When Is It Good To Be Selfish?

Are we willing to do the work?

Many congregations find themselves in the throes of "worship wars" where different groups within the faith community lobby to have worship changed into a particular style.  Many are enamored with technology and just cannot imagine a worship service without a screen to focus on.  Others want no part of the screen and wish worship to remain unchanged.  Still others insist on a "contemporary" service.  Such competing agendae can fragment a faith community to the extent that there are basically, multiple churches within one church.

Easter Sunday

Scripture

Isaiah 25:6-9

Prayer

What were they thinking, Lord?
As they approached the tomb,
Laden with spices to, in a final filial act,
Prepare Your earthly body for its final rest,
What were they thinking?
Did their earthly sorrow and devotion to this final task
Blind them?
They had heard your prophecies, and yet
Their first thought, seeing the open sepulchre,
Was of earthly mischief.

Not until your messenger explained it, yet again,
Did the scales of their earth-bound eyes fall
And their souls see with eyes eternal.
Wash the mortal clay from my eyes,
Merciful Father,
And let me see, with those eternal eyes,
My Risen Redeemer.

Alleluia!

Holy Week: Saturday

Scripture

Job 14:1-14

Prayer


Seed of my salvation,
My soul is fallow ground, barren,
Waiting for the Light of the World
To quicken it.
Throughout this dark, empty Saturday,
My fallow soul is waiting,
Waiting,
For the Son to Rise.

Meditate in Silence and go in peace.

Holy Week: Friday

Scripture

Psalm 22

Prayer


Alone.
You died
Alone.
Abandoned by your disciples.
Forgotten by the throngs.
Abandoned by your God.

For me.

Holy Week: Thursday

Scripture

Psalm 116:12-19

Prayer

As a father teaches a child, you show us how to live in God.

As a child obeys a Father, you willingly follow the path to judgment.

As a man fulfilling His calling, you walk the path to sacrifice.

Willingly.

Knowingly.

Painfully.

Gloriously.

You give your life to give us eternity.

May we give our lives to your eternal service.

Lord, hear our prayer.

Silent meditation and go in peace.

Holy Week: Wednesday

Holy Wednesday

Scripture

Isaiah 50:4-9

Prayer

God of all creation, you left your throne to walk among us,

To work with us,

To eat with us,

To worship with us,

To care for us,

To be, in all ways but one, just like us.

And after all of that, knowing us, you chose to die for us.

How can we do anything less than live for you?

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.

Silent meditation and go in peace.

Holy Week: Tuesday

Scripture

Isaiah 49:1-7


Prayer

God of justice, your law provides your children with clear instruction for living a life pleasing to you, and yet we find myriad ways to fail you.

God of mercy, your love ordained, before the foundations of the earth, a way to redeem your children from our sinful lives.

God of us all, you offer your mercy, not only to those who call you Father, but to anyone who chooses your way.

Thanks be to God.

Silent meditation and go in peace.

Holy Week: Monday

Monday

Scripture

Psalm 36:5-11

Prayer

As you taught your disciples, teach us, Lord, to see beyond accolade and pageantry to the mission you have for us. 

Prepare us, Lord, as you prepared your disciples, for whatever challenge lies before us. 

Grant us faith, Lord, to accept your will even when we do not understand it. 

Grant us wisdom, Lord, to align our wills with yours.

Lord, hear our prayer.

Silent meditation and go in peace.

In focus

When dark, this space is like any other, drab, utilitarian.  But when the sun shines, the room vibrates with a crazy quilt of color, seemingly random, but still beautiful.  Only when you turn your eyes toward the sun does the picture come into focus and the intent of the artist become clear.

And so it is with faith.  While we might revel in the beauty caused by the Son, only when we turn our eyes to Him does He come into sharp focus.  And only by fixing our eyes on Him can we begin to understand, through faithful study, his artistry.

