by Rev. Lauren Sease Vanacore, Associate Minister on May 15th, 2013
Pentecost is, in short, the birthday of the Church. On the Day of Pentecost, while the people gathered in one place and Peter preached what could have been the most empowering sermon of his missionary career (Acts 2), the Church was born and a new people were born with it. I love Pentecost for many reasons, but primarily I love Pentecost because we are reminded that our God is a living, moving, creating, redeeming, sustaining God who loves and trusts us enough to do the work of ministry on God’s behalf. We get to be a part of the moving forward of the Gospel. Furthermore, we must be committed to this cause if we ever expect the Church to be filled with the Spirit as it was on that first day of Pentecost almost 2,000 years ago.
As we celebrate the Day of Pentecost on May 19, our congregation will have the privilege of receiving into membership our six Confirmation students. These young people made their profession of faith before the Session on April 28, but on Pentecost the congregation will bless such action and affirm the vows they made to these young people upon their baptism.
For these young people being Confirmed and for the congregation who is privileged to recognize that milestone, it is an opportunity for all of us to reaffirm our own vows to Christ and to the Church. So on May 19, listen again to the vows that are taken, reaffirm them for yourself and then, go do them!
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As we celebrate the Day of Pentecost on May 19, our congregation will have the privilege of receiving into membership our six Confirmation students. These young people made their profession of faith before the Session on April 28, but on Pentecost the congregation will bless such action and affirm the vows they made to these young people upon their baptism.
For these young people being Confirmed and for the congregation who is privileged to recognize that milestone, it is an opportunity for all of us to reaffirm our own vows to Christ and to the Church. So on May 19, listen again to the vows that are taken, reaffirm them for yourself and then, go do them!
ype your new text here.
by Dr. John L. Frye, Jr., Senior Minister on April 17th, 2013
We stand in the midst of the central season and the central proclamation of the Christian faith – Easter. All too often we see it as a season of renewal and “re-greening,” or we focus on Easter eggs, new clothes, and the winding down of the school year, but for the Christian it is crucial that we intentionally contemplate the significance of Jesus being raised. It is the distinctive element of our faith over and against all others. Other faiths offer an ethical standard for living, an invitation to a disciplined and generous life, but the audacity of the Christian claim that Christ has conquered death with all of the attached meaning invites us to embrace that with Christ all things are possible.
Reflecting on the doctrine of the resurrection, Shirlie Guthrie says:
If it could be that the whole of the Christian faith stands or falls with any one claim, the claim that God raised the crucified Jesus from the dead is that claim. Without faith in a risen and living Christ there would be no Christianity. It is not Jesus’ ethical teachings and example of his noble death that gave birth to the Christian Church and made it spread. It was the news of his resurrection! We have seen that it was only because they first believed in a risen Christ that the first Christians looked back to ask about the meaning of his birth, life, and death. Paul wrote, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins…{We} are of all people most to be pitied.” (I Cor.15:17-19) The earliest Christian confession summarizing everything Christians believed was “Jesus is Lord” – a title conferred on him because of his resurrection. (Christian Doctrine p.271)
In faith, Jesus’ disciples uniformly announced, not only that the tomb was empty, but that they saw him, he spoke to them, calling them by name and they talked with him. They even ate together. So dramatic was their recognition of his presence in their midst that for most of them it was a proclamation of the best news of all, a message of hope often costing them their lives.
Guthrie also notes:
To be Christian is not just to expect the presence of God in depths of our own and other’s suffering; it is to expect the active work of God in our individual lives, in the church, and in the world to create a new humanity in a new world in which the life, justice, and peace of the Kingdom of God will finally triumph over the powers of sin, evil, suffering, injustice, and death. Why is this so? He is risen! (p.272)
Happy Easter, friends! He is risen! He is risen, indeed!
Reflecting on the doctrine of the resurrection, Shirlie Guthrie says:
If it could be that the whole of the Christian faith stands or falls with any one claim, the claim that God raised the crucified Jesus from the dead is that claim. Without faith in a risen and living Christ there would be no Christianity. It is not Jesus’ ethical teachings and example of his noble death that gave birth to the Christian Church and made it spread. It was the news of his resurrection! We have seen that it was only because they first believed in a risen Christ that the first Christians looked back to ask about the meaning of his birth, life, and death. Paul wrote, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins…{We} are of all people most to be pitied.” (I Cor.15:17-19) The earliest Christian confession summarizing everything Christians believed was “Jesus is Lord” – a title conferred on him because of his resurrection. (Christian Doctrine p.271)
In faith, Jesus’ disciples uniformly announced, not only that the tomb was empty, but that they saw him, he spoke to them, calling them by name and they talked with him. They even ate together. So dramatic was their recognition of his presence in their midst that for most of them it was a proclamation of the best news of all, a message of hope often costing them their lives.
