Quotations – Page 3 – Joe Skillen

To the Center

I started Richard Rohr’s Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer today. One of the opening pages asks some haunting questions- How do you make attractive that which is not? How do you sell emptiness, vulnerability, and nonsuccess? How do you talk descent when everything is about ascent? How can you possibly market letting-go inContinue reading “To the Center”

Compassion for Yourselves

I saw this quotation from St. Teresa of Avila today and I thought that it was fantastic. “Oh, souls set free by the blood of Christ! Learn to understand yourselves. Have compassion for yourselves.” This seems to be a helpful substitute, in my opinion, for the phrase that we use and/or hear “I need to forgiveContinue reading “Compassion for Yourselves”

Rohr, Sermon on the Mount

I’m reading through the “Richard Rohr Corpus” or at least as many of Rohr’s books that I can get. This is a subtle hint for Christmas presents. Rohr’s second book, Jesus’ Plan for a New World, interacts with Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount. It has been an incredible book, one that IContinue reading “Rohr, Sermon on the Mount”

Helping and Not Marginalizing (Quotation)

This quotation was in Common Prayer this morning. It spoke to me; it might speak to someone else (especially those who have to have people to help!). Jean Vanier, founder of the L’Arche communities, has written, “To love someone is not first of all to do things for them, but to reveal to them theirContinue reading “Helping and Not Marginalizing (Quotation)”

Rohr and the Teachings of Jesus

“It might be a little cynical, but you could almost figure out what Jesus said by looking at our history and naming the opposite of what we did! We keep worshipping the messenger, keeping Jesus up on statues and images, so we can avoid what Jesus said. Its the best smokescreen in the world! WeContinue reading “Rohr and the Teachings of Jesus”

Tyranny and Jesus’ Kingdom

I’m continuing through NT Wright’s Surprised by Scripture as he deals with politics and what it means to speak and act for God in public. Wright says this about what we should be seeing as we read the canonical Gospels along these lines: But the whole point of the four canonical Gospels is that theContinue reading “Tyranny and Jesus’ Kingdom”

Love as the Primer to Knowing

I’m re-reading through NT Wright’s Surprised by Scripture, specifically a section on how we “know” anything. The Christian category of knowing anything is stimulated by love. Wrights says, Love is a mode of knowing all right, but it transcends the objective/subjective distinction that has been inscribed in so much of our thinking in the WesternContinue reading “Love as the Primer to Knowing”

Meister Eckhart & Spirituality

“Spirituality is not to be learned in flight from the world, by fleeing from things to a place of solitude; rather we must learn to maintain an inner solitude regardless of where we are or whom we are with. We must learn to penetrate things, and find God there.”

The Meaning of Easter, (NT Wright Quotation)

I’m reading through Simply Jesus by NT Wright, again, and I wanted to capture this quotation. So, I’m putting it on the blog so I won’t lose it, again. “Here, then, is the message of Easter, or at least the beginning of that message. The resurrection of Jesus doesn’t mean, ‘It’s all right. We’re goingContinue reading “The Meaning of Easter, (NT Wright Quotation)”

Mad Religion

“Christianity is the only mad religion; which is perhaps, the explanation for its survival – it deconstructs itself and survives by deconstructing itself.” -Jacques Derrida “We have to change the method of the way we share Jesus’ story without changing its message.” – numerous hip ministers By the way, the method and the message binaryContinue reading “Mad Religion”