Monday, February 29, 2016

Leap Day

Reading: Luke 13:1-9

Luke 13:8 “Let the fig tree alone for one more year.”

            In truth, every normal human being wants to be of value, wants to offer something of value to the world, either through career or family or volunteering or art or through myriad quiet and invisible ways. Children rise to the task when presented with responsibility. Adults can be energized by a challenging task, God is always offering us second chances, third chances, fourth, fifth and sixth chances, to bear fruit for the life of the world. Every act of love increases God’s sway in the world. God is ever granting us another chance. Now it is up to us to greet opportunity and risk being loving and compassionate and trusting and…hardest of all: vulnerable.

O God, fountain of life, may we set aside all that prevents us from bearing fruit in our lives – the fruit of new life from your living water. Amen

·       Mindfully eat a fruit that has many seeds.

Sunday, February 28, 2016 - Third Sunday in Lent

Worship: 8 & 10:45 am

Readings: Is. 55:1-9; Ps. 63:1-8; 1 Cor. 10:1-13; Luke 13:1-9

Gospel Acclamation: Jesus began to proclaim, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near. (Matthew 4:17)

"…the liturgy of Ash Wednesday is not focused on the sinfulness of the penitent but on the mercy of God… Nowhere will we find more tender expressions of the divine mercy than on this day. [God's] mercy is kind. The blessings of the ashes know God only as the 'God who desires not the death of the sinner.'…The God of Ash Wednesday is like a calm sea of mercy. In this God there is no anger."

            Thomas Merton (1915-1968), Seasons of Celebration

Saturday, February 27, 2016

Commemoration of George Herbert, priest and poet, 1633

Reading: Luke 13:1-9

Luke 13:6 “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it and found none.”

            Here is one of those dilemmas in the life of faith. It is very clear: God has planted us as trees beside water, and God expects us to bear fruit. God has planted in us a seed of compassion, a seed of wisdom, a seed of justice, a seed of truth. God has planted in us the seed of God-ly-ness, and God does expect us to bear fruit: compassion, wisdom, justice, truth. Yes, we are redeemed. Yes, we are healed, Yes, we are loved. These are all God’s gift to us. We don’t pay for or earn these gifts. But God does still expect us to bear fruit. God-ly fruit.

O God, fountain of life, you have planted us as trees beside water, and you tend and love us. May our lives bear fruit for the coming of your reign. Amen

• Read George Herbert's poem, "Love (III)": http://www.bartleby.com/101/286.html .
• Learn to make Pysanky, Ukrainian eggs, with Cha and Kurt Posz, 9-12, East Commons, Mount Olive.

Friday, February 26, 2016

Commemoration of Saint Photina (Orthodox), The Woman at the Well

Reading: Isaiah 55:1-9

Isaiah 55:1 “Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters!”

            Lent in the early days of the church was a time of learning and preparation for new converts awaiting baptism at the Easter vigil. In the darkness of the spring night, the converts faced the west and three times renounced all forces that would separate them from God. Then they faced east, faced the direction from which the Easter dawn would soon break upon them, and three times were immersed, naked and vulnerable, into flowing water or pool. Thirsty souls began a new life in water and God’s Word. "The water you enter is like a crucible in which you are reshaped to a higher nature", wrote Theodore of Mopsuestia (d. 428) in a catechetical sermon. Ho, everyone who thirsts, come!

O God, fountain of life, from you all life springs. May we always seek out your living water when we are dusty and dry. Amen

·       Place a bowl of water on your altar. Make the sign of the cross with it.

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Commemoration of  Elizabeth Fedde 1921

Reading: Psalm 63:1-8

Psalm 63:1 “O God, eagerly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”

            People sense in their souls that there is more to life than making money and paying bills. Some reach a point in life where all seems dry and barren: food loses savour, dawn loses pleasure, extreme experiences lure. But even these do not suffice. Shopping, planning, and acquiring, we discern, only temporarily satisfy. We discover that having does not quiet desire. Humans of all ages find themselves thirsting for the reality underlying reality. It  is a thirst that will not be quenched. And often we search for relief in all the wrong places…while, patiently, God waits.

