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Pastor's Pen - April 2009

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

After their Lenten absence, alleluias will once again ring out in our worship at Easter time. One of the hymns sung to mark the beginning of Lent tells us that not every time can be a time of joy and celebration. The vagaries of life are such that every life has times of sadness and sorrow as well as times of rejoicing. The Church uses that ebb and flow of experience to mark its time as well with seasons of preparation for the great festivals of the year that are marked with a quieter, more thoughtful, and heavier tone. Thus Advent and Lent mark a contrast to the seasons of Christmas and Easter which follow them.

 

With the saints who have gone before us throughout the ages and with the whole Church on earth, we will join together in giving thanks and praise to God for the gift of life and salvation so freely shared in the Savior, Jesus the Christ. The great three days of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter celebration become the focal point for all of faith and witness as God's people for the sake of the world. Though life is filled with its share of ups and downs, ultimately we are Easter people and all of life is changed because of that proclamation.

 

From the new command of reconciling love and service, to the sober rejoicing of Good Friday, to the new light that shines in the darkness at Easter, God's people share in the fullness of God's grace for the sake of all people. Each of these days and its events adds to the announcement of God's love and grace. Though each is important in and of itself, it is only together that the story is seamless and there can be no doubt of God's desire for all the world. As Easter people who have heard the story of God's love, we are sent into the world to allow the light of Christ to shine through us for the sake of others. God does not now nor ever had need of our protection. What God's desires is our witness to the gospel, God's good news, to be openly and freely shared with the world.

 

History has shown that no one has ever been scared into a right relationship with God. Over and over again lives have been changed by God's love being expressed in real and concrete ways through the lives of believers. Words have their place but it is through lives lived that God's promise is most effectively delivered. At Easter we are strengthened and renewed in God's promise to live as God's people every day of the year.

Pastor's Pen - March 2009

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

It is that time of year again when people are talking about what they are giving up for Lent. From a logical and practical point of view does God really care if we do not eat chocolate for 6 weeks? When millions upon millions of God's children are either starving or at risk of starvation, how does not having any dessert for the season of Lent measure up in any appreciable way as a real sacrifice? If this isn't what Lent is about, what do we do with this season of purple paraments and extra services in the life of the church?

 

Some, even clergy, have suggested that 6 weeks of Lent is just too long and perhaps the season should be shortened. The suggestion is that Lenten themes are too dark and dreary and too difficult for people to carry. Thus shortening the season would give people a taste of the traditional Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and giving alms, but not so much as to put them off. Some churches simply do not acknowledge the season at all in either worship or practice. In this case it is my belief that when it comes to Lent "less is not more" as some would currently suggest.

 

It has been said that 6 weeks is the time it takes for new patterns of behavior to become a part of an individual's way of life. Certainly theses changes can be for either good or ill depending upon the change and its impact on a person's life. However, just as people can become inactive in church participation in 6 weeks time, so others can become more intimately involved in the practice and expression of their faith at that is what Lent is about.

 

To consciously take time to be in prayer, in conversation with God, in a disciplined fashion for these weeks is an opportunity to have one's whole life changed. To consciously think about the food we eat will draw us closer to the reality of those who are without and the means by which we can work to bring about change for the sake of all. To consciously think about how we share resources with those who are in need will move us from a casual contribution to a personal commitment to work to end poverty in all of its forms.

 

None of this can be done alone or overnight. However, together in community over a period of time, things will change as God gives us strength and direction. May this Lenten season be a tool to assist you in your change and growth as children of God.

Across the Pastor's Desk - February 20,2009

Sunday, February 22nd, many within the Christian community will celebrate the last Sunday after the Epiphany, the Transfiguration of our Lord. In this event three of Jesus' closest disciples have a glimpse of the Lord in all of his radiance. In their fear and trembling they hear the voice of God affirming Jesus as God's Son, and perhaps most importantly they are told to listen to Jesus. Though there is some debate about what exactly they are to listen to, many would suggest that Jesus' words about his death and resurrection are certainly part of that important message. The encouragement to listen to him is of equal importance to us today as it was in the time of Jesus' first disciples.

 

As human beings we are equally tempted to turn away from what appear to be the difficult and disconcerting words of Jesus' message and to replace them with words that seem more appealing to us in our lives today. As a result instead of talking about sacrifice and service, people are more inclined to look for door prizes if they attend worship and to cling to the message of prosperity that so many are offering in Jesus' name today.

 

Today perhaps more than ever there are a multitude of voices in the culture around us calling to us in an effort to lead us in one direction or another. The only thing that these voices have in common is to lead us away from the path set by the voice of the Savior, the only voice that we need follow to know a wholeness that this world cannot provide. If these temptations were not enough there are also those who would speak in Jesus' name about topics that Jesus never said anything about. At the same time these voices seem to have no memory of the things that Jesus did say, about forgiving even our enemies, of not judging others in regards to their salvation and relationship with God, and to be willing to sell everything and to follow him.

 

As we enter into the season of Lent, the encouragement to listen to Jesus becomes more important than ever. This is a season to give ourselves and our devotion to the words of Jesus about serving others, about taking up our own crosses, and about the promise of the nearness of God's dominion in him which makes our feeble efforts even possible.  It comes down to the words that Jesus not only spoke but lived and listening to them that we might know the fullness and abundance of life that he offers to all.

