Blogotional

While not technically "omnipotent" today's character certainly is immortal, well sorta, and is in many ways one of my favorites. Dr. Fate is a throwback to the Golden Age that never seems to have really found a place in the modern age for reasons I cannot understand. He has, over the decades moved from a simple magician/wizard to an immensely powerful and very enigmatic sorcorer with serious identitiy issues. Technically Dr. Fate is the identity bestowed on anybody possessed by the spiritual near-god Nabu. There are always great battles between the person and the spiirt as to who is in control.

Fate, like most JSA Members is stunning to look at. I remember as a kid in the Silver Age when I first stumbled upon the JSA and the costumes and looks of the old Golden Age heros. There was just something about them that had the "cool" factor - but Fate stuck out more than most. Is it the helmet? - Or the stunning blue and yellow?

I have to admit, I always found the helmet intriguing, particularly because the eye slits change shape routinely for that little bit of non-verbal communication. That does not happen with the other common helemted figure - Iron Man - and that seemed to show that this guy was really creepy and mystical.

It would be interesting sometime to talk to editors and writers to find out why the magical types are not so much a part of the everyday comic scene now. When they come in, it is very much like the Omnipotents - they solve plot problems overwise insoluble - magic has become, well "magic."

When I was a kid, magic was just another way to gain powers of some sort. The magicians, Fate here and Dr. Strange over at Marvel, had a limited set of capabilities that casued real world effects so they were battling bad guys like everybody else. Now they live like wise men, their versions of the Batcave turned into holy sanctuaries and all the other heroes hate them because they are so seemingly inhuman.

I can't tell if they have been so relegated because the creators take the magic seriously, or because the readers just don't like them. I, for one, would like to see Dr. Fate back in more regular action, battling baddies with "spells" that create brick walls for escaping robbers to run into - that kind of stuff. Maybe he could even throw the occassional punch? I mean that outift just calls for action....

Milt Stanley cryptically linked to a piece on Jonah that contained these somehwat magic words: "God is not fair. God is gracious." Both posts generated some interesting comments at both places.

I have learned to hate the word fair. In the comments on his post, Milt Stanley says:

Having two sons around the same age, I have on occasion been accused of being unfair.

"Fairness" is a childish concept - it is code for "He got what he wanted, why don't I get what I wanted?" There are, of course, myriad answers to that inquiry from, "He earned it" to "Because I'm the parent that's why."

When it comes to God's eternal judgement, the former does not apply and the latter is not nearly so arbitrary as it seems. Simply put, who are we to question God's judgement? To do so is to pretend that we are even capable of understanding God's reasons for anything.

If we believe in a God of Providence, then this also applies to the lesser "unfairnesses" of life. "What does he have that I don't have?" Who knows, and if I am resting in God's hands, should I even care?

God's perspective allows for a just and equitable solution to any situation, provided I rely on His judgement and His perspective, two things which I will never fully comprehend. Yes, sometimes, I feel like I have gotten the short end of the stick, but in the end, I'm not holdng on to the stick. I am holding God's hand.

As long as that is the case, it will all work out in the end.

This is the conversation I had with my doctor this week.

I Love this DOCTOR!!!!

HEALTH QUESTION & ANSWER SESSION

Q: I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life; is this true?
A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it... Don't waste them on exercise . Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.

Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?
A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products

Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?
A: No, not at all. Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine, that means they take the water out of the fruity bit so you get even more of the goodness that way. Beer is also made out of grain. Bottoms up!

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?
A: Well, if you have a body and you have fat, your ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one, etc.

Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?
A: Can't think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No Pain...Good!

Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?
A: You're not listening.... Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they're permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?

Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?
A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.

Q: Is chocolate bad for me?
A: Are you crazy? HELLO Cocoa beans! Another vegetable. It's the best feel-good food around! !

Q: Is swimming good for your figure?
A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.

Q: Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle?
A: Hey! 'Round' is a shape!

A Classical Presbyterian extensively quotes Calvin on church discipline.

Therefore, all who desire to remove discipline or to hinder its restoration—whether they do this deliberately or out of ignorance—are surely contributing to the ultimate dissolution of the church. For what will happen if each is allowed to do what he pleases? Yet that would happen, if to the preaching of doctrine there were not added private admonitions, corrections, and other aids of the sort that sustain doctrine and do not let it remain idle.


