Today's trouble is enough for today! - May 14

Today’s Readings:AM Psalm [70], 71; PM Psalm 74; Lev. 19:26–37; 2 Thess. 1:1–12; Matt. 6:25–34

I have been worrying about tomorrow all day. Not really tomorrow, but the next phase of life in COVID-19. After spending two hours on a conference call with other priests and our Bishop, conversation with our wardens, and drafting a letter to our congregation to be sent today, there has been a lot of worrying about tomorrow. And then I read and hear these words found in the Gospel of Matthew, “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” I see why Jesus calls himself ‘the Truth’ in John’s Gospel. Today’s trouble is enough for today!

The words in today’s Scripture are meant to be words of hope and encouragement. Jesus says, ‘do not worry about your life.’ These comforting words from the Sermon on the Mount remind people that God provides life. In asking us to consider the lilies of the field, we are invited to look out at the splendor and beauty of creation and see all that God has done and provided. Why then are we worried about what we cannot control when the world is teeming with life, beauty, and possibility?

It dawned on me while resting with this passage, that even when Covid-19 has come and gone, there will be remarkable challenges we will face. Loved ones will still hurt, people will get sick, we will break promises, work too much, rush around too much, and life will go on. And yet God’s grace and goodness will still abound, just as it is today. I wonder if there is a way to learn to reserve our worry for what we have control over or can change, and with everything else, have the faith and confidence that God is loving our world into wholeness. Jesus implies, “strive for the Kingdom and all else shall be well.”

- John+

Questions for Self Reflection:

• What do you worry about that is out of your control? What do you worry about that you can change or influence? Where do you devote most of your energy?

Daily Challenge

• Find a rock or something with a little weight to it. Now pick one of your worries that is out of your control and imagine naming that object for that worry. Carry that object in a pocket or with you for half of today. After noonday prayers, consider letting go of the object. 

Making our eyes healthy requires more than carrots - May 13

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 72; PM Psalm 119:73-96; Lev. 19:1-18; 1 Thess. 5:12-28; Matt. 6:19-24

I have a group that reads books together on Tuesdays.  Last month we spent our days diving into The Book of Joy by the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu.  The premise of the book was learning how to find joy in our life, especially when faced with great adversity, pain, and suffering.  It couldn’t have been better timing for us as a group to read their thoughts as our lives were all becoming more difficult in so many ways. 

One of the key concepts that was presented was the idea of reframing.  To find joy in our lives, we have to learn how to see each situation differently.  One the examples suggested was when you feel envious of your neighbor’s mansion or fancy home, maybe say to yourself, “I am so grateful that I don’t need to clean five bathrooms or mow that giant lawn.” When we can learn to cast a different light on a situation, we can learn to see it from different angles which can then lead to us seeing what we can be grateful for and how we can be satisfied. This is a necessary approach for finding joy when situations become difficult and challenging.

Maybe that is why I am drawn to this passage in Matthew (6:22-23) where Jesus uses the image of a lamp to describe an eye.  If your eye is healthy, the whole body is full of light, and if it is unhealthy, the body is full of darkness.  Jesus could be suggesting that our view of the world and ourselves is dependent on our ability to reframe a situation.  What we see, and how we see it, changes the very nature of how we exist in this world.  It is probably worthy of considerable exploration of what makes our eyes healthy or not, but through my faith, I have come to believe that the core component to living faithfully is to know that we are unconditionally loved by God.  And if we accept this truth, we can extend the same truth to all other people by virtue of being children of God. If we know this truth, we can learn to be who God has called us to be in the face of that which stands against us.  It is about being healthy. Making our eyes healthy requires more than carrots.

What do you need for your eyes to be healthy, to let light shine in your life?  Are their practices or disciplines you can adopt that will allow your whole being to be filled with light?  Or are their things that you need to let go of, or stop doing in order to let the light shine through?

- John+

 Questions for Self-Reflection?

• What have you lost in the last 3 months?  What has challenged you most?  What have you given up that you are most grateful for? 

Daily Challenge

• Pick one event that you feel especially challenged by and practice reframing it.  Name what you are grateful for in the midst of this challenge?

Keep Awake. This is all you need. - May 12

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 61, 62; PM Psalm 68:1–20(21–23)24–36; Lev. 16:20–34; 1 Thess. 5:1–11; Matt. 6:7–15

In Paul’s Letter to the Thessalonians, he shares to the community that they do not need a letter written to them. Isn’t it ironic: he tells them this in a letter! Letters were how the community was connected and united with each other. Paul, or someone else, would write a letter to a community and that community would read the letter together and their faith would be strengthened, and their worries eased. And this community doesn’t need a letter to be united. Specifically, in chapter 4, they are told as well that they don’t need a letter to learn how to love each other. Today we hear that they only need to keep awake.

