Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Dear Friends in Christ – siblings all one to the other:
As we steadily journey towards Holy Week and Easter, let’s just pause for a moment. Take some time to breathe. Acknowledge that all of this is hard work. It is necessary for our spiritual growth and for our growth as human beings, but it is hard. It is okay to acknowledge that. Remember Jesus on the night before his death when he went to the garden to pray? “If there is any way that this cup could be removed from me? Is there any other way God?” Remember too that Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness preparing for this ministry. That was hard too. Forty days is a long time – as those of you who are trying to give up things already know. So, breathe deep, just like Jesus would have many times that night – and during his time in the desert. Breathe in strength, compassion and resilience from God. Breathe out all those things you have trouble letting go of. You are never alone. God loves you and accepts you the way you are. But for our own freedom and wellbeing, for the strengthening of the relationships in our own lives, and for the good of all humanity God continues to invite us to let go.
This week we are invited to let go or to give up the following:
Day 31 of Lent, Wednesday, March 20 – please give up a small view of God. Sometimes when we try to describe God, we put parameters around God. Using more expansive and mystical terms to describe God is sometimes helpful – God is a powerful presence, God is a force of love and compassion, forgiveness and grace, God is actively at work in the world and in our lives, God is a very present help in times of trouble.
Day 32 of Lent – Thursday, March 21 – please give up a small view of yourself for you are made in the image of God. You are a God-bearer. You too are a force of good and compassion, forgiveness and grace. God will and does us you. Never doubt that!
Day 33 of Lent – Friday, March 22 – please give up a small view of the power of repentance and transformation it can have. Sometimes called ‘breakthroughs’, when people know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are loved, embraced, forgiven – indeed that they belong, transformation does happen. We see the world differently. When we know we are loved we can love others and love ourselves with much more freedom – with no strings attached. So often we need to attach conditions to our love. These conditions reflect deep pain, suffering or insecurity within us all. Knowing we are loved enables us to risk loving without condition. In itself that is transformation
Day 34 of Lent – Saturday, March 23 – please give up a small view of the impact of solidarity - knowing you are not alone is a transformative experience as well. We are social creatures. Suffering, pain, difficulty, hurt, heartache are experiences to be shared. They are not solo acts. Knowing that someone walks with you as best they can, that someone remembers you, that someone is praying for you – all of these things are powerful forces within our experiences.
The Sixth Sunday of Lent – Palm / Passion Sunday – March 24. This year we focus on the passion of Jesus, the pain he endured. Sometimes it is too difficult to imagine. Sometimes we don’t want to say the word that is at the source of our pain. For example in our society we have lots of ways to say someone has died without using the word die or death. We say they have passed. We say they left us. They are gone. They are in a better place. On Sunday we are going to talk about the power of naming our pain.
Day 35 of Lent – Monday, March 25 – please give up a small view of the resilience of human beings. We often forget that Jesus was human. Someone we pretend he was able to go through what he went through because he was the ‘Son of God’. But in reality a very human individual suffered and died on the cross – with incredible dignity. Jesus leaned deeply into God and was able to say things like ‘Forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing’. Perhaps you have experienced human resilience in other ways as well. Lean into those experiences and lean into God. You have more resilience that you think you have.
Day 36 of Lent – Tuesday, March 26 – please give up a small view of the power to heal within yourself, others and the world at large. I don’t know whether it is true or not but I heard once a long time ago that in order to heal and feel a deep sense of love, human beings only have to have one person in their lives who loved them unconditionally – one person. One person can help us to experience the unceasingly love of God. One person can make a significant change in our lives. One person can make all the difference. One person can help us heal. Little acts of love offered consistently can heal the world, one step at a time. It is truly miraculous.
Day 37 of Lent – Wednesday March 27 – stay tuned. We are almost finished. The season of Lent ends on Saturday, March 30.
Just a reminder of the following:
Palm Sunday at 10:00 am
Evening worship at 7:00 pm on Palm Sunday – a Vigil for the people in Gaza and all those who are victims of war and violence
Mid Day Pause Lenten worship on Wednesday March 20 and 27 at noon hosted by St. Peters
Maundy Thursday at 6:00 pm – please note you need to sign up for this – this is joint with St. Peter’s. Please sign up here https://standrewskw.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/2189727
Good Friday at 11:00 am
And Easter Sunday morning at 10:00 – a joint service with St. Peters with breakfast at 8:30 am. Please sign up for the breakfast here https://standrewskw.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/2203864
Take care everyone and blessings on this day and everyday
Marty