Day 43: the crosses I wear

John 12:27-36.

crosses

I love the crosses I wear. Many were gifts from people I care about, several were crosses I bought while visiting somewhere special, others were simply something I liked in a store with no special significance—just a cross I like. There are some days when I have a hard time deciding what cross to wear, because I like them all so much.

Now that I’m in Holy Week, and the remembrance of THE cross is getting closer, I’m realizing something embarrassing: when I put on various crosses, I rarely think about the cross Jesus died on. Rather, I think about where the cross is from, who gave it to me, and what situation or event it reminds me of in my own life.

I’ll set aside my guilt for a moment–the guilt over not focusing on THE cross when I wear my crosses. And I’ll do a bit more reflecting over the rest of this week. The cross that Jesus carried and died upon, was from the Holy Land. It was given to him by religious leaders, soldiers, ordinary people. But I wouldn’t go so far as to say that it was a gift to Jesus.

The cross was, and is, a gift from Jesus. To us. Though he probably had moments of concern (12:27), this time—the cross—was the reason he came. To glorify God by saving the world.

Day 36: teamwork

teamwork

Teamwork is not a strange concept to us these days. I don’t think it’s been a strange concept for ages, actually. Though certainly a couple decades ago, I think (?) there was greater impetus among corporations, etc. to have employees learn more about teamwork. The church has been in the business of teamwork for centuries (though not always successfully).

When Jesus sent the disciples off on their donkey-fetching-errand, (Matthew 21:1-11, again) he sent two of them out, as a team. My guess—and this is totally my guess—is that either one of them could have done it alone. But Jesus may have hoped they would learn and grow together, by having minister together. Clearly, by the Gospel accounts, the disciples didn’t always work well together. No surprise there. They were human, after all. But look at the result of their growth and learning and faithfulness!

I am grateful for the teamwork experiences I have had in my life—especially the positive ones. I am grateful for the fact that I’m a co-pastor, and with my husband. I give thanks for the staff and ministry teams here at Christ Covenant Church. I am blessed by the friends and family members in my life who have been in my life. And I am grateful to God for giving me these people, teams, experiences, and ministry.

following…

Last Sunday afternoon, a group of people from Christ Covenant Church went Christmas caroling. Admittedly, I didn’t feel like going. I wanted to go, but I felt more like snuggling under some blankets and watching mindless TV. But I’m so glad we went. I felt better about my afternoon, and doing something for others, but the people we sang to gave me a gift–the reactions of singing, mouthing the words, motioning to a spouse when to ring one of the bells in songs, and a sparkle in some eyes that had been glossed over.

walking together while Christmas caroling

Not that our short visits of caroling were transforming, life-changing, or so phenomenal. But they made a bit of a difference, at least that day.

Much of what we do has the potential to make a bit of a difference.. even for one day. Sometimes for much longer. Now, as a mother of an easily-influenced preschooler right now, I appreciate the positive differences that people are making in Kajsa’s life. The people who lead and coordinate and gently grab her when she’s running too quickly.. the people who give her several minutes of grace when she enters the room quite grumpy… the people who give of themselves to others, but also respect their own limits and needs.. the people who walk along side her while caroling… the people who follow her when she insists on leading, and the people who lead when she follows…

During Advent I try to follow. I try to follow the journey of wonder, of excitement–not about the secular fun Christmas stuff I enjoy so much, but about the Christ child. I try to follow the journey to the Christ child, to the star, to the humble beginnings of my Lord.. try. And I try to make a difference– in my own life and in the lives I come into contact with.. by letting Christ make a difference in mine.

Preparation

Preparation. John the Baptist preached, “Prepare the way of the Lord” (or “for” the Lord, depending on your translation). Preparation often involves lots of work. In the case of this photo, someone came to church early, before bell practice, to set  up a few things in preparation for handbell practice.

