MBCC Blog

Ash Wednesday: A prayer and an invitation

[images: wetwater]

   

Today is Ash Wednesday.  For some of us this a tradition that we have participated in for many years while for others this may be brand new.  In short, Ash Wednesday is the day when we begin Lent, these days that we prepare for Easter.  Ash Wednesday symbolizes our acknowledgment that without God we are nothing and that our very life comes from God.  From dust we came and to dust we shall return is the common refrain of the day from Genesis 3:19.  This is a time of contemplation and prayer so I hope that you will be able to join us for a joint service this evening as we remember to whom we belong.

JOINT ASH WEDNESDAY SERVICE
Noe Valley Ministry | Ocean Avenue Presbyterian Church | MBCC
A meditative service of song and scripture with imposition of ashes.

Noe Valley Ministry
1021 Sanchez Street (close to 24th Street, J Church)
Wednesday, February 25
from 7:00 to 8:15 pm
Child care will be provided.

Hope to see you tonight.

Here is an Ash Wednesday prayer for your reflection
"Marked by Ashes" by  Walter Bruggeman

h/t: to Ryan Bell via Bob Carlton]

Ruler of the Night, Guarantor of the day . . .
This day — a gift from you.
This day — like none other you have ever given, or we have ever received.
This Wednesday dazzles us with gift and newness and possibility.
This Wednesday burdens us with the tasks of the day, for we are already halfway home
     halfway back to committees and memos,
     halfway back to calls and appointments,
     halfway on to next Sunday,
     halfway back, half frazzled, half expectant,
     half turned toward you, half rather not.

This Wednesday is a long way from Ash Wednesday,
    but all our Wednesdays are marked by ashes —
    we begin this day with that taste of ash in our mouth:
    of failed hope and broken promises,
    of forgotten children and frightened women,
    we ourselves are ashes to ashes, dust to dust;
     we can taste our mortality as we roll the ash around on our tongues.

We are able to ponder our ashness with
   some confidence, only because our every Wednesday of ashes
   anticipates your Easter victory over that dry, flaky taste of death.

On this Wednesday, we submit our ashen way to you —
   you Easter parade of newness.
     Before the sun sets, take our Wednesday and Easter us,
    Easter us to joy and energy and courage and freedom;
     Easter us that we may be fearless for your truth.
   Come here and Easter our Wednesday with
     mercy and justice and peace and generosity.

We pray as we wait for the Risen One who comes soon.

closing Lent Meditation

To close, I wanted to include a little something about metaphor and language, since we have been sharing the many, many ways to describe, discuss and relate to Jesus.

"To be a human being is to interpret, to think of 'this' and 'that,'to make judgments concerning similarity and difference, to think metaphorically.  To be a believer is to follow the way of the parables and Jesus as parable, to live with the tension  between the kingdom and the world, never identifying the one with the other while aware of the transformation of the world by the kingdom.  Whether as human being or believer, we never overcome the distance between ourselves and the world; the main difference between a 'secular' and 'religious' perspective is the degree of tension between ourselves and reality.  Religious people are less comfortable in the world, aware of the difference between things as they are and things as the ought to be; they are conscious of the metaphorical 'is and is not.'  A deeply metaphorical perspective such as that based on parable demands a way of being in the world characterized by a high degree of tension, relativity, iconoclasm, and change."

Sallie McFague, Metaphorical Theology: Models of God in Religious Language, pg. 66

Lent Meditations... Maundy Thursday

It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.

The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"

Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."

"No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet."
      Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."

"Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!"

Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you." For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

John 13:1-17

Lent Meditations... Holy Week

God gives us gifts; He showers us with them throughout all our lives. The Bibe says that every good and perfect gift comes from God. There are gifts that are easy to recognize, like family (hopefully), friends, a job perhaps, and most of all that Jesus died for us. These tell me that God cares about the big stuff in my life.

 

I have always been reluctant to ask God for what I consider "frivolous" things. Back where I used to live, there was never any parking by our apartment. We paid for a parking pass which didn't give you a spot but let you park without getting a ticket. One day, I was trying to find a spot. I was so fed up with it, and I was venting to God. Just as I pulled into another aisle, there it was, the best parking spot available! I was so ready to pass it off as chance, but I had to stop and think that God can't get much more direct than to answer my prayer very obviously while I'm praying it. I think all too many times I attribute things to chance or luck while all the time discrediting God for the gift he just gave me. These gifts show me that God cares even about the "dumb" little things in my life.

 

Then there are gifts we don't even know about. Like maybe someone just ran a red light that you would've crossed, yet you left your house a little late because you couldn't find your keys. We usually have no clue about gifts like these except maybe every once in a while. One night I was driving home late, and I had just got on the freeway. There was a car behind me, and within a few minutes he lost control of the car. If I had got on the freeway a few seconds later, I would have been in a bad accident (luckily the other driver was ok). Again, my first reaction was that I was "lucky", but on second thought, maybe it was God.  These gifts show me that God protects me and orchestrates things in my life even if I'm not aware of them.

