Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Lent #5



 

Happy Ash Wednesday!  Oh, wait.   Lent is not a happy season, but rather a penitent season.  Oops, my bad.  Holy Lent!   I don’t have anything of significant insight to share today.  Even though I’m penitent, in the midst of that penitence, there is joy unspeakable, so yes, I am happy.  I have two very close friends who love lent.  I mean really love lent.  Although I’m more of an Advent/Christmas and Ordinary Times fellow, their love and appreciation for lent has actually rubbed off on me.  Thank you, Hershey and Elizabeth.

Lent # 5?  You may think that to be a strange title for today’s blog post.  Sounds like it could be some new fragrance waiting to be pimped out by the church.  It’s like this, if someone asks me what I want to get from #Lent2K13.  There are five things that immediately come to mind (as well as others).

1.      Revival: 
Revive the dormant talents and gifts that lie within you.
2.      Reconciliation: 
Reconcile yourself to God and others.
3.      Rest: 
Rest and recharge your battery during this time of reflection.
4.      Reclaim: 
Reclaim that which has been taken away from you.
5.      Reciprocate: 
Reciprocate the blessings and love of God in your life.

Those of you who are giving up or taking on additional practices as a part of your Lenten discipline, I wish you much dedication and joy for the journey.  If you have a slip-up, don’t beat yourself up, just brush off the dust and keep it moving.  Even in this penitent season of reflection, remember that you are blessed to be a blessing to others.  Wishing you a Holy Lent!

Peace,
Karsten

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Who are you?




Who are you?  That’s a question that we’re not asked very often, because one would assume that we know who we are.  I am Karsten.  But who is Karsten?  I was listening to a podcast which featured Iyanla Vanzant, a very prominent spiritual guide.  In this podcast she stated “When we don’t know who we are, we don’t know what we want.” 

Everything that we desire and hope for can be traced back to us.  What is it that makes you uniquely you?  After everything is said and done, who are you?  Who is the person staring at you in the mirror?  What do you want from life?  Who are you?  When the dust settles, and we remove all the superficial and material things, jobs and profession, housing, clothing, significant or insignificant others, the cares of life: What’s left?  Who are you?

It’s hard not to know who you are, if you don’t realize whose you are.  But in case you’ve forgotten, let me remind you whose you are and to whom you belong.  You are a child of the light, made and fashioned in the image of the Almighty, you were born to live at this moment and in this time.  You are the salt of the earth, you are what gives your immediate environment its savor.  You are an instrument of peace, although you may be marred and broken hearted.  Beloved, you are you and only you can be the best YOU that you can be.  Embrace you, celebrate you, love you.   Who are you?

Peace,
Karsten

Monday, February 11, 2013

A walk...






In less than two days, the holy season of Lent will be upon us.  In the midst of Carnival and Mardi Gras celebrations, many people are contemplating what they will give up, or take on as a part of their spiritual discipline.  Growing up, I attended a Catholic school.  Lent has plagued me for most of my life, but as an Episcopalian, I think that I may have figured this Lent thing out.  Personally, I don’t think that God is concerned about what we give up or take on for Lent.  I think that Lent is a time in which we look inward at ourselves, and walk the walk.  


One of my favorite spirituals is “I want Jesus to walk with me.”  In 2004,  hip hop artist Kanye West released a track “Jesus Walks” on his College Drop Out CD.  “Jesus Walks” is loosely based on the lyrics of “I Want Jesus to Walk with me, ” of course with a little urban Kanye spin.  Don’t get me wrong, I do want Jesus to walk with me.  I believe that the journey to Lent is a holy and sacred one, a time in which we don’t ask Jesus to walk with us, but that we walk with him.

Lent calls us to walk with Jesus through the wilderness, through the temptations, through the miracles, through the healings, and yes, even through the agony in Gethsemane, the crucifixion and the glorious resurrection.  As we walk with Jesus, let’s be mindful, that it is not easy, just as the journey to the cross was not easy for Jesus.  During your lenten stroll, think about how the Universal Spirit will move in,through and around you, while giving you joy for the journey.  This in turn may cause you to be a blessing in the lives of others around you.  You may look up and soon discover that you are not walking with Jesus alone.  Put on your walking shoes.  Here’s wishing you and yours a happy, blessed and holy Lent. 

Peace,
Karsten

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Missed Opportunity

 

Okay, so today I have another case of the shoulda, coulda, wouldas.  Today I went to worship at a different church.  I decided that after concluding my internship, it might be good for me to reconnect with my childhood and give the Baptist Church "the old college try."  I visited First Baptist Church in Downtown Raleigh today.  I must admit that there were some things that I had not done in church in decades, like reciting the Church Covenant before communion.  It was good to be back in the church routine that I encountered as a child.

After church, I had my day planned.  Coffee at Bruegger's, write lesson plans, eat lunch, call mom, rest/nap, watch the Super Bowl with friends, shower, retire for the evening.  I live on the cusp of downtown and decided to get some good cardio in and walk to First Baptist.  On my way home, I encountered a young man who appeared to be in his early twenties.  His first attempt to get my attention unnerved me.  I don't respond too well to "Yo."  I kept walking and was then haunted by the you tube video that Fr. Ethan Jewell, Curate at St. Clement's in Philadelphia had posted on responding to homeless people or those in need.  So, after considering how I would feel being brushed off and ignored by someone, I turned around and by this point, he had caught up with me.  His first question was, Are you leaving church?  My immediate thought is "Where the heck is this conversation going?"  I replied; Yes.  He continued and asked me if they had a second service.  I responded yes.  My friend then tells me that he wanted to go to church and that he slept under the Glenwood Avenue bridge at Morgan Street and had to go get his bag and put on a better shirt.  Immediately, I directed him to the church that I felt that he would be warmly welcomed and recieved, just as he was, The Church of the Good Shepherd.  I directed him to the church.  He thanked me and we parted ways.

As I was walking home.  I really wanted to kick myself.  There was another opportunity for me to minister to the needs of someone else, but instead I let it slip by.  I thought about this young man's story.  Apparently he was churched, even to the point of identifying people that look stereotypically "churched" and inquiring of a church's worship schedule.  At that moment, I was so caught up in me, my plan, my agenda and me, I had neglected the need of a fellow brother.  By the time I arrived home, I wondered what would have happened had I walked with this young man to Church of the Good Shepherd and introduced him to the Associate Rector for Urban Ministry?  What would have happened had I engaged him long enough to inquire of his needs even if I could not meet them.  Alas, I sit in Bruegger's drinking lukewarm coffee wondering what could have been.  I hope that my friend did make it to Church of the Good Shepherd, or any church in which he was warmly welcomed and received.  Let us be ever mindful of potential missed opportunities to minister to the needs of those around us.

Peace,
Karsten