The Season of Lent: Reflections, thoughts and stories from the people of St. Peter’s

Today's Text Prayer

2010-04-04T17:18:00.001-04:00

Alleluia! The Lord is risen! Thank you God, for this great gift. Let me carry this gift – this day – with me every day. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

April 4, Easter Day

2010-04-04T00:30:00.000-04:00

Easter Day

Fortunately for all of us, the Easter Bunny doesn’t have Santa Claus’s agent. As frustrating as it is to see the Christmas season overtaken by the retail machine that is sometimes known as Christmastime, Easter has yet to get totally lost in the mix of our culture.

This is it! This is the day that makes our God different from all other Gods. This is the day that tells the world that God loves us and wants more than anything else, even more than his own son’s life, to be in relationship with us. The empty tomb isn’t as graphically appealing as a cross, but as a symbol it says it all. Death cannot hold our Lord, and evil does not prevail. We are alleluia people. We share with Christ this day in this great victory, won on our behalf. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

In all reality, Santa and the Easter Bunny would love to have Jesus’s agent. After all, that’s what the Church is. We’re the ones to spread the word, and we’ve done it for two millennia. It started today, when the women reached the empty tomb. They told the disciples. The disciples told others. Those others told still more, and on and on it went right up until someone told you and me. It’s our turn. Alleluia! Praise the Lord!

He is risen, he is risen!

Tell it out with joyful voice:

he has burst his three days’ prison;

let the whole wide earth rejoice:

death is conquered, we are free,

Christ has won the victory.

Come, ye sad and fearful-hearted,

with glad smile and radiant brow!

Death’s long shadows have departed;

Jesus’ woes are over now,

and the passion that he bore—

sin and pain can vex no more.

Come, with high and holy hymning,

hail our Lord’s triumphant day;

not one darksome cloud is dimming

yonder glorious morning ray,

breaking o’er the purple east,

symbol of our Easter feast.

He is risen, he is risen!

He hath opened heaven’s gate:

we are free from sin’s dark prison,

risen to a holier state;

and a brighter Easter beam

on our longing eyes shall stream.

Hymn 180, Hymnal 1982

The Rev. Tom Purdy

Today's Text Prayer

2010-04-03T19:40:00.001-04:00

I know what tomorrow will bring, but for just a moment, Lord, help me imagine the solitude your disciples knew as they contemplated your death. Don’t let me rush too quickly to Easter, without first spending time here. Amen.

April 3, Holy Saturday

2010-04-03T12:30:00.000-04:00

Holy Saturday

Holy Saturday is difficult for me, this day of lull between Good Friday and Easter. I can’t feel it. I can think it. But I can’t ache it. I can’t make my body, my heart feel what Jesus’s followers must have felt. Numb with shock, exhausted, devastated. I know the disciples’ world was turned upside down by Jesus, and just when they had gotten their “gospel legs” their world was turned upside down again by losing him. But my eyes don’t fill with tears, my body does not shake with sobs, my heart is not poisoned with fear and doubt.

I know what tomorrow brings. I can’t wake up on Holy Saturday and not on some level see it as Easter Eve. The disciples just knew Jesus had died and he was in a tomb. Holy Saturday is the day after the disciple’s world shatters. What do you do the day after your world shatters?

You can all answer that question. Everyone has had their world come crashing down around them. Everyone has sat in the midst of those precious pieces and wondered, “What now?” What did you do?

Death happens. It is part of our truth, our reality, our very being. We die. Relationships die. Dreams die. One day we find out that which we swore we could not live without is gone, and yet our hearts keep beating. Sometimes we wish our hearts would stop, because the pain would stop as well.

While I can’t make myself feel what the disciples felt like as Jesus lay in the tomb, I have lived through my own Holy Saturdays. I know the feeling. Ash Wednesdays, Good Fridays, Easter Sundays haphazardly occur in our lives. We are reminded of the fragility of life, we are shocked by the brokenness of the world, and we rejoice at God’s redeeming hand at work in the world. We even have little Lents, days we rage at how short we fall of the person God created us to be, days we stretch toward God’s dream for us.
Truth be told, we live in a Holy Saturday time. My world has been turned upside down by Jesus, and yet sometimes God feels so far away. And yet I know how the story ends, I know my Lord will come back and He will raise us all. I know that time is coming. But we haven’t gotten there yet. And so we wait, like I do on Holy Saturday. I wait for the “Alleluias” and “He is Risen!” I wait for the splendid banquet and the blessedly long nap.

We can’t help but think about Easter on Holy Saturday. In fact, some days the only thing that keeps me putting one foot in front of the other is knowing that resurrection always comes after death.

O God, Creator of heaven and earth: Grant that, as the crucified body of your dear Son was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy Sabbath, so we may await with him the coming of the third day, and rise with him to newness of life; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Rev. Jessica Hitchcock

Today's Text Prayer

2010-04-02T13:23:00.001-04:00

How did we get here? God, your son endured such pain and death for us? Are we really worth it? …of course you’ve answered those questions, and are still answering them now. Let me see your son’s cross as your definitive answer. Amen.

April 2, Good Friday

2010-04-02T00:29:00.000-04:00

The first time I experienced a three hour Good Friday liturgy, I had a very difficult time understanding what was really “good” about Good Friday. The entire liturgy to this young college freshman seemed dark, foreboding, ridden with guilt, and overly sentimental. It took a long time for me to understand that there was a whole lot more in play than what my simple, somewhat agnostic mind could grasp back then in a small Episcopal church in Ohio.

Good Friday, sometimes viewed as a mistranslation of the old English, “God Friday,” is incongruous with the concept of God’s unconditional love. It can be a very difficult thing to understand. But a good friend of mine, The Rev. William Sloan Coffin, one-time chaplain at Yale, explained it to me this way. In Saint Luke’s Gospel Jesus asks, “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?” Yet not one of them is lost in God’s sight.

In those days the rich bought animals to sacrifice while the poor could only afford sparrows. Sparrows went two for a penny, and if you bought two pennies worth, a fifth was thrown in. God cares for the fifth sparrow, the tossed in one! Nature is made the symbol of God’s supernatural mercy. It is with an unbounded, unfathomable love that God loves every last human being on the face of the earth, from the Pope to the lowliest wino. “Do not be afraid, adds Jesus, you are of more value than many sparrows.” And God’s love doesn’t seek value – it creates it. It is not because we have value that we are loved, but because we are loved that we have value. Our value is a gift, not an achievement.

Just think: We never have to prove ourselves – that’s already been taken care of. All we have to do is express ourselves – return God’s love for our own – and what a world of difference there is between proving ourselves and expressing ourselves.

I never get over the huge gift and huge demands of Christianity, the gift of God’s love and demands of human possibility. Christianity has certainly not been tried and found wanting; it has been tried and found difficult, and watered down again and again. The founding pastor of the Riverside Church in New York once wrote, “The world has tried in two ways to get rid of Jesus: first by crucifying him and second by worshipping him. Jesus doesn’t ask us to worship him. He said, ‘Follow me.’”

Good Friday is a powerful day in our Easter journey when each of us can choose to reclaim our discipleship as a follower of Jesus Christ and when we once again can place Jesus at the center of the circle of our life and love.

The Rt. Rev. John Bryson Chane

Today's Text Prayer

2010-04-01T11:32:00.001-04:00

To love as you loved us…it’s a tall order. You might as well have said, preach the gospel standing on your head! Ok, I’ll try, and I’m grateful for your help. I love you too. Now for everyone else…

April 1, Maundy Thursday

2010-04-01T00:30:00.001-04:00

Maundy Thursday

It seems odd to have a favorite Holy Week liturgy, but for me, today, Maundy Thursday, fits the description. At tonight’s liturgy we will do several things. We will commemorate the Lord’s Supper, the final intimate moment between Jesus and his disciples. We will wash each other’s feet, an action that intentionally takes us outside of our comfort zones as it did for those in the upper room 2,000 years ago. Finally, we will strip the altar and the chancel of the beautiful decorations that adorn our worship space, leaving a naked, empty feeling, and we will leave church in silence. It feels odd, incomplete. It’s a comma at the end of the first of the services of the triduum, the three days of liturgy that lead us into Easter. And for some reason it remains one of the most powerful nights of the year for me.

As I get older my sadness grows with the realization that few people experience these liturgies of Holy Week. How can Good Friday tear our hearts open just 24 hours after we’ve had such an intimate moment with our Lord at table unless we were there at the table? How can the Resurrection on Sunday morning create such joy unless we stood at the foot of the cross on Good Friday as our Lord breathed his last?

Consider coming to the service tonight. Consider your place at the table as Jesus breaks the bread and passes the wine. “Do this to remember me,” he says, as we wonder why he’s talking as though he’s going somewhere. In the back of our minds we know the plot line and we know what’s coming, but what is it like to be in that room at that moment? Consider what it would be like to have Jesus, of all people, kneel before us and wash our feet, which have been crammed in our loafers all day while we’ve been at work? We don’t like to have others touch our feet, which is why I suspect most shoe stores have become self service. Tough cookies, as my mother used to say. It is a moment of humility for Jesus and the person who washes our feet, just as it’s humiliating for us to wash another’s feet. It’s an intimacy we aren’t used to in our modern culture.

Consider how the evening ends. Everything is stripped bare. The garden anguish of Jesus’ prayers, the disciple’s inability to stay awake with him, the dark night that both He and we know won’t end well. It all works in us to put us in mind of the events that shape our faith.

The new commandment, or mandatum, from which Maundy Thursday takes its name, is, “Love one another as I have loved you.” This is the parting hope of our Lord. He broke bread and shared wine, so now should we. He washed his disciple’s feet, so now should we. He stayed with us through the long night, and the least we can do is return the favor.

The Rev. Tom Purdy

Today's Text Prayer

2010-03-31T11:13:00.000-04:00

Jesus, how did you do it? I’m not sure I’m ready to go through the days to come, merely remembering what you went through, and you actually did it. Give me the strength to watch with you, walk with you, not to betray, not to deny, and not to doubt your love. Amen.

March 31, Wednesday in Holy Week

2010-03-31T00:30:00.000-04:00

God in So Many Moments

When tragedies happen, it's always hard to find God in those moments. This time last year I was struggling with such a tragedy. A friend of mine had just died in a horrible accident, and I couldn't figure out why it had happened. I was angry with God for taking away such a wonderful person while he was still so young. It wasn't fair, and I wondered why God would do such a thing.

I went to his funeral, and that same day I traveled to Edgewater, Md., for a high school retreat I was staffing. I thought it couldn't have been worse timing. I was still upset about my friend’s death, and I didn't want to have to worry about an entire retreat to help run, but I went anyway.

The retreat, however, turned out to be the biggest blessing of all. Instead of me being cooped up all weekend in my room alone, I was surrounded by dozens of people who shared the same faith and loved me. I spent a lot of time that weekend praying and connecting with friends who helped me through the pain. I prayed constantly for strength to get me through and the help of friends, because I knew it was something I couldn't get over alone.

I ended up seeing God at work in so many moments that weekend – in the beauty of our setting, as well as all the people around me who I knew were there for me. Even now I remember Philippians 4:6 ("Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God"), and I know that it’s true. I prayed to God for help to get through that tragedy, and he answered.