Therefore, discipline is like a bridle to restrain and tame those who rage against the doctrine of Christ; or like a spur to arouse those of little inclination; and also sometimes like a father’s rod to chastise mildly and with the gentleness of Christ’s Spirit those who have more seriously lapsed.

I find myself afraid to quote that lest I be painted with the same brush as some of my bit-to-conservative brethren. And yet, I find great appeal in these thoughts and notions. Why?

Well, for one thing, The PCUSA is terribly lax about such things and precisely as Calvin predicts is happening. That is the point that Toby Brown is trying to make.

But I find it refreshing for another reason. This is also an admonision to the ultra-conservatives that still do practice church discipline, but do so with a spirit of meanness and for the wrong things.

Properly applied, discipline is about shaping souls. Used in conjunction with grace and love, discipline is a tool that makes disciples (Wow, imagine that discipline - disciples whoda thunk?). But so often we see discipline used to merely bring conformity, and conformity in confession, not practice at that.

But then that is the problem isn't it - we have forgotten that our faith is not merely about confession, but that it is also about practice. We also forget that the church serves to serve first God, then us - but it does not exist to serve itself. The church is a means, not an end.

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My friend John Brown, Scotwise, recently posted a letter that appeared in Autralian newspapers about America. It was in response to some threats in Pakistan to kill an American. The letter concluded:

So you can try to kill an American if you must. Hitler did. So did General Tojo, and Stalin, and Mao Tse-tung, and other blood-thirsty tyrants in the world. But, in doing so you would just be killing yourself. Because Americans are not a particular people from a particular place.

They are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, is an American.

Why does it take the perspective of someone from outside to see the tremendous blessings that we enjoy? Why do we take them for granted so? John Brown, a Scots-Aussie, concludes his post with a prayer, a prayer where he thanks God for what America has brought to the world. How rarely I hear such prayers in America, and how sad that makes me.

Whether it be the blessings our nation provides or the simple blessings of family and friends, we take them so for granted. Because they come so easily we fail to appreciate their immense value. And how especially true that is of the salvation we enjoy in Christ.

HOW DARE WE! Oh, if you are so callous that you would trivialize the death of fellow citizens to preserve your freedoms, then so be it - I am sad for you, I will pray for you.

But how dare we take for granted the death of God Himself on our behalf. How dare we take that as a given. How dare we assume the grace granted to us at such a price.

God's sacrifice demands our humility. We when fail to give it we spit on the cross.

Thank God He just wipes it off and still loves us.

OK, I admit it, the graphic in this post from "A Church for Starving Artists" is what made me read it to begin with, but the concluding paragraphs are what made me link to it and comment on it.

I love my tradition. I find it the best way to express my faith and serve as a spiritual leader. But if we expend too much energy within our little church sub-cultures, we are the losers. We lose perspective. We lose opportunities.

Following Jesus is not about indoctrination to a particular brand. It's more about living and encouraging others to live a Spirit-induced life.

He uses the analogy of college sports rivalries to make his point, but PC v Mac or Coke v Pepsi would be pretty good examples as well. I took a bit of heat at Article VI Blog a while back when I took exception to Al Mohler and said the following:

I have to get a bit theological about this - "Reformed, Protestant Christianity" is doctrinal; greater Christianity, even exclusive of sects on the edge like Mormonism, is not so defined. (This definition, as Romney himself pointed out, excludes even Roman Catholics - a very large chunk of the worshippers of Jesus in the country and the world. It would even exclude many of the larger independent evangelical mega-churches. ) But more importantly, doctrine is decidely sectarian. When people say American is a "christian" nation most of them certainly do not mean it in the sense that Mohler here defines Christianity.

Funny how the words "doctrine" and "indoctrination" share the same roots, isn't it? Now, of course, doctrine matters, the question is "how much?" Are we saved by doctrine? NO, we are saved by grace. Does doctrine change our loves? NO, the Holy Spirit changes our lives.

