What will you choose?

A prayer of abandonment

Charles de Foucauld (1858-1916) once wrote a prayer of abandonment that expresses beautifully the spiritual attitude I wish I had.

Father, I abandon myself into your hands,

do with me what you will.

Whatever you may do, I thank you;

I am ready for all, I accept all.

Let only your will be done in me, and in all your creatures.

I wish no more than this, O Lord.

Into your hands I commend my soul;

I offer it to you with all the love of my heart,

for I love you, Lord, and so need to give myself,

to surrender myself into your hands without reserve,

and with boundless confidence, for you are my Father.

Christian Life as a Journey and Dialogue

Christian life is a "going back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. That is to say, the Christian is simply caught within the dialogue between two voices with which God speaks: the accusing voice of the law and the accepting voice of the gospel. Hearing the law, he flees to the gospel. Hearing the gospel, he is freed to hear what the law requires. But hearing what he law requires, he must again flee to the gospel. Life is experienced as a dialogue between these two divine verdicts, and within human history one cannot escape that dialogue or progress beyond it." 

"Righteousness ... consists ... in becoming (throughout the whole of one's character) the sort of person God wills us to be and commits himself to the making of us. Picturing the Christian life as such a journey, we can confess our sin without thinking that the standard of which we fall short, in its accusation of us, must lead us to doubt the gracious acceptance by which God empowers us to journey toward his goal for our lives." 

"The image of the Christian life as journey makes place for the truth...that God intends to turn us into people who (gladly...) do his will. Yet by encouraging the pilgrim to concentrate on his own progress toward the goal, it also makes possible the twin dangers of presumption and despair. We may forget that the entire journey, empowered by grace, leaves no room for self-confidence or boasting. Or, seeing little progress, we may begin to doubt whether God really intends to do this for us. The image of the Christian life as dialogue stays close to a central truth about experience--that we are often unable to experience our lives as accepted by God and are, therefore, in constant need of hearing the renewing word of the gospel. Yet...by adhering..to...Christian experience, it may blur or ignore the distinction between God-pleasing service to the neighbor and activity which harms the neighbor." Gilbert Meilander (b. 1946), The Place of Ethics in the Theological Task. 1979.

For Luther "life is not the gradual development of a virtuous life; it is a constant return to the promise of grace. The examined life, if honestly examined, will reveal only that the best of our works are sin." Gilbert Meilander. Theory and Practice of Virtue.

The Hauerwas Reader. 2001, pg 84-86.

All of our problems stem from...

Gratitude

...is both a response and a discipline that requires a choice to be made.

The Way to Change

Chronos vs. Kairos

To Study Philosophy is to Learn to Die

That to Study Philosophy is to Learn to Die (1580). Michel de Montaigne. Cicero says, "that to study philosophy is nothing but to prepare one's self to die."

Being human and spiritual

We can't figure out we are sinners

"No sin is more basic than the presumption, the presumption schooled by our pride, that we can know on our own what it means to say that we are sinners. Too often, I fear, our attempt to examine ourselves to discover our sins turns out to be an invitation to narcissism. We do not come to Jesus to because our sins need to be forgiven. Rather, we know we need to be forgiven, because Jesus has come to us as the one alone capable of revealing who we are without that knowledge destroying us." Minding the Web, 2018, Repentance: A Lenten Meditation, p 212.

Stanley Hauerwas on sin.

A Stanley Hauerwas quote on sin from The Peaceable Kingdom.  

We would rather be ruined than changed

Christ is Beautiful - Augustine

"Christ is beautiful wherever he is. He was beautiful in his miracles but just as beautiful under the scourges, beautiful as he invited us to life, but beautiful too in not shrinking from death, beautiful in laying down his life and beautiful in taking it up again, beautiful on the cross, beautiful in the tomb, and beautiful in heaven." Augustine.

I desire to do nothing else other than what I'm delightfully doing

Only God could have thought up the church. I could not have thought the church up. I could not have imagined "church." That we exist, that West Loop Church exists, that our modest collection of people exist, is a miracle. I am honored beyond words to express that you allow me to preach to you each Sunday as we worship God together. Even though I've never been paid for this "job," it is the best job I've ever had, which I would not exchange for anything else in the world. I desire to do nothing else other than what I'm presently doing every week and every day of the year: sharing the Word and living in community with the church. For sure, I did not think this up. For sure, God "thought us up." Only by God's immeasurable grace we are God's imagination for the world.

The beginning of love - Thomas Merton

"Love is the extremely difficult realisation that something other than oneself is real." Iris Murdoch.

