Easter Sunday- Christ the Lord is Risen Today! Alleluia!

 

Read John 20:1-18

 

“I’ve seen the Lord.” –Mary Magdalene (John 20:18)

There Mary was.  In the early morning darkness, walking to Jesus’ tomb.  Grieving that her hope was murdered.  Mourning that she would never see him again.  In one horrible nightmare of a day he was gone forever.  Or so she thought.

When Mary arrived at the cave that was Jesus’ tomb, to her great surprise the stone sealing the tomb was rolled away.  Immediately she ran to get Peter and another disciple, saying “they’ve taken the Lord and I don’t know where they’ve put him!”  They ran to see for themselves, and sure enough Mary’s shocking, devastating news appeared to be true.  Jesus was gone.  Perplexed, not yet understanding what had happened, Peter and the disciple went back to where they were staying.

But not Mary.  She stayed back, weeping by the tomb.  Finally getting the courage to peer in, she was again greatly surprised for she saw two angels.  “Why are you crying?” they asked her.  Repeating the devastating news she shared with the disciples, she cried that someone had taken Jesus and she didn’t know where they’d put him.  She turned around, and - again to her surprise - she saw someone standing there.  It was Jesus.  Mistaking him for a gardener she asked him if he knew where Jesus was. 

Jesus said, “Mary.”  That was it – Mary now knew where Jesus was.  He was standing before her.  Alive.  When Mary returned to Peter and the disciples she shared the most surprising news of all: “I’ve seen the Lord.”  This news meant that Jesus – who was dead – was no longer dead.  Jesus faced death and defeated it.

Today we celebrate the greatest mystery of God’s deep love: Jesus died, was buried, and rose again.  In rising from the dead, Jesus made new life possible for all humanity.

As Charles Wesley wrote in his great Easter hymn, “Christ the Lord is Risen Today”:

  Love's redeeming work is done, Alleluia!

            Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!

            Death in vain forbids him rise, Alleluia!

            Christ has opened paradise, Alleluia!

            Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia!

            Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!

            Made like him, like him we rise, Alleluia!

            Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

~ Laura Johnson

Holy Saturday- Wait

Read: Lamentations 3:37-41

"We must search and examine our ways: we must return to the Lord."
                                                                                                 -Lamentations 3:40

Imagine the heaviness of the disciples' hearts the day after Jesus' crucifixion. Their leader, their hope for the future, their best friend had been executed in the most brutal way imaginable. And they deserted him in his greatest moment of need.





I wonder if there was heaviness in the hearts of the ordinary people in Jerusalem on that holy Saturday after Jesus' death. I wonder if those who had witnessed Jesus' miracles were mourning his death in secret. I wonder if the bystanders to the crucifixion had an inclination that they had just participated in a great act of evil. I wonder if Jesus' scoffers regretted their painful words. I wonder if the soldiers who beat and crucified him cried out to God in sorrow. I wonder if something was stirring in the hearts of the people that was calling them to "search and examine" their ways, to "return to the Lord." 

Or, I wonder if people went about their business as usual, completely oblivious to what God was up to on their behalf.

Holy Saturday is a strange day for us modern day Christians.  The rest of the world is going on with business as usual.  We, too, are often occupied with normal life – sporting events, housework, preparing for tomorrow’s Easter dinner with friends or family.  After Good Friday it is so tempting to just jump ahead to Easter.  But, I invite you to wait. Wait in the heaviness of Good Friday. Wait with the disciples in their shame and grief.  Wait with regret. Wait with repentant hearts. 

Today, let the words of Lamentations 3:37-41 be your prayer.  In the midst of normal life, of friends and family and Easter preparations, stop and examine yourself.  How are you turning your back on God?  How are you like the disciples, the religious leaders, the bystanders who killed Jesus?  Examine yourself before God, and return to the Lord.  Wait in eager anticipation for tomorrow, for the glory of resurrection and the promise of a new life.

~ Laura Johnson

Good Friday-The Cement of Divine Love

 

Read: John 19:16-30

 

“Remember the overflowing blood of God’s Son. Christ bathed us in it when He opened His body up and drained Himself with holy fire and blazing love on the wood of the cross. Love held Jesus there fast. As the saints say, neither cross nor nails could have held God, had it not been for the cement of divine love. That’s why you should always be looking on that wood. Let the eye of your understanding rest on the Cross always. Here you’ll discover true virtue and fall in love with it.”

