Presby-Musings

The weather in Central Texas has been absolutely wonderful this week.  It's cool in the morning and then warms up nicely by the afternoon without being so beastly hot that you don't want to be outside at all.  That will come in a few months, mind you, but right now it's amazing.  Mornings are my favorite time to be outside this time of year, just after the sun has come up and the birds have awakened, and are singing their songs.  The Japanese plum tree in my front yard has bloomed, its white and pink flowers filling the air with a lovely scent.   If it wasn't for the fact that my allergies have turned my head into a stuffed-up mess, I'd enjoy it even more.  But that's beside the point.   St. Francis of Assisi once referred to Creation as the "fifth Gospel."  His belief was that if you spent long enough outside in nature, you could learn about God's creativity, love and kindness just as well as if you were reading about it, maybe even mor...

Journaling was part of my daily spiritual practices for years, but for the past few months, I've let it slip a bit.  I used to fill journals with my scribbled thoughts, prayers, and reflections.  I have them all stored away for safekeeping because I like to read them from time to time.  I've missed journaling, and Lent seemed the right time to revive the practice.  There's something about the feeling of deliberately writing down my scattered thoughts with a pen on actual paper that is restorative.  It's slower than typing, but it feels more visceral, if that makes sense.   For over a decade, I have finished each journal entry with the simple word "Amen."  I started doing that when I realized that my journaling was a form of prayer, a way to keep a conversation going with the Divine.   One of the many things I've learned by journaling is that writing can become prayer when we let it be honest. Journaling invites us to slow down, notice pa...

Today, we continue our journey through Lent with reflections on how prayer ought to be a vital practice on our Lenten path and on the different ways we can pray.  I  wasn't raised with liturgy in worship.  The faith communities of my youth did not pray the Lord's Prayer in worship, nor any other written or memorized prayers, for that matter.  There were no mentions of the Prayer of St. Patrick, nor the prayers of St. Julian of Norwich, eveSt.Augustine, and St. Francis of Assisi.   Even as a young seminarian, I chafed under what I felt were the restrictions of written prayers, and since my exposure to ancient prayers of the Church was so limited, I lumped them into the same category.  But over the past twenty years of ministry, I've grown to love some of the ancient prayers of the saints, like those I mentioned above, and many more besides.  G.K. Chesterton once wrote that "tradition is the democracy of the dead."  It provides space for the wi...

Living alone in a big, empty house has its benefits.  I can watch whatever I want on TV, and I can eat whatever and whenever I want.  I don't have to stand on decorum when it comes to what I  wear or don't wear.    But it does have some serious drawbacks.  Over the past year and a half of living alone, I have discovered that I talk to myself a lot more than I would like.  I also hear all kinds of creaks and groans from my house, which often make me wonder if there is someone in there with me.  I also find that in the evenings, when the day's work is done, and there are hours to kill before bedtime, they can be among the loneliest hours of the week.   Conversely, I have experienced moments when I am alone in which I feel enlivened, connected to God and to the world around me.   When you live alone, you realize more acutely that there is a huge difference between solitude and loneliness.  Solitude is not isolation; it is int...

Today, we will continue our journey through the season of Lent and through reflections on Prayer, one of the key aspects of Lenten practice.   The old adage "Silence is golden" is part of a larger 9th-century Arabic proverb: "Speech is silver, silence is golden."  It means that often it is better to stay silent than to speak what may be on your mind.  Another way of putting it might be, "It is better to remain silent, and have everyone think you are a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."  Silence is not easy to achieve in the culture we live in.  There is so much noise around us all of the time.  Even now, as I write this, my phone continues to vibrate, indicating that there are messages and notifications vying for my attention.   I remember when I was in seminary, we were taught in a practicum on Worship to include a period of silence after the Prayer of Confession in the liturgy.  The professor encouraged us to make th...

Welcome To The First Sunday of Lent The season of Lent offers us a time to consider how best to identify with Jesus during the forty days from the Cross to Easter.   This series will teach us what it means to face injustice, evil, and suffering by laying down everything but love.   Today, we are going to read a passage from Matthew’s Gospel about Jesus’ time of testing or preparation in the wilderness prior to his ministry.   It's during this time of testing that Jesus is presented with an alternative way of living out his ministry--a way that bends the knee to the kingdoms of this world, instead of the kingdom of God .   The one big idea that I want us to hold on to throughout this sermon is simply this:  POWER DOESN’T COME FROM WINNING THE TEST, IT COMES FROM REFUSING TO CHEAT.   Matthew 4:1-11 The time and space of this part of the Gospel are important and symbolic.   1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested ...

