November 20, 2024

Wednesday Word . . . Rest

Rest is an important part of our life.  Rest was built into creation when God rested on the seventh day.  There are times in the gospel accounts when Jesus went off by himself to pray and rest.  There was a time when stores were closed on Sundays, but then companies discovered it was more profitable to be open seven days a week.  And our bodies will often tell us when we need rest, either by letting us nod off when we would/should normally be awake or by some other serious means – ulcers and other illnesses, for instance.

I don’t think I’ve been overworking myself recently, but when I came down with a sore throat overnight last Friday, my body reminded me that I need rest.  I stopped in at the clinic on Monday for a COVID test because, among other things, I have a responsibility to ensure the safety of my parishioners.  Thankfully that test was negative and it seems I have some variance of the crud.

So this week I have been working half days getting some rest and trying to beat whatever virus has invaded my system. 

Rest is important for every aspect of our lives:  physical, mental, and spiritual.  Make sure you are taking time to rest from your labors.  Make sure you schedule regular breaks for rest, relaxation, and self-care.  After all, if God and Jesus both took time to rest, we should follow their good examples.

Blessings,

November 13, 2024

Wednesday Word . . . Transitions

I received an email some weeks ago inviting me to attend a diocesan workshop on transitions.  I agreed to go and spent last weekend down in Casper with about 40 other people, both clergy and lay, and a couple of trainers from the Interim Ministry Network.  The IMN is based in Baltimore and has become a nation-wide program helping train and prepare people for interim ministry.

Ultimately all clergy are interims as nobody stays in one place from ordination to death.  That said, interim ministry is a special vocation in which a clergy person is called to get a parish from where they were under the previous priest to a place where they are ready to call a new priest.  This ranges anywhere from 12 to 24 months, sometimes longer if needed.

Before anyone begins wondering – No, I am not looking to become an interim minister and I am very happy to be where I am for a long time.

So why was I asked to be part of this weekend session of interim ministry?  Because, as it turns out, the focus wasn’t on interim ministry as much as it was on transitions and how to work through a time of transition.

We here in the Diocese of Wyoming are in a period of transition.  After Paul-Gordon Chandler resigned, the diocese entered a period of transition.  The Standing Committee, and SC President Mtr. Megan Nickles, stepped in to assume canonical authority, and they called the Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori as our Assisting Bishop.  The Standing Committee is currently in a search for an interim bishop under whom the work of searching and calling a Diocesan Bishop will take place.

We are in a period of transition.  What came out of the weekend was a recognition and understanding that we, as a diocese, need to first do some good, internal work about defining who we are so that we can call a bishop who will join us on our journey.  What we can’t do, and shouldn’t do, is to call a bishop as a quick-fix solution.  Transitions take time.

A good example is Moses and the people of Israel.  Notice that the Israelites didn’t go from Egypt to the Promised Land immediately.  It took time – 40 years as a matter of fact.  As someone once said, “It took 40 days for the Israelites to get out of Egypt, but it took 40 years to get Egypt out of the Israelites.”

So, while I am not an interim minister, we are all on a journey of transition and we will make that journey together, eventually ending up where God is calling us to be.  I ask you to be patient and open to this process and, if possible, refrain from grumbling, “We have nothing to eat and we hate this detestable food.”

Blessings,

Todd+

November 6, 2024

Wednesday Word . . . Set in Stone?

Our first lesson this coming Sunday comes from Ruth.  While one of the shortest books in the Bible, it’s one of the longer stories – and what a story.  A Jewish man, his wife, and two sons lived in Bethlehem.  When a famine strikes, he moves the family to Moab in order to survive.  The man dies and the two sons take wives.  After about ten years, both sons also die, so the wife/mom, Naomi, decides to return to Bethlehem and her extended family.  Ruth refuses to let her go alone, so she accompanies her mother-in-law on the long journey.  Eventually Ruth meets Boaz, they get married, and everyone lives happily ever after. 

