Reflection for the 2nd Sunday of Lent – 2014

WeWillBeChanged

He saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to his own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began, but now made manifest through the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus, who destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

The Lord appeared in all His heavenly glory before three chosen Apostles at the Transfiguration.

Just a short time before Jesus had asked His disciples, “Who do the people say that I am?” And they answered, “John the Baptist; but others say, Eli’jah; and others, that one of the old prophets has risen.”

The Church Fathers tell us that the primary purpose of this Transfiguration was to clarify, for them, Who and What He is – God come to earth. It was also to reassure them.

Jesus knew the suffering, pain, humiliation, and disgrace He was about to face. He would be whipped and spit on, nailed naked to a tree in front of the entire city, His mother, brothers, and sisters. And, He would die. If He had not provided this glimpse of heaven, of Himself, His followers would have been completely crushed.

To further strengthen them they heard the voice of the Father – “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

Going forth from that mountain Peter and James and John had a lot to think about. So do we.

We know that Peter, after having seen and experienced all this, still denied Jesus. Peter, James, and John would fall asleep in the Garden twice on the night of the Lord’s arrest. None listened very well.

We have the benefit of having the testimony of witnesses to this singular event, and the testimony of these witnesses to all Jesus said and did. We know that His death was not it, but that He would return gloriously resurrected. We have the witness of centuries of holy men and women, the saints, and our own ancestors who found strength, comfort, and power through faith and in and following Jesus. Yet, we too fall and fail. We may not outwardly deny Jesus, but we do fall asleep. We falter in our commitment. We fail to listen.

During this season of repentance and self-denial we are presented with the picture of Jesus in glory – the glory He offers to all of us. As Jesus did with the Apostles, He gives us this moment to strengthen our faith while we work toward the changes we must make in our lives. We are called to stay awake, to listen, to be changed. We clearly see not only His glory, but are helped in understanding that the struggles of today are nothing compared to the glory we will see, and change we will share, in the life to come.

Reflection for the 1st Sunday of Lent – 2014

40Days

With You
we fast and pray

Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights

According to the Bible the tenth day of the seventh month (Tishri) is the Day of Atonement. The Jews call it Yom Kippur. In Hebrew Yom means day and Kippur means to pardon. The word atonement carries the meaning to English-speaking people. It means to make amends or to reconcile — to become “at one” with God and each other.

The observance of the Day of Atonement originates with God’s word to Moses:

And The Lord said to Moses, “On the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement; it shall be for you a time of holy convocation, and you shall afflict yourselves and present an offering by fire to The Lord. And you shall do no work on this same day; for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement for you before The Lord your God.”

The Lord commanded the Day of Atonement as a solemn annual observance of the Israelites. It is unique in that it is the only God-commanded Old Testament Holy Day in which fasting was required. The fast was such a strict requirement that anyone who failed to do so would be cut off from the community.

Jesus went into the dessert to fast for forty days – an extraordinary fast – just as Moses and Elijah had done. But, for us, Jesus’ fast clearly conveys something far more important.

The Jews fasted on the Day of Atonement. Yet they would always face another Day of Atonement.

Jesus is the world’s atonement. His sacrifice, once and for all, brought about atonement on our behalf. As such Jesus’ fast was in preparation for His public ministry and His journey to the day of our atonement.

Prepared for this journey, Jesus is immediately tempted. Will He quit and abandon His journey to bring about the day of our atonement, freeing us from the grip of evil and sin? No! He refuses and sends an even stronger message about the consistency of His mission and Who He is: That He would not use His power for His own ends; That He would not gain followers by pointless displays of miraculous power; and that He would not switch sides to gain power and influence.

Jesus fasted and prepared for His journey toward a permanent and forever day of atonement. At one with the community and with His heavenly Father He knew, as St. Paul tells us: just as through one transgression condemnation came upon all, so, through one righteous act, acquittal and life [would come] to all.

This Lent let us embrace Jesus’ atonement – fasting and praying, making the corrections needed to come into line with His will.

Annual Basket Social in Schenectady – Sunday, April 6th

Our annual and ever popular Basket Social will be held on Sunday, April 6th at the VFW Hall at 1309 Fifth Avenue in Schenectady. Doors open at noon. Besides our usual wide array of baskets, there will be door prizes and great food and homemade desserts from our traditional Polish kitchen. Come by and enjoy an afternoon of fun, good food, and plenty of chances to win one or more amazing baskets.

BasketSocial2014

Reflection for Ash Wednesday 2014

WornCross_Standard

Brothers and sisters:
We are ambassadors for Christ,
as if God were appealing through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ,
be reconciled to God.

