May 2006

ARTICLE TOOLS

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IT IS ONLY WITH THE HEART that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

BEING "RIGHT" ISN'T ENOUGH. We also need to be wise. And loving. And patient. Perhaps nothing short of that should "seem good to the Holy Spirit and us."
Brian McLaren, as quoted in Leadership

KNOWING GOD without knowing our own wretchedness makes for pride. Knowing our own wretchedness without knowing God makes for despair. Knowing Jesus Christ strikes the balance, because he shows us both God and our own wretchedness.
Blaise Pascal, Pensees

WHOEVER ACTS WITHOUT MERCY will be judged without mercy, but mercy can afford to laugh at judgment.
James 2:13 (New Jerusalem Bible)

A CHRISTIAN cannot win God's forgiveness, but he can lose it by refusing to extend it to a brother.
John P. Meier, The Vision of Matthew

I NO LONGER CLUTCH at things
that are not mine.
I see that all is gift and all is thine.
A holier hunger hollows me, a thirst
for thee,
a longing to be godly, loving, free.
Barbara Cawthorne Crafton, Blessed Paradoxes

LET GO of a small part of your righteousness, and in a few days, you will be at peace.
Abba Poemen, Sayings of the Fathers

DOES ANYONE harbor anger against another and expect healing from the Lord?
Sirach 28:1-3

GOD WILL COMFORT US. That is true. But God will, and already does, comfort us through all those who accept us as sisters and brothers, bind up our wounds, wipe away our tears, and are kind to us in all circumstances. That is how God comforts us.
Gerhard Lohfink, The Work of God Goes On

NOURISH BEGINNINGS, let us
nourish beginnings.
Not all things are blest, but the
seeds of all things are blest.
The blessing is in the seed.
Muriel Rukeyser, "Elegy of Joy," The Green Wave

LOSS IS TRANSFORMATIVE if it is met with faith. Faith is our chance to make sense of loss, to cope with the stone that rolls around in the hollow of our stomachs when something we loved, something we thought was forever, is suddenly gone.
David J. Wolpe, Making Loss Matter

HOW ELSE but through a broken heart may Lord Christ enter in?
Oscar Wilde, The Ballad of Reading Gaol

Copyright © 2006 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

The Little Prince, Pensees, The Vision of Matthew, Blessed Paradoxes, The Work of God Goes On, The Green Wave, Making Loss Matter, and The Ballad of Reading Gaol are available from Christianbook.com, Amazon.com, and other book retailers.

Brian McLaren's statement is available from Leadership.

James 2:13 is available from Biblegateway.

Past Reflections columns include:

Holy Week (April 4, 2006)

Evening Prayer (March 10, 2006)

Morning Prayers (Feb. 6, 2006)

Hope (Jan. 16, 2006)

Christmas (Dec. 19, 2005)

Poetry (Dec. 12, 2005)

Grace that Surprises (Oct. 3, 2005)

Friendship (August 31, 2005)

Wisdom That Sticks (August 8, 2005)

His Body, His Blood (June 08, 2005)

On Baptism (April 25, 2005)

Discovering God (April 07, 2005)

Welcoming the Stranger (Feb. 22, 2005)

The Church and Mission (Feb. 02, 2005)

The Church (Jan. 11, 2005)

Word Made Flesh (Dec. 20, 2004)

The Way of Salvation (Nov. 08, 2004)

Sin and Evil (Oct. 18, 2004)

Teaching and Learning (Sept. 15, 2004)

Wisdom for the Road (Aug. 02, 2004)

Discipleship (July 13, 2004

Conversion (June 09, 2004)

The Outpoured Spirit (May 03, 2004)

He Is Risen (April 08, 2004)

Jesus' Cross (March 15, 2004)

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