Thoughts on Vincent van Gogh

 Dear Lord,

Today I thought of the words of Vincent van Gogh: “It is true there is an ebb and flow, but the sea remains the sea.” You are the sea. Although I experience many ups and downs in my emotions and often feel great shifts and changes in my inner life, you remain the same. Your sameness is not the sameness of a rock, but the sameness of a faithful lover. Out of your love I came to life, by your love I am sustained, and to your love I am always called back. There are days of sadness and days of joy; there are feelings of guilt and feelings of gratitude; there are moments of failure and moments of success; but all of them are embraced by your unwavering love. . . . O Lord, sea of love and goodness, let me not fear too much the storms and winds of my daily life, and let me know there is ebb and flow but the sea remains the sea.

Amen.

Henri Nouwen

Thoughts on uncertainty

 “Be patient, resting your hearts on the ultimate certainty.”

James 5:8 (PHILLIPS)

We’re living in strange and uncertain times. We don’t know what’s happening in the world. We get conflicting information from every source. We don’t know how long this coronavirus is going to continue spreading. We’re not sure how to make wise decisions without all the information we need.

When so many things are uncertain, we can remain certain of this one truth: God is in control.

“Brothers and sisters, be patient until the Lord comes again. See how farmers wait for their precious crops to grow. They wait patiently for fall and spring rains. You, too, must be patient. Don’t give up hope. The Lord will soon be here. Brothers and sisters, stop complaining about each other, or you will be condemned. Realize that the judge is standing at the door” (James 5:7-9 GW).

Why does James remind us several times in this passage that the Lord is coming back? Because it’s the ultimate proof that God is in control.

History is God’s story. It’s not circular. There is no circle of life. History is linear, and it’s moving to a climax. God has a plan. God has a purpose. And one day Jesus is going to return. Everything is on schedule. We don’t know when he’s coming back, but the Bible talks more about Jesus’ second coming than it does about his first coming. That means it should change how we live our lives every day. We should be living with great expectation!

Although the situation may seem out of control and what you’re going through may be painful, nothing is beyond God’s control. Be patient. God’s timing is perfect. He’s never late. He is in control.

The J.B. Phillips translation of James 5:8 says, “Be patient, resting your hearts on the ultimate certainty.”

What’s the ultimate certainty? Jesus is going to come back one day. Nothing’s going to stop that.

Knowing that history is under God’s control and that Jesus has promised to return should give us all the confidence we need in uncertain times. When you feel like you can’t count on anything else, count on this: God’s got this. And Jesus will come back one day soon to make all things right and new.

Rick Warren

Thoughts on grace

 The Costly Grace of Discipleship

 

The Cost of Discipleship is a Christian classic by the German "martyr" to the sin of racism, Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The book centers around an exposition of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, in which Bonhoeffer spells out what he believes it means to follow Christ. It was first published in 1937, when the rise of the Nazi regime was underway in Germany. Against this background Bonhoeffer developed a spirituality of costly discipleship, which ultimately led to his execution in a concentration camp because he opposed the racist Nazi regime. As he went to his death in 1945 Bonhoeffer wrote: "This is the end-for me the beginning of life."

 

A central element of this book is the contrast Bonhoeffer makes between "cheap" grace and "costly" grace. In his words: "cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ."

 

Costly grace contrasts with cheap grace confronting us as "a gracious call to follow Jesus, coming as a word of forgiveness to the broken spirit and the contrite heart. It is costly because it compels one to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow him; it is grace because Jesus says: "My yoke is easy and my burden is light."

 

In Sunday's gospel (Mt 16:21-27) Jesus invites us to grow in costly discipleship with these words: "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny self, take up one's cross and follow me." The grace-filled school of prayer and discernment we offer freely in the Spiritual Exercises at White House invite us to grow in the fulfillment of Jesus's promise: "if you lose your life for my sake, and for the gospel, you'll find it," and that means abundant riches flourishing out of costly discipleship. For all of us, isn't this the end-the beginning of life?

-Fr. Ted Arroyo, SJ

Thoughts on a contained life

 

Choose a Contained Life

I know how great a temptation it is in times of anguish and agony to look away from our painful center and expect peace and a sense of inner wholeness to come from some external source. But I am increasingly convinced that, at times of anguish and agony, we have to choose a contained life where we can be in the presence of people who hold us safe and bring us in touch with the unconditional affective love of God. Do not get involved in experiences of living that will lead to dissipation. What is so important is to have a deep sense of inner safety, of being held by a love that is in no way using you, manipulating you, or “needing” you. Henri Nouwen

Thoughts on poverty

 

Poverty is a Quality of the Heart

Poverty is the quality of the heart that makes us relate to life, not as a property to be defended but as a gift to be shared. Poverty is the constant willingness to say good-bye to yesterday and move forward to new, unknown experiences. Poverty is the inner understanding that the hours, days, weeks, and years do not belong to us but are the gentle reminders of our call to give, not only love and work, but life itself, to those who follow us and will take our place. He or she who cares is invited to be poor, to strip himself or herself from the illusions of ownership, and to create some room for the person looking for a place to rest. The paradox of care is that poverty makes a good host. When our hands, heads, and hearts are filled with worries, concerns, and preoccupations, there can hardly be any place left for the stranger to feel at home. Henri Nouwen

Thoughts on the present moment

 In letters written in 1740, Jean-Pierre de Caussade (ordained member of the Society of Jesus) wrote about the sacrament of the present moment. We are invited to choose to live each day as a sacrament (as a gift), enabling us to see, to hear, to taste, and to touch grace—the goodness of God’s presence in our world. We need to bring this sacrament back and allow it to be front and center in our lives. I’m pretty sure that St. Francis would agree. Franciscan spirituality is an incarnational earthy spirituality. Put simply: God is close, never far away.

—from the book This Is the Life: Mindfulness, Finding Grace, and the Power of the Present Moment by Terry Hershey

Thoughts on faith