What makes your heart sing?

Posted by Rob Stevens, Rector

The Sunday before Lent begins (also known as the Last Sunday after Epiphany) always has the reading about the Transfiguration.  The Transfiguration is the story when Jesus takes Peter, James and John up a mountain and there Elijah and Moses appear and God’s voice reminds everyone that Jesus is his beloved son…and to listen to him.  It is a very fitting story to hear before we enter Lent.  Firstly, because Jesus, James, Peter and John did not stay up on the mountain, instead they came down to the valley and dealt with the reality of life.  Secondly, because I think the Transfiguration gives us a chance to ponder what exactly Lent is all about.

A popular interpretation of the Transfiguration is that it was Jesus who was transfigured.  That makes sense, but an interpretation that I find extremely helpful and hopeful is that it was Peter, James and John who were transfigured.  In their encounter with the living God their lives were changed, transfigured forever.  This interpretation also moves us from a passive “gazing” at Jesus to an active life following God.

This interpretation of the Transfiguration being about us as well as Jesus is an interesting lens to look a Lent through.  How is Lent an opportunity to be Transfigured?  Too often we miss the point of Lent and see it as some kind of holy punishment we must endure to somehow deserve the love and light of Easter.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  Lent is an opportunity to prepare, to look within, and to do the good work God gives us to do so that when Easter comes we are ready to celebrate fully the gift of God’s never failing love.

This Lent I ask you to look within and wonder about this question, “What makes your heart sing?”  Spending 40 days pondering this question and exploring the practices that support this passion just might be the best use of any 40 days.  Instead of simply “giving something up” perhaps we each need to spend some very intentional time examining our lives and discovering or rediscovering what makes our hearts sing.  Can you imagine what this little corner of God’s creation could do if we all were clearer about what truly mattered to us and had the clarity and confidence to commit to it and discard the rest?  The potential is exciting beyond words.

What makes your heart sing?  Will you allow God to transfigure you this Lent?

Please take advantage of this upcoming season and make the most of the gift that is your life.  I pray for your peace and offer gratitude for this community of fellow pilgrims,

Your rector,  Rob

“I invite you therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word.  And to make a right beginning of repentance, and as a mark of our mortal nature, let us now kneel before the Lord, our maker and redeemer."

From the Liturgy for Ash Wednesday Book of Common Prayer page 265

ELECTIONTIDE

Posted by Rob Stevens, Rector

While the season of Epiphany began on January 6th and will continue until Ash Wednesday on the 22nd of February in our Church year, in our culture we have entered fully into the season of “electiontide.” There is an old cliché that states that, “A preacher should eschew the topics of politics and money.” While that may be safe and comfortable, it also risks rendering said preacher irrelevant. Archbishop Desmond Tutu is credited with the words, “Those who say I mustn’t preach on money or politics are not reading the same Bible as I am…it is the vast majority of what Jesus talked about!” I could not agree more.|

If you made it this far into the post I do wish you to know that I will not presume to tell you whom to vote for. That is “partisan” politics and I agree it has no place in the pulpit. However, as we wrestle with the tension of the two seasons running concurrently (Epiphany and electiontide) I think it offers us all an opportunity to reflect upon what is truly important to us.

Yes, we will each decide for ourselves who is “our” candidate and will cast our vote. It is our right and privilege in this democracy. I contend that there may be even more at stake. In our baptismal covenant (on page 304 in the Book of Common Prayer) we make some promises that, with the help of God, we intend to keep. The two that keep coming up in my prayers and reflections are the last two on page 305. They read,
♦ “Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?
♦ “Will you strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being?”

The response from us for both of these questions is, “I will with God’s help.” In this season of Epiphany where we celebrate the manifestation of God in Christ for the world…the entire world, it is poignant to note what the other season of electiontide espouses. One of the roots of politics is the Greek πολιτικός (politikos), one meaning of which is, "civil". It would be laughable if so much were not at stake. Electiontide is a win at all costs affair it seems, with  little regard for the dignity of others. I suggest that these competing seasons offer those who follow a God who loves ALL and asks us to do the same an incredible opportunity to put our faith in practice.

I believe that the love of God for us and in us is deeper than agreement or disagreement on issues. If we can each pause long enough to remember that our enemies (political and  otherwise) are also children of God, we have the opportunity to literally transform the world around us and perhaps, more importantly, the world within us. The vision of God as we pray each Sunday is not that we wait passively for the Kingdom of God to come in the “next life.” Instead we pray, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” We are invited day by day to be participants with God in ushering in God’s kingdom on earth. I ask you to pray daily for our country.

I ask you to pray also for the entire world. May the season of Epiphany remind you that you are loved by God beyond your wildest dreams and may the season of electiontide encourage you to wield that love without fear and with reckless abandon!

Your rector and fellow pilgrim, Rob

Epiphany – A new light shines in our hearts!

Posted by Jeff Thornberg, Associate Rector

This year, as Annie and I await the birth of our first child, the liturgical season of Advent never seemed so real. The themes expectation, preparation, the promise of new light and life breaking into the world, as God did in the form of Jesus Christ, spoke to the precipice upon which we stand.

This New Year, we find ourselves in the season after the Epiphany. On the Epiphany, we celebrate the arrival of the magi (wise men), who follow a star in the sky, in search of the Christ child. Upon their arrival, they adorn Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, in recognition of his non-traditional kingship. In Church, we talk of the birth of Jesus, and of the
arrival of the magi, but rarely if ever do we speak of their long journey, through the dark, following the light from above to an unknown destination.

