What Sets Your Heart Free

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“Summer time and the living is easy!”- so says the line of a song from George Gershwin’s opera Porgy and Bess.

When I was a little girl, summer time was easy living time. It meant freedom to play and adventure and travel. It meant sleeping late and eating popsicles on the porch. It meant sitting on the front steps with my mom or a neighborhood game of hide and seek.

Today as I talk to friends in the church and they describe their summers, especially many with children, it is exhausting thinking about all the activity and scheduling to get it all in—the camps and sports and travel and summer school and VBS and all! Already some moms have said to me, I will be glad when September is here and my kids are back at school!

We live full and overly busy lives. And we seem not to just schedule our own time but other’s around us too—in a pace that doesn’t lend itself to the freedom of those summer days I remember as a child.

Someone recently gave me a gift, it is a plaque of sorts with lovely art work and the words, “What sets your heart free?” Underneath that question is one word…the word SURRENDER.

As we enter into these summer months, how do you answer the question? What sets your heart free? Would the question better be asked in this way? WHO sets your heart free…and are you surrendering there?
Galatians 5:1 tells us, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”

The question about what sets your heart free is an opportunity to consider the invitation of Jesus to you…where are your passions, where are your giftings, are you surrendered to them and using them…living into them so they live out of you?
In these summer days, may you listen to your heart and what sets it free…and surrender to it and to Him!

The Pastor Nominating Committee

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I too am curious! What progress is the Pastor Nominating Committee making? Mike Mizrahi chairs that committee. The PNC is chosen by the Bel Air Presbyterian congregation and they report to the congregation.

The PNC meets regularly for prayer and assessment as to where they are in the search process for the new senior pastor. Their prayer is wisdom from the Lord so that they might be guided in this adventure by the Holy Spirit. They pray for you and for me.

Information from the Barna survey that was taken a few weeks ago, will be very valuable in the mission appraisement of Bel Air. Our focus on mission will help shape the Church Information Form (PIF). Once that form is completed, it will need to be approved by the Session and our Presbytery (PCUSA). Once approved, the search for the new senior pastor will be launched.

In the meantime, our PNC is busy following leads and reviewing sermons of possible candidates. The counsel of other pastors from large churches is also being sought. Your suggestions are welcomed. You can contact the PNC at belairpnc@gmail.com.

Please keep this committee in your prayers. I am enjoying serving you as interim pastor. Thank you for your support.

The Rev. Dr. David G. McKechnie

The Invitations God Gives Us

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You ever go up to the Getty Museum? For those sophisticated Angelinos, your question back would be, “Which Getty?” I would say back, either one. A week or two back, I spent the better part of an afternoon with a friend at the main Getty campus in the Sepulveda Pass. It really is a spectacular place. Even if you’re not a huge fan of the art, the grounds are spectacular, the view of the city is great, and the food in the cafe is really pretty tasty. What’s really crazy is that the museum is 4 miles from where I work. It’s right in front of me, and yet it rarely comes into mind to visit. Excuses to not go abound. I don’t have time. It’s really not that great. I’ll find time to go….. Someday. And so someday I’ll go to the beach, or fly a kite, or take that hike, or see the view from the Griffith Observatory. And then when it’s time to move, you think, I lived here all these years, and I never stopped to do any of these things. I should have…. I could have… I would have if…..

To miss out on seeing the sights is one thing. To miss out on the invitations God gives us each day is all together something else. I had one of those A-ha moments yesterday. I was at my youngest son’s soccer practice & I thought to myself, here is finally the moment I have been waiting for all day – an opportunity to catch up on email. I’m not going to really miss much – for crying out loud, it’s 4 year olds running around, flailing their legs and falling down a lot.

So as I meticulously grinded through emails, Micah came over and asked if I had seen him kick the ball….. That one time. I couldn’t lie, but I did my best to deflect the actual question – “Was it awesome?” He said yes and went on to describe “THE kick.”

As he walked back out to the field, it hit me – he’s not going to play soccer forever. These are the moments that we look back on and wish we had simply sat back and taken it in. I am so obsessed with getting things done, and being efficient, and being busy, I miss the still small moments God places in my lap all the time. If I’m honest, I am not Spirit-led….I am Sprint-led.

God give me the ability to see the things you want me to see, to experience the things you want me to experience, to minister to the people who are in need – and are potentially standing right in front of me. Give me your eyes & allow me to experience the fullness of all you have for me.

