Any priest will tell you that Easter Sunday Mass is one of the most
highly attended of the year, alongside Christmas Mass and, at least in
the United States, Mass on Ash Wednesday. But Easter Sunday Mass, while
popular, is not the only important or beautiful liturgy celebrated
during the days of Holy Week and the Easter Triduum.
In fact, the liturgies of Holy Week are designed to foster in
Catholics an intimate and historical connection to the Church, and to
death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Timothy O’Malley, director of the Notre Dame Center for Liturgy, gave
CNA insight into the symbolism and foundations to the Chrism Mass, Mass
of the Lord’s Supper, Tenebrae, Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion, and
Easter Vigil.
As Catholics around the world are buying Easter candy and dyeing
boiled eggs, two priests have offered suggestions for getting the most
out of Holy Week.
“The most important, I believe, is to take advantage of the
opportunities of prayer, especially attending each of the Triduum
liturgies,” said Fr. Gary Benz of the Diocese of Bismarck, N.D.
“I’m not sure if a lot of Catholics have ever attended all three
liturgies – Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday Vigil – and
experienced the whole paschal mystery in the passion, death and
resurrection,” Fr. Benz told CNA.
You have to run over the devil before he runs over you. You are
standing on a battlefield (perhaps a different one than you were last
year at this time). You may be standing in the middle of an army or you
may be standing all alone. Are you just going to stand there, waiting to
see what will happen? Or are you going to do something that will allow
you to get and keep the upper hand?
Pope Francis has defrocked nine monks of a monastery in Ukraine for
performing exorcism prayers without authorization and for spreading
messages from a nun who claimed God had spoken directly to her,
according to reports.
The nine, who were from St. Theodore
Studite's Monastery in the village of Kolodiivka in Ternopil region,
refused to be corrected and "did not accept the admonitions of the
Church authorities and refused to listen to them … (and) continued to
violate the rules of the monks," the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
said in a statement, according to The Daily Mail.
On Monday Pope Francis sent his prayers and condolences for victims
of an alleged terrorist attack in southern France, and for those
affected by a fire inside a shopping mall in Russia which has killed at
least 64 people.
A fire broke out on the top floor of the Winter Cherry shopping and
entertainment complex in Kemerovo, Russia on Sunday afternoon, engulfing
the building and collapsing the roofs of two cinemas, Russia’s
Investigative Committee stated.
With the arrival of Palm Sunday, Catholics across the globe will soon
be handed leaves as they walk into church. Some might fold them into
elaborate little crosses. Kids will poke each other with them. But it's
safe to say most won't know where they came from.
The feast commemorates Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem the
week before his passion and crucifixion. The Gospels attest that as
Jesus entered the city, crowds lay down palm branches and cloaks as he
rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.
For centuries, Christians have commemorated the feast day that begins
Holy Week by waving branches of either palm or another local tree, as
well as with liturgical processions and other celebrations.
In the U.S. alone, nearly 18,000 Catholic parishes will celebrate
Palm Sunday by blessing and distributing palm branches to the faithful.
That makes millions of palm leaves each year – and that doesn’t include
all of the Protestant churches that observe the tradition.
At the end of a week-long meeting held at the Vatican, young people
from around the world have urged the Church to be more authentic, modern
and creative in the way it interacts with young people, and in
addressing controversial contemporary issues.
“We want to say, especially to the hierarchy of the Church, that they
should be a transparent, welcoming, honest, inviting, communicative,
accessible, joyful and interactive community,” the youth delegates said
in the final document of this week's pre-synod meeting in Rome.
“A credible Church,” they said, “is one which is not afraid to allow itself be seen as vulnerable.”
Continuing his custom of saying Holy Thursday Mass outside a sacred
place, Pope Francis this year will visit one of Rome’s most well-known
prisons, the Regina Coeli, located in the historic Trastevere
neighborhood.
The Pope will celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper March 29.
During the ceremony he will wash the feet of 12 inmates. He will also
meet with prisoners and visit sick inmates in the prison’s infirmary.
