Taize Community, France
The Rev. Dr. Don Wehmeyer, a PC(USA) missionary in Mexico, writes “Monks and nuns in the Presbyterian-Reformed Tradition? Is this possible? As strange as it may sound to our American ears the fact is that the Reformed Church has always had room for specialized ministries. It is true that until recently the room available for monasticism had become very small indeed, but that is now changing. True to our tradition we are again reforming ourselves, going back to our roots to recover that which for a season had been thought not to be needed” (“Monastics in the Reformed Tradition”, 1). The answer: Yes, there are! Evidences of this abounds: Iona abbey – Church of Scotland; Taize and Grandchamp in France – Swiss and French Reformed Churches, Marienschwestern of Darmstadt – German. In addition there are new books written by Presbyterian pastors and elders extolling the virtues of monastic (specifically Benedictine spirituality) that are selling briskly. For examples: Cloister Walk, Katherine Norris. The Family Cloister: Wisdom for the Home, David Robinson. St. Benedict for the Laity, Eric Dean, and Monk Habits, Dennis Okholm, and Flirting with Monasticism by Karen Sloan.
Inspired and borrowing from the Northumbian Community, perhaps its is time to be moved by the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who said “The renewal of the church will come from a new type of monasticism which only has in common with the old an uncompromising allegiance to the Sermon on the Mount. It is high time men and women banded together to do this.” Our mission is also inspired by William Stringfellow, who called for a radical way of living as Christians and the Church in today’s world, describing it as “dynamic and erratic, spontaneous and radical, audacious and immature, committed if not altogether coherent, ecumenically open and often experimental, visible here and there, now and then but unsettled institutionally. Almost monastic in nature, but most of all enacting a fearful hope for human life in society.”
What would it look like to join with other Christians around the world delving deeper into the Christian Tradition, into the time before the Reformation, rediscovering and finding a coherence and identity within the Desert and Celtic Monastic traditions that has made sense of God’s leading in our lives? I believe that through intentional living and the spiritual formation provided while being a part of a community (tangible and virtual), the Lord will touch peoples’ lives in the same way as Christ touched the lives of our forefathers and mothers in the faith who first brought the flame of the gospel to us.
Remembering our baptismal vows, we recognize an experiential call upon our lives regarding the nature of our faith, a call to repentance, to self-denial and a resisting of evil. A call of God to find a Way for Living that relates to being a Christian in society as it is today. By seeking out to create new forms of “church”, like intentional Christian communities, we are not escaping from the world, nor is there any condemning of the church/denominations of which we are members. There is no intention to set up some new movement, strategy or program, but simply an exploration into how we should live as Christians in a changing age with all its challenges and opportunities, and develop church leaders to help us in the revitalization of God’s people, and aid the Church catholic, our Mother, in birthing new believers as she is filled with the Holy Spirit. We should not seek to create or replicate idealized or even romanticized forms of church. Nor when we talk about a new monasticism as Bonhoeffer envisioned are we talking about joining a religious order or the need for the renewal of the old monastic institutions. What we are seeking to embrace is the “heart” of monastic spirituality (“one focused on only God”) and its application in our contemporary settings.
As I think and prayer about this kind of movement taking form in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and has in other protestant denominations (Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist, Vineyard, Baptist), I am drawn to an old prayer: Accéndat in nobis Dóminus ignem sui amóris, et flámmam ætérnæ caritátis. Amen. (May the Lord enkindle in us the fire of His love and the flame of everlasting charity. Amen.) The missional prayer indicates and should guide any Christian community in its complete willingness to follow Christ and to be filled with the Holy Spirit in order to love freely and radically as Christ loves us. The motto by which we could describe the ordering of our communal life is ora et labora in unio sacramentalis (prayer and labor in sacramental union). Both the prayer and motto are a reviving of John Calvin’s spiritual discipline exemplified in the Institutes of Religion and the Benedictine and Augustinian spirituality which followed the evangelizing and influential monasteries of Columba’s Iona, Aiden’s Lindisfarne, St Margaret of Scotland’s St Andrews, and St Ninian’s Withorn.
Last, but not least, the purpose of an intentional Christian community should always be to strengthen the Church; first by the members giving themselves to God and then to the work God gives us to do.
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The Mission
To be a School of Love
Where Christ is our teacher,
Holy Scripture is our text book,
And the World is our classroom.
Four Pillars of Our Common Life and Mission
- Prayer
- Study
- Community
- Apostolic Ministry
The Communal Rule (Revised from the Brothers and Sisters of Charity)
I A Community Rule from Our One Rule of Faith & Life
The Rule of the brothers and sisters is the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. We should be troubled about nothing except this all encompassing rule from the Holy Scriptures. All that matters is that one be created anew.
(Gal. 6:14-16).