                                                       –Catherine of Siena (d. 1380)

 

Today I will ponder the hymn “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us”.  How deep is the Father’s love for us?  So deep that God sent Jesus to take on our humanity and live as one of us.  So deep that Jesus would live for us, show us God’s ways, invite us into God’s Kingdom.  So deep that Jesus would cry for us, bleed for us, die a painful death for our welfare. 

How deep is the Father’s love for us?  I am inspired by the image from Catherine of Siena (above) of God’s love as cement.  The cement of divine love was the strength that held Jesus through his suffering and death.  The cement of divine love is so strong that nothing  – nothing you can do or think or say, no powers on earth or in heaven, no heights or depths – nothing can separate you from God’s love (Romans 8:38-39).  The cross is proof of that. 

Today we mourn.  We mourn that our beloved Lord, who loves us more than we can imagine, suffered so greatly because we couldn’t love him as he loved us.  We mourn that scoffers mocked Jesus as he bled and died for them.  We mourn that the disciples fled and left Jesus to die alone.  We mourn that – despite God’s calling to live a holy life – we submit to the temptations to sin and hurt one another.  We, too, are guilty for the cross.

But today we also give thanks.  We give thanks because Christ died for us while we were yet sinners.  Jesus suffered the cross so that we could be reconciled to God, so that we could know the true depths of God’s love for us.

Today, I invite you to remember the overflowing blood of Jesus with heavy, grateful hearts.  Jesus died for you.  Today, I invite you to let these words sink in, let them speak deep into your heart so you can know the power and goodness of God’s divine cement-like love for you – yes, even you.

~ Laura Johnson

Maundy Thursday-Living the New Commandment

Read:

Mark 14:22-26
John 13:3-15, 34-35

²²While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” ²³Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. ²⁴He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.
                                                                                               - Mark 14:22-24

We began Lent anticipating a great journey – a journey deeper into God’s heart, God’s will, God’s ways.  Today, on Maundy Thursday, we are near the end of our Lenten journey.  On the first Maundy Thursday Jesus’ journey of ministry was coming to a close.  Later that evening Jesus was betrayed by Judas and arrested by Jewish authorities.  So here, at the Last Supper with his disciples, Jesus had one last chance to prepare them for the journey ahead – their mission to spread the news of Jesus’ death, resurrection, and promise of God’s Kingdom coming to earth as it is in heaven.

Each of the four gospels gives us snapshots of what happened during that Last Supper.  Jesus and the disciples were celebrating Passover, the festival that remembers God’s saving the Israelites from the angel of death’s “passover" the night before their escape from Egypt.  At this holy meal, Jesus took bread and a cup of wine, gave it to his disciples, and told them that they were sharing in his broken body and his poured out blood.  He was giving them a framework to make sense of his death in the days to come.  He was training them to look for his divine love in his sacrificial death.  And then – if this wasn’t shocking enough – he tied an apron around his waist and washed his disciples’ feet in one last action of humble love.  This was a task reserved for servants, but Jesus did it to show them how they ought to live in his absence.  He told them “I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other.” (John 14:34)

The church calls today “Maundy Thursday.”  Maundy is a word that comes from the latin mandatum novum, or “new commandment.”  Today we remember that Jesus’ final lesson was to show his disciples how to live into his new commandment of sacrificial, life-giving love.  To love as Jesus loved.

Today I invite you to follow Christ’s example.  Let his “new commandment” direct your actions today.  Whose feet can you wash?  Who can you put before yourself in humble service?  How can you share Christ’s unconditional love?

~ Laura Johnson

Wednesday of Holy Week-Anointing

Mark 14:1-9

It was only two days before Passover was to begin and Jesus was at Bethany, in the home of Simon the Leper. While Jesus was there eating a woman came in carrying a bottle of very expensive perfume. She opened the bottle and poured it on Jesus’ head.

I know. That seems a little strange, especially in Jesus’ day, that a women would come in from the streets and pour something on a man’s head.

And several of the guests were furious. “What an amazingly wasteful thing to do! Don’t you know the value of that perfume? It could have been sold for the equivalent of a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” They were angry, annoyed and up in arms against her.

 “Let her alone,” Jesus says. She has just done something incredibly gracious and loving for me. You will have the poor with you everyday of your lives. You can do something for them every day, whenever you choose. That is not true for me. She has pre-anointed my body for burial.

