Happy New Year!

Advent, which marks the beginning of the Christian year, begins this Sunday, December 1. Advent is one of the more important seasons of the Christian year (also called the liturgical year), for a number of reasons, not least of which is that it is the first. In popular imagination, the Christian year is often reduced to a color coding device for determining what colors are used on the altar and worn by the priests. This reduction is a tragic one. The Christian year with its flow of feasts and fasts, seasons and observances, is primarily meant to be celebrated at home, within the ordinary fabric of our lives. I dare to say that a renewal of the Christian year in our homes would result in a renewal of Christianity in North America. We are rapidly moving further and further into a post-Christian world. Fewer and fewer people are exposed to the Church and those that are (especially young people) tend not to return after leaving home. Instead of making Christianity a one-hour sport on Sundays, the observance of the Christian year takes the faith and weaves it within the regular ups and downs of family life. Instead of “Church” and “God” being something outside of the family on Sundays, spirituality becomes woven into the very fabric of family life and day to day living. The Christian year can and should be celebrated not just by families, but by single people in their homes and in their workplaces. If you want your faith to be more meaningful; if you want greater spiritual richness and depth in your daily living; then I encourage you to start observing the Christian year at home. Advent starts Sunday, make your plans now!

Making the Most of Holy Week

Rowan Williams, who recently retired as Archbishop of Canterbury, once said, “In all sorts of ways, Holy Week really is the most important week in the Christian year, because it’s a week when we discover, in a way we don’t do at any other time,  just who we are and just who God is.” Williams’ concise statement captures the heart of the mystery of Holy Week, but sadly, for many people, it’s a mystery left in the dark and scarcely observed.

Many Christians do attend some or all of the services of Holy Week and this is a good thing, but attendance at divine worship alone will not make the most of these seven days. The Christian year with its celebrations and fasts is meant to be observed not only corporately (for an hour on Sunday or a couple of extra hours during Holy Week), but daily, personally, and with one’s friends and family.

 Finding meaningful ways to observe Holy Week, in addition to attending the appointed services, especially the great three days of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, will go a long way in unveiling the power and glory of Easter to you, your friends, and family.

Below are a number of ideas for observing Holy Week, which begins this Sunday (March 24).  You don’t need to do everything that’s listed, just select one or two practices per day, and also feel free to create your own. In the comments section feel free to share how you’ve observed Holy Week in the past or what ideas you have for observing it this year.  Some of the practices go together (i.e. the Bible reading suggestions), but most stand alone (I have a pdf version of this, slightly modified, if  you'd like one just e-mail me.)
 

Palm Sunday

-          Do something fun (i.e. go out to eat, go to the movies, etc.) in celebration and remembrance of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
-          Begin reading the shortest of the four Gospels, Mark chapters 1-2
-          Say grace at one or more meals
-          Your idea _____________________________________________
-          Invite someone to join you for a Holy Week and/or Easter service
-          Attend a Palm Sunday service

Holy Monday
-          Fast or partially fast from meat, texting, TV, cursing, coffee, or _____
-          Continue reading Mark’s Gospel, chapter 3-4
-          Say grace at one or more meals
-          Invite someone to join you for a Holy Week service and/or Easter service
-          Spend five or more minutes in silence, pondering God’s presence
-          Talk about faith, God, life, and spirituality with a friend or family member
-          Your idea _____________________________________________

Holy Tuesday
-          Fast or partially fast from meat, texting, TV, cursing, coffee, or  _____
-          Continue reading Mark’s Gospel, chapter 5-6
-          Say grace at one or more meals
-          Invite someone to join you for a Holy Week service and/or Easter service
-          Spend five or more minutes in silence, pondering God’s presence
-          Talk about faith, God, life, and spirituality with a friend or family member
-          Your idea _____________________________________________

Spy Wednesday
-          Fast or partially fast from meat, texting, TV, cursing, coffee, or  _____
-          Say grace at one or more meals
-          Continue reading Mark’s Gospel, chapter 6-7
-          Invite someone to join you for a Holy Week service and/or Easter service
-          Spend five or more minutes in silence, pondering God’s presence
-          Talk about faith, God, life, and spirituality with a friend or family member
-          Confess your sins to a priest or pastor
-          Your idea _____________________________________________
 
