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Day 2 (March 10, 2011)

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Lenten Meditations 2012

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Downtown Holy Week Services

During Holy Week, churches in the downtown area will hold a mid-day service and lunch. Except on Friday, services begin at noon with lunch following. The suggested donation for lunch is $5.

Monday, April 2: First Baptist - Noon

Tuesday, April 3: First Presbyterian - Noon

Wednesday, April 4: Central Christian - Noon

Thursday, April 5: Maundy Thursday evening services at various churches

Friday, April 6: St. Paul’s Episcopal - 11:30 a.m. lunch, Noon worship service

Day 2 (March 10, 2011)

Psalms 37; Deut. 7:6-11; Titus 1:1-16; John 1:29-34

When I first read Psalms 37 I didn't see any connection to my life. In the Psalm, David is beset and threatened by his enemies. They seem to be getting all the glory while he struggles to do what is right. I don't have enemies like David -- people who seek to harm me. But as I thought about my life, I recognized that my enemies are in my own heart and spirit -- those "enemies" of pride, self-indulgence, and self importance.

David reminds himself and us that our efforts to combat our enemies, while not trivial, still depend on God:

  • Trust in the Lord, and do good;

  • Dwell in the land, and cultivate faithfulness. (verse 3)

But we don't just need to trust in God. While we are encouraged to "trust" we are also encouraged to "do good." Trusting is only half; "doing good" is the outcome of our trust. The other bit of advice I found helpful was to "dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness." When times are bad, we don't go looking for something better. We look for the ways to do the long-term work (cultivating, after all, takes months of time) we find before us.

I don't read Psalm 37 often, but the same ideas are part of our liturgy every Sunday. In our prayer after Communion we ask, "Send us now into the world in peace and grant us strength and courage to love and serve you with gladness and singleness of heart." This prayer gives me a great deal of comfort as I face the work I have been given to do. Like David in his situation, we must trust God who gives us strength and courage and we must serve.

Posted on Thu, March 10, 2011 by Lenten Meditations filed under

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2012 Lenten Series

Our Lenten observances this year include daily Morning and Evening Prayer and Stations of the Cross. I encourage you to deepen your Lenten experience by participating in these worship services as you are able. The heart of our Lenten observance is the teaching series on Wednesday evenings. This year's series is entitled "Finishing Well."

This year's series focuses on the questions: What does it mean to finish well? What steps must we take to prepare for our deaths? These are important questions for Christians to ponder -- both young and old.

The first two weeks (February 29 and March 7) will be led by Dr. Cynthia Crysdale, Professor of Christian Ethics and Theology at the School of Theology at The University of the South in Sewanee. Dr. Crysdale will teach us about the theological underpinnings of Finishing Well.

Week three (March 14) will be led by Jim Dooley, Director of Concord Baptist Senior Adult Program and founder and director of Senior Connections. Mr. Dooley will give us an overview of caregiving for our loved ones and a program he is developing entitled "It's about Time."

Week four (March 21) will feature two of our bright young attorneys, Theodore Goodman and Jeremy Cothern, who will lead us through the legal essentials of finishing well.

Fr. Polk and Fr. Colin will finish up in week five (March 28) as we plan our own funeral services.

The series will begin on Wednesday, February 29 and run for five consecutive Wednesday evenings. A soup supper will be served beginning at 5:30 pm. There is a small charge for supper. A brief liturgy begins at 6:15 p.m. in St. Andrew's Chapel followed by the teaching series. We will be finished no later than 7:15 p.m. Child care is available.

While we often put off or resist thinking about our mortality, Lent is an appropriate time to learn, both theologically and practically, how to "Finish Well."