Meditations

“The unknown author of The Book of Privy Counseling uses a basic analogy to speak of God’s healing activity: “Take the good gracious God just as he is, as plain as a common poultice, and lay him to your sick self, just as you are.”

There are several remarkable themes in this barest of statements. The first is that one does not need to do something special to gain God’s healing blessing. There is no list of preconditions. The second is that God does not need to do something special to be a healing presence. This is the way God is. God is the gracious and generous Healer. Third, take this God as you would medicine. Or in other words, bandage yourself with this God. This has to do with embrace. Take this God fully to yourself. And finally, God’s healing presence is not simply for a particular illness only, but for one’s sick self. Thus, the illness can be spiritual, physical, emotional, relational, psychological.

Clearly in the churches of the twenty-first century, and particularly in the West where so much of God’s action seems to be lost amongst us, we need to recover a vision of this healing God.”

Charles R. Ringma in Hear the Ancient Wisdom: A Meditational Reader for the Whole Year from the Early Church Fathers to the Pre-Reformation, excerpt from the December 4 reading (Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2013).

The Book of Privy Counseling is a famous work from the 14th century written by an unknown author. Therein, the writer (thanks to Ringma) reminds us, especially in our suffering, to take the Lord as a poultice to our pain. A poultice is a balm or paste applied to the body to ease inflammation, help fight infection, or to treat an ailment. After a poultice is applied it is covered with a soft cloth.

Why reflect on God’s generous healing today? I am giving thanks for it in the midst of pain and suffering. I am putting him on “as a common poultice” because my heart aches.

This afternoon is the memorial service for my long-time friend. I just learned that a relative passed away back in Ohio. Two days ago I found out that a friend’s wife has cancer. Of course we are praying for all these loved ones but I want to offer them more, so I say, bandage yourself with God. Put God on whatever ails you, as He is a gracious and generous Healer. Beyond that, I’ve got nothing; but take that, and you’ve got everything you need.

LORD my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me. Psalm 30:2

“Christians living in the wealthiest and most powerful nation in the world, the powerhouse of global capitalism, are daily subjected to the most sophisticated enticements ever devised—enticements not just to buy certain products but to buy into a certain way of looking at and living life. It is a way of life that ascribes inordinate value to the acquisition of material goods and indeed thrives on the creation of the new “needs” and businesses’ cutthroat competition to fulfill those needs. If Christian ethics is following Jesus, it must involve a clear-eyed analysis and finally repudiation of an economic ethos that ratifies the deceitfulness of wealth and makes Mammon the national idol…

I think of lives ruined by this ethos: those who deteriorate into essentially soulless creatures pursuing the latest goodies with zombie-like intensity, going deep into debt to pay for what they do not need; those who have no access to adequate work and no way to provide for their families; those around the world who live in squalor and misery; those whose lives could be turned around by a small commitment on the part of unhappily prosperous people who will never pause from their quest for the latest redemptive gadget to consider the needs of the least of these. This is a condition that has been called “affluenza,” and according to Jesus, it is terminal. Even today, Jesus beckons us instead to seek first His kingdom and it’s justice, for our own redemption and redemption of the world is at stake.”

David P. Gushee in “The Economic Ethics of Jesus” in Faithful Economics: The Moral Worlds of a Neutral Science, ed. James W. Henderson and John Pisciotta (Waco: Baylor University Press, 2005) 129-130.

These words mark the conclusion of Gushee’s essay on “The Economic Ethics of Jesus” and “Amen!” seems like an inadequate response. Consequently, I resolve to model and teach others to adopt an alternative lifestyle: one that is Jesus-centered rather than Mammon-centered, simplicity-driven versus spending-driven, and one that challenges the rich to shift from serving themselves to serving the poor and needy in the name of Jesus.

“The Christian faith calls people to be others-interested as well as self-interested. Christianity validates the possibility of self-giving love. Christians’ primary model for love is the love that they experience from God and a key demonstration of that love occurred in the sacrificial life and death of Jesus. As people experience God’s love, they are called in turn to express that love in their own lives as they deal with others.”

Rebecca M. Blank in “Market Behavior and Christian Behavior” in Faithful Economics: The Moral Worlds of a Neutral Science, ed. James W. Henderson and John Pisciotta (Waco: Baylor University Press, 2005) 42.

