Category: Stories

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Within the church calendar, Lent is to Easter as Advent is to Christmas. It is a period of preparation. For the cross. For the resurrection. A period of preparation that begins with “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.”

The story that begins with the God of the universe putting on human flesh and entering the world through blood and water, ends as all human stories must: with death.

Christianity, predicated on following the footsteps of Christ — is about descent and not ascent. It is about surrender, it is about gratitude, it is about becoming nothing because, as Father Richard Rohr would say, “when we are nothing we are in a fine position to receive everything from God.”

And so on this day, we participate in a symbolism that holds together two things. The cross that is marked on our forehead is made of two elements, ash, from the palm branches of the Palm Sunday past, and this ash represents the dirt and mess of life. And oil, which represents the anointing of holy and sacred beings. Oil was poured on the foreheads of those being anointed to be kings or in positions of high and holy power. And so can we see the crosses of Ash Wednesday as a combination of both dirty and holiness; of messy and yet sacred promise?

In talking through our upcoming services with my husband Ryan this week (he is also a United Methodist Pastor) he shared something with me that I had never learned before. He said that the anointing happened on the forehead in the Ancient Times because it was believed that your hair was the gate to your soul. Because the roots of hair run deep, long or short, hair is very deep. It’s like the body and soul’s antennas transmitting energy from a higher realm, while also exuding the deepest, most inner parts of one’s being. Which is why we use the forehead for this cross. We hold on our foreheads a mixture of mess and promise; dirt and oil, sin and purity…but isn’t our life a combination or both of these things. Don’t we all live in these tensions every day as we walk with Jesus?

If Lent is the somber reminder of our human condition, then Easter declares that there is hope, but that hope lies not in escaping our humanity but in journeying through it. Because Lent also points us to the inevitability of suffering and how, even as followers of Jesus, we don’t get a “get out of suffering free” card. We know the hard truth that life without suffering does not exist.

One of my favorite authors, Rachel Held Evans reminds us, in Searching for Sunday, that healing comes when we “enter into one another’s pain, anoint it as holy, and stick around no matter the outcome.”

Anoint it as holy. Think about that.

What would happen if we really believed that? That our suffering, our neighbors’ suffering, was holy? Holy not because God delights in suffering but because God came and joined us within it. Holy in the same way that Communion is holy — the spilled blood, the broken body — because Christ comes and meets us there. Not symbolically, but sacramentally. Incarnationally.

And so tonight, if you are receiving the imposition of ashes at our worship service remember that you are mortal. That you are human (with all the perils and frailty the term implies). And remember that being human is a holy thing. That our mortality is a holy thing. Sanctified by the One who came, the One who died, and the One who rose again.

May we all have courage to face our deaths and walk more fully into life.

Scripture: Numbers 27:1-11

In Numbers 27:1-11, we encounter Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah, and Tirzah—daughters of Zelophehad—who boldly approach Moses and the assembly with an unprecedented request: to receive their father’s inheritance since he left no sons. Their courage and faith result in a remarkable response. God acknowledges their plea and instructs Moses to amend the inheritance laws, ensuring justice for them and future generations.

This story raises a challenging question: Did God change, or did the people’s understanding of God evolve? Pastor David posed this question in his sermon, inviting us to wrestle with how we interpret Scripture. Is God’s justice fixed, or is it continually unfolding as humanity grows in its capacity to understand and embody divine love and mercy?

I want to give you two different perspectives to consider as you think through this question, but both lead to the same answer. God’s grace is ever-expanding:

1. Pete Enns suggests that the Bible portrays moments where God literally changes God’s mind in response to human advocacy. You can explore this view further in an excerpt from his book, Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament: Does God Change His Mind?.

2. Brian Zahnd offers a different perspective, emphasizing that it’s not God who changes but rather our understanding of God. We grow, mature, and see more clearly the expansive grace that was there all along. Read more here: God and Genocide

Which perspective resonates with you? Do you believe God’s justice is fixed, or are we the ones throughout the Bible expanding our understanding of grace and mercy? Perhaps the truth lies in holding these tensions together—trusting the Holy Spirit to guide us into deeper truth while remaining open to the mystery of God’s wild and free nature.

As Richard Rohr reminds us:

“Now, believe it or not, we are threatened by such a free God threatens us because it takes away all of our ability to control or engineer the process. It leaves us powerless, and changes the language from any language of performance or achievement to that of surrender, trust and vulnerability…That is the so-called “wildness” of God. We cannot control God by any means whatsoever, not even by our good behavior, which tends to be our first and natural instinct.” 

