I think Pope Leo contributes necessary nuance to the conversation.
However, I keep seeing (well meaning) people defend (bad faith) rebuttals to his comments by saying that “Jesus stopped a death penalty” in John 8 and… that is not what happened.
Walk with me real quick. 1/13
The psalms that don’t end with praise, resolution, and breakthrough, but with lament, longing, and disorientation are so needed.
They help me not to force a praise, when I need to feel the pain.
On many nights I go to bed saying, “Help, Lord, this world is a mess. Good night.”
More than anything, today is a great day for the Church to take seriously the Sermon on the Mount.
May we as followers of Jesus organize our lives around his presence and his teachings, offering a prophetic and priestly witness that confounds the world.
Throughout the Gospel of Luke, there is the repetition of the “lonely place.” The lonely place is a place of rest, reflection, revelation, and instruction. It’s not a place to fear or punishment.
I recently read about man who collects pictures of hitters who had hit walk-off home runs. He said that the reason he did this is because this is how he views us entering heaven.
Look at the faces of his teammates waiting to welcome him home. Look at their excitement. They can’t wait to celebrate with him.
Look at the fans. Arms raised, big smiles, maybe even hugs for a perfect stranger.
Perhaps this is your first holiday season without someone important who is now waiting for you in heaven. Maybe it’s just another one with that big hole in your heart and an empty seat at the table. Either way, I hope you can find encouragement in this picture, what it represented to the man who collected it, and find joy this year. #heaven #hope #joy #grief
“What a shame for us to call ourselves the body of Christ only for Jesus to look at this body and not recognize what He sees.”
@PastorTrey05 via @intentionchurch considering Matthew 7:21-27
Self-deprecation does not become holy just because we think we’re doing it in Jesus’ name.
It would be a shame to look at God’s beloved in the mirror and call it less than worthy of the very love of God.
Just because we are imperfect does not mean we are worthless.