 “You can be sure that wherever in the whole world the Message is preached, what she just did is going to be talked about admiringly.” It is interesting that while she was giving her all, Judas was looking for a way to betray, for a few pieces of silver. 

At the end of the time of reflection at our Sunday evening service, we often invite folks to ask ‘I wonder…’ questions. As I read this story, I can’t help but wonder how she knew? How did she know when no one else, at least not any of the disciples, was able to see what was about to happen? How did she know? Why is it that Judas couldn’t see? Did she know or was there just something driving her to reach out to Jesus? Why is it that we don’t see?

Lord of life, we too, are often blind and insensitive, not able to see or sense those things going on all around us, that require our presence and attention.  You ask that we be your Church, that we be your Love, that we be your hands and feet—that all would know and be immersed in the baptism that is your love, grace and mercy. Forgive us when we fall short and help us not only to see but to act. For it is in your name that we pray. Amen.

~ Rich Greenway

I Will Give What I Have  (Stages on the Way, Iona Community)

From a high, secret shelf, I take what I hid myself-

Perfume, precious and rare, never meant to spill or spare.
This I’ll carefully break, this I’ll empty for his sake:
I will give what I have to my Lord.

 

Though the action is crude, it will show my gratitude

for the truth that I’ve learned from the one who’s heaven-sent;
for the life once a mess which his beauty can express,
I will give what I have to my Lord.

 

With his critics around, common gossip will abound.

They’ll note all they see to discredit him and me.
Let them smirk, let them jeer, say what people want to hear;
I will give what I have to my Lord.

 

It’s because he’ll receive, that I believe

God has time for the poor. He has shown us heaven’s door.

Be it perfume and care, be it anger or despair,

I will give what I have to my Lord.

Tuesday of Holy Week-Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

Mark 11:12-14, 20-25

I know, what a strange story, that Jesus would find the need, the desire to stop and curse a tree…

The details are simple and rather matter-of-factly shared in Scripture. Jesus is hungry. He sees a fig tree in full leaf and comes to it expecting to find something for breakfast. He finds however, nothing but fig leaves (It wasn’t yet the season for figs!) Then Jesus says to the tree: “No one is going to eat fruit from you again—ever!”

He said this right in front of the disciples and they heard him.

The next morning Jesus and the disciples pass by the fig tree again. It had shriveled to a dry stick. (They are departing from Jerusalem where Jesus has just “cleansed” the Temple.)

Peter, remembering Jesus’ words and actions from the previous day, said to Jesus, “Look Rabbi—the fig tree you cursed has shriveled up!”

Jesus’ response is simple and straight forward, “Embrace this life centered in God that has been given to you. Really embrace it and nothing will be too much for you. Immerse everything you do in prayer and nothing will be impossible. And remember, always remember, when you are praying, it’s not just about ‘asking.’ If you have anything against someone, offer forgiveness—only then will you be ready to receive the forgiveness that God has waiting for you.

But what about the poor tree? Could it be that Jesus expects we followers, disciples, believers to be fruitful every day—in and out of season? What is keeping you, what is keeping us from being ‘in season’ for God’s kingdom, today?

Lord of this world, Lord of this Holy Week, help us to look deep inside. Often we don’t see or recognize the very things that are keep us from you and each other. Cleanse us. Help us to be fruitful for you kingdom. Amen.

~ Rich Greenway

Cleansing the Temple

Mark 11:15-19

Jesus enters the Temple and begins to drive out all those who were “selling and buying.” Tables and seats were overturned, animals were driven away. Jesus wouldn’t let anyone even carry a basket through the Temple. Then it was time for a teaching lesson—recalling the words of Isaiah and Jeremiah, Jesus says, “Is it not written, “My house shall be a called a house of prayer for all the nations?” Jesus’ reflection on what was actually going on in the Temple?  “You have made it a den of robbers.” 

Upon hearing Jesus’ words, the leaders of the church—the chief priests and scribes began to look for a way to kill him. Why? Was he wrong in what he had done? Could they justify the commerce that was being carried on in the Temple as holy and necessary unto the central mission of the Temple? No. They were afraid of Jesus because the people who heard him preach and teach were spellbound by him.

As we begin Holy Week, it is a wonderful time for us to take a look at our Temples. Are we, our bodies and our lives, instruments of prayer, praise, joy and peace or have others things crept in and taken up residence? Commerce, unhealthy relationships, material things, have they tiptoed into places that should be reserved only for the holy and sacred? It is so easy just not to notice as subtly ‘other things’ slither in and fester.

