I wonder what was separated that is now connected?

I recently came across this story told from a Godly Play teacher.  If you are unfamiliar with the Godly Play curriculum we use for our children on Sunday mornings it is a Montessori based way of teaching bible stories that involves story, wonder, liturgy, discover and joy as children seek and find the mystery of God's presence.  The story is as follows: 

Does anyone in your context ever doubt the spiritual capacity of children?
Our children know God. God knows our children. What we do is share sacred stories, prayer practices, traditions, and language. But they know God. They know God deeply.
Seven year old boy who has been involved with Godly Play stories for 5 years.

Yesterday he worked with the desert. All the people on one side. Temple on the other. Rivers. And right in the middle the chain separating the people from the ark. 

He said, “you know, if you turn the chain this way, it’s a bridge instead of a wall.”

I haven't been able to stop thinking about this story since I read it. These simple pieces that are used to tell the great stories of the Bible have made alive the ancient people of God. In the busyness of the Advent season (especially when you work at a church) its easy for me to get swept up in the constant calendar events and parties and presents. One quick look at the Cathedral calendar during December will show you what I mean. While I value and cherish the opportunity to attend all these events leading up to Christmas, I tend to see those things as barriers that prevent me from slowing down and waiting on Christ.  After reading this child's interpretation of a chain becoming a bridge, I wonder if I can allow these things to draw me closer to Christ in this season instead of preventing me from being patient and contemplative?

As we get closer to Christmas and celebrating the birth of our Savior can you find things that you thought were preventing you from connecting with God and use them to draw you closer to the gift of Christ and his birth? And if you need a little help, just ask a child!

Merry Christmas!

Rachel

Being Thankful

Tomorrow, we celebrate Thanksgiving. America is one of the few countries in the world to have a day of Thanksgiving. We remember the day of thanks that our ancestors celebrated in 1621. Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a day of thanks in 1863 for all of the states to observe, which became a holiday during the 1870s. In 1941, Franklin D. Roosevelt changed the day of Thanksgiving to the fourth Thursday in November. 

No matter how you spend Thanksgiving, it is a day to thank God for what we have in life. He calls us to be thankful. Psalm 107:1 states, “O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast loves endures forever!” I know some families that spend time sharing with each other what they are thankful for before eating dinner. So, I ask you, what are you thankful for this year? If you had to make a list of ten things that you are thankful for, what would the list contain? It is so easy to be thankful for the good things in life – your family, friends, home, job, and so much more. But, are we thankful for the tough situations, the hurt, the pain and the difficult times in life? 

In Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, he tells them to “be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (5:16-18). Paul doesn’t say to be thankful only when you are happy or life is going like you wanted it to or thought it should go. He said to give thanks in all circumstances. God has a plan even when things seem to be falling apart or you just don’t understand what is going on. In his letter, James tells us to “consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (1:3-4). While it is so hard to do, God wants us to be thankful for our trials and tough situations because He knows that we will come out of it even better and stronger than we were. We need to be confident that God is working and will carry us through it to completion (Phil. 1:6). God has each one of us in His hands. This Thanksgiving, be joyful and pray to our Father, thanking for Him for everything in your life - no matter how easy or hard it is. He's got you!

 

Beautifully Broken

Have you ever dropped your favorite mug on the floor and seen it shatter into a million pieces? Time almost slows down as you try to catch it before it touches the floor, but alas, it hits the floor with a deafening bang and cracks into pieces. It was the perfect mug - just the right shape, kept your drink at just the right temperature, and had just the perfect saying on the front of it. You feel like a piece of yourself is shattered on the floor with it, but after a minute or two of mourning, you sweep up the pieces, throw it all in the trash, and write “new mug” on your shopping list. There is no sense in trying to put it back together; it would never be the perfect mug again. It is now broken, and it can’t be mended.

Unlike us, God can mend the broken and make it beautiful again. When something shatters in our lives, God can use the broken pieces and reshape them into something wonderful. He is, after all, the potter and we are the clay. Jeremiah 18:4 states, “But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.” At the time when something in your life shatters, it may seem very impossible for it to be put back together. Or it may feel like your life can never be the same, but with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). He can mend anything in your life; it just may not be exactly what you had in mind. He can heal any hurt, any scar, any hidden and broken part of your heart. He can lead you down His path for your life. Just lean on Him, search His heart, and have faith in Him. God takes the broken parts of our lives and gives us hope and light to see through the darkness. We are His, and even though we are broken people, He can make us whole.

