Tag: HOPE

A moment of unraveling

On Saturday morning, a notification for the New York Times popped up on my screen. I read the quote, “Despite ghosts and zombies, Halloween is a holiday for the living.” As the author describes her Brooklyn block, it could have easily been a description of 3rd and 4th Street here in Hamilton. 

“Tombstones are planted in the flower beds. A witch appears to have flown into a tree and is suspended there, broom sticking out from the trunk. An undead crone, motion sensitive, accosts passers-by from the hedge.”   

In this article, Melissa Kirsch touches on the celebration of getting together in real-time, the wonderful old-fashioned novelty of ringing a doorbell or knocking on a door, and the delight we feel as it is answered, even if by a scary face.

In a time where many of our personal interactions are through one form of technology or another, the community comes together in person, and face-to-face connections are made.  

Joyful though perhaps creepy, these delightful exchanges bring our community together. 

Here, at St. Paul’s, we decorate, 

dress up in fun costumes, 

hand out candy, 

serve warm food and drinks, 

and welcome everyone into the celebration.

Halloween is indeed a holiday for the living.

While Halloween is widely celebrated, the two days following Oct. 31st are more significant for many. In a practice dating back centuries, many churches observe these two days as a time when the living commemorate the dead. Nov. 1st is All Saints Day, a feast day during whi the lives of the many saints for whom there is no specific feast day during the year. The following day, Nov. 2nd, All Soul’s Day is a day of prayer for and in remembrance of the “faithfully departed”: family, friends, and strangers who no longer live among us.

For me, this season is a time when joy and sorrow are intricately woven together, and I move haphazardly from one to the next and back again. The church’s liturgical practices help me to slow down, pull at a few of the threads of my ancestry, and wonder about life, death, and the meaning of it all.

I remember aunts and uncles, grandparents, cousins, siblings, and parents who have impacted my life in both positive and negative ways. 

Their passing leaves me with many unanswered questions. And the more I explore the questions, the more my understanding seems to unravel. 

I realize sometimes, we need to be willing to go into the desert of grief, look around, take in the sights, experience our emotions, ask difficult and awkward questions, and gain new understanding.

I believe

We must go there, but we must not stay there.  

The unanswered questions can confuse and consume us.

In the 22nd chapter of Matthew, we are deep in parables, and the deeper we get into parables, the more questions arise.  

Why does the fig tree wither?

By what authority are you doing these things?

Is it lawful to pay the emperor or not?

Who does the widow of seven brothers belong to in heaven?

What commandment is the greatest?

And Jesus’ questions 

Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it human origin? 

In the parable of the two sons, he asks which of the two did the will of the father?

When the vineyard owner comes, what will he do to the tenants?

Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites?

What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?

It is as if the Sadducees and the Pharisees are pulling at threads, hoping to unravel the truth. And Jesus is trying to take the threads of understanding and weave them into a larger tapestry. Yet, they could not accept and understand what was right in front of them.

In today’s gospel, a lawyer, who in biblical times refers to one who is well-versed in the Old Testament, wants clarification on the most important of the commandments.

He asks a most straightforward question, which is answered with equal clarity. All the twists and turns of the parables bring us to two very clear commands. Love God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.

Its simplicity only confirms the hardheadedness of the Pharisees and Sadducees when Jesus asks What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he? They are confounded and ask no more questions for fear of embarrassment. They only want answers that stay within their understanding.  

When we are confused, we must remember understanding takes time and effort, pulling at the threads, letting things unravel a bit, and trusting Jesus to take those threads and weave them into his story.  

This can be difficult and scary, yet we must go there.

In the Psalm this morning, please notice our verses jumped from 6 to 13. The omitted verses leave out an intense moment of struggle with God.

   7 For we are consumed by your anger;

       by your wrath, we are overwhelmed.

8 You have set our iniquities before you,

    our secret sins in the light of your countenance.

9 For all our days pass away under your wrath;

    our years come to an end like a sigh.

10 The days of our life are seventy years

    or perhaps eighty, if we are strong;

even then, their span is only toil and trouble;

      they are soon gone, and we fly away.

11 Who considers the power of your anger?

   Your wrath is as great 

as the fear that is due you.

12 So teach us to count our days

    that we may gain a wise heart.

In this prayer of Moses, we hear deep emotions; he is consumed and overwhelmed, recognizing he is fallible and frail. You can hear the depth of his pain as he pleads with God to have compassion. It is a tightly woven understanding of the difficulties of living in the face of death and the joy of participating in life. Amid his fears and understanding of his weaknesses and frailty, Moses recognizes that wisdom comes not from denying death but from acknowledging it and then wholeheartedly embracing the steadfast love that will bring gladness in the morning.

Moses died at 120 years old. The Israelites mourned him for thirty days. Then, the period of mourning ends, and in the verses that follow, his life is celebrated, and his legacy carries on.

In an article by Iris Waichler, seven stages of grief are described in detail. 

