Sunday, April 12, 2009

Lenten Reflection - April 12, 2009

If we have died with Him, we shall live with Him; if we hold firm, we shall reign with Him.
2 Timothy 2:11


These two verses must be connected with the next two: “if we deny Him, he will also deny us; if we are faithless, He remains faithful – for He cannot deny Himself.” Many scholars believe that these four verses are a portion of a very early Christian hymn. Paul is sharing his belief that we must live our lives fully in Christ. This is why the forty days of Lent, culminating in the events of Holy Week – Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Day—must be seen as a whole. Paul knew that Jesus prepared Himself spiritually in the wilderness for His ministry, experienced the Last Supper with His loved ones, was betrayed, denied, crucified, and His dead body placed in a tomb, and on Easter was raised from the dead. In this passage Paul is sharing this hymn with Timothy to remind him of our need to experience these events with our Lord. We cannot “jump” into Easter and the Resurrection without experiencing the preparation of Lent, His Last Supper, our connection with Him being betrayed, denied, and killed. We cannot share in the Crown without sharing in the Cross. On this glorious day, I am reminded of the words from the song, The Rose: “Just remember in the winter far beneath the bitter snows lies the seed that with the sun’s love in the spring becomes the rose.” We must die with Him in order that, with the “Son’s” love “in the spring,” we will be raised with Him.

Amen.

William H.C. Ticknor+

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Lenten Reflection - April 11, 2009

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
Romans 6:5


In each of our baptisms, we are cut off from sin and united with Christ. Just as Christ was buried, that He might rise again to a new, heavenly life, we, also, at baptism, are “buried” so that we might rise from our sins to begin a new life of faith and love.

The sacrament of baptism is a real gift, signifying and sealing our relationship with Christ. As we begin to live into this baptism, we are reminded that we have a duty to fight against the body of sin that remains within each of us. More importantly, as we strive to truly know Him, we are inevitably convinced that we have an obligation to live into His command to spread His Gospel in all the areas of our lives, in order to bring as many as possible into this sacred union.

Having become one with Christ through baptism, each of us will eventually think about the Resurrection. We gradually come to the sure knowledge that, just as Christ did indeed proceed from death to be with His Father in Heaven, we, too, will follow a similar path. This obliges us to believe that we, along with many others, known and unknown, will eventually be united with Christ in that heavenly place. What a glorious reality! It is no wonder that Easter is such a joyous celebration for all those in Christ.

Thanks be to God! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Charlie Wolf

Friday, April 10, 2009

Lenten Reflection - April 10, 2009

But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.
Isaiah 53:5


The prophet Isaiah, the most poetic of prophets, says on this black day that our Lord was “wounded, crushed and bruised” by our sins. When I hear those words, I flinch. Yet I am immediately assured that Our Lord’s wounds have “healed” us and “made us whole.” It is a powerful measure of God’s greatness that we can be forgiven and comforted by one who was “despised and rejected,” who was taken away and murdered “by a perversion of justice.”

Part of the Songs of the Servant, this section has been called “the golden passional” and “the most important text in the Old Testament.” The Ethiopian eunuch ponders it with Philip in Acts 8: 26-40. The verse is in what is known as Second Isaiah, assigned to an author or authors who came after Isaiah, beginning in 539 B.C. It first appears that the “servant” symbolizes the nation of Israel, (42:1-4) then later scholars see the servant as Jesus himself. especially in Chapter 53. As we read on in Isaiah, we know the Suffering Servant “shall see light” and make “intercessions” for us, the transgressors. I marvel at the prophet’s vision and realize that he wants us to know the hope God gives us regardless of the blows life hands us – that there is a loving light beyond the darkness.

Val Hymes

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Lenten Reflection - April 9, 2009

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes again.
I Corinthians 11:26


When Paul spoke these words to the people of Corinth less than twenty years after the crucifixion of Christ, he was addressing a very cosmopolitan audience. Corinth was the most prosperous city in Greece, a shipping and commerce center within the Roman Empire, and a virtual melting pot of races and religions. Through this mixing of cultures and religious traditions arose conflicting, and perhaps misguided, ways of observing religious ritual among the early Christians.

