This series of devotions are focused around Soren Kierkegaard’s “Christian Discourses etc.” The biblical text to consider during these devotions is: Matthew 6:24-34.
So then the daily bread is the bird’s living. The daily bread is the most scantily measured supply, it is exactly enough, but not the least bit more, it is that little which poverty needs. But then, indeed, the bird is poor. Instead of answering we will ask, Is the bird poor? No, the bird is not poor. Behold, here it appears that the bird is a teacher: it is in such a situation that, to judge by its outward condition, one must call it poor, and yet, it is not poor; it never could occur to any one to call it poor. And what does this mean? It means that its condition is that of poverty, but it has not the anxiety of poverty.
The daily bread is “exactly enough.” We don’t know what that amount is. What we do know is that it appears as though the bird is not anxious about what is its daily bread…what is exactly enough. But let’s say in our case we are told that what is exactly enough…or at least seems to be enough…is not. That is, what if we are continually told of more and the necessity for us to have more. Then, there could grow in us the anxiety of not having enough…of being poor. When we live “in comparison to others,’ there is always the opportunity for anxiety to be a leading force in our lives. So much so that we lose touch with what it is that is daily bread…what is enough. As followers of Jesus, we are encouraged to see all we have as a gift and not ours – as such. Therefore, in our abundance or in our “enough” there is always the possibility to use what is ours to be a gift to others and be a part of the enough that feeds and cares for all. But when we are focused on what may not be enough or…what could be “more” for us, we begin to walk in an anxious territory that does not build up the care for the body. Instead we leave it with less than enough.
Connection: What is it like to “come down in a place just right” as is a part of the Shaker hymn “Simple Gifts?” Do we know what is enough and what is more than enough? In a “place just right” there is the promise of peace. Something to consider in this culturally press time of spend & have more where wants sometimes are miraculously transformed into needs.
Be the peace of our days, O God, and take us by the hand so that we may see the delight in the simplicity of your grace that will always fill us with life, life abundant. Amen.
Tuesday, December 9, 2003
Monday, December 8, 2003
Monday, 8 December, 2003
This series of devotions are focused around Soren Kierkegaard’s “Christian Discourses etc.” The biblical text to consider during these devotions is: Matthew 6:24-34.
Kierkegaard looks at “the anxiety of poverty” by first looking at the life of the birds of the air.
What then does the bird live on? Surely not on what it gathers into barns, for it does not gather into barns – and really a (person)never lives on what (the person) has laid up in the barns. But what does the bird live on? The bird cannot give an account of itself; in case it were to be summoned, it would have to answer like the man born blind, who was interrogated about (God) who had given him his sight, and said, “I know not, but this I know, that I the blind man see.” So the bird must make answer, “I know not, but this I know, that I live.” On what does it live? The bird lives on the ‘daily bread’, this heavenly food which cannot be too long kept, this immense store of provision which is in such good custody that no one can steal it; for only that which is kept over the night can the thief steal, that which is used during the day no one can steal.
The bird lives on a gift. That is our lot. We the faithful enter into the understanding - the faithful imagination - that looks at all we have as a gift. The manna in the wilderness is a gift to the people. The sight to the blind man is a gift. It is here…now…it is for us. Our lives do not focus on what we can store up and count as our own. Our lives are lived as though life itself is a gift…a gift that we hold as precious today…for we do not know that this gift of life and the gifts within life will be here tomorrow. There is a great sense of freedom in knowing that we have been handed a gift…no matter what it is. The bird digs into what is given to it. The blind man who now sees is bathing in the sight of that which was previously without shape or color or depth. The followers of Jesus are handed this day and we are invited to see it as a gift and even to share this gift with others.
Connection: There is a wonderful life available to us as we begin to see this day as a gift and the wealth of this day as a gift and the people around us as a gift. Don’t miss the opportunity to dig into the richness of the simplicity of this day.
