Lent 2015: Week 5

SUNDAY, March 22 

THANK YOU!  Service: Send a Thank You Card

Psalm 138:1-2  MSG

Thank you!  Everything in me says ‘Thank you!’  Angels listen as I sing my thanks.  I kneel in worship facing your holy temple and say it again: ‘Thank you!’  Thank you for your love, thank you for your faithfulness….

            We cannot say this word often enough – to God and to each other.  Today’s service challenge is to send a thank you card.  Such a simple act, yet one when repeated on a regular basis can create an attitude of gratitude that can be life changing.  Multiple times to say thanks to God, multiple opportunities to say thank you to each other.

            Today in talking with my mother, I learned that her neighbor will be undergoing surgery tomorrow.  This neighbor has been a God-send to our family in looking out for my elderly mother, providing rides to town when necessary and in general serving as a surrogate daughter ‘in town’.  I think she will be the recipient of my thanks….as well as healing thoughts for her health.  

Monday, Mar 23   Prayer: GOD
Psalm 8:1 MSG 
God, brilliant Lord, yours is a household name.
      I confess.  This is a 'remake' of a GOD-Prayer I drew a couple years ago, reflecting on the Triune God - God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.  It incorporates many different faces of our God.  I added my daily prayers to the image this morning.

TUESDAY, March 24 

Service: Learn something new about a different culture

Ephesians 3:6 MSG

The mystery is that people who have never heard of God and those who have heard of him all their lives (what I’ve been calling outsiders and insiders) stand on the same ground before God.  They get the same offer, same help, same promises in Christ Jesus.  The Message is accessible and welcoming to everyone, across the board.

  

          Today’s Lenten challenge is a little different.  It calls for me to learn something new about a different culture, outsiders as the Message puts it.  Since it has been in the news a lot lately, I chose the country of Syria.   I know very little about this predominately Arab and Muslim country.  Here are a few of the ‘facts’ I gleaned from the internet:

• ·       Of the 23 million population, 74% are Sunni Muslims, 12% are the ruling Shite Muslims, and 10% are Christians.
• ·       The city of Aleppo may be the oldest continuously occupied city in the world, dating back to 6000 BC.
• ·       Syria gained its independence in 1946.
• ·       Current civil war began in 2011 when the government suppressed pro-democracy demonstrations.  The UN estimates 100,000 have been killed in the crisis.

            Insiders and Outsiders, Jews and Gentiles.  The divisions are strongly marked in the Old Testament, but the Gospel Message declares a new concept.  It is important for use even today to understand all cultures – inside and out.  

Wednesday, March 25 

Service: Learn and Share a New Lenten Custom

Psalm 96:4  MSG

For God is great, and worth a thousand Hallelujahs.

            This was a fascinating challenge as I discovered a Lenten custom, common in Catholic and Episcopal Churches, that I had never heard of before:  The Alleluia Egg and/or ‘Burying the Alleluia’!

            For starters, Alleluia is the Greek and Latin translation of the Hebrew Hallelujah.  The Bible probably uses the word Hallelujah much more often, but the meaning is the same: Praise God!  Alleluia itself is commonly associated with the Easter celebration and the many hymns and songs that proclaim Alleluia, Christ is Risen! 

            For Lent, the Alleluia is buried, figuratively and literally.  The word is not spoken, not in churches, not in homes.  Hymns with Alleluias are not sung.  An Alleluia banner may be buried, or the words to a song might be hidden, but it seems most often the Alleluia is hidden in the form of an egg – a beautifully decorated egg with the word written on it.  On Shrove Tuesday, during a Mardi Gras type celebration, Hallelujahs are proclaimed joyfully, gradually lowering to a whisper as the egg (or symbol) is hidden or buried.  It remains suppressed throughout Lent.  And then….on Easter morning, the Alleluia returns in celebration of the resurrection.  In some cultures, the child who finds the hidden egg on Easter gets a special sweet treat baked for the occasion. 

