The Sunrise of Lent

         I recently attended First Baptist Church here in Statesville. Dr. Jeff Porter and the congregation were welcoming as always and the worship experience was meaningful. One of the most powerful aspects of the service was a cross that stood in the sanctuary. An ugly cross, covered with a wire-like material with little strips of paper on it adorned the beautiful sanctuary. As I walked into the sanctuary I was confused as to what those pieces of paper meant, and it all became clear during the service.

            As the choir sang a song, the congregation was invited to write a prayer, something that was troubling them and take it to the cross and leave it there. Not just leave there physically, but spiritually as well. The spiritual practice of letting go, the physical action of an inward sign was a beautiful image during this not so beautiful time of Lent.

            We who claim the name of Christian must never forget the spiritual practice of leaving our troubles and trials at the cross. If we had our way, our Jesus would be beautiful, in stunning white, and a wonderful sign of the kingdom of God coming to earth. But the Jesus we know, the Jesus who loves us, took to a cross, took to ugliness and nakedness so we might experience the kingdom of God.

            Friends this life of faith is not one that is easy, but the cross of Christ calls us to newness, to beauty, to life. So whenever we are caught amidst the storms of life, we can say as the old hymn goes,  “I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.”

            This week, try the spiritual art of letting go. Maybe it’s a financial issue that has been eating away at you, or a relationship problem that has caused you to question your faith, remember that if you take it to that ugly cross, God takes that and resurrects us. So come Easter we find new meaning in the beauty of that sunrise. One of my friends recently asked me for proof of God, and what came to mind is that beautiful Easter morning that we all come together as a community, as we watch the sunrise, as we experience grace. God is grace, God is love, and God is present in the sunrise of that Easter morning.

            Let me put it this way, we are simply drops in the ocean, miniscule beings on the road of existence. But God, the God of the big picture came and became small. God died so that we might live. The God of the universe became the miniscule being so we might say on Easter morning that joy has won. So as we continue throughout this Lenten darkness, let’s find the beauty of that Easter morning. Thanks be to God.

Love Wastefully

            I’ve been reading Duke University Professor Lauren Winter’s new book, Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis. As she chronicles her journey of faith, she speaks of a story when she was preaching at a small Episcopal Church in upstate New York. As she was serving the Eucharist, she recalls. “What I learn is for a dozen years, an old man has been afflicted by a wasting disease, an intestinal disease that makes it almost impossible for him to eat. But at the altar, the old man takes the wafer and so does his wife. When I come to them with the chalice I say, ‘The Blood of Christ keep you in everlasting life’ and she eats her wafer, and then her husband likewise dips his round of Christ’s body into the blood of Christ and his wife eats the wafer for him. There she became Christ for him”

            I absolutely love that story. Where have we gotten as a culture? We are a people who enjoy the fast and simple, the quick and the easy. But God is the one who calls us to an intentional life. God calls us to worship God in a way that is meaningful and beautiful, majestic yet humble.

            When it comes time for us to go past this life into the Great Beyond, when we see our God and Maker, what might we look back on our life and see? Will we see that we were the Body of Christ for someone? Or will we find that we squandered our world in a meaningless way. We wasted for the sake of wasting.

            Let me challenge you this week, if you must waste, love wastefully. Love like you’ve never loved before. Love dangerously like you are staking everything on that love. There is the hope of the Gospel and everything that we believe.  When God is truly incarnate among us is when we love with such extravagance and grace.

C.S. Lewis in his novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in one of the iconic scenes of the book describes Susan sitting at the table with the beavers and Asland the Lion, who is the Christ figure-like in the book. Susan asks if the lion is safe, and the beavers reply, ‘he isn’t safe, but he is good’

People of faith, the God we believe in is in no way safe when it comes to our calling in life, but God’s love is perfect, and we can model our love after God’s. God offers us security, but he doesn’t want us to be safe with our love. As the song says, “God never said it was an easy road to travel, God only said you would never be alone.”

So when people ask what you are doing this week, tell them you are full of wasteful love and watch their reaction. We think of waste in such negative connotations, but in reality, God risks everything by loving us wastefully. May we all find consolation in that beautiful, humbling love. Thanks be to God.

Fall In Love With God This Lent

I recently was sitting at Panera Bread with some of my friends. We were talking about foods we enjoyed, when it came up that there are certain foods that are unique. Macaroni and cheese for example, or French onion soup are both very uniquely made by whoever is making them. Have you ever had macaroni that tasted the same from two different people? I’m no culinary expert, but I know that many people pour their heart and soul into making the macaroni that comes to my table for me to enjoy.

            Holy uniqueness is term I like to use to describe the personhood of us all. We are unique and it is holy. God, the creator poured God’s heart and being into our beings, we are fearfully and wonderfully made. We are beautiful. That certainly doesn’t mean that terrible things won’t happen to the faithful or anyone for that matter. What it does mean is that God has created something beautiful, so why can’t we appreciate that beauty?

            During this season of Lent as we prepare for Good Friday, let us all be mindful of what God is doing in this beautiful and sometimes messy existence. God works, creates, and restores within our hearts and souls. Why not take the messy existence of Good Friday and make it into a beautiful thing like Easter? It is my belief that we are all about being a people who are moving between the Good Friday’s of our lives and the Easter’s of our very existence. But God in majesty and grace makes sure that Easter wins.

            One of my all-time favorite movies is the 2007 film, P.S. I Love You. This wonderful film chronicles the journey of a couple in love. Gerry, the husband falls ill with a terminal disease. Before he dies he writes letters to his love, explaining to her that she must fall in love again, that she in fact must find newness amidst all the pain. In his final letter to her he writes, “thank you for the honor of being my wife. I'm a man with no regrets. How lucky am I. You made my life, Holly. But I'm just one chapter in yours. There'll be more. I promise. So here it comes, the big one. Don't be afraid to fall in love again. Watch out for that signal, when life as you know it ends. P.S. I will always love you.”

            People of faith, this Lenten season why not fall in love with God? Whether it is the first time, or over again, fall in love with God. Why not watch for that awe-inspiring signal when God is at work and you fall in love with what is going on? God lets us know that our life as we know it ends, God lets us knows that everything changes and that’s ok. God loves our holy uniqueness and we can too. Enjoy the beauty of your life, and the beauty of God in that life. Life is so incredibly precious. God knows that, and when all has been said and all has been done, God comes and whispers to us, “P.S I love you.”