O Lord, open our eyes and fill us with the vision of your Reign so that we may be fed by your love that is the power for regeneration and hopefulness even when we find ourselves longing for nourishment. Teach us what it is to be full and live within the wealth of enough so that we may experience the freedom of life in this day. Amen
Kierkegaard looks at “the anxiety of poverty” by first looking at the life of the birds of the air.
What then does the bird live on? Surely not on what it gathers into barns, for it does not gather into barns – and really a (person)never lives on what (the person) has laid up in the barns. But what does the bird live on? The bird cannot give an account of itself; in case it were to be summoned, it would have to answer like the man born blind, who was interrogated about (God) who had given him his sight, and said, “I know not, but this I know, that I the blind man see.” So the bird must make answer, “I know not, but this I know, that I live.” On what does it live? The bird lives on the ‘daily bread’, this heavenly food which cannot be too long kept, this immense store of provision which is in such good custody that no one can steal it; for only that which is kept over the night can the thief steal, that which is used during the day no one can steal.
The bird lives on a gift. That is our lot. We the faithful enter into the understanding - the faithful imagination - that looks at all we have as a gift. The manna in the wilderness is a gift to the people. The sight to the blind man is a gift. It is here…now…it is for us. Our lives do not focus on what we can store up and count as our own. Our lives are lived as though life itself is a gift…a gift that we hold as precious today…for we do not know that this gift of life and the gifts within life will be here tomorrow. There is a great sense of freedom in knowing that we have been handed a gift…no matter what it is. The bird digs into what is given to it. The blind man who now sees is bathing in the sight of that which was previously without shape or color or depth. The followers of Jesus are handed this day and we are invited to see it as a gift and even to share this gift with others.
Connection: There is a wonderful life available to us as we begin to see this day as a gift and the wealth of this day as a gift and the people around us as a gift. Don’t miss the opportunity to dig into the richness of the simplicity of this day.
O Lord, open our eyes and fill us with the vision of your Reign so that we may be fed by your love that is the power for regeneration and hopefulness even when we find ourselves longing for nourishment. Teach us what it is to be full and live within the wealth of enough so that we may experience the freedom of life in this day. Amen
Friday, December 5, 2003
Friday, 5 December, 2003
This series of devotions are focused around Soren Kierkegaard’s “Christian Discourses etc.” The biblical text to consider during these devotions is: Matthew 6:24-34.
So then, by the aid of the lilies and the birds, we learn to know the anxieties of the heathen, what they are, such, namely, as the lilies and the birds do not have, notwithstanding they have the corresponding needs. One might, however, learn to know these anxieties in another way: by journeying to a heathen land and seeing how (people) live there, what they are anxious about. And finally in a third way: by journeying – but what am I saying? – why “journeying”? we are in fact living on the spot, in a Christian land where all are Christians, so that one might conclude that the anxieties which are found among us, notwithstanding that the corresponding needs and pressure are present, must be the anxieties of the heathen. …These anxieties are found amongst (people) in this land, ergo this Christian land is pagan.
We live in a day like many other days. People must have “sins” that they can point to in order to say to themselves and others, “Those are sins and we do not take part in such a life.” And yet, look how anxious we can be. Quite unlike the lilies and the birds we are. We have turned our notion of sin into something we can score on a card or put onto a scale (like 1 to 10) that will show us the worst and the least of our sins. But we forget that our sin is un-trust…unfaith. Unfaith can be seen not merely in what we would call the pagan or the unbeliever; it is also quite visible in the ones who are called followers of Jesus – Christians. Anxious hearts abound. Kierkegaard is crafty as he brings the Word of the Lord taught by the lilies and the birds right to our own front door. No longer are we ones who are to point out the shortcomings and unfaith in “those” people. We in our anxiety are indeed one of those and there is proof all around us. Therefore, as followers of Jesus we have to continue to bring the lessons of the lilies and the birds into our hearing and our conversations so that we may be of encouragement to one another when our unbelief begins to show through inn our times of anxiety and worry.
