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Year with God: Living Out the Spiritual Disciplines
Year with God: Living Out the Spiritual Disciplines
Year with God: Living Out the Spiritual Disciplines
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Year with God: Living Out the Spiritual Disciplines

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Many people are longing to find the footprint of God in their daily lives. This beautiful daily companion is comprised of 365 selections of scripture, commentary, meditations, and daily exercises to help readers see how they can bring their entire life into a life with Immanuel - a God who is with his people.

In Richard Foster′s best-selling book, Celebration of Discipline, he explored the "classic disciplines," or central spiritual practices of the Christian faith. Foster showed that it is only by and through these practices that the true path to spiritual growth can be found. In A Year with God, the spiritual disciplines are presented in such a way that does not destroy the soul but enables the reader to enter into a transforming life with God.

Through daily spiritual exercises and meditations, A Year with God explores eighteen spiritual disciplines. The inward disciplines of meditation, prayer, fasting, and study offer avenues of personal examination and change. The outward disciplines of simplicity, solitude, submission, and service help prepare one to make the world a better place. The corporate disciplines of confession, worship, guidance, and celebration bring one nearer to others and to God. Each discipline will be given twenty days of readings, beginning with scripture and followed by commentary, a meditation, and a spiritual exercise. Practicing these spiritual disciplines will help readers live intentionally, contributing to a more balanced spiritual life and a reformation of the inner self.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperCollins
Release dateApr 19, 2016
ISBN9780062565273
Year with God: Living Out the Spiritual Disciplines
Author

Richard J. Foster

Richard J. Foster is the author of several bestselling books, including Celebration of Discipline, Streams of Living Water, Life with God, and Prayer, which was Christianity Today's Book of the Year and the winner of the Gold Medallion Award from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. He is the founder of Renovaré, an organization and a movement committed to the renewal of the church of Jesus Christ in all its multifaceted expressions, and the editor of The Life with God Bible.

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    Year with God - Richard J. Foster

    The With-God Life

    The Bible is all about human life with God and how God has made this with-God life possible and will bring it to pass. The name Immanuel, meaning God is with us, is the title given to the one and only Redeemer, Jesus the Christ. It refers to God’s everlasting intent for human life—namely, that we should be in every aspect a dwelling place of God.

    From Genesis to Revelation we see how God has been with us in a variety of ways. God created us and wants to be with us in relationship. Throughout the Old Testament we see God being with the chosen people as individuals and as a family, through the judges, through the monarchy, through the words of the prophets, even through exile. Then, just in case there was any lingering doubt about how much God wants to be in relationship with us, we have the coming of Jesus Christ, the Immanuel, literally God with us. God is with us through the physical presence of Jesus and then, after Jesus’ death and resurrection, through the Holy Spirit and the Church.

    As we move through these passages, we catch a small glimpse of how much God loves us, as evidenced by God’s divine compassion, mercy, tenderness, loving care, and blessings given to the chosen people and, yes, also by the discipline given us when we rebel, disobey, and turn away from what is good. What response can we have but to seek God, to do as much as possible to be in relationship with our Father, who loves us so much?

    And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

    —Matthew 28:20b

    The With-God Life

       Spritual Practice

    Looking for God

    Then God said, Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. / So God created humankind in his image, / in the image of God he created them; / male and female he created them.

    God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth. God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.

    Genesis 1:26–28, 31a

    WITHIN THIS VAST creation God wants human company and conversation partners. Humans, both male and female, resemble the Creator and were created to share a unique relationship with God. Human beings are spoken to directly by the Creator, given capacities to be stewards of creation, and entrusted as caretakers of God’s goodness. Upon the completion of all that God has created, culminating in his relationship with us human creatures, the order is proclaimed very good.