 

Finally, God gives us the gift of hardships. Have you ever asked for patience? If you have, then you probably know (and possibly regret!) that usually to become more patient, you have to go through things that make you mad and impatient so that you can grow. In the same way, hardships force us to grow. When I was 12, my friend died. I surely didn't think of that as a gift then, and I am still hesitant to.  But from this produced in me such faith in God and a maturity in me. I had to rely on God though desperate sadness, and I learned to cling to hope in the bleakest of moments. This has helped me in other hardships after the loss of my friend that I might not have fared so well if I didn't have that foundation. Paul says that we are to have joy in suffering, and though I never want to leap for joy during my hardships, I know that there is hope in the midst of them, which gives me peace. I believe that God cares about my growth as a person, and he helps make me grow by allowing me to go through hardships. It might not seem like a gift, but the results do in retrospect.

God gives us so much! What are the obvious gifts he gives you? What are the seemingly small gifts? What are the things that we attribute to luck or chance? What has He produced in us through hardships?

- Jennifer Sterrett

Lent Meditations... Holy Week

An excerpt from "A Brief Statement of Faith" Section 10.1-10.2 in the PCUSA Book of Confessions...

"In life and death we belong to God,
     Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
          the love of God,
               and the communion of the Holy Spirit,
     we trust in the one triune God, the Holy One of Israel,
          whom alone we worship and serve.

We trust in Jesus Christ
          fully human, fully God.
     Jesus proclaimed the reign of God:
          preaching good news to the poor
               and release to the captives,
          teaching by word and deed,
              and blessing the children,
          healing the sick
              and binding up the brokenhearted,
          eating with outcasts,
          forgiving sinners,
          and calling all to repent and believe the gospel.
     Unjustly condemned for blasphemy and sedition,
     Jesus was crucified,
          suffering the depths of human pain
          and giving his life for the sins of the world.
     God raised Jesus from the dead.
          vindicating his sinless life,
          breaking the power of sin and evil,
          delivering us from death to life eternal."

Lent Meditation--Day Thirty-Eight

a couple songs that make me wonder who Jesus is everytime I hear them...

Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode

Your own personal Jesus
Someone to hear your prayers
Someone who cares
Your own personal Jesus
Someone to hear your prayers
Someone whos there

Feeling unknown
And youre all alone
Flesh and bone
By the telephone
Lift up the receiver
I'll make you a believer

Take second best
Put me to the test
Things on your chest
You need to confess
I will deliver
You know Im a forgiver

Reach out and touch faith
Reach out and touch faith

Your own personal Jesus...

Feeling unknown
And youre all alone
Flesh and bone
By the telephone
Lift up the receiver
I'll make you a believer

I will deliver
You know I'm a forgiver

Reach out and touch faith

Your own personal Jesus

Reach out and touch faith

One of Us by Joan Osborne

If God had a name what would it be?
And would you call it to his face?
If you were faced with him
In all his glory
What would you ask if you had just one question?

And yeah, yeah, God is great
Yeah, yeah, God is good
Yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah

What if God was one of us?
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make his way home

If God had a face what would it look like?
And would you want to see
If seeing meant that
you would have to believe
in things like heaven and in Jesus and the saints
and all the prophets

Trying to make his way home
Back up to heaven all alone
Nobody calling on the phone
'cept for the Pope maybe in Rome

Just trying to make his way home
Like a holy rolling stone
Back up to heaven all alone
Just trying to make his way home
Nobody calling on the phone
'cept for the Pope maybe in Rome

Like a Prayer by Madonna

Life is a mystery, everyone must stand alone
I hear you call my name
And it feels like home

Chorus:

When you call my name its like a little prayer
I'm down on my knees, I wanna take you there
In the midnight hour I can feel your power
Just like a prayer you know Ill take you there

I hear your voice, its like an angel sighing
I have no choice, I hear your voice
Feels like flying
I close my eyes, oh God I think Im falling
Out of the sky, I close my eyes
Heaven help me

(chorus)

Like a child you whisper softly to me
Youre in control just like a child
Now I'm dancing
Its like a dream, no end and no beginning
Youre here with me, its like a dream
Let the choir sing

(chorus)

Just like a prayer, your voice can take me there
Just like a muse to me, you are a mystery
Just like a dream, you are not what you seem
Just like a prayer, no choice your voice can take me there

Just like a prayer, I'll take you there
Its like a dream to me

Monika Jo

Good Friday Gatherings

There are a variety of ways to remember Good Friday this year.  Below are a few that we would suggest.  All take place on Friday, March 21, 2008.