Hannah Dowdy

Today's Text Prayer

2010-03-30T13:23:00.000-04:00

A cross. An instrument of torture and death becomes a symbol of life and salvation for all. God, I’m not sure how you manage to stand things on their head – to change the way we see the world, but I thank you for the transformation of your son’s cross. Amen.

March 30, Tuesday in Holy Week

2010-03-30T00:30:00.000-04:00

The Chihuahua

Here, after 15 years of owning
a small business,
you sit on the stoop
of the rowhouse
on West Patrick Street
and revisit your mistakes.
The employees you never found a home for,
your futile race to catch technology in a bottle,
the big goofs that sucked you dry,
the smaller ones, sticking in your side
like voodoo pins.

Maybe something can be learned
from wading through
the muck of missteps . . .
Ok fool, fool yourself,
slip and shade
through all that jumble.
It takes a sharp brave eye
to look yourself in the past
and then . . .

A cold kiss on your leg.
It's a mangy flea-bitten street Chihuahua!
Is he the Chihuahua of Hope?
The Chihuahua of Lost Causes?
The Chihuahua of Fortune?
He looks at you with his forlorn misty eyes.
Ah! So he is the Chihuahua of Cosmic Understanding!
You pat him on the head.
He licks your wrist.
We all lose and lose don't we?
Thank you, thank you
Chihuahua of Cosmic Understanding.

Job done, the Chihuahua,
like any new hope,
steps bravely into the perilous traffic.
Cars slam on their breaks,
drivers lean on their horns,
as the Chihuahua trots,
unhurried, with dignity,
across the street,
back down his alley,
then slips under
the chain-linked fence
and disappears.

Bernie Jankowski

Today's Text Prayer

2010-03-29T11:10:00.000-04:00

Holy Father, as we walk the path of Christ this week, let us find our destination, not in death, but in life, not in sorrow, but in joy, not in violence, but in peace. Onward to the cross we walk. Amen.

March 29, Monday in Holy Week

2010-03-29T00:30:00.000-04:00

Isaiah 42:1-9

Weeks are supposed to start on Sundays, or so I have been told. But, we all know differently. Monday is the beginning of the real week, and Friday the end. This why we say, “Oh, Lord, another Monday” and “Thank God it’s Friday.” I guess the reason we feel this way is that our work, whatever it is, defines our lives. So, most parking meters and signs read, “Monday to Friday.”

Now we come to Holy Week, and to Monday of Holy Week. If we choose to “do” Holy Week this year, this must be the beginning. The Palm Sunday Passion covered the whole week, but the events of the week start here. For many of us, observing this week means maybe coming to the Maundy Thursday foot washing and Eucharist, and, if we are at home or can get away during lunch, coming to some part of the Good Friday liturgy. For far fewer, there might be a Tenebrae service on Wednesday night, but Monday or Tuesday? Little is offered in our churches.

It needs saying right away: Holy Week is not just about how any of us, or the Church, for that matter, observes it. Holy Week is a day by day rehearsal of the events that preceded and led to the betrayal and death of Jesus and that awful time after his death and before his resurrection, when no one knew what was going to happen. It might all be over, ended by a callous and ambitious provincial Roman governor, who valued the Peace of Rome above all else.

Holy Week, at least on the surface, is a very harsh week. Not much that is lovely happens – just awful, cruel things, day after day. Small wonder that many today, and for years in the past, just skip over it and opt for the joy of Easter. Certainly, this is what the culture around us does.

Early Christianity referred to itself as “The Way.” If it is a “way,” a journey, a movement, we must walk it if we want it to make any sense or want it to change us. So they reached back into the Hebrew Scriptures to find a foundation for the things that happened during this week. And we, centuries later, also rehearse the events of that last week to try to find understanding and, more important, to participate in the events that are now our story.

On this Monday, we reach back to the first of the so-called Servant Songs of Second Isaiah in search of meaning. Near the end of a devastating exile in Babylon, torn from the promised homeland and the Temple, Isaiah rallies his fellow exiles with poetry about their new vocation. They will be God’s chosen servant who will bring justice to the nations of the earth. And even given whatever feelings may have been stirred up by their sufferings, they will carry out this vocation with faithfulness and gentleness: “A bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench.” Upheld by confidence in God’s call, they will be confident that they are carrying out God’s will for the whole world. They will be privileged to bring out those imprisoned in darkness.

Just think about all those who think they will never see justice and those in so many places who have abandoned all hope of ever again seeing the light. Much later, Jesus responded to these very Scriptures and began the Galilean ministry that ultimately led him to Jerusalem. Centuries later, we, the Church, are summoned by the Servant Songs to the same tasks.

And early in that last week of Jesus’ life, as he reclined at dinner in someone’s house in Bethany, the village of Mary and Martha and Lazarus their brother, now raised from the dead, he found his feet being anointed with very costly nard by Mary. Judas Iscariot, who was present at the table, asked, resentfully, why the money spent on this ointment had not been better spent on the poor.

Jesus startled his fellow guests by testily answering, “Leave her alone. She bought it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” While Mary had bought this expensive ointment to anoint Jesus body after his death (she knew how it would end), she was overcome with gratitude and chose to anoint him while he was still alive.

This poignant lavishing of love in the face of an impending and awful end continues to be rehearsed even today. And it lifts our hearts even as they are being swept into sadness.

The whole week takes us deeply into the cruel ambiguities of serving a just and loving God in an unjust and willfully uncomprehending world – but nowhere more than on this Monday, with its proclamation of a new vocation, and the story of the response it can bring when faithfully lived.

The Rev. Phillip Cato

March 28, Palm Sunday

2010-03-28T00:30:00.000-04:00

Isaiah 45:21-25

Of all the stories in the Bible, the stories around the events of Palm Sunday touch most deeply in my heart. The triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the trial, and crucifixion are central. But as Paul Harvey used to say, “Now for the rest of the story.” And therein lies the truth for me.

We read of Jesus asking the disciples to stay awake with him in the garden of Gethsemane, yet they all fall asleep. We read of Peter denying Jesus three times – Peter, the rock on which the church is to be built. We read of the disciples, “All forsook him and fled.” Not very stalwart Christian soldiers I would say.

How do we know this about the disciples? Certainly there was no reporter from The New York Times or The Washington Post. No reporter from Fox News or Channel 4. No, we know this about the disciples because they told us about themselves. At some point in the weeks and months after the crucifixion, after they had fled and began to come back together, they told the truth about themselves. They stopped whitewashing themselves and began to accept their own dark side, that side which no one wants others to know about but which is very real and powerful. And in that acceptance, I believe, they discovered the love of God in a new and transforming way.

What a profoundly different Gospel story we would have if they just told us about the nice bits of their lives, of their successes and triumphs. In fact, many churches create their common life out of the beautiful pieces only and leave the rest, well, hidden or unspoken. The movie producer Samuel Goldwyn is supposed to have said, “Honesty is the most important quality to have in acting. Once you have learned to fake honesty, you’ve got it made.”

The transformational process of bringing the light and the dark, the failures and the successes, the good and bad, the beautiful and the not so pretty parts of life together takes great courage and strength. In fact, it is the single most difficult part of becoming whole. Yet it is in that process that new life is born based on honesty and truth, and it is that which makes us free. It is living life in the power of the resurrection and of God’s love.

A church community born out of the truth of all of our lives is indeed a safe, healing, and transforming place to be. For all of our sakes and for the sake of God, let St. Peter’s be and remain such a place.

The Rev. Joe Clark

Today's Text Prayer

2010-03-27T21:28:00.001-04:00

Lent is coming to an end. Next week is Holy Week already! Give me the strength to walk with Christ on his final journey – to take up my cross and follow him, even to death’s door, so that we can rejoice with all creation on Easter morning. Amen.

March 27

2010-03-27T00:30:00.000-04:00

Lent Isn't Meant to be Easy

Advent, Christmas, and then the Epiphany,

I know what to do,

These events are easy for me.

But at Lent I have to give up,

Something that I like a lot,

The choice is hard,

Thank God for chocolate.

John Clayton

She Knew Exactly Where she was Headed

She had lead a full life with children and a number of grand children. She was still sharp as a tack mentally, but her 85-year-old body was winding down quickly. Her husband of 60 years had recently died peacefully.

That’s when she called me and left the message that she was going off to see her mother, that she was really looking forward to it, and that I shouldn’t worry about her. Two weeks later she did join her mother, who of course had been dead for decades, and I am sure they were glad to see each other.

She had never been a particularly religious person, but I know in her heart she knew that there was life after death ahead for her, and she was ready for that joy.

Anonymous

Today's Text Prayer

2010-03-26T11:14:00.000-04:00

I am thankful that I have food to eat for lunch today. Keep me mindful, O God, that each bite – each morsel – is a blessing that others in this world do not enjoy. I pray for an end to their hunger. Amen.

March 26

2010-03-26T00:30:00.000-04:00

The Mt. Everest of Psalms

Psalm 103 may be the "Mt. Everest" of praise psalms. This psalm is also known as the Psalm of David. This is a psalm of individual praise.

An excellent verse for indicating the extent of God's forgiveness is Psalms 103:12: "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us." David is expressing his view of the mercies of God. It is obviously written out of gratitude toward God for his longsuffering in individual shortcomings. It is great that our God is tolerant toward us when we fall short.

During this Lenten season, many of us give up something or start something new. For me, I use this time to remove sweets from my daily diet. As with David, I praise God but ask for strength to fight off my shortcomings – sweets in particular. Whatever path you chose – to give up or take on – praise be to God!

Chris Hall

March 25

2010-03-25T00:30:00.000-04:00

Oh, She's Talking to Jesus Again

This past summer I attended a silent retreat, led by the Jesuit community of Loyola Retreat House in Southern Maryland. The retreat was designed to last a week, but you could choose to stay for a weekend only. I opted for the quickie getaway. I was new to this type of meditation and unsure of my ability to remain silent (even through meals) for a long period of time.

I felt pretty sure of myself during the non-silent opening sessions: worship, communal dinner, and breaking into small groups with our spiritual director to discuss the retreat process. Piece of cake. The retreat grounds were lovely, the food wasn’t bad, and I met some really interesting nuns. I even liked the coziness of my single room – sparse but clean.

Our director told us the main reason for keeping silence was to give Jesus an opportunity to talk to us without our being distracted. “You’ll be surprised when he calls you. It can be at anytime, day or night, and you need to be present to hear the call,” she said. “So don’t distract others. They could be talking to Him even when on line for the salad bar.”

“What? He doesn’t call back?” I thought, but kept it to myself.
By Saturday night I had the rhythm of the place down. Hand signals worked fine when organizing a group hike, and there was that one time during lunch that my tablemate and I conversed by spelling out words using our salad ingredients. But other than that I kept to myself, I swear.

And guess what, Jesus and I did talk. Boy, did we ever. Never once did I sense Him thinking, “Vikki, give it a rest, go read a book for a while.” We covered a lot of territory. Most of it fun, some of it painful. It was the most refreshing, exhausting, and spiritually fulfilling time I ever spent in my life. The best part is that I now know what it’s like to invite Him into my daily life. Our conversation never tires, and I rarely do all the talking. We just are. It’s great.

Why didn’t I know about this earlier? Does everybody do this all the time? Was it a big secret that I just didn’t get until now? Who knows! It doesn’t really matter anyway, because I’m where I need to be right now.

