, lied about, abandoned, abused, forgotten and forsaken. It is reality. The question is, “What do we do with that pain and brokenness? How do we love others, instead of using them to find our own healing?
There is a tremendous story told by both Luke and Matthew. Luke phrases it this way, “As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.”
A couple quick observations.
1. Like each of us, this woman new what it was like to suffer. She understands what it’s like to be betrayed, rejected, taken advantage of, ostracized and forgotten.
2. After 12 years of searching and hoping to find healing, she learned “no one could heal her.” Too often many of us look to the approval of others to find healing for our broken and bruised lives. We too know the disappointment left over from those failed attempts.
3. After pushing through the crowd, she touched the edge (kanaph) of Jesus cloak and found healing. Malachi 4:2 had told of the day when “the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings (kanaph).” (In Hebrew the word for wings and edge is the same; kanaph.)
4. This woman believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah; that in himself there was healing power, she but needed to take hold of him.
We are all broken people, struggling to find peace and wholeness in our fractured world. We can continue to search for wholeness in the approval of others or we can push through with desperate hearts and take hold of Jesus and find healing in His wings.
May God grant all of us who are broken this day to press on to take hold of the One who is already holding onto us!
Sabbatical
May 25, 2009
I am taking a two-week fast from blogging.
Lord, may these two weeks be a time of refreshment and deep reflection leading to surrender.
Amen. Christ, have mercy.
Being the Presence of Jesus
May 22, 2009
I’ve been reading God in the Alley by Greg Paul. It has really been messing with my heart and head. Early in the book he tells Neil’s Story. Neil has AIDS. Greg, the author of the book tells how he signed up to be a “buddy and gofer” for Neil. Over time the relationship moves from being cold and formal to being warm and genuine. In short, they become friends. Then one morning Greg stops by to visit Neil. As he enters the hot and humid room he discovers Neil “writhing in a soundless panic, half sitting up, his pajama bottoms and the bed sheets wound around his ankles, his spindly arms flailing in a futile effort to free himself, a look of sheer terror on his face. He had soiled himself, and it was everywhere. He was disoriented, uncertain where he was or what was happening to him.”
Once Greg is able to free Neil from the tangled mess, he begins to calm down. Greg then carries Neil to the tub. While Neil soaks Greg proceeds to change the soiled sheets before coming back to dress Neil in clean pajamas and carry him back to his bed. Greg comments, “He seemed almost weightless, just bones shrink-wrapped with grayish skin. His temples were hollow, and his teeth seemed too large for his face.”
As Greg begins to tuck Neils feet into the bed, he notices that one of Neils feet was not completely clean. Greg grabs a wash cloth and begins to wipe that foot. In his own word’s Greg describes what happens next, “As I did so, I was struck by what I can only describe as a powerful revelation, two streams of thought converging, and both seeming to me to be the voice of God. Cradling his foot in my hands, my mind was filed with the image of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples at the Last Supper, a towel around his waist, determinedly taking the servant’s role. I had been meditating on the story from John’s gospel just the day before, and now I could almost see Jesus hunched over Peter’s foot, his hair hanging forward and obscuring his face, quietly insisting against Peter’s protestations that those feet, but only the feet, needed to be washed. This moment was what my whole time with Neil had been for! This was what it meant to be the presence of Christ. I had been looking for opportunities to preach, wanting to effect a clear and possibly dramatic conversion. I realized in that moment that my longing for those things was as much or more an indication of my desire to be successful as they were of my passion for Neils’ soul. It became clear that, being Jesus to Neil, while it certainly included praying for him, and announcing the good news to him, was most perfectly summed up by the mundane and even odious task of gently wiping excrement from his foot.”
Praying Colossians 4
May 19, 2009
Praying Scripture is a rewarding experience. Using Holy Spirit inspired words (their attendant meanings and referents) that have been comforting believers for millennia is an edifying experience. Praying Scripture also assures us that we are praying according to the will of God which instructs us to be fully prepared to serve him faithfully.
