One questions I am frequently asked is about what I do for daily devotions. The implication is that, as a pastor, I should have the daily devotional practice nailed down. The truth is that I do have a devotional practice, but it doesn't always happen daily! Like many people, I sometimes oversleep, or get busy or have other things on my mind and forget. I am not proud to admit it, but it is the truth!

On good days, I always do my devotions first thing in the morning ~ before I even get out of bed. I find that if I wait life gets in the way and I never get to it. My devotions always involve a reading from the Bible. Right now I am reading my way through the Minor Prophets of the Old Testament. I usually read a chapter or two at a time. Often I also include another kind of devotional reading in this quiet time. Currently I am reading a collection of Wendell Berry's Sabbath poems.

Following this reading, I spend time in prayer. This can take many forms depending on the day and what is on my heart. Yet, I always conclude my prayer time with what we Methodists call John Wesley's Covenant Prayer:

I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine.
So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.

As I wrote above, there are days when I wake up and am on to the next thing before I even think of my devotions. But those end up being the days that I feel most scattered and least in touch with God's presence in my life. I've found that reminding myself that I am God's own ~ and not my my own ~ gives me strength for whatever the day may hold.

In the Early Christian Church believers gathered often to worship and break bread. In fact, meals were regularly a part of their worship gatherings. The verses Acts 2:42 & 46 read,

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.....Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.

And we will have the opportunity to do just that when we gather on Sunday, March 7th for our Lent Communion Breakfast! I hope you can attend this fellowship and worship event. Here are the details:

Lenten Communion Breakfast: Sunday, March 7, 2010 at 9:00 AM in Brand Hall
Please sign up on the Kiosk by February 28 so sufficient food can be prepared or call the Church at 863-6764 and leave a message. Coffee cake, muffins or sweet breads would be appreciated to round out the eggs, bacon, fruit, coffee, tea and juice. There will be a donation basket on each table. Some of the donation money will help defray the cost of the eggs, bacon and juice. The rest of the money will go to One Great Hour of Sharing. The Church Goal is to send $200.00. This money will bring much-needed relief and joy to vulnerable children and adults by responding to disaster, alleviating poverty, fighting hunger, offering hospitality to immigrants and giving out school kits.

Fasting from specific treats (like chocolate) is one way to observe a Lenten fast. Another way is to abstain from all food for a period of time. This type of fasting isn't as popular these days, but such fasting canhave the effect of drawing us closer to God, if done in the right spirit.

One Lent I fasted every Monday from the time I got up until dinner time. I broke my fast with fellow Christians (who had also fasted) over a meal of soup and a Lenten devotion. The founder of Methodism, John Wesley, practiced regular fasts during Lent and at other times during the Christian Year.

John Wesley’s Practice of Fasting

“For sixty five years, John Wesley followed the fasting practice of the Anglican church, which included fasting on Fridays, during Lent, and a few other select holidays. A Friday fasting practice paralleled Christ’s passion. Wesley would begin his fast after supper on Thursday, in remembrance of the Last Supper and Jesus’ experience in the Garden of Gethsemane. He would continue his fast into Friday, in remembrance of Jesus’ crucifixion and would break his fast with tea on Friday afternoon. This timing coincided with Jesus’ exclamation from the cross (as well as ensure that he wouldn’t miss the British practice of afternoon tea.” (information provided through New England Annual Conference)

Tomorrow marks the beginning of Lent. We will gather in the sanctuary at 7:30pm for our Ash Wednesday worship. Each year during Lent, when I was a child, I would have to ‘give something up.’ About a week before Lent my parents would start asking me what I wanted to give up, my pastor would talk about it in his sermon and my Sunday school teachers would remind me of how important it was. There was just no getting around it!

Because of this experience, Lent became known to me as the season of ‘giving something up.’ Most years it was chocolate. I would deny myself this favorite treat for the forty days leading up to Easter, with the exception of Sundays. Actually Sunday was my favorite part of Lent! Even if I gave up chocolate Monday through Saturday, I could still get my favorite treat on Sundays!

For many years the spiritual benefit of fasting, or ‘giving something up’, for Lent was lost on me. However, as an adult I am glad that I was ‘encouraged’ in this practice as a child. When we give something up that is part of our daily life we are reminded of our need for God and our dependence on God. Through fasting, we become mindful of Jesus’ suffering and are prepared for the celebration of Easter and the resurrection of Christ from the dead. Lent is the season of ‘giving something up.’ Giving up our independence and recognizing our dependence on God. Giving up our self-sufficiency and acknowledging that we are only made whole through God’s grace.

And I’ll tell you something else. Sundays are still my favorite part of Lent! Not because I get to eat chocolate but because every Sunday is a little Easter; a celebration that through all Christ gave up for us we can join with him in his resurrection, not because we’ve earned it, but through God’s ever present grace.

This Sunday is what we call Transfiguration Sunday (or what is known in preacher-shorthand as the T-Fig). This is the final Sunday of the Season of Epiphany. This coming Wednesday we will be ushering in the Season of Lent and making our preparations for the journey to the cross.

So what is so important about the Transfiguration? (Luke 9:28-36) In all truth, it is a rather unusual happening. Jesus takes three of the disciples up a mountain where is he transfigured by shining white light and joined by Moses and Elijah. The disciples, sleepy and confused, see this happen and Peter is so awe-struck that he suggests they build camps so they can all stay there and never leave. Then, just as Peter is making building plans, a voice comes down from heaven ~ reminiscent of Jesus' baptism ~ saying, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him."

If this moment isn't an epiphany ~ a manifestation of the divine ~ I'm not sure what is! We are reminded, as we anticipate the difficult journey of Lent, of Jesus' true identity. This epiphany can give us strength for the journey and hope for the future as we encounter all the pain of Jesus' passion in the coming weeks. Jesus' transfiguration on the mountain foreshadows his ultimate transfiguration at the empty tomb.

As we leave this Season of Epiphany, what have you learned about the presence of the divine? How has God been manifest in your life? And how can that presence strengthen you for what lies ahead?

This Sunday Rev. Anne Roberts will be preaching while I am away. I am thankful for her support, and the prayers of the congregation, while I visit my Dad (who is living with ALS) for his 60th birthday.

While I am very much looking forward to my visit, I also regret I will not be present to hear Rev. Anne's sermon! The title she has chosen is "Great Awakenings." The Scripture she is focusing on is Luke 5:1-11. This passage describes how Jesus sent the Simon Peter out into the deep water where he brought in a great catch of fish. This is also the passage that contains these well known words of Jesus: "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people."

Has Jesus ever sent you out into the deep? When have you been surprised by the abundance Jesus has shared with you? Would you describe yourself as a 'fisher of men' or a 'catcher of people'? What has awakened you to follow Jesus call?

ReThink Church seems to be everywhere! It is on the TV, in our church newsletter, even in Montpelier! We will even be ReThinking Church during our upcoming Lent Adult Study.

If you are wondering what I am talking about, please let me explain. ReThink Church is an initiative of the United Methodist Church to encourage us to live our motto, "Open Hearts. Open Minds. Open Doors." You may have seen some of the TV ads for ReThink church while you've been channel surfing!

As United Methodist we are challenged with questions like these: What if church was more than just a building? What if 'church' was not a noun, but an action verb? What if, instead of simply opening our doors so people can come in, we opened our doors to send people out into the community to share Christ's love?

This Saturday a ReThink Church training team is coming to Montpelier to share ideas and educate us on how to ReThink Church. We have a team of six attending! Look for more information to come out of that experience. In the meantime if you want to learn more about ReThink Church, visit this website: www.10thousanddoors.org