Today I begin my Lenten journey. I have chosen to walk with the life and example of St. Anthony of Egypt (The Great) this season. I am inspired by his absolute fidelity to and communion with God. Like Moses, he found solice and the Presence of God in the deserts of Egypt. My prayer is that I may know but a small portion of that level of relationship with God. For more information, I recommend two sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_the_Great for general information on his life; and

www.newadvent.org/fathers/2811.htm for the classic text "The Life of St. Anthony" by St. Athanasius. (This is the text I have chosen to work with this Lent.)

One caution I would give about Lent is to be careful not to be so introspective as to be self-referential and narcisistic--which is always a danger in our overly individualized culture. Lent is not about self-reference, but about self-denial. Spiritual growth is not an end in itself; rather, we grow to be useful to the purposes of God and to the larger purpose of the whole Body of Christ--and that often comes at the expense of our own comfort and desires. Spiritual practice which serves the end of exalting the self and galvinizing rank individualism bears no real or lasing fruit. It springs up quickly, but having no roots, it quickly withers away beneath the scorching sun of life. This gets to the heart of Jesus' warnings against self-serving spiritual practice in Matthew 6 and Isaiah's call (Isaiah 58: 6-7), "Is not this the fast that I choose; to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin." Which we know from Matthew 25 is the highest manner in which we can personally and authentically serve Christ himself, as "inasmuch as we have done [these things] to the least of our brothers and sisters, we have done them unto [Christ]."
May God grant you a fruitful, revealing, and authentic season of Lent as we journey toward the Cross and the power of the resurrection.

Grace and Peace,

Mike+

Mistakes

It has been said that the greatest tragedy in the human experience is not so much sin but the failure to learn from sin. One author put it this way:

Mistakes+Intelligent Review (learning from them/reflection)=Success.

If we are human we will fail. St. Paul gets at this aspect of the human condition in Romans 7: 15, "I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate." The good news, as St. Paul goes on to assert in Romans Chapter 8, is that we can-- empowered by God--journey out from beneath the tyranny of the "flesh"--as St. Paul calls it--to the freedom of the Lordship of Jesus Christ. But, in the interim, what do we do when we stumble? We, with God's grace and help, pick ourselves up, confess our brokenness, reflect and learn, and grow through it. Here's a song that may help in the reflection:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=FU1UkZq55fI "What if I Stumble?" by D C Talk

Grace and Peace,

Mike+

The Sage of Lamberene

The following is a link to a video/musical presentation inspired by the life of Albert Schweitzer. Very inspiring. God bless!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTf3G3S6UZI

Grace and Peace,
Mike

The Fields of Athenry

Check this out. A friend got me hooked on this group, and particularly this song.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9InnXP64To

Mike+

Call and Response

The other morning, while sitting on my back porch enjoying a time of prayer, I noticed a call and response sound coming from the nearby woods--whether it was the sound of insects or birds I am not skilled enough to know. As one call would crescendo, then diminish, the other (bird or insect) would start up and follow the same sound pattern in response. When this sound ran its course, the other would response. This went on for the entire time of my prayers, forming a rhythmic pattern of call and response. It occurred to me that this is the nature of prayer. Too often, we see prayer as a one-way conversation rather than an ongoing rhythmic call and response throughout life. Perhaps this is what St. Paul meant when he spoke of unceasing prayer. Just a thought, but try listening!

Mike+

Perspective

I was visiting with a member of my congregation today when she related a story to me, the insight of which, was deeply profoud. A number of years ago, while with another member of the congregation on a youth outing at a retreat center and surrounded by the beauty of the hills of West Virginia, she couldn't help noticing how smudged and dirty the glass door of the center was. As she was thinking about this "problem", her friend remarked how beautiful the scenery was. Both were gazing through the same door. One saw the beauty and the other saw the smudges. She said, that was a lesson she has carried with her these many years. What's your perspective? It will make all the difference in the world.

Mike+

Please Don't Pull Up that Sunflower

Last summer I was leading a work team in a community home rehabilitation mission. It was the last stop of a long and hard day when we came to the home of an elderly woman needing some light lawn work done. We were weeding and mulching her flower garden. Beneath the bird feeder there had sprung up a volunteer sunflower. The woman of the house told me to just pull it up, it was just a volunteer. That year I had gone through some particularly difficult circumstances in my life and I had come to learn the sometimes some wonderful and beautiful unexpected blessings spring up in places and from sources we least expect. The lesson of this volunteer sunflower had not been lost to me. I asked the woman if we could leave it, explaining my observation. She said to me words to the effect, "Preacher, if you want it to stay there, then I'll keep it." I drove by a couple of more time that season and watched as that sunflower grew and flourished. Don't let its lesson be lost in your life. Look for life's unexpected blessings which can bloom and blossom even in difficult or completely unexpected circumstances.