Patience as a Spiritual Discipline

It is said that patience is a virtue, but patience is also a spiritual practice: a rehearsed behavior over time which allows the Spirit to form and reform you.

On the one hand I am a patient person in allowing things to unfold. On the other hand, I often meet my expected deadline or end date, even if it is not stated, and begin to want to accelerate things to move on. It is truly a challenge when I have no control over the process or events in question and have to trust God.

Completing One's Prayers

For this past Sunday’s confirmation meeting, Pastor Lauren and I created a review of what we have covered since January. Our confirmands were divided into two teams and had a friendly competition to see who remembered how much and what. For example, they were given a statement and had to determine if it was true or false. In that spirit, here is a question for you: “God became human, that humans might become God,” is both biblically true, and theologically orthodox; True or False? Hold onto your answer.

On the importance of Popes

My reflection this week is about the importance—not the necessity—of Popes. In particular, how important Popes have been—and will continue to be—in our interconnected world.

I was raised in a Catholic-adverse family and church, though I and my family had many friends who were Catholic. What repelled us from Catholicism (I was told) was Mary, not the Pope. But as I grew up my understanding of Christianity and its many expressions grew as well. This was especially true when I became involved in a broadly ecumenical campus ministry at the University of Pittsburgh. There I made friends with Baptists, Five Point-Calvinists, Christians from holiness traditions, as well as Roman and Orthodox Catholic Christians. This experience changed my life. It was here I discerned my call to ministry.

Easter by Frederick Buechner

When I was a seminary professor, I would often use 

pieces by Frederick Buechner as devotions to open my classes. This one is among the most memorable, as it leaves each of us to complete it.

“Christmas has a large and colorful cast of characters including not only the three principals themselves, but the angel Gabriel, the innkeeper, the shepherds, the heavenly host, the three Wise Men, Herod, the star of Bethlehem, and even the animals kneeling in the straw. In one form or another we have seen them represented so often that we would recognize them anywhere. We know about the birth in all its detail as well as we know about the births of ourselves or our children, maybe more so. The manger is as familiar as home. We have made a major production of it, and as minor attractions we have added the carols, the tree, the presents, the cards. Santa Claus, Ebenezer Scrooge, and so on. With Easter it is entirely different.

Popes, Passion, and Palms

This Sunday begins Holy Week, From Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday we spend a week praying through what is the largest section that all four gospels have in common: Jesus’s last week in Jerusalem. We call this story Christ’s “passion” which comes from a Latin word meaning to suffer, bear, or endure. Recently, Palm Sunday has become “Passion Sunday” which opens with a procession with palms. This is because if people come to church on Palm Sunday and then return on Easter, you have two celebrations and no Passion, no Cross.

Our Roots of Resistance

In the culture that Christianity was birthed, it was a premium to be a Roman citizen for the benefits it afforded you. To maintain your citizenship, one would often, depending on when and where one was living, have to declare their allegiance annually to Caesar. They would do this by making the public declaration that “Caesar is Lord.”

The earliest Christian creed was simply, “Jesus Christ is Lord,” a direct rebuttal to the Roman “creed.” Denial of either the current caesar’s authority or divinity, or both, could cause you to lose you citizenship—possibly even your life. Belief in Christ in the first few centuries was an act of resistance to the Roman empire, and the powers of the world in general. Because it is baked into the New Testament, resistance continues to be a core value of the gospel.

Practicing Generosity

When Pastor Todd was a young pastor in Rockford, Illinois, he was blessed to serve in a city which had a robust Police Chaplain’s Department. Churches in town would contribute to the Police Chaplain’s fund. This was greatly appreciated because when a person, couple, or family came to a church for help, they would send them to the Police Chaplain’s office. They had the human and financial resources to truly help these people while preventing people from going from church to church looking for money. Centralizing care helped more people more effectively. 

First Covenant Church is a compassionate, generous community. Some members of our community have needs to which other members of our church family have offered their assistance. But sometimes this results in some people getting more resources than they need while others may not receive enough.

