Thursday, October 25, 2012

Comforted on the Journey


“Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4

I pray that you are well and that in this year of fearless living, you are noticing more and more how God has been with you and will continue to be with you and to guide you along your journey of life, even though you may know nothing about it. That’s one of the great promises of our Lord. God promises to be present in our lives and to guide us along the pathways that lead to life, even though we don’t always notice that we are being led.

I’ve been involved in a lot of youth ministry over the course of my life and we often took time to talk and play games that reminded us that God was with us and guiding us. One of these games involved a trust walk. A trust walk can be many things, but it often involves placing a blindfold over another person’s eyes while a sighted guide gently leads them down some pathway or hallway or even through a maze of obstructions that we would set up along the way.

It’s a little unnerving having a blindfold placed over your eyes and trusting another person to take care of you and guide you in such a way that you don’t get hurt. The one being guided usually starts out walking very slowly, even fearfully, trying to find their way without the help of the guide. Gradually, when the guide is patient and trustworthy, the one being guided starts to listen for the voice or look for the touch of the guide to lead them. Everyone makes it through and then the one being guided becomes the guide.

In addition to building trust and community among youth group members, the trust walk has a close correlation to how God is guiding you and me through life. We don’t always see where we are going and sometimes we are blind to what is coming next. But if we trust the guide, if we trust in God, then God will lead us along the right pathways, even through life’s most difficult moments. The grace and love of God is such that we can trust in His leading if we will listen for His voice and seek His guiding touch. You will be amazed at the places you will go if you will trust in God and allow Him to guide you.

God will lead you and me along the pathways of life when we set aside our fears about where we might be going and allow Him to guide us. So say your prayers. Listen for God’s leading. Pay attention to His grace-filled presence and let’s all get going.

Grace and Peace,
WFA

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Death Defying Presence


“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil;
For you are with me.” Psalm 23:4

Dear People of St. David’s,

I pray that you are well and are enjoying these magnificent, early fall days. It’s such a blessing to live in a place where there are true changes in season and the variety gives us all a different way of life over any given year.

We’ve been meditating on the 23rd Psalm over the past few weeks as a way for us to set aside our fears and live with a great sense of hope and confidence about the lives God has given us. This week we turn to the greatest fear and the most profound promise of God’s presence.

Most polls say that the greatest fear in America is public speaking and while that’s a fear we all must face, we know that there’s one greater fear. A friend of mind was over this summer and in a joking manner said, “Frank, you know three out of five dentists recommend a particular brand of toothpaste, but one out of one of us will die.” It made me laugh, but it was one of those uncomfortable laughs that come when someone says something that strikes close to the truth and to an area of personal concern.
We must all face death over the course of our lives. We face the death of loved ones, the death of people we know and love, and famous people who get write ups in the newspaper and online. We will all face our own deaths one day, as well, and this is where the most foundational promise of God’s love and presence in our lives comes. We never face it alone. I think that is why this psalm is far away the most used psalm at funerals or when persons start to memorize portions of scripture.

Whether it is the little deaths that come into our lives when we lose a friendship or a job or when we fail at something that is important to us or when we are facing death itself, we never face it alone. The promise of God is that He is with us and we can set aside whatever fear gets tacked onto our hearts because there is a force, a love, stronger than the fear that is with us – God Himself. And, for those of you looking at details, consider how the psalmist talks about death as a mere shadow, merely a partial reality that will disappear in the light of God’s presence.

So, as you and I walk through the valley of the shadow of death today or one day, remember that there is no need to fear. God is with us and will guide us to new life and more life every time.

Grace and Peace—
WFA

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Stillness in the Midst of Change


“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10

Dear People of St. David’s,

I pray that you are well and want to thank all of you who made this year’s Fair and Country Auction such a great success. It was successful in terms of the money we raised for outreach, but it was stellar in terms of the service, the friendships and openness to the community we exhibited. And for that and on behalf of God, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I’m taking a break from the series of reflections on the 23rd Psalm  because of a major change in our life as the Church. On Tuesday our Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Charles E. Bennison, Jr., announced his retirement, effective at the end of this calendar year. Bishop Bennison has been the bishop of our Diocese, on and off, for all the time I have served you as Rector. He has sought to follow the Spirit’s leading to the best of his abilities through some difficult times of decline in the Diocese and some extraordinary conflicts and disagreements about where God was leading us. Charles has always sought to bring the best of his gifts and his faculties to the work of the parishes and communities that make up the Diocese of Pennsylvania. For that, we give thanks to God and I ask for your prayers on his behalf and that of his family as he heads into a new phase of life. We will celebrate Bishop Bennison’s ministry at the Diocesan Convention in November.

