Faith, Hope and Charity

If you’ve been to a few weddings, there’s a good chance you’ve heard a reading from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, chapter 13. It’s a beautiful hymn about love. I hate to disappoint, but the fact of the matter, Paul did not write it about marriage.

Full reading of Paul’s letters indicates that he didn’t always think marriage was all that great an idea. That’s his issue. Paul wrote this hymn about love in a letter to a community of faith, to a church.

He had his work cut out for him. The community he was addressing faced all kinds of challenges. There was discrimination between poor and rich people. There were arguments about sexual ethics, about money, about leadership, about religious rules. In other words, there’s nothing new under the sun.

With all those arguments taking place, Paul proposed the image of the church as the body of Christ, a compelling vision of unity out of diversity. What will make that functional? Paul says it’s all about love, detailed in this chapter that is at once realistic and also hopeful about human interaction, especially in a faith community.

This hymn to love is punctuated by the mention of faith, hope and charity (love), referenced in the collect we heard in church yesterday, printed in the column on the left. Paul writes: And now faith, hope and love abide, and the greatest of these is love (I Corinthians 13:13).

Yesterday’s collect suggests that faith, hope and love are gifts. As we gathered yesterday as a faith community, we prayed for those gifts. That’s good for us to remember, as religious/quasi-religious/spiritual folks. Sometimes we take our experience of spiritual virtues like faith, hope and love as merit badge, as if God is lucky to have us on the team. And maybe, just maybe, God should show a little more gratitude.

As I reflected on what it means to pray for these virtues, I was reminded of Jesus’ conversation with his disciples on the night before he died. He told them he was giving them a new commandment, that they should love one another. That will be the mark of their discipleship. It’s always struck me that my own vision of love was not something that could be commanded.

But the kind of love which Jesus referenced is clearly what is expected of us as followers of Jesus, as part of the Jesus movement. It comes as decision. It comes as commitment. It’s as much an action as emotion. It’s not always easy, especially in the church. Left to my own devices, I fall short of fulfillment of that commandment. So we pray for the grace, the strength, the equipment to love what God commands, to love love.

And as St. Paul tells us, the greatest of faith, hope and charity is love. Both faith and hope will someday not be needed. Some day we will walk by sight, not by faith. Someday, hope will be fulfilled, not deferred. But love will always be at the core, central to our life with God and with each other.

Pray this week for an increase in the gifts of faith, hope and love. To the extent that you have those gifts, give thanks for them by exercising them. To the extent you wish to grow in those virtues, ask God to increase them in you, that we may more and more each day obtain what God promises.

-Jay Sidebotham

Interested in RenewalWorks for your parish? Learn more about how RenewalWorks works!

RenewalWorks: Helping churches focus on spiritual growth

RenewalWorks is about re-orienting your parish around spiritual growth. And by spiritual growth – we mean growing in love of God and neighbor.

Churches can launch as part of a fall or spring cohort or go on their own schedule.  Sign up now!!

Learn more in our digital brochure.

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Preserve/Persevere

No, this is not a word jumble. These two words, preserve and persevere, form the heart of the collect we heard yesterday in church (see above).

Perseverance is an attribute called for in the journey of faith. In the baptismal covenant, we promise to persevere in resisting evil, which includes repentance whenever (not if ever) we mess up. The collect we heard in church yesterday calls us to persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of God’s name.

As we pray for perseverance, we ask for God’s help, suggesting synergy between God’s grace and our grateful response. If perseverance represents our call, we ask God to preserve the works of God’s mercy. Our call to steadfast faith is supported by God’s steadfast commitment to us, with grace that precedes, follows and meets us where we are.

Implicit in the prayer is the idea that there may be threats to the preservation of God’s mercy. Those can come from within us, the refusal to believe that grace is what matters, that grace is sufficient. In the Ash Wednesday liturgy, we often include this warning from St. Paul: Do not accept the grace of God in vain. That reading makes me think about how I do that, day in and day out.

