This week is Holy Week, celebrating the most significant events of our salvation history: Jesus washing the disciples' feet and giving us the command to "love one another", Jesus' institution of the Lord's Table, Jesus' crucifixion, and Jesus' resurrection.
How do you celebrate these events with little kids?
I was curious about billboards for "Catholic Radio 1260" so I tuned in for a few minutes. The radio host (I have no idea who she was) was answering someone who called to ask how she could get anything out of worship when she was so distracted by her kids. Since most Roman Catholic churches expect that the entire family is together during the worship service, I could understand why this mother of young kids (they were in the 2-7 year old range, if I remember) was seeking some advice.
The host started by saying that it was pleasing to God that the mom (and dad) were bringing their kids to worship and getting them started on the right track. The host even said that if there were any times when the mom felt like she was getting anything out of the worship it was "triple grace" for the mom.
Then the host gave some very practical tips: pray, practice, and prepare. Pray for your kids, that they will sit still and maybe receive something from the time in worship. Practice what happens in the worship service ahead of time with the kids. Young kids love to role play and it will make them more alert to what's happening during the worship. And prepare: bring coloring sheets and small toys in case they're needed.
We Protestants can learn a lot from the Catholics. At least, from Catholic radio.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Friday, February 29, 2008
pause button
Kids get into these mental routines. Whenever my 5 year old is watching something on TV and we turn off the TV for something we deem necessary (like eating dinner) he asks, "Did you pause it?" whether or not we're watching a DVD or other type of recording.
"Did you pause it?" It's a good question to ask about my life. Have I paused it, stopped my busy-ness and given myself time to rest and reflect, to disengage from the crazy pace of Silicon Valley life that threatens to eat me up whole, to guard my soul from all the things that want to invade and take control of my life? Have I paused to give the Holy Spirit space in my schedule to work in me?
My Treo gives lots of things priority time in my schedule. For an hour I set aside time for this person or that activity. Maybe it's time to schedule in prayer or Bible reading or 10 minutes for silence, to give God some priority time. Maybe it's time to ask about my own life: have I paused it?
"In quietness and trust is your strength." Isaiah 30:15
"Did you pause it?" It's a good question to ask about my life. Have I paused it, stopped my busy-ness and given myself time to rest and reflect, to disengage from the crazy pace of Silicon Valley life that threatens to eat me up whole, to guard my soul from all the things that want to invade and take control of my life? Have I paused to give the Holy Spirit space in my schedule to work in me?
My Treo gives lots of things priority time in my schedule. For an hour I set aside time for this person or that activity. Maybe it's time to schedule in prayer or Bible reading or 10 minutes for silence, to give God some priority time. Maybe it's time to ask about my own life: have I paused it?
"In quietness and trust is your strength." Isaiah 30:15
Monday, February 25, 2008
connecting the body
Has your leg ever fallen asleep? Worse, has your leg ever fallen asleep and you didn't realize it, so that when you tried to stand up you almost fell over? The rest of your body had to compensate and your walking was impaired for a while until you were able to feel your leg again and could move normally. And you couldn't quite cover up by saying, "I meant to do that."
It seems to me that the various parts of Grace Community aren't always communicating well with each other. The individual part may be healthy, but the fact that there's a lack of communication affects the whole body's ability to function. Or the individual part may be hurting, but other parts don't know it. Either way, the body can't function as it should and in general, things just don't feel right.
Our prayer ministry is making an effort to get the various parts of Grace Community communicating with each other (and God) through the Prayer Circle. It's a way to let other ministry teams know how you're doing and in return to take an interest in another ministry team's concerns and bring them to God. It's a step toward being connected and being the Body of Christ as we should be.
A severed limb is both grotesque and useless (except to the director of a slasher movie). But a body with all the parts working in concert feels right and can accomplish a lot.
It seems to me that the various parts of Grace Community aren't always communicating well with each other. The individual part may be healthy, but the fact that there's a lack of communication affects the whole body's ability to function. Or the individual part may be hurting, but other parts don't know it. Either way, the body can't function as it should and in general, things just don't feel right.
Our prayer ministry is making an effort to get the various parts of Grace Community communicating with each other (and God) through the Prayer Circle. It's a way to let other ministry teams know how you're doing and in return to take an interest in another ministry team's concerns and bring them to God. It's a step toward being connected and being the Body of Christ as we should be.
A severed limb is both grotesque and useless (except to the director of a slasher movie). But a body with all the parts working in concert feels right and can accomplish a lot.
Friday, February 22, 2008
entertainment or worship?
