Friday, March 27, 2015

"Sacred Tenderness From the Cross"

Ps. 116:5, NIRV 

    As Jesus encountered the people of his day, again and again we read of his tender response to those in need: “his heart went out to her”; “he was deeply moved in spirit”; “I feel sorry for [them]”; “he was moved to the depth of his being with pity”; “I have compassion on these people.”[1]  These are only a few responses among many—including those in which Jesus simply acted with compassion and “tender mercy”[2] to meet needs, without giving voice to his emotions.  This was Jesus’ response to anyone who came to him (without duplicity).[3]

     We are approaching Holy Week and especially Good Friday: where 
we see Jesus’ suffering and the final encounters of his earthly ministry.  
And amazingly, even here, even in his suffering--even from the cross!--
we find the same themes as above.  Each of Jesus’ encounters with 
another is one of tender compassion and concern for the other person.  
Jesus voices three responses to others from the cross.  In each case he 
puts aside his own anguish and is “deeply moved in spirit” for the 
other(s).

      Jesus' first expression of tender compassion is for the very ones who are crucifying him: "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing."[4]  Beyond his physical suffering, we believe that upon the cross Jesus is taking the weight of all that has gone awry in our wayward world upon his own shoulders.  This is a great mystery.  We will never be able to completely explain it, but what a weight he bears! (see Isa. 53:5-6; Rom. 4:25; 2 Cor. 5:21).  And still, in his suffering he has the greatness of spirit to think about those present--to be moved with pity and compassion for them.  "Father, forgive them," he says.  The crowd is mocking him, throwing jeers at him, while the soldiers are torturing him and even gambling for his clothing with an utter lack of concern.  And yet Jesus has concern that they should be forgiven for they do not know--they are blind to--what they are doing.  (And Jesus has the same concern for us whenever we become blind to the harmful effects of our actions; see Act 13:38-39.  We seek the forgiveness that--save one--the soldiers did not bother to concern themselves with; Lk. 23:47-48.)
     Jesus next concern is for the one we call the “good thief.”  There are ancient legends about this “good thief.”  One is that he was something of a Robin Hood: stealing from the rich to give to the poor.[5]  But the truth is that we really do not know about his past.  We only know his present on the day that we now call Good Friday.  He realizes that Jesus is a blameless man and that he is not.  Another thief is being crucified as well; he mocks Jesus.  But the “good thief” scolds the other and then requests: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (the words of a beautifully haunting Taizé hymn-prayer in recent years).  And Jesus answers without reservation: granting "tender mercy" and forgiveness and saying, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise” (Lk. 1:78, 23:42-43, NIV).

     Speaking recently of a similar situation and our own need for grace and forgiveness, Pope Francis spoke of a God who is “rich in mercy.”  We can be “touched with tenderness from His hand.”  And Pope Francis reminded us of how “the father welcomes his son” (story of the returning prodigal son, Lk. 15:11-22): “He will hug you with great love.”[6]

     Then, finally, Jesus reaches out to his mother from the cross.  He knows that she is suffering.  Perhaps he knew of Simeon’s prophecy to Mary when he was only a babe: “And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”[7]  And now that is just what is happening, and he cannot even reach out to touch her, hold her, comfort her.  But he can still show the depth of his concern.  Mary is aging, and we believe she is now a widow.  Jesus turns to the one who was known as “the disciple whom he loved”—often identified as John and the only disciple recognized as being present at the cross.  Then Jesus says to his mother: “Dear woman, here is your son.”  And to the “disciple whom he loved” he says: “Here is your mother.”  Then we are told: “From that time on, this disciple took her into his home” (Jn. 19:26-27, NIV).  Jesus tenderly makes certain Mary has a place of love and safety before he leaves this earth.

     The author Edward Farrell once said that all the names in scripture are our names.[8]   At some moment in our lives each of us has been—or will be—something like each of the persons Jesus addresses from the cross.  And we know what Jesus response is: it is a response of grace/mercy and total concern for us.

     To see Jesus is to see LOVE—tender vulnerable love reaching out to our wayward world.  The world could do the very worst to him, and it did!  There really aren't adequate words to describe it—perhaps that is why each of the Gospel accounts of what happened on that terrible Friday is so short.

     St. Clare of Assisi loved to focus her meditations upon the two times when Jesus was most vulnerable: in the crib and on the cross.[9]  It was then that she was moved to the deepest love; it was then that she saw most clearly how tenderly defenseless Jesus had made himself to extend Love, Grace, mercy, and forgiveness to us (Phil. 2:6-8).

