Ecumenical Lenten Reflections - Christ Lutheran Church, Birch Run

ECUMENICAL LENTEN REFLECTION

MARCH 12, 2025 

This year, we are using reflections from Henri Nouwen; a Dutch Catholic priest; who was also a professor, a writer, and a theologian. 

I suppose he could be called an intellectual of sorts, having taught at Yale Divinity School, Harvard Divinity School, and the University of Notre Dame. Colleges aside, he eventually went on to work with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities at a special needs community in Canada.

Puzzling through the week’s worth of reflections on the subject of The Way of Love, where seven Scripture verses are tied in with seven quotes from Nouwen’s prolific writings, and seven reflections on top of all of those quotes; I would say that in following The Way of Love, we begin as individuals in isolation. Each one of us begins this path all alone.

But through Baptism we become, a Child of God, and through that, we step onto the path — the Way — of the Gospel. Following in the footsteps of Christ, and headed for Eternity; an Eternity of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

As we proceed through this Season of Lent, and as we move through our lives; we run into the opposites of those things. Sadness, conflict, haste, meanness, badness, infidelity, harshness, and chaos. We find that things don’t always seem to fit. Or maybe things don’t seem to fit the way we would like them to . . .

At those times when we are unable to proceed along the Way as we would desire, we find ourselves turning more and more to God. Sort of like the old line about Atheists in Foxholes.

Lent is an opportunity to de-clutter our lives. 40 (or so) days to be reborn. To re-discover what it means to be a child of God. To re-commit to following Christ Jesus — wherever that leads . . . Even if it’s not where we think we want to go.

The Way of Love — the Way of Christ — leads to the Cross.

But, as we all know, Ash Wednesday moves through Lent, to Palm Sunday, and then Maundy Thursday, and eventually Good Friday.

Lots of drama. Intense stories, memorable dialogs, shocking acts and actions. Every year, each year, more and more familiar. 

But Good Friday is not the end, and even Easter Sunday is not the end. Rather, Easter opens us into another 40 days . . . Ending with the Ascension of Our Lord . . . and beginning with the question:

“[W]hy are you standing there looking at the sky?”

Even that end is a beginning for the Apostles, and when the book of Acts ends at Chapter 28; we take over with our own mission.

Following Jesus Christ. Carrying our own Crosses. Walking along our own Way of Love with Him.

During my brief stint in the US Navy, I was trained in Chinese Mandarin; and after sloshing my way through water survival training — nearly failing the section called “drown-proofing” — I deployed to east Asia, and spent a lot of time in a lot of strange places, with a lot of strange people, and a lot of strange ideas.

I learned that, twenty-six hundred years ago; around the time that the Prophet Ezekiel was speaking to the the Israelites — who at the time were exiled in Babylon; an old man riding an ox was heading in that direction, out of China. 

Laozi – literally “Old Child” — was fed up with politics and people; wars and power. He was looking to get away from all of the mess that comes with so-called civilization. 

The guard at the western gate — recognizing him as a wise, old, philosopher — wouldn’t let him pass until he had written something down.

He wrote roughly 5,000 words (about 10 pages single-spaced) which are broken into 81 chapters. It’s titled Tao Te Ching (Dao de Jing) — or the Scripture of the Way and Virtue. And to this day is held in great esteem in Chinese folk-religion.

The 78th chapter begins:

天下莫柔弱於水，而攻堅強者莫之能勝，其無以易之。

Tiānxià mò róuruò yú shuǐ, ér gōngjiān qiángzhě mò zhī néng shēng, qí wú yǐ yì zhī.

Nothing in the world is softer and weaker than water, yet nothing can overcome it when it attacks something hard and strong.

If you’ve ever been caught in a heavy rain; you can understand this. Or if you’ve ever watched the 40 million gallons per minute that flow over Niagara Falls . . . you’d be hard-pressed to argue.

But 12,000 years ago, it all began with one drop of water from a melting glacier. And yet we see it’s effects to this day.

But I would argue — or maybe re-write — the Ancient Chinese wisdom of the Old Kid.

Because, in the light of the Gospel — Nothing in the world is softer or weaker than Love; yet nothing can overcome the power of Love . . . especially when we are talking about the Love of God poured out in Christ Jesus Our Lord.

And so, let us continue to move forward into this Holy Season of Lent. Walking the Way of Love . . . and living our lives according to the Gospel Way of Jesus Christ. 

