Parables: Towers and Wars (2016.06.12 Sermon)

June 12th, 2016 | John Chandler

Mason Parva continued our summer in the parables with the Tower Builder and the Warring King.

Quotes and links mentioned:

[Jesus] had no romantic notion of the cost of discipleship. He knew that following Him was as unsentimental as duty, as demanding as love. — Brennan Manning
I wish there were shortcuts to wisdom and self-knowledge: cuter abysses or three-day spa wilderness experiences. Sadly, it doesn’t work that way. I so resent this. — Anne Lamott
Where shall the word be found, where will the word / Resound? Not here, there is not enough silence. – T.S. Eliot
In contemporary society our Adversary majors in three things: noise, hurry, and crowds. — Richard Foster
Society is often too cheap. We meet at very short intervals, not having had time to acquire any new value for each other. We meet at meals three times a day, and give each other a taste of that old musty cheese that we are. — Henry David Thoreau
Men can starve from a lack of self-realization as much as they can from a lack of bread. — Richard Wright
The real ‘work’ of prayer is to become silent and listen to the voice that says good things about me. To gently push aside and silence the many voices that question my goodness and to trust that I will hear the voice of blessing– that demands real effort. — Henri Nouwen
“For most of my life I have struggled to find God, to know God, to love God. I have tried hard to follow the guidelines of the spiritual life—pray always, work for others, read the Scriptures—and to avoid the many temptations to dissipate myself. I have failed many times but always tried again, even when I was close to despair. Now I wonder whether I have sufficiently realized that during all this time God has been trying to find me, to know me, and to love me. The question is not “How am I to find God?” but “How am I to let myself be found by him?” The question is not “How am I to know God?” but “How am I to let myself be known by God?” And, finally, the question is not “How am I to love God?” but “How am I to let myself be loved by God?” God is looking into the distance for me, trying to find me, and longing to bring me home.” — Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Return of the Prodigal Son

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