April 15, 2022 – Words From Merton

Spiritual Freedom

“Then they brought to him a demoniac who was blind and mute; and he cured him, so that the one who had been mute could speak and see. All the crowds were amazed and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons, that this fellow casts out the demons.” He knew what they were thinking and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.  If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand?   If I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own exorcists cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.  But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you.”  Matthew 12:22-28

“We do not have to create a conscience for ourselves.  We are born with one, and no matter how much we may ignore it, we cannot silence its insistent demand that we do good and avoid evil.  No matter how much we may deny our freedom and our moral responsibility, our intellectual soul cries out for a morality and a spiritual freedom without which it knows it cannot be happy.”Thomas Merton (The Pocket Thomas Merton, p. 15-17)

Spiritual Freedom

In the world we are living in today, so many people are struggling with this question: “Who are the good people and who are the evil ones?” So many individuals today think that all policemen and policewomen are evil if not crooked. Others think they all are good and honest. Other people think all Democrats are bad if not evil – others think all Republicans are bad if not evil. We are all struggling with squaring in our conscience where the evil exists, and where good exists. And then, we hear from Jesus that we are called to love our neighbor, pray for our enemies – and Thomas Merton says to do good and to avoid evil, and with the way our society is today, we would rather just sit at home and not do anything. It would be safer that way, right?

Of course we know sitting at home and doing nothing is the wrong answer, and Thomas Merton is suggesting, I believe, that our conscience demands that we focus on the good – and by good I mean “doing” good. The only way we will be able to defeat evil, is for more people to do good. Good will defeat evil — because evil does not know how to handle good. But in the good we do, let us not do it half-heartedly, but persist in not only doing good, but doing it, well, really, really good.

Let us Pray,

Lord Jesus, evil rears its head so often in our lives we begin to believe that there is no good in the world. Give me the strength today to do good, see goodness, and share your good word with the world. Amen.

Pastor Dave

April 14, 2022 —Words From Merton

Brought to Perfection

^“ Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.  And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.  For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family.  And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.” Romans 8:26-30

“G-d created (people) with a soul that was made not to bring itself to perfection in its own order, but to be perfected by G-d in an order infinitely beyond the reach of human powers.”  Thomas Merton (The Pocket Thomas Merton, p. 8)

Brought to Perfection

Thomas Merton is arguably the most influential American Catholic author of the twentieth century. He was a mystic, a Trappist monk of the Abbey of Gethsemani, Kentucky, a poet, a social activist, and student of comparative religion. I will be inserting devotions based upon Merton’s writing from time to time.

The struggle to be a self-made person, and to allow ourselves to be remade in the image of Christ is a life-long struggle. Some will never achieve the level of faith understanding they were meant to become. Others will just never be able to understand what Merton is talking about. And still others, those who have a sense that they were made for something more than the vision of life they currently are presented, they can seek and welcome G-d into their lives in order to become what G-d intended all along.

Paul wrote that we are to be remade into the image of Christ – that we are to be conformed by the love of Jesus and breathe in the very Spirit of G-d.  As such let us continue that journey to become the very image of Christ.

Let us Pray,

Lord Jesus, we struggle with so many self-egoistic ideas: to be self-made, self-sufficient, and self-determined to name just a few. Help me today Lord to put away the self, the ego, and to be conformed to what you want me to be. Amen.   

Pastor Dave