Simply Soul Searching

Matthew 14:23 (NRSV)

²³ And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone… 

Our verse for today is one of several that mention Jesus praying alone, away from the crowds and even his disciples. One can imagine Jesus communing with God: turning his full attention to God, resting in God’s love, and listening for God’s guidance before returning to his totally self-giving life. Jesus modeled this practice for us, too, as we seek to love God and follow God’s will with our whole beings.

How might we find time for prayerful solitude in our busy days? Perhaps we need to reconsider our images of solitude and re-imagine what solitude might be. Does our idea of solitude make it seem too difficult? We don’t need to go into the wilderness. We don’t need hours or days alone. We don’t need to be still or silent. We don’t need to sit in a yoga position or even light a candle. Now, these are all great ways to be in solitude! But in our daily living, we can find other ways to spend time in solitude, more comfortably and easily. Solitude with God should be enjoyable.

All we really need is any opportunity to be alone, and a desire to simply spend time loving God.

Aside from journaling, my favorite solitude times are my daily walks. My iPod is playing my favorite songs, and I walk along both busy roads and quiet paths. Even with all of the music, noise, and activity around me, I am centered in God’s presence within me. My mind and heart wander to quiet places where I feel God moving. The silence is the silence of my thoughts more than the quiet of my world. My walks have become treasured times alone with God.

For our Lenten practice of solitude today, let’s consider possible times when we will be alone, but also able to do the things we like to do. Crafting, writing, coloring, fishing, cleaning closets, drinking tea, jogging, hiking… and yes, meditating if this is your practice! Then, let’s plan to use this time to open our hearts to God’s presence. We can enjoy our time, simply and quietly loving and thanking God. It IS possible for us to “Go placidly amid the noise and haste…”(Max Erhmann).

Our symbol for solitude is a pen. The pen brings to mind the practice of journaling, which is an excellent way to be in solitude with God. May the pen also remind us to invite God to write upon our hearts during our time together (Hebrews 8:10).

Our prayer for today is a meaningful way to center ourselves before our solitude time.  Read Psalm 46:10, and remove a few words each time. The sentences become significant in their own way. Wherever you are, whatever you do…

Be still and know that I am God.
Be still and know that I am.
Be still and know.
Be still.    

Be.

2 Corinthians 2:14-17 (NRSV) 

¹⁴ But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads in every place the fragrance that comes from knowing him. ¹⁵ For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; ¹⁶ to the one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? ¹⁷ For we are not peddlers of God’s word like so many; but in Christ we speak as persons of sincerity, as persons sent from God and standing in his presence.

Our Lenten practice for today is more a way of being than a practice. Our passage reads, “We are the aroma of Christ.” Isn’t this a beautiful description- and a vivid image for us to live by? We are the essence, the fragrance, the gently permeating aroma of Christ!

We can all think of delightful smells that enhance our moments. The evergreen scent of a Christmas tree. The sweet aroma of cookies baking. The clean fragrance of a loved one’s cologne. The woodsy smell of a campfire. The floral scent of my grandmother’s hand cream. The fresh, earthy smell of a rainfall.

Aromas have a gentle, subtle way of influencing and blessing us. Our sense of smell bolsters our taste and sight. A certain fragrance can bring back treasured memories of years past. A lingering scent helps keep warm feelings with us a bit longer.

But there are other aromas, too. When Jim had his open-heart surgery, many people used hand-sanitizing lotions as a precaution against infection. This smell now makes him cringe! The mere scent stirs up memories of his pain and nausea of those days.

If we are the aroma of Christ, how should we smell? What type of fragrance do we want to be? Will we be pleasant, fresh, and delightful? Or offensive and overpowering? Will we foster good feelings or will we make people cringe? How will our essence linger with others? Will our aroma remind people of Christ? Will our scent bless and enhance their experience of Christ?

Our symbol is a bottle of cologne. Our essence is the aroma of Christ. May our fragrance gently infuse the atmosphere with love.  May our aroma serve to bless people with Christ’s love, enhance their understanding of his presence, and help them to remember him each time they breathe in our lingering scent. Paul says, “In Christ we speak… as persons sent from God and standing in his presence.” Let’s stand in Christ’s presence and allow his essence to surround us today.

Loving God,

May I breathe in Christ’s fragrance and fill with love.

May I stand in Christ’s fragrance and let love surround me.

May I walk with Christ’s fragrance and permeate love in the world.

May I linger as Christ’s fragrance and allow love to remain.