I am struggling with how to reopen the church. While I have not felt an overarching push from our community to get us in the pews, the conversations across the country and even our diocese are pushing us to consider how to gather again in the flesh. It is almost as if there is an assumption, that if we can’t be together in person, we are missing out on something. If we can’t sit and sing and drink from the chalice, we cannot be connected. Maybe Paul’s words of encouragement are to us today, and maybe our in-person worship is the equivalent to the New Testament epistle. The larger world thinks we need in-person worship in order to be united.

But Paul says no! “For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” Maybe not the best illusion for us to consider, but his point is, God returns when you likely aren’t paying attention, so wake up and be vigilant. The point is, we have made an idol of our worship when we believe that being in person and the sharing of the cup is what unites us. I miss it too, probably as much as most others, but it is our faith that unites us. It is our belief that God is a part of this world, and that God’s goodness is bigger than the mess that we are in. We just need to keep awake. When we do this, we will continue to see God’s reign and glory on the horizon.

- John+

Questions for Self-Reflection

• What do you miss the most about church prior to COVID-19?

• In what ways has your faith grown over the past few months?

Daily Challenge

• Write a letter to yourself naming your spiritual growth during this time and put it away to read later.

It’s easier than finding some ‘he-goats’ - May 11

Today’s Readings:AM Psalm 56, 57, [58]; PM Psalm 64, 65; Lev. 16:1–19; 1 Thess. 4:13–18; Matt. 6:1–6,16–18

The more I read the Scripture, the more obscure it gets. When I lived in the seminary community in Alexandria, Virginia, I practiced the daily routine of worship through Morning Prayer and the readings would eventually always get weird. We would mention something like ‘he-goats.’ (I chuckled when we read this together in Psalm 50 last week.) And now we have moved into Leviticus where we will spend our mornings in the next few weeks. It’s about blood and sacrifices and rules and wanting to make things right. It doesn’t make much sense when we think of our lives today. Aaron has to go and sacrifice animals, what I am assuming from our lesson last week are ‘he-goats,’ and he has to do this after the death of his two sons.

The details get even weirder, but what I think is underneath it all, is an outright obsession with getting right with God. The Israelites looked at everything that happened to them as an expression of God’s reign and so there is this necessity to be in the good graces of God. Their outward and visible life takes on the expression of atonement, of making amends with God and with each other, albeit they do it in ways that don’t make sense to us anymore. (For this I am especially glad because it will be hard enough to clean and disinfect our church grounds in this new reality without goat blood smeared everywhere!)

I say all this because I think we have missed the mark when it comes to atonement. Yes, many people see the fulfillment of our faith through the ultimate sacrifice in Jesus Christ. The problem with this is when it absolves us from taking any responsibility. What I have noticed on social media lately is many of us have become convinced that our responsibility in this world is to right people of their false belief by sharing the facts we have come to believe. Don’t get me wrong, I am bothered with purposeful disinformation that is shared in order to disrupt our common life. But it is almost as if we spend as much energy fixing all others and almost in equally bizarre ways as the Israelites did in atoning for their sin and wrongdoing. Our religious identity is too easily focused on trying to be the most informed, or woke, or righteous.

I certainly don’t want to suggest not being informed and working to discern truth from what we read and learn is wrong. But I do wonder what would happen if we put as much energy or more into being reconciled to each other and to God. Instead of the attacking comment or thought to the person who shared the ridiculous story on your Facebook feed, what would it look like to first approach wholeness in your relationship with that person? Would your response be different? At the very least, it will be easier than finding some ‘he-goats’ so why not try.

- John+

Questions for Self-Reflection

• How do you spend time making things right with God? How about the people in your life who have offended or hurt you?

• What does atonement look like in an online world?

Daily Challenge?

• When someone says something that bothers you this week, remember this question. Try responding from the place of reconciliation as opposed to correcting.

"Lord, you have searched me out and known me" - May 9

Today’s Readings:  AM Psalm 55; PM Psalms 138, 139:1-17; Exod. 40:18-38; 1 Thess. 4:1-12; Matt. 5:38-48

“Lord, you have searched me out and known me…” The portion of Psalm 139 appointed for today is a visceral, intimate poem of relationship between God and the psalmist. God is ever-present – but not in the way that a younger sibling is always tagging along. Rather, the Lord is faithful, reliable, and proximate. God is also all-knowing – but not in a smarty-pants, superior way. Rather, the Lord is involved in the integral details of who we are and how we are made. Imagery of God’s hand serves as a stabilizing and guiding force along our experience, and this psalm proclaims that news in awe and wonder.

