Holy Lent | Setting this Season Apart with the Only Holy One

Holier than Thou w/ Jackie Hill Perry

"If God is holy, 

then He can't sin.

If God can't sin,

then He can't sin against me.

If He can't sin against me,

shouldn't that make Him

the most trustworthy

being there is?"

+ Jackie Hill Perry,

Holier Than Thou Intro

Last year, the theme the Holy Spirit continued to bring me back to was holiness, which means "set apart, sacred." It's a good theme to keep in mind for any year and for any season, including Lent.

How am I to see this moment in time as holy, potentially kairos, set apart? And how am I to be set apart in the midst of the gift of living today? These are questions worth exploring for a lifetime.

One beloved sister who helps me focus afresh on what holiness means is one I have listened to many times throughout the past decade: Jackie Hill Perry (JHP). There's something often hallowing about Jackie's words that makes me lean in and need to listen (not just want to listen). Jackie, her husband, Preston, and friends with 2819 Church and the Acts 242 Conference (ex. here's Pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell's message, "God Is Holy, Holy, Holy"), have helped me return to the characteristic of God mighty angels can't help but sing in His presence all the time.

Holiness has been a theme of Jackie's for the past few years (and most likely years before) since she released, Holier Than Thou: How God's Holiness Helps Us Trust Him. If you would like to listen to Jackie rather than read this post, here is a podcast link and a sermon link:

+ Holier Than Thou TCC Sermon 

+ Holier Than Thou J3P Podcast

But if like me, you want some words in front of you to read, chew on, marinate in, and potentially memorize during this Lenten season, here are some excerpts from Jackie's published work, including a powerful foreword by none other than Rev. Dr. Charlie Dates.

Holier Than Thou

Foreword by Charlie Dates

pg. xii-xiii

Every era needs its own prophet of holiness; a kind of living invitation to marvel in the beauty of God's holiness, and in the holiness of His beauty.

(And) None of us come to love God deeply, to see Him clearly without first having an awakening to our internal depravity which can lead to a fuller appreciation of God's holiness.

We need a grander vision of God

even if the window from which

we see Him is small.

The complex enigma

which is God's holiness 

is literally indescribable.

Truth is, words will not do.

God must be experienced.

That, friend, 

is a frightening proposition.

Few people,

from Moses to D.L. Moody,

could barely contain

the awful joy

after such an encounter.

When A.W. Tozer wrote that "God is looking for men and women in whose hands His glory is safe," he must have been thinking about a captivated saint like Jackie.

Holier Than Thou by Jackie Hill Perry

Holier Than Thou

Introduction 

pg. 8

Lasting transformation is a spiritual consequence of "beholding the glory of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18).

That's why we're here:

to behold.

To set our sights

on a higher love.

God's holiness is essential

to His nature
and fundamental

to His being.

His holiness is what makes Him good,

and loving, and kind, and faithful.

Without holiness, God wouldn't be

beautiful, and so because of it,

He is eternally attractive.

Holier Than Thou

Holy, Holy, Holy

pgs. 19-20, 44-45, 51

To go deeper into what Scripture means when it testifies that God is holy, let's glean from Isaiah's vision of Him. In the sixth chapter of the book titled after the prophet's name, written in it is the song of the seraphim. About God they say to one another, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!" (v. 3). Notice the word used thrice. It isn't "love, love, love" or "good, good, good" but "holy, holy, holy."

Why is that important? Well, in Hebrew language and literature, the use of repetition was common practice. Jesus used it often by beginning His lessons with the words "Truly, truly." By this, His listeners knew that all that was to follow was significant and true. Rarely in Scripture do you see this literary device used to the third degree, never do you see it used to the third degree to address an attribute of God except here in Isaiah and in Revelation 4:8 ("Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty").

holierthanthoubook.net

Holier Than Thou

Holy Justice & Vision

pgs. 101, 103, 113, 118, 146-147

If we are brave enough to actually believe that God is who He says He is, we are left with one choice; worship. But if we want to be the center of attention, the source of our joy, and the final authority of our lives, then in our minds, God cannot be holy; He must be just like us. A sinner.

One form of God's judgment is to simply give us what we want. J.I. Packer's framing of this is helpful: "Scripture see hell as self-chosen ... All receive what they actually chose, either to be with God forever, worshiping Him, or without God forever, worshiping themselves."

He is (somehow) rich with kindness towards those who have never deserved it. To the just and unjust, He has given them a daily life filled to the brim with laughter between friends, love between lovers, a womb to carry a new life, food and culture and entertainment, a diversity of delights. He hasn't withheld such joys from any of Adam's children. They are available to all including ones that will never give Him their hearts in return. 

"The issue is not why does God punish sin but why does He permit the ongoing human rebellion? It is customary or usual for God to be forbearing. He is indeed long-suffering, patient, and slow to anger. In fact, He is so slow to anger that when His anger does erupt, we are shocked and offended by it." We are the guilty ones to which God must judge, but He has not given us what we deserve ... A mercy.

