In a Time of International Crisis

Prayer in a Time of International Crisis

Eternal God, our only hope,
our help in times of trouble:
show nations ways to work out differences.
Do not let threats multiply
or power be used without compassion.
May your will overrule human willfulness,
so that people may agree and settle claims peacefully.
Hold back those who are impulsive,
lest desire for vengeance overwhelm the world's common welfare.
Give us the courage to mourn with those who mourn
and the strength to turn our swords into plowshares.
Bless the people of every nation.
Bring peace to earth,
the peace preached and lived by Jesus of Nazareth,
who is called the Prince of Peace.
Send your Spirit,
that we may speak love in the language of every nation
once again.
Amen.

(Adapted from Book of Common Worship, Daily Prayer, p. 411)

Eastertide Reflection

Resurrection starts
with the cry of grief,
an empty place,
a familiar voice.
It's tiny...
like the fingers of a newborn.
Seemingly insignificant...
like the grain that lands in the clam's open mouth.
'Often overlooked...
like the leaf bud on the tree.
Christ has risen.
Waiting for us to take notice.
Christ has risen.
Waiting for us to respond.
Christ has risen.
Christ has risen indeed!

--Katherine Hawker (Liturgy Outside)

Eastertide is a good time to reset. Our time of confession is over; the time of assured grace is now. We worship without prayers of confession; we shout "alleluia!" Lilies abound. Black has given way to white. Christ has risen!

Today my friend Sara preached about living as Easter people. She asked us to fill in this sentence:
"Life is _______."
Most everyone responded with a variation on "Life is more complicated and difficult than it appears." Even the classic "Life is like a box of chocolate" gets to the heart of life's intrinsic complicated-ness. "You never know what you're going to get." Resurrection gives us a chance to open our eyes to new possibilities, new ways of dealing with complications of life. Life looks different in Eastertide. Lent is, in some ways, a time to look at ourselves individually and communally. Easter re-focuses us on the ultimate expression of love streaming from God in waterfalls of mercy. Eastertide keeps this focus as we go back to our 'normal' lives.

But is life really "normal" after Easter?

Pressing the "Reset" Button

I am taking a course this May term about spiritual guidance throughout a person's life. My professor (Dr. O) is very aware of the student population's mental overload from a year of other classes and is focusing the class in an experiential model of learning. Today Dr. O told us that he studied under Henri Nouwen who told him to spend 20 minutes a day in structured prayer and meditation. Anything more than that is difficult to sustain, but a simple daily routine will keep you walking with God through the ups and downs and sideways switches. Dr. O continued to say that as seminarians our lives are busy and often our personal spirituality gets dropped in the ensuing chaos. He encouraged us to press the "reset" button during this May term and re-center our lives on our relationship with God. So I'm doing that. Part of this reset is the realization that I have not kept up this blog. Blogging is a good way to keep accountability even if no one reads your blog, so I am hoping to update my blog at least once a week for the rest of the calendar year and then reassess.

By the way, if you haven't read any Henri Nouwen, he's a great writer. Go out and read any book by him. 

PTS video

Looking Forward

A few days ago the 2011-2013 course catalog came out. It's a little strange to be reading through it and saying "Oh! I want to take that!" only to find out it's being taught during the 2012-2013 year. I can't take everything I want to take; and it's a hard balancing act between PTS requirements, presbytery requirements, personal requirements, and interest. For example, I need to take a class focused on a Reformed theologian. Next year the two being offered are about Friedrich Schleiermacher's theology and a class about Calvin's theology and modern reinterpretations. Both classes would be great, and both would help in my future.

Play rehearsals are going well. My main costume is really pretty, and I found earrings online that match perfectly and were super cheap. We perform April 7, 8, 9 at 8pm and April 10 at 2pm. Call the seminary's speech office for tickets (free!).

 This Thursday we're starting our Lenten reflection series "Daring...". This series is being led by me but is an amalgamation of a lot of different resources with a splash of my creativity. We begin with "Entering" based on the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem as set forward by Luke. Works well for a first session. Preaching next Monday  on 1 Samuel 16: 1-13, Samuel anointing David. Works well because we're talking about callings in worship for Lent, and the Daring... series is focusing on Jesus' anointing next Thursday. Gotta love it when the Spirit pulls moving parts into harmony.

This summer I'm taking Hebrew, but I get time off for good behavior before that. Going to spend some time with the parents and attend a reunion of my college friends! Also going to take some time up in New York at the Holy Cross monastery, a Protestant Benedictine community.

Oh, and next year I'll be working at Christ Presbyterian Church. It's a very small church (15 members) focused on intentional community to make a difference in the members' lives and the community's life. They have a labyrinth as part of their church grounds. Awesome.

Summer Reading List

This summer I will be learning Hebrew and having already spent a summer learning a biblical language, I am preparing a summer reading list of books I want to read but don't have the time during the academic year. Thus far this is the list:

1. Dogmatics in Outline--Barth
2. Letters and Papers from Prison--Bonhoeffer
3. Preaching the Gospels without Blaming the Jews--Allen
4. The Halachic Process--Roth
5. In Memory of Her--Fiorenza
6. Harry Potter 7 (again)
7. Birthing the Sermon--Childers

Lent 2011

PTS is doing daily Lenten devotionals.

Lent is pretty late this year. Holy Week is our finals' week. That's going to be fun for the student, faculty, and staff who work in churches or have loved ones who do.

Lent is about intentionality in our spiritual lives. Let's start by asking the question "What in my life is keeping me from getting closer to God?"