Archives by: Gary Hoag

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:48

“In the pursuit of the perfection of the Father, Jesus’ disciples will encounter a number of everyday concerns that have the potential to deter them from undivided loyalty to the kingdom and its righteousness. The first one he discusses is wealth… The accumulation of wealth for its own sake is deceptive, because one can find in material treasure a false sense of security or an inaccurate assessment of one’s spirituality.”

Michael J. Wilkins in Matthew (NIVAC: Grand Rapids; Zondervan Academic, 2003) 292-93.

My eight-day retreat reminds me to focus on teachings of Jesus that relate to money. The primary text of Jesus on the topic is the Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus calls for perfection, which must be understood as not getting it always right but getting our lives into alignment with God’s way. Are you out of alignment? Do you seek security in wealth? Do you have undivided loyalty? Only you can answer these questions. Do it honestly.

And remember what day it is. It’s Maundy Thursday. It’s the day Jesus washed the disciples’ feet and had the last supper, which we observe to this day. He had an undivided heart, and went to the cross for us. Let’s follow suit. Set aside any thoughts or motives that cling to anything but Him.

Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.” Luke 9:58

“Jesus describes what disciples can expect when he is their example. His situation is worse than that of beasts: foxes and birds have places to stay, but the Son of Man has no home…

‘Homelessness’ has been Jesus’ fate from his birth. A disciple of Jesus must realize that following Him means living as a stranger in the world, because a choice for Jesus is a choice rejected by many in the world. Many will not follow Jesus and will reject His disciples. To be a disciple takes resolve…

What is true of the suffering Son of Man is true of His disciples. To live ‘rejected’ and ‘homeless’ means to trust God and know that one’s home is with Him. There is a deep note of pathos in Jesus’ remark. The disciple must realize that the choice to follow Jesus is not an easy one.”

Darrell Bock in Luke, Volume 2 (BECNT: Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1996) 978-79. Hard to believe today marks the end of the first quarter of 2021 already. I still have much reflection to do on the word ‘remember’ over the next nine months.

Today’s focus in the eight-day retreat is following Jesus. When I prayed about this idea, the word ‘place’ came to my remembrance. The Son of Man did not have a ‘place’ to lay His head. And in John 14:6 alerts us to good news, that He is preparing a ‘place’ for us. So, to follow Him is to live like a ‘stranger’ here.

This represents a strong otherworldly invitation. Are we willing to live like a stranger in the world because our place, our home, is not yet ready and trusting Jesus to supply it to us at some point in the future? This is not an insignificant idea, for it causes us to live for a competing set of priorities than most people.

Bock notes that the pathway is choosing rejection and homelessness, believing that in following one has acceptance and a home with God. The challenge for most everyone is that we want a home here too. Where will we live? We look for a place in terms of locality, and I think He wants us to find our place in community.

Following Jesus is finding new family, awaiting a future home, and realizing that this side of heaven we may not even enjoy the comforts that creatures enjoy. Sit in this idea today and ask God how it should shape your generosity. How should resources you steward be sent on to heaven through giving rather than spent here?

“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’

So he got up and went to his father.“ But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ Luke 15:17-21

“The image of returning is tied to repentance throughout Scripture. The immediate context assumes that the tax collectors and sinners gathered around Jesus because they had repented, and their meals together were celebrations of God’s grace and forgiveness.

Luke’s Gospel highlights that the tax collectors in particular were responsive to the preaching and baptism of John that called for repentance. “He came to himself” must mean that the younger son snapped out of it, and marks the beginning of his repentance.

How deep his repentance runs will only become clear from what he does after being received so generously by his father, but the parable concludes with the homecoming party. The parable’s abrupt ending reveals that it is not about a son’s repentance but about a father’s love.”

David E. Garland in Luke (ZECNT 3; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011) 628.

In my eight day retreat, I am to reflect on death, judgment, and the prodigal son today. In so doing, I am struck with the only right response: repentance. Notice the father’s response to the son’s repentance. The son was “received so generously.”

Personally, I am filled with awe by the compassion of the father. I want God to fill me with such compassion so that I can receive others in their brokenness so generously. And I also realize my own sin and ask God to help me “snap out of it.”

What’s the lesson for each of us? Two times the son exclaimed his unworthiness. It seems that the pathway to receiving compassion in order to dispense it to others is to wake up and abandon our worthiness.

The elder son also exhibits worthiness, which actually distances him from the father. God help us abandon our worthiness and simply learn to receive so that we can be filled with compassion and receive others so generously.

Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’” Matthew 21:12-13

“It is where the trade is being carried out rather than how that is the focus of His displeasure. And that means that the protest is directed not so much against the traders themselves but against the priestly establishment who had allowed them to operate withing the sacred area. Commercial activity, however justified in itself, should not be carried out where people came to pray, and a temple regime which encouraged this had failed in its responsibility.”

R.T. France in The Gospel of Matthew (NICNT; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007) 784.

It is fitting that the eight day retreat calls for confession on Holy Week Monday as it is the day Jesus cleansed the temple. France notes that the cleansing of the temple was sending a message to the religious establishment. The temple was to be a place of prayer, not commercial activity.

Let us draw the parallel to our own lives. We are to be people of prayer who are not preoccupied with commercial activity, which would demonstrate slavery or servitude to money. Our bodies are the temple of God. Our hearts are sacred areas, yet we allow sin to occupy space. So, how do we experience the cleansing of Jesus?

I think we follow the examples of Nehemiah (in Nehemiah 1:5-11) and Ezra (in Ezra 9:5-7). They were ordinary people, a house slave and a teacher, who confessed the sins of their people and included themselves. Let us confess our sins together on behalf of our people wherever we serve to experience cleansing.

For my part, I think of the seven deadly sins of Proverbs 6:16-19 as an outline or guide for prayer. These seven are the things that the Lord hates: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, pride. I also think of 1 Timothy 6:10 which presents greed or the love of money as a root for all manner of evil.

Essentially, in putting the money changers and merchants in the place of prayer, the religious leaders were exhibiting greed or the love of money rather than love of God. Each of us must be temples of God who remain people of prayer rather than people consumed with money which leads to all sorts of vices.

Father, forgive us for our disordered desires. Cleanse us of gluttony and self-centeredness. Free us from greed and the love of money. As we commune with you in prayer remind us that You are all we need. Awaken us from sloth. Rid us of wrath and envy. Wash away our pride. Do this by your Spirit, we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Zechariah 9:9

“The first Prelude is the narrative, which is of three pairs of men, and each one of them has acquired ten thousand ducats, not solely or as they ought for God’s love, and all want to save themselves and find in peace God our Lord, ridding themselves of the weight and hindrance to it which they have in the attachment for the thing acquired.

The second, a composition, seeing the place. It will be here to see myself, how I stand before God our Lord and all His Saints, to desire and know what is more pleasing to His Divine Goodness.

The third, to ask for what I want. Here it will be to ask grace to choose what is more to the glory of His Divine Majesty and the salvation of my soul.

The first pair would want to rid themselves of the attachment which they have to the thing acquired, in order to find in peace God our Lord, and be able to save themselves, and they do not place the means up to the hour of death.

The second want to rid themselves of the attachment, but want so to rid themselves of it as to remain with the thing acquired, so that God should come where they want, and they do not decide to leave it in order to go to God, although it would be the best state for them.

The third want to rid themselves of the attachment, but want so to rid themselves of it that they have even no liking for it, to keep the thing acquired or not to keep it, but only want to want it or not want it according as God our Lord will put in their will and as will appear to them better for the service and praise of His Divine Majesty; and meanwhile they want to reckon that they quit it all in attachment, forcing themselves not to want that or any other thing, unless only the service of God our Lord move them: so that the desire of being better able to serve God our Lord moves them to take the thing or leave it.

Ignatius of Loyola in Spiritual Exercises, Day 4 “Three Pairs of Men: In Order to Embrace What is Best” (Grand Rapids: CCEL) 35.

What would you do if you got 10,000 ducats (gold or silver coin in the Middle Ages)? To answer this question, Ignatius points to three pairs of men.

Would you rid yourself of it in a physical sense to find peace like the first pair of men?

This is letting go of possessions in obedience to Jesus which marks both the pathway of peace and which saves the person who chooses this pathway from death. Because life is not found in the abundance of possessions.

Would you want to let go of it but remain with it though leaving it would be best?

This is the path many take. The driving motivation is “want” and it leads them to  remain with the riches, even though this is not the best state for them. This pair is essentially a slave of “want.”

Or would you get rid of the liking or want of it so that it now longer had power over you?

It seems as I think about attachment on this Palm Sunday that our Lord did not remain attached to the title “King” or any facet of what that could bring Him. He humbled Himself and let go of His wants.

