Life Has Been a Bit Challenging Lately - or is it just me?

I’m almost afraid to tune into the evening news any more.  I’m feeling discombobulated this week.  Cooler temperatures have been a bit hard to adjust to.  Plumbing - have I mentioned plumbing (or washing machines) lately?  Don’t get me started.  I feel like life is out of control.

Oddly enough, I have been practicing gratitude more than usual this week, not less.   To do this, I have been using one of the variations on the ancient prayer of Examen:

1. I ask God to shine his light on the day just past 

2. I replay the day, asking God to bring to my mind the things I have been grateful for.

3. I review the feelings that surfaced in the replay of the day, both positive and negative.

4. I choose one of those feelings (positive or negative) and pray from it.

5. I look toward tomorrow, asking God for help with whatever I need.

I have been surprised this week that with my usual routine disrupted I have found there are new things to be grateful for.  I’ve learned by reviewing (in God’s presence) the feelings in my day that I can cope quite well with being out of control.  And that not holding on quite so tightly to my schedule, there is room for new delights and discoveries. 

This week in worship we will continue to practice gratitude.  We will hear again the passage from Luke 17:11-19 in a different translation.  You might want to read it for yourself or pray the Examen in preparation.  I wonder what you might discover?

For more information on the Examen:  Rummaging for God.

Luke 17:11-19 NIVUK

Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus travelled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance  and called out in a loud voice, ‘Jesus, Master, have pity on us!’

When he saw them, he said, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were cleansed.

One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice.  He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him – and he was a Samaritan.

Jesus asked, ‘Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?  Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?’ Then he said to him, ‘Rise and go; your faith has made you well.’

I am gradually learning that the call to gratitude asks us to say, “Everything is grace.” Whether there is suffering or joy, I can say, “Yes, I want to live this, and I want to discover in this more fully the gift of life.” - Henri Nouwen

Who Might You Thank Today?

Who benefits when we thank someone?  Is it us, the recipient of our appreciation, or both?

And why is giving thanks a fundamental Christian spiritual practice…one that we practice individually and collectively in worship?  Who benefits?  What happens when we shift focus from worry to God's constant presence and love, even in difficult circumstances?

This Sunday we celebrate Thanksgiving in Canada, and we will read a Jesus story about giving thanks:

Luke 17:11-19  MSG

It happened that as Jesus made his way toward Jerusalem, he crossed over the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten men, all lepers, met him. They kept their distance but raised their voices, calling out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

Taking a good look at them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”

They went, and while still on their way, became clean. 

One of them, when he realized that he was healed, turned around and came back, shouting his gratitude, glorifying God. He kneeled at Jesus’ feet, so grateful. He couldn’t thank him enough—and he was a Samaritan.

Jesus said, “Were not ten healed? Where are the nine?  Can none be found to come back and give glory to God except this outsider?” Then he said to him, “Get up.  On your way. Your faith has healed and saved you.”

Why did Jesus say that the healed Samaritan had faith?  What does it mean to give glory to God?

As you prepare for worship this Sunday, I invite you to show your appreciation to someone in your life who you don't normally thank, like the janitorial staff where you work or a person stocking shelves at a grocery store. Or maybe you remember someone fondly for a difference they made in your life a long time ago.  Can you reach out and say, “Thank you?”

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases

God’s mercies never come to an end

They are new every morning,

new every morning

Great is your faithfulness, O Lord,

great is your faithfulness. 

 

What is Different about this Particular Communion Sunday?

The Last Supper- John August Swanson

This Sunday we celebrate communion, along with thousands of churches around the world.  What is different about this particular Communion Sunday?  The first Sunday of October, each year, is World Communion Sunday.

World Communion Sunday began in 1933 in Pittsburgh, where as a way of unifying the Presbyterian churches in the city, they all celebrated communion on the first Sunday of October.  By 1940 it had spread to include all protestant churches world-wide!  As World War II raged around them, church leaders knew how important it was to unify the Christian church around the world.

The roots of communion are as deep as they are wide.  Paul references “the Lord’s Supper” in his first letter to the Corinthians, and The Acts of the Apostles also references it.  

The last supper, written about in the Gospel of Mark, is like the taproot of our current communion practice.  Even this practice reaches down through the ages - to Exodus, mentioning the Passover:

Mark 14. 12-26  MSG

On the first of the Days of Unleavened Bread, the day they prepare the Passover sacrifice, his disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations so you can eat the Passover meal?”

 He directed two of his disciples, “Go into the city. A man carrying a water jug will meet you. Follow him. Ask the owner of whichever house  he enters, ‘The Teacher wants to know, Where is my guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?’ He will show you a spacious second-story room, swept and ready. Prepare for us there.”

The disciples left, came to the city, found everything just as he had told them, and prepared the Passover meal.

After sunset he came with the Twelve. As they were at the supper table eating, Jesus said, “I have something hard but important to say to you: One of you is going to hand me over to the conspirators, one who at this moment is eating with me.”

Stunned, they started asking, one after another, “It isn’t me, is it?”

He said, “It’s one of the Twelve, one who eats with me out of the same bowl.”

In the course of their meal, having taken and blessed the bread, he broke it and gave it to them. Then he said, “Take, this is my body.”

Taking the chalice, he gave it to them, thanking God, and they all drank from it. He said, “This is my blood, God’s new covenant, poured out for many people. I’ll not be drinking wine again until the new day when I drink it in the kingdom of God.”

They sang a hymn and then went directly to Mount Olives.

I invite you to prepare for worship this week by praying for a church somewhere in this broken world.  Wars still rage.  Is the church you choose from your place of birth, from somewhere you lived for awhile, from somewhere in your community, from something you have read in the news?  Or somewhere else entirely?   I’d love to hear which church comes to your mind.

But there’s one other thing I remember,
    and remembering, I keep a grip on hope:

God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out,
    his merciful love couldn’t have dried up.
They’re created new every morning.
    How great your faithfulness!
I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over).
    He’s all I’ve got left.

God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits,
    to the woman who diligently seeks.
It’s a good thing to quietly hope,
    quietly hope for help from God.

• Lamentations 3