For the Diocese, this means that we will have a Provisional Bishop for a couple of years. We will find a Bishop who has retired or is nearing retirement, who feels called to work with us as a Bishop normally serves a community until a certain date, say two years. At the same time, we will begin the process of creating a profile of who we are and what kind of Bishop we want to call; build a search committee to find suitable candidates; and then elect a new Bishop, at the earliest the end of 2014 at a regular convention of the Diocese or at a special Convention.

Like so many events in our lives, this change in leadership and direction of the Diocese, brings up the anxiety we often feel when our lives are changing – which is pretty much all the time. Major changes in our health, or status in life, changes in our family or in our friendships are often difficult to face. It makes us long for what once was and worry about what will be. In other words we can become fearful.

Among the antidotes for this kind of fear is seeking the presence of God. Be still. Be quiet. Settle down. Lift up a brief pray from the heart and God will come to you and me. In stillness, we can know the presence and goodness of God at work in our lives. And the change we may be facing and it accompanying fear, will be put in its proper place. It will be pushed aside by the presence and peace of God that is beyond understanding.

So be still in the midst of your life’s changes and know that God is with you.

Grace and Peace,
WFA

Double Blessings

People come to see me all the time. Sometimes it is about a crisis in their life, sometimes it is to complement at sermon, sometimes it is to complain. But from time to time, folks come to tell me some amazing story of the little things in their life with God.

This past weekend, St. David's hosted our 161st Country Fair and Auction. The Fair is a huge undertaking that benefits our outreach missions, allowing us as a resource church, to give to other worthwhile organizations. This past monday a parishioner and volunteer sent me the below note that allowed me to think about the Fair in a new way. 

I stopped by today after working on the post fair packing and clean up because, while the purpose of the fair is to raise money for the Church's outreach programs, there is another aspect of outreach which also deserves recognition.
For the past five years I have worked on linens for the Flea Market, and have been teamed with the electronics group. While the 'big bucks" from the Flea Market come from the "Front Table", many people come to linens and electronics to get things which they, or members of their communities could not otherwise afford. We have had people buying bedding to send to relatives overseas - as well as the suitcases to get it all there. We have people who most probably can not afford to buy coffee makers and other appliances at retail stores who are thrilled to get nice items in working order (which we let them check out, on the spot). 
And, the same applies to "Second Hand Rose" - people buy bags of shoes for those who do not have any, and many people are able to find nice clothes that they could not otherwise afford. 
All of this is a testament to the people of St. Davids who make all feel welcome - not just those from our parish or our neighborhoods, but everyone, many of whom come year after year. 


So this year,  as well tally up the totals in the tils, we can also think about the 200 pairs of shoes that will go to our mission in Guatemala as part of the Soul 2 Soul program. Just one more way the Fair provides double blessings for all.


Sunday, October 7, 2012

Rules or Relationship—Living in Hope with God


From the pulpit Sunday, Oct. 7th 2012

Introduction: Rules or Relationship
One of the great challenges of the Christian life is simply the quality of that life;
by that I mean, is the Christian life a load or burden for you or a life?

That was a popular sermon topic during my growing up years as it was one of the three sermons the Rector of my Church seemed to weave into all of his sermons: Christianity, a load or a lift. I think he was fascinated with the alliteration: load/lift Aand I must admit that over thirty years later I still remember the idea.

But in some sense it’s a pointless question; because the answer to the question should be obvious to Christians and non-Christians alike. Of course Christianity is supposed to be a lift and not a load or a burden; It’s supposed to help us live full lives rather than drag us down; It’s supposed to fill us with hope rather than fear; Supposed to bring us closer to love rather than to mere duty. That’s the way it’s supposed to be — that’s what looks and sounds like Jesus to me. Any authentic Christianity or life with God ought to remove burdens or at least make them more manageable. But as with many things in life, I’ve learned that what is supposed to be is not the reality in many cases.

