I am old enough to remember Laurel and Hardy. One of their stock lines was "Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into." Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever just looked around and suddenly said: "How did we get here?" All of us have and all of us have scrambled then to get out of the mess.
It’s Lent, and of all the seasons of the church year, this is the time when we take a hard look at all the “messes” we’ve gotten ourselves into – and how we might get ourselves out – with the help of God, each other and a time of introspection.
The theme for our Lenten worship and learning is “A Clearing Season”. It’s a time for considering that archaic word “sin” which perhaps we should bring out of the closet! Lent is the season when we consider “sin” – and the sins that we may be participating in that create all those messes!
In his book “The Fifth Discipline”, Peter Senge states "Today's problems come from yesterday's solutions." Sometimes the current “mess” we find ourselves in is a direct result of an old solution adopted months or years before. For instance – one’s loneliness and fear of abandonment might be “solved” by infidelity or casual sex. Emotional pain and anxiety might be assuaged by drugs or alcohol. Fear and jealousy might be alleviated by higher control or bullying. And dissatisfaction with one’s appearance could be addressed by abstaining from food or a “binge and purge” response to eating. All of these “cause and affect” cycles can lead to more problems rather than the elimination of the original predicament!
Another law you may be familiar with is "The easy way out usually leads back in.” Sometimes we try solutions that have worked in the past or just easy solutions that may or may not address the real issues. Lent is a time to “go underneath” the outer layers of ourselves and to find what may be hidden deep within us. It’s a time for radical surgery rather than a Band-Aid fix.
How do you get out the mess you find yourself in? Here are a few suggestions:
1. STOP. Take a long look at the big picture, a panorama of processes that led to the mess instead of just looking at the mess.
2. Avoid the temptation to use solutions you have tried before when they may not address the real underlying problem.
3. If you are in a mess, find a way to stop messes from happening, not just look for a cleaning crew. In other words, an apology and flowers (cleaning crew) might get you out of a “mess” but what needs to change in order to prevent another “mess” from happening?
4. Look “inside” instead of trying to find the cause "out there." In the Laurel and Hardy sketches, it was usually Oliver (the plump one) saying that line..."Well here is another nice mess...." to Stan (the thin one.) It was always true that the mess they were in was not Stan's fault alone. Ollie made decisions too!
Welcome to Lent! A time to enter into a “clearing season” – a time to find our way out of our messes – and into God’s curative time and healing love! This is a time to reconcile, rebuild and be restored to emotional and spiritual health. Let Lent do it’s thing! Let God bring healing to you life. Participate in the “clearing season”.
*”A Clearing Season” – by Sarah Parsons
* “The Fifth Discipline” – by Peter Senge
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
What Time Is It?
What Time Is It?
Next week volunteers from Trinity will “pull an all-nighter” in order to make Fastnachts for sale. If you are not a native to Central Pennsylvania (like me!) you may be asking an obvious question: “What the heck are fastnachts – and what do they have to do with church?”
Well, it all goes back to the early church (doesn’t everything!) and some of the religious customs that developed over the centuries – but which have been clouded by time and changing traditions as time has gone by.
Let’s start with “Fat Tuesday”. Fat Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday… and if you know your high school French, you may know that Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday". The name comes from the ancient custom of parading a fat ox through Paris on this day. The ox was to remind the people that they were not allowed to eat meat during Lent. Lent runs from Ash Wednesday thru Easter Sunday.French people who came to the United States brought the custom of Mardi Gras with them. The most famous festival in the US (and perhaps the world) is in New Orleans, but Mardi Gras parades happen throughout the world:
In Southern Italy, people dress up in costumes and put on an ancient play during Mardi Gras
In Rio de Jeneiro, people dance in the streets for “Carni-Val” (Literal translation: “To “lift” or abstain from flesh”)
In Nice, France people wear giant masks in the Mardi Gras parade (it looks like a bunch of walking heads with tiny bodies).
In Binche, Belgium people dress in colorful clown costumes (the clowns are called gilles). The clowns wear bunches of ostrich feathers on their heads and dance in the streets. They carry baskets of oranges which they throw to the watching crowds.
In Germany, “fastnachts” were made and eaten. The word means “Fast Night” – or the beginning of the “fast” of Lent.
And in New Orleans everyone dresses up in costumes. Trinkets, especially beads and doubloons, are tossed to the crowds from the parade floats.
The Christian faithful have many different ways of recognizing the beginning of Lent. For some, they pulled out all the stops and did all their “sinning” and celebrating before the start of a time of fasting and repentance. For others of a more serious bent, they spent the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday confessing! For those, it wasn’t called “Fat” Tuesday, it was called “Shrove” Tuesday. Shrove means "to be forgiven one's sins."