II The Call
If you seek perfection, go sell all your possessions, and give to the poor. You will then have treasure in heaven. After that come back and follow Jesus. Whoever wishes to be Christ’s follower must deny their very self, take up their cross each day, and follow in Jesus’ footsteps. Moreover, everyone who has given up home, brothers and sisters, father or mother, wife or children or property for my sake will receive many times as much and inherit everlasting life. With Peter, we might well be sinful people, but do not be afraid. From now on you will be fishers of people. Let us leave everything and become Christ’s followers.
(Mt. 19:21. Lk. 9:23 Mt. 19:29 Lk. 5:8-11)
III The Life
Jesus calls us together and sends us forth to proclaim the reign of God and to heal the afflicted. Take nothing for your journey, neither walking staff nor traveling bag; no bread, no money. No one is to have two coats. Stay in whatever house you enter and proceed from there. When people will not receive you, leave that town and shake its dust from your feet as a testimony against them. Set out from village to village, spreading the good news everywhere and curing diseases.
(Lk. 9:1-6)
IV The Community
My brothers and sisters are those who hear the word of God and act upon it … Go out quickly to the highways and byways of the town and bring in the poor and the crippled, the lame and the blind … Not many of you are wise, as people account wisdom; not many are influential; and surely not many are well born. I give you my word, there is no one who has given up home, brothers and sisters, mother or father, children or property for me and for the Gospel who will not receive in this present age a hundred times as many homes, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, children and property – and persecution besides – and in the age to come, everlasting life.
(Lk. 8:21 Lk. 14:211 Cor. 1:26 Mk. 10:29-30)
V Communal Life
Let the community be of one heart and one mind. Never claim anything as your own, rather, hold everything in common. There are different gifts but the same Spirit. Thereare different ministries but the same Lord. There are different works but the same God who accomplishes all of them in everyone. To each person the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. The body is one and has many members. But all the members, many though they are, are one body. And so it is with Christ.
You then are the body of Christ. Every one of you is a member of it. Furthermore, God has set up in the community first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracle workers, healers, assistants, administrators, and those who speak in tongues. Set your hearts on the greater gifts. If I speak with human tongues and angelic as well, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong, a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and, with full knowledge, comprehend all mysteries; if I have faith great enough to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give everything I have to feed the poor and hand over my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. Love is not jealous, it does not put on airs, it is not snobbish. Love is never rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not prone to anger, neither does it brood over injuries. Love does not rejoice in what is wrong, but rejoices with the truth. There is no limit to love’s forbearance, to its trust, its hope, its power to endure. Love never fails. Prophecies will cease, tongues will be silent, knowledge will pass away … There are in the end three things that last: faith, hope and love. And the greatest of these is love. Your love must be sincere. Detest what is evil. Cling to what is good. Love one another with the affection of brothers and sisters.
Anticipate each other in showing respect. Do not grow slack but be fervent in spirit. He whom you serve is the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient under trial, persevere in prayer. Look on the needs of the saints as your own. Be generous in offering hospitality. Bless your persecutors, bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Have the same attitude towards all. Put away ambitious thoughts and associate with those who are lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Never repay injury with injury. See that your conduct is honorable in the eyes of all. If possible, live peaceably with everyone. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves. Leave that to God’s wrath. If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If she is thirsty, give her something to drink. Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good.
Because you are God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with heartfelt mercy, with kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another. Forgive whatever grievances you have against one another. Forgive as the Lord has forgiven you. Over all these virtues put on love, which binds the rest together and makes them perfect. Christ’s peace must reign in your hearts, since as members of the one body you have been called to that peace. Dedicate yourselves to thankfulness.
Let the word of Christ, rich as it is, dwell in you. In wisdom made perfect instruct and admonish one another. Sing gratefully to God from your hearts in psalms, hymns and inspired songs. Whatever you do, whether in speech or in action, do it in the name of the Lord Jesus. Give thanks to God the Father through Christ. In the name of the encouragement you owe me in Christ, in the name of the solace that love can give, of fellowship in spirit, compassion and pity, I beg you, make my joy complete in your unanimity possessing the one love, united in spirit and ideals. Never act out of rivalry or conceit. Rather, let all parties think humbly of others as superior to themselves, each of you looking to other’s interests rather than your own I plead with you, then, as a prisoner for the Lord, to live a life worthy of the calling you have received, with perfect humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another lovingly.
Make every effort to preserve the unity which has the Spirit as its origin, and peace as its binding force. There is but one body and one Spirit, just as there is but one hope given all of you by your call. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is over all, and works through all, and is in all.
(Acts 4:32 I Cor. 12:4-7 I Cor. 13:1-13 I Cor. 12:12 I Cor. 12:27-31 Col. 3:12-17 Rom. 12:9-21 Phil. 2:1-4 Eph. 4:1-5)
VI Prayer
Whenever you pray, go to your room, close your door, and pray to your Father in private. In your prayer, do not rattle on like pagans. This is how you are to pray: “Our Father …” Ask, and you will receive. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened to you. If you are ready to believe that you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer, it shall be done for you.