     Some early masters (painters) captured Jesus tender vulnerability in the crib (manger) in their masterpieces in a special way.  In their paintings Jesus has actually been taken out of the manger: the slender, naked baby lies defenselessly upon a bit of straw or perhaps even upon the bare, cold stone or dirt floor of the cave-stable.  In some renditions a cow and donkey are at the manger.  Perhaps it is feeding time for them, and the poor little babe has been displaced.  He lies cold and utterly exposed upon the earth.[10]  The artists may have recalled the thought: Naked we come into this world.[11]  In their works Jesus’ tender, defenseless exposure is portrayed for all the world to see, just as it would be at the end—upon the cross.   (See Note 10: these masterpieces can be found on the Internet.)

     In the crib and on the cross we see God’s tender love and the complete availability and vulnerability of this love.  Love throws itself open to us; it allows us to do with it as we will—even to death on a cross (Phil. 2:8).  And perhaps, like Clare of Assisi, we will never be able to forget such tender, defenseless love—which is all for us.  It is a supreme example of sacred tenderness.  And it is not only the sacred tenderness of Jesus--but also of our God.  In Jesus we see “a mirror of the Father’s heart” (Martin Luther).[12]

“Everything God does is right--the trademark on all his works

 is love”; Ps. 145:17, The Message paraphrase.

* 🦋 *

We close with thoughts for meditation, prayer/poetry/proverbs:

 "YOUR Beating Heart (a Meditation)"

                         

       “[A]nd all is tenderness of love.” - Julian of Norwich [13]

🦋 ♱ 🦋
                                 
“Meditations on 'The Third Day'”            

(As clusters of crimson buds appear upon the maple,
coinciding with Holy Week.)

Nature is a sister;
    She speaks to us of God.

The red upon the maple tree

Is from God’s crimson rod.


Last week the red had not appeared—
    Three warm days . . . it has!
Nature’s touch is from God’s hand:
    Mystical and sad,

Beautiful and torn—
Wounded Majesty.*
But nature our sweet sister
    You rise eternally! [14]

*See Isa. 53; Rom. 4:25.

(With reflection upon 1 Cor. 15:3-8 and a line from The Apostle’s 
Creed: “The third day he rose again from the dead . . .”)

John Stott: "Moved by the perfection of his holy love, God in
Christ substituted himself for us [feeble] sinners. That is the
heart of the Cross of Christ." (Note 2 Cor. 5:19.)

🦋 ♱ 🦋
An opening to prayer/meditation:

   
      (With reflection upon Lk. 15:4; Ps. 108:6; Rom. 1:7, 9:25, RSV.)
     
🦋 ♱ 🦋


“Three Trunks (a Lenten Meditation)”


“His crown of thorns is twined / with every thorn, / 

His cross is every tree.” – Joseph. M. Plunkett


    (Upon the loss of much of my very favorite tree in Lent—the

activity of city workers. This was not the only loss at that time--

others being more significant. Yet always there is the reassurance

that follows next on Easter morn. Also with reflection upon

Acts 5:30, 13:29-31, 38-39.)  


C. S. Lewis: “But He [Jesus] goes down [death] to come up again 

and bring [us and] the ruined world up with Him” (Miracles). 


🦋 ♱ 🦋


“To Win Me (Meditation upon the Shepherding Arms)” 



“[O]ver the hills comes the wiser Shepherd.  For his is a

shepherd’s heart, and He is restless until He holds His

sheep in His arms.” - Thomas R. Kelly ! [15]



* * * 


“Upon Picking a Dried Flower in a Field in Eastertide” 


“Life is changed, not taken away.”

—Dorothy Day

  

Once-upon-a-time, last summer,

You were a beauty, fine and grand!

What was your color?  What your aroma?

What was  the secret the bee came to scan?


Here you are now . . . gray and brittle.

Beauty?  Yes!  But, oh so slight:

GONE the gentle swaying magic,

GONE the barest Trace of  Life.               


 Still . . . I pick you, fascinated--

Search to see if SEEDS remain .

Nothing dies that is not carried  

on in nature’s . . . Vast Domain.  


Why have you endured all Winter?  

Grown stiff to brave Wild Days?  

What is it you Tell the World?  

“Nothing Dies; there’s Only Change”?


