Palms to Ashes

fronds from last year's

celebration, gathered, burned

hosanna to the King of kings!

throw a match in the pyre,

flash they are dust

smoke fills the air

billowing clouds of gray rising

to meet the King

soot, dust, ashes, remember

when breath no longer moves

within the body

remember you are dust

sign of the cross traced above

the windows to the soul

only He can see what's in there

wipes it clean with dust and ashes

paradox of faith 

dirt equated to life

life returned to dust and so 

the cycle continues in Him

cleansing, forgiveness, remember you

are dust

grace juxtaposed with soot, darkness

broken into by light

love crushes despair and fills 

the longing places, remember

child of God, I love you little

one, ashes, breath, newness

of life, remember

blessed is He who comes

in the name of the Lord, ashes

to palms, palms to ashes, death

to life to death again

hosanna, the King He lives

remember

A Person's a Person No Matter How Small (even if they are a pastor!)

Horton the elephant knew this. . . he knew that people had worth and ought to be treated with respect no matter who they are, how big or small they are, how fuzzy, pink, purple, or gray they happen to be.  The Mayor of Whoville, who was inside the speck on the clover, had a great defender in big gray elephant, Horton.  You know, this Dr. Seuss story has much in common with the good news of Christ.  The Gospel proclaims that all people have worth and are cherished and loved by God.  Treat others as you would have them treat you.  Love your neighbor as yourself etcetera and so on and so forth.  .  . but does that apply to pastors in the church?  Are pastors persons who deserve common respect and friendship?

At first glance at that question you may say to yourself, "Why of course they do, silly.  Why wouldn't they?"  But in all practicality, is it a truth that is lived out in our churches?  Why do I ask this, you might wonder?  So glad you are interested. . . 


I have been in the ministry for just over nine years now.  Maybe that's not very long, but it is long enough to have seen myriad cases of the bullying and harassing of pastoral leaders.  I have seen congregation members treat their pastors in ways that they wouldn't treat their most despised enemy (well maybe they would).  Now you might want to get angry with me for saying this, but I'm going to say it. . . the truth needs to be told.  Pastors are people too!  Pastors have feelings (I know it's shocking), they have families that love them and care about their health (and don't like to see them get beat up over chancel furniture, worship times, flags in the sanctuary, the positioning of Christmas trees, hymnals, candles, organ preludes, coffee hour logistics, preschool curricula- well, you get the idea).  Pastors have spouses and families who have made the journey with them through eight years of higher education (and sometimes even more!) because they supported the call from God.   And yet, so many times pastors are criticized for making too much money!  (Yeah, right, a Master's Degree in hand and making less than the guy who works at Ford Motor Company, no offense Mr. Factory worker, what you do is important to be sure.)  Oftentimes spouses of pastors have put their lives on hold and their dreams on the back shelf in order to be obedient to God's holy will.  Pastor's families have moved and moved again, pulled their kids out of schools and transplanted them into foreign territories.  They have left friends behind and have had difficulty finding new ones. 


Pastors, surprisingly, work more than one day a week (and three hours at a time), we rarely get two days off in a row because we are expected to be available 24/7; we don't get the 9 paid holidays that everyone else gets because they either fall on our day off (if we take Monday as a sabbath) or there is worship on that day because it's a high holy day in the church.  Now, listen carefully, we are not complaining about that.  We love what we do.  What really gets annoying though is that people don't often see how much time, energy and commitment we put into the church and into them as individuals.  A lot of what we do is behind the scenes.  We take work home.  We study.  We read books to keep up to date.  We answer phone calls at our houses during dinner and when we are tucking our children into bed.  


We are people too.  And as such, it would be nice if people would refrain from saying to us (as my best friend was told recently) to "stop shaking her a#$ to the organ music."  Apparently dancing to an Advent hymn is sacrilegious.  Don't call me skinny or too tall (I got that in High School and now I'm 43 and on my way to having a Doctorate), don't tell her to "get a thicker skin and shut your mouth," don't tell him "too bad" he was sick and is overworked but then ask "how are we going to fill our seats on Sunday and pay our bills?"   Don't be absent from important discussions and then insist upon your own way.  Take responsibility for yourselves and we will take responsibility for ourselves.  But mostly, don't treat us like we don't matter just because you put offering in the plate which pays our salary.  We put money there too, 10% of our income or more. 


 Whatever you do to the least of these, you do also to me.  Jesus said that.  


So am I mad?  You bet.  I'm tired of seeing my friends and colleagues in ministry get beat up.  I've been nice about it, and so have my colleagues, too nice in fact.  All I ask is that you treat us as people who deserve the smallest bit of kindness and courtesy.  We are not your ecclesiastical punching bags.  We happen to love you and want to serve you in the name of Christ, but we don't understand why you take out your frustrations on us.  