When you stand to pray, forgive anyone against whom you have a grievance so that your heavenly Father may in turn forgive you. If you bring your gift to the altar and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift at the altar, go first to be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
Very early in the morning, while it is still dark, get up, leave the house and go to a solitary place and pray… When evening comes, be alone… Go out into the hills to pray, and spend the night praying to God… Often withdraw to lonely places and pray. When you pray, stand, kneel, or fall with your faces to the ground. In every place let us all offer prayers with blameless hands held aloft. Rejoice always, never cease praying, render constant thanks. Do not stifle the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies.
Do not forbid those who speak in tongues. Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. We do not know what we ought to pray for. But the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groaning that cannot be expressed with words. The heavenly Father gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask. If two of you join your voices on earth to pray for anything whatsoever, it shall be granted you by my Father in Heaven.
Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in your midst. Join together to devote yourselves to constant prayer… Gather together in one place… Sit as equals in the assembly…Be filled with the Holy Spirit. Express yourselves in tongues and make bold proclamations as the Spirit prompts you. Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms, hymns and inspired songs. Sing praise to the Lord with all your hearts. Give thanks to God the Father always and for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
When you assemble is it not to eat the Lord’s Supper? I received from the Lord what I handed on to you, namely, that the Lord Jesus, on the night in which he was betrayed, took bread and after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way after the supper he took the cup saying, “This is the new covenant in my blood. Whenever you drink of this cup, do it in remembrance of me.” Every time that you eat this bread and drink of this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes! This means that whoever eats the bread or drinks of the cup of the Lord unworthily sins against the body and blood of the Lord.
Persons should examine themselves first. Only then should they eat of this bread and drink of this cup. The one who eats and drinks without recognizing the body eats and drinks a judgment of one’s self. This is why many among you are sick and infirm, and why so many are dying. If we were to examine ourselves, we would not be falling under judgment in this way.
Ask for the leaders of the community. They in turn are to pray over those who are ill, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. This prayer uttered in faith will reclaim the one who is ill, and the Lord will restore them to health. If they have committed any sins, forgiveness will be theirs. Hence, declare your sins to one another, and pray for one another that you may find healing. We should not absent ourselves from the assembly, as some do, but encourage one another, and this all the more because you see that The Day draws near.
(Mt. 6:5-13 Mt. 7:7-11 Mk 11:24 Mk. 11:25 Mt. 5:23-26 Mk 1:35 Mk. 6:47 Lk. 6:12 Lk. 5:16 Lk. 22:41 1 Tim 2:8 1 Thes. 5:16-18 1 Cor. 14:39-40 Eph. 6:18 Rom. 8:26-27 Lk. 11:13 Mt. 18:19-20 Acts 1:14 Jas. 2:1-4 Acts 2:1-4 Eph. 5:18-20 I Cor. 11:20-31 Jas. 5:14-16 Heb. 10:25)
VII Study
Beginning then with Moses and all the prophets, Jesus interprets for us every passage of scripture which refers to Him. Recall the words Jesus spoke when he was on this earth. Everything written about him in the law of Moses and prophets and psalms had to be fulfilled.
He opens our minds to the understanding of scripture. It was written that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead on the third day. Jesus will ask the Father and he will give you another Paraclete to be with you always, the Spirit of truth. When she comes, she will guide you to all truth. She will not speak on her own, but will speak only what she hears, and will announce to you the things to come. In doing this, she will give glory to Jesus, because she will have received from Jesus what she will announce to you.
We devote ourselves to the apostles’ instructions. We are sent to make disciples of all the nations, teaching them to carry out everything Jesus commanded. We must follow closely the teaching and conduct of the apostles. We must remain faithful to what we have learned and believed, because we know who our teachers were. Likewise, we should know the sacred scriptures, the source of the wisdom which through faith in Jesus Christ leads to salvation.
All scripture is inspired of God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction and training in holiness so that the person of God may be fully competent and equipped for every good work. God’s word is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword. It penetrates and divides soul and spirit, joint and marrow. It judges the reflections of the heart. There is no prophecy contained in scripture which is a personal interpretation. Prophecy has never been put forward by person’s willing it. It is rather that people impelled by the Holy Spirit have spoken under God’s influence. Likewise, since the creation of the world, invisible realities, God’s eternal power and divinity have become visible, recognized through the things God has made.
Whatever can be known about God is clear to us. God’s self has made it so. Let us consider the faith of the saints. Since we for our part are surrounded by this cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every encumbrance of sin which clings to us and persevere in running the race which lies ahead. Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, who inspires and perfects our faith. Let us study to show ourselves approved. Let us meditate on the law of the Lord day and night.
(Lk. 24:27, 44-45 Jn. 14:16-17 Jn. 16:13-14 Acts 2:42 2 Tim. 3:10-16 Heb 4:12 2 Pt. 1:20-21 Rom. 1:19-20 Heb. 12: 1-2 2 Tim. 2:15 Ps. 1:2)
VIII Penance
Reform your lives! The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Everyone who is angry with his brother or sister shall be liable to judgment; and any person who uses abusive language toward his brother or sister shall be answerable to the council, and if they hold them in contempt, they risk the fires of Gehenna.
