Palm Sunday: Relationships

 This Sunday is Palm Sunday when we remember Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem in triumph and then in the next reading hear of his betrayal and crucifixion. Life can feel like that sort of teeter totter sometimes. One minute on top of the world, and the next crashing to the ground when your fellow teeter-er jumps off as a joke. Ruth and Naomi knew that sort of life experience. Naomi left Bethlehem for Moab during a famine. Things go well at first, then her husband and sons die. She crashes down to the reality of destitution as a widow, as do her daughters-in-law. We may not face quite as extreme a problem, but a surprise diagnosis or an unexpected accident can send us crashing to the ground and wondering where God is.

At the beginning of the Palm Sunday services, we hear of Jesus entry into Jerusalem to the Hosannas of the crowds. The Gospel reading for Palm Sunday states, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven! Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.” (Luke19:37-40)

Even when we are faced with the unexpected tragedies of life caused by health or disaster or weather or other exterior forces, we are assured that God is in control. It often feels like God is distant and that is when we may listen for the stones to shout and tell of God’s presence and action.

Ruth and Naomi make the difficult decision to return to Bethlehem. They didn’t know what was going to happen when they arrived. Naomi hoped that they might be able to gather enough grain to survive. The women were not greeted with Hosannas when they got back to Bethlehem. However, Naomi was welcomed back into her community with the question “Can this be Naomi?” Ruth, though an outsider, found a welcome and new life in Bethlehem. God is in their lives and we can be assured God is in any tragedy and in all outcomes in our lives.

In my book, Sacred Story: Yours, Mine, Ours, I note, “Few of us have been refugees like Ruth and Naomi. However, we may have had to leave a job or home in a way that makes us feel bereft and hopeless. In telling and hearing one another’s Sacred Stories we come to a deeper understanding of each Sacred Story and build bridges instead of burning them. Donna Schindler says we “must begin with telling the truth, with telling stories….No sorrow is too great to endure if a story can be told about it.” (Donna Schindler, Flying Horse: Stories of Healing the Soul Wound, 2020) Deeply listening to the truth telling found in Sacred Story is the start of healing of ourselves, for our relationships, and within our communities…Acknowledging the image of God is an important way to connect with the stranger and foreigner in our midst. Hearing their Sacred Story with an open heart is how relationships are built.”

It is helpful to remember that each one of us is dealing with some current or past trauma. Pausing to acknowledge everyone’s woundedness can make us more compassionate and empathetic. If we can enter their ‘sacred story’ by hearing it from them, we can relate even more fully.

 The collect for Palm Sunday reminds us that Jesus, in love and humility, became human. We are called to “walk in the way of his suffering.” We can do that by recognizing the pain, woundedness, loss, and fear all around, and (yes) within, us. Then we can hold that deep hurt in prayer, with love, to God. We can strive to be a voice and action of Love in the hurting world. Perhaps that’s by small acts where we are. Teresa of Lisieux and Mother Teresa both noted, “we can do small things with great love” to make a meaningful change in the world.

In my book I ask, “What is grieving your heart about the world today? Perhaps that is where God wants you to act.”

We end with this prayer for Palm Sunday.

Almighty and everliving God, in your tender love for the human race you sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon him our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross, giving us the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and also share in his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Lent 5: Worship

 As we are nearing the end of Lent, we hear the story of Mary anointing Jesus’ feet. We cannot physically touch and anoint Jesus. However, as the collect for Sunday, notes we can remember that among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found. We keep our hearts on Jesus in our prayer and service. Then like Mary and Martha, we do worship and anoint Jesus.

The Gospel (John 12:1-8) tells us of Mary’s extravagant gesture of love. We hear that Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. This is not only an expensive gift, but a very intimate action. The cost was likely around a year’s wages (300 denarii) at the time. Mary’s act of wiping Jesus’ feet with her hair could even have been considered wanton by those in the room. (Certainly, Judas finds it offensive.)

In our worship, are we willing to be extravagant and even wanton? Sometimes, we err on the side of decorum rather than doing something simple like lifting holy hands in prayer. (1 Timothy 2:8) Mary’s action gives us permission to offer all of ourselves to God when we pray and serve. In this image of Mary anointing Jesus (from Bing images), we see her anointing and adoring the roughest and dirtiest part of her Lord.

 

In my book, Sacred Story: Yours, Mine, Ours, I focus on the earlier incident where Mary and Martha meet and minister to Jesus. (Luke 10:38-42) Although Mary is often pointed to as the paragon of faith by sitting at Jesus’ feet, “each of these women was an apostle in her own right. Each used her gifts in the service of God.” I note, “Mary and Martha demonstrate that there is more than one way to offer God’s love. Some of us may share love in active pursuits like teaching and housework. Others may be more comfortable with prayer or song. The important thing is to serve in love... [Mary and Martha] responded in different ways to Jesus. We are inheritors of their inspiration to pray and to serve.”

Do (or how do) Mary and Martha, in their differing responses to Jesus, encourage you in your life and ministry to pray and serve?

I offer this prayer from the Rev. Leslie Scoopmire, in closing: “Blessed Teacher, may we sit at your feet and be transformed to follow your Way. May we seek to serve others with gratitude. Unite within us the desire to learn and the willingness to serve like Mary and Martha in their work for the kingdom of God. Give us Martha hands and Mary hearts, opening our minds and spirits to serve you and be guided by you. Let us proclaim your glory in words and actions. Make us your hands and your loving wisdom in the world. Amen”

Lent 4: Repentence

 We are continuing our journey through Lent looking at the Sunday readings, and how we can relate them to stories of Biblical women and our lives. Repentance is a big topic in Lent. The story of the Prodigal Son from the Gospel this week, promises that God will always welcome us home when we return. Rahab and Mary of Magdala, though maligned through the centuries also teach us about unconditional love.

The collect for this Fourth Sunday of Lent, echoes the theme as well. Jesus, as the true bread, gives life and love to the world. Through him, we are then to give that same grace to others. Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. We pray that we may live in him, and be like him in our lives.