So during this Lenten season I’m taking a new approach. I’m going to just take it for granted that everyone else is conversing with Jesus during the day – while grocery shopping, while driving alone in the car, even while in line at the salad bar at TGIF. I don’t think I’m ready for a week-long silent retreat any time soon. “Perhaps when the kids are older,” I say to myself. It really doesn’t matter though. I know I can do a retreat in daily life just fine. It’s just a matter of stepping mentally away for a while to just be.

Vikki Clayton

Today's Text Prayer

2010-03-24T13:28:00.001-04:00

If life had a pause button, I might be tempted to use it from time to time. Rewind would be nice too. Help me to make the most of each day and each minute since they fly by so quickly. Amen.

March 24

2010-03-24T00:30:00.000-04:00

Daniel 3:14-20, 24-28

In reading the Old Testament verses for today, I can’t help think what a great 3-D movie the Book of Daniel would make. Move over Avatar! What spectacular scenes: an inferno, a creature like a son of man descending on a cloud, a mysterious formulation of handwriting on a wall, visions of unimaginable creatures, not to mention what really happened inside that den of lions at night. On top of that how about that Nebuchadnezzar guy – a villain to give Darth Vader a run for his money. It’s a gruesome story, hard to imagine, but easier to take in the softer Veggie Tales episode.

The scene is set with Daniel and his three Musketeers living one for all and all for one as captured exiles forced to move to Babylon and trying to live faithful lives under a pagan tyrant. I must admit my first reaction was that if these guys were alive today, they could get a cool $20 million for an act in Vegas.

This 2,500 year old story of trying to live faithful lives in a culture that pushes a radically different set of values can seem familiar to us today. For these three men, their admirable ability to thrive is matched only by their complete uncompromising devotion to God. All they had to do was take a short bow to the pagan statue all the while whispering to God – “I don’t really mean this God” – and they were off the hook. How often are we challenged to bow to the secular false gods of modern culture – just a little bow, nothing big, no big deal?

Yet their love for their God was uncompromising. Hoping beyond hope that God would save them, what mattered most for them was God’s will, not theirs. They loved God with all their heart and soul, even if it meant getting a little more than just hot under the collar. Whether in Heaven or in Vegas, theirs was a hard act to follow.

Herein is the challenge of Christianity as expressed by the Lord’s Prayer –Thy will be done. To be sure asking for daily bread and forgiveness is easy. And, yeah, I know forgiving those who trespass against us can be really tough at times. But, the hardest part remains letting God do his will through us.

So the story comes full circle to 2010. Remember even in the inferno, God miraculously danced with them. If only the rope of the world that binds us was burned away so we could live the first and greatest commandment knowing God will be with us no matter what.

Not always easy, but in Daniel’s time, our time, and for all time, it is what Christ has taught us to do. He might not spare us the fires of life and the bar may be set higher than we can reach alone, but no matter, God loves us. So let God’s will be done.

Rande Davis

Today's Text Prayer

2010-03-23T11:56:00.001-04:00

Your Son got frustrated with people who didn’t understand the things he said and did. I don’t always understand the things he said and did either. Give me the eyes and ears, God, to see and hear your truth. Amen.

March 23

2010-03-23T00:30:00.000-04:00

Fog

It was the fog that caused us to be lost.

I was questioning decisions that had to be made about seminaries and where my place was in those decisions. I was unsure of a lot. My husband felt so very sure, and it was very lonely for me. We had one final seminary to visit, and then a decision had to be made. Secretly, I was hoping we could just start again later, when we were older.

That is when it happened.

We ran right in to a wall. A wall of fog. We knew we were near the seminary, but we could not see anything. The lines on the road were our only guide, the only way we were even sure we were on a road at all.

Finally we found something that appeared to be a parking lot. Not sure where we were or where we were going, we thought it better to park and walk. There was a sidewalk just off the parking lot. It seemed like a good place to start. We took the path up the hill, barely able to see a foot in front of us. As we came up a small hill it seemed as if the fog vanished, the sun burning a hole in the thickness. It was then I saw it. A bench, just a small marble bench. The words engraved on top took my breath away.

DONNA All is Well

My husband came up behind me. “What is it?” he asked. “Did you find a sign telling us were to go?” “Yes,” I said. “I think I did.” Just as the sun came through at the top of the hill, it was if the sun broke through in my mind. Everything just seemed so clear.

It was the fog that caused us to get lost. Without it, we would never have been on that part of campus to see that bench. The fog didn’t obscure the path – it opened it up.

Donna Purdy

Today's Text Prayer

2010-03-22T14:33:00.001-04:00

Forgiving Father, I know right away when a friend has done something wrong or made a bad choice. I try not to judge them, but it comes so easily. I guess they do the same thing… Have mercy on all of us! Amen.

March 22

2010-03-22T00:30:00.003-04:00

The Journey is the Reward

What does it mean to be a Christian? What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus Christ? For me the answer is fundamental and simple. To be a Christian and follower of Jesus Christ means to lead one’s life in a relentless mission to help others.

When we realize that our life is not about our needs but how we can use our resources and wisdom to help others, then life begins to come into focus. For many, the raising of one’s children’s embodies this focus on others. We try to give the youth the benefit of our wisdom and love.

But as the years progress and the children leave home, we begin to wonder why we are here. Is our goal to retire and lounge on the beach? If life is about a bigger car, larger house, or another possession, life is indeed shallow.

My realization that I had so many gifts to share gave my life renewed energy as I work to understand Christianity. The life of Jesus embodies God’s model of how to help your world prosper and survive. Reaching out and assisting those who are in need at both home and abroad embodies what Christianity is all about. Bringing peace and understanding to every situation you find yourself in is the goal.

To grow and recognize our faults and weakness and yet persevere is part of the experience. Watching over us all, guiding us, and forgiving us is the God who we know and love as Christians. Recognizing our personal shortcomings yet committing ourselves to help others makes our lives full.

The journey is long and full of surprises. By maintaining our faith in God and following the example of Jesus Christ, we will find our way. We need to let go of the control we try to maintain and listen better to God as he communicates with us. We need to step into that darkness and trust God as we go forward. We are here to do God’s work. The journey is the reward.

Anonymous

March 21

2010-03-21T00:30:00.000-04:00

The Dance of Memories

He sat by the window with his coffee in his hands, one aged hand around the other, watching the snow. The contented sigh of the dog curled up at his feet could have been his own. His life hadn’t turned out as he expected, but it had been good, nonetheless. He knew he was nearing the end. Genetics hold the key to just how close death is, but at his age, he knew he didn’t have too many winters left, yet he didn’t let the mystery affect his sleep. If he were a younger man he would have been out in the snow just for the fun of it. There was a day when he enjoyed the silence of a snowstorm, the dampened sounds, and the soft whisper of snow on snow. Today he was just as pleased to experience it from the warmth of the den.

He tried to pick out certain flakes and follow their path to the ground where they blended into the soft curves of the garden. His old eyes could see them against the backdrop of the trees until they fell so low that they disappeared into the whiteness of the ground – each one unique, yet part of the whole. He remembered his childhood game of catching them on the end of his tongue. The really big flakes of the wet snows would land like a cold pinprick and instantly melt. In fact he remembered many things, some better than he wanted. As old age gradually took away memories, he wished he could have chosen which ones to keep and which ones to let go. But like the snowflakes, they fell on top of one another and became inseparable. Together they made up his life, and the soft curves of his memory drifted back and forth, uncovering some and obscuring others.

Some of the memories sparkled and danced and still brought him great joy. His beautiful bride, the birth of his son, and then his daughter, and the grandchildren. Every truly wonderful memory involved one of them. He was pleased with the work he had done, particularly in the second half of his life. It took him 20 years of working too hard to realize he wasn’t doing the work he was supposed to do. Those years had some memories in them that came back to him, each like a pinprick. He wasn’t always proud of the relationship he had with his children. He didn’t appreciate being a husband and father until much too late in the game, but at least he figured it out in time to really give and receive love. Love. It brought both joy and pain. He never thought they would be apart this long. She’d been gone longer than the number of years he’d had before he married her. He couldn’t wait to see her again.

The dance of memories falling through his mind were the accumulation of a lifetime of moments – a good lifetime overall. When he was a young man he thought his good fortune came because God rewarded him for being so wonderful. When he was older and he’d experienced some setbacks, he realized that was vanity. God was still good, and he still thanked God every day, but God loves regardless of merit. Would he do things differently? Probably. But he was content. As he raised the coffee cup to his lips, he picked out another snowflake and watched it fall.

The Rev. Tom Purdy

Today's Text Prayer

2010-03-20T21:43:00.001-04:00

Today is as busy as every day, God. If only for this briefest of moments, I have found a breath of refreshment in you. Gotta run, but thanks. Amen.

March 20

2010-03-20T00:30:00.000-04:00

The Three Trees
Author Unknown

Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They were discussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree said, “Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver, and precious gems. I could be decorated with intricate carving and everyone would see the beauty.”

Then the second tree said, “Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull.”

Finally the third tree said, “I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the hill and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me.”

After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees. When one came to the first tree he said, “This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter,” and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.

At the second tree a woodsman said, “This looks like a strong tree, I should be able to sell it to the shipyard.” The second tree was happy because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.

When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true. One of the woodsmen said, “I don’t need anything special from my tree, so I’ll take this one,” and he cut it down.

When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed for. The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end. The third tree was cut into large pieces and left alone in the dark.

The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams. Then one day, a man and a woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of the entire world.

Years later, a group of men got in a fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn’t think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and he stood and said “Peace” and the storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.

Finally someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it.

Presented by Elliot Friedman

Today's Text Prayer

2010-03-19T11:13:00.000-04:00

I love my family, and yet there are things about them that drive me crazy. Help me God, to rejoice for the wonderful things they have passed on to me, and the patience to love them despite their shortcomings. Amen.

March 19

2010-03-19T00:30:00.000-04:00

God Is with US

“God is with us” – a fact we’ve been taught since our first day in Sunday school. From Adam and Eve’s garden to Noah’s rainbow, Moses’ burning bush, and Jesus Himself, God has shown Himself to be present in the lives of His people.

And we are His people.

This means that He is with us – whether we feel it or not. With all the things happening in the world today, we need Him more than ever, but sometimes it doesn’t feel like He is listening. Sometimes it feels like He isn’t here.

He is.

One of my favorite poems is of the woman who dreams of walking down the beach with God, following the path of her life. When she looks back, she realizes that there were times in her life that only one set of footprints were visible. She then realizes that those times were the hardest times in her life. Hurt, she asks God why He abandoned her in her time of need, when He had promised her He would always be there. God then turns to her and says, “"The times when you have seen only one set of footprints in the sand, is when I carried you."

I’m sure we all have days when it feels like we are the only ones here, like our footprints are the only ones in the sand. When I have a day like that, I remember this story. Even though the woman couldn’t feel Him carrying her and couldn’t see that His footprints were present, He was there, holding her up and giving her strength.

Sometimes God doesn’t make it obvious that He is with us. He can’t burn a bush every time he wants to talk to us, or give us each our own garden so that we may be closer to him. We need to listen and trust that He will stay with us through the good and the bad, even when we can’t feel or see Him. That rainbow He sent to Noah was a promise – a promise for all ages, for all people, and for all time – that He will be with us 100 percent. For He is God, and He is with us.

