Tag Archives: ministry

“The habit of being an intentional Christian”

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1st Sunday after Epiphany [The Baptism of our Lord] (Mark 1:4-11)  1/8/2012

Happy New Year! We are now one week into the New Year, and if you have made a resolution I pray that you are still holding on strong to your new habits. The New Year offers a new beginning and a time that some people choose to make a resolution. There are, of course, all types of resolutions that people make for themselves, but most resolutions involve some type of change: a change from one behavior to another; a change from one way of being to another way of being. The really hard part of successfully achieving the new way of life is actually making it stick – how is it that the resolution becomes a permanent habit; the new practice becomes the new way of living. According to many reports that I have recently read in the media success comes through diligent practice – repetition creates the permanent habit. I have read that 4 or 5 weeks of practice will make the newly desired habit “successful.” This is nice to imagine, but I have fallen off the “daily exercise” wagon enough times to wonder if this estimate is really accurate. Several weeks of practice will get you going in the right direction, but constant immersion in a community that supports and sustains the new habit is certainly best, whether your resolution is the mastery of a new language, adherence to a new diet, or any other manner of new living. No matter what the challenge might be in your life, those closest to us help us as we seek to live our lives in new ways. Continue reading →

“Gifts of the Spirit: our diversity is our strength”

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Day of Pentecost (1 Cor 12:3b-13)  6/12/2011

Many years before the drama of television soap operas and reality shows like “The Jersey Shore” and “The Real Housewives,” there was the real-life drama of the city of Corinth. The ancient city of Corinth that was known to the Apostle Paul was a city that was populated under the supervision of the Roman government; the Romans sending a diverse population of unwanted citizens from the capital city of Rome. With its population growth and its strategic location in the Mediterranean Sea, the city of Corinth soon became a busy trading center and the culturally diverse population became an interesting community for Paul to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ. Paul’s message of Christ was well received by many Corinthians, but his first letter reveals to us that the diversity of the people also led to a diversity of understanding of how to live together in their newly formed Christian community. The Corinthians continued to argue about many aspects of their common life: how to worship together, how to live together, and whose spiritual gifts were most important. Paul urged the Corinthians to settle their differences and live together in love. Paul encouraged the community to set aside their childish arguments and come together. He wrote: “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.” (1 Cor 13:11-13) Continue reading →

“Now is the time – Christian witness to the ends of the Earth”

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7th Sunday of Easter (Acts 1:6-14)  6/5/2011

For audio presentation – <follow link here>

Many years ago, my first extended time at sea during my service aboard a submarine was spent in the North Atlantic Sea. The journey to the North Atlantic took several days and once the submarine had arrived at its operation area there were not many circumstances that were important enough to cause the submarine to leave its assigned area. But there was one occasion when a Chief Petty Officer’s son was so ill the Navy called the submarine out of its area in order to send the Chief home to be with his son and his family. We left the northern operation area and proceeded to the coast of Norway to meet the Norwegian Coast Guard, who would take the Chief back to shore so he could fly home. When we arrived in the Norwegian Sea, we were met with a blinding snowstorm and large waves – the transfer did not look promising. However, after a few moments of waiting at the rendezvous point we saw the lights of the Coast Guard ship in the distance. We were all amazed to see that shortly after the ship arrived we spotted a small zodiac boat heading toward the submarine. The Chief and the topside crew made their way to the surface of the submarine. The small zodiac boat was soon alongside the submarine, waiting to receive the Chief. As the snow continued to come down sideways and the waves continued to pitch the small boat up and down as it rested against the submarine, the Chief leaned forward, peering into the small boat that waited for him just a few feet away, but he just could not bring himself to jump into the boat. The Chief was frozen; frozen from the cold snow and frozen with fear and anticipation. Is this the time? His son was sick, his family needed him at home; the zodiac boat continued to rock back and forth and the Chief stood wondering – is this the time? Continue reading →

“Maundy Thursday: Humble service to others”

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Maundy Thursday (John 13:1-17, 31b-35)  4/21/2011

