Lent, Coca-cola and Hope

Welcome to decreased blood pressure day as I like to refer to it. It’s the first day back in the office after Holy Week and Easter. One of the things that they don’t tell you in training for the ministry, is that in most ministry structures the pastor is going to be doing so much stuff that the sacredness or specialness of some of the seasons we celebrate are going to be somewhat muted, and in some cases set aside all together.
Colleges who have larger staffs than I, or many more volunteers than I , and more organic “loosy goosy” structures seem to note the same experience. I have the same problem with the sabbath. Sunday’s are not the relaxing day devoted to God and health that they should be, for obvious reasons. So for me my sabbath is Monday. (and please don’t make comments about Sabbath being saturday and that I’m a Bible perverter because I don’t keep “the Sabbath” as God commanded, unless you are blind and handless because they caused you to sin and you removed them, or celebrated the year of jubilee anytime recently... I’m still working on my bank on that one)
I need to turn a corner here quickly, I didn’t mean for this to be a rant about the business of clergy during holy seasons, I wanted to reflect a little on my experience of Lent this year. (and by the way Easter worship services were AMAZING at Orchards UMC this year!)
As before mentioned, Lent was wacko crazy for me this year. I serve on the board of Ordained Ministry for the conference I am a part of, so as Lent began I was spending considerable time reading volumes of written materials, watching video recorded worship services, and reading bible studies prepared by our candidates for ordination, not to mention several days of travel to interview those candidates with the board. I also serve on the board of congregational development for the conference I belong to and we re in the midst of some rather milestone marking refocusing for our conference, that I believe, if our church’s and clergy take it seriously, could make a major impact on the way we “do ministry” in the Pacific Northwest Conference of United Methodism. Also my local congregation is in the midst of redefining itself and part of that redefinition is the way we respond to God’s call through our stewardship, and specifically our financial stewardship, so working with some wonderful and incredibly bright and caring people from my local congregation on this issue was another set of responsibilities on my plate. So Lent was for me a bundle of meetings, and scheduling calendars, doing the pastoral work my church needs from me and squishing in some personal time to keep my own soul and family healthy. Grace abounded for me this Lent, because I sure wasn’t adding anything to my life and routines that I could in anyway be mistaken that I was some how earning God’s grace (hmmm avoiding heresy by apathy and diversion... I think I see a book in the future, now if I can work revelation and demons into it I’d have a hit!)
So with all that being said there was one discipline that I was being faithful to during this lent; “self denial” - not through anything monumental but simply by giving up Coca-Cola. I admit it is small, and for the most part I give up coke for lent as something I can joke around with the kids of my congregation about. I have been greeted by cases of coke on my door step, or passenger seat of my car or piled on my desk on Easter morning by wonderful parishioners. This year in the midst of the business and hustle and bustle of life and work, that simple act of self denial reminded me that there was something bigger going on in the world. On those evenings when I had to run through the drive through at McD’s and I would order Ice Tea or water instead of a coke , it reminded me that it was Lent and that there was something at work in the world that is so easily missed. In that very simple reminder of “oh ya... Its Lent ..I’ll have Water thank you” God’s spirit touched my heart, and the assurance that God’s grace through Jesus works in my life even on those busiest of days was incredibly real.

I hope your Lent was eye opening and renewing, and I hope your Easter was filled by the spirit of the God who loved us enough to come get us.

:::lifting a Coca-cola glass::: SALUTE