Thoughts and Questions from Aramis Thorn: March 2021

31 March 2021

Second Thoughts ~ Water at War (the rest of the story)

If you have not read part one of this story, you should go back and do so HERE.

We will begin with my deluged devices. Packing them promptly in rice seems to have preserved them. They are dried out and fully functioning. I am thankful that I was reminded to rice them instantly. I am thankful that I remembered to travel with them powered off.

The soggy dinner allowed me to stop for a hot meal which energized me for the ensuing night’s adventure. The real angle is the angel that showed up to help me during the tornado. Whether literal or figurative, I consider him an angel. As I pulled under the bridge to seek shelter from the debris flying around me. I pulled in and shut down the warning to take shelter blaring over my phone. Then, my CB Radio blared to life. I always have it on when highway driving. A voice said, “Hey little Volkswagen buddy; you got your ears on?”

Shocked, I grabbed the microphone answered in the positive. The voice instructed me to look to my left. Where there should have been a motorway lane there was the cab of a large semi-truck. It was clean and white with rain draining off it under the bridge. The radio came back, “If you will pull up under the larger second bridge, I will pull up next to you and block the debris from this side. I am hauling 8 tons of dry concrete and nothing is moving me.”

I complied and he pulled in close enough to touch if I stuck my hand out my window. Just as we both got stopped a large tree fell across the road behind us. We chatted as the tornado raged past us then for a little longer whilst wind and rain buffeted the world outside of our bridge. I felt very little of the storm in my bridge and truck shelter.

When the storm cleared enough for us to proceed, the trucker suggested that I follow him for a bit in the event of road hazards. I agreed and did. I stayed with him for about ten miles before he pulled off at a rest stop. Now comes the odd bit. As I reach for my radio to thank him, I recalled that it had not been working for two weeks. It did not work when I tried to thank him either.

I continued on my way south, skidding safely across that aforementioned ten-foot puddle. Then when I pulled over in Georgia to avoid the next heavy rain, I realized that it was time for the first service at church. I spent the time watching the sermon and enjoying a needed rest. Just as the pastor began his closing prayer, the rain stopped and the remainder of my journey included only clouds and drizzle.

Water may have gone to war with me on this adventure, but it did not win, Dear Reader. Not even storms can stand against the Water of Life and his care for us. There is more to this but that is enough for now.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a homeowner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”
(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Every human story is part of the great story that leads to the Father getting everything back to Good.

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There is no storm in which the Father has not prepared what we need ahead of time.

Holy Week ~ Love Dies in Silence

Greetings Dear Reader,

Jesus returns to Bethany Tuesday night and stays there all day Wednesday. We know that the disciples are making preparation for Passover. We have no record of what Jesus did. I am sure, knowing what was coming, he was preparing himself.

What I focus on today is the silence. Silence can kill love or we can use it as an excuse to stop loving. Silence is the tapestry on which we create the problems in our imagination and give them a life that has no bearing on reality. We use silence to imagine the worst.

When God is silent it is never wrong. He is allowed to deal with us as he wishes. The fact that he asks us to know him better through silence indicates that there is value in it. The idea that Jesus was silent the entire day is not provable and I do not suggest that. What I do wish for us to consider is why we do not hear anything from him on Wednesday of Holy Week.

Ponder the silence today with me, Dear Reader. There is a strategy in it that may lead us to deeper understanding, closer following, and richer love. If we allow love to die because of silence, it is our own doing.

The Silence of God – Michael Card

It's enough to drive a man crazy; it'll break a man's faith
It's enough to make him wonder if he's ever been sane
When he's bleating for comfort from Thy staff and Thy rod
And the heavens’ only answer is the silence of God

It'll shake a man's timbers when he loses his heart
When he has to remember what broke him apart
This yoke may be easy, but this burden is not
When the crying fields are frozen by the silence of God

But when you have to listen to the voices of the mob
Who are reeling in the throes of all the happiness they've got
When they tell you all their troubles have been nailed up to that cross
Then what about the times when even followers get lost?
'Cause we all get lost sometimes

There's a statue of Jesus on a monastery knoll
In the hills of Kentucky, all quiet and cold
And He's kneeling in the garden, as silent as a stone
All His friends are sleeping and He's weeping all alone

And the man of all sorrows, he never forgot
What sorrow is carried by the hearts that he bought
So when the questions dissolve into the silence of God
The aching may remain, but the breaking does not
The aching may remain, but the breaking does not
In the holy, lonesome echo of the silence of God

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Every human story is part of the great story that leads to the Father getting everything back to Good.

