easter sunday

i try to be as true to my word as God is to his. our word to you wasn't a careless yes canceled by an indifferent no. how could it be? when silas and timothy and i proclaimed the son of God among you, did you pick up on any yes-and-no, on-again, off-again waffling? wasn't it a clean, strong yes? 


whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Jesus. in him, this is what we preach and pray, the great Amen, God's Yes and our Yes together, gloriously evident.


~ 2 corinthians 1.19-20, the message


Jesus is the ultimate Yes.
Amen. (which means "Yes")

holy saturday

then he was told, "go, stand on the mountain at attention before God.  God will pass by."
   
a hurricane wind ripped through the mountains and shattered the rocks before God, but God wasn't to be found in the wind; after the wind an earthquake, but God wasn't in the earthquake; and after the earthquake fire, but God wasn't in the fire; and after the fire a gentle and quiet whisper.


when elijah heard the quiet voice, he muffled his face with his great cloak, went to the mouth of the cave, and stood there. a quiet voice asked, "so elijah, now tell me, what are you doing here?"


~ 1 kings 15.11-13, the message

today i wait
because yesterday was a day of death
death of dreams
death of beliefs
the death of hope

today i wait
for God to "pass by"
though it won't be in a hurricane
and it won't be in the wind
and it won't be in an earthquake
and it won't be in the fire
for God comes in a whisper

today i wait.

good friday

at noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock.  then at three o’clock Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means “my God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”


~ mark 15.33-34, new living translation 




if only good friday only came but once in a lifetime.  but for too many in this world, good friday is a daily existence.


the lonely
the hurting
the scared
the enslaved
the tortured
the hungry
the neglected
the forgotten


let us remember this day that good friday is not just a means to easter sunday.  good friday is a holy-day in and of itself.  

it is a day when God, through Jesus, felt the awful pangs of a tortured death.  it is a day when God, through Jesus, took on all of our pain - the loneliness, the hurt, the fear, the hunger, the cuts and bruises on our bodies and our souls.  it is a day that reminds us that we are not alone in our suffering, and that God knows how it feels.  

thank God for good friday.

maundy thursday

be merciful to me, o God, for man would swallow me up;
         fighting all day he oppresses me.
my enemies would hound me all day,
         for there are many who fight against me, o Most High.
        
whenever i am afraid,
         i will trust in You.
in God (i will praise his word),
         in God i have put my trust;
         i will not fear.
         what can flesh do to me?
        
all day they twist my words;
         all their thoughts are against me for evil.
they gather together,
         they hide, they mark my steps,
         when they lie in wait for my life.
shall they escape by iniquity?
         in anger cast down the peoples, o God!


You number my wanderings;
         put my tears into Your bottle;
         are they not in Your book?
when I cry out to You,
         Then my enemies will turn back;
         This I know, because God is for me.
in God (i will praise his word),
         in the Lord (i will praise his word),
in God i have put my trust;
         i will not be afraid.
         what can man do to me?


~ psalm 56.1-11, new king james version


what beautiful imagery..  "You number my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle"

holy wednesday

"jesus wept."
~ john 11.35, NIV

smallest verse in the bible.  biggest statement.

holy tuesday

"this is what the Lord says:
'those who survive the coming destruction
      will find blessings even in the barren land,
      for i will give rest to the people of israel.'

long ago the Lord said to israel:
'i have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love.
      with unfailing love i have drawn you to myself.
      i will rebuild you."

~ jeremiah 31.2-4, new living translation


have you ever been through something horrific?  maybe a flood or tornado or hurricane.  or maybe massive lay-offs or the devastating division between the people of an organization.

you saw it coming.  you felt the winds pick up and the sky turn green, but you stuck it out.  you stayed.  and you survived.

there's something about having lost everything you thought was true that makes life more real.  it shows us just how fragile our lives truly are.  but even in the nothingness that remains after such devastation....even in that barren land, God is there.  and God will rebuild you.

i have to believe that God will rebuild this place.  even in the rubble that continues to settle, even in the blank stares and low morale, even in everything that is wrong right now that God is here and that God will rebuild.

holy monday

"praise the Lord!
         praise the Lord from the heavens;
         praise him in the heights!
praise him, all his angels;
         praise him, all his hosts!
praise him, sun and moon;
         praise him, all you stars of light!
praise him, you heavens of heavens,
         and you waters above the heavens!"

~ psalm 148.1-4, new king james version

i thank you God

for the birds chirping outside my window (even if it wakes me from sleep)

for the smell of freshly mown grass (even if it excites my allergies)

for the beautiful blooming white tree next to my house (even if it smells horribly)

for the insects that sing me to sleep each night (even if it creeps me out)

for the sweet breeze flowing through the air (even if it warns of windy storms),

because the chirping, the aroma, the blooming, the singing, and the breeze...

this is creation praising You, our Creator. 

palm sunday

"Jesus was matter-of-fact: "embrace this God-life. really embrace it, and nothing will be too much for you. this mountain, for instance: just say, 'go jump in the lake'—no shuffling or shilly-shallying—and it's as good as done. that's why i urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you'll get God's everything. and when you assume the posture of prayer, remember that it's not all asking. if you have anything against someone, forgive—only then will your heavenly Father be inclined to also wipe your slate clean of sins."