Doctrine has limits. It helps us to understand the actions of grace and the Holy Spirit in our lives, but it does not substitute for those actions. Doctrine, like virtually everything else, has a predilection to become an idol. We worship our understanding rather than what it is we seek to understand. We hold up what we believe instead of Who we believe in.

We are fallen, we are finite. Our understanding is limited.

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David Wayne is looking for comment. Who am I to turn him down?

Help - Why are church plants the most successful at reaching people and does my established church stand any chance of being renewed?

[...]

Peter Wagner says that church planting is the most effective method of evangelism on the planet and lots of people say things to the effect that established churches just don't evangelize well. Ed thinks this is basically because of established churches' unwillingness to change.

[...]

Churches under 3 years reaching 10 people for every hundred church members

Churches 3-15 years old win an average of 5 people for every hundred church members.

Churches over 15 years old reach an average of 3 for every hundred church members.

The average new church gains the majority of it's members from people who had not previously attended a church, The average established church gains 80-90 % of it's members from transfer growth from other churches.

I view this problem a bit differently. The fact that established churches gain 80-90% of their growth through transfer is a problem, a very notable one, but the answer does not lie is learning how to do evangelism better. Let me lay out why.

The church, of which a congregation is but a single manifestation, is the Body of Christ on earth and as such it has many functions. One of its functions is evangelism, but it is only one. In its totality, the church is simply "home" for the Christian - for parent and child, for family. It is a place of nurture, it is a place of safety, it is a place of growth, and it is a place that grows.

Like a family, growth is generational. A church grows as it makes children, but the age of childbearing ends, that is until the original children reach maturity and then they too bear children and the growth begins anew. The problem with the church as it is in America today is that we never bring the original children to maturity, they never want to move out, they never want to get married and make children of their own. In essence, we are really good at making babies, but once they reach toddlerhood, we are lost as a church.

Babies are very demanding of their parents, there are only so many babies that a family can handle at one time. If those babies do not grow and begin to help the parents, there simply will be no room in the house for more babies.

The hope for renewal that David seeks, to my mind, lies not in learning how to make babies better, but in learning how to make adolescents of the babies we already have. And then, tunring those adolescents into adults.

There is a huge problem with this, babies in congregations don't really want to grow up. It is kind of unavoidable for acutal babies (to some extent, but the percentage of at-homes in their 20's these days is a bit terrifying) but we make it very easy to remain a church-baby forever. Mostly this is true because we have built the home for baby-making - if the focus of the home is on babies, then everybody wants to remain a baby because that is where all the attention, resources and fun is.

This means that we have to be satisfied with smaller churches - at least until the initial generation we have spawned has grown to maturity.

The vision for the church has to be much larger than baby-making. It has to be full-grown Christian making. We are in the business of making the next generation - let them make the babies.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Girolamo Savonarola was born at Ferrara in 1452, and was admitted in 1475 into the novitiate of the Dominican Order, where he soon made himself conspicuous for eloquence, and in Florence attracted many hearers by his diatribes against corruption. Florence, having lost its independence as a republic, was completely under the sway of the Medici, who became arrayed against Savonarola, who aimed at establishing an ideal Christian commonwealth. When he attacked the Pope Alexander VI. his doom was practically sealed. In 1495 he was forbidden to appear in the pulpit, and four years later was excommunicated. He rebelled against papal authority, but the people of Florence grew tired of the strict rule of conduct imposed by his teaching, and he was imprisoned and tried for heresy and sedition. On May 23, 1498, he was hanged and his body burned. His puritanism, his bold rebuking of vice, his defiance of every authority excepting that of his own conscience, seem to anticipate the efforts made by Calvin to regenerate Geneva. Both men failed in their splendid attempts at social reformation, but both left an example of heroic although somewhat short-sighted unselfishness, which has borne fruit in history.


While He blessed them, He was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. - Luke 24:51.

