New and Improved

I know that I had a specific idea in mind when I first began the sign-in process tonight, but after fighting with Blogger and the requirement to change from the old Blogger sign-in and system to the new Google system, I have completely forgotten what it was. Change, especially a difficult change, can make you completely forget what you were going to do in the first place.

Why are we like that? Why is change so hard? Why do we fight it so much? I suppose that these are good subjects to reflect on in this season of Lent. Reflection, repentance, change. Lent is a time to reflect. It is a time to repent. Reflection and repentance should lead to change. But we usually do not want to change.

Change is one of those things - like death and taxes - that happens, whether we want it to or not. We are never ready for it, we usually fight it, and are never sure it was a good thing. Change is especially difficult when it is someone else's idea, rather than our own. We might diet if we want to improve our chances of fitting into last springs new suit, but not if the doctor tells us to. We might change how we perform a particular function if we decide that it might be easier another way, but not if someone else suggest it first. We might live differently if we thought we had something to gain, but not because God told us to. The 10 commandments might as well be the 10 impossible things that we'll never get around to, because they are just too hard (or the 10 suggestions, for similar reasons).

Reflection is hard because it causes us to examine ourselves. Why is learning a new system so hard? Why is creating a new user name and password so hard? If it was something new that I wanted to do, I would think nothing of creating a new log in and password, and reading the instructions to make it work more smoothly; but let Google force me into it and I want to fight it - one of the reasons I have ignored their suggestion for the past 4 months about switching over while it was optional - I had to wait until they forced it.

We are like this when it comes to examining our own lives. Why don't I treat people with more respect? Why do I not follow a healthier lifestyle and diet? Why can't I see that these things would be better for me? Because I am human; because I am a sinful creature who wants things my way.

During Lent, the challenge to each of us is to reflect, repent as needed, change as necessary. Most of all, ask forgiveness, and pray that we might become better creatures. We know that God will forgive us. Can we see that we need forgiveness and ask for it? Can we forgive ourselves? More reflection. And so the season of Lent.

Studying the Sermon on the Mount

We have had an unusual opportunity for the past few weeks to study the Sermon on the Mount with Dr. James Bailey, Professor Emeritus of New Testament at Wartburg Seminary. He has been teaching a five-session class in three separate locations in the conference. In order to fit into our schedule, we have attended this class in two of the three locations over the past few weeks, so this has turned into not only an opportunity to study the Bible, but also an opportunity to get to know members of two local ELCA congregations better.

As part of last week’s lesson, we took a closer look at the Lord’s Prayer, which is at the center of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew. At the conclusion of this session, we were asked to write our answers to one or both of these two questions.

From your experience, what does it mean to ask for “our daily bread”?
It means that we admit our dependence on God’s providence, that we take time to ask him for:
• the basic necessities of daily life
• the means and abilities to earn those essentials through our own work
• freedom from worry about the essentials for ourselves, so that we can really act and work in God’s kingdom here and now
• justice, that “all of us” might have the necessities and this same freedom from worry
• all of us to experience God’s gracious and abundant love!

From your experience, why is forgiveness so essential to our living?

I have shared my answer to the first question from my class notes and invite others to reply with their answers as well…