“The Son of God suffered unto the death, not that men might not suffer, but that their sufferings might be like His.”
George MacDonald
PATRIOT POST
20 March, 2008
Patriot Vol. 08 No. 12
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Dieing Leads to Life
“Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you’ll have it forever, real and eternal.”
Jesus of Nazareth
Jesus of Nazareth
Friday, March 7, 2008
Jesus' Bitter Cup of Death
From Gethsemane to Golgotha Jesus has been, for the most part, “silent." In Mark’s account, he has revealed nothing of his private thought or his personal feeling. … His spirit has been mute. … the mind is hidden in mystery.
“But … finally, on Golgotha, comes a spontaneous gesture, and with it an insight into the spirit of the Savior … what he’s been doing in the solitude of his interior self.”
He’s lying on his back, wearing nothing but a loin cloth. His head and hands have been placed on the crossbeam to which his hands will be fastened with spikes. The command to drive the spikes through his hands has been given.
“So then a woman rushes over and kneels by the figure of Jesus and offers him a drink.” She’s doing what her people have done, mercifully, for generations. She’s obeying the command of the ancient Proverb, “Give strong drink to the dying, and wine to those in bitter distress; let them drink and remember their misery no more.” She is “seeking to ease the torment of the crucifixion. She’s offering Jesus myrrh, a narcotic.
“And here is the gesture, revelation, the mind of the dying Christ:
“He shakes his head. He will not drink from her cup. He will in no wise dull his senses or ease the pain.
“And so we know. What are the feelings? What has the spirit of Jesus been doing since Gethsemane? Why, suffering. With a pure and willful consciousness, terribly sensitive to every thorn and cut and scornful slur: suffering. This he has chosen. This he is attending to with every nerve of his being – not for some perverted love of pain. He hates the pain. But for a supernal love of us, that pain might be transfigured, forever.
What “has the Lord been doing since Gethsemane? Drinking. Not from the woman’s narcotic cup, but from the cup the father would not remove from him: drinking. Swallow by swallow, tasting the hell therein, not tossing it down in a hurry: ‘So that by the grace of God he might taste death for every one.’”
What “has the Lamb been doing since Gethsemane? Bearing our griefs. Carrying our sorrows. By the stripes he is truly and intensely receiving, healing us all.”
Walter Wangerin, Jr. Reliving the Passion
“But … finally, on Golgotha, comes a spontaneous gesture, and with it an insight into the spirit of the Savior … what he’s been doing in the solitude of his interior self.”
He’s lying on his back, wearing nothing but a loin cloth. His head and hands have been placed on the crossbeam to which his hands will be fastened with spikes. The command to drive the spikes through his hands has been given.
“So then a woman rushes over and kneels by the figure of Jesus and offers him a drink.” She’s doing what her people have done, mercifully, for generations. She’s obeying the command of the ancient Proverb, “Give strong drink to the dying, and wine to those in bitter distress; let them drink and remember their misery no more.” She is “seeking to ease the torment of the crucifixion. She’s offering Jesus myrrh, a narcotic.
“And here is the gesture, revelation, the mind of the dying Christ:
“He shakes his head. He will not drink from her cup. He will in no wise dull his senses or ease the pain.
“And so we know. What are the feelings? What has the spirit of Jesus been doing since Gethsemane? Why, suffering. With a pure and willful consciousness, terribly sensitive to every thorn and cut and scornful slur: suffering. This he has chosen. This he is attending to with every nerve of his being – not for some perverted love of pain. He hates the pain. But for a supernal love of us, that pain might be transfigured, forever.
What “has the Lord been doing since Gethsemane? Drinking. Not from the woman’s narcotic cup, but from the cup the father would not remove from him: drinking. Swallow by swallow, tasting the hell therein, not tossing it down in a hurry: ‘So that by the grace of God he might taste death for every one.’”
What “has the Lamb been doing since Gethsemane? Bearing our griefs. Carrying our sorrows. By the stripes he is truly and intensely receiving, healing us all.”
Walter Wangerin, Jr. Reliving the Passion
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Wisdom for Warfare
“In war resolution. In defeat, defiance. In victory, magnanimity. In peace, good will.”
Sir Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Churchill
Monday, January 21, 2008
Masterful Living
"The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he is always doing both."
James Michener
James Michener
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
The Light the Healing Spirit in This World
"Today you must listen to his voice. There is a light in this world.....a healing spirit much stronger than any darkness we may encounter. We sometimes lose site of this force.....where there is suffering, too much pain, and suddenly the spirit will emerge.....through lives of ordinary people, and answer in extraordinary ways. God speaks in the silence of the heart and we listen."
Mother Theresa
Mother Theresa
Monday, January 7, 2008
An After Christmas Prayer
This, the 12th Day of Christmas, is about over. The festive lights fade and the “hard times” which so often meet us in this “warring world” loom large in front of us.
Refusing to avoid the foreboding future and resolving to meet each challenge head on we pray …
Our God, our Father, make us strong,
When tasks of life seem hard and long,
To greet them with this triumph song:
Thy will be done.
Draw from our timid eyes the veil
To show, where earthly forces fail,
Thy power and love must still prevail –
Thy will be done.
With confident and humble mind
Freedom in service we would find,
Praying through every toil assigned:
Thy will be done.
Things deemed impossible we dare,
Thine is the call and Thine the care:
Thy wisdom shall the way prepare –
Thy will be done.
All power is here and round us now;
Faithful we stand in rule and vow,
While ‘tis not us, but ever Thou:
Thy will be done.
Heaven’s music chimes the glad days in;
Hope sours beyond death, pain, and sin;
Faith shouts in triumph, Love must win –
They will be done.
Refusing to avoid the foreboding future and resolving to meet each challenge head on we pray …
Our God, our Father, make us strong,
When tasks of life seem hard and long,
To greet them with this triumph song:
Thy will be done.
Draw from our timid eyes the veil
To show, where earthly forces fail,
Thy power and love must still prevail –
Thy will be done.
With confident and humble mind
Freedom in service we would find,
Praying through every toil assigned:
Thy will be done.
Things deemed impossible we dare,
Thine is the call and Thine the care:
Thy wisdom shall the way prepare –
Thy will be done.
All power is here and round us now;
Faithful we stand in rule and vow,
While ‘tis not us, but ever Thou:
Thy will be done.
Heaven’s music chimes the glad days in;
Hope sours beyond death, pain, and sin;
Faith shouts in triumph, Love must win –
They will be done.
Frederic Mann, 1928
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