Many years ago, as I was preparing to become confirmed, I was required to complete a certain number of service hours as part of the program. After participating in many different activities, I had two hours of service remaining to complete my goal. As I considered how I might fulfill these final two hours, the thought occurred to me (as I looked at the snow outside) that I might offer to shovel snow for a few of my neighbors. I grabbed a snow shovel and started down the street. I soon approached the house of a neighbor who had not shoveled the front walk. I had occasionally talked with the folks that lived there (they were friends of my grandparents) but I did not know them very well. I knocked on the door and the man soon opened the door. “I would like to shovel your front walk this morning,” I said to him. “No thank you, I always shovel my own walkway,” he replied. “But I am providing community service for my Confirmation class and there will be no charge; can I shovel your walk for free?” I protested. “For free? I suppose you can shovel the walk for free,” the man agreed. I quickly began shoveling, hoping to quickly finish the very long walkway so I could find another walk to clear. One hour later, I had finally finished and I was so tired I decided to go home. I did not go back and tell the man I was leaving because the job was free and I didn’t think there was anything to say. A few days later we had another snowstorm (you know the feeling, right?) and I returned to the same house – one more time and all my service hours would be done. I knocked on the man’s door and asked if I could shovel one more time. He agreed, but asked if I would come back to the house when I was done shoveling the walkway. One hour later, I was done and knocked on the door. The man answered the door and asked me if I would like to come inside and join him and his wife for something warm to drink. We had a wonderful conversation and they showed me many pictures and souvenirs that they had collected during the past 50 years of their life together. My time with them was an unexpected opportunity to share some of their most important memories. Continue reading →

“Living Lent throughout Christian History – Medieval Monasticism”

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Each period of history throughout the Christian tradition has offered its unique contribution to our understanding of Lent. Select the link below to view an outline of the particular experiences of the medieval period and I hope you will discover new insights that will help you on your Lenten journey.

Living Lent throughout Christian History – Medieval Monasticism

“Reflection of the Daily Office: Do not hide under a bushel basket”

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Daily Office for 01/20/2011 – Gospel reading: Mark 4:21-34

Today’s Morning Prayer lessons presents us with a few short parables, beginning with the reasonable advice that one does not place a lighted lamp under a bushel basket. Beyond the concern that the basket will go up in flames, the parable means to teach that a light is intended to lighten its surroundings, not quietly live a peaceable life in solitude. This advice might seem rather obvious, but if we can imaginatively place ourselves in the role of the light we might find a certain level of discomfort with the attention and responsibility of sharing our gifts with others…24/7, as is the popular saying these days. The parables in Mark’s Gospel account that follow the “light & the bushel basket” parable emphasize this lesson – the growing seed and the might of the tiny mustard seed both point to the strength and vitality of appropriately nurturing one’s gifts as God intends.

Today we remember Fabian, Bishop of Rome and Martyr of the Church in the year 250. Fabian is famous for his election as Bishop because he was elected by the favor of the crowd that gathered to select the bishop – and Fabian was not even an ordained minister at the time. Although not familiar with all the details of church administration, he put his gifts to good work and was able to serve the people of Rome with great result. Never fearing to do what was required of him, Fabian was eventually martyred during the Christian persecutions ordered by Decius. Fabian is remembered as an example to us that we have been given gifts, for the good and happiness of our lives and for the good of others. But we must not be content to sit at home and quietly use our gifts…or not use them at all. We must boldly go into the world and share what has been given to us and, like a tiny mustard seed, the impact of our actions will make a mighty difference in the world.

“Shrewdly seeking God’s grace”

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Proper 20C (Luke 16:1-13)  09-19-2010

A few years ago when my family and I moved from the Chicago area to the suburbs of Washington, DC, we quickly realized that the traffic was going to give us an opportunity to practice our patience and we also realized that an early start on the morning commute would be a necessity. Because the traffic was also unpredictable, an early start often meant an early arrival at the seminary, so I became a regular at the Student Lounge. Like many of the commuter students who frequented this convenient gathering place, I became familiar with the bad coffee, the uncomfortable furniture and the dismal gray walls. And because we were quite certain that the traffic was not going to end any time soon, we decided that we should make some changes to the lounge so our time there was more pleasant. A few pillows on the furniture and some good scrubbing on the coffee machines made a big difference, but those dismal gray walls were still very depressing. We thought a cheerful yellow paint would make a great difference on everyone’s attitude. We assumed that painting the lounge would require someone’s permission, so we asked several school officials for the name of the person in charge of the lounge. In every case the answer was the same: I don’t know who is in charge of the lounge. After an unsuccessful search for the person in charge, we finally decided to do the only reasonable thing: we bought some paint and woke up early one morning to quietly paint the lounge before anyone discovered our plan. With paint and brushes in hand, we prepared the room, covered the furniture and were only minutes from starting when the Manager of the book store came in to the lounge and told us that one of the school officials had heard we might be painting and she wanted to see us in her office right away. With only minutes to creatively save our plan, we quickly painted the smallest wall in the lounge. With a bad feeling about our future, we headed up the hill to explain our secret painting project.

The property manager in our Gospel lesson had a bad feeling about his future as well – called to the master’s house to give an accounting of his actions. Continue reading →