Beloved in Christ Jesus, the wise men of this world divide all created things into two classes; one class they name substances, the other accidents. The substances are those things that exist through themselves without requiring anything else on which to rest, as the earth, water, air, the heavens, animals, stones, plants, and similar things. The accidents can not exist by themselves, but only by resting on something else, as color, odor, taste, and other such things. But because our knowledge is entirely through the senses, and we are able to know anything only when its accidents fall upon our senses, we have, therefore, knowledge of the accidents rather than of the substances. The eyes are for colors, the ears for sounds, the nose for scents, the tongue for flavors, the touch for heat and cold, for hard and soft. Each sense has its own sphere of knowledge and brings what it has perceived before the imagination, and this hands it over to the reason within, which reads and illuminates the productions of the imagination, judges them, and in this way comes to a knowledge of the substances. But the reason has little light if it is separated from the body, for God has joined soul and body together; and so by means of the senses knowledge becomes definite and complete. For if the soul out of the body were richer in knowledge, it would be in vain that it should be in the body. God and nature have done nothing in vain, and therefore the soul ‘s union with the body ministers to its perfection.

The soul‘s knowledge, however, will not be complete so long as it lives in this mortal body. It does not while here come to the fundamental distinctions and causes of the sub¬stances, because it is obliged to know the inner side of things through their externals. Therefore man is able only imperfectly to know an incorporeal substance; how much less can he know the unereated infinite being of God? But if he can not know the being of God, he will not be able to know many other infinite things which are in Him. We ought therefore not to be surprized that there is much in God which we can not understand, and that very many truths of the faith we can not yet prove since we do not yet know everything. The great God in His rich mercy saw our poor knowledge and came into our flesh and assumed it that lie might work for us, die, and rise again from the dead; until after a life full of love He raised Himself above the world of sense into His eternity. But so long as our Redeemer lived with His apostles they loved too much that which they saw of Him, because they were bound down to their senses, and were therefore unable to rise to the knowledge of His Spirit. It was necessary that He should disappear in the heavens that He might lift their souls far above the. world of sense up to Himself. Their natural powers could not do this; therefore He gave to His elect a light from above. Ascending on high He led captivity captive, for ascending into the heavens He took with Him the prey which the devil had made of the soul of men ever since the fall of our parents. The Lord has given gifts unto men (Eph. 4:8), inasmuch as He has imparted to them the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost. Now they leave everything of this world, and rise above by following Christ, who gives to them for a light the light of faith. Let us speak this morning of this faith which leads to the Savior.

“Awake thou that sleepest and Christ shall give thee light.” Be not held captive by flesh and sense, which hold thee fast in sleep; rise to Christ, He will give thee light. See, His flesh is above. What do ye say to that, ye wise men of this world? Everything that has weight tends downward, but His flesh is on high above all heavens. This time your laws have been set at nought. But see what hope Almighty God rouses in us: if our head has gone above, we, His members, will follow Him. In that we hope; of that we preach; on that we live. Know, 0 man, that if thou wilt thou canst go to Paradise, for thither has thy Savior Christ gone; but know this also, that not by thine own nature, not by means of silver and gold, not by thy virtue, wilt thou reach that place. He has given gifts unto men, and through these thou mayest reach Paradise, if thou only wilt. He has given thee the gifts of His Holy Ghost, and before all the gift of knowledge by which He enlightens thee and shows thee by that light thy goal. Thereupon He gives thee the gift of wisdom, by which thou learnest to love thy goal, and perceivest how much thou needest love. Christ then says to man: Remain in My love, leave the things of this world, follow Me to heaven. And because it is needful for thee to know that this world amounts to nothing, He gives thee experience that it may say to thee that thou must soon leave this world in which nothing lasts. Through many difficulties and doubts, man must get so far and know what to do; therefore thou hast the gift of counsel. Hold fast to this counsel, and follow Christ, who will always give thee good counsel. He will give thee not the treasures of this world, but eternal glory and undying happiness. What wilt thou do, 0 child of, man? Leave this world, enter the service of Christ. He is waiting for thee, and will reward thy service, for He is a bountiful rewarder. Let every one then hasten to serve Him. But because each one is bound to care for the salvation of his brother, and to lead him to Christ, therefore the Lord gives thee the gift of love, by which thou shouldst warn thy brother, thy neighbor, thy friend, thy wife, every one, and with all thy strength and zeal shouldst lead them to Christ. But in this world man must go through joy and sorrow. To oppose the joys of earth, Christ gives thee fear, that thou mightest always be careful lest thou shouldst fall, and not let thy joyous days separate thee from the grace of Christ: to oppose unhappiness, He gives thee strength to resist.

