ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
February 19, 2024 Prayer for the Week: With beginnings and endings that are followed by more beginnings, we pause and ask for help to claim the new beginning through which we shall find faithfulness to you, Mighty God. Everyone seems to be selling a new beginning, and it usually comes with three easy payments of $29.99. Draw us close, O God, so we are able to share in your amazing grace, the entry point through which we come to participate in your Kin(g)dom vision that is making all things new. Amen.
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ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
February 18, 2024 We are just a few days into the Season of Lent, yet we know exactly where this is going. If that’s the case, why do we embrace the redemptive grace of a 1st-century peasant who will find himself left alone at the end? Why do we celebrate the ways of a teacher who will be tortured for his commitment to love and peace? Why do we follow a man who will eventually be executed? We can answer that by pointing to the resurrection as our great hope, but the good news of the resurrection has not yet been fully realized by the world. For that reason, those who speak of redemptive grace will be dismissed, amazing teachers will not be heard, and many good people will experience great anguish. I ask again: Why do we follow this Jesus? You might answer it differently than I do, but in my experience, there is something awesome and breath-taking about Jesus that compels me to do so. Once again, I follow this journey into the shadows of the Lenten experience in hopes of being reminded of your amazing love, O Lord. Amen. ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
February 17, 2024 I’m sure someone famous said it, but I just found it on a scrap of paper when I was cleaning out my desk. It read, “Remember, people will judge you by your actions, not your intentions. You may have a heart of gold, but so does a hard-boiled egg.” According to Paul, we were created for the purpose of doing good works (Ephesians 2:5). Good intentions are an excellent starting place, but if that’s all we have at the end of the day, we are not achieving the purpose for which we were created. To get from good intentions to good work might require a reset of our mindset, as we might have become comfortable, even complacent, when it comes to the gap between our good intentions and our good work. Guide me, God, into those moments where I can be the person you created me to be, a person seeking to do the good work you have called me to do. Amen. ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
February 16, 2024 The great Roman philosopher, Seneca, was born about the same time as Jesus, though he lived about twice as long as Jesus. One of Seneca’s quotes that has always resonated with me was the simple yet often challenging idea that “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” It makes complete sense, and human history is one example after another of this occurrence. Yet, with that said, most human beings struggle with this idea on a personal level. And Christians, in spite of our passionate conviction around the resurrection, are the absolute worst when it comes to letting something die. In John’s Gospel, Jesus shares the illustration, “…unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Even the earth around us is attempting to reinforce the basic idea of life emerging from death, rebirth occurring only after something has expired. But so often, we don’t quite feel comfortable looking for the goodness found on the other side of an conclusion. Even typing those words causes a bit of anxiousness within me, yet I hope our Lenten theme this year might be of some help (even if only for me). Every new beginning requires some sort of ending. Give me both faith and courage, O God, as I seek to relinquish my hold on what should have been allowed to pass away long ago. Amen. ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
February 15, 2024 In Luke 9:51, we find a turning point in the Gospel. It is only a single verse of scripture, but a dramatic shift occurs with the simple words, “When the days drew near for Jesus to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.” There is a direct reference to his death (taken up), though his disciples are still oblivious to any idea that Jesus will die. But the language of “set his face” gives us a sense of determination or single-mindedness. Now, from a historical and theological perspective, there are questions raised about whether Jesus’ crucifixion was predetermined. Some theologies of atonement require such a belief, but I think of it more in terms of Jesus remaining faithful to his call and not allowing any threats of violence to dissuade his forward movement. I think of people like Dr. King, Viola Gregg Liuzzo, Gandhi, Oscar Romero, and many others who knew very well the dangers of remaining faithful to call of God, yet the concerns did not stop them from keeping their eyes upon the prize (the great song: Keep Your Eyes Upon The Prize, Seeger). Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, and it serves as a turning point in the Christian Year, as we turn our eyes toward Holy Week and Easter. Yet we do not allow ourselves to get too far ahead of ourselves. Remaining faithful every step of the journey defines what faithfulness looks like at the conclusion of the journey. You, Lord God, have promised to walk with me every step of each day. Allow me to draw both strength and guidance from you as I seek to be faithful to the ways of love and kindness, justice and mercy. Even when faithfulness brings challenge or even sacrifice, I pray for the capacity to not lose sight of the purpose you have put before me. Amen. ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
