Pax et Bonum

The Online worship resource for St. James Parish

May 20, 2009

In his life, Christ is an example showing us how to live;
In his death, he is a sacrifice, satisfying for our sins;
In his resurrection, a conqueror;
In is ascension a king;
In his intercession, a high priest.
---Martin Luther---
Oh God, the King of glory,
You have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ
with great triumph to your Kingdom in heaven;
Do not leave us comfortless,
But send your Holy Spirit
To strengthen us, and exalt us to that place
Where our Savior Christ has gone before;
Who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
One God, in glory everlasting, AMEN
---Book of Common Prayer---

Ascension

Tomorrow the Church celebrates the Feast of the Ascension. The Ascension calls to mind the 40th day of Jesus’ post resurrection appearances. He gathered his disciples together, and told them he would send the Holy Spirit, and they would be filled with power from on high. Then he blessed them, and was carried up into heaven.

The ascension is a difficult concept to portray. As I looked through the artwork available on the web, I found a series of overtly-religious, rather unwelcoming pictures of Christ ascending to heaven – the renaissance Christ of long blond hair and angelic face; or I found artwork that veered more toward New Age sensibilities, or pictures of white doves flying in to heaven.

None of these portrayed the wonder, and the surprise that the disciples must have felt at Jesus’ rise from the earth. Perhaps the best way I have seen this portrayed is in the Godly Play story I told in chapel this morning, in which the Christ Candle became the symbol of Christ’s life on earth – when it is lit during Easter Season, and at Baptisms, we remember Christ the resurrected. And when it is dark, we remember that Christ has gone before us into heaven –

Christ has died
Christ has risen
Christ will come again.

Ascension reflects the rhythm of our lives as we walk in faith. We remember Christ’s death on the Cross, we live, for a few short weeks, his resurrection glory, and then we enter into Ordinary Time, when the presence of Christ naturally is with us and within us in ways that cannot be explained. This is the great mystery of the Ascension, and has been lived by believers for 2000 years – that without seeing, we believe.

The disciples rejoiced:
"Alleluia! Alleluia!"
When they saw the risen Lord,
"Alleluia! Alleluia!"
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit
As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever, AMEN
---from the Liturgy of the Hours---

The Fruit of Discipline

They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither.
Psalm 1

Part of the discernment program that I oversee for the Diocese of Maryland contains an exercise with the spiritual disciplines. Last Monday evening and Saturday morning I met with groups to talk about some of the disciplines and a bit of the exercise that would help them practice the disciplines in their own lives.

Psalm 1 reminds us to practice the basic disciplines of prayer and study. When we are steeped in the wisdom of scripture and the serenity of a prayerful life, the fruit of discernment is available to us for the challenges of living.

Right decision and right action grow organically out of the exposure to and contemplation of God’s Word. As the tree in the Psalm is watered by a constant flow of water, we can be enlightened by a consistent study of scripture.

It is the nature of trees to seek out water with their roots and to stretch upward for the nourishment of the sun. I believe it is within human nature to seek these things as well. We long to ground ourselves in the places where we live, within our families, our communities. We long for roots. We look for beauty and food for the mind and heart in art, and science and faith. We long for meaning.

Meditating on the scripture will bring us both roots and meaning. The Creator brings all things together, and we will find that the beauty of the Living Word contains within it the loveliness of the natural order. The poetry of the Word fills our souls with wonder. The truth of the Word refreshes the Spirit and gives good direction to the life we are living.

The Fruit of spending time in the Word is hope. And hope is a most precious fruit indeed.

Blessings,
Debra

Holy Spirit of God,
Who prefers before all temples
The upright heart and pure,
Instruct us in all truth;
What is dark, illumine,
What is low, raise and support,
What is shallow, deepen;
That every chapter in our lives
May witness to your power
And justify the ways of love.
---ohn Milton---

Daily Morning Prayer

Daily Morning Prayer

This Week at St. James

Sunday June 7th: Art+ and Erica’s last day. There will be a picnic in their honor after the 10:15 service. Please bring side dishes, salads and desserts to share.

If you would like to contribute toward a farewell gift for Art+, please contact me.

Prayers Etc.

For those on our prayer list:

For Matt Rogers and his continued discernment.

For those who are deployed and their families.

In Closing:

Love of Jesus, fill us,
Joy of Jesus, surprise us,
Peace of Jesus, flood us,
Light of Jesus, transform us,
Touch of Jesus, warm us,
Strength of Jesus, encourage us,
O Saviour, in your agony, forgive us,
In your wounds, hide us,
And in your risen life take us with you,
For your love’s sake.
---Angela Ashwin---

Pax et Bonum,
Loree+

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