Maundy Thursday
-          Fast or partially fast from meat, texting, TV, cursing, coffee, or  _____
-          Continue reading Mark’s Gospel, chapter 8-10
-          Say grace at one or more meals
-          Invite someone to join you for a Holy Week service and/or Easter service
-          Spend five or more minutes in silence, pondering God’s presence
-          Talk about faith, God, life, and spirituality with a friend or family member
-          Confess your sins to a priest or pastor
-          Minimize and/or eliminate the use of lights, phone, computers, technology in remembrance of Jesus’ betrayal and death when “the light of the world” was hidden from view
-          Take a long walk by yourself, with your family or friends to ponder Jesus’ own long walk to Calvary and to his death
-          Do the practice above but carry a cross with you  
-          Your idea _____________________________________________
-          Attend a Maundy Thursday service

Good Friday
-          Fast or partially fast from meat, texting, TV, cursing, coffee, or  _____
-          Continue reading Mark’s Gospel, chapter 11-13
-          Say grace at one or more meals
-          Invite someone to join you for a Holy Week service and/or Easter service
-          Spend five or more minutes in silence, pondering God’s presence
-          Talk about faith, God, life, and spirituality with a friend or family member
-          Confess your sins to a priest or pastor
-          Minimize and/or eliminate the use of lights, phone, computers, technology in remembrance of Jesus’ betrayal and death when “the light of the world” was hidden from view
-          Take a long walk by yourself, with your family or friends to ponder Jesus’ own long walk to Calvary and to his death
-          Do the practice above but carry a cross with you
-          Dress in black to remember Jesus’ death
-          Don’t socialize or “go out” instead stay home and remember what Jesus did for you
-          Watch the Passion of the Christ or similar film about the life of Jesus    
-          Go to a Passion Play
-          Your idea _____________________________________________
-          Attend a Good Friday service

Holy Saturday
-          Fast or partially fast from meat, texting, TV,  cursing, coffee, or  _____
-          Continue reading Mark’s Gospel, chapter 13-15
-          Say grace at one or more meals
-          Invite someone to join you for an Easter Service
-          Spend five or more minutes in silence, pondering God’s presence
-          Take a long walk by yourself, with your family or friends to ponder Jesus’ own long walk to Calvary and to his death
-          Do the practice above but carry a cross with you  
-          Your idea _____________________________________________
-          Talk about faith, God, life, and spirituality with a friend or family member
-          Minimize and/or eliminate the use of lights, phone, computers, technology in remembrance of Jesus’ betrayal and death when “the light of the world” was hidden from view
-          Confess your sins to a priest or pastor
-       Don’t socialize or “go out” instead stay home and remember what Jesus did for you
-          Watch the Passion of the Christ or similar film about the life of Jesus    
-          Go to a Passion Play
-          Attend a Holy Saturday or Easter Vigil service

Easter Sunday
-          Finish reading Mark’s Gospel, chapter 16
-          Say grace at one or more meals
-          Throw a party! Invite friends, family, and others to celebrate the Resurrection!
-          Your idea _____________________________________________
-          Attend an Easter service

Learning from other religions?

 

Historically, the Christian Church has taken two major approaches when it comes to other religions. Just to be clear, when we’re talking about religions, we’re talking about Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Wicca, Christianity, etc. We’re not talking about Methodists, Roman Catholics, Baptists, and Lutherans and so on. These groups are all members of the same religion (Christianity), albeit different denominations of that same religion. Hopefully, it is clear to most Christians today that we immensely benefit in learning from one another how to follow Jesus more faithfully.

The question about learning from other religions is more complicated. As mentioned, the Church has tended to take two major approaches to other religions throughout history. The first (and older) is to take what is good in that religion, what is compatible with Christianity, (and much in other religions is not!) and incorporate it into the faith (e.g. Celtic Christianity). The second (and newer view) is to reject wholesale anything associated with another religion.  

These twin approaches are rooted in specific theologies of revelation and truth. Behind the first view is an understanding that while the full truth and power of God are found only in Christ, this does not mean that there is not some truth about God and some truth about human living to be found in the other great religions of the world. The second view is that there is no truth – whatsoever- to be found in all these other religions; they are nothing more than idol worship.

