4th Sunday of Eastertide: Enjoying a Campfire

Our theme for Eastertide is finding joy as we faithfully do the small things, so today we will look at a campfire. 

During Pandemic-Tide, I have learned a bit about starting, maintaining, and putting out campfires. As we reflect on lessons about a campfire, we can also learn lessons about our faith. A fire is a good analogy, not just because John Wesley spoke of his heart being strangely warmed or because Paul warned (in 1 Thessalonians 5:19) to not quench/extinguish/put out the Spirit's fire. 

Starting a Campfire

A campfire must be prepared for before it can be started. Old ashes must be removed otherwise the fire is at risk of being smothered. Likewise, in our faith, we need to let the Spirit sweep out our old way of living & our former view of the world so a new work can be built. We do not want our faith to be smothered by our old habits and mindsets. This is not a one-time action, but needs to be routinely done, in small, faithful steps. 

The fire needs to be arranged well in order for it to burn well. From dryer lint and paper to cardboard and twigs before progressing to branches and logs. We can't just light up a log & get a merry fire. (In fact, we can't just decide to have a fire and just happen to have enough materials to burn. A lot of our material for our fires comes from our burnable recycling. Day by day, we set aside paper, cardboard, and other materials we can use for the fire. It takes time, intentionality, and effort to save up these items.) Likewise, in our faith, we need to start with the foundations to grow in as we stay close to God. Prayer, Bible study, and worship get us started and allows God to mold us for His work ahead. These aren't big, elaborate one-weekend-a-year commitments, but consistently meeting with God daily and weekly in small, faithful, and mundane ways. 

A campfire cannot be started when we are ready to cook the hot dogs or marshmallows. I typically start it an hour before I want to cook the food. Likewise, we can't expect to be a mature Christian in a matter of weeks or even years. It takes time to be matured by the Spirit. We don't "level up" in a big, showy achievement, but in small and faithful ways, the Spirit is molding us into more Christ-like people. 

What do you need to do to continue to build a good fire in your heart? 

Maintaining a Campfire

To burn well, a campfire needs more than just cardboard and paper. Hearty logs are necessary for the longevity of the fire. Yet, we can't just go from kindling to the logs, there is a necessary middle layer of branches to build up to the logs. Likewise, in our faith, we need to build up the fire in our hearts. If we let the Spirit light the kindling and then we don't do anything else, the fire will die down. Furthermore, we can't expect to jump from the foundations of the faith to being a faithful disciple in everything we do; we need to allow the Spirit to build Spiritual Disciplines and holy habits into our lives. For us to keep up this fire in our hearts, we need to nourish and maintain it through small and faithful growth. 

Throughout the course of the campfire, logs will shift, crumble, and otherwise move. There is a danger of the fire putting itself out if it gets too clogged up with ashes. We need to watch the fire and be prepared to intervene as we shift logs around and add more fuel as necessary. Likewise, in our faith, we need to be prepared for readjustment and changes as we grow in our faith. We should be prepared to add in Spiritual Disciplines as we grow in our faith or are feeling spiritually stifled. We don't rearrange our lives around God and His work once for all time, we need to reorient our lives around Him in the small, faithful acts we live out on a daily, weekly, and seasonal basis. 

At times, the fire doesn't seem very active. The flames on the surface seem to die down, but if you look inside the firepit, towards the bottom of the fire, the coals are glowing and radiating heat. Likewise, in our faith, we may not notice much happening on the surface of our faith. We may feel like we are just stuck in a rut or going through the motions, but if we sit quietly and consider how the Spirit is teaching, guiding, and growing us, we may be surprised that the Spirit is using this quiet season to cultivate the fruit such as patience, gentleness, or self-control. Even if a season is not full of big, exciting activities, we can still be learning and growing in our faith as we faithfully do the small acts that keep the dishes and laundry caught up. 

What needs done to continue to maintain your fire? 

