Sarah Christmyer's Blog, page 9

IS YOUR BIRTHDAY A MILESTONE OR A MILLSTONE? 5 Reasons to Celebrate Another Year

I sat on the bed while my Great-Grandma braided her waist-length, snowy white hair and piled it like a crown on her head. She turned to me, twinkling: “Now what does today have in store for us?”  Later, as we talked, she turned and patted my knee. “It’s so nice to be with someone my own age!” That’s my last living memory of her. I was 15 and she was 90 years old.

This year I celebrate a milestone birthday, but at times it feels more like a millstone. I’ve been swinging between the two things, both shocked at the toll of years and pleased at the achievement. My mother (like her Grandma!) has always greeted each decade with delight, proclaiming her new age in advance. There’s an age-defying power in that, like the glory of maple leaves that blaze then glow in the fall — or like the grace of winter branches.

Photo by Laura Ockel on Unsplash.

 

So today, let’s celebrate life and the passage of years. Here are five reasons to see age as a milestone, not a millstone (look up the verses in your Bible and meditate on them, or click on the links for a quicker read):

1. You’ve been known and loved from the start!

Psalm 139, especially vss. 13-18


2. You were planned with a purpose

Isaiah 49:1-6


3. Your Creator will stick with you to the end

Isaiah 46:3-4


4. The Lord will renew you and give strength

2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Psalm 73:26


5. Age has its benefits!

Psalm 90:12
Job 12:12
Psalm 91:16

Above all, remember this:

“Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself.” (Philippians 3:20-21)

May the Lord bless you this year and always!

© 2020 Sarah Christmyer

 

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The post IS YOUR BIRTHDAY A MILESTONE OR A MILLSTONE? 5 Reasons to Celebrate Another Year appeared first on Come Into The Word with Sarah Christmyer | Bible Study | Lectio Divina | Journals | Retreat.

OUR GOD CARES: Listen for His Still, Small Voice

Talk about final.

There was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention. (I Kings 18:29, ESV.)

The prophets of Baal had been at it all morning and most of the afternoon, hopping around the altar, calling on their god, slashing and cutting themselves into a frenzy. They begged their god of lightning to send fire to light the sacrifice. But Baal, not being a real god at all but one they built with their hands, did nothing at all.

There was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.

It was the perfect setup, of course, for a dramatic display of Yahweh’s power. Answering Elijah’s prayer, God sent down a blast of fire that ate up the offering and altar, stones, and dust, and lapped up the water in the moat around it. “The Lord [Yahweh] is God!” the people cried. There was nothing else to say.

For there was no voice at all from Baal. No one answered; no one paid attention.

Elijah on Mt Carmel. Church of the Transfiguration, Mt Tabor, Israel. Photo by Sarah Christmyer.

Read the story here in 1 Kings 18

There may not have been much to fear from Baal, but Queen Jezebel was a formidable opponent. She put a price on Elijah’s head. He fled into the wilderness and prepared to die.

What happened next shows that the Lord is much more than a strongman (read it in chapter 19):

He sent an angel to feed and encourage and strengthen Elijah
He took the initiative to go to where Elijah was
He took a personal interest in Elijah’s emotional state, asking twice why he was there


God is nothing like Baal

I love the contrast between God and Baal! This story shows that the false gods of this world – the things we look to for security and strength – cannot hear us at all. We can spend our lives and our substance trying to get the attention of money and power, status and reputation, and so on: but they will not pay attention, or answer, or even speak.

However, our God is a God who loves us. He notices our plight, he reaches out to strengthen and help us, he pursues a relationship with us.

Go into the quiet to hear him

Notice that after helping Elijah to see that he was NOT in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire — three things the prophet might have hoped would take care of his nemesis — God spoke to him in “the sound of a low whisper” (ESV), “a still small voice” (RSV). Maybe he didn’t offer words of comfort as far as the surface meaning of the words went, but I expect what he said was an enormous assurance. He spoke a command that was full of promise. Elijah would do what God had him to do and he would not be alone. He could let go of his fear and let God work.