Are we having fun yet?
That's the title of an article about the changing values of the workplace in the latest Utne Reader (March-April '08). It reminded me of the changing values in our places of worship.
I love visiting cathedrals partly because they are rich with visual depictions of the central stories and truths of our faith (it starts in the architecture and includes the stained glass and statuary, but don't get me started).
But today's houses of worship (at least the American Christian evangelical ones) look more like theaters. The dominant value isn't worship, re-telling and re-living the Gospel, but entertainment. As a public speaker on Sunday mornings I'm always wondering if I'm funny enough, or interesting enough, or poignant enough. And I know the same pressure is on the worship band and everyone else who leads in worship.
Entertainment has become the dominant value of American culture. One could trace it all back to Sesame Street: Big Bird and Elmo have made it a requirement for all education to be fun. And now worship has to measure up. We justify it by making sure it's Christian entertainment, but it's entertainment nonetheless. (We shouldn't even say we "go to church" because we ARE the Church, but that's a whole 'nother line of thought.)
Maybe I'm being overly cynical. As embodied spirits we have to pay attention to how time and space and our senses affect all of our activities. But how many people who say, "I can worship God anywhere, even on a golf course" actually worship on a golf course? The problem is, how many of us are really worshiping in our worship services?
There are really only two primary reasons for worshiping together: to publicly say who God is and to publicly form who we are. We are God's people and by publicly declaring who God is and re-telling the story of our redemption we are being shaped by the Spirit. Everything on a Sunday morning should be a vehicle for worship: songs, readings, prayers, sermons, communion, even the time of greeting each other ("passing the peace").
"True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks." John 4:23
That's the title of an article about the changing values of the workplace in the latest Utne Reader (March-April '08). It reminded me of the changing values in our places of worship.
I love visiting cathedrals partly because they are rich with visual depictions of the central stories and truths of our faith (it starts in the architecture and includes the stained glass and statuary, but don't get me started).
But today's houses of worship (at least the American Christian evangelical ones) look more like theaters. The dominant value isn't worship, re-telling and re-living the Gospel, but entertainment. As a public speaker on Sunday mornings I'm always wondering if I'm funny enough, or interesting enough, or poignant enough. And I know the same pressure is on the worship band and everyone else who leads in worship.
Entertainment has become the dominant value of American culture. One could trace it all back to Sesame Street: Big Bird and Elmo have made it a requirement for all education to be fun. And now worship has to measure up. We justify it by making sure it's Christian entertainment, but it's entertainment nonetheless. (We shouldn't even say we "go to church" because we ARE the Church, but that's a whole 'nother line of thought.)
Maybe I'm being overly cynical. As embodied spirits we have to pay attention to how time and space and our senses affect all of our activities. But how many people who say, "I can worship God anywhere, even on a golf course" actually worship on a golf course? The problem is, how many of us are really worshiping in our worship services?
There are really only two primary reasons for worshiping together: to publicly say who God is and to publicly form who we are. We are God's people and by publicly declaring who God is and re-telling the story of our redemption we are being shaped by the Spirit. Everything on a Sunday morning should be a vehicle for worship: songs, readings, prayers, sermons, communion, even the time of greeting each other ("passing the peace").
"True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks." John 4:23
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
cleaning
We're moving some furniture upstairs so the kids can have a den to use. Of course that means cleaning up what is currently a seldom-used guest bedroom. We've been going through stuff, deciding what to keep and what to throw out or give away and figuring out new places to put the stuff we'll keep. It's amazing what we've accumulated over the years that now has no meaning to us, or stuff that we'd forgotten about and now want to have available for our use. Doing this cleaning reminded me of Lent.
Lent is a kind of spring cleaning. The disciplines of prayer and fasting and giving up stuff help me to examine what's in my life that I should get rid of, or what may have been unused for a while that I should bring back into my consciousness or into regular use again.
I don't do this kind of cleaning every day. But having a regular season for it is good, a way to remind me that I need a time of deeper confession and examination periodically. And the best part is the result: a life that is more available for Jesus to use.
Lent is a kind of spring cleaning. The disciplines of prayer and fasting and giving up stuff help me to examine what's in my life that I should get rid of, or what may have been unused for a while that I should bring back into my consciousness or into regular use again.
I don't do this kind of cleaning every day. But having a regular season for it is good, a way to remind me that I need a time of deeper confession and examination periodically. And the best part is the result: a life that is more available for Jesus to use.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Lent?
Tomorrow is the start of Lent. So what?