Putting out a Campfire

In order to douse a campfire, we need water and a LOT of water at that. As we pour on the water, the flames extinguish and the coals cool, as steam rises out of the firepit. Even then, we have to add more water as we stir the ashes and cinders around to ensure the fire is entirely put out. Likewise, in our faith, there are many forces trying to put out the fire in our heart. It can come from friends or relatives ridiculing our faith or from a workplace that requires employees to work on weekends. If we are not diligent in carving out time to build and maintain the fire in our heart, we may wake one day to realize that we've allowed it to be doused by a busy schedule or unreceptive audience. We must make the effort in small, faithful acts to spend time with God, in His word, so that we can continue to be molded by the Holy Spirit. As Christians, it is critical that we check our words, actions, and attitudes to ensure that we are not pouring water on other Christians' fires. Are we speaking words of encouragement or discouragement? Are we lamenting the brokenness of the world or just complaining about how we are inconvenienced? Are we providing a space where people can be vulnerable and share their struggles so we can mutually build & maintain good fires, or do our expectations of "perfect Christians" cause people to swallow their struggles as their fires die out in silence? We do not want to douse the fire in anyone's hearts.

Where does the danger of your fire being doused come from? 

Are you likely to be dousing someone else's fire? 

3rd Sunday of Eastertide: Giving of Our Time

Our theme for Eastertide is finding joy as we faithfully do the small things, so today we will look at giving of our time. 

Time has been described as the great equalizer. The rich have 24 hours in a day. The poor have 24 hours in a day. 

Even though we all have the same number of minutes to spend each day (1,440), different seasons of life can have more or fewer commitments, resulting in a "higher" or "lower" cost to the time we spend with a person. Choosing to spend time with someone, in the midst of a busy season, shows that they are being prioritized. It is still a meaningful gift in the midst of a calm season, even though it probably takes less intentionality to arrange a gathering. 

It is nice to experience an extravagant gift of time, where someone spends all day investing in you and cherishing you, but the small daily expenditure of time requires us to follow the spiritual disciplines of Submission, Simplicity, and Service. 

Submission

I know. Submission can be a dirty word in some circles, but it is a biblical word. When we submit to someone else, we are putting our preferences and our "rights" under theirs. This should be done in a mutually beneficial and healthy (and even reciprocal as the "one another" verses of the Bible challenge us) way. When we give of our time, we are sacrificing our plans for how we could have used that time. Instead of doing what we THINK someone would like us to do, I challenge us to ASK them what they would like to do and then DO THAT THING. When we submit our time in this way, those around us can feel cherished and loved. We blend submission and time, when we submit to a person's restaurant preference as we share a meal with them.

Simplicity

There are simple ways to do things and complex ways to do things. I relearned this lesson on Resurrection Sunday. As our season of Lent was drawing to a close, I was wondering what the feasting of Easter would look like. Naturally, I wanted a fruit, vegetable, grain, protein, and dairy for each meal. Naturally, I wanted special foods that we haven't had in a while. I made my idealized menu and then realized that I would have to spend most of Easter in the kitchen cooking all of those delicious foods (and then cleaning up after myself). So we simplified things. Instead of mashed potatoes AND cheesy potatoes (because the two people of our household naturally wanted two different forms of potatoes), we opted for a fruit and veggie tray. Instead of an elaborate main dish, we cooked hot dogs over the campfire. 

When we choose to live simply, we have more time to spend with those around us. From time to time, it can be fun to have a kitchen adventure where we make fettuccini alfredo from scratch, but as a general rule, simple, wholesome meals give us more time to invest in other things, like loving those near us. Having simpler cleaning, cooking, and shopping routines will free up time from these activities to redistribute to our priorities. We blend simplicity and time, when we choose to have simpler meals, so we can have longer visits around the table. 

Service

Service draws on submission, even as we spend our time on this gift. When we serve, it is important that we submit to the needs and desires of the ones we are serving. Otherwise, we run the risk of making things more difficult for them instead of being of assistance to them. It takes time to do an act of service, whether it involves making something or doing a task to help someone. Service doesn't have to be elaborate or complex. We can help someone carry in groceries or refill the empty water pitcher, even if we weren't the ones to empty it. The simple day-to-day tasks can weigh on a person, especially if they are primarily responsible for doing the dishes, laundry, or any other chore that is only completed until the next dish is used or clothing is worn. As a result, serving someone by taking on these tasks is a gift of our time. 