So now I will make my confession and ask for your forgiveness for this rant:

Almighty God, heavenly Father:

I have sinned against you,
through my own fault,
in thought, and word, and deed,
and in what I have left undone.
For the sake of your Son our Lord Jesus Christ, forgive me all my offenses;

and grant that I may serve you in newness of life,
to the glory of your Name. Amen. 

Image credit: telegraph.co.uk

Christ is NO Sheriff!

Christ is NO Sheriff!

Kinda catchy, isn't it?  Martin Luther said that in his commentary on Galatians (1538).  Think about it. . . what does a sheriff or any other law enforcement officer do for the community?  Hold people accountable for transgressing the law, right?  It's their job; sometimes it seems like they enjoy it all too much- handing out tickets to speeders, waiting and watching in obscure locations that are not exactly out of sight, but if you don't know the lay of the land you won't see their patrol cars until it is much too late!

I have never gotten a warning from a police officer before when I have been going too fast, that is until last Saturday.  When I first came to Monroeville I got three tickets in about 18 months.  That was nine years ago and I have slowed down considerably since then, but on Saturday we were very busy with cleaning, cooking for company, and I had to get our son to swim practice and back before our friends arrived.  So, I was going 35 in a 25 mph zone.  As soon as I saw him I knew he had me!  I just pulled over and waited.  "Another 90 bucks down the drain," I said to myself.  Darn it!  But alas, for the very first time in the history of Amy Christine Fisher Little. . . I received a friendly warning.  Imagine my surprise as something different happened from my previous experiences!  Relief. Gratitude. A heartfelt smile and "thank you" and before he could say it to me I said to him, "I will slow down, Sir!"

In Luther's commentary on Galatians, he takes up Paul's argument about the efficacy of Justification by Grace through Faith and how human desire to work our way into God's grace is unacceptable, "to seek Justification by works of the law is to reject the grace of God.  I ask you, what sin can be more horrible than to reject the grace of God, and to refuse the righteousness of Christ?. . . There is no sin which Paul and the other apostles detested more than when a person despises the grace of God in Christ Jesus.  Still there is no sin more common."  

Christ is NO sheriff!

He is our Savior, not our accuser.  He is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, not the officer who comes after us, lights flashing, sirens blowing, engines racing to track us down and give us a ticket, or worse assign us to prison.  Christ is our freedom.  Christ is our refuge.  Christ is our forgiveness.

We are called, as ones who believe, to accept this free gift of grace without protest, without adding to it, without helping it along.  Just say "yes" to his love in your life.  It's as simple as that friends!

Be blessed today and always!
Amy

Image credit:uncyclopedia.wikia.com

Mutual Conversation and Consolation

From Martin Luther's Smalcald Articles, "4: Concerning the Gospel. . . We now want to return to the gospel, which gives guidance and help against sin in more than one way, because God is extravagantly rich in his grace: first, through the spoken word, in which the forgiveness of sins is preached to the whole world (which is the proper function of the gospel); second, through baptism; third, through the holy Sacrament of the Altar; fourth, through the power of the keys and also through the mutual conversation and consolation of brothers and sisters.  Matthew 18:20: 'Where two or three are gathered. . .'"

Many people think that pastors only work on Sundays. . . it's a running joke in churches. . . not only that but that we only work about 2 hours (Worship and Sunday School).  We chuckle right along with you when you tease us about our light schedules, but under our breath we whisper, "If you only knew."  Just ask our kids and our spouses about it, they'll tell you the truth.  We know you work hard too but since much of what we do is out of plain sight it can be a mistake that parishioners often make about us clergy-types. . . that we aren't "doing" anything.  My husband often teases me about sitting around the house eating candy and watching soap operas. . . he knows how many hours I put in because half the time he can't keep track of me.

I'm not complaining, not at all.  I love being a pastor, can't imagine what else I'd do with my life.  But it can be a bit stressful at times. . . why? Because we love God's people!  When you grieve, we grieve.  When you are struggling we worry about you.  We worry about the budget, decisions that need to be made, if you're growing in your faith, how your kids are doing and more!  In general we try not to take on too much of your worries, because that would be rather unhealthy for all of us, but lots of times we can't help it because we are holding you in prayer, watching you deal with real life issues, and we are often helpless to change any of it.

As pastors we try to be there for each other, to lift one another up through it all because we can look at one another just know. . . we know when each other is getting burned out, overwhelmed, tired, and spiritually drained.  (So we not only worry about you, we worry about each other!) Just like we know when "life" is happening to those we were called to care for in our parishes.  Thankfully we have people in our congregations who see the fatigue in us. . . who call and check in on us, who tell us to go home, who bring us treats and send us notes to lift our spirits.  Thank you for that!  What I'm describing here is a little bit of what Luther called "mutual conversation and consolation of brothers and sisters."  But there's more to it. . .

