Deus Misereatur

Critical Crossroads Jeremiah 15.10-21 “Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts” (Jeremiah 15.16). God’s daughters and sons may well find themselves in tight places, difficult spaces, and hard races , and wanting to put words to their anguish; and that’s where we find Jeremiah in this passage where he is at a critical crossroads. My first three points are primarily to give you the texture and atmosphere of this passage. But I am going to land on v.16 toward the end, which is where I’m going. Grievance (15.10-18): Jeremiah has a problem. He’s the bearer of bad news; in fact his whole ministry has been and will be characterized by the shape of condemnation, correction, confrontation and conflict. His life is being threatened (Chapter 11 and 20); his friends are few; his “pulpit” will be taken away; and his reputation railed against. The vast majority o...

“O LORD, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds. I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD. I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the LORD, ... Praise the LORD” (Psalm 116.16-19)! We do offer to you the sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that acknowledge your name (Hebrews 13.15). We thank you for saving us from many dangers and catastrophes – known and unknown; for providing us with livelihoods and loves; for filling us with good things and being a God of steadfast love and faithfulness. Glory to you, O God Most High! Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name : O God, how we long to see you honored by all; to be reverenced and held in high regard by presidential candidates of all parties, voters in all regions, by multiple Medias world over, family members, fellow workers, friends and foes. Since the fear of the LO...

“O LORD, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds. I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD. I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the LORD, ... Praise the LORD” (Psalm 116.16-19)! We do offer to you the sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that acknowledge your name (Hebrews 13.15). We thank you for saving us from many dangers and catastrophes – known and unknown; for providing us with livelihoods and loves; for filling us with good things and being a God of steadfast love and faithfulness. Glory to you, O God Most High! Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name : O God, how we long to see you honored by all; to be reverenced and held in high regard by presidential candidates of all parties, voters in all regions, by multiple Medias world over, family members, fellow workers, friends and foes. Since the fear of the LO...

“Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie! You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told” (Psalm 40.4-5) . We lift our hearts to you, mighty God, merciful God, majestic God, because you have cared for us in spiritual and bodily needs, and with our hearts and hands and voices we resound with your praises!!!! Father, giver of all good gifts: we pray for the poor and hungry…., the homeless and mentally ill…, the unemployed and heavily employed…, the sad and scared…, the sick and lonely…, that help unlooked for may arrive at just the right time; that you would draw them up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set their feet upon a rock, making their steps secure. That you would put a new song in their mouth, a song of praise to our God, so that many will see ...

A Communion Meditation Taken from Matthew 9.22 Early on in Matthew, the story is recounted where Jesus was walking through a crowd, and a woman who had some kind of hemorrhaging for 12 years – a woman who would have been considered and treated as impure and unfit to enter God’s worship, who would have been cut off from much of the fellowship and festal feasting of God’s people; a woman who would have felt like she dwelt “ in a dry and weary land where there is no water"  (Psalm 63.1) – alone, cut off, kicked out. She saw Jesus and secretly came up behind Jesus thinking, “ If I only touch his garment, I will be made well ” (Matthew 9.21). She touched his robe in faith, and immediately “ Jesus turned, and seeing her he said," ...He didn't say, "get away from me until you're clean enough!" Nor did he say, "Don't touch me until you have made yourself pure enough!" Instead,   “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly...

“Give thanks to the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted. Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth. Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 12.4-6). We have sung your praises, we have declared your great deeds, and now we give you thanks for your great favor poured out on us: for food, friends, family, health, homes, hope, vocations, voices and vitality. For we acknowledge that it is you who upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing (Psalm 145.14-16). Supreme Sovereign who sits enthroned over all, we call upon you to move the nations of the world in such ways that peace may prevail, war be averted, the Gospel unhindered, and the Church un...

Freedom for Ministry by Richard John Neuhaus My rating: 5 of 5 stars There's a deep refreshment in revisiting books read years before, specifically books that have claimed space in, and scribbled concepts on, one's heart. And so it has been a pleasure to revisit, after 10 year, the 271 page paperback, "Freedom for Ministry" authored by Richard John Neuhaus, who was at the time of the original edition a Lutheran pastor and later became a Roman Catholic priest, who was also founder and editor of the journal "First Things" and founder of the Institute of Religion and Democracy. First published in 1979, it was reproduced for print with only a new "Preface". The dog-eared, etched, annotated pages became familiar again, to remind and add renewed clarity. It is a book that was written for ministers across the Christian family, but holds a high regard for word, sacrament and ecclesiology. The primary theme throughout the volume is that for ministers, pa...