"Children of the Living God" by Sinclair Ferguson
"Putting Amazing Back into Grace" by Michael Horton
"Renewal as a Way of Life: A Guide for Spiritual Growth" by Richard F. Lovelace
"The Jesus I Never Knew" by Phillip Yancey
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Another Point of View - The Older Brother
The father goes out to meet the older brother too, and now he speaks kindly to his son. The older brother knows nothing of the inner transformations and wanderings experienced by the younger brother, of his journey to distant parts, of his all and his new self-discovery. He sees only injustice. And this betrays the fact that he too had secretly dreamed of a freedom without limits, that his obedience has made him inwardly bitter, and that he has no awareness of the grace of being at home, of the true freedom that he enjoys as a son. "Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours." (Luke 15:2)."
. . .
"The parable breaks off here; it tells us nothing about the older brother's reaction. Nor can it, because at this point the parable immediately passes over into reality. Jesus is using these words of the father to speak to the heart of the murmuring Pharisees and scribes who have grown indignant at his goodness to sinners (cf. Luke 15:2). It now becomes fully clear that Jesus identifies his goodness to sinners with the goodness of the father in the parable and that all the words attributed to the father are the words that he himself addresses to the righteous. The parable does not tell the story of some distant affair, but is about what is happening here and now through him. He is wooing the heart of his adversaries. He begs them to come in and to share his joy at this hour of homecoming and reconciliation. . . ."
From pages 208-209 in "Jesus of Nazareth" by Pope BenedictXVI
. . .
"The parable breaks off here; it tells us nothing about the older brother's reaction. Nor can it, because at this point the parable immediately passes over into reality. Jesus is using these words of the father to speak to the heart of the murmuring Pharisees and scribes who have grown indignant at his goodness to sinners (cf. Luke 15:2). It now becomes fully clear that Jesus identifies his goodness to sinners with the goodness of the father in the parable and that all the words attributed to the father are the words that he himself addresses to the righteous. The parable does not tell the story of some distant affair, but is about what is happening here and now through him. He is wooing the heart of his adversaries. He begs them to come in and to share his joy at this hour of homecoming and reconciliation. . . ."
From pages 208-209 in "Jesus of Nazareth" by Pope BenedictXVI
Another Point of View - The Younger Brother - 2
"For the Jews, the pig is an unclean animal, which means that the swine-heard is the expression of man's most extreme destitution. The totally free man has become a wretched slave.
At this point the "conversion" takes place. The prodigal son realizes he is lost - that at home he was free and that his father's servants are freer than he now is, who had once considered himself completely free. "He went into himself.", the Gospel says (Luke 15:17). As with the passage about the "far country," these words set the Church Fathers thinking philosophically: Living far away from home, from his origin, this man had also strayed far away from himself. He had lived away from the truth of his essence.
His change of heart, his "conversion" consists in his recognition of this, his realization that he has become alienated and wandered into truly "alien lands", and his return to himself. What he finds in himself, though, is the compass pointing toward the father, toward the true freedom of a "son."
From pages 204-205 of "Jesus of Nazareth" by Pope Benedict XVI
At this point the "conversion" takes place. The prodigal son realizes he is lost - that at home he was free and that his father's servants are freer than he now is, who had once considered himself completely free. "He went into himself.", the Gospel says (Luke 15:17). As with the passage about the "far country," these words set the Church Fathers thinking philosophically: Living far away from home, from his origin, this man had also strayed far away from himself. He had lived away from the truth of his essence.
His change of heart, his "conversion" consists in his recognition of this, his realization that he has become alienated and wandered into truly "alien lands", and his return to himself. What he finds in himself, though, is the compass pointing toward the father, toward the true freedom of a "son."
From pages 204-205 of "Jesus of Nazareth" by Pope Benedict XVI
Another Point of View - The Younger Brother
What does Pope Benedict say about the Prodigal Son parable?
The younger brother:
"Is it difficult for us to see clearly reflected here the spirit of the modern rebellion against God and God's law? The leaving behind of everything we once depended on and the will to a freedom without limits? The Greek word used in the parable for the property the son dissipates means "essence" in the vocabulary of Greek philosophy. The prodigal dissipates "his essence", himself.