Meet Elina Berglund: a nuclear physicist who will be known as the
woman who developed the first natural cycle fertility app to have been
internationally certified as an effective means of avoiding pregnancy.
“It feels incredibly exciting that there is now an approved
alternative to conventional pregnancy prevention methods, and that it’s
possible to replace medication with technology,” Berglund told Business Insider.
The app, called Natural Cycles,
was founded in Switzerland by Elina Berglund and her husband Raoul
Scherwizl. They created the app as a way to go “beyond contraception,”
and to “get to know your body and unique cycles,” according to their
website.
Let me share with you some of the characteristics of men that I have
seen who have their sword facing the enemy, alert like Gideon's men at
the water (Judg. 7).
1) Commit to Be Clean
A
man aiming his sword will one day in his life make a commitment to be
clean. While speaking at singles and youth conferences, I often have
young men and women come to the altar to commit their sexuality to
Christ.
The Bible says, "For as [a man] thinketh (yes, I like the
word thinketh) in his heart so is he" (Proverbs 23:7a, KJV). As a
psychologist, I know we are today the sum of our commitments and the
discipline to keep them. As a man, if I commit to something, I will
attract the people and things I need to fulfill that commitment.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, Tony Perkins, Todd Starnes, Larry Elder, and
Dennis Prager participate in a panel session on online censorship at
Proclaim 18, the National Religious Broadcasters' (NRB) International
Christian Media Convention in Nashville, Tennessee, on March 2, 2018.
Leading tech companies like Facebook, Google and Twitter are
censoring the online posts of Christians and conservatives — and if this
trend continues, it won't be long before free speech in America is
gone, conservative leaders have warned.
During a session on public
policy and online censorship at Proclaim
18, the National Religious Broadcasters' (NRB) International Christian
Media Convention, U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn shared how, last year,
Twitter blocked a campaign video in which she discussed her efforts to
stop Planned Parenthood's "sale of baby body parts."
The U.S. bishops have voiced their strong support for a bill
protecting individuals and institutions from discrimination by the
federal government based on their beliefs about marriage, regardless of
what those beliefs are.
"We welcome and applaud the recent reintroduction of the First
Amendment Defense Act (FADA),” wrote Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of
Louisville and Bishop James Conley of Lincoln in a March 14 statement.
Archbishop Kurtz chairs the US bishops' Committee for Religious Liberty,
while Bishop Conley is chairman of the Subcommittee for the Promotion
and Defense of Marriage.
While the intellectual formation of pastors is dominated by
philosophy and theology, their pastoral duties also require something
beyond the intellectual and spiritual aspects – a business component.
The Pastoral Leadership Institute has developed a curriculum to train
priests in business and an administration skills, enabling pastors to
better understand the financial properties of a parish.
Are you in a Christian cult? A cult-like church? Is your church leadership manipulating and controlling you?
It's
hard to believe these things happen—but they do. And many times you
feel like you must be crazy or that the enemy is just making false
accusations. I came out of a cultish church.
I'm offering you seven signs and personal examples of Christian cults and cult-like churches.
Want more on this topic? This book really helped me understand what I
was dealing with and brought a lot of healing. Check it out here: goo.gl/MxswDA
What is it that draws people to you? Dr. Steve Greene offers advice to
Christian marketers on how to win consumers' trust and leave people with
the answers they seek. Don't miss it.
A host of ABC News' The View, Joy Behar, has reportedly apologized for comments she made against Vice President Mike Pence's Christian faith.
Los Angeles Times reporter
Daniel Miller tweeted Thursday that during a shareholders meeting,
Disney CEO Bob Iger "says Joy Behar apologized for things she has said
about Christians and the Trump administration. Iger agrees that was
appropriate."
Entertainment reporter Joe Flint of The Wall Street Journal tweeted
Thursday, "Disney CEO Bob Iger says he took exception with Joy Behar's
remarks about Christianity and VP Mike Pence. Says Behar apologized to
Pence."
