Then one summer, on the beach at Ocean Grove, New Jersey, I read St. John of the Cross. I did not understand much of it, but I knew, with undeniable certainty, that here was reality, something as massive and positive as a mountain range. I felt as if I had just come out of a small, comfortable cave, in which I had lived all my life, and found that there was an unsuspected world outside of incredible dimensions. Above all, the dimensions were those of holiness, goodness, purity of heart, obedience to the first and greatest commandment, willing God's will, the one absolute I had discovered, at the age of eight. I was very far from saintly, but that did not prevent me from fascinated admiration from afar; the valley dweller appreciates the height of the mountain more than the dweller on the foothills. I read other Catholic saints and mystics, and discovered the same reality there, however different the style (even St. Thérèse "The Little Flower"!) I felt sure it was the same reality I had learned to love from my parents and teachers, only a far deeper version of it. It did not seem alien and other. It was not another religion but the adult version of my own.
Source: Peter Kreeft - Hauled aboard the Ark, http://www.peterkreeft.com/topics/hauled-aboard.htm
Are we regressing emotionally?
Early in our childhood development we are often unable to self identify with more than one pole.
I experienced this with my own son when he was three. I would look him in the eye and say, “I love you so much buddy,” and he would respond, “I ONLY love momma. I don’t love you. I just love momma.” After putting my heart back together, I would gently respond, “You can love us both,” and he would respond, “I can only love momma.” This went on for nine months, but eventually a couple neurons somewhere in his cute little head fused together to permit him to say I love you to both of us.
Carl Jung explains that this phenomenon can continue through adulthood, causing us to relate primarily in either/or categories.
I’m convinced our adult civilization is regressing emotionally.
We slide back to childhood when we particularly dislike something about a people group (progressives or conservatives) and deem it necessary to find ways to accumulate a burning mound of facts about why we should hate “them.” Polarization is not a result of intellectual enlightenment or informed thinking; it is a result of emotional regression.
To sign up for Jesus and join his movement is to take on the mature work of integrating differing poles rather than regressing into either/or categories.
Source: Dan White - "When Clinton and Bush go to church … together", V3 Church Planting Movement, Jan 2017, http://thev3movement.org/2017/01/when-clinton-and-bush-go-to-church/
From Ann Cogdell
The process of praying prayers of identificational repentance is both humbling and necessarily cleansing—looking at the sin of another or a grievous event of history, I felt that my eyes needed to be purified so that I could look with care rather than point the finger; but looking carefully, I realize that there are similar tendencies in me and I begin to feel compassion instead. It was a new thought for me to realize that I’m standing alongside the ones or the situation I’m praying for. I found it difficult to feel free to weep in the public setting of lament, though I often weep in private over things that grieve me. So, I was challenged because one of the things that draws me to Jesus is that He is deepIy free—well, I want to be more like Jesus.
Source: Ann Cogdell - Report to Christ Church Anglican in Waco, 4 Sept. 2016 (written draft)
The Substance of My Ministry
I saw clearly how forgiveness was the substance of my ministry. Without it, my ministry would die.
Source: David du Plessis - From "A Man Called Mr. Pentecost", as told to Bob Slosser, Ch. 18, p. 170
New Mexico Prays!
Vince Torres, Executive Pastor at the Blaze Christian Fellowship, explains it this way, "What happened Sunday was nothing short of historic. Watching Catholics and Protestants come together in worship and prayer to our God was so powerful and unlike anything I have ever witnessed at our state capitol. The gathering served as proof that the gospel message of Jesus Christ has the power to transcend denominations and even politics. It was such an honor to be part of it. To God be all the glory."
Source: Vince Torres - Vince Torres, Executive Pastor at the Blaze Christian Fellowship, quoted by Brian Alarid in "Christians Make History With Worship Event at New Mexico State Capitol", Charisma News, 7 March 2017, http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/63470-is-this-historic-worship-gathering-part-of-james-goll-s-prophesied-west-coast-rumble
John Dawson's Father
My dad’s last admonition to me before he died was to focus on the restored unity of the Church, so in spite of my huge responsibilities in Youth With A Mission, The International Reconciliation Coalition and its repentance prayer initiatives remain a significant priority when expending our limited time and energy.
