Wednesday, March 13, 2024

March 13, 2024

Wednesday Word:  Secret Faults

Who can tell how often he offends? * cleanse me from my secret faults. – Ps. 19:12

Ps. 19 was the appointed psalm for Lent III.  It’s a good one for Lent, as it offers a variety of verses that can be meditated on and prayed with during this season of self-examination.  If you are still looking for a Lenten discipline, or if your original discipline went by the wayside and you want to pick something up, may I suggest reading and meditating on Psalm 19?

As I was sitting in church that Sunday reciting this psalm, I began to think:  How often have I/do I offend God or others?  Sure, the big ones are easy to identify:  being short-tempered with my family or coworkers; being discourteous or impatient with another person without knowing their story; using God as a weapon; excusing my behavior while blaming others for theirs.

But what are my secret faults?  What are those offensive things I do so often that I can’t keep count?  And are my secret faults faults that I commit when I’m alone so nobody else can see or know about?  Or are they faults I commit that are so concealed to me that only God knows?

One way to cleanse ourselves from secret faults is to get them out in the open, to bring them into the light so that we can address it and say, “I repent of this sin and will work to not commit it again.”  It may be that we do commit that sin again, but by bringing it to light we can deal with it in such a way that those sins will not get dominion over us (Ps. 19 again, verse 13).

Holy Week begins on March 24, and I will be offering time for personal confessions during that week.  What secret faults are troubling you?  What sins do you need to be cleansed from?

Lent is a time for us to make a right beginning.  I pray that you are finding this season prayerful, hopeful, and a time of cleansing so that you may, indeed, make a right beginning as we head into the Easter season.

Blessings, 

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

March 6, 2024

Wednesday Word:  What Are We Paying Attention To?

We are halfway through Lent, the season of self-examination and repentance; of prayer, fasting, and self-denial.  During this penitential season we make a right beginning by confessing our sins in a more deeply and personal way.  We read the Litany of Penitence on Ash Wednesday, confessing our sins to God, to each other, and to the whole communion of saints.  We begin each Sunday service with the Penitential Order, and the Confession of Sin is one of the first things we do in the liturgy.  On Lent 1, I read the Exhortation which encouraged you to “open your grief to a discreet and understanding priest” so that you may receive the assurance of pardon.

Lent is heavily focused on sin and repentance.

Lent is also focused on growth.  We give up those things that separate us from God and replace them with things that draw us to God.  By doing that, we (hopefully) grow in our relationship with God.  We might take on things that lead us to grow spiritually – praying during specific times of the day, reading Scripture, committing to regular worship attendance, etc.  In the physical world, we see the sun rising earlier and setting later, a physical reminder that light grows and always overcomes the darkness.

But whether we are focusing on our sins or on our growth, Lent is a time of personal reflection.  The Exhortation reminds us to judge ourselves, examine our lives and conduct, and acknowledge our sins.  All too often we focus on the sins of others, their lives and conduct, and make judgements about their worthiness.

Yes, we need to pay attention to where we have sinned and fallen short, and the need for repentance and forgiveness.  But what would happen if, instead of always focusing on the negative, we spent more time focusing on the positive.  What if we spent more time paying attention to the fruits of the Spirit:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control?

How might we grow both personally and as the faith community of Saint Luke’s if we spent more time focusing on and living into the fruits of the Spirit, rather than the shortcomings of ourselves and others?

Jesus said, “Where your heart is, there your treasure will be also.”  May our hearts pay attention to the good things of God so that our treasure becomes beneficial to all.

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

February 28, 2024

Wednesday Word:  Different Eyes

Joelene and I were part of our first Youth Group gathering here at Saint Luke’s this past Sunday afternoon.  We had a total of seven kids, which isn’t bad for our first time out.  We spent time learning about our names, what schools they attended, and their interests.  We set norms for the group, ate walking tacos and brownies, and played a game of Bible Pictionary which probably ended in a tie.  We closed out our time together by praying Compline (pg. 127 in the BCP if you’re looking for a good way to end your day).

I also asked if they were comfortable giving me their contact information so we could keep in touch with events and reminders.  A few of them even asked if they could sign up to receive emails from the church so they could participate in Lent Madness. 

All in all, it was a good time.

On Monday I put together a Youth Group email group so that I could just type SLEC YG in the “To” box without having to type each individual email.  After doing that, I went to send my first email to the group . . . and only two names came up.  I put much more than two into the group, but that's all that ever came up.  I spent 30 – 40 minutes trying to figure out what was going on; but no matter what I did, I only had two people in the group.  I finally called tech support, and Monica came into my office.

After showing her what was going on, she said, “You don’t have emails for those other people.”

And there it was, clear as day . . . I had only entered emails for two people in the group.  After updating each contact, I found that I had the right number of people in the group.

Sometimes it just takes a different set of eyes to see the problem.  Sometimes it takes a new set of eyes to see differently.

This Lent, as we work to make a right-beginning, as we examine ourselves, our conduct, and our practices, and as we spend time in prayer, fasting, and study, what is something that you have seen in a new way because somebody else showed you a different way of seeing?  What is something old and familiar that you’ve seen in a new way?

May we always be open to seeing God and ourselves in new ways.

Wednesday, February 21, 2024

February 21, 2024

Wednesday Word:  In

Have you ever thought about the word, In?  It’s such a small word – one syllable, two letters.  But despite its smallness, it can hold multiple meanings and it serves as a preposition, noun, adjective, and adverb.

If you’ve picked up a Lenten devotional from the church, you will see that in holds a special place today.  The theme of today’s meditation is on gratitude, and the author quotes a passage from 1 Thessalonians that reads in part:  “give thanks in all circumstances.”  They point out that this doesn’t necessarily mean giving thanks FOR all circumstances, but IN all circumstances.

