2 Corinthians 3-7
Reflections for 18 November 2012
Homework from last week: three questions:
What are the sources of my motivations? What are the consequences of my actions? How will this draw me closer to / further away from God?
Today we’ll consider times of desolation and consolation. I am in desolation when I am empty of Faith, Hope, Love; sense of God’s closeness. And I am full of a combination of: agitation, boredom, fear and worry, secrecy.
I am in consolation when I have Faith, Hope, Love; sense of Gods closeness; peace (shalom); great desires; transparency
This is a daily process of discernment. Careful intentionality.
2 Corinthians. Paul expands the usual Greek letter form of a brief wish for the blessings of the gods to be with the recipients. Here Paul expresses his deepest desires for the Corinth community. We are talking about a small intimate community of Jesus followers, struggling in a culture that demands another way to approach life.
Consolation/comfort used 15 times in 5 verses! Paul wants to create an atmosphere in which his hearers will experience his sufferings and theirs as one and the same. Desolation/suffering here is because these people are Christians. They suffer for the sake of Jesus ⇒ jail, riots, false accusation in court, broken business/homes ⇒ Ephesus for example.
Consolation is not the removal of desolation/suffering, nor the assurance that everything is OK. It is knowing Jesus Christ and the power of his resurrection in a deeper and more profound way. Paul calls this “the fellowship of his sufferings.” This is vital view of “church” ⇒ the transference of comfort from one to another. ML: one beggar telling another beggar where to get bread.
Consolation/desolation – comfort/suffering is not individualistic equations; it is about the purification and strengthening of the Body of Christ. What affects you, affects me.
How to discern God’s will during times of desolation?
• Name the experience. Trauma = experience seeking articulation. Daniel Siegel ⇒healing happens when we learn to make sense of life. (In reference to our parents and entering the doorway to mature adulthood). AA⇒ Hi, my name is XXXX and I’m…… Naming an act in blunt terms reveals its smallness before the love and mercy of God.
• Avoid making changes and important decisions. The big picture of life gets blurred and obscure.
• Rely on support network.
o Mentors. Wisdom of experience. (Elders in early church). ⇒ Good listener, self-differentiated, affirming, allows you to make decisions.
o Companions. Cum + panis. Trustworthy of personal aspects. Sense of humor.
o Faith community ⇒ 2000 years of shared reflection on any spiritual problems I experience. People with same great desires and insipid temptations, lifting prayers to God.
• Have faith that God will make good use of desolation. Story of Joseph in Egypt. Consider Job ⇒ crying out to God gave a deeper experience of the Almighty. This calls forth “difficult graces” that give the potential of receiving. NB—not a good idea to tell one is desolation to get over it. This is “heads up” stuff—be prepared. Patience; repentance; humility.
How to discern God’s will during times of consolation?
• Observe the course of your thoughts. What was I thinking? Discovering the thread can be a breakthrough in the pursuit of self-awareness.
• Attend to your automatics. (Vulnerabilities) places, people, topics, times, personal traits (moody, worrywart, passionate) What’s your defensiveness mechanisms? NB—the Four Horsemen in Gottman’s marriage work ⇒ Contempt; Criticism; Defensiveness; Stonewalling (Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work)
• Seek God in the painful moments of the past. Can you recognize God working there? Do not allow your inability / agnosticism here be the final word. More will be revealed. Psalm 130—I wait for the Lord and in his word I put my hope.
Next Week: Making Decisions on Discernment.
God’s Voice Within.2
by admin on November 20, 2012
2 Corinthians 3-7
Reflections for 18 November 2012
Homework from last week: three questions:
What are the sources of my motivations? What are the consequences of my actions? How will this draw me closer to / further away from God?
Today we’ll consider times of desolation and consolation. I am in desolation when I am empty of Faith, Hope, Love; sense of God’s closeness. And I am full of a combination of: agitation, boredom, fear and worry, secrecy.
I am in consolation when I have Faith, Hope, Love; sense of Gods closeness; peace (shalom); great desires; transparency
This is a daily process of discernment. Careful intentionality.
2 Corinthians. Paul expands the usual Greek letter form of a brief wish for the blessings of the gods to be with the recipients. Here Paul expresses his deepest desires for the Corinth community. We are talking about a small intimate community of Jesus followers, struggling in a culture that demands another way to approach life.
Consolation/comfort used 15 times in 5 verses! Paul wants to create an atmosphere in which his hearers will experience his sufferings and theirs as one and the same. Desolation/suffering here is because these people are Christians. They suffer for the sake of Jesus ⇒ jail, riots, false accusation in court, broken business/homes ⇒ Ephesus for example.
Consolation is not the removal of desolation/suffering, nor the assurance that everything is OK. It is knowing Jesus Christ and the power of his resurrection in a deeper and more profound way. Paul calls this “the fellowship of his sufferings.” This is vital view of “church” ⇒ the transference of comfort from one to another. ML: one beggar telling another beggar where to get bread.
Consolation/desolation – comfort/suffering is not individualistic equations; it is about the purification and strengthening of the Body of Christ. What affects you, affects me.
How to discern God’s will during times of desolation?
• Name the experience. Trauma = experience seeking articulation. Daniel Siegel ⇒healing happens when we learn to make sense of life. (In reference to our parents and entering the doorway to mature adulthood). AA⇒ Hi, my name is XXXX and I’m…… Naming an act in blunt terms reveals its smallness before the love and mercy of God.
• Avoid making changes and important decisions. The big picture of life gets blurred and obscure.
• Rely on support network.
o Mentors. Wisdom of experience. (Elders in early church). ⇒ Good listener, self-differentiated, affirming, allows you to make decisions.
o Companions. Cum + panis. Trustworthy of personal aspects. Sense of humor.
o Faith community ⇒ 2000 years of shared reflection on any spiritual problems I experience. People with same great desires and insipid temptations, lifting prayers to God.
• Have faith that God will make good use of desolation. Story of Joseph in Egypt. Consider Job ⇒ crying out to God gave a deeper experience of the Almighty. This calls forth “difficult graces” that give the potential of receiving. NB—not a good idea to tell one is desolation to get over it. This is “heads up” stuff—be prepared. Patience; repentance; humility.
How to discern God’s will during times of consolation?
• Observe the course of your thoughts. What was I thinking? Discovering the thread can be a breakthrough in the pursuit of self-awareness.
• Attend to your automatics. (Vulnerabilities) places, people, topics, times, personal traits (moody, worrywart, passionate) What’s your defensiveness mechanisms? NB—the Four Horsemen in Gottman’s marriage work ⇒ Contempt; Criticism; Defensiveness; Stonewalling (Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work)
• Seek God in the painful moments of the past. Can you recognize God working there? Do not allow your inability / agnosticism here be the final word. More will be revealed. Psalm 130—I wait for the Lord and in his word I put my hope.
Next Week: Making Decisions on Discernment.