Be reconciled to your brother and sister. Anyone who looks lustfully at a woman has already committed adultery with her in his thoughts. If your right eye is your trouble, gouge it out and throw it away! If your right hand is your trouble, cut it off and throw it away! Better to lose part of your body than to have it all cast into Gehenna. Do not swear at all. Say yes when you mean yes and no when you mean no. Anything beyond that is from the evil one.
Offer no resistance to injury. When a person strikes you on the right cheek, turn and offer the other. If anyone wants to go to law over your shirt, hand him your coat as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with her two miles. Give to the person who begs from you. When a person takes what is yours, do not demand it back. Love your enemies, pray for your persecutors. Love your enemy and do good for him. Lend without expecting repayment. Be compassionate as your heavenly Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn and you will not be condemned. Pardon, and you shall be pardoned. Give, and it will be given to you.
We are like the woman known to be a sinner, who went to Jesus while he was dining in a Pharisee’s home. We should bring in a vase of perfumed oil and kneel behind him at his feet. We should wipe them with our hair, kissing them and perfuming them with oil. That is why our many sins are forgiven, because of our great love. Little is forgiven whose love is small. Even though we are caught in adultery, Jesus says, “I do not condemn you. Go and sin no more.” Let us go to the temple to pray as the tax collector, rather than the Pharisee. The tax collector kept his distance, not even daring to raise his eyes to heaven. All he did was beat his breast and say, “Oh God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” This person went home justified. For everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, while he who humbles himself shall be exalted. If we cry out only “Leave me, Lord. For I am a sinful person”, Jesus will say to us, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will be fishers of people.”
With that we must bring the boats of our secular lifestyle to land, leaving everything to become His followers. And now, brothers and sisters, I beg you, through the mercy of God to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you may judge what is God’s will, what is good, pleasing and perfect. It is now the hour for you to wake from sleep, for our salvation is closer than when we first accepted the faith. The night is far spent. The day draws near. Let us cast off the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us live honorable as in daylight, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual excess and lust, not in quarreling and jealousy. Rather, put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.
Fan into a full flame the gift you have received. Fire will test the quality of each person’s work. Everyone must be careful how she builds. If different ones build with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay or straw, the work of each will be made clear. So strip away everything vicious, everything deceitful; pretenses, jealousies and disparaging remarks of any kind. Come to Him, a living stone, rejected by people, but approved nonetheless, and precious in God’s eyes. You too are living stones, built as an edifice of spirit into a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Since you have been raised up in company with Jesus Christ, set your heart on what pertains to higher realms where Christ is seated at God’s right hand.
Be intent on things above, rather than on things of earth. After all, you have died! Your life is hidden now with Christ in God. Put to death whatever in your nature is rooted in earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desires and that lust which is idolatry. These are sins which provoke God’s wrath. You must put all that aside now; all anger and quick temper, malice and insults, foul language. Stop lying to one another. What you have done is put aside your old self with its past deeds, and put on the new person, one who grows in knowledge as she is formed anew in the image of her Creator.
You must lay aside your former way of life and the old self which deteriorates through illusion and desire, and acquire a fresh, spiritual way of thinking. You must put on the new person created in God’s image, whose justice and holiness are born of truth. Put an end to lying, let everyone speak the truth to his neighbor, for we are members of one another. If you are angry, let it be without sin. The sun must not go down on your wrath. Do not give the devil a chance to work on you. The person who has been stealing must steal no longer; rather, let him work with his hands at honest labor so that he will have something to share with those in need. Never let evil talk pass your lips. Say only the good things people need to hear, things that will really help them. Do nothing to sadden the Holy Spirit. Get rid of all bitterness, all passion and anger, harsh words, slander and malice of every kind.
As for lewd conduct or promiscuousness or lust of any sort, let them not even be mentioned among you. Your holiness forbids this. Nor should there be any obscene, silly or suggestive talk. All that is out of place. Instead, give thanks! Make no mistake about this: no fornicator, no unclean or lustful person – in effect, an idolater – has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with worthless arguments. These are sins which bring down God’s wrath on the disobedient. Therefore have nothing to do with them. Keep careful watch over your conduct. Do not act like fools, but like thoughtful people. Make the most of the present opportunity, for these are evil days. Do not continue in ignorance but try to discern the will of the Lord. Avoid getting drunk on wine that leads to debauchery. Be filled with the Holy Spirit.
My little ones, I am writing this to keep you from sin. But if anyone should sin, we have in the presence of the Father, Jesus Christ, an intercessor who is just. He is an offering for our sins. If we acknowledge our sins, he who is just can be trusted to forgive our sins. Hence, confess your sins to one another. There will be more joy in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to repent.
