The Great Fact

The great fact is this: Don't do lent for 40 days. It is way too difficult.

Do this practice a day at a time. Simply decide each day to do it today. Quit tomorrow.

(The great thing about quiting tomorrow is that it gives you an out which is comforting. What also makes it good is that it never comes if you are deciding to participate one day at a time.)

"What you decide today, you are tomorrow"

Some comforting and challenging words to consider before embarking... (The above title and words were written by M. Shawn Copeland as quoted from Practicing Our Faith by Dorothy Bass. It appears on pg 59 in the chapter, "Saying Yes and Saying No")

"Many of us long to grow stronger in the Christian life. But are we really ready to exert ourselves? Being spectators come much more easily...

We are conditioned by our modern culture to count on immediate results; we want the gain, but shrink from the pain...

We find it difficult to engage in the Christian practices so sorely needed for the development and growth of the interior or spiritual life.

Throughout Christian history, it has been clear that spirituality is not a spectator activity. Tough decisions and persistent effort are required of those who seek lives that are whole and holy. If we are to grow in faithful living, we need to renounce the things that choke off the fullness of life that God intended for us, and we must follow through on our commitments to pray, to be conscientious, and to be in mutually supportive relations with other faithful persons. These acts take self discipline. We must learn the practice of saying no to that which crowds God out and yes to a way of life that makes space for God."

Amen.

A Problem

The problem with doing this Lenten activity is that the outcome can not be known without actually doing it. Any forecast on my part as to how this will make my/your life or my/your group any better is entirely dependent on the discoveries that can only come through the practice. Oh the burdens of experiential theology! Unfortunately our Lord never said, "Go and Think likewise". It was the yoke of "Go and Do likewise".

Ultimately, this practice will be a failure if we forget that the purpose of doing such reflective work is to discover how God is leading us.

Yea, Yea - What's in it for me?

Why do I want to read and reflect these things for 40 days? This seems like a weird thing. If there were no benefit I don't think I would even consider it. I mean, come on, what did Luther really know?

I think as Christians we should be more comfortable with the question, "What is in it for me?" There are a lot of practical benefits for being a Christian but people are real timid to say. Why is that? Maybe we're not sure what those benefits are. Maybe we've gotten so used to hearing another's view that we did not check it out ourselves. Here's the kicker, if we're not sure are we really able to give what we have away? Sometimes we are so busy being polite we forget to discover what it is that excites us or challenges us or intrigues us. Certainly the newcomer is not scared by the above question. They appear at any church door with that question at hand no matter how well crafted. They want to know what the prayer is like. They want to know what the nursery is like. They want to know Sunday school and choir and preacher and coffee hour. Why is it ok for them but not us. Why do we so quickly retreat into metaphysics, intellect, and theory as if church membership is equated with the "new" person in Christ; one who is no longer driven by "newcomer" concerns (at least on the surface). Maybe I missed something when I joined but I didn't suddenly have it all figured out. Maybe you did. I don't know.

Here is one answer about why we (Christians) do the things we do that should be said more often. I think it should stand valid at any time. That answer is " I feel better." We may not always feel this way nor is this the only outcome of Christian living but I think there is nothing wrong with admitting it. We certainly should not be ashamed of it. Imagine if this was how we responded more often."Hey Scott, why do you practice Christianity?" "Because I feel better when I do it." Simple, strait forward honest answer. What inquiry can follow? What is there to argue against?
"I don't believe you!",...
"ok".
No dogma to argue over. No long winded arguments over the Virgin Birth. No rehashed arguments over hypocrisy. No dilemma questions seeking God's mind on whether Gandhi goes to Heaven or not. (These questions I find are most often posed by those people not really inclined to try out Christianity. More often than not there loaded questions posed by persons who will only consider believing if there questions are answered first. Not having an answer justifies not believing which really is justification to not change.)I don't mean to imply that the above questions are bad questions or that we should not think about our faith. I simply mean that the arguments tend to get in the way of our practice.


The great thing about it is there is nothing to argue with. Everyone wants to feel better. We certainly do not want to feel worse. Now, I think hand in hand with that answer should come a second straitfoward answer is, " I don't always like doing the next right thing but when I do, I feel better." Now mind you my answer has many theological holes. It could be constructed that God is perceived as the Cosmic Ridilin whose sole purpose is to lift spirits. It could be seen this way but remember, the question was about my motivations not the nature of God. Anyone who knows me for five minutes (ok 30 seconds...10...5) should be able to deduce that I'm not He. Regardless of how good Christ is, the fact remains that this silly seminarian motives are still my own. So while we recognize that "I feel better" is probably not the most premier reason for living this way of life, we should also recognize that having this as your motivation is not such a bad thing either. Better this than nothing at all.

