Wilderness Time, Jesus and Tough Decisions

Wilderness Time, Jesus and Tough Decisions

As I was preparing a sermon on Jesus in the Wilderness, a fellow priest shared with me the story of her encounter with the wilderness which took place—in her mother’s bedroom. As they were preparing for bed one evening, her mother called to her, saying “I think there might be a snake in my bedroom.” Sure enough, there was, and they locked the snake there until morning, found help to remove and return it to the wilderness.

We encounter wilderness in two ways: we enter intentionally as Jesus did after his baptism, and wilderness comes to us where we “live and move and have our being,” whether we want it to or not.

“After his baptism, the spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness for forty days to be tempted by Satan; he was with the wild beasts and the angels waited on him.” After his time in the wilderness, praying and reflecting on God’s plan for himself, Jesus was ready to face whatever temptations came his way, and to proclaim the good news that “the time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe." (Mark 1:12-15)

Jesus entered the wilderness intentionally to prepare for the wildernesses that would come to him throughout his life and mission. Lent is a reminder to us that we can and must do the same. We enter the wilderness, whatever and wherever that is for us, so that we too can be prepared for the wilderness that comes to us, whether we want it or not.

I spent some time in the wilderness last week, hiking along Town Creek as it flows into Lake Guntersville. I took black and white photos, sat in the peace and quiet of the forest in the light drizzle. I needed the alone time to prepare, as Jesus did, for the unexpected wildernesses in my life. I needed time to clear my head, escape social media, and people who “have all the answers.” I needed this to find my strength in God’s strength, to prepare for the wilderness that will come to me.

The wilderness that comes to us takes many forms. The latest wilderness that engulfed me was the shooting at Douglass High School in Broward County, Florida. As frustrating and sad as the shooting was, the shouting back and forth of solutions with little or no listening by anyone was worse. My friend, singer, songwriter Jess Muse posted on her Face Book Page: “I am hearing the expected answers with little discussion and less listening. Can we try talking with each other with open minds, caring more about the children than we do that our solution be the one chosen.”

 I don’t have the answers, but I believe Jess is on to something. We need to have a national conversation and put everything on the table: anger, hate, mental illness, gun regulations and money. We also need to seriously consider that teenagers whose friends and teachers were killed in this and similar disasters are, in fact, qualified and entitled, perhaps more so than some of us, to be at that table. I also believe that the time to deal with this issue is now, not “when the time is right.”

As a Christian I have three recommendations for myself, and offer them as suggestions for others: first, I will not get my information and news from posts on social media; second, I will respect the opinions and experiences of others whether I agree with them or not; and finally, I will use this Lenten time “in the Wilderness” to open my heart, soul and mind to God: to hear God’s call, and pray to receive strength and wisdom to be, not part of the problem, but, part of the solution; to hear the words of Jesus, “the time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is near.”

Come Holy Spirit and fill the hearts of your faithful, and kindle in us the fire of your love.

Send forth your spirit and so we shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the Earth.

Lent is a gift that Awakens our Senses

As I was sitting in church on Ash Wednesday, reflecting on and how this season enriches our faith and our lives, I had a vision of the Christian year as an hour glass and Lent as the narrow middle of the hour glass through which the sand passes one grain at a time.

Allow me to explain. In the Christian year the two seasons immediately prior to Lent are Christmas and Epiphany, seasons through which we see the glory of God in our worship and in the Scriptures: Isaiah’s prophecy which proclaims Jesus as “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6);” the birth of Jesus in the stable; the coming of the wise men; the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River; Jesus’ first miracle at a wedding in Cana of Galilee; his recognition as Messiah by the Samaritan woman at the well; and finally his Transfiguration on the mount with Peter, James and John.

We also read about his proclamation of the Gospel in his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5): blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are the peace makers, blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they will be filled. And finally, Jesus ends the beatitudes with some of his most difficult teachings, challenging us and showing us his glory at the same time:

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. . . For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:43-48)

This is all the top of the Hour Glass, filled with God’s Glory as we see it in Jesus Christ. Then all this falls through the narrow center of the Hour Glass, one grain at a time. As the sand slowly moves through the narrow opening, we are allowed, or perhaps forced, to slow down and see our life and our faith, one grain, one piece, at a time. When we narrow our focus, all our senses seem to become sharper and we see and experience things we missed when we were bombarded with the full glory of God all at once.

I am a kayaker and I have spent many beautiful days paddling on lakes, creeks and rivers in Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee. When I am floating down a lazy river my mind can wander and I can daydream, looking at the birds, clouds and sky and the vegetation along the banks. But when the stream begins to narrow and the same volume of water is forced through a smaller and smaller space, all my senses come alive and I am aware of all that is going on around me: the speed of the river, the rocks and other obstructions in front of me and the path and passages the river is showing me. This is what I believe Lent is like for Christians. Our senses come alive, become more focused. We become aware of all God is doing in our lives and of how we are hearing and living the Gospel.