Rwandan police have arrested six Christian pastors on grounds that
they are planning to defy a recent order that closed more than 700
churches that allegedly don't meet safety and cleanliness standards.
AFP reports
that authorities in the African country announced Tuesday that they had
arrested six "masterminds" plotting to defy the government's shutdown of 714 churches and one mosque that were deemed unsafe, unclean and noisey in the capital city of Kigali.
The
government accuses the religious leaders, all Pentecostals, of holding
meetings where they discussed resistance of the order, which was issued
last week.
Pentecostals worship at a church in Nigeria.
"After the suspension of churches that did not meet
required standards, some church leaders began illegal meetings intended
to defy and obstruct the directive," Rwanda National Police spokesperson
Theos Badege told the international news agency. "Police began
investigations to find the masterminds behind this illegal act."
Five Christians were attacked by a mob of 20 as they tried to build a
wall around their church in Pakistan on Sunday, according to the
persecution website World Watch Monitor.
'Our
church elder, George Masih, who is 70, was overseeing masons and
labourers who were constructing the wall. We were praying [inside the
church] when we heard shouting and yelling, and, when we rushed outside,
we saw about 20 men, armed with clubs and axes, [who] were beating
Masih and others,' said the pastor of the Pakistan Gospel Assemblies
church in Yousufwala village, on the outskirts of the Punjabi city of
Sahiwal.
George Masih (left) and his son Babar were taken to hospital after the attack.
The dispute is thought to centre around the use of the land, which
was originally set apart for communal purposes though the pastor said
they had obtained permission to build the church on the land three years
ago.
A 1,200-page dossier compiled by a male escort identifying 40 priests
and seminarians engaged in homosexual activity in Italy has been sent
to the Vatican by the archdiocese of Naples.
In a statement on the
diocesan website and reported by AP, Cardinal Cresenzio Sepe stressed
that none of the identified priests worked in Naples, but said he
forwarded the file to the Vatican because 'there remains the gravity of
the cases for which those who have erred must pay the price, and be
helped to repent for the harm done'.
The dossier, which contains WhatsApp chats and other evidence, was
compiled by a gay escort, Francesco Mangiacapra. He has told Italian
media that he outed the priests because he could no longer stand their
hypocrisy.
Primary school pupils should be taught how to manage money, according to a charity founded by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The
Just Finance Foundation, which provides training teachers and helps
school savings clubs, said in a joint response with the Church of
England to a Department for Education consultation that learning where
money comes from, when to spend and how to save is vital to children's
ability to navigate adult life.
It said teaching financial skills should be be a mandatory part of
personal, social, health, and economic education (PSHE) in primary
schools and warned that a 'strong focus on sex and relationships
education' could squeeze out other important areas of the subject.
The Vatican has issued a major document slapping down what it sees as modern day heresies.
Placuit Deo, or 'Pleasing to God,' is the first major anti-heresy document for 18 years after the controversial Dominus Iesus was published in 2000.
The four-page letter released on Thursday largely steers clear of the
controversies that haunted its predecessor, which was accused of having
an air of superiority towards other religions, particularly in its
claim that non-Christians 'objectively speaking ... are in a gravely
deficient situation' with regard to salvation.
Amid ongoing violence and attacks against human dignity in Nigeria,
the Catholic bishops of the country released a pastoral communique
promoting a culture of life within the Church and nation.
“As the Church prepares to mark the golden jubilee of Pope Paul VI’s
Encyclical Humanae Vitae, we call on families to embrace and cultivate
the culture of life, a culture marked by faith and solidarity,” read the
statement released together by the bishops.
“In recognition of our divine mandate, may we remind all of the
sacredness and inviolability of human life. No person, authority or
institution has the right to terminate human life,” they continued.
Worship leader Kristian Stanfill says he was once held captive by the
enemy and shame—but God freed him from all that. His song "Whole Heart"
performed live at Passion 2018, is an ode to finding identity in Christ.
