Preparing for Lent 2

In the last post I asked two questions....

What would cause your soul to sing and stir as we prepare for Lent?

How do you long to connect with God as we prepare for Lent?

I can only be descriptive in my own prayerful thoughts/responses to such questions and don't want to be prescriptive in how you might enter into the forty days of the Lenten season.

Some of the ways I connect with God are walking labyrinths, spending time in prayer, laughing with my family, and reading.  I connect with God in worship, in Bible studies, and in service out in my community.  I try to connect with God in many different ways.  To acknowledge that God is there with every breath I take to support and surround me and cause a holy shift to deepen between us.

What causes my soul to sing is music.  Some may have read my blog posts from Advent on singing our way to the manger.  I want to build on that this Lent with a little different bent.  Each week I will post three reflections on some music that moves me.  It might be a hymn or it could be from a musical.  Rather than sticking to a classical understanding of sacred OR secular, I want to blur the line to ways that God's still singing presence can be found in varied and vast ways. 

I pray this allows you to sense God's blessings and love moving in real ways.  I am looking forward to this series of posts...please feel free to share them with others who may need a reminder of forgiveness, grace, what pain unprocessed can do to our souls, and how when we love another we see the very face of God.

May the coming week's posts be a blessing and more than a trace of God's grace.

Blessings ~~

Preparing for Lent

The word, Lent, is one that can evoke and even provoke strong reactions from all of us.  For some reading this post...I wonder if I lost you with the title of this.  For others...I pray you might be interested in re-capturing and re-framing this word for a new day.  For all...I hope you will give me a chance.

Lent is at the heart a season of renewal.  It is a time to remember and reclaim who and whose we are.  We are more than just a spouse or parent or our job...we are beloved children of God.  We find our deepest sense of self and our soul takes flight in relationship with God.  But most days, while we know that to be true, we may not always live that way.  What if Lent was less about feeling guilty and more about shining a light on new or renewed ways we can lean into and live out this truth?  What if Lent was less a dirge and more of a dance with the divine?  What if Lent was less about going through the motions and more about deepening our connection to God?

That is the promise of these forty days that begin on Valentines Day in a little over a week.  I think that is significant and sacred.  Can Lent this year be grounded and guided in a love that isn't purchased at the Hallmark Store, but is found in the incarnation of Christ?  Love that doesn't only come down at Christmas but stirs in our life every day.  One poet I love described/defined Lent as the time we pull back the heavy drapery that too often covers our souls to the let the light of love shine through us and in us and to us.  Too often the drapery goes by the names such as obligation or guilt or not enough.  But I believe those drapes were made by human hands....not God's.  So, we pull back the words of humans so that God's words can get a word in edgewise and bring us into the light.

As we enter into February...what would cause your soul to sing and stir?
As we enter into February...how do you long to connect with God?

I pray you will let these questions simmer and stir in these days and find more than a trace of God's grace as you ponder.

Blessings ~~

Scripture Imagination take three

After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias.  A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick.  Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples.  Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near.  When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?”  He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.”  One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?” Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all.  Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted.  When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets.  When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.”

Because our Scriptural imagination needs to see the humor in life.

Because our Scriptural imagination can find meaning in laughter and joy.

Because our Scriptural imagination can make meaning even in jokes.

We hear Philip sarcastically say, "Thanks Jesus, I will run down to Walmart and pick up bread for five thousand...can I have your credit card."

We hear Andrew say, "Look...look...here is a lunch...that I totally now realize doesn't really help the situation as much as I thought it would."

We hear the people in the crowd say, "Um...wait...no one told me it was a potluck...was that in the newsletter?"

We hear the people say, "Um...I will take a doggy bag to go because that was the best bread I have ever had."

What other smiles do you see there just waiting in the margins of this story waiting for us to notice.

Because it isn't only about being on the sidelines OR about sacred serendipity...it is also a holy story that causes a smile to cross my face.

I pray brings you more than a trace of God's grace ~~

Friday Prayer

When the week is almost done,
And our souls feel they've been spun,
In a thousand directions we've run,
We long for God's love to make us one.

We enter into this time of prayer
When the good, bad, ugly we share
We want to be wrapped in God's care
Let's us breathe in holy air.

We come with hope
That we can stop walking a tight rope
For God doesn't as us to blindly grope
Rather than we might have strength to cope.

We need a grace more than a trace.
We need a presence to help us brace.
We long for the time and space
That can guide us to see God's face.

So, come, Holy Spirit move in our lives
Come and help us be satisfied.
To know that with you we are enough
And whisper our name with more love.

For our prayers are deep and our hearts are restless
Until in You we can sense there is peace in Your presence.

Calm the storms
Drive doubt away
Be with us God
Not just now...
But every day.

Amen.

Scripture Imagination take 2

After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias.  A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick.  Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near.  When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?”  He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do.  Philip answered him, “Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.”  One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him,  “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?” Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all.  Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted.  When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.”  So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets.  When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.”

