Got Advent?

I have a friend who argues with me about the start of the season of Christmas. He is convinced that November 1st is the true start date of the Christmas season. (Mainly, because he wants to decorate the house, put on his elf shoes, and blast the Christmas music continuously through December 25th).

Every year, on November 1st, he announces that the Christmas season has begun and “O Little Town of Bethlehem” begins to be heard by his neighbors on both sides of his house. I argue that December 15th is as early as I can possibly go! You see, I need the season of Advent. It brings me hope. Lingering days of darkness call me to my knees praying to the One who promises that the light will shine in the darkness.

 

I need the season of Advent to fill me with anticipation for what is coming.
I need the season of Advent to remind me that God promises peace to a violent world.
I need the season of Advent to quiet my own heart for the noise around me.
I need the season of Advent to call me to love at the manger of my Savior.
I need the season of Advent to lift up my head bowed down in prayer for the brokenhearted.
I need the season of Advent to calm my restless soul from its distractions.
I need the season of Advent to remind me that God’s love has no end.
I need the season of Advent to share the joy of the shepherds.
I need the season of Advent to answer the darkness with light.
I need the season of Advent to shock me out of my complacency.
I need the season of Advent to remind me that we are Bethlehem-bound.
I need the season of Advent. It brings me hope. And hope does not disappoint!

So the season of Advent comes to us.

How will you welcome God’s gift of the season? A flurry of shopping, spending, wrapping, worrying, and willing to do Advent differently next year? Or might you take one moment from your day to acknowledge that God has gifted you a season to prepare for the birth of a Savior? To light a candle to chase away the darkness and simply pray the prayer, “Thank you God,” might be all you need to re-center your Advent days into days and nights of peaceful wanderings toward a manger full of joy. I wonder…

Do you need the season of Advent?

I do.

Thank you God.
Rev. Chris Marien

*This article was originally published in Ascension’s December 2017 Newsletter.

Instead of the End – the Beginning

The Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America Elizabeth Eaton offers these words:

After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the tomb. So begins the Easter story in the Gospel according to Matthew. The women had lived through the pain of Friday and the emptiness of Saturday and were expecting death. All of their hope had come to a dead end. And just then, as the first day of the week was dawning, hope was restored. The angel said, “Do not be afraid; I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here: for he has been raised, as he said.”
 
Instead of death – life. Instead of the end – the beginning.
 
On Easter, we will have glorious celebrations in our congregations and worshiping communities. There will be rejoicing and music and flowers and alleluias. And that’s a good thing. But when the flowers fade and the pressures of life seem so heavy, when the brokenness of this world breaks our spirits, when we have come to a dead end … rejoice. Because it is exactly there where the risen Christ meets us. It is precisely there where we are given resurrection life. It is at that point that we say, “Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Hallelujah.”

The cries of resurrection can still be heard on the mountaintops. Thanks be to God! From the mountaintops we travel to the upper room where the disciples have hidden themselves out of fear. There, Jesus appears. A week later, disciples are still in the upper room. There, Jesus appears. It will be on the beach, where a campfire is tended, that Jesus will appear to his disciples and feed them breakfast. There around the warmth and light of the fire, the light of the world, will ignite a flame in the disciples that will inspire the world.

Instead of death – life. Instead of the end – the beginning.

I read this reflection before the great celebration of Easter. It has carried me forward since we began the celebration of these great 50 days of resurrection. It is entitled Setting Out Once Again by Kelly Hall and Phuc Luu:

Out of the stale darkness, he rises into the light, bright rays of sun split the tops of trees, and clouds depart and blue fills the sky – the smell of angels lingers in the air – his hair feels the cool breeze again. This was not the garden, but a new world made from the eruption of hope and a life that could not be held down. We were witnesses to the life that rose from the dead. God’s relentless love, who comes close to us moving stones from tombs opening the heart to another possibility, death no longer stands. My heart races in my chest as I step forward to face the future, my future, that I grasp with open hands with new naiveté, a child toward a mother to be held and lifted up, and cradled with care. At times, I hesitate and I grasp onto memories of what once was but I know that I am not alone in my apprehension. I feel the hands of others holding me. These are my sisters, my brothers, who are not strangers to my fears and frailties, who have also confronted a hope that frightens them – who can feel their own scars, both fresh and old, they step in pace with me – the weeping women at the gravesite, the scared disciples waiting in the upper room.
 