What do ye want, 0 children of men; will ye not follow Christ who has gone up on high and has departed to prepare a place for you in glory? Thou comest not into the service of the Lord, because thou art not able to believe these words. If thou didst but believe thou wouldst stand no longer indifferent. Thou art unbelieving, thou art unthankful, and the Lord will punish thy unbelief even as on the morning of His ascension He punished the unbelief of His apostles. Because I have explained to thee this morning this Gospel, I must punish the hardness and unthanklulness of thy heart. Thou hast refused the service of the Lord, who has ascended to prepare for thee the highest glory.

I call upon all men and women, all whose lives are ruined in sorrows and troubles. What do ye fear? He who believes that Christ is above no longer fears anything. Come then all ye into His service. Jesus reproved the unbelief and the hard-heartedness of His disciples, because they did not believe, those who had seen Him after He had risen. Without faith it is impossible to please God. No doubt the apostles said: How can we believe these women? But these women were of pure heart before God, and therefore the Savior reproved His disciples. Ye deserve still sharper reprimands. To the disciples a few women announced the news that He had risen. Ye hear all this, and in addition all the glorious revelations in which the Lord after this manifested Himself on earth. Why do ye not come to serve ‘Christ? Ye do not truly believe, because ye are so full of sin, and despise God’s commandments. Ye do not deserve the gift of faith. He who has faith should show it in his deeds, that he may have what he says he has, and may know what he has; namely, the certainty of the divine word, which can not err, the goodness of God, and His guidance into all goodness. On account of thy sins, thou hast not the true light which would have enabled thee to see all goodness. Thou art sunk in vice, drunken with greed and luxury, and all the works of this world. Thou seekest only power and glory. And wherefore? If ,thou hadst faith, thou wouldst not seek such things, for thou wouldst know that faith would give thee a much higher crown. From these sins have come thy unbelief and thy hardness of heart. Therefore the words of faith do not touch thy heart: it is a heart of stone and iron. Throw off thy load of sin and give thy will to righteousness; then will thy hard-heartedness end, and God will bestow on thee the gift of faith. What wilt thou? Why standest thou so uncertain and irresolute? Why dost thou not hasten to Him, and see how He leaves thy life, how He goes into the heavens, to which He bids thee come up. Leave at length thy sensual life and enter the pathway of Christ. Hesitate no longer, begin today, put it not off until to-morrow. If thou hast faith, thou canst not delay longer, and if thy heart is right before God, He will give thee the light of faith which will enable thee to distinguish the false from the true faith, and so when on the right road not to fall into error. Then wilt thou know for thyself that the Gospel makes good men out of those who truly believe, and thine experience will tell thee that thou hast no occasion to doubt.

A story from the Old Testament might perhaps serve as a parable and make clearer what I mean. When Balak heard of Israel’s march, he was afraid and sent to call Balaam to curse Israel for him. Balaam set out on his way with his ass, accompanied by an angel of the Lord, because Balaam was going to Balak with an evil intention. The beast sought in vain to turn into the field, and finally fell down between two walls, and suffered under blows and curses, until the prophet saw the angel and perceived his sin. Balak is the devil who would ruin the people of God; by Balaam we can understand the nobles, the prelates, the preachers, the learned, who are held captive by their arrogance. The two servants are those who follow the proud, serve them, and flatter them, especially the lazy clergy and monks, who so far as outward show goes live a virtuous life, but who live for ceremonies and take care not to speak the truth. To these belong many citizens who live apparently virtuously and hide their pride. Because they commit no sins of the flesh which can be noticed, they are full of piety in their outward ceremonies, but within full of arrogance. These are the members of the devil, for the devil neither eats, drinks, nor sleeps, he is neither a miser nor a wanton, but is within full of pride as are these. By the ass we are to understand the simple people. They are led in the way of sin by the ceremonies of the lazy, since they are not thought fit for the worship of the heart, and must be led by masses, penance, and indulgences, and they throw away what might be of profit for money and for candies. The lazy give them council in their sermons: Give some vestment, build a chapel, and thou wilt be freed from any danger of going to hell. Do not believe these mountebanks; no outward act can bring you to Paradise, not even miracles and prophecy, but only the grace of God, if you have humility and love

