God of all grace, whose thoughts toward us are ever thoughts of peace and not of evil, give us hearts to believe that we are accepted in the Beloved; and give us minds to admire that perfection of moral wisdom which found a way to preserve the integrity of heaven and yet receive us there. We are astonished and marvel that one so holy and dread should invite us into Thy banqueting house and cause love to be the banner over us. We cannot express the gratitude we feel, but look Thou on our hearts and read it there. Amen.
-A.W. Tozer
Return, O wanderer, now return,
And seek thy Father's face;
Those new desires which in thee burn
Were kindled by His grace.
Return, O wanderer, now return,
And wipe the falling tear:
They Father calls, --no longer mourn;
'Tis love invites thee near.
William Benco Collyer
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Rex caeli Domine...
Rex caeli, Domine maris undisoni, Titanis nitidi squalidique soli, Te humiles famuli modulis venerando piis Se, jubeas, flagitant variis liberare malis.
King of heaven, Lord of the sounding sea, of the shining Titan sun and the gloomy earth, Thy humble servants, worshiping Thee with devout song as Thou has bidden, earnestly entreat Thee to order them freed from their various ills.
Mortalis occulus videt in facie Tu autem latebras animi per agras. Sonoris fidibus famuli tibimet devoti Davidis sequiemur humilem regis precum hostiam.
The mortal eye sees the external form; Thou, however, dost search through the hiding places of the soul. With sounding strings, we servants devoted to Thee attend the humble offering of the prayers of King David.
Cithara sapientis melodia est Tibimet, genitor, forte placita; Cuncta captus devotorum laudum munia Nostri quoque sume voti harmoniam Placare, Domine, nostris obsequiis, Quae nocte ferimus, quoque meridie
The cithara is the song of the wise; to Thee, Creator, may it be pleasing. having obtained the whole service of praise of the devoted, receive also the harmony of our prayer. May Thou be appeased by our services, which we offer by night and also by day...
Hoc Saul ludicro mitigaverat, Spiritu cum sibi forte debilem Spiritalem abolebat justitiam Ipso joco tua cantans praeconia Haec sibi caelitus munera venerant, Ut iram dulcibus premeret modulis.
With this entertainment he had soothed Saul when from his soul, made feeble by chance, he was blotting out righteous justice; in this pastime singing your praises. These gifts had come to him from heaven, that he might check anger with pleasant melodies.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
The Father and The Son...
" How deep the Father's love for us. How vast beyond all measure, that He should give His only son to make a wretch his treasure. How great the pain of searing loss the Father turns His face away, as wounds which mar the chosen one bring many sons to glory. Behold the man upon the cross. My sin upon His shoulders. Ashamed I hear my mocking voice call out among the scoffers. It was my sin that held Him there until it was accomplished. His dying breath has brought me life. I know that it is finished. I will not boast in anything: no gifts, no power, no wisdom. But I will boast in Jesus Christ His death and resurrection. Why should I gain from his reward? I cannot give an answer, but this I know with all my heart: His wounds have paid my ransom."
-Stuart Townend
It is difficult to comprehend the idea of God sacrificing His only son. I don't know how God felt about it, but He has given us an idea by revealing it in terms of a father and son relationship. Obviously God, being omnipotent, knew and planned the whole drama, but the way that He has told us the story gives us a glimpse of the importance of the event; not just from a redemptive standpoint (which is ultimately the most important aspect) but also from a poignant description of incredible sacrifice. God relates to Himself in a father and son relationship because both Jesus and the Father are one; but this is a great mystery, especially to a human who can only be an individual. So God sacrificed His "son-self" for His creation--ultimately this is an impossible concept to wholly grasp, but one that seems to reflect something of the nature of God. The creator is so true to Himself that he won't break His own rules, but he is creative enough to work out redemption through sacrificing part of Himself. This is certainly getting into the realm of paradoxical thinking. "Why should I gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer." Dear Father thank you for sending you only son Jesus to save humanity and thank you for allowing me to be awestruck and confounded by you!
