My wife and I were having a
discussion last week, and somehow we got to talking about “church language,” the words we Christians throw around that you
don’t hear so much in the secular world.
Words like “sacrament” and “atonement,” “consecration” and
“discipleship.” We know what we mean by
these terms (don’t we?), but often using fancy technical language creates
barriers we don’t intend. “Take the word
‘disciple’,” my wife said. “Why would someone want to be a disciple?”
That kind of stumped me. “Why wouldn’t you?”
“It sounds like you are going to be
disciplined, punished. It sounds like
you’re a member of a cult.”
“Oh,” I said. “Like a minion.” “Yeah,” she said.
We have had discussions like this
about the word “atonement.” A beautiful word to those who have their soteriological
Christology down pat (how’s that for some fancy words). That just means that if you understand that
atonement is about the salvation offered to us through the sacrifice Jesus made
for us on the cross, then it’s a great, positive and attractive word. A fine name for a church.
However, if you look at the word
“atonement” through the eyes of someone who is unchurched -- someone unfamiliar
with the Christian message (in other words, the people we are supposed to be
attracting) – then it is a barrier. I’ve
run into many people who have no idea what it means. Even for those who do, it’s not a word people
use in everyday conversation, doesn’t come up often in secular media, and for
many it means something negative. Like
the disciple/discipline connection, for many people the word atonement brings
up the image of being punished, atoning for your own sins, making up for your
faults through suffering. Maybe not the
best name for a church.
But here we come into the season of Lent, that time on the church calendar
that brings together these 2 esoteric themes of discipleship (and, yes, discipline is part of that), and atonement. To be a disciple, or student, of Christ is
not a transformation into a mindless minion.
Rather, it is a commissioning which we receive when we are
baptized. A commissioning is a moment
when you are set apart for some special task.
The commission we received at baptism means we are all part of the
“school” of Jesus, each of us learning, growing, and serving every day in the
ways that He teaches us. It means we all
have the responsibility to share what others have shared with us.
The eternal challenge of sharing the
message of God’s love is to tell God’s story in ways that help people hear,
understand, and respond to his call to become disciples. That is the
mission of all Christians – to be disciples who make other disciples (Matthew
28). It happens in the way Christian
parents raise their children, teaching them to pray, worship and live out God’s
commandments. It happens in the way
Christians treat their neighbors, relatives, co-workers, and people they meet
on the street every day. It happens in
the way we tell our stories of what God has done for us and encourage others to
find the same grace and peace that we hold in our own hearts. These are some ways we live out the mission
of Christ and the commission of our baptisms.
In Lent we get back to the heart of that
mission and return to the grace that started it all – the cross of Jesus
Christ. Jesus re-commissions us all by offering us the sign of his
grace…the cross, marked with ashes on our foreheads on Ash Wednesday. That cross is our badge of belonging to the
“school” of Jesus’ disciples, pledged to deepen our faith and broaden our
love. In the time of Lent, urged forward
by our discipleship we approach the cross of Jesus and the mystery of atonement. The cross on our foreheads remind us of our
destination.
This year, Ash Wednesday will be March 6.
You can come get ashes at 2:30 in the afternoon, or at the 7pm communion
service. The remaining Wednesdays of
Lent will feature services at 7pm. Our
theme this year is “Lasting Hope,” with messages drawn from the psalms. 100 Lasting Hope devotionals are available
one to a family on a first come/first served basis starting March 3. They may also be ordered online for $3.00
each from Augsburg Fortress ($6.00 for large print).
On Sundays of Lent, we are looking at our
commissioning as disciples by demonstrating ways God’s people serve. First off, we are celebrating a wonderful
anniversary this Lent of a remarkable service ministry of Atonement. This March 9 will mark the 10th anniversary of the start of
our Helping Hands Food Pantry. To
help us celebrate that amazing ministry, we are inviting you to participate by
“doing the can-can” and bringing in 2 canned goods each week…
The first Sunday (March 10) we spotlight
world hunger and the 30 hour famine
that Atonement youth will be undertaking March 15-16. If this sounds like our youth will be going
without food for 30 hours, you’re right!
They will be doing activities and raising funds for people throughout
the world for whom food is scarce. The
third Sunday (March 24) we will be highlighting the work of Lutheran Disaster Response, and the
fifth Sunday of Lent (April 7) we will be looking at the ministry of ELCA World Hunger. Opportunities to donate to these worthy causes
will be given at each service.
The alternate Sundays in Lent, we will be
celebrating special commissionings in our midst. On March 17, we will commission 3 new Stephen Ministers to do special
ministries of caregiving in our congregation: Detlev Aeppel, Laurie
Chiaramonte, and Kirsten Westbrook. These people have completed 50 hours of
training and are committing to 2 years of one to one Christian caring for
people in crisis and transition. On
March 31, our bishop’s assistant Khader
Al-Yateem will join us to commission our 2 new Synod Parish Deacons: Esthel
Kane and Rebecca Parker. These people
have completed 2 years of supervised training and discipleship under my guidance
and have been approved by the Synod to be Parish Deacons here at
Atonement.
These commissionings are just specialized
instances of the commissioning we have
all received through our baptisms into Christ – to study and practice the
ways of Christ, to follow him in the path of the cross, to be set apart and sent out for the good of all
the world. From the ashes of Lent to
the glory of Easter, we follow Jesus, the apostles, and the saints of every age
– we walk alongside all believers and hopers and dreamers and martyrs and
missionaries and healers and teachers and preachers…everyone who believes that
the world needs love and that God’s love is here for them and for us, for me
and for you. Come and join us on the
journey of hope. Lent is here, and school is in session.
Peace,
Pastor
Scott