I would be negligent if I didn't mention Self-Care along with the Submission, Simplicity, and Service. We cannot keep giving of our time to others if we do not take care of ourselves. It is not selfish. It is not unimportant. We, as humans, need consistent time with God in order to have the energy, compassion, and desire to serve others. Likewise, taking time for self-care will allow us to refill our energy levels to be able to give of our time to others. Invest in a hobby that is enjoyable. After achieving a priority for the day, take time to rest or delight in something, even if it is just a cup of tea. Allowing others to give of their time to help us is just as valid and valuable as giving of our time to help them. Far too often, we let pride keep us from asking for help when we are overwhelmed. Let us be willing to both give and receive help as we work to prevent burnout and exhaustion.

I challenge us to prayerfully consider how we can blend these three spiritual disciplines into our gifts of time. If this is a busy season for you, I encourage you to consider what simple service we can submit to, without staying up too late. Look for ways to simplify and cut down, in order to have more time to invest in those around you. If this is a calm season for you, I encourage you to consider how God is calling you to spend your time. After blocking out sleep and work, and adding in MARGINS between events, how are you being called to spend your time? Is there a place you've been meaning to volunteer at? Is there a task on a loved one's to do list that you can tackle? 

We all have 1,440 minutes each day. How can we spend them as gifts others? 

2nd Sunday of Eastertide: Baking Bread

Our theme for Eastertide is finding joy as we faithfully do the small things, so today we will look at baking bread.

I have heard it said that cooking is an art, whereas baking is a science. When we bake bread, we must faithfully follow the instructions and carefully measure the ingredients. It may not be exciting to carefully measure out each ingredient, but it is this small, faithful act that leads to a consistent, repeatable, delicious bread. 

Likewise, in our faith, we must faithfully follow the instructions and carefully check our actions against God's commands in Scripture. The small, faithful act of checking our actions and allowing friends to call us out for ungodly behavior is a step we can take to nurture the virtues God wants us to embody. 

Making bread consists of stages: mixing, resting, kneading, resting, preparing, resting, and baking. Some stages are messy, some give us time to tidy up the kitchen. Kneading is hands-on and active work, whereas we step back in the baking stage, to let the oven do its part. The small, faithful act of following the rhythm of the directions, allows the bread to rise, develop, and finish.

Likewise, our Christian walk consists of stages, periods of work and rest, times of preparing and doing. Some stages are messy, whereas others allow us to recuperate and rest. Sometimes our time and energy must be heavily invested in a person or activity for a season, other times, we step back and let God work as we observe. The small, faithful act of following the Spirit through the rhythm of the day and seasons, allows us to grow, mature, and be molded into a more Christ-like person. 

The aroma of the bread permeates the house, as it rises, as it bakes, and once it is finished. It is not something that can be hidden away. If you are baking bread, any person entering your house will realize this. The smell may seem to be a small, insignificant thing, but it faithfully announces that bread is being made as it draws hungry bellies to the kitchen to await the finished bread. 

Likewise, we want the aroma of Christ to permeate our actions, our words, and our lives. We don't want to hide away our Christianity and faith. We want those who encounter us to notice this aroma. Through faithfully living in obedience to Christ and His commands, people will catch a trace of Christ's aroma in us as we go about our days. 

Baking bread is something that brings me joy. 

Bread recipes often make such quantities of bread that we are subtly encouraged to share with others. 

By looking at the loaf of bread and the process of bread-making, we can consider ways that it points us back to our faith and therefore towards Christ. 

A delightful thing that I learned about bread was that in some places, such as Ireland, they have a legal definition of how much sugar to flour can be in a loaf of bread. (Spoiler, it's not a lot). So a lot of the baked products that we call bread, would be considered a "pastry" under Irish law or a "cake". I'm looking at you, banana "bread"! While sweet things are delicious and so enjoyable to eat, we can use this distinction to consider how much sugar we are adding into the flour of our lives. Are we investing our time in things that will satisfy us and bring us closer to God or are we filling up on mindless and worldly fillers that do not satisfy us. There are some bread recipes that are made with little to no sweeteners. It is a different taste, but I want to challenge us to find a hearty bread recipe that doesn't use sugar, sugar substitutes, or other sweeteners to bake, so we can chew on the "flour to sugar" ratio in our lives while munching on this hearty loaf. 

