Re-reading The Gospels

Notes on Reading the Gospels

Mark

What stands out: 
Fast-paced action.  Breathless, exuberant witness.  Jesus' delivery: plain speech, voice of authority.  I appreciate Mark's exuberant testimony which gives us a sense of how astounding was the fresh and unequivocal authority of Jesus' teaching, and I delight in how excitedly Mark describes the apparent fast-paced action of all that Jesus did. I too feel the awesome new-life-giving power of all that Christ does, and the uniqueness of His authority.  I also like how emotionally the drama is depicted; even though (or maybe because)  much of the writing seems rough-hewn, I find myself easily in the scene: I feel the human emotions of being confronted by the status-quo-disrupting, awesome-and-terrifying, saving grace of my Lord and Savior.

Challenges to discipleship:
One of my favorite Gospel stories is the one of the woman who had been bleeding for twelve years (Mark 5:25-34).  I am profoundly grateful for her pro-active faith which led her to courageous initiative.  Her reaching out to touch the hem of Christ's cloak, despite the fact that in her society women were not to touch men, and the sick or "unclean" were not to "defile" the "clean", encourages me to reach out to Christ in faith in any and every circumstance.  Jesus rewards her for her faith-filled-action; He heals her.  This is empowering for me as well.  I believe Christ calls each of us not only through the faith-community, but also through our very personal need of Him.  Sometimes we have to reach out, sometimes even being the first to challenge institutionalized societal mores or customs, crossing the man-made boundaries that might leave us bleeding, out-cast, or captive.


Matthew

What stands out:
If someone were to tell me I will be stranded on a desert-isle for the remainder of my life and I can take only one book, I would choose the Bible.  And were they to say, you can only take part of the Bible, I would say "give me the Gospels and the Psalms.". Were they to say no, you can take only one writing, I would likely choose one of the Gospels, but it would not be Matthew!  Of all the Gospels I find this the "driest.". The action-packed drama of Mark sweeps me off my feet; the canticles and lyrical writing of Luke, particularly the revelation of the Healer's heart, appeals to my soul; my spirit feeds on the deep theology of John; but Matthew requires of me a greater effort to attend, to "seek and find".  This is apropos inasmuch as this is his main theme: the Kingdom of God is at hand, and we are to seek it and find it and most of all, to do it!  I also find a kind of harshness or asceticism in Matthew that seems more pronounced that any similar teaching in the other Gospels.  In this context, Matthew 11:28-30 is all the more sweet and nourishing:  "Come to me all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My load is light."

Challenges to discipleship:
I find it remarkable that while Matthew addresses an audience of faith-instructed, tradition-holding, Jewish Christians, he is the most critical of the Jewish leaders of his time.  I find myself thinking were Matthew to write today, he would write similarly to us, particularly the western-culture-enmeshed Christians and our Church leaders.  I don't hear Jesus' chastisements as against the Jewish religion, but rather against any instance of self-righteousness, against using any gift from God as an excuse to turn away from serving or sharing with our neighbor (and our "enemy.")  Matthew proclaims the Kingdom of God is at hand, but it is an upside-down Kingdom, where the first shall be last and the last shall be first, where all the lost and lacking are happy (see the Beatitudes) because they are fed and clothed by the King Himself, Who lays down His own life for them while they are yet tardy workers and sickly sinners.  For me, chapter 16, verses 24-27 convey the main message of Matthew; essentially to enter this Kingdom of Life, one must die to self; i.e. to be a disciple of Christ, one must follow Him to and through the Cross.