"Where, O death, is your victory?  Where, O death,

is your sting? . . .  But thanks be to God, who gives us

the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ";

1 Cor. 15: 55, 57; NRSV, NRSVCE.

* * *

(See additional blog posts after the "Notes"--Newer/Older Posts.)
……………………..

Notes:


1. In order: Lk. 7:13, NIV; Jn. 11:33, NIV; Mk. 8:2, CEB; Mk. 6:34, Barclay;
Mk. 8:2, NIV.  (For Barclay translation: William Barclay, The Gospel of Mark
[Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1975, 2001], p. 178.)
2. James 5:11, KJV, NIRV (although this is said of the Father [Lord], it
applies to Jesus as well).  Also see Lk. 1:78, NIV, ASV and an entire post
discussing such "tender mercies": "God’s Generous 'Tender Mercies'
(Which We Withhold?)";
3. For Jesus’ grief regarding those who did come to him with duplicity, see Mk. 2-3:6
(especially 3:5).
4. Lk. 23:34, NIV.
5. William Barclay, The Gospel of Luke (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press,
1975, 2001), p. 339.
6. Deborah Castellano Lubov, “Pope Francis: ‘No One is Excluded from The Mercy of
God!’ ” ZENIT: The world seen from Rome, 3/13/15;
www.zenit.org/en/articles/pope-francis-no-one-is-excluded-from-the-mercy-of-god.
7. Lk. 2:35, NIV.
8. Fr. Edward J. Farrell in discussion in a PRH class (see www.prh-usa.com or www.prh-international.org).  
Fr. Farrell was also Spiritual Director at Sacred Heart Seminary, Detroit, MI. And,
among his many books, see "Prayer is a Hunger" (Dimension, 1972).
9. Sister Frances Teresa, This Living Mirror: Reflections on Clare of Assisi
(Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1995), pp. 49-50, 58, 61, 118.
10. See artwork by Gentile da Fabriano, Hugo van der Goes, Sano di Pietro, Lorenzo
Monaco, Giovanni di Paolo, Leonardo Boldrini.  (One can Google the title “The
Nativity” and each artist’s name individually.)
11. This thought is a combination of Job 1:21 and 1 Tim. 6-7.
12. Martin Luther, Large Catechism (1529).
13. Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love, ed. Grace Warrack (London:
Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1901, 1949), p. 102 (Chap. 48), Long Text.
14. Meditations, prayer/poetry/proverbs by Lorraine B. Eshleman.
15. Thomas R. Kelly, A Testament of Devotion (New York: Harper & Row,
1941), p. 51.
Posted by at 7 comments:

Thursday, March 19, 2015

"Martin Luther's Neglected Tenderness"

Ps. 116:5, NIRV

        As a child growing up in the Lutheran Church, Lorraine heard much about Martin Luther’s famous struggle for faith—this was especially discussed in Confirmation class.  Similarly, one of David’s first jobs in the church was to teach Confirmation in a Lutheran church.  (Thus, we had comparable experiences.)  

     We both learned that Luther spoke of once having hated the overly demanding, blaming God that had been presented to him in his youth.  Bluntly, Luther said that he had “hated the righteous God who punishes sinners”; he “blasphemously” murmured against this God.  Yet Luther declared that he “beat importunately” upon scripture (especially Rom. 1:17) “ardently desiring” to know what it meant.[1]   (See Rom. 1:17 quoted--commented upon--at the end of today's post.) 

     And then Luther had a spiritual breakthrough—a breakthrough that led to the Protestant Reformation.  Luther discovered a tender God in Christ coming among us as a servant (Phil. 2:6-7).[2]  

      This is a God of Grace—a God who forgives and takes all blame upon himself.  (See verses that led to Luther’s spiritual breakthrough: Rom. 1:17; 3:28; 8:1, 32-39.)  Luther said that he felt he had “entered paradise itself through open gates”[3] when he made the discovery of a loving, forgiving, Grace-giving God (in essence, a God of “tender mercies”; Ps. 103:4, MEV, WEB, KJV).

     In various Confirmation teachings we heard about Luther’s breakthrough and discovery of Grace.  However, mostly we heard about that discovery in rather technical, left brain, or even formulaic terms.  Verses such as those above were explained largely in the terms of the legal system.  The picture of a court scene was set up.  To put it most simply: I am found wanting and guilty, but then at the last minute a Christ of Grace steps in to take my place—to take my sentence upon himself.  And surely Luther did set up this scenario.[4]  All of this is indeed found in the biblical record, and we still very much believe this today. 

