Prayer of the Day for Lent 2B

Holy God, all that you promised your people came true in the person of Jesus Christ. He is your Word made flesh, your Wisdom in human form, your Justice in poverty, and your Covenant with breath. Through our Lenten journey, help us to examine our hearts fully and without prejudice that we might wholly embrace your covenant of grace. In these days, give us the faithfulness of Sarah and Abraham, that we might trust you to lead us and use us for your holy purposes. And, sustain us in the hope of Jesus Christ and by the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Lent 4A -Easier Not to See

As I prepare for this week's sermon on John 9:1-41,

I think about the blindness in our society.

We cut off

disability benefits,

collective bargaining rights,

unemployment benefits,

protection for our environment.

And, yet we still fight two wars

and one "non-war."

We consume.

We use.

We burn.

We blow up.

We divide.

We bicker.

We hate.

We do not see.

We do not see.

We do not see.

One thing is clear to me in John's gospel story.

We cannot be sent into the world

if we cannot see it.

We cannot heal it

if we do not love it.

We cannot.

We must first see.

Our eyes are closed,

though.

There is too much to see

sometimes.

To see

is to love.

To love

is to act.

To act in love

is to heal

and not kill.

I wonder if we are ready

to wash in the Pool

of Sent.

But I pray to God

to rub our eyes with holy mud,

made from earth

and holy spit,

and to open our eyes

to new sights

that cannot

be unseen.

This is the Gospel of Our Lord:

To see.

Lent Theme: Unclutter ______

A "Season of Sabbath" is what I unwisely decided to name our theme for Lent at the church I serve. While it gets to the point that I want to make, the word "Sabbath" isn't a compelling word for a lot of people. Moreover, people aren't going to cease from their labor for a whole season.

A few weeks ago, I was visiting a friend's house and saw a television commercial (I don't have broadcast TV, so I see very few commercials) from publicstorage.com. It is called "Accumulator." This ad made me gasp (you may watch it after the jump).

I know that the idea of uncluttering our lives is not a new one for Lent, but I have always found the thought of uncluttering *my* life to be a rather individualistic approach to the season. It's also pretty person-centered and not particularly God-centered. Sabbath, on the other, hand is really about God. God ceased from labor, and so do we. God rejoiced in creation, and so do we. God delivered us from slavery, and so we care about the labor of others. Sabbath begins with God; we are invited into God's rest, God's joy, God's justice. And, we are invited all together. Not individually. What does this have to do with accumulation, you might wonder. Well, at the heart of the Sabbath ethic is the idea that we take only what we need and leave the rest for others. In Exodus, before the people have been given the Law by Moses, they are told to gather manna. They are instructed only to take enough for one day and to take only enough for their household. On the sixth day, they may gather enough for two days and no more, that they may rest from their labor as God rested on the seventh day. This manna rule - this story about accumulation - is about clutter and rapaciousness. It is also about fear.

We often gather things into our lives out of fear. Fear drives us to look upon other people as wholly different from ourselves, and their "otherness" allows us to treat them as we could never bear to be treated. Fear tells us to hoard - food, clothes, things that need casting away. Fear compels us to upgrade, upsize, and get the next big thing. Fear whispers to us that there may not be enough food, so eat! Fear tells us that others want what we want, so build fences, install alarms, and post cameras. Fear can be found at the root of much of American anxiety. And, it is at work in our emotional lives as much as it is at work in our physical lives.

Because of fear, we hold on to wounds, grudges, and prejudice. This emotional clutter drives us to a kind of emotional or spiritual rapaciousness. People can need love so much that they put themselves in physical danger. People may repeat hurtful relationship patterns that they have lived through in their past. People may be afraid to seek or extend forgiveness. Both of these are very dangerous. To know we need forgiveness without the humility to seek it robs a person of healing and continues the original misdeed into the future. To be unable to forgive keeps both the offending party and the offended party held hostage to a past that cannot be changed. And, it sends them both into the future to carry that wound forward into the lives of others.

Fear drives people to greed and to unchecked accumulation. If there is one thing that Americans need to learn to do, it is to let go of accumulation as a cultural value. To do this, we, as a whole culture, must begin to examine our fears and to challenge them.

Sabbath does just this. It provides a wholly different approach to the world that trusts in abundance and in God's guiding presence. Sabbath makes no room for fear; it is too busy making room for the "other" - for the stranger, for the neighbor, and for all of creation to thrive. Lent is a season that invites the Christian to examine all that obstructs us from God's presence. What fears hold us captive? What fasts do we need to take on in order to enter into God's kin-dome (Isaiah 58)? What spiritual practices will bring us near to God? What habits need cultivating that will foster our authentic selves and dispel our false selves? What priorities do we need to establish in order to see the stranger as our neighbor and to treat our neighbor as ourselves? These are deep questions of faith. They do not ask us to find new ways to store the accumulation in our lives. They challenge us to pare down that which does not serve God.