February 14, 2024 It is Valentine's Day and Ash Wednesday, Ash Wednesday and Valentine's Day. So, which one comes first? Which one is more important? Without judgment, I would say there is a lot impacting how a person answers the question, and there is something important about both. In fact, one is about celebrating love, and the other is about doing the hard work of exploring what inside of us is keeping us from doing a better job of loving like Jesus. Yes, one is usually associated with romantic love, but anyone who has been in a relationship for years knows very well that remaining in a healthy and life-giving relationship requires less romance than we might have thought at the beginning and a whole lot more hard work of setting aside ego, embracing humility, and understanding what it means to be vulnerable with another human being. So maybe this overlap is not entirely a problem. In 1 Corinthians 13, we find those words often spoken at a wedding: Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Of course, the Apostle Paul wasn’t thinking about marriage when he wrote those words, but about how those seeking to follow Jesus are to live in the world and what love is to look like in every moment, romantic or not. Of course, the better job we do of living up to this high standard of love with those closest to us, the better we will learn how to do so with every person we meet in life. God of love, help us to strive toward a greater understanding of love on this day and each day to follow. Amen. ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
February 13, 2024 Many people will ask about this strange tradition within the Christian faith called Ash Wednesday. The funny thing is the connection to Mardi Gras, which means Fat Tuesday. Like so many things within the Christian faith, Mardi Gras grew out of an adoption process. When Christianity moved into a new area of the world, instead of trying to destroy every aspect of the culture, there were often attempts (sadly, not here in the Americas) to borrow, or what some might call cultural appropriation. When Christianity found its way to Rome, it attempted to incorporate some of the traditions around the spring fertility celebrations associated with the Roman gods. As the Season of Lent approached, a season associated with fasting and contemplative prayer, this new ‘borrowed’ festival became a threshold event. Since people would fast in Lent, maybe eating only fish, Fat Tuesday became the day when you got rid of all the fatty foods in the home, including meat, eggs, milk, lard, and cheese. Often, your family members couldn’t eat all these items by themselves, so the disposal of the access food became a sort of party where people indulged and were a bit gluttonous in advance of the Forty Days of Lent. It carried with it a dramatic shift from one period to another, but I sort of find that image helpful in the faith journey. Life consists of many changes, some of them rather dramatic in their move from high to low and back to high. It reminds us that faith is not attached to one emotion or one life experience. Faith is what carries us through life, especially when an unexpected shift changes everything we had previously understood about life. Even in the unexpected, God is present. As we move ever-so-close to the Season of Lent, Lord God, we seek to do what can be done to prepare ourselves for a shift in focus, a movement toward a deeper awareness of who I am with you. Amen. ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
February 12, 2024 Prayer for the Week: Holy God, it is a simple request that we make—may the energy of a recent sporting event be captured in the good work being done toward peace, reconciliation, justice, sustainability, equality, and helping to create genuine hope for every single person. If the energy of Vegas could be captured, the possibilities are endless. Amen. ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
February 11, 2024 Today is the annual chili cook-off! It is one of the fun, funny, silly, community-building events that does some good beyond the church. Money is raised, awards are given, some boastful smack talk is spewed in a playful way, and the church is better for it all. To do what we are called to do as followers of Jesus requires a community of folks that support one another, can laugh together, are willing to stand alongside each other in times of difficulty, and continue to point each other in the direction of greater faithfulness. For some people, it is quite a stretch in their minds from chili to self-sacrificing love, but for the church, it makes complete sense. For everything we do, Lord God, we pray for the capacity of our faithfulness to grow in such a way that we find more beautiful and creative ways of sharing your love. Amen. ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
February 10, 2024 I was moved by a story in the magazine Christian Century entitled “Teaching ministry students to ask beautiful questions” by Mary Clark Moschella (February 2024). The article was specifically speaking to an idea called Narrative Spiritual Care. The premise of this approach is that we, as human beings, are shaped by the stories we tell about ourselves and each other. She writes, “Often we hear and absorb destructive hegemonic narratives, social and cultural stories that limit and hurt us. The narrative approach to care empowers people to resist harmful discourses, to deconstruct them, and to listen instead to voices that speak wisdom and truth.” The church is one of the places, when it is at its best, that can provide a safe space for these open and needed conversations. Psalm 78:4 says, “…tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord.” Among the glorious deeds of God, at least from my perspective, are the many ways in which God says to every human being, “You are my beloved child, and let no other message define who you are.” It is good to be in a community that speaks those words and reinforces that story for every single person. For every person who continues to struggle internally with an unhealthy story, O Merciful God, I pray to be an agent of your affirming and grace-filled message made real in the life of Jesus. Amen. |
AuthorRev. Bruce Frogge Archives
May 2024
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