Isolated, but not Alone

           

As I am writing this the state of TN was the latest in the line of states to declare stay at home acts. This is a hard time that we are living in, there is no doubt about that. Every day we are told of how many more people around the world have contracted Covid-19, and how many deaths have been due to this virus. Of course we also want to know how many Americans, and then we need that broken down into how many Tennesseans and even how many in Washington County.

            There is no shortage of this information. The news outlets seem to cover nothing but this, and there are even 24-hour a day streaming platforms to give us up to the minute details of the numbers, the people, affected. We are told of the economic implications that will affect us for years after the epidemic of the virus has been controlled.

            Jobs have been lost, graduations have been cancelled, school will be done a new way, and employers who can keep their workers are struggling to fund creative ways to allow work from home and still stay in business.

            There is no end to the effects of Covid-19. And daily the death toll rises.

            What are we to do?

            The gospel of Mark begins in a unique way, “This is the Good News about Jesus” (Mark 1:1a). Mark does not begin with a genealogy to show Jesus’ heritage and messianic claims, nor does he talk of shepherds and angels and Mary and Joseph. Mark jumps right into Jesus at age 30, being baptized in the Jordan River. Immediately after this Mark says that Jesus began calling his disciples and performing many miracles and healings.

            And then, right in the 1^st chapter of this gospel, Mark writes these words, “Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray” (Mark 1:35).

            Isolation. That’s a scary word, and perhaps even more so in the culture of our day. Patients in hospitals all over the world are alone as family members are not allowed to be there with them. The CDC advice to anyone who feels ill is self-quarantine, and in many homes there are isolated people living under the same roof.

            When we are isolated we feel alone. And feeling alone can feed a feeling of fear.

            But I have always found that it interesting, that right off the bat in Mark’s gospel, as he is laying the groundwork of who Jesus is and what is important in Jesus and in life in general, that he intentionally says that Jesus sought out some isolation. Not to be alone completely, but to be alone with his Father, and to engage in a very specific and intentional act….prayer.

            I don’t know where you will be when you read this, or what the numbers of Covid-19 impact will be. But here is what I am thinking that we can do today, allow a time of staying at home, of staying away from others, to draw us closer to our God.

            Seek an intentional isolated place today, and maybe that isn’t going to be too hard. Maybe it’s a favorite chair, or room in your house. If you can get outside in your yard then maybe that provides a great prayer spot for you.

            And then just pray.

Speak to God what is on your heart.

            And know that even in isolation, you are not alone.

The rhythm of the lectionary

                We need some balance in our lives right now. We need some continuity in our lives right now.

                Hebrews 13:8 says that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

                That is a verse we all need in times like this. Knowing that in an upside down out of control world that God is still His always right side up in control Self.

                I would encourage you to hang on to that verse, especially in the week ahead.

                And I want to give you another unchanging resource as well.

                The lectionary.

                Vanderbilt Divinity Library defines the lectionary in this way:

The Revised Common Lectionary is a three-year cycle of weekly lections used to varying degrees by the vast majority of mainline Protestant churches in Canada and the United States. The RCL is built around the seasons of the Church Year, and includes four lections for each Sunday, as well as additional readings for major feast days. During most of the year, the lections are: a reading from the Hebrew Bible, a Psalm, a reading from the Epistles, and a Gospel reading. During the season of Easter, the Hebrew Bible lection is usually replaced with one from the Acts of the Apostles. The lections from the Hebrew Bible are sometimes chosen from the Apocrypha.

The seasons of the Church Year reflect the life of Christ. Consequently, the gospel lections for each Sunday provide the focus for that day. The other lections for a given day generally have a thematic relationship to the gospel reading for that day, although this is not always the case. In Ordinary Time, the Revised Common Lectionary offers two sets of readings for the lessons from the Hebrew Bible. One set proceeds mostly continuously, giving the story of the Patriarchs and the Exodus in Year A, the monarchial narratives in Year B, and readings from the Prophets in Year C. In the other set of readings for Ordinary Time, the readings from the Hebrew Bible are thematically related to the gospel lections. Denominations or local churches generally use either the semicontinuous readings or the thematic readings during Ordinary Time. They do not typically move back and forth between the two over the course of a single season.

The gospel readings for each year come from one of the synoptic gospels according to the following pattern:

Year A - Matthew

Year B - Mark

Year C - Luke

Readings from the Gospel of John can be found throughout the RCL.[i]

So, basically the lectionary is a set of daily Scripture readings, from the Old Testament, from the Gospel, from the Psalms, and from an Epistle (basically Acts-Revelation). I wanted to share all this today because I find the lectionary to be a gift of comfort amid the craziness of the world, especially right now. The lectionary, in conjunction with our church calendar, give us a rhythm and routine to life and worship, and that the two are always connected.

A few years ago I started beginning every day with a reading from the Psalms. Then I incorporated the daily lectionary reading in as well, Old Testament and New Testament. And in this ancient scriptural practice I found a beautiful routine that was comforting, not boring, routine, but not regular.

For me, the lectionary calendar provides a routine that I desperately need.

In my first appointment I came thinking of all the ways that we could change up the worship service, from the music to where I preached from, even to the bulletins and the order of worship. I wanted to make sure that no one was too “comfortable”, which I assumed then would lead to “complacent”. As I sat one afternoon and talked to a recently widowed church member, she said these words, “I can’t wait to get back to church. My life is so out of control right now. At least in church I know what to expect. I know what comes next.”

What to expect.

What comes next.

Those are things that we want now, also, I think.

Her words have stuck with me. I didn’t need to change up an order of worship, there is something important, there is something comforting, in knowing what comes next.

