Saturday, March 9, 2019
Transfigured into Christ's Likeness
Lent in all about being transformed--changed into the image of Christ.
This week I heard a new song, "Transfigure Us, O Lord," by Bob Hurd. It has really moved me and has become my focus from the Lord for Lent.
The song has been playing over and over again in my mind: this has become my prayer for Lent!
"Transfigure Us, O Lord"
Sunday, March 3, 2019
Lent: Living Out the Sermon on the Mount
“But when you give to the needy, do not let
your left hand know what your right hand is doing . . .
“But when you pray, go into your room, close
the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who
sees what is done in secret, will reward you. . . .
“But when you fast, put oil on your head and
wash your face, so that it will not be obvious
to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and
your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
-Matthew
6:3, 6, 17-18
In
the Sermon the on Mount, Jesus assumes his followers will be praying, fasting
and giving to the poor. He wants to guard us from self-focused hypocrisy of
doing these spiritual practices for show. Nevertheless, he expects us to be
doing these practices of righteousness.
Since
the early centuries of the church, Christians began to set aside the 40 days (not
counting Sundays) leading up to Easter as a time for intentional spiritual
growth. They focused on these three practices of Matthew 6: giving alms,
praying and fasting. What a wonderful model this is for an extended time of self-examination
and the practice of purposeful spiritual disciplines.
Alms,
praying and fasting provide a balanced approach to inner formation. Often one or
the other of these practices comes fairly easy to each of us, and that is
great. However, most of the greatest growth in our lives happens when we exercise
the areas of our lives that do not come so naturally.
Beyond
my normal offering/financial giving to the Lord, who in need can I give some
money to this Lent?
What
can I do special for the next 40+ days in my prayer life? Perhaps it would be
extra time of silence, going on a one- or two-day spiritual retreat, following
a Lenten devotional in addition to my normal Bible reading, or adopting a
special focus for intercessory prayer.
What
can I fast from this Lent? It could be food, desert, social media, complaining,
procrastinating, or any number of things.
As
Ash Wednesday approaches in just a few days, ask the Lord to guide you in each
of these three areas. Invite the Lord into your use of money, your activities, and
your prayer life in special way. See what he wants to do in your life and your
heart as we prepare ourselves to celebrate afresh the Resurrection of our Lord!
© 2019 Glenn E. Myers
Wednesday, December 26, 2018
Christmas: God Loves small, Insignificant Places and Little Deeds Done in Great Love
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though
you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one
who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from
ancient times.”
-Micah
5:2
“Not all of us can do great things. But we can
do small things with great love.”
-Mother
Teresa
This
year as I read and heard the familiar Scripture passages on the Nativity, I was
struck with just how often God chooses the small places for Jesus’ birth and
live. The Father could have placed Jesus anywhere but chose to place him in the
obscure little town of Bethlehem. Although it was the birth place of King
David, it had become in insignificant village by the time of the Prophet Micah.
Jesus
grew up in Nazareth, another small town in the region of Galilee where people
had a funny accent, as far as the Jews in Judea were concerned. Jesus was
raised in an insignificant, poor laborer’s family. Not only was it humble,
Jesus’ family had a scandal—everyone knew Jesus was not really Joseph’s son.
During Jesus’ ministry, much of his care for people went unappreciated and to
everyone at first, his ultimate gift on the cross seemed to be one more scandal
and loss.
Yet
God the Father knew what he was doing. He chose to send his Son into the
obscure, unappreciated, seemingly insignificant places. This was the Father’s
perfect plan for the Incarnation.
Christmas
is about the Incarnation. The Incarnation dignifies all the obscure and
scandalous areas of our life. It dignifies poor families. It dignifies all
forms of work. It dignifies those who lack education and might have funny
accents.
Moreover,
the Incarnation dignifies our little labors of love. By sending his Son, God
graced little, obscure places and unappreciated people with great love, dignity
and divinity. Thereby he dignified and indeed deified our labor given in his
name, our little deeds done with great love. He honored our acts of kindness,
even when they are unnoticed and unappreciated. He has infused those small
deeds with his Incarnation—the Divine inhabiting the earthly.
