Saturday, May 02, 2015

Wright: the overthrow of death

Saturday, May 2, 2015
    Feast of St. Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, Teacher, 373
Meditation:
    [Peter:] “[Jesus] was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.”
    —Acts 2:23-24 (NIV)
Quotation:
    To imply that Jesus “went to heaven when he died”, or that he is now simply a spiritual presence, and to suppose that such ideas exhaust the referential meaning of “Jesus was raised from the dead”, is to miss the point, to cut the nerve of the social, cultural and political critique. Death is the ultimate weapon of the tyrant; resurrection does not make a covenant with death, it overthrows it. The resurrection, in the full Jewish and early Christian sense, is the ultimate affirmation that creation matters, that embodied human beings matter.
    ... N. T. Wright (b. 1948), The Resurrection of the Son of God, Fortress Press, 2003, p. 730 (see the book)
    See also Acts 2:23-24; Matt. 17:22-23; Luke 9:22; 24:5-7; Acts 2:32; 3:15; 1 Cor. 15:17
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You have created life anew.
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Friday, May 01, 2015

Yaconelli: the "wrong" question

Friday, May 1, 2015
    Feast of Philip & James, Apostles
Meditation:
    Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...” Then he said to the paralytic, “Get up, take your mat and go home.”
    —Matthew 9:4-6 (NIV)
Quotation:
    [Continued from yesterday:]
    Assumption 4: Questions can be “right” or “wrong.” All of us have had the experience of asking a question, only to be told the question was inappropriate, irrelevant, or “wrong.” According to this rule, “wrong” questions reveal a lack of faith, a refusal to believe, a rebellion, a carnal heart. “Wrong” questions are unanswerable questions. “Wrong” questions threaten the majority viewpoint.
    ... Mike Yaconelli (1942-2003), Dangerous Wonder: the Adventure of Childlike Faith, Colorado Springs, Colo.: NavPress, 1998, p. 39 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 9:4-6; Mark 2:8-11; 10:18; Luke 5:22-24; 12:16-20; 18:19; John 5:41-44
Quiet time reflection:
    Thank You, Lord, for Your mercy.
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Thursday, April 30, 2015

Yaconelli: the dangerous question

Thursday, April 30, 2015
    Commemoration of Pandita Mary Ramabai, Translator of the Scriptures, 1922
Meditation:
    And no one dared to ask him any more questions.
    —Luke 20:40 (NIV)
Quotation:
    [Continued from yesterday:]
    Assumption 3: Questions can be dangerous. Many in our culture have opted to stay safe by limiting our knowledge to what we already know—a self-induced retirement of the mind. If we ask too many questions, the resulting answers might cause us to change. We might become accountable for truth and have to act on it. The Pharisees wanted to shut up Jesus for good. His constant questions were threatening to the status quo. Jesus’ questions were dangerous because the very asking of them was eroding the power structure. Jesus had to be killed because He had to be silenced. Asking “who is my neighbor?” and “whose image is on this coin?” can start a riot. [Continued tomorrow]
    ... Mike Yaconelli (1942-2003), Dangerous Wonder: the Adventure of Childlike Faith, Colorado Springs, Colo.: NavPress, 1998, p. 38-39 (see the book)
    See also Luke 20:40; Matt. 22:18-21,42-46; Luke 10:29-36
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, be not silent, but speak in my heart.
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Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Yaconelli: afflicting the comfortable

Wednesday, April 29, 2015
    Feast of Catherine of Siena, Mystic, Teacher, 1380
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
    —John 6:27 (NIV)
Quotation:
    [Continued from yesterday:]
    Assumption 2: Questions can make people uncomfortable. Questions can cause others to question. Our doubts might resonate with others’ doubts. Because of our questions, others might have to face questions they have learned to ignore. Questions force us to think, to struggle, to interact with truth. In other words, the act of questioning is discomforting. Many Christians have silenced their questions; they’ve ignored the gaps in their thinking and don’t want those questions reawakened. [Continued tomorrow]
    ... Mike Yaconelli (1942-2003), Dangerous Wonder: the Adventure of Childlike Faith, Colorado Springs, Colo.: NavPress, 1998, p. 38 (see the book)
    See also John 6:27; Hos. 4:6; Matt. 6:33; Luke 12:31
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, assist me to face my doubts.
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Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Yaconelli: the embarrassing admission

Tuesday, April 28, 2015
    Commemoration of Peter Chanel, Religious, Missionary in the South Pacific, Martyr, 1841
Meditation:
    Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid.
    —Proverbs 12:1 (NIV)
Quotation:
    By the time most of our children reach junior high school, their natural curiosity has been neutralized by an insidious set of unwritten assumptions:
    Assumption 1: Questions can be embarrassing. It’s embarrassing to admit you don’t know something. What is important is never to reveal your ignorance. Don’t admit you don’t know something because others may think less of you. In today’s world, truth doesn’t matter. Image does. Silence your doubts, ignore your questions, don’t do anything that might cause someone to think ill of you. As Flannery O’Connor reminded us, “mystery is the great embarrassment to the modern mind.” [Continued tomorrow]
    ... Mike Yaconelli (1942-2003), Dangerous Wonder: the Adventure of Childlike Faith, Colorado Springs, Colo.: NavPress, 1998, p. 38 (see the book)
    See also Pr. 12:1; 1:7; Rom. 11:33-34; 1 Cor. 8:1
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I love to inquire into Your creation.
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Monday, April 27, 2015

Rossetti: Give me the lowest place

Monday, April 27, 2015
    Feast of Christina Rossetti, Poet, 1894
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
    —Matthew 23:11-12 (NIV)
Quotation:
Give me the lowest place: not that I dare
    Ask for that lowest place, but Thou hast died
That I might live and share
    Thy glory by Thy side.

Give me the lowest place: or if for me
    That lowest place too high, make one more low
Where I may sit and see
    My God and love Thee so.
    ... Christina Rossetti (1830-1894), Christina Rossetti: the complete poems, London: Penguin Classics, 2001, p. 181 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 23:11-12; Ps. 18:27; Pr. 15:33; 25:6-7; 29:23; Isa. 57:15; Luke 14:8-11; 18:10-14; Jas. 1:9-10; 1 Pet. 5:5
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, grant my heart more humility.

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Sunday, April 26, 2015

Erasmus: the great plan

Sunday, April 26, 2015
Meditation:
    It was revealed to [the prophets] that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
    —1 Peter 1:12 (NIV)
Quotation:
    It was [on the world He created] that the angels sang Glory to God in the highest, as at the most amazing work of God. They behold lowest humility and recognize the highest sublimity. This plan to redeem the human race is Christ’s life, Christ’s teaching, Christ’s miracles. It is His passion, cross, resurrection, appearance, ascension, and the descent of the Holy Spirit—the transformation of the earth by a few humble and ignorant men. It is a plan, replete with miracles, that even the angelic spirits could not fathom.
    ... Desiderius Erasmus (1466?-1536), The Essential Erasmus, J. P. Dolan, ed., New York: New American Library, 1964, p. 232 (see the book)
    See also 1 Pet. 1:12; Matt. 11:25; Mark 9:35; Luke 2:13-14; John 7:15-16; 13:14-16; Acts 4:13; 1 Cor. 1:27; Phil. 2:5-8
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You have revealed Your answer to our sin.
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