    God is still with us, just as on the day human beings were created. For the next thirteen days, as you read through the selections and ponder the different ways God has been with various individuals and groups of people, look within your own daily life for God’s presence. Each day as you are able, perhaps once at midday and once at night, ask yourself, Where did I see God? or Where did I meet God? Your answer may be in a friend or a person you met, in a Scripture passage or something else you were reading, in a feeling of calm or peace, in a flower or tree or other aspect of nature. Challenge yourself to look for God in new places. For example, if you most often see God in the actions, words, or smile of another person, try looking for God in nature or in a time of solitude.

    Sin Enters the Picture

    They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, Where are you? He said, I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. He said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat? The man said, The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate. Then the LORD God said to the woman, What is this that you have done? The woman said, The serpent tricked me, and I ate.

    Genesis 3:8–13

    WE ARE CREATED with the freedom to resist the will of God, and the resulting human sin leads rapidly to cover-up, embarrassment, fear, guilt, blame, and confrontation with the Creator. The man blames the woman, the woman blames the serpent, and God curses the serpent, but God never abandons the relationship with humankind. Indeed, as a gesture of reconciliation God himself fashions more appropriate clothing of skins (3:21). Despite their disobedience, man and woman never cease to be conversation partners with God. Although they are given a new vocation to till the land beyond the garden (3:23), they are never fully expelled from the presence of God. Even when sin removes us from close proximity with God, God is ever in pursuit of renewed relationship with us.

    As you reflect on how you saw God today, think also about any times you felt especially separated from God. Was sin involved in your separation? If so, ask God for forgiveness.

    God Makes a Covenant with Abram

    Now the LORD said to Abram, Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

    Genesis 12:1–3

    AS IN THE beginning of creation, God’s powerful word creates something new. Against a backdrop of (Sarah’s) barrenness (11:30), by dramatic summons, hope for the future is born by God’s speaking. God calls Abram into relationship, and life with God begins anew. The promise that follows assures Abram that when God gives such a radical command, he journeys forth not alone, but with God, who is leading him. The blessing includes what we still seek: a place to live and thrive, the security of community, prosperity, and prominence. The text reminds us that these are not acquired by our own doing, but are gifts from God—divine grace, divine blessing.

    As you seek God’s presence today, reflect on the covenant God made with Abram. How has God blessed your family?

    Father God, so often I prefer to dwell on everything in my life that I would like to change rather than thanking you for all of the blessings you have given me and my family. Thank you, Lord, for the tremendous gifts you have given each and every one of us, and especially for the greatest gift of all—that you journey through life with us. In your name I pray. Amen.

    The Lord Will Fight for You

    As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites looked back, and there were the Egyptians advancing on them. In great fear the Israelites cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses, Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt? But Moses said to the people, Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the LORD will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.

    Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided.

    Exodus 14:10–11, 13–14, 21

    OUR CHOICE IS either to trust our plans with all our heart or trust our God. Not only do the best-laid plans fall to pieces, but often enough God prompts us to act without any plans in place and with no guarantee that everything will come together as it should. No one knew what God was going to do to rescue the Hebrews from pursuit by the Egyptians. They could only trust that he was going to do something. Suppose they had insisted that, before they left Egypt, scouts sent in advance report back that the route was clear, the Red Sea parted and waiting? They would have remained slaves. The water was only parted once they had acted in faith and followed God. They could not count on any plans, because God gave them none. He only gave them himself. God was the plan.

    As you look for God today, reflect on when in your life you have been able to trust in God wholly when things fell apart. If you cannot think of a time, how do you think you might come closer to allowing yourself to step back and let God fight for you?

    I Am the Lord Your God

    Then Moses went up to God; the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the Israelites: You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now, therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation.

    Then God spoke all these words:

    I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.

