A Season of Love

This is the season of love. 

No, I’m not talking about the red hearts and the pink and red candies, chocolates galore and more roses than you can imagine.  But we are still in a season of love.

Right now we are still in the season following Epiphany, as we await the beginning of the season of Lent on Ash Wednesday.  The word epiphany is Greek for manifestation, and this manifestation of God is one of love.  God is manifested in the Jesus Christ, that all the world may know God’s love.

There are many legends and myths that surround the holiday of St. Valentine’s Day.  Some talk about a man named Valentine who would grant marriages to soldiers even though the Roman state forbid marriages for young men, especially soldiers.  NPR recently shared a story about the Roman feast of Lupercalia that was celebrated from February 13 to 15 and included brutal sacrificing of goats and dogs and a matchmaking lottery in which men drew the names of their female matches from a jar.

If sacrificial dogs and goats and illegal marriages don’t say “I love you,” what does?  Much more in fact.

As we celebrate the manifestation of God’s love during this season after Epiphany, I think we have more of an idea of what love truly looks like than Hallmark gives us credit for.  Love may not look like sacrificial dogs and goats, nor will it always look like candy hearts and red roses either.  Our first celebration of love came to us in a barn or a cave, among the least of these, in the humblest of circumstances.  We can take a hint at God’s incarnation in the humblest of circumstances, that love almost always looks a bit unusual and unexpected.

Holy love, the pure, honest kind that lifts us up and salves our wounds, is rarely decorated with lace and trimmings.  Love incarnate in our lives is a bit unusual and unexpected.  Love's incarnate acts are often subtle and imperceptible.

The funny card in the mail.  The moment in the crazy day or week or month where you hear, "Oh, let me take care of this."  The quiet morning before an insanely busy day.  The memory of a loved one that flashes across our hearts and causes us to smile or laugh.   The acts that respond to needs in a good and helpful and healthy way.  

Love is patient, love is kind.  It looks out for the needs of others without thinking about how others will be beholden to them, without keeping others on some proverbial string.  Love blooms where it's planted – cave, barn, homeless shelter, mission station, or on the front porch rocking chairs with a glass of sweet team and silly stories.  Love doesn't tell you constantly how life without that type of love will be bad, but stands courageously with you (and will also tell you it's okay to be scared).   Love laughs at inappropriate moments, cries the ugly cry, and celebrates the smallest of victories.

Love came down at Christmas, and has manifested itself in the life of Jesus Christ, in all the ways we celebrate this season of Epiphany, just to remind us what love really looks like.

May you always know you are truly loved by our Creator.  In Peace and Love ~ Rev. Laura

Thank You's

Please take a moment to read the following thank you letters.  One comes from Michael, and one comes from his mother, Rosalie.  The ministry of First Christian Church is long-lasting and far-reaching!

It has taken me several days to begin digesting all of the wonderful things that unfolded over the last two weeks, culminating with a truly memorable and fantastic celebration on Sunday, January 29.  I could not have imagined that Sunday happening in a way that could better encapsulate our ministry together.  Your generosity and kindness, while I feel it undeserved, will nonetheless be cherished forever.  The particular gifts you presented me with are all very much appreciated.   You seem to know me really well and that is perhaps the best testimony to the togetherness and relationships we enjoyed.  Whenever I wear my new robe, I will certainly feel your love enfolding me.  The gift certificates to the Teaching Company for more lectures and for winter running equipment are both thoughtful and appropriate.  I am thankful that you have appreciated how important these things are to me, and how they influence the way I preach and teach.   Moreover, the gift certificate to a charity of my choice is likewise very appropriate.  I have already thought of possibly using this donation to honor my father or engage our children in the decision so that it becomes a communal venture.  In any case, I will share with you our final decision and promise that we will do something for which you can be proud as well.  The individual gifts - the block of wood from the sanctuary beams, the book of explanation of the significance of the stained glass windows, the LSU t-shirts, the enormous basket of Cajun favorites, the wood carving and, of course, the snow shovel - will all be enjoyed by all of us.  The book of letters is honestly something I have not yet opened.  That is perhaps the most cherished gift.  I look forward to being in a quiet time and place to give attention to the letters that they deserve.  I can't begin to accurately and adequately put into words just what you gifts mean to me.  Let me say only that the pleasure of being your pastor has been all mine.  If I have done or said anything that has helped you in some small way on your faith journey, then I am humbled and privileged to have done so.  And know that I will be eternally grateful for all of the ways you have helped me grow.  FCC BRLA will forever inform all of my future ministries.  Of this I am sure.  And I will hold a place in my heart for FCC BRLA always.

