Walking with Jesus: Tuesday in Holy Week

O God, by the passion of your blessed Son

you made an instrument of shameful death

to be for us the means of life:

Grant us so to glory in the cross of Christ,

that we may gladly suffer shame and loss

for the sake of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ;

who lives and reigns with you

and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

AM Psalm 6, 12; PM Psalm 94

Jer. 15:10-21 + Phil. 3:15-21 + John 12:20-26

This Lent my intent was to attend Morning and Evening Prayer more frequently at St. Mary’s. I don’t know about you, but when I try to be more intentional about some spiritual practice, too often more and more obstacles seem to fall in my path.

I have a back up plan which I often do when I can’t join my brothers and sisters at St. Mary’s in the Prayer Garden for the daily office. It does connect me with brothers and sisters in the larger Anglican Communion. David Guthrie from the Anglican Church in New Zealand has a twice daily podcast of Morning and Evening Prayer. I download it and keep it ready on my ipod for when I’m driving during Morning or Evening Prayer at St. Mary’s.

The thing about our Holy Week walk with Jesus is to do something sometime. The thing is to find some pocket of time somewhere and do some spiritual practice. I think we start out with lofty plans, and when we fall short, too often dismiss the smaller moments of time that God gives us each day. In the same way that we love to have people we love be with us, a short visit better than no visit at all, God loves to have those God loves with God, and will always give us time for that visit, no matter how brief.

So if you haven’t taken time yet to say at least a small prayer, to read one verse of Scripture, the day isn’t over yet. In fact, if the last thing you do before you go to sleep tonight is to say a prayer and one verse of Scripture (even “Jesus wept,” or “God is love”)–then your day is better for it.

And after all, tomorrow is a brand new day to walk with God.

P.S. Tomorrow is Holy Wednesday, and we will celebrate Holy Eucharist with Healing at 9 AM. Please join us if you can.

Walking with Jesus: Monday in Holy Week

The Daily Office for Holy Monday:

AM Psalm 51:1-18(19-20); PM Psalm 69:1-23

Jer. 12:1-16 + Phil. 3:1-14 + John 12:9-19

There are occasions in the Church calendar when time becomes especially focussed. Holy Week, the last week of Lent and the week before Easter, gives each day of the week it’s own unique name–each day is that important. Yesterday was Palm Sunday. Today is Holy Monday. Tomorrow will be Holy Tuesday. The Church assumes that there will be daily worship, and even provides collects (prayers) and Scriptures for that day’s celebration of the Holy Eucharist. Although we didn’t celebrate Holy Eucharist at St. Mary’s today, those praying Morning and Evening Prayer can pray this day’s collect:

Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain,

and entered not into glory before he was crucified:

Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross,

may find it none other than the way of life and peace;

through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

I took today as my Sabbath, and so joined the other at home prayers and worshippers. I lit my candle and connected with all of us praying and worshipping at St. Mary’s and elsewhere.

I took a walk. I made gingerbread. I knitted. I cleaned off book shelves and took books to the Northwest Library for their Friends of the Library Book Sale. I wrote to a couple of friends. I took a nap. I looked ahead to the Scriptures for Maundy Thursday and spent quiet time reading and beginning to pray about the sermon I’ll preach that night. I prayed for my friends and family, and especially my family at St. Mary’s.

I’m mindful that most everyone in the parish had a day full of busy-ness. I’ll be joining them first thing tomorrow as the Holy Week push to Easter continues. But for now, I hold the parish in my heart and pray that they will each have moments of reaching out and grasping Jesus’ hand.

Another Holy Week

Today we begin another Holy Week. This is the one week in the year when the most important business at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Cypress, Texas is worship and prayer. Most everything else is suspended for this one week. This is the week that year after year, I invite all of us to walk intentionally day by day with Jesus. Knowing that some of us cannot get to St. Mary’s everyday for worship, we handed out wonderful beeswax candles made by the sisters of the Monastery of Saints Mary and Martha in South Carolina. Everyday, especially on the days they cannot join for worship at St. Mary’s, each family is invited to stop intentionally for prayer and worship and light the candle as a connection to the candles lit at the worship occurring at St. Mary’s. I’ll also be posting a daily blog to give us shared food for thought in our daily Holy Week worship.

