Quotations for December, 2023

 Friday, December 1, 2023
Commemoration of Charles de Foucauld, Hermit, Servant of the Poor, 1916

Awake, glad heart! get up, and sing!

It is the birth-day of thy King.

Awake! awake!

The sun doth shake

Light from his locks, and, all the way

Breathing perfumes, doth spice the day.

 

Awake, awake! heark how th’ wood rings,

Winds whisper, and the busie springs

A concert make;

Awake! awake!

Man is their high-priest, and should rise

To offer up the sacrifice.

 

I would I were some bird, or star,

Flutt’ring in woods, or lifted far

Above this inne

And rode of sin!

Then either star or bird should be

Shining or singing still to thee.

... Henry Vaughan (1622-1695), The Poetical Works of Henry Vaughan, Boston: Osgood, 1871, p. 119 (see the book; see also Isa. 44:23; Ps. 57:8-9; 85:9-12; 96:11-13; 108:2-3; Isa. 9:6; 49:13; Matt. 1:21; Luke 1:31-33; 2:8-14; Rev. 5:13; more at Gladness, Heart, King, Light, Sacrifice, Star)

 Saturday, December 2, 2023

Kind souls, you wonder why, love you,

When you, you wonder why, love none.

We love, Fool, for the good we do,

Not that which unto us is done.

... Coventry Patmore (1823-1896), Florilegium Amantis, London: G. Bell, 1879, p. 233 (see the book; see also Luke 6:31; Lev. 19:18; Matt. 5:44-46; 7:12; 22:39; Rom. 13:8-9; Gal. 5:14-16; 6:2; Jas. 2:8; more at Fool, Love, Wonder)

 Sunday, December 3, 2023
Advent I
Commemoration of Francis Xavier, Apostle of the Indies, Missionary, 1552

The traditional worship setting is both the inspiration for faith and fellowship, and the barrier to it. Due only to Word and Sacrament—God’s ideas—is there any faith to be shared or truth to articulate. However, the very setting in which this is received instills the fear of expressing it informally.

... Paul G. Johnson 1931-2013, Buried Alive, Richmond: John Knox Press, 1968, p. 43 (see the book; see also Acts 2:42; Matt. 18:20; Acts 1:13-14; 2:1; 1 Cor. 11:17-22; 14:29-32; Heb. 10:22-25; Jude 1:17-20; more at Faith, Fellowship, God, Inspiration, Sacrament, Truth, Worship)

 Monday, December 4, 2023
Commemoration of Nicholas Ferrar, Deacon, Founder of the Little Gidding Community, 1637

Our sin is so fundamental, that we must be taught to recognize it; we cannot perceive its radical nature so long as we remain formed by it. Sin is not some universal tendency of humankind to be inhumane or immoral, though sin may involve inhumanity and immorality. We are not sinful because we participate in some general human condition, but because we deceive ourselves about the nature of reality and so would crucify the very one who calls us to God’s kingdom.

... Stanley Hauerwas (b. 1940), The Peaceable Kingdom, University of Notre Dame Press, 1983, p. 30-31 (see the book; see also Luke 17:26-30; Ps. 32:2; 51:2,7; Isa. 28:14-15; Matt. 21:38-39; Mark 7:20-23; 15:12-14; Luke 6:45; 11:35; 12:16-21; 23:20-21; John 8:34; 19:14-15; Acts 2:36; Rom. 6:6-7; Gal. 6:7-8; 2 Tim. 3:12-13; Heb. 12:1; 1 John 1:8; more at Crucifixion, God, Immorality, Inhumanity, Kingdom, Perception, Sin)

 Tuesday, December 5, 2023

Faith always means helplessness. In many cases it means: I can do it with a great deal of trouble, but another can do it better. But in most cases it is utter helplessness; another must do it for me. And that is the secret of the spiritual life.

