Give thanks for God's Divine Mercy!

I was watching an interview with Ralph Martin of Renewal Ministries this morning. I was reminded of how grateful I should be for the divine mercy of God. With this as a focus, I read again the scripture passage this morning taken from Psalms 31-32, Acts 23 (I have discovered that the biblegateway.com also has the NRSV of the Catholic Bible!).

In Psalm 31, King David was in great distress because of the enemies without and the turmoils within. This is how he described them:

• His enemies were "those who pay regard to worthless idols" (verse 6)
• They were adversaries who scorned him and abandoned him (verse 11), and who intended to harm him (verse 13)
• He felt ashamed and trapped and in need of a refuge (verses 1&4)
• His grief and sorrow were eating up his body and soul (verses 9&10)
• He felt broken and lost: "I have passed out of mind like one who is dead; I have become like a broken vessel." (verse 12)

 And this was his resolve:

• He chose to take refuge in the Lord (verse 1); He is the rock of refuge and a strong fortress (verse 2). I have the image of him cuddled up tightly in God's strong arms.
• He appealed to the great Name of God (His nature to protect His own) "You are indeed my rock and my fortress; for your name’s sake lead me and guide me," (verse 3). God will do it - He will not share His glory with others!
• He committed himself to the faithful Redeemer: "Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God." (verse 5). God knows what is best for him. 
• Praise Him for His steadfast love! O praise HIM! "I will exult and rejoice in your steadfast love," (verse 7); "O how abundant is your goodness that you have laid up for those who fear you, and accomplished for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of everyone!" (verse 19); "Blessed be the Lord, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me" (verse 21).
• Love Him and be faithful to Him! "Love the Lord, all you his saints. The Lord preserves the faithful, but abundantly repays the one who acts haughtily." (verse 23)
• Be strong! "Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord." (verse 24)

Psalm 32 is really a continuation of Psalm 31 in that King David resolved to:

• celebrate God's mercy (His forgiveness of his sins): "Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit." (verses 1&2) 
• confess and not to keep silence (verses 3-5) and the faithful will be preserved! "You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with glad cries of deliverance." (verse 7). This beautiful verse reminded me of the hymn "You are my hiding place".
• The deliverance is real! "Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart." (verse 11)

"Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Ephesians 5:15-20)

Here is another good hymn to listen to: Give thanks (with a grateful heart)

David and Paul and the Suffering of the Righteous

I am continuing the theme on suffering. In today's scripture reading (Psalms 13-15; Acts 19) King David poured out his heart to God when he faced his enemies who seemed to have the upper hand. Listen to his prayer:
"How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
    How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
    and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
    How long will my enemy triumph over me?
Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
    Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
    and my foes will rejoice when I fall." (Psalm 13:1-4)

That's the beauty of the Psalms - such brutal honesty! If I can't be honest with my inner turmoil before Jesus, who else can I turn to? Like Simon Peter, I find these words truly precious in times of troubles:
"From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”" (John 6:66-69)

Likewise Saint Paul met with resistance and death threats everywhere he traveled. Here in the great city of Ephesus after some initial success of leading both Jews and Greeks to the Lord, then a riot started. And yet, Paul remained committed to reach the lost souls. "After all this had happened, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. “After I have been there,” he said, “I must visit Rome also.”" (Acts 19:21). Paul knew the dangers that lied ahead (see Acts 20:13-38). We know that's where Paul became a martyr.

So this is what I learned today. When I suffer, do I turn away from the Lord? Or do I all the more commit to trusting Him - "But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the Lord’s praise for he has been good to me." (Psalm 13:5-6)
Instead of wallowing in self-pity I must remain firm in obeying His command to reach out to others in His Name. The Lord is not finished with me yet. Towards the end of Paul's life, he wrote to encourage His son (in the Lord) Timothy:
"Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing."
(2 Timothy 4:8)
Let me keep my eyes focused on the end goal - to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. (Westminster Shorter Catechism)

Elihu and the Suffering of the Righteous

This is the first week of my retirement! I hope to be able to spend more time on scripture reading and prayer. I have also developed an interest on the theology of suffering. Lord Jesus, help me to be prepared for what is to come! Lord, help me to offer up all my suffering for your glory!