These ancient words of reflection and prayer stand in stark contrast to public health guidelines of physical distancing in 2020, don’t they? How is it that you need to experience God today? In what ways does your faith need stretching? With whom will you share the Good News of the Lord our God, who gets “up close and personal” with us?

-- Katherine+

Questions for Reflection

• What gives you reassurance of God’s presence?

• Who knows you best?

Daily Challenge

Write the word LORD on a piece of paper. Re-read the words of Psalm 139:1-17 while tracing the letters LORD over and over again. Pay attention to the verses where you felt close to God.

Package from Pearl - May 8

Today’s Readings:  AM Psalms 40, 54; PM Psalm 51; Exod. 34:18-35; 1 Thess. 3:1-13; Matt. 5:27-37

I got a package in the mail from a dear friend the other week. Along with a box of my favorite Andes mints, Pearl relayed a message of Easter joy and love. She said we were in her prayers. In a great display of humor, she said that with the extra time at home, surely our house would be organized and spotless. (She knows of the non-adult inhabitants: two kids and two large dogs, all who track in dirt and chaos daily.) I laughed out loud, stepped over a remote-controlled truck, and unwrapped a candy. How I needed her gift of prayer, care, and encouragement in that moment – plus the chocolate!

In today’s Epistle reading, Paul writes to his friends in the Christian community in northern Greece: “How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we feel before our God because of you?” Paul and his friends had been separated from their Thessalonian brothers and sisters in Christ for quite some time, and they could not get back to visit. The Thessalonians had experienced resistance and persecution in being church together. There had been hard days, and more strenuous times were ahead. The apostle Paul sent them beautiful words of prayer, care, and encouragement – plus his friend Timothy to check on them…all reminders of abiding God’s love.

The gifts of prayer, care, and encouragement helped sustain the early church in trying times, and these same reminders of God’s love can help us today, until we can meet again face to face. Let’s continue to support one another, as God continues to abide with us.

-- Katherine+

Questions for Reflection

• What words of encouragement keep you going?

• Who has brought you joy lately?

Daily Challenge

Send a note of encouragement to someone who brings you great joy.

The toxicity of tension - May 7

Today’s Readings:  AM Psalm 50; PM 114, 115; Exod. 34:1-17; 1 Thess. 2:13-20; Matt. 5:21-26

Tension happens in relationships, especially during times of stress. We let off our emotional steam in the direction of those we care about and trust. If you have others living in close proximity right now, perhaps “Operation Tension Mitigation” has been the name of your family dynamic of late. Rather than diffusing stress and moving on with the next project of the day, Jesus challenges us to go further. He calls us today to total reconciliation.

If someone commits murder or violence, judgment is inevitable. However, Jesus takes it one step further: anger, too, will bring judgment, so he says to drop everything and make amends. Jesus knows how divisive and toxic resentment can be, infiltrating intimacy with weeds of irritability. He wants his followers to live fully into the spirit of God’s law – and not just the word of it. In order to give freely of ourselves to God, Jesus knows that we must be unencumbered by darkness and anger.

Though we are in the Easter season and basking in the joy of the Risen Christ, sometimes reconciliation is easier said than done -- especially in times of duress. Surely Jesus’ disciples wrestled with this teaching, too. Reconciliation still can be a goal we continue to work toward… like a habit we work to cultivate. It can make this time of isolation and quarantine less lonely, and much more joyful. Today, take a step toward building a bridge with a brother or sister, spouse or friend…because we are already forgiven by God.  

Alleluia and thanks be to God!

Katherine+

Questions for Reflection

• How severe a judge are you upon others? How severely do you judge yourself?

• What are your barriers to reconciliation with a loved one?

Daily Challenge

Pray for someone with whom you feel tension and separation. What other steps are you called to make toward reconciliation?

“I have come not to abolish but to fulfil the law” - May 6

Today’s Readings:  AM Psalm 119:49-72; PM Psalm 49, [53]; Exod. 33:1-23; 1 Thess. 2:1-12; Matt. 5:17-20

Whether we intend it or not, our actions tell a story about what we believe – and influence those around us. That was demonstrated clearly in the sermons preached by three of our Saint Stephen’s high school seniors this past Sunday. The love, guidance, and support they have witnessed in this parish have shaped them in meaningful ways along their paths as Christians.

