Mortal Sloth

State of the Church: The Celtic Revival (26)

I am surprised, I must confess, at such ease, and at the source of this mortal sloth which has almost overwhelmed us all; I know not the hearts, ears, senses, that the Lord’s own fiery words have failed to arouse in the watchfulness of an ever-burning zeal, into scorn for the world, into the poverty of Christ, even as thus they have trained many races. For I, coming from the world’s end, where I have seen spiritual leaders fighting the Lord’s battles, and formerly hoping to behold stronger and more skillful leaders of this holy warfare, and finding the position just as if I were some beholder of the corpses on the battlefield, bedewed and spattered after the fight, I am astounded an in grief…

  – Columbanus, Letter to Pope Boniface

The hand of the LORD came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So I answered, “O Lord GOD, You know.”

  – Ezekiel 37.1-3

Ouch!
Enough of the niceties in this letter to the pope concerning the state of his bishops and priests in Gaul. Columbanus tells it like it is. 

The problem is one of preferring ease to Jesus and of laying down the weapons of true spiritual warfare and yielding the ground of parish after parish to the ravages of the devil. What kind of souls do such men have “that the Lord’s own fiery words have failed to arouse” them to watch over themselves and their flocks? These “leaders” were not like the ones Columbanus knew back in Ireland. Those men were true spiritual warriors and leaders, “fighting the Lord’s battles”. The priests and bishops in Gaul were like corpses strewn about on a battlefield, dead and rotting.

Ouch!

No wonder those bishops and priests wanted this Irish missionary to move along beyond the bounds of their parishes and nation.

It’s hard to believe that things can ever get that bad in the Church and among its leaders. But this is a recurring tale which, throughout Church history, has caused the Church to lose its fragrant savor of Christ and its Kingdom-advancing power, and to become a fetid corpse. 

Can these bones live?
Even today, where do we see the kind of vibrant church leaders like Columbanus and his troop? Where do we see churches attracting the multitudes with the call to die to themselves so that they may live to Jesus? Where do we find churches which are not so captive to worldly ways and practices, ones that look more like the churches in the New Testament which turned their world rightside-up for Jesus?

It makes us want to ask: “Can these bones live?”

Can God revive us? Can He reach into our souls through all the senses of our bodies to stir His Spirit withinfor new courage, new vision, new works of love, and new efforts to win the lost? But He will not do this unless we call on Him to do so, praying and staying at the work of prayer until we realize how much we need revival and He sees that we are sincerely trusting Him to bring it.

God knows that He can revive the dead bones of our worldly churches. That He can revive each one of us daily so that seeking His Kingdom and righteousness becomes the defining priority of our lives. He can flush out all the deadness in our souls and set His Spirit up for the business of making all things new.

How do we show Him that we sincerely desire to escape all mortal sloth and be revived and renewed in Jesus? Through prayer and repentance, seeking the Lord day by day, turning away from all sin, and taking up our callings to make all the nations disciples. Can the Lord do it?

Yes, He can.

Will we?

For Reflection
1. What would it look like for you to begin praying daily for revival? How would you pray? When?

2. Today, whom will you encourage to join you in daily seeking the Lord for revival?

Psalm 119.37, 38
Regent Square: Angels from the Realms of Glory
To Your holy testimonies, turn my heart, O gracious LORD.
Let me covet nothing worthless; my delight is in Your Word.
O revive me! O revive me, in Your way, most holy LORD!

T. M. Moore

If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).

For a good complementary study to this, check out Pray for Your Church. It’s free in The Ailbe Bookstore. And download our ReThinking Church Appraisal Tool by clicking here. And to refresh and deepen your time in God’s Word, order a copy of The Joy and Rejoicing of My Heart while you’re there.

Other columns of interest: This week: In our ReVision series on “The Church” we’re looking at the Church’s hope. Our Read Moore podcast is working through our book, The Kingdom Turn. The focus of our Scriptorium daily study is on “Matthew: The Coming of the Kingdom.” Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.