Jesus tells the story of the Prodigal Son after the Pharisees complained about Jesus hanging out with ‘sinners.’ The definition of ‘sinner’ to the Pharisees was pretty much anyone who didn’t practice religion exactly ‘right’—by their definition. Sadly, the same thing can be said of each of us today. We often categorize someone as ‘bad’ or ‘sinner’ simply because they don’t act like we think they should, or they hold a different belief system. It is very easy to point fingers, and hard to really try to understand a different viewpoint or life-style.

The parable tells of a young man who asks for his inheritance and then squandered his property in dissolute living. He eventually returns home. His father, who has been hoping for the return, greets him with gifts and a feast. We see that his older brother is not so generous. He pouts, and became angry and refused to go in. Even when his father tries to explain, he seems to remain obstinate. Jesus was symbolically pointing to the Pharisees as the elder son who refuses to accept his brother’s repentance and insists on his own way.

The question is equally applicable to us today. Like the Pharisees, and elder son, we want to be the special and ‘proper’ and ‘right’ one. Even in the scriptural witness, we find that women (and men) are looked down on and discounted. We see that in Rahab and Mary of Magdala, both named as prostitutes for being outside the norm.

As I note in my book Sacred Story: Yours, Mine, Ours, “despite their witness and action, both Rahab and Mary of Magdala are slandered and disparaged. Over the centuries, their reputations and lives have been ignored or rewritten by those in power.”

K.J. Ramsey affirms, “This is what I know: the betrayal of another cannot take your belovedness away. Darkness cannot steal your inheritance. Evil cannot revoke your anointing. The Kingdom of God is here. This is still your Father’s world. Beautiful and brutal things will happen to you and those you love. But do not be afraid. God never leaves us without a witness or a name.” [The Lord is My Courage: Stepping Through the Shadows of Fear to the Voice of Love (Zondervan, 2022)]

In The Weight of Glory, CS Lewis says, “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal…it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, and exploit…Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses...in him also Christ vere latitat—the glorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself, is truly hidden.” In my book, I noted, “Seeing each other as bearers of God and co-workers with us, could change our perceptions and judgments. I wonder what difference it would make in my life, in your life, in the world, if we were conscious of the Christ hidden in each of us. If we, like Rahab and Mary, were truly willing to cast our lot with God, a Beloved Community might be birthed.”

1 John 4:7 pleads, Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God. Like the father in the parable, our response to each other needs to be grace and acceptance not pouting or pointing fingers because not everyone is just like us.

What difference would it make if you saw everyone as filled with God’s glory and equally beloved?

Lent 3: Call

 God calls each of us. Perhaps not always in the dramatic way Moses heard God in the bush, as in our reading this Sunday. Sometimes, like Photini and Deborah it is simply in the way we live and witness. The collect for the Third Sunday of Lent from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer says, Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The prayer reminds us that we cannot help ourselves. When we think we are in charge or in control, it is a mirage formed by our own hubris and pride. Let’s think about Moses for a minute. We meet him in the Old Testament/Hebrew Scripture reading (Exodus 3:1-15) while keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro. That is a long way from his status as a Prince of Egypt. Remember in the early chapters of Exodus we hear how he was saved from Pharoah’s edict to kill all male children, by Pharoah’s own daughter. He was raised as royalty and only learned his true heritage as a young man. Then in defense of a fellow Hebrew he killed an Egyptian and fled for his life. Now he is a humble shepherd.

God doesn’t look at the lack of power, though. He sees Moses, a man gifted with abilities learned in his years at court and knowledge of the wilderness gained as a shepherd. God knows Moses is the man to confront Pharoah and bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.  

Moses is not convinced and argues with God. God doesn’t give up and tells him to inform the Israelites ‘I AM has sent me to you…The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’

In my book Sacred Story: Yours, Mine, Ours, we meet Photini (aka the Samaritan Woman) and Deborah, an Old Testament judge. What do they have in common? They are leaders, unexpected leaders, and strong leaders. Like the prayer at the beginning, they knew they had no power in ourselves to help ourselves. “Deborah in the Old Testament and Photini in the New Testament are bold witnesses to the work of God. They show how God can act mightily in any life. Deborah was a judge of Israel, and Photini was the first to proclaim Jesus’ Messiahship to her town of Sychar.” I think this image of a proud, confident woman could represent either Deborah or Photini.

In my book, I note, “Deborah and Photini recognized that a greater good could come from trusting God. Our personal actions for the ‘good of all,’ often start out small. Deborah was simply offering advice under a palm tree. Photini was just going to the well for water. These women were doing their daily tasks. Then God acted in their lives. When God acts with and in us, the mustard seed of our life and work becomes a mighty tree.”

Moses didn’t think he could free the Israelites from the power of Pharoah. Deborah may have doubted that she could lead an army and Photini wasn’t expecting to meet the Messiah at the well. Yet, God used each of these people to move the Kingdom of God closer. I remind readers, “Our Sacred Stories carry encounters with the Living God like the men and women in the Bible. Like them, our witness deepens our faith and inspires our walk with God.” It is rarely in the big, newsworthy moments that change happens. It is in the small, day-to-day encounters where justice, mercy, and love are shared.

What small actions have you seen, in your life or others, which God use to bring about change?

Lent 2: Covenent

 Today we jump to the Hebrew Scripture/Old Testament reading to consider how we Covenant with God in our lives and actions as we look at the story of Abram in Genesis. Mary and Elizabeth in the New Testament offer inspiration of ways we say “Yes” to the seemingly impossible plans of God.

This week’s collect (prayer) from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer says, O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. It acknowledges that we do fall away from God’s ways. The prayer reminds us that in the “unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ,” we are brought back to relationship with God.