Today, we pray with Paul and the Church from Colossians 1: 7-8.
1:7 You learned the gospel from Epaphras, our dear fellow slave - a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf – 1:8 who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
Paul continues to commend the Colossians in a spirit of gratitude to God for receiving the gospel, for living the gospel, and for loving God and one another in the Spirit according to the gospel teachings.
Prayer: So today, Jesus, I pray with gratitude for those who have been faithful like Epaphras to bring the gospel to me. I name Kathy, Billie, Paul, Dan, Dianne and others. I also thank you, O Revealer of all truth, for opening my eyes to see, and moving me to enter into the kingdom of light in Christ Jesus. This is no personal achivement by sheer grace. I confess before you and before the world of my inability to live the gospel but for your strong presence in my weakness. I also pray, lover of my soul, that the world may see me and your church and marvel at the love we have for you, and for the world. Glorify your name in all the earth through your church. Amen, Christ have mercy.
Confession 7
May 18, 2009
I have been reading Richard Foster and Gayle Beebe in Longing for God: Seven Paths of Christian Devotion.
Beebe speaks of Evagrius of Ponticus (345-399) as the first to categorize the sins of humanity. They have come to be known as the seven deadly sins. He actually names 8. He also came up with the corresponding virtues that counter these sins. Here are his eight sins and the corresponding Greek: Gluttony (gastrimargia), Anger (orge), Greed or avarice (xenodixia), Pride (hyperphania), lust or imppurity (porneia), indifference or impatient discouragement (akedia or acedia–sloth), and melancholy or depression (lype).
Evagrius believed that every Christian is assailed by these eight deadly thoughts and the actions they result in. The question is how will we react to the gravitational pull of each deadly thought when it arrives? We know from experience they will arrive, all of them, sometimes with a vengeancce. Often simultaneously. None is independent of the others. At times one triggers others. All affect us in their individual and cumulative effects. The continuous effort of spiritual formation into the likeness of Christ often begins here.
The starting point in dealing with these deadly thoughts and the resultant actions is confession which is an attitudinal adjustment that makes us agree with God that we think and act out these sinful thoughts. We also humbly agree that we are not able to overcome them on our own. We need the grace of God, which enables us to do what we cannot do on our own. In the next posts in this series ( previous posts here) I will take each of the eight sin categories and the corresponding eight virtues of Evagrius and elaborate on them.
Prayer: Lord, I come to you without one plea and only under the spell of the power of your love. If the charge is laid against me for each of these deadly thoughts and the actions they cause in me, I plead guilty as charged. I am sorry that I am careless at times to create the distance that exists between us. May my confession yield the desire to love you more dearly and to obey you more readily. I seek more of your mercy and grace daily. May my confession break down any gulf between me and you. I confess so that I may receive grace upon grace, and mercy upon mercy. Receiving these I am able to withstand every attack that would take my mind captive. I set my mind on the things that are above where Christ is at the right hand of God. Lord, have mercy. Amen.
Rule of Benedict 30
May 17, 2009
Why do you think we grumble and speak badly about others?
Scripture is clear about disliking grumbling. In fact we are commanded to do all things without grumbling (complaining) or arguing (Phillippians 2:13). We are also told to speak evil of no one.
Chapter 4:39-40 of Benedict’s Rule echoes these biblical commandments: Do not murmur or speak evil of others.
Living in close proximity to others is challenging to the life of faith. Benedict knew it. He knew that complaining is natural to us. Maintaining unity and closeness with other people without conflict is impossible. The question is how to deal with relational issues directly without complaining to a third party? I find it much easier to murmur or complain than to suffer silently or speak openly to the one I want to complain about. I let off steam and feel justified for doing it.
There is a better way says the word of God, and Benedict echoes it as a way of living with others. Don’t complain or speak evil of others.
