Not looking forward to fasting? Isaiah has some alternatives for you.
"HERE is the way I want you to fast.
Set free those who are held by chains without any reason. Untie the ropes that hold people as slaves. Set free those who are crushed. Break every evil chain.
Share your food with hungry people. Provide homeless people with a place to stay. Give naked people clothes to wear. Provide for the needs of your own family.
THEN the light of my blessing will shine on you like the rising sun. I will heal you quickly. I will march out ahead of you. And my glory will follow behind you and guard you. That is because I always do what is right. You will call out to me for help. And I will answer you. You will cry out. And I will say, 'Here I am.'
Get rid of the chains you use to hold others down. Stop pointing your finger at others as if they had done something wrong. Stop saying harmful things about them.
Work hard to feed hungry people. Satisfy the needs of those who are crushed. THEN my blessing will light up your darkness. And the night of your suffering will become as bright as the noonday sun." (Isaiah 58:6-10 NIRV - New International Readers Version)
"THIS is the kind of fast day I'm after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts. What I'm interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families. Do this and the lights will turn on, and your lives will turn around at once. Your righteousness will pave your way. The God of glory will secure your passage. THEN when you pray, God will answer. You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.' If you get rid of unfair practices, quit blaming victims, quit gossiping about other people's sins, If you are generous with the hungry and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out, your lives will begin to glow in the darkness, your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.
(Isaiah 58:6-10 MSG - The Message)
“I will tell you THE KIND OF FAST I WANT:
>Free the people you have put in prison unfairly and undo their chains. Free those to whom you are unfair and stop their hard labor.
>Share your food with the hungry and bring poor, homeless people into your own homes. When you see someone who has no clothes, give him yours, and don’t refuse to help your own relatives.
>THEN your light will shine like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your God will walk before you, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind. THEN you will call out, and the Lord will answer. You will cry out, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
>If you stop making trouble for others, if you stop using cruel words and pointing your finger at others, if you feed those who are hungry and take care of the needs of those who are troubled, THEN your light will shine in the darkness, and you will be bright like sunshine at noon." (Isaiah 58:6-10 NCV - New Century Version)
[ABOUT LECTIO DIVINA: It is a practice some do to help them absorb the full meaning of scripture for their real lives. There are various approaches. It is common to read a scripture three times, pausing between each reading to meditate on the meaning, wisdom, and application . . . or, at least that's how I do it :-) --Steve ]
Showing posts with label Lent. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lent. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Sunday, February 26, 2012
DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT [church] HISTORY
DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT [church] HISTORY
(a brief Lectionary reflection by Steve Orr)
This week I passed a coworker in the hallway who had a smudge in the middle of his brow; a sizable dirty patch right smack in the center of his forehead. I actually got as far as thinking about bringing it to his attention when I remembered: oh yes, Ash Wednesday.
While I know, intellectually, about such things, I didn't grow up with much of a church calendar. In fact, I was grown before I actually heard someone say the words, "church calendar." I was raised to believe in Jesus, but our church calendar took a break somewhere along about the death of the Apostle Paul, and didn't start up again until sometime in the late 19th century. As odd as that may sound to many of you, I never even questioned it.
We weren't sequestered from the world, but none of the adults in my life connected such dates as Easter and Christmas to an official calendar of the "church year" (another term I have only recently begun to hear). Most of my understanding of these things came after I was married and had become a father. Before then, Advent was a word vaguely connected to the Christmas season somehow; Epiphany meant something like the kind of discovery that leads to shouting "Eureka!"; I thought Lent was something that your mother brushed off your clothes. I was a grandfather before I learned that the 12 days of Christmas START on Christmas Day!
In case you're feeling sorry for my having grown up in a life absent from such knowledge; don't. The simplicity of our beliefs fostered a life wonderfully absent of complication, and led to a faith uncluttered; neither of which I would ever trade. In my life, Ordinary time was just that, peacefully ordinary.
Yes, I know all of these things serve a purpose, that people who practice them draw spiritual strength and comfort from them, that having a church calendar helps people focus their belief in positive ways. However, and I cant stress this enough, while many find them useful, none of them are required.
And that's my point: in the priorities of our spiritual journey, such things must come lower. They must support the main parts of our journey or they become simply a palliative distraction. Am I advocating doing away with them? Of course not. If they serve you on your journey, as they do for many, then practice and observe them. All I ask is that you place the following, and their like, higher on your list.
"But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don't take yourself too seriously-take God seriously." (Micah 6:8 MSG)
"Religion that pleases God the Father must be pure and spotless. You must help needy orphans and widows and not let this world make you evil." (James 1:27 CEV)
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40 NIV84)
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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
First Sunday in Lent (February 26, 2012)
Genesis 9:8-17
Psalm 25:1-10
1 Peter 3:18-22
Mark 1:9-15
(a brief Lectionary reflection by Steve Orr)
This week I passed a coworker in the hallway who had a smudge in the middle of his brow; a sizable dirty patch right smack in the center of his forehead. I actually got as far as thinking about bringing it to his attention when I remembered: oh yes, Ash Wednesday.
While I know, intellectually, about such things, I didn't grow up with much of a church calendar. In fact, I was grown before I actually heard someone say the words, "church calendar." I was raised to believe in Jesus, but our church calendar took a break somewhere along about the death of the Apostle Paul, and didn't start up again until sometime in the late 19th century. As odd as that may sound to many of you, I never even questioned it.
We weren't sequestered from the world, but none of the adults in my life connected such dates as Easter and Christmas to an official calendar of the "church year" (another term I have only recently begun to hear). Most of my understanding of these things came after I was married and had become a father. Before then, Advent was a word vaguely connected to the Christmas season somehow; Epiphany meant something like the kind of discovery that leads to shouting "Eureka!"; I thought Lent was something that your mother brushed off your clothes. I was a grandfather before I learned that the 12 days of Christmas START on Christmas Day!
In case you're feeling sorry for my having grown up in a life absent from such knowledge; don't. The simplicity of our beliefs fostered a life wonderfully absent of complication, and led to a faith uncluttered; neither of which I would ever trade. In my life, Ordinary time was just that, peacefully ordinary.
Yes, I know all of these things serve a purpose, that people who practice them draw spiritual strength and comfort from them, that having a church calendar helps people focus their belief in positive ways. However, and I cant stress this enough, while many find them useful, none of them are required.
And that's my point: in the priorities of our spiritual journey, such things must come lower. They must support the main parts of our journey or they become simply a palliative distraction. Am I advocating doing away with them? Of course not. If they serve you on your journey, as they do for many, then practice and observe them. All I ask is that you place the following, and their like, higher on your list.
"But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don't take yourself too seriously-take God seriously." (Micah 6:8 MSG)
"Religion that pleases God the Father must be pure and spotless. You must help needy orphans and widows and not let this world make you evil." (James 1:27 CEV)
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40 NIV84)
################################
READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
First Sunday in Lent (February 26, 2012)
Genesis 9:8-17
Psalm 25:1-10
1 Peter 3:18-22
Mark 1:9-15
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