Law: the upside down world

Saturday, April 10, 2021
    Feast of William Law, Priest, Mystic, 1761
    Commemoration of William of Ockham, Franciscan Friar, Philosopher, Teacher, 1347
    Commemoration of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Priest, Scientist, Visionary, 1955
Meditation:
    For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
    —1 Timothy 6:10 (NIV)
Quotation:
    How many saints has adversity sent to Heaven? And how many poor sinners has prosperity plunged into everlasting misery? A man seems then to be in the most glorious state, when he has conquered, disgraced, and humbled his enemy; though it may be, that same conquest has saved his adversary and undone himself.
    ... William Law (1686-1761), A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life [1728], London: Methuen, 1899, p. 396 (see the book)
    See also 1 Tim. 6:10; Matt. 5:5; 20:16; 21:31; Mark 9:35; Luke 13:28-30; John 12:19-21; Rom. 9:30-33
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, deliver Your people from the love of money. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Bonhoeffer: repaying enemies

Friday, April 9, 2021
    Feast of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Teacher, Martyr, 1945
Meditation:
    Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.
    —Romans 12:17 (NIV)
Quotation:
    When evil befalls you, it is not you who are in danger, but the others who do you evil; and if you don’t help them, they will perish in it. Therefore, for the others’ sake, and because of your responsibility to them—repay no one evil for evil. For has God ever repaid you in such a way?
    ... Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), A Testament to Freedom: the essential writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Geffrey B. Kelly, F. Burton Nelson, eds., HarperCollins, 1995, p. 286 (see the book)
    See also Rom. 12:17; Matt. 5:7,39; Luke 6:36; 1 Thess. 5:15; 1 Pet. 3:9
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, help me to remember Your mercy. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Gossip: God can be trusted

Thursday, April 8, 2021
    Commemoration of William Augustus Muhlenberg of New York, Priest, 1877
Meditation:
    It was the third hour when they crucified him. The written notice of the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS. They crucified two robbers with him, one on his right and one on his left.
    —Mark 15:25-27 (NIV)
Quotation:
    After Calvary, God has the right to be trusted; to be believed that He means what He says; and that His love is dependable.
    ... A. J. Gossip (1873-1954), In the Secret Place of the Most High, New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1947, p. 55 (see the book)
    See also Mark 15:25-37; Ps. 110:4; Rom. 5:8; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 5:1-2; Heb. 4:7; 6:13-18; 1 John 4:19
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You showed Your love first. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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MacDonald: destruction of the spiritual nature

Wednesday, April 7, 2021
Meditation:
    Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
    —Philippians 2:4 (NIV)
Quotation:
    No indulgence of passion destroys the spiritual nature so much as respectable selfishness.
    ... George MacDonald (1824-1905), Robert Falconer, v. III, London: Hurst and Blackett, 1868, p. 128 (see the book)
    See also Phil. 2:4; 1 Cor. 8:9; 10:23-24; 13:3; 2 Cor. 5:14-15
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, show me my selfishness. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Luther: in God's hands

Tuesday, April 6, 2021
    Commemoration of Albrecht Dürer, artist, 1528, and Michelangelo Buonarrotti, artist, spiritual writer, 1564
Meditation:
    Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
    —Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
Quotation:
    I have held many things in my hands, and have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess.
    ... Martin Luther (1483-1546) (see the book)
    See also Prov. 3:5-6; Matt. 6:19-21,33; 2 Tim. 1:12; 1 Pet. 5:6-7
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, all I have I place in Your hands. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Brainerd: the way of salvation

Monday, April 5, 2021
Meditation:
    What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the “stumbling stone.” As it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
    —Romans 9:30-33 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The way of salvation opened to me with such infinite wisdom, suitableness, and excellency, that I wondered I should ever think of any other way of salvation; was amazed that I had not dropped my own contrivances, and complied with this lovely, blessed, and excellent way before. If I could have been saved by my own duties, or any other way that I had formerly contrived, my whole soul would now have refused it. I wondered that all the world did not see and comply with this way of salvation, entirely by the righteousness of Christ.
    ... David Brainerd (1718-1747), Memoirs of the Rev. David Brainerd, New Haven: S. Converse, 1822, p. 47 (see the book)
    See also Rom. 9:30-33; Acts 4:12; Rom. 3:20; 11:6; Eph. 2:8-9; Tit. 3:3-5
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your way is true. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Crashaw: Here, where our Lord once laid his Head

Sunday, April 4, 2021
    Easter
Meditation:
    When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”
    But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
    “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”
&nbs p;   —Mark 16:1-7 (NIV)
Quotation:
Upon the Sepulchre of our Lord.

Here, where our Lord once laid his Head,
Now the grave lies burièd.
    ... Richard Crashaw (1613-1649), from “Divine Epigrams”, The Complete Works of Richard Crashaw, London: J. R. Smith, 1858, p. 16 (see the book)
    See also Mark 16:1-7; Hos. 13:14; John 11:25-26; Rom. 6:9-10; 1 Cor. 15:54-57
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, the grave holds no power over Your people.

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