What would people say about you? Are you others-interested as well as self-interested? Blank’s words echo the Apostle Paul who likewise proclaimed: Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:4

Yesterday went great! Today I will facilitate more team-building activities here at Asbury Theological Seminary with the advancement staff before heading home later. God help each of us (and the staff of ATS) be others-interested as well as self-interested, so that our lives reflect your sacrificial love.

He was teaching and saying, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’ But you have made it a den of robbers.” Mark 11:17

“The den is a place where robbers retreat after having committed crimes. It is their hideout, a place of security and refuge. Call the temple a robbers’ den is therefore not a cry of outrage against any dishonest business practices in the temple. Jesus indirectly attaches them for allowing the temple to degenerate into a safe hiding place where people think that they can find forgiveness and fellowship with God now matter how they act on the outside.

Jesus’ prophetic action and words attack a false trust in the efficacy of the temple sacrificial system. The leaders of the people think that they can rob widows’ houses (Mark 12:40) and then perform the prescribed sacrifices according to the prescribed patterns at the prescribed times in the prescribed purity in the prescribed sacred space and then be safe and secure from all alarms. They are wrong.”

David E. Garland in Mark: The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996) 439.

I am facilitating a staff retreat for the advancement team at Asbury Theological Seminary today. I love this team because they endeavor to raise up more than gifts for ATS. They seek to raise up givers whose lives reflect obedience to the teachings of Jesus. So what’s that have to do with a house of prayer or a den of robbers?

When ministries encourage people to follow the “prescribed” religious rules and to make gifts to a church or a ministry but fail to address thoughts and actions that don’t reflect alignment with the teachings of Jesus, they may meet funding goals but will not fulfill Christ’s purposes. In such settings Jesus would enter and make the same prophetic announcement as He does in Mark 11:17 above.

My role here in Kentucky in terms from this text is to exhort the ATS staff to build a house of prayer rather than a den of robbers. Father in heaven, through our lives build houses of prayer for your glory. Do this by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us. Hear our prayer in the name of Jesus, Amen.

For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

“Rather than becoming like the world in its opposition to God, believers are called to imitate God’s love for the rebellious world, a love that seeks to draw people back to a loving communion with the Creator. Thus, in 1 John 2:15 we are told not to love the world, but John goes on to explain this “love” is characterized by a selfish desire for “the things in the world,” such as “pride in possessions” (1 John 2:15-16). And that means it is a twisted love, focused on self rather than the other. But this is not how God loves the world in John 3:16, where God gives. The kind of love that must be rejected is the exact opposite of God’s love for the world: God’s love gives, worldly love takes.”

Kelly Kapic in God So Loved, He Gave: Entering the Movement of Divine Generosity (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010) 68. This book is one of the better “theology” books on generosity and required reading for my D.Min. students at Trinity. I re-read an excerpt of it this morning while meditating on God’s great gift to the world: love.

What about the love you and I exhibit in our lives? Do we “draw people back to a loving communion with the Creator” or do we have a “selfish desire” for stuff in this world? Do we give or take?

“God’s love gives, worldly love takes.”

“Generous giving will break the grip of greed on your life. So whether or not you think you have extra, give and give generously. You’ve got to give to the point that it forces you to adjust your lifestyle. If you’re not willing to give to the point that it impacts your lifestyle, then according to Jesus, you’re greedy. If you’re consuming to the point of having little or nothing left to give, you’re greedy. If you’re consuming and saving to the point that there’s little or nothing to give, you’re greedy.

I know, that’s strong. Actually, it’s harsh. But it’s true. Maybe this is a bit hard for you to swallow because you’ve never had a greedy thought in your life. Maybe you feel compassion every time you see someone in need. And in your heart you really do want to help. You want to give, but you can’t. Or you won’t. Why? Because you’re afraid you won’t have enough. But your heart genuinely goes out to those in need. So is it fair to say you’re greedy? Yes. Because greed is not a feeling; it’s a refusal to act.”

Andy Stanley in Enemies of the Heart (Colorado Springs: Multnomah, 2011) 153.

