John Chrysostom's Easter Sermon (347-407 AD)

Let all Pious men and all lovers of God rejoice in the splendor of this feast; let the wise servants blissfully enter into the joy of their Lord; let those who have borne the burden of Lent now receive their pay, and those who have toiled since the first hour, let them now receive their due reward; let any who came after the third hour be grateful to join in the feast, and those who may have come after the sixth, let them not be afraid of being too late, for the Lord is gracious and He receives the last even as the first. He gives rest to him who comes on the eleventh hour as well as to him who has toiled since the first: yes, He has pity on the last and He serves the first; He rewards the one and is generous to the other; he repays the deed and praises the effort.

Come you all: enter into the joy of your Lord. You the first and you the last, receive alike your reward; you rich and you poor, dance together; you sober and you weaklings, celebrate the day; you who have kept the fast and you who have not, rejoice today. The table is richly loaded: enjoy its royal banquet. The calf is a fatted one: let no one go away hungry. All of you enjoy the banquet of faith; all of you receive the riches of his goodness.

Let no one grieve over his poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed; let no one weep over his sins, for pardon has shone from the grave; let no one fear death, for the death of our Savior has set us free: He has destroyed it by enduring it, He has despoiled Hades by going down into its kingdom, He has angered it by allowing it to taste of his flesh.

When Isaiah foresaw all this, he cried out: "O Hades, you have been angered by encourntering Him in the nether world." Hades is angered because frustrated, it is angered because it has been mocked, it is angered because it has been destroyed, it is angered because it has been reduced to naught, it is angered because it is now captive. It seized a body, and lo! it discovered God; it seized earth, and, behold! it encountered heaven; it seized the visible, and was overcome by the invisible.

O death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? Christ is risen and life is freed, Christ is risen and the tomb is emptied of the dead: for Christ, being risen from the dead, has become the Leader and Reviver of those who had fallen asleep. To Him be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.

South African Trip

I am preparing to depart tomorrow for a three week trip to South Africa (Klerksdorp, Pretoria, Springs, Johannesburg, Cape Town and Stellenbosch). For all my friends "down south", have a look at my itinerary on the right below - maybe we could meet up - you are all firmly in my heart and prayers.

We will be travelling with five other professors from Regent, speaking at local Universities, churches and ministries. We hope to have many discussions with others on the definition and practice of Christian Leadership that could change our world.

Above all, I ask for your prayers during this time. May we be able to discern God's actions in our world and work with Him.

“I dream of the realization of the unity of Africa, whereby its leaders combine in their efforts to solve the problems of this continent. I dream of our vast deserts, of our forests, of all of our great wilderness.” – Nelson Mandela

Larry Norman - The Great American Novel."

i was born and raised an orphan
in a land that once was free
in a land that poured its love out on the moon
and i grew up in the shadows
of your silos filled with grain
but you never helped to fill my empty spoon

and when i was ten you murdered law
with courtroom politics
and you learned to make a lie sound just like truth
but i know you better now
and i don't fall for all your tricks
and you've lost the one advantage of my youth

you kill a black man at midnight
just for talking to your daughter
then you make his wife your mistress
and you leave her without water
and the sheet you wear upon your face
is the sheet your children sleep on
at every meal you say a prayer
you don't believe but still you keep on

and your money says in God we trust
but it's against the law to pray in school
you say we beat the russians to the moon
and i say you starved your children to do it

you are far across the ocean
but the war is not your own
and while you're winning theirs
you're gonna lose the one at home
do you really think the only way
to bring about the peace
is to sacrifice your children
and kill all your enemies

the politicians all make speeches
while the news men all take note
and they exagerate the issues
as they shove them down our throats
is it really up to them
whether this country sinks or floats
well i wonder who would lead us
if none of us would vote

well my phone is tapped and my lips are chapped
from whispering through the fence
you know every move i make
or is that just coincidence
well you try to make my way of life
a little less like jail
if i promise to make tapes and slides
and send them through the mail

and your money says in God we trust
but it's against the law to pray in school
you say we beat the russians to the moon
and i say you starved your children to do it
you say all men are equal all men are brothers
then why are the rich more equal than others
don't ask me for the answer i've only got one
that a man leaves his darkness when he follows the Son

Larry Norman (1947-2008)

I grew up listening to the songs of Larry Norman - who could easily be called the first leader of Christian Rock music. Larry's gentle, vulnerable and honest leadership inspire me to this day. May we all learn to follow Jesus with great honesty and commitment.

Larry dictated the following to a friend on Saturday, a day before going home:

"I feel like a prize in a box of cracker jacks with God's hand reaching down to pick me up. I have been under medical care for months. My wounds are getting bigger. I have trouble breathing. I am ready to fly home.

My brother Charles is right, I won't be here much longer. I can't do anything about it. My heart is too weak. I want to say goodbye to everyone. In the past you have generously supported me with prayer and finance and we will probably still need financial help.

