Br. Tristram describes the incarnation today - the greatest gift God could provide to us out of His love for us. Do listen to the video - Br. Tristram has an awesome voice for reading the Gospel: "And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)
As you contemplate your prayers, and your own humanity, be honest with yourself, as you answer, "How honest am I in my prayers?"
And as you try to wrap your mind around that concept, I'd also like to share today's reading from Dietrich Bonhoeffer's book Discipleship: "Following Christ means taking certain steps. The first step, which responds to the call, separates the followers from their previous existence. A call to discipleship thus immediately creates a new situation. Staying in the old situation and following Christ mutually exclude each other. At first, that was quite visibly the case. The tax collector had to leave his booth and Peter his nets to follow Jesus. According to our under standing, even back then things could have been quite different. Jesus could have given the tax collector new knowledge of God and left him in his old situation. If Jesus had not been God's Son become human, then that would have been possible. But because Jesus is the Christ, it has to be made clear from the beginning that his word is not a doctrine. Instead, it creates existence anew. The point was to really walk with Jesus. It was made clear to those he called that they only had one possibility of believing in Jesus, that of leaving everything and going with the incarnate Son of God."
In today's society, where we generally don't leave our vocations in order to follow Christ and become Christians, think about how you can reflect the changes within yourself in your own work. How you might perform your job as if Jesus were right there with you. There's a great song, "The Name Lives On" (I've shared it here before, but it's worth sharing again), and while it lets us know that Christ is always with us, watch, and think about Jesus being with you throughout your day, experiencing your joys, your sorrows, your contentment, your fears. Does your behavior change? Your thoughts? Your prayers? Your feeling of safety? Your guilt level?
You're a human through whom God lives - He knows what you're experiencing. Being honest with Him means being honest with yourself as well. That's often easier said than done. Challenge yourself. One day, with Christ.
As you contemplate your prayers, and your own humanity, be honest with yourself, as you answer, "How honest am I in my prayers?"
And as you try to wrap your mind around that concept, I'd also like to share today's reading from Dietrich Bonhoeffer's book Discipleship: "Following Christ means taking certain steps. The first step, which responds to the call, separates the followers from their previous existence. A call to discipleship thus immediately creates a new situation. Staying in the old situation and following Christ mutually exclude each other. At first, that was quite visibly the case. The tax collector had to leave his booth and Peter his nets to follow Jesus. According to our under standing, even back then things could have been quite different. Jesus could have given the tax collector new knowledge of God and left him in his old situation. If Jesus had not been God's Son become human, then that would have been possible. But because Jesus is the Christ, it has to be made clear from the beginning that his word is not a doctrine. Instead, it creates existence anew. The point was to really walk with Jesus. It was made clear to those he called that they only had one possibility of believing in Jesus, that of leaving everything and going with the incarnate Son of God."
In today's society, where we generally don't leave our vocations in order to follow Christ and become Christians, think about how you can reflect the changes within yourself in your own work. How you might perform your job as if Jesus were right there with you. There's a great song, "The Name Lives On" (I've shared it here before, but it's worth sharing again), and while it lets us know that Christ is always with us, watch, and think about Jesus being with you throughout your day, experiencing your joys, your sorrows, your contentment, your fears. Does your behavior change? Your thoughts? Your prayers? Your feeling of safety? Your guilt level?
You're a human through whom God lives - He knows what you're experiencing. Being honest with Him means being honest with yourself as well. That's often easier said than done. Challenge yourself. One day, with Christ.
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