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Theology

ye blog in sermon : a blog first for me

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pastor ken used my blog title for his sermon title this easter sunday. he had a lot of class to ask ahead of time, which i was glad to grant. he has now posted his sermon notes for reading.

Jesus was stubborn like Norman [you will have to read the illustration story]. He redefined what people thought they
knew. In essence, Jesus would hit the back button so things could go
forward. When others said Messiahs don’t hang out with sinners and that
people don’t get healed on the Sabbath, Jesus was stubborn – THIS
MESSIAH DOES! When others looked at the law and saw the letter, Jesus
looked at it and saw the Spirit – the inspiration of His Father and
what was intended. And when others saw death as final, Jesus was
stubborn, and said, “Not anymore.”

theology of dog : other links

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i am with amy on her theology of dog. my coe is one of the best dogs in the world. my crimson, is a little neurotic, but she is fun and sensitive most of the time.

nouwen on listening

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in light of my recent conversations.. these old thoughts from henri nouwen i wish were heard.

The Spirit of Jesus Listening in us

Listening in the spiritual life is much more than a psychological strategy to help others discover themselves. In the spiritual life the listener is not the ego, which would like to speak but is trained to restrain itself, but the Spirit of God within us. When we are baptised in the Spirit – that is, when we have received the Spirit of Jesus as the breath of God breathing within us – that Spirit creates in us a sacred space where the other can be received and listened to. The Spirit of Jesus prays in us and listens in us to all who come to us with their sufferings and pains.

When we dare to fully trust in the power of God’s Spirit listening in us, we will see true healing occur.

Listening as Spiritual Hospitality

To listen is very hard, because it asks of us so much interior stability that we no longer need to prove ourselves by speeches, arguments, statements, or declarations. True listeners no longer have an inner need to make their presence known. They are free to receive, to welcome, to accept.

Listening is much more than allowing another to talk while waiting for a chance to respond. Listening is paying full attention to others and welcoming them into our very beings. The beauty of listening is that, those who are listened to start feeling accepted, start taking their words more seriously and discovering their own true selves. Listening is a form of spiritual hospitality by which you invite strangers to become friends, to get to know their inner selves more fully, and even to dare to be silent with you.

from henri nouwen