Observing Eastertide

Eastertide is the season from Easter through Pentecost. It is a 50 day period of time (including Sundays) that continues the celebration of the Resurrection. It includes both Easter Sunday and Pentecost Sunday, before we progress to "Ordinary Time", but more on that later. There are 8 Sundays in Eastertide, but Easter & Pentecost are pretty busy as it is.

Rather than putting away Easter decorations the day after Easter, take time to revel in this season.

Go on walks and notice the trees budding and the flowers blooming.

Consider how you can remember, incorporate, and practice the resurrection. 

Reflect on ways you have seen life come after death, such as mushrooms growing on a fallen tree. 

Keep a record of things you are thankful for. Write it as a thank you note to God to give Him the credit for the good in your life. 

After the fasting of Lent, consider observing a practice for the 50 days of Eastertide to celebrate, express joy, or experience freedom. (Be sure that your practice remains a source of joy and does not become a burden or a duty). 

A quick online search of "Eastertide practices" will bring up a host of suggestions. This post has 6 ideas to be practiced over Eastertide. This one recommends focusing on a theme for the 50 days as a congregation. This post encourages people to focus on observing the Sabbath and practicing compassion. This one recommends cultivating the practice of sharing with others in Eastertide and beyond. 

There is often a focus in our culture on the big deeds, the showy actions, the spectacular sacrifices, but during this Eastertide, we will focus on the small things, the seemingly mundane, and the ordinary things. 

Like in a relationship, something big and spectacular can make you feel valued and cared for, but what keeps the relationship growing and in good health, are the small, daily acts of love that you show to your spouse. Yes, it is wonderful to be whisked away to a bed & breakfast and be taken on a night-time horse-drawn carriage ride, but the small things nourish the relationship over time. Some examples include: 

• Greeting your spouse with a smile when they come home from work. 
• Cooking a dish they enjoy eating. 
• Treating your spouse with respect through your tone, body language, and words. 
• Giving your spouse a hug after a hard day. 
• Going on a walk with your spouse even when you're tired. 

These kinds of little things continually whisper a reminder to your spouse that you love them and cherish them. These things may not be expensive, but they cost us our time, our preferences, and our effort each day. They require us to die to ourselves and our preferences as we seek to love, respect, and serve our spouse. 

So we will look at 6 small, mundane things during the weeks of Eastertide. We will consider how these things will breath life into our lives and those around us, through the small acts of faithfulness over time. 

How will you observe the full season of Eastertide? 

Celebrating on Easter Sunday

It's Resurrection Sunday! We celebrate Jesus' resurrection, as well as His victory over death and evil. In the ancient church, this was when new converts (as well as those returning to the fold), would be baptized and become full members after multiple years of education about the faith. In the past, there would be all-night vigils from Saturday night until Sunday morning. Nowadays, some Christians have a service from 10pm Saturday until 1am Sunday, with a communion service at midnight. Easter is not a day, as many in the Church believe, but it is a season that runs from Resurrection Sunday up through Pentecost Sunday (50 days after Easter). This site here has a lot of the history of Easter and how it has been celebrated.

Today, we will read from Matthew 28:1-15, Mark 16:1-12, Luke 24:1-12, and John 20. (By all means, we can read all of Matthew 28 and Mark 16 to also get Jesus' Commission, as well as all of Luke 24, to read about Jesus' other appearances and His ascension into heaven, but the selections above focus on His resurrection.)

How is our celebration of Resurrection Sunday different from a secular celebration of Easter? If we drew a vinn diagram, how much similarities would there be between a secular person's and religious person's expenditures, activities, and celebrations? It is a worthy question to carefully weigh our answer.

