Open Mike

Ancient Future Church 2021: Praying the 'Stations of the Cross' Wed - Fri @ LFC

A below-the-waterline value of ours at Lake Forest Church is to be an ancient-future church. This week we'll attempt to live it out by opening the worship center Wed-Fri for people  to 'Pray the Stations of the Cross.'

What do we mean by ancient-future church?  'Future' as in modern worship style & music, and worship elements like spoken word and illustrative short films. These practices are an attempt to speak timeless truth and sacred experience in the heart/head language of our current cultural sensibilities. 

'Ancient' as in we regularly seek to lean into some of the most effective ancient worship and discipleship practices from 2,000+ years of Christian experience. For example, in our worship planning room, we have a cork board with cards pinned to it, each labeled with a different historical church worship practice. We generally choose one of them to use or reinterpret for each sermon series.  Some recent examples have been singing The Doxology to end worship weekly in one series, reciting the Apostle's Creed weekly during another series, and more.

This Easter week we once again invite folks to the ancient practice of 'Praying the Stations of the Cross,' as a way to meditate slowly on Jesus' journey to the cross, prepare our spirit for Easter worship, and identify with him more fully in our union with Him by faith.  We are doing this instead of a Good Friday worship service this year.  There are 14 traditional stations that will progress around the walls of our worship center, and out into the Prayer Garden (when weather is nice Thurs/Fri).  Each station has original art work commissioned by us, a brief passage of scripture, and a poetic prayer for each of us to pray or make into our own.  The artwork is by a former staff member of ours, the prayers by an Irish poet. Both are detailed below, along with a bit of history on this practice, copied from the handout that will be available to all.

The LFCH worship center will be open, with contemplative music playing softly, for this prayer journey this Wednesday through Friday 9am-5pm.  Communion will be offered on Good Friday from 11am-1pm, and from 3-5m, at the end of the stations.  All this while observing distancing and masking carefully. I invite you to try it with an open mind, if you've never prayed the stations before.

"Jesus is Beaten and Scourged" by Melody Hogan

We want to be sure we are never a modern only, happy slappy clappy church (though we are certainly happy and clappy often!), but that we also lean into tried and true ways of experiencing the awe, mystery, truth and wonder of our faith in Christ. Particularly when we gather for weekly worship together.  'Ancient-Future' is how we talk about that in a 'both/and' sort of way.  Our long-time staff member Tracy Grubbs is our liturgist in chief, who always lovingly and artfully puts together events like Ash Wednesday and Stations of the Cross - thank you Tracy for serving us all so well.

As promised, here's a bit more about the origin of Stations of the Cross, and the artwork and poetic prayers in this year's edition:

The Way of the Cross:
During the Turkish occupation of the Holy Land in the late
Middle Ages, when pilgrims were prevented from visiting its
sacred sites, the custom arose of making replicas of those
holy places, where the faithful might come to pray. One of the most popular of these
devotions was the “Stations of the Way of the Cross,” which were imitations of the
“stations,” or stopping places of prayer on the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem. By the late
sixteenth century the fourteen stations, as we know them today, were erected in
almost all Catholic churches.

At each of the fourteen stations:
-Read the Scripture, view the image, pray the accompanying written prayer aloud
or silently.
-Then meditate on the prayer and image, making the prayer your own. Either gently
repeat the written prayer or pray your own life into the subject of that prayer

A Preparatory Prayer-- St. Francis
Most merciful Lord,
With a contrite heart and penitent spirit I bow down before Thy divine Majesty.
I adore Thee as my supreme Lord and Master. I believe in Thee, I hope in Thee,
I love Thee above all things. I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, my only
and supreme God.
I firmly resolve to amend my life; and although I am unworthy to obtain mercy, yet
looking upon Thy holy Cross, I am filled with peace and consolation. I will, therefore,
meditate on Thy sufferings, and visit the Stations. O Loving Jesus, inflame my cold
heart with Thy love, that I may live and die in union with Thee.
Amen.