Take the Word to heart

Do you feel alone in your faith?
Is there something you fear?
Have you been looking for help from someone or something other than God?

Spend time today soaking in 1 Kings 18-19. There’s a lot more there than I’ve written about here! Find a quiet place to read, and ask him to speak. Then listen for the low whisper of God.

God bless you as you spend time in his Word!

 

© 2020 Sarah Christmyer

The post OUR GOD CARES: Listen for His Still, Small Voice appeared first on Come Into The Word with Sarah Christmyer | Bible Study | Lectio Divina | Journals | Retreat.

WHO IS IN CHARGE OF THE STORMS OF YOUR LIFE?

A line of thunderstorms crashed through our area two nights ago. Eighty-mile-an-hour winds ripped trees out of the ground, took down power lines and severely damaged several nearby homes. As I picked my way through the debris that covered our driveway, I kept thinking, “Lord — this could be broken glass and twisted metal, bits of storefront and stolen goods.”

Our yard will heal — but oh, my heart aches for the people whose stores were trashed and looted this week in riots protesting the death of George Floyd, as I ache over decades of injustice in our country. So many neighborhoods and lives laid waste, so many hard-earned businesses gone, so many people discriminated against. Every branch I pick up, I say a prayer for someone who is picking up the pieces of that tragedy, even as I pray for justice and peace.

Image of broken glass by Thorsten Frenzel from Pixabay.

Between COVID-19 … and the rioting … and now this storm, it’s like all creation, nature and humanity together, is crying out in anguish. Wave upon wave, the disasters roll in. The world is looking dark. “Armageddon,” one of my neighbors kept saying. “It’s like Armageddon. When will all this stop?”

We are not the first people to feel like the world is crashing down. I grew up hearing stories of how my grandparents faced war in Sumatra and Shanghai, and how their faith held them steady. As I wrote in Becoming Women of the Word: How to Answer God’s Call with Purpose and Joy:

During the Communist takeover of China in 1949, my mother’s parents were Christian missionaries in Shanghai. They had five young children and were expecting another. Mother remembers huddling with her family in the living room behind the blackout curtains, hearing bombs falling all around them. They listened daily to the radio reports as the Communist forces marched toward Shanghai. Then in the middle of the confusion and threats, a great typhoon hit, putting the attacks on hold. Neither the Communists nor the Nationalists could do anything for days.

Mom tells how her mother, hearing the wind howling in the streets and the rain lashing the windows, ran to the door and flung it open. Her face was radiant with joy. “This is My God’s storm!” she cried. Grandma Helen knew who was in control—of the storm, and of the war. Others might put their trust in one of the political parties, but she knew they were in the hands of the God who rules the universe and yet loves each one of us. She knew that God is good . . . all the time, whatever the circumstances.

This is my God’s storm!

I remember that story as I think of the storm that ripped through Pennsylvania and New Jersey. There was another last night, and they may continue through the weekend. This is my God’s storm! I can’t help thinking. I’m all for peaceful protest, but there were rumors of more riots planned. Were they scuttled by the winds and rain?

I may never know the answer to that, but I do know this: God is in control.

It’s easy to get caught up in fear and worry. When I feel my anxiety level rise, I turn to the Psalms. They have a beautiful way of identifying with my fears and drawing me in, then turning my heart toward God, giving me words to ask for help and then moving me to praise.

The Psalms teach us to pray

Psalm 13 is a good example. Look it up in your Bible or read it here.

In it, the psalmist feels like God has forgotten him. He cries out to the Lord in his pain and asks for help. Read it prayerfully, enter into it, and let it lift your heart at the end:

But I trust in your mercy.

Grant my heart joy in your salvation,

I will sing to the Lord,

for he has dealt bountifully with me!

But God…

“BUT I trust in your mercy,” the psalmist wrote. Say it with him. Regardless of all these troubles, no matter what might happen still, “I trust in your mercy, Lord.”

“I WILL sing to the Lord.” Make it your choice to sing and praise the Lord. “I will sing,” the psalm says. For God is in control of the storms of our lives, and he will carry us through.