Threats can come from the church’s refusal to embrace grace and to set up all kinds of litmus tests, or to conduct ourselves in ways that would be unrecognizable to Jesus. (Gandhi said he’d be a Christian if he had never met one.) Threats can come from the church’s failure to live into the love of God and neighbor.

Threats can come from outside the church, in a culture that makes us think we are never quite good enough, that we have to prove our worth, or that worth is determined by being more worthy than someone else.

Also implicit in yesterday’s collect is the idea that it might be hard for us to persevere. The church’s recent encounter with COVID tested ability to persevere. It all made many folks, clergy and lay, want to throw in the towel. I’m wondering this Monday morning where you are sensing a challenge to perseverance.

We should not be surprised if perseverance surfaces as challenge. Jesus’ prayer in the garden of Gethsemane was a struggle for perseverance. I love him for it. Paul spoke of the need to press on toward the goal of the high calling of Jesus Christ.

One of my favorite stories about Teresa of Avila comes from her travels as missionary. On one trip, the wheel fell off her cart and she ended up sitting in a mud-puddle by the side of the road. She reportedly shook her fist at heaven and said: God, if this is how you treat your friends, it’s no wonder you have so few of them.

Martin Luther King spoke of a moment he was ready to give up, when he and his family faced repeated death threats. “I was ready to give up… In this state of exhaustion, when my courage had all but gone, I decided to take my problem to God. With my head in my hands, I bowed over the kitchen table and prayed aloud…. At that moment I experienced the presence of the Divine as I had never experienced Him before. It seemed as though I could hear the quiet assurance of an inner voice saying ‘Stand up for Righteousness, stand up for truth; and God will be at your side forever.’ Almost at once my fears began to go. My uncertainty disappeared and I was ready to face anything.”

Dr. King persevered by tapping into God’s promise of presence, God’s steadfast commitment to preserve. We can tap into that same resource as well. Among other places, we discover perseverance through the life of the community, sharing with honesty the challenge of the journey of faith. The eucharist is offered to give us strength and courage as we face the world with gladness and singleness of heart. We are not alone in this journey.

Babe Ruth had this to say about perseverance: Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.

So even when we strike out, we can anticipate a home run. Let’s swing for the fences, spiritually speaking.

-Jay Sidebotham

Interested in RenewalWorks for your parish? Learn more about how RenewalWorks works!

RenewalWorks: Helping churches focus on spiritual growth

RenewalWorks is about re-orienting your parish around spiritual growth. And by spiritual growth – we mean growing in love of God and neighbor.

Churches can launch as part of a fall or spring cohort or go on their own schedule.  Sign up now!!

Learn more in our digital brochure.

RenewalWorks – Digital Catalog

Grace preceding and following us

There’s a part of the eucharistic prayer said each Sunday that has a technical/liturgical term. It’s called anamnesis. When you break down that term, it literally means not forgetting. Not amnesia. It’s the part of the prayer when we recall the good things that God has done for us in the past, a history of creation and redemption and hope for a new heaven and a new earth. History tells us it is easy to forget, so we are reminded As our world seems to be coming unhinged, the call to anamnesis matters now more than ever. We might think of it as the grace that precedes.

In that eucharistic prayer, we give thanks for things God has done for all of us together. There is also a way to look in the spiritual rear-view mirror and see where God has been active in our personal lives, grace preceding us on the individual level. Take some time today to think about where the Holy One has been active in your life. What have been the God-sightings?

And in the collect that we heard yesterday in church (see above), there is also grace that follows us. A favorite couple of verses come to mind, found in the second chapter of the letter to the Ephesians. For me, these verse represent the gospel in a nutshell. The author sums up the gospel this way:

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we may walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-10).

