Sacramental Living

Around 5 years or so ago, when I was serving as a youth pastor, I used to throw around a personal motto or mantra: lex orandi, lex credendi.  The Latin means “the rule of prayer, is the rule of belief.”  My paraphrase became: “the way you worship is the way you live.”

Worship used to be all-encompassing.  Not that I always worshiped, but I certainly did my best to direct all attention to the One who is greater.  That’s what I taught (and hopefully) modeled for my teens.  That in actions, thoughts, and words, God would be recognized and we would be humble.

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I was reminded recently by a blogging friend, Scott Savage, of John Wesley’s response to this question. The question itself seems condemning enough if it comes from a “Christian.” Wesley’s response is plain, simple, and beautiful.

“John Wesley recognized the ambiguities of Matthew 25:31-46 but did not allow them to deter him from responding to persons in need. To those who wondered ‘what does it avail to feed or clothe men’s bodies, if they are just dropping into everlasting fire?’ Wesley responded, ‘whether they will finally be lost or saved, you are expressly commanded to feed the hungry, and clothe the naked. If you can, and do not, whatever becomes of them, you shall go away into everlasting fire.’ He strongly resisted any attempts to narrow the scope of responsibility or to dull the intensity of the passage.”

From Christine D. Pohl, Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition

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Brian Niece
www.brianniece.com
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Recently, a friend asked me “Weren’t you called to preach?”

You see, he was under the assumption that I had to be a pastor to preach. And since I resigned from the typical pastorate last autumn, I must not be preaching anymore.

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