Stir me with with discontent, Lord.  Keep me from blithely basking in the rainbow of colors that radiates from your presence.  Draw me to the look directly into the Light, Lord, that I may focus on understanding your artistry in me, in the world, in Christ.

Hope Dawns

Immanuel Episcopal Church in LaGrange, Tennessee
photo copyright N. Y. Smith

Once a place of hope,

In time of peace a place of worship,

In time of slavery a place of divided communion,

In time of war a place of death,

In time, in God,

Hope dawns again.

Knowing

We spend so much time focusing on his divinity that it's really hard to imagine the temptations Jesus must have felt as his time on Earth was drawing to a close.  His humanity was as complete as ours. 

He knew hunger. 

He knew jealousy. 

He knew anger. 

He knew fear. 

He knew them all, but always resisted them, knowing that they would become distractions on his journey.  He continued on the right path.  He turned his face away from his old life and toward Calvary.  He listened to his Father, then took the path necessary for the redemption of his lost lambs.

What wondrous love.

Real Heroes

We are a society obsessed with heroes.  We lionize athletes, actors, entertainers--anyone who has achieved widespread, even if temporary, notoriety.  Protestant Christians are strangely loath to observe the sanctoral cycle, the annual commemoration of the lives of Christianity's pioneers.  The feast days in honor of the saints are not occasions to worship the honoree, but are perfect occasions to remember the stories and examples they provide us. 

The Handbook of the Christian Year describes the importance of remembering the saints:  "Properly understood, however, the saints are manifestations of the continuing work of Jesus Christ in human life.  Holy men and women are not testimonies to works-righteousness but to the transforming grace of God."  The saints are the ordinary men and women who believed God enough to dedicate their lives to Him.  The saints are the ordinary men and women to believed God enough to die for Him.  These ordinary men and women did more than achieve personal, fleeting fame; they were instruments of God in their world.  Now those are real heroes.

This calendar can help you remember when to study the heroes of the faith.

February 24                  Matthias
March 19                      Joseph
April 25                        Mark
May 1                            Philip and James the Less
June 11                         Barnabas
June 24                         John the Baptist
June 29                         Peter and Paul
July 22                          Magdalene
July 25                          James
August 15                     Mary
August 24                     Bartholomew
September 21               Matthew
October 18                   Luke
October 23                   James, brother of Jesus
October 28                   Simon and Jude
November 1                 All Saints
November 30               Andrew
December 21                Thomas
December 26                 Stephen
December 27                 John the Evangelist
December 28                 Holy Innocents

Resources:
Hickman, Hoyt L.; Saliers, Don E.; Stookey, Laurence Hull; and White, James F.  Handbook of the Christian Year.  1986.  Abingdon Press:  Nashville, TN.

Book Review: A Year With Jesus

Nettlehorst, R. P.,  A Year With Jesus:  Daily Readings and Reflections on Jesus' Own Words.  Thomas Nelson, 2011.


We can understand Jesus' message best when we approach it with humility and openness.

R. P. Nettlehorst

In many ways, R. P. Nettlehorst's A Year With Jesus:  Daily Readings and Reflections on Jesus' Own Words is a typical devotional collection.  It follows the usual formula:  a daily scripture passage labeled "Day 1" through "Day 365" followed by a brief (approximately half page) reflection on the meaning and application of the scripture.  The daily readings are grouped into sections with names like "Love and Hate," "Truth and Lies," "Arrogance and Humility," "Friends and Enemies," "Belief and Disbelief," and "Patience and Impatience."

Several things set this book apart from other devotional collections.  The theme is unique in that the scripture selections are Jesus's words from the Gospels, Acts, and Revelation.  They follow a rough timeline of His ministry and conclude with the crucifixion and resurrection.  The reflections that follow the selections are straight-forward and action-oriented, designed to impel the reader forward in his or her faith journey.

Daily Readings for Season After Epiphany

The daily lectionary readings for the Season After Epiphany are available.  Download them from this link:

Season After Epiphany Daily Readings

Happy New Year!

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