At the end it is all gone. He who was once completely free is now truly a slave - a swineherd, who would be happy to be given pig feed to eat. Those who understand freedom as a radically arbitrary license to do just want they want and have their own way are living in a lie, for by his very nature, man is part of a shared existence and his freedom is a shared freedom. His very nature contains direction and norm, and becoming inwardly one with this direction and norm is what freedom is all about His false autonomy thus leads to slavery.
From page 204 of "Jesus of Nazareth" by Pope Benedict XVI
The younger brother:
"Is it difficult for us to see clearly reflected here the spirit of the modern rebellion against God and God's law? The leaving behind of everything we once depended on and the will to a freedom without limits? The Greek word used in the parable for the property the son dissipates means "essence" in the vocabulary of Greek philosophy. The prodigal dissipates "his essence", himself.
At the end it is all gone. He who was once completely free is now truly a slave - a swineherd, who would be happy to be given pig feed to eat. Those who understand freedom as a radically arbitrary license to do just want they want and have their own way are living in a lie, for by his very nature, man is part of a shared existence and his freedom is a shared freedom. His very nature contains direction and norm, and becoming inwardly one with this direction and norm is what freedom is all about His false autonomy thus leads to slavery.
From page 204 of "Jesus of Nazareth" by Pope Benedict XVI
Sunday, April 25, 2010
The Lighter Side - The Older Brother
On the Lighter Side
How to Get Into Heaven
A man dies and meets St. Peter at the Pearly Gates. Peter says to the man, "Here's how it works. You need to have one hundred points to get into heaven. You tell me about all the good things you've done. They are all worth a certain number of points. If your total is one hundred or more, you can come in."
"Well," says the man. "I was happily married to the same woman for 52 years. I never looked at another woman. I was attentive and loved her dearly."
"That's great," says St. Peter. "That'll be two points."
"Hmmm," says the man. "This is going to be harder than I thought. Well, I attended church regularly, volunteered my time and tithed faithfully."
"Wonderful," says St. Peter, "That's worth another point."
"One point!" says the man. "Okay, okay. I was involved with a prison ministry for twenty-five years. I went into the prison, at least monthly, and shared Jesus with them."
"Wow!" says St. Peter. "That's another two points!"
"Only two points!" says the man. "At this rate, it'll be by the grace of God that'll I'll ever get into this place."
"Bingo!" says St. Peter. "That's one hundred points! Come on in."
How to Get Into Heaven
A man dies and meets St. Peter at the Pearly Gates. Peter says to the man, "Here's how it works. You need to have one hundred points to get into heaven. You tell me about all the good things you've done. They are all worth a certain number of points. If your total is one hundred or more, you can come in."
"Well," says the man. "I was happily married to the same woman for 52 years. I never looked at another woman. I was attentive and loved her dearly."
"That's great," says St. Peter. "That'll be two points."
"Hmmm," says the man. "This is going to be harder than I thought. Well, I attended church regularly, volunteered my time and tithed faithfully."
"Wonderful," says St. Peter, "That's worth another point."
"One point!" says the man. "Okay, okay. I was involved with a prison ministry for twenty-five years. I went into the prison, at least monthly, and shared Jesus with them."
"Wow!" says St. Peter. "That's another two points!"
"Only two points!" says the man. "At this rate, it'll be by the grace of God that'll I'll ever get into this place."
"Bingo!" says St. Peter. "That's one hundred points! Come on in."
The Lighter Side - The Younger Brother
On the Lighter Side
Letter from a Prodigal Son?
Dear folks,
I feel miserable because I have to keep writing for money. I feel ashamed and unhappy to have to ask for another hundred, but every cell in my body rebels. I beg on bended knee that you forgive me.
Your son, Marvin.
P.S. I felt so terrible I ran after the mailman who picked this up in the box at the corner. I wanted to take this letter and burn it. I prayed that I could get it back. But it was too late.
A few days later Marvin received a letter from his father. It said, 'Your prayers were answered. Your letter never came!'
Letter from a Prodigal Son?
Dear folks,
I feel miserable because I have to keep writing for money. I feel ashamed and unhappy to have to ask for another hundred, but every cell in my body rebels. I beg on bended knee that you forgive me.
Your son, Marvin.
P.S. I felt so terrible I ran after the mailman who picked this up in the box at the corner. I wanted to take this letter and burn it. I prayed that I could get it back. But it was too late.
A few days later Marvin received a letter from his father. It said, 'Your prayers were answered. Your letter never came!'
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