Jesus

faith that saves from despair

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
Bonhoeffer by AldrianMimi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
 
Lord Jesus Christ,
you were poor and miserable, imprisoned and abandoned
    like me.
You know all human needs;
you stay with me when no one stands by me;
you do not forget me, but look for me;
you want me to know you and to come to you.
Lord, I hear your call and follow.
Help me!
 
Holy Spirit,
give me faith
that will save me from despair and evils.
Give me the love for God and other people
that removes all hate and all bitterness;
give me the hope
that frees me from fear and despondency.
Teach me to know Jesus Christ and to do his will
 
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 1906 – 1945, German  theologian and martyr
 
_______________________
 
 
For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, 
leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 
He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 
When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; 
    when he suffered, he did not threaten, 
    but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.

Continue reading →

you have forgiven me such great sins

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
 
What return shall I make to the Lord 
    for my ability to recall these things with no fear in my soul? 
I will love you, Lord, and thank you, and praise your name, 
    because you have forgiven me such great sins and such wicked deeds. 
I acknowledge that it was by your grace and mercy 
    that you melted away my sins like ice. 
I acknowledge, too, that by your grace 
    I was preserved from whatever sins I did not commit,
    for there was no knowing what I might have done, 
    since I loved evil even if it served no purpose. 
I avow that you have forgiven me all,
    both the sins which I committed of my own accord 
    and those which by your guidance I was spared from committing.

What man who reflects upon his own weakness 
    can dare to claim that his own efforts have made him chaste and free from sin, 
    as though this entitled him to love you the less, 
    on the ground that he had less need of the mercy 
    by which you forgive the sins of the penitent? 
There are some who have been called by you 
    and because they have listened to your voice 
    they have avoided the sins which I here record and confess for them to read. 
But let them not deride me for having been cured by the same Doctor 
    who preserved them from sickness, 
    or at least from such grave sickness as mine. 
Let them love you just as much, or even more, than I do, 
    for they can see that the same healing hand 
        which rid me of the great fever of my sins 
        protects them from falling sick of the same disease. 
 
St. Augustine of Hippo, 354-430
 
_____________________________
 
 
I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;
    he heard my cry for mercy.
Because he turned his ear to me,
    I will call on him as long as I live.

The cords of death entangled me,
    the anguish of the grave came over me;
    I was overcome by distress and sorrow.
Then I called on the name of the Lord:
    “Lord, save me!”

The Lord is gracious and righteous;
    our God is full of compassion.
The Lord protects the unwary;
    when I was brought low, he saved me.

Return to your rest, my soul,
    for the Lord has been good to you.

For you, Lord, have delivered me from death,
    my eyes from tears,
    my feet from stumbling,
 that I may walk before the Lord
    in the land of the living.
 

Continue reading →

Stretch forth Your hand to us

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

Jesus Walks on Water, c. 1684, Ilyas Basim Khuri Bazzi Rahib, Wikimedia Commons

 
O Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior 
Stretch forth Your hand to us who are tossed about in this world 
    as You did to Peter sinking in the sea, 
    and with Your strength fortify us against the devil 
    who fights against us. 
Feed us with Your indescribable wisdom that governs all creation. 
Kind refuge for the storm-tossed, the one true course, 
    show us the way, and therein will we walk, 
    for we have offered our souls unto You.
Bestow on our foolishness Your spirit of true understanding. 
Bless our every work with the breath of Your greatness, 
    that at all times guided and sustained by Your Holy Spirit 
    we may in all things accomplish Your holy and all-perfect will.
 
Sophrony the Athonite, 1896-1993, Russian-born Orthodox Monk who lived 
 
________________________
 
 
Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 
When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. 
    “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
But Jesus immediately said to them: 
    “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
    “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
    “Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 
But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, 
    “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.
    “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

Continue reading →

Jesus, Lord of Salvation

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
 
 
How is it, dearest Jesus, 
    that you graciously reached down to visit your chosen, 
    even so long before your time on earth? 
To tell your people that your thoughts were good, and not evil?
 
When you appeared to Joshua in human form 
    as Captain of the Lord’s host, 
he instantly knew your glorious character as Mediator, 
    and fell to the earth in adoration.
 