During Paul’s time in Corinth he sought to clarify the gospel for his followers and develop uniform practices within the church. Here he is specifically speaking of conduct and order within the Passover service, and in the preceding passages, Paul reiterates Jesus’ words at the last supper. He asserts that the eating and drinking of the bread and wine serve to remind us every Passover of our Savior’s death.

Clearly this is a mandate to remember not only that He died, but also how and why He suffered and died. Paul’s words still resonate with us two centuries later, for in many ways Corinth resembled our own society. It is only by tuning out distracting societal influences and re-focusing our life and worship that we are truly able to understand and appreciate the greatest sacrifice of all. Today, as we observe Maundy Thursday, we recall Christ’s words, actions, and unending love. It is through this remembrance that we are able to embrace the grief of His passion, and understand personally the depths of His sacrifice for us.

Tricia Sanborn Hurlbutt

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Lenten Reflection - April 8, 2009

The Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced.
Isaiah 50:7


As I read Isaiah 50:7, I am reminded that at times while I am able to live and act by the example of Christ, I am indeed challenged to stay focused at all times—‘to set my face like a flint.’ With God’s help, throughout my life, I have weighed thoughts and indeed actions at times by three principles: head, voice, and heart. God expects us to follow his commandments—and with His help, our daily effort will set the example for others.

We should only hope that someday everyone will act in this way, but until they do, we should strive to set our faces like flint and follow Christ.

Christopher Hurlbutt

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Lenten Reflection - April 7, 2009

In you, O LORD, I take refuge, let me never be put to shame.
Psalm 71:1


When I began to research this Psalm, the first thing that struck me was that it is labeled an “old man’s “ or “old person’s” Psalm. David is lamenting his old age and his inabilities to continue on as he had as a young man, worried that in his old age he will shame himself before his enemies, peoples and God. Having just celebrated my “half century” birthday, I found this to be a bit of a downer. Is this what I have to look forward to in my old age?

Luckily that’s not where the story ends. David remembers the many tough times in his life and to his encouragement finds that God was with him each time—his refuge. Why should this time, old age, be any different? Despite the pains and embarrassments of growing old, he sings God’s praises because he knows that God has been and always will be his refuge—all he need do is ask.

In this time of Lent let us reflect on the tough times where God was by our side and find encouragement in knowing that, even into our old age, He will be with us always - our constant refuge.

Dona Bushong

Monday, April 6, 2009

Lenten Reflection - April 6, 2009

I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations….
Isaiah 42:6


Isaiah 42 is often called The Servant Chapter. God is calling us to be his servants by spreading the word of God to all nations. The word of God is called in these verses “the light.” God, Jesus and Christians are often called the Light of the World. We are to be disciples of Christ, telling others the Good News, converting non-believers and those that worship idols.

We sing a song called This Little Light of Mine. We sing that we are going to let this light shine, all of the time. We also sing that we are not going to hide it under a bushel. In other words, we are not to be reticent about being a follower of Christ nor reticent about leading others to Christ. God is asking us to spread His word. Be his light to everyone. All people are attracted to light. Let us be the light of Christ this Lenten Season. It might also be useful to read the words of The Servant Song found in the 9:00 Celebration Service Song Book. It definitely reflects the meaning of this verse in our lives today. Go forward and be God’s servant.

Cynthia Steuart

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Lenten Reflection - April 5, 2009

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.
Philippians 2:5-7


The early Church spent four hundred years from the time of the Resurrection until 451 AD before agreeing on the Formula of Chalcedon (BCP page 864) which defined “The Union of the Devine and Human Natures in the Person of Christ”. It seems that, whenever we approach a truth about God, we encounter paradox. Then, what did that man of flesh and blood, Jesus of Nazareth, understand about himself? Many scholars think that Jesus’ self-understanding unfolded as time went on. At least from the time of his baptism in the Jordan, his was a life of self-offering, self-oblation. It was a life of saying “Yes” to the Father and ultimately going willingly to his death on the cross. Along the way he must have at least glimpsed the truth of his own divinity. It is a wholesome thing to acknowledge something of a divine spark in each of us, else how could it be said that we are made in the image and likeness of God? We can regard this as an invitiation to holiness, which is the simple choice each of us can make—to conform ourselves to God’s will for us.

