by Jason Byassee, March 21, 2014
Jason Byassee
I long for the day when the first question I get at church isn’t, “So how are you feeling?” I have been moved to see the church care for me and my family through back surgery and a stomach bug. But in an effort to change the subject, let me tell you what else is going on these days at Boone Methodist.
First: we are going to overhaul our audio/visual system throughout the campus, starting with the family life center, then the sanctuary, then the chapel. This will be expensive (some $200,000), but it is long overdue. You will start to see new equipment in Crossroads within three weeks. I learned (from another doctor visit!) this week that I have above-average hearing. And despite this, I often cannot hear in the sanctuary. If you sit under the balcony in the sanctuary you can hardly hear a thing. The chapel is worse still–outfitted essentially with car stereos that are past their prime. When Sarah Strickland sought to have music played at an event in our family life center recently, nothing happened. When this overhaul is over, any leader who asks for a song or video as part of worship will be able to be confident it will work. I am especially grateful to Buck Roberts of Selah Media here in Boone who will do this overhaul for us, to Alan Herman who led a task force to decide between five bidders, and to our new member and leader Doug Kaufman who will project manage it for us.
Second, this has been a busy season of missions for us. Our Guatemala team has recently returned with wonderful photos and videos you can see on our church’s Facebook page. Luke Edwards and Colette Krontz have planned a family mission trip for us for this summer to Cherokee. In each of these places and on each of these pilgrimages, Jesus works powerfully and lives are changed there and here.
Third, we have some Sunday School additions you should know about. Jonathan Allen, one of our most terrifically talented teachers, has launched a new Sunday School class called Oasis aimed at age 18 to parenthood. We find that the key differentiator isn’t so much calendar years as it is stage of life, and folks pre-kids have more in common than folks with kids. A Lenten study upcoming will be offered by Natasha Schoonover in the conference room starting March 23 on bodies–the body of Christ, and our bodies. And on April 6th and May 4th we’ll have special offerings in the chapel–Brandon Wrencher, our new pastor at Blackburn’s, and Lindsey Long, our outgoing one (sniff!) will brief us on the staggeringly beautiful work they’re doing in Todd on April 6. On May 4 George Thompson, our former pastor, will teach in the Sunday School hour and offer a reception and book signing at 2 pm. We also have a new online Sunday School option for which you can peruse courses here: https://www.churchnext.tv/school/catalog/ and let pastor Jason know which you’d like to try. Lent is a time for new commitments, and joining one of these Sunday School classes would be a great way to be filled with more of Jesus.
Finally, in worship we have begun a new series on Treasure that will run through Easter. Vern Collins in Crossroads and I in the sanctuary will preach through brief texts from the gospels on what we really treasure. Please continue vigilantly with what you’ve given up for Lent–we will collect an offering for missions on Easter. Read the devotionals on the Facebook page and website or in the booklets in the chapel. Please also feel invited to join our Stephen Ministers in a First Friday Fast–they give up a meal on the first Friday of the month, and when they feel hunger they turn it to prayer. What a great season–to redirect all our hearts Godward.
Which is what the church is for in the first place.
Monday Third Week of Lent
March 24th reflection by Chris Grimmett
Luke 4:24-30
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus says, “I assure you that no prophet is welcome in the prophet’s hometown.” Every time I hear this I cannot help but smile. That might sound a little strange–it doesn’t seem to be very hopeful–but I find myself drawn to it.
In my first year at Duke Divinity School, I’ve been blessed to learn so much about what it was like to be a prophet. For class we read from a man named Abraham Heschel, who wrote about what this life might have looked like. He describes a prophet as a person who saw so much potential in the people of Israel. The prophet saw that they were willing to accept mediocrity, but wanted something better for them. The prophet wanted the life God desired for them, the life promised for them if they would live out the covenant. The prophet looks at the world differently. Things that only slightly bothered the people would enrage the prophet. Israel would see the pain of others, countries at war, people being oppressed, and wish it were different. But at the end of the day, Israel continue living on as if there was nothing they could do (sound familiar?). This left the prophet frustrated, yelling, “Don’t you see? It doesn’t have to be this way!”
Those who have had kids may have felt something similar. A prophetic life is a hard one. Always calling people out and holding them accountable doesn’t make one very popular. Heschel describes how lonely being a prophet would have been. As Jesus said, the prophet isn’t even welcomed in his or her hometown.
