Archives by: Gary Hoag

“To do the best things: to pray and fast and engage in works of charity with a close, confined, shut-up heart can never be religion. To feel very free and yet to be very accurate and particular in action; to be the more bound, because we are not bound, and make the greater liberty the motive of the severer discipline, this is the Christian faith. This is the Gospel.”

George Worthington (1840-1908) Episcopal Bishop of Nebraska in Lent: The Holy Season (Washington, D.C.: Neale Publishing Company, 1902) 93.

“The end of Lent is to form habits and make character, and it is misspent if it leaves no mark upon our lives.”

William Croswell Doane (1832-1913), Episcopal Bishop of Albany in Lent: The Holy Season (Washington, D.C.: Neale Publishing Company, 1902) 29.

“The season of Lent gives time for meditation, for reading of God’s word, for prayer, and for deeds of charity and love, and should be welcomed by every Christian heart as one of the dearest resting places of life. That which makes it dearer is that the Church is leading us along the footsteps of our Saviour until, standing at the foot of the cross, we read the infinite testimony of the infinite love of God who “so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Henry Benjamin Whipple (1822-1901) Episcopal Bishop of Minnesota in Lent: The Holy Season (Neale Publishing Company, 1902) 18-19.

“At the Last Judgment I shall not be asked whether I was successful in my ascetic exercises, nor how many bows or prostrations I made. Instead I shall be asked if I fed the hungry, clothed the naked, visited the sick and the prisoners.”

Maria Skobtsova (1891-1945), Russian nun a.k.a. Mother Maria in Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals, 183.

“Fasting means going without things, whether amusements, food, sleep, or selfish ease, so as to have more money for alms, and more time for serious reading and religious meditation, earnest prayer, and the practice of true religion, which is to visit the fatherless and widows, the sick and needy, in their affliction.”

Cortlandt Whitehead (1842-1922) Episcopal Bishop of Pittsburgh in Lent: The Holy Season (Neale Publishing Company, 1902) 63.

“If our God is self-sacrificing and seeks to bless others who have done nothing to merit it, then we should be people who are self-sacrificing and who bless others who have not earned it.”

James Bryan Smith in The Kingdom and the Cross (Downers Grove: IVP, 2010) 21.

“Giver of all good things: make us generous in our giving.”

Taken from Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals, 175.

“Life” and “lifestyle” obviously belong together and cannot be separated. All Christians claim to have received a new life from Jesus Christ. What lifestyle, then is appropriate for them? If the life is new, the lifestyle should be new also. But what are to be its characteristics? In particular, how is it to be distinguished from the lifestyle of those who make no Christian profession? And how should it reflect the challenges of the contemporary world–it’s alienation both from God and from the earth’s resources which he created for the enjoyment of all?

The Evangelical Commitment to a Simple Lifestyle

The new community – We rejoice that the church is intended to be Gods’ new community which exhibits new values, new standards and a new lifestyle.

Personal lifestyle – We lay down no rules or regulations, but in view of the fact that about 10,000 people die of starvation every day, we determine to simplify our lifestyle.

International development – We are shocked by the poverty of millions and resolve to contribute more generously to human development projects. But government action is essential.

Justice and politics – We believe that the present situation of social injustice is abhorrent to God and that change can and must come.

Evangelism – We are deeply concerned for the vast millions of unevangelized peoples. The call to a simple lifestyle must not be divorced from the call to responsible witness.

The Lord’s Return – We believe that when Jesus returns, those who have ministered to him by ministering to the least will be saved, for the reality of saving faith is exhibited in serving love.”

John Stott cites “An Evangelical Commitment to Simple Life-style” in his last book, The Radical Disciple (Downers Grove: IVP, 2010) 64-65.

Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road. Mark 10:46-52

“Mark points out that he throws aside his cloak in order to come to Jesus. As a blind beggar, this cloak was his sole possession. He lived in it day and night. So a disciple needs to be willing to cast everything aside in order to come to Jesus. We cannot let anything get in the way. Because of his response to Jesus’ call, he receives his sight and the gift of salvation itself. Having been touched by Jesus, he now follows him on the way, walking in Jesus’ footsteps as his disciple. What gets in the way of my responding to the call of Jesus?”

Fr. Bill Adams in The Redemptorists of the Denver Province, daily spiritual reflection email on 3 March 2011.

“Through prayer, fasting and almsgiving during this upcoming Lenten season, with God’s grace we can overcome our self-centeredness and become more focused on God, leading us further on the path to holiness.”

Excerpt from blog of Bishop Thomas Paprocki, Bishop of Diocese of Springfield, IL dated February 27, 2011: http://ct.dio.org/bishops-column/text/17-called-to-prayer-fasting-almsgiving-during-season-of-lent.html