In the Hebrew Scripture reading for this Second Sunday of Lent (Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18) Abram has a vision where God affirms the covenant of relationship with Abram. God assures him that, though he is currently childless, he will have descendants as many as stars in the heavens. Abram believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness. How many of us would be able to believe in thousands of descendants when all the physical appearances say the opposite? However, God keeps the promise through decades and centuries until Christ and even to us, now.

In my book, Sacred Story: Yours, Mine, Ours, I look at the stories of Mary of Nazareth and Elizabeth as women who can teach us about saying “Yes” to God’s (seemingly) impossible actions. I note, “Saying ‘yes’ to God means risking being changed…the two women say “Yes” to God’s action. Elizabeth prefers to keep her pregnancy a secret. Mary, on the other hand, wants to share what happened and hurries off to the only person who might understand. They each accept the risk of saying ‘yes’ to God’s work”

In the book, I invite readers to join with “Mary and Elizabeth [living] the reality of being, and birthing, hope…If we look deep within our story, we may very well find times when we heard and said ‘yes’ to speaking God’s word in our lives and actions.”

Despite the thousands of years between Abram and the women, God is faithful. Elizabeth’s child will proclaim the coming of the one who fulfills the covenant with Abram. Mary carries in her womb the One who IS the fulfillment. As noted in the Epistle to the Galatians (3:27-29), all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise. We ourselves are the fulfillment of the promise and covenant!

As inheritors of the ancient promise of God, we are invited to respond and enter a relationship with God and God’s people. We are invited to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8) That looks different for each of us, God loves the diversity of responses to enact God’s work and dream.

Where have you heard that invitation to covenant like Abram, Mary, and Elizabeth to say ‘Yes’ to God’s promise for your life and our world? 

Are you willing to believe that your life can bear fruit ‘as many as the stars in heaven,’ despite whatever current appearances are?

Lent 1: Temptations

During Lent, I'll be using the lectionary readings for each Sunday and selected chapters from my book Sacred Story: Yours, Mine Ours. I'll offer ways the stories of these Bible women relate to  the Lent themes. The faith of these women may guide us in ways to live our lives as "repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in."  (Isaiah 58:12)

On this first Sunday of Lent, we consider how our woundedness can lead us into temptations. We will look at Leah and Rachel in the Old Testament as images of how wounds can make us act unwisely and how Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness can give us hope and inspiration for living more whole lives.

The prayer (collect) in the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer encapsulates the truth that we are all tempted and weak and reminds us who is really in control. Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan: Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

In the Gospel for Sunday, (Luke 4:1-13) we hear of Jesus temptation in the wilderness after his baptism. The devil suggests changing stones to bread, offers the kingdoms of the world, and urges Jesus to leap off the temple to see if God will catch him. Those may not be temptations you or I will encounter. However, we do often wish we could change situations, be notable, or get amazing recognition for the things we do.

The story of Rachel and Leah, beginning in Genesis 29 shows us how we can be tempted to manipulate things to further our own agenda or to benefit us. Laban, father of Rachel and Leah, tricks his nephew Jacob into marrying both daughters to have free labor for over 14 years. The sisters themselves enter a competition of numbers of sons that results in much hard feeling between the women and their sons. Jacob manipulates the family by telling his wives that God wants them to return to Canaan as depicted in this painting by Pieter Potter (1638).

As I note in my book, Sacred Story: Yours, Mine, Ours, “Rachel and Leah are two sisters whose family heritage and individual self-image impacted how they responded to the challenges in their lives. Rachel became a defensive woman who doubted that she was loved. Leah struggled to believe she was lovable and spent her life competing for the elusive love of her husband. Their identities, like ours, were formed by the diverse parts of their life history. Every family has secrets and expectations. Sometimes these are healthy, and sometimes they are destructive. Recognizing the impact of our family story on our Sacred Story can change how we respond to one another. When we realize that we are all wounded and broken, we can be more compassionate.”

Recognizing how the wounds of our lives impact our responses to the temptations we face can help us take a more healthy path. Just imagine how different the relationship between Leah and Rachel could have been if Leah had been willing to acknowledge that she felt hurt because she believed Jacob loved the ‘prettier’ younger sister more. Rachel doubted she was loved, too, because of the emphasis on the cultural measurement of bearing children. It might have been different if the sisters were able to share their fears and doubts.

Like us, though, everyone in the story reacted based on their woundedness rather than working for the good of the whole. It is so easy to want to protect what is ‘ours’ that we can slip into temptations that benefit no one. We can ignore someone’s pain because they might demand something from us. We can refuse to see each other as children of God because we disagree. We can, and do, all fall into temptation.

Jesus response to Satan in the wilderness showed a dependence on God that is lacking from the woundedness of Rachel and Leah and Jacob’s (and our) lives. Jesus points out ‘one does not live by bread alone.’ He reminds the Tempter that we are to ‘worship the Lord your God and serve only him’ and that we should not ‘put the Lord your God to the test.’

Jesus points beyond himself to God. Rachel and Leah point fingers at each other in blame. I find myself responding in fear and anger when I feel out of control. Jesus offers the way of Life—looking to God and acknowledging that God is in control. The prayer this Sunday asks, let each one find you mighty to save. Indeed it is only God who can save us from our temptations and from our woundedness that gives room for temptations to get under our skin.  

May we find time this week to consider some of the wounds that make us vulnerable to temptations.

Lent 4: Serve Christ in All

Jesus told his disciples, A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:34-35)

As we continue looking at the Baptismal Covenant in the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer as a way through Lent, we are asked a difficult question. “Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?” How we respond is the way the world knows that we are followers of the One who said “love one another.”

It is a hard question and a difficult command to live into. The good news is that Jesus has paved the way. The Gospel this week states, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:16-17)

God—Creator of all that is, LOVED the world—each and every bit and person, so much that God became Human! God became Incarnate (in-flesh) so that the world might be [reconciled to God] through him. That’s both shocking and wonderful. How can the Originator of star dust and microbes and leviathans and humans DESIRE relationship so much that Creator becomes Creature? Hundred of pages of theology has been written about the hows and whys. But at the core is God so loved the world!