So why do I read about the type of life Heschel describes and want it for myself? It sounds exhausting. Because it’s the kind of life God calls us to live. We have enough people in our communities who focus on themselves. God is calling us to look around at the world and ache the way God’s heart aches. To look around the world and be frustrated that people are just continuing to live as nothing needs changing. A prophet wants us to open our eyes. To see children in school who cannot keep their eyes open during the day because of the hell they have to go through at home. To not ignore that people around the world are hiding in fear from a government who oppresses them. To be outraged that Americans per year will spend $16 billion on chocolate, $11 billion on engagement and wedding rings, $800 million on Girl Scout Cookies, $65 billion on soft drinks, $11 billion on BOTTLED water, $117 billion on fast food, but then allow 50 million Americans go hungry every single day. And let’s not even get started about adding the rest of the world to that number.
I want to be more like a prophet because a prophet’s heart desires what God desires. In Lent, I ask that you join me in asking God to shape our hearts to be more like a prophet’s. Jesus said “I assure you that no prophet is welcome in the prophet’s hometown.” Why then haven’t we gotten kicked out of ours yet?
Tuesday Third Week of Lent
March 25th reflection by Rev. Keith Tutterow
Consider Your Ways In Your Heart
“Consider your own ways in your heart” (Haggai 1:5,7, Geneva Bible, 1560). “Take your ways to heart” (same text, CEB).Unless you were intentional, you would miss the brief book of Haggai. Once you find it, you might wonder why you did. But when you glimpse what Haggai was about, you find there the message of Lent (Spring). Indeed, most translations omit the reference to the heart. Of course, the heart is a metaphor which has wide applications, but the prophet was using the word to engage the people to look within themselves from the perspective of God’s grace. The editor of the Geneva Bible introduced Haggai this way: “When the time of the seventy years of captivity prophesied by Jeremiah was expired, God raised up Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi to comfort the Jews and exhort them to the building of the temple.”
The people of God seemed uninterested in building a temple. As we say: their hearts were not in it. The message of the prophet directed their attention to themselves, to what they really wanted to be and do in this new freedom which the LORD of Hosts had given them. They were busy about everything but God. Haggai knew that motivation would come from willing what was good, what God wanted them to do. Their ways were misdirected to themselves. That’s where Haggai the prophet began: “pay attention to, or consider, your own ways in your heart.”
That’s where we begin building the spiritual house, that is, a dwelling place of God. Pay attention to the ways–your ways–not someone else’s. This is not morbid or moody introspection, simply wrapping ourselves around ourselves. It is not data processing, adding and subtracting to see if we are all right. The heart is where we meet God. Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). Do you really want to see God, or is the way of our hearts to avoid God?
Under some leaders who were summoned and challenged, the people began to build. Obedience always brings results. As the work to which God called them got underway, something happened: God joined the enterprise. “I am with you.” God was not a spectator presence, but the active energy and direction for the leaders and people.
Wednesday Third Week of Lent
March 26th reflection by Caitlin Tremper
“Is the Lord among us or not?” – Exodus 17:7
Modern translation: So is God present or not? Will God provide for us? Where is God?
Confession: I ask myself this question all the time. Only it sounds a little more like “GOD, WHERE ARE YOU?!” or “ARE YOU EVEN THERE?!” I ask this question when I hear or see horrifying events unfold throughout our world on the news. I ask this question when it feels like the world is crashing down all around me. I ask this question when I’m coming off a “spiritual high” from a retreat, church service, or mission trip. And I ask this question when it’s been a long, long time since I have felt that particular, overwhelming feeling that I get when I just know God is present.
In the book of Exodus, the people have been liberated by God and set free from the hands of Pharaoh. But wait – Now they’re wandering through the desert. They’re thirsty. The people are looking at their children and animals, realizing they have nothing to drink. No water means their animals will die. No water means their children will die. And no water means they will die.
Wasn’t God supposed to take care of them?
Where is God?
In this story in Exodus, even Moses is questioning the presence and provision of God. Even their leader is afraid God won’t follow through. Even their leader is questioning God’s faithfulness (although we should probably give Moses a little slack since he’s afraid the people are threatening to stone him to death…). But how are we supposed to show people a reality that is not visible?