My plan is to be buried in a simple pine box with some flowers inside. But still it will be costly because of funeral arrangement, transportation to the gravesite, entombment, coordination, legal papers etc. However money is not really what I need, I want to say I love you.

I'd like to push back the darkness with my bravest effort. There will be a funeral posted here on the website, in case some of you want to attend. We are not sure of the date when I will die.

Goodbye, farewell, we will meet again.
Goodbye, farewell, we'll meet again
Somewhere beyond the sky.
I pray that you will stay with God.
Goodbye, my friends, goodbye.

Larry."

In the Footsteps of Benedict, Francis and Clare of Assisi

If you have a passion for discovery, consider joining us for an incredible learning journey as we retrace the footsteps of Saints Benedict, Francis of Assisi and Clare of Assisi.

This study abroad program, offered by the Regent University School of Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship, will take you to some of the most significant sites of our Christian history and examine, firsthand, the dynamics that changed the world.

• Retrace the footsteps of Saint Benedict, Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Clare of Assisi.
• Explore key historic sites through private tours.
• Examine biblical perspectives, archaeology, theology, religion, humanities and the arts.
• Gain spiritual insights and a deeper understanding of biblical leadership and its contemporary applications.
• Enjoy the program as a leisure traveler or enroll for optional graduate-level credit (M.A. or Ph.D.).

For the first few years, the Leadership Study Abroad Program concentrated on the work, ministries and leadership of the Apostle Paul in Asia Minor and Greece, covering most of the sites of Paul's first, second and third missionary journeys. The 2008 PROGRAM takes us to Italy, where we will walk in the footsteps of Saints Benedict, Francis of Assisi and Clare of Assisi.

For more information see the website for this tour: http://www.regent.edu/acad/global/abroad/home.htm

Becoming Ourselves

I am reading Ilia Delio's (O.S.F.) new book on Clare of Assisi, entitled " A Heart Full of Love" (2007). I am deeeply taken by Delio's deep insights and critical engagment with Clare's theology of finding our deepest identity in Christ. My morning reading of Merton reflected a similar thought. We serve God best when we accept who He has created us to be:

"Brilliant and gorgeous day, bright sun, breeze making all the leaves and high brown grasses shine. Singing of the wind in the cedars. Exultant day in which even a puddle in the pig lot shines like precious silver.

Finally I am coming to the conclusion that my highest ambition is to be what I already am. That I will never fulfill my obligation to surpass myself unless I first accept myself and, if I accept myself fully in the right way, I will already have surpassed myself. For it is the unaccepted self that stands in my way and will continue to do so as long as it is not accepted. When it has been accepted--it is my own stepping stone to what is above me. Because this is the way man has been made by God. Original sin was the effort to surpass oneself by being "like God"--i.e. unlike oneself. But our God-likeness begins at home. We must first become like ourselves and stop living "beside ourselves."

May we be brave enought to accept our truest identity in Him.

Thomas Merton. A Search for Solitude. Edited by Lawrence S. Cunningham (San Francisco, HarperSanFrancisco, 1996): 220-221

Spirit and Scripture: A Symposium on Renewal Biblical Hermeneutics

Pentecostal, Charismatic and renewal movements throughout the world share a common theological experience. However, several seminal questions about renewal biblical and theological studies have not been sufficiently treated for today. For example:

• What is the role of the Holy Spirit in biblical hermeneutics?
• What are the distinctive presuppositions, methods and goals of renewal biblical hermeneutics?

With the present growth of both renewal scholarship and the movement around the world, we believe that the time has come for a focused and concerted treatment of this topic. You are invited to a gathering of scholars to address this vital subject for biblical and theological studies in the 21st century. Six prominent renewal scholars, representing important trajectories in the renewal movement, will each present a constructive way ahead for biblical hermeneutics:

• The Holy Spirit, Scripture and Interpretation: The Perspective of a Pentecostal African-American in Old Testament StudiesHarold V. Bennett (Ph.D., Vanderbilt University; President-Dean, Charles V. Mason Theological Seminary).
• The Roadmap to Restoration through the Window of the Spirit of God: The Perspective of a Pentecostal in Old Testament StudiesWonsuk Ma (Ph.D., Fuller Theological Seminary; Director, Oxford Centre for Mission Studies; Co-editor, Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies).
• Faith is a Way of Knowing: The Perspective of a Charismatic Catholic Biblical ScholarFr. Francis Martin (S.S.D., Pontifical Biblical Institute; Professor of Sacred Scripture, John Paul II Institute, Washington D. C.).
• The Work of the Holy Spirit in the Interpretation of Holy Scripture: The Perspective of a Charismatic Biblical TheologianClark H. Pinnock (Ph.D., Manchester University; Professor Emeritus of Systematic Theology, McMaster Divinity School).
• Biblical Criticism and the Prophetic Spirit: The Perspective of an Anglican Charismatic in New Testament StudiesMark Stibbe (Ph.D., Cambridge University; Vicar, St. Andrew’s Church, Chorleywood, England).
• Hearing What the Spirit is Saying to the Church: The Testimony of a Pentecostal in New Testament StudiesJohn Christopher Thomas (Ph.D., Sheffield University; Clarence J. Abbott Professor of Biblical Studies, Church of God Theological Seminary).
  

