Francis
Pope Francis tells priests to keep homilies short as ‘people fall asleep’
Pontiff says speaking should be limited to eight minutes because ‘attention is lost’ – The Guardian
There is a WhatsApp chat group for the Anglican Diocese in which I’ve been inserted by the gatekeeper. One day this week, after spending some time, quality holiday time, with the Lord, in His Word with the prophet Jeremiah, I happened upon the quote from the Pope above.
This was my response to the “ debate”. Inspired by the Word of God. Over a two day period:
The Lord will tell you what to say, how to say, and how long to preach to his people who He calls to come to the church where one is preaching, if the preparation of the sermon is directed by him with prayer and a proper understanding of the Word, and obedience.
Led to write to church, Anglicans and others, and state, this morning about the importance of being ” soaked in the Word”, according to Oswald Chambers.
“Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.” But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you.
Jeremiah 1:6-7 NIV
Don’t know who advised the Pope on this matter, but I was just led to read this Word after posting the comments above. In context!
The key issue is ” whatever I command you”. It’s a dangerous thing to ” preach” without being given authority to do so. Presumptuous even!
Back to Jeremiah #HolidayReading
Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”
Jeremiah 1:9-10 NIV
The Word, and not Jeremiah in and by himself. People will not fall asleep if you are preaching about ” The Word made flesh”, which can uproot and tear down, and build and plant. But only if you preach without authority, and according to the wisdom of man
They will even fall asleep, and worse, discern that you have no authority even if the sermon lasts for five minutes. And if they have no discernment and are ” filled”, too easily satisfied, even after one hour, it will not advance the kingdom of God if Christ and Him Crucified is not the central theme. For ultimately the Lord is :
The word of the Lord came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?” “I see the branch of an almond tree,” I replied. The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.”…..
Jeremiah 1:11-12 NIV
……Watching to see his Word, Sovereign over all creation, fulfilled. And does not depend on the power of our preaching. Praise God.
Back to Jeremiah and #HolidayReading in Toronto
The word of the Lord came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?” “I see the branch of an almond tree,” I replied.
Jeremiah 1:11 NIV
The question is ” Anglican Communion in Jamaica, what do you see”?
https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2024/06/12/church-turns-theatre-fear-gripped-grange-hill/
Thanks Michael. Read the article carefully. And what came to mind was the question I posed yesterday after obediently sharing the Word of God which came to Jeremiah. Anglican Communion in Jamaica what do you see?
Last night in the dead of night, the answer started. ” We see Jesus and Him Crucified and Risen”. And in this dispensation, this morning we ” hear his Word”. Hear Him speaking through Jeremiah ( road to Emmaus), in the context of Grange Hill and other troubled communities:
But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.
Jeremiah 1:7-8 NIV
Rescue you in Grange Hill, in Majestic Gardens, in Spanish Town, in Gaza in Portmore….wherever Sin cause men and women to do what is evil.
Thank God for obedient disciples of Christ seeking to advance the Kingdom of God, about which according to Jesus in the Gospel for Sunday, He will speak to us in private ( as we worship Him alone). To rescue the perishing, the thrust of the message in the Epistle, and the play, ” Therefore knowing the fear of the Lord we try to persuade others”. That Christ has died – for Sin; Christ is Risen – so that we can become a new creation, holy unto God and not Sin; Christ will come again- to Judge the living and the dead. About Sin, which has many manifestations.
And as I turned the pages of My Classics Devotional Bible, this wonderful hymn appeared. In context. Lest we get overcome by the enormomity of what Sin has done to our once fair isle, and become distracted in our desire to overcome evil.
O FOR A THOUSAND TONGUES TO SING
Charles Wesley
1
O for a thousand tongues to sing
My dear Redeemer’s praise,
The glories of my God and King,
The triumps of his grace!
2
My gracious Master and my God,
Assist me to proclaim
And spread through all the earth abroad
The honors of thy name.
3
Jesus! the name that charms our fears
And bids our sorrows cease;
”Tis music in the sinner’s ears
‘Tis life and health and peace.
In the dead of night last night the message continued. That the foundation of the Christian faith, and its eternal message , above all else, is that: Christ has died, Christ is Risen, and Christ will come again.
And then this morning I was led back to :
““If you, Israel, will return, then return to me,” declares the Lord. “If you put your detestable idols out of my sight and no longer go astray, and if in a truthful, just and righteous way you swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ then the nations will invoke blessings by him and in him they will boast.” This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem: “Break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, circumcise your hearts, you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, or my wrath will flare up and burn like fire because of the evil you have done— burn with no one to quench it.”
Jeremiah 4:1-4 NIV
One of the many things that God speaks to us in this and every age in and through the Words of the “ I am only a child “, Jeremiah is that He will choose and equip who He wills, to speak to the church and to the nations about his mercy, his holiness and his wrath . In the past He chose to speak through his prophets but in this age according to his Word, he has chosen to speak to us through his Son. And the amazing thing we learn from Jesus, is that all of them, prophesied about “ Christ has died, Christ is Risen and Christ will come again. This as :
“For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.”
2 Corinthians 1:20 NIV
I pray God that I will continue to write in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God. For the glory of God and for the renewing of the church so that the church may help to renew the nations where people live “ in darkness and in the shadow of death”, and are in danger of facing the wrath of God, unless they repent after hearing the Good News that Jesus saves. From Sin and the fear of death and evil!
In obedience to the One who sends me, even though “ I am only a child “, in this context.
Shalom
LWJ
danielgodsurelywilldeliver 