Lenten Meditations 2018

Lenten Meditations 2018

Table of Contents

Rector’s Introduction

February 11 February 12 February 13 February 14 (Ash Wednesday) February 15 February 16 February 17 February 18 (First Sunday of Lent) February 19 February 20 February 21 February 22 February 23 February 24 February 25 (Second Sunday of Lent) February 26 February 27 February 28 March 1 March 2 March 3 March 4 (Third Sunday of Lent) March 5 March 6

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 22 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32

March 7 March 8 March 9 March 10 March 11 (Fourth Sunday of Lent) March 12 March 13 March 14 March 15 March 16 March 17 March 18 (Fifth Sunday of Lent) March 19 March 20 March 21 March 22 March 23 March 24 March 25 (Palm Sunday) March 26 (Holy Week Monday) March 27 (Holy Week Tuesday) March 28 (Holy Week Wednesday) March 29 (Maundy Thursday) March 30 (Good Friday) March 31 (Holy Saturday)

33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57

This Lent and Easter Seasons we have been asked by our Presiding Bishop, Michael Curry, for each Episcopalian and Episcopal church to read through the books of Luke and Acts during these seasons.

This year’s Saint Michael Lenten Booklet will use the Luke verses that correspond to the Good Book Club series. You can find more information about the Good Book Club at www.goodbookclub.org.

St Luke in the Lindisfarne Gospels Eadfrith Anglo-Saxon – Scotland – 7C or 8C The third evangelist, St. Luke, is shown accompanied by his traditional symbol, a calf or young ox.

We are entering a sacred season. Lent is a season that invites us to consider our walk with Christ, to consider the ways in which we follow and act in the world. This is a special time for us as individuals, and this is an especially important time for us as members of this Saint Michael and All Angels faith community.

As you know, our Saint Michael family is looking toward an exciting future, one in which our growth and impact will expand. Jesus’s life and ministry set an example of living for each of us. But Jesus’s death and resurrection call us into the transformative life of the Spirit. In other words, we have been given a spirit of life, anointed by God to share life and hope with every person in our lives.

One of the recurring questions in the Gospels is: Who is my neighbor? Over and over again, Jesus reminds us that every person, regardless of how they look or act, or what they believe, is our neighbor. No one is excluded from God’s invitation to amazing grace, and we are the ones anointed to invite them in.

This year, as you consider your personal walk with Christ, I also invite you to consider how your personal faith is transformed in this Saint Michael community. And also, how, through that transformation, we can make a fresh, renewing, and inspiring impact on our world. May God bless us in this season, and may God prepare us all for the ministry we will do together!

Blessings,

Christopher D. Girata Rector

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February 11

Eric Liles Luke 1:1-56

Let me begin by saying I am incredibly excited about our Lenten devotional and engagement with The Good Book Club. If every Episcopal Church and every Episcopalian reads through Luke and Acts these next few months, watch out world!

I hope and pray that this devotional, lovingly prepared by the members, clergy, and staff of Saint Michael adds to your understanding of Luke and aids in your growing ever closer to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

It is no secret, but Luke is my favorite. I love the name, the structure, the two-fold story (Gospel and Acts), and the author’s intentional focus on women, on the poor, and those “outside” of the religious structure. When I read the Bible, God seems to have preferential treatment for the outcast, the lost, the second-born, etc. This gives me great hope because most of us are part of these categories.

And even if we are not, we should still find great comfort that the promise and responsibility of the Gospel doesn’t fall only upon a chosen few.

This first chapter of Luke is so full of wonder, of grace, of hope. Mary said yes! The Holy Spirit is alive and active. Angels are appearing to people and announcing good news all over the place!

The encounter of Mary and Elizabeth offers for us today a dual icon of God’s greatness and of God’s goodness. These two marginalized, pregnant women – one poor, young and unwed, the other past childrearing years, thought to be barren, meet in a place where both are surprised by joy at what God is doing in their own bodies and in the world.

It is not usually difficult for you and me to remember God’s greatness. We look to the stars on a clear night and ponder the vastness of the universe. We take a walk through the woods or on the beach and sense the wonder of creation. We witness the birth of a child and our hearts leap for joy in gratitude for the miracle of human life. These experiences remind us of the greatness of God. It is not, however, always easy to remember the goodness of God. In the busyness of life, or in the midst of the deep sadness in the face of tragedy, it is especially difficult to remember God’s goodness. It is God’s goodness that Mary recalls to us in her song, the Magnificat.

Mary reminds us that God keeps God’s promises. It is through these promises of God and their fulfillment that we have come to know God to be faithful, just, and loving. While God’s greatness inspires in us a sense of awe and wonder, God’s goodness reminds us that we are loved, that in the face of human suffering and grief, God is always present, always holding us, always inviting us to deeper and closer relationship.

Mary travels to Elizabeth to share in the good news they have both received. This day, may all of us be so bold as to share the good news that we have received with all whom we encounter!

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February 12

Anne Schmidt Luke 1:57-80

The story of Zechariah is so relatable. Zechariah is finally getting his opportunity to serve as a priest in the temple. He’s probably nervous and wants to make sure he’s doing everything right. I can imagine him obsessing over some detail when all of a sudden an angel shows up and gives him the incredible news. He’s going to father a son with his wife Elizabeth though they are well past the age for childbearing. Wait, what? I can completely understand his doubt and questions. The angel admonishes Zechariah for his disbelief and Zechariah is struck mute.

Scripture doesn’t tell us any more about Zechariah until his son, John the Baptist, is born. My guess is that he had a lot to think about during his 9+ months of speechlessness. He also had time to listen and contemplate. I imagine him quietly watching Elizabeth through her pregnancy and beginning to absorb the news the angel brought. God has answered his prayers; he will not only have a son but a son who will “turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.” He can perhaps get a glimpse of his place in the long story of salvation. How would our own faith grow if we took more time to listen and contemplate?

“His name is John,” he writes on the tablet and immediately his voice is restored. He immediately bursts into joyous song that echoes what Isaiah had proclaimed in his own time. That God is breaking into the world in a new way and John’s ministry would be to clear the pathway. He has good news and he can’t wait to tell everyone.

The people of the hill country can tell that something special is happening because Zechariah is so fired up. You can practically hear them buzzing about this news. It was obvious to them that God was working through this family and they wonder what John will become.

Do we proclaim our faith in a way that inspires and compels others? What would happen if we did?

“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.” Isaiah 35: 5-6

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February 13

Anna Paccone Luke 2:1-21

As I read & re-read the passages in Luke’s 2nd chapter I realized that this is a passage I can retell without even thinking. How many of us when we read these first 21 verses telling of the travel from Galilee to Bethlehem, Jesus birth, and the Angel’s announcement to the shepherds barely skim the words because we know what they say?

I set out to REALLY read these verses and in doing so was reminded that Jesus, Son of God, Savior of us all, is a human infant. He is helpless and must be cared for just like any other newborn. This passage has taken on new importance to me precisely because there can be no denying that He is, in fact, human while at the same time He is God. As a mother and knowing how things turn out, in the end, I gravitated to verse 19: “But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.”

During this season we are invited to observe a Holy Lent “by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word” (BCP, p. 265).

This is a time when we can re-read and “ponder” those passages in the Gospel that we know so well that we barely read the words.

This is a time to be open to listening for God in our life.

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February 14

Rich Towers

Ash Wednesday

Luke 2:22-52

“Child, why have you treated us like this?

Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.”

This passage about an episode from Jesus’ boyhood is remarkable in two ways. First, it is the only passage in the Gospels about Jesus’ boyhood. While we have birth stories in St. Matthew and St. Luke, the four Gospels are chiefly concerned with Jesus’ ministry once he became an adult. But here, we get a glimpse of Jesus as a pre-teen.

Second, the arrangement of this pericope is startling. In the span of a few verses, Jesus has gone from a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes to a teenager who has the ability to worry his parents nearly to death. The reader does not get to linger very long in Bethlehem or at Jesus’ presentation forty days after his birth. So why might St. Luke include this episode in his gospel?

This short vignette of Jesus’ return to the temple in Jerusalem sticks out from the rest of the story.

After an extended birth narrative - actually in Luke, we have two birth narratives, the story of Jesus and of his cousin John the Baptizer- the story jumps to Jesus’ adulthood and his baptism by John in the Jordan. But wedged in between is a very authentic interaction between a boy and his parents.

How many of us have done something that we thought was fine only to realize later that it was not acceptable to our parents? I recall how peculiar it was to see my parents upset at something I believed was of little consequence. In my lack of apprehension of the seriousness of the situation, I watched and wondered, “Whoa, where is all this energy coming from?!” Then I foolishly said something that only made them angrier.

It seems that Jesus may have misjudged the situation on that trip to Jerusalem with his parents. When his vexed parents retrace their steps and finally find him dawdling in the temple he innocently makes things worse by saying, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” Jesus essentially told his parents, “Relax, it’s all good.”

I speculate that Jesus got the first century equivalent of a grounding. I imagine the long walk back to Nazareth was filled with lectures from his parents about how he needed to let someone know where he was going to be at all times!

Curiously, this interaction with Jesus may have served as an epiphany for Mary and Joseph. Even though twelve years earlier they lived through his auspicious birth, complete with angels and Magi, had pondered all the reinforcement from Cousin Elizabeth, Simeon the Priest, and Anna the Prophetess that God was in Jesus in a unique way, to see him dispelling wisdom at age twelve must have put a piece of the puzzle into place. Jesus was going to be a teacher, a prophet, the Savior. But before that mission ensued in earnest, he had to grow up, just like you and me. And grew up he did, for Luke wrote, “And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.”

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February 15

Elizabeth Lang Luke 3:1-20

My husband Zechariah and I knew before our child was born that this son was destined to be an extraordinary person. He would be a prophet and go before the Lord to prepare His ways. We knew that he was part of God’s magnificent plan for salvation. Of course, we brought him up to know and to internalize Torah and the Prophets and to worship only the God of Israel. I felt privileged to be the mother of such an agent of deliverance. Now when people report on his preaching in the wilderness, I tell them how proud I am of my young man. Of course, some individuals tell me that my son John should get a real job; he is really strange. He dresses oddly and preaches not only to respectable people but also to tax collectors and soldiers who are part of our oppression. They say he does not mince words calling our people “a brood of vipers” and warning that they must live up to their heritage. People are offended by such talk. I reply that my son is part of a long tradition of prophets who spoke the truth and called God’s holy people to repentance. I am honored to be the mother of such a son.

This is what I don’t tell them. I am terrified. It is one thing to verbally assault unpopular tax collectors.

It is quite another to speak out against powerful people. John is blunt in his condemnation of Herod and his deplorable family. John proclaims the coming of the Messiah, and we all know the political ramifications of that message. The Romans and their collaborators will crush those who follow a messiah. They will not tolerate a messiah who challenges their ways. I long to bring my son home, but I cannot. Although he is in danger, it is his vocation to name and condemn abuses of power and to announce an incredible hope. It is his mission to prepare the way for the Messiah. There are times when I wish that I had not been chosen to teach him God’s way. Nevertheless, I revere and abide by God’s will.

God of justice and mercy, raise up people among us who call us to pursue truth, righteousness, and peace.

Give us the courage and faith to seek justice and to show compassion so that people may know and follow Your ways. Amen

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February 16

Shelly Vescovo Luke 3:21-38

Are you a chip off the old block?

Think of your parents, grandparents, teachers, and mentors. From whom did you acquire those character traits that are your best qualities? From whom did you acquire those values which make you the best you can be in any number of circumstances? From whom did you learn the power of faith that carries you through both the darkest and the brightest times?

As we begin Lent, it is a good experience to remember these people and give thanks for the strength of their influence on our lives.

There have been many for me, but the one that stands out the most is my grandmother. Her positive affirmation of life with all its complexities, her dedication to helping those less fortunate, her love of the earth both in its barrenness and in its splendor, her love of reading and learning, her fortitude and embrace of life; all this I learned from her.

But beyond these blessed people, who and what had had the strongest influence on our formation?