Amen
-Stuart Townend
It is difficult to comprehend the idea of God sacrificing His only son. I don't know how God felt about it, but He has given us an idea by revealing it in terms of a father and son relationship. Obviously God, being omnipotent, knew and planned the whole drama, but the way that He has told us the story gives us a glimpse of the importance of the event; not just from a redemptive standpoint (which is ultimately the most important aspect) but also from a poignant description of incredible sacrifice. God relates to Himself in a father and son relationship because both Jesus and the Father are one; but this is a great mystery, especially to a human who can only be an individual. So God sacrificed His "son-self" for His creation--ultimately this is an impossible concept to wholly grasp, but one that seems to reflect something of the nature of God. The creator is so true to Himself that he won't break His own rules, but he is creative enough to work out redemption through sacrificing part of Himself. This is certainly getting into the realm of paradoxical thinking. "Why should I gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer." Dear Father thank you for sending you only son Jesus to save humanity and thank you for allowing me to be awestruck and confounded by you!
Amen
Friday, January 8, 2010
Tunes and Albums for 2009
These tunes and albums I listened to more than a few times in 2009. I tried to limit myself because a year seems to encompass several musical lifetimes!
In no particular order (none that I can identify anyway):
1) Oblivion - Bud Powell
2) Facedown - Matt Redman
3) The Spirit The Water and the Blood - Ryan Delmore
4) You Hold Me Now - Hillsong United
5) Brad Mehldau Trio Live @ The Vanguard (2006)
6) Relaxin'- Miles Davis
7) War Paint - Black Crows
8) Where the Light Is - John Mayer
9) Veckatimest - Grizzly Bear
10) Viaticum Platinum - Esbjorn Svensson
11) Zenyatta Mondatta - The Police
12) Polly Come Home - Robert Plant Allison Krauss
13) I Love's You Porgy - Miles Davis (Gershwin)
14) Das Buch Der Hangenden Garten - Arnold Schoenberg
15) Hold My Heart - Tenth Avenue North
16) Get Rhythm - Johnny Cash
17) In Rainbows - Radiohead
18) Come on Feel the Illinois - Sufjan Stevens
19) Chasing Pavements - Adele
20) Make You Feel My Love - Adele (Dylan)
21) Someone To Watch Over Me - Keith Jarrett (Gershwin)
22) Icky Thump - White Stripes
23) I Will Rise - Chris Tomlin
24) Because We've Ended As Lovers - Jeff Beck (Stevie Wonder)
25) The Lonely Stoner - Kid Cudi
Monday, January 4, 2010
Prayers II...
I saw a post by a friend of mine. It said "As I think back upon my life, I'm so thankful to the Lord for everything... the good times, the bad... may I always have a heart of gratitude. So thankful for the blessings, so mindful of his hand." An honest and powerful prayer in its simplicity.
In the comments someone corrected the gender bias of the prayer to "her". This post led me back to a dilemma that I've faced before: if God is truly the greatest being then shouldn't he reflect neutral gender? Obviously there are religions that believe God is completely feminine. Are those people wrong?
I can't answer that question with any conviction for anyone but myself.
Although I believe that God is beyond human comprehension, I also believe that He has revealed Himself to humanity in specific ways. Jesus said, "I am the way the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6 God has revealed Himself to me in the form of Yahweh, the God of the Jewish tradition (i.e. the Bible), and more importantly in the form of Jesus Christ; a man, sent from God who was God and was also human. This man Jesus is "The Way" to God for me. He is the temporal link to the eternal. I see this as a divine revelation. Not the kind of revelation that wakes you up in the middle of the night, that stands at the foot of your bed with huge wings and a shining face and says "THE BIBLE IS TRUTH..."(that would be super weird, and cool, but super weird)--no, this revelation is formed in the dirt; in the rough grimy and frankly dark paths that I've often been on. It feels like a formless mass of "knowing" that refuses to defend itself in the face of science and intelligence and yet lingers in the back of my mind. It is the still small voice. It is the unreality that opposes everything I can feel and touch and yet it backs everything; it supports temporal existence. The thought of this supreme being makes everything I've ever experienced seem slightly ghostly, slightly ethereal and less solid. I dig Kierkegaard when he says that "to defend a thing is to disparage it." Hallelujah, how many times have I tried to prove the existence of God. Well, it doesn't work that way for me. There is always someone smarter who has more reasons why God shouldn't exist. Well, I have a problem with the term exist anyway, but I digress...I'm no defender of God because I don't believe He needs anyone to defend Him. I'm not even an apologist. I'm just a man with a drop of God given faith and some Calvinistic ideas.