Krystal Stevens

Today's Text Prayer

2010-03-18T11:53:00.000-04:00

I am independent, unique, and intelligent. And yet, O God, I know that all that I am comes from you. Give me the wisdom to use your gifts wisely and the humility to offer my thanks to you. Amen.

March 18

2010-03-18T00:30:00.001-04:00

God’s Grandeur
By Gerard Manley Hopkins

The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why then do men not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared smeared with toil;
And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.

And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward springs –
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.

Presented by Gary Lorenz

Today's Text Prayer

2010-03-17T11:40:00.001-04:00

Gracious Lord, you call out to us in our darkest moments and places to come into your light. Give me the courage to walk in your light and leave behind the burdens I carry in the shadows of my heart. Amen.

March 17

2010-03-17T00:30:00.000-04:00

Isaiah 49:8-15

Memory is a fickle thing. I am reminded of this almost every day. I forget to pick up something from the store. Yet I remember lines from a movie I saw more than 20 years ago. I forget the name of someone I recently met. Yet I remember a linebacker on my Denver Broncos from the mid 1970s. I forget what year our family last visited my relatives in the Midwest. Yet I remember the words of a song from my college days. I seem to remember the oddest things very well. My memory, as I am reminded regularly by my wife and daughters, is a very fickle thing.

The reading from Isaiah provides such wonderful images of an all-loving God. Isaiah says we should sing for joy because the “Lord has comforted his people.” We should break forth into singing because God “will have compassion on his suffering ones.” I certainly need God’s comfort and compassion, but what really struck a chord with me from the reading is that while everyone forgets things, God states emphatically “I will not forget you.”

As I go about my daily life there seem to be times I need to be comforted, times I need compassion, and times I don’t need too much of anything. In all of those times, though, God is there to say, “I remember you.” To remember something is to give it value. I remember my anniversary, my wife’s and daughters’ birthdays, the faces of my parents and sisters, because they are important to me. They have value in my life. Because God remembers me, I know I am important to God. In fact, so important that God offers me all of those other wonderful things like comfort, compassion, and steadfast love.

One of my favorite Gospel stories is of the Prodigal Son. I like to think of the father in that story as the one who remembers. The son goes off into the world, lives it up, and seems to have forgotten all about his family and life back home. But I picture the father constantly hoping for the return of his son and, most importantly, never forgetting the son. The memory of the son seems to be at the front of the father’s mind even as the son appears in the distance, returning home.

How fortunate we are to have such a loving God who says to us, “I love you, I will comfort you, I will care for you, and I will not forget you.”

Joel Tjornehoj

Today's Text Prayer

2010-03-16T15:25:00.000-04:00

Water flows in a constant cycle, rain to earth to sea and back again. So too, Creator God, is your love; a cycle of care and grace that we receive and pass on to others. Help us to acknowledge and pass on your sustaining love. Amen.

March 16

2010-03-16T00:30:00.000-04:00

John 5:1-18

In this Gospel, Jesus seems to snap at an official who has asked Jesus to save his dying son. "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders, you will never believe," Jesus says. This could be seen as a callous response, or it could be a simple statement of fact.

The man persists and invites Jesus to come to his child. Jesus then heals the child, long distance. This passage highlights how often we bargain with God about what we want to have happen and say to ourselves, this will give me proof that God exists. We, like the official, are more interested in the miracles than in Jesus's message. In a way, seeing is believing.

So why does Jesus heal the child? Maybe he does so because most of us at some point have needed miracles to open our eyes. While I can see how this passage could be interpreted as Jesus criticizing our need for "miraculous signs and wonders," it might also be about Jesus acknowledging, "Whatever gets you through the night, it's alright, it's alright."

Once we open our eyes and our hearts, believing is seeing – seeing God's presence everywhere, in everything. This is how we are saved from death.

Kathy Jankowski

Today's Text Prayer

2010-03-15T11:32:00.001-04:00

Even on a cloudy day, O God, I know the sun shines just out of sight. I take comfort in knowing that your light burns brightly, even through the clouds of doubt. Amen.

March 15

2010-03-15T00:30:00.000-04:00

John 4:43-54

In today’s readings, I was moved by the story in John 4. In reaching out to heal the dying son of this Roman official, Jesus demonstrates that faith and obedience to God is rewarded by God’s love and caring in our world, and that this love and caring is available to all through faith.

For me this passage in the Gospel of John reflects parental love as shown by the officer for his son and in God’s healing love for us. Parental love, which is not just biologically connected, can be shown by those who are not necessarily our parents.

As a health provider for young children in a school, I often see parental love exhibited by adults for children not their own. I see it in the caring instruction of a teacher, in the guidance of a coach, or in the direction of an arts instructor. I am sure all of us have experienced parental love from people other than our parents. Who in your life has shown you such love?

Laura Davis

March 14

2010-03-14T00:30:00.000-05:00

Abiding in Inner Peace

With Sacred Guidance,

And Oneness

Align us

With the stillness

That moves us

With serenity,

That soothes us

Abiding in Inner Peace

With Sacred Love,

Forgiveness,

And healing

Align us

With the compassion

That strengthens us

As we stand in our truth

Abiding in Inner Peace

With Sacred Mercy,

Surrender,

Soul awakening

Align us

With the creative power

That inspires us

As we embrace oneness

Abiding in Inner Peace

With Sacred Grace,

Partnership,

And Resurrection

Align us

With the power of prayer

That we long for

Thoughtful Prayer,

That comforts us

Abiding in Inner Peace

With Sacred Wisdom,

Awesome Nature,

Inspiring Courage

Align us

With the fire

That awakens us

Abiding in Inner Peace

With Sacred Blessings,

Adoration,

Unity

Align us

With Wisdom,

And Love

Abiding in Inner Peace

With Sacred Beauty,

Freedom,

Music

Align us

With gratitude,

And Joy

Abiding in Inner Peace

With Sacred Hope,

Communication,

Harmony

Align us

With truth

And inner knowledge

Abiding in Inner Peace

With Sacred Purity,

Divine plan,

Miracles

Align us

With faith,

With vision

Abiding in Inner Peace

With the purity

Of God

And us

And God’s creatures

Lynne Rolls

Today's Prayer Text

2010-03-13T11:39:00.000-05:00

Of course I’m better than other people. I’m not nearly as weird as the people that surround me. Ok, God, I admit I think that way…sorry, but it’s true. Help me get it the right way round. Amen.

March 13

2010-03-13T00:30:00.001-05:00

I Know

I know…

I know I fall short

I know I miss the mark

I know I can do better

I know I sin

I know…

I know you love me

I know you love me anyway

I know you are forgiving

I know you are a God of grace

I know…

I know I don’t know everything

I know I get confused

I know I doubt

I know you know this

I know…

The Rev. Tom Purdy

Today's Prayer Text

2010-03-12T11:20:00.000-05:00

I have a lot of stuff God, and most days I think about it a great deal – in fact, thinking of the stuff I don’t have that I want to have is a problem too. Bless me with an appreciation for you instead…I have enough stuff already. Amen.

March 12

2010-03-12T00:30:00.000-05:00

Words of Wisdom I’ve Accumulated Over the Years

• Don’t worry about things or situations you can’t change.
• You’re not always rewarded for doing the right thing.
• Your actions affect people’s lives more than you realize.
• You don’t have to convince people when you’re right, but you do need to apologize when you’re wrong.
• Don’t worry if things don’t go your way; be flexible enough to react to contingencies.
• Look for the best in every situation; even the worst things in life happen for a reason.
• Emotions are often beyond our control; however, our actions and how we react to these emotions can be controlled.
• Play the tape all the way through before you choose a course of action. What’s the ultimate point of an action? Use the filter (your brain) between emotion and action.
• When you’re considering other’s feelings, don’t forget your own (don’t be a martyr).
• There’s always more time in the day than you originally thought.
• Don’t put off doing the right thing. Bad situations don’t get better with time.
• Procrastination never works unless time is needed to heal or temper other’s feelings. Know when to act and do it promptly, and know when to wait.
• Life is continually progressing, even when it appears that we’re going backwards. Sometimes we need to revisit situations so we can learn how to handle them properly.
• Trust in God. He’s there to lean on and to help us through good times and bad times, but he doesn’t live our lives for us.
• Be a participant in life, not an observer. Give back to your community.
• Focus on the important things in life – family, friends, and community. Nobody’s obituary reads that they worked 60 hours a week.
• Don’t feel guilty about having a bad day. It happens to everyone, and sometimes you just have to accept it.

Bruce Kirby

Today's Text Prayer

2010-03-11T14:06:00.001-05:00

It’s Thursday…but I wish it were Friday. Please, God, give me the patience and the strength to make it to the weekend so that I can rest and recharge. I’m tired. Amen.

March 11

2010-03-11T00:30:00.000-05:00

From The Rising: Living the Mysteries of Lent, Easter, and Pentecost
By Wendy M. Wright

The patient process of untangling the threads of voices, of settling down to the center, was the lifelong work of the desert. It is our work as well. Like the desert ascetics, we must learn the art of inner listening. . . .

Lent is a time for tuning our ears, for listening carefully, for discerning the texture and quality of our own demons, for attending to God's unceasing, creative plea amidst the noise of cultural pressures, the busyness of life, and our own self-limiting habits.

Some of our Lenten discernments may be fairly straightforward. We may have become inattentive in our eating or drinking and need to give our over-satiated bodies a holiday. We may need to cultivate a more rhythmic pattern of prayer or bring the scriptures into clearer focus in our everyday life. We may need to mend the pieces of a broken relationship. We may need to take some of the time we hoard so tightly for work and lavish it on our children or friends. We may be called to respond to the cry of the poor, to feed the hungry, to shelter the homeless, or to visit the prisoner. All these can rightly be discerned as God's prompting to a freer life.

But the ongoing process of discernment, which I think is the more subtle invitation of the Lenten season, is not always so straightforward. It involves a radical and risky self-evaluation and a commitment to rethink and rework everything you know and are. God is always calling us out of ourselves, into a more generous freedom, so that we can love and serve ourselves and one another more authentically.

Presented by Tracey Forfa

Today's Text Prayer

2010-03-10T14:28:00.001-05:00

God, I tend to forget how vulnerable I really am, that I’m not invincible and that I my life is a precious gift. I pray you would watch over me and protect me in all I do. Amen.

March 10

2010-03-10T00:30:00.001-05:00

The Peace of the Lord

If I’m lucky, the sky will still be very black when I walk out of the house in the morning with my cup of coffee and my big lab, Magellan.

I look up into the dark and the stars are blazing. I nod to the Big Dipper, Orion’s Belt, and all the other constellations and stars.

I amble slowly on the well-worn path to the bench in the upper field with Magellan tracking every deer, squirrel, or rabbit trail along the way.

I sit and listen and watch as the sky starts to lighten and the Carolina wrens begin to call, “Wake up, it is morning.”

If we are really lucky, William and our cat RBS join us to listen and watch.

It is then that I know the Peace of the Lord is with us.

Cherry Barr

Today's Text Prayer

2010-03-09T11:50:00.001-05:00

Lord you told Peter that he should forgive seventy times seven times…but I’m having trouble with one time! Give me the humility and the graciousness to forgive those who wrong me. Amen.

