Weekly Reflections

Psalm 148 is one of the most glorious and poetic of the Psalms of Praise.  Instead of focusing on individual things for which we praise God, it is giving the voice of praise to all sorts of beings. And not just what we like to call “living creatures”. The sun, moon, stars, oceans, mountains and, of course my favorite sea monsters, give praise to God. I wonder how God feels about us wantonly destroying Creation, which we ourselves are also part of?

This week’s lectionary readings are full of references to sheep and lambs. Those of you who know me well or have heard me preach before on this Sunday, typically called Good Shepherd Sunday, know that I have an attitude about sheep, having grown up in farm country. And that attitude is not entirely favorable. Maybe because the sheep I grew up with were also pastured with goats and learned lots of mischief from them. Can you guess where I’m going with this?

There are so many wonderful things about the season of Easter. Especially for me, the excuses to say and write ALLELUJAH at every turning! One of the things I really treasure, though, is that from Easter Day through and including the Sunday of Pentecost, we read from the Acts of the Apostles. To read brief sections of Acts here and there over three years means that we don’t get a real understanding of what was happening.  So I encourage you to take a few hours and read the Acts of the Apostles straight through.

So we have now arrived at the threshold of Holy Week. In ancient Celtic mythology, it was believed that the “in-between” times and “in-between” places were the most powerful. So there are reports of things being done “neither at day nor at night” and “neither on land nor on sea”. That’s very much what Palm Sunday is like! We start out almost feeling like we’ve left the somberness of Lent behind. But it’s not long until we come to the reading of the great Passion Gospel. Heaviness descends. Wait. What is happening?

This is the last Sunday before we enter into the solemnities of Holy Week. The Gospel gives us a hint of things to come. Expanding on that hint, I’m attaching a “Field Guide to Holy Week”, which lists the services and gives some ideas of what to expect. Please take a look at put as many of these services on your calendar as possible. Easter is ever so much more meaningful when we accompany Jesus through the last days of his life, rather than hop-scotching from Palm Sunday to Easter.

Welcome to the Fourth Sunday of Lent—traditionally called Laetare Sunday after the ancient Latin opening hymn that began Laetare Ierusalem, “Rejoice, O Jerusalem”. This Sunday is also called Refreshment Sunday, when some of the fasting and solemnity of Lent are relaxed a bit. We have a somewhat unusual something for you on Sunday, and hope you’ll be joining us at the service, with a smile 🙂

Like many of us, I have days when I feel like I hate the world I’m living in. I hate hearing the news about how many buildings were bombed in Ukraine; how many people were murdered in random shootings; how many children go to bed hungry each night. I get angry when I hear about people of color being turned away by realtors, or billionaires paying no income tax while a poor family’s home goes to a sheriff’s sale because they have to make a choice between eating and paying their taxes. My blood pressure goes up when I spend two hours fighting with an insurance company’s labyrinthine phone and messaging system, and then I wonder how people who are really ill and alone can manage it. How could any person of good faith fail to be saddened, frustrated, and incensed by the state of the world?

There are so many things coming up, that instead of giving you a letter to read, I’d like to invite you to take out your calendars and give some thought to what you would like to take part in. Although this is always a very busy time of year, please remember that what is the most important is to spend time in conversation with God. Everything goes better with a bit of prayer and reflection.

What an odd conjunction of Lent–that season in which we are urged to slow down, take time to reflect on our inadequacies, and to step back from the world to rest in Christ—and coming back together again after having to close down for a second time because of COVID! Is there a way to do both, I wonder?

By now, most of you have heard that my mother died last week. She would have been 90 in July and lived alone up until a month ago. We are all so grateful that her life was spent as she wanted to, and she died when she was ready “to see Jesus”, as she put it…