     However, there were also other aspects of Grace that Luther spoke about that we never heard much about.  Luther also explained his great rediscovery of the biblical theme of Grace in terms that included an extra measure of tenderness and intimacy.  But we were not privileged to hear thoughts regarding this.  There was a deeply relational side to Luther’s scenario that was largely omitted in the presentations made to us.

     In Luther’s deeply relational explanation Christ steps in to marry me, to entwine himself to me, to become one “Kuche” (cake) with me, even to cement himself to me.  (Note: at this point words like entwine, cement, and Kuche will not mean much to the reader, but hopefully we can add meaning to these words as we go along.)  In addition to the court scene explanation above, there was also that deeply relational side to Luther’s understanding of Christ stepping in at the last minute for us.  This side of Luther’s explanation built upon spiritual writers who had gone before him. 

     In the “Introduction” to Luther’s edition of one of his favorite spiritual classics, Theologia Germanica, Bengt Hoffman writes:

     In the midst of the turmoil of the late Middle Ages and as a reaction against it, a quiet revival of the spiritual life took place.  The “practice of the presence of God” led many to the discovery that God is indeed not far from any of us.  In order to cope with the vicissitudes of life man [woman] may, in quiet contemplation, draw strength and love from a higher world.  Eternal life, engendering inner peace, is here and now.  This was the spiritual rediscovery of thousands.  The theological term for experience of divine presence is sapientia experimentalis.  Martin Luther used that term. . . .[5]

     For Luther “God is close,” Hoffman writes.[6]   God wishes to be in a loving relationship with us, to be a presence in our lives.  Thus, Luther spoke of a relationship in which one discovers that God—especially the incarnated God who intimately joins/marries himself to us in Christ—not only gave his life for us as an inestimable sign of Love, Grace, and forgiveness but also is truly present and lovingly-relationally-consistently with us.  This is a loving relationship that makes a huge difference in our day to day lives. 

     Speaking further of this relationship, Luther used the metaphor of a marriage.  Preceding Luther there had been much discussion of “the relationship of Christ with the individual soul in the transforming union, the ‘spiritual marriage.’”[7]  (Note Mt. 25:6; Rev. 19:7; Hos. 2:19; Isa. 54: 5; Jer. 31:32.)  It is interesting that Luther—who had special regard for St. Bernard of Clairvaux and his discussion of this “spiritual marriage”[8]— retained and used similar imagery himself. 

     Martin Marty writes that in “the biblical script that Luther provided [the marriage metaphor], the soul could say with the Song of Solomon: ‘My beloved is mine and I am his’ [2:16].”[9]  In this regard, Luther wrote that there “arises the voice of the bridegroom [Mt. 25:6; Jn. 3:29; Rev. 19:7] who says to the soul, ‘I am yours.’ ”  And, in return, “comes the voice of the bride [us!] who answers, “I am yours.’ ”[10] 

     The important point here is that Luther chose the language and metaphors of a Divine Love Story.  We are called into a living, loving relationship.  Technical explanations--or those that are based almost exclusively upon the language of the court--hardly capture all the relational depth and sense of loving presence that Luther would wish us to discover.  Some of that depth is captured in one of Luther’s phrases about the possibility of our love relationship to God; he spoke of being “‘mit Gott ein Kuche werden’ (to become kneaded into one cake with God).” [11]  Or consider lines from one of Luther’s hymns: “For I am thine and thou art mine, / And where I am our lives entwine. . . .” [12]  (Especially note the word entwine--we will return to it shortly.)
     Charles Taylor writes of the “hyper-Augustinian juridical-penal framework” of explaining the Grace of God that is sometimes found in Western Christianity[13] (much like it was first explained to us in those early Confirmation classes).  Taylor is speaking of language taken from St. Augustine of Hippo that relates to the judicial system and the penal system; i.e., the language of the court.  Taylor believes that exclusive or excessive reliance upon such “hyper . . . juridical-penal” language in the West has often played a role in “repelling people from the faith.”[14]  (In our own lives such explanations did not repel us, but still something was lacking—the deeply relational side of God’s/Christ’s love and Grace.)  If Taylor and others expressing this concern[15] are correct, it is very important that we rediscover the balance in Luther’s explanations and the deeply relational aspect based upon a Divine Love Story--a divine romance.

