Lent is not a Ritual

I have just been rereading Joan Chittister’s wonderful book The Liturgical Year: The Spiralling Adventure of the Spiritual Life. I would highly recommend it as a preparation for Lent which begins with Ash Wednesday next week.  She says:

Lent is not a ritual.  It is time given to think seriously about who Jesus is for us, to renew our faith from the inside out.  It is the moment when, as the baptismal waters flow on ever Easter Vigil altar, we return to the baptismal font of the heart to say yes once more to the call of Jesus to the disciples, “Come and see” (John 1:39)  It is the act of beginning our spiritual life all over again refreshed and reoriented.  (111)

So how are you planning to enter into Lent this year.  There are several ways in which you could join the MSA team over Lent

1. Accept the What Could You Give Up For Haiti Challenge
2. Contribute to the blog series: Walking with Jesus to the Cross: How Do We Follow.
3. Attend the Rhythms of Grace workshop February 20th which I will be hosting – I think that this will be a great preparation for Easter for those of us who want to reflect on what a Godly pattern of life should look like.  For those not in the Seattle area we are videoing the sessions so hopefully this will also be available for download or on DVD in the not too distant future.
4. Attend the Justice at the Table workshop March 13th – hosted by Ricci Kilmer.  This was one of the most life transforming events that I attended last year.  Reimagining the dining room table as the communion table transformed my way of looking at food and how it is produced.

Time to Slow Down

Well we are back in Seattle, very grateful that even though we ended up spending an extra day in Pittsburgh, our time was relaxed and enjoyable.  Not like many who have endured the weekend without power, and in some cases water and good food.  We are back just in time for Slow Down Week Slow down week. February 8-12 Adbusters encourages all of us to slow down.  I love their reminder that :

Slow isn’t necessarily a pace, its a philosophy – a way of approaching life.  We can slow down simply by addressing the disconnect that makes life feel anxious, alienating and fast.  Read the Adbusters post here

And my question is – why does it take something like a major snowstorm that forces us to stay at home for most of us even to consider slowing down?  It reminds me of something I read in one of Richard Foster’s books:

Busyness is not of the devil it is the devil.

Busyness without time for reflection often pulls us away from God and the very things that God would most like us to place priority on.

I must confess that this is going to be a very busy week for me, – partly because I am getting ready for the Rhythms of Grace workshop February 20th…. which is of course partly about how to slow down!!!!!

However Tom and I are planning another retreat time and I am diligently making sure that I take the breaks that I need throughout the year.  Part of my Sunday discipline is reflecting on where I allowed busyness and overbooking to get away from me in the last week so that I can continue to learn from my mistakes – something that I find most of us don’t do well.

So take some time this week to slow down and enjoy life.

Am I Worshipping God for Only Me?

I don’t usually blog or in fact open my computer on Sundays but because we are still waiting to make sure that our flight out of Pittsburgh this afternoon is actually going to fly, my routines have been somewhat disrupted.  So I decided to work on another Lenten meditation video based on Isaiah 58.  In the process I came across this beautiful and heartrending song by Shirley that is also based on Isaiah 58.  It would make a powerful Lenten reflection and I thought some of you would appreciate it.

Theology After Google

I have just been reading about this interesting conference Theology After Google: Leveraging New Technologies and Networks for Transformative Ministry which unfortunately I will not be able to attend.  As I watched this video by Adam Walker Cleavland and read this article by Philip Clayton I realized that Theology after Google is something I am already doing.  It looks as though I could now be classified as a theoblogger.

Blogging, YouTube, Twitter, and social network sites like facebook and ning are all shaping our theology – not just because of the way we use them to communicate but because they provide a platform for interaction and provocative discussion that further shapes our thinking and therefore our theology.

The way I have started hosting guest speakers on my blog who discuss issues that shape our theology and our spirituality is part of what Theology after Google is all about.  Which brings me to the real point of this post.

Lent is almost here and I am planning another blog series which I invite you to participate in.  The theme is Walking to the the Cross: How Should we Follow? This is slightly different from my first invitation but my thoughts and ideas for entering into Lent this year have already been shaped by the earthquake in Haiti and my desire to respond.  As a result the Mustard Seed team is planning to restrict our food budget for a week during Lent to $2/ person per day – both as a sense of identification with the people of Haiti and also to free up money to donate to the ongoing efforts in Haiti.

