Daily Meditation for Thursday, 1 June 2017 : "Jesus Is in the World Not of It" The Henri Nouwen Society in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Thursday, June 1, 2017
Daily Meditation for Thursday, 1 June 2017 : "Jesus Is in the World Not of It" The Henri Nouwen Society in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Reflecting God - WordAction - The Nazarene Publishing House - The Global Church of the Nazarene in Kansas City, Missouri, United States - Embrace Holy Living: "Glad and Sincere Hearts" by Duane Brush for Thursday, 1 June 2017 - Acts 2:38-47
Reflecting God - WordAction - The Nazarene Publishing House - The Global Church of the Nazarene in Kansas City, Missouri, United States - Embrace Holy Living: "Glad and Sincere Hearts" by Duane Brush for Thursday, 1 June 2017 - Acts 2:38-47"Glad and Sincere Hearts" by Duane Brush
Acts 2:38 Kefa answered them, “Turn from sin, return to God, and each of you be immersed on the authority of Yeshua the Messiah into forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Ruach HaKodesh! 39 For the promise is for you, for your children, and for those far away — as many as Adonai our God may call!”
40 He pressed his case with many other arguments and kept pleading with them, “Save yourselves from this perverse generation!”
41 So those who accepted what he said were immersed, and there were added to the group that day about three thousand people.
42 They continued faithfully in the teaching of the emissaries, in fellowship, in breaking bread and in the prayers. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many miracles and signs took place through the emissaries. 44 All those trusting in Yeshua stayed together and had everything in common; 45 in fact, they sold their property and possessions and distributed the proceeds to all who were in need. 46 Continuing faithfully and with singleness of purpose to meet in the Temple courts daily, and breaking bread in their several homes, they shared their food in joy and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having the respect of all the people. And day after day the Lord kept adding to them those who were being saved.
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Purity in the human heart can be an elusive virtue. Like humility, once it is recognized, the very moment we try to force or focus on it, it vanishes. This is because purity is not a goal, in and of itself, it is the result of an encounter with a higher, transcending love that woos us away from the corruption of baser goals.
In the days following Pentecost the early disciples demonstrated this purity. Their lives were reordered by the love of Christ poured out through the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. They had an insatiable hunger to learn more about their new-found faith. They could not let a day pass without the fellowship of other believers. Nothing they owned, that could be used to ease the need of another, was withheld. Praise was their shared language and integrity their shared reputation. This pervasive love so enamored them that anything less was simply unacceptable.
Purity is the inevitable result of an all-consuming divine love.
In the days following Pentecost the early disciples demonstrated this purity. Their lives were reordered by the love of Christ poured out through the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. They had an insatiable hunger to learn more about their new-found faith. They could not let a day pass without the fellowship of other believers. Nothing they owned, that could be used to ease the need of another, was withheld. Praise was their shared language and integrity their shared reputation. This pervasive love so enamored them that anything less was simply unacceptable.
Purity is the inevitable result of an all-consuming divine love.
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Richard Rohr Meditation for Thursday, 1 June 2017 : "Everything Belongs" The Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
Richard Rohr Meditation for Thursday, 1 June 2017 : "Everything Belongs" The Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
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"Everything Belongs"Thursday, June 1, 2017
Jesus and Saint Francis had a genius for not eliminating or punishing the so-called negative side of the world, but incorporating and using it. Francis, simply imitating Jesus, goes to the edge of town and to the bottom of society; he kisses the leper, loves the poor, and wears patches on the outside of his habit so everyone will know that this is what he’s like on the inside. Francis doesn’t hide from his shadow side, but weeps over it and welcomes it as his teacher.
The history of almost every religion begins with one massive misperception, making a fatal distinction between the sacred and the profane. Low-level religions put all their emphasis on creating sacred places, sacred time, and sacred actions. While I fully appreciate the need for this, unfortunately, it leaves the majority of life “un-sacred.”
Your task is to find the good, the true, and the beautiful in everything, even and most especially the problematic. The bad is never strong enough to counteract the good. You can most easily learn this through some form of contemplative practice. Within contemplation you must learn to trust your Vital Center over all the passing jerks and snags of emotions and obsessive thinking. [1] Once you know you have such a strong and loving soul, or the Indwelling Spirit, you are no longer pulled to and fro with every passing feeling. You have achieved a peace that nothing else can give you, and that no one can take from you (John 14:27).