     For all the reasons above, seminary professor Kenneth Vaux said we must rediscover Luther’s agapic language instead of simply focusing exclusively upon whatever legalistic (or forensic) language we find in his work.[16]  (Agapic is based on the word agape, which means charity, the highest love, God’s love.)

     We see that Luther’s deeply relational explanation of God’s gift of Grace to us includes words like marry, entwine, cement, one cake.  Perhaps these words can come to greater meaning if we compare them to similar relational words used by Julian of Norwich in her great classic Revelations of Divine Love.  We will pause to examine a lovely theme that runs through Julian’s work (before returning to Luther).

     In one sequence Julian explains the "homely" (or "homelike"), "courteous," "tenderness"[17] of God’s love for us by referring frequently to the word “knit.”[18]  The image that emerges in this sequence might be called the Lover-Weaver imagery of God.  In this we are reminded of the words of the psalmist: “[Y]ou knit me together in my mother’s womb. . . .  [W]hen I was being made in secret, intricately woven. . . .  How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!” (Ps. 139: 13-17, NRSV).

     In Julian’s imagery she speaks of the creation of—the knitting together of—our souls.  Julian sees that from the beginning of time we were intimately “knit” to God’s very soul.  In early English understanding the word “knit” can mean to “interlock, interlace, intertwine … weave, or plait together.” [19]  In Julian’s imagery we have been woven to God’s own heart and soul from our creation: “[A]nd in our making He knit us and oned us to Himself. . . .” [20]


     Then, taking her imagery further, Julian speaks of Christ coming among us as a servant (Phil. 2:5-8).  This is a God who would become even more intimately “knit” to us—to the point of becoming woven into our very flesh, into our material existence.  Julian sees that although our souls are knit to God we, nevertheless, are prone to wandering away from God upon our earthly way—straining or tearing the material fabric, so to speak.  And so the "Incarnation" (Christ’s coming among us) is about the further step of God becoming knit and woven into all the earthiness of our existence to be as near to us as possible.  Julian tells us Christ “preciously knit” himself to us in our material state in a “knot [which] is so subtle and so mighty,”[21] much as the mother is knit to her child with a “subtle . . . mighty” knot.  This knitting is not something that happened only once in time: when Jesus walked the earth.  This subtle knot extends throughout time.  The promise “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” remains with us (Mt. 28:20, NIV; also see Jn. 14:18; Heb. 13:8).

         Julian is not the only one to express the idea of the knitting, weaving, or entwining of God to us and of us to God.  Although imagery may vary the main idea is the interwoven nature of our life in God and God’s further effects to entwine God’s own self into the earthiness of our existence.  St. Catherine of Siena tells us Christ came into our world to be “kneaded into the clay of your humanity like one bread.” [22]  (Note: a brief aside is that Katie Luther, Martin's able wife was often compared to St. Catherine because of her remarkable combination of faith and service to others.)


Meanwhile, we noted above that Luther spoke of being “‘mit Gott

ein Kuche werden’ (to become kneaded into one cake with God).”  

Luther also offered the imagery of Christ the Bridegroom, who

comes to join--intimately marry/cement--himself to us: Like a

spouse “Christ … is fixed and cemented to me and abides in

me.” [23]  And we saw that Luther wrote and sang: “For I am

thine and thou art mine, And where I am our lives entwine...”  


     The anonymous author of The Epistle of Prayer, a classic of 
English spirituality, writes that “God shall be knitted [to you] with 
the ghostly glue of grace.”[24]  (There is some similarity between 
Luther’s cement and the idea of “ghostly glue”: the Holy Spirit’s glue.)  

     Julian of Norwich’s Lover-Weaver imagery—and similar 
imagery in Luther, St. Catherine, etc.—is of a God who 
would be tenderly joined / entwined / knit to us in all ways: 
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no 
compassion on the child she has borne?  Though she may 
forget, I [the Lord] will not forget you!  See, I have engraved 
you on the palms of my hands . . .” (Isa. 49:15-16, NIV).  In 
faith, trust, humility, and acknowledgement of our own
fragility and tendency to get lost, we respond to--place 
our faith and hope in--such Love and Grace.  (See further 
understanding of Grace--including theological 
considerations--below just before the Notes.)