In letting go of any attachments or wants other than what the Father wanted, He was able to find His place and play His role in God’s redemptive story. It seems that’s the best pathway for us to take as well, to find our role in God’s story.

Father, by your Spirit help us attach or want only You and what You desire for us like Jesus. Not our will but Yours be done on earth and in our lives as it is in heaven. Amen.

Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Mark 6:31

“God has called me to this holy retreat to give me an opportunity to reform my conduct by being enlightened in my relations and duties towards Him, and comparing these with my own conduct towards Him and comparing these in the past as unfolded to me through diligent self-examination. To accomplish this, I must look to myself alone, not to others; and I must propose to myself as my rule for making this retreat, the following motto: INGREDI TOTUS; MANERE SOLUS; EXIRE ALIUS—TO ENTER WHOLLY, TO REMAIN ALONE, AND TO COME OUT ANOTHER PERSON.”

John M. David in A Spiritual Retreat of Eight Days (Louisville: Webb and Levering; 1864) 84

It’s an unforgettable experience to do a 3-country, 16-day trip during COVID. I return home feeling both encouraged from seeing how God is at work and overwhelmed by the needs of those I served. I am grateful for the experience, yet absolutely exhausted.

For example, while same-day PCR tests don’t cost much in places like El Salvador or Bolivia, it felt like they extracted my sinus cavity rather than swabbing it. And having worn a mask nearly nonstop on the trip, I am happy to be home to remove it.

Speaking of masks, it was harder than I expected to teach to groups when you cannot see their facial expressions. The saving grace was meals with people. Even during COVID, people take the masks off for meals, and the fellowship was sweet. For most, these were their first meetings and meals out in over a year.

Now I plan to rest, largely speaking, at home and hope to come out another person. What will change? I am not sure really. I just know that I feel weary and reflective. Through self-examination, my hope is to come out transformed.

David suggests eight days. It’s that long until Easter. So, here’s the journey summarized (though I hope to emerge from quarantine with another COVID test before the celebration of the resurrection). Perhaps join me?

Day 1 – Reflect on my attachments. Day 2 – Confess sins. Day 3 – Think about death, judgment, and the prodigal son. Day 4 – Focus on Christ and following Him. Day 5 – Consider the life and teachings of Jesus, especially those related to money. Day 6 – Ponder passion week and Christ’s sacrifice. Day 7 – Contemplate the Crucifixion. Day 8 – Celebrate the Resurrection.

What does this have to do with generosity? Everything. Only when we identify our attachments, surrender them to God with humility, turn to Jesus, and sow His teachings afresh in our hearts, will Christian generosity be born anew in our lives after Easter.

God, make my journey to the cross and the empty tomb be a holy retreat of dilifent self-examination. Amen.

But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 1 Timothy 6:8

“Do not so much regard the fancies of other men, as what indeed you feel yourselves. For the reason of our discontentment many times is rather from the fancies of other men than from what we find we lack ourselves.

We think poverty to be such a great evil—Why? because it is so esteemed by others, rather than that people feel it so themselves, unless they are in an extremity of poverty. I will give you a clear demonstration that almost all the discontent in the world is rather from the fancies of others than from the evil that is on themselves.

You may think your wealth to be small and you are thereupon discontented, and it is a grievous affliction to you; but if all men in the world were poorer than you, then you would not be discontented, then you would rejoice in your estates though you had not a penny more than you have.

Take a man who can get but his twelve pence a day, and you will say, ‘This is but a poor thing to maintain a family.’ But suppose there were no man in the world that had more than this, yea, that all other men but yourselves had somewhat less wages than you, then you would think your condition pretty good.

You would have no more then than you have now; therefore it appears by this that it is rather from the fancies of other men than what you feel that makes you think your condition to be so grievous, for if all the men in the world looked upon you as happy, more happy than themselves, then you would be contented.”

Jeremiah Burroughs in The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment 138.

The hardest part about international travel—especially places that face extreme poverty—is returning to the USA to see how materially blessed I am as compared to people who live in other places. I cannot help but compare situations or be tempted to want the best the world has to offer.

So this experience leads me to a healthy place, I must pause and give thanks for what I have and not what I don’t have, and I must resolve to focus on my stewardship of what I have with my contentment in Christ alone. That’s is my responsibility (and yours too).

Sorry the meditation is posting so late. I’ve been traveling for more than 24 hours with little or no WiFi. I am in Houston. I make it to Denver tonight. I am admittedly weary but I am also more than happy. I am contented because I have experienced the faithfulness of Christ in a profound way.