The fish in the sea is loved. The star in the sky is loved. The tiniest microbe is loved. I am loved. You are loved. The stranger on the corner is loved. The bomber is loved.

The Baptismal Covenant says we are to ‘seek Christ in all persons.’ Each of us loved by God. It should be easy to find Christ in and Love everyone. However, the truth is not everyone presents as lovable. It’s easy to love a baby or a sweet grandmother. It’s not so easy to love the grumpy clerk or the person that disagrees with your core beliefs. It’s even more difficult to love a school shooter or abuser.

As we saw last week, ‘love’ is not the soft, fuzzy valentine heart feeling. It is action that bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (I Cor. 13:7) We chose to love, even when it is nearly impossible to do so. We make the choice to say, ‘you are God’s beloved, even if you are not a nice person.’ We chose to allow others their opinions and beliefs even if we cannot understand their point of view.

It's a personal struggle, for me, to love and accept and see each other as God’s equally loved child. (Often it’s hard to see myself as loved or lovable, too.) That’s why the reminder in the Baptismal Covenant is so important. “Seeking and serving Christ in All and loving neighbor as self”—not easy, but vital to creating God’s Beloved Community where all creation is accepted and valued and not harmed in any way. And that may require some giving up of ‘my way.’ It will require conscious effort.

In what way can I seek Christ in someone I may disagree with?

When can I choose love over division?

Lent 3: Proclaim Good News

 This Lent we are looking at the Baptismal Covenant in the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer to see how we can more fully live as Followers of Christ and the love of God. We’ve seen that fellowship is helpful and that we often need to repent and change our life’s direction. Jesus told his disciples, A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:34-35)

The third question asked of everyone present at a baptism is: “Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?” Some would insist that means we have to go around waving John 3:16 banners or forcing everyone to believe in exactly the way we do. It’s far to easy to think that proclaiming the Good News means ‘my faith is the only right one and if you don’t believe like me, you are wrong and maybe even damned.’

What if we expanded our understanding of the Good News to be more inclusive and loving? Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church is fond of saying, “If it’s not about love, it’s not about God.”

Love is complex, as 1 Corinthians 13 notes, “If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal…Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Cor. 13:1-7)

The desire to proclaim Good News in grand ways is very human. We want to be noticed and affirmed. However, St. Paul’s letter reminds us that love is both simpler and harder than signs and wonders. He says, now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. (1 Cor. 13:13)

Proclaiming the Good News in Love is complex. Sometimes, proclaiming the Good News involves standing up to authority, or standing with the disenfranchised. The Gospel this week tells of Jesus casting out the merchants in the Temple. Angrily, he stormed, take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace! (John 2:16)

More often, sharing “by word and example” is found in encouragement or helpfulness or compassion. Maybe it’s sharing an uplifting image or quote on social media or joining in a celebration. It could be a smile or hug or note for someone who is sad or hurting or lonely. Perhaps it’s recognizing the unsung accomplishments of a neighbor.

What first comes to mind when you hear “Proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ”?

How might you share the Good News of God’s love this week?

Who needs to hear of God’s love?

Lent 2: Resist and Repent

 The Baptismal Covenant in the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer offers a road map for living a Christian life as we try to serve Christ in each other and share the love of God. Jesus told his disciples, A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:34-35)

Last week we looked at the first of the promises or vows we make at our baptism. If we are really young our godparents make these responses for us. Older children and adults make their own vows. We (the congregation and family) hear them and respond every time there is a baptism. We promise to remain in the “apostles teaching and fellowship, and the prayers.”

The next question might, and should, bring you up short. “Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?”

Last Sunday we heard the story of Jesus’ baptism and temptation in the wilderness. Perhaps you were reminded that we are all tempted by power and prestige and applause. These can be subtle ways that we slip into sin. This Sunday we hear that Jesus’ followers must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me…[because] what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? (Mark 8:31-38) Like Jesus in the wilderness, we are to refuse the temptations to be like everyone else or to be in control or to know it all or to have the most or… whatever it is for you.

That’s not easy in a culture that prizes ‘winning’ and ‘having the most toys’ above nearly everything else. And so, we return to our baptismal vow to resist evil. When we fail, and sin, then we are to repent and return to the Lord.

Repentance means a turning around to a new way of life. It’s turning away from whatever pulled us away from God’s love. What is that for you? It might be snarky responses on Facebook that are hurtful. It could be refusing to share what we have. It looks different for each of us. Maybe it’s being unkind to our family or ignoring a need right in front of us.

Once you have identified the evil or sin you want to repent of and turn from, then the hard work of making that happen, begins. Jesus point to the paradox of living into the Good News. It is in what seems like loss that we gain. It is in the loss of our insistence on ‘my way’ that we draw closer to God and God’s way of love.

In this season of Lent, the image of the cross is in the forefront because we know that what Jesus says in the beginning of the Sunday Gospel is true. The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. It is our call to accept our own cross of giving up our life for the Gospel.

What is the temptation to evil (sin) in my life?

How can I resist evil and truly repent.

In what way am I taking up my cross?

Lent 1: Psalm 32: Obedience

We are now in the Season of Lent. A time to prepare for Easter as we examine our conscience. On Ash Wednesday we were admonished to commit to the “observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God's holy Word.” It is a call to obedience, a call to return to God’s ways.

In today’s Psalm we hear Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and did not conceal my guilt. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” Then you forgave me the guilt of my sin. Until we are willing to admit that we have done things that separate us from God’s love, we cannot begin to be restored to right relationship.

The reading from Genesis 2 reminds us of the first sin—the first rupture of the relationship between God and his creation. Eve and then Adam eat of the fruit of the tree they have been forbidden to use for food (Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7). The Epistle to the Romans tells us Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous (Romans 5:12-19). Finally, in the Gospel we hear of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness where he refuses Satan’s blandishments to easy fame and fortune (Matthew 4:1-11).