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:
#aramisthorn
Support Page on Patreon: www.patreon.com/aramisthorn
Novels: From My Publisher or on Amazon
Web Page: www.aramisthorn.com
Bookings: aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com
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BLOG Archive: http://aramisthorn.blogspot.com/

The silence of God is never wrong.

30 March 2021

Second Thoughts ~ Water at War

Greetings Dear Reader,

My journey back from Wisconsin involved a great deal of water. The day was rainy and chilled when I set out last Saturday afternoon. As I loaded the car for the journey, I felt that the rain was not an issue. The rain, however, had other ideas.

Its first assault was a puddle. My neoprene case with my tablets in then fell from the backseat of the VW to a large puddle in a parking lot pothole. This meant a delay whilst I put the devices into rice and no movie when I stopped to rest halfway back to Georgia. That, however, was moot because the weather had other ideas about the story.

My quart water bottle that I use to stay hydrated in the car spilled into the bag it was in drenching my carefully packed travel meal. It was designed to give me the right nourishment without having to stop. Instead, it was discovered to be food soup that no one would want.

The drive through the rain was not bad until after it became dark. At one point the rain turned into flowing sheets of water as if God were ringing out the clouds like soaked rags. I and the several trucks around me slowed to 35 mph on the interstate. Then the wind began to push my car sideways ever so slightly. I slowed down further and debris began bouncing off my windows.

Pulling over under a bridge, the debris intensified and was hitting me on both sides. Then my phone announced an extreme weather alert directing me to “take shelter at once.” The car was rocking in the wind and I determined to stay put until the tornado passed.

It did. I then proceeded on my way, driving slowly and keeping a lookout for road hazards. Nothing happened as I passed through Kentucky. Then water assaulted me again just as I entered Tennessee. I hit a ten-foot-long stretch of water that stood on both lanes. I could feel my rear wheels begin to drift but before I entered a spin the car glided across the water to the pavement on the other end.

Water's final assault on my journey was in Georgia when the rain again intensified to a level that I could not see to drive. I pulled over at a rest area to wait out the storm. It was clear that water was at war with me the entire journey back. There is much more to this but I was to say clearly that I had ample opportunities to fear and doubt. What I found instead were places to exercise faith. I will explain all of that tomorrow evening, weather permitting.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Every human story is part of the great story that leads to the Father getting everything back to Good.

It was that kind of rain against which windscreen wipers have no hope amidst their best effort.

Holy Week ~ Love Dies to Impatience

Greetings Dear Reader,

We can all be more patient. We know that the Jewish priests have decided to kill Jesus. There are other things we know that we never consider. Every story needs a villain and this one has several.

The obvious enemy is the priesthood. There are also the Romans always there in the background. They are part of the third act of our drama. Today, however, it is the unforeseen enemy that rises to our attention. I begin with the question that will be part of my fall novel, The Judas Scroll. Yes, Judas is at the center of the drama today. The death of love here happens in two ways.

First, it is his own impatience that kills love. Instead of trusting the Father to unfold things in a proper way, he tries to push Jesus to act like God. He tries to manipulate the situation for Jesus to be a warrior king. He has seen all the miracles. He has been one of the twelve sent out with power. His evil is impatience.

The second thing that kills love here is our traditional hatred of Judas. Even if he intended for Jesus to die, we are required to love him. Year after year I hear others express their hatred of Judas. What he did lead to the death of Jesus but that was not his intent. It is clear from his second meeting with the priests that this is true.

We must be patient with the Father. We must accept that he has things under control. We must love him enough to trust his timing. We must not try to push the Father’s agenda. It is in this place that we find ourselves as the priests test the authority of the Son, the fig tree lies to him, and Judas prepares to push God’s agenda.

As we draw closer to the cross, we continue to kill love with things we ought not. It is in this vein that we prepare for the things that require the death of Jesus but for which we should feel great sorrow because of our part in it. We must love Judas. We must love the priests. Our love for the Father must make us patient with his plan, timing, and will, Dear Reader.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Every human story is part of the great story that leads to the Father getting everything back to Good.

Judas did not hate Jesus. That is too easy. He was impatient and that is a deadly thing.

29 March 2021

Holy Week ~ The Death of Power Through Power and Greed

Greetings Dear Reader,

We need to understand that the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem had verified that Jesus was performing miracles. When they knew of it, they questioned his methods and the source of his power. They ascribed his loving actions to evil.

Jesus has visited the vast celebration of Passover in Jerusalem with his family for decades. Once before he has driven the merchants from the Temple courts. The system in place to make sure only Temple coin goes into the Temple treasury also makes it quite costly to keep the Law of Moses regarding sacrifices. What is in place is a masterful plan by the leadership to extract money from the people by taxing everything and using only Temple coin at an exchange rate that is simply theft.