Every
little act of kindness, every humble service to others, every self-emptying
done in Jesus’ name is a participation with the Incarnation. We joint the
Christmas story. We step into the grand History of Salvation. Our deeds are no
longer about us as we become one with him!
© 2017
Glenn E. Myers
Saturday, December 15, 2018
Third Sunday of Advent—Gaudete Sunday—Hope and Rejoicing!
“Every good thing given and every perfect gift
is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no
variation or shifting shadow.”
-James
1:17 (NASB)
Crisp,
clear—the sun crests over the eastern horizon this frosty morning, its rays
glistening on the snow-graced earth. The sun brings a song of rejoicing to my
heart. Its light reflects the Father of lights, in whom there is no turning or
shadow. It gives us hope of longer days, stronger sunshine and, in time, warmer
weather now not far away.
We
are in mid-December as we approach this, the third Sunday of Advent. For
centuries the church has call this Gaudete Sunday—Rejoice Sunday! On the advent
wreath we have a special rose-colored candle to symbolize our jubilation.
We
rejoice as we look forward to the celebration of Christmas, our Savior’s birth,
just more than a week away now. Just as the sun is rising this morning with
light and warmth and hope in its rays, Jesus arises afresh in our lives with
healing in his wings:
"But for you who fear my name, the Sun of
Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free,
leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture.” (Malachi 4:2, NLT)
At
any point in life we have sorrows and joys, some situations going well and
others seeking to overwhelm us. Whatever our circumstances right now, we can
rejoice. Our God is Light and in him is no darkness (1 John 1:5). Even if the
sunshine is not shining for us any given day, there is a cause to rejoice. Just
as the Sun of Righteousness rose in history some two thousand years ago, he
will rise afresh in our given life situation. We have hope.
This
is Advent Hope and Advent Rejoicing! This is what Gaudete Sunday is all about!
© 2018
Glenn E. Myers
Friday, December 7, 2018
Advent: Tutoring Us in the Art of Waiting
Advent
tutors us in the art and virtue of waiting. Waiting does not come easily to any
of us. Especially during the holiday season, any idea of waiting is discarded. Stores
pipe in Christmas carols from Thanksgiving Day (or earlier) to Christmas, to
put shoppers in the mood to buy. Marketers do not want anyone to hesitate but
rather to buy on impulse.
In
direct opposition to this atmosphere of having it all—and having it right
now—spiritual growth comes slowly. Our faith is built through the gradual
year-in and year-out walking faithfully with our God and being faithful to him
during exciting times and difficult times alike.
Indeed
the Greek word for faith, pistos,
means both faith (believing and trusting) and faithfulness (remaining constant
and true). We often see these as two separate ideas. However, in the Christian
life they are inextricably linked. To believe in Christ is to entrust one’s
life to him as Lord and to walk faithfully with him, hand-in-hand, during good
times and bad.
Sometimes
we experience growth spurts or seasons when we sense God’s presence so close.
However, in between times of marked spiritual growth or mountain top
experiences, “faith can demand long, patient waiting, when nothing seems to be
happening, and this is just as necessary to growth,” writes Maria Boulding.
Recently I read this quote and realized how true it is! Often our deepest
growth takes place during those long times of just being faithful in the
mundane things of life.
Maria
Boulding then ties this idea of faithfulness with Advent. “We sometimes have to
go on doing the small, ordinary things while we wait for God, as Mary did while
she waited for the birth of Jesus; we have to wait for his moment, and wait for
his work to ripen in ourselves. It may sometimes be more fruitful in the end if
we live with a lingering question, and grow slowly towards wisdom, than if we
find a quick answer partly dictated by our own desires. The waiting changes us,
schools us, teaches us to know God.”
Advent
this year—and life in general—is teaching me to wait. I want to love the
questions in my life right now. As I linger with those questions and remain
faithful in all the little responsibilities of life, God will bring about the
growth and the end results that he desires. Let me not try to prematurely
answer the questions only to end up simply following my own will. Rather, let
me like Mary, respond to the Lord: Here I am, your servant, let it be done to
me according to your word (Luke 1:38).
