In the moment(s) of dying to self, what did you learn?  What might you say about those moments to give you strength when the next “dying moment” comes?  What could you say that might encourage another facing the cost of discipleship? 

As you “die”: 

What does God reveal to you about God?

What does God reveal to you about yourself?

What does God reveal to you about others? 

Do you know these by heart?

Seek, find, and inscribe upon your heart words of scripture or song that help you be a sacrificial steward of your life. 

Scripture: 

Psalm 42:1-3                           My soul thirsts for the living

 God

Isaiah 40:27-31                       Those who wait on the Lord

 will renew their

 strength

Matthew 11:28-30                  I will give you rest

2 Corinthians 12:7b-10           God’s power made

perfect in weakness

Songs:

Tree of Life and Awesome Mystery               ELW #334

Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross                      ELW #335

Beneath the Cross of Jesus                             ELW #338

A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth              ELW #340

Take My Life, That I May Be                         ELW #685

We Are an Offering                                        ELW #692

“Once Upon a Time I lost my life.”   

Was there ever a time when you completely set aside your pride or preferences or abundance for the sake of another? 

It may have been a situation that took you somewhere or towards someone that you REALLY abhorred.  Or it may have been an occurrence when circumstances stripped you of all power where there was no hope for you to “save” yourself.

How did that opportunity come your way?  How did you approach the moment of sacrifice? 

What was the result of that sacrifice?  How or where have you seen the “much fruit” that Jesus describes about the outcome of “dying to self”? 

Do you love your life?

John 12:20-33  (excerpt below)

…Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.  Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

"Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say--' Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour.

Loyalty is a wonderful thing.  It describes a relationship that will not be shaken or diluted by time or circumstance.  Once you proclaim your loyalty, you are in a relationship to the person or organization that only YOU can dissolve. 

Jesus has been teaching about and modeling the way God’s Kingdom.  Although the disciples haven’t always understood completely, they have been following by his side or closely behind him. 

This week is the week of commitment. Jesus is laying it on the line, so to speak.  This is the week that we learn CLEARLY what Jesus is asking us, and all loyal disciples to do, even as he goes before us to do it first. 

In  order to be loyal (i.e., to follow) Him we must set aside all that we claim as our life and possessions.  The only way the greatest good of life or resources can unfold is to set it all before Christ as you follow him and stand with Him at the cross. 

For reflection and writing: 

If Christian Discipleship requires your willingness to lose your life for the sake of others, consider this:  Is there anything you hold so precious that you would hesitate to surrender it for the sake of another?  What is it?  How can you loosen your hold on it (or its hold upon you)?

By the way, if there is nothing that you withhold—not time, talent (ability) or possession, use this day to give thanks for whatever it is that has made that possible.   Perhaps you can use this day share your abundance with another.  

Inscribed upon the heart

Jeremiah 31:31-34

The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt--a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD.

But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the LORD," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

Reflection:

What types of information do you know by heart? 

To know something this well means that we can repeat it without much thought.  It is literally on the tip of our tongue. 

How does something become “known” in this way (by heart)?  Perhaps we work to memorize the information.  Or perhaps we think of it or use it so frequently that it becomes embedded and readily accessible.  It is more than just knowing something.  To know something by heart means that it can be transmitted in an instant – no searching the data banks of our mind. 

Perhaps the reason this kind of information is described as being “known by heart” has something to do with its practicality.  Perhaps, also it has something to do with the emotional connection it has to our personal experience. 

When something is written upon our heart we no longer think about it.  Some have said that the distance between the head and the heart is the longest distance in creation, especially when it pertains to our understanding of God’s sovereignty, mercy and love. 

Let your light shine so that others may see.

As you have written (or thought) about your movement from dark into light, doubt into faith, unbelief into belief, consider the touch points of grace. What are some of the ripple effects that might flesh out your own "witness" to others about Jesus Christ.  

How does your own story resonate in your memory as a source of inspiration on your own dark days?  To whom might you tell your story as a way to inspire them?  (a child?  A young adult?  A seeker?  Anyone who is questioning faith?) 

Words of Light

Seek, find and read scripture or lyrics to a hymn which relates to your idea of who Jesus is and how God reaches out to all the world in Christ.

Memorize or record these words so that you have them readily accessible when you face the darkness of doubt within or around you. 

Scripture: 

John 3:14-21                            For God so loved the world

Romans 8:31-39                       I am convinced

Philippians 2:5-11                   At the name of Jesus every knee should bend

Song:

I Love to Tell the Story                                  ELW #661

What Wondrous Love Is This?                       ELW #666

Lord, Speak to Us, That We May Speak        ELW #676

This Little Light of Mine                                ELW #677

Darkness cannot overcome the light. But sometimes we prefer the darkness.

John 3: 19-21

And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.

For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed.

But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God."