“All shall be well,” as the Lord told Julian of Norwich, the Christian mystic. “All manner of thing shall be well,” he repeated. Not that nothing bad or painful will ever happen, but God is faithful and full of mercy. He has us in his hand, and he works all things for the good of those who love him. (See Romans 8:28)

God bless you and give you peace as you put your trust in him.

© 2020 Sarah Christmyer

The above excerpt from Becoming Women of the Word: How to Answer God’s Call with Purpose and Joy is reprinted with permission of Ave Maria Press, the publisher. Page 53.

 

You may also like:

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THE POWER OF A PSALM: God’s love upholds me
IT’S YOUR CHOICE TO REJOICE

 

I reflect in depth on Psalm 13 (and help you do the same) in Lord, Make Haste to Help me! Seven Psalms to Pray in Time of Need.  This devotional prayer journal introduces seven Psalms that help us call on God and lift our hearts to a place of confidence in his loving care. Its unique weekly format requires just 10-15 minutes a day. Meditate with it and allow the Word of God to move your focus from your troubles to hope and praise! Available on Amazon.com.

The post WHO IS IN CHARGE OF THE STORMS OF YOUR LIFE? appeared first on Come Into The Word with Sarah Christmyer | Bible Study | Lectio Divina | Journals | Retreat.

DO YOU LOVE JESUS … OR ONLY LUV HIM?

How do you get from LUV to LOVE?

How do you move from “sure, I love Jesus” to “Lord, I love you!”

That’s the question Jesus asked Peter in their post-breakfast heart-to-heart on the shore of the Sea of Galilee: do you (really) love me? Jesus had risen from the dead, and he had just amazed his disciples with a massive haul of fish where there had been none all night. He had fixed them a meal. And now he’s talking to Peter, only he doesn’t use that name.

“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”

It’s a loaded question. Of all the disciples, it was Peter who denied he knew Jesus when things got tough (John 18:15-27). And this in spite of being made the Rock on which the Lord would build his church! Some rock. Jesus’s use of the old name must have cut like a knife.

“Simon, son of John, do you love me?

Twice he asked the question, and he didn’t mean “luv.” Jesus used the word agape: Greek for the total, unconditional, love-til-death-do-us-part kind of love. And Peter, knowing that Jesus knew how he had failed — had even predicted it ahead of time — couldn’t bring himself to say yes. In a sense, he denies his savior three more times by denying that he loves.

“Lord, you know that I luv you,” he answered. Luv, not love. Phileo, which is brotherly love or affection.

So Jesus changed the question.

“Simon, son of John, do you luv me?” Phileo. For some reason, this grieved Peter even more than the other question. “Lord, you know everything: you know that I luv you,” he said. You know me, Lord, that’s all I’ve got.

Perhaps he thought that was the end. But Jesus gently continued. “Feed my sheep,” he said. Whether you love me or can only bring yourself to luv me, tend my lambs. Take care of the flock I’m leaving behind.

Maybe Peter wondered how the Lord could still ask this of him. But Jesus met him where he was: True, you went your own way when you were young, he said. No blame, no reprimand, just the facts. But when you’re old, you’ll glorify God by giving your life.

Jesus knew that Peter was on a rocky path. But he was headed in the right direction, and it was time to pick himself up after falling. “And after this he said to him, ‘Follow me.’”

As I read this exchange, I think of the times when I have failed the Lord. Times I thought I didn’t deserve to bear the name “Christian.” Lord, I say. You know me. You see everything. You know all I’ve got is luv.

But Jesus calls me to himself by name. Pick yourself up, he says, and do what I’ve given you to do. “Follow me,” he says. In doing so, your luv will grow to love.

 

© 2020 Sarah Christmyer

 

The post DO YOU LOVE JESUS … OR ONLY LUV HIM? appeared first on Come Into The Word with Sarah Christmyer | Bible Study | Lectio Divina | Journals | Retreat.

