My Blog

Tag: repentance

  • Getting Ready for Lent

    Next Wednesday, we will begin our annual observance of the Season of Lent. Lent is a time for engaging our new life in Christ more deeply, risking new levels of trust. The purpose of Lent is not to dwell on suffering, or to spend forty days bewailing our manifold sins and wickedness for the sake of feeling our pain. Lent is about engaging in the ongoing process of renewal, regeneration, and new birth; it is about encouraging us to trust and to risk going forth and being sent out with the promise of new life.

    Lent may require us to “think outside the box” of piety and religiosity, just as Abram and Sarai had to break with their past, and Saul and Nicodemus the Pharisees with theirs. The promises of God bear not only upon the future of our individual lives in relationship to God, but also upon the future of our parish, our diocese, and our Church as a whole.

    To respond to the promise for new life means we have to be ready to redraw and rename the places on the journey. When the ancient ones told the story of Abram and Sarai, they were also inscribing new place names and creating a new social geography on the territories of their migrations in company with God.

    God may be inviting us to rethink how we do Church in light of the socio-geographies of the times we live in. When Saul the Pharisee became Paul the Apostle as we know him, he brought new words, images, and new community structures into being, “calling into existence things which do not exist,” by trustfully following Jesus into new life.

    Lent is for listening to that call in our own lives. In the words of James Russell Lowell, “New occasions teach new duties, time makes ancient good uncouth.” Lent is for careful thinking about how to step into the as-yet-unmapped future, to deepen our relationship to God, to trust the picture of new life in Christ, and for identifying the breaks with the past that we need to make in order to respond to the promises of God.

    I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word.

    Blessings,

    Ron Short Blue Sig Cropped

     

     

     

     

    The Very Reverend Ron Pogue
    Interim Rector
    St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church
    Keller, Texas

  • An Abundance of Prevention

    Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” I’ve always believed it to be true and a piece of wisdom worthy of attention. However, in a two week period I’ve become involved in several prevention campaigns; Prevention of Sexual Violence, Prevention of Domestic Violence, Prevention of Gun Violence, Prevention of Suicide, and Prevention of Child Abuse to be specific. Each one of these programs deserves our undivided attention and I am grateful that they are available to our community. However, all together they are certainly more than “an ounce.”

    All of this comes at a time when I am feeling the impact of terrorism at home and abroad, more mass shootings, the suicide of a colleague’s son, and news of the rape of a woman I know in another state. And it is Advent, the season of expectation, hope, and preparation for the birth of the One sent to save us.

    In each of these prevention programs, we review recent data concerning the prevalence of the social ill we are trying to prevent. In most cases, the problems are escalating at an alarming rate. Something is wrong with a culture when we have to work so hard at prevention of such things. Our core values as a culture have obviously eroded.

    I caught a glimmer of hope in conversation with the presenter of the workshop on domestic violence, The Rev. Dr. Marie M. Fortune, when she said that faith communities can present obstacles or opportunities for people facing behavior that needs to be prevented. For example, a biblical passage can be interpreted in ways that make a victim of violence believe it is their fault, that the abuser has a God-given right to hurt someone, or that the violence is somehow God’s punishment. Or, the passage might be interpreted in life-affirming ways that help lift a person out of harm’s way.

    It makes me even more grateful that our Church emphasizes God’s grace, love, and forgiveness. Each of us who has received that hopeful message is in a position to share it with others, especially those who are vulnerable. In so doing, we may not only help someone discover an abundant life, we may also provide just the thing that actually saves a life.

    We also belong to a community of people who can hold one another accountable for our harmful actions just as we encourage good works. Watching over one another in love, we support profound behavioral change. Jesus didn’t just preach repentance, he formed a community to surround penitents with guidance, care, and the means of grace that are necessary to sustain the new life that is emerging when the old life is left behind.

    In the Baptismal Covenant, we affirm that with God’s help we will persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever we fall into sin, we will repent and return to the Lord. We affirm that with God’s help we will seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves. And, we affirm that with God’s help we will strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.

    That’s our ounce of prevention, which we ourselves have received and which we offer to cure the social ills swirling around us. It’s about more than stopping something; it’s also about offering hope. It’s not just about protecting the victims; it’s also about redemptive change for those who do violence. It’s more than an ounce or even a pound; it’s the offer of immeasurable possibilities for good that will reverberate beyond our own generation.