The holy gospel comes to us as we care for one another, as we listen to each other and pray for one another.  God's mercy and grace comes to us through each other as we sit knee to knee and look at each other in the eyes and see, really see, what's going on in our brother or sister.  There's nothing like this in all the world!  This ministry has been given to all the saints, not just the ordained!  As Luther cites Jesus' promise, "Where two or three are gathered I am there among them." Christ comes to us as we gather together to tend to each other, to listen to what's going on in each other's lives, and to offer a word of kindness, hope and understanding.  We all need this!  And come to find out. . . it is as powerful as a sacrament for conveying God's grace!  

Forgiveness is like. . .

Why is it so hard for us to forgive one another?  
Why is it so hard for us to forgive ourselves?  
These are questions that I have pondered for years. . . 


I've had several Holy Spirit moments in my ministry where the power of God's love has washed over me and taken away all bitterness, anger, spite . . . when I knew I wasn't willing to let go of it.  It was as if God said to me as He took it ALL away, "I need you to let go of this because I have something for you to do. . . and if you are still hanging on to this poison you will not be able to do my work."  It would only be a matter of days or weeks when I would see exactly why God had taken the grudge out of me and replaced it with immeasurable peace.  Amazing.  Wonderful.  However, it cannot be willed!  It comes from God, not from inside of us somewhere.  


On the other side of this coin is the pain we carry around from past experiences. . .  intellectually I think we know that God forgives us (we hear it at least three times in worship each Sunday➔ confession and forgiveness, proclamation of the Word, and in the Eucharist).  But still, sometimes we can't let go of it. . . are we better than God?  What makes us hold on to it when God has already forgotten about it?  We've repented. . . we've asked, no begged, for forgiveness and yet still. . . we. . . hang. . . on.  


To hear that I am forgiven is the most amazing gift.  It means that I am loved.  It means that I matter.  It means that my sin doesn't define me in the eyes of God.  I am not the sum total of my sinfulness and neither are you!  "While we were still sinners Christ died for us," St. Paul reminds us in Romans 5.  Not while we were perfect, or lovable, or righteous. . . not while we had it all together, but while we were broken and fragile and straying.  

Why don't we practice telling each other that we are forgiven?  Why don't we free one another from the burden of sin, doubt, guilt and pain when we get the chance?  I happen to know that it makes a tremendous difference in this life and on this faith journey.  It revives the spirit and frees us to live into God's will for us.  I think we should make it a point of proclaiming forgiveness to those we meet-- imagine how it will free them to live life more fully!  


Thank you God for your mercy and lovingkindness and thank you, friend, for telling me I'm forgiven! 
Amen.

Free to Confess

A Brief Exhortation to Confession

       As we journey through this Holy Week with Maundy Thursday where Jesus gives his disciples a new commandment to love one another as he has loved them, and Good Friday with the story of Jesus' trial and death, it might be the proper time to think about confession and forgiveness.  It is a vital part of our weekly worship- confessing that we have fallen short on things we have done and left undone, thought about and failed to think about.  Then we hear that word of grace pronouncing that we sinners are forgiven once again.  We get a second change, again.  We are FREE to confess and FREE to receive the blessing of a clean slate once more.  

It has been said that confession is good for the soul. Martin Luther, who struggled with the rigorous demands of confession in his life as an Augustinian friar, eventually found God’s grace through the holy scriptures.  In this section of his Large Catechism entitled "A Brief Exhortation to Confession" he criticizes the papacy for forcing Christians to come to confession because “it so greatly burdened and tortured consciences with the enumeration of all kinds of sin that no one was able to confess purely enough.”

 However, he did not desire to abolish confession altogether like some reformers did, namely Johann Agricola (best known for being a part of the Antinomian Controversy with Philip Melanchthon).  Instead Luther wanted people to be able to come voluntarily to confess their sins so that they might be set free from a burdened conscience and receive a word of forgiveness that gives hope and comfort.  

Luther points to the Lord’s Prayer as a confession and says this kind of confession which we make to God and to our neighbor “must take place as long as we live” because it is the “essence of a genuinely Christian life.”  He identifies three types of confession which all give comfort and peace: to the pastor, to God alone, to a spiritual brother or sister.  He encourages believers to, at any time, go to a fellow Christian and confess what is on our heart so that we may receive strength and good advice.  “Thus by divine ordinance Christ himself has placed absolution in the mouths of his Christian community and commanded us to absolve one another from sins.” It is through another person, Luther declares, that God absolves sin.  

Confession consists of two parts according to Luther.  The first part is where the sinner laments and seeks to be forgiven.  That is our work in the matter.  The second part is God’s work where he absolves our sin through the kind words of another believer.  In this way we do not need to work ourselves up wondering if we have made our confession rightly, if we have remembered everything, or even if our hearts have been pure enough.  That only drives us to despair!  This “priceless treasure” of confession and forgiveness may be obtained without coercion.  It is a wondrous gift given to us by God and gives us the assurance of mercy and grace.  May you experience true forgiveness this Holy Week, forgiveness that frees you for all that God has planned for your life.  This is most certainly true!