It only comes ‘almost’ every four years, so of course I’m going to reflect on Leap day in this Leap year! Oh and it’s 2020, so do you think I’m going to let that escape notice? So with our eyes focused with 20/20 vision let’s leap into it.
Faith. It is no static reality. It is both a gift and a disposition. As a gift it is something that has been given. (No dah). It has been given from God through others … transmitted … sent. But just because a gift was sent it remains unrealized until it is open. And once opened…it needs to be appreciated and accepted.
Christmas is a perfect example of this. Have you ever seen toddlers at Christmas? They don’t just rip into their own gifts, they unabashedly rip into all the gifts around them! But the appreciation is not yet developed is it? And who expects a thank you note from a toddler?!?! HAHAHA.
Faith is a gift and offer and an invitation. Freely given, it is an offer of relationship and an invitation to something more. The something more is the Giver. It is an invitation to a deep, real and everlasting relationship with the Giver!
Those who claim to have no faith or to have lost their faith or to have little faith are in good company. Even the apostles had little —wanted more. Who of us does not truly want to have faith … deep abiding everlasting faith?
Today let’s make the leap again, the leap of faith. Today let’s unwrap the gift again. Today let’s accept the offer again. And today let us leap into that invitation to a relationship with the Giver…AGAIN!
There is a story told of a London dinner party at which Sir
Richard Burton was the center of interest. The award-winning Film and
Shakespearian actor held the room spellbound. Another guest of the host, a retired
Vicar of a parish church, was a somewhat rumpled, reserved and out of place.
At a lull in the conversation, Vicar said sheepishly to Burton, “Would you do me the kindness of reciting the 23rd psalm?” Handing Burton his tattered prayer book, open to the passage, he continued, “It is my favorite and God has given you such a great gift of oratory?”
“I’d be honored” replied Burton and he took the
little book and recited the Psalm with evidence of his profession skill. When
the applause from the guests subsided, he handed the Psalter back to the Vicar
and said, “Now you? Will you please recite it for me?”
Somewhat embarrassed, the Vicar held the little book to his
chest, closed his eye, and began. “The
Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want…”
His eyes opened and there was a hush over the room. All eyes
were fixed on him.
Burton broke the silence by saying, “Ah, there is the difference! I can read the psalm. He knows the Shepherd!”
Today, on this first Friday of Lent, let’s go deeper into our
knowledge and Love of the Shepherd.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. -Psalm 23
My Gramma Minnaugh was born on this day in 1902. She died on November 11, 1980. As they say, between the “dash” on her headstone was a life that still impacts her children, grandchildren and even today a little great-great granddaughter in Pittsburgh who shares her first name. Awesome!
As I look at, play with, delight in and try to nurture my own
grandchildren, it gives me pause to think of what Gramma did for me. She was warmth, comfort and acceptance. For me see was an image of who God is. Going to her house was always a welcome diversion
for the chaos that surrounded even a little boy’s world. She made me feel GOOD.
I could go on about it, but my point is not about what she gave, but about who she was. She was significant. SIGN-ificant. Believe it too…we are significant. First, we are significant to our Heavenly Father. He doesn’t just make us feel good…HE MADE US GOOD. He made us for himself. Second, we don’t live in a bubble. We are significant to all those around us (even to our enemies! Perhaps that is why our Brother Jesus enjoyed us to love them??) We have an impact on those around us.
We then, by God’s loving grace, have a choice to make. What SIGN are we displaying? The choice we have is what kind of impact will we make TODAY?
So as a gift to my Grandma (and Our Heavenly Father), join me today. Let us choose Love. Let us choose kindness. Let us choose hope. Let us model Faith. Let us be Christ for one another. Let the world see something so attractive that they want it too. Let us witness to something more than 8-4, 9-5, retirement accounts and self-indulgence (or even self-preservation!) Let us generously give of ourselves to other. Let’s show our worth…so others will know theirs.
I hope you never have
the unfortunate opportunity to see me singing in my car. I do it.
And I do it often.
Recently, I heard a
song released in 2018 and immediately, it launched me into carpool karaoke. The
song…Just
Give Me A Reason…sung by P!nk and Nate Ruess (see link below).
Almost as immediately,
my spiritual imagination focused on certain lyrics that made me think about the
meaning of Lent. There are phrases and
themes in this passionate song that I may return to, but the one upon which I
will focus, as we begin our Lenten journey, is the final line of the refrain…
We’re
not broken just bent
And
we can learn to love again
Things aren’t always
as they seem. For me and so many others I have encountered, it seems like
things are broken. That life is broken. End
of story…abuse, addiction, employment (un or under), fractured relationships,
health, hurts, losses, neglect, pains, regrets (and the list goes on). They can
make us feel broken and cut off. A
permanent state of separation, a real alone-ness. But things aren’t always as they seem…or
truly are. We are not broken, we are
temporarily bent.
So what is the reason
we make this Lenten journey…again and again and again?
Lent is a time to
remember. Lent is a time to stretch from
our temporary state of being bent by life’s challenges to the end of the story.
Love beckons us to the end of the God’s Love Story for us. God is desperately in Love with us. We need to remember that. We need to embrace that gift, that grace once
again.
Because we desperately
need to be reminded of the truth that WE CAN LEARN TO LOVE AGAIN..and we can
learn about the LOVE THAT KNOWS NO BOUNDS AND NO END.
1 John 4:9-11
In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another.
Let our journey begin…
Just give me a reason Lyrics by Alba Reche and Marta Sango
Right from the start, you were a thief You stole my heart And I your willing victim I let you see the parts of me And with every touch you fixed them
Now, you’ve been talking in your sleep Oh oh, things you never say to me Oh oh, tell me that you’ve had enough Of our love, our love
Just give me a reason Just a little bit’s enough Just a second, we’re not broken Just bent And we can learn to love again
It’s in the stars It’s been written in the scars on our hearts We’re not broken just bent And we can learn to love again
I’m sorry I don’t understand where All of this is coming from I thought that we were fine (Oh, we had everything) Your head is running wild again My dear, we still have everything And it’s all in your mind
You’ve been having real bad dreams Oh oh, there’s nothing more than empty sheets Between our love, our love
Just give me a reason Just a little bit’s enough Just a second, we’re not broken Just bent And we can learn to love again
Oh, tear ducts and rust I’ll fix it for us We’re collecting dust But our love’s enough You’re holding it in You’re pouring a drink No, nothing is as bad as it seems
Just give me a reason (a reason you give) Just a little bit’s enough (it’ll be enough) Just a second, we’re not broken Just bent And we can learn to love again