Unexpected Gifts

I put a book on my Christmas “wish list” this past year. A short, light read of a book to explore on my then upcoming flight to Japan. It was a book in the “33 1/3” series of short monographs on important records from the 1950s to today. My request was for the one written on Dusty in Memphis by Warren Hanes. Dusty in Memphis was Atlantic Record’s experiment bringing British pop singer Dusty Springfield to the US to record with some of the top musicians in Memphis; the same musicians that played behind some of Springfield’s favorite rhythm and blues records. Although the album was not a huge success, save the single “Son of a Preacher Man,” it has quickly entered the pantheon of great records of the post-World War II era. I have come to appreciate the record with each new listen and wanted to learn more. A brief, breezy read for part of a long flight.

Learning about Immigration

At Julfest last December, we talked about how our church, First Covenant, is an immigrant church. Our church and our denomination were started by Swedish immigrants who came to America seeking a better life. We are not unique in this. Most Americans have an immigrant past, whether recent or generations old. 

Immigration has been intrinsic to our country’s history since its founding. And we have a longstanding belief that we are a melting pot–that we welcome people of all cultures and backgrounds, drawing them into our national identity, making us stronger through our diversity. In reality, immigrating to America has always been a difficult process, and most groups of immigrants receive a cold welcome, at least at first. It’s been especially hard for those who can’t easily assimilate into the Eurocentric mainline culture, whether because of skin color, religious difference, or cultural practices. 

A Matter of Scale

In our recent travels to Japan, Susan and I, experienced quite cross-section of that country. We started our journey in a relatively small city (160, 000) in Japan’s far south, Myakonojo. It was a place where the pace was slow and people knew each other. It is also where our son lives, and he made it seem very hospitable as he knew more than a few people in his community, and they knew him.

From there we went to Kyoto, the original capital of Japan. Though a major urban center, it was not a metropolis. The expansive menus offered by Kyoto’s restaurants, as well as its shrines, temples, historical markers, museums, and shops created a larger, richer culture than Myakonojo. But even there we found small shops with single proprietors who remembered you when you returned.

Camp Sunday

Week two of worship in the Summit building will bring even more changes to our Sunday morning routine. And they’re sure to be fun changes, since this week we’re celebrating Camp Sunday! 

What is Camp Sunday, you ask? Well, it’s a day when we celebrate our church’s long-standing connection to Cascades Camp and Conference Center. We’ll learn more about Cascades from Executive Director Rob Mohrweis (son of First Cov members Tom and Jean Mohrweis); and we’ll share the joys of the camp experience through special music, food, skits, reflections, and more.

First Covenant Church: A Church on the Move!

The next two Sundays will be much like the past two Sundays: We will gather at 10:00 am for worship and we will have nursery care for our youngest children and formation for our older children. One Sunday we will have a formation event and a meal after worship (Feb. 23). Pretty much, “Same old, same old.”

But there will be some notable differences. We will not meet to worship under our dome. Instead, we will be meeting in the Summit building (next door to the east) while the interior of our dome will be getting a much-needed facelift.

Worship Alerts

I often wake up to “weather alerts” on my iPad when I am about to begin my morning prayers. These alerts are short and to the point. They essentially say “Pay attention, a change in the weather is coming and you need to pay attention.”

In that spirit I have a “worship alert” for you.

We will be preparing our worship space for interior repairs on the dome this Sunday after worship and before our Adult Sunday School offering (moving the first few rows of pews).

Groundhogs and Candles

This Sunday is Groundhog Day. The lectionary tells us it is the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany and The Presentation of Jesus, which is also known as Candlemas. So many choices! But Groundhog Day seems trivial in the context of the life of our church.

Yet, when I was growing up in the northern reaches of the Allegheny mountains, Groundhog Day was an important, local event. Punxsutawney, the epicenter of Groundhog Day, was south of where I grew and a bit east, just west of State College, Pennsylvania, where Penn State is located. This area I grew up in was once home to the Seneca Nation, whose famous Chief Cornplanter was an aide to George Washington and fought in the Revolutionary War. I mention this because it was commonly thought that Groundhog Day’s origins were our native Seneca friends’ use of a “groundhog shadow technique” to determine when to begin planting.

