Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to wise men; you judge what I say. Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread.
For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. 1 Corinthians 10:14-17; 11:23-26
INTRO: It might seem strange – in a letter devoted to spirituality that Paul would spend four chapters talking about food
But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13
INTRO: Thinking about tonight’s talk has been bugging me all week
If I had to identify a reason why . . .
– probably because I think of love as other-centered
– and love isn’t lazy
So I come up against my own self-centeredness and laziness
– in all sincerity, I wish I could just say, “Follow Barbara for a week”
– you would see care for others and selfless service in action read more…
From the weekly Reflexions that I wrote for three years, here are several having to do with time, reprinted along with a couple of extra chapters not previously published.
You can find this at Lulu.com
http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/reflections-on-time/11773905
And notice that you can download a less expensive version as a PDF file with no shipping costs!
You also have the option of writing a wonderful and glowing review of this book once you’ve read it.
Also, reprinted and published in a new binding (otherwise the same with the addition of three poems) is Reflections On Breath. Hopefully I will also finish Reflexions On Church within a couple more weeks and then on to the much larger and, I believe, really helpful books, Reflexions On Prayer.
http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/reflections-on-breath/11771231
Don’t ask why, because I don’t know. But I decided to blog my meditation from this morning.
This year I am reading through the New Jerusalem Bible, so if the passages I quote sound strange to you, that is why. Also, I am reading three chapters from the Old Testament each morning and one from the New. That’s all the explaining I’m going to do. Anything else in the following meditation that doesn’t make sense to you will have to remain a mystery.
But who can detect his own failings?
Wash away my hidden faults.
Psalm 19:12 read more…
Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away.
When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.
1 Corinthians 13:8-12
INTRO: Documentary, “Lord, Save Us From Your Followers” – interviews with average North Americans
What became painfully obvious:
- No one wants to listen to Christians–that is, their condemnation, dogma, and arguments
- People are deeply impressed by acts of love and kindness read more…
Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
INTRO: Those of us who started Reflexion were drawn together by a shared vision and passion
- Vision: That “spiritual journey” is a useful analogy to describe our life in Jesus
- Passon: Our desire to make continued progress in this journey, to move deeper into God and travel further in fulfilling his will read more…
If I speak with tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
INTRO: I was thinking about Christian fundamentalism a few days ago
- It occurred to me that the pioneers got it wrong
The fundamentals they emphasized were beliefs (doctrines)
– but those are not what is fundamental to the Christian life read more…
Reflexion is polyvocal, which means that our message is told and our prayer is offered in multiple voices. These voices are as varied as our human members, so among them you will hear precision and metaphor, exploration and certainty, report and story. Every voice is beautiful and contributes something to the symphony of our spiritual community.
Here is one of the voices we always enjoy hearing.
I’ve been thinking about wells versus fountains today. Decorative fountains are fabricated and draw our attention by their beauty or the sound they make. They are useful to cover a less attractive area or to elevate it. Fountains move water in a way that is spontaneous, even joyful. read more…
Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
INTRO: In the rough grammar and elusive logic of Paul’s letters, we sometimes miss his other literary gifts
For example, here in 2 Corinthians, Paul develops his theme by loading chapters 3-5 with polarities
– he demonstrates the way Christians are pulled in two directions
– it is in this context they need to understand his calling, credentials, and service to them read more…
Daily Meditations From the Scriptures