Matthew 4:1-11

This season of Lent we have just entered into is a season of preparation. It’s a season usually marked by prayer, confession, fasting, and self-denial.  It’s a time for us to name our wrongs, and to try to make them right.  It’s a time for us to shorten the distance between us and the heart of God. So why is Jesus here?

You remember Jesus.  Jesus, that baby whose birth caused angels to sing and stars to appear in the sky. Jesus, that man whose baptism caused the Spirit to descend like a dove and God to proclaim, “This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased.”  Jesus, whom Christians have identified in our creeds as God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father. Surely Jesus doesn’t need prayer or confession, fasting or self-denial.  Jesus is already as close to God as any human can get.

But Lent begins with this story:  Jesus, still dripping from his baptism, is led out into the wilderness by the Spirit.  He spends forty days and forty nights praying and fasting.  And while he is in the wilderness, the devil appears, to tempt him with bread and power.

Why is Jesus here, with us, joining in prayer and fasting, facing temptation, as we begin Lent?  Perhaps this story is here to help us understand who Jesus is, and who he isn’t. We know that Jesus is the son of God, full of a holy power, capable of miracles.  But he will not turn stones into bread, even when he has gone forty days without food.  And so we learn that Jesus’ gifts are not for himself alone, and that hunger will not be the ruling passion of his life. We know that Jesus is the son of God, a beloved child of the creator of the universe.  But he will not throw himself off the temple in Jerusalem for an angelic rescue.  And so we learn that Jesus doesn’t need empty spectacle, he’s not here to create a cult of personality. We know that Jesus is the son of God, we call him King of Kings and Lord of Lords. But he will not worship the devil in return for world domination. And so we learn that earthly power is not his ultimate goal, that he is not that kind of King; he is not that kind of Lord.

Why is Jesus here?  Maybe Jesus comes out to the wilderness to help us understand who he is, and who he isn’t.  Or maybe he’s here to be a model for us. Maybe, because Jesus would not turn stones into bread, we can learn to resist the temptation to use our resources only for ourselves.  We can learn to share more fully with our neighbors, and tend more carefully to the earth. Maybe, because Jesus would not throw himself off the temple, and create a spectacle, we can learn to resist the temptation to make an idol of ourselves or any one else.  We might free ourselves from our obsession with self-perception, liberate ourselves from the cult of celebrity. Maybe, because Jesus would not worship the devil in return for world domination, we can learn to resist the temptation to sell any piece of our souls in the pursuit of power.  We might gain the wisdom to dismantle systems of racism and privilege.  We might gain the courage to recover from our cultural addition to violence and weapons and preemptive strikes.

Why is Jesus here, with us, in the wilderness?  Is it to tell us who he is?  Is it to help us understand who we should be?  Yes.  And also – Jesus is here, because we are here. In Jesus, God is with us in all human experience.  Jesus is with us, we remembered at Christmas, in human birth and childhood.  Jesus is with us, we will remember on Good Friday, in suffering and death.  So during Lent, it is only right that we should remember that Jesus is with us in times of wilderness and solitude and prayer and fasting and temptation.  There is nowhere we can travel that he has not already been.

At the top of this post is an icon.  This same image is at the front of our sanctuary, where it will stay throughout the season.  Icons are image created as an invitation to draw closer to God.  Just like a beautiful poem or a scripture passage, icons and other images can help us to pray.  So this icon is meant as a help for all of us, this season.

This particular Icon is known as the Icon of Friendship, and it comes from the Coptic Christian church in Egypt, from the 7^th century. In this image, Jesus stands with Menas, an early saint; but the Icon is known as the Icon of Friendship because Menas stands for everyone one of us.  You may notice that while Jesus carries a large book, the whole of scripture, Menas carries only a small scroll – representing the small but important part of God’s message that each of us can understand.  Notice also their gestures.  Jesus has his arm around this believer, embracing him, while Menas raises his hand in the sign of blessing usually reserved in Jesus.  Through the blessing of the love and support of Christ, Menas, the believer, is able to bless others.

This image reminds us, just as our scripture does, that Jesus is here, travelling with us through the season of Lent.  And just to make that sense of companionship even more real, surrounding the icon at the front are some pieces of origami paper.  I invite you to write your prayers on these pieces of paper throughout the season, and put them in the box in front of the icon. Then members of this community, our sisters and brothers in Christ, will pray over our prayers as they transform the piece of paper into something beautiful, to decorate our sanctuary in the Easter season.  We will act as Christ to one another, traveling together in prayer.