ARE YOU LOST? FIND YOUR WAY IN JESUS

I woke this morning from a dream of being lost. In it, I found myself suddenly alone in a strange place with no purse or phone, with no one to ask for help. It is a dream I have had before. I struggled to wake up, to get going on the day and fill my mind with other things.

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

 

Whether it was coincidence or by design I do not know, but after that dream, the Gospel for today stood out like it was written just for me. Jesus said “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. […] I am the way and the truth and the life.” (John 14: 1, 6)

I am the way….

It’s a common enough situation, I’m sure: to stare into the future and feel everything known fall away; to long to know the best path forward; to want a map but to have none. When I was young, I prayed earnestly that the Lord would tell me exactly what to do, so I could simply obey each step of the way and end up in a good place. But faith requires something different. That we set our sights on eternity, anchored in his merciful love, and trust him to carry us to himself through the dark and over shaky ground.

I am the way, the truth, and the life. He is the goal (that truth and life we seek) and at the same time he is the way. What does that mean? What is the way, and what does it mean that Jesus is that way?

Jesus is THE WAY

In the Old Testament, the way is made up of the life choices of those who follow God and his law. For example:

The psalmist contrasts the way of the righteous, which leads to blessing, with the way of the wicked, which perishes (see Psalm 1). He also asks the Lord to lead him “in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:24).
Jeremiah advised a people who had turned away from the Lord to “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls” (Jeremiah 6:16). It’s not just a set of rules, it’s a way of life that provides rest and peace.
The children of Israel found, as we often do, that following is easier intended than done. But Isaiah foretold a time of blessing when “… your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,'” (Isaiah 30:21). Directions, in person!


JESUS is the way

I wonder if anyone was thinking that when they heard John the Baptist, years later: “Prepare the way of the Lord!”

Undoubtedly, John wanted people to clear a way into their lives and hearts for the Lord who was coming to them (see Matthew 3:3). But Jesus also exemplified, in his life, the steps to take along the way everlasting. We walk in that way as we follow his example: as we do the things he did, love and pray the way he did, take up our crosses the way he did. But there is something new about this way, in Christ. He is the way in the sense that when we are baptized into his life, and when we live in him and he in us (“abide in me” is how he says it in John 15, like a branch abides in a vine) — when we have that intimate symbiotic relationship with Jesus, the Holy Spirit speaks into our hearts. He guides and counsels us along the way and gives us the strength and courage and peace we need to do the walking.

“It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me,” St. Paul wrote to the Galatians. I can trust him to guide me. “And the life I now live in the flesh,” he continued, “I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

When I find myself lost in life as I did in that dream, I take great comfort in Jesus who is the way, the truth and the life. It is in him and by keeping my eyes on him that I find peace and the ability to move forward when everything is dark around me.

In the words of the Surrender Novena of  Servant of God Don Dolindo Ruotolo — O Jesus, I surrender myself to you; take care of everything!

© 2020 Sarah Christmyer

The post ARE YOU LOST? FIND YOUR WAY IN JESUS appeared first on Come Into The Word with Sarah Christmyer | Bible Study | Lectio Divina | Journals | Retreat.

LOST YOUR JOY? HERE’S HOW TO GET IT BACK

Another dull gray day, another day of self-isolation, and it’s getting harder to keep the spirits up. Whatever happened to joy?

Jesus wants our joy to be full (see John 15:11). And it’s one of the fruits of the Spirit. Joy should be the hallmark of a Christian: a kind of identifying aura that others can sense; something that spreads to push out sorrow and gloom and apathy.

Well, I’m a Christian. Why do I not feel the joy?

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

 

There’s a saying that if you can’t find your happiness, you just might find it hiding in your gratitude. I’m thinking you could as easily say that if you’ve lost your joy, you just might find it hiding in your praise.

Here’s the thing: joy might be an emotion you can’t control, but rejoicing is an action you can take whenever you want to. And the more you put it into practice, the more you’ll find it changing your heart.

All of us rejoice without thinking when things go well. But Christians have the choice to rejoice whatever the situation, thanks to the Lord who is faithful and who is working all things for the good of those who love him (see Romans 8:28).