(Mt. 4:17 Mt. 5:21-24 Mt. 5:28-30 Mt. 5:34-37 Mt. 5:39-48 Lk. 7:36-50 Jn. 8:1-11 Lk. 18:9-14 Lk. 5:8-11 Rom. 12:1-2 Rom. 13:11-14 2 Tim. 1:6 I Cor. 3:10-13 1 Pt. 2:1-5 Col. 3:1-10 Eph. 4:22-31 Eph. 5:3-7 Eph. 5:15-18 1 Jn. 2:1-2 1 Jn. 1:9 Jas. 5:16 Lk. 15:7)
IX Poverty
We have left all we own to become Jesus’ followers. There is no one who has left home or wife or brothers and sisters, parents or family for the sake of the kingdom of God who will not receive a plentiful return in this age and life everlasting in the age to come.
I tell you solemnly, the time is short. From now on, those with wives should live as though they had none. Those who weep should live as though they were not weeping; and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing. Buyers should conduct themselves as though they owned nothing, and those who make use of the world as though they were not using it, for the world as we know it is passing away.
You are well acquainted with the favor shown you by our Lord Jesus Christ, how for your sake he made himself poor though he was rich, so that you might become rich by his poverty. I am about to give you some advice on this matter of rich and poor: the relief of others ought not to impoverish you; there should be a certain equality. Your plenty at the present time should supply their need, so that their surplus may one day supply your need, with equality as the result. It is written, “He who gathered much had no excess, and he who gathered little had no lack.”
Anyone who does not take up his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. None of you can be my disciple if he does not renounce all his possessions. You cannot give yourselves to God and to money. I warn you then, do not worry about your livelihood, what you are to eat or drink or use for clothing. Look at the birds of the air. They do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. As for clothes, why be concerned? Learn a lesson from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work, they do not spin. Yet I assure you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was arrayed like one of these. Stop worrying then over questions like, what are we to eat or what are we to drink or what are we to wear? The unbelievers are always running after these things.
Your heavenly Father knows all that you need. Seek first Christ’s kingship over you, Christ’s way of holiness. Those things I used to consider as gain I have now reappraised as loss in the light of Christ. For his sake I have forfeited everything.
I have accounted all else as rubbish so that Christ may be my wealth. God has put us at the end of the line. We have become the world’s refuse, the scum of all; that is the present state of affairs. None of us can claim anything as our own, rather, everything is held in common. Nor is there anyone needy among us, for all who own houses or property sell them and donate the proceeds and lay them at the feet of the apostles to be distributed to everyone according to each one’s need.
(Lk. 18:28-30 I Cor. 7:29-31 2 Cor. 8:9,10, 13-15 Lk. 12:22-31 Phil. 3:7-8 I Cor. 4:9-13 Acts 4:32, 34-35)
X Chastity
You have heard the commandment, you shall not commit adultery. What I say to you is: anyone who looks lustfully at a woman or man has already committed adultery with her or him in their thought. Some people have freely renounced sex for the sake of God’s reign. Let them accept this teaching who can.
Everyone who has given up home, wife or children or property for my sake will receive many times as much and inherit everlasting life. Many who are first shall come last, and the last shall come first.
Each one of you should lead the life the Lord has assigned you, continuing as you were when the Lord called you. Are you bound to a wife or husband? Then do not seek your freedom. Are you free of a wife or husband? Then do not go in search of one. I should like you to be free of all worries.
The unmarried person is busy with the Lord’s affairs, concerned with pleasing the Lord. But the married person is busy with this world’s demands and occupied with pleasing their spouse. This means they are divided. I am going into this for your own good. I have no desire to place restrictions on you.
To sum up: the person who marries acts fittingly; the one who does not will do better. Let marriage be honored in every way and the marriage bed be kept undefiled, for God will judge fornicators and adulterers.
(Mt. 5:27-28 Mt. 19:12-29 Mt. 20:16 I Cor. 7:17-27 1 Cor. 7:32-35 Heb. 13:4)
XI Obedience
Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice. Jesus says, “If anyone loves me he will obey my teaching. Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is brother and sister and mother to me.
If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in God’s love.” Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered, and when perfected, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. You younger people must be obedient to your elders. Let everyone obey the authorities that are over them, for there is no authority except from God, and all authority that exists is established by God. As a consequence, the person who opposes authority rebels against the ordinance of God.
You must obey them not only to escape punishment, but also for conscience’s sake. Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over you as people who must render an account. So act so that they may fulfill their task with joy, not with sorrow, for that would be harmful to you.
Even in the case where a leader is a scribe or a Pharisee, Jesus says, “The scribes and the Pharisees have succeeded Moses as teachers. Therefore, do everything and observe everything they tell you, but do not follow their example.”
