Date: Saturday, April 8
Contributor: Becky Lucas
Lectionary Link
 
So many stories today: the Creation story, Noah and the Ark, Abraham offering Isaac then the ram provided, Moses crossing the sea, Ezekiel and the dry bones, and finally Christ's missing body at the tomb.

Two common threads
1) the overwhelming care, guidance and creative power of God for his people and
2) the benefits for God's people to look to him when they find themselves wandering in the wilderness.
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We all experience those days when we find ourselves afraid, maybe even alone in the wilderness. May this picture help you remember those times. Lent reminds that all we need to do is seek God and he will lead us on the right path. May you find that as you exit this Lent to celebrate in a risen Christ that you have strengthened your skill and resolve to look to God and to follow his ways. Easter is near and God will lead us if we seek him. 

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Date: Friday, April 7
Contributor: Karla Cole
Lectionary Link
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Out of my soules deapth to thee my cryes have sounded :
Let thine eares my plaints receiue, on iust feare grounded.
Lord, should'st thou weigh our faults, who's not confounded?

But with grace thou censur'st thine when they haue erred,
Therefore shall thy blessed name be lou'd and feared.
Eu'n to thy throne my thoughts and eyes are reared.

Thee alone my hopes attend, on thee relying ;
In thy sacred word I'le trust, to thee fast flying,
Long ere the Watch shall breake, the morne descrying.

In the mercies of our God who liue secured,              
May of full redemption rest in him assured,
Their sinne-sicke soules by him shall be recured.
 --Thomas Campion (1567-1620)
https://vimeo.com/815189850

Date: Thursday, April 6
Contributor: Angela Robinson
Lectionary Link
 
We gather as beloved community to share the Collect:
Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
 
A New Covenant
 
On the night when he was betrayed,
When he had given thanks,
Jesus took the bread,
He broke it and said,
"This is my body that is for you.
Do this in remembrance of me."
 
We gather as beloved community,
We gather to break the bread together,
We gather as beloved community,
To partake of His body that is for us,
We gather as beloved community,
In remembrance of Him
 
He took the cup also,
after supper, saying,
"This cup is the new covenant in my blood.
Do this, as often as you drink it,
in remembrance of me."
 
We gather as beloved community,
We gather to drink from the cup together,
We gather as beloved community,
To celebrate the new covenant in Jesus' blood,
We gather as beloved community,
In remembrance of Him
 
Based on The Epistle, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
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Date: Wednesday, April 5
Contributor: John Lawyer
Lectionary Link
 
Some of you may remember the large rubber tree that stood at the foot of the stairs to the north entrance lobby for many years.  It  had originally belonged to my mother; when my dad broke up housekeeping he sent it to us, still only about half it’s final size.  When it eventually outgrew our home it was welcomed to St. Christopher’s, where it lived happily for many years.  It became my custom to go clean off its leaves once a year on Good Friday, I don’t know why.   I wrote the following poem after one of those annual washings:
Good Friday
So it has come to this,
At the last, it has come down to this:
Hatred, nails, being set at naught.
How is love here?
 
Thus I to the rubber tree
With warm water and a rag,
Being gentle with the leaves,
Lest they crack and bleed white.
Sweet Jesus, is this how I wash your feet,
               After twenty centuries?
As if there weren’t enough poor around today 
To succor, were I really serious,
But this is the task to which you have called me;
In this world one does what one can.

Up, down, branch by branch
So as not to lose track,
Each leaf, underside and top, stroke by stroke,
Whispering words of comfort
It’s not as easy as you might think,
Removing a year’s worth of dust --
Wondering how much longer either of us
Will be here to perform the rite.
 
To keep faith with the deed, Easter by Easter
Keeps me also true to self, neighbor, and God.
So year by year I come each Good Friday,
And find solace in this steady wiping.

At the end I am no wiser, no purer in soul,
No way a better person
(Though I hope no worse);
So we bless each other,
The rubber tree and I,
Then stay or go home to wait the Resurrection.
 
April, 2009

Date: Tuesday, April 4
Lectionary Link

We do not have a reflection for today, so I offer today's psalm.