Hail then, you almighty Lord, you Captain of the Lord’s host,
    and of my salvation! 
You have entered the holy war and led captivity captive.  
You have fully conquered Satan and sin, and death, and hell, 
    for your people.
 
And you will surely conquer all those tremendous foes of ours, 
    in your people, and bruise Satan under our feet shortly. 
Indeed, dear Lord, you have already brought them under, 
    for by your sovereign grace in the hearts of your redeemed, 
    you have made your people “willing in the day of your power.”
 
By the sword of your Spirit, you have convinced my soul of sin, 
   and by the arrows of your quiver, 
    you have wounded my heart with deep contrition for sin. 
Lord, I fall before you, as your servant Joshua did, and worship you.
 
And with all the church of the redeemed, 
    both in heaven and earth, we cheerfully confess  
  “that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” 
Amen!
 
Robert Hawker, 1753-1827, Anglican Priest
 
_____________________
 
 
When Joshua was near the town of Jericho, 
    he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him 
    with sword in hand. 
Joshua went up to him and demanded, “Are you friend or foe?”
“Neither one,” he replied. “I am the commander of the Lord’s army.”

At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence.

“I am at your command,” Joshua said. 
“What do you want your servant to do?”

Continue reading →

forgiveness that recreates

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
image, Rebecca Kennison, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
 
 
Jesus’ prayer was, ‘Father, forgive them,
they know not what they do.’
A prayer born in death, writhing with pain.
A prayer risking faith, facing the sorrow.
A prayer living in hope, seeing the future.
 
My prayer was, ‘God, how can I forgive them?
They do know what they did.’
A prayer saying, ‘ It still hurts.’
A prayer wanting vengeance.
A prayer seeking direction.
 
My prayer became, ‘God, help me forgive them;
they know what they did.’
A prayer saying, ‘They were wrong.
A prayer wanting reconciliation.
A prayer seeing courage.
 
My prayer became, ‘God, forgive them;
they know what they did.’
A prayer that wrestled with injustice.
A prayer that acknowledges weakness.
A prayer that found hope in God’s love.
 
My prayer remains, ‘God, forgive them;
they know what they did.’
Because forgiveness recreates life from death.
Because forgiveness cleanses the healing wound.
Because forgiveness builds the bridge of freedom.
 
Jared P. Pingleton, Christian psychologist, author, and speaker
________________________
 
 
Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, 
    and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 
Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, 
    it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.

Continue reading →

Just let me feel Your hands

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
image, James Tissot, via Wikimedia Commons
 
I see Your hands,
not white and manicured,
but scarred and scratched and competent,
reach out –
not always to remove the weight I carry,
but to shift its balance, ease it,
make it bearable.
Lord, if this is where You want me,
I’m content.
No, not quite true. I wish it were.
All I can say, in honesty, is this:
If this is where I’m meant to be,
I’ll stay. And try.
Just let me feel Your hands.
And, Lord, for all who hurt today – 
hurt more than me –
I ask for strength and that flicker of light,
the warmth, that says You’re there.
 
Eddie Askew, 1927-2007, English director of the Leprosy Mission
 
_______________________
 
 
Then people brought little children to Jesus
    for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. 
But the disciples rebuked them.
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, 
    for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 
When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.
 

Continue reading →

reconcile us

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
 
O God, Giver of Life, Bearer of Pain, Maker of Love,
    you are able to accept in us what we cannot even acknowledge:
    you are able to name in us what we cannot bear to speak of ;
    you are able to hold in your memory what we have tried to forget;
    you are able to hold out to us the glory that we cannot conceive of.
 
Reconcile us through your cross to all that we have rejected in ourselves,
    that we may find no part of your creation to be alien or strange to us,
    and that we ourselves may be made whole.
Through Jesus Christ, our love and our friend.
 
Janet Morely, British author, poet, and Christian feminist
 
___________________________
 
 
But now, this is what the Lord says—
    he who created you, Jacob,
    he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
    I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
 
 
For God in all his fullness
    was pleased to live in Christ,
 and through him God reconciled
    everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
    by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.

Continue reading →

prayer to the Holy Spirit

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

image, Serbian Monastery, BrankaVV, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

 
 
Good spirit, Holy giver of life . . .  
We are born again in You, created a second time. 
In You is all knowledge, which illuminates our minds 
    so that we might see the Lord, our Savior. 
In Him is life, wisdom, beyond words, 
    knowledge that surpasses the senses, 
    brightness beyond understanding – all life, all power, all glory – 
for He is the God who carries our burdens and forgives us. 
 