In Luke, after Jesus had been baptized, he prayed. And as he prayed, he had a profound experience – a physical experience – of God’s spirit filling him and affirming that Jesus is God’s beloved son and that God is pleased with who Jesus is, how he lived, why he lived.

This physical and spiritual experience affirmed that Jesus – to be very colloquial about it – was a chip off the old block. Jesus personifies what God is like – and to know Jesus is to know the God who is with us and for us or will be shown throughout Luke’s gospel. Jesus comes from a long line of people – beginning with Adam, son of God – created by God to be in and for God’s creation.

Jesus is God’s beloved son. But it does not stop there. It continues through the ages as we are baptized, as was Jesus, affirming that our hope is to live as God’s children: in our worship together, in resisting evil and believing in God’s forgiveness, in proclaiming by word and example the good news, in serving Christ in all persons – loving our neighbor as ourself, in striving for justice, peace, and respecting the dignity of each person (BCP p 293-4).

In her book, The Dream of God, Verna Dozier says, “The important thing about Jesus’ baptism is that by it his mission is set. He is to show the world what it means to live in the kingdom of his father, to live out God’s dream.”

Jesus did this. The challenge is for us to do the same. To, by example, show what it looks like to be a chip off the old block – to be a child of God.

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February 17 A discussion between two parents, a teen, and a tween.

J: Ok. Before you share your thoughts on the reading, you need to know a little background. This 40 days in the wilderness takes place right after John the Baptist has baptized Jesus and announced him as the Messiah. The clouds parted and the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus. Also, Jesus is alone. He probably needed some time to think after such an important event. For this story to be included in the Bible, he had to have told his disciplines about his experiences once it was over and he returned to them.

W: That’s ridiculous. No one could go without food for 40 days.

J: In the Bible, “40” is really just a kind of code for “a very long time.” No one had daily calendars or reminder apps. They also shared stories by word of mouth, so consistency could be challenging.

E: So, what part of the story captured your thoughts the most?

CG: Every day, especially when we need something, there are always temptations. It sounds easy to avoid them, but you have to be careful. Giving in to one thing can lead you to give in to more things, and then you are really making bad choices.

E: What about the temptation of power? What if you could really help people by doing something that God does not want you to do? Does the end justify the means?

W: I don’t really think about wrong or right as much as I think about “who am I going to disappoint?”

Jesus is going to disappoint God, or the people. He can’t win.

J: True. The people are expecting a magnificent, powerful king – one in the image the devil offers, and in prophecy. Could it be that the “win” requires looking long-term rather than short-term? There are hints in this story about Easter – Jesus does not take the easy path, but why is Easter such a joyous celebration?

CG: Because Jesus rose from the dead.

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The Gorman Family - John, Elizabeth, Will, and Catie Grace Luke 4:1-13

E: Do you think it would be hard to turn down the chance to be a big hero, to have “glory and all this authority,” to have immediate gratification, to be a celebrity, to avoid death, and get it all the easy way, instead of following God’s plan which involves patience and sometimes suffering?

CG: Yes. W: (shrug) J: Maybe the “devil” is really just the temptation to use power and influence for the glory of self – an inner voice. We still see it today, especially with social media.

W: I don’t know. I don’t even HAVE social media.

E: There are not many stories where Jesus talks about himself. Why would he talk about a personal struggle? He typically uses parables.

CG: Jesus is the model. If he did not give in, then we are not supposed to either.

W: Your life isn’t harder or worse because you struggle. Everyone does. I don’t see why it has to be that way. Maybe you are not alone even if it feels like you are.

E: Lent is an opportunity to remember that we do not struggle alone, and to set aside time for selfexamination. In this story, Jesus shares how he navigated temptation, illustrating for us that even he has struggled with this.

W: All right. Good talk. Are we done now?

J: Thanks, kids. We love you.

E: Don’t be tempted to forget to brush your teeth before you get in bed and start reading.

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February 18

Mary Lessmann

First Sunday of Lent

Luke 4:14-44

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

-Luke 4:18-19 My very first seminary class was Introduction to Theology. The class was taught by Professor Theo Walker. Prof. Walker is not very tall, maybe 5’6”; he has sculptured facial features and he wears dreadlocks that come down to his knees. As my first professor in my first class in seminary, he made quite the impression. Prof. Walker made us memorize Luke 4:18-19, the core of our passage for today.

He had us memorize it because he believed it to be Jesus’ mission statement. We recited it together each class session, and he asked us to write it out for every exam he gave us. He wanted us to know that any interpretation we might be so bold as to put forth must be filtered through this passage.

This is a powerful passage that speaks to who Jesus is and how God is working through him. The Holy Spirit’s fingerprints are all over this story. We are told that Jesus “filled with the power of the Spirit” has come to Galilee and has been teaching in the synagogues. He comes to his hometown, Nazareth, and, in normal Sabbath-day worship, is asked to read the scripture and give a sermon. From Isaiah, he reads, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me…’ When he has rolled up the scroll and sat down to offer his reflection, he says, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Jesus does everything but grab us by our collars and pull us in eyeball to eyeball and say, “The Holy Spirit has come mightily into your presence.”

As Christians, we are to walk through our days proclaiming the Spirit’s presence in our lives – sometimes in words, sometimes in deeds, always in love. God gives us his Spirit, the very Spirit that filled Jesus, and he tells us, “Nothing can stand in the way of my power.” We are called to grab onto God’s coattails and let him lead us, through the power of the Spirit, into his great adventure.

Jesus declared to those in his presence that the Isaiah text he read is no longer merely a text of hope; rather, in the power of the Spirit, it has now been fulfilled. We, too, stand in our time and are told, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Will we allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit, to cooperate with God’s power to do the work he calls us to do in the world and on behalf of his kingdom? Come, Holy Spirit, come mightily into our presence and make us a people eager for this great adventure.

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February 19

Jack Rubarth Luke 5:1-16

Today’s Gospel readings are stories that occurred two thousand years ago, yet they remain as relevant as ever. We may not relate to being a fisherman by trade or have a full appreciation of the totally debilitating effects of an incurable disease like leprosy, but we all face challenges and dark days of despair. What then are we to do when God calls upon us to act? What is our response?

Simon had been working hard all night and had little to show for his efforts. Jesus walks by, steps into the boat and asks to be taken out into the lake. Jesus then speaks to the crowd gathered by the shore. We are not told what Simon is thinking or what his reaction is, so we can only imagine. Finally, Jesus, a carpenter, tells Simon, who has been a fisherman his whole life, to lower his nets into the water. Simon tells Jesus that they have been trying all night and caught nothing, but he is willing to try again. Simon’s faith is rewarded immediately by a catch so large that it strains the nets to the point of breaking and he is forced to call upon his partners to help haul in the catch. Simon is awestruck by what he has witnessed and immediately acknowledges Jesus’ miraculous powers. James and John, sons of Zebedee, have a similar reaction. Jesus tells them that they are to leave everything behind, their livelihood, their friends and families. Simon, James and John upend their lives the moment their feet touch the shore and become followers of Jesus as a result of this very public miracle. Not all of us are compelled to completely drop everything that we are doing and follow Jesus, but every day we are asked to respond to Jesus’ call to help others.

The second part of this Gospel passage is the story of the leper who makes an extraordinary leap of faith and asks Jesus to heal him. In the story of the calling of the Disciples, Jesus demonstrates his power and makes believers out of Simon, James and John, who respond with incredibly strong faith.

The leper, on the other hand, is the one who takes as an article of faith that Jesus can heal him of his incapacitating disease. Jesus responds with compassion and cures him. Jesus then admonishes the leper to tell no one, but rather to go to the rabbi who can declare the leper free from his disease. The unnamed leper, now healed, must ponder, in solitude, the wonder of the curative miracle that has set him free from this painful ailment.

What do we have to rejoice about in the midst of the seemingly endless streams of grim headlines?

Where do we turn when faced with such trials? Do we exhibit the same level of faith even when God is not physically among us? The answer is a resounding Yes! We are filled with hope, whether it be in very visible and open ways or secreted away in the inner folds of our soul. That is our faith response.

The restorative powers of Jesus Christ will meet us where we are.

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February 20

Arnold Spencer Luke 5:17-39

Luke’s account of Jesus healing the palsied man after he is lowered through the ceiling is a wonderful St. Michael’s reflection for me. The man experiences a fabulous moment - he meets Jesus and he is healed of this crippling, degenerative disease. Jesus changes his life forever. But unlike many of the other accounts of Jesus’s healing, this man did not receive a miracle because of his faith, not because of his convictions, not even because of his determination to be in the right place to meet Jesus. A close reading of the passage confirms that the palsied man did not even ask Jesus for help or recognize him as the Savior.

Instead, in this unique miracle, Jesus healed this man because his friends have faith. His friends had the strength of convictions. His friends had enough determination to carry him to the site. And when they were turned away at the door, they climbed the walls, tore a hole in the roof, and lowered their crippled friend into the holy presence. These friends never doubted that Jesus could help this member of their group; they just had to find a way to get their friend in front of Jesus.

My best moments at Saint Michael over the years have been similar. Many people have put me in front of Jesus. Looking back on my time growing up at the Church, I now understand that my parents, Saint Michael’s School teachers, Men and Boys Choir leaders and members, Leon and Willie, volunteers who chaperoned EYC trips, all put me in front of Jesus. More recently, I’ve been lowered through metaphorical roofs by our Rector, members of our clergy and Vestry, people who lead Mission and Outreach efforts and bible studies. And most recently by a newcomer who was attending his first service at Saint Michael and All Angels, who helped me remember how special it is to be a part of our beautiful Church.

Shifting perspectives, I can identify moments when I had opportunities to place others in front of Christ. The results have varied, but my role as I understand it is to simply have faith and open the hole in the roof. How Christ responds, and how the person lowered through the hole responds, is not tied to my relationship with God. A final point of reflection, it was a group of friends, not a single person acting alone, that made this miracle possible. Indeed, a single person could not have carried the palsied man to the roof and lowered him. We have great challenges ahead of us at Saint Michael to recreate this moment. We will need communal and individual faith. But we know the play.

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February 21

Karen Wiley Luke 6:1-26 “Gotcha or Catch for Release?”

Jesus has been baptized by John the Baptizer and then tempted for forty days in the wilderness.

Returning to the synagogue in Nazareth where he had been brought up Jesus begins his ministry by reading a passage which would have been familiar to all present. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has appointed me to preach good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives, the recovering of sight to the blind, and to set at liberty to those who are oppressed.” (Isaiah 61: 1,2) His sermon that followed was, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” In other words, the Kingdom of God promised for so long is breaking in here and now. The reaction? “Is this not Joseph’s son?” No respect and after Jesus stirred them up some more they wanted to throw him off the nearest cliff. The question of Jesus’ authority and their game of “gotcha” had begun.

Today’s reading from Luke 6 continues the controversy. Jesus’ hungry disciples “do work” on the Sabbath by plucking grain. In a synagogue, on another Sabbath, Jesus heals a man with a withered hand. In his commentary On Earth as It is in Heaven, priest and poet The Rev. John Shea describes the scene. “Authorities always have questions about authority, especially on their own turf. The scribes and the Pharisees are more concerned about the source of Jesus’ authority than they are about the things he is doing. Witnessing the healing they ask, ‘Who gave you the right to do this on the Sabbath?’ They could have said, ‘nice hand.’ But they never really saw the hand. They only saw what they were conditioned to see. If all you have is a hammer, everything is a nail.” Gotcha!

Tiring of their game Jesus goes out to pray, always a signal in Luke’s gospel to pay close attention to what follows. Jesus calls twelve apostles (literally “one who is sent”) from among his disciples. Mark’s gospel tells us they will be “fishers of men” but this is “catch for release” as they and we are freed to spread the Good News of the Kingdom.