There are honest Pharisees and Sadducees who have come to Jesus privately and support him. They are in the minority. This leaves us with Jesus on the Monday of Holy Week confronting and clearing the merchants a second time in three years. When he does, it sets in motion the events that carry the remainder of the week.

This is the moment that the Temple priests decide to find a way to kill him. This is when they turn from the Father completely and their love for him is discarded for their love of power and authority. They have witnessed too much to deny who Jesus is. They choose to love their position over the truth.

Jesus will not die until Friday. His death begins here as the plan to kill him becomes active instead of just a desire. The leaders have seen how he was received the previous day. They know that he has the following of thousands of Jews. The people have welcomed him as King. Fear and greed push love from the hearts and minds of the Sanhedrin. This is the last day that begins without an actual plan to kill Jesus.

Lest we forget our place, we too sacrifice our love for Jesus because of fear and greed. We too choose anger and power over love. I am not innocent of this choice. Jesus died because of me just as much as because of the priests. I failed to love the Father properly every time I chose anything over Jesus. I sit with the guilty. The priests make a plan. Now all they need is some help. They will find it, Dear Reader.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Every human story is part of the great story that leads to the Father getting everything back to Good.

We love to judge the priests and Temple’s merchants.

28 March 2021

Holy Week ~ Opening Thoughts (Palm Sunday)

Greetings Dear Reader,

Palm Sunday is the last day that the followers of Jesus will feel unbloodied joy. There is still a level of innocence to their faith that will die on Thursday. They think they love God.

Jesus felt all that we felt without failing. By Thursday, even Jesus will feel the loss of innocence as he wrestles alone in the garden with what lies ahead. What we see today is Jesus being welcomed to Jerusalem as King. The people all want the earthly things he offers like freedom and peace. What they are still rejecting is that their hearts do not love the Father as he desires.

Jesus will spend the week showing his followers what is to come and in turn, they will all choose something over love for him and the Father. Each of his followers, from the furthest to the closest will decide that something other than Jesus is worthy of pursuit. What I will pursue are ways in which I can love the Father more fully through the example of Christ amidst the abandonment of those who follow him.

We never do enough for each other, Dear Reader. Join me as we spend Holy Week seeing how love is abandoned until it costs the world everything that matters and then how it is resurrected by the Father for the reclamation of us all. As always, I cherish your thoughts and questions.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Every human story is part of the great story that leads to the Father getting everything back to Good.

After all they have seen and heard, the disciples did not get it.

27 March 2021

A Theology of Love ~ Longing to Love (Closing Thoughts)

Greetings Dear Reader,

Let me begin today with the inner workings of a writer’s mind. As I have been writing this, I have put together the outline for a book, Thoughts and Questions on Systematic Theology. The earliest I will get to it is 2023 but we will see where the journey takes us.

One of my deepest griefs is my Daughter who passed away. Today is her birthday. I carry a longing to show her love. I carry love for her which I cannot express. At the heart of all grief is love that we cannot share or give. The loss leaves things unsaid and sometimes leaves us undone. Only hope lets us think those feelings will find expression to the one we cannot reach.

I think that until that hope is realized, this day will always carry some pain for me. It will hold longing and keep me in mind that so many others carry that same hurt without hope. The essence of a theology built on love that there is always hope. We still feel sorrow but it is not empty or hollow. Rather, I think we can hallow the pain of all loss as we turn toward the Father for solace.

From our lofty perch atop this scaffold, we can see that there is a depth of pain that we cannot manage on our own. Everyone encounters it but we do not always respond the same. It is our privilege to be a voice of compassion and hope for those who sorrow without them.

Really, all of the world’s ills find their answer in love. When I embrace the love of Christ and follow him in faith, there is nothing that can overcome its power to care for my pain. It is not that the pain is gone but that I have what I need to get through it. We will find our way if we walk the foundation and use the perspective to get home.

I will be driving much of the day today. Rachel will cross my mind often; as will my deceased sister Sarah and my Grandfather. I cannot say with clarity what is next in that Undiscovered Country. I can say that loving the Father with all that I am and loving other humans will make the journey there one of joy no matter the circumstances.

So, let us turn to Holy Week together, Dear Reader. Let us do so to see how love dies and lives again in order that we too may live. There is hope in this, born of faith, as a result of the love we cannot yet comprehend. That is a theology worth holding. That is a journey worth taking.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Every human story is part of the great story that leads to the Father getting everything back to Good.