Luke (and Acts)
What stands out:
The Holy Spirit coming to us and guiding us.  God is generous.  Journeys.  Meals.  Prayer.  Healing. Intimacy.  Luke shows Christ's concern for the lowly: the sick, the poor, women, children, out-casts. 
Four of my favorite passages in Luke are 1) Luke 2:1-20, especially the part about the angels appearing to the shepherds; 2) Luke 10:38-42, regarding Mary and Martha; 3) Luke 15:11-32, the parable of "the prodigal son;" and 4) Luke 24:13-35, the account of those on the road to Emmaus.  The 1st is a good example of how Luke shows God's generosity to the lowest of society, the shepherds, giving them the glorious good news of the Savior's birth.  The 2nd teaches us that Jesus wants personal intimacy with each of us. The 3rd makes marvelous use of all these themes, with a dramatic revelation of the Father's astounding generosity and amazing, unconditional love.  The 4th is a consummate example of the themes of journey, and revelation of the Lord and intimacy with Him through breaking of the bread and prayer, as well as the healing of restoration of community through faith-sharing. 

Challenges to discipleship:
Luke shows us a compassionate and forgiving Savior.  At the same time we are called to radical discipleship to Christ.  We are challenged to give up all we have and all we are (Luke 12 and 14:25-35).  What stands out to me in the book of Acts is the power of the Holy Spirit at work in those who truly believed (as in trusted and lived) on the Lord Jesus Christ with their whole heart, mind, and body.  The stories that demonstrate this for me are: Acts Chapter 2 regarding the day of Pentecost;
Chapter 4: 32-37 regarding the sharing of everything among the believers; Chapter 7: 55-60 Stephen's ability to forgive while being stoned; Chapter 9: 1-19 Saul's conversion and Ananias' faith in the face of danger and the naturally-impossible; Chapter 10 Cornelius' conversion and Peter's further conversion through the initiative of the Holy Spirit; Paul's passionate perseverance in faith through many trials to the very end.  All of these stories show me that the Holy Spirit wants to do radical things, and will move where-ever God wills, even when we are stuck in human conceptions about what should be.  In all these stories, it is the Holy Spirit that initiates.  The Lord uses those who respond by yielding to the Spirit. 

This to me is amazing, glorious, and reassuring.  My own experience of this world is that human systems tend to become corrupt, eventually perpetrating some form of injustice even if that wasn't the original intent of the founders or maintainers of the system.  I also experience many individuals as bullies or tending to operate out of a profoundly self-centered mentality.  I.e. God didn't give me any form of worldly armor.  I identify with the little ones who are forgotten or run over in many situations, while others fight for something "big" but "of this world.".  I daily experience the vulnerability of being a human creature, wholly dependent upon my Creator for any good thing.

The accounts in Acts show me that God is bigger and God is more powerful than anyone or anything of this world, even if He chooses not to take up the "fight" according to the world's rules of engagement.  The Lord's ways are completely Other than human ways; and yet, He invites us to enter into His Life and to co-operate with His Will.  To accept this invitation to radical discipleship, we must completely trust the Lord with our entire life; we must accept suffering; we must seek, find, and accept the Life that is ours in Jesus Christ by way of the Cross.  And even that we can't do, unless we accept the Holy Spirit as the One "in whom we live and move and have our being.".

John
What stands out:
No matter how many times I read the Gospel of John, I am struck by the beauty and majesty of the opening profession of faith (John 1:1-18), "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...". This prologue alone would be enough for me to meditate and feed upon for many a year.  Everything in John's account meets me as awesomely profound and majestic, but at the very same time draws me to want and receive deeper intimacy with my Lord, Jesus Christ.

Challenges to discipleship:
The thing that strikes me about the Gospel of John is that over and over again in so many ways, the question is asked "who is Jesus" and we receive the answer, from Jesus Himself, or from witnesses: He is Lord, He is the Word, He is the Christ, He is God.  However, with this most recent reading, I am noticing that every time Jesus tells us Who He is, we also learn something of who we are.  If Jesus is the Word, I must be the one who hears (and obeys).  If Jesus is the Light, I must be the one who sees (and acts).  If Jesus is the Truth, I must assent to faith in Him.  If Jesus is the Good Shepherd, I must follow Him with complete trust and dependence upon His provision and guidance.  If Jesus is the Vine, I, as a branch, must bear fruit -- His fruit, not mine, not something I conjure up, but whatever He gives me to bear.  If Jesus is the Messiah, the Lamb of God, I must find my life in Him, accept His salvation in the way He gives it, which is to die with Him and abide in Him through death and resurrection.  If Jesus is my Creator and Lord, I must completely yield to Him, gratefully worshipping Him and yielding to His "finishing and perfecting" me in faith.

