Peace, Be Still

A storm has engulfed my church. I don’t know what will become of these allegations or where the truth lies, only that there is rot and evil extending deep within.

It would be easy to despair, it is tempting to call it quits and walk away.

And yet … though I am angry and disgusted by individuals and leaders and networks within the Church, I am also filled with a sense of peace, a knowing that God’s got even this and it is not out of His control.

The Church isn’t the hierarchy, nor its leaders. The Church is the body of Christ and within His body I know many saints. I see so many good priests dedicating their lives to service; I see nuns and sisters devoted to works of charity and prayerful service; I see laity well-serving in their roles within the body of Christ.

For every Judas, there are 11 disciples willing to lay down their lives. Sinners, yes; imperfect people, of course. But they – and the Church – are not the evil that has infiltrated it.

Good & evil have always existed side-by-side, from Cain & Abel to the wheat & tares to Jesus on the cross between two revolutionaries: one repented and the other did not.

Jesus, I trust in You. Fill your good priests and ministers and flock with Your peace, Your wisdom, Your fortitude and strength.

Now is the time for your people to repent; to put on the full armor of God; to fall on our faces in prayer and Adoration and to place our trust in you, our King.

 

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You think YOUR church service is long!

Sometimes Bible passages strike me funny. This little gem from Acts 20 cracked me up this morning!

Acts
Chapter 20
7 On the first day of the week when we gathered to break bread, Paul spoke to them because he was going to leave on the next day, and he kept on speaking until midnight.
8 There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were gathered,
9 and a young man named Eutychus who was sitting on the window sill was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. Once overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and when he was picked up, he was dead.
10 Paul went down, threw himself upon him, and said as he embraced him, “Don’t be alarmed; there is life in him.”
11 Then he returned upstairs, broke the bread, and ate; after a long conversation that lasted until daybreak, he departed.
12 And they took the boy away alive and were immeasurably comforted.

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Joyful in Affliction

I really liked this passage from today’s readings.  I heard a sermon not long ago that spoke about how “discipline” is not necessarily punishment for wrongdoing.  Rather, “discipline” can be in the sense that an athlete must be very disciplined to perform at her best, or a musician must be disciplined in his art.  I think that is perfect for this passage…

 

Hebrews 12

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

God Disciplines His Children
4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little

while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 “Make level paths for your feet,”[c] so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

I especially love 12:1: For the joy set before him he endured the cross

We aren’t always “happy” in this life … it isn’t a bowl of cherries just because we are Christ’s. It’s tough, and there is evil and pain and suffering and disaster; being Christian does not shelter you from those things.

But there is a joy, and a promise, and a hope … these are found in Jesus. They ARE Jesus.

I think that’s why I love the story of Maximilian Kolbe who certainly couldn’t have been “happy” as he died of starvation in a Nazi concentration camp … yet the entire camp heard his joy as he sang praises and led others in prayer.

I am getting there … I am learning how Paul could be joyful in affliction and thank God for his trials. I understand it in my head now; that’s a good step.  Through discipline, I will learn it and genuinely become truly joyful in the deepest and most authentic sense of the word.

 

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Homosexuality

I read a great blog yesterday. The author wrote a letter to her church, confessing that she is gay and although the church says one thing, it makes her feel another way about herself and others who struggle. It was very well-written and really touched my heart.

I think I have been given a great gift in the friends I have who are gay, and also in my being quite naive about it. I was able to get to know them and to love them as individuals long before I really understood what it meant, or before there was a “gay movement” or political activism on both sides.

In a nutshell, my personal belief is that some people are born gay. I think we are all born with strengths and weaknesses and I don’t know why some are given more difficult trials. But just as an alcoholic faces a lifelong struggle, I think gays are also in a lifelong struggle to put away their “earthly nature.” I don’t believe “being gay” is sinful, but I think the Bible is pretty clear that the act of gay sex is sinful and I think gay people are called into a life of celibacy.  I don’t think gay sex is “more” sinful than other sins … but like all sins we must work to avoid them no matter how many times we stumble.

I am glad that in general, society has become more accepting of gays. On the other hand, in some ways I feel like it’s gone a little too far in practically glamorizing it; I think there are young people who will experiment and choose the lifestyle who otherwise would not have and who were not born with a strong sense of same-sex attraction as some were.

“It’s all about balance.” I don’t think we need to glamorize it and to be very honest, I know one lesbian couple who I feel chose the path, rather than were born to it.  But I know others who were born gay, no question in my mind.

So what to do as Christians? I hate that gays often don’t feel welcome in our churches.  Jesus came for the sick and ate with sinners of which I am definitely one. Why would I try to tell another sinner they don’t belong or are not welcome?

On the flip side, I hate that gay activists disrupt church services to make their point. I don’t think churches should change teachings to follow societal changes – if the teachings are grounded in the Bible, what “the world” chooses to do is beside the point; we are to please God, not the world.

Sorry to get so chatty … that was just a really good blog yesterday and then today’s reading in my study dovetailed so perfectly:

Today’s Readings
JEREMIAH 8:8-9:26 | COL 3:1-17 | PSALM 78:32-55 | PROVERBS 24:27

5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Col 3)

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