In our gospel reading from Matthew, Jesus is in the midst of what we call the Sermon on the Mount. He is teaching his disciples and all those gathering around him. Today he is driving home the point that his followers do, and will continue to, lead by example. Their actions point to their beliefs…and so Jesus takes the time to name how influential they can be. And what guides the example they are to set? The Law provides that framework – the rules set forth by God, beginning with the commandments God laid out to Moses upon the mountain. The power and example displayed by Jesus rolls up under that framework, too, for Jesus is a fulfillment of scripture, not a presentation of a new way. Jesus knows that he, too, leads by example.

What is the example you are setting, and what is the framework you are leaning upon? What parts of your framework are strong? What parts need to be reinforced?

— Katherine+

Questions for Reflection

• What is the example you hope to set today?

• What or who do you need to support you?

Daily Challenge

Revisit the catechism (The Outline of Faith, beginning on page 845 in the Book of Common Prayer). What parts of our Christian doctrine bolster the example you hope to set?

Trouble with gold - May 5

Today’s Readings:  AM Psalm 45; PM Psalms 47, 48; Exod. 32:21-34; 1 Thess. 1:1-10; Matt. 5:11-16

The other day on PBS I watched an historical exploration of the California Gold Rush in the 1850s. Isaac Baker journaled about his “exotic time in California”. He went westward to strike it rich. Panning for gold was no easy task: leaning over a trickling brook, panning 6-7 days a week from sun-up to sun-down, and earning less than $6 per day (not quite $200 today). Baker observed that these throngs of people, who came from all over the world to make their fortune, were bawdy, reckless, and wild. His time as a goldminer was short-lived; he tried his hand at photography, for which he was better known, and then moved back East.

We have been reading in Exodus of Moses’ time upon Mount Sinai with God. As he descended the mountain, Moses found a bunch of revelry going on in the camp and saw them dancing around a false idol: the golden calf. Aaron, who had been left in charge, was confronted by his brother Moses: “What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?”

The people had survived exile and the wilderness with God’s protection and Moses’ leadership, but they had grown restless. They doubted if Moses would return and if God was truly faithful to them. They wanted new gods to lead the way. Aaron was not the best of leaders in that moment; he tossed their gold pieces into the fire – and voila! A golden calf emerged. Moses was raging and sought to bring order to the chaos. He didn’t have the latitude of Isaac Baker, changing roles upon seeing the degradation of goldminers. No, Moses was stuck leading this stiff-necked people and appealed to God to atone for their sins.

We humans don’t show the best versions of ourselves when we are exhausted, lonely, and desperate. Here we sit in 2020, waiting in uncertainty, like the Israelites at the bottom of Mount Sinai. When can we resume our normal routes and in-person connections? This lesson from Exodus invites me to reflect on what it means to trust in God’s faithfulness right now, when it is hard to be patient. I am reminded to be generous to others, gentle upon myself, and slow to judge in this time of stress. Today, let us push against the urge to turn toward empty idols for transitory comfort, and instead, stay focused on the message of light and life put forth in the hope of God.

-- Katherine+

Questions for Reflection

• If you were in Aaron’s position, what would you have done?

• Who encourages you to trust in God when times get hard?

Daily Challenge

Name a frustration that you feel today. Through prayer or quiet time, invite God’s message of light and life to shine upon that problem. What promise lies in the midst of this hardship?

Being open to receive God’s blessing - May 4

Today’s Readings:  AM Psalms 41, 52; PM Psalm 44; Exod. 32:1-20; Col 3:18-4:6-18; Matt. 5:1-10

Westina Mathews, adjunct professor at General Theological Seminary, served as a spiritual shepherd for a group of about 20 people via ZOOM on Saturday morning. We sat at our own homes, in front of computers, and opened ourselves up for reflection, prayer, and gratitude, guided by writings of the late Fred Rogers. It was a lovely and beautiful spiritual direction session in a group setting.

One of the questions considered was how we are simultaneously givers and receivers, and how we can be both today. One person shared the cycle that you may have experienced: in connecting and giving to others, she has received so much joy. I am reminded of the beatitude we hear today: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.” Similarly, in forgiving, we are forgiven; in welcoming, we are welcomed. So often, the action we are doing for others becomes a gift for us, too. The opportunity for us is to pay attention to our interactions, so that we may receive and acknowledge that joy.

This day, the beatitudes strike me as just the right words we need to hear, as salve to bind up our exhaustion; as cool water to refresh us. Let us breathe deeply, sit down, and receive the blessings that Jesus is sharing with us.