Amen.

Colossians 1:11-12 (NRSV)

¹¹ May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully ¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. 

My toddler daughter received a gift that many parents dread: a toy drum filled with cymbals, maracas, and a tambourine. As the other parents smiled and chuckled knowingly about the chaos that would ensue, my Aunt Margie wisely told me, “You’ll find the noise won’t annoy you if you join in the parade!” It was true. Aunt Margie knew that the noise only becomes irritating when it interrupts any other intentions of thinking, speaking or listening. I’ve found that her wisdom has stayed with me, long after my children outgrew those noisy toys.

Today our Lenten discipline is patience. Our patience is most tested when life doesn’t go as we plan, isn’t it? The world often pulls us in all directions, not giving us time to handle one issue before another one takes precedent. Something or someone interrupts our thoughts, our goals, our dreams or our expectations, and we become irritated and impatient. And usually the one who receives our impatient response is the innocent one with bad timing.

How might we keep our patience when the noise and the needs are coming from all directions? How might we keep our patience when our own plans are interrupted or delayed?

Let’s imagine we are blissfully (or perhaps, anxiously) driving on the road of life, heading to our desired destination. But up ahead an unexpected parade is passing, and traffic has come to a standstill. We can sit in our car in the middle of the traffic jam, annoyed by the noisy drums, impatient and frustrated by the delay in our plans. But we could also leave our car behind, postpone our destination, and join the parade. It is then we discover that God is moving; God is the One leading this parade of life and wants us to join in. And those who are marching, those who are cheering from the side of the road, and even those who are noisily beating the drums become special blessings in our lives, not the targets of our angry impatience.

Today let’s be ready to join the parade.

Our symbol today is a musical note (or anything you may have to remind you of a noisy parade). May it remind us that our interruptions may become holy interruptions. That our plans may not be God’s plans. That our patience flourishes if we are attentive to the interruption before us, if we see the interruption as an invitation to the parade, and if we joyfully join in the march behind the One who is leading all of us, all the way, with “all of the saints in the light.”

Holy God,

Thank you for your patience with me. Today I ask your help with my patience. Help me to remember that I am not the leader of this parade. Help me to remember that every interruption, every delay, and every detour can be sacred and holy, as long as you are with me. Guide my words and actions, so that others may know of your loving patience through my own. Amen.

Mark 11:25 (NRSV)

²⁵ “Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.”

In the past, I have thought this verse meant that forgiveness of others was a condition we needed to fulfill in order to be forgiven ourselves. That God wouldn’t even consider forgiving us unless we forgive others. And so I have wrestled with this passage. As a Lutheran, I have “by grace we have been saved,” firmly ingrained in my mind! Didn’t God powerfully show us that we are loved and forgiven through Jesus- once and for all? That we are forgiven, “not by our own merit?”

But this morning a new understanding came to me:

When we forgive others, the forgiveness we have already been given is more readily received and comprehended by us.

Received…

When we are unable to forgive others, we inwardly doubt that God can forgive us. We stubbornly believe, “I am so angry that I will never forgive this person!” And deep in our thoughts, we worry, “God must be so angry, how could God forgive ME?” Forgiveness is being delivered in huge gift packages to our doorstep, but we won’t open the door to bring them inside. We feel unworthy. But forgiveness has been delivered even as we ARE unworthy (Romans 5:8). We don’t need to forgive others to be forgiven. We need to forgive others in order to open ourselves to receive God’s forgiveness, already so mercifully granted.

Comprehended…

We can never fully comprehend all that Jesus endured to show us how much God loves and forgives us. But when we are able to give the sacrificial, self-giving mercy of forgiveness- even when the forgiven one is unworthy- we might understand how much more Jesus went through for us. Forgiveness is supposed to hurt, so that in some small way we begin to understand what our own forgiveness cost. The more we learn to treat others with loving-kindness and mercy, the more we will appreciate what God is doing for us, with infinite love!

In our Lenten practice of forgiveness today, let’s imagine the gifts of forgiveness waiting on our doorsteps. May we open ourselves to receive these gifts by forgiving others and recognizing our own unworthiness. And as we feel the discomfort of sacrifice and self-giving mercy for others, may we more fully appreciate these precious gifts of forgiveness from God.

Our symbol is a gift box. God has given us the precious, priceless gift of forgiveness, shown in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. May we learn to forgive others with mercy and love, and in turn, open our hearts to more fully receive and comprehend this gift of forgiveness ourselves.