God has gifted us with life, but it is our holy and sacred challenge to sort out how to live it. Lent is a time of justification. But it is not a time for navel gazing. Lent, as a time of preparation for the convert or repentance for the Christian, challenges us to re-center ourselves in God's glory, that we may be born from heave and raised with Christ come Easter morn. These phrases may mean little in our secular world, but they simply mean that through the process of re-centering, re-focusing, uncluttering, and prioritizing, we can let go of the vices of this world in order to be born into God's vision for this world. This rebirth gives us God's eyes with which to view creation and God's heart for all of creation. And, by this rebirth, we are raised to new life as Jesus. The powers and principalities of this world - the powers of sin and death - cannot hold us prisoner any longer because we live in a world ruled not by scarcity, not by sin, not by death, but by abundance, right relationship, and life. This is to what you are invited. And, we don't get there by accumulation. We get there by trust and through service. A new way of living altogether.

Ashes, Lent, and a Changed Life

Look around. Our world is messed up. I don't care where you live, how rich you are, or how educated you are, you have been touched by this messed up world. Lost jobs. Government that is (at best) ineffectual and (at worst) corrupt. Revolutions. Melting ice caps. Insurance premiums. Children shooting children. Religious people wielding religion to heap violence on others. It's a messed up world. Filled with violence, despair, and greed - rapacious greed. Ash Wednesday couldn't come soon enough for me this year.

Lent is the most holy time of penitence on the Christian calendar. Traditionally, it is a time for potential converts to assess the true desire of their hearts and their willingness to live the Way of the Cross. Historically, it has also been a time for those within the Church who have strayed from this Way to repent, to humble themselves, and to seek forgiveness. Every year I can get a little (as my mother used to say) "too big for my 'britches.'" And so, this season gives me a chance to remember my place in the world. Neither better nor worse than any other person. A sinner. A blessed child of God. A human being yearning for something more, something better, something whole.

For the past week, I've felt especially melancholy. I've not felt competent at my job. I've felt frustrated with unfulfilled ambition. I've been angry at myself for not completing important goals that I've set for myself. Today, I woke up a different person, ready to have ashes imposed on my head, reminded that I have been gifted this one life to live in God's presence, for the sake of God's work, and nurtured by God's Gospel. I woke up ready to give up the ongoing struggle with my humanity and to embrace it as a pathway to wholeness.

I woke up ready to be changed. That's what ashes do. They remind us to be humble. They call us to mourn for lost opportunities, for wasted choices, for lives lived less fully than they could be lived. These burnt palm leaves remind me that we - all of us - are part of God's beautiful world, completely insignificant to it and vitally needed for it - both at the same time. When the ashes touch my head and I hear God's voice say, "From dust you come and to dust you shall return," I know that I am part of a salvific history that began long before I was born and that will exist long after I'm gone. I have one life. This life. My choices are important in this life. I cannot go back and change my life. How I decide to live each moment has an infinite number of consequences. And, yet, I am but dust. It is a wonderful paradox. A paradox of which I need reminding in the most tactile way - with ashes on my head.

We live messed up lives in a messed up world. If that were the beginning, middle, and end of the story, we would be hard pressed to want to be here at all. We also live these messed up lives in the presence of a healing, transforming, saving, earth-shattering God. A parent who welcomes us home after transgressions. A friend who accompanies us on foolhardy paths. A teacher who instructs us to live better. A critic unashamed to tell us to do better. A breath that infuses our lungs. A poem that inspires our hearts. A lion that protects her cubs. A fountain that overflows with living water. A tree that grows fruit for the body and leaves for the healing of the nations. A word that comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable. This is our God. This is our Gospel. It is with us in the "mess-upness" of our lives.

When the ashes touch our foreheads today, we look at all of the "messed-upness" of our world and in our lives. We look it squarely in the face. We take responsibility for broken relationships. We acknowledge the errors that we have made. We do not flinch. We can take it because we are empowered by our God. And then we enter Lent. We wander in the wilderness as did Jesus - as did the Israelites. During our 40 days, we may cry for how things were. We may not trust that God is creating change in our lives. We may want what we do not have and hoard what we do have. But God is at work. God is pulling us out of slavery and is preparing us for freedom. God is using this wilderness to disorient and then reorient us. God is challenging our understanding of unholy work - work done for Empire, for greed. Work done without restraint or constraint. Work that harms us and other. And God is preparing us for another kind of work. Holy work. Work that begins by stopping (Read Exodus). Work that uplifts the whole community. Work that recognizes limits. Work that never seduces us into believe that we are gods. Holy work transforms community. It makes space for the widow and the orphan. It welcomes the stranger. It leaves time for family, play, and worship.

I am so happy to have arrived at Ash Wednesday. I am not a unit of labor. I am not an awful person. I am not a god. I am not bad. I am not good. I am a human being of infinite worth among 6 billion other humans all of infinite worth. That's a lot of infinite. That's a lot of worth. Thanks be to God.

"Ash Wednesday" by TS Elliot

There are so many devotional books written for the season of Lent. Rather than relying upon these ready-made materials, however, the church that I serve is putting together its own booklet. It's part of our theme "Our Journey With God." The stories that we write, collect, and edit together will be a part of our own journey, more so than a booklet with stories put together for an anonymous public. I am looking forward to what people submit. I know one submission is T.S. Elliot's poem "Ash Wednesday."

Ash Wednesday
Because I do not hope to turn again
Because I do not hope
Because I do not hope to turn
Desiring this man's gift and that man's scope
I no longer strive to strive towards such things
(Why should the agèd eagle stretch its wings?)
Why should I mourn
The vanished power of the usual reign?

