The End of the Beginning: For All the Saints...

In November, I started a new series to explore the interplay between endings and beginnings. For many churches in the Western tradition that follow the common church year, the first Sunday in Advent is also the beginning of the new church year. This is when we reset our calendars so to speak. The lectionary starts over with a new cycle of readings. We return to the same pattern of celebrations and holy days that we have seen before.

So the month of November marks an ending of sorts in the life of the church. But it is not the ultimate end. It is really more the end of the beginning of things. There is more to come. 

On this first Sunday of the series, we take a look at 1 John 3:1-3 as we look back at those who have come before. We remember the saints that have modeled love and faithfulness for us, that have made it possible for us to do the same for others. We look back as a way of seeing what is to come.

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The End of the Beginning: What God Will Do

This week, I continue to reflect on what it means to come to the end of the beginning. As one liturgical year draws to a close and another is set to begin, how do we live into the promises of all that God has promised? Looking to Isaiah 65:17-25 and examples from movies and song, we consider what the kingdom that God looks like and how we begin to live into all that God has promised.

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As we continue toward the end of the liturgical year, as we draw closer to the cycle once again starting over at the beginning of the Jesus story, we are reminded not only of all that God has done, but also all that God will do. As we touched on last week, though we are coming to an end, it is only the end of the beginning. While much has been accomplished, there is still more to do.

This is part of what I love about the structure of the church year. The church year is a circle that constantly repeats itself. We start the year leading up to the birth of Jesus. Then Jesus is born and begins to be known to the world. Then we come to another season of preparation as we focus on repentance and renewing our relationship with God before we celebrate the fulfillment of God’s love in the Resurrection. Then we settle into a time of growth as we reflect on all of the teachings that Jesus shared with his disciples and others along the way before coming full circle to start back over at the beginning.

So in November each year, we approach the end. But we also recognize that the life of Jesus and the work of those first disciples was only the beginning.

The End of the Beginning: What God Has Done

The liturgical year flows in a circle that constantly repeats itself. Over the course of each year, we take ourselves from the beginning of the Jesus story -- the one foretold by the prophets who has been here, who is risen, and who is still to come -- to the end of that story. We start this year off waiting for the birth of a baby, and we end up this year recognizing the kingship of that same child now risen to glory. For those of us that claim Christ, the story of Jesus' earthly ministry is only the beginning.

So we head into these last few weeks looking back so that we might see the path ahead. Drawing a bit on the structure of the liturgical year and a bit on Psalm 145 (see Psalm 145:1-5, 17-21), we consider what God has done, what that tells us about who God is, and what that means for what is to come.

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Songs for the Journey - The Ascension

As we approach the celebration of Jesus' post-resurrection ascension this week, I have been thinking about the way this would have affected both Jesus and his disciples. Beyond what we obviously have in our texts, what would they have had to say to each other? The relationship between Jesus and the various disciples was more than simply that of student and teacher. Through their time together, they became friends, even family.

Surely they would have had more to say to one another than a blessing and a command to share what they have learned. Even Yoda had more to say to Luke than "When gone am I, the last of the Jedi will you be. Pass on what you have learned." What other words or wishes would have passed between them?

Recently, a new song from Mumford and Sons has caught my ear. In this song, "Beloved," the songwriter is reflecting on his experience of being in the room when his grandmother had passed away. He is reflecting on that sense of loss, the grief that comes when someone you love dies.

Songs for the Journey - The Annunciation (or, God Does a New Thing...Again)

As I continue to listen and look for the theological themes in our everyday lives, as I listen for the words of God hidden in the mostly mundane soundtrack that many of us have playing in the background of our day to day existence, a particular chorus has been catching my ear lately. The song is Happier by Marshmello and Bastille.

Part of the reason it has caught my ear is just because it sounds upbeat and fun. But every time I hear the beginning of the song, I think about God's response to the world and God's decision to come down as Jesus to show us a new way to live.

"Lately, I've been, I've been thinking/
I want you to be happier, I want you to be happier."

