In Yoke

Even after all this time the sun never says to the earth, “You owe me.” Look what happens with a love like that— It lights the whole world. — Hafez Christ’s crucifixion is a perfect image of the way Our Father loves us. He just does. In Christ’s death and resurrection, there is this love, that does not expect recompense. No, God did not cause Jesus to die in order to pay Himself a ransom so that He could get paid to forgive us. He didn’t need to be paid. In our binary thought patterns it doesn’t seem fair. But… He just loves.

My astute brother in law, Stephen Hollaway, Pastor of Harbor Church, in Block Island, RI, prefaced his sermon on March 28th, with this succinct quote by Kierkegaard: It is well known that Christ consistently used the expression ‘follower.’  He never asks for admirers, worshippers, or adherents.  No, he calls disciples.  It is not adherents of a teaching but followers of a life Christ is looking for.  His whole life on earth, from beginning to end, was destined solely to have followers and to make admirers impossible. To want to admire instead of to follow Christ is not necessarily an invention by bad people. No, it is more an invention by those who spinelessly keep themselves detached, who keep themselves at a safe distance. Admirers are only too willing to serve Christ as long as proper caution is exercised, lest one personally come in contact with danger. As such, they refuse to accept that Christ's life is a demand. In actual fact, they are offended at hi...

In the Apostle John’s testimony/gospel, he adds a crescendo to the story. In Chapter 11-after giving us background about his relationship to the Mary-Martha-Lazarus family of Bethany, John details the account of the death and burial of Lazarus, who was apparently one of Yeshua’s best friends in the Greater Jerusalem area.(in verse 3 of Chapter 11, the sisters send a message to Jesus, saying—”Lord, the one whom you love is ill”…) A couple of things jumped out at me this morning, as I re-read this account again, gleaning the Word for additional grains of truth. One key truth grain: Yeshua makes his point with Martha before Lazarus is raised: “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” So then –he fulfills this word, raises Lazarus—who had been literally dead and in the grave for 4 days(11:39). He reminded Martha what he had said—then called Lazaru...

Jesus is the icon of what Paul in I Corinthians 2:6-16 alludes to as Christ Consciousness --the unitive view of life that 'encompasses paradox'. He is :  human-yet divine; heavenly-yet earthly; physical-yet spiritual; possessing a male body-yet a female soul; killed-yet alive; powerless- yet powerful; victim- yet victor; failure-yet redeemer; marginalized-yet central; singular-yet everyone; incarnate-yet cosmic; nailed-yet liberated; in one person solving the great philosophical problem of the One and the many. Take this an a Christian axiom: (1) All statements and beliefs about Jesus are also statements and beliefs about the journey of the soul (birth, chosenness, ordinary life, initiation, career, misunderstanding, and opposition, failure, death in several forms, resurrection, and return to God); (2) All statements about the Christ are statements about the Body of Christ, too. We are not the Historical Jesus, but we are the body of Christ. "Christ...

“Faith enlightens the path behind us, while in the present, looking towards the future, the path appears dark. …this is where trusting in the Lord becomes necessary.”                                                                                                           ~Richard Rohr

“ Prayer is standing in the presence of God with the mind in the heart; that is, at that point of our being where there are no divisions or distinctions and where we are totally one. There God’s Spirit dwells and there the great encounter takes place. There heart speaks to heart, because there we stand before the face of the Lord, all-seeing, within us.”                                                              - Theophan the Recluse The Great Encounter! That is what I truly aspire to. Teach me O Source of Life, how to encounter you, as a learner and listener, regularly, daily.

This question came from a dear friend who is involved in a church that puts emphasis on ministry to college aged people, and upon those who recently graduated from college. This question caught me in a moment of passion and inspiration! I had been discussing this “spiritual formation” topic with some friends, just this morning. I have given this matter some thought since our church, Calvary, has begun the introduction of contemplative prayer as a Wednesday night series. This is what I replied to the query: The age group from 18-24 needs what all truly converted believers need, and that is a way to learn how to grow as a Christ follower ,  i.e.  "a lifetime of discovery"...In my view, our churches generally tend to focus on the new birth and leave out the "how do you grow" part. I would suggest that the person you employ should have insight (that is, a personalized, seemingly "cool" way to teach young folks how to develop their own pathwa...