What better way to begin this week than by cleansing the Temple? What do we need to remove from our lives and our lives together to allow this week to be “Holy,” indeed?

Let us pray: (From: Stages on the Way-Iona Community)

If we have used your house for our purposes as if you did not mind or it did not matter,

LORD, FORGIVE US.

If we have cosseted your house in tradition, rather than hollowed it by prayer,

LORD, FORGIVE US.

If we have made it a house for one nation, or part of a nation, or for part of the Church,

LORD, FORGIVE US.

And if we can see clearly the misuse others make of your house and are blind to our own malpractices, LORD, FORGIVE US.

Kindle in us and in all your people

the desire to make

all your

sanctuaries

places of prayer, praise and worship.

We ask this for your own name’s sake.

Amen.

~  Rich Greenway

Palm and Passion Sunday

Mark 11:1-11
Mark 14:1 - 15:47

Via Dolorosa-Jerusalem

 

What a difference a couple of days can make! Jesus rides into town to shouts of “Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” Palm branches and coats lined the way as Jesus made his triumphant entry into Jerusalem. You could feel the energy and joy of celebration as they recognized him as the Messiah, the long awaited—Anointed One of God.

But we know the rest of the story, don’t we? We know that even as the shouts and songs of joy permeate the air, already there are clouds on the horizon, already there are others making plans to have Jesus killed.

I invite you to read and reread the scripture lessons above. We read the full story of Jesus’ Passion as we begin Holy Week to help us navigate the depths and difficulty of this most holy of weeks. It would be so easy to celebrate Palm Sunday and then skip right ahead to Easter. But as the old saying goes, “Without Good Friday there is no Easter!”

There is a street in Jerusalem know as the Via Dolorosa. (More information and great pictures click on: ViaDolorosa) It marks the path that Jesus walked, carrying his cross, on the way to his crucifixion, and ultimately, his bodily resurrection from the dead three days later. It is a difficult path that remembers and helps us remember a difficult story—the story of God incarnate giving everything that we might know and live into the fullness of God’s love

This week I invite you to walk the long and difficult path from celebration to crucifixion and death and from death to Resurrection! It will have its dark moments. But I promise, there is a shining light of love that awaits our arrival on Easter morning.

A Prayer as We Begin Holy Week

      Almighty God, your Son came to us humbly on a donkey's back and now he sits exalted by your right hand.  As we enter into Holy Week contemplating his path of suffering, help us to become loyal and steadfast disciples, that we may always hear his word, follow his teachings, and live in his Spirit. Open our hearts to receive the gift of this week and prepare us for that day when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord and King, to your eternal glory. Amen.

~ Rich Greenway

 



Obedience

Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

                                                                                                                             – John 12:23-26

I have to be honest about something: the word obedience in the context of spiritual disciplines makes me nervous. I’m in a course this semester in which we’ve been talking about slavery. Slave masters used to find texts in the Bible that read, “slaves be obedient to your masters,” to not only justify, but sanctify the absolute inhumane practice of chattel slavery. Now every time I hear the word obedience, caution lights go off in my head.

I think obedience to Jesus has to look completely different than the example offered above. We have to remember that what was obedience for Jesus looked like disobedience to the state and religious authorities. Obedience to the risen Jesus, the living God, threatens the powers-at-be, it disrupts things as they are.

 

Christian obedience has to look different—maybe sometimes it will even look like disobedience. Like healing on the sabbath or eating with folks that others referred to as “sinners” or “adulterers”. Jesus calls us to participate in his life-giving, world-altering obedience. In our participation in Jesus’ life, by the Spirit, we are drawn back into communion with our Creator. 

~ Chris Agoranos

Aware

⁴⁶They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. ⁴⁷When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁸Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁹Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.” ⁵⁰So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. ⁵¹Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” ⁵²Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.
                                                                                                       - Mark 10:46-52

I’ve never thought of awareness as a spiritual discipline, but the more I think about it, the more I like it. One of my favorite theologians, Brian Bantum, defines sin as the obfuscation of sight. In other words, he says, we cannot see and we do not know that we are blind. I find this definition extraordinarily helpful. It helps me understand how Christians could have been complicit in some of the gravest evils in history: the violent taking of land, chattel slavery, oppression of women, and the like. It’s not that these people were essentially evil, but that they were blind.