Shock and denial

Pain and guilt

Anger and bargaining

Depression

The upward turn

Reconstruction and working through

Acceptance and hope

In my personal experience, 30 days isn’t enough time to touch the surface of my grief. And quite honestly, three years after my sister’s passing, I am still filled with questions that overwhelm and threaten to consume me.  

Yet I know

God is the God of the living because He is also the God who conquered death. Jesus, in his life, death, and resurrection, proves victory over the grave. The resurrection of Jesus promises us that as we move through life and death, we remain alive in the eternal story.

We, too, must prove victory over the grave by continuing to celebrate life by coming together in worship and community, loving God and loving neighbor even when it doesn’t fit our current understanding.

The Psalm reminds us it is okay to go there to pull the thread to examine the fabric, 

and from this exploration, we recognize our frailty

and gain wisdom of the Kingdom of God.

In answer to the question of what will happen to the widow who married seven brothers at the resurrection, Jesus answers. “And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God. I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is God, not of the dead but the living.”  

I love the paradox of scary Halloween and joyful children,

the celebration of all saints and all souls as we remember our grief and loss, and the beauty of lives lived.

And the even bigger mystery, that God, the Messiah, and the kingdom are both known and unknown.

We must continually go into the unknown, ask questions, allow our understanding to unravel, and, in faith, trust that new understanding will come in surprising ways as Jesus weaves the threads of our stories into his.

May the graciousness of the Lord our God be upon us, prosper the work of our hands; prosper our handiwork. So that in the days to come, when our time on earth has passed, our life will be celebrated, and we, too, can leave a legacy of love for those who will follow. Amen

a moment of thanks

Photo by lilartsy

I am encouraged by your presence, and I pray today you will have a rich encounter with Jesus, that you will be encouraged and strengthened in your faith.

There are many turning points in our lives and people who walked with us through them. Those moments and people are part of the story of how we ended up here in this place at this time.

As I reflect on the turning points in my life, my grandmother comes to mind. I called her grandmommie shortened to Gramma as I got older. In Highschool like most teenagers, I was in the midst of an identity crisis, and I had very little sense of direction. I also struggled with dyslexia which made the academic aspect of high school extremely challenging. I was embarrassed that I didn’t read as fast as others, and being called on in class was particularly stressful. Finally, I decided I wasn’t smart enough and pretty much gave up. I got lazy and neglected school.

Gramma, a retired teacher, saw something in me I didn’t see. She saw potential; she saw a future I couldn’t. She knew things I didn’t know. She had skills to teach me to help me cope with the learning disability that educators didn’t understand well at the time. She didn’t let me be lazy. She helped me see where my efforts and commitment were lacking. Gramma was my tutor, my encourager, and my guide. With her encouragement, I made a deeper commitment to my life. I went to college because she helped me see the person she saw in me and taught me how to live into it. Who I was; evolved into who I would become. I was the same, but then again, I wasn’t the same at all. Her love transformed me. She was my bridge.

The book of Malachi forms a bridge between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Malachi could see both the past and the future. He saw the priest’s laziness and lack of commitment to God and worship. He saw the people of God as disillusioned, prideful, and disobedient. But he also saw the promise of the coming of the Messiah and how he would heal and mend those who came to Him. The breach was not irreparable, and God’s first message through Malachi was, “I have loved you. I am coming. Prepare the way. Commit to me as I have committed to you.

There are times in our lives that bridge where we have been and where we are going. It can be challenging to see these bridges. Sometimes, we can see them but are unwilling to cross. When we lose our commitment to God and ourselves, we cannot see what we cannot see. I believe God puts people in our path to help us. He gives us moments that refine us into his vision for us if we don’t shy away. In Genesis, he creates all things and declares them good. As we move through the Old Testament, goodness never leaves, but it is tarnished by laziness and lack of effort to live into being the people God wants us to be.

“In the reading we hear the question who can endure the day of his coming who can stand?” Jesus will be like a fuller’s soap. The fullers job is to clean and whiten cloth. It is soaked in soap and beaten to remove impurities, and the end product is beautiful and valuable. But the fabric must submit to the process.

There were many frustrating moments as I learned new ways to study and process information. But I knew my Gramma loved me, and I trusted her. So I met her commitment and made an effort to change and learn what she was teaching me.

As I read Paul’s letter to the Philippians, I hear a great deal of love in his words. Paul is grateful for the relationships he has; he feels held. He recognizes the goodness of the people yet understands the continual need to show them how to live successful mature Christian lives. He was committed to them and prayed that they would have more love, knowledge, and insight.
This love and encouragement will help them become the people God created them to be. He had confidence that the future would be promising because he recognized commitment in them.

Love is the first ingredient in this recipe for success. Love dissolves bitterness; love breaks barriers; love inspires. With love, we feel safe to go into those problematic places to push ourselves harder to do the work needed to become the people we are called to be. He didn’t teach them what to do and what not to do. Instead, he taught them about the love of Jesus, the power of that love, and how to let it work in us to develop our character. As our character is strengthened, we are more willing to be disciplined, be obedient and make good decisions. When loved, we feel safe enough to see the things about ourselves that we cannot see and strong enough to make the changes we need to make.