Personal Note
At the time I am writing this, I have received the devastating blow of losing my ministry-position at the place where I am employed.  Due to the need for the institution to down-size, my role and my wages have been reduced to stipend-per-select-work, and no support for all the supporting work that makes the primary work do-able, at least in any excellent way.  This is a catastrophic reduction in livelihood for me.  I feel betrayed by the people of this organization.  I am having a hard time discerning how the Lord wants me to respond.  Does He want me here, to persevere in the face of chaos and apathy?  Or is this a blatant call to go elsewhere?  Does He want me to step away from everything and accept a completely new path?  I'm trying to let the Holy Spirit speak to me through the reading of The Word and my reflection upon it.  Even while I make the observations I have (above), I am not yet able to see how they practically apply to my life right now.  My heart is in agony because I don't know how to proceed. 

During the meditations on the Stations of the Cross, I find it easy to identify with the passages about "I look about me and there is no-one to lend me aid..."

The only thing I can perceive right now is that maybe the Lord doesn't want to allow anyone else to help me because He wants to be my Sole Friend and Savior in every detail.  (Sole and Soul.  Yes, I know.).  I think this kind of thinking is potentially dangerous.  I dare not assume I am the author or determiner of how God wants to care for me.  God can use others or not.  God can vary how He works.  God is not bound by anything, except Himself; He is Love; everything He does is Love.  I still believe completely in God, Who He Is, and that He Is With me.  I just don't know any of the details right now.  And that gives me anxiety. 

Lord, Holy Spirit, please fill my heart with You.  I don't even ask for any particular thing or feeling or perception or thought or direction; just fill me with You.  Let "just" You be enough for me.

The Lord giveth; the Lord taketh away; blessed be the Name of the Lord.
Amen.

 

Re Liturgy

Praise the Lord, O my soul,
Let all that is within me praise His Holy Name!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit!
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
Amen.

Lord-God, I thank You for all the ways You have given us to give You worship and praise.  Thank You especially for giving us the means to commune with You, most especially in the Celebration of the Eucharist.

Receiving You in the Celebration of the Eucharist is indeed "the source and summit" of my living.  Thank You Abba for Jesus.
Thank You Jesus-Christ for all You have done to make it possible for me to Live in You, and for sending us Your Holy Spirit.
Thank You Spirit for Your ever-faithful Presence; please guide me and guard me until I reach Heaven, my true Home.

Praise the Lord forever!

Pilgrim Flock

USCCA, Chapter 10

My preferred images of The Church are sacramental and relational:
The Body of Christ
The People of God
Pilgrim
Mother
The Sheep of the Good Shepherd

The image that most resonates with me at this time in my life is Pilgrim.  I see us as on a Journey Home.  Heaven is our Home, and Earth is mostly a desert where we wander, and yet, because the Lord loves us and never abandons us He provides us with Manna, with Life-giving Water, with oases along the way; and He "pitches His tent with us."  :)
 

Longing for the Lord

Responding to USCCA, chapter 7: The Good News: God Has Sent His Son, For-Discussion Questions

The questions as written don't excite me!  "Why is it important to appreciate the truth that...", "what is the value...in appreciating...", and all such language is so oriented to analysis, words, thoughts ABOUT the Lord, and all with an emphasis on Revelation ABOUT God's PLAN for our salvation.  While everything the questions here infer is correct, they don't point to or evoke from me the call from Jesus Christ to become alive IN Him.

