Archives For liturgy

Why We Need St. Patrick’s Day

Chris —  March 17, 2011

Hint: It has nothing to do with snakes or wearing green or potatoes or beer.

…Well, maybe it has a little to do with beer…

In the fifth century a 16 year old British Roman named Patricius was captured and sold into slavery in Ireland.  The next six years he spent in the freezing cold among the barbaric celts.  Although he was eventually set free, Ireland never really released him.  He trained as a priest and returned in what was likely the first missionary effort since the time of Paul.

Patrick wandered a land sparsely populated by a people most well known for stripping naked, painting themselves and screaming into battle.  In that place, he built monasteries.  Simple outposts where people could come, live a life of rhythm and grace.  Crops were farmed, books were reproduced and, of course, beer was brewed.

Over time, these monasteries drew communities, which became villages, which became cities.  These people were drawn into a sense of community and an ordered life.  As they were drawn into community, they were drawn to Christ.  When the Roman Empire fell, and the formerly civilized Europe started to look a lot like barbaric Ireland, the spiritual descendants of St. Patrick spread through the now barbaric continent, building monasteries and communities as they went.

In our world Christians are known for picketing funerals and cheesy t-shirts and legislating morality. Patrick stands as a shining example of how the lovers of Jesus are to live amidst the ruins of the fallen empire of christendom.

I post this every year, but it bears repeating.  A quote from my favorite prayer, the Brestplate of St. Patrick:

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

(Much of this story was gleaned from How The Irish Saved Civilization [text or audio], which I’ve previously reviewed.)

In Church, Culture, God, Life , , , , , ,
permalink

Rhythms for Lent

Chris —  March 11, 2011

Here’s My List

Fasting:

1) Facebook Although you’ll see autoposts from the blog, you’ll have to call or email if you want to talk.

2) Twitter Again, you’ll see some autoposts.  I’ll occassionally log on to maintain @austinplantr.

3) Hot Showers This is one that was suggested to me last year by a mentor named Jeff.  Jesus never took a hot shower, and neither do most people in the rest of the world.

4) Buying Food at Work That means being a lot more intentional…and maybe even brewing coffee.

5) Non-Social TV or Movies If I’m watching with friends, that’s one thing, but no more late night Dr. Who binges.

Prayer:

1) I’ll be using Phyllis Tickle’s Exploring Faith website and iPhone app to pray the hours.

2) Stepping up my prayer journaling

3) Taking requests!

Service:

I still haven’t really figured this one out.  There’s a homeless gathering I bike past everyday, and that’s a good place to start.  I also want to be more intentional about serving my coworkers.

Other:

I’ll be revisiting my previous ideals I suggested in February.

Are you practicing Lent?  If so, why and how?

Related Post: Why We Need Lent

In Church, Life , , ,
permalink

Why We Need Lent

Chris —  March 9, 2011

I’ve grown in my appreciation of Liturgical Traditions over the last few years.  There are some traditions that are easy to embrace like Advent and St. Patrick’s day.  But Lent is much harder.

For liturgical outsiders, it’s easy to see mock Lent.  It’s that time when Catholics give up chocolate or caffeine only to give in again in a few weeks.  But the truth is, in our hyperconnected, self-obsessed culture, we need Lent, now more than ever.
There’s nothing more out of fashion in pop-Churchianity than fasting.  The idea of purposefully withholding anything is foreign to Americans.  However, as anyone who has ever fasted can tell you, there are few richer and more eye opening experiences than fasting.

Besides fasting, Lent is also a time to practice prayer and justice.  The time and energy freed up by withholding extraneous pleasures is given to talking to God and caring for the poor.

Luke hints of the impending crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus by saying he “turned his face toward Jerusalem.”  Jesus entered a season of determination and preparedness for the task of redemption.  Likewise, Lent turns our faces away from the gadgets, self-gratification and consumerism that shapes our lives and toward the work of God in us and the world around us.
One might read this and say, “yeah, but as Christians, everyday should be like that.”