Preparation... for bell practice

This is what I’m told—I neither attend bell practice, nor saw this person. But I enjoy the results of practice—by sitting on some Sunday mornings and hearing the bell music. Preparation… work… which also means commitment. Commitment to prepare. To practice. Or set up. Or take down. Or clean. Or… lots of verbs.

And often lots of work. Which is why preparing spiritually is often a challenge. The beginning is fun, before excitement wears off. As with many human relationships, our relationship with God –before, during, and after Advent—might begin with excitement, thinking of possibilities, and a willingness to do all sorts of things for the relationship. But when the exciting becomes more routine, it can get hard.

So during this season of Advent, what are we doing to prepare for celebrating the Christ child? What can we do to prepare for a new step in our relationships with God and Christ?

thursday

thursday

Originally uploaded by cathyse97.

I like Thursdays, generally speaking. When we were in NJ, it was our day off. When I was in seminary, it was the day that several friends would get together in someone’s apartment and watch TV: Friends, Seinfeld, ER… Now it’s also our day off together. Usually. Thursday is Thanksgiving. I’m sure a lot of good things have happened on Thursdays. I’m sure a lot of bad things have as well. I’m sure Thursdays, like the other six days give people mixed feelings.

Thursday, according to Christian tradition, was the day that Jesus shared bread and wine with his disciples. It was the day that he did the unthinkable and washed their feet.. or, at that point, what they thought was unthinkable. The next day they found out what was truly unthinkable. But Thursday… the day Jesus shared a meal, the day he gave them advice about how to love each other, how to be his disciples.. Thursday was a good day. And yet Thursday was the day that Jesus’ disciple Judas betrayed him… What a mixed bag of emotions–for all of them… Not just any Thursday.

Friday’s Pic: Moon and Cross

Moon and Cross

Originally uploaded by cathyse97.

“O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever.” (Psalm 118:1) .. it’s easy to give thanks to God when looking at a gorgeous moon, a beautiful cross on a beautiful church.. It’s easy to remember God’s steadfast love… to feel God’s steadfast love.

I love this view. The photo, not so much–but you know how I feel about my camera being in the shop. Still, I love the view. I love walking the grounds of the church at night, with Abby… and looking up.

The challenge is to look “up” throughout the day. Not only when the beautiful cross and moon are noticeable, but all the time. To look up at the cross, to look to God for guidance… to give thanks at all times.. to remember the steadfast love of God…. at all times.

after church

not much to say for yesterday’s photo.

Except that I love this photo. I love this view. I love the fact that from the church narthex, I can see Kajsa and Jim walking home from church. So as I was leaving church I took the photo, because it’s a glimpse of our life that I love. Granted, as with anything, there is a different side–and that is that from the church narthex, we can see the parsonage. But mostly, it’s a great thing. And I love the commute.

Sun., March 7th

what if?

This is Saturday’s photo… I’m so behind. (I’ve been taking pictures, I just didn’t have the chance to write.) The rocks were to be used (and were used) in Sunday morning worship, as symbols of what we need to repent of…

Saturday, March 6th

and the idea was that we would have people bring them up front during a Confession of Sin, and lay them at the foot of the cross.

The Worship Planning Team at church (which I am part of) has thought up several different ideas for making Lent more creative,

reaching different senses, etc.. and the rocks were the creative element for yesterday. Great idea. And last Sunday after church, one of the WPT members bought the rocks and dropped them off. But on Saturday I panicked. The “what ifs” began… I forgot to get kids lined up to hand rocks out..oops. What if none of the kids wanted to help out when I asked them at the last minute on Sunday morning? What if we didn’t clean the rocks well enough, someone got rock dust on their hands and complained–would that kill creativity forever?… what if nobody brought their rocks forward?…what if people thought this was just too touchy-feeley?  what if? what if? what it?

Occasionally these “what if?” moments get the best of me, and I give up. Occasionally they get the best of me and I keep going. Occasionally I’m not really sure what happens… because things work out well in spite of me, in spite of circumstances, and in spite of panicky moments.

