Hammarskjold: forgiveness

Saturday, December 28, 2013
    Feast of the Holy Innocents
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
    —Mark 11:25 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Forgiveness breaks the chain of causality because he who “forgives” you—out of love—takes upon himself the consequences of what you have done. Forgiveness, therefore, always entails a sacrifice.
    ... Dag Hammarskjöld (1905-1961), Markings, tr. Leif Sjöberg & W. H. Auden, (q.v.), New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1964 (post.), p. 197 (see the book)
    See also Mark 11:25; Matt. 6:12,14-15; 18:21-22; Luke 7:40-43,47; 23:34; Eph. 4:32; Col. 3:13
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, teach me to forgive as a sacrifice to You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Figgis: bearing the sword

Friday, December 27, 2013
    Feast of John, Apostle & Evangelist
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”
    —Matthew 10:34 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Let us live, then, as Christ’s servants under no delusive dreams; for life will not be easier, but harder, infinitely harder if you are to be His soldiers against sin, the world, and the devil. Embrace if you will the banner of Love, Love flaming, intolerant, revolution incarnate. Follow Christ to joy and to worship, to exultation and to agony. But never for an hour or an instant, never forget—it is not peace, but a sword that you bear and wield.
    ... John Neville Figgis (1866-1919), The Gospel and Human Needs, London: Longman’s, Green & Co., 1911, p. 153-154 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 10:34; 3:10-12; Luke 12:49-53; John 7:43-38; 15:18-19; Acts 13:45-50; 14:1-6; Eph. 6:17; Heb. 4:12; Rev. 1:16
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant that I may be true to Your word regardless the cost. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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van Dyke: to keep Christmas

Thursday, December 26, 2013
    Feast of Stephen, Deacon, First Martyr
Meditation:
    Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them.
    Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.
    —Matthew 19:13-15 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Are you willing to stoop down and consider the needs and the desires of little children; to remember the weakness and loneliness of people who are growing old; to stop asking how much your friends love you, and ask yourself whether you love them enough; to bear in mind the things that other people have to bear on their hearts; to try to understand what those who live in the same house with you really want, without waiting for them to tell you; to trim your lamp so that it will give more light and less smoke, and to carry it in front so that your shadow will fall behind you; to make a grave for your ugly thoughts, and a garden for your kindly feelings, with the gate open—are you willing to do these things even for a day? Then you can keep Christmas.
    ... Henry van Dyke (1852-1933), The Spirit of Christmas, New York: C. Scribner’s Sons, 1905, p. 47 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 19:13-15; 18:1-6; 22:37-39; 25:1-13; Mark 10:13-16; Luke 18:15-17; Gal. 6:1-2; Eph. 4:25; Phil. 4:8; 1 John 3:18
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, make me fit for a Christmas life. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Havergal: Unto you the Child is born

Wednesday, December 25, 2013
    CHRISTMAS DAY
Meditation:
    But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”
    —Luke 2:10-11 (NIV)
Quotation:
Unto you the Child is born,
On this blessed Christmas morn.
Unto you, to be your peace;
    Unto you, for He hath found you;
Unto you, with full release,
    From the weary chains that bound you:
Unto you that you may rise
Unto Him above the skies.
    ... Frances Ridley Havergal (1836-1879), The Poetical Works of Frances Ridley Havergal, New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1888, p. 166 (see the book)
    See also Luke 2:11; Ps. 107:13-16; 146:7-8; Isa. 9:6; Matt. 4:16; Luke 1:35; 4:18-19; Col. 1:13-14
Quiet time reflection:
    Hallelujah! CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Flandreau: the foreshadowing

Tuesday, December 24, 2013
    Christmas Eve
Meditation:
    Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
    —Luke 2:19 (NIV)
Quotation:
The Mother sits by the rough-hewn byre
where her Baby smiles, and the secret fire
shines on her face. Her hand rests by
an iron spike from the wood thrust high
    (“The nails in His hands!”)

An open chink in the rude, cold shed
lets in the sky, and the Star that led
shepherds and kings pours down its light:
a silver shaft through the frosty night
    (“The spear in His side!”)

Her hands reach out, as to push away
the cross-crowned hill and the bloody day;
they touch a rough, unyielding wall:
the stable side, of stone piled tall
    (“The stone—rolled away!”)
    ... Alesander Flandreau
    See also Matt. 1:20-21; 1:9-11; 28:2; Mark 15:22-24; Luke 2:19; 24:25-26; Heb. 4:2
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, have mercy on us, who had no mercy on You.

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MacDonald: They were all looking for a king

Monday, December 23, 2013
Meditation:
    While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
    —Luke 2:6-7 (NIV)
Quotation:
They were all looking for a king
To slay their foes, and lift them high;
Thou cam’st, a little baby thing
That made a woman cry.
    ... George MacDonald (1824-1905), The Poetical Works of George MacDonald, v. 2, London: Chatto & Windus, 1893, p. 323 (see the book)
    See also Luke 2:6-7; Matt. 2:6; 26:52-54; Luke 22:37; 24:25-26; John 1:10-11
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your people seek You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Pusey: to be like Him

Sunday, December 22, 2013
    Advent IV
Meditation:
    As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.
    —1 Corinthians 15:48-49 (NIV)
Quotation:
    My brethren, we must not, on this our day of rejoicing, content ourselves with even holy feelings and thankfulness; we must not even think that we joy in the Lord, unless we seek to become like the Lord. They only can joy in Him who are like Him; man, when humbled, in a Humble God.
    ... Edward B. Pusey (1800-1882), from The Incarnation, a Lesson of Humility, in Sermons during the season from Advent to Whitsuntide, Oxford: John Henry Parker, 1848, p. 68 (see the book)
    See also 1 Cor. 15:48-49; Lev. 21:8; Isa. 53:2-4; Matt. 11:29; John 13:13-17; 1 Cor. 11:1; Eph. 4:22-24; 5:1-2; 1 Pet. 2:21; 1 John 2:4-6
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant that I may become more like You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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