The symposium will convene on Friday evening, October 17th, 2008, at 6:00 p.m., and end at noon on Saturday, the following day. This symposium will consist of six, forty-five minute papers, each followed by a ten minute response.

Here is a link to the Registration Page: http://www.regent.edu/acad/schdiv/newsandevents/spirit-and-scripture/home.shtml

The Entrepreneurs' Guild Spring 2008 Series

The [e] guild is co-hosted by Distinguished Professor and former Regent University President David Gyertson, Ph.D. and Regent Global Business Review Editor Julianne Cenac. Each digitally recorded program features leading and emergent entrepreneurs in dynamic and engaging interviews to uncover each guest's unique path to success.

All recordings will take place at the Regent University Communication & Performing Arts Center.

You are invited to be our guest as part of the studio audience for the live recording of the Entrepreneurs' Guild. A complimentary reception will follow each recording, enabling audience members to meet and speak with guest entrepreneurs.

Spring 2008 Series guests include:

Tom KnoxFounder & CEO, SeniorcorpTuesday, February 19, 20086:00 p.m.

Anne BeilerFounder, Auntie Anne's, Inc.Thursday, February 21, 2008
6:00 p.m.

Seating is limited, so click here for more information and to reserve your seat today!

The Call to the Quiet

“But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.” (Psalm 131:2, NIV)

The Call to Center
Something is seriously wrong in our church communities today. Many people suffer from what Albert Schweitzer[1] once referred to as a “sleeping sickness of the soul.” Its symptoms are loss of vision, community, morality and compassion. Many voices have been raised to lament the loss of soul and heart in our faith communities, where desperate activity and incessant busyness have replaced simple devotion and true worship. How do we regain our focus and balance in a world of distraction and performance-orientated ministry? The ancient witness of the Christian Scriptures calls us refocus our attention and heart on the center of our faith: the reality of a living and active God that chooses to dwell within us (compare Paul’s comment on this in Colossians 1:27).

Centering prayer is a simple, ancient and Biblical approach to prayer that sets up the ideal conditions to enter into that restful place of quiet awareness of God's healing presence. The primary purpose of this kind of prayer (sometimes referred to as Christian meditation or meditative prayer) is to open the "eyes" of our spiritual perception in order to become aware of His indwelling presence and to center our complete attention on Him. Richard Foster[2] speaks of this kind of prayer when he writes: "In meditative prayer we create the emotional and spiritual space which allows Christ to construct an inner sanctuary in the heart." Centering prayer is a simple and quiet resting in the knowledge of the God’s presence within. It is important to note this approach to prayer is powerful in its very simplicity and not complicated at all. This is reminiscent of the admonition of Jesus to approach the Kingdom of God like a little child (see Matthew 18:3).

The Practice of Centering Prayer
The practice of Centering prayer is very simple, it almost so simple that we might want to discard it. Love is simple, intimacy is simple, but it is often the very simple things that we seem to struggle with. This way of prayer is alluded to in many passages in the Old and New Testaments and probably dates from then. The ancient Greek Church Fathers referred to it as monologion, "one-word" prayer. The desert father, Abba Isaac taught a similar form of prayer to John Cassian who later wrote of it in France, transmitting it to Benedict of Nursia. This simple approach to prayer is not only Biblical, but ancient in the witness of the Church. The guidelines for centering prayer as developed by contemporary devotional authors such as Thomas Keating[3], are as follows:
· Let yourself settle down. Let go of all the thoughts, tensions, and sensations you may feel and begin to rest in love of God who dwells within (compare Revelation 3:20).
· Effortlessly, take the name of Jesus, the focus of your intention to surrender to God's presence, and let the name of Jesus be gently present in your heart.
· When you become aware of thoughts or as internal sensations arise, just take this as your signal to gently return to the name of Jesus, the focus of your intention to let go and rest in God's presence.
· If thoughts subside and you find yourself restfully aware, simply rest in God, in His presence. Be in that stillness. When thoughts begin to stir again, gently return to the name of Jesus.
· End your time of prayer with thanksgiving, adoration and intercession.

The Effect of Centering Prayer
The most basic effect of centering prayer is a renewed sense of God’s presence within. Being in the presence of God brings profound changes. Nothing is more powerful than our Lord’s presence in our hearts and minds. This is the foundation for change (compare the Apostle Peter’s words on this great truth in 2 Peter 1:2-4). Being aware of the indwelling presence of Jesus sets a powerful platform for all other forms of prayer and devotion. We can now approach every day, every action, every thought with the powerful knowledge that He lives within us. We are now able to live life from the center. The center of every action, every thought is now Jesus. He has been given pre-eminence in our lives (compare Colossians 1:16-18). Our lives become a living witness of His presence in the world, and in and through us.

