I became a Christ-follower at age 8. My next birthday I will turn 75. I said that to say this: in all of my years of being a Christian I have never once been tortured, harassed, mocked, or even laughed at, because of my faith in Jesus. I read of martyrs in the book Silence, a historical accounting of the first Christian missionaries to land on the island of Japan and I cringe with emotional reaction. (Silence by Shusaku Endo [Peter Owen Publishers, 1969])
In the book of Acts I see the martyr Stephen who was stoned to death after preaching a powerful sermon (Acts 7). He actually asked God with his dying breaths not to hold their sin against the people killing him. I have a hard time really forgiving someone who lied to me decades ago, so forgiving the guys bashing my head in with stones seems a “bridge too far” for my world!
Is it because I feel guilty not having ever suffered because of my faith? Or perhaps I am envious of “real Christians” who obviously are far more genuine in their faith walk than I have been! I can fill up pages of my nightly journal with honest recitation of all of my spiritual failures. I come away from hearing an inspiring sermon and often have not even made it home from the church building yet before the inventory of my weaknesses is playing on the movie screen of my consciousness.
The only way out of the above conundrum of conscience analysis is to jump into chapter 12 of Second Corinthians where Paul vulnerably and honestly shared how his weaknesses actually were transformed into strength, When I Am Weak, Then I Am Strong. Listen to Paul’s amazingly vulnerable words in 2 Corinthians 12:10 – “That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (NLT). Incredibly, Paul equates his “weaknesses” with the persecution which he has received because of his faith in Christ Jesus as his Lord.
As noted above, I have never been “persecuted” for my faith, nor have I “suffered” any “insults, hardships, [or other] troubles” because of my faith in Christ. Not once. Not a single time! Only in the “upside down” world of Pauline spirituality can I dare to place my actual weaknesses at the foot of the cross, knowing that in Christ they are miraculously transformed into When I Am Weak, Then I Am Strong! I resonate here with Merton’s “And the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.”
May our lives this week resonate with actions, thoughts, and “desires” that do indeed “please God.”
[NOTE: If your organization, church, or school would like a workshop/presentation on The Merton Prayer please use the contact tab and let me know! I can Zoom all over the world and have done 90-minute, 3-hour, 5-hour, weekend, or five-day workshops/retreats.]
Leave a comment, if you wish, regarding this post or how you found The Merton Prayer and why it is important to you. Thanks for visiting http://www.TheMertonPrayer.com!
The Merton Prayer 