Here, God instructs Moses and the elders to go to this rock where God is standing. Here, Moses strikes the rock with his staff and water wondrously pours forth in the middle of the desert. This staff was the same one that miraculously turned into a snake and it was the same staff that was used to turn the Nile into blood. This water, a source and sustainer of life, is a miraculous sign that God is present, God will provide, and that God is not always visible in ways that we recognize.
In this season of Lent, as we prepare for the death and resurrection of Christ may we become more deeply aware of God’s never-ceasing presence among us. May we seek out the presence of God through our doubt. And may we recognize more deeply the presence of God with the knowledge that God will provide for us through the gift of a meal, in our daily work, community event, and time spent with loved ones, like God provided for the Israelites with water in the desert.
Thursday Third Week of Lent
March 27th reflection by Kelly Broman-Fulks
If you watch American Idol, you’ve likely taken notice of 16-year-old, tuba-playing, spunky Malaya. She is overflowing with enthusiasm. In her Top 13 performance, she was exuberant over her song choice. She was so exuberant, in fact, she struggled with her delivery of it. The judges’ critique was for Malaya to gain better control in the future. A little like Malaya, I’m bubbling over with anticipation. My excitement is NOT because of my singing. I won’t put anyone through that misery. My excitement is for this upcoming Easter and an opportunity to share a few words. You see, God is at work in me, and I can only hope that He weaves a little restraint into these words as they tumble out across this reflection about…ironically…restraint. (And, so, this is my apology for any babbling in my writing.)
First, I should make it clear what I mean by restraint and why I think it is important. Restraint refers to attempts to moderate behavior and to avoid impulsive decision-making. When we practice restraint, we don’t necessarily deny our feelings, but we look to God for help as we temper our actions. Restraint protects our relationships with friends and family because, hey, we’re typically easier to be around when we practice a little self-control.
What are the behaviors we impulsively slide toward that get us into trouble? There are so many ways to go about this, but I’ll focus on the familiar seven deadly sins: pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony and lust. Do you recognize any of these thorns from situations you’ve been involved in?
I’ve recently watched a family grieve over a loved one who passed away after he rejected a relationship with them for decades. The troubles were made worse by his impulsive behaviors. I’m certain God didn’t want him to die without his family around him, but he did. Restraint was largely missing from his life. Unity with his loved ones was wasted.
Today is March 27, and we find ourselves at the halfway point in this season of Lent. We have an opportunity to reflect on the first half of the season while considering our steps through the second half. Are we content with how we live our lives? Do we refrain from evils that would snag us out of relationship with God and loved ones? And, finally, do we seek God’s will and the fullness in life He desires for us?
Scripture for today’s reflection is from Jeremiah 7:23, which tells us, “Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people; and walk only in the way that I command you, so that it may be well with you.” To help me with this verse, I picked up a Matthew Henry’s Commentary that belonged to my Grandfather and found this little truth, “Let God’s will be your rule and his favour shall be your felicity.”
In brief conclusion is the theme of this reflection – restraint. It’s the way of patience and prayer. It’s also the way of Jesus who lingered on the cross.
Friday Third Week of Lent
March 28th reflection by Amy Justice
Love your neighbor…no matter how much they resist or how strange their mask!
Look mom, they are selling leftover Halloween costumes at the grocery store! Molly was excited because we missed trick-or-treating in the states this year. It was not overstock merchandise or an off-season sale. Fasching is a holiday time that people in Germany celebrate in an attempt to scare away winter ghosts and partake in a “sin-free” period (meaning anything goes) before the Lenten season. The celebrations culminate on Monday before Ash Wednesday with “Faschnacht” (carnival night). In our region of Germany, we have seen a few costumes like the ones in the picture since we have been here (the season, called the 5th season, actually starts on 11/11), but now many of the stores are selling costumes and have decorated their windows with scary masks.
There is a darkness to this time that is more pronounced than your typical fat-Tuesday feasts and Mardi Gras parties. I believe it is rooted in an underlying fear that there really is no hope. I fear they believe that this time of indulgence is the only joy they have left, and the cry of people seeking to fill a deep void rings loud and clear. Fasching also emphasizes that Europe, although still strongly influenced by the Christian calendar and holidays, is no longer experiencing the spirit of God. There are pockets of Germans who have been re-introduced to Christ and are trying to wrap their heads around reaching out to their own people, many of whom have checked the “Christian” box, but have never walked with our Savior.