March 9

2010-03-09T00:30:00.000-05:00

Taking Risks

Okay, I’ve figured out what I’m going to do for Lent. Taking on the project of writing this Lenten Devotional is my first step. I confess that I agonized, squirmed, and retreated every time I considered baring my soul in some form to write a Lenten devotional. At a very marked point in this decision process I realized that mainly because I was so scared of the intimacy of the project that I actually had to do it.

In my years here at St. Peter’s I’ve enjoyed the wisdom and goodness of three rectors and so, so many parishioners. I’ve learned a lot from everyone and have begun to believe that I have a pretty decent, albeit fundamental, intellectual grasp on Christianity. But I realized that my extreme visceral discomfort in considering writing a devotional to be shared by the parish means I’m missing out in participating in a vital element of Christianity – the emotional and spiritual side. I know my faith will shield me as I humble myself, will bolster me when I feel afraid, and will give me purpose – why have I not been trusting this?

So for Lent I am daily going to open myself up to hurt, ridicule, or humiliation whenever the opportunity arises. I’ll take the risk of being rejected, I’ll take the risk of being laughed at, I’ll take the risk of being considered stupid, and I’ll take the risk of earning someone’s sympathy. All this with the goal of bravely doing what I believe is good, just, strong, and honest. Too many times I’ve known better what to do or say, only I didn’t have the stomach or the heart. I’m going to work on that.

Nina Siegrist

Today's Text Prayer

2010-03-08T11:39:00.001-05:00

I know that sometimes I draw lines in order to measure who’s inside and outside those lines. Let me see, O God, as you see, a world without lines, a world where all are your beloved sons and daughters. Amen.

March 8

2010-03-08T00:30:00.001-05:00

Clearing the Burden

Ouch. It’s Snowmageddon + 2, the day we’re awaiting another snowstorm on the heels of the one that shut down the Metro area in the beginning of February (I’m sure you remember it). We’ve been doing a great deal of snow shoveling and snow blowing to keep things passable around the church and at home. My back hurts, my fingers hurt – even my hair hurts from being crammed in a knit cap for so many hours. The latest effort involved five of us spending one morning on the roof of the parish hall cleaning snow off of the flat part of the roof.

Yes, it’s a sturdy roof, but the brain trust who considered the weight of the snow, which may have been equivalent to five feet after tonight’s storm, decided it was safer to clear it off. Our decision process went through several phases including one that rationalized, “Well if it holds all those big HVAC units, it should be strong.” Then we realized that was like saying, if a bridge can handle 10 tons, surely it can handle 12. Everything has a breaking point. We decided not to find out what our roof’s is. It is well engineered, but wasn’t built to hold five feet of snow (and we checked this out with construction-savvy types who could do more than speculate – they used calculators and formulas). After all, how many times do roofs in this part of the country see that much? We can’t expect them to hold up everything the heavens can dump on them.

All of this mindless shoveling and digging on the roof brought to mind a cliché that I hear often and can’t stand. “God doesn’t give us more than we can handle.” Perhaps you’ve heard it. Perhaps you’ve said it. If you fall into the latter, I’d respectfully ask you not to repeat it any more, particularly to someone who is hurting. Here’s why: It’s like saying if a bridge can handle 10 tons, surely it can handle 12. Bridges collapse. So do people. Generally speaking humans are quite resilient – that’s the way God created us. But at the same time, we all know of those who have experienced more than they can handle. Some unfortunately turn to drastic measures for relief, and it is a great tragedy to hear about a suicide. Others may not die physically, but the burdens with which they are saddled make them function as though they are among the living dead. We all know people like this. You may be one now, or may have been one at some point in your life. If you survived that time, I’ll bet there were times you weren’t sure you could.

This whole issue stems from the debate over theodicy – justifying the behavior of God. It’s a huge topic that doesn’t fit in this reflection, but certainly one worth considering. It’s not that God gives us more than we can handle – it’s that God doesn’t give it to us at all. We may be tempted to think that God tests us, but if that is true, God has much explaining to do. How do we reconcile a loving God with one that “tests” us by taking away our child, for example? I haven’t met anyone yet who can reconcile it for me, not definitively anyway.

So instead of this favorite cliché, let’s try proclaiming that God is the destination of our burdens, not the source. Jesus himself said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Try that one on next time you’re hurting or you’re trying to console someone. Jesus didn’t say, “Here, hold this for me for about 50 years.” God doesn’t dump on us from heaven – God takes away the heaviness. Whenever we feel the weight pressing down, all we have to do is get out our prayer shovels (or those of our friends) and try clearing the deck a bit. I won’t pretend it’s easy, but it is a place to leave our burdens.

Don’t test your breaking point on your own – we’re strong, but we’re not invincible. God is.

The Rev. Tom Purdy

The cross outside St. Peter's bearing the burden of Snowmageddon 2010.

March 7

2010-03-07T00:30:00.001-05:00

Food, Food, Food

Every year around Easter, the ideas roll through my mind of what to give up for the six weeks of Lent. Will it be McDonalds? A classic choice. Chocolate? That’s maybe a bit too difficult and possibly overdoing it. Eating ice cream after dinner? Well, I don’t eat it often enough for it to be a considerable option, so it can stay.

Fast food, French fries, sweets – food, food, food. I have noticed that some type of food has been the most common sacrifice that we make during Lent. I wonder if food is most common because of the food-obsessed country we live in, or something more. Maybe it’s because food is something we see around us all day, every day. That makes the challenge more difficult and thus a more significant sacrifice.

One year, one of my close friends decided to not eat sweets for the six weeks until Easter. This included no cake on birthdays or cookies and juice after our school project presentations. She was hard-core about Lent, and my friends and I all admired her.

Letting go of our favorite coffee drink or fast food cheeseburger could be seen as the easier option. To remember the sacrifice Jesus made for us, we give up something we love and will truly miss.

Why is it that we don’t give up something more than food? The sweets and fast food we eat are a luxury. Why don’t we give up something we feel we need? What do we need that we can’t live without for six weeks?

Anna Clayton

Today's Text Prayer

2010-03-06T11:03:00.000-05:00

Heavenly Father, you love me in ways I can scarcely imagine! Thank you for loving me despite all my shortcomings, my faults, and the ways in which I turn away from you. Thank you for always letting me come home to you. Amen.

March 6

2010-03-06T00:30:00.000-05:00

Our Part in the Passion

As we prepare for Easter, we are reminded that Jesus takes our place on the cross to appease God's anger. Jesus goes by himself to be punished. Lent helps us experience our part in the Passion. We face our humanity during Lent. We learn that sin still dwells in us, that we still carry darkness. We learn that we, like his disciples, would likely have fallen asleep as Jesus prayed for deliverance and would likely have denied knowing him as he silently accepted his sentence.

Let us pray:

Our Father,
who art
in heaven,
Hallowed be
thy Name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive
those who
trespass
against us.
Lead us not
into temptation,
But deliver
us from evil.
For thine
is the kingdom,
the power,
and the glory,
for ever
and ever.
Amen.

Chris Hall

Today's Text Prayer

2010-03-05T11:07:00.000-05:00

God, the giver of all good things, I stand to inherit a great deal from you as your child. Teach me your ways that I might appreciate my inheritance instead of squandering it. Amen.

March 5

2010-03-05T00:30:00.003-05:00

Lent with Good Cheer

Psalm 145:The eyes of all wait upon you, O Lord
and you give them their food in due season
You open wide your hand,
and satisfy the needs of every living creature.

Ecclesiastes 2:24:There is nothing better for mortals than to
eat and drink, and find enjoyment in their toil
This also, I saw, is from the hand of God;
for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?

Acts 2: 46-47: And day by day, attending the temple together
and breaking bread in their homes, they partook
of food with glad and generous hearts, praising
God and having favor with all the people.

Food, as we all know, is a basic necessity in the life of all human beings. Indeed the Bible suggests it is a basic requirement in the life of communities as well. And what was true of the early church has been just as true of the family of God as it has existed at St. Peter’s in upper western Montgomery County for the last 150 years.

Whether it be as communicants, gathered at the altar to partake of our Lord's body and blood, with the gifts of bread and wine, or as banqueters at a church supper, seated at long tables with the bounty of the Poolesville kitchen, or feasting on foods of Biblical times at private houses (we did just that at the Stypeck's some years back), eating and drinking have been a means by which God's children have come to know him and love him and each other.

The preeminent feast is our celebration of Holy Communion. Carter and I make every effort to get to church faithfully, because we consider that the Eucharist represents a part of people's hunger for what is true and the significance of bread and wine and our reverence for it and its spiritual connotations: Christ died for us ! Luke 22 recounts the story of the Last Supper.

I sometimes wonder why Communion is so often observed in a somber mood of almost dismal introspection as we focus on the death of Christ, although the proper response might be one of celebration. Noting that, in the quotation from Acts above, the Christians ate with glad and sincere hearts, we should consider that Communion was an occasion of sharing with the saints and celebrating the forgiveness of our sins for all time, found in Christ. It’s a feast we must all attend with all diligence at our command.

Lent is traditionally a time for fasting, based upon Jesus' fasting for 40 days. It is a time for giving up some pleasures while taking on new responsibilities. At least that is how my family observes it. Over the centuries, many have given up meat in favor of fish. A grocery list of foods of the Bible includes spices, fruits, vegetables, grains, fish, fowl, and meats. In my humble opinion, the healthiest foods are the first six of the above. If we give up anything, it should probably be the last two, not because we are vegetarians but because we think that juicy steak does not conform to our ideas of fasting or giving anything up.

To all our good health and Christian love, let us break bread together in a simple manner. Perhaps we could revive the tradition of a simple, shared Lenten repast, with good cheer and shared interests.

Willis VanDevanter

Today's Text Prayer

2010-03-04T11:06:00.000-05:00

…things left undone…I often ask you to forgive me for those things, but I’m not always sure what it is I could have done differently. Gracious Lord, give me the eyes to see what needs doing and the will to do it. Amen.

March 4

2010-03-04T00:30:00.000-05:00

Jeremiah 17:5-10

Jeremiah 17:5-10 tells of God’s message to his people: that material goods and thoughts are nothing compared to the grace of God. “Cursed is the one... whose heart turns away from the Lord, but blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him,” the passage reads.

The reading continues to state the ways in which man prospers best under God’s guidance. If you put your trust in the Lord, your sins will be repented, and you can grow as a person. We live in a time when material possessions can take over our lives; sometimes it’s hard to distinguish what is really important as we are surrounded by superficial items, thoughts, and ideas. The nature of the world we live in makes it even more important that we recognize the glory of the Lord our God and give ourselves to him, renouncing material possessions and living through him.

As a singer and a music lover, I tend to think in song. Whether I am excited, upset, stressed, or confused, I can always find a song to relate to my situation. I frequently use songs to pump myself up, calm myself down, motivate me, or just make me smile. The possibilities are endless; you can choose any song. When I read Jeremiah 17:5-10, music began to play in the back of my head. The first song that came to mind was from one of my favorite Christian bands, Stellar Kart. The song “I Give Up” is about the decision or reaffirmation to give it all to God: “What it all comes down to:/When my world revolves around you /I begin to live.” As detailed in the song, living for and through God is the most satisfying thing a person can do; material possessions become irrelevant as you revel in the glory of God.

