Pastor's Message
February 2008
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior!
We get so trapped by life that we can live like stray dogs at a whistler’s convention. We get confused because we cannot make out the one whistle that would help us get home. In the midst of all the noise we surround ourselves with we run from one whistle to the next and never really find out where we belong. All the noise and energy we put into searching for our hearts contentment often takes us to places we where never meant to go to in the first place. We cling to the things in life that we think will give us happiness only to discover something is missing in our lives.
In Lent, beginning with Ash Wednesday, each one of us can begin to quiet the whistles that are inside our heads. We can do this as individuals as well as communities of faith. We can take time to meditate and to reflect upon our personal and communal walk in this life. For some of us this may just happen to be the first time anyone has asked you to start listening for the one who truly loves you and is calling out to you. Lent really is about helping all of us clear our minds and silence all the voices that may keep us from hearing our true name and the direction that voice wants us to go. We Lutherans have often spent Lent feeling guilty, confessing our guilt and then hoping we won’t be sent to hell. Lent really needs to be spent reflecting upon where God wants us to go while we walk on this side of God’s kingdom.
Don’t keep worrying about having something to eat or drink. Only people who don’t know God are always worrying about such things. Your Father knows what you need. But put God’s work first, and these things will be yours as well. (Luke 12:29-31 CEV)
Jesus said this to his disciples.... Jesus understood that those who followed him where unsure about what he was all about and the part they played in following him. They were anxious. They were nervous. Now he’s telling them to relax and let God take care of them. Each one of them had far more value to God than the flowers and the grass. But none of them could grasp that unless they had looked into their hearts and see where they were putting their trust.
Lent is designed to help us look at our own hearts and to call us to trust in the Lord. During Lent we are being asked to put aside all our cares and worries and, maybe for the first time in some of our lives, seek first the kingdom of God. Therefore, we all need a time of silence or reflection to help us let God speak to us. We need a time of silence and/or meditation to help us search our own hearts and minds so we can see if we have been putting our strength in the place God wants us to put it.
We need quite times for reflection as Jesus often modeled for his disciples. Such times can help us to confront the fundamental questions of life, such as:
- Who am I?
- Where am I going?
- What are my priorities in life?
- What has meaning for me?
Lent can help us answer these questions. Beginning with Ash Wednesday, and the 40 days and nights that follow, we can go on a special journey that can assist us to hear the right whistler. We can be empowered to hear the voice of God. I look forward to going on that journey with you.
One of Christ’s servants,
Pastor David A. Hendricks - CoG/I.I.M.