In a Theology of Love, there is always hope.

26 March 2021

A Theology of Love ~ A Better View

Greetings Dear Reader,

With a firm foundation of love employed to be unoffendable, we find that we are in a position to support many good things. Please do not think that I call the path easy or painless. It is not. What I do say is that everything is more manageable from this position on our scaffolding.

From the perspective this purchase provides, one can find a freedom that is unparalleled. If we ponder the needs of the world, most of them go unmet because others do not feel free to meet them. Unfortunately, this feeling comes from our own selfishness or insensitivity. We fear that our wants and needs will not be met, therefore, we withhold generosity and kindness when it is warranted.

A theology of love finds its sufficiency in Christ and the promises of provision of all our needs. The life we lead can be filled with kindness, generosity, and compassion. Worry and fear can be set aside. We can journey home in peace. It is our choice. The Father promises us the grace to endure anything if we seek him with all that we are.

It is clear that there is an entire book in understanding this way of life. Jesus, however, condensed it into simple the acceptance by faith of two instructions. Loving the Father with all that we are and loving each other unconditionally yields a life where we are free to be good to everyone. It is a moment-by-moment choice to take each step in the peace of Christ provided by these two supports. When then build being unoffendable and walking in peace on that.

I realize that this may sound idealistic or puerile, Dear Reader. I have not found a single objection that does not require fear, doubt, or abandoning faith to make it a reality. We are required to live by faith, without fear, and filtering our doubt through both. What we can obtain is a view of the world that reveals the reasons behind the pain and need others carry. We can see clearly how Christ could also mend their hearts and give them peace.

From this place, we may also see how little most of our differences make when we all share the same need. One does not care if the air smells like daffodils or skunks if one is gasping for air. The air is sufficient. The same is true of our need for Jesus, Dear Reader. As we conclude this tomorrow, we can approach the path of following Christ through Holy Week to the cross we must take up and beyond. I hope you journey with me.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Every human story is part of the great story that leads to the Father getting everything back to Good.

“I feel like I’m swimming straight up underwater; desperately racing for air…” – Dan Fogelberg

25 March 2021

A Theology of Love ~ Nothing Gets Through

Greetings Dear Reader,

If we ponder a journey back to God with love as our prime directive, we must forearm ourselves against that which would hinder our living that directive. The greatest barrier to love is what we let through that which will hinder it. What I think I fail to grasp at times is that it is up to me what gets to even attempt to displace love.

What we consider is that which offends us. I am not speaking of the things that should stir us all to deeper love and greater compassion. I am pondering the things that we allow to offend us in a way that we fail to walk in and express love. We make rules that become the standards by which we judge others and then leave those as unloving conditions in our treatment of people.

I used to feel a great need to control my environment, so I had turned life into a series of rules that were untenable for others. This hedge allowed me to project conditional love at a level that I would never intend but still existed. As I began my journey toward loving always, I realized that I had to become unoffendable in the things that do not matter. Further, I had to allow offense in areas where I should be bothered to find expression only through love.

This means that holiness, righteousness, and temperance must find their expression not in rules but in the application of love. We cannot espouse morality and temperance without it being bathed in love, grace, and mercy. There must be standards but our application of them must not depart from the command to love always. Jesus couched all he said and did in his love for us and for the Father.

The thing is that I decided what gets through to offend me. I choose and the choice on the personal level should be to be unoffendable. I can endure what I must in order to show love. That does not mean I allow all things. Love endures all things without allowing injustice and unkindness. If we add to our love being unoffendable, then we are much more likely to deal with others through grace, mercy, and kindness. You are more likely to see my love for you this way, Dear Reader. That is my desire so that in it you may catch a glimpse of the greater love for you that the Father expresses.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Every human story is part of the great story that leads to the Father getting everything back to Good.

We seem to have married offending and allowing in an unhealthy way.

24 March 2021

A Theology of Love ~ Opening Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

As I develop my thoughts and questions on Following Christ, I find that there is an order to things that is different from Systematic Theology. One of my friends, Tripp refers to it as Thornian Theology. As I complete my preparation for Holy Week, which begins on Sunday, I want to outline my approach to God in a bit of formality.

This is not going to be dry or impersonal. It will be scaffolded. I am trying to stand in the right place to follow my theme through Holy Week without being arrogant or prideful. I wish to take a few days to erect that scaffolding and get my footing. Please understand that this is not me proscribing anything. It is my attempt to think through my journey with Christ in a way that I can relate to others so that I may share my hope and joy in that journey.