Connection: This is a time in the year when there seems to be so many demands on us we can become anxious as we are so absorbed in what “has to be done.” No. What has to be done has been done. We are given the gift of this day and in it, we can already be a gift to others. Go for it.
Lord, help us in our unbelief. Remind us of your power to bring new life when we are on top of the world or when we are deep in the pits of life. In our moments of doubt lead us to the rock that is our trust in you alone. Amen.
So then, by the aid of the lilies and the birds, we learn to know the anxieties of the heathen, what they are, such, namely, as the lilies and the birds do not have, notwithstanding they have the corresponding needs. One might, however, learn to know these anxieties in another way: by journeying to a heathen land and seeing how (people) live there, what they are anxious about. And finally in a third way: by journeying – but what am I saying? – why “journeying”? we are in fact living on the spot, in a Christian land where all are Christians, so that one might conclude that the anxieties which are found among us, notwithstanding that the corresponding needs and pressure are present, must be the anxieties of the heathen. …These anxieties are found amongst (people) in this land, ergo this Christian land is pagan.
We live in a day like many other days. People must have “sins” that they can point to in order to say to themselves and others, “Those are sins and we do not take part in such a life.” And yet, look how anxious we can be. Quite unlike the lilies and the birds we are. We have turned our notion of sin into something we can score on a card or put onto a scale (like 1 to 10) that will show us the worst and the least of our sins. But we forget that our sin is un-trust…unfaith. Unfaith can be seen not merely in what we would call the pagan or the unbeliever; it is also quite visible in the ones who are called followers of Jesus – Christians. Anxious hearts abound. Kierkegaard is crafty as he brings the Word of the Lord taught by the lilies and the birds right to our own front door. No longer are we ones who are to point out the shortcomings and unfaith in “those” people. We in our anxiety are indeed one of those and there is proof all around us. Therefore, as followers of Jesus we have to continue to bring the lessons of the lilies and the birds into our hearing and our conversations so that we may be of encouragement to one another when our unbelief begins to show through inn our times of anxiety and worry.
Connection: This is a time in the year when there seems to be so many demands on us we can become anxious as we are so absorbed in what “has to be done.” No. What has to be done has been done. We are given the gift of this day and in it, we can already be a gift to others. Go for it.
Lord, help us in our unbelief. Remind us of your power to bring new life when we are on top of the world or when we are deep in the pits of life. In our moments of doubt lead us to the rock that is our trust in you alone. Amen.
Wednesday, December 3, 2003
Thursday, 4 December, 2003
This series of devotions are focused around Soren Kierkegaard’s “Christian Discourses etc.” The biblical text to consider during these devotions is: Matthew 6:24-34.
So benevolent are these teachers (lilies and birds) towards the pupil, so benevolent, so humane, so worthy of their divine commission. If thou hast forgotten something, they are willing at once to repeat it to thee, and to repeat and repeat, so that at last thou mightest learn it; if thou doest learn nothing from them, they do not reproach thee, but merely continue with rare zeal to go on with the instruction, concerned only with teaching; and if thou dost learn something from them, they attribute it all to thee, act as if they had no part in it, as if it were not to them thou owest it They despair of no one, however indocile (one) may be, and they do not require slavish dependence upon them, even of (the one) who has learnt the most. Ah, ye marvelous teachers, if one were to learn from you nothing else; if only (one) learned to teach, how much (one) would have learnt!
To teach of the grace of God is to never give up…to again and again lay before others that grace which is beyond our imagination and yet is indeed, real and everlasting. The teaching becomes the message…never ending…always patient…giving and then giving again. When we share the vision of the Reign of God with one another, how can we not be reminded of its eternal word that knows no end? That is how our teaching is shaped. The lilies and the birds never stop being the message…it is their entire being and they can announce nothing but their very being…again and again and again. I know when I teach, I want to see some results…my results. And yet, our God lifts up a vision for us and we disregard it…or take only the part we like or can incorporate into our way of seeing the world. But our God never lets our reaction or lack of a reaction alter the message of the vision. The vision continues. The vision will always be available for us so that we can enter at any time…in any place. There is no “cut off” date for just when one might be set, the vision is spelled out again even when we thought there was no more opportunity to step within God’s Reign.