Is it possible?

How might we go about being reconciled to God?

Being reconciled to God is not something we can accomplish based on our merits. We could stand and pray all day, lead the holiest of lives, give to charity, fast, do good works – yet we would still fall short of the glory of God. St. Paul says this very clearly in his letter to the Romans:

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)

Even if we spend our entire lives striving for perfection in God’s eyes, we will fall short. We will sin. It may be by anger, or even pride – thinking that we are somehow special and set apart in God’s eyes. Those little evils will creep in. It is our human nature. So then how might we be reconciled to God?

Hope won in Christ

Being reconciled – being redeemed – was accomplished once and for all in the sacrificial death of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Jesus’ coming and His entire work were focused on the goal of reconciling us. His sacrificial death was the culmination of this reconciliation. Before He died He journeyed through the streets and countryside of Israel and by mighty works, wonders, and signs He showed forth the power of God. In His glorious resurrection He left us the hope, the promise of what we will be.

Yet, as Paul says, we must do something to be reconciled to God. What is it?

Faith

Paul told the Romans that our first step, the key moment in our lives, comes when we make a profession of faith in Jesus. The first, foremost, and most important thing we must do is to be regenerated by a personal proclamation of faith in Jesus, asking Him forgiveness of our sins, and committing our lives to Him.

To show the necessity of faith Paul holds up the example of Abraham. He says: “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed.” Abraham’s act of faith in God was credited to Him as righteousness. If we have any hope for righteousness, for a share in the reconciliation Jesus won for us, we must believe. To be reconciled we must believe – that is what we must do!

Following

From that act of faith we must commit to lives lived in accord with Jesus’ teaching.

Before He died Jesus journeyed through the streets and countryside of Israel – and did not place His focus on simply producing mighty works, wonders, and signs. That would have made Him a side show. Rather His primary mission on the road to Jerusalem was focused on teaching us how we should live, how we should conduct ourselves as His followers. To be reconciled we cannot simply profess faith and then go on living as if we had not been reconciled. To be reconciled means to be changed, to be on a lifelong journey of transformation. As regenerated beings, reconciled beings, we are called to a journey toward lives lived in full accord and unity with Jesus’ way of life.

Lent

Lent, this annual forty day period of renewal, is our moment of renewed reconciliation. If we take these days and this time seriously we will use them to reconcile our day-to-day lives to the faith we once declared. We will use them get back on the journey reconciled persons are to live. We will work toward the reconciled life we promised we would live.

The way of Lent

Our Lenten exercise – our sacrifice is a set of practices that help us to unite ourselves with Jesus. To be like Jesus, to follow His way, and to call to mind all that Jesus experienced and taught, we fast like Jesus, pray as Jesus taught, are generous as Jesus was generous, forgive as Jesus forgave, and remain watchful for His return. 

Lent, taken seriously, trains our way of living and cleanses us of the failures and abuses we committed over the past year. It is our opportunity to show forth our reconciliation. It is our chance to reclaim lives as reconciled beings. In our Lenten practices we work to build lives re-committed to Jesus and thankful for Jesus’ reconciliation.

Do not use this time in vain:

We hear Paul’s call, his proclamation that this is a very acceptable time; now is the day of salvation. This Lent, as every day of our lives, is the day of salvation. Each day of Lent let us be thankful for our reconciliation. Each day we must commit to doing all necessary to stick to our journey as reconciled men and women; a journey toward lives lived in full accord and unity with Jesus’ way of life.

Let us fast, pray, forgive, and be watchful and generous each day. Let us bless the Lord each day for our reconciliation that frees us from guilt (have faith in Jesus’ forgiveness). Let us bless the Lord each day for freedom from fear (nothing has power over us, not even death).

Each day let us acknowledge that we have been chosen by God – the Holy Spirit called us to reconciliation by faith. Each day let us remember that God asks us to use our gifts and abilities to make unique contributions to our faith family. Each day let us be confident that while our sins make us subject to judgment, Jesus’ blood make us worthy and beautiful in the eyes of our heavenly Father.

Let us wake up each day and shun retirement and complacency – each of us in the family of faith is here for God’s reasons. He has called us to work, for a purpose that does not end until the day we die.

Paul reminds us that we must not: receive the grace of God in vain. This Lent is about how we work, journey, and live in accord with the destiny God opened to us when we by faith accepted His reconciliation. What we did and received by faith – reconciliation – we must now live.

Reflection for Quinquagesima Sunday 2014

Matthew-6-26

Lord, can I trust
in You, even if?

Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.