Love is thankfulness for the existence of the beloved

"Love is gratitude: it is thankfulness for the existence of the beloved; it is the happy acceptance of everything that he gives without jealous feeling that the self ought to be able to do as much; it is a gratitude that does not seek equality; it is wonder over the other's gift of himself in companionship. Love is reverence; it keeps its distance even as it draws near; it does not seek to absorb the other; it desires the beloved to be what he is and does not seek to refashion him into a replica of the self or to make him a means to the self's advancement. As reverence love is and seeks knowledge of the other not by way of curiosity nor for the sake of gaining power, but in rejoicing and wonder. Love is loyalty it is the willingness to let the self be destroyed rather than the other cease to be."  H. Richard Niebuhr

Legalism is the original sin

"Legalism is the attempt to be more God than God." Stanley Hauerwas, commenting on the lectionary reading of Gen 3:1-7 when Eve added to God's command, "...and you must not touch it..." (Gen 3:3). [Legalism is the original sin]

Each of the temptations is an attempt for Jesus to be the kind of God that overcomes death in a manner that seems assured. Top of the temple: End war, have peace, you can't do it with the devil's means. The NT has to be read Christologically, just as the OT has to be. How to overcome our temptations loses the Christological focus.

"Our first sin is our assumption that we know what sin is." Hauerwas quoting Barth. "Barth's language is an ontological impossibility."

If you think that sin is because on the whole we are pretty shitty people, you got it wrong. Sin is not "I've done something I'm ashamed of." Sin really is the refusal of God. Sin is the naming of alienation from God. It's very hard to remember that. We prefer sin to be just another name for being a bad person. 

Non-Pharisee Repentance

To find God we must repent of the things we have done wrong, but if that is all you do, you may remain just an elder brother. To truly become a Christian we must also repent of the reasons we ever did anything right. Pharisees only repent of their sins, but Christians repent for the very roots of their righteousness, too. We must learn how to repent of the sin under all our other sins and under all our righteousness – the sin of seeking to be our own Savior and Lord.

Discipleship, Jesus rejects using force

The encounter between Peter and Jesus (Mk 8:27-9:1) makes clear that the story of Jesus, like most good stories, changes the hearer. A story that claims to be the truth of our existence requires that our lives, like the lives of the disciples, be changed by following him. Jesus asks what no man should ask from another--his life. To be a disciple of Jesus requires a training beyond what any of them had imagined.

"Jesus deliberately rejected force and chose truth. Whenever Christianity shows an inclination to use constraint in its own defense or support, it thereby furnishes presumptive evidence that it has become a thing of this world, for it finds the means of this world adapted to its end." Walter Rauschenbusch, The Righteousness of the Kingdom, 1968.

Prayer to Start the Day

"This is another day, oh, Lord. I know not what it will bring. But make me ready, Lord, for whatever it may be. If I am to stand up, help me stand bravely. If I am to sit still, help me sit quietly. If I am to be low, help me to be so patiently. And if I am to do nothing, let me do it gallantly. Make these words more than words, and give me the spirit of Jesus. Amen."

Cross-Shattered Christ, Stanley Hauerwas, 2004

"Mystery" suggests that what we believe defies reason and common sense. What we believe does defy reason and common sense; but yet I believe what Christians believe is the most reasonable and commonsense account we can have of the way things are.

A Community of Character, 1981, Stanley Hauerwas

"Christians most important social task is nothing less than to be a community capable of hearing the story of God we find in the scripture and living in a manner that is faithful to that story. The only reason to be Christian is because Christian convictions are true; and the only reason for participation in the church is that it is the community that pledges to form its life by that truth." (1)

"That the church has often failed to be such a polity (concerned with the development of virtue) is without question, but the fact that we have often been less than we were meant to be should never be used as an excuse for shirking the task of being the people of God." "...(trust) in truth and love to banish the fears that create enmity and discord. To be sure, we have often been unfaithful to his story, but that is no reason for us to think it is an unrealistic demand. Rather it means we must challenge ourselves to be the kind of community where such a story can be told and manifested by a people formed in accordance with it..."

Man's maker made man

Man's maker was made man...that Life might die.

Face the facts, don't lie

Face the facts. Don't lie and deny and the truth about yourself and the world. It'll make you a better human being.

Sin, Peace, Truth, Joy, Life, Love

"It is a sin to think that you are capable of naming your own sin. You are only able to know your sin by being told by another." Stanley Hauerwas.

"When we think our brother or sister has sinned against us, such an affront is not against us but against the whole community." 

"It is an unpleasant fact that most of our lives are governed more by our hates and dislikes than by our love. I seldom know what I really want but I know what or whom I deeply dislike or even hate."

"Jesus brings not a peace of rest but a peace of truth. Just as love without truth cannot help but be a curse, so peace without truthfulness cannot help but be deadly." Learning to Love the Enemy, Stanley Hauerwas on Matthew 18.

Are you a Christian? "If you are a Christian you should be joyful in a way that people find attractive. It's not like I go around saying, 'Oh, you got to be like me,' but that people should think, 'Gee I wonder what makes them tick.'"

A Heart that Never Hardens

"Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts." Charles Dickens. 