This is our future, where we walk together toward our new home built by the hands of a wounded king – the new Zion, forsaking the kingdoms marked by borders and divides where all our settlements are only temporary shelters, sanctuaries of rest for the wounded and weary. Then the Christ returns to visit us, as Galilee’s boats pull to shore, these places seem familiar – the lapping water and the sand, but we are not to return to these lands, not those dreams – but become pilgrims, to set our belongings in another home, to wash our sandy feet in some other place, to lay down our tired souls on a distant promise, quilted from both the today and the tomorrow.
 
And we dine as a day sees another setting sun sitting across from each other once again – seeing each sweet face laughing deeply feeling whole once more. And we see the Savior’s smile, he knows our journey’s end and pours us another cup full of his own love and this time, our eyes tell him that we understand.

Thanks be to God!  See you in church,
Rev. Christian Marien

(This article is taken from Ascension’s May 2017 newsletter).

Welcome to Lent

Welcome to the season of Lent!

Wednesday, March 1, is Ash Wednesday. We will worship God with the imposition of ashes and Holy Communion at both our 12 p.m. and 7 p.m. services. Our hope is that you will take time, not find time, to let the world know that for just a moment on Wednesday night, March 1, you will come before your God and bow down and worship and praise to honor the One who has given you life in this world and promises you eternal life in the world to come.

I am always grateful to God for the change in rhythms during the season of Lent. Wednesday night gatherings for soup suppers and worship are a gift to my heart. God provides an opportunity to share in this journey of faith in different ways from Sunday mornings at  Ascension. On Wednesday nights, I have more time to simply sit and enjoy conversation with friends in the congregation. Worship is intended to be brief but meaningful. Music orients our focus to the worship of God. Sermons are exchanged for brief meditations. In the dark of night – the candles shine brighter. There is a beautiful quiet that hovers in the sanctuary even with the joyous sounds of children squealing with delight over the little things in their lives that we so often miss. On Wednesday nights in Lent, this year, Pastor Angela, Tony, and I will all be taking different aspects of our worship. Children’s messages will be a part of each Wednesday night and music will guide our steps in worship into the way of peace. I hope you will consider joining us for a time of refreshment…one night a week – you can skip cooking and the dishes (unless you sign up for either one at church). What a wonderful gift to come share in the joy of gathering together to the glory of God.

We will gather for soup suppers at 6 p.m. on March 8, March 15, March 22, March 29, and April 5.  March 8 will be hosted by JOLT; March 15 will be hosted by our Tuesday Morning Bible Studies; and April 5 will be hosted by CRASH. Congregational sign-ups will be available to help with soup and bread for both March 15 and March 29. Check the narthex/lobby for the posters. We need about 18 soups each week to provide for the 100-150 who attend. Our Wednesday night gatherings will center on some wonderful reflections offered to provide us with directions to wander while we find ourselves in the wilderness of Lent.

Wednesday Worship Themes
March 8
Discovering the Spirit
March 15
Renewing My Mind
March 22
Redeeming My Time
March 29
Deepening My Relationships
April 5
Transforming My Experience

I am grateful to the psalmist who wrote these words for us, “How very good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” Come and join us on the journey. I wonder – how could your life be different if you made the conscious decision to gather with fellow believers for fellowship and worship on the Wednesday nights in Lent? What would change in your life? Would you be happier? More content? Would you discover new things about God? Would you find your mind renewed? Would you find your time better spent? Would your relationship with God and other believers go deeper? Would you find your life transformed? My guess is that your answer would be yes!  I know, for me, year after year, my answer is always, always…yes!
Peace be with you. See you in church.
Rev. Christian Marien

(This article was first published in the March 2017 newsletter).

God is at Work!

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Ascension finds itself in a time of expectation! Easter is upon us and with the announcement that the tomb is empty, we find ourselves looking to the joy of spring – the earth coming alive as the edges of winter begin to give way to the warm winds of life – new life. What would God have us do in the world to God’s great glory? How shall we look to the world around us and see the face of Christ calling out to us?

Now that Easter Sunday has come and gone, are you already setting yourself up for summer break – or is there still a hunger that gnaws at you, calling you to something new, something different, something more in your relationship with God? The lilies have bloomed, the trumpets have sounded, the tomb stands empty, and in these days of appearance as Jesus shows himself to the disciples and countless others before he ascends into heaven, there is energy, curiosity, expectation in the air…do you feel it?