Michael

Dear Friends –

With Michael now concluding his ministry with First Christian Church, I want to take this opportunity to express my appreciation for the many kindnesses you have offered me whenever I visited Baton Rouge.  Thank you for welcoming me into your midst and making me feel at home.  It is easy to see that you practice a ministry of abundant generosity and gracious hospitality.

While these days bring great changes to all of us, may we be assured of the loving presence of God, who challenges and comforts us even while calling us to new beginnings.  I am confident your ministry will grow and flourish, blessing those you touch both within and beyond your community.  I will continue to be interested in keeping up with FCC happenings through your email newsletter.

Grace and Peace,

Rosalie Karunas

A Prayer for Work Unseen

A thoughtful prayer about work unseen.  May we all be thankful for all kinds of work, especially the work unseen and often unappreciated!  A good reminder for all!

God, you are our Loving Parent, who knows all that happens to us, who aches with us, who rejoices with us...

On this day, we pray for all those around us whose work is often unlauded, but still appreciated and, sometimes, taken for granted...

... for morticians who receive and prepare our bodies for in their last stages of this life...

... for stockers, who attempt to work unseen such that the shelves of our stores never seem empty...

... for janitors and cleaning crews whose service means hospitality of washed floors, dusted shelves, empty trash cans, and clean bathrooms...

... for tow truck drivers who come in the dark of night, the deep snow, the pouring rain and carry our vehicles to safety...

... for nail technicians whose ministry of touch brings joy to people receiving manicures and pedicures...

... for people whose current position is searching for work....

... for homemakers of all sorts, who bring peace and comfort to those around them...

... for all these and so many others, we ask Lord that you would bless them, strengthen their efforts, and answer their prayers.

God in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Out of your love, answer us.

Amen.

The Best is Yet to Come

Carol Madere, our Chair of Elders also serves as our Board Chaplain and provides the devotionals for our Board meetings.  On Tuesday, January 24, Carol shared the following devotional with the board before we opened the meeting to business.

In John 2: 1-11, John describes the miracle at Cana when Jesus turns water into wine. As John describes it, this miracle, or more accurately this sign of the kingdom, is a sign of re-creation, renewal, God doing something new, God once again breaking into the ordinary and doing something deep, rich and extraordinary, God showing us that the best is yet to come!

How can we apply ‘water into wine’ to ourselves? 

Jesus does not often ask us to do wild, wacky, far-out things for him. As servants of Jesus his instructions to us are very often simple, plain and straightforward. “Fill the jars with water. Draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet” (2:7-8). Do we sometimes overcomplicate what we believe God is asking of us? Do we need to remind ourselves of the simple, plain and straightforward things we’re called to do: Love God. Love your neighbor. Love your enemies. Forgive as God forgives you.

The master of the banquet calls the bridegroom aside: “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine but you’ve saved the best till now”.

Some people look back on an earlier phase in their life and think of it as the best part of their life. They were great times - like a fine wine perhaps. Everything that’s happened since seems watery or of lesser quality in comparison. Yet Jesus turned water into wine towards the end of the banquet: “You have saved the best till now.” Could it be that for you and me the best is yet to come, if we’re open to God’s changes?

What a poignant message for our congregation right now.  These next few months will be different.  We will have different challenges, along with new blessings.  We will have different tasks and ways of serving the church as we embrace what it means to be FCCBRLA in this new time.  There may be some tasks that seem complicated and complex, but in reality we need to keep at the forefront the simple message to love our neighbors, love our enemies, forgive as God forgives, and to listen for God’s call.

We want to remember the wonderful memories, and the way things were because they WERE great and things were good.  We have a great congregation and family of faith – so there are certainly bright spots in earlier phases in the life of First Christian Church.  But with all due respect to the wonderful things that have happened at FCCBRLA, we also know and trust that God has great things planned for this congregation.

Jesus turned water into wine towards the end of the banquet.  Is this the end of the banquet?  Or the beginning, or somewhere in the middle?  The truth?  It doesn’t matter where we’re at in the timing of “the banquet.”  What matters is that we trust in God’s guidance.  We trust that God will work through us and work with us to make great things happen if we will listen and respond when we are called.