Beautifully Broken - Plumb 

“Behold, I am doing something new; even now it is coming. Do you see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert.” Isaiah 43: 19

     In my last meditation I shared a few words from Thomas Merton.  They were of his epiphany of seeing all people walking around, shining like the sun.  His heart awakened to the truth of the incarnation.  As broken as you, I,  and all of the human race are, God chose to live within us.  This is a hard truth to realize.  We can only begin to awaken to this truth by engaging in disciplined spiritual practices.

     Christ Church Cathedral is a beautiful place in which to learn and engage in disciplines that will help us awaken to the deep truth of the divine living inside of us.   Walking into this place,  you can see that God really is doing a new thing.  This next year, many of our physical surroundings will look different.  I am beyond excited about moving the children out of the Helm building which has been a “wilderness” for as long as I have been here.  The new interim spaces are wonderful.

     All of us are being asked to do things in a new way.  When our outer world is changing, our inner world will be doing the same.  God is doing a new thing inside each of us.   Pay attention to the stirrings within.  There will be many opportunities for you to find ways that will engage your soul.  There will be Sunday School classes as well as weekday classes of prayer and learning.  Our brochure will soon be coming out.  Be intentional about what you will engage in.

It is also important that you take your new learnings and practices home.  Carve out a time and place in which to ponder and listen.  As Henri Nouwen says, “a spiritual life without discipline is impossible.”  We must find time for silence and reflection in order that we know ourselves and God who lives within us. 

     It is a time of newness and discernment for all of us.  I hope that the outer changes that are being required of us, will be a constant reminder to us that God is alive and working. 

A Shared Meditation

     Heading out on vacation I read a Merton meditation that I have read countless times before.  It seemed to touch me in a new spot and I wanted to share it with you.  It will shape this time away.  I will be back with you as to how the shaping has transpired.

     "It is a glorious destiny to be a member of the human race, though it is a race dedicated to many absurdities and one which makes many terrible mistakes: yet, with all that, God Himself gloried in becoming a member of the human race.  A member of the human race!  To think that such a commonplace realization should suddenly seem like news that one holds the winning ticket in a cosmic sweepstake
     I have the immense joy of being a member of a race in which God became incarnate.  As if the sorrows and stupidities of the human condition could overwhelm me, now I realize what we all are.  And if only everybody could realize this!  But it cannot be explained.  There is no way of telling people that they are walking around shining like the sun.
     It was as if I suddenly saw the secret beauty of their hearts, the depths of their hearts where neither sin nor desire nor self-knowledge can reach, the core of their reality, the person that each one is in God's eyes.  If only we could see each other that way all of the time.  There would be no more war, no more hatred, no more cruelty, no more greed.  I suppose the big problem would be that we would fall down and worship each other."
                                                                 by Thomas Merton

     M prayer is that we begin to see this spark in the depths of each soul that shines like the sun, and die to the greed, hatred, cruelty,  and fear that keep us from who we are meant to be.
                                                             

Parents of Little Ones

When David and I moved back to Lexington after being away for almost six years, we were in a much different place in our lives than when we had departed. We had finished school, we had careers, and we were beginning to build a family and set roots back in our hometown. Upon returning to Christ Church Cathedral, we noticed that the church had evolved with lots of new members and new offerings.We almost felt like new members ourselves and we wanted to find a way to meet more people. We began envisioning a group that would allow churchgoers in a similar stage in life as ourselves to get to know one another and become a community. With the help of Kate Byrd and Hilary Jarvis, we formed the group, POLO (Parents of Little Ones), two years ago and we are very excited to see how it has blossomed.

POLO meets once a month at different locations (downtown restaurants, different homes, or outdoor spots when the weather is nice). Childcare is provided at the set location or at the church nursery. This allows the parents to socialize while the children play together and form friendships.

Join us as we combine POLO (Parents of Little Ones) and the Cathedral Young Adults gathering for May 12. We'll be meeting at Bluegrass Distillers (right behind West 6th) thanks to Sam & Keely Rock. Nursery will be available at the Cathedral during this event - those with kids can drop them off at the church nursery around 3:45pm and then head over to the Distillery, 4:00-6:00pm. Please don't hesitate to contact myself (Sarah Blanchett, sarahcblanchett@gmail.com) or Paige Halpin Smith (paigehalpinsmith@gmail.com) if you have any questions.