     We return once again to Luther to make a comment about his 
personal life.  Luther married and had six children (four that survived 
to adulthood).  Luther is known for wearing his heart on his sleeve in 
this regard.  It is clear that Luther dearly loved marriage and family 
life—his wife Katie and his children.  Whenever we get a peek inside 
Luther’s family, there seems to be much tenderness in the relationships. 

     Not long before his death Luther was away on a mission and wrote 
to his Katie, calling himself her “old lover.”   And shortly after 
Luther’s death Katie wrote in a letter: “For who could not be deeply 
grieved and saddened over the loss of such a dear and precious man 
as my husband has been. . . .  God knows that when I think of 
having lost him, I can neither talk nor write....”[25]   

     We can see that Luther understood the importance of tenderness in 
family life.  We believe he also understood the importance of God's 
sacred tenderness in our spiritual lives: that is why Luther kept alive the 
marriage metaphor to explain God's/Christ's Grace, search for us, and 
oneness with us[26] (an intimate metaphor that he had received from 
predecessors).  Luther wished to give us "a theology of love."[27]  He 
wished to pass God's sacred tenderness on to us.  

    (See our upcoming July post for further discussion of a theology 
of love: "The 'Great Divine Romance of Heaven' for us & its 
Frequent Neglect."  Also see: "Martin Luther, the Reformation 
& God’s Tender Romance [Inclusion or Neglect?]."[28])
* 💗  *
 
Meditations, prayer/poetry/proverbs of "practicing the presence of God"
(Also see "Further Understanding of Grace" just before the Notes below):

                           
A Prayer--Leaning into (trusting in) YOU:

                                                        
      “God willeth that we … be ever strong in sure trust, in weal [well-
being] and woe.  For He loveth and enjoyeth us, and so willeth He that
we love and enjoy Him and mightily trust in Him; and all shall be
well.” (Julian of Norwich) [29]  


“Taste and see that the Lord is sweet” (translation of Ps. 34:8 and Martin
Luther's words)."[30]   

(Also see the special use of the word "lean" in Prov. 3:5, KJV, NIV;
Ps. 37:3-7, AMPC. And see "Further Understanding of Grace" below.) 
* * *

I will 'Cling' (Trust)--a prayer:


 

   (With reflection upon Jn. 6:20, ASV, JB; Ps. 63:8, NIV; Duet. 33:12, CSB. 

Also see Rev. 1:13: note Jesus’ golden sash here.) [31]  

                                                                       * * *

“Enchanted, Invisible ‘Guest' (a Meditation)"



(Note: nature has a mysterious way of helping us to “practice 

the presence of God” [discussed above].  This is why retreat centers 

and church camps are often built in beautiful, natural settings.  Luther 

himself had a tender attitude toward nature.  He said: “If thou couldst

understand a single grain of wheat, thou wouldst die for wonder.”

Luther also believed that God “is everywhere present throughout his

creation as a sustaining and animating force” [R. Bainton].[32])

 * * *


An opening to prayer/meditation (using another love

imagery for Christ--“Brother”):


With reflection upon Mt. 28:20; Jn. 6: 29-40; Heb. 2:11; Rom. 8:29;

Mk. 3:34, CEB, NJB, RSV. (Also see "Further Understanding of 

Grace" below.) 

* * *

An opening to prayer/meditation:


(With reflection upon Eph. 2:8; Rom. 9:25; Duet. 33:12; and 1 Kings 19:12, RSV.

Also see God's "beloved children" addressed in Rom. 1:7, 9:25;  Ps. 106:8, 127:2;

Duet. 33:12; 1 Jn. 3:2, 4:7, all RSV. ) 

* * *

And now, a selection that reflects the season and another one of 
Luther's surprising emphasis (also introduced above with 
butterfly imagery):

“So Simple is the Entrance”


Have you ever listened to music—

perfect music

and watched the raindrops falling down?


The pine trees lift their skirts and dance.

The chimneys form an organ.

The little bird cocks its head—

hops circles to the music.


The heavens chant in mystic tones,

and my heart chants in answer.


So simple is the entrance

to paradise

in music—


so simple is the entrance

when rain

is falling

down!   


     (For Luther God “is in every creature, inwardly and

outwardly, through and through, over and under, behind

and before, so that nothing can be more inward and hidden

in any creature than God.  ‘In him we live, and move, and

have our being.’  Without him is naught.  God fills all the

world, but by the world he is not contained.  ‘Whither shall

I free from thy presence?…’ ”  And yet at the same

time “Nature cannot reveal God [finally, for God is so

much more].” - R. Bainton.) [33]


(Note also that music was another realm where Luther

caught hints of the holy.)               

