Loved by God.

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* It's good to suffer loss, for it draws me to the Cross where God's loss is more than what anyone ever lost. * We cannot hear what the stories of the Bible are saying until we hear them as stories about ourselves. * Let go of control. * Trust God. Thank God. Think about God. Talk to God. Talk about God.

Wednesday, February 26, 2020

The Good Shepherd (Psalm 23 to Mark 6)

Psalm 23
Mark 6:7-52
"The Lord is my shepherd"
Mk 6:34ff: Jesus had compassion of them
"He settles me down in green pastures"
Mk 6:39: He commanded them to recline in green pastures
"He leads me in paths of righteousness"
Mk 6:34: He taught them many things
"I walk through the valley of death"
Mk 6:24-29: John was killed
"I will fear no evil"
Mk 6:50: He told them, "Have no fear, I am!"
"…your staff comforts me"
Mk 6:8: "Take nothing…except a [shepherd's] staff"
"You prepare a table before me"
Mk 6:41: Jesus prepared a banquet of life
"…in the presence of my enemies"
Mk 6:21-28: Herod, an enemy, was "watching"
"You anoint my head with oil"
Mk 6:13: The disciples "anointed many with oil"
"I shall not want"; "my cup overflows"
Mk 6:42: They were "filled" with "12 baskets full of broken pieces"
He rests me "beside still waters"
Mk 6:51: "the wind ceased and they crossed over"

The classical account of the good shepherd from Psalm 23 to Mark 6:7-52
Ps 23:1-6
Jer, Ezek, Zach
Lk 15:4-7
Lk 15:8-10
Mk 6:7-52
God is the good shepherd
God is the good shepherd
Jesus is the good shepherd
Jesus is the good woman
Jesus is the good shepherd and the new Moses
Lost sheep (no flock)
Lost flock
Lost sheep & lost flock
Lost coin
Lost flock
Incarnation implied
Incarnation promised
Incarnation realized
Incarnation realized
Incarnation realized
Price paid: bring back
Price paid: search, save, bring back
Price paid: search, find, carry back
Price paid: light lamp, sweep, search, find
Gather, order, feed, lead flock, confront Herod
Repentance is return to God (shuv)
Repentance is return to land (shuv)
Repentance is return to God (metanoea)
Repentance is return to God (metanoea)
The "flock" accepts to be found
A meal for the psalmist
__
A celebration with friends
A celebration with friends
A meal for 5,000
A good host(ess?) and a meal
__
A good host and (offered food)
A good hostel and (offered food)
Jesus produces a meal
Opponent: death and enemies
Bad shepherd
Bad shepherd loses a sheep
Careless woman loses a coin
Herod: bad shepherd and murderer
Story ends in the house
Story ends in the land
Story ends in the house
Story ends in the house
At the end, people go home.

A Child's Education

Image result for The most influential of all educational factors is the conversation in a child's home

Monday, February 24, 2020

Jesus' Response to the Murder of John the Baptist

Jesus Responds to a Horrific Murder (Mark 6:7-32) 
"Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest" (Mk 6:31b).
v  How do you respond when a very good person you love is brutally beheaded by an evil person?

v  How did Jesus respond when his cousin John the Baptist was murdered by a drunken despot?

v  How did Jesus fulfill his role as a good shepherd when under enormous pressure to respond to a bad shepherd?

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve (6:7-13)

1.    By sending out the Twelve two by two (Mk 6:7), how many teaching/preaching voices would there be (Mk 6:6b)?

2.    What would Jesus' instructions teach them (Mk 6:8-9)? Who would they need on their mission?

3.    What did Jesus teach them about failure (Mk 6:10-11)? What does "shake the dust off your feet" teach them? If they are bent on success, are they in the right business?

4.    What was their primary proclamation (Mk 6:12)? What did they do (Mk 6:13)?
Herod and the Horrific Murder of John the Baptist (6:14-29)
1.    Why was John put in prison (Mk 6:17-18)? Why did Herod protect John and like to listen to him (Mk 6:20)?

2.    Who were Herod's dinner guests (Mk 6:21)? Notice that 3 classes of people were invited. What kind of people were they? Who do they represent?

3.    Why (Mk 6:19) and how did Herodias manipulate a banquet into a murder scene (Mk 6:22-25)? Why didn't/couldn't Herod back down from his drunken oath (Mk 6:26-28)?