I would rather ask:
How have I experienced Jesus as my Savior and Lord?
How does my life show I have died to self and live in Him?
How have I experienced Christ's divinity and His humanity?
How would my life be different without Christ?
How does unity with God through life in Christ lead me to love all people?
How am I currently challenged to allow Christ to be more completely my Lord?

I need to write my biography!  To answer these questions with the fullness that delights me (because in so doing I celebrate God's grace to me), I would have to write many pages.  Someday I hope to do that.

For now:
My soul longs for Thee, my Lord; please grant me the grace to long for Thee ever more and forever more.  Amen.

Thank You, Lord, for Your Self-Revelation

Reading USCCA, Chapter 5: "I Believe in God"

Knowing that God is love and that He is rich in mercy draws me to Him.  My earliest concept of God was as my Loving-Heavenly-Father-Who-Created-me-and-loves-me-forever.  Because I know too that God requires of us holiness which includes our acting and relating justly, I am challenged to grow in my understanding of how mercy and justice are part of one thing.  I still have much to learn.  In relating with my "neighbor," I find that it's very difficult to experience true/complete justice on this earth, yet God has given me the capacity to offer mercy.  So, for now, I trust God to work out all things for good for those of us who love Him, and meanwhile, I try to show mercy whenever I can.

Re the doctrine of the Trinity:  My understanding of God is primarily as The One Who Is.  The fact that God told Moses "I Am Who Am" resonates deeply within me.  It makes sense to me.  It makes more sense to me than anything else in the whole world.  My understanding of anything and everything else is founded on or in relation to my complete embracing of God as the great "I Am."  That God reveals Himself as 3 Persons also makes sense to me, but only as firmly grounded in the primary truth that God is One.  I accept the Mystery.  I know in my spirit that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  I believe that the Holy Spirit has helped me to grow in this understanding.  No aspect of this has ever been a road-block for me in believing the doctrine of the Trinity, but I do find it difficult to explain to anyone who doesn't believe.  It's much easier to believe that God Is One.  HOW God reveals Himself is what requires the gift of Faith to perceive.  For me, I have EXPERIENCED God first as Father (my Loving-Creator), then as Son (my Savior), then as Spirit (my Life).  Throughout my life I have continued to relate with God primarily in one Person or another.  It is only most recently (maybe the past 10-20 years?) that I have consciously related with all 3 Persons at once.  This is not to say that I think 1 Person of the Triune God works independently of the others; I don't.  I KNOW they are One and that the 3 Persons are always at work together as the One God.  I'm talking more about my perception, my personal experience, as it has changed over my life-time.

I don't think I can really teach ABOUT the doctrine of the Trinity.  I can only share my acceptance of Scripture and Tradition on this matter, and my personal experiences.

Too much Catholic literature equates "creationists" with "fundamentalists."  This is an error.  First of all, "creationists" are people who believe God created all that exists.  To what extent they take the Genesis account literally varies.  How and to what extent they accept the theories of micro-evolution as part of God's creative act, or as part of the effects of the Fall, varies.  Typically "creationists" reject the Darwinian theory of (macro) evolution; typically "creationists" view that theory as antithetical to God's creation of a world He proclaimed Good.  "Fundamentalists" are thought to take everything in Scripture as literally true and only literally true.  But those who would call themselves "fundamentalists" vary in the degree to which they do this.  Furthermore, anti-fundamentalists often call anyone who believes any of the miracles revealed in the Bible a "fundamentalist."  IN MY EXPERIENCE, many intellectual Catholics confuse "fundamentalists" and "fundamentalism" with "fanatics" and "fanaticism."  Often when talking about "fundamentalists" they make generalizations and assumptions that are simply not true of any group of people!  Everyone would be better served if people would quit talking about the "-ists" and talked about the "-isms."  Furthermore, those who want to compare and contrast various "-isms" would do well to be more specific and more consistent in their definitions.  Furthermore, when anyone talks about "creationists" (regardless of their attitude toward them) they are usually talking about which scientific theories those persons find more credible.  Whereas, when anyone talks about "fundamentalists" (regardless of their attitude toward them) they are talking about an orientation to Scripture interpretation.  The two labels are not equivalents.  The two categorizations of people are not the same.  The reality is whether or not any one person would validly be labeled a member of both categories varies greatly from person to person.