O God, fountain of life, eagerly we seek you; our souls thirsts for you as in a dry and weary land. Amen

• Eat only cooked rice for one meal; set aside the money saved for an act of love.

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Saint Matthias, Apostle

Worship: Noon, soup meal follows; 7 pm, soup meal at 6 pm.

Reading: Philippians 3:17-4:1

Philippians 3:21 “Christ will transform our humble bodies to conform to his glorious body.”

            The journey through Lent, the path through the wilderness, is a path marked with ash.  We were marked with ash for the journey on the first day in Lent: ash, an ingredient in soap, for cleansing; ash, from which the phoenix arises with new life; ash, sign of mourning; ash,  mark of repentance; ash, residue of burning, a leaving behind; and ash, for humility - humility, from the same word root as humble, human, humus. We are from the earth: “remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return”. To this humble beginning, Christ adds his own promise to us: “The glory that you have given me [God], I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one.” (John 17:22). The humble Lenten journey marked with ash leads to the Easter glory of the living Christ, and we too shall rise from the ashes, new and glorious.

O God our shelter, you have created a place for us in the body of Christ. Bless our daily journey, that all we do may give glory to your name. Amen

• Take something new on – daily prayer, a new attitude, helping a neighbor, gratitude…

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Commemoration of Polycarp, bishop and martyr 156

Reading: Genesis 15:1-12

Genesis 15:5 “God brought Abram outside and said: ‘Look toward the heavens and count the stars.’” 

            Abram considered himself accursed (Hebrew, ariri), because he had no biological heir, no male child, and so his line was going to end. But God promised that Abram would indeed father a child with Sarai his wife. “Look up and count the stars,” God told Abram. To the naked eye, the night sky holds about 6000 visible stars. (Our Milky Way galaxy alone is made up of over 200 billion stars, but not all are distinctly visible.) Counting one star per second (using the Sumerian number system based on 60) would have taken Abram ten hours. What an exhilarating promise and blessing to Abram. And what a blessing to us as followers of Christ, for in Luke 3:23-38 (and Matthew 1:1-16) the line of Abraham is traced through the generations first to David the King and on to Jesus of Nazareth. Count the stars…

O God, our shelter, you keep your promises beyond what we can even imagine. May we live each day in the joy of your faithfulness. Amen

• Go outside or to an east window this evening  and view what the lakota call the Full Hunger Moon,  so called because foodstores were almost depleted at this time of year. Give thanks for the moon and the stars and the sun.

Monday, February 22, 2016

Full Hunger Moon

Reading: Psalm 27

Psalm 27:7 “In the day of trouble, the Lord will keep me safe.”

            Watching the news right before bed can be an unsettling experience – wars and rumors of wars, murder and cruelty and stories of despair infiltrate our spirits and frighten our dreams. Reading the morning paper can be an overwhelming  experience of troubling information. What do I need to fear today? Fats or carbohydrates? Hormone replacement or bone loss? Kidnappers or overprotection? Instilling fear is a method of exerting control over people. But God does not want us to live our lives controlled by fear. God desires abundant life for us, and always calls us back to the sure promise: I-will-be-there. Do not fear, says Jesus on the waves. Do not fear, say the angel messengers. Do not fear, says God. I will be there.

O God, our shelter, keep us calm and at peace in your steadfast love. Amen

• Place a clipping from today’s newspaper on your altar; pray about it.

Sunday, February 21, 2016 - Second Sunday in Lent

Sunday, February 21, 2016 - Second Sunday in Lent

Worship: 8 & 10:45 am

Readings: Gen. 15:1-12; 17-18; Ps. 27; Phil. 3:17-4:1; Luke 13:31-35

Gospel Acclamation:   The Son of Man must be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life. (John 3:14-15)

"Ash Wednesday confronts us with what we have become and prods us to do better. Indeed, Lent, we learn on Ash Wednesday, is not about abnegation, about denying ourselves for the sake of denying ourselves…It is about opening our hearts one more time to the Word of God in the hope that, this time, hearing it anew, we might allow ourselves to become new as a result of it. It is the call to prayer, to liturgy, to the cocreation of the world. It is about our rising to the full stature of human reflection and, as a result, accepting the challenge to become fully alive, fully human rather than simply, grossly, abysmally, self-centeredly human."

