One Response to Hurtful Words

Reflection
I will never forget a meeting I was part of in a small German city in 2003.  A group of Christians from different traditions and countries had come together to pray for God’s blessing on this particular city, suffering under the weight of un-forgiveness and division.  During the meeting a young Lutheran pastor said some hurtful things about the Catholic church, rooted in his own painful experiences.  The tension in the room was palpable as we waited to see what would happen next.  An older Catholic woman walked towards this young pastor and knelt down before him and asked for forgiveness for the specific ways he had been hurt by some in the Catholic Church.  He extended his hand to her and helped her up, then they embraced and wept.  Forgiveness and healing in Christ, won the day
 
Action
Have you ever considered asking someone for forgiveness for sin that was done against them by someone that you represent.  In Daniel 9:16, Daniel confesses to God not only his own sins but the sins of his father and of his people.
 
Prayer
Triune God, following the example of Jesus, make us witnesses to your love. Grant us to become instruments of justice, peace and solidarity. May your Spirit move us towards concrete actions that lead to unity. May walls be transformed into bridges. This we pray in the name of Jesus Christ in the unity of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Source: A2J Community  -  Apprenticeship to Jesus Community, Phoenix, Blog Post "Unity Week Devotion - Day 6", 23 Jan 2016, http://www.a2jphoenix.org/blog/unity-week-devotion-day-6

Not "their" problem ...

What kind of churches do we at Theopolis dream of? Churches like these:

....
Churches that take the pedophilia scandal, or the upheavals of the Anglican Communion, or the persecution of Orthodox believers as crises among our people—not problems for someone else over there. If one suffers, all the members suffer.


Source: Peter Leithart  -  Theopolis Institute blog, "Reformational Catholicism, A Wish List", 20 October 2016, https://theopolisinstitute.com/reformational-catholicism-a-wish-list/

Jesus was in a Polarized Culture

Blame it on Jesus for starting a polarization-busting movement. Make no mistake, Jesus inhabited a polarized culture of Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Herodians, Zealots (all political parties, by the way), but he refused to play by their rank-and-file games.

Jesus sits with the progressive: the Jameses and Johns who are zealous to see God’s kingdom restored and justice rendered to marginalized, impoverished, oppressed, and occupied people. Jesus also sits and shares meals with the Matthews—Matthew was a tax collector who had cozied up to the Romans and was a part of the occupying powers—those some might consider greedy neocons.

When Jesus gathered the first core of disciples, there was an intentional disruption of the poles. If it were not for Jesus holding the space at the center, James and John would loathe Matthew and his ilk; they’d all naturally slide into the cultural ditch of mutual hatred for one another.

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/

What Terrorists Don't Ask

There is another ecumenism, which we must recognize and which is so timely today: the ecumenism of blood. When terrorists or world powers persecute Christian minorities or Christians, when they do this, they do not ask: But are you Lutheran? Are you Orthodox? Are you Catholic? Are you reformed? Are you Pentecostal? No. “You are Christian.” They recognize only one: the Christian. We are witnesses, and I am thinking, for instance, of the Coptic Orthodox brothers beheaded on the beaches of Libya: they are our brothers. They gave witness to Christ and they died saying: “Jesus, help me!” With the name: they confessed Jesus’ name.

Source: Pope Francis  -  Zenit, "It’s Not My Jesus vs Your Jesus, But Our Jesus, Pope Says to Ecumenical Group", 13 Oct 2016, https://zenit.org/articles/its-not-my-jesus-vs-your-jesus-but-our-jesus-pope-says-to-ecumenical-group/

A Foreigner in a New Tribe - Fuller!

With the blessing of the monks of St. Andrew’s Abbey, Brother Peter [PhD ’87] enrolled in 1975 as the first Catholic PhD student at a Protestant school in Pasadena—Fuller Theological Seminary. In his first classes, Brother Peter was a foreigner in a new tribe; still wearing his black Benedictine habit, he seemed a visible outsider to the students and teachers around him. It was so obvious that at the end of one quarter, Paul Jewett, the senior professor of systematic theology, invited him to the front of the class to debate the differences between Protestant and Catholic theology—a series they called the “Peter and Paul Debates.” He found that the Reformation was alive and well at Fuller, he says: “It made me a better Catholic!”


