July 28, 2022 – Words of Wisdom, Thomas Merton

“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.”

Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” John 14:1-6

The Desire to Please G-d

I believe we have a desire to please G-d if we have determined to be a follower of Jesus. The problem with this desire is that it goes against our human inclination. You see, our human inclination is to be concerned only about our personal needs. But Jesus calls us out of ourselves to do loving acts for our neighbors and to love G-d before we worry about our own needs. And that is a counter-cultural movement in America today.

Even Jesus’ own Disciples did not understand his teachings and had a hard time getting out of their own way. So we are in good company when we say “I want to be a follower of Jesus, but to live and forgive and love as he asks is so hard.”

Thomas Merton says “But I believe that the desire to please you (Lord) does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.” What more can we hope for then the desire to please G-d and the trust that Jesus will show us the path.

Let us pray,

Lord Jesus, sometimes I do the very thing I do not want to do, and sometimes I live as you call me to live. Show me the path you want me to follow today and give me the will to see it through. Amen. Pastor Dave

July 27, 2022 – Words of Wisdom, Thomas Merton

“Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody’s business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy.”

 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin,yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the gentiles who seek all these things, and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” Matthew 6:25-34

Worthiness

Worthiness is something we like to control. We like to decide who is worthy of our attention. We worry about who is worthy of our time and our resources. And most of all, we spend a lot of time deciding who is worthy of our love.

Even though Thomas Merton states, “Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy” we also know it is not that easy. It is hard not to allow compassion fatigue to set in when we are bombarded with so many requests. It is hard not to become jaded by life when we hear stories of people who have stolen money from family, from the government, or from a local charity. And, if I may take this one step further, it is a blessing that Jesus does not use the same scale of worthiness that we set up in our daily lives.

None of us are worthy of the unconditional love that G-d has for all people. No one is worthy of such love. And Jesus does not demand signs, or accomplishments, or other forms of “earnings” when we are seeking love and forgiveness. Jesus just forgives us and loves us and welcomes us unconditionally, time after time after time.

We do not have to worry about tomorrow on G-d’s scale of worthiness – so why not spend today helping someone else know that same love and forgiveness.

Let us pray,

Lord Jesus, the world tells me every day that I am not worthy of this or that – I am not worthy of love, I am not worthy of employment, or I am not worthy of stability. Help me Lord to remember that you make me worthy of the most important thing – new life now and eternal life in the Kingdom. Amen.

Pastor Dave