Having said all that, I do not consider myself a "fundamentalist" because I accept that there are various literary forms in Scripture.  I am however, a creationist in that I see that the theory of special creation by an intelligent Designer is a better model than any other theory that would interpret the scientific evidence for origins of species, human development, etc.

As regards how I understand Scripture, while acknowledging I am not a "fundamentalist," I would also be quick to say I do not subscribe to much of what modern-day liberal theologians teach.  I think it is probably fair to say I am a "Traditionalist."  I really don't think I fit perfectly into any one category, but I think most people would place me in the category of the "Traditionalists" in terms of how I receive Scripture.

The question that is often posed is "Why is the dialogue between religion and science necessary and valuable?"  I can't take this question head-on because I think the all truth is from the One Source of Truth, God, and we can only receive the  fullness of Truth when we accept in faith God as The Author of Truth.  I.e. believing must come first.  Even atheistic folks who categorically discount God have to believe something.  Every argument has an "a priori."  That "given" has to be at least accepted as if believing it in order to proceed with any thoughts based on it.  And if any of the succeeding thoughts are to actually be believed, the "given" has to be truly believed as well.  Furthermore, we don't really KNOW anything in the fullest sense of knowing something (embracing it into our life-view, and acting on it) until we BELIEVE it.

So I would say that it's intuitively obvious that "religion" and "science" must be in dialogue because I believe all that is true is compatible with all else that is true; Truth is One.  However, my bias is that the best of what religion has to offer is rooted in living one's faith in God, and when one is alive in God, one realizes faith is the higher and deeper and all encompassing source of Truth.  The burden of the challenge is mostly on Believers to find ways to communicate with atheists and to show atheists, even w/in their own way of thinking, how faith is not only necessary to discovering Truth, but it is actually something they already do in an idolatrous form: they have faith in their own minds rather than the Mind Who created them.  I think it (assuming scientific knowledge is equal or greater than faith knowledge) is the "apple" and Babel all over again.

"I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children." (Matthew 11:25)

My Soul Longs For You, Lord

Reading the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults, pub. USCCB, c. 2006, 9th printing 2012.
Responding to discussion questions from chapter one, My Soul Longs for You, O God:

What am I looking for in life?  Hmm... peace, wholeness, oneness-with-God, rest, meaningful-but-tranquil-connectedness.  As for my goals and ideals?  I find that for the first time in my life I don't have clear dreams or goals; I have fulfilled many (all?) of my previously envisioned goals, and I feel I have spent/exhausted my life along those lines; I want new dreams; I want an all-consuming dream for this next era of my life. 

How does God and the Church play a part in this?  Hmm... finding God's purpose for me now is the central defining balance-point and the only thrust/trajectory that will satisfy me.  As for "The Church," I don't know what part it plays "in my life"; rather, I think in terms of what part my dream (God's purpose for me) will play in the life of the Church. 

How is my life a journey toward God?  I am very aware (and have been for as long as I can remember) that my life is entirely about being held by God, walking w/ Christ, longing for being completely consumed with and by the Holy Spirit.  Even as a very young child I remember feeling a deeply poignant longing/ yearning for something; I was beginning, even at age 14, to realize that this fathomless hole inside me could only be filled by God.  All of my adult life has been a mixture of responding to God's drawing me into intimacy w/ Him and allowing myself to be distracted by other things, sometimes alternating between the two, more often struggling with the tension of the ever-present choice.

As a seeker I look for the truth in The Truth as revealed by the Author of All Truth, God, by reading His Word (the Bible), by communing w/ Him in prayer, and by opening myself further to the movement of the Holy Spirit by worshipping the Lord in communion w/ other believers, namely through the Mass.  I pay attention to people, things, and events in my life and continually ponder how they are part of God's Story.  I listen to my heart.

