Meditation in Lent ~ Holy Week Monday: After the Hosannas... '24

March 25, 2024, Monday in Holy Week

    MONDAY, after all of the joy and excitement of Palm Sunday, sees Jesus back in the town of Bethany.  On the previous Saturday, Jesus came to raise his friend Lazarus from the dead. Lazarus had been dead in the tomb for four days, and his sisters Mary and Martha were in anguish.  Now on this day, Jesus returns to a dinner by Martha to see Lazarus and enjoy a meal among his closest friends. Mary decides to welcome him ~ in the traditional way of hospitality of the time ~ by cleaning and anointing His feet but instead of a simple washing, she uses an exquisite ointment known as Nard. Then she dries His feet with her hair.  

    One of the disciples, Judas Iscariot, makes a snide comment about the expensive perfumed ointment that Mary used saying that it could have been sold and the money given to the poor. He didn’t care about the poor. He was in charge of the money and also a thief skimming money for himself off the top of whatever had been donated to the group of Jesus and his disciples.  Jesus, supportive of Mary's actions, told Judas that Mary had purchased the jar of Nard in preparation for Jesus' own death and burial and that, "You always have the poor with you but you do not always have me."

    Meanwhile, a great crowd was assembling to see Jesus and Lazarus together.  The chief priests were not at all pleased at this development, especially after throngs of excited people along the entry route into Jerusalem the day before. They decided that they would put both Jesus and Lazarus to death. All that was being said of the miracle of raising of Lazarus were turning Jews away from the religious authorities of the Synagogue toward this Jesus. The chief priests felt their own power threatened by this new and very powerful prophet. 

    Have you ever really experienced the tension of this week because of knowing the outcome? Try to imagine it. Listen, hear. Be there. Immerse yourself in the Gospel of Mark 14:1-15:47 over this week. Live into them. Attend the Stations of the Cross in person or online. Also be present for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. Be here in our own time, with mounting tension in this country and around the world, with political executions and increasing violence. Think about racing through a favorite mystery to find out whodunit, or almost biting your nails in a thriller movie not knowing the end. The clock is ticking...

Sweet Jesus,

       On this Monday in Holy Week, the Gospel speaks of You relaxing at dinner with friends and being pampered as we go about the busy-ness of everyday life. How unaware are we today, as were the disciples on that day, of the significance of this week in our own lives as Christians? 

       The Sanhedrin were plotting against You, and we are making lists of necessities for Easter Day, including bunny-shaped chocolates and marshmallow peeps in brightly colored baskets with plastic grass and hard-boiled eggs dyed in multiple colors. Where, in this country and in the world at large on this day in our time are executions, official and individual, being planned and carried out against innocent people? How many unknown women, men, and children will be brutalized for their religious beliefs, their race, gender, ethnicity, who they love, or simply because they seem to be a threat to some person or group in power? 

     Grace us with Your spirit Lord, let us Your followers, hear and pay attention to that still small voice inside that tells us to take a moment today to Give Up a few minutes of our ordinary Monday to Take On truly reflecting on what the events of Holy Week, and especially Easter Day, mean to us in our faith journey. Pray for insights and opportunities to make even a small yet positive difference in someone’s life today and often. 

      Remind us to give thanksgiving for the ordinary parts of a day that make up an extraordinary life for the many of us that don't have to fear murderous persecution. Help us to remember and realize, today, why it is that we're privileged to be gathering fun fillings for an "Easter Basket?" 

    It's only Monday and much more than shopping and preparing an Easter Feast is yet to come during this very sacred, Holy Week.  amen.

 

 

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Meditation Moment in Lent ~ Day 34: Give Up, Take On, Pray '24

Saturday, March 23, 2024 ~ Day 34

     It is most comfortable to be invisible, to observe life from a distance, 

at one with our own intoxicating superior thoughts.

~ Anne Lamott*  

    I'm not sure it's invisibility that I would find comfortable, perhaps just being aloof and observing from an overhead vantage point or from my own personal pedestal. There are times when I like being close enough but far enough away, keeping everyone at arm's length. Then I can dish in my own head with clever if less than kind judgments, point my (invisible) finger at those who are merely common in their small lives, while I in my brilliance could solve all personal and global issues if I allowed them close enough for me to impart my wisdom. 
    And then, something in my head breaks out into:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

    so are my ways higher than your ways

    and my thoughts than your thoughts.

[Isaiah 55:8-9 NRSV]

 

Dear Most Superior Invisible One,

    I realize that my own self-described superior thoughts aren’t worth much at all if I'm using them to be condescending to others. Clearly I am not giving away the love and grace You are providing to me to share generously with others (and myself), even if only silently at times.

