Monday of Septuagesima Sunday - Mark 6:7-13

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In this passage Jesus the Great Master sends out His disciples, in particular the 12, to go and be His presence in the world. Jesus knows that in His human form He is limited in space: He can only be in one place at a time. He also knows that His time is limited, for He knows the terrible mission He is on. Therefore, in keeping with the Kingdom parables He tells, He insures that His Kingdom will begin to grow and spread.

Because Jesus is God we may assume that He could just wave His hand and the work of spreading His Kingdom would happen automatically. But because He is also man, He has chosen to extend His Kingdom through His disciples and not apart from them. This is part of the meaning of the Incarnation: that Jesus Christ is redeeming mankind not apart from but through those He has come to redeem. Because the Church is the Body of Christ here on earth and because He has commissioned us to do the things He did while here on earth, we have a sacred ministry to spread His Kingdom.

There are 3 basic tasks that Jesus gives to the apostles. First, they are to proclaim the Kingdom of God - that it is here because King Jesus is here. Second, they are to proclaim the need for repentance because the King has come in judgment and in mercy: mercy for the penitent, but judgment for the impenitent. Third, the disciples are to heal the sick, including the spiritually sick.

Whenever we read such passages we are often distracted from the Master’s call on our lives by the specific details of the 1st century Israel setting. It would be easy to get caught up in trying to determine why the disciples were not to take anything for the journey except a staff and sandals. We could delve into the cultural implications of having the dust shaken off in testimony against someone. And sometimes these details are very helpful in understanding exactly what’s going on.

Other times, they have the effect of short-circuiting our ability to hear what Jesus Christ is telling us in America in the 21st century. “But I’m not an itinerant preacher! I don’t have a tunic or money belt or bag, and my last pair of Birkenstock’s wore out and I haven’t had a chance to replace them yet!”

The details of the first century situation are sometimes remote and sometimes not directly applicable. But we shouldn’t allow them to obscure the abiding spiritual principles of the Kingdom which are meant for us.

Are we supposed to go out, taking nothing but a staff and sandals? No.

But are we supposed to go out? Absolutely!

Are we supposed to go out 2 by 2 and risk being mistaken for Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses?

Not necessarily, and yet there may be wisdom in it.

Are we supposed to have the ability to cast out demons
and heal the sick?

Most of us won’t.

Then what are we supposed to do?

Because we have confirmation from other passages of Scripture, we do know that we have been commanded to go to all the nations and make disciples. We know that we have an obligation to be ready in season and out of season to proclaim Jesus Christ. We are commanded to be prophets and proclaim Jesus Christ and His kingdom and the need for repentance. And we are to offer to heal the souls and minds and bodies of those around us using whatever technology and abilities God has given us.

Sometimes we use the cloak of the 1st century strangeness to absolve us of our obligation to obey our Master. In reading such passages, therefore, it is important to avoid 2 errors. First, don’t allow confusion over 1st century cultural details to cloud God’s abiding commandments to you. In other words, if you can’t figure out how staffs, bags, bread, copper, money belts, and sandals are relevant to you, it doesn’t absolve you from the task of being a prophet and evangelist.

Second, don’t attempt to slavishly follow every detail of the 1st century situation as if it is eternally normative. Just as you are not required to go about wearing a tunic and sandals and carrying a staff and money belt, you are unlikely to ever cast out a demon in your life. You are not required to give up your job and go out in pairs to knock on houses and act as itinerant evangelists. But you do have an obligation to tell others about Jesus Christ, to tell them that they need to repent, and to offer what help in their lives you can.

Having a better understanding of such passages, what are we waiting for? We have no excuse to not go out today and proclaim Jesus Christ and His Kingdom!

Prayer: Thank You, Father, that through Your Son, Jesus Christ, You have called me to Yourself and have sent me out to act as a minister of Your Kingdom in this world. Give me all that I need to tell others about Your Son and His Kingdom and about the need for repentance from sins, and to bring Your saving and healing grace to all You have sent me to. Amen.

Point for Meditation:
Do you believe that God has called you, specifically, to be His prophet and evangelist? What are some ways, in your cultural situation, that God is calling you to act more faithfully as a prophet and evangelist?

Resolution: I resolve to consider one way that God is calling me to proclaim His Son and His kingdom in my life. If God is leading me to act on this call today, I resolve to stand ready and obey when I hear His commandment to go.

© 2009 Fr. Charles Erlandson

Saturday of Epiphany 4 - Colossians 3:18-4:18

“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 3:17.)

“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men” (Colossians 3:23.)

Here is the ultimate goal for every Christian and the end of true Christian discipleship: to do everything for the Lord Jesus Christ.

All of the other commandments, all of the things God has commanded us not to do and all of the things He has commanded us that we should do, are all summed up in this: do everything for the Lord Jesus Christ. Of course, since love is the summary of the Law, Paul’s commandments here are just another way of saying “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind.”

Let’s be clear about this: the goal is the complete annihilation of the Old Man and the complete putting on of the New Man. No matter how difficult and unlikely this may seem, let’s at least be clear about the goal.

I find that in whatever we set our hearts and minds to, it’s important to have a goal to shoot for. When I was younger just about my only concrete goal was to break the world’s record in the mile. I discovered in second grade that I was fast, especially at long distances, compared to my peers. So I began to dream of breaking the world’s record in the mile. My dad had been a runner in college, and my hero growing up was Jim Ryun. Starting in 2nd grade, I kept an annual record of my time in the mile and charted my progress. 8:00 in second grade, 7:43 in 4th grade, 7:21 in 5th grade, 6:41 in 7th grade.

Beginning in 7th grade, I ran cross-country every year, and beginning in 9th grade I began running track as well. In the summer before 10th grade I got myself up early every day to bike 2 miles to cross-country practice and run. Every day of every practice, I ran hard. Whenever we ran quarter or half miles to build up speed, I always tried to run with the fastest group, and I gave it my all, while those who were my speed at the meets always took it easier. In 11th grade I ran 250+ miles in a month. I’d run for an hour or more after school, and then come back home and run 2-4 miles in the evening as well. One day in practice, after following the team captain, Mike Clidas, and getting lost, I ran somewhere between 16 and 20 miles with only one stop halfway through for a little water.

I did all these things because of my one big goal. After realizing that I wasn’t getting that much faster and that “Hey, I’m killing myself running all these miles!” I gave up running after my junior year of high school.

In retrospect, two things amaze me. First, that I ever had that much energy in my life! Second, to what great lengths I went in order to achieve a goal that didn’t even survive through high school and has been dead for 31 years now.

It’s funny, but from 2nd grade through 11th grade, and even for several years beyond, I thought of myself as a runner. That’s who I was. Even as recently as a few years ago I still had occasional dreams that I had the energy again to run effortlessly. Running was my identity. I hung out with other runners. I spent my time running. My goal was to be the best runner I could be, and so I gladly gave up a lot of other things that in retrospect I probably should have gotten involved in.

All of that is just a much lesser version of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Our identity is that we are Jesus Christ. We are Christians, and our life is hidden in Christ. For us, to live is Christ. This is who we are and who we’re supposed to be. If we don’t at least acknowledge this as our goal, then we will never do a very good job of reaching for it.

But how many Christians that you know have as their highest goal to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ and to do everything in life for Him? This is supposed to be the goal of every Christian, but how many of us can say that it is? Let’s be clear: no matter how imperfectly we do this, our goal should be to do all things for Jesus Christ.

The only way I know to do this is to dedicate myself to the lifelong process of discipleship within the life of a local church. It won’t happen all at once, but it won’t happen at all if you don’t dedicate yourself intentionally to seeking Jesus Christ and doing all things for Him. It won’t happen, either, if you try to do it all by yourself.

As I reflect upon my spiritual growth and my growth in trying to do all things for Jesus Christ, it occurs to me that I’ve had a lot of help along the way. Every time I’ve perceptibly moved forward in giving more of my life to Christ, it’s happened in the context of a group of dedicated Christians.

The process of wanting to do all things for Jesus Christ began, for me, in the context of a Christian home with dedicated Christian parents who took me to church every Sunday and had family devotions at home and gave me a Christian worldview. Things moved forward around the time of my baptism in ninth grade when my dad suggested I start reading the Bible every day, and that’s been my goal ever since. I learned to study the Bible, and not just read it in a meandering way, in my senior year of high school when my Sunday school teacher asked me to join him for a study of Philippians. Studying the Bible in slow motion, verse by verse and section by section, was a revelation to me.

In college, I was supported by being a part of Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship, and after college I became part of a church that taught me to apply Christ and a Christian worldview to all areas of my life, including my intellect. The fact that this was done in the context of a vibrant church where many people were zealous for the Lord and to learn how to apply their faith to their culture – and had fun doing it – was truly a formative time in my life.

I have had many other godly examples and mentors. After all this, I think this Christianity thing is finally catching on.

Unfortunately, many Christians simply stop growing. Many are only partially formed as Christians to begin with, and then at some point they stop growing all together. I don’t know why we think that Sunday school is good for kids but that continued Christian education isn’t necessary for adults. I’m amazed at how many invitations to Sunday school classes, Bible studies, small groups, worship services, etc. Christian adults routinely spurn. Through such means, and others, God is offering us an opportunity to learn together to how to do all things to Jesus Christ.

