Bible Challenge
Clergy Meditation
February 13, 2012
Ash Wednesday
Reflection: Mark 5-Ash Wednesday
This reflection is written for all, but especially for our clergy as we enter into the Season of Lent.
Events of worthy note create emails that find their way to our inbox. The more attention-grabbing the topic the more our inbox is filled with thoughts, opinions and questions. That is until the incident fades in the memories of those who thought it significant. Eventually the emails are either discarded or saved. I saved the many emails collected after my mother-in-law’s death this past July.
It may be a big stretch to employ the email as a metaphor to the role of Jesus in our lives. But, let’s stretch for a moment. It’s good for the posture. It’s good for the soul.
Aren’t our thoughts and even our hearts afire when a miraculous act of Grace happens in our lives, or the lives off those we love and serve? When ministry is overflowing with much success and when life is good at home and in the parish, we are well pleased and give thanks and praise to the One who has enabled it all. “Yeah, Jesus!” is our voice of praise.
We observe in Mark, Chapter 5, Jesus healing the man with a very bad case of demonic possession, a dad who deeply feared the death of his beloved daughter, and a woman who was so ill from hemorrhaging that she found her last hope in the touch of a garment worn by a man she didn’t know. It is likely that we each have ministered to folks suffering from similar agonies. If they were healed, “Yeah, Jesus!” was their shout of joy. But, how long did they continue their desire to follow their Healer? For most, until the event of the restoration was soon a distant recollection and their praise a faint emotion. Rather like the emails that find their way into the user’s trash box.
The Gospel from this First Sunday in Lent puts “email theology” into right perspective, I think. Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, goes into the wilderness to test his love of the Father. Talking about “hot news”, Jesus was promised the world! This would have been something to email home. It would certainly go viral. Jesus however knew that Satan’s sweet offerings were just a façade, a tickling of the senses and a buttress for a wounded ego seeking purpose. Eventually, they would loose their significance, returning to the dust from which they were fashioned. The perennial delete delete.
The earthly focus of Jesus was the intimacy of the Love relationship from which He came and whose purpose it was for Him to be among us. It is this same love of God who calls us each by name and who has set us aside to be leaders in Christ’s Church. We have said “Yes” and taken upon ourselves a really tough job. We’re sales representatives for the Person whose lifestyle was perfectly committed to the will of Divine Love. We are charged to point the way beyond the sensational, beyond the trappings, beyond the self-serving interests of our desires and to the Loving heart of God who is eternal and “non-deletable”.
I’m confident we are all prepared for Lent. During this Season it is good to remember that God, usually, does not come to us in exciting occurrences such as a great and strong wind, an earthquake, or even a fire. Rather, he often comes to us in a still small voice. (IKings19:11) As Lent leads into Easter it will demand so much of the sensational from us. My hope is we each remember to daily be with Jesus in the quietness of our closet. It is from this spiritually, grounded relationship that you and I are empowered to point the way to Jesus.
It is my personal desire that the Season of Lent serve as a framework to deepen the spiritual journey into the Heart of Christ for those I serve and myself. Joel and Matthew our assigned readings for today suggest a path inward. Their guidelines are to pray, fast, repent, mourn and weep. Seriously think about how each of these suggested “sites” will lead us into the Heart of Christ. At first glance most persons would not want to click on them: not very sensational. However, if we enter into one or more with a prayerful and faithful heart… their benefit is worth saving for eternity.
May you and yours have a holy and fruitful Lent.
The Reverend Bernard J. Pecaro
St. Martin, Pompano Beach
Clergy Meditation
February 13, 2012
Ash Wednesday
Reflection: Mark 5-Ash Wednesday
This reflection is written for all, but especially for our clergy as we enter into the Season of Lent.
Events of worthy note create emails that find their way to our inbox. The more attention-grabbing the topic the more our inbox is filled with thoughts, opinions and questions. That is until the incident fades in the memories of those who thought it significant. Eventually the emails are either discarded or saved. I saved the many emails collected after my mother-in-law’s death this past July.
It may be a big stretch to employ the email as a metaphor to the role of Jesus in our lives. But, let’s stretch for a moment. It’s good for the posture. It’s good for the soul.
Aren’t our thoughts and even our hearts afire when a miraculous act of Grace happens in our lives, or the lives off those we love and serve? When ministry is overflowing with much success and when life is good at home and in the parish, we are well pleased and give thanks and praise to the One who has enabled it all. “Yeah, Jesus!” is our voice of praise.
We observe in Mark, Chapter 5, Jesus healing the man with a very bad case of demonic possession, a dad who deeply feared the death of his beloved daughter, and a woman who was so ill from hemorrhaging that she found her last hope in the touch of a garment worn by a man she didn’t know. It is likely that we each have ministered to folks suffering from similar agonies. If they were healed, “Yeah, Jesus!” was their shout of joy. But, how long did they continue their desire to follow their Healer? For most, until the event of the restoration was soon a distant recollection and their praise a faint emotion. Rather like the emails that find their way into the user’s trash box.
The Gospel from this First Sunday in Lent puts “email theology” into right perspective, I think. Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, goes into the wilderness to test his love of the Father. Talking about “hot news”, Jesus was promised the world! This would have been something to email home. It would certainly go viral. Jesus however knew that Satan’s sweet offerings were just a façade, a tickling of the senses and a buttress for a wounded ego seeking purpose. Eventually, they would loose their significance, returning to the dust from which they were fashioned. The perennial delete delete.
The earthly focus of Jesus was the intimacy of the Love relationship from which He came and whose purpose it was for Him to be among us. It is this same love of God who calls us each by name and who has set us aside to be leaders in Christ’s Church. We have said “Yes” and taken upon ourselves a really tough job. We’re sales representatives for the Person whose lifestyle was perfectly committed to the will of Divine Love. We are charged to point the way beyond the sensational, beyond the trappings, beyond the self-serving interests of our desires and to the Loving heart of God who is eternal and “non-deletable”.
I’m confident we are all prepared for Lent. During this Season it is good to remember that God, usually, does not come to us in exciting occurrences such as a great and strong wind, an earthquake, or even a fire. Rather, he often comes to us in a still small voice. (IKings19:11) As Lent leads into Easter it will demand so much of the sensational from us. My hope is we each remember to daily be with Jesus in the quietness of our closet. It is from this spiritually, grounded relationship that you and I are empowered to point the way to Jesus.
It is my personal desire that the Season of Lent serve as a framework to deepen the spiritual journey into the Heart of Christ for those I serve and myself. Joel and Matthew our assigned readings for today suggest a path inward. Their guidelines are to pray, fast, repent, mourn and weep. Seriously think about how each of these suggested “sites” will lead us into the Heart of Christ. At first glance most persons would not want to click on them: not very sensational. However, if we enter into one or more with a prayerful and faithful heart… their benefit is worth saving for eternity.
May you and yours have a holy and fruitful Lent.
The Reverend Bernard J. Pecaro
St. Martin, Pompano Beach
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