The Urgency of Mark's Lent - March 7

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 41, 52; PM Psalm 44; Gen. 37:1-11; 1 Cor. 1:1-19; Mark 1:1-13

Almost out of nowhere comes the Gospel of Mark, action-packed and filled to the brim with excitement.  There is no birth narrative, just a ruffian named John hanging out in the wilderness in camel’s hair eating locusts and wild honey.  I’m guessing that means he doesn’t keep bees, just robs wild ones, which is even more profound.  He is proclaiming to the world the importance of repentance, and then Jesus comes to visit him in the wilderness to be baptized.  At that moment the heavens are torn open, a loud voice proclaims Jesus’s arrival.  He is cast into the wilderness and then we experience all of Lent in just one sentence: “He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.” 

The one-sentence Lent.  No forty days of social media fasting, or readings of books and reflections.  No agonizing stories, sermons, or visions.  All we get is one sentence that includes Satan, wild beasts, and angels all in the wilderness.  Mark does not waste any words.   And I am left wondering what the urgency of Mark can offer our Lenten practice. 

It’s an alarming yet hopeful image of Lent that we are offered this morning.  Mark reminds us that in this period of wilderness, Jesus was not only tempted by Satan but residing with wild beasts.  The urgency of Mark reminds us that in this period of self-examination, reflection, and repentance, we might discover that we too reside much closer to those things that we want to be freed from.  It is Mark that reminds us of the proximity of evil in our own lives.  We can’t ignore how close these things are, covered up with stories, images, and reflections.  We live way too close to the things that work to erode the kingdom of God! 

But Mark also offers us a profoundly hopeful image.  Even in the closeness of those forces that work to destroy, Jesus was not alone in the wilderness.  “And the angels waited on him.”  For us too, in this season of self-examination, reflection, and repentance, God’s presence is there to guide us and protect us. 

We are invited into a Holy Lent, and urgent practice of self-examination and yet with the promise that God is with us in all that we could discover.

John+

Questions for Self-Reflection:  How do you examine your own life?   What have you taken on or given up this Lent?  What is the role that repentance plays in your faith journey?

Daily Challenge:  It is not too late to develop a Lenten discipline.  Pick something and write it down!.  One fun challenge to learn more about the Church and Saints is the Lent Madness offered by Forward Day by Day.  Learn more here.

The Source of Our Strength - March 5

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 30, 32; PM Psalm 42, 43; Ezek. 39:21-29; Phil. 4:10-20; John 17:20-26

Today’s Reflection

I can do all things through him who strengthens me. –Philippians 4: 13

This verse from Philippians 4 is one that you might find printed on a bookmark or magnet, or perhaps on your favorite coffee cup. We like this verse because it is very positive and encouraging—it literally has that ‘can do’ mindset.

Of course, in our very individualistic culture, many of us tend to be focused on the first part: “I can do.” However, that is only part of the story. How can we do all things? “Through him who strengthens me.” The source of our strength, the source of what nourishes us to make us strong for what we are called to be and called to do, is God who made us and loves us and is with us through all things.

As we are reminded in the verses we read from Philippians 4 today, Paul knows what it is both to be well-fed and to be hungry, to have plenty and to be in need. The secret, he writes to his friends in Philippi, is knowing that no matter how much he has or does not have materially, God will always give him enough to strengthen him for what he faces both today and in the days to come. And how does he strengthen Paul, how does he provide nourishment? God strengthens Paul (and us) by setting us in communities, by giving us companions and partners to come alongside us in our times of distress. As Paul writes, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me. In any case, it was kind of you to share my distress.”

God has strengthened us, Paul writes, through placing you and I in each other’s lives to share in whatever life holds: plenty and want, joy and distress. God has given us one another to strengthen us. The people in Philippi had been great supporters and encouragers of Paul and his ministry: “when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you alone.” Paul had received sustenance from these loyal friends in Philippi since the earliest days of his working for the Gospel. Here, Paul is acknowledging the Philippians faithful friendship and support. He is expressing his gratefulness to God for strengthening him through them—and he wants them to know that the love and support flow both ways, as he prays for them: “And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

Becky+

Questions for Reflection      

Reflect on a challenging time in your life, some time when it seemed like you would not have enough. Looking back, how do you see how God placed friends alongside you to strengthen you in your time of need? And how have you been that source of strength for others?

Daily Challenge

Write a note of thanks for someone through whom God has given you strength. Pray that God would place on your heart someone whom you can share with and nourish them so that they may be strong to do what God has in store for them.

Truth-telling – March 4

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 95 ,  31; PM Psalm 35, Ezek. 18:1-4,25-32; Phil. 4:1-9; John 17:9-19

Sin is hard. And uncomfortable. It is the kind of thing that, when read about on paper or computer screen, can be kept at an arm’s length. It is someone else’s problem to reorder and reconcile. When we see sin and pain lived out in our own household, in relationships, or recalled from our earlier years, it is more intense. Messy. Inescapable. But what about something like generational sin? Some hold that the wrongdoings of prior generations trickle down and besmirch the children and grandchildren who follow. I wonder if you have seen such dynamics at play? I wonder if you have felt as if the actions of a parent or grandparent have cast a shadow on your life. How easy would it be to talk about such an experience? It is complicated and painful to know about and live into.

The Christian doctrine of original sin is an extension of the ancestral flaw mindset – the sins of Adam and Eve at creation tainted all who would follow. It is through baptism that the smudge of generational sin is washed away. We see generational sin explored several places in the Bible – one prominent place is in the Ten Commandments:

“You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.” (Exodus 20:4-6)

The commandment spells out how, because of God’s nature as a disciplinarian, children will continue to be punished if their parents have sinned – and this will continue for generations.

There are parts of Holy Scripture that approach ancestral sins differently. In Deuteronomy 24:16, one of the laws written states, “Parents are not to be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin.” In today’s lectionary in Ezekiel 18, we hear a similar update through the prophet Ezekiel’s lips: God claims all lives: the life of the parent as well as the life of the child; it is only those who sin who will die. (v. 4)

Later in Ezekiel 18, the prophet gives good counsel regarding what to do, in spite of the messiness of sin and destruction in this world: Repent and turn from all your transgressions; otherwise, they will become stumbling blocks. In cleansing yourself, adopt a new heart and a new spirit. Turn your life toward God and live.

Walter Brueggemann wrote an article on Ezekiel, and he held up this important aspect of Ezekiel’s role: the prophet was honest about what he saw happening in Jerusalem. He named the dynamics of hypocrisy, avoidance, and whitewashing the pain and brokenness surrounding them. To whom did he address these truths? The religious community – the body Ezekiel said was responsible for truth-telling. Bruggemann wraps up his reflection with this conclusion: it is in speaking truthfully about human realities of war, deceit, abuse, and pain that we – the Church – and we as humans are prepared to receive the peace that God promises. In fact, it is that peace spoken of in Philippians 4:7, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

On Ash Wednesday this week, we were invited to enter into a holy Lent “by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God's holy Word.” (BCP 265) I pray that through self-examination, each of us will see and know the truths we need to voice. I pray that the shadows that loom over us will be cast away, so that each of us can turn toward God and live fully and faithfully.