    It’s something to think about.

    I’ll see you in Church!

    Ron Short Sig Blue

     

     

     

     

  • An Invitation

    On Wednesday of this week, your Priests will read this invitation to keep a holy Lent from the Book of Common Prayer to those gathered at one of our three services (7:00 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 7:00 p.m.).

    Dear People of God: The first Christians observed with great devotion the days of our Lord’s passion and resurrection, and it became the custom of the Church to prepare for them by a season of penitence and fasting. This season of Lent provided a time in which converts to the faith were prepared for Holy Baptism.  It was also a time when those who, because of notorious sins, had been separated from the body of the faithful were reconciled by penitence and forgiveness, and restored to the fellowship of the Church. Thereby, the whole congregation was put in mind of the message of pardon and absolution set forth in the Gospel of our Savior, and of the need which all Christians continually have to renew their repentance and faith.

    I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word. And, to make a right beginning of repentance, and as a mark of our mortal nature, let us now kneel before the Lord, our maker and redeemer.

    This invitation is one you don’t want to decline!

    Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent offer the faithful an opportunity to participate in an ancient discipline that promises spiritual growth and health. You'll be a better person and a better Christian if you take it seriously.

    According to the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus spent forty days fasting in the desert, where he endured temptation by Satan. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a forty-day liturgical period of prayer and fasting or abstinence for the followers of Jesus. In case you are counting the days on the calendar, you will notice that there are actually forty-six days from Ash Wednesday until Easter.  That’s because of the forty-six days until Easter, six are Sundays. As the Christian sabbath, Sundays IN  Lent are not included in the fasting period and are instead "feast" days.

    Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of adherents as a celebration and reminder of human mortality, and as a sign of mourning and repentance to God. Ashes were used in ancient times to express mourning. Dusting oneself with ashes was the penitent's way of expressing sorrow for sins and faults. The ashes used are typically gathered from the burning of the palms from the previous year's Palm Sunday. Here, we burn them to make ashes when we gather for the Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper.

    What do we do with the Season of Lent? How do we keep Lent "holy?" How does it prepare us for the Easter Feast? The invitation itself provides the answers.

    By Self-examination and Repentance

    Each of us is equipped with something called a conscience. It is the part of our mind that allows us to distinguish right from wrong, truth from falsehood, good from evil. During Lent, we take more time than usual to examine our consciences and, when we find something for which we are sorry, we repent. One meaning of repentance is to feel or show that you are sorry for something bad or wrong that you did and that you want to do what is right. In Jesus’ preaching, repentance also meant to change course toward the abundant life God offers. We turn from that which leads to death and toward that which leads to new life in Christ.

    By Prayer, Fasting, and Self-denial

    Any important relationship depends on good communication. Our relationship with Christ is no exception. Prayer is the primary way we communicate with Christ. We pray privately and as a Christian community during corporate worship. If you have fallen out of the habit of daily prayer weekly Holy Communion, Lent is a good time to return to Church! And, by the way, this applies to our children as well as adults. Remember those promises we made on their behalf at the time of their Baptism? They are on this journey with us and they look to their parents and other adults to help them find God's way.

    Fasting is a type of prayer. It has sometimes been called “the prayer of the body” because when we refrain from some physical pleasure or craving, our body literally cries out. Those “hungers” remind us of places in our lives where we have substituted things and experiences for what comes only from God. So, our bodies cry out for God to feed our deeper hungers.

    By denying ourselves, we also are better able to identify with our sisters and brothers who don’t have shelter or enough to eat or adequate care for their mental and physical health. Self-denial can, therefore, prompt compassion in us and that can lead to seeking ways in which we can reach out to those in need, more intentionally seek peace and justice in our world, and respect the dignity of every human being.

    By Reading and Meditating on God’s Word

    Lent is a time when we can start or resume a discipline of daily Bible reading. We can follow the Daily Offices of Morning and Evening Prayer and the readings provided in the lectionary for those services. We can take the Bible Challenge, or join a Bible study group. We can take the readings for the Sunday services more seriously in the days leading up to or following Sundays.