Because I do not hope to know
The infirm glory of the positive hour
Because I do not think
Because I know I shall not know
The one veritable transitory power
Because I cannot drink
There, where trees flower, and springs flow, for there is nothing again

Because I know that time is always time
And place is always and only place
And what is actual is actual only for one time
And only for one place
I rejoice that things are as they are and
I renounce the blessèd face
And renounce the voice
Because I cannot hope to turn again
Consequently I rejoice, having to construct something
Upon which to rejoice

And pray to God to have mercy upon us
And pray that I may forget
These matters that with myself I too much discuss
Too much explain
Because I do not hope to turn again
Let these words answer
For what is done, not to be done again
May the judgement not be too heavy upon us

Because these wings are no longer wings to fly
But merely vans to beat the air
The air which is now thoroughly small and dry
Smaller and dryer than the will
Teach us to care and not to care Teach us to sit still.

Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death
Pray for us now and at the hour of our death.


II
Lady, three white leopards sat under a juniper-tree
In the cool of the day, having fed to sateity
On my legs my heart my liver and that which had been contained
In the hollow round of my skull. And God said
Shall these bones live? shall these
Bones live? And that which had been contained
In the bones (which were already dry) said chirping:
Because of the goodness of this Lady
And because of her loveliness, and because
She honours the Virgin in meditation,
We shine with brightness. And I who am here dissembled
Proffer my deeds to oblivion, and my love
To the posterity of the desert and the fruit of the gourd.
It is this which recovers
My guts the strings of my eyes and the indigestible portions
Which the leopards reject. The Lady is withdrawn
In a white gown, to contemplation, in a white gown.
Let the whiteness of bones atone to forgetfulness.
There is no life in them. As I am forgotten
And would be forgotten, so I would forget
Thus devoted, concentrated in purpose. And God said
Prophesy to the wind, to the wind only for only
The wind will listen. And the bones sang chirping
With the burden of the grasshopper, saying

Lady of silences
Calm and distressed
Torn and most whole
Rose of memory
Rose of forgetfulness
Exhausted and life-giving
Worried reposeful
The single Rose
Is now the Garden
Where all loves end
Terminate torment
Of love unsatisfied
The greater torment
Of love satisfied
End of the endless
Journey to no end
Conclusion of all that
Is inconclusible
Speech without word and
Word of no speech
Grace to the Mother
For the Garden
Where all love ends.

Under a juniper-tree the bones sang, scattered and shining
We are glad to be scattered, we did little good to each other,
Under a tree in the cool of day, with the blessing of sand,
Forgetting themselves and each other, united
In the quiet of the desert. This is the land which ye
Shall divide by lot. And neither division nor unity
Matters. This is the land. We have our inheritance.



III

At the first turning of the second stair
I turned and saw below
The same shape twisted on the banister
Under the vapour in the fetid air
Struggling with the devil of the stairs who wears
The deceitul face of hope and of despair.

At the second turning of the second stair
I left them twisting, turning below;
There were no more faces and the stair was dark,
Damp, jaggèd, like an old man's mouth drivelling, beyond repair,
Or the toothed gullet of an agèd shark.

At the first turning of the third stair
Was a slotted window bellied like the figs's fruit
And beyond the hawthorn blossom and a pasture scene
The broadbacked figure drest in blue and green
Enchanted the maytime with an antique flute.
Blown hair is sweet, brown hair over the mouth blown,
Lilac and brown hair;
Distraction, music of the flute, stops and steps of the mind
over the third stair,
Fading, fading; strength beyond hope and despair
Climbing the third stair.


Lord, I am not worthy
Lord, I am not worthy

but speak the word only.

IV
Who walked between the violet and the violet
Whe walked between
The various ranks of varied green
Going in white and blue, in Mary's colour,
Talking of trivial things
In ignorance and knowledge of eternal dolour
Who moved among the others as they walked,
Who then made strong the fountains and made fresh the springs

Made cool the dry rock and made firm the sand
In blue of larkspur, blue of Mary's colour,
Sovegna vos

Here are the years that walk between, bearing
Away the fiddles and the flutes, restoring
One who moves in the time between sleep and waking, wearing

White light folded, sheathing about her, folded.
The new years walk, restoring
Through a bright cloud of tears, the years, restoring
With a new verse the ancient rhyme. Redeem
The time. Redeem
The unread vision in the higher dream
While jewelled unicorns draw by the gilded hearse.

The silent sister veiled in white and blue
Between the yews, behind the garden god,
Whose flute is breathless, bent her head and signed but spoke no word

But the fountain sprang up and the bird sang down
Redeem the time, redeem the dream
The token of the word unheard, unspoken

Till the wind shake a thousand whispers from the yew

And after this our exile


V
If the lost word is lost, if the spent word is spent
If the unheard, unspoken
Word is unspoken, unheard;
Still is the unspoken word, the Word unheard,
The Word without a word, the Word within
The world and for the world;
And the light shone in darkness and
Against the Word the unstilled world still whirled
About the centre of the silent Word.

O my people, what have I done unto thee.

