A Holy Week

Holy Week. It's a term that means something special to many Christians, and absolutely nothing to many others. For some it is a week to contemplate the last week of Jesus' earthly life, and to think about what it means to live sacrificially. For others, it is a countdown to Easter Sunday, to the festivities and to the reality of the resurrection. I have said it for years and years: one cannot get to Easter Sunday without going through Good Friday. I have been criticized, with some saying that the resurrection trumps all else, and that the need for Good Friday is now done away with, because it did not have the last word. Attendance at my annual Good Friday prayer service is slim, indeed. We just don't want to take the time, it seems, to be reminded of something that is not pretty. And that is exactly the point: Holy Week is not pretty, and it makes us think about terrible events in the life of the One whom God sent to be with us. Perhaps we think we cannot look upon it because we are unworthy, and it reminds us of the distance there is to go between who we should be as Christians, and who we really are. And that's the crux of Good Friday: we look unfaithfulness and betrayal in the eye, and we gaze upon the horror of the murder of Jesus, the very one who did not deserve to die. We cannot understand, adequately, the transforming power of the resurrection in the life of the followers of Jesus until we look, unflinchingly, at the ways in which that first faith community nearly fell apart. The downward spiral of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday was hastened by the abandonment of Jesus by those closest to him. And once they abandoned him, they could not face him, or those who persecuted him, so they fled, quite simply. And that is where Good Friday leaves us, alone and feeling forsaken, until sunrise on Easter Sunday. But let's not jump to Easter right away. Linger with Jesus, in that desolate place, for just a while, so that you may take in the enormity of what is meant by sacrificial love, and view the lengths to which God was willing to go to demonstrate that love. In that silence and darkness are to be found the seeds that will blossom into a proper celebration of the resurrection. May God be with you this Holy Week.

Not Just Another Week.

We face Holy Week next week, preceded by Palm/Passion Sunday. So many people have reacted with surprise when I mention that Palm Sunday is nearly here. Maybe it is due to the fact that Easter is early this year, and the weather, thus far in March, has been anything but spring-like. Nevertheless, the most sacred week in the Christian calendar is almost upon us. What I have discovered, over the years, is the disconnect that more and more people feel with the whole week, aside from Easter. I gave up holding a Maundy Thursday service on campus years ago, because almost no one attended. I was told by one person this year that Maundy Thursday is a "Catholic" holiday, and that Protestants do not observe it. He was wrong, of course, but that perception is widespread. I continue to offer a prayer service at noon on Good Friday, but the attendance is always very low. Our natural inclination as people, and as Christians, is to want to get past the hard stuff and get right to Easter. Good Friday is a downer, so we do our best not to think about it. And yet, how can we possibly celebrate Easter as we should if we have not been willing to look at the events that preceded the resurrection? Fair-weather Christianity is very popular in America, where we can always feel good and not have to deal with unpleasantries. However, I am encouraged by the election of Pope Francis, because he implores all who hear him preach to remember the poor, and he has expressed his vision of having a church that is poor so that the poor may be rich. I think he captures the spirit of the Holy Week message quite well. So, I challenge you to attend a Palm/Passion Sunday service this weekend, even if it has not been a part of your tradition until now. It is the way to best prepare for what is coming, and it is the time for each of us to ask ourselves if we can, indeed, stand with Christ as he faces his trial and crucifixion. For how can we look him in the face on Easter if we have abandoned him in the days leading up to his resurrection? May you have a meaningful Holy Week.

What Is the Question?

