The Mainline Minister

So, how's your Lent progressing?  Are you still following your disciplines?  Still praying?  Still feeling its just started?  Longing for it to end? Lots of questions!  Do any of them really matter? What we should be focusing on is our spiritual health, not spiritual metrics.  I honestly doubt God has a ledger with milestones to measure our progress, that Jesus hoped we'd focus on the seven habits of a religious person, or that the Spirit is nudging us to stay in our lane.  Lent is bigger than this, deeper and more meaningful. Now is the time to consider the state of our prayer life, our disciplines of caring, how we communicate with the Lord.  To do this, frankly, we're going to need more time than we have left.  So, should we give up?  Not on your life. Do what you can, then do a bit more.  After all, there's always the season of Eastertide to keep on with our disciplines.

This coming Sunday's Gospel lesson comes from John.  He often places events in the life and ministry of Jesus differently than the Synoptic authors - Mark, Matthew, Luke.  This week is a fine example.  While the Synoptic Gospels place Jesus rant in the Temple during his final days, John has it early in his ministry.  They also speak of the Chief priests and scribes.  John writes of 'the Jews.' Uh huh.  Bit of a broadbrush there, no?  I can try to explain this away with a recourse to polemical strategies and tensions in the world of Judaism in the first and second century.  But that doesn't do away with the problem John has with Jews. Nobody in the early first millennium knew what anti-Semitism was but Jew hatred existed nonetheless and we see it in our own holy texts.  Should we expurgate them?  I don't think so.   We see the dangers today of editing history to address modern sensitivities.  We should instead educate, counter, and know what was go

Every year I write a message apologizing for the late hour at which this reflection is being written and bemoaning how the day has gotten away from me.  Then I muse on how Lent is not as long as we think it is and we'd best make the most of the time we have.  Well, guess what.  Today's the day.  It's run away from me.  I've actually gotten a lot done, so I can't feel too bad.  But I do regret the feeling that my Lenten discipline can become an afterthought.  Fortunately, the important thing is that I have stopped to think about Lent and all it means. If you have yet to do so today, do yourself a favor.  Take a few minutes.  Pray and reflect. Don't let the day run away from you.

As a minister, snow on a Sunday morning is the last thing I need.  Fewer people in church, difficult driving for those who do come, walks to be shoveled.  Why now? Why not yesterday? I know the the weather is what it is, that God isn't moving this cloud here, that storm there.  But surely, there is a lesson to be learned here.  About patience, perseverance, obstacles to overcome, and -- you know what? I don't want to learn any lessons.  I just want to appreciate the beauty of the weather, the power of nature, the moment that is now.  Darn it.  A lesson anyway.  Somewhere, somehow, you'll receive a gift, a blessing today.  It may be big. It may be small.  It may be obvious, it may be hidden.  Whatever shape or form it takes, express our gratitude to God, something we do not do often enough.  Lent is a good time to think about that, and to remedy our failure to be thankful.

Confession time: I've never really gotten the idea of fasting.  I know why we do it and what it's supposed to facilitate.  But the truth is, I get hungry.  And instead of setting aside my appetites and wants in favor of prayer and God, I focus on them even more.  So, why bother?  Why bother with abstinence?  This year, I find myself missing my coffee something fierce.  It's not working for me.  Ah, for me.  But it's not about me is it?  Or at least it should not be about me.  It really is about God.  Who, we Christians confess, came to us to be with us, live with us, die for us.  Talk about giving up something. It doesn't make my forfeiture of coffee or a meal seem all that onerous.  I'll keep abstaining from coffee, I may even try fasting.  I won't like it.  But if I do it enough, I may break through my reservations and find myself closer to God.

Last Sunday, we read of Jesus' 40 day retreat into the desert, during which we he prayed and prepared for his ministry.  It was lonely and, we may surmise, neither comfortable nor totally safe (there were wild animals and Satan for company).  Still, Jesus stayed. Where do you like to go on retreat? Where do you like to pray?  What kind of distractions or temptations do you have to fend off?  And, why do you like going to this place?  What about it makes you feel able to engage in the work of spiritual renewal? Questions to ponder now as we are still at the beginning of our Lenten journey.

Do you ever pray with psalms?  If you come to our church on Sunday, you do.  Our call to worship is taken from the psalter, usually the reading for the day.  But when else?  The psalms are a rich and powerful collection of prayers, praises, laments, celebrations, theology and more.  In many ways, they cover the whole breadth of the human experience.  I would encourage you to draw on this treasure of the Bible to enrich your prayer life.  Try committing yourself to reading a psalm each day.  As did generations before ours, you'll be surprised and inspired by what you find.