... Andrew Murray (1828-1917), Absolute Surrender, Bible Institute Colportage Association, 1897, p. 103 (see the book; see also 2 Cor. 12:7-9; John 5:19; 15:5; Rom. 11:17-21; Eph. 2:8-9; Heb. 6:12; 1 Pet. 1:3-5; more at Faith, Helplessness, Spiritual life)

 Wednesday, December 6, 2023
Feast of Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, c.326

God does not love us because of who we are and what we have done, but because of who God is. Grace flows to all who accept it. Jesus forgave an adulteress, a thief on the cross, a disciple who had denied ever knowing him. Grace is absolute, all-encompassing. It extends even to people who nailed Jesus to the cross: “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” were among the last words he spoke on earth.

... Philip Yancey (b. 1949), Soul Survivor, New York: Doubleday, 2001, p. 145 (see the book; see also Rom. 3:22-24; Luke 22:61-62; 23:34,43; John 8:10-11; Rom. 8:1-2; 11:5-6; 1 Cor. 15:10; Eph. 1:7-8; 2:8-9; 4:7; 1 Tim. 1:14; more at Cross, Disciple, Forgiveness, God, Grace, Jesus, Knowledge, Love, People)

 Thursday, December 7, 2023
Feast of Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, Teacher, 397

Moreover, you are not to ask what each man’s deserts are. Mercy is not ordinarily held to consist in pronouncing judgment on another man’s deserts, but in relieving his necessities; in giving aid to the poor, not in inquiring how good they are.

... St. Ambrose of Milan (Aurelius Ambrosius) (339-397), De Nabuthe Jezraelite [ca.395], in Journal of the History of Ideas, v. III, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1942, VIII.40, p. 462 (see the book; see also Matt. 7:1-2; Ps. 41:1; 113:7-8; Zeph. 3:12; Matt. 11:4-6; Luke 4:18-19; 6:20; Rom. 2:1; 2 Cor. 8:9; Gal. 2:10; Jas. 1:9-10; more at Giving, Goodness, Judgment, Mercy, Obedience, Poverty)

 Friday, December 8, 2023

The widest thing in the universe is not space, it is the potential capacity of the human heart. Being made in the image of God, it is capable of almost unlimited extension in all directions... [Christians] should seek for inner enlargement till their outward dimension gives no hint of the vastness within.

... A. W. Tozer (1897-1963), The Root of the Righteous, Christian Publications, 1955, p. 112-113 (see the book; see also 1 John 4:12; Gen. 1:26; Prov. 28:14; Eph. 4:15-16; 1 Thess. 3:12; 2 Thess. 1:3; 2 Pet. 1:5-8; more at Generosity, God, Heart, Love, Universe)

 Saturday, December 9, 2023

He enters by the door who enters by Christ, who imitates the suffering of Christ, who is acquainted with the humility of Christ, so as to feel and know that, if God became man for us, men should not think themselves God, but men. He who, being man, wishes to appear God, does not imitate Him who, being God, became man. Thou art not bid to think less of thyself than thou art, but to know what thou art.

... St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430), Sermon 87(137).4 (NPNF 16::518), in Catena aurea, v. VI, Thomas Aquinas, Oxford: J. Parker, 1874, p. 344-345 (see the book; see also Phil. 2:5-11; Isa. 53:3-7; John 10:1-5; 14:6-7; 17:14-23; Rom. 12:3,16; 1 Cor. 3:18; 8:2; Gal. 6:3; more at Christ, Door, God, Humility, Jesus, Knowledge, Man, Suffer)

 Sunday, December 10, 2023
Advent II
Commemoration of Thomas Merton, Monk, Spiritual Writer, 1968

To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us—and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him. Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful man knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.

... Thomas Merton (1915-1968), Thoughts in Solitude [1958], Macmillan, 1999, p. 48 (see the book; see also Phil. 1:12-13; Ps. 34:8; 106:1; 145:9; Matt. 10:29; Luke 21:17-18; 22:35; John 6:11; Rom. 8:28; 1 John 4:7-10; more at Awakening, Experience, God, Goodness, Grace, Gratitude, Knowledge, Love, Praise, Wonder)

 Monday, December 11, 2023

Indeed, if God is All and His Word to us is All, that must mean that He is the reality and controlling factor of every situation, religious or secular; and that it is only for His glory and creative purpose that it exists. Therefore our favourite distinction between the spiritual life and the practical life is false. We cannot divide them. One affects the other all the time.

... Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941), The Spiritual Life, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1937, reprinted, Morehouse Publishing, 1985, p. 35 (see the book; see also Col. 2:9-12; Ps. 51:10; Eze. 36:26; Rom. 12:2; 13:14; 1 Cor. 6:9-11; 2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 4:22-24; Col. 1:21-23; 3:7-10; 1 Thess. 4:3-6; 2 Tim. 2:19; Heb. 2:11; 2 Pet. 1:2-4; more at Existence, Glory, God, Life, Purpose, Spiritual life)

 Tuesday, December 12, 2023

The particular danger which faces us as Christmas approaches is unlikely to be contempt for the sacred season, but nevertheless our familiarity with it may easily produce in us a kind of indifference. The true wonder and mystery may leave us unmoved; familiarity may easily blind us to the shining fact that lies at the heart of Christmastide. We are all aware of the commercialisation of Christmas; we can hardly help being involved in the frantic business of buying and sending gifts and cards. We shall without doubt enjoy the carols, the decorations, the feasting and jollification, the presents, the parties, the dancing and the general atmosphere of goodwill which almost magically permeates the days of Christmas. But we may not always see clearly that so much decoration and celebration has been heaped upon the festival that the historic fact upon which all the rejoicing is founded has been almost smothered out of existence.

... J. B. Phillips (1906-1982), Good News: Thoughts on God and Man, New York: Macmillan, 1963, p. 161 (see the book; see also Isa. 40:9; 9:6; 52:7; 61:1-2; Luke 1:19; 2:10; 8:1; Acts 13:32-33; more at Awareness, Blindness, Christmas, Danger, Heart, Historical, Indifference)

 Wednesday, December 13, 2023
Feast of Lucy, Martyr at Syracuse, 304
Commemoration of Samuel Johnson, Writer, Moralist, 1784

A student may easily exhaust his life in comparing divines and moralists without any practical regard to morals and religion; he may be learning not to live but to reason... while the chief use of his volumes is unthought of, his mind is unaffected, and his life is unreformed.

... Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), The Works of Samuel Johnson, L. L. D., v. V, New York: William Durell, 1811, p. 109 (see the book; see also John 5:39-40; Ps. 119:11; Isa. 6:9-10; Jer. 8:9; Matt. 23:37; Mark 12:10-11; John 1:11; 3:19; 5:46; Rom. 3:1-4; 2 Pet. 1:20-21; more at Authenticity, Life, Mind, Morality, Reason, Religion)

 Thursday, December 14, 2023
Feast of John of the Cross, Mystic, Poet, Teacher, 1591

What blessing can I wish you, O my friends,

Save that the joyful calm of Christmas-tide

Should wrap your hearts so close that never jar

Of the world’s care or grief can enter in,

But only love, to keep you pitiful,

And faith, and hope, to keep you strong and true;

“A Merry Christmas” and “A Glad New Year,”

I wish you, and may God’s exceeding love

Enfold you all, until His tender hand

Shall lead you safely Home, to love’s own land!

... Elizabeth Stuart Phelps (1844-1911), included in The Marching Morrows, Women’s Educational and Industrial Union, Boston: Merrymount Press, 1901, p. 178 (see the book; see also 2 Pet. 1:2-3; Ps. 23:2-3,6; 52:8; 84:5; Luke 2:10-14; 1 Cor. 13:13; Eph. 3:20-21; Phil. 2:12-13; 4:6-7; more at Christmas, Faith, Gladness, Grief, Heart, Home, Hope, Love, Strength, World)

 Friday, December 15, 2023

Run, shepherds, run where Bethlem blest appears,

We bring the best of news, be not dismay’d,

A Saviour there is born, more old than years,

Amidst heaven’s rolling heights this earth who stay’d

In a poor cottage inn’d, a virgin maid

A weakling did him bear, who all upbears;

There is he poorly swaddl’d, in manger laid,

To whom too narrow swaddlings are our spheres:

Run, shepherds, run, and solemnize his birth,

This is that night—no, day, grown great with bliss,

In which the power of Satan broken is;

In heaven be glory, peace unto the earth!