The tradition behind all this conspicuous consumption comes from the observance of Lent when the faithful spent 40 days (except Sundays) preparing their hearts, minds and souls for the celebration of Easter. In earlier times those days were spent in solemn reflection, prayer and fasting – when no bright colors were worn, no parties were held, no marriages performed, no dancing, no singing, no alcohol, no sex and no meat or sweets were eaten! (No wonder it’s currently out of fashion – even for the pious faithful!) On “Fat Tuesday” the cupboards were stripped of sugar and fats which were considered “luxuries” as people entered into a period of introspection, confession and sacrifice. All of this to mirror the suffering of Christ and a re-enactment in the lives of Christians of the 40 days of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness.
Until refrigeration became common, there was no way to store any perishable food for the 40 days of Lent, so ALL had to be eaten before Ash Wednesday so as not to waste...and what better way to get rid of any extra food and drink than to have a party! Depending on the country of origin, Christians around the world used up their eggs, milk and butter (not to mention candy and alcohol!) Today, we continue some of those traditions -- although there meaning has been lost to most of us.
Aren't you glad we just make donuts??!!
Next week volunteers from Trinity will “pull an all-nighter” in order to make Fastnachts for sale. If you are not a native to Central Pennsylvania (like me!) you may be asking an obvious question: “What the heck are fastnachts – and what do they have to do with church?”
Well, it all goes back to the early church (doesn’t everything!) and some of the religious customs that developed over the centuries – but which have been clouded by time and changing traditions as time has gone by.
Let’s start with “Fat Tuesday”. Fat Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday… and if you know your high school French, you may know that Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday". The name comes from the ancient custom of parading a fat ox through Paris on this day. The ox was to remind the people that they were not allowed to eat meat during Lent. Lent runs from Ash Wednesday thru Easter Sunday.French people who came to the United States brought the custom of Mardi Gras with them. The most famous festival in the US (and perhaps the world) is in New Orleans, but Mardi Gras parades happen throughout the world:
In Southern Italy, people dress up in costumes and put on an ancient play during Mardi Gras
In Rio de Jeneiro, people dance in the streets for “Carni-Val” (Literal translation: “To “lift” or abstain from flesh”)
In Nice, France people wear giant masks in the Mardi Gras parade (it looks like a bunch of walking heads with tiny bodies).
In Binche, Belgium people dress in colorful clown costumes (the clowns are called gilles). The clowns wear bunches of ostrich feathers on their heads and dance in the streets. They carry baskets of oranges which they throw to the watching crowds.
In Germany, “fastnachts” were made and eaten. The word means “Fast Night” – or the beginning of the “fast” of Lent.
And in New Orleans everyone dresses up in costumes. Trinkets, especially beads and doubloons, are tossed to the crowds from the parade floats.
The Christian faithful have many different ways of recognizing the beginning of Lent. For some, they pulled out all the stops and did all their “sinning” and celebrating before the start of a time of fasting and repentance. For others of a more serious bent, they spent the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday confessing! For those, it wasn’t called “Fat” Tuesday, it was called “Shrove” Tuesday. Shrove means "to be forgiven one's sins."
The tradition behind all this conspicuous consumption comes from the observance of Lent when the faithful spent 40 days (except Sundays) preparing their hearts, minds and souls for the celebration of Easter. In earlier times those days were spent in solemn reflection, prayer and fasting – when no bright colors were worn, no parties were held, no marriages performed, no dancing, no singing, no alcohol, no sex and no meat or sweets were eaten! (No wonder it’s currently out of fashion – even for the pious faithful!) On “Fat Tuesday” the cupboards were stripped of sugar and fats which were considered “luxuries” as people entered into a period of introspection, confession and sacrifice. All of this to mirror the suffering of Christ and a re-enactment in the lives of Christians of the 40 days of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness.
Until refrigeration became common, there was no way to store any perishable food for the 40 days of Lent, so ALL had to be eaten before Ash Wednesday so as not to waste...and what better way to get rid of any extra food and drink than to have a party! Depending on the country of origin, Christians around the world used up their eggs, milk and butter (not to mention candy and alcohol!) Today, we continue some of those traditions -- although there meaning has been lost to most of us.
Aren't you glad we just make donuts??!!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Valentine's Day - Then and Now
Valentine's Day - Then and Now
On Sunday, for the “children’s time” I shared the story of the origins of Valentine’s Day – or rather, SAINT Valentine’s Day, its actual name. What we often think of as a “Hallmark Holiday” had its roots in the early Christian church and is today a “saints day” in the Catholic tradition. The story of St. Valentine goes like this:
In Rome in 270 AD, the Emperor Claudius II issued an edict forbidding marriage. (Just goes to show that politics hasn’t changed much over the millennia! Emperors could do such things in those days – and local and state governments are still continuing the practice today with same-sex couples!)