Psalm 32 begins by saying, Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven, and whose sin is put away! The Psalm ends with a promise, mercy embraces those who trust in the Lord. Be glad, you righteous, and rejoice in the Lord; shout for joy, all who are true of heart. As the Letter to the Romans notes, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. We have the assurance of forgiveness and grace, because of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is an amazing promise.

The Psalmist, centuries earlier, knew this same grace and proclaims, You are my hiding-place; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. The Message translation is full of imagery the Psalmist wouldn’t have known about. It says, God’s my island hideaway, keeps danger far from the shore, throws garlands of hosannas around my neck. But the idea of “garlands of hosannas” is attractive. What image comes to mind? A private island with just you and God where you can rejoice in God’s love and grace all the time?

How often do we try to do life all by ourselves? The Genesis reading is a warning against that. The first couple thought they could gain knowledge for themselves by eating the forbidden fruit. All it brought them was sorrow and separation. If God is our ‘island hideaway’ why would be want anything else?

The obedience of Jesus in refusing to take the ‘easy route,’ offered by Satan, is a lesson in what should be our response to temptations. Jesus ultimately tells Satan, Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’ Quoting scripture drives away the tempter. Remaining in relationship with God in Lent, and always, requires us also to be grounded in discipline and obedience. As the Ash Wednesday bidding says we do this by “self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God's holy Word.”

May you keep a Holy Lent.

Psalm 32 Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven, * and whose sin is put away! Happy are they to whom the Lord imputes no guilt, * and in whose spirit there is no guile! While I held my tongue, my bones withered away, * because of my groaning all day long. For your hand was heavy upon me day and night; * my moisture was dried up as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you, * and did not conceal my guilt. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” * Then you forgave me the guilt of my sin. Therefore all the faithful will make their prayers to you in time of trouble; * when the great waters overflow, they shall not reach them. You are my hiding-place; you preserve me from trouble; * you surround me with shouts of deliverance. “I will instruct you and teach you in the way that you should go; * I will guide you with my eye. Do not be like horse or mule, which have no understanding; * who must be fitted with bit and bridle, or else they will not stay near you.” Great are the tribulations of the wicked; * but mercy embraces those who trust in the Lord. Be glad, you righteous, and rejoice in the Lord; * shout for joy, all who are true of heart.                           (Book of Common Prayer)

Count yourself lucky, how happy you must be— you get a fresh start, your slate’s wiped clean. Count yourself lucky— God holds nothing against you and you’re holding nothing back from him. When I kept it all inside, my bones turned to powder, my words became daylong groans The pressure never let up; all the juices of my life dried up. Then I let it all out; I said, “I’ll come clean about my failures to God.” Suddenly the pressure was gone— my guilt dissolved, my sin disappeared. These things add up. Every one of us needs to pray; when all hell breaks loose and the dam bursts we’ll be on high ground, untouched. God’s my island hideaway, keeps danger far from the shore, throws garlands of hosannas around my neck. Let me give you some good advice; I’m looking you in the eye and giving it to you straight:| “Don’t be ornery like a horse or mule that needs bit and bridle to stay on track.” God-defiers are always in trouble; God-affirmers find themselves loved every time they turn around. Celebrate God. Sing together—everyone! All you honest hearts, raise the roof! (The Message)

Lent: Pray for Families

 Today is the last in the Lent series of praying for the World, Church, Nation, Social Order, Natural Order, and Family as suggested by prayers at the end of the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer (BCP) and the Episcopal Church’s 2021 Lent curriculum: Life Transformed: The Way of Love in Lent, which is exploring the seven disciplines of the Way of Love. 

It’s Palm Sunday, also called the “Sunday of the Passion” because we hear both the narration of the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, we hear the story of Jesus’ trial and crucifixion. It’s fun to wave our palms and welcome Jesus as “the one who comes in the name of the Lord”. But we are reminded that it was the same crowds that shouted “Crucify”. So quickly can our allegiances change. 

One minute we are affirming our baptismal vows to “seek and serve Christ in all persons” and “strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.” But in the ‘real’ world, we feel free to criticize and to ignore and even assault those same humans made in the image of God. Paul is right, I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing. (Romans 7:19).

This year of pandemic and unrest has made us intensely aware of our need for family and friends. Some of us have been made aware of the divisions in our families over politics or mask-wearing or other issues. Too many have lost family members or friends to the disease we were only beginning to know about a year ago. We have been separated from our church families and our biological families. We have had the opportunity, forced upon us, to recognize how important these relationships are.

It’s true that we may disagree over politics or lifestyle or just hair style. Perhaps we need to pause and ask if what we find strange or wrong or silly is, in fact, our family member’s way of living out their God given gifts and living into the image of God in them. Now, we have the hope of vaccinations and an end to some of the isolation. Families are thinking about how they might be able to hug grandparents and one another again. We can rebuild relationships. 

Today the Lent curriculum jumps forward to Easter announcing, “Easter! What an amazing moment it must have been to be one of the women who went down to the tomb that first Easter morning. They came expecting death and sorrow…Their expectations were blown away. This encounter with Jesus changed them so much that they were compelled to GO back to their fellow followers and proclaim the good news. Their testimony would eventually spread to every corner of the earth so that wherever we go, the love of God will meet us there…Our job now is to follow the examples of those women and go into the world proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus. Let this be the season that you go and live the full gift of the resurrection.”

This pandemic has helped us look at what ‘church’ really is. Maybe we've redefined what the "Family of God" is. It's not just those who show up in pews weekly. We’ve seen there are many ways to ‘Go’ into the world to proclaim the Good News. There has been the opportunity to evaluate and reevaluate what might really be important in our corporate lives and in our outreach and in our personal lives. Some churches are already back in their buildings, others are making plans for hybrid (online and in-person) services, and some are cautiously optimistic that worship can resume on Easter.

We are coming to the end of Lent, a time when we are encouraged to look at our life, faith, and practice. What will we carry forward into Easter, and into a post-COVID world? We are a diverse assortment of gifts and ideas and hopes and dreams. But like this image, we are in our biological and church, and even community ‘families’, we are all called to honor and love one another.