But maybe that’s just it. Maybe some of don’t really want to do all things for Jesus Christ. Maybe if we come into contact with other Christians who are zealous to teach and to learn we know that we’ll be confronted with our “issues.” That’s exactly right. But remember that it is God who is confronting you, so that you can be His true disciple, learning to do all things for Him.
How often we use as an excuse for not entering more deeply into discipleship the very fact that we don’t really want to be disciples!

Let’s be clear one last time: Jesus Christ Himself – not Fr. Charles or your pastor or your parents or friends – is calling you to do all things for Him. You can resist His call on your life, but at least be clear about who and what it is that you are rejecting.

Your motivation for life, your goal in life, should be to do all things for Jesus Christ: to have Him in all of your thoughts; to make all of the moral decisions in life based on Him; to think about the world and your life from His perspective; to think His thought after Him; to act as He would act; and to offer up your entire life to Him as a whole burnt offering. Whatever your job in life, whatever your circumstance, however difficult the things in life may be: do all things as to the Lord.

However imperfectly you may be doing this in life, begin by acknowledging the call of your Master on your life: “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men” (Colossians 3:23.)

Prayer: Father, I ask for Your grace in my life to give me a desire to do all things for my Lord Jesus Christ. Renew me in His image, and teach me to love You with all my heart and all my soul and all my mind, that I may prove a faithful disciple of my Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Point for Meditation:
1. What means of discipleship is God offering you that you should be accepting?
2. Reflect on your life. What means has God used to make you a disciple of Jesus Christ? Give thanks to God for each one of these people or things.
3. Remember a time in your life when you had a big goal that you dedicated yourself to. Compare this dedication to your dedication to doing all things for Jesus Christ. Use this as a motivation to seek Him more zealously.

Resolution: I resolve to honestly examine my life today. How much have I desired to do all things for Jesus Christ?

© 2009 Fr. Charles Erlandson

Friday of Epiphany 4 - Colossians 3:12-17

St. Paul’s sustained teaching through chapters 2 and 3 has been that because we are buried and raised with Christ in baptism, we are to keep our mind on things in heaven by taking off the Old Man and putting on the New Man which is Jesus Christ. The work that God began in baptism, and often before baptism, is a work that we must participate in by daily taking off the Old Man and putting on the New Man. In verses 8-10 of chapter 3 Paul tells us some ways to take off the Old Man, and in verses 12-17 he tells us some ways to put on the New Man.

This putting on the New Man is nothing less than putting on Jesus Christ Himself by faithfully receiving His grace. By doing these things, therefore, we will be able to keep our mind on things in heaven because by doing them we will in fact by participating the life of Jesus Christ.

It’s a good thing to keep in our hearts at all times Paul’s list of ways to put on Jesus Christ. It should be our practice to regularly meditate on such lists. Here is Paul’s list:

1. compassion and kindness
2. lowliness and meekness
3. longsuffering and forbearing one another
4. forgiving one another
5. love
6. peace
7. giving thanks
8. letting the Word of Christ dwell among you richly
9. teaching and admonishing one another
10. singing with grace in your heart to the Lord

Here is a full course agape feast for the soul. Since the last of these sometimes don’t get as much attention as the first, I’ll spend some time with them.

At the heart of the last 4 of these ways of putting on Jesus Christ is the Word of God. Our faithful response to the Word of God is, in large part, how these other means of putting on Christ will take place in our lives. “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom.”

This is to be our starting point: the Word of God. The Word of God is to dwell among us richly. Writing a letter to an entire church, as St. Paul is doing, and remembering his teaching on teaching and church authority from his pastoral letters, we must always remember that our hearing and obeying the Word of God is a corporate task. Hearing and obeying the Word of God happens in the life of the Church. It is not primarily an individual responsibility but a corporate one.

We were called in one body to peace (verse 15), not just as individuals. It might help us to remember as well that in the 1st century, only the local Church as a whole would have had the Bible. Where, then, would the Colossians go to hear the Word of God, to teach and be taught, and to sing spirituals songs that edify? In the Church, of course!

For Christians to put on Jesus Christ, we must faithfully hear the Word of God as an entire Church, not just as random individuals going our own way. Paul assumes that this hearing of the Word is a corporate task because only if we have heard and shared the Word together will be able to teach and admonish one another. If I’m reading the Bible in the privacy of my own home, shunning all other teachers, and then I come to the Church and begin telling people what God has told me, my reception my rightfully be a little icy.

But what if we read the Scriptures together, as both the Jews and the early Christians did? What if we read them together so deeply and wisely that God equipped us by His Spirit to teach and admonish one another? Sadly, I don’t think that happens at many churches. In a lot of churches, even churches that cherish the Word of God, it goes in one ear of Christians and out the other. We don’t really expect that someone would dare to share its wisdom with us.

In other churches, the teaching is all self-directed. I read the Bible myself, determine its meaning myself, and apply it to myself. Such an individualistic way of reading the Bible is not new. It began after the time of the Enlightenment and really even after that, in the nineteenth century when Bibles and literacy were much more widespread.

What if a church really did make every effort to let the Word dwell among them richly? I can’t help but think that there is a parallel between the Word (meaning the Bible) dwelling among us here in Colossians and the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us of (John 1:14.) If we want to put on Jesus Christ, then let His Word dwell richly among you.

If we do this, then Jesus Himself, the Great Teacher and Master, will teach us. By letting the Word of God dwell richly among us, God will give His Son to us and equip us to teach and be taught, to admonish and be admonished. God is not usually in the business of speaking directly to men: instead, He comes most commonly through His Word and through His messengers. And when we hear, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the Word of God together, amazing things begin to happen. Because we learn to hear God’s voice, He teaches us. And when He teaches us, we learn to teach others. And when we teach and admonish others, the work of disciplehip, which is the work of putting on Jesus Christ (a.k.a. “putting on the New Man), is done.

Something else amazing happens. We begin to speak to each other in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Some commentators believe Paul is referring to the liturgical practices of the early church, and that’s what makes the most sense in this passage, especially given the corporate nature of the Psalms.

But it strikes me that perhaps our lives are to be characterized by an ever-present joy and spontaneous overflowing of thanksgiving that singing is never far from our hearts of lips. Even if such singing doesn’t take the outward form of song, it should be audible in our lives in a thousand other ways. The tender mercy we manifest, the bearing with one another, and the humility we live out should all be done with thanksgiving and singing in our hearts because whenever we do these things in the name of Christ, we are putting Him, the New Man, on.

Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, and it will enrich your lives and the lives of the saints. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Prayer: Father, make Your Word dwell in us richly in all wisdom that we may be equipped to teach and admonish one another, sing with grace in our hearts, and do all things in the name of Jesus Christ with thanksgiving. Amen.

Resolution and Point for Meditation: Slowly meditate on each of these ways of putting on Jesus Christ and what each means. Then slowly meditate on how God is calling you to put each into effect in your life. This could be done in one long meditation or would make a great way to have a sustained meditation throughout the day.

© 2009 Fr. Charles Erlandson

Thursday of Epiphany 4 - Colossians 2:20-3:11

Sometimes you think you know someone. And then you stumble upon their CD collection or, in my case, my record collection. Though I’ve been branching out a lot in recent years, if you looked at my record collection you might come away with the idea that it revolves around two poles: Baroque classical music of the 17th century and psychedelic music from the 1960s.

The most valuable record in my record collection is an album by the psychedelic band The 13th Floor Elevators titled Easter Everywhere. And “Easter Everywhere” is a good summary of what St. Paul teaches in Colossians 3:1-4 when he writes that since you were raised with Christ you should seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting on the right hand of God. Because you have died, and your life is hidden in Christ, Christians should remember that Easter is indeed everywhere for them.

Easter is not just an idea, not just a media event, not just a holiday from work and school. It’s a holy day, a holy season, and a holy reality made holy only by the presence of Jesus Christ.
No Jesus Christ: no Easter.

But where Jesus Christ is, there is the kingdom of heaven, and there we find Easter.

And the work of Jesus Christ is so vast, so cosmic in scope and power, that the consequences of His death and resurrection have transformed the universe forever. And therere, Easter is everywhere because the power of Jesus Christ is everywhere.

Easter in Jerusalem. Easter in Hot Springs. Easter in the Andromeda galaxy.

Easter 2000 years ago. Easter today. Easter up in heaven.

Easter at Christmas. Easter during Epiphany. Easter even during Lent.

Easter Everywhere!

Some people are concerned most about the past, some the present, and some the future. If we have too much of a focus on any of these aspects of time, however, we risk an unhealthy distortion. Too much of the past, and you run the risk of nostalgia and not really living anymore. Too much of the present and you become a giant, blind appetite with no direction. Too much of the future and the present stands still and atrophies.

As humans, we need all 3 to see God and live in His kingdom, and time is perhaps a reflection of the Trinity in which the past, the present, and the future all together make up a trinity of one entity called Time. God, and therefore Easter, is in each of these 3: past, present, and future.

As Christians we all know that Jesus Christ truly died on the Cross on Good Friday, in the past. We know that Christ’s resurrection is a historical fact. We also look forward to Easter in the future, to the complete fulfillment of Easter which is our resurrection and eternal life in heaven. We look forward to the future joys of heaven and our glorification (verse 4), and the final triumph over sin and death – in the future.