            Thinking of awareness as a spiritual discipline, then, can do some serious work for us. We might ask ourselves: Who am I not aware of? Whose voices am I not listening to? Whose pain and suffering am I not seeing? Am I complicit in the oppression of others? Am I close to those who are calling out and resisting injustice?

            These are difficult questions. They require patience and love, both of ourselves and others. I pray that we will have the courage to ask them, and I pray that as we do we are drawn into close proximity to our Creator who graciously grants sight to the blind.

~ Chris Agoranos

Follow Me

Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

                                                                                                                  – John 12:23-26

            Those of us from middle to upper-class backgrounds, like myself, are sometimes guilty of attempting to construct stable, secure, self-sufficient lives for ourselves so that we can live independent of those around us. Moreover, we tend to look down upon the folks around us that are unable to find stability and security.

            Jesus, by calling us to follow him, calls all of this into question. It’s as if he says, “That life you’ve built for yourself that you love—yeah, the “self-sufficient” life you take pride in—well, if you want life with me, I’m going to need you to give all that up.” Jesus calls us out of the stability we pretend to have, into life in and with him, a life where we are, together, in complete dependence on God. In which case, those we can sometimes look down upon might have something to teach us about trusting God.

            Jesus exposes our security and self-sufficiency for what they are—a lie. However, in so doing, we witness the good news. The good news is that Jesus calls us renounce our former ways of life so that we can live life as it was intended to lived—in union with God and the rest of creation.

 

~ Chris Agoranos

Discipleship-Life Lived In and With Jesus

 Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind^* in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth,^* and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’
²⁷ So God created humankind^* in his image, in the image of God he created them;^*
   male and female he created them.

                                                                                      -Genesis 1:26-27

In Jesus, the Creator becomes creature. In my last post I suggested that God created a world in which God’s creatures were in union with God the Creator. Jesus, the God-human, embodies this union so that our life with God might be restored.

Discipleship, then, is a life in which we become absolutely dependent upon Jesus and in which God is creating us anew in God’s image. Discipleship—life lived in and with Jesus—draws us, God’s creatures, back into communion with our Creator. 

In our attempts to be “like God,” we have sought to live independent from God and one another. Over the next few days we will be looking at discipleship in three inter-related ways. In each designation I invite you to keep in mind how God is drawing us out of our attempts to be “like God,”and, by the Spirit, into life with God through the life of discipleship.

~ Chris Agoranos

Jesus Steps Fully Into Creation

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God…”

                                                                                                              – Genesis 3:1-5

 

As creatures of God we have limitations. We have finite knowledge of God, of ourselves and of our world. In our finitude we are weak and vulnerable. Yet, lest we be mistaken, these “limits” are good—they are essential to what it means to be human. We were created to be in union with our Creator and creation.

            You might say that the first sin of Adam and Eve was the rejection of this life of (inter)dependence for a life of independence. It was an attempt to be “like God,” and in that attempt it was both the rejection of God and of the life God created us to live.

            With that in mind, I want to invite you to reflect on the question I posed at the beginning of the week: What does it mean that in Jesus, the Creator steps fully into creation?

 

~ Chris Agoranos

           

Reflecting on Creation

 

For today’s blog post I want to invite you to spend sometime reflecting on the icon above. Friday and Saturday I will unpack some of things I think this icon can tell us about discipleship. Here are some Scripture passages to read along with this reflection.

And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.” – Genesis  1:20

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. – John 1:1-5

 

~ Chris Agoranos

 

 

 

Instead of praying with your eyes closed, pray with your eyes wide open while viewing an icon. Icons have often been called a "window on heaven" or a way to pray with your eyes. This ancient practice of contemplative prayer focuses on being in God's presence and letting God speak. Focus not on what is seen in the icon but what can be seen through it about God's love through what the image visually communicates.

Step 1:  Visio: Taking the image in- take a few quiet moments to look at the picture
Step 2:  Meditation: Where is your eye drawn?  Focus on this area and hold it in your heart.
            -Consider how this component touches your life
            -Consider if there is an invitation here for you today
Step 3:  Prayer. You might chose quiet prayer, or you can pray through art mediums in the room
Step 4: Contemplation - Allow your prayers to come to an end and spend some time in the presence
             of  God.