As an example:  when a parent, spouse, child, friend, or beloved pet dies, we do not necessarily give thanks for the circumstances of their death.  We can, however, give thanks in the circumstance of their death for a life well-lived, or a life in which we were able to participate.

You will also see the word IN when we talk about the Sundays in Lent, not the Sundays of Lent.

Lent, as you know, is a season of fasting.  It’s a season when we refrain from eating certain foods to remind us of those in need, or to allow us to re-allocate part of our food budget to certain charities.  It’s a season we refrain from participating in certain activities which, hopefully, creates space for us to spend time in prayer or relationship building.

Sundays, by their very nature, are never days of fasting, but are always considered a feast day.  It’s a day when, if you were/are actually fasting from food, it is allowable to eat.  That doesn’t mean that you get to use Sunday as a day of excess, but it does serve as a kind of reprieve from the austerity of Lent.

I explained this difference once by saying, “It’s like when Paul wrote that, as Christians, we are IN the world, not OF the world.”

As you continue your journey through Lent, pay attention to that word IN.  Are you able to give thanks in all things?  Are you living out your baptismal covenant in a world that has other priorities?  Are you making appropriate space for Christ in your life?

How are you in this season?

Blessings,

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

February 14, 2024

For those who attended our First Annual Game Night last night, I hope you all had a good time.  For those who missed it, we had a number of games that people brought and played, plenty of snacks, and we even burned some old palms from last year.  It was a fun way to close out the Epiphany season and have our own little Mardi Gras celebration.  That festive feeling, though, now gives way to the penitential season of Lent and the Ash Wednesday services of today.

Today we pray that God will create and make in us new and contrite hearts.  Today we are invited to a season of self-examination and repentance; a season of prayer, fasting, and self-denial; a season of reading and meditating on Holy Scripture; and a season of reconciliation and forgiveness.

On this day we are also reminded of our mortality: Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

On this day we are called to make a right beginning.

During this season of Lent, may you find time to explore the wilderness, may you identify that which pulls you away from God and set that aside, may you find that which draws you closer to God and pick that up, may you rend your heart and not your clothing, and may you be restored to wholeness of body, mind, and spirit.

Ash Wednesday Services will be held today at Saint Luke’s at Noon and 6 pm.  Both services will include the imposition of ashes and Holy Communion.

May you have a holy Lent

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

February 7, 2024

Wednesday Word:  On Death

One day your soul will quit your body . . . all that we do know is that die we shall, and for the most part sooner than we expect. – The Devout Life, St. Francis DeSales

Death is never easy.  Oh, it may be easy for some who die, but not always.  It may be expected and a relief, such as after a long illness.  For those who are left behind, expected or unexpected, death is never easy.

For those of us left behind, we must begin to make a new reality, for what was is no more.  Whether that is daily, weekly, or monthly conversations that can no longer happen, to regular coffee shop visits that are now ended, and everything in between, we are forced to make an adjustment to our lives.  We are forced to recognize that for us, life will and must continue, even though it continues in a form we would rather not adjust to.

While the death of a friend, family member, or even acquaintance leaves a particular empty spot in my life, and while tears are shed and questions asked, I still live in the hope of the resurrection.  This doesn’t mean I don’t weep.  It doesn’t mean I have a Pollyanna view of life and death.  It simply means I live in hope.

Some of my favorite words in the BCP comes from the Proper Preface of the burial service: 

            For to your faithful people, O Lord, life is changed, not ended; and when

            our mortal body lies in death, there is prepared for us a dwelling place

            eternal in the heavens.

Death comes for us all.  May we weep for lives and loves lost.  May we smile and laugh for lives lived well.  And may we always live in hope.

All of us go down to the dust; yet even at the grave we make our song:  Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Todd+ 

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

January 31, 2024

Wednesday Word – Go, Go, Go

This past Sunday was our Annual Meeting.  We read the reports of the various committees and programs of the parish.  The 2024 budget was presented.  We elected three new Vestry members (Perry Smith, Charlotte Velasquez, and Tom Berry) and approved one more (Bob Kessler) who will fill the unexpired term of Mike Hanson who had to resign last year.  We also elected a Convention Delegate and Alternate (Monica Smith and Linda Clark).

Pam, Jo Ann, Monica, and others spent a good amount of time preparing for the Annual Meeting and we were all rewarded with good food, good company, and a meeting that stayed on course accomplishing what we needed to get done.

Now that the Annual Meeting is over, my attention has turned to Lent and Holy Week.

As you’ve seen in a number of places, this upcoming season holds a number of opportunities for worship, prayer, and contemplation.  We are once again teaming with St. Luke’s Lutheran and the UCC for a Wednesday Lenten program.  Stations of the Cross will be offered weekly throughout Lent and daily during Holy Week, at which time the church will also be open for individual confession.  The Triduum, the singular liturgy of Christ’s Passion and Resurrection that covers the three days of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil, is being planned for.  We will close all of this out with the Festal Eucharist of Easter Day.

There is a lot going on and a lot to plan for; and sometimes I get overwhelmed and tired just thinking about it.

I’ve been reading through the Gospel of John during this Epiphany season.  One of the things that has struck me is how deliberate and intentional Jesus is.  When a group of men bring only a woman caught in the act of adultery to Jesus for judgment, he stoops down and draws in the dirt.  When he meets a Samaritan woman at a well, he takes his time with her.  At the Last Supper, he takes time to wash the feet of his disciples.  When faced with his own death, he has a long conversation with Pilate about truth.

As Lent and Holy Week approach with their crush of obligations and opportunities, may we all take the time to be deliberate and intentional about what we are doing.  It just might be by doing that we will live into the fullness of each, rather than feeling rushed as we jump from one event to another.

May you be deliberate and intentional in this upcoming holy season.