One of the most profound results of centering prayer is the transformation of the believer. The central act of centering prayer is the act of beholding, centering upon Jesus. Scripture is very clear that the devotional act of transformation is the same (compare 2 Corinthians 3:18). When we constantly gaze, look and center ourselves upon Jesus we are changed in to His glorious image. As we center upon God and the indwelling presence of Jesus in our hearts, we are bombarded by a myriad of thoughts, feeling and perceptions. This is direct result of us focusing on Jesus. In His presence all that is not pure and holy must flee.

The Power of the Quiet Place
The reason we engage in this kind of prayer is to make our lives, lives of being completely centered in Jesus. Centering prayer is an expression of our faith and love. The way to the center, to the experience of God, is love. From love comes our ability to sense God present. Love for God and faith in Jesus are the two pillars that form the foundation for centering prayer. This does not mean that this might always be easy. Just remaining quietly in the presence of God, listening to Him, being attentive to Him, requires a lot of courage and discipline. This discipline of listening and of attention is a discipline, a rather difficult one to maintain. In this listening, in the tranquil attention to God, God acts directly upon the one who prays, doing it by Himself, communicating Himself to that person. God and the beloved are together in great intimacy. Thomas Merton[4] who lived his life as one sitting at the feet of Jesus and yet had a powerful effect on the world, prayed this prayer of faith before he died and in doing so illustrates the ultimate purpose of centering on Jesus:

“To be here with the silence of Son-ship in my heart
is to be a centre in which all things converge upon You.
That is surely enough for the time being.
Therefore, Father, I beg you to keep me in this silence
so that I may learn from it the word of Your peace
and the word of Your mercy
and the word of Your gentleness to the world.
And that through me perhaps Your word of peace
may make itself heard where it has not been possible for
anyone to hear it for a long time.“

[1] Andrews, C 1997. The Circle of Simplicity. New York: HarperCollins.
[2] Foster, R J 1978. Celebration of Discipline. San Francisco: HarperCollins.
[3] Keating, T 1992. Open Mind, Open Heart: The Contemplative Dimensions of the Gospel. Shaftesbury: Element.
[4] Merton, T 1999. The Intimate Merton. Oxford: Lion.

Leadership Roundtables

Regent University's School of Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship invites you to participate in the 2008 Annual Roundtables of Contemporary Research & Practice.

Featured Guest
Dr. Warren Bennis is known around the world as the preeminent expert on the subject of leadership and has devoted more than five decades of his life to understanding and sharing the effective practice of leadership.

Roundtables
Each roundtable will provide an opportunity for the presentation and discussion of contemporary research in the areas of business, global leadership and entrepreneurship.

• Servant Leadership


• Biblical Perspectives in Leadership


• Human Resource Development


• Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship


• Consulting & Strategic Foresight
  

Call for Papers
Submission Deadline: March 15, 2008

Get more information online or register today at www.regent.edu/roundtables

Teresa of Calcutta's Daily Prayer

DEAR JESUS,

help me to spread Thy fragrance everywhere I go.

Flood my soul with Thy spirit and love.

Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that all my life may only be a radiance of Thine.

Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel Thy presence in my soul.

Let them look up and see no longer me but only Jesus.

Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as you shine, so to shine as to be a light to others.

- Teresa of Calcutta

Listen to Mother Teresa pray this prayer:

http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/teresa/Prayer.asp

Dallas Willard on Organizational Vision

Gordon Cosby of the Servant Leadership School at Church of the Savior in Washington D.C. once asked Dallas Willard, "Why do churches and ministries so often lose the essence of their founding vision, to the point that the resulting institution, years later, is quite unlike the original dream? What happens along the way?" This essay is Willard's response to that question:

Whoever serves me must follow me,and where I am, there will myservant be also. Whoever servesme, the Father will honor." Jesus (John 12:26)

When you go to Assisi, you will find many people who talk a great deal about St. Francis, many monuments to him, and many businesses thriving by selling memorabilia of him. But you will not find anyone who carries in himself the fire that Francis carried. No doubt many fine folks are there, but they do not have the character of Francis, nor do they do the deeds of Francis, nor have his effects.

What is true in this case is not peculiar to it. Rather, this is simply one of the more obvious illustrations of a general tendency of human life —and of the spiritual life as well. It happens in the professional world, the world of business, of government, education, and the arts: A person of some great inspiration and ability emerges, and rises far above his or her origins and surroundings. Perhaps it is a King David of Israel, a Socrates, a St. Anthony or St. Francis, a Martin Luther or a George Fox or a John Wesley. In each of these people there is a ... well, a certain 'something'.