- Katherine+

Questions for Reflection

What truths do you need to speak of? What generational sins and pain do you hope to shed, so that you will adopt a new heart and a new spirit, turning your life toward God and living fully?

Daily Challenge

Want to read more of the Walter Bruggemann article referenced in the reflection? Find that story here: https://www.religion-online.org/article/truth-telling-and-peacemaking-a-reflection-on-ezekiel/

Standing in Awe

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 37:1-18; PM Psalm 37:19-42; Hab. 3:1-10(11-15)16-18; Phil. 3:12-21; John 17:1-8

Most Wednesdays, I lead two different Bible studies with a group of Men from Saint Stephen’s and a Young Adult group.  At both gatherings, we always begin with three questions, one of which is “Where did you see God this week?”  The answers vary from week to week and hopefully the practice is making it a little easier for all of us to see God in our daily lives. 

Almost every week, a few of the answers pertain to nature.  “Walking my dog last night, I was struck by the largeness of the moon.”  Or “we went camping and just being outside was where I saw God.”  Even in a community of churchgoers, people who are consistently here on Sunday mornings, receiving the Eucharist weekly, the answer to where one sees God is often in nature.

I’m not especially surprised.  I love being outside and dazing at the vast expanse of space, or standing in a river or on a trail, away from the constraints and worries of the pressures of professional life or parenting.  And it often reminds me of how large God is and how small we really are. 

This morning is one of the rare instances where we hear from the minor prophet Habakkuk who dates back to around the late seventh century BCE. This final section is a prayer that aims to arouse God into action in dealing with the wicked in the world.  Habakkuk begins the prayer by recounting the vastness of God, “O Lord, I have heard of your renown, and I stand in awe, O Lord of your work.”   Later Habakkuk continues, “His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.  For Habakkuk, recognizing that God was bigger than humanity become necessary for how God would also handle the brokenness of humanity. 

What strikes me most is how Habakkuk might be identifying a helpful tool in praying for God’s deliverance from the challenges of our lives – that is standing in awe.  I’ve certainly been awe-inspired with architecture and maybe ancient cathedrals set to elicit this kind of emotional response, but mother nature does it naturally (pun intended) 

Maybe there is some wisdom in taking the posture of Habakkuk, “O Lord, I have heard of your renown, and I stand in awe, O Lord, of your work.”  To balance the worry of the world we should look for the vastness and greatness of God.

John+

Questions for Self-Reflection:  Where have you seen God lately? What experiences cause you to stand in awe?  What is your most memorable moment in mother nature?

Daily Challenge:  Take a walk today or do something outside you wouldn’t normally do.  If you live near Saint Stephen’s, I suggest Jemison Trail, Cahaba River Park, or Oak Mountain Park.

Pondering Our Ashness - March 2

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 32 and 143; PM Psalm 102, 130; Amos 5:6-15; 2 Corinthians 5:20b—6:10; Matthew 6:1-6,16-21

Today’s Reflection

The way of Ash Wednesday and of Lent, indeed our lifelong way as followers of Christ, is a way that is countercultural—not only running counter to the ways of the world, but even running counter to the ways in which we, as believers, are tempted to practice our faith. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus gives us a series of “do not… but” statements. First, Jesus gives us a negative picture of what “practicing your piety before others” can look like—piety gone wrong, if you will… what we should not do. And then, after each “do not” picture of piety gone wrong, Jesus gives us a picture of a better way, of piety gone right: “But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing… But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door … But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may not be seen by others … But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven… for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6).

And so, Ash Wednesday, and indeed every day of our life in Christ, is a study in paradoxes and incongruities. In Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, we hear this about Jesus: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5). And then we hear this about ourselves, those who follow Christ: “We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and see—we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything” (2 Corinthians 6).

As Christians, we live a life of paradox. We are to be in the world, but not of it. We know that we are both sinful and yet fully saved from our sins. We are stuck, on the one hand, in the mud and muck of this fallen world—and yet we are also set free, like a kite or a banner, free to fly and wave in the wind, yet anchored by the security we have in Christ, so that we do not fly off into the atmosphere of our own inclinations. We may have moments of realization that we are drowning and dying in a sea of mistakes and regrets—and then we are brought back up to the surface, brought back to life, realizing the undying hope we have in Christ. We feel unknown, and yet can take comfort that in Christ we are fully known. We realize that while, at the end of the day, we may have nothing in the eyes of this world, in terms of status or wealth or other measures of success—and yet, in Christ (and all that has already been done for us through his incarnation and crucifixion and resurrection) we, in fact, already possess everything that is truly needful.

As we begin our observance of this Holy Season of Lent, I pray that each day we will be able to remember who we are in Christ: people who have nothing and yet possess everything. I leave you to reflect on this poem by Walter Brueggemann, “Marked by Ashes.” I pray we all may have a Holy Lent.

Becky+

Marked by Ashes

Walter Brueggemann

Ruler of the Night, Guarantor of the day . . .
This day — a gift from you.
This day — like none other you have ever given, or we have ever received.
This Wednesday dazzles us with gift and newness and possibility.
This Wednesday burdens us with the tasks of the day, for we are already halfway home
     halfway back to committees and memos,
     halfway back to calls and appointments,
     halfway on to next Sunday,
     halfway back, half frazzled, half expectant,
     half turned toward you, half rather not.

This Wednesday is a long way from Ash Wednesday,
   but all our Wednesdays are marked by ashes —
     we begin this day with that taste of ash in our mouth:
       of failed hope and broken promises,
       of forgotten children and frightened women,
     we ourselves are ashes to ashes, dust to dust;
     we can taste our mortality as we roll the ash around on our tongues.

We are able to ponder our ashness with
   some confidence, only because our every Wednesday of ashes
   anticipates your Easter victory over that dry, flaky taste of death.

On this Wednesday, we submit our ashen way to you —
   you Easter parade of newness.
   Before the sun sets, take our Wednesday and Easter us,
     Easter us to joy and energy and courage and freedom;
     Easter us that we may be fearless for your truth.
   Come here and Easter our Wednesday with
     mercy and justice and peace and generosity.

We pray as we wait for the Risen One who comes soon.

From Walter Brueggemann, Prayers for a Privileged People (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2008).

Questions for Reflection

I wonder what Walter Brueggemann’s poem brings to mind for you when he writes of the “taste of ash in our mouth,” and of “ponder[ing] our ashness with some confidence.” I wonder what it means for us to “submit our ashen way” to God.

Daily Challenge

In this Season of Lent, consider taking on a Lenten practice beyond these Daily Reflection emails. The VCS Stations of the Cross consist of fourteen selected commentaries, each on reflecting on a biblical passage in dialogue with a work of art. Two Stations of the Cross will be posted on the VCS web site or sent out through their Station of the Cross email list each week beginning today and running through Good Friday.

