Gracious and Merciful

God's mercy is a central theme in the Old Testament.  As we begin Lent the prophet Joel encourages us: "Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love (2:13.)"  In many different books of the Old Testament these same words are used to describe God.

Mercy is the theme that Pope Francis has asked us to focus on during this Holy Year.  It is perfect that we are reading this year from the Gospel according to Luke who shows us a merciful Jesus whose parable of the Merciful Father/Prodigal Son can guide us through this Lent.

The Revenant

Very light snow blown from the pines and illuminated by the sun.

A week ago I saw the movie The Revenant which I liked very much.  DiCaprio's powerful performance as Glass almost takes second place to the extraordinarily beautiful scenery.  To my mind the beauty kept the movie from being grim.

I also found enough religious meaning to be convinced that the movie is about salvation.  It begins and ends with water, a symbol of life.  There are several mentions of God.  A lone Indian that shares his food with Glass tells him that revenge if up to the Creator.  Glass has a dream/vision of a ruined church with faded religious images painted on the wall, including a crucifixion.  Webster's definition of "revenant" as "one that returns after death or a long absence" made me think of resurrection.

White Beauty

Sunday afternoon after the big snow I went for a slow walk in my neighborhood.  The sun had come out and was making everything even more beautiful.  It was one of those blissful experiences when I am particularly aware that I don't so much "take" pictures as "receive" them.  I was immersed in Beauty.  No matter how much beauty I was experiencing I still ached for more.

The Ultimate Beauty that we long for in those kinds of experiences is what we mean by the word "God."  We let Beauty possess us.

By God's Grace

 Sunset facing NW over frozen lake.

"By the grace of God I am what I am and God's grace in me has not been in vain. 1Cor. 15: 10"  One of the two quotes that have guided my life since I was in high school.  St. Paul knows that he is doing great work but he reminds himself that it is God's working through him.  Total dependence on God enables us to say, "Here I am.  Send me," and to continue Christ's work of netting people.

Here I Am. Send Me.

Sunrise the morning after 26 inches of snow.  We had just got back from the Caribbean the day before.  Snow in the foreground is on my roof.

The reading for this Sunday about Isaiah's call (6:1-8) goes well with the Gospel.  God asks, "Whom shall I send?"  Isaiah, overwhelmed by the beauty and majesty of The Divine, answers eagerly "Here I am.  Send me." 

Netting People

Wow!!  What a surprise!  When I finished the entry below, I thought I'll just give it a try to get a picture, and now it's possible!
Sometimes when I think about all the people who find God-talk meaningless, I feel like Peter in Luke 5: 1-11.  Peter has been fishing all night and has caught nothing.  Jesus tells him to go try again and two boats almost sink with so much fish.  When Jesus says to Peter and to us "From now on you will be netting people," it's easy to forget that Jesus is the one who fills the nets.

Syrian Christians

I began today to use the Acts of the Apostles for Scripture meditation.  I started with the end of chapter 15 where St. Paul begins his second missionary journey in Antioch.  With Syria so much in the news, it's good to remind ourselves how important that country was in the very earliest days of Christianity.  In fact, it was there that the followers of Jesus were first called Christians. I suppose, though most of the Arabs fleeing Syria now are Muslims, many of them are Christians.
In the first parish where I was pastor I took communion to several Arabs whose families had been in this country since the early 20th century.  One old woman used a prayer book which was in Arabic.