I tell you God is at work at Ascension! Do you believe it? Do you feel God’s presence – the Holy Spirit at work? The fruits of our labor in service to God are not in vain, nor do they go unnoticed! God is at work at Ascension and we are beginning to see the work of God all around us. We give thanks to God for the 32 First Communion candidates who celebrated their First Communion on Palm Sunday or will celebrate their First Communion on April 3. What joy to welcome these fourth and fifth graders to God’s altar. Please join me in prayer asking God’s blessing on the journeys before each of our First Communion candidates. We are also grateful for the work of musicians and altar guild who took extra time behind the scenes to prepare for the powerful and moving worship of Holy Week. We have received new members and look to the future where God will invite more people into the midst of our community. God is at work! The Holy Spirit is on the move and we are looking forward to the blessings of God among us in the gifts of each other!

We have traveled the road of Lent to the cross and we are now on the road of the cross that carries us into the future. During Lent, we were following Jesus to the cross. Now, we look to Jesus who leads us within the shadow of the cross into the future. The cross was never an end but a place to begin again and again and again. Where will God in Jesus Christ take us in the days ahead? Where do we want to go as God’s people? Where do you want to go as God’s child? Who cares? As long as we travel together — following in the footsteps of our God!

May God grant you joy in these Easter days!

~ Pastor Chris Marien

(This article is taken from Ascension’s April 2016 newsletter).

Walk the Road of Lent

Ash Wednesday will be celebrated on February 10 at both 12 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Ascension. You are invited to gather with your brothers and sisters to worship God and be reminded that God cares about your whole life.

In Lent, we hear God’s promises in new ways…that EVERY end is a beginning; that EVERY night gives way to morning; that EVERY hurt can be healed; that EVERY broken moment can be redeemed; that EVERY life lost can be found; that EVERY cross carried can be given to Jesus; that EVERY prayer spoken is heard.

In my life, Lent is the ground on which I walk the journey of my faith. Sometimes the ground is hard and packed down. In other areas, the ground is dry and cracked. Still other roads are muddy and hard to navigate. And then in the season of Lent, I am blessed – as are you blessed – with soft and fertile ground ready and waiting for the new thing God promises to do in each of our lives…should we choose to be open to what God will do in us and through us. Will you choose to walk the road of Lent? Will you let your journey of faith lead you in a new direction at God’s invitation? The invitation has been made…God waits for each of us…will you come?

I wrote those words last year to share the wonder of God’s promise to be with us. The words were important enough to share with you again as the season of Lent arrives with Ash Wednesday.

After the four weeks of Advent that lead us to Christmas, the 40 days that make up the season of Lent, leading us to Easter, provide the most powerful witness to the events of Holy Week that call us to an empty tomb on Easter morning. God provides everything we need on our journey. You only need to hear God’s call and follow. I know that sounds easier than it is. Our journeys of faith are so often complicated by schedules, careers, children, parents, spouses, weather, and those life circumstances beyond our control. It is true. And then, it is not true.

Our individual journeys of faith are of God’s design. Not one of us travels the same road and yet our journeys provide moments of awareness of the other. I am reminded of the words of the song:

Will you let me be your servant? Let me be as Christ to you? Pray that I might have the grace to let you be my servant, too. We are pilgrims on a journey, we are trav’lers on the road. We are here to help each other walk the mile and bear the load.

Lent is our opportunity to travel the road together to help each other walk the mile and bear the load. You are invited to join us on this journey through Lent. Come and see the new thing God is doing. Peace be with you.

~ Pastor Chris Marien

(This post was originally published in Ascension’s February 2016 newsletter).

Days of Light

What joy to celebrate the birth of our Savior once again in these Christmas days. It always fills me with wonder and awe to see the body of Christ gather to sing the old songs while experiencing the story and love of God in new ways through the journey of Advent darkness to Christmas light. Even as the world often does not know what to do with the birth of our Savior, you and I hear the call of God to be witnesses to the light of God coming into the world.

Now we find ourselves on the edge of the season of Epiphany – the season of light. I am filled with peace in these days of light – each day a reminder of God’s presence in my life and in the life of the world. When we see the difficult and painful realities of our world, our hope in Jesus gives us strength to face the days before us.