Swimming in a River of Grief and Loss

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I had the privilege to offering a seminar at a large conference last week for spiritual directors. The title of my seminar was: Swimming in a River of Grief and Loss. As I think of the events of this week, the tragedy in Boston, and today the explosion in Texas where so many lost their lives, I can but imagine the place of loss and grief for so many who lost loved ones. In a very real way, the entire nation feels elements of grief and loss at the face of this senseless evil in Boston and the tragedy of the explosion in a fertilizer factory.

C.S. Lewis writes in A Grief Observed, “No one ever told me that grief was so much like fear. I am not afraid, but the sensation is like being afraid. The same fluttering in the stomach, the same restlessness, the yawning. I keep on swallowing.”

Though sometimes people use the words interchangeably, there is a difference between LOSS and GRIEF. Loss (not death) is the “normative” metaphor for understanding those experiences in human life that produce grief.

We begin life “attached”- at birth. Our first experience of separation happens when we are born. The genesis of grief lies in the inevitability of both attachment and separation for the sustenance and development of human life. Life is filled with separation/attachment… And grief is inevitable because loss is part of life. Our experiences of grief in adult life are often linked to early experiences of loss in childhood. Death is the ultimate expression of our finitude, our mortality and can be one of the greatest losses we encounter in life. Surely those who have lost loved ones in a bombing or fire or explosion know this.

Losses connect us to other losses! Some losses are particular to certain periods in life. Our emotional reaction to loss is GRIEF.

Have you heard the story of the little girl sent out on an errand in the neighborhood by her mother? When the child was late in returning, her mother asked her for an explanation- where had she been?
The little girl explained that a playmate of hers down the street had fallen and broken her doll and that she had stopped to help her.
“What were you able to do to mend the broken doll?” her mother asked.
“We couldn’t fix the doll, Mommy. So I just sat down and helped her cry.” (Charles Allen, Guidepost 1979)

There are times when we cannot solve or fix the loss or pain, but we can show our love by sharing in the grief. Have you experienced what that little girl did- she was present with her friend as she mourned…all she did was sit and help her cry!

In one of the creeds in our Book of Confession we affirm the truth, “In life and death we belong to God!” Scripture tells us htat Jesus was a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief. He knows the pain of the grief our nation faces, those families face, as they have lost their loved ones and as we as a nation shake our heads and feel the ache of the world in which we live.
And so we must feel our grief and look to the God of hope. It is a delicate balance, isn’t it?- living an authentic life and letting ourselves mourn and holding and claiming the truth of our faith- the Easter truth, the event that the cross and the empty tomb all point us to. We mourn- an expression or our grief. We question? We cry? We feel deeply and we feel badly and we open ourselves to the God of all comfort to come. God comes by His Spirit with a balm…sometimes a whisper, sometimes a word, sometimes His Word in Scripture to be a mooring in our places of grief and loss.
What losses have you known? How do you grieve?

Can you invite the community- through your small group or prayer request, or in some way to be with you pray with you and help you know you belong…in life and death, you belong!

The following anonymous poem speaks of swimming in a river of grief.
May it be an encouragement to you.

My grief is like river
I have to let it flow,
But I myself determine
Just where the banks will go.
Some days the current takes me
In waves of guilt and pain,
But there are always quiet pools
Where I can rest again.
I crash on rocks of anger
My faith seems faith indeed,
But there are other swimmers
Who know that what I need
Are loving hands to hold me
When the waters are too swift,
And someone kind to listen
When I just seem to drift.
Grief’s river is a process
Of relinquishing the past.
By swimming in hope’s channels
I’ll reach the shore at last.

Evil

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Evil. I have to admit I don’t think about evil much. Sometimes I think something is evil, when in fact it’s not really evil… more like inconvenient. The garage door is evil when it won’t close when I push the button. Traffic is evil when I am trying to get to a meeting across town on time. The carrot cake at Cheesecake Factory is evil for having 1549 calories in one slice. But in thinking these things are evil, I am lulled into a dream-like state until…

On a festive day in the great city of Boston we remember what true evil looks like. It looks like people participating in a hundred year old tradition of running 26 miles or coming to watch the elite athletes of the world take on the challenge with strength of body and mind, and in a few seconds watch as limbs fly, blood is shed, and people die… for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

A wake up call to evil. And in being woke up from my vanilla, plain, bubble-like existence, I wake up and realize there is real evil everywhere, everyday.

It’s not until we recognize the evil sometimes that we then can truly experience the depth and breadth of good in the world. Those who ran towards the explosions. Those who took of their belt and tied tourniquets around people’s limbs to keep them from bleeding to death. Those who reached out and tried to be good in the middle of evil.