The Lent curriculum asks, “How will you GO and tell the story of the empty tomb out loud?” Think about that this week. 

How will you honor the God-image in each person you encounter, whether they are related to you by blood or just by being human?

What sorts of positive things and activities will you take as we move into a post-COVID world? What part of the last year has been surprising or life-changing?

If you wrote a letter to yourself at the beginning of Lent get it out and read it in a prayerful way. Are there changes or transformations in your life?

 We end with this prayer for families from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer: Almighty God, our heavenly Father, who settest the solitary in families: We commend to thy continual care the homes in which thy people dwell. Put far from them, we beseech thee, every root of bitterness, the desire of vainglory, and the pride of life. Fill them with faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness. Knit together in constant affection those who, in holy wedlock, have been made one flesh. Turn the hearts of the parents to the children, and the hearts of the children to the parents; and so enkindle fervent charity among us all, that we may evermore be kindly affectioned one to another; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP 828)

Lent: Pray for Social Order

 We are almost at the end of our Lent journey of praying for the World, Church, Nation, Social Order, Natural Order, and Family as suggested by prayers at the end of the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer (BCP) and the Episcopal Church’s 2021 Lent curriculum: Life Transformed: The Way of Love in Lent, which is exploring the seven disciplines of the Way of Love.

Today we will think about how our Worship and our work for Social Justice are linked. The song Start Right Here by Casting Crowns speaks of the ways we can ‘do’ church but asks are we really? The lyrics say, “We want our blessings in our pockets/ We keep our missions overseas/ But for the hurting in our cities/ Would we even cross the street?... What if the church on Sunday/ Was still the church on Monday too/ What if we came down from our towers/ And walked a mile in someone's shoes?”

In the Lent curriculum reading for this week (Zephaniah 3:12-20), “we are called let go of our fears so that we might truly WORSHIP God. In a world beset by violence, hunger, exploitation, and oppression, this is no easy task…Do not fear, O Zion … he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love. (Zephaniah 3:16-17) Here we see that God intends to turn all our fear into rejoicing, which means our worship should well up as an overwhelming act of gratitude.”

It can be easy to Worship joyfully and without fear when everything is going smoothly. This last year has been anything but smooth. We have been assaulted by pandemic, social unrest, political wrangling and rhetoric, economic challenges, and the recognition of much injustice in our society. Fear has lurked in the background, ready to pounce, as we read or watch the news. Even our regular Worship has been interrupted. We have had to find new ways of worshipping and of gathering and of working together.

The Lent curriculum notes that it was much the same for the disciples, “by the time Jesus’ life is ending, when faced with the possibility of following him to the cross, the disciples are once again filled with fear.” It was only on Easter, “when they are reunited with the resurrected Jesus, the doors of a new future are flung open and they return to a stance of gratitude and worship. Their fear of eternal death, as well as our own, has been buried in the empty tomb. We are invited to rejoice and let our gratitude for the gift of new life draw us to worship God.”

Easter this year may still not be within the walls of our churches, but we can still rejoice in God’s love. This year of challenges has made many of us aware of the hidden depths of injustice and inequality still to be faced. How can we use our worship to prepare us to do the work we are called to in the Baptismal covenant?

Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?

Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?

Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?

We respond to each of these “I will, with God's help.” How then do we live? Where do we find hope to conquer our fears? In what ways can we actively proclaim the Good News, love our neighbors, and work for justice and peace?

The Casting Crowns song says, “if we want to see a change in the world out there/ It's got to start right here/ It's got to start right now.”

For me, it starts by being grounded in God and finding things to be grateful for, even in the pandemic and turmoil. Things like family, friends, sunshine, and even technology that keeps us connected. The Lent curriculum suggests, “write down at least five things every day for which you are grateful. They can be very small, but they should be things that make you appreciate the gift of life we have from God. At the end of the week, bring this list to worship and place it in the offering plate as an act of grateful worship.”

When we can turn from fear and truly Worship, then we will be freed to reach out to those who need to know the touch of God, the touch of Christ. We can be that touch, we can build bridges and find common ground. We can walk what Presiding Bishop Curry calls the Way of Love as Beloved Community.

The closing prayer from the Lent curriculum calls us to love and service:

O God and Father of all, whom the whole heavens adore: Let the whole earth also worship you, all nations obey you, all tongues confess and bless you, and men and women everywhere love you and serve you in peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, p. 124)

The Prayer for Social Justice on page 823 of the BCP calls us to the same work:

Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human heart [and especially the hearts of the people of this land], that barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

You may want to pray these two prayers throughout the week as you think about how our fearless worship and action might transform us and those around us.

Next week is Palm Sunday. We'll finish our series with prayers for our families and the imperative to 'Go'. 

Lent: Pray for Nature

 We are continuing our Lent journey of praying for the World, Church, Nation, Social Order, Natural Order, and Family as inspired by prayers at the end of the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer (BCP). I’m also borrowing from the Episcopal Church’s 2021 Lent curriculum: Life Transformed: The Way of Love in Lent, which is exploring the seven disciplines of the Way of Love.

This week we consider our response to and prayers for Nature. If they had experienced the dramatic weather, fires, floods, and other natural occurrences recently, the ancients would have said that Mother Nature, God, or the gods are angry. With our scientific understanding, incomplete as it is, we know that the wild weather has more to do with climate change and shifts in global wind and wave patterns. Our human actions including over-farming, deforestation, and damming rivers have caused some of the changes we are experiencing and experts around the globe are sounding warnings.

What can we do as one person or one group? Perhaps the easiest answer is use and waste less. That’s difficult in a system that comes wrapped in plastic and is highly disposable. We have to make hard choices about where and how we buy things. And that can be uncomfortable or even costly. Being good stewards may force us to make difficult choices.  