Generosity depends on that. We can only let go of resources when we know in the depths of our being that God has everything sorted for us, and that he’s positioned us to serve and help sort things for others. Every people group has to realize this and champion the message.

Let me know by way of reply if you’d like a copy of the trip reports from the GTP work in El Salvador, Panama, and/or Bolivia. And say a prayer for a meeting I have this next week seeking grant funding to help Latin Americans develop generosity materials for their own people.

The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

“When any significant change takes place in the moral standards of a community, it is immediately reflected in a general shifting of the meanings of common words.”

Owen Barfield in History in English Words (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1967) 147.

Our discussions have wrapped up in Cochabamba, Bolivia, pictured above from our meeting room at the Fundación APOYO Bolivia office. One thing we discussed, and I hear this in the USA as well, is how Bolivians need to reclaim the meaning of the word “stewardship” which refers to our responsibility before God, not a giving campaign at church.

As Barfield notes, change linked to “the moral standards of a community” which is what we at GTP are promoting with CONFIABLE America Latina, will require people to “shift the meanings of common words.”

This made me think of Jesus who was the Word and who revealed the Father to us. Without His presence, we would not understand the Father or know the meaning of grace and truth. Jesus changed our view of the Father with His visit. Pray with us that our visit to Bolivia changes how influential workers think about stewardship and standards.

Hear our prayer in your mercy, Lord Jesus, and grant negative COVID tests today and safe travel to Paula Mendoza, Ereny Monir, and me, as we have multiple flights over 28+ hours starting this evening.

For those who want to track with us. Paula flies Cochabamba to Santa Cruz (Bolivia) to Panama to Guatemala City. Ereny goes Cochabamba to Santa Cruz to Panama to San Jose (Costa Rica) to Los Angeles. I fly Cochabamba to Santa Cruz to Panama to Houston to Denver. That’s a long time with masks on. God help us.

Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Luke 9:58

“True understanding is unattainable without both love and detachment, and we can only learn to view anything with detachment by comparing it with other things which are both like and unlike it. We cannot understand the present without a knowledge of the past, our native land without having spent some time in a foreign country, our mother-tongue without a working knowledge of at least two other languages. Without such knowledge, our love of ourselves at the present moment, of our country, of our language, remains an ignorant idolatry.”

W. H. Auden in the Foreword to History in English Words by Owen Barfield (Barrington: Lindisfarne, 1967) 8. After reading Chesterton and Lewis, I turned to Barfield, one of Jack’s mates and a keen British philosopher. This statement in the foreword to Barfield’s book caught my attention.

“True understanding is unattainable without both love and detachment.” Sit with that idea for a while.

What came into view for me was our Lord Jesus Christ, traveling light through life. Nothing encumbered him. Love drove him. He left heaven behind and came to earth. He was here on mission empowered by love and exhibiting detachment.

For the rest of us, this beckons us to get out of our comfort zone, travel to a foreign place (or country), lest we remain stuck in ignorant idolatry. The world wants to trap us into thinking we need things to sustain us. Travel does this for me. It reveals my idols.

Strip yourself of earthly security, comfort, pleasures, and possessions. Go to a foreign plance. Arm yourself with love. See what happens. This GTP trip has exceeded my hopes. Until Christ is all you have, you don’t realize He’s all you’ve ever needed all along.

The only way to gain true understanding about anything is love and detachment. It frees you from ignorant idolatry and positions you to live, give, and serve generously. Don’t take my word for it. See for yourself. You don’t figure it out until you live it out.

But now, this is what the Lord says—He who created you, Jacob, He who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1

“Our charity must be a real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which we love the sinner—no mere tolerance, or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment. Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbour is the holiest object presented to your senses.”

C.S. Lewis in The Weight of Glory (New York: Harper Collins, 1980) 46.

While speaking to groups on trips, like this one in Bolivia, I aim to learn everyone’s name as they arrive for a seminar or training. Then, during the session, I call on them each by name. People really appreciate this as a gift. They notice the effort.

I love how Lewis puts it, people are the “holiest object presented” to our senses. Ironically, the most generous gift we can give them, often, is to call them by name in a group. It sends a message: you matter. How can you add this to your generosity?

As my word for the year is ‘remember’ and as this is my first trip of 2021, I am reminded that to remember a person’s name is to treat them as holy and special. How cool is it that we serve a God who summons us and who knows our name!