Life and hope and satisfaction - March 1

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 61, 62; PM Psalm 68:1-20(21-23)24-36
Gen. 21:1-21; Heb. 11:13-22; John 6:41-51

“So Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day;”        (John 6:53-54)

In high school chemistry, we learned about ions – when atoms had negatively charged electrons that were not equally matched with the positively charged protons. Some elements are more prone to let go of their electrons. Others are more comfortable holding on to extra electrons. And in doing so, these particles are drawn to others who help neutralize them, so that they move to a lower energy level.

This reminds me of how we humans operate emotionally and relationally. Sometimes we are prone to get immersed in lots of grumbling and complaining – like the people around Jesus who were uncertain about his teachings. We find ourselves in tangles of drama, getting tripped up and stuck. Maybe there is a person who can come in and listen to our concerns and serve as the balm that brings us to a closer sense of peace and understanding – not resolving the chaos of the world but bringing us to a lower energy level for the present moment, so that we can move forward.

I am reminded of a woman named Lynn. She felt concern and consternation for much in the world, and she readily shared her worries with those who would listen. She had a highly critical eye and upon entering her home, Lynn was quick to comment on the status of my hairstyle - more often than not, it was a negative critique. We would talk of theology and the church. It felt like Lynn was testing me, evaluating if I was an acceptable priest to be in her presence. Then, we would pray and share Eucharist. Something visible would shift about Lynn. She was more relaxed. At peace. Pleased. Lynn felt about the Body and Blood of Christ what Jesus promises in this reading from John 6 today – it gave her life and hope and satisfaction.

This morning, how do you find yourself? At a higher, unstable energy level like a volatile ion? I don’t know about you, but I need the nourishment of prayer. I need the enrichment that comes from Christ-filled community. I need the words of Jesus, for they soothe me, ground me, encourage me. What do you need to help you feel nourished and secure today?

- Katherine+

Questions for Reflection

Who is a calming, loving person in your life? Who speaks truths that you are willing to hear and receive?

What does participating in the Eucharist do within you?

Daily Challenge

Journal today about your energy and anxiety levels. What is unsettling to you? What can you take to Jesus in prayer? Where do you feel the Holy Spirit stirring you to life more fully into the life that God has promised in Christ?

The Cock Crowed - February 28

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 25; PM Psalm 9, 15; Prov. 27:1-6,10-12; Phil. 2:1-13; John 18:15-18,25-27

Simon Peter is best just known as Peter and is arguably the most famous disciple.  It is Peter who receives the “keys to the kingdom” and becomes the foundation of Christianity.  Peter’s name in Greek means, ‘rock’ and it is on ‘rock’ that the church is built, a fun play on Peter’s name.  Often lauded as the first Bishop in Christianity, we trace our roots to Peter who Jesus entrusted with the responsibility of church and leadership. 

For this reason, my ears always perk up when I hear Peter’s name, Peter who is the subject in today’s lectionary reading.  Without knowing the full story, why might expect Peter to be the most faithful leader of all twelve, one who abandons the way of the world for the way of Jesus Christ, with unabashed faithfulness and remarkable courage. That is not the story in today’s reading.

In today’s passage from John’s Gospel, Peter is with another disciple in Jerusalem being questioned by the high priest.   It is part of the passion narrative that we hear on Good Friday just before the crucifixion. The high priest is questioning Jesus and it would be helpful to have some of the details verified from Jesus’s friends.  Peter becomes the source of questioning, and he denies any knowledge of his relationship with Jesus, not once but three times. 

The very person who the life of the church is entrusted to Jesus denies him multiple times.  It’s one of the biggest blunders in leadership we have ever witnessed, and I wonder if it was necessary for Peter’s own growth, humility, and compassion.

 A lot of things are weighing heavy on our lives.  Even as it feels for most of us the challenging season of Covid might be winding down, we are faced with a catastrophic war on the Eastern brink of Europe that could change the world forever.  In our own country, the political fighting that we experience at every election seems to embody leaders who are so confident that their answer is the right answer.  And the end result is always polarization.  Sometimes I wonder how much conflict really stems from the lack of humility and absolute certainty.  Maybe all conflict is really about ego.  

Peter realized his mistake when the cock crowed.  What will it take for us to do the same?

John+

Questions for Self-Reflection:  Who are the people you try to emulate in your life?  What mistakes have they made and how have they handled those mistakes?

Daily challenge:   Take a moment to reflect on your own leadership style.  What can we learn from Peter in this story?

'Everything I have ever done' - February 26

Today’s Readings: Psalm 119:33–40; Genesis 24:12-20; 2 Tim. 1:1-14; John 4:4–26

Today’s Reflection

O Almighty God, whose most blessed Son revealed to the Samaritan woman that He is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the World; grant us to drink of the well that springs up to everlasting life that we may worship you in spirit and in truth through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Today is the feast day of Photini, the name later given to the Samaritan who meets Jesus at the well, as we read in John 4. Her name Photini (or Photine or Photina) means “the luminous one.” When Jesus tells the woman that he knows of her five marriages, and that the man with whom she was living at the time wasn’t in fact her husband, the woman immediately recognizes Jesus as a prophet. It is strikingly clear to her that Jesus has special knowledge—as she declares later, “he told me everything I have ever done!”

However, the important take-away we learn about Jesus in this part of the story is not so much that he knows things. What is most important to notice here is what Jesus does with that knowledge. Jesus knows all about this woman’s life—including a number of things that she would rather him not know, being that her initial response to Jesus asking her to go get her husband is, “I have no husband.” Jesus reveals that he already knows all about it—and that he is asking her for water and having a deep conversation with her in spite of all that—or, I would argue, maybe even because of all that.

While we often focus on what we learn about Jesus’ attributes through this story, it makes sense that on her feast day we should focus on what we learn about her. As mentioned, we learn that this woman has some complicated history—we might even say she has some personal baggage. However, we also learn that this woman has religious knowledge; she is keenly aware of the differences between the Jews and the Samaritans, “Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain [Gerazim], but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” And then, in response to Jesus’ discussion of “true worshipers” who “will worship the Father in spirit and truth,” the woman shares another thing that she knows: “I know that Messiah is coming… When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” It is then that Jesus reveals that he, “the one who is speaking to you,” is the Messiah. At that point, their conversation comes to an end, interrupted by the arrival of Jesus’ disciples, who though “astonished” that Jesus was speaking with this Samaritan woman, chose to keep their judgy-ness to themselves for a change.

And so, what did the woman do next? “She left her water jar and went back to the city.” And when she returned to the city, she shared the Good News of Jesus: “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” While she still has some doubts, her sense of wonderment that Jesus “told her everything she has ever done” triumphs over those questions. She shares her testimony, even though by sharing it she is reminding the community of things she would rather not remind them of—about herself and all her personal history­­­. What we learn about this woman is that she chose to share the news of the Messiah, the Christ, despite these very real, very personal repercussions.