Today's scripture reading is on Job 36-37 (the last two chapters of the 6 chapters devoted to Elihu). Elihu is the young man who came on the scene after Job's three other friends had an unsuccessful debate with Job on explaining his suffering. Elihu presented a fresh explanation and rebuked Job for his wrong perception of God through his suffering. John Piper (Desiring God) had a lovely sermon on this. He explained Elihu's view on suffering:

"At least part of Elihu's understanding of why the righteous suffer has to do with this residue of pride in the life of the righteous. We see the first explanation of his view in 33:14–19. He describes two ways God speaks to man: by his word and by suffering. These were the days before Scripture, so the word of God takes the form of visions and dreams. He says,

For God speaks in one way, and in two, though man does not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls upon men while they slumber on their beds, then he opens the ears of men, and terrifies them with warnings, that he may turn man aside from his deed, and cut off pride from man; he keeps back his soul from the Pit, his life from perishing by the sword.
Man is also chastened with pain upon his bed, and with continual strife in his bones.

So Elihu puts the pain of sickness and visions of the night side by side as two ways that God speaks to man for his good. Verse 17 describes God's purpose: "That he may turn man aside from his deed, and cut off pride from man, and keep back his soul from the Pit."

In other words God's purpose for the righteous in these dreams and in this sickness is not to punish but to save—to save from contemplated evil deeds and from pride and ultimately from death. Elihu does not picture God as an angry judge but as a Redeemer, a Savior, a Rescuer, a Doctor. The pain he causes is like the surgeon's knife, not like the executioner's whip."

"Elihu's teaching, then, is that affliction makes a righteous person sensitive to his remaining sinfulness and helps him hate it and renounce it. Suffering opens the ear of the righteous (v. 10). The psalmist said the same thing in Psalm 119:71, "It was good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes." There are dimensions of godliness that the righteous can only learn through affliction.

So the new slant that Elihu gives is that the suffering of the righteous is not the fire of destruction but the fire that refines the gold of their goodness. For the righteous it is not punitive but curative."

"The suffering of the children of God is not the firm application of a principle of retributive justice. It is the free application of the principle of sovereign grace. Our Father in heaven has chosen us freely from before the foundation of the world, he regenerated us freely by the work of the Holy Spirit, he justified us freely through the gift of saving faith, and he is now sanctifying us freely by his grace through suffering according to his infinite wisdom."

John Piper then finished his sermon by quoting these previous verses from scripture:
"In this you rejoice, though now for a little while you may have to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold which though perishable is tested by fire, may redound to praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ."(1 Peter 1:6–7)

"Our Father disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant; later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." (Hebrews 12:10–11)

"We were so utterly, unbearably crushed that we despaired of life itself. Why, we felt that we had received the sentence of death; but that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead." (2 Corinthians 1:8–9)

"Therefore, count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." (James 1:2–4)

Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?

Finally said goodbye to my colleagues yesterday after 19 years of service at the university. Here I am sitting in a quiet Tim Horton's sipping my morning tea in Drummondville, Quebec, on my way to Matapedia for a week long cycling trip along the beautiful North Shore of New Brunswick. How blessed I am!

The scripture reading this morning was from Job 1-2 and Acts 7. The title of this blog came from Job 1:10 when Job answered his wife's critique in response to the calamities that has fallen on him and the family. His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!” (Job 1:9) No doubt there was great anguish as she experienced not only the lost of her 10 children and all the wealth that once belonged to the family, and now having to watch her husband suffer such severe physical pain. What she was saying was essentially blaming God for all that had happened. She couldn't understand why her husband was still maintaining his integrity - in this case, his utter respect and trust in God's faithfulness and provision. She couldn't quite accept the apparent discrepancy between what he believed and evidence that suggested otherwise. She demanded that he should curse God and die. That's such a typical response from human! Get even with God! If we are not more powerful than He we can at least show God the one power we have - our ability to tell God how we feel about Him, and the choice to control our own life, and death.

 Job's response was profound and it will take me a whole lifetime to learn. He believed that both good and trouble could not happen without God's sovereign control. He chose to continue to trust God with his life, believing that all he knew about God (His wonderful love and provision) would one day be revealed. That gave him the strength to endure the suffering.

My wife has been encouraging me to look into the Theology of Suffering. We talked about how important it is to understand not only the certainty of our future suffering, but also how potentially blessed we will be and to others when that happens. She found these videos which have been very helpful: "'Offer it Up': Opportunities to Grow in Holiness" and "When You Suffer: Biblical Keys for Hope and Understanding" both by Jeff Cavins

In Acts 7, St. Stephen presented his  defense to the Sanhedrin. He basically summarized God's redemptive plan for the Jewish people but pointed out that they had consistently rebelled against Him and finally nailed Jesus on the cross: “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.” (Acts 7:51-53)
Such boldness! The Sanhedrin represented the religious authority of his day. Most people would worry even to be excluded by such an authoritative group. Stephen knew the cost of telling the truth. He knew some suffering would be involved (physical as well as social) but he was martyred because of it! Just before he was stoned to death he said/prayed these two remarkable things:
(1) “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” - Stephen looked to who and what was ahead and was able to endure the pain. This is exactly what Jesus did: " fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2)
(2) “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”- before he breathed his last, Stephen asked for God's forgiveness for his enemies. Wasn't this exactly what Jesus said before He breathed His last? "Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”" (Luke 23:34)

Oh Jesus, you have taught us many things but suffering is one you not only taught us, but you demonstrated it to us. Help me see your glory! Help me learn from you (and St. Stephen, St. Paul, and so many others throughout history)!

