Beginning Lent in the Holy Land Without Fear

Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters ... they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God" (Isaiah 43:1-3).

My mother and I are about to embark on a trip to the Holy Land with her Presbyterian Church group from Mission, Texas. Most people are thrilled to know an 89 year old would make such a pilgrimage. But recently when I told someone about our trip she said, “You can’t pay me enough to go to that dangerous place!”

Yes, there is the possibility of encountering danger when going into an area of turmoil and unpredictable strife. But there is also danger every time we get behind the wheel of a car or when we stay in front of the TV not getting any exercise. God calls us to be sensible and yet boundless in our efforts to serve and love others.

“Christian living demands that we keep our feet on the ground; it also asks us to take a leap of faith. A Christian who stays put is no better than a statue.” (Eugene Petersen, “A Long Obedience In the Same Direction,” 171).

My favorite part of our Presbyterian Book of Order explains that we are: “Called to Risk and Trust” (G-3.0400). “The Church is called to undertake this mission even at the risk of losing its life, trusting in God alone as the author and giver of life, sharing the gospel, and doing those deeds in the world that point beyond themselves to the new reality in Christ.”

It seems this Lenten Season is a perfect time for my mother and I to take a leap of faith and trust that we will be in God’s safe hands whether we encounter trouble or not. It will be such a blessing to see where Christ walked and ponder all he did in just three short years of ministry for the love of each one of us.

I hate to imagine how troubled I would be with all there is to fear on this earth if I did not have faith in the love of God to keep my soul secure in peace. Still in times of doubt and weakness, fears do creep in. When they do, it is good to read how others deal with their fears with faith in God. Akanu Ibaim of Nigeria wrote this wonderful prayer entitled:

Deliver Us From Fear of the Unknown
O Lord, we seek thee to deliver us from the fear of the unknown future; from fear of failure; from fear of poverty; from fear of bereavement; from fear of loneliness; from fear of sickness and pain; from fear of age; and from fear of death. Help us, O God, by thy grace to love. Fill our hearts with cheerful courage and loving trust in thee, through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.


A Blessing for Equilibrium

Like the joy of the sea coming home to shore,

May the music of laughter break through your soul.

As the wind wants to make everything dance,

May your gravity be lightened by grace.

Like the freedom of the monastery bell,

May clarity of mind make your eyes smile.

As water takes whatever shape it is in,

So free may you be about who you become.

As silence smiles on the other side of what’s said,

May a sense of irony give you perspective.

As time remains free of all that it frames,

May fear or worry never put you in chains.

May your prayer of listening deepen enough,

To hear in the distance the laughter of God.

~ John O'Donohue ~
(Benedictus - A Book of Blessings)

Fasting From Technology

It may seem to be a paradox to use an emailed newsletter and internet blog to encourage fasting from the technology that controls us, yet I invite you to join me as I consider backing away from using technological things that distract me from having quiet times with God. Constant use of technology such as the internet has become an “idol” to many in recent years. I rationalize that it makes me faster, more productive, and more connected to others. But I wonder if the real quality of my personal relationships are enhanced or diminished by my preoccupation with technology? I might have more relationships over the internet now, but how deep and truly life-giving and life-sustaining are they? Many psychological studies are showing that preoccupation with the internet is increasing marriage problems and decreasing intimacy in family relationships.

Beware my soul and be still! Where do I give my life away to the internet when I could be doing something more meaningful or better for my physical health? My curiosity could surf the net eternally, reading the answers to questions, looking at funny YouTube videos, reading updates from my friends on Facebook, answering emails…..

Thank goodness the Lenten season begins on Ash Wednesday, March 9th! During the 40 days of Lent we are to ponder all that Jesus Christ sacrificed due to his love for each one of us. The 40 days are a reflection of the time Jesus spent alone with God in the desert preparing for his ministry on earth. We can also use these pre-Easter days to ponder how controlled and/or dependent we are upon modern technology. If it isn’t the internet for you, it might be that you have become a TV addict. It is very easy to watch multiple episodes without realizing 3 hours has gone by! I hope to utilize this Lent to re-prioritize my life so I can hear God’s words of wisdom and peace, reassurance and comfort. How do I unplug without feeling left out or non-productive? It will be good to learn.

Helen Keller once said, “Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content.”