God can be trusted

with our cares 

because a holy God

cannot be an 

apathetic God.

The Holy God has

life in Himself,

forever aware 

of what we need

before we even ask.

In Christ, we will

find in God

everything we need.

If we need salvation, He is "mighty to save" (Zephaniah 3:17). If resurrection, He is "the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25). If peace, He is "the LORD" who can "bless His people with peace" (Psalm 29:11). If compassion, He is "the LORD ... a compassionate and gracious God" whose mercies are "new every morning" (Psalm 86:15; Lamentations 3:23 NIV). With God comes all that the mind needs for wisdom, all that the heart needs for love, all that the body needs for satisfaction, and all that the affections need for joy.

Since Scripture declares

that we were not only made

by Him but for Him

(Colossians 1:16),

it should be no surprise

then that we will never be whole

without Him.

More than that,

if everything good exists

because of Him, 

then there is nothing

that exists that is 

better than Him.

Closing Song:

God, You're making me better.

You're making me better.

And You choose to do it

however, whenever, wherever.

+ Jackie Hill Perry 

I Just Wanna Get There

holierthanthoubook.net

"Pursue peace with everyone,

and holiness —

without it no one will see the Lord"

(Hebrews 12:14 CSB).

Bonus Quote

You never go away from us,

yet we have difficulty in returning to You.

Come, Lord, stir us up and call us back.

Kindle and seize us.

Be our fire and our sweetness.

Let us love. Let us run.

+ North African St. Augustine of Hippo

More Holy Considerations:

Holy, Holy, Holy w/ Psalm 99

Getting in Shape & Living New Life

With the Holy One Who Is Wilder

Holiness Flows to Bring Healing, Hope

Beauty in the Beast w/ Saints
What Our Sin Evokes in Jesus' Holiness

Many blessings of peace and presence,

Rev. Mike “Sully” Sullivan

Email Pastor Mike | Website | Visit Us | Support Us

Our Father | Praying the Lord's Prayer w/ Rembrandt van Rijn

 

Rembrandt van Rijn's Return of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32)

Praying "Our Father" with Return of the Prodigal Son & Wesley Hill

Henri Nouwen describes Rembrandt's memorable image (see above) so well in The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming:

I saw a man in a great red cloak tenderly touching the shoulders of a disheveled boy kneeling before him. I could not take my eyes away. I felt drawn by the intimacy between the two figures, the warm red of the man's cloak, the golden yellow of the boy's tunic, and the mysterious light engulfing them both. But, most of all, it was the hands – as they touched the boy's shoulders that reached me in a place where I had never been reached before.

It's taken a couple of years for me to realize how much looking at this print hanging over my kneeler that I often use to pray has affected the way I pray, too. In particular, I think, it's changed the way I pray the Lord's Prayer. Now, whenever I recite it, as often as not I'm looking at Rembrandt's image while I do. Each line has taken on a new resonance.

+ Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name: To pray for the reverencing and uplifting of the Father's name is to pray that this welcoming, forgiving Father – the Father whose hands gently rest on His lost son's shoulders – be more widely known, seen for the compassionate Father that He is, and worshiped as the Giver of extravagant mercy. To pray for this Father's name to be hallowed is to pray that more lost sons and daughters find themselves kneeling under that gracious gaze. 

+ Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven: To pray for this Father's kingdom to come and this Father's will to be done is to pray for a reign of mercy, kindness, humility, and profligate divine generosity. It is to pray that debts would be remitted, rebellion ended with homecoming, and banquets held for the dissolute and the self-righteous alike. It is to pray not for the iron-fisted rule of a tyrant but for the self-giving reign of a Father who loves.  

+ Give us this day our daily bread: To pray for regular sustenance from this Father is to pray to One who was ready to serve the best meat to a son who had already burned through half the family inheritance. To pray to this Father for daily bread is to receive not only the staples of life but also a filet mignon, not only water but also the best vintage. It is to receive abundance, lavishness, and generosity "immeasurable more than all we can ask or conceive" (Eph. 3:20 NEB).

+ And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us: To pray for forgiveness from this Father is to pray to One who leaps up and sprints toward us – throwing dignity to the wind – to offer us forgiveness before we have even been able to blubber our request for it. To pray for this Father's forgiveness is to barely get the words out before realizing we've been clothed with the finest garments the house has to offer. To pray for our trespasses to be forgiven is to feel already this Father's warm tears as they drip down on our scabbed head. 

+ And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil: To ask this Father to "deliver us from evil" is to pray to One whose hands and cloak provide shelter for us. Nouwen again: "With its warm color and its arch-like shape, (the Father's cloak) offers a welcome place where it is good to be. ... But as I went on gazing at the red cloak, another image, stronger than that of a tent, came to me: the sheltering wings of the mother bird." To pray to this Father for protection is to pray to One whose character Jesus embodied when He wept, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem! ... How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!" (Matthew 23:37). 