So I think, "What's in it for me?" is a perfectly valid question when considering the reasons we are Christian. Not just for newcomers but for all of us. It is especially valid for anyone thinking it about the practice suggested here. So here are some of my reasons for doing this Lenten practice:

1. I want to feel better.

2. I have never gotten better at anything simply thinking about it. I've had to do it.

3. Praying/Discovering with others has always led to more insight than I've been able to come up on my own.

4. By setting up this practice I'm more likely to complete it so I don't have to face people in the future with statements like "You invited me to this thing and then stopped..." The more accountability the greater chance persons do things.

5. The Lord's Prayer, The Apostles Creed, and the Ten Commandments are all things I would like know better. Spending 40 days with them will certainly increase understanding and hopefully my future practice.

6. Doing this for Lent beats giving up potato chips.

7. The practice of things usually give us gifts we never would of received otherwise. For example, by very hesitantly trusting God and walking through discernment, I'm now here at seminary. I could have thought about the call and never acted. By acting on the call I got to meet an incredible group of people at St. Benedicts who I would not to have gotten to know at the level I did but, for the need to listen to my call.

8. Why not do this for Lent?

9. By taking the time to reflect not only on what I write but what others see and experience I will have the opportunity to know God better. I have no guarantees but Grace tends to come when I have tried to seek out God. My favorite quote about how God tends to act is"Take one step toward God and God takes three steps toward you."

10. I always like to test out the line that suggests a promise, "When two or three gather, I will be there".

Rules

Rules:

1. There are few.

2. If you would like to invite someone to this Lenten practice feel free to do so. Simply click on email address under profile or email me directly at spetersen@vts.edu. Invitations to become a member of blog will be extended through March 26th. (11th hour rule applies.)

3. This is a practice. What is written on this Blog should come more from the heart than the head. I'm not suggesting that we should leave our head at the door but that the goal of the blog is a daily practice. It is not to be "theologically, philosophically, and doctrinally" correct. It's to reflect.
Please check your motives if you comment on a post. If a Post or Comment seeks to "educate" or "fix" another members understanding it runs the risk of being deleted. I'm not suggesting that truth is relative but what someone writes (and myself for that matter) is how they understand something that moment. The point of this Blog is in the practice of daily encounter not the responses themselves.

4. Any comments or Posts that appear to be out of the context with the spirit of the Lenten Practice may be deleted at the discression of the Blog Host. It is my prayer that this will never be enacted.

Suggestions for Daily Writing

A beginning can only be begun.

If you have not been bored yet and want to start, go write ahead. The Blog is yours.

(Please use comment on this particular post to share how you will approach this Lenten Practice. Please add your suggestions.)

If you want some suggestions read on:

The first suggestion is that I have no suggestion as to what you should write.

My suggestion is only to write. My other suggestion is that as a practice try to write every day. Sunday's are not Lent so take a writing Sabbath. I certainly will.

What to write?

What I'm planning on doing will be to take some time in prayer and then read the readings. I will most likely try to write in the morning before the family gets going. Whatever jumps out at me will be what I write about.

For example if "Daily Bread" is what I'm drawn to I may reflect how this year I've had to trust in daily bread a whole lot more. I found out I would rather have 10 year bread with dividends. Daily bread it is! God is wonderfully efficient. Not always comfortable but he shows up. I might also write how "Daily Bread" is showing up in ASIA after the Tsunami. If a little more critical of myself I might reflect on why when I have received more than my share and cling tightly to it I may very well be limiting someone else's daily bread.

Be free enough to be honest with yourself. This is for you so write your questions and doubts. Be creative. Be challenged. Wonder.

Maybe you want to write a word, (a sentence, a paragraph, a page )each day on a commandment. Maybe you will just check in. It really is up to you.
I can not overemphasize that this is a practice.

I will however remind that the more you put into it the more you may receive.

Last year I felt called to spend the 12 days leading up to Christmas in the Nativity Story. It was a great experience because by making a commitment to write everyday it helped me explore Christmas at a new depth. Where before I believed the stories simply potential additions to build up the Gospel I began to see the Covenant and was amazed at how congruent the Nativity is with the Old Testament. For me it was a spiritual break through. I would not have discovered that if it were not for the action and the discipline.

This is a discipline and if you are anything like me you are not very good at it. I'm not. I get all fired up and then three days later I get "busy". The one benefit to creating all this and then inviting persons to join is that this is probably the best way to remain accountable. If I stop writing certainly some may notice.

I'm not a big fan of being accountable. It can be taxing. But I have also found that by taking on a commitment I'm more likely to follow through.

So make a commitment. If your more daring invite a person or more than one to do this with you. Better yet decide to meet once a week to discuss the practice. Have a meal. Ask the dangerous but exciting question, where is God leading us?

Dare to believe that God is real and that by taking some time to be with Him, he'll show up.

(Continue the journey with Post- Rules)

How to Use Blog

Or I've received an invitation now what do I do?
(Short form: Scroll down to 7)

It's amazing what you can learn when you start doing something. For example there is a huge gap between knowing what a Blog (Web Log) is and actually being able to navigate it. As I've stumbled around creating this thing I've learned a few things. Hopefully the same will happen as we stumble around the readings on a daily basis. That being neither here nor there let's try to make navigation of this thing a tad easier.