As the sands pass through the narrow opening in the Hour Glass, failing into the larger bottom section, we again see the Glory of God, this time more visible because our senses have been awakened. As Lent draws to a close, we walk with Jesus through Holy Week: from Palm Sunday through the Last Supper and Christ’s New Commandment on Maundy Thursday to “love one another as He has loved us;” through all the sorrow of Good Friday; and finally to the fullness of God in the Glorious Resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Day.

Lent is not a time of punishment or pain or agony. No, it is a gift from God through the Church which offers us time and space, and opens our hearts and minds and souls to God’s love for all creation. It opens us up to our place in that love, both as those who receive the love from God, and those who, because we have received this love, want to share it with the whole world.

Our eyes are opened and we see that truly, “God sent his son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the whole World might be saved!”

Build My Church: Christ Episcopal Church, Albertville: Forty Years and Counting!

Build My Church: Christ Episcopal Church, Albertville: Forty Years and Counting!

(Based on a Sermon Preached at Christ Episcopal Church on Sunday, January 28, 2018)

Around the year 1208, a young man in Italy by the name of Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Francis, was praying in the Chapel of San Damiano near the town of Aissisi when he had a vision that the Icon of the Crucified Christ above the altar said to him, “go, repair my church which, as you can see, has fallen into ruins.” Francis logically believed that Jesus was asking him to rebuild the forsaken and rundown church building. Only later did he understand that Christ was calling him to repair, to build, the Body of Christ, not the building.

In 1977, a group of 15 families (Bains, Bender, Griffin, Laser, Rogers, Terrell, Appleton, Battles, Treadway, Wester, Cotton, Lackey, Narvison, Swart and Wooten), members of the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany in Guntersville, Alabama heard the same call. All were from the Albertville area and along with their first priest, The Rev. Hugh Agricola, believed God was calling them to “Build God’s Church” on Sand Mountain. The difference between this group of people and St. Francis was that they understood from the beginning that God was calling them to build the “Body of Christ.” Yes, the wanted a building and believed that they would one day have a building to house the church, but they knew in their hearts that God had called them to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to the people of Sand Mountain.

So, with the Blessing of Bishop Stough and the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama, the Rev. John Groff and the Church of the Epiphany, Sand Mountain Episcopal Ministries was formed. For a year they worshiped in “the Upper Room,” above Bains Furniture and Appliance downtown. During the first year as these intrepid pioneer families worked, worshiped and prayed, members of the Church lead by Ellen Bains (Perryman) found an abandoned Episcopal Church building in Piedmont and arranged to have it moved to a lot they had secured on East Main Street, and they began to build a home for the church they and God were building.

As I think about and offer prayers of thanksgiving for our spiritual ancestors, two verses of a hymn come to mind.

                        Christ is made the sure foundation, Christ the head and cornerstone,
                        Chosen of the Lord and precious, binding all the church in one.

                        Holy Zion’s help forever, and her confidence alone.

                        To this temple, where we call you, come, O Lord of Hosts, today.

                        With accustomed loving kindness, hear your servants as they pray;

                        And your fullest Benediction shed within its walls always.

The ministries begun by these founders and those of us who have followed them over the past forty years, have shown the face of Jesus to and improved the lives of many people in our area. Over the years, these ministries have provided affordable clothes and household goods to people, helped children learn through tutors and helped others learn English to live better lives here.

Christ Church has made food available to people through our Beans and Rice Program, and Blessings in a Backpack for our school children. We have also helped with job training by supporting Christian Women’s Job Corps and worked with Keep Albertville Beautiful to improve the look of our city.

On Sunday, January 28, 2018 we welcomed back several of our founding members as well as many of the over 500 people who for a time called Christ Episcopal Church their spiritual home. This blessed company of faithful people, this great cloud of witnesses, have, with Christ, built foundations, literal and spiritual, upon which we who are Christ Church today continue to build the body of Christ and serve our community in Jesus’ name.

As we head into the next forty years we look again at the foundation of our faith and prepare to write the next chapter of our life together in Christ.

            The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus directed them.

            When they saw him, the worshiped him but some doubted. And Jesus said to them. Go

and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son

and the Holy Spirit, and teach them  to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:16-21)

With this command and this promise, we who are Christ Church, follow Jesus into the next forty years, as we

            Continue in the apostles teaching and fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers.

Seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves. Proclaim by

word and example the Good News of God in Christ, and respect the dignity of every

human being. (Book of Common Prayer, page 304-305)