On the New Year

In 1755 John Wesley began celebrating the Covenant Renewal Service. This was a time of spiritual renewal that was usually held on New Year's Day and later on New Year's Eve as a watch night service. At the heart of the celebration is the Covenant Prayer:

I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things
to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven. Amen. (The United Methodist Hymnal, 607)

Covenant making is at the core of the Christian tradition. God made a covenant with all of humanity and the coming of God's son was an example of God's faithfulness to that covenant. In return we covenant with God to be ever faithful.

Wesley's prayer is as appropriate today as it was long ago. We still need to renew our covenant, time and time again. We do not do it on our own but in a community that keep us accountable. Keep this prayer near to your heart this new year.

As we celebrate a new year let us take the opportunity to renew our commitment to our faith, living it in new ways this new year. New commitments take time to "set in" and take a community to help us in the journey. May we become that community so that all of us can benefit from the growth and excitement of the faith journey.

I pray for you daily. Blessings on the New Year!

Peace, Juan+

Baptism, the Holy Spirit and Communal Life

This past Sunday we had wonderful conversations about how Christians should live communally. Many of us had questions as to how this kind of communal life could be lived. We have good reasons to be cynical for many of us have experience the "dark side" of Christian community and it has proven to be no community at all for many others. I will agree that this is the case, that many times we fail each other and God. This does not mean that we are to leave the idea behind and not seek to live like God has called us to.

In Baptism we are empowered by the Spirit to live this communal life. Baptism "grafts us" into Christ and into each other. Baptism is our new birth in the community of faith. So the Spirit makes it possible for us to live communally in the way of Jesus. What would happen if we took this seriously?

I am amazed at how many times we take this idea for granted. We come to the communal meeting not expecting anything. We enjoy each others company but when things do not go our way we bail or (worst yet) we become destructive. Basing our participation in this community as a right we demand out way or else. Is this the way of Jesus? Is this living "grafted into" Jesus? Is this living according to the Spirit?

All of you were right! Christian community is impossible by our own strength. This is why Jesus promised to be with us always. This is why we gather and proclaim our identity as people of God time and time again. In this proclamation we are reminded of who we are and who is Lord.

I invite us to think about this way of life. Are we living in these ways? Are we taking seriously our communal identity as people of God? or Are we in this just for us and what we think is best.

We have been sealed by the Spirit of God in our Baptism. This means that we have the Spirit of God within us allowing us to live this communal life. Claim it and proclaim it in word and deed.

Peace, Juan+

The Bible and Community

The bible is a series of books written by a particular group of people. Its claims are universal and are rooted in the story of a people. Those of us who claim the name "Christian" are claiming to be heirs to the promises made therein. This means that we are also called to live out the covenant.

Covenant making is not popular today. We rather not make commitments, do it on our own and not depend on anybody. Here is where the Christian faith is most counter cultural for it calls us to depend on each other and to proclaim a communal message.

This week we continue our study on Christian community. This time we will look at the marks of this community according to our sacred text, the bible.

We spoke last week about the need for "authentic community." My prayer is that we will all learn the importance of that community to our faith and to our life.

See you Sunday!

Peace, Juan+

Acting with Compassion

11 Soon afterwards he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. 12 As he approached the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother's only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from the town. 13 When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, "Do not weep. 14 Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, "Young man, I say to you, rise!"15 The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. 16 Fear seized all of them; and they glorified God, saying, "A great prophet has risen among us!" and "God has looked favorably on his people!"17 This word about him spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding country. (Luke 7:11-17, NRSV)

Sometimes I wonder what the world would be like if Christians carried out the work of Jesus. Healing, feeding, and teaching would be some of the things that we would do. We would also show the way to the father and proclaim that through all of these things God's kingdom is at hand.

In todays gospel we have Jesus responding to basic human need with compassion. Compassion is about being aware and sympathetic for one that is going through some kind of suffering. It is also about wanted to somehow alleviate that suffering. To be sympathetic is to understand the other's suffering and to identify with the ways that it takes over one's life. Jesus understood and brought healing to the brokenness that death brings.

Like it happens often in the gospels the people are "fearful" and bring glory to God. Imagine if people responded like that to our alleviation of suffering, to our compassion. Imagine what an impact we would have on the world if our compassion was such that God was seeing through us by those busy observing.

Christ has given us the task of identifying with those in need. We are to minister to them with compassion and through that compassion we are agents of God's healing work in people's life. Through this work we share the good news and show our communities that God "has looked favorably upon" them.

Peace, Juan+

The Gift of the Spirit

We communicate verbally and in writing, use gestures and other non-verbal clues, and express our cultures and ways of being through language. Without language we would be unable to live fully.

On the day of Pentecost, Christians celebrate the birth of the church through the gift of the Holy Spirit. On that day the disciples received the gift of universal language.

After being given the command to spread the word to all nations, God gave them the tools needed to accomplish the task. Christians exist today because this gift was given. The disciples were able to communicate God's truth to people near and far, similar and different, new and old.

The disciples' fear quickly turned into action. They were ready to proclaim the message to those waiting to hear the proclamation. Passion allowed them to see beyond the obvious into God's vision for the transformation of the world.

Today we have the same task.

As we carry on the work of Jesus, we have been empowered by the Spirit. The sharing of good news is essential in all we do. We share as we work, play, engage in relationships, and respond to needs around us. Doing all of these things takes a familiarity with other languages, other ways of being, other opinions, positions and beliefs. If we are not able to be open to other "languages" then we will not be successful in the work of sharing the message of Jesus.

On this Pentecost Sunday we claim the power of the Spirit to help us engage each other. We live in an increasingly diverse community full of complexity and excitement.

What is the Spirit doing in our midst? I believe that the Spirit is empowering us to see each other as God's own. Speaking the universal language of the Spirit we are able to break down the barriers that separate us and treat each other with the dignity and respect that all us deserve as people created by God.

Every Pentecost Sunday is a new beginning for the church. As we lead in ministries of justice and reconciliation, as we embrace the diversity of gifts and opinions, and as we engage each other in conversation, we are living out the outpouring of the Spirit on all flesh. Let us claim this gift of language for our church and world today.

Peace, Juan+

Ascension

It means to "go up" and in Christian circles is the feast that takes place 40 days after Easter. After walking with his disciples Jesus goes back to heaven and leaves his disciples with instructions for the work ahead.

I struggle with Ascension. Although I know that Jesus needed to "go home" it brings all sorts of questions about its meaning for us today. What part of ascension is "good news" and why is this event in the story of Jesus important for Christianity and more specifically for Christians today.

I believe that essential to the Ascension is the promise of the Holy Spirit. Jesus does not leave us alone he promised to be with us always and the coming of the Holy Spirit is the fulfillment of that promise.

I will continue the conversation on Sunday. See you then!

Peace, Juan+

Preparations

Any time that I travel I have to get ready. Even before I begin packing I normally have to make sure that all my work is completed or has been handed on to the appropriate people. While I am gone the world continues and if I forget to leave instructions then it is very difficult for someone to complete what I have started.

Jesus wanted to leave things in place. Although he had completed a salvific work the job of sharing these good news fell to his disciples then and now. Jesus could not stay and do all the work. He had to go back where he belong yet promised us to be with us in the work of proclamation.

Love & peace are at the center of our proclamation. The Spirit of God is the source of these gifts. In accepting the good news of Jesus we are asking for the Spirit's guidance in proclaiming and keeping these words.

My prayer for you is that you claim the story of Jesus as your own and live out the empowerment of the Spirit in your life. This is not always easy but Jesus promised to be with us.

Peace, Juan+