Lent 5

Sometimes I wonder what the hell I'm doing.  It often feels that the Church as an institution has lost its way.  It often feels as if the Church can be more concerned with raising pledges and maintaining the status quo than going out and spreading the gospel of love, mercy, and justice.

But then I look at my campus ministry, and I realize that there is hope for the Church.

Today, eight college students (okay, seven college student and one seminary intern) return from a service trip to the Jersey Shore.  They worked with Habitat for Humanity to aid in the hurricane relief efforts.  This service trip was entirely planned and facilitated by the college students who went on it.

Today I saw God in the passion of 8 students dedicated to social justice.  I saw God in 8 students so fiercely dedicated to spreading God's love, that they gave up a weekend to do it.  They inspire me to stay on this path.

For an explanation of what's going on, check out this post.

Lent 4

Seeing as there are only a few minutes left in the day, I'm going to have to make this quick.

I saw God today in my relaxing, yet productive, sabbath.  I woke up at 1pm, watched West Wing for a couple hours, ate some breakfast/lunch/dinner, had a vocal coaching (which went really well) and saw the preliminary round for the Concerto and Aria competition.  I'm sitting here now, and I feel really good.  Today really energized me, and I feel ready to take on next week.

For an explanation of what's going on, check out this post.

Lent 3

Today was very much a "look at all of the fucks I give" sort of day.  It's Friday, which means I not only had three classes to go to (two of which are jokes), but I also had two separate Kay shifts.  Now, don't get me wrong, I love working at Kay, but it made for a loooong Friday.  As a result, I had no idea what I was going to post as my God Sighting for the day.

(I should mention, that just because today was a long day, doesn't necessarily mean that it was bad.  On the contrary, it was actually a good day all things considered.  Got to have free pizza, reconnect with a friend who's in town for a short while, hang out with the s'Methodists, etc).

My whole time walking home in the bone chilling rain, I was thinking hard about where I saw God today.  I was actually close to posting something about seeing God's providence in the umbrella that I found in Kay before I left work.  But as I walked into the apartment building, I remembered that I had a package waiting for me.

So I went to the desk and picked up my package and brought it upstairs to my apartment, and when I opened it, it was full of glorious pantry essentials.  Macaroni and cheese, pasta, brownie mix, chicken noodle soup, chocolates, peanut butter, Girl Scout cookies (THIN MINTS), everything a guy in college could possibly want.

There was also a very nice card from my mother in it for Valentine's Day, which put a smile on my face.

So this post's for you mom.  I saw God today in the package you sent me (which means I don't have to go to the store for a while) and all that you do for me and my brother (my brother and I?).  Thanks a lot, and happy (late) Valentine's Day!

For an explanation of what's going on, check out this post.

Lent 2

So last week for our Healing Service, one of our pastoral interns served us a Moravian Lovefeast instead of the regular sacrament of communion (our chaplain was ill and the intern isn't ordained yet).

He opened the ritual by explaining to us that much of Christ's ministry was centered around meals.  He ate with the Pharisees.  He ate with the tax collectors.  He ate with the prostitutes.

After that last one, my roommate burst out laughing.

Anyways, today I had the joy of sharing a meal with some fellow Chamber Singers at the AU Tavern.  One of the members of Chamber Singers has an unlimited meal plan, so he paid for our meals.  And when we all sat down, he took a picture of us because he had broken a record of number of meal swipes he shared with his friends (there were eight or nine of us).

I saw God in his generosity and eagerness to help foster group bonding and fellowship this evening.

For an explanation of what's going on, check out this post.

Lent 1

Every student who takes music lessons at American University has to take a class called Applied Music Performance Lab, which is basically a fancy name for students listen to their peers perform music for an hour and 15 minutes.  Today, was the preview for the annual Concerto and Aria competition (a competition to perform a solo concerto or aria with the AU Symphony Orchestra the following fall), which is being held this weekend.  So I got to watch my peers, some of who have been preparing these pieces for the better part of a year, have one last performance before the show.  I saw God today in their passion and dedication for their art and their willingness to go above and beyond for the love of music.

For an explanation of what's going on, check out this post.

Shrove Tuesday

Today is the last day in the season of Epiphany.  Tomorrow, Lent starts.

Lent, of course, is the period of 40 days (minus sundays) that lead up to Christ's passion, death, and ultimately, his resurrection.  It is a season of penitence, a season of reflection, and a season of fasting.  Christians typically give something up during Lent.  Things like chocolate, soda, sweets, television, and other things which may be considered to be a vice.

I'm going to do something a little bit different this year.

In the campus ministry that I'm involved with at AU, we have a tradition in worship where anyone in the congregation is invited to share an instance where they have seen God at work in their lives or in someone else's life.  We call these testimonials "God Sightings".

Recognizing that I have let this blog fall by the wayside during Epiphany, I am going to commit myself to looking at the world around me as miraculous and God infused throughout Lent, and I will make one post per day (even on Sundays) in which I share a God Sighting.

Enjoy your pancakes today folks, and may you have a blessed Lenten season.

-ICU

Ordinary

The festival of Christmas is over.  For twelve days we've celebrated the birth of Jesus and what an event that happened so many years ago means for us today.  We saw the holy family in a humble stable laying our King down to rest in a simple feeding trough.  We witnessed the journey of the Magi--bearing gifts of precious metal, fragrant incense, and bitter burial perfume--culminating in a wonderful epiphany.

And now it's over.

We now enter into the season of Epiphany, the period of time between Christmas and Lent.  It is a season of Ordinary time.

Ordinary

I don't know about you, but after all of the hustle and bustle of Christmas and New Years, I can use a little bit of ordinary.  After helping plan too many worship services, hosting friends and family, catching up with loved ones, battling various illnesses, and fighting the winter weather, I'm tired.  I can use some rest and relaxation.  And yet...

And yet now is the time when we get to work.

The Christ Child was born to turn the world on its head; to challenge the status quo.  In the Kingdom of God, ordinary isn't sitting back and relaxing until the next big liturgical season.  We are called to make spreading the Gospel and working for radical justice no matter what the cost ordinary.  

The celebration is over, and now the work begins.