Even though I've been a Christian since I was 6, I wasn't introduced to the idea of Lent or Advent or a Christian calendar until I became friends in seminary with a fellow student who was Episcopalian (what he was doing in a Fundamentalist seminary is beyond me!). I was raised to be a little (okay, a lot) suspicious of the "smells and bells" approach to worship.
But as I've reflected on my own upbringing I've come to realize that there are at least two good reasons to participate in the Christian calendar shared by the Church throughout time and around the world.
First, I am a creature of time and space. I'm affected by what I do repeatedly. The fact that I celebrate birthdays is an indication that rhythms and repeated observances are important to me and to people around me. Lent reminds me that Christ's life, death and resurrection are the most significant events of history. Christmas celebrates Christ's birth, but Lent and Easter celebrate why Christ was born and my participation in that observance renews that importance in my soul.
Second, Lent is something that the Church does together. Rather than ignoring the activity and focus of the rest of the Church as if I'm somehow beyond all that, I want to participate in that which is shaping the life and identity of Christ's Church. It's sort of like calling yourself a Giants fan and then not watching the Super Bowl or not showing outwardly that you're happy they won. I should at least be curious about what all the hoopla is about.
I'm still not very good at observing Lent. Some approach Lent with a "step on a crack, break your mother's back" legalism. I take comfort in the fact that the various practices of Lent (prayer, fasting, candles) are not meant to gauge my level of spirituality, but to help me become more present to God so he can let me know how spiritual I am or am not and what he wants me to do about it. I should be listening to God all year, but the season of Lent gives me an extra boost, some additional reminders and resources.
I'll never "arrive" spiritually this side of death. My Christian formation happens over time. Time is measured in seasons. Lent is one of those seasons.
Even though I've been a Christian since I was 6, I wasn't introduced to the idea of Lent or Advent or a Christian calendar until I became friends in seminary with a fellow student who was Episcopalian (what he was doing in a Fundamentalist seminary is beyond me!). I was raised to be a little (okay, a lot) suspicious of the "smells and bells" approach to worship.
But as I've reflected on my own upbringing I've come to realize that there are at least two good reasons to participate in the Christian calendar shared by the Church throughout time and around the world.
First, I am a creature of time and space. I'm affected by what I do repeatedly. The fact that I celebrate birthdays is an indication that rhythms and repeated observances are important to me and to people around me. Lent reminds me that Christ's life, death and resurrection are the most significant events of history. Christmas celebrates Christ's birth, but Lent and Easter celebrate why Christ was born and my participation in that observance renews that importance in my soul.
Second, Lent is something that the Church does together. Rather than ignoring the activity and focus of the rest of the Church as if I'm somehow beyond all that, I want to participate in that which is shaping the life and identity of Christ's Church. It's sort of like calling yourself a Giants fan and then not watching the Super Bowl or not showing outwardly that you're happy they won. I should at least be curious about what all the hoopla is about.
I'm still not very good at observing Lent. Some approach Lent with a "step on a crack, break your mother's back" legalism. I take comfort in the fact that the various practices of Lent (prayer, fasting, candles) are not meant to gauge my level of spirituality, but to help me become more present to God so he can let me know how spiritual I am or am not and what he wants me to do about it. I should be listening to God all year, but the season of Lent gives me an extra boost, some additional reminders and resources.
I'll never "arrive" spiritually this side of death. My Christian formation happens over time. Time is measured in seasons. Lent is one of those seasons.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
detachment
“I don’t need to go to a building to find God.” But in a climate which often is wet and cold, a community needs somewhere they can call their own.
These are words from the Irish Jesuits’ prayer website, Sacred Space. The climate being referred to is Dublin's. But the spiritual climate of Silicon Valley is wet and cold, too. So we, too, need a church building because buildings both house and represent the gatherings that give us warmth and encouragement.
In a mobile society we have a tension about attaching ourselves too much to a place that may no longer be ours in a short time. We develop an air of detachment that keeps us from finding warmth and encouragement. The problem is that we are also detaching ourselves from relationships in the same way that we detach ourselves from buildings.
No matter how connected modern technology is supposed to make us feel, there is no substitute for being in someone’s physical presence, for conversation over a warm cup of coffee (or tea), being granted the honor of looking into the windows of their soul, detecting in the notes of their voice the themes of their inner song.
How many times have I missed a chance for a connection because of distance, either physical or self-imposed? In our distant and detached society, connection and encouragement have been replaced by irony and cynicism. May God grant me the grace to overcome the detachment I’ve developed, to be truly present to those that he has brought into my life.
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