Regular times of silence in natural surroundings does the heart, soul, and mind good. My daily walks with the dogs inspire me to set aside more unplugged moments. When my cell phone comes along on the walk I find myself distracted by it and lose the “soul” time I could have had. Yet without it I sometimes feel like I’ve lost an appendage, it has become so much a part of me! This won’t be easy but I will challenge myself this Lenten season to take a fast from technology every Monday on my day off. 5 unplugged days out of 40 should be doable…. with God’s help. Join me in unplugging and renewing your mind during Lent 2011. I encourage you to keep a journal of your time listening to God.

My Lenten prayer is based on this: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to know what God's will is—God’s good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2 NIV)

(This website has excellent information about all types of internet addiction. See: http://helpguide.org/mental/internet_cybersex_addiction.htm) (cartoon from the New Yorker magazine)

Pray for Our World Daily in 2011

Here we are with another chance for new begginings! Concious of our "oneness" with each other and with the world, let us begin each day of 2011 with a prayer for the world and for love to abound in it.

I agree with Reverend Desmond Tutu who believes our relationship with God is a love affair with our Beloved. Ultimately our greatest joy is just to be with the Beloved, to drink in the beauty of the Beloved in the silence of just being together in prayer. He adds, "We are made to live in a delicate network of interdependence with one another, with God and with the rest of God's creation....God is smart, making us different so that we will get to know our need of one another."

Rabbi Harold Kushner's prayer in the photo embraces this love for one another that is so needed in 2011 for the healing of our world. May this prayer touch your heart and inspire you to pray your own prayer for the world as you awaken to each new day.

Here is another beautiful prayer, this one from Desmond Tutu's An African Prayer Book:

An African Canticle

All you big things, bless the Lord.

Mount Kilimanjaro and Lake Victoria

The Rift Valley and the Serengeti plain,

Fat baobabs and shady manto trees,

All eucalyptus and tamarind trees,

Bless the Lord.

Praise and extol Him for ever and ever.

All you tiny things, bless the Lord.

Busy black ants and hopping fleas,

Wriggling tadpoles and mosquito larvae,

Flying locusts and water drops,

Pollen dust and tsetse flies,

Millet seeds and dried dagaa,

Bless the Lord.

Praise and extol Him for ever and ever.

Robert Lax also wrote a beautiful verse about Love being the beginning and the end of creation:

The Circus of the Sun

And in the beginning was love. Love made a sphere: all things grew within it;

the sphere then encompassed beginnings and endings, beginning and end.

Love had a compass whose whirling dance traced out a sphere of love in the void:

in the center thereof rose a fountain.

A Christ-like Deed of Love a Day in 2011.

“Joy to the World the Lord is come; let earth receive her king! Let every heart prepare him room and heaven and angels sing!” (Isaac Watts)

We all love singing this hymn at Christmas time. But after the “joy” part Watts is telling us to make room for Jesus Christ in our hearts. How do we make room for J.C. in our hearts and lives? We are too busy, too frantic, too worried, too tired. But Christ said, “Come to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11: 28) As Christians, our trust is to be in Christ and we are to rest in him and allow him room in our hearts and lives.

In David Bryant’s book: Christ Is All! He explains his belief that the most significant crisis emerging today among Christian churches everywhere is the diminishing of the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Do you believe Jesus Christ was more than a man? If not, then why worship him?

"For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels- everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was supreme in the beginning, and – leading the resurrection parade – He is supreme in the end. From beginning to the end he’s there, towering far above everything, everyone. The mystery in a nutshell is this: Christ is in YOU. Therefore, you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory. It’s that simple." (From The Message version of Colossians 1).

“You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is the Son of God; or else a mad man or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool; you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God.” (C.S. Lewis)

Jesus Christ showed us God’s love by his deeds. Christ calls us to GO out into the world to DO something that demonstrates God’s love for all his children. From the very beginning of Christ’s life, God asked people to show they are Christians by their actions. The shepherds had to believe and GO to see the child. The Wise Men had to trust in the star’s guidance, and GO by risking their lives to find the baby in a manger. Mary and Joseph had to pack up and flee and protect their precious baby from death. Our God is a God of loving actions. We are not to sit around and judge others as not as faithful or worthy as we are. Jesus said “Go and make disciples of all nations.” You do so by showing the love of Christ in all you do and say wherever you may be. Let Christ dwell in your heart and life by doing a loving action a day for your New Year’s resolution in 2011. Then they’ll know you are a “Christian” by your love.

