Finding Joy Again - Rev. Linda Roby

24 Hours that Changed the World: "A Song of Praise in the Face of Death"

Several years ago I witnessed hope found in the ancient Psalm, “weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.”

I was traveling with a group through the Holy Land; and on the 5th day we headed to the Garden of Gethsemane.  We arrived and were briefed on the history, we read passages of scripture, and sang hymns.  We were then invited to spend some quiet time among the ancient olive trees.  I glanced around and saw friends walking, sitting, praying; it was a holy time for us all.  Then I caught a glimpse of one of our travelers, a grieving widower, alone under an olive tree, weeping.

A few days later, he shared that in that moment in the garden, he began to understand his wife’s death in a new way. He said he was able to release his hold on grief, to unload it there in the garden, with the millions of people who had traveled to that place over the centuries.  He realized that life and death is something everyone experiences, and that it was time to let the deep sadness go, and to begin to be grateful for each day he had been given with his beloved, and to face tomorrow with a new sense of purpose.  Before me was a man who was finding joy again.  A new season of life unfolded for him as he discovered new strength and meaning in activities and friendships.

Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, a psychiatrist who pioneered the hospice movement, wrote in her book, Death, The Final Stage of Growth, “death is not an enemy to the conquered or a prison to be escaped.  It is an integral part of our lives that gives meaning to human existence.  It sets a limit on our time in this life, urging us on to do something productive with that time, to become more truly who we really are, to become more fully human.”

Whatever loss we endure - death of a love one, failing health, aging, children growing up and leaving home, loss of a job, disappointments in relationships - may the knowledge of God’s steadfast love give you the strength to find hope in what lies ahead.

Lord, I give thanks to you; for you are good, and your love endures forever.  Help me, even in the face of adversity, to sing your praise and to trust in you.  Amen.

Connecting to the JesusCloud - Rocky Dwyer

24 Hours That Changed the World: "The Mandates of Maundy Thursday"

I have yet to see the light if you ask my friend Josh because I do not own every Apple product known to man.  As far as I have gotten is my iphone 3GS.  If you are one of the enlightened then you probably utilize iCloud.  Let me explain what iCloud is if you are like me and thought Apple had found a way to control the weather.  It is actually a way that you can have all your Apple items connected.  It does it automatically, seamlessly, effortlessly.  You update your computer and the iCloud will update your iphone, ipad, and every Apple item. Sounds like a good idea right!? But I hate to break it to Apple but God beat them to the punch with this idea. 

Our devotional today speaks about being connected to God.  He is the vine and we are the branches.  A life where we are connected to Jesus like the way Apple products are connected through the iCloud.  Yet many of us have a hard time being connected. Why I ask?  I think the answer begins with our understanding of Jesus or rather our misunderstanding.  Jesus is more than a portrait, or stained glass windows, or all the traditions that surround us.  He is real.  He is alive, and the connection he has provided for us is seamless.  Fully tap into that connection and see how your life can really light up. 

"If we remain connected to the Vine, pursuing practices that help us abide in Christ, we will bear fruit -- not just praying, reading the Bible, woshiping, and giving, but demonstrating our love for others through our actions... love is more than just warm affection; it is a willingness to put others before ourselves and to practice kindness, to do justice, to seek the good of others and to bless." - Adam Hamilton

Spring Cleaning - Gretchen Combs

24 Hours That Changed the World: "I Go to Prepare a Place for You"

Scripture:  “Don’t let this throw you.  You trust God, don’t you?  Trust me.  There is plenty of room for you in my Father’s home.  If that weren’t so, would I have told you that I’m on my way to get a room ready for you?  And if I’m on my way to get your room ready, I’ll come back and get you so you can live where I live.  And you already know the road I’m taking.”    John 14:1-3 ( The Message translation)

                Growing up in a German household, Spring Break was never a ‘’break” for me.  There was no sleeping late, no watching TV or all day Mall shopping.  There was Spring Cleaning.   Mattress moved outside.  All curtains washed or dry-cleaned.  All baseboards and window sills scrubbed.  All windows cleaned, first with vinegar and water, then polished with newspaper.  Closets rotated; carpets cleaned and hardwood floors hand washed, especially into the corners.  Oh, how I hated it…..and loved it. 

                These forty days give us all time to get ourselves Spring Cleaned, too.    The ordinary days of Lent are the perfect time for us to clean our “soul closets”.  Take a look at those wounds that don’t fit anymore; the grudges that are so last season.  Get into the corners, sweep out the anger; rotate bigotry to tolerance;  trash the perceived pain done to us by others; and bury  our narrow-mindedness forever.   Forgive, forget, and move forward.  Dust off your knees, seek forgiveness,  and be confident that what we truly confess is forgiven.   Make room for new beginnings, new out-looks, and new hope.  Be ready for a renewed you. 