It has been one of those weeks in which I have heard from several people regarding tragedies in their lives, or in the lives of persons close to them. Somehow, I always feel that, in the back of their mind, their question for me is, "Where is God in all of this?" I don't blame them, for I have asked myself that question many times when looking at the world and its injustices and tragedies, as well as my own life, and the pitfalls I have encountered along the way. Let me preface my remarks by saying that, when some difficulty has arisen in my own life, I cannot say that what I am about to say brought me comfort right away or made the process any easier. But, in hindsight, it has enabled me to take the long view of God and the world, and my experience of both. Currently, I am leading a Bible study on the book of Job, a book which few people have the patience or fortitude to stay with for very long, because IT IS VERY LONG! And yet, many will brighten up and convey their feelings about the book when I mention it. Upon further questioning about the book, it becomes apparent that not many folks have read it all and really wrestled with its message. There is not room here to go into great detail about the book and its characters, nor will I discuss the difficulty evident in the very first couple of chapters of the book, when God makes a deal with Satan. Some folks I have known have not been able to get past that first part. What kind of God gambles with the life of a just man? And that leads me to say that we tend to approach God and the problem of evil by asking the wrong question. If one reads the book of Job with the question "Why" guiding the search, one will likely be disappointed. Job spent very little time with that one as well, though his wife and friends seemed obsessed with it. Asking "why" when tragedy happens is natural, because we hope that knowing why will help make sense of it. In reality, little makes sense when something bad happens. Knowing why something happened does little to lessen the pain, and we still have the loss and pain, don't we? Job kept asking God to appear to him, because he was wondering where God had gone, now that Job was living in desolation. His friends had no patience with such things, and, instead, kept trying to explain away the evil. Job would have none of it, and he persisted in seeking out God, refusing to take no for an answer. And there it is: whatever our sadness or tragedy, whatever our loss or disappointment, we can find a clue to survival in the story of Job. We may never know why a bad or painful thing has happened, but we should never stop beating a path to God's door to insist on God's presence as we go through such events. In the end, what Job received was not an answer to his suffering, what he received was God. Be honest, can you really ask for anything more?

Getting Lost in the Majesty, and Finding God in the Process.

We are near the end of the season of Epiphany. We talk about the season, but not much about the word itself. What is an "epiphany?" Well, the word itself means manifestation, striking appearance or an experience of sudden and striking realization. Had any of those lately? And the final Sunday in Epiphany, the Transfiguration, provides us with an account of a theophany. What is that? A theophany is a visible manifestation of a deity. In our case this week, it is an appearance of Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus. Now there is a not-everyday-event! But I wonder if epiphanies and theophanies are more prevalent than we have been led to believe? Jesus was seen in the company of two men considered patriarchs of Judaism, men associated with the very roots of Jewish faith and practice. I cannot help but be reminded of the tendency in American Christianity, is some quarters, at least, to do away with creeds and symbols, and sometimes liturgy itself, in the belief that the Spirit of God needs no trappings to make itself known. Hard to argue with that. But I think that it is not the Spirit of God that needs help in this regard anyway. It is us! Who among us would not give our eye-teeth to have a real encounter with the biblical figure, such as Jesus experienced? For a long time I have been saddened at the way that worship has changed, even in my own denomination. Organs and choirs have been replaced with praise bands and gospel choirs, both very good, indeed. I loved our Christian fellowship gatherings in college with guitars, and one really, really badly played banjo.But I also loved the majesty of the 4100 pipe organ in our chapel, and of the way I felt in that place. I have thought alot about that since I arrived at Bucknell, where we have a gorgeous chapel, magnificent choirs and organ, and people who can direct and play them. We have a healthy attendance, but still many students will not attend because they think it irrelevant or too structured, and have been taught to be wary of "liturgy." Then I read something in the February, 2013 issue of Sojourners Magazine that gave me hope. Two self-identified "twenty-somethings" talk about their feeling that something was missing in their evangelical worship life, so they attended a local Episcopal Church. Their two observations? 1) I want to be part of something larger than myself, and 2) I want to find my own meaning in Christian faith and practice. They tell of the meaning that the communion ritual holds for them, and how they found God anew in the liturgy, which was foreign to them, initially. Sometimes, God can be experienced best in a place where we can realize that it's not about us, and where we can lose ourselves in something that transcends us. So, if you have longed for an epiphany or theophany for a while, find a place of worship whose magnificence might just transport you to a mountain top of your own, if only for a brief moment. It might indeed be Episcopal, or Baptist, United Methodist or Presbyterian,or any other church that has been declared dead or dying. Some of them have held on to beautiful liturgy and worship, because we can find God in a place that does not hide its history or toss out the creeds and liturgies that have sustained the Christian community for hundreds upon hundreds of years. We will have trouble finding the way forward if we don't know where we have been.