Prayer: O to go one day without complaining would be a wonderful gift from your heart to mine, dear Lord. Be pleased, O you who remained silent before your accusers and “crucicfiers”, to grant me one day at a time the freedom not to grumble or speak evil of no one. Amen. Christ, have mercy.
CDP 3
May 15, 2009
Have you memorized this Canticle from morning prayers in CDP?
Christ, as a light
illumine and guide me.
Christ, as a shield
overshadow me.
Christ under me;
Christ over me;
Christ beside me
on my left and my right.
This day be within and without me,
lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.
Be in the heart of each to whom I speak;
in the mouth of each who speaks unto me.
This day be within and without me,
lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.
Christ as a light;
Christ as a shield;
Christ beside me
on my left and my right.
When you do, it will open up uses of it that are not readily available to you otherwise.
1. It allows you to pray in secret for people you are sitting next to or with (anywhere) replacing “me” with “him” or “her” or “them”.
2. It allows you to say a prayer that is uniting everyone you are with in a meeting by substituting the word me with us.
It has blessed me and the people I have been with many times.
Missio Dei 10
May 13, 2009
Did Jesus live missionally? What counts in the life of Jesus as missional activity besides the incarnation, death and resurrection?
The answer to the question is yes if by living missionally we mean that Jesus both lived and died for his mission (Romans 5:10 says that Jesus’ life and death are salvific). Jesus did indeed live missionally and thus he lived and died 1) to rescue humanity and the cosmos from utter lostness, 2) to restore everything on earth and in the universe to its original created order because it is cracked, 3) to create a covenant community (the church) that lives and breathes his life, and 4) to instill in us an active hopefulness that at his coming he will consummate his mission in the world and with his bride, the church, by making all things new.
Corporately and individually, Christ followers cannot simply be satisfied by random acts of kindness, periodic fores into the community, or going overseas to build a church building, or prayerwalk. That’s a good start. But our mission is full participation in the comprehensive plan of God to put the world back to rights and everything in it. We do it not only periodically but “second-naturally.” Whatever we do we do to the glory of God. We buy missionally (1-4 above), we vote missionally, we eat missionnally, we play missionally, we engage in our work life or leisurely life missionally.
Praying Colossians 3
May 13, 2009
In this series of praying through Scriptures, I am learning that in order to pray the Scriptures, time is needed for reflection, for paying attention to the presence of God, and for paying attention to the condition of my soul, and my heart’s desire. I have the impression that Paul, though he did not know he was writing Scripture, he was in deep prayer (communion with God) and that this letter was not just dictated but breathed by God through Paul for the sake of the the Colossians, North Carolinians, Topekans, and Kansas Citians.
1:5 Your faith and love have arisen from the hope laid up for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel 1:6 that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.
Prayer: Jesus, I am experiencing the truth of these words of your servant Paul and the Holy Spirit. I am tasting faith and love that spring from hope. I see brokenness around me always and this present brokenness, which I know will be put to rights, inspires me to express love, trust, and faithfulness in my walk with you and for the sake of others. Your word is alive in me. What more do I want?
I also pray that the power of the gospel, which is foolishness to paganism, will continue to spread in our world, the only hope our world has. Help me and my brothers and sisters in Christ, in our various societies of Jesus, to increase in our faith and undrstanding of the unlimited truth that is the gospel. This is good news about you, it’s you, and by default is unfathomable. Give me my share of it. I trust you for it. Give my borthers and sister in Christ their shares of it and together we will be the wiser for it. Amen. Christ have mercy.
Confession 6
May 12, 2009
In Isaiah 30, God i
s chiding and promising Israel. Chiding them for seeking their protection in the shade of Egypt. Encouraging them to seek their refuge in Him. The composers of CDP offer a reflection in today’s reading upon Isaiah 30 (see below). This strophe caught my attention more than the others. I offer it by way of confession. Confession happens when a “confessee” (me) agrees with a confessor (God).
