Well it’s the first Monday of Lent, 2012.  How are you doing on your Lenten Disciplines?  Usually most folks find this to be the best day of the seasons as far as practicing whatever discipline(s) one may have chosen to follow.  For some whom the season “snuck up on” and they missed the start last week, they were renewed and reminded yesterday that yes indeed the season is at hand.  And even for those who did start on Ash Wednesday, the extra boost on Sunday, either via the Pastor’s reminder or sibling encouragement, helps make this day one where we’re all dedicated to really making it this year!

I’d like to share a couple of thoughts about the practices of Lenten “disciplines.”  Although they are identified in various ways, some folks recognizing three, some four, the three that most people agree upon are: fasting, prayer and alms giving.  These three are of course rooted in the Ash Wednesday assigned Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) text from Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21.  If you read those verses again you’ll see at least one thing Jesus makes clear in all three practices.  Beware of your piety!  Watch out for your underlying rational and motives for doing what you are doing.  If you are doing them to make yourself feel good or to please others or to be praised by others, then you’re probably missing the point of it all.  Another thing you will notice about these practices as described by Jesus (and one of the things we probably forget is that Jesus didn’t tell folks, “You only need to do these things during Lent.”) is that they do not necessarily carry a penitent nature to them.  But rather, it seems to me, and I believe as others have  espoused, these practices provide an avenue by which we can draw closer to God.  Hear again how Jesus ends each of his instructions: “and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”  (Of course for my Lutheran brothers and sisters they may get alarmed that I am suggesting a form of “works righteousness” – you do these and then God treats you special.)  But that is not my point.  I think the point is that, in a very real and practical way, the more time and effort we put into alms giving, prayer and fasting, the more the Holy Spirit will work in us and through us, drawing us ever closer and building a stronger relationship between us and God.

My final thought on this subject for this morning may help to clarify the works righteousness comment above.  Just as I said at the beginning, that today is one of the best days to be spot on, most of us live with the reality that it is hard to “keep up the good work” all the way through these 40 days.  Most of us will miss a day or two.  Some of us at the end of the 40 days will look back and be forced to say, “shucks, I didn’t do so well this year.”  (And maybe some others will even add, “again!”)  But regardless of how well we do or do not do at keeping our Lenten disciplines, hear this sisters and brothers, Jesus loves you none the less!

So I hope all of you will have a GREAT Lenten journey this year, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts and reflections.

Blessings.

Pastor David.

Then last Monday, on the way to work, I witnessed something very disturbing.  A lady was crossing a side street in a motorized wheelchair.  As she was crossing from my right to left I was a couple of cars back from her.  Up in front of me, the lead vehicle in the group of cars I was in, was a pick-up truck.  It, like all of us had to slow down for her to finish crossing the street, but much to my shock and dismay, the pick-up driver laid on his horn just as the lady was crossing in front of his vehicle.  Now why in the world?!  It was just pure meanness.  I was very upset.  I even drove out of my way to see where the pick-up was going – and wondering, should I get out of my car and say something to him.  A lot went through my head in a couple of minutes:  would I be in danger, what would I say, would it do any good?  I decided to drive on by.  Maybe some of you could tell me what you think.  Should I have said something or not?

A great week ahead.  I’m going to have a chance to go to Richmond to talk with members of our state legislation.  I’ve never been there before so I’m really looking forward to it.  We’ll see how it goes.

Also a reminder to all that STLC is having a Mardi Gras fund raiser dinner at the church this Saturday, Feb 18, beginning at 5 PM.  Hope many of you can make it.  Our youth are working on raising money for their trip this summer to New Orleans to be part of the National Youth Gathering – a wonderful faith formation event.

In closing, I invite your comments; please feel welcome to write any time.

Blessings and have a good week!

Pastor David

Well for me, I’m done!  Or at least from this day forward, I’m going to make every effort I can to rid myself of this disease.  I mean REALLY, your just kidding!  Well if you were just kidding, then why did you say it in the first place?  And is that the best we can do for and with one another, just kidding!?

You may be thinking to yourselves, what got Pastor David so steamed-up about such a trivial issue?  Well I guess the answer is that all too often when I hear this comments – and even more so, when I’ve said them myself, I sense there is, if not some drop of truthful feelings behind them, certainly a ring of sarcasm.  And so I ask again, “just kidding” is that the best we can do for one another?

And now here’s my reason for giving up this little practice.   It comes from the fourth chapter of the book of Ephesians, verses 29 – 32:

“Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear.  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption.  Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.” (NRSV)

“Only what is useful in building up, … so that your words may give grace to those who hear,” and “be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.”  Well it just seems to me that “just kidding” and especially the words that just preceded those coming out of our mouths, probably weren’t “useful in building up” the body of Christ.  Rather they were probably words that did more harm than good – and that’s, “NO KIDDING!”

Well, I’m out of the office today – actually visiting with my mother, but thought I’d take a minute or two to write. I’m also doing this on my iPad which still remains a novelty to me… not to mention somewhat of a challenge! But I’m learning!