Watch the official music video.
Two more churches have been closed down by local authorities in
Algeria's north-western city of Oran amid growing pressure on Christians
in the north African country, according to World Watch Monitor (WWM).
The
two churches – L'Oratoire [The Oratory] in Oran's city centre, and a
village church in Layayda (about 40km from Oran) – were sealed off by
police on Tuesday this week, WWM reported.
According to the police
notification, the churches did not have state approval. WWM said that
the decision is not the first of its kind in Oran.
Under Algerian law all faiths are allowed to practise if they meet certain conditions, but proselytising is illegal.
The closures come after growing concerns about heightened government
pressure on churches and Christians in Algeria, with the World
Evangelical Alliance's (WEA) Religious Liberty Commission this week
calling on authorities there to ensure religious freedom for people of
all faiths.
While the phrase “ball and chain” is still sometimes tossed around by
those who view marriage as a burden, a recent study shows that men who
tie the knot reap a plethora of benefits.
“Indeed, the benefits of marriage for men are substantial by every
conceivable measure, including money, a better sex life, and
significantly better physical and mental health,” noted a recent study
released by the Institute for Family Studies.
“There’s no doubt that marriage requires sacrifices… but it turns out that these sacrifices pay for themselves and more.”
God commanded it, Jesus practiced it, Church Fathers have preached
the importance of it – fasting is a powerful and fundamental part of the
Christian life.
But for many Catholics today, it's more of an afterthought: something
we grudgingly do on Good Friday, perhaps on Ash Wednesday if we
remember it. Would we fast more, especially during Lent, if we
understood how helpful it is for our lives?
The answer to this, say both saints of the past and experts today, is a resounding “yes.”
“Let us take for our standard and for our example those that have run
the race, and have won,” said Deacon Sabatino Carnazzo, founding
executive director of the Institute of Catholic Culture and a deacon at
Holy Transfiguration Melkite Greek Catholic Church in Mclean, Va., of
the saints.
“And...those that have run the race and won have been men and women of prayer and fasting.”
Pope Francis made a historic climb-down on Monday as he accepted the
resignation of a Nigerian bishop who had long been rejected by his
diocesan priests but had been vocally backed by the pontiff.
Francis
had warned priests in Nigeria's southern Ahiara diocese that they could
lose their jobs if they did not accept Monsignor Peter Ebere Okpaleke
as their bishop, according to Associated Press.
The priests were given 30 days to confirm their obedience to the
appointment, and the pope told rebellious priests to write a letter of
apology to Okpaleke. Though 200 priests backed Okpaleke, several others
did not, the Vatican said yesterday.
Okpaleke was appointed as bishop of Ahiara, in the Mbaise region, by
Pope Benedict XVI in 2012, but had been opposed by local priests who
rejected the leadership of a bishop who hailed from Anambra region,
outside of Mbaise. The opposition was such that Okpaleke had to be
installed as bishop outside the diocese.
Walking in dream language and tapping into the mind and heart of God
can be an exciting and exhilarating journey. But understanding and
interpreting the revelation He gives in dreams can often be a complex
and even confusing process.
These 15 keys will help you to simplify the process of dream interpretation:
The Palestinian Foreign Affairs minister, Ryadh al Maliki, met
officials of the Vatican Secretariat of State Feb. 16, asking the Holy
See to amplify its voice defending the status quo in Jerusalem.
“It is important to understand that the situation of Jerusalem also
deals with Christians,” the minister told CNA after the meeting, during a
short briefing with journalists in the State of Palestine’s recently
opened embassy to the Holy See.
“We would like the Holy See lead a conference of Christians in the Middle East, in order to make their voice stronger.”
Religious Education is facing a chronic shortage in teachers
prompting warnings of an increase in prejudice and stereotyping because
pupils will grow up with knowing about other faiths.
The
Department for Education is failing to recruit enough religious studies
teachers, the Religious Education Council (REC) said, after government statistics revealed it was one of the worst subject for attracting new teachers.