Jesus is here, today, with us.  He knows the bleakness of the wilderness.  He knows the pangs of hunger.  He knows the struggle and blessed relief of prayer.  He knows temptation.  In this season, may each of us feel his presence with us, his example before us, his arm around us.  May it be so. Amen.

~Hannah

On Sunday March 2nd, fourteen adults, eight children, and two teens participated in a service trip to Cradles to Crayons, located in Brighton. After signing in at the warehouse we gathered together with other groups who were volunteering that afternoon, for an orientation session. They serve children from the ages of newborn to twelve who are living in homeless shelters or low-income situations. The children receive the things they need to thrive – at home, at school and at play. Requests are received from social workers for a particular child. Then volunteers fulfill this need by putting together, in large, clear plastic bags, hand-selected items, such as a seasonal coat, clothing for a week, shoes, books, developmental toys and new school supplies. These are given out free of charge to each child. The items Cradles to Crayons gives out are in new or gently used condition, as they believe that “quality equals dignity” and only the best will do. It is a matter of respect and dignity, for a child in need to open up his package and find clothes and shoes he or she is proud to wear and books and toys that are almost new.

Next, we were divided into two groups. One group worked sorting and cleaning shoes, the other group worked with children’s books. Those nine individuals who were in the “shoe group” had the job of deciding which shoes were up to Cradles to Crayons standard. About three shoes were rejected for each one accepted. (Rejected shoes are given to other charities who will accept them.) Once that was determined, they needed to be cleaned with bottles of Simple Green and toothbrushes, along with lots of scrubbing. Survivors were then rubber banded together and labeled with the size. Finding those labels wasn’t an easy job, either. Though probably the most difficult job there, the leader reminded the volunteers that saving shoes is the most important job, as shoes are essential and every child asks for a pair of shoes. Ruthie, Claire and Mark worked diligently to save every possible pair of shoes. By the end of the two-hour work shift, 140 pairs of shoes were cleaned and ready to be shelved.

The “book group” was faced with several large bins of donated books. Again the standards are high. We had to reject books that had torn binding, written on pages, books on religion, holidays, or about a particular family member, as these facts aren’t known about our recipients. (Again, these rejected books are given to other organizations). Once we determined which were worthy of saving, they needed to be sorted into bins labeled by developmental age. Board books are especially needed. It was extremely helpful to have so many children of various ages working with the adults, as they were the ones who knew best what reading level was right for a particular book. Tim was our expert on young adult fiction. Then three to five or six books (depending on age level) were rubber banded together and put in bins labeled by age and gender. This caused some interesting discussions about gender discrimination, why can’t a girl read a book on trucks, why can’t a boy have a butterfly book? Ethan wanted to know why they separate the books by gender. He was also concerned about how appropriate a violent themed book is for a pre-schooler?  Jacob was concerned about the kids who don’t speak English, since most of the books are written in English. Adults had fun reminiscing over our favorite books from our, or our children’s childhood. The children worked well with the adults and were highly engaged in the process. By the end of our shift we had made up 156 book packs.

These are some of the reflections from participants:
“Great and meaningful trip!”
“Thoughtful and engaged children.”
“Great opportunity.”
“So much useful work was accomplished”
“I had a delightful time sorting books with my son.”
“Meaningful, powerful and joyous.”
“Mom, thank you for bringing me here!”

Special thanks to Ellie G. for organizing the pre-trip pizza luncheon and all the logistics involved in such a trip. We are grateful to be able to give of ourselves to such a worthy organization. Mix children and adults working along side one another for a common cause, with thought provoking questions, add lots of laughs, and you have the recipe for a Sunday afternoon well spent. Join us next time, and see for yourself!

~Marcia

Genesis 37:12-24

In this reading from the Old Testament we are offered a familiar story both in the context of Scripture and sadly sometimes in our daily lives. A little background: Joseph is his father’s favorite son, which causes his brothers to be jealous and resent him. In this reading, Joseph is out looking for his brothers and they see him coming. They plot to kill him and then lie about it. One brother, Reuben, convinces them not to kill him but instead to throw Joseph into a waterless pit. Reuben’s motives are not all pure, for he wants to curry favor with their father and be seen as a savior. Talk about a dysfunctional family!