Where shall the word be found, where will the word
Resound? Not here, there is not enough silence
Not on the sea or on the islands, not
On the mainland, in the desert or the rain land,
For those who walk in darkness
Both in the day time and in the night time
The right time and the right place are not here
No place of grace for those who avoid the face
No time to rejoice for those who walk among noise and deny the voice

Will the veiled sister pray for
Those who walk in darkness, who chose thee and oppose thee,
Those who are torn on the horn between season and season, time and time, between
Hour and hour, word and word, power and power, those who wait
In darkness? Will the veiled sister pray
For children at the gate
Who will not go away and cannot pray:
Pray for those who chose and oppose

O my people, what have I done unto thee.

Will the veiled sister between the slender
Yew trees pray for those who offend her
And are terrified and cannot surrender
And affirm before the world and deny between the rocks
In the last desert before the last blue rocks
The desert in the garden the garden in the desert
Of drouth, spitting from the mouth the withered apple-seed.


O my people.


VI
Although I do not hope to turn again
Although I do not hope
Although I do not hope to turn

Wavering between the profit and the loss
In this brief transit where the dreams cross
The dreamcrossed twilight between birth and dying
(Bless me father) though I do not wish to wish these things
From the wide window towards the granite shore
The white sails still fly seaward, seaward flying
Unbroken wings

And the lost heart stiffens and rejoices
In the lost lilac and the lost sea voices
And the weak spirit quickens to rebel
For the bent golden-rod and the lost sea smell
Quickens to recover
The cry of quail and the whirling plover
And the blind eye creates
The empty forms between the ivory gates
And smell renews the salt savour of the sandy earth

This is the time of tension between dying and birth
The place of solitude where three dreams cross
Between blue rocks
But when the voices shaken from the yew-tree drift away
Let the other yew be shaken and reply.

Blessèd sister, holy mother, spirit of the fountain, spirit of the garden,
Suffer us not to mock ourselves with falsehood
Teach us to care and not to care
Teach us to sit still
Even among these rocks,
Our peace in His will
And even among these rocks
Sister, mother
And spirit of the river, spirit of the sea,
Suffer me not to be separated

And let my cry come unto Thee.

--

The lines most meaningful to me in this poem are:
"And renounce the voice
Because I cannot hope to turn again
Consequently I rejoice, having to construct something
Upon which to rejoice" - Lent is a time to let go of "the voice" and construct something new in which we can rejoice - a new faith, a renewed faith.

"Teach us to care and not to care Teach us to sit still" - This has been my mantra for several years.

"Shall these bones live...and the bones sang chirping" - the question for each of us and for the Church itself. The power of faith, the power of life, the remnant singing to the wind.

"The desert in the garden the garden in the desert
Of drouth, spitting from the mouth the withered apple-seed." - Exile, exile of spirit, exile of soul, exile of people. Lent is exile chosen, but exile comes all too often unplanned and uncharted.

"Suffer us not to mock ourselves with falsehood
Teach us to care and not to care
Teach us to sit still
Even among these rocks,
Our peace in His will
And even among these rocks
Sister, mother
And spirit of the river, spirit of the sea,
Suffer me not to be separated

And let my cry come unto Thee." - The perfect prayer.

You can hear TS Elliot read his own poem.

Need Help Preaching the Death of Jesus?

Need help preaching or understanding the death of Jesus? Try reading "Biblical Preaching of the Death of Jesus" edited by David Lull and William Beardslee. Contributors include John Cobb, Russell Pregeant, Theodore Weeden Sr, Barry Woodbridge, and the forward by Fred Craddock. Not a new book - it was originally published in 1989 - it puts forward a complex and rich understanding on preaching and how preaching steeped in disciplined exegesis can shed new light on Jesus' crucifixion.

For these scholars it isn't enough to get a good handle on the death of Jesus (as if that weren't difficult enough!). They also believe that it is the preacher's task to interpret this core Christian story in ways that transform the lives of worshipers by "[discerning] what the Spirit is seeking to do and to provide words that will serve the Spirit in that work." Therefore, all that the preacher does should support the ongoing work of the Spirit in the community.

The death of Jesus is not only a central theme in the New Testament, it is also one of the most hotly contested and debated themes. Since the beginning of Christianity people have differed in their interpretations and understandings of Jesus' death. Even the Church's establishment of orthodoxy leaves room for multiple understandings and interpretations of Jesus' death. Preaching on this subject is both primary to a preacher's work and tricky to do.

In the second section of the book, the authors turn to the stories of Jesus' death as put forth by the Gospel according to Mark and the letters of Paul. Their goal is to provide preachers with sound exegesis on the texts by opening people "both to the strangeness of the biblical texts and to their potential for transforming our visions of the world."

As someone who struggles with Paul and his letters, I bought this book hoping for a renewed appreciation for the author of the earliest preserved texts in the New Testament. After finishing the section on Paul, I was disappointed to learn that the ways that I already understand Paul seem to be correct (I had hoped for new revelations). However, David Lull provided a wonderful interpretation of Paul for preaching. In the section called "Rediscovering Our Interrelatedness: The Death of Jesus in Jesus' Story," he writes, "In the Christian tradition, Jesus' death decisively brings into view the inescapable confrontation with our interconnectedness, both with one another and with God. All of the theologies of atonement presuppose this dimension of the church's memory of Jesus' death...We need to be reminded of our interaction with God in order to be open to the possibilities of forgiveness and of new life, for at the heart of the story of Jesus' death is the image of God receiving the brokenness of the world into God's own self, suffering with the world and transforming the consequences of the world's brokenness so that new possibilities emerge" (pp 175-176).