The reading closes with the Lukan version of the Beatitudes, much more hard-nosed than those in Matthew. The blessing here is for those who are poor, hungry, weeping and reviled now with woes to we who are full bellied, laughing and well regarded. Yikes! Jesus turns the world’s values topsyturvy with words of blessing for those in adversity and a caution for us when life’s comforts block our vision of what God would have us do.

“O gracious and loving God, may we come to your promises as those who have been freed by trust to trust, freed by love to love, freed by hope to hope, freed by giving to give, and freed by life to live. Amen.

-The Reverend Nick White 17

February 22

Stewart Thomas Luke 6:27-49 Love in God’s Economy

“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. . . . Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.

Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

Luke 6: 27 - 36 Wait, what? Give to everyone who asks you? Lend to your enemy without expecting anything in return? If anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back? Really? Seriously?

Is this even possible, or is Jesus just a bit out of touch? Can we really engage in this sort of radical charity? Can we really be expected to risk everything by being so generous, loving, and charitable?

Beautiful words, great idea in theory. Nice to think about -- quaint, really.

But lets’ be honest – this cannot work in this wold – not in the competitive world of 2018. Not in this economy. Too dangerous, too impractical!

I want to live this way, I really do - but I am afraid. What if I give it all away and am left with nothing?

Don’t I need to fight for what is mine and protect it at all costs?

It seems that, with these words, Jesus is introducing an utterly different economy than that of our secular world -- taking our materialistic economy and turning it upside down.

Jesus is proposing a wholly different way of life– God’s economy – where love and charity and selfish sacrifice for others is exalted. Where it’s not about how much you get, but how much you give. Where we are rewarded for being gentle and kind, honored for our charity, exalted for being irresponsibly generous.

This passage vividly illustrates just how radical God’s grace really is. In God’s economy, the key is to serve others, to give, to pour out one’s life, putting ourselves last, not first.

I know this – I want to live in God’s economy. But this is really hard to do in the business world I live in. Perhaps this is our greatest challenge: to live in God’s economy, to slowly and simply begin changing the world one selfless act at a time. Maybe God’s economy is the only place we can really put our trust.

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February 23

Richard Kilgore Luke 7:1-35

“And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”

- Luke 7: 23 Our reading today is full of dramatic acts and looming questions about who, after all, is this man Jesus. The centurion’s slave is restored to health. The widow’s dead son is raised. Many are cured of diseases, plagues and evil spirits, and sight is given to the blind.

And in the midst of the drama and mystery, almost lost on us are Jesus’ words, “and blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”

This beatitude may also speak to us here early in the 21st century. In what ways are we offended by Jesus and his teachings and expectations? What are our expectations of Jesus and upon what are they based? Are we disappointed when our bodies and lives suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune? Are we disappointed that God did not manage to arrange an A on our calculus test? Are we disappointed that despite our daily prayers our business is not doing as well as we would like?

Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz, My friends all have Porsches, I must make amends.

Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz.

- Janice Joplin Where do our expectations and disappointments come from? A lingering childhood Sunday school vision of God and Jesus? A limited understanding of the historical and biblical Jesus? A vocal segment of the wider Christian culture that preaches a “prosperity gospel”?

The 7th chapter of Luke is rich in meaning: stories of faith and the power of Jesus’ word. The writer makes clear that Jesus has compassion for the ill, the disabled, the poor…the most vulnerable of society. Of first century society and still of 21st century American, Texas, and Dallas society. Simple faith and compassion may actually play a stronger role in our reading than the miraculous healings.

And Jesus makes clear that he is open to those who simply are not offended by him. Simply are not offended by him. In the first century that would include the Gentile centurion. Who would that include today in our world?

Father, we come to you in prayer. Help us to contemplate our faith and our expectations of trust in Jesus. May we search our hearts for our own sense of offense. And may we be sensitive to the most vulnerable and – like the centurion - to the ethnic and religious tensions in our community. Help us to continue to examine the nooks and crannies of our beliefs in order to develop a rich, sustaining adult faith. Amen.

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February 24 The Sinner’s Gift I saw him before today And that time, he did not dismiss me Or exude disgust Or pull back from me at all.

So when I heard he was at that Pharisee’s house, I went, despite the fear of it.

And I took my jar … perfume bought with dirty riches To present … a gratitude offering.

For I cherish real things … and his acceptance was that.

Tho I am the soulsick one, the desperate one, the one whose stain is beyond reckoning.

Yet he did not pull back from me, And I do cherish real things.

Discernment …. That costly gift … is with me.

The affliction of not being able NOT to see,

With nothing to shut out the real.

Yet he saw me …. I know that he did.

Now I see him today at the table with dirty feet.

Surrounded by those who are not so afflicted Who seem to never have made mistakes.

Who fawn and listen with false ears And will not see the results of his goodness: Of love which abandoned conditions and made rules as salve to pride.

I don’t want to be the truth-teller here.

Yet I cannot help myself.

I don’t want to be the scapegoat, Bearer of their protestations and the trumped up charges that will surely come.

Don’t want to be the bearer of eyes that must see, eyes which cannot crawl into the cushion of politeness, a heart which cannot bear the veneer of denials.

My voyage has been through dark waters of consequence.

I know the terror of the crashing waves.

I know real safety when I see it For I have longed for the coastline from afar.

So I love the real, the true.

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Cynthia Sample Luke 7:36-50 And He is True Harbor And he can see the real in the dark ‌ like me.

They are all around him But they do not know or hear or see True Harbor that He is ‌ that narrow channel to freedom.

I pour my perfume on him Wash his dusty feet, calloused from the path.

With tears, am present with the pain that is certain.

When evil chooses to grasp order, its idol, instead of love that embraces those like me, and laughs its horrible laugh.

The two powers in eternal conflict that can only end

in Someone Dying.

Evil does not know its inevitable demise, does not know that True Harbor lies beyond the rocks, beyond the terror of the waves and the power of the real as he made it.

He places His hand on my head and hope is given.

He sees beyond my seeing; He knows his deepest power, the stilling of the waters.

The true.

The real beyond real.

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February 25 Second Sunday of Lent Investing in God I am always surprised at how few business folk recognize the line. I guess when people read the bible they have been conditioned to read it as holy and set apart or maybe they are busy looking for deep moral and spiritual realities and lessons in the text. We train our brains to look for certain things instead of allowing the words to teach us. The technical term for this is eisegetical reading- the process of reading a lesson INTO the Bible instead of letting the Spirit teach us what is going on in God’s economy and kingdom.

The idea is pretty straightforward across multiple disciplines. Psychologists have been running experiments about it for years. If I tell you that there is a glass bridge in downtown Dallas, then some folks will go hunt for it, some folks will declare they know exactly which bridge I am talking about it and name it, and a very small group will ask, uncertainly, “Are you sure there is a glass bridge?”

We seek with a category or an idea in mind and want to affirm what we believe or think to be true.

When most people read the bible, they approach it in a similar way. The book is about God so it must hold deep and eternal lessons around every turn. We are taught that the bible has a great deal to say about our lives so we relentlessly pursue connections that may not be possible. Therefore, we end up looking for meaning in portions of the book that we would consider comedy in any other context.

This idea occurs constantly in every priest’s ministry. The best example is the old story of the priest giving a children’s sermon. She asks the kids an opening question, “What is brown and lives in trees and you often see them in your yard?” He gets total silence. So, she asks again, “What is brown, lives in trees, has a big bushy tail, and you see them in your yard?” Again, she asks a third time, getting desperate, “What is brown, lives in trees, has a big bushy tail, and likes nuts?” Finally, I little boy responds, “I know the answer is supposed to be Jesus, but it sure sounds like a squirrel!”

The opening verses of chapter 8 of Luke are just the same. The meaning is clear as clear can be but almost no one notices it. Jesus and the twelve go from town to town and share the good news of the kingdom of God. Then a group of women go with them and they are listed carefully, “Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others.” We have a group of women included with the twelve so they are obviously important. Then comes the line that no one seems to hear clearly, “who provided for them out of their resources.” (Luke 8:3) It is one of the clearest and important lines in scripture but folks are so busy on all that happens before and after they miss it. Jesus is an itinerant preacher and teacher. His disciples are doing the same. Who pays for all that stuff like food, clothing, souvenirs, and places to stay? Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Susanna!

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Bill Murray Luke 8:1-25

I will be overly blunt and casual to make it clear: Jesus had some sugar mamas to cover his ministry.

Yes. The message Jesus has is one that changes the way we view the world but Jesus is incarnate and human and needs the same way we all do. Jesus lives in the human economy and needs help to navigate it. So, he finds and nurtures relationships with folks who have money to help. One of the most interesting is Herod, the man who will later show up in the trial of Jesus and reject him, whose father killed John the Baptist, has someone from his household helping to cover Jesus’ costs in Joanna. Even more amazingly, you never ever hear this very practical reality that Jesus lived into read or preached on during stewardship. The lines are quick and clear and we skate over them to get to the next story.

I believe we are meant to linger over them. Luke makes it clear that the only way Jesus’ message reached the world was because folks believed in him enough to do two things: 1) follow him and teach and 2) give of their resources. They are not presented as one is greater and one is lesser. On the contrary, the two walk hand in hand through the hills of Galilee without a trace of worry. Lent is meant to be a season where we think again about how we order our lives. We can lapse into focusing on how much more we need to pray, how much more we to read the Bible, how much we might need to take care of our body, or how much more we need to connect with God. We should worry about all of those things, but we miss something that was and still is foundational to the ministry of Christhow much can you give of your resources to ensure that God’s message reaches the world? Or for you business folk I started with at the beginning, how will you seek to invest in the kingdom of God? I can guarantee a return on investment that is eternal.

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February 26

Celise Stephenson Luke 8:26-56

I was swimming naked among the tombs Sleeping between cold faith and desperation Drowning in demons.

The black lake pulled me close and away and close again Until its finger touched the point of grace And washed me ashore.

Some are afraid of high tide, To be split down the middle, To be named and awake on sacred ground.

I walk among the living now Proclaiming what Mercy had to do with me.

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February 27

Warren Houser Luke 9:1-27

In today’s reading, Jesus tells his disciples “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.” This is not talking about physically dying a martyr for Christ. It is about making a commitment to follow Him daily, staying on the path He calls us to walk, and about putting Him first in our lives. I was listening to Bob Johnston preach a 3-part sermon series on fear in January (available online). In one of the sermons, he spoke about how many Christians want to hold on to their independence and be casual Christians because of a fear of commitment. However, one of the keys to going deeper with our faith is through the commitment to follow Christ. He read a passage from C.S. Lewis talking about how there can be no middle ground, where Lewis said “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.” Christ is either everything or He is nothing. The passage from Luke suggests I need to focus on “Thy will” not “my will” be done. I can accomplish this if I turn my will over to Him, and focus on asking Jesus for grace and guidance to show me what He wants me to do, and ask for the strength and courage to carry it out. Denying my self-will and seeking to follow Christ’s will is so important. When I seek to do my will, I am disappointed when things don’t go my way. When I seek to do Christ’s will I can be in a place of acceptance of my daily circumstances as they unfold, knowing He has a better plan than mine.

If fear of commitment is holding us back, then we need to figure out how to take the next step. I think Lent is a great time to look inside and try to figure out what this passage is calling us to do. This past year the vestry at St. Michael came up with three imperatives calling us to action - “Feed the Spirit, Find your +1, and Build the Future.” The imperative “Find your +1” is designed to encourage each of us to find at least one more thing we can do at Saint Michael that will nurture our relationship with Christ and strengthen our commitment to follow Him. It could be volunteering for any of the many opportunities we have available at church and through mission and outreach, joining a Bible study, joining choir, or coming to Sunday School in addition to worship service on a regular basis. Doing any of these things will help solidify our commitment to Christ. As we move through Lent, let us take up our cross, ask Christ to come into our hearts and minds and ask Him to lead us with His grace and direction to do His will.

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February 28

Jolie Derr Luke 9:28-62

“No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” It has been 2 weeks now. Are you still with us? Are you focused? How’s the discipline been going? Are you fit?