Before the ass stood an angel with a sword. This is Christ, who speaks to the ass: Walk no longer in the path of sin, for I have ready for you a great scourge. The ass alone saw the angel; for the simple first hear the word of the Lord, but Balaam and such as are with him will hear nothing of it. The ass left the path of captivity and went out into the field, into the way of the Lord. “For the kingdom of heaven is like treasure ‘hid in a field; which when a man found he sold all that he bad and bought that field.” So the simple go into the holy field of the Scriptures and say: “Let me look around a little, for the flowers of this field bear fruit.” Yea, our fathers, the prophets, apostles, and martyrs bore fruit, they who died with joy for the truth. These are they who go into the field and speak the truth in the face of death. Come into the city, where the nobles and the masters taken captive by sin crowd together, cry the lazy troop of monks: 0 fathers, it would be well if when you spoke of these things, you touched not this string, by which you allow yourselves to fall into disgrace and disfavor. They have said that already to me. Our persecution begins if we begin to preach. But Jesus was willing to die for the truth of what He said; should we forsake the truth in order not to displease men? No, we will say it in every way, and with Balaam’s ass go into the field.

Think not that I am such a fool as to undertake these things without good reason. I call heaven and earth to witness against me if I do not speak the truth. For against all the world is my sermon; every one contra¬dicts it. If I go about with lies, then I have Christ against me; therefore I have heaven and earth against me, and how then could I stand? As such a trifler with holy things how should I dare rise up? Believe me, I speak the truth, I have seen it with my eyes, and touched it with my hands. Believe it! If I speak not the truth, I consign myself body and soul to destruction; but I tell you I am certain of the truth, and I would that all were as I am. I say that of the truth on which I stand, not as tho I wished that others had my failings as well. So come then into the service of Jesus; come to the truth, come here, I bid you. Do ye not know how I explained the revelation of St. John? There were many who said that I spoke too much in detail, and went too deep into it. There stood the angel before the ass, and wanted it to go out into the field, but Balaam smote it; and ye know not bow much opposition I must yet undergo. The lazy monks were the first who called me a fool and revolutionist, and on the other side stood the weak and the simple, who said in their innocent faith: “Oh, if we could only do what He teaches!” Then I had war with the citizens and the great judges of this time, whom my manner of preaching did not please. I was between two walls; the angel warned me, threatening eternal death from this road, and I received Balaam‘s blows. Ye know my persecution and my danger; but I knew that I was on the way to victory and said always: No human being can drive my cause from the world. Balaam, thou leanest thy foot against the walls, but ,do as thou wilt, I will crush thy foot; I leaned on the walL on Christ, I leaned on His grace, I hoped; leave off thine anger and threatening, thou canst not get me away from the wall. I say to all of you: Come to the truth, forsake your vice and your malice, that I may not have to tell you of your grief. I say it to you, 0 Italy, I say it to you, 0 Rome, I say it to all of you; return and do penance. There stands before you the holy truth; she can not fall; she can not bend or give way; wait not until the blows fall.

In everything am I opprest; even the spiritual power is against me with Peter’s mighty key. Narrow is my path and full of trouble; like Balaam‘s ass, I must throw myself on the ground and cry: “See, here I am; I am ready to die for the truth.” But when Balaam beat his fallen beast, it said to him: “What have I done to thee?” So I say to you: “Come here and tell me: what have I done to you? Why do you beat me? I have spoken the truth to you; I have warned you to choose a virtuous life; I have led many souls to Christ.” But you answer: “Thou hast spoken evil of us, therefore, thou shouldst suffer the stripes thou deservest.” But I named no one, I only blamed your vices in general. If you have sinned, be angry with yourselves, not with me. I name none of you, but if the sins I have mentioned are without question yours, then they and not I make you known. As the smitten beast asked Balaam, so I ask you: “Tell me, am I not your ass? and do you not know that I have been obedient to you up to this very moment, that I have even done what my superiors have commanded, and have always behaved myself peaceably?” You know this, and because I am now so entirely different, you may well believe that a great cause drives me to it. Many knew me as I was at first; if I remained so I could have had as much honor as I wanted. I lived six years among you, and now I speak otherwise, nevertheless I announce to you the truth that is well known. You see in what sorrows and what opposition I must now live, and I can say with Jeremiah: “O, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and contention to the whole earth!” But where is a father or a mother that can say I have led their son into sin; one that can say I have ruined her husband or his wife? Everybody knows my manner of life, therefore it is right for you to believe that I speak the truth which everybody knows. You think that it is impossible for a man to do what the faith I have preached tells him to do: with God it would be easy for you.