(1 Sam. 15:22 Mt. 12:50 Jn. 15:10 Heb. 5:8-9 1 Pt. 5:5 Rm. 13:1-5 Heb. 13:17 Mt. 23:1-3)
XII The Servant Leader
When you have been invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when Jesus approaches, he will say, “My friend, come up higher.” This will win you esteem from your brothers and sisters. For everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted. Unless you change and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of God. Whoever makes herself lowly, becoming like a child, is of greatest importance in the community.
Jesus summons his apostles and gives them authority. It is entirely fitting that one who was of our company from the beginning be named…Oh Lord, make known to us which of those you choose for apostolic ministry. “Earthly kings lord it over their people. It cannot be that way with you. Let the greater among you be as the junior, the leader as the servant.”
In each community, those with apostolic authority install elders and, with prayer and fasting, commend them to the Lord in whom they put their faith. It is Christ who gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers in roles of service for the faithful to build up the body of Christ.
To the elders: God’s flock is in your midst. Give it a shepherd’s care. Watch over it willingly as God would have you do, not under constraints, and not for shameful profit either, but generously. Be examples to the flock, not lording it over those assigned to you, so that when the chief shepherd appears, you will win for yourselves the unfading crown of glory. An elder must be irreproachable, of even temper, self-controlled, modest and hospitable. He should be a good teacher. She must not be addicted to drink. He ought not be contentious, but rather, gentle, a person of peace. Nor can she be someone who loves money. He must be a good manager of his own affairs, for if a person does not know how to manage his own affairs, how can he take care of the family of God? She should not be a new convert, lest she become conceited and thus incur the punishment once meted out to the devil. He must also be well thought of outside the community, to ensure that he does not fall into disgrace and the devil’s trap.
(Lk. 14:8-11 Mt. 18:3-5 Mt. 10:1 Acts 1:21 Mt. 20:25-26 Acts 14:23 Eph. 4:11-12 1 Pt. 5:1-4 1 Tim. 3:2-7)
XIII Correction
If your brother or sister should commit some wrong against you, go and point out their fault, but keep it between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. If she does not listen, summon another, so that every case may stand on the word of two or three witnesses. If he ignores even the community, then treat him as you would an outsider.
If your sister does wrong, correct her. If he repents, forgive him. If she sins against you seven times a day, and seven times turns back and says “I am sorry,” forgive her. But do not associate with anyone who bears the title ‘brother’ if he is immoral, covetous, an idolater, an abusive person, a drunkard or a thief. Is it not those inside the community you must judge? God will judge others. Expel the wicked person from your midst.
Yet, the punishment inflicted by the majority on such a one is enough. You should later relent and support her so that she may not be crushed by too great a weight of sorrow.
Reaffirm your love for him. Warn a heretic or a derisive member once and then a second time; after that, have nothing to do with him.
(Mt. 18:15-17 Lk. 17:3-4 1 Cor. 5:11-13 2 Cor. 2:2-8 Titus 3:10)
XIV Candidates
When Jesus noticed the first disciples following him, he asked them, “What are you looking for?” They said, “Teacher, where do you stay?” “Come and see,” he answered. So they went to see where he was lodged, and stayed with him that day.
After hearing his words, many of his disciples remarked, “This sort of talk is hard to endure! How can anyone take it seriously?” From this time on, many of his disciples broke away and would not remain in his company any longer. Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to leave me, too?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Jesus replied, “Did I not choose the twelve of you myself? Yet one of you is a devil.” You must go out into the byroads and invite to the wedding anyone you come upon. Yet the invited are many, the elect are few.
Many are called, few are chosen. Candidates must be serious, straightforward and truthful. They may not overindulge in drink or give in to greed. They must hold fast to the divinely revealed faith with a clear conscience. They should be put on probation first. Then, if there is nothing against them, they may be accepted as members.
(Jn. 1:35-39 Jn. 6:60-70 Mt. 22:9-14 1 Tim. 3:8-10)
XV Commitment
Jesus and his disciples came into Judean territory, and he spent time with them baptizing. (In fact, however, it was not Jesus himself who baptized, but his disciples.) Those who accepted the disciples’ message were baptized.
What can stop these people who have received the Holy Spirit from being baptized? All of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have clothed ourselves with him. Are you not aware that we who were baptized into Christ were baptized into his death? Through baptism into his death, we were buried with him, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live a new life.
If we have died with Christ, we believe that we are also to live with him. In the same way, you must consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive for God in Christ Jesus. Set your heart on what pertains to higher realms. Be intent on things above rather than on things of earth. After all, you have died! For us, life means Christ.
We know that while we dwell in the body we are away from the Lord. We would much rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. This being so, we make it our aim to please him whether we are with him or away from him. If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. The old order has passed away.
Now, all is new! Like John the Baptist and Jesus, we have been set apart to be filled with the Spirit from our mother’s womb. With Samuel we will appear before the Lord to remain in the Lord’s service forever. We are offered with a perpetual vow.