Prayer: Gracious God, we thank You for the example of Zelophehad’s daughters, whose boldness expanded the community’s understanding of justice. Help us to remain open to Your Spirit’s guidance and to grow in our understanding of Your mercy and grace. May we listen, learn, and respond with courage to reflect Your unfolding love in our lives. Amen.

Thought for the Day: God’s grace invites us into an ever-expanding journey of discovery and transformation.

This past Saturday, a lay leader and I drove all the way up to Pinetta, FL, to celebrate the 10^th Anniversary of the Madison Youth Ranch. If you don’t know, or haven’t heard me mention it before, I am on the Board of the Florida United Methodist Children’s Home. We are now called Residing Hope and we have quite a story to tell. Starting back in 1908, we were an orphanage, but over the last 115 years, we have grown into something so much more. We recently changed our name to reflect the wide services that the Florida United Methodist Children’s Home provides and to help tell the story of Hope to our neighbors. Now, we have not only a home for at-risk youth, but we also offer counseling services, an Early Learning Preschool, Foster Care, Residential Group Homes, Equine Therapy, Independent Living, Legacy Academy, and Chapel and Religious Community Life. We accept Private and Public youth and we never say no to a youth, no matter how hard their situation is. You may know a little about the Children’s Home because of what you have heard said on 5^th Sundays when we take up a special offering to support it, or maybe you made baskets with me on a Serve Day or maybe you have been on campus for a tour. I wanted to invite you to Residing Hope’s Day on Campus, in Enterprise on Saturday, March 8^th from 10am until 2pm. I will be there and I would love to tell you more.

But back to Saturday. The event this Saturday was the 10^th anniversary of the Madison Youth Ranch, which serves children in the northern part of our state, and I mean Northern, almost to Georgia. This area could not be more different from the bustling life of Central Florida, but what a gift it is to the 9 girls that currently reside there. There is room for 16 children and youth in the cottages, aging from 10-18 years old, but right now, because of therapist shortages, there are only 9. I got to meet a few of these remarkable ladies, their house parents and the staff of the Madison Youth Ranch. We got to tour the cottages, the Chapel, the office buildings, the pool, community garden, Stickey Stables, and the Equine Therapy Center. As I talked to a few of the teenage girls who are currently residents there, I was beyond thankful to be a part of this incredible ministry. I have attached a few photos of the event because it is a beautiful and safe space. I don’t know the situations or stories of the girls there, but who we met told us their story with confidence, joy and deep respect for the process and for the community that they were living in.

These girls grew up in a family different from my own, with challenges that I never faced. But with bravery, humor and creative determination, they are facing their new challenges with such a profound sense of knowing who they are and whose they are. I heard them share about how they are working hard in school, sending allowance money to a grandmother in Puerto Rico, or working to get her grades up so that she can pass the classes to one day be a CIA agent. One girl told me about her love of the Harry Potter books and how important time with the horses has been for her confidence. Another spoke about youth group and how they are reading the Bible with their house parent and growing in their faith. I am always blown away by what God is doing in the hearts of young people and I wanted to share with all of you, who have been giving sacrificially to the Florida United Methodist Children’s Home for years, what your partnership with the Holy Spirit has done. Please know that I am here to answer any questions you have and to celebrate this ministry with you.

Today I lost my keys and it threw off my whole morning. I am usually not a forgetful person, but I had to run an errand and in the midst of the rain and rushing to get back to my responsibilities, I misplaced my key. For whatever reason, I have simplified my keys to just one car key and not the normal handful of keys, don’t ask me why, I don’t remember but it sure made it hard to find. I had a meeting I had to get to and so I was searching frantically in all the nooks and crannies where I had last been. Long story short, I finally found my key, but I found several other things too. I found some missing socks, an important charging cord for a phone or IPad and where my missing heating pad has been all of this time.

These may seem like minor things and they are, but if I hadn’t lost my key, when would I have eventually found them? I don’t know, like I said, I am not a forgetful person and I don’t lose things often, but maybe sometimes, lostness can be a good thing. Maybe needing to slow down and look can give you a new perspective. It is probably why I enjoy traveling or going on new adventures that I have never explored, because lostness can be a chance to find something you may be missing.