In Acts, Paul gets frustrated with those who have heard the truth and still won’t wake up; sometimes even walking away from them shaking the dust from his sandals. But he does not stop praying for them and often comes back to them to try again. As American Christians, it is easy to think “What’s wrong with you? How can you hear the truth and not believe?” But even in countries where the Christian heritage is deep, there are still “unreached people”. Yes, they know about Jesus Christ, but the Good News has not “reached” their hearts for some reason. We must never stop reaching for them!
During this season of preparation and prayer, please take a moment to pray for the German people. Pray that we, as Christian visitors, would have the opportunity to introduce the love of Christ in a fresh way and be in the right places at the right times to minister to hurting hearts; that German Christians would have the courage to battle the forces of darkness that have a nation convinced that God is dead; and that God will move in ways that display His love, hope for mankind and desire for relationship with all of us.
Saturday Third Week of Lent
March 29th reflection by Jordan Scruggs
The prophet Hosea, the author of today’s Old Testament text, is regarded by some rabbinic traditions to be the most important prophet in all of Israel’s history. Hosea was primarily concerned with the question of the Israelite’s faithfulness to God. His prophecies were addressed to Israelites who, convinced that their obedience to God was determined by how closely they followed religious regulations, had neglected God’s commands to exhibit love and mercy to their neighbors. In short, their theology had confused legalism with the law of love. In contrast, God’s message through Hosea calls to the people, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice!” Through Hosea, God tells us that the primary indicator of our faithfulness to God’s commandments isn’t whether we follow a set of rules, but rather the way that we treat one another.
Today’s New Testament scripture from Luke 18 indicates that more than eight centuries after Hosea’s ministry ended, Jesus was still addressing the same human tendency mistake legalism for the law of love amongst the people of his own time and space. In this passage, Jesus tells a parable to some religious leaders who are convinced that their observance of legal practices means that they can claim moral superiority over their less-pious neighbors. So dedicated had these leaders become to abiding by the rules that they were blind to their own sins of pride and arrogance!
More than 2,000 years after Jesus’ ministry (and closer to 3,000 after Hosea’s!) it seems that human beings still struggle with the same habit against which Jesus and Hosea warned us. Though many of us have good intentions in our desire to keep God’s commandments, the sinfulness of our hearts can easily distort this honorable practice into a self-righteous competition to see who can follow the rules more closely. Instead of exercising mercy and discernment with others, we become so caught up in legalistic perfection that we thrust many persons with an honest desire to draw near to God out from our fellowship!
The tragic commonality of practicing legalism over the law of love is this: it is often much easier to be legalistic than it is to imitate the kind of love that God has shown us. Most of us to do our best get to church on Sunday, to say a prayer before dinnertime, and to give what we can to support our church. What is more difficult is doing our best to follow Jesus to the cross – to take risks in loving and forgiving that mean we might lose something valuable, like our reputation or our social standing.
Don’t get me wrong – emphasizing the tenets of the law can be invaluable in many ways, particularly in how they can help us to structure our lives in response to the call of God. But God’s instruction for us in today’s passages means that the law, when exercised in its fullness, doesn’t look like legalism. It looks like love – more specifically, the love that crucified Jesus – which is the same love that causes us, ultimately, to triumph over death.
Fourth Sunday of Lent
March 30th
A Guatemalan Story
Sebastian’s father was killed while rescuing his family from their blazing, make-shift shelter. This child was terribly burned over half of his face and most of his chest. With no plastic surgery, his massive scars are a life-long vivid reminder of the dangers inherent to poverty.
When we first met the family in 2010, and despite his mother’s tender care, Sebastian exhibited a deep sadness that he carried with him every heavy step of his day. Tomasa, his widowed mother of five young boys, bravely persevered by diligently working at her simple handmade loom, the sole source of nominal income for this dear family of six. The family diet consisted almost entirely of tortillas, with limes and salt.
Through our scholarship program, Tomasa began receiving regular monthly financial assistance for her 4 youngest sons, all in primary school. Almost immediately, their diet expanded to include simple vegetable soups, occasional chicken, and rice or beans.
In 2011, Sebastian began showing signs of new life. The sadness occasionally gave way to smiles and even some joy, sometimes losing himself in the moment of a good story, joke or other distraction. Yet, Sebastian badly failed 4th grade and the future looked bleak.