The concept of being in the world but not of it has been interpreted
in different ways. There are those who believe that you need to
physically move away from society and put yourself in a monastery or
some other isolated place in order not to be of this world. I don't
believe that this is biblical even though some people may temporarily go
to an isolated place for prayer.
The biblical alternative is found in 2 Peter 1:4, which speaks of
"having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." Lust
is what makes us participants in the corrupting influences of the world.
Lust is a form of desire, which makes us believe that our happiness or
contentment depends upon acquiring a certain thing. It could be a person
or any material object. The world presents us with many false promises
of happiness. Our primary source of peace and contentment should be from
God.
At least 17 people are dead in yet another horrific school shooting
in the US after a teenage gunman opened fire on Marjory Stoneman Douglas
high school in Parkland, Florida, with an AR-15 assault rifle.
The
suspect has been named as 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, a former pupil who
was expelled from the school. It is the 18th school shooting incident in
2018 alone and the deadliest since 26 people were killed at Sandy Hook
school in 2012.
Emergency services attend to one of the victims outside the school. Another 12 were shot inside the school building.
Three were shot dead outside the school when the attack began at
14.30 local time (19.30GMT) before the attacker went inside the building
and killed another 12, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel told
reporters. Another two later died in hospital. Some victims are still
being identified and three people remain in a critical condition while
three others are in stable condition.
Catholic leaders in South Africa applauded news of President Jacob
Zuma’s resignation, stressing the need to root out corruption at all
levels of government.
A Feb. 14 statement from the South African Catholic Bishops’
Conference welcomed news of the resignation, calling it “long overdue.”
“While for some it may be a painful event, we call on all to accept
his decision as part of our democratic process,” said the statement,
signed by Archbishop Stephen Brislin, president of the bishops’
conference.
In Nigeria, a new wave of attacks has seen dozens killed in Christian communities across the country.
The
violence has hit the northeastern state of Adamawa, one of the most
affected by Boko Haram, and also the Middle Belt states of Nasarawa and
Benue, where Fulani herdsmen have caused havoc in recent years.
In
Adamawa state, a Christian student was killed, and others injured, in
an attack by Muslim students at the Modibbo Adama University of
Technology (MAUTECH) of Yola, the state capital, on Feb. 4.
A
local source, who wanted to remain anonymous, told World Watch Monitor
that the incident started around 7 p.m., as some students were in their
classes, studying for their exams scheduled the following day.
Previously we have told you how churches and places of worship were being
discriminated against and were prohibited from even applying to receive
grants from the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) in the
wake of natural disasters.
Thankfully, FEMA announced in
January of 2018 that they would put an end to these discriminating
policies and that churches and places of worship would no longer be
prohibiting from receiving these grants.
Theologian and Desiring God founder
John Piper is weighing in on selfies, urging Christians and social
media users to recognize that in a self-obsessed culture their self is
actually meant to point to God.
In response to
a question he was asked Monday about whether the large presence of
selfies and self-centered social media is an indication that the last
days are near — where 2 Timothy 3:1-2 speaks of "difficult times" and
people being "lovers of self" — the theologian said yes and no.
In a refreshing twist on blasphemy sentences from the Middle East, three
Lebanese teenagers who were charged with insulting Christianity have
been given the unusual sentence of studying the references to the Virgin
Mary found in the Qur'an.
It is relatively little-known that Muslims believe in the Virgin
birth of Jesus Christ. And in a move that is being hailed as a
progressive step towards interfaith relations, a Christian judge,
Joceline Matta, found the Muslim boys guilty of 'contempt of religion'
for insulting Mary.
What's the thing in your life that you desperately want God to
change? Is it a cycle of insecurity, your personal health and fitness,
the courage to get over your fear of speaking in front of people?
Perhaps it's that you're longing for reconciliation in a particular
relationship? I know that when you're in a season of waiting and
holding onto God's promises, that one of the most painful things is
seeing someone else walking in the very breakthrough you'd give anything
to have. It feels like salt in a wound, and if you're not careful, you
can allow this to magnify your perceived lack.
