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Archives for February 2015

“Awe” Calendar

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I have been trying to just observe and absorb with my eyes for these first seven days of Lent. Here are the Awe-inspiring images I saw this week. Most of them are from nature, but the ceiling of the DC Metro at Gallery Place Station is a geometric treat.The altar with bread and wine on the first Sunday of Lent was at Wellshire Presbyterian Church in Denver.

Although not really capturing the magnificence of a Colorado sunrise or a mountain vista, I am totally spoiled by and grateful for the instant gratification of taking pictures with my phone. Whether God-made or man-made, the photos of these sights increase my sense of wonder and awe for creation and creativity.

“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Ps 118:24 NRSV)

Awe Calendar cropped

 

Word-Weary

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Once again I find myself in a word-weary frame of mind. Being word-weary was the reason I started praying in color in the first place. Now after spending over a year writing The Season of the Nativity and promoting it for four months, I am again sick of words– especially my own. I am also weary of most of the words I hear and read about God and Jesus–especially the kind where God is deemed knowable and definable by a finite set of words, maybe even just a few paragraphs. And then more words get hurled around amongst believers about who has the best and most correct words to define God. And about who God loves. And about what God thinks. Is the desire to make definitive statements about God a way to defend God or is it a way to find safety and control in a chaotic world?

A very close friend of mine does not believe in the existence of God. He is not an atheist exactly, more of an agnostic. He is also a scientist. “I don’t believe in God,” he says, “but I believe in Awe and Wonder.” A spectacular sunrise, a beautiful mathematical equation, the paradoxical physics of the cosmos and the mere existence of his young daughter all render him awestruck. His comment made me wonder if maybe he isn’t really more of a believer than I am. When it comes right down to it, no amount or precision of words is adequate to describe God. And though I will continue to try to lasso and corral an infinite God with a finite number of letters and sentences, my bottom-line, most-humble response to God is Awe–to fall on my knees or lie prostrate with my jaw dropped and tongue stilled by the magnitude and wonder of it all.

Colorado Sunrise resized

Lenten Calendar Templates for 2015

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I love using a calendar template for Lent because it gives me a one-day-at-a-time, concrete, manageable way to have a daily practice for the 40 (or 46) days before Easter. If you like more space than a piece of 8 1/2″ x11″ paper affords, go to a copy store or print shop and expand the template to 11″x17″.

Here are some ways to use the calendar:
1) Pray for someone each day. Write a name, doodle around it, pray with words or in silence as you draw.
2) Choose a word from the Daily Lectionary or other reading and write it in the space for the day. Pray the word. Meditate on it. Spend time with it as you draw. Let it tell you about itself. Let God reveal something new to you about the word.
3) Write a word you associate with Lent–sin, forgiveness, journey, palms, Jesus, salvation, crucifixion,…. Meditate on it. Spend time with it as you draw. Listen to what the what can tell you about itself. Let God reveal something new to you about the word.
4) Just doodle or draw in the space without words. Keep silence and listen for the “still small voice of God.”
5) Write one of the different names for God each day and pray/meditate on the name.
6) Write one of your character defects or “sins” in the space each day. Offer it up to God; ask for help and forgiveness. Very Lenten!

Here are the templates. Click on the WORD below the picture to download. When you see the template in Google Drive, click on the downward facing arrow to download. Thanks to Hilary Ann Golden for her Spiral template.

Lent 2015Collageresized

……..Hexagons .jpg                Spiral .pdf                      Box .jpg                       Path .jpg
……..Hexagons. pdf                Spiral. jpg                      Box .doc

Here are some examples of finished calendars from previous years.
Lent Collage Sample 2015 resized

 

Christmas Gone, Epiphany Over–February 2

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It’s official; by almost all Christian calendars and denominations, Christmas and Epiphany are over. For many people, both celebrations have been over for weeks. For a few stragglers and holders-on like me, today marks the end. This is the day I put away the last remnants of Christmas and Epiphany. My gold candles and stars will go into hibernation for another year.

Epiphany Calnedars

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

February 2 has lots of names and layers of meaning in Christian lore and celebration. It is:

The Feast of the Purification of Mary–Forty days after Mary gave birth to Jesus, she goes to the temple for ritual purification. Until this time has passed, a woman is declared unclean. (The length of time is longer for a girl child). At this point the priest says a blessing and declares her clean according to the Law of Moses. (Leviticus 12:2-8)

The Feast of the Presentation of Jesus–Parents bring their children to the temple and make an offering for the birth of the child. The two turtledoves offered by Mary and Joseph are a pretty good indication of their poor economic status. (Luke 2:22-24)

Jesus’s First Appearance in the Temple–As Mary, Joseph, and Jesus enter the temple an old, Holy Ghost-filled man named Simeon immediately recognizes Jesus as the “Lord’s Christ, the consolation of Israel.” With his sighting of Jesus he is now content to die. His words from Luke 2: 29-32, called the “Canticle of Simeon” or the Nunc Dimittis have been memorized, recited, and sung by Christians for generations:
“Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.” (KJV)  Simeon blesses the child Jesus and leaves Mary with the daunting words: “Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against ; (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” (Luke 2: 34-35 KJV)

Candlemas–Much speculation and story surround the idea of Candlemas. On February 2, people bring their beeswax candles to church and have them blessed for use during the year. The candles may be  a symbol of Jesus as “a light to enlighten the Gentiles.” I like this idea because candles are way for me to create a sacred and contemplative space in the midst of the chaos of my life. They are a way to tell me to sit, pray, study, and be still. Candles remind me of Jesus as the light of the world. Candlemas is about the halfway point between winter and spring.

And lest we forget: Groundhog Day is also about the halfway point between winter and spring. The legend says, if the uber groundhog Punxsutawney Phil in Pennsylvania sees his shadow, winter will last for six more weeks. Today he apparently made his appearance and saw his shadow. Germans brought this tradition to the U.S. in the 19th century. According to the website Fish Eaters*, “The English have a saying, “If Candlemas Day be bright and clear, there’ll be two winters in the year.”

*For more detail about the Feast Days, traditions, and legends of February 2, check out the Catholic website called Fish Eaters.