+ For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.: To praise the kingship, the dominion, and the splendor of this Father is to praise the kingship of humility, the noncoercive dominion of nurturing love, and the radiant splendor of stooping and touching and embracing. To praise this Father "for ever and ever" is to acknowledge that such self-giving divine love is the fount of creation and redemption in eternity past and will be the theme of the lost son's songs into eternity future.

To pray the Our Father with Rembrandt and Jesus' Father in view is to find yourself praying it in a way you hope never to stop.

+ By Wesley Hill, The Lord's Prayer: A Guide to Praying to Our Father (Christian Essentials)

Other guides to praying to our Father via the Lord's Prayer:

+ Simply Good News | Praying the Good News of the Lord's Prayer by N.T. Wright 

+ Our Father | Reflections on the Lord's Prayer by Pope Francis 

+ In This Together | Praying Jesus' Abundant Prayer by Anna Case-Winters 

+ Praying Jesus' Prayer | Receiving & Giving Abundant Life by Mark Scandrette

Soli Jesu gloria.

Rev. Mike "Sully" Sullivan

Email Pastor Mike | Website | Visit Us | Support Us | Facebook Us

Befriending Good News: Discovering Mutuality on the Margins

It's the capacity to see what God intends for each person – relationship, healing and immortality – that enables us to befriend and work among people who are in need. God's profound, unfathomable love for every human being ascribes value and worth that transcends every human circumstance. When we recognize that worth in another person, it can yield a level of respect and mutual honoring that nurtures hope and fidelity. + Christopher L. Heuertz & Christine D. Pohl

In continuing to consider the Gospel of Jesus in light of Praying Good News, Sharing Good News, Working Good News, Reconciling Good News, and Forgiving Good News, we are now going to take a deeper look at another crucial aspect of the abundant life Jesus offers: Befriending Good News.

Jesus' Gospel or Good News is that He is not only our King, but also our Friend. Jesus said, "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends" (John 15:13). And that's exactly what He did for each and every adopted daughter and son of God.

So how do we lay down our lives for those God has called us to be friends of? How do we lay down our lives for and love our neighbors? How do we lay down our lives for and love our coworkers? How do we lay down our lives for and love refugees and immigrants? How do we lay down our lives for and love the homeless? How do we lay down our lives for and love those who work at strip clubs? How do we lay down our lives for and love those addicted to opioids or heroin? 

These are the questions that come up in Emmaus City as God has given us friends in all the groups of people above. D.L. Mayfield's Assimilate or Go Home: Notes from a Failed Missionary on Rediscovering Faith (see City Notes Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3) is an honest, vulnerable, and powerful reflection on the transformation of heart and mind that Jesus accomplishes as we not only choose to serve the vulnerable, but also live among and befriend the vulnerable in need of grace, truth, mercy, and justice, as we also discover even more how we are also vulnerable and in need of grace, truth, mercy, and justice. 

And by God's grace, Christopher L. Heurtz and Christine D. Pohl's book Friendship at the Margins: Discovering Mutuality in Service and Mission provides even more helpful encouragement and spiritual practices that sustain friendships across cultures and at the margins of society. They share:

If we are committed to friendship at the margins, all of us need to ask what kind of spirituality will sustain us over the long haul. When we choose to dwell in places that have been devastated by human sin or exploitation, and when we develop friendships with people who are quite different from ourselves in terms of power, resources or life opportunities, what practices will help us maintain integrity and faithfulness? If we are persuaded that these friendships are what God desires from us, what can we do to make sure that our friendships are more than occasional forays into another world?

And here are some of Christopher and Christine's answers to the questions above:

| 1 | Becoming Friends of God

The scriptural story reminds us over and over again that we are loved by God. This truth tempers the temptation to think of friendship with God as something we have to earn. We do not need to work harder to gain God's favor or to be better so Jesus will like us more. Our belovedness – in spite of our sins and frailties – establishes the basis for a response of gratitude for the mercies we have received. Our lives then are offered back, out of gratitude, and with a heartfelt desire to love what God loves and live as Jesus' friends. Most of us understand friendship with God in a very individualistic way – a close, loving relationship between Jesus and me. Such a relationship is a priceless treasure of the Christian life. Yet there is more; friendship with Jesus is also bigger and more spacious.

Friendship with Jesus involves being in his presence, taking time to know him. And in drawing close to Jesus, we discover that we cannot love him without loving others. Our friendship with Jesus does not become diluted as more people are included in God's heart of love. Love is not a scarce commodity we need to ration in case we run out. Friendship with the source of love guarantees that we will have sufficient supply. 