Merciful and forgiving God,

I am so unworthy of your forgiveness. Thank you that I humbly know you have forgiven me anyway, as you have shown us through Jesus. Help me to forgive those who have hurt me, as I recognize how much I have hurt you. Change my stubbornness into willingness when it is difficult for me to forgive someone. May I release anything that keeps me from graciously forgiving others, and from experiencing your merciful love and forgiveness for me. Amen.

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 (NRSV)

¹⁶ Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, ¹⁷ comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word.

Perhaps one of our most difficult callings in life is to be Christ’s loving presence for others during devastating times of grief, illness or loss. The heartbreaking event and its fallout overwhelm us with helplessness. We want to fix. We want to restore. We want to heal. We want to make it all better. We feel uncomfortable with our inability to actually help…

…but we can comfort. This is our Lenten focus for today. To comfort others we need to meet them where they are, with tender listening and presence.

As I reflected on our practice of comforting one another, “Hygge” came to mind. Hygge is a Danish way of living comfortably and simply, of creating coziness in our homes, and of fostering warm relationships with others, especially during long winter months. One definition of hygge is: The art of building sanctuary and community, of inviting closeness and paying attention to what makes us feel open-hearted and alive. (from hygge.co/definition-of-hygge/) I think Hygge may offer exactly what those in need of comfort may need.

I found a few Hygge ideas on the blog, “One Little Happy Thing” (www.onelittlehappything.com):

1. Candlelight. When I had a miscarriage, a dear friend kindly lit a candle for me at his morning church mass. This simple act brought great comfort.
2. Spend more time in nature. We all benefit from walks in nature’s beauty, soaking up the sunshine. No need for words, just companionship for the journey.
3. Make time for loved ones. Time… and presence (and to know when to leave).
4. Wear warm comfy clothes. When I was having chemotherapy, I received a warm flannel blanket from dear friends at church. I felt as if I was wrapped in love.
5. Soup glorious soup. Bring a pot of soup for someone. Appetites may be small, and the warm broth brings healing and comfort.
6. Switch off those screens. Turn off phones and pay attention in order to be truly present.
7. Get baking! (No further explanation is needed.)
8. Make tea in a teapot. Tea is such a comforting ritual, and there are a variety of wonderful herbal or flavored teas available.
9. Watch the sunset. What is it about sunsets that brings a sense of wonder and peace- and mutual silence?

Add to these ideas:

10. Pray. Pray for those who are in need of comfort.
11. Release our grip. Entrust them to God, who is the “one who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope.”

Oh, how God comforts, and God does so much more than comfort! In the midst of deep despair, we can cling to the hope of God’s redeeming, healing love. There is always a resurrection. In the meantime, we can comfort those who grieve and despair. We can journey with them through the long winter of sorrow, as we look with hope to new life in a glorious spring.

Our reminder symbol is a tea cup. May it remind us to be ready to offer Hygge comfort and God’s comfort to those who need to be tenderly loved.

God, our comfort and hope,

Thank you for the comfort you have given us in difficult times. Thank you for the hope we have in you. Help us to share your infinite love with those who desperately need to feel your love. Help us to know how best to be a comfort and a peaceful presence for them. Amen.

Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV)

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

One of Jesus’ last acts on this earth was to share a meal with his disciples. The breaking of bread and the sharing of wine have now become holy sacraments for us to share together. Jesus knew the power of community. Jesus knew that in the days ahead, his disciples and followers would need one another. They would need to gather together for mutual support. They would need to remember and experience his love for them all. Holy Communion has become a universal way for all of us to gather, to share a meal, and to remember and experience the love of Christ. Like the disciples before us, in the breaking of bread Jesus has invited us to gather as a community, too.

As Jim and I are gradually joining other communities here in our new town, I hold my previous communities close to my heart. I miss dear friends in whom stories and faith were shared… my study group that provided a safe place to learn and grow… church communities in which I worshiped and served with others. Communities provide support, mutual understanding, humor, encouragement, celebration, and love. Our faith is lived out and deepened by our relationships.

But Jesus calls us and our communities to an even higher purpose: to be Christ’s Body, his loving presence, in the world. Individually we can make a difference for good. But as a faith community, we can do even more. Together we can feed the hungry and help to end poverty and disease worldwide. We can march or communicate with the strength of our unity and numbers. We can financially support those who are also working for missions, justice or equality. We can more readily rebuild places that have been devastated by natural disasters. Working together, we can lovingly reach more people with the caring, helping, healing love of Jesus.

