An echo from Sunday

1.  Now all the vault of heav'n resounds
in praise of love that still abounds:
Christ has triumphed!  He is living!
Sing choirs of angels loud and clear!
Repeat their song of glory here:
Christ has triumphed! He is living!

Alleluia!  Alleluia!  Alleluia! 

3.  Oh, fill us, Lord, with dauntless love;
set heart and will on things above
that we conquer through your triumph;
grant grace sufficient for life's day
that by our lives we truly say: 
Christ has triumphed!  He is living! 

Alleluia!  Alleluia!  Alleluia! 

ELW #367

Take a look at your week so far.  Is your voice part of the chorus of love reverberating in the vault of heaven (or in your workplace)?

The community prayed in this song that we all be filled with DAUNTLESS LOVE.  We also asked God's help in setting our hearts and wills on things above. 

What has claimed your attention so far this week?  (that is, what has been your most consistent focus?) 

Remembering the basics

Welcome to Monday!  What's on your "to do" list? Is it already established?  Are there things on that list you will embrace with joy?  What is there that you see as nothing other than a chore -- something that you will get through and then be glad for its accomplishment.  Our contexts offer a variety of possibilities.  Much of what we have scheduled will actually unfold.  Other things will dissolve -- appointments will be cancelled and plans will be interrupted.

Is there anything on your list that you have planned that you see as essential?  What is there that you are cherishing or anticipating?  Would its disappearance would be a disappointment?

Where does discipleship factor in?  How will your walk this week be a reflection of the power you have as a child of God? In all places you have opportunities to serve or be served as Christ's love is manifest through words, gestures, thoughts and actions.

Take a look at something you are anticipating with joy.  If it occurs, let that be an invitation for prayers of gratitude, praise and appreciation.  Let the experience strengthen you or comfort you or enhance your awareness of God's great goodness.

Take a look at something you are hesitant or unwilling to encounter.  How can that activity or appointment be seen differently if you see it as a sacrifice.  What if you trust that God will be with you and will open your eyes and heart to see an opportunity for Love to break through?

The discipleship function underlies everything else.  It is the basic ingredient of every day.

This week's scripture continues to invite us to think about what it means to "abide".  Specifically, we are advised to abide in Christ's love.  If the way that others know that we are Christians is by our love, it seems that it is important to express love wherever we go.

Try this prayer exercise:

Envision a dry, brittle sponge.

See it soaking in water, absorbing liquid into every cell.

When it is pressed, it oozes water from every cell.

Envision your heart, mind and body as that sponge.

Soak in God's love.

When people or situations press in upon you, let the love of Christ be what splashes out.  

Did you notice how many times the word "abide" appeared in the Gospel reading on Sunday? Eight times.  Sometimes twice in the same sentence.  I suppose that word would be declared archaic by some contemporary texters.  I think it is a beautiful word -- I have always considered it a cousin to linger, languish, soak.  As such, it has a soft connotation, don't you agree?    


However, I consulted the dictionary and found that it is not a passive word -- there is a sense of activated presence about it:  continue, keep on, persevere, persist, remain

Christ said:  Abide in me, as I abide in you.   If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.


Abiding in Christ is more than stating the Nicene Creed on Sunday.  It is more than occasionally reflecting upon what you heard and said and saw and tasted and touched on Sunday.  


It is about continuing to be "in" Christ.  It is about persevering in faith so that nothing is permitted to draw you aware from the center of your faith -- the Cross.  


So, friend, how are you doing so far this week?  I am doing the best I can.  Yet there are so many other wonderful (or awful) matters that are trying to find time and space in my mental or spiritual space (not to mention their competition for time on my personal hourly calendar).  Perhaps those words about asking for our wishes (for others) to be done are more important than we realize.  


How about if we pray for one another -- all of the others to whom we are connected?  What if we hold one another before Christ in a way that says:  Please, heavenly Father, help ___________  abide in you.  


It seems to me that praying for another's ability to abide in Christ might be a very powerful weapon against our challenges!  

Tied to Christ. Connected to Others.

Have you ever prayed while looking at a spider web?  Try this.  Imagine yourself at one of the points on the perimeter of the web.  Move yourself towards the center point (can you see the tiny cross at the center?)  Notice how narrow the space is between the threads in the center, compared to the spaces at the perimeter.  

The closer you are to the center the closer you are to the "others" in the web.  

Yesterday (and every time we gather for worship) we returned to the center, the core of our spiritual life.  Beginning with greeting the hour ("We gather in the name of Christ") we then confessed our shortcomings and received forgiveness.  We heard the living Word in Scripture, pondered the proclamation, prayed together, celebrated the Sacrament of Baptism, and then gathered at table and cross to receive Christ in the Bread and the Wine.  The Cross and the Meal are the center of the faith.  

Remember the words:  Jesus said:  I am the vine, you are the branches.  

So, today is Monday.  You have already begun your walk from worship into the world.  As your steps are taking you into these days between Sunday, what people and situations are you facing?  How is your tie to Christ affecting your connections with others?  

Herding instinct

Yesterday I spoke to my shepherd friend.   She and her husband raise sheep and border collies.  This spring their ewes delivered over 60 lambs.  Right now each lamb follows its mother, as if it is tied by an invisible thread.

As the lambs mature they will develop the herding instinct.  The tie to mom will dissolve, but the connection to the herd will be inscribed.

What ties needed to be dissolved in order for you to participate in the life of Christian Community?

See you in church!

Going through the motions?

On Sunday we were welcomed by the pastoral imagery of Psalm 23:  The Lord is my shepherd.  I shall not want.  Then in the reading from Gospel of John we were moved into the fold of faith by the promise that the voice of the one who laid down His life for us can not and never will be silenced.  Even now the Good Shepherd seeks each and every one of us who has moved from the safe fold of faith.  

The thing is, we do wander.  Look again at the words Pastor Randy offered about the way we "wander", even in the hour when we are gathered (apparently) for an hour when worship is the highlight of our minds?  

How often does our worship become only repetitive phrases with no meaning, how often does the saying of our Apostles' Creed become simply an exercise in paragraph recital, rather than the confessing of our faith, saying out loud what we believe about our life and our God?  When we come to the Lord's Prayer in our service, do we often catch ourselves uttering sentences we have memorized since a child, and often find our minds drifting to some other matters of the day?

It is hard; it is often difficult to keep our Christianity in focus.  And if we fall short of holding on to the great victory of Easter, if we sometimes let our minds go astray while in church practicing the faith, how often would we guess that our Christian center falls to the wayside during the rest of our week?  It seems our Christian challenge will always draw us back to the basics, to remind ourselves to open our eyes a little wider, to focus our hearts a little stronger, to guide our thoughts a little sharper, so that we may see, be reminded, and be continually strengthened in our Christian walk. On the other side of the coin, it would be easy to become pessimistic as well, for we know that in our own mortality, our own sinfulness, that we simply are not very good at living up to that challenge.  

It is so too easy to simply go through the motions of life, worship, and faith without reminding ourselves of the great promise of the Christian way.  It is very easy to miss the great majestic art scenes of God. But that is where the Spirit can invade our lives; that is where God doesn't give up on us, but instead uses our ordinary experiences of life to draw us back toward our true center.  It is the gift of the Spirit through Christ, which enables us to again encounter the risen Lord and its meaning for us.

 FOR REFLECTION:  Are you aware of sections of the worship service when you slip into "going through the motions?"  When do you notice God invading your life?  How does the voice of the Good Shepherd draw you to a faith fold where you are shaped, nourished and guided in ways that deepen or broaden your love for God and others?