These verses describe the grace that has preceded us. It also points to the grace that follows. It speaks of the good works which God has prepared for us to walk in. Those good works, that way of life, is laid out for us. We might think of it as grace following us, grace accompanying us as we make our way forward in life.

When I read this passage with mention of the good works prepared for us to walk in, I think of my visits to big urban hospitals. I might ask at the information desk how to get to the children’s wing, for example. I am then told to follow the green line on the floor which will help me get there. I’m glad for that graceful bit of navigation. A gift, a grace that shows how I’m meant to move forward in life. Grace following me along the way. Grace actually paving the way. Have you ever been aware of that holy way-making in your life?

The goal of all of this is that we will be given to good works. God’s grace has gone before us, and will lead us into the future. That prompts a grateful heart for what has passed, and a hopeful spirit for what lies ahead. It allows us to keep eyes open in the present moment to see what good thing God has in store for us.

What will those good works be in your life this Monday morning? As you attend to those opportunities, remember grace that has preceded you (most especially the love of God from which you can never be separated). Embrace the grace that is promised to follow you all the days of your life. As the familiar hymn reminds us, ’twas grace that brought us safe thus far and grace will lead us home.

-Jay Sidebotham

Interested in RenewalWorks for your parish? Learn more about how RenewalWorks works!

RenewalWorks: Helping churches focus on spiritual growth

RenewalWorks is about re-orienting your parish around spiritual growth. And by spiritual growth – we mean growing in love of God and neighbor.

Churches can launch as part of a fall or spring cohort or go on their own schedule.  Sign up now!!

Learn more in our digital brochure.

RenewalWorks – Digital Catalog

Except…

What do you make of the following phrases in the collect we heard yesterday in church (above)? The prayer refers to those things of which our conscience is afraid, and the good things for which we are not worthy to ask.

I’m puzzling a bit about the things that our conscience is afraid. What are those things? I’m thinking it’s a reference to those inner thoughts that creep up that we hope will never ever get projected on a screen, or posted on social media, or shared with our loved ones. I won’t over-share and divulge what those might be in my own inner life, but I’m guessing we all have them. That’s why the psalmist’s prayer that the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in God’s sight is so important.

The premise and promise of our faith is that God knows those inner workings as well as we do. They represent no surprise to the Holy One, who still loves us. Which means that all we are called to do is to acknowledge them and ask for forgiveness. We join with the psalmist in asking God to create in us a clean heart and to renew a right spirit within us..

We also pray for the good things for which we are not worthy to ask. That’s a reminder that the blessings in our lives come as gift. Grace has been described as unmerited favor. While we are all tempted to think that blessings come to us the old-fashioned way, because we earn them, the truth of the matter is that we are surrounded by gifts that come not because we are spiritually remarkable but because God is abundantly generous, with a wideness of mercy wider than the sea.

Which leads to the key word in this collect: except.

We’d be a mess if we were left alone with those things of which our conscience is afraid, and if we were found unworthy of the good things we hope for. The freedom from fear and the access to goodness elude us, except for the ministry of Jesus. Except.

Our faith tells us our standing rests on the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ. That may irritate our inner toddler that says “I do it myself.” But it is ultimately life-giving and liberating news. It frees us from having to prove ourselves. And when we don’t have to prove ourselves, we’re more inclined to share God’s love with others. That freedom comes with our decision to put our trust in God’s presence with us, God’s advocacy for us, God’s forgiveness of us, all found in Jesus.

I appreciate Henri Nouwen’s vision of this decision at work in his life: “If you were to ask me point-blank: “What does it mean to you to live spiritually?” I would have to reply: “Living with Jesus at the center.” . . . When I look back over the last thirty years of my life, I can say that, for me, the person of Jesus has come to be more and more important. Specifically, this means that what matters increasingly is getting to know Jesus and living in solidarity with him.”

We have an exceptional faith, one that recognizes our fears, that recognizes how we fall short, but knows that’s all going to be okay. We pray for grace to live that faith this week.

