“People say, what is the sense of our small effort? They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time. A pebble cast into a pond causes ripples that spread in all directions. Each one of our thoughts, words and deeds is like that. No one has a right to sit down and feel hopeless. There is too much work to do.”—Dorothy Day
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
It was a very early morning rise
Followed by a long drive from Carrollton to Mobile
The drive and the day was totally worth it
To be with family during a time of need
To be able to support and encourage
To be able to offer hope and love
This is what family is all about
I am so thankful for my sweet Denise’s presence
I am so thankful for her love and faith
Thank you Lord for the opportunity to simply Be Still
Ending the day with dear friends who are family is wonderful
Now as my eyelids grow heavy
I lift this humble prayer to you
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
“The call for human beings to ‘love your enemies’ means wanting wholeness and well-being and life for those whom may be broken and sick and deadly, It was meant to be cornerstone of an entirely new process of disarming evil; one which decreases evil instead of feeding it as violence does.”—Angie O’Gorman
Verse of the day No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.
– 1 John 4:12
Voice of the day
If each person in this world will simply take a small piece of this huge thing, this amazing quilt, and work it regardless of the color of the yarn, we will have harmony on this planet. — Cicely Tyson
Prayer of the day Almighty God, give us grace to lay to heart the great danger we are in by our unhappy divisions. Take away all hatred and prejudice, and whatever else may hinder us from godly union. May we be united in one holy bond of truth and peace, of faith and justice, and with one mind and mouth to glorify you.
– Adapted from the Book of Common Prayer
“I crave a wide sea of wordless moments that allow me to express myself in another language, one more ancient and primal. I want to become a disciple of silence and hear in that shimmering soundlessness the voice of the One who whispers in stillness, whose singing vibrates in stones, who out of the silence calls forth a radical commitment of which I do not yet know the shape.”
— Christine Valters Paintner, PhD Earth, Our Original Monastery: Cultivating Wonder and Gratitude through Intimacy with Nature
Do you make time in your day to listen to the wordless words speaking to your true self through silence and stillness?
Ash Wednesday began the season of Lent this year. I have read a number of comments from pastors and colleagues who have described Lent 2021 as a continuation of Lent 2020 since the Pandemic has kept us “in the wilderness” since mid-March when church buildings (not churches) closed down and everyone was figuring out how to offer virtual worship. Denise and I had no idea what Zoom really was until we were preparing for the Third Sunday in Lent with relatively short notice (six hours) while learning how Zoom operates on the fly. So many of us had hoped and prayed that we would be back to in-person worship with COVID-19 under control in 2021. As 2020 passed and we crossed the threshold into 2021, virtual worship continued to be the order of the day (with outdoor worship opportunities while the weather was decent in 2020 and planning for more opportunities like that in 2021), we have now nearly come to the first year mark of the Pandemic and it’s impact on the life and worship of the church.
This year the PC(USA)’s Presbyterian Mission Agency’s Lenten Devotional, calls us to joint together in a Lenten Journey to Peace and Wholeness. As the vaccines for COVID-19 continue to be rolled out we are seeing a glimmer of hope for our communities. Worship will still not be like it was pre-Pandemic, but between masked/distanced outdoor worship and making plans for when we are able to worship in the sanctuary (my crystal ball is broken and I don’t know when that will be exactly) are offering life and hope to a congregation who is weary, along with their pastor.
The first Sunday of Lent begins with two very familiar passage from Scripture: Genesis 9:8-17 and Mark 1:9-15. The reading from Genesis comes on the heels of the flood narrative. Noah and his family have survived along with the animals in the ark and life is being renewed following the devastation from the flood. God establishes God’s first covenant with the people to never again destroy the earth and places God’s own bow in the clouds as a reminder of that covenant. Some might say that this is a new creation after the destruction of the flood. It is a fresh start for humankind and creation. The hope and dream of this new beginning is encapsulated for me in the old Negro Spiritual, “Down by the Riverside” which predates the American Civil War. The refrain captures this hope and plan for a new life of faith:
Gonna lay down my sword and shield
Down by the riverside
Down by the riverside
Down by the riverside
Gonna lay down my sword and shield
Down by the riverside
Ain’t gonna study war no more.
I invite you to listen to this rendition by Louis Armstrong: https://youtu.be/2ih3kVkk5_Q
Hope and promise, peace and wholeness… isn’t that what we are looking for today as the pandemic approaches the one-year mark? Isn’t that what we are looking for as division, hatred, and fear tear at the fabric of humanity?