In the attempt to grasp even an inkling of what a supreme being must be-God, creator, destroyer, avenger who rains fire and brimstone and allows human suffering, compassionate, merciful, angry, sad, happy--you get the point--one would surely cringe in terror at the realization of His awfulness. I think one reason that Jesus is to be loved is because of what he represents: an awesome God who not only created everything, but lived in His creation as a created being and was sacrificed so that those seemingly insignificant creations have way to communicate directly with the originator. Now that's a mind trip...
In the comments someone corrected the gender bias of the prayer to "her". This post led me back to a dilemma that I've faced before: if God is truly the greatest being then shouldn't he reflect neutral gender? Obviously there are religions that believe God is completely feminine. Are those people wrong?
I can't answer that question with any conviction for anyone but myself.
Although I believe that God is beyond human comprehension, I also believe that He has revealed Himself to humanity in specific ways. Jesus said, "I am the way the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6 God has revealed Himself to me in the form of Yahweh, the God of the Jewish tradition (i.e. the Bible), and more importantly in the form of Jesus Christ; a man, sent from God who was God and was also human. This man Jesus is "The Way" to God for me. He is the temporal link to the eternal. I see this as a divine revelation. Not the kind of revelation that wakes you up in the middle of the night, that stands at the foot of your bed with huge wings and a shining face and says "THE BIBLE IS TRUTH..."(that would be super weird, and cool, but super weird)--no, this revelation is formed in the dirt; in the rough grimy and frankly dark paths that I've often been on. It feels like a formless mass of "knowing" that refuses to defend itself in the face of science and intelligence and yet lingers in the back of my mind. It is the still small voice. It is the unreality that opposes everything I can feel and touch and yet it backs everything; it supports temporal existence. The thought of this supreme being makes everything I've ever experienced seem slightly ghostly, slightly ethereal and less solid. I dig Kierkegaard when he says that "to defend a thing is to disparage it." Hallelujah, how many times have I tried to prove the existence of God. Well, it doesn't work that way for me. There is always someone smarter who has more reasons why God shouldn't exist. Well, I have a problem with the term exist anyway, but I digress...I'm no defender of God because I don't believe He needs anyone to defend Him. I'm not even an apologist. I'm just a man with a drop of God given faith and some Calvinistic ideas.
In the attempt to grasp even an inkling of what a supreme being must be-God, creator, destroyer, avenger who rains fire and brimstone and allows human suffering, compassionate, merciful, angry, sad, happy--you get the point--one would surely cringe in terror at the realization of His awfulness. I think one reason that Jesus is to be loved is because of what he represents: an awesome God who not only created everything, but lived in His creation as a created being and was sacrificed so that those seemingly insignificant creations have way to communicate directly with the originator. Now that's a mind trip...
Praise the Lord Jesus Christ
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Maker of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:
the Maker of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;
He descended into hell.
The third day He arose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost;
the holy catholic church;
the communion of saints;
the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the body;
and the life everlasting.
the holy catholic church;
the communion of saints;
the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the body;
and the life everlasting.
Amen.
"Christ and Children" Sadao Watanabe
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Prayers...
Painting by Sadao Watanabe "The Last Supper"
(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-) Gracious and Holy Father,
give us the wisdom to discover You,
the intelligence to understand You,
the diligence to seek after You,
the patience to wait for You,
eyes to behold You,
a heart to meditate upon You,
and a life to proclaim You,
through the power of Jesus, our Lord.
--Prayer by Saint Benedict
for seekers of faith
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