Experiential Spirituality

When our oldest daughter, Jillian, was about 5 we bought her a bicycle. It had a really cool color scheme of turquoise and white, and of course it had training wheels. Jillian is super smart and could read by the time she was 3, but bicycling was not an interest. Despite our best efforts, she never rode that turquoise and white bike. The bike sat until Jillian outgrew it, and we eventually donated this brand new, dusty bike to Goodwill. It wasn’t until she was around 10 or 11 when all the other kids in the neighborhood were riding their bikes and going places that Jillian wanted to learn to ride a bike. The other kids had the freedom that a bike gives, and Jillian wanted that too. But the thing is, no matter how many books on bikes and bike riding you read, it still doesn’t teach you to ride a bike. We had to buy Jillian a bigger bike, this time one without training wheels because Jillian was too embarrassed to use them. We spent a number of hours (without any other neighborhood kids around!) trying and falling, before Jillian pedaled her way confidently down the sidewalk.

I think our spiritual journey can be a bit like this too. Reading the Bible, classes, and study are really important to following Jesus and learning about “the Episcopal branch of the Jesus movement,” as Presiding Bishop Curry calls our Church. But at some point in our spiritual journey, an intellectual approach to following Jesus isn’t enough. We are called to get on that spiritual bike and ride it.

A way we can do this is to walk with Jesus this week. Walk into that Last Supper on Thursday (7 pm) and let Jesus wash our feet. Wait awhile with Jesus Garden of Gethsemane. Watch the kangaroo court trial. Walk alongside Simon of Cyrene as he carries the cross. Hear the nails being hammered in. Weep at the foot of the cross on Friday at noon. Sit at the wake Friday evening (7 pm). Watch in wide eyed amazement as the light of Christ is brought back into the Church Saturday evening (8 pm).

I invite you to ride your spiritual bikes through Holy Week because following Jesus isn’t just something we read about -  it’s experiential.

Peace,

Brent+

With all Your Heart, With all Your Soul, and With all Your Mind

           Sometimes I am certain I am my own worst enemy. It seems to be second nature for me to assume I have not done something good enough, soon enough, with enough compassion, with enough love, or with enough thoughtfulness. I especially excel at this self-flagellation during Lent. Why should God love me, not only a sinner, but a fairly good sinner at that?

          When I was of elementary school age, in Sunday School I learned the following prayer: Thou shalt love the Lord your God, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. These words that I command you shalt be upon your heart. Be holy unto your God. I am the Lord your God. It has  never been a problem for me to love God with all my heart with all my soul and with all my mind. I have been angry with God, confused by God, frustrated with God, terrified of God, and have wondered where on earth (or in heaven) God was. But I have never not loved Him.

          But here I am, near the end of Lent, wondering what is it about me that God chooses to love me? I am not rich; I am not famous; I hold no great influence over anyone; I am not beautiful. I am not even very organized. I could not be pious if my life depended upon it. I do not always manage to get Morning or Evening Prayer said.  Would I give up my life for Christ? I would like to think so, but don't hold me to it. So what is there about me for God to love?

          Yesterday, as I drove to Lexington in the silence of the morning, I sensed God trying yet again, to explain His love for me. Of course I know all the reasons we tend to tick off for why someone is attractive and hence deserving to be loved, are not things that matter to God. He loves me because I am one of His children, because he has known me since before I was in my mother's womb, and because I was created in God's image. God knows the number of hairs on my head. God loves me in spite of myself. God loves me, and YOU, so much that He gave His only begotten Son so that when you and I leave this world, we will make our new homes in Christ's eternal presence.

          I believe that God loves us simply because we are God's children. God loves each of us with all His heart, with all His soul and with all His mind. Yes, Jesus commands us to love our neighbors even as we love ourselves, but I also believe He wants us to love ourselves even as we love our neighbors.



         

Easter Approaches

When I was growing up, I was involved in a large, full scale production of the Easter story. Every year, the church would build a set, cast the parts, and spend months fleshing out the gospel account of Jesus’ final days. I lived for the play. We all did. Rehearsals took over our lives, choir practice became a weekly occurrence; we ate, slept, and breathed this play. 

Over my 12 or so years in the play I played multiple characters, some speaking and some not. I retold the stories of some of the major players in those final weeks of Jesus’ ministry. Nothing touched me more than seeing Jesus perform miracles in a large crowd scene at the beginning of the play. The sheer amazement and joy on those characters faces when they were healed of their afflictions. 

This man, who rode into town on a mere donkey, joined by this ragtag group of men, had given them life again. They could walk, talk or see because Jesus touched them.  It brings tears to my eyes to remember those characters and how they must have felt. Renewed. Rejoicing. 