I believe that God is a God that isn’t afraid of our lostness, or our forgetfulness. Sometimes our brains are going a mile a minute and we lose track of what task is before us. Our minds were never intended to be as fast pasted or cluttered as it seems we are this day. I know it is not just me, but in any five-minute block of the day, I could have five or six voices calling for my attention. The voice of a loved one or colleague asking a question, a call on my cell phone or office line, a notification from one of the kid’s school or a news update, an email for work or from the doctor, a person passing by that needs attention or a hug, and that doesn’t even take into effect our heart, soul and mind. It is too much, too much clutter, too much noise.

All of that to say it can be exhausting. Maybe lostness is a blessing.

I don’t know what you are feeling in this new year with new challenges and so much division around us. I don’t know if you are feeling lost or wanting to get lost. But let me encourage you that lostness isn’t always a problem. Sometimes being lost allows you to take the time to look in the nooks and crannies of the places that collect dust and are hard to reach. Maybe those “hard to reach” places are the anxieties you hold deep down, your fear of the future, your anger that hasn’t been resolved, your bitterness toward a person or position that has caused much pain, or your lack of forgiveness for your yourself or someone else. What are those “hard to reach places” in your soul where a missing set of car keys could be hiding? It could be that in slowing down long enough to find essential things like keys, you realize just how much abundance you have in your life (or how much you desperately need to dust under your couch). When those places of darkness and dust have light shine upon them, and preferably the all-encompassing, loving light of Jesus, you can pull out those things that have been tucked away and dirty for far too long and the Holy Spirit can begin to do her good work on them.

Either way, here is my permission to get lost a little bit from time to time because the God that made every nook and cranny within you isn’t afraid of a disordered or misplaced child. I know this beyond a shadow of a doubt because the God we know in Jesus has always been in the business of finding us and shining light on the darkest of places.

As we continue through our Stewardship Sermon series, we talked first about witness, then Sabbath and this past week about Money. I have heard and preached many sermons on giving of our money and I feel this was one of the best. I have had conversations with folks after Sunday’s sermon that have had good questions and faithful follow through about it. The scripture we unpacked together is Mark 10:17-27 when a wealthy man approaches Jesus to ask what he must do to inherit eternal life. Often in the church we focus on how the man went away and how he missed out. But what if he eventually figured it out, obeyed Jesus and returned to follow him? What if he did end up shifting his priorities, putting his trust in Jesus and becoming one of his first followers? We can never know what happened after this story, but the part of the Scripture that really stood out to me this time in studying it is when it says, “Jesus looked at him and loved him.”

When I think about how many times I have asked Jesus for the “right answer” on a problem I had to solve and he looked at me with love, I am overwhelmed. And the more I learn about the love God has for me and how God wants the best for me, I see how “my money” plays a role in that. It is because of Jesus’ love for me that I am invited to live free from being possessed by my possessions. Not that we have to give everything we own away but so we won’t be “owned” by things. We have freedom when we know that Jesus loves us enough to not let us be defined by material things. And as I studied this text again this week, I felt the love that Jesus had for the wealthy man wash over me too.

As I was talking with my Connect Group about this passage this week, what came up over and over again was the word TRUST. Do we trust that God will meet our needs? It could be that we have thought that the wealthy man in this Scripture went away from Jesus because he was greedy and didn’t want to give away all he had (which to be honest, I would struggle with too). But what if it wasn’t greed that stopped the wealthy man, what if it was FEAR? Apprehension and distress is the opposite of trust and if we aren’t careful, fear wins every time.

With that in mind, I want to ask you, does FEAR stop you from giving all you can? Fear that there won’t be enough. Fear that incoming medical bills will be more than you can handle. Fear because you are on a fixed income. Fear because your family or friends might need your financial help one day?

These are all fears and very real and honest truths for the world we live in today. The older I get and the more ‘adulting’ I do…I think this story is less about being greedy and more about naming the fear of not having enough. I believe that one of the reasons why talking about financial stewardship is so awkward for those in the church is because we have yet to address the fear of not having enough. We live in a culture that is always pushing us to buy more, invest more, spend more and I heard yesterday that the credit card debt in our country this quarter is at an all time high. The truth is trusting that we don’t need all of our wants and that God will be faithful in meeting our needs is so counter-cultural to our lives today.