Claudius’s reasoning was a bit flawed -- he believed that married men made poor soldiers because they didn’t want to leave their families...and the empire needed soldiers, and so Claudius, never one to fear unpopularity, abolished the church’s rights to perform marriage ceremonies. That wasn’t too big a deal for the folks who practiced Paganism – they didn’t particularly need any outside influence to “couple up” and create a family -- but for Christians, who were taught by the Church that sex outside of the sacrament of marriage could land them in hell – it was a BIG deal!Naturally, the early Christian church had a bit of a problem with this edict, but the ties between “church and state” were close and many priests and bishops followed the government’s rules for fear of retribution.
However, one Bishop of Interanna (now Terni, Italy) by the name of Valentine, invited young lovers to come to him in secret, where he joined them in the sacrament of matrimony. (Even then there were clergy who were rebels!)Claudius learned of this “friend of lovers” as Valentine was called, and had him brought to the royal palace where he tried to convert Valentine to the Roman gods. Valentine would have none of it...and tried to convert Claudius to Christianity, Claudius didn’t take too well to Valentine’s evangelism and in retaliation sentenced him to death.While in prison awaiting his execution, poor Valentine fell in love with the blind daughter of the jailer. (A priest’s vow of chastity had not come into vogue yet.) According to legend, through his unswerving faith in God and his abiding devotion to his beloved, he miraculously restored her sight. He signed a farewell message to her before his execution with the phrase “from your Valentine”, a phrase that would long outlive its author. On February 14, 270 AD Valentine was clubbed, stoned, and beheaded by the Roman Empire.Later, Pope Gelasius (496 AD) would declare Valentine a martyr and a saint with his very own “Saint’s Day” - February 14 – and today we continue to remember our loved ones in honor of this Saint of the early Church.
Which brings me to the “today” part of this story. Evidently the religious and political communities haven’t learned much over the years because edits that keep lovers apart have never worked – and won’t work now or ever… and there will always be those who will stand on the side of the oppressed.
In celebration and recognition of good ole’ St. Valentine, I’ll be performing a Holy Union service on February 14 for two women who want to solemnize their commitment to each other and proclaim their love in front of friends and family.
St. Valentine – You Rock!
On Sunday, for the “children’s time” I shared the story of the origins of Valentine’s Day – or rather, SAINT Valentine’s Day, its actual name. What we often think of as a “Hallmark Holiday” had its roots in the early Christian church and is today a “saints day” in the Catholic tradition. The story of St. Valentine goes like this:
In Rome in 270 AD, the Emperor Claudius II issued an edict forbidding marriage. (Just goes to show that politics hasn’t changed much over the millennia! Emperors could do such things in those days – and local and state governments are still continuing the practice today with same-sex couples!)
Claudius’s reasoning was a bit flawed -- he believed that married men made poor soldiers because they didn’t want to leave their families...and the empire needed soldiers, and so Claudius, never one to fear unpopularity, abolished the church’s rights to perform marriage ceremonies. That wasn’t too big a deal for the folks who practiced Paganism – they didn’t particularly need any outside influence to “couple up” and create a family -- but for Christians, who were taught by the Church that sex outside of the sacrament of marriage could land them in hell – it was a BIG deal!Naturally, the early Christian church had a bit of a problem with this edict, but the ties between “church and state” were close and many priests and bishops followed the government’s rules for fear of retribution.
However, one Bishop of Interanna (now Terni, Italy) by the name of Valentine, invited young lovers to come to him in secret, where he joined them in the sacrament of matrimony. (Even then there were clergy who were rebels!)Claudius learned of this “friend of lovers” as Valentine was called, and had him brought to the royal palace where he tried to convert Valentine to the Roman gods. Valentine would have none of it...and tried to convert Claudius to Christianity, Claudius didn’t take too well to Valentine’s evangelism and in retaliation sentenced him to death.While in prison awaiting his execution, poor Valentine fell in love with the blind daughter of the jailer. (A priest’s vow of chastity had not come into vogue yet.) According to legend, through his unswerving faith in God and his abiding devotion to his beloved, he miraculously restored her sight. He signed a farewell message to her before his execution with the phrase “from your Valentine”, a phrase that would long outlive its author. On February 14, 270 AD Valentine was clubbed, stoned, and beheaded by the Roman Empire.Later, Pope Gelasius (496 AD) would declare Valentine a martyr and a saint with his very own “Saint’s Day” - February 14 – and today we continue to remember our loved ones in honor of this Saint of the early Church.
Which brings me to the “today” part of this story. Evidently the religious and political communities haven’t learned much over the years because edits that keep lovers apart have never worked – and won’t work now or ever… and there will always be those who will stand on the side of the oppressed.
In celebration and recognition of good ole’ St. Valentine, I’ll be performing a Holy Union service on February 14 for two women who want to solemnize their commitment to each other and proclaim their love in front of friends and family.
St. Valentine – You Rock!
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