My Confession: I am reluctant, O Perfect and merciful Listener, to allow myself to be conquered by you. I would, in my flesh, much rather seek by protection with the “Egypts” of self-sufficiency, and will-power. Yet I know that rest for my soul could only come when I find my rest in you, as your servant Augustine also discovered and teaches me. Conquer me indeed, and bless me indeed with yourself.
But the Lord still waits for you
to show to you His love
as He has said.
And He, He will conquer you
so that He may bless you
with Himself.
Blessed are they
who wait upon the Lord
for they shall weep no more,
neither be afraid.
Rule of Benedict 29
May 10, 2009
This week’s reading of the Rule (the way of life) of Benedict is from verses 34-38 of the fourth chapter. See previous posts for other entries. Going through the Rule methodically has been eye opening of the vision, intentionality, and means of living and loving in community of like-minded followers of Christ. Personally I am challenged by its rigorous demands, demands that are no less than what Christ demanded of his own.Today’s exhortations of life in community are just as challenging as others. There is no more thoroughly biblical rule than that of Benedict. Notice the biblical content and the added references.
Do not be proud, nor given to much wine (Titus 1:7; 1 Tim 3:3). Do not be a glutton, nor given to much sleeping, nor slothful (Rom 12:11).
Comment: Benedict saw that there is a direct relationship between our bodily appetites and needs and the possibility of failing to follow Christ faithfully. Historically, Christians were austere people. They were not given to lavish lifestyles. They did not confuse heavenly blessings with material possessions, and earthly pleasures. They sought to live ethically upon the earth while at the same time celebrating God’s goodness. I seldom hear of God’s blessings today without a monetary mention as if this mattered most.
Lectio: Gluttony leads to sleepiness leads to laziness. Deliver us O Lord.
Prayer: Lord, I consider the first and most important blessing in my life is You. Helping to not seek any substitute. Lord, have mercy on me!
Gluttony, being given to too much sleep, and laziness are hardly ever the subjects of preaching/teaching in the church. Why not? Why is fasting, prayer vigils through the night, and industriousness not considered needful disciplines in the church?
CDP 2
May 8, 2009
Celtic Daily Prayer has been our chosen way at Missional Order to order our days. We have chosen to order our days around four spiritual pauses to focus our hearts, souls, and minds on the only Ground of our being: father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is a valuable way to help us be intentional about growing in grace. Experience tells us that without intention it is impossible to accomplish the vision of Christ likeness we so desire as those intent on doing life with God. A garden untended grows wild. A life untended grows stale.
Today’s readings from CDP are all about intention. Here they are:
Psalm 42:11 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Saviour and my God.
A conversation with ourselves is an essential way of attending to our inner thoughts, feelings, and attitudes. Whatever that conversation yields is placed in hope into the hands of God. By default, O Lord, make me to always hope in you.
Jeremiah 21:8 Furthermore, tell the people, This is what the LORD says: See, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death.
We come to forks in the road daily, hourly, even more often. Choosing the way of life must be a deliberate action. The inner voice always cries out for the right choice unless the cares of this world have choked it out. Our baser parts heed the wrong voice for a wrong choice leading to interrupted relationality with the Lord. A moment of decision sets the course of a day, even a life. You bid me, my Lord, to tell the people. So I tell, first my soul, then the soul of others: Mind the little decisions.
2 Corinthians 11:3–4 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.
Deception is constant. It is as constant as our wills are determined on devotion to Christ. The cosmic forces that seek to thwart our attention away from God, Jesus, and the gospel are not only real but also disguised. It takes the wisdom of Solomon and the patience of Job to be discerning. Lord Jesus Christ make me discerning of anything that would come between us and merciless in eliminating it from my life.
[May] I find Thee enthroned in my heart,
my Lord Jesus.
It is enough.
I know that Thou art throned
in heaven.
[May} My heart and heaven are [be] one.
Alistair Maclean
Missio Dei 9
May 7, 2009
From the Road to Peace comes this quote of Henri Nouwen about the connection between prayer and serving others.