Maria
Boulding, The Coming of God
(Conception, MO: The Printery House, Conception Abbey, Inc., 2000), 40-41.
© 2018
Glenn E. Myers
Monday, December 3, 2018
Advent: An Invitation to Stillness
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.”
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.”
-Psalm
23:2-3 (ESV)
Advent
invites us into stillness. Away from the multiplicity of demands, opportunities
and people, our mind begins to slow down. Many, if not most, of those
opportunities and relationships that we set aside for a time are good: we were
created to live full lives in this world. However, if they are only one side of
the rhythmic pendulum of a whole, healthy life. One side swings into the
many-faceted activity and interaction of the day. Then it swings back into solitude,
silence and stillness—the time necessary to be alone with self and God. Just as
day and night alternate, so we are created to flow out and back: flowing out to
the manifold interactions of the world and then back into stillness.
The
whole of contemporary society militates against such a practice of stillness
and simplicity. Constantly multitasking, we try to squeeze more and more into
the hours of the day. Employers want greater productivity out of us.
Organizations and churches offer programs and activities to keep us occupied.
Sports and media present unending opportunities to be entertained. Advertisers
promise us greater gratification in life if we but buy more of their products.
While none of these may be innately evil, as a whole the world system distracts
us and allures us with a false assurance of genuine purpose and fulfillment in
life.
Into
such frantic busyness and multiplicity our Shepherd bids us follow him to green
pastures where we can lie down and rest. The gentle waters of a stream welcome
us to come and be restored—body, soul and spirit. A large shade tree welcomes
us to stop running long enough to enjoy the Creator’s blessings freely offered
to us. The song of a nearby bird extends an invitation to retreat from the
fragmentation of our busy world for a while and step into simplicity.
Stillness
does not come spontaneously to the human heart. Since the Fall in Genesis 3, we
are worried and anxious about so many things. Jesus points us to nature to gain
a different picture of what life could be like. “Look at the birds of the air,”
instructs Jesus; “they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your
heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can
any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matthew 6:26-27).
Stillness
must be cultivated. The more often we practice stillness, the more we are able
to carry it with us throughout the day. Even when things get hectic, we are
able to access that still place within and find peace.
Advent
is a season to cultivate such stillness. Whether it be a devotional time each
evening of the four Advent Sundays or a day’s retreat, we are invited to still
ourselves and prepare our hearts for Christ’s fresh coming into our lives.
© 2018
Glenn E. Myers
Sunday, November 11, 2018
Stillness Awaits
“Be still—let go, cease striving—
and know that I am God.”
-Psalm 46:10 (NASB and
margin note)
Divine
stillness waits for us. It beckons us to come. From a distance it welcomes our
weary heart and mind to receive rest. How often we hear that invitation, and we
desire to come. But, before we do so, we want to finish one more project. As
soon as our responsibilities are fulfilled, we tell ourselves, we will take
time to be still.
Of
course once one obligation is met or one problem is solved, two more raise
their heads, and we never quite get to that much-needed pause. That place of
stillness eludes us. Like Martha in the Gospels, we are concerned about so many
things—too anxious to join Mary in Jesus’ presence.
“Come
to me,” says our Lord. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I
am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew
11:28-29). Jesus continues to extend the offer of inner rest. We somehow think
that we cannot come to him until we have first unloaded our own burdens.
However, it is precisely while those burdens weigh on us that we need to come.
Entering
the place of stillness necessitates that we pause from our frenetic activity,
even for five or ten minutes. Often we are afraid to do so. We are fearful of
releasing our grip.
If
we relinquish those fears and concerns to our loving God, however, we can find
rest for our souls. Such a pause can make the difference for our whole day. Our
hearts are renewed, our souls refreshed. The whole momentum of our day becomes
refocused, and we reenter our responsibilities on the right foot.
Stillness
awaits. I don’t want to ignore the Good Shepherd’s invitation.
©
2018 Glenn E. Myers
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)