I think that the church calendar gives us this time, each and every year, forty days dedicated to taking a pause, to taking an accounting of ourselves, to really looking at where we are, because staying on The Path isn’t easy. It’s not for the faint of heart, or the easily distracted or those who are on autopilot or who pride themselves on multitasking. I can’t imagine a time when there was more demand on us for our attention and focus than there is for those of us walking the road today.

But, it seems it was always a difficult proposition. Jesus took Peter, John, and James up onto a mountain to pray. He took them away. He removed them from the world, up to where it was quiet and still. Jesus, who had so little time here and who knew that, also knew that in order to see clearly beyond this world, that actually leaving the world behind is required, at least periodically. It was during prayer and solitude, I imagine during meditation while removed from the world, that He was literally transfigured. And, sitting with Jesus in that place, in the presence of God, His dear friends witnessed this. They were enveloped in a cloud and they were shown the Truth, even if they weren’t able to completely understand it at the time.

And then, together they left the mountain and went back to the world. Here in the reading, I’m reminded that then as now, we human beings are subject to “demons”, to vanity, to the ever-present seductions and distractions of this world. Even when we believe we are on the way to serve God, we often miss the very opportunities He is giving us to serve Him! Even though God is right there with us, we often miss the very point. Here in the world, we often can’t see the forest for the trees.

Jesus reminds His friends and others who give lip service to wanting to follow Him, that the path is not easy. It requires discipline; it requires relentless focus; we must look at what is in front of us and not look back; it takes EVERYTHING. Yet, even these lucky few who were in the physical presence of Jesus don’t seem up to the task. They aren’t “fit” to do it properly. This information actually really helps me. Thank you, Luke, for telling me that even Jesus’ disciples were plagued by the struggles, fears, distractions and self-absorption that plague me. It gives me hope. They were human; I am human.

My mother was a therapist. She told me once that she knew that God gives lots of Grace. She KNEW this, she told me, because if even SHE could understand how and why people did what they did, then surely God who knows and understands EVERYTHING about what each of us is facing could do it so much better than she could. I’m counting on that: lots of Grace.

But that doesn’t let me off the hook. So, I go to the mountain. I have a daily meditation practice. I schedule it on my calendar: sit in the presence of the Holy Spirit. I read scripture. I sit in silence for 10-15 minutes, eyes closed and mind focused on my breath and on my heart. This is my mountain, my refuge from the demands of the world. Like Jesus and His friends, I can’t stay there all the time, but sitting there each day does help me to return to the presence of God and to practice, practice, practice putting my hands on the plow, and for at least a very few minutes every day, I look to Him, and I practice not looking back.

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March 1

Gary Lawrence Luke 10:1-20

In the decaying southern city where I grew up, I often encountered street preachers at the bus stop near my home. They paced self-assuredly under a blazing summer sun, fraying King James Bibles in hand, warning non-believers of the eternal hellfire and damnation that awaited them all. These were Christian evangelists pursuing what the 19th-century missionary Hudson Taylor called “The Great Commission—Harvesting Souls for Christ.”

Today’s reading, sometimes cited as support for this kind of “conversion evangelism,” conjured these old memories from the attic of my mind, taking me back in time and space, and reminding me how uncomfortable I have always been with this approach to the Christian faith. I hope you will not think less of me for it, but while I believe God is revealed most clearly to us through Jesus Christ (“the visible image of the invisible God”), I see many paths, many traditions, all capable of leading one to God. The notion that we must “sell” Christianity to others, convincing them by force of will, power of argument, or the fear of perpetual suffering to abandon the faith of their fathers and assume a new identity—our identity—has always seemed judgmental, prideful, wrong.

By my lights, Christian evangelism is not even something we must do. Rather, I believe it is something we must be. In living our faith, we become the light in a world of darkness. The world sees the light and is drawn, not forced, to it. Thus, I do not read today’s Gospel as a call to “harvest them in.” I read it as a call to be Christians, not just in the way we worship and the things we believe, but in all the dimensions of our lives—in our homes, workplaces, and communities; in the shelters and food banks; beside the hospital bed; with a neighbor who is alone.

Surely, this is what St. Paul meant when he wrote 2 Corinthians 3:3 “You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts.” Seen through this lens, today’s Scripture is not about a “conversion evangelism” that calls us to impose our beliefs and traditions on others, but a “living evangelism” that frees us from the burden of judgment and the sin of pride.

In C.S. Lewis’ final Chronicle of Narnia, four children meet Aslan, the symbol of Christ, in the form of a lamb. One asks, “Is this the way to God’s land?” The lamb answers, “Not for you. For you, the door into Aslan’s country is from your own world.” The child objects; convinced that only Narnia holds the path to God. The lamb replies, “There is a way into my country from all the worlds.”

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March 2

Terry Demler Luke 10:21-42

Today’s reading in Luke has a lawyer asking Jesus what he must do to have eternal life. Jesus asks him what is written in the law and he responds with love your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. Love our neighbor as ourselves. Sounds easy enough right?

As we began the Project Moses ministry here at Saint Michael to focus on the crime of human trafficking I came face to face with evil and cruelty that I had never imagined. Children, women, and men who had survived a nightmare that I find hard to describe. These are my neighbors who have been mentally and sexually abused, beaten, locked up, sold, rented by the hour, not paid for their work, documents taken from them. My neighbors who have been demeaned and treated as though they are less than human. They have been left on the side of the road.

But working with other organizations and with our own initiatives, the Project Moses ministry will focus on our neighbors who have been trafficked. By helping to educate those who might not be aware of how widespread human trafficking is in Dallas we can help others to recognize the signs, ask the right questions and become more alert to what is happening in their surroundings. We can advocate for better laws to support law enforcement and help the survivors. We can create a safe place for our neighbor to turn to when they are trying to escape. And, we can love these neighbors with all our heart and help them heal.

But, there is another side to this – the trafficker. This person is our neighbor too. But how can that be? They must be pure evil. I don’t even want to look at them. But I do wonder, how broken are they? What evil has been done to them to turn them into this person who is so cruel to others? Will love heal them? Surely their heart is stone. Through Project Moses, we can help to educate young people, not only about this issue of human trafficking but about our love of Christ and the love he has for them. Helping others see they are worthy of love and respect from their neighbors will plant the seed so that they will look at others as their neighbor and not as a commodity.

Jesus said, “who was a neighbor to the man that fell into the hands of the robbers”? “The one who showed him mercy”. Jesus said, “go and do likewise”.

Be someone’s neighbor – go and do likewise.

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March 3

Jim Paccone Luke 11:1-13

“Lord; teach us how to pray.”

I’m glad I’m not the only one who could use a little help.

Prayer is hard. It needs to be intentional and deliberate and I unfortunately often find myself praying by rote. I read or say the prayers but am not really connected to the words and ideas. Prayer is work. I have to be present, honest, and engaged. I have to still my mind and focus. I have to be in the moment. It is not just about me talking. I have to be quiet. I have to listen for a response. And unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) I have never heard the voice of God speak directly to me. So discerning a response then requires more quiet, more contemplation, and more prayer; a vicious cycle or maybe the whole point of the exercise?

Michael Marsh, an Episcopal priest from west Texas who publishes a website called Interrupting the Silence, wrote a wonderful sermon about prayer. In it, he suggests that we tend to view prayer like a coke machine. “So we offer the coins of our wants and needs, our beliefs, and our good behavior. We tell God what we want and expect to get what we asked for.” But I have asked and sometimes pleaded and even begged and I have not gotten what I have asked for. Does this mean that my prayers have gone unanswered? I don’t know. It certainly feels like it and the simple explanations - that it is all a part of God’s plan, that I wasn’t asking for the right thing, that it only seems like they have not been answered – don’t help.

So I have come to realize is that prayer is not a transaction. When Jesus says, “ask and it will be given you” he is not promising to make my wishes come true. What he says at the end of today’s reading is, “…how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.” What we are to ask for, what we are to search for, is not the answer to a prayer but the one to whom we pray.

“Ask and the Holy Spirit will be given you.”

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March 4

Greg Pickens

Third Sunday of Lent

Luke 11:14-54

This is a long reading and it can be confusing as to what point Jesus is driving toward. It is not explicitly stated but there is a thread that jumps out somewhere in the middle that takes the whole of the reading and creates a lesson for all believers. Within each of the eight vignettes found in this half chapter, Jesus is working toward correcting the outlook of the people. In each incident, there is an element of the spiritual life that is being quenched, held back, or simply not being addressed and it is the same element through each of them.

It is a truth of the spiritual life that when we are defensive or when we are trying to protect our position, this is the time to be especially careful. The woman who called out to Jesus in verse 27 maybe has the easiest interaction with Jesus. She is simply on the hook for listening to Jesus and putting his encouragement into action. Jesus wishes her to be a light in her community and so tells her, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” Will she take the Lord’s correction? We do not hear the end of her story, like so many of the people in scripture who have an interaction with Jesus, they move on with their lives and we do not know if they have taken his words into their heart.

In the other vignettes, the interaction is much more abrupt and challenging. In each of these stories, it seems as if the interlocutor has reached a spiritual dead end and it requires Jesus to speak directly so as to shock them back to reality. We see this in verse 29 as Jesus tells those gathered that they are an evil generation because they look for a sign of God’s presence and yet they miss the Son of Man standing right before them!

These verses show Jesus as a great teacher – using a varied approach depending upon who is gathered around him. Jesus is leading people to a truth that is very simple but sometimes so hard to accept; he wants them to understand it is they, themselves, who can experience the One True God and spread the Kingdom. Isn’t this the way of all humans? We simply cannot believe we can have access to the Divine just by asking, by praying, by repenting, by inviting, by believing. We want to make it so much harder than it is to be a disciple. The Lord invites us to hear his words and put them to work in our lives – this is the path of righteousness and the way for us to bring the light of Christ to others.

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March 5

Lowell Duncan Luke 12:1-21

Today’s reading from Luke seems like it comes as a warning straight from Facebook, emails, or WikiLeaks. “Nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed from the housetops.”(Luke 12:2-3) We have a tendency to read the Bible as a good story from long ago, but with not much relevance in our complicated, fast-paced, digital world. Wrong! In this reading from Luke, we find our society is not much different than theirs. We struggle with hypocrisy, deceit, vicious gossip, phoniness, and greed just as they did. Our description of a blowhard: “All hat no cattle,” in their day was probably something like “Big staff, no sheep.”

Reading the scriptures we find there is a lot of wisdom and advice that is as applicable today as it was then. In today’s reading, Jesus tells the story of the greedy farmer who built bigger and bigger barns to store his crops (wealth) so that he would be “set for life.” But, he died the next night. Jesus’ retort was, “And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?”

The lesson, in my opinion, is not to be unconcerned about our success, but rather what we do with the success we have. We all know successful, wealthy people. The ones we remember and respect are those who used their success – their wealth – for others, to make our communities better places to live. Those who have built libraries, endowed hospitals, tutored a child learning to read, mentored a youth struggling with addiction, visited the lonely in the assisted living center, delivered meals to the homebound elderly.

By any measure, those of us living in America, in Dallas, worshiping at Saint Michael and All Angels are successful and wealthy. How are we using our success and wealth?

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March 6

Sally Schupp Luke 12:22-59

We are halfway through our 40-day Lenten Journey and halfway through Luke. How are you feeling at the midpoint of your trek? Are you well provisioned? How is your stamina, and your focus? What have you learned so far and are you enjoying the view? If I’m hiking, halfway is usually a good point.

If I feel as though I’ve missed something (elusive wildlife or a favorite flower) there is still time to be more observant. There is still time to talk to a fellow traveler, or if I’m lagging behind, still time to pick up the pace. If the path is especially difficult…. I’m comforted that I have made it this far, I can press on, or at least keep putting one foot in front of the other when the terrain gets steep or rocky.

There is a LOT to digest in today’s reading, including some beautiful imagery, some truly comforting words, and some keynote New Testament admonitions. Jesus gives us quite a “Do’s and Don’ts” list for how we should live. We find a bounty of great ideas, not only for our Lenten Journey but for our Life’s Journey.

