Tag Archives: prayer

“If I only had a holy Lent – finding God in the sacred wilderness”

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Lent I (Luke 4:1-13)  02/17/2013

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A few weeks ago Carol and I went to see the movie, Lincoln. As we sat in our seats waiting for the movie to begin, we of course were required to watch several minutes of previews of coming attractions. I often use the time before the movie starts to settle into my seat, turn off my phone, and generally prepare to enjoy the movie rather than watch the previews; but in this instance the preview of the coming movie, “Oz, The Great and Powerful” really caught my attention. The possibilities of creating the magical world of Oz with all the technology that Hollywood has available today is startling…and the preview also reminded me of watching the popular movie “The Wizard of Oz,” filmed in the late 1930’s. The characters of that classic movie are familiar to many of us; and their hopes and dreams are probably familiar to us as well. The scarecrow was certain he would have a better life, “if he only had a brain.” Dorothy apparently agreed with the scarecrow, singing along, “Why, with all the thoughts you’ll be thinkin’, you could be another Lincoln, if you only had a brain.” (that was not in the Lincoln movie, by the way) The Tinman’s life would be just fine, “if he only had a heart.” And the cowardly lion, well, he would be king of the forest “if he only had the nerve.” The lion is quite sure that if he was given some nerve he would be “as brave as a blizzard;” and we all know something about blizzards, don’t we? I can relate to the small group of dreamers on the Yellow Brick Road; in fact, just a week ago I remember having a few wishes of my own: if I only had a big snow blower; if I only had a truck with a plow; if I only had a ticket to some place warm and sunny. The desire to wish for that one powerful, yet elusive thing in our life can be very tempting indeed; the hope that everything will be just right if we only had that next big thing. Continue reading →

“Remove the obstacles that hold you back from Christ”

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Ash Wednesday (2 Cor 5:20-6:13)  2/22/2012

Welcome to the season of Lent. And if your lives are in any way fashioned around the academic calendar of the town school system, welcome back from a long weekend. A long weekend, formerly known as “Winter Recess,” but that was before the events of October came upon us all, in the form of “Storm Alfred.” A time that was unfortunately longer than a long weekend. As I reflected on this coming season of Lent and the Scripture readings that we heard today, I could not get the vivid images of that storm and the many days that followed out of my thoughts. I began to wonder if the Apostle Paul had in some way experienced some similar type of event; an event that required “great endurance, afflictions, hardships, calamities…and sleepless nights.” (2 Cor 6:4) Paul’s life, the life of a first-century apostle in foreign lands, was likely not isolated to one or two of these difficult events, but these challenges were familiar occasions throughout his days. Today, we hear Paul sharing his experiences with the community in Corinth; his highs and his lows, his fears and his hopes, and ultimately, his love for Christ and his confidence that the road of discipleship to Christ will vindicate all the challenges that he has endured. Continue reading →

“The Road to Calvary: Prepare to prepare”

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Lent is just a short week away and we need to get ready. Lent is the season of preparation for the coming of Easter; the coming of the day in which we celebrate our gift of eternal life – the death and resurrection of Christ and our reflection of what it means for us to participate in Christ’s death and resurrection. So you mean that Lent is a time of preparation and I have to prepare to prepare? Exactly. Lent is 40 days (not counting Sundays, at least in most Western Christian traditions) and 40 days is not a lot of time. At least not enough time in our crazy time-constrained culture to begin wondering how we might effectively “reflect” and “open ourselves” to the possibilities of Christ in our lives if we begin our wondering some time after the second Sunday of Lent. So, why not be the first one on the block to have your Lenten practices decided? You can tell your friends that this weekend is to Lent what “Black Friday” is to holiday shopping…and you don’t even have to sleep in a tent in front of Best Buy!

