Archives by: Gary Hoag

“Just as that which is lukewarm induces vomiting in those who take it in, so also he says, I will vomit you out through the word of my mouth into eternal destruction, as though you were rotten food. For mixing together the seed of the divine word with the thistles of wealth, you have become unaware of your poverty in spiritual matters and of the blindness of your spiritual eyes and of your nakedness in good works.

If you wish to be rich, he says, with a zealous intent and a willing heart obtain from me, who makes rich, gold that has been purified in fire, namely, the word of teaching that is made brilliant in the fire of temptations. And through this you will have in your heart a treasure that is secure, and you will wear the bright stole of virtue, through which the nakedness, which has come to you by sin, will be clothed. The salve is certainly poverty. For, if “gifts make blind the eyes who see,” then certainly that which is incorruptible will open them.”

Andrew of Caesarea (7th century) in Commentary on the Apocalypse 3.16-18. MTS 1 Sup 1.43-44, cf. Sirach 20:29.

“The will of God is to believe sincerely in him and to do virtuous deeds and to contend for them even to the point of blood when the time calls. For such people receive what is promised.”

Photius (820-891), Patriarch of Constantinople in Fragments on the Epistle to the Hebrews 10.36, NTA 15:650.

“The gospel of grace will turn anyone who truly believes it into a person who does justice for those in need. Doing justice includes not only the righting of wrongs, but also generosity and social concern, and a willingness to live a more modest lifestyle in order to be generous to the church and to the poor. This kind of life reflects the character of God.”

Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in the Redeemer Report dated November 2010, 2.

Christ Jesus my Lord
Center of all the universe
totally God, eternal
became one of the created
bound by a human body
living the life of a servant.

My heart is full of gratitude
Jesus change my attitude
to be the same as Yours.

Christ Jesus my Savior
Redeemer of all that is dead
Redeemer of all that is lost
Redeemer of all that is forgotten
by humbling Yourself in obedience
that led to Your death on a cross.

My heart is full of gratitude
Jesus change my attitude
to be the same as Yours.

Christ Jesus my Shepherd
giving Your life for the sheep
for the joy set before You—
to sit at the right hand of Your Father
to see multitudes receive salvation
to have Your blood be the cleansing flood.

My heart is full of gratitude
Jesus change my attitude
to be the same as Yours.

Christ Jesus, Faithful Son of God
suffering as an example to us
having grace toward Your tormentors
entrusting Yourself to Your Father
healing us with Your wounds
the Overseer of our souls.

My heart is full of gratitude
Jesus change my attitude
to be the same as Yours.

Christ Jesus, Alpha and Omega
Son of God, holy and true
the Amen, ruler of all creation
sitting on Your throne in splendor
all of heaven singing Your praises
the Lamb of God reigning in glory.

Overflowing gratitude
open to Your magnitude
take me, I am Yours.

Philippians 2:5-8; Hebrews 12:2; 1 Peter 2:20-25; Revelation 2:1-3:14.

“If then you ask assistance for the support of the spread of Christianity, urge no motives but Christian motives; employ no arguments but Christian arguments. “He that giveth, let him do it with simplicity.”—Rom. xii, 8. Let him do it simply because he ought to—and not partly because by doing it he can enjoy good company, and sit down to a sumptuous repast.”

Benjamin T. Roberts (1823-1893) Founder of Roberts Wesleyan College, in Fishers of Men (Rochester: G.L. Roberts, 1875) 250.

“Some communities start by serving the poor. When they begin, their members are full of generosity—though sometimes a bit aggressive in respect of the rich—and have a rather utopian ideal. Gradually, they discover the need for prayer and an inner life; they realize that their generosity is being burned up and that they are in danger of becoming a collection of hyperactives who put all their energy into external things.

Other communities start with prayer—like many communities of the charismatic renewal. But gradually they discover the need to serve the poor and to develop real commitment to them. Opening to God in adoration and opening to the poor in welcome and service are the two poles of a community’s growth, and signs of its health. And the community itself must grow towards a stronger sense of its own identity, like a body in which every member can exercise its gift and be recognized for it.

If those communities that started by serving the poor do not discover the deepening of prayer and the bonds of love flowing into celebration, they risk becoming a militant group struggling for justice. If those communities that started with prayer and adoration do not discover the waters of compassion flowing from them upon those in pain, they risk becoming legalistic and sterile.

The three elements of community—prayer, or communion with the Father through and in Jesus, presence and service to the poor, and the consciousness of being bonded in a single body—are always necessary for a community to be healthy and to grow. Jesus called each apostle into a personal relationship of love with him, then he bonded them together in community and then he sent them out to announce good news to the poor.”

Jean Vanier in Community and Growth (Trowbridge: The Cromwell Press, 1989) 141-142.

“Man finds it hard to get what he wants, because he does not want the best; God finds it hard to give, because he would give the best, and man will not take it.”

George MacDonald (1824-1905) in Unspoken Sermons: Series I, II, and III (Nu Vision Publications) 164.

“You say, ‘If I had a little more, I should be very satisfied.’ You make a mistake. If you are not content with what you have, you would not be satisfied if it were doubled.”

Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892) in Spurgeon at His Best: Over 2200 striking quotations from the world’s most exhaustive and widely-read sermon series (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1988).

As we concentrate on the birth of Christ and the gift of God the Father that came to the world so long ago, we may begin to see the need each of us has to form the gift of ourselves as a perfect response in love to the love of God. A love that never stops giving and never ends. This is what Advent should be.

Fr. Stan Corcoran in blog on the First Sunday of Advent 2010 at http://frstancorcoran.blogspot.com/2010/11/first-sunday-of-advent.html

“Our Christian life should be a glad feasting on the abundance God provides.”

Rev. R. Tuck in The Pulpit Commentary on Isaiah 25.