* * *


Further Understanding of Grace--how God makes 
people "righteous" ("puts people right") in God's own sight:

     Quoting Romans 1:17 (which helped lead to Luther's spiritual 
breakthrough--all our merit is a gift of Grace): "For the gospel 
reveals how God puts people right with himself ['makes people 
righteous in his sight']: it is through faith from beginning to end.  
As the scripture says, 'The person who is put right with God 
through faith shall live'"; Rom. 1:17, GNT (quoting Hab. 2:4; 
insertion, CJB).  

     We pair this with another verse that helped to set Luther 
free (and sets us free through Grace as well): "[God] that spared 
not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he 
not with him [the Son Jesus] also freely give us all things?"; 
Romans 8:32, ASV.  This includes forgiveness, Grace, "tender 
mercy,"[34] and a fresh new start in a life of faith because of all 
that God has done through the Son--who came to be intimate 
with us and give all for us.  Thus, all is a gift of Grace.  Our 
part: to embrace and walk in this gift; i.e., to walk in faith 
and humble gratitude, as we in turn pass this on. 
 
     (Note that in recent years Protestant and Catholic
theologians have signed a Joint Declaration regarding 
such understanding of our "justification" before God--
by Grace and "faith from beginning to end" [Rom. 1:17, 
2 Cor. 5:16-21]; thus resolving the old debate that 
plagued Luther and started the Reformation.[35]  
Also see further understanding of this larger topic in 
a Lenten post.[36])

             

* * *

(See additional blog posts after the "Notes"--Newer/Older Posts.) 

……………………………

Notes:

1. Martin Luther, “Preface to the Complete Edition of Luther’s
Latin Writings,” Martin Luther: Selections From His Writings, ed. John
Dillenberger (Garden City, NY: Anchor, Doubleday & Company,
Inc., 1961), p. 11.
2. Martin Luther, “Two Kinds of Righteousness,” Martin Luther:
Selections From His Writings, p. 90.
3. Martin Luther, “Preface to the Complete Edition of Luther’s Latin
Writings,” Martin Luther: Selections From His Writings, p. 11.
4. For other scriptures Luther loved in regard to this side of Luther’s
thought, see Gal. 2:20, 3:13-14, 4:4-5, 5:4-6; 2 Cor. 5:17-21.
5. Bengt Hoffman, “Introduction” to The Theologia Germanica of
Martin Luther (New York: Paulist Press, 1980), p. 6.
6. Bengt R. Hoffman, Luther and the Mystics (Minneapolis: Augsburg,
1976), p. 163. (Now updated under the title Theology of the
Heart.)
7. Edmund Colledge, O.S.A. and James Walsh, S.J., “Introduction,”
Julian of Norwich: Showings, trans. Edmund Colledge, O.S.A. and
James Walsh, S.J. (New York: Paulist Press, 1978), p. 85.  (Also
see the marriage metaphor in various classics written by
women quoted in: “Missing Sacred Tenderness and Missing
Women’s Voices”;
8. Hoffman, Luther and the Mystics, p. 124.
9. Martin Marty, Martin Luther (New York: Penguin Group, Viking,
2004), p. 64.
10. Luther, “Two Kinds of Righteousness,” in Martin Luther:
Selections From His Writings, p. 89.  (Also see Note 23.)
11. Quoted in Rudolf Otto, The Idea of the Holy, trans. John
W. Harvey (London: Oxford University Press, 1923, 1950),
p. 205, Appendix VI.
12. Roland H. Bainton, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther
(New York: Abingdon-Cokesbury, 1950), pp. 66-67 (a
translation of “Dear Christians, One and all Rejoice”).
13. Charles Taylor, A Secular Age (Cambridge, MA: Belknap
Press of Harvard University Press, 2007), pp. 651, 654.
14. Ibid., pp. 79, 262-263.   
15. See Tuomo Mannermaa, “Justification and Theosis in
Luther-Orthodox Perspective” and Simo Peura, “Christ as
Favor and Gift (donum): The Challenge of Luther’s
Understanding of Justification” in Carl E. Braaten and
Robert W. Jenson, eds., Union with Christ: The New Finnish
Interpretation of Luther (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans,
1998), pp. 28, 32, 64, 73.  See this volume for theological
discussion of our oneness and union with Christ in Luther’s
thought.   (We see Luther stressing both: forensic
explanations and such oneness or marriage.)
16. Dr. Kenneth Vaux, “Faith in Common: Love of One God
and Neighbor,” 10/26/08 class (Reformation Sunday), First
Presbyterian Church, Deerfield, IL (Vaux is Professor of
Theological Ethics at Garrett-Evangelical Theological
Seminary).
17. See Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love, ed. Grace
Warrack (London: Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1901, 1949), pp. 102,
189 (Chap. 48, 77). For the translation "homelike," see

