Each newsletter includes a short reflection for the week to come, articles published the previous week, a short curated list of content that was meaningful to me the previous week, and more. Subscribe today!
Deepening our Christianity · Edition #4
Deepening our Christianitythe Monday Newsletter of Paul PrinsEdition #4 · 8 May 2023 |
Blessings Reader, In light of the Coronation this last Saturday, I find myself reflecting again on Mark 10:17-27. It felt somewhat inescapable. The regalia, the liturgy, the music, and the sense of timelessness. Yet I cannot shake the feeling of how theatrical it felt. Watching one of the richest people on the planet stand in his night shirt as if he was poor before God. If Jesus was there with Charles, I believe the conversation would have followed closely to this passage in Mark. “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” It can feel like these words were said as a trap or trick. Yet the author of Mark knew our cynicism. Before those words appear, we are told that Jesus showed love for him and then said those words. It was an invitation given in love. An invitation that follows the same invitations given to the other disciples. This is not a metaphor to meditate upon. This was Jesus inviting one who had upheld the law and longed for eternal life. We know nothing as to why they couldn't do these last two things. All we know is they were deeply dismayed and left in grief. It could have been that giving up their possessions was too much. It could have been leaving his life behind to follow Jesus was too much. So that nothing hinders us following Jesus, may we quickly set down what God asks us to. That we can follow Jesus with greater freedom and lightness. For His yoke is easy, His burden is light, His Kingdom is coming, and His love is Eternal. Until Next Week Posted this WeekIt's a shorter newsletter this week. I haven't read much or finished writing anything to share. My energy went towards jet lag, exhaustion from NYC, and job hunting. Looking forward to writing more this coming week! Unpublished Photo of the Week
Curated Goods from the WeekI didn't come across anything I felt was worth sharing this week. A Prayer for the Week to ComeLord, we need you. Help us to know both the heaviness and the lightness of our days. Meet us, sustain us, and give graciously to us in spite of our circumstances or nature. You who spoke day and night into existence keep our lives from lacking the contrast and full experience of being alive. Be gentle with us all, in your mercy sustain us, and draw us back into your love. |
Deepening our Christianity
the Monday Newsletter of Paul Prins
Each newsletter includes a short reflection for the week to come, articles published the previous week, a short curated list of content that was meaningful to me the previous week, and more. Subscribe today!
Deepening our Christianity the Monday Newsletter of Paul Prins Edition #30 · 11 March 2024 Blessings Reader, Reflecting on Blessings "May the Lord bless you and keep you, may His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May His face turn toward you and bring you peace."Numbers 6:24-25 The Lord is generous to us. His grace, mercy, and love are lavished upon us in a way that breaks part of me as I try to comprehend it. It breaks me in such a beautiful way as I understand the places in my...
Deepening our Christianity the Monday Newsletter of Paul Prins Edition #29 · 4 March 2024 Blessings Reader, What is Hard to See Our sight is one of our strongest senses. We can often see things far before we can hear or smell them. Touching and tasting are deeply intimate in comparison to sight. There is proximity needed to touch and feel. Taste needs even more. We need it to enter our bodies for that sense to work. Sight is the sense that most often introduces and defines our world. It is...
Deepening our Christianity the Monday Newsletter of Paul Prins Edition #28 · 26 February 2024 Blessings Reader, Following your Love There is much talk in the Gospels about following Jesus. He explicitly tells us to take up our cross and follow Him. This is such a visual and physical first response. We know the story, and we know what happens Easter weekend. Jesus literally and physically takes up His cross, carries it to the top of Calvary, and is crucified upon it by the Romans. This brings...