Today I want to
tell you that this thinking is not helping you in any way, and in fact,
it could be keeping you from your breakthrough. What if I told you that the thing you're jealous of might very well be the answer you're looking for?
Just two months after his recent visit to Bangladesh, Pope Francis
Monday welcomed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the Vatican, where they
discussed positive inter-faith relations in the country and the need to
find a lasting solution to the ongoing Rohingya refugee crisis.
According to a Feb. 12 Vatican communique, the conversation was
cordial and highlighted the positive bilateral relations between the two
and the success of Francis' recent, Nov. 30-Dec. 2 visit to Bangladesh.
Both men and women Olympic athletes at the Winter Games in South Korea will be given an average of 37 condoms each.
Olympic officials are distributing 110,000 prophylactics
in grab-as-many-as-you-want baskets at athlete bathrooms, apartments,
medical clinics, media rooms, and wherever the competitors gather,
according to the South China Morning Post.
CNN asked if Olympic organizers are “expecting the most promiscuous Winter Games in modern history?”
GEB continues to expand its
availability to viewers across the country. The Faith-and-Family
Network is now on Amazon Fire TV. Viewers just need to search for GEB to
watch live 24/7.
"We
want viewers to find great faith and family programming on every
platform possible," said GEB's Chief Executive Officer Ossie Mills.
"Amazon Fire TV joins a long list of options for viewers to find GEB's
inspirational programming."
A new bill proposed in Iceland that would make circumcision
punishable by up to six years in prison is a “dangerous attack” on
religious freedom, Cardinal Reinhard Marx has said.
“Protecting the health of children is a legitimate goal of every
society, but in this case this concern is instrumentalized, without any
scientific basis, to stigmatise certain religious communities. This is
extremely worrying,” Marx said in a statement.
It has been quite the hectic week for star quarterback Carson Wentz, and it looks like it just got even more exciting.
After
the Eagles took home the Lombardi trophy at the weekend, Wentz
announced his engagement to long-term girlfriend Madison Oberg. Here's
the third piece of the trifecta: Wentz is reportedly replacing Vice
President Mike Pence as the keynote speaker for the National Prayer
Breakfast, taking place Thursday in Washington D.C.
While much of America was watching Super Bowl LII and
hailing the Philadelphia Eagles' championship win, a Baptist
theologian argued that the sport causes brain damage and likened its
celebration to people cheering on gladiators fighting to the death.
Roger
E. Olson, professor of Christian Theology of Ethics at George W. Truett
Theological Seminary of Baylor University, wrote in a blog post Saturday,
the day before the Super Bowl, that the facts are "irrefutable" when it
comes to "long-term and irreversible brain damage in many players."
"Anyone
who doesn't know this simply hasn't been paying attention. And in some
cases, that brain damage has probably led to violent behavior, including
suicides and murders, that probably would not have happened otherwise,"
he argued.
A new 30-day challenge maps
out daily actions for men hoping to live authentic masculine Catholicism
by reclaiming the identities of sons, brothers, fathers, and spouses,
its creators say.
“This program is rooted in four primary identities that sum up
masculinity … that all men share in the call to fatherhood, all men are
sons, all men are brothers, and all men are spouses,” said Chris
Stefanick, host of EWTN’s “Real Life Catholic” and co-creator of RISE.
Mass graves where Rohingya Muslims refugees have been buried in
Myanmar reveal the shocking extent of the genocide that has been taking
place, an investigative report has found.
"The faces of the men half-buried in the mass graves had been burned away by acid or blasted by bullets," began an Associated Press report documenting the graves on Thursday.
Christian commitment to a year of spiritual resolve can be a daunting
prospect, but three weeks may be all it takes to revolutionise your
life. YouVersion, the team behind the popular Bible App, is once again
inviting users to undertake the 21 Day Challenge, starting February 1.