Joseph’s brothers didn’t have the faith or character to act in a peaceful way. They felt slighted and were unforgiving and vengeful. I feel that this text challenges us to consider how we’re going to respond to the pain we feel when we’ve been thrown into a pit. We might also think about those in our lives that we have thrown into the pit and try and make amends to them.

Lord, help me to be forgiving of others and myself when I am wronged.

~Ellen

1 Corinthians 1:18-19

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate” (NIV).

To One Who is Perishing

don’t look for answers
in stacks of books
or the words shared
over coffee, forget trying
to map it all out, it’s not
a blueprint you buy
or something a guru offers

the cross
confounds some folks
seems like a mirage,
an illusion

listen up
forget oracles
seers sprouting
five syllable words
God’s got a message

got a moment
listen up
there’s still time

~Linda

This fall, members and friends of WCUC gathered to connect to scripture through creative writing.  You can read more here and by picking up a packet of other pieces at church.

But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. Genesis 33:4

To our children, David and Carolyn:

Genesis is filled with sibling rivalry just as our house was for a time. It seemed to start when you, David, would not let me nurse your sister in peace. You will remember the times you tormented each other. Or perhaps you were trying to torment your father and me. The self-help book I bought back then to try to guide and reassure myself said that the worst thing we could do was take sides. That is apparently the aim of sibling rivalry—to get the parents to choose one over the other. And some of the fathers and mothers in Genesis did just that.

I am so grateful that you made peace and made it so beautifully. When you chose the same college, I protested, reminding you that your classmates would not look on your unfriendly competition fondly. You both registered surprise. Didn’t I realize that you liked each other now? Didn’t I know how close you were? I was still mired in the days of (s)he-hit-me-first.

Not much is worse than adult siblings who still bicker and compete. Your toasts to each other at your weddings remain among the best moments of my life. Hearing and feeling the love and esteem that you so clearly hold for each other warmed my soul. I treasure the comments of guests who marveled at the mixture of self-deprecation, humor, and love that characterized those toasts.

So when Esau ran to meet Jacob with such love, I thought of you two. Jacob didn’t need to be so afraid, at least if he had been in our family.

~Susan

Matthew 4:1-11

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished.”

This, I have learned, is the seminal passage—written also in the Gospels of Mark and Luke (but not John)—which inspires the season of Lent. Jesus’ fasting for forty days and enduring temptations by the devil before beginning his public ministry is reflected by the Christian practice of taking the forty days before Easter (not including Sundays) to contemplate Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, and honoring it with some form of personal sacrifice, repentance, and/or spiritual discipline.

But I have questions…

Immediately before this event Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and identified by God (no less!)—“This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

If Jesus has already been declared Holy and Divine, why does he then need to be taken by his Father to endure a life-ending fast (no human can live forty days without food or water!), and mortal temptations? What kind of father does that? Who is this devil? What is the relationship between the devil and God? Why does the devil have any influence over Jesus, to “tempt” him, if Jesus is already Divine?

After some thought, I am led to wonder:

Does Jesus, the man, fully understand his Divinity?

Is this event a part of his spiritual journey—needing to wrestle with, understand, and reconcile, his somehow being both Divine and human?

Is this something I can identify with? Or even simply begin to understand?

Emmanuel, as I think about these questions, please help me to discern your closeness, love and wisdom.

~Andrew

John 17:20-26

“I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf that of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one” (vv. 20-22).

Jesus seems to be asking his Father, God, to hold all of those who believe in him as the same. It seems to matter not how the belief was acquired, from Jesus himself, from one of his twelve disciples or from another who learned from one of them, or another who learned from them, or another, ad infinitum.  It is important that the belief in Jesus was acquired rather than from whom it was acquired.

This also seems to indicate that there are not different levels among believers based upon from whom the belief in Jesus was learned. And it therefore does not seem to be very important whether the belief was acquired yesterday or a half a lifetime ago. All believers are equal before God.

This equality before God and Jesus’ love for his followers is spoken of again in verses 23-26. God’s love will be in Jesus and in his followers as well.

O Lord, please help us to respect, value, and love all of those who call themselves Christians, whether they are of the same group as we are or another. And lord, please help us to love, value and respect those of us who call themselves by other titles, such as Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, non-believers and others. We affirm that we are all children of God and have the capacity to love one another as God loves us. Amen.