The idea that those who trust in God are safe from harm, that the Lord’s unfailing love is there to pick you up when you fall, is the topic of another Stellar Kart song, called “Never Let Go:” “Oh no, you never let go/ Through the calm and through the storm/ Oh no, you never let go/ Every high and every low/ Oh no, you never let go/ Lord you never let go of me.” Having faith in the wonders of God’s glory is one of the most important things to take out of this passage. No matter what happens, if you trust in God, He will come through for you and deliver you safe and sound.

I would encourage all of you to look up the songs I have discussed, because music is a powerful device. As E. Y. Harburg said: “Words make you think a thought, music makes you feel a feeling [but] song makes you feel a thought.” And in understanding God’s love and devotion, that’s exactly what we want to do.

Amy Stamm

Today's Text Prayer

2010-03-03T16:31:00.000-05:00

Hey God – I can handle more responsibility, and I can take care of myself. Thank you for giving me the wings to test my abilities…and I’m also glad you’re there to catch me when I’m not quite ready. Amen.

March 3

2010-03-03T00:30:00.000-05:00

Was There a Guiding Hand?

When I was a boy growing up in Takoma Park, Md., our coal came on a horse-drawn wagon from Griffith and Perry in Silver Spring. I would watch the men shovel coal into a chute into our basement.

In those days everyone who could sent their children to the Washington, D.C., schools, which were among the best in the country. I followed my older sister to Central High. My fraternity's lunch table was directly across the center aisle from the Beta Mu sorority. By my senior year, I was dating several of its members. Beta Mu had a new pledge who we noted was very pretty, but we did not pay much attention to her. Her name, I found out later, was Mary Ann Griffith.

After two years at John Carroll University in Cleveland with all boys and no dates, I transferred to the University of Maryland, which had many girls. I started paying a lot of attention to the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority house.

One night in the fall of my senior year when I brought my date back to the house, one of the sisters was sitting on the front steps crying. It was Mary Ann Griffith. After saying good night to my date, I asked Mary Ann if I could be of any help. I knew she was dating several guys named Bob – one of them was my fraternity brother. She said her boyfriend was in the hospital in Baltimore, and she wanted to go see him.

I had a car and offered to take her. We made a date. We went to Baltimore. Mary Ann saw her friend Bob. And we were married for 67 years.

George Kephart

Today's Text Prayer

2010-03-02T15:19:00.000-05:00

I like to look cool, and I like to be noticed from time to time. Help me remember I don’t have to impress anyone, and that your example, O Lord, is one of humility. Amen.

March 2

2010-03-02T00:30:00.001-05:00

And She Danced

I watched as my daughter danced around the room. She was completely in a world where no one else existed. If she had noticed me, the moment would have ended. For a brief second, time stood absolutely still.

I felt tears trickling down my checks. Where has the time gone? Wasn’t she just a baby? Didn’t the doctor just yesterday raise her up over the curtain for me to see? When did she become such a little person? Am I raising her right?

As I watched her dance, I marveled at her innocent beauty, and I wondered if I had done enough so far. Have I instilled in her the importance of love? Has she learned to look for the good in all persons? Does she have compassion and empathy? Will she grow up to know the meaning of true joy? Who will she become, and am I giving her all she needs?

As she spinned and twirled, I wondered if this is how God feels. Does God marvel at us? Does he hold his breath and wonder if we will get it right? If we will see the good in others and act when others are in pain? Does God smile when we are happy and cry when we are hurting? Does he struggle when we make bad decisions and hurt others? Does he rejoice when we find joy and cheer when we have a big moment? Does God feel joy and frustration over things we do? Does God wonder who we will ultimately become?

I do not have the answers to any of these questions, but I do like to think God is watching me when I dance – even when I think no one else is looking.

Donna Purdy

Today's Text Prayer

2010-03-01T13:33:00.001-05:00

Medals aren't handed out for behavior, especially for the times when no one is watching. Lord, help me to act as I should and to always do what is right in your sight. Amen.

March 1

2010-03-01T00:30:00.000-05:00

Luke 6:27-38

In today’s reading from Luke, we find straightforward directions for what we are called to do. It is easy enough for Luke to give us instructions, but it is much harder to put them into practice.

Step 1: “Love your enemies.” Luke explains that we are called not just to love those who love us because even sinners do that. We are asked to love even those who don’t love us. It can be hard to know who your enemies are, who hates you or says mean things about you. This first direction challenges me to find something special and admirable even in the people who I don’t want to like. We all have those people who annoy us, but in each and every one there is something to love.

Step 2: Turn the other cheek. At first, this sounds painful. Luke talks about turning the other cheek if you are hit or giving more if people take your belongings. With these examples, Luke seems to say if we are attacked, we are not to run or retaliate like we might want; we are simply to give more. Just as we are told to love our enemies when we might want to hate them, we are called to be generous when we might want to be defensive.

Step 3: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” I know I heard this a lot when I was little. Don’t hit your sister if you don’t want her to hit you. While we treat others as we want to be treated, we are meant to do so without expecting anything in return. God calls on us to be trendsetters without expecting others to follow.

In the song “If Everyone Cared,” Nickelback sings about a world like the one Luke describes.

“If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
Then we'd see the day when nobody died”

We can be the trendsetters who care, love, and share with others. While we are told not to expect everyone to show the same care and love, Nickelback shows us what can happen if our trend catches on.

What God asks us to do today is hard. We are called to give more of ourselves, more of our love, and more of our generosity. All the while, we have the best example of all to follow. Luke says, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” God asks each of us to follow his example and show our own love and generosity to everyone we meet.

Rachel Tjornehoj

February 28

2010-02-28T00:30:00.001-05:00

The Power of Prayer

I recently re-discovered the power of prayer when my daughter, Krystal, was hospitalized for a week with pneumonia, a complication of the H1N1 flu. I don’t get worked up easily, so while the initial diagnosis was shocking, I wasn’t overly worried. I thought, okay, a night in the hospital and then we go home.

But the next day, Krystal was worse, and we weren’t going home. Father Tom visited daily and prayed with us each time. His prayers always comforted us and made us feel the possibilities of God’s healing. Then we started getting messages from friends and family about the vast numbers of people who were praying for Krystal. As the days went by, Krystal did not improve, but the prayer circle got wider and wider.

Soon, the thoughts of how many people were praying for her overcame the thoughts of how we would get through this. It was mind boggling. Our church family lifted us up in prayer. Family and friends poured out their concern and offerings of prayer, which we gratefully accepted. The most touching contacts were from people who didn’t believe, but prayed anyway for Krystal. Or people who hadn’t prayed in so very long, but were praying because of Krystal.

I was, and am, overwhelmed with the feeling of God’s power at work. How many people were touched by her illness? How many people may have come back to God due to this situation? Praise God, Krystal was healed, but the overall memory that I will retain from that experience is the comfort and love that was given us by the prayers of so many.

Don’t ever feel that “all I can do is pray.” Prayer is an incredibly powerful and loving action that you can take for someone going through a difficult time.

Traci Stevens

Today's Text Prayer

2010-02-27T11:36:00.002-05:00

I can’t stand her. He’s not much better. Lord, I know you said that we should love our enemies, but it’s harder than you made it sound. Help me love them, because I find it hard to do all by myself. Amen.

Today's Text Prayer

2010-02-27T11:36:00.000-05:00

February 27

2010-02-27T00:30:00.001-05:00

DO Try This at Home

Man, it’s cold outside, and there is nothing better in the evening than to curl up with a blanket and a good book. Going outdoors at this time of year after dinner is usually not on the top of my list. But we have been fostering two adorable puppies for the last few months, and they need to go out on a regular basis. So before bedtime every evening at 10:30, out come the leashes and the warm jackets, preferably with hoods. Out we go!

Even though the wind blows and the temperatures have at times been frigid, these walks have turned from a real chore to a very special time. Not much is moving outside that late. No cars, no people, no barking dogs at other houses. It’s a beautiful time to be still, look at the trees and sky, and really enjoy the peace of it all. No other time of day is quite like this.

I always wondered how to visualize the Holy Spirit, and I realize now that it is just like my jacket. My jacket warms, protects, and comforts me on those cold nights outdoors. Now my jacket is a constant reminder of the All Mighty, every time I put it on, night or day.

So, even if you don’t have late night dog duty, go put a jacket on – preferably one with a hood – and go outside tonight to feel God’s Peace. Go!

Barbara Andreassen

Photo credit: nightstockphoto.com

Today's Text Prayer

2010-02-26T11:29:00.001-05:00

God of mercy, we are imperfect people living in an imperfect world; help us to seek forgiveness and reconciliation whenever we wrong or harm another, and give us the humility to admit our shortcomings and our faults. Amen.

February 26

2010-02-26T00:30:00.002-05:00

Each Day is a Gift

It was August 1969, and the heat was oppressive. I went to the guard shack to meet Staff Sergeant Tom Smith (not his real name) to iron out the details of personnel assignments for that night’s perimeter security. We were situated on a hill overlooking the city of Danang in Vietnam.

I was a new guy on the hill, all of 19 years old, and Sergeant Smith was giving me the benefit of his 10 years of experience as a Marine. He was a likeable man who talked about the upcoming mission and about the house he and his wife were having built in North Carolina. Sarge went on and on about his new son, who had been born three months after he had gone overseas. He looked forward to holding his boy for the first time – but it was not meant to be.

Three hours later Sergeant Smith was involved in a terrible accident of war that ended his life and changed mine forever. Through his selfless act of heroism, more than 200 Marines were saved that day – I was one of them.

I had been brought up with Christian values but the secular world had made it easy for me to offer God a back seat in my life. After that incident I realized that, even at 19, I was not invincible and I had no idea how many days God would allow me on this earth.

It’s been more than 40 years since that day, and I have never once forgotten the sacrifice of Sergeant Smith and the opportunity he gave all 200 of us. He paid the ultimate price so that we could live.

For me each day is a gift, and I try to use my gifts wisely.

Joseph Hardwick

US Marines raising the flag over Iwo Jima, 1945

Today's Text Prayer

2010-02-25T15:14:00.001-05:00

Amen. I start my prayer today, perhaps I as I should start them all, with the admission, right up front, that no matter what I pray for, the intent of my heart should be ‘Amen’ to your will, ‘so be it.’

February 25

2010-02-25T00:30:00.000-05:00

A Military Family's Sacrifice

It was March 2003, and war with Iraq was imminent. Also coming up was the birth of our second child. And since my husband, Steve Vogel, was a military reporter, I just hoped the war would wait until after our baby was born. I tried driving down bumpy roads, sipping raspberry tea, but still the baby wouldn’t come. Finally, a delivery date was scheduled, and although Steve had already shipped off to join an Army paratrooper unit in Denver, he was allowed to fly back home for the birth.

Charlotte was born March 18, the day before the war started. Steve was able to hold his baby girl, then the next day he left for Iraq. The first few weeks of baby bliss were strangely accompanied by round-the-clock CNN viewing, reading stories in the paper about battles Steve witnessed from a dangerously close distance, and brief satellite phone calls to discuss of all things sleeping patterns, diapers, and gas.

Luckily, I had plenty of help at home. My family and in-laws came to visit, my mother’s group arranged a steady stream of dinners, and friends constantly dropped by. After about two months, Steve came home unscathed. Even what I had thought was a deep tan washed off in his first shower in weeks.