But here is what I have learned:

Ryan and I have been giving over and above since we were married 14.5 years ago and since we have always given 10% or more of our salary back to the churches, ministries and non-profits that work to bring God’s Kingdom to earth, we have NEVER GONE WITHOUT. Yes, we have had to be diligent and money smart. We have had to budget and save and say no to a lot of things we wanted to say yes to, we have had to work side jobs, and shop around and buy clothes and shoes second hand, but we have never gone without. The point is, we don’t just blindly trust that God will meet our needs, no, as followers of Jesus we still have to be wise and steward our finances well, but when we give 10% or more to the churches we serve, we have such freedom in knowing that God has been, is now and ever will be faithful. We learned a long time ago that all we have is God’s anyways and we are only stewarding these gifts while we can in the time we have. And in this mindset, we have such freedom. We don’t always get it right, but we are clear about our financial priorities and how we have put God first not just because we are spiritual leaders, but because we refuse to let fear win. We commit to each other and to our church families that we will model trust in a God that gave his first and best for us.

I don’t know what you are struggling to trust in today, but it always helps me when I am afraid to sing a song. And so I want to end today’s devotion with the lyrics from the Hymn: God of the Ages.

God of the ages, by whose hand
Through years long past our lives were led,
Give use new courage now to stand,
New faith to find the paths ahead.

Thou art the thought beyond all thought,
The gift beyond our utmost prayer;
No farthest reach where thou art not,
No height but we may find thee there.

Forgive our wavering trust in thee,
Our wild alarms, our trembling fears;
In thy strong hand eternally
Rests the unfolding of the years.

Though there be dark, uncharted space,
With worlds on worlds beyond our sight,
Still may we trust thy love and grace
And wait thy word, Let there be light.
Amen.

Hymn written by Elisabeth Burrowes

On this Election week, I am writing to share a prayer and a hope for us, the people of First United Methodist Church of Winter Park. As I said on Sunday, I know there is anxiety and fear and I hope you feel this is a church and a faith community where you are safe and loved, just as you are. As we come together on Sunday, we know that some of us will be celebrating the election, and others will be upset and nervous. I invite us to commit to gather with tenderness and look at each other with the eyes of Jesus. I also want to invite you to come and pray with your brothers and sisters tonight, November 6^th in the Marcy Chapel for a Peace and Unity Prayer Vigil at 6:00pm. All are welcome!

One of the reasons I love our Wesleyan tradition is John Wesley’s words and advice on voting. By the time you read this on Wednesday, you will have already cast your vote either in person or through the mail. I hope your voting experience was positive and that you felt a sense of pride for the process and gratitude for the opportunity to let your voice be heard. Here in America, we really do have so much to be thankful for.

John Wesley, our founder was not afraid to “talk politics” to the early Methodists in England. In those days, there were more than 2 major parties to choose from for Parliament and he spoke to the leaders in the movement about how best to be guided. The story goes like this: In October 1774, John Wesley was preaching in some small English towns near Bristol, where a contentious election for Parliament was underway. The chief candidates differed in their political ideologies, their positions on the American colonies, and their support from religious groups. In the days leading up to the election, while in the town of Pill, he met with members of the local Methodist society, and offered this important guidance:

These are John Wesley’s words and I think they resonate with us today too.

October 6, 1774.

I met those of our society who had votes in the ensuing election, and advised them (1) to vote, without fee or reward, for the person they judged most worthy; (2) to speak no evil of the person they voted against; and (3) to take care their spirits were not sharpened against those that voted on the other side.

Three important rules for voting and so grace-filled in its approach. And while your voting is over, I am willing to bet that your feelings about the election are not. And so I invite us as a body to think about and work to embody the last two rules well.

Can we try to speak no evil about the “other candidate”? I know it is hard…I have caught myself several times this week struggling to find tactful things to say about “the other.” And when all is said and done, and the yard signs come down and the dust has settled, can we do all we can to treat each other with tenderness and to believe the best in each other. The truth is, I don’t want to be in a church where everyone thinks alike; that would be boring. I want to be in a faith community where there is diversity of thought, but unity in Spirit. I want to be challenged to learn more and to rethink things I have always believed to be true. I want to grow and mature and plant deep roots when it comes to my faith. But I can’t do that, if my spirit is sharpened against those that voted on the other side. And so I will do all I can to remove my feelings of malice, anger, bitterness and distrust of “the other side” not because I don’t care about the election but because people matter more to me than politicians. Part of this restraint is out of respect for the belovedness in others and the other is to care for my own soul. When our spirit is sharpened towards others, there is a lack of peace and charity too. And so I choose, or continue to do my best to choose, the more excellent way; the way of Jesus.

Romans 12: 17-21 says:

¹⁷ Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. ¹⁸ If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹ Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. ²⁰ On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

I invite you to end with this prayer written in the Book of Worship:

Creator of us all,

you are the source of every blessing,
the judge of every nation
and the hope of earth and heaven:We call to mind the best that is within us:

That we live under God,
that we are indivisible,
that liberty and justice extend to all.