But what about the present?

A strange thing about the present: did you know that you’ve already died? You see, you were buried with Christ in baptism (2:12). Baptism is both a funeral and a birth: your old man dies, but at the same time, the New Man is born. You have died with Christ to your self, to your old man, to the ways of the world.

You died! and your new life is hidden in Jesus Christ (3:3.) Already. Right now!

The astounding doctrine taught by St. Paul in Colossians 3 is that Jesus Christ is risen, and you are risen with Him. For the Christian, Easter is always here, because Jesus C is always risen – and you are risen with Him – right now.

Your eternal life has already begun because you have already died and have eternal life in Jesus Christ. St. Paul reminds you that if you are a Christian who has given your life to Jesus Christ, you are already risen with Jesus Christ. Not will be one day – you are risen with Him.

The life of the Christian should be indelibly, indisputably marked by this central fact – a fact that St. Paul talks about more than any other: that Jesus Christ is risen, and you are risen with Him. We should see God reminding us of this truth in every nook and cranny of our existence. It should be reflected in the way we think, speak, and act – that Jesus Christ is risen, and we are risen with Him.

Now I know that you may not feel like Easter. It’s just turned to February, and it’s still cold. I’m not feeling too well today. The fact that Easter is here doesn’t pay my bills; it doesn’t stop my kids from arguing; it doesn’t do your laundry; and it doesn’t take away your arthritis, or weak knees, or heart problems, or chronic fatigue (though one day it will!)

But I also know that when we remember what God has done, for example on Easter Day, we find ways to celebrate and actually feel like it’s Easter and that Christ has risen.

What a shame that Easter is just a day! What a shame that after Easter Day we have to go back to “real” life, as if nothing has happened. After all, that’s what the disciples did: they went back to fishing, as if nothing had happened.

How many of you are content to live the rest of your week without Jesus Christ and His Resurrection? How many of you are content to wait a whole year to worship God at Easter again?
And yet that’s what some of us do!

But what sense does it make to say I was baptized into Christ – and I will live in heaven for all of eternity with Him - but then refuse to live with and for Him here and now? What if I told you some ways that you could remember and live in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ Easter each and every day?

God has left you daily, seasonal, and annual reminders and means of participating in the Resurrection of your Lord. For the Christian, Easter is to be everywhere. And it is. But sometimes in the cloudy winter days of life we can’t see or feel it.

Here is a week of ways to remember Easter – the fact that you are risen with Jesus Christ and should live with Him in joy.

First is the Easter of prayer. Every day – every moment - we can ascend to heaven with Jesus Christ because we have access to boldly come to the throne of grace.

Second is the Easter of the Bible. Every day we can be reminded of not only the fact of our resurrection with Jesus but also how we must live as a result of it.

Third is the Easter of Holy Communion. As often as your church celebrates the Lord’s Supper, you celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord and participate in His Resurrection through His Body and His Blood.

Fourth is the Easter of the Seasons. As we proceed throughout the annual cycle, the seasons themselves teach us about the Resurrection. First comes the Summer of paradise, and then the Fall of man. Fall produces the death of Winter, but in the Spring Easter and the Resurrection come again. Then comes the Summer of heaven. The Church Year also teaches us about the life of Christ, centered on the Resurrection.

Fifth is the Easter of the Plants, closely related to the Easter of the Seasons. Every year we are reminded of death by the disappearance of the plants and the color green. And every year God resurrects them to beautiful, colorful life.

Sixth is the Easter of the Sun. It is a happy coincidence in the English language that “sun” and “Son” are homonyms. The daily resurrection of the life-giving sun should remind us of the eternal Resurrection of the Life-giving Sun.

Seventh is the daily Easter of Awaking. Every night we ritually die, when we fall asleep. In the Bible to “fall asleep” is even a euphemism for dying. But every morning we are ritually resurrected. What a wonderful opportunity every day to remember our Resurrection and give thanks!

Easter began 2000 years ago at the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, but it will continue forever in heaven, when we are all resurrected in our bodies.

And Easter is here today, because the risen Jesus Christ is here today.

Easter, for Christians, is therefore Everywhere.

Prayer: O God, who for our redemption gave Your only-begotten Son to the death of the Cross and by His glorious Resurrection has delivered us from the power of our enemy; grant us so to die daily from sin that we may live forever more with Him in the joy of the Resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Resolution and Point for Meditation: I resolve to make use of one of the 7 ways of remembering Easter and to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ today.

© 2009 Fr. Charles Erlandson

Wednesday of Epiphany 4 - Colossians 2:6-19

I don’t think we really understand the magnitude of this New Life that we have in Jesus Christ. Growing up, sometimes it’s easy to hear about how to be a Christian and to even continue going to church and praying and reading our Bibles, and yet still the spiritual truth of our life in Christ is remote and weak.

But some of the things St. Paul says here in Colossians 2 help me to understand how dramatic and powerful my life in Christ really is – even when I don’t acknowledge it to be.

We have received Jesus Christ through baptism and faith. Just as the Israelites were required to be circumcised in order to be brought into covenant with God and were also required to have faith (the life of Abraham demonstrates both), so we are brought into a New Life with Jesus Christ in baptism and through faith. How these 2 work together would require more of a theological treatise than I have time to offer.

But Paul does say a few things we should notice. First, we are buried with Jesus Christ in our baptism (verse 12.) As we are buried with Him in baptism, God puts off the body of sins of the flesh, a cleansing that is represented by the waters of baptism. But sometimes we forget that in baptism we are also raised with Jesus Christ through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead (verse 12.)

Paul’s point is that once we were dead but now we have been resurrected to the New Life in Jesus Christ. Having been baptized, and having faith, you are complete in Him, in whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead (verse 9.)

But even having said this, it would be too easy to go on with the rest of my day today as if nothing extraordinary had happened.

But something extraordinary has happened!

Take a closer look at what Baptism into Christ makes us heirs of and what union with Christ through faith actually gives us.

When Jesus died on the Cross (and we died with Him), Jesus took away the condemnation and judgment we faced under the Law. We are all sinners and guilty of breaking God’s holy Law and spitting in His holy Face. For this, we should die.

But on the Cross, Jesus erased or tore up the handwriting of requirements, or the accusation of the Law, against us. No, He did more than this – Jesus took this certificate of death and nailed it to the Cross, putting it to death instead of us. Pontius Pilate had the Roman soldiers nail a sign to the Cross saying that Jesus was the King of the Jews. But Jesus nailed the condemnation of the Law, sin, and death, to the Cross. Maybe that’s why Jesus the carpenter spent all those years learning His trade from His father Joseph: so He could know how to nail the condemnation of the Law to the Cross!

Jesus did more than this at the Cross, though. At the Cross, Jesus disarmed the Evil Empire, the armies of Satan. Sometimes, in our hurry to find the evil that still lives on earth, we forget that Jesus defeated Satan once and for all at the Cross. Jesus disarmed the principalities and powers (verse 15), that is, He stripped Satan and His minions of their weapons and power, and whooped them.

At the moment of the Cross, Satan thought that in the cosmic wrestling match between him and God that he had pinned and defeated Christ. So he had the Romans strip Jesus Christ and humiliate Him, before they put Him to death. But in the most dramatic reversal in history, Jesus Christ actually stripped Satan and His forces, disarming them to some degree at the present so that He might finally destroy Him in due time.

Just as Satan humiliated Christ and had Him carry His own cross in a mock procession of shame, in reality Jesus Christ humiliated Satan and his armies at the Cross. He “made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it” (verse 15.) The image is of a Roman triumphal procession, with the victorious general leading the humiliated and defeated enemy behind him for all to see.

While we may not always see this “public spectacle,” I’m sure the angelic citizens of both Heaven and Hell didn’t miss it. This seems to be why Paul has the principalities and powers in mind in particular (verses 10, 15, and perhaps 8 and 20.)

We hear so much about how Satan is alive and well and living on planet Earth. The reality is that Satan is a serpent who has had his skull crushed and is thrashing around in pain for a few millennia until he finally realizes he’s been defeated.

Do you remember the prophecy of Genesis 3:15? “He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel?” At the Cross, Jesus Christ definitively bashed Satan’s skull in. How do I know? Not only because of this prophecy and many other Scriptures, but because both Calvary and Golgotha mean “The Place of the Skull.” How fitting that Satan’s head was crushed by Jesus Christ on the Cross at the Place of the Skull.

This – this nailing to the Cross of the sentence of death upon us, this disarming of the demonic forces, this crushing of Satan’s skull, and this triumphal procession – this is what you have been made a part of by participation in Christ through baptism and faith.

Paul urgently urges the Colossians not to let anyone “cheat” them through philosophy, empty conceit (verse 8), legalism (verse 20ff), etc. I don’t think the NKJV translation here as “cheat” captures the idea well enough. Paul is saying “don’t be taken captive” or, the interpretation I like best: “don’t be kidnapped” by false teaching.