But what was my two months without a husband and father to my children compared to the lifetime of sacrifices made by military spouses and families? During those few months, I could only think with admiration and respect of those who are accustomed to that sacrifice on a regular basis. Yes, many of them have the support of their base and military groups, but many are forced to move, assume all the duties associating with parenting, give up jobs, and scrimp on daily necessities. And unfortunately, many are not lucky enough to see their loved ones return home, and their burden and sense of loss become even greater.

Yes, it is truly the families of those serving in the military who make some of the greatest sacrifices. I continue to think of their sacrifices as a new offensive begins, this time in Afghanistan as President Obama commits more troops there. I look forward to the day when military families do not need to be separated and people’s husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, do not have to die in war.

Tiffany Ayers

Today's Text Prayer

2010-02-24T16:18:00.001-05:00

I don’t need to be swallowed by a whale to get my attention. But, I also know I don’t pay attention all the time, either. I beg for your patience and your love, especially in those moments where I fail to follow your call. Amen.

February 24

2010-02-24T00:30:00.001-05:00

Jonah 3:1-20

I love the story of Jonah. The part of the story right before the reading for today is probably the one that is most familiar. God calls Jonah to go to Nineveh, but Jonah decides to head in the opposite direction. God’s answer to Jonah’s disobedience comes in the form of a whale. With three days to do some praying and thinking inside of the whale’s stomach, Jonah decides that it might make more sense to do what God has called him to do. So at the beginning of today’s passage, off Jonah goes to preach repentance to the people of Nineveh.

The joy of Jonah is his true humanness, all of our weaknesses included. Despite having the close encounter with the whale, Jonah’s effort to fulfill God’s call is feeble at best. I can picture Jonah on some crowded street corner in Nineveh, mumbling his prepared speech, “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be overthrown,” and making a quick exit out of the city smiling to himself that he has done his duty and now the people of Nineveh are really going to get it.

Then the unbelievable happens. Jonah’s half-hearted attempt to get the people of Nineveh to repent works! And then comes the real aggravation for Jonah—God hears the people’s cries and much to Jonah’s great displeasure God changes his mind, accepts the people’s repentance, and spares them. This is just too much for Jonah so off he goes to pout, which is where the final part of the Jonah story picks up.

While the section of Jonah that is our reading today is less well known, it has a wonderful message for all of us. Simply, we are called by God to act in this world. Sometimes what we are called to do is big, sometimes it is small. God expects us, as God did with Jonah, to fulfill the calling we have—just do it. And the astounding thing we see in this story is that no matter what we are called to do, we know that God will do the heavy lifting. While we may not act in a half-hearted way like Jonah, we also don’t always have the perfect word for the moment, the perfect response to someone in need, the perfect patience needed for the tough moment, or the limitless courage to handle the frightening situation.

Still God calls us to act – to do what God wants us to do. Maybe we are called to feed a few children in a small town in South Africa, not the whole nation. Maybe we are called to teach a few youth about HIV/AIDS, not solve the problem of AIDS in the world. Maybe we are called to care for 75 HIV positive people, not find a cure for AIDS. We do what God calls us to do and know that with God’s involvement our effort will be enough.

Jonah’s effort should never have changed a single person, but because God was involved, Jonah’s effort started a wildfire and ultimately God’s will was done.
We listen for God’s call and we act. We use what God has given us, do the best and most we can, and count on God to be a part of the story. With God as a part of the story, our feeble human actions will be enough.

Joel Tjornehoj

Today's Text Prayer

2010-02-23T14:16:00.002-05:00

Lead me, O Father, not into temptation, but deliver me from the things that distract me and pull me from you. Give me whatever I need this day to sustain myself that I might be a part of your glorious work. Amen.

February 23

2010-02-23T00:30:00.001-05:00

Polishing the Brash

Several years ago, it was mentioned that much of the brass at the altar had been worn down by too much polishing and would have to be re-plated to bring the shine back. The process of restoring this shine in preparation for our celebration of God’s greatest gift offers us an opportunity for renewal during the Lenten season.

Over the coming weeks as various pieces are taken to the trusty brass man to polish and lacquer, please join me in relating this process to our own Lenten journeys as a way of “polishing and rebrassing” ourselves to the glory of God on the greatest of days, Easter.

Amy Rogers

Psalm 23: 1-3

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul.

Along with many other people, this is one of my favorite psalms. When I was younger, I always seemed to focus on the outward tangible things David says God gives us. But as I’ve gotten older and become enmeshed in my career and busy life, the first three verses really speak to me. Like so many other people, I have little free or down time. We live in a society where we always seem to be on the go. We’re impatient to get on with our lives. We frequently feel guilty if we sit and relax because there are so many other things we could be doing. Our “to do” lists get longer. Yet God wants us to spend quiet time with Him every day so he can restore our souls.

This snow storm we’re in the middle of right now is a good example. While we don’t see green pastures at the moment, we see beautiful pristine white pastures. The snow is absolutely beautiful on the trees, on the ground, as it’s falling from the sky. This snow storm is the still waters that God is leading us beside. We are forced to slow down because we can’t get out of the house and run around in our cars. We have a chance to become like kids again and revel playing in the snow. Think of the snow angels, snow forts, snowball fights! Cold, yes, but so much fun.

Watching the news, I hear about people who are sick of the snow and all that it brings, who just want to go back to their normal hurried lives, uninterrupted by God’s request to slow down and appreciate the beauty He gives us every day. Our news focuses on all of the negatives. I pray that once this snow storm passes, we will remember how wonderful it was to slow down for a bit, look around, and marvel at the grandeur all around us. Make time to restore your soul beside the still waters every day.

Sandy (Worley) Miller

Today's Text Prayer

2010-02-22T11:03:00.000-05:00

God, as I begin a new week and the fullness of my calendar guides me from one moment to the next, keep me from being too busy to see the places where I can serve the least of your children, and in so doing serve you. In your son’s name, Amen.

February 22

2010-02-22T00:30:00.001-05:00

That Night

I lay in bed,
a young boy,
stared out
the window
and felt
the immensity
blacken
between
the stars.

Forty years later,
I wake
and wonder
if I'm running
to
or from
that night.

Bernie Jankowski

Sunday Sermon

2010-02-21T18:29:00.000-05:00

Lent 1, Year C
February 21, 2010
St. Peter’s Episcopal Church
The Rev. Tom Purdy

We have entered the wilderness and our forty days of Lent. The 40 day length is an important number. Moses was 40 days on Mt. Sinai without food and water. Elijah journeyed 40 days without food. To see Jesus also go through a 40 day period without food is yet another tie between the three of them, which will resonate later in the gospel when readers hear of the transfiguration (which we just heard of last week).

40 days is a long time! Think about 40 days ago. Do you remember what happened 40 days ago? An earthquake devastated Haiti – an event that seems like a long time ago – and it was just 40 days. A lot can happen in 40 days!

The season of Lent is long enough to allow quite a bit to take place in our spiritual lives. It is enough time for us to take a really good look at ourselves and get a lot done. Frederick Buechner has discussed the length of this season and what it allows. He says, “In many cultures there is an ancient custom of giving a tenth of each year's income to some holy use. For Christians to observe the forty days of Lent is to do the same thing with roughly a tenth of each year's days. After being baptized by John in the river Jordan, Jesus went off alone into the wilderness where he spent forty days asking himself the question what it meant to be Jesus. During Lent, Christians are supposed to ask one way or another what it means to be themselves.”

In Luke’s version of Jesus’ wilderness time, it’s not so much a self directed retreat with Satan’s temptations and all, but it is nonetheless a time when Jesus, and the rest of us, figured out what kind of man he was. There was still this element of discovering identity in his experience. It is interesting to consider for a moment that we might not really know ourselves. We take a lot for granted in our daily life – things we simply assume about the world around us. Why wouldn’t it be also true that we take things for granted about ourselves – that we simply assume certain things about ourselves. I think it is fair to say that we do the same in our spiritual lives, just taking things for granted. To get to the bottom of our real selves and what we really believe, Buechner suggests a series of questions we should ask ourselves during Lent. These aren’t easy questions, but rather, the kind of questions we have to wrestle with and spend some time pondering. Questions such as:

“If you had to bet everything you have on whether there is a God or whether there isn't, which side would get your money and why?

When you look at your face in the mirror, what do you see in it that you most like and what do you see in it that you most deplore?

If you had only one last message to leave to the handful of people who are most important to you, what would it be in twenty-five words or less?

Of all the things you have done in your life, which is the one you most like to undo? Which is the one that makes you happiest to remember?

Is there any person in the world, or any cause, that, if circumstances called for it, you would be willing to die for?”

I admit, when I first saw the list, I thought those questions didn’t seem too challenging. The first one about God gave me a false sense of security – I knew right away how I would answer that one. But after that it became hard for me to come up with quick and easy answers. What don’t I like in the mirror? What would I like to undo in my life? Sum up what’s most important to me in 25 words of wisdom? These are difficult questions!

I like that Buechner puts the season of Lent into the language of Stewardship. It reminds me that I have a year full of days, and that to spend this season of Lent on this difficult introspection is an offering of sorts back to God. To wrestle with faith is a form of giving – it is an acknowledgment that faith is important enough to warrant introspection. Were it not of value, it wouldn’t be worth the effort. Stewardship is a way of handling the treasures we are blessed with, so why not with our reason and our self understanding?

Buechner says, “To hear yourself try to answer questions like these is to begin to hear something not only of who you are but of both what you are becoming and what you are failing to become. It can be a pretty depressing business all in all, but if sackcloth and ashes are at the start of it, something like Easter may be at the end. ” It is true that the Lenten journey is not necessarily a feel good journey from start to finish. Those of us who were here on Wednesday know that, for we were reminded that we are dust and to dust we shall return. I suspect that’s why it isn’t celebrated with the vim and vigor of other season. But Lent is an important component of understanding who we are, especially in relation to God. It is a measuring stick in our church calendar that we pull out once a year to see where we are. We are never fully formed, but are always growing and changing. It’s like measuring your children’s height on a door frame every so often – Lent is a good way to take stock of what we are becoming and what we are not becoming.

Buechner’s questions are challenging, so we may not relish the thought of trying to answer them. Yet to take on just one of them will provide an amazing journey. We have put our Extreme Makeover banner back up for Lent because this is the season that naturally lends itself to this process of making us new. We too may go for 40 days without something that is important to us, our chocolate, our fast food, our Farmville on Facebook. We take things on, like the 4 in 40 Gospel challenge, or reading St. Peter’s Lenten devotionals. All of it works together to help us wrestle with who we are and who we are becoming. Not to take this time during these 40 days is to rob the rest of our year of meaning and understanding.

The Joy that waits for us on Easter morning is not quite as bright if we haven’t spent some dark moments with our real selves, our real struggles, our failures. It is only in seeing the growing edges and the low spots that we can celebrate the high ones – the triumphs. Before getting to the great joy of Easter – there is the process of preparation that precedes it. Without the preparations, the celebration might be lacking. I think Buechner’s challenge is one we can take on.

“During Lent, Christians are supposed to ask one way or another what it means to be themselves.”

“If you had to bet everything you have on whether there is a God or whether there isn't, which side would get your money and why?