-- Katherine+

Questions for Reflection

• Which beatitude do you most need to hear today?

• What blessing of hope is missing for you?

Daily Challenge

Meditate upon the beatitudes. Practice being attentive and engaged with moments of blessing and gratitude today. Tell one person about the appreciation you feel.

Are you up for a little adventure too? - May 2

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 30, 32; PM Psalm 42, 43: Exod. 25:1–22; Col. 3:1–17; Matt. 4:18–25

“Immediately they left their nets and followed him.” They didn’t come up with a three-year plan of how they were going to start being more faithful. They didn’t go back and convince their friends that they needed to go a different way. Matthew puts the emphasis on ‘immediately.’ There is a sense of urgency in the text, certainly expediency.

I have always wondered what Simon Peter and Andrew saw or witnessed that morning that was so remarkable that they could leave behind everything that made their lives secure. It happens so quickly that they don’t even return home. It should be fair to assume that their loved ones and family were dependent on their livelihood as fishermen, so if they are going to abandon their security and wellbeing, it must have been pretty extraordinary.

Did Simon Peter and Andrew and James and John find newfound freedom when they left everything else behind? I am quite confident that our corporate understanding of the faith, as passed down in tradition, does not suggest that we abandon our families or loved ones, but we might have to abandon the things that we hold onto for security.

What are you holding onto that is holding you back from the life-giving way of Jesus? Is it the refusal to go to church until we can go in person? Or resentment that feels so good to hold onto or makes you feel justified towards that person who wronged you years ago? When the disciples followed Jesus they went out around all of Galilee, preaching, and healing, all throughout. Matthew concludes this passage suggesting that what the disciples experienced was far greater than what they would have if they had reminded behind. Are you up for a little adventure too?

- John+

Questions for Self-Reflection

• What helps you feel safe and secure? What is the relationship of this to your faith? What could your ‘nets’ be?

Daily Challenge

• Think of something that you feel compelled or called to do but have yet to. Today is the day. No procrastinating!

Why do you submit to regulations? - May 1

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 105:1–22; PM Psalm 105:23–45: Exod. 24:1–18; Col 2:8–23; Matt. 4:12–17

Is it overreaching to always apply the lens of what we are experiencing to the daily readings? I almost had to laugh when Paul asks the reader, “why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations, ‘Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch’?” I keep waiting to hear Paul say, “Do not go into Jefferson county without a face covering.”

Paul is writing to Christians who have been criticized for doing things outside of the norms of their religious boundaries. He is trying to be encouraging by saying do not let these criticisms weigh you down, but check what is the underlying motivation. In many ways, I hear Paul’s words as the freedom to try new things in a new era. Many of us come to church with a pretty heavy attachment to the faith traditions that we come from. Maybe you are mourning being able to participate in the Eucharist on Sundays, or the old language Bible or prayers, or the pew that your grandparents sat in, and when these are not accessible we find it unsettling or unraveling for our faith.

However, I would suggest that what we are finding is a spirit of innovation in this new age. People are trying to have small groups and studies online (or write reflections) or gather in new virtual ways. Sometimes these programs work, and sometimes they don’t. And I suspect, it should be expected that we will create our own regulations and refuse to participate fully because of our own grief over how things are changing. I don’t want to suggest that there is anything wrong with grieving the loss of what we used to believe was normal, but I do think that the freedom to try something new can be a helpful tool to deepen our spirituality. I mean, Paul does say that we are not of this world. So things are always going to be a little bit out of what is familiar and comfortable when we dig into the faith. Maybe this isn’t such a bad thing.

- John+

Questions for Self-Reflection

• What are the practices of the faith that you miss the most? Why? Is there something new you are trying or participating in that is providing meaning and hope?

Daily Challenge

• Consider participating in an online worship service, book study, small group, or worship service. Do something different that you haven’t done before. Here are some ideas.

But we have never met in person before! - April 30

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 37:1–18; PM Psalm 37:19–42: Exod. 20:1–21; Col. 1:24–2:7; Matt. 4:1–11

In Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he is addressing a specific community, the one in Colossae, and yet in this section of the letter, he also wants those who have yet to see his face, to be encouraged as they “are knit together in love, to have all the riches of assured understating and the knowledge of God’s ministry.” Paul is writing to people he has yet to meet and they are connected by a letter or epistle. They are united in the faith and a part of the same community by virtue of how they are seeking to support and encourage each other.