Any Cliff Will Do! Luke 4:14 - 21

This coming Sunday's Gospel lesson is taken from Luke 4:14-21. The event marks Jesus' first appearance in his hometown synagogue since his baptism and commissioning. Imagine all of the townsfolk who gathered to hear what the local boy had to say. At first blush, it seems that Jesus spoke words of hope and promise. But then he answered a question posed by someone, and by the time he finished his answer, the local folks were in search of the highest cliff over which to toss him. And so, a question arose in my sometimes fertile imagination: When we ask God to speak to us, or offer us a sign of God's presence for our lives, do we really want that? Or do we want God to confirm what it is we already believe? Are we open to being surprised, even ticked-off, by the Spirit? I cannot help but think that"localized" Christianity, that is, the brand of Christianity that each of us identifies with, wants answers that feel familiar, and safe and that legitimate that which we already believe. After all, the folks in Nazareth were, at first, really happy that the "anointed" one came from their locale. However, once he began to speak in the synagogue, many of them wished that he belonged to another synagogue in another town. My first parish assignment was just four miles from home. On the whole, folks were very welcoming of this "kid" fresh from divinity school, whose father was born in that very town. But I recall clearly an open meeting when the construction of a new post office was being discussed. Behind the scenes, much was already decided upon before the required open meeting was held. When I expressed my reservations about the plan and the process, a man in the front row told me to shut up or he would kick my.........well, you get the picture. At that moment, I realized with horror that said town had seven hills from which I could be tossed. Our faith should make us uncomfortable at times, or else, it may not be, truly, our faith, but a hand- me- down set of beliefs that we simply accepted without thinking about their ramifications in real life. So, read the Lukan passage again and picture yourself there. Would you have been the one reading and offering commentary on the Isaiah passage, or would you have been a member of the crew scouting for a precipice?

Not All Alone - Ever!

This week's Gospel reading is from Luke, chapter 3, and deals with Jesus' baptism. The main difference between Luke's account and the accounts in the other synoptic Gospels has to do with the fact that Luke's Gospel has no human actor actually performing the baptism. Luke mentions that John was imprisoned by this time due to his mouthing off to Herod. Mark and Matthew mention John's performing the baptism, while Luke and John do not. What are we to make of this? Probably not much, except that Luke and John remind us that God can do things without us. They describe Jesus being baptized with the Holy Spirit, indicating God's direct action. When I was ordained, it was a long time before I could get my head around the fact that I could "officially" baptize folks and consecrate communion elements. It bothered me for a while; after all, who was I that I should get to do such things? I still think about it, but have made peace with it in that I am an instrument used to convey the reality of what God has already done. Whoever performed your baptism, God was there first and was present at the baptism. The Church has decreed that persons be set apart for sacramental duties, which for Protestants usually include Baptism and Communion, or the Eucharist. So, that refers to people like me. However, we would do well to remember the old saying that a church has one pastor, and many ministers. All of us can be channels of God's love and grace to others. If there is a sin which we tend to repeat as a body, it is forgetting, or denying that reality, opting instead for some sense of false modesty or humility. We are not all ordained, but we are all called. So, remember your baptism, both the one with water and the one which, I believe, is on-going, when God's Spirit infuses us with the strength and ability to live lives worthy of emulating. You may be someone's introduction to the manifestation of God's love and the embodiment of the Christian faith. Don't worry, God was there before you, and is there with you. Have a great week!

The Best New Year's Resolution.

I was thinking today, while sweating away in the gym, about New Year's resolutions. This is the time of year when folks are encouraged to buy that workout device, available for six easy payments of $19.95, plus shipping and handling (in other words, an extra $25 just for fun). Or perhaps you will start a new diet, or decide to read that book or write that memoir. I began a regular exercise routine when I graduated from divinity school, but it was not a new year's resolution. I just thought I should work to remain fit, and believe me, it gets harder each year, and the results are never what I hope for, but I keep on keeping on. For better or worse, this is the body God, and my mom, gave to me, so I need to take care of it. But what about taking care of one another, is that ever a resolution for us? So, as I was peddling furiously and going nowhere in the gym this morning, I thought of the best resolution of all. Jesus was asked what is the greatest commandment. He gave a two-for-one answer: "Love the Lord your God with all of your heart and mind and soul. And love your neighbor as yourself." It seems to me that no new year's resolution can improve on that. If we would just incorporate this simple, yet difficult commandment into our personal and corporate lives, imagine what the results might be. From the kitchen table, to the workplace, to the halls of Congress, perhaps folks might behave in a more civil manner. Happy New Year!