Guthrie also notes:
To be Christian is not just to expect the presence of God in depths of our own and other’s suffering; it is to expect the active work of God in our individual lives, in the church, and in the world to create a new humanity in a new world in which the life, justice, and peace of the Kingdom of God will finally triumph over the powers of sin, evil, suffering, injustice, and death. Why is this so? He is risen! (p.272)
Happy Easter, friends! He is risen! He is risen, indeed!
by Rev. Lauren Sease Vanacore, Associate Minister on March 28th, 2013
I am inspired this Easter week by the thoughtful prayer of Henri J. M. Nouwen in his book A Cry for Mercy. In our praying, may God transform us into the Easter people we long to be, traveling the road with our Risen Lord! I hope these words bring illumination to your Eastertide wanderings:
“O Lord, who else or what else can I desire but you? You are my Lord, Lord of my heart, mind, and soul. You know me through and through. In and through you everything that is finds its origin and goal. You embrace all that exists and care for it with divine love and compassion. Why then, do I keep expecting happiness and satisfaction outside of you? Why do I keep relating to you as one of my many relationships, instead of my only relationship, in which all other ones are grounded? Why do I keep looking for popularity, respect from others, success, acclaim, and sensual pleasures? Why, Lord, is it so hard for me to make you the only one? Why do I keep hesitating to surrender myself totally to you?
Help me, O Lord, to let my old self die, to let die the thousand big and small ways in which I am still building up my false self and trying to cling to my false desires. Let me be reborn in you and see through you the world in the right way, so that all my actions, words, and thoughts can become a hymn of praise to you.
I need your loving grace to travel on this hard road that leads to the death of my old self and to a new life in and for you. I know and trust that this is the road to freedom.
Lord, dispel my mistrust and help me become a trusting friend. Amen.”
“O Lord, who else or what else can I desire but you? You are my Lord, Lord of my heart, mind, and soul. You know me through and through. In and through you everything that is finds its origin and goal. You embrace all that exists and care for it with divine love and compassion. Why then, do I keep expecting happiness and satisfaction outside of you? Why do I keep relating to you as one of my many relationships, instead of my only relationship, in which all other ones are grounded? Why do I keep looking for popularity, respect from others, success, acclaim, and sensual pleasures? Why, Lord, is it so hard for me to make you the only one? Why do I keep hesitating to surrender myself totally to you?
Help me, O Lord, to let my old self die, to let die the thousand big and small ways in which I am still building up my false self and trying to cling to my false desires. Let me be reborn in you and see through you the world in the right way, so that all my actions, words, and thoughts can become a hymn of praise to you.
I need your loving grace to travel on this hard road that leads to the death of my old self and to a new life in and for you. I know and trust that this is the road to freedom.
Lord, dispel my mistrust and help me become a trusting friend. Amen.”
by Dr. John L. Frye, Jr., Senior Minister on March 20th, 2013
Today (March 20, 2013) we draw close to the beginning of Holy Week, even as we celebrate the beginning of spring. The central feature of Holy Week is Christ’s convening of his disciples for the last supper as a way of preparing them for his coming death and resurrection. It is appropriate for us to make some connections between this season and the table as part of our understanding both who we are and what we are about as we approach Christ’s table. I would like to offer just a few of these connections:
First, J. Dudley Weaver, Jr. in his book, Presbyterian Worship, comments, Presbyterians, especially, have been noted for retaining the medieval penitential focus of the Eucharist…We have been people marked by an awareness that it is an incredible privilege to be invited to the table of the Living Christ. We come, distinctly, not because we are worthy, but because we are unworthy. We come, because the one who is worthy has invited us, no, commanded us to come. Presbyterians once were intentional about examining themselves prior to approaching the feast. This season of Lent mirrors that self-examination as a penitential season and points to our approaching Christ and Easter in reverence as we contemplate the passion and suffering of Christ on behalf of our sin.
Secondly, we also must be mindful that at the same time our approach is sobered by the Good Friday dimensions, it is also “a joyful feast.” This celebration is just that, a celebration of the wonder of Christ’s love. Again, J Dudley Weaver, Jr. writes, Not only does it point us to the passion of our Lord, but it opens our eyes and our hearts to his abiding presence with us, and turns our vision to the fulfillment of his promise to come again to complete the work of the earth’s redemption wrought in him. This is our victory banquet in advance. Have you ever thought of Communion as a “victory banquet in advance?” Not only is the table a sobering experience of the amazing depth of Christ’s love for us, but it is also a resurrection banquet. It is a moment to which we can bring all of our fears and disappointments, our tragedies and brokenness, and place them before God mindful of God’s capacity to render them as old news. The God who raised up Jesus from the dead can resurrect our lives as evidenced through the realized promise of Christ’s table. It is thus, that we state in the Sursum Corda, “we lift up our hearts.” Our hearts are, indeed, lifted in faith to participate in that great celebration with Christ and “all the faithful of every time and place who forever sing the glory of his name.” We truly ought to respond to that great invitation to the “joyful feast” with the celebration of our whole heart, mind, and strength.