And let us support one another . . . and transform the world we liv in . . . with the gentle power of His Love.

33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time @ Ss. Francis and Clare, Birch Run

The “ouroboros” is an ancient symbol of a snake eating it’s tail. It comes from two Greek words meaning “tail-eating,” and seems to have originated in Egypt. It can mean “infinity,” or “eternity,” as well as “death,” and “rebirth.”

In fact, in the 19th century, German chemist – August Kekulé – was inspired by a dream of just such a symbolic tail-eating snake, led to his discovery of the chemical structure of the compound Benzene.

Although there is a debate on whether he really had the dream first, or if he just used it to embellish the story around his discovery.

Today is the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Our continued focus throughout the month of November, is of an “eschatological” theme. “Eschatology” being the area of theology concerned with death, judgment, and the final disposition of the soul.

And so we commemorate the faithful departed, and we remember – in a special way – those who passed away in the last 12 months.

In 2 weeks, we will end the Church Year, and being a new one – focusing on the Gospel of St. Luke, and once again moving through Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, and Ordinary Time.

Our first reading comes from the Book of Daniel. Written two-hundred years before Christ, and recounting Jewish history from four-hundred years before that; it consists of two parts: the first being the goings on in the royal court of Babylon (during the Babylonian Captivity,) and the second being four apocalyptic visions … the last of which we heard proclaimed today.

The second reading wraps up this section of the Letter to the Hebrews on Christ’s priesthood and sacrifice – contrasting the temporary priesthood in this temporary world with the eternal priesthood of Jesus Christ in Eternity. Calling us all to look beyond our lives here and now … toward the future life to come in Eternity.

The Gospel reading from St. Mark comes from near the end of the thirteenth chapter. This chapter begins with Jesus prophesying the destruction of the temple. He then speaks of the signs of the end, a coming persecution, and a great tribulation. In what we heard today, Jesus speaks of His own second coming.

The chapter ends with an admonition to “be watchful! be alert!” This section was read last year on the First Sunday of Advent, bringing us full-circle through the Gospel of St. Mark.

Throughout history many people have come up with claims of when the world would end. There was December 21, 2012 when the Mayan Calendar ended, and supposedly the world going to end as well.

In the year 1999, 25 years ago, all computers were going to break down on New Year’s Day, because most of them had only been programmed with two digit dates. But somehow we survived.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses have predicting the end of the world for over 100 years: in 1914, 1915, 1918, 1920, 1925, 1941, 1975 and 1994. Never the less,  they still hold their annual conference in Saginaw every year in early July.

We should be prudent in our own interpretation of the signs of the times ... as well as the symptoms of our times. After all, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” Or as Jesus says in today’s Gospel: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”

For ourselves, we must keep our eye fixed on Jesus Christ, and we must keep our minds focused on the things that are eternal. Knowing that, despite our immediate thoughts and worries, that God is in charge, and that God’s plan for us is much bigger than we can imagine.

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, let us rely more and more on supernatural and spiritual helps provided to us in the Sacraments. May our lives be an expression of God’s grace and mercy and love - our spiritual inheritance from God as His beloved children, redeemed in Christ, and filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time @ Ss. Francis and Clare Parish, Birch Run

The election of 1960 was hotly contested.

Republican Vice President Richard M. Nixon only lost the popular vote by 118,524. But if you subtract the six rogue electors from Alabama, who refused to endorse Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy, Nixon would have won the popular vote by 58,000; even though he lost in the electoral college 219 to 303.

In the House and the Senate, Democrats held a very comfortable majority — 262 out of 435; and 64 out of 100.

In his inaugural address given on January 20, 1961, then-president Kennedy near the end spoke these memorable words:

ask not what your country can do for you 
— ask what you can do for your country.

Finally ending with:

With a good conscience our only sure reward, 
with history the final judge of our deeds, 
let us go forth to lead the land we love, 
asking His blessing and His help, 
but knowing that here on earth 
God's work must truly be our own.

Today is the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, and our readings focus on sacrifice.

In both the Old Testament reading and the Gospel we hear of two widows. One who gave what food she had to a stranger, and the other who gave everything that she had.

The word widow is very unique in that it comes out of a single Indo-European root . . . meaning this word, or a variant of this word, has been used for thousands of years and all the languages of the world share a common root dating back to the origins of language.

In both Hebrew and Greek, the languages of the Old and New Testament, the word for widow is related to the word for a chasm or a desolate place.