Today I thank God for all of you who have been part of my community; you have greatly enriched my life. I thank God for all of you who are my new online community, too! Today, may we think beyond the blessing we have in one another, and consider ways we may reach out into our neighborhoods and beyond. Together in love, may we be the presence of Christ for those who desperately need his love, healing and hope.

Our symbol for today is a piece of bread. May it remind us of Christ’s bread shared together in a meal. May it remind us of Christ’s body, surrendered in love. May it remind us that now WE are the Body of Christ, and we are called to “spur one another on to love and good deeds.”

Jesus our bread of life,

Thank you for your invitation to gather together at the table. Thank you for knowing that we would need one another for mutual blessing and friendship, but also for serving as your presence in the world. Thank you for all of the kindness and love I have received in community. Unite all of us as a world-wide faith community, so that we may truly serve as your Body for others. Amen.

COME AND SEE!

John 1:35-39 (NRSV)

³⁵ The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, ³⁶ and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” ³⁷ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. ³⁸ When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” ³⁹ He said to them, “Come and see.” 

 “We have what we seek, it is there all the time, and if we give it time, it will make itself known to us.” – Thomas Merton

We all tend to notice different things, don’t we? My grandson points out different models of cars. I notice cars… if they are blue. Jim describes a location using landmarks such as a gas station or hardware store. I’m clueless until he names a bookstore, restaurant or craft shop. In a library, my daughter is drawn to historical fiction books, while I move right to the spirituality section. What we notice is largely influenced by what we seek.

Jesus invited his new disciples to “Come and see.” All through the gospels, Jesus is encouraging us to come and see- to experience his life and love, not just learn about it. Jesus also tells us that the kingdom of heaven has come near (Matthew 4:17). He is telling us that we can experience the kingdom of heaven right here, right now! We can be active participants in kingdom living in this very moment. Through the Spirit, God is moving in us and around us, all the time. We only have to notice.

Do we make the effort to come and see? Do we expect to experience Jesus’ life and love in our lives? Our focus is often redirected to the earthly stories that assail and distract us. We then miss out on the kingdom story that is also being told. Or we focus on the things that interest us, and overlook the things that Jesus wants us to be interested in.

So our Lenten discipline for today is expectation. Today, let’s expect to see God working in our lives. Let’s remain attentive and aware, watching and listening. Let’s anticipate glimpses of kingdom living right here on earth. May we be expectant and ready to participate.

The symbol for today is a pair of glasses (or sunglasses). This will help remind us to watch for God’s movement, to keep our eyes on the kingdom, and to be focused and attentive for Christ among us. Jesus invites us to “Come and see.” Let’s expect to do so!

Loving Jesus,

Thank you for assuring me that the kingdom is here and now. Thank you for inviting me to come and see- to participate in this kingdom with you! Help me to be watchful and expectant. Keep me from worldly distractions. I long to see where you are moving and to eagerly join you. Amen.

James 1:2-4 (NRSV)

Consider it pure joy… when you are involved in various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. But you must let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.

Resilience- spirit, strength, hardiness, flexibility, pliability (from the Microsoft Word Thesaurus)

Here in West Virginia, we’ve enjoyed an unusually mild winter, with warmer temperatures and very little snow. Trees are already budding, daffodils are blooming, new shoots are sprouting up in gardens, and grass is greening. But now we have been surprised by a windy cold front. Frost has covered the ground, and the newly sprouting plants and blooming trees are suffering. The strong wind has even broken branches and uprooted trees.

Nature speaks to us of life, doesn’t it? We can be enjoying days of peace and serenity, success and smooth-sailing, joy and celebration. Life is good. And then suddenly, a cold front blows into our lives, wounding and even uprooting our plans and dreams.

But nature also provides survival lessons. Plants are best able to endure harsh weather by being resilient. Plants are flexible, swaying with the wind. They are spirited, turning to face the sunshine. They are pliable, drooping with the rain but rising again after the storm has passed. Plants are hardy, shedding leaves and blooms in order to survive, but sprouting and growing again in order to thrive.

Our Lenten focus for today is resilience. These verses from James not only encourage us to be resilient when we face hardships; we are to “consider it pure joy!” Why? Resilience makes us better equipped to weather difficult times. The difficult times then strengthen our endurance. And in the end, we will be “mature and complete, lacking nothing.”