" I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner (fellowship) in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it." (Philippians 3:9-11 MSG)

The Joy of the Lord is our Strength

This famous quote is from Nehemiah 8:10, found in today's scripture reading (Nehemiah 7-9 and Acts 3). The context is that God's people, who was released from captivity in Babylon, had finally finished rebuilding the walls surrounding Jerusalem. Ezra had earlier rebuilt the Temple (known as the Second Temple) in Jerusalem. Both of these mammoth projects were done under extreme hardship and danger (I had previously written a reflection on the books of Ezra and Nehemiah). So it called for a big memorial event, where all the returned exiles gathered together at the Water Gate (some 50,000 people, a remnant compared to the peak population during King David's time) and Ezra the teacher of the law was asked to read from the Book of the Law of Moses. When the people heard God's Word afresh, they recognized how their disobedience to the Lord had led to the demise of their great kingdom. They couldn't help but wept. So Ezra and Nehemiah admonished them:
“Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10)

The reason for their joy? "Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them." (Nehemiah 8:12)
It is worth noting that "From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great." (Nehemiah 8:17) - this is in reference to the time when Joshua took Israel into the promised land (after wandering in the desert for 40 years!). They conquered their enemies and took possession of a land flowing with milk and honey. Yet even their joy could not be compared with the joy of this remnant who had now once again heard God's Word and understood it!

Following such a joyful celebration they gathered together again to remind themselves the story of God's great redemption and their rebellion (Nehemiah 9) and concluded: "But see, we are slaves today, slaves in the land you gave our ancestors so they could eat its fruit and the other good things it produces. Because of our sins, its abundant harvest goes to the kings you have placed over us. They rule over our bodies and our cattle as they please. We are in great distress." (Nehemiah 9:36-37)

Likewise, St Paul also reminded us from Israel's history (1 Corinthians 10): "These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come." (1 Corinthians 10:11)

Now moving on to Acts 3. St Peter met a lame beggar at the temple gate called Beautiful (this is still the Second Temple which Ezra rebuilt and King Herod the Great greatly enlarged some 400 years later). When the beggar asked Peter for money he said these famous words: “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” (Acts 3:6) and he instantly healed the man who had been lame for likely a long time (the bible did not say how long except that he was over 40 years old and had been known to a lot of people who saw him begging at that temple gate). What was shocking was the way Peter spoke up for Jesus so courageously when he had to explain to the astonished spectators (at the Solomon's Porch) what had just happened. Wasn't this the same Peter who denied Jesus 3 times? Once again St Peter reminded the people the great redemptive story of the same God, who delivered them from slavery in Egypt and gave them the Promised Land, had given them His own Son Jesus, whom they rejected and killed:
"The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see." (Acts 3:13-16)
"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. " (Acts 3:19-20)

And this is the link between the Old and New testament passages read today, and the lesson learned:
The Joy of the Lord is our Strength - comes through (1) accepting the salvation from God through His Son Jesus; (2) repenting of my sin - sin of rejecting Him and deliberate rebellion to follow after idols (the lust of the eyes and the pride of life - 1 John 2:16). The joy and refreshing comes from Jesus, knowing Him and His love for me. And the strength will make a lame man walk and a blind man see. Praise the Lord! Amen! Amen! (Nehemiah 8:5)

End of Life debate - learning from two men who died

I missed my blog last Friday as I spent the weekend attending a very good and timely conference. "In Harmony with Human Dignity" was put on by the Canadian Federation of Catholic Physicians' Societies. The highlight of the conference included the two public lectures delivered by Peter Kreeft. His first lecture titled "Two Philosophies of Human Dignity in Western Culture” and the second lecture titled “Grappling with the Meaning of Suffering Amidst Calls for Euthanasia" underlined the two important biblical teaching essential to the End of Life debate. These lectures should be available in a couple of weeks on the Federation's website.