Father in Heaven, by your Holy Spirit help us move from a place of refusing to act to being cheerful distributors of the material and spiritual blessings you so generously lavish on us. Do this we ask in the name of Jesus, Amen.

“Generosity proved to be contagious. Once begun, this charity soon extended beyond the regimental loyalties to include any man in need. Men started thinking less of themselves, of their own discomforts and plans, and more of their responsibilities to others…

It was dawning on us all—officers and other ranks alike—that the law of the jungle is not the law for man. We had seen for ourselves how quickly it could strip most of us of our humanity and reduce us to levels lower than the beasts…

Death was still with us—no doubt about that, But we were slowly being freed from its destructive grip. We were seeing for ourselves the sharp contrast between the forces that made for life and those that made for death.

Selfishness, hatred, envy, jealousy, greed, self-indulgence, laziness, and pride were all anti-life. Love, heroism, self-sacrifice, sympathy, mercy, integrity, and creative faith, on the other hand were the essence of life, turning mere existence into living in its truest sense. These were the gifts of God to men.”

Earnest Gordon in To End all Wars (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002) 105-106.

While I don’t normally feel drawn to read all or portions of books on war, To End all Wars celebrates how the love of God can transform people even in the harshest situations.

Gordon’s testimony reminds me of the Apostle Paul, who despite chains continued a vibrant ministry and even helped the soldiers who guarded him take hold of life.

How are our lives touching those around us? Do we foster anti-life or life? When we allow God’s generosity to flow through us, it is both contagious and life-giving!

“Since God’s sovereign rule and all the benefits for our material needs come from God to us, [Matthew 6:19-34] suggests by implication that we can become part of God’s redemptive force in history by sharing these benefits with those who are in need…Part of the presence of the Kingdom is indeed material blessings. Therefore, we can hardly live under God’s reign, receive His blessings, and not use them to help alleviate the evil of hunger and need elsewhere…Not only do we recognize that all we have comes from God, but we also recognize that sharing that with others to remove their suffering is to defeat the enemy and to “seek the Kingdom…on earth as in heaven.”

Robert A. Guelich in The Sermon on the Mount: A Foundation for Understanding (W Publishing Group, 1982) 373.

As followers of Jesus Christ, are we functioning as “God’s redemptive force” today or do we look no different from the rest of the world?

“Seeing the inbreaking reign of God when most do not, the follower of Jesus is overjoyed at the opportunity to participate in the kingdom’s dynamic advance in every area, economic life included. Living simply, not hoarding wealth, and trusting God to meet basic material needs are practices that free people to offer generosity to and seek justice for and with the poor and hungry and, in general, to follow Jesus. Finally, in turning hearts and eyes in this direction they themselves enjoy the added benefit of a remarkable personal liberation that yanks them from greed, acquisitiveness, and a fruitless worry over treasures that will all too soon pass away.”

David P. Gushee in “The Economic Ethics of Jesus” in Faithful Economics: The Moral Worlds of a Neutral Science, ed. James W. Henderson and John Pisciotta (Waco: Baylor University Press, 2005) 124.

What if submitting to the reign of God and turning our hearts and eyes toward Jesus rather than things is an invitation to “remarkable personal liberation” for everyone? Have you taken hold of it? Or are you filled with “fruitless worry” linked to treasures? Perhaps it is time to revisit the economic instructions of Jesus (cf. Matthew 6:19-34).

“Jesus provided guidance on how to free us from sinful patterns related to our attitude and behavior toward material possessions. Jesus offered a new way of life when he addressed the economic dimensions of their lives. Jesus did not reject personal property but instead rejected selfishness, greed, hoarding, and lack of generosity. Living simply and trusting God to meet our needs frees us to practice generosity and seek justice for the poor and hungry.”

James W. Henderson in “The Christian Perspective on Economic Scholarship” in Faithful Economics: The Moral Worlds of a Neutral Science, ed. James W. Henderson and John Pisciotta (Waco: Baylor University Press, 2005) 13. This is a wonderful scholarly book with economic essays from which I will offer quotes over the next week or so.

Do you think the reason Jesus talked about money so much was because it was the thing people tended to trust in other than God? In that sense, he’s not trying to rob us by instructing us to detach from possessions, but rather, help us. Are we responding in obedience?