How Does a Snake Prepare for Growth and Change?

He sheds his skin!

And what does this have to do with Lent?  Perhaps like a snake, we can use Lent as an opportunity for growth and change. 

Two weeks ago, Rev. Donna helped CVC begin our Lenten journey by considering two fears that we might let go of for Lent. That day, we looked at our fear of being wrong, and our fear of being unsuccessful.  

I heard that if I was perfect, I wouldn’t need God, and that my imperfections are what lead me to God.  I heard that Grace happens no matter what; love is already at work when sin happens.  What did you hear?

On Sunday we will consider two more fears.  I hope you can join us.  Here are the readings for this week.

But I have stilled and quieted my soul like a weaned child. Like a weaned child on its mother’s lap, so is my soul within me. Psalm 131:2  (NB) 

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:25-34 (NIV)

Susan

Above all, trust in the slow work of God.
We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay.
We should like to skip the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new.

And yet it is the law of all progress
that it is made by passing through some stages of instability—
and that it may take a very long time.

—from Patient Trust, by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ

How Did Jesus Teach us to Pray?

Matthew 6:7-13 MSG

Our Father in heaven, 

Reveal who you are. 

Set the world right; 

Do what’s best— as above, so below. 

Keep us alive with three square meals. 

Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others. 

Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil. 

You’re in charge! 

You can do anything you want! 

You’re ablaze in beauty! 

Yes. Yes. Yes.

I end my morning prayer with the Lord's Prayer, but lately I've been reading it from the Message Translation instead of reciting the one I know by heart. Why?

This language, which is new to me and requires reading line by line, forces me to slow down and concentrate, instead of reciting without thinking about the words. What have I discovered?

I've discovered just how perfect this prayer is. No matter what I have on my mind, it is covered:

Trump and his tariffs:  Do what’s best— as above, so below. 

Worry or regret: Keep us safe from ourselves

What a gorgeous day!...You’re ablaze in beauty!

You get the idea. But why would I expect anything less than perfection from Jesus? 

Matthew 6.9-13 NRSV 

 “Pray, then, in this way:

Our Father in heaven,
    may your name be revered as holy.

    May your kingdom come.
    May your will be done
        on earth as it is in heaven.

    Give us today our daily bread

    And forgive us our debts,
        as we also have forgiven our debtors.

    And do not bring us to the time of trial,
        but rescue us from the evil one.

What Do We Do During Lent, Anyway?

 What do we do during Lent, anyway?

For forty days Jesus fasted and prayed in the wilderness, and for forty days each year, tradition invites us to embrace reflection and prayer…and perhaps fasting or letting go of something.

The history of Lent is a Catholic one dating back to 325 AD, and at that time focus was on fasting.  After the reformation, many Protestants ignored Lent completely, especially fasting, but Lent has recently seen something of a revival.  Many look upon it simply as a way to prepare their hearts to celebrate Christ’s resurrection.  The practice of giving up something has remained strong.

Some people might give up chocolate or coffee for lent, while others might let go of some other habit or way of being that has taken over their lives in an unhealthy way.

Rev. Donna shared a poem with me this week.  It speaks of what we might consider this Lent, and just as importantly what we don’t need to do.  And who helps us?  Jesus, of course.  The one who rescues us, who saves us, who shines his light on us and helps us to see the way…  the one who loves us.

Lent is when we go downstairs,

down into the basement of our souls,

into the dark, dingy, dirty places,

and clear out the junk we need to get rid of.

In Lent we don't need to beat ourselves up.

We need to lighten our load,

bag up those fears and desires

that are leaking all over everything,

take our guilt and shame out to the curb.

It's not easy to lay our hands on broken things,

to look deep into the gummed up works.

That's why Jesus shines with his light,

shines so we can see our way down into the dark,

see to lift up the junk and hand it over,

so he can haul it out into the light

of the dumpster.

The light Jesus shines is good with dark places,

so we know even from the deepest hole down there

we'll come out. The light will lead us. We'll be OK.

Mucking around down there we get dirty,

and we come up with grime on our hands

and ashes on our foreheads for everybody to see.

But we're free of all that blame and disappointment.

And the darkest, deepest cellar hole

becomes an empty tomb.

Don't forget to set your clocks ahead before bed on Saturday!  You may also want to read a passage for our first Sunday of Lent:

Joel 2.12-14  NRSV

Yet even now, says the Lord,

    return to me with all your heart,

with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;

    rend your hearts and not your clothing.

Return to the Lord your God,

    for he is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love,

    and relenting from punishment.

In Christ’s Bountiful Love,

Susan

Image:  Freepik

Poem:  Lent by Steve Garnaas-Holmes

How Do We Open Our Hearts?

Spotted Towhee, Photo by ADJ82, Creative Commons

As I walked over to Main Street yesterday I pondered this question. 