If you hold the second view, the only learning you can glean from other religions is how not to do things, how to rebel against God and so on. If you hold the first view, it is quite possible to learn from other religions. However, learning from other religions can be dangerous, because on some fundamental points they disagree with what God has revealed in Jesus Christ. This could potentially lead one away from God as He truly is (which is by the way a definition of heresy). However, a mature Christian, who is well connected to the Christian community, could certainly learn from other religions.  Some things to keep in mind while doing this:

1)      Does what you’re reading/listening to/doing lead you away from God in Christ? If so, this is a red flag and something you likely need to stop. Learning from other religions shouldn’t involve non-Christian forms of worship or prayer (in which you are not worshipping the Triune God but something else), because as Christians we worship one God through Christ (Matthew 22:36-40, John 14:6).

2)      Does what you’re reading/listening to/doing encourage you to center your spiritual life in anyone or anything but Jesus? If so, this is a red flag and something you likely need to stop.  

3)      When you find something interesting in another religion you should search the rich treasures of Christian history and spirituality to see if there is a Christian counter-part. For example, part of my own spiritual journey included experimentation with various forms of Eastern mysticism. My choice to become a committed Christian and to distance myself from these other religions was the discovery of the Christian mystics, who anchored their experiences in the person of Jesus.  

A whole lot more could be said about this, but in short, with careful discernment, and careful guarding of our hearts and minds, I think it is possible for Christians to learn from other religions.

What am I missing here? What have you found helpful or dangerous?

Becoming Fully Alive

     

        

The goal of Christian living might aptly be thought of as the process of becoming more fully alive, more fully human. So often we think of holy people or saints as being super-human or rather un-human in their pursuit of God. However, Biblically speaking, and throughout the centuries of the Church, Christians have understood the opposite to be true. It is the human being fully connected to God that is most fully alive, most fully human, and capable of seeing, feeling, and experiencing things that most of us are not.  This concept is not a new one. Saint Irenaeus, a third century church father, is often quoted for his memorable statement, “The glory of God is man fully alive.”  

  

Instead of thinking of Christian growth (read “sanctification” if your more Protestant minded or “holiness” if your more Catholic minded) as the pursuit of a set of strange behaviors and an even stranger set of mental beliefs, think of Christian growth as the process of you becoming more fully you. Christianity has always said if you want to see what it means to be truly human look at Jesus Christ for “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation” (Colossians 1:15). Since we we’re created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), we look at Jesus (Hebrews 12:2) to see what that image should look like in a flesh and blood human being.  

 

This doesn’t mean that we’re all supposed to grow long beards and wear sandals. Becoming more fully alive, more human, is not about becoming Christ Himself (impossible, sorry would-be-Messiahs!), but about becoming a unique reflection of the Triune God. You do that by taking all the elements of who you are and by grace developing them into their God given best. Fully alive persons (often referred to as saints in Church history) come in all sorts of packages, with differing personalities, are women and men, lay and ordained, single and married. In other words, when we run from sainthood, holiness, Christian growth, discipleship (whatever you want to call it), we are actually running away from our true selves. We are actually heading in a direction that will make us less human and less alive – sounds like a dead end to me?

Faith and Relationships

Valentine's Day ( it's Thursday) brings a mixture of sentiments: obligation (“if I don’t do something she’ll get mad.”), hope (“Maybe this year he’ll do something romantic”), and pain (“Are things always going to be like this?” or “I miss him/her so much”).

The day itself, while perhaps more fun and flirty than substantial, is an occasion for us to reflect on the meaning of relationships and Christian faith. I fear we don’t spend enough (any?) time pondering what it means to be a Christian and dating, divorced, widowed, married, celibate, or whatever. We simply take our cues about relationships from those around us and the wider society at large.

I invite you to spend some time reflecting on how your faith does (or does not) give direction to your relational life. From a discipleship perspective, our faith should saturate and color all that we do. Lent, which just begin yesterday (I’ll resist making joke about a Valentine’s Day being a penitential observance), is a good time to ponder how all your relationships relate to God.

To help you begin this process I’ve included some resources below.