Source: John Dawson - Personal intercessory email, 13 Dec 2017
Killers of the Flower Moon
And I would say this. I spoke with some of the descendants of the husband of Mollie Burkhart and the uncle who was one of the masterminds of the plot, and they were remarkably candid, and after I finished the book I received a note from one of the descendants, who said "I'm so ashamed that this is part of our history, and please if you see the Osage will you please tell them that."
Source: David Grann - David Grann, author of "Killers of the Flower Moon", quoted in "In The 1920s, A Community Conspired To Kill Native Americans For Their Oil Money", Morning Edition, NPR, 17 April 2017, http://www.npr.org/2017/04/17/523964584/in-the-1920s-a-community-conspired-to-kill-native-americans-for-their-oil-money
Perspective
In his book, The Vision and The Vow, Pete Greig tells of how a distinguished art critic was studying an exquisite painting by the Italian Renaissance master Filippino Lippi. He stood in London’s National Gallery gazing at the fifteenth-century depiction of Mary holding the infant Jesus on her lap, with saints Dominic and Jerome kneeling nearby. But the painting troubled him. There could be no doubting Lippi’s skill, his use of colour or composition. But the proportions of the picture seemed slightly wrong. The hills in the background seemed exaggerated, as if they might topple out of the frame at any minute onto the gallery’s polished floor. The two kneeling saints looked awkward and uncomfortable.
Art critic Robert Cumming was not the first to criticise Lippi’s work for its poor perspective, but he may well be the last to do so, because at that moment he had a revelation. It suddenly occurred to him that the problem might be his. The painting he was analysing with clinical objectivity was not just another piece of religious art hanging in a gallery alongside other comparative works. It had never been intended to come anywhere near a gallery. Lippi’s painting had been commissioned to hang in a place of prayer.
Self-consciously, the dignified critic dropped to his knees in the public gallery before the painting. He suddenly saw what generations of art critics had missed. From his new vantage point, Robert Cumming found himself gazing up at a perfectly proportioned piece. The foreground had moved naturally to the background, while the saints seemed settled – their awkwardness, like the painting itself, having turned to grace. Mary now looked intently and kindly directly at him as he knelt at her feet between saints Dominic and Jerome.
It was not the perspective of the painting that had been wrong all these years, it was the perspective of the people looking at it. Robert Cumming, on bended knee, found a beauty that Robert Cumming the proud art critic could not. The painting only came alive to those on their knees in prayer. The right perspective is the position of worship.
Source: Nicky & Pippa Gumbel - As quoted in Bible App, commentary for 29 July 2016
The Anglican Church Repents for Antisemitism
Christians are to blame for centuries of antisemitism which led to the Holocaust and prejudice in modern politics, the Church of England has said, offering its “repentance”.
In an unprecedented 100-page report, the church confesses that “Christians have been guilty of promoting and fostering negative stereotypes of Jewish people that have contributed to grave suffering and injustice”, dating to when early Christians blamed Jews for the death of Jesus.
...
The report, entitled God’s Unfailing Word: Theological and Practical Perspectives on Christian-Jewish Relations, has been backed by the Most Rev Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who writes in a foreword: “Too often in history the church has been responsible for and colluded in antisemitism and the fact that antisemitic language and attacks are on the rise across the UK and Europe means we cannot be complacent.”
Source: Kaya Burgess - "Church of England offers mea culpa on antisemitism", November 21 2019, 12:01am, The Times
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/church-of-england-offers-mea-culpa-on-antisemitism-h22wtlrcl
Walk of Shame - NOT!
It would be very easy to change the organization’s name from March of Life to Walk of Shame. But Anna Reiner and her young friends are willing to swear that it’s not the shame which makes them learn the words of “Hatikva” and perform in front of 100 elderly people in Netanya.