(Jn. 3:22 Jn. 4:1-2 Acts 2:41 Acts 10:47 Rom. 6:3-4, 8-11 Col. 3:1-3 2 Cor. 5:6-9 2 Cor. 5:17 Lk. 1:15-17, 31-32 1 Sam. 1:22)
XVI Food
Stay in a house eating and drinking what they have, for the laborer is worth his wage. Eat whatever they set before you and cure the sick there.
Peter went up to the roof to pray. He became hungry and asked for some food, and while it was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw the sky open and an object come down that looked like a big canvas. Inside it were all the earth’s four-legged creatures and reptiles and birds of the sky. A voice said to him, “Get up, Peter! Slaughter, then eat.” He answered, “Sir, it is unthinkable! I have never eaten anything unclean or impure in my life.” The voice was heard a second time, “What God has purified you are not to call unclean.” I know with certainty on the authority of the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. It is only when a person thinks something unclean that it becomes so for her. You must not let the food you eat bring to ruin him for whom Christ died. The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating or drinking, but of justice, peace and the joy given by the Holy Spirit.
Let us then, make it our aim to work for peace and to strengthen one another. Although we are not bound to anyone, we make ourselves the slaves of all so as to win as many as possible. We become a Jew to the Jews in order to win the Jews. To those bound to the law we become like those who are bound, that we might win those bound by the law. We have made ourselves all things to all people in order to save at least some of them. Everything God created is good. Nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by God’s word and prayer.
The disciples do not seem to fast. On the contrary, they eat and drink freely. Can you make guests of the groom fast while the groom is still with them? But when the days come that the groom is removed from their midst, they will surely fast in those days. When you fast, see to it that you groom your hair and wash your face. In that way no one can see that you are fasting, but your Father, who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.
We should be led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. During that time we fast for forty days and forty nights.
(Lk. 10:7-8 Acts 10:9-15 Rom. 14:14-19 1 Cor. 9:19-22 1 Tim. 4:4-5 Lk. 5:33-35 Mt. 6:16-18 Mt. 4:1-2)
XVII Clothing
Take nothing for your journey but a walking stick – no food, no traveling bag, not a coin in the purses in your belts. You are, however, to wear sandals. Do not bring a second tunic. When I sent you on a mission without purse or traveling bag or sandals, were you in need of anything? “Not a thing,” they replied. Learn from the lilies. They do not spin, they do not weave. But I tell you, Solomon in all his splendor was not arrayed like any one of these. If God clothes in such splendor the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown on the fire tomorrow, how much more will he provide for you, oh weak in faith! The affections of an elaborate hairdress, the wearing of golden jewelry or the donning of rich robes is not for you. Your adornment is rather the hidden character of the heart, expressed in the unfading beauty of a calm and gentle disposition.
This is precious in God’s eyes. Beware of the scribes who like to parade around in their robes, and love marks of respect in public, front seats in synagogues and places of honor at banquets. Everything they do is to attract attention. They widen their garments and wear huge tassels. Yet as penitents we should clothe ourselves in sackcloth. As prophets we wear “a hairy garment with a leather belt.”
As those vowed to the Lord’s service, we separate ourselves from the world for the sake of the world. So, up to this hour we go hungry and thirsty, poorly clad, roughly treated, wandering about homeless. We go about garbed in the skins of sheep or goats, needy and afflicted. We wander about in deserts and on mountains. We dwell in caves and in holes of the earth. Like John, we are clothed in a garment of camel’s hair, and wear a leather belt around our waist. We brought nothing into this world, nor have we the power to take anything out of it. If we have food and clothing, we have all that we need.
(Mk. 6:8-9 Lk. 22:35 Lk. 12:27-28 1 Pt. 3:3-4 Mt. 23:2-6 2 Kngs. 1:8 c.f. Nmbs. 6 1 Cor. 4:11 Heb. 11:37-38 Mt. 3:4 1 Tim. 6:7-8)
XVIII Shelter
Even at Jesus’ birth, Mary wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the place where travelers lodged. During Jesus’ ministry he said, “the foxes have lairs, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Person has nowhere to lay his head.” He tells us, “stay at whatever house you enter and proceed from there. When people will not receive you, leave that town. So set out from village to village, spreading the good news everywhere and curing diseases.” On entering any house, first say, “Peace to this house.” Stay in the one house eating and drinking what they have. Do not move from house to house.
God has put us at the end of the line. We are fools on Christ’s account. Up to this very hour we go hungry, poorly clad, wandering about homeless. We wander about in deserts and on mountains, we dwell in caves and in holes of the earth. By acknowledging ourselves to be strangers, we show we are seeking a heavenly homeland.
Beloved, we are pilgrims and strangers in exile, hence I urge you not to indulge your carnal desire. Now we have drawn near to Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to myriads of angels in festal gathering, to the assembly of the first-born enrolled in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of the just people made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant.
With Jesus we are conducted by the Spirit into the desert for forty days. Then we tour all of the area, teaching in the churches, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom. We often retire to deserted places to pray. We go out to the mountain to pray, spending the night in communion with God. After this we journey through towns and villages preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. We go together up into a mountain to pray to see Jesus transfigured.