I highly recommend this book and its use of process thought to explore the texts related to Jesus' death and to offer preachable interpretations of it. 5 Stars!

A Short Confessional Moment - A Little Pensive

I took this picture in Kenya. It depicts my Lenten experience quite well. I feel like that tree under that big sky, so full of promise, so full of uncertainty. What will happen?

I haven't written on this blog for a little while. It just seems that every time an idea comes to mind, I'm not in a place to write. And, when I'm in a location with the time to write there is nothing to say. As Lent progresses, I have found myself increasingly pensive, contemplative, and at a loss for words. I've been wondering if this loss of words (and if you knew me you would know how unusual a loss of words is...I am clergy after all) might serve me well during this time of wilderness and wandering. Perhaps the journey through Lent can be better experienced without the trappings of the mind hurtling from one thought to the next, without the mouth speaking one more banal statement, without the clutter that arises from the overuse of words. How ironic that I'm using words to communicate a time of wordlessness.

Today I was walking in my church's neighborhood. It's a residential area populated by small bungalows, lots of folks in their early 30s, and Priuses on every corner. The sun was out and the blue sky was dappled with full and plump clouds drifting by on their way to...where? I stopped beside a house with a rusty iron bench in its front yard and wanted to wander over and sit. Thankfully I resisted, but throughout the walk I thought very little while feeling quite a lot. Most of the feelings included a sense of longing, almost melancholy but not quite. That bench seemed a perfect place to bring a rusty spirit, a lonely heart, a wishful hope. Or perhaps the bench itself needed company. I'm not sure.

One thing is becoming more clear this Lent. Regardless of the Lenten disciplines I established at the beginning of the season, my spiritual journey is taking its own course - one not established or controlled by me. And it is a course that is much more emotional than intellectual. So, I am realizing that I am along for whatever current is pulling me along. Sorry for the quietness of the blog, but I have clearly entered a time of quiet in the soul.

I hope you are having a meaningful Lent. I certainly am.

Sanctuary Appointments and Lent

Sanctuaries have a way of reflecting the personality of the congregation. Often times the best way to get to know a congregation is to walk into the sanctuary and look around. Where is the baptismal font? Is there a Christ candle? Are there pews? If so, are they straight, padded, curved, or angled? Are there kneelers? Is there a chancel proper? Where does the choir stand? Are they using multimedia? How integrated are the video components? The sanctuary says a great deal about a congregation's understanding of community, sacrament, Christology, and mission. How is your sanctuary decorated for Lent?

I currently serve a small neighborhood church in North Seattle. You can tell right away when you enter the sanctuary that they value intimate relationship. Often there are quilts on the pews; they are made by church members and then given or auctioned for chairty. Liturgical banners and frontals are also created within the congregation. They are not satin or silk; they are not mass produced or particularly formal. They reflect the communal understandings of this local congregation.

This Lent we are using a set of sanctuary art pieces that are quite interesting. They are quilted pieces that depict a pathway surrounded by wilderness. In keeping with the tradition of Lent the main color is purple. The main decoration is the full frontal of the fixed altar on the chancel wall. Each week during Lent a new part of the journey is added until a big sunrise completes the picture on Easter Sunday. I like the idea of adding a rock, a tree, a mountain as a way of visually moving this community through Lent to Easter. There are complementary paraments for the lectern and the pulpit.

Last year we made the image more compelling by furthering the image of the path. We added plants and rocks - real ones - in the chancel to extend the path on the frontal. We even added cairns. That was a particularly interesting addition since cairns are used to show hikers the pathway. These decorations reminded us that even though we are in the wilderness, there are markers to help us find our way to Easter, to resurrection.

One challenge with these decorations is that the full frontal is obscured when we serve communion from a communion table set up in front of the main altar. This challenge reflects the marginalization of Holy Communion in many United Methodist congregations. There was a time not so long ago when Holy Communion was celebrated only quarterly; now most congregations participate in the sacrament monthly. However, as we move toward a weekly celebration of Holy Communion, the decorations that we currently use will no longer serve their function.

The visuals used in the sanctuary are important, whether we are in the midst of penitential seasons or in the middle of Ordinary Time. How we appoint the sanctuary speaks volumes to us and to our visitors about what we think about God, community, and worship.

Is your church decorated in a way that helps worshipers understand what is happening in the service? In the season? Do you have a theme? Nonverbal messages are at least as important as the verbal ones. What we say, sing, and pray will be undermined if what we do and display don't play a supporting role.

An aside: You can find a lot of horrible, HORRIBLE sanctuary art (my opinion, of course). If you are interested in how sanctuaries and altars "should" look and what the names of the appointments are that you find in sanctuaries, there are a number of good guides. I recommend "The Altar Guild" by Lee Maxwell. For helps in keying in on important themes that will help in decorating your sanctuary, I recommend "Sundays and Seasons" as well as "Living Liturgy". For a look at what good liturgical art looks like, check out the artist Nancy Chinn.