The Spiritual Director of the Civil Rights Movement

This past week we honored the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. And for good reason. Rev. King was the voice and face of the civil rights movement, here in the United States and around the world. His insistence on nonviolent methods of protest and focusing on the civil rights of all people including our Native American, Asian, and Hispanic friends defined the movement for many. He was also a Christian minister who united Christians around our country and around our world in the fight for human rights. He literally locked arms in the face of high-pressure hoses, billy clubs, and attack dogs with fellow Baptists, Protestants of all persuasions, along with Orthodox and Catholic Christians. His was an ecumenical, interfaith, and interracial coalition. These are just a few of the reasons we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.

Formation and Reformation

In worship this past Sunday, we heard God’s Word read and proclaimed which invited us to follow the example of those who were willing to do “hard things” for the sake of God’s work in the world. After worship we heard words which invited us to rethink how we “make” disciples—forming people into faithful followers of Christ. Together, this raises the question of how the people in the scripture who were willing to do those “hard things” (even Gentiles of unknown belief) were formed? How is it that some people are open to hearing, trusting, and the following the guidance of God and other people are not?  

Perspective

Early in my career as an academic, I was asked to oversee a project to create a multimedia teaching resource for teaching worship. It led me to learn how to use a video recorder to provide helpful video for students to explore and assess real life worship practices. One of the first things I learned is when you add a camera to a ritual, you are deciding for the viewer what is important by what you record. With this in mind, we decided to provide multiple perspectives that you could switch between on the fly, allowing the viewer to decide what was important. Think about it. If you sat in our service in the choir loft, it would look different than if you sat in the center section facing the choir loft. Neither perspective is “right” nor “better.” Both are “true,” even as they are different. That is why we offer those who watch our services online multiple camera perspectives—though only one at a time—as it gives them a bit more of a “you are there” perspective.

Ghost Lights, Candles, and Enlightened Symbols

In a theater, when the actors and the staff are gone and the stage is “dark,” inevitably there will be a single light bulb lit. It is call the “ghost light.” It is a statement that even when empty, the light and spirit of creativity remains in the theatre. Recently when theaters were shuttered by COVID, ghost lights remained lit in theaters around the world. It may seem insignificant, but there is something profound about the symbolic contrast between light and dark.

This universal contrast is certainly present in the Judeo-Christian tradition. A light was always to be lit in the Holy of Holies in the Temple, as sign of God’s presence. Jesus was God’s light entering a world whose darkness would never overcome the light. The season of Advent has for centuries been a season defined by lights in darkness. An so last month we once again lit candles each week in Advent to count down the dark weeks until Christmas. 

Odds and Ends

This week I offer to you a smattering of almost related thoughts and bits of information.

Living for Sunday

I saw a city bus pass through an intersection in front of me with an advertisement on its side. It read “This City Lives for Sunday.” Around that text were pictures of Seattle Seahawk players. It got me thinking, “Does our church live for Sunday?” Probably not. But I would hope we would offer life—new life in Christ—on Sunday. 

Praying for Syria

This past Sunday, Pastor Lauren poignantly recounted her family’s history with the Young Turks’ (a transitional government that appeared at the fall of the Ottoman Empire) program of genocide inflicted upon Armenian residents in the empire. It is a stark reminder of what humankind is capable of, but unfortunately is neither an isolated example nor the most recent example. We celebrate the escape of many of our Armenian friends, even as we lament the loss of so many other Armenians in this attempt at “ethnic cleansing.”

While we were hearing the story of Pastor Lauren’s family’s heroic exodus, that same part of the former Ottoman Empire was undergoing a different kind of cleansing. For over a half a century, the Assad family has led a tyrannical government in Syria, brutally keeping its people in line. On Sunday, December 8, that reign ended as Bashar al-Assad fled the country after ruling since 2000. The rebel fighters culminating their years of opposition had finally toppled the Assad regime.