Marcelle Thiébaux, The Writings of Medieval Women: An

Anthology (New York: Garland Pub., 1994), pp. 449, 456, 460

(from Revelations of Divine Love, translating Chapter 4, Short

Text and Chapter 60, 68, Long Text).

18. Julian of Norwich Showings: Authoritative Text, Contexts,
Criticism, ed. Denise N. Baker (New York: W. W. Norton & Co.,
2005), pp. 83-90; Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love,
pp. 127-30, 138-9, 142-3 (Chap. 53, 57, 58).  
19. The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary
(Glasgow: Oxford University Press, 1971).
20. Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love, p. 142
(Chap. 58).
21. Ibid., p. 129 (Chap. 53).  (Also see pp. 137-9, Chap. 57).
22. Catherine of Siena: The Dialogue, trans. Suzanne
Noffke, O.P. (New York: Paulist Press, 1980), p. 65.
23. Martin Luther, “Lectures on Galatians 1535,” Luther’s
Works, eds. Jaroslav Pelikan and Walter A. Hansen
(Saint Louis: Concordia, 1963), Vol. 26, pp. 167-168.  Also see Luther, “The Freedom of the Christian,”  “Two Kinds
of Righteousness,” in Martin Luther: Selections From His
Writings, pp. 60-1, 86-91; and see references to Luther’s
bridegroom/bride imagery: Hoffman, Luther and the Mystics,
pp. 149-50, 155-9, 172-4, 177.
24. From "An Epistle of Prayer" (anonymous) in The Cell of
Self Knowledge, printed by Henry Pepwell, 1521.
25. Rudolf K. Markwald and Marilynn Morris Markwald,
Katharina von Bora: A Reformation Life (Saint Louis: Concordia
Publishing House, 2002), p. 176.
26. For further thoughts about this theme see Paul Robert
Sauer, “Mystical Marriage Renewal,” Lutheran Forum, Spring, 2009,
pp. 10-12; also see Hoffman, Luther and the Mystics, pp. 149-50,
155-9, 172-4, 177.
27. Tuomo Mannermaa, “Why Is Luther So Fascinating?  Modern
Finnish Luther Research” in Braaten and Jenson, eds., Union
with Christ: The New Finnish Interpretation of Luther, pp. 3, 13.
28. See "The 'Great Divine Romance of Heaven' for us & its
and "Martin Luther, the Reformation & God’s Tender
Romance (Inclusion or Neglect?)";
http://sacred-tendernessSchristian-tradition.blogspot.com/2017/10/.
29. Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love, p. 170 (Chap. 68).
(Note: Julian's words are somewhat comparable to Lk. 12:32.)
30. Translation of Ps. 34:8 and Martin Luther in “The Magnificat,”
ed. Thomas S. Kepler, An Anthology of Devotional Literature
(Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1977), p. 262.  
31. Meditations, prayer/poetry/proverbs by Lorraine B. Eshleman.  
(Capitalization added to Jn. 6:20 for this selection; also see
Note 29 above.)
32. Bainton, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther,
pp. 216, 140. (Note that this is very similar to St. Thomas
Aquinas's thought; see Summa Theologica (Pt. I, Q. 8).
33. Ibid., pp. 216-217.
34. See Lk. 1:78, NRSV. Also God's "tender mercy" becomes a
major theme in our blog. See "God's Generous 'Tender Mercies'
35. See "Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (1999),"
World Communion of Reformed Churches, 2023; http://wcrc.ch/theology/joint-declaration-on-the-doctrine-of-justification (first based on the work 
of Catholic and Lutheran theologians).  Also see "Joint Declaration
on the Doctrine of Justification (1999)" discussed at Vatican News,
"Catholics and Lutherans reaffirm commitment to communion,"
The above was also adopted by The World Methodist Council (2006)
and The World Communion of Reformed Churches (2016).

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