“It’s the responsibility,” she explains. “I am the descendant of Nazi criminals, and I am responsible for this matter and for making sure that it doesn’t happen again. Before I knew all this information about my family, I had no interest in the Holocaust. Today, I am breaking the silence. It’s important to talk about it and not to forget.”
Source: Anna Reiner - Quoted by Itay Ilnai in "Nazis’ descendants sing ‘Hatikva’ to Holocaust survivors", Ynet News, 6 Jan 2017, http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4902914,00.html
LaTasha Morrison
When it launched in 2015, Be the Bridge’s Facebook group had about 69 members. Today, the online community fostering racial reconciliation is more than 21,000-strong, with more than 1,000 groups in 48 states.
The nonprofit was tapped in September to receive up to $1 million in grants by Facebook’s inaugural Community Leadership Program, which also awarded Morrison and four other global leaders a residency.
...She describes Be the Bridge as a ministry and the organization’s successes as guided by God. Yet, when she presented Be the Bridge at a Facebook summit, Morrison was unsure if she should identify it as a faith-based organization.
“But they (Facebook) really wanted me to name it,” she said. “I thought that was just incredible, that they wanted me to name it.”
She said that the consultant Facebook had her work with at the time encouraged her to bring her “full self” to the table.
“That impacted me, that there’s an organization that doesn’t claim that they’re a Christian organization or anything like that, but they wanted me to bring my full self when there are Christian organizations and churches that I cannot step in and be my full self. I thought that was incredible,” Morrison said.
According to Facebook, Morrison and her fellow residents have “demonstrated the ability to transform the way people support each other through community.”
Source: Nicola A. Menzie - "‘Be the Bridge’ fosters dialogue between black and white Christians", Baptist Standard, March 19, 2019
https://www.baptiststandard.com/news/faith-culture/bridge-fosters-dialogue-black-white-christians/
Fr. Martin & Fr. Symonds
“It was during this time that the then-Bishop (Cahal) Daly, now Cardinal Daly, introduced me to a diocesan priest, Father Martin McGill, saying ‘You two should have something in common,’ because of our joint interest in ecumenism. Martin and I immediately clicked – we shared a common vision – and after the synod we continued to meet and pray for peace and reconciliation,” he said.
“I became convinced that God was calling me to work in Northern Ireland, but it took two years to convince everyone else – they say that the test of a true vocation is opposition and patience,” added Father Symonds.
In 1999, Father Symonds moved to Belfast and joined the Columbanus Community of Reconciliation, where three Protestants and three Catholics lived together in an interchurch community.
Source: Catholic Review - "English priest receives awards for work in Northern Ireland", 5 Jan 2008, http://www.catholicreview.org/article/faith/vocations/english-priest-receives-award-for-work-in-northern-ireland
Pope Leo XIII on 1/1/1901
…the Apostolic Exhortation and the encyclical penned by Pope Leo XIII that recommended to Catholics a nine-day novena of prayer for the Holy Spirit as the world entered the twentieth century. As the New Year broke in 1901, Pope Leo XIII prayed the hymn of the Holy Spirit, thereby giving the Spirit greater visibility in the church. (The early twentieth century also saw the birth of the modern Pentecostal movement, which has for more than a century none witness to the person and work of the Holy Spirit throughout the world.)
Source: Cecil M. Robeck Jr. - From the foreword of Pentecost and Parousia by Fr. Peter Hocken - p. ix
Don & Dave
Don admitted that when he first tried to write his list he had a hard time thinking of anything positive about Dave. But as he kept praying, old memories started coming to mind. Their crazy high school years together. Double-dating the girls they would one day marry. The graduation trip down the California coast. Launching a business and struggling to turn a profit.
The emotions triggered by these memories helped Don to see past the bitterness that had been clouding his heart for the past few months. As a result, he was able to describe some of the commendable, excellent and praiseworthy qualities Dave had displayed over the many years of their friendship, which included loyalty, honesty, diligence, fairness, integrity, patience, humor, perseverance, forgiveness … to name just a few.