And when we recognize the significance of Jesus' words in Matthew 25 that inasmuch as we have welcomed "the least of these" we have welcomed him, we begin the understand the extraordinary kind of identification and oneness available to us. As we love and live among those most likely to be overlooked or ignored – those who are poor, hungry, despised, imprisoned or sick – we find ourselves in intimate relationship with Jesus.

| 2 | Not Prim but Pure

We live in response to and in light of God's friendship and goodness. What can we do except offer everything, our very selves, in response to God's mercy? Paul grasps this powerfully when he writes about offering ourselves as living sacrifices in response to the mercies of God (Romans 12:1), giving it all in gratitude. He then tells the early believers to stop conforming to the patterns of this world and instead to be transformed by the renewing of their minds (Romans 12:2). What are the patterns of the world? Struggling with pride and arrogance, with making inappropriate distinctions among persons, with envy and revenge, returning evil for evil and losing hope (Romans 12:12-21). Our minds are renewed as we come to share the mind of Christ, as we see with his eyes and as we cherish what he loves.

This transformation is particularly important when we find ourselves working in situations of exploitation, injustice and dishonesty. The corruption around us can get into us. When we are surrounded by exploitative business practices or corrupt authorities, we sometimes conclude that for the sake of the kingdom, we'll do "whatever it takes" to improve the situation. But we cannot do "whatever it takes." How we get to the goal is often as important as that we get there. The way we take on evil and exploitation matters. With transformed minds and hearts, we do it with love and self-awareness, armed with the Spirit of Christ. 

When we dwell on the margins, when we are in circumstances where the line between victim and perpetrator is unclear, or where the distinction between ministry under difficult circumstances and complicity with evil is blurred, we desperately need a robust holiness. To live within some of these ambiguities requires a purity of heart that is not afraid of the tensions and difficulties and is not naive about the human capacity for evil. Holiness is not delicate; it is the powerfully cultivated pure heart and mind of Christ. The holiness we need is simultaneously strong and tender. It is a holiness of heart that can experience genuine horror at evil, but also see human beings for what God intended them to be. It is a holiness that trusts God for redemption and therefore can sustain hope. Such holiness is not there for the difficult places if it has not been cultivated as a way of life. How we think and act in regard to justice for people who are poor and exploited is surely part of holiness. But so is what we do with our leisure time and recreation. With what do we fill our minds when we have a chance to relax? The things we find humorous and entertaining matter to God and matter to the sorts of persons we are becoming. Sometimes there is a sizable gap between what we claim as our commitments and how we use our free time. Paul's final words to his beloved friends in Philippi include an assurance that the peace of God would guard their hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. He writes, "Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things" (Philippians 4:8). Paul was not saying to close our eyes to the mercy, need or evil around us, or to create holy huddles that exclude, but rather, in the midst of the world, to fix our minds and to take our joy from what is good. The gracious surprise is that this transformation is not burdensome but a gift of freedom and grace and an opportunity to become part of the beauty of God's goodness. Our holiness then is an eruption of God's goodness and beauty in the world.

| 3 | Rooting Ourselves in Community

Sustaining significant friendships on the margins is simply too difficult to do alone. A community of friends who share our deepest commitments to God and to those on the margins keeps us accountable and gives us strength and support. We are who we are because of the communities in which we dwell. For example, despite the emotional high we get from bonding with others in working hard on a cause, we do not often form lasting communities from an event. A fundraiser that we do together to benefit victims of sex trafficking is not that same as creating a life together, living within the discipline of supporting, correcting and loving one another. Without such community it is difficult to stay with the concerns over a long period or to be transformed by those for whom we are advocates. It requires intentional effort to be in true community and to offer true community to others.

Friendships with those who have been exploited can be challenging because they involve significant, even sacrificial, self-giving. In the midst of rich mutuality of friendship that is available across differences, we also need folks whose friendships are easier because of our shared interests and backgrounds. Unless our daily experience includes friendship with people who are poor or exploited, it is easy to romanticize those relationships. The reality requires honesty about the challenges and humility to recognize our limitations. The needs of our friends can overwhelm us, and ignoring our needs in those situations can result in very deformed identities and relationships. Multiple interlocking friendships within community can help all of us move toward wholeness. Also, people who have been exploited need more than a single friendship. They need to be welcomed into a network of friendships and relationships where their presence and gifts matter to the community and where various members of the community can walk with them toward healing. Their transformation then becomes an invitation to the rest of us to recognize our areas of brokenness, further pressing us back to God's redemptive work in our lives and in the life of our community.

| 4 | Choosing Grace-Filled Simplicity

Friendship with people who are poor often exposes our excess. This is especially the case if we move in and out of one another's worlds. We do not want to be guilt-ridden and anxious about our lifestyles, but we do want to move in the direction of justice and generosity. It is not easy to move back and forth between different worlds. But we learn that grace and generosity we share with our friends on the margins is equally important for friends and relationships with those who have more wealth. Our lifestyle needs to be an invitation, not a bludgeon, that helps others to choose simplicity and generosity because it is appealing. Friendships with people whose resources are very limited nudge us toward thinking differently about our own resources. When we love someone it is hard to hold on to what we have when we know it would meet a real need they face. Love, not guilt, frees us when friends become the prophetic presence of Christ in our lives.