I’d like to mention two items today. The first is a great big public “thank you” to Wally Erb for his support and guiding help with St Timothy’s website as we worked to make some adjustments, and hopefully some improvements. Our greatest accomplishment, in my humble opinion, was the insertion of our Google calendar as a page on the website. It seems to be working out “fabulously” and should prove to be much easier to keep up. So thanks much Wally for all of your help!

The second item is also a thank you, this time to Lutheran Family Services of Virginia (LFSVA), but especially to one of their finest workers, Ms Ellen Bushman! As a quick history note, last year, in the fall, just before the Human Warmth fund was due to get started, Ellen was thrust into the position to lead the program, one which offers financial assistance to those in greatest need within our communities. She did a marvelous job! This year she has returned to lead the effort, making it bigger and better than last year, for which we are all very thankful. But of particular note was the VERY successful FIRST Annual “Chilly” cook-off which she organized and brought together with the help of her small but dedicated group of volunteers. It was a tremendous success bringing together representatives – that is either cooks or eaters – from at least six of our local Lutheran congregations as well as several non-Lutheran supporters. Considering she had no previous experience with such an activity, I think she did a “fabulous” job. So great big thanks to Ellen and LFSVA for all they do!

Guess will call it quits for today… I still have to see if I can figure out how to get this posted on the website. Until next time…

Blessings and Peace to you all.

Pastor David

The assigned Psalm for yesterday was select verses out of Psalm 139, one of my favorites; so I’d like to continue some reflections on this wonderful psalm this morning.

One of our dear associate members who is a regular at our Wednesday morning Searchers group was personally pondering the same question that the psalmist in Psalm 8:4 put forth:

“what are human beings [who am I] that you are mindful of them [me],
mortals that you care for them?”

And I suppose had I thought of it at the time I could have responded with vs 5:

“Yet you have made them [me] a little lower than God,
and crowned them [me] with glory and honor.”

Maybe next time I will.  But on this occasion the first thing that came to mind was some of the verses from Psalm 139 – verses that to me, express how deeply God knows and cares for each one of us.  Beginning right from verse 1:

“O Lord, you have searched me and know me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from far away.
You search out my path and my lying down,
and are acquainted with all my ways,
Even before a word is on my tongue,
O Lord, you know it completely.”  (vs 1-4)

That’s pretty intimate!  And I suppose it can be both a welcome message and a scary message, depending on one’s life situation.  If one is unsure of God’s presence and feeling alone, I think one would find it very comforting to know that God knows us that well.  On the other hand, as I’ve stated before, if one thinks life is going pretty well and that we don’t want God to be “too close,” then this kind of intimate knowledge could be a  little frightening.

The psalmist goes on to say in vs 13-14:

“For it was you who formed my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are you works; that I know very well.”

So not only is God’s knowledge of us intimate, it is everlasting, from beginning to end.  God knows us and loves us.  And for this, the psalmist helps us express a proper response, “I praise you!”

Well, back to our Searchers friend.  She stopped me after worship yesterday and commented that she now heard the message of Psalm 139 loud and clear.  For you see, not only did she hear it in class on Wednesday, but she read it again on Friday, January 12, since it was the assigned reading for in the daily devotional, Christ In Our Home, which many of us at St. Timothy use, as well as hearing it again yesterday!  Sounds to me like she may have experienced her own “Spirit sighting” – our living God at work in the world today!

Knowing how wonderfully each and every one of us are made and how much God loves and cares for us through a deep, intimate relationship, let us offer praise and thanksgiving this week to our loving and merciful God!

Blessings to you all,

Pastor David
(All Scripture references are from the NRSV)

It is a new year and an new time in my life and in the life of St. Timothy’s congregation.  So, “Be It Resolved” that Pastor David is committing to a weekly Monday blog.

For this first blog, I think I will limit my comments to the OUTSTANDING day we had yesterday at St Timothy Lutheran Church (STLC).  In addition to good attendance at worship we had some new faces, but we also had GREAT attendance at the AED training, coordinated by our congregation President, Diane McClain.  (Thanks again, Diane!)  At the suggestion of Dr. Charlie Wilkes, congregation Treasurer, we purchased an AED earlier this fall and now have about 30 some folks who have received training on how to use it!  All good stuff!

Another thought is that a “short” summary of the sermon highlights might be in order for these Monday reflections.   We of course celebrated the Baptism of Our Lord on Sunday; so the proclamation carried a baptismal thread, but what I tried to emphasize the most was the importance of the gifting of the Holy Spirit which we receive in our Baptisms.  I reminded the congregation that the POWER of the Holy Spirit that we have comes from the same Holy Spirit that blew over the waters at creation, and that as 2 Tim 1:7 reminds us, “… God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love…”  (NRSV), which means we have the POWER to do everything…. in love.  Oh, I also reminded the children that just as God called Jesus his beloved son, they are God’s beloved as well.  And from it all we got the whole, “comma, child of God” thing going…  I wouldn’t be surprised to see “,” t-shirts before long!

Blessings to all; see you next week.

Pastor David