• Don’t spend all of your energy and focus providing for yourself.

• Don’t be a worrier.

• Don’t be afraid.

• Strive for God’s kingdom.

• Trust in God’s providence and abundance.

• Share what you have.

• Prepare yourself.

• Be faithful and discerning.

• Settle your differences and do the right thing.

• The only real treasure is found in God’s kingdom.

Jesus points the way for each of us to truly experience God’s abundant generosity, and how we might dwell in His gracious, steadfast, and loving care. Jesus asks us to be generous with EVERYTHING we have been given. He asks us to TRUST God, and not let fear or worry get in the way. He asks us to focus on God’s kingdom, God’s values and to act justly. We still have half of Lent in front of us.

Considering this text, what do you need for the 2nd half of this adventure? What would help you the most? Do you need a sacred sherpa, some spiritual hiking sticks, or Holy refreshment? Where might you find those things? If something is holding you back on this journey, consider getting rid of it! There are just a few more weeks until we arrive at THE Christian mountaintop experience, the Resurrection. Take a moment; visualize it for yourself, and visualize it for our parish. What do we most need to do to be ready?

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March 7

Doug Travis Luke 13:1-21

If God loves us, he’ll make life fair, right? Wrong. Jesus is at pains to dispossess us of this notion. If life were always fair, we’d be able to strike a bargain with God and trust that everything will be fine, that if we just do things the way God wants us to, then God will guarantee that things will go the way we want them to. There are two problems with this. First, we don’t really want to do things the way God wants us to, at least not all the time. Try, just for one day, really living the beatitudes! (Matthew 5:1-12). I bet you can’t. I can’t either.

The second problem with trying to strike a bargain with God is that that’s just not how God works!

It’s not that God’s unfair. It’s that God’s got the much, much bigger picture and . . . everything we already have is gift, pure gift. Perceiving this reality, especially at difficult moments in our lives, can be very difficult, and yet it’s also the path to having our eyes and hearts open to perceive God’s Presence in everything.

In our passage from Luke today Jesus demonstrates this reality beautifully. He references two events that beautifully demonstrate that things are not always fair – several of his fellow Galileans were unjustly executed by Pilate and 18 people were killed when the tower of Siloam collapsed. Jesus’ point is simply that none of these people did anything to earn their deaths, and yet they died.

Then, four verses later, Jesus heals a woman “with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years.” A bunch of folks die through no fault of their own, and then Jesus turns around and grants a woman’s heart’s desire without her even asking! Where’s the justice in that?

Jesus is simply teaching us that bad things happen to good people as well as bad people. But so do good things. As he puts it in Matthew, “[God] makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:45) In other words, God loves us all and treats us all pretty much the same. The difference between the righteous and the unrighteous is that the righteous manage to enter into the Kingdom (which is offered to us all), and so see that everything that is, is gift – pure gift. The greatest believers – the greatest trusters – are those who learn to see the gift in everything, and so let their hearts be filled with the gratitude that is the natural effect of living in the Kingdom of God. Gratitude is the non-negotiable foundation of any true and life-giving faith. As Brother David Stendl-Rast puts it, “Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy – because we will always want to have something else or something more.”

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March 8

Peggy Carr Luke 13:22-35

The Wall Street Journal comes every morning in a plastic bag that says, “Read ambitiously.” This quote has made me think about reading the Bible, attending church services, volunteering in one (or many) of the opportunities that Saint Michael offers to each of us.

• What if we went to O.M. Roberts to ambitiously tutor a child to read? Statistics say that 75% of the people in prison wouldn’t be there if he/she could read. What if you had sat through 12 years of classes, never being able to read?

• What if we ambitiously came to church once a week and made a commitment to come to one additional event each week? We could read the ArchAngel and the Sunday News and attend something new for us. We could meet many new people and how would God touch us?

• What if we ambitiously worked in the Book Shop in the midst of the peaceful, serene setting with all those beautiful items? Worked at the Exchange and saw how we raise the money that lets the Women of the Church give so much back to the community? Made cookies that enable us to have lovely receptions after funerals? Knitted a prayer shawl that would go to someone in need? How would we be touched?

• What if we served at Austin Street Shelter and did it ambitiously? Joined the new Project Moses to help human trafficking? Traveled to one of our missions to work, teach? Would we see God’s face in the people we met?

• What if we ambitiously helped with new members, directing them to exciting possibilities at our parish church? Became an acolyte, joined the Altar Guild, took a Bible class, signed up for the Prayer Ministry? How would God touch them AND us?

In Luke 13:24 Jesus said, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.” It’s not easy, but we have to try--ambitiously. The only way to enter this door is to look for the face of Jesus in what we do and the people with whom we come in contact. Can you ambitiously do just that?

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March 9

Kyle Moore Luke 14:1-24

There are many occasions that bring us together – small functions with close friends and family and large gatherings with hundreds. Luke Chapter 14 tells several stories about gatherings or parties – both as a guest and as a host – using parable teachings about the parties we attend and parties we throw to give insight into his kingdom.

Parties have meant many different things to me through the years. When I was a young, receiving the invitation to a party was a big deal. Not receiving an invitation resulted in hurt feelings, while receiving an invitation meant you were included, part of the in-crowd. And, if you were invited, you went, just like the first few verses of Luke Chapter 14, where, if you’re invited, you go. If you don’t go, you risk becoming an outsider, so attendance was almost a rule. There are also rules about how you act. Those that don’t know how to be a good guest often don’t get invited. Jesus was confronted by the Pharisees on rules, asking if it was appropriate to heal on the Sabbath, trying to trap him. Jesus pointed out the hypocrisy of the rule. And, as I got older, knowing how to act at a party was fundamental to being a good guest. The question… what is the right way to act at the party?

Luke 14 offers additional things for us to consider. At the party, people are jockeying for position of importance. I am sure all of us have seen this at parties we’ve attended – people working to be the center of attention. Jesus makes it clear that this isn’t the right path. The right path is to take the lesser place at the table. Verse 11 is where we hear the lesson we’ve heard so many times, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Who is the celebrated one at the party? Who gets the best seat? Who should be put on the pedestal?

This is a good place to consider the other side of gathering – the party you throw. In verses 12-24, Jesus addresses this. The implication from the reading: you send out your list of invitations. You hope you get positive responses from the people you want to come, perhaps inviting those that you hope will reciprocate. The host for the dinner party extends invitations to the ones with the most stuff, but those invitations are rejected for selfish reasons. So, the invitations go out to the those with less, ultimately the least of us. Jesus wants us to remember that our accomplishments on earth only matter if we use them to build his kingdom. The final question… who are the right guests for my party?

For each of these questions, substitute “party” for God’s kingdom. What is the right way to act as a part of God’s kingdom? Who is celebrated or exalted in God’s kingdom? And, who are the invited guests in God’s Kingdom?

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March 10

Tricia Stewart Luke 14:25-35

Oh boy. I’m always a little nervous to receive the scripture on which I am to ponder and discuss, and up until now, I’ve been lucky.

Luke 14:25-35 is one of those tough passages: the cost of discipleship. It begins by saying, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” It reminds me of the passage also in Luke (18:25-27) when Jesus says, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” Both of these seem impossible, but what Jesus is teaching us is that God must come first. We need to put our hope, faith, and trust in God and in God alone. If it is left up to us, it is impossible, but with God, all things are possible. Jesus continues to turn things upside down; he is trying to get our attention! Again, when Jesus calls his disciples and they immediately get up, leave their belongings, their families, their livelihoods, it seems amazing and impossible. But what if that discipleship makes family, belongings, and livelihoods that much better? Put God first and the rest will fall into place?

Every year at Camp Mystic, where our daughters attended camp, a similar lesson is taught. It is an illustration that the girls remember and perhaps you have seen or heard it too. The props are a large container, rocks, and sand. The container represents our lives. The rocks are the important things: God, family, relationships. The sand represents the less important things: money, job, material things, possessions. If you put the sand in the jar first, the rocks won’t fit; you have filled your life with less important “stuff.” But, if you fill the jar with the rocks first, the sand will fill in around the rocks and both will fit. We are to fill our lives first with what is most important: primarily, our relationship with God. The rest will fall into place.

I don’t think Jesus is really asking us to hate our families and even our lives themselves; he is challenging us to examine our priorities. Our first priority should be our relationship with God which in turn is mirrored by our relationship with and service to others.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for challenging us, for making us think about what is most important in our lives. Help us to be disciples willing to put our faith, hope, and trust in you and you alone. Amen.

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March 11

Lisa Flores Musser

Fourth Sunday of Lent

Luke 15:1-10

Ever since I was a child, I have had a fascination with the concept of lost and found. Someone leaves behind or loses a possession and another finds that possession and turns it in to be recovered. I have been both the loser and the finder many times in my life. I think about the things that I have lost in the past - a day planner, a credit card, a passport - and it was then that I would take on the role of the woman who lost the coin; I would frantically “light a lamp,” “sweep the house,” and “seek diligently” until the lost item was found. I didn’t throw a party with friends, but I did rejoice and share the good news that what was once lost was now found.

The parables we read today help us to remember that joy of finding and of being found. Jesus is sharing these parables with tax collectors and sinners - folks on the margin of society - those who are lost. There is not much joy or rejoicing happening in their lives. They are seen as less than, so the fact that Jesus tells a story about one who tends sheep and a woman, is a reminder that those that might be seen as less have shattered the barriers to God’s mercy and love.

T.W. Manson wrote, “The characteristic feature of these two parables is not so much the joy over the repentant sinner as the Divine Love that goes out to seek the sinner before he repents.” As we continue our journey through Lent, let us be reminded that God’s mercy and love are with all of us. It is sometimes hard to feel and experience that love when we are lost. Equally, it is hard for us to witness a beloved friend or family member who is lost. Our hope is that we all hear the teaching of Jesus as the good news, not simply good advice, that he came “to seek and to save” the lost.

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March 12

Lauren Wainwright Luke 15:11-32

Today’s lesson of the Prodigal Son is one familiar to us all. We can all relate in some way to the son, his father, or his older brother. Each character in this story has their own perceptions of the events that unfold. The prodigal son who feels deserving of his inheritance and longs to be on his own and make his way in the world. Yet, is left humbled by the world and forced to return home. The older brother who, like any sibling would, feels angry from the misuse of his father’s estate and wishes to see his brother punished. Lastly, the father who willingly allows his son to pave his own path rather than walk his.

I’m sure the son had prepared for some harsh discipline from his father when he returned home.

After all, his share of the inheritance was all gone. But there was no condemnation, no guilt-trips, no waving of the finger while saying, “I told you so” from the father. Only love, pure and unconditional.

Like the father in this story, Jesus wants us to know that we can always return home. We are never truly lost from God. No matter how often we turn away from him, he is always there, waiting for us with outstretched arms. Where have you experienced this kind of love in your life? Where can you share this kind of love to others? For it is up to us to share God’s love with those around us and remember that we may all make mistakes along the road but God is there to welcome us home.

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March 13

David Musser Luke 16:1-18

I was an English major in college. I love using the beautiful gift of imagination and creativity that God has blessed me with to try to make sense of this fragile island home we call Earth. To see the world as it is now and imagine the possibilities of how I might discern my role in helping shape the little corner of the planet in which I live into what theologian and social-justice advocate Verna Dozier famously called the “dream of God.” The colorful use of similes, metaphors, and stories often help stir my imagination and spark my creativity in a world that, far from black and white, is wonderfully complex. Of course, we know that the Bible is full of many such literary devices. I personally love when Jesus speaks in parables…most of the time.

Today’s reading is one of those times. The Parable of the Dishonest Manager is sandwiched between Chapter 15’s Parable of the Prodigal and His Brother and the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, which follows today’s parable in the second half of Chapter 16. Looking at all three parables, I might notice that all three have a common thread of people who had or were given much property and what they did or didn’t do with it. Both the prodigal son and the dishonest manager certainly “squandered” what was entrusted to them. Tsk, tsk, tsk…Yet both were “celebrated” or “commended” for their actions after squandering the property!