John Huntington+

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Lenten Reflection - April 4, 2009

My dwelling place shall be with them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Ezekiel 37:27


God gave the priest and prophet Ezekiel the task of uniting the people of Judah and Israel together as one people, as they both belonged to God. Throughout the text he did this through a variety of visionary messages. Ezekiel explained that God promised His land to all of his people, including the people of Judah and Israel. He explained that God was always with the people who dwelled in His land. In doing this, Ezekiel was trying to help the people to come together in preparation for a siege on Jerusalem. Together the people of Judah and Israel would be stronger working together than separately in protecting the land as a temple for all of God’s people. Finally, because there is no separation between God and his Temple, God and His land, God and His people, there is no separation between one another.

In reflection, today as Christians, we are reminded that God loves us all and that both individually and together we are all God’s people. Recognizing this, we should each work to unite as one people to do God’s will. If we do unite, we will all be stronger than we are alone. In periods of stress like our nation is experiencing now economically, and with conflicts abroad, we must continue to work to be united as one nation under God, with a single purpose of doing God’s will.

Douglas Ellmore, Sr., Leah Ellmore, and Douglas Ellmore, Jr.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Lenten Reflection - April 3, 2009

Sing to the LORD; praise the LORD! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hands of evildoers.
Jeremiah 20:13


The book of Jeremiah is one of the most difficult books of the Bible to understand. It is probably due to the fact that the prophet was so sure that God would reward those who did “Good” and punish those who did “Evil”, and do it in the sight of the world. Jeremiah’s entire prophetic pronouncements were based on Gods rewards and punishments, and when rewards did not fall to the good and punishments did not befall the bad, he complained to God. There are a number of his complaints to God in this book and the above verse comes from one of them. (You might want to read verses 7 thru18 of chapter 20 to get a feeling of Jeremiahs bitter complaint).

While there are those we know who complain to God about the same conditions that Jeremiah complained about, they do not strike us as true doers of the Word. Most of us in some way or another do complain to God when we, in our every day lives, see justice unrewarded and injustice unpunished. However, as Christians we must always remember, we have something going for us that Jeremiah did not. We have the mystery of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus which alone will deliver the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers.

The Rev. Carl W. Rehling

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Lenten Reflection - April 2, 2009

Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually.
Psalm 105:4


Such powerful advice! If there was an owner’s manual for mankind, I believe that this would be rule number ONE. I can easily imagine singing this for all to hear at the top of my lungs, or silently within my head as a reminder. Truly, when I take the time out of my busy, hectic schedule and seek the Lord, I am consistently rewarded with the warmth and love associated with His presence.

Unfortunately, I spend far too much time seeking my own answers and solutions to those issues that I encounter in this life. I often believe that I have to do it on my own in my own way. The truth is that I don’t have to do it alone. Our Lord is always beside me waiting for me to turn to Him. He is there with open arms and an open mind to provide me with direction, strength and might. Why do I so often forget this?

Maybe it’s because many of these times I feel that I am unworthy and that God is not by my side that He is ashamed and has moved away from me. In fact I know and realize today that it is I who has turned my back on Him, not the other way around. In those times when I have successfully sought the Lord, he has provided incredible help and guidance, his strength has become my strength. In the Gospel of Matthew; 6:33, this point is reemphasized: “Seek ye First the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness;
and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Joe Carta

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Lenten Reflection - April 1, 2009

If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king, let him deliver us.
Daniel 3:17


This passage reflects the words spoken by three men of Judah after they were brought before King Nebuchadnezzar for failing to worship a gold statue. The King decreed that anyone who did not bow to and worship the gold idol would be thrown into the blazing furnace. Refusing to obey the King's decree, the men of Judah were turned over to the King by his officers. When the King threatened that the men would be thrown into the furnace and mocked God's power to save them, the men responded that they did not need to defend God. They told the King of their faith in God who would save them, but that even if God did not save them, they would never serve the king's gods or bow to his false idols.

The message of this passage is simple. What will we do when our faith is tested? Will we bow to false idols or will we summon the strength shown by the men of Judah, submit to our faith in God and our belief that He can save us from the blazing furnace? When we are tested, our faith is only as strong as our efforts have been to strengthen it. If we fail to set aside time to reflect upon the Word and the messages God has for us, we can't possibly nurture and grow our faith so that we are ready. Like any other aspect of our lives where we want to succeed, faith takes work, commitment and perseverance.

Katina Steuart