Prayer:  Give us the courage to own our past, O God, to face our future, and to read our living into it.  Give us the trust to know we’re forgiven and give us the faith to welcome tomorrow.  Amen.

Family Lenten Activity

Take a couple of days and clean out your toy closet and book selves.   Donate excess items that you have outgrown to local agencies that serve families in the Dallas area.

When Is It Enough? - Dr. John Fiedler

24 Hours That Changed the World: "What Is Your Price?"

As 21^st century Christians, we can’t know if Judas had already determined that he was going to betray Jesus and decided to see if he could make a few denarii in the process or whether he needed money and the offer of 30 pieces of silver was enough to make the price right for him. What we do know is that all navigate a world in which money is the secular language of value and we all need to have access to some money in order to make good on our covenants ( provide for ourselves and others.) The prospect of being “broke” or not having any money for retirement is a haunting scenario that keeps many of us at the grindstone.  And these concerns are certainly valid.

But if we are honest with ourselves, we will also confess that there is a concept that involves surveying our blessings and our assets and decalring,”This is enough. Lord, thank you for my blessings.”  In a consumer culture in which so many creative minds and the power of television and internet images cause us to “ooh” and “ah” over products that we don’t possess and subliminally assume that we absolutely NEED to possess, this is a foreign concept.  A theology of enough.  The takeaway from Matthew 26:14-16 is that when we are content and not seeking, we are more apt to be true to our inner selves as opposed to our outer cravings.

When do we betray Christ? - Rev. Tom Downing

24 Hours That Changed the World: "One of You Will Betray Me"
     If we are honest, we must all admit to having at one time or another betrayed someone. We have disclosed a confidence, made a snide remark behind a friend's back, laughed at the expense of someone who trusted us. Maybe we have even gone so far as to be unfaithful to a spouse or cheated a business partner. Some of us like the disciples have deserted a friend in their time of need. Some of us have denied we knew someone who was in trouble. Few of us have betrayed someone to death as Judas did, but all of us, in the right circumstances, are probably capable of it.
     But Jesus, as Adam Hamilton points out, continues to treat the disciples as beloved friends. He includes them at the table, prays for them, and tells them that his body and blood will be poured out in love for them. He forgives even for those who torture him to death. His love is stronger than their desertion, denial and betrayal. Had Judas lived I believe he would have learned that as well and returned to the place of honor at Jesus' side.
    Jesus' forgiveness is not, however, to be taken for granted. It is meant to be responded to! Jesus, always the teacher, shows by example that he means for us to forgive each other as he has forgiven us, and to dedicate ourselves to being people who, like him, would rather face execution than betray those who love us.
    And Jesus' love goes even beyond that. It is without bounds, for he even forgive those who are torturning him to death. What would it mean to love as he does -- without limits?
    I know a place to start. Jesus tells us that whatever we do for or to the least of all persons, we do that very thing to him. That goes for desertions, denials and betrayals. Now, we might think, we don't do that very often, but how often have we been guilty of making unkind remarks about people we disagree with politically, or differ from us in religion, race, nationality or sexual orientation? How often have we denied Jesus by denying the motives or humanity of someone different from us? I know "political correctness" is not popular with many folks, but its roots are in the right place. Referring to people in a way that does not hurt or insult them is just the smallest beginning of the borderless earth which Jesus called the kingdom of God.
     We may betray Christ in a major way when we betray a loved one, and we should all seek their forgiveness, but we betray Christ over and over again in little ways when we refer unkindly to "those people" (Muslims or Baptists, blacks or Asians, Mexicans or Iranians, gays or straights, Republicans or Democrats, fill in your own often used label!) as though they were somehow less than we are, and less included in God's love. These are small betrayals, but they can lead to larger ones. Let's call on the spirit of Christ's all-inclusive love to help us nip these small weeds of hatred in the bud.
     Lord, teach us how to love as you do, and empower us by the Holy Spirit to act out that love with all we meet. Amen.

An Act of Humility - Dr. Andy Stoker

24 Hours That Changed the World: "The Measure of Greatness"

June 5, 2005 was a day when my life was forever changed. I sat on a small stool in the sanctuary of First United Methodist Church Wichita Falls. A man in a flaxen robe knelt before me with a basin of water and washed my feet. This act of symbolic service was performed by the Bishop of the North Texas Conference who was preparing the ordinands that year to be ordained. With the same hands that washed my feet, the Bishop laid hands on my shoulders and proclaimed, "Take thou authority, preach the gospel in all places."

