Reflections Post Ash Wednesday

On Wednesday evening at Seneca Presbyterian Church, we gathered in silence for a traditional Ash Wednesday service of worship. As I prepared for the service and the season it begins, I was taken by the delicate balance found in this thing we call sin. Lent is intended to be the season of self-examination. We ponder the darkness of our lives - our failures, our sorrows, our short-comings - anything that keeps us apart from God. Such a discipline is a good thing. We need to take an honest look at ourselves every now and then! We keep the discipline of Lent in anticipation of the glorious Good News of Easter when we shall experience once again the grace of God's amazing love that is more powerful than all our sins, our failures, our sorrows, and our short-comings. Thanks be to God!

But I wonder if there is more to the balancing act? When we are honest with ourselves and see the wrong of our lives, we cry out for grace and trust that God will bypass judgment. But when we are the ones who have been wronged, we cry for accountability. Heading too quickly to forgive denies the justice of judgment that we feel we deserve. It is a delicate balancing act, isn't it? For grace to be real, should we not also be accountable for the wrong we have done?

It would seem that we do need this season called Lent. For we need to be more than sorry for the wrong we have done. We need to repent - to turn around, to change, and to be made new. For when we are willing to be both judged and forgiven, the shortcomings of our lives can be redeemed – which is more than simple forgiveness. In the end, even the sin of our lives can become more powerfully good. For sin is whatever keeps us from knowing – in our head, our heart, our gut, and our spirit – that God is truly Lord of all.  

Reflections on Children

I'm a bit pressed for preaching time tomorrow because we will be introducing 15 of our 18 new members at Seneca Presbyterian. What a delightful problem to have! I've chosen to focus on the spiritual and theological aspects of our challenge to become a multi-generational congregation again, and not necessarily strategies to achieve the dream. I think that's the best place for me to begin.

So many of you have offered your thoughts, concerns, and dreams. You've spoken of past attempts that did not hold the "magic bullet" and bring in "mass quantities" of children and youth. You've been honest with me about what you think our future prospects are. And all of you who shared have endorsed the dream to welcome children and youth again - someday, somehow.

As our Session, committees, and leaders work toward planning our future - trusting the guidance of the Spirit - we will always keep a watchful eye on this concern, challenge, and dream. I hope we will undertake an intentional study of our community - its needs for services of compassion and care as well as its needs for spiritual care. Perhaps instead of focusing on what will bring us children, our focus should be on what will touch the lives of the unchurched and how our unique gifts and unique witness can minister to and welcome them.

If you want to understand the challenge more completely, I highly recommend a book that was published just this week. It is Christianity after Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening by Diana Butler Bass. I hope we can find a way to study it together, mining its resources and letting it be a springboard for us as we seek to be faithful to our calling, our gifts, and our God.

Thank you - saints of SPC!