Connection: Over and over, our God calls to us to remind us of the vision that is laid out for us. Yes, we may choose to go different ways, but the voice of God never stops lifting up the vision and inviting us to see again…all things. Take a look.
Graceful Teacher and Patient Friend, it is by you persistence that we are pulled into the light of your blessed Reign. We give you thanks and ask that your Spirit of new life continue to open up doors that lead us to journeys along your gracious way. Amen.
So benevolent are these teachers (lilies and birds) towards the pupil, so benevolent, so humane, so worthy of their divine commission. If thou hast forgotten something, they are willing at once to repeat it to thee, and to repeat and repeat, so that at last thou mightest learn it; if thou doest learn nothing from them, they do not reproach thee, but merely continue with rare zeal to go on with the instruction, concerned only with teaching; and if thou dost learn something from them, they attribute it all to thee, act as if they had no part in it, as if it were not to them thou owest it They despair of no one, however indocile (one) may be, and they do not require slavish dependence upon them, even of (the one) who has learnt the most. Ah, ye marvelous teachers, if one were to learn from you nothing else; if only (one) learned to teach, how much (one) would have learnt!
To teach of the grace of God is to never give up…to again and again lay before others that grace which is beyond our imagination and yet is indeed, real and everlasting. The teaching becomes the message…never ending…always patient…giving and then giving again. When we share the vision of the Reign of God with one another, how can we not be reminded of its eternal word that knows no end? That is how our teaching is shaped. The lilies and the birds never stop being the message…it is their entire being and they can announce nothing but their very being…again and again and again. I know when I teach, I want to see some results…my results. And yet, our God lifts up a vision for us and we disregard it…or take only the part we like or can incorporate into our way of seeing the world. But our God never lets our reaction or lack of a reaction alter the message of the vision. The vision continues. The vision will always be available for us so that we can enter at any time…in any place. There is no “cut off” date for just when one might be set, the vision is spelled out again even when we thought there was no more opportunity to step within God’s Reign.
Connection: Over and over, our God calls to us to remind us of the vision that is laid out for us. Yes, we may choose to go different ways, but the voice of God never stops lifting up the vision and inviting us to see again…all things. Take a look.
Graceful Teacher and Patient Friend, it is by you persistence that we are pulled into the light of your blessed Reign. We give you thanks and ask that your Spirit of new life continue to open up doors that lead us to journeys along your gracious way. Amen.
Wednesday, 3 December, 2003
This series of devotions are focused around Soren Kierkegaard’s “Christian Discourses etc.” The biblical text to consider during these devotions is: Matthew 6:24-34.
In order to avoid a tone of condemnation the lilies and the birds are thrust in between; for the lilies and the birds condemn nobody – and as for thee, thou shalt not condemn the heathen, thou shalt learn from the lilies and the birds. Yes, it is a difficult task the lilies and the birds have, a difficult position they are in as instructors; there was nobody else could do it, every other teacher would so easily be tempted to accuse and condemn the heathen and praise the Christians (instead of imparting instruction), or mockingly to condemn the so called Christians who do not live as they ought. But the lilies and the birds, which are engaged solely in teaching and are absorbed in it, do not express any opinions, look neither to the right hand nor to the left, neither commend nor reprove, as teacher generally are wont to do.
There seems to be much anxiety in the air about “them” and “those” and “what they are doing” or “what they are thinking about doing.” Wouldn’t it be good for us to consider the lilies and the birds? In doing that, we would be more inclined to be gracious in the presence of others because we would be content with ourselves and not have the need to evaluate and judge others. But it is not easy to let go of our need to have an opinion about this and that…and the need to share it and make sure that others hear it…especially if it is about “them.” Good teacher are really good students…they listen, they come to see new things, they absorb, and they let the go of the need to have the world be like them or the way they expect it to be.