The task is to commit to a Bible-reading plan (or several), of which
there are many hosted by the app, for 21 consecutive days. Succeeding at
this relatively modest commitment is believed to be the path to
establishing a long-term habit.
YouVersion wrote:
'Just three weeks of consistent behaviour can carry you well on your
way to a new habit. That's why we created the annual 21-Day Challenge:
to help you engage with the Bible every day. Start a new plan now... and
start each day in this new year with a fresh perspective.'
The approach draws on the popular notion, drawn from the thought of
Dr Maxwell Maltz, that 21 days of resolve are what it takes to form a
habit. It may also be a complete myth that
the idea belongs to Maltz or that it reliably works, but it remains
influential. Like the progressive stretching of a muscle, daily,
dedicated exercise of the human will can train and expand its potential.
An Amtrak passenger train carrying Republican members of the U.S.
Congress from Washington to a retreat in West Virginia slammed into a
garbage truck on Wednesday in Crozet, Virginia, killing one person
aboard the truck, authorities said.
There was one confirmed
fatality and one serious injury in the collision, the White House said.
Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, who was aboard the train, said on
Twitter that three people were in the truck and one was killed. Of the
other two, Cassidy said, one sustained major injuries and one had minor
injuries.
It was 1971 when I was a young teen like my grandson. Back then, we
wrote our assignments in cursive, went home to houses that cost about
$25,000 to build. Our parents paid 35 cents for a gallon of gas, while
they earned about $10 thousand per year. No kid imagined having an
iPhone.
There's another change since then. More Americans have no religious identity—many have no need for God.
This is especially true in my grandson's generation—the so-called
Generation Z. The Barna Group recently published their findings about
those born between 1999-2015. While you couldn't pick a better time to
live in a technologically advanced society, it looks grim for the
American faith community. Only 4 in 100 teens in this group have a
Biblical worldview. Generation Z is the least Christian generation in
American history.
While 'smart' technology gives the impression that it knows just
about everything, it appears that Google Home cannot answer the
question, "who is Jesus?"
Author and television producer David Sams conducted an experiment and streamed it live on Facebook. He noted answers from the most popular “smart” machines when asked, “Who is Jesus Christ?”
When he asked Google Home “Who is Jesus Christ?” the reply he received was, “I’m not sure how to help you with that.”
I have counseled with many men over the years who have doubled or
more than doubled their income shortly after cleaning up the area of
sexuality in their lives.
Sex can make or break your spiritual
realm and other areas of authority that God has given to you. Both
contemporary and biblical examples demonstrate the connection between
sexuality and authority.
Gazing at creation, all around we see the results of the power of
God, who flung the stars into place, the planets into alignment and
brought about life—all out of nothing. Reading our Bibles, we see
stories of dramatic encounters with God and His miracle-working power to
heal, deliver and protect. We are assured of promises that through Him,
all things are possible.
Have you ever wondered, then, "Why do we
have doctors and medicine if God can heal?" "Why security if God can
protect?" Or even, "Why preachers if God can reveal Himself?" Ever felt
guilty for using some of these manmade creations, fearing a lack of
trust or patience in God? I have.
God Partners With People
Although
the Bible clearly illustrates God is all-knowing and all-powerful, and
that He did and continues to perform mighty miracles, it also uncovers
what may be an equally astonishing truth: God uses people.
Consider
just a few examples from Scripture. To protect His people from
impending disaster, God used Noah to build a boat. When Israel needed
deliverance from captivity in Egypt, God used Moses to bring them out.
To reveal Christ to people who did not know Him, He used the preaching
of Peter and Paul. In each instance, God chose to partner with people
for feats that He was more than capable to do all by Himself.
As
God is certainly aware His choice to use people brings plenty of
limitations. In almost every case, it means His desired outcome takes
much longer to come to pass. Or, unfortunately, because of human
missteps and mistakes, that it doesn't come to pass at all. At times, it
means people get hurt, they pass on, and consequently, that God's
reputation gets tarnished by it all.