                        Joan Chittister (b. 1936), The Liturgical Year

O God, our shelter, your promises reach across the generations into each day and life. May we live out the fulfillment of your promise. Amen

• Write out a family tree of people who have guided you on the path of faith.

Saturday, February 20, 2016

Community Meal: 12 noon, Undercroft

Reading: Luke 13:31-35

Luke 13:34b “How often have I desired to gather your children together [Jerusalem], as a hen gathers her brood under her wings.”

            Jesus knew that life can wound and wear away at people. Just surviving the danger of existence can be a challenge to the vulnerable.

            Young chicks, like most baby birds, are covered with a fluffy layer of down after they are hatched. This down puffs out and insulates their body, so they can maintain their body temperature of 104º-105.8º F even in cold weather. It is crucial to a chick’s survival that the downy layer not become wet, because wetness flattens out the down, causing the chick to lose body heat 3 times faster. But the adult hen has wing feathers and body contour feathers over her down feathers that shed rain like a roof, and so for the survival and warmth of her chicks, she keeps them under her wings, giving them shelter until they develop their own adult feathers.

            So does Jesus offer protection and shelter to the vulnerable, until they also have wings.

O God, our shelter, blessed are you, for you protect the vulnerable, May we always sense that we are sheltered under your wings. Amen

• Write a card to or call someone who is experiencing hardship.

Friday, February 19, 2016

Reading: Psalm 27

Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?”

In Abram’s deep and terrifying darkness, God then appeared as a flaming torch. Light in the darkness. No matter how we make peace with the dark, we will always greet the dawn with a sense of hope, a sense of relief, a sense of joy. The word Lent comes from the Anglo-Saxon lenct which, like the German Lenz, means “spring”. It is related to “lengthen’, referring to the lengthening of days. The survival of all agrarian cultures depends on the lengthening of days to warm and light the soil and seed. In the lengthening of daylight is hope, hope for life. In the days of Lent is hope, hope for new life.

O God, our shelter, you are our light, you are our salvation, whom shall we fear? Amen

• If you are physically able to, fast secretly for one meal. Set aside the money saved for an act of love.

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Commemoration of Martin Luther 1546

Reading: Genesis 15:1-12

Genesis 15:12 “As the sun was going down,…a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon Abram.”

            Humans are basically afraid of the dark. Even farmsteads have pole lights that burn all night, counterparts to the porch lights and streetlights that pink the night in cities and suburbs. And yet, lights are counteractive to deep sleep. Left to our natural tendencies most humans will rise when the sun rises, not when the alarm shouts and shakes. Some alarm clocks now awaken with a gradually brightening light. Darkness is a time of dreams, of visions, of revelation, of deep awareness. And it is quite evident that the deep darkness that descends upon Abram in Genesis is not evil, but a darkness from God, intended to seal the covenant with Abram. Darkness is also a gift from God – for rest, for dreams, for revelation.

O God, our shelter, blessed are you for you cause darkness and light, the night and the day, May we always find ourselves held in your shelter. Amen

 

• Plant a bulb in a pot. Begin to water it; place it in a sunny window.

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Worship: Noon, soup meal follows; 7 pm, soup meal at 6 pm.

Reading: Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16

Psalm 91:11 “God shall charge the angels to keep you in all your ways.”

            During  Jesus’ days in the wilderness, he was urged by the tempter to throw himself down from the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem. The pinnacle was the southeast corner of the containing wall surrounding the Court of the Gentiles. Here the temple mount fell away steeply into the valley of Kedron, at least the equivalent of fourteen stories below. Interestingly, in this third trial, the tempter quotes scripture, specifically Psalm 91, the psalm chosen for the first week in Lent: “God will charge the angels to keep you…” (How startling and curious to realize that even scripture can be manipulated to beguile us away from God’s way.) Jesus refuses to tempt God to refute the laws of gravity on his behalf, and the tempter departs. Then, - Matthew and Mark report, but not Luke, - then the angels do indeed come to Jesus and minister to him.