I urgently urge you, too, to not be kidnapped by false teachings, of which there are many in the church today. I can’t help but think of the many Christians who are being deceived by such false teachings as The DaVinci Code, The Gospel of Thomas (and movies that glorify such heretical teachings, such as Stigmata), the “Lost” Teachings of Jesus, the “Lost” Books of the Bible, teachings about angels, that Satan has not been defeated and is ruling over earth, and on and on and on.

In baptism and through faith, you have died to the false teaching of the world. Therefore, do not live by these false teachings and the worldviews of the world. But as you have therefore received Jesus Christ the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him, and established in faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving” (verse 6.)

Prayer: Praise be to You, O Christ, because You have nailed the penalty for sin to the Cross, taken away my sins, disarmed the principalities and powers, and made a public spectacle of them. Help me to live in union with You through faith by which You have given Yourself to me, so that I may walk in Him and His holy ways. Amen.

Points for Meditation:
1. Meditate on your deliverance from sin and death. Find time to give thanks to God today.
2. Imagine Christ as a conquering hero over Satan and His army. Sing a song of victory to Him.

Resolution: I resolve to meditate on Christ’s triumph over Satan at the Cross, as well as His victory over sin and its penalty, death.

© 2009 Fr. Charles Erlandson

Tuesday of Epiphany 4 - Colossians 1:18-2:5

When I was a kid, I was bewitched by valuable coins, eagerly collecting any I could find in loose change and spending some of my very limited supply of money on collecting them. Through a mail order company I had received 4 coins as part of a “Giant Grab Bag” of coins. One of them was ½ dollar gold piece, which my friend’s Redbook coin guide said was worth $100. When I got up the nerve to take it to a coin dealer one day, he told me it was worthless. Stunned by disbelief, I nervously waited another 10 minutes and asked him, “How much did you say this was worth?”

Again, I got the answer: “Nothing.”

It turns out it was just a worthless replica. My treasure was really trash.

Like me, men have often sought their treasure in gold. One day in 1848 at John Sutter’s sawmill, his contractor and builder, James W. Marshall came to him, seeking a secret meeting. At the meeting, he took a rag from out of his pocket and flashed something quickly to Sutter. After testing and finding that the secret in the handkerchief was indeed gold, Sutter told his workers to keep it quiet for 6 weeks so he could properly secure the necessary property on which the gold had been found.

Unfortunately for Sutter, the secret got out, his workers abandoned his mill for gold, and the rest is history. Sutter himself wrote: “What a great misfortune was this sudden gold discovery for me! It has just broken up and ruined my hard, restless, and industrious labors, connected with many dangers of life, as I had many narrow escapes before I became properly established. From my mill buildings I reaped no benefit whatever, the mill stones even have been stolen and sold.”

He died a poor man in Pennsylvania. And Marshall, the man who first discovered the gold? After attempting to milk his fame in various ways over the year, he died a bitter and not particularly rich man.

So much for earthly treasure.

But here in the book of Colossians, St. Paul wants the Colossians and Laodiceans (and I’m sure he’d want you included, too) to attain “to all the riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (verse 2.)

The truth is that true treasure is found in Jesus Christ, who is the source of true riches and in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. The riches contained in Jesus Christ are beyond compare, but even as Christians we often undervalue them.

There was a Monty Python’s sketch in which a Hungarian goes into a tobacconist’s shop, asking, “I weeel not buy theeese record – eeet eeez scratched.” The tobacconist finally figures out that what he really he wants is some cigarettes. Next, the Hungarian says, “My hovercraft is full of eels.” After the Hungarian acts out striking a match, the tobacconist discovers what he really wants is matches. It turns out that someone had purposely written a Hungarian-English dictionary with maliciously erroneous information.

We’ve been sold a similar price guide, in which some of the information is incorrect. It reads something like this:

Item                                 Value
gold                                      $850/oz
weekend of leisure           40 hours of work
newer, fancier car            debt
bigger, better house         more debt
infatuation                          broken relationships, adultery, divorce
God                                       1 hour a week and a few dollars in the plate

But Jesus Christ is God Himself, and in Him are hidden all the heavenly treasures. In Him is heaven itself. In Him is the infinite wealth of God’s inheritance that the Father offers to mere men. This wealth, this treasure is unimaginable, and yet it is easily missed in this world. I find that discovering the treasure of Christ is like the Kingdom parables that liken the Kingdom of Heaven to some slow process of growth. To me, the Kingdom of Heaven is like an invisible goldmine that is first manifested, to the one who has chosen to work in it, by a few small flakes in a creek. The worker through diligence and patience discovers a few more flakes and begins to seek to be closer to the source. Eventually, he discovers that the gold is more abundant in the earth itself, and he begins the serious work of digging. Occasionally, he finds a nugget of great value that encourages him in his hard labors. Over time, he establishes a gold mine and works diligently and regularly so that he can continue to find greater and greater treasure.

This is what it has been like for me to read the Bible for about 40 years now. As a child, I was only dimly aware of its value, but after a steady life of seeking God in His Word, I continue to find deeper and deeper treasure in it.

The Bible is, in fact, a goldmine in which the immeasurable treasure of Jesus Christ may be found. Even in this one small passage of Colossians, there are treasures galore, waiting to be discovered and re-discovered.

Here are just a few for you to meditate on and appreciate:

1:18 Jesus Christ is the head of the church
1:20-22 Jesus Christ has brought peace to the world through the Cross,
through which He will also make you blameless and holy
1:24 Like Christ and Paul, we are to rejoice in our sufferings
1:25-29 We are stewards of God’s mysteries and riches
2:1-2 All the riches of the world and treasure of wisdom is
hidden in Jesus Christ

Each one of these nuggets of the wisdom of Christ is so valuable that it would be worth devoting an entire day to seeking and enjoying Jesus Christ through it. It reminds me of the hymn, “O Word of God Incarnate”:

O Word of God incarnate, O Wisdom from on high,
O Truth unchanged, unchanging, O Light of our dark sky:
We praise You for the radiance that from the hallowed page,
A Lantern to our footsteps, shines on from age to age.

The Church from You, our Savior, received the Gift divine,
And still that Light is lifted over all the earth to shine.
It is the sacred Vessel where gems of truth are stored;
It is the heaven drawn Picture of Christ, the living Word.

Some men seek their treasure in the things of the earth, but our treasure is in Jesus Christ. If you want to be truly wealthy and wise, then seek Him.

The discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill by a single man, James W. Marshall, created a Gold Rush that helped create modern-day California and still reverberates as an icon in our culture.

But the discovery of Jesus Christ by a single person ought to set off a God Rush in America. But it hasn’t.

The sad truth may be that we are simply not as excited about God as we are about gold. If this is true in your life, it’s time to burn your old price guide and trade it in for God’s price guide: the Bible.

Your rush, as a Christian, should be to attain “to all the riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

Prayer: Praise be to You, Father, because You have made all Your fullness to dwell in Your Son; Praise be to You, Son, because You have made peace with the Father and reconciled all things through Your death and resurrection; Praise be to You, Holy Spirit, because through You I am able to discover and enjoy the heavenly treasure that is Jesus Christ. Amen.

Points for Meditation:
1. Share the news of your discovery of the treasure of Jesus Christ with someone today.
2. Meditate on how you may have a false price guide in your life. Choose one item whose value you will reappraise in relation to the true treasure of Christ.

Resolution: I resolve to seek the treasure of Jesus Christ today by meditating on one verse or passage from the Bible throughout the day.

© 2009 Fr. Charles Erlandson

Monday of 4th Sunday after Epiphany - Colossians 1:1-17

History is full of the rich and wealthy who have showered themselves and others with expensive luxuries. In flipping around, I’ve noticed several VH1 shows that go into exquisite detail about the prodigalities of the extremely wealthy. But for pure extravagance, it would be hard to beat the Roman emperor Elagabalus (or Heliogabalus), who ruled Rome from 218-222. The Rome of Elagabalus has been called a dream aflame with gold, a city of triumphal arches, enchanted temples, royal dwellings, vast porticoes, and wide, hospitable streets. The dining-halls had ivory ceilings, from which flowers fell, and wainscots that changed at every service. The walls were alive with the glisten of gems and with marbles rarer than jewels. In one hall was a dome of sapphire, a floor of malachite, crystal columns and red gold walls; about the palace were green savannahs; before it was a lake, eight acres of which Vespasian had drained and replaced by an amphitheater. Elagabalus devised garments more splendid and more bizarre than any that the Romans had found outside the temple at Jerusalem. He loved wearing a tunic of purple and gold silk gold, or an even more resplendent vestment which was woven throughout with fine gold and encrusted with gems.

Encircling his curls was a diadem of heavy gold, studded with jewels, one made after a Persian design, and rich, splendid, and brilliant with the numbers of rubies, sapphires, and emeralds which he thought became him. Unfortunately, his taste for precious stones did not stop here. He wore numerous bracelets, rings and necklaces, all as rich and costly as could be made: his shoe-buckles, complete with engraved cameo and intaglio, were the wonder of the beholder. Even in the relief of natural functions he was magnificent, using only vases of gold and onyx.

Once when a friend asked him whether he was not afraid that his prodigal lifestyle would bankrupt him, he replied with an astounding self-complacency, "What can be better for me than to be heir to myself?"