As a beginning, here is the sermon that started us off on the Sunday of the Passion, Palm Sunday.

I want Jesus to walk with me

All along my pilgrim journey

Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me

In my trials, Lord, walk with me

 In my sorrows, Lord, walk with me

 In my troubles, Lord walk with me

Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me

Don’t we all want Jesus to walk with us?

Most of us know that Jesus is always walking with us. Always. I wonder. Does Jesus want us ever to walk with him?

This is the week that Jesus is kind of busy. Jesus is busy taking on the sin of the whole world. Feeding his disciples one last time, being betrayed, being arrested. Being denied, being beaten, being ridiculed. Having nails hammered into his hands and feet. Dying.

Jesus is very busy.

Today we read the Passion Gospel (Matthew 26.17–27.16), that last less than twenty four hours of so of Jesus’ life [before his resurrection]. Today, you, the congregation, read the part of Jesus. You will be hearing the Passion narrative from Jesus’ perspective.

As you read, notice who is walking with Jesus this week.

The disciples who are all with him when he is feeding them a meal.

The disciples who are all with him when they go out singing the last song.

The disciples who fall asleep when Jesus is praying.

Judas and Peter who betray and deny.

Caiphas and the other leaders of the temple who look for loop holes of blasphemy.

Pilate and the Roman guards who mock and beat and crucify.

The crowd who is….well caught up in being a crowd.

This is who is walking with Jesus this week.

So I wonder.

Since Jesus is pretty busy this week, on our behalf, could we walk with Jesus, and surround him with those who love and adore him? Not just for the meal and the song. We already walked into Jerusalem with him today having an awfully glad time. When it was easy.

Can we, not just today when it’s easy, this whole week long keep walking with him?

Yes, it’s not convenient. Sure it takes a little extra time and effort. I don’t think Jesus is looking for convenient in his life this week. I think Jesus is taking a lot of extra time and effort on our behalf this week.

So as you listen to the Passion Gospel. As you read the words of Jesus, imagine: Who is walking with Jesus? Who would he like to be walking with him? Who is surrounding Jesus? Who could make Jesus’ week more bearable by being with him?

I have a song that I think that Jesus might sing to us if Jesus were to sing to us:

I want you, to walk with me.

In my trials, please walk with me.

I want you, to walk with me.

In my betrayal, please walk with me,

In my arrest, please walk with me.

In the denying, please walk with me.

I want you to walk with me.

In my beating, please walk with me.

In my crucifixion, please walk with me.

In my aloneness, please walk with me.

I want you to walk with me.

AMEN

…and for the Diocese of Springfield

I had placed the Diocese of Springfield on St. Mary’s daily corporate prayer list when it was publicly announced that I was a candidate to be a candidate back in June. When I was not selected as a candidate at the Synod in August, I removed the intercession from our community prayer list (though I continued, and continue, to pray).

Except. It seems as many times as I remove the Diocese of Springfield from a corporate prayer list, it pops up on another. At our 8 Eucharist this morning, once again, in the Prayers of the People, as we prayed for the Church, there those Illinois clergy and people were again, as our Deacon Russ prayed, “…….and for the Diocese of Springfield.”

Since this week is when the three candidates will be walking about and meeting the folks in Springfield, I guess the Holy Spirit, once again, knew better than I did who St. Mary’s was to lift in prayer. After all, St. Paul did write in his epistle to the Christians gathered in Rome (Chapter 8):

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.

27And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Pray for Christ’s body, the Church, especially for the clergy and people of the Diocese of Springfield as they take counsel together to select the bishop whom God has already chosen.