They really are different, and that difference explains why these individuals have such great effect, and why movements and institutions grow up around them. It is as if they stand in another world, and from there they have extraordinary effects in this world —as God acts with them. Organization of their activities takes place, and other organizations spin off from them as numbers of talented individuals are drawn to them and make their lives in their wake. But these other individuals —usually, but not always, very well-intending —do not carry the "fire," the "certain something," within them. The mission or missions that have been set afoot begin a subtle divergence from the vision that gripped the founder, and before too long the institution and its mission has become the vision.

This happens in "secular" settings as well. Arthur Anderson was a man of rock-solid integrity, with a crystal-clear vision of Accounting as a profession. He built a magnificent accounting firm on strong moral principles. But eventually the people who ran the firm became obsessed with money-making and success, and then with helping clients make money and be successful. Just that, instead of holding those clients responsible ("account-able") to the public goods they all professed to serve. These people —who acted in the good name of Arthur Anderson, but without his vision —brought disaster upon themselves and upon thousands of unsuspecting people who depended upon them. Had the moral fire burned in them that burned in Arthur Anderson, that would not have happened. But a false fire of greed and ambition burned in its place. The cuckold of 'success' laid its eggs in the nest of service-to-the-public-good, and a monster was hatched that destroyed the nest and all in it.

St. Francis and Arthur Anderson are among the more glamorous and notorious illustrations of a hard reality. In most cases, when the original fire dies out, the associated institutions and individuals carry on for a while, increasingly concerned about success and survival, and then they either find another basis to stand upon, or they simply disappear. (Consider the case of Charles Finney and Oberlin college, which he founded, or any number of other originally Christian colleges and universities.)

For the rest of this excellent article see http://www.dwillard.org/articles/artview.asp?artid=96

Ten Steps to be Miserable

The Ty Mam Duw Poor Clare Colettines in Wales list ten steps to be miserable on their community website (. It is obvious that this ten point scheme for self-hindrance is what should be avoided at all cost:

• Sulk - this is highly successful and guaranteed to achieve lasting results.


• Grab - make sure that, always and in every place, you come first.


• Scowl - there is nothing to smile about, and you should let everyone know it.


• Assert yourself - it is the very least you owe to yourself.


• Do not complain, all you have to do is say, "I don't want to be difficult, but...". This will always get the point over.


• Argue - other people always need enlightenment.


• Be sentimental - it will prove that you are a beautiful person who thinks with the heart.


• Pick your food - slimmers must eat, no matter how many people may starve.


• Worry - this is one of the most genteel and widely accepted methods of avoiding responsibility.


• Never forget! Keep an ineradicable charge sheet of your neighbours failings printed on the inside of your eyeballs. And whatever good they may do, do not hold it against them

Gluttons for Power

Why do we desire to lead? Hint - it is not always because we are humble or want to change the world. Sometimes our desires for fame, fortunate and power drive our aspirations for leadership. I would maintain that authentic Biblical leadership starts with an examination of the "passions"/desires that underlie our desire to lead.

Evagrius Ponticus (349–399 AD), a monastic theologian in Egypt, is believed to be the first writer to record and systematize certain teachings of the predominately illiterate Desert Fathers. A prominent feature of his research was a list of eight evil "passions" (desires). While he did not create the list from scratch, he is credited with refining and developing it. His list of "passions" were, in order of increasing seriousness: gluttony, lust, avarice, sadness, anger, acedia, vainglory, and pride. Acedia (from the Greek "akedia," or "not to care") denoted "spiritual sloth." Evagrius intended for this list to be used for diagnostic purposes. One cannot resist temptation without being aware of how it operates. What is interesting, is that his list starts with gluttony. For Evagrius, sin starts with our surrender to our uncontrolled appetites. This is echoed in the Scriptures, when the Apostle Paul writes: “For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.” - Philippians 3:18-19

The age-old discipline of fasting, or the curbing of our appetites might be the first step in the purification of our desires. The philokalia records that Abba John the Short, advising the young brothers to love fasting, told them frequently: “The good soldier, undertaking to capture a strongly fortified, enemy city, blockades food and water. In this way the resistance of the enemy is weakened and he finally surrenders. Something similar happens with carnal impulses, which severely war against a person in his youth. Blessed fasting subdues the passions and the demons and ultimately removes them far from the combatant. And the powerful lion,” he told them another time, “frequently falls into a snare because of his gluttony, and all of his strength and might disappear.”

May we have the courage to reexamine our desires for leadership - this might have to start in the determined control of our appetites - including our desire for power over others.

Picture: Kendell Geers (2007). Seven Deadly Sins

Joy in the Journey

I celebrate my birthday today, a date traditionally celebrated as a feast date for the coming of the Magi from the East to worship Jesus. My good friend, Jay Gary reminded me of this wonderful poem that T.S. Elliot wrote marking his journey from agnosticism to faith in Jesus. May this be year filled with God's continued grace on all of us that find the joy in the journey.