Psalm 71:1-14

In you, O Lord, have I taken refuge; *
     let me never be ashamed.
In your righteousness, deliver me and set me free; *
     incline your ear to me and save me.
Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe; *
     you are my crag and my stronghold.
Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, *
     from the clutches of the evildoer and the oppressor.
For you are my hope, O Lord God, *
     my confidence since I was young.
I have been sustained by you ever since I was born;
from my mother's womb you have been my strength; *
     my praise shall be always of you.
I have become a portent to many; *
     but you are my refuge and my strength.
Let my mouth be full of your praise *
     and your glory all the day long.
Do not cast me off in my old age; *
     forsake me not when my strength fails.
For my enemies are talking against me, *
     and those who lie in wait for my life take counsel together.
They say, "God has forsaken him; go after him and seize him; *
     because there is none who will save."
O God, be not far from me; *
     come quickly to help me, O my God.
Let those who set themselves against me be put to shame and be disgraced; *
     let those who seek to do me evil be covered with scorn and reproach.
But I shall always wait in patience, *
    and shall praise you more and more.

​Date: Monday, April 3
Contributor: Marion Hunner
Lectionary Link
  
In Fr. Randy’s sermon yesterday, he reminded us that we must walk the full journey of Holy Week in preparation for the coming of Easter.  We cannot, “skip the hard parts.” With that in mind, I share this prayer from the New Zealand Prayer Book
 
Jesus, when you rode into Jerusalem the people waved palms with shouts of acclamation. Grant that when the shouting dies, we may still walk beside you even to a cross; for the glory of your holy name. Amen.
~ A New Zealand Prayer Book, p. 581

Date: Saturday, April 1
Contributor: Elizabeth Stoltz
Lectionary Link  

God speaks to his people in the time of David. He says that He will bring his people home from wherever they may be, and He will make the two nations one. But He will bring them together with these admonitions: I will cleanse you, He says. But there will be no transgressions, no defilements, no false gods among you. I will make a covenant of peace with my people, and I shall dwell among you.

We know that many of the stories in the Bible are told as metaphor. We are left to make sense of the stories, often in our own way. What exactly is God telling his people in this reading as He calls them all together? And as I read this, I can think God is calling me, I am the “two nations”--one is the dark side of human nature and the other is walking in the light. God calls me to let go of the faults in my character: my wanderings from His Will, the distractions of gossip or jealousy or greed. What may I be doing that is contrary to being a good person, a person whose heart is open to the Spirit, and who sees the relative, neighbor or the stranger with the eyes of the heart. Am I, we may ask ourselves, kind, compassionate and loving as I am meant to be? To be called home, as the reading says, can mean am I conscious of the things I do and the way I am meant to be. Do I look as objectively as I can at myself, at my behavior? And then: I ask for help, ask God, and He will help me “cleanse myself.” I then can be at peace and find my home with God.

Date: Friday, Mar 31
Contributor: Kathy Ackerman
Lectionary Link 
 
Today’s theme is “rescue.” 
Jeremiah was a prime example of Jesus’ comment in Mark that “a prophet is not without honor except in his hometown.”  Jeremiah was constantly running afoul of local authorities for preaching against the establishment.  In fact, just prior to today’s reading in the book of Jeremiah, the prophet had been beaten and put into stocks by a rival.  In that passage, Jeremiah says God is “like a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble and they will not prevail.”

Psalm 18 is a cry to the Lord to be saved from “the breakers of death,” the “torrents of oblivion” and “the cords of hell.”  It’s worth noting that even though Psalm 18 is one of the longest in the book of Psalms, we only get the first 7 verses of the Psalm in today’s reading.  The rest of the Psalm speaks of God’s highly dramatic deliverance of the Psalmist, and is well worth the read.
             
Then we have the Gospel passage where John depicts Jesus being confronted by an angry crowd who are preparing to stone him for “making yourself God.”  After telling the crowd that “believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”  And, just as they are about to go after him, he simply leaves, which was more amazing than it sounds.  Jesus was surrounded at “Solomon’s Colonnade” (John 10:23), which is a walkway with the Temple on one side, and a steep drop or solid wall on the other.  He literally had no way of escaping that crowd.  But God does rescue Him, leaving the angry mob behind.  (Interesting to think about their reaction to THAT!)
              