The third thing that we must always remember about the table is often the most forgotten. When Jesus and his disciples had supped they went out into the garden and sang a hymn. We are called to exit singing! The faithful response to the table of Christ is doxology, singing the praise of the risen Christ. When you leave the table next Thursday, will you go out into the world singing the Good News? Will you share it with your friends? Will you invite them to church this Easter? Come in penitence. Gather in joy. Depart in witness. This table is the table of the risen Christ!
First, J. Dudley Weaver, Jr. in his book, Presbyterian Worship, comments, Presbyterians, especially, have been noted for retaining the medieval penitential focus of the Eucharist…We have been people marked by an awareness that it is an incredible privilege to be invited to the table of the Living Christ. We come, distinctly, not because we are worthy, but because we are unworthy. We come, because the one who is worthy has invited us, no, commanded us to come. Presbyterians once were intentional about examining themselves prior to approaching the feast. This season of Lent mirrors that self-examination as a penitential season and points to our approaching Christ and Easter in reverence as we contemplate the passion and suffering of Christ on behalf of our sin.
Secondly, we also must be mindful that at the same time our approach is sobered by the Good Friday dimensions, it is also “a joyful feast.” This celebration is just that, a celebration of the wonder of Christ’s love. Again, J Dudley Weaver, Jr. writes, Not only does it point us to the passion of our Lord, but it opens our eyes and our hearts to his abiding presence with us, and turns our vision to the fulfillment of his promise to come again to complete the work of the earth’s redemption wrought in him. This is our victory banquet in advance. Have you ever thought of Communion as a “victory banquet in advance?” Not only is the table a sobering experience of the amazing depth of Christ’s love for us, but it is also a resurrection banquet. It is a moment to which we can bring all of our fears and disappointments, our tragedies and brokenness, and place them before God mindful of God’s capacity to render them as old news. The God who raised up Jesus from the dead can resurrect our lives as evidenced through the realized promise of Christ’s table. It is thus, that we state in the Sursum Corda, “we lift up our hearts.” Our hearts are, indeed, lifted in faith to participate in that great celebration with Christ and “all the faithful of every time and place who forever sing the glory of his name.” We truly ought to respond to that great invitation to the “joyful feast” with the celebration of our whole heart, mind, and strength.
The third thing that we must always remember about the table is often the most forgotten. When Jesus and his disciples had supped they went out into the garden and sang a hymn. We are called to exit singing! The faithful response to the table of Christ is doxology, singing the praise of the risen Christ. When you leave the table next Thursday, will you go out into the world singing the Good News? Will you share it with your friends? Will you invite them to church this Easter? Come in penitence. Gather in joy. Depart in witness. This table is the table of the risen Christ!
by Rev. Lauren Sease Vanacore, Associate Minister on March 4th, 2013
An excerpt from the Declaration of Faith of the PC(USA) goes like this:
“We do not fully understand who God is or how God works.
God’s reality far exceeds all our words can say.
The Lord’s requirements are not always what we think is best.
The Lord’s care for us is not always what we want.
God comes to us on his own terms and is able to do far more than we ask or think…
To worship God is highest joy. To serve God is perfect freedom.” (Ch. 1, lines 7-13)
Keeping these words in mind can encourage us amidst these Lenten days and provide hope for the journey at other times of the year. I am comforted that God can do far more than I can ask or think. I am grateful for the ways God inspires me and how, through the Spirit, I am taught daily the hard truths I need to learn. These lessons come by way of my family, my ministry, and through other relationships that nurture and sustain my spirit. When it isn’t a lesson I want to learn willingly, I am reminded that God choses the way I should be cared for, and this way is designed so that I grow and mature in my faithfulness and discipleship. At the beginning of a busy week it is vital to remember that “to worship God is highest joy” and “to serve God is perfect freedom.” That seems to put it all into perspective, doesn’t it?
“We do not fully understand who God is or how God works.
God’s reality far exceeds all our words can say.
The Lord’s requirements are not always what we think is best.
The Lord’s care for us is not always what we want.
God comes to us on his own terms and is able to do far more than we ask or think…
To worship God is highest joy. To serve God is perfect freedom.” (Ch. 1, lines 7-13)
Keeping these words in mind can encourage us amidst these Lenten days and provide hope for the journey at other times of the year. I am comforted that God can do far more than I can ask or think. I am grateful for the ways God inspires me and how, through the Spirit, I am taught daily the hard truths I need to learn. These lessons come by way of my family, my ministry, and through other relationships that nurture and sustain my spirit. When it isn’t a lesson I want to learn willingly, I am reminded that God choses the way I should be cared for, and this way is designed so that I grow and mature in my faithfulness and discipleship. At the beginning of a busy week it is vital to remember that “to worship God is highest joy” and “to serve God is perfect freedom.” That seems to put it all into perspective, doesn’t it?
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