The ass alone saw the angel, the others did not; so open your eyes. Thank God, many have them open. You have seen many learned men whom you thought wise, and they have withstood our cause: now they believe; many noted masters who Were hard and proud against us: now humility casts them down. You have also seen many women turn from their vanity to simplicity; vicious youths who are now improved and conduct themselves in a new way. Many, indeed, have received this doctrine with humility. That doctrine has stood firm, no matter how attacked with the intention of showing that it was a doctrine opposed to Christ. God does that to manifest His wisdom, to show how it finally overcomes all other wisdom. And He is willing that His servants be spoken against that they may show their patience and humility, and for the sake of His love not be afraid of martyrdom.

O ye men and women, I bid you to this truth; let those who are in captivity contradict you as much as they will, God will come and oppose their pride. Ye proud, however, if you do not turn about and become better, then will the sword and the pestilence fall upon you; with famine and war will Italy be turned upside down. I foretell you this because I am sure of it: if I were not, I would not mention it. Open your eyes as Balaam opened his eyes when the angel said to him: “Had it not been for thine ass, I would have slain thee.” So I say to you, ye captives: Had it not been for the good and their preaching, it would have been woe unto you. Balaam said: “If this way is not good, I will return.” You say likewise, you would turn back to God, if your way is not good. And to the angel you say as Balaam said: “What wilt thou that we should do?” The angel answers thee as he answered Balaam: “Thou shalt not curse this people, but shalt say what I put in thy mouth.” But in thy mouth he puts the warning that thou shouldst do good, convince one another of the divine truth, and bear evil manfully. For it is the life of a Christian to do good and to bear wrong and to continue steadfast unto death, and this is the Gospel, which we, according to the text of the Gospel for today, shall preach in all the world.

What wilt thou have of us, brother? you ask. I desire that you serve Christ with zeal and not with sloth and indifference. I desire that you do not mourn, but in thankfulness raise your hands to heaven, whenever your brother or your son enters the service of Christ. The time is come when Christ will work not only in you but through you and in others; whoever hears, let him say: “Come brother. Let one draw the other. Turn about, thou who thinkest that thou art of a superior mind and therefore canst not accept the faith.” If I could only explain this whole Gospel to thee word for word, I would then scourge thy forehead and prove to thee that the faith could not be false and that Christ is thy God who is enthroned in heaven, and waits for thee. Or dost thou believe? Where are thy works? Why dost thou delay about them? Hear this: There was once a monk who spoke to a distinguished man about the faith, and got him to answer why he did not believe. He answered thus: “You yourself do not believe, for if you believed you would show other works.” Therefore, to you also I say: If you believe, where are your works? Your faith is something every one knows, for every one knows that Christ was put to death by the Jews, and that everywhere men pray to Him. The whole world knows that His glory has not been spread by force and weapons, but by poor fishermen. O wise man, do you think the poor fishermen were ndt clever enough for this? Where they worked, there they made hearts better; where they could not work, there men remained bad; and therefore was the faith true and from God. The signs which the Lord had prom¬ised followed their teaching: in His name they drove out the devil; they spoke in new tongues; if they drank any deadly drink, they received therefrom no harm. Even if these wonders had not occurred, there would have been the wonder of wonders, that poor fishermen without any miracle could accomplish so great a work as the faith. It came from God, and so is Christ true and Christ is thy God, who is in heaven and awaits thee.

You say you believe the Gospel, but you do not believe me. But the purer anything is, so much the nearer it stands to its end and purpose. The Christian life purifies the heart, and places it very near to the truth. To the Christian life will I lead you, if you would have the knowledge of the truth. If I had wished to deceive you, why should I have given you as the chief of my gifts the means of discovering my fraud? I would be verily a fool to try to impose upon you with a falsehood which you would soon detect; only because I offered you the truth, did I call you. Come here, I fear you not; the closer you examine, the clearer the truth will become to you.

