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dreamprayact

~ Reflections of a preacher, poet, and contemplative activist

dreamprayact

Tag Archives: Christian life

Generosity and Grace

25 Saturday Aug 2012

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Reflections, Sermon portions

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

Apostle Paul, Christ, Christian life, Divine grace, generosity, Giving, God, Second Corinthians

A monk was out walking one day and saw something shiny on the ground. He bent down to pick it up and found that it was a very valuable, precious gem. So he cleaned it off, put it into his bag, and continued on his way.

A little further along, he met up with a man who asked him if he could spare something to eat. The monk said “Sure” and he opened his bag to get something out. When he did, the man looked inside and saw the gem. He asked the monk, “Could I have that?” and the monk said “Certainly.” The man took the gem and went on his way.

Later the man came back to the monk and returned the gem to him. The monk was very puzzled and asked him why he was giving it back. And here’s what the man said to him: “What I want is whatever it is that allowed you to so easily part with such a valuable gem, because that is what is most precious.”

The Christian life begins in grace and grows in grace and reaches its final rest in grace. This life, when we have eyes to see and ears to hear, is pure grace. It is God’s gift to each of us, and we do not know how long it will be.

The apostle Paul speaks of grace as God’s generosity to us and our generosity with one another. The basis for all of this is our relationship with Christ. Paul states it beautifully when he writes, “For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9).

This is a powerful Christian affirmation. As we hear the words of Paul we become aware again of what has drawn us to this Christian journey – that Christ has done something for us, indeed he’s done something in us, and we can’t see the world the same anymore.

We can’t turn a blind eye to the suffering in other parts of the world. We can’t pretend that people near to us are without need. We can’t live only for ourselves, because that would deny who we are becoming through Christ.

You and I are called to live generous, grace-filled lives. A generous life is a life that recognizes the poverty in riches, and the riches to be discovered in giving ourselves away. God’s grace, when we truly receive it, inspires us to be gracious to others.

How can there be a limit to our lives when we have been given everything? How can we fail to see the amazing grace that is poured into our lives, bringing us forgiveness, purpose, and peace? How can we not respond with an eagerness to reflect the presence of Christ here and now? “For if the eagerness is there,” Paul writes, “the gift is acceptable according to what one has — not according to what one does not have” (2 Cor. 8:12).

That is all God asks of you and me – not to give until it hurts, but to give until we find our joy overflowing, to give until we experience what grace is all about, to give by sharing Christ’s abundance in a world that tends to see only what is lacking.

Words (c) 2012 Mark Lloyd Richardson

In Tune with the Song

16 Wednesday May 2012

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Sermon portions

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Christian life, faith, First Epistle of John, Great commandments, Music, Rob Bell, Song of life, spirit

Our experience of faith changes as we move through life. It changes as our understanding deepens and allows for more paradox in the fabric of faith. It changes as our eyes are opened to the truly bewildering gift life is and the astonishing lack of control we have over it.

In First John we read: “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith.” (5:2-4)

God-inspired love reaches well beyond our comfort zones and natural boundaries to enable us to greet each person as an image of the Creator. Such love begins in simple obedience to the great commandments – loving God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength, and loving others as we love ourselves.

A few years ago Dallis and I stood in solidarity with a congregation that had publicly stated its inclusive stance toward all people, and was targeted by a hate-filled person as a result. Their pastor later visited him in county jail to tell him that the people of the church were willing to forgive. Sometimes love is not a happy feeling but rather a difficult choice to obey God’s commandment.

The Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard observed, “Christianity is not a doctrine to be taught, but a life to be lived.” Christ teaches us a new way to live, not all bottled up in our self-interest or personal comfort, but moving beyond ourselves to make a difference.

Nicole, a colleague of mine who recently launched a house church with four families, wrote a blog post about the experience of their first gathering. They began by viewing a teaching video by Rob Bell that makes a connection between the Christian life and music, suggesting that following God is about “being in tune with the song.”

Nicole writes, “Most all of us can connect to the idea that when we think of God we hear a song and following God is about learning to be in tune with the song. Jesus shows us what this looks like and following him through living as he did enables us to hear the song and be in tune with the song….

“This is especially important to me because over the years I have been struck by how often people will say they don’t know enough about God or the Bible and will discount their experience of faith, believing that without all the knowledge and background their faith and walk with God is less valid….

“Yet with music, all can enjoy the song…. Everyone can participate in the music and have a valid and real experience of it…. The faith journey is about learning to let go and hear the song, love the song, and live into the song as our text for the night says (John 4: 24, The Message): ‘God is sheer being itself – Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration’” [Nicole Reilly, “House Church Reflection 051112,” othermodels.wordpress.com].

As followers of Jesus we pattern our lives after Christ. Our faith does not mean that we don’t meet opposition or trouble in our lives. Rather the Spirit of this Christ accompanies us even when we face challenges. As we listen faithfully and lovingly to the God who gives us new birth into a living hope we receive the strength to overcome.

When troubles come my way, it helps me to remember that God is at the Center. Then I sense the Spirit that is present in my breathing, the Light that refuses to go out in the darkness, the Beauty that bursts forth in unexpected places, the Love that holds me when I most need it, the Song that sings itself within me! I place my trust in these truths and it gives me courage.

Words (c) 2012 Mark Lloyd Richardson (from this past Sunday’s sermon)
Photos (c) 2012 Dallis Day Richardson

Filled with Songs like the Sea

31 Saturday Mar 2012

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Prayers, Reflections

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

being human, blessed, Christian life, faith, forgiveness, hope, journey toward freedom, Palm Sunday, Passover, prayer, Psalms, thanksgiving, worship

On Palm Sunday, a portion of Psalm 118 is read during worship. For all that God has done in the past, all that God is doing in the present, and all that God will do in the future, the psalmist gives thanks and praise!

It’s very possible that in Jesus’ final Passover celebration with his followers, they sang this psalm in accordance with Jewish tradition. They joined their voices to history’s choir to lift up God’s faithfulness in the past and their confidence in God’s help in the future.

On Palm Sunday, we hear the crowds echo the words of the psalmist: “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord” (Ps. 118:26; Mark 11:9-10). And we hear also Jesus echoing this same psalm, reminding the people that the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone (Ps. 118:22, Mark 12:10). The triumphal procession with palms spread across the road eventually leads to another road, a road of suffering.

God’s enduring love is revealed in the life and death of Jesus, who is the Passover lamb for us in our journey toward freedom. The Christian faith is a “way of life” more than a belief system. Christ initiates a new community in which all are welcome and transformed by grace!

Gary Wilburn says the Christian life is …
“a way of being human in an inhumane world,
of living in love not hate,
of faith not fear,
of hope not despair,
of forgiveness not revenge”
[The God I Don’t Believe In (Stamford, CT: Progressive Pub, 2008), 70].

So we gather in worship, and with the psalmist we say, “O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever!”

Here is a Jewish Passover Prayer that expresses beautifully our thanksgiving to God:

Even if our mouths were filled with songs like the sea, our tongues with joy like its mighty waves, our lips with praise like the breadth of the sky, if our eyes shone like the sun and the moon, and our hands were spread out like the eagles of heaven, if our feet were as swift as the hind, we should still be incapable of thanking you adequately for one thousandth of all the love you have shown us. Amen.

Words (c) 2012, Mark Lloyd Richardson
Photos (c) 2012, Dallis Day Richardson

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