You must make the connection between prayer and life. The closer you are to the heart of God, the closer you come to the heart of the world, the closer you come to others. God is a demanding God, but when you give your heart to God, you find your heart’s desires. You will also find (unto the least of these, unto me) your brother and sister right there. We’re called always to action, but that action must not be driven, obsessive, or guilt-ridden. Basically, it’s action that comes out of knowing God’s love. You want to be with the poor because with them you’re not trying to please the world and be accepted….
Our spirituality should come from living deeply with the poor [perfect integration of prayer and action]. A spirituality of being with vulnerable people and of being vulnerable to them–that’s the great journey!
Also from Nouwen come these nuggets: What real and gutsy praying does is to move us to the center of all life and all love Prayer and action … can never be seen as contradictory or mutually exclusive.
Missional living is a combination of action and contemplation. What do you think of the term “Contemplaction?”
Praying Colossians 2
May 6, 2009
1:3 We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,
1:4 since we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints.
Prayer: Lord, I give thanks to you in my prayers this morning for the faith of brothers and sisters in Christ. I only know a few of them. Most live in countries I will never visit. I know not their names. I know not their struggles. Many may be barely holding on to their faith. Many are strong even in the midst of persecution. I do know their faith. Let this knowledge suffice for now. I am united to them and they are to me in you. I rest me in this thought.
I also thank you, Lord, that I hear of the love many of my brothers and sisters have for you and for their neighbors. I thank you that daily I have those who love me and those I love close at hand. Without this love, this world would be unbearable to us. With the love you shed abroad in their and my heart, we can overcome this world. May this attitude of thanksgiving for the saints always trump any negative thoughts I have. Amen. Christ, have mercy.
Confession 5
May 4, 2009
I did a quick search on “I confess” on the NEXTBIBLE website http://net.bible.org/bible.php and discovered these verses:
John 1:20 He confessed – he did not deny but confessed – “I am not the Christ!”
Mat 3:6 and he was baptizing them 1 in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.
Psa 38:18 Yes, 1 I confess my wrongdoing, and I am concerned about my sins.
Lev 5:5 when an individual becomes guilty with regard to one of these things he must confess how he has sinned,
Neh 9:2 Those truly of Israelite descent separated from all the foreigners, standing and confessing their sins and the iniquities of their ancestors.
Act 19:18 Many of those who had believed came forward, confessing and making their deeds known.
Rom 10:10 For with the heart one believes and thus has righteousness and with the mouth one confesses and thus has salvation.
Phi 2:11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
What I have noticed about these verses and confession in Scripture is that more often than not is that confession is specific. When the confession is a proclamation of the truth (Jesus is the Christ, or John saying I am not the Christ), or is an admission of sin (make their deeds known), it is specific, or named.
It is good for us and we are encouraged to be specific when we confess our sins to others, and to God, to know exactly what our sin is. Naming our sins is good for us and demonstrates our willingness to take ownership of them.
What is your habit in confessing your sins?
When I’m tired I seem to be more general. Because confession demands alertness of spirit, perhaps we should do it when we are most alert. Some are more alert in the morning while others at other times of the day.
Guided Prayer Retreat
May 4, 2009
Do you ever desire to set aside more time for prayer? Maybe even a whole day dedicated to listening and discovering what God is saying? But perhaps you haven’t been certain on how to best organize such a day. Or maybe you thought it would be helpful to participate with like minded people in such an endeavor.
If this is the case in your spiritual journey, then we hope you can join us for a one day guided prayer retreat on Thursday, June 4th here in Kansas City. We will be meeting from 9:00am to 4:00pm at the Tall Oaks Conference Center. Tall Oaks is located in Linwood, KS half way between Kansas City and Lawrence. For a map and directions to Tall Oaks you can go here.