The fact is a great many people do not experience Christianity as a lift. Instead, trying to live as a Christian is an additional load for them to bear. Far too many people believe Christianity involves something else — for many people it involves rules, regulations, obligations, responsibilities instead of removing weight from our daily loads in life, it adds to it. For these people, God is not experienced as a loving Father or Parent who wants the best for His children, instead God is experienced as a stern taskmaster.
He is seen as some kind of patrolman in the sky, watching our speed and making us obey all the rules.

I hope I’m wrong, but I fear the prevalent image of the Christian gospel, in church and out of church, goes something like this. God wants us all to be good; He has given us the Bible as a book of rules to show us how to be good; He calls people like my fellow clergy me to teach the rules and remind you to be good. God watches our every move and records our behavior in a grade book; we receive gold stars for our good deeds and black marks for our bad deeds and when we die, God totals up the gold stars and black marks.
If we have more gold stars then we go to heaven; if more black marks – hell.
And that’s the Gospel, I wonder? That’s the good news?

That’s not good news, that’s bad news.

With that picture of the Christian life in mind is it any wonder that people are afraid?
Afraid to be part of the Christian life, afraid, when they are involved in Christianity
to go all in and live in a close relationship with God. I mean who is going to measure up all the time and who can keep track of all the rules and expectations. I had a friend who was talking with one of his associates for months about his faith; and after presenting the Christian life in as positive a manner as possible my friend asked if he would like to become a Christian, and the response was, “No thanks, too many rules.”

Well, here’s the good news about this challenge of rules versus relationship. The rules have been given to us, or those who have grown up with the faith, as a means for getting some direction in this life with God. But God is not so interested in the rules.
God is interested in relationship. God is interested in you and in me.

The great Christian thinker, C. S. Lewis, once wrote, “God does not love us because we are lovable, but because He is love.” God knows that we will never measure up, try as we might. That’s part of the reason Jesus came to show us a way of life, a way of relationship with God and a way of forgiveness because we won’t measure up.

You see, God is soft hearted; God has a heart for mercy and loves us, just because we are;
and the rules, the hundreds of rules that are in the Bible and that have grown up around the Christian faith are not there to make us worthy of God’s love but are about our response to God’s love, God’s presence, God’s forgiveness.  They are signposts in our lives with God, but not the ultimate destination. In other words, it’s not about the rules alone, but about a living relationship with God.

Jesus and the Rule Followers, the Pharisees
And that’s what Jesus is trying to get across to the Pharisees in today’s Gospel. On a first reading, they’re asking questions about divorce and remarriage; but the underlying premise, the real issue centers on rules versus relationship. Centers on justifying their lives before God; on trying to earn God’s favor through following the rules but apart from the love and mercy of God and apart from God’s soft heart.

Let me explain—like many of us, the Pharisees are religious people.
Actually they are very religious people who are trying to live Godly lives and who are trying to follow God’s law, as handed down by Moses so that they can earn their gold stars and be worthy of God’s pleasure by what they do and how they follow the rules.
In this case, the issue is divorce and they ask Jesus whether it’s lawful or acceptable for a man to divorce his wife. Expecting Jesus to trip up in some way so they can discredit Him or to give them another way to tip God’s scale in their favor. But Jesus has heard this kind of approach to the life God is calling us to live before and calls their bluff.
Reminding them that God’s intention is for men and women to become one and to stay one, and that Moses only gave them the commandment, the rule allowing divorce because of their hard hearts; because they felt they needed some way to justify themselves when a marriage failed.

Now Jesus, like many of us, knows that sometimes marriage don’t work out, and that there may be a more fullfilling life for the man and the woman apart from one another rather than together. But there’s no justification for it; there’s no way to reconcile the choice before God except for the mercy and the love of the God who forgives except for the soft heart of God. And whether it’s marriage or work or church attendance or being kind or giving away 10% of your income for God’s purposes there is no way to earn our way to God apart from God’s soft heart apart from God’s desire to want to be in relationship with us and to forgive us out of His great love.

