LENT: The Hand that Drags Me

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Even now, the ashes cling underneath my thumbnail.  When you have the responsibility to spread the ashes on the heads of your congregation, the darkness has a way of seeping into the crevices and indentations where nail meets skin.

Person after person comes before us and we smudge the ashes on their forehead and we visualize the reality that this church will bury each one of these precious, beloved souls.  A young girl in leggings.  A man in all his strength.  My own father.  It’s all too much to bear in that moment.  Should we let it truly sink in, each one of us as ministers would be a pool of tears before the congregation. Continue reading

Lenten Journey of Balance: Humility & Confidence

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eight days into lent, i keep coming back to the struggle for balance… losing one’s identity in efforts gain one’s identity in Christ… balance of being merely human while recognizing that Christ lives in us… the balance between humility & confidence.

“a humble man can do great things with an uncommon perfection because he is no longer concerned about incidentals, like his own interests and his own reputation, and therefore he no longer needs to waste his efforts in defending them.

for a humble man is not afraid of failure.  in fact, he is not afraid of anything, even of himself, since perfect humility implies perfect confidence in the power of God before whom no other power has any meaning and for whom there is no such thing as an obstacle.

humility is the surest sign of strength”

~ thomas merton

ash wednesday

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“ash wednesday
and we are on our way
to your way.

o lamb of god,
have mercy upon us and
keep us from all the smalleness of our lives
that would take precedence
over kneeling in jerusalem”

– anne weems, kneeling in jerusalem