When I experience truth, beauty, goodness, I praise God.  I credit God for all good things.  I bless His Holy Name.  What makes it POSSIBLE for me to seek God?  Firstly, God Himself; secondly, God designed and created me to seek Him; thirdly God designed and created the universe to be a context, a time and space, where I can meet God and relate w/ Him. 

The main thing I have found in my search for Truth is this: Jesus-Christ is my Creator and Redeemer, my Teacher, Best-Friend, and Lover of my soul.  It is in trusting and following Jesus as my Lord that I can grow in my understanding of Truth.

Does being Catholic give any particularity to my search for God?  Hmm... I'm not sure.  I know that God definitely led me to finding my Home in the Eucharist.  I also know that I feel a soul-kinship with "the mystics."  But does being Catholic give me any sort of advantage in growing in the Lord?  I tend to think of being-Catholic as being open to becoming ever more aware of the bigness of God and ever more embracing of others.

My first family, especially my parents, have been a profound blessing, especially in terms of learning of and experiencing God as an absolutely unconditionally loving Creator and Parent.  My parents have done this by being themselves unconditionally loving and giving the credit to God, and by teaching me from His Word.  They also gave me an amazing start in life and introduction to the wonders and beauty of the world, most notably the awesomeness of creation and the sacredness of all peoples in all their variety.  They lay the groundwork for giving me the perspective that I am a citizen of the Earth and yet my true home is Heaven.

Right now, today, my longing for God is most genuinely expressed in my questioning how God wants to organize my life, order my schedule, prioritize my commitments.

Goodness

The idea of Good must be an absolute; it cannot be conceived as something relative.  Otherwise, the concept is really one of more-or-less-better-than, i.e. relatively better than something else, neither of which is wholly Good.

Furthermore, the idea of Good must be rooted in an acknowledgement of the existence of God.  Good must be freely generated from a Creator-of-the-Good, and that Goodness must be a feature of the Creator's God-ness.

Goodness must be "free".  Why?  It must be "free" in the sense that it's essence is not determined by any condition outside of itself.  That's part of the absoluteness of the concept: i.e. "Good" is good because that's what we call its inherent essence.  It's not "good" because it's better than something else.  It's not "good" because it's sometimes "good" for a limited time or situation or particular entities.  What is found to be "good" is good because it bears recognizable qualities of the "Good," and what is called and known as "Good" is Good because it is a hallmark of the One Who Is Good: God.

I think I'm suggesting that the "Good" is a facet of God's Being which is made most manifest in Christ, much as we have come to understand Truth being most perfectly revealed in Christ-The-Word.

I think what I'm searching for or contending with is a way to describe and contrast my experience of what I know about God and God's Creation, most particularly God's Eternal Reality versus the contemporary myth or world-view of our culture.  Most people I know recognize that our cultural thinking carries a propaganda that there is no Truth, let alone a Truth that can be known; there is only relative perspectives and opinions and preferences.  Similarly, most people recognize that our social thinking promotes the lie that nothing is good or bad, there is not absolute basis for a morality, there is only that which is more or less preferable and it's based on each person's or group's passing notions of such.

Furthermore, our culture/society has nearly succeeded in persuading most of us (even Christians) that anything that is "real" has a divided nature.  "There are two sides to every coin."  "There are two sides to every story."  "You can't know what is good unless you have also experienced the bad."  "You can't make a choice unless there are at least two things available."  I would argue that all of this thinking is part of the lie first expressed by the serpent in the Garden of Eden.  I.e. I am arguing that dualistic thinking and conceiving is never fully or adequately revealing of that which is True because that which is True is One.  Similarly, that which is Good is Whole.

I'm sure there have already been some very great thinkers who have expressed very well what it is I am trying to understand as I try to describe my thoughts.  I realize that my present search for how to express something which I know deep w/in myself to be True is much like eyes trying to see through the darkness the Face of One Who's Voice they have heard in their heart.