Connection: We would do well today to not insist on making the day go our way…or have others conform to our views and our patterns of life. Sometimes there can be great joy in listening to what makes other live, act, love, and abide they way they do.
Precious Lord, the wonders of your creation are beyond our comprehension. Continue to walk with us as we engage this day with a bit of contentment and a bit of amazement. Then we may find ourselves able to be at rest with others and find joy in the presence of others and ourselves. Amen.
In order to avoid a tone of condemnation the lilies and the birds are thrust in between; for the lilies and the birds condemn nobody – and as for thee, thou shalt not condemn the heathen, thou shalt learn from the lilies and the birds. Yes, it is a difficult task the lilies and the birds have, a difficult position they are in as instructors; there was nobody else could do it, every other teacher would so easily be tempted to accuse and condemn the heathen and praise the Christians (instead of imparting instruction), or mockingly to condemn the so called Christians who do not live as they ought. But the lilies and the birds, which are engaged solely in teaching and are absorbed in it, do not express any opinions, look neither to the right hand nor to the left, neither commend nor reprove, as teacher generally are wont to do.
There seems to be much anxiety in the air about “them” and “those” and “what they are doing” or “what they are thinking about doing.” Wouldn’t it be good for us to consider the lilies and the birds? In doing that, we would be more inclined to be gracious in the presence of others because we would be content with ourselves and not have the need to evaluate and judge others. But it is not easy to let go of our need to have an opinion about this and that…and the need to share it and make sure that others hear it…especially if it is about “them.” Good teacher are really good students…they listen, they come to see new things, they absorb, and they let the go of the need to have the world be like them or the way they expect it to be.
Connection: We would do well today to not insist on making the day go our way…or have others conform to our views and our patterns of life. Sometimes there can be great joy in listening to what makes other live, act, love, and abide they way they do.
Precious Lord, the wonders of your creation are beyond our comprehension. Continue to walk with us as we engage this day with a bit of contentment and a bit of amazement. Then we may find ourselves able to be at rest with others and find joy in the presence of others and ourselves. Amen.
Monday, December 1, 2003
Tuesday, 2 December, 2003
This series of devotions are focused around Soren Kierkegaard’s “Christian Discourses etc.” The biblical text to consider during these devotions is: Matthew 6:24-34.
Paganism stands in opposition to Christianity, but the lilies and the birds stand in no opposition to any of these contending parties; if one may say so, they play apart by themselves, keep shrewdly aloof from all oppositions. So then, the Gospel, in order not to condemn and denounce, uses the lilies and the birds to show what paganism is, but also at the same time to show what is required of Christians.
The lilies of the field and the birds of the air as used by Jesus in Matthew’s gospel are quite like a light. They reveal. They instruct not by bashing or pouncing or putting down. They instruct by being what they are. We are invited to consider them so that we may see the wealth within the life of those who follow Jesus. The Good News really is an adventure in which we are invited to consider a whole new life. It is not a method to condemn and limit life in an attempt to bring the right life to light. Isn’t it odd that we hold among us this Gospel that has become known in our society and world as more of a battering ram or a judgment/measuring stick than it is a life liberating word that evokes new life from those who consider its wealth, beauty and grace?!
Connection: So what can a lily and a bird bring into your day. We each are given many opportunities to consider such strange things within our work and play.
Gentle Lord, you hold up the simple gifts of your creation and from them you create a whole new way of leading us through life as the followers of your Beloved, Jesus. Guide us in this day so that we may be open to the wealth of your gracious Reign. Amen.
Paganism stands in opposition to Christianity, but the lilies and the birds stand in no opposition to any of these contending parties; if one may say so, they play apart by themselves, keep shrewdly aloof from all oppositions. So then, the Gospel, in order not to condemn and denounce, uses the lilies and the birds to show what paganism is, but also at the same time to show what is required of Christians.