-Jay Sidebotham

Interested in RenewalWorks for your parish? Learn more about how RenewalWorks works!

RenewalWorks: Helping churches focus on spiritual growth

RenewalWorks is about re-orienting your parish around spiritual growth. And by spiritual growth – we mean growing in love of God and neighbor.

Churches can launch as part of a fall or spring cohort or go on their own schedule.  Sign up now!!

Learn more in our digital brochure.

RenewalWorks – Digital Catalog

Holy busyness

Red says to Andy DeFresne: Get busy living or get busy dying. For me, that may be the most memorable line from Shawshank Redemption, a movie I could watch again and again. It is to say that we are all busy with something.

The collect heard in church yesterday (above) suggests that we are all running, in the case of the prayer, running to obtain God’s promises. It presumes that wherever we are in life, we are not standing still. We are on the move. Pope Francis preached a homily in which he said that there was no such thing as a stationary Christian. He said that a Christian is meant to move, that a stationary Christian is sick in his or her identity.

I’m with Red. We’re all busy with something. All running after something, whether it’s a lightning-fast sprint or slogging jog. We live in a culture that seems to regard busyness as measure of worth. I rarely meet anyone who does not describe themselves as busy.

With that in mind, it’s worth channeling the wisdom of Henry David Thoreau who said: It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about? This Monday morning, I’m wondering what you are running to obtain. What’s keeping you busy these days?

A colleague used to wear this button in Advent: Jesus is coming. Look busy.

What would it mean to run to obtain God’s promises, to be busy in that way? Do we have role models? Jesus would often steal off by himself to pray. When I read about that in the gospels, my over-functioning self wonders: You had three years to redeem the world. Aren’t you too busy to spend time that way? Martin Luther, who had the modest mission of reforming all of Europe, said: I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer. A favorite book, The Book of Joy, describes the friendship between Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama. At one point, they enter a playful competition about who prays the most. Desmond Tutu gets up at 4am for an extended period of prayer. The Dalai Lama outpaces him, getting up at 3am to pray.

All of which is to say that holy busyness is not necessarily about more activity. As one pastor put it: More church activity does not mean more spiritual growth. Exhausted clergy know that.

Back to my question: What are you running to obtain? What are you running for? The call of the collect is to keep our eyes on the prize, a heavenly treasure. What’s involved in that process? It’s about spiritual practice. About spiritual exercise. A rector I admire named Doyt Conn compares his church to a gym, a spiritual gym, where people come to be strengthened, where faith is exercised. That can be a regular commitment to engagement with scripture. It can be daily quiet time, exploring the habits of prayer. It can be convening with others for worship, gaining sustenance from the sacrament. It can be a commitment to service, where we come to see the face of Christ in the faces of people in need, wherever we find them.

There are days when I feel like engaging with these practices. There are days I don’t. Sometimes I’m running on empty, spiritually. I’ve concluded that it doesn’t really matter how I feel. Jay, just do it. In so doing, I have the hope of joining St. Paul who said toward the end of his life: I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. (II Timothy 4.7)

This is not a matter of our superior will power driving us to this spiritual life. This is not teeth-gritting Christianity. As the collect indicates, we ask for the grace to run the race, to obtain God’s promises. That means the God is with us in all these undertakings. God’s power is available to us, available as a sign of his mercy.

As you run around this week, busy being busy, consider what it means to run to obtain God’s promises. What does that road race look like in your life?

-Jay Sidebotham

Interested in RenewalWorks for your parish? Learn more about how RenewalWorks works!

RenewalWorks: Helping churches focus on spiritual growth

RenewalWorks is about re-orienting your parish around spiritual growth. And by spiritual growth – we mean growing in love of God and neighbor.

Churches can launch as part of a fall or spring cohort or go on their own schedule.  Sign up now!!

Learn more in our digital brochure.

RenewalWorks – Digital Catalog