But in 2012, lives changed dramatically. All 4 boys began exhibiting more happiness. They played like healthy kids. Their school work improved, and Tomasa’s stomach disorder disappeared. And Sebastian? He won “comeback student of the year” and the prize of a coveted new bicycle.
Their “casa”? It was a tattered shell of a hut with dirt floor and little else. We were able to replace it with a simple two-room cement block structure with metal roof, concrete floor, small windows, large covered porch, and a new efficient wood burning cooking stove. This is a common design of new Mayan houses in rural Guatemala. No indoor running water or toilets in these homes. Yet, to them it is heaven on earth.
Today, this success story of healing and love continues. When we see the look of deep gratitude on the faces of Tomasa and her boys, we are thrilled to be a part of God’s evolving love miracles.
Monday Second Week of Lent
March 17th
Daniel 9:4-10 Luke 6:36-68
Advent and Lent have several things in common. They are both seasons of preparation: one for the Lord’s coming to our home; the other for his return to His home. We tend to approach these seasons in different ways. During Advent we are full of excitement and hope for God is sending His Son to save us. During Lent we meditate on our transgressions and on the price God’s Son paid to save us. However, the actuality of both of the seasons is much the same. Jesus came knowing that his arrival would lead to the cross and in both seasons we are acutely aware of God’s mercy and forgiveness.
The prayers we use for confession of sins in our formal worship services are much like Daniel’s prayer. His confession is not of personal sins but of the collective sins of his people. It is a long list. One impact of confessing together is that it is “our” confession. “We” confess to our failure to follow Jesus perfectly. While I am not listing my personal, individual sins, I am realizing that I am just like everyone else. Even as Daniel prayed alone he expressed this connection to all his people and their disobedience of God’s laws. He listed the numerous sins of his people. Then, in the middle of the prayer (v 9) he refers to God’s mercy and forgiveness.
In Luke’s account of one of Jesus’ teaching sessions with the multitudes, Jesus tells us to be merciful, as God is. He warns us that our attitude towards others is the gauge by which we will be measured. When we confess, communally, we need to remember that we are part of the community. We cannot hold ourselves above it. Corporate confession is a reminder that in not judging or condemning we are caring for others as God has cared for us. And in our individual penitence we are not to thank God that we are not as sinful as some others. When we accept others and give freely to them Jesus says we will receive “a good measure”. What more bountiful gift could we ever receive than Jesus’ blood poured out for us? (Lk 22:20) Thus the response at the end of our public confession “We are forgiven.”
Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! (II Cor 9:15)
Tuesday Second Week of Lent
March 18th reflection by Stephen Fitch
Readings: Isaiah 1:10,16-20; Matthew 23:1-12
Jesus, like many prophets before him, had sharp words to say to religious folk: “They do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders” (Matthew 23: 3b-4a). Likewise, Isaiah writes “Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong” (Isaiah 1:16). Our faith must not be in word only, but in deed: the religion of, not about Jesus. We must remember his peacefulness, love, grace, and shrewdness. That he comforted the poor and broken and challenged the rich and prideful, but loved all.
In these forty days leading to the Cross and Resurrection, we must remember Christ’s lonely, broken heritage. First, as a refugee baby in a war-torn land, one who escaped infanticide, oppressed under Roman imperialism, born by a questionable birth, raised in poverty in the Palestinian badlands where “nothing good comes from” (John 1:46), Jesus is called. Jesus was not middle class, rich, American, or politically advantaged, but, given his low statue, followed His Father’s austere path of love and justice. This should give us comfort and challenge, knowing that anyone, anywhere, in any number of ‘impossible situations’ can be a humble and radical servant in God’s kingdom and find rest in it, even with persecutions leading to death!
Then, the Holy Spirit brought him into the desert for forty days. Wait, into the desert?
Yes, and during lent, we realize that we too, like Jesus and Israel, are all in a desert. We are all wandering this side of life, sometimes aimlessly, sometimes stutter-stepping, wondering what is the purpose of this life, who are we, and who is God. But, like Elijah, we learn that in the silence, not noise, is His still small voice (1 Kings 19:12). Like Paul, we realize that His grace is enough, because His strength is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). And like Jesus, we know that the “greatest among you will be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Matthew 23:11-12). Therefore, in silence, weakness, humility, and service, we are made strong, the greatest, and hear God. These values, which are diametrically opposed to those of our culture, are the simple values we can cultivate to follow the simple Way of dying and life, nonviolence and revolution, Cross and Resurrection.