You see, God knows what it’s like to be human. God knows what it’s like to be born and to grow up; to run and play and study, to be part of a family and to work hard; to see marriages that succeed and those that become broken; God knows about rules and God knows about relationships. God knows because He created all that is and sent His Son, sent Jesus to live as one of us. God knows because He was willing to become like one of us and to suffer and to die for us. So that we would know the God forgives sins; and that God wants a relationship with you and me and not just a bunch of rule followers. We can never measure up on our own and the good news the magnificent news is that we don’t have to; God loves us, God forgives us, and God wants us because God has a soft heart.

And we can have soft heart, too, once we accept the grace-filled love of God for our own.
We can have soft hearts for ourselves and for others when we accept God’s love for us and offer that heart to others.

Stewardship and Soft Hearts
This Sunday, we begin our annual financial stewardship campaign; when we consider what we will pledge or give to God beyond our time and talent. It’s the month when we consider our giving as a rule of life or as part of our relationship with God. It’s one of the most fearful aspects of the Christian life for many of us—giving our hard earned money away for God’s purposes. For we rule followers in the congregation, the rule is 10%;
God calls us to give away ten percent of our income for His purposes. Here, at St. David’s and out there in the world; that’s about as clear a rule as there is in the Bible—make your pledge and check your box for a potential gold star.

And for those of us who are seeking to live in relationship a with God  the call is ten percent, a tithe, before or after taxes, you decide. The difference? It’s not in the amount;
It’s in the intention; it’s in the purpose of our giving. It’s not the rule it’s the relationship. Be generous toward God and God’s purposes and you will be drawn closer to God;
And be part of God’s soft heart for the good of God’s world; I know you will find it much, much more fulfilling if your intentions are connected to your relationship with God and not just following some rule.

And so I invite you today and every day to allow God to lift you to a higher life —to the life of a living relationship with this God who loves us so. Amen.

WFA

Thursday, October 4, 2012

For God's Purposes


"You lead me in the paths of righteousness for your Name's sake"  Psalm 23:4 

Dear People of St. David's,

I pray this note finds you well and like many of you I am looking forward to the Fair on Saturday. It's going to be a great day, rain or shine, and I look forward to seeing you there.

I got lost driving to a meeting a couple of weeks ago and the GPS in the car was absolutely no help. Being of the male persuasion, it took me awhile to stop and ask someone for directions and I didn't stop and ask for directions until I was close to where I thought I was supposed to be. I was so close, in fact, that the person I finally asked looked at me like I was a little crazy, as he pointed across the block to the place where the meeting was.(Another proof of why we don't need to ask for directions - I knew where I was going after all. Well, sort of.)

There are any number of pathways we can take in life and there are many pathways we take over the course of our lives. Some work out very well for us and some do not work out as well. Some of the paths we take in life have a certainty about them. Their purpose is clear and we take the path, not counting the cost or the distractions or the difficulties. I feel that way about building our family or being Rector of St. David's. I know in our family that to love my wife and our children and to build a loving and safe environment for all of us is my clear purpose. I know that at St. David's, the path is about knowing God in my own life, and helping others to know God in as loving and graceful manner as I can. I'm not always sure how to do that or where that will take us as a community, but wherever we find ourselves, it's the quality of staying on this path that gives purpose.

The Lord promises that when we follow Him, that when we follow in the pathway of living in relationship with God, we will be drawn into God's purposes and not just our own purposes. I like that promise a lot, since I'm often not too clear about the path I am on every moment of every day. Somehow, the promise that God is leading you and me, gives me a deeper sense of peace and a stronger sense of the goodness that is along the way. You see, God only has good purposes for us and for other people when we allow God to lead us in the paths of righteousness, in the paths that include God's leading and God's presence. And sometimes just being on the path that God is leading us on is a good purpose in itself as God makes His presence and love and peace present
in us.

So take a moment and look at the many pathways you may be following today and invite God to lead you on His pathway, for His purposes. I believe that you will find a life that is really life and the experience will be better than you could ask or imagine.

Grace and Peace,
WFA

P.S. Visit St. David's on Facebook and be sure to like us. I will be posting more messages about living Fearlessly there from time-to-time and I invite you to take a look.