This is a story of loyalty, perseverance, love (and lust), and kindness; and it’s one of those stories that makes you feel good about people and God.

The story is set in the time of the Judges, and the book is placed between Judges and 1 Samuel because it turns out that Ruth and Boaz become the great-grandparents of David, son of Jesse, who will become king of Israel after Saul.

The Book of Deuteronomy is the last book of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) and records Moses’ narration of the Law to the Israelites before he dies and before they cross over into the Promised Land.  This is both Moses’ farewell address and his instruction to the people about the importance of loyalty to God.  Toward the end, Moses requires the Israelites to swear an oath upholding the law and their covenant with God.

In this recitation of the Law there’s this:  “No Ammonite or Moabite shall be admitted to the assembly of the LORD.  Even to the tenth generation . . . because they did not meet you with food and water on your journey out of Egypt . . .” (Deut. 23:3-4)

God’s law is clear and is not to be broken:  Foreigners are not to be admitted into the assembly of the LORD (this basically prevented intermarriage) for ever.

But Ruth, a Moabite, married Boaz, a Jew, and became the great-grandparents of David, only three generations later; AND she gets a book in the Bible named after her.

Be very careful around people who quote Scripture as an unchangeable monolith carved in stone for all time; because Scripture will contradict itself in places and even God is willing to revise the law when appropriate. 

The point of Scripture isn’t to lay down laws set in stone to hold us accountable – the point of Scripture is to provide a guide to a right relationship with God.  And when it comes right down to it, God will always choose justice, kindness, and mercy over an unchanging monolithic law.

Do justice.  Love kindness.  And walk humbly with God.

Blessings,

October 30, 2024

Wednesday Word:  Surprising Offers

The weather was absolutely gorgeous this past weekend.  If I were in charge of the weather, that’s what fall would look like all the time around here.

Joelene and I took advantage of that beautiful weather and made our first drive through Crazy Woman Canyon, something we had been told we needed to do since we came out for the interview.  On our first attempt last spring we made it to the lower entrance only to find the road closed.

Summer and better weather came, but so did schedules, the move into the new house, and other obligations; not to mention a strong desire to not be in the canyon with a thousand other tourists at the same time.  So we put it off until last weekend.

It was as advertised and well worth the drive.  Joelene and I took a slate of obligatory pictures to share with friends, and she found a couple of spots that she wanted to get the two of us together.  In one, someone driving the opposite direction saw us balanced precariously on a rock with Joelene trying to get a good selfie and me trying not to fall off.  They stopped, the woman stuck her head out the window and said, “Would you like me to take your picture?”

At another, less precarious spot, Joelene was taking another selfie of the two of us when a woman who was also stopped with her group, asked, “Would you like me to take your picture?”

Neither of these two people were asked if they would take our picture, they simply volunteered to do so. 

This got me thinking about two things.  First, what if we kept our eyes open to noticing when people were in need and stopped what we were doing to offer assistance?  That could be anything from offering to take someone’s picture to helping carry groceries to you name it.  Rather than look to explain away why they need help, we just offer it.

And second, what if, when we think we’re doing fine, we accept help when it’s offered?  There are so many instances when graciously accepting help is as much of a gift as offering help.

If this became our primary way of operating, we just might find ourselves living into Jesus’ example of servanthood.  And that would be a very good thing.

Blessings,

October 23, 2024

Wednesday Word:  Holy Visions

I may have told part of this story before, and I know I’ve told a few people here at Saint Luke’s, so forgive me if I’m repeating myself. 

There are spaces, places, and times that seem to grab you as being holy:  a holy space, a holy place, and a holy time.  I’ve come across several of those in my life:  a sitting rock overlooking the lake at the summer camp of my youth; the cathedral where I was ordained to the diaconate; the way the sun shone through the stained glass windows at Saint John’s at certain times of the year; and there are others, but you get the idea.  I’m sure you can think of your own places.