I keep wondering when things will return to normal. Last Sunday, we were scheduled to have a Newcomers gathering at my home, one of those events that was dropped when everything else was. And yet I wonder, as we grow in how we connect with one another, will the necessity of having met in person recede? Can you be part of a community if you have never met anyone in that community face to face? How we geographical boundaries and social boundaries shift as the church lives into her mission in the 21st Century?

These are interesting questions to suggest when most of us are attending church online. One thought would be to consider how often we look to find our connection to others through the social values and connections that we all hold when looking to build community within our own tradition. Where do you work? Do you have children? Where do they go to school? Where do you live? Do you know Bob or Sue or Pete? I wonder if these surface-level questions become obsolete when we become connected on something much deeper, our faith in God, and a desire to deepen that faith through a willingness to grow and seek unity with a diversity of believers. Maybe this will make our own faith much richer because it will expand our understanding of the Body of Christ. All we need is a little openness to be willing to go there.

-John+

Questions for Self-Reflection

• When you last walked through the doors of a church, who were the people that you sought out to connect with? Why?

Daily Challenge

• If you are connecting to worship, through the internet, spend time today and tomorrow paying attention to what you can learn from someone else. Maybe it will come through their greeting or prayer requests.

To go up the mountain, we have to leave everyone else behind - April 29

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 38; PM Psalm 119:25–48; Exod. 19:16–25; Col. 1:15–23; Matt. 3:13–17

In today’s Old Testament lesson, there is this great experience of thunder, fire, and smoke upon the top of Mount Sinai. God is reaching out to Moses with instructions for God’s people. Moses makes the journey up the mountain to encounter God while leaving everyone else at a safe distance. For your information, it is farther than six feet away.

I keep wondering what was going through Moses’s mind. How scared must he have been? I mean the mountain was on fire. And wouldn’t he have wanted to take someone with him? Maybe Aaron? Hasn’t he heard of the Buddy System?

Maybe what strikes me most is realizing that there are some places that we must venture to alone. I feel I have been writing a lot about how we share and invite people into our lives in order to recognize our shared humanity and remove isolation. I do wholeheartedly believe this to be true, and Moses does return off the mountain to share in community what he has learned, but he had to go up there alone first. Or maybe what Moses was learning about God, or about himself and his people, was something that the others were not ready yet to hear. Maybe they didn’t yet have the capacity to hear or learn. To go up the mountain, we have to leave everyone else behind.

In these days of a little elevated stress and worry, what are you learning about yourself? Or maybe more profoundly how is this shaping your understanding of God? Is there a scary place you are being invited into, that you must potentially do alone before you can invite others into that space? Are you learning something about yourself that needs exploration or work that only you can do? And if you do this work, how will it better help you to be in community when you return off the mountain?

- John+

Questions for Self-Reflection

• What new thing have you learned about yourself in the last six weeks? How do you see this shaping the person you are becoming?

Daily Challenge

• Take a walk, or intentionally take some time to be apart from people (this includes technology). Name one thing you have learned that others have not yet named that can be used to build up your community.

Bear fruit, just don’t let it be too fruity - April 28

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 26, 28; PM Psalm 36, 39; Exod. 19:1–16; Col. 1:1–14; Matt. 3:7–12

The image of a fruit tree is often used to describe the Christian life. We are encouraged to care for ourselves, to have faith, and if we do, our lives will produce fruit. It is a lovely image that touches on how our faith can both be generative and impact other lives. It is especially poignant in spring when flowers are budding after a long winter or when we hunger for a fresh fruit that is in season from the farmers’ market or local vendor.

But the Gospel has a spin this day and it isn’t very fruity: we are to bear fruit worthy of repentance. Essentially, our lives are to be formed in a way where we have the capacity to turn around, to ask for forgiveness, to apologize, to know that we are not yet our best selves. From this passage in Matthew, this is the fruit we are to bear. Think of all the things we lift up as humans: our ability to be strong, wise, determined, visionary, athletic, amongst many other things. But how often do we lift up humility? What if humility was the most important of all Christian virtues?

One thing I have noticed over the past few weeks is mistakes flow much more frequently when stress is high. In my own life, attempting to home school children, all while writing, planning, editing, responding to emails, and. making pastoral phone and zoom calls has been a challenge and some mistakes have been made. An email or two might have been missed, tempers have flared a few times when patience has been lost, and my best work has not always risen to the top. Are you finding some of the same challenges?

I even wonder if it is at all responsible to expect our best during times of intense stress and challenge? Maybe humility is the only response we can offer that helps us grow. We are all being humbled, but what if this is precisely necessary to move our lives from depending on the strength of our egos to the grace of God? Be gentle with yourselves. It is ok to not be perfect.