There are two key things to consider when we reflect on God’s care for us. How far God’s love surpasses any human love and how far our commitment must go in response to His love.

Even the worst of prisoners, people who have done horrible things, still get visits from their mothers even after long years in prison. When other friends and family have given up and dropped away mom is still there.

As a child and even a young man, when I heard “Can a mother forget her infant,” I couldn’t imagine a mother ever forgetting her child or acting without love toward him or her. I felt that even if I did the worst of things my mom would still be there for me. She was, through many of my indiscretions. Looking back though I know I was immature, for look at the evils we have seen mothers commit. Most aren’t new, some are. Yet we still stand aghast at the evils some mothers do.

This makes God’s reassurance even more powerful. His love and care for us surpasses all human love, even the love of a mother for her child. Mom loved me and forgave me, yet even if she didn’t, God does.

God’s love is perfect and He wishes only to give that love to us, to care for us, to keep us in His care not just today – but forever. That is our true hope – an eternity of perfect, all encompassing, love in God’s presence.

The past three Sundays we have heard readings from Matthew 5. Now we are in chapter 6; still part of the Sermon on the Mount and still addressing similar issues: the life style of a disciple who, belonging to Christ, must live in the present while anticipating the fullness of the kingdom of God.

Over these weeks we learned about relying on Jesus as well as our family in faith. We learned to live maturely in the mystery of love. We learned that our every action, thought, and response, every routine, must be one with God’s way – making God’s perfection apparent in every part of our lives. Now we focus on how a disciple is to trust in the Lord. We learn to look forward with trust, beyond the needs of today, with full faith and trust in God.

This is a time of high worry about jobs, financial security, and how we might fulfill our ordinary needs. We still must work to provide for what is needed for our families and ourselves. This is normal. But Jesus is warning about a preoccupying or consuming worry that makes us less concerned about our eternal salvation and the promise of unending life just so we can have a better today. Our total commitment must be for Him and His perfect love.

Are You Observing Lent in Schenectady?

If you are, come and join with us and we can increase our Lenten prayer, sacrifice, fasting, charity, and forgiveness together.

ash_wednesdayThe season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, March 5th with our Service of Worship at 7:30pm at which ashes will be blessed and distributed. On this day we consciously receive ashes on our heads to symbolize penitence, humility and mortality. The powerful reminder in these ashes calls us into a Lent filled with sacred opportunities to return to a right relationship with Jesus.

We offer the Lenten Devotion of Stations of the Cross every Friday at 7:30pm – a great opportunity to add to your prayer life this Lent.

During Lent our Directed Giving program helps us to focus on sacrifice and charity as we gather food for those in need locally. Bring canned and dry goods each Sunday as an offering for those in need.

We also fast and abstain from meat every Wednesday and Friday in Lent and from Holy Wednesday through Holy Saturday. This practice helps us to remember Jesus’ sacrifice every time we sit down to eat a meal. By this small sacrifice we train with the easy stuff (but it seems so hard) so we can better fight the really tough things that try to draw us away from Jesus.

We hope and pray that you will join with us as we use these 40 very special days to the greatest possible good.

March 2014 Newsletter (almost a full day early)

This month we enter the Lenten season and consider how Jesus stands by us through all the ups and downs of life. We seek to use this walk through Lent to strengthen our faith and reliance on Jesus, on His word, on His grace, and on our family in faith. We invite you to take part in increased prayer, sacrifice, fasting, charity, and forgiveness. We offer you the opportunity to attend Stations of the Cross every Friday at 7:30pm and to take part in our directed giving program. Lots of other news too including the March 2014 Newsletter.

John 4:13-14. Life Giving Water

Labor-Religion Coalition Announces Moral Mondays

Throughout the month of March, clergy, community, and labor allies will come together to call for a faithful New York State budget that values every member of society, prioritizes the common good, and lifts the burdens of poverty. Our many faiths call us to reject tax breaks for the wealthy and demand a budget that serves the people.

screenshotIn Albany- March 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 at 12 PM – Gather at the War Room on the 2nd floor of the NYS Capitol for a vigil led by clergy and faith leaders as well as those directly impacted by cuts to education and the social safety net as well as reductions in wage theft enforcement. More details at the Coalition’s Facebook page here.

In NYC – March 3, 10, 17, 24 at 11 AM – Gather in silence at the lobby of the Millenium UN Plaza Hotel, 44th St. and First Ave, proceed to the governor’s office at to protest and to pray.

Additional events are shaping up for Binghamton, Rochester and other New York cities starting March 10th. For more information or for help setting up a Moral Monday event near you, please contact Joy Perkett.