How to use this Blog (or any blog for that matter):

1. By being invited and accepting, you are a member. This means you can leave posts as little or as much as you want. A post is simply a addition to the writings that appear on the left side of the screen. The last on added will appear at the top of the left column. (The last will be first and the first will be last.)

2. A list of Previous Posts appears on the right hand side of the screen. Click on Lenten Journey 2005, Daily Readings, Suggestions for Daily Writing, and Rules to discover what this Blog is all about.

3. Members have an account and a link to this Blog. To create a Post click on Create. Title it and then write. Make sure to publish post when you are finished.

4. The only person who can invite members to join is scottpetersen. Go to profile and send email. If you have a friend, a family member, a church friend, or all three that you would like invited to become members send me an email their email address. I will send them an invitation.

5. Anonymous comments are allowed by any person even those who stumble upon this blog in passing. If you have stumbled upon this blog and would like to join us please go to profile and send an email. If you are not from Virginia Theological Seminary or St. Benedict's Parish please let us know where you are from.

6. Blogs are not all that hard to create. If you don't like this one create your own. If you have a blog already and want to be linked simply go to profile and send an email. If it fits with the spirit of this I will gladly list it.

7. The best way to learn is to try some things to see how this all works. If I can figure it out you certainly can.

(To continue on with journey see Post- Suggestions for Daily Writing)

Daily Readings

The Daily Readings- The Popular Post
(For short form Scroll to bottom)

If you don't have your own copy or access to The Lord's Prayer, Apostle's Creed, and The Ten Commandments, you can review them here. Scroll down to read all three. Feel free to copy and save to word program on your own PC. However you might be more willing to reflect in a Post or comment by coming here. Remember don't keep your light under a bushel! Your reflection might make a world of difference to another. (Of course, then again it may not. The point of all this is in the daily practice not in the wisdom of any particular day).

The Lord's Prayer (Traditional Version) BCP pg 96 (Morning Prayer II)

Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.


The Apostle's Creed BCP pg 97 (Morning Prayer II)

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. AMEN.


The Ten Commandments
Revised Standard Version Exodus 20:2-17

2. "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.3. "You shall have no other gods before me.4. "You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;5. you shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,6. but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.7. "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.8. "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.9. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work;
10. but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your manservant, or your maidservant, or your cattle, or the sojourner who is within your gates;11. for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it.12. "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the LORD your God gives you.13. "You shall not kill.14. "You shall not commit adultery.15. "You shall not steal.16. "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.17. "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor's."

Short Form:

HA! Caught you slacking. There is no short form. What would be the point of that? I am tempted to write "Love God with all your heart mind and soul and love your neighbor as yourself" but that too would go against the daily intentional practice. Since there are no real rules and if you felt like spending Lent with Jesus answer to the greatest commandment, go ahead. Your Posts over 40 days may very well flesh out Jesus statement for you and others.

(Continue on the journey with Post- How to Use Blog)

Lenten Journey 2005

INTRO: Why daily practice of reading The Lord's Prayer, Apostle's Creed, and Ten commandments? How the heck is that supposed to help? (for short form scroll to bottom)

Lent is a period of repentance. To repent means to turn around. It means to purposely do something different in the hope that through our actions, we will encounter God. It is the hope in the Good News of Jesus Christ that we are forgiven and received. Through such forgiveness we can enter deeper into God's Love. Even if you are unsure about the preceeding statement don't sweat it. Not believing is no reason for not trying. Take up this practice with an open mind and see where you are after Lent. For some it will be way to deepen faith. For others it may just be the invitation to come and see. Trust that results will follow. Regardless of where you stand in your beliefs we believe there is no coincidence in your reading this at this particular time. If you are reading this blog it is your invitation to a Lenten Discipline for 2005. It is our hope that you will join with us. We don't necessarily have your answers but we look forward to moving forward with you.

The great Christian Luther believed that Christians should spend time every day reading and meditating on The Ten Commandments, The Lord's Prayer, and the Apostle's Creed (See Post- Daily Readings).* For Lent 2005 we will strive to keep this penance in the hope of greater awareness and greater love in our Christian Communities. We act because we are inclined to know Christ better. Ultimately isn't that the point? It is not to become better writers! We act in spite of our doubts and misgivings in the hope of knowing the Living God. So we make a commitment to do something different for forty days. That invitation is to try prayer, read the readings and write honestly.

We are inviting you to check in daily and leave a reflection on something that you connected
with from these cornerstones of Christian Faith. (See Post -Ways to Use and Post-Suggestions for Daily Writing)

This is a meditation we can share with others. We believe that it is the discipline of continual daily contact that will produce the greatest connection not the depth or beauty of any particular daily written reflection. Even if you miss a day, a week, a month, come back and start again. No one will be counting.
(Continue on the journey with Post- Daily Readings)

Short Form:
Have open mind
Read Daily readings
Leave a post as reflection
Repeat for 40 days (every day but Sunday's February 9 through March 27th 2005)