    As Episcopalians, we search the Scriptures through the lenses of tradition and reason. Generally speaking, tradition is the historic and evolving teaching of the Church. Reason gives us the ability to explore, to question, and to apply the meaning of Scripture to the way we live. As we journey through this forty-day season, we can take a fresh look at the ancient texts that have transformed the lives of multitudes and appropriate them for ourselves.

    These are the things the Church calls us to do to keep Lent “holy” – a time that is especially set apart to attune our lives to God’s and a time to ask God to do with us more than we can possibly do with ourselves. This holy time helps us continue on the journey with God. In last Sunday's gospel, we heard how Peter wanted to stop the procession when Jesus was transfigured and stood on the mountaintop with Moses and Elijah. But Jesus pointed down the road. We have not yet arrived at our destination. There is more to come and Jesus Christ invites us to continue the journey with him. Then, at the end of Lent, when we reach the celebration of Christ's triumph over death, we'll have a greater appreciation for the depth and power of God's love for us. Please don’t pass up this opportunity.

    I’ll see you in Church!

    Ron Short Sig Blue

  • An Advent Story

    Advent is a time of preparation.  The messages of the Hebrew prophets and of John the Bapitzer tell us that repentance is a necessary element when we are preparing for God’s entrance into our lives.  The call to repentance is a call to examine our lives and change directions in ways that open our lives for God to do something new.

    At this time of year, many people turn again to the wonderful Victorian era classic A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.  As I read it, A Christmas Carol is really an Advent story.  The surly old curmudgeon, Ebenezer Scrooge, lives a miserly existence with his entire being.  Then he is visited in a dream by three Christmas ghosts.  He sees his past and then his present.  But what is most frightening to him, what shakes him to the core, is the vision of his future.  Scrooge awakens to find that nothing has changed.  Dickens says, “The bedpost was his own.  The bed was his own.  The room was his own.”  Then Dickens adds, in what might be an Advent text, “Best and happiest of all, the time before him was his own, to make amends in.”

    Scrooge undergoes a radical transformation and becomes an entirely new person.  He leaves behind the cold and indifferent miser and becomes generous and compassionate.  He seizes the time and becomes what the Bible might call “a new creation.”  The world has not changed, but he has!

    It is a heart-warming story.  But more than that, it is a hopeful story.  It provides us with the hope that we too can have a change of heart and mind when we know we should.  John the Baptizer tells us that someone is coming, someone so spectacular that it is not enough simply to hang around waiting for him to arrive.  It is time to get ready, to prepare the way, so that when he comes he can walk a straight path right to us.

    That’s what makes the news good!  The call to wake up and change directions is filled with the promise that something new is about to happen right before our eyes and in our lives.  The time before us is our own “to make amends in” as we prepare room for God to make us new creatures.  May this Advent be such a time for you!

    Ron Short Sig Blue

  • The human capacity for purposeful change is a divine gift

    Earlier this week, I was involved in a conversation in which the topic of resistance to change came up.  We acknowledged that everyone has some degree of difficulty with change, regardless of how beneficial or unavoidable it may be.  At the same time, we agreed that human beings are endowed by our Creator with a remarkable capacity for change.  In fact, the pages of sacred scripture are filled with examples of how the exercise of that capacity has impacted the story of God’s people.  Also, in the New Testament, change is a central to the message of Jesus Christ. “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel’” (Mark 1:14, 15).  The Greek imperative metanoiete, which we translate “repent”, is a call to change one’s life.

    Some biblical stories are about those who were able to make the changes necessary to be faithful to God, such as Abraham, Moses, David, and the Holy Apostles.  Other stories tell us about those who were unable to make such changes, such as the people who were destroyed by the Great Flood, the generation of Hebrews who had been slaves in Egypt, several generations of Israelites whose apostasy resulted in defeat and captivity, the rich young man who came to Jesus, and, of course, Judas Iscariot.

    There’s good change and there’s bad change and, quite often, there’s just change.  Not all change is equal.  But life, as God gives it, is one change after another.  The struggle with change is bound up with the struggle with faith in God.  Those who thrive are those who adopt a hopeful attitude toward our God-given potential, draw upon the uniquely human capacity for adaptation, and bring about purposeful refreshment, recreation, and renewal among the communities where they live and worship.

