tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post4700834806310312083..comments2024-03-27T15:47:46.091-05:00Comments on Pastoral Meanderings: How personal do you want to get?Pastor Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10653554256101480140noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-40661875666832508282018-03-11T00:20:05.099-06:002018-03-11T00:20:05.099-06:00Hello,
Coming from an evangelical background, and...Hello,<br /><br />Coming from an evangelical background, and now attending a Lutheran church I appreciate the hymns and the kind of orderliness that evangelicalism does not seem to have. In fact, I am thinking about getting confirmed in the church (as I received Trinitarian baptism anyway).<br /><br />However, during one of those Sundays that I attend the church, our pastor discussed with us (visitors) our religious backgrounds and to my surprise, mentioned (non verbatim) that "It's not religion that will get you to heaven but your relationship with Jesus.".<br /><br />How should I respond to this situation? Should I move to another church?<br /><br />Thanks in advance.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-45167285054872791682014-02-11T09:06:44.060-06:002014-02-11T09:06:44.060-06:00The personal that God intends is not divorced from...The personal that God intends is not divorced from or in opposition to the sacramental relationship through which we know the Lord and through which the Spirit does the work of God in bringing us to faith, sustaining us in this faith, equipping us for the good works that glorify God, and delivering us to God holy and blameless in Christ for the day of judgement. That is the personal I know and affirm from Scripture and a personal which eschews the sacramental is not personal nor is it Biblical. That is my point and I am fairly certain that Francis would agree.Pastor Petershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10653554256101480140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-30532700698054637832014-02-11T05:36:26.935-06:002014-02-11T05:36:26.935-06:00I get where you're all coming from. Maybe it&...I get where you're all coming from. Maybe it's a both/and thing. We do have Christ as our (individual) Savior. We do have Christ as our (community) Savior. The slogans and catch phrases that have become embedded in Christian-speak are like the proverbial burr under the saddle. <br /><br />The "me-ness" of it all is what's wrong. Yes, there is such a thing as personal relationship, but it's our incessant speaking of MY personal relationship that irritates. Once we are individually in Christ's kingdom, we become part of that community. <br /><br />There is an old Christian symbol of the Church: the Cattail. It rises from the mud. It has individual leaves and flower heads (cattails). However, cattails have common roots. If anyone has ever tried to rid a pond of them, you know how the rhizomes are basically one huge mass. This is what I'm getting at by the both/and. <br /><br />So maybe what Fr. Peters is saying is we need to get back to our roots?Janis Williamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02947508427040251166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-58110996497523140622014-02-10T18:53:38.836-06:002014-02-10T18:53:38.836-06:00Was Francis speaking ex cathedra in these statemen...Was Francis speaking ex cathedra in these statements? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-67760591640681758832014-02-10T00:35:40.244-06:002014-02-10T00:35:40.244-06:00"Hence the way of belonging to God is explain..."Hence the way of belonging to God is explained: it comes about through <b>a unique and personal relationship with Jesus</b>, which Baptism confers on us from the beginning of our rebirth to new life. It is Christ, therefore, who continually summons us by his word to place our trust in him, loving him “with all the heart, with all the understanding, and with all the strength” (Mk 12:33). "<br /><br />Pope Francis - Day of Prayer for Vocations. Jan. 15, 2014<br />Truth Unites... and Divideshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08891402278361538353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-11827559752337721712014-02-10T00:25:13.770-06:002014-02-10T00:25:13.770-06:00SubscribeSubscribeTruth Unites... and Divideshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08891402278361538353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-65690014616740066382014-02-10T00:24:28.131-06:002014-02-10T00:24:28.131-06:00"Christianity is not a new philosophy or new ..."Christianity is not a new philosophy or new morality. We are Christians only if we encounter Christ... <b>Only in this personal relationship with Christ, </b>only in this encounter with the Risen One do we really become Christians... Therefore, let us pray to the Lord to enlighten us, so that, in our world, he will grant us the encounter with his presence, and thus give us a lively faith, an open heart, and great charity for all, capable of renewing the world." <br /><b><br />- Pope Benedict XVI, Vatican City, Sept. 3, 2008</b><br />Truth Unites... and Divideshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08891402278361538353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-83781103991121131792014-02-09T14:07:41.962-06:002014-02-09T14:07:41.962-06:00I absolutely agree with you – but coming from me t...I absolutely agree with you – but coming from me that may be the kiss of death.<br />My guess is that the “personal relationship” idea came about as a result of the change from community thinking to individual thinking. It’s about “me”.<br />Our Lord, even when he taught us to ask for forgiveness of our sins, did not say “and forgive me my sins …” but “forgive us our sins”, not to speak of daily bread and temptation. Also, He said “where two or three are gathered together, I will be there”. That’s a significant reduction from the Old Testament minyan, but still not “just me.”<br />I suspect also that partly the fault lies in the fact that, as Sasse writes, “the doctrine of the Holy Spirit has lost its citizenship in the Lutheran Church.” The Holy Spirit is mentioned very rarely from our pulpits, and when He is, what is said about Him is often wrong. We ignore those priceless words our Lord spoke to His Disciples just before He left them to complete His suffering, beginning in the 14th chapter of the Gospel of John.<br />We do remember Him on Pentecost, with the famous Introit, “Fill our hearts with the Holy Spirit and set them on fire with Your love.” We don’t know that according to Scripture, the Holy Spirit fills our hearts from Baptism, and neither needs refilling or can be refilled. As to setting our hearts on fire with His love, we don’t know what we are asking. If the Lord were to answer this prayer, we would all sell everything we have, give it to the poor and wander around proclaiming the Gospel. But then, Pentecost only comes about once a year.<br />Peace and Joy!<br />George A. Marquart<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com