Falling and Getting Up Again 07/23/2009
 "Place your hope in God alone. If you notice something good in yourself, give credit to God, not to yourself, but be certain that the evil you commit is always your own and yours to acknowledge." - Rule of St. Benedict, Chapter 4. People often ask how I can be both a Presbyterian and a Benedictine. One of the answers is the remarkable similarity of our teachings. The Presbyterian Church (USA) Book of Confessions . says we are all capable of utter depravity. As a Presbyterian I believe there is nothing we can do that is good enough to justify ourselves with God. Even the love of Christ is a God given gift as we are not capable of it on our own. As a Benedictine I believe in constant conversion; the process of falling from God's path but through God's grace finding a way to return to it once again. This process of falling and getting up again will continue for the rest of my life. This Sunday I'm preaching on the story of David and Bathsheba. You know the story. David seduces Bathsheba. Bathsheba gets pregnant. David has her husband murdered. I doubt any of us could call such an action anything but evil. But despite such evil, out of the marriage of David and Bathsheba came their son, Solomon. Thank you Lord, for the good you do through each of us and your grace which brings us back to your path when we stray. CommentsLeave a Reply |   Custom Search Pastor Frank
My name is Frank Fisher. I’m a native of a small town in Missouri, I spent my adolescence in Madison, Wisconsin, and ever since I entered college I’ve been a resident of Illinois. When I began college, I intended to enter pastoral ministry. Instead, I was diverted into a thirty year career with the Chicago Fire Department. I was ordained to an interim pastorate in the year 2000, and am now serving in my eighth interim. Many of you may wonder about the letters, "Obl OSB" that follow my name. The short explanation is that they mean I'm an Oblate of the Abbey of John the Baptist and Saint Benedict, an ecumenical Abbey located in Bartonville, Illinois. An Oblate is someone who has promised to follow the rule of Saint Benedict in their lives up to the point where their position in life makes following the rule impossible. CategoriesAll ArchivesJuly 2011 |