The Journey of the Magi

'A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For the journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.'
And the camels galled, sore-footed, refractory,
Lying down in the melting snow.
There were times we regretted
The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces,
And the silken girls bringing sherbet.
Then the camel men cursing and grumbling
And running away, and wanting their liquor and women,
And the night-fires going out, and the lack of shelters,
And the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly
And the villages dirty and charging high prices:
A hard time we had of it.
At the end we preferred to travel all night,
Sleeping in snatches,
With the voices singing in our ears, saying
That this was all folly.

Then at dawn we came down to a temperate valley,
Wet, below the snow line, smelling of vegetation;
With a running stream and a water-mill beating the darkness,
And three trees on the low sky,
And an old white horse galloped away in the meadow.
Then we came to a tavern with vine-leaves over the lintel,
Six hands at an open door dicing for pieces of silver,
And feet kicking the empty wine-skins,
But there was no information, and so we continued
And arrived at evening, not a moment too soon
Finding the place; it was (you may say) satisfactory

All this was a long time ago, I remember,
And I would do it again, but set down
This set down
This: were we led all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly,
We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death,
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death.

- T. S. Eliot

Thomas Merton on Christmas

May this be a time of increasing wonder at the miracle of God coming into our world in Jesus of Nazareth! (The picture of the left is of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, Israel - I was fortunate to visit this place of wonder several years back with my wife).

Merton's short reflection on the meaning of Christmas is a worthwhile read during this time of celebration. A short extract:

"Advent for us means acceptance of this totally new beginning. It means a readiness to have eternity and time meet not only in Christ, but in us, in Man, in our life, in our world, in our time. The beginning, therefore, is the end. We must accept the end, before we can begin. Or rather, to be more faithful to the complexity of life, we must accept the end in the beginning both together.

The secret of the Advent mystery is then the awareness that I begin where I end because Christ begins where I end. In more familiar terms: I live to Christ when I die to myself. I begin to live to Christ when I come to the "end" or to the "limit" of what divides me from my fellow man: what I am willing to step beyond this end, cross the frontier, become a stranger, enter into a wilderness which is not "myself," where I do not breathe the air or hear the familiar, comforting racket of my own city, where I am alone and defenseless in the desert of God.

The victory of Christ is by no means the victory of my city over "their" city. The exaltation of Christ is not the defeat and death of others in order that "my side" may be vindicated, that I may be proved "right." I must pass over, make the transition (pascha) from my end to my beginning, from my old life which has ended and which is now death to my new life which never was before and which now exists in Christ."

Thomas Merton. "Advent: Hope or Delusion?" in Seasons of Celebration. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1965: 96-97.

Have a wonderful Christ-filled Christmas!

The Wisdom of Tenderness

A good friend of mine, from the UK, sent me the following recording of an interview with Jean Vanier:

http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/wisdomoftenderness/transcript.shtml

I discovered Vanier through the writings of Henri Nouwen. Vanier's radical commmitment to active love as the primary expression of Christianity has had a providential impact on my own developing thoughts on authentic Christian Leadership. I am more than ever convinced that the call to follow Jesus is a call to let go of our desperate desires for prominence, privilege, prestige and self-enrichment. To follow Jesus is to commit to a radical divestment of every claim of self-interest so as to be free to love. Most of my current thinking revolves around the consequences of this commitment to mimetic love. Can I let go of everything on order to love? As Vanier says:

Yes, I come back to the reality of pleasure and to the reality of what is my deepest desire and what is your deepest desire. And what — and somewhere, the deepest desire for us all is to be appreciated, to be loved, to be seen as somebody of value. But not just seen — and Aristotle makes a difference between being admired and being loved. When you admire people, you put them on pedestals. When you love people, you want to be together. So really, the first meeting I had with people with disabilities, what touched me was their cry for relationship. Some of them had been in a psychiatric hospital. Others — all of them had lived pain and the pain of rejection. One of the words of Jesus to the, to Peter —and you find this at the end of the gospel of Saint John — "Do you love me?"

JMT on Advent

Please accept my apologies for not blogging regularly this month. I have been neck-deep in writing and submission deadlines. I expect to get back to sharing my current thought sometime next week. In the meantime I will let John Michael Talbot' s recent Advent reflection speak for me:

Peace and Good in Christ!

We come to the beginning of another Advent. We have done it many times before, and will probably do so again. Only God knows the future. And we come to the beginning of another liturgical Church year. We come again to a time of penance and conversion; "Lent with a little sugar on top," as I have often said. There is not necessarily anything new to be said. Most of what we would say has been said before by many others. But "repetition is the mother of learning."