Have you ever experienced the darkness of doubt and despair?  Have you ever found yourself trying to hide from the light of Christ’s truth?

When you returned to God and your folly was held in the light of God’s love and forgiveness, what happened?  This is more than and deeper than accepting the consequences for poor choices or mistakes.  It is about a return to wholeness.

Perhaps you have never fallen into darkness.  Do you directly and personally know somebody who has?  How did you serve them as a believer—as a child of God? 

Go deeper.  If you did wander in the darkness, what brought you back?  Perhaps it was a person.  Perhaps you hit the "bottom" -- who or what was involved in that bottom?  What did you learn about God?  What did you learn about yourself?  What did you learn about others?  

I'm a believer. I wasn't always a believer.

Once Upon A Time, I realized that I truly believed that Jesus Christ is God’s Son.  Ever since then, that belief has made all the difference. 

For your writing:

Perhaps like many people nowadays, you can recall a time “before Christ” in your life.  How did you manage your life at that time?  What were your priorities?  What did you believe was “true” about the world, about yourself and about others?

Even if you can’t remember ever being a non-believer, there are probably people you recall who told you most clearly about Jesus.  They may have told you Bible stories. 

Perhaps there was a time when you began to wonder if it was really true.  Perhaps circumstances were working against your faith, or perhaps you were simply wandering into the territory of doubt. 

Is there somebody who said or did something that opened up your eyes in a new way that refreshed your faith? 

Who proclaimed Christ’s power as Son of God?  Who showed you what it meant to know the love of God? 

Whom have you told about Jesus Christ?  To whom have you demonstrated the love of God? 

Sabbath Time

Ephesians 2:1-10

You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient.

All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else.  But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved--and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God--not the result of works, so that no one may boast.

For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.

And  John 3:16-17
 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

 "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.


After you return from church today:  For Reflection:  What do you remember MOST about today's worship experience.  


Or if you did not attend worship, how did you observe the Sabbath Day?  

Cleansing Agents

Step back from what you wrote about being cleansed or being the one to initiate a cleansing in your family, workplace or congregation. 

Look between the lines of your story and ask yourself: 

What did God reveal to me about God?

What did God reveal to me about myself? about others? 

How do the lessons guide and perhaps inspire me now? 

Go deeper if you wish:  How do you respond to criticism?  Sometimes it is easier to tolerate criticism from somebody we don’t like than it is to accept criticism from somebody we love.  As you pray about areas where you have been challenged by criticism, does it reveal anything that Jesus might be trying to drive from your “temple”?  (ie, your body, your household or your congregation)

Claim the power of the Word

Take time to read scripture or lyrics to a hymn that provide strength during a time of cleansing and purification. 

 Think and pray about why the words are particularly powerful for you.  Perhaps the power is connected to a particular time and place.  Perhaps they are words you heard that shook something negative out of you.  Maybe they are words you prayed or spoke as you served as one of God’s truth speakers. 

Scripture: 

Psalm 51     Create in me a clean heart

Psalm 102   Do not hide your face from me

Joel 2:12-13   Return to the Lord, your God

Romans 12: 1-5     Present your body as living sacrifices

2 Corinthians 12:7b-10  A thorn in the flesh

1 John 1:5-2:2  If we confess our sin, God is faithful and

just

Song:

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross        ELW #803

Lord Jesus, Think on Me                          ELW #599

Out of the Depths I Cry to You                ELW #600

Built on a Rock                                         ELW #652

Where True Charity and Love Abide       ELW 653

Elephant Namers

Every once in a while we are called to be the agents of dramatic changes in a household.  Some people call it “tough love”.  Others refer to it as naming the elephant in the room, or calling a spade a spade. 

When God uses us in this way we often need to face the status quo and disrupt it in the name of a greater good.  It is often a matter of justice.  It is always a matter of bringing the truth into the light. 

It rarely makes us popular in the eyes of others. 

Reflection:  How have YOU been used in word or deed as an agent of truth and authoritative love. 

Write:  Once upon a time, I was the person who waved chords of truth that changed my household (or workplace or congregation or community).                       

Once Upon A Time, Jesus made me look at what he wanted to cast out of me. 

How does that part of your story unfold?  Here’s the truth:  It is so easy to forget that our bodies moving through time and space on any given day are the vehicle and instrument of God’s love.  If we are free of interior and exterior blemishes, that love shines brilliantly to others.  If we have taken on a murky attitude or we are dominated by fear, that love is hidden and/or distorted.  If our strengths and resources are being guarded too tightly or if they are being used for something other than for God’s glory, they will be radically less effective.  They may even harm others. 

Finally, if we abuse our bodies through poor nutrition, or lethargy, or any number of addictions, we sacrifice awareness, energy and endurance.  When God wants to use us in some way, we won’t be prepared to serve. 