God is not asking US to perform the miracles.  God is asking us to “Fill the jars with water,” and to “Draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”  God will take care of the miracles.  God will take care of us.  Our job is to listen to God’s call and to respond.  When we do those things, we can truly say, “The Best is Yet to Come!”

Blessings…. Laura and Carol Madere

Speaking from the Heart when Words Fail

“They don’t teach a class in college about how to write a letter to a friend who’s dying.”  A friend shared these words in a conversation we had last week.  Off and on over the past several years, he’s relayed to me updates about a long-time friend battling cancer.  Recently, he was told the end was very near.  This friend lives out of town and doesn’t want any visitors.  My friend wanted to do something to convey what their 30-plus years of friendship has meant, but didn’t know what to do.

“Write a letter,” is what I suggested.  Such an exercise is something we do as much for us as the person receiving it.  Additionally, they can read it when they want, at a time and in a place that they decide.  Even if we never know for sure if they’ve read our words, we will have known that we have written them and sent them.  “Okay, I think I’ll try that,” was his reply.  Two weeks later, over lunch, he shook his head while relaying how hard it was actually to put pen to paper and communicate the emotions he felt.  “They don’t teach a class in college about how to write a letter to a friend who’s dying,” was how the conversation ended that day.

His words came at an appropriate time for me.  This is the last newsletter article that I will write as your senior minister.  My leaving the church next week is, thankfully, not a death.  But there are similarities in the way that we process our grief over the loss of a minister, the loss of a ministry, the loss of a period of history.  As you know, my father died of a heart attack and I have always maintained that the difficulty in dealing with sudden death is that we don’t have a chance to say “good-bye.”  Privately, I probably always pitied myself for not having had the chance to do this for dad.  What is ironic, however, is that I have a similar opportunity to do this now and find the task far more difficult than I could have ever imagined.  How do we put into words our sense of love, thankfulness and appreciation; how do we describe what is learned through the ups and downs of a relationship; how do we measure the laughter, anxiety, tears, struggle, and elation experienced together?

How do I communicate humble appreciation to those who have driven upwards of 40 miles just to make Sunday service part of their weekend plans?  How do I convey the sacred honor felt at the trust placed in me by those who shared their deepest family secrets – who allowed me to glimpse through the window of the greatest vulnerabilities?  How do I say thank you for those who have been aunts and uncles, grandparents and cousins for our children when our own families were so far away?  How do I express thanksgiving to the aged for having been allowed to hold their hands at the end of life, and to parents for entrusting their infants and children into my hands the very beginning of theirs?  How can I possibly quantify or qualify the meaning of seven years’ worth of memories with one family, let alone one hundred?

At some point in all of the funerals over which I’ve presided, there has been some “eulogizing” of the deceased.  That is, the community shared memories of the person’s earthly life lived among us.  As that time of the service concludes and we transition to the scripture readings and sermon, I have said some version of the following: No matter how much we say, we could never do justice to all that we feel about this one we remember.  Even if we stayed here all day – or even all week – sharing memories like this, we would not be able to describe them accurately.  For a person’s life – who they are and what they mean to us – will always be much more than a collection of memories or anecdotes we share about them.

How does one speak from the heart, when the words will inevitably fail?  If one says “thank you,” that phrase is too simple, too trite and not adequately profound.  “I am deeply indebted to you,” is too formal and not intimate enough.  “I appreciate you,” is too aloof and distant.

Years ago, a mentor in the ministry said, “We should ask our members if they are spiritually stronger than they were a year ago.  Not if they are happier, more comfortable, more knowledgeable.  But if they are stronger in a spiritual sense.  If they answer ‘yes,’ then we (the church) are doing our job.”

To the beloved community of First Christian Church of which I have been blessed to be part, I say to you that I am a stronger person spiritually because of you.  I am wiser; I am more aware of my shortcomings; I have witnessed God’s grace more clearly and experienced it more fully; I have learned a greater meaning of hospitality; I have become more patient; I have grown in knowledge and ability in unforeseen ways; I have a more confident faith in God’s love for me, God’s claim on my life, and God’s promise to provide.  All because of you.  I may not be a wise, patient, hospitable, humble, knowledgeable person yet.  But I am stronger in all of these ways because of you.  You have done your job in the years we have been together.  And I can only pray I have done mine.

And though these words will invariably fail, I say “thank you” from the bottom of my heart.  I will always feel indebted to you for your love and kindness.  I do appreciate you for all of the ways you have allowed me to be me. 

Your friend and fellow sojourner always…  Michael