Christian Quotations of the Day
for June, 1996
Feast of Justin, Martyr at Rome, c.165
Commemoration of Angela de'Merici, Founder of the Institute of St. Ursula, 1540
This astonishing sense of spiritual attack which, it seems to me, must
inevitably follow the continual reading of the four Gospels, without
preconception but with an alert mind, is not the sole privilege of the
translator. It can happen to anyone who is prepared to abandon proof-texts
and a closed attitude of mind, and allow not merely the stories but the
quality of the Figure Who exists behind the stories to meet him afresh.
Neat snippets of a few verses are of course useful in their way, but the
overall sweep and much of the significance of the Gospel narratives are lost
to us unless we are prepared to read the Gospels through, not once but
several times.
... J. B. Phillips, New Testament Christianity
Contemplating this blighted and sinister career, the lesson is burnt in upon
the conscience, that since Judas by transgression fell, no place in the
Church of Christ can render any man secure. And since, falling, he was
openly exposed, none may flatter himself that the cause of Christ is bound
up with his reputation, that the mischief must needs be averted which his
downfall would entail, that Providence must needs avert from him the natural
penalties for evil-doing. Though one was as the signet upon the Lord's
hand, yet was he plucked thence. There is no security for any soul except
where love and trust repose, upon the bosom of Christ. Now if this be true,
and if sin and scandal may conceivably penetrate even the inmost circle of
the chosen, how great an error it is to break, because of these offenses,
the unity of the Church, and institute some new communion, purer far than
the Churches of Corinth and Galatia, which were not abandoned but reformed,
and more impenetrable to corruption than the little group of those who ate
and drank with Jesus.
... G. A. Chadwick, Gospel of St. Mark
Feast of Edward King, Bishop of Lincoln, Teacher, 1910
Commemoration of Martyrs of Uganda, 1886 & 1978
Commemoration of John XXIII, Bishop of Rome, Inspirer of Renewal, 1963
The Gospel leaves men, unless upon extraordinary occasions, their names,
their reputations, their wealth and honors, if lawfully obtained and
possessed; but the league that is between the mind and these things in all
natural men must be broken. They must be no longer looked upon as the
chiefest good or in the place thereof.
... John Owen
Jesus' moral teaching does not consist of a universal scheme of ethics, a
series of precepts which would be universally valid, by whomever they had
been spoken. They are to be heard as His word, spoken by Him, with the
impact of His person behind them.
... Gabriel Hebert
Feast of Boniface (Wynfrith) of Crediton, Archbishop of Mainz, Apostle of Germany, Martyr, 754
It is only by fidelity in little things that the grace of true love to God
can be sustained, and distinguished from a passing fervor of spirit... No
one can well believe that our piety is sincere, when our behavior is lax and
irregular in its little details. What probability is there that we should
not hesitate to make the greatest sacrifices, when we shrink from the smallest?
... François Fénelon
Commemoration of Ini Kopuria, Founder of the Melanesian Brotherhood, 1945
It is easy to criticise the many failings of the Church; it is all too easy
to criticise the lives of those who profess and call themselves Christians;
but I should say that it is almost impossible to read the Gospels thoroughly
with adult, serious attention and then dismiss the central Figure as a mere
human prophet or a tragic idealist. The reaction to such a study may indeed
prove to be conversion or open hostility, but it would at least mean the end
of childish and ill-informed attacks upon what is supposed to be the
Christian religion.
... J. B. Phillips, New Testament Christianity
Sometimes thou shalt be forsaken of God, sometimes thou shalt be troubled by
thy neighbors; and what is more, oftentimes thou shalt be wearisome even to
thyself. Neither canst thou be delivered or eased by any remedy or comfort;
but so long as it pleaseth God, thou oughtest to bear it. For God will have
thee learn to suffer tribulation without comfort, and that thou subject
thyself wholly to Him, and by tribulation become more humble. No man hath
so cordial a feeling of the Passion of Christ, as he that hath suffered the
like himself. The Cross therefore is always ready, and everywhere waits for
thee. Thou canst not escape it, whithersoever thou runnest; for wheresoever
thou goest, thou carriest thyself with thee, and shalt ever find thyself.