Pastor's Oen - February 2009

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

Much has been written and said about the uncertain times in which we are living. Each day seems to bring some new piece of information that suggests that things will yet get worse before they get better. Often such news begets the very thing of which it speaks as people are enveloped in fear and anxiety about the future.

 

The reality is that all of life is uncertain. The problem arises when we begin to think that our security ultimately rests in the Dow Jones average, in the size of a retirement account, or in the status of our health, or the kind of vehicle we drive, etc. These are all temporal things that by nature are fragile and open to drastic and disruptive change.

 

As children of God, we are invited to rest securely in the promise that God has made in the Savior, Jesus the Christ. We must remember that God never said that we would not face times of trial and difficulty of varying degrees in our lives in this world. What God did say was that we would never be overcome by the things of this world as long as we rested securely in God.  We of all people should be people of hope in what appear to be very dark and challenging days. We know that our security and future are firmly rooted in the love of God reveled in Jesus.

 

The season of Sundays after the Epiphany continues to be a season of realizing the ways in which God reveals God's self to us and to the world. The light continues to shine for us and around us. It continues to illumine our journey of faith and we can face each day in trust and hope.

 

The season of Lent will give us the opportunity to reflect in much disciplined ways upon God's bounty and graciousness and to discern the paths to which we are called in these days as bearers of that redeeming word for the sake of the world. Lent is a season to exercise the gifts that have been showered upon us that we might be strengthened as God's people in God's promise for faithful witness and service. During the coming season of Lent use the opportunities for worship and service that present themselves, if not for your own sake then for the sake of others whose lives may be changed because you allowed your faith to lead and guide you.

 

All of life is a tenuous journey through light and dark, joys and sorrows. But by God's grace it is a journey lived in the promise of God's loving hand.

Pastor's Pen - January 2009

Friends in Christ, Dear

 

We are in the midst of the 12 days of Christmas. Yes, that is right, Christmas is not yet over. In fact in the Eastern Church, presents will not be exchanged until the season ends on January 6^th, the festival of Epiphany. On that day the Church remembers the magi and the star that witnessed to the birth of a savior for the entire world. Gifts are exchanged as a reminder of the gifts brought for the Christ child. It is important for us and for the world that we hold on to the season of Christmas and to not allow it to simply becoming a single day bracketed by market-driven consumption.

 

Christmas as a season is a celebration of the greatest gift, the gift of God incarnate, and the power that gift gives to us that we may be generous givers as well. When Anna and Simeon had the privilege of encounter the infant Jesus with Mary and Joseph in the temple, they did not thank God for themselves but thanked God that a gift of salvation and deliverance had been given for the sake of all of God's people. A commercialized Christmas leads to a focus on self and one's own wants and desires. The fullness of the church's celebration of the Christmas season calls us out of ourselves to be engaged with the world around us. To see the gift of Jesus as a gift that transcends place and time.

 

The green season of the Sundays after the Epiphany will provide us the opportunity to see ways in which God's presence is and has been revealed for the sake of God's people. We pray that the Spirit will be at work in our lives that our eyes may be opened to see the great things that God has done and continues to do in our lives and in our world.

 

The world continues to be in darkness. It appears that 2009 will begin with more areas of conflict in the world than before. The economic difficulties will not be resolved quickly. If one were to simply look at the circumstances of the world and measure life by them, there would be many reasons for feelings of despair. Yet it is in that very darkness that the light of God has shown and continues to shine. That is the message that we have to share with the world. That is the good news of the incarnation. That is the gift that we have that continues to give to a world that struggles and is in need.

 

In the seasonal cycles of the church year, we celebrate the gift of Christmas, God's incarnation, God's own self present for the sake of the whole world.  It is a celebration without end, se we rejoice always.

Pastor's Pen - December 2008

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

One of the carols of the Christmas season begins with the words "In the bleak midwinter, when snow lay on the ground". To be sure we have been quite fortunate with the weather that winter has not yet been too bleak or too snowy. However, in many other arenas of life the bleakness is all too apparent. Economic news continues to dominate the headlines, from bailouts to bankruptcies, from joblessness to falling markets, it seems never ending. Wars and senseless violence seem more an accepted part of life today than the devastating realities that they have always been. Even our own personal lives can seem bleak and dark. Within one week's time, three of my siblings were hospitalized and a niece died. It truly does not take cold and snow to make a time bleak in people's lives.

 

But the carol does not leave us abandoned in the cold and snow. It goes on to speak of the child in the manger that could not be contained by either earth or heaven. God has come to us in that child. God has risked everything to enter in to our lives and our world that we might know the power of God's love and grace and might be assured that no matter how bleak, no matter how cold, we are never alone in this world as the children of God's dominion. To be sure the support of family and friends in times of darkness is crucial. But even that is topped by the assurance of the presence of God, a God who knows and understands and strengthens and sustains no matter what.

 

Much of December will be spent in anticipation, On the one hand anticipating the return of the Savior to claim this world as God's own. On the other hand there will be the anticipation of once again celebrating the Savior's first coming as a child to take upon himself the sins of the whole world. In either case the anticipation calls us beyond the shallow trappings of the commercialized season to the depths of God's love and grace. This anticipation frees us from the bleak midwinter of our lives for the brightness of God's kingdom now and always.

 

As we wait, let us wait in hope and in the promise of God's richest blessings.