    Simply put, our faith provides us with insight into how to draw upon that capacity for creative living and the advancement of God's redemptive purposes.

    One of my favorite prayers from the Book of Common Prayer came to mind as I was thinking about the relationship between change and faith.  When I turned to it, I realized that it is a prayer that is primarily used in liturgies for times of significant transition in the Church’s life and liturgical cycle – such as Ordinations, the Celebration of a New Ministry, Good Friday, and the Great Vigil of Easter.  It is a wonderful prayer for any time in the life of the Church, but especially when we are asked to make some sort of change as we progress in the journey of faith.  I commend it to you today:

    O God of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look
    favorably on your whole Church, that wonderful and sacred
    mystery; by the effectual working of your providence, carry
    out in tranquillity the plan of salvation; let the whole world
    see and know that things which were cast down are being
    raised up, and things which had grown old are being made
    new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection
    by him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus
    Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity
    of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

    Ron

  • Being sorry is not the same as repenting

    I was especially moved by these words in the Litany of Penitence in yesterday’s Ash Wednesday service: 

    For our waste and pollution of your creation, and our lack of
    concern for those who come after us,
    Accept our repentance, Lord.

    We've been praying that prayer for a long time!  This prayer book was published in 1979, 32 years ago.  That we’re sorry about our poor stewardship of creation is clear.  That we’ve repented is not so clear,  because to repent means to change behavior.  Our sorrow must be strong enough to motivate us to make a change.  However, as I lamented the sloth in my own green habits, I also noticed  some signs of hope, some of which are fostered by the city in which I presently reside, Lexington, Kentucky.

    Curbside Recycling ~ We have two cans, provided by the city.  One can is green and is for household trash.  The other can is blue and is for recyclables.  We put paper, glass, plastic, aluminum, and a number of other items in the blue can and set it out by the curb every Thursday morning.  A city crew comes by and picks it up.  They take it to a place where the items in the can are sorted and recycled.

    Bicycle Lanes ~ Lexington has bicycle lanes on roadways all over the city.  They connect to some very nice bicycle trails. Cyclists ride them to work, to school, to church, and for recreation seven days a week.  Motorists watch out for them and slow down.  Unless otherwise posted, the speed limit in Lexington is 25 mph.  In most other cities, it’s 30 mph.  That 5 mph can make a big difference in an encounter between a passenger car and a bicycle.  I don’t want to suggest that instituting bicycle lanes here was a simple thing, but mainly it took creative thinking, leadership, and application of some white paint on pavement.

    Energy Saving Light Bulbs ~ Gay and I almost never buy an incandescent bulb anymore.  The improvements in compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL) and the number of options now available, the energy savings, and the availability make this kind of energy conservation a no-brainer!  To make it even better, our local electric utility provider sent us some coupons that provided significant savings on the purchase of CFL's.  We’ve come a long, long way from those fixtures with the “starters” my parents used in the 1950’s.  But I am grateful for the example they provided.  My dad was a homebuilder and he used fluorescent fixtures wherever possible.  Lexington, like many cities, now has reasonable building codes that foster more extensive use of energy efficient lighting.

    I am grateful to be living in a city where it easier to practice "green" habits.  I feel that I've moved a little beyond sorry and am actually demonstrating some repentance in my care of creation. Thanks, Lexington, for fostering such a climate.  Other cities can learn a lot from your good example.

    A friend of mine was complaining about “tree huggers.”  I confessed to him that I am a tree hugger and always have been. He pointed out that peoples’ livelihood depended upon the ability to harvest lumber from old forests in places like the Pacific Northwest and that the needs of people outweighed the needs of the Spotted Owls.  I had to point out that human beings are endowed by the Creator with more options than the other creatures with which we share this planet.  When God entrusted the stewardship of creation to humanity, it was because God had specially equipped us with cognitive resources not given to any other creature.  We are supposed to be smart enough to figure out how to steward the resources of creation in a way that respects and sustains all life, not just humanity.

    One of my Lenten disciplines is going to be to find more ways to be a good steward of creation, with or without the help of municipal resources.  I want to be a contributing citizen of “this fragile earth, our island home.”

    Ron