Our culture has turned Easter into an overly-commercialized day of gluttony and self-indulgence. Rather than viewing our actions as avoiding the bunnies, chicks, marshmallow sweets, eggs, and other commercialized money traps, we can reclaim Holy Week as a time of church traditions instead of store purchases. 

Sure, we can twist Christian meaning into the commercialization of this set of Holy Days, but are we really showing ourselves to be different from the world by our activities and purchases? If we put a chocolate cross into a basket instead of a bunny, are we really being that different from the world? Should a chocolate version of Jesus' execution implement be sold as candy? If we have the same Easter baskets, egg hunts, and celebrations with just a few extra sentences about the Christian veneer we are painting over these secular traditions, are we showing ourselves to be different from the world? 

I think there are plenty of resources that show ways to "Christianize" secular Easter traditions, but it is my hope that as the Church we spend more time focusing on the sacred and religious traditions that are the Church's special way of celebrating and commemorating this holy day. Using Christianized secular traditons and reading Christian meaning into secular objects can be a good way to build a bridge with our non-Christians friends and relatives as we use their objects to point to Christ, but we could question their place in the Church and in the lives of Christians. 

How will you celebrate this Resurrection Sunday?

Quietly Waiting on Holy Saturday

Welcome to Easter Eve.  As we continue to wait quietly for the resurrection, we remember Jesus' death and burial in the tomb. Some Christians attend an Easter Vigil service today. This page and This page has a bit of history as well as some common practices. 

Our Scripture for today is Matthew 27:57-66, Mark 15:42-47, Luke 23:5-56, and John 19:38-42. These passages cover Jesus' burial.

Some Christians quietly wait by attending an Easter Vigil which can last from nightfall until just before sunrise. The atmosphere of this day is one of mourning and fasting. We think about Jesus' death as we await His resurrection. As we stay awake in the long hours of the night, we can do devotional exercises and spend time in prayer. In its fullest sense, the Vigil is about us waiting for the coming of the Lord. This page has more details about the Vigil. 

Historically, some Christians would quietly wait by fasting for 40 hours over Good Friday and Holy Saturday. (40 hours being the time he was thought to have been in the tomb). This final fast of Lent would be broken either by communion or the feast on Easter, although some denominations allow a little fruit midway through this day. Some denominations view this holy day as a day of private contemplation as no services were held. Due to the pandemic, it may be possible to join in an online vigil instead of an in-person service. 

It does seem fitting to continue abstaining from enjoyable activities from Good Friday through Holy Saturday as well. This is not a day to spend on ourselves or our pleasure, but to contemplate Jesus' death and the experiences of Jesus' first followers as they witnessed His crucifixion and burial. There are other weekends for projects, hobbies, and outings. This is a solemn time as we imagine ourselves waking up on that first Holy Saturday and feeling the grief, shock, despair, and confusion of the first Christians. 

I am intrigued by how the fasting and the Vigil interact with Resurrection Sunday. Instead of a full Sunday of feasting and celebrations, we would be tired and want to rest. Instead of spending hours in the kitchen cooking elaborate meals, we might prefer simple, nutrious food to end the fast. 

How can you wait quietly on this Holy Saturday?

Grieving on Good Friday

After Maundy Thursday comes Good Friday. This is the day that Christians remember Jesus' death on the cross, as we grieve and mourn. 

Our Scripture passages include Matthew 27:1-56, Mark 15:1-41, Luke 23:1-49, and John 18:28-19:37. These passages stop after Jesus' death, because the burial passages will be read tomorrow for Holy Saturday. 

This is a more somber day in the church year. It is a day for prayer, fasting, and church services. You can read more details of these events as well as some of the history of this day here. We grieve in the words we pray. We grieve as we abstain from food. We grieve through the services we attend.

This site here recommends setting aside the fun activities (and even work or school if possible) to more fully observe this day of mourning. Some Christians sit in silence from noon until three pm as we remember Jesus' suffering on the cross. Other Christians choose to sing hymns while Jesus was on the cross. This site here has song suggestions. We grieve as we set down our enjoyable hobbies and activities. We grieve as we sit in silence. We grieve as we sing hymns of Jesus' suffering and death. 