And maybe they’re right.  But that ignores who we are as people and what God wants in us.  We are seasonal people, whose lives are defined by alternating periods of intensity and rest.  Lent helps us to use that natural tendency to walk with God.  And God doesn’t want us to fast forever.  There are times to celebrate.  And believe me, you’ll celebrate Easter like you never have before.

Do you need Lent?

In Church, Life , , ,
permalink

Check Your Heartbeat

Chris —  January 28, 2011

Rhythm is the basic building block of the universe.  Waves, particles and atoms move in rhythm.  The planets turn.  The sun rises and sets.  Your heart thumps, your blood pulses, your lung pump.  We are creatures of rhythm, living in a universe that is conducted by an unseen maestro.

Yet my own life is lacking in rhythm.  I wake up one day at noon, the next at five am.  I go months without speaking to friends.  I pray sporadically and read my Bible at random.  I get excited to work out for two weeks and then get distracted by my queues on Netflix and Hulu.

One of the biggest challenge to my own personal, spiritual and career growth is becoming a person of discipline.  In other words, living my life in rhythm.  It doesn’t help that we live in a 24 hour culture, and I work a job that has no sense of weekend.  So here’s what I’m doing about it.

1. Start small.  In reading a short article about developing discipline, I realized that my room and workspace were a disaster.  I set a small, measurable goal: Make your bed, every day.  The hope is, that by developing some basic cleanliness habits (about 20 years late…) I will start keeping other areas of my life organized.

2.  Track everything.  My friend John turned me on to the story of how Jerry Seinfeld uses a giant calendar to mark his daily writing.  I’m using the Streaks app to track how many days in a row I actually do the things that are important to me.

In 2010 I had a lot of goals.  While I still have a few for 2011, I am more concerned about developing rhythm and discipline.  It starts with making my bed.  But it ends with a life grounded in rich practices and relationships.

In Life , , , ,
permalink

A Guide to Advent For Us Ahistorical Evangelical Types

Chris —  December 10, 2009

For hundreds of years, Christianity was organized by a calendar of fasts and feasts and their corresponding texts, called the Liturgical Calendar. Luther’s reforms trimmed some fat off Christianity.  Americans, with a limited sense of our place in history, have often separated themselves from liturgical traditions to distance themselves from  religion, and seek a purer relationship with Christ.

However, in recent years, many evangelical Christians have found that adopting traditions from ancient streams of Christianity helps them order their lives in a way that brings them closer to God.  I first learned of Advent a few years back from Kester, and have found that commemorating it helps me realize the importance of Jesus in my own life.

Some records may indicate that by the second century A.D., the great missional church in Antioch may have celebrated the Feast of the Nativity on December 25.  Constantine made Christmas official and the council of Tours noted Advent in 567 A.D.

Advent is the beginning of the Liturgical Calendar, which leads Christians through the story of Christ and his Church. The four weeks prior to Christmas are spent imagining what it must have felt like to be a Jew, waiting for Messiah to come.  The lectionary contains readings from the Psalms, prophets, gospels and Revelation.  By identifying with what it felt like to wait on the first coming of Christ, we deepen our desire for his return.

Advent traditions you may be familiar with include candles, wreathes, colors and calendars.  You begin greening up the place, placing wreathes and other greeneries in the church to symbolize new life (beautifully ironic in the dead of winter,) and draping the cross in blue.  The Advent wreath includes five candles, often four in blue and one in white.  The first candle is lit on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, which is spent focusing on Hope.  Subsequent Sundays might be spent on other gospel stories like John the Baptist of the angel appearing to Mary.  Some families use a calendar that has a reading for every day of the month and a piece of chocolate.

The beauty in Advent is that it is a very visceral reminder of the importance of waiting. As calendar teaches children the value of delayed gratification it reminds me that God is not finished, with me or this world.  There is much in store; in the mean time we must learn to wait, and wait well.

In Church , ,
permalink