Our possessions should not get in the way of our friendships, but often they do. They make us hesitant to open our lives to people who are not like us – either because friends have much less or sometimes because they have much more than we do. If we hold onto our possessions tightly or define ourselves by them, it costs us deeply in freedom and friendship. An understanding of possessions as given to us to use or give away allows us some individual flexibility with resources. All of us need to be careful of excess, and some of us, in order to live alongside those who have little, will choose a very simplified lifestyle. Others of us can use some of our resources to create spaces of healing and renewal – safe and good places to help those in our lives to flourish. If we have more, we must make particular decisions to spend time on the margins. We need to think about friends who are poor in order to resist the lure of affluence and comfort or the dangerous notion that somehow my status warrants a certain lifestyle. A wise friend once observed that we are most likely to worry about the people we see first thing in the morning. If we live in comfortable circumstances, we need to make decisions to plant one foot in another world. Only then will we keep friends in mind as we make our choices each day. Real friendship involves movement in and out of one another's worlds, but our privilege, location and busyness often makes us inaccessible to friendships with people outside our world. Putting ourselves in places where people on the margins can find us involves slowing down, taking time to be where people can befriend us, and taking risks to be dependent on the kindness of strangers. 

| 5 | Gratitude and Celebration

Sharing life with those who are grateful for the most basic things in the midst of their ongoing difficulties challenges us and our more comfortable communities to reflect deeply on what we often take for granted – God's goodness and provision. I (Christine) have a friend who works with homeless people in rural Ohio. Gratitude is a central aspect of their life together. During their "Friday Night Live" gatherings each week with homeless and formerly homeless folks, elderly neighbors and volunteers, there is always an opportunity to express thanksgiving publicly, and many participate. Thanks might be offered for a family member or for a good doctor's report or for victory in addiction. Sometimes it is for ketchup. 

Gratitude is complexly related to service. It sustains our communities and ministries, but if we minister with the hope of being thanked or with the expectation that those who receive our help will be grateful, we will not be in a good position to respond when they are not. Life-giving ministry flows from lives that are full of gratitude to God, not with an expectation of gratitude from others. In community we can support one another, affirm contributions and yet also trust that our work is sustained by grace. 

It is our friends who are poor who teach us the most about celebration. Those with very little often throw the best parties – sparing no expense. They find resourceful and often costly ways to practice generosity. The importance of celebration among people who are poor, or who have been misused, is a constant reminder that celebration belongs at the heart of discipleship and community. Jean Vanier, who has spent close to fifty years living and ministering with people with severe disabilities, explains that celebrations – meals and parties – nourish us in surprising ways. To gather in celebration, he says, makes "present the goals of the community in symbolic form, and so brings hope and a new strength to take up again everyday life with more love. Celebration is a sign of the resurrection which gives us strength to carry the cross of each day." Dietrich Bonhoeffer reminds us that when we share in something as simple as a meal, we have a mini Sabbath, a holiday in the midst of our work, a reminder of God's goodness. Our celebrations, whether simple meals or grand occasions, are communal experiences of joy and thanksgiving that renew us and give strength for the day. As Vanier has noted, a festive meal, shared in love, "is a sign of heaven. It symbolizes our deepest aspiration – an experience of total communion" and community.  

| 6 | Holding on to Hope

Sustaining friendships on the margins over time requires deep hope. Because transformation often happens slowly and unevenly, we can find it hard to be faithful and patient. In initial encounters with people who are in very degraded circumstances, it can be difficult to see past the misery and brokenness. It's the capacity to see what God intends for each person – relationship, healing and immortality – that enables us to befriend and work among people who are in need. God's profound, unfathomable love for every human being ascribes value and worth that transcends every human circumstance. When we recognize that worth in another person, it can yield a level of respect and mutual honoring that nurtures hope and fidelity.

We are also able to hold on to hope because we know that God's work for justice and reconciliation is ongoing and ultimately will prevail. Our presence circumstances are not the final word, and a day will come when tears and sorrows are no more. This assurance is both a comfort in difficulty and an invitation to participate in God's present work of restoring and reconciling all things. Those of us who live in fairly comfortable situations sometimes fail to grasp how important God's promises of final healing are to people caught in desperate circumstances.

