Ash Wednesday - March 5, 2014

"The following devotional is from Richard Rohr. He refers to a "second split" in our reality. The first split is the split between ourselves and others as we discover our identity. The second split is the split of life and death. On this day, as we are marked with the cross of ashes, we hear, 'from dust you have come and to dust you shall return'. Life and death are not split; we experience a unitive consciousness. We are a whole person."

Splitting Life from Death

The second split is life from death. It comes about when you first experience the death of someone you have known. Maybe it’s your dog. Maybe it’s Grandma. And your mental ego starts separating life and death. There are living people, and there are people who have already passed over and they are gone. So you try to manufacture a life for yourself that will not include death (read: failure, sadness, losing, humiliation, etc.). Almost all male initiation rites insisted that the boy had to concretely face head-on this kind of dying. Sometimes the young men actually had to dig their grave and sleep in it for a night in an effort to begin to understand that life and death are not two, but include one another. If you split entirely, you spend your whole life trying to avoid any kind of death (anything negative, uncomfortable, difficult, unfamiliar, dangerous, or demanding). Much of humanity has not gone through its initiation or “baptism.” That’s why Jesus says the rich man has an almost impossible task in understanding what he’s talking about (Luke 16). If you’ve stayed in this split kind of thinking—that your whole life’s purpose is to stay comfortable and happy, frequenting five-star restaurants and hotels, and never suffering any inconvenience—then you are going to put off resolving this split until the last months of life. But at some point, you’re finally going to have to see that this is not a truthful naming of reality. You can’t always avoid the negative. Many of the saints and mystics, like Francis of Assisi, just dive into facing the unfamiliar, the foreign, and the scary ahead of time. Francis called it “poverty,” which might not be the way we use the word today. For him it meant facing the “poor” side of everything and finding your riches there. What an amazing turnaround! Henceforth, failure is almost impossible. Adapted from Franciscan Mysticism: I AM That Which I Am Seeking

  

December 25, 2013

Falling in love is a beautiful thing. Once the “falling” has passed, a love that lasts is even more beautiful.

“Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;

   righteousness and peace will kiss each other.

Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,

   and righteousness will look down from the sky.

The Lord will give what is good,

   and our land will increase.

Righteousness will go before him,

   and will make a path for his steps.”  Psalm 85

Christmas Day is about steadfast love. Not a fleeting love which passes on a whim. The birth of Christ is the birth of hope grounded in the promises and the promise-keeping love of God. God keeps promises when we do not. We fall in and out of love with others, things, ideas, beauty, and self. We seek a steadfast love. We seek a ground upon which we can stand and feel the faithfulness come up under our feet, disturbing our soles. God is faithful when we are not.

We seek the security and safety of a steadfast love. When others may disappoint us or we disappoint ourselves, we need something solid under us. We need something to hold us up and together. We need something we can hang on to, something permanent and holds things together. We need something that runs through our life and makes sense out of suffering and joy. The Steadfast love of God is that thread which holds things together.

For some of us Christmas, holidays, are not as joyous as we would like. We carry grief and regret of the past and anxiety over the future. When we fear we cannot hold things together we need a thread of truth and hope to hold us and our life intact.

William Stafford offers us hope in his poem, “The Way It Is”:

There’s a thread you follow. It goes among

things that change. But it doesn’t change.

People wonder about what you are pursuing.

You have to explain about the thread.

But it is hard for others to see.

While you hold it you can’t get lost.

Tragedies happen; people get hurt

or die; and you suffer and get old.

Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding.

You don’t ever let go of the thread.”

So, Blessed Christmas, Holy and Happy Christmas, to you and your loved ones as you continue to Hang On to the Thread.

 – Randy Wilburn

December 24, 2013

Christmas time has come again this year. A time filled with credit cards, Christmas lists, and last-minute shopping. We can see this in the stores as people mill about looking for those last few gifts, but what so many forget is that Christmas is not about expensive gifts. Not about maxing out credit cards. It’s true that Christmas is a time for giving, but giving what?

In reading Philippians 2:5-11 the answer became clear to me. Jesus has served as a perfect example of how one should give. He came down to earth and fully gave himself to us.

So in this season of giving I believe that we are truly called to give of ourselves to others. To give our time and love to each other. This is the way in which we can follow Jesus’ example and be of the “same mind” as Christ.

I pray that during this time of rushed shopping we can stop and remember that the true gift this season is one of love. Christ gave his unconditional love and we are all called to pass on that love. We are called to love our neighbors of all different walks of life. We are called to love all of our brothers and sisters of all religions, all socioeconomic conditions, all sexual orientations, and all races. Jesus loved all people without exception, and I will strive to follow his lead and I pray you will, too.

- Caroline Galvinhill

December 23, 2013

Luke 1:20 – “But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.”

As I read these words in Luke, I wonder what it would be like to suddenly not be able to speak for nine months. Frankly, it frightens me. I can't even contemplate a weekend-long silent retreat! I wonder if Zechariah spent his time unable to speak going about business as usual, writing things down instead of speaking or if he took some time to reflect before responding to what was going on around him. Did he take a step back from the day to day and spend the silence with God? And what would my life be like if I did these things? Thinking before speaking? Taking time to sit with God in silence? Definitely something I need to add to my life.