Do Ash Wednesday and Lent Have to Be Such Downers?

"Do Ash Wednesday and Lent have to be such downers?" I hear this question - and others like it - every year. More accurately, I hear statements such as, "I don't participate in Lent; it's a downer, it's too hard, I never make it through with my commitments. Why try?" As you might have guessed, I'm a big supporter of Ash Wednesday and Lent and I'm going to tell you why. Maybe, if you're like those who are shy about the season, you'll find a new perspective that will feel more invitational.

Yes, it can be a bit stark to walk into a sanctuary to see black, gray, and purple cloths on Ash Wednesday. Usually the bright decorations that have been lingering since Christmas have been put away and everyting feels a bit bare. That's all true. Ash Wednesday is stark, but I find that this emptying out of the sanctuary helps remind me that it's time to empty out the spiritual garbage that I've been collecting for the past year. I have to ask myself what baubles, decorations, and clutter have I been hanging onto and whether I need them. Do they actually contribute to the quality of my life? Often times I find on Ash Wednesday that I've slipped back into emotional and spiritual patterns that aren't healthy or helpful. The starkness of the room helps me examine the cluttered and rushed areas of my life.

The words "Remember, you come from dust and to dust you shall return" can really frighten some people. What are Christians trying to do? Scare the crap out of me? Well, some might be but I'm not. These words remind me that, like the rest of creation, I have been lovingly made by God. I am a part of a great web of creation. I am connected to all of life, all of the dust in the solar system, all of the dust bunnies with which I am at war most of the time. I am part of something much, much larger than myself. I have a place - humans have a place - in this order of creation. We are a special part of God's holy and sacred creation. And yet I am not the crowning achievement of God's handiwork. I have a place, one out of which I often step. I move through the world as though I were in charge, in control - God. The words we say on Ash Wednesday remind me that I am not the Creator. They humble me. I am only on this earth for a short period of time. How can I be more alive in Christ? How can I live more fully aware of God's grace at work in the world and in me? One day I will leave this place, what experiences do I need to have, what effects do I want to leave behind? These words call me to account for how I live while I am here.

Ash Wednesday is the kick off day of Lent. The symbols can be a bit stark, but they invite us in to a sizing down of the overstuffed, overpacked, overcrowded ways in which most Americans live. Lent is a journey into the heart of God. What is so bad about that? Of course, it does lift up to us the reality that in following the God of Jesus, like him we may face trials and tribulations because of our commitment to God's realm. To follow Jesus is to follow his program of kingdom proclamation and kingdom building. We are, after all, proclaiming that God is the ruler of this world not the powers and principalities all around us that exert themselves with great might. We stand in opposition to oppression, injustice, and apathy. We are called to level the plane, extend compassion to the outcast, and rejoice with sinners (that's good because I am one). This way of living is often counter to the ways in which this world would want us to live. This way of living clearly and unashamedly declares that the world and all that is in it belongs to God and to no other - not to me or to you, not to corporations, and not to the state. To follow Jesus is highly political and overtly challenging of the norms of our world. So, it is dangerous. Lent reminds us just how dangerous. It also, however, invites us into the heart of the God of joy, peace, and laughter. The same God that created still creates. This God wants us to celebrate every time we gather as though we were at a wedding. This God wants us to drink deeply of life and love with abandon. Lent invites us on to this path as well.

Ash Wednesday and Lent are not downers, but they are an invitation to right our relationships, especially our relationship with God, remembering that we belong to God (God does not belong to us). They call us into lives of humility. They send us down dangerous paths on behalf of the kingdom. And they also pull us into the great party that always seems to be happening in the midst of this kingdom.

I hope that you walk into Lent ready to examine your life with honesty and integrity, to make changes that you need to make, and to remember that you are a beloved child of God who - whether you know it or not - is basking in the delight of God's grace.

For more about the tradition of Ash Wednesday, go my my post from last year.

a peace parade

As Palm Sunday comes to a close, I enter Holy Week quite reflective about the counter-cultural, confrontational, conspicuous peace parade of Jesus and his friends. By entering past his followers through the gate into Jerusalem, he mocked, satirized, and ridiculed the military marches of Roman imperialism. Jesus was asserting in a bold and startling way that his message of God's kingdom demands that we lay down our swords and pursue a different reality that values justice, mercy, and peace. He could have lifted arms against Rome; many people wanted him to do so. He could have stirred the people to erupt into violence as they converged on Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. He did neither of these things. Instead, he maintained that all who live by the sword will die by the sword. He maintained a message of resistance through love and faithfulness all the way to the cross. Today we waved palms in church and we sang our hosannas. Yet Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are the real witnesses to the faithfulness of Jesus - the same faithfulness we, as the body of Christ, are called to have today. And, during this time of war, nationalism, tribalism, and imperialism, the witness of Palm Sunday is a special witness for all who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.

how are your lenten disciplines going?

How are your Lenten disciplines going? Mine are fairing so-so. While I haven't been watching TV, I have spent too much time and money downloading music from iTunes. I've been more successful saying grace regularly. And, as I've gotten in the habit of taking a moment to be grateful for what I have to eat, my prayer has grown to include, "Help me to be mindful about what I eat and to be grateful for what I have." This has made saying grace even more meaningful. I also have been trying to find something related to the environment to add to my Lenten schedule. I've settled on joining a local neighbors group dedicated to "greening" our neighborhood. I also have been looking for a new home that is certified "green."