Source: Michael Wright  -  https://fullerstudio.fuller.edu/a-voice-from-narnia/

Blood on our hands

We often talk about in our American history of the breakdown of political efforts to avert war, but has the Church in America ever reckoned that the blood of the 600,000 who died in the Civil War is also on our hands? Our dividedness then aided and abetted and inflamed the divides in our land and tore country apart even as it tore many denominations into northern and southern counterparts, some lasting to this day. One wonders what might have been if church leaders from North and South, who may have been educated in the same seminaries, had reached across the lines and said, “we must reconcile our differences and lead our country in doing the same.”

Source: Robert C Trube  -  rtrube54, "The Scandal of the Church in America: Part One", Bob on Books, 13 Feb 2017, https://bobonbooks.com/2017/02/13/the-scandal-of-the-church-in-america-part-one/

Work Together for the Truth

(5) My beloved friend Gaius, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters (possibly representatives or missionaries from the church in Ephesus), even though they are strangers to you. (6) They have told the church (in Ephesus) about your love. Please send them on their journey in a way that honors God. (7) They went out from us (the church in Ephesus) for the sake of the name of Jesus Christ, taking no help from the unbelievers. (8) Therefore, we should always provide hospitality to such people, so that we may work together for the truth.

Source: John the Beloved  -  3 John 1:5-8 (IEB)

AtONEment

The name of the new community was inspired by a passage in the Saint Paul's letter to the Romans (Romans 5:11), which, in speaks of the atonement Christians have received through Jesus. Fr. Paul interpreted the word "atonement" in the literal sense of "at-one-ment," out of his vision that his new community should have the aim of leading all Christians to unity (oneness) with one another.

Source: Franciscan Friars of the Atonement  -  "They Started As Episcopalians in an Abandoned Church, and Ended Up Becoming Catholic Franciscans", https://www.atonementfriars.org/started-as-episcopalians

Shalom vs. Contentiousness

The late Martin Luther King Jr. is famous for his peaceful protests amongst his enemies. In one of his essays, “Non-violoence: The Only Road to Freedom,” King says that the way to shalom “will be accomplished by persons who have the courage to put an end to suffering by willingly suffering themselves rather than inflict suffering on others.” This is one way of turning on the lights. “Blessed are the peacemakers,” Jesus says, “for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9). In the book Beyond Homelessness: Christian Faith in a Culture of Displacement, Brian Walsh and Steven Bouma-Prediger say this about contentiousness (which is the opposite of peaceableness): “Like a parasite living on a host, contentiousness feeds on rage and rancor, antipathy and animosity, to fan the fire of discord and accelerate the spiral of violence.” (214).

Source: Brian Walsh & Steven Bouma-Prediger  -  "Beyond Homelessness: Christian Faith in a Culture of Displacement", p. 214, as quoted by Jeff Skeens in "The Beautiful Disruption of Peace", A2J Blog, Apprenticeship to Jesus, 7 Feb 2017, http://www.a2jphoenix.org/blog/the-beautiful-disruption-of-peace
http://www.a2jphoenix.org/blog/the-beautiful-disruption-of-peace

Living out Unity in Community

People of Praise is a charismatic Christian community. We admire the first Christians who were led by the Holy Spirit to form a community. Those early believers put their lives and their possessions in common, and “there were no needy persons among them.”

Jesus desires unity for all people. We live out this unity the best we can, in spite of the divisions within Christianity. We are Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Episcopalians, Methodists, Pentecostals, Presbyterians and other denominational and nondenominational Christians. Despite our differences, we are bound together by our Christian baptism. Despite our differences, we worship together. While remaining faithful members of our own churches, we have found a way to live our daily lives together.