I pray for those who have been affected by the evil tragedy in Boston, and it reminds me to pray for the people in small villages in the Congo where militia have gone through and raped and killed hundreds of thousands of people in the last decade. It reminds me of the young girls in India who have been sold into the sex slavery. It reminds me that as much as I would very much like to exist in my half asleep placid life, God calls me to confront evil. To pray against it. To act against it. To live a life in opposition to evil.

And after seeing all the evil, I am that much more aware of how good the good actually is.

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” – Romans 12:21

March 31, 2013 • Easter Sunday

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Weeping to Rejoicing :: Resurrection Hope
read | john 20:1; matthew 28:1–10; Luke 24:1–11
The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.” Luke 24:5

How does America celebrate Easter? It is lilies, brunch, chocolate bunnies, new clothes, Easter eggs, Peeps, and pastel M&Ms. Yes, Easter is fun and exciting!

For Christians, Easter is the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus. The Resurrection is the central cosmic event for all people. It is the turning point of history. It is the most important day of any year. It is the acknowledgement of Jesus’ victory over death, fear, and inhumanity. The bottom line is that meaninglessness is defeated.

“Do not be afraid; He is not here. He is risen.” That Divine Interruption is unexplainable. We do not explain the Resurrection. We celebrate it!

What difference does the Resurrection make? Today we celebrate the power of the risen Christ. It means there is more mercy in God than sin in us. Forgiveness makes proof superfluous. It means you are precious in God’s sight. Because of the Resurrection, we can be certain that in death we are biodegradable but not disposable to our designer.

Out of a musty crypt in Jerusalem emerged the ultimate hope for all of us. Through Easter, it dawns on us that there are no restraints on God’s power that no situation is hopeless, that God is in charge and Christ is alive.

That deserves the Hallelujah Chorus!
Happy Easter.

reflect
How has Jesus changed your weeping to rejoicing in your life?
Spend time praising and thanking God for doing this!
If someone asked you to put into words what is resurrection hope—What will you say?
He has Risen…Risen Indeed. May you know this truth in your life!

- Rev. Dr. David McKechnie

March 30, 2013

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Burying
read | matthew 27:59–60
Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away. Matthew 27:59–60

Burial…it is so final. The separation is complete. Not only has life been lost, but all evidence of it has been hidden. Once and for all. There is closure. There is no going back. There is no hope of recovery.

In Jesus’ case, there are those for whom burial isn’t enough. Even the great stone over the mouth of the tomb isn’t enough. To be certain…they call for the sealing of the stone. They place a guard. What is done is done. It MUST be over and done.

In our separation…our brokenness…our failure, there often comes not only a burial…a sense of no return…but also a concerted effort to assure defeat. There is one who wants to extinguish hope, to deny healing and recovery, to refuse forgiveness and restoration, to seal the deal. The “one” may be an “other” or it may be “self.” The effort may be a final malevolent blow or a benevolent desire to avoid further pain.

In any case, burial is a time to be still, to ponder, to grieve, to wait.

There may well be closure. Something to leave behind. Something to forsake. A chapter to be closed.

But can the tomb be sealed? Can death and separation raise the fist of victory? Is this an ending or a transition? What lies on the other side? What is next? Is hope lost…or has the seed of hope been planted?
Black Saturday (Holy Saturday) gives way to Easter Vigil. Be still, ponder, wait, and watch for what the morning brings.

prayer
God of hope and reconciliation, in Your mercy, help me in my waiting at the tomb. Grant me the grace to release my grip on that which You have buried for good, to watch for that which You have only temporarily laid to rest, and to discern the difference. You never give up on me. Help me never to give up on Your power to redeem, to reconcile and to restore. Keep me awake to what the morning will bring. Amen

reflect
Is there anyone whose tomb you have sealed and guarded? Are you denying anyone forgiveness, healing, reconciliation and a new start?
Is it you? Are you denying yourself forgiveness, healing, reconciliation and a new start?

- Dan Korneychuk

March 29, 2013 • Good Friday

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Breathing His Last
read | luke 23:46; mark 15:38–41; Luke 23:48
Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last. Luke 23:46

As a nurse, I’ve seen patients die and breathe their last. Some deaths were easy, and some were very hard. But none like the death of our Lord. Christ had been mocked, beaten, and crucified. Now came death and blessed relief.
Before breathing His last, Jesus turned to the Father once more, to commend His spirit. As in life, His words were prayer and praise and quotations from the Scripture (Psalm 31:5)

Can we find praise in times of pain?

With His death, before the resurrection, it was our turn to mourn – and the Father’s. The curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus opened the way to the Father and became our temple. In the movie “The Passion of the Christ,” we see a giant teardrop fall from heaven—God joining us in tears. Christ’s followers had to wait for joy. From Friday to Sunday must have seemed like eternity.

How is our patience waiting for joy?