Yet in both of these Bible stories, the widows give from their need — not from their surplus. The depth of their sacrifice made a noticeable dent in their lives. Or, in other words, they both gave until it hurt.

As we continue our sequential reading through Hebrews, the writer points out the superiority of Jesus’s sacrifice. Where in the Old Law, the priest sacrificed an ox and sprinkled the altar with its blood; Jesus sacrificed Himself for our salvation, in His own Body and with His own Blood. 

Where the Temple was meant to be a model . . . an image . . . and icon of Heaven, Jesus ascended into Heaven at God’s right hand, making “a holy sacrifice” on our behalf in the presence of God the Father.

The offerings of the two widows from their need is a model . . . an image . . . an icon of Christ’s own self-gift . . . His kenosis . . . His total self-emptying sacrifice.

Jesus’s sacrifice is once-for-all, perfect, and complete. And we re-present it here on this altar for the you and your intentions.

I will close with a Danish proverb. Like Kennedy’s famous “ask not” quote, it should leave us with a challenge.

What you are is God’s gift to you.
What you do is your gift to God. 

 As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ; let us ask ourselves — “How shall I make a return to the Lord, for all the good He has done for me.” 

Let us take what we have, and who we are . . . and through our thoughts, words, and deeds . . . make a worthy sacrifice to God, united with Christ Jesus, and in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Red Mass 2024 @ Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption, Saginaw, MI

Born in 1907, Robert Anson Heinlein was a Naval Officer, and an Aeronautical Engineer. But perhaps his is best known for being an author of science fiction. He is considered the “dean of American science fiction authors,” and is considered a pioneer in what is called “hard” science fiction, which means that his works did their best to depict science as accurately as possible.

He published 32 novels, 59 short stories, and 16 collections during his life; as well as 9 films, 2 television series, an several episodes of a radio series.

His most well-known work was made into the movie “Starship Troopers.” But his magnum opus was “Stranger in a Strange Land,” published in 1962.

The title of this work is taken from Exodus 2:22, from the words of Moses at the birth of his first son.

A summary of the book is that a human child is raised by Martians on Mars after a tragic accident claimed all the humans on the spacecraft.

In the book, that child – now an adult brought back to earth– struggles to understand human culture, human language, and human behavior.

In one situation, he asks his mentor – an attorney – “What is truth,” stating plainly that “If you've got the truth you can demonstrate it. Talking doesn't prove it.”

And in a later situation, speaking with a confidant who had been his nurse on his initial return to Earth he struggles with faith; calling it “a dirty monosyllable . . . that shouldn’t be used in polite company.”

If you are a fan of science fiction, it is a wild ride of intrigue, politics, and social exploration . . . not to mention linguistics and culture clash.

Today, we are gathered in this Cathedral to celebrate the Mass of the Holy Spirit – nominally the “Red Mass” – to pray for the opening of, what would have been in Olde England, the Michaelmas court term. 

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. While the fruits of the Holy Spirit are: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity.

Our readings are taken from the Thursday of the 27th Week of Ordinary time, and we’ve hit the third chapter of St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians, where he spouts off: “O stupid Galatians! Who has bewitched you?”

The Greek word translated here as “stupid” is a negation of the verb meaning to consider, to perceive, to think, to understand. And the word rendered as “bewitched” can also mean to slander, to curse, or to charm . . . to ruin a person’s reputation.

And what else is Paul ranting about? 

A struggle between the law and the spirit.

Now, law is a slippery word. Some people might even consider it to be a “dirty monosyllable . . . that shouldn’t be used in polite company.” 

And law is, indeed, slippery. There are all sorts of law. Church Law, or Canon Law. Criminal Law, Civil Law. Common Law, Contracts Law. Natural Law, Tribal Law, and even Divine Law; among many others.

The law that St. Paul is talking about here is the Law of Moses. And he’s losing his cool because after preaching the Gospel to the Galatians, they have thrown the transmission of their spiritual race car into reverse at high speed because they aren’t satisfied with living out the fullness of their Christian life. They think they’ve found a way to be super-duper pseudo-Jewish uber-Christians.

In today’s short reading, Paul points out that they have already perceived Christ Jesus, received the Holy Spirit, and experienced miracles from God the Father. 

But for some strange reason, all of that wasn’t enough for them. 

And someone, somehow, has convince them to jump with both feet into the Mosaic Law to try to live out the 613 mitzvah.