O God of the desert, you have promised to send your angels to guard us in all our ways. May we always trust your promises, so that we may walk fearlessly through all the wilderness times of our lives. Amen

·       Write down something that threatens to lure you away from abundant life in God.

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Reading: Romans 10:8b-13

Romans 10:13 “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

            Names have power. The masters of African slaves took away their ancestral names and gave them Western names. Concentration camp inmates had their names taken away and replaced by tattooed numbers. How deflated and unimportant we feel when someone forgets our name! Names have power. When Moses wanted to know God’s name, God answered with the puzzling ehyeh-asher-ehyeh, “I-will-be-there-howsoever-I-will-be-there”. Orthodox Jews call God simply Ha-Shem, the Name. We do not know God’s name. We have no power over God; we do not magically conjure God’s presence or compliance by saying God’s name. And yet, God’s promise is clear, God’s promise is inherent in this name: I-will-be-there. And that is the name on which we call.

O God of the desert, you have promised to be present to us in times of trouble. May we remember to call on your name also in times of joy. Amen

• Learn the names of three people in the congregation. Learn the names of three people in your neighborhood or building. Learn the names of three plants that grow only in your part of the world.

Monday, February 15, 2016

Reading: Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16

Psalm 91:2 “Say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.’”

            Every human community seeks out at least two key qualities in choosing its location for settlement: the ability to see trouble coming from a distance, whether in the form of whirlwinds or invaders, and shelter from trouble. In a land of exposed rocky hills, how important to have refuge. In a land repeatedly overrun from the south, from the east, from the north, how important to have a fortress. In lives exposed to cruelty and intolerance, how important to have refuge. In lives overrun by illness, death, tragedy, how important to have a fortress. Jesus survived his forty days in the wilderness, because his spirit was sheltered by God the refuge, God the fortress. “If God is for us, who is against us?’ (Romans 8:31).

O God of the desert, you are our refuge and our fortress. You are our God in whom we trust. Amen

·       Pray for someone in need of refuge.

Sunday, February 14, 2016 - First Sunday in Lent

Sunday, February 14, 2016 - First Sunday in Lent

Worship: 8 & 10:45 am

Commemoration of Cyril and Methodius

Readings: Deut. 26:1-11; Ps. 91:1-2, 9-16; Rom.10:8b-13; Luke 4:1-13

Gospel Acclamation:   One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4)

"…the pronouncement that we are dust contains another depth. The downward motion of the believer, the descent with Christ into the dust of the earth, has become an upward motion, an ascent above the highest heaven. Christianity does not set free from the flesh and dust, nor does it bypass flesh and dust; it goes right through flesh and dust…When on Ash Wednesday we hear the words, "Remember that you are dust," we are also told then that we are brothers and sisters of the Incarnate Lord."

                        (Karl Rahner (1904-1984), The Great Church Year)

Lord, have mercy. Christ have mercy. Savior of the whole world, have mercy on us and hear, O Lord, our voices. Amen   (Hospodine pomiluji ny, oldest Slavic hymn)

• Listen to the Introduzione e coro from Dvorak's Saint Ludmila, Part  III. https://youtu.be/MThKGlVNjc8

Saturday, February 13, 2016

Reading: Luke 4:1-13

Luke 4:2 “For forty days Jesus was tempted by the devil.”

            For forty days Jesus was tempted, for forty years the Israelites wandered in the desert, for forty days and forty nights Moses was on the mountain of Sinai. If you have a concordance of the Bible, look up the word “forty” and see the remarkable number of passages with that number. What is the significance of all these forty years, forty days, forty nights? Forty is one of those rich symbolic numbers that biblical storytellers used in passing on the wise stories of God and Israel. The use of such a number is not random, but a tool to allude to a deeper meaning with few words. What could the meaning of forty be? Why do we wander for forty days in Lent (excluding Sundays)? Why are there forty days between Easter and Ascension? I do not want to give an answer. I want us to wonder: Why forty? And what in our lives needs forty hours, forty days, forty years?

