Weekly essays on the lectionary, along with reviews of poetry, books, film and music. Updated every Monday. All free all the time. Readers in countries Sep 22, · The State of Texas v. Jesus Christ. Texas’s refusal to allow a pastor to pray while holding a dying man’s hand is an offense to basic Christian values Sep 12, · Jesus’s love provokes its recipient: Mark’s Gospel tells us that Jesus “looks at the young man and loves him.” This is the tenderness Merton appreciates in his prayer, the loving gaze of a God who cherishes our earnestness, our fervor, our trying
Journey with Jesus - Current Essay
Lectionary Readings Revised Common LectionaryYear B. It goes like this:. My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that Essay on jesus am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you, essay on jesus. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, essay on jesus, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. In part, I love this prayer for its honest articulation of lostness, ignorance, hope, and desire.
That is to say, I see the interplay between divine steadiness and human weakness. The man recognizes his need. His possessions and pieties notwithstanding, he is consumed with a longing for more.
And yet. What do we dream of? What do we seek? What are we hungry for? What is that? I pray, I read the Bible, I go to church, I tithe. Merton prays for ongoing spiritual desire. He prays for discomfort.
For dissatisfaction. Merton asks for the hunger that compels a rich young ruler to sprint to the source of life and kneel there in supplication. What a essay on jesus thing to pray for.
Can we pray for it, too? Even as it offers unconditional welcome, it also offers mind-boggling challenge. Imagine how easy it would be for Jesus to secure his new convert by mincing words and tamping down expectations: "What?
You've already followed the commandments for years? Then you must know who I am, because only God is good! I'm so impressed! You're in! Or at the very least, Jesus could work in increments, easing his new convert into the values of God's kingdom: "How about you write a small check to charity this year?
Nothing scary, nothing that will break the bank. Just a token? But no. For Jesus, love is surgical; it cuts in order to heal. Precisely because he loves the young man so much, essay on jesus, Jesus tells him the truth. It leads, it redirects, it corrects, it halts. Can essay on jesus bear the loving gaze of this provocative God? The seeker walks away, and love lets go. What I find shocking is that Jesus lets him. What do I hold so sacred? What do I consider so untouchable?
What do I least consider a potential obstacle in my relationship with God? We can speculate endlessly on why the rich ruler makes the decision he makes. I imagine he experiences shock because he considers essay on jesus wealth a reward from God, not an obstacle standing between him and God. How terrible to be told that his best credential is in fact a liability and a burden. How frightening to discover that money is never a blessing if we feel a need to hoard it.
But not hungry enough. In the last section of his prayer, Merton chooses the hard road of discipleship because he trusts that God will accompany him on that road, guiding him through shadow, suffering, loss, and death. He relinquishes control because he cherishes the company and the friendship of the divine. Of friendship.
Of shared life. And Jesus lets him. He lets him because that is the terrible and beautiful requirement of love. Love lets go.
Love bides its time. Love hopes in absence, in shadow, essay on jesus, in interims of silence. Lostness, ignorance, hope, and desire. God sees, essay on jesus, knows, and names them all, and offers to accompany us as we navigate our way between them essay on jesus through them. May we consent to be held in the pleasure and the protection of this God. Debie Thomas: debie. thomas1 gmail. Image credits: 1 Wikipedia.
org ; 2 Orthodox Christianity ; and 3 CityLightNYC. About JwJ Gallery Search Share Print Translate Donate. Journey With Jesus A Weekly Webzine for the Global Church, since What Must I Do? For Sunday October 10, Lectionary Readings Revised Common LectionaryYear B AmosPsalm Hebrews Mark The Journey with Jesus. A comprehensive index of our lectionary essays may be found at Essay Index.
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