So this is really a double invitation.  If you would like to submit a blog post on the Theme Walking to the Cross: How Should We Follow? please leave a comment or email me.  If you would like to join in the $2 challenge check out the details here, please download the Lenten guide and let us know how you intend to participate

Snowed In

Tom & I are sitting in a hotel room in downtown Pittsburgh looking out on one of the biggest snowfalls of the last 100 years.  Time to relax and just enjoy an unexpected day off.  God has a way of slowing us all down at times and the break is very much appreciated.  In fact i am learning to accept breaks like this as gifts from God rather than getting all up tight about keeping to the schedule I had planned.  After all the February Seed Sampler is out and there is nothing that absolutely has to be done today.  (though I had hoped to get some seeds planted tomorrow.)

These last couple of days we have been speaking to Mennonite educators about the challenges of the coming decade and how to prepare students and teachers alike to be effective followers of Christ in the future.

As many of the participants have said – in order to really journey with Christ in this next decade we will need to be radical counter cultural people – which shouldn’t surprise us as that is exactly what Jesus and those early disciples were.  For a long time it has been easy for followers of Christ to be complacent and comfortable in the culture.  And it has been easy for us to rationalize our buy in to the values of the global consumer mall we live in.  But I think this will become more difficult in this coming decade.  Or at least that is what I hope.

I think that the growing marginalization of Christianity within Western culture is good for us.  It forces us to really think about what we believe and why we believe it.  It forces us to ask ourselves how seriously we want to follow Christ when those around us are moving away at time warp speed.

When Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life” I don’t think he meant make a decision in your head and just go about life as usual.  ”I am the way” really means – look at the way I have lived my life, look at what my priorities and values are and live in the same way I have.  It really is a very challenging message but one that I hope we will gladly embrace and walk with.

As I look out on the snowy landscape it amazes me that there are some people still out on the roads.  It takes quite a commitment to get out when everyone else is staying home, we have to want to get to our destination really badly in order to even try, and travelling in such conditions is definitely not easy.

Maybe it is a little like the Christian faith.  Getting out on the journey with Jesus when everyone else is staying at home is not easy  but if we want to reach our destination then we have to be willing to try.

What do you think?

Virtual Gardening

If you are like me you are probably dying to get out into the garden – even though for some of you there is probably still snow on the ground.  So if you can’t get outside here are a couple of websites that you might like to check out to at least give you the feel of being outside.  They are great planning tools

BBC’s Virtual Garden – it has a fun 3D function on the site and is free

Kitchen Garden Planner – part of the gardener’s supply website which is one of my favourite places to look for seed starter supplies and self watering pots.  This is also free.

Plangarden.com This website has some great hints for gardening on it.  The garden design function costs $20/year

Of course this is also a great time to drool over all those wonderful photos in the seed catalogues that in your saner moments you know won’t grow in your g=climate zone but which you just can’t resist when it is too cold to grow anything.

I always like to buy from those companies that specialize in heritage and organic seed like:

Seeds of Change

Seed Savers Exchange

Bountiful Gardens

or those that are based in the local Washington area

Territorial Seeds

Raintree Nursery

Unfortunately I also cannot resist a couple of big company catalogues like the English classic  Thompson and Morgan and Park Seeds which have products I can’t seem to find anywhere else.

What is Masculine Spirituality?

My short post yesterday has generated quite a discussion on facebook and twitter.  So the question is What does masculine spirituality really look like?  I thought that this was a good quote from Richard Rohr to consider as we grapple with this.  Thank you Susanne for making me aware of it.

A masculine spirituality would be one that encourages men to take the radical gospel journey from their unique beginning point, in their own unique style, with their own unique goals – without doubt or apology or imitation of their sisters (or mothers, for that matter).  That of itself takes immense courage and self-possession.  Such a man has life for others and knows it.  He does not need to push, intimidate, or play the power games common to other men because he possesses his power with surety and calm self-confidence.  He is not opinionated or arrogant, but he knows.  He is not needy or bothered by status symbols because he is.  He does not need monogrammed briefcases and underwear, his identity is settled and secure – and within.  He possesses his soul and does not give it lightly to corporations, armies, nation-states, or the acceptable collective thinking.  Read the entire article