How might we be resilient? We grow more flexible as we move with the Spirit through the trials that blow into our lives. We turn our faces to the warmth of God’s love when we are feeling the chill of challenges. We become pliable by bowing humbly before God when the rains of troubles fall. We rise again by leaning on God’s help and healing. We become hardier as we learn to embrace and grow- or surrender and release- as needed, over and over through the seasons of our lives.

Our symbol for today is a seed or plant, to remind us of the resilience plants have in order to bloom and grow. May we find joy in the testing of our faith. In every trail, let’s ask the Spirit to increase our resilience and build our endurance, as we grow in maturity and completeness.

Holy Spirit,

Move within me. Make my body and soul resilient in all of the trials that come my way. Help me to find joy in every challenge, trusting that you will work to make me mature and complete in Christ. Amen.

Romans 15:13 (NRSV)

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Last week I was privileged to lead a Lenten mini-retreat, “Journey to the Wilderness.” The participants enriched my faith as they shared their personal stories of their own “wilderness” times. Some of the experiences were heart-breaking and painful. But in every one of them, these friends described how they felt God’s loving help; how they saw God make good come from very difficult times.

I think that, for Christians, one of our most defining qualities is our hopefulness. We have this hope that comes from knowing that Jesus can redeem everything. This hope that grows each time we trust and watch for the good God will bring from hardships. This hope that rises from being graciously forgiven each time we stumble (or completely fall). This hope that deepens as we experience God’s healing love repeatedly throughout our lives. This hope in life eternal when we finally leave our earthly bodies.

One doesn’t have to be Christian in order to be a really good person. I have seen true compassion, humility and kindness in self-giving people who question the very idea of God. As people of faith, our compassion, humility and kindness are rooted in hope- and our desire to share that hope we have in Christ. It is hope beyond worldly hope. It is hope that helps us to make sense of life and our purpose in it. It is eternal hope. It is infinite hope. It is beyond-comprehension hope. It is that “joy and peace in believing, so that we may abound in hope by the Holy Spirit” hope!

Today our Lenten focus is hopefulness. So many people desperately need hope today. How might we let others know of the One in whom we receive ours? What stories might we tell of the times we found God’s hope in the darkness? How might we lovingly help them, so that they may experience this hope as well?

Our reminder symbol today is a candle. May the candle remind us to be a hopeful light for those in the darkness. May we brighten someone’s day with God’s redeeming love… and the eternal hope that we have received from experiencing this amazing love.

God of our hope,

Through Jesus you have shown us your power to redeem everything, even death. In our own lives you have shown us your power to heal, restore and bless. You have given us incredible hope for this day and for all days yet to come. Help us to share your love today, but also to share the hope we have in you. May we abound in hope through your Holy Spirit! Amen.

THANK YOU!

 Psalm 86:12 (NRSV)

I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.

When I began chemotherapy, I was prepared to be quite ill and at times, I was. But after my first days of treatment, I noticed that I wasn’t as sick as I had anticipated. So I put a calendar on our refrigerator; for every good day that I had, I would mark the day with a red “B” to designate it a “bonus day.” As the days passed, I was encouraged by the number of bonus days I enjoyed. A surprising benefit of keeping track was the gratitude that deepened in me as the “B” days were noted!

This became a new way of living for me. Even now, over 600 bonus days later, I thank God often for this precious opportunity to live and enjoy each day. In my gratitude, I am also receiving other benefits. Blessings such as joy, peace, and contentment. As Maya Angelou said, “A joyful spirit is evidence of a grateful heart.”

The truth is, each day is a bonus day for all of us, isn’t it? From the moment we came into being, we have been living bonus days! For some reason, God chose to create US, our souls, for all eternity! It is overwhelming to consider. We have been allowed to live this one day. To breathe, laugh, cry, dance, love, care, run, read, learn, BE. And we will later continue on living in a better realm for all eternity.

Oh, some days are incredibly hard, when grief or illness or hardship or worry overwhelm us. Days we wouldn’t even consider marking with a “B.” Yet, even in those hardest days, we are assured by Jesus’ promise that there will be many bonus days yet to come. We have been given this incredible gift of being allowed to experience LIFE in the love of God. Let’s hold gratitude deeply in our hearts today.

Our symbol for today is a thank-you note. If you have time, you may even write a note of thanks to God!

Awesome, life-giving God,

THANK YOU for this gift of life! Thank you that through your son, Jesus, you have shown us that we are already part of eternity! But today, help me to be grateful for THIS moment, this precious time. Let me never take these bonus days for granted, but to live them fully and abundantly. Thank you, so very much. Thank you. Amen.