~ mark 11.22-25, the message


saving God, give me courage to be wholly attentive
give me wisdom to know You when i see You
give me passion to love and worship You with abandon.

creating God, let me embrace this God-life
even the mundane moments can become extraordinary
when seen through Your eyes

merciful God, teach me how to love like You love
teach me how to forgive like you forgive
break my heart for what breaks Yours

almighty God,
who rode into Jerusalem today
with palms waving
and people worshiping
let me get lost in praising You
let me get lost in You

day forty

"generous in love—God, give grace! huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record.
   scrub away my guilt,
      soak out my sins in your laundry.
   i know how bad i've been;
      my sins are staring me down."


you're the One i've violated, and you've seen
      it all, seen the full extent of my evil.
   you have all the facts before you;
      whatever you decide about me is fair.
   i've been out of step with you for a long time,
      in the wrong since before i was born.
   what you're after is truth from the inside out.
      enter me, then; conceive a new, true life. "


"going through the motions doesn't please you,
      a flawless performance is nothing to you.
   i learned God-worship
      when my pride was shattered.
   heart-shattered lives ready for love
      don't for a moment escape God's notice."


~ psalm 51.1-6 & 16-17, the message


merciful God,
     i confess that i have not loved you with my whole heart.
we have failed to be an obedient church.
i have not done your will,
     i have broken your law
     i have rebelled against your love
     i have not loved my neighbors
     and i have not heard the cry of the needy.
forgive me, i pray.
free me for joyful obedience,
through Jesus Christ my Lord,
     amen.

this is the prayer that united methodists pray as part of our holy communion ritual.  i love this prayer.  although the prayer is written for a congregation and uses "we" instead of "i", as i sit in the pew and pray the words i always change it to the personal, individual tense.

because i fail daily.
heck, i fail hourly.
i fail all the time.

when was the last time (before this lenten study) that i stayed faithful to a spiritual practice?  when was the last time i served others that had nothing to do with my job?  when was the last time i went to a local church, other than the village church here on campus?  it's been at least a year. (unless you count going to church with my parents when i was in ohio.  then it's been since christmas.)

because the local church has failed me.

there, i said it.  the church has failed me.  i have always been a strong believer in the united methodist church and all it stands for.  i have accepted its faults, just as i accept the sometimes annoying little habits of some of my dearest friends, because when you love someone or something you choose to take the good with the bad.  these faults though...they've really taken a toll on me.

like the lack of hospitality.  we wonder sometimes in the umc why our young people are running away by the hundreds.  it's because we just don't care enough.  in general, churches do such a great job with programming for children and youth.  sometimes they even do a great job with parent groups and middle-aged and senior adult ministries.  but what about the young professionals?  the people who aren't popping out babies yet.  the ones who need the family of the church the most.

how was it so incredibly easy for me to walk away from the local church 2 years ago?  because they didn't truly care about me in the first place.  or at least that is how it felt (and continues to feel).  i know for a fact that the greater umc absolutely cares for its young adult constituency, but they continue to struggle with how to put hands and feet to that sense of care.  the church recognizes that it will die soon if it doesn't do a better job of caring for this generation of people they have ignored for so long, and they desperately want to fix the issue not because they selfishly don't want to die but because it breaks their hearts to know that these people are hungry for a fellowship of believers who go about the work of Christ in true and honest ways but simply haven't found it yet. 

so what do we do?  develop singles groups which die out in two-year's time because everyone ends up dating each other and breaking up?  create modern worship experiences that are visually and audibly appealing but require minimal participation and no intellectual or spiritual stimulation?  design new churches specifically for young adults that provide no longevity or intergenerational connectedness for its members?

what do we do?

i think we start with the prayer above and ask for the Maker of our hearts to break them open to notice the people in our pews, that God might use us to reach out to them in honest and pure ways that they might become an absolute part of our faith family.

day thirty-nine

"and solemnly lifting up His eyes on His disciples, He said: blessed (happy--with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, apart from your outward condition--and to be envied) are you poor and lowly and afflicted (destitute of wealth, influence, position, and honor), for the kingdom of God is yours!

blessed are you who hunger and seek with eager desire now, for you shall be filled and completely satisfied! blessed are you who weep and sob now, for you shall laugh!

blessed are you when people despise (hate) you, and when they exclude and excommunicate you [as disreputable] and revile and denounce you and defame and cast out and spurn your name as evil (wicked) on account of the Son of Man.

rejoice and be glad at such a time and exult and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is rich and great and strong and intense and abundant in heaven; for even so their forefathers treated the prophets.

but woe to (alas for) you who are rich (abounding in material resources), for you already are receiving your consolation (the solace and sense of strengthening and cheer that come from prosperity) and have taken and enjoyed your comfort in full [having nothing left to be awarded you].

woe to (alas for) you who are full now (completely filled, luxuriously gorged and satiated), for you shall hunger and suffer want! Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep and wail!

woe to you when everyone speaks fairly and handsomely of you and praises you, for even so their forefathers did to the false prophets."

~ luke 6.20-26, amplified bible


what do people say about you?  what do you think about yourself?  are they the same?

more importantly, what would God say about you?

"woe to you when everyone speaks fairly and handsomely of you..." but blessed are you who wait patiently to receive your rewards from the Maker when you finally meet face to face.