If you choose to spend time rejoicing — by praising and thanking the Lord for his goodness — you just might find joy hiding in your praise.

Jump into Joy

Here’s a good acronym for REJOICE, paired with Scripture verses about rejoicing that help us understand and tap into its power. (If you can, look these up in your Bible so you can read and meditate on them in context. And if you find some others – feel free to add them to the comments below!)

Receive

Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Everything

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)

Joyfully

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the lands!

Serve the Lord with gladness!

Come into his presence with singing! (Psalm 100:1-2)

Only

Through [Jesus] we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. (Romans 5:2)

In

These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. (John 15:11)

Christ

Without having seen him you love him; though you do not now see him you believe in him and rejoice with unutterable and exalted joy. (1 Peter 1:8)

Every day

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice! (Philippians 4:4)

Photo by Rainier Ridao on Unsplash

 

If you’re not feeling joy today, take time to rejoice! Praise the Lord and ask him to take your offering and return it in joy.

Blessings on you as you Come Into the Word.

© 2020 Sarah Christmyer

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IT’S YOUR CHOICE TO REJOICE
SEVEN REASONS TO REJOICE WHEN THINGS GO WRONG

 

The post LOST YOUR JOY? HERE’S HOW TO GET IT BACK appeared first on Come Into The Word with Sarah Christmyer | Bible Study | Lectio Divina | Journals | Retreat.

TAKING IN THE RESURRECTION: The Easter Octave

There’s always such a push to Easter, and then … what? I’m grateful to the ongoing pulse of the season, that reminds me there is more.

In the liturgical cycle, Easter is a day and also an “octave.” Eight days of celebration, eight days of re-absorbing the message of the Resurrection: that because Jesus is alive, my life — all life — is different.

Let me entice you to discover what that might mean to you, by taking an intentional journey along with the readings this week. I love the way Gospel accounts of Jesus revealing himself to people after his resurrection are paired with glimpses of the impact it has on Christians, post-Pentecost.

Mary Magdalene meeting the Resurrected Christ. Santa Maria Maddalena church, Rome. Photo by S Christmyer.

 

As you read, notice how Jesus takes the initiative to reveal himself to his followers in a time when they are in great pain and possibly doubt. Can we not ask him to reveal himself to us as well? As he does in the Gospel readings: to enter the locked rooms of our houses and hearts … to calm our fears … to feed us, to increase our catch, to open our minds to understand the meaning of suffering and death …to help us be open to accepting the witness of others.

Blessings on you this Easter Week (and beyond, as we continue our celebration through Pentecost)!

 

Mass Readings for Easter Week

Here’s a preview and links to the readings on the USCCB website (though I encourage you to look them up in your Bible):

MONDAY, APRIL 13

Matthew 28:8-15: That Jesus was raised soul and body is learned by Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, who Jesus meets as they run to tell the disciples that he’s alive. They embrace his feet (impossible if he were just spirit) and take his message to the others — while the chief priests bribe soldiers to say his body was stolen.

Acts 2:14, 22-33: Peter tells the crowds on Pentecost that not only did God raise Jesus from the dead, it was all part of his plan to save. We are witnesses that he lives, he says, and they are witnesses of the Holy Spirit poured out on the disciples.

TUESDAY, APRIL 14

John 20:11-18: Mary Magdalene again; this time weeping at the tomb, so wrapped up in her grief, she doesn’t recognize angels or Jesus. But then he calls her by name. There’s relationship here, even though he tells her to stop holding onto him — that he’ll be ascending to the Father — and to go, tell the disciples.

Acts 2:36-41: Still preaching on Pentecost, Peter tells those who crucified Jesus that God made him Lord and Christ (Messiah). Repent therefore and be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit, he says; and “save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15

Luke 24:13-35: Jesus walks alongside two disciples heading out of town after his death. Their hearts “burn” while he explains how Scripture pointed to him and they recognize him when he gives thanks and breaks bread.