In the reading from Mark, we hear once more about Jesus’ baptism by John in the river Jordan. Immediately following his baptism, the Spirit “drives” Jesus into the wilderness. The Greek word for “drives out” (ekballo) literally means to cast out, throw out, or banish. Jesus wasn’t politely invited to go into the wilderness according to Mark; he was driven from his baptism into the wilderness where he faced the forty days of fasting (Lent is 40 days, excluding Sundays) and temptation by Satan. I wonder if Jesus thought about the promise of God represented by the bow in the clouds (we connect the bow with a rainbow, but the bow God placed in the clouds was actually a war bow according to the actual Hebrew word used (qesheh).
As we begin our journey through the five Sundays of Lent, I encourage you to consider The Way to Shalom: A Lenten Journey to Peace and Wholeness from the PC(USA) Mission Agency as a companion on this journey. Here is the link for the free download if you are interested: The Way to Shalom. In June of last year, Denise and I were able to take a break from Zoom and work to drive into the Rocky Mountain National Park. We were blessed with this sight as we drove on Trail Ridge Road:
It was a reminder to us of the promise of God to never leave us or forsake us. It brought us a sense of Shalom, Peace as we continued to journey through this wilderness experience and as we prepared to move from Estes Park to Carrollton. May the Shalom of God bring you comfort as we continue this journey together.
“Nonviolence has been marginalized because it is one of the rare truly revolutionary ideas, an idea that seeks to completely change the nature of society, a threat to the established order. And it has always been treated as something profoundly dangerous. Advocates of nonviolence—dangerous people—have been there throughout history, questioning the greatness of Caesar and Napoleon and the Founding Fathers and Roosevelt and Churchill.”—Mark Kurlansky
| Verse of the day for in Christ were created all things in heaven and on earth: everything visible and invisible, Thrones, Dominations, Sovereignties, Powers— all things were created through Christ and for Christ – Colossians 1:16 (The Inclusive Bible) |
| Voice of the day If we do not save the environment and save the Earth, then whatever we do in civil rights or in a war against poverty will be of no meaning, because then we will have the equality of extinction. – James L. Farmer |
| Prayer of the day Almighty God, in giving us dominion over things on earth, you made us fellow workers in your creation. Give us wisdom and reverence so to use the resources of nature, that no one may suffer from our abuse of them, and that generations yet to come may continue to steward your resources well. – Adapted from the Book of Common Prayer |
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
Our Lenten season has now begun
It has been a long, yet fulfilling day
Spending time after a wonderful dinner
Snuggling with my sweetheart and our sweet puppy
As the cold rain falls, we pray for those suffering without heat, water, or electricity
Sending love, hugs, and prayers to our friends who are family
Now as my eyelids grow heavy
I lift this humble prayer to you
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
As we gathered for worship over Zoom this evening, I reflected how different Ash Wednesday 2021 was from Ash Wednesday 2020. We have gone through quite a wilderness experience that has lasted a lot longer than 40 days.
In 2020 we experienced so many lows as the pandemic roared across this nation and world like a tsunami. In the midst of such turmoil (pandemic and politics) it was often difficult to see the light and keep the hope alive. In 2021 we are hopeful despite not knowing the exact future (my crystal ball is broken). Outdoor worship with masks and physical distancing helps to safely connect us.
In 2021 I believe that we are being called to walk together on the road to God’s Shalom. For years Lent has been a time to “give up” something. In the past few years I have begun to see Lent as an opportunity to go deeper and meet God in the midst of the wilderness. In that meeting, that time of reflection I was offered a time to renew my strength and refocus my faith.
As this Lenten journey begins, my prayer is that lives can be transformed. My prayer is that this journey will lead us to hope, to justice, to peace, to mercy.
Thomas Merton talked about such a transformation in an 1958 essay, “Ash Wednesday” which was later published in his book Seasons of Celebration (p. 94).
Fear narrows the little entrance of our heart. It shrinks up our capacity to love. It freezes up our power to give ourselves. If we were terrified of God as an inexorable judge, we would not confidently await His mercy, or approach Him trustfully in prayer. Our peace, our joy in Lent are a guarantee of grace.
In laying upon us the light cross of ashes, the Church desires to take off our shoulders all other heavy burdens — the crushing load of worry and obsessive guilt, the dead weight of our own self-love. We should not take upon ourselves a ‘burden’ of penance and stagger into Lent as if we were Atlas, carrying the whole world on his shoulders... It (penance) is only a burden to those who take it up unwillingly. Love makes it light and happy. And that is another reason why Ash Wednesday is filled with the lightness of love.
Dear reader, will you join me in this Lenten journey as walk together towards God’s Shalom and as we share God’s love?