   For today, I’ll give up being merely an observer of people from an impersonal distance. I’ll take on becoming more up close and personal, when appropriate and comfortable for another. I’ll pray to remember that I'm not the judge of others, which, anyway, is more likely a reflection of how I judge myself. Help me to remember, daily, that the life You have given us is to be lived knowing You are within us and seeing the radiance of Your love in every single person we meet. No matter my presumption of the life circumstance, attitude, faith practice or lack of, politics, size, age, gender, etc., of another, You have taught me to love that neighbor as myself. Having You to lean on, turn to, and continually learn from is a far better way to experience superior intoxication. amen.

 

*Anne Lamott [1954 - ], is an American political activist and author of non-fiction and novels all largely autobiographical and with her signature wit, humor, and self-deprecation. Tackling alcoholism, single-motherhood, and depression, Lamott brings us in to everyday American situations with down-to-earth, sometimes irreverent vocabulary and structure that cuts directly to the center of life.

 Oh Lord it's Hard to be Humble: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYKWch_MNY0

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Meditation Moment in Lent ~ Day 33: Give Up, Take On, Pray '24

Friday, March 22, 2024 ~ Day 33

magnified fish scale

Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree,

                          it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.                         

~ Albert Einstein* 

Don't Judge a Fish by its Scales!
    I cannot count the times I have felt diminished by being told I wasn't capable of x or that I couldn't possibly achieve y for a variety of reasons such as being too young, too old, too stupid, and once because I have red hair. I've also been elated by the encouragement of or compliment by some I respect and admire, and even by strangers. How easy it can be to shake or make self-confidence, to thwart or inspire development. How fragile we, who-pretend-even-to-ourselves-we-are-not, often are. Let’s not judge ourselves by our own scales.
       

Lord of all Created Life,  

   For today and all days ahead, I will strive ever harder to give up  judging others, even if it is only in my head and not coming out of my mouth, as I remember the insensitive and hurtful things done or said unto me (even if some of those say-ers were unaware). I will take on and improve upon the role of encourager and listener, and, even if I’m pretty sure that fish cannot climb that tree, let me remember we can all be surprised at the outcomes when one is just that determined! I pray for the serenity to let go of all the un-useful stuff I've carried within me, to forgive the intended and unintended slights by others, that I may be forgiven for my too many slights and insensitive acts toward others, and to look within to get on with scaling my own trees to their highest heights. amen. 

*Albert Einstein [1879-1955], German-born, is an icon of theoretical physics, a Nobel Prize winner, with such an enormous catalog of many intellectual and scientific achievements to his credit that his name has become the synonym for genius. He was visiting in the US in 1933 when Hitler came to power and he never returned to Germany. He became a US citizen in 1940 and warned President Roosevelt of the possible weapon development in Germany that would become the Manhattan Project in the US leading to the atomic bomb. Einstein later denounced the use of nuclear fission for weapons but had been worried that Germany would develop it first. His career in the US was with the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University in New Jersey which lasted until his death in 1955.

 

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Meditation Moment in Lent ~ Day 32: Give Up, Take On, Pray '24

March 21, 2024 ~ 6th Thursday in Lent

   “Imagine a trust in yourself, or another person, or in life itself, that doesn’t need to be proved or demonstrated, that is able to contain uncertainty.  People sometimes put their trust in a spiritual leader and are terribly betrayed if that person then fails to live up to ideals. But a real trust of faith would be to decide whether to trust someone, knowing that betrayal is inevitable because life and personality are never without shadow. The vulnerability that faith demands could be matched by an equal trust in oneself, the feeling that one can survive the pain of betrayal.”    ~Thomas Moore* [emphasis added]

   Betrayal comes in many forms and guises and when discovered it is deeper than a knife in the heart. It can feel as if the depth of that knife is fatal and at times, for myself, I wanted it to be so. But it is survivable ~ out of everyone I've ever known, I know of only a few who have willingly mislead or intentionally deceived me, and one or two that I’m aware of who didn't trust me enough to tell me the truth. As with any trauma, however deep or embedded in our hearts and souls and psyches, with help as needed, we can move forward. Today is all we have in this Earthly existence. Living in past anguish prolongs it. Counting the ones we can and do trust, relieves it and steadies the ground of our being that theologian Paul Tillich described, even if we are, understandably, a bit wary for  a time.