There are some, however, who are ashamed of the cross of Jesus Christ, and say: If we should believe that, we should be despised everywhere, especially by the wisest. But if you would know the truth, look only on the lives of those who would have to cry woe on their unbelief if they should be measured by deeds. If you are ashamed of the cross, the Lord was not ashamed to bear that cross for you, and to die on that cross for you. Be not ashamed of His service and of the defense of the truth. Look at the servants of the devil, who are not ashamed in the open places, in the palaces, and everywhere to speak evil and to revile us. Bear then a little shame only for your Lord; for whoever follows Him will, according to our gospel, in His name drive out the devil; that is, he will drive out his sins, and lead a virtuous life; he will drive out serpents; he will throw out the lazy who come into the houses, and say evil things under the pretense of righteousness, and so are like poisonous serpents. You will see how children can withstand them with the truth of God, and drive them away. If a believer drinks anything deadly it will not hurt him: this deadly drink is the false doctrines of the lazy, from whom, as you contend with them, a little comes also to you. But he who stands unharmed in the faith, cries to you: See that you do good; seek God’s glory, not your own. He that does that is of the truth, and remains unharmed. The Lord says further of the faithful: They shall lay their hands on the sick and shall heal them. The hands are the works, and the good lay such hands on the weak that they may support them when they totter. Do I not teach you according to the Gospel? Why do you hesitate and go not into the service of the Lord? Do you ask me still what you ought to do? I will, in conclusion, tell you.

Look to Christ and you will find that all He says concerns faith. Ask the apostle; he speaks of nothing else than of faith. If you have the ground of all, if you have faith, you will always do what is good. Without faith man always falls into sin. You must seek faith in order to be good, or else your faith will become false. Christ commanded His disciples to preach the Gospel to all the world, and your wise men call a man a little world, a microcosm. So then preach to yourself, O man, woman, and child. Three parts the world has in you also. Preach first of all to your knowledge, and say to it: If you draw near this truth, you will have much faith; wherefore do you hesitate to use it? To your will, say: Thou seest that everything passes away; therefore love not the world, love Christ. Thereupon turn to the second part of your world, and say to it: Be thankful, 0 my memory, for the mercies God has shown thee, that thou thinkest not of the things of this world but of the mercy of thy creation, and thy redemption through the blood of the Son of God. Then go to the third part, to thy imagination, and proclaim to it: Set nothing before my eyes but my death, bring nothing before me but the Crucified, embrace Him, fly to Him. Then go through all the cities of thy world and preach to them. First say to thine eyes: Look not on vanity. To thy ears say: Listen not to the words of the lazy, but only to the words of Jesus. To thy tongue say: Speak no more evil. For thy tongue is as a great rock that rolls from the summit of a mountain, and at first falls slowly, then ever faster and more furiously. It begins with gentle murmuring, then it utters small sins, and then greater, until it finally breaks forth in open blasphemy. To thy palate say: It is necessary that we do a little penance. In all thy senses be clean, and turn to the Lord, for He it is who will give you correction and purity. To thy hands say: Do good and give alms; and let thy feet go in the good way. Our reformation has begun in the Spirit of God, if you take it to heart that each one has to preach to himself. Then will we in the name of Jesus drive out the devils of temptation. Yes, call upon Jesus as often as temptation approaches: call upon Him a hundred times and believe firmly, and the temptation will depart. Then will we speak with new tongues; we will speak with God. We shall drive away serpents; the en¬ticement of the senses are these serpents. If we drink anything deadly it will not hurt us; if anger and lust arise in us, at the name of Jesus they will have to give way. We shall lay our hands upon the sick and heal them; with good deeds shall we strengthen the weak soul. If thou feelest thy weakness, flee to God, and He will strengthen; therefore He is thy only refuge. He is thy Savior and thy Lord, who went into the heavens to prepare a place for thee, and to wait thee there. What do you intend to do? Go and follow Jesus, who is praised from everlasting to everlasting. Amen.

sermon lesson Girolamo Savonarola