Thus singing, through the air the angels swam,

And cope of stars re-echoed the same.

... William Drummond (1585-1649), The Poems of William Drummond of Hawthornden, v. II, London: Lawrence and Bullen, 1894, p. 7-8 (see the book; see also Gal. 4:4-5; Isa. 7:14; Luke 2:6-16; John 1:14; 2 Cor. 8:9; more at Angel, Christmas, Glory, Heaven, Peace, Power, Satan, Savior, Tidings)

 Saturday, December 16, 2023

Nothing can touch us except with His knowledge and by His permission. It may be the sin of man that originates the action, and therefore the thing itself cannot be said to be the will of God; but by the time it reaches us, it has become God’s will for us, and must be accepted as directly from His hands. No man or company of men, no power in earth or heaven, can touch that soul which is abiding in Christ, without first passing through Him, and receiving the seal of His permission. If God be for us, it matters not who may be against us; nothing can disturb or harm us, except He shall see that it is best for us, and shall stand aside to let it pass.

... Hannah Whitall Smith (1832-1911), Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life, London: F. E. Longley, 1876, p. 86-87 (see the book; see also Rom. 8:31; Ps. 27:1-3; 46:1-3; 56:11; Luke 21:17-18; John 10:28-30; 1 Cor. 10:13; 1 John 4:4; more at Action, Christ, God, Man, Sin, Will of God)

 Sunday, December 17, 2023
Advent III
Commemoration of Dorothy Sayers, Teacher and Spiritual Writer, 1957
Commemoration of Eglantyne Jebb, Social Reformer, Founder of ‘Save the Children’, 1928

[Surprisingly] the Christian Church now finds herself called upon to proclaim the old and hated doctrine of sin as a gospel of cheer and encouragement. The final tendency of the modern philosophies—hailed in their day as a release from the burden of sinfulness—has been to bind man hard and fast in the chains of an iron determinism. The influences of heredity and environment, of glandular make-up and the control exercised by the unconscious, of economic necessity and the mechanics of biological development, have all been invoked to assure man that he is not responsible for his misfortunes and therefore not to be held guilty. Evil has been represented as something imposed upon him from without, not made by him from within. The dreadful conclusion follows inevitably, that as he is not responsible for evil, he cannot alter it... Today, if we could really be persuaded that we are miserable sinners—that the trouble is not outside us but inside us, and that therefore, by the grace of God, we can do something to put it right, we should receive that message as the most hopeful and heartening thing that can be imagined.

... Dorothy Leigh Sayers (1893-1957), Christian Letters to a Post-Christian World, Eerdmans, 1969, p. 41 (see the book; see also Matt. 15:17-20; 6:22-23; 12:34; 23:25-28; Mark 7:15,18-23; Luke 11:34-36; 17:20-21; Rom. 8:6-8; Eph. 3:20-21; Jas. 1:13-15; more at Evil, Gospel, Grace, Philosophy, Preach, Responsibility, Sin, Trouble)

 Monday, December 18, 2023

What sudden blaze of song

Spreads o’er th’ expanse of Heav’n?

In waves of light it thrills along,

Th’ angelic signal given—

“Glory to God!” from yonder central fire

Flows out the echoing lay beyond the starry choir;

 

Like circles widening round

Upon a clear blue river,

Orb after orb, the wondrous sound

Is echoed on for ever:

“Glory to God on high, on earth be peace,

“And love towards men of love—salvation and release.”