As Jesus told the disciples, after the woman had gone on her way to share her testimony: “The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together.... I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Other have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” I take this to mean, situated just after the woman goes off to share the Good News and lead people back to listen to Jesus, that Jesus is saying that this woman is out sowing the seed of the Good News, and these disciples of his are simply entering in the work of evangelism that the woman has already begun. As John emphasized, “Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony.”

What do we learn about ourselves when we hear the story of Jesus and the woman at the well? First, we learn that Jesus already knows all about us—and, as with the woman at the well, he still wants to talk with us and be with us anyway. I don’t know about you, but I find it extremely comforting that God knows everything I have ever done, everything I am doing, everything I will ever do. There’s nothing I have thought about, nothing that I have done (or left undone), that God doesn’t already know. There’s no need for artifice. God already knows all about it. And yet Jesus still loves me—and he still loves you. Nothing we have done, or ever will do, can ever scare Jesus away from us. He’s still there with us at the well, or anywhere else our journey may take us.

Second, we learn about moments of recognition—that moment when Jesus showed he knew who the Samaritan woman really is (five husbands and all), and that moment when the woman realized who he is (a prophet, and not only that, but the Messiah). Just as Jesus and the woman at the well had that moment of mutual recognition, so, too, do we have our own moments when we recognize who Jesus is to us, and when we realize (again and again) how fully we are known and loved by God. These moments of recognition or realization will hopefully inspire us to go out, leave behind our own jars of water, and go back to the people in our lives to share our own testimonies of meeting Jesus at the well—wherever that place of encounter with God may be for each of us.

Becky+

Questions for Reflection

Recall a time when someone figured out something about you without your ever saying a word. How did it feel that someone paid attention to the details not only of what was said, but of what had been left unsaid? Did you feel exposed and vulnerable—or seen and understood? How did you respond to this person’s recognition of you or something about your experience?

Daily Challenge

According to Know Your Mothers, “Photini engages in the longest recorded conversation with Jesus. One where she is not a passive listener but an engaged questioner and theological thinker. … Jesus revealed himself to Photini and proved how well he knew her, and how he saw her as a truth seeker. Jesus gained Photini’s trust and her life was radically changed.” Click here to read more about Photini and what we can learn from her story. 

Praying for Ukraine - February 25

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 140, 142; PM Psalm 141, 143:1-11(12)
Prov. 8:1-21; Philemon 1-25; John 12:9-19

There is much turmoil in our world – in our neighborhoods, among our friends, across the globe amidst continued conflict in Ukraine. The psalms appointed for today – 140 and 142 in the morning and 141 and 143 in the afternoon – resonate so deeply with the wave of emotions swirling in my heart. The prayer of Psalm 140 calls out for deliverance from those who seek to hurt others. The psalmist asks that God guard her from those who have plotted and schemed. She cries out, “You are my God, give ear, O Lord, to the voice of my supplications.” There are verses asking that those committing injury be stopped by burning coals, deep pits to contain them, or evil itself to hunt down the violent. It ends with words of assurance, “I know that the Lord maintains the cause of the needy, and executes justice for the poor. Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name; the upright shall live in your presence.”

Psalm 142 is a companion to Psalm 140. The heading indicates that this was a prayer issued when someone was in a cave. He lifts his voice to the Lord, crying out. He complains to God, telling God the whole story until he is empty of words. He knows that traps are all around, and he is a nobody to those around him. There is no safe place. He cries out to the Lord, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” He is afraid and in peril. As the psalm ends, he asks that God save him from those who seek him. He asks that God bring him out of prison, so that he can praise the name of the Lord, who is faithful. He believes that God will deal bountifully with him.

I imagine Ukrainian men, women, and children praying these psalms. I hear their voices lifted fervently to God. They want the Lord to answer quickly, for their lives are in peril. They have fled their homes and pray for God to preserve their lives – and the integrity of their country.

Maybe you are like me: I do not know anyone personally in Ukraine. And yet, I believe that God, the Creator and Sustainer of the world, loves every single person. When we wage war upon one another, it grieves the heart of Jesus. I invite you to pray this prayer for the tensions across the world, written by the Rev. Dr. Sam Wells, vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields, who visited Saint Stephen’s earlier this month:

God of peace, your prophet Isaiah promised

swords would be turned into ploughshares,

and your son’s mother Mary proclaimed

the mighty would be put down and the humble exalted:

visit the people of Ukraine;

deliver them from fear, violence,

attack, injury, destruction, death;

and give them courage, solidarity and allies

in their hour of vulnerability and sorrow.

Turn the hearts of those bent on war and invasion.

Strengthen the hand of all seeking to halt conflict,

restore order, and pursue justice.

And make this moment of peril

an occasion for your Holy Spirit to show your world

the cost of conflict and our dependence on one another.

In Christ our Lord, who went to his death because of our hatred,

and rose again because our hatred

is never stronger than your indomitable love. Amen

written by the Rev. Dr. Sam Wells, Vicar, St Martin-in-the-Fields

- Katherine+

Questions for Reflection

What concerns and fears are stirred by learning about conflict around the world? What are you doing in response?

Daily Challenge

I invite you to pray each of the psalms today. Sit in a place where you can be still and focus. Say the psalms aloud, one at a time. Listen for where God is stirring you, comforting you, present with you.

Bookends - February 24

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 131, 132, [133]; PM Psalm 134, 135; Prov. 7:1-27; 1 John 5:13-21; John 11:55-12:8

One of the outcomes of a Covid home renovation was a large bookcase in my basement where the ever-growing Burruss library of books resides.  I can throw away a lot, but for some reason books seem to need to be rescued from the despair of another trip to Goodwill, and I can’t seem to let any of them go.  Several of the shelves have books that are held up by bookends, large and weighty objects that not only keep the books upright and straight, also but hold the books in position and give shape to the organization.  

Sometimes when I read a Scripture, I think of bookends.  What is said before a passage and what is said after a passage can give structure and meaning to what comes in the middle.  Today’s Epistle is one such passage.  John tells us that Jesus comes to offer us eternal life, then gives instruction about sin, and leaves us with a warning about idols.  The instructions are bookended by the warning on idols and Jesus’s vision of eternal life.  What is really offered in this pericope is a warning: idols keep us from eternal life.

An idol is simply that which we worship which is not God.  I’m wondering what idols keep us from finding eternal life.  What do we worship or love that is not made in the image of God?  We often think of things we love as giving meaning and value to our lives, and John the Evangelist tells us something quite different.  That very thing that we thought gave purpose, meaning, or security is actually the source of our own discomfort and agony.  Is it wealth, status, physical health, identity, friendship?  What are the chances that which we thought enhanced our life actually is destructive?

John+

Questions for Self-Reflection:  What modern idols are most prosperous in our society?  Which ones distract you the most?  Are there ways you can focus less on idols? 

Daily Challenge:  Think of what you try to acquire the most in life.  Consider what it would be like to focus on giving that ‘idol’ away.  Is there an action you can take today?

