DST TLC

Last March I wrote about how Daylight Saving Time messes with our sleep / waking schedule so much that it's not unusual or surprising that we find ourselves grumpier than normal for a few days (or weeks).

One approach, of course, is to simply give in to this anger: at a spouse, child, or co-worker. Another approach is to use it as an opportunity to confess our sins and shortcomings and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to begin to cultivate the virtues in our life.

Throughout the long history of the church, seven grievous (or "deadly") sins were identified as being particularly serious or pernicious: pride, greed, lust, anger, gluttony, envy and sloth. How many of these rear their ugly heads the week following the Daylight Saving Time switch?

However, the Church in its wisdom, has "matched" these seven grievous sins with the seven capital virtues: humility, liberality (generosity), chastity, mildness, temperance, happiness and diligence (see also the "fruits of the Spirit" in Galatians 5:22-23).

Our battle with sin is a daily one. Let us all, by God's grace, fight the dark side of DST with some Spirit-filled TLC.

Bright Sadness

Alexander Schmemann, an Eastern Orthodox Christian theologian, has described Lent as a "bright sadness." I think I understand what he means.

I am still getting settled into my new study here at the church following our renovations. One item on my "to do" list is cleaning the windows.

This morning the sun has been exceptionally bright, which has a twofold effect on me. On the one hand, it cheers me, especially since I've had quite a bit of cabin fever as of late and cannot wait for spring to come in full force. The sun brightens my study and my life. On the other hand, it shows even more clearly how dirty my windows are and how much I need to clean to them, to tend to them.

To me, that is Lent in a nutshell. The Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, brightens our lives--indeed, He brightens the entire world--with his glorious Resurrection. Yet it is this same light that shines from his face that also exposes our dirty windows, our sin, our brokenness, our mess.

Lent and the Christian Life

There are many popular views of exactly what Lent is. If you grew up Lutheran, you probably remember extra church services on Wednesdays, a somber tone to worship even on Sundays and a focus on the Crucifixion. If you grew up in another Protestant denomination, perhaps you remember a time of preparation for Easter. If you were raised Roman Catholic, perhaps you remember meatless Fridays and fish fries—a tradition the Legion in town continues. Perhaps over the years you have tried giving something up (chocolate, coffee, sweets) or taking something on (extra devotions, Bible reading time, etc.). But have you ever stopped to ask: Why? Why Lent? Why these practices? Why this 40-day focus on things such as giving to the poor, prayer and fasting?

Sometimes I think Lent is seen as something we have to get through so that we can get to the really good thing: the joy of Easter. Lent is also often seen as a time of intense spiritual exercises: giving things up or fasting, giving to the poor and doing works of mercy, praying and reading Scripture. In both of these scenarios, Lent is something that we do for a while (40 days) and then are done. Whew! Thank goodness for Easter!

There is a sense in which Lent is preparation for Easter and there is a sense in which Lent is a time of intense spiritual exercises. But this month I want to focus on Lent itself: its purpose and its power. Lent is a time when we focus intently on two things: 1) Jesus’ passion, suffering and crucifixion and 2) our life of faith. Our worship will invite us to focus on the first; our faith practices of almsgiving/works of mercy, prayer and fasting—together called the Discipline of Lent—will invite us to focus on the second. And here is where the rubber hits the road. Lent is a time to focus intensely on things that are central to what it means to be a Christian all the time.

Lent is time of preparation: not so that we can stop doing “Lenten things” when Easter comes, but as an intense “boot camp” so that we can soldier on as Christians every day of the year. During Lent we focus on Jesus and his suffering on our behalf—and are invited to keep Jesus and his Cross before our eyes every day, in every situation. During Lent we give to the poor and perform works of mercy to all, so that we can begin to do this every day of our lives. During Lent we fast and give things up, so that we can begin every day to renounce not just stuff, but the sin that clings so close to us. During Lent we pray and read Scripture, so that every day our lives can be saturated by and surrounded by prayer and God’s word.

Easter does loom on the horizon. In fact, its joy is present even now. During these days let us continue our Lenten journey, becoming by grace who God has created us to be.

Living Like Jesus

I am reading The Year of Living Like Jesus by Ed Dobson (no relation to James Dobson as far as I can tell) and have been captivated by it. I am not sure whether or not to recommend the book or not. On the one hand, it is hard to put down and am I captivated by Dobson's authentic struggle to live the new life in Christ. On the other hand, I find myself amazed by how little of the fullness of the Christian faith he seems to have experienced, in terms of other non-evangelical Christian denominations.

A few things worth sharing have struck me so far:

1. The importance of regular, fixed prayers for the life in Christ.

Throughout the book, Dobson tries praying using the Catholic rosary, the Orthodox prayer rope and Episcopal prayer beads. He also finds praying the Scriptures to be a transformational experience. I too have found that fixed prayers have been the bedrock of my prayer life.

2. The link between practicing faith and the desire of faith.

Dobson tries to listen to each of the four Gospels every week on his iPod: a noble venture, to say the least. Every once in a while he comments that he is sick of listening to Scripture and praying and takes a short break. In doing both he shares this profound truth: The more he reads Scripture and prays, the more he wants to read Scripture and pray. On the other hand, the less he reads Scripture and prays, the less he wants to. I would echo this truth he has discovered: that there is a deep link between simply "doing" faith practices and the desire to do those practices. What is fascinating to me is the reality that doing precedes desire and not the other way around.

So if you are in a faith rut, just pray, just read Scripture--and let the desire follow!

3. The difficulty of walking in the Way of Jesus.

Anyone who has ever read the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew, chapters 5-7) realizes how difficult it is to authentically walk in the Way of Jesus. This is the greatest strength of Dobson's book as he wrestles with what it means to live in Christ in every aspect of his life.

