February 26, 2020

Things happen fast.

Yesterday morning, early, I was a guest on the morning show of 100.9 FM called, “My Town: Live with Rod Hocker.” The segment aired from 7:35 to 7:50, and if you didn't get a chance to listen, you can click on this link and, hopefully, listen there (unfortunate note: the recording ends early):

https://thelinenews.com/podcasts/?fbclid=IwAR2VuTZt-4EeaWBkU9E2XCgt_76aW-EfdU3JWFwaJ3cjkpfcdPV9IoaYReY

I went into the interview with a couple sheets of paper and bullet points of things I wanted to be sure to cover, as well as hopefully keep the interview on track. I wanted to make sure I touched on our various outreach programs, our involvement in REACH, Mayfest, and the Family Shelter. I also wanted to make sure to touch on immediate upcoming events such as the Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, Ash Wednesday services, Holy Week and Easter services, as well as our music program.

The conversation got stuck on our outreach programs, so I ended up talking mainly about our involvement with Bester Community of Hope, Community Cafe, Potomac Tower Lunches, and the Family Shelter. Fifteen minutes is just not enough time to cover everything I wanted to cover, and it was over before I was ready to end. But that's life in radio, everything is up against the clock.

As I reflected on this experience, I was a little upset I wasn't able to cover everything on my list. Butin going back and listening to it, I did a pretty good job of talking about some of the major programs Saint John's is involved in. And I once again remembered that we are an active, vital parish in Hagerstown.

This interview also was a little like life in general. That is, we often try to cram too much into too little time, ending up frustrated that we didn't accomplish what we set out to do. But then, upon reflection, it turns out we didn't do to badly after all. As I said in the interview (in the cutoff portion), “We all can't do everything, but all of us can do something.”

Do what we can. Appreciate what we've done. And try not to get frustrated about not fitting everything into your plans.

In the words of a wise philosopher, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.”

Blessings,

February 19, 2020

The word “routine” has several definitions, one of which is, “a customary or regular course of procedure.” When people ask me how things are going, I often say, “Oh, the usual . . . get up, go to work, come home, eat dinner, go to bed.” That's a sarcastic way of relaying my daily routine.

And although the daily routine is pretty much the same (see above), there are variations within that routine. A hospital visit, for instance. Or a person who drops into the office needing to talk. Or who knows what else that give the day some creative spice.

One of my routines is to find something on Monday that forms the basis for the Wednesday Word which then gets written Tuesday and entered into the queue to be sent out Wednesday morning. But sometimes something happens which throws that routine off, such as a holiday on Monday. When holidays fall on a Monday, I have to be extra-intentional about making sure the Wednesday Word gets written because all of Tuesday feels like Monday. And then, like today, I wake up Wednesday morning and realize I didn't get it written.

Sometimes we need something to throw our routine off to help remind us either a) how important that routine is, or b) that maybe our routine needs to change.

Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent is next week. Lent is a time for self-examination, repentance, prayer, fasting, self-denial, and reading and meditating on God's holy Word. In other words, Lent asks us to examine our routines and confirm their importance or work to change them. Lent intentionally disrupts our routines so we can examine how they benefit us, our relationships (both with God and others), and see which routines have wormed their way into our lives slowly pulling us away from God and others.

What are your routines? Which of them would you like to change or eliminate? Which of them would you like to strengthen or reinforce?

As we prepare to enter Lent, take some time and list your routines; and then maybe make this Lent a season of routine review, working to strengthen those that are beneficial and remove those that are not.

Because it just may be that the practice of Christianity is the practice of good and holy routines.

Blessings,

February 12, 2020

Therefore let us go on toward perfection, leaving behind the basic teaching about Christ, and not laying again the foundation: repentance from dead works and faith toward God, instruction about baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. – Hebrews 6:1-2

The Monday night study group is currently working their way through the Letter to the Hebrews, and the above two verses were part of the section we looked at this week.

At first this would seem to be contradictory – how can we move toward perfection in Christ if we leave behind basic teachings about repentance, faith, baptism, laying on of hands, resurrection, and judgment? We can move forward and toward perfection in Christ because of math. No, really.

When we begin to learn about math, we begin with the basics – addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. From there we progress to pre-algebra, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, quadratics, calculus, differential equations, vector calculus, and all sorts of other forms that allow us to land humans on the moon, plot courses that take spaceships out of the solar system, or tell us when that train from Chicago will finally catch up with the train from St. Louis. We begin with the basics, but then move on into more advanced mathematics as we continue to learn.

But what would happen if, for the entirety of our lives, people only focused on the basics of math? Newton wouldn't have developed his theory of gravitation, Kepler wouldn't have figured out planetary motion, Einstein would just be somebody's relative, and Armstrong & Aldrin would remain grounded. In order to continue learning, in order to explore, in order to move forward, we need to move past the basics.

So too with faith. If all we do is focus on the basics of our faith – repentance, baptism, healing, resurrection, judgment – and never explore further or never dig deeper, we will remain immature believers. Our faith will stagnate. It may even lead to apostasy (technically: a falling away from the Christian faith) because we find that that basic faith no longer provides answers, comfort, or challenges for how we experience the world around us.

Lent begins in two weeks. Part of the invitation to the observance of a holy Lent is “reading and meditating on God's holy Word.” If you haven't thought about a Lenten discipline, I encourage and challenge you to consider going beyond the basics. Commit to attending Evening Prayer or the Monday night Bible study. Stay an hour later, or come an hour earlier, to attend the adult formation class on Sundays. Sit in on the Prayer Forum being held on March 14. Ask questions at the Rector's Forum held every first Sunday after the 10:15 service.

We know the basics. Let us not remain there, but move forward in our faith as we go deeper and grow fuller.

Blessings,