- John+

Questions for Self-Reflection

• Where have you made mistakes in this past week? How have those mistakes added challenge to your life? Would you have made that same mistake 6 weeks ago?

Daily Challenge

• Think of one mistake you have made and give thanks for it. Name one thing that you have learned from it.

Cast your anxieties on him, not you - April 27

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 25; PM Psalm 9, 15; Exod. 18:13–27; 1 Pet. 5:1–14; Matt. (1:1–17),3:1–6

Last week, we heard a passage from John where Jesus told his disciples to not let their hearts be troubled. They are intended to be words of comfort on the night before Jesus is crucified. In today’s Epistle, there are new words of encouragement, “Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you.” While the context is certainly different, there is also a different approach to providing care in the midst of uncertainty. In today’s reading, we are told that we will be anxious, but that we can cast those anxieties on God because God cares. Instead of being told not to worry, there is an acknowledgment that we will have worry, but there is also a reminder that we won’t worry alone.

If we are to assume that we will all have a certain level of uneasiness in life, then a fair question to raise is what is the source or root of that anxiety? Is what we carry around related to how we might anticipate our own suffering or the pain of loved ones and others? Peter continues, “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will restore, establish, and strengthen you.” I don’t believe that Peter means to claim that it is God’s will that we suffer. Instead, maybe that part of being human means that we will experience suffering. If it is what is intended, then is it something that should weigh us down or cause us to panic?

The Scriptures commend that what is earthly is temporary and not eternal. Maybe this is why we can cast our anxieties on to God, to carry for us, knowing that strength and restoration are coming in due time. Maybe you already feel strengthened and renewed, or maybe the reality of our common life in this time is causing you to suffer more than you had previously realized. Does naming what we are experiencing allow God to share that burden? Does knowing that it is shared, help you worry less?

- John+

Questions for Reflection

• What keeps you up at night? What are you most anxious about in this time of Covid-19? Can you say this out loud?

Daily Challenge

• Vocalize with a friend or loved one, one of the things that worry you as a way of “casting your anxieties.”

At the end of my rope - April 25

Today’s Readings:  AM Psalms 20, 21; PM Psalms 110, 116, 117; Exod. 17:1-16; 1 Pet. 4:7-19; John 16:16-33

Moses and the Israelites are slowly emerging from the wilderness, and they are growing weary. They are thirsty and argumentative. Moses asks, “Why do you continue to quarrel with me?” The people complain, “Why did you make us come here?” At the end of his rope, Moses cries out to the Lord, “What am I going to do with these people?”

Flummoxed. Exhausted. Anxious. The sentiments in this reading from Exodus are so timely! Sitting in my house with home-weary kids who are missing school and social contact, there are moments when I feel I am near the end of my own rope. “Lord, what am I going to do with these people?!”

Perhaps you have said these words about someone, or some entity, recently. Moses can be a guide for us during this wilderness time, when many of us are in unknown territory. In the 17th chapter of Exodus, Moses turns to God in prayer, and God answers in faithfulness. God instructs Moses to go ahead of the people, stepping away from the tension of the camp in this moment. He isn’t to go alone, though. With his staff in hand, he’s to take some peers – perhaps for listening ears and wise counsel. And then, he is to go to Mount Horeb, the holy place where he received the Ten Commandments – and God will be with him.

Today, let us seek the space we need, pray for guidance, and entrust our lives to God, even when faced with testing and quarreling.

— Katherine+

Questions for Reflection

• Who are the peers in whom you confide when exhausted and empty?

• Where is a holy place for you?

Daily Challenge

The writer of Exodus gives us a challenge: “Write this as a reminder in a book…” Think about the events you want to remember during this time, and those you want to forget. Compose your thoughts and write the story of your experiences as a reminder to share with future generations.

Bumbling and stumbling - April 24

Today’s Readings:  AM Psalms 16, 17; PM Psalms 134, 135; Exod. 16:23-36; 1 Pet. 3:13-4:6; John 16:1-15

“I have said these things to you to keep you from stumbling.” Jesus told his disciples about God’s love, and how to live in community together, because he knew that he would not be with his friends much longer. He was preparing them for the hard times ahead.

My parents, teachers, and other mentors through my life have helped me build a foundation for existence in community as a good citizen of the Earth. When challenges arise, I believe I am equipped with tools and resources figure out the next right step. Stumbling, however, takes me by surprise. These days, I find myself bumbling and stumbling more than I’d like.

