Lenten Reflection: Stay in Love with God

36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 37 He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. - Matthew 22:36-38 (NRSV)

Jesus makes it clear - love God with my whole being. Love is not just a feeling or an emotion. Love is an action. A loving relationship requires me to act with my heart, my soul, and my mind. How do I do this?

John Wesley gives us guidance on how to apply his third rule: Stay in Love with God. He gives a list of ordinances or actions that are essential for spiritual practices. These essential spiritual practices are: public worship, prayer, communion, baptism, family and personal scripture reading, small groups for Bible study, prayer and mutual support.

By practicing all of these, Wesley believed we stay in love with God.

As I continue to practice being intentional in my spiritual journey this Lenten season, I looked at this list and thought I'm doing okay. But wait, am I doing these essential actions daily? Once again, I discovered I fall short.  Among these actions, I don't have a daily prayer routine. It's more casual. I check in with God when it's convenient. Not with my whole being.  Through self-examination, God is guiding me to change my focus from my convenience to His ever present being. In this way, I can stay in love with Him as He points out where I am falling short and how I can move forward.

Reuben Job, in his book “Three Simple Rules,” provides a guide for daily prayer:

• Prayer at the beginning of the day:  Inviting God's intervention in our lives

•  Prayer at midday: Welcoming God's presence

•  Prayer at the end of the day: Inviting God's assessment of my actions, asking for strength to do better and seeking peace in my whole being.

I like this suggestion as it reminds me God is with me all day long and is waiting for a conversation with me. I found this question to be a good daily focus:  What practical way will I choose to stay in love with God today?

Pastor Randy Johnson of 1st UMC Sartell, MN, summarizes the Three Simple Rules: “If we stay in love with God, we will seek to do no harm and we will seek to do good.”

Heavenly Father, thank you for your patience and your lessons as I continue to grow in love with You. Amen.

Betty Hertz is a longtime member of St John UMC, a Stephen Minister and a member of SPRC. When not doing volunteer work, she is playing with her three goofy dogs.

Lenten Reflection: Do Good

By Betty Hertz

8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. - Galatians 6:8-10 (NIV)

Paul was addressing the people of Galatia. Most were Gentile Christians - a minority trying to understand how to follow Jesus’ teachings. The words speak about being patient as we strive to do good.

This passage reinforces John Wesley's Second Rule: Do Good. Wesley was known for his constant self-examination of his actions as he tried to assess whether he was following Jesus. In 1738, as way to check on his actions, Wesley wrote in his journal: “The rules are the life of God in the soul; the image of God fresh stamped on the soul.”

“God fresh stamped on my soul” - that is a great image for me as I consider how I am living rule two: do good. In reviewing my actions related to the homeless, I thought I have done good works through donations, through homeless shelter work, through food pantry calling. However, I realized when I read “whenever I have the opportunity work for good,” I fall short. This realization came to me Monday evening as I watched the local news talk about the Assembly meeting in which the topic would be a discussion of where homeless shelters and transitional housing should be located. The piece included an interview with a concerned citizen. I found myself mumbling about what does that person know, then I paused. Did I go to that meeting to speak up for those I care about? No. I didn't take the opportunity! There are more actions I can take. I can sow more seeds of goodness and patiently wait for the reaping of the harvest.

I am thankful that God works to keep me honest and to help me do good.

I'm including a quote that John Wesley is credited with saying but never did. I believe it is a good embellishment of Rule Two: Do Good.

“Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.”

Betty Hertz is a longtime member of St John UMC, a Stephen Minister and a member of SPRC. When not doing volunteer work, she is playing with her three goofy dogs.

Lenten Reflection: Do No Harm

By Betty Hertz

Isaiah 1:16-17

16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
    remove the evil of your doing from before my eyes;
    cease to do evil,
 17 learn to do good;
    seek justice,
    rescue the oppressed,
   defend the orphan,
    plead for the widow.

As I practice being intentional about my spiritual journey this Lenten season, I find myself reflecting on the lessons John Wesley taught. Of course, Wesley’s Three General Rules came to mind. Pastor Andy referred to these recently in a sermon: Do no harm, Do good, Stay in love with God. Not surprisingly I discovered scripture that provided the basis for the rules. The passage in Isaiah clearly reflects one source of Wesley's rules. With Lent being a time of self-reflection, the words provided me with a focus. I zeroed in on “cease to do evil,” which is the basis for Wesley's Rule One: Do no harm.

Often when I have heard that rule, I have thought: I can check that one off - I don't harm others and I don't do harmful actions. However, in looking closer at these words, I realized I do have harmful practices. A glaring one - I don't listen to the other side on issues of social justice. Being closed-minded is not the way God wants me to live. If I truly believe each person is a child of God, I need to treat each person the way Jesus taught.

In thinking about the rule “Do no harm,” one of the questions Wesley liked to ask early Methodists came to mind: “Is there anyone who I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold a resentment toward or disregard? If so, what am I doing about it?”