Accept the hospitality of Martha and Mary in Jerusalem. Then go out and make your way, as is the custom of Jesus, to the Mount of Olives, your brothers and sisters accompanying you. Withdraw from them about a stone’s throw, then go down on your knees and pray. Be strengthened by angels. In anguish pray with great intensity, and your sweat will become like drops of blood falling to the ground.
Then be led to the house of the high priest and be brought before the council. Then be led before Pilate. After that prepare yourself to walk the way of the cross to be crucified and laid in another’s tomb. From there you will rise and go to the dwelling place prepared for us by Jesus in his Father’s house, where there are many mansions.
(Lk. 2:7 Lk. 9:58 Lk. 9:4-6 Lk. 10:5-7 1 Cor. 4:9-11 Heb. 11:38 Heb 11:13-16 1 Pt. 2:11 Heb. 12:22-24 Mt. 4:1-2 Mt. 4:23 Lk. 5:16 Lk. 6:12 Lk. 8:1 Lk. 9:28 Lk. 10:38-42 Lk. 22:39-44 Lk. 22:54 Lk. 22:66 Lk. 23:1 Lk. 23:26-56 Lk. 24:1-6 Jn. 14:2-3)
XIX Ministry
The harvest is great but the laborers are few. Beg the harvest master to send out laborers to gather his harvest.
Jesus summons us and gives us authority to expel unclean spirits and to cure sickness and disease of every kind. Jesus sends us on a mission after giving us the following instructions: Do not visit ‘pagan’ territory and do not enter a ‘Samaritan’ town. Go instead after the ‘lost sheep of the house of Israel’. As you go, make this announcement: “The reign of God is at hand!” Cure the sick, raise the dead, heal the lepers, expel demons.
The gift you have received, give as a gift. He sends us out in pairs before him to every town and place he intends to visit. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations. Baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to carry out everything I have commanded you. And know that I am with you always, yes, even until the end of the world!
Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But how shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe unless they have heard of him? And how can they hear unless there is someone to preach? And how can people preach unless they are sent? The Gospel we proclaim is no mere human invention. We did not receive it from any person, nor were we schooled in it. It comes by revelation from Jesus Christ.
Without seeking human advisers or even going to ‘Jerusalem’ to see those who were pillars or apostles before us, we went off into solitude, or ‘Arabia’. Prompted by revelation, we later must go up to Jerusalem and lay out for scrutiny the Gospel as we present it, all this in private conference with the leaders, to make sure the course we are pursuing, or have pursued, is not useless. Those who are acknowledged successors to the apostles must give us the right hand of fellowship, if we are to continue in ministry.
There are different ministries but the same Lord. To one the Spirit gives wisdom in discourse, to another the power to express knowledge. Through the Spirit one receives faith. By the same Spirit another is given the gift of healing, and still another miraculous powers. Prophecy is given to one, to another power to distinguish one spirit from another. One receives the gift of tongues, another that of interpreting tongues. But it is one and the same Spirit who provides all these gifts, distributing them to each as he wills. Stir into flame the gift of God bestowed when hands were laid on you.
The Spirit that God has given us is no cowardly spirit, but rather one that makes us strong, loving and wise. The things you have heard through the apostles, you must hand on to trustworthy people who will be able to teach others. Keep reminding people of the Gospel and charge them before God to stop disputing about mere words. Avoid worldly, idle talk, for those who indulge in it become more and more godless. Have nothing to do with senseless, ignorant disputations. As you well know, they only breed quarrels, and the servant of God must not be quarrelsome, but must be kindly toward all. He must be an apt teacher, patiently and gently correcting those who contradict him.
I charge you to preach the word, to stay with this task whether convenient or inconvenient, correcting, reproving, appealing, constantly teaching and never losing patience. Whenever you give a lunch or dinner, invite beggars and the crippled, the lame and the blind. You should be pleased that they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid in the resurrection of the just. Jesus was hungry and you gave him food, he was thirsty and you gave him drink. He was a stranger and you welcomed him, naked and you clothed him. He was ill and you comforted him, in prison and you came to visit him. As often as you did it for the least of his little ones, you did it for Jesus. The blind recover their sight, cripples walk, lepers are cured, the deaf hear, dead people are raised to life, and the poor have the good news preached to them. Blest is the person who finds no stumbling block in Christ through our ministry.
(Mt. 9:37-38 Mt. 10:1, 5-8 Lk. 10:1 Mt. 28:19-20 Rom. 10:13-15 Gal. 1:11 – 2:9 1 Cor. 12:4-11 2 Tim. 1:6-7 2 Tim. 2:2 2 Tim. 2:14 2 Tim. 2:16 2 Tim. 2:23-25 2 Tim. 4:2 Lk. 14:12-14 Mt. 25:35-40 Lk. 7:22-23)
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