I also wondered, "Is my heart open or closed?"  How about yours?

Suddenly, a stunning spotted towhee flew into the bush beside me and stopped me in my tracks. I began to hear beautiful birdsong that I had not heard up to that moment.  

Do you ever get lost in your head that way?  Or maybe you miss what is going on around you as you focus on your phone?

What a gift that bird was, a sudden gift from God that opened my eyes and my ears.  What love he must have for me, that he would give me these gifts!  

Now I’m wondering if maybe only God can open our eyes, ears, and hearts.  Maybe it isn’t something that we can do for ourselves.  I also wonder if loving other people requires the same kind of open-hearted presence that I needed yesterday to see and hear the birds.  

Open our eyes Lord

help us to see your face

Open our eyes Lord

help us to see

Open our ears Lord

help us to hear your voice

Open our ears Lord

help us to hear

Open our hearts Lord

help us to love like you

Open our hearts Lord

help us to love

                           -Jesse Manibusan

I hope to see you on Sunday when we will gather at the Lord's Table, reflect on love, and pray this song once again!

READING  From Colossians 3 NIVUK

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.     Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

 

How Does Jesus Love?

Charlie Mackesy, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse 

Recently, I have been watching Jesus love.  I watched him love a tax collector, a person reviled by Jewish culture. I watched him cure the daughter of a Roman oppressor. I watched him take the hand of a blind man, lead him away, and then rub spit in his eyes.

I have listened to him too. I heard him encourage and bless a woman who took a risk of faith, believing that she would be healed just by touching her robe. I heard him talk about the Kingdom of God, where we love our enemies, and live generously and graciously.

All week I've been hearing him remind me, "Our Father is kind; you be kind." (Luke 6.36 MSG)

And remember when we, together in worship, heard about Frank and Rhoda?  Not only did Jesus heal Rhoda, a crippled woman, but he refused to allow her to be blamed or shamed for coming to receive healing on the Sabbath. 

He leads us kindly and gently, teaching us with every part of him how to love…showing us the Jesus Way.

In Worship this week, we will read from Paul's letters, as he teaches his churches that watching how Christ loved us can show us how to love.  Then, having watched him, we can imitate him and walk the Jesus Way too.

Ephesians 5 1-2 MSG

Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behaviour from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.

From Colossians 3

So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.

Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.

I hope to see you there, but no shame or blame if you can't make it.  Maybe you'll be away showering the world with the love of Christ!

What Happens to us When We Worship Together? Can We Be Transformed?

 

Consider 2 Corinthians 3:16-18 MSG

Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are—face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.

Every week, as we gather in the Living Room of Love, Rev. Donna reminds us that God is always there first.

We enter the chapel, greet each other, and leave the world outside. We turn to face God as Moses did. Wow…really?  Can I honestly say that I am doing justice to this opportunity every single week? 

No, I cannot. Sometimes I find it difficult to leave outside whatever I am thinking about. Sometimes I am worried that I'll sing the wrong note or say the wrong thing. 

But I do want to do the very best that I can.  Because I know that if I put my heart and soul into worship, I just might be transformed by it. 

How about CVC, is the group transformed?  If we put our hearts and souls into worship and show up for each other, perhaps St. Paul is suggesting that the group will be transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.

In Worship this week, we will read more of what St. Paul wrote about this group, this body of Christ, to the church in Corinth. 

 1 Corinthians 12:12b-13 (MSG)

Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells, but no matter how many parts you can name,   you’re still one body. It’s exactly the same with Christ. By means of his one Spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives.  We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which he has the final say in everything. (This is what we proclaimed in word and action when we were baptized.) Each of us is now a part of his resurrection body, refreshed and sustained at one fountain—his Spirit—where we all come to drink. The old labels we once used to identify ourselves—labels like Jew or Greek, slave or free—are no longer useful. We need something larger, more comprehensive.

Colossians 3. 15-17 (MSG)

Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing.  And cultivate thankfulness.

What Do We Do While We Wait to See God?

Earlier this week, I prayed the scripture about Zacchaeus waiting in the sycamore tree to see Jesus, and about his conversation with Jesus (Luke 19:1-10).  

Putting myself in the story, I had a conversation with Jesus that went like this: 

Jesus said, “I found you!  I see you!  I love you! Will you let me restore you?”

“How?” I asked.

“Follow me.” Jesus said. “Do what I do.” 

On Sunday, Rev. Donna is going to say more about what we Christians do while we wait to see God.  Here's a bit of what we'll be reading together:

from  I Corinthians 13 MSG

We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. 

We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

Ephesians 5 1-2 MSG

Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.

So while we wait, we receive God's love. We keep company with Jesus. We observe how Christ loved us…not cautiously but extravagantly.   And we love like that.  Worth repeating.

I hope to see you on Sunday.

Susan