About the artist:
Melody Hogan’s series of artwork for the “Stations of the Cross” reflects her love
of graphic design and simplified shapes and forms. Her abstractions serve as
connection points that invite hearts to earnestly engage in the sacred and
solemn observance of Holy Week as if they were hazy memories experienced
personally by the viewer.
The materials of reclaimed cardboard, rusted metal and pastel chalk were
chosen to represent the earthly, deteriorating nature of our lives as human
beings. These mundane materials also highlight the mystery of the incarnation
of God: Fully God in all His glory choosing to be Fully Man, subjected to the
constraints of a broken and fallen world.
This body of work is intended to offer us a unique opportunity to not only
witness but share in the Passions (pain and suffering) of the Christ (the Anointed
One).
It also serves as a fitting reminder of this verse in Matthew:
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy
and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in
heaven. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:19-2

Learn more about Melody's art and work here https://melodyhogan.com/

About the poet:

Pádraig Ó Tuama is a poet and theologian based in Belfast. ... He is the leader of the Corrymeela
Community, a Christian witness to peace in Northern Ireland, and is the author of two books of poetry,
Readings from the Book of Exile and Sorry for Your Troubles
the Prayers in this piece are from Daily Prayer with the Corrymeela Community

St. Patrick's Prayer For A Time Like This

Happy St. Patrick’s Day friends! I have a prayer, rooted in Patrick’s actual life and ministry, that I’m going to begin praying daily during this time of uncertainty. It's kind of long, which will get my attention fully as I start each day.  I invite you to try it on today, perhaps many days. I PROMISE it will have a better result in your life than drinking green beer or even Guiness :)

Because the most important call I've heard so far in this time is this: use the extra time, the calmed down schedule, to lean into the spiritual practices I know keep me healthy. This changing situation has created a background of stress in each of our lives, which makes us more vulnerable than normal to situational depression or anxiety, being our worst self with others in the home or at work, etc.  Here are the spiritual practices I'm leaning into:

1. Daily Bible reading (I'm using the Pray As You Go app this year), 2. daily prayer (perhaps multiple times), 3. spiritual reading (read or re-read solid Christian books to get mind off the pandemic and media and fear), 4. regular connection with wise spiritual friendships (keeps me centered as my best self), 5. serve others in the name of Christ (make a run to food bank every time I grocery shop, reach out to isolated individuals, other opportunities our church will make us aware of).

So here's the prayer - St. Patrick's Breastplate is a popular prayer attributed to Ireland’s most beloved patron saint. According to tradition, St. Patrick wrote it in 433 A.D. for divine protection before successfully converting the Irish King Leoghaire and his subjects  to Christianity. The term breastplate refers to a piece of armor worn in battle.

More recent scholarship suggests its author was anonymous, a generation or three after Patrick, but reflecting the unique early Celtic Christian spirituality that has captured my theological imagination so much in my career. This prayer certainly reflects the spirit with which St. Patrick brought the faith to Ireland!I have printed it out and its in my daily morning spot.

St. Patrick's Breastplate (also known as The Lorica of Saint Patrick and The Cry of the Deer; I have edited slightly) 

I arise today 
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth with His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In the predictions of prophets,
In the preaching of apostles,
In the faith of confessors,
In the deeds of righteous people.

I arise today, through
The strength of heaven,
The light of the sun,
The radiance of the moon,
The splendor of fire,
The speed of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of the sea,
The stability of the earth,
The firmness of rock.

I arise today, through
God's strength to pilot me,
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptation of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and near.

I summon today
All these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel and merciless power
that may oppose my body and soul,
Against every knowledge that corrupts body and soul;
Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me an abundance of reward.

Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

[Note that people sometimes pray a shorter version of this prayer just with these 15 lines about Christ above. The conclusion follows below.]

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.

When St. Paul referred to putting on the “Armor of God” in his letter to the Ephesians (6:11), he could have been thinking of prayers just like this one! We may not wear combat gear in our daily lives, but St. Patrick's Breastplate can function as divine armor for protection against spiritual adversity...in...a...time...like...this.

I Buried My Dog Copper Yesterday, the 'Eager Dog'

I want to share with you a good grace in my life: I buried my dog Copper Moses yesterday evening.

Many of you have grieved a beloved pet, some of you see it in coming years. This was hard for me.

My Christmas Eve sermon this year highlighted my constant companion Copper, with a picture and the showing of her bowl as a modern day ‘animal food dish’ (the manger). Five days later I learned that in addition to her advanced age (14.5 years) she had a cancerous tumor filling 25% of her lungs. The boys, Angie and I spent their winter break beginning to say goodbye to one of God’s best gifts to us. I did not tell many people because even I need privacy now and then.

Lately, her periodic struggles to breathe and other problems peaked, and her Vet and I decided it’s time.