We Are Christ's Body on Earth
But as an example of a
perfect delegator, God is willing to take these risks and more as an act
of love for us. In using people to do what He could otherwise do
instantly and flawlessly, He gives us a sense of worth, purpose and
affirmation. In the process of obedience, we are fine-tuned and
perfected. But perhaps most of all, God knows that flesh best relates to
flesh. That is, after all, why He came to earth through Jesus as a
human being. He knew He needed to become one of us, with all the human
limitations, in order to show us the way out of our brokenness. Now
today, as the body of Christ on this earth, in all kinds of ways, God
chooses to use people as His hands, feet, mouth and heart.
Certainly,
pray for God's instant breakthroughs and the manifestations of His
miracle power. But be careful not to reject the people He puts on your
path to help you. The answers to your prayers might come through
community, the talent of a God-gifted person or the story of someone
who's "been there, too."
The Shape of Water received 13 Academy Award nominations yesterday, one short of the record. The plot follows a mute custodian who develops a sexual relationship with a humanoid-amphibian creature.
Due to the film's graphic nudity, I will not see it. As to why it received so many nominations, I defer to a film critic who noted: "Perhaps the best argument in its favor is that, in a weird way, it's a film that speaks to our times. One could interpret The Shape of Water
as being about a mute woman who finds her voice with the help of her
gay and African-American friends to take down the sexually predatory,
bigoted patriarchy."
The atomic scientists behind the doomsday clock just bumped the ticking hands to two minutes before midnight.
According to their latest bulletin:
2018:
The failure of world leaders to address the largest threats to
humanity's future is lamentable—but that failure can be reversed. It is
two minutes to midnight, but the Doomsday Clock has ticked away from
midnight in the past, and during the next year, the world can again move
it further from apocalypse. The warning the Science and Security Board
now sends is clear, the danger obvious and imminent. The opportunity to
reduce the danger is equally clear. The world has seen the threat posed
by the misuse of information technology and witnessed the vulnerability
of democracies to disinformation. But there is a flip side to the abuse
of social media. Leaders react when citizens insist they do so, and
citizens around the world can use the power of the internet to improve
the long-term prospects of their children and grandchildren. They can
insist on facts, and discount nonsense. They can demand action to reduce
the existential threat of nuclear war and unchecked climate change.
They can seize the opportunity to make a safer and saner world.
I saw a very touching news item. A cancer charity is investing in
donkey therapy for young survivors of cancer. For a few months the
youngsters get to spend time with their donkey. Animal and human get to
know each other. In fact, donkeys are incredibly empathetic to human
suffering.
Over the weeks, alongside other young cancer survivors,
as they nurture and look after the donkeys the youngsters find time to
talk about their problems and begin their road to emotional recovery.
The charity is so thrilled by the results that it is looking to extend the project.
In my parish we have a donkey in a field next to us. Or we had one.
His name was Herbie and he was a beautiful creature. If I was having a
bad day I would go over and pet him. Herbie used to have a partner. They
were friends for years. When his friend died, Herbie stood next to the
body for a day, mourning the loss of his mate.
Donkeys are
incredibly sensitive and gentle creatures. I wonder if that's why Jesus
rode on one. But this opens us up to think about the creative universe
and how iit reveals God. The ancient Celts understood this very clearly –
seeing God in the whole of creation.
I own three cats. Cats are
graceful and gentle creatures and they have extraordinary powers of
empathy. Ten years ago my wife had a brain haemorrhage. She had to lie
flat for a whole year at home. It was torture. But my lovely tom cat
Lance spent each and every day on her pillow and would cheer her up,
groom her and give her a good purr. She says she would never have got
through the year without him. Now she is better he has gone back to
sleeping all day. Job done! Mission accomplished.
My little cat
Luna has become a pastoral star as well. People come to see me and
sometimes they are dealing with very upsetting issues in their lives.
One big fella came last week and he was crying. The next minute Luna had
jumped up onto his lap and began licking his bald head.
