Ask, Search, Knock – Br. Keith Nelson

By Br. Keith Nelson | March 10, 2022 |
As a foundational stance toward our relationship with God, ask-search-knock calls forth from us an initiative and a willingness to expose our hearts. This is as true in our relationships with human companions as it is with God.” - Br. Keith Nelson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Br. Keith Nelson

Matthew 7:7-12

 

Ask… and it will be given. Search…and you will find. Knock…and the door will be opened for you.

What prevents you from asking, searching, or knocking?

It might be a literal lack of clarity. Who should I ask? Where should I search? Is this the right door, or is it that one?

It might be an emotion on the fear continuum: anxiety; suspicion; pessimism; insecurity; loneliness. What if I hear “No” in reply? What if I spend all that energy searching but find nothing helpful, nothing worthwhile? What if I knock and that door remains shut tight, with not a light to be seen behind the dark window panes as night falls?

It might be a well-intentioned desire for independence or self-sufficiency; or the desire to appear competent or smart. What if I can just figure this out by myself? That way, I won’t have to be a burden or impose my question or need on someone else… Read More

Posted in Prayer, Sermon and tagged , ,

Welcome Home – Br. John Braught

By John Braught | October 9, 2016 |

Br. John Braught2 Kings 5:1-15

Leprosy is a skin disease, though, in the Bible it is considered a state of ‘uncleanness’, rather than an illness. A person afflicted with leprosy is encouraged to present themselves to the priest, and not the physician. Leprosy is a spiritual condition, and we can understand it as a metaphor for an inward state of alienation. Unlovely, unwanted, lepers are relegated to the fringes of society, and are to be avoided. But most of us know that an unattractive skin disease is not a necessary condition for feeling estranged. Feelings of alienation, being misunderstood, not fitting-in, feeling “less-than”, and apart-from, being on the outside looking in, this is a real experience for many people. Alienation, the experience of not feeling as if one belongs, is a spiritual condition that Jesus came to save us from. Jesus came to save outcasts and sinners. The Bible often characterizes alienation metaphorically, as leprosy, which brings us to the story of Naaman from our first reading.[i] Read More

Posted in Sermon and tagged , , , , , , , , ,