My response: “Well, God, I know you already know my answers but insist on hearing them from me, so we're going to have many talks about this question! And I know You will guide me if I am patient.”

Lent is about self-reflection and about strengthening my connection with God. My spiritual journey continues.

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for walking beside me as you teach me to be accepting of all your children. Help me to do no harm in my daily life. In Jesus name,  Amen

Betty Hertz is a longtime member of St John UMC, a Stephen Minister and a member of SPRC. When not doing volunteer work, she is playing with her three goofy dogs.

Lenten Reflection: Fasting

By Betty Hertz

For some unexplainable reason, I am more tuned into Lent this year. Perhaps God is nudging me again? I find myself seeking ways to be more intentional about my observing this time of self-reflection.

Some questions about fasting came to mind. Does UMC fast during Lent? Why fast? How does one fast? Not having the answers to these inquires, I sought out that reliable person - Google!

John Wesley

At the UMC website I found answers to my questions. John Wesley believed in fasting at least once a week as a way to express sorrow for sin and seek forgiveness. He believed by doing this, more time for prayer became available. He also believed it was more meaningful when combined with giving to others.

UMC doesn’t have official guidelines for Lent as it is considered a very personal time of self-reflection. However, the Bible tells us about the spiritual preparation Jesus made as he wandered and fasted for 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness (Mark 1:13, Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-13).

How do we fast?  Many give up favorite food, but perhaps the “spirit of fasting” could include restricting activities … like unplugging from technology once a week. The second part of fasting is to take time from earthly things and make time for spiritual activities … praying, Bible reading, helping others. We open up time for self-reflection and growing closer to God.

Sources:  UMC articles: “Unplugging, Fasting and Ancient Practices” and “What does the UMC say about fasting?”

Betty Hertz

Betty Hertz is a longtime member of St John UMC, a Stephen Minister and a member of SPRC. When not doing volunteer work, she is playing with her three goofy dogs.

Communion: Be intentional this week

Pastor Autumn’s pizza skillet bread

I’ve been thinking about bread a lot lately. At the start of the pandemic I had many friends embark on a bread adventure learning to knead, bake, or care for sourdough. I’ve been intimidated by this adventure. But last week, the bread adventure began calling me again. Only this time, I have answered yes to the invitation.  

Last week, I made my first loaf. A skillet bread, where I added pizza popcorn seasoning for extra flavor (I’m not the best at following instructions to basic recipes). The smell of bread filled the house, and I was glad the recipe instructed me to let the loaf cool for an hour before cutting into it, otherwise it may not have lasted the night!  

This calling came from an invitation in our Monday Morning Women’s book, Taste and See by Margaret Feinberg. Last week, we were invited to make our own bread, specifically an 18-minute matzo. I wanted to gain some bread-baking confidence before I jumped into that challenge on my own, so matzo is this weekend’s challenge!  

Taste and See invited me to explore the communal nature of bread. Margaret Feinberg talked about all the hands that go into the making of one piece of bread. In ancient times, it was a whole family, if not entire community, affair. They would till the land, plant the seeds, weed while it grows, harvest the crop, grind the grain, haul the water, mix all the ingredients together, bake in a communal oven, and then finally eat together. It was and is something we cannot do on our own, or great effort must be made to make it a solitary event.  

Thinking about community and bread instantly draws me to think about communion. Communion has been different these past 11 months. It’s different partaking in it at home, with just your household, whether it is an intimate experience with your family or a reminder of the loneliness of not physically being with others.  

But what if, as we bite into our piece of bread/popcorn/goldfish/cookie, we remember all the hands it took to get this one piece to our table? On top of all the hands it took in ancient times to make bread, we now add in delivery drivers, barge captains, shipping dock personnel, maintenance crews, grocery store staff, and more. It is still a communal act in getting this food to our table, and so we remember all the people who have helped get it there. 

The last several months you’ve seen me rush around my house last minute to find communion elements. While it is often like that, this week is different. I miss the intentional nature of communion when we’re gathered together. How do we reclaim that intentionality at home?  

What if we intentionally prepared for communion this Sunday? Would that change how you receive it? Popcorn and grape soda work in a pinch when that’s what we have available, but what happens when we make the extra effort to acquire traditional communion elements of grain and grape?  

I invite you to try making grape juice or buying some from the store. Make yourself a loaf of bread or support a local business and purchase a freshly baked loaf. A quick search on the internet will provide you will endless recipe options, whether you want to knead dough, let it rest and have the yeast work on its own, or you need the quick 18-minute matzo recipe.  

This week, I invite you to prepare for communion now. Be intentional about this intimate time we spend with God. Secure your elements of grain and grape for communion this Sunday. Think about all the hands it took for these elements to reach your home, be reminded of the community that continues to support us that we often forget. If you need help finding a local baker or a recipe let me know! Pastorautumn@stjohnanchorage.org 

May this time of preparation for communion on Sunday, draw you closer to one another and to God.   

~ Pastor Autumn Krueger 

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” - 2 Corinthians 13:13 CEB