What strikes me with this is our notion of moving through time. In the west we usually think of time as having a beginning and an end. It can be seen as a line that starts in one place, and goes to another. In the east people think of time as a circle without beginning or end. There are strengths and weaknesses with both. The weakness of linear time is that it gets so goal oriented that it can fail to live in the present moment. The problem with cyclic time is that it can lull us into a state of sluggishness.

Pope Benedict XVI has put these two concepts together in a kind of "corkscrew" approach to time. It is both cyclic in that it goes round and round, and linear in that it begins and ends someplace. I really like this description. It is typically brilliant and insightful of Pope Benedict XVI.

For many years I have proposed a similar model; that of a spiral staircase that goes up or down when viewed from the side, but seems to go round and round in the same space when viewed from below or above. This model emphasizes that ordinary life tends to go round and round with the same mundane issues over and over again. What makes our progress good or bad is which direction we are going. St. Peter Damien of the 11th century semi eremitical reform of western monasticism, and a leading cardinal of the Church of his day, says that you either go up or down every day of your life. If you try to stand still you begin a downward spiral.

Life is a decision. Love is a decision. The question is what we will do as the same issues of life come around again and again. Will we choose to follow Jesus this Advent, and continue our journey upward to heaven? Or will we just stop trying and begin a slow downward spiral?

Chances are we elder members of the Church will not hear much new this Advent. Chances are that we have heard it all pretty much before. But the challenge of what we do with the message of Jesus for us this Advent remains a matter of life or death for us all. We can choose to follow Jesus, or we can just give up, or block it all out once more.

This Advent, rise to the challenge. Though the issues might seem to get old, the challenge never gets old. It is always new because every day of our life is new. Let's convert, let's do penance, let's rise and walk up the spiral staircase with the help of the grace of God. Let's not get lulled into to a sense of the all too familiar and try to stand still. It only leads to falling back down the stairs. It leads to sin, sadness, and spiritual death. Jesus wants us to have life and have it abundantly. This Advent let's choose life, and live. God grant you a most blessed Advent this year!

In Jesus,

John Michael Talbot

Rebuilding the Church

A recent post on John Michael Talbot's blog hit home. I am increasingly concerned about the "commercialization" of Christianity. I long for the day that our message and image in the public eye will no longer be characterized by our seemingly incessant greed for money, fame and influence; but rather our love, devotion and passion for Jesus and people. JMT writes:

Luke 19:45-48

My house is meant for a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves. v. 46

The Jews had externalized and commercialized even their place of prayer, so they had come to externalize and politicize God’s peace. They had missed the internal, so God would never give them the external.

FIRST SEEK INTERNAL GRACES

Ironically, God will give external graces if we first seek the internal ones. "Seek first his kingship over you, his way of holiness, and all these things will be given you besides." But we must also have a detachment from the external before we can find the internal. "You cannot give yourself to God and to money. What man thinks is important, God holds in con­tempt." Or, "If anyone comes to me without turning his back on his father and mother, his wife and his children, his brothers and sisters, indeed his very self, he cannot be my follower." Yet he goes on to say there is no one who has given these things up "who will not receive in this present age a hundred times as much - and persecution besides - and in the age to come, everlasting life."Without internal prayer we can never have lasting peace. We cannot have real prayer with such a gross commercialization of spirituality.

REVERE OUR HOUSES OF PRAYER

And what about today? Never before has there been such an overflowing torrent of Jesus "junk." Today we must return to a reverential use of our houses of prayer. It is fine to have books available as a ministry and service to the people of God, but commercialization in God’s name will surely bring down God’s wrath!Is our present abundance God’s gracing of externals because we have sought only the internal? Are we truly detached and poor in spirit? Or have we simply set up an abundance of money changers’ tables in the house of the Lord? We cannot have peace until we pray, and we cannot pray without overturning these money changers' tables within our own hearts and souls, as well as within our local house of prayer.

by John Michael Talbot

Here is a link to John Michael Talbot's blog: http://johnmichaeltalbot.blogspot.com/

Love louder than Thunder

When psalms surprise me with their music

And antiphons turn to rum

The Spirit sings;

the bottom drops out of my soul.

And from the center of my cellar,

Love,

louder than thunder

Opens a heaven of naked air.

New eyes awaken.

I send Love's name into the world with wings

And songs grow up around me like a jungle.

Choirs of all creatures sing the tunes

Your Spirit played in Eden.

Thomas Merton. [Selection from] "Psalm" in The Collected Poems of Thomas Merton. New York: New Directions Publishing Co., 1977: 220-221.

A Clean Heart

"The fruit of silence is prayer

The fruit of prayer is faith

The fruit of faith is love

The fruit of love is service

The fruit of service is peace."

- Mother Teresa of Calcutta

The Right Use of Knowledge

I was reminded of the following description of the right use of knowledge by a colleague, Dr. Mara Crabtree, this morning. It is always good and prudent to examine our motives in all that we do.