What can you do; what should you do? ANYTHING. Just do anything, preferably something that you have never done before unless “that previous thing” was incredibly helpful to your spiritual life. If you have some time available for vacation and a retreat center is nearby (and nearly everyone has some type of retreat center nearby), go on a Lenten retreat. Read a book, read the Bible, follow the Daily Office using the Episcopal Prayer Book (or go online here if it’s easier). If you are incredibly busy (and who isn’t incredibly busy, unless you have recently retired and you haven’t told anyone yet, so they can’t ask you to do several things in your “free” time), then simply find a few spare moments to pray for those you love, those who love you, and especially for those you don’t love, and pray for the world while you are at it…the world could use a prayer or two. Just do anything throughout the 40 days of Lent, and do it consistently. Lent, after all, is a time for thoughtful and disciplined attention toward God so we are prepared to receive His gift of saving Grace on Easter morning.

As for me, I will be reading Jane Shaw’s new book, A Practical Christianity: Meditations for the Season of Lent. You can purchase the book online at Cokesbury bookstore by following the link here. I have not read the book, but am following Bishop Jeff Lee’s (Episcopal Bishop of Chicago) invitation to read the book throughout the season of Lent. I look forward to walking with you as we travel the road to Calvary to Easter morning. I invite you today to prepare for the season of preparation; to get ready for Lent so that your Lenten journey may be fruitful and you may hear God calling you in the unique manner that God speaks to all His children.

“Yes, you can ‘tebow’ too”

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“Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord and spread the letters before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord.” (2 Kings 19:14-15) King Hezekiah began to reign over the kingdom of Judah at the age of 25; he began his reign around the year 700 BC. Hezekiah is held up as one of the most righteous kings before God, compared in esteem to King David for his accomplishments. The people under the rule of Hezekiah knew both good times and challenging times, even though their king was much beloved and did what was right in the sight of the Lord. (2 Kings 18:3)

Much has been made recently of another young man about the age of 25, Tim Tebow, and the electrifying victories he and his team, the Denver Broncos, have had in the past several weeks. The high point of the media frenzy came with the Broncos overtime victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first week of the NFL playoffs. Tebow has attracted attention for many reasons, but the public display of his Christian faith has probably been at the center of all the attention. Gone are his “black eye paint” biblical passages (against NFL rules), but his one-kneed bow to God has remained a steadfast symbol of his devotion. As the Broncos continued to win, sometimes inexplicably it seemed, the public chatter was that Tim’s “tebowing” gave him a direct line to God. Even Saturday Night Live needed to weigh in with a few jokes…when SNL pokes fun at you, it’s safe to say you have arrived…at least for 15 minutes. With no ill feelings toward Tim Tebow or the rest of his teammates, there is at least a small part of me that was glad that Tom Brady and his team set the record straight when it comes to God: pray to God for a relationship with God and to deepen your spiritual growth and awareness…not to win at life. And this is not to say that Tim Tebow prays to win; it is very likely he prays to talk to God…and so can you.

If the Denver Broncos won the Super Bowl this year, never would the American public be more confused about God and prayer since, well, since ever probably. You can, and should, “tebow” pray every day in order to become closer to the spiritual and mystical realities of the power and love of God. Win, lose or draw in life; you will win every day that you pray.

“Living Lent throughout Christian History – Renaissance & Reformation”

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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 Renaissance and the Reformation era and I hope you will discover new insights that will help you on your Lenten journey.

Living Lent throughout Christian History – Renaissance & Reformation

“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: Humbly walking our Advent journey”

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Daily Office for 12/01/2010:  OT Reading – Isaiah 2:1-11

The beginning of the second chapter of Isaiah, which we hear this morning, is calling out the new world that is to come – a world of love and justice; a world where there is no more war or hatred. Likely, we feel far removed from this world and Isaiah reminds us that we have forsaken the ways of God and are indeed far removed from God’s world of love and justice. With vivid and compelling words, Isaiah describes the current state of affairs and provides us with an important insight toward the accomplishment of living in the peace of God’s presence – humility: “The haughty eyes of people shall be brought low, and the pride of everyone shall be humbled; and the LORD alone will be exulted in that day.” (Isaiah 2:11)

These early days of Advent have been shouting out “humility” from many sources. In addition to hearing the testimony of Isaiah, the reflection from “Watch for the Light” for Nov. 29 was entitled, “In Defense of Humility” by Bernard of Clairvaux. Bernard’s thoughtful essay begins by reflecting on Scripture, “The virtue of humility is always found closely associated with divine grace: ‘for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble’ (James 4:6).” Bernard then continues with a reflection on the humility of Mary upon hearing that she will become the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ. “Mary then replies with humility, that the dwelling of grace may be prepared. How sublime is this humility, which is incapable of yielding to the weight of honors, or of being rendered proud by them! The mother of God is chosen, and she declares herself his handmaid. It is in truth a mark of no ordinary humility that even when so great an honor is given her, she does not forget to be humble. It is no great thing to be humble when in a low condition; but humility in one that is honored is a great and rare virtue.”