What are we to make of the dishonest manager? He, like many of Luke’s characters—and unlike the somewhat one-dimensional ones found in Matthew and Mark—, is quite complex and not so black and white. When I reflect on this passage, I hear a still, small voice whispering in my ear “stewardship.”

How am I being a faithful steward of not only my finances and property but also my relationship with others and God? Am I taking for granted relationships (both with God and people I know, as well as those I pass by on the street in need) and what God has entrusted in me?

As we are now well into the second half of Lent, a time of introspection and discernment, perhaps now might be a good time to begin a spiritual discipline that might continue far beyond the days of Lent, Holy Week and Easter. The Daily Examen of Saint Ignatius is one such practice that I have found helpful in exploring how God is moving in my life and discerning what God might be calling me to do next with what God has entrusted me. It doesn’t need to take much time and is best done in the evening so as to reflect on your day. Simply put: What went well today? What didn’t go so well?

What would I do differently? The purpose is not to condemn or pass judgment on yourself, but to take note. When was I closest to God and living into the Holy Spirit’s fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5: 22-23)? Give thanks to God for those moments. When did I feel farthest from God and not living into the fruits of the Holy Spirit? Ask for God’s forgiveness. Then pray for discernment on what you might have done differently as well as for guidance going forward. What’s done is done. Tomorrow is a new day filled with awesome possibilities and opportunities to live into the “dream of God” for YOU.

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March 14

Rene Somodevilla Luke 16:19-31

Today’s Parable is found only in the Gospel of Luke, and it is the only one in which a protagonist’s name is mentioned. The characters are diametrically opposed, as one is very rich by all standards and the other one is the epitome of poverty. The name of Dives has been given to the rich man, which means rich in Latin. The other name is that of Lazarus, which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew name Eleazar, meaning God is my help.

The story begins with the image of Dives living in a world of abundance and decadence, as he feasts on luxury every day. Even his garments are only affordable by the few rich in that society. This could compare to our modern 1%. Lazarus, in contrast, has been thrown down by the property gate to eat the food that falls from the table where Dives eats. His body racked with sores, which are licked by passing dogs. Dives continues in his excess not noticing Lazarus’ plight.

As the parable unfolds, we see Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham, in what is supposed to be heaven, while Dives is residing in Hell where he asks for a drop of water to cool his tongue. Refused by Abraham, Dives asks for mercy for his five brothers by sending notice of what has happened. He is refused again and reminded of his behavior towards Lazarus as the reason why Dives is in Hell.

The message of this parable is that sometimes our lack of response to those who are in need is the same as if we had purposely refused help to them. We are to give to those in need out of our abundance as we become aware of the needs of others. We cannot be blind to the need of others, as we live lives of marked abundance.

Our Heavenly Father, we know that in you we live, move, and have our being. May your Holy Spirit open our eyes to the needs around us, so that we may share of the bounty you have so graciously given to us. May our hearts and minds be moved to follow you this Lent and always. In Christ’s name, Amen.

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March 15

Kim Kinahan Luke 17:1-10

Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.� Luke 17:3-4 Forgiveness...

When we live in communion with others, in the flow of relationships -- whether it be family, business, or community -- to wrong a neighbor is inevitable. The possibility of error, however needs to be balanced with forgiveness.

Jesus calls for rebuking sin but also for a quickness to forgive; to sort things out, before beginning anew.

We should be quick to move on once a wrong is acknowledged: Just as there is a commitment to righteousness, so there is a commitment to restore relationships --promptly. There is something to be said for restoring the peace, as it is both freeing and healing.

Lord God, just as I ask you to forgive me my sins, please help me to forgive others, those who have sinned against me. Free me from resentment, pain and bitterness, and fill my heart with joy, freedom, and love. Amen

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March 16

Shannon Callewart Luke 17:11-37 A Carrot and a Stick

Today’s long reading yokes two important stories together. The first is the story of the healed lepers, and the second is the description by Jesus of the coming of the Kingdom of God. We’ve got both a carrot and a stick in these passages. In the first, Jesus heals 10 lepers, yet only one, a non-Jew, returns to praise God to acknowledge his healing and proceeds to worship him. Jesus’ response is what is important: “Did I not heal ten? Only one returns to give glory to God?” He then says “Get up and go- your faith has healed you!” It is evident that Jesus gives a measure of healing/salvation that the other 9 lepers didn’t receive. Also importantly, special mention is given to the fact that the leper that returned and received extra acknowledgment from Jesus was a non-Jew. Hmm- do I always worship God with devotion, love, and thankfulness? Do I recognize my life and the world around me as the miracle it is? That sure makes me want to try harder, and it looks like a carrot!

The second story is the story of Jesus’ response when the Pharisees ask what the coming of the Kingdom of God will be like. Jesus responds to the Pharisees and also later in conversation with his disciples that the kingdom of God will be an event too sudden to prepare for- it will happen in the midst of ordinary life that is busy- too busy with worldly concerns. Jesus’ coming again will be unmistakable and as drastic as Noah’s flood and the destruction of Sodom. The people living devoutly with true faith will be suddenly taken while others remain all around them. It’s the stuff of movies and drama and all kinds of scary interpretations-and being left behind is a frightening thought. The last line of this reading is chilling: “Where the bodies are, the vultures will gather.” I’d call that a big stick.

But the common thread of the two stories is the emphasis that Jesus places on the salvation and saving of those who believe, honor, and worship him as their savior. The term Savior cannot be more literally meant! As a modern Christian, I like our lessons and lectures to be uplifting and reassuring, but today’s reading is a heavy dose of both a carrot and a stick! We squirm and dislike the dire warnings of Jesus- we can ignore it as “fire and brimstone” that we don’t see as relevant in modern society. (So OLD testament!) But wait- that exactly describes US- the people of the verses in which everyday life will come to a screeching halt and taking heed will be too late. OK, God. I’m getting the message and I think I’d better listen up! Carrots and Sticks…

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March 17

Charlie Stobaugh Luke 18:1-17

In the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, faith and humility are the focus of Luke. A simple question that we can ask ourselves is which one am I. Am I the “do good works” Pharisee who fasts, tithes, and prays? Or am I the tax collector who stands away from the crowd and who knows and admits he is a sinner? Well, of course, I chose to see myself as the good guy Pharisee because I know that tax collectors are ostracized in the Bible and certainly I am not one of those.

But in an effort to include humility in my understanding of this lesson, I deemed it necessary to take a deeper look at this parable and perhaps alter my perception of what is being said and how I see myself in these verses. The judgmental and self-righteous Pharisee depended on what he did and not on God’s grace and mercy. He compares himself to other people and thinks he is right because he does good works. He seems to be a moral man and to give thanks but he relies on performance and not his faith in God’s grace and ability to forgive. Looking underneath his list of accomplishments, what really is the position of his heart?

The repentant tax collector, on the other hand, steps up humbly asking for mercy because he knows he is a sinner. He states it outright without a pompous listing of all the reason he should be justified.

He stands away from the crowd, unable to look up to heaven, beating his breast in a self-deprecating manner asking for forgiveness. He seems to come before God with honesty and a contrite heart, knowing he is in need of something that he alone cannot provide for himself.

Please note that the tax collector went to his home feeling “justified” and right with God, unlike the “other” who apparently was estranged and did not seem to feel forgiven. This parable certainly gives rise to a better understanding of the following well-known biblical truth: “for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

So which one am I? A deeper and more humble look at this verse tells me I am indeed the Pharisee.

Too often I am spiritually lost because I trust in myself and I do not think I need God’s mercy and forgiveness. My challenge is to become more like the humble tax collector. It is not about all the good I do but more about a contrite heart and the personal relationship that I have with God which includes faith that I will find mercy in the grace that God gives me no matter how I perform.

Luke goes on to discuss the faith of little children. As children depend on adults, believers must lean completely on God’s character and provision, not on their own merits or performance as a means of being accepted in the Kingdom of Heaven. It is humility and a childlike faith, developed through prayer, that raises us into intimacy with God and teaches us to rely on God and not ourselves.

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March 18

Bob Johnston

Fifth Sunday of Lent

Luke 18:18-43 “Seeing It All”

The assigned Lesson from Luke has three different segments. At some level, all three invite us to reflect further about what we don’t want to see that may hold us back in our spiritual lives.

In the first, the so-called “Rich Young Ruler” approaches Jesus and seems to set up a straw man. He asks Jesus what is needed for salvation. Jesus answers that the Commandments must be kept. That seems to be exactly what the young man wanted to hear as he is able to pridefully say that he has kept all of those since he was a child and has done a great job. Jesus, who can see his heart, knows that he is a slave to his possessions and has not put God on the throne of his life. So, Jesus looks at him, other Gospels say that He looked at him with love, and Jesus tells him that he needs to sell everything and then come and follow. This instruction is not for everyone, but lovingly for this man who has become a slave to his possessions. He did not want to look at what was really ruling his life but Jesus did.

In the next aspect, Jesus is telling His followers what is going to happen on His final visit to Jerusalem.

They do not want to take in the concept that Jesus will suffer and die, and, therefore, they do not really take it in. If they had, they would have been better prepared for what takes place in Jerusalem and may have had some great questions about the events. Their limited thoughts about the way God might work limited their ability, it would seem, to see what was taking place.

Finally, in the third story of the blind beggar, the crowd seems to take a limited view. The blind beggar hears that Jesus is coming and begins to yell to Him. The crowd on the front row wants to silence the beggar and put him out of view. Perhaps they did not want Jesus to be distracted by this man or they didn’t want Him to see something unattractive in their city. The blind man will have no part of it and becomes even louder. For Jesus’ part, He singles out the beggar and hears him and calls him forth for healing. How would it have been if those on the front row had sought to live in the spirit of what Jesus was doing and helped the man come to the front to be heard? Might they too have found healing?

In what ways are we closing our spiritual eyes? As we continue our Lenten reflection, where are we limiting our perception of God and what He can do and does? Who is on the throne of our life in each moment? Are we willing to see God in the brokenness of life? Are we willing to champion the marginalized and broken?

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March 19

Margaret Spellings Luke 19:1-27

This passage includes the story of Zacchaeus and the parable of the ten minas. I have always liked the story of Zacchaeus. Maybe because I am also “short in stature”, I can relate to the feeling of being overwhelmed in a crowd and not being able to see. It’s something that my taller friends probably don’t even think about! Yet, there is little you can do to change a physical attribute like height.

Zacchaeus found an inventive solution that allowed him to see over the crowd. He ran ahead of the crowd, found a tall tree, and climbed up into its branches. I looked online to see what a sycamore tree in this area looks like, and found several paintings of this scene. According to these artists’ imaginations, Zacchaeus is high over the crowd looking down, and the crowd gazes up at Zacchaeus in surprise. In some of these paintings, other people have noticed Zacchaeus’ idea and have joined him in the tree.

Because he found a way to stand out from the crowd, Jesus notices him and wants to join him for dinner at his house. Being noticed by Jesus changes Zacchaeus also. He decides on the spot to give half of his possessions to the poor and to make amends to anyone he has defrauded. The perspective of both Jesus and Zacchaeus has been changed by Zacchaeus’ decision to climb the tree.

As I thought more about how Zacchaeus’ life was changed by his decision to climb the sycamore tree, I was reminded of a day when a fellow parishioner promised me that coming to church every day for a week during Lent would change my life. I was intrigued and tried it. Ever since I have been attending church regularly – even at times coming to the 7:00 a.m. weekday service if I missed a Sunday. I have found that this practice has changed my perspective on so many aspects of my life, and am grateful to this person for “going out on a limb” and making this suggestion. Jesus says in this passage that he came to seek out and to save the lost. This story reminds me that many good things can come from a decision to make a change.

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March 20

Wade Scofield Luke 19:28-48

In this selection from Chapter 19 of Luke’s Gospel, there are three major themes that stand out to me.