Lent is a holy time. I find it especially meaningful. Too often progressive Christians get wrapped up in the work for social justice and leave behind the state of their soul and the health of their spirit. Christianity is not work for social change; it is a vision for a different world altogether - a world in which the least and the last are invited into the center of communal life, a world in which the lost find home, a world with no war, no bigotry, and no violence. Social justice is a part of this vision, but it is not the entirety of the vision. Without connection to the Divine, the work for social change is overwhelming and the realities of this world too disheartening. During Lent, I remember my connection to the Divine. I remember that I belong to God before I belong to country, church, or community. I am a member of an ancient faith that stretches through time and place to a group of people held captive by a powerful Pharaoh. I am a follower of a wandering Galilean carpenter who challenged the powers and principalities of Rome and charged the peasants and city dwellers of his time to live according to God's plan for a just and compassionate world. Lent is a holy time that ties me to my past, roots me in my present, and sets my face toward the upcoming miracle of Easter.

My disciplines may be going only so-so, but Lent is going great. I hope it is for you, too. It has steadied my feet so that I am ready to participate in an interfaithprayer for peace/an end to the war in Iraq. Lent has also given me conviction to participate in Step It Up, calling for an 80% reduction in carbon emission by 2050. Lent has been good for me. I am repenting - turning around, and I am finding God right before me calling me into new and wonderful life.

books to help with lent

Several people have asked me lately for book referrals for use during Lent. Here are a few resources for use in personal devotion.

The Story of the Cross: Stations of the Cross for Children by Mary Joslin (the best resource that I've seen for kids...it introduces some negative implications regarding the Jewish leadership of first century, but these are minimal and can be dealt with)

Lent and Easter Wisdom from Henri J.M. Nouwen

Show Me the Way - Henri J.M. Nouwen

The Lenten Labyrinth - Edward Hay

Walking a Sacred Path - Lauren Artress

In the Light of the Messanger - Joan Chittister

I am always looking for more resources, if you would like to share them with me!

ash wednesday

Ash Wednesday is finally here. I hope you had a great time yesterday living it up before the official beginning of Lent. Pancakes? Parties? Beads? Beer? However you celebrated, I hope it filled you up and got you ready for Lent. Today, we mark the start of Lent with Ash Wednesday. Christians everywhere will head to their churches for meditation, confession, and the imposition of ashes. This day marks us all as equals in God's eyes. It reminds us of our mortality and of the precious gift of life. It is one of my favorite days on the Christian calendar.

As a Protestant pastor, I hear people complain that Ash Wednesday feels foreign to them. And, it is true, that many Protestants have not observed this day with regularity. People who haven't grown up in the church at all tell me that Ash Wednesday doesn't make sense to them. What do we do with this slightly strange custom?

Ash Wednesday is a beautiful observance of the equality of humankind and a powerful call to us to discern God in our lives. But where do the ashes come from? Why do we use them? In 2 Samuel Tamar puts ashes on her head and tears her clothes as she grieves violence done to her, as she laments the harm that she has experienced (2 Sam 13:18-20). In the Book of Esther, Mordecai, deep in lament, puts on a sackcloth and pours ashes on his head (Esther 4:1-3). Ashes signify a terrible wrong, a deep mourning, a desire for change, the brutal truth of mortality. Ashes are the left-overs from a purifying fire. They are remnants. On Ash Wednesday, Christians place ashes on our heads as a sign of lament that life, our world, and our lives are not all that they could be. We put them on our foreheads as a desire to find right relationship with God. This desire sends us on our Lenten journey.

I also see in the imposition of ashes a levelling of the playing field. In the world, some of us are rich and some are poor. Some of us have privilege and some do not. When the ashes are placed on our heads, we are marked by God. The ashes show what the world often ignores - we are all equal in God's eyes. All of us have fallen short of perfection in love. And all of us are equal recipients of God's love and grace. Personally, the ashes remind me that I have only so many days to live fully in God's grace before I leave this world. As a mortal, I am the dust of the earth, and back to the earth I shall return some day. In the meantime, I am grateful that God extends mercy and love to me every day. Every day I have the opportunity to right my wrongs and to celebrate the goodness in creation and in me. No one is better than I am; I am better than no one else.

Ashes on our heads are not signs of piety gone wild! They are signs of our humility in the world. They are signs of God's love. They are signs of our mortality. They invite us into Lent and put us on a path of spiritual discernment during these forty days of wilderness.

If you have not been a participant in Ash Wednesday in the past, find a service and sit in meditation, hear the proclamation from Joel that the Day of the Lord is near. Hear his urgency as he cries, "Rend your hearts, not your clothing" (Joel 2:13). "Blow the trumpet... sanctify the fast; call a solemn assembly" (Joel 2:15). Joel doesn't invite us on this journey. Joel cries to us with urgency. Hearing his cry in worship or listening to Isaiah 58:1-12 is a powerful reflection on our lives and on God's claim on them.