When you look at your face in the mirror, what do you see in it that you most like and what do you see in it that you most deplore?

If you had only one last message to leave to the handful of people who are most important to you, what would it be in twenty-five words or less?

Of all the things you have done in your life, which is the one you most like to undo? Which is the one that makes you happiest to remember?

Is there any person in the world, or any cause, that, if circumstances called for it, you would be willing to die for?”

40 days is a long time. It is enough time for transformation to take place. Lent involves some hard work, yet, “It can be a pretty depressing business all in all, but if sackcloth and ashes are at the start of it, something like Easter may be at the end.”

February 21

2010-02-21T00:30:00.002-05:00

The Mystery of Lent

As a child, giving up something for Lent was a difficult task. “Remember Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross every time you crave the item you’ve given up for Lent,” I would be reminded. Mom never went along with the “I’m going to give up spinach and Brussels sprouts!” trick, nor did Dad buy into “If you give up smoking, I’ll give up watching TV on school nights!” attempt.

Fortunately, John and I were blessed with two lovely daughters with whom I could relive my Lenten journey. Surprisingly, they took it seriously and often chose to give up something they knew they would miss for six weeks. When Elaine was 10 years old, her basketball friends played a major role in this experience. The fact that they were Catholic may have had something to do with it.

“Kathleen and Katie are giving up chocolate!” “Kimmy is giving up Dunk-A-Roos for lunch – that’s big!” “I’m going to give up McDonald’s hamburgers at our after-basketball game parties on Saturday afternoons,” Elaine said with purpose.

It was difficult at first for Elaine to order just the salad, while her friends chowed down on burgers and fries. Though she did gain praise from the mothers in the group, and I too received a vicarious thrill from her unwavering stance. Mrs. Lescheck even offered to treat her to a vanilla milkshake in support of her efforts.

Six weeks of practices and after-game parties finally came to a close, and the Big Day had arrived. On Sunday after church we took Elaine to McDonald’s to order whatever she wanted. She even chose to wait until she got home, so she could enjoy eating the hamburger and fries on a real dinner plate. She opened the bag, assembled the burger and fries on the plate, and began to enjoy the mini feast. One bite into the burger, though, brought everything to a sudden halt. Catsup? Yes! Mustard? Yes! Pickles? Yes! Burger? No! They forgot to put the burger in the bun.

So there you have it – the mystery of Lent. We still don’t know what it means, but it must mean something.

Vikki Clayton

Today's Text Prayer

2010-02-20T12:00:00.000-05:00

Lord of all, it is true the sick need a physician more than the well. Help me to recognize the symptoms of whatever sickness ails me so I might turn to you, the Healer, to be made whole once again. Amen.

February 20

2010-02-20T00:30:00.001-05:00

Luke 5: 27-32

Today’s Gospel about Levi, the tax collector, being called to follow Jesus reminds me that at each moment, we are all called to follow Jesus. Levi was simply doing his job, and Jesus walks up and says, “Follow me.” This is how it is for all of us. It doesn’t matter where we are or what we are doing, we are called to follow Jesus.

I struggle with what it means when it says Levi “got up, left everything, and followed him.” It does not say Levi becomes an apostle, so what does it mean that he left everything? What would it mean for me to leave everything and follow Jesus? Can we leave everything and still live our lives with our families, friends, and jobs?

I think there is an answer in the next verse. Levi throws a great banquet for Jesus and invites all of his tax collector friends and others. It seems to me that Levi has not abandoned his old life completely, but he is no longer attached to his financial possessions. He uses his money in a way that he might not have thought to before he chose to follow Jesus. And he is so changed, that he wants others to meet Jesus and get to know him as well.

Lent is a time when we get the opportunity to stop and look at our attachments and think about how they are keeping us from fully experiencing the power of God’s grace and Jesus’s love, and how we share it with others.

I like that Levi hosts a banquet as a way for others to come to know Jesus. It echoes with other stories in Jesus’s ministry where he is known through shared meals. It reminds me of why I love Communion.

Finally, the verse ends with the Pharisees complaining to the disciples that Jesus is eating and drinking with “tax collectors and sinners.” Jesus answers, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Jesus’s answer reminds me that if I choose to leave everything and walk on Jesus’s path, I must give up all judgment about who is or is not worthy. By opening ourselves to the possibility that everyone is worthy, we manifest Jesus’s love, healing, and redemption for ourselves and others.

Kathy Jankowski

Photo Credit: visualbiblealive.com

2010-02-19T12:32:00.000-05:00

I found this image a perfect visual for Abigail's piece yesterday.

Photo credit: freephoto.com

Today's Text Prayer

2010-02-19T12:09:00.003-05:00

God of the old and of the new both, work in me to shore up and repair what is already there while making room and preparing a place for the newness of a life lived in You. Amen.

(If you would like to receive these prayers on your cell phone, please email the Blog Master with your cell number.)

February 19

2010-02-19T00:30:00.000-05:00

Psalm 51:7

For behold, you look for truth deep within me, and will make me understand wisdom secretly.

When I was around 10 or 12 years old I saw my first autostereogram. Yes, an autostereogram. No, I didn’t know that’s what it was called until I looked it up to write this piece. I figure it’s better to use the real word instead of saying that poster thingamajig. Anyway, I was not yet a teenager, and I found myself staring at this poster thingamajig (ok, so it’s fun to say). It didn’t look like anything more than a splash of colors that were vaguely organized. It was hanging in a store somewhere, and a salesperson or another observer suggested I focus on a spot behind the poster to make sense of it. As I tried to do that I went from squinting to crossing my eyes, all the while not understanding what was supposed to happen. Finally, the flat poster sprang to life as an Indy Car appeared to be flying off the page at me. It was 3-D without the glasses – it was incredibly cool. I realized that not everyone could see the image even after trying, so I felt proud to have such special vision.

The verse from psalm 51 above is a reminder that God has this same special vision – whether God uses it to see really cool posters or not, I can’t say. But I do think God has the ability to see through us to our deepest most hidden parts. When we say God knows us from before birth, we acknowledge that God has a deep and thorough knowledge of our innermost parts. We acknowledge that there is no place to hide from God. In fact, I suspect God knows us better than we know ourselves. We have all sorts of innate and subconscious ways of seeing ourselves the way we want to, yet God isn’t hindered by all of that. God looks at us and sees the truth within us, the truth that is more real than our behaviors and our masks.

Even more interesting, the second half of this verse seems to say in that same process, God shows us God’s self in those deep and possibly hidden parts. At some level below the surface, we understand God’s wisdom and mystery – at a secret level, likely kept secret by the same innate and subconscious behaviors that block our self-vision. If it’s like looking at those poster thingamajigs, it may take some work for us to see what’s there – to focus beyond the surface to see what’s behind it. Through no small effort of spiritual squinting and eye-crossing, this Lenten journey of ours can help us find the truth of ourselves and the truth of God – beyond the surface, beyond the vaguely organized colors of our life.

The Rev. Tom Purdy

Today's Text Prayer

2010-02-18T16:41:00.000-05:00

All knowing God, your Son asked Peter, “Who do you say that I am?”. Give us the wisdom and the courage to answer that same question when it is asked of us, despite our doubts and fears. Amen.

(If you would like to receive these texts on your cell phone, please email your cell number to the blog master at blog@stpeterspoolesville.org.)

February 18

2010-02-18T00:30:00.000-05:00

Psalm 1:3
God Is Like a Stream

They are like trees that grow beside a stream, that bear fruit at the right time, and whose leaves do not dry up. They succeed in everything they do.

God is like the stream that runs beside a tree. He provides and nourishes the people who believe in Him.

The roots of the tree soak up the water that runs in the stream below. The tree could not exist and could not bear its rich fruits without a constantly full stream. The stream helps the tree reach its full potential – keeping its leaves looking fresh and green and helping its fruit grow.

God is like this stream in that he is constantly there for you when you need him. When I am asked, “Where do you see God in your life,” I honestly do not know. But just as the tree’s roots naturally draw on the water, I know that I can count on God being there for me without having to confirm that he is there.

It is comforting to know that God is always there for you when you need him for any reason. All you have to do is talk to God, and he will be there to listen and support you.

Because God is constantly in our lives to protect and to guide us, we are able to reach our full potential. God gives us our talents, and then we are called upon to put those talents to good use. Those talents can come in many forms, from helping with church, playing an instrument, singing in a choir, or simply smiling at a person to make them feel welcome. Like the tree fed by the water, we are able to produce an abundance of fruit.

God is seen throughout the day, but it is hard to pick one point because he is like the constant running of a stream. He is always there.

Abigail Tjornehoj

Today's Text Prayer

2010-02-17T11:24:00.002-05:00

I am dust, and to dust I shall return…God, it certainly doesn’t make me feel all warm and fuzzy, but I hear you. As I begin this Lenten journey, stay with me as I consider my life and my relationship to you and to others. Amen.

We are sending prayers out each day in Lent as text messages. If you would like to be included, please email the blog master with your cell phone number and we will add you to the list.

February 17, Ash Wednesday

2010-02-17T00:30:00.003-05:00

A Season of Preparation

Because I do not have a childhood tradition of Lenten sacrifice (or attending Ash Wednesday services, etc.), I have something of a conflicted relationship with the season. On the one hand, I’m awed by the sacrifices – and fidelity to commitments – made by people around me. Chocoholics forgoing their “fix,” children donating their allowance, cocktail devotees abstaining for 40 days; it’s all very impressive. And, while some sound a trumpet before them as they give these things up, most perform this annual ritual as a personal and deeply meaningful act of preparation, generously given.

Why do I not feel called to prepare in the same way? Who am I to hold out the belief that self-denial isn’t something my loving God wants me to do to demonstrate my faith? Why do I personally feel vindicated when Matthew admonishes us to give alms in secret, to pray quietly and alone, and not to be “outward” about our sacrifices or the practice of our piety?

I was profoundly struck by the Gospel reading a couple weeks ago in which Luke writes of Jesus when a mob of people were going to throw him off the cliff: “He passed through the midst of them and went on his way.” What a staggering thought that Jesus might just not hang around where he isn’t wanted!

It started me thinking that maybe that’s what this season of preparation is all about – being intentional about inviting Jesus into our midst and into our hearts and asking him to stay around. And because it is human nature to take things for granted, to accommodate to what we have, maybe sacrifices and rituals during Lent are useful reminders about how much God appreciates an invitation.

The most famous part of this lesson is Verse 21: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” I have spent an alarming number of hours contemplating this statement. Does it mean that all gifts come from God? Perhaps it’s suggesting that what we treasure most is what we must be prepared to sacrifice (just as God gave us his son). Maybe it’s suggesting that the passion we bring to the quest for whatever it is we treasure most is how much we should love God – or one another.

Or maybe it’s simply giving us a way to understand how much God loves us – so much that what he treasured most, his son, was sacrificed for us all.

Barbara Davidson

Welcome to our Lenten Blog

2010-02-15T14:09:00.001-05:00

Lenten Greetings! In the coming days and weeks this is the place where we will post the daily writings and reflections of the people and friends of St. Peter's. Starting with Ash Wednesday, a new post will be added to the blog each morning. There may be additional reflections and prayers that are shared throughout the season too. Check back often to reflect with others on the movement of the Spirit as we read each others thoughts.