O God of the desert, you have given us the precious gift of time. May we walk each day aware of your generosity and loving heart. Amen

• Invite friends or family to bake pretzels (see recipe below).

Lent: Pretzels                             425° oven                           Makes 12

(Pretzels were devised in a German monastery because they have no fat. The name comes from “Brezeln.” meaning “little arms” from the shape, which is meant to portray the crossed arms of a monk in prayer.)

Combine:                                          Stir in:

       1 pkg. yeast                               4 c. flour

       1½ c. warm water

       1 T. sugar

       1 t. salt

Knead well. Roll out to 16” x 12”. Cut into 12 strips. Roll strips between palms to about 24”. Shape into pretzels. Brush with 1 beaten egg white. Sprinkle with coarse salt and bake at 425° for about 15-20 minutes, until golden. Makes 12.

Friday, February 12, 2016

Friday, February 12, 2016

Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10

2 Corinthians 6:2b "See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the time of salvation!"

            If you have had the good fortune to travel to Israel, you have most likely seen the wilderness between Jerusalem and Jericho, the wide expanse of rock and stone and stone and rock. And boulders. And stone. And rock.  Hill and wash, mount and vale of rock, stone and rock. And to this wilderness Jesus was led by the Spirit. The Beloved of God, led into dryness and thirst and hunger and stone and rock. And so for these forty days, we enter into an intentional wilderness, as community and as individuals. We let go of the beloved word Alleluia. We take on disciplines: we fast, for the good of our bodies; we pray, for the good of our souls; we do acts of compassion, for the good of others. We do this, not to imitate the Jesus of two thousand years ago, but to prepare, consciously prepare, ourselves now, in this time, for the newness God has promised us: an Easter promise of new life, of a clean heart and of a right spirit.

O God of the desert, in times of wilderness, may we always sense your Spirit leading us to newness. Amen

·       Make an altar, a place for prayer. Write the word ‘Now’ on a piece of paper  and place it in your place of prayer.

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Reading: Psalm 51:1-17

Psalm 51:10 "Create in me a clean heart, O God."

            For the ancients, and for many spiritual traditions, the heart is the place where the whole person comes together - body, intellect, emotions, spirit. If the heart is made pure, will not also the thoughts be pure? And will not the actions and emotions follow? A Jewish midrash states: "The heart sees, the heart hears, the heart speaks, the heart walks, the heart falls, the heart rejoices, the heart cries out, the heart comforts, the heart suffers, the heart surrenders, the heart errs, the heart trembles, the heart awakens…" (Kohelet Rabbah 1:38) To begin this Lent, this journey of transformation, we pray, as the Orthodox Christians say, "with the mind in the heart". We pray for openness, for holiness, for newness, for cleanness, for new life, for God's springtime - for the heart, and thus, for all of our life.

Create in us clean hearts, O God, and renew right spirits within us. Amen

• Make the sign of the cross as you pray today, centering your intentions toward God in your heart as your hand crosses over your chest.

Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - Ash Wednesday

Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - Ash Wednesday   

worship: noon & 7 pm

Reading: Joel 2:1-2, 12-17

Joel 2:13 "Return to the Lord, your God, for God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love."

We have put away the word "Alleluia" for the season of Lent. The children of the parish have taken the banner with that word on it and hidden it somewhere in the church. They will find it and resurrect it for us before the Vigil of Easter.  One of the texts we sing during Lent in place of the "Alleluia" before the Gospel reading is the passage from Joel 2:13: “Return to the Lord your God, for God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.”  Repentance, turn, return – in Hebrew, all these words share a common root: teshuvah, lashuv, shuvah.  In fact, the forty-day penitential period preceding Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is called Teshuvah. Lent is an opportunity to examine, to reflect, and to turn – to turn away from false gods (power, popularity, success?), to turn around and leave behind those things that enslave us (self-doubt, misconceptions, bitterness?) and to return to the arms of a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

• Veil crosses with deep purple cloth or unbleached muslin, a fast for the eyes.