Today in the Daily Devo, we will begin a Lenten journey through the three main practices of Lent: Prayer, Fasting & Giving.  My hope, as we journey together, is that we will discover new and challenging ways to follow Jesus in his journey to the Cross, and then beyond to the Empty Tomb.  Lent is a gift to us in that it gives us the opportunity to return home to ourselves, our true selves.  This return is one that we need the presence of God to undertake, and that presence, as we will discover, is always ready to meet us on the road back to who we really are, embrace us, restore us, and walk with us.   So, let us walk together, you and I, and begin our reflections on how prayer is not merely a Lenten practice but a life-giving practice that leads us down the path toward hope and joy.   You see, Lent invites us back to the heart of prayer—not as a spiritual obligation, but as a relationship.  Many of us carry assumptions about prayer shaped by g...

This is the last of our nine reflections on the fruit of the Spirit from the Apostle Paul's letter to the Galatians. Tomorrow we will begin our journey through the season of Lent...  One of the many things that I have been learning over the past year and a half is that not all impulses are good for you.   For example, the impulse to buy a bunch of clothes and shoes online and rack up credit card debt is not a great use of resources, and will one day come back to bite you in the behind.  Also, the impulse to eat fast food and junk food instead of actually cooking meals will have an adverse effect on your health.   Thankfully, I have been able to get out of debt over the past several months and am learning to make better choices when it comes to food and the expense of not planning meals.   I also found a way to sell most of the clothes and shoes I bought on impulse, which turned out to be one of the many ways I got out of debt.  I found that I...

Recently, I was working on a funeral service for a longtime member of my church, and I realized that one word kept coming up in my notes from family descriptions of him: "gentle."  This man was described in many ways: "faithful," "loving," "humorous," and more.  But it was his gentleness that seemed to be one of the many qualities he possessed that made an impact on family and friends.   I thought about this for a while as I was composing what I was going to say in the sermon at his memorial.  I had to admit that if someone were writing a eulogy for me, "gentleness" would probably not be an adjective used to describe me.  I thought back and guessed that I may have had gentle moments in my life, when I acted tenderly, softly, and carefully toward those I  loved.  But if my funeral were held soon (God forbid), I was almost certainly never going to be remembered as being a gentle person.  I think I'd like to change that as much as I ca...

  In every church I have served as a pastor, there have been quiet, unassuming, and faithful people who show up to do the work of the church, and without whom the work of the church wouldn't happen.  These are the people who make coffee for hundreds of people on Sunday mornings, prepare the elements for Holy Communion, and work as greeters, ushers, and unofficial ambassadors for the community.   They sort clothes to be given to the unhoused, prepare food for memorial service receptions, visit the homebound members, and deliver meals to those who have had surgery, a new baby, or a death in the family.   There are many who serve without much recognition on service projects, mission trips, church workdays, card writing, organizing gatherings, and cleaning up after events.  I am always humbled by the faithfulness of these folks and filled with immense gratitude for the many gifts they bring to the community of faith.  I have also learned so much abou...

One of my favorite movies is the classic  Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,  with Gene Wilder as  the eccentric Willy Wonka.   While the movie often veered sharply from Roald Dahl's book, Wilder's performance has remained unmatched in all subsequent remakes.   There is a moment at the end of the film where Wilder's Wonka rails at Charlie and his Uncle Joe, berating them mercilessly for theft of candy secrets, even though it wasn't true.   Charlie sadly starts to leave, but then turns and brings back the Everlasting Gobstopper he'd had in his hand, a piece of candy he could have sold to Wonka's competitors.   Then Wonka says the line, "So shines a good deed in a weary world."  Then he turns and exclaims to Charlie that he'd won the contest and one day would become the owner of the chocolate factory.  I've always loved that scene, and especially the line Wilder delivered.  That line actually comes from Shakespeare's T...

T his is the Fifth Sunday of Epiphany The season of Epiphany gives us the opportunity to still be surprised by Jesus. Today, we’re going to read an unusual analogy that Jesus places on his followers regarding the kinds of people they are called to be.   WE ARE CALLED TO BRING OUT THE GOD-FLAVORS AND LIGHT THE WAY Matthew 15:13-20 13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything but is thrown out and trampled under foot. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 15 People do not light a lamp and put it under the bushel basket; rather, they put it on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. Just after the Beatitudes, Jesus offers up something interesting.   He wants his followers to be the salt of the earth and t...