An emperor who gave himself over to such extravagance and who sought pleasure at all costs was not a fit ruler, and in the end he was killed by the Praetorian Guard. His corpse was mutilated and thrown into the Tiber River.

Elagabalus was a king with many jewels of light, but his kingdom was a kingdom of great darkness.*

In Colossians 1, Paul speaks of a great kingdom of light. It is, of course, the New Jerusalem of Revelation, the Church of Jesus Christ, in which God Himself dwells as the sun. This God who is the Light of lights has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light (verse 12) and has delivered us out of the kingdom of darkness (verse 13) and into His kingdom of Light.

While to the eyes of a decadent Roman or VH1 culture, Elagabalus’ jewels bewitch the eyes, in Colossians 1 St. Paul mentions 5 precious stones in the Kingdom of Light that will dazzle the godly soul with their light.

But they only reveal their glory as Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, shines
through each of them into your life. More than just wearing these jewels, as Elagabalus did, you are to be them.

The first is what I call the ruby of faith, red because a zealous faith is a glowing red thing of beauty. Paul commends the faith of the Colossians and gives thanks to God because of it. Such faith as Paul perpetually commends in his letters is indeed a rare and precious thing. It reflects the beauty of its Creator and inspires all who behold it. How beautiful it must be to God, the very definition of Beauty, to behold the people made in His image responding with a lively, glowing faith to His grace!

“While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light” (John 12:36.)

The second precious stone is the diamond of love, white because of its purity. It is the most valuable of stones and is to be the most sought after. It is the pinnacle of any collection of godly attributes and adorns all the others. Paul has also heard of the love of the Colossians and gives thanks for it as well. As we behold the dazzling brilliance of God’s love reflected in our lives, we are privileged to behold God Himself in action. In the diamond of love, we see the utilitarian and the aesthetic wedded because like a diamond, love is the hardest substance known to man and also the most beautiful.

The third precious stone is the onyx and ivory of hope. Hope is black and white because it comes from the word of the truth of the gospel (verse 5), which is God’s plain truth. It is the black ink and white paper of the Bible that we read and through which God brings us His message of eternal hope. Through the onyx and the ivory of hope we understand that God has indeed qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. It’s right there in black and white in Colossians 1:12.

The fourth precious stone is the emerald of fruitfulness, green because it represents the growth which all in the Kingdom of Light are to manifest. We are not the dead precious stones of the earth but are the precious living stones of heaven, with which God builds His Temple. God desires us to be fruitful in every good work and to increase in the knowledge of Him (verse 10.) We are to do the truth, and such truth is beautiful.

“But he who does truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God” (John 3:21.)

The fifth and final precious stone is the blue sapphire of prayer. It represents our looking up into heaven to see the sapphire sea that is the footstool to God’s throne. It is the sky, the upward call of Christ Jesus, and the place where heaven and earth meet. Prayer is, like the atmosphere, the environment that is to surround our lives. At the beginning of Colossians, Paul thanks God for the precious stones of the Colossians, and then he proceeds to pray for the things they already have! Maybe they have it because they and Paul prayed for it. The sapphire of prayer reminds us that all of these stones are worthless and will, in fact, vanish - unless we see them in the light of heaven.

With 5 smooth stones, young David defeated the enemy giant Goliath. With these 5 precious stones of light, you – God’s holy temple - are to be filled with the glory of the God who is light.

With the red ruby of faith, the white diamond of love, the onyx and pearl of hope in God’s inheritance, the green emerald of good fruit, and the blue sapphire of prayer – God shows His glorious light to the world. They are God’s inheritance of the saints in light, for they are part of the inheritance that comes through being adopted into God’s family through Jesus Christ.

Welcome to the Kingdom of Light! With these 5 jewels of light may we so adorn ourselves that the world may see God through us, and give Him glory.

* This information was taken from a 1911 work by J. Stuart Hay on Elagabalus.

Prayer: Thank You, Father, that You have qualified me to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light. Thank You for delivering me from the kingdom of darkness and adopting me into the Kingdom of Your Son. Make me a worthy heir of Your kingdom by giving to me the precious stones of faith, love, hope, fruitfulness, and prayer, through Jesus Christ Your Son. Amen.

Resolution and Point for Meditation: I resolve to consider what things I most treasure in life. Have I, like Elagabalus, valued too much the things of the earth? Choose one of the precious stones of God’s kingdom to meditate on throughout today. Consider of what value it is to you and to others.

© 2009 Fr. Charles Erlandson

Saturday of Epiphany 3 - Philippians 4:4-23

Rejoice - for the Lord is at hand!

I like to think of myself as saying this in a kind of John the Baptist voice (a la “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”), only with joy instead of penitence.

Now that the light of Christmas has passed to Epiphany and December has turned to January and soon February, it is easy to forget the lessons of Christmas. Do you remember the joy of Christmas? If we can’t even sustain it until the season of Epiphany (beginning January 6th) in some cases, what a pitiable people! Christmas is a season of joy because God is now with us, and therefore our lives are to be a perpetual season of joy.

Throughout his letters, St. Paul refers to the fact that the Lord is at hand. Now he might have meant it in an eschatological (“end things”) sense, but it’s obviously true in a here and now sense too. I like to think, therefore, that verses 4 and 5 ought to be connected in our minds. “Rejoice in the Lord always” of verse 4 is directly related to “The Lord is at hand” of verse 5.

Why should we always rejoice? Because the Lord is at hand. Because God has sent His Son to be with us, and where Jesus is there is joy.

The fact that the Lord is at hand, with us right here and now, should govern all our thoughts and behaviors. It should, in fact, produce joy in us. We all take joy in many small things in this life: children singing, opening Christmas presents . . . the perfect parking space. How much more should we have joy in God coming to us, to take away our sins, and the penalty for them, and to equip us for heaven?

Jesus Christ, God Himself made one of us so He can be with us, is the perfect Christmas gift – and the only one that keeps on giving, day after day. How many of the Christmas gifts you received (not just this year but from others as well) are still actively giving you joy? But Paul commands us to rejoice in the Lord always.

The joy of Jesus is like that of Christmas, only infinitely better. The birth of Christ has a way of making us remember to rejoice, in spite of our circumstances. The light of Christ is so bright, that it puts our troubles in perspective and makes us rejoice. One of my favorite paintings is the Nativity by Geertgen tot Sint Jans (c. 1490.) In this painting the Christ baby is intensely bright in a scene and a world that is very dark otherwise. Mary’s face is light because it reflects the glory of her son. Advent is the serious and somewhat somber season that precedes the joy of Christmas, just like the Cross precedes the Resurrection. Advent, Lent, and Good Friday are the black background of the world, the black background of Geertgen’s painting, that makes the glory of Jesus Christ that much greater.

Here, let me show you what I mean: http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/cgi-bin/WebObjects.dll/CollectionPublisher.woa/wa/work?workNumber=ng4081

(Click once on the image to get a larger image, or try the incredible Zoom feature! Paul Erlandson: try it on Holbein’s Ambassadors.)

Joy is not the same as happiness. Happiness is often based on mere human feeling; but joy is sterner stuff. It is delight in God and His presence and work among us. Joy is more eternal and steadier than happiness. While happiness can be like a roller coaster, based on emotions or situations, we are commanded to have joy always. Regardless of circumstances, Paul found joy because joy is based on what God has done, is doing, and can do, and not on what we do or cannot or do not do.

In spite of the litany of suffering in St. Paul’s life (read 2 Cor. 11:23-29), he was the most joyful man in the Bible. Paul wrote Philippians while in prison, and yet He uses the word “joy” or some form of the word 15 times! Paul’s joy is not a begrudging or calculating one, in which he says, “Let’s see: God commands me to be joyful, so I guess I’ll have to muster some up. But I don’t have to like it!”

Paul’s joy is superlative and almost uncontainable. He says: “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” It is like the superlative joy of the wise men who “rejoiced with exceedingly great joy” (Matthew 2:10.) For both, joy came from being in the presence of Jesus Christ.
Paul commands you to rejoice, regardless of your circumstances, for God is near you. Paul himself has learned to be content, to be joyful, in all circumstances. Whatever state he is in, he is content (verse 11.) Whether Paul lives in heaven or on earth, whether he lives or dies (Philippians 1:20-26), whether he is full or hungry, and whether he abounds or suffers (verse 12,) he is content. No, he’s more than content: he’s joyful!

What a fanatic! How can Paul have joy in suffering and prison? Verse 13. “I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me.” How can Paul be content and even joyful in all things? Because Jesus Christ is in Him, working in him through all of his circumstances.
This all sounds good in theory, but how can we practically make it happen? Where is the Joy Button that I can push and make it happen?

Paul shows us two ways to find joy in Jesus. First, we attain and maintain joy in Jesus through prayer. Prayer is what draws us towards a God who has already come near to us. People are always looking for greater treasure in this world: a nicer car, a larger stock portfolio, a bigger house, or more power. But the most under-used, most overlooked, and most accessible treasure in the world is prayer.

Aladdin found himself enriched because he had access to 3 wishes from a powerful genie. But we have access to God Himself and His goodness, if only we would remember how close God is. How close? He’s only a prayer away.

When you are anxious because of the cares of this world, which are many, remember that God has allowed that circumstance so that you might more eagerly and quickly turn to Him. St. Paul found joy even, sometimes especially, in his suffering. And you can too, if you look for God and His joy through prayer in all your circumstances.