The lilies of the field and the birds of the air as used by Jesus in Matthew’s gospel are quite like a light. They reveal. They instruct not by bashing or pouncing or putting down. They instruct by being what they are. We are invited to consider them so that we may see the wealth within the life of those who follow Jesus. The Good News really is an adventure in which we are invited to consider a whole new life. It is not a method to condemn and limit life in an attempt to bring the right life to light. Isn’t it odd that we hold among us this Gospel that has become known in our society and world as more of a battering ram or a judgment/measuring stick than it is a life liberating word that evokes new life from those who consider its wealth, beauty and grace?!
Connection: So what can a lily and a bird bring into your day. We each are given many opportunities to consider such strange things within our work and play.
Gentle Lord, you hold up the simple gifts of your creation and from them you create a whole new way of leading us through life as the followers of your Beloved, Jesus. Guide us in this day so that we may be open to the wealth of your gracious Reign. Amen.
Monday, 1 December, 2003
This series of devotions are focused around Soren Kierkegaard’s “Christian Discourses etc.” The biblical text to consider during these devotions is: Matthew 6:24-34.
Kierkegaard has just written about the place of the birds of the air and the lilies of the field as assistant teachers of the Gospel.
How is this possible? Well, really, the thing is not so difficult. For the fact is that neither the lilies nor the birds are “heathen,” but neither are the lilies or the birds “Christians,” and just for this reason they could be especially helpful by way of giving instruction in Christianity. Consider the lilies and the birds, and then thou dost discover how the heathen live, for it is precisely not like the lilies and the birds that they live; if thou dost live like the lilies and the birds, thou art a Christian – which the lilies and birds neither are nor can become.
I have always found that Kierkegaard takes his readers on a unique trip and we need to be ready to see things in a way we may never have considered. In these days of the season of Advent – the weeks prior to the incarnation of our Lord – it will be especially good for us to contemplate the gift of the Good News within an over anxious world. Jesus used lilies and birds to open up the vitality that is at the center of our lives as followers of Jesus. It is not spelled out like a list of things to do and not do. Rather it is something for us to “consider”…as in considering what it is to live each day as though we trust the one who promises to give us life.
Connection: We live in a culture and society of great abundance and yet we seem to always want more and call for it with a voice that says we “must” have it. Like “Christmas” shoppers who seem to go mad with the desire to consume more and more, it may do us well today to consider what is needed and to thank God for every bit of life that is before us.
Creator of the many blessings within this day, you shower us with enough to make our lives full with opportunities to serve others and share our abundance. We give you thanks for the gifts you place before us and the call to consider the welfare of more than ourselves. Amen.
Kierkegaard has just written about the place of the birds of the air and the lilies of the field as assistant teachers of the Gospel.
How is this possible? Well, really, the thing is not so difficult. For the fact is that neither the lilies nor the birds are “heathen,” but neither are the lilies or the birds “Christians,” and just for this reason they could be especially helpful by way of giving instruction in Christianity. Consider the lilies and the birds, and then thou dost discover how the heathen live, for it is precisely not like the lilies and the birds that they live; if thou dost live like the lilies and the birds, thou art a Christian – which the lilies and birds neither are nor can become.
I have always found that Kierkegaard takes his readers on a unique trip and we need to be ready to see things in a way we may never have considered. In these days of the season of Advent – the weeks prior to the incarnation of our Lord – it will be especially good for us to contemplate the gift of the Good News within an over anxious world. Jesus used lilies and birds to open up the vitality that is at the center of our lives as followers of Jesus. It is not spelled out like a list of things to do and not do. Rather it is something for us to “consider”…as in considering what it is to live each day as though we trust the one who promises to give us life.
Connection: We live in a culture and society of great abundance and yet we seem to always want more and call for it with a voice that says we “must” have it. Like “Christmas” shoppers who seem to go mad with the desire to consume more and more, it may do us well today to consider what is needed and to thank God for every bit of life that is before us.
Creator of the many blessings within this day, you shower us with enough to make our lives full with opportunities to serve others and share our abundance. We give you thanks for the gifts you place before us and the call to consider the welfare of more than ourselves. Amen.
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