Some of us are experiencing a broken relationship; some of us are living with the consequences of a decision made long ago; some of us are afraid to reach out to someone in need; some of us are wondering how we will get through one more day; and some of us are fearful of the seemingly downward spiral of a world in turmoil. Through all of these fears and worries, the light of God in Jesus Christ shines chasing away the dark night of our fear.

Our invitation is to trust God and follow God from the manger to the temple to the River Jordan to the healing and saving work of God on the cross and through the gate of death to the other side of the empty tomb. The old Norwegian hymn, “I Am So Glad Each Christmas Eve” reminds us of God’s promise.

I am so glad each Christmas Eve, the night of Jesus’ birth! Then like the sun the star shone forth, and angels sang on earth. The little child in Bethlehem, he was a king indeed!
For he came down from heaven above to help a world in need.

“He came down from heaven above to help a world in need.” This is not a future promise to God’s creation, it is a promise already fulfilled. Thanks be to God! In our daily lives, our invitation is to trust what God is doing because of what God has already done. Now there is a promise fulfilled that I can take comfort in during challenging days.

After the Advent Concert Worship weekend, a member of the congregation sent a reflection to the office. I found her words full of the faith we are invited to engage trusting that God is at work in the world. Here are her words.

When I attended the Christmas concert on Dec. 13, I was so moved by [the] production and message I received of Christ’s coming to earth to be among us, I felt I had to say something about it. We had the children singing to the glory of God, the choir at its best singing the joy to the world, instrumentalists playing, the Bell Choir ringing their hearts to God, the Folk Choir singing, and Ben and the Praise Band singing for us. The message Pastor Angela read to us was the message that means Christmas to me. I was overwhelmed with joy. As I sat there, I pondered the budget cuts and the many changes in our church in the past several years and I feel that our church is going in the right direction. There is no way we can make changes for the future without stepping on someone’s toes. Unfortunately someone gets hurt.

My prayer for 2016 at Ascension is that we all can work together and we can nd ways to make up the shortfalls in our budget. We all need to listen to our Lord who speaks to us through the holiday season and all year. Remember my favorite Bible verse, ‘I can do anything through Christ who gives me strength.’ We can do it, I know we can! ~ Arlene Davis

What I appreciate most about Arlene’s words is her unwavering trust in God. In the midst of worship and praise of our God, Arlene saw the light of a manger overflowing with God’s love for a world in need. We will never know a day in our lives without a deep and definite need for God’s presence. I am grateful to serve among a community of faith where joy is shared; where faith is active; and where our faith finds grounding and strength through the worship of God.

May these days of light in this season of Epiphany bring you joy and peace.

~ Pastor Chris Marien

(This article was originally published in Ascension’s January 2016 newsletter).

Joy in the Journey

Dear People of God,

There is joy in the journey of this life. It’s all about the journey. We always talk about journeys as if they are something we are trying to complete. We speak of extended vacation, the terminal illness, the marriages on the edge of divorce, the job we wish we could quit, the educational process, the committee meetings that seem to go nowhere, the life we live each day, and the report that needs to be finished yesterday. We live our lives hoping to complete our tasks a little early so that we might have a little free time over the weekend, or when we retire, or when spring break comes. And somehow, we end up behind again. We look for the easy way out and road most traveled. We look to any option that might help us finish a project sooner or relieve the suffering more quickly. Yet when it is all over, most of the time, we find that we had to travel the entire journey to get to where we most needed to go.

Holy Week is one of those journeys. One of those journeys that offers no easy solution and no quick release of the suffering and pain that will come in the days ahead. Jesus walks the road, measures each step on this journey, from the triumphant entry into Jerusalem to the pitiful, humiliating death on the cross. We walk this road too. Jesus helps us to measure our steps as well. We look to the joy of Easter morning as the end of the journey. We know that there will be pain, sadness, betrayal, and guilt along the way, but we have this feeling that somehow it has to be this way in order for us to conclude the journey at Easter, at the empty tomb.

Yet, we have to look past the empty tomb. For Jesus, and for us, the empty tomb of Easter morning is not the end of the journey, it is only a measured step. The empty tomb surprises us with joy on Easter morning. A light in a journey of darkness. Yet it is just a glimpse of the light that will flood all around us when we enter into the Kingdom of God.

The end of the journey is not Easter morning. The end of the journey is eternal life with Jesus in the Kingdom of God. Easter morning and the empty tomb only share with us a glimpse of the end of the journey. Yet, the end will not come until a place has been prepared for each of us.