Lovely Psalm 23 images and music by Bobby McFerrin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9fzWq-d8jU

Gifting Yourself During the Holidays

Recently I was speaking with someone at the JBWS Candlelight Vigil reception in our church. They looked around our Narthex and said, “Are you the church that gives out those holding crosses? My sister gave me one and I love it! I pray with it everyday!” Our new church identity is: The Church That Gives Holding Crosses. What a blessing!

Milt and Florence Andersen have gifted of themselves by making hundreds of holding crosses that our church gives out to those in the hospital or to anyone in need of a reminder that Jesus Christ is present with them in the midst of suffering. Two years ago Florence suggested to Milt that he might make a “few crosses” when he could no longer golf. She thought it would be good to keep him busy. This inspiration has turned into a widely known Holding Cross Ministry from our church to the Morristown area community! When I hand a holding cross to a person in the hospital, they immediately grab onto it and sigh with relief seeming to feel that peace which surpasses all understanding from Christ.

Over 277 years our church has had a very important identity as God’s gift to our Morristown area community. We are known for our great history of leadership and hospitality, for the famous visit for communion by George Washington, for transforming our previous church building into a hospital during the revolution, and we are known for the wonderful reconciliation our church experienced when we reunited the two churches after the Civil War. Currently we are known for having: two beautiful buildings, a fabulous nursery school, a caring mission-oriented congregation, articulate preachers and on and on. Having an identity of “giving” is exactly what Christ had in mind for his Church since the very beginning.

As I write this we are in the midst of stewardship season heading into Advent. “Giving” is a theme for both the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons. Meditate on all that God has given and respond with thanksgiving to God by blessing others. This is the time set aside to consider our “gifts and talents” and to give of ourselves sacrificially for the sake of Jesus Christ who sacrificed for each of us.

Please "gift yourself" this season by giving a portion of your time and talent, (like Milton and Florence Andersen do so generously), AND give of your financial resources also, to sustain our many church ministries into 2011. We want to do all we can to help this church continue to be God’s gift to the Morristown region for another 277 years and more!

GOD'S BEEN GOOD TO ME

I'm mindful of the blessings

That come my way each day.

My heart is overflowing

Each time I kneel to pray.

I'm thankful for the seasons;

Each one's a masterpiece.

I'm allowed to work the land,

But God still holds the lease.

I'm grateful for the friendships

That brighten sorrow's way,

Because my cup of happiness

Sustains me everyday.

I love the children and the flowers

That decorate my life

And the quiet, gentle hours

Free from worry and strife.

I'm grateful for eyes that see

The beauty of it all

Because God's been good to me

And blessed me through it all.

I'm thankful for the little things

That fill my life with love.

The best things in life are free;

They come from God above!

~By Clay Harrison~

"The Greatest Generation" is a term coined by journalist Tom Brokaw to describe the generation[1] who grew up in the United States during the deprivation of the Great Depression and many went on to fight in World War II. (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greatest_Generation)

I have always admired this generation, and their resilience that was shaped by living through the depression, their love of country and their “can do” grateful attitude. Sadly, our church has lost too many of this generation over the past year: Dr. Myles Morrison, Marty Kleindienst, Bob Lundquist, and most recently Rit Kay. Let us appreciate those we still have with us from the “Greatest Generation” and learn from their wisdom about how to be faithful, strong, and grateful in our living.

Phil Thayer will be 96 years old the first of November. Although he lives at Fellowship Village, Phil remains an important member of our church family. When his daughter comes to visit, he asks her to bring him up to our church office so he can greet us. Despite his severe hearing loss and difficulty with mobility, Phil always laughs and jokes as he always did when he comes to visit. His positive spirit has been an important factor in his creative longevity.

Phil was always active in the leadership of our congregation for many many years! We are so grateful for all he has contributed to shaping our church into the strong vibrant one it is today! Phil’s attitude of gratitude that still keeps him growing into his 97^th year of life is reflected in the poetry by Clay Harrison. Let us all learn from both Phil and Clay about having a thankful heart for all our many blessings.

Let us be thankful for the "Greatest Generation" as we enjoy this poem of Thanksgiving: http://www.angelfire.com/d20/cupofjoy/dailythings.html