Who you are and who you will become is dependent on letting others teach you and help you while allowing the process of refining moments to do the work of transformation.

In the gospel lesson, we are given a gift of Old Testament scripture within New testament scripture, another bridge.

“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.
5 Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth;
6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” Mark 1:3-5 NRSV

God commits to you, loving you perfectly and completely, guarding, guiding, and giving through others. Allow God’s love to restore you, refine you, and bring you to the place of repentance and preparation so that all you offer is as beautiful as you are.

In Creation, you were made, precious, and good. In the love of Jesus, you are made complete and beautiful.

What is your commitment to living into this beauty?
What is your commitment to loving others into theirs?

We are in a transitional time of our lives. We are being refined and called to prepare. You all are an integral part of the bridge between who I am and who I am to become. In these last two years of deacon school, you have been my guard, my guide, and you have given me much encouragement and strength in my commitment. You have been Jesus to me. I thank my God every time I remember you.
Amen

The Scripture Readings

https://www.lectionarypage.net/YearC_RCL/Advent/CAdv2_RCL.html

A moment for our graduates

Now it is a time of grand celebration! Our graduates are on the cusp between a work coming to completion and a new work begun. Though there is much to be thankful for, our 2020 graduates have been deeply affected by COVID-19. During this unprecedented time, they need our support and encouragement like never before. We should take a moment to honor our graduates and uphold all the emotions they might be feeling at this time! 

I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6

Upon entering freshman year, the dream of graduation looked nothing like this! It is okay to be disappointed at this moment.  

With the economic uncertainty, colleges reinventing their learning strategies, and not knowing what the future looks like, it is okay to be afraid at this moment.

With the unusual way the school year ended, and the vast open space of the future, it is okay to feel lost at this moment.

Friendships that have been made distant by the stay-home orders may be even more distant as you move into new experiences. It’s okay to feel sad at this moment. 

Many have lost loved ones, and their absence at this time will deeply felt. It is okay to mourn at this moment.

Mistakes will have been made, and due to the circumstances, they may be unable to be corrected. It is okay to have regrets at this moment.

What’s done; is done. It is okay to forgive at this moment.

…we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts… Romans 5:3-5

You had a dream and lived it; you had a goal and accomplished it, so also, at this moment, it is more than okay to celebrate!  

 Because God is God, and God is good! God has your past, your present, and your future. He cares about your hopes and dreams.  

For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.  Jeremiah 29:11

A moment for What Now?

Photo by Engin Akyurt Pexels.com

So many mixed messages are coming at us as the stay-home directive begins to lift. So we ask, “what now?” Throughout this COVID-19 pandemic, there have been no easy questions, no simple answers, and the incoming information changes daily. Some are protesting, with good reasons, and they ready to go out. Others, also with sound reasoning, are reluctant to leave their homes. 

If you were to ask me, “what now?” I have to answer with what I decided would be my take away from this time of COVID-19. Be deliberate in love. As I watched some people in public places wear masks and others chose not to, I realized I often make choices that affect others without thinking. As we move out of this crisis, I hope to be more intentional about my decisions. I hope to recognize and understand the ripple effect of my choices in my home, my community, and the world in which I live. I want to respect the dignity of those around me better and preserve the unity that will come as a result.

I was recently reminded by a dear and wise person in my life that the experiences I have are not only about me; they are about “we.” Every encounter we have with others is an opportunity to both learn and teach. We have the opportunity and obligation not only to grow but to help each other grow as well. 

I am currently reading Isaiah and unpacking some of the correlations between the challenges in that time and the challenges we are currently experiencing. “Set apart to become a blessing to all humanity, the People of God are now coming to the point of inevitable judgment. They are now on the verge of being dispersed into exile in order to emerge, through suffering, capable of deeper forms of learning inaccessible by any other means.” (Foster)

And I ask myself? Have I learned anything?  

Will I personally begin to go out or continue to stay home? Yes, to both. I will choose to stay home when I can because this isn’t over, and I want to do my part, not only to stop the spread but to express my respect for those who are in places where the threat is too close for comfort. And, I will go out when I need to because beginning to return to the routine of life is essential to our economy and mental well-being. I also, however, want to move into something better post-COVID-19. In the book of Isaiah, we witness the journey from loss into hope. But, we are not to merely be receivers of that hope, we are to be participants in the creation of hope. We are to be good neighbors, loving each other by choosing to pay attention, and by choosing to both learn and teach more compassion and grace. By this intentional living, we will see the promise of hope realized.

For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever    in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and delight in my people; no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress. Isaiah 65:17-19


Foster, Richard J., editor. “The People of God in Rebellion.” The Renovaré Spiritual Formation Bible: New Revised Standard Version with Deuterocanonical Books, HarperSanFrancisco, 2005, p. 976.