Holy Week (Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday) helps to push our tired feet farther on the journey. When we enter into the gates of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, we walk with our heads held high as our Savior is hailed as king and palm branches rise and fall in joyful praise of Jesus. Maundy Thursday brings us to an upper room away from the rest of the world, where we will eat with close friends, have our feet washed by our Savior, and go to pray with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Good Friday will take us to the highest levels of government as Pontius Pilate debates with Jesus and finally hands Jesus over to be crucified. We will stand at the cross, in darkness, and feel the tears on our face and hear the hammers as they pound the nails into the flesh of Jesus. We will stand in the shadows and feel helpless. We will wait, with the whole creation, for Jesus to breathe his last so that we can carry him to the tomb and prepare his body for burial ourselves. And we will wait and pray and hope for something miraculous to happen.

So do not look for the end of the journey, rather find joy in the journey. Find your joy in Jesus Christ, and, all of a sudden, the joy of the journey will be complete and the end of the journey will come too soon.

With prayers for your journey ~ Pastor Chris Marien

Broken but Forgiven

A few years ago, a friend of mine sent me a reflection. It struck me for its honesty and wisdom and so I have kept it in my files to reread it as the season of Lent unfolds.

This past week I went to a very touching confirmation service. It was refreshing to worship as a welcomed guest with a different liturgical tradition. As I heard familiar scripture, the words seemed to leap off the page and dance in new ways right in front of my eyes. Call it the Spirit or the fact that my kids were quietly drawing at my feet, but I was actually able to listen. The sermon progressed with a common theme and was predictable until the preacher turned to the adult confirmand and said, “If you are saying yes to the church, because you think the church is going to make you whole, it is not.” At this point I sat up straight in my chair. What was he daring to say? As a preacher he was being almost too bold; he was telling the tenuous truth about the church that is rarely recognized or overtly advertised. He continued, “The church is made up of broken people, broken parts of the body of Christ.” As he explained the church as a motley band of faithful followers who sometimes get it right and at other times get it absolutely wrong, my heart swelled with emotion. He said to the young woman confirming her faith, “Your job is not to fix the church; your job is to join the church in its brokenness and its desire to love God and the world. By the end of the sermon, my eyes were laced with tears. It is true! The church does not make you completely whole or always happy. The church is made up of people, broken people who live broken lives, tainted by sin.

Often people shop for the perfect church, seeking out the church that does not look broken, rundown, stuck in a rut, or out of date. Will they ever find a church that is not at some level broken? Sometimes members just stop going to church, frustrated with this issue or that person so it seems easier to just give up and not go. How can churches heal and grow when people give up, don’t talk, and avoid brokenness? As a church we are transitioning into the season of Lent…when we individually and corporately follow Jesus to the cross. It is not an easy road, but a necessary journey of intense introspection. In many ways we are asked to feel the splinters of our own brokenness and rediscover our need for Jesus who offers complete forgiveness. The church is made up of broken, yet forgiven parts. The church is not a perfect place, but it is a place where forgiveness is given perfectly.

Since the church God calls us to share and to be is not about us as individuals, there is a different sense of identity offered in the church compared to the rest of the world. We can be a part of a country club and yet among the club members there is a level of knowing of who owns what and who interacts with whom. On the field of sport, the team may find an identity under a team name, but individual accomplishment is still sought and rewarded. In almost every aspect of society, individual identity is preferred over the identity of the community.

I can only speak to one example where this has not been true. In the year 2000, when the cast of the television show Friends was preparing to go through contract talks, the six stars were brought in separately for negotiations. Yet, after the first meeting, the six stars met and realized they had more power as a cohesive community standing together than standing alone. The result was a higher equal salary for the stars because they stood as one instead of continuing the tradition of every man for himself.

As we continue the Lenten journey toward Holy Week, I am reminded that in our common identity as children of God we are able to find strength for future steps. I thought it might be helpful to share encouraging Scriptures in these days under the shadow of the cross.

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching. ~ Hebrews 10:24-25

For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. ~ Romans 12:4-5

How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! ~ Psalms 133:1
I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. ~ 1 Corinthians 1:10

I pray that this Lent will be a time of seeking for our hearts, that we too might join the whole church in its brokenness and its desire to love God and the world. God be with you in these days. See you in church. – Pastor Chris

(This article was first printed in Ascension’s March 2015 newsletter).