Dear Jesus,
          Betrayal in my life pales in comparison to Yours. While You saw it coming and predicted it to the very people who would betray You, perhaps in Your humanness You still hoped that it would not come to be. 
         As for me, learning to trust after discovering a betrayal was very difficult and very painful. I have moved on but the faint echo of the hurt is still there yet fading with the time that passes. So, for today, I will give up needing to replay the anguish in my mind and take on making certain that I am not one who will ever deceive another or cause any emotional harm. I will pray to trust my own instinct about people and accept that I will sometimes be disappointed, and I, no doubt, may disappoint others. AND I will concentrate on all the many, many others who have been and are grace-filled gifts in my life. This is proof enough that I can have faith and trust in others as I have in You. More importantly, whatever happens in human relationships, I know that my faith and trust in You will always be well-placed. amen.  

*Thomas Moore [1940- ], is a writer, psychotherapist influenced by Carl Jung and James Hillman. He is also former monk, and has been a professor at Glassboro State College and Southern Methodist University.  Dr. Moore has authored Care of the Soul, which was on the NY Times bestseller list for almost a year, and Soul Mates among 30 other books on soul, spirituality, and depth psychology, and lectures internationally on ecology, psychotherapy, and religion.

 

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Meditation Moment in Lent ~ Day 31: Give Up, Take On, Pray

March 20, 2024 ~ 6th Wednesday in Lent

“[There are those activities that] we use...for a kind of pleasure which can be called "fun." But it is not the creative kind of fun often connected with play; it is, rather, a shallow, distracting, greedy way of "having fun." And it is not by chance that it is that type of fun which can easily be commercialized, for it is dependent on calculable reactions, without passion, without risk, without love. Of all the dangers that threaten our civilization, this is one of the most dangerous ones: the escape from one’s emptiness through a ‘fun’ which makes joy impossible.”

~ Paul Tillich* 1886-1965

-What kinds of things do you do "for fun" or relaxation or simple pleasure: Photography, playing a musical instrument,  cooking, reading, bird watching, dancing, video games, playing the slots, gardening, playing or watching  outdoor sports, watching television or movies or Facebook or other social media, or games, on your phone in a restaurant at a table with others...  

-When does fun turn into idle play or idle play into an obsession or addiction, or trying to always please others?

-When is "entertainment" at the expense of or in exploitation of others (however well they are being paid)?

-Do your fun times improve your life financially, enhance 

a relationship, or your physical, and mental health?

Dear God of Free Time ~ 

   What should I do when my time is my own ~ is there a right way or a wrong way to do "fun"? Does everything I do in life have to be filled with usefulness and meaning?  Sometimes I just want to sit and vege-out in front of the tv, sometimes I want to run on the beach, learn to paint, or sing in the car. Sometimes I want to write the perfect sonnet or cook the most sumptuous meal for friends. I don't want to be responsible for saving civilization.

    Well, then let me think this through. For today, I'll give up some of the empty time of mindless "entertainment." I'll take on some mindful relaxation that will give me a positive outlook on life and then transfer some of that into energy to contribute something use-full to at least local civilization if only in a small way. I'll pray to keep idle play from becoming idol play. I'll keep trying to remember that You are present in every moment of my day and only through You can I experience the joy that this life has to offer and then offer it in a variety of ways to others.  amen.

   

*Paul Tillich is considered as one of the most influential theologians of the 20th century, and Christian Existentialist Philosopher.  His seminal work is a three-volume series on Systematic Theology, which is his most widely known writing though there are many others.  A German-born Lutheran pastor, Tillich came into conflict at the rise of Nazi power and was encouraged by Reinhold Niebuhr [see Prayers for Lent Day 23] to join the faculty of Union Theological Seminary in New York. He later became one of the Five highest ranking Professors at Harvard University and later a professor of theology at the University of Chicago.  His strong influence continues in the world of academic philosophy and theology with its critics and apologists - a legacy that will survive for a very long time to come. 

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Meditation Moment in Lent ~ Day 30: Give Up, Take On, Pray '24

March 19, 2024 ~ 5^th Tuesday in Lent 

Doubt is not the opposite of faith; FEAR is.

- Verna J. Dozier*

   "Back when I first started talking about ministry, it was seen as something the ordained did. Lay people had no ministry at all except as they participated in the work of the institution. If you taught in the Christian education program, you had a ministry. If you taught in the public schools, you 'did time' five days a week until you could get to your ministry. When I began my second career, people would say, 'You taught school for thirty-two years; then you began your ministry.' … In my unredeemed way, I would steel myself and reply through clenched teeth, 'No, I continued my ministry.'"

