Category: 2013 (Page 1 of 3)
Sermon for the second Wednesday in Advent
What could happen in your life if you laid down your burden for just a moment and choose beingover doing? What would happen if you opened your eyes and noticed the wonder around you in a new way? We’ve a long winter ahead and there will be plenty of time for worry and shopping, working and shoveling. Let’s all find a moment to sit down and refresh ourselves by drinking a cup of hot cocoa with God.
It may surprise you to learn that I am a bit of a Scrooge. I prefer the term “Advent purist,” but the way it manifests is that I am rather militant in my desire to save Christmas celebrations for 24 December and after. At Bible and Beverages this past Monday night, one of our number joked that he wished he knew where the circuit breaker was at Mahoney’s Garden Centre so he could cut power to the Christmas lights. It was a funny thought that made me feel a little less alone in my bahumbugness about it all.
I don’t want to be a Scrooge. I want to see the lights and the joy and internalize some of the wonder but that can be difficult with all that seems to swirl around – especially this time of year. There is a distinct difference between the light of Christ in Christmas and the commercial hoopla that the decorations in the stores represent. All of this has called me to consider what concrete steps I could take to intentionally focus on the light that breaks through the darkness in this season. Where can I find Christ in the midst of the craziness?
To answer those questions I’ve decided to adopt an Advent discipline this year as a way of intentionally looking for the light each day. Similar to a Lenten discipline, I will be taking specific prayerful steps to listen to what the Spirit is saying in my life. Not surprisingly, the steps I will be taking involve color and lots of glitter. I plan to paint each day during Advent as a prayer and mindfulness activity. There are two books that will be my guides on the journey: Praying in Color by Sybil McBeth and The Painting Table by Roger Hutchison.
It can be very easy to lose track of the simple and beautiful reason for this season when society tells us to sprint from Thanksgiving to Christmas. But really, is there ever a time of year when we don’t feel the push to sprint ahead? It seems that with each change of season there is another reason why we can’t slow down. From sports to time changes to work schedules and everything in-between, there is always something to be done or someplace to go. It seems this is nothing new since the architects of the church calendar very intentionally built in seasons of reflection in advance of our two major feast days. Advent is a time for hopeful expectation. It is a time that can be stressful and even painful as we remember the people and events in our lives that have influenced us. But Advent is also an invitation – an invitation to wait, watch, notice, and pray all the while trusting that Christ will come. So, while I work on the trust part I will keep my hands busy (and messy) this season.
“If the world is night, shine my life like a light.” -Emily Saliers |
As the sun came up just after arriving. |
Someone has to do it. All of the running blogs and articles tell you that you “most likely” will not finish last when you race. Well, this morning I went and ran a 3.59 mile trail run with only 45 other people. As soon as I saw how small the field was, how BIG the hills were, and the crazy people in shorts and pro running gear running up and down hills for a prerace warm-up I knew there was a very strong likelihood I could actually finish last.
Starting line before we began. Notice the folks in shorts! |
There have been a lot of articles recently about back of the pack runners questioning if we are committed or even “real runners.” It feels a little like the questions I fielded when I was a transitional deacon. To be honest, while it is a little frustrating to know that these elite runners feel the need to comment about what may or may not be motivating runners like me, I really don’t care all that much. I will never be competing for a first place medal – and that’s okay. I am competing only with myself. I am competing to be better than I was yesterday. I am competing to use the body God gifted me with. That’s all – and that should be enough. I am no threat to the elites and I see no reason why it’s become so important for some people in that high bracket of runners to discourage a new crop of runners who might never run a 3 hour marathon (or run a marathon at all!), but who are getting off the couch, making their lives healthier, and inspiring others to do the same.
Today I led a three hour training with our Godly Play teachers. We were discussing the pedagogy and theology of Godly Play storytelling. When a storyteller tells a Godly Play story he or she tells the story from memory and looks only at the storytelling props as she/he conveys the story that is written on his/her heart and tells it to the children. You can watch a Godly Play story by clicking here. As I watched Diana tell the story of the Good Shepherd to the teachers assembled it hit me: teaching Godly Play is akin to my celebration of the Eucharist. I told the teachers that the reason I do not look at the congregation when I celebrate is because the prayer is not about me. My role in that moment is to pray on behalf of the congregation. I look at the book even when I have the words memorized. I look at the chalice and paten – the bread and the wine – I only look at the congregation when inviting them to proclaim the mystery of faith, to say the Lord’s Prayer, to say the invitation, etc… because the Eucharist prayer isn’t about me or them; it is about us and God. In that moment I told the teachers that I consider them to be celebrants of Godly Play as I am a celebrant at the table. It is a sacred space we enter to teach and we must center our hearts to be present at that moment. Today, during that training, I learned something more about being a priest that I have not yet learned. It was a humbling and inspiring afternoon as I realized that nine months into priesthood I still have “firsts” to experience. I hope that gift, the gift of seeing something familiar in a new way because of this calling, never ceases. I hope to always be in awe of this peculiar and wonderful life I am called to lead.
life.)
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