Acts 3:1-10: The power of Jesus begins to flow through the disciples as in the name of Jesus, Peter heals a man crippled from birth.

THURSDAY, APRIL 16

Luke 24:35-48: Jesus appears among a group of disciples and they’re terrified, thinking he’s a ghost. He speaks peace to them, reassures them by letting them see and touch him and then by eating fish. He opens their minds to understand the Scriptures pointing to his passion and resurrection and mission and calls them to witness.

Acts 3:11-26: When people are amazed at his healing miracle, Peter attributes it to faith in the name of Jesus who God has raised from the dead. He calls them to repent that their sins be forgiven “and that the Lord may grant you times of refreshment and send you the Christ.”

FRIDAY, APRIL 17

John 21:1-14: The disciples don’t dare ask the risen Jesus if it’s really him when he leads them into a massive catch of fish after a night of catching nothing; they know it can be no one else.

Acts 4:1-12: Thousands of people come to believe through the disciples’ witness and the religious authorities arrest Peter and John. Previously timid Peter boldly proclaims that Jesus is “the stone rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. There is no salvation through anyone else…”

SATURDAY, APRIL 18

Mark 16:9-15: Mark explains that hearing from eyewitnesses was not enough to make the disciples believe at first; it was only later, when Jesus appeared to them together and rebuked them for their unbelief and told them to go and proclaim the gospel to the world.

Acts 4:13-21: The authorities are confounded by the boldness of Peter and John and their witness. When they threaten, Peter and John choose to obey God and not them. “It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard.”

SUNDAY, APRIL 19 (Divine Mercy Sunday and the close of the Octave of Easter) 

John 20:19-31: Thomas refuses to believe until he sees and touches Jesus for himself. Yet even in doubt, he sought Jesus. “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed,” Jesus said. John sums up his reason for writing: “that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.”

Acts 2:42-47: The first Christians devote themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayers. Miracles are done through the apostles and there are many conversions each day.

Peter 1:3-9: Peter speaks of the “new birth to a living hope” we have through the Resurrection, a hope that transforms even our suffering.

 

© 2020 Sarah Christmyer

 

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JESUS WAS TROUBLED … SO YOU NEED NOT BE

I woke up this morning troubled by many things: some are just wisps of bad dreams in the night, but others I must face.

I turned, as is my habit, to the Scriptures of Morning Prayer

“Jesus was deeply troubled” jumped out at me.

What does it mean to be troubled?

The word is tarássō in Greek. “To trouble” means to shake up something that should be still; to cause agitation; to get too stirred up inside. Not only do I feel like that, I recognize the word from the part of John’s gospel we’re reading as we approach the days of Christ’s Passion:

Jesus is “deeply moved in spirit and troubled” at Mary of Bethany’s grief over Lazarus (Jn 11:33, see too vs. 38).
After his triumphal entry, his soul is “troubled” when he spoke of the need for those who love him, to follow him in death (Jn 12:27).
Then on Holy Thursday, he is “troubled in spirit” knowing Judas will betray him (Jn 13:21).

 

Detail, “Jesus Wept” by James Tissot (Brooklyn Museum, public domain)

 

All this agitation in the span of three chapters. It strikes me that Jesus knows. He knows what it means to be troubled by sadness and evil. He knows the pain of unbelief and betrayal and death. He knows what that does to the soul. He knows.

To be or not to be? … troubled, that is

Which is why it’s beautiful to see how Jesus uses the word next. After telling Peter he would deny him three times, which must certainly have troubled his soul, Jesus says

“Let not your hearts be troubled” (Jn 14:1).

Then, after saying he must leave:

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (Jn 14:27).

I think again of how Jesus slept through the storm on the Sea of Galilee. Now that’s the kind of peace I want. Inner peace that is not troubled (shaken, agitated, stirred up) by turmoil on on the outside.

Jesus gives us his peace

Peace I leave with you, he said; my peace I give you. A peace that in spite of trouble, rests in trust.

“Jesus was deeply troubled.” He knows all of our troubles. It’s why he went to the Cross and left us with peace.

