Ellul: asking the impossible

Saturday, December 30, 2023
Meditation:
    The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”
    But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.
    —Jonah 1:1-3 (NIV)
Quotation:
    God is asking the impossible from Jonah. And we have to realize that what God asks is always impossible from the human standpoint and according to man’s judgment.
    ... Jacques Ellul (1912-1994), The Judgment of Jonah, tr. Geoffrey W. Bromiley, Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1971, p. 27 (see the book)
    See also Jon. 1:1-3; Gen. 17:1; 18:14; Lev. 11:44; 19:2; 20:7; Dan. 3:16-18; 6:20-22; Matt. 5:48; 17:20; 18:21-22; 19:26; Mark 10:27; Luke 18:27; Rom. 8:8-9; 2 Cor. 7:1; 13:11; Heb. 11:6,8,11,32-34; 1 John 3:9; 5:18
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You enable Your people to follow You through Your Holy Spirit. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Holloway: Dinner with the Lord

Friday, December 29, 2023
    Feast of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, Martyr, 1170
Meditation:
    Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
    —Luke 5:18-19 (NIV)
Quotation:
One takes a risk when one invites the Lord
Whether to dine, or talk the afternoon
Away, for always the unexpected soon
Turns up: a woman breaks her precious nard,
A sinner does the task you should assume,
A leper who is cleansed must show his proof:
Suddenly you see your very roof removed
And a cripple clutters up your living-room.

There’s no telling what to expect when Christ
Walks in the door. The table set for four
Must often be enlarged, and decorum
Thrown to the winds. It’s His voice that calls them,
And it’s no use to bolt and bar the door:
His kingdom knows no bounds of roof, of wall or floor.
    ... Marcella M. Holloway (b. 1913), included in Divine Inspiration: the life of Jesus in world poetry, Robert Atwan, George Dardess, Peggy Rosenthal, eds., Oxford University Press US, 1998, p. 118 (see the book)
    See also Luke 5:18-19; Matt. 9:10-13; Mark 2:3-4,15-17; 14:3; Luke 7:36-38; 17:12-16; John 12:2-3; 13:4-5; 14:23; Rev. 3:20
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your mercy is broad without limits.

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Hammarskjold: forgiveness

Thursday, December 28, 2023
    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

Wednesday, December 27, 2023
    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 7:43-49; 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

Tuesday, December 26, 2023
    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

Monday, December 25, 2023
    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

Sunday, December 24, 2023
    Advent IV
    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!”)
    ... Alexander Flandreau (1919-2015)
    See also Luke 2:19; Matt. 1:20-21; 1:9-11; 28:2; Mark 15:22-24; Luke 24:25-26; Heb. 4:2
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, have mercy on us, who had no mercy on You.

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