Source: People of Praise  -  From the website of the ecumenical, charismatic community that Amy Coney Barrett belongs to, https://peopleofpraise.org/about/who-we-are/

The Orthodox in Germany

After World War II, the situation of the Christian churches in Germany changed significantly. Refugees from the East of the German Empire moved to the West, and the allied forces saw to it that they were settled in Germany so as to bring Protestants and Catholics in contact with each other. Later economic growth led to a shortage of labour, resulting in agreements between the German government and many Mediterranean countries to have “guest workers” brought to Germany. In this way, people from Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Yugoslavia, Turkey, Morocco, and Tunisia came to Germany, which increased the confessional and religious diversity in the country. This saw in particular an increase in the Orthodox presence in Germany. Although it was initially thought that they would return to their home countries after a couple of years (hence the name “guest workers”), they stayed and left their mark on German life and culture. The 1980s saw an increase of ethnic German immigrants, many of whom were Orthodox, Baptist, or Jewish. In recent years, war, terror, and social unrest in the Middle East, Africa, Afghanistan, Ukraine, and many other countries has generated a large flow of refugees. While most of them flee to neighbouring regions, there are increasing numbers of migrants trying to find refuge in Germany and in other European countries.

Source: Council of Churches in Germany (ACK)  -  "The Ecumenical Situation in Germany", http://geii.org/week_of_prayer_for_christian_unity/prayer_worship/ecumenical_situation_in_Germany.html

Epaphras

(12) Epaphras (who started the church in Colossae; see Colossians 1:7), who is a servant of Jesus Christ from Colossae, sends his greetings. He is always wrestling (fighting) in prayer for you, so that you will stand strong in God’s will, mature and full of assurance. (13) I can tell you that Epaphras is working hard for you in Colossae and for the believers in the neighboring cities of Laodicea and Hierapolis (modern Pemukkale). (Colossae, Laodicea, and Hierapolis are all located in the Lycus Valley of modern Turkey).

Source: The Apostle Paul  -  Colossians 4:12-13 (IEB)

Why Take Unity Seriously?

For most of my Christian life I didn’t take unity seriously. Not at all.
Heck, I didn’t even think about Christian unity. It didn’t even cross my mind. And if I did, by some complete fluke, I’d shrug. Meh, someone else’s problem. Above my pay grade.
Not it!
But I was wrong.
...
I’ve come to the conclusion that we, my Christian brothers and sisters, need to take our unity seriously, right now, or face the devastating consequences. This, folks, is important.

Source: K. Albert Little  -  The Cordial Catholic on Patheos, 1 May 2015, "Dear Christians: Take Our Unity Seriously, Because Everyone is Watching", http://www.patheos.com/blogs/albertlittle/dear-christians-take-our-unity-seriously-because-everyone-is-watching/

A Pope Praises Luther

Last June, Pope Francis went so far as to praise Luther — once deemed a heretic by the Catholic Church — as a great reformer.

On his flight back to Rome from Armenia, the pope told reporters: "The church was not a role model, there was corruption, there was worldliness, there was greed, and lust for power. He protested against this. And he was an intelligent man."

Source: Pope Francis  -  As quoted on National Public Radio, 28 Oct 2016, "The Pope Commemorates The Reformation That Split Western Christianity", http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2016/10/28/499587801/pope-francis-reaches-out-to-honor-the-man-who-splintered-christianity

Rod Dreher & his Father

Dreher left Catholicism in 2006; after covering the Catholic sex-abuse scandal for the Post and The American Conservative, he found it impossible to go to church without feeling angry. He and his wife converted to Eastern Orthodoxy, and, with a few other families, opened their own Orthodox mission church, near St. Francisville, sending away for a priest. It was Dreher’s Orthodox priest, Father Matthew, who laid down the law. “He said, ‘You have no choice as a Christian: you’ve got to love your dad even if he doesn’t love you back in the way that you want him to,’ ” Dreher recalled. “ ‘You cannot stand on justice: love matters more than justice, because the higher justice is love.’ ” When Dreher struggled to master his feelings, Father Matthew told him to perform a demanding Orthodox ritual called the Optina Rule. He recited the Jesus Prayer—“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”—hundreds of times a day.