... John Keble (1792-1866), The Christian Year [1827], G. W. Doane, ed., Philadelphia: Lea & Blanchard, 1842, p. 35-36 (see the book; see also Luke 2:13-14; 19:38; Ps. 85:9-12; 96:11-13; Isa. 44:23; 49:13; Eph. 3:20-21; Phil. 2:9-11; Rev. 5:13; more at Angel, Fire, Glory, God, Heaven, Love, Man, Peace, Salvation, Song)

 Tuesday, December 19, 2023

The shepherds sing; and shall I silent be?

My God, no hymn for Thee?

My soul’s a shepherd too: a flock it feeds

Of thoughts, and words, and deeds.

The pasture is Thy Word, the streams, Thy Grace

Enriching all the place.

Shepherd and flock shall sing, and all my powers

Out-sing the daylight hours.

Then we will chide the sun for letting night

Take up his place and right:

We sing one common Lord; wherefore he should

Himself the candle hold.

I will go searching, till I find a sun

Shall stay, till we have done;

A willing shiner, that shall shine as gladly,

As frost-nipt suns look sadly.

Then we will sing, and shine all our own day,

And one another pay:

His beams shall cheer my breast, and both so twine,

Till ev’n his beams sing, and my music shine.

... George Herbert (1593-1633), The Poetical Works of George Herbert, New York: D. Appleton, 1857, p. 102 (see the book; see also Luke 2:20; Ps. 33:1-4; 98:1-8; 104:33; 119:105; 1 Cor. 15:14; Eph. 5:19-20; Col. 3:16; more at Cheer, Day, Gladness, God, Music, Search, Silence, Song, Worship)

 Wednesday, December 20, 2023

God may be inscrutable; but if He is really God, there can be nothing to prevent Him from making known everything about Himself that can be known by man. And this is exactly what He has done.

... Stephen Neill (1900-1984), Jesus Through Many Eyes, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1976, p. 145 (see the book; see also Mark 1:9-11; Ex. 3:1-6,13-14; Matt. 3:17; 16:17; 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 3:22; 9:35; John 3:16; 14:9; 15:15; 2 Cor. 4:4; Col. 1:15; Heb. 1:1-2; 2:2-4; more at God, Knowing God, Knowledge)

 Thursday, December 21, 2023

Remember, too, who they were who were admitted into His Manger. None without a special, miraculous call, as though to teach us that we cannot attain to an interior life without our vocation be of God, and that those He calls must resemble the Shepherds in lowliness and freedom from worldly longings; in vigilance, for it was during their night watch that they were called; in faith, for had they doubted the Heavenly Vision, they would never have found Christ.

... Jean Nicolas Grou (1731-1803), The Hidden Life of the Soul, London: Rivingtons, 1870, p. 96 (see the book; see also Luke 2:12,16-18; 1 Sam. 3:10; Matt. 4:18-23; 9:9; John 15:16; Rom. 8:30; 1 Cor. 1:9; 1 Thess. 2:11-12; Heb. 3:1; 1 Pet. 5:10; 2 Pet. 1:3,10-11; more at Call, Christ, Christmas, Faith, Humility, Miracle, Remembrance, Teach, Worldly)

 Friday, December 22, 2023

My brethren, we must not, on this our day of rejoicing, content ourselves with even holy feelings and thankfulness; we must not even think that we joy in the Lord, unless we seek to become like the Lord. They only can joy in Him who are like Him; man, when humbled, in a Humble God.

... Edward B. Pusey (1800-1882), from The Incarnation, a Lesson of Humility, in Sermons during the season from Advent to Whitsuntide, Oxford: John Henry Parker, 1848, p. 68 (see the book; see also 1 Cor. 15:48-49; Lev. 21:8; Isa. 53:2-4; Matt. 11:29; John 13:13-17; 1 Cor. 11:1; Eph. 4:22-24; 5:1-2; 1 Pet. 2:21; 1 John 2:4-6; more at Christlikeness, Christmas, Day, Gratitude, Holiness, Humility, Man, Thought)

 Saturday, December 23, 2023

They were all looking for a king

To slay their foes, and lift them high;

Thou cam’st, a little baby thing

That made a woman cry.