4.    How was John regarded (Mk 11:32; Lk 3:15; 20:1-8)? Why did his disciples gather around him (Mk 6:30)? Why were so many people coming and going (Mk 6:31a)? What do you do when a relative of your leader is murdered?

5.   How did Jesus regard John the Baptist (Mt 11:11; Lk 7:28)? How did he respond to his murder (31b-32, 33-44)?

6.    Did John's brutal beheading (6:14-29) disrupt the mission of the Twelve (6:7-13, 30-31)? What can we learn here?

The outline and setting of the emergence of Jesus the good shepherd in Mk 6:7-52 are:
  1. Jesus sends out the twelve (6:7-13)
  2. Herod and John [and the ministry of Jesus] (6:14-20)
  3. Herod the bad shepherd feeds the powerful [at a banquet of death] (6:21-29)
  4. The twelve return to Jesus (6:30-32)
  5. Jesus the good shepherd feeds his flock [at a banquet of life] (6:33-43)
  6. Jesus, as shepherd, leads his disciples and creates "still water" for them (6:43-52)

Thursday, February 20, 2020

Who represents Who in Luke 15


Why the shepherd (Lk 15:4-7), woman (Lk 15:8-10) and father (Lk 15:11-32) in Luke 15 are symbols for God and Jesus.

Allegory reigned supreme for many centuries as a method of interpretation, and the fatted calf in the parable of the prodigal son became a symbol for Christ because the calf was killed. Through allegory, interpreters were able to locate their favorite ideas almost anywhere, and confusion and finally meaninglessness conquered. This is probably why parables ceased to be sources for Christian faith and were limited to ethics.

In reaction to the fanciful exaggerations that the allegorical method produced in past centuries, across the twentieth century there was a stream of scholarship that argued for “one point per parable.” Others allowed for several themes in a parable. The purpose was to protect interpretation from adding meanings to the text that could not have occurred to Jesus or his audience. 

But if the great parable of the prodigal son has “only one point,” which shall we choose? Should the interpreter choose “the nature of the fatherhood of God,” “an understanding of sin,” “self-righteousness that rejects others,” “the nature of true repentance,” “joy in community” or “finding the lost”? All of these theological themes are undeniably present in the story and together form a whole that Kenneth Bailey calls “the theological cluster.” Each part of that cluster is in creative relationship to the other parts. The meaning of each can only be understood fully within the cluster formed by the entire parable. The content of the cluster must be controlled and limited by what Jesus’ original audience could have understood.

Simply stated, our task is to stand at the back of the audience around Jesus and listen to what he is saying to them. Only through that discipline can we discover what he is saying to any age, including our own. Authentic simplicity can be found the other side of complexity.

Reference: Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes by Kenneth E. Bailey.

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Confrontation, Conversion and Calling (Isaiah 6)

https://www.facebook.com/ben.toh.9/posts/10159744412734490 Sermon in Ukraine on Nov 7, 2021.
My eyes have seen the almighty holy God. "I saw the Lordmy eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty" (Isaiah 6:1, 5).
  1. Do you want to "see" God (Isa 6:1, 5)? Have you?
    • What does it mean to "see" God? To confront a vision of God (Isa 6:1-4; Jn 1:14; Judg 13:22; Exo 33:20)?
    • Do you have a memorable "(God) moment" in your life (Jn 1:39)?
    • Did Isaiah see Jesus (Jn 12:41)?
    • What does it mean that God is "holy, holy, holy" (Isa 6:3; Rev 4:8)? That "the whole earth is full of his glory" (Isa 6:3; 5:30)?
    • Is your God big (Isa 6:1, 5) and your problems small, or are you problems big because your God is small?
  2. How do you know if you are saved? How is one saved (Isa 6:5-7)? What does it mean to:
    • be convicted of sin (Isa 6:5a)? Have you felt woe? Doomed by your sins (Lk 5:8; Rev 1:17)?
    • confess sin (Isa 6:5b; Ps 51:4)?
    • be cleansed of sin (Isa 6:6-7)?
    • be changed (2 Cor 5:17, 21)?
  3. Could Isaiah not hear "the voice of the Lord" before Isaiah 6:8? Why (Isa 59:2)?
  4. What does it mean to you--personally and practically--to be called by God and to serve God (Isa 6:8-13; 66:2Eph 4:1; Gal 2:20; Phil 1:27; 1 Pet 5:2)?
  5. What does God caution about calloused people (Isa 6:9-10)? Can a person become worse after studying the Bible and after knowing the Bible? Why (1 Cor 1:22-23; Mt 7:26-27; Jas 1:22-24)?
"Christians are missionaries by necessity because all that we are and do only makes sense if what we are and do is done in the name of Jesus." Stanley Hauerwas, Sent: The Church is Mission (Sermon, 7/4/2010), Working With Words: On Learning to Speak Christian.
"Give me a man in love; he knows what I mean. Give me one who yearns; give me one who is hungry; give me one far away in this desert, who is thirsty and sighs for the spring of the eternal country. Give me that sort of man; he knows what I mean. But if I speak to a cold man, he just does not know what I am talking about." Augustine.