Recently Matthew Fox called attention to the fact that in the rebuilding of Notre Dame, some ancient French oaks may be felled as reported in this article: French oaks from once-royal forest felled to rebuild Notre Dame spire | Notre Dame | The Guardian Fox says “Surely, with ingenuity and advanced technical know-how, we can find alternative ways to rebuild this cathedral, architects with a conscience, who respect the holiness of trees amidst the fragile circumstances old trees face today.” (Eco Justice and Notre Dame Cathedral: An Urgent Call to Resist - Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox) He is calling on the planners to make some hard choices for the good of current and future generations.

The Lent curriculum notes that the Anglican Church of Canada has added a new line to the Baptismal covenant: “Will you strive to safeguard the integrity of God’s creation and respect, sustain, and renew the life of the Earth?” The writers note that “Similar language has been proposed at Episcopal General Conventions [to] remind us that we are tied to this creation by our baptism – we have been united with Christ, who entered into the world out of great love for creation…we as Christians can conceptualize sabbath in an eco-stewardship mindset would be to think of giving sabbath REST to the earth through conservation. In the Bible, even creation gets a sabbath break every jubilee year, when the people do not work the soil. As sabbath people, we are seeking to conserve the energy and resources we use.”

In this week’s Lent curriculum we are reminded that we all need Rest. The land and even (esp.?) we humans. However, “We do not live in a culture that encourages REST. All too often, we are forced to work harder and longer hours, and it shows in our health. Yet, from the beginning, God – who rested on the seventh day of creation – set rest into the pattern of all life. Truly practicing the Way of Love means spending time with God in sabbath rest…we can help each other find ways internally to pause and receive the gift of sabbath. The act of rest and restoration is a part of the cycle of rebirth that is God’s hope for us and gift to us…Sabbath rest provides the opportunity for God to refresh us, to breathe new life into us…The gospels record numerous times when Jesus retreated to a place of sabbath to reconnect with God and to receive the strength he needed to continue his ministry {Luke 5 for one].”

It can be tempting to think that our actions of Sabbath rest, for ourselves or the land, will not make much difference in climate change or in the world at large. This image from Facebook is a reminder to me that we are part of the entire larger picture and it all boils down to the fact that one person turning to God and walking in love CAN make a difference.

How can you start your own Sabbath-making practice? Perhaps a sabbath from digital media for a certain amount of time; or making a plan to get out into nature and really look for the new life beginning to peek through the soil or the buds on the branches. Turning off your electronic devices is not just a sabbath for you, but it is a brief sabbath of electricity use which in a tiny way benefits the planet.

Giving ourselves and nature Rest isn’t easy., but it can make a difference. We do have to be intentional about it. In the first weeks of lock-downs around the world, it was noted that the air cleared up with less cars on the road. Now, as people return to getting out more, the air is getting polluted again. To me this is a dramatic example of human impact that we don’t realize.

Can we pay attention to where our food comes from and how much energy is used to get what we ‘need’ to our homes? Since so many of us are relying on delivery services during this pandemic, we may need to be extra intentional about our ordering habits. I, for instance, have started using the Amazon ‘delivery day’ option which is supposed to group your purchases into one box and one delivery date instead of getting items piecemeal over several days.

Over this week, you might ponder these questions:
How can you as an individual ‘tread more lightly’ on the earth?
Can you think of ways to use less or recycle more?

We close with this prayer from the curriculum and one from Prayers and Thanksgivings at the end of the Book of Common Prayer (BCP).

O God, in the course of this busy life, give us times of refreshment and peace; and grant that we may so use our leisure to rebuild our bodies and renew our minds, that our spirits may be opened to the goodness of your creation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, p. 825)

Almighty God, in giving us dominion over things on earth, you made us fellow workers in your creation: Give us wisdom and reverence so to use the resources of nature, that no one may suffer from our abuse of them, and that generations yet to come may continue to praise you for your bounty; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP p. 827)

Next week we will consider how Worship can impact our prayers, and action, for social order.

Lent: Pray for the Nation

We are continuing on our Lent journey of praying for the World, Church, Nation, Social Order, Natural Order, and Family as suggested by prayers at the end of the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer (BCP). I’m also borrowing from the Episcopal Church’s 2021 Lent curriculum: Life Transformed: The Way of Love in Lent, which is exploring the seven disciplines of the Way of Love.

Session Four of the Lent curriculum is focused on “Bless,” which is how we can get “a new heart and new spirit” (Ezekiel 36:24-28). Blessing others with God’s love is, as this prayer says, a way of reconciliation: Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who are reborn into the fellowship of Christ’s Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, pp. 290-291)

This week we take on praying for the Nation. In this time of continuing division, inequity, and even injustice, it is more important than ever to pause and pray for a new heart and new spirit for ourselves, for our leaders, for our neighbors, for those we disagree with, for those we fear, for those we don’t understand… We are all part of “One Nation, Under God” even if we don’t always agree with what that looks like.

The Lent curriculum suggests that we all have idols that keep us from full, true relationship with God. The authors define an idol as “anything to which we assign ultimate value in our lives – those things we spend our time, talent, and treasure serving other than God. Our job, power, money, reputation, certain relationships, or anything that pulls on our heart more than God – these are idols.”

Lent is a perfect time to consider what some of our individual idols might be, esp. those we consider true of our nation. In praying for our nation, what are idols that we, as a national community, have set up? What can we each do to topple the idols in our lives and communities?

The curriculum writers note, “idols seem momentarily satisfying, they eventually harm our relationship with God and limit our capacity or willingness to live for others…Only when we turn to God will our hearts be opened so that we can, in turn, open our hearts in blessing to others…we will leap to bless others with our stories, our money, our time, and our hearts.”

It is, as I’ve said before, so easy to label those we don’t understand or agree with as “other” or even “evil.” Only when we take time to build (rebuild) community and conversation can we see our neighbor as a child of God and as Beloved by God. The Lent curriculum reminds, “God has given each of us gifts with which to BLESS others. In fact, for a community to be whole, every person’s gifts must be called forth, nurtured, and used.”