Two life-changing events occurred after Dreher began the regimen of prayer. He was alone at home one evening, lying in bed, when he sensed a presence in the room. “I felt a hand reach inside my heart and put a stone there,” he said. “And I could see, in some interior way, that the stone said, ‘God loves me.’ I’d doubted all my life that God really loved me.” A few months later, Dreher stopped by his dad’s house to organize his medications. Ray was sitting on the porch, reading the newspaper and drinking coffee. When Dreher leaned down to kiss him on the cheek, his father grabbed him by the arm. Tears were in his eyes. “He was stammering,” Dreher recalled. “He said, ‘I—I—I spent a long time talking to the Lord last night about you, and the transgressions I did against you. And I told him I was sorry. And I think he heard me.’ ” Recounting the story in the back seat of the car en route to D.C., Dreher still seemed astonished that this had happened. “I kissed him, and said, ‘I love you.’ ”

Dreher’s father died in 2015. The next summer, the mission lost its priest and one of the founding families moved away. To be near an Orthodox church, Dreher and his family moved to Baton Rouge. Looking back on his time in St. Francisville, Dreher thinks that, if he hadn’t moved there and then forced himself to follow the rules—prayer, proximity, love—he would have stayed an angry child forever.

Source: Joshua Rothman  -  "Rod Dreher's Monastic Vision", The New Yorker, 1 May 2017, http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/05/01/rod-drehers-monastic-vision

Austin Suggs

Something I'm incredibly passionate about is dialoguing with those I disagree with and doing my best to learn from them despite our differences. When it comes to branches of Christianity that I disagree with, my passion is even more increased. I simply love learning from Catholics and Eastern Orthodox. While we don't see eye to eye on everything, there is so much that we do agree on that can form the basis of great unity between Catholics, Protestants, and Eastern Orthodox.

Source: Austin Suggs  -  From the "About" section of "My Experience Going to Catholic Mass as a Protestant", YouTube video on the Gospel Simplicity channel
https://youtu.be/M4nfaPm7NQE

7 Ecumenical Councils

Although the early church convened local and regional church councils in an attempt to debate and formulate its theological positions, these gatherings carried no authority over the whole Christian world. However, beginning in 325, Roman emperors gathered early church leaders in seven ecumenical councils, held over 462 years, between 325 and 787.

Each of these Ecumenical Church Councils took place in the Greek-speaking East and was primarily focused on the theological issues related to the triune nature of God (the Trinity) and Jesus Christ (Christology). Most of the early church fathers lived in the East and so most early theological writings were in Greek. Even in Rome, Christians worshiped in Greek until around 380. The Roman Catholic Pope (bishop) did not attend any of the councils.

Source: Dr. Andrew Jackson  -  "The Ecumenical Church Councils of the Early Church (325-787)"
https://www.drandrewjackson.com/the-ecumenical-church-of-councils-of-the-early-church-325-787/

Reflection, Action, Prayer

Reflection
This section hits home hard for me. I find it easy to close my heart off to those who have hurt me and even more difficult to face the reality that I have hurt others and that my attitudes and actions have directly and indirectly led to division and disunity.   There are conflicts in my past where I have hidden behind the letter of the law, and fallen short of the spirit of law that calls me to follow Jesus to the cross.  Jesus is teaching and helping me to keep my heart open and pursue those who have brought me deep pain and to never lose hope that God can heal and restore in even the most hopeless situation.
 
Action
Ask God to show you a broken relationship in your life that He desires to bring healing and restoration to.  Begin to pray about this asking God to show you what to do.  Trust that He will speak to you and then obey what He asks you to do.  Consider inviting others to pray with you.  Never underestimate the rippling effects of healing and peace that can come from a restored relationship.
 
Prayer
Lord Jesus, who prayed that we might all be one, we pray to you for the unity of Christians according to your will, according to your means. May your Spirit enable us to experience the suffering caused by division, to see and confess our sin and being forgiven and restored prepare us to be bearers of reconciliation wherever you place us.  Amen.
 

Source: A2J Community  -  Apprenticeship to Jesus Community, Phoenix, Blog Post "Unity Week Devotion - Day 4", 21 Jan 2016, http://www.a2jphoenix.org/blog/unity-week-devotion-day-4
http://www.a2jphoenix.org/blog/unity-week-devotion-day-4