Then there are those times when I should have answered the “what if?” moments with a “yep… I should stop right now.”  But we’ll save that for another blog post. Maybe.

the people

I know–”What people?” you might ask, when looking at today’s photo.

My response?: “all the people.” The people who built this church literally… the people who built this church spiritually… the people who sit in these pews, including the balcony… the people who walk through those doors… the people who walk through other doors of this church… the people who don’t walk through these doors and sit in these pews and yet they might if there is something in their lives that makes them think about life and death and faith… the people who come alone…. the ones who feel lost… the ones who have lost…the people who built and designed that gorgeous stained glass window… the people who took the old glass from the original building and used it to make ornaments and candle holders for the people…the people who take minutes… the ones who shovel and plow…. the ones who make sure the heat is working…. the ones who stock the cupboards…

Saturday, Feb. 27th

The people who work behind the sound board up in the corner, and keep trying to make our microphones work effectively…the people who dust the pews and vacuum the carpets… the people who light the candles and turn the lights on and off…. the people who sit in the offices downstairs and upstairs…the people who offer encouragement to the struggling, and to the leaders–paid and unpaid… the people who trained the paid and the unpaid… the people who believed in the call of those who pastor… and the ones who modeled Christian faith by their examples… the person who fields all the phone calls, requests, manages the calendars, checks the mail, and does more stuff than we can even imagine… the person who teaches the children about music and lyrics and who helps the rest of us try and make good music…

the people who play instruments that provide worship music… the people who attend to the website and the technological details that the rest of can’t handle… the ones who sing.. the ones who can’t… the ones who can’t attend worship… the ones who teach –behind the scenes, and in front… the ones who help the pastors out at the last minute… the ones who remind us to head back to pray before the worship service begins…the people who buy the wine, grape juice, bread, coffee, napkins, etc… the people who do the dishes… the people who pour the coffee… the people who fold chairs and tables and tablecloths… the people who come and sit and think they offer nothing and yet they pray for the rest of the people… the ones who knit….. the people who babysit during worship… the people who do the odd jobs like check the roof leaks and paint offices and fix up the parsonage and put out signs…. the ones who guide visitors to where they need to be…the ones who greet newcomers… the ones who invite others… the ones who have never been through the door of this church, but will hopefully come someday…the ones who drive by and sometimes wonder what this place is like but have never come in… the people who patiently play with the very active two-and-a-half year old so her parents can focus on other people and events…. the people who provide rides and hospitality… the people who struggle with why they might show up for worship when their faith might hurt right now… the countless people I probably forgot, but want to include here–because everyone is included…  the ones who believe… believe in this church, believe in God, believe in the journey, as hard as it might be.. and the people who believe that together–and with God’s help– we can be the people God intended us to be. Not only believe in this, but work towards becoming the people.

So on this Saturday before the Second Sunday in Lent, I am thankful for the people represented in this photo… and their part in the Lenten journey.

Lenten disciplines…or whatever

Whatever you call it.. whatever you don’t call it. Or them. Whatever we do –or don’t do–for Lenten disciplines, practices… I find these practices fun, exciting, engaging… at first. Then, it gets hard. Drudgery. Not yet, for me, although even this photo-a-day practice is already a bit hard for me. I’m taking the photo each day, but am already behind on posting them. (this is the photo for Friday). Regardless, I like the idea of a discipline. I like the practice of it, when I’m doing it. But keeping up when life keeps going at full speed is hard.

Like the swings in this photo… as much fun as it is to swing (and it is!), we have to leave the swings behind to get on with the rest of our to-do lists, and obligations. We can’t swing all day. I can get off of the swing, but when the swings keep moving, it’s so hard to not get back on them. At least it is for me.

Hopefully the Lenten practices will be less difficult for me. or hopefully, if they are difficult, I will still engage them despite their difficulties–not for the sake of practicing a disipline, but for the sake of growing closer to Christ. Granted, swings are likely a lot more fun than some Lenten practices. But these moving swings remind me of what I’m trying to experience this season.