"There are some who desire knowledge merely for its own sake; and that is shameful curiosity. And there are others who desire to know, in order that they may themselves be known; and that is vanity, disgraceful too. Others again desire knowledge in order to acquire money or preferment by it; that too is a discreditable quest. But there are also some who desire knowledge, that they may build up the souls of others with it; and that is charity. Others, again, desire it that they may themselves be built up thereby; and that is prudence. Of all these types, only the last two put knowledge to the right use" (St. Bernard, Sermon on the Canticle of Canticles).

The Power of Small Things

I have been considering Thérèse de Lisieux's (1873-1897) theology of doing the smallest of things with great love and devotion unto God, as a possible foundational construct in a renewed theology of "redemptive work". It strikes me that the beginning of this exploration must start with the ultimate purpose of all action: love. Thomas Merton puts it as follows:

"We do not exist for ourselves alone, and it is only when we are fully convinced of this fact that we begin to love ourselves properly and thus also love others. What do I mean loving ourselves properly? I mean, first of all, desiring to live, accepting life as a very great gift and a great good, not because of what it gives us, but because of what it enables us to give to others."

How will our perception and practice of work changes when our first and ultimate motive is love?

Picture: Martin Creed, Work No. 567: Small Things.

Small Things with Great Love

Brown's New Book on Hermeneutics

Roger Ebertz, a Christian Philosopher at the University of Dubuque recently published an inspiring and erudite article in the Christian Scholar's Review on the call for Christian scholarship to be Biblically grounded and engaged. Ebertz suggests that Christian scholars should extend the traditional worldview analysis methodology of research, an approach that has mostly become normative amongst Christian scholars, to include a central Biblical hermeneutical component. For Ebertz, Christian scholars carry a double duty in that they should not only be competent in the particular demands of their academic disciplines, but also in appropriate methods of Biblical hermeneutics that fit their field of enquiry. Ebertz's proposal is rooted in the conviction that Christian scholars operate within three defining contexts: (a) a specific social and cultural situation, (b) an academic field governed by specific research agendas and methodologies, and (c) a particular faith tradition. His proposal consists of an integrated research approach where these three contexts work together in the pursuit of truth: "The Christian scholar, then, seeks both to interpret her subject matter and to understand the Bible as it speaks to her and to her work as a scholar in the light of historical situation, her community of scholarship and her community faith. Thus the Christian scholar's hermeneutical task is complex. And yet she aims at the unity of understanding that affirms the sovereignty of one Lord."

Christian scholars looking at the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures often make interpreting mistakes because they do not consider the historical and cultural distance between themselves and the authors and audiences of those texts. Biblical hermeneutical methodology assists the serious interpreter of the Bible in reading these texts in an integrative, reflective, analytical, and yet still devotional manner. These models of interpretation are drawn from the conviction that what is needed is a multi-disciplinary approach to reading the Scriptures that keeps in mind at minimum the literary, social, cultural, historical and theological dimensions of the text and its people. Unfortunately, most Christian scholars have not been exposed to contemporary hermeneutical methodology and may not know where to start. This is where Jeanine Brown's new book on Biblical hermeneutics can be of great assistance.

Jeannine Brown's basic introduction to the discipline of hermeneutics offers a clear and practical interpretative model that highlights the communicative nature of the text of the Christian Scriptures. By rooting this communicative model in the theological concept of the incarnation, Brown bridges the world of systemic theology and Biblical studies and by doing so, makes a significant contribution to the various current theories and debates on the nature of the text and the discipline of interpretation. Brown's inspiring and clear approach makes complex theories of interpretation simple while at the same time communicating the wonder and power of the "Divine breath" of inspiration in the text of the Holy Scriptures.

Brown's book is divided into two parts: the first part lays a thorough theoretical foundation on the communicative nature of Scripture, whilst the second part offers practical guidelines for those desiring to read and understand Scripture as God's ever-present communicative act. Brown does not steer away from contentious or difficult issues in discussing the art of interpretation, but translates them for the reader into simple and palatable concepts, whilst pointing the way towards erudite and practical interpretative strategies. The book does suffer at times from an absence of in-depth discussions on the recent developments in socio-rhetorical and semiotic readings of Scripture, but makes up for this lack in its well structured treatment on the quest to derive meaning from a communicative reading of the text.

"Scripture as Communication" is a highly accessible book that lay readers, students, ministers and scholars alike will find to be rich in interpretive theory yet practical in its application. Brown's book makes an important and timely contribution in our common quest to understand and apply the message of Scripture to our own research.

It is my growing conviction that a clearer understanding of the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures holds the promise of a resurgence of moral and values-based approaches to leadership today. Only when our understanding and practice of leadership is utterly informed and fueled by the Word of God will we have the kind of Christian leadership that will change the world. Jeanine Brown's inspiring book is a good place to start in our common quest for the recovery of authentic Christian scholarly leadership.