March 25, 2026

Wednesday Word . . . More on Hope

Deal graciously with Daniel, Jamai, and Mackenzie in their grief. Surround them with your love, that they may not be overwhelmed by their loss . . . – BCP 494

I use this prayer from the Burial Office to remind people attending funerals that the family members of the deceased are in the midst of grief and need support. I also use it to remind the family of the deceased that they are being upheld in prayer and support.

This family recently lost their 14-year old son and brother to suicide. I heard about it at Youth Group last week, and I attended a candle-light vigil at CCMS held on Monday night, March 16.

The death of a son, brother, friend, grandson, nephew at this young age is devastating for those who are left to deal with the loss. Questions of why, or guilt over missing signs, flood minds. Unimaginable grief overwhelms family members as they live in a house no longer occupied by their child and brother. Thoughts of “lasts” – last meals, last conversations, last arguments, last days – become a permanent fixture in memories. Never agains, never wills, and what ifs creep into imaginations.

The reasons for someone dying by suicide are wide ranging – from addiction to bullying, chronic pain to divorce, financial insecurity to long-term unemployment, and so many others. And in the end, the suicidal person has a belief that they would be better off by removing the pain from their lives, or that everyone around them would be better off if they were gone. Either way the decision is made because of an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness.

What can be done? That is a hard question to answer. But we can look for, and be aware of, signs that a person is struggling. We can remind them that there are resources available of qualified and trained people who will talk with them. We can remind them of the 988 Life Line. We can remind them that their story is not yet over. We can remind them that they are loved. We can stress that our lives are better with them than without them.

And sometimes we can't see the signs because, as Robin Williams said, “Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.” So it just might be that, by casually talking about resources in everyday conversations, you will unknowingly provide a Lifeline people need.

Our Baptismal Covenant reminds us that our lives are inescapably interconnected with other lives. As we continue in fellowship, as we persevere in resisting evil, as we proclaim the Good News of God in Christ, and as we work to love our neighbors as ourselves, may we always work to provide hope for the people we know and meet.

May our eyes be ever open to seeing hopelessness so that we can offer the love and hope of Christ,

March 18, 2026

Wednesday Word . . . Hope

I've been pondering hope lately.

Hope is one of the three theological virtues – faith, hope, and love (or charity) – as put forth by Saint Paul in his First Letter to the Corinthians. Widely defined, hope is the desire and search for a future good that is difficult, but not impossible, to attain. In the First Letter of Peter, we are told that the resurrection of Christ has given humanity a new birth into a living hope – that is, we now live our lives with the hope of resurrection where there is no more pain or sorrow, only life everlasting. Our life with Christ may often be difficult – after all, Christ told us to take up our cross, not put up our hammocks and eat BonBons. Following Christ is a difficult proposition, just ask the disciples; but it is in that following and in those difficulties of discipleship where hope flourishes.

And yet, hope can also be an elusive thing. We hope for good medical diagnoses. We hope for recovery from illnesses. We hope life will return to normal. We hope for easy deaths. We hope for things that might be realistically impossible to attain. But even so, sometimes hope is the one thing that keeps us moving forward day by day.

At the Committal, while earth is cast upon the coffin, the Celebrant says, “In sure and certain hope of the resurrection . . .” Christian hope allows us to continually move forward in faith as we work toward attaining union with Christ, both in the here and in the hereafter. And in that vein, Lent is a season of hope. We take on particular disciplines or abstain from certain things in the hope of changing and renewing our lives with Christ. We hope to eat better (by giving up an excess of sweets). We hope to be more diligent (by taking on the discipline of reading Scripture daily). We hope to be more Christ-like (by closely examining where we have fallen short).

As we draw closer to Holy Week and the events of the Passion, may you live each day in the hope of the resurrection.

Blessings,

March 11, 2026

Wednesday Word . . . Women

March is Women's History Month. Like Black History Month, this is a time to recognize people who have made an impact on society but who also, because of their skin color or gender, have been removed from or ignored in mainstream history. To be honest, this celebration and month of recognizing women in society slipped past me unnoticed.

As I've mentioned before, a group of us are reading Honest to Goodness: Discovering the Truth and Beauty of a Loving God through Lent and discussing it after the 10:00 service. The subject for today's devotional is “I will comfort you like a mother.”

In a number of places Holy Scripture uses feminine imagery to describe God. From the creation story where both men and women were created in the image of God to Isaiah describing God as a mother comforting her children to Jesus longing to gather up God's children as a mother hen gathers her chicks, and others, Scripture makes clear that God is not a boy's name and neither is God male or female, but that male and female are both in the image of God.

Even with these scriptural images of God in the feminine, we overwhelmingly ascribe male attributes to God. Images of king, father, or warrior dominate. Even images of inanimate things – rock, wind, shield, and others – seem to be more prevalent in our thinking than feminine images.

How might our image of God change if we were willing to see God in the feminine? In our attempts to be more godlike, how might our relationships with others change if we became more motherly as God is motherly?

Here's something to consider during this Women's History Month and this season of Lent:  Could having feminine images of God help draw us closer to the divine?

May you continue to have a blessed Lent,

March 4, 2026

Wednesday Word . . . Advertising

In the Lenten devotional book, Honest to Goodness: Discovering the Truth and Beauty of a Loving God, the topic for this Second Week of Lent is, “Dear Mortal, here's what I expect from you.” This Second Week of Lent is all about learning and meditating on what God requires of us to uphold our end of the covenant we have entered into.