Our prayer “guide” for the day will be Dr. Liam Atchison. Liam has been a seminary professor and church planting pastor, and is an historian and teacher. He and his wife Precious co-authored a book called Grief, published by NavPress. Liam is a graduate of Kansas State University, where he received his PhD in the history of hermeneutics, and Dallas Theological Seminary, where he received a Master of Theology. He was founding editor of the Christian cultural journal Mars Hill Review and has written a number of articles on history and on spiritual growth. He is the founder of Emmanuel House, a graduate theological study center in Manhattan, KS and Lincoln, NE that emphasizes knowing God and knowing ourselves as a theological basis for becoming effective readers of the biblical text, people, and culture.
Liam directed the biblical counseling program at Colorado Christian University in the halcyon days of the 1990s, where Dr. Larry Crabb was both a colleague and mentor. Liam went on to be a founder and the academic dean at Western Conservative Baptist Seminary’s Seattle (Now Mars Hill Graduate School) campus, before founding Emmanuel House in 2002. He was the ancient history teacher at K-State from 2005 to 2008, when he was nominated for Professor of the Year by his undergraduate students (he didn’t win, but what was cool was that the national professor of the year won!). A coffee snob from his years in the Pacific Northwest, Liam sees baseball as a spiritual exercise, loves telling stories, and seriously, seriously bleeds purple.
The cost of the one day retreat will be a very reasonable $15 (which even includes lunch!). If you are interested in joining us or have questions please leave a comment or email me at brad.brisco@gmail.com
Hope you can join us on June 4th.
Rule of Benedict 28
May 4, 2009
The Rule of Benedict has been translated umpteen times. The translation that I’m using is by Fr. Luke Dysinger, OSB (a Catholic acronym designating the Order of Saint Benedict). For ease of use translators divide the Rule into chapters and verses.
At Missional Order we are committed to learning from all those who followed Christ faithfully before us and are now following him into the life that is truly life in Christ Jesus. Benedict, I believe, is a good teacher of the Way of Christ. The Rule that he left his fellow followers of Christ has stood the test of time as an eminently practical guide.
Chapter 4:29-33
Do not render evil for evil (1 Thess 5:15, 1 Pet 3:9). Do no wrong to anyone; rather, bear patiently the wrong done to yourself. Love you enemies (Matt 5:44; Luke 6:27). o not render cursing for cursing, but rather blessing. bear persecution for justice’s sake (Matt 5:10).
Comment: The New Testament makes it clear that loving those who love us is no great accomplishment. Love of those who don’t is. Loving of those who wish to hurt us is. Loving our enemies is a mandate, not a choice. The reason the New Testament harps on this is because we don’t come by it naturally. We must cultivate it through hours, days, and years (yes years) of intentional formation of our character (heart, soul, mind, social interactions, and body). Benedict discerned this reality from reading the scripture and his way of the spiritually formative life promotes the love of the enemy as a natural way of life, as a first response force in our lives.
Lectio: Do no wrong, bear the wrongs done to you patiently. I get you Jesus. You did it well. You showed me the way. You proved it can be done. I’ve gotten glimpses of it, it’s been rumored possible.
Prayer: Jesus, make me like you able to respond in love when hurt is hurled at me. Make me compassionate, when hate is aimed at me. Make me suffer quietly when it is easier to respond in kind to the sufferings others inflict on me. Amen. Jesus, have mercy.
Your turn: add your prayer to mine if you dare to be vulnerable.
What’s your reputation?
May 1, 2009
I was poking around on the website for Adullum, an incarnational community that has taken up residency throughout the Denver area, when I was reminded of this amazing quote by Roman Emperor Julian,
Atheism (Christianity) has been specially advanced through the loving service rendered to strangers, and through their care for the burial of the dead. It is a scandal that there is not one single Jew who is a beggar, and that the godless Galileans care not only for their own poor but for ours as well; while those who belong to us look in vain for the help that we should render them.
It appears the early church was known by the way she loved strangers.
She was know in the way she loved and cared for those forgotten and left alone.
She had the reputation for extending love to those who played on the other team.
What is the reputation of the church in America today? If a leader in you city were to write down the first three things that came to mind when they thought about your church, would their list describe Jesus?
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