    Exodus 19:3–6a; 20:1–3

    THE DECALOGUE, OR Ten Commandments, follows the standard structure of ancient suzerain-vassal treaties. The overlord (suzerain) makes a covenant with his servants (vassals) by first stating the numerous and gracious things he has done for the vassals. This is then followed by the stipulations of the covenant, that is, the things the vassals do in return, out of thanksgiving, for the great generosity of the suzerain. In this case Yahweh states in the most succinct way possible his great generosity to the people: deliverance from bondage. The stipulations of this covenant—what the people do in grateful response—are what we today commonly refer to as the Ten Commandments. The important thing for us to understand is the way in which grace precedes law. God first acts in grace and mercy by delivering the people, and then the people respond in gratitude and thanksgiving by obeying the commandments. Put succinctly: the crossing of the Red Sea comes before the giving of the Ten Commandments.

    How does it change your understanding of the Ten Commandments and other Old Testament laws to view them as a grateful response to God?

    God Among Us

    I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar; Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate, to serve me as priests. I will dwell among the Israelites, and I will be their God. And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them; I am the LORD their God.

    Exodus 29:44–46

    IT WOULD BE a mistake to consider Exodus a book short on mercy, grace, or the steadfast love of God. A mercurial grace flashes from one end of the great story to the other. Who fought for the slaves and set them free? Who stood by them at the Red Sea (chap. 14)? Who made certain they had food and water in the desert (chaps. 16–17)? Was it not God who gave them his name? His law? His word? Who guided them by day and night through a trackless wilderness? Was it not Yahweh who forgave their sins, renewed his commitment and covenant, and continued to lead them despite their creation of a grotesque calf of gold to worship (chap. 32)? Was it not God himself who chose to live among them, so close he could be touched, the immortal gracing mortality with its splendor? He chose to be present and not distant, to show Moses his glory, to get up close and personal as when one speaks with a friend, to make the skin of Moses’s face blaze (34:29–35). Beyond all the trumpet blasts and darkness and earthquakes and roughness, Yahweh ultimately chose to love and show compassion.

    Reflect on this quote as you consider what it means for God to dwell among us:

    There is no place where God is not,

    wherever I go, there God is.

    Now and always he upholds me with his power

    and keeps me safe in his love.

    —Anonymous

    The Lord Bless You

    The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the Israelites: You shall say to them,

    The LORD bless you and keep you;

    the LORD make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;

    the LORD lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.

    So they shall put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.

    Numbers 6:22–27

    GOD PURPOSES AND desires to bless his people. Our God is a God who blesses. Thus, the community of God is a blessed community. God directed the priests, as his representatives, to bless the people. As part of the priesthood of all believers, we are all now God’s representatives. We are all called to bless others. We are spiritually mature when we can overcome our emotions and pray for, even ask God to bless, our enemies. We are called today not to repay evil for evil or to return abuse for abuse, but to repay evil with blessings (1 Pet 3:9).

    Today, reflect on the ways God has blessed you. Maybe this will be easy for you, but if you are experiencing a dark time when it is hard to think of blessings, then start with the most basic: food, shelter, the sun, the world around you, family, friends, work. Write them down. Once you discipline yourself to start thinking of the ways God has blessed you, it is often hard to stop. End by thanking God and asking him for his peace.

    Remember the Lord Your God

    When you have eaten your fill and have built fine houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks have multiplied, and your silver and gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied, then do not exalt yourself, forgetting the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, an arid wasteland with poisonous snakes and scorpions. He made water flow for you from flint rock, and fed you in the wilderness with manna that your ancestors did not know, to humble you and to test you, and in the end to do you good. Do not say to yourself, My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth. But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, so that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your ancestors, as he is doing today.

    Deuteronomy 8:12–18

    DEUTERONOMY ASTUTELY WARNS its readers to beware of the complacency of success. God blesses us and we stop praying or caring about our relationship with God. We become self-sufficient. When life goes well, we forget God because we think we don’t need him. However, life is such that it isn’t too long before our complacency lands us in trouble and we desperately seek God again (see also Ps 30).

