Welcome
Each week one of our pastors or staff members writes a column observing what is going on in our congregation, the Church and the world, and offering reflections on the Christian life and faith. Through this series of columns, we hope to connect your and our story to the enduring story of Christ; to offer pastoral reflections on our ongoing congregational life and mission; to report on news of the Presbyterian Church and Church universal; and to invite further reflection and deeper discipleship. We welcome your comments and suggestions. In other words, our words here are an invitation to continue the conversation.
With the memory of last night’s smudge of ashes upon our foreheads, we have begun our journey into Lent. As the days lengthen into spring we are invited to reflect upon our humanity: our frailty and fallibility, our need for repentance and forgiveness.
God loves a parade! The Bible is full of them – throngs of people in procession rejoicing as they journey together.
Today an estimated two million people are flocking to Center City Philadelphia to stand shoulder to shoulder and cheer for the Eagles in the wake of their historic Super Bowl win. In the freezing cold? We pray for warmth. Free beer? We pray for safety. In such great number? We pray for a peaceful, as well as joyful, sense of community.
During my freshman year of college, I set out on a spiritual journey that is common to many people of faith. My studies and experiences led me to question some of the most basic assumptions posited by the religious worldview I inherited. By the time my junior year rolled around, I had tested the waters of almost every major faith tradition the world has to offer. It took me a while, but I eventually found a new home in the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Last Sunday we considered Jesus’ call to the first disciples, and this coming Sunday we will look at the very next gospel story about their going forth and joining Jesus in his healing ministry. The call to the disciples is immediately followed by their joining Jesus to spread the good news of God’s Kingdom. Discipleship is about both – responding to the call of Christ and doing the work of God in the world.
January for me, as for many people, is always a time of reflection and reorientation. A moment to consider the past year and goal setting and refocusing for the year ahead. Many Januarys, I have a hard time noticing any progress from where I might have been the previous year: sometimes in my personal reflections, or family reflections, faith reflections or even professional reflections. How could a whole year go by with little progress? Maybe you have experienced this as well. Some years I am just grateful that while there has been no progress, I have been able to stem the tide of regress.
When our middle schoolers crack open their social studies textbooks to the chapter on the Civil Rights Movement of the 20th century, they get a birds-eye view of the era that has shaped so much of modern life. One might come away from these chapters with the sense that history is lived in a vacuum; great heroes arising out of the blue, just in time to save the day.
Perhaps you are preparing to set out shoes for the kings to leave gifts or maybe even some grass or hay for their camels. Maybe the sweet smells of a King’s Cake or Epiphany Tart or Koningenbrood or any of a hundred different special desserts are wafting through your house. You may have memories of the initials “KMB” etched in chalk over a door frame, stars carried in processions, or windows kept open on a chilly morning.
