St. Joan

"One life is all we have and we live it as we believe in living it. But to sacrifice what you are and to live without belief, that is a fate more terrible than dying." - Joan of Arc

Yesterday was the feast day of Joan of Arc. Always fascinating, often controversial...she cannot be denied as a force in the 15th century.

She was born to a poor family in a region of France that had suffered terribly in the conflict between England and France. During this time, France was without a real leader. When Joan of Arc came to the court she overwhelmed Charles (de Ponthieu) with her passion and conviction. At 17, she was given control over an army and allowed to lead them into battle. Within a year Joan of Arc had led the French army to victories at Orleans, Patay and Troyes. Many other towns were also liberated from English control and it allowed a triumphal entry into Dauphin for the coronation of King Charles VII on 17 July 1429.

A year later she was captured and subsequently sold to the British. The English and members of the French clergy decided to put her on trial for witchcraft. In many ways it was a show trial with the result cleverly orchestrated. There are two versions of the story...one was that Pierre Cauchon (a leading clergy member) was a staunch supporter of the British and hated Joan of Arc for her miraculous revival of French national pride. The other is that he genuinely felt obliged to save Joan's Immortal soul from damnation for the claims she was making.

In the beginning, the trial was held in public but, were eventually conducted behind closed doors as her responses were much sharper than her prosecutors expected which gained her much public sympathy. She did, in fact, hold her own and produced some strong rebuts.

There were threats of torture (there is no evidence this was actually carried out) and, as would be expected, Joan was found guilty and condemned to death by burning at the stake. Faced with such an overwhelming ordeal Joan broke down and confessed.

However, a week later, she regained her strength and recanted her confession. She was able to face her ordeal with dignity. It is said that over 10,000 people came to see her execution by burning. Her ashes were scattered in the Seine. In later years she was found to be innocent and was designated a martyr...she was canonized a saint in 1920...

As always, you can find information about the saints at MethodX

Impulsive...

We humans are impulsive creatures. We tend to want to react immediately even when we would be better served to think things through. I have found that if I follow my grandmother's wisdom (to sleep on any major decision) I rarely regret it. Taking the time to research the issue and consult everyone involved has kept me from looking foolish more often than not.

How many times have you taken things personally only to find out later that they weren't meant that way at all? I'd rather not tell you how often my arrogance has gotten in the way and perhaps even made me loose a friend. The older I get the more I realize the world does NOT revolve around me.

There are times when I don't have the luxury of time and must react or make a decision quickly. Those times cannot be helped. But, even then, if I take a moment to remind myself that others involved have used their best judgment and are not on the other "side" just to hurt me, we generally come to the best conclusion for everyone involved. What a sad, dull world it would be if we didn't learn and grow from the ideas of others.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day, which is observed on the last Monday of May, commemorates the men and women who died while in the military service.

Who are you?

A couple of years ago, I read: Jesus Centered Youth Ministry. In it,Rick Lawrence speaks of a time in his life when he was looking hard at the way he was following Jesus. He says, "Had I so taken Jesus for granted in my life that I'd essentially stopped relating with Him as He really is? Even more, had I so "understood" Jesus that the pursuit of Him was far less interesting to me than the pursuit of Christian relationships or postmodern worship or artistic expressions of the Christian life or culturally relevant approaches to Bible Study?"

At that point, he took time to focus on three Jesus-centered questions:
1. Who do I say Jesus is? Jesus asked His disciples this question after one of His huge public gatherings. It was preceded by a safer one for the disciples: "Who do people say that I am?" Jesus, ever shrewd, tossed them an easy pitch to swing at before He brought the heat.
2. Who does Jesus say I am? After Peter answered the first question by telling Jesus He was the Christ, the son of the living God," Jesus fired back with His own answer to Peter's unasked question: "And you are Peter, whose real name is the Rock."
3. Who do I say I am? After Peter had betrayed Jesus, his best friend he had to answer the most important question in his life: "Am I the fake, duplicitous little man my betrayal is telling me I am or am I the Rock Jesus told me I am?" You can see Peter's answer in the first two chapters of Acts as he stands before the crowds that only days before had demanded Jesus' life, and he ROCKS them.

Peter didn't believe the lie...he believed Jesus. Who does Jesus say you are?

Church

Church is a community of believers. It shouldn't be about what I GET out of the service, but rather, what do I ADD to the service. Is it better and more fulfilling because of my presence or my voice? It should be a gathering of individuals who unselfishly give to each other of themselves. If I am not in church, I'm taking away what I can add to the service.

When we are in church we often lose focus on the idea that we are not an audience. God is. We cannot equate going to church with going to the movies. We are not there to be sung to, preached to or prayed for. God is there to be sung to, prayed to and praised. We, as the congregation, are every bit a part of the service as the organ, the preacher or the special music. If we stop thinking that church is for us and what we get out of it and start thinking of what we give to God, then the "what we get" comes back to us from God and not from the sound system.

Service

In every era, the church has done its best work when it has looked outward. All of the best theology is empty without an ethic of service, an ethic that Jesus so explicitly instituted. Thousands of missions, hospitals and universities have been founded to serve in Jesus' name. Millions of Christians have taken the call to servant hood seriously and stepped out of normalcy and cultural comfort. And innumerable billions of acts of kindness take place every year as followers of Christ serve with no intention of seeking recognition or repayment.

Sure, there are times that it's inconvenient. And you can bet you'll come into contact with people that will make you uncomfortable. Jesus didn't tell us to help only those "who are like ourselves."

Richard Foster writes that Jesus leadership was not with a scepter, but with a towel. When Jesus washed His disciples feet at the Last Supper, He was performing the ultimate act of service to them. Then, after rising, He said to them, "I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you" (John 13:15). There is no wiggle room in that statement or in the declaration"...whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant and whoever wants to be first must be your slave." (Matthew 20:26-27) Jesus makes no bones about it. Christians serve. Period.

The Word...

Hebrews 4:12-13 tells us:"For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart."

Can you see the image of the sword? Instead of a blade that is sharp only on one side and as such is limited in use, this sword is a formidable weapon no matter what direction you swing it. God's word is just such a weapon except it is not a weapon for dealing death but LIFE.

Sin whispers through the desires of the flesh and rationalizations of the mind...you won't have a chance in the future if you don't cheat on this test. You won't be noticed if you don't dress a certain way. You won't have job security if you speak up about dishonest practices at work. Your life will be wasted in this relationship, you should just get a divorce. Only a fool would go around looking weak instead of getting revenge.

All of these statements are lies. It is the deceitfulness of sin. Those lies sometimes lodge themselves very deep in the heart as thought and intentions that seem unshakably true because of the hardness of the heart that encloses them like a dark, sealed casket. In that condition, unbelief has the upper hand. We are not believing the promises of God, we are trusting in the promises of sin. The Word of God is living, active and sharp and it will penetrate deeper than the deception of sin has ever gone and reveal what is truly worth trusting.