‘Whoever has the Son has life’ - February 23

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 119:145-176; PM Psalm 128, 129, 130; Prov. 6:1-19; 1 John 5:1-12; John 11:45-54

Today’s Reflection
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child. … And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 1 John 5: 1, 11-12

While we have an extensive canon of Holy Scriptures (66 different books) and all the volumes and treatises on theology written down through the centuries, when it comes down to it, all that we must believe as Christians is quite simple: We are to believe that the God who created all, the God who was and is and is to come, that God loves us. And how do we know that God loves us—because God became incarnate, which means he took on flesh and became a human being. And God did not just take on the physicality of a human being, God took on everything that it means to be human for 33 years.

Why? Because God wants to be with us. God doesn’t want to be alone—that’s why he made the world and all that is in it. God made us humans because he wants to be with us—and he wants us to be with him. And that relationship, that longing of God to be with us and for us to be with God, is what eternal life and love are. God is with us—and us with God. This is what all our faith in God, our faith as followers of Christ, is all about.

How do we express this “with-ness” in our daily lives? If we have the Son and thus have life, then we are to live this through love of God, love of neighbor, love of creation, and love of ourselves (because God made us for love). If we believe in Christ, the Messiah who came to live and die as one of us, then this belief bears itself out through living in such a way that our love for God overflows through all the interactions and relationships of our lives—it cannot be contained, and it cannot run out. Thanks be to God!

Becky+

Questions for Self-Reflection

How do you experience the love of God in your interactions and relationships with other people? How do others experience the love of God through you?

Daily Challenge

Take 15 minutes in silence today, whether sitting still or walking or running, and focus your mind and heart on nothing more than this: “whoever has the Son has life.” Repeat it. Sit with it. Meditate on it.

Healing - February 22

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm [120], 121, 122, 123; PM Psalm 124, 125, 126, [127]
Prov. 4:1-27; 1 John 4:7-21; John 11:30-44

The death of a loved one can shake a person’s faith. Sam Wells, vicar of St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London, England, visited with us at Saint Stephen’s earlier this month. In his talk addressing the question, “Can God Heal?”, he shared a personal story of his mother’s illness and death when he was a teenager. The cancer in her body was not going to get better. Sam revealed the tension he felt in prayer during that time. Was he to have prayed to God to heal his mom? Did he trust God enough to ask that question? Did he believe that his mother could and would be healed? How would he respond if his prayers did not bring the desired result?

These questions are so direct and yet complex – and they resonate so deeply in the life and faith of those who have lived in loss. We see similar tensions in the miraculous healing of Lazarus in John 11. Knowing their friend Jesus is a healer, Mary and Martha send a message to him to advise him that their brother Lazarus is very ill. Jesus is not expedient in his travel and Lazarus dies before he arrives. The sisters are heartbroken and weeping. Each says to Jesus that if he had been there, Lazarus would not have died. Jesus uses this time to build their faith – so that they will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the divine promised one. They weep together, sharing in the mourning. As tears fall, the love for Lazarus is apparent. Healing begins in this quiet, shared space.

Jesus brings a miraculous healing to this scene, praying to God, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” Sam Wells might say that this is a scene of “loud healing”, where Jesus calls into the cave and demands that Lazarus emerge, healed of the bonds of death as the burial cloths around his body are stripped away. Jesus as the Messiah is also bringing salvation into this story and the world – and so corporal healing is just one piece of the all-encompassing spiritual wholeness that is the gift of God’s Son.

There is no easy way to sit with this healing story, especially when we do not want our beloved friend to die from breast cancer, or our dad to slip away from dementia, or our classmate to contemplate suicide because the depression is just so heavy. We want Jesus to call our loved ones out of the tomb. These spaces are hard, and they are also holy – for as we weep with and for our friends who are struggling or have died, the tears of Jesus are intermingled with ours. The Holy Spirit is there as the Holy Comforter, holding us tightly as we crumple to the floor or sit stoically in silence because there are no words.

If you are going through a space of loss or heaviness, know that you are not alone. There is a grief support group that meets at Saint Stephen’s on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month – and February 23 at 3pm is our next date to meet. To experience all of Sam Wells’ presentation “Does God Heal?”, you may watch it on YouTube.

- Katherine+

Questions for Reflection

What loss do you grieve today? How does this loss shape your prayers?

Do you ask for God to heal or resolve spaces of pain and illness? In these prayers, what feelings are you offering to God, and what emotions are you hiding from God?

Daily Challenge

Below is a reflection on grief. Read through this piece. Spend a few minutes reflecting in silent prayer. Write down the word or phrase that sticks with you. Who needs to hear these words today? Pass them along.

I had my own notion of grief.

I thought it was a sad time

That followed the death of someone you love.

And you had to push through it

To get to the other side.

But I am learning there is no other side.

There is no pushing through.

But rather,

There is absorption.

Adjustment.

Acceptance.

And grief is not something that you complete.

But rather you endure.

Grief is not a task you finish,

And move on,

But an element of yourself –

An alteration of you being.

A new way of seeing.

A new definition of self.

-- from Mindful Christianity

Trust Bank - February 21

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 106:1-18; PM Psalm 106:19-48; Prov. 3:11-20; 1 John 3:18-4:6; John 11:17-29

“Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action”. - 1 John 3:18

Words only carry so much weight.  One of the images of relationships is building up a bank of credibility.  If I were to tell you I was going to do something, and then I do it, I build trust.  Over time, that bank has an abundance of trust and if something comes up and I feel I cannot meet an obligation, if I have enough credit, it doesn’t damage the relationship for me to not follow through. 

But if I don’t follow through a few times in a row, if I begin to make promises I can’t keep, soon the trust bank will be empty, and our relationship will change.  This exposes a fundamental truth about relationships – actions are more powerful than words. 

When we think about faith, it’s easy to put a lot of emphasis on words.  We read Holy Scripture.  We listen to a sermon.  We offer prayers uttered from our lips.  This is certainly a part of our faith, and these simple actions are so important.  But as I think about our scripture appointed for today from the Epistle, John the Evangelist, writes, “Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.”  He reminds us of the power of action. 

I’d argue it is even more important to open our hands and to let the bread be pushed against our palms as we receive God’s gift of love, grace, and presence in bread and wine.  And then we take our lives and live into God’s vision of reconciliation.  How can we show up in love, truth, and action in the daily way we live our lives?

John+

Questions for Self-Reflection: What actions are more important to you than words?  When have you run through the trust bank and your words fallen empty?  What actions were helpful in restoring trust and confidence? 

Daily Challenge:  Find one action you can do to love others where you typically would have used words.  I’d love to know if you are willing to share.

Being With One Another - February 19

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 107:33-43, 108:1-6(7-13); PM Psalm 33; Gen. 35:1-20; 1 John 3:11-18; John 11:1-16

Today’s Reflection

We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another. Whoever does not love abides in death. All who hate a brother or sister are murderers, and you know that murderers do not have eternal life abiding in them. We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. —1 John 3:14-18

Today’s passage from 1 John 3 is a powerfully succinct statement of what it means to love one another—not just in theory, but in practice. Not in word or speech, but in truth and action. Love as moving beyond how we feel into love as being about how we are with the other human beings in our lives.