    Perhaps our American Constitutional concept of "Separation of Church and State" permeates our consciousness more than we realize. According to most definitions work is work and ministry is what certain officially ordained clergy do for work. But are we ordinary people not Christians every part of every day, and representatives of Christ, or does that only happen when we're in Church? How does our idea of ministry change if we are being Christ's ministers whenever and wherever we are? Maybe that seems easier if you're a teacher, a doctor, or a social worker. Is it possible to be a minister if you're a motorcycle mechanic, house painter, file clerk, in a grocery store line, or corporate CEO? If we truly are one body in Christ, with many members each with our own gifts, what, in even shaky Faith, is there to Fear from accepting our roles as ministers of the Gospel whatever, whenever, wherever it is that we are doing? 

Dear Chief Minister:
       I really don't want to stand on the street corner and handout leaflets, or knock on doors to proclaim You to the world. Even so, I would like to believe that I can be one of Your ministers without having to be so formal about it. Maybe I'm just being presumptuous to think so if I have no special training or credentials. So, how do I get to have a ministry?  Maybe if for today I give up the notion that only specially educated, formally trained, ordained people can be ministers, I can take on looking at the most mundane, or more important task as a ministry. If it is something that needs to be done, wherever it is, I can complete it or at least contribute time and energy to it without grumbling and resentment. I can smile at someone I pass on the street. I can listen to someone without interrupting. I can just be a comfortable presence and accept people for who and where in life they are. I can serve soup, or read at the Sunday service, serve on a church vestry or council; I can learn how to do other kinds of ministry in and out of “Church.”  I can seek some training in an area of Church life that interests me. I will pray to know You are with me always and allow that to guide my thoughts, my actions, and my sense of being an integral part Your One Body.  If everything I do is in the spirit of and as a minister of Christ's Gospel, then perhaps I will more easily be conscious of what I will NOT do, and, act accordingly. amen.

What is your definition of ministry? Here are a few that still only recognize the ordained:

-From Webster: the body of ministers of religion: clergy

-From Dictionary.com:

1. the service, functions, or profession of a minister of religion;  

2.the body or class of ministers of religion; clergy. 

-From TheFreeDictionary.com: a. The profession, duties, and services of a minister; b. The Christian clergy; c. The period of service of a minister

 

From the 1979 Episcopal Book of Common Prayer Catechism, pg 855:

Q. Who are the ministers of the Church?

A. The ministers of the Church are lay persons, bishops, priests, and deacons.

Q. What is the ministry of the laity?

A. The ministry of lay persons is to represent Christ and his Church, to bear witness to him wherever they may be; and, according to the gifts given them, to carry on Christ's work of reconciliation in the world; and to take their place in the life, worship, and governance of the Church.

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Prayers of the People: From an End to a New Beginning, Palm and Passion Sunday, 6th Sunday in Lent '24 Yr B

For Sunday, March 24, 2024, Readings: Liturgy of the Palms: Psalm 118:1-3, 19-29; Mark 1:1-11; Liturgy of the Word: Isaiah 50:4-9a, Psalm 31:9-16, Philippians 2:5-11; The Passion according to 

Mark 14:1-15:47

  Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting, "Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!" [Mark 11:9]

  Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who are my adversaries? Let them confront me. [Isaiah 50:8]

  But as for me, I have trusted in you, O LORD, I have said, "You are my God, my times are in your hand... [Psalm 31:14-15a]

  Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus...and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. [Philippians 2:5, 11]

   Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard." So when [Jesus] came [the betrayer] went up to him and said, "Rabbi!" and kissed him. [Mark 14:44-45]

   [Peter] began to curse, and he swore an oath, "I do not know this man you are talking about." At that moment the cock crowed for the second time. Then Peter remembered that Jesus had said to him, "Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times." And he broke down and wept. [Mark 14:71-72]

The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday 

  What a day it was! The palms, the cloaks, and branches on the road with cheering and exuberance for this Jesus, heralded as a prophet and a known miracle worker, riding into Jerusalem on a donkey (a donkey was symbol of peace, a warrior king would have ridden a horse). It was all being carefully watched by the Roman occupiers and the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Council who had its own police force and trial court. 

  Just as suddenly as the air fills with joyous gusto, the week turns deadly and the same crowd’s Hosannas turn to shouts of Crucify him! And this is the Sunday we revisit, re-enact, and relive it all through the appointed readings.

