God is most likely and able to work through those who accept their own weakness and don’t try to forcefully assert their own power and influence.
An Open Table where Love knows no borders
An Open Table where Love knows no borders
Sermons on 2 Corinthians
Those who faithfully follow Jesus and proclaim his message are flawed human beings who will not often appear successful or impressive.
In Christ, God has made an agreement with us, offering us everything and demanding nothing, but if we offer nothing we will be at risk of squandering it all.
Love names, creation, joyful service and gifts for the common good can be signs of the nature and culture of God.
Pretending to be better than we are alienates us from God and one another. Being open and real about our weaknesses and failures open us to God and one another.
God is most likely and able to work through those who accept their own weakness and don’t try to forcefully assert their own power and influence.
God calls us to faithful expressions of the Culture of God which usually look unimpressive and unruly when judged by the world’s usual standards of success.
Expecting God to always appear as an exalted triumphant victor blinds us to the reality of God’s glory which is made known in suffering, self-sacrificial love.
Much of reality is usually hidden to us, but we can catch glimpses that become sustaining visions.
In a moment of transfiguration we glimpse the weightiness of Jesus and his mission, and we are ourselves transfigured, becoming people of greater substance.
The glory that has been seen in Jesus can shine forth in us, but there will be obstructions to be purged and commitments to be made first.
Rediscovering the mission of Jesus is one pathway through which we might re-enter the experience of dependence on God.
God has bound pastors and people together in Christ, that we might share in the ultimate victory of Christ as all God’s promises are fulfilled.
By preparing ourselves to die with Christ, we are raised and transfigured, new people with a new vocation.
Self sacrifice and asceticism are not incompatible with the call to care for oneself and live life to the full.