Divine Incarnation took the form of an Indwelling Presence in every human soul and surely all creatures in some rudimentary way. Ironically, our human freedom gives us the ability to refuse to jump on board our own life. Angels, animals, trees, water, and yes, bread and wine seem to fully accept and enjoy their wondrous fate. Only humans resist and deny their core identities, which can cause great havoc, and thus must be somehow boundaried and contained. But the only way we ourselves can refuse to jump onto the train of life is by any negative game of exclusion or unlove—even of ourselves. When we read the Gospel texts carefully, we see that the only people Jesus seems to “exclude” are those who exclude others. Exclusion might be described as the core sin. Don’t waste any time rejecting, excluding, eliminating, or punishing anyone or anything else. Everything belongs, including you.
Gateway to Silence: Everything belongs.
References:
[1] For more on how to move beyond emotional and mental addictions, see Michael A. Singer, The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself (New Harbinger Publications: 2007).
Adapted from Richard Rohr, Franciscan Mysticism: I AM That Which I Am Seeking, disc 1 (Center for Action and Contemplation: 2012), CD, MP3 download;Eager to Love: The Alternative Way of Francis of Assisi (Franciscan Media: 2014), 10; and
“Franciscan Mysticism,” an unpublished talk, April 12, 2012.
The Universal Christ: An Archetype for Everything
a webcast with Richard Rohr LIVE: Tuesday, June 20, 2017 4:30-6:00 p.m. U.S. MDT Or watch online any time through July 22, 2017!
Father Richard draws insights from his recent hermitage and a forthcoming book to explore the foundational pattern of death and resurrection. This archetype holds hope and wisdom for each of us. The cosmic Christ is simply another word for everything, for what’s happening everywhere and all the time!
Copyright © 2017Center for Action and Contemplation
Center for Action and Contemplation
1823 Five Points Road SouthWest (physical)
PO Box 12464 (mailing),
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God Pause - The Lutheran Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States for Thursday, 1 June 2017 - John 20:19-23
God Pause - The Lutheran Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States for Thursday, 1 June 2017 - John 20:19-23
John 20:19 In the evening that same day, the first day of the week, when the talmidim were gathered together behind locked doors out of fear of the Judeans, Yeshua came, stood in the middle and said, “Shalom aleikhem!” 20 Having greeted them, he showed them his hands and his side. The talmidim were overjoyed to see the Lord. 21 “Shalom aleikhem!” Yeshua repeated. “Just as the Father sent me, I myself am also sending you.” 22 Having said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Ruach HaKodesh! 23 If you forgive someone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you hold them, they are held.” [Complete Jewish Bible]
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This is the Pentecost story according to John. In this story the disciples didn't have to wait 50 days. The risen Christ literally breathed into them the Holy Spirit that first Easter night. The disciples were gathered behind locked doors. They were afraid. They didn't know what to do or which way to go. What inspired this rag tag group of followers to go out and witness to the world that God raised Jesus from the dead? Jesus showed up and blessed them. Jesus breathed into them. Then he sent them.
God does the same thing for us. God breathes into us on the first day of the week, gathers us around word and sacrament, and then sends us out to be witnesses of the son's resurrection. Jesus didn't leave us orphaned after the ascension, but promised to be present in a new way.
Come, Holy Spirit. Amen.
Wolfgang W. Laudert, '11
Pastor, Christ Lutheran Church, Staten Island, N.Y.
John 20:19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."
20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." [New Revised Standard Version]
-------The Luther Seminary
2481 Como Avenue
This is the Pentecost story according to John. In this story the disciples didn't have to wait 50 days. The risen Christ literally breathed into them the Holy Spirit that first Easter night. The disciples were gathered behind locked doors. They were afraid. They didn't know what to do or which way to go. What inspired this rag tag group of followers to go out and witness to the world that God raised Jesus from the dead? Jesus showed up and blessed them. Jesus breathed into them. Then he sent them.
God does the same thing for us. God breathes into us on the first day of the week, gathers us around word and sacrament, and then sends us out to be witnesses of the son's resurrection. Jesus didn't leave us orphaned after the ascension, but promised to be present in a new way.
Come, Holy Spirit. Amen.
Wolfgang W. Laudert, '11
Pastor, Christ Lutheran Church, Staten Island, N.Y.
John 20:19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."
20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." [New Revised Standard Version]
-------The Luther Seminary
2481 Como Avenue
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108, United States
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