Sam Wells has written that while faith is rooted in what has happened in the past and hope is focused on what will happen in the future, love is about how we are living in the present. How do we go about sharing this present-tense love with one another? 1 John 3 points us toward following Jesus by laying down our lives for one another, sharing what we have with one another—loving others in a way that is true and active. This all sounds very good, but in our day-to-day interactions, how do we live into this kind of loving action?

Wells holds that everything about God’s love for us is communicated in the idea of being with. God created the world and us as a part of it because God wanted from the beginning to be in relationship with us. Then with the incarnation, God chose to be born into full humanity, to be with us in the full arc of human development from childhood and adolescence into adulthood. While the scriptures tell us mainly of the last three years of Jesus’ life, the years of his public ministry, Wells rightly points out that the first 30 years, about 90 percent of Jesus’ life, were spent solely being with people as he learned and worked and participated in all the normal, day-to-day activities that make a life. So, as we reflect on how we are meant to follow Jesus’ example of loving others in our own daily lives, it makes sense that about 90 percent of how we share life and love with others in the present should be focused on simply being with others (as opposed to working for, working with, or being for them—which often are how we think of what it means to share love with others in the world of church ministries and other forms of charitable activity).

Here are some of the ways we enact love through being with: Creating space and time in our lives for simply being with others. Enacting holy curiosity. Wondering with people. Expressing genuine interest in learning who people are, where they have been, what they have experienced, what they are going through, what brings them joy, what they dream about for the future, what their dearest hopes are for themselves and those they love.

Being with means setting aside whatever distracts us so that we may be fully present for that other human being, be they someone we know well or someone we have only just met. Being with is what gets us out of our own heads and makes this present life meaningful. Being with is how we go about loving one another not just in word or speech, but in action and in truth.

In their book Good Enough: 40ish Devotionals for a Life of Imperfection, Kate Bowler and Jessica Ritchie include a “Blessing for When Caring Costs You.” Reflect on this blessing as you allow yourself to wonder what it means that being with others is how we share in God’s love with one another.

Becky+

Blessed are you who want your life to count, you who do the right things, who hope it will add up to something. That is some good math.

But blessed are you who do terrible, terrible math. You who care about strangers. What a waste—that wasn’t going to get you a nicer apartment. You who give your health in service of people who might not even deserve it and who never say thank you. You could have been protecting yourself or, God forbid, sleeping through the night. But you are here instead.

Blessed are you who listen to long, winding stories from lonely hearts instead of rushing off to more interesting friends. You picked boredom or loving strangers instead of the warmth of being known. That was your time and you’re never going to get it back.

Blessed are you who love people who aren’t grateful, the sick who endanger your health, the deeply boring who know you have things to do. Loving people can be the most meaningful thing in the world, but it can also be hard and scary and boring and disgusting or sad or anxiety-inducing with zero overtime.

So bless you, dear one. You who made these bad investments, those acts of love that are not going to add up to success in the way the world sees it. You are the definition of love.

Questions for Self-Reflection

Recall a time recently when you set aside all else and just spent time being with another person. Did you share a meal or an activity together? Did you share stories? What did you learn about the other person (and perhaps also about yourself) through this time of simply being with one another?

Daily Challenge

If you are curious to learn more of Sam Wells’ reflections on being with (versus working for, working with, or being for), you can hear more here (12 minute version) or here (45 minute version). These ideas are fully developed in Wells’ book A Nazareth Manifesto: Being With God.

Good Enough is the book we are using as the basis for this year’s Lenten reflection gatherings (Wednesdays at 5 p.m., starting March 9). For each day, Good Enough includes a reflection, a blessing, and ‘a good enough step.’ Consider joining Katherine and I for these times of reflection during the Season of Lent, then staying on to share dinner together in the Parish Hall as a way of enacting ‘being with’ one another as we prepare our hearts to celebrate Resurrection and new life at Easter.

Beloved - February 18

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 102; PM Psalm 107:1-32, Gen. 32:22-33:17; 1 John 3:1-10; John 10:31-42

When I was a three-year-old kid, before my sisters were born, my mom volunteered at our Episcopal church. She would bring me along sometimes after picking me up from preschool. I would curl up behind her desk to take a nap. I can still see the light filtering through the windows of the dark wooden blinds. I can feel the warmth of the wooden floor and the comfort of my baby blanket and stuffed animal lamb. As I reflect, it is probably one of my earliest memories.

While I do not take naps at the church anymore, there are times in the church office when I feel the same warmth and beauty that I did more than forty years ago. This week, I was in the first space visitors see, the desk where “Office Angels” sit and welcome guests and answer the phone. I was having a conversation with someone who is going through the Metagem Institute’s spiritual direction program. She was telling me about the latest book she was reading by Henri Nouwen in preparation for the next training meeting. My friend was so moved by Nouwen’s message, as it had opened her eyes to a deeper understanding of her goal in spiritual direction. People seek different things when they talk with a spiritual director. Some want understanding of where God is moving them. Others hope to get clarity on hard stuff in the past. Still more seek practices that will bring them closer to God each day.

Reading 1 John 3:1-10 this morning, I am reminded of some of the wisdom that emanates from spiritual direction. When we doubt who we are and what value we are to others, this piece of Holy Scripture reminds us: “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are.” We are so loved by God that we are God’s dear and adored sons and daughters. That is who we are.

The second half of this verse reads, “The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” Our understanding of who we are is sometimes obscured and confused by what is around us. Maybe this is why parents want their children to mind the company they keep as teenagers (and beyond). It is a similar rationale to why Israelites kept their families apart from those who followed other gods. It is hard to be in a world where who we are is misunderstood. Staying faithful to God is a discipline that happens daily – and the writer of this first letter of John knows that the world needs Jesus. We need Jesus.

The inspiration continues. “Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.” Our being is already defined: we are beloved children of our Lord. Now. What is ahead for you and me is not clear. This letter gives the gift of grounding us in God’s love and in knowing we are beloved of God, so that come what may, we know that Jesus is our Advocate and Guide. The Holy Spirit inspires us and strengthens us to face what is to be revealed, and empowers us to tell this truth to others.

May God move you, comfort you, encourage you, and challenge you this day. Amen.

- Katherine+

Questions for Reflection

What words describe you? Who has influenced you to become who you are?

How is God moving you to pay attention today?

Daily Challenge

In the week ahead, spend time doing some type of daily meditation and reflection, through prayer, reading, writing. If you are looking for a new source for daily meditation, try Henri Nouwen’s book You are the Beloved: Daily Meditations for Spiritual Living.