 

 

 

For a good article on Praying with Icons see:

Praying with Icons

 

Discipleship

"...unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it can only be a single seed. But if it dies, it bears much fruit."
                                                       ---John 12:24

This week on the blog we will be talking about discipleship. We’ll begin by looking at discipleship a little more broadly, leading up to this question: What does it mean that in Jesus, the Creator steps fully into creation? Then, we’re going to look at discipleship in three inter-related ways. That is, we’ll look at what it means for us that Jesus says “follow me,” what it means to be spiritually aware, and what it means to be obedient.

To get us started, here is a description the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer (who was executed in 1945 for entering a plot to bring down Hitler) gives of the disciple:

The disciple is thrown out of the relative security of life into complete insecurity (which in truth is absolute security and protection in community with Jesus); out of the foreseeable and calculable realm (which in truth is unreliable) into the completely unforeseeable, coincidental realm (which in truth is the only necessary and reliable one); out of the realm of limited possibilities (which in truth is that of unlimited possibilities) into the realm of unlimited possibilities (which in truth is the only liberating reality).

              -Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Discipleship, p. 58

 

~ Chris Agoranos

The Gift of Fasting

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.”  Ephesians 2:8-10

          We come to the end of our week on fasting.  The above verse helps to refocus us on why we are fasting.  We fast as a response to God’s love for us.  God so loved us that God gave us God’s son, Jesus.  We did not earn God’s love by being good people who fast.  No, God’s love comes to us as an undeserved gift.  Our fasting, praying, confession, and other acts of piety come out of response to this great and wondrous love. 

This verse also reminds us that if God provided all that is necessary for our salvation, then surely God will provide for us in out time of fasting.  And if we should fail in our fasting, Jesus knows our weaknesses and has grace enough to heal us and strengthen us in our need.  We are also reminded here that our fasting is to bring life to others through good works.  God, in Jesus, created us for good works.  Our fasting, therefore, should give life to others.  It should be connected to reaching out to our neighbors, to those in need of food, shelter, and relationship.  If these actions are what we were created for then what should we boast about?   When a girl becomes a woman, we don’t boast about how great an event that is.  We take that for granted.  So too, good works naturally flow out of us.  We celebrate that we are growing into the image of Christ and that God has used us in such a way to bring life to the world.  

Take time this week to thank God for the wonderful gift of Jesus.  Ask God to lead you to others who need life.  And may God grant to you all of your needs as you fast through this Lenten season. 

-Rev. Matt Seaton

Keeping Focused

“The people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.” Numbers 21:5

            In this passage above, God, through Moses, had liberated the people of Israel from slavery to Egypt. God had miraculously freed Israel and made a path through the Red Sea for their departure.  God promised to them that they would have a land flowing with milk and honey – filled with all the good things of life.  God also provided food that they did not have to work for and water, which they did not have to look for.  God, in short, took care of every need they had during their journey.  And yet we have the verse above.

            What happened?  The people of Israel lost sight of where they were going.  They were off to the land of promise where they would be free from slavery.  They forgot about the difficulties of being an enslaved people.  Certainly all of these could be true but I think they became impatient.  When we become impatient we tend to exaggerate.  Notice how Israel declares they haven’t any food but then say they do have food and it’s miserable?  In their exaggeration they over look the blessings in their midst.  In their impatience, they lose sight of their destination, the Promised Land.  In their impatience they forget how difficult the Egyptian taskmaster truly was.  God has cared for them thus far and has a wonderful and prosperous future ahead of them.  They forgot that and so do we.

            At the beginning of our fasting, we are enthused and excited, much like Israel.  We find that scripture comes alive and our prayers seem to be getting first class treatment in heaven.  But then…then we realize we are fasting and that it is a commitment that takes time and won’t be over quickly.  For some, like myself, this realization takes all of five minutes into the fast and for others it takes hours or even days.  But at some point we are faced with the temptation to say, “I didn’t really mean it when I said I would fast.  I was only kidding.  God doesn’t really take our commitments seriously.”  So we give up on our commitments to God. 

            If you’re feeling like this today, don’t give up.  God has spiritual blessings in store for those who remain faithful.  Yes, if you decide to stop fasting because it has become too difficult God will still love you.  God will always love you.  But don’t give up on fasting.  Try it again but modify it.  Sometimes we try to take on too much.  Ask God what you should fast from and try it again. 

 

~ Rev. Matt Seaton