And Paul isn’t having any of this.

Our Gospel reading from St. Luke is the third and fourth pericopes of two others that precede it.

Two days ago we heard of Martha and Mary; and how Jesus points out the “one thing,” and the “better part.” 

Yesterday we heard the giving of the Lord’s Prayer — consisting of seven petitions (according to the Catechism) — and considered by some to be a perfect summary of the Gospel.

And today, we hear a parable about waking up your neighbors in the middle of the night; and snakes and fish, and scorpions and eggs.

What is going on here?

The story of Martha and Mary shows us the primacy of prayer. Mary sits at the feet of Jesus while her sister is busy busy busy.

Prayer is the “one thing.” Prayer is “the better part.”

The giving of the Lord’s prayer provides us with a pattern of prayer: a prayer that is confident, rightly ordered, devout and humble.

The neighbor gets his way through perseverance, a model for not giving up when we pray. Too often we may need to pray and pray and pray … not to change God’s mind, but to conform our own will more closely to God’s will. Persistent prayer is meant to change us, not God.

And finally, we hear of the promises of prayer — namely that we have a God who loves us and wants to give us all good things. And we must understand that God is generous and never disappoints.

And so, let’s tie this all together. 

We are judges and lawyers, agents of the court, who administer the law, according to the spirit of the law. 

This is hard, and sometimes we find ourselves asking: “What is truth?” And other times we may find ourselves losing our faith in the system.

But, with the power of prayer and the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit, we can rise above the fray allow the gifts of our Baptism – Faith, Hope, and Love – direct us and guide us . . . So that we might ask and receive, seek and find through perseverance and focus.

As we continue with this liturgy of prayer, we will soon renew our Lawyer’s Oath, and lift up prayers of petition and thanksgiving. 

Let us through prayer, word, and sacrament, allow ourselves to be transformed by the Father’s grace into the image of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, through the power and the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit.

Ecumenical Soup Supper - Hope At The Cross,

1. HOPE AT THE CROSS

In Law School, my professors encouraged me, early on, to re-arrange my classes out of the usual order, so that I could take all of my Criminal Law classes as early as possible. So I crammed in Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Constitutional Law, and Evidence all at once during my second year. 

Why? You might ask was this? 

They wanted me to enroll in a Public Defender Clinic, because they thought this would be formative for me to get this under my belt. 

For the record, anyone who’s watched a movie with a courtroom scene has heard, “Objection! Hearsay.” That is, if you aren’t a witness to something, you may have heard about it, but that’s not good enough. 

Although there are exceptions. Rules 803, and 804 of the Federal Rules of Evidence provide roughly 30 exceptions to the Rule Against Hearsay, and Rule 805 provides that even when there’s hearsay within hearsay – that is, for those of you who remember the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, that immortal line:

My best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with the girl who saw Ferris pass out at 31 Flavors last night. I guess it's pretty serious. 

could possibly be allowed in courtroom testimony “if each part of the combined statements conforms with an exception to the rule.”

Anyway, for us as Christians, our hope is in Christ, and in Him crucified. And so the first pericope provided for our reflection speaks of the two thieves on either side of Jesus at the Crucifixion; and provides a stunning comparison and contrast between hope and despair.

In the First Letter to Saint Timothy, Paul admonishes us to “put all our hope in the living God.” In the Letter to the Romans, Paul tells us that we are saved in hope, but that “hope that is seen is not hope.” And in the First Letter of Saint Peter, we hear that “we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

This is what I like to call “supernatural” hope, what Catholics call the “Theological Virtues,” with virtue meaning a strength or power.

We can hope that it might not rain tomorrow, but if we were facing imminent death, would we be able to hope? Or would we struggle with despair? The graces of God provides us with a hope that goes well beyond our own ability to hope. A powerful hope, that continues to hope, even when there is no light at the end of the tunnel. 

2. CONFIDENCE IN CHRIST

N. T. Wright speaks quite a bit about what he calls the Resurrection Movement within the early Christian community. For both Jews and Gentiles, the idea that Jesus was risen from the dead was mind-blowing. 

For the Sadducees, resurrection was heresy. It was some new-fangled idea that wasn’t in their Scriptures. The Pharisees, on the other hand, embraced the idea of a resurrection, but more as an end-of-time concept. The prophecy of Ezekiel in chapter 37 – the dry bones in the desert. 