    Offer this prayer as you reflect on those times in your life in which you have forgotten God:

    Lord God, I am ashamed when I think of how quickly I take credit when things in my life are going well. Forgive me for those times when I have forgotten to recognize you as the source of all the blessings in my life. Help me to avoid a life of complacency, of forgetting about you when life is easy and returning only when things are difficult. Teach me to live in a spirit of constant thankfulness. In your name I pray. Amen.

    If You Will Only Obey

    If you will only obey the LORD your God, by diligently observing all his commandments that I am commanding you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth; all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the LORD your God:

    Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field.

    Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your ground, and the fruit of your livestock, both the increase of your cattle and the issue of your flock.

    Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

    The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you.

    Deuteronomy 28:1–4, 6–7a

    OBEDIENCE BRINGS BLESSINGS. These verses elaborate on the nature of those blessings, and they are extensive, having to do with military success, material well-being, agricultural bounty, and reproductive fertility. Such a listing of the potential blessings encourages covenant obedience. Indeed, Deuteronomy invites the hope that obedience leads to a better life. Other books of the Old Testament grapple with the obvious questions that arise from such a perspective (Job and Ecclesiastes), questions such as Why do bad things happen to good people? In the New Testament Paul encourages obedience (Live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ) in the context of his teaching about joy experienced in the midst of suffering (Phil 1:12–30).

    God promises to be with the Israelites, blessing every aspect of their lives with only one condition: If you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways (Deut. 28:9). Recall a time when God’s presence was especially evident in your life. Did it coincide with a time when you were making every effort to walk humbly with your God (Mic 6:8)?

    The Glory of the Lord

    And when the priests came out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.

    Then Solomon said,

    "The LORD has said that he would dwell in thick darkness.

    I have built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever."

    1 Kings 8:10–13

    THE CLOUD IS another ancient sign of God’s presence, appearing throughout Exodus. There the cloud is the sign of a dynamic and mysterious presence, always on the move, deigning to meet Israel in its tent of meeting. But Solomon voices his hopes for a God who will settle into the Temple and stay. The king envisions God fixed in the Temple, no longer the dynamic God of the ark and the cloud, an understanding that serves Solomon’s desire to have a sure future for himself and his dynasty. The various understandings of divine presence (in the ark, in the law, in the cloud, and in the Temple) permit us to ponder how we understand God and why. Do we see God as a presence comfortably within reach, as a mysterious presence whose power is fearful, or as a presence we know through our study of what is right and wrong? This passage invites us to reflect on all these understandings. Exactly how is God with us?

    A cloud is one of the classic biblical signs of God’s presence, but every time two or more gather in Christ’s name, he is there as well (Matt 18:20). Today or the next time you’re in church or small group, look around. What are the visible and invisible signs of God’s presence among you?

    I Keep the Lord Always Before Me

    I keep the LORD always before me; / because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. / Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; / my body also rests secure. / For you do not give me up to Sheol, / or let your faithful one see the Pit. / You show me the path of life. / In your presence there is fullness of joy; / in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

    Psalm 16:8–11

    THE PSALMS ARE primary instruments for forming the inner life of the faithful, but much of their effectiveness derives from the fact that they are also about how this formation occurs. They speak forth, in suitable poetic tones, of how God and human beings interact to shape the inner and outer lives of individuals and groups. Though the Psalms do teach, most of their power for forming our inner life and character lies in their beauty and capacity to penetrate our emotions, our body, our social relations—indeed, our entire life.

    These inspired poetic expressions can, under God, be the locus of great joy and character transformation as we allow them to sink deep into our heart. If we enter into the Psalms honestly and faithfully, they can induce experiences and actions within us that truly reflect the words expressed. This, in turn, will reshape our inner being and character into the state God would have it. And maintain it! The testimony of the People of God throughout the ages, even up to our day, confirms this. Nothing on earth matches the Psalter as a public exercise for cultivating a right heart in relation to God.

