Day 47: Go

Christ our Lord is risen today!  Alleluia! Alleluia!

I went to church this morning/afternoon at Union UMC in Boston.  They know how to praise God that is for sure!!  What a blessed morning, when we give thanks for the wonder-ful life in Christ Jesus that God has given to us.

On Easter, though Lent comes to an end, we are really just beginning.  The journey through the wilderness is complete, and now we have real work to do.  Because God didn’t intend for worship only within the four walls of a church.  No, we were created to worship God in every part of our lives, out in the world, every day. 

After Jesus’ resurrection, he tells the disciples to GO.  He sends them out into the world, commissioning them to make disciples of all nations.  Yes we give thanks and praise today while we celebrate our risen Savior!  But now we joyously go into the world, with the strength and courage found only in God, trusting that everything will work out in the end, to serve our brothers and sisters, standing together as children of God.

Day 46: Refuge

Refuge (noun): a condition of being safe or sheltered from pursuit, danger, or trouble.

My heart is troubled today as I write about refuge. 

We are on the eve of Easter, awaiting the resurrection of our Savior.  Before the glorious day however, we sit in the darkness that began yesterday on Good Friday and will perpetuate until our Lord is risen… and we wait.

We seek refuge during this darkness.  When times are difficult, when life is rough, when hope is lost we seek refuge.  We seek an asylum where our fears are calmed and our worries released.  Even if this refuge cannot keep the pain completely away, we find rest in our refuge.  In refuge we find others who share in our burdens, we find reassurance of our safety, and we find arms holding us as we cry.

But what do we do when our refuge is broken?  What do we do when our universities, schools, community centers, churches, temples, mosques, and homes are no longer safe places?  Where do we go when our refuge, our sanctuary, is marred by violence, injustice, and hate?

Friends, I do not know.  I do not know where we run when our safe places are no longer safe.  When our refuge is stripped from our hands.  I can imagine a world where this is not true, but that imaginary peaceful world is not the world I live in today.

So we lament to God:

Psalm 74

1 O God, why do you cast us off forever?

Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?

2 Remember your congregation, which you acquired long ago,

which you redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage.

Remember Mount Zion, where you came to dwell.

3 Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins;

the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary.

4 Your foes have roared within your holy place;

they set up their emblems there.

5 At the upper entrance they hacked

the wooden trellis with axes.

6 And then, with hatchets and hammers,

they smashed all its carved work.

7 They set your sanctuary on fire;

they desecrated the dwelling place of your name,

bringing it to the ground.

8 They said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”;

they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

9 We do not see our emblems;

there is no longer any prophet,

and there is no one among us who knows how long.

10 How long, O God, is the foe to scoff?

Is the enemy to revile your name forever?

11 Why do you hold back your hand;

why do you keep your hand in your bosom?

12 Yet God my King is from of old,

working salvation in the earth.

13 You divided the sea by your might;

you broke the heads of the dragons in the waters.

14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan;

you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.

15 You cut openings for springs and torrents;

you dried up ever-flowing streams.

16 Yours is the day, yours also the night;

you established the luminaries and the sun.

17 You have fixed all the bounds of the earth;

you made summer and winter.

18 Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs,

and an impious people reviles your name.

19 Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild animals;

do not forget the life of your poor forever.

20 Have regard for your covenant,

for the dark places of the land are full of the haunts of violence.

21 Do not let the downtrodden be put to shame;

let the poor and needy praise your name.

22 Rise up, O God, plead your cause;

remember how the impious scoff at you all day long.

23 Do not forget the clamor of your foes,

the uproar of your adversaries that goes up continually.

Day 45: Prosper

I find it a little awkward that today’s word is “prosper” given the somber nature of Good Friday. 

Today we are supposed to remember the trial and crucifixion of Jesus Christ.  We are supposed to walk through the entire process.  Beginning with the trial before Pilate, we see Jesus mocked and beaten, we see a crown of thorns placed on his head.  We watch as he carries his cross to Golgotha and is crucified between two thieves.  We listen as he cries out in pain “Eli, Eli, lema sabechthani?” – My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?  We weep as we hear “It is finished” and darkness sweeps over the land.

What is prosperous about this day?  Is there anything that allows us to flourish?

The light has gone out of the world.  We are cold and alone.  Today on Good Friday we look to the cross at Jesus.  We are almost done with the trial of this Lenten wilderness, yet before our celebration on Easter we must pause to recognize the great suffering that took place first.  We look up at the body that died for our sins, and our hearts ache in the wilderness.  Good Friday sets the stage for the return of Christ that springs into being on Easter morning.  But first we must wait.

Like a seed that is planted, a beautiful story is brewing underground waiting to burst forth through the cold earth, ending winter, and giving us the prosperous hope of spring.

Day 44: Breath

Nephesh is a Hebrew word, and is the “living being” that makes us alive.  It is similar to our concept of soul, the life-giving component of our flesh.  It is sometimes translated as the breath of God.

It is a beautiful image, this breath of God that gives us life.  Like the wind blowing and animating the trees, scattering the leaves… So our Creator breathes and animates us.  Our breath is a gift of life.

Day 43: Peace

Tonight I attended a gathering for Northeastern’s Interfaith Council.  Every other Wednesday throughout the school year, we come from each of our respective religious groups and meet together in the Sacred Space for dinner and dialogue.

This year as part of Interfaith Harmony Week, the Center for Spirituality, Dialogue, and Service sponsored three key-note speakers, co-editors of “Our Neighbors’ Faiths: Stories of Interreligious Encounter and Transformation.”  These speakers came from Christian, Jewish, and Muslim backgrounds, and together addressed interfaith dialogue through storytelling.

Tonight, we had a chance to share our own stories about crossing dividing lines with other people on the Interfaith Council.  We practiced storytelling and the act of giving and receiving a story, like a gift.  When telling stories, we have to give our time and our ear, and listen attentively in meaningful exchange. 

Telling stories help us relate to other people, even people who are different from us.  Telling stories help us build peace.

Day 42: Call

Well, I suppose it is time to make this announcement official.  I will be attending Candler School of Theology at Emory University in the fall! 

I am entering into Candler with the intention of ordination and ministry in the United Methodist Church and service in the Alaska UM Conference.  I am still exploring the ways that God is shaping my call, and I hope to tailor my vocation to focus on service to God, people, and the environment.  Though the specific type of ministry in my future is still unknown, I see this call as an extension of baptism; a venture to work full time as a laborer in God’s plentiful harvest.  I hope to serve as an active leader in Christian faith formation to develop intentional global citizens, while also delving into deeper conversations about the complex issues surrounding science and religion.

I am very excited to join the community at Candler, and to live out my call to ministry through seminary.  It was not an easy decision to make, but I am confident that God will walk with me through the process.  I’m so thankful to have friends and family to support me along the way!

Love you all :)

Day 41: Live

I’m sure you’ve heard it said that sunflowers turn to face the sun.  Regardless of the validity of this claim, it is worth considering for our purposes of Lent.  Indeed, many plants are characterized by varying degrees of heliotropism, turning leaves, stems, and flowers to track the sun and maximize photosynthesis.  These plants are doing everything in their power to live.

Our desire to live permeates nearly every aspect of our lives.  We eat, sleep, exercise, work, and play to live.  Our very desires themselves were designed to keep us and our families alive.  God created us to live.  God created us to enjoy life and to give praise for life!

Like the sunflower, during Lent we turn to face our life-giving creator.  We focus our attention on God, tracking through the day and through the wilderness, knowing that God’s sustaining presence nurtures and provides life, now and always.

I need a bigger pot...