Below are two stories to close this post about the power of Jesus and His resurrection transforms lives:

| 1 | Marius and David with Word Made Flesh (WMF) in Romania: David is friends with Marius, a young gang leader with clear leadership capacities who nevertheless struggled with the legacy of abuse and addiction. As he was drawn into the community, Marius grew in faith but continued to struggle. One summer Marius and his wife and children participated in a WMF camping trip in the mountains. It was his first vacation. David describes their conversations: One evening Marius and I sat outside talking and he started asking questions about things he was reading in the Bible. He didn't understand where God was leading him and his family. "We are poor and in need, but he is still with us. Still, we suffer and struggle with ourselves." I told him, "All that is true, but suffering and death are not the end of the story. God promises that there will be resurrection. ... God promises to make all things new and that one day we will live in the heavenly city. The streets will be gold and before the throne of God, gold will lose its worldly value. There will be light but no sun or moon because God will illuminate all. Sin, evil and the enemy of our souls will be no more, and we will bask in the glory of God" (see Revelation 21-22). We talked some more, but then Marius asked, "Tell me again how it will be in heaven." So I told him basically the same thing again. The next day Marius came to me again. I could see the fire of hope and joy in his eyes. He asked, "Tell me again how it will be in heaven. When you describe it, I can almost see it." Our times of conversation continued. One afternoon after the cooking and cleaning were done, Marius and I talked about some of the problems he faced. He asked me to remind him of God's dreams for his life – something that he loved to hear and felt proud to aspire to. If we can be confident in God's good future, we can find ways to live faithfully in the present. The promise of a final healing does not displace our immediate efforts at justice, responsibility and reconciliation; it provides a way to move forward in hope in spite of terrible obstacles and disappointments.

| 2 | Gautam and Silas with Word Made Flesh (WMF) in Nepal: Gautam Rai is a refugee from Bhutan who had opened a small momo stall in a closet-sized kitchen where he made and sold traditional Tibetan dumplings. Gautam and Silas slowly built a friendship; they ate together and talked about their lives, families and faith. Gautam was married to Rekha, a woman from a village in the southern plains of Nepal. At that point they had two young children. The family was struggling just to get by, so at night they slept in the momo stand. Gautam was interested in matters of faith. He was a Hindu, but when he was a child, his mother had been exposed to the Christian faith before she died. One day Gautam asked Silas if he was a Christian. Responding affirmatively, Silas asked how he knew. Gautam responded, "I saw you praying before you ate your momos. My mother used to pray like that." He continued, "If you ever have any spare time, I would like to know more about Jesus." Dipa, the baby daughter of Gautam and Rekha, experienced occasional but violent seizures. During those frightening times, Rekha would grab Dipa and carry her up the mountain to Swayambhu, the monkey temple. There she would have a Hindu/animistic shaman perform a prayer to send away the spirit that caused Dipa's seizures. Each episode was traumatic for the family. Silas asked Gautam if he could pray for them and for baby Dipa. Over the course of several months, Silas and the family became very close, eating most of their meals together. They continued sharing stories, and a deep and lasting trust was being established. Dipa had another violent seizure. Once again, Rekha rushed Dipa to the temple, but this time the door to the shaman's room was locked tight. Deeply distressed, Rikha was certain the baby would die. Gautam wanted to give the Christian God he had been hearing about from Silas and the other WMF staff members a chance to heal Dipa. Against Rekha's tearful protests, he went home with their precious daughter. Gautam laid the baby down and with Rekha's lipstick made a red symbol of the cross on Dipa's forehead as a substitute for the Hindu tika chalk mark. He placed a Bible he had received from WMF friends on Dipa's chest and stomach. He prayed a simple, humble prayer, and Dipa's seizure stopped. It was her last one, and Gautam became convinced that the Christian God was powerful. When he told Silas the story, it opened up a very intimate exploration of faith, and Gautam soon asked how he could serve Christ. His life changed drastically, though Rekha still wasn't convinced. Her heart softened but she was deeply committed to Hinduism. The conversion of her husband created some division in their home. It took another two years before she made a decision to serve Christ and remove the Hindu idols from their household. Since then, Rekha and Gautam have become pillars of hope and faith in the WMF community. They retired from the momo business and discovered a vocation in childcare. It started when they opened their home to children orphaned on the streets of Kathmandu. Moved by a profound sense of compassion, they took a few little girls into their home and cared for them as if they were family. It wasn't long before more and more children started coming. Today Gautam and Rekha run a wonderful children's home that feels like a big family. Gautam's wisdom and discernment continue to help the WMF community find its way through many difficult transitions and decisions. He and Rekha have remained faithful. Over the past thirteen years, they've welcomed nearly twenty WMF staff and fifty WMF interns into their lives in Kathmandu, while creating a stable home for the children under their care.

We have experienced the gift of mutuality in mission and our lives have been transformed. Friendships formed on the margins have formed us. God's work of healing and reconciliation is mysterious, costly and wonderful. Being able to participate in it through the mutuality of friendship is a surprising and life-giving gift. Journeying into the places of suffering, abuse and abandonment takes its toll, but together with friends, we find a way forward, stumbling into the open arms of a loving God.