    The phrase I keep the LORD always before me suggests that the psalmist used his imagination to make the presence of the Lord more real and God’s security more tangible. Take a moment and imagine that Jesus is sitting right next to you as you talk with him about the events of your day. Did God’s presence seem closer? Did you feel more secure?

    The Lord Is My Shepherd

    The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. / He makes me lie down in green pastures; / he leads me beside still waters; / he restores my soul. / He leads me in right paths / for his name’s sake. / Even though I walk through the darkest valley, / I fear no evil; / for you are with me; / your rod and your staff— / they comfort me. / You prepare a table before me / in the presence of my enemies; / you anoint my head with oil; / my cup overflows. / Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me / all the days of my life, / and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD / my whole life long.

    Psalm 23

    THROUGHOUT THE OLD Testament the metaphors of shepherd and king often overlap (see Ps 95), a common combination in ancient Israel’s world. Here the wise Shepherd knows where the good pastures are season to season and leads us right to them. He provides what we need. It is not only adequate, but also generous.

    This most famous of the Psalms has inspired countless songs, pictures, and sermons, but most of us who live in urban settings today still have trouble understanding just what it means to have the Lord watching over us as a shepherd watches over his sheep. What might be a contemporary metaphor that you could better understand?

    My dearest Lord,

    be thou a bright flame before me,

    a guiding star above me,

    a smooth path beneath me,

    a kindly shepherd behind me,

    today and for evermore.

    —St. Columba of Iona

    Do Not Fear

    Do not fear, for I am with you, / do not be afraid, for I am your God; / I will strengthen you, I will help you, / I will uphold you with my victorious right hand. / But now thus says the LORD, / he who created you, O Jacob, / he who formed you, O Israel: / Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; / I have called you by name, you are mine. / When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; / and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; / when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, / and the flame shall not consume you. / For I am the LORD your God, / the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. / I give Egypt as your ransom, / Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you. / Because you are precious in my sight, / and honored, and I love you, / I give people in return for you, / nations in exchange for your life. / Do not fear, for I am with you; / I will bring your offspring from the east, / and from the west I will gather you.

    Isaiah 41:10; 43:1–5

    THESE PHRASES ARE characteristic announcements of divine presence. The recurring promise of God’s presence is the most fundamental assurance given in gospel faith. God is with us: ours is a with-God life. The announcement itself radically transforms situations by inspiring an awareness of God’s presence. In the Gospel presentation of Jesus’ life, the same Do not be afraid is used at key points. The birth and the resurrection of Jesus are decisive events in the history of the world that evoke from God the transformative announcement of his presence (see Luke 2:10; Matt 28:5).

    Too often we forget that we are precious in God’s sight, honored, and loved. Read these words again. See what they do for your sense of security in God’s love.

       Spritual Practice

    Learning from Jesus

    And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

    John 1:14, 16–18

    GLORIOUS MYSTERY: THAT God should become human! Imagine if a shoemaker would become a shoe! The Greek word translated lived literally says pitched his tent or tabernacled, which invites us to ponder all the biblical passages about God’s glory descending upon the Israelites’ tabernacle in the wilderness to signify his presence among them. Compare Revelation 21:3, which extends the hope that someday we will know God again as intimately, face-to-face, as the disciples did being with Jesus. How can we learn to live that hope more deeply now?

    The theme that the Son makes the Father fully known is fleshed out throughout John and the rest of the New Testament. As you read the passages that follow over the next eleven days, ask yourself what we learn about God from what Jesus does and says, from how he treats people, and from the words and actions of the members of the early Church, the Body of Christ. How do these insights change the way you respond to situations in your own life?

    The Birth of Jesus

    Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save the people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

    "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

    and they shall name him Immanuel,"

    which means, God is with us. When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

    Matthew 1:18–25

    GOD’S COMING IN the person of Jesus Christ, from the babe and the carpenter to the cross and the resurrection, was totally unexpected and incomprehensible to human ways of thinking. In human history and in individual lives, God is always entering at unexpected times and in unexpected ways. Not only is Jesus born by means of virginal conception, but the Messiah will bear a divine throne name—Immanuel, meaning God is with us. God is personally present with his people in and through Jesus—Wisdom in the flesh.