Some of the attitudes that Jesus zealously calls from me are: 

             Fear and doubt

Pride and Pretenses that try to assert my own

 preciousness

             Anything that is self indulgent at the

                        expense of another. 

             Any superficiality that tries to deceive others

                        about what is really happening

Usually it is a matter of gentle, consistent invitations to keep striving for the better ways of Jesus.  But every once in a while I experience a knock up side (or over) the head that says, “Hey, Pamela, there isn’t room in God’s temple (ie. YOUR life and your body) for this.  Quit it!”   

It seems that many of my most vigorous phases of ministry have been preceded by a time of being trimmed or tamed by Christ. 

Reflection:

Have you ever been confronted by the zeal of God’s cleansing love?  What needed to be removed from your life or from your physical behavior? What can you say about the result? 

God's Temple

John 2:13-22

The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables.
Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.

He told those who were selling the doves, "Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father's house a marketplace!"

His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for your house will consume me."

The Jews then said to him, "What sign can you show us for doing this?" Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."

The Jews then said, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?"

But he was speaking of the temple of his body.

Years later, Jesus' words will echo in Paul's first letter to the church at Corinth. "Do you not know," the apostle will ask them—and us—"that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?" (1 Corinthians 3.16). We are the body of Christ, both broken and beautiful; in us God's Spirit makes its home.

How is it with your temple this day?

Blessing the Body

This blessing takes

one look at you

and all it can say is

holy.

Holy hands.

Holy face.

Holy feet.

Holy everything

in between.

Holy even in pain.

Holy even when weary.

In brokenness, holy.

In shame, holy still.

Holy in delight.

Holy in distress.

Holy when being born.

Holy when we lay it down

at the hour of our death.

So, friend,

open your eyes

(holy eyes).

For one moment

see what this blessing sees,

this blessing that knows

how you have been formed

and knit together

in wonder and

in love.

Welcome this blessing

that folds its hands

in prayer

when it meets you;

receive this blessing

that wants to kneel

in reverence

before you:

you who are

temple,

sanctuary,

home for God

in this world.

This blessing is from “Teach Me Your Paths: A Pilgrimage into Lent.”    By Jan Richardson

http://paintedprayerbook.com/2012/03/05/3rd-sunday-in-lent-speaking-of-the-body/

In preparation for the next leg of your story, remember that your body is God's vehicle and instrument.  Your body is the means by which God's mission walks through time and space wherever you go.  St. Paul (1Corinthians 3:16) asks us if we know (unbelievable as it may seem) that WE are EACH God's temple.  

Well, I don't know about you, but sometimes I tend to forget that!  Consider this blessing, written and offered by Jan Richardson on The Painted Prayer Book.  

Blessing the Body

This blessing takes

one look at you

and all it can say is

holy.

Holy hands.

Holy face.

Holy feet.

Holy everything

in between.

Holy even in pain.

Holy even when weary.

In brokenness, holy.

In shame, holy still.

Holy in delight.

Holy in distress.

Holy when being born.

Holy when we lay it down

at the hour of our death.

So, friend,

open your eyes

(holy eyes).

For one moment

see what this blessing sees,

this blessing that knows

how you have been formed

and knit together

in wonder and

in love.

Welcome this blessing

that folds its hands

in prayer

when it meets you;

receive this blessing

that wants to kneel

in reverence

before you:

you who are

temple,

sanctuary,

home for God

in this world.

Praying between the lines

Friday, March 9, 2012

Step back from what you wrote about challenges, interruptions and shutdowns this week.  Look between the lines of your story and ask yourself: 

What did God reveal to me about God?

What did God reveal to me about myself? about others? 

How do the lessons guide and perhaps inspire me now? 

Go deeper if you wish:  Are you on a trajectory now?  Or are your plans stalled?  Facing resistance?  Has somebody said to you “You are setting your mind on human things, not on divine things”?

Rooted in the Word

 Take time to read scripture or lyrics to a hymn that you rely upon for support or spiritual guidance. 

 Think and pray about why the words are particularly powerful for you.  Perhaps the power is connected to a particular time and place.  Perhaps one of your mentors or counselors offered it to you when you needed it most.  Or perhaps it was a reading or song that made you stop in your tracks for a while. 

Record your thoughts to be a reminder to yourself that the words are there for you, at your finger tips, the next time your plans and dreams seem to be challenged.   

Scripture: 

Jeremiah 29:11-14  I know the plans I have for you

Psalm 139                You search me and know me

Isaiah 55: 8-9          My ways are not your ways

Song:

Will You Come and Follow Me           ELW #798

Come, Follow Me, the Savior Spake    ELW #799

Oh, Jesus, I have Promised                   ELW #810

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross     ELW #803

Your part in the scene

Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."