The second place Paul shows us where the treasure of joy may be found is in other Christians. What makes Paul joyful in this passage? In verse 10 it is because the Philippians have shown their love and care for Paul. All throughout the book of Philippians, Paul’s joy comes from Jesus through His Church. The way Jesus is often, if not primarily, present among us is through the Church, His house, His people. The way Jesus mediates His joy to us is therefore also often through the Church. Paul has joy in the presence and ministry of the Philippians, Timothy, and Epaphroditus. And all of these people have joy in Christ because of Paul’s loving ministry to them.

The next time you feel a lack of joy, consider what you have been doing to bring true joy, Jesus Christ, to others. We have this incredible ability to create joy in others because, as Christians, we are Christ-bearers. We are to bring Jesus to others. And where Jesus is there is joy.
“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!”

For the Lord is at hand!

Prayer: Father, help me to find joy today by finding Your Son, Jesus Christ. Give me Your grace to be joyful in all circumstances and to bring Your joy to others by serving them in love. Remind me to pray and make all my requests known to You, and make my service to You a sweet-smelling aroma to You. To You, our God and Father, be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Points for Meditation:
1. How strong is your prayer life? Have you found a way to remember to pray every day, and even throughout the day? If not, how might you work toward this goal?
2. Reflect on the difficult circumstances in your life. How might you allow God to turn them to joy by praying to God and seeking His joy in others?
3. Practice the presence of God throughout the day that you might better realize that He is at hand, offering you joy.

Resolution: I resolve to find joy today by turning to Jesus in every care of today.

© 2009 Fr. Charles Erlandson

Friday of Epiphany 3 - Philippians 3:17-4:3

St. Paul says in Philippians 3:20 that we are to set our mind on things in heaven, because our citizenship is in heaven. But what happens when we forget where our citizenship is?

What if the U.S. soldiers in Iraq forgot who they are and whom they served?

What if they forgot about their U.S. citizenship and became citizens there?

What if they chose never to come back home to their families?

What if they forgot which side they were on?


Too often we forget who we are: our minds are set on earthly things, and not the things of heaven. Too often, this is because we love the things of this world more than we love the things of heaven. Sometimes we are not very loyal to Jesus Christ but are more loyal to the world than to Him. And sometimes, we just find it hard it hard to see heaven or heavenly things.

I love the idea that I will get a new body and that I will live forever (verse 21.) I especially love the idea that one day I will be more closely in the presence of the Lord. But I find that for someone who grew up wanting to write stories and has tried his hand at novels, my imagination is dull. It’s hard for me to think for very long about heaven when I think of it in this way.

But there’s another way to keep our mind on things in heaven: and that is to spend time living with the things of heaven as they are already here on earth.

There are at least 3 things of heaven that are already here: God Himself, His Word, and His house, which is His people.

Though God is already here with us, sometimes we think and act as if He is only in heaven above. We wake up without reference to God. We do the things we want to do and live the life we want to live. God is not in our thoughts throughout the day. Some Christians even go to bed, and not a single thing that day has been consciously done for the love of God and so that He may be glorified.

I’ve discovered a little secret about myself (and you too!) I have a little default-mode button in my mind. Unfortunately, it has come with a factory preset that is set for self. And when, by the grace of God, I have managed to switch my thoughts to God and stay tuned to the God station all day long, the day comes to an end. Every night as I sleep, a little gremlin goes about resetting me to my factory setting, and the battle for the default mode in my mind continues. At least I know what the goal is: to have God be the default mode of my mind so that whenever there is an empty or silent moment, it is thoughts of Him and His kingdom that I naturally turn to.

We are to set our mind on heavenly things, which means that we must set our minds on God.

We must seek to spend time with Him each day. We should spontaneously thank Him for the many good things we experience each day: for His creation, for the day, for my life, for the people in my life, for the abundance I have, for helping me with my problems, for the salvation of my soul, and on and on. You should constantly be asking Him for help; praising Him because you love to be with Him; and thinking about what He wants you to do and then doing it.

God allows us to remember where our citizenship is and to keep our mind on Him because He has given us not only Himself but also His Word. We often hear about how much time children spend watching TV and listening to things that aren’t even real. And almost three-fourths of adults aged 66 years or older watched more than 2 hours of television per day. We find time to shoot the breeze with our neighbors and friends, and we even study to find out how to get better at golf or other sports, or at gardening, or at video games . . . and then complain that we don’t have time to read the Bible!

I used to do an activity in an economics class in which I asked the high school seniors at the Christian school I taught at to keep a record of how much time (a very scarce economic resource) they spent on various activities each week. Granted they were busy high school seniors, but they spend virtually no time at all reading Bible or praying. Of course school took up most of their time, but they found time for sports, the arts, hanging out with friends, etc. But they found no time for God’s Word.

God’s Word potentially comes to you in many ways: the weekly sermon, the worship service (depending on how your church worships), Sunday school, Bible studies, daily reading and meditation, and sharing God’s Word with others. If you want to keep your mind in heaven, then fill it with God’s Word.

A third way to live in heaven even now is to live in God’s house. David says in Psalm 24:1
that the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. But too often we are like the Soviet cosmonauts who went up to space and when they didn’t see God they said, “See – we told you He wasn’t real!”

We look for just the right earthly house and carefully consider how much house we can buy; we look carefully at the neighborhood and environment we want to live in; we lovingly furnish our homes with things that please us; and we rearrange and permutate until we get it just right.

But how much time do we spend thinking about and building the house of God? We should be like David in Psalm 69:9 when he says that, “zeal for Your house has eaten me up.” Of course, this was just what Jesus said in John 2:17 when He cleansed the house of God. If you want to make heaven more real in your life, then spend more time in heaven on earth, which is God’s house, which is His Church, His people.

In seeking heaven on earth, our worship of God is essential, for this is the closest we’ll be to heaven in this life. In the Holy Communion service of the Book of Common Prayer the priest says, “Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify thy glorious Name . . . “ because when we worship as God’s people and His house, He inhabits us.

Our worship of God in His house should make us seek God so much that we seek to build His house, His people. Both David and Solomon made it their purpose to build the house of God. Ezra devoted himself to rebuilding the temple. St. Paul spent his life building God’s house, the Church, the people of God.

And God has called each of you to devote yourself to His house, that is, to His people, at your local church. If you don’t see enough of God and heaven in this life, then maybe we aren’t spending enough time among His people, in whom He dwells.

When we seek God Himself, especially through His Word and through His house, His people, amazing things happen. With the technologies available to us, this can happen to us in ways approaching the miraculous. When I started Daily Bread, my Dad told one of his friends about it, a man my Dad has been friends with for 40 years. So close was the fellowship of their small group at that church that 3 men from that group still keep in touch regularly. The amazing thing is that my father’s friend (whom I actually knew growing up) has been reading Daily Bread and even corresponding with me about it. And now we have a bond in Christ because we are seeking God, reading His Word together, and having heavenly fellowship, though separated by hundreds of miles.

You are a citizen of heaven. You belong to God. And while you are here on earth, you are to live in His presence. Set your mind on things in heaven, by seeking God each day, by hearing and living by His Word, and by building His Church, His people.

If you set your mind to do these things, I guarantee you will see more of God and heaven, and so will others around you.

Prayer: Thanks be to You, Father, that You have made me a citizen of heaven, which is where You live. Thank You that You have given me ways to see You and be with You even here on earth. Thank You for the promise of the resurrection of my body and my transformation into the likeness of Your Son, in whose name I pray. Amen.

Point for Meditation: Meditate more completely on one way that you can practice setting your mind on heavenly things by seeking God as He may be found here and now.

Resolution: I resolve to find one practical way to be more heavenly minded today, by seeking God, by meditating on His Word, or by building His people. If possible, try to relate this resolution to previous resolutions.

© 2009 Fr. Charles Erlandson

Thursday of Epiphany 3 - Philippians 3:1-16

What is it about St. Paul that makes him so radical, so hardcore?

What has possessed him so that he seems like a fanatic even to Christians?

Some, such as Communists, become fanatics for the sake of an idea or an ideology. Some become fanatics out of fear. But St. Paul has shown us a more excellent reason to become a fanatic: so that we might know and live for Jesus Christ.

Actually, as every Christian should be aware, Jesus Christ was the original fanatic. He is the one who called Paul and calls you and me to take up our cross daily, deny ourselves, and follow Him; He is the one who resolutely set out to Jerusalem, knowing that He would be crucified; and He is the one who took upon Him all the sins of the world when He didn’t have to. That’s just, well, fanatical!

All St. Paul is doing is following Jesus in His fanaticism.

But fanaticism for Jesus Christ is not very fashionable or comfortable. If you take this Christianity thing too far you’ll make a lot of people mad, perhaps most of all other Christians. If you live out the radical call to discipleship, then you might make some of us Christians look bad. You’ll be called a bigot and worse, people will feel uncomfortable around you, and your motives will be questioned.

In some places, you might even lose your life.

So what could possibly compel St. Paul to be a fanatic?