Stations of the Cross: Pilgrimage through the Tenderloin
Noon – 1:30 pm
Begins across from San Francisco’s City Hall
Co-sponsored by Temenos Catholic Worker and San Francisco Network Ministries
For more information call:
Rev. Glenda Hope, 415-928-6209
Fr. River Sims - 415-305-2124

SERVICE OF THE LAST SEVEN WORDS
Calvary Presbyterian Church (Pacific Heights)
Noon-3:00

Calvary's Good Friday service reflects on the seven last words of Jesus Christ. Music will be provided by a string quartet from the San Francisco Conservatory (performing Joseph Haydn's Die sieben letztzn Worte unseres Erlösers am Kreuze - The Seven Last Words of Christ), while Calvary's pastors - along with special guest pastors and seminary graduates - read Scripture, preach on the readings and lead periods of silent reflection throughout the afternoon.

The service is conducted from 12 noon to 3:00 p.m., and worshippers are welcome to stay for the duration or attend different parts of the service (please enter and exit quietly). There will be no mid-service offering taken; any Good Friday offerings can be left in the basket at the back of the chapel as you depart.

Lakeside Presbyterian Church
19th and Eucalyptus, near Stonestown Mall
415-564-8833
Noon to 3 pm

The three hour service is divided up into 30 minute segments each featuring music, scripture based on the Seven Last Words of Jesus' mortal life and a brief homily from an area Presbyterian Clergy person.  Rev. Roland Gordon, Ingleside Church;  Rev. Janet Ewart, Rev. Dr. Cornell Barnett, Lincoln Park Church; Intern Joshua Dunham, Lincoln Park;  Rev. Todd Jolly, and the host pastor Rev. Dr. Kim Nelson.

The music is provided by Rebecca H. Nelson, M.A.(Santa Clara University) and the Director of Music at Lakeside Church.

Seventh Avenue Presbyterian Church
7th and Irving
CONTEMPLATIVE CANDLELIGHT SERVICE @ 7:30PM
in the Sanctuary
Service of Tenebrae / Service of Darkness
with Prayer Around the Cross (in the style of the Taize Community)

Lent Meditation--Day Thirty-Five

I have always enjoyed medieval churches. They are quiet, often not terribly well lit, and when they aren't decorated sparely, they're covered with biblical or religious images that require your attention to figure out exactly what it is they're communicating. All of this makes (for me anyway) entering a calm and reflective state of mind an almost instinctive reaction. I hoped that spending an hour or two in the church of San Lorenzo in Genoa would do just that for me, since it was (is?) the signature cathedral of medieval Genoa.

San Lorenzo was built in the early twelfth century, but you wouldn't know it to go in it. Not having been before, I expected it to be typically medieval (whatever that means), but it was clear as soon as I walked in that this was not going to be the experience I anticipated. As it turns out, Italians favor (favored?) a style of devotion, or at least of religious architecture, that doesn't appeal to me much. The original twelfth-century structure of the building shows through in places, but mostly up in areas that are out of sight unless you're looking for them.  Instead, the cathedral is decorated most prominently with marble statues, reliefs and plaques whose purpose (commemorating famous individual churchmen from Genoa's past, especially the sixteenth century) is only too clear. The statues in particular struck me as ostentatious enough to be only quasi-religious. Does an oversized marble relief of a bishop ministering to a small child really have much to do with the Bible? Ironically enough, I didn't really feel that much Jesus in the church.

Still, as I sat and thought about it, I began to feel like I had rushed to judgment. Perhaps I couldn't feel Jesus there in San Lorenzo. But if not, that's my problem – not anyone else's. Certainly the creators of the ornaments of San Lorenzo don't much care what I think. Who is Jesus? He may be a lot of things to a lot of different people – but the historian in me can't forget that he's not our property or our exclusive heritage.

I'm not at a point in my faith where I feel much of a connection with a personal Jesus. Perhaps I never will be.  But sitting and contemplating a 'historical' Jesus we don't usually spend much time with (Jesus at times seems only to live in the present and the first century), I was struck again with the power of an idea, incarnate in a person, to call us (past, present, and future) to a better life – not materially, psychologically or socially, but in the deepest and profoundest way possible.

Jeff Miner

Lent Meditations--Day Thirty-Four

“Nothing is as strong as true gentleness, and nothing so gentle as true strength.” Ralph Sockman.

I think this quote epitomizes Jesus!

Hilary White

Lent Meditation--Day Thirty-One

 I thought I’d briefly reflect on Bruce’s sermon from Sunday, March 2nd. For those of you, who missed it, he spoke about Jesus fighting injustice. Most of his sermon focused on fighting  larger injustices that exist in the world. But, I feel like I’m constantly standing up for the smaller injustices, everyday.

 Each time I  hear one of my students bully another student or call that person a name, I step in to stop the abuse. We all fight smaller injustices, daily. Anytime we stand up for someone who is being put down, picked on,  bullied or hurt in some way, we are fighting in justice. Whenever we seek to understand, rather than judge  another, we are fighting injustice. Whenever we are being treated unfairly, and we speak up for ourselves, we are fighting  injustice. There have been times when I find myself speaking up. This is not something that I am consciously aware of, but rather something intuitive, and compelling that

moves me to act.

Who do you say that I am? My strength and courage.

Hilary White