The Psalms are refreshingly honest about the human condition; the psalmist directly addresses God. In my own struggles through life, it’s great to know that I too can be honest and direct with God! Today’s Psalm 130 offers hope for redemption and an invitation to lift our voice to God.
On Saturday evening, I refused entry to a man who appeared to be lost to my apartment building. He was buzzed in by someone else, and we ended up sharing an elevator. In anger he called me a racist but also showed me the hurt that my action had caused him.
It is so easy — too easy! — to step away from God. Without being even aware of it, I was lost. Thank God that the wonderful people in my life saved me! I cannot give any logical reason for my belief in God — I can only affirm that my life is better because of that belief.
Tuesday, March 28, at 6:45pm
Please join us in the Parish Hall for a simple supper and discussion of our personal Lenten theology, practices and experience. All Ascensionites in their 20’s and 30’s are invited, and friends are most welcome. Vegetarian soup will be provided; please bring a dish to share. You are also most welcome at the 6 pm Eucharist in the church beforehand.
It can be tough to pray when you feel like your life is careening off the tracks into a chasm. How does one climb back onto a normal path? Sometimes we doubt that God hears us. Or as I sometimes am wont to rant, “God, do I have to buy you a battery for your hearing aid?”
Have any of you ever recorded an Olympic contest or an awards ceremony that you knew the outcome before you actually saw the show? Read Revelation 20 and then go back to our readings for today. Our entire perspective changes. Our earthly life is a temporal state and our readings for today are just clues on how to live a happy life.
It was a sunny Thursday morning when I set out to Tatyana’s cleaner with my stuffed yellow laundry bag. One block from the store I felt a sudden sharp twinge in my left foot — and could not put any pressure on it. Not quite sure how I walked back home (it seemed like an hour to walk four city blocks) but I sensed something inside my foot was awry.
As young children, we learn about Lenten fasting as the discipline of “giving something up” for forty days, preferably something we love so as to make the sacrifice that much more of a challenge and, thus, more meaningful. As we mature however, we begin to appreciate fasting in a deeper, more all-encompassing way.
“Who do the crowds say that I am? But who do you say that I am?” These are explicit, challenging questions. Jesus asks these pointed questions to those around him — notably — after “praying alone,” according to today’s account in Luke. Yet his disciples are within earshot. They appear surprised by the first question and stunned by the second.
A Lenten Quiet Day, Saturday, March 25, 10 am – 2 pm
In this quiet day we will explore practices that can help us to remain prayerful, centered and present. We will explore centering prayer as a method of being present to God and all that is within us. We will look at ways to develop or refine a rule of life to help us to protect and live out of this sense of presence.