It is simply this: Paul wants to know Jesus Christ by living in Him and for Him. Every one of us, even those who are not fanatics, have an ultimate goal. Often, we haven’t even expressed this ultimate goal or thought much about it, but it’s there. Some people live for leisure. Their minds are on what they will do when they don’t have anything else that they have to do. They often begrudge their work and complain about it because for them that isn’t their real life: they act (and sometimes) think as if the playtime they have earned is what’s most important. For others, the work is the most important thing because it is the only thing that gives them meaning. Others have money or possessions or power or prestige as their highest goals.

But for Paul it is to know Jesus Christ and live in Him and for Him. Why does Paul give up all else for Jesus Christ? He says it’s so that he “may gain Christ and be found in Him” (verses 8-9). He says that he is a fanatic so that he “may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead” (verses 10-11.)

When Paul explains his ultimate goal of knowing Christ, he reveals himself to be even more of a fanatic than we’d imagined! He doesn’t say that he wants to know Jesus Christ so that he’ll get good things in this life, such as health and wealth. He wants to know Jesus Christ because he wants to know Jesus Christ and have Christ live in him. Paul’s fanaticism in following Jesus Christ transformed him into a Christ-like person who is not pursuing himself at all but Jesus Christ, for the sake of Christ. More than this, Paul seeks Christ even though he knows that to seek Christ is to seek not only the power of the resurrection that we all crave but also the fellowship of His sufferings.

Uggggh! Hey, Paul, did you have to bring that in? Couldn’t you just have stopped at the part about the resurrection and then go on the other good part about the prize we might get? But for Paul to follow Christ and be with Him is to be with Him in all parts of Him. Paul understands that as Christ suffered for us, we must suffer for and in Him. This is actually a part of our redemption, and therefore Paul wants to know the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings. He wants all of Christ.

But where does such fanaticism lead? Even if I were to theoretically accept in my head that I should make Christ my ultimate goal in life, what’s in it for me? Where will it lead me? I demand to know!

What Paul says his fanaticism has gotten him is the loss of all things. What a sweet deal! Whatever else Paul had gained in life, he counts it as loss for the sake of Jesus Christ (verse 7.)

He counts all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Jesus Christ (verse 8), in case we missed it the first time. Paul considers that all of the vain things that charmed him most are like garbage before the excellence of Jesus Christ (verse 8.) All of Paul’s attempts to save himself by his works, his zealousness for the Law, his persecution of Christians, and his great knowledge – he considers to be “rubbish.” But “rubbish” is much too English and gentlemanly. Paul is really saying he considers the things of his former life without Christ to be “refuse” (still too refined) or better yet: “dung,” “manure,” “excrement” or perhaps some more vulgar term for human waste.

Not only does Paul consider his life without Christ to be a loss, but he himself has apparently suffered the loss of many things for Christ (verse 8.) We have only to look back at 2 Corinthians 11 and Paul’s litany of sufferings to see what he might mean. Knowing that to choose Christ is to choose to suffer with and for Him, Paul still chooses Him. Of course, Paul is no fool. He also knows that to choose the fellowship of Christ’s suffering is to choose to attain to the resurrection from the dead (and to choose Christ’s resurrection is to choose His sufferings as well.) After Christ had humbled himself to be born a human and to die on the cross, the Father exalted Him above all else. Paul sees this clearly, and so should we.

How does Paul act as a result of his fanatic pursuit of Christ? He could, perhaps, retreat to mystic contemplation and seek Him that way. He could seek Him in his individual, personal, private life and make sure that he wasn’t obnoxious about his fanaticism. He could think that because he had found Jesus Christ and received His grace that the race was over and he could now coast.

Or, he could realize that he has not yet been perfected in Christ and therefore relentlessly press on toward his goal (verse 12.) Realizing once again the sovereign grace of Jesus Christ and also his own responsibility to respond faithfully, Paul says that he lays hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of him (verse 12.)

St. Paul is relentless. He is an Olympic athlete, training and exercising and racing so that he might be able to win the race he has been called to race. With every thing he has, St. Paul the Fanatic presses toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (verse 14.) Even though he surely already had a measure of the presence and power of Jesus Christ, Paul is not satisfied but seeks more of Jesus Christ.

So, do you still want to be a fanatic?

I do!

I want to so desire Jesus Christ – all of Him, including His sufferings – that I will be with Him and live in and for Him more and more throughout my life. I want to be a fanatic and subordinate every other desire I have to my desire to follow Him, wherever He leads me. I want to be a fanatic and sacrifice my life and all the stuff I want for myself so that His desires become my desires, and His will becomes my will.

I want to be able to say not only with my lips but also with my life that for me to live is Jesus Christ.

If this is what it means to be a fanatic and a Jesus freak, then sign me up!

Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, who willingly gave up all things for me and for the salvation of the world, give me a fervent desire to seek You above everything else in my life. Help me to be willing to give up the things that lead me away from You and the things that are not good for my soul that I might know the fellowship of Your sufferings and the power and joy of Your resurrection. Amen.

Points for Meditation:
1. Honestly consider what is your highest goal in life. Judging by your thoughts and actions, what is that you pursue to a higher degree than anything else in life? Ask God to make Him your greatest desire.
2. What things are you unwilling to give up if God were to ask you to? Meditate on your response, and spend some time asking God to lead you away from any idolatry and toward Him through His Son.

Resolution: I resolve to set my heart to give up one of my things today for the sake of Jesus Christ and to use this as a means of remembering my ultimate goal in life.

© 2009 Fr. Charles Erlandson

Wednesday of Epiphany 3 - Philippians 2:19-30

I want to be in one of St. Paul’s churches! I want to be in a church where joy in Christ is found. I want to be in a church where members consider themselves ministers of the mysteries of God and who boldly assert that, “For me to live is Christ!” I want to be in a church where members lay down their lives for the good of others and make the choice to sacrifice their own good for the good of their brothers and sisters. I want to be in a church where members sincerely care for the state of each member and who minister to each other’s needs on a daily basis.

But to be in such a church, I have to be such a member of the local church where God is calling me. I cannot hope to be part of such a church if I myself am not such a member. And so I want all of these things for myself: joy in Christ, a serious sense of my high calling in Christ, bowels of compassion, a life of sacrifice, a love that spontaneously and zealously seeks out the good of others, and an intimate sense of Jesus Christ dwelling in me as I see Him working in His body.

Since it is no longer possible to be a part of St. Paul’s church, I want to press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Jesus Christ at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Fort Worth. As much as is possible within me, I want to labor diligently to pastor a church that lives the way that St. Paul and his churches seemed to live. I want to be able to say at St. Andrew's that this is a church that lives for Jesus Christ and works out its salvation together with fear and trembling so that even the angels are instructed.

On the one hand, I don’t want any of you to be discouraged and think only of how great the pastors and the Christians were back in St. Paul’s day compared to our own. Whenever you feel the temptation to think that you are more unworthy and unprofitable as a servant than any Christian of the first century, go back and read I Corinthians and see the sins in the church that Paul had to deal with.

On the other hand, I do want all of you to be encouraged by the godly examples of Paul, Timothy, and Epaphroditus. The same Jesus Christ who lived in them, and for whom they lived, is the one who lives in you. The same Holy Spirit that inspired them to love one another with the love of Christ and to sacrifice their lives for Christ is at work in each of you. The difference, therefore, may be not so much in the degree of God’s grace that we receive but in how we have received it.

If I had to summarize the secret of God’s blessings on Paul, Timothy, Epaphroditus, and the Philippians as contained in this passage, I would say that it was this: that these godly examples sought not their own things but the things of Jesus Christ (verse 21.) In fact, verse 21 is a good reminder of how imperfect some Christians were in Paul’s day, that “golden age” of Christianity that every one is looking for. What Paul says is not that he is surrounded with Timothys and Epaphrodituses (or is the plural “Epaphroditi”?), but that, “all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus.”

But I want to be in a church, I want to help create a church, where the members seek not their own things but the things of Christ Jesus and do this by seeking the things of the people Jesus Christ has given them. I want to create such a church by first being such a person. I want to follow St. Timothy in his ministry.

Paul wanted to send Timothy to the Philippians. But he didn’t want to send him because he was such a great preacher, because he was such an outgoing and charismatic personality, or because he was a capable administrator and had experience in running a large church. Paul wanted to send Timothy to the Philippians because he will sincerely care for the state of the Philippians (verse 20.) Paul eagerly desired to know the state, the spiritual condition (by which I mean all of life), of the Philippians. And so he wanted to send Timothy who would not only report back to Paul but would care for the state of the Philippians.

Timothy is one who Paul could trust to not seek his own things but the things of Christ by seeking the good of the Philippians. As Paul wanted to remain on the earth because it was needful for the good of the Philippians, so Timothy sought the things of Christ by seeking the good of the Philippians.

If you want to seek the things of Christ, then seek to serve Him in the people He has put in your life – especially those in your local church.

I want to be in a church with St. Epaphroditus as well. It’s easy to neglect Epaphroditus when Paul and Timothy are around, but here is an “ordinary” Christian who Paul found to be extraordinary. Epaphroditus is another example of the love and zealous longing for one another that I hope is at St. Andrew's and which I am often privileged to see there. Epaphroditus longed to see the Philippians (26), just as Paul did in chapter 1, verse 8. Epaphroditus loved them so much that even though he was the one who was sick, he was distressed because the Philippians had heard he was sick, and he didn’t want to be a burden to them!