As the Lenten season gives way to Holy Week and Easter, we relive Jesus’ triumphant entrance into the city. We join the praises and wave our palms for the Most High. The joy is palpable as Jesus, the long awaited Messiah, enters the city. 

Don’t forget the same Jesus, the one who rode a small donkey into Jerusalem, is still alive. He still heals and provides. He chose this path for us. As Easter draws nearer, don’t forget that it’s all for you.  The cross, the grave, the Resurrection. 

Waiting

         
          I am up quite early, 4:00 am, sitting in my sunroom, listening to the quiet of the lingering nighttime. All the dogs are asleep, curled up on their beds and/or the couch. Two of them are dreaming, moving their paws in imagined runs. All is silent except for the softly snuffling canine sounds and the water in the koi pond as it cascades down the rocks into the pool below it. This is my bit of Eden, silent as it awaits the dawn of day and the approach of spring.

          After the several soggy rainy days we have had of late, yesterday I found myself drawn to my back yard. I took stock of the daffodil, daylily and peony plants pushing up through the earth. I tended to all the birdfeeders, lest the wrens and woodpeckers worked themselves into a frenzy impatiently waiting for the morsels of nuts and seeds to be replenished.

          I wandered over to the koi pond to take stock of the fish. During the winter, the fish go to the bottom of the pond or hide out in their cave in the wall of the pond. Near the end of each winter, I make my first fish count, hoping to find all the fish I had at the end of autumn. The fish scatter and dive to the pond's bottom when they sense my presence. They have forgotten who I am and  the relationship I share with them during the warm days of each year.
 
          I call one of the koi my ghost fish. He is beautiful- totally black except for a striking grey color on the outer edges on each of his fins. But for all his beauty, on the best of summer days when the pond water is crystal clear, he is difficult to find swimming against the black backdrop of the pond's liner. I saw every fish present and accounted for but the ghost fish. I even found a surprise fingerling, perhaps three or four inches long, a beautiful solid yellow-gold color. I scanned the water a few more times, searching for the ghost fish. Eventually, as I turned to walk away, I caught a glimpse of silver skimming just under the water's surface.

          I suspect winter, with its cold wet days, has not really left us. While it is not yet over, at least we know it is drawing to a close. With each passing day, I find myself thinking about and planning for the work I have to do to care for my small garden of Eden.
         
          During this season of Lent, I have been taking stock. I have been examining who I think I am, who I think I am called to be and who others see me as being. I am taking stock of all the gifts life has given me and taking stock of how I have cared for those gifts. I am taking stock of my commitment to God in relation to God's commitment to me. I am taking stock of what I think I need do to increase and strengthen my commitment to Christ and his Church.

          Just as I expectantly await the return of spring, the blooms of daffodils and peonies, and the return of warmer crystal clear water with opportunities to feed the koi from my hands and feel them gracefully swim along my legs and arms, I eagerly await the celebration of Easter and Jesus's resurrection. But while I wait, I take stock of the work I have done and the work I have yet to do to care for God's people and creation.

Dying As Gift

Growing up in a culture that embraced death has not been familiar to me.  In fact, we just did not talk about it even though it may have been on everyone’s minds.  Children did not go to funerals and certainly did not see the body of a deceased person.  If someone began to talk about their death, the usual response was – “now don’t talk about that – you are fine.”   All of those thoughts that came naturally about death, just got submerged deep within  and created a mountain of fear.   It has taken much unlearning for me to move away from this view point.

I recently ran across a meditation from Henri Nouwen entitled Dying Well.  It is a keeper.  It does not dismiss the idea of a bucket list but most of the things that many of us put on that list are self indulgent, leaving no lasting gift for the world from which we depart.  It is as though we are in this race to fit everything in that we could possibly want to do.  All of the attention is on me.  What if most of the things that we put on our lists are things that will continue to give after we are gone?  Can I give my spirit away every day so that I have none left?  Will that spirit continue on in the generations after me? 

The idea of dying well is life-giving to me.  It gives me a renewed energy towards my work, family, friends, home, church, and self.   Is it possible that this giving away of self is the abundant life that Jesus talked about?  This is a life that will never die.  This Lent may we let go of more of those things that do not matter, embrace the things that do, and give our life away.  

• ·         Be present to whoever and whatever you are with

• ·         Give of yourself completely to whatever task is in front of you

• ·         Walk a little slower, taking notice of the abundance around you

• ·         Let go of the need to buy and give more to what is sustaining for all

• ·         Give thanks every day, even in sickness and death for this incredible gift of life we have     been given

• ·         Use your gifts up!

What would you add:

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