  Decades ago the celebration of Palm Sunday and the commemoration of Passion Sunday were two separate successive Sundays. These were later combined into the one-Sunday, two-part Liturgy we have now. At first thought it seems a shame to shortcut the two experiences and yet, I think, it can truly heighten the experience of both parts ~ if we let it. It highlights the stunning speed at which any and many of us can be manipulated into changing what we think we believe, and by virtue of who is telling us, we can be artfully redirected to know that we want to believe whatever he/she/they are saying. 

  Yet, whether we are attending church in person this Sunday, or watching online, how much of the combined readings do we really hear, feel, or think about later in the day, or the week? We’ve heard them all before, or at least we know the story. The readings are long, even if acted out more than simply read. Where am I in this? Am I listening, or watching the clock, warming the coffee or tea in the microwave, answering texts, or thinking about the grocery list for Easter baskets and Easter Dinner and peeps, jelly beans, and chocolate bunnies? 

  Am I willing to look at the world as it is now, with how many examples of crowd-manipulating, politically- and religiously- , sexually-, ethnically-, racially-, and gender- motivated-murders take place every day in my country and around the world? Am I willing to wonder what it is that I could possibly do about it now? Or, at the very least, am I even considering who and what Jesus is to me? 

 When my younger grand-daughter was 4, she loved singing a little happy-clappy ditty she learned in Vacation Bible School, "I am following Jesus" and her volume increased exponentially ~ as she also learned ~ with the line he changed my life forever. So, wise and self-proclaimed Christian grandmother that I think I am, the hard question for myself, again, is how am I following Jesus? Has he changed my life forever, or, more to the point, have I let him? When have I betrayed and deserted him ~ or if that's too hard for me to willingly acknowledge ~ when have I ignored him? Yes, it’s Palm AND Passion today, and it's here all week! And, it's here every day of every year that I choose to profess my faith in all that I think and do ~ often uncomfortably and unpopular in places, but oh so redeeming. 

    Anticipating the Gospel events as they arise this week, I resolve to start over, re-read the lessons, pray with them, and seek the courage and confidence to live into and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the Glory of God [Phillipians 2:11]. It is time for me to look at each day in this Holy Week, again, as if for the first time, as a sincere period of reflection, penance, and re-commitment. There's no Easter without Good Friday, and when I am following Jesus ~ the real Jesus ~ my life does change, and the rising joy is palpable. Holy Week takes us from an end to a new beginning in, of, and through Jesus, as Christ takes us forward into Forever.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY
 
Leader:  ~ Jesus, Light of God, today we begin with Hallelujah and Hosanna and end with Heartbreak and Hostility. How quickly the crowds turn, prodded by intentional distortion of truth, political manipulation, and betrayal. Grant us the courage to listen deeply, to walk the path to Your coming death as if for the first time, to stand with You through it all now, and to never deny that You are our Messiah, our Lord.
 
                                                Hosanna! Messiah!                                          
             RESPONSE:           Into Your hands we commit our souls
 
~ Jesus, Light of God, embolden us to earnestly engage the leaders of this World, this Country, and this Community, to confront and eliminate the fear mongering, treachery, and racism, and all  -isms that lead to cruel deaths like Yours. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
 
                                                Hosanna! Messiah!
                                                Into Your hands we commit our souls
 
~ Jesus, Light of God, enfold with Your loving arms all who are ill, desperate, or hopeless, and all who worry and care for them.  We now join our hearts to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

                                                Hosanna! Messiah!
                                                Into Your hands we commit our souls
           
~ Jesus, Light of God, You came to lead us all into the glory of eternal life through Your gift of Salvation. We rejoice in knowing that those we mourn are alive again with You, in everlasting peace. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
 
                                                Hosanna! Messiah!
                                                Into Your hands we commit our souls
 
~ Jesus, Light of God, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions
 
                                                Hosanna! Messiah!
                                                Into Your hands we commit our souls
                       
~ Jesus, Light of God, as we begin this sacred week, endow our spiritual leaders with extraordinary grace, that we may all be drawn together, to be opened and accept the same mind in us that was in You, and live always aware of Your continuous life-changing embrace. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
 
                                                Hosanna! Messiah!
                                                Into Your hands we commit our souls
 
The Celebrant adds:  O God of Enduring Mercy, guide our experience this day and through the fullness of the week to come. Grant us awareness of the times when we, too, have deserted and betrayed Jesus by turning first to the ways of this world. Guide us in the willingness to confess through our thoughts, words, and actions, that Jesus Christ IS Lord, to the Glory of You, our God. We ask this through our Savior Christ, Your Holy and Sanctified Son; and the Most Holy Spirit, Your Breath and Wisdom within us; who live and reign with You, One God, now and forever. Amen. 

 

 

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