In today's scripture reading, two men died. Josiah was the last good king of Judah. Wikipedia has a good write up on him. A few points about this man's life and death are worth noting:
(1) "He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left." (2 Chronicles 34:2) David was many generations before him but a record of his devotion to the Lord was passed on from generation to generation. Josiah clearly had good teachers and mentors to remind him of who the Lord was and how he was to behave in the eyes of the Lord. He did so without turning to the right or to the left - totally uncompromising! I too have the scripture and the church to guide me. Help me to live an uncompromising life before the Lord!
(2) "In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David. In his twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of high places, Asherah poles and idols." (2 Chronicles 34:3) So even in his youth (he was eight when he became king so do the math) he began to remove all of means of idol worship in his kingdom. Now many kings had tried to do the same before but he successfully purged his country of high places. The significance of these "high places" was that they were very much ingrained into the culture of his days. There are a lot of similar "high places" in our time - worship of success, beauty, power, comfort and pleasure, and of course autonomy and self-determination, which are the basis of the Euthanasia movement. Oh may God give me the courage to witness against the idols of my time!
(3) "When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his robes. " (2 Chronicles 34:19) Josiah was struck with remorse when he discovered that God's Law had been hidden, not read, and not obeyed for such a long time. The kings before him had ignored the importance of God's absolute guidance for His people. We are witnessing a drop in attendance in most main line churches. The teachings of Scripture are being ridiculed and ignored. Secular laws are being instituted. May God give me the zeal to speak on His absolute and unchanging Law!
(4) "So at that time the entire service of the Lord was carried out for the celebration of the Passover and the offering of burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord, as King Josiah had ordered. The Israelites who were present celebrated the Passover at that time and observed the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days. The Passover had not been observed like this in Israel since the days of the prophet Samuel; and none of the kings of Israel had ever celebrated such a Passover as did Josiah, with the priests, the Levites and all Judah and Israel who were there with the people of Jerusalem. This Passover was celebrated in the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign." (2 Chronicles 35:16-19) The Passover was the single most important event in the history of God's chosen people. It recalled the deliverance of Israel from bondage by God's mighty hand. I must never forget to celebrate God's deliverance in my life. Each Holy Eucharist brings to mind what Jesus had done for me. Celebrate! Celebrate! God is our Redeemer!
(5) Josiah died in battle. I know we peace loving people don't like to think of battles. But there are real spiritual battles happening around us. "For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12) Will I be brave to take on the full armor of God to go to battle? "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes." (Ephesians 6:10-11)

John 19 tells the story of Jesus on trial by Pilate and His crucifixion. Verses 10 and 11 jumped out at me:
"Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”"
Jesus died willingly for my sin and the sin of the world. Our culture says we don't need His salvation. Our culture says we don't need God! Our culture says we have the power (the Physician Assisted Death law!) to free you or to crucify you! I am thankful that Jesus reminded me that they have no power over me if it weren't given to them from above. I must do my part NOT to hand over the control. Life is precious. We are made in the image of God. We may be called to suffer for Christ's sake. May I learn from Paul:
"But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead." (Philippians 3:7-11)

I am the Light of the World

This is the second "I AM" statement in the Gospel of John. I wrote about "I am the bread of life" last week. When Jesus made this declaration, it happened after he saved the life of a woman caught in adultery in the temple courts (John 8). Her accusers brought this woman in front of Jesus to trap Him. They asked Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” (John 8:4-5). It seemed that if Jesus had said anything other than agreeing with them on the death penalty they would accuse Him on teaching against the Law of Moses. Instead Jesus wisely asked them a question: “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7b) Jesus' question seemed to affirm two important principles: (1) The Law of Moses made it clear that the punishment for sin was death; (2) He also knew that we all have sins in our lives. When the woman's accusers heard Jesus, they were convicted of their own sinfulness and left her, starting with the older ones (presumably they lived longer and knew better their own sinful state).

I think Jesus is the answer to every moral question we have! He helps us think through some of the most basic questions about life - who are we, why are we here, where are we going... When we look to Him to find answers for the most difficult questions in our lives He is able to illuminate our hearts and minds and come to the right decision for ourselves. Therefore He is right to say “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12). I have gone through life without any purpose or direction - through spiritual darkness, and Jesus has shown me the way lots of times. I can think of times when I felt discouraged, lost in my self-pitying, carrying the burden of guilt because of my own sins, worrying  about the future, I just went back to Jesus and He comforted me, forgave me of my sins, and gave me hope.

Because of Jesus, I am now also the light of the world:
"You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:14-16). That does not mean I have all the moral answers to the world's problems. But I can point the world to Jesus, who is the true light! Armed by the Holy Spirit I can be part of the solution to a better world. May God be glorified!