The "how" of being a Christian

"I do not put much stock in 'believing in God.' (It) is a far too rationalistic account of what it means to be a Christian. I am far more interested in what a declaration of belief entails for how I live my life. ...the 'what' of Christianity is not the problem. It is the 'how.' ...we cannot understand the 'what' of Christianity without knowing the 'how' to be Christian. Yet then I worry about the how of my own life." Stanley Hauerwas, Hannah's Child. A Theologian's Memoir, On Being Stanley Hauerwas.

Love, Joy, Sin

"Love is the extremely difficult realization that something other than oneself is real." ― Iris Murdoch.

"Love is the nonviolent apprehension of the other as other." Iris Murdoch as quoted by Stanley Hauerwas.

"Christians are obligated to love one another...even if they're married. Love does not create marriage, but marriage creates loves." Stanley Hauerwas.

"If you are a Christian you should be joyful in a way that other people find attractive. It should make people wonder, 'Gee, what makes them tick?'"  Stanley Hauerwas.

"The idea that you need to be convinced you're a sinner in order to come to salvation is getting it backwards. By being saved in Christ you then are able to have some information as to what it means to be a sinner. That's the school of discipleship. The tents (modern evangelism) made sins too interesting. And it's exactly that Christians are saved from the narcissistic fascination with our sins." Stanley Hauerwas.

The Way to Exaltation is Suffering

God will never use a man effectively until He first wounds the man. 

We Have To Follow Our Dreams

Standing ovation for Glen Close's 2019 Golden Globes best actress acceptance speech:

"I'm thinking of my mom who really sublimated herself to my father her whole life. And in her 80s she said to me, 'I feel I haven't accomplished anything.' And it was so not right. What I've learned through this whole experience is that women, we're nurturers. That's what's expected of us. We have our children; we have our husbands, if we are lucky enough; and our partners, whoever. But we have to find personal fulfillment. We have to follow our dreams. We have to say 'I can do that, and I should be allowed to do that.'"

Marriage reflects the Father, Son and Holy Spirit

"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound (overflow) more and more in knowledge and depth of insight (wisdom), 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best (exceptional) and may be pure (sincere) and blameless (faultless) for the day of Christ,11 filled with the fruit of righteousness (uprightness, right living) that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God" (Philippians 1:9-11).

Philippians 1:9-11 is Paul's prayer for the Christians in the church of Philippi. Love necessarily includes knowledge, wisdom, discernment, being pure, blameless and righteous—all to the glory of God. The basis of Paul's prayer alludes to the Trinity--to the blessing of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

See Jesus More Clearly (Mark 8:22-25; 10:46-52)

"He took the blind man... When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, 'Do you see anything?' He looked up and said, 'I see people; they look like trees walking around.' Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly" (Mk 8:23-25). "'What do you want me to do for you?' Jesus asked him. The blind man said, 'Rabbi, I want to see.' 'Go,' said Jesus, 'your faith has healed you.' Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road." (Mk 10:51-52).

Getting Jesus Right (Mark 1:1; 15:39; 8:29)

"The beginning of the good news (gospel) about Jesus the Messiah (Christ), the Son of God" (Mk 1:1). "And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, 'Surely (Truly) this man was the Son of God'" (Mk 15:39). "But who do you say that I am?" (Mk 8:29). ["Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, 'You are the Son of God'" (Mk 3:11).]

What's the big deal about getting Jesus right? What's a downright scary verse in the Bible? Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, "I never knew you. Away from me, you evil doers!" (Mt 7:21-23).

Be Kind and Gentle (2008 - 2018)

"I am gentle and humble in heart" (Matthew 11:29).

West Loop Church (WL) began in Jan 2008. 2018 began with our 10 year anniversary. These are some of my extemporaneous random reflections over the years.

1. Be kind and gentle (Mt 11:28). Jesus said, "I am gentle and humble in heart."  Mother Theresa said, "I prefer you to make mistakes in kindness than work miracles in unkindness." I realize that when I feel attacked, oppressed, imposed upon, criticized, slandered, gossiped about and experience injustice, I am reactive, angry, loud, defensive and offensive. I am anything but kind, gentle and humble in heart, even if I try to control my outward expressions. For the rest of my life, I pray to learn my Lord who is "gentle and humble in heart," though it will surely be with many failures.

Clean Your Room - Jordan Peterson

"If you can't even clean up your own room, who the hell are you to give advice to the world?"

Walk the Gospel Line (Galatians 2:1-14)

"I saw that they were not walking (acting) in line with (not following, not straightforward about, not obeying, deviating from) the truth of the gospel..." (Gal 2:14, various translations). "We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you" (Gal 2:5).

What is the gospel? What is "the truth of the gospel"? What does it mean to "walk in line with the truth of the gospel"? How do we "walk in line with the truth of the gospel" today?

Joseph's Coat, George Herbert

Sorrow ... such is his will

Who changes all things, as he pleases best.

For well he knows, if but one grief and smart (pain)

Among my many had his full career,

Sure it would carry with it even my heart.

And both would run until they found a bier.