... George MacDonald (1824-1905), The Poetical Works of George MacDonald, v. 2, London: Chatto & Windus, 1893, p. 323 (see the book; see also Luke 2:6-7; Matt. 2:6; 26:52-54; Luke 22:37; 24:25-26; John 1:10-11; more at Christmas, Foe, King, Woman)

 Sunday, December 24, 2023
Advent IV
Christmas Eve

The Mother sits by the rough-hewn byre

where her Baby smiles, and the secret fire

shines on her face. Her hand rests by

an iron spike from the wood thrust high

(“The nails in His hands!”)

 

An open chink in the rude, cold shed

lets in the sky, and the Star that led

shepherds and kings pours down its light:

a silver shaft through the frosty night

(“The spear in His side!”)

 

Her hands reach out, as to push away

the cross-crowned hill and the bloody day;

they touch a rough, unyielding wall:

the stable side, of stone piled tall

(“The stone—rolled away!”)

... Alexander Flandreau (1919-2015) (see also Luke 2:19; Matt. 1:20-21; 1:9-11; 28:2; Mark 15:22-24; Luke 24:25-26; Heb. 4:2; more at Blood, Christmas, Crucifixion, King, Light, Mother, Resurrection, Star)

 Monday, December 25, 2023
CHRISTMAS DAY

Unto you the Child is born,

On this blessed Christmas morn.

Unto you, to be your peace;

Unto you, for He hath found you;

Unto you, with full release,

From the weary chains that bound you:

Unto you that you may rise

Unto Him above the skies.

... Frances Ridley Havergal (1836-1879), The Poetical Works of Frances Ridley Havergal, New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1888, p. 166 (see the book; see also Luke 2:11; Ps. 107:13-16; 146:7-8; Isa. 9:6; Matt. 4:16; Luke 1:35; 4:18-19; Col. 1:13-14; more at Ascension, Blessing, Bondage, Child, Christmas, Peace, Weary)

 Tuesday, December 26, 2023
Feast of Stephen, Deacon, First Martyr

Are you willing to stoop down and consider the needs and the desires of little children; to remember the weakness and loneliness of people who are growing old; to stop asking how much your friends love you, and ask yourself whether you love them enough; to bear in mind the things that other people have to bear on their hearts; to try to understand what those who live in the same house with you really want, without waiting for them to tell you; to trim your lamp so that it will give more light and less smoke, and to carry it in front so that your shadow will fall behind you; to make a grave for your ugly thoughts, and a garden for your kindly feelings, with the gate open—are you willing to do these things even for a day? Then you can keep Christmas.

... Henry van Dyke (1852-1933), The Spirit of Christmas, New York: C. Scribner’s Sons, 1905, p. 47 (see the book; see also Matt. 19:13-15; 18:1-6; 22:37-39; 25:1-13; Mark 10:13-16; Luke 18:15-17; Gal. 6:1-2; Eph. 4:25; Phil. 4:8; 1 John 3:18; more at Aged, Child, Christmas, Friend, Kindness, Light, Loneliness, Love, Weakness)

 Wednesday, December 27, 2023
Feast of John, Apostle & Evangelist

Let us live, then, as Christ’s servants under no delusive dreams; for life will not be easier, but harder, infinitely harder if you are to be His soldiers against sin, the world, and the devil. Embrace if you will the banner of Love, Love flaming, intolerant, revolution incarnate. Follow Christ to joy and to worship, to exultation and to agony. But never for an hour or an instant, never forget—it is not peace, but a sword that you bear and wield.

... John Neville Figgis (1866-1919), The Gospel and Human Needs, London: Longman’s, Green & Co., 1911, p. 153-154 (see the book; see also Matt. 10:34; 3:10-12; Luke 12:49-53; John 7:43-49; 15:18-19; Acts 13:45-50; 14:1-6; Eph. 6:17; Heb. 4:12; Rev. 1:16; more at Christ, Life, Love, Peace, Service, Sin, Sword, Worship)

 Thursday, December 28, 2023
Feast of the Holy Innocents

Forgiveness breaks the chain of causality because he who “forgives” you—out of love—takes upon himself the consequences of what you have done. Forgiveness, therefore, always entails a sacrifice.