It was an audacious ask...Jesus might as well asked me to fly to the moon or walk while chewing gum (because I would totally trip over my own two left feet).  Feed everyone...can you imagine?  Why is it my responsibility?  Why didn't they bring their own food?  I brought something for myself.  Aren't we taught to be self-reliant and self-actualize...or maybe that will come later in the world.  Ask me to help out so many because most times I can barely help myself.  Six months...wouldn't even give me enough more for everyone to get the smallest unsatisfying morsel.  Six months working my fingers to the bones...blood...sweat...tears and not enough.  Not enough.  I think that a lot sometimes.  Not enough when I try to pray.  Not enough when I talk to my family.  Not enough when I try to help my neighbor.  Not enough are two words that rumble around my mind and roam around my heart.  I know not enough...we've met many times before ~ we are on a first name basis.  So why ask?  Why ask me?  Why do I feel like Jesus is still asking me today to watch out for the least, to care for the lonely, to love the unseen and left behind.  Yet...even as that request longs to be expressed in my life...I still have that nagging and annoying feeling of not enough.  So, exasperated and a bit exhausted...thinking I might have even someone off on the sidelines watching my every move...I simply shrugged my shoulders.  And while I was so excited by a boy with a small bagged lunch...what was that meager amount among so many?  What is a few loaves of bread that would barely feed five let alone five thousand!  Ever initially been excited only to have reality burst your bubble?  Sure...I would love a free lunch only to sit through an hour long sales pitch for a time share.  Sure....I would to test drive a car and be pressured into buying it now...because the sale is almost over.  When reality settles hard like the rain on the day we wanted to go out for a picnic.  Because that is what that moment became.   A sudden picnic.  A moment that became more than a trace of God's grace.  Sacred serendipity.  When have those two words paid a visit in your life this last week or last month?  Sacred serendipity.  When have your prayed and craved for those two words to visit but it felt like they were on vacation.  Sacred serendipity...may not always come in the form of a cure or miracle...sometimes its just a little bread when you are hungry and don't know where lunch is coming from.

I pray the sacred serendipitous grace of God leaves more than a trace in your life this week.

Grace and peace ~~

Scriptural Imagination Take One

After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick.  Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near.  When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do.  Philip answered him, “Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.”  One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him,  “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?” Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all.  Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted.  When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.”  So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets.  When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.”

What do you wonder about when you read this passage?  Do you wonder what it was like to to sit by the sea side, waves lapping on the shore with the smell of salt in the air and on you lips?  Do you wonder how five loaves and two fish could ever feed a crowd so large?  Do you wonder about the boy who offered his lunch?  Do you wonder what it was like to taste the bread...was it sweet or savory or ordinary or like the best bread you've ever had?  Did you eat a lot...so your belly burst OR was it like communion where just a little can satisfy you with more than a trace of grace?

What do you wonder about?

Who are you in the passage?  Are you in the crowd...faceless and nameless but there?  Are you one of the disciples a bit confused by Jesus asking you...imagine YOU to help feed everyone?  Do you feel that exasperated and exhausted by such a request?  Are you on the sidelines or front and center?  Are you the boy who is willing to offer his lunch?

Enter the story...and ask why are you that person?

While I want to be the boy...more than likely I would be someone hanging back...waiting and watching to see what happens.  I would be off to the side even if I wanted to be in the middle.   Longing to offer some of my lunch to help the cause, but concerned how others might receive or perceive me.  Because that is what we do so often, especially in a world where current events so divide us.  We stay safe on the sidelines.  We want to help, but the arguments we had over Thanksgiving about something said or tweeted or sharing the opinion we heard in the news and suddenly the air was thick with tension ~ the pumpkin pie was light/air in comparison.  There on the side, scanning and surveying the scene unfolding.  Watching the disciples look frustrated....perhaps a look they had wore at other times.  Watching the people in the crowd restless, confused about what would happen.  I saw how that crowd had followed Jesus.  How the story of Passover, the narrative of Moses freeing the people from Egyptian's boot on their neck.  Now, Egypt was going by the name Rome, but the feeling of the boot was all the same.  The people knew God had fed their ancestors with manna in the wilderness.  The people had sat with family every Passover asking, debating, and discussing the question, "What makes this night different?"  And what do we need liberation from this year?  And yes, there is always some powerful person wanting to control and confiscate our authority.  And yes, there is always some person at work or in our family or neighborhood...BUT what do I need to be liberated from in my own life.  Not only in the world I live in but in the world that lives in me.  Now, suddenly, what that bread and fish tasted like was not just about food, it was about tasting grace that could set us free.  That what it tasted like to me when the feast finally made a stop in front of me.  I tasted God's presence.  I saw a loaf of bread that kept the same size.  I saw person after person take, eat, and see that God is good all the time.  And all the time God is good.  You can read the story above from John or from me.  I pray both together would remind us that God feeds us in ways we cannot always comprehend cognitively, but nevertheless satisfies us with a presence and a peace.

But I wonder...who are you in the crowd?

Grace and peace everyone ~~

Prayer

God whose presence spirals around us...whose fingerprints are on the DNA within us.
God whose grace guides us with meaning....whose infinite love helps us find our way when we are lost.
Meet us where we are as we enter this second month of 2018.

For some the pattern of Ground Hogs Day, Valentine's Day, and President's Day will find a new holy code.
For others this pattern is weak and worn out and weary.
For some this pattern is a blur.
For some this pattern is a bore.
For some this pattern is a blessing while it causes others to sing the blues.

Help us see in the patterns a new meaning for such a time as this.
Help our lives leap and land into new ruts of holy faithfulness.

Guide us this weekend with a song and a story and a sacredness we need...and that patterns our life with You.

In the name of the One whose life is a pattern, code, and holy rut of our lives, Jesus the Christ.

Amen.