Both above and below, without and within, which way so ever thou dost turn
thee, everywhere thou shalt find the Cross; and everywhere of necessity thou
must hold fast patience, if thou wilt have inward peace, and enjoy an
everlasting crown.
...Thomas à Kempis, Of the Imitation of Christ
Feast of Thomas Ken, Bishop of Bath & Wells, Hymnographer, 1711
The charm of the words of great men, those grand sayings which are
recognized as true as soon as heard, is this, that you recognize them as
wisdom which has passed across your own mind. You feel that they are your
own thoughts come back to you, else you would not at once admit them. "All
of that has floated across me before, only I could not say it, and did not
feel confident enough to assert it: or had not conviction enough to put it
into words." Yes, God spoke to you what He did to them: only, they believed
it, said it, trusted the Word within them; and you did not. Be sure that
often when you say, "It is only my own poor thought, and I am alone," the
real correcting thought is this: "Alone, but the Father is with me, and
therefore I can live that lonely conviction."
... F. W. Robertson
Feast of Columba, Abbot of Iona, Missionary, 597
Commemoration of Ephrem of Syria, Deacon, Hymnographer, Teacher, 373
The Servant Messiah carries out his ministry in the lives of his ministers.
His life is reproduced in their lives, so they also are servants. But this
ministry is exercised in and towards the Church, so as to enable the Church
itself to carry out the ministry of the Servant. The Messiah came as a
Servant; his ministers are servants; and the Church he created is a
Servant-Church.
... Anthony T. Hanson, The Church of the Servant
At this day... the earth sustains on her bosom many monster minds, minds
which are not afraid to employ the seed of Deity deposited in human nature
as a means of suppressing the name of God. Can anything be more detestable
than this madness in man, who, finding God a hundred times both in his body
and his soul, makes his excellence in this respect a pretext for denying
that there is a God? He will not say that chance has made him different
from the brutes; ... but, substituting Nature as the architect of the
universe, he suppresses the name of God.
... John Calvin, The Institutes of the Christian Religion
Feast of Barnabas the Apostle
It is obvious ... that there are many lay people who can counsel more
effectively than the minister can in such areas as adjusting to widowhood,
coming to terms with advancing age, bringing principle to bear upon business
decisions, because they have experience in these fields which the minister
does not personally have. At the very least, they can add a note of reality
to what the minister offers. In many cases, the group takes up where the
individual counseling left off, supplementing it or even eliminating it
entirely. I have been repeatedly thankful that a group was available to
give steady guidance who had made a fresh start in Christian living, but who
still had a long way to go; this has been especially true in cases of
loneliness, moderate emotional instability, inability to understand others,
and need of continued guidance in the use of prayer and the Bible and the
accepting and giving of love. In the nature of the case, no amount of
individual counseling can fully deal with these needs. The "priesthood of
all believers" becomes a recognized fact, with each person helping to open
up for his neighbor the way to God.
... Howard B. Haines, "Fellowship Groups: Intercessory Love"
There were ten lepers healed, and only one turned back to give thanks, but
it is to be noticed that our Lord did not recall His gift from the other
nine because of their lack of gratitude. When we begin to lessen our acts
of kindness and helpfulness because we think those who receive do not
properly appreciate what is done for them, it is time to question our own
motives.
... Clyde Francis Lytle
Some relate ... that the eagle tries the eyes of her young by turning them
to the sun; which if they cannot look steadily on, she rejects them as
spurious. We may truly try our faith by immediate intuitions of the Sun of
Righteousness. Direct faith to act itself, immediately and directly on the
incarnation of Christ and His mediation; and if it be not the right kind and
race, it will turn its eyes aside to anything else.
... John Owen
Commemoration of Richard Baxter, Priest, Hymnographer, Teacher, 1691
If bodies please thee, praise God on occasion of them, and turn back thy
love upon their Maker; lest in these things which please thee, thou
displease. If souls please thee, be they loved in God: for they too are
mutable, but in Him they are firmly established.
... The Confessions of St. Augustine
Jesus remains unshaken as the practical man; and we stand exposed as the fools, the blunderers, the unpractical visionaries.
... George Bernard Shaw
Feast of Richard of Chichester, Bishop, 1253
Commemoration of Joseph Butler, Bishop of Durham, Moral Philosopher, 1752
Consider that it is not failing in this or that attempt to come to Christ,
but a giving-over of your endeavors, that will be your ruin.