Previous posts: 

Praying Good News: Believing the Simply Good News of Praying the "Our Father" or Lord's Prayer 

Sharing Good News: Getting Beyond the Awkward and Talking about Jesus Outside Our Comfort Zones 

Working Good News: Discipling for Monday through Friday in Our Work and Workplaces 

Reconciling Good News: Moving with God in Welcoming Justice and Building Beloved Community 

Forgiving Good News: Making Peace Through the Divine Dance of Forgiveness 

Next post: World-Altering Good News: Partnering with God to Rebirth Our Communities

+ Sully

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Sermon on the Mount Series | Matthew 5:38-48: Bless, Love, and Flourish for Your Enemy + Saturday, May 5, 2018

Jesus prescribed aggressive, nonviolent, rehumanizing retaliation. They are overt acts of love to awaken the humanity within the opponent who has fallen under the power of sin. + Jeff Cook, Seven: The Deadly Sins and the Beatitudes

Old Testament Scriptures | Isaiah 33:17-24

New Testament Scriptures | Matthew 5:38-48

Corporate Prayer of Confession and Assurance

Isaiah 6:5-8; Daniel 9:4-19; Nehemiah 1:5-10; Luke 23:34

Call: Jesus, Your forgiveness for us is astounding.

We slapped Your face. We stripped You naked.
We made You walk the road of Calvary.
We took Your life and take advantage of the life
You give us. We crucified You.

Response: Please forgive us again, Jesus.
Thank You that You loved us when we
were Your enemies. Pray and intercede for us
to receive Your forgiveness and to give it
to others as freely as You give to us.

Silent Personal Reflection and Confession

Call: King Jesus, continue to powerfully ignite in us
Your forgiveness by the command of Your Word
and by the power of Your Holy Spirit
so that we become image bearers of You.
Empower us to do the work You've given us as we pray:

Response: Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be Your name.
Your Kingdom come, Your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but
deliver us from evil for Thine is the
Kingdom and the power and the glory
now and forever. Amen.

Spirituality Questions

Are you curious? Consider asking someone a question or two about Jesus and Christian spirituality even if you don't believe.

Are you open? Consider your emotional and spiritual needs, and step into asking if Jesus can meet them and help you.

Are you searching? Consider exploring more about Jesus even if you are not sure who He is; example: "If I could ask Jesus one honest question that would help me trust Him, what would I ask?"

Are you beginning to believe? Consider how your life would be transformed if you followed Jesus. Ask God to help you understand the Good News that through Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, He is restoring everything sin has ruined in your life and in the world.

 

Malachite and azurite are strikingly beautiful in the form of rock, but to use them for nihonga one must pulverize them, shatter them into small prismatic pieces. They are to be layered, sometimes over sixty layers, to create a refractive surface. It is a laborious, slow process. Nihonga is slow art. The layers take time to dry, and in the act of waiting an image is revealed. … The surface of this slow art is prismatic, so at first glance the malachite surface looks green. But if the eye is allowed to linger on the surface – it usually takes ten minutes for the eye to adjust – the observer can begin to see the rainbow created by layer upon layer of broken shards of minerals. Such a contemplative experience can be a deep sensory journey toward wisdom. + Makoto Fujimura: Nihonga Art Process

Lord's Prayer | Praying for Jesus' Kingdom Impact in Us and in Worcester

Eucharist | Thanking God for Communion with Christ and His Church

Doxology
By Thomas Ken
1674 A.D.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Praise Him all creatures here below.
Praise Him above ye heavenly host.
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

Glory to Thee my God this night
For all the blessings of the light.
Keep me, O keep me King of kings
Under the shadow of Thy wings.

Lord, let my soul forever share
The bliss of Thy paternal care.
‘Tis heav’n on earth, ‘tis heav’n above
To seek Thy face and sing Thy love.

Amen, amen.

All Creatures of Our God and King
By West Coast Revival
Original by St. Francis of Assisi
Early 1200s A.D.

All creatures of our God and King
Lift up your voice and with us sing
“O praise Him! Allelujah!”
Thou, burning sun with golden beam,
Thou, silver moon with softer gleam.
O praise Him! O praise Him!
Allelujah! Allelujah! Allelujah!

Let all things their Creator bless
And worship Him in humbleness.
O praise Him! Allelujah!
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son
And praise the Spirit, Three-in-One.
O praise Him! O praise Him!
Allelujah! Allelujah! Allelujah!

All the redeemed washed by His blood
Come and rejoice in His great love.
O praise Him! Allelujah!
Christ has defeated every sin.
Cast all your burdens now on Him.
O praise Him! O praise Him!
Allelujah! Allelujah! Allelujah!

He shall return in power to reign
Heaven and earth will join to say
O praise Him! Allelujah!
Then who shall fall on bended knee?
All creatures of our God and King
O praise Him! O praise Him!
Allelujah! Allelujah! Allelujah!

10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)
By Matt Redman
2012 A.D.

Bless the Lord, oh my soul,
Oh my soul,
Worship His holy name!
Sing like never before,
Oh my soul,
I'll worship Your holy name.