As we walk our Advent journey, we can look to Mary as an example of humility before others. Pride separates us from God and from others as we seek to build ourselves up; humility brings us together and builds up that which God seeks for us. As a parishioner recently reminded me after an early Sunday service, one of the most beautiful verses of Scripture is from the Book of Micah: “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8) Walk humbly through this season of Advent and know that God is with you.

“Keep awake with the heart of a child and prepare to hear God’s Word”

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Advent 1A (Matthew 24:36-44)  11/28/2010

“On Christmas Eve, many years ago, I lay quietly in my bed. I did not rustle the sheets. I breathed slowly and silently. I was listening for a sound…”[i] These words are the opening sentences of The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg. The Polar Express is a classic Christmas tale of a young boy’s adventures on a Christmas Eve train ride to the North Pole and his exploration of understanding the spirit and joy of Christmas. This story was a Christmas season favorite when my kids were young and we would read the book several times each year. The book remains one of my favorites: each page is beautifully illustrated, the story is full of adventure and excitement, and the boy’s Christmas present (a bell from one of Santa’s reindeer) stands out as a symbol with great meaning because only those who believe can hear the “sweet sounds” that come from the ringing of the bell. As I think back to reading the story over and over to my children, I do remember that the boy’s parents could not hear the bell and I am reminded of Jesus’ words to his disciples as written in a passage from Matthew’s Gospel account. Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt 18:3-4) Continue reading →

“Not Experts of God, but Children of God”

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Proper 28C (Luke 21:5-19)  11/14/2010

“Jesus said, ‘As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.’ They asked him, ‘Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?’” (Lk 21:6-7) We should not be surprised that Jesus does not provide a direct answer to his followers, but instead describes a list of events that nearly every generation since the 1st century can understand…and all too well identify as their own. Today we live in a world of post 9/11 warnings and updates of terrorist activities throughout the world. These events are not new to world history, but how they manifest themselves today is certainly new to us. There is a feeling of uncertainty that is tangible and as we draw to the end of the year, the days remaining on the calendar are running out. And when time runs out, we come face-to-face with the tough questions. Are we good enough? Have we forgiven enough? Have we loved enough? These are questions that we carry with us each and every day, but as we approach the end of the year the many questions of our lives stand squarely in front of us…and we want to break through the uncertainty that surrounds us. Like Jesus’ disciples, we find ourselves asking, what will be the signs to point us through the time of unknowing. What should we know and what can we do to be prepared. Continue reading →

“Sharing Zacchaeus’ question: who do I want to be?”

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Proper 26C (Luke 19:1-10)  10/31/2010

The cold weather has returned, many houses are surrounded with cobwebs and scary decorations, and the wonderful Pipescreams concert was held this past Friday: all reminders that tonight is Halloween. Preparing for Halloween prompts us to consider the all important question – what costume should I wear; or in other words, what or who should I transform myself in to for one night of fun? Many years ago when my son was in the first grade he had great difficulty in deciding on his costume. Having exhausted all hope that his parents would be of any help to him, he decided to visit our neighbor across the street. Seeking guidance for the perfect costume, he asked our neighbor what his favorite costume was when he was a young boy – Batman was the answer he received. After thinking a bit about that idea, he asked, “well, what other costumes did you wear?” Batman, that was the only answer…when our neighbor was a young boy he was Batman for 5 or 6 years in a row. Unfortunately, his answer did not prove very useful in helping my son determine his final costume choice. Who should I transform myself to become – he was still faced with a big dilemma.

This morning, we hear that Zacchaeus was also faced with a big dilemma in his life. Continue reading →