Indissoluble - February 17

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 105:1-22; PM Psalm 105:23-45; Gen. 32:3-21; 1 John 2:18-29; John 10:19-30

“No one will snatch them out of my hand.” – John 10:28

One of the historical debates of the Christian faith is around justification.  Justification is the term for God’s righteous act of salvation.  The reformation defined this moment by saying grace alone was received through faith and nothing else.  The Epistle of James is one of the few instances of Scripture that points otherwise suggesting that good works must be evident as well, but this has not been the prevalent theology of the Church since the Reformation. 

I saw the conversation lived out this week on a message board and then began reflecting on the theology of the Episcopal Church.  I’ve been wondering if our theology is actually different than the majority of the Christian faith.  On page 298 of the Book of Common Prayer, in the section concerning Baptism, the theology is explained: “The bond which God establishes in Baptism
is indissoluble.”

It's worth reflecting on this statement because it is a fundamental shift in our theology to make Baptism the single most important event in the life of a Christian.   Baptism completely changes our identity to be a person and it changes it permanently.  Oddly, I think this actually gives more power to God because there is nothing we can do, not our belief, or lack of it, or our actions can change what God has done in us in Christ Jesus.  Which is all the more reason we ought to allow that love and grace to transform our lives as followers of Jesus. 

Jesus says in the Gospel of John, “No one will snatch them out of my hand.”  He is saying that you and I are his forever and nothing can change that.  Thanks be to God!

John+

Questions for Self-Reflection:  If you believe this premise about Baptism, then for you, what is the role of faith in your life?  How can this Good News make a difference in your daily life and faith?

Daily Challenge:  Read through the Baptism Service in the Book of Common Prayer.   Do you remember your baptism or the baptisms of people you love?  How did those moments shape your life?

Shepherded with Love - February 16

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 101, 109:1-4(5-19)20-30; PM Psalm 119:121-144; Gen. 31:25-50; 1 John 2:12-17; John 10:1-18

Today’s Reflection

 ‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.’  —John 10: 12-18

Sheep are among the earliest of domesticated animals. Archaeologists have found artifacts with images of sheep as far back as 6,000 years ago. Apparently, they are the one domesticated animal that has never been found to revert to being wild—you will not find feral sheep, anywhere. Sheep have been with us humans for so long that they don’t know any other way to be. Over the years, sheep have been stereotyped as dumb creatures. But in fact, sheep are smarter than we have given them credit for being. Sheep can recognize and remember faces of fellow sheep even two years after last seeing them. They form attachments to one another, and they have the capacity for emotions—for instance, they notice when a fellow sheep has left the fold for good, and they show sadness about it. Sheep have minds and feelings of their own—and maybe that’s why they, like us, can be hard to wrangle sometimes. A shepherd is needed to keep them safe, both from predators and from their own proclivity to wander.

And what about shepherds, what is their role?  The life of shepherds is not easy, especially back in the times when the Psalmist and John were writing about them. Shepherds needed to live amongst their sheep. And because sheep have minds capable of remembering and recognizing other sheep, and recognizing people as well, the more time a shepherd spends with his sheep, the more likely the sheep are to bond with the shepherd, to recognize the shepherd’s scent and voice and even face. Pope Francis once said that priests, if they are truly following the example of a shepherd, need to smell like more their sheep. In other words, someone who is truly ministering to a community needs to be so embedded in that community that they take on the scent of their flock—only then, they will be more accepted and followed when it is time for them to lead.

Being a shepherd also requires courage—when a threat to the flock comes on the scene, maybe a lion or a bear, or a river overflowing its banks, the shepherd has to do whatever it takes to either make the threat go away, or to get the sheep out of danger—to safe shelter or higher ground. Sometimes sheep are kept in an enclosure overnight, as John describes in today’s Gospel; and if there is no gate to the sheep pen, the shepherd would make his body into a human gate to make sure that no sheep wandered away during the night—and that no predator snuck into the enclosure to steal away one of the sheep.

Ultimately, being a Good Shepherd, as Jesus was and is to us, means to be someone who takes care of the needs of others, guiding others with equal parts gentleness, firmness, and courageousness. Our identity as followers of Christ means that we are both sheep and shepherds. We are sheep who need to be shepherded—we need to be led to green pastures and to be guided to still waters. We need to be guided through the valleys of the shadow, knowing that God is with us, his rod and his staff comforting us. We need shepherding by God—and oftentimes God shepherds us through placing shepherding people into our lives. And, in turn, we are called to be those shepherds to the people God places within the circle of our care.

Becky+

Questions for Self-Reflection

Who has served as a shepherd for you? Who have you served as shepherd for? What do you learn of Jesus’ love for us when you think of these shepherding relationships in your life?

Daily Challenge

Learn more of shepherds in Holy Scripture by reading this article.

This reflection is an excerpt from my April 25, 2021 sermon—you can listen to the full sermon here.

Family meetings – February 15

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 97, 99, [100]; PM Psalm 94, Gen. 31:1-24; 1 John 2:1-11; John 9:18-41

Family meetings. Did you ever convene them? Or were you called to the dining room table to have one? Here’s my wonder of the morning: if you can recall what was discussed, I wonder if you can also point to any effects that conversation had on your day-to-day life.

When I was a kid, we would have some of these conversations about being nice to one another, when we had gotten really heated in our arguments. But there was one such family meeting that sticks out in my memory…the one when we sat in our normal chairs at the round wrought iron table with the glass top. The one when Mom and Dad told us that they were getting divorced.

Family meetings leave me a bit unsettled and fearful. I do not associate them with happy or positive changes. As I read the scriptures for today, there is another family meeting or two that happens. In Genesis 31, Jacob called Rachel and Leah, not around a table, but into the field where his flock was. He had something important to say. The Lord had spoken to Jacob: “Return to the land of your ancestors and to your kindred, and I will be with you.” It was time to move. Things had been tense and beyond toxic with his father-in-law Laban. Laban was controlling, difficult, cunning, and untrustworthy. Jacob says to his wives, “I see that your father does not regard me as favorably as he did before. But the God of my father has been with me. You know that I have served your father with all my strength; yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not permit him to harm me.” (v. 5-7) As he continued to explain, he also shared that God came to him in a dream and directed him to leave this land and return to the land of his birth.

Much is going on here. Family tension. Upheaval. An impending move. I am struck by Jacob’s words to his wives, when speaking of their father Laban – “God did not permit him to harm me.” God did not allow Laban to strike him or cause bodily harm. There was protection at that visceral level, for wounds and lesions were prone to infection. If afflicted, who would tend the flocks? However, what I hear in this story insidious, emotional torment. While Laban did not physically assault his son-in-law, he perpetuated an environment of mistrust and discomfort…soil that wounds the soul incrementally, sapping the life and love from the bonds of mutuality and commitment. What a painful space to live within.

And so, God broke into a dream, telling Jacob to go home to the land where God protected Isaac. Go home to be among people who are faithful to the Lord. Go home to safety and rest. Just go.

While Laban pursued Jacob, Leah, Rachel, their families and livestock, God came to Laban in a dream and commanded that he “say not a word to Jacob, either good or bad.” God broke into Laban’s proclivity to cajole and convince, control and connive. God said no.