February 5-9: Shrovetide

Friday-Tuesday, February 5-9, 2016 – shrovetide

• Have a party, make doughnuts (see recipe below).

Tuesday, February 9, 2016 – Shrove Tuesday

Mount Olive Youth-sponsored Pancake Supper: 6:00 PM Undercroft

• Put away any alleluias until Easter.

Shrovetide: Sour Cream Doughnuts       375° oil        Makes 18

(Mardi Gras means “Fat Tuesday” referring to the custom of using up all fat before Lent).

Beat together until pale and thick:         Sift together:

       2 large eggs                                      3 cups flour

       ¾ c. sugar                                         1 t. baking soda

       1 t. vanilla                                        1 t. baking powder

       1 c. sour cream                                 ½ t. salt

                                                                 ½ t. ground cardamom

Add flour mixture to egg mixture. Stir only until combined. Roll dough out on floured wax paper until 5/8” thick. Cut into 3” rounds. Cut out ½” holes. Fry in 375° oil – in batches, about 1-1/2 minutes on each side. Remove doughnuts from oil, drain on paper bags or paper towels. Shake in powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar while still warm. Makes about 18 (plus holes!).

Brief Orders for Matins and Compline

A Brief Order for Matins (Morning Prayer)

(or use the complete form in Evangelical Lutheran Worship, p. 298)

To be sung or said aloud

(Trace the sign of the cross on your lips and chant or say,)

O Lord, open 'my lips,

and my mouth shall proclaim 'your praise.

Psalm 108:1-4

My heart is steadfast, O God,

my `heart is steadfast;

            I will sing `and make melody.

Wake up, my spirit;

awake, `lute and harp;

            I myself will wak-`en the dawn.

I will give thanks to you, O Lord,

a-`mong the peoples;

            I will sing praise to you

            a-`mong the nations.

For your steadfast love

is greater `than the heavens,

            and your faithfulness

            reaches `to the clouds.

One or more of the day’s designated readings may be read.

The day's reflection may be read.

Benedictus (Song of Zechariah): Luke 1:68-79

Prayer: O God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Almighty God, the + Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit bless and preserve us.

Amen.

A Brief Order for Compline (Prayer Before Sleep)

(Or use the complete form in Evangelical Lutheran Worship, page 320)

To be said or sung aloud

(Make the sign of the cross and say,)

Almighty God grant us a quiet night and peace 'at the last.  Amen

It is good to give thanks to the 'Lord,

to sing praise to your name, O Most 'High,

to herald your love in the' morning,

your truth at the close of the 'day.

Psalm 91:1-6, 9-12

One or more of the day’s designated readings may be read.

Into your hands, O Lord, I com'mend my spirit.

You have redeemed me, O Lord, 'God of truth.

Into your hands I com'mend my spirit.

Guide us waking, O' Lord,

and guard us 'sleeping,

that awake we may watch with 'Christ,

and asleep we may rest in 'peace.

Nunc Dimittis (Song of Simeon): Luke 2:29-32

Prayer: I give thanks to you, heavenly God, through Jesus Christ your dear Son, that you have graciously protected me today. I ask you to forgive me all my sins, where I have done wrong, and graciously to protect me this night. Into your hands I commend myself: my body, my soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angels be with me, so that the wicked foe may have no power over me.  Amen

The Lord’s Prayer

Almighty God, the + Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, bless us and keep us.  Amen

Introduction

Return To God 2016

 - A Lenten Journey Into Wilderness, To Jerusalem -

            From as early as the fourth century, the Christian Church has  observed a period of fasting before the festival of Easter. These weeks became a time of preparation for those adults wishing to be baptized at the Easter Vigil, and, for the whole  Church, a time of  examination, of prayer, of returning to the central things of life in Christ, of relationship with God.