The sun comes up,
It's a new day dawning.
It's time to sing Your song again.
Whatever may pass,
And whatever lies before me,
Let me be singing
When the evening comes!
(Chorus)

You're rich in love
And You're slow to anger.
Your name is great
And Your heart is kind.
For all Your goodness
I will keep on singing
Ten thousand reasons
For my heart to find!
(Chorus)

And on that day
When my strength is failing,
The end draws near
And my time has come,
Still my soul will
Sing Your praise unending
Ten thousand years
And then forevermore!
(Chorus)

Before the Throne of God Above

Charitie Lees Bancroft
1860 A.D.

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea,
A great high Priest whose name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands!
My name is written on His heart!
I know that while in heaven He stands,
No tongue can bid me thence depart,
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end to all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free!
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me,
To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there the risen Lamb,
My perfect spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace.
One with Himself I cannot die,
My soul is purchased by His blood!
My life is hid with Christ on high
With Christ my Savior and my God!
With Christ my Savior and my God!

May Your Power Rest on Me
By Isaac Watts; Sojourn Music
Early 1700s A.D.; 2009 A.D.

Let me hear my Savior say
“Your strength shall return.”
Then I’ll rejoice in my weakness
As I lean on Your grace,
As I lean on Your grace.

May Your power rest on me.

You are strong when I am weak.
I can bear all things
When temptation springs
For You sustain me all my days.

Let me know my Savior’s face.
Let my hope be secure.
Then I’ll rejoice in my weakness
As I lean on Your grace,
As I lean on Your grace.
(Chorus)

Once from the Lord withdrawn
I thought that I could live my life alone.
Leaving the solid ground,
I sank beneath His wisdom.
The harder I tried to climb,
The closer I was to find
How great is my weakness.
(Chorus)

Though the trial still goes on,
Your grace will be my song!
For I can bear all things
When temptation springs
For You sustain me all my days.

The Rock Won't Move
By Vertical Church Band
2013 A.D.

When the ground beneath my feet gives way,
And I hear the sound of crashing waves,
All my world is washing out to sea.
I'm hidden safe in the God who never moves,
Holding fast to the promise of the truth
That You are holding tighter still to me.

The Rock won't move and His word is strong,
The Rock won't move and His love can't be undone!
The Rock won't move and His word is strong,
The Rock won't move and His love can't be undone,
The Rock of our Salvation!

My hope is in the promise of Your blood,
My support within the raging flood,
Even in the tempest, I can sing!
I'm hidden safe in the God who never moves,
Holding fast to the promise of Your truth
That You are holding tighter still to me!
(Chorus)

Woah, Woah, Woah, the Rock of our salvation!

On Christ the Solid Rock we stand,
All other ground is sinking sand,
The Rock won't move, the Rock won't move!
When darkness seems to hide His face,
We rest on His unchanging grace,
The Rock won't move, the Rock won't move!
(Chorus)

Our World Belongs to God Q&A 41
2008 A.D.

Q 41: What is the mission of God’s people?
A: To join Him in the world as His Church,
being sent with Jesus' Gospel of the Kingdom to call
everyone to know and follow Christ and
to proclaim to all the assurance that in the
name of Jesus there is forgiveness of sin and
new life for all who repent and believe. The
Spirit calls all members to embrace God’s
mission in their neighborhoods and in the
world: to feed the hungry, bring water to
the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the
naked, care for the sick, and free the prisoner.
We repent of leaving this work to a few, for
this mission is central to our being.

Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 24:45-49;
John 17:18; Matthew 24:14; Acts 13:1-3;
Matthew 25:31-46; Luke 4:18-19; John 20:21

Sermon on the Mount Benediction 

Based on Matthew 5-7

King Jesus, please bless us to embrace the joy
You give us in our brokenness and mourning,
eternal blessing that humbles the might,
intellect, and comforts of this current world.
Transform us into Your Kingdom community
through the crucible of Your way of the cross.
Write Your Kingdom rule and reign on our hearts
making us pure by Your perfect love, mercy, and justice.
May a watching world see Your light, taste Your salt,
and be welcomed into Your city on a hill through us.
Embolden us to be Your Kingdom ambassadors,
change agents who display the Good News You offer.
Make us decrease so that You might increase.
Stir in us Your grace, compassion, and sacrifice
for those who would seek to marginalize
and silence us because of You.
Everything we need is Yours to give us.
You are the treasure that we desperately seek.
You invite us home as prodigals
returning to our Father’s embrace;
Your prayer for the Kingdom coming
provides the answer to all our longings.
Free us of any fear, distraction, craving, or anxiety
that would keep us from fully following You
and building our lives on the Rock that is Your Word.

By Your Holy Spirit, keep us on
Your path of justice and righteousness.
It is with You, King Jesus, that hope is secure,
for us and all of creation, now and forever.

Now go in the blessing and name of King Jesus
by the power of His personally-transforming
grace and world-restoring peace. Amen.

Next post: Sermon on the Mount | Matthew 6:1-8: Our Father Knows

Christ is all,

Rev. Mike "Sully" Sullivan

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