We acknowledge the sin that runs through our history as a nation:
The displacement of native peoples, racial injustice,
economic inequity, regional separation.

And we profess a deep and abiding gratitude
for the goodness of ordinary people who have made sacrifices,
who have sought opportunities,
who have journeyed to this land as immigrants
and strengthened its promise in successive generations,
who have found freedom on these shores,
and defended this freedom at tremendous cost.

Be with us in the days that are near.
Remind us that your ways are not our ways,
that your power and might transcend
the plans of every nation,
that you are not mocked.

Let those who follow your Son Jesus Christ be a peaceable people
in the midst of division.

Send your Spirit of peace, justice and freedom upon us,
break down the walls of political partisanship,
and make us one.

Give us wisdom to walk in your ways,
courage to speak in your name,
and humility to trust in your providence.

Amen.

Dear Friends,

We have come to the end of our Deeply Rooted sermon series together. We have studied what it means to be a disciple of Jesus and one that is Wesleyan. We split off into Connect Groups and Sunday School Classes and Bible studies and went deeper in the three points of Discipleship which are:

1. To Be with Jesus
2. To Be Like Jesus
3. And to Do as Jesus Did

I wanted to end our series with a devotion that summarized what we have learned and then end with Wesley’s Three General Rules. I have found these Three General Rules helpful as I navigate this complex world we live in as we try and live out our Wesleyan faith.

When we began the series in August, we shared that discipleship is more like apprenticeship because we are learning from the Master and we aren’t there yet. In order to learn this, we must spend time with the Master and abide in the vine if we are to bear fruit. In order to really have our lives transformed by Jesus, we have to adopt spiritual practices that go beyond the two hours of worship and study, once a week. As we abide in Christ, we become more like Jesus not in our own strength or grit, but because of the work of the Holy Spirit working through us. And it doesn’t happen alone; we need each other and we need the diversity of each other to challenge, grow and sustain our community of faith. The following week we studied how to become people that do as Jesus did when we are open to being used by the Holy Spirit to go out and share the Gospel. With the Gospel being Good News that brings great JOY, it is a message lived out in our attitudes, priorities and relationships. But speaking of relationships, sometimes it is really hard to be a person of faith when there is so much hatred and fear and division right now. Rev. Gary Mason from Northern Ireland shared about how to put the Kingdom of God first above Nationality, citizenship or political party, because as members of God’s Kingdom, we lead with this identity first and foremost.

As we moved on in our Deeply Rooted Sermon series, we talked next about how we are or how we are becoming Wesleyan disciples. We learned a lot about John Wesley and the early Methodists. We learned about their radical message, their fearless evangelism, their deep care and conviction for the poor, marginalized and immigrants. We learned how they loved God with their minds by teaching the poorest coal miners to read, how they loved God with their hearts by worshipping daily and participating in Communion as often as possible and how they went deep in their accountability in community by loving God with their souls.

Friends, we come from a rich history and we come from a community of faith that has been transforming lives from the very beginning of its movement. I heard this last week a quote from pastor and teacher, Tim Ward who came and spoke about Church Vitality to our Clergy here in the east Central District. He said, “We (Wesleyans) have a grace-filled theology that the world so desperately wants to hear and needs to know now more than ever.” And he is right. Now more than ever, we have a focus on God’s transforming grace and love for ALL people and the world needs to hear it, believe it and embody it in their transformed lives.

I want to end with John Wesley’s Three General Rules. Remember when Jesus was approached by the Pharisees and Sadducees asking what the Greatest Commandment was (Matthew 22:34-40)? Jesus summarized all of the Laws with this: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself.”  Said another way, we summarize what it means to be a Wesleyan Disciple with these three general rules, they seem simple, but they are not. They will transform the way you speak, the way you work, you spend your money, you spend your time and they are a litmus test for a Deeply Rooted faith.

1. Do No Harm
2. Do Good
3. Stay in Love with God

As you ponder these general rules and how they might be lived out in your life, I invite you to end your time with this Covenant Prayer in the Wesleyan Tradition.

I am no longer my own, but yours. Put me to what you will, place me with whom you will. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be put to work for you or set aside for you, Praised for you or criticized for you. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and fully surrender all things to your glory and service. And now, O wonderful and holy God, Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, you are mine, and I am yours. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, Let it also be made in heaven.

AMEN