tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974528.post1075004650222695898..comments2023-06-20T11:16:33.611-04:00Comments on on the temple doorstep: the Lord's Prayerabuianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14177125847519190290noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974528.post-40970611537894528062007-09-10T01:26:00.000-04:002007-09-10T01:26:00.000-04:00My friend Michael, formerly Evangelical, now Catho...My friend Michael, formerly Evangelical, now Catholic, likes to point out that Evangelicals can always find a card from Hallmark that expresses just the right sentiment in just the right words for any occasion. Yet they won't read prayers from any book, including the Bible itself.Arimatheanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06783088995172601340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974528.post-13290119546974166482007-08-27T18:22:00.000-04:002007-08-27T18:22:00.000-04:00Mother Gavrilia says, "A prayer on the lips is bet...Mother Gavrilia says, "A prayer on the lips is better than none at all." That may not be the exact quote because I loaned the book to a friend. It's comforting, at least to me, when I'm tired and don't have the energy to be "extemporaneous" that well thought out prayers are available.<BR/><BR/>Laura N.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974528.post-58760912852294980822007-08-27T15:49:00.000-04:002007-08-27T15:49:00.000-04:00To be fair, the notion of "communion" with God is ...To be fair, the notion of "communion" with God is not altogether missing from Bethany's lexicon. Recently, they had an evening meeting to preview the small group ministry they're starting. Three purposes of the groups were identified: communion with God, community with believers, and compassionate engagement with the world. My initial suspicion is that they settled on the word "communion" more because it starts with "c" than because they felt it was somehow more meaningful and more appropriate than a word like "fellowship" or "relationship." The fact that "communion" is referred to God and "community" to other believers seems to confirm this suspicion, since in biblical language it should be the same terminology with both.<BR/><BR/>Even so, I think it bears mentioning how they expand the idea of "communion with God":<BR/><BR/>"intimacy, honesty, and depth of relationship with God . . . knowing his grace and truth in increasing measure each day . . . growing as faithful disciples in a lifelong commitment to learn his commands and live them out daily . . . loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and body; and loving our neighbor as ourselves."<BR/><BR/>It falls short of the Orthodox definition, and in particular, it seems to me fairly one-sided (all about what we do and experience), but it's an attempt at least to attach some concrete meaning to the concept.abuianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14177125847519190290noreply@blogger.com