... John Owen
Commemoration of Samuel & Henrietta Barnett, Social Reformers, 1913 & 1936
Religion is the possibility of the removal of every ground of confidence
except confidence in God alone.
... Karl Barth
Thy word remaineth for ever, which word now appeareth unto us in the riddle of the clouds, and through the mirror of the heavens, not as it is: because that even we, though the well beloved of thy Son, yet it hath not yet appeared what we shall be. He looked through the lattice of our flesh and he spake us fair, yea, he set us on fire, and we hasten on his scent. But when he shall appear, then shall we be like him, for we shall see him as he is: as he is, Lord, will our sight be, though the time be not yet.
... The Confessions of St. Augustine
Commemoration of Sundar Singh of India, Sadhu, Evangelist, Teacher, 1929
Many we have who plead themselves to be Christians. This might be allowed them, would they not do such things as the Christian religion abhors. But this is the least part of their claim. They will also be the only Christians, all others who differ from them -- however so falsely called -- being only a drove of unbelievers, hastening unto hell.
... John Owen
Evangelism is not an activity at all. It is rather an attitude of mind behind all Christian activity. Evangelism is not a list of certain things done, but the spirit in which they are done. That is precisely why it cannot be organized. It is perhaps best described as an attitude of mind towards God and the world -- an attitude which the Church must recover if she is to be true to her Lord, and to seize hold of the present opportunity.
... Bryan S. W. Green, Evangelism: Some principles and Experiments
Of all the spirits, I believe the spirit of judging is the worst, and it has had the rule of me, I cannot tell you how dreadfully and how long... This, I find has more hindered my progress in love and gentleness than all things else. I never knew what the words, "Judge not that ye be not judged," meant before; now they seem to me some of the most awful, necessary, and beautiful in the whole Word of God.
... F. D. Maurice, letter to his mother
Feast of Alban, first Martyr of Britain, c.209
After all, we are told, our salvation has already been accomplished by the grace of God... It was unkind to speak to men like this, for such a cheap offer could only leave them bewildered and tempt them from the way to which they had been called by Christ. Having laid hold on cheap grace, they were barred forever from the knowledge of costly grace. Deceived and weakened, men felt that they were strong now that they were in possession of this cheap grace -- whereas they had in fact lost the power to live the life of discipleship and obedience. The word of cheap grace has been the ruin of more Christians than any commandment of works.
... Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
Feast of Etheldreda, Abbess of Ely, c.678
Read and read again, and do not despair of help to understand the will and mind of God though you think they are fast locked up from you. Neither trouble your heads though you have not commentaries and exposition. Pray and read, read and pray; for a little from God is better than a great deal from men. Also, what is from men is uncertain, and is often lost and tumbled over by men; but what is from God is fixed as a nail in a sure place. There is nothing that so abides with us as what we receive from God; and the reason why the Christians in this day are at such a loss as to some things is that they are contented with what comes from men's mouths, without searching and kneeling before God to know of Him the truth of things. Things we receive at God's hands come to us as truths from the minting house, though old in themselves, yet new to us. Old truths are always new to us if they come with the smell of Heaven upon them.
... John Bunyan, Christ a Complete Saviour
Feast of the Birth of John the Baptist
Paul, using the examples of differing opinions about food and days among the believers in Rome, teaches that Christians should not despise or judge others. He does not advise them to find a happy medium between the contending opinions or to average the two extremes in a compromise. On the contrary, he admonished them that "every one be fully convinced in his own mind" (Rom. 14:5), because God is able to make both stand, as both of them are serving the Lord in obedience to their individual convictions of His will... Each of us has to find personally what is the will of God for his own life, and let all others meet their responsibility to do the same... For God, by giving different commands to many, and putting them together according to His plan, shall accomplish ultimately His complete will.