Later, in Jesus last week of life, sweating blood and shaking with fear, Jesus went to carry His Cross. Let us carry our Cross everywhere we go. Let us remember our death we die daily, our baptism, and our thirst, hunger, and God’s providence in our deserts. Let us remember that Jesus had many disciples and friends; his mission was not individual but the restoration of all. God, let us not to be prideful, but humble, not Pharisaic, but faithful, not to judge but to serve, not to oppress but to love, and not to be violent in word, deed, or intention but peaceful, not to hate or condemn, but to even pray for our attackers and enemies, and loving them, even while suffering shame, abuse, or even torture affixed by three nails to two wooden beams. Easter is coming, Easter has come, Easter is.
Peace; Love,
Stephen Fitch
Wednesday Second Week of Lent
March 19th reflection by Dale Williams
Matthew 20:17-28
Do you ever want to cover your ears and not hear something?
In John 20, Christ clearly lays out the truth of his coming death by the hands of Gentiles. The twelve disciples wanted nothing of it. This was not in their game plan.
Next, Jesus tells his followers to be great in His kingdom they needed to serve others – to be slaves. Good grief!
The disciples must have been covering their ears. Jesus was not sharing Good News.
But as Jerusalem came near, the shroud, which has on many occasions covered the meaning of Christ’s teaching, is drawn back. The raw reality and cost of sacrificially following Christ is laid bare.
When I travel in a plane, I like to watch movies using my personal headphones. The over-the-ear cups, block out noise and amplify the movie’s sound track. With the headphones, I can be in my own little world, hearing only what I want to hear.
Towards the end and near his crucifixion, Christ’s lessons became more pointed, while the disciple’s faith and faithfulness were called into account. They needed to hear what the Lord had to say, even if it was hard to accept.
May this Lenten season be a time for us to take off our headphones to hear what the Lord Jesus has to say to us. His voice is infinitely more important than the movie we are currently watching.
Thursday Second Week of Lent
March 20th reflection by Rodney Ruke
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” You do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? For you are a puff of smoke that appears for a short time and then vanishes. (James 4:13-14, NET)
The words of James address my pride: I am but a puff of smoke. Two points of engagement come to mind. The first confrontation is explicit in James. Smoke is temporary. In but a moment, it has dissipated and vanished from sight. Like smoke, my life does not last long. I do not know if I will be here tomorrow. That thought does not frighten me. It focuses me on what matters most. It does not mean I should not make plans for the future. It means that today needs to belong to Jesus. That’s when the best plans are made. I want today to be a day in which Jesus plants a seed of the Kingdom of God through me. That’s a good reminder for me during Lent.
James’ smoke metaphor also recalls the Old Testament imagery of mist and vapor being compared to idols and idolatry. Mist, like smoke, offers no solidity. There is nothing about it on which one can depend. Such are the idols of life. God, however, is a rock, the Rock. A person should set one’s soul upon the Rock, not upon anything else. Anything else is mist, vapor. Setting one’s soul on anything else is idolatry.
That Old Testament association leads me to another humbling point of engagement. Like smoke, who I am and what I offer is not just fleeting but also immaterial. In my pride, I certainly tend to believe that I am something substantial. I want to be noticed. I want respect. But, like the mist of idolatry or a puff of smoke, I have no “substance” on my own. However, I do have eternal substance when I am “in Christ” — the One who loves me enough to humiliate himself on the Cross. I want to find my true substance in Jesus. That’s a good reminder for me during Lent.
Friday Second Week of Lent
March 21st reflection by James Lorello
Stonework of Our Lives
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures:
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is amazing in our eyes’?
43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. Mathew 21: 42-43
This season of lent is truly the first I have ever participated in with my whole self. What I mean by this is I am not randomly deciding to give up Facebook, or forgo meat on Friday’s. Growing up Catholic and then transitioning through a time of agnosticism/atheism left me not really understanding what lent was all about upon my return a few years ago to Christianity. I found myself either not participating in lent because I felt it became a 40 day fad, or doing something just for the purpose of saying “I did it!”
The passage of this reflection is Matthew 21: 33-43, 45-46, also known as the parable of the Wicked Tenants. Jesus speaks in the passage telling a parable of what is to happen to Him. God planted a vineyard, leaves tenants to take of the vineyard, sends his Son and heir to return to the vineyard and we the tenants then kill his Son. What to me is key in this passage is “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes” (Matthew 21: 42), a reminder that Jesus, the one whom was rejected, is the cornerstone.