Ash Wednesday brings us into the season of preparation for Easter. During these forty days, Christians are sent into the wilderness of discernment seeking God's presence in our lives and in our world. The call on Christians is to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. It's oh so much more than giving up chocolate.

Read here for more information on Ash Wednesday.
Go here to read the scriptures for Ash Wednesday.

ideas for lent

Transfiguration Sunday is one of my favorite Sundays because there is so much great stuff to do with kids! This day provides so many ways to get ready for Lent. As individuals, we are invited to "listen" to Christ speaking in our lives. As a community, the invitation is no less for us as a group. During church today we prepared for Lent by decorating "Alleluia" signs so that we can hide them next week and keep them hidden all throughout Lent. We also burned last years palms for use this week during our Ash Wednesday service. Transfiguration Sunday sends me right into thinking about Lent. So I've started making a list of things to do (or not do) during Lent as part of making way and creating silence for listening to God. I thought that I would share some ideas with you.

*I listen to sacred music. If you are into sacred music (however you define that), listen to some every day; I find this really helpful. I have made two playlists on my ipod to help me during Lent. One is primarily gospel music with Mahalia Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Clara Ward and the Clara Ward Singers, Ben Harper and the Blind Boys of Alabama, Brother Joe May, Corey Harris and Henry Butler, Alison Krauss, Gospel Dream, Bruce Springsteen, Etta James, Tapiola Choir, Sweet Honey and the Rock, and the Staple Singers. It's a great playslist. Because there's a lot of gospel on this list, don't be surprised if there are a few "Alleluias" floating around! The other playlist is sacred music composed by Eric Whitacre, including all of the music from his CD "Cloudburst."

You can buy the full gospel playlist from itunes.

*I am giving up turning on the TV during Lent. Now, I can't give up TV shows; don't get me wrong! I will watch DVDs and download from iTunes the programs that I really want to watch (I plan on cheating on Sundays in order to see the Soprano's. I'm telling myself it's my "little Easter" moment-I'm sure that's not the right idea, but...). While not a TV addict, I have been known to turn on the boob tube just to see what's on. Not this Lent. We'll see how that goes.

*I am saying grace before every meal. While many people do this all of the time, I don't, especially when I'm eating in public. I did this two years ago and found it a powerful exercise. I had to confront my reasons for my silence in public restaurants. I had to recognize the lack of gratitude and intentionality in my life. This led me to give up meat this past Lent...still don't eat it! If you have never given up meat during Lent, I recommend it if your health will bear it. When I gave up meat, I had time to reflect upon my participation in the meat industry in the US and in the industrialization of farming in general. I was reminded that all of creation is valuable and important to God. Giving up meat has been one of the most transformational journeys of my life.

*I recommend attending a weekly Taize service or other contemplative worship service. Most of our liturgies are filled with words. And while the Word is important in worship, contemplative worship invites us to listen for God. Even more than that, though, it invites us to rest in the Divine. For Protestants contemplative worship can feel a little strange, but I find my soul at home in the silence, in the chanting, and in the mystery of God.

*Go green. I know that my spiritual discipline this Lent will include an intentional act or practice to show reverence toward God as expressed in creation. I haven't determined what it will be yet. I already walk to work and have a hybrid car. I try to unplug appliances when not in use. I already recycle and compost. I'm not sure what my "green" practice will be, but I feel called to incorporate something significant into my daily habits. As we move toward the cross, I cannot help but think about the crucifixion of the earth that happens every day. I know that at the end of Holy Week we will find a resurrection. I do not know that we will find such a resurrection at the end of our actions toward the earth. I am open to suggestions on how to live more green in the world

I was so excited today about the beginning of Lent. I have just begun the process of discerning how I might prepare my spirit and my life to listen for God. Progressive Christians like me find Lent a wonderful jouney into the heart of God. If you have not had a habit of changing your life during this season, I invite you try something new, whether it be daily prayer, something for the environment, or thirty minutes of silence. Lent invites us to move from knowing about God to knowing God. I can't wait!

Update: A couple of people have sent ideas for Lent that they are doing or have done.
*Pray the Divine Hours - a fixed hour prayer practice. There are several online and book resources to help you. Explorefaith.com has a great online guide that can be set to your time zone!
*Make sure the TV stays off one night a week and that adults don't bring work home. Have a family night as part of your Lenten journey.
*Go walking every week. One person has suggested not using ipods as part of the experience of slowing down, being in the moment.

Keep the suggestions coming!

Update 2: The suggestions keep coming. Here are some ideas that have been shared with me.
*Keep thirty minutes to an hour of silence. Contemplative prayer is an invitation to quiet our minds and center our souls. It is more than not talking; it is silence. Contemplation invites us to rest in God's mystery.
*Practice the Examen. The Examen of Consciousness invites us to find the movment of the Holy Spirit as we reflect on our daily lives. This spiritual exercise takes about 10-15 minutes.
*Use labyrinths as part of your spiritual journey. In the Seattle area, Plymouth Congregational Church and Seattle First Baptist Church both have regular labyrinth walks. In the greater Seattle area, labyrinths can be found on Whidbey Island at Earth Sanctuary and the Whidbey Institute.
*Volunteer as part of your spiritual exercise. Lent invites into a time of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
*Take Holy Communion regularly.