Monday, February 17, 2020

The Woman is a Symbol for God and Jesus (Luke 15:8-10)

  1. Why would a story with a woman as the hero be startling, surprising, bold and daring? [In the past, Ruth, Esther, Judith, Deborah and Jael were heroes (Jud 4:4-22). But by the time of Jesus they were clearly inferior (Ben Sirach).]
  2. Why would Jesus tell a similar parable when the parable of the good shepherd was already told (Gen 1:27)?
  3. How would this parable reclaim the long-neglected female component in Psalm 23:5?
  4. Who likely had a major influence on Jesus' attitude toward women as he grew up (Lk 1:26-38, 48)?
  5. Did Jesus have women disciples (Lk 8:1-3; 10:38-39; Mt 12:48-50)? If so, did this make a difference in the content and style of his teaching (Lk 4:25-27; 5:36-39; 7:36-50; 18:1-8; 13:18-21; 20:27-36; 21:1-4; Mk 15:40-47; 16:1-8)?
  6. What is significant about the coin being lost in the house in contrast to the sheep being lost in the wilderness? How might this suggest two distinct types of "lostness" as in the final parable (Lk 15:11-32)?
  7. What is the worth of a drachma (Lk 15:8)? Does the value of the coin ever change?
  8. What suggests that the woman is a symbol for both God and Jesus (Lk 15:6, 9)?
1. Introduction (Lk 15:8a)             Suppose a woman has ten silver coins and
2. Lost (8b)                       loses one.
3. Found (8c)           Doesn't she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?
4. Rejoice (Lk 15:9a)         And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, "Rejoice with me;
5. Found (Lk 15:9b)          I have found
6. Lost (9c)                       my lost coin.
7. Conclusion (Lk 15:10)               In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
I. You One 99 (Lk 15:4a)
1. Lost (Lk 15:4b)
2. Find (Lk 15:5a)
3. Rejoice (Lk 15:5b)
4. Restore (Lk 15:6a)
5. Rejoice (Lk 15:6b)
6. Found (Lk 15:6c)
7. Lost (Lk 15:6d)
III. You One 99 (Lk 15:7)

Tuesday, February 11, 2020

Jesus Redefines Repentance (Luke 15:1-7)

Jesus Redefines Repentance and Salvation (Luke 15:1-7)
  "…in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who do not need to repent" (Luke 15:7).

The sheep brought back by the shepherd is a symbol of repentance.

The characteristic feature of the parables in Luke 15 is the Divine Love that goes out to seek the sinner before he repents.
  • What is repentance? [As we discuss the questions consider how Jesus redefines repentance.]
  • How did John the Baptist and Jesus preach repentance (Mk 1:14; Mt 3:2; 4:17; Lk 3:3; 15:1-5)?
  • How did Peter preach repentance (Ac 2:38)?
  • How did Paul teach salvation (Ac 16:31)?
  • How do you help others to repent?
  • What do you emphasize when desiring others to repent/change?
  • Do you help others repent like Jesus or like the Pharisees leaders? What's the difference?
  • Do you stress and smash the sinner or support and supply strength to the sinner to repent?
  • Does Jesus/Do the Pharisees/Do you place the burden of repentance on the shepherd or the sheep?

