Second Sunday in Lent: Grace

The second word form the cross is the promise of Jesus to the thief that he would join Jesus in paradise. This scripture from Luke 23 can be unsettling for some. This criminal at the last minute asks for grace and forgiveness. Being executed gives us an indication that this man had lived a hard life, but we don’t know if he had always been inclined to do what was evil or whether it was an act of desperation.

In any case, this criminal, also in pain, has heard Jesus offer forgives from the cross. While others mock and laugh, this thief sees an innocent man. “Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom.”

Pastor Rebecca had a wonderful sermon on grace. Yes it seems unfair and yet God is all about redemption and restoration. At the foot of the cross we can receive grace upon grace.

We announced our re-opening for in person worship for next Sunday March 7. Only the Downtown Alive service will have in person worship as we transition back slowly and safely. You can find all the information. on our website.

It has been almost a year since we were worshipping in person weekly. We met for three weeks briefly in the fall before the numbers skyrocketed. We do long to see each other “face to face” and we will do so with some restrictions in place. What a gift of grace that will be!

First Week in Lent

One week ago, Lent began. It was an Ash Wednesday like no other. After all these years to not be in person for worship felt odd. Instead of ashes, I had a temporary tattoo. The First Sunday in Lent was a continuation of weeks and months of virutal worship.

This year’s theme is “At the foot of the cross.” It’s a bit old school and yet, after almost a full year of lockdowns, social distancing, mask wearing and avoiding crowds, the theme feels very real. I have read several comments from clergy and other Christians noting this past year has been the “lentiest lent ever!” And there is a good deal of truth to that statement. How is it possible we are already in lent AGAIN???

If I am honest, Lent often sneaks up on me. It feels as if we just did “lent” and do we have to do it again? This year I am approaching it a bit differently. Somehow I want to participate in lent. I want somehow to embrace this time to ponder and pray, to mediate and fast. Perhaps it’s because of this past year of pandemic. I want to figure out what I have learned, how I have grown and what still needs to be nurtured and challenged in my relationship with God.

The lenten devotations are First were written by the staff. We are inviting people to create a lenten candle cross. With a Christ candle in the middle, each week we will light a new candle until on Good Friday, all will extinguished.

This is what Andrew and my candle cross looks like. The linen towel is one from his mother’s collection of linens. I like the way it looks. Along with lighting the candle each day and pondering the prayer prompts we are participating in the Lenten food drive.

This daily practice of placing an essential food item for United Methodist Open Door reminds me to be intentional about mission and prayer and action.

The first week of Lent has been a blessing for me. As I have focused on the first word of Jesus from the cross, I am reminded that forgiveness of my own sins and the challenge for me to forgive others is the hard work of being a Christian. Followning Christ means living out the forgiveness and the love I have been given by sharing it with others. It is a good way to begin this season of Lent.

The First Word: Forgiveness

After the “lentiest year ever” in the words of so many, here we are again in the ACTUAL season of Lent. It was in the middle of lent last year the world went into shut down over a novel coronavirus named Covid-19. While First United Methodist Church opened briefly for in person worship for three weeks last fall, like many other churches we have done almost all of our fellowship, worship, small groups and Sunday School classses online and virtually.

We decided early on to not have an in person Ash Wednesday service. We talked through all the possibilities, worked at being creative and decided for us, having a virtual service made more sense. As the weather has been bitterly cold it turned out to be a good decision. Different staff members were assigned or volunteered to do one weeks devotions on a card. Sent out hundreds of lenten packets with a temporary cross tattoo to be placed on one’s wrist during Ash Wednesday (or one could use a marker or pen to make a cross or some dirt or ashes.)

We are also doing a food challenge similar to the reserve Advent Calendar. However instead of a different food each day in December we are doing a food for each day of the week.

Our sermon series is based on the traditional “last words” of Jesus on the cross. I am not sure I have ever done a sermon series, I have participated in some ministerial alliance lenten services over the years based on these scriptures, but I don’t know if I have actually done one myself. These phrases or “last words” seemed an appropriate focus after this last year of social distancing and concerns over Covid 19 and a contentious election season. While we are making plans to be back to in person worship soon, we will still be masking and roping off pews to keep people safe and healthly.

With the help of some wonderful volunteers (Danny White and Brian Hopper) our large cross was transformed to hold candles.

Similar to Advent we will light a candle each week along with the Christ Candle and then during Good Friday, one by one they will be extinguished in a Tenebrae service. Today the first word from the cross is “Forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” Now I have read this passage from Luke so many times but as I was preparing this sermon and this series this is the first time is really struck me that Jesus’ first word was Forgiveness. Not the last word, or a word lost in the the middle, but the first word from Jesus is “Forgive them.” You can find the whole worship service here.

Choose Joy: Compassion

We ended our sermon series on Valentine’s Day. Now some folks love that day and other’s hate it and I have personally been in both camps. The last couple of decades I have been in the former camp. I learned embrace the day not as some sort of commerical holiday, but as another path to remind myself of a Christians call to love.

This year I was most saddened because I didn’t have the opportunity to sign valentines for everyone who comes to worship. We are still worshipping virtually and I love signing hundreds of valentines each year. It was one more reminder of the losses we experience from the pandemic. So instead, I shared a picture of one of the antique Valentines I use my home as a note of love to all those who were worshipping with us virtually.

Using The Book of Joy, by the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu with Douglas Abrams has been such a gift. Each week we have looked at the obstacles of joy and then seen how a pillar of joy can help us overcome the obstacles. This week the obstacles were suffering and adversity. Both of these men, spiritual giants, know both suffering and adversity and point to how compassion helps us connect one to another. In that connection, even in adversity, even though we suffer we can experience joy.

In the Super Bowl there was an ad that noted: “what if we were were wrong this whole time? What if joy doesn’t come at the end? What is joy is the whole game, not the end game.” That is the premise of The Book of Joy. Joy is the point, joy is the journey, joy is the gift. You can find the whole service or just the sermon here.

Choose Joy: Gratitude

I missed a week in posting a blog on worship. This “Choose Joy” sermon series has made me practice some different prayer techniques and has lightened my spirit. Based on The Book of Joy, by the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu along with Douglas Abrams these last few weeks have been a blessing. The chapters on the obstacles to joy as well as the pillars of joy have been helpful.

This past Sunday the obstacles to joy were loneliness and envy. I certainly can identify with both of those experiences. The authors point out that gratitude, thankfulness help us connect to one another. Through the connection then, we can put aside envy and wish others joy. This is not always easy to accomplish, but it is possible.

You can find the full worship service, or the sermon only here.