Maybe I am wrong but the only time that I see Jesus exhibiting violent behaviour in the gospels is when he was so upset with the moneylenders in the temple that he overturned the tables.  There are no indications of violent behaviour towards people and in the garden of Gethsemane when one of his followers cut of a soldier’s ear he healed it – which suggests to me that he did not approve of this form of violence

Part of what disturbs me about the idea of fighting as an acceptable Christian practice is that it not only condones aggressive behaviour like cage fighting but it also tends to encourage very hierarchical and domineering forms of behaviour in both society and marriage.  It is no wonder that some studies show that domestic violence is more common amongst conservative Christians than in the general society.

So what do you think?

Cage Fighting for Jesus

Here is an article that I was just sent a link to.  I find this very disturbing.  I believe in a Jesus whose goal is peace and reconciliation and I must confess that just does not jibe with this image.  What do you think?

These pastors say the marriage of faith and fighting is intended to promote Christian values, quoting verses like “fight the good fight of faith” from Timothy 6:12. Several put the number of churches taking up mixed martial arts at roughly 700 of an estimated 115,000 white evangelical churches in America. The sport is seen as a legitimate outreach tool by the youth ministry affiliate of the National Association of Evangelicals, which represents more than 45,000 churches.  Read the entire article

Immerse Yourself in the Love of God

One of the scriptures for the Episcopal reading this last Sunday was 1 Corinthians 13 that well known prayer of love from God’s heart to us.  Here is a prayer that I wrote in response to that.  The refrain has been reverberating through my mind ever since.  You might like to read through the prayer and then spend some time meditating on 1 Corinthians 13

Immerse yourself in the love of God

Be patient as God is patient

Be kind as God is kind

Be selfless as God is selfless

Immerse yourself in the love of God

Rejoice in the truth

Endure all that is bad

Hope for all that is good

Immerse yourself in the love of God

Care for your neighbour

Give to the poor

Speak out for justice

Immerse yourself in the love of God

Love is God’s heart

Love is God’s language

Love never ends

Immerse yourself in the love of God

Getting Ready for Lent – What Could You Give Up For Haiti

It is hard to believe that we are already into February and that Lent is just around the corner – it begins with Ash Wednesday on February 17th.

Last year I posted a number of resources for Lent which I have linked to again at the end of this post, but for this year we want to focus on the suffering in Haiti and how we can during Lent give up something that will free up resources that could be used in Haiti.

In MSA we are planning to participate in the $2 challenge – restricting our food budget to $2/person per day for a week.  The money we save will be sent to an organization that works in Haiti.  the people of Haiti continue to suffer so much and we can all do something to help.

The question is – will you join us? We would love to see a wave of people around the world participating in this challenge.  If you are not sure how to do this I recommend that you download  the MSA Lenten guide – A Journey Into Wholeness which not only provides instructions but also provides a menu plan and recipes for the week.

If you do decide to accept this challenge we want to hear from you.

Sign up by leaving a comment, on facebook or by emailing me.  During Lent let us know how the challenge is shaping up.  Then at the end of Lent let us know how much you saved and what you plan to do with it.

This challenge works better in the company of friends who can support, encourage & participate with us.  It is also easier if you cook together for the week – each person taking responsibility for one evening meal.  So recruit your friends and join the $2 challenge with us.

For me this kind of observance is a profound and moving spiritual practice.  It not only draws us into the suffering of our world but also challenges us to look at our own lifestyles and how we can all continue to free up more of God’s resources so that we can be God’s compassionate response in times on need.

If you want something less challenging to do this Lent here are some resources to consider

Lots of Lent Resources

Reflections on Lent – A Meditation Video

Ash Wednesday Reflections

And here is a wonderful prayer from St. Thomas Aquinas posted by Karen B at Lent and Beyond that you might have missed last year

‘Almighty and everlasting God, you see that I am coming to the sacrament of your only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. I come to it as a sick man to the life-giving healer, as one impure to the fount of mercy, as one blind to the light of eternal brightness, as one who is poor and destitute to the Master of heaven and earth. I turn therefore to the abundance of your immense generosity, begging that you will deign to heal my infirmity, cleanse my uncleanness, give light to my blindness, enrich my poverty, clothe my nakedness.’