THURSDAY, March 26  Prayer: MERCY
Luke 1:50 MSG
His mercy flows in wave after wave on those who are in awe before him...

Mercy and Grace.  We hear these words of comfort constantly throughout the Old and New Testaments.  Just what do they mean?  What is the difference between the two?  Mercy is defined as compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm.  Mercy is deliverance from God's judgment.  It figures extensively in the Old Testament.  Grace, on the other hand, is defined more as extending kindness to the unworthy, the free and unmerited favor of God.  Grace is more common perhaps in the New Testament.  Some modern theologians argue that we are more of a GRACE-filled faith now as we seek the "Good Guy God" rather than the MERCIFUL God of the Old Testament who rendered judgment when judgment was due.  
          The scripture is an excerpt from Mary's Song following the knowledge that God is blessing her with the birth of His son.  I rather liked the sense of 'wave upon wave of mercy'.  I like the idea of a God who has the capacity to punish, but chooses instead to shower us with mercy and grace.  Amen. 

FRIDAY, March 27  Fasting:  No Social Media/Blogging
Proverbs 26:22 MSG
Listening to gossip is like eating cheap candy; do you want junk like that in your belly? 
      Sometimes social media is used for nothing more than idle gossiping, passing on inane stories and jokes, or sharing information that is not based in truth.  This is the kind I will fast from today.  And just to be sure...my challenge is to go a whole day WITHOUT checking my Facebook page or posting to my blogs.  So,....in preparation, I am writing this particular blogpost a day early!  

       Social media, whether FB, instangram, Twitter, Blogger, or whatever can become addictive.  It can pull one in and use time that could be an opportunity to make space for God.  Perhaps the key today will be to used those moments when I might have logged in to social media to log in to God instead - in a deliberate, intentional manner.  

Saturday, March 28  Reflection: GOD-GLANCING

2 Corinthians 4:18 MSG

The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.

Hebrews 12:2 MSG

Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in.

            Keep our eyes on God, on Christ – that is our reminder if we wish to live a life of unceasing prayer according to Sue Monk Kidd in the latest chapter I’ve read from God’s Joyful Surprise.  Kidd refers to this as taking loving glances at God constantly throughout the day.  Small events or moments might be the tangible reminders of the intangible presence of God.  The chiming of a clock, repeated trips up stairs, a bracelet around our wrist, a cross on the wall, the melody of a particular bird – all might be reminders to take a moment and focus on God;  to FEEL God’s presence in that moment. 

            This reminds me somewhat of the Joshua stones, reminders of God’s power and acts to the Hebrew people.  Or the Hebrew custom of touching the door lintel as they enter a house, a tangible touch of God’s presence.  What might I establish (or already find present) in my home and life that will cause me to stop and remember God’s presence, faithfulness, and action in my life?  We fill our homes with ‘things’ that are special to us.  How much of that ‘stuff’ reminds us of God? And if it does cause us to take a glance at the Holy, do we pause?  Do we remember?  Or does our reminder fade away into the jumble of clutter, the chaos of everyday life? 

            What causes me to repeatedly give God a glance?  How can I improve my focus?

PS.  Several days ago I wrote about the Alleluia egg as a Lenten custom with which I wasn’t familiar.  Now, for the life of me, I cannot find WHERE on the Lenten calendar I saw the suggestion to learn a new Lenten custom.  It just isn’t there!  Not for that particular day or ANY day!  God? Are you speaking to me?  Shall I make an Alleluia egg?  

Copyright Traci Smith 2015 www.traci-smith.com LENTEN PRACTICES CALENDAR FOR FAMILIES:  These activities are based around the traditional 'Three Pillars' of Lent: Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving or Service.  The pillars are rotated throughout Lent with simple activities.  On the prayer days, use the word provided to inspire a prayer you write, draw, or sing.  All of the activities are suggestions.  Modify as necessary or desired!