As I sit here this morning writing these words I am looking out my window, and I can’t see past the road at the end of my yard. I know that there are trees on the other side of the road. I know that Willie and Barbara live just to the left. But I can’t see anything past my yard. It doesn’t mean that the trees and the Gehlen’s house is not there anymore, just because I can’t see it. It just means that right now there is something blocking the view for me.

The lectionary is kind of like this for me. I can’t see everything that will happen, and that’s ok. I can see what I need to see, and I know, at least for this moment, what will come next.

I want to encourage you, as we are in this unique time in our lives, to engage in the lectionary with me. I have posted links to both the daily readings (we are in Year A right now), and the Sunday readings, on our Telford United Methodist Church website under the “Ministries” tab (https://webtelfordunitedme.wixsite.com/mysite/ministries-1)

You can even click here to import all of these readings directly into your online calendar!! https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/calendar.php

I hope that the lectionary can be a gift of comfort to you during these days and weeks ahead. And know that there are so many others around the world reading the same Scripture with you today.

And if you haven’t done this yet, you can also sign up to receive a daily devotional email based on the Scripture readings from the lectionary directly from members of our Holston Conference. You can sign up to get this daily email here: https://list.robly.com/subscribe?a=86212b741523f9e41a9d3b61c1c0c05a

Things are different. And they will continue to be. But our God is the same, always and forever. In the midst of the changing landscape of the world we live in, know that God’s promises to you in Scripture, His love shown to you in Jesus, and His presence with you in the Holy Spirit, remains unchangeable and eternal.

Rest in that knowledge. Be comforted in that truth. And engage in a routine with the Lord that brings you closer to Him.

Grace & Peace,

Pastor Michael

For those interested, here is my “normal” routine for engaging with the lectionary readings:

1.       Read a Psalm (actually right now I am not reading the recommended Psalm for the day, I am reading through the Psalter in order again, from Psalm 1 to Psalm 150. Sometimes I break up the longer Psalms into more than one day, do whatever you feel God leading you to).

2.       Read the New Testament passage

3.       Read the Old Testament passage

4.       Read a brief devotional (Sometimes I use the Upper Room, or sometimes the Holston Conference email devotional that is listed above—I like this because it goes along with the Scripture I just read. Right now I am reading this book, https://www.amazon.com/Library-Lewis-Selections-Influenced-Spiritual/dp/0307730824, which is a collection of short quotes from some of the writers who influenced CS Lewis.) There are also thousands of devotions through your Youversion Bible app.

5.       Prayer (I keep a prayer journal of prayer requests, what I am thankful for, supplications of others), I begin with the Lord’s Prayer because that helps center me

There is no right or wrong way here, and this structure works for me right now, but will change perhaps as I continue to mature and change as well. Find what works for you where you are right now in your relationship with God. W

We will get through this because God is with us. Take precautions, stay home if you can, follow the health and safety guidelines, and engage with your Father. He’s waiting….

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[i] https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/faq2.php

All will be well---so give up

As I am writing this devotion we are still in the season of Lent. Lent is the 40 day period (not counting Sunday’s) that is from Ash Wednesday to Easter. This year that means Lent began on February 26 and ends on April 11.

            Lent is a beautiful gift of preparation, of self-denial and reflection. Lent is also a time that many people choose to give up something, or pick up a new something in their life, with the hope and expectation that this 40 day period will be a time that they draw closer to God.

            I have given up many material things during Lent over the years. One year I gave up Mtn. Dew (and I still haven’t drank one since), one year I gave up meat (and then ate an entire bag of beef jerky right after the Easter worship service—thanks Bob Fletcher!). Giving up things for a period of time is good for us.

            And yet as I am writing this devotion there is so much more going on in the world than just Lent. And yet, Lent is still here, among us, even as we are in the midst of so much today.

            In the past couple of weeks we have been asked to give up many things. Not just Christians giving up chocolate or Mtn. Dew’s for Lent, but as humans giving up things for the benefit and well-being of other humans amid a global pandemic.

            We have been asked to give up some travel. Stay home.

            We have been asked to give up some eating out. Stay home.

            We have been asked to give up meeting together in church sanctuaries. Stay home.

            We have been asked to give up gathering in groups. Stay home.

            We have been asked to give up being in physical contact with others, and we have even been asked to maintain distance between others.

            We have been told to clean, wash, disinfect. Things that are always a good idea, just saying.

            And as we have been told to give up these things for a while, I watched the fear and anxiety increase through the news on TV, and even in my neighborhood. Just walk down the toilet paper aisle at Wal-Mart, or try to find bleach at Dollar General, or bread at Food City, and you see firsthand our human reaction.

            In the giving up of these things, some people have picked up many other things. Fear, worry, anxiety. And it’s no wonder. When all you hear is the media outlets, the social media hysteria, and the doomsday prophecies there is little room for anything else.

            So how about right now, right in the heart of the Lenten season, we just go ahead and give up. We’ve been giving up many other things anyway, so why not give up a few more things today?

            Give up fear.

                        “The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?”--Psalm 27:1

            Give up worry.

                        “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”—Matthew 6:25-27

            Give up anxiety.

                        “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”—1 Peter 5:7

            Give up hoarding.

                        “The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.”—Proverbs 22:19

            Give up running.

                        “Be still and know that I am God”—Psalm 46:10

            Give up control.

                        “Then he went a short distance farther and fell on his face and prayed, “My Father, if it’s possible, take this cup of suffering away from me. However—not what I want but what you want.”—Matthew 26:39

            God has got this. He’s got the whole world in His hands. And He loves you and cares for you. Be strong in Him, be courageous as a child of the Most High God. Do not fear and do not worry. For God is with you. God is with us. And it is well.

            “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well” (Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love).