One particular time for me was during the COVID shutdown.  On Sundays we had five people in the building:  the organist, the lector, the livestream tech, the deacon, and myself.  It didn’t take much wine in the chalice to handle Communion.  One Sunday, as we were reciting the Lord’s Prayer, I looked into the almost-empty chalice and there, reflected on the inside of the cup, was the wrought iron rood screen and cross behind me.  As time went on, that was a holy vision I looked forward to seeing every Sunday.  It eventually went away when the people returned and more wine was poured into the chalice.

Fast forward to now.  We don’t have a rood screen, nor do we have a nearly-empty chalice at Communion.  As we were reciting the Lord’s Prayer a few weeks ago, however, I noticed that the way the light hits the chalice causes a double ring reflection to appear on the corporal.  This ring of light encircles the paten and chalice.  It’s a holy vision of light encircling the consecrated elements of the Body and Blood of Christ.

This is one reason why I don’t rush through the service, taking time for silence, moving slowly and deliberately through the liturgy – because if we rushed through the service, we might miss those holy visions.

What spaces, places, and times are holy to you?  Where have you seen holy visions of God?

You might see more if you take the time to slow down and look.

Blessings,

October 16, 2024

Wednesday Word:  Rest

Last weekend took an unexpected turn when I received a phone call Thursday evening confirming the fact that I would officiate the funeral of Korina Bartlett on Saturday.  I had had a conversation earlier that this might happen, but I was never contacted . . . until Thursday evening.

So Friday morning I met with a family member and ironed some things out, then I went into the office where Monica and I quickly produced a funeral bulletin.  And on Saturday I did the funeral where Korina was laid to rest.

Sunday was Sunday with our first livestream worship on the new system.  There were a few glitches that we’re working out, but in general it went well.  And then Joelene and I met with the youth group later that afternoon.

Monday, Indigenous People’s Day, was a day off for me.  It came at just the right time and I didn’t do a single productive thing.  I slept in.  I thought about what needed to be done, and then just planted myself on the couch, watched a few mindless shows, and dozed off a few times.  It was a day of rest that I needed.

Also on that day, the Diocese of Wyoming returned a couple of hundred Native American artifacts that had been in its possession since the 1940’s back to the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone from where they came.  Click here to read the story.  After being stored away in Casper for many years, these items were returned home to rest.

Rest can show up in a variety of ways, and my idea of rest may not be the same as your idea.  Nevertheless, we all need to find space to rest.  I hope your rest really is restful, and you can recharge, reconnect, and be at peace.

Blessings,

October 9, 2024

Wednesday Word:  Shine

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you.

This is the opening line of Canticle 11, The Third Song of Isaiah, from Morning Prayer and most often said on Wednesdays.  It also happens to be one of my favorite Canticles.

It goes on to say, “darkness covers the land, deep gloom enshrouds the peoples,” and, “Nations will stream to your light . . . Your gates will always be open.”

Looking around, Canticle 11 certainly seems to be speaking to us today.  Everything from the current political climate to the drought and fires around us to the devastation of Hurricane Helene and the impending disaster of Hurricane Milton to war in the Middle East and Ukraine, darkness covers the land and deep gloom enshrouds the peoples.

In the midst of all of that, though, we are called to shine the light of the Lord into the world.  We did a little of that when we gave $5000 to the Fire Relief Fund.  We do a little of that by providing Meals for the Soul for individuals who need a quick meal or a supplement between grocery trips.  We do a little of that through our support of the Food Pantry. 

Our gates aren’t always open, but we’ve begun opening them every weekday at noon for a time of prayer and/or quiet meditation for those who need the space.  Nations may not be streaming to us, but beginning on 10/13 or 10/20, we will be streaming out to the nations when our video feed goes live.  And I’m working out the details of putting a labyrinth on our grounds that will always be open for people to come and participate in that prayer walk.

Canticle 11 is a song of hope . . . hope in the fulfillment of God’s promises and hope that God’s people will do their part to shine the everlasting light of God onto the world around them.

I pray that each of us individually, and all of us corporately, shine the light of God onto a world covered in darkness and people shrouded by gloom.

Blessings,