Over and over again we are called to listen to God (the Jewish faith is based on the Shema – “Hear, O Israel”). We are called to be holy as the Lord God is holy. We are called to be generous with our wealth and share of our abundance with others. We are called to do justice, love mercy, and forgive others as God forgives us. We are called to shine the light of God's love, both so that others will see and so that we dispel the works of darkness. And we are called to love others as God and Jesus love us.

Notice that we are NOT called to place bumper stickers on our cars, wear hats or clothing with pithy biblical quotes, or stock up on any other religious trinkets we might use to identify us as people of God.

We can have all the clothing, stickers, and trinkets we want that advertise us as Christians, but if we don't do the very basics of what God is calling us to do, then it's all just so much false advertising.

What are the basics of what God is calling us to do, and how do we let people know that we are Christian people of God? We do it by listening to and respecting others. We do it by giving liberally and sharing our abundance with the less fortunate. We do it by working for justice, being merciful, and living humbly. We do it by living in and sharing the light of Christ that banishes all darkness.

And that is the only advertising needed.

Have a blessed Lent,

February 25, 2026

Wednesday Word . . . Merciful God

This Lent a group of us are reading Honest to Goodness: Discovering the Truth and Beauty of a Loving God. It's a book of daily Lenten meditations focusing on “some of the most profound, surprising, and even hilarious words attributed to God.”

The reading for this Friday focuses on Exodus 34:6 – A God merciful and gracious, slow to anger; and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Even when people sin and God is moved to act with justice, God also acts with mercy. When people are about to sin, God acts with mercy in an effort to call them back. When people are in the midst of sinning, God begs them to repent and return to him.

But people tend to overshadow this mercy, graciousness, and steadfast love of God by focusing on God's wrath and punishment. What is it about punishment that we enjoy seeing doled out? Friday's devotion references Jonathan Edwards (Congregationalist pastor of the 18^th Century) and his famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”

This Lent, what if we looked for ways to find God's mercy? What if during this Lent we pursued repentance not out of a fear of being punished but out of a sense love, mercy, and faithfulness in an effort to rightly restore our relationship with God?

And then, what if we worked to exhibit love, mercy, and faithfulness toward others that God extends to us?

Have a blessed Lent,

February 18, 2026

Wednesday Word . . . Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the Season of Lent, those (roughly) 40 days in which we participate in self-examination, repentance; prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and meditating on God's holy Word.

Over the years this day, and this season, have been focused on the aspect of giving up: giving up things of the self in favor of doing things for God; giving up things that waste time in favor of being more productive; giving up harmful language in favor of speaking well; etc. In more modern times we've seen practices of giving up television, social media, or chocolate. I'm aware of one priest who gives up wearing socks during Lent in order to help him understand just a little better of what many homeless people experience.

And while some of these practices are more pious than others, what all of them have in common is a sense that they are Lenten disciplines which can be ended with the arrival of Easter.

I came across and email yesterday with a link to a podcast about Lent where the tagline was, “Ash Wednesday is not an ending. It's a true beginning.”

That line sums up what I've been saying for several years: The point of Lenten disciplines is not to make us miserable. The point of Lenten disciplines is to give us time to make permanent changes.

Whatever your Lenten discipline is this year – reading more Scripture, purchasing additional hygiene products for the Food Pantry, attending worship services more often, turning off the tv to pray, – take a new look at what and why you're doing it. Could you look at that discipline as not just a seasonal practice but the beginning of a long-term change?

And whatever you do this Lent, may your practice be based in and reflect the love of Christ.

Blessings,

February 11, 2026

Wednesday Word . . . Let us bless the Lord.

Lent begins next week with Ash Wednesday. This is a season of penitence, self-examination, repentance, prayer, fasting, and self-denial. In addition to fasting from certain activities or behaviors, it has become fashionable to take something on as a Lenten discipline. This year our youth group is encouraging everyone to take on the practice of purchasing extra personal hygiene products which will then be given to the Food Pantry.

You will also notice that the liturgy takes on a more somber tone. The Gloria or song of praise is replaced with the kyrie (Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy), our hymns are noticeably different, and alleluias are omitted. Our dismissal also changes from one that specifically sends us out into the world with both joy and in acknowledgment of what we have just heard and participated, to, “Let us bless the Lord.”

This last form of dismissal (pp. 340, 366) was traditionally used in more solemn and penitential times, such as Advent and Lent. I have probably spent too much time searching for why this was, or the meaning behind why this dismissal came to be used during these times only to find nothing. This seems to be the classic, “We've always done it that way.” So let me give my interpretation of why we use that particular dismissal during Advent and Lent.

Lent, especially, is a penitential season. The Exhortation reminds us of our need for penitence and to make restitution. The Rite 1 Confession acknowledges that our sins “most justly provoke the wrath” of God. Nevertheless, we are also reminded of God's great mercy and steadfast love. We see this in many places, but most notably in Ps. 103 which begins, “Bless the Lord, O my soul.”

This psalm proclaims that, even in the midst of sinners, God is the God of mercy and grace. It proclaims a message of steadfast love and compassion, while also claiming that “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our sins from us.” It is in the knowledge that even though we are sinners God is yet merciful and loving, we are called to bless the Lord always.

That is why, in the Season of Lent, we are dismissed from the liturgy with the words, “Let us bless the Lord.” As we travel through this penitential season, working to change our habits and get right with God, remember to give thanks and praise to our God who is full of compassion and mercy.

Blessings,