Rescue is an odd concept to be thinking about during Lent, which to me has always been about preparing for the grief of the Passion and then the joy of the Resurrection – what Greek Orthodoxy calls the “season of bright sadness.”  That sense of oddness increased for me when I realized that these sets of readings are placed two days before Palm Sunday, when we read not only about the triumphant entry into Jerusalem, but also the dark story of the Passion.  Palm Sunday isn’t about rescue – whether it was dramatic, like Jeremiah or the Psalmist – or quiet, like Jesus’ evasion of an angry mob in John.  Jesus doesn’t get rescued this time – at least not physically. 
              
​But upon reflection, it’s really not so odd after all.  These readings point out that God’s rescue – in the form of the Resurrection – is on its way.  Jeremiah, the Psalmist and Jesus all believed in the power of God to rescue them from dire situations, and their faith carried them through.  Where and how does God rescue you?

Date: Thursday, Mar 30
Contributor: Kathy Hagan
Lectionary Link 

John 8:51–59
Who do you claim to be?”
Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, he of whom you say, ‘He is our God,’ though you do not know him. But I know him; if I would say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him and I keep his word. Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day; he saw it and was glad.” Then the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.” So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.
 
I AM. Simple words holding such incredible, undeniable power. I AM.
 
And yet, with all the power and authority God possesses, he makes and keeps his covenant with us. He provides to us his incredible Grace and promises us eternal life.
 
For me, this is a time to reflect, to listen deeply, to known that my part is to have the discernment and the courage to go forward in what I believe to be his demands.  As stated in the collect, to have no fear in his service.  Jesus spent a lifetime on earth walking through hardship, pain, humiliation, indignity upon indignity.  Through all of his suffering, I am given the promise of his Grace and his love. For this, it is on me to strive to hear, to follow, to be of service to him without fear. I will never be perfect, but each day allows me another opportunity to love. What a wonder. What a blessing.
 

Date: Wednesday, Mar 29           
Contributor: Christopher Haack
Lectionary Link 
 
Daniel 3:14–20,24–28
Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods and you do not worship the golden statue that I have set up? Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and entire musical ensemble to fall down and worship the statue that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire, and who is the god that will deliver you out of my hands?”
 
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to present a defense to you in this matter. 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. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up.”
 
Then Nebuchadnezzar was so filled with rage against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face was distorted. He ordered the furnace heated up seven times more than was customary, and ordered some of the strongest guards in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire.
 
Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up quickly. He said to his counselors, “Was it not three men that we threw bound into the fire?” They answered the king, “True, O king.” He replied, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the middle of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the fourth has the appearance of a god.” Nebuchadnezzar then approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men; the hair of their heads was not singed, their tunics were not harmed, and not even the smell of fire came from them.
 
Nebuchadnezzar said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him. They disobeyed the king’s command and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.
 
This week I have been reflecting on the story of Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego and King Nebuchadnezzar. And as hard as I tried between the four of them I kept finding myself identifying with old King Nebuchadnezzar. Not because I think the King was remotely correct or legitimized in the course of action he took, but being a person of privilege often I have found myself challenged or more precisely threatened by a point of view or life experience that is different than my own. Even in my professional life beyond the church as a Manager I really don’t like to be seen as somehow wrong, I can’t help but feel in some perverse way to be wrong is a show of weakness or vulnerability. Not very PC of me is it, and there are times I really struggle with that.
 
What gives me hope in this story however, is that even in the flames of my stupidity and ignorance there is still the opportunity for growth. You see, when I was thinking about this lesson I realized that God protected his faithful while still not condemning the ignorant and wrathful Nebuchadnezzar. The king took the chance to be wrong, be vulnerable and grow.
 
Thanks be to God that our God is a loving and forgiving God. All we need to do is to take that opportunity to be humble, vulnerable and seek a closer relationship to them.