During this season of lent I am challenging myself to pray deeply about my life, and reflect on the fruits of my faith and works. Is Jesus the cornerstone of my life? How am I “rejecting” Him? Is God the very foundation of the stonework of who I am and what I do? How are my works producing “fruits of the kingdom”? How would our church community answer these same questions? It can be so easy to go through the motions of lent and allow our day to day to get in the way of God. Thankfully lent is the perfect time to dig a little deeper and ensure that God is our foundation.
As is usually the case asking these questions we may end up with more questions than answers, but I hope these reflections allow the Spirit to speak and work. Perhaps in our reflection we will find a few cracks, or need to replace a few stones, or maybe even rebuild from the ground up. I hope that during this season of lent we can truly reflect and let God into our homes for inspection, “whatever” the outcome may be.
Saturday Second Week of Lent
March 22nd reflection by Alex Fischer
Micah 7:14-15, 18-20 & Luke 15:1-3, 11-32
It was spring of my freshman year at App State when I took a New Testament class; about halfway through the course we did a 3-class study on the Parable of the Prodigal Son. At the time, my faith was in a lull and frankly “weird” state. I had just come to college and everything I was so sure of in high school (I’ve been very open and “active” in my faith since I was 13) just seemed like it was barely there, if at all. I didn’t turn away from God, but I had definitely spaced out from any kind of conversation we were having. I felt lost. And then, I heard my professor (Ross Blackburn) explain this parable to us and all of sudden, I had come back to my senses.
We talked about how the younger son, by asking his father for his inheritance, was essentially saying, “I wish you were dead”. We talked about how when the son finally decides to come home, his father sees him from way off and runs to him. Back in that day, men wore long garments, so if the father was running, he had to lift up his clothes a bit to keep from tripping, which essentially was embarrassing for him. Before the son can even get a word out from his mouth, the father hugs him and kisses him, and when the son finally does speak, the father doesn’t even say anything to it and throws some new clothes on him and a ring. He’s so thrilled that he’s back; he has completely forgotten what his son said and did.
And so the same is for our relationships with God. All the time, every day, in what we say, what we do, how we act, the way we live our lives…we look at God and say, “I wish you were dead.” We harm and try to break the relationship. We do wrong. But no matter what, when we realize what we’ve done and when we decide to come back home, God is always there to take us in. We don’t even have to get all the way there; He sees us from a distance and runs to us (at the cost of shaming himself) and greets us with a hug and kiss before we can even get one word out of our mouths. God loves us, and always will. It doesn’t matter what our self-righteous older brothers might say (v. 28-30)…God welcomes us with open arms, and we have the True Older Brother (who told this story) to vouch for us and welcome us home as well. So if you’re feeling lost this Lent season and if you’re feeling spent and broken and all you want to do is just come home…then come on. God is waiting with open arms. Everything He has is ours (v. 31) and we can rejoice that His love will never fail us.
Third Sunday of Lent
March 23rd
Boone United Methodist Preschool
This year a parent told me something that made everything I have done in this job worthwhile: “I believe God is using the preschool to bless my family.”
In this family, one parent is employed, and one parent has chronic health issues. The parents had called to talk about paying tuition. I assured them that because they were in special circumstances, we would not charge a late fee if they fell behind. We normally expect tuition payment each month but we would give them additional time.
Because the child, when not in preschool, is home with the parent who has health problems, the child does not receive much outdoor or active play time. Our teachers have suggested that the child would benefit from attending preschool five days a week instead of three, so I mentioned this to the parents. I told them that we offer scholarships to families with special needs. This year one family was helped with a scholarship for the amount of the difference between three-day tuition and five-day tuition. While I could not promise that our scholarship committee would approve that for this particular family, I did feel that I could say that we would help them as we were able.
We also talked about other problems that the preschool staff could help the family with related to the child’s preschool attendance and involvement. I assured them that the child’s teachers and our entire staff would work to accommodate their changing needs.
What a blessing to me to be able to offer help to this precious family! I felt so generous as I told them the multiple ways we could help them in their current circumstance! Not only is the preschool blessing this family, and all the families who participate in this program, but God is blessing us through our service. We are humbled and grateful as we represent His work in this church and this community.