            During this lectionary year which uses the Gospel according to Luke, we begin on Ash Wednesday with the admonition of the prophet Joel: 'Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart"; we enter into the wilderness with Christ for forty days to confront those things which keep us from God and the fullness of our own being; we make our way with Christ to Jerusalem, a journey that takes a full ten chapters in the middle of Luke's narrative. At the core of these weeks is the Parable of the Lost Son, mourned, missed, and welcomed home by the extravagant love of the Prodigal Father.

             May we have the courage to take this journey willingly, consciously, during this Lenten season. May we remember that Christ took this wilderness journey before us and walks the rocky road with us. May we call to mind that the Spirit gives us power in our weakness. May we always see the loving face of God reaching out to us in welcome and love. Blessed journey to us all.

"O my brothers and sisters, the contemplative is the one not who has fiery visions of the cherubim carrying God on their imagined chariot, but simply one who has risked his mind to the desert."                                                                        (Thomas Merton)

Devotional prepared for Mount Olive Lutheran Church

by Susan Palo Cherwien


              

Resources related to the Parable of the Lost Son (Luke 15):

ART

ç Minneapolis Institute of Arts, currently on view (all on 3rd floor):

            David Teniers, ca. 1640 The Prodigal Son, Room G312

            Pier Leone Ghezzi, ca. 1720 The Prodigal Son, Room G308

            also, in the same area:  

            Titian, ca. 1516 The Temptation of Christ, Room G330

The Institute owns many additional Prodigals, not currently displayed, which can be viewed online. http://www.artsmia.org, under Collections. Enter the search words "Prodigal Son".

ç Luther Seminary houses the main body of Jerry Evenrud's Prodigal Son collection, a number of which are generally on display in the horseshoe-shaped hallway near the president's office in the Northwestern Building, second floor, to the left inside the Fulham door.  http://www.luthersem.edu/prodigal

BOOKS

ç And Grace Will Lead Me Home: Images of the Prodigal Son from the Jerry Evenrud Collection,  Robert Brusic, Kirk House Press.

ç The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming, Henri Nouwen, Image Books. An encounter with Rembrandt's Return of the Prodigal Son propels Nouwen onto a spiritual journey. Also, Home Tonight: Further Reflections on the Prodigal Son, pieced together from Nouwen's notebooks and workshops, Image Books.

ç Robinson Crusoe (novel), Daniel Defoe (many editions).

çGreat Expectations (novel), Charles Dickens.

ç The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge (semiautobiographical novel), Rainer Maria Rilke, tr. Stephen Mitchell, Random House. The final pages are a prose poem on the Prodigal Son.

ç Home (novel), Marilynne Robinson, Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux.

MUSIC, THEATER

ç 1869 , Sir Arthur Sullivan, oratorio, The Prodigal Son

ç 1884, Claude Debussy, scéne lyrique, L'enfant prodigue (Édouard Guinand, librettist, adds the mother, given the name Lia, whose beautiful aria of regret and longing opens the scéne. The father's name is Simeon, the son, Azäel. Recommended recording: Jessye Norman, José Carreras, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau on YouTube., 34 mins. http://www.youtube/watch?v=OShjToPSsOM

ç 1929, Sergei Prokofiev, ballet, The Prodigal Son, choreographed by George Balanchine. Libretto: Boris Kochno. Sets based on images from Georges Roualt. In this libretto, the Son has two sisters. Danced on YouTube by Mikhail Baryshnikov, approx. 35-40 mins. in 4 segments.

ç 1961, Langston Hughes, one-act play, The Prodigal Son

ç 1968, Benjamin Britten, church opera, The Prodigal Son, Opus 81. Libretto: William Plomer. Inspired by Raphael's Prodigal Son in the Hermitage. Plomer's story line adds a Tempter, under whose  power the son undergoes three temptations. The Tempter was originally sung by tenor Peter Pears. Excerpt from a 1997 performance by the City of Birmingham Opera. http://www.youtube/watch?v=dMflVOJMKRk

POETRY

James Weldon Johnson, "The Prodigal Son"

Rainer Maria Rilke, "The Departure of the Prodigal Son"

Christina Rossetti, "A Prodigal Son"