Source: Ken Sande - "Reconciled by a Baby Moose", Relational Wisdom Blog, http://rw360.org/2016/10/03/reconciled-baby-moose/
Revelation to Gentiles AND Glory to Israel
Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.”
Source: Bible - Luke 2:25-32
Jeff Fountain's Father
The Charismatic movement brought renewal to mainstream Protestant churches beginning in the 1960’s. My family was involved in the very beginning of this charismatic movement in New Zealand. My father, a Baptist elder, led a prayer meeting every Friday night in our home that was packed with people from across our city from all denominations. When Catholics too began being ‘filled with the Spirit’ and calling themselves Pentecostal Catholics, our horizons were being truly stretched beyond our denominational prejudices and our wildest dreams!
Source: Jeff Fountain - "The Hope Of Pentecost", Weekly Word eNewsletter, 5 June 2017, http://us9.campaign-archive2.com/?e=0b86898e11&u=65605d9dbab0a19355284d8df&id=2f143ac9e0
Psalm 73
When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered,
I was senseless and ignorant;
I was a brute beast before you.
Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Source: Bible - Psalm 73 : 21–26
Fr. Tom Ryan
[Thomas] Ryan envisions a reunified church that expresses the best of every Christian tradition: “When God puts us back together again . . . this great Church will be marked by the dignity and repentance of the Anglicans, the order and sacraments of the Roman Catholics, the warm fellowship of the United Church, the Presbyterian desire for good preaching and the Lutheran respect for sound theology. There will be the Evangelical concern for individual salvation, the Congregational respect for the rights of the lay members, the Pentecostal reliance on the power of the Holy Spirit and the Quaker appreciation of silence. We will find there the Mennonite sense of community, the social action of the Salvation Army and the Reformed love of the Bible, all wrapped in Orthodox reverence before the mystery of God” (179). Ryan recognizes that the path to reunion is the path of penitence, so in each case we can hope for a renunciation of all that is contrary to the Lord and His gospel.
Source: Thomas Ryan - As quoted by Peter Leithart in "Christian Unity", First Things blog post reviewing Thomas Ryan's book, 14 Feb 2017, https://www.firstthings.com/blogs/leithart/2017/02/christian-unity
"We're not the only ones ..."
It is precisely at this point that I have encouraging news. We are not the only ones from a different culture and age who have wanted to imitate the life of Christ. Others - myriads and myriads of them - have sought to imitate the way of Christ and to translate that way into their own settings and surroundings. We are helped immensely by looking at their efforts and learning their stories. Furthermore, it is a genuine act of humility to realize that we can learn from others who have gone before us. To be sure, they made mistakes, but even so they have much to teach us. In the midst of all their stumbling and fumbling they sought to imitate the way of Christ and to grow in Christlikeness. Their stories have been - and remain- a rich source of joy, inspiration, and instruction.
Source: Richard Foster - Streams of Living Water, p. 22
A Protestant Praises the Catholic Church
Some Protestant friends complain that I give Roman Catholics a pass. They argue that my call for unity requires a broader and more foundational repentance from Catholics than it does from Protestants. I'm quite aware of that, and my main rebuttal to that complaint is that Catholics have in fact shown a capacity for foundational repentance that is still dishearteningly rare in my little corner of Protestantism. Ryan gets this point just right, with an observation that is as true as it is stunning: “The transformation of the Catholic Church's view on Christian unity from before the [Second Vatican] Council to now has been one of the greatest examples of organizational conversion in the history of the world” (86).
Some Protestants still need to learn this lesson: Go and do likewise.
Source: Thomas Ryan, CSP - As quoted by Peter Leithart in "Christian Unity", First Things blog post reviewing Thomas Ryan's book, 14 Feb 2017, https://www.firstthings.com/blogs/leithart/2017/02/christian-unity