First, Jesus returns to Jerusalem having already predicted his death, but even knowing his fate, leads his disciples forward in a stern act of service, to die for their salvation. So simply: why then should we be afraid to serve God? Why should we worry what our friends or family think for humbling ourselves unto others? For recognizing that all people on the earth are of God? The precedent Jesus sets for us here is to be unafraid to serve and lead, to know that it is in us as humans, for Jesus was fully human like all of us.

Second, Jesus expels the greedy and selfish from the Temple. The behavior of religious leaders seeking to quiet or kill Jesus draws a contrast to the first theme. In grasping why Jerusalem’s religious leaders acted so antithetical to Jesus’ message and the way Jesus interpreted Hebrew scripture (quoting the Prophet Jeremiah with the “den of robbers”), I consider that they did so in fear: fear of losing their power, which would weaken the status of the Temple, something in which they truly believed. We cannot be like these leaders and fear new messages, and especially to fear the message of giving up our power or our pride to help others. When so often we see the Church turn a blind eye to those who are in need, whether they be immigrants, the poor, or other cultural minorities in the reservoir of comfort and self-endowment, Jesus calls us to speak out against that.

Finally, I’ve spent a lot of my life ignoring or failing to understand why Jesus asks two disciples to bring him a young colt. Is it because Jesus wants to look regal when he descends on Jerusalem? I think this goes back to the first theme, the idea of service at the call of Christ. God’s dominion is over all the Earth, but God still calls us to action in different ways, whether by relationship to people, by a troubling event in our own lives, by witnessing the despair of others. Jesus tells the disciples if anyone asks them why they need the colt, tell them it is for the Lord’s purpose. I think we are both the disciples and the colt here: as the disciples, we will find what we are sent for and God will provide us what we need to serve God; as the colt, we are used for God’s purposes when called for it. During Lent, I try to look for those colts or hear those calls, to listen intently to the words radiating from God’s presence woven through the world.

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March 21

Amy Heller Luke 20:1-47

The questions people ask.

In my office is a “Questions of Faith” box that our Middle Schoolers anonymously deposit written questions into and then once a month we wonder about the answers during a Chapel time. Some of their questions are, “Why does God let people do bad things?” or “If Jesus died for my sins, how did he know I was going to sin?” or my favorite “Why does God love me?”

Asking questions is essential to our faith.

Luke’s reading for today fills our attention with the important questions religious leaders and legal experts were asking Jesus. It is important to note from the very first line that Jesus was teaching the people in the temple. Questions can be asked in holy spaces. And Luke wants us to know that Jesus was asked a lot of important questions like “by what authority are you doing these things?” and “is it lawful for us to pay taxes to the emperor or not?” and “whose wife will the woman be (in the resurrection)?” These are questions of faith. They reflect one’s desire to reconcile what one knows and has been taught about God with one’s curiosity. We ask questions because our current answers are not working. I believe we ask questions of God because our understanding of the complexity of love and forgiveness and how the world “works” challenges us. Those simple answers we have been given don’t always work as we grow older and, as we hear, they didn’t for the people in the temple with Jesus.

Notice, though, that Jesus does not directly answer any of these questions. Instead, he leads his listeners through a learning process so that they can arrive at their own answer. He tells a parable, he has a coin described for him, and he reflects on scripture. When we have a question for God, we ask it in prayer, we turn to scripture, and we seek counsel from someone we trust, thus inviting God to lead us to seek a new understanding.

The saddest part of this whole chapter for me is v. 40 “..they no longer dared to ask him another question.” In fact, as Luke continues the gospel story, the plot to silence Jesus will progress rapidly.

The answers they were led to, the understanding Jesus made them consider, came at too high a cost to their own authority and capabilities. No wonder the chapter ends with Jesus denouncing the religious scribes. They were responsible for teaching the people but instead, they perpetuated the same answers to a spiritually hungry people.

Almighty God, bless me with a holy curiosity about you and the gift of your world around me so that my faith may deepen. In Christ’s name, I pray. Amen.

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March 22

Phil Ritter Luke 21:1-38

The End Times. Are they upon us? Is Christ about to come again? For two millennia, each generation of Christians on Earth have pondered these questions.

There are ample examples of war, insurrection, persecutions, earthquakes, famines and plagues that have afflicted every generation since these prophecies of Jesus Christ were recorded by Luke. Such circumstances have been wrought on a national and global scale; and miniature tribulations play out every day in relationships, within families, and in the communities where we live. Some days, it’s enough to make one scream, “God, where are you?” “Have you abandoned me?” “Come save us!”

These pleas to God are echoes from the Cross of Jesus Christ on our behalf, and from the lives of saints and martyrs throughout the ages.

Over the centuries, false prophets have arrogantly imagined their own times so dire, that certainly now God will kick Jesus back downstairs to set things right. But no one knows – according to scripture not even Jesus Christ himself – when God will exercise His prerogative to send His Son to us again.

In the meantime, where does that leave us? Are we alone while God bides His time? No! Jesus promises that He will never leave us. He cautions us not to become so burdened with our cares of life and the world that we forget that. We must be alert, but how?

God gives us the tools. He gives us The Word, to study through the prisms of language and history, and through its application to our own lives and times. He gives us prayer, the hallowed time and space to listen to Him and share our burdens and thanks. He gives us the Holy Spirit, a companion that loves us without condition. And He gives us the church, the Body of Christ, our Christian community in which to worship Him and serve others.

The story of the widow offering her two coins is a reminder to be alert and consider our own response to God, and to leave for God matters that are His. Dear God, please give me the patience to abide your will and your timeline for life on Earth; to be alert for your presence in my life and in our world; and to worship you and serve others until Your promise of the return of your Son Jesus Christ is realized. AMEN.

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March 23

Heather Lorch Luke 22:1-23

Betrayal. It’s a word that conjures up strong feelings in one’s mind. It’s among a whole host of human interactions that you hope never happen to you….and yet it still does. If you’re fortunate, it doesn’t happen often, but it still stings every time. Worse, it nearly always ends up being an act committed by someone close to you—the last person you would expect to do such a thing….and yet there you are.

Angry and hurt. Exposed and vulnerable.

Judas was close to Jesus. He had been for at least three years by this point, and somewhere along the way he had been assigned the role of treasurer—not a responsibility that you give to someone in whom you do not have 100% confidence. Perhaps with the exception of matters involving one’s family and others that we hold dear, finances are generally next on the list of things that we keep close to the vest, so it is clear that Judas was not an acquaintance nor a casual friend. Ironically, this made him the ideal candidate to commit this act of betrayal. He had all the information that he needed.

So it’s no wonder that the disciples were left asking one another who it was who would do such a thing. We see in subsequent passages that Judas almost immediately regretted his actions, but they were, as we know all too well, irrevocable by the time he had this realization. This reminds us of the occasions on which we’ve regretted our own unfortunate decisions, though, and it serves as a humble reminder of the fact that we’re all, ultimately, human.

Then how can we prevent such a thing from happening to us? Well, we can’t. Not unless we plan to live our lives in isolation such that we never let anyone get close to us. Yet it’s from that very position of closeness that you can be betrayed. It’s that person that you let into your life and trusted completely that has now turned it upside down. Much like Alfred Lord Tennyson’s notion that “it is better to have loved and lost than never to have not loved at all,” we must ask ourselves if we’re willing to take the risk. Is it worth it? We know that we have to live to love, but we also have to love to betray. It’s a package deal where one leads to the other, and we can’t separate them out.

While we all have to make our own decision as to the extent to which we’re willing to put ourselves out there in this world, I know my choice. I choose to live. I choose to live understanding that this path will bring with it life, love, and betrayal. I want it all. I don’t want to miss a thing, even if it’s not the best of things. I am reminded of the One Republic Song, “I Lived,” where the refrain is “I swear that I lived.” What will be your choice?

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March 24

Irwin Sentilles Luke 22:24-46

This passage includes Luke’s version of the farewell address of Jesus to his disciples. These are important words in the literary conventions of the first century. There we find: “the leader [must become] like the one who serves. … I am among you as one who serves.” Jesus is both summing up his life’s work and preparing his disciples to carry it on. The passage resonates with words used by Mark at a pivotal point in his Gospel when Jesus turns to Jerusalem: “the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve… .”

I have always been intrigued by the notion of leader as servant. What does a servant leader look like?

Leaders, of course, have authority; but according to Luke, they are not to exercise it as kings do.

Service as leader thus cannot be about the raw exercise of power, the promotion of acclaim or some other form of compensation. Power and recognition are inherent in being a leader, but they must not be ends in themselves. And perhaps leading is itself enough compensation. Isn’t service more about the needs of others? But then needs have to be recognized and, when recognized, given priority. But whose needs? Luke says the good news belongs first to the poor, those left behind or excluded from power, recognition, even compensation.

Needs, of course, can be complicated, and their solutions unclear. So real work at discernment of both surely must be required. Just as a “me first” leader is no servant, so too a “know nothing” leader is no servant. A servant leader needs to be open to new ways of doing things and needs to be independent of those who would confine his or her creative freedom with their ideology, dogma, or with their money. And a servant leader cannot rest while the needs of those he or she serves remain.

Many, if not most of us, in our community are leaders in some way — in a ministry, at the office, at home, in civic associations, in some social setting. Part of the good news that Jesus brought was that his work could be continued by the disciples he left behind. Jesus was filled with the Spirit, and called by the Spirit, to heal and teach in ways countercultural in his day. Isn’t the same required of his disciples in our day? Shouldn’t we listen to the Spirit as he did? Aren’t those who can lead also called by the Spirit today— to lead as servants of all?

Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. Isaiah 42:1

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March 25

Michael Harmuth

Palm Sunday

Luke 22:47-71

The book entitled “The Last Week” by Marcus Borg & John Dominic Crossan, describes that morning that Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

“Two processions entered Jerusalem on a spring day in the year 30. It was the beginning of the week of Passover, The most sacred week of the Jewish year. In the centuries since, Christians have celebrated this day as Palm Sunday, the first day of Holy Week. With its climax of Good Friday and Easter, it’s the Most sacred week of the Christian year.”

“One was a peasant procession, the other an imperial procession. From the East, Jesus rode a donkey down the Mount of Olives, cheered by his followers. Jesus was from the peasant village of Nazareth.”

“On the opposite side of the city, from the west, Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor of Idumea, Judea, and Samaria entered Jerusalem at the head of a column of imperial cavalry and soldiers. Jesus’s procession proclaimed the kingdom of God; Pilates’s proclaimed the power of empire.”

Here we have two opposing forces that still exist today. The kingdom of God stands against dominance and power over other human beings. The power of the empire stands for control and dominance over others. As we listen to the news, we hear of the dominance of women by “powerful men.” We read about children being abused by so-called adults. Again and again dominance rises its ugly head. The Kingdom of God preached by Jesus cries out against this dominance.

Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem was on a donkey. The donkey was always considered a peaceful animal.

Pilate road in on a horse, which is an animal of power and used in war. There you see the contrast between the two men. A humble peaceful peasant and an imperial warrior.

As the Procession into Jerusalem began, the life of Jesus seemed to be reaching its fulfillment - he set his face towards Jerusalem and some people, who were not afraid, came to welcome him. They may have recalled the words of Zechariah - and seen this as prophesying the event they were witnessing: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!

Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!

Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey...”

This is the day that, by God’s mercy, this holy time we are now entering upon will work such a happy change in us. May we as followers of Jesus support the Kingdom of God by opposing any type of dominance or abuse against any child or adult. This fulfills our Baptismal vow that we will respect the dignity of every human being

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March 26

Sandra Hughes

Holy Week Monday

Luke 23:1-25

How often do we think life is unfair? At work, it is so unfair that a coworker gets that valued promotion, totally undeserved. What about the family that has a bigger house and a fancier car, and then purchases that fabulous lake house, and we work just as hard and can never keep up with them.

And, then, what about those movie stars and professional athletes who make millions; and even though their lifestyles are not approved by us, our children and grandchildren idolize them! Totally unfair.