Each Sunday during the Holy Eucharist, the celebrant reads a Proper Preface, chosen for the appropriate season. The Proper Preface for Epiphany reads:

Because in the mystery of the Word made flesh, you have caused a new light to shine in our hearts, to give the knowledge of your glory in the face of your son Jesus Christ our Lord.

During Advent (or as everyone seems to call it, the Holiday or Christmas Season), society as a whole is skilled at preparing and expecting Christmas. For some of us, that preparation may not have been spiritual, but rather the coordination of Christmas parties and  celebrations. Nevertheless, we all prepared, and we all in some way celebrated Christmas. Yet, how many of us take the journey of the magi?

How many of us, in this new season, look to where there is a “new light to shine in our hearts?” How much time do we spend making space for God in our lives in 2012, in order to see where God has broken in?

Recently, a friend of mine who has a small child gave me an important piece of advice. He told me to always remember that after all the excitement (after the baby showers, and birth classes, even after the birth and arrival of our child) Annie and I will be left alone with a new baby, a light and life totally dependent on us. It will be hard, messy, challenging, and totally worth every moment. This preparation is just the beginning of a longer, more important, and more valuable experience: a journey.

Perhaps we do not emphasize the trek of the magi in the Epiphany because it is easier to focus on the preparation and then the destination, instead of the process. Perhaps we focus on births because the messiness and complications of every day life are too much to comprehend. Yet, that is where God is. God is leading the magi to the Christ child, and God is leading us to those new lights that shine in our hearts this New Year. God is with all of us in the New Year, leading us journeys that are hard, messy, challenging, and totally worth every moment.

Where is God leading you? I invite each of us, in a busy new season, to reflect on where God may lead us, through the darkness, to follow the light. Like the magi, may we stay on the journey, in order to have a more important, more valuable experience.

How do you prepare for Christmas?

Posted by: Rob Stevens, Rector

What leads you deeper into a relationship with God? If the church could ask only one question, perhaps this should be it. The season of Advent could be a gift to us that leads us deeper into our relationships with God and even the world, but it is not a simple gift to receive. Receiving this gift takes intentional preparation.

Advent is an interesting time for Christians, especially liturgically minded ones like Episcopalians. Our faith tradition tells us to slow down and get ready for the coming of the Savior of the world, while our popular culture screams at us to get busy and make sure everything is just right for the biggest consumer event of the year. Never are Christians more at tension with our culture than we are during Advent. Our liturgies are penitential almost Lent-like (note the liturgical color for Lent and Advent is the same, Violet). Yet, everywhere else the party has already started. In fact, I see that the party never really ended from the year before. Our society is unwilling to rest, to fast, to prepare. We simply move from one event to the next without ever reflecting upon life. Advent’s purpose is to enrich the feast that is Christmas. Advent is the fast that precedes the feast.

A week ago many of you probably experienced a feast at Thanksgiving. Have you ever made the mistake of snacking all morning long only to sit down at a marvelously prepared Thanksgiving Day feast with a limited if not non-existent appetite? That is much like our culture’s treatment of the season of Advent. We are so stuffed with food, toys, parties, and activity that by the time Christmas actually arrives we are too tired to celebrate. So, call me a  scrooge if you must, but I contend that I am far from a scrooge. I suggest that we just jump the gun a bit and miss out on a tremendous opportunity to prepare for one of the greatest feasts the world has ever and will ever know, Christmas. Christmas is the feast when we celebrate the reality that the love of God erases all boundaries, even those between God and human. This feast takes some preparation and that is the gift of Advent.

So what leads you deeper into your relationship with God? How might you embrace this holy
season of expectation that is Advent? What practices might deepen your experience and celebration of Christmas? Our tradition has many practices or you may come up with your own. Maybe you will light an Advent Wreath at mealtime, or take time to keep an Advent Calendar, or maybe you will limit the number of commitments you make during December. What ever you do remember the purpose is not to get gold stars on your heavenly scorecard, but to lead you deeper into the Grace and Wonder that is a relationship with God.

May you have a blessed Advent.

Faithfully, your rector and friend, Rob

"Check Lists" vs. "Check Ins"

Posted by: Jeff Thornberg, Associate Rector

In the Christian calendar, Sunday, November 27, 2011 marks the first Sunday of Advent. The season of Advent marks the beginning of the Christian year. Historically, the faithful would prayerfully prepare and await the celebration God breaking into the world in the form of an innocent child. In fact, the third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday (the rose colored candle on the Advent wreath) was introduced as a break in the season, because people were taking Advent too seriously.

Yet, if you're anything like me, prayer and solemnity is far from your mind at this time. In today's world, no one speaks of Advent, but rather the general "Holiday Season," which is filled with preparations for stressful yet joyous social and familial events. It's a time for tasks,
not space. We all make check lists, but may find it all too difficult to check in with ourselves, much less God.

My wife Annie and I are expecting our first child on February 27, 2011. We feel that our lives are full to the brim with expectations, preparations, fears, anxieties, hopes, and dreams. Like the holiday season, I find myself running through my life, attending to the innumerable tasks, both in my public and private life, that must be completed before her or his arrival.

Recently, a trusted friend asked me where God was in all of this. I must confess that I was taken aback. Despite the fact that I do what I do, it had not occurred to me to ask the question. Yet, why wouldn't I? God is moving more in my life than ever before!

The same is true as we prepare for a new Christmas, and a New Year. God moves both in the silence, and in the hustle. I invite all of us, however difficult it may be, to take time to "Check In" with ourselves and with God during this time. New things are developing. We must not miss them because we pay too much attention to the tasks.