 

Dove of Peace statue by Michael Scheuermann. Photo: Elliott Brown from Birmingham, United Kingdom / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)

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Come Into the Word with Me…

Last Sunday, we entered Jerusalem with Christ and (virtually!) waved palm branches in royal welcome. All this week, we walk with him toward the Cross. Spend time with him in John’s gospel, starting with 12:20 (right after the Triumphal Entry). Soak in the Lord’s final words, particularly those between that and his betrayal, and take them to heart. What do you hear? I’d love to know.

© 2020 Sarah Christmyer

 

I use Magnificat magazine for this, and recommend it highly for prayerful reflection! They’re offering complimentary web access during this time of shelter-in-place, so you can check it out if you aren’t familiar with it.

Jesus’s so-called “farewell discourse,” his final words to his disciples between the Last Supper and the Garden of Gethsemane, is in John 14-17.

 

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WITHOUT A DEATH, THERE CAN’T BE A RESURRECTION

It gets me every time I read it: “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that [Lazarus] was ill, he remained for two days in the place where he was.”

What?!

Jesus loved them, so he stayed away. He waited, in fact, until Lazarus was well and truly dead. He could have healed Lazarus and saved them all a good deal of heartache. But so they could see the glory of God and believe, he stayed put.

The Raising of Lazarus. National Library NZ on The Commons / No restrictions. You can read about the raising of Lazarus in John 11:1-45.

 

No question, Jesus loves them. These are some of his closest friends. And he is deeply troubled by their grief, and weeps with them. BUT. So they could see the glory of God; so they could know him not only as healer, but as the resurrection and the life; he allows them not only to grieve, but to wonder where he is. He allows them to wait until it’s too late. Only, in Jesus, “too late” is never the end.

How many of us are wondering today, where is God? Doesn’t he know how many people are sick and dying … that our hospitals are overwhelmed … that people are lonely and afraid … that businesses are closed … that meat and beans and even toilet paper are running out? (Lord, surely you care even about that!)

Today (on the fifth Sunday of Lent), the Church pairs this gospel with God’s promise in Ezekiel 37 that he will “open your graves and have you rise from them, … put my spirit in you that you may live” — and with Psalm 130. That’s the penitential Psalm that begins

Out of the depths I cry to thee, O Lord!

    Lord, hear my voice!

Together, these readings meet us where we are and give us hope.

Today I call to God with this Psalm from the deep, dark place I am in. Lord, can you hear me? Will you please come? I know you love me. Why do you stay away?

 

Then the Psalm lifts me up:

I wait for the  Lord , my soul waits,

     and in his word I hope;

  my soul waits for the  Lord

     more than watchmen for the morning, …

A “watchman” is a sentinel. He’s a guard who’s job it is to keep watch. Imagine doing that job in the wee hours, staring into the dark and waiting, straining for the first light of day and someone to relieve you. That’s the picture here.

… more than watchmen for the morning.

O Israel, hope in the  Lord !

Because night will not have the last word, any more than death will. The sun (and the Son) will come! How do I know?

For with the  Lord there is steadfast love,

     and with him is plenteous redemption.

Anything he allows to happen, happens within the scope of his love. And his plan is to redeem us – to save us. Note that it’s not just any redemption; it’s “plenteous” redemption. Abundant, copious, overflowing, bounteous. Ample, profuse, lavish. So much redemption, it overwhelms the need, just as morning light banishes the shadows.

I wait for the  Lord , my soul waits,

     and in his word I hope

Let us be patient and wait for the Lord. Sit in the darkness while he allows it to continue, crane our ears for his voice, watch and wait so we’re ready when he comes. Trust in his love. He sees us. He hears us. He is distressed and weeps along with us. And if he delays, it’s so that something greater can come. He knows the glories and new life that lie on the other side. Hope in his word!

Without a death, there can’t be a resurrection. And the Lord IS the resurrection.

Wait on the Lord, and trust.