Matthew 8:31-33

Have you ever been encouraged to do something that you knew in that moment would not be wise or for the ultimate good?  How did you assert your own sense of what was the right path to take?  Did you say (in some way or another) "Get behind me Satan?"  Did you try their suggestion (not wanting to make waves) and then make a mid course correction?  

The Grace of a Delay

Sometimes we determine for ourselves a trajectory (or plan) that sounds great on paper.  It may even be affirmed by others.  They may, of course, be legitimate encouragers.  But they may also be merely trying to please us.  Or they may have other motives.  It is important to learn from our experiences that not everybody who has an opinion about what we are considering as a "plan" is an appropriate source of counsel.  Their input may be rooted, at best, in narrow vision; or in worst cases, they may in some way NOT want us to flourish.  

This time of reflection is not meant to move you into a judgmental mode where you criticize the "other" for the way you were shut down.  It is a time for you to understand where and how God was with you in the midst of the challenge.  Take a deeper look.  Barriers to our plans can be frustrating, like detours, road closed signs and speed bumps in a parking lot.  Sometimes they are nothing more than an inconvenience or the law's effort at traffic control  But sometimes they do, literally, save us from a possible disaster, had we been able to keep moving on our preferred road at our self determined pace.  

Read, Reflect and Write.

Was the interruption in your plans like a brick wall?  or a stop sign? a caution sign? or a speed bump?  Did it enable you to traverse a scenic or enlightening byway?  Now as you look at the delay, where can you see God's work in it? 

When you argued with God

Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."


Matthew 8:31-33

Most of us have been here with Peter.  When we enter discipleship, enthusiasm may take over, and we may begin to dream dreams and envision plans that are not necessarily the way God would have them. 

Any barrier or call for a more patient pace may seem like an affront.  It may not make sense to us.  We may get defensive.  Or our lower lip may jut out in disappointment

 and we may quit, saying something like:  If I can’t have it my way then I won’t do it at all. 

Living in ambiguity can generate all sorts of anxiety.  We need God’s help and guidance in many ways, but especially in becoming vulnerable, unknowing, and obedient.  Dependency upon God increases our faith-hardiness and our resiliency.

I recall a moment when I met with the Assistant to the Bishop to discuss candidacy in the ELCA.  I waxed eloquent to her about my sense of call.  I also told her all of the ways my gifts could most certainly be used -- when, where, how.  At that moment she interrupted me.  In Christ's Name, she rebuked me.  

She said, "You are not ready.  You are too certain about the way this is supposed to work.  Go back to your prayers regarding this.  Listen.  And when you are ready to say nothing more about this than "Yes, and I ask God to help and guide me" come back and we will talk about candidacy." 

I was disappointed and hurt.  I thought that the more I knew about my path (setting my mind on human things) the more effective I would be in discipleship.  Not so.  The less I know the more likely I am to follow the guidance of the divine.  

I thank God, now, that I was rebuked.  I needed that.  

Read, Reflect and Write. 

This week you begin with "Once upon a time, I set my mind on human things."  Can you recall a time when you "knew everything" about the way things were supposed to go?  When did you trust what humans were telling you (through media or peer pressure or your own ego) more than what God was saying?  Who (or what) showed up to rebuke you? 

Sometimes we call these turning points "reality checks".  Something happens that places what we are doing or thinking in line with "reality" and we discover that we have been denying what is true.  When it comes to faithful discipleship,  it may be more accurate to call these turning points "divinity checks".  

Write after you worship

Record your reflections about today’s worship. Ask yourself:  So what did that mean?

 (What is staying with you?  Something from the scripture lessons?  Or the prayers? Or the music?  Or the sermon?  Or the Eucharist? )

Enter the Scripture

Read the lesson for today.  No need to write today.  Hopefully you will make it to  church to be with the others who are praying, singing, listening and receiving.  Let this be a Sabbath day for you -- it is a mini-Easter, remember?  


Mark 8:31-38
8:31 Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

8:32 He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

8:33 But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."

8:34 He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

8:35 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.

8:36 For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?

8:37 Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?

8:38 Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."


Return tomorrow ready to read and write about your own story.  

Today is the day to sift your story about your wilderness place and ask yourself the following. 

In that place, what did God reveal to me about God?

In that place, what did God reveal to me about myself? about others? 

How does what I learned in that place relate to how I might be in wilderness places I am in now (or will enter in the future)?  

Angels in Waiting

Today take a look again at the wilderness scene you described at the beginning of the week.  You may be tempted to leave it before you have fully appreciated the way that Love reached out to you while you were there.

What can you say about the way God came to you through chance encounters?  People may have showed up to give you a cup of cool water.  Perhaps you were encouraged by something you read, or a story you heard.  Or maybe there were times or places that served as an oasis for you--a small "break" from the trials you were facing in that wilderness.

If a person new to faith were to ask you: " Is it true?  Does God really stay with you in the dark places of life?" how would your response serve to inspire that person?