Each person in this nation has gifts and talents that can build up the fabric of our society. When anyone is limited in their expression of their gifts and talents, whether it is gender, color, creed, nationality, economic level, etc., we are all the poorer. Only when the poorest among us have the same opportunities for education, food, shelter, and hope as the privileged ones of us, can we see a true blossoming of our “Liberty and Justice for All” promise.

As you think and pray for our nation, bring your thoughts down to your community and even your neighborhood. Where is there a need for blessing? Who can you bless?

In closing this prayer “For those who suffer for the sake of Conscience (BCP pg. 823): seems appropriate: O God our Father, whose Son forgave his enemies while he was suffering shame and death: Strengthen those who suffer for the sake of conscience; when they are accused, save them from speaking in hate; when they are rejected, save them from bitterness; when they are imprisoned, save them from despair; and to us your servants, give grace to respect their witness and to discern the truth, that our society may be cleansed and strengthened. This we ask for the sake of Jesus Christ, our merciful and righteous Judge. Amen.

And this one from Daily Prayer for All Seasons):God of hope, from you come every blessing and all peace: Show us that, in the midst of our struggles, you are with us. Give us the abundance of your grace that we may do the work you give us to do and that we may be for the world a sign of your presence; through Christ, the Way and the Truth. Amen. [The Office of the General Convention of The Episcopal Church, Daily Prayer for All Seasons (New York: Church Publishing, 2014), 71.]

Next week we’ll pray about the ‘natural order’ and how Rest may be a benefit to us and to the earth.

Lent: Pray for the Church

 During Lent, here on the blog, I’m looking at the Prayers for World, Church, Nation, Social Order, Natural Order, and Family as found at the end of the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer (BCP) and borrowing from the Episcopal Church’s 2021 Lent curriculum: Life Transformed: The Way of Love in Lent, which is exploring the seven disciplines of the Way of Love. We’ve already seen that Turn is a perfect way to start Lent and that Pray is our entry into faith-filled Lenten practices. Prayer for our World is especially important in this COVID-tide as we are so closely linked with all our sisters and brothers around the globe.

Today we will see how the Way of Love tenet “Learn” can inform our prayers and interaction, esp. with the Church universal. The Lent curriculum tells us, “Lent has always been the traditional time of study and growth for those who seek to follow Jesus’ way and LEARN his life and teachings. As Christians, we are invited to continue to grow in our knowledge and love of God. Remember, Episcopal tradition holds that we never really “arrive” in our journey with God…However, gaining wisdom is not simply studying a book or memorizing a few facts. Wisdom goes beyond mere knowledge into action. We cannot be considered wise if we do not act in accordance with what we have learned. Wisdom demands integrity.”

Intentional prayer for the church, your local congregation, diocese, province, national and international benefits from learning about the beliefs and about the needs in and of the church. The Lent study notes, “When we are dedicated to learning more about God’s wisdom through relationship with Jesus and with others, we open ourselves up to God’s holy word made manifest in all with whom we come in contact.” The same is true when we learn more about our own church and even about other faith traditions. We begin to see and learn where we agree, what we don’t always agree about, and how our worship styles are the same or different.

Learning about the church beyond our own parish can really enrich our lives. In this COVID-tide, many are virtually attending church services from more than one parish or even denomination. My husband and I have developed the habit of Sunday worship at both the Washington National Cathedral and our home church. On a couple of Sundays, we’ve “attended” Baptist services when my granddaughter was doing a solo. Nearly every day I find time for Morning Prayer from Washington National Cathedral, Canterbury Cathedral, or my own parish.  

Seeing how other places worship and hearing different preachers is enriching and helps us learn and grow in knowledge. Often the Washington National Cathedral invites guest speakers who I would not have heard otherwise. These women and men give new insight into scripture from their lives, culture, and faith traditions.

You might want to take time this week to find out what your faith community professes at a local and national level. For instance, the Episcopal Church website states: The Episcopal Church welcomes all who worship Jesus Christ, in 111 dioceses and regional areas in 17 nations. The Episcopal Church is a member province of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The mission of the church, as stated in the Book of Common Prayer’s catechism (p. 855), is “to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.” As part of that mission, we’re following Jesus into loving, liberating and life-giving relationship with God, with each other and with the earth as the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement.  We seek every day to love God with our whole heart, mind and soul, and to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:36-40)."

"As the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement, and followers of Jesus’ Way, we seek to live like him. We’re serious about moving out to grow loving, liberating, life-giving relationships with God (evangelism); to grow those relationships with each other (reconciliation); and to grow those relationships with all of creation (creation care). [This is done via]:

EVANGELISM: Listen for Jesus’ movement in our lives and in the world. Give thanks. Proclaim and celebrate it! Invite the Spirit to do the rest.

RECONCILIATION: Embody the loving, liberating, life-giving way of Jesus with each other.

CREATION CARE: Encounter and honor the face of God in creation."

The Episcopal Church website suggests: "TRY THIS:  Look around and notice wherever you see people nurturing relationship 1) with God, 2) with each other and 3) with creation. What’s happening? What’s helping people to heal and live in sync with God, with each other and with the earth? What are the fruits of these relationships?"

As you learn about your church, you might ask yourself if you accept the tenets of your faith community. If so, why? If not, what do you disagree with?

Do you feel called to act more deeply in your city or church, or in your Diocese or Province or beyond?

At the end of the BCP, there are Prayers for the Church, including for parishes, diocese, etc. I’ve chosen the first one for this week.

Gracious Father, we pray for thy holy Catholic Church. Fill it with all truth, in all truth with all peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in any thing it is amiss, reform it. Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of Jesus Christ thy Son our Savior. Amen.

And from the Lent curriculum:

O Lord, you have taught us that without love whatever we do is worth nothing; Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts your greatest gift, which is love, the true bond of peace and of all virtue, without which whoever lives is accounted dead before you. Grant this for the sake of your only Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, p. 216)