We are told that even the lookie-loos (all the crowds who has gathered) who had come for the “spectacle” went home beating their breasts. Crucifixion was common. But this one was uncommon. Even the centurion knew this Man was different. And yet Jesus was a man like us.

Can we be more like Him?

And as always, the women were there with Jesus. Women like Mary Magdalene, Mary (mother of James the younger, of Joses, and Salome), and other women who followed Him, were watching. They did not leave Him, despite the anguish of watching One they loved die so horribly.

Could we have been so brave? Can we be brave now in life’s troubled times?

Our time for joy is coming. His followers could not be sure—yet. We can be sure. We have the advantage of hindsight and foresight of the glorious splendors to come.

Can we accept God’s forgiveness that we did not/could not earn?

The ultimate sacrifice has been made for all times. Our sins are washed away. Sunday is coming. Halleluiah.

reflect & respond
Look back to the devotional and see how you answer each of the questions posed to you.

- Rani Stoddard

March 28, 2013 • Maundy Thursday

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It is Finished
read | john 19:29–30; luke 23:46
A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to His mouth. When Jesus had received the wine, He said, “It is finished.” Then He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. John 19:29–30

Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last. Luke 23:46

When Jesus cried out “It is finished,” we tend to think of the end of His long, painful ordeal on the cross. While that is certainly true, the words also hold a deeper meaning. His definitive declaration marks the final act in the culmination of thousands of years of planning and plotting by God to return His children to their rightful place.

The entire Old Testament is nothing if not a long story describing God’s never ending attempts to draw His children back to Himself. It does this by showing humankind’s true sinful nature and that all our attempts to cover that sin are futile at best.

It also spends a great deal of time foreshadowing the One who is to come who will take away the sin of humankind once and for all.

It’s hardly an accident that the sponge full of sour wine given to Jesus was put upon a hyssop branch. This is a subtle payoff for something that was set up back when Moses was getting his people out of Egypt.

If you recall, in order to escape the angel of death, the Israelites took the blood of an innocent lamb (note the link to the lamb from Bethlehem being sacrificed here) and painted over their doors using the hyssop branch. This strange Egyptian reed has bulbs filled with water, so when crushed while painting, both the blood and water mixed together.

This is exquisite timing as, at Jesus’ death, a spear was thrust in His side and blood and water flowed out.

And just like in Egypt of old, but on a much grander scale, everyone who is covered by the blood of the innocent Lamb is now safe from the angel of death.

It is truly finished! We have an amazing Savior. He is One who will go to any length to save the ones He loves. All we have to do is accept His sacrifice. When faced with the incomprehensible trouble and pain He went through to save me, I can do nothing less.

reflect & respond
What does “it is finished” mean to you as you hear Jesus’ words?
Have you ever been with someone when they breathed their last breathe on earth? What was it like? Spend some time repeating the phrase, “He breathed His last.”—What impact does that have to hear those words?
How does this change everything? Spend time praying for the Lord to give you comfort and hope.

- Robert G. Lee

March 27, 2013

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Thirsting
read | john 19:28–29
After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, He said (in order to fulfill the Scripture), “I am thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to His mouth. John 19:28–29

When I consider the concept of thirst I am amazed at the strength and the intensity of it. I must satisfy the “need” and if I don’t, death is inevitable. This is my physical thirst. As a child of God I also recognize that I have a spiritual thirst-a thirst for a relationship with my loving Lord, and just like my physical thirst, if I don’t satisfy this need, death is the result.

But, I had never considered that God could thirst, Jesus the human, of course would have a physical thirst, but Jesus the Divine…?

Recently I read Mother Teresa’s book, Come Be My Light (Edited and with Commentary by Brian Kolodiejchuk, M.C) In this book she writes about her spiritual journey both prior to beginning her work with the untouchables in Calcutta and during her ministry there. She understood Jesus’ thirst on the cross as a “thirst for souls.” She writes:
“Why does Jesus say ‘I thirst’? What does it mean? Something so hard to explain in words—… ‘I thirst’ is something much deeper than just Jesus saying ‘I love you.’ Until you know deep inside that Jesus thirsts for you—you can’t begin to know what He wants to be for you. Or who He wants you to be for Him.”

This opened my eyes to the concept of God thirsting, not on a physical level but on a relationship level. John tells us in today’s reading “knowing that all was now completed…Jesus said ‘I am thirsty.’”

The reconciliation of humankind to God was accomplished and now Jesus yearns with great intensity, or thirsts, for a relationship with me, with you, knowing that He has done His part.

reflect & respond
What is my response to His intense need?
What is my response to His cry “I am thirsty”?

- Melanie Boyd