But the resurrection of Jesus was ridiculous. The Sadducees didn’t have time for it. And the Pharisees weren’t ready for any resurrection before the end of time. What’s a Jew to do?

For the Greeks, maybe there was a transmigration of souls – a re-incarnation of sort. But for the Romans, life one one-and-done. Live fast, die young, and leave a good-looking corpse. 

For us as twenty-first century Christians, we might take the resurrection for granted. Missing the point that this should be mind blowing for us just as it was mind blowing 2,000 some years ago. The Resurrection of Christ Jesus should be for us more than an idea. It should be a paradigm shift, that takes us out of this world and into the next. 

We don’t live our lives like the rest of the world. Not because of a rule-book; but rather because we know that the world as we know it is passing away. And that we will be united with Christ in a bodily resurrection.

As the Apostle’s Creed says it: “I believe in . . . the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.”

In the season of Lent, we seek to deepen our faith in this hope. To live our lives in a better way. More prayer. Less worldliness. More charity. 

These three pillars of our Lenten practice are meant to help us grow, not only in Hope, but in Faith, and in Love. Making us better sons and daughters of God, siblings of Christ Jesus, filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.

3. HOPE FOR THE FUTURE

The hope that we express in the resurrection should spur us on the emulate the generosity of God in what we say and what we do. Too often, we can get stuck – where our beliefs become something in our minds, leaving us ruminating without much action. Our Hope in Christ’s Resurrection should lead us to act on what we believe, so that our Faith becomes action – not for the sake of acting, but out of Love. Emulating the generosity of God, from Whom we have received everything that we have, as well as everything that we are.

This is what sets Christians apart in the world-at-large. Our relationship with God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And as we take our faith out into the world, our acts of charity and love provide opportunities for us to show the Love of God to a world lacking in Hope and in missing out on Faith. 

I want to thank you for hosting us tonight at the Burt Methodist Church. Let’s stand and sing the hymn on the back of your programs. 

Father at Law @ Living Exponentially / Blue Water Healthy Living

 Video interview on Living Exponentially with Eileen Tesch.

Living Exponentially: Father David Jenuwine, Father-at-Law

0:00 / 0:00

15 seconds

15 seconds

Solemnity of Jesus Christ King of the Universe @ Ss. Francis and Clare, Birch Run, MI

There is a current among historians that on several occasions have asked the question:

What if George Washington had been the first King of America, instead of the first President?

Recently, an online researcher from Ancestry dot Com took the challenge, and began the process of attempting to trace the would-be royal lineage back over two centuries.

It’s not easy being king.

And it’s also not too easy to figure out just who would be king.

Royal succession is in itself difficult to determine because of the variations that exist in passing on the crown. For example, does the throne go only to male successors? Or in an enlightened society, should women be included in the royal succession? Is this mythical monarchy a patrilineal – only through the father’s side, or is it bilineal?

Add to that what is probably the most apparent difficulty – namely, that George and Martha Washington had no children.

Tracing the line back through every possible family permutation yielded various claimants to the throne over the last two centuries who would have been the kings: Lee, Bushrod, and Spotswood. Not to mention the queens: Estella, Odelle, and Brynda.

After much time and research, the most likely royal successor was finally determined to be Paul Emery Washington. He was born in Texas in 1927, served in the US Navy, and worked until his retirement for a supply company – which interestingly was based out of Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. During his retirement he volunteered at San Antonio Zoo, and was active in the community.

But since that article was written, I have some sad news: His Royal Highness, Paul I, has gone on to his eternal reward. And so, it would seem, the hypothetical throne of America is once again up for grabs.

Today we celebrate the last Sunday of Ordinary Time, known as The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. The feast was originally put forth by Pope Pius XI in 1925 in response to growing secularism and nationalism after the First World War.

And while the Scripture readings may lead our minds to the eschaton – that is, the end of time – the emphasis of this feast day is on the here- and-now. Writing in 1925, the pope stated that for all of us, Jesus Christ must reign in our minds ... in our wills ... in our hearts ... and in our bodies.

Christ’s reign is not some distant event ... rather, we must work to make it a reality every day by our own willingness to allow Him into our lives.

As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ ... let us pray for a deeper openness to God’s grace ... so that we might truly allow Christ to be *our* King.

May we surrender ourselves totally to His reign ... so that His kingdom may come ... on earth ... as in heaven ... through us living out our lives ... every day ... for Jesus Christ ... in all that we say and do.