Make me entirely Yours. 
Give me life according to Your will. 
Resurrect those parts of me that sin has brought down. 
Enlighten my heart, which is darkened by evil desires, 
   and bring life to my soul, which is dead in its sin. 
Unfurl the threefold mantle of my passions. 
    Have mercy on me in my poverty. 
    Deliver me from every enemy who, from without or within, rises up over me. 
    Deliver me from every evil thing. 
Forgive my reprehensible deeds, and plant your perfect love inside of me.
 
Write your servant’s name in the Book of Life, 
    and give me a good end so that, as I rise victorious over the devil, 
    I might bow confidently before Your kingly throne. 
Make my heart good soil, Lord, and sow it with good seeds. 
Cover me with Your grace like the morning dew, and harvest that which is good: 
    humble prayer, restraint, watchfulness, and tears. 
 
John the Deacon, 15th Century, Orthodox
 
___________________________
 
 
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, 
    for he will not speak on his own authority, 
    but whatever he hears he will speak, 
    and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 
He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

Continue reading →

Risen and Ascended

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
The Ascension, Rembrandt, via Wikimedia Commons
 
 
Almighty God,
We come today reminded of your greatness and glory,
your sovereign power and eternal purpose
all expressed so wonderfully in Jesus Christ, our Lord,
Risen and Ascended.

We thank you for the wonder of Ascension,
that marvelous yet mysterious moment
in the life of the Apostles
which left them gazing heavenwards in confusion
yet departing in joy.

We thank you for the way that it brought the earthly ministry of Jesus
to a fitting conclusion;
signifying his oneness with you,
and demonstrating your final seal of approval
on all that he had done.

We thank you that through his Ascension
Jesus is now set free to be Lord of all:
no longer bound to a particular place or time,
but with us always—able to reach even to the ends of the earth.

We thank you that through his departing
Jesus prepared for his coming again:
through his Spirit,
his Church,
and his coming again in glory.

Gracious God,
Forgive us for so often failing
to grasp the wonder of Ascension,
for living each day as though it had never been.

Forgive the smallness of our vision,
the narrowness of our outlook,
the weakness of our love,
the nervousness of our witness,
our repeated failure to recognize
the fullness of your revelation in Christ.

Give us a deeper sense of wonder,
a stronger faith,
and a greater understanding of all you have done.

Father God,
Like the Apostles,
we too will never fully understand all Ascension means.
We accept, but we do not fully understand.
We believe, yet we have many questions.
Help us, despite our uncertainty, to hold firm to the great truth
that the wonder of Christ Jesus
goes far beyond anything we can ever imagine,
and in that faith may we live each day
to his glory and honour. Amen.
 
Bryce Calder, minister in the Church of Scotland
 
________________________
 
 
And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, 
he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 
And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, 
behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, 
 
    “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? 
    This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, 
    will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

Continue reading →

An Unfathomable Mystery

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
ecce homo by Honoré Daumier, via Wikimedia Commons
 
 
God, we understand the gospel 
    to be an incomprehensible reversal
    of all righteous and pious thinking.
You declare yourself to be guilty to the world
    and thereby extinguish the guilt of the world.
You yourself take the humiliating path of reconciliation
    and thereby set the world free.
You want to be guilty of our guilt
    and take upon yourself the punishment and suffering
    that this guilt brought to us.
You stand in for godlessness, love stands in for hate,
    the Holy One for the sinner.
Now there is no longer any godlessness, any hate,
    that you have not taken upon yourself, 
    suffered and atoned for.
Now there is no more reality and no more world 
    that is not reconciled with you and in peace.
That is what you did in your beloved Son Jesus Christ.
 
“Behold the man!”
See the incarnate God,
    the unfathomable mystery of your love for the world.
You love human beings.
You love the world – 
    not ideal human beings, but people as they are,
    not an ideal world, but the real world.
 
after Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 1906 – 1945, German  theologian and martyr
 
__________________________
 
 
For this is how God loved the world: 
He gave his one and only Son, 
    so that everyone who believes in him 
    will not perish but have eternal life.

Continue reading →