~Bob

Philippians 3:12-21

“Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it on my own; but this one thing I do (know): forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus” (vv. 13-14).

I certainly “do not consider that I have made it on my own!” I need all the help I can get—and I sometimes hesitate to ask. Asking for help is not easy for me. When I do, what I try to do is not ask blatantly for an answer, but to understand the challenge and what I might learn from it, as well as for the courage to seek the right road toward the solution. Sometimes this is not easy for me.

“Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead” makes me smile. Years ago our dear pastor, Forster Freeman, said that in his evening prayers and in meditations, he swept the blackboard clean, or he also put it that he “threw out the garbage,” giving thanks for what he had been given and learned throughout the day and asking for any forgiveness he might need—then he focused on the new day that he would be facing in the morning. Rather than muddling through the minutiae of our days that seem to absorb us, his approach seemed like a simple approach to living, leaving the new day open for new experiences and learning. Discovering this passage was such a treat for me—it affirmed what I had felt for so many years and offered me support not to hesitate in the difficult process of humbly asking for help.

Gracious God, thank you for every day of living and learning and for being there for us on our journeys. We know we are not alone. Let us “hold fast to what we have attained” and guide us as we strive in our lives toward the perfection we know in Jesus, your Son. Amen.

~Sarah

Psalm 37:37-8

“Mark the blameless and behold the upright, for there is posterity for the peaceable. But the transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off.”

Many of the Psalms trouble me because they assure us that God will destroy the wicked and the righteous shall triumph over evildoers. This passage in Psalm 37 is one illustration of the Psalmist’s faith that goodness will always win out over wickedness. Given the world that I see around me, I cannot believe that this is happening. There is so much warfare, poverty, vindictiveness and cruelty throughout the world, and it doesn’t show any sign of abating, despite the efforts of many righteous people. The passage above assures us that the children of the wicked shall also be cut off and destroyed. If that were true, I would be very concerned because I do not believe it is right for the next generation to be punished for their predecessor’s evil deeds. Thus, I think the Psalms promise goodness to the righteous, which is not in accord with the world as it is.

On a more positive note, I think that that the Psalmists have faith in their writings and believe that at some future time their predictions will come true. And, of course, I see many examples of goodness overcoming evil. The work of many, Christians and others, is encouraging, as there is much being done to help the poor and the homeless, to bring hope and sustenance to the people of struggling nations, and to show love and support for those in need. There is indeed a great deal of caring in the world we live in. My hope is that the faith of the Psalmists will ultimately triumph, but it might take many more generations for it to happen.

God, let us be realistic about the promises we read in the Psalms and not expect evil to disappear quickly. Help us to have faith that by working always for goodness and mercy, we are bringing this world closer to the world you want us to be. Amen.

~Win

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

“Give alms…Pray to your Father…Fast without a gloomy face…” (vv. 2, 5, 16)

I need Lent. I require this season of reflection and repentance, and these are good and salutary ways to serve our neighbor and worship God. I need Lent because I’m unimpressed with my own mortality. On Ash Wednesday we are branded with ashes, as a reminder of our mortal nature, and sent out marked to begin a period of forty days and forty nights where we contemplate our relationship to Christ and the world He came to save.

“When you give to the needy” (v. 3). Jesus never commands us to give to the poor, he just assumes that we will do what we can for others less fortunate. That could be in the form of charitable donations, volunteerism, activism or anything that is intended to serve others. We do what we can.

“Beware of practicing your piety before others” (v. 1). I have a ritual that I perform daily; I walk down Rt. 119 to the Acton Coffee House for a cuppa, as my mother called her morning coffee. On the walk I pray aloud, the Our Father, Psalm 23 and the Hail Mary, then I petition God for assistance for those who need it; I’m sure that those who witness this have no idea that I’m practicing my piety before others.

“Lay up for yourself treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (v. 19)

“When you fast…” Again Jesus doesn’t command us to fast; he assumes that we will as a mechanism to learn what we hunger for. What do you hunger for? I hunger for social justice. I’ve recently become a vegan and have chosen not to eat meat. If more people would focus on helping their fellow man rather than amassing personal wealth this would be a much better world.

Heavenly Father, please send me the Holy Spirit so that I may better understand your will, so that I may be a better servant, a better Christian, a better father and a better friend.

~Dennis