From Celebration to Devastation

As I read the scripture passages for this week, my first thought was that I really wanted to do something with the naked man. This is my favorite text of the arrest of Jesus in the garden because of his appearance. I really wanted to do something about us being laid bare before God or maybe even something about the beginnings of the return to Eden.

But then I thought maybe I should do something about being an ass for Jesus. I really got caught up on the donkey that Jesus rides into town on Palm Sunday in certain Gospel stories. What does it mean to take a lowly place in the story to glorify God? On the other hand, why do so many of those who claim to serve God act like an ass?

But as I worked on an idea for the service this week, I was struck yet again by the flow of this particular Sunday. In many churches, this is not just Palm Sunday but Palm/Passion Sunday. We go from the triumphant entry into Jerusalem straight through Gethsemane and into the arrest, the trial, and the Crucifixion. There is a lot packed into this service.

Disruptive Discords: On Leave Taking and Transitions

It has been a while since I have posted here. A sudden move across the country and an extended period of liminality have left me somewhat bereft of words. As this initial year of transition draws to a close, I finally find myself with things to say.

I moved to Evanston, IL, in September 2001 to attend Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. I had never visited campus, never even been to the Chicago-area. But for most of the past 16+ years, Garrett-Evangelical has been my home. It was the first place I truly considered home after moving out of the home I grew up in.

I entered seminary knowing I was called by God to, well, something other than what I had been doing. But I was also fairly certain I could never be like the "preachers" I was familiar with from growing up in the church in the South. As I began my classes and began to reflect on what it meant to be called, two things happened. I began to recognize the echoes of that call in my own life going back at least into high school and to understand the ways in which the stories and rhythms of Jesus' life were woven into my own. And I began to see different models for ministry beyond those I was familiar with.

Songs for the Journey - Second Sunday of Easter

Last week's post is a bit late. With apologies to Neil Diamond and The Monkees...

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I thought love was only true in fairy tales/Meant for someone else but not for me/Love was out to get me/That's the way it seemed/Disappointment haunted all of my dreams

The disciples are gathered behind locked doors - scared, demoralized, uncertain. They thought they understood who Jesus was. He was the Messiah. The Messiah was supposed to deliver Israel from slavery. He was going to lead the revolt against the occupying powers. But three days ago, the religious leaders handed him over to the authorities and he was executed.

As if that wasn't enough, Mary Magdalene told them this crazy story earlier today about seeing Jesus in the garden. Surely she was delirious with her grief; they were especially close after all. But John and Peter had run off afterwards and seemed pretty shaken when they came back.

Songs for the Journey - Maundy Thursday

Nine years ago, I did a blog series through Lent called "Songs for the Journey." A few years earlier, my wife's seminary roommate had given her a mix-CD labeled "Happy Advent." It started this tickle in my brain - what would a Lenten mix sound like?

Then about 9 years ago while worship planning, I came across a list of themes for the different weeks of Lent. As I read through them songs started popping into my head that for me spoke to those themes and a series was born.

As I continue this new blog, I draw on the liturgical and lectionary themes each week and consider songs, movies, TV shows, and other contemporary resources to bring out the themes I encounter. I had not intended to necessarily recreate that original blog series, but sometimes my mind wanders back to revisit those themes.

You Can't Skip The Empire Strikes Back

Traditionally, the last Sunday before Easter has been known as Palm Sunday. This Sunday at the end of Lent is a time for celebrating the final entry of Jesus into Jerusalem before his death. As Jesus and his disciples enter town others spread their cloaks and palm branches along the road to welcome them.

For the disciples, things go downhill pretty quickly from here. The story leads next into the Last Supper (Maundy Thursday), Jesus' arrest and crucifixion (Good Friday), and the tomb. Yes, Easter is on the other end of that. But they didn't know that as they walked into town. They didn't know that as they shared a meal. They didn't know that as armed men took Jesus away. They didn't know that as Jesus was questioned by the authorities. They didn't know that as their Messiah/teacher/friend suffered on the cross. They didn't know.