Epaphroditus is another saint who did not seek his own things but the things of Christ by seeking the good of others. For the work of Christ, he “came close to death, not regarding his life” (30.)

Hmmmm. Didn’t I just hear somewhere something like, “This is love: to lay down your life for another”? This is exactly what Epaphroditus did for the sake of Jesus Christ, by serving the saints. And it is exactly what God is calling you to do this morning.

It would be easy to read what Paul says and what I have just written, to finish the dregs of your morning coffee and get on with the rest of the day and immediately forget what Jesus Christ has just called you to do. But He is calling you, at the very moment of your reading this, to lay down your life for Him as He laid it down for you. He is calling you to sincerely care for the state of the brothers and sisters in Christ that He Himself has given to you. He is calling you to not regard your own life too highly, so that you may minister to Him by ministering to His Church.

But don’t think of this life of love and service as one of drudgery and the extinction of joy. Who was more joyful than Jesus, Paul, and Epaphroditus, the very people who gave up their lives for others?

What joy Paul, Timothy, Epaphroditus, and the Philippians must have had whenever they got together! I want to be at their reunions and celebrate with them (I guess I’ll get that chance in heaven!) I want to be in a church where the people continue daily with one accord in the temple and break bread from house to house, eating their food with gladness and simplicity of heart (Acts 2:46.)

Don’t look to the 1st century church or some other age as the golden age of Christianity which is lost and shall never be found again. We are in the golden age of Christianity because Jesus Christ is with us, if we are with Him. And Jesus Christ has offered to us all of His things which He offered to Paul, Timothy, Epaphroditus, and the Philippians: joy in Christ, a serious sense of the high calling in Christ, bowels of compassion, a life of sacrifice, a love that spontaneously and zealously seeks out the good of others, and an intimate sense of Jesus Christ dwelling in us as we see Him working in His body.

Guess what? I’m in Paul’s church, after all, because I’m in the Church of Jesus Christ, his Lord and mine. And so are you.

Prayer: Father, thank You for giving to Your Church many faithful sons and daughters to follow the godly examples of Sts. Paul, Timothy, and Epaphroditus. Make me such a saint by giving to me the mind which was in Your Son and the Spirit of humility and love. Increase my joy as I learn to serve You more perfectly by serving those You have given to me, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Points for Meditation:
1. If your local church were filled with members like you, what kind of church would it be?
2. What is the one thing that you know God is asking you to do to more faithfully serve Him by caring about someone around you?
3. Meditate on one godly example of a saint you know who has sincerely cared for the state of others. Hold this person in esteem. How can you labor to follow his or her godly example?

Resolution: I resolve to find one way today to sincerely care for the state of a brother or sister in Christ by giving up myself for his or her good.

© 2009 Fr. Charles Erlandson

Monday of 3rd Sunday after Epiphany - Philippians 1:27-2:11

“For me to live is Christ,” St. Paul says in Philippians 1:21. How many of you are willing to say this and live this, regardless of what it might involve?

I thought I’d get that out of the way because God is about to put you to the test. I was just talking 2 days ago in WalMart (of all places) with a young man who is spiritually seeking, currently on his way out of materialistic Wiccanism to more of an all-religions-are-the-same-Buddhist-spiritual belief. Actually, it was his girlfriend who suggested a test to sniff out true Christians. Her test was to ask Christians if they would be willing to die for their beliefs.

It’s a good test, and one that is related to what St. Paul is about to say.

Paul begins this passage by saying that we must let our conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ. Once again, our behavior (and not just our belief) is an essential part of our faith. Paul warns the Philippians (verse 29) that they have been granted on behalf of Jesus Christ not only to believe but also to suffer for His sake.

Here is where the test of our faith comes in. When suffering comes into your life, how does it affect your faith and life in Christ? For some, it will drive them away, as if to say, “I can’t believe in a God who would allow suffering – especially mine!” For others, suffering will discourage them, and they will slowly grow distracted and weaker in their faith. Some will treat suffering with a kind of Roman stoicism, attempting to bravely endure it while trying to wish it away. Others still will attempt human means of dulling the pain.

But the Christian response to suffering is to accept it as a means of participating in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. If we want to be able to say with St. Paul that, “For me, to live is Christ,” then we must be willing to accept all of Him. Some Christians and churches give us the idea that the Christian life will be all health and wealth and sunshine. When, naturally, this isn’t the case, then discouragement and a sense of betrayal set in.

But God has never promised those things in this life. What He does promise is that for those who are faithful disciples of Jesus Christ, His Son will live in and through them. This life in Christ, however, includes all of Christ. It includes being raised to new life with Him, but only if a dying to self is also included. It includes the promise of glory and the resurrection, but only after we have persevered with Christ in His sufferings as well.

Even, especially, the Son of God was not given a life of ease: instead, He suffered for us. And He expects that we will suffer with, for, and through Him.

But how will we be able to bear such a difficult teaching, one that sees all suffering as potentially redemptive, and one that requires that we rejoice in our sufferings because they are uniting us to Christ?

It requires humility. It requires that you pick up your Cross, deny yourself, and follow Jesus Christ wherever He leads you. If you want to be able to say that for you to live is Christ, then you must mean it, and you must mean that you are willing to give up your own life for Him, as He gave up His for you.

The pattern that Jesus gave us and that Paul presents is that the Cross precedes the Resurrection: Good Friday first, and then Easter.

Paul says that to be united to Jesus Christ, to live for Him, you must have the mind of Christ. And what was this mind? It was a single-minded devotion to do the will of the Father – whatever the cost. The Christian way, the Christian life, is the Way of the Cross, and like Jesus we must set ourselves resolutely to be willing to go up to Jerusalem to meet the Cross.

Consider the humility that the Son has given to you as an example for how you should live. First, though He was God Almighty and the Son of God from eternity past, He “made Himself of no reputation.” This is something a lot of us are not willing to do: to make ourselves of no reputation. The King James doesn’t do justice to the word kenosis, translating it as “reputation.” What it really means is that Christ emptied Himself. And this is what you must do every day before Almighty God if you want to say that for you to live is Christ.

The Son of God humbled Himself, or emptied Himself, first by born a human being. What it must have felt like for God to become a mere human is beyond my imagination, but I do know that it took humility. The Creator became a part of the creation; He who was infinite became finite and limited.

The humility of Christ is even greater than this, for when He came, He didn’t start life as a full-grown human being but was born a helpless baby. He was not born into the family of a king but of a carpenter. When He began His public ministry and most people expected He would rule like a human king, He took the form of a servant (verse 7.) He spent 3 years not being served but serving. He lived out a life of love, giving Himself for others, even though He had every right to command complete obedience and servitude to Him.

The humility of Christ grew even greater because when it came time for Him to save the world, He humbled Himself and obeyed the Father to the point of death (verse 8.) He who was the Giver of Life gave up His life that we might live with Him. He chose not the death we might choose, a quick and quiet death by old age in our bed, but chose instead the death of the Cross, the most vicious and painful death the Romans could devise.

This is the Christ that you just said you wanted to be your life. This is way of Christ that you as a Christian must take upon yourself, if you desire to live in Christ.

It’s not likely that Jesus will require you to die the death of a martyr for Him, and yet He still commands you to surrender your life to Him completely. There are many Christians who, if asked if they would die for Christ, would raise their hands. But Jesus Christ hasn’t asked you to die physically for Him, only to die to yourself in a hundred ways each day.

He’s not asking you for one single heroic and spectacular moment of faith but for a daily life of faithfulness that often seems unheroic and dull. In fact, only those who have been quietly practicing a life of sacrificing themselves daily to God are likely to be in a position to do something heroic for Christ if and when the time comes. After all, even Jesus had to spend a lifetime of perfectly obeying the Father before He was ready for the Cross – and even then it wasn’t easy for Him.

Our hope, in this life of humble sacrifice, is that as Christ was highly exalted by the Father (verse 9), we will be exalted with Him. If we suffer with Him, we shall be glorified with Him. “This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him” (2 Timothy 2:11-12; see also Romans 8:17.)

Yes, I want to be able to say that for me to live is Christ - not because I want to suffer, but because I know that if I suffer with Him I shall reign with Him in glory. And I know that if I give Him my suffering He will share it with me and transform it into glory by His gracious love and presence.

For me, to live is Christ – every bit of Him.

Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, I humbly ask that You would give me Your mind of humility and love. Give me the grace of Your Spirit to obey the Father and submit to His loving will. Give me the grace to follow You in Your suffering so that I might participate in Your resurrection and glory. Amen.

Points for Meditation:
1. Practice submitting the disappointments of the day to Christ as a means of humbling yourself. When there are daily frustrations or disappointments, use them as reminders to turn to Jesus.
2. Meditate more on the deepest suffering in your life. Pray that you might be able to see it as a means of participating in the sufferings of your Lord. Pray that God will use this as a means of your calling on Him more frequently and passionately.

Resolution: I resolve to examine the suffering in my life today and receive it as a means of humbling me and bringing me to God. It may be useful to choose one source of suffering or disappointment in particular.

© 2009 Fr. Charles Erlandson