1. How is the parable of the good shepherd (4-7) related to Psalm 23/O.T. (Ps 23:3; Jer 23:3; Eze 34:16; Zach 10:10)?


2. Did Jesus host outcasts (Mt 4:13; Mk 2:1; Jn 1:38-43)? Why would Jesus' loving welcome/eating with tax collectors and sinners upset and anger the Pharisees (Lk 15:1-2; 7:39)? [Their anger eventually led to them killing Jesus.] {Contrast the haberim [friends/elites] with the amhaarets [people of the land/lowest stratum of society].}



3. What is "this parable" (3) that Jesus told? How was this a subtle rebuke (4a; Eze 34:4)? Who are the friends (6)? How are shepherds regarded by the Jews?


4. What is the cost for the shepherd to leave the 99 sheep to go search for one lost sheep (4-6)? What does a sheep do when it realizes that it is lost? What is their only hope? Is the shepherd and sheep active or passive or both (4-5a)?


5. Who are the "99 righteous persons who do not need to repent" (7; Isa 53:6; Eccl 7:20; Rom 3:23)?


6. "..in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents.." (7). What does "the same way" teach about repentance? How is Jesus' teaching about repentance "different" from how the Pharisees think?

7. How is this first of three parables a response/an answer to the Pharisees' murmuring (2)?

Saturday, February 8, 2020

Matthew

Mt 28:16-20
  1. The 2nd Moses
  2. Authority
  3. Emmanuel
  4. Messiah
The Gospel of Matthew is placed first in the NT canon. This in itself is an indication of the importance the Gospel has had since early Christian times leading up to the formation of the NT canon. That same importance was also accorded to it down the centuries in the diverse Christian traditions. The gospel's dominant presence in the lectionaries from the earliest times is a testimony to this, not to speak of the numerous quotations from Matthew in Patristic works and in theological and spiritual writings from early centuries. A major reason for this importance given to Matthew is the comprehensive nature of the gospel. Thus Matthew has
  • a high Christology characterizing Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of the living God, 
  • the fulfilment of OT prophecies and expectations; 
  • a well-developed ecclesiology delineating the structures, values and outlining the missionary agenda of the Church; 
  • a gripping and systematic presentation of Jesus' moral teaching; as well as a well-developed eschatology
The fine blend of these crucial aspects of Christian faith gives the gospel its comprehensive and systematic character which not only accounts for the importance accorded to it but also justifies its reputation as the "Teaching Gospel." To ask about the Christology of Matthew's Gospel is to seek Matthew's answer to the question, "Who is Jesus and how he is significant?" To do so form a narrative perspective, it is necessary to identify those elements of Matthew's Gospel in which the shape of the story's plot comes most clearly into focus. Our attention is directed particularly to the "contract" element, which is to be found in the Baptism, temptation and in other significant narratives; and how the central thread of Matthew's plot as having to do with the vindication of the humble, obedient Son of God. [Amit Toppo.]

Thursday, February 6, 2020

The Experience of God, David Bentley Hart


We see the mystery, are addressed by it, given a vocation to raise our thoughts beyond the apparent world to the source of its possibility. In time, though, we begin to seek power over reality and so become less willing to submit our minds to its power over us. Curiosity withers, ambition flourishes.
  • We turn from the mystery of being to the availability of things, 
  • from the mystery of consciousness to the accessible objects of cognition, 
  • from the mystery of bliss to the imperatives of appetite and self-interest.

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

When the Lord is Your Shepherd (Psalm 23)