Even more unfair and much more tragic is news that our best friend, a kind and generous Christian, is suffering from stage 4 cancer. Why her, we ask. Or a young father of three, who teaches Sunday school, is struck down in the prime of life by a deadly stroke. Of course, any time we learn about a small child with a severe injury or one with a deadly disease, we are devastated.

How can God let this happen, we ask. If we are Christians shouldn’t we have lives that are happy all of the time? Shouldn’t bad things only happen to bad people? Certainly, this would be fairer.

However, those who regularly attend church, donate to charities, even read scripture and pray daily still experience tragedies and sorrow. Sometimes we have great difficulty understanding why only good things aren’t rewarded to people of faith. Life just doesn’t seem fair!

And then we study our scripture for today. Jesus is questioned by the Sadducees, Pilate, Herod, and Pilate again. And although at first Pilate finds no fault in Him, he allows the crowd to sway him.

He frees Barabbas and sends Christ to the cross. Truly, this is anything but a fair trial and verdict!

Ironically, Barabbas, in addition to his guilt as a murderer, is also guilty of inciting the people, a charge made against Jesus, who is innocent. But Jesus chooses to remain calm and goes to the cross, taking the place of Barabbas, and as He does, He suffers death for each of us as atonement for our sins.

Therefore, as our Lord endured his trial and suffering, how can we, in turn, expect no less. Trials and tribulations will always be a part of life, even for Christians. But, God will always be there to help, comfort, and guide us. So, isn’t it only fair that we thank Him for His grace and steadfast love? This week is a great time to do just that, and we have so many opportunities. Read the Lenten booklet, study the scriptures, and pray more than you usually do. Come to at least one of the services this week and maybe invite a friend or acquaintance. Listen to the beautiful music, absorb the inspirational message of the homily, and as you kneel at the altar, look at the cross and say, Thank You.

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March 27

Matt Waller

Holy Week Tuesday

Luke 23:26-43

“Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”

To paraphrase the scripture, as Jesus was crucified, the people stood by, watching, doing nothing; the leaders said, “Save yourself;” the soldiers mocked him and said, “Save yourself;” and, one of the criminals crucified alongside him said, “Save yourself.”

If I were to place myself in our Gospel story today, I’d like to think I was Simon of Cyrene, faithfully shouldering the cross and walking behind Jesus. But if I’m honest, and face the painful truth, I’m at best, one of the crowd watching, or more likely, one of the chorus snidely saying, “Save yourself, you King of the Jews.”

It’s not a stretch because compassion usually is not my first response. I look at the homeless in the world and wonder how they got there and why they can’t help themselves… at the unemployed and wonder why they don’t go to work… at all the places in life where people seem to fail to exercise initiative, fail to do what is needed, and for whatever reason, cannot save themselves.

In her essay, Room for Christ, Dorothy Day, co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, says we are not born 2000 years too late to make room for Christ. We can make room for Christ by realizing that Christ is in every person, and that our acts of kindness and hospitality to the poor, the homeless, the sick, the friendless, our enemies, those with whom we disagree, and especially those who for whatever reason cannot help themselves, are the time we welcome and make room for Christ in our lives and the world.

As today’s Gospel story continues, it presents us with a choice. The other criminal said, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Like Simon, we can take on the burden when presented however inconvenient, and like the other criminal, we can recognize that we are condemned justly, admit our sin and ask Jesus to remember us in his kingdom. We can step out of the crowd and stop justifying our inaction because others should “save themselves.” We can carry Jesus’ cross by looking for Christ in the people we meet and offering them the help we can. Jesus makes us a promise of forgiveness and redemption if only we repent and take up his cross. _____________________

Lord Jesus, we thank you for the gift of forgiveness that you offered us even as you hung in agony on the cross.

Humble us so we know we have nothing on our own, nothing without you and your grace. Give us the courage to step out of the crowd, pick up your cross, to see you in everyone we encounter, and to assist them as if we were assisting you. We ask in your name and through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen 53

March 28

Tom Blackmon

Holy Week Wednesday

Luke 23:44-56

More than 40 Good Fridays ago, l sat in the Loeb Theater on Brattle Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

I did not want to be there, but it was a theology professor’s assignment to spend that afternoon watching an extraordinary play called “The Sign of Jonah.” Written by a Norwegian playwright named Guenter Rutenborn. The action is set in a courtroom where persons are on trial for crimes against humanity. The crimes are a varied lot, but have a familiar ring: gas chambers, firebombing, death squads, torture interrogations. Those on trial look like ordinary people - they look like we look. In their defense, they are all able to show that they were not personally responsible for any of the things that happened. After all, they had busy lives to lead jobs to do, families to support. They had to do pretty much as they were told.

Besides, they themselves have also suffered the deprivations which losing sides always suffer in war and there is no cause to single them out for punishment. They are no more than relatively guilty.

Politics itself is then brought to trial in the form of an exotic queen, but she too is able to prove that nothing was directly her fault. She simply had to rule people as she found them. Whatever happened was done from necessity, human nature being what it is.

When all have spoken, it becomes clear that no one can be convicted of these atrocities. No one is sure what to do until Politics points out that; actually, the only one who could be found guilty- though everyone seems afraid to say it - is God. “Who has made men,” she asks, “so that one can rule them only by death and terror? Who has ordered the world so that kings must sin more than other people?”

She proposes that God should be sentenced to become a king- but a very unusual king. The others join with relief in this solution. God is sentenced to wear a crown but then be thrust from the highest honors into uncleanness, an ordinary person, without rights, without status. He should suffer the pain of betrayal and abandonment and, at last, die dishonored and ridiculed. The court confirms the punishment and sends the police to carry out the sentence. The play is concluded. The theater darkens slowly, sustaining a lengthy silence.

During that silence on Good Friday, 1974, I began to appreciate, for the first time, I think, the profound irony upon which the Christian faith is built: that we­who are guilty have found ourselves innocent, and have, instead, passed sentence on our judge. But our judge, who is innocent, accepts the punishment and, in so doing, removes our guilt from us. And still a deeper irony yet: the judge is not only willing to do this; He has, in fact, already done it.

We wait, we hunger for His ultimate healing and reconciling presence among us and within us. We must continue to wait, to listen, to watch, to pray. But the downward spiral has been turned around.

What began last Sunday in triumph and morphed into tragedy, but it will shift again. It takes a couple of more days, but it happens. Dying. Then rising. Then dying/rising together.

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March 29

Van Sheets

Maundy Thursday

Luke 24:1-12 The Resurrection of Jesus

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.

Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” Then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.

“Nothing is certain except death and taxes.” So far as we know, this was not an ancient Palestinian aphorism, but it probably summarized the basic assumptions of the women who visited the tomb carrying burial spices for Jesus’s body. Not finding his body, they were “perplexed,” and when two angels appeared, their state changed to “terrified.”

The angel witnesses said, “…He is not here…,” and reminded the women that Jesus had said that he would be crucified and would rise on the third day. Luke doesn’t describe how the women departed from the tomb, but Matthew, Mark, and John describe it the way I would expect – they ran to tell the apostles.

The women’s report struck the apostles as “an idle tale.” This is a gentle translation because Luke used leros, a Greek medical word that described insane babbling, which is the root of the English word, “delirious.” The apostles thought the women sounded crazy. Luke tells us that Peter did not ponder their story; instead, he ran to the tomb for firsthand knowledge. He saw burial clothing but no body and went home “amazed,” which does not suggest an immediate, settled understanding.

We have heard the resurrection story so many times that we may not slow down to feel it. If we move instantly from perplexity to belief, we must not be paying attention. If we saw a close friend buried today, then reported alive next week, how would we react? Would we look for “rational” explanations?

Be terrified? Huddle and talk about it? However we were to absorb it, I bet it would reverberate for the rest of our lives.

The empty tomb upset normal assumptions more than any other event in history, for the women who arrived at the tomb first, and for us.

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March 30

Nancy Somodevilla

Good Friday

Luke 24:13-35

Which do you prefer—going to a cocktail buffet where you can mix and mingle or going to a seated dinner where you can visit and truly get to know several people better? The question arises about whether we ever really know our friends, our co-workers, and acquaintances. As we see in the beginning verses of Luke Chapter 24 after Jesus’ death and burial the women rush off to tell the story of the empty tomb to the apostles who refuse to listen and call their story pure nonsense. I wonder if we really listen to those we love. Do we know what their hopes, dreams, and hurts are?

In the reading for today, we see Jesus in the company of two apostles as they walk down the road to Emmaus and discuss all that has happened after Jesus’ crucifixion and all that His followers are facing. They are so busy talking and telling their own story that they don’t really see the stranger with whom they are traveling. Jesus, in turn, tells them stories about Moses and scriptural stories about the expected Messiah.

Thank goodness the men realize that it is almost night and extend an invitation to the stranger to spend the night and share a meal. I think that this is the miracle of the story and the miracle of our story. After sharing a meal and the breaking of the bread the apostle’s eyes were opened and they recognized their friend and Savior.

In the Middle East and in many places sharing a meal makes us responsible for each other. Once we have eaten a meal, we are bonded with love and concern for each other. We are responsible for each other. This is the miracle of the Eucharist that we celebrate each week. As we come forward to the table of God we find our place card and name on the list of those who are called and loved by God. We can look around that table and at the tables throughout the world and see that we are brothers and sisters to all those who share the meal. We are connected to those in New York, in Mississippi, in South Africa, and in Latin America; we are connected to those who have gone before and to those who will come after. We are connected to our ancestors and our great-grandchildren. We are connected to Jesus and the apostles as well as those people who differ from us in beliefs and looks.

We are indeed family and are responsible for all who partake in the Lord’s Supper. It is truly a miracle in which we participate each week.

This Lent I pray that we take time to listen, look and share time with those whom we love and those who love us. That could cause a miracle of compassion and concern that could change the course of history or at least the course of our lives.

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March 31

Chris Girata

Holy Saturday

Luke 24:36-53

Jesus said, “Look at my hands and feet; see that it is I myself… You are witnesses.” (Lk 24:39, 48) Throughout this journey of Lent, we have been contemplating the work of God in the world through Jesus Christ. Now, we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord at Easter!

The story of Jesus’s death and resurrection is very familiar to many of us, especially those of you reading these reflections. Yet, at Easter, I always ask myself the same question each year, wondering if the answer might change: What is the point of the resurrection? This year, I asked myself that question just before reading these final verses of Luke’s gospel, and I have a slightly new answer.

Yes, Jesus’s life was lived as an example of God’s kingdom on earth. Yes, Jesus’s resurrection was to save us from our sinful humanity. Yes, Jesus’s resurrection was to defeat death itself. But when I read today’s scripture passage, I was struck by the first and last words Jesus gave to his disciples as quoted above. First, he told them to look at him, and lastly, he anointed them as witnesses.

When Jesus tells his disciples to look at him, I believe he meant to actually look at him in the flesh, to really see the marks on his body, to physically touch the warmth of his skin, and to understand that he was truly back. Jesus wanted them to know that even death itself, that inescapable end, could not stop the kingdom of God. And once they had that profound, tangible experience, Jesus made sure to note that they are indeed witnesses of that new reality. They were anointed to tell the story of Jesus and to love their neighbors – to truly become Christ in the world.

So I ask you, on this Easter Day: How will you act as Christ in the world? This is a huge question, but one that gets at the root of what it means to be a disciple of Christ. The answer, I believe, is to love always and unconditionally.

Former Pope, and now Saint John Paul II once wrote, “It is above all in the home that, before ever a word is spoken, children should experience God’s love in the love which surrounds them.” This is a powerful idea, that the very first experience of God’s amazing love is between one another. As we consider what it means to be a witness to Christ in the world, the first step in becoming a true witness is simply showing Christ-like love to one another.

This Easter season, I invite you to consider who in your life would claim to feel Christ-like love from you. And perhaps, who in your life do you hope to show Christ-like love to? We have been blessed with the abundance of amazing grace from God who loves us, mess and all. Now we have the privilege to share that love!

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Saint Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church 8011 Douglas, Dallas, TX 75225 saintmichael.org (214) 363-5471

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