    How has the reality that God took on human flesh and lived among us changed your life?

    I Am the True Vine

    I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.

    John 15:1–5

    JESUS’ METAPHOR OF vine and branches reminds us that our spiritual life is entirely dependent upon God’s grace. This metaphor is one of seven I am metaphors for Christ in the book of John. Jesus says, I am the bread of life (6:35, 48), the light of the world (8:12; 9:5), the gate (10:7, 9), the good shepherd (10:11, 14), the resurrection and the life (11:25), the way, the truth, and the life (14:6), and the vine (15:1, 5).

    John reveals several divisions of the people over who Jesus is. The same is still true today. Some want to make him simply a good man, model, teacher, prophet, or preacher. But the I am statements continually force us to ask, Is Jesus who he says he is? Is he the Bread of my life? Do I live by his Light? Do I enter through him as the Gate to salvation, or do I keep trying to rescue myself? Do I trust him to Shepherd me? Do I depend on him as the Resurrection, or do I keep trying to lift myself up? Do I let him be the Way for me or do I keep asking for directions? Is he the Truth by which I judge all other lesser truths? Is he my Life, or do I employ entertainments to bring me life? Do I abide in him, cling to him as a branch to a Vine, and draw all my spiritual nourishment from him?

    Pick one or more of the above statements and spend several minutes meditating on it during your prayer time. What do Jesus’ I am statements reveal to you about God?

    May They Also Be in Us

    I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

    John 17:20–24

    THROUGHOUT JOHN 17 and especially when Jesus prays for us, we join the beloved disciple in eavesdropping on the conversation of the Trinity. John’s Gospel is crucial for reminding us how integrally connected the Persons of the Trinity are and how thoroughly involved the entire Tri-unity is in all dimensions of our creation, redemption, and sanctification. The Trinity is not simply an abstract doctrine made up by the Church. It is the way God is and works. The triune fellowship of God invites our participation; we are embraced in the co-inherence of the three Persons of the Godhead. By the intercession and redeeming work of Jesus and by the Advocate’s witness, we can know the Father.

    Eternal Trinity, you are a deep sea,

    into which the more I enter the more I find,

    and the more I find the more I seek.

    The soul ever hungers in your abyss, Eternal Trinity,

    longing to see you with the light of your light,

    and as the deer yearns for the springs of water,

    so my soul yearns to see you in truth.

    —St. Catherine of Siena

    I Am with You Always

    Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

    Matthew 28:16–20

    AFTER JESUS’ RESURRECTION he appears to the women at the tomb and tells them to tell the disciples to go to Galilee, where they will see him. The Eleven do go to Galilee, and Jesus appears as promised. Jesus says he has been given all authority, and then he authorizes his disciples to make disciples of all nations, which is said to involve baptizing in the trinitarian name and teaching converts to obey all that Jesus commanded. But Jesus does far more than just authorize and empower his learners. He promises to be with them (Immanuel) as the divine power, presence, and Wisdom of God until the close of the age. Never again will they be bereft of him. Thus, the Gospel closes with a presentation of Jesus as God’s Wisdom, his wise presence, who dwells within the People of God and guards and guides them. As God’s people we are called to live and call others to live according to the counterorder wisdom of Jesus the sage. The Gospel for learners is also the Gospel for teachers. Ultimately, there is only one teacher, one sage, one Wisdom—Jesus himself.

    Why did Jesus tell the disciples that he would be with them to the end of the age? In what ways is Jesus Christ with us now? Consider how Jesus is present with you today and how his presence impacts your understanding of the with-God life.

    Testifying About Jesus

    Then Peter began to speak to them: "I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We

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