  1. In Psalm 23 God is a shepherd (Ps 23:1). How else is God described in the O.T. (Ps 18:1-3; Ps 103:13; 131:2)? How did Jesus similarly portray images for God (Lk 15:4, 8, 11-12)?
  2. What does it mean practically that "the Lord is my shepherd" (Ps 23:1a; Prov 3:5-6)?
  3. What is it to "lack nothing" (Ps 23:1b; Phil 4:11-12)? What are the basic wants that the shepherd provides for his sheep (Ps 23:2-6)? How might commercials and advertising affect our wants? How does beginning (Ps 23:1), end (Ps 23:6) and middle (Ps 23:4a) of this psalm affirm the deepest needs of the psalmist?
  4. What does the shepherd need to do before any sheep will lie down (Ps 23:2)? What is provided for the sheep [and the guest (Ps 23:5)]? What kind of life is this (Phil 4:7; Jn 14:27)? Did David know peace in the midst of his turbulent life?
  5. English translations say "He restores/refreshes/renews my soul" while Eastern translations say "He brings me back" (Ps 23:3a)? What does the latter translation suggest about our human condition (Isa 53:5)? About what needs to be done (Jer 23:3; Eze 34:16; Zech 10:10; Lk 15:4; Mt 18:12)? What does it mean that she sheep is led in "paths of righteousness" and "for his name's sake" (Ps 23:3b)?
  6. Why must the sheep pass through the valley of darkness/death (Ps 23:4a)? Why is there no fear in doing so (Ps 23:4b)? Why is this the center and climax of Psalm 23? What is the role of the rod and staff (Ps 23:4c)? What is the sheep's unique problem?
  7. What is the change in metaphor from Ps 23:1 to Ps 23:5 (Isa 42:13; 43:14)? Who usually prepares the table/the meal (Prov 9:1-5)? What is meant by "in the presence of my enemies" (Ps 23:5a)? How is this similar to the story of Zacchaeus (Lk 19:1-10)? What is the meaning of anointing (Ps 23:5b; Mt 26:7; Mk 14:3; Lk 7:38; Jn 12:3)? Of "my cup overflows" (Ps 23:5c)?
  8. How does it generally feel to be followed? What is "goodness" and "mercy" [hesed] (Ps 23:6a)? [David personifies them like people who follow him.] "...the length of days" can mean both "my days" and God's days (Ps 23:6b). How could David be so sure and confident of this (Ps 23:1, 4a)?

Monday, January 20, 2020

Are theological discussions unnecessary?

In depth and very detailed theological discussions and differences began with the Jewish rabbis who studied and interpreted the Torah (their Bible) in detail from different angles and perspectives. This was not to create dissent or contention or confusion. Rather, it was to try their best to discern what God is saying through His word/the Torah, so that they can best live in obedience to God. They were godly God fearing people. They were serious Bible students and scholars who wanted to practically live out the Word of God in their daily lives (Ps 1:2; 119:97).

Jesus--regarded and recognized as a rabbi--did the same thing in Matthew 5 in the 6 "antithesis": "You're heard it said ..... but I say to you." Jesus was obviously not trying to confuse but to clarify. So theological discussions are necessary and should lead to edification, clarity and enjoyment of the great mystery of God. But our differences and disagreements should never lead to demonizing or diminishing or disregarding others.

"...his delight is in the Lord's instruction (Torah/"Bible"), and he meditates on it day and night" (Psalm 1:2). "Oh, how I love your law (Torah/"Bible")! I meditate on it all day long" (Psalm 119:97).

Friday, January 17, 2020

Luke 15 questions for reflection

  1. Why would Jesus' loving welcome and eating with tax collectors and sinners upset the Pharisees and scribes ( Lk 15:1-2)? What is "this parable" (Lk 15:3) that Jesus told them?
  2. What is the cost for the shepherd to leave the 99 sheep to go search for one lost sheep (Lk 15:4-6)? Who are the "99 righteous persons who do not need to repent" (Lk 15:7; Isa 53:6; Eccl 7:20; Rom 3:23a)?
  3. What is the cost to the woman looking for her one silver coin she lost (Lk 15:8-9)? What do we learn in these two parables about what it means to repent (Lk 15:7, 10; Ps 23:3)? [The answer is not easy or obvious.] Who does the good shepherd and the good woman represent (Lk 15:1, 2b)?
  4. What does the younger son's request mean in a Middle Eastern context (Lk 15:11-12a)? How would the father (and his village) normally respond? What does the father's response show about him (Lk 15:12b; cf. Gal 6:13)?
  5. What was the result of his "wild" /extravagant /spendthrift /wasteful living (Lk 15:13-16)? What does "he come to his senses/himself (Lk 15:16-17)? Was he genuinely repenting (Lk 15:18-19)? Who in the O.T. seemed to repent (Exo 10:16)? What was his own plan (Lk 15:19b)? Was this acceptable to the father (Jn 15:15)?
  6. What does the father's action upon seeing his younger son show about him (Lk 15:20; 23:34; Mt 11:29; 2 Cor 5:19a)? Why was this shameful and unexpected? How would this protect his son from the village's wrath?
  7. Compare the son's prepared and actual speech (Lk 15:18b-19, 21)? Why could he not make his final request (Lk 15:19b)?
  8. How did the father restore him to sonship (Lk 15:22-23)? Were they celebrating the son's return home (Lk 15:24)? How was the son found? Did he repent? How? [See Q3 above.]
  9. When the older son found out what happened (Lk 15:25-27), why was he so angry (Lk 15:28a)? What does his refusal to join the celebration mean in a Middle Eastern context (Lk 15:28a)? How was this worse than what the younger son did (Lk 15:12)? What does his insulting response (Lk 15:29-30) to the father's plea (Lk 15:28b) show about him? How was he similar to the Pharisees (Lk 15:2)?
  10. What does the father's plea (Lk 15:28b) and his response to his son's insult (Lk 15:31-32) show about the father? Who is this father? Did he welcome his father's plea and join the celebration? How is "this parable" (Lk 15:3) the answer to the Pharisees' muttering (2)?

