Love's Flames

God's ways are higher than our ways in Isaiah 55:6-9 is not an argument to defend an eternal punishing God, the context is God's everlasting abundant mercy. The deeper truth about hell is it's more about how we live right here and now than simply a bad place down and under some where. We often think of hell in one dimensional ways rather than the multi-leveled view of Scripture. Too often we preach hell like the Pharisees did than applying the warnings of hell to our own lives like Jesus told us to do. Hell exists because nobody can escape the purifying fire of God's holy love.

We usually think of hell as punishment or destruction rather than purification. Several of the early church fathers like Origen and Gregory of Nyssa viewed hell as medicinal because people resist the flames of God's love. It's not sinners that are destroyed but sin and evil itself that is destroyed in the end. We need to learn from the prophet who spoke of hell the most in the Bible and that was Jesus.  Jesus used very colorful and shocking language to jolt people out of their spiritual slumber. Often the prophets spoke of God's anger or judgement burning forever against Israel but even that was only for a season and not forever (see Jer.17:4 & 30:3 for an example of this). Hell is not used by Jesus as a threat to outsiders but as a challenge to insiders.

Why do Bible interpreters take the flames of hell literally but cutting off body parts as metaphorically? The inconsistencies and selective uses of the Bible are staggering to say the least. The flames of hell may hurt like hell as they burn away all our false and deceptive ways within us and the many masks we hide behind but ultimately God's fiery presence is fitting us for heaven. When it comes to a hopeful universalism, do we have more confidence in the power of human sin or the power of divine grace?

Believing as Peter did in the restoration of all things (Acts 3:21) or Paul did in the reconciliation of all things (Col.1:20) or John did in the renewal of all things (Rev.21:5) does not limit or soften our purpose or mission to evangelize the whole world but should inspire us to preach fearlessly, love limitlessly, and obey unconditionally.

(reflections and excerpts from Heath Bradley Flames of Love)

The Eclipse of God as a Fault of Contemplation

"The earth is ablaze with the fire of God, but only those who see it take their shoes off" - Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Contemplation is about waking up and seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary. God is looking for people who contemplate and are aware of His presence in the every day moments of life. Life is full of pressures, stress, busyness and so much work that pushes out the contemplative life where God is only an after thought or shadow of reality.

Are we awake to the dance of creation with God the dancer who gives and holds all life together.  When we see life correctly, we see everything in life is a gift.  Abundant living is purity of heart where everything is seen through the prism of God's love.

Can We Rescue the Dead?

The modern western church typically sees a great divide between those who are still alive on earth and those who are dead and have passed on to the after life. What is fascinating is to learn how the earliest Christians not only prayed to the dead and asked for assistance in their prayers but they even prayed for the salvation of those who died without Christ.

There is a list of early evidences from archaeology, grave sites, epitaphs, and early church writings to at least take another look at what these early Christians believed and practiced. Some of the early Christian writings that point in this direction are Luke 16:19-31 nd 2 Clement 8, The Shepherd of Hermes, the Apocalypse of Peter, and the odes of Solomon written during the second century.

Particular interest is Thelca's prayer for Falconilla and Perpetua's prayer for Dinocrates. There is the harrowing of Hell by the ancient Eastern Orthodox of Jesus descent into hell and emptying it and several early church fathers views of universal salvation from Origen and Gregory of Nyssa to later Christians in the early church.  Two teachings that have been lost in the modern church today is (1) Christians still spiritually grow and evolve in the after life; and (2) people can still choose God even after they have died.

Benedictine Monastery: Day Seven

St. Benedict said, "The light of holy contemplation enlarges and expands the mind of God until it stands above the world." My heart and mind have been expanded by Jesus sacred heart and the holy moments of this retreat. How can one not enter into the heavenly realm when one is singing with the angels in the divine liturgy and partaking of the medicine of immortality in the Eucharist.

Wonder, mystery, and total peace fills my soul today in this one eternal moment beyond time. Pure ecstasy, complete joy, and inner peace fills my soul. I have been soul sick for way too long and today I feel completely free. Today I am fully restored. Today I am totally healed by the suffering lamb of God. Maranatha!

Benedictine Monastery: Day Six

I read Psalm 139:1-12 which resonated with my soul this morning. In the translation I was using, verse 9 reads like this, "If I climb upward on the rays of the morning sun." I am reminded of six weeks earlier when I was on a retreat at St. Meinrad's Benedictine monastery of St. Benedict's vision reported by St. Gregory. In this vision, St. Benedict saw the whole word gathered up into a single ray of light.  It was asked how was it possible to see the whole world in a single ray of light? The answer" the earth grows small when the spirit is enlarged. This is the challenge of the contemplative praying. We become so small that all we see is God.

Benedictine Monastery: Day five

When I partake of the sweet Eucharist, there is a fire in my belly and a peace beyond this earthly realm. I am reminded of the words of Queen Elizabeth of the Trinity when she spoke of this Eucharist life of God:

O Jesus of the Eucharist
My spouse, my love, my life,
How I love to listen to you
to speak to you, to see you every evening.

O how sweet are these encounters
How sweet are the tears
You, my supreme love, O my King
My Jesus, when I am near you
It seems to me that I am no longer on earth.

When I hear your voice
O my spouse, O my good master
I hear and see nothing but you.
O these sublime, ecstatic moments
Intimate and sweet union
When my heart beats in unison with my Savior
would that I spend long hours in that holy abode.

My sole love, nothing keeps me here on earth
Jesus alone satisfies me
Apart from Jesus, I can do noting
Near to Him, I am happy
He is my life and my love.

Jesus my only love!
Jesus God of the Eucharist!
Jesus my sustenance, my life,
Jesus who loves and chooses me
that I may love Him and even suffer for Him.

Benedictine Monastery: Day Four

The words of St. Theresa are now forever tattooed on my heart, "Enlarge my heart Jesus with your heart. It's a flame from the furnace of your heart."  I went to a contemplative prayer time early this morning. The whisper of God's spirit said, "Be at peace my child."  I arose and meditated on these words.  I am a son of a preacher's kid from the Anabaptist tradition. My great ancestors I believe were German Catholic Rhineland mystics.  So who am I? Am I a German Catholic Anabaptist mystic? The Catholic priest of this retreat said I was an anonymous Catholic. Maybe I am a secret Anabaptist or a closet mystic? Who am I? I am God's beloved child.

Like St. Theresa, I am entering this journey into the deep chasm of God's heart where Jesus sacred heart resides. I want to live the life of Jesus lived with his heart leading the way. This is the deeper journey into the divine mystery of the Trinity. My soul is raptured by God's consuming fire of love. I hope to live this prayer of the sacred heart of Jesus:

Sacred heart of Jesus, make my heart pure like yours.
Sacred heart of Jesus, fill my heart with mercy and make my heart like yours.
Sacred heart of Jesus, undivided and fully devoted, my heart is yours.
Sacred heart of Jesus, full of heaven, make my heart like yours.
Sacred heart of Jesus, ever prayerful, make my heart like yours.
Sacred heart of Jesus, full of grace and peace, make my heart like yours.
Sacred heart of Jesus, burning with God's love, enlarge my heart with your heart.
Sacred heart of Jesus, simple and child-like, make my heart like yours.

Benedictine Monastery: Day Three

I walk the labyrinth at night
I gaze into my own suffering
and find God's comfort
My body is filled with cracks
and that is where God's light gets in.

As I peer into the night sky
as darkness envelopes everything
I discover that the darkness
begins to shine like the light
And the stillness of this Benedictine retreat
has turned into a divine dance with God.

I am learning that eternity is not in the time that lasts but in the indivisible moment. The entire creation sings praises around me and it's like I've entered into the song of creation where time is no more.  I praise God the maker of heaven and earth for the gift of the eternal now. Those moments where time stops and God's beauty and majesty fills the empty spaces until everything is one with God.  One in me--one in the space---only God.

As scripture that stirs my soul today is Luke 12:49-53 but particularly this verse where Jesus says, "I have come to light a fire on the earth, and how I wish it were blazing."  At dusk tonight, I saw the primrose pedals open to the sky. Fireflies lit the night as quiet raindrops fell from heaven. I gazed at the embers burning in the night as my own soul burned brightly
 by the flame of God's love.

Benedictine Monastery: Day Two

I walked into the empty room and the room spoke to me.
The room said, "Don't evaluate or judge anything, just be with me."
I stood still in wonder for what seemed like an eternal second.
I was both startled and dazzled by the brightness of the darkness in the moment.

Like a veil that lifted off me for a moment, everything was on fire by eternity.
Everything still yet in motion giving praise to the maker of heaven and earth.
I was caught up in a celestial choir whose song filled the spaces between the empty spaces.
Suddenly the ordinary was holy and all matter and time entered into a sweet hush of divinity.

I am simply in awe on this silent retreat in the scenic beautiful area of Beech Grove Indiana. This is a monastery for nuns and there are only two of us men on retreat besides the Spiritual director who is Catholic priest. The other man on retreat with me is a minister of thirty plus years like me and comes out of the same Stone-Campbell tradition that I am from. Silence is not easy for me but I do hope I get to talk to Jim some more before this retreat is over.

I ate lunch in holy silence today. Everyone in silence seems so serious. I am reminded in the moment that God also loves laughter and playfulness. So here is my prayer today:

O humorous, playful, fun-loving God, knock me over with your ridiculous creations.
Roll me in the laughter that the world will never understand.
Push me over the edge of my seriousness into your laughing, loving arms. Amen.

Benedictine Monastery: Day One

I am on a silent retreat. Can I be still and quiet in listening to God's breath this week? I face a new reality---my silent self which is always speaking and the voice of God which is not silent and always calling me to an awakening. As I am carried along by silence this week, I will enter into a flow of the uncharted waters of God's Spirit. Is God inviting me to fullness in silence? Can my eye be single for a week? All I know this week is I want to see Jesus and be obedient to His voice and do whatever he tells me to do. Maranatha!

(reflections I wrote on retreat)

Prayer Walking

I rarely prayer walk but when I do, I see miracles abound.  Why do I not do it more? If God releases angels and answers from heaven, what would keep us from joining the heavenly host in this great adventure?  Yesterday, I was asked to prayer walk around the jail.  There were two teams of us to do it but there was no way to go around the last third because of a fence and security. One of the workers is a Pastor there and he said he would prayer walk the part we could not cover.  I am always amazed how God has everything covered even when we don't think God has things covered.  Maybe prayer walking is like those early disciples walking down the Emmaeus road. They met a stranger and found their hearts touched by God and their eyes opened to Jesus.