Jacob and his family broke free of the tensions in that destructive dynamic. They turned their hearts to God. The road was not easy, and there still would be challenges ahead. But the result of the family meeting in the field of goats was toward wholeness and with God’s protection. May each of us have such clear, grounded direction this day.

- Katherine+

Questions for Reflection

What comes to mind when you think of a family meeting? Who can you remember being there? Who do you miss today? What do you wish you could have said in that gathering? Where was God in that gathering?

Daily Challenge

Reach out to someone who is family – or like family. Share memories. Invite them to tell you stories. Spend time in quality connection with someone who feels safe and sees you as whole and beautiful.

More than Meets the Eye - February 14

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 89:1-18; PM Psalm 89:19-52; Gen. 30:1-24; 1 John 1:1-10; John 9:1-17

We do not have the whole story in Today’s Gospel.  John 9:1-17 is focused on a man who is from birth, blind.   Jesus makes mud and places it on the man’s eyes and a remarkable miracle happens.  The man receives sight.  The story then pivots, and we begin hearing about the Pharisees who have taken a special interest in the blind man.  They are curious about the source of Jesus’s power and are quite offended that Jesus would heal on the Sabbath.

What becomes apparent as the story continues on is the growing sense that while the beggar who was once blind has been healed, the Pharisees are actually becoming blind themselves.   They can’t see the true meaning behind the laws and their failure to see Jesus’s redemptive power makes them blind.  At the end of the story (v. 40), the Pharisees respond, “Surely we are not blind, are we?” 

I love the story about the man who gains his eyesight.  But he probably gains a lot more than being able to distinguish shapes and colors and see what is right in front of him.  He gains the ability to see God’s goodness and healing at work in this world.  I imagine that means learning to suspend judgment, being hopeful, seeing the image of God in every human being.  These are not easy tasks, and we can spend our whole lives developing this kind of vision. 

It may be worth considering how Jesus opens our eyes too.  Faith in the one who redeems humanity, allows us to see what we couldn’t see before.  It’s a statement of believing that there is more than meets the eye.  What does your faith compel you to see that you couldn’t see otherwise? 

John+

Questions for Self-Reflection:  What does your faith compel you to see that you couldn’t see otherwise?  Do you find yourself blind around certain conversations, topics, ideas, or theology?  How can faith open your eyes?

Daily Challenge:  My hunch is most people know they have blind spots, but rarely do something to address those blind spots.  Those could be things that cause us to react easily, cast judgment, or disconnect.  Take an inventory of your blind spots. 

Narratives and Denouements - February 12

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 87, 90; PM Psalm 136; Gen. 29:1-20; Rom. 14:1-23; John 8:47-59

Today’s Reflection

For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past and like a watch in the night. You sweep us away like a dream; we fade away suddenly like the grass. … The span of our life is seventy years, perhaps in strength even eighty; yet the sum of them is but labor and sorrow, for they pass away quickly and we are gone. Who regards the power of your wrath? who rightly fears your indignation? So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom. Return, O Lord; how long will you tarry? be gracious to your servants. Satisfy us by your loving-kindness in the morning; so shall we rejoice and be glad all the days of our life.  –Psalm 90: 4-5, 10-14

The more I read and reflect on Scripture over time, this truth becomes increasingly clear to me: that God’s sense of time and my human sense of time are incredibly different. (I almost wrote “at odds” but thought the better of it and went with “different.”) The God we believe created the universe and the earth and all that is in it, including us, is a God who is beyond time as far as we humans can comprehend it. We live in a world that pushes us to embrace only what we can see and experience in this moment. We humans are impatient creatures—we want it all, and we want it now. But the older I get, the more I appreciate the beauty to be found in the mystery of not knowing, the beauty to be found in trusting that, in time, more will be revealed.

In today’s reading from Genesis 29, Jacob travels to the land where his mother Rebekah’s people live. He encounters Rachel, the younger daughter of his uncle, Laban, as she was caring for the sheep of the field. Jacob and Rachel seem immediately drawn to one another, there amongst the sheep—Jacob kisses Rachel, and is so moved that he wept aloud. When they return to the family home, Laban welcomes Jacob with great joy and warmth. Jacob asks for permission to marry Rachel, even though her older sister Leah is not yet married—in those days, the older was to marry first, and then the younger. Knowing this custom, Jacob offers to labor for Laban for seven years to earn the right to marry his true love, Rachel: “So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.” Perhaps Jacob was blessed to fall into more of God’s big picture sense of time, and so the seven years didn’t seem so long—and maybe this was also because he was living and working alongside Rachel, so he was not as disheartened by the long wait.

Of course, at the end of the seven years, Laban tricks Jacob into marrying Leah instead—but then they strike a deal that allows Jacob to marry Rachel as well (in return for seven more years of labor—but while already being married to both daughters). For Jacob and Rachel, they experienced an immediate sense of connection, love at first sight. But they had to commit to seven more years of working and waiting—and then only to have things end up not nearly the way either of them had hoped. While Leah is easily able to bear children with Jacob, Rachel struggles with years of infertility. And yet, Rachel holds onto her faith, she stays close to God and after what probably seemed like an eternity: “Then God remembered Rachel, and God heeded her and opened her womb. She conceived and bore a son, and said, ‘God has taken away my reproach’; and she named him Joseph, saying, ‘May the Lord add to me another son!’” (Genesis 30: 22-24).

In the world of narrative, a plot has a beginning, a middle (most always with some plot twists and turning points mixed in), leading to some sort of denouement (literary term for that point in the narrative at which “the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved”). Often, we may hope our lives will follow in this kind of linear trajectory. Speaking for myself, I like to know where things are headed: where are all these plot twists taking me? And yet, I love and believe in a God who transcends all this. I believe in a God who cares enough for me to not just drop me down into a simple life plot where if I just go through points A, B, and C, then some simple ending will be revealed.

But there’s something to be said for the beauty in what we don’t know, what has not yet been revealed—the faith we hold onto when we follow God’s guiding into more circuitous narratives whose denouements we are not yet meant to know. We can hold onto the truth that more will be revealed, at the proper time, and that as we move forward in faith, we do so knowing that God is with us and God saves us—always.

Becky+

Questions for Self-Reflection

How do you comprehend God’s sense of time alongside our human sense of time? Do you experience this difference as comforting or frustrating—or just accept it as what is?  Reflect on the times in which your timeline for realizing hopes and dreams was different than how things ended up playing out. What were your prayers with God like in this time of waiting and watching for things to come to fruition?

Daily Challenge

As you go about your weekend, keep coming back to this poem by Wendell Berry, allowing yourself to reflect on these lines alongside recalling moments from your own life’s narrative thus far.

I go by a field where once
I cultivated a few poor crops.
It is now covered with young trees,
for the forest that belongs here
has come back and reclaimed its own.
And I think of all the effort
I have wasted and all the time,
and of how much joy I took
in that failed work and how much
it taught me. For in so failing
I learned something of my place,
something of myself, and now
I welcome back the trees.

—Wendell Berry