The stations of the cross continue from Maundy Thursday as we walk through Jesus' last hours and consider His last words on the cross. These sites here and here goes into more details. The key times are the 3rd hour (9am), 6th hour (12pm), and 9th hour (3pm). So even if "fixed hour praying" isn't common in our denomination, we could set alarms to pause and pray at these times as we remember Jesus' death sentence at 9am, Jesus being nailed to the cross at 12pm, and Jesus' death at 3pm. We grieve as we go through the stations of the cross.

The Tenebrae service from Maundy Thursday could be held instead on Good Friday. It might be possible to split the service into two nights based on the Thursday-Friday split in the Bible. So the Last Supper through Jesus' trials could be observed on Thursday and His sentencing through death could be observed on Friday. (I didn't come across this idea in my research, but was something I wondered about, since some churches hold these services on Thursdays, while others have them on Fridays.) We grieve as the lights are extinguished as we hear about Jesus' suffering and death.

Many people like to rush from the death to the resurrection, but I want to challenge us to sit in the stillness, in the darkness, in the grief of a life cut short, in the uncertainty of what happens next. The disciples experienced fear, hopelessness, and despair from 3pm Friday until Sunday morning. Let us sit with them in this dark watch of the night. 

How will you observe Good Friday this year? 

Consecrating on Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday is a Holy Week holiday. As we lead up to Resurrection Sunday (aka Easter), we have 3 significant holy days to observe: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. Each of these holy days will have a verb attached to it in these posts. For Maundy Thursday, our verb is "consecrating". When we consecrate something, we set it aside or apart as holy or sacred. It is devoted or dedicated to a specific purpose, such as set apart for God's use. We are setting aside these three days leading up to Resurrection Sunday as holy and sacred. Instead of doing what we want on these days, we are giving them up to God for worshiping Him as a bit of the sacred time overcomes our secular workweek. 

Each of the Gospels has plenty of text devoted to this night. We can read Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22, and John 13 for their accounts of that night's events. (Technically we should be reading John 13-18:27 for all of Jesus' prayers, plus the betrayals, trials, and denials that the other passages include)

For those curious, "Maundy" comes from a variation of the Latin word for "commandment" since Jesus gave His disciples "a new command" to love each other. Historically, this was a day to for those estranged from the Church or wanting to join the Church to prepare to be reconciled and admitted. You can read more of the history here and here and here

Throughout history, this day has involved foot-washing, almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. When we wash feet, we consecrate our time by serving others instead of ourselves, as well as humble ourselves. When we give money or food to those in need, we are consecrating a part of our income. When we pray, we consecrate our schedules and goals, as we subjugate them to the Spirit's timing. When we fast, we are consecrating our bodies as we pause from food to better listen for the Spirit's guidance. 

In the Orthodox Church, some Christians will fast from food from supper on Maundy Thursday until either the pre-Easter service on Saturday night or the morning service on Sunday, with the exception of a little fruit on Saturday. By abstaining from food for 40+ hours, we are consecrating this period of waiting. Resurrection Sunday becomes something that we are longing for, anticipating, and eagerly awaiting, as we grow increasingly hungry. As our stomachs growl, we are reminded throughout the day of what we are waiting for. (Obviously don't fast in this way if you have health problems that would flare up by not eating)

Some people hold special services or meals such as a Tenebrae service (where the lights in the sanctuary are gradually extinguished as the service goes on) or a Passover Seder where Christians partake in that traditional meal Jesus & His disciples were eating that night. Other Christians have a communion service on this day. Some churches set up the "stations of the cross" for people to pray through. You can read more detailed descriptions of ways people observe this holy day here and here. By observing an unfamiliar tradition, we are consecrating our preferences and desires as we meet God in a new way. 

Alternatively, we can look for online (either video or text) resources for a Tenebrae service or the stations of the cross to experience Maundy Thursday in a new light as we are guided through those Scripture readings.

Tenebrae service ideas here and here 

Station of the Cross ideas here and here and here and here and here

How will you observe Maundy Thursday this year?