Going deeper

Today I encourage you to Come Into the Word with me. Steep yourself in today’s readings http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/032920.cfm. Continue on to the end of John’s gospel, and read again how the story unfolds.

© 2020 Sarah Christmyer

 

 

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WHAT TO DO WHEN THERE’S NO EUCHARIST: Thirsting for Jesus during COVID-19

I don’t know about you, but I’m thirsty for Jesus.

I’m hungry for the Eucharist.

I want him. Physically, tangibly. Less than 10 days into coronavirus-prompted deprivation, I have a longing I’ve never experienced before. It’s a longing I never thought I’d have, given 30 years of experiencing his presence spiritually as a Protestant, ignorant of what I was missing. Even as a Catholic, it took years to understand: “This is my Body” is for real. “This is my Blood, given for you.”

Take … and eat. Drink.

I am thirsty. I’m hungry.

Priest offering the Eucharist. Image by RobertCheaib from Pixabay.

 

What are we going to do?

A friend said, I find him outside, in the beauty of nature. Another: I close my eyes and enter my heart, and meet him there. And just as I have done daily since I was 15, I open my Bible and listen as the Lord speaks to me, comforting, consoling, challenging my heart.

All of that’s good. But it’s not the same.

There are levels of communion with the Lord. Not one is like the co-mingling of body and blood that takes place at Mass, him in me until I become part of him.

As a deer longs for flowing streams,

So longs my soul for you, O God.

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

When shall I come and behold the face of God? (Psalm 42:1-2)

As I learn to live with this new thirst, I wonder. Have I taken that communion for granted? Going weekly, daily sometimes, taking his Body and Blood in all reverence, to be sure, but not with this longing and desire. Have I appreciated the gift?

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, they say.

How true that is.

A lesson from the past

The Old Testament is instructive in this time of forced thirst. God formed his people in the desert, where they rebelled when they got thirsty. In Meribah they forgot his care, doubted his presence, and wished themselves back in Egypt! Miraculously, he provided water from a rock. But the story lived on as a warning. “Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,” God pled with them through the psalmist, years later. “Oh that today you would listen to his voice!” (See Psalm 95:7-8.)

Then in Psalm 81:

I tested you at the waters of Meribah

Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!

O Israel, if you would but listen to me!

There shall be no strange god among you;

you shall not bow down to a foreign god.

I am the LORD your God,

who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.”

 

O my people: listen to me!

What might God be saying to us today, through this enforced deprivation?

We too are people who know, personally, the saving work of God … who have entered a desert of sorts. Do we trust that the Lord is our shepherd even here, even when he cannot be seen and touched?

Do we let panic at the hardships that come our way harden our hearts and close our ears to his voice?

Can we take this as an opportunity to examine our hearts?

Perhaps we have allowed “strange gods” among us, even while worshiping him. Have we bowed to the god of work? Of self-sufficiency? Of pleasure?

Has safety lulled us to sleep? Has excess dulled our desire?

If God has allowed us to go hungry for a time, even for him, let us …

… turn to him all the more in our hearts

… examine our lives and repent

… fill our minds and hearts with his Word

… enter spiritually into his presence

… offer up our sufferings

… not put the Lord to the test

… approach him with gratitude, thanksgiving and trust

… ask, humbly, for his grace.

Let us focus our longing on him. And let us wait in patience for the water from the Rock that is Christ [link: 1 Cor 10:4].

Open your mouth wide, and He will fill it.

 

© 2020 Sarah Christmyer

You might also like:

Thirsty? Choose Where to Go With Your Longing (learning from the Woman at the Well)
Thirsting for God (first in a series of posts on how the Psalms teach us to reach out in thirst to the One who can satisfy).
Dr. Edward Sri talks about making a spiritual communion and how to worship even when we can’t go to Mass in The House of the Lord is Closed but the Glory Has Not Departed .

 

The post WHAT TO DO WHEN THERE’S NO EUCHARIST: Thirsting for Jesus during COVID-19 appeared first on Come Into The Word with Sarah Christmyer | Bible Study | Lectio Divina | Journals | Retreat.