Mid-day Tuesday my compassionate Veterinary Doctor sat in the floor cradling Copper along with me, and she went to final sleep. And entered whatever intermediate rest is reserved for ‘soulish’ creatures – that word the Bible uses for mammals at the dawn of creation. She is now resting before the restoration of ‘all things.’ I know not what her lot will be on that Great Day, but I know she is covered by the biblical phrase ‘all things.’

Before the end, I was ministered to by Lake Forest Church. The veterinary assistant was a twenty-something young woman who grew up at LFC. She paid special attention to Copper when she was boarded or tended over the past year. So she scheduled herself to help the doctor this day for this task. She asked for time alone with me and Copper, and said ‘would you like for us to pray?’ I nodded yes, and began to pray in grief-cracked voice. Alyssa stopped me – ‘no, you often pray for others, this is my time to minister to you, I was taught well,’ and she prayed the most dear prayer – for me, our family, for Copper, and glorifying God for all of his good gifts.

The cardboard coffin was loaded into my car, and I made a beeline for the place Copper and I shared together, alone, most often – Windy Ridge. My parents 1890’s Virginia farmhouse on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Where I go monthly for sermon writing, prayer and reflection. My car did not smell good as I drove northward, subtracting from any romantic notions I had.

I selected a spot along one of our favorite walks for her burial site and started to dig. Deep, wide and long was the cardboard coffin, so the task was appropriately arduous. Nor did I want wild animals to dig her up. The weather was deep fog with occasional rain, matching my gray mood. Perfect. I could not tell when the fogging of my glasses was from external moisture or my grateful tears.

At seven in the evening I laid her to rest in the dark, placed her leash and a few other tokens in with her, and covered Copper’s body over with the soil of our traversing. Then the rain began in earnest and continued all night. Perfect. Thank you Lord.

Even the Lead Pastor, Moderator and normal Lake Norman dude has need to do this once in a great while – I cancelled everything for the next two days. Some life moments are too great to just move on in normalcy. I needed to just be, and to reflect, in honor of the completion of this great gift I had been given.

Last night (and into today), I sat by the fire and found comfort in the following ways:

Psalms 145-150.  These are pure praises to God, such as ‘everything you have made pleases you…comprehending your blessings we sing for joy upon our beds…all you have made praise you.”   I listened to these six Psalms read aloud on my Bible app.  Wow.  My thankfulness to God for Copper Moses is set in an even grander landscape.  I am thankful for the good gift of Copper for almost 15 years.  God is good, and sovereign.  Life is so good, I am okay with God’s decrees, which include endings.

Writing down favorite memories of Copper.

Reading, almost memorizing the poem “The Eager Dog” by Wendell Berry.  An American intellectual, agrarian, some say hippie, and Christian.  He gives intellectual backup to movements today to live and eat and work ‘close to the land,’ etc.  He is a creation-affirming man, poet and Christian.  Here is one of his poems, written on a Sunday, that I read and re-read today. It fits me and Copper, especially our blest times at Windy Ridge:

“The eager dog” lies strange and still

Who roamed the woods with me;

Then while I stood or climbed the hill

Or sat under a tree,

 

Awaiting what more time might say,

He thrashed in undergrowth,

Pursuing what he scared away,

Made ruckus for us both.

 

He’s dead; I go more quiet now, 

Stillness added to me

By time and sorrow, mortal law,

By loss of company

 

That his new absence has made new.

Though it must come by doom,

This quiet comes by kindness too,

And brings me nearer home,

 

For as I walk the wooded land

The morning of God’s mercy,

Beyond the work of mortal hand, 

Seen by more than I see,

 

The quiet deer look up and wait,

Held still in quick of grace.

And I wait, stop footstep and thought.

We stand here face to face.”

(This Day: Collected and New Sabbath Poems, Wendell Berry)

 

Your friend in Christ, and fellow griever of losses (human and creaturely) in this fallen world,

Mike Moses (next week I will post 3 more reflections occasioned by Copper's death)

I Stand By the Door: An Apologia For My Life

This week is our church's 17th birthday.  Last week I ran across the manila folder that holds my handwritten agendas and content of our six months of Sunday evening 'Core Group' meetings leading up to the launch of Lake Forest Church in October of 1998.  We met in a back room of the bowling alley at Exit 25 in Huntersville.

It reminded me of several things.  In the folder are mimeographed worship song sheets with chords on top, because I led us in singing with my little guitar.  My how far we've come!