... Kokichi Kurosaki, One Body in Christ
Love is the greatest thing that God can give us; for Himself is love: and it is the greatest thing we can give to God; for it will also give ourselves, and carry with it all that is ours. The apostle calls it the band of perfection; it is the old, and it is the new, and it is the great commandment, and it is all the commandments; for it is the fulfilling of the Law. It does the work of all the graces without any instrument but its own immediate virtue. For as the love of sin makes a man sin against all his own reason, and all the discourses of wisdom, and all the advices of his friends, and without temptation and without opportunity, so does the love of God: it makes a man chaste without the laborious arts of fasting and exterior disciplines, temperate in the midst of feasts, and is active enough to choose it without any intermedial appetites, and reaches at glory through the very heart of grace, without any other aims but those of love. It is a grace that loves God for Himself, and our neighbors for God. The consideration of God's goodness and bounty, the experience of those profitable and excellent emanations from Him, may be, and most commonly are, the first motive of our love; but when we are once entered, and have tasted the goodness of God, we love the spring for its own excellency, passing from passion to reason, from thanking to adoring, from sense to spirit, from considering ourselves to union with God: and this is the image and little representation of heaven; it is beatitude in picture, or rather the infancy and beginning of glory.
... Jeremy Taylor, Holy Living
Form-criticism... has made an end of the false notion, which for a long time dominated critical scholarship, that it was possible throughout the gospels to distill from them a "Life of Jesus" that would be free from dogmatic presuppositions and not affected by any "retouching" derived from the faith of the Church. In fact, however, faith in Jesus Christ crucified and risen did not first appear at some later stage in the tradition, but was the foundation of the tradition, the very soil out of which it grew; and it is in light of that faith alone that the tradition can be understood. This faith in Jesus Christ, the Crucified and Exalted One, explains both the things which the primitive tradition makes known to us, with its manifest concern for the factual truth of the tradition about Jesus, and at the same time the peculiar liberty which the evangelists take in making alterations in the record in points of detail. In relating the acts and words of Jesus, they do not refer back to any sort of "archives" possessed by the community... Jesus Christ is not for them a figure of past history whose proper place is in a library.
... Guenther Bornkamm
We know so well what the unique quality was that held this great and beautiful pride and exquisite humility together. It lay in the relationship he held with God. We know the familiar idea of Jesus' oneness with God: only we deal with it too much as a doctrine of the Church, not as an element in Jesus' own experience. If we never find it in reality, in life, we cannot reveal the true Christ-like character at all -- we will always be trying earnestly to be something, but on too superficial and obvious a plane.
... The Notebooks of Florence Allshorn
Feast of Irenêus, Bishop of Lyons, Teacher, Martyr, c.200
The Church exists, and does not depend for its existence upon our definition of it: it exists wherever God in His sovereign freedom calls it into being by calling his own into the fellowship of His Son. And it exists solely by His mercy. God shuts up and will shut up every way except the way of faith which simply accepts His mercy as mercy. To that end, He is free to break off unbelieving branches, to graft in wild slips, and to call "No people" His people. And if, at the end, those who have preserved through all the centuries the visible "marks" of the Church find themselves at the same board with some strange and uncouth late-comers on the ecclesiastical scene, may we not fancy that they will hear Him say -- would it not be so like him to say -- "It is my will to give unto these last even as unto thee"? Final judgement belongs to God, and we have to beware of judging before the time. I think that if we refuse fellowship in Christ to any body of men and women who accept Jesus as Lord and show the fruits of His Spirit in their corporate life, we do so at our peril. It behooves us, therefore, to receive one another as Christ has received us.
... Lesslie Newbigin, The Household of God
Feast of Peter & Paul, Apostles
Christ did not throw about that great word Salvation. But once, in the heart of an angry crowd, their enthusiasm soured suddenly into a growling muttering. He applied it confidently to a man who, under the inspiration of His friendship, had broken with his sorry past and his old selfish, unclean ways, and was doing what he could to put things right. Now that, He said, is what I call a saved man. Very solemnly He tells us that on the Day of Judgement we shall not be asked the questions we are expecting, but others that will puzzle and startle us. Those folk on the left hand were, as far as we hear, respectable folk; their business books were straight, their home life was kindly, they themselves were clean-living men and women: nothing whatever is laid to their charge excepting this, that they lived in a world needing their help and were too absorbed in something -- what it was, we are not told; it may have been their souls -- to give what aid they could.
... A. J. Gossip, From the Edge of the Crowd
We ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed.
... Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God
Compilation Copyright, 1996-2008, by Robert McAnally Adams,
Curator, Christian Quotation of the Day.
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