In other news...

The Techno-Future? Email or Social Media?

I am not sure how I want to continue to update these posts. I am leaning away from email and more toward social media. You can be come a fan on Facebook, where I will post a link when I write a new piece on this blog. This is also linked to my Twitter account (MattMusteric). And our congregation has its own Facebook page as well. Another easy way to follow along is to subscribe to this blog through and RSS feed reader such as Google Reader. The idea, I suppose, with all of this is to put the information in the hands of those that are looking for it. So if you have not received an email in a while from me, check out new posts here on my blog.

Epiphany is Theophany

This weekend we will celebrate the Baptism of our Lord. The focus is squarely on Jesus and his baptism in the waters of the Jordan at the hands of John the Baptizer. But something much bigger is going on as Jesus emerges from this full-immersion river baptism.

God in all his fullness is revealed as Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Epiphany is Theophany.

In the most ancient tradition of the Church, Epiphany was celebrated before Christmas; the manifestation of God was celebrated before the birth was put on the Church calendar. In the Christian East, the focus of Epiphany was on the Baptism of our Lord. In the Christian West, Epiphany developed into a three-part celebration: 1) the visit of the wise men, 2) Jesus' baptism in the Jordan and 3) the wedding feast at Cana of Galilee in which Jesus turns the water into wine.

This weekend we celebrate the Baptism of our Lord. The skies are torn open and God is revealed as Holy Trinity. The Father speaks from heaven; the incarnate Son who is fully God and fully man emerges from the water; the Holy Spirit descends in the form of a dove.

In truth all Christian celebrations are celebrations of the Trinity, because this is who God is for all eternity. God was, is and always will be Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Before there was anything, any creation, before there was any "was," God was: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. One God in three persons, existing in himself as perfect community, perfect communion.

What does this have to do with the Baptism of our Lord? With us? In the Baptism of our Lord, the Most Holy Trinity graces the waters of baptism and enfolds us into his life. In our Baptismal washing, we are enfolded into the One Who is Perfect Community and granted, by grace, a share in God's life, the life of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Happy Theophany!

Why We Need Advent

This reflection was inspired by a comment on a friend's Facebook post. He was reminding us that the 12 days of Christmas begin with Christmas rather than some grand countdown to Christmas. Someone replied that pastors are fighting a losing battle with Advent, especially when it boils down to simply not singing Christmas hymns during Advent. She suggested that we move Advent back to November and celebrate Christmas the whole month of December. I took this to mean, "Since the culture celebrates Christmas from Thanksgiving to Christmas Day, why not take advantage of this?"

Without weighing in on these particular issues, I would like to make a case for keeping Advent. And I would like to approach it from a simple perspective: Even when it comes to Christmas, do we simply want to do what the world around us is doing? When it comes to cheerily singing carols: sure. When it comes to trimming the tree and putting up decorations: sure. But when it comes to the madness of "pre-Christmas"--at least as I observe it--I don't think so.

There is a dark side to celebrating Christmas from Thanksgiving to Christmas Day, and we all know it. It is the hatred that spews forth in a parking lot as we all rush to get those gifts to put under the tree. It is the unkind word spoken from a parent under the weight of too many expectations, impossible to fulfill. It is the mad clamoring after things visible, when the deepest hunger of our souls is for the One who is invisible. It is, at its worst, the sheer emptiness of sin.

Advent is like a splash of cool water to wake us up. It is like the tender glow of a candle to give us true light. Advent refuses to be satisfied with all this pre-Christmas madness. Advent invites us to lift our eyes heavenward: to marvel at the God who has become human and to long for his coming again. Advent strips down all the decorations and busy-ness so we can join the shepherds in the humble manger. Advent prepares us to be a people fit for our King.

Perhaps Advent is best described, ironically, in the words of the Christmas carol which sings: "... and fit us for heaven to live with Thee there."

Happy Advent. And Blessed Christmas (a little early!).

Advent Decluttering

I don't know about you, but my house is filled with a lot of items I don't need. I suppose I am more aware of this during Advent than any other time of the year. I spend much more time indoors as the weather grows colder. And as I consider the twin purposes of Advent, to prepare for the celebration of Christmas and to ready myself for Christ's second coming, I have a heightened sense of what is necessary and what is not for these two things.

So part of my Advent discipline this year is going to be decluttering, combined with early gifting. Some of my stuff will be donated. Some will make its way to the dumpster. Some will find its way as early, second-hand gifts to others. And, of course, most of it I will keep. And some of it I will hoard.

What I am finding, as I begin this process of giving things away, is how incredibly freeing this all is. And the less I have, the more I have. Such is the logic of the Gospel.

In a few weeks, on the Third Sunday of Advent (December 13), we will be invited to consider the practical dimensions of John the Baptist's preaching as we prepare for the coming of the Messiah. He calls the people to repent and prepare, but they won't let him off the hook. It is almost as if they are saying, "Preacher, help us out here. What does it mean for us to repent and prepare?"

And the crowds asked [John the Baptist], "What then should we do?" In reply he said to them, "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise." Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, "Teacher, what should we do?" He said to them, "Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you." Soldiers also asked him, "And we, what should we do?" He said to them, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages." (Luke 3:10-14)

Decluttering. Renunciation. Almsgiving. Simplifying. Being content. Not taking more than we need. There seems to be some connection between these things and preparing for our Messiah, who first came in simple circumstances, in a manger, because there was no room for Him.

I don't want to add to your to-do list this time of year. But you may just find that giving things away might just be the way of life we're all called to, the way of the Gospel, the way of Jesus. For this same Messiah who came in a manger and who is coming again in glory, says,

For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it (Luke 9:24).

Blessed Advent to you all!