I will begin with the obvious. Then I will move on to that which may not be as clear but is built on the priory principles we establish. The obvious foundation is love. Since the Father is love, we as his creations must strive to be this as well. When Jesus told us that loving the Father is our foundational command, he added that loving each other is like it. This seems simple but it is narrow and complex.

If we follow the words of Christ through the Gospels, love is to be extended to everyone we can consider. Whether we ponder strangers, friends, neighbors, or enemies, Jesus insists that we approach them in love. Further, he insists that love is our benchmark by which we are recognized as his followers.

Jesus cares so much about this that he asked the Father to give us a love for each other that matches the Father’s love for him. The Father will give that through the Spirit but it is required of us that we employ it. There is no human, at any age or state that we are not expected to love.

Proceeding from this foundation, we can build a theology predicated on loving the Father in all things. It is a foundation that cannot fail. What I must do is allow love to be my prime mover. In that, Dear Reader, perhaps we can build something that leaves behind the things that do not communicate Jesus and pursue the things that make him desirable.

Let us then reason together for a few days as we prepare to celebrate that love that the Father and Son show us even when we do not wish it. We can reject his love, but we will learn that we cannot live without it. As always, I cherish your thoughts and questions.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Every human story is part of the great story that leads to the Father getting everything back to Good.

Most of our lives began because of love. All of them are loved by the Father. Perhaps it is time to lay aside everything else and return to love.

23 March 2021

I Tried That ~ Closing Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

We try at so many things. We succeed at the ones that get our persistence and effort. Our culture often abandons things that do not work out immediately. We give up far too easily.

Each of us has things about which we are passionate and those things get our best efforts. We do what we believe. I know that at times I fail to do what I believe. Even in times of my deepest failures, I was trying things that I thought would work to avoid my pain and quell the darker voices within me. The truth was that I was not trying hard enough to embrace my faith and following.

It is difficult to always choose to follow Christ. It is, however, always the right effort. No matter what else we have tried to find in life and love it always comes back to Jesus. It certainly is better to always try this first.

We may make up stories in our head the circumvent faith and following but they are fantasy and will never satisfy. I make no brook about this because I have tried and failed. Nothing but Jesus will satisfy and that is not always easy to accept. We want to be fulfilled by things that are not Christ.

All that I do must be centered on Christ. My trying must be to love the Father first and then share that love with others. My efforts must pursue this above all and then all will be provided as I need. Whatever I have tried, it has taught me that it is in Christ alone that I can succeed. It is loving the Father as he does the Son that shows us the way.

We will try many things. I would say that the solace is that Christ is always there ready to show us the way home when we realize we are following the wrong gods. We just need to take a moment and orient our efforts on the Father through the Son with the help of the Spirit. From that direction flow grace and mercy to enable us to travel well, Dear Reader.

Learn to be Still – The Eagles

Just another day in paradise
As you stumble to your bed
Give anything to silence
Those voices ringing in your head
You thought you could find happiness
Just over that green hill
You thought you would be satisfied
But you never will
Learn to be still

We are like sheep without a shepherd
We don't know how to be alone
So we wander 'round this desert
Wind up following the wrong gods home
But the flock cries out for another
And they keep answering that bell
One more starry-eyed Messiah
Meets a violent farewell
Learn to be still
Learn to be still

Now the flowers in your garden
They don't smell so sweet, so sweet
Maybe you've forgotten
Heaven lying at your feet
Ay, yeah yeah

There are so many contradictions
In all these messages we send
Keep asking
How do I get outta here?
Where do I fit in?
Though the world is torn and shaken
Even if your heart is breakin'
It's waiting for you to awaken
Someday you will
Learn to be still
Learn to be still
Just keep on runnin'
Keep on runnin'
Oh, oh yeah, mm, mm
Just keep on runnin'

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Every human story is part of the great story that leads to the Father getting everything back to Good.

Perhaps when we are weary of trying, we can be still and find the way home.

Thoughts and Questions from Aramis Thorn

31 March 2021

Second Thoughts ~ Water at War (the rest of the story)

Holy Week ~ Love Dies in Silence

30 March 2021

Second Thoughts ~ Water at War

Holy Week ~ Love Dies to Impatience

29 March 2021

Holy Week ~ The Death of Power Through Power and Greed

28 March 2021

Holy Week ~ Opening Thoughts (Palm Sunday)

27 March 2021

A Theology of Love ~ Longing to Love (Closing Thoughts)

26 March 2021

25 March 2021

A Theology of Love ~ Nothing Gets Through

24 March 2021

A Theology of Love ~ Opening Thoughts

23 March 2021

I Tried That ~ Closing Thoughts

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