July 25, 2016 – Words From Merton
Someone is Doing Our Thinking For Us

“Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone. “Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces. “Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which people walk over without knowing it.” Luke 11:42 -44

“When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.” “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.
Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:14-21a

“This is one of the few real pleasures left to modern man: this illusion that he is thinking for himself when, in fact, someone else is doing his thinking for him. And this someone else is not a personal authority, the great mind of a final thinker, it is the mass mind, the general “they”, the anonymous whole. One is left, therefore, not only with the sense that one has thought things out for himself, but that he has also reached the correct answer without difficulty—the answer which is shown to be correct because it is the answer of everybody.” Thomas Merton (The Pocket Thomas Merton, p. 59)

Jesus was quick to tell the Pharisees how much he believed they were misleading the people – they would tell the people to live one way, while they were not following the same rules, laws and decrees. They had set up their own ways of living. One of the teachings of Jesus was for the people to put more faith and trust in G-d and to put less trust in religious laws, in superstitions, in things that distracted them from true faith.

Thomas Merton writes (in the above tract) that people are losing, if not have lost, the ability to think for themselves. The lure of “group think” has become so strong that people fight for and embrace a leader or an ideology without ever critically thinking through the tenets of what that person or ideology stands for, and what that ideology or person really believes. Instead, people see a small group forming on social media, or blocking traffic in the street hoping to attract the attention of the media, just so they feel empowered for a few moments as they yell and scream without having a clue what they are yelling and screaming about. And when asked why they are doing what they are doing, they cuss you out because you dare to question their motives and their means.

On the afternoon of the shootings of six police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said “There simply is no place for more violence…it doesn’t further the conversation. It doesn’t address any injustice perceived or real. It is just an injustice in and of itself.” The shooter most likely was radicalized to carry out these shootings. He stopped thinking for himself – and listened instead to the voice of evil. I was reading some posts on an ELCA FaceBook page the other night hoping to read some words of hope, or some insight into scripture to bring the end of my day to a spiritual close. However, what I read was one person, a pastor most likely, using a Nazi era slur toward others on the page. I can’t even trust the “spiritually enlightened leaders” in my own denomination to give me words of peace and hope. No wonder Jesus said “Woe to you who neglect justice and the love of G-d”. Come Lord Jesus…..

Pastor Dave

July 24, 2016

“Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs. “So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Luke 11:5-13

“Prayer is more than asking for things, of course. Prayer is praise; prayer is thanksgiving; prayer is conversation; prayer is questioning; prayer is arguing; prayer is lamenting. Prayer is all these things and more. But prayer is also — and perhaps fundamentally — asking God for what we most need and desire…shamelessly. Why do I think asking is so central to prayer? Because it affirms our fundamental dependence on God. God has given us many, many gifts, yet we never stray far from our original condition of ultimate dependence on God’s mercy, goodness, and provision. When we ask God for something in prayer, we acknowledge both our need and God’s goodness. The second thing I believe is that God listens to our prayer. There is nothing more important to God than being in relationship with us, and so when we speak we can count on God’s attention. When my first child was born, I was overwhelmed by how much I loved him. I couldn’t get over how strong in the very first moments of his life was my desire to love, protect, and provide for him. In those initial moments, I looked forward to a lifetime of relationship, a lifetime of listening and talking, of laughing and even crying, together. If so with us, Jesus asks, how much more so with God (11:13).

So God wants us to pray, and God is listening. Beyond that, to be honest, I don’t know much.” (David Lose, working preacher website, July 18. 2010)

“So God wants us to pray, and God is listening. Beyond that, to be honest, I don’t know much.” I could not agree more with David Lose than these words he wrote about prayer, and how G-d works in the world. It is clear that G-d wants us to pray – it is clear that G-d wants us to ask for the things we need. Beyond that, trying to describe to someone how prayer works, and when and where and if G-d answers prayer is a real mystery. But this is the nature of G-d. Of course we know that prayer is many, many things. Prayer is thanking G-d – prayer is praising G-d. Prayer is asking G-d questions. But the most important aspect of prayer is assuming the posture of a loving relationship – one built on love, trust and thanksgiving.

The problem, as I see it, is too many people wait to pray to G-d until a crisis strikes, and when their prayer seems to go unanswered, then they believe G-d has given them a scorpion or a snake instead of an egg or a fish – to put it in Jesus’ terms. Prayer is to be an everyday, several times a day practice, not just when we are faced with life and death issues.

So, G-d wants us to pray, and to be bold enough to ask for anything. From there it is in G-d’s hands. And that’s where it should be – as far as I see it.

Pastor Dave