We can have structures, methods, and plans in place…but tripping means that our eyes have not been focused in the right place, or our feet are not in sync with the rest of our bodies. We have missed something. Sometimes a stumble leaves mud on our knees or a bruised ego, but other times it renders us broken.

Jesus was preparing the disciples so that their eyes would remain fixed upon him. He warned that uncertain times were ahead. He allowed space for the grieving upon their hearts. Jesus also reminded his friends that his departure was not the end, for he was sending them the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide them into all truth.

We hear these words from John’s gospel today and appreciate the promise Jesus left for his disciples, and we hear the promise he makes to us. As the path we are walking is treacherous and uncertain, let us keep our eyes focused upon our Lord, so that we will keep from stumbling.

-- Katherine+

Questions for Reflection

• What stresses in life lead you to stumble?

• Who has helped build your foundation?

  Daily Challenge

Spend ten minutes reflecting in prayer about how the Holy Spirit can be a guide in your life. Write down the truths and insights that come to you through this time of focus upon God.

“No one has greater love than this…” - April 23

Today’s Readings:  AM Psalm 18:1-20; PM Psalm 18:21-50; Exod. 16:10-22; 1 Pet. 2:11-25; John 15:12-27

“No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” The act of sacrifice doesn’t happen because one person is lesser or more expendable; rather, there is kindred connection between people, grounded in unconditional, selfless love from God.

Who is a friend? Asked another way, from Luke’s parable of the Good Samaritan, “Who is my neighbor?” Is it someone we know intimately? Is it someone who thinks like we do, looks like we do, or agrees with our beliefs? We are all neighbors and friends, connected in God’s love, which supersedes the differences that may separate us.

I am reminded of those who serve and care for those in need – who my preschooler calls “community helpers”: people who restock shelves and assist customers in grocery stores, tend to patients in medical facilities, collect and analyze data to understand the patterns of viral transmission, and respond to many other community needs. These folks are acting out of love and humble compassion, laying down their lives for friends, known and unknown.

Last night, Saint Stephen’s held a panel conversation on Facebook Live among Dr. Paul Goepfert, Dr. Michael Moore, Dr. Dori Pekmezi, and the Rev. John Burruss. They explored science, medicine, emotional well-being, and faith in God, as the world works to get a handle on COVID-19. These content-area experts welcomed questions from viewers, and offered concerns, wisdom, guidance, and insights of reassurance. If you missed it, I commend the recorded exchange to you (click here), as you seek grounding and purpose in this time of pandemic and disruption.

We are physically distant for now, and yet we are not alone. Jesus is our companion in these hard times. And, as our gospel reminds us today, Jesus is calling us to love one another.

-- Katherine+

Questions for Reflection

• Have I made a sacrifice that put my own life at risk? How did it feel?

• Jesus says that he has told his friends everything his Father has shared; how transparent am I with my closest friends?

Daily Challenge

Spend 10 minutes reflecting on how you serve God. What fruits have emerged as a result? Call a friend to share a story connected to being a servant of God.

Jesus’ love abides - April 22

Today’s Readings:  AM Psalm 119:1-24; PM Psalms 12, 13, 14; Exodus 15:22-16:10; 1 Pet. 2:1-10; John 15:1-11

If you were to ask me to define the word “abide,” I would probably offer an answer that points to resting for shelter and restoration. Abide in Jesus’ love. Abide in Jesus. Abide. We are reminded over and over to abide. In the context of today’s gospel, my understanding of “abide” shifts from static rest to dynamic growth.

You see, Jesus paints the imagery of fruit growing on the vine, grown from buds of infancy. The fruit abides upon the vine for deeper connection, for growth, and for flourishing. After all, fruit doesn’t grow unless it is connected to the source of sustained nourishment. A grape pulled off before it is plump will not ripen to its fullest, but will be tossed aside, shriveled.

We are called into awareness of the true vine, so that we may bear the fruits of the Spirit in the light of the Risen Christ. Even in these rocky days, we abide in the nourishment of the Father. It is there that we know God’s love. We are fortified by God’s word and are rooted in God’s commandments. It is in abiding with Jesus that we grow to our fullest – we glorify God and flourish into complete joy.

May you be joyful and bear fruit this day. Alleluia!

-- Katherine+

Questions for Reflection

• What branches in your life are no longer bearing fruit?

• What spiritual practices help you to abide in God’s love?

Daily Challenge

Peter talks about Jesus as the living Stone. Go for a stroll today and look for a stone. Pick it up, if possible. Examine the rock and spend time reflecting on the reading from 1 Peter, contemplating the ways God is building you up.