Here in New Hampshire the forecast for today is for temperatures in the sixties.  Spring has sprung.  Alas, not so fast: tomorrow the mercury will be back in the thirties.  So, what to make of this weather anomaly.  The first is to recall the tired old adage, "It's New England, if you don't like the weather, wait a minute and it will change."  The second is to stumble into a fruitless debate about climate change.  It's here, the science is settled, discussion over.  Third is to reflect on anticipation and the Kingdom of God.  We long for a world that is healed, where all walk with God, where righteousness abounds.  But that's not our world.  Ours is fallen.  But we can get a glimpse of this Kingdom world when we see people helping one another, loving God, doing something for the church and the community.  These grace-filled moments are more common than we let on and we should look for them to see what God's future will be like. If you

Tuesday doesn't have any real significance on the calendar.  Sunday is the day we worship, Monday is when Federal holidays fall, Friday's can be the start of a long weekend, Saturday's a day off.  Wednesday is hump day and Tuesday is, well, Tuesday.  Sure, have church council meetings on the third Tuesday of the month and my trash and recycling are collected every other Tuesday.  But, by and large, Tuesday is a non-event. And that's not bad. Days when nothing supposedly happens are days when we can regroup, think, plan, rest, get ready for what comes next. Tuesdays are a gift. Reflect on the wonder of this most unremarkable of days during this Lent and give thanks for God for all that you may do on this Tuesday in Lent.  Thanks be to God!

I'm old enough to remember when we marked the birthdays of Lincoln and Washington individually.  But then the Federal government announced President's Day, which would honor all of the holders of that office.  I have no evidence, but I suspect budgets drove this decision, enabling two holidays to be wrapped into one.  But the upshot of this is that we wound up honoring some decidedly unworthy men.  Andrew Johnson?  Really? But the day is what it is, a reminder that while we don't always get what we want, we should make the best and most of what we have.  A good lesson for President's Day, a good lesson for Lent.  May we learn how to actually do this during this season of repentance and reflection

It's the First Sunday in Lent.  So what?  What does this mean?  What should we do?  Who cares?  These may seem like flip questions, but they're not. They ask us to look at this season with fresh eyes, to try to approach these days and weeks with a sense of possibility and appreciation of the profound.  Take some time this day, and each day in Lent, to think about why you need to repent, then do it, then try to make amends.  Sounds easy?  Then you're not really trying.  Sounds too tough?  Not when we know that God is waiting for us. It's the First Sunday in Lent.  Be excited. Be faithful. Be grateful.

This is the first Saturday of Lent.  There are no special liturgies for the day, no prayers or services.  But it is a holy day nonetheless.  Crafted by God, each minute is sacred, each is blessed.  How will you used this gift?  Lent is a great time to reflect on and repent for the way we have squandered the precious time we have been given.  Try to do something with your day which would please God -- or at least make your mother proud.

I've been at a loss for words since this week's shooting in Parkland, Florida.  Yet again, someone with easy access to a gun murdered people, this time 17 students and teachers.  Yet again, there are demands from some to 'do something' and from others a call for 'thoughts and prayers' that spur a response of anger and incredulity.  I'm sympathetic to the call to take action.  I thought something would be done after Sandy Hook and that was back in 2012.  But I don't criticize the call to reflect and pray.  What I do think is lacking is any follow-on action.  This Sunday, we'll read of Jesus heading into the wilderness where he will pray, be tempted, and make ready to embark on his ministry.  The Hebrew word for repent has "to turn" as its root. We take action when we repent.  Prayer without follow through is not enough.  So let us think, pray, and resolve to act in all areas of our life.

Ash Wednesday is now behind us.  Lent stretches before us.  Now what?  We've imposed our ashes, done all sorts of "Ash Wednesday" things.  Can't we just skip to Easter? No.  Lent is like any journey.  We can focus on getting to our destination and, most likely, become impatient and dissatisfied. Or we can focus on making the most of our trip.  Look around, take in the sight, be prepared to see or experience something new.  The journey can be rewarding in itself. I urge you to live into Lent.  Make the most of the moment.  You'll be surprised at what God has in store for you.

Today we begin our journey to Easter.  In many ways, that day seems far, far off.  There seems to be so much time for us to repent, to reflect, to change our ways, to grow closer to God, to let Jesus into our lives, to be moved by the Holy Spirit.  Except there isn't.  Before we know it, these forty days (exclusive of Sundays), will be past, the Feast of the Resurrection will be upon us, and, if we're not thoughtful, faithful, and prepared, we won't be ready.  Take a few moments today to adopt a discipline, perhaps a time of intentional prayer - it need not be long - and resolve to do this thing (or not do it as the case may be) each day of the season. You'll be glad you did.