Voice of the Day – Bonhoeffer on humility…

“Those who would learn to serve must first learn to think little of themselves…Only those who live by the forgiveness of their sin in Jesus Christ will think little of themselves in the right way. They will know that their own wisdom completely came to an end when Christ forgave them.”



~Dietrich Bonhoeffer

It makes sense, this perspective of his. For in and through Christ is the only way to genuine selflessness and humility. Any other attempts at servitude, although admirable, remain motivated by a self-centered impulse to seek nobility; an end that points back to the self (created being), rather than the creator.

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Listening at Golgatha – Voice of the Day

“Many find Jesus’ teaching on enemy love and forgiveness a stumbling block to faith. Because we find it too difficult to practice, we dismiss it as unrealistic and utopian. We should think again, and we should pray that it is not unrealistic, because this congruence of Jesus—the consistency between his teaching on forgiveness and his action on the cross—is really our only hope. It is all that stands between us and the consequences of our monumental frailty. Thank God today that Jesus died as he lived, because with those words, “Father, forgive…” he forgives us all, and he forgives us still.”

– Peter Storey
Listening at Golgotha: Jesus’ Words from the Cross

Voice of the Day

“We all readily agree that God forgives sin, that Jesus brought salvation from sin, but we have a very hard time seeing ourselves as those who need forgiveness and salvation. We watch the evening news or read the newspaper and decide that we really are not so bad after all; the things we may have done—may have done!—are not anything compared to what other people are doing…. We will never have an accurate picture of ourselves and our fallen human condition until we understand that there is no sin we are incapable of committing…. [But] God has come to bring the people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins. We are forgiven as soon as we grasp the fact that we need forgiveness.”

– Mary Anna Vidakovich
Sing to the Lord

Voice of the Day

Frederick Buechner - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia-1“Repent and believe in the gospel, Jesus says. Turn around and believe that the good news that we are loved is gooder than we ever dared hope, and that to believe in that good news, to live out of it and toward it, to be in love with that good news, is of all glad things in this world the gladdest thing of all.”

~Frederick Buechner

from Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons

It is the starting point for everything isn’t? That we are deeply and immeasurably loved unconditionally by the Father in Heaven is the genesis of every missional thought and action. Otherwise, we would find ourselves stuck back in the middle of a salvation that needs to prove it’s worth by works. And this would not be good. The challenge is to live in such a way that recognizes this great love often and responds to it with a life of praise, justice, mercy, and compassion.

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Voice of the day….after a bit of silence

It’s been over four days since I’ve put anything up on the blog; apologies to the regular readers looking for new stuff. I’ve been swamped. Ive also felt a little blocked for new material. I don’t want to throw stuff up on the site just because, but because I’ve been inspired to do so. New material is in the works…I am still trying to wrestle through some of my thoughts about the previous post on "Church as Public Companion". Also, I will be exploring further the area of Spiritual Formation as it relates to the courses I am taking. Look for stuff on intimacy with God and Spiritual Practices…coming soon.

But for now, I thought I would leave you with some of Mother Theresa’s wisdom that speaks to the simplicity of God’s mission; a simplicity that leaves room for relationship…

"To show great love for God and our neighbor we need not do great things. It is how much love we put in the doing that makes our offering something beautiful for God."

– Mother Teresa
from "A Gift for God"

Voice of the Day – the real threat…

It is not scientific doubt, not atheism, not pantheism, not agnosticism, that in our day and in this land is likely to quench the light of the gospel. It is a proud, sensuous, selfish, luxurious, church-going, hollow-hearted prosperity.

– Frederic D. Huntington

Forum magazine, 1890

 

Agreed!

Voice of the Day – Bonhoeffer on humility…

“Those who would learn to serve must first learn to think little of themselves…Only those who live by the forgiveness of their sin in Jesus Christ will think little of themselves in the right way. They will know that their own wisdom completely came to an end when Christ forgave them.”



~Dietrich Bonhoeffer

It makes sense, this perspective of his. For in and through Christ is the only way to genuine selflessness and humility. Any other attempts at servitude, although admirable, remain motivated by a self-centered impulse to seek nobility; an end that points back to the self (created being), rather than the creator.

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Voice of the Day – Etty Hillesum

"Give your sorrow all the space and shelter in yourself that is its due, for if everyone bears [their] grief honestly and courageously, the sorrow that now fills the world will abate. But if you do not clear a decent shelter for your sorrow, and instead reserve most of the space inside you for hatred and thoughts of revenge – from which new sorrows will be born for others – then sorrow will never cease in this world and will multiply."

Etty Hillesum
quoted in Marc Ellis, "Toward a Jewish Theology of Liberation"

Voice fo the Day

If there is among you anyone in need … do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your needy neighbor. You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need, whatever it may be.

– Deuteronomy 15:7-8 

 

"What made the teaching of Jesus different and apparently so hard to accept then as now, was that it required a critical reassessment of the structures and values and attitudes of human society as his listeners and followers shared in it."

Monika K. Hellwig
from Jesus: The Compassion of God (The Liturgical Press, 1983)

Voice of the Day – St Gregory of Nyssa

"O inexpressible mystery and unheard paradox: the Invisible is seen, the Intangible is touched , the eternal Word becomes accessible to our speech, the Timeless steps into time, the Son of God becomes the Son of Man!"

~Saint Gregory of Nyssa

Oh, the incarnation and it’s beauty.  That God became flesh and moved into our neighbourhood to redeem all of creation invites me to recklessly cast my lot into His plan and be about something far greater than merely my personal salvation.  The joy that comes from participating in the healing of all creation is where it’s at!

Voice of the Day – Brother Roger

Where would we be today if certain women, men, young people, and also children had not arisen at moments when the human family seemed destined for the worst? They did not say: "Let things take their course!" Beyond the confrontations between persons, peoples, and spiritual families, they prepared a way of trusting. Their lives bear witness to the fact that human beings have not been created for hopelessness.

Brother Roger of Taize
from "Peace of Heart in All Things: Meditations for Each Day of the Year."

Voice of the Day – Menno Simons

Menno2_small"True Christians do not know vengeance. They are the children of peace. Their hearts overflow with peace. Their mouths speak peace, and they walk in the way of peace"

~Menno Simons

This quote is an needed corrective to much of the triumphalistic Christianity that permeates Christian thought today.  The play for pacifism is needed more than ever in a world where tensions, prejudices and vilification are on the rise…