Laura Caswell

December 22, 2013

Here in the Welch household, we like to watch Hallmark Christmas movies.  Yes, from the end of November to Christmas day, those sappy, happily-ever-after programs grace our family room.  It is an escape from life’s tough days and dark nights.  Funny thing is that I have discovered that we are not the only ones who frequent this channel with feverish intensity.  So many people that I talk to say they have come to rely on these movies to get them through the stress of the holidays or turn off the sadness of the news or numb the paralyzing loneliness that this season can bring.  If you have never seen a Hallmark Christmas movie, they all have the same recipe:  one lonely man or woman finds love and acceptance in the most unusual place or circumstance.  It is seasoned with some humorous antidotes and the result is pure bliss.  I feel as though these movies are filling a void in our lives.

And then I get John 3:16 for my advent reading.  We all know it.  We see it on the rims of coffee cups, the bottom of Forever 21 bags, tattooed on the arms of athletes.  It is truly the ultimate Hallmark Christmas movie.  What can be better than God loving us so, so much that he sends his Son to save us?  Love and acceptance in a very unusual place and circumstance.  But being the flawed human being that I am, I often forget this passage or take it for granted.  I look for answers on channel 197, when all I have to do is believe channel 3:16.  This is huge.  This is really good news.  

 

There is a reason John 3:16 is such a popular verse.  It offers so much more than any Hallmark Christmas movie—it offers hope.  It offers a life raft when you are drowning.  It offers comfort when you are hurting.  It offers the gift of salvation.  It offers truth. 

I think we all get overwhelmed during this season.  The holidays are not always easy for everyone and sometimes it brings to light things we hide in the darkness.  And sometimes I forget that I am just a foreigner here on this planet.  I, we, everyone have been given an incredible gift in Jesus Christ.  Believing that Jesus came to save the world and believing in Him does not give you a happy ever after life here on earth, but it does give you an eternity of bliss.  I think I need to change channels.

Lori Welch

December 21, 2013

“Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.”  – Matthew 25:34-36

This part of the gospel reading reminds me of Christmas hospitality. During this time people are friendlier, donate more, and show their love for their family, friends and neighbors, including “neighbors” they don’t know – and those may be the very definition of “one of the least of these who are members of Jesus’ family.”

For Thanksgiving, we donate baskets of food to the Wachusett food pantry for the hungry in our community, whom we do not see pick up, cook or eat that food. And we happily take all the ornaments from the Christmas tree in the St. Francis narthex and fill bags and bags with toys and clothes for local children in need, whom we will never meet to see their eyes light up (we hope, if only for a moment) on Christmas morning when they open these presents.

So rather than focus on this whole gospel message of a future judgment and separation – the sheep and the goats, heaven and hell – I think the point here is to focus on what to do now! Instead of a month of holiday hospitality from the end of November to the end of December, let’s make it a year-round thing. The season of peace, hope, joy and love could be eternal. That would be very good news!

Claire and Cynthia McIntyre

December 20, 2013

Psalm 40, 54

Psalm 51

Zech. 7:8-8:8

Rev. 5:6-14

Matt. 25:14-30

Matthew's gospel relates the story of the master who distributes his property, "talents" - for a time - to slaves "each according to his ability."  I had just read this passage two weeks ago in relation to a financial/investing article I'd seen on moneynews.com.  I read the passage and literally had chills going down my back.  I am that slave who, receiving only one talent, said to the master upon his return: "“Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; ²⁵so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.” ²⁶

I am sooo utterly cautious.  What this passage refers to as "investing," I perceive as "taking a chance," or "gambling."  I worry about losing what I have - not just money, but my time, my talents, my life - that I don't invest in it, let alone spend (live) it.  My ability to map out the "What ifs" and all the possible outcomes - positive and negative - would impress an experienced military strategist, but it wouldn't advance any cause.

I can absolutely see myself cowering before an angry Lord, who is frustrated with my lack of action in face of my fear.  So many people who care for me are already frustrated with my waffling, my tears, my whining.  When will I step up and take the amazing legacy that God has given us and live my life to the fullest?  Be the person that I am, fully?  Completely? Confidently? Without fear of what others may think of me?  Without fear of my master being harsh or angry with me?

In five days, God will give to us - for a time - his most precious possession, the most valuable gift, His son, Jesus Christ.  Will we squander His gift?  Will we invest in Him?  In ourselves?  Will we double our legacy and be worthy of God saying to us, “Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.”

If God sent us His son, knowing what we're going to do to Him, but knowing this sacrifice is to save our souls, I know I am not worthy of the Love that is Jesus' birth.  How can I, how can anyone, possibly be worthy of that?

But if I turn my eyes away from the blinding, overwhelming act of love and just sit still, with a newborn baby, in a warm stable, surrounded by animals, listening to songs of angels, I may not feel worthy but I sure feel blessed. 

And that is a call I can answer.

- Kathleen Dixon