I was also reminded that I conducted the entire first meeting of our 42 pioneers with my zipper down. No one knew me well enough to point it out.  This assured that I began in humility as a leader.

My favorite re-discovery in this file is a poem I read to the group at our first or second meeting.  "I Stand By the Door" is a poem I ran across in college that came to describe my understanding of my life calling - not the calling for everyone, but a bit of the uniqueness of my own passions, gifts, and relational leanings in ministry.  I read the poem to the group and we discussed being an entire church for the Lake Norman community that lives out its message. 

This poem represents my ongoing highest aspirations in my ministry today, and for our church. Join me in seeking to live as a door-keeper.

I Stand By the Door

By Sam Shoemaker "An Apologia For My Life"
I stand by the door.
I neither go to far in, nor stay to far out.
The door is the most important door in the world -
It is the door through which men walk when they find God.
There is no use my going way inside and staying there,
When so many are still outside and they, as much as I,
Crave to know where the door is.
And all that so many ever find
Is only the wall where the door ought to be.
They creep along the wall like blind men,
With outstretched, groping hands,
Feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door,
Yet they never find it.
So I stand by the door.

The most tremendous thing in the world
Is for men to find that door - the door to God.
The most important thing that any man can do
Is to take hold of one of those blind, groping hands
And put it on the latch - the latch that only clicks
And opens to the man's own touch.

Men die outside the door, as starving beggars die
On cold nights in cruel cities in the dead of winter.
Die for want of what is within their grasp.
They live on the other side of it - live because they have not found it.

Nothing else matters compared to helping them find it,
And open it, and walk in, and find Him.
So I stand by the door.

Go in great saints; go all the way in -
Go way down into the cavernous cellars,
And way up into the spacious attics.
It is a vast, roomy house, this house where God is.
Go into the deepest of hidden casements,
Of withdrawal, of silence, of sainthood.
Some must inhabit those inner rooms
And know the depths and heights of God,
And call outside to the rest of us how wonderful it is.
Sometimes I take a deeper look in.
Sometimes venture in a little farther,
But my place seems closer to the opening.
So I stand by the door.

There is another reason why I stand there.
Some people get part way in and become afraid
Lest God and the zeal of His house devour them;
For God is so very great and asks all of us.
And these people feel a cosmic claustrophobia
And want to get out. 'Let me out!' they cry.
And the people way inside only terrify them more.
Somebody must be by the door to tell them that they are spoiled.
For the old life, they have seen too much:
One taste of God and nothing but God will do any more.
Somebody must be watching for the frightened
Who seek to sneak out just where they came in,
To tell them how much better it is inside.
The people too far in do not see how near these are
To leaving - preoccupied with the wonder of it all.
Somebody must watch for those who have entered the door
But would like to run away. So for them too,
I stand by the door.

I admire the people who go way in.
But I wish they would not forget how it was
Before they got in. Then they would be able to help
The people who have not yet even found the door.
Or the people who want to run away again from God.
You can go in too deeply and stay in too long
And forget the people outside the door.
As for me, I shall take my old accustomed place,
Near enough to God to hear Him and know He is there,
But not so far from men as not to hear them,
And remember they are there too.

Where? Outside the door -
Thousands of them. Millions of them.
But - more important for me -
One of them, two of them, ten of them.
Whose hands I am intended to put on the latch.
So I shall stand by the door and wait
For those who seek it.

"I had rather be a door-keeper..."
So I stand by the door.

Taking, As Jesus Did, This Sinful World As It Is

"The Serenity Prayer is the most clear and succinct example of Christian maturity that exists." - Statement from Dr. Jim Martin, one of our lecturers in Israel.

How true.  After teaching the doctrine of The Fall from Genesis 3 last Sunday, I was reminded of this gem of a prayer.  Alcoholics Anonymous and other recovery groups have long treasured it as both a prayer and a definition of true sanity.  All human beings are in recovery from The Fall.  Or in denial they are fallen. That's why the insights of AA are thoroughly human and spiritual, and apply to every one of us.

Except most of us only know the first stanza.  The second stanza paints a picture of a Christian realist, accepting the Bigger Story as I was born into it, striving for a realistic 'reasonable happiness,' and trusting Jesus' Word that he will make 'all things right' unto supreme happiness in the future.  My part? According to the prayer, its to accept some things, change some things, and in all things surrender to God's will.

The Serenity Prayer  by Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971)Complete, Unabridged, Original Version.

God, give us grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.