Feel free to share your own thoughts and resources in the comment section.

A Prayer for Married Couples

A Dating Prayer  
A Prayer for Broken Hearts
A Prayer for Those Who Live Alone
Sex: Creation and Fall
Sex and Marriage
Sex and Singleness
Chastity is for Everybody
More on Chastity (masturbation, co-habitation, fantasy, etc.)
Homosexuality
Combining Faith and Love
Sexual Ethics
Healing from BrokenRelationships
Faith and Friendship
Faith and Marriage
Faith and Dating 

Self-Denial? Really?

Next Wednesday is Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent. Within the Episcopal Ash Wednesday liturgy the congregation is addressed with the following words, “I invite you…to the observance of a Holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s Holy Word” (emphasis added, Book of Common Prayer, 265). Self-denial’s importance is found not only in the historic observance of Lent, but throughout the history of Christianity itself. If this wasn’t enough to convince the self-denial skeptic we only need to quote the words of Jesus, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24).

It has become fashionable in recent years for people to say, “Oh, I don’t take something away during Lent. I add something.” As if self-denial was a repressive practice with no meaning or purpose; a hold-over from a darker time, when kill-joys ruled the Church delighting in removing all pleasure from human existence. Self-denial – as is made clear by Jesus’ words – is an integral part of the Christian life. Lent is a season where we are invited to work our spiritual muscles more intensely.

A foundational part of this spiritual work-out is self-denial. The purpose of self-denial is to train the human will to cooperate with the will of God. If I can learn, with God’s grace, to deny myself chocolate during Lent, for example, then hopefully I will also be able with God’s grace to deny myself those things which are harmful to my life. If I can say no to meat on Fridays during Lent, then  hopefully I've strengthened my ability to say no to the temptation, whether to gossip about a co-worker or to say no to the desire for revenge and so on.

Self-denial trains us to say yes to God; yes to all that is good, and no to those forces which oppose God. Self-denial helps say no to our sinful tendency to make life all about us and our wants. So this Lent make sure to practice self-denial. It’s perfectly ok to also add a spiritual practice. I recommend you do that, but don’t forget self-denial. You might deny yourself meat, or Face Book, or texting, or any number of things which have taken control of your life. Lent starts next Wednesday, how are you going to practice self-denial?

Preparing for Lent

Lent is a forty day period leading up to Holy Week and the celebration of Jesus’ Resurrection on Easter Sunday and the fifty-day period called Eastertide. This year it begins on Wednesday, February 13, with the celebration of Ash Wednesday, and concludes during Holy Week prior to Easter Sunday, on March 31. Lent is a season of repentance, spiritual exercise, and self-denial. Lent is a preparation for Easter. That’s true. However, Lent is more than just a warm-up to the big day. Historically, Lent has been a period of spiritual growth and development for Christians.

 

There are many customs and traditions associated with Lent that can be observed by individuals, couples, and families. There is a tendency by many Christians to limit Lent to “giving something up” or “taking something on.” Self-denial is an important part of Lent so you should give something up. Taking on new spiritual practices is also an important part of Lent and something you do too. However, Lent is about more than just cutting back on bad things and adding more good things to your life.

 

Lent is a period of time where we more intentionally focus on God. It’s a time to push away other concerns and focus more intentionally on our spirituality and our relationship to Jesus Christ. Think of Lent as a spiritual marathon. During Lent we raise the intensity of our spiritual practice. The hope is that by God’s grace (because you will never do all you want to do for Lent without grace) you will become a more dedicated disciple of Jesus Christ or to say it different, you will become more fully human as God intended.  

 

Today, and certainly no later than this week, take time out by yourself, with a friend, or with your family to plan for Lent. Think of planning now as a deposit on an investment, an investment that will profit in transformed lives as you and yours observe this ancient and powerful season of the Christian year. In order for this to happen we have to prepare ourselves for Lent.

Here are some resources to help you get started.

 

Feel free in the comments section to share your own resources, ideas, and plans for Lent this year.

 

Why Bother with Lent?
Archbishop’s Video Lenten Reflections

What is Lent? A Brief Introduction

Lenten Customs

More Customs and History about Lent

Lots more Lenten resourcesfrom the Anglican Tradition