What happens when the power structure is turned on its head? When Jesus washed the feet of the disciples, it was an act of service that none of them would forget. An act of service, an act of nurture and an act of disgust was met with humility and changed hearts. Jesus was performing as he would have his disciples perform: for the love of the whole person, head, heart, spirit ... and feet.

Consider how your life has been changed by acts of service. Was there a time in your life that you were humbled by service? Who represents servant leadership in your life? Pray this day for those who seek to serve, rather than to be served. Pray for your heart and head to be changed not by power but by an act of humility; you will be forever changed.

Make Space at the Table - Rev. Linda Roby

24 Hours That Changed the World: "Supper With Jesus"

We begin our Lenten study at the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  Jesus has asked two of his disciples to do the work to get things ready, and he gathers all his disciples together for a meal in a large upper room of a wealthy man’s house. 

It reminded me of a time several years ago when I was asked to prepare a meal for some unexpected guests.  That meal is a constant reminder of the tension between the blessings I have received and of the comfort I seek.

When our youngest son, Daniel was a freshman at Baylor, he called us just before Thanksgiving to ask if he could invite a few of his friends to come home with him for the holiday weekend.  How wonderful  to get to know some of the college buddies!  How thoughtful for inviting some young men that probably lived far away and can’t be with their families for Thanksgiving.  We must have passed the ‘cool’ parent test for him to invite college buddies to our home! I looked forward with great anticipation to welcoming some strangers into our home for the holiday.

What we didn’t know is that these two friends were actually homeless men, and part of the outreach ministry in Waco where Daniel volunteered.  They were two men that Daniel had befriended, and had no place to go.   

Sometimes, like these times, life brings our self-focused, comfort-seeking lives into focus.  Lent invites us to make space for God to work in and through us, to name the ways we stray, to seek to be more Christ –like, and to trust our God of steadfast love.    

Lord, help me to remember you every time I break bread.  Be present at my table Lord.  Help me never to forget that you are the bread of life who alone satisfies the deepest longings of my soul. Amen.

The Necessary Anonymous - Allen Zugelter

24 Hours That Changed the World: "Preparing for the Meal"

How often do we take note of all the people whose work is necessary to make something happen? 

I’m sure most of us can name a handful of Dallas Cowboys.  Some of us can name even more.  We might recognize the stars if we run into them in a restaurant.  But how often do we realize that there are dozens and dozens of people who work behind the scenes in the team office, and thousands of people who work at the stadium, without whom no football could or would be played.  Would we recognize them if we saw them on the street? 

Jesus’ final meal is no different.  DaVinci’s famous painting of the Last Supper contains the “stars,” but did not memorialize all of those whose work was necessary to make it happen.  Were they less important?

The Apostle Paul tells us that all of us have unique and irreplaceable gifts that are necessary to fulfill our mission as followers of Jesus Christ.  The overwhelming majority of those gifts are not ones that attract attention.  But they are no less important.  And our mission cannot be faithfully fulfilled without them.

May we all recognize, and have the humility to contentedly be, the irreplaceable, necessary anonymous.

I invite you to pray: Lord, I offer myself to you.  Use me to do whatever is needed, no matter how small.  Like the unnamed disciple in the story, help me to serve without recognition.  Amen.

Introduction

  Each year FirstChurch observes the 40 days of Lent beginning with Ash Wednesday. We choose a book for the entire church to study and provide Lenten devotionals to aid in prayer and meditation as we attempt to understand and incorporate in our lives the amazing love which comes to us through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
     This year our book will be 24 Hours That Changed the World by Adam Hamilton, founding pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas In addition to Hamilton’s thought provoking book, FirstChurch folks will also have the opportunity to purchase the devotional guide, 24 Hours that Changed the World - 40 Days of Reflection, to help their spiritual journey through Lent.
     The staff of FirstChurch will be making this Lenten Journey along with the church and would like to share their insights and questions with you as they do this. Beginning Ash Wednesday, February 22, staff members will read the devotional for that day and post their responses to this blog.  We hope you will find our musings helpful as we make this Journey together.

More about our Lenten Series Book:  No single event in human history has received more attention than the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth. In 24 Hours That Changed the World, Adam Hamilton guides us through the last twenty-four hours of Jesus' life. Each chapter is designed to help the reader experience and understand the significance of Jesus' suffering and death in a way you have never done before. Whether readers are long-time Christians or simply curious about the story of Christ's crucifixion, they are invited to join the author in retracing the last 24 hours of Jesus' life.

<Click here> for more information about Lent at FirstChurch.