Kurosaki: the one true center of the church

Saturday, October 9, 2010
    Commemoration of Denys, Bishop of Paris, & his Companions, Martyrs, 258
    Commemoration of Robert Grosseteste, Bishop of Lincoln, Philosopher, Scientist, 1253
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”
    —John 17:20-21 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Recently, some Christians have recognized the existing state of the church as sinful, or, at least, as faulty and mistaken. They are trying to save the Christians out of this labyrinth by reuniting the divided churches, by forming an alliance of churches, or by trying to form an ecumenical church. For all that, it seems very difficult to obtain the desired result, because all the present churches are still standing on the principles of the Reformation, unable to rid themselves of the sectarian spirit inherited from Catholicism. So the number of denominations and sects shows no sign of decreasing, and all efforts to unite the churches seem likely to end only in the formation of yet other sects and denominations. Yet the center of Christianity is neither institution nor organization. Nor is it even the Bible itself, as the Reformers made it, for the Ekklesia existed before the formation of the New Testament canon. Christians were in fellowship with God and one another, centering their faith in Christ, long before there was any accepted New Testament. There is only one center of Christianity—spiritual fellowship with God through Jesus Christ.
    ... Kokichi Kurosaki (1886-1970), One Body in Christ, Kobe, Japan: Eternal Life Press, 1954, ch. 4 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, send Your Spirit to unite us. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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de Sales: the danger of silence

Friday, October 8, 2010
Meditation:
He who conceals his sins does not prosper,
    but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
    —Proverbs 28:13 (NIV)
Quotation:
    One great remedy against all manner of temptation, great or small, is to open the heart and lay bare its suggestions, likings, and dislikings before some spiritual adviser; for, ... the first condition which the Evil One makes with a soul, when he wants to entrap it, is silence.
    ... François de Sales (1567-1622), Introduction to the Devout Life [1609], London: Rivingtons, 1876, IV.vii, p. 308 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You will bring all sin to light. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Catherine of Siena: God loved us first

Thursday, October 7, 2010
Meditation:
    Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
    —1 John 4:11 (NIV)
Quotation:
    He has loved us without being loved... We are bound to Him, and not He to us, because before He was loved, He loved us... There it is, then: we cannot... love Him with this first love. Yet I say that God demands of us, that as He has loved us without any second thoughts, so He should be loved by us. In what way can we do this, then? ... I tell you, through a means which he has established, by which we can love Him freely; ... that is, we can be useful, not to Him—which is impossible—but to our neighbour... To show the love that we have for Him, we ought to serve and love every rational creature and extend our charity to good and bad, as much to one who does us ill service and criticizes us as to one who serves us. For, ... His charity extends over just men and sinners.
    ... Catherine of Siena (1347-1380), Saint Catherine of Siena as seen in her letters, J. M. Dent, 1906, p. 83 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, we can but reflect the love You have shown us. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Ambrose: God seeking man

Wednesday, October 6, 2010
    Feast of William Tyndale, Translator of the Scriptures, Martyr, 1536
Meditation:
Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
Look to the LORD and his strength;
    seek his face always.
    —Psalm 105:3-4 (NIV)
Quotation:
    As in paradise, God walks in the Holy Scriptures, seeking man.
    ... St. Ambrose of Milan (339-397), De Paradiso
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You have found me, for Your glory. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Jones: the Holy Spirit's power over the subconscious

Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Meditation:
    However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”—but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
    —1 Corinthians 2:9-11 (NIV)
Quotation:
    If the Holy Spirit can take over the subconscious with our consent and cooperation, then we have almighty Power working at the basis of our lives, then we can do anything we ought to do, go anywhere we ought to go, and be anything we ought to be. Life is supplied with a basic adequacy...
    The conscious mind determines the actions, the unconscious mind determines the reactions; and the reactions are just as important as the actions. Many Christians are Christians in their actions—they don’t lie, steal, commit adultery, or get drunk; but they react badly to what happens to them—they react in anger, bad temper, self-pity, jealousy, and envy... When the depths are held by the Holy Spirit, then the reaction is Christian.
    ... E. Stanley Jones (1884-1973), Conversion, New York: Abingdon Press, 1959, p. 233,235 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Spirit of God, reign within my heart. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Gore: Jesus, an inward presence

Monday, October 4, 2010
    Feast of Francis of Assisi, Friar, Deacon, Founder of the Friars Minor, 1226
Meditation:
    Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
    —Romans 8:34 (NIV)
Quotation:
    It was something more than a glorified Christ in the heavens in which [the Apostles] believed. At the beginning John the Baptist had taught his disciples to expect from the Christ the baptism, not of water only, as in his baptism, but of the Spirit. Before His death Jesus had sought to fill His disciples’ minds with the expectation of this gift... And that Spirit had come in sensible power upon them some ten days after Jesus had disappeared for the last time from their eyes... And this Spirit was the Spirit of God, but also and therefore the Spirit of Jesus. Jesus was not to them merely a past example, or a remote Lord, but an inward presence and power. A mere example in past history becomes in experience a feebler and feebler power... But the example of Jesus was something much more than a memory. For He who had taught them in the past how to live was alive in the heavenly places, and was working within them by His Spirit.
    ... Charles Gore (1853-1932), The Philosophy of the Good Life, J. Murray, 1930, p. 195 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, we have received Your gift. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Jones: He is here

Sunday, October 3, 2010
    Commemoration of William Morris, Artist, Writer, 1896
    Commemoration of George Kennedy Bell, Bishop of Chichester, Ecumenist, Peacemaker, 1958
Meditation:
    Therefore [Jesus] is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
    —Hebrews 7:25 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The reason we can hope to find God is that He is here, engaged all the time in finding us. Every gleam of beauty is a pull toward Him. Every pulse of love is a tendril that draws us in His direction. Every verification of truth links the finite mind up into a Foundational Mind that undergirds us. Every deed of good will points toward a consummate Goodness which fulfills all our tiny adventures in faith. We can find Him because in Him we live and move and have our being.
    ... Rufus M. Jones (1863-1948), Pathways to the Reality of God, New York: Macmillan, 1931, p. xi-xii (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You have planted signs of Your presence everywhere. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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