Friday, December 27, 2019

Love God

"The command to love God is a command that presumes God's love of Israel. Such a love is no vague generality, but rather is manifest in the concrete and daily care of God for his people. We know what it means to love God only because of God's love for us through the law and the prophets. This love can be harsh and dreadful, because to be loved by God is to be forced to know ourselves truthfully." Stanley Hauerwas, Matthew.

Sunday, December 22, 2019

See & Hear in 2019 & 2020

See Jesus More Clearly in 2019; Hear our Good Shepherd in 2020 (12/19/2019)

2019: "Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes…and he saw everything clearly" (Mk 8:25).

2020: "The sheep hear his voice … for they know his voice" (Jn 10:3b-4).

A wholesome Christian requires orthodoxy (right beliefs), orthopraxy (right practices) and osteopathy (right emotions / feelings). Since I became a Christian in 1980, I focused exclusively on orthodoxy and orthopraxy. Once I even said to my wife to her chagrin, "Feelings don't matter." It took me 3 decades to realize the error and distastefulness of my insensitive statement. So in my attempts to rectify myself…

Friday, December 20, 2019

Hear & Know God's Voice (John 10:3b-4)

"The sheep hear his voice … for they know his voice" (Jn 10:3b-4).
Literally sheep know the voice of their good shepherd. So when they hear his voice, they will follow him.
To hear is to listen and obey. We will hear, listen and obey someone we know. If we do not know (trust) that person, we'll not hear them out, and disregard or ignore what they say.

Monday, December 16, 2019

The Good Shepherd

"Always insightful, always fresh, consistently surprising, Bailey has produced yet another book that will get many of us rethinking beloved passages of Scripture in completely new ways."

"What a feast Ken Bailey has prepared for us in this book, and what an overflowing cupful of insights and illumination."

"Kenneth Bailey refreshes the souls of readers... he deftly introduces us to a fresh understanding of the Good Shepherd. Anyone who loves the 23rd Psalm will love this book."

Friday, December 6, 2019

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Nicholas Wolterstorff, Lament for a Son, 1987

God is not only the God of the sufferers but the God who suffers. The pain and fallenness of humanity have entered into his heart. Through the prism of my tears I have seen a suffering God.

And great mystery: to redeem our brokenness and lovelessness the God who suffers with us did not strike some mighty blow of power but sent his beloved son to suffer like us, through his suffering to redeem us from suffering and evil. Instead of explaining our suffering God shares it.

Lament for a Son by Nicholas Wolterstorff.

Ken Bailey on The Good Shepherd quoting Nicholas Wolterstorff.

Saturday, October 5, 2019

Knowing that You Know God

David Benner discusses in "Spirituality and the Awakening Self" (2012) a knowledge of God that is "transrational" and "contemplative" in chapter 5: "Learning from the Christian Mystics."

Christian mysticism should . . . not be confused with experience. Instead, it should be understood as participation in the mystery of the transformational journey toward union with God in love. . . . Mystics are . . . much more defined by their longing than by their experience. They long to know God's love and thereby to be filled with the very fullness of God [Eph 3:17-19].

This sort of knowing is beyond reason, but it is not irrational. It is transrational. It is knowing of a different order. It is a form of knowing often described as contemplative. And this is the connection to mysticism. Contemplation is apprehension uncluttered by thought—particularly preconception and analysis. It is based on direct and personal encounter.

When you know something by means of such encounter, you may not be able to express it verbally, at least not in a compelling, coherent, or exhaustive manner. But you do know that you know because your knowing has a depth and immediacy to it that is never present in simply knowing about things—even merely knowing about God. [pp. 75-76]