More later.

Faithfulness is powerful!

Re-reading the GIRM (General Instruction for the Roman Missal).  It seems to me there isn't much changed in the GIRM, even though the translation for the prayers, etc. are changed in the RM.  Even so, this is a manual I should re-read at least once-a-year!  There's so much to know!  Even so, what most amazes me is how well we do liturgy together even though most of us don't know the GIRM, not even the parts that pertain to our own specific ministry.  I think that testifies to the power of example and tradition.  It also goes to show that all those who make it their business to correct us along the way have a very important ministry too: that of keeping the faith, in more ways than one!  It's true, it doesn't take a degree to do liturgy well.  It doesn't take a degree or even a manual to teach and follow a plan.  It does however take great personal humility as well as devotion to the Lord to remain true, in this case true to "Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi, Lex Vivendi" in its deepest sense.  Thanks be to God for Jesus Christ; thanks be to Jesus for the Holy Spirit; thanks be to the Spirit of becoming One! :)

Sacred Relationship

Notes taken from Scott Hahn's course re Biblical Covenants as found on St. Paul Center For Biblical Theology and his book A Father Who Keeps His Promises.

The nature of Biblical Covenants: Sacred Relationship
Five (+one) elements:
(oath)
mediator
blessings
consequences/ curses
sign
relationship

Six major Covenants in Old & New Testaments:
Each of these is between God and a group of people, mediated by:
Adam
Noah
Abraham
Moses
David
Jesus

Scripture reveals to us how God is forming His Covenant w/ His People.
Covenants are different from Contracts in that Contracts are promises between two parties (doesn't include God) exchanging property or services; whereas Covenants are oaths between one or more parties and God, forging a relationship.

Today I'm going back to "The Life You Save May Be Your Own."  I want to get better acquainted w/ Flannery O'Connor and her context, and then to read Regis Martin's work about her.

It suddenly occurred to me how much I need to take stock of the fact that these people whom I feel are worth reading lived on this same earth that I do now.  I don't really believe that is altogether true.  The world today feels like such a different time and space than even what it was when I was growing up that I couldn't feel more alien than if this were a different planet, an alternate earth.  I live with that view daily, so prominent in my mind, that I tend to forget the rest of the truth: although things are changing, this is still the same earth, this is still the on-going story of human-kind, God is still present, and His Story of redemption is still unfolding.

I think of the hymn "God Is Working His Purpose Out"

God is working His purpose out

As year succeeds to year;

God is working his purpose out,

And the time is drawing near;

Nearer and nearer draws the time,

The time that shall surely be,

When the earth shall be filled

With the glory of God

As the waters cover the sea.

From utmost east to utmost west,

Where’er man’s foot hath trod,

By the mouth of many messengers

Goes forth the voice of God:

“Give ear to Me, ye continents,

Ye isles, give ear to Me,”

That the earth may be filled

With the glory of God

As the waters cover the sea.

What can we do to work God’s work,

To prosper and increase

The brotherhood of all mankind,

The reign of the Prince of Peace?

What can we do to hasten the time,

The time that shall surely be,

When the earth shall be filled

With the glory of God

As the waters cover the sea.

March we forth in the strength of God,

With the banner of Christ unfurled,

That the light of the glorious Gospel of truth

May shine throughout the world;

Fight we the fight with sorrow and sin

To set their captives free,

That the earth may be filled

With the glory of God

As the waters cover the sea.

All we can do is nothing worth

Unless God blesses the deed;

Vainly we hope for the harvest-tide

Till God gives life to the seed;

Yet near and nearer draws the time,

The time that shall surely be,

When the earth shall be filled

With the glory of God

As the waters cover the sea.

This hymn is so grand and focuses on the sovereignty of God, and while it is all true, I need to focus on how this same great God who has worked in the past is yet working today, and sometimes in very small (seemingly insignificant) and subtle ways, more to the point: through individuals and the circumstances of their ordinary lives.