... Dag Hammarskjöld (1905-1961), Markings, tr. Leif Sjöberg & W. H. Auden, (q.v.), New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1964 (post.), p. 197 (see the book; see also Mark 11:25; Matt. 6:12,14-15; 18:21-22; Luke 7:40-43,47; 23:34; Eph. 4:32; Col. 3:13; more at Burden, Forgiveness, Love, Sacrifice)

 Friday, December 29, 2023
Feast of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, Martyr, 1170

One takes a risk when one invites the Lord

Whether to dine, or talk the afternoon

Away, for always the unexpected soon

Turns up: a woman breaks her precious nard,

A sinner does the task you should assume,

A leper who is cleansed must show his proof:

Suddenly you see your very roof removed

And a cripple clutters up your living-room.

 

There’s no telling what to expect when Christ

Walks in the door. The table set for four

Must often be enlarged, and decorum

Thrown to the winds. It’s His voice that calls them,

And it’s no use to bolt and bar the door:

His kingdom knows no bounds of roof, of wall or floor.

... Marcella M. Holloway (1913-2003), included in Divine Inspiration: the life of Jesus in world poetry, Robert Atwan, George Dardess, Peggy Rosenthal, eds., Oxford University Press US, 1998, p. 118 (see the book; see also Luke 5:18-19; Matt. 9:10-13; Mark 2:3-4,15-17; 14:3; Luke 7:36-38; 17:12-16; John 12:2-3; 13:4-5; 14:23; Rev. 3:20; more at Christ, Cleanse, Door, Jesus, Kingdom, Miracle, Sinner, Woman)

 Saturday, December 30, 2023

God is asking the impossible from Jonah. And we have to realize that what God asks is always impossible from the human standpoint and according to man’s judgment.

... Jacques Ellul (1912-1994), The Judgment of Jonah, tr. Geoffrey W. Bromiley, Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1971, p. 27 (see the book; see also Jon. 1:1-3; Gen. 17:1; 18:14; Lev. 11:44; 19:2; 20:7; Dan. 3:16-18; 6:20-22; Matt. 5:48; 17:20; 18:21-22; 19:26; Mark 10:27; Luke 18:27; Rom. 8:8-9; 2 Cor. 7:1; 13:11; Heb. 11:6,8,11,32-34; 1 John 3:9; 5:18; more at Call, God, Judgment, Man)

 Sunday, December 31, 2023
Commemoration of John Wycliffe, Reformer, 1384

Once more the Church is seized with sudden fear,

And at her call is Wicliffe disinhumed:

Yea, his dry bones to ashes are consumed

And flung into the brook that travels near;

Forthwith, that ancient Voice which Streams can hear,

Thus speaks (that Voice which walks upon the wind,

Though seldom heard by busy human kind,)

“As thou these ashes, little Brook! wilt bear

Into the Avon, Avon to the tide

Of Severn, Severn to the narrow seas,

Into main Ocean they, this Deed accurst

An emblem yields to friends and enemies

How the bold Teacher’s Doctrine, sanctified

By Truth, shall spread throughout the world dispersed.”

... William Wordsworth (1770-1850), The Complete Poetical Works of William Wordsworth, Philadelphia: Troutman & Hayes, 1851, p. 357 (see the book; see also Rev. 12:10-11; Matt. 24:9; Luke 11:47-48; 21:17; John 1:17; 4:24; Acts 5:29; 7:55-60; 2 Cor. 1:19-20; 4:2; Eph. 2:8-9; 1 Thess. 2:14-16; 2 Tim. 2:15; more at Church, Deed, Enemy, Fear, Sanctification, Truth)

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Compilation Copyright